cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An interference-free fluorescent assay of telomerase for the high-throughput analysis of inhibitors

We have developed a telomerase assay that can quickly and accurately rank the ability of molecules to inhibit telomerase activity. It is based on the method of Orlando and co-workers which utilizes PicoGreen to detect dsDNA formed during the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of telomerase products. PCR cycles were optimized to give as linear a signal as possible relative to telomerase products; 96-well streptavidin-coated PCR plates were used to isolate the preamplification telomerase products and to wash inhibitors away before the amplification step. The inhibitor removal step is critical to prevent false positives potentially caused by inhibition of Taq polymerase during amplification. Use of the streptavidin-coated PCR plate allows this step to be done much more rapidly than use of the liquid/liquid extraction adopted by others. We have demonstrated that this assay can correctly order the ability of four inhibitors to inhibit telomerase and reproduce within a factor of two the absolute IC(50) values determined by the more time-consuming direct assay. We have shown that the difference in IC(50) values determined in this assay versus the direct assay can be corrected for by using the standard curve appropriately. Using this method 96 compounds can be assessed in 3-5h.
Angiotropic malignant melanoma: More common than we think?

We report a case of angiotropic malignant melanoma and review previously reported cases. Vessel walls should be scanned for tumor cells in biopsy and re-excision specimens of melanoma.
Epigenetic control of T-helper-cell differentiation

Naive CD4(+) T cells give rise to T-helper-cell subsets with functions that are tailored to their respective roles in host defence. The specification of T-helper-cell subsets is controlled by networks of lineage-specifying transcription factors, which bind to regulatory elements in genes that encode cytokines and other transcription factors. The nuclear context in which these transcription factors act is affected by epigenetic processes, which allow programmes of gene expression to be inherited by progeny cells that at the same time retain the potential for change in response to altered environmental signals. In this Review, we describe these epigenetic processes and discuss how they collaborate to govern the fate and function of T helper cells.
Response of the ambrosia beetle Trypodendron lineatum (Oliv.) to a female‐produced pheromone

Zusammenfassung Ergebnisse der Freilandbeobachtungen und -Untersuchungen uber die Ursachen der Massenanlockung des linierten Nutzholzborkenkafers, Trypodendron lineatum (Oliv.), werden kurz diskutiert. Sobald sie in das Holz der Douglasienstamme eingedrungen sind, fangen die befruchteten Weibchen an, einen Geruchsstoff (Pheromone) zu produzieren, der eine erhebliche sekundare Massenanlockung der fliegenden Kaferpopulation verursachte. Wenn das durch die Weibchen ausgestosene Bohrmehl in Alkohol ausgewaschen und der Extrakt im Walde aufgestellt wird, werden die Kafer gleichfalls angelockt. Pheromone ist vermutlich art-spezifisch, da nur Kafer der Art Trypodendron lineatum angelockt wurden. Der Massenanflug wurde durch die Umweltbedingungen, besonders die Temperatur, die Windgeschwindigkeit und das Tageslicht beeinflust.
Cytogenetics and P-glycoprotein (PGP) are independent predictors of treatment outcome in acute myeloid leukemia (AML)

Abstract Clinical and biological features have recognized prognostic significance in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). To evaluate the interaction of these variables and weighted effect on treatment outcome, prognostic variables from 96 previously untreated patients were analyzed for association with expression of the MDR1 gene product P-glycoprotein (Pgp), and effect on response to induction chemotherapy, progression-free survival and overall survival. Multivariate relationships were analyzed using six prognostic variables, including age, cytogenetic pattern, gender, CD34 + surface phenotype, AML type ( de novo versus secondary) and Pgp. Univariate comparisons indicate that Pgp ( P = 0.0001), cytogenetic pattern ( P = 0.0004) and a CD34 + phenotype ( P = 0.0005) are predictive of primary treatment failure, whereas Pgp ( P = 0.0001) had the greatest predictive value in multivariate analysis. Only cytogenetic pattern retained prognostic significance ( P = 0.0143) for response to induction therapy after adjustment for Pgp. Although all variables except gender were associated with Pgp, specimens harboring the favorable karyotypic abnormalities t(15;17), t(8;21) and inv(16) exclusively lacked Pgp expression. In a multivariate model, both Pgp and cytogenetic pattern predicted response and overall survival, whereas secondary AML and cytogenetic pattern influenced remission duration. These findings indicate that cytogenetic pattern has prognostic relevance that is independent of Pgp, and implies the presence of undefined biological mechanisms affecting chemotherapy resistance.
Mucopolysaccharide contamination of DNA prepared by the aqueous polymer two-phase procedure

Abstract Mammalian DNA isolated by an aqueous polymer two-phase procedure was found contaminated with mucopolysaccharides. DNA preparations obtained from several different tissues of animals which had been injected with radioactive sulfate were found to contain radioactivity. The radioactive material formed a broad band completely surrounding the peak of DNA in a CsCl density gradient. The evidence indicates that the radioactive species are mucopolysaccharides, mainly chondroitin sulfate. When radioactive d -glucosamine was adminstered to intact animals or to tissue cultures, radioactive DNA preparations were again obtained. The radioactive material in this case gave rise to a sharp band in a CsCl density gradient and appears to exist as a complex with DNA. The results indicate that the radioactive contaminant is a glucosamine-containing mucopolysaccharide.
Soil fertility and slope processes in the Western Cumberland Escarpment of Kentucky: influences on the development of horticulture in the Eastern Woodlands

The archaeological record of dry rockshelters in the Red River Valley of eastern Kentucky contains botanical remains of several weedy annual seed-bearing plants that point to the independent development of agriculture during the Late Archaic and Early Woodland Period. The objective of this study is to gather quantitative data through the chemical and physical analysis of soils collected within a valley transect to gain insights into landscape processes and soil fertility that may have played a role in the early development of plant domestication and the location of garden plots in relation to rock shelter sites in the upper Cumberland Plateau region of eastern Kentucky. Soils on upland benches formed in limestones have soil fertility values that are comparable to fertile floodplain soils. Upslope outcrops of calcareous bedrock are contributing basic cations to these bench soils. Additionally, in comparison to other landscape positions these upland soils have high levels of organic carbon, available P and greater C:N ratios. Soil morphology, radiocarbon dates, and archaeological evidence indicate that many of the numerous earthflows and debris flows within the region are Early to Middle Holocene in age. These slides were likely generated by Mid-Holocene climatic shifts in which the frequency and intensity of summer precipitation increased across the southeastern United States. These slope failures may have contributed to the development of plant domestication by creating forest canopy gaps and disturbed soils in which weedy plants thrived.
Improvement of the equivalent sphere model for better estimates of skin or eye dose in space radiation environments

Abstract It is often useful to get a quick estimate of the dose or dose equivalent of an organ, such as blood-forming organs, the eye or the skin, in a radiation field. Sometimes an equivalent sphere is used to represent the organ for this purpose. For space radiation environments, recently it has been shown that the equivalent sphere model does not work for the eye or the skin in solar particle event environments. In this study, we improve the representation of the eye and the skin using a two-component equivalent sphere model. Motivated by the two-peak structure of the body organ shielding distribution for the eye and the skin, we use an equivalent sphere with two radius parameters, for example a partial spherical shell of a smaller thickness over a proper fraction of the full solid angle combined with a concentric partial spherical shell of a larger thickness over the rest of the full solid angle, to represent the eye or the skin. We find that using an equivalent sphere with two radius parameters instead of one drastically improves the accuracy of the estimates of dose and dose equivalent in space radiation environments. For example, in solar particle event environments the average error in the estimate of the skin dose equivalent using an equivalent sphere with two radius parameters is about 8%, while the average error of the conventional equivalent sphere model using one radius parameter is around 100%.
Designing of blower motors on mining trucks

This paper summarized key points to design blower motors for cooling alternator and traction motors on mining trucks. The both blower motors are directly connected to the alternator terminals, which have widely variable voltage and frequency. Although the alternator voltage is a sinusoidal wave form, but a huge rectifier, as a non-linear load, destroys the voltage wave form. New blowers were designed with VPI insulation, insulated bearings and large frame to protect Spike and transient voltage, shaft currents, and harmonic heating.
Contextual effects for category judgments by practiced subjects

Category judgments of size were obtained for different sets of squares over a period of four weeks. Two Ss established fixed scales of judgment. The other two adjusted their scales to the particular set presented in each experimental session. These adjustments were consistent with a range-frequency model.
Axonal structure and function after axolemmal leakage in the squid giant axon.

ABSTRACT Membrane leakage is a common consequence of traumatic nerve injury. In order to measure the early secondary effects of different levels of membrane leakage on axonal structure and function...
Urodynamic Differences Between Dysfunctional Voiding and Primary Bladder Neck Obstruction in Women

Objective To determine the clinical and urodynamic differences in the presentation and the value of simultaneous fluoroscopy in dysfunctional voiding (DV) and primary bladder neck obstruction (PBNO); the 2 most common causes of non-neurogenic "functional" bladder outlet obstruction in women. Methods A review of our urodynamic study database (March 2003 to August 2009) was conducted. DV was diagnosed when increased external sphincter activity was found during voluntary voiding on electromyography (EMG) or fluoroscopy. PBNO was diagnosed when a failure of bladder neck opening was noted on fluoroscopy during voiding. The demographics, symptoms, and urodynamic study parameters were collected. Comparisons were done using chi-square and 2-tailed t -tests. Results DV was diagnosed in 34 women and PBNO in 16. The patients with DV were younger than those with PBNO (40.9 vs 59.2 years, P P = .027) and lower mean postvoid residual urine volume (125 vs 400 mL, P = .012). No significant differences were found in maximal detrusor pressure, detrusor pressure at maximal flow rate, or detrusor overactivity. EMG showed increased activity during voiding in 79.4% of those with DV and 14.3% of those with PBNO ( P Conclusion Clinically, women with DV and PBNO had similar presentations, although those with PBNO had poorer emptying. The flow rates and patterns seemed to differ between those with DV and PBNO, although the voiding pressures were similar. EMG alone would have given the wrong diagnosis in 20.6% of those with DV (false negative) and 14.3% of those with PBNO (false positive). When fluoroscopy is used to define these entities, the accuracy of EMG to differentiate them is questionable.
Utilizing RF-I and intelligent scheduling for better throughput/watt in a mobile GPU memory system

Smartphones and tablets are becoming more and more powerful, replacing desktops and laptops as the users' main computing system. As these systems support higher and higher resolutions with more complex 3D graphics, a high-throughput and low-power memory system is essential for the mobile GPU. In this article, we propose to improve throughput/watt in a mobile GPU memory system by using intelligent scheduling to reduce power and multi-band radio frequency interconnect (MRF-I) to offset any throughput degradation caused by our intelligent scheduling. Overall, we are able to improve throughput 17p up to 66p while increasing throughput per watt by an average of 18p up to 26p.
Nietzsche's Radicalization of Kant

According to liberals and postmodernists, Nietzsche and Kant occupy opposing places on the theoretical spectrum. I challenge this assumption and argue that Nietzsche is working both with and against Kant in terms of his new morality. Nietzsche's harsh rhetoric against Kant serves as a mask that, on closer examination, conceals similarities. Through an analysis of some of his texts, I demonstrate that Nietzsche works within a Kantian conception of moral autonomy in terms of two of his most provocative formulations: pathos of distance and law of life. Nietzsche's critique of ressentiment, moreover, illustrates his commitment to Kantian assumptions about moral conduct. Bringing Kant and Nietzsche together yields a new image of autonomy that overcomes the sovereign subjectivity central to the Kantian conception.
Experiments with Copper Carbonate, Lead Arsenate, and other Compounds Against the Mediterranean Fruit Fly in Florida

Copper carbonate used in a solution of syrup and sugar was found to be almost as toxic to the Mediterranean fruit fly ( Ceratitis capitata Wied.) as was lead arsenate. Many copper compounds and others were found to be quite toxic. Toxicity was reduced by low temperature, low concentration, and alkalinity of the insecticide mixture. The kill was slower with flies that had previously fed well on normal food and it was reduced by reducing the area covered by the insecticide. Humidity, light, and pressure affected toxicity very little. Copper carbonate had little effect on citrus trees or fruit whereas lead arsenate caused many leaves to drop and reduced the anhydrous citric acid.
Equilibrium interphase interfaces and premelting of the Pb(110) surface.

Equilibrium properties of the solid-liquid and liquid-vapor interphase interfaces of lead and surface melting of Pb(110) were investigated using molecular-dynamics simulations, with the glue model used for a description of the many-body interatomic interactions. The bulk melting temperature was determined to be 619{plus_minus}5 K for the model. Structural, energetic, and transport properties across the solid-liquid interface change gradually from bulk solid to bulk liquid behavior over a transition region of 5--6 (110) layers. The surface region of Pb(110) starts to disorder via generation of vacancies in the temperature range 350 K{lt}{ital T}{lt}400 K. The onset of a quasiliquid surface region is observed around 520 K. The surface disordering process reflects the anisotropy of the (110) surface, being enhanced in the direction parallel to the close-packed rows. Analysis of the results in the framework of the Landau-Ginzburg theory of surface melting shows that the thickness of the interfacial quasiliquid region grows logarithmically for {ital T}{gt}520 K, with a correlation length of 7.7 A, in close agreement with experimental results.
Oncology training for the gastroenterologist: a test-case for subspecialization in gastroenterology?

s M s g e r s g g g he practice of gastroenterology (GI) will continue to evolve over the ensuing decades, and therefore gastronterology fellowship training must evolve as well, if gasroenterologists are to continue to serve as the primary ealth care providers for patients with digestive diseases of ll sorts. Advances in knowledge and technology may merit he creation of areas of GI subspecialization training in elds such as inflammatory bowel diseases, functional disrders, or oncology. With respect to GI oncology, gastroenerologists should resist the paradigm in which they play a erely diagnostic or technical role in the care of the patient ith GI malignancy, but rather gastroenterologists should ook to assume a more central position in the multidiscilinary care of these patients. Just as the gastroenterologist oes not refer patients with inflammatory bowel disease to rheumatologist or clinical immunologist after establishng the diagnosis, the gastroenterologist of the future, at east some of them, might be the primary ongoing care rovider for the GI oncology patient. To do this, however, astroenterologists need to acquire skills that remain beond those currently taught during gastroenterologic felowship in the United States, skills that overlap with those aught to medical oncologists during their training.
Seatbelt wearing rates in middle income countries: a cross-country analysis.

In settings with low seatbelt use prevalence, self-reported seatbelt use estimates often lack validity, and routine observational studies are scarce. In this paper, we aim to describe the prevalence of seatbelt use and associated factors in drivers and front-seat passengers across eight sites in four countries (Egypt, Mexico, Russia, Turkey) using observational studies as well as to produce estimates of country-level and site-level variance. As part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Road Safety Program, data on driver and passenger seatbelt use across four middle-income countries was collected between October 2010 and May 2011 (n=122,931 vehicles). Logistic regression and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient analyses for sites- and country-level clustering were performed. We found high variability of seatbelt wearing rates ranging from 4 to 72% in drivers and 3-50% in front-seat passengers. Overall, average seatbelt wearing rates were low (under 60% in most sites). At the individual level, older and female drivers were more likely to wear seatbelts, as well as drivers of vehicles transiting at times of increased vehicle flow. We also found that 26-32% and 37-41% of the variance in seatbelt use among drivers and front-seat passengers respectively was explained by differences across sites and countries. Our results demonstrate that there is room for improvement on seatbelt use in middle-income countries and that standardized cross-country studies on road safety risk factors are feasible, providing valuable information for prevention and monitoring activities. Language: en
Determination of Oleander Glycosides in Biological Matrices by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-fluorescence method was developed for quantitative determination of oleandrin in gastrointestinal contents (stomach, rumen, colon, and cecum contents). Oleandrin was extracted with methylene chloride. The extract was cleaned up on a charcoal solid phase extraction (SPE) column, derivatized with 1-naphthoyl chloride, and quantified by HPLC with a fluorescence detector. The limit of detection was 0.05 ppm. Six replicate fortifications of stomach contents matrix at 0.10 ppm oleandrin gave an average recovery of 85%, with 4.6% CV (relative standard deviation). The diagnostic utility of the method was tested by analyzing samples submitted to the veterinary toxicology laboratory.
Optimizing anatase-TiO2 deposition for low-loss planar waveguides

Polycrystalline anatase-TiO2 thin film possesses desirable properties for on-chip photonic devices that can be used for optic computing, communication, and sensing. Low-loss anatase-TiO2 thin films are necessary for fabricating high quality optical devices. We studied anatase-TiO2 by reactively sputtering titanium metal in an oxygen environment and annealing. By correlating key deposition parameters, including oxygen flow rate, deposition pressure, RF power, and temperature to film morphology and planar waveguiding losses, we aim to understand the dominant source of propagation losses in TiO2 thin films and achieve higher quality, lower-loss films.
Inhibited morphological terminal differentiation and enhanced proliferation of cultured mouse epidermal cells at different concentrations of dimethyl sulphoxide.

. Dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO), at concentrations of 1–2%, induces terminal differentiation in several different cell types in vitro and enhances the growth of newborn mouse epidermal cells in primary culture under conditions that also permit terminal differentiation. We have found that DMSO concentrations approaching 4% reversibly inhibited (with little overt toxicity) terminal differentiation of normal epidermal cells from newborn SENCAR mice. Cells cultured in medium containing 4% DMSO and calcium in excess of 1 mm did not stratify extensively or slough large amounts of keratinized debris into the medium as occurred in control cultures, nor did they form large numbers of squamous cells or keratin bundles, as revealed by light and electron microscopy. The number of detergent-insoluble cornified envelopes was similarly reduced. Long-term growth of epidermal colonies in secondary culture was optimum in 1% DMSO, this concentration also permitting normal terminal differentiation of these cells. Since DMSO had these effects on epidermal cells in vitro, it may also affect epidermal cell proliferation and terminal differentiation in vivo, an important consideration should DMSO ever be approved for topical use in the US.
Random channel hopping schemes for key agreement in wireless networks

Secure wireless communications typically rely on secret keys, which are hard to establish in a mobile setting without a key management infrastructure. In this paper, we propose a channel hopping protocol that lets two stations agree on a secret key over an open wireless channel and without use of any pre-existing key. It is secure against an adversary with typical consumer radio hardware that only allows receiving on a single (or a few) channel at a time. Theoretical analysis and simulation results indicate that this approach can generate a 128-bit key in 0.3 seconds. This is significantly faster than prior techniques that extract key material from the wireless channel.
Breakdown in the Language Zone: The Prevalence of Language Impairments Among Juvenile and Adult Offenders and Why It Matters

For over eighty years, social scientists have known that poor language skills are closely associated with the constellation of emotional and behavioral disturbances *38 routinely seen in juvenile and criminal court. These include conduct disorder, academic deficits, social incompetence, impulsivity, and even aggression. As we might expect, researchers have also found that language impairments are present at a high rate within juvenile and adult correctional institutions. So far however, the law has barely even acknowledged the existence of this body of social science, let alone its significance for the administration of justice, rehabilitation, and public safety. This article is an attempt to bring this phenomenon to light. It examines why widespread language deficits among so many juvenile and adult defendants should be a matter of great concern for the juvenile and criminal justice systems, and perhaps more importantly, what we can do about it.
Physiological Responses of Suspension Cultures of Catharanthus roseus to Aluminum: Changes in Polyamines and Inorganic Ions

Summary The effects of aluminum (Al) treatment on polyamines were studied using suspension cultures of Madagascar periwinkle [Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don]. The addition of A1 (0.2, 0.5, 1.0 mM) to the suspension cultures caused a significant increase in putrescine within 24 h only in freshly transferred cells. By contrast. A1 treatment reduced ~utrescine content at all other times (davs 2-7). Further analvsis showed \, that the largest increase in putrescine occurred at 6 h when A1 was added at the time of transfer of cells to fresh medium. If A1 treatment was delaved to as little as 3 h after transfer to fresh medium. the cellular level of putrescine decreased. While spermidine remained unchanged, spermine was significantly higher in the presence of A1 in all cases. The inhibitory effect of A1 on DNA synthesis also depended upon the time of its addition. Cellular Ca, Mg, and Mn decreased in response to A1 given at the time of transfer to fresh media while Fe increased, and Na, K and P remained unchanged. The results indicate a critical physiological change in the response of cells to A1 within a short time (about 3 h) after transfer to fresh medium.
A variable stiffness transverse mode shape memory alloy actuator as a minimally invasive organ positioner

Smart materials have gained a great deal of attention in recent years because of their unique actuation properties. Actuators are needed in the medical field where space is limited. Presented within this work is an organ positioner used to position the esophagus away from the left atrium to avoid the development of an esophageal fistula during atrial fibrillation (afib) ablation procedures. Within this work, a subroutine was implemented into the finite element framework to predict the midspan load capacity of a near equiatomic NiTi specimen in both the super elastic and shape memory regimes. The purpose of the simulations and experimental results was to develop a design envelope for the organ positioning device. The transverse loading experiments were conducted at several different temperatures leading to the ability to design a variable stiffness actuator. This is essential because the actuator must not be too stiff to injure the organ it is positioning. Extended further, geometric perturbations were applied in the virtual model and the entire design envelope was developed. Further, nitinol was tested for safety in the radio-frequency environment (to ensure that local heating will not occur in the ablation environment). With the safety of the device confirmed, a primitive prototype was manufactured and successfully tested in a cadaver. The design of the final device is also presented. The contribution of this work is the presentation of a new type of positoning device for medical purposes (NiTiBOP). In the process a comprehensive model for transverse actuation of an SMA actuator was developed and experimentally verified.
High-performance alphabet recognition

Alphabet recognition is needed in many applications for retrieving information associated with the spelling of a name, such as telephone numbers, addresses, etc. This is a difficult recognition task due to the acoustic similarities existing between letters in the alphabet (e.g., the E-set letters). This paper presents the development of a high-performance alphabet recognizer that has been evaluated on studio quality as well as on telephone-bandwidth speech. Unlike previously proposed systems, the alphabet recognizer presented is based on context-dependent phoneme hidden Markov models (HMMs), which have been found to outperform whole-word models by as much as 8%. The proposed recognizer incorporates a series of new approaches to tackle the problems associated with the confusions occurring between the stop consonants in the E-set and the confusions between the nasals (i.e., letters M and N). First, a new feature representation is proposed for improved stop consonant discrimination, and second, two subspace approaches are proposed for improved nasal discrimination. The subspace approach was found to yield a 45% error-rate reduction in nasal discrimination. Various other techniques are also proposed, yielding a 97.3% speaker-independent performance on alphabet recognition and 95% speaker-independent performance on E-set recognition, A telephone alphabet recognizer was also developed using context-dependent HMMs. When tested on the recognition of 300 last names (which are contained in a list of 50,000 common last names) spelled by 300 speakers, the recognizer achieved 91.7% correct letter recognition with 1.1% letter insertions.
Overfeeding Over 24 Hours Does Not Activate Brown Adipose Tissue in Humans

Context: Human brown adipose tissue (BAT) is activated with cold exposure, but it is unknown whether overfeeding activates BAT. Objective: We determined BAT activation with cold, fasting, and overfeeding and the relationship of BAT activation with future weight change. Design, Setting, Participants, and Interventions: Sixteen healthy adults were evaluated during energy balance, fasting, and 24 hours of 200% overfeeding. All subjects had a fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (PET) scan after exposure to 16°C to determine cold-induced BAT activity (CIBA). The first six subjects had a second PET scan after 36 hours of fasting to establish the lack of BAT activation at 22°C. The other subjects' second PET scan occurred after 24 hours of overfeeding at 22°C but only if they demonstrated CIBA. Twelve subjects returned at 6 months for reassessment of body composition. Main Outcome Measures: BAT was defined in cool scans as voxels with a standardized uptake value (SUV) of 2.0 or greater and Hounsfield...
Carbon-isotope discrimination by leaves of Flaveria species exhibiting different amounts of C3- and C4-cycle co-function

Carbon-isotope ratios were examined as c513C values in several C3, C~, and C3-C4 Flaveria species, and compared to predicted ~3C values generated from theoretical models. The measured cI13C values were within 4%~ of those predicted from the models. The models were used to identify factors that contribute to C3-1ike 5t3C values in C3-C4 species that exhibit considerable CA-cycle activity. Two of the factors contributing to C3-1ike fi13C values are high CO2 leakiness from the C4 pathway and pi/pa values that were higher than C4 congeners. A marked break occurred in the re- lationship between the percentage of atmospheric CO2 assimilated through the C4 cycle and the c5 13 C value. Below 50% C4-cycle assimilation there was no significant relationship between the variables, but above 50% the 613C values became less nega- tive. These results demonstrate that the level of C4-cycle expression can increase from 0 to 50% with little integration of carbon transfer from the C4 to the C3 cycle. As expression increases above 50%, however, increased integration of C3- and C4-cycle co-function occurs.
Deficiency of Nox2 prevents angiotensin II-induced inward remodeling in cerebral arterioles.

Angiotensin II is an important determinant of inward remodeling in cerebral arterioles. Many of the vascular effects of angiotensin II are mediated by reactive oxygen species generated from homologues of NADPH oxidase with Nox2 predominating in small arteries and arterioles. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that superoxide generated by Nox2 plays a role in angiotensin II-induced cerebral arteriolar remodeling. We examined Nox2-deficient and wild-type mice in which a pressor or a non-pressor dose of angiotensin II (1000 or 200 ng/kg/day) or saline was infused for 4 weeks via osmotic minipumps. Systolic arterial pressure was measured by a tail-cuff method. Pressure and diameter of cerebral arterioles were measured through an open cranial window in anesthetized mice. Cross-sectional area (by histology) and superoxide level (by hydroethidine staining) of cerebral arterioles were determined ex vivo. The pressor, but not the non-pressor, dose of angiotensin II significantly increased systolic arterial pressure in both wild-type and Nox2-deficient mice. Both doses of angiotensin II increased superoxide levels and significantly reduced external diameter in maximally dilated cerebral arterioles in wild-type mice. Increased superoxide and inward remodeling were prevented in Nox2-deficient mice. Moreover, only the pressor dose of AngII increased cross-sectional area of arteriolar wall in wild-type mice and was prevented in Nox2-deficient mice. In conclusion, superoxide derived from Nox2-containing NADPH oxidase plays an important role in angiotensin II-mediated inward remodeling in cerebral arterioles. This effect appears to be independent of pressure and different from that of hypertrophy.
Capitalism and the Historians: A Contribution to the Discussion on the Industrial Revolution in England

The topic of “Capitalism and the Historians” is a subject far exceeding the limitations normally imposed by historical discipline. In fact, in a still wider context, this subject has much to do with the great ideological division of the modern world into the two vast camps of capitalist and communist countries, a most somber spectacle facing us today. The aim here is not to trace the steps by which we have reached the tragic facts of contemporary affairs, but rather to show how our beliefs concerning these matters (such as the view taken of capitalism) are influenced largely by our impression of the past.
Physical Activity among Rural Older Adults with Diabetes.

: Purpose: This analysis describes physical activity levels and factors associated with physical activity in an ethnically diverse (African American, Native American, white) sample of rural older adults with diabetes. Method: Data were collected using a population-based, cross-sectional stratified random sample survey of 701 community-dwelling elders with diabetes completed in 2 rural North Carolina counties. Outcome measures were as follows: first, physical activity in the past year, and second, days physically active in the prior week (0-7). Potential correlates included personal and health characteristics and were evaluated for statistical significance using logistic regression models. Findings: About half (52.5%) of the participants stated that they had engaged in physical activity in the past year. Among those, 42.5% stated that they had no days with at least 30 minutes of continuous physical activity in the prior week, while 21.5% reported daily physical activity. Common activities were walking and housework. Correlates of physical activity in the past year and days active in the prior week included measures of physical health and mobility. Conclusions: Physical activity in this ethnically diverse sample of rural elders with diabetes is limited. Effort must be invested to increase physical activity in these groups.
The structure of [YC6H5O]+· ions in the spectra of aryl alkyl ethers

The [YC6H5O]+· ions from YC6H4OC2H5 appear to correspond in structure to the molecular ions of the analogous substituted phenols, [YC6H4OH]+·.
On the degrees-of-freedom of the MIMO interference channel

The high signal-to-noise ratio capacity of the symmetric MIMO interference channel is characterized as a function of the interference-to-noise ratio. This work is a multiple antenna extension of the degrees of freedom expressions derived by Etkin et al. for the single antenna case. This characterization considers the case where the number of receive antennas is greater than or equal to the number of transmit antennas and shows the number of degrees of freedom available for communication as a function of log(INR)/log(SNR).
The Association of Plasma IL-6 Levels With Functional Disability in Community-Dwelling Elderly

Background IL-6 is a multifunctional cytokine that has been shown to increase with age. Methods Plasma IL-6 was measured by ELISA in 1,727 community-dwelling elderly subjects whose blood was drawn during the third in-person survey of the Duke Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE). Demographics, functional status (disability), and disease states were determined. Correlations of these factors with IL-6 were analyzed with Spearman's Rho while differences between groups were assessed by Wilcoxon test. Results IL-6 levels were higher with age (p = .0001) even in this older population (> 70 years). There was a positive correlation between IL-6 and functional disability for each of the functional status measures (p = .0001), as well as a correlation between self-rated health and IL-6. Significantly higher median levels of IL-6 were found in subjects reporting prevalent cancer, heart attack, and high blood pressure, but not diabetes or arthritis. The association between age and functional status with high IL-6 remained when all other variables were controlled, in multivariable analysis. Conclusions This association between increased plasma IL-6 levels and functional status suggests that dysregulation of IL-6 may be related to the functional disability seen with aging, and that IL-6 may be useful as a component of an overall marker of health.
Static extraction of program configuration options

Many programs use a key-value model for configuration options. We examined how this model is used in seven open source Java projects totaling over a million lines of code. We present a static analysis that extracts a list of configuration options for a program. Our analysis finds 95% of the options read by the programs in our sample, making it more complete than existing documentation. Most configuration options we saw fall into a small number of types. A dozen types cover 90% of options. We present a second analysis that exploits this fact, inferring a type for most options. Together, these analyses enable more visibility into program configuration, helping reduce the burden of configuration documentation and configuration debugging.
Prolonged sulforaphane treatment does not enhance tumorigenesis in oncogenic K-ras and xenograft mouse models of lung cancer.

Background: Sulforaphane (SFN), an activator of nuclear factor erythroid-2 related factor 2 (Nrf2), is a promising chemopreventive agent which is undergoing clinical trial for several diseases. Studies have indicated that there is gain of Nrf2 function in lung cancer and other solid tumors because of mutations in the inhibitor Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1). More recently, several oncogenes have been shown to activate Nrf2 signaling as the main prosurvival pathway mediating ROS detoxification, senescence evasion, and neoplastic transformation. Thus, it is important to determine if there is any risk of enhanced lung tumorigenesis associated with prolonged administration of SFN using mouse models of cancer. Materials and Methods: We evaluated the effect of prolonged SFN treatment on oncogenic K-ras (K-ras LSL-G12D )-driven lung tumorigenesis. One week post mutant-K-ras expression, mice were treated with SFN (0.5 mg, 5 d/wk) for 3 months by means of a nebulizer. Fourteen weeks after mutant K-ras expression (K-ras LSL-G12D ), mice were sacrificed, and lung sections were screened for neoplastic foci. Expression of Nrf2-dependent genes was measured using real time RT-PCR. We also determined the effect of prolonged SFN treatment on the growth of preclinical xenograft models using human A549 (with mutant K-ras and Keap1 allele) and H1975 [with mutant epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) allele] nonsmall cell lung cancer cells. Results: Systemic SFN administration did not promote the growth of K-ras LSL-G12D -induced lung tumors and had no significant effect on the growth of A549 and H1975 established tumor xenografts in nude mice. Interestingly, localized delivery of SFN significantly attenuated the growth of A549 tumors in nude mice, suggesting an Nrf2-independent antitumorigenic activity of SFN. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that prolonged SFN treatment does not promote lung tumorigenesis in various mouse models of lung cancer.
Mats of the nonnative macroalga,Gracilaria vermiculophylla, alter net denitrification rates and nutrient fluxes on intertidal mudflats

We hypothesized that mats of a nonnative macroalga, Gracilaria vermiculophylla, which is often found incorporated several centimeters into intertidal mudflat sediments, would increase net denitrification rates relative to bare sediments. At moderate densities (, 40 g dry weight [dry wt] m22), net denitrification rates in June (182.37 6 16.87 mmol N-N2 m22 h21), July (213.19 6 16.30 mmol N-N2 m22 h21), and September (124.82 6 11.17 mmol N-N2 m22 h21) were higher than rates previously documented with macroalgal mats. Compared with rates from bare sediment in June (25.48 6 15.09 mmol N-N2 m22 h21) and September (46.47 6 15.79 mmol N-N2 m22 h21), net denitrification was significantly higher when G. vermiculophylla was present. Rates measured on bare sediment in July (254.81 6 19.86 mmol N-N2 m22 h21) were not significantly different from G. vermiculophylla counterparts, most likely because of highly reduced conditions in G. vermiculophylla cores, which could have limited nitrification. July incubations also demonstrate that at higher densities (, 120 g dry wt m22 G. vermiculophylla), denitrification rates can drop, suggesting a potential biomass threshold for macroalgal enhancement of denitrification.
Computation in a reduced KII network based on synchronization: Research Articles

When implementing dynamical systems for information processing, a well-defined set of computational primitives should be constructed to represent the state space. Based on the specific collective behavior of Freeman's computational model of the olfactory cortex, we study the computation of reduced KII networks by using the synchronization of output channels. The design of coupling coefficients in the network for obtaining a desired output state response is presented. We demonstrate the computational power of reduced KII networks by two applications that address logic computation and associative memory, respectively. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Int Syst 21: 919–935, 2006.
The Parallel Universes of Institutional Investing and Institutional Voting

Our paper first examines the reasons for the almost complete separation between the investment professionals at institutional investors who decide whether and when to buy or sell a company’s stock (and their counterparts at quantitative investors who design and implement the investment models), on the one hand, and the people who make voting decisions for the portfolio stocks owned by the institutional investors, on the other hand. The paper next observes the manner in which those delegated to vote portfolio stocks cope with their institution’s fiduciary duty to vote all portfolio stocks on all matters submitted to shareholders (which, depending on the diversification of an institution’s portfolio can amount literally to hundreds or thousands of votes every proxy season) in accordance with the traditional fiduciary duty of care, including the outsourcing of some or all of these duties to third party proxy advisory firms. It goes on to note that most frequently the challenge posed by the large, if not overwhelming, number of votes that need to be cast annually is met through creation and application of voting policies, based solely on concepts of corporate governance, that are applied uniformly to all corporations, regardless of the particular facts and circumstances of the different companies. The Commentary concludes by identifying some of the important implications of the parallel universes of investment decision making and voting decision making, which include: the necessity for public companies to develop communication strategies for the two very different constituencies, one that cares almost exclusively about corporate performance and the other that is concerned almost as exclusively with corporate governance practices; the desirability of establishing an inter-active and meaningful dialog among public companies and corporate governance driven voting decision makers; and, perhaps most important, the threat posed by the parallel universes to basic premises underlying corporate democracy as a foundation for the legitimacy of the modern publicly held corporation.
Immunohistochemical analysis of lichenoid reactions in patients treated with anti-PD-L1 and anti-PD-1 therapy.

Background Recent advances in the immunotherapeutic treatment of cancer have led to the development of multiple new directed therapies including monoclonal antibodies that block the immune checkpoint T-cell receptor programmed death 1 (PD-1) and the PD-1 ligand, programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1). Various immune-related toxicities have been associated with these drugs including, most commonly, skin rashes. Methods Five cases of lichenoid dermatitis, including one case of lichenoid mucositis and one case of lichen sclerosus, associated with anti-PD-L1 and anti-PD1 therapy were compared with three biopsies of non-drug-related lichen planus (LP) and three lichen planus-like keratoses (LPLK) used as controls. Results Histopathologic and immunophenotypic analysis of these lichenoid lesions demonstrated significantly greater histiocytic infiltrates than observed in control lichenoid reactions (p = 0.0134). We also observed increased spongiosis and epidermal necrosis. No significant differences were seen in expression of CD3, CD4:CD8, CD20, PD-1, CD25, Foxp3, CXCL13 and PD-L1 expression. Conclusions These findings expand the literature of immune-related toxicities of PD-L1 and PD-1 blockade to include lichenoid dermatitis and lichenoid mucositis. Of note, these cutaneous side effects were amenable to topical treatment, without the need for medication dose reduction or discontinuation.
Susceptibility of nerve in diabetes to compression: implications for pain treatment.

Background:Twenty-five years ago, it was hypothesized that the peripheral nerve in the patients with diabetes is susceptible to chronic compression. If this hypothesis were true, then decompression of multiple, compressed peripheral nerves, in the patient with diabetic neuropathy, would restore sens
Describing, Explaining, and Optimizing Within-Individual Change across the Life Span: A Relational Developmental Systems Perspective:

The goal of developmental science is to describe, explain, and optimize changes within individuals and differences between individuals across the life span. Contemporary developmental science is fr...
Population structure, stepwise mutations, heterozygote deficiency and their implications in DNA forensics

In a substructured population the overall heterozygote deficiency can be predicted from the number of subpopulations (s), their time of divergence (t), and the nature of the mutations. At present the true mutational mechanisms at the hypervariable DNA loci are not known. However, the two existing mutation models (the infinite allele model (IAM) and the stepwise mutation model (SMM)) provide some guides to predictions from which the possible effect of population substructuring may be evaluated, assuming that the subpopulations do not exchange any genes among them during evolution. The theory predicts that the loci with larger mutation rate, and consequently showing greater heterozygosity within subpopulations, should exhibit a smaller proportional heterozygote deficiency (GST) and, hence, the effects of population substructuring should be minimal at the hypervariable DNA loci (an order of magnitude smaller than that at the blood group and protein loci). Applications of this theory to data on six Variable Number of Tandem Repeat (VNTR) loci and five short tandem repeat (STR) loci in the major cosmopolitan populations of the USA show that while the VNTR loci often exhibit a large significant heterozygote deficiency, the STR loci do not show a similar tendency. This discordant finding may be ascribed to the limitations, coalescence and nondetectability of alleles associated with the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis through which the VNTR loci are scored. Such limitations do not apply to the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method, through which the STR loci are scored. The implications of these results are discussed in the context of the forensic use of DNA typing data.