cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dose‐response effects of low‐dose naltrexone on the analgesia produced by hydrocodone

Purpose To determine the dose response of low-dose oral naltrexone (NTX) on the analgesia produced from 10 mg of hydrocodone (HYIR) in healthy subjects with thermally induced hyperalgesia. Methods Subjects first received a thermal discomfort test to determine hyperalgesic response and their responsiveness to opioid analgesic effects. Subjects who qualified entered a 5-treatment, 5-period crossover, double-blind phase in which they received placebo HYIR plus placebo NTX, HYIR plus placebo, or HYIR + 0.125, 0.250, or 0.500 mg of NTX. Results A suggested dose response was observed among the NTX doses on reducing thermal discomfort scores. Mean values among the different doses of NTX in thermal discomfort scores did not reveal any clinically relevant differences. Other measures of opioid effects such as 'drug liking' and 'feel the drug' revealed no differences among NTX doses. Observed adverse events were those commonly associated with opioids. Conclusion Increasing doses of naltrexone appear to slightly attenuate the analgesia from hydocodone; however, the effects do not appear to be relevant in this model. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2004) 75, P71–P71; doi: 10.1016/j.clpt.2003.11.268
Vulnerable Plaque The Devil Is in the Details

The notion of “vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque” introduced many years ago1,2 has been since used frequently and liberally, including by this investigator.3 We generally use this phrase to refer to intact lesions that look similar to those previously found to be disrupted and complicated by thrombosis on pathological examination. In doing so, we assume that given enough time or the right stimulus, these would become disrupted, thus triggering the formation of a thrombus. In an attempt to transform the potentiality into certainty, Virmani and colleagues4 have proposed that a descriptive terminology based on pathological characteristics of atherosclerotic lesions should be used instead. They proposed that the precursor lesion for disrupted plaques should be referred as “thin-cap fibroatheroma” (TCFA), a terminology that should encompass, along with ruptured plaques, the other types of plaques triggering thrombosis, ie, eroded plaques and calcified nodules. TCFA of patients dying from acute myocardial infarction are usually associated with <50% diameter stenosis, explaining the relatively recent realization of the danger these plaques may harbor. Other overall characteristics commonly associated with ruptured plaques include their propensity to have an eccentrically located lumen, as well as the significantly enhanced compensatory enlargement of the affected segment.4,5 See p 337 Morphologically, ruptured plaques are characterized by a thin fibrous cap covering a necrotic core containing macrophages and interstitial collagen, calling for improved imaging techniques that can reveal this level of structural detail in the plaques of patients.6 The precise measurements that can be performed on pathological specimens have yielded detailed dimensional parameters. For instance, the area of the necrotic core in at least 75% of cases of ruptured plaques examined was reported4 to be …
Factors influencing home-range size of female Florida black bears

The manner in which space is utilized by animals is influenced by several factors, including habitat quality and the distribution and abundance of resources. We used 4 years (2000‐2003) of radiotelemetry data to investigate the space-use pattern of female Florida black bears (Ursus americanus floridanus) in the Ocala National Forest and an adjacent residential community of Lynne, north-central Florida. Annual home-range size (95% fixed kernel density estimator) ranged from 3.8 km 2 to 126.9 km 2 , and averaged (6 SE) 24.2 6 3.55 km 2 . Home ranges were largest during 2000 when a drought led to a forest-wide mast failure, suggesting that abundance of food resources can substantially influence space-use pattern. Home-range sizes during autumn (19.92 6 4.59 km 2 ) were substantially larger than during summer (8.26 6 0.99 km 2 ). Although annual home-range size did not differ between the 2 study sites, home ranges in summer were smaller in Lynne (5.30 6 1.01 km 2 ) than in Ocala National Forest (9.82 6 1.29 km 2 ), whereas home ranges in autumn were twice as large in Lynne (35.76 6 13.91 km 2 ) as in Ocala National Forest (13.24 6 1.80 km 2 ). We suggest that site-specific differences in the size of seasonal home range are due to differences in habitat characteristics and the degree of habitat fragmentation between the 2 study sites.
Long-Term Assessment of the Effects of Transgenic Bt Cotton on the Function of the Natural Enemy Community

Abstract Field studies to assess effects of transgenic crops on nontarget organisms primarily have focused on nontarget abundance and diversity, whereas few have examined effects on nontarget community function. A 5-yr field study in Arizona assessed whether transgenic cotton producing the Cry1Ac toxin of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) had an effect on the natural enemy community’s impact on three key pests. Predator:prey ratios for Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) and Lygus hesperus Knight were similar in unsprayed Bt and non-Bt cotton. Insecticide applications in positive control plots inconsistently altered ratios for B. tabaci. Predation indices based on the known feeding activity of selected predators showed that potential predator impact was unaltered by Bt cotton but was consistently depressed with insecticide applications. Sentinel eggs and pupae of Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders) experienced the same rates of predation in both unsprayed Bt and non-Bt cotton. Cohort-based life tables for B. tabaci show...
Opioid Receptors and Endogenous Opioid Peptides

According to Ariens et al. (1964b), the concept of receptors was first proposed by J. N. Langley in 1905 to account for the actions of nicotine and curare at the myoneural junction, and by P. Ehrlich in 1906 to account for specific interactions between antigens and antibodies and for the selectivity of dyes for certain components of living cells. On the basis of his research, Ehrlich (1913) concluded that “If the law is true in chemistry that ‘corpora non agunt nisi liquida,’ then for chemotherapy the principle is true that ‘corpora non agunt nisi fixata”’ (substances do not act unless they are fixated). In modern drug-receptor interaction theory, reversible “fixation” of the drug to the receptor is held to produce the pharmacological effect, and drug-receptor interactions are viewed as analogous to substrate-enzyme interactions (Michaelis & Menten, 1913). In this view, subject to some qualifications expressed by Ariens et al. (1956), the receptor concentration is regarded as if it were an enzyme concentration, the drug concentration as if it were a substrate concentration, and the pharmacological effect of the drug-receptor combination as if it were the initial reaction velocity of the enzyme-catalyzed substrate change. On the basis of these and some other assumptions, the dose-effect relationships of agonists, partial agonists, and antagonists, as well as their intrinsic activities (efficacies) and affinities, have been calculated. The term agonist implies that a given pharmacological effect of a drug increases with its dose (or its concentration) up to a maximum.
Processing and electrical properties of 0.5Pb(Yb1/2Nb1/2)O3-0.5PbTiO3 ceramics

Pb(Yb1/2Nb1/2)O3-PbTiO3 ceramics at the morphotropic phase boundary (50:50) were sintered by conventional and reactive methods to ≥95% theoretical density and grain sizes <10 μm. Excess PbO, added to enhance the densification, resulted in PbO-based non-ferroelectric phases that degraded the electrical properties. Volatilization of excess PbO by annealing the samples after sintering resulted in dense, perovskite samples and excellent electrical properties. The best electrical properties, obtained via reactive sintering, were a remanent polarization, Pr, of 0.36 C/m2, a maximum dielectric constant of 31,000 (at the Tc = 371°C and 1 kHz), a piezoelectric charge coefficient, d33, of 508 pC/N, and an electromechanical coupling coefficient, k33, of 0.61.
Protective Clothing and Personal Equipment

Protective clothing and personal equipment are used to protect the laboratory worker from contact with infectious, toxic, or corrosive agents, and from excessive heat, fire, and other physical hazards. Also, suitable clothing and personal equipment can help protect research work from contamination. The research operations and the levels of potential hazard they present will determine the extent and kinds of clothing and equipment to be selected for any particular activity. While clothing and personal safety equipment are important in an overall biological safety program, they should be used with the understanding that they serve only as a secondary means of assuring safety and quality control. Proper use of biological safety cabinets and chemical fume hoods (discussed in Chapters 9 and 12), accompanied by good laboratory techniques and procedures, constitutes the primary barrier against potential exposure to hazardous materials.
Panic Meets Facts

Randal O'Toole reviews Robert Bruegmann's SPRAWL. Richard Gordon reviews Jan Kalicki and David Goldwyn's ENERGY AND SECURITY. George Leef reviews Joseph Vranich's END OF THE LINE. Richard Gordon reviews James Griffin and Stephen Puller's ELECTRICITY DEREGULATION.
Emerging feed-forward inhibition allows the robust formation of direction selectivity in the developing ferret visual cortex

The computation of direction selectivity requires that a cell respond to joint spatial and temporal characteristics of the stimulus that cannot be separated into independent components. Direction selectivity in ferret visual cortex is not present at the time of eye opening but instead develops in the days and weeks following eye opening in a process that requires visual experience with moving stimuli. Classic Hebbian or spike timing-dependent modification of excitatory feed-forward synaptic inputs is unable to produce direction-selective cells from unselective or weakly directionally biased initial conditions because inputs eventually grow so strong that they can independently drive cortical neurons, violating the joint spatial-temporal activation requirement. Furthermore, without some form of synaptic competition, cells cannot develop direction selectivity in response to training with bidirectional stimulation, as cells in ferret visual cortex do. We show that imposing a maximum lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN)-to-cortex synaptic weight allows neurons to develop direction-selective responses that maintain the requirement for joint spatial and temporal activation. We demonstrate that a novel form of inhibitory plasticity, postsynaptic activity-dependent long-term potentiation of inhibition (POSD-LTPi), which operates in the developing cortex at the time of eye opening, can provide synaptic competition and enables robust development of direction-selective receptive fields with unidirectional or bidirectional stimulation. We propose a general model of the development of spatiotemporal receptive fields that consists of two phases: an experience-independent establishment of initial biases, followed by an experience-dependent amplification or modification of these biases via correlation-based plasticity of excitatory inputs that compete against gradually increasing feed-forward inhibition.
Deleterious effects of buthionine sulfoximine on cardiac function during continuous endotoxemia.

AbstractSepsis has been associated with reversible cardiac injury. To determine whether this injury is mediated by generation of reactive oxidants, tissue glutathione (GSH)—the major intracellular ...
Amperometric Detection of l-Lactate Using Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanotubes Modified with Lactate Oxidase

Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNTs) provide a simple, robust, and unique platform for biosensing. Their catalytic activity toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and subsequent hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) disproportionation creates a sensitive electrochemical response to enzymatically generated H2O2 on the N-CNT surface, eliminating the need for additional peroxidases or electron-transfer mediators. Glassy carbon electrodes were modified with 7.4 atom % N-CNTs, lactate oxidase (LOx), and a tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBABr)-modified Nafion binder. The resulting amperometric l-lactate biosensors displayed a sensitivity of 0.040 ± 0.002 A M–1 cm–2, a low operating potential of −0.23 V (vs Hg/Hg2SO4), a repeatability of 1.6% relative standard deviation (RSD) for 200 μM samples of lactate, a fabrication reproducibility of 5.0% (RSD), a limit of detection of 4.1 ± 1.6 μM, and a linear range of 14–325 μM. Additionally, over a 90 day period, the repeatability for 200 μM samples of lactate remained below 3....
Goodbye to 'Pixie Dust'? A New U.S. Development Strategy in Haiti

Given the less-than-desired results in sustained poverty alleviation and economic growth in Haiti despite the past allocation of significant foreign aid dollars, the Obama administration launched a...
Generation and Coherent Detection of Broadband Terahertz Radiation in Phase-Matched Waveguides

We describe novel waveguide devices that allows for broadband generation and coherent detection of THz radiation. We achieve a system with spectral content beyond 8 THz using <10 mW total average optical power.
The Myth of Consociationalism? Conflict Reduction in Divided Societies

Although advocates of consociationalism have asserted that there is solid empirical evidence supporting the use of power-sharing institutions in divided societies, previous quantitative tests of th...
High performance model predictive technique for MPPT of gird-tied photovoltaic system using impedance-source inverter

This paper presents a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) method using model predictive technique for a grid-tied photovoltaic harvesting energy system. A single-stage grid-tied Z-source inverter is used for extracting the maximum available power and feeding the power to the grid. The proposed technique predicts the future behavior of the photovoltaic side voltage and current by using a digital observer which estimates the parameters of the photovoltaic module. The proposed method features simultaneously reduction in oscillation around maximum power point (MPP) and fast convergence by adaptively changing the perturbation size using the predicted model of the system. The experimental results demonstrate fast tracking response under dynamic weather condition, small steady state error, small oscillation around MPP at steady state, and high MPPT efficacy for wide range of solar irradiance levels. Additionally, the grid side current total harmonics distortion (THD) meets the IEEE-519 standards.
Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis typing of 52 strains of Vibrio cholerae O139 serotype

Objective:To study molecular-typing,molecular epidemic characteristic and genetic relativity of strains of Vibrio cholerae isolated in different years,different areas and from different sources in Ningbo City.Methods:52 strains of Vibrio cholerae O139 isolated in Ningbo City from 2004 to 2006 were analyzed for molecular types by the mothod of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis after being cut by restriction endonuclease Not I.Results:52 strains′ genomes band of Vibrio cholerae O139 were effectively separated after being cut by restriction endonuclease NotⅠby pulsed-field gel electrophoresis,and the DNA was well cut into 20 bands for the length from 20 kb to 500 kb.All the strains were sorted into 5 molecular types according to the number and locations of the bands.Conclusion:The method of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis is capable of analyzing the relativity of Vibrio cholerae isolated in different places,different years and from different sources.
Erectile function following unilateral cavernosal nerve replacement.

INTRODUCTION With nerve-sparing techniques, patients undergoing a radical prostatectomy may avoid the morbidity of erectile dysfunction. Certain patients who are not candidates for nerve-sparing procedures may be eligible for nerve interposition grafts. While bilateral cavernosal nerve grafting after radical prostatectomy has shown efficacy, the effect of unilateral nerve grafting following prostatectomy remains unclear. We evaluate a large group of patients who underwent a unilateral cavernosal nerve replacement. METHODS Forty patients underwent unilateral nerve sparing surgery with concomitant contralateral cavernosal nerve replacement. Patients were selected for this procedure based upon preoperative nomogram risk assessment, endorectal MRI evidence of extra capsular disease (ECE) or intraoperative histology demonstrating margin positivity. Age, demographic data, Gleason score, clinical and pathologic stage and pre and post operative IIEF data was collected and prospectively analyzed. RESULTS Median follow-up was 19 months. Median change in IIEF scores was 7.5. Twenty-one of 29 patients (72%) report being able to penetrate after prostatectomy. Sixteen of those 21 (76%) continue to require PDE-5 inhibitors to facilitate penetration. Four of the 6 patients (67%) who were unable to have intercourse following cavernosal nerve replacement received adjuvant hormonal and/or radiation therapy. Twenty-eight patients (97%) reported numbness at the graft harvest site. One patient experienced a graft site infection. Two of 29 (7%) patients reported pain at the harvest site. CONCLUSION Unilateral sural nerve grafting is a feasible and well-tolerated approach for patients who must undergo wide resection of a NVB. While men do show a decrease in their IIEF score, 76% are able to achieve penetration following surgery. The majority of men continue to require PDE-5 inhibitors to facilitate intercourse.
Science of Ultrasound and Echocardiography

For anyone seeking to achieve proficiency in transesophageal echocardiography, it is important to have a solid understanding of the underlying science of ultrasound, along with knowledge of the instrumentation and equipment utilized for cardiac imaging. This chapter provides a review of all of these topics, particularly as they apply to echocardiography. Basic principles of sound will first be discussed, followed by the process of ultrasonic two-dimensional image formation. Principles of Doppler echocardiography (and its applications) will then be presented. Finally, echocardiography instrumentation, echocardiographic artifacts, and digital archiving/networking of echocardiographic studies will be discussed. Familiarity with the information in this chapter will provide readers a greater understanding of the many technical aspects of echocardiography, enabling them to optimize their cardiac ultrasound platforms so that the best possible information can be obtained.
Illuminating allostery in metal sensing transcriptional regulators

The intracellular availability of all biologically required transition metal ions in bacteria, e.g., Zn, Cu, Fe, as well as the detoxification of nonbiological heavy metal pollutants, is controlled at the molecular level by a panel of metalloregulatory or "metal sensor" proteins. Metal sensor proteins are specialized allosteric proteins that regulate the transcription of genes linked to transition metal homeostasis as a result of direct binding of a single metal ion or two closely related metal ions, to the exclusion of all others. In many cases, the binding of the cognate metal ion induces a structural change in a metal sensor oligomer that either activates or inhibits operator DNA binding. A quantitative measure of the degree to which a particular metal drives metalloregulation of transcription is the allosteric coupling-free energy, ΔG(c). In this chapter, we outline detailed spectroscopically derived methods for measuring metal binding affinity, K(Me), as well as ΔG(c) independent of K(Me), presented in the context of a simple coupled equilibrium scheme. Studies carried out in this way provide quantitative insights into the degree to which a particular metal ion is capable of driving allosteric switching, and via ligand substitution, the extent to which individual coordination bonds establish structural linkage of allosteric metal and operator DNA-binding sites.
Evolutionary Origins of cGAS-STING Signaling

Detection of foreign nucleic acids is an important strategy for innate immune recognition of pathogens. In vertebrates, pathogen-derived DNA is sensed in the cytosol by cGAS, which produces the cyclic dinucleotide (CDN) second messenger cGAMP to activate the signaling adaptor STING. While induction of antiviral type I interferons (IFNs) is the major outcome of STING activation in vertebrates, it has recently become clear that core components of the cGAS-STING pathway evolved more than 600 million years ago, predating the evolution of type I IFNs. Here we discuss the evolutionary origins of the cGAS-STING pathway, and consider the possibility that the ancestral functions of STING may have included activation of antibacterial immunity.
C75 Fatty Acid Synthesis (FAS) Inhibitor Has Potent Immunosuppressive Activity

Fatty acid synthesis (FAS) or oxidation (FAO) are important regulatory pathways in immune response. In fact, FAS plays a pivotal role in antigen presentation and T cells activation and FAO leads to fatty acid degradation which has been previously shown to regulate hematopoietic stem cell maintenance. Here we hypothesized that FAS can be a new target to suppress T cell alloimmune responses in solid organ or stem cell transplantations. Therefore, we tested if the FAS inhibitor C75 could suppress T cell alloreactivity without impairing normal hematopoiesis. The immuno-suppressive (IS) effect of moderate FAS inhibition was demonstrated in mixed leukocyte cultures (MLC) where C75 at 10 mkg/ml significantly reduced T cell proliferation and prevented the expansion of CD3+CD25+ and CD3+CD69+ T cells. In T cells stimulated by alloantigen, C75 also induced the downregulation of NF-kB gene expression and the upregulation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) gene involved in ubiquitination and degradation of NF-kB protein. When compared to other standard IS agents, such as anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG), Cyclosporine A, Rapamycin or inhibitor of FAO Etomoxir, C75 showed similar anti-T cell activity. The same dose of C75 (10 mkg/ml) did not cause apoptotic death of human CD34+ cells in vitro, nor affected CD34+ cell clonogenicity in vitro. In fact, C75 increased the number of BFU-E and CFU-GM colonies (P We showed here that moderate FAS inhibition may represent a novel immunosuppressive strategy and our findings will prompt preclinical investigations exploiting the effect of FAS inhibitors alone or in combination with standard IS agents in models of allogeneic transplantation or bone marrow failure. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Compact and low power-consumption MIR DFB-QCL with To-CAN package for portable sensor

Sensing method with Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL) as a light source is expected to offer a high sensitivity, a short measurement time, and a good portability compared to conventional methods. However, commercially available QCLs have high power-consumption of several W. Therefore, a large power supply is required to drive QCL, and most of the input power is released as heat, leading to the necessity for a large cooling system. For these reasons, portable gas sensors using QCL have not been realized. To address this issue, we had recently developed a low power-consumption DFB-QCL in the 7μm wavelength region. In this study, we developed a compact and low power consumption QCL module with Φ 15.4 mm To-CAN package. The QCL device, a thermoelectric cooler (TEC), a thermistor and a window were assembled in this package. The threshold power-consumption and the maximum output power were 0.97 W and 37 mW at 20°C, respectively under continuous wave driving. In addition, it maintained a single mode operation between 20°C and 80°C without a mode hopping. The performance of this QCL module as a light source for gas sensing was evaluated by measuring the mid-infrared absorption spectrum of the methane gas with a multi pass type gas cell. High sensitive methane gas detection was achieved, which was comparable to that of the conventional high heat load (HHL) packaged QCL module reported by other group. It is expected that a compact and low-cost MIR gas sensor with high-sensitivity can be realized with our QCL module.
A NARROW COMPLEX TACHYCARDIA PRESENTING A DIFFICULT DIAGNOSTIC CHALLENGE: WHAT TO DO WITH A 370 BEATS PER MINUTE RHYTHM

Narrow-complex tachycardia presents a difficult diagnostic challenge in young patients and can lead to life-long medication and lifestyle modifications. A 20-year-old male presented to our hospital with palpitations, lightheadedness and dizziness which occurred while playing basketball. He was
Novel Bioengineered Cassava Expressing an Archaeal Starch Degradation System and a Bacterial ADP-Glucose Pyrophosphorylase for Starch Self-Digestibility and Yield Increase

To address national and global low-carbon fuel targets, there is great interest in alternative plant species such as cassava (Manihot esculenta), which are high-yielding, resilient, and are easily converted to fuels using the existing technology. In this study the genes encoding hyperthermophilic archaeal starch-hydrolyzing enzymes, α-amylase and amylopullulanase from Pyrococcus furiosus and glucoamylase from Sulfolobus solfataricus, together with the gene encoding a modified ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (glgC) from Escherichia coli, were simultaneously expressed in cassava roots to enhance starch accumulation and its subsequent hydrolysis to sugar. A total of 13 multigene expressing transgenic lines were generated and characterized phenotypically and genotypically. Gene expression analysis using quantitative RT-PCR showed that the microbial genes are expressed in the transgenic roots. Multigene-expressing transgenic lines produced up to 60% more storage root yield than the non-transgenic control, likely due to glgC expression. Total protein extracted from the transgenic roots showed up to 10-fold higher starch-degrading activity in vitro than the protein extracted from the non-transgenic control. Interestingly, transgenic tubers released threefold more glucose than the non-transgenic control when incubated at 85°C for 21-h without exogenous application of thermostable enzymes, suggesting that the archaeal enzymes produced in planta maintain their activity and thermostability.
Fast and Accurate Decomposition of Deterministic Jitter Components in High-Speed Links

In a high-speed digital communication system, jitter performance plays a crucial role in bit-error rate. It is important to accurately derive each type of jitter as well as total jitter and to identify root causes of jitter by jitter decomposition as a key tool. In this paper, we extend our previously reported algorithm to decompose duty cycle distortion as well as other deterministic jitter components including periodic jitter (PJ), intersymbol interference (ISI), and random jitter (RJ), and describe more detail of this algorithm with extensively simulation and measurements to verify the algorithm. The proposed ISI model only requires the time invariant condition, which is true for almost all systems, while the traditional ISI model is valid only with linear time invariant assumption. Compared to the conventional methods, the proposed jitter decomposition method is able to obtain estimated individual jitter component values with good accuracy by using fewer samples of total jitter data. The efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method were demonstrated by simulation and hardware experiments.
Failure Analysis of Nitrile Rubber O-Rings Static Sealing for Packaging Barrel

Nitrile rubber O-rings seals for packaging barrel was stored in China tropical marine atmosphere environments for 10 years, and then the sealing function of nitrile rubber O-ring was failed. By comparing the molecular structure, cross-link density, thermal decomposition, content of elements and chemical functional groups of the original nitrile rubber seals, the surface and interior of nitrile rubber seals storage for 10 years, a long-term natural failure mechanism was studied. The results showed that: the surface content of dibutyl phthalate and dibutyl sebacate, the surface carbonyl peak height and the surface content of oxygen element were higher than that in internal; the surface cross-link density was lower than that in internal but still higher than in original sample; and surface carbon- to-oxygen ratio were lower than that in internal and original sample. After aging for 10 years, the weight loss of plasticizer decreased, and the main chain content increased. It can be inferred that nitrile rubber mainly undergoes oxygen-absorbing cross-linking reaction to form carboxylic acids and esters, which is accompanied by the migration and enrichment of two plasticizers to the surface, causing reductions in elasticity and elasticity. The residual permanent compression set was lower than the design critical value, and the sealing function for the packaging barrel was lost, and a leak occurred.
Doing and Making in a Democracy: Dewey’s Experience of Technology

Advancing a claim that was then regarded as radical, and is still widely misunderstood, John Dewey argued that most of his philosophical predecessors, even those who had claimed the methods of science as their own, had been guilty of a failure to recognize the importance of technology. He suggested that this was due in part to their prejudice against the impermanent materials utilized by artisans and craftspeople, in part to their tendency to deprecate the social classes whose members have traditionally dealt with doing and making in the practical sphere, and in part to their rejection of what he took to be the democratizing tendencies of technological methods.
Using probabilistic ontologies for video exploration

Video data is being collected at alarming rates and yet there exists no comprehensive forensic toolset that enables the analyst to quickly examine video in the context of the massive collections. This research builds a System that studies video at a semantic level by means of a joint solution to semantic entity extraction, entity-entity relationship extraction, and dynamic event recognition. The working of the System is grounded in formal ontology. This ontology is jointly induced from the data and established by the human domain experts (i.e., interactive machine learning). Specifically, we implement a Multi Entity Bayesian Network (a form of a probabilistic ontology); we test our System on two-on-two basketball game videos, and our results demonstrate state of the art detection rates on activities like passing the ball, and shooting, consequently promising that the presented methodology is an encouraging direction for semantically rich video analysis.
ACUTE STRESS AND TRACE ELEMENT METABOLISM

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses acute stress and trace element metabolism. While considering the effect of acute stress upon the metabolism of a trace element, one must consider the fundamental physiological role of the element, methods available for its analysis, and the status of general and specific trace-metal nutrition in the host. Within cells, magnesium is related functionally to the activity of enzyme systems, especially those that generate high-energy phosphate bonds and control mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. Magnesium is a necessary cofactor of DNA, RNA, and ribosomes. It is needed for the binding of mRNA to polysomal subunits and for the activation of aminoacyl-sRNA complexes during protein synthesis. The extracellular concentration of magnesium ions influences both the nerve-cell conduction and myoneural junction activity. Excessive magnesium ions can produce local or general anesthesia, asystole, and curare-like paralysis. Deficiency of magnesium produces a syndrome of central nervous system irritability. The primary functional role of iron is oxygen transport via hemoglobin. Iron further serves as an essential cofactor for a number of heme and non-heme metalloenzymes that are important for oxygen and hydrogen exchange or electron transport. Iron also plays a role in maintaining the structure and integrity of polyribosomes and is important in protein synthesis. Zinc is an integral constituent and cofactor of more than twenty metalloenzymes. Because of relatively high concentrations of zinc found in various endocrine glands, this element may influence the secretion of several hormones. The important role of zinc in promoting the healing of thermal and surgical wounds adds further support to this hypothesis.
The Musicalization of Prose: Prolegomena to the Experience of Literature in Musical Form

Virtually all studies of the use of musical form in literature are concerned with the ways in which musical schemata and compositional devices have been appropriated by prose writers and poets. Little attention has been paid to the subject of reader response to literature utilizing musical forms and procedures. Do readers perceive musically based literature in musical terms? Are musical forms susceptible to comprehension when they are transferred to literature without informing the reader beforehand that such transference has occurred? This article will attempt to address these questions within the scope of prose works employing musical forms. The exclusion of musically based poetry from this discussion is due to the fact that music and poetry have a centuries-old history of shared formal procedures. Such is not the case with prose and music, and is, therefore, a much more recent and problematic phenomenon.
Creating Business Value with Information Technology: Challenges and Solutions

Firms invest in information technology (IT) to improve their business performance. However, some firms fail to improve their business performance, while others succeed. This volume aims to solicit the studies that yield insights into the business value of IT.
Lipid Signaling and Ion Channels

Many ion channels and ion transporters of the plasma membrane require the phosphoinositide phospholipid phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP 2 ) for full activity. This phosphoinositide is most prevalent in the plasma membrane and rare in other membranes. PIP 2 can be depleted by stimulating cell-surface receptors that activate phospholipase C, providing one pathway by which receptors can decrease activity of PIP 2 -sensitive channels. In addition, the requirement for PIP 2 may provide a mechanism to restrict activity of these channels to the plasma membrane.
Abstract 16256: Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Myocardial Scar and EntropyX of Cardiac Repolarization Independently Predict Appropriate Shock and Cardiac Death in Primary Prevention ICD Recipients

Introduction: Independent of left-ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and other conventional risk factors, LV scar characterization by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI) predicts adverse events in primary prevention ICD recipients. Similarly, reduced repetition of fluctuation patterns underlying the variability of cardiac repolarization, quantified by the novel nonlinear parameter EntropyX QT , predicts adverse events. Because cMRI characteristics and EntropyX QT are distinct measures, we hypothesized they have independent and incremental prognostic value for potentially lethal ventricular tachyarrhythmias and cardiac mortality. Methods: In 220 consecutive cardiomyopathy patients in normal sinus rhythm and receiving optimal medical therapy at time of ICD implantation (baseline), we quantified the amount of heterogeneous myocardial tissue (gray zone), dense core, and total scar on cMRI with late gadolinium enhancement, and EntropyX QT from 5-min ECGs. The primary endpoint was appropriate ICD shock or cardiac deaths not aborted by ICD. Results: Over 4.4±2.8 years, 68 patients experienced appropriate ICD shocks (N=46) or died (N=22). In multivariate analysis, adjusted hazard ratios comparing the 3rd to the 1st tertile of EntropyX QT and cMRI characteristics were 2.93 (95% CI 1.51-5.70) and 1.96 (1.03-3.69), respectively, regardless of demographics, medical history, ischemic or non-ischemic cardiomyopathy, and absence or presence of other risk factors. Addition of EntropyX QT to a model comprised of LVEF and cMRI characteristics improved the ROC curve area from 60.6±4.5% to 68.3±4.2% (p=0.032) and continuous net reclassification by 49.8% (20.5-85.0). Similar improvements in prognostic discrimination were observed when EntropyX QT was added to conventional risk predictors. Conclusions: EntropyX QT , a novel, inexpensive and easily measured parameter, expands on simpler concepts of repolarization variability and increases the prognostic value of cMRI, above and beyond other risk predictors. This robust and non-invasive personalized approach for risk stratification may be used to better identify those who would and would not benefit from ICD implantation.
In Search of an International Marketing Curriculum

Exploring the future is an essential aspect of any long range planning effort. In this paper, planning for an appropriate international marketing education curriculum is the objective. The author uses the Delphi Method to identify the probable future needs in international marketing education. The predictions are divided into four broad categories and related to one possible curriculum.
Curbing Unfair Drug Prices: A Primer for States

The high cost of prescription drugs in the United States is unsustainable. The need for legislative action is urgent. To date, however, the federal government has failed to take—and many policymakers have not even considered—meaningful steps to curb drug prices. As often occurs, state legislatures have stepped in to fill the policy vacuum. Recently, path-breaking drug pricing legislation has passed in Maryland, New York, and Nevada. Several other states have considered bills mandating the study of options to lower drug prices. This document aims to inform these state legislative efforts by identifying key steps that states can and should take to reduce drug prices. Intended for legislators, government officials, advocates, and constituents concerned about high drug prices, this document focuses, as state legislatures have, on two promising categories of legislative efforts: (1) unfair pricing bills and (2) transparency and reporting bills.
Neuromonitoring Changes During Hip Arthroscopy in the Pediatric Population

Objectives:The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence, pattern, and predisposing factors for sciatic, femoral, obturator, and pudendal nerve injury during hip arthroscopy in the ...
Detection of BKV encoded mature MicroRNAs in kidney transplant patients: Clinical and biologic insights.

Abstract Background Polyomavirus BK (BKV) encodes two mature miRNAs that regulate the viral life cycle. Objectives This study investigated the autoregulatory and immunomodulatory effects of these miRNAs that have been defined in culture systems, but subject to only limited exploration in clinical samples. Methods BKV-miR-B1-5p, BKV-miR-BJ1-3p, BKV DNA and BKV VP-1 mRNA levels were measured in 32 paired obtained plasma & urine samples from kidney transplant patients with (a) early stage infection manifesting as viruria, and (b) later stage infections complicated by viremia. Results All patients showed abundant urine miRNAs (7.84E + 02-1.91E + 06 copies/ml, but plasma miRNA was below the limit of detection. There was no statistically significant difference in urinary miRNA levels between viruric and viremic patients. Median 5p miRNA load was 4–6 logs lower than the BKV genomic load. Higher miRNA levels in the urine were associated not with lower but higher urinary viral loads. BKV preferentially used the 3p miRNA for its interactions with host cell mRNAs. The mean ratio of 5p/3p in patients with viruria was 0.09, and 0.03 in patients with viremia. Conclusions The data suggest that immune evasion functions of BKV miRNAs over-ride the negative autoregulatory feedback effects in kidney transplant patients with active viral replication.
Identifying peptide ligands for cell surface receptors using cell-growth-on-bead assay and one-bead one-compound combinatorial library

A cell-growth-on-bead assay was used to screen one-bead, one-compound combinatorial libraries for peptide ligands that attract attachment and growth of human lung cancer cells. A consensus cyclic peptide sequence, d-cys-l-asn-l-gly-l-arg-l-gly-l-glu-l-gln-d-cys (cNGRGEQc), was identified as a ligand for a cell surface receptor, α3β1 integrin. This peptide ligand and its analogs have the potential to be used as diagnostic and therapeutic agents for lung cancer.
Democracy at Work

One of the greatest challenges in the twenty-first century is to address large, deep, and historic deficits in human development. Democracy at Work explores a crucial question: how does democracy, with all of its messy, contested, and, time-consuming features, advance well-being and improve citizens' lives? Professors Brian Wampler, Natasha Borges Sugiyama, and Michael Touchton argue that differences in the local robustness of three democratic pathways - participatory institutions, rights-based social programs, and inclusive state capacity - best explain the variation in how democratic governments improve well-being. Using novel data from Brazil and innovative analytic techniques, the authors show that participatory institutions permit citizens to express voice and exercise vote, inclusive social programs promote citizenship rights and access to public resources, and more capable local states use public resources according to democratic principles of rights protections and equal access. The analysis uncovers how democracy works to advance capabilities related to poverty, health, women's empowerment, and education.
Metamath Zero: Designing a Theorem Prover Prover

As the usage of theorem prover technology expands, so too does the reliance on correctness of the tools. Metamath Zero is a verification system that aims for simplicity of logic and implementation, without compromising on efficiency of verification. It is formally specified in its own language, and supports a number of translations to and from other proof languages. This paper describes the abstract logic of Metamath Zero, essentially a multi-sorted first order logic, as well as the binary proof format and the way in which it can ensure essentially linear time verification while still being concise and efficient at scale. Metamath Zero currently holds the record for fastest verification of the set.mm Metamath library of proofs in ZFC (including 71 of Wiedijk’s 100 formalization targets), at less than 200 ms. Ultimately, we intend to use it to verify the correctness of the implementation of the verifier down to binary executable, so it can be used as a root of trust for more complex proof systems.
Maternal age alters recombination rate in Drosophila pseudoobscura

Abstract As individuals senesce, factors correlated with fitness, such as fecundity and longevity, decline. Increased age also alters recombination rates in a variety of taxa. Changes in individual recombination rate, or ‘recombination rate plasticity’, can increase meiotic errors. In Drosophila melanogaster, multiple studies on maternal age and recombination rate have found a characteristic pattern where rates initially increase, then decrease, then increase again relative to controls. Here, this phenomenon was investigated in D. pseudoobscura. First, fecundity and survivorship were investigated to guide the choice of treatment age. Then, a large-scale recombination analysis (N=23,559) was set up using three X-linked phenotypic markers. Recombination rate differences in two genomic intervals were measured in females aged to 7 days (control) and 35 days (selected treatment age) prior to mating, with progeny collection continuing for 12 days post-mating in 72 hour timepoints. Results revealed a 3.39% increase in recombination rate due to maternal age (p=0.025), for the first 72 hour time point in one of the two marker intervals. For both genomic intervals, recombination rates were higher in the age treatment for the first time point and lower in later time points of the experiment. Next, these data were used to investigate crossover interference, which decreased with maternal age in the first time point and increased in the last time point. Overall, these results suggest that the mechanisms responsible for recombination rate plasticity may differ between maternal age and stressors, such as temperature.
Latent profiles of children’s autonomic nervous system reactivity early in life predict later externalizing problems

Prior researchers have observed relations between children's autonomic nervous system reactivity and externalizing behavior problems, but rarely considers the role of developmentally regulated changes in children's stress response systems. Using growth mixture modeling, the present study derived profiles of parasympathetic nervous system reactivity (as indicated by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA)) and sympathetic nervous system reactivity (as indicated by pre-ejection period (PEP)) from low income, primarily Mexican American children measured repeatedly from infancy through age 5 (N = 383) and investigated whether profiles were associated with externalizing problems at age 7. Analyses identified two profiles of RSA reactivity (reactive decreasing and U-shaped reactivity) and three profiles of PEP reactivity (blunted/anticipatory reactivity, reactive decreasing, non-reactive increasing). Compared to children with an RSA profile of reactive decreasing, those with an RSA profile of U-shaped reactivity had marginally higher externalizing problems, however, this difference was not statistically significant. Children who demonstrated a profile of blunted/anticipatory PEP reactivity had significantly higher externalizing problems compared to those with a profile of non-reactive increasing, likely related to the predominantly male composition of the former profile and predominantly female composition of the latter profile. Findings contribute to our understanding of developmental trajectories of ANS reactivity and highlight the utility of a longitudinal framework for understanding the effects of physiological risk factors on later behavior problems.
MLGO: a Machine Learning Guided Compiler Optimizations Framework

Leveraging machine-learning (ML) techniques for compiler optimizations has been widely studied and explored in academia. However, the adoption of ML in general-purpose, industry strength compilers has yet to happen. We propose MLGO, a framework for integrating ML techniques systematically in an industrial compiler -- LLVM. As a case study, we present the details and results of replacing the heuristics-based inlining-for-size optimization in LLVM with machine learned models. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first full integration of ML in a complex compiler pass in a real-world setting. It is available in the main LLVM repository. We use two different ML algorithms: Policy Gradient and Evolution Strategies, to train the inlining-for-size model, and achieve up to 7\% size reduction, when compared to state of the art LLVM -Oz. The same model, trained on one corpus, generalizes well to a diversity of real-world targets, as well as to the same set of targets after months of active development. This property of the trained models is beneficial to deploy ML techniques in real-world settings.