cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Buoyancy driven mixing of miscible fluids by volumetric energy deposition of microwaves.

AbstractAn experiment that seeks to investigate buoyancy driven mixing of miscible fluids by microwave volumetric energy deposition is presented. The experiment involves the use of a light, non-polar fluid that initially rests on top of a heavier fluid which is more polar. Microwaves preferentially heat the polar fluid, and its density decreases due to thermal expansion. As the microwave heating continues, the density of the lower fluid eventually becomes less than that of the upper, and buoyancy driven Rayleigh-Taylor mixing ensues. The choice of fluids is crucial to the success of the experiment, and a description is given of numerous fluid combinations considered and characterized. After careful consideration, the miscible pair of toluene / tetrahydrofuran (THF) was determined as having the best potential for successful volumetric energy deposition buoyancy driven mixing. Various single fluid calibration experiments were performed to facilitate the development of a heating theory. Thereafter, results f...
Survival of Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus in Commercial and Experimental Yogurts.

Elliker's Lactic agar and Rogosa SL Agar, an agar medium selective for Lactobacillus bulgaricus , were used to determine numbers of Streptococcus thermophilus and L. bulgaricus in commercial and labortatory-manufactured yogurt. Typically, the population of viable yogurt organisms increased initially after manufacture of yogurt, and then decreased during refrigerated storage of the product. Numbers of S. thermophilus and L. bulgaricus remained above 100 million/g in plain and strawberry University of Wisconsin (UW) yogurts stored at 5°C for 60 d. Numbers of the bacteria decreased more when these yogurts were stored at 10°C, although they remained above 10 million/g, except for S. thermophilus in plain UW yogurt, which decreased to less than 1 million/g after 47 d of storage. Commercial custard-style plain and blueberry yogurts had S. thermophilus populations above 300 million/g during the 60-d storage period at both 5 and 10°C. Numbers of L. bulgaricus decreased from 300 million/g at 15 d after manufacture to less than 1 million/g after 42 to 56 d. Numbers of S. thermophilus in commercial stirred plain and raspberry yogurts remained above 1 million/g when the products were stored at 5°C for 60 d, although they decreased to less than 1 million/g after 48 to 58 d when yogurt was stored at 10°C. The L. bulgaricus populations decreased to less than 1 million/g after 25 to 32 d for both varieties of stirred yogurt at both storage temperatures. Presence of various fruits in commercial yogurts had little effect on survival of the yogurt bacteria. With laboratory-manufactured yogurt, different incubation temperatures and milk mixes used to make the yogurt had little effect on survival of the yogurt organisms during subsequent refrigerated storage of the product.
Molecular Analysis of Pathogenicity of Pseudomonas Syringae Pathovars Phaseolicola and Syringae

Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola and P. syringae pv. syringae are the causal agents of halo blight and brown spot disease, respectively, of Phaseolus vulgaris. Generalized Tn5 transposon mutagenesis was used to identify mutants that have either attenuated or completely lost pathogenicity. An EcoRI fragment bearing Tn5 from 3 of 4 mutants from each pathovar has been cloned into pBR322. The site of Tn5 insertion has been mapped, and a restriction endonuclease site map has been constructed for each fragment. Physical and genetic maps have been developed for cosmid subclone pOSU3105, which complements the Tn5 Path- mutation of PP9021 of pv. syringae. Site-directed mutagenesis and marker exchange of mutated sequences into the wild type strain identified a region within a 2.7 kb SalI fragment near one end of the insert in pOSU3105 that is essential for disease expression in beans. Another region which is located approximately 4.5 kb downstream is also essential. Southern blot hybridization with probes made from the Tn5-containing EcoRI fragments from two Path- mutants of pathovar syringae showed homology with restriction fragments from both pathovars. However a Tn5-containing EcoRI fragment from another mutant did not hybridize with DNA from one strain of pv. syringae nor with pv. phaseolicola DNA.
Toxicity of Insensitive Munition (IMX) Formulations and Components

New insensitive munitions are being developed to minimize the acute hazards associated with non-intentional detonation of warheads. Two components often used in munition formulations have limited toxicity data, i.e., 3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one (NTO) and 2,4-dinitroanisole (DNAN). Oral acute, subacute, and subchronic studies have recently been completed. The primary adverse effect from subchronic oral NTO exposure was hypospermia, which followed a dose-dependent trend. Effects from DNAN exposure include reduced body weight, anemia, and neurotoxicity. Occupational exposure levels (OEL) have recently been developed for NTO and DNAN. However, other concerns regarding environmental issues have been raised. Herein we present the latest toxicity data and interpretations for NTO and DNAN as well as the third component of IMX-101, nitroguanidine (NQ), and describe a process to assist with holistic environmental, safety, and occupational health assessment for sustained production and use.
Evaluation of 28 nm CMOS Receivers at 183 GHz for Space-borne Atmospheric Remote Sensing

This letter discusses the capability of 28 nm CMOS technology to implement receivers at the 183 GHz band enabling the potential of future radiometers for monitoring atmospheric water vapor. To demonstrate the potential of 28 nm for constructing receivers at these frequencies, a prototype LNA and downconverter chip is demonstrated and measurements of both gain and noise performance are presented. The prototype receiver consumes 191 mW of DC power while providing noise temperatures on the order of 2700 K which demonstrates the potential for use in payload restricted cubesats and other small spacecraft platforms.
Crustal structure and surface-wave dispersion. Part II. Solomon Islands earthquake of July 29, 1950

Rayleigh waves from the Solomon Islands earthquake of July 29, 1950, recorded at Honolulu, Berkeley, Tucson, and Palisades are analyzed. Both the direct waves and those propagated through the Antipodes were observed for all stations except Honolulu. Application of a correction for land travel results in a dispersion curve for the oceanic portion of the path. It is found that the observed dispersion could be accounted for by propagation through a layer of water 5.57 km. thick overlying simatic rocks having shear velocity 4.56 km/sec. and density 3.0 gm/cc. Basement structure in the Pacific, Indian, South Atlantic, and North Atlantic oceans is identical within the limits of accuracy of the method. The sinusoidal nature and duration of the coda is explained by the effect of the oceans on the propagation of Rayleigh waves. The results are compatible with seismic refraction measurements in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Giving a new makeover to STEAM

The present research examines YouTube content creators, specifically YouTube beauty gurus, as digital literacy educators and how they can represent STEAM. Beauty videos represent a popular category of channels on YouTube, garnering millions of subscribers and lucrative sponsorship opportunities. Although YouTube beauty gurus primarily aim to entertain and inform their audiences about beauty, makeup, and fashion, their content may also communicate technical information and skills related to video production. Applying uses and gratifications and social cognitive theories, this two-part study examined the technology themes in popular YouTube beauty gurus' videos and the effects of this content on emerging adults. Study 1 was a content analysis of 102 YouTube beauty gurus' videos. Analyses indicated that the observed YouTube beauty gurus applied various techniques (such as adding text and social media links to videos) and included positive educational messages (such as educating others about cultures) in their videos. In Study 2, an online experiment revealed that watching a YouTube beauty guru's video can motivate viewers to produce a video, which is mediated through source attractiveness. Overall, this research illustrates how YouTube content creators can represent the technology field and educate viewers about technology uses. This research has significant implications for digital literacy approaches to STEAM education. YouTube beauty gurus used editing techniques and social media to enhance videos.The most frequent message in YouTube beauty gurus' videos was about education.YouTube beauty guru's video motivated viewers to engage in video production.The media model's attractiveness significantly affected viewers' motivation.
Achalasia Treatment, Outcomes, Utilization, and Costs: A Population-Based Study from the United States.

Background Randomized trials show that pneumatic dilation (PD) ≥30 mm and laparoscopic myotomy (LM) provide equivalent symptom relief and disease-related quality of life for patients with achalasia. However, questions remain about the safety, burden, and costs of treatment options. Study Design We performed a retrospective cohort study of achalasia patients initially treated with PD or LM (2009 to 2014) using the Truven Health MarketScan Research Databases. All patients had 1 year of follow-up after initial treatment. We compared safety, health care use, and total and out-of-pocket costs using generalized linear models. Results Among 1,061 patients, 82% were treated with LM. The LM patients were younger (median age 49 vs 52 years; p 0.05). Conclusions In the US, LM appears to be the preferred treatment for achalasia. Both LM and PD appear to be safe interventions. Along a short time horizon, the costs of LM and PD were not different. Mirroring findings from randomized trials, LM is associated with fewer reinterventions, less diagnostic testing, and fewer hospitalizations.
Measurement of Circulating Leptin and Soluble Leptin Receptors

Shortly following the discovery of leptin methods were developed to measure this novel adipokine in the circulation. The finding of multiple splice variants of the leptin receptor gene, including an mRNA for a soluble leptin receptor, suggested the presence of a circulating leptin binding protein. It was subsequently demonstrated that leptin associated with a soluble leptin receptor binding protein, although the mechanism through which the soluble leptin receptor reaches the circulation differs in rodents and humans. The quantitation of circulating leptin and soluble leptin receptor is now routinely performed in many laboratories. This chapter details the development of assays to measure leptin and soluble leptin receptor and describes some of the key findings about these circulating factors.
Concurrent Sampling with Local Digitization — An Alternative to Analog Test Bus

This paper presents a Concurrent Sampling (CS) method for measuring a multitude of analog DC voltages concurrently using local digitization. Boolean results after digitization are routed in an IJTAG compatible fashion. Analog quantities are no longer routed across the die, thus overcoming several limitations of Analog Test Buses. Furthermore, the proposed method enables real-time measurement of analog voltages, thus addressing a growing need for Automotive test and reliability. The proposed method is applied to an analog circuit consisting of widely used analog blocks such as a bandgap reference and an operational amplifier. Transistor level simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method is functional and the drawbacks of the ATB are no longer present.
Diastolic dysfunction is associated with exercise impairment in patients with sickle cell anemia.

Background Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (DD) is an independent risk factor for mortality in sickle cell anemia (SCA) and is associated with increased extracellular volume (ECV) on cardiac MRI (CMR). Exercise impairment is common in SCA, but its causes and prognostic value are not well understood. Objective To study the effects of DD and ECV on cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) in patients with SCA. Methods and results As part of a prospective study to characterize the cardiomyopathy of SCA (NCT02410811), 20 children and adults with SCA underwent CMR, echocardiography, and cycle ergometer CPET (age range 8-43 years). Maximum exercise was reached in 18 patients and 17 (94%) had reduced exercise capacity (%predicted VO2 less than 80%). Six patients had DD and none had systolic dysfunction. Patients with DD had lower exercise capacity compared to patients with normal diastolic function (%predicted VO2 48.2 ± 9.1% vs. 61.2 ± 11.7%; P = 0.01). The z-score of left ventricular lateral E/e' ratio, which is a marker of DD, was negatively associated with %predicted VO2 (r = -0.61, P = 0.01). All patients with moderate-to-severe exercise impairment (%predicted VO2 2. In a multivariate analysis, lateral E/e' z-score was independently associated with %predicted VO2 (P = 0.02). All participants had elevated ECV but the degree of elevation was not associated with exercise parameters. Conclusion Left ventricular DD is associated with decreased exercise capacity in SCA. Interventions to prevent or delay DD could improve exercise capacity, quality of life, and long-term outcomes in SCA.
Sub-solidus phase equilibria in the YO1.5-TaO2.5 system

Abstract The phase equilibria in the YO1.5-TaO2.5 binary system were studied in air from 1250 °C to 1700 °C across the entire composition range, clarifying discrepancies in previous investigations. Materials were synthesized by precursor routes and phases identified by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Solubility limits were determined using TEM/EDS and EPMA. The fluorite phase field was shown to extend down to at least 1250 °C. Ordering phenomena in two closely related phases near Y3TaO7 were investigated, suggesting a second-order ordering relationship between them. The order-disorder transformation to fluorite was observed to occur through formation of a superstructure. The homogeneity range for YTa7O19 was expanded based on chemical analysis, while YTa3O9 was shown to be a line compound. The emerging understanding provides valuable insight into related ternary systems as well as inputs for thermodynamic assessments.
Lower Bounds for Swapping Arthur and Merlin

We prove a lower bound for swapping the order of Arthur and Merlin in two-round Merlin-Arthur games using black-box techniques. Namely, we show that any AM-game requires time i¾?(t2) to black-box simulate MA-games running in time t. Thus, the known simulations of MA by AM with quadratic overhead, dating back to Babai's original paper on Arthur-Merlin games, are tight within this setting. The black-box lower bound also yields an oracle relative to which ${\rm MA-TIME}[n] \nsubseteq {\rm AM-TIME}[o(n^2)]$. Complementing our lower bounds for swapping Merlin in MA-games, we prove a time-space lower bound for simulations that drop Merlin entirely. We show that for any $c , there exists a positive dsuch that there is a language recognized by linear-time MA-games with one-sided error but not by probabilistic random-access machines with two-sided error that run in time ncand space nd. This improves recent results that give such lower bounds for problems in the second level of the polynomial-time hierarchy.
Visually Related Activity in Human Temporal Cortical Neurons

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews two aspects of the relation of human temporal lobe cortical neurons to vision: (1) nonspecific changes to visual stimuli have been investigated in 69 neuronal populations from 40 patients to determine whether human temporal lobe shows changes analogous to those recorded in monkey and (2) in a smaller set of 21 right nondominant neuronal populations from 11 patients, changes specific to more complex visual tasks have been investigated. These tasks included matching of faces and complex figures, labeling of facial emotional expressions, and object naming. In recordings from monkey temporal lobe, neuronal populations have been encountered that change their activity to specific visual stimuli, such as color or faces. The behavior measures have been presented in a series of four slides, each one measuring one of these functions. Six to eight series have been presented during each recording. The activity of a neuronal population during each epoch of each slide in one four-slide series, measuring the four different functions, has been ranked.
Hijacking EMT: Better Fat Than Dead.

Potential for cancers to form metastases requires cell dissemination utilizing epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) program. In this issue of Cancer Cell, Ishay-Ronen et al. show that plasticity intrinsic to the EMT program can be exploited to divert cancer cells into becoming post-mitotic adipocytes, thus preventing formation of metastases.
Prevalence of Nonstenotic Carotid Plaque in Stroke Due to Atrial Fibrillation Compared to Embolic Stroke of Undetermined Source.

Abstract Background: Embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS) accounts for about 20% of strokes. Nonstenotic cervical arterial plaque may be a mechanism of stroke in a subset of these patients. Methods: A cohort of consecutive patients with ischemic stroke was retrospectively identified from a stroke registry. Patients with unilateral anterior circulation embolic stroke due to atrial fibrillation (AF) or consistent with ESUS who underwent computed tomographic neck angiography were included. The prespecified primary outcome was a comparison of the prevalence of carotid plaque greater than or equal to 3 mm thickness ipsilateral versus contralateral to the infarct side. Results: Of 772 screened patients, 96 patients with ESUS and 99 patients with AF were included. Plaque greater than or equal to 3 mm was more frequently ipsilateral than contralateral to the infarct in patients with ESUS (41% versus 29%, P = .03), and plaque thickness was greater ipsilateral compared to contralateral (median 2.5 versus 2.2 mm, P = .02). No significant differences in plaque characteristics ipsilateral compared to contralateral were found in patients with AF. The prevalence of ipsilateral versus contralateral plaque was greater in ESUS patients less than or equal to 65 years old (48% versus 19%, P
Alkylation of Carbon via Enolates and Enamines

The alkylation of carbon nucleophiles by SN2-type processes is an important transformation in the synthesis of organic compounds. The generation and alkylation of such nucleophiles are described in this chapter. Alkylation and acylation of nucleophilic carbon species by other mechanisms are discussed in Chapter 2.
A STEMI MIMIC: MYOCARDIAL INVASION BY THE ACUTE MYELOGENOUS LEUKEMIA

Secondary cardiac cancer commonly occurs via metastatic spread into pericardium and myocardium from primary neoplastic process. ST segment elevation can mimic acute coronary syndrome despite absence of coronary obstruction. A 33-year old male with history of aggressive AML and no cardiac risk
“We Stand up for Each Other!” An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Collective Action among U.S. College Women

In 2018, more women than ever have run for and been elected to public office in the United States. Moreover, there has been an increase in women’s collective actions aimed at improving the welfare of women. In this social and political context, we examined the motivational mechanisms of collective action among college women in response to gender inequality and discrimination. Little work has addressed how collective action among college women emerges in the context of their lives. Based on data from 20 interviews with U.S. college women and using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), we developed a model that describes the process of mobilizing and maintaining engagement in collective action among college women and identifies the obstacles that they experience. Our findings extend prior research documenting the important roles of college women’s personal, social, and cultural life experiences in self-identification and collective action and describe additional obstacles and mechanisms of collective action. Researchers and activists alike could use the developed model to design strategies for mobilizing and sustaining activism among college women on behalf of all women.
A New Resource for Genomics and Precision Health Information and Publications on the Investigation and Control of COVID-19 and other Coronaviruses

Summary: We developed a new online database that contains the most updated published scientific literature, online news and reports, CDC and National Institutes of Health (NIH) resources. The tool captures emerging discoveries and applications of genomics, molecular, and other precision medicine and precision public health tools in the investigation and control of coronavirus diseases, including COVID-19, MERS-CoV, and SARS. Availability: Coronavirus Disease Portal (CDP) can be freely accessed via https://phgkb.cdc.gov/PHGKB/coVInfoStartPage.action.
Ethical Considerations for COVID-19 Vaccine Trials in Correctional Facilities.

This Viewpoint discusses the importance of studying coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine candidates in prisoners, and proposes a framework for considerin
A Curriculum to Teach Resilience Skills to Medical Students During Clinical Training

Introduction Burnout in medical students is extensive and a critical issue. It is associated with increased rates of depression, suicide, and poor perception of the educational environment. Enhanci...
To mask or not to mask amid the COVID-19 pandemic: how Chinese students in America experience and cope with stigma

Chinese students in the U.S. are confronted with the double jeopardy of virus and stigma amid the COVID19. This study focuses on their choice and impact of mask wearing during this pandemic. How do...
Comparing the Effects of Two Practice Conditions on the Subtraction Fact Fluency of Fifth-Grade Students

This study employed an alternating treatments design to compare the effects of two types of practice conditions on the subtraction fact fluency in a fifth-grade classroom. Eight, fifth-grade students participated in the study over a 5-week intervention period practicing addition and subtraction facts in a “fact families” condition (A + S) and only subtraction facts in the second condition (S only) delivered using a math app on an iPad®. Results showed seven out of eight students improved their overall subtraction fact fluency and surpassed expected growth rates. Performance was greater for the majority of students when facts were presented in the S only condition in comparison to facts presented in A + S condition. Despite making substantial gains, only four out of eight students were able to move from frustration level to instructional levels with the intervention. The discussion focuses on the procedural and conceptual knowledge of math instruction and the benefits and implications of using the iPad® to supplement math instruction.
Exploration of the biological effects of a basic Phospholipase A2 from Agkistrodon piscivorus piscivorus venom

Background: Phospholipases A2 (PLA2s) are found in abundance in many North American snake species. They are responsible for a wide array of pharmacological effects on tissues both locally and systemically. In A.p.piscivorus (A.p.p.), these toxins make up a significant portion of venom constituents. A basic PLA2 was recently isolated through reverse phase HPLC and identified as a D-49 PLA2 (A.p.p PLA2). After testing activities on an in vivo model, the release of pro-inflammatory mediators, systemic myotoxicity, and hemolytic effects were observed. This study aims to explore the hematological, myotoxic and pro-inflammatory activities of this toxin using in vitro models. Methods: Whole blood was used to test hemolytic activity of A.p.p PLA2 in vitro and, through the SONOCLOT analyzer, the effects on the hemostatic system. Moreover, we tested cell viability, expression of cell activation molecules, and cell damage markers on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) representing the vascular system and a myoblast cell line (C2C12) as a muscle model. Cells were incubated with A.p.p PLA2 over different times. Cell viability was tested using MTT assay, the expression and release of pro-inflammatory and hemostatic mediators were done using flow cytometry and ELISA. Muscle damage was detected evaluating creatine kinase (CK) release. Discussion/ Conclusion: It was observed that A.p.p PLA2 caused significant hemolytic activity and substantial changes in the coagulation system and mild changes in platelet function in whole human blood. Likewise, this toxin altered cell viability in C2C12 but not in HUVEC. Endothelial cells were also activated when incubated both at 3 h and 24 h. Additionally, C2C12 released IL-6 and CK, which are markers of cell damage. This data can be used for further experimentation to characterize enzymes belonging to this family to produce specialized antivenoms that target PLA2s and their biological activities.
Monkey see, monkey tap: mimicry of movement dynamics during coordinated tapping.

Common social behaviors, such as having a conversation, dancing, or playing a team sport, require precise interpersonal coordination of action. One question that emerges in research on interpersonal coordination is to what extent individuals implicitly mimic the spatial characteristics of movements for tasks that emphasize movement timing. To investigate this question, we conducted two experiments using an interpersonal synchronization-continuation tapping paradigm in which pairs of individuals tapped with their index finger on a table in synchrony with an auditory metronome and then continued tapping at the same tempo when the metronome stopped. Pairs of individuals tapped either together with the instruction to maintain synchrony with each other (interpersonal tapping) or tapped alone (solo tapping). Solo tapping conditions either occurred with their tapping partner present in the testing room (Experiment 1) or absent (Experiment 2). We used motion capture to examine both the spatial and temporal aspects of movement dynamics during task performance. In both experiments, participants implicitly mimicked subtle aspects of spatial elements of their partner’s movements. The extent of finger extension (tap amplitude) and, in Experiment 1, duration of finger contact with the surface (dwell time) were correlated between tapping partners when they tapped together. In some cases, this spatial mimicry extended to solo tapping conditions, but only during solo tapping conditions that followed the interpersonal tapping task, and, to a lesser degree, when solo tapping after having observed the other participant solo tapping.
Agency Costs, Bank Specialness and Renegotiation

This paper proposes the yield spread between public bonds and bank loans of the same firm (the Bond-Bank spread) as a measure of compensation for agency costs that cannot be mitigated by bondholders but can be mitigated by banks due to their ability to monitor the firm and renegotiate the loan. In a model of debt pricing and choice, the tradeoff between firm moral hazard and bank opportunism, leads to co existence of relationship debt (bank loans) and uninformed debt (bonds) in its capital structure. Contrary to common concerns, bank oversight actually increases in the presence of bonds. Using a large and unique data set of bond and bank yields, for the same firm at the same point in time, matched by Credit Rating, Seniority, Maturity and adjusted for collateral differences, it is shown that the Bond - Bank Spread is negative for high credit quality firms and positive for low credit quality firms, consistent with the theoretical model. Applying a new econometric methodology on matching developed by Heckman et al(1998), the results of the sample are confirmed. The Bond - Bank Spread is about -76 basis points for A borrowers, 75 and 53 basis points for BBB and BB borrowers, increasing to 173 and 335 basis points for the B and CCC rated borrowers respectively. Thus agency costs or the specialness of banks seem to be important for BBB and below investment grade firms across the credit spectrum.
Chemotherapeutic Drugs Induce PPAR-γ Expression and Show Sequence-Specific Synergy with PPAR-γ Ligands in Inhibition of Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer

Preclinical studies have shown that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-gamma) ligands can exert antitumor effects against non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and a variety of other cancers. In this study, we investigate the potential use of a PPAR-gamma ligand, troglitazone (Tro), in combination with either of two chemotherapeutic agents, cisplatin (Cis) or paclitaxel (Pac), for the treatment of NSCLC. In vitro, treatment of NSCLC cell lines with Tro potentiated Cis- or Pac-induced growth inhibition. The potentiation of growth inhibition was observed only when Cis or Pac treatment was followed by Tro and not vice versa, demonstrating a sequence-specific effect. Median effect analysis revealed a synergistic interaction between Tro and Cis in the inhibition of NSCLC cell growth and confirmed the sequence-specific effect. We also found that Cis or Pac up-regulated the expression of PPAR-gamma protein, accounting for the observed sequence-specific synergy. Similarly, experiments performed using a NSCLC xenograft model demonstrated enhanced effectiveness of combined treatment with Cis and PPAR-gamma ligands, Tro or pioglitazone. Tumors from Cis-treated mice also demonstrated enhanced PPAR-gamma expression. Together, our data demonstrate a novel sequence-specific synergy between PPAR-gamma ligands and chemotherapeutic agents for lung cancer treatment.
Comparison of purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus) from around the world.

Purple nutsedge collections from 13 states within the continental United States and from 21 other locations around the world were studied to compare their reproduction and morphological characteristics. Differences occurred in the number of shoots produced from single tubers, the number of leaves per shoot, and the length and width of leaves. Differences were also found with respect to flowering, length of culms supporting the inflorescences, and number, length, and width of involucral bracts at the apex of the culms. Variations occurred in the flower parts, including the number and length of rachises and the length of rachillae and spikelets. There were differences in the growth patterns of the leaves, with some collections having leaves mostly erect and others having leaves lie more closely to the ground. The color of the leaves varied between light and dark green, and the color of the inflorescence varied between light and dark purplish-brown. Greater variation was found among plants from different locations around the world than from within the continental United States.
Review of “Managed Care in a Public Setting”

Rick Steele makes a passionate case for a more community-based system of managed health care with the overall goal of decentralization of services and the expectation that this will result in lower costs without lowering of services. Drawing on his long and rich experiences as a practicing physician in Denmark and with public health training in the United States, Rick Steele has a broad perspective on the various forms used for delivery of health care in both Europe and the United States. He finds both positives and inadequacies in the delivery of health care in both continents and makes specific proposals for the development of a managed care system which is responsive to local needs and consists of an amalgamation of health and social services. This proposes that much of managed care delivery be done at the local level, and that this can be accomplished if communities set priorities, work to coordinate service, and promote inter-sector cooperation. He repeatedly emphasizes the problems that result when medical care is not adequately coordinated with social services. The result of failure to integrate health and social services delivery is both increased costs and reduced patient satisfactory and care. Steele provides chapters on staffing and development of a model program with specific suggestions for implementation and evaluation. These are presented with a clear understanding that an optimal system must be responsive to local needs, which will not be the same in every community. This book is a must read for anyone who is concerned about improving health care while at the same time reducing costs.
Borderlands Travel Writing: Helen Maria Williams, Mary Shelley and Political Conflict in France

Em Cartas escritas na Franca no verao 1790 a um amigo na Inglaterra (1790) , Helen Maria Williams descreve as mulheres como “as molas secretas [no] mecanismo” das questoes humanas, significando que as mulheres influenciam ate mesmo os eventos mais importantes (1790, p. 79). Williams esta se referindo as inumeras maneiras como as mulheres influenciaram a Revolucao Francesa, e ela fez a parte dela ao representar abertamente a agitacao politica na Franca para um publico ingles. Vivendo na Franca em um momento tao arriscado e publicando um relato de suas experiencias, Williams resistiu as expectativas sociais em relacao as mulheres. O desafio de Williams a autoridade masculina e aos papeis tradicionais do genero tambem pode ser visto nos escritos de vida e de viagem de Mary Shelley, tais como Historia de uma viagem de seis semanas (1817), um dos primeiros relatos da Franca apos o reinado de Napoleao. Com a Historia , vemos mais uma escritora britânica usando o genero de fronteiras da escrita de viagens para questionar limites de genero e de classe. As semelhancas e conexoes entre Williams e Shelley (ambas rechacadas por suas ligacoes e viagens com homens casados) torna surpreendente o fato de as duas ainda nao terem sido comparadas. In Letters Written in France in the Summer 1790 to a Friend in England (1790) , Helen Maria Williams describes women as “those secret springs in [the] mechanism” of human affairs, meaning that women influence even the most important events (1790, p. 79). Williams is referring to the numerous ways women affected the French Revolution, and she played her own part by positively representing political upheaval in France to an English audience. Living in France at such a risky time and publishing an account of her experiences, Williams defied societal expectations of women. Williams’ challenge to male authority and traditional gender roles can also be seen in Mary Shelley’s life and travel writings, such as History of a Six Weeks’ Tour (1817), one of the earliest reports from France after Napoleon’s reign. With History , we see yet another British woman writer using the borderlands genre of travel writing to question gender and class boundaries. The similarities and connections between Williams and Shelley (both of whom were shunned for their liaisons and travels with married men) make it surprising that the two have not yet been compared.
Blame assignment for errors made by large vocabulary speech recognizers.

This paper describes an approach to identifying the reasons that speech recognition errors occur. The algorithm presented requires an accurate word transcript of the utterances being analyzed. It places errors into one of the categories: 1) due to outof-vocabulary (OOV) word spoken, 2) search error, 3) homophone substitution, 4) language model overwhelming correct acoustics, 5) transcript/pronunciation problems, 6) confused acoustic models, or 7) miscellaneous/not possible to categorize. Some categorizations of errors can supply training data to automatic corrective training methods that refine acoustic models. Other errors supply language model and lexicon designers with examples that identify potential improvements. The algorithm is described and results on the combined evaluation test sets from 1992-1995 of the North American Business (NAB) [1] [2] [3] corpus using the Sphinx-II recognizer [4] are presented.
Entropy, complexity and chaos in brain rhythms

Summary form only given, as follows. The classical approaches to analysis and interpretation of the brain rhythm, namely the EEG, are to employ non-parametric or parametric signal processing methods. These linear system approaches to brain rhythm analysis have now given way to more advanced methodologies. These methods recognize that the brain rhythms are non-stationary and the brain's responses to stimuli are non-linear. While spectral analysis has proved its value in sleep staging analysis, higher order spectral analysis has been useful in determining depth of anesthesia. Complexity analysis has been shown to discriminate neurological disorders such as schizophrenia. Chaotic dynamics have been observed in brain rhythms preceding or resulting from epileptic seizures. The concepts derived from information theory, including measures of entropy, have been useful in characterizing brain injury. Advanced signal processing has long been of interest in application areas such as diagnosis of brain disorders, epilepsy, sleep or anesthesia analysis, and more recently in brain-computer interfaces. An emerging application being developed by our group is monitoring the brain's rhythm after neurological trauma or injury. Advanced quantitative analysis, based on the information and entropy analysis methods, has been used by our group to distinguish and characterize the injury response. State of the art brain rhythm analysis using the emerging signal processing methods is of interest to theoreticians targeting emergent, significant biomedical applications.
Teachers' pedagogical content knowledge of students' science writing and talk

The practice of science is not the uncovering of truth; rather, science is fundamentally about a community of scientists developing, debating and refining explanations through the use of evidence (Duschl, Schweingruber & Shouse, 2007). Implicit in this essential process are the scientific practices of explanation and argumentation. Developing an explanation in science focuses on how or why natural phenomena occur (Nagel, 1961). Constructing an argument includes both a social meaning, which focuses on debate between multiple individuals, and an individual meaning, which focuses on the argument product as a claim justified with evidence, warrants, and backing (Jimenez-Aleixandre & Erduran, 2008). Our goal is to combine these two practices to help teachers support their students in developing explanations about phenomena in which they debate and justify their claims with appropriate evidence and reasoning (McNeill, Lizotte, Krajcik & Marx, 2006).
PEACHES and Peers

How to distribute resource locators is a fundamental problem in PKI. Our PKI Resource Query Protocol (PRQP), recently presented at IETF, provides a standard method to queryfor PKI resources locators. However the distributionof locators across PKIs is still an unsolved problem. In this paper, we propose an extension to PRQP in order to distribute PRQP messages over a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) network. In this work, we combine PRQP with Distributed Hash Tables (DHTs)to efficiently distribute contents over a dynamic P2P overlay network. In particular we present the PEACHprotocol and a PEACH Enabled System (PEACHES)which are specifically targeted toward solving the PKI resources discovery problem. Our work enhances interoperability between existing PKIs and allows for easy configuration of applications, thus augmenting usability of PKI technology.
Carbon Fiber/Carbon Matrix Composites

We devote this chapter to a very special kind of composite that consists of carbon fibers embedded in a carbonaceous matrix. The carbon fiber in these composites can be continuous or short. We described the processing of carbon fibers in Chap. 2. Carbon is a very versatile material. It can exist in a variety of forms; amorphous, graphite, diamond, fullerenes, graphene, nanotubes, etc. Below we summarize the salient features of some important forms of carbon.
Gamma irradiation and interrelation of dietary vitamin A and copper on their deposition in the liver of swine.

A study was made to determine whether dietary vitamin A had an effect on the level of deposition of Cu in liver; whether dietary Cu had an effect on the deposition of vitamin A in the liver; and whether whole-body gamma irradiation had any effect on the deposition of vitamin A and Cu in the liver of swine. Vitamin A unsupplemented pigs had only 2 to 3 N of vitamin A/g fresh weight of liver. High vitamin A values (116 to 122 IU/g) in the liver of supplemented pigs demonstrated the remarkable capacity of the liver to store vitamin A when it is present in the diet. Whole-body Co/sup 60/ irradiation with 630 r had no significant effect on the deposition of vitamin A in these tissues. Swine that received no supplemental vitamin A had a greater concentration of Cu in liver, and irradiation resulted in a greater deposition of Cu in the liver. However, dietary vitamin A and irradiation did not affect deposition of Cu in heart and gracilis muscle. Cu supplementation increased the level of vitamin A in liver, possibly on account of the effect of CuSO/sub 4/ in eradicating intestinal parasites. (TCO)
Treatment of monogenic disorders

The ability to cure or treat genetic disease has not paralleled the advances made in molecular genetics to identify and characterize disease genes. Current treatments are mainly focused on symptom improvement or avoidance and include dietary modification, metabolite replacement, enzymatic blockage, enzyme potentiation, enzymatic bypass, and protein replacement. Keywords: monogenic disorders; enzyme replacement therapy; gene therapy
Low circulating levels of dehydroepiandrosterone in histologically advanced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

The biological basis of variability in histological progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is unknown. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is the most abundant steroid hormone and has been shown to influence sensitivity to oxidative stress, insulin sensitivity, and expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha and procollagen messenger RNA. Our aim was to determine whether more histologically advanced NAFLD is associated with low circulating levels of DHEA. Serum samples were obtained prospectively at the time of liver biopsy in 439 patients with NAFLD (78 in an initial and 361 in validation cohorts) and in controls with cholestatic liver disease (n = 44). NAFLD was characterized as mild [simple steatosis or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with fibrosis stage 0-2] or advanced (NASH with fibrosis stage 3-4). Serum levels of sulfated DHEA (DHEA-S) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Patients with advanced NAFLD had lower plasma levels of DHEA-S than patients with mild NAFLD in both the initial (0.25 ± 0.07 versus 1.1 ± 0.09 μg/mL, P < 0.001) and validation cohorts (0.47 ± 0.06 versus 0.99 ± 0.04 μg/mL, P < 0.001). A “dose effect” of decreasing DHEA-S and incremental fibrosis stage was observed with a mean DHEA-S of 1.03 ± 0.05, 0.96 ± 0.07, 0.83 ± 0.11, 0.66 ± 0.11, and 0.35 ± 0.06 μg/mL for fibrosis stages 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. All patients in both cohorts in the advanced NAFLD group had low DHEA-S levels, with the majority in the hypoadrenal range. The association between DHEA-S and severity of NAFLD persisted after adjusting for age. A relationship between disease/fibrosis severity and DHEA-S levels was not seen in patients with cholestatic liver diseases. Conclusion: More advanced NAFLD, as indicated by the presence of NASH with advanced fibrosis stage, is strongly associated with low circulating DHEA-S. These data provide novel evidence for relative DHEA-S deficiency in patients with histologically advanced NASH. (HEPATOLOGY 2008;47:484–492.)
Interferon-gamma exacerbates polymethylmethacrylate particle-induced interleukin-6 release by human monocyte/macrophages in vitro.

Periprosthetic membranes commonly observed at sites of total joint implant loosening exhibit abundant macrophages and particulate debris. Macrophages phagocytose orthopedic debris and release the pro-inflammatory mediators interleukin-1, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and prostaglandin E2. In addition, other immunologic agents, such as interferon-gamma, are present in tissues harvested from the bone-implant interface of failed orthopedic implants. The present study examined the effects of interferon-gamma on polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) particle-challenged monocyte/macrophages in vitro. The effects of interferon-gamma were determined by measuring interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha release by primary human monocyte/macrophages following exposure to PMMA particles. Exposure of the monocyte/macrophages to PMMA particles resulted in a dose-dependent release of interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha at 48 h. The interleukin-6 release in response to PMMA particle challenge was stimulated by 76% and 127% in the presence of 1.0 and 10.0 ng/mL of interferon-gamma, respectively. Interferon-gamma challenge alone did not alter interleukin-6 release relative to controls. In contrast to interleukin-6, interferon-gamma challenge stimulated tumor necrosis factor-alpha release in a dose-dependent manner. In the presence of particles, addition of 1.0 and 10.0 ng/mL of interferon-gamma resulted in 17% and 171% increases in the levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha release, respectively, relative to cultures challenged solely with particles. Blocking antibody to IFN-gamma inhibited the effect of IFN-gamma on particle-induced interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha release. The data presented in this study demonstrate that the immunologic modulator interferon-gamma exacerbates monocyte/macrophage release of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in response to PMMA particle challenge in vitro.
Studying Enzyme−Substrate Specificity in Silico: A Case Study of the Escherichia coli Glycolysis Pathway

In silico protein−ligand docking methods have proven to be useful in drug design and have also shown promise for predicting the substrates of enzymes, an important goal given the number of enzymes with uncertain function. Further testing of this latter approach is critical because (1) metabolites are on average much more polar than druglike compounds and (2) binding is necessary but not sufficient for catalysis. Here, we demonstrate that docking against the enzymes that participate in the 10 major steps of the glycolysis pathway in Escherichia coli succeeds in identifying the substrates among the top 1% of a virtual metabolite library.