cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nicotine is Highly Effective at Producing Desensitization of Rat α4β2 Neuronal Nicotinic Receptors

We examined desensitization by acetylcholine (ACh) and nicotine at the rat alpha4beta2 neuronal nicotinic receptor stably expressed in HEK cells. For both agonists, the decay in response due to desensitization ('onset') was best fitted by the sum of two exponentials with the fast component dominant at concentrations > 1 microM. The time constants for onset were similar for both agonists, and showed little concentration dependence over the range of 0.1-100 microM. Recovery from desensitization also showed two exponential components. In contrast to the similarity in onset, nicotine produced longer lasting desensitization, resulting from an increase in the proportion of receptors in the slowly recovering population and from an increase in the time constant for the slow recovery process. The proportion of receptors in the slowly recovering population increased as the duration of the desensitizing pulse increased. Desensitization was also induced by low concentrations of agonist, with no apparent macroscopic response. A 100 s application of 10 nM nicotine desensitized 70 % of the peak response, while 100 s of 10 nM ACh desensitized only 15 %. At higher concentrations of agonist, which result in a macroscopic response, desensitization in the absence of activation also can occur. Nicotine is a very potent and efficacious desensitizing agent at this neuronal nicotinic receptor.
A New Technology of Rapid Sealing Roadway in Luotuoshan Coal Mine

Abstract After the large water accident with the serious collapse occurred in Luotuoshan coal mine, to achieve rescuing emergency rapidly, the scheme with blocking up water was adopted. The concerned technical measures include forming blocking up water wall‘s skeleton through injecting two-fluid slurry into tunnel, filling these gaps in skeleton with high flow under static pressure condition, reinforcing alluvium on the tunnel floor with high pressure, and filling tiny cracks in block up water wall with draining. The tunnel was blocked up successfully in only 54 days and the effect reaches 99.97%. The successful application of these technical measures provided valuable experiences that can draw lessons for engineering works under similar conditions in the future.
Giant discrete resistance fluctuations observed in normal-metal tunnel junctions.

Giant discrete resistance fluctuations are reported in large (50\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}50 \ensuremath{\mu}${\mathrm{m}}^{2}$) tunnel junctions of Au-${\mathrm{Al}}_{2}$${\mathrm{O}}_{3}$-Au over the temperature range 4--140 K, with applied dc bias voltages of 0--2 V. The fluctuations are believed to result from single electrons trapped on defect sites within the insulating barrier of the tunnel junction. The temperature and bias-voltage dependence of the characteristic switching lifetimes of these fluctuations have been measured, and departures from previously reported behavior are observed.
Research in the Doctoral Program in Second Language Acquisition at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Faculty and graduate students in the Doctoral Program in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison engage in a broad spectrum of research. From Professor Sally Magnan's research on study abroad and Professor Monika Chavez's work in foreign language policy through Professor Richard Young's examination of language-in-interaction, Professor Jane Zuengler's investigation of language socialization, Professor Diana Frantzen's research in second language (L2) vocabulary acquisition and linguistic analysis of literature, to Professor Catherine Stafford's investigation of processes involved in Spanish-English bilinguals’ acquisition of a third language (L3), our research interests encompass much of the SLA field.
Toward a Conceptualization of Perceived Work‐Family Fit and Balance: A Demands and Resources Approach

Using person-environment fit theory, this article formulates a conceptual model that links work, family, and boundary-spanning demands and resources to work and family role performance and quality. Linking mechanisms include 2 dimensions of perceived work-family fit (work demands–family resources fit and family demands–work resources fit) and a global assessment of perceived work-family balance. Work, family, and boundary-spanning demands and resources are associated with the 2 dimensions of fit, which combine with boundary-spanning strategies to influence work-family balance, which in turn affects role performance and quality. The model provides a framework for clarifying and integrating previous conceptualizations, measures, and empirical research regarding perceived work-family fit and balance as linkages between the work-family interface and outcomes. The article closes with suggestions for further work.
Massive thymic hyperplasia: Characterization of a rare mediastinal mass

Thymic hyperplasia is a rare cause of an anterior mediastinal mass in children. True thymic hyperplasia is characterized by massive thymic hypertrophy with retention of normal thymic architecture, and must be distinguished from more commonly seen tumors of the anterior mediastinum. Previous reports of thymic hyperplasia primarily have been descriptive, with minimal analysis of the cellular characteristics of the tumor. To better describe the cellular characteristics of thymic hyperplasia, the authors report on a 10-year-old boy found to have an asymptomatic left paracardiac mass during cardiac evaluation. The mass enlarged rapidly during the following 2 weeks and filled the entire left side of the chest. An open biopsy specimen showed normal thymic architecture. Because of the size and rapid growth of the mass, the authors decided to resect it. Cellular analysis of the mass did not show differences from normal thymic elements. There was conserved thymic architecture. The expression of cell surface markers and the proliferative response of thymocytes to cytokines appeared to be normal. Similarly, a long-term cell culture of the thymocytes did not result in clonal proliferation. Immunohistologic staining of stromal cells showed no striking differences from normal thymic elements. Moreover, immunologic analysis of the patient by standard hematological parameters, lymphocyte subsets, quantitative immunoglobins, and immunoelectrophoresis showed no abnormalities except for lymphocytosis, which resolved after tumor resection. The authors conclude that thymic hyperplasia occurs in immunologically normal children and may exhibit (1) rapid growth with minimal associated symptoms, (2) normal thymic architecture, (3) normal thymocyte and stromal growth characteristics in vitro, and (4) a normal thymocyte response to cytokine stimulation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The impact of babesiosis on transfusion medicine

Babesiosis is an emerging zoonotic disease that has begun to have a noticeable impact on transfusion medicine. This is reflected in the growing medical literature on the topic. There has been no review to summarize the various ways in which babesiosis influences transfusion medicine. Babesiosis is the most frequently reported tick-borne pathogen to be transmitted by blood transmission. Until recently, it has been an underrecognized complication of blood transfusion. However, the increased use of blood products for an ever-increasing elderly and immunodeficient patient population has heightened awareness about this disease. Fortunately, the risk of acquiring a symptomatic infection through a blood transfusion is surprisingly low. Nevertheless, babesiosis should be included in the differential diagnosis of a febrile hemolytic illness in recipients of blood transfusions. Infected individuals who become chronic carriers and donate blood during asymptomatic periods pose the greatest risk to the blood supply. The exact risk that this parasite poses to our blood supply remains to be accurately assessed. Reported cases of transmission, to date, have involved only the transfusion of red blood cells (RBCs) and, more rarely, platelets. Transmission of these piroplasms through plasma alone has not been documented. Much of our understanding about this organism evoked host responses and its requirements for in vitro survival has come from studies on non-human vertebrates. These studies have shown that antigenic variation may play a significant role in the development of prolonged parasitemia, that complement-induced changes to erythrocytes are pivotal in facilitating protozoan entry into host RBCs, and that autoimmunity contributes to disease. Severe infections may require lifesaving exchange transfusions and even plasmapheresis. Controlled studies to clearly define specific indications, benefits, and objectives of this therapy are still needed. Despite the development of novel and improved diagnostic tests, these tests are not readily available for the mass screening of blood donors. Improved strategies to assess and prevent transfusion-associated babesiosis are required. Current measures cannot be relied on to identify infected donors with a high degree of sensitivity or to protect susceptible recipients from this parasite.
The preference for experiences over possessions: Measurement and construct validation of the Experiential Buying Tendency Scale

There is growing support that money spent on experiential items increases an individual's happiness. However, there is minimal research on the causes and long-term consequences of the tendency to make experiential purchases. Given the importance of experiential buying for improving well-being, an understanding of the preference for experiential purchasing is imperative. Thus, we developed the Experiential Buying Tendency Scale (EBTS) to measure habitual experiential purchasing. Across eight samples (n = 9634), the EBTS was developed, and shown to be reliable, valid, and predictive of consumer behavior and psychological well-being. An experiential purchasing tendency was related to higher extraversion, openness, empathic concern, and reward seeking. Further, non-materialistic values predicted a preference for experiential purchasing, which led to increased psychological need satisfaction, and, ultimately, increased subjective well-being. The discussion proposes that experiential purchasing may be a functio...
Muscles, Elastic Energy, and the Dynamics of Body Stiffness in Swimming Eels'

SYNOPSIS. TO investigate the capacity of the myomeric muscles to actively change the stiffness of the body during bending, mid-caudal sections (spanning two to three intervertebral joints) of intact, freshly-killed American eels, Anguilla rostrata, were dynamically bent (3 Hz, ±4% maximal muscle strain) using the whole-body workloop technique. Following unstimulated cycles, the left- and right-sides of the musculature were alternately stimulated at supra-maximal voltages and at eight different phases relative to the strain cycle of the muscle. The body's flexural stiffness (Nm 2 ) increased maximally by a factor of three relative to that when the muscles were unstimulated. The net external work (J kg" 1 ) needed to bend the body decreased maximally by a factor of seven relative to that when the muscles were unstimulated. Both of these mechanical features varied sinusoidally with changes in the phase of the stimulus. Stimulus phase of caudal muscle in live swimming eels, taken from other studies, leads to the prediction that the caudal muscles increase body stiffness and produce net positive mechanical work simultaneously during steady forward swimming. The association of increased body stiffness and net positive muscle work, and the occurrence of maximal net muscle power output at a stimulus phase of 325° (as the muscle segment lengthens), suggests that net positive power is produced, in part, using an elastic strain energy mechanism.
The Biosynthetic Pathway for Myxol-2′ Fucoside (Myxoxanthophyll) in the Cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. Strain PCC 7002

Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002 produces a variety of carotenoids, which comprise predominantly dicylic β-carotene and two dicyclic xanthophylls, zeaxanthin and synechoxanthin. However, this cyanobacterium also produces a monocyclic myxoxanthophyll, which was identified as myxol-2′ fucoside. Compared to the carotenoid glycosides produced by diverse microorganisms, cyanobacterial myxoxanthophyll and closely related compounds are unusual because they are glycosylated on the 2′-OH rather than on the 1′-OH position of the ψ end of the molecule. In this study, the genes encoding two enzymes that modify the ψ end of myxoxanthophyll in Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002 were identified. Mutational and biochemical studies showed that open reading frame SynPCC7002_A2032, renamed cruF, encodes a 1′-hydroxylase and that open reading frame SynPCC7002_A2031, renamed cruG, encodes a 2′-O-glycosyltransferase. The enzymatic activity of CruF was verified by chemical characterization of the carotenoid products synthesized when cruF was expressed in a lycopene-producing strain of Escherichia coli. Database searches showed that homologs of cruF and cruG occur in the genomes of all sequenced cyanobacterial strains that are known to produce myxol or the acylic xanthophyll oscillaxanthin. The genomes of many other bacteria that produce hydroxylated carotenoids but do not contain crtC homologs also contain cruF orthologs. Based upon observable intermediates, a complete biosynthetic pathway for myxoxanthophyll is proposed. This study expands the suite of enzymes available for metabolic engineering of carotenoid biosynthetic pathways for biotechnological applications.
Rotating reverse osmosis and spiral wound reverse osmosis filtration: A comparison

Wastewater produced by the crew members on a long-term space mission needs to be recovered as potable water. Reverse osmosis (RO) has long been in use as a physical membrane separation technology for wastewater treatment. However, membrane fouling and concentration polarization have limited the efficiency for high recovery reverse osmosis systems. An advanced high pressure rotating RO device was designed to minimize these problems by the rotation of the cylindrical RO filter producing shear and Taylor vortices in the annulus of the device. We compare the performance of the rotating RO device to a standard spiral wound RO module using a commercially-available RO membrane under conditions of very high recovery and similar permeate flux. The studies were conducted using 0.01N sodium chloride solution and biological water processor effluent (BWPE) as model wastewaters. The results for 100% recovery of water from 0.01N sodium chloride solution show that the spiral wound RO has poor rejection (<5%) compared to more than 75% rejection for the rotating RO over a period of 2 days. Similar differences in rejection were observed for BWPE for a 5-day test at high recoveries. The overall ion rejection, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) rejection, and ammonium ion rejection from BWPE was typically two times higher for the rotating RO system than for spiral wound RO at 70–80% recovery. Thus, while rotating RO is a more complicated system than spiral wound RO, it provides better rejection of contaminants at very high recoveries.
Determining risk of biochemical recurrence in prostate cancer by immunohistochemical detection of PTEN expression and Akt activation.

Purpose: A considerable fraction of patients who undergo radical prostatectomy as treatment for primary prostate cancer experience biochemical recurrence detected by elevated serum levels of prostate-specific antigen. In this study, we investigate whether loss of expression of the tumor suppressor phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) and the phosphorylated form of the cell survival protein Akt (pAkt) predicts biochemical recurrence. Experimental Design: Expression of PTEN and pAkt was detected by immunohistochemistry in paraffin-embedded prostate cancer tissue obtained from men undergoing radical prostatectomy. Outcome was determined by 60-month follow-up determining serum prostate-specific antigen levels. Results: By itself, PTEN was not a good predictor of biochemical recurrence; however, in combination with pAkt, it was a better predictor of the risk of biochemical recurrence compared with pAkt alone. Ninety percent of all cases with high pAkt and negative PTEN were recurrent whereas 88.2% of those with low pAkt and positive PTEN were nonrecurrent. In addition, high Gleason scores resulted in reduced protection from decreased pAkt and increased PTEN. By univariate logistic regression, pAkt alone gives an area under the receiver-operator characteristic curve of 0.82 whereas the area under the receiver-operator characteristic curve for the combination of PTEN, pAkt, and Gleason based on a stepwise selection model is 0.89, indicating excellent discrimination. Conclusions: Our results indicate that loss of PTEN expression, together with increased Akt phosphorylation and Gleason score, is of significant predictive value for determining, at the time of prostatectomy, the risk of biochemical recurrence.
Manipulating facial appearance through shape and color

A technique for defining facial prototypes is described which supports transformations along quantifiable dimensions in "face space". Examples illustrate the use of shape and color information to perform predictive gender and age transformations. The processes we describe begin with the creation of a facial prototype. Generally, a prototype can be defined as a representation containing the consistent attributes across a class of objects. Once we obtain a class prototype, we can take an exemplar that has some information missing and augment it with the prototypical information. In effect, this "adds in" the average values for the missing information. We use this notion to transform gray-scale images into full color by including the color information from a relevant prototype. It is also possible to deduce the difference between two groups within a class. Separate prototypes can be formed for each group. These can be used subsequently to define a transformation that will map instances from one group onto the domain of the other. This paper details the procedure we use to transform facial images and shows how it can be used to alter perceived facial attributes. >
Angle-domain common-image gathers by wavefield continuation methods

Migration in the angle domain creates seismic images for different reflection angles. We present a method for computing angle-domain common-image gathers from seismic images obtained by depth migration using wavefield continuation. Our method operates on prestack migrated images and produces the output as a function of the reflection angle, not as a function of offset ray parameter as in other alternative approaches. The method amounts to a radial-trace transform in the Fourier domain and is equivalent to a slant stack in the space domain. We obtain the angle gathers using a stretch technique that enables us to impose smoothness through regularization. Several examples show that our method is accurate, fast, robust, and easy to implement. The main anticipated applications of our method are in the areas of migration-velocity analysis and amplitude-versus-angle analysis.
Is fear of crime splitting the sister cities? The case of Los Dos Laredos

Abstract This article describes the change in border dynamics of the Laredo–Nuevo Laredo U.S.–Mexican border during the first decade of the 21st century. While the sharing and blending of cultures has long been considered an integral part of the regional identity, publicity related to crime in Mexico and fear of the potential for spillover crime has created a significant degree of separation between the two communities that once lived as one. In terms of social construction of place, the Rio Grande boundary separating the sister cities was relatively meaningless for many years as laborers, shoppers and tourists crossed easily between the two nations. The integrated cultural bond has moved towards a coexistence favoring growth in the Laredo economy while Nuevo Laredo struggles.
Purdue REAL-TIME BASIC

The high-level programming language for on-line experimentation developed at Purdue University was built around the basic language and will be referred to as Purdue REAL-TIME BASIC (PRTB). The software was developed by modifying the BASIC Interpreter available from Hewlett-Packard (H.P. 20392). The modifications generated have involved the development of a series of machine-language subroutines which are directly callable from the BASIC software and which are designed to communicate in a variety of ways with experimental systems. The characteristics of the PRTB data-acquisition and control software are exactly analogous to those described in Sec. II.
Applications and analysis of second order artificial neural networks

The authors investigate a two-layer artificial neural network which consists of one hidden layer of second-order neurons and an output layer of first-order neurons. The second-order neurons yield conic-surface types of decision regions such as ellipses and parabolas. A simulation example is presented. It is shown that such networks yield more flexibility than first-order networks. An analysis of the memory capacities of single-layer and two-layer networks is presented. >
Airy Pattern, Weak-Link Modeling of Critical Currents in High-Tc Superconductors

Abstract We have measured the transport critical current density at very low magnetic fields in samples of superconducting bulk sintered Y 1 Ba 2 Cu 3 O x , Y 1 Ba 2 Cu 4 O x obtained from several sources. The results are analyzed at low fields (≤10 mT) with a statistical model which assumes that the current is limited by Josephson weak links (SNS or SIS Josephson junctions or microbridges) whose locations are to be determined. Each weak link is assumed to be described by an Airy current-field pattern rather than a Fraunhofer pattern. The former has a better theoretical foundation and is in better agreement with the data, varying as H -3 2 upon averaging. The fitting procedure yields the average cross sectional area of the weak links. By assuming the link thickness to be twice the London penetration depth at 77 K, we find that the average linear dimensions of the links are in all cases comparable to the grain dimensions. The quantitative analysis also confirms the percolation concept, in which a subset of weakest links controls the transport current.
Of Careers and Curricula Vitae: Losing Track of Academic Professionalism

In a time of tough competition for academic jobs, job seekers have lost track of what it means to professionalize one’s self. In first-person narratives featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education, job seekers define “professionalism” as candid self-scrutiny, self-discipline, and emotional composure. These narratives suggest that the academic dimensions of professionalism have given way to self-interrogation techniques. Job seekers see their professional efforts as less a matter of advancing a program of research and teaching and more a matter of recalibrating their selves in order to “stay on track.” Read through the lens of neoliberalism, these narratives show how job seekers rationalize these habits as necessary to their career success.
Restoring Freedom of Contract between Doctor and Patient in Medicare Part B

Despite promises that Medicare would not interfere with patients’ ability to choose their physician and to purchase additional health coverage on the open market, over the decades Medicare rules and regulations have gradually eroded senior citizens’ ability to control their healthcare choices. With Medicare facing financial and regulatory pressures that threaten to drive more and more physicians out of the system, it’s time for Congress to allow private contracting to play a significantly greater role in Medicare Part B. Congress should eliminate the limit on patients’ ability to negotiate fees with nonparticipating physicians, expand the scope of Medigap coverage to include services not covered by Medicare, and liberalize the rules for opt-out physicians.
Proteus mirabilis fimbriae- and urease-dependent clusters assemble in an extracellular niche to initiate bladder stone formation

The catheter-associated uropathogen Proteus mirabilis frequently causes urinary stones, but little has been known about the initial stages of bladder colonization and stone formation. We found that P. mirabilis rapidly invades the bladder urothelium, but generally fails to establish an intracellular niche. Instead, it forms extracellular clusters in the bladder lumen, which form foci of mineral deposition consistent with development of urinary stones. These clusters elicit a robust neutrophil response, and we present evidence of neutrophil extracellular trap generation during experimental urinary tract infection. We identified two virulence factors required for cluster development: urease, which is required for urolithiasis, and mannose-resistant Proteus-like fimbriae. The extracellular cluster formation by P. mirabilis stands in direct contrast to uropathogenic Escherichia coli, which readily formed intracellular bacterial communities but not luminal clusters or urinary stones. We propose that extracellular clusters are a key mechanism of P. mirabilis survival and virulence in the bladder.
High-Throughput Ellipsometric Characterization of Vapor-Deposited Indomethacin Glasses

A method for the high-throughput preparation and characterization of vapor-deposited organic glasses is presented. Depositing directly onto a substrate with a large temperature gradient allows many different glasses to be prepared simultaneously. Ellipsometry is used to characterize these glasses, allowing the determination of density, birefringence, and kinetic stability as a function of substrate temperature. For indomethacin, a model glass former, materials up to 1.4% more dense than the liquid-cooled glass can be formed with a continuously tunable range of molecular orientations as determined by the birefringence. By comparing measurements of many properties, we observe three phenomenological temperature regimes. For substrate temperatures from Tg + 11 K to Tg – 8 K, equilibrium states are produced. Between Tg – 8 K and Tg – 31 K, the vapor-deposited materials have the macroscopic properties expected for the equilibrium supercooled liquid while showing local structural anisotropy. At lower substrate t...
Implementation of Magnetic Meters for Irrigation Volumetric Measurement

The irrigation industry is experiencing a growth in the use of magnetic meters for measuring the flow rate and volume in irrigation pipelines. Historically, propeller meters have been the device selected by users. New legislation in California (SB7x7) will require measurement devices at key locations for irrigation water delivery. Some users are very interested in the magnetic meter for making the measurement at the turnout or farm gate. The key feature of the new meter is the ability for the device to work in less than ideal flow conditions. Electromagnetic meters have been tested by the Irrigation Training and Research Center in lab and field pipelines located less than the 10 diameters upstream of disturbances with good results. There are several manufacturers that are selling units to the irrigation market as well as several types of magnetic meter designs. This paper discusses how a magnetic flow meter works, advantages/disadvantages of this type of meter, test results, and new guidelines for field applications.
Geochemical characteristics of glacial Lake Agassiz sediments and new ages for the Moorhead Phase at Fargo, North Dakota, USA

The cause and age of the Moorhead low-water Phase of glacial Lake Agassiz remains uncertain. New geochemical (X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and elemental analysis) and chronological (optically stimulated luminescence (OSL)) data are used to test for evaporative enrichment within lacustrine sediment from Rabbit Lake, a small basin just above the highest Lake Agassiz strandline, and from two Lake Agassiz sediment cores at Fargo, North Dakota. Increases in quartz and gypsum interpreted to be of aeolian origin suggest increased aridity at Rabbit Lake sometime after 13 540–13 750 cal years BP. From the Fargo cores, lacustrine sediment of the Brenna and Sherack formations did not show convincing evidence for evaporative enrichment. However, this result is complicated by an erosional contact at the top of the Brenna Formation. A thin middle sand unit between the Brenna and Sherack formation clays is stratigraphically equivalent to the Poplar River Formation, West Fargo Member, but its properties differ from the fluvial sand of the West Fargo Member. Four OSL ages from the organic-poor, middle sand unit at Fargo range between 12.8 ± 0.2 and 13.5 ± 0.2 ka (with ±1.6 ka uncertainty) and suggest lake level fell at Fargo at, or before, 13.1 ± 0.2 ka, the average of the OSL ages. With different sedimentological properties, and a difference of ∼1750 years between the new OSL ages and previously published ages on the West Fargo Member sand, additional work is required to determine whether the middle sand unit is a new member of the Poplar River Formation, recording an earlier and different depositional environment than the West Fargo Member. From a plot of available ages for the Moorhead Phase, the regression remains poorly constrained in time.
Promoting Sustainable Development of Adult Universities by Reform and Innovation

Under the historical background of lifelong education and learning society,it is of great significance for learning and practicing scientific outlook on development and promoting the sustainable development of adult higher education with system reform and mechanism innovation by re-recognizing and emphasizing the position and function of adult universities.
Biology, Computing, and the History of Molecular Sequencing: From Proteins to DNA, 1945–2000

This paperback edition of Miguel Garcia-Sancho’s 2012 monograph remains a highly informative piece of scholarship. It provides a history of the British Sanger Institute, established in bucolic Hinx...
Order parametr for design of proteinlike heteropolymers

preprint withdrawn. A revised version of this paper, with different authors appears in E. Nelson, P. Wolynes, and J. Onuchic, in Optimization in computational chemistry and molecular biology, C. Floudas and P. Pardalos editors, (1999)). The main failing of my approach in these papers is the fact that the Hamiltonian and order parameters are based on pair distances only, and therefore do not break the local gauge (reflection) symmetry. Consequently, the order parameters cannot detect the difference between (for example) a partially compact topology and its mirror image. I take full responsibility for this problem, the withdrawal of this preprint, and the comments made above. Erik D. Nelson
Targeting CDCP1 dimerization in triple-negative breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the leading contributor to new cancer cases and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women in the United States. Approximately 15% of breast cancer patients present with tr...
Multiphoton Microscopy: Imaging Plaques and Reversal of Plaques — a Transgenic Model by Multiphoton Microscopy

Early-onset, autosomal-dominant Alzheimer’s disease patients share their mutations in the gene for amyloid precursor protein (APP) or in the presenilin gene, thought to be important in APP processing to Aβ, leading to a phenotype of elevated Aβ deposition in the brain and early onset dementia (see Selkoe 2000 for review).
Diseases of the Pleural Space

Pleural space disease in children is usually the result of abnormal accumulation of material within the space between the visceral and parietal pleura, rather than intrinsic problems with the pleura itself. Adults secrete and reabsorb about 2.5 L of pleural fluid each day. The goals of treating pleural space disease are to remove abnormal material, re-expand the lung, re-approximate the pleura, and treat the underlying cause. As in many other aspects of pediatric surgery, the pendulum has swung toward generally less invasive approaches: small pigtail catheters for almost all pleural collections, chemical (fibrinolytic) debridement of more solid material, and VATS procedures rather than open thoracotomy. Similarly, there has been a strong trend toward evidence-based treatment of pleural disease in children; empyema is an excellent model of careful, reproducible, randomized studies affecting a significant change in the care of children.
Electoral Control with Behavioral Voters

We present a model of electoral control with behavioral voters. The model captures two main regularities of voting behavior found in empirical studies: voters are forgetful and are influenced by extraneous events beyond the control of public officials. Specifically, we assume that voters’ propensities to reelect the incumbent are governed by a stochastic reinforcement process instead of strategic reasoning. We show that even in the presence of behavioral voters, electoral control (i.e., public officials’ incentive to exercise effort) can work well. More generally, the extent of control depends on the properties of the election and the electorate. A higher impact of negative events benefits electoral control, as the incumbent must exert greater effort to ensure reelection. Increasing the benefits of holding office also has a positive effect, while the degree of voter forgetfulness helps electoral control if and only if elections are held frequently.
Investigation of Different Metals as Ohmic Contacts to β -Ga 2 O 3 : Comparison and Analysis of Electrical Behavior, Morphology, and Other Physical Properties

Nine metals (Ti, In, Ag, Sn, W, Mo, Sc, Zn, and Zr) have been investigated as electrical contacts to n-type single-crystal β-Ga2O3 substrates as a function of annealing temperature up to 800°C (in flowing Ar). For each contact metal, we investigated its electrical behavior and morphology at each annealing temperature, as well as the effects of adding a Au capping layer. Select metals displayed either ohmic (Ti and In) or pseudo-ohmic (Ag, Sn, and Zr) behavior under certain conditions; however, the morphology was often a problem. It was concluded that metal work function is not a dominant factor in forming an ohmic contact to β-Ga2O3 and that limited interfacial reactions play an important role.
The search for a woman-centered spirituality

"[A] bridge-building book [that] illuminates the interconnections among feminist creators from multi-cultural mainstream traditions; one that creates bonds of sisterhood. Annette Van Dyke makes us aware of the way in which feminist spirituality unites women, even when the material conditions of their lives foster divisions." --Gloria Feman Orenstein, University of Southern California, author of The Reflowering of the Goddess Alongside the boom in feminist and lesbian scholarship and activism of the last twenty years, there has evolved a distinctive spiritual tradition focused on and revolving around women. This spirituality finds its roots in a number of different traditions, including the Native American, African American, and Euro American traditions. Central to these disparate traditions is the focus on a goddess figure, the centrality of the female principle, and the mending of the separation between mind and body. Weaving the strands of women's spirituality from different cultures together, Annette van Dyke here addresses the commonalities among these rich traditions. Examining the work and writings of such figures as Leslie Marmon Silko, Paula Gunn Allen, Audre Lorde, Alice Walker, Starhawk, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Sonia Johnson, and Mary Daly, Van Dyke illustrates how these writers and activists outline a journey toward wholeness - a "curing ceremony" - that allows them to reclaim their spirituality from the deadening influence of patriarchal religions. Taken together, their work contributes to a vision of a world based on a female principle, one which exemplifies a lesbian-feminist ethic.
A Qualitative Investigation of Cross-domain Influences on Medical Decision Making and the Importance of Social Context for Understanding Barriers to Hospice Use:

Hospice utilization has the potential to improve quality of life for patients while also decreasing healthcare costs at end of life. Barriers to hospice utilization have been identified, but less is known about how patient, provider, and system domains influence one another. We use in-depth interviews with physicians to examine the social, cultural, and economic contexts of decision making and how physician and organizational domains influence patient decision making around hospice. We identify sources of delay in physicians advocating for hospice referrals for their late-life patients that show how patient, physician, and system factors interact. Our results reveal incentives to postpone discussion of hospice that are not fully captured in policy perspectives, clinical guidelines, or current research paradigms focused on individual domains of influence. Opportunities to address previously identified barriers to hospice will benefit from consideration of how seemingly separate domains function in an integ...
Direct Simulation Monte Carlo Modeling of Gas Electronic Excitation for Hypersonic Sensing

Numerical procedures based on the direct simulation Monte Carlo method are presented for determination of electronic energy distributions and gas emission in non-ionized hypersonic flows, with inte...
Lynch syndrome testing in ethnically diverse patients: Mutation spectrum and performance of prediction models.

1546 Background: Lynch syndrome (LS) is characterized by deficiency in DNA mismatch repair (MMR). Several models can predict the probability of MMR gene mutations, but all were derived from populat...
Use of a composite symptom score during challenge in patients with suspected aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease

Abstract Background Aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease is characterized by asthma, chronic rhinosinusitis, nasal polyposis, and sensitivity to aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Confirmation of the diagnosis requires provocation challenge with resulting upper and/or lower airways reactivity. Currently, determination of a positive challenge result is based solely on clinical judgment that synthesizes subjective symptoms and objective measures, as a concomitant increase in nasal or bronchial airways resistance is measured in only half of patients. Objective To describe a quantitative scoring system, based on symptoms typically reported during provocation challenge, used to identify a positive challenge result. Methods A total of 115 patients were asked to record 10 symptoms, rated on a scale from 1 (mild) to 10 (most severe), at regular intervals during intranasal ketorolac with modified oral aspirin challenge performed in our office. Composite scores, a simple sum of all individual scores, were calculated at each time point and compared with baseline, prechallenge values. Results One hundred of the 115 patients were determined to have a positive challenge result. A statistically significant difference in composite scores was observed in reactors vs nonreactors. All nonreactors recorded an increase in composite score of less than 5, whereas 69% of reactors recorded an increase of 5 or more. Conclusion Our 10-symptom composite score provides a quantitative and comparable measure of symptoms that typically present during a challenge with a positive result. Although an external validation is needed to confirm its diagnostic performance characteristics, a change in composite score of 5 or more appears to be specific to reactors.
Culture from human bone marrow of blast progenitor cells with an extensive proliferative capacity

The investigation of human hematopoiesis is limited by the lack of an in vitro assay for the most primitive hematopoietic stem cell. In this report, we describe the culture from normal human bone marrow of unique colonies of morphologically immature cells with scanty, agranular, cytoplasm and a primitive nucleus with nucleoli. These “blast” cells demonstrate a significant ability for the generation of secondary colonies of multiple lineages, including additional blast cell colonies. These colonies are detected at various times during the culture period of up to 28 days. Neither the time of appearance in primary culture nor any feature of the morphological appearance of the blast cells is correlated with replating ability or the differentiation pathway followed. The progenitor cell giving rise to these colonies may represent the earliest pluripotent hematopoietic stem cell yet grown in culture.
Microscale Heat Island Characterization of Rigid Pavements

Rigid pavements have an impact on the urban heat island (UHI) and hence the surrounding environment and human comfort. Currently, most studies use a mesoscale approach in UHI characterization of pavements. This study proposes a microscale approach that can be incorporated into a pavement life-cycle assessment (LCA). The heat flux of various concrete pavements containing layers of varying thermal diffusivity and inertia was simulated. The surface pavement radiative forcing (RFp) was developed as a metric for use in a pavement LCA. Additionally, the heat conducted and stored in each concrete pavement system was analyzed using an average seasonal day metric to understand the temporal pavement energetics. Of the various thermal cases, only a higher albedo surface significantly changed the RFp for a fixed climate. However, a time lag was induced by the thermal inertia of the base course, which decreased the amount of heat conducted out of the pavement at night by storing heat in the base course for a longer ti...
A 0.55-to-0.9GHz 2.7dB NF full-duplex hybrid-coupler circulator with 56MHz 40dB TX SI suppression

Simultaneous transmit-and-receive (STAR) radios enable higher spectrum efficiency and dynamic spectrum access. The integration of a shared antenna interface is attractive for small system form factor and MIMO channel estimation and has led to demonstrations of compact reciprocal (electrical balance duplexers (EBD)) and non-reciprocal (circulator) interfaces with self-interference cancellation (SIC) [1-5]. In this paper, we address the challenge of low-noise wideband SIC by demonstrating a wideband hybrid-coupler-circulator antenna interface using N-path mixers that achieves low NF while preserving the linearity of passive-mixer-first RX. The 0.55-to-0.9GHz hybrid-coupler-based circulator-RX achieves 2.7dB NF at 750MHz with +14dBm OOB IIP3 as part of an antenna interface that achieves 2.6-to-4.1dB TX→ANT insertion loss (IL) from 550 to 900MHz. The wideband coupler approach provides >40dB TX-to-RX baseband (BB) isolation across a 32MHz BW (56MHz BW for averaged 40dB isolation) and >30dB isolation across a 190MHz bandwidth without an on-chip balancing network, representing a >3dB improvement in NF and >2.7x increase in cancellation bandwidth compared to previously published circulator-RX.
Beyond the hoar stone

An interesting, if easily overlooked, formulaic expression in Old English literature, se harne stan, "hoar stone," indicates the boundary between the known, familiar world of human activity and the frightening realm of monsters, the supernatural and unusual adventure. The hero who sees this marker is forewarned and if he treads further, he does so with the knowledge that a normal struggle with an earthly foe must not be expected.
Effect of initial emergency room imaging choice on time to hip reduction and repeat imaging.

Abstract Objectives Hip dislocations are highly morbid injuries necessitating prompt reduction and post-reduction assessment for fracture and incarcerated fragments. Recent literature has questioned the need for initial pelvic radiographs for acute trauma patients, resulting in computed tomography (CT) scans as the initial evaluation. This study investigates the relationship between choice of pre-reduction imaging and treatment of acute hip dislocations. Design Retrospective Case-Control. Setting Single Academic Level I Trauma Center. Methods All acute hip dislocations from 2011 to 2016 were reviewed. Exclusion criteria were diagnosis of dislocation at another facility, death prior to reduction, emergent surgical or ICU intervention, and periprosthetic dislocation. Patients were grouped by those with only a radiograph prior to reduction, Group I, versus those with a pre-reduction CT scan, Group II. The primary outcomes were time to reduction and the acquisition of a second CT scan. Results Of the 123 hip dislocations identified, 35 patients were excluded, mostly for transfer with a known dislocation. Group I included 29 patients and Group II included 59 patients. The mean time to reduction was 74 min in Group I and 129 min in Group II for a difference of 55 min (p Conclusion Initial trauma pelvic radiography prior to CT is still important in the setting of suspected hip pathology to decrease time to hip reduction and unnecessary radiation exposure. Level of evidence Prognostic Level III.
Intrinsic ferromagnetism and topological properties in two-dimensional rhenium halides.

The realization of robust intrinsic ferromagnetism in two-dimensional (2D) materials in conjunction with the intriguing quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect has provided a fertile ground for novel physics and for the next-generation spintronic and topological devices. On the basis of density functional theory (DFT), we predict that layered 5d transition-metal heavier halides (TMHs), such as ReX3 (X = Br, I), show intrinsic ferromagnetism with high spin polarization and high Curie temperatures. The outstanding dynamic and thermodynamic stability ensures their experimental feasibility. The strong spin–orbit coupling (SOC) of Re makes the electronic structure of the ReI3 monolayer topologically nontrivial with a large Chern number (C = −4). DFT+U calculations reveal that the 2D system undergoes a nontrivial to trivial transition with increasing on-site Hubbard Coulomb interaction U through the emergence of a Dirac cone. This transition is corroborated by the emergence of chiral edge states and the anomalous Hall conductivity. These findings not only demonstrate room-temperature ferromagnetism in atomically thin 5d TMHs, but also pave the way for the potential realization of the QAH effect with high Chern numbers in pristine 2D layers.
Review of recent developments of quantitative structure-property relationship models on fire and explosion-related properties

Abstract Knowledge of fire and explosion-related properties of substances including flammability limits, minimum ignition energies, and flash points are critical in process safety research. However, conducting experimental measurements to determine these properties is often time consuming and hazardous. The recent development of quantitative structure-property relationship (QSPR) analysis provides accurate and reliable predictions of such target properties. In this review, upper and lower flammability limits and temperatures (UFL, UFLT, LFL, and LFLT), minimum ignition energy (MIE), auto-ignition temperature (AIT), flash point (FP), and other related properties are selected for investigation. Developments of QSPR methods within the past decade to predict each of these properties are summarized and examined. These developments serve to address the increasing need for improved fire and explosion risk assessment methods in the process industries.
Effects of Loading on Triaxial Test Results

A loading procedure for triaxial testing of soils which incorporates the advantages of both the stress-control (incremental loading) and constant rate-of-strain types of test is described. The technique entails using stress control until the peak deviator stress is approached, then converting the test to strain-rate control. A convenient and reliable apparatus for performing this test is described and test results are compared for the three types of tests.
1082. Hold the Phone: Antibiotic Prescribing Practices Associated with Nonvisit Encounters for Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) in Urology Clinics

Background Surveillance data uncovers a high proportion of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative organisms found in the outpatient setting, often in patients with recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs), underlying urologic abnormalities, and prior treatment for UTIs. We assessed prescribing practices at urology clinics to identify potential stewardship strategies for UTI management.