cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Inhibition by thiocyanate of muscarinic-induced cytosolic acidification and Ca2+ entry in rat sublingual acini

Thiocyanate (SCN−) plays a critical part in an oral antimicrobial system by acting as a substrate for peroxidases. Salivary glands concentrate SCN− from blood up to 5 mM in saliva; however, the influence of SCN− on salivary acinar-cell function is unknown. The present study examined the effects of SCN− on the regulation of cytosolic pH (pHi) and free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in rat sublingual mucous acini using the pH- and Ca2+-sensitive fluorescent indicators, 2′,7′-bis-(2-carboxyethyl)-5,6-carboxyfluorescein and fura-2, respectively. SCN− induced a concentration-dependent inhibition of the carbachol-stimulated cytosolic acidification (K12, approx. 1.4mM SCN−). Cytosolic pH recovery from an acid load was not changed by substitution of Cl− by SCN−, suggesting that Na+/H+ exchange activity was not affected by SCN−. SCN− did not alter the initial carbachol-stimulated increase in [Ca2+]i; however, the sustained [Ca2+]i increase was inhibited by >65% (K12, approx. 1.0 mM SCN−). Furthermore, SCN− prevented the carbachol-stimulated Mn2+ influx, indicating that it inhibits the divalent-cation entry pathway. Consistent with decreased Ca2+ mobilization being involved in the blockade of the agonist-induced acidification by SCN−, only total replacement of Cl− with SCN− significantly inhibited the acidification induced by the Ca2+ ionophore ionomycin. The permeability to SCN− through the Ca2+-dependent Cl− channels was 5.2-fold higher than the permeability to Cl−. These results suggest that inhibition of the agonist-induced cytosolic acidification by high-concentration SCN− may be mediated by both competitive inhibition of HCO3− efflux and by blockade of Ca2+ influx.
Brief Report: Blood Contamination of Medical Records

The epidemic of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has provided a major impetus to strengthen infection control practices in health care and laboratory settings. The widespread nature of blood contamination in the hospital environment, however, is often underappreciated. In this study, we evaluated the frequency and origin of blood contamination of medical records.
Wearable flexible micro electrode for adult zebrafish long term ecgmonitoring

During the last decade, close resemblance between the zebrafish heart and human heart physiology has been discovered [1] andzebrafish (Danio rerio) has become an emerging animal model for studying side effects developmental drugs may impose on the heart [2][3]. More interestingly, contrary to human heart the zebrafish heart has a remarkable ability to “regenerate” after severe injury [4], making it also a popular model for studies of regenerative medicine. On the other hand, Electrocardiogram (ECG) is a widely used tool to monitor the physiological changes of the zebrafish heart. However, due to its in-water habitat, a long term ECG monitoring solution, although very much needed, was not present. All published adult zebrafish ECG recorded to this date have been done acutely with anesthetized fish. This work presents, for the first time a wearable flexible parylene (PA) micro-electrode that monitors the Adult Zebrafish ECG long term. We show here the design, fabrication and testing of the flexible electrode along with a micro-molded ultra-soft, density adjusted silicone jacket, allowing ECG recording to be carried under water, in the fish's natural habitat with no need for anesthesia.
The expansion of the personal name authority record under Resource Description and Access Current status and quality considerations

Persons are complex, and their representation in library authority records is becoming increasingly sophisticated through the addition of attributes under Resource Description and Access rules. This case study, using a longitudinal approach, examines attributes in authority records from the MERLIN cluster of academic libraries at both six months (i.e. September 2013) and one year (i.e. April 2014), after the official adoption of RDA to assess trends in attribute field usage. After one year of Resource Description and Access cataloging, this study investigates the metadata quality indicator of completeness. Overall, attributes supplied tend to be sparse; 87.58% of authority records had no attributes at all, but the number of records with content had increased over the previous six months. Almost 8% of authority records had at least one attribute after a year; and almost 5% had two or more attributes.
Comparison of Tillage Types and Frequencies for Cotton on Southern Piedmont Soil

Tillage to disrupt root-restricting, consolidated soil zones can improve rooting capacity and crop production, but costs increase with the need for more powerful tractors. Between 1992 and 1996, agronomic and economic consequences of annual or less frequent soil disruption treatments were evaluated for cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) on a Typic Kanhapludult. Two soil-disruptive treatments, fall paratillage (PT) and in-row chisel (IC) at planting (spring), were compared with two shallow-tillage treatments, coulter planting plus weed control with sweeps (ST) and conventional disk tillage (DT). The IC, PT, and ST treatments were applied annually or in Years 3, 4, and 5. Lint yield with annual IC was 15 to 20% greater than with DT each year. In 1994, yields ranged from 0.53 to 0.84 Mg ha -1 with annual IC and were better than with annual ST or PT. In 1995, yields ranged from 0.92 to 1.29 Mg ha -1 , with the top yield associated with current-year IC application. In 1996, no differences in yield were observed among tillages; however, yields of two IC treatments were among the top five. For Years 3, 4, and 5, cotton yields were numerically greater with annual IC than with annual PT and ST. Yields with PT, ST, and DT were not different. Average annual net returns from annual IC were $450, $403, and $287 ha -1 greater than those with annual DT, PT, and ST, respectively. In-row chisel appears to be a more economically viable production practice for heavy Piedmont soils compared with PT, ST, and DT.
Abstract A3: A tumorgraft model of castration-resistant primary prostate cancer

Abstract Androgen receptor (AR) signaling plays a central role in all stages of prostate cancer (PCa). Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is used as adjuvant therapy for high-risk PCa as well as the first-line therapy for metastatic PCa. However, tumor remissions are temporary and patients almost inevitably progress to become castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Most CRPC still expresses AR and depends on AR for growth, therefore, there is an urgent need to understand the regulation of AR expression and to find novel ways of inhibiting this pathway in CRPC. We developed a novel realistic model for primary CRPC by establishing tumorgrafts with thin, precision-cut tissue slices derived from high-grade primary PCa under the renal capsule of immunodeficient mice supplemented with subcutaneous testosterone pellets. One month after the implantation, the testosterones pellets were removed and the mice were castrated. Tumorgrafts from control and castrated mice were harvested one month after castration and fixed in formalin. Immunohistochemistry was performed to examine the expression of genes of interest in the grafts. Tumorgrafts derived from high-grade primary PCa resemble the original tumors in expression of all genes examined. Specifically, they are positive for AR, prostate specific antigen (PSA), cytokeratin 18, and AMCAR, but negative for p63. After castration, cancer cells remained in grafts derived from two of four tumors, whereas cancer cells in grafts derived from the other two tumors were almost completely eliminated, suggesting that some tumors respond to androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) better than the others. In the castration-resistant tumorgrafts (CRTs), PSA expression was diminished in cancer cells, but AR and cytokeratin 18 expression remained, similar to responses of human prostate to ADT. In addition, cancer cells in CRTs were less proliferative than in control grafts as determined by Ki67 staining consistent with the observation that ADT inhibit cell proliferation in human prostate. More importantly, CRTs expressed AR target genes that have been reported to be upregulated under androgen ablation in other experimental models. For example, the number of cyclin A-expressing cells was significantly higher in CRTs than in control grafts. Our results demonstrated that our novel CRT model has the appropriate characteristics to serve as a useful tool to model primary CRPC. Our results demonstrated that our novel CRT model has the appropriate characteristics to serve as a useful tool to model primary CRPC and may be used as a surrogate model for clinical trials to achieve rapid and less expressive screening of therapeutic agents for neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy of PCa. Citation Format: Hongjuan Zhao, Alan Thong, Rosie Nolley, Stephen Reese, Jennifer Santos, Donna Peehl. A tumorgraft model of castrationresistant primary prostate cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Advances in Prostate Cancer Research; 2012 Feb 6-9; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(4 Suppl):Abstract nr A3.
The Major Fiction of William Gilmore Simms: Cultural Traditions and Literary Form

William Gilmore Simms (1806-1870) was the preeminent southern man of letters in the antebellum period, a prolific, talented writer in many genres and an eloquent intellectual spokesman of r his region. During his long career, he wrote plays, poetry, literary criticism, biography and history; but he is best remembered for his numerous novels and tales. Many Ann Wimsatt provides the first significant full-length evaluation of Simms's achievement in his long fiction, selected poetry, essays, and short fiction. Wimsatt's chief emphasis is on the thirty-odd novels that Simms published from the mid-1830s until after the Civil War. In bringing his impressive body of work to life, she makes use of biographical and historical information and also of twentieth-century literary theories of the romance, Simm's principal genre. Through analyses of such seminal works as Guy Rivers, The Yemassee, The Cassique of Kiawah, and Woodcraft, Wimsatt illuminates Simm's contributions to the romance tradition, contributions misunderstood by previous critics, and suggests how to view his novels within the light of recent literary criticism. She also demonstrates how Simms used the historical conditions of southern culture as well as events of his own life to flesh out literary patterns, and she analyses his use of low-country, frontier and mountain settings. Although critics praised Simms early in his career as ""the first American novelist of the day,"" the panic of 1837 and the changes in the book market that it helped foster severely damaged his prospects for wealth and fame. The financial recession, Wimsatt finds, together with shifts in literary taste, contributed to the decline of Simms's reputation. Simms attempted to adjust to the changing climate for fiction by incorporating two modes of nineteenth-century realism, the satiric portrayal of southern manners and southern backwoods humor, into the framework of his long romances; but his accomplishments in these areas have been undervalued or misunderstood by critics since is time. Wimsatt's book is the first to survey Simms's fiction and much of his other writing against the background of his life and literary career and the first to make extensive use of his immense correspondence. It is an important study of a neglected author who once served as the leafing symbol of literary activity in the South. It fills what has heretofore been a serious gap in southern literary studies.
Elements of Successful Mentoring of a Female School Leader

This case study examines the successful mentoring relationship between an early-career principal and her mentor as they participated in an Entry Year Program for early-career school administrators as a component of an Administrative Leadership Academy (ALA). Using a feminist poststructuralist framework, the findings show that contrary to traditional mentoring paradigms, which hold that the exchange of information is passed from the mentor to the protege, the success of this mentoring experience was the nonhierarchal and mutual learning interactions afforded the protege and her mentor. Implications of such findings are offered for future entry programs to increase support of more nontraditional leaders moving into the school principalship.
Aseismic inflation of Westdahl volcano, Alaska, revealed by satellite radar interferometry

Westdahl volcano, located at the west end of Unimak Island in the central Aleutian volcanic arc, Alaska, is a broad shield that produced moderate-sized eruptions in 1964, 1978–79, and 1991–92. Satellite radar interferometry detected about 17 cm of volcano-wide inflation from September 1993 to October 1998. Multiple independent interferograms reveal that the deformation rate has not been steady; more inflation occurred from 1993 to 1995 than from 1995 to 1998. Numerical modeling indicates that a source located about 9 km beneath the center of the volcano inflated by about 0.05 km³ from 1993 to 1998. On the basis of the timing and volume of recent eruptions at Westdahl and the fact that it has been inflating for more than 5 years, the next eruption can be expected within the next several years.
Temperature fields in sliding contact by a hybrid laser specklestrain analysis technique

Abstract A novel methodology to determine the temperature fields associated with dry sliding contact is reported. In situ laser speckle photography is used to measure deformations which occur on the edge of a rectangular-sectioned pin which is sliding against a counterface disc. A pulsed ruby laser has been employed, and a series of double exposure specklegrams is made to record deformations that occur between laser pulses. Based on these deformation histories, the associated strains are obtained by the use of the Lagrangian description. The strain at any finite element is resolved into three components: elastic, plastic, and thermal. From an accurately tabulated thermal strain-temperature relation, the temperature fields are determined. Temperatures are obtained for typical points at the interface and proximity, not as predictions of maximum possible temperatures or as gradients above an average bulk temperature. These fundamental data trace temperature development histories for wear specimens, and are essential for the development of wear models. By allowing the investigation of elements of about 25 μm (that remain inaccessible through conventional methods), the current technique possesses several advantages with respect to accuracy, accessibility and versatility.
Nonlocal interferometry with high-intensity fields.

Two-photon interferometry can produce violations of Bell's inequality that demonstrate the nonlocal nature of such effects. It is shown here that high-intensity fields containing large numbers of photons can violate Bell's inequality in a similar manner. The macroscopic nature of these fields is evident from the fact that they can produce large bursts of energy in two distant absorbers with nonlocal correlations between the two.
The effect of drugs which alter GABA-ergic function on cerebellar guanosine-3′, 5′-monophosphate content

Abstract The actions of several classes of drugs, thought to be involved with gamma-amino-butyric acid (GABA) mechanisms, have been examined for effects on cerebellar cGMP content. Picrotoxin and TRH increased, while ethanol and diazepam decreased, cerebellar cGMP. Doses of gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and baclofen caused no significant effect at doses that caused behavioral changes. These cGMP actions were contrasted with those induced by the dopaminergic agents, apomorphine and haloperidol, which respectively, raised and lowered cerebellar cGMP. Apomorphine-induced increases in cGMP were blocked by haloperidol, but not by GHB or baclofen given eight min before sacrifice. However, baclofen given one hour before sacrifice caused effects similar to those of haloperidol. These results are discussed in terms of dopaminergic-GABAergic interactions.
Beginning geography: a human and technical perspective

Abstract A first course in human geography has been designed for majors and students from the more technical fields at university. It is built around five computer exercises, none of which require any programming or computer skills. Problems and exercises are designed to enhance carry‐over skills and humane awareness.
HIV-1: nature's master of disguise

HIV-1 readily mutates to escape the immune response, evolving in ways that allow it to persist in the host. New findings reveal that HIV-1 protects itself from antibodies by putting up a shield of constantly shifting sugar moieties. This shield may be contributing to the poor performance of candidate HIV-1 vaccines.
Continuous-wave lasing of hybrid lasers

The continuous-wave (CW) lasing of hybrid lasers, which contain a broad-band inhomogeneously broadened laser medium and a narrow-band homogeneously broadened laser medium in a single cavity, is analyzed theoretically. The interactions of the laser modes and two gain media are solved self-consistently using the coupled rate equations. The spectral, gain, and power characteristics under different gain conditions are simulated. It is shown that a small gain from a second narrowband laser medium can effectively shape the lasing spectrum and improve the spectral concentration of the hybrid laser. The total saturated gain profile of the hybrid laser is relatively smooth, due to saturation of the gain of the narrow-band medium to a smaller and below-threshold level.
Fixed width confidence bands for density functions

The problem of constructing confidence bands with prescribed width and confidence for an unknown density function is considered. A two stage procedure, based on the confidence bands of Bickel and Rosenblatt (1973), is proposed and shown to achieve the desired goals.Moreover, the procedure is asymptotically efficient with respect to sample size. The possibility of using a fully sequential approach is exploredthe technical difficulties in this case are formidable, and perhaps insurmountable.
Local spin‐density theory of interface and surface magnetocrystalline anisotropy: Pd/Co/Pd(001) and Cu/Co/Cu(001) sandwiches

The interface magnetocrystalline anisotropy (MCA) of Cu/Co/Cu(001) and Pd/Co/Pd(001) sandwiches are investigated, employing our recently developed state tracking approach based on the full potential linearized augmented plane wave energy band method. The strong negative MCA energy for the Co monolayer is found to be decreased for Co/Cu, and even becomes positive for Co/Pd due to the interfacial hybridization, which reduces the spin orbit coupling (SOC) between the dxz,yz − dz2 pair at M.
A heat exchanger design for heavy water reactor service

The volume of heavy water required for a power reactor plant using this moderator has an important influence on investment. Likewise, the cost of leakage justifies extraordinary containment measures. A heat exchanger design is described which satisfies these requirements, as well as those imposed by the radiation field in which the equipment must operate.
Prevalence of indoor/outdoor flying insect allergy in a rural population

Abstract Rationale Allergy to insects such as cockroach and dust mites are well documented in the literature, but allergy to other indoor/outdoor flying insects is not as well described. We present the prevalence of sensitization to commonly found flying insects in patients from West Virginia. Methods We evaluated 134 patients (27 adults, 107 children), for IgE mediated allergy to caddisfly, mayfly, moth, carpenter ant, and housefly using the prick technique and commercially available whole body extracts. All had symptoms consistent with asthma and/or allergic rhinitis. They were also tested to a standard panel of common indoor and aeroantigens found in West Virginia. Results Of 134 patients, 41 (30%) had positive skin tests to at least one flying insect. The most prevalent insect was housefly (22%), followed by mayfly (17%), caddisfly (16%), moth (6%), and ant (6%). Of the 41 patients who tested positive to flying insects, 68% also tested positive to mites and 53% to cockroach. 8 of the 41 (19.5%) had positive skin tests to flying insects but not to mites or cockroach. Conclusions Thirty percent of patients had positive skin tests to flying insects not commonly associated with asthma or allergic rhinitis. Many with flying insect reactions also were allergic to dust mites and/or cockroach. All of these insects are present outdoors and indoors in a rural environment such as West Virginia. While cross reactivity with mites and cockroach (insect pan-allergy) may explain our results, the presence of these allergens in homes may explain why dust mite controls are often ineffective.
Plasticity in the degree of CAM-cycling and its relationship to drought stress in five species of Talinum (Portulacaceae)

The degree of CAM-cycling was examined in plants from 23 populations representing five morphologically similar species of Talinum to determine how CAM-cycling correlates with site aridity and drought stress. In the field, CAM-cycling, as indicated by the amount of malic acid accumulated in plant tissues overnight, and stable carbon isotope ratio (δ13C) were positively correlated with an index of site aridity. The relative levels of CAM-cycling and δ13C values among populations in the field reversed when plants were grown under less arid conditions in a growth chamber such that populations with the highest average CAM-cycling and δ13C in the field had the lowest averages in the growth chamber. In both cases, plants from all populations showed significantly higher levels of CAM-cycling under drought-stressed conditions relative to conditions known or predicted to be less arid. CAM-cycling was also positively correlated with tissue water content in both well-watered and drought-stressed plants, possibly reflecting greater water conservation associated with reductions in stomatal conductance. Biomass accumulation in plants exhibiting the greatest degree of CAM-cycling in the growth chamber was suppressed by drought stress to a similar degree as in the other plants, yet reproductive biomass of these plants was inhibited to a smaller degree. Thus, the importance of CAM-cycling increases in these species of Talinum during drought stress, due to increased malic acid accumulation overnight, potentially enhancing their water status, survival, and reproduction.
Ovipositing females of a short-lived gall midge take time to assess suboptimal grass seed heads

The short-lived adult wheat midge Sitodiplosis mosellana deposits eggs on the seed head of various grasses close to the developing seeds on which larvae feed. The time taken to make egg-laying decisions is investigated using three types of wheat Triticum aestivum seed heads. Young Roblin, Old Roblin and Young Key differ in their effects on ovipositing females (72%, 22% and 6% of eggs in choice tests, respectively) and effects on feeding larvae (75%, 25% and 5% larval survival, respectively). Within seconds of arriving, the female is able to distinguish Young Roblin from the two lower-ranked types. However, the lower-ranked types are not rejected at this time. Instead, all head types are examined before the female eventually flies away. On Young Roblin, probing with the ovipositor is the first behaviour that occurs. Thereafter probing and insertion of the ovipositor occupy most of the female’s time and behavioural transitions tend to be ‘progressive’, signalling a shift from low to high intensity examining. Differences between females visiting Old Roblin and Young Key are significant but take longer to emerge. On both, sitting is the first behaviour but, over the next 5–10 min, the female on Young Key exhibits more sitting, walking and ‘regressive’ transitions than the female on Old Roblin. It is suggested that, when the ovipositing female is short-lived and incapable of controlled flight in all but essentially windless conditions, her behaviour is designed to thoroughly, rather than rapidly, examine a suboptimal host before abandoning it for the uncertain future of finding a better host.
Metabolic mapping of the effects of the antidepressant fluoxetine on the brains of congenitally helpless rats.

Antidepressants require adaptive brain changes before efficacy is achieved, and they may impact the affectively disordered brain differently than the normal brain. We previously demonstrated metabolic disturbances in limbic and cortical regions of the congenitally helpless rat, a model of susceptibility to affective disorder, and we wished to test whether administration of fluoxetine would normalize these metabolic differences. Fluoxetine was chosen because it has become a first-line drug for the treatment of affective disorders. We hypothesized that fluoxetine antidepressant effects may be mediated by decreasing metabolism in the habenula and increasing metabolism in the ventral tegmental area. We measured the effects of fluoxetine on forced swim behavior and regional brain cytochrome oxidase activity in congenitally helpless rats treated for 2 weeks with fluoxetine (5 mg/kg, i.p., daily). Fluoxetine reduced immobility in the forced swim test as anticipated, but congenitally helpless rats responded in an atypical manner, i.e., increasing climbing without affecting swimming. As hypothesized, fluoxetine reduced metabolism in the habenula and increased metabolism in the ventral tegmental area. In addition, fluoxetine reduced the metabolism of the hippocampal dentate gyrus and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. This study provided the first detailed mapping of the regional brain effects of an antidepressant drug in congenitally helpless rats. All of the effects were consistent with previous studies that have metabolically mapped the effects of serotonergic antidepressants in the normal rat brain, and were in the predicted direction of metabolic normalization of the congenitally helpless rat for all affected brain regions except the prefrontal cortex.
Bilateral adrenal metastasis: “Head light” sign

Abstract Metastatic lesions to the adrenal gland are usually clinically silent, although their incidence is especially high in patients with carcinomas of the breast and lung, and melanoma. After reviewing the sonograms of over 50 patients with adrenal masses, 10 were found to have bilateral metastases. This has prompted us to describe the “head light” sign as an accurate method for diagnosing bilateral adrenal metastases.
Nonlinear Personality-Performance Relationships and the Spurious Moderating Effects of Traitedness

This article evaluated the validity of two traditional traitedness measures (i.e., standard deviation traitedness measures and global, single-item traitedness measures) and three new traitedness measures (i.e., multi-item, ranking, and facet traitedness measures). Overall, there was poor construct validity for both the traditional and new measures of traitedness. Furthermore, traitedness was a spurious moderator of the relationship between openness to experience and academic performance. Finally, evidence of nonlinear personality-academic performance relationships was discovered.
ON SCIENCE AS A GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING THE ORDER AMIDST THE DIVERSITY OF LIFE

This paper is the reprinting under a new title of the “Foreword” of Paul A. Weiss's Life, Order, and Understanding: A Theme in Three Variations, published in 1970 as volume 8 supplement of The Graduate Journal of the University of Texas (Austin, Texas, #5.00 [hardcover], #2.50 [paperback], 157 pages). We reprint this paper here for two reasons. The first is that its beautiful, scientifically grounded imagery of living systems in relation to wave dynamics provides a significant supplement to this issue of Zygon on human values in the context of thermodynamics. The second is that it is hoped this foreword will serve better than would a book review to introduce Zygon readers to the philosophical and scientific wisdom contained in Life, Order, and Understanding.–Editor.
Barriers to Entry in International Markets

This study examines the relative importance of five market entry barriers in international consumer markets and compares them for early and late market entry situations. Decisions of executives from 87 companies marketing their productsin international markets were modeled using multiple regression analysis. The results show there are significant differences in the importance of barriers to market entry. However, the importance of barriers is about the same for early and late market entry decisions.
Novel therapeutic agents under investigation for malignant melanoma

Malignant melanoma presents a therapeutic challenge. Patients at high risk for recurrence (stage III) are eligible for adjuvant treatment with IFN-α or may enrol in a clinical trial. Both options offer no meaningful survival advantage. Patients with metastatic disease (stage IV) have a 5-year survival of < 10% and have no effective treatment options. Despite aggressive investigations into vaccine therapy, no vaccine has yet received FDA approval. Biological therapies with IFN-α and IL-2 have demonstrated a real but minimal effect. Chemotherapeutic options are even more dismal. Single-agent chemotherapy yields a 15 – 20% response rate of short lived duration. Combination chemotherapy alone or with immunological adjuvants yields response rates of 35 – 45% but with significant toxicity and no significant improvement in survival. Novel treatment agents that target metabolic pathways, angiogenesis inhibitors, antisense therapies, gene therapies and innovative vaccines may offer hope for an otherwise grave disease.
Social media as crisis platform: The future of community maps/crisis maps

Social media provides the means for creating new communities and for reenergizing old communities. Recently, a new kind of quickly formulated, powerful community has formed as existing social media communities, news organizations, and users have converged in social media spaces to respond to sudden tragedies. This article addresses the ad-hoc crisis community, whith uses the social madia as a crisis platform to generate community crisis maps.
A combined experimental and computational study of the mechanism of fructose dehydration to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in dimethylsulfoxide using Amberlyst 70, PO43−/niobic acid, or sulfuric acid catalysts

Abstract We report on a combined experimental and theoretical study of the acid catalyzed dehydration of d -fructose in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) using; Amberlyst 70, PO43−/niobic acid, and sulfuric acid as catalysts. The reaction has been studied and intermediates characterized using; 13C, 1H, and 17O NMR, and high resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HR ESI–MS). High level G4MP2 theory calculations are used to understand the thermodynamic landscape for the reaction mechanism in DMSO. We have experimentally identified two key intermediates in the dehydration of fructose to form HMF that were also identified, using theory, as local minima on the potential surface for reaction. A third intermediate, a species capable of undergoing keto–enol tautomerism, was also experimentally detected. However, it was not possible to experimentally distinguish between the keto and the enol forms. These data with different catalysts are consistent with common intermediates along the reaction pathway from fructose to HMF in DMSO. The role of oxygen in producing acidic species in reactions carried out in DMSO in presence of air is also discussed.
SU-GG-J-188: Treatment Verification of Hypo-Fractionated Lung Radiotherapy Using Cine EPID

Purpose: To develop an online method of monitoring hypo‐fractionated lungtreatment.Method and Materials: For hypo‐fractionated 3D conformal lungtreatment,tumors are often small and visible with the use of an electronic portal imaging device(EPID). Portal images in cine mode were acquired from a Varian Trilogy machine to assess tumor position. This assessment was done using a modified, normalized cross‐correlation function which utilized both EPID cine and the digitally reconstructed radiographs(DRR). The modifications to the established cross‐correlation equation were made in order adapt this function to the spatial and geometrical properties of these images. The output of the algorithm was then used to find the displacement of the tumor from its intended position relative to the beam aperture, and thus monitor the accuracy of treatment.Results: Preliminary results from two patients show a mean correlation of 0.6 for an adaptive search region parameterized by the cross‐sectional length of the treatment beam. The highest correlations were found both near the center of the tumor and occasionally in other regions which strongly resembled the tumor. High scores also appear to be associated with treatment field geometry. We developed a sorting algorithm to pick the true position based on the correlation score and location. This method generated few false positives for visible tumors. Substantial spatial precision was observed for different fractions of the same field. Conclusion: The modified, normalized cross‐correlation procedure developed here has shown great potential for verifying treatment on patients with tumors visible on EPID. This method can produce verification results well within the time of treatment. With small improvements such as weighting, filtering, and sufficient computing resources, this algorithm could potentially be used to stop the treatment when beam moves out of beam aperture.
Antibody subclass skewing predicts enhanced ADCC activity in both natural infection and vaccination

Background The innate immune recruiting property of antibodies are elicited following an Fc/Fc-receptor interaction. We previously demonstrated that HIV-specific antibodies from elite controllers (ECs) robustly recruit NK cells to mediate antibody dependent cellular viral inhibition (ADCVI) compared to antibodies from chronic progressors. To gain further insights into the biophysical properties of EC antibodies that enable them to recruit Fc-effector functions so robustly, we performed at 24 dimensional analysis (including specificity, isotype, Fc-receptor affinity, and function) of the antibody profiles mounted in ECs and HIV-progressors to define the humoral signature(s) associated with most robust innate immune recruiting activity.
Chemotherapy-enhanced inflammation may lead to the failure of therapy and metastasis

The lack of therapy and the failure of existing therapy has been a challenge for clinicians in treating various cancers. Doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil, cisplatin, and paclitaxel are the first-line therapy in various cancers; however, toxicity, resistance, and treatment failure limit their clinical use. Their status leads us to discover and investigate more targeted therapy with more efficacy. In this article, we dissect literature from the patient perspective, the tumor biology perspective, therapy-induced metastasis, and cell data generated in the laboratory.
Pikapika – the collaborative composition of an interactive sonic character

Pikapika is a collaborative solo performance by Bahn and Hahn that presents a simple model of composition, choreography and collaboration in an interactive context. The piece offers the possibility of a new kind of interactive theatre/costume design –an interactive sonic character. This essay is a case study of a design process for interactive performance. While we include some details of our specific interface, these are primarily employed as examples to suggest our principles for creating personal, idiosyncratic interactive systems. Our collaboration integrates elemental sound and movement relationships with an awareness of the embodied cultural knowledge of the performer and with a specific sensing scheme to capture her particular gestural vocabulary. The combination of individual ‘atoms’ of movement and sound leads to a complexity that must be practised until they can be performed with ease as an embodied interaction. We find the process of collaboration and its articulation as a dynamic interactive structure fascinating and enduring beyond the specific technologies employed. The terms meta-composition, composed instrument and composed character are used to describe the interactive structure of the piece.
The cell phone effect on pedestrian fatalities

This paper examines the impact of cell phone usage on pedestrian fatalities in the United States using econometric models and specification error tests. The model makes use of a polynomial specification so as to allow for potential life-saving and life-taking effects of cell phones. The results indicate that when cell phones were first introduced they had an adverse effect on pedestrian safety, but after a critical number of cell phones was reached, the life-saving effect dominated over the life-taking effect. However, as the number of phones continued to increase, the life-taking effect once again dominated over the life-saving effects.
Comparison of sinking velocity, swimming velocity, rotation and path characteristics among six marine dinoflagellate species

Six marine dinoflagellate species representing a range of equivalent spherical diameters between 12 and 36 μm were examined for several characteristics that influence their translation velocity. Sinking velocities estimated by three independent techniques and applied to swimming and narcotized cells generally agreed, and followed the cell-size relationships previously reported for diatoms. Dinokont sinking and swimming velocities both decreased with increasing surface area: volume ratio, but a small desmokont deviated from the dinokont relationships. Sinking velocities influenced the relative ascent/descent capabilities of a species. The swim:sink ratio decreased as equivalent spherical diameter increased to 25 μm and then remained constant at 7.6, despite further increases in cell size. This relationship suggests a minimum required swimming capability relative to cell size. The swim:sink ratio increased with increasing surface area:volume ratio for all the surveyed species. Out observations of decreasing cell rotation:translation ratio and increasing cell drag with increasing cell size supported the hypothesis that the dinoflagellate flagellar apparatus generates maximum swimming velocity at intermediate cell sizes. However, an alternate analysis supported the hypothesis that swimming velocity increases with cell size and that variations among genera are due to subtle differences in the basic dinoflagellate propulsion system. A three-dimensional helical path index provided a more realistic estimate of the actual translation velocity (along the helix axis) during diel vertical migration when applied as a correction factor to the more typically measured helix velocity (along the helix) of a given dinoflagellate.
Identifying and visualizing nonlinear variation patterns in multivariate manufacturing data

In modern manufacturing processes, it is not uncommon to have hundreds, or even thousands, of different process variables that are measured and recorded in databases. The large quantities of multivariate measurement data usually contain valuable information on the major sources of variation that contribute to the final product or process variability. The focus of this work is on variation sources that result in complex, nonlinear variation patterns in the data. We propose a model for representing nonlinear variation patterns and a method for blindly identifying the patterns, based on a sample of measurement data, with no prior knowledge of the nature of the patterns. The identification method is based on principal curve estimation, in conjunction with a data preprocessing step that makes it suitable for high dimensional data. We also discuss an approach for interactively visualizing the nature of the identified variation patterns, to aid in identifying and eliminating the major root causes of manufacturin...
Hyperphosphatemia-induced nanocrystals upregulate the expression of bone morphogenetic protein-2 and osteopontin genes in mouse smooth muscle cells in vitro

Vascular calcification, which contributes to cardiovascular disease in patients with uremic hyperphosphatemia, is associated with vascular cell expression of osteogenic genes, including bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2 and osteopontin (OPN). High inorganic phosphate levels in vitro stimulate the osteogenic conversion of smooth muscle cells; however, the mechanism governing this is not clear. We found that high-phosphate medium increased the expression of BMP-2 and OPN in mouse smooth muscle cells in culture. However, this effect was lost in the presence of the mineralization inhibitor, pyrophosphate, suggesting a contribution of calcium phosphate crystals. Addition of 1–2 mmol/l phosphate alone to growth medium was sufficient to induce nanosized crystals after 1 day at 37 °C. Isolated crystals were about 160 nm in diameter and had a calcium to phosphate ratio of 1.35, consistent with the hydroxyapatite precursor octacalcium phosphate. Nanocrystal formation increased fourfold in the absence of serum, was blocked by fetuin-A, and was dependent on time and on the concentrations of phosphate and calcium. Purified synthetic hydroxyapatite nanocrystals and isolated high-phosphate-induced nanocrystals, but not nanocrystal-free high-phosphate medium, also induced BMP-2 and OPN. Thus, our results suggest that BMP-2 and OPN are induced by calcium phosphate nanocrystals, rather than soluble phosphate. This mechanism may contribute, in part, to hyperphosphatemia-related vascular cell differentiation and calcification.
Solution and Surface Charge Properties of Shell Cross-Linked Knedel Nanoparticles

Solution-state characterizations of poly(4-vinylpyridine):polystyrene (PVP:PS) shell cross-linked knedel nanoparticles (SCK's) are described. A combination of techniques, including dynamic light scattering, electrophoretic light scattering, and analytical ultracentrifugation, are used to determine the hydrodynamic diameter, surface charge characteristics, molecular weight, and aggregation number of the SCK's and their micelle precursors. The use of analytical ultracentrifugation is highlighted because of the wealth of information it provides in characterizing SCK solution behavior. The analysis of SCK's indicates that particle diameter, molecular weight, and aggregation increase with increasing PS chain length of the PVP:PS block copolymer used to prepare the SCK. Measurements of electrophoretic mobility and zeta potential via electrophoretic light scattering point to partial burial of charge below the particle surface of quaternized PVP units comprising the shell of the SCK. By contrast, the characteriza...
Understanding the puzzle of 'well-characterized biotechnology products'.

Abstract The concept of a ‘well-characterized biotechnology product’ is akin to assembling a jigsaw puzzle. Each of the analytical pieces must be assembled to provide a clearly, orthogonally defined picture that addresses completely the physicochemical, biological and pharmacological attributes that fully characterize the molecule.
The white blood cell response to splenectomy and bacteraemia

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship of the white blood cell (WBC) count to bacteraemia, and the risk of bacteraemia after splenectomy. The case series study was carried out at the Vanderbilt University Level I Trauma Center, and included 11,870 consecutive trauma admissions: 258 required a splenectomy (191) or splenorrhaphy (67). Bacteraemia was defined as the presence of a positive blood culture. Statistical analysis included ANOVA, the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test and logistical regression. Forty-two (22 per cent) of the splenectomy patients had positive blood cultures, while only six (9 per cent) of the splenorrhaphy patients had positive cultures. For the group of patients requiring a splenectomy, the mean WBC count was higher and more persistent in patients with bacteraemia. Logistical regression demonstrated that the type of surgery does not significantly correlate with bacteraemia after accounting for severity of injury (TRISS). The study conclusions were as follows (1) for the group of patients with bacteraemia after splenectomy, the peak WBC count was higher and more persistent than that which occurred in the group of patients without bacteraemia after splenectomy; (2) the WBC count cannot be used to predict bacteraemia for an individual patient, but a WBC count greater than 20,000 after 10 days should initiate a vigorous search for infection; (3) the severity of injury (and not splenectomy/splenorrhaphy) accounted for the increased risk of bacteraemia in population studied.
Precision geo-location at long range with multi-look lidar

Precision geo-location (absolute accuracy of 20 cm or less) is required of high-resolution lidar data (1 m or less post spacing) for general surveying needs and high-quality visualization. Current open-loop airborne-hardware pointing-technology supports precision geo-location at short range (less than a few km). Precision geo-location at longer range can be achieved with more complex pointing-hardware but at substantial cost. This paper introduces the concept of multi-look lidar that has the potential for achieving long-range precision geo-location but at substantially reduced cost. In this concept, lidar data are collected at multiple look-angles that are consistent with Position-Dilution-Of-Precision (PDOP) requirements. The data are registered, triangulated, and block-adjusted with a dense set of self-generated control points. An analytic model is presented that shows that the error performance is independent of range. A flight test is described that validates the multi-look-lidar concept. Potential system-implementations are also described that can have minimal impact on hardware or conventional flight operations.
Bridge pile damage upon vessel impact

Abstract Many piers of bridges that span navigable waters are increasingly subjected to vessel impact. Many of these bridge piers are concrete and are constructed such that the piling system and the bridge pier are one. Depending upon the size and the material of the pile and upon vessel impact there may be a failure within the pile itself or at the pile-pier intersection. If the impact is great enough, the failure or fracture may be a complete one, and the pier moves horizontally and/or vertically. Thus, failure of the bridge may result while the pier is still intact. A new bridge may be built or rehabilated using the existing pier which may now be inadequate. In many cases the amount of piling failure is difficult to assess. Thus, a procedure has been developed to determine the amount of pier movement (failure of the piles) that might occur. The procedure uses a modification of two existing computer programs (a lateral pile program and a pile group program).
Prosody and Segmental Effect Some Paths of Evolution for Word Stress

This study reports on a significant negative association found in a cross-linguistic sample between the degree of predictability of word stress from a word boundary and the extent to which stress has segmental effects. In other words, in a given language the less predictable stress is from the word boundary, the more likely that the language will have vowel reduction in unstressed syllables, vowel lengthening in stressed syllables, and consonantal changes restricted to stressed or unstressed syllables. These findings are interpreted as part of a major diachronic tendency for stressed and unstressed syllables to become more differentiated in terms of duration as a cumulative effect of phonetic change, which in turn leads to the deletion of unstressed syllables, which renders stress unpredictable in some cases. A model of phonological representation that best accounts for the unidirectionality of this strong tendency is one in which stress, even while it is still predictable, is considered an inherent part of the word, and phonetic changes have a permanent and cumulative effect on lexical representation.