cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A spatiotemporal machine learning approach to forecasting COVID-19 incidence at the county level in the United States.

With COVID-19 affecting every country globally and changing everyday life, the ability to forecast the spread of the disease is more important than any previous epidemic. The conventional methods of disease-spread modeling, compartmental models, are based on the assumption of spatiotemporal homogeneity of the spread of the virus, which may cause forecasting to underperform, especially at high spatial resolutions. In this paper we approach the forecasting task with an alternative technique -- spatiotemporal machine learning. We present COVID-LSTM, a data-driven model based on a Long Short-term Memory deep learning architecture for forecasting COVID-19 incidence at the county-level in the US. We use the weekly number of new positive cases as temporal input, and hand-engineered spatial features from Facebook movement and connectedness datasets to capture the spread of the disease in time and space. COVID-LSTM outperforms the COVID-19 Forecast Hub's Ensemble model (COVIDhub-ensemble) on our 17-week evaluation period, making it the first model to be more accurate than the COVIDhub-ensemble over one or more forecast periods. Over the 4-week forecast horizon, our model is on average 50 cases per county more accurate than the COVIDhub-ensemble. We highlight that the underutilization of data-driven forecasting of disease spread prior to COVID-19 is likely due to the lack of sufficient data available for previous diseases, in addition to the recent advances in machine learning methods for spatiotemporal forecasting. We discuss the impediments to the wider uptake of data-driven forecasting, and whether it is likely that more deep learning-based models will be used in the future.
Hermetically sealed porous-wall hollow microspheres enabled by monolithic glass coatings: Potential for thermal insulation applications

Abstract Thermal insulation materials are crucial to improve the energy performance of buildings and industrial applications. We report an approach to create hermetically vacuum-sealed silica-based hollow microspheres that can lower the thermal conductivity of closed-cell insulation materials. The wall structure of these hollow microspheres includes a reticulated network of pores or channels that extend through the thickness of the wall. When a thin layer of glass material is applied to the wall exterior, followed by a vacuum-assisted thermal treatment process, the coated microsphere surfaces display a highly dense conformal coverage and near-complete elimination of surface porosity. The sealing efficiency of these microspheres is verified by trapping argon within their cavities as well as through evacuating their hollow cores. Notably, incorporating the evacuated microspheres into a polymer matrix resulted in ∼27% enhancement in its thermal insulation performance and no notable loss of performance was observed following three months of exposure to ambient conditions. Thus, we believe that the present study offers a commercially viable strategy that opens the door to applications of such inorganic hollow particles in areas ranging from vacuum-based thermal insulation systems to catalysis, separation technologies, and medical fields.
Two Creation Texts from Chamula, Chiapas

Publica aqui Gary H. Gossen dos textos de contenido cosmogonico, recogidos por el de sus informantes chamulas, Manuel Lopez Calixto y Salvador Lopez Castellanos. En ambos textos hay vestigios de antiguas creencias vigentes en el contexto de la cultura maya. Igualmente son perceptibles otros elementos de procedencia biblica y, en general, cristiano- europea. Constituyen asi estos textos otra muestra del sincretismo religioso que se ha desarrollado especificamente en el ambito indigena de Chiapas.
Teaching Accounting Concepts Versus Applications: An Analysis of Student Attitudes

Accounting faculty have long debated the usefulness and appropriateness of their teaching endeavor. One of the central themes in this continuing discussion is that of teaching concepts versus teaching applications of current accounting principles. In order to empirically address this issue, students' attitudes toward the conceptual aspects and toward the practical application aspects of financial accounting were assessed. This research also reports on the development and validation of an instrument that measures attitudes of students toward these aspects of financial accounting. The instrument demonstrated high reliability with both intermediate and introductory students. Intermediate students were found to distinguish between attitudes toward the conceptual and application aspects of financial accounting, while the introductory students were found to have only a single overall attitude toward financial accounting. Implications for accounting education are discussed.
Exit Times of Brownian Motion, Harmonic Majorization, and Hardy Spaces

Let R be an open, connected subset of R n \(n \geqslant 2\), X a Brownian motion in R n starting at a point x in R, and \(\tau\) the first time X leaves R: $$\tau \left( \omega \right) = \inf \left\{ {t >0:{X_t}(\omega) \notin R} \right\}.$$
Phosphoribosyltransferase mechanisms and roles in nucleic acid metabolism.

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on purine and pyrimidine phosphoribosyltransferases, which govern the metabolic branchpoints between salvage and degradation for these nucleic acid precursors. Deficiency or inhibition leads to overproduction and increased degradation products in organisms with de novo synthetic pathways and to growth inhibition in auxotrophic organisms. Purine and pyrimidine phosphoribosyltransferases catalyze their reactions by activating the purine/pyrimidine, forming dissociative ribooxacarbenium-(S N 1-like) transition states with the assistance of neighboring group participation, followed by the migration of the ribosyl anomeric carbon region to immobilized and activated MgPPi. This class of enzymatic mechanism is called nucleophilic substitution by electrophile migration. The enzymes require substantial loop and flap motion to position reactive groups and close the catalytic site for catalysis. The enzymes use a surprisingly large number of carefully positioned and immobilized waters to hold the complex reactants in place during the chemical transformation. The chapter emphasizes the advances made in the ten years period between 1994–2003, with reference to earlier work and with special emphasis on catalysis, inhibition, structure, and function. The chapter presents the areas in which the knowledge and tools for understanding and manipulating this family of interesting and important enzymes are lacking.
Inflammatory biomarkers and physical function in older, obese adults with knee pain and self-reported osteoarthritis after intensive weight-loss therapy.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the relationships between proinflammatory biomarkers and self-reported and performance-based physical function and to examine the effect of weight loss on these markers of inflammation. DESIGN: Randomized, longitudinal, clinical study comparing subjects eating an energy-restricted diet and participating in exercise training with a control group. SETTING: Community-base participants for the Physical Activity, Inflamation and Body Composition Trial. PARTICIPANTS: Eighty-seven obese (body mass index (BMI) >30.0 kg/m2) adults aged 60 and older with knee pain and self-report of osteoarthritis. MEASUREMENTS: Inflammatory biomarkers (interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), C-reactive protein, and soluble receptors for TNFα (sTNFR1 and sTNFR2)) and self-reported (Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index questionnaire) and performance-based (6-minute walk distance and stair climb time) measures of physical function at baseline and 6 months. RESULTS: Mean (standard error of the mean) weight loss was 8.7% (0.8%) in the intervention group, compared with 0.0% (0.7%) in the control group. sTNFR1 was significantly less in the intervention group than in the control group at 6 months. sTNFR1 and sTNFR2 predicted stair climb time at baseline. Change across the 6-month intervention for sTNFR2 was an independent predictor for change in 6-minute walk distance. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that an intensive weight-loss intervention in older obese adults with knee pain can help improve inflammatory biomarkers and that changes in these concentrations showed associations with physical function.
Hypoxia increases rate of transcription and stability of tyrosine hydroxylase mRNA in pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells.

Reduced arterial oxygen tension (i.e. hypoxia) is a powerful physiological stimulus that induces synthesis and release of dopamine from O2-sensitive (type I) cells in the mammalian carotid bodies. We reported recently that hypoxia stimulates gene expression for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the rate-limiting enzyme in catecholamine synthesis in type I cells of the carotid body. Efforts to identify the mechanisms regulating TH gene expression in O2-sensitive cells during hypoxia have been hampered by the lack of an appropriate model cell culture system. Here we report that TH gene expression in the rat pheochromocytoma cell line (PC12) is regulated during hypoxia in a manner similar to that measured in carotid body type I cells. PC12 cells might therefore be useful as an experimental model for identifying the molecular mechanisms that regulate TH gene expression during hypoxia. Nuclear runoff assays revealed that transcription of the wild type TH gene was enhanced during exposures to hypoxia lasting 12 h. Chloramphenicol acetyltransferase assays with constructs that contained different fragments of TH promoter revealed that the regulatory sequences that mediate the hypoxia-induced increase in transcription are located between bases -272 and +27 of the TH gene. Findings from experiments in which transcription was inhibited either with actinomycin D or 5,6-dichloro-1-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole, as well as pulse-chase experiments using 4-thiouridine showed that the half-life of TH mRNA was substantially increased during hypoxia. Thus, in the present paper we show that TH gene expression in PC12 cells during hypoxia is regulated by increases in both the rate of TH gene transcription and TH mRNA stability.
The generalized finite element method for Helmholtz equation. Part II: Effect of choice of handbook functions, error due to absorbing boundary conditions and its assessment

Abstract In Part I [T. Strouboulis, I. Babuska, R. Hidajat, The generalized finite element method for Helmholtz equation: theory, computation, and open problems, Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Engrg. 195 (2006) 4711–4731] we introduced the q-version of the generalized finite element method (GFEM) for the Helmholtz equation and we addressed its: (a) pollution error due to the wave number; (b) exponential q-convergence; (c) robustness to perturbations of the mesh, the roundoff and numerical quadrature errors; and (d) a-posteriori error estimation. Here we continue the development of the GFEM for Helmholtz and we address the effects of: (a) alternative handbook functions and mesh types; (b) the error due to the artificial truncation boundary conditions and its assessment. The conclusions are: (1) the employment of plane-wave, wave-band, and Vekua handbook functions lead to equivalent results; and (2) for high q, the most significant component of error may be the one due to the artificial truncation boundary conditions. A rather straightforward approach for assessing this error is proposed.
The Relationship of MSS and TM Digital Data with Suspended Sediments, Chlorophyll, and Temperature in Moon Lake, Mississippi

A comparison of six concurrent Landsat MSS and TM scenes was made to determine the relationship of Landsat digital data with suspended sediments, chlorophyll, and temperature in the surface water of an agricultural lake. There were no significant differences in best correlations between MSS or TM data with surface suspended sediments. Thus, the advantage of using MSS is the ability to monitor large areas with significantly less data. TM data can be efficiently used to monitor smaller lakes and reservoirs. TM Band 1 reflectance was the only Landsat data that accounted for at least 50% of the variability in the chlorophyll data. This would not be adequate for a monitoring program for chlorophyll in sediment dominated lakes, such as Moon Lake. TM thermal data were highly correlated with surface water temperature. TM measured surface water temperatures could be useful in determining water balance in small agricultural reservoirs. A monitoring program based on Landsat MSS and TM scanners can provide data on suspended sediments that would allow the location of reservoirs with significant suspended sediment and allow better conservation assessment and planning.
Territoriality, social justice and gendered revolutions in the speeches of Malcolm X

Geographers have, in recent years, attempted to develop an anti-racist research and teaching agenda. Critical to this endeavour has been an engagement directly with the theories and philosophies of key activists and scholars, such as W. E. B. DuBois and Richard Wright. Contributing to this effort, I provide a study of Malcolm X. As an activist and outspoken member of the African American Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s and 1960s, Malcolm X re-articulated Black radical thought in significant ways. In particular, Malcolm X placed a territorial dimension at the heart of the Civil Rights Movement and in so doing re-conceptualized the theoretical and practical linkages between the African American movement and other ‘Third World’ movements. The immediate purpose of this paper therefore is to delineate the territorial dimensions of the revolutionary thought of Malcolm X. Heuristically, this paper is situated within four broad areas of inquiry: revolutions and social movements; the thinking of space; anti-racist geographies; and the imbrication of gender and revolutionary thought. More broadly, however, this paper reiterates the call for a more sustained engagement by geographers on the theories and philosophies of Black radical intellectuals.
Toward rigorous but ert models of man.

As professional psychologists and teachers of mental-health workers, we have been searching for many years for a satisfactory model of man. We have been seeking a conception of an individual that would be powerful and useful in understanding him. How does his consciousness relate to his behavior? How do feeling, thought, and action interact with environment for a particular person? If we could teach effective models to human services specialists and to parents, educators, and even to children, then perhaps their insights and their personal interactions would be enhanced. Certainly we have considered the ideas of Freud, Erikson, Jung, Rogers, Perls, May, Berne, Gordon Allport, Frankl, B. F. Skinner, Raymond Cattell, and many others, yet we have found them wanting. Models from formal reli gion, scientific psychology, clinical psychiatry, and other disciplines have been valuable, sometimes inspiring, and yet, as we shall show here, in some respects insufficient.
Distinct Functional and Pharmacological Properties of Triheteromeric GluN1/GluN2A/GluN2B NMDA Receptors

NMDA receptors are tetrameric ligand-gated ion channels comprised of GluN1, GluN2, and GluN3 subunits. Two different GluN2 subunits have been identified in most NMDA receptor-expressing cells, and the majority of native receptors are triheteromers containing two GluN1 and two different GluN2. In contrast to diheteromeric NMDA receptors, little is known about the function of triheteromers. We developed a method to provide selective cell-surface expression of recombinant GluN1/GluN2A/GluN2B triheteromers and compared properties of these receptors with those of GluN1/GluN2A and GluN1/GluN2B diheteromers. We show that glutamate deactivation of triheteromers is distinct from those of GluN1/GluN2A and GluN1/GluN2B and reveal modulation of triheteromers by subunit-selective antagonists ifenprodil, CP-101,606, TCN-201, and extracellular Zn(2+). Furthermore, kinetic measurements suggest variation in the ifenprodil binding site of triheteromers compared to GluN1/GluN2B diheteromers. This work provides insight into the distinct properties of GluN1/GluN2A/GluN2B triheteromers, which are presumably the most abundant NMDA receptors in the adult forebrain.
Evaluation of magnetic alginate beads as a solid support for positive selection of CD34+ cells.

Paramagnetic alginate beads with a 10–100 μm size range have been developed. These beads, when activated with chloroacetic anhydride and covalently coupled to avidin (30 μg/mg beads), were able to bind biotinylated goat anti-mouse (B-GAM) antibody (Ab). The beads with immobilized antibody were then used as a model system for the capture and non-enzymatic release of CD34+ (KG1a) cells. A maximum of 82% KG1a (average = 65 ± 16.1%) cell capture, and 57% (average = 51 ± 5.9%) cell release has been attained using this model system. Optimization of the system in terms of further bead size reduction, and in terms of developing a system to recover released cells with high purity, will make an excellent system for cell capture and nonenzymatic release. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Monthly Climatologies of Oceanic Friction Velocity Cubed

Abstract Different measures of wind influence the ocean in different ways. In particular, the time-averaged mixed layer turbulent energy production rate is proportional to 〈u3*〉, where u* is the “oceanic friction velocity” that is based on wind stress. Estimating 〈u3*〉 from monthly averages of wind stress or wind speed may introduce large biases due to the day-to-day variability of the direction and magnitude of the wind. The authors create monthly climatologies of 〈u3*〉 from daily wind stress measurements obtained from the Goddard Satellite-based Surface Turbulent Fluxes version 2 (GSSTF2; based on satellite microwave measurements), the Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT; based on satellite scatterometry measurements), and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis wind. The differences among zonal averages of these climatologies and of a similar climatology based on the da Silva version of the Comprehensive Ocean–Atmosphere Data Set (COADS) have a complex dependence on latitude. Thes...
Corneal ablation patterns to correct for spherical aberration in photorefractive keratectomy.

Abstract Purpose To determine the spherical aberration introduced by photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and customize ablation patterns to compensate for this aberration and improve post-PRK visual performance. Setting Department of Ophthalmology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA. Methods Presurgical and postsurgical corneal topography of 16 patients who had PRK with the Summit OmniMed laser were obtained. The data were applied to a schematic eye model, and exact ray tracing was used to determine the introduction of spherical aberration from the procedure. Optimization routines were used to determine the ideal ablation pattern. Results The magnitude of the spherical aberration introduced into the eyes after PRK increased with the level of attempted correction. The theoretical ideal ablation pattern requires additional flattening of the ablation periphery to avoid the introduction of spherical aberration. Conclusions Current PRK ablations introduce spherical aberration into the eye. Modifying the existing ablation algorithms to compensate for spherical aberration may boost postoperative visual performance.
Reducing test cost of integrated, heterogeneous systems using pass-fail test data analysis

Stringent quality requirements for integrated, heterogeneous systems have led designers and test engineers to mandate large sets of tests to be applied to these systems, which, in turn, have resulted in increased test cost. However, many of these tests are unnecessary (i.e., redundant), since their outcomes can be reliably predicted using results from other applied tests. A methodology for identifying the redundant tests of an integrated, heterogeneous system that has only binary pass-fail test data is described. This methodology uses decision trees, Boolean minimization, and satisfiability as core components. Feasibility is empirically demonstrated using test data from two commercially fabricated systems, namely, a high-speed serializer/deserializer (HSS) and a phase-locked loop (PLL). Our analysis of test data from > 38,000 HSS and > 22,000 PLL circuits show that 14 out of 40 HSS tests and 11 out of 36 PLL tests are redundant.
A comparison of the social status and social behavior of Aggressive and Aggressive/Withdrawn boys

The purpose of this study was to clarify contradictory findings concerning the social status of aggressive youngsters. This was undertaken by dividing kindergarten boys into either Aggressive [A] or Aggressive/Withdrawn [A/W] groups, as proposed by Ledingham [1981]. Both groups were found to be high on peer-nominated rejection, but the A group was also high on peer-nominated popularity while the A/W group was low. Similarly, both groups were observed to be high in negative peer interactions, but the A group was also high in positive interactions. It was noted that valuable information regarding the social status and social behavior of aggressive youngsters would be lost if such subgrouping is not undertaken. The relationship between Ledingham's categorizations and others reported in the literature was discussed.
PRODUCTION OF K/anti K/ IN AN ELECTRON-POSITRON COLLIDING BEAM

Because the width (3 MeV) of the $\ensuremath{\varphi}$ resonance is narrow and its mass (1020 MeV) is just above the threshold for $K\overline{K}$ production, the cross section for the process ${e}^{+}+{e}^{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}K+\overline{K}$ is greatly enhanced at a center-of-mass energy near the mass of the $\ensuremath{\varphi}$. At this resonant energy we estimate $\ensuremath{\sigma}({e}^{+}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{K}^{+}{K}^{\ensuremath{-}})=\ensuremath{\sigma}({e}^{+}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{K}^{0}{\overline{K}}^{\ensuremath{-}0})=6.9\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}30}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$ which is two orders of magnitude larger than the ${e}^{+}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ elastic, muon pair, and pion pair cross sections. Because of this dominant cross section, the small width of $\ensuremath{\varphi}$, and the fact that the $\ensuremath{\varphi}$ mass is well below the threshold for producing an extra pion, we suggest the possibility of producing an intense beam of ${{K}_{2}}^{0}$ of well-defined, known momentum. New experiments might become feasible; in particular, determination of the branching ratio of the charged to the neutral two-pion decay mode, and accurate measurement of spectra and polarization in leptonic decay, which provide means of detecting $\mathrm{CP}$-violating effects.
Cellular Microfabrication: Observing Intercellular Interactions Using Lithographically-Defined DNA Capture Sequences

Previous reports have shown that synthetic DNA strands can be attached to the plasma membrane of living cells to equip them with artificial adhesion “receptors” that bind to complementary strands extending from material surfaces. This approach is compatible with a wide range of cell types, offers excellent capture efficiency, and can potentially be used to create complex multicellular arrangements through the use of multiple capture sequences. In this work, we apply an aluminum “lift off” lithography method to allow the efficient generation of complex patterns comprising different DNA sequences. The resulting surfaces are then demonstrated to be able to capture up to three distinct types of living cells in specific locations. The utility of this approach is demonstrated through the observation of patterned cells as they communicate by diffusion-based paracrine signaling. It is anticipated that the ability of this technique to create virtually any type of 2D heterogeneous cell pattern should prove highly u...
Temporal and spatial variability of radium in the coastal ocean and its impact on computation of nearshore cross-shelf mixing rates

Abstract Constraining the exchange of water from the shoreline to the mid-shelf is necessary for the development of accurate and predictive models of nearshore circulation. Ra isotopes, which emanate from sediments and have a variety of half-lives, may be useful in measuring cross-shelf mixing rates. The distributions of Ra isotopes were measured in transects extending perpendicular from the shoreline at Sunset Beach and Huntington Beach, CA. The average inventory at Sunset Beach was four times greater than at Huntington Beach. Building on previous research on Ra inputs and circulation in San Pedro Bay, a two-dimensional model for surface water Ra was developed to identify the importance of onshore flow and cross-shelf mixing near Huntington Beach. For the mean summertime conditions, the eddy diffusivity ( K h ) was 1.4±0.4 m 2 s −1 , with 8% of the water from Sunset Beach moving down the coast. The remaining water must be low-Ra water that has moved onshore. At time scales greater than a week, the short-lived Ra inventory at Huntington Beach varied by 50%, which reflects changes in the fractions of water moving down-coast and/or in the longshore advection rate. The shoreline Ra concentration varied on time scales of hours, which may be generated by tidal changes in the Ra input at the shoreline and short-period fluctuations in the mixing rate. The low K h observed in this study in comparison to higher values measured further offshore is evidence that K h increases with distance offshore. When scale-dependent mixing beyond 455 m offshore is incorporated into the model, the results are consistent with the observed data for 223 Ra, 224 Ra, and 228 Ra. Using the model, the 228 Ra input flux to the summertime mixed layer was between 3.4×10 6 and 4.0×10 6 atoms s −1 (m shoreline) −1 .
Cyclophilin A: An auxiliary but not necessary cofactor for TRIM5α restriction of HIV-1

Cyclophilin A (Cyp A) binds the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) capsid (CA) protein and contributes to the early events in virus replication in some cells. The retroviral restriction factor TRIM5α can inhibit the early, post-entry phase of infection by associating with the incoming viral capsid. Cyp A has been proposed to prevent restriction factor binding in human cells, thus enhancing HIV-1 infectivity, and to potentiate restriction of HIV-1 in monkey cells. Here we show that the positive effects of Cyp A–CA binding on HIV-1 infectivity do not depend on human TRIM5α. Disruption of Cyp A binding to CA partially relieved the block to HIV-1 infection imposed by several TRIM5α variants, but Cyp A–CA binding was not absolutely required for TRIM5α antiviral activity. Inhibition of Cyp A function by cyclosporine significantly decreased the efficiency of TRIM5α-mediated restriction only when the restricted virus capsid interacted with Cyp A.
Nitric oxide mediates the sustained opening of NMDA receptor-gated ionic channels which follows transient excitotoxic exposure in hippocampal slices

In the rat hippocampal slice, a brief exposure to glutamate and glycine increased MK-801 binding to 246% of controls. Increased binding persisted 90 min after removal of those amino acids from the incubation medium. Posttreatment with the competitive substrate inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, N'°-nitro-L-arginine or with hemoglobin, which binds NO extracellularly, inhibited this postexcitotoxic increase in MK-801 binding. L-Arginine reversed this inhibitory effect but D-arginine did not. The combination of tetrodotoxin and low Ca 2+, which blocks transmitter release prevented the poststimulation increase in MK-801 binding, suggesting a presynaptic component. These findings suggest that the sustained opening of NMDA receptor-gated ionic channels seen after transient glutamate/glycine stimulation is mediated by NO.
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α and retinoid X receptor agonists inhibit inflammatory responses of astrocytes

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPAR-alpha) plays a key role in lipid metabolism and inflammation. Recently, we demonstrated that administration of the PPAR-alpha agonists gemfibrozil and fenofibrate, inhibit the clinical signs of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS). In the present study, we investigated the effects of PPAR-alpha agonists on primary mouse astrocytes, a cell type implicated in the pathology of MS and EAE. Our studies demonstrated that the PPAR-alpha agonists fenofibrate, and WY 14643 inhibited NO production by LPS-stimulated astrocytes in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, PPAR-alpha agonists inhibited the secretion of the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, and IL-6 by LPS-stimulated astrocytes. Fenofibrate inhibited NF-kappaB DNA binding activity, suggesting a mechanism by which PPAR-alpha agonists may regulate the expression of genes encoding these pro-inflammatory molecules. Retinoid X receptors (RXRs) physically interact with PPAR-alpha receptors, and the resulting heterodimers regulate the expression of PPAR-responsive genes. Interestingly, a combination of 9-cis RA and the PPAR-alpha agonists fenofibrate or gemfibrozil cooperatively inhibited NO, TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6, and MCP-1 production by these cells. Collectively, these results raise the possibility that PPAR-alpha and RXR agonists might be effective in the treatment of MS, where activated astrocytes are believed to contribute to disease pathology.
Critical evaluation of the thermochemical properties of lead sulfates

The experimental data of Esdaile[1] for eight univariant equilibria in the system Pb-S-O, overlooked by most prior investigators, are used to derive an internally consistent set of ther-mochemical values for the four sulfates of lead: PbSO4, PbOPbSO4, (PbO)2PbSO4, and (PbO)4PbSO4. The resulting thermochemical values are tested against recent measurements of bivariant equilibria among the lead sulfates.
Ab initioSCF study of guanidine and substituted guanidines

Proton affinities, geometries with optimized parameters, and net atomic charges are reported for guanidine-, methyl-, amino-, and fluoro-substituted guanidines. The results are obtained using the ab initioSCF method as implemented by the GAUSSIAN-70 computer program with a 6–31G basis set. Basicity is discussed in terms of electron distribution and intramolecular attraction forces.
Exchange corrections and deuteron photodisintegration with polarized gamma rays

Abstract The effect of the exchange corrections to the charge and current density operators on the cross section, polarization, and the asymmetry function for the d(γ, n)p reaction is studied for a number of nucleon—nucleon potentials. It is pointed out that, at the energies considered here, the contribution of the exchange corrections to the charge operator is comparable to that of the corrections to the current operator for the d(γ, n)p reaction calculations and should be included in future calculations.
Localization and distribution of Microccus lysodeikticus membrane ATPase determined by ferritin labeling

Antiserum to Ca2+-activated ATP phosphohydrolase (EC 3.6.1.3) isolated and purified from membranes of Micrococcus lysodeikicus was prepared in rabbits and guinea pigs. The γ-globulin fractions of these antisera reacted with and inhibited ATPase activity in isolated membranes but failed to absorb to intact protoplasts or purified mesosome fractions. ATPase activity was not detectable in the purified mesosomal preparations and trypsin treatment and sonication failed to release any activity. Ferritin conjugated to the γ-globulin fractions of the antiserum reacted with the ATPase particles on the membrane as visualized in negatively stained preparations examined in the electron microscope. Labeled membranes showed a distribution of ferritin very similar to the patterns observed for ATPase particles on untreated membranes. No significant labeling occurred when the ferritin conjugate was reacted with intact protoplasts or mesosome fractions. Thin sections of ferritin-labeled membranes established the asymmetric disposition of the ATPase, with the conjugate visible on only one side of the membrane. The results indicate that the ATPase protein occurs on the inner face of the membrane. All labeling experiments were verified immunologically. When ferritin-labeled membranes were subjected to the selective release procedure used in releasing the ATPase-like particles from the membranes, a complex of ferritin-conjugate associated with the ATPase particles was released. The selective release of ferritin-antibody-enzyme complexes from the membrane opens up a new way of studying the molecular architecture of cell membranes.
Advanced boundary element analysis of two- and three-dimensional problems of elasto-plasticity

An advanced formulation of the boundary element method has been developed for inelastic analysis based on an initial stress approach. The iterative solution algorithm makes use of an accelerated initial stress approach in which the past history of initial stresses are used to obtain an initial estimate for the current increment. In the present analysis the geometry and functions are represented by higher order (quadratic) shape functions to model complex geometries and rapid functional variations accurately. The methods of numerical integration of the kernels, particularly the singular type, are substantially improved by devising suitable automatic sub-segmentation routines that incorporate the recent developments in mapping procedures. The formulations have been implemented for two-dimensional plane stress, plane strain and three-dimensional elasto-plasticity problems.
Abstract ED02-02: How we measure and track health disparities in the Healthy People 2010 Final Review

The Healthy People 2010 Final Review presents a quantitative end-of-decade assessment of progress in achieving the Healthy People 2010 objectives and goals over the course of the decade. It provides the most recent tracking data available on or before March 1, 2011, for the 970 objectives in each of the 28 Healthy People 2010 Focus Areas. We will describe the procedures used to measure disparities among population subgroups in connection with the second goal of Healthy People 2010, which is to “eliminate health disparities.” We will discuss methodological issues that arise in the selection of the best group rate, as well as in the definition of a summary (or average) index of disparities. Those considerations impact how changes in disparities over time are ascertained. Citation Information: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2011;20(10 Suppl):ED02-02.
Automatic Production of Controller Specifications from Control and Timing Behavioral Descriptions

This paper presents a method for the generation of controller specifications from high-level behavioral descriptions in control and timing graph form. Input descriptions may contain multiple timing constraints, asynchronous and synchronous inputs, data dependent internal loops, and parallel and conditional branches. The timing graph model is transformed automatically to a state table specification of a synchronous finite state machine. The specification method is effective not only for independent data processors, but also for processors constrained by interface requirements and performing I/O protocol translation. The method has been programmed and tested on selected examples. Results from one example are given along with a comparison with results on the same example from another system.
Abstract 451: HIF-1 alpha silencing in MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells alters choline phospholipid metabolism

Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) over-expression has been associated with an increased patient mortality rate in many cancer types including breast cancer. Suppression of HIF-1 gene expression has been shown to inhibit tumor growth. Here we have studied the effect of HIF-1 silencing on the metabolism of MDA-MB-231 cells using a magnetic resonance (MR)- compatible cell perfusion assay. Previous studies have identified choline kinase (Chk), the enzyme that converts choline to phosphocholine (PC), and the resulting increase of PC and total choline (tCho) as markers of an aggressive phenotype. We found that HIF-1 silencing resulted in significantly reduced Chk expression together with reduced tCho and PC, compared to parental cells. The sequence for shRNA against HIF-1α was cloned into a lentivirus vector with a green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter construct (pRRL-pGK-GFP). Viral supernatant preparation and transduction of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells was performed following standard protocol. Transduced cells were validated for HIF-1α knock-down by western blots and by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (q RT-PCR). Cell perfusion studies were performed using an MR-compatible perfusion assay to determine intracellular levels of metabolites using 1H and 31P MR spectroscopy (MRS). Experiments were performed in triplicates. The Mann Whitney-U test was used to determine statistical significance (p <0.05). HIF-1α protein expression increased following treatment with 200μM of the hypoxia mimetic CoCl2 in parental MDA-MB-231 cells but not in cells transduced with HIF-1α shRNA. Reduced expression of Chk in HIF-1α silenced cells was observed following CoCl2 treatment, while its expression was induced in parental cells. Quantitative data from 1H and 31P MRS showed significantly reduced levels of tCho (p <0.05) and PC (p < 0.01) in HIF-1α silenced cells compared to parental MDA-MB-231 cells, confirming that silencing of HIF-1α reduced levels of choline containing metabolites by reducing Chk expression. We previously observed that Chk is up regulated under hypoxia and have established a HIF-1 binding site on the Chk promoter. The reduction of choline metabolites in HIF-1α silenced cells further confirms the role of HIF-1α in the regulation of Chk. The reduction of Chk, total choline and PC levels in HIF-1α silenced cells are also typical of a less aggressive metabolic phenotype. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 451.
Autoradiographic measurements of protein synthesis in hippocampal slices from rats and guinea pigs.

Protein synthesis is an extremely important cell function and there is now good evidence that changes in synthesis play important roles both in neuronal cell damage from ischemic insults and in neural plasticity though the mechanisms of these effects are not at all clear. The brain slice, and particularly the hippocampal slice, is an excellent preparation for studying these effects although, as with all studies on slices, caution must be exercised in that regulation in the slice may be different from regulation in vivo. Studies on neural tissue need to take into account the heterogeneity of neural tissue as well as the very different compartments within neurons. Autoradiography at both the light and electron microscope levels is a very powerful method for doing this. Successful autoradiography depends on many factors. These include correct choice of precursor amino acid, mechanisms for estimating changes in the specific activity of the precursor amino acid pool, and reliable methods for quantitation of the autoradiographs. At a more technical level these factors include attention to detail in processing tissue sections so as to avoid light contamination during exposure and developing and, also, appropriate choices of the various parameters such as exposure time and section thickness. The power of autoradiography is illustrated here by its ability to discern effects of ischemia and of plasticity-related neural input on distinct cell types and also in distinct compartments of neurons. Ischemia inhibits protein synthesis in principal neurons but activates synthesis in other cell types of the brain slice. Plasticity-related neural input immediately enhances protein synthesis in dendrites but does not affect cell bodies.
Advances in Rare Earths Separation and Purification

The conventional method of separation of rare earths by multistage liquid-liquid extraction is still the best processing technology for their separation and purification. One of the most promising developments in the last decade that could have an impact on the rare earths separation technology is the synthesis of mucrocyclic ligands that have a high degree of selectivity in their complexation. Trivalent lanthanides have recently been transported across liquid membranes containing macrocycic ligands. The use of facilitated liquid membranes reactors in the concentration of very dilute rare eaith streams can be very effective in terms of recovery as well as environmental considerations. The electroreduction of E3+ to E2+ and the electroodixation of Ce3+ to Ce4+ are potential replacements for chemical reaction valence change methods. The electrolytic method eliminates the introduction of other chemical reagents that need to be treated downstream to satisfy environmental codes. Improvements in the design and ...
Pervanadate inhibits mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase-1 in a p38MAPK-dependent manner

Abstract In baboon smooth muscle cells (SMCs), pervanadate has a biphasic dose-dependent effect on MEK-1 activity. After a 30 min incubation period, low concentrations (1–10 μM) activate, while higher doses (30–100 μM) fail to stimulate MEK-1. One possibility is that higher doses of pervanadate induce an additional signaling pathway that inhibits MEK-1. Three lines of investigations provide support for the conclusion that this inhibitory effect is mediated by p38MAPK. First, pervanadate induces p38MAPK activity at concentrations that fail to activate MEK-1. Second, pervanadate-stimulated p38MAPK activity is maximal after a 10 min incubation, at a time, when MEK-1 activity disappears. Third, addition of the specific p38MAPK inhibitor SB203580 preserves MEK-1 activation by 100 μM pervanadate. The inhibitory effect of p38MAPK is probably not due to a phosphorylation of MEK-1 although we can not rule out that other p38MAPK isoforms such as SAPK3 and SAPK4 may be involved, and may directly phosphorylate and inhibit MEK-1.
New Electrochemical Cell Designs and Test Methods for Corrosion Testing of the Components in Integrated Circuit Liquid Cooling Systems

This paper introduces new electrochemical cells and testing methods that are ideal for characterizing corrosion risk assessment of the components used for liquid cooling system with high surface to liquid volume ratio. Two cell configurations are described in this paper and they use three electrode and two electrode cells. These cells have the identical structure except for the number of electrodes. These cells are made by sandwiching the working electrode plate (sample) and the counter electrode plate (graphite) with a spacer (gasket), and by filling the cavity with the liquid under interest. In case of the three-electrode cell, the reference electrode is inserted through the hole in the graphite. The three-electrode cell is ideal for the quantitative characterization of the corrosion rate by utilizing conventional electrochemical techniques such as a Tafel method. The use of the two-electrode cell is similar to the case of the galvanic corrosion characterization as it measures the cell current that flows between the dissimilar metals that are in contact with the liquid. When coupled with computer assisted data acquisition, the two-electrode cell configuration allows the characterization of long-term corrosion reliability of a component with a variation in a large number of test variables. It is particularly useful in finding corrosion inhibitors.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Metalloporphyrin probes for antimalarial drug action.

Metal-substituted protoporphyrin IXs (Co(III)PPIX (1), Cr(III)PPIX (2), Mn(III)PPIX (3), Cu(II)PPIX (4), Mg(II)PPIX (5), Zn(II)PPIX (6) and Sn(IV)PPIX (7)), phthalocyanine tetrasulfonates (PcS (8) and Ni(II)PcS (9)), and anionic and cationic porphyrins (meso-tetra(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphine (TPPS4, 10), meso-tetra(4-carboxyphenyl)porphine (TPPC4, 11), tetrakis(4-N-trimethylaminophenyl)porphine (TMAP, 12) and meso-tetra(N-methyl-4-pyridyl)porphine (TMPyP4, 13)) have been used as probes to compare two different assays for the inhibition of β-hematin formation. The results demonstrate that the efficacy of these probes in either the β-hematin inhibition assay (9, 7, 6, 5>4>11, 3>10, 8>2, 1; 12 and 13 did not inhibit.) or the bionucleating template assay (8>1>11>9, 2>4>3>7>10>5>6; 12 and 13 did not inhibit.) differ significantly. These differences are examined in light of possible interactions between the inhibitor probes, heme, β-hematin and the bionucleating template. This detailed analysis highlights the fact that while dominant modes of interactions may be occasionally identified, the precise mechanism of inhibition undoubtedly consists of the interplay between multiple interactions.
Pregnancy Rates Per Artificial Insemination for Cows and Heifers Inseminated at a Synchronized Ovulation or Synchronized Estrus

Two synchronization protocols were tested for lactating dairy cows and heifers. Nulliparous dairy heifers (13 to 23 mo; n = 155) and primiparous and multiparous dairy cows (60 to 289 d postpartum; n = 310) were assigned randomly to two treatments. Controls received 25 mg of PGF2a and were artificially inseminated according to the a.m.‐p.m. rule following detected estrus. All controls that were not detected in estrus were injected with 25 mg of PGF2a at 14-d intervals until artificial insemination (AI) at a detected estrus or until timed AI at 72 to 80 h after a third sequential injection of PGF2a. Treated cows and heifers received a protocol that used GnRH and PGF2a to synchronize ovulation (Ovsynch). Cows and heifers that were treated with Ovsynch were injected i.m. with 100 mg of GnRH at a random stage of the estrous cycle. Seven days later, cows and heifers in this group received 25 mg of PGF 2a, followed by a second injection of 100 mg of GnRH 30 to 36 h later. Subsequently, the treated cows and heifers received AI 16 to 20 h after the second injection of GnRH. Pregnancy rates per AI were similar (38.9% vs. 37.8%) for control cows and cows treated with the Ovsynch protocol, respectively. However, pregnancy rate per AI was greater for control heifers (74.4%) than for heifers treated with Ovsynch (35.1%). Evaluation of serum progesterone concentrations at each hormonal injection indicated that the first injection of GnRH synchronized luteal function of lactating dairy cows but not of heifers. In summary, one fixedtime AI at a synchronized ovulation provided similar pregnancy rates per AI as did AI following the a.m.‐ p.m. rule after estrus had been induced by PGF2a in lactating cows, but the fixed-time AI was not effective for heifers because of the lack of synchronization.
Pregnancy Induces an Increase in Angiotensin II Type-1 Receptor Expression in Uterine But Not Systemic Artery Endothelium1

During pregnancy, the uterine artery demonstrates refractoriness to vasoconstriction by infused angiotensin II (AII). AII increases prostacyclin (PGI2) production by uterine artery endothelium from pregnant ewes, and this response is mediated via the AT1 receptor (AT1-R). This response is also unique to pregnancy because AII does not stimulate PGI2 production by uterine artery endothelium from nonpregnant ewes. We therefore hypothesize that the increase in uterine artery PGI2 production in response to AII in pregnancy is associated in part with a concomitant increase in AT1-R expression in uterine artery endothelium. Endothelium-derived protein was directly removed from the lumenal surface of freshly isolated uterine and systemic (omental) arteries from nonpregnant and pregnant ewes. AT1-R expression was then measured in both the endothelium-derived fraction and endothelium-denuded vascular smooth muscle (VSM) fraction by Western analysis. AT1-R was detected as 54- and 65-kDa proteins in all samples, as w...