cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Biventricular function on early echocardiograms in neonatal hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy.

Aim To compare early (<24 hours) echocardiograms (ECHOs) in infants with perinatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) undergoing a)therapeutic hypothermia (TH) b) normothermia and c) normal controls. Methods This was a single center retrospective review of clinical early ECHOs of term infants with moderate or severe HIE and controls (with a normal ECHO <72 hours of age). Right (RVO) and left ventricular output (LVO), RV and LV myocardial performance index (MPI), systolic to diastolic duration ratio (S/D) and eccentricity indices (EI) in systole and diastole were compared using ANOVA. Results Among infants with HIE (n=56, 38 in the TH and 18 in normothermia groups), 14 (25%) infants died and 42 survived. Significantly elevated biventricular MPI, lower RVO and LVO and pulmonary hypertension (abnormal EI, higher RV S/D and bidirectional or right-to-left ductal shunt) were found in groups with HIE, compared to controls (n=35). LV MPI was lower in HIE-TH, compared to the HIE-normothermia group. Infants with HIE who died (n=14) had a significantly lower EId [0.77 (0.09) vs. 0.83 (0.08), p=0.021] compared to survivors (n=42). Conclusion Infants with perinatal HIE have ventricular dysfunction; those who died had significantly lower EId than survivors; this association needs to be further validated. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Targeted antigen delivery by an anti-class II MHC VHH elicits focused αMUC1(Tn) immunity

Unusual patterns of glycosylation on the surface of transformed cells contribute to immune modulation and metastasis of malignant tumors. Active immunization against them requires effective antigen presentation, which is complicated by a lack of access to tumor-specific posttranslational modifications through standard genetic approaches and by the low efficiency of passive antigen sampling. We found that antigen targeted to antigen presenting cells via class II MHC products can elicit a robust immune response against MUC1(Tn) bearing a defined tumor-associated glycoform, Tn. The two-component vaccine construct was prepared by sortase-mediated protein ligation of a synthetic MUC1(Tn) fragment to a class II MHC-binding single-domain antibody fragment (VHH7) as targeting moiety. We show that VHH7 targets antigen presenting cells in vivo, and when conjugated to MUC1(Tn) can elicit a strong αMUC1(Tn) immune response in mice. The resulting sera preferentially recognized the MUC1 epitope with the tumor-associated carbohydrate antigen Tn and were capable of killing cancer cells in a complement-mediated cytotoxicity assay. Immunoglobulin isotype analysis and cytokine release assays suggested a favorable Th1 response. A single boost 12 months after primary immunization triggered a recall response of the same quality, suggesting that long-term αMUC1(Tn) memory had been achieved.
Quantification of a maximum injection volume of CO2 to avert geomechanical perturbations using a compositional fluid flow reservoir simulator

Abstract Subsurface CO2 injection and storage alters formation pressure. Changes of pore pressure may result in fault reactivation and hydraulic fracturing if the pressure exceeds the corresponding thresholds. Most simulation models predict such thresholds utilizing relatively homogeneous reservoir rock models and do not account for CO2 dissolution in the brine phase to calculate pore pressure evolution. This study presents an estimation of reservoir capacity in terms of allowable injection volume and rate utilizing the Frio CO2 injection site in the coast of the Gulf of Mexico as a case study. The work includes laboratory core testing, well-logging data analyses, and reservoir numerical simulation. We built a fine-scale reservoir model of the Frio pilot test in our in-house reservoir simulator IPARS (Integrated Parallel Accurate Reservoir Simulator). We first performed history matching of the pressure transient data of the Frio pilot test, and then used this history-matched reservoir model to investigate the effect of the CO2 dissolution into brine and predict the implications of larger CO2 injection volumes. Our simulation results –including CO2 dissolution– exhibited 33% lower pressure build-up relative to the simulation excluding dissolution. Capillary heterogeneity helps spread the CO2 plume and facilitate early breakthrough. Formation expansivity helps alleviate pore pressure build-up. Simulation results suggest that the injection schedule adopted during the actual pilot test very likely did not affect the mechanical integrity of the storage complex. Fault reactivation requires injection volumes of at least about sixty times larger than the actual injected volume at the same injection rate. Hydraulic fracturing necessitates much larger injection rates than the ones used in the Frio pilot test. Tested rock samples exhibit ductile deformation at in-situ effective stresses. Hence, we do not expect an increase of fault permeability in the Frio sand even in the presence of fault reactivation.
Melanopsin ganglion cell outer retinal dendrites: Morphologically distinct and asymmetrically distributed in the mouse retina

A small population of retinal ganglion cells expresses the photopigment melanopsin and function as autonomous photoreceptors. They encode global luminance levels critical for light-mediated non-image forming visual processes including circadian rhythms and the pupillary light reflex. There are five melanopsin ganglion cell subtypes (M1-M5). M1 and displaced M1 (M1d) cells have dendrites that ramify within the outermost layer of the inner plexiform layer. It was recently discovered that some melanopsin ganglion cells extend dendrites into the outer retina. Outer Retinal Dendrites (ORDs) either ramify within the outer plexiform layer (OPL) or the inner nuclear layer, and while present in the mature retina, are most abundant postnatally. Anatomical evidence for synaptic transmission between cone photoreceptor terminals and ORDs suggests a novel photoreceptor to ganglion cell connection in the mammalian retina. While it is known that the number of ORDs in the retina is developmentally regulated, little is known about the morphology, the cells from which they originate, or their spatial distribution throughout the retina. We analyzed the morphology of melanopsin-immunopositive ORDs in the OPL at different developmental time points in the mouse retina and identified five types of ORDs originating from either M1 or M1d cells. However, a pattern emerges within these: ORDs from M1d cells are generally longer and more highly branched than ORDs from conventional M1 cells. Additionally, we found ORDs asymmetrically distributed to the dorsal retina. This morphological analysis provides the first step in identifying a potential role for biplexiform melanopsin ganglion cell ORDs.
Ethnoarchaeology and Experimental Archaeology Defined

Ethnoarchaeology and experimental archaeology have become established subfields in archaeology; so much so that it is possible to be an archaeologist but spend little time excavating or analyzing materials from an archaeological site. During the inception of the modern era of ethnoarchaeology and experimental archaeology, which I place at the beginning of the “new archaeology,” there was an abundance of theoretical statements and attempts at defining the scope of these new subfields (see the papers in Donnan and Clewlow 1974a). Not since the work of Reid et al. (1975) and Tringham (1978), however, has there been a discussion, from a theoretical perspective, of what comprises ethnoarchaeology and experimental archaeology and how they interrelate. There is certainly a need, especially in experimental archaeology, for a refinement of definitions and a discussion of how each subfield relates to the primary objective of archaeology—understanding the relationships between human behavior and material objects. From the perspective of having participated in both ethnoarchaeology and experimental archaeology, I provide working definitions of each subfield. I argue that ethnoarchaeology and experimental archaeology pursue the same archaeological objective (see Reid et al. 1975) but that they can be contrasted by the manner in which they control variables and the data each subfield analyzes. I also argue that combining ethnoarchaeology and experimental archaeology has the greatest potential for examining issues of archaeological importance. A case study is used to demonstrate this strategy and the insights it can provide.
Imaging Melphalan Therapy Response in Preclinical Extramedullary Multiple Myeloma with 18F-FDOPA and 18F-FDG PET

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a debilitating neoplasm of terminally differentiated plasma B-cells that has resulted in over 13,000 deaths in 2017 alone. Combination therapies involving melphalan, a small molecule DNA alkylating agent, are commonly prescribed to patients with relapsed/refractory MM, which necessitates the stratification of responding patients to minimize toxicities and improve quality of life. Here, we evaluated the use of 18F-FDOPA, a clinically available positron emission tomography (PET) radiotracer with specificity to the L-type amino acid transporter-1 (LAT1), which also mediates melphalan uptake, for imaging melphalan therapy response in a preclinical immunocompetent model of MM. Methods: C57Bl/KaLwRij mice were implanted subcutaneously with unilateral murine 5TGM1-GFP tumors, and divided into three independent groups: untreated, treated beginning week 2, and treated beginning week 3 post tumor implantation. The untreated and week 2 therapy cohorts were imaged with preclinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and dynamic 18F-FDG and 18F-FDOPA-PET/computed tomography (PET/CT) at week 4 on separate, contiguous days, while the week 3 therapy cohort was longitudinally imaged weekly for 2 weeks. Metabolic tumor volume, lesion avidity, maximum standard uptake value, and total uptake metrics were calculated for both tracers. Immunohistochemistry was performed on representative tissue from all groups for LAT1 and glucose transporter-1 (GLUT1) expression. Results: Melphalan therapy induced a statistically significant reduction in lesion avidity and uptake metrics for both 18F-FDG and 18F-FDOPA. There was no visible effect on GLUT1 expression, but LAT1 density was increased in the week 2 therapy cohort. Longitudinal imaging of the week 3 group showed variable changes in 18F-FDG and 18F-FDOPA uptake, with increase in 18F-FDOPA lesion avidity in the 2nd week relative to baseline. LAT1 and GLUT1 surface density in the untreated tumor and week 3 treatment group were qualitatively similar. Conclusion:18F-FDOPA-PET/CT served as a complementary method to 18F-FDG-PET/CT in imaging melphalan therapy response in extramedullary preclinical MM. 18F-FDOPA uptake was linked to LAT1 expression and melphalan response, with longitudinal imaging suggesting stabilization of LAT1 levels and melphalan tumor cytotoxicity. Future work will explore additional MM cell lines with heterogeneous LAT1 expression and response to melphalan therapy.
Outcomes of a Peer Mentor Intervention for Persons With Recurrent Psychiatric Hospitalization.

Objective:This article presents findings from a randomized controlled trial of a peer support mentorship intervention designed for individuals with serious mental illness and frequent, recurrent ps...
Different Types of Network Concepts

While some network concepts (e.g., connectivity) have found important practical applications, other network concepts (e.g., network centralization) are rarely being used. Before attempting to understand why some concepts are more interesting than others, it is important to understand how network concepts relate to each other. As a step toward this goal, we explore the meaning of network concepts in approximately factorizable networks. In these types of networks, simple relationships exist between seemingly disparate network concepts. To provide a formalism for relating network concepts to each other, we define three types of network concepts: fundamental-, conformity-, and approximate conformity-based concepts. For each type, one can define intramodular and intermodular network concepts. Fundamental concepts include the standard definitions of connectivity, density, centralization, heterogeneity, clustering coefficient, and topological overlap. Approximate conformity-based analogs of fundamental network concepts have several theoretical advantages. First, they allow one to derive simple relationships between seemingly disparate network concepts. For example, we derive simple relationships between the clustering coefficient, the heterogeneity, the density, the centralization, and the topological overlap. Second, they allow one to show that fundamental network concepts can be approximated by simple functions of the connectivity in network modules. Third, they allow one to study the effects of transforming a network. We illustrate these results using protein–protein interaction networks and using block-diagonal networks. This work reviews and extends work with Jun Dong.
A Provably Secure Nyberg-Rueppel Signature Variant with Applications.

This paper analyzes the modified Nyberg-Rueppel signature scheme (mNR), proving it secure in the Generic Group Model (GM). We also show that the security of the mNR signature is equivalent (in the standard model) to that of a twin signature [32], while achieving computational and bandwidth improvements. As a provably secure signature scheme, mNR is very efficient. We demonstrate its practical relevance by providing an application to the construction of a provably secure, self-certified, identity-based scheme (SCID). SCID schemes combine some of the best features of both PKIbased schemes (functionally trusted authorities, public keys revocable without the need to change identifier strings) and ID-based ones (lower bandwidth requirements). The new SCID scheme matches the performance achieved by the most efficient ones based on the discrete logarithm, while requiring only standard security assumptions in the Generic Group Model.
Progesterone levels on the day of human chorionic gonadotropin administration in cycles with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist suppression are not predictive of pregnancy outcome

In in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles using gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a) suppression, we investigated whether an elevated progesterone (P) level on the day of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) administration indicates premature luteinization and is associated with a lower pregnancy rate. We retrospectively studied 101 patients treated with the GnRH-a leuprolide acetate, begun in the luteal phase of the prior menstrual cycle and continued until the day of hCG administration. On the day of hCG, 72 patients had P
Concurrent and Predictive Validity Estimates for the WISC-R IQs and ELPs by Racial-Ethnic and SES Groups.

Concurrent and predictive validity estimates for both WISC-R IQs and Estimated Learning Potential (ELPs) are presented for 396 children from grades one through eight stratified by racial-ethnic gro...
The changing face of phase I protocols: A closer look at study requirements

3061 Background: We have studied our recent experience in the MDACC Clinical Translational Research Center (CTRC), the Phase I Program, and the Dept. of Thoracic/Head & Neck Medical Oncology to com...
The effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on pathologic downstaging and survival for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer with mixed histological features.

e15019 Background: Urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB) with mixed histological features (MH) is thought to portend a worse prognosis when compared to pure UC, based on reports of decreased su...
Thermal state and solidification regime of the martian core: Insights from the melting behavior of FeNi-S at 20 GPa

Abstract A series of multi-anvil experiments have been conducted to define the iron-rich liquidus of the iron-nickel-sulfur (FeNi-S) system at 20 GPa, the estimated pressure of the martian core-mantle boundary (CMB). The liquidus curve of FeNi-S containing about 9 wt.% Ni has a concave up shape, and is as much as 400 K lower than the liquidi previously applied to the martian core with sparse experimental constraints. Unlike existing liquidi of Fe-S and FeNi-S at 23 GPa, which predict a fully molten core for a narrow range of sulfur content between 14 and 15 wt.% S, our results are consistent with a molten state for all proposed core compositions, and establishes a new minimum CMB temperature of 1500 K for 10 wt.% S and 1250 K for 16 wt.% S. Extrapolating our FeNi-S liquidus to high pressures and comparing it to calculated areotherms, we find that three core crystallization regimes are possible. For a martian core with moderate sulfur content (10 to 13 wt.%) or lower, crystallization takes the form of iron snow near the CMB, while for cores with higher sulfur content (15-16 wt.%), solidification occurs near the center of the planet in the form of solid Fe3S. At an intermediate sulfur content of 14 wt.%, Fe3S would precipitate over a broad depth range and may appear fully molten to surface observations.
Rejection of nitrogen species in real fresh and hydrolyzed human urine by reverse osmosis and nanofiltration

Abstract Urea and unionized ammonia are valuable nitrogen compounds with numerous industrial uses such as fertilizer and diesel exhaust fluid. Human urine is a local source of both urea and ammonia depending on the age of the urine. Nitrogen recovery from urine is possible through membrane separation when the nitrogen rejection is low (i.e., permeation is high) and the rejection of salts and other contaminates is high. Yet, there is limited research on the rejection of urea and unionized ammonia in real human urine by reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF). Therefore, this research investigated the rejection of urea in fresh urine at varying pH and the rejection of unionized ammonia and the ammonium ion in hydrolyzed urine by RO, NF, and microfiltration (MF). The average urea rejection for RO was 57% and pH did not significantly affect rejection. The average urea rejection for NF ranged from 42 to 54% with a significant decrease in rejection at pH 12.5 compared to pH 5. The average ammonia rejection for both RO and NF at pH 6.5 and 9 were 94 and 80%, respectively. At pH 11.5 when all the nitrogen was unionized ammonia, RO rejected 36% of the ammonia and NF rejected 10% of the ammonia without a statistical difference in permeate conductivity. Therefore, when these different membrane separation processes are compared, NF is found to be a promising technology to recover up to 90% of ammonia from hydrolyzed urine with a high rejection of salts and organics.
“Worn out”: Coping strategies for managing antiretroviral treatment fatigue among urban people of color living with HIV who were recently disengaged from outpatient HIV care

Antiretroviral-related treatment fatigue is inconsistently defined in the literature on barriers to ART adherence. Research suggests that treatment fatigue is a salient challenge for people struggl...
An ‘antifouling’ porous loofah sponge with internal microchannels as solar absorbers and water pumpers for thermal desalination

As a new solar technology, interface steam generation has great prospects in the application of desalination and fractionation. Herein, we report a sustainable, efficient, and accessible loofah-based solar evaporator with a bilayer structure. The top carbonized layer functioned as efficient solar absorbers with broad light absorption and high light trapping. At the bottom layer, attributed to loofah fibers' natural hydrophilicity and hierarchical macropores and microchannels, sufficient water was pumped to the localized heating interface. During desalination, the salt concentration gradient between the macropores and microchannels allowed for efficient salt drainage in the loofah and prevented the accumulation of salt on the surface of the evaporator, thus ensuring long-term stability. This economical light absorber and the water-pumping natural fibers exhibited a steam generation rate of ∼1.42 kg m−2 h−1 and an efficiency of 89.9% under one Sun. This low cost, abundant, and stable material is promising for future large-scale solar steam applications.
Acoustic and language analysis of speech for suicide ideation among US veterans

Abstract U.S. veterans are 1.5 times more likely to die by suicide than Americans who never served in the military. Considering such high rates, there is an urgent need to develop innovative approaches for objective and clinically applicable assessments to detect individuals at high risk. We hypothesize that speech in suicidal veterans has a range of distinctive acoustic and linguistic features. The purpose of this work is to build an automated machine learning and natural language processing tool to screen for suicidality. Veterans made 588 narrative audio recordings via a mobile app in a real-life setting. In addition, veterans completed self-report psychiatric scales and questionnaires. Recordings were analyzed to extract voice characteristics including prosodic, phonation, and glottal. The audios were also transcribed to extract textual features for linguistic analysis. We evaluated the acoustic and linguistic features using both statistical significance and ensemble feature selection. We also examined the performance of different machine learning algorithms on multiple combinations of features to classify suicidal and non-suicidal audios. Random Forest classifier correctly identified suicidal ideation in veterans based on the combined set of acoustic and linguistic features of speech with 86% sensitivity, 70% specificity, and an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 80%. Speech analysis of audios collected from veterans in everyday life settings using smartphones is a promising approach for suicidal ideation detection. A machine learning classifier may eventually help clinicians identify and monitor high-risk veterans.
Probabilistic prediction of geomagnetic storms and the Kp index

Geomagnetic activity is often described using summary indices to summarize the likelihood of space weather impacts, as well as when parameterizing space weather models. The geomagnetic index K p in particular, is widely used for these purposes. Current state-of-the-art forecast models provide deterministic K p predictions using a variety of methods – including empirically-derived functions, physics-based models, and neural networks – but do not provide uncertainty estimates associated with the forecast. This paper provides a sample methodology to generate a 3-hour-ahead K p prediction with uncertainty bounds and from this provide a probabilistic geomagnetic storm forecast. Specifically, we have used a two-layered architecture to separately predict storm (K p ≥ 5− ) and non-storm cases. As solar wind-driven models are limited in their ability to predict the onset of transient-driven activity we also introduce a model variant using solar X-ray flux to assess whether simple models including proxies for solar activity can improve the predictions of geomagnetic storm activity with lead times longer than the L1-to-Earth propagation time. By comparing the performance of these models we show that including operationally-available information about solar irradiance enhances the ability of predictive models to capture the onset of geomagnetic storms and that this can be achieved while also enabling probabilistic forecasts.
Local excision versus radical resection in patients with rectal neuroendocrine tumours: a propensity score match analysis

Background The rectum is a common site for neuroendocrine tumours of the gastrointestinal tract. Diagnosis of these tumours has been increasing in recent years, highlighting the need to better define treatment options for patients with rectal neuroendocrine tumours (rNETs). Methods We performed a retrospective analysis using the National Cancer Database (2004-2014) to compare overall survival (OS) between local excision (LE) and radical resection (RR). To minimize bias, we performed three propensity score-matched comparisons stratified by tumour size: 20 mm. We compared OS by Kaplan-Meier analysis. We also examined margin status and postoperative outcomes for each comparison. Results A total of 12 996 patients underwent surgical treatment for rNET. There was no significant difference in probability of 10-year OS between LE and RR for patients with tumours 20 mm, probability of 10-year OS was significantly longer in the LE group (76.5% versus 37.0%, P 20 mm, RR had significantly higher rates of 30-day readmission and negative margins. In subset analysis, there was no difference in OS for patients with positive margins after LE versus negative margins after RR for all tumour size groups. Conclusions Our findings suggest that LE is a reasonable treatment option in patients with rNETs, especially for patients with high perioperative risk. Limitations to this study include its retrospective nature and inability to analyse surgeon decision-making.
“You Know You’re Missing Out on Something”: Collective Nostalgia and Community in Tim’s Twitter Listening Party during COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of our social lives. Stay-at-home and social distancing orders have resulted in the absence of live musical performances. In this context, our paper e...
Flatfish may be underestimated in the diet of gray seals (Halichoerus grypus)

The United States east coast population of the gray seal (Halichoerus grypus (Fabricius, 1791)) was once hunted to near extirpation, but the population has since rebounded due to protection by the ...
Compressing Deep Neural Networks for Efficient Speech Enhancement

The use of deep neural networks (DNNs) has dramatically improved the performance of speech enhancement in the past decade. However, a large DNN is typically required to achieve strong enhancement performance, and this kind of model is both computationally intensive and memory consuming. Hence it is difficult to deploy such DNNs on devices with limited hardware resources or in applications with strict latency requirements. In order to address this problem, we propose a model compression pipeline to reduce DNN size for speech enhancement, which is based on three kinds of techniques: sparse regularization, iterative pruning and clustering-based quantization. Evaluation results show that our approach substantially reduces the sizes of different DNNs without significantly affecting their enhancement performance. Moreover, we find that training and compressing a large DNN yields higher STOI and PESQ than directly training a small DNN that has a comparable size to the compressed DNN. This further suggests the benefits of using the proposed model compression approach.
In Search of a Cultural Code: 5th Contribution to the Forum about The Firebird and the Fox: Russian Culture under Tsars and Bolsheviks by Jeffrey Brooks

From the plethora of big and small achievements that the author celebrates in the book, my essay addresses such subjects as the continuity of cultural creativity in the 19th and 20th centuries, children’s literature, the sociology of reading, and the place of goodness in literature and life under Stalinism – all within the span of the 20th century. Sharing with the author my admiration of accomplishments of Russian and Soviet culture, I try here to historicize the themes and expand slightly on some of them, like perceptions of the cultural products
Inquiry-Based Learning in the Context of a Common Read Program Encourages Desired Learning Outcomes in First-Year Writing Courses

This action research case study on a Common Read Program (CRP) includes analysis of learning management system-mediated student writing and research writing connected to a Common Read selection in ...
Governance polycentrism or regulated self-regulation: Rule systems for human rights impacts of economic activity where national, private, and international regimes collide

The development of governance regimes for the human rights impacts of economic activity has been at the center of the evolution of governance where multiple legal and non-legal systems simultaneously apply. The contribution considers the extent to which it is possible to order the many layers of governance (law, soft law, normative standards, individual practices, contractual arrangements, custom, etc.) that together constitute the emerging "law" of human rights impacts of business activity. This layering and simultaneous application of rules (polycentricity) is likely to produce conflict or contraction (rule regime collisions) that must be mediated. Failures of mediation can impede the operation of the system to produce a coherent management of behaviors. Conventional law produced and enforced through the mechanisms available to conventionally constituted states do not serve this transnational project well. Conventional law tends to be static and substantially bound by the territory form which it emerges and in which it applies with the greatest force. The contribution thus poses the question: how is it possible to produce regulatory coherence in a system which lacks an ordering center but operates through multiple regulatory systems simultaneously? Part I considers the structures and premises of the emerging governance framework built into the United Nations Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights (UNGP), and the three pillar framework from which it arose (state duty to protect, corporate responsibility to respect, and effective remedies for adverse effects of human rights), as it has been incorporated into the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. Part II then challenges the formal logic of the theory polycentric anarchy with a consideration of the functional effects of implementation. Governance in action may not so much produce spaces for managed polycentric collision as it links politically posited law and private governance in what could be called an externally regulated self-regulation. In particular, Gunther Teubner’s notion of self-constitutionalizing regimes founded not on polycentricity as order without a center, but rather as the construct of a network of linkages that produces both self constitution and dependent autonomy. The linkages that tie the governance systems of states, enterprises and international bodies in the regulation of the human rights effects of economic activity, then, have substance. These linkages do not produce order formally, but they do have the functional effect of ordering relations among autonomous actors based on the effects of their communicative interventions. It is in the understanding of the character of those linkages, as anarchic sites for mediation of collision or as the form of new multi-systemic hierarchies of regulation, that one can see emerge the nature of “law” in the 21st century.
Protein kinase C-mediated down-regulation of β2-adrenergic receptor and gene expression in rat C6 glioma cells

We investigated the regulation of β2-adrenergic receptors (β2AR) by protein kinase C (PKC) in rat C6 glioma cells at the levels of receptor activity, protein expression and gene expression. Cells exposed to 4β-phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA), a potent activator of PKC, exhibited a time- and concentration-dependent decrease in β2AR binding activity. Maximum down-regulation was ∼50% by 24 h and western blot analysis revealed a parallel decrease in β2AR protein. In addition, PMA treatment resulted in an acute desensitization of β2AR-stimulated cyclic AMP response prior to any reduction in receptor levels. PMA exposure also affected steady-state β2AR mRNA levels in a time-dependent, biphasic manner. During the first 4 h, levels decreased by ∼60% and then slowly recovered to ∼75% of control by 24 h. As the reduction in receptor mRNA was not due to a decrease in its stability, we examined β2AR gene transcription by nuclear run-on assays. Transcriptional activity in nuclei from C6 cells treated with PMA for 2 h was reduced by 70% compared to controls. Thus PKC can regulate β2AR at least two levels: the first being an acute desensitization of receptor function, and the second being a more prolonged repression of receptor gene transcription that in turn results in decreased receptor expression.
Hankel approximation and H/sup infinity / control over a planar domain. I. Hankel operators and their singular values

The authors define the Hankel operator over an arbitrary finitely connected planar domain and find an integral representation of the projection operator and a factorization of the Hankel operator which reveals its finite-dimensionality. By finding the conjugate operators, they relate the Hankel singular values to the solution of Mazko's generalized Lyapunov equations. The results are believed to provide the basis for further development of the theory of balanced and optimal Hankel norm model reduction. H/sup infinity / control over a planar domain, etc. >
Role of estrogens in adipocyte development and function.

Estrogen has historically been viewed as a major regulator of adipose tissue in adult females, but recent work has indicated that estrogen's role in adipose biology may be broader than initially ap...
Recovery of 65Zn from waste solutions from gallium targets at Brookhaven Linac Isotope Producer

A procedure for recovery of 65Zn from acidic Ga-rich solutions generated in 68Ge production process was developed and implemented in a “hot cell” environment. A one step simple separation was carried out on anion exchange column filled with Biorad AG1-X8 resin. With 65Zn recovery yields of more than 95% this procedure is currently routinely used at Brookhaven Linac Isotope Producer.
Preoperative cytology with molecular analysis to help guide surgery for pediatric thyroid nodules.

Abstract Objectives To discuss the use of molecular mutation analysis in the surgical management of pediatric thyroid nodules. Methods This study is a case series with retrospective chart review performed at a tertiary children's hospital. Pediatric patients who presented to the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC with a thyroid nodule and had subsequent fine needle aspiration with positive molecular mutation between November 2009 and February 2012 were identified and charts were reviewed. Patient demographics, presenting signs, lab results, pathologic findings, and surgical outcomes were collected. Results 5 pediatric patients with positive molecular mutation studies on preoperative FNA were identified. FNA results were categorized as follows: suspicious for follicular neoplasm (n = 2), suspicious for malignant cells (n = 1), and positive for malignant cells (n = 2). The following molecular mutations were identified: BRAF (V600E) (n = 2), PAX8/PPARγ (n = 1), HRAS (n = 1), and RET/PTC (n = 1). A total thyroidectomy was performed on each patient. In all cases the final pathology was positive for malignancy (papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), n = 3; follicular variant of PTC, n = 2). Three of five patients had transient postsurgical hypocalcemia. There were no other postoperative complications. Conclusions This series provides evidence that preoperative FNA with reflex molecular testing in pediatric thyroid nodules can help guide surgical decision making, reduce the need for repeat surgeries, and diminish the risk of complications from a staged procedure.
A Neighborhood-Level Analysis of Concealed Hand-Gun Permits

Purpose – The purpose of the present analysis is to test the relative impact of trust in police, social cohesion, and fear of crime on neighborhood‐level rates of concealed pistol license (CPL) holding. The dynamics of both formal and informal social control are hypothesized to affect neighborhood CPL concentrations.Design/methodology/approach – Data were neighborhood‐level and came from a city survey and the state Department of Licensing. A path model was estimated.Findings – Police service level had a negative indirect effect on neighborhood CPL concentrations through fear of crime, but had a strong positive direct effect. Social cohesion also had a strong positive direct effect on CPL rates.Research limitations/implications – The study suggests that lawful concealed hand‐gun carrying should be viewed as a way in which neighborhoods exercise informal social control. People in socially cohesive areas may carry concealed hand‐guns not only because they fear for their own safety, but also because they feel...
Essentiality of fatty acids.

All fatty acids have important functions, but the term “essential” is applied only to those polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) that are necessary for good health and cannot be completely synthesized in the body. The need for arachidonic acid, which is utilized for eicosanoid synthesis and is a constituent of membrane phospholipids involved in signal transduction, is the main reason why the n-6 class of PUFA are essential. Physiological data indicate that n-3 PUFA also are essential. Although eicosapentaenoic acid also is a substrate for eicosanoid synthesis, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is more likely to be the essential n-3 constituent because it is necessary for optimal visual acuity and neural development. DHA is present in large amounts in the ethanolamine and serine phospholipids, suggesting that its function involves membrane structure. Because the metabolism of n-6 PUFA is geared primarily to produce arachidonic acid, only small amounts of 22-carbon n-6 PUFA are ordinarily formed. Thus, the essentiality of n-3 PUFA may be due to their ability to supply enough 22-carbon PUFA for optimal membrane function rather than to a unique biochemical property of DHA.
Ethical training for group leaders

Abstract Facilitating ethically appropriate behavior among group workers involves ethical inquiry and systematic training. This article discusses enhancing ethical development by means of personal codes of ethics, exposure to ethical standards, and group discussion of general moral dilemmas.
Bulk flow in diffusion coefficient studies

The viewpoint is taken that bulk flow terms in the general equation of molecular diffusion must be measured in apparatus which offers no constraint to the molecular flux in either direction. It is proposed to carry this out in a miniaturized experiment operating with one side of the diffusion gradient as an infinite sink. Dimethyl acetamide–water diffusivities computed from such an experiment were found to be 7.02 × 10−6 sq.cm./sec. over a wide range of compositions. These are compared with values showing considerably wider variation with composition, namely, 2.45 to 7.00 × 10−6 sq.cm./sec. by estimating methods and 11.45 to 14.05 × 10−6 sq.cm./sec. by large cell experiments. Arguments are presented in support of the values obtained by the proposed method operating on a nonideal binary N, N-dimethyl acetamide and water.
Friction and dissipative phenomena in quantum mechanics

Frictional and dissipative terms of the Schrodinger equation are studied. A proof is given showing that the frictional term of the Schrodinger-Langevin equation causes the quantum system to lose energy. General expressions are derived for the frictional term of the Schrodinger equation.
Effective Teaching: Science or Magic?

What is an effective teacher? How does one learn to recognize the differences between teachers who are effective and those who are ineffective? Given the complexity of teaching, is it realistic, or even possible, to try to identify those separate common components that make teachers good or bad, effective or ineffective? The answers to these questions have sparked considerable debate in the past and undoubtedly will continue to do so in the future. Donald Thomas, superintendent of Salt Lake City Schools, expressed the view that attempts to answer such questions were an unnecessary waste of time and effort. In a 1975 article, Thomas argued quite convincingly that good teaching was an art rather than a science and, as such, could not be quantified, qualified, and conveniently duplicated:
On the absence of intrahelical DNA dynamics on the μs to ms timescale

No experimental evidence exists for intra-helical motion of DNA at the μs timescale, which has been attributed to technical difficulties in observing motion in this time range. Here, the authors demonstrate, using extensive molecular dynamics simulations and experimental analysis, that such motion is effectively absent from a B-DNA duplex.
Antiemetic Effect of Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol in Patients Receiving Cancer Chemotherapy

Anecdotal accounts suggested that smoking marihuana decreases the nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapeutic agents. Oral delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol was compared with placebo in a controlled, randomized, "double-blind" experiment. All patients were receiving chemotherapeutic drugs known to cause nausea and vomiting of central origin. Each patient was to serve as his own control to determine whether tetrahydrocannabinol had an antiemetic effect. Twenty-two patients entered the study, 20 of whom were evaluable. For all patients an antiemetic effect was observed in 14 of 20 tetrahydrocannabinol courses and in none of 22 placebo courses. For patients completing the study, response occurred in 12 of 15 courses of tetrahydrocannabinol and in none of 14 courses of placebo (P less than 0.001). No patient vomited while experiencing a subjective "high". Oral tetrahydrocannabinol has antiemetic properties and is significantly better than a placebo in reducting vomiting caused by chemotherapeutic agents.
Creatine Supplementation Reduces Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiomyocellular Injury

Heart failure is a common complication of doxorubicin (DOX) therapy. Previous studies have shown that DOX adversely impacts cardiac energy metabolism, and the ensuing energy deficiencies antedate clinical manifestations of cardiac toxicity. Brief exposure of cultured cardiomyocytes to DOX significantly decreases creatine transport, which is the cell’s sole source of creatine. We present the results of a study performed to determine if physiological creatine supplementation (5 mmol/L) could protect cardiomyocytes in culture from cellular injury resulting from exposure to therapeutic levels of DOX. Creatine supplementation significantly decreased cytotoxicity, apoptosis, and reactive oxygen species production caused by DOX. The protective effect was specific to creatine and depended on its transport into the cell.
GCN5 acetyltransferase complex controls glucose metabolism through transcriptional repression of PGC-1α

Hormonal and nutrient regulation of hepatic gluconeogenesis mainly occurs through modulation of the transcriptional coactivator PGC-1alpha. The identity of endogenous proteins and their enzymatic activities that regulate the functions and form part of PGC-1alpha complex are unknown. Here, we show that PGC-1alpha is in a multiprotein complex containing the acetyltransferase GCN5. PGC-1alpha is directly acetylated by GCN5 resulting in a transcriptionally inactive protein that relocalizes from promoter regions to nuclear foci. Adenoviral-mediated expression of GCN5 in cultured hepatocytes and in mouse liver largely represses activation of gluconeogenic enzymes and decreases hepatic glucose production. Thus, we have identified the endogenous PGC-1alpha protein complex and provided the molecular mechanism by which PGC-1alpha acetylation by GCN5 turns off the transcriptional and biological function of this metabolic coactivator. GCN5 might be a pharmacological target to regulate the activity of PGC-1alpha, providing a potential treatment for metabolic disorders in which hepatic glucose output is dysregulated.
Seasonal Variation of Vascular Oxygen Transport in the Dark-Eyed Junco

Small birds wintering in temperate climates must increase rates of aerobic metabolism to meet thermoregulatory demands. Increased oxygen delivery to the tissues and/or increased oxygen unloading at the tissues may be involved in meeting this need. This study examines seasonal variation in vascular oxygen transport of Dark-eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis) in western Oregon. Oxygen dissociation curves, hematocrits, and oxygen carrying capacities were determined in summerand winter-acclimatized juncos. Oxygen affinity did not vary seasonally, Pso values for summer and winter were 54.1 torr and 54.0 torr, respectively, at 4 1C and pH 7.5. Hematocrit values averaged 47.2 ? 3.3% in summer and 52.6 ? 2.0% in winter and were significantly different. Mean values for oxygen carrying capacity, 13.33 ? 1.21 vol % in summer and 14.48 ? 1.20 vol % in winter, also differed significantly. Apparently, increased oxygen demands in winter-acclimatized Dark-eyed Juncos are met, in part, by increased oxygen carrying capacity, but not by decreased oxygen affinity.
Enamel decalcification by natural dental plaque in sugar solutions

Abstract The edge-decalcification technique has been employed to observe the decalcification of enamel in vitro by dental plaque obtained in vivo . Four different factors were studied for their relative importance on penetration rate of enamel under attack by small quantities of natural dental plaque, treated with sugar solutions. The factors were the kind of sugar and its concentration, the concentration of buffer and the time of exposure of the plaque to a sugar solution. Concentration of buffer and the kind of sugar, whether sucrose or glucose, appeared to be unimportant under the conditions selected. The concentration of sugar was unimportant over the range of 1 molar to 0.1 molar and only a 20 per cent decrease in depth of penetration was found where the concentration of glucose was reduced to 10 millimolar. Plaque treated 30 min per day with sugar caused changes in the underlying enamel which was only slightly less than plaque treated for 5 hr per day, and only 45 per cent less than those treated 24 hr per day. The surprising finding was the relatively high values of enamel penetration that occurred when plaque had access to sugar only 2 per cent of the time.
Comparison of AVHRR-derived and in situ surface albedo over the greenland ice sheet

Abstract This paper discusses a methodology for computing the clear-sky surface albedo over the Greenland ice sheet by using advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) global area coverage visible and near-infrared reflectances. This approach is then used to map the monthly changes in albedo over the entire Greenland ice sheet during the spring and .summer months. The methodology includes corrections for the intervening atmosphere by using the 6S radiative transfer model. Additional corrections for the anisotropic nature o f snow reflectance and the conversion from a. marrow- into a broadband albedo are made based on in .site measurements from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology/University of Colorado camp at 69°34′N, 49°18′W Comparison with surface albedo field ineasureinents indicates that before the onset of snoic melt, agreement is good between the satellite-derived and measured surface albedo. After melt begins, it is difficult to compare the satellite values with the field data owing to melt water ponding on the ice sheet surface. With appropriate modifications, the 6S radiative transfer model is suitable for atmospherically correcting AVHRR visible and near-infrared radiances atmospherically polar regions.
An artifact produced by boiling adenyl cyclase reaction mixtures prior to the cyclic AMP-radioimmunoassay

An artifact of procedure has been detected in the adaptation of the cAMP-radioimmunoassay to the analysis of adenyl cyclase activity. When reaction mixtures containing ATP and MgCl2 were boiled to terminate the enzyme assay, a cAMP-like decrease in antigen-binding was found. This decrease was dependent upon the presence of ATP, was linear to at least 5 min of boiling time, and could be destroyed with the addition of commercial phosphodiesterase. As significant levels of the nonenzymatically formed product resulted only when samples were boiled, alternative methods of terminating cyclase reactions are suggested.