cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bombesin stimulates the in vitro growth of a human gastric cancer cell line

Bombesin (BBS) and its mammalian equivalent, gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP), exhibit diverse biological functions, including that of a neurotransmitter, a regulator of gastrointestinal hormone release, and a trophic factor for various normal and neoplastic tissues. Bombesin stimulates the growth of normal cells of the stomach, pancreas, and bronchial epithelium as well as cells in breast cancer, gastrinoma, and small cell lung cancer. The purpose of this study was to determine whether BBS regulates the growth of a human gastric cancer cell line (SIIA) in vitro, and if so, to examine the mechanisms of signal-transduction that are involved. We found that BBS stimulated the growth of SIIA cells in vitro. The GRP receptor antagonists, BIM 26189 and BIM 26226, had no effect on growth of SIIA cells. Although these antagonists blocked the BBS-induced increase of [Ca2+]i, they failed to block the growth-stimulatory effect of BBS. BBS stimulated intracellular tyrosine phosphorylation of multiple proteins, with a predominant protein of apparent molecular weight of 125 kDa. Inhibition of intracellular tyrosine kinases by tyrphostin blocked the growth-stimulatory effect of BBS on SIIA cells. These results indicate that BBS exerts its trophic effect on SIIA cells through a receptor(s) linked to tyrosine kinase pathway, but not to the phospholipase C (PLC) pathway.
Signaling Events in Axons and/or Dendrites Render Motor Neurons Vulnerable to Mutant Superoxide Dismutase Toxicity

The survival of dorsal root ganglion and sympathetic neurons is promoted whether nerve growth factor (NGF) activates TrkA receptors on the cell body or the axon. Yet other aspects of neurotrophic factor actions (i.e., ability to promote axon growth, selection of neurochemical phenotype and engagement of signaling modules) differ as a function of the location of the ligand–receptor interaction. The extent to which these observations are relevant to CNS neurons is unknown. This may be particularly relevant to neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, where beneficial axon–target interactions are disturbed early in the disease process. Here we characterize the growth of pure motor neurons in compartment cultures and show that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) stimulation of the cell body or axons/dendrites promotes survival. Expression of G37R mutant superoxide dismutase (SOD) in motor neurons will lead to death and this depends on BDNF activation of TrkB on axons and/or dendrites. BDNF action depends upon endocytosis of the BDNF–TrkB complex and de novo protein synthesis. These results highlight the importance of signaling events occurring in axons/dendrites in mutant SOD toxicity.
Endothelial Cells Provide a Notch-Dependent Pro-Tumoral Niche for Enhancing Breast Cancer Survival, Stemness and Pro-Metastatic Properties

Treating metastasis has been challenging due to tumors complexity and heterogeneity. This complexity is partly related to the crosstalk between tumor and its microenvironment. Endothelial cells -the building blocks of tumor vasculature- have been shown to have additional roles in cancer progression than angiogenesis and supplying oxygen and nutrients. Here, we show an alternative role for endothelial cells in supporting breast cancer growth and spreading independent of their vascular functions. Using endothelial cells and breast cancer cell lines MDA-MB231 and MCF-7, we developed co-culture systems to study the influence of tumor endothelium on breast tumor development by both in vitro and in vivo approaches. Our results demonstrated that endothelial cells conferred survival advantage to tumor cells under complete starvation and enriched the CD44HighCD24Low/- stem cell population in tumor cells. Moreover, endothelial cells enhanced the pro-metastatic potential of breast cancer cells. The in vitro and in vivo results concordantly confirmed a role for endothelial Jagged1 to promote breast tumor through notch activation. Here, we propose a role for endothelial cells in enhancing breast cancer progression, stemness, and pro-metastatic traits through a perfusion-independent manner. Our findings may be beneficial in developing novel therapeutic approaches.
Study of Adaptability of Breast Density Analysis System Developed for Screen Film Mammograms (SFMs) to Full-Field Digital Mammograms (FFDMs): Robustness of Parenchymal Texture Analysis

Mammography is in the transition to full-field digital mammograms (FFDM). It is important to evaluate the adaptability of image analysis methods and computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems developed with screen-film mammograms (SFM) to FFDMs. In addition, prior SFMs are more readily available for development of new techniques that involve long-term follow up such as breast cancer risk prediction. We have previously developed a texture-feature-based method for mammographic parenchymal pattern (MPP) analysis on SFMs. The MPP measure was found to be more predictive of breast cancer risk than percent dense area on mammograms. In this study, we investigated the correlation of computerized texture features extracted from matched pairs of SFM and FFDM obtained from the same patient using the same algorithms without retraining for MPP analysis. The computerized texture features from the two modalities demonstrated strong correlation, indicating that the MPP analysis system that we developed with SFMs for breast cancer risk prediction can be readily adapted to FFDMs with at most minor retraining.
A bilinear Orlicz–Pettis Theorem

Abstract Suppose E , F , G are locally convex spaces, b : E × F → G is a bilinear operator and λ is a scalar sequence space. A series ∑ j x j in E is λ b multiplier convergent if for every t = { t j } ∈ λ there exists x t ∈ E such that ∑ j = 1 ∞ t j b ( x j , y ) = b ( x t , y ) for every y ∈ F . Under continuity assumptions on the linear operators b ( x , ⋅ ) , we establish several versions of the Orlicz–Pettis Theorem for multiplier convergent series. Applications to spaces of continuous linear operators are given.
Programmer-level implications of optical interconnects

The efficient exploitation of the coming 1 GB/sec optical interconnects will require radical re- design of the communication protocols and programming models used for distributed systems. The dominant programming models, such as message-passing, are complex enough to require extensive software involvement for data copying, matching received messages with posted buffers, and storing received data. This processing must use relatively slow accesses to non- cacheable memory structures. Consequently, the inter-processor latency, relative to the byte transmission time, is effectively increasing. Faster interconnects will exacerbate this problem. Lowest latency communication over 1 GB/sec LANs will require communication protocols and programming models that are implementable entirely in special-purpose hardware. True shared memory programming models allow this, but are unfeasible for workstations which also function as stand-alone machines, and are also extremely difficult to optimize over many processors. A proposed programming model for distributed systems, termed the 'shared array architecture,' combines the simple and deterministic communication of shared memory with the node independence and optimizability of message-passing. In the SAA model, each workstation/process in the user's parallel job maintains a 'shared array' of blocks of memory. These blocks map directly to transmission packets, and are directly read/write accessible by other processes in the job. A corresponding array of 'tag' values describe the status of the shared memory locations. Simple hardware mechanisms assure protection of non-shared data. Some similar type of mechanism, which closely ties the user interface to the communication software and hardware, will be necessary to exploit the capabilities of coming high-bandwidth transmission technology.
Carl Woese, Dick Young, and the roots of astrobiology

The beginning of the space age in the late 1950s gave rise to innovative and interdisciplinary research concepts and perspectives, including the concept of “exobiology” as a way to approach the fundamental aspects of biology through a study of life outside of the Earth, if it existed. This concept was embodied by NASA into its formal Exobiology Program and into the philosophy of the program both before and after the Viking missions that were launched to Mars to search for signs of life in 1975. Due to both management flexibility and an acceptance of the interdisciplinary nature of the problem of “life in the universe,” NASA program managers, and particularly Richard S Young who ran the Exobiology Program beginning 1967, have made some excellent investments in paradigm altering science of great use both on Earth and on future space missions. The work of Carl Woese is one such example, which has revolutionized our understanding of the microbial world and the relationships of all life on Earth.
Statistical comparisons of the crash characteristics on highways between construction time and non-construction time

Many studies in the past reported that crash frequencies during construction time were higher than during non-construction time at the same highway sections. A question was raised whether this trend applies to work zones in Utah. Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation and histogram), a paired t-test, a two-way ANOVA, and a Tukey test were used to test whether the crash rates are statistically higher during construction time than during non-construction time at the same highway sections using 202 work zone sites located on Utah's highways. These highway sections were grouped into four highway classes and the crashes were grouped into six crash severity levels. It was found that the difference in mean crash rates between construction time and non-construction time was not statistically significant at the 95% confidence level, indicating that the trend of higher crash rates during construction time reported by previous work zone safety-related studies was statistically not supported by Utah's work zone crash records. The observance by contractors of Utah Department of Transportation's (UDOT's) guidelines for work zone traffic control may have helped them achieve a similar level of traffic safety during construction and non-construction times.
Reproductive considerations: mare and stallion

Functional alterations within the reproductive system and in other supporting systems may limit the reproductive capacity of geriatric patients; however, the age of onset and degree of compromise show wide individual variation. Aging of the hypothalamopituitary-ovarian axis in the mare manifests as delayed entry to the breeding season, prolonged follicular phases, reduced response to ovulation induction, irregular cycles, oocyte defects, increased early embryonic death, and, eventually, persistent anestrus. Aging of the reproductive tract may increase her susceptibility to endometritis, compromise placental formation with long-term effects on the fetus and viability of the resulting foal, increase her risk of ascending placentitis, alter gestation length, and make her more prone to catastrophic rupture of the uterine arteries at the time of parturition. Effects on the stallion are less well documented but include a reduction in sperm output associated with progressive testicular degeneration and potential compromise of libido and mating ability that is often associated with degenerative conditions of the musculoskeletal system.
Optical and acoustic habitat characterization with the Seabed AUV

The Seabed AUV is an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) built to serve as a readily available and operationally simple tool for high resolution imaging. It is a hover-capable vehicle that performs optical sensing with a 12 bit 1280/spl times/1024 CCD camera and acoustic high resolution mapping using an MST 300 kHz sidescan and a 675 kHz pencil beam bathymetric sonar. The AUV has been designed for operations from small vessels with minimal support equipment. It has an operational depth of 2000 meters and at 1 m/s can run for up to 10 hours. In this paper we report on the use of Seabed for habitat classification. Over the last two years we have utilized the vehicle in diverse areas off of Puerto Rico and Bermuda for coral reef habitat characterization and off of Cape Cod for scallop abundance measurements. Biological benthic imaging places unique constraints on the control, navigation and imaging requirements for AUVs. In particular, marine biologists require close-up, color imagery for species recognition. Thus we highlight our efforts controls, navigation and imaging in support of such tasks. (i) Control - the ability to perform very tight surveys for photomosaicking areas of interest while simultaneously maintaining bottom following over rugged terrains. (ii) Navigation - the use of single ship based long baseline navigation in combination with dead reckoned ADCP based inertial navigation which allows us to cover large areas without the need to deploy transponder nets. and (iii) Imaging - obtaining high resolution color imagery within the constraints of power associated with working on an AUV.
Weather patterns and asthma epidemics in New York City and New Orleans, U.S.A.

Twenty-five years of data on asthmatic attacks in New Orleans (covering approximately 170,000 asthma attacks) have been analyzed to identify “asthma epidemic” days, defined as days on which an unusually high number of asthmatic individuals had attacks. Similar data covering three years was obtained for New York City. A preliminary examination of detailed meteoroligical data revealed a consistent meteorological pattern preceding and associated with such “asthma epidemic” days which consisted of a cold front preceding an asthma epidemic by one to three days followed by a high pressure system. The significance of these meteorological findings and their relationship to other environmental agents such as natural or man-made atmospheric pollutants that are likely to be associated with asthma attacks will be discussed.
Sequences near the Active Site in Chimeric Penicillin Binding Proteins 5 and 6 Affect Uniform Morphology of Escherichia coli

Penicillin binding protein (PBP) 5, a dd-carboxypeptidase that removes the terminal d-alanine from peptide side chains of peptidoglycan, plays an important role in creating and maintaining the uniform cell shape of Escherichia coli. PBP 6, a highly similar homologue, cannot substitute for PBP 5 in this respect. Previously, we localized the shape-maintaining characteristics of PBP 5 to the globular domain that contains the active site (domain I), where PBPs 5 and 6 share substantial identity. To identify the specific segment of domain I responsible for shape control, we created a set of hybrids and determined which ones complemented the aberrant morphology of a misshapen PBP mutant, E. coli CS703-1. Fusion proteins were constructed in which 47, 199 and 228 amino-terminal amino acids of one PBP were fused to the corresponding carboxy-terminal amino acids of the other. The morphological phenotype was reversed only by hybrid proteins containing PBP 5 residues 200 to 228, which are located next to the KTG motif of the active site. Because residues 220 to 228 were identical in these proteins, the morphological effect was determined by alterations in amino acids 200 to 219. To confirm the importance of this segment, we constructed mosaic proteins in which these 20 amino acids were grafted from PBP 5 into PBP 6 and vice versa. The PBP 6/5/6 mosaic complemented the aberrant morphology of CS703-1, whereas PBP 5/6/5 did not. Site-directed mutagenesis demonstrated that the Asp218 and Lys219 residues were important for shape maintenance by these mosaic PBPs, but the same mutations in wild-type PBP 5 did not eliminate its shape-promoting activity. Homologous enzymes from five other bacteria also complemented the phenotype of CS703-1. The overall conclusion is that creation of a bacterial cell of regular diameter and uniform contour apparently depends primarily on a slight alteration of the enzymatic activity or substrate accessibility at the active site of E. coli PBP 5.
Challenges for third-generation cooled imagers

Third-Generation, two-color infrared cooled sensors are being developed in order to allow the Army to detect and identify enemy forces at ranges beyond that at which the enemy can detect them. This will ensure that the Army continues to "own" night operations. Developing the technology needed to field these high-performance third-generation cooled imagers poses many challenges to the infrared community. These devices, which are expected to provide high spatial and temporal resolution simultaneously in two-to-three infrared bands, will dramatically increase the ability to find targets in defilade, and will be a major technological breakthrough. Performance has to be close to the theoretical limit, dominated by the limits of photon noise. Cost is also a major factor if sufficient numbers of such sensors are to be fielded. The benefits of this technology are now described, followed by a summary of the challenges faced in meeting the cost and performance objectives.
The effect of serum immunoglobulin concentration on immune complex detection by polyethylene glycol

The addition of 4% polyethylene glycol (PEG) to serum and quantitation of immunoglobulins in the dissolved precipitate has been advocated as a simple, reliable method for detecting circulating immune complexes. Because pathological sera, which often yield positive results in this assay, may contain increased concentrations of immunoglobulins compared to normal control sera, we have determined the relationship between total serum immunoglobulin concentration and the quantity of immunoglobulins precipitated by 4% PEG. When IgG was added to normal serum, the quantity and percentage of IgG in the precipitate was directly proportional to total serum IgG concentration. This concentration-dependent precipitation appeared to be unrelated to the presence of aggregates in the IgG preparation, the serum concentration of albumin, or interactions with serum complement. With normal serum, concentrated to yield a wide range of endogenous immunoglobulin concentrations, the percentage of IgG, IgM and IgA in the PEG precipitates was likewise directly proportional to the total serum concentration of these immunoglobulins. In view of these findings, this method is likely to give false-positive results in pathological sera containing increased immunoglobulin concentrations and is probably invalid as a means for detecting circulating immune complexes. However, with a final concentration of 2% PEG, successful discrimination between aggregated immunoglobulin and monomeric IgG may be achieved.
PUTTING CHEMICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITIES IN PERSPECTIVE

When one speaks about chemical and environmental sensitivities, this immediately implies the antigens and chemicals that are in air, food, and water, and exposures in the home, work, and/or study areas. There are many diverse opinions about how to make a specific diagnosis of these sensitivities, how to correctly diagnose, and how to treat the given diagnosis. Because most of the literature accepts that inhalants (mites, molds, pollens, and danders) do cause allergic and sensitivity problems, The authors restrict their thoughts principally to the area of chemicals. It is where the greatest debate exists now.
Poles and Zeros

In Part I, we have discussed various topics relevant to electromechanics which is the study of energy interaction between electrical and mechanical components. We demonstrated that the dynamics of complex electromechanical systems can be best understood by identifying the interaction between various energy storage and energy dissipation elements, some of which can be purely electrical (capacitance, inductance, resistance), some purely mechanical (compliance, inertia, damping), and some are in fact electromechanical (magnetic and piezoelectric coupling, etc.). In Part II, we shall discuss various topics related to contromechanics which is the study of energy interaction between control and electromechanical components. The purpose of control, as we have mentioned already, is to enhance the performance of the electromechanical systems.
Bacteria Associated with the Ectoperitrophic Space in the Midgut of the Larva of the Midge Xylotopus par (Diptera: Chironomidae)

An ectoperitrophic association of bacteria with the midgut of Xylotopus par larvae was investigated by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The bacteria attached to the epithelium as a well-defined band in the posterior midgut. They were morphotypically uniform and formed short filaments with endosporelike structures. The consistent presence and well-defined location of the bacteria in a region of the insect digestive tract usually void of microbes indicates a highly evolved symbiotic association, the nature of which is unknown at present. Images
Optimum testing of multiple hypotheses in quantum detection theory

The problem of specifying the optimum quantum detector in multiple hypotheses testing is considered for application to optical communications. The quantum digital detection problem is formulated as a linear programming problem on an infinite-dimensional space. A necessary and sufficient condition is derived by the application of a general duality theorem specifying the optimum detector in terms of a set of linear operator equations and inequalities. Existence of the optimum quantum detector is also established. The optimality of commuting detection operators is discussed in some examples. The structure and performance of the optimal receiver are derived for the quantum detection of narrow-band coherent orthogonal and simplex signals. It is shown that modal photon counting is asymptotically optimum in the limit of a large signaling alphabet and that the capacity goes to infinity in the absence of a bandwidth limitation.
Characteristics of Emotional Disturbance in Middle and High School Students

The authors investigated the five eligibility characteristics of the federal education disability emotional disturbance (ED): inability to learn, relationship problems, inappropriate behavior, unhappiness or depression, and physical symptoms or fears. Participants were 1,210 middle or high school level students with or without ED, of three different racial/ethnic statuses and both genders. Category main effects confirmed that adolescents with ED exceed those without ED on the five characteristics; interaction effects revealed nuances. For relationship problems, students with ED exceeded peers without ED at both school levels, but for unhappiness or depression and physical symptoms or fears, only middle school students with ED had higher scores than their peers.Among students with ED, European Americans exhibited greater physical symptoms or fears than did African Americans but not Hispanics. On relationship problems, there were category-by-gender patterns unique to each race-ethnic group. Results address ...
Synthesis of ethylene/propylene elastomers containing a terminal reactive group: The combination of metallocene catalysis and control chain transfer reaction

This article discusses a chemical route to prepare new ethylene/propylene copolymers (EP) containing a terminal reactive group, such as Φ-CH 3 and OH. The chemistry involves metallocene-mediated ethylene/propylene copolymerization in the presence of a consecutive chain transfer agent-a mixture of hydrogen and styrene derivatives carrying a CH 3 (p-MS) or a silane-protected OH (St-OSi). The major challenge is to find suitable reaction conditions that can simultaneously carry out effective ethylene/propylene copolymerization and incorporation of the styrenic molecule (St-f) at the polymer chain end, in other words, altering the St-f incorporation mode from copolymerization to chain transfer. A systematic study was conducted to examine several metallocene catalyst systems and reaction conditions. Both [(C 5 Me 4 )SiMe 2 N( t -Bu)]TiCl 2 and rac-Et(Ind) 2 ZrCl 2 , under certain H 2 pressures, were found to be suitable catalyst systems to perform the combined task. A broad range of St-f terminated EP copolymers (EP-t-p-MS and EP-t-St-OH), with various compositions and molecular weights, have been prepared with polymer molecular weight inversely proportional to the molar ratio of [St-f]/[monomer].
Electrocardiographic Differentiation of the ST-Segment Depression of Acute Myocardial Injury Due to the Left Circumflex Artery Occlusion from that of Myocardial Ischemia of Nonocclusive Etiologies

Lead distributions of peak ST-segment depression were compared between patients undergoing left circumflex artery percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty and exercise tolerance test. Localization of peak ST-segment depression to leads V2 or V3 was 96% specific and 70% sensitive for differentiating ischemia due to occlusion of left circumflex artery occlusion from nonocclusive ischemia.
Cybernetic modeling of bacterial cultures at low growth rates: mixed-substrate systems

A cybernetic model to predict the low-growth-rate behavior of bacteria in mixed-substrate environment is presented. Using only growth and maintenance parameters from single-substrate experiments, the model accurately predicts the simultaneous substrate utilization and maintenance energy effects in constant fed-batch cultures of Klebsiella oxytoca. The robustness of the model was examined more rigorously by perturbing glucose-limited fed-batch cultures with additions of arabinose, xylose, and fructose. In all cases, reasonable agreement of the model prediction with the experimental data was observed.
A single-institution experience with 491 cases of small bowel adenocarcinoma

Background The optimal treatment of small bowel adenocarcinoma is unknown. Methods The records of 491 patients with small bowel adenocarcinoma diagnosis between 1970 and 2005 were reviewed for patient and tumor characteristics, treatment effects, and survival. Results The median age at diagnosis was 62 years. The most common tumor locations were the duodenum (57%), jejunum (29%), and ileum (10%). The median overall survival was 20.1 months, with a 5-year overall survival of 26%. Greater age, male sex, higher stage and grade, residual disease after resection, and a lymph node ratio of 50% or greater predicted decreased overall survival in univariate analysis. Age and stage were predictive of survival in multivariate analysis. The overall survival with metastatic disease was poor. Adjuvant therapy was not associated with longer overall survival (P = .44). Conclusions The prognosis of patients with small bowel adenocarcinoma is poor. Complete resection provides the only means of cure, and the role for adjuvant therapy remains uncertain.
A World Ranking of the Top 100 Hospitality and Tourism Programs

The article provides an analysis of scholarly contributions to 11 hospitality and tourism refereed journals for the years 2002 to 2006. It presents the top 100 programs as ranked by instances of publications across 11 journals for a recent 5-year period. For the 5-year period, results indicate The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in the top position based on sums of instances, authors, and articles. Second, the researchers updated, modified, and extended a previous study published by the Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research for similar information for the years 1992 to 2001. Following the update, an additional 15-year aggregate snapshot of research output for top producing institutions provided a top 18 over the last 15-year period. Next, researchers provide an updated analysis by contribution and world region among the specific journals with results indicating a large growth in the number of articles produced in Asia going from 6% of all publications over the earlier 10-year period from 1992 through...
CYP3A activity in African American and European American men: Population differences and functional effect of the CYP3A4*1B 5′‐promoter region polymorphism

Objective Cytochrome P4503A (CYP3A) activity exhibits considerable interindividual variability. Possible differences in CYP3A activity were investigated in European American and African American men with the use of midazolam as an in vivo probe. Methods Midazolam was simultaneously administered intravenously (1 mg, [15N3]-labeled) and orally (2 mg, unlabeled in capsule form) to 15 young healthy European American men and a similar group of men of African American descent. Plasma concentration–time curves were measured. The subjects were subsequently genotyped with respect to the CYP3A4*B1 polymorphism (A-290G) in the 5′-promoter (nifedipine-specific element) region. Results The oral bioavailability of midazolam was about equally determined by intestinal and hepatic extraction with CYP3A activity at the former site exhibiting greater variability. Oral bioavailability was related to intestinal metabolism (r = 0.98), whereas hepatic CYP3A activity contributed little to the interindividual variability (r = 0.03). A lower systemic clearance (265 ± 54 versus 310 ± 56 mL/min; P = .04), but not oral clearance, was observed in African Americans. With one exception, the African Americans possessed a variant CYP3A4*1B allele (4 heterozygotes A/G and 10 homozygote G/G), whereas all of the European Americans were wild-type homozygotes (A/A). Hepatic CYP3A activity and the systemic clearance of midazolam were about 30% lower in G/G homozygotes than in A/A homozygotes (252 ± 53 versus 310 ± 54 mL/min; P = .02), and a gene-dose effect was present (P = .01). There was no genotype/phenotype relationship with respect to the oral clearance of midazolam. Conclusion Comparison of CYP3A activity between populations is complicated by frequency distribution differences in the regulatory CYP3A4*1B polymorphism and lower hepatic CYP3A activity associated with the variant allele. However, this reduction is modest; therefore no major and clinically important difference in CYP3A activity is present between Americans of African or European descent. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2000) 68, 82–91; doi: 10.1067/mcp.2000.108506
Three‐dimensional virtual worlds and distance learning: two case studies of Active Worlds as a medium for distance education

Online three-dimensional (3D) virtual worlds are emerging technologies that offer unique learning opportunities for traditional and distributed education. One of the more popular 3D virtual worlds, Active Worlds, is currently being used as a medium for synchronous and asynchronous distance learning. This investigation presents two exploratory case studies of different, but exemplary educational activities using Active Worlds for formal and informal education. The focus of each case study is to investigate how Active Worlds is being used for distance learning and to determine the type of learning experiences afforded by this 3D virtual environment. Whilst more research is necessary to explore fully the potential of 3D virtual worlds for learning, this initial investigation illustrates how Active Worlds affords opportunities for experiential learning and situated learning within a collaboration learning environment.
Addressing food insecurity in a Native American reservation using community-based participatory research

The food insecurity faced by many Native American communities has numerous implications for the health and welfare of families. To identify and address upstream causes of food insecurity in a rural California reservation, we conducted a community assessment using the Tool for Health and Resilience in Vulnerable Environments (THRIVE). Guided by a community-based participatory research orientation, the THRIVE tool was adapted using digital storytelling and implemented in a series of focus groups. As a result of the THRIVE assessment, community members identified racial injustice and physical and financial barriers to accessing healthy and culturally appropriate foods as areas of greatest importance. Subsequently, the project partnership developed policies to reduce identified barriers which included an integrated community supported agriculture and commodity food program, the introduction of Electronic Benefits Transfer and culturally appropriate foods at the local farmers' market and reallocation of shelf space at the grocery store to include vegetables and fruits as well as special foods for diabetics. Results suggest that a participatory research orientation coupled with the use of a culturally adapted THRIVE tool may be an effective means for identifying structural determinants of food insecurity and initiating novel policy interventions to reduce health disparities experienced by Native American communities.
Using Metaphors in Therapy: Dichos and Latino Clients

The clinical literature has given increased attention to the importance of culturally appropriate interventions with diverse populations. The use of metaphor as a tool in psychotherapy has become increasingly salient. Metaphor can also be used in work with Latino clients through the incorporation of dichos, or sayings, that exist in Mexican American and other Latino cultures. These folk sayings exhibit cultural beliefs and ideals embedded in figurative language that describe the human condition. The Spanish language has crystallized human situations, frailties, and anecdotes in the dichos used in everyday conversations. These dichos offer the clinician culturally viable tools for mitigating resistance, enhancing motivation, or reframing problems. Importantly, dichos provide an ambience that contributes to culturally sensitive treatment.
ND:GLASS LASER DESIGN FOR LASER ICF FISSION ENERGY (LIFE)

We have developed preliminary conceptual laser system designs for the Laser ICF (Inertial Confinement Fusion) Fission Energy (LIFE) application. Our approach leverages experience in high-energy Nd:...
Effects of female reproductive tract secretions on rabbit sperm. II. Control of sperm hyaluronidase release.

SummaryThe release of hyaluronidase by rabbit sperm was measured, in vitro: (a) in uterine fluid from unilaterally ovariectomized rabbits, (b) in uterine fluid heated to 56°, (c) in postovulatory uterine fluid with added progesterone, and (d) in protein containing fractions of uterine fluid. Ovariectomy suppresses sperm hyaluronidase release as does heating of the uterine fluid or the increased availability of progesterone. The hyaluronidase releasing activity of uterine fluid is confined to one macromolecular fraction following gel filtration. The possible relationship of these results to the process of capacitation is discussed.
Composition and Solubility Product of a Synthetic Calcium Hydroxyapatite

Synthetic calcium hydroxyapatites (HA’s) have, in general, excellent biocompatibility with tooth and bone tissues, and they are frequently used as biomedical materials.1,2,3,4 The properties of synthetic HA’s depend strongly on preparative conditions. They are well known to be variable5 and the composition deviates from the stoichiometric HA formula, Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2, that comprises the unit-cell content. In order to properly characterize these HA’s, accurate determinations of complete chemical composition, unit-cell parameters, solubility, surface area, crystallinity, etc., are needed. The focus of this paper is on the procedures and methods for accurate and precise determinations of two important parameters, the Ca/P molar ratio and solubility product, of a HA that was prepared and characterized in our group6 for use as a HA reference material (HA-RM).
Recalled childhood teasing in relation to adult rejection and evaluation sensitivity

Abstract Individuals who experience teasing often report feelings of social rejection, loneliness, and social anxiety. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship of childhood teasing to adult reports of interpersonal rejection sensitivity, fear of negative evaluation, and loneliness. The meditational role of interpersonal rejection sensitivity and fear of negative evaluation were examined in the relationship between recalled childhood teasing and adult loneliness. Analyses showed that rejection sensitivity and fear of negative evaluation were positively correlated with total teasing and correlated specifically to teasing related to appearance. Mediation analyses found that teasing, rejection sensitivity, and fear of negative evaluation were significant predictors of adult loneliness, with both interpersonal rejection sensitivity and fear of negative evaluation partially mediating the relationship between teasing and loneliness.
Management of Perioperative Anticoagulation in Lung Resection

The perioperative management of anticoagulation in patients undergoing pulmonary resection encompasses multiple topics, inherent in each being the balance between the risks of surgical bleeding versus the risks of thrombosis. To address this topic, we evaluated the available literature for recommendations regarding (1) the use of anticoagulation for venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis(2), the management of patients on chronic anticoagulation (history of pulmonary embolism, chronic atrial fibrillation, mechanical heart valve, etc.), and (3) the management of patients on acute or chronic antiplatelet therapy (cardiac stents, peripheral vascular stents, etc.). We summarize the available data and provide recommendations on how to contend with each of these scenarios in patients undergoing pulmonary resection.
Second Law of Thermodynamics

The second law stipulates that the total entropy of a system plus its environment cannot decrease; it can remain constant for a reversible process but must always increase for an irreversible process.
Innovation in Manufacturing

This paper explores the determinants of three innovation outputs in low technology manufacturing factories by exploring innovation dependent on the factory’s network of relationships, both internal (intra-firm cooperation) and external (inter-factory and inter-firm) using data from, the World Bank’s “Investment Climate Survey” (ICS).
Four-photon polarization-entangled states with minimal spectral and spatial entanglement

We present two schemes for generating four-photon states: One for direct GHZ state generation and another yielding an entire class of polarization-entangled states. Both begin with photon pairs having minimal spectral and spatial entanglement.
Turbomachinery Noise Shielding Assessment of Advanced Aircraft Configurations

This paper presents a method based on the Kirchhoff diffraction theory to predict the shielding of turbomachinery noise by the airframe of an advanced aircraft configuration. The key feature of this method is the fast computational time, even at very high frequencies, that makes it a useful tool to rapidly assess the noise footprint of an aircraft design. The “offline part” preprocesses the three-dimensional shielding geometry into a contour of its outline based on the source line-of-sight. Given this contour, the “online part” calculates the noise attenuation at a particular observer location and source frequency and can be called multiple times by an aircraft noise prediction program to add shielding estimates to its EPNL calculations. This method is most accurate for flat shielding objects characterized by edge-diffraction rays rather than smooth, rounded objects characterized by creeping rays—shielding differences of up to 3 dB were observed in calculations using a sphere and a disk. Finally, the method is applied to a hybrid-wing-body aircraft to assess and quantify the noise shielding benefit of its large planform area.
School Curriculum, Policies, and Practices Regarding Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Families.

This study examined what elementary schools in New York State are doing to recognize lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) families in terms of curriculum, policies, and practices. In all,...
Functions of a Dual or Duo Variable

(1966). Functions of a Dual or Duo Variable. Mathematics Magazine: Vol. 39, No. 4, pp. 215-219.
Synthesis of Multisubstituted Arenes via PyrDipSi-Directed Unsymmetrical Iterative C–H Functionalizations

A modifiable or removable pyrimidyldiisopropylsilyl (PyrDipSi) directing group for double-fold symmetrical and unsymmetrical C–H functionalizations of arenes has been developed. The PyrDipSi directing group can be efficiently installed on arenes via the Rh-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction of an aryl iodide with 2-(diisopropylsilyl)pyrimidine (PyrDipSiH). This directing group allows for a highly efficient Pd-catalyzed C–H oxygenation and halogenation reaction of various arenes to produce a variety of symmetrically and unsymmetrically substituted arenes, including resorcinols, m-halophenols, and 1,3-dihaloarenes. Importantly, the PyrDipSi group can easily be removed or efficiently converted into valuable functionalities, which opens an access to densely substituted arene products from aryl iodides. Hence, the generality of this strategy was highlighted by the synthesis of up to hexasubstituted arene products from simple iodobenzene via iterative C–H functionalization reactions.
The IN/OUT assay: a new tool to study ciliogenesis

Nearly all cells have a primary cilia on their surface, which functions as a cellular antennae. Primary cilia assembly begins intracellularly and eventually emerges extracellularly. However, current ciliogenesis assays, which detect cilia length and number, do not monitor ciliary stages. We developed a new assay that detects antibody access to a fluorescently tagged ciliary transmembrane protein, which revealed three ciliary states: classified as ‘inside,’ ‘outside,’ or ‘partial’ cilia. Strikingly, most cilia in RPE cells only partially emerged and many others were long and intracellular, which would be indistinguishable by conventional assays. Importantly, these states switch with starvation-induced ciliogenesis and the cilia can emerge both on the dorsal and ventral surface of the cell. Our assay further allows new molecular and functional studies of the ‘ciliary pocket,’ a deep plasma membrane invagination whose function is unclear. Molecularly, we show colocalization of EHD1, Septin 9 and glutamylated tubulin with the ciliary pocket. Together, the IN/OUT assay is not only a new tool for easy and quantifiable visualization of different ciliary stages, but also allows molecular characterization of intermediate ciliary states.
Review of Recent Advances in Carbon Nanotube Biosensors Based on Field-Effect Transistors

The extraordinary physiochemical properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) stimulated their wide application in biosensing research. Nanotube characteristics of fast electron transport, large surface area, high strength, excellent catalytic activity and good chemical stability contribute to ultrasensitive, highly selective and stable CNT biosensors. Among the various CNT biosensors, the field-effect transistor (FET) architecture has received tremendous attention due to the advantages of high performance, miniaturization, and capability for mass production. In this paper, we address recent advances in the development of CNT biosensors based on FETs. The synthesis and properties of CNTs are discussed, along with their integration into biosensors. Recent progress in device fabrication, including CNT functionalization, attachment, and bioreceptor immobilization in CNT-based FET biosensors are highlighted. Examples in medical, food and environmental fields are illustrated.
Automated measurement of pressure injury through image processing.

Aims and Objectives Develop an image processing algorithm to automatically measure pressure injuries using electronic pressure injury images stored in nursing documentation. Background Photographing pressure injuries and storing the images in the electronic health record is standard practice in many hospitals. However, the manual measurement of pressure injury is time-consuming, challenging, and subject to intra-inter-reader variability with complexities of the pressure injury and the clinical environment. Design A cross-sectional algorithm development study. Methods A set of 32 pressure injury images were obtained from a western Pennsylvania hospital. First, we transformed the images from an RGB (i.e., red, green, and blue) color space to a YCbCr color space to eliminate inferences from varying light conditions and skin colors. Second, a probability map, generated by a skin color Gaussian model, guided the pressure injury segmentation process using the Support Vector Machine classifier. Third, after segmentation, the reference ruler-included in each of the images-enabled perspective transformation and determination of pressure injury size. Finally, two nurses independently measured those 32 pressure injury images, and intraclass correlation coefficient was calculated. Results An image processing algorithm was developed to automatically measure the size of pressure injuries. Both inter- and intra-rater analysis achieved good level reliability. Conclusions Validation of the size measurement of the pressure injury (1) demonstrates that our image processing algorithm is a reliable approach to monitoring pressure injury progress through clinical pressure injury images and (2) offers new insight to pressure injury evaluation and documentation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Role of contrast CT for the diagnosis and the prognosis of suspected LVAD thrombosis.

BACKGROUND There is an urgent need for further studies evaluating the role of imaging modalities in the management of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) thrombosis. This study reviews the role of computed tomography (CT) in the diagnosis of suspected LVAD thrombosis. METHODS All contrast chest CTs performed in patients with suspected LVAD thrombosis at the University of Minnesota between January 2008 and April 2014 were reviewed. Significant CT findings were identified, operative notes were reviewed, and patient outcomes were reported. RESULTS A total of 32 contrast chest CT examinations were performed in 24 patients with suspected LVAD thrombosis. LVAD thrombus was identified on CT in two patients (one in the outflow graft and one in the inflow cannula), and complications were found in two patients (one with inflow cannula malposition and one with outflow graft stenosis at aortic anastomosis site). Thirteen patients (67%) underwent LVAD explantation for clinically presumed LVAD thrombosis (LVAD exchange in seven, orthotopic heart transplant in six). LVAD thrombus was confirmed at the time of surgery in eight patients (62%; six in the motor, two in the outflow graft). CONCLUSIONS CT has a low sensitivity but high specificity for detecting LVAD thrombus. The sensitivity is higher, but still modest for the detection of thrombus in the outflow cannula.
Spatially modulated metamaterial array for transmit (SMMArT) and slow-leaky-wave antennas

Waveform diversity (WD) has the potential to profoundly impact radar operation through new advantageous uses of design degrees-of-freedom as long as the waveform and signal processing structure can be appropriately married to the physical electromagnetic (EM) and system operation. Within this context, the EM behavior of the recently introduced Spatially Modulated Metamaterial Array for Transmit (SMMArT) concept, itself a realization of a special class of MIMO radar denoted as spatial modulation, is analyzed by means of full-wave finite-elements simulations. Radiation patterns under various forms of excitation are calculated. A parametric study of a slotted Clarricoats-Waldron waveguide (CWW) is presented that identifies the practical feasibility of design constraints that must be considered in order to suppress undesired intermodal coupling.