cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Protein kinase C isoenzymes in human neuroblasts involvement of PKCε in cell differentiation

Although neuronal cells are a major target of phorbol ester action, the activity of the various protein kinase C (PKC) isoenzymes have not been studied in detail in human neuroblasts. Differentiation of the LAN-5 human neuroblastoma cell line by interferon-γ (IFN-γ) is accompanied by a twofold increase in PKC activity. Since PKC is a multigene family, we investigated which isoforms were expressed in control and differentiated cells, and which of these isoenzymes is involved in neuronal differentiation. We found that: (1) PKC activity is higher in differentiated than in undifferentiated cells; (2) RT-PCR analysis showed the expression of mRNA for PKCα, -γ, -δ -e and-ζ and the absence of mRNA for β in untreated LAN-5 cells; (3) Western blot evaluation with PKC isoform-specific antibodies showed the same pattern of PKC expression in non-differentiated cells; (4) Expression of PKCe mRNA was significantly enhanced by IFN-γ-induced differentiation, while the other isoforms were not affected; (5) Differentiation of LAN-5 cells with IFN-γ or retinoic acid induced overexpression of the PKCe protein, while inhibition of cell proliferation by fetal calf serum starvation was without effect. These findings suggest that expression of PKCe isoform is tightly coupled with neuronal differentiation and may play a role in the maintenance of the differentiated state.
Seeking the Studio Experience Outside of the Studio Course

Planning students seeking interdisciplinary, skill building experiences with real-life projects may not always be satisfied with university-based studio courses. Studios generally offer limited exp...
Clinical Profile of Acute Confusion in the Long-Term Care Setting

Aspects of acute confusion (AC) including risk factors, behavior patterns, and outcomes are not well documented in long-term care (LTC) residents. The purpose of this prospective study was to describe the clinical profile of AC in LTC including risk factors, behavior patterns, etiologies, and 3-month outcomes. Seventy-four elderly LTC residents were assessed for AC, depression, and global cognitive impairment. Risk factors associated with AC included hearing deficits, depression, pulmonary disorders, and abnormal serum sodium or potassium levels. Behavior patterns of acutely confused residents included hyperactive (n = 9, 31%), hypoactive (n = 8, 28%), and mixed (n = 7, 24%). In the majority of the AC cases, the etiology was multifactorial: Infections and dehydration were the most common causes. Residents with AC had very poor 3-month outcomes. Thirty-four percent (n = 10) of the residents with AC died within 3 months of the evaluation. This study highlights the complexity and serious nature of AC in this...
Analysis of Concurrent Grain Growth During Creep of Polycrystalline Alumina

During low-stress creep experiments in a fine-grained alumina, the strain rates decreased continuously with time due to the occurrence of concurrent grain growth. The grain-growth kinetics were independent of the applied stress and depended only on the time of exposure to the elevated test temperature. An analysis of the effect of concurrent grain growth was consistent with experimental observations.
Perceptions of personal Web usage in the workplace: AQ-methodology approach.

An important aspect to managing Personal Web Usage (PWU) at the workplace lies in understanding and reshaping the perceptions of the users. The study contends that the outward manifestation of PWU ...
Intensive Blood Pressure Control Reduces the Risk of Cardiovascular Events in Patients With Peripheral Arterial Disease and Type 2 Diabetes

Background— Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and diabetes are both associated with a high risk of ischemic events, but the role of intensive blood pressure control in PAD has not been established. Methods and Results— The Appropriate Blood Pressure Control in Diabetes study followed 950 subjects with type 2 diabetes for 5 years; 480 of the subjects were normotensive (baseline diastolic blood pressure of 80 to 89 mm Hg). Patients randomized to placebo (moderate blood pressure control) had a mean blood pressure of 137±0.7/81±0.3 mm Hg over the last 4 years of treatment. In contrast, patients randomized to intensive treatment with enalapril or nisoldipine had a mean 4-year blood pressure of 128±0.8/75±0.3 mm Hg (P<0.0001 compared with moderate control). PAD, which is defined as an ankle-brachial index <0.90 at the baseline visit, was diagnosed in 53 patients. In patients with PAD, there were 3 cardiovascular events (13.6%) on intensive treatment compared with 12 events (38.7%) on moderate treatment (P=0.046...
3‐(Trifluoromethyl)pyridine

[3796-23-4] C6H4NF3 (MW 147.10) InChI = 1S/C6H4F3N/c7-6(8,9)5-2-1-3-10-4-5/h1-4H InChIKey = JTZSFNHHVULOGJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N (building block in heterocycle synthesis) Physical data: bp 110–114 °C; nD20 1.4173. Solubility: soluble in most organic solvents. Form Supplied in: colorless liquid. Analysis of Reagent Purity: GC, 1H NMR, 13C NMR. Preparative Methods: commercially available. Purification: purification is carried out through either column chromatography or distillation. Handling, Storage, and Precautions: as with most pyridine derivatives, the material should be considered hygroscopic, malodorous, and air sensitive.
USING A SET PACKING FORMULATION TO SOLVE AIRLINE SEAT ALLOCATION/REALLOCATION PROBLEMS

We report our experience in developing prototype solutions for two optimization problems faced by an airline company. Whereas previous work has focused on minimizing direct costs or maximizing direct profits, both problems in this case involve maximizing customer satisfaction. One is the seat allocation problem: given a set of groups of passengers, find the optimal assignment of passengers to seats in an aircraft so that each member of a group sits as near to the others as possible. The other is the seat reallocation problem, which arises when the aircraft is changed just before departure. It consists in finding the optimal reallocation of passengers in a new aircraft so that the original seat configuration is retained as far as possible. We formulate both as instances of the set packing problem and propose efficient methods for generating promising candidate subsets. We show through numerical experiments with real-life data that our approach is practical as regards both the computation time and the quality of solutions.
Adapting an Evidence-Based Reading Comprehension Strategy for Learners With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Reading is a critical skill for student success in school and postschool opportunities. Although a number of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) will develop the decoding skills necessary to read text, many will continue to struggle with reading comprehension. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) mandated that all children receive evidence-based reading instruction consistent with the National Reading Panel (NRP) recommendations. Beginning evidence suggests that children with ASD can benefit from instruction consistent with the NRP recommendations. This article illustrates how to implement question-and-answer relationships (QAR), a specific NRP-advocated strategy, using research-based instructional supports found responsive in meeting the learning needs of students with ASD.
Pharmacological and genetic modulation of Wnt‐targeted Cre‐Lox‐mediated gene expression in colorectal cancer cells

Wnt-targeted gene therapy has been proposed as a treatment for human colorectal cancer (CRC). The Cre-Lox system consists of methodology for enhancing targeted expression from tissue-specific or cancer-specific promoters. We analyzed the efficiency of Wnt-specific promoters as drivers of the Cre-mediated activity of a luciferase reporter gene or cell death effector gene in CRC cell lines in the presence and absence of two modulators of Wnt activity, sodium butyrate and lithium chloride. Butyrate is present in the colonic lumen after digestion of fiber-rich foods, whereas the colonic lumen is readily accessible to lithium chloride. In both SW620 and HCT-116 CRC cells, a physiologically relevant concentration of butyrate upregulated reporter and effector activity and altered the Wnt-specific expression pattern. Lithium chloride markedly enhanced Cre-Lox-mediated Wnt-specific reporter expression only in APC wild-type CRC cells. Possibilities for genetic modulation of the proposed CRC therapy included Wnt-specific expression of a floxed Lef1-VP16 fusion that enhanced Wnt-specific cell death and of a floxed dominant-negative Tcf4 that specifically downregulated endogenous Wnt activity. These findings demonstrated that the Cre-Lox system, in combination with pharmacological and genetic modulators, represents effective methodology for enhancing Wnt-targeted gene therapy.
Regulation of H3K4 Trimethylation via Cps40 (Spp1) of COMPASS Is Monoubiquitination Independent: Implication for a Phe/Tyr Switch by the Catalytic Domain of Set1

The multiprotein complex Set1/COMPASS is the founding member of the histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4) methyltransferases, whose human homologs include the MLL and hSet1 complexes. COMPASS can mono-, di-, and trimethylate H3K4, but transitioning to di- and trimethylation requires prior H2B monoubiquitination followed by recruitment of the Cps35 (Swd2) subunit of COMPASS. Another subunit, Cps40 (Spp1), interacts directly with Set1 and is only required for transitioning to trimethylation. To investigate how the Set1 and COMPASS subunits establish the methylation states of H3K4, we generated a homology model of the catalytic domain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast Set1 and identified several key residues within the Set1 catalytic pocket that are capable of regulating COMPASS's activity. We show that Tyr1052, a putative Phe/Tyr switch of Set1, plays an essential role in the regulation of H3K4 trimethylation by COMPASS and that the mutation to phenylalanine (Y1052F) suppresses the loss of Cps40 in H3K4 trimethylation levels, suggesting that Tyr1052 functions together with Cps40. However, the loss of H2B monoubiquitination is not suppressed by this mutation, while Cps40 is stably assembled in COMPASS on chromatin, demonstrating that Tyr1052- and Cps40-mediated H3K4 trimethylation takes place following and independently of H2B monoubiquitination. Our studies provide a molecular basis for the way in which H3K4 trimethylation is regulated by Tyr1052 and the Cps40 subunit of COMPASS.
On the probable behaviour of some algorithms for finding the stability number of a graph

A class of f-driven algorithms due to Chvatal for finding the stability number of a graph are studied. It is shown that, for almost all graphs, the computation time grows subexponentially with n, the number of vertices. If, however, each edge exists with probability δ/n independently on other edges then asymptotically almost certainly the computation time is exponential. Still, for all large enough δ's, these algorithms perform noticeably better than a naive algorithm. The results are extended to random graphs with a fixed number of edges.
Portability architecture for nomadic wireless internet access users and security performance evaluation

A value added service to broadband wireless network is the remote access virtual private network (VPN). The corporate legitimate portable users can connect to their offices through a wireless network from different locations and get secure services as if they were connected to the corporate local area network. One of the main challenges is to block illegitimate wireless users' requests. Registration and authentication functions should be implemented with highly secured wireless connection, These functions are accomplished by tunnelling the user information in a secured form to the corporate authentication server through the Internet traffic. The Corporate Authentication Server then grants or denies the user access. This chapter addresses various portability scenarios, architectures, implementation, and requirement issues for portable wireless Internet access systems. Moreover, performance evaluation and comparison are presented for the state-of-the-art security and authentication techniques.
Smartphone-Based Optofluidic Lab-on- a-Chip for Detecting Pathogens from Blood

A novel smartphone-based detection device was created to detect infectious pathogens directly from diluted (10%) human whole blood. The model pathogen was histidine-rich protein 2 (HRP-2), an antigen specific to Plasmodium falciparum (malaria). Anti-HRP-2-conjugated submicrobeads were mixed with HRP-2-infused 10% blood in a lab-on-a-chip device. The white LED flash and the digital camera of the smartphone were used as light source and detector, which delivered light to and from the bead and blood mixture via optofluidic channels in the lab-on-a-chip. The optofluidic channels were angled at 45 degrees to capture the Mie scatter from the sample. Considering the absorption and scattering characteristics of blood (red/infrared preferred) and the Mie scatter simulations for microbead immunoagglutination (UV preferred), blue detection showed the best results. The detection limit was 1 pg/mL in 10% blood. The linear range was from 1 pg/mL to 10 ng/mL. A handheld device, easily attachable to a single smartphone, was finally designed and fabricated using optical mirrors and lenses and successfully detected the HRP-2 from 10% blood. The total assay time was approximately 10 min. The proposed device can potentially be used for detecting a wide range of blood infection with high sensitivity.
Semiconductor nanowire building blocks: From flux line pinning to artificial photosynthesis

Semiconductor nanowires, by definition, typically have nanoscale cross-sectional dimensions, with lengths spanning from hundreds of nanometers to millimeters. These subwavelength structures represent a new class of semiconductor materials for investigating light generation, propagation, detection, amplification, and modulation. After more than a decade of research, nanowires can now be synthesized and assembled with specific compositions, heterojunctions, and architectures. This has led to a host of nanowire photonic and electronic devices, including photodetectors, chemical and gas sensors, waveguides, LEDs, microcavity lasers, and nonlinear optical converters. Nanowires also represent an important class of nanostructure building blocks for photovoltaics as well as direct solar-to-fuel conversion because of their high surface area, tunable bandgap, and efficient charge transport and collection. This article gives a brief history of nanowire research for the past two decades and highlights several recent examples in our lab using semiconductor nanowires and their heterostructures for the purpose of solar energy harvesting and waste heat recovery.
Patterned cells for phase change memories

Phase-change memory (PCM) is an emerging nonvolatile memory technology that promises very high performance. It currently uses discrete cell levels to represent data, controlled by a single amorphous/crystalline domain in a cell. To improve data density, more levels per cell are needed. There exist a number of challenges, including cell programming noise, drifting of cell levels, and the high power requirement for cell programming. In this paper, we present a new cell structure called patterned cell, and explore its data representation schemes. Multiple domains per cell are used, and their connectivity is used to store data. We analyze its storage capacity, and study its error-correction capability and the construction of error-control codes.
Uniaxial Interference Figures

Biaxial interference figures are similar to uniaxial figures but show more variety in the shape and movement of isogyres. Biaxial figures often contain only a single isogyre, which is not always parallel to a crosshair. One new term must be introduced: a melatope is the point of emergence of an optic axis. It is always a point on an isogyre.
Theological Shamelessness? A Response to Arthur Peacocke and David A. Pailin

This is a theological response to two programmatic essays, “Science and the Future of Theology: Critical Issues,” by Arthur Peacocke and “What Game is Being Played? The Need for Clarity about theRelationship between Scientific and Theological Understanding,” by David A. Pailin. It argues that the two authors, well informed by the recent developments in science, are reduplicating some methodological and epistemological trends common to nineteenth-century theology. The feasibility of their project should, therefore, be examined on whether they succeed in answering the questions posed to the liberal project that dominated theological and philosophical scholarship in the last century. They are found to be wanting in their inadequate response to three considerations: (1) the persistence of particular manifestations of religion and theology's enduring refusal to accept thoroughly scientific “enlightened” criteria, (2) the epistemological implications of the eschatological character of the Christianmessage, and (3) the trinitarian paradigm for Christian theology and the life of faith.
Scattering from small Salisbury screens

This paper presents radar cross section results from a method of moments model of scattering from small Salisbury screens. Both normal and off-normal incidence is considered. The resistivity and separation of the resistive sheet and conductor are optimized for a square Salisbury screen having a side length between 0.5/spl lambda/ and 7.5/spl lambda/.
Concurrent translocations of MLL and CBFA2 (AML1) genes with new partner breakpoints in a child with secondary myelodysplastic syndrome after treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia

The MLL gene at 11q23 is frequently disrupted by chromosomal translocations in de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL), and in secondary leukemia induced by treatment with inhibitors of topoisomerase II, including the epipodophylotoxins. The CBFA2 gene at 21q22 is also frequently disrupted in de novo ALL and AML and less commonly in secondary AML. Rearrangements of MLL and CBFA2 have been described in de novo and secondary myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). There have been no previous descriptions of coexisting abnormalities of MLL and CBFA2 in cases of MDS or acute leukemia. We describe a patient who developed secondary MDS after chemotherapy for hyperdiploid ALL. At the time of conversion to MDS, the patient had 46 chromosomes, with an 11q23/MLL translocation involving a new partner breakpoint at 2p23 and a 21q22/CBFA2 translocation involving a new partner breakpoint at 6p22. This report is the first to describe new partner breakpoints at 2p23 and 6p22 for MLL and CBFA2 genes, respectively, and concurrent rearrangements of these genes in a patient with secondary MDS. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 28:227–232, 2000. © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Optical analysis of nanoparticles via enhanced backscattering facilitated by 3-D photonic nanojets

We report the phenomenon of ultra-enhanced backscattering of visible light by nanoparticles facilitated by the 3-D photonic nanojet - a sub-diffraction light beam appearing at the shadow side of a plane-waveilluminated dielectric microsphere. Our rigorous numerical simulations show that backscattering intensity of nanoparticles can be enhanced up to eight orders of magnitude when locating in the nanojet. As a result, the enhanced backscattering from a nanoparticle with diameter on the order of 10 nm is well above the background signal generated by the dielectric microsphere itself. We also report that nanojet-enhanced backscattering is extremely sensitive to the size of the nanoparticle, permitting in principle resolving sub-nanometer size differences using visible light. Finally, we show how the position of a nanoparticle could be determined with subdiffractional accuracy by recording the angular distribution of the backscattered light. These properties of photonic nanojets promise to make this phenomenon a useful tool for optically detecting, differentiating, and sorting nanoparticles.
Does social medicine still matter in an era of molecular medicine

To ask whether social medicine still matters may seem to be in poor taste at a symposium to honor Martin Cherkasky, but social medicine has always had the courage to take on difficult questions. There is all the more reason to do so when its legitimacy is challenged. The extraordinary findings emerging from the human genome project will revolutionize diagnostic and therapeutic methods in medicine. The power of medical interventions, for good and for harm, will increase enormously. However, in the next millennium, as in this one, social factors will continue to be decisive for health status. The distribution of health and disease in human populations reflects where people live, what they eat, the work they do, the air and the water they consume, their activity, their interconnectedness with others, and the status they occupy in the social order. Virchow's aphorism is as true today as it was in 1848: “If disease is an expression of individual life under unfavorable conditions, then epidemics must be indicative of mass disturbances of mass life”. Increasing longevity resulting from major economic transformations has made ours the age of chronic disease. Changes in diet and behavior transform genes that once conferred selective biologic advantage into health hazards. Although disease risk varies with social status, medical care makes an important difference for health outcomes. Access to care and the quality of care received are functions of social organization, the way care is financed, and political beliefs about the “deserving” and the “undeserving” poor. It is a moral indictment of the US that ours is the only industrialized society without universal health care coverage. In educating the American public about the social determinants of health, a goal Martin Cherkasky championed, the very power of the new molecular biology will help make our case. Social medicine is alive and well.
Stimulus-response relations and stability of mechanoreceptor and motor neurons mediating defensive gill-withdrawal reflex in Aplysia

1. A weak or moderate-intensity tactile stimulus delivered to the siphon skin of Aplysia californica elicits a defensive reflex withdrawal of the gill and siphon into the mantle cavity. The reflex undergoes both short- and long-term habituation and sensitization and has, therefore, been used as a model system to examine various forms of learning. In this paper we describe studies of the response properties of the sensory and motor neurons of the reflex during repeated stimulation at rates that produce habituation. 2. The sensory neurons are slowly adapting mechanoreceptor cells whose frequency of discharge is a monotonic function of controlled-force punctate stimuli delivered to the skin. The majority of the stimulus-response relations could best be described by exponential functions. 3. We examined the stability of the sensory neuron responses in two ways; with punctate stimuli of varying intensity and with water jets of varying intensity. 4. With repeated punctate stimulation at rates which produce habituation in the intact animal the mechanoreceptor discharge showed no decrement. This stability was observed over a 10-fold range of intensities. 5. Weak or moderate intensity water-jet stimuli to the skin also gave stable responses but stronger stimuli caused the mechanoreceptor response to fatigue. 6. We examined the stability of the motor responses by using intracellular depolarizing current pulses to produce repetitive bursts of action potentials in gill motor neurons while monitoring the gill contractions with a strain gauge, photocell, or videotape recorder. The photocell and strain gauge were alternatively used in the same experiment. Gill contractions monitored with the photocell were stable, whereas those monitored by the strain gauge showed decrement. An independent measure of gill contraction, videotape recording, confirmed the results obtained with the photocell and showed that the gill contractions following repeated intracellular depolarization of the motor neurons were stable.
Curriculum in Terms of Contemporary Needs

(1944). Curriculum in Terms of Contemporary Needs. Jewish Education: Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 70-74.
RK39 Dipsticks in the Diagnosis of Human Visceral Leishmaniasis and Infected Dogs

Objective To evaluate the application of rk39 dipstick in the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis and the epidemiological investigation.Methods Patients who were considered to be Kala-azar by clinic doctors or those with etiological examinations were given rk39 dipsticks detection,and also the dogs in leishmaniasis epidemic areas were detected.Results Among the 358 cases with epidemic history,244 of them were antibody positive.The positive rate was 68.16%.Among the 207 cases who received both rk39 dipstick and etiological examination,131 of them were double positive.The positive coincidence rate was 100%.As for the 71 cases only received rk39 dipsticks detection,all of them were cured by antimony,which showed that all the cases were patients with leishmaniasis.Forty-three out of 443 dogs in epidemic areas were detected positive by rk39 dipstick.The positive rate was 9.71%.Most of the positive dogs were under 5 years old.Conclusion Rk39 dipstick is faster,easier,more sensitive and specific(P0.01)and less injury compared to traditional diagnose method of visceral leishmaniasis.It can be used for diagnosis and screening of cases in visceral leishmaniasis epidemic areas;and can also confirm patients and asymptomatic infected dogs during incubation period.Rk39 has higher value in the diagnosis of patients and the detection of infected dogs.
Distal Splenorenal Shunt for Portal Hypertension

The procedure converts the gastroesophageal-splenic portion of the portal system into a low-pressure system by providing a shunt to the systemic circulation via the renal vein; by preserving portal perfusion it reduces the hazard of liver failure associated with the portacaval shunt. It appears especially suitable for ascites-free cirrhotic patients who still have good liver function; the latter has been found to be unimpaired postoperatively.
Effect of luminal angiotensin II on ammonia production and secretion by mouse proximal tubules

Angiotensin II is an important regulator of acid-base and ammonia metabolism in the proximal tubule. Because angiotensin II receptors exist on the apical membrane and because luminal fluid angiotensin II concentrations may be substantial, the effects of luminal angiotensin II on ammonia production rates and net luminal total ammonia (tNH3) secretion rates were examined in dissected mouse S2 proximal tubule segments. Ammonia production rates reflected the total release of ammonia via the basolateral and luminal aspects of the tubule, whereas net luminal secretion rates reflected the rates at which ammonia left the tubule via the luminal fluid leaving the distal end of the perfused segment. The results demonstrated that 1) luminal angiotensin II affected tNH3 production in a concentration-dependent fashion, 2) luminal angiotensin II at concentrations that stimulated tNH3 production could counteract the effect of inhibitory basolateral concentrations of angiotensin II, 3) the stimulation of tNH3 production and the rise in intracellular calcium concentration induced by 10(-10) M luminal angiotensin II were blocked by the addition of an angiotensin II receptor inhibitor, saralasin, or the calcium channel blocker nifedipine to the luminal perfusion solution, and 4) in contrast to basolateral angiotensin II, which inhibited net luminal tNH3 secretion, luminal angiotensin II stimulated amiloride-sensitive net luminal tNH3 secretion in parallel with stimulation of luminal fluid acidification. Thus luminal angiotensin II at physiological and superphysiological concentrations has important effects on ammonia production and transport in the proximal tubule that in some ways differ from the effects of basolateral angiotensin II.
The continent ileostomy in the pediatric patient.

Definitive surgery for ulcerative colitis always involves removal of the target organ and construction of some sort of ileostomy. With the development of the continent intra-abdominal ileal pouch, which eliminates the need of an appliance, this reconstruction appears to be the preferred one for most patients—including children who are reliable enough and mature enough to care for their ileostomy.
Biochemical and functional analysis of an adenovirus-based ligand complex for gene transfer

Ligand-mediated approaches to gene transfer offer an alternative to viral vectors for both in vivo and in vitro applications. Although a significant percentage of the plasmid-based DNA complex is lost to lysosomal degradation following receptor-mediated endocytosis, simultaneous infection with adenovirus has been shown to increase the level of transgene expression [Curiel, Agarwal, Wagner and Cotten (1991) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 88, 8850-8854; Wagner, Zatloukal, Cotten, Kirlappos, Mechtler, Curiel and Birnstiel (1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 89, 6099-6103]. In this study we describe an adenovirus-based ligand complex where the plasmid DNA, polycation-ligand conjugate and adenovirus are contained within a single particle structure. At the core of the transfection particle is a replication-defective recombinant adenovirus encoding a cDNA minigene for human placenta alkaline phosphatase that was chemically modified with poly(L-lysine) (Ad-pLys). Electron microscopy of an adenovirus-based ligand complex formed by successively adding plasmid DNA and an asialo-orosomucoid-poly(L-lysine) conjugate to Ad-pLys revealed structures that appeared as intact viral particles coated with a dense biomolecular layer. Adenovirus-based ligand complexes containing either a luciferase or beta-galactosidase reporter plasmid were shown to efficiently deliver the plasmid transgene to cells that express the hepatic asialoglycoprotein receptor. Furthermore, the poly(L-lysine) modification greatly reduced the infectivity potential of the virus without causing a concomitant loss of augmented gene transfer. As an alternative to infectious virions, incomplete products of viral assembly were also considered as a source for endosomalytic activity. However, these defective virions were unable to significantly enhance plasmid transgene delivery.
The use of hyperthermia in the treatment of bladder cancer.

We are delighted to edit this special issue of the International Journal of Hyperthermia dedicated to the use of heat in the treatment of bladder cancer. A growing amount of important work is being...
Low resistance ohmic contacts to two-dimensional electron-gas structures by selective MOVPE

Selective metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE) has been used to make very-low-resistance edge contacts to thin n/sup +/ GaAs layers and to two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) structures. Contact resistance for contacts to the n/sup +/ layer are >
The impact of criteria-referenced formative assessment on fifth-grade students’ theater arts achievement

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study was to examine the effects of criteria-referenced formative assessment (CRFA) on students’ achievement in theater arts. The role of type of task in differentiating the treatment-achievement relationship was explored. The analytical sample included 520 fifth-grade students from 13 schools in New York City. Schools were randomly assigned to the treatment or control group. Selection bias in treatment assignment at student level was adjusted with propensity score analysis. CRFA had a positive effect on students’ achievement on performance tasks (d = 0.25), but no significant effect on students’ performance on the analytical constructed response tasks or the theater vocabulary multiple-choice items.
Examining Fall Recurrence Risk of Homebound Hispanic Older Adults Receiving Home Care Services.

Introduction:Unintentional falls and injuries is a major problem among older adults and the fourth cause of death in the United States. A previous fall event doubles the risk of recurrence and less...
Responses of terrestrial herpetofauna to persistent, novel ecosystems resulting from mountaintop removal mining

Abstract Mountaintop removal mining is a large-scale surface mining technique that removes entire floral and faunal communities, along with soil horizons located above coal seams. In West Virginia, the majority of this mining occurs on forested mountaintops. However, after mining ceases the land is typically reclaimed to grasslands and shrublands, resulting in novel ecosystems. In this study, we examined responses of herpetofauna to these novel ecosystems 10–28 y postreclamation. We quantified differences in species-specific habitat associations, (sub)order-level abundances, and habitat characteristics in four habitat types: reclaimed grassland, reclaimed shrubland, forest fragments in mined areas, and nonmined intact forest. Habitat type accounted for 33.2% of the variation in species-specific captures. With few exceptions, forest specialists were associated with intact forest and fragmented forest sites, while habitat generalists were either associated with grassland and shrubland sites or were distribu...
Stochastic and Quasi-Stochastic Hamiltonians for Long-Time Nonadiabatic Molecular Dynamics.

In the condensed-matter environments, the vibronic Hamiltonian that describes nonadiabatic dynamics often appears as an erratic entity, and one may assume it can be generated stochastically. This property is utilized to formulate novel stochastic and quasi-stochastic vibronic Hamiltonian methodologies, which open a new route to long-time excited state dynamics in atomistic solid-state systems at negligible computational cost. Using a model mimicking a typical solid-state material in noisy environment, general conclusions regarding the simulation of nonadiabatic dynamics are obtained: (1) including bath is critical to complete excited state relaxation; (2) a totally stochastic modulation of energies and couplings has a net effect of no bath and inhibits relaxation; (3) including a single or several dominant electron–phonon modes may be insufficient to complete the excited state relaxation; (4) only the multiple modes, even those that have negligible weights, can represent both the deterministic modulation ...
Single-Dose, Preoperative Vitamin-D Supplementation Decreases Infection in a Mouse Model of Periprosthetic Joint Infection.

Background:Despite recent advances, infection remains the most common etiology of arthroplasty failure. Recent work suggests that 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25D) deficiency correlates with the frequency of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). We endeavored to examine whether 25D3 deficiency leads to incr
The Arithmetic of Wq(R)

The primary purpose of this chapter is the analysis of the group Wq(R) in the case of an arithmetic Dedekind domain R. The characterization of the elements of Br(R)2 as the Brauer classes of Clifford algebras of quadratic spaces over R of rank 4 and trivial Arf invariant is an important step along the way. The quadratic spaces which it provides make it possible to describe Ker Arf by use of the total signature. In the special case where R is the ring of integers in a number field, the quadratic group Qu(R) is closely related to the ideal class group, and this connection together with the description of Ker Arf implies that Wq(R) ≅ Cl(R)2 ⊕ G, where C1(R) is the ideal class group of R and G is a free Abelian group of rank with r the number of real embeddings of the number field. An additional focus is the comparison of the number theory of Wq(R) with that of W(R) and the structure of the quotient W(R)/Wq(R).
Generalizing Hybrid Beamforming Solutions for Massive MIMO Systems

Hybrid beamforming (HB) using both analog precoding at RF and digital precoding is an effective solution to reduce the complexity and power consumption of massive MIMO systems. Extensive work has determined that HB can achieve the performance of the optimal precoder, assuming optimal antennas implementation, ideal environment, and full rank effective channel. However, depending on the implementation techniques adopted for the RF precoder and other system parameters, such as the number of active RF chains, the limited distance between antennas, and the geometric placement of both ends of wireless systems, the effective channel matrix could be rank deficient, which degrades the performance of the system. This paper provides a new and complete set of solutions for HB that approaches the performance of a fully digital beamformer in terms of MIMO multiplexing gains, by taking careful consideration of the matrix of the effective channel, appropriately selecting independent columns of the analog precoder, calculating the least squares solution for the digital precoder, and selecting its digital gain based on the selected columns of the RF precoder and the effective channel.
Appreciative Inquiry summits and organizational knowledge creation: A social systems perspective

Appreciative Inquiry summits and organizational knowledge creation: A social systems perspective by Emi Makino Claremont Graduate University: 2013 The purpose of this exploratory study is to develop alternative models for analyzing the systems dynamics of a large group conference format called appreciative inquiry (AI) summits. I apply Luhmann’s social systems theory to the strategizing activities of AI summits to examine how this particular format is capable of generating organizational knowledge. An AI summit is a strategic planning conference in which hundreds of internal and external stakeholders collectively design the future of the organization through structured activities. It applies the principles of AI, a consulting method used in organizational development that attends to the positive aspects of an organization as opposed to its problems. Critics challenge this unconditional focus on the positive, questioning the validity of its methods and techniques. Indeed, very few rigorous evaluations of AI methods including AI summits exist. I propose a new approach for assessing the effectiveness of AI summits. I focus on knowledge creation as the dependent variable. Previous studies have shown that successful AI interventions generate new knowledge, not just transformational change. I conceptualize an AI summit as a strategic episode that allows an organization to temporarily suspend its routines and structures for strategic reflection. According to social systems theory, organizations are autopoietic (self-reproducing) systems that maintain their identity through an ongoing production of decision communications. An AI summit consists of three different types of systems that co-evolve and are structurally coupled: an organization system, interaction system and the individual participants’ psychological systems. I propose a typology for analyzing episodes during an AI summit as a starting point for determining the structural dynamics inherent in an AI summit system. Using illustrative examples from a case study, I identify five structural features of an AI summit that facilitate organizational knowledge creation, including reduced communication barriers and the production of decisions during the conference. The study contributes to the existing literature by identifying the important but understudied role of self-organizing project teams in the knowledge creation process at an AI summit. Limitations and implications are discussed.
Convexity of the Growth Bound of C0-Semigroups of Operators

If e tA , t ≥ 0 is a C 0-semigroup of bounded linear operators in a Banach space X with infinitesimal generator A,then the growth bound of e tA , t ≥ 0, defined as a function of A, is ω 0(A) := \( {\lim _{t \to \infty }}\frac{1}{t}\log (|{e^{tA}}|) \) (see [4], p. 619). If B is in B(X) (the Banach algebra of bounded linear operators in X),then A + B is the infinitesimal generator of a C 0-semigroup e t (A+B), t ≥ 0 in X (see [7], p. 76). It is thus possible to consider ω 0(A+B) as a function of B∈B(X)and investigate its properties. The question we investigate here concerns the following property of the growth bound: If α ∈ (0,1) and B, C ∈ B(X), when is it true that $$ {\omega _0}(A + \alpha B + (1 - \alpha )C)\underline < \alpha {\omega _0}(A + B) + (1 - \alpha ){\omega _0}(A + C). $$ (1.1)
Deconvolution by Design — an Approach to the Inverse Problem of Ultrasonic Testing

In this paper we present some preliminary results on a new approach to the problem of characterizing flaws using ultrasonics. The approach takes advantage of the fact that we have control over the time waveform of the probing pulse in an ultrasonic test. It also takes advantage of some special properties of the inverse Gaussian function and an effective, stable, continuous deconvolution procedure which is based on this special function. The procedure also has the special feature that the error in the resultant of the deconvolution, which contains all available information about the flaw-scatterer, can be estimated in a powerful way.
Tachyglossus aculeatus (Spiny anteater, Echidna)

Skin biopsy of one male echidna at San Diego Zoo was grown at 28°C and confirms previous findings in general. No clearly acrocentric elements are present, all chromosomes have a distinct short arm. While the X is morphologically characteristic, no clear Y chromosome is present. Bick et al. (1973) suggest that an X1X2Y sex determining mechanism exists and find meiotic trivalents. Close scrutiny of this and their karyotypes do not allow unequivocal Y identification. Further studies are warranted.
Maple Syrup Producers of the Lake States, USA: Attitudes Towards and Adaptation to Social, Ecological, and Climate Conditions

Maple syrup is an important non-timber forest product derived from the sap of the sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marshall). However, maple syrup producers are facing a diversity of challenges, including: potential range shifts in the maple resource; increasing variability in the timing, duration and yield of sap flow and syrup operations; invasive species, pests and diseases; and intergenerational land and business transfer challenges. Members of Maple Syrup Producer Associations in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan were surveyed to learn about their operations, adaptation strategies, concerns, and information needs. While many respondents indicated they have undertaken or plan to undertake adaptation activities, only 11% had done so out of specific concern over changing climate conditions. Climate-motivated activities included: being prepared to tap earlier and utilizing newer technology such as vacuum tubing or reverse osmosis to enhance sap collection and processing efficiency. Respondents were generally unlikely to consider planting climate-resilient maple cultivars or tapping trees other than sugar maple. They expressed the greatest concerns over tree health and forest pests, as well as their physical ability and family member interest to continue their operations. Boil season variability and weather issues were viewed with less concern. Respondents were generally optimistic that they can adapt to future conditions, likely in large measure through the adoption of new technologies, and they expect their syrup production levels to slightly increase in the future. If future climate scenarios play out, however, additional planning and adaptation strategies may be called for, particularly as they relate to forest health and productivity issues.
Review of the monograph by Pierre Sagaut and Claude Cambon entitled Homogeneous Turbulence Dynamics

The second edition of the book by Pierre Sagaut and Claude Cambon, entitled Homogeneous Turbulence Dynamics and published by Springer in 2018, deals with the physical properties of fully developed ...
Large-scale chemical-genetics of the human gut bacteriumBacteroides thetaiotaomicron

Author(s): Liu, Hualan; Price, Morgan N; Carlson, Hans K; Chen, Yan; Ray, Jayashree; Shiver, Anthony L; Petzold, Christopher J; Huang, Kerwyn Casey; Arkin, Adam P; Deutschbauer, Adam M | Abstract: AbstractThe genomic catalogue of the human microbiota has expanded dramatically in recent years, and insights derived from human microbiota genomics has vast potential to generate treatments for human diseases. However, predictably harnessing the microbiota for beneficial outcomes is currently limited by our lack of understanding of the physiology of the constituent bacteria. For instance, the functions of most of their genes are not known. Here, we systematically measure mutant phenotypes for genes from the gut commensalBacteroides thetaiotaomicron. Using a barcoded transposon mutant library, we measured the fitness of 4,055B. thetaiotaomicrongenes across 492 experiments, including growth on 45 carbon substrates and in the presence of 57 stress-inducing compounds. Our data is in strong agreement with previous studies, and more importantly also uncovers the biological roles of poorly annotated genes. We identified 497 genes with a specific phenotype in only one or a handful of conditions, thus enabling informed predictions of gene function for a subset of these genes. For example, we identified a glycoside hydrolase important for growth on type I rhamnogalacturonan, a DUF4861 protein for glycosaminoglycan utilization, a DUF1080 protein for disaccharide utilization, and a tripartite multidrug resistance system specifically important for bile salt tolerance. Our approach can be applied to other members of the human microbiota to experimentally characterize their genes.
Human Vascular Pericytes and Cytomegalovirus Pathobiology.

Pericytes are multipotent cells of the vascular system with cytoplasmic extensions proximal to endothelial cells that occur along the abluminal surface of the endothelium. The interactions between endothelial cells and pericytes are essential for proper microvascular formation, development, stabilization, and maintenance. Pericytes are essential for the regulation of paracellular flow between cells, transendothelial fluid transport, angiogenesis, and vascular immunosurveillance. They also influence the chemical composition of the surrounding microenvironment to protect endothelial cells from potential harm. Dysregulation or loss of pericyte function can result in microvascular instability and pathological consequences. Human pericytes have been shown to be targets for human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection and lytic replication that likely contribute to vascular inflammation. This review focuses on human vascular pericytes and their permissiveness for HCMV infection. It also discusses their implication in pathogenesis in the blood–brain barrier (BBB), the inner blood–retinal barrier (IBRB), the placenta–blood barrier, and the renal glomerulus as well as their potential role in subclinical vascular disease.
Structured variation in Suzhou Chinese fricative consonants and vowels

Uniform phonetic implementation of phonological primitives has been suggested to be a low-level constraint on speech production. Suzhou Chinese offers an example of how this constraint may shape the development of systems of phonological contrast: a pair of recently innovated “fricative vowels,” rounded and unrounded, have come to be produced with the addition of noticeable fricative noise. This noise is spectrally similar to that of a fricative consonant, most frequently alveolopalatal /ɕ/ but occasionally /s/, suggesting that speakers have begun to refer to shared acoustic targets for these phonotactically dissimilar sounds. In order to assess the degree of acoustic similarity among these segments, we compare the fricative noise in the unrounded and rounded fricative vowels of 43 speakers of Suzhou Chinese with the fricative noise of each speaker’s onset fricative consonants /ɕ/ and /s/. Spectral parameters analyzed are chosen to reflect constriction anteriority in strident fricatives. Correlations in these parameters as implemented across consonantal onsets such as /ɕ/ and /s/, and the unrounded fricative vowel and the rounded fricatie vowel are examined.