cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Liquid droplet radiator development status

Development of the Liquid Droplet Radiator (LDR) is described. Significant published results of previous investigators are presented, and work currently in progress is discussed. Several proposed LDR configurations are described, and the rectangular and triangular configurations currently of most interest are examined. Development of the droplet generator, collector, and auxiliary components are discussed. Radiative performance of a droplet sheet is considered, and experimental results are seen to be in very good agreement with analytical predictions. The collision of droplets in the droplet sheet, the charging of droplets by the space plasma, and the effect of atmospheric drag on the droplet sheet are shown to be of little consequence, or can be minimized by proper design. The LDR is seen to be less susceptible than conventional technology to the effects of micrometeoroids or hostile threats. The identification of working fluids which are stable in the orbital environments of interest is also made. Methods for reducing spacecraft contamination from an LDR to an acceptable level are discussed. Preliminary results of microgravity testing of the droplet generator are presented. Possible future NASA and Air Force missions enhanced or enabled by a LDR are also discussed. System studies indicate that the LDR is potentially less massive than heat pipe radiators. Planned microgravity testing aboard the Shuttle or space station is seen to be a logical next step in LDR development.
Working to Instill the Entrepreneurial Mindset Across the Curriculum

Over the past two decades, significant work has been done to increase the opportunities for engineering students to develop an entrepreneurial mindset (EM). These have included curricular, cocurric...
Comparative analysis of acute toxicities and patient reported outcomes between intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) for the treatment of oropharyngeal cancer.

Abstract Background and purpose IMPT improves normal tissue sparing compared to VMAT in treating oropharyngeal cancer (OPC). Our aim was to assess if this translates into clinical benefits. Materials and methods OPC patients treated with definitive or adjuvant IMPT or VMAT from 2013 to 2018 were included. All underwent prospective assessment using patient-reported-outcomes (PROs) (EORTC-QLQ-HN median follow-up was 12 months (IMPT) and 30 months (VMAT). Baseline characteristics were balanced except for age (p = 0.04, IMPT were older) and smoking (p 20PYs, 29.3% VMAT). IMPT was associated with lower PEG placement (OR = 0.27; 95% CI: 0.12–0.59; p = 0.001) and less hospitalization ≤60 days post-RT (OR = 0.21; 95% CI:0.07–0.6, p Conclusion IMPT is associated with improved PROs, reduced PEG-tube placement, hospitalization, and narcotic requirements. Mucositis, dysphagia, and pain were decreased with IMPT. Benefits were predominantly seen in patients treated definitively or with CRT.
Detection Efficiency of Static Analyzers against Obfuscated Android Malware

Mobile antivirus technologies incorporate static analysis which involves the analysis of programs without its execution. This process relies on pattern matching against a signature repository to identify malware, which can be easily tricked by transformation techniques such as obfuscation. Obfuscation as an evasion technique renders character strings disguised and incomprehensive, to prevent tampering and reengineering, which poses to be a valuable technique malware developers adopt to evade detection. This paper attempts to study the detection efficiency of static analyzers against obfuscated Android malware. This study is the first step in a larger project attempting to improve the efficiency of malware detectors.
Beyond the Role of Interpersonal Violence in Predicting Negative Affective Conditions in Adults: An Examination of Hope Components in Chinese College Students:

With the growth of positive psychology during the past two decades, increased research has been focused on identifying human virtues that not only foster well-being but also act as positive processes that mitigate the impact of life adversities. Thus, it is useful to examine how positive processes, such as hope, may impact individuals' psychological adjustment following adversities. This study investigated the relationships among interpersonal violence, hope, as a key human strength, and negative affect conditions in a large sample (N = 737) of Chinese male and female (Nfemale = 409) college students. Participants completed measures assessing prior exposure to interpersonal violence, levels of both hope components (i.e., agency and pathways), negative affect, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation. Results from correlational analyses showed that exposure to interpersonal violence was positively and hope was negatively correlated with negative affective conditions. However, hope agency was more strongly correlated with those outcomes than hope pathways. In addition, three separate hierarchical regression analyses indicated that after accounting for demographics (i.e., age and sex) and interpersonal violence, within hope components, only hope agency remained as strong concurrent predictors of negative affective conditions. The present findings in this Chinese sample are consistent with those obtained from Turkey and the United States samples, adding evidence to the more robust role of hope, and hope agency in particular, in predicting negative psychological adjustment associated with interpersonal violence. Efforts made to address the absence of hope agency may be particularly important in future attempts to mitigate negative affective conditions linked to interpersonal violence among Chinese college students.
Are Nursing Students Learning About Social Determinants of Health

Nurses must be knowledgeable about social determinants of health (SDH) to provide holistic care with improved patient outcomes. When evaluating the Baccalaureate of Science in Nursing curriculum, it is unclear if SDH are adequately identified, assessed, and discussed, or if students grasp their importance. To move to a population health approach, faculty need to be more inclusive of community and public health. For purposes of this study, the factors comprising SDH were identified as childhood experiences, housing, education, social support, family income, employment, communities, and access to health services. These eight factors were used to categorize participants' qualitative responses to baseline and completion surveys.
Soiling Loss Rate Measurements of Photovoltaic Modules in a Hot and Humid Desert Environment

We would like to thank KAUST’s New Energy Oasis – Research Park team for the utilization of their testing facility for our PV system installation and also Dr.Thodoros Katsaounis for his valuable suggestions and comments. Funding for this project was provided by Saudi Aramco’s Research and Development Center, as part of a research project to assess dust accumulation on solar modules and its impact on the performance of PV power plants.
Risk stratification and outreach to hematology/oncology patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cancer patients have many medical and psychosocial needs, which may increase during the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to (1) risk-stratify hematology/oncology patients using general medicine and cancer-specific methods to identify those at high risk for acute care utilization, (2) measure the correlation between two risk stratification methods, and (3) perform a telephone-based needs assessment with intervention for high-risk patients. Patients were risk-stratified using a general medical health composite score (HCS) and a cancer-specific risk (CSR) stratification based on disease and treatment characteristics. The correlation between HCS and CSR was measured using Spearman’s correlation. A multi-disciplinary team developed a focused needs assessment script with recommended interventions for patients categorized as high-risk by either method. The number of patient needs identified and referrals for services made in the first month of outreach are reported. A total of 1697 patients were risk-stratified, with 17% high-risk using HCS and 22% high-risk using CSR. Correlation between HCS and CSR was modest (ρ = 0.41). During the first month of the pilot, 286 patients were called for outreach with 245 contacted (86%). Commonly identified needs were financial difficulties (17%), uncontrolled symptoms (15%), and interest in advance care planning (13%), resulting in referral for supportive services for 33% of patients. There is a high burden of unmet medical and psychosocial needs in hematology/oncology patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. A telephone-based outreach program results in the identification of and intervention for these needs; however, additional cancer-specific risk models are needed to improve targeting to high-risk patients.
Relationships between spinal cord blood flow measured with flow-sensitive alternating inversion recovery (FAIR) and neurobehavioral outcomes in rat spinal cord injury.

Abstract In the traumatically injured spinal cord, decreased perfusion is believed to contribute to secondary tissue damage beyond the primary mechanical impact, and restoration of perfusion is believed to be a promising therapeutic target. However, methods to monitor spinal cord perfusion non-invasively are limited. Perfusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques established for the brain have not been routinely adopted to the spinal cord. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between spinal cord blood flow (SCBF) and injury severity in a rat thoracic spinal cord contusion injury (SCI) model using flow-sensitive alternating inversion recovery (FAIR) with two variants of the label position. SCBF as a marker of severity was compared to T1 mapping and to spinal cord-optimized diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) with filtered parallel apparent diffusion coefficient. Thirty-eight rats underwent a T10 contusion injury with varying severities (8 sham; 10 mild; 10 moderate; 10 severe) with MRI performed at 1 day post injury at the lesion site and follow-up neurological assessments using the Basso, Beattie, Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor scoring up to 28 days post injury. Using whole-cord regions of interest at the lesion epicenter, SCBF was decreased with injury severity and had a significant correlation with BBB scores at 28 days post injury. Importantly, estimates of arterial transit times (ATT) in the injured spinal cord were not altered after injury, which suggests that FAIR protocols optimized to measure SCBF provide more value in the context of acute traumatic injury to the cord. T1-relaxation time constants were strongly related to injury severity and had a larger extent of changes than either SCBF or DWI measures. These findings suggest that perfusion decreases in the spinal cord can be monitored non-invasively after injury, and multi-parametric MRI assessments of perfusion, diffusion, and relaxation capture unique features of the pathophysiology of preclinical injury.
Expiratory Pause Maneuver to Assess Muscle Pressure During Simulated Assisted Mechanical Ventilation Part 3: Effects of Chest Mechanics

Background: In Part 1 of our study we demonstrated that simulated breathing effort (ie, inspiratory muscle pressure or ΔPmus) during AMV could be measured accurately by introducing an airway occlusion at end expiration to measure ΔPaw during the subsequent patient-triggered inspiration. In Part 3 of this bench study we examined Pmus measurements by EPM under varying conditions of chest mechanics. Our assumption was that under isovolumetric conditions Pmus should transmit to the ventilator circuit with little or no energy dissipation. Methods: Spontaneous breathing was simulated using an Ingmar ASL-5000 (IngMar, Pittsburgh, PA). Simulated chest mechanics were set as follows: Condition A: Resistance (R) and Compliance (C) 5 cm H2O per L/s and 80 mL/cm H2O; Condition B: R of 15 cm H2O per L/s and C: 80 mL/cm H2O; Condition C: 5 cm H2O per L/s and 30 mL/cm H2O. The breathing pattern was f of 20 at 3 ΔPmus levels reflecting mild, moderate and high effort (5, 10, 15 cm H2O) using a 20% pressure rise, 10% hold and 10% decay (inspiratory time or Ti: 1.2s). The test series consisted of 15 breaths/Pmus. A PB-980 ventilator (Medtronics, Minneapolis, MN) was used with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP: 5 cm H2O). Trigger sensitivity was set at 3 L/m. Six clinicians measured Pmus using the ventilator9s negative inspiratory force function during expiration and releasing the pause-hold as soon as a negative deflection in Paw was observed on the scalar waveform. An average of 10 breaths per observer was used for each condition. Multiple comparisons used one-way ANOVA and Tukey Kraemer post-test. Alpha was set at 0.05. Results: There were minor, statistically significant but clinically unimportant differences in Pmus measurements by EPM technique (Table). Conclusions: As would be anticipated, under conditions of no volume change, whereby energy is not dissipated in distorting the respiratory system, differences in chest mechanics have a negligible impact on Pmus measured during EPM. Therefore, EPM should accurately reflect Pmus regardless of pathological alterations in R or C.
Tribesourcing Southwest Films: Counter-Narrations and Reclamation

As a work in progress, the Tribesourcing Southwest Film Project seeks to decolonize midcentury US educational films about the Native peoples of the Southwestern United States by recording counter-narrations from cultural insiders. These films originate from the American Indian Film Gallery, a collection awarded to the University of Arizona (UA) in 2011. Made in the mid-twentieth century for the US K–12 educational and television markets, these 16 mm Kodachrome films reflect mainstream cultural attitudes of the day. The fully saturated-color visual narratives are for the most part quite remarkable, although the male "voice of God" narration often pronounces meaning that is inaccurate or disrespectful. At this historical distance, many of these films have come to be understood by both Native community insiders and outside scholars as documentation of cultural practices and lifeways—and, indeed, languages—that are receding as practitioners and speakers pass on. The Tribesourcingfilm.com project seeks to rebalance the historical record through collaborative digital intervention, intentionally shifting emphasis from external perceptions of Native peoples to the voices, knowledges, and languages of the peoples represented in the films by participatory recording of new narrations for the films. Native narrators record new narrations for the films, actively decolonizing this collection and performing information redress through the merger of vintage visuals and new audio.
Controversies in Breast Cancer Surgery

Breast surgical oncology is a rapidly evolving field with significant advances shaped by practice-changing research. Three areas of ongoing controversy are (1) high rates of contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) in the United States despite uncertain benefit, (2) indications for and use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) and endocrine therapy (NET), and (3) staging and treatment of the axilla, particularly after neoadjuvant systemic therapy. We discuss the patient populations for whom CPM may or may not be beneficial, indications for NACT and NET, and the trend toward de-escalation of locoregional axillary treatment.
Understanding the Protection Mechanism of Non-Ionic Surfactants in mAb Formulations Using Neutron Scattering

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have become increasingly important to treat various diseases ranging from ­inflammations to cancers with their unique ability of selectively binding to specific antigen...
Best Practices – Lessons We Learned

One of the most important “lessons to be learned” that we were exposed to during our research was the need to invest more time and resources in proper intelligence gathering and, within the context of this activity, the most important part is the creation of the Intelligence File. This chapter is based on the information we received from the police agencies we visited and conducted our research at and, in addition, on personal experience of one of the authors who was involved during her law enforcement career in creating and maintaining Intel files.
A DENDROCHRONOLOGICAL METHOD OF STUDYING TREE MORTALITY PATTERNS

This study examines the use of dendrochronological crossdating to determine the dates of death of dead-standing coniferous trees in subalpine forests in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. We cored approximately 800 dead-standing Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm.) and subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa [Hook.] Nutt.) in two stands and classified them into decay classes. We quantitatively and visually crossdated samples from the dead-standing trees against master chronologies derived from live trees of each species in each stand. The outermost ring on crossdated samples served as an estimate of the year in which a tree died. Seventy percent of the dead-standing trees crossdated successfully. The crossdating technique clearly identified a period of massive mortality of Engelmann spruce attributable to a spruce beetle infestation in the 1940s. This procedure effectively distinguishes between continuous and episodic patterns of tree mortality and compares the relative mortality rates of these conife...
Statistical Quality Control

The present Chapter focuses on metric and English measuring systems used throughout the world. The metric system is universally used in most scientific applications, but it has some limitations. Tolerance is the amount of variation permitted in the part or the total variation allowed in a given dimension. Dimensions given close tolerances mean that the part must fit properly with some other part. Both must be given tolerances in keeping with the allowance desired, the manufacturing processes available, and the minimum cost of production and assembly that will maximize profit. The study represents all relevant steps of quality control that enable to sample the parts being produced in a mathematical manner and to determine whether the entire stream of production is acceptable, provided that the company is willing to allow up to a certain known number of defective parts. Statistical theory also gives the expected relationship among the control limits, the capability limits, and assumed tolerance limits for a machine that is capable of producing the product with this specified tolerance. The interrelationship of tolerances of assembled products and control charts for attributes have been discussed comprehensively. Various plans from defense department have been discussed which are based on the acceptance quality level concept. Keywords: average outgoing quality limit; double sampling; statistical theory; three-sigma limits; Type I error
Inner Product Spaces

So far, we have only discussed vector spaces without adding any further structure to the space. In this chapter, we shall study so-called inner product spaces. These are vector spaces where in addition we know the length of each vector and the angle between two vectors. Since this is what we are used to from the plane and space, it would seem like a reasonable extra layer of information.
Family Planning Knowledge: The Role of Social Networks and Primary Care Providers as Information Sources for African American Women

Disparities in the rates of unintended pregnancy have increased for low-income African American women as compared to other groups due, in part, to declining contraception use. Women obtain family planning information from diverse sources, which may ultimately influence contraceptive decision making. For this qualitative study, we conducted in-depth interviews with urban-dwelling low-income African American women to explore, within the framework of the theory of planned behavior, how family planning information is acquired from two distinct knowledge sources: social networks and primary care providers. We present thematic analysis and model interpretation, and offer approaches to preventing unintended pregnancy.
Majority logic decoding in type-I hybrid-ARQ protocols

Side information provided by sets of orthogonal check sums in a majority logic decoder for block codes is used in a type-I hybrid ARQ (automatic repeat request) error control scheme. The side information is obtained through a simple modification of the majority logic decoder. It is shown that the reliability performance of Reed-Muller and other majority logic decodable codes can be substantially improved at the expense of a very small reduction in throughput. For raw channel bit error rates up to 10/sup -2/, the reliability of the modified decoder is many orders of magnitude greater than that of the unmodified decoder. The simplicity of the decoding circuit permits implementation in systems with very high data rates. >
Low Mass Star Formation

We review the basic ideas and key processes in low mass star formation with three goals. First, to introduce and explain the concepts and nomenclature frequently used in the literature. Second, to present a simplified, but (hopefully) coherent picture of low mass star formation. Third, to point out some of the important issues that are not yet resolved. Some emphasis will be put on the protostellar collapse process.
Studies of the reflectivity and backscattering of the one atmosphere glow discharge plasma

Summary form only given. In this paper, calculations of the reflectivity and backscattering cross-section, in the microwave frequency range, of a one atmosphere glow discharge plasma are presented. The polarization of the incident wave, the grazing angle, the plasma number density, and the geometrical shape and size of the plasma, are the variable parameters in our investigations. The results are presented in convenient plots of the reflectivity or backscattering cross-section versus one parameter, while the other parameters are kept constant.
Robust autonomous structure-based color learning on a mobile robot

Motivation The scientific community is working towards the creation of fully autonomous mobile robots capable of interacting with the proverbial real world. Autonomous robots are predominantly dependent on sensory information but the ability to accurately sense the complex world is still missing. Visual input, in the form of color images from a camera, should be an excellent and rich source of such information, considering the significant amount of progress made in machine vision. But color, and images in general, have been used sparingly on mobile robots, where people have mostly focussed their attention on other sensors such as sonar and laser. There are three main reasons for this reliance on other relatively low-fidelity sensors. First, most sophisticated vision algorithms require substantial amount of computational and/or memory resources making them infeasible to use on mobile robotic systems that typically have constrained memory and computational resources but demand real-time processing. Second, most vision algorithms assume a stationary or slowly moving camera and hence cannot account for the rapid non-linear camera motion that is characteristic of mobile robot domains. Third, the variation of illumination over the operating environment causes a nonlinear shift in color distributions that is difficult to model; mobile robots, while moving around the world, often go into places with changing illumination. Even in the face of
K14 + Compound niches are present on the mouse cornea early after birth and expand after debridement wounds

Background: We previously identified compound niches (CNs) at the limbal:corneal border of the mouse cornea that contain corneal epithelial progenitor cells, express Keratin 8 (K8), and goblet cell mucin Muc5AC. During re-epithelialization after 2.5 mm epithelial debridement wounds, CNs migrate onto the cornea and expand in number mimicking conjunctivalization. When CNs form during development and whether they express corneal epithelial progenitor cell enriched K14 was not known. Results: To provide insight into corneal epithelial homeostasis, we quantify changes in expression of simple (K8, K18, K19) and stratified squamous epithelial keratins (K5, K12, K14, and K15) during postnatal development and in response to 2.5 mm wounds using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR), confocal imaging and immunoblots. K14 + CNs are present 7 days after birth. By 21 days, when the eyelids are open, K8, K19, and Muc5AC are also expressed in CNs. By 28 days after wounding, the corneal epithelium shows enhanced mRNA and protein expression for K14 and retains mRNA and protein for corneal epithelial specific K12. Conclusions: The keratin phenotype observed in corneal epithelial cells before eyelid opening is similar to that seen during wound healing. Data show K14 + corneal epithelial progenitor cells expand in number after 2.5 mm wounds. Developmental Dynamics 245:132–143, 2016. © 2015 The Authors. Developmental Dynamics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Within-Day Variability of Fatigue and Pain Among African Americans and Non-Hispanic Whites With Osteoarthritis of the Knee.

Objective Fatigue is common among persons with osteoarthritis (OA), but little is known about racial/ethnic differences in the prevalence, correlates, or dynamics of fatigue in OA. This research therefore used experience sampling methodology (ESM) to examine fatigue and pain at global and momentary levels among African Americans and non-Hispanic whites with OA.
Effect of frequency and reaction time in focused ultrasonic pretreatment of energy cane bagasse for bioethanol production.

Abstract Pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass is a critical steps in bioethanol production. Ultrasonic pretreatment significantly improves cellulose hydrolysis increasing sugar yields, but current system designs have limitations related to efficiency and scalability. This study evaluates the ultrasonic pretreatment of energy cane bagasse in a novel scalable configuration and by maximizing coupling of ultrasound energy to the material via active modulation of frequency. Pretreatment was conducted in 28% ammonia water mixture at a sample:ammonia:water ratio of 1:0.5:8. Process performance was investigated as a function of frequency (20, 20.5, 21 kHz), reaction time (30, 45, 60 min), temperature, and power levels for multiple combinations of ammonia, water and sample mixture. Results indicated an increased enzymatic digestibility, with maximum glucose yield of 24.29 g/100 g dry biomass. Theoretical ethanol yields obtained ranged from 6.47 to a maximum of 24.29 g/100 g dry biomass. Maximum energy attainable was 886.34 kJ/100 g dry biomass.
Thin Films for Reducing Tamping Gas Convection Heat Transfer Effects in a National Ignition Facility Hohlraum

The effects of natural convection in the tamping gas in a vertical hohlraum on the heat flow from a frozen layer of deuterium and tritium (D-T) on the inner surface of a target capsule is investigated numerically. The energy released from tritium decay within the capsule is transferred through the tamping gas to the cooling rings on each end of the hohlraum. The thickness of the frozen layer must be uniform. This means that the heat flow from it to the capsule must be spherically symmetric and that the temperature of the inner surface of the D-T layer will be uniform and in equilibrium with its vapor. The objective of this study was to determine the combination of boundary conditions and thin films for restricting convection in the tamping gas, which satisfy these requirements. With the capsule mounted between two thin plastic films, clockwise-flow convection cells form in the upper and lower gas regions. When this flow contacts the capsule, the temperature variation along the inner surface of the D-T layer was as great as 3 mK. This was reduced to 180 {mu}K by introducing thin films to isolate the capsule from the convection cells. Further reduction of this valuemore » to {approx}50 {mu}K was achieved by modifying the boundary conditions.« less
Dynamic behavior of pneumatic systems for lower extremity extenders

This article models a pneumatic system consisting of double-acting or single acting cylinder and a servovalve with the goal of providing an insight into pneumatic design and control requirements for Berkeley Exoskeleton (http://www.me.berkeley.edu/hel/). The modeling approach uses the thermodynamic principles of energy and mass conservation. We demonstrate that pneumatic systems suffer from two effects: unwanted dynamics due to gas compressibility and discontinuous nonlinearities in the servovalves due to choked flow. To obtain a wide control bandwidth, one needs to model these effects thoroughly.
Density Spectrum in the Diffuse Interstellar Medium and Solar Wind

Inertial range turbulence properties are investigated for nearly incompressible density fluctuations using two-dimensional nonlinear fluid simulations. We find that density fluctuations behave as a passive scalar and do not satisfy the pseudosound approximation. As a result, the density fluctuations follow a Kolmogorov-like spectrum, and this is a possible explanation for the observed diffuse interstellar and solar wind density fluctuation spectrum.
Stereopsis and anomalous contour

Abstract Magnitude estimations of depth arising from disparity of matrix-defined forms without continuous edges were shown to be identical with those obtained with classical disparities. Therefore, conceptualization of disparity must not be limited to edges. Matrixdefined forms without contours gave rise to contours when the forms were disparate and therefore seen in depth. Contours resulted from depth rather than depth from contours. The occurrence of these binocularly induced contours confirms that contour formation need not be limited to retinal processes. A simple conceptual model is offered which unifies and accounts for the results of many experiments with matrix targets.
A Pilot Study of a Family History Risk Assessment Tool for Cardiovascular Disease

This study evaluated the effectiveness of using a family history questionnaire to ascertain patients and families at-risk for inherited cardiovascular disease. A questionnaire composed of 21 questions was developed based on the experience of a cardiovascular genetic counselor. This questionnaire was administered to 39 patients at a University-based cardiology practice reflecting general and specialized aspects of cardiovascular medicine. Using the number and degree of relatedness of relatives reported and limited age of onset information participants were ranked into three familial risk categories. Thirty-nine patients participated in this pilot study. Of the 39 patients, six Mendelian diseases were identified. All individuals surveyed in this study were found to be at high and/or moderate risk for at least one disease based on the family history questionnaire. Twenty-five out of 39 participants (64.1%) were found to be at high risk for at least one cardiovascular disease, and thirty-three out of 39 participants (84.6%) were found to be at moderate risk for at least one disease. A family history of arrhythmia disorders, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, coronary artery disease and diabetes were more likely to be associated with a personal history in family histories of both moderate and high risk. Family history questionnaires in cardiology clinics can be a cost-effective tool for identifying patients and families who are in the greatest need of genetic evaluation and genetic counseling services.
Heterochromatin silencing of p53 target genes by a small viral protein

The transcription factor p53 (also known as TP53) guards against tumour and virus replication and is inactivated in almost all cancers. p53-activated transcription of target genes is thought to be synonymous with the stabilization of p53 in response to oncogenes and DNA damage. During adenovirus replication, the degradation of p53 by E1B-55k is considered essential for p53 inactivation, and is the basis for p53-selective viral cancer therapies. Here we reveal a dominant epigenetic mechanism that silences p53-activated transcription, irrespective of p53 phosphorylation and stabilization. We show that another adenoviral protein, E4-ORF3, inactivates p53 independently of E1B-55k by forming a nuclear structure that induces de novo H3K9me3 heterochromatin formation at p53 target promoters, preventing p53-DNA binding. This suppressive nuclear web is highly selective in silencing p53 promoters and operates in the backdrop of global transcriptional changes that drive oncogenic replication. These findings are important for understanding how high levels of wild-type p53 might also be inactivated in cancer as well as the mechanisms that induce aberrant epigenetic silencing of tumour-suppressor loci. Our study changes the longstanding definition of how p53 is inactivated in adenovirus infection and provides key insights that could enable the development of true p53-selective oncolytic viral therapies.
Crystal-storing histiocytosis associated with lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma mimicking weber-christian disease: Immunohistochemical, ultrastructural, and gene-rearrangement studies

A case of crystal-storing histiocytosis associated with lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma is presented. Unlike previous cases, this patient presented with signs and symptoms suggestive of Weber-Christian disease. Biopsy of subcutaneous nodules showed numerous deposits of crystal-storing histiocytes with lymphoplasmacytic cells, the latter exhibiting light chain restriction (λ-chain) with a predominance of immunoglobulin (Ig)G heavy chain. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of CDR-III region of the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus confirmed monoclonality of the lymphoplasmacytic cells in the nodule. Electron microscopy showed polygonal-shaped amorphous crystals, characteristic of immunoglobulin in the histiocytic cells. Crystal-storing histiocytosis should be examined by immunohistochemical and DNA analysis to confirm or exclude the possibility of lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma.
ATP independent calcium transport and binding by basal plasma membrane of human placenta.

Summary The transport of large amounts of Ca 2+ by the plasma membranes of human placental syncytiotrophoblast is essential to the mineralization of the growing fetal skeleton. We have investigated transport by the basal (fetal-facing) plasma membrane (BPM). Ca 2+ was taken up by purified BPM vesicles in a time-dependent manner and equilibrium attained in approximately 60 min. The apparent equilibrium space was many fold higher than that determined using other substrates (e.g. leucine), suggesting that Ca 2+ is concentrated or bound within the vesicles. The more rapid uptake and exit in the presence of A23187 indicates that membrane transport is rate limiting and that Ca 2+ is internalized within the membrane space. The initial rate of uptake was approximated by measurement during the first 2 s of incubation. Concentration dependence data were fit to a Michaelis-Menten model with one saturable site and diffusion (K m =12 μ m ; V max =4 nmol/min/mg; K D =39 nmol/min/mg/m m ). Saturable Ca 2+ binding (K d =16 μ m ; B max =3.4 nmol/mg) was of lower capacity than previoiusly observed for microvillous membrane.
Dopamine vascular actions of N-substituted derivatives of 2-amino-6,7-dihydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene (ADTN).

Abstract N-ethyl, N-n-propyl, N-n-butyl, N,N-di-n-propyl and N-n-propyl-N-n-butyl derivatives of 2-amino-6,7-dihydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphahalene (ADTN) were screened for dopamine vascular agonist activity. Effects of intra-arterial injections of the drugs on renal and femoral blood flow were measured in pentobarbital-anesthetized dogs before and after phenoxybenzamine (POB), 5–10 mg/kg. All ADTN derivatives were more potent vasoconstrictors than dopamine (DA) before POB. The di-substituted analogs were approximately 1 4 and the mono-substituted derivatives were about 1 16 as active as norepinephrine as vasoconstrictors. After POB the two di-substituted analogs were about 1 4 as active as DA in causing renal vasodilation. The three mono-substituted analogs produced relatively minor and inconsistent effects on renal blood flow, and were more than 100 times less effective than DA as vasodilators. The two di-substituted analogs markedly increased blood pressure with little effect on cardiac contractility in doses up to 32 μg/kg; whereas, the threshold dose of DA is 4–8 μg/kg. This and our previous results show that structure activity relationships of DA and ADTN, a semi-rigid analog of DA, are similar. However, the rigid analogs tend to be more potent vasoconstrictors than their flexible chain homologs.
Fatigue Performance of Multiwall Carbon Nanotube Composite PMMA and ABS

Poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) – multiwall carbon nanotube (MWNT) and chopped carbon fiber (CCF) composites were prepared by a melt mixing protocol at various concentrations. Specimens were fabricated and tested using constant amplitude-of-deflection fatigue testing. The numbers of cycles to failure were recorded and analyzed using the linear version of the 2-parameter Weibull model. In the PMMA matrix, the 1.0vol% MWNT reinforced composites outperformed the neat PMMA matrix by +396% while the 1.0vol% CCF composites increased fatigue life by +198% over the control. The increase in fatigue life may be attributed to the nanoscale dimensions of the MWNTs. This enables them to directly interact with the matrix at the sub-micron scale where damage such as crazing begins, which ultimately initiates a critical crack that leads to failure of the specimen. The ABS composite specimens did not show any increase in fatigue life. The underlying reasons for the lack of fatigue improvement remain unclear.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
The Relationship of Stress and Coping Methods to Adolescent Marijuana Use

As the use of marijuana among adolescents remains high, more effective interventions are needed. We conducted this cross-sectional survey at an outpatient, university-based, adolescent clinic to determine the prevalence of marijuana use in an inner-city adolescent population and to examine the relationship of stress and coping methods to marijuana user status (never user, experimenter, and frequent user). The subjects were 918 adolescents aged 12–21 years. Lifetime use in this population was 59% (n = 611) with 18.4% (n = 191) reporting frequent weekly use. Almost all (97%) marijuana users acknowledged marijuana use by friends. Stepwise logistic regression analysis showed that negative life events, greater use of the negative coping method of anger and less frequent use of the positive coping method of parental support were significantly and independently related to marijuana user status. In the presence of high peer use, exploring parent–child relationships and use of anger coping and intervening accordingly may decrease marijuana use.
A SIMPLE SYSTEMS APPROACH TO NEURAL-IMMUNE COMMUNICATION

Abstract The marine mollusc Aplysia californica is emerging as a useful model system to study neuralimmune communication at the mechanistic level because it has a well characterized nervous system that is easily accessible and it shares with mammals similar basic cellular defensive responses to wounded or non-self, i.e. the accumulation of defense cells (haemocytes) at the target site. Loose ligation of peripheral nerves in Aplysia induces a cellular defense response as evidenced by the accumulation of numerous haemocytes around the ligature. The excitability of nociceptive sensory neurons having axons close to the responding haemocytes is significantly increased. Haemocytes also accumulate at regions of axonal injury. The finding that human recombinant IL-1β can enhance the expression of injury-induced sensory hyperexcitability coupled with the detection of (ir)IL-1 in Aplysia haemolymph raises the interesting possibility that cytokines released from activated haemocytes attracted to an injured nerve or to a foreign body close to peripheral nerves may modulate nociceptive sensory function. The feasibility of using results from simple system such as Aplysia to formulate testable hypotheses in more complex systems is also discussed.
A method for preparing chelate-cytokine conjugates with retention of protein structure, biological activity, and pharmacokinetic properties

Abstract The chelating agent diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) has been conjugated site-specifically to the N-terminus of recombinant human interleukin-2 (rhIL-2) by reaction with DTPA dianhydride at an initial pH of 6.0, thus demonstrating broader application of the conjugation method previously described for the structurally related cytokine rhG-CSF (Ralph et al., 1995). Purity of the DTPA-rhIL-2 conjugate, isolated by cation-exchange FPLC, and chelation of 111In were revealed by cation-exchange HPLC. Purity of the conjugate as well as chelation of radiometal were also demonstrated by SDS-PAGE and TLC, respectively. The stoichiometric molar ratio of DTPA to protein for the conjugate was approximately 1:1 as determined by TLC and mass spectrometry. Localization of the DTPA moiety was resolved by a peptide mapping procedure. The protein retained > 95% secondary structure (α helicity) following the conjugation. Addition of metal induced an approximate 22% loss of secondary structure for the conjugate. The in vitro biological activity of the protein was unaffected by the conjugated DTPA, even with chelated metal. Pharmacokinetic analysis of DTPA-conjugated cytokines, following chelated 111In, showed clearance and pharmacokinetic parameter values comparable to those of the corresponding unmodified cytokine. DTPA-conjugated cytokines may prove useful in cytokine research, and furthermore may represent a novel class of molecules for imaging, diagnosing, and/or treatment of malignancies where the cytokine receptor is overexpressed.
Ion implanted GaAs bipolar transistors

GaAs n-p-n bipolar transistors were fabricated by ion implanting Be and Se into bulk n-type substrate material. Devices with mesa collectors exhibit a d.c. current gain hFE ≃ 8 and a reverse bias leakage current of less than 10 nA.
Infantile spasms in two children with Williams syndrome

We describe two children with Williams syndrome and infantile spasms. The diagnosis of Williams syndrome was confirmed by documentation of a deletion of the elastin gene/Williams syndrome region at 7q11.23. The diagnosis of infantile spasms was confirmed through the presence of interictal hypsarrhythmia. This represents one of the first reports of infantile spasms in the Williams syndrome.
An immunological method to assess protein degradation in post-mortem muscle

A method for determining proteolysis of any specific protein in muscle is demonstrated. The protocol involves the preparation of a specific antibody which is used in immunoblotting total protein extracts from post-mortem muscle. In the present study an antibody to bovine myosin heavy chain was prepared that reacts with intact myosin heavy chain as well as proteolytic fragments that are generated by proteases. We show that little, if any, myosin heavy chain fragments are generated during prolonged aging of muscle at 4°C. In contrast, storage of muscle at 37°C results in the rapid breakdwon of myosin heavy chain to immunologically detectable peptides. Using a monoclonal antibody to titin, we demonstrate that this protein is degraded at 4°C during the aging period, and that, between 2 and 3 weeks following slaughter, no undergraded titin is detectable. This method is suitable for the analysis of any protein that can be separated by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE).
Adjuvant chemotherapy for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer: the past, the present and the future

Complete resection is mandatory in order to achieve a cure in patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, despite complete resection, a substantial proportion of patients have disease recurrence, with distant metastases being the primary sites of failure. Recent trials have conclusively demonstrated the benefit of platinum-based adjuvant therapy in patients with resected stage IB and II NSCLC. The role of adjuvant chemotherapy in resected stage III NSCLC is less clear, with trials showing conflicting results. The role of targeted agents in this setting is being investigated. Gene expression profiling studies should help direct chemotherapy to those who would actually benefit from it, thereby saving others from unnecessary toxicity.
Atomic scale engineering of metal-oxide-semiconductor photoelectrodes for energy harvesting application integrated with Graphene and Epitaxy SrTiO 3

In this work, hydrogen production from water is demonstrated via a p-type silicon photocathode with a thin epitaxial strontium titanate, SrTiO3 (STO), as capping layer by molecular beam epitaxy. The advantages of using STO are the ideal conduction band alignment and perfect lattice match between single crystalline SrTiO3 and Si, so the photogenerated electrons can transport through the capping layer with a reduced recombination rate. The STO/p-Si photocathode exhibited a maximum photocurrent density and open circuit potential of 35 mA/cm2 and 450 mV, respectively. There was no observable decrease in performance after 10 hr operation in 0.5M H 2 SO 4 . We found the efficiency and performance were highly dependent on the size and spacing of the structured metal catalyst. Scaled down the metal catalysts feature size into nanometer region can greatly improve the efficiency. In addition, samples with graphene (Grahene/p-Si) as the lateral transport channel and capping layer shown an enhanced fill factor compared with that of STO/p-Si.
Consulting for Change: Anatomy of an Effort That Failed.

Theoretical issues concerning the process of change and the phenomenon of resistance are highlighted in this analysis of opposition observed during in-service training of high school and junior high school counselors. Behavioral examples are examined with reference to the principles found in current change theory-theory that suggests generalizations and practical considerations for the would-be change agent, whether counselor, consultant, or social psychologist.
Neuregulin induces GABAA receptor β2 subunit expression in cultured rat cerebellar granule neurons by activating multiple signaling pathways

The GABAA receptor beta subunit is required to confer sensitivity to gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the CNS. In previous studies we demonstrated that the growth and differentiation factor neuregulin 1 (NRG1) selectively induced expression of the beta2 subunit mRNA and encoded protein in rat cerebellar granule neurons in culture. In the present report we examine the signaling pathways that mediate this effect. These studies demonstrate that the effects of NRG1 on beta2 subunit polypeptide expression require activation of the ErbB4 receptor tyrosine kinase; its effects are inhibited by pharmacological blockade of ErbB4 phosphorylation or reduction of receptor level with an antisense oligodeoxynucleotide. The NRG1-induced activation of ErbB4 stimulates the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and cyclin-dependent kinase-5 (cdk5) pathways. Pharmacological blockade of any of these pathways inhibits increased beta2 subunit expression, demonstrating that all three pathways are required to mediate the effects of NRG1 on GABAA receptor subunit expression in cerebellar granule neurons. These studies provide novel information concerning the actions of NRG1 on GABAA receptor expression in the CNS.
Climate-mediated dance of the plankton

Climate change will impact ocean plankton through changing resources, temperatures and ocean physical processes. This study discusses how climate change could affect the relationship between predators and prey, what it means for population abundunce — whether rapid cell division to form bloom events will occur — and how it could influence the ocean ecosystem.