cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mineralocorticoid Receptor, A Promising Target for Improving Management of Low Back Pain by Epidural Steroid Injections.

Aim of review: Low back pain is a major health problem in United States and worldwide. In this review, we aim to show that mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) activation has a critical role in the initiation of immune and inflammatory responses, which in turn can impact the effectiveness of the currently used steroids for epidural injections in low back pain management since most steroids activate MR in addition to the primary target, glucocorticoid receptor (GR). Moreover, we would like to determine some of the benefits of blocking the MR-induced negative effects. Overall, we propose a novel therapeutic approach for low back pain management by using a combination of a MR antagonist and a GR agonist in the epidural injections.Method: We will first introduce the societal cost of low back pain and discuss how epidural steroid injections became a popular treatment for this condition. We will then describe several preclinical models used for the study of low back pain conditions and the findings with respect to the role of MR in the development of inflammatory low back pain. Recent findings: MR has pro-inflammatory effects in many tissues which can counteract the anti-inflammatory effects induced by GR activation. Blocking MR using the selective MR antagonist eplerenone can reduce pain and sensory neuron excitability in experimental models of low back pain. Moreover, combining the MR antagonist with clinically used steroids is more effective in reducing pain behaviors than using the steroids alone. Summary: MR antagonists are promising candidates to increase the effectiveness of currently used steroids. Since the activation of the MR is evident in preclinical models of low back pain, blocking its deleterious effects can be beneficial in managing inflammatory pain conditions. Citation: Shaimaa I.A. Ibrahim, Judith A. Strong and Jun-Ming Zhang. Mineralocorticoid receptor, a promising target for improving management of low back pain by epidural steroid injections. J Anesth Perioper Med 2016; 3: 177-184. doi: 10.24015/JAPM.2016.0023This is an open-access article, published by Evidence Based Communications (EBC). This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format for any lawful purpose. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
A Real-Time Flood Management Model for River-Reservoir Systems

A flood forecasting model has been developed for the Lower Colorado River Authority that can be used in a real-time framework to make decisions on reservoir operations during flooding. This real-time flood forecasting model is based upon state-of-the-art techniques for flood routing, rainfall-runoff modeling, and graphical display capability and is controlled by interactive software. An optimization model has also been developed to optimally determine the real-time operation of reservoirs under flooding conditions. The variables that are used in the mathematical model are: water surface elevations at all computational points; flow rates at all computational points; and gate operations at all gated reservoirs.
Calculators in Testing Situations: Results and Implications from National Assessment.

turning on the calculator, clearing the display, entering $1.25, and working a simple addition and a simple subtraction problem. The students were also given several minutes to work other problems for which they knew the answer. These instructions were included on a single page of the test booklet and extended only to showing students how to use this particular model of calculator. No attempt was made to acquaint them with all special keys or to teach them how to use a calculator for the first time. Students were instructed to use the calculator on all
Shaping the Pluripotent Genome: Switches, Borders, and Loops.

Three-dimensional genome organization is largely cell type specific and requires reorganization during cell fate transitions. A recent study in Nature Genetics (Stadhouders et al., 2018) offers important insights into the principles and drivers of such reorganization during reprogramming of somatic cells into pluripotent stem cells.
Introducing First-Year Medical Students to Radiology: Implementation and Impact.

Rationale and Objectives The aims of our study were (1) to describe a new educational intervention for first-year medical students that gave a substantial, early exposure to radiology and (2) to examine how this early exposure was received by the students. Materials and Methods Our new curriculum incorporated a new 2-week course very early in the M1 year entitled Foundations of Diagnostics and Therapeutics. Among other topics, the course included a substantial introduction to radiology primarily through small-group seminars and online materials, administered using a flipped-classroom approach. The students were given pre- and postcourse surveys that assessed the degree to which they felt prepared to learn about radiology, as well as their interest in radiology. Results were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results Survey responses were obtained from 170 students before the course and 65 students afterward. Upon completing the course, students showed significantly increased academic interest in radiology (P = .008) and a heightened perception of the effect of radiology on patient care (P = .04), without a significant change in interest in pursuing radiology as a career. Students showed an overwhelmingly positive response to the course, although some noted that previous anatomy training would have been helpful. Eighty percent agreed or strongly agreed that the flipped-classroom structure was an effective educational model. Conclusions Our study demonstrated that students were very excited to gain exposure to radiology early in their medical school curriculum, and such exposure led to an improved perception of the field.
Kigelia africana fruit: Constituents, bioactivity, and reflection on composition disparities

Objective: Kigelia africana, a tropical tree, which has long been used in African traditional medicine. The objective of the current study has been identifying the constituents of K. africana and verifying its utilities in traditional medicine. Materials and Methods: The methanol extract of K. africana fruits was subjected to chromatographic fractionation utilizing different techniques. The methanol extract together with the isolated compounds were tested for their bioactivities in a series of cell-based assays. Results: The current work led to isolation and characterization of nine constituents including iridoid glycosides, phenylpropanoid derivatives, and a eucommiol derivative. The hexanes extract caused inhibition of the opportunistic yeast; Cryptococcus neoformans Pinh. The chloroform extract exhibited substantial antileishmanial activity of Leishmania donovani. Verminoside (1) showed weak inhibition of the CB1, CB2, and Kappa opioid receptors. Compound 4 exhibited weak inhibition of the Kappa and Mu opioid receptors. The hexanes and the chloroform extracts of K. africana exhibited inhibitory activity against the pathogenic parasite Trypanosoma brucei. The ethyl acetate extract showed the same activity. Conclusions: This is the first report on the isolation of coniferyl 4-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (7), a eucommiol derivative (crescentin IV) (6), and 6-feruloylcatalpol (4) from the genus Kigelia. It is also the first report on the separation of ajugol (2), catalpol (3), and specioside (5) from the fruits of K. africana. Revision of the 1H and 13C-NMR spectra of 6-feruloylcatalop (4) and 6-p-hydroxycinnamoylcatalpol (5, specioside) is described. Further, the results of the in vitro assays corroborate the traditional utility of this plant in medicine.
Other Families: Dryden’s Theory of Congeniality in Dante, Chaucer, and Naylor

This chapter moves to consider more abstract questions of inheritance, by examining how an African-American writer can position her own work in relationship to a larger literary tradition, derived from the Middle Ages. It focuses on Gloria Naylor’s use of Dante and Chaucer in her sequential novels Linden Hills and Bailey’s Cafe. Naylor encountered both of these authors in a college “Great Literature” course and struggled with treating them as her literary antecedents. Their position within the literary canon and the lineage of texts that followed them seemed to chart a trajectory that would not incorporate her authorial voice. The rewriting of these texts, Vernon argues, is Naylor’s way of reading them not as “classics” to which she is beholden and which would prescribe the sorts of engagement she could have with them.
Divergent global-scale temperature effects from identical aerosols emitted in different regions.

The distribution of anthropogenic aerosols’ climate effects depends on the geographic distribution of the aerosols themselves. Yet many scientific and policy discussions ignore the role of emission location when evaluating aerosols’ climate impacts. Here, we present new climate model results demonstrating divergent climate responses to a fixed amount and composition of aerosol—emulating China’s present-day emissions—emitted from 8 key geopolitical regions. The aerosols’ global-mean cooling effect is fourteen times greater when emitted from the highest impact emitting region (Western Europe) than from the lowest (India). Further, radiative forcing, a widely used climate response proxy, fails as an effective predictor of global-mean cooling for national-scale aerosol emissions in our simulations; global-mean forcing-to-cooling efficacy differs fivefold depending on emitting region. This suggests that climate accounting should differentiate between aerosols emitted from different countries and that aerosol emissions’ evolving geographic distribution will impact the global-scale magnitude and spatial distribution of climate change. The climate effects of anthropogenic aerosols depend on their spatial distribution, but emission location is often ignored in evaluating their climate impact. Here the authors show drastic divergence in the simulated global temperature response to identical aerosols emitted from eight key geopolitical regions.
Stigma Management: A New Clinical Service:

Stigma management, a new clinical service designed to help clients effectively negotiate social situations in which they are likely to be disqualified and/or excluded, is presented. Its relation to...
Long-term outcomes of a phase I study of agonist CD40 antibody and CTLA-4 blockade in patients with metastatic melanoma.

ABSTRACTWe report long-term clinical outcomes and immune responses observed from a phase 1 trial of agonist CD40 monoclonal antibody (mAb) and blocking CTLA-4 mAb in patients with metastatic melanoma. Twenty-four patients previously untreated with checkpoint blockade were enrolled. The agonistic CD40 mAb CP-870,893 and the CTLA-4 blocking mAb tremelimumab were dosed concomitantly every 3 weeks and 12 weeks, respectively, across four dose combinations. Two patients developed dose-limiting grade 3 immune-mediated colitis that led to the definition of the maximum tolerated dose (MTD). Other immune-mediated toxicity included uveitis (n = 1), hypophysitis (n = 1), hypothyroidism (n = 2), and grade 3 cytokine release syndrome (CRS) (n = 1). The estimated MTD was 0.2 mg/kg of CP-870,893 and 10 mg/kg of tremelimumab. In 22 evaluable patients, the objective response rate (ORR) was 27.3%: two patients (9.1%) had complete responses (CR) and four (18.2%) patients had partial responses (PR). With a median follow-up of...
Sexually explicit media exposure as a sexual milestone among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men.

Objective Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) remain at high risk of HIV infection via condomless anal sex. Sexually explicit media (SEM) likely influences GBMSM's sexual behavior and has been associated with condomless anal sex. SEM messages may be especially potent during formative developmental periods. Method We examined the association between age of first SEM exposure and condomless anal sex in a sample of adult GBMSM (N = 1,114) recruited using the Internet. Results Every 1-year delay in age of first SEM exposure resulted in a 3% decrease in the odds of engaging in condomless anal sex as an adult (odds ratio = .97, 95% CI [.95, .99], p = .01). This association remained significant in 3 separate multivariable models that controlled for age of sexual debut, age of anal sex debut, and current age, respectively. This association was moderated by ethnicity such that the effect was stronger among Latino men. Conclusions GBMSM who were exposed to SEM earlier in their lives report more sexual risk behavior as adults. SEM exposure in GBMSM is an important sexual development milestone deserving further research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
Can Today’s Chemistry Curriculum Actually Produce Tomorrow’s Adaptable Chemist?

Chemistry as a profession has seemed to avoid the kind of large-scale disruption that has visited other professions in the 21st century. While the probability that jobs for chemists will be filled by robots or machine-learning computers may be modest, the arrival of these tools will undoubtedly affect the workplace that students who graduate from chemistry programs encounter when they leave school. To what extent does the current curriculum help these students leverage the opportunities presented by these emerging technological trends, and to what extent will their education leave them wanting? The time for some critical self-analysis of our curricular biases and choices is perhaps overdue.
Super-capacitors and Other Fiber-Shaped Batteries as Energy Storage Devices for Flexible Electronic Devices

Super-capacitors, lithium ion batteries, aluminium air batteries, lithium air batteries, lithium sulfur batteries, and zinc-air batteries can be utilized for flexible electronic device applications as their energy storage devices. All of them possess desired features of all-dimension-deformability and weaveability. Also they can be part of bigger picture by integrating with flexible, wearable and energy harvesting devices, helping them to self-power and multi-function. In this paper we have presented materials perspective and requirements of constitutional parts (electrodes, electrolytes) of these energy storage devices. Their electrical, mechanical, environmental constraints, design principles, material, structure and challenges for integration have been discussed. Flexible electronics applications in various fields have also been mentioned.
Relating Vertical Specialization to Indigenous Technological Capability Growth: The Case of China

It remains a challenge to empirically verify whether the large scale of exports are results of China’s export-oriented growth strategy and participation in global vertical specialization (VS) and h...
Metastable equilibrium of substitution reactions among oxygen- and nitrogen-bearing organic compounds at hydrothermal conditions

Abstract Measured abundances of organic compounds can reveal information about the environments in which they formed. Since organic compounds can be mobilized and released from geologic and planetary settings, they have the potential to provide insights into environments that are difficult to observe directly. To advance our understanding of these environments, this study identifies organic reactions that approach metastable equilibrium in experiments, so that future studies can predict geochemical conditions in remote settings (e.g., deep Earth, extraterrestrial bodies) by monitoring reaction ratios of compounds involved in similar organic reactions. At high temperatures organic redox reactions can equilibrate, which allows comparisons with thermodynamic properties to yield estimates of reaction conditions. However, redox reactions may equilibrate too slowly to be applicable to lower temperature systems. To explore metastable equilibria at lower temperatures, we studied substitution reactions that tend to be faster than redox reactions. In this study, we demonstrate that oxygen- and nitrogen-bearing organic compounds at hydrothermal conditions undergo a series of simultaneous substitution reactions that rapidly approach steady-state ratios indicative of metastable equilibrium. Four sets of aqueous experiments were performed at 250 °C and 40 bar, each beginning with a single organic reactant: benzyl alcohol, benzylamine, dibenzylamine, or tribenzylamine. All reactant solutions were prepared with identical bulk elemental compositions by adjusting the concentrations of the starting organic compounds and adding ammonia as needed. After 2 h at hydrothermal reaction conditions, all of the model compounds were detectable in all four sets of experiments, evidence for reversibility of reactions among the compounds. After 72 h, reaction ratios between the model compounds converged in all four sets of experiments, consistent with approaches toward metastable equilibrium. Reaction ratios for ether and aldehyde formation reactions were also observed to group within a relatively small range, but without a clear convergence pattern, suggesting other non-redox reactions may approach metastable equilibrium. The approach to metastable equilibrium among the initial organic reactants could be observed and quantified even in the presence of competing redox reactions whose mechanisms are less understood, including dibenzylimine and toluene formation, which did not appear to reach steady-states. These findings identify classes of organic compounds and reactions that can reflect the conditions at which they last equilibrated and should be targeted for analysis in natural systems.
“As For Me and My House”: Christian Music Executives Roundtable

Joshua 24:15: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” At the 2018 IASPM-US conference in Nashville, I organized a roundtable of Christian music executives. Many popular music scholars know Nashville as home to country music and a hub for professional songwriters; tacitly absent from
Performing Humbleness and Haughtiness: Dramaturgical Perspectives of Musical Humility and Pride.

In this study I conduct a dramaturgical analysis to examine the performance of social identity among the members a competitive high school jazz band located in the western United States. Using dram...
Fully Printable, Folded, High Frequency Chipless RFID Tag for Surgical Tracking and Detection

We present the first multilayer, foldable chipless RFID tag design that works in the high frequency (HF) range. To reach such low resonant frequencies (in the order of 10 MHz) a parallel plate capacitor is used in series with a planar rectangular coil. To build the capacitor avoiding the use of vias a foldable design is presented. This tag design enables new applications where materials are too lossy at higher frequencies, such as in-body bio-sensing. We explore its application in tracking surgical sponges, characterizing its response when covered in blood, both via simulation and measurements.
Renal replacement therapy and anticoagulation

During the renal replacement therapy, the blood coagulation system is activated in the extracorporeal circulation line and the filter, resulting in blood coagulation.This can interrupt treatment and shorten the life of the extracorporeal circulation line and filter.The consequences are the effectiveness of renal replacement therapy decrease while increasing workload and treatment costs.Therefore, appropriate anticoagulation measures are needed to complete this treatment.To ensure the continuity of extracorporeal bypass, but also to monitor, detect and intervene for the complications caused by anticoagulation.Now, the general theory of renal replacement therapy and anticoagulation technology is discussed. Key words: Renal replacement therapy; Anticoagulation; Systemic; Regional
Memory for Data-Centric Computing: A Technology Perspective

Embedded memory continues to be the key defining component for modern SoC. A large variety of embedded memory 1Ps are been developed in each logic technology node to provide volatile and non-volatile memory solutions for wide range of applications. SRAM continues to be the workhorse memory of modern SoC. While technology scaling continues to advance the performance and density of SRAM, the limited on-die cache memory capacity and limited data bandwidth between the off-chip DRAM and compute engines have increasingly become the performance bottleneck for data-centric applications that demand higher energy efficiency and compute throughput. Addressing this memory wall challenge requires holistic solutions that involve high-density, high-capacity and low-power memories, better integration strategies between compute and memory and alternative computing paradigms. The near-memory and in-memory architectures can alleviate memory bottleneck to some degree while the 3D heterogeneous packaging technology can address interconnect bandwidth limitation through the low latency, low energy and high-density interconnect.
Feedback Control in Programmatic Advertising: The Frontier of Optimization in Real-Time Bidding

Feedback control is critical in the scalable optimization of Internet advertising, and it is, therefore, an enabling technology. However, it is challenging to model the plant and design the controller because the plant is nonlinear, time varying, stochastic, and poorly known. A closed-loop system model easily becomes unrealistic or extremely complicated and intractable to analyze.
Autonomy, Isotretinoin, and iPLEDGE: The Ethics of Burdensome Regulation and Prescribing Teratogenic Medications

This chapter provides an overview of the current requirements for isotretinoin prescription in several populations and seeks to delineate the ethical principles most relevant to the use of teratogenic medications in dermatology, namely, autonomy, justice, and nonmaleficence. We then provide a framework for evaluating ethical conflicts that may arise and apply that framework to case scenarios involving teratogenic medications for non-life-threatening conditions.
Dual-Sourcing, Dual-Mode Dynamic Stochastic Inventory Models: A Review

We review academic research on dual-sourcing (or dual-mode) dynamic stochastic inventory models, which study the replenishment of inventory from two sources (or two transportation modes) in the presence of demand uncertainty. The classic assumption, also adopted here, is that the two sources (modes) differ by replenishment leadtimes and costs. We cover both discrete and continuous-time models. A distinguish feature of our review from others is that our review is more technically detailed and provides self-contained proofs of several fundamental results in the dual-sourcing literature. We also highlight theory advanced recently by using asymptotic analysis.
Bioenergetic Requirements and Spatiotemporal Profile of Nerve Growth Factor Induced PI3K-Akt Signaling Along Sensory Axons

Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) promotes the elaboration of axonal filopodia and branches through PI3K-Akt. NGF activates the TrkA receptor resulting in an initial transient high amplitude burst of PI3K-Akt signaling followed by a maintained lower steady state, hereafter referred to as initiation and steady state phases. Akt initially undergoes phosphorylation at T308 followed by phosphorylation at S473, resulting in maximal kinase activation. We report that during the initiation phase the localization of PI3K signaling, reported by visualizing sites of PIP3 formation, and Akt signaling, reflected by Akt phosphorylation at T308, correlates with the positioning of axonal mitochondria. Mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation but not glycolysis is required for Akt phosphorylation at T308. In contrast, the phosphorylation of Akt at S473 is not spatially associated with mitochondria and is dependent on both oxidative phosphorylation and glycolysis. Under NGF steady state conditions, maintenance of phosphorylation at T308 shows dual dependence on oxidative phosphorylation and glycolysis. Phosphorylation at S473 is more dependent on glycolysis but also requires oxidative phosphorylation for maintenance over longer time periods. The data indicate that NGF induced PI3K-Akt signaling along axons is preferentially initiated at sites containing mitochondria, in a manner dependent on oxidative phosphorylation. Steady state signaling is discussed in the context of combined contributions by mitochondria and the possibility of glycolysis occurring in association with endocytosed signalosomes.
Accountability for Data Governance in the Cloud

Cloud computing represents a major shift in the way Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is deployed and utilised across industries. Alongside the technological developments, organisations need to adapt to emerging operational needs associated with data governance, policy and responsibility, as well as compliance with regulatory regimes that may be multi-jurisdictional in nature. This paper is concerned with data governance in cloud ecosystems. It characterises the problem of data governance due to emerging challenges (and threats) in the cloud. It advocates an accountability-based approach for data stewardship. It defines accountability and introduces a model consisting of attributes, practices and mechanisms. The accountability model underpins an accountability framework supporting data governance. This paper also discusses emerging relationships between accountability, risk and trust. The overall objective of the proposed accountability-based approach to data governance is to support a transparent and trustworthy cloud.
The Rhodospirillum Rubrum Cytochrome bc 1 , Complex

The cytochrome bc 1 complex was first characterized as one of the membrane-bound, multipeptide complexes of the mitochondrial electron transport chain. Subsequently, functionally equivalent cytochrome bc 1 complexes were discovered in the photosynthetic and respiratory chains of bacteria. These complexes, and the related cytochrome b 6f complexes of oxygenic photosynthetic organisms, play a central role in energy transduction associated with photosynthetic and respiratory electron transfer, as the electron flow from quinol to cytochrome c catalyzed by the complexes is coupled to the formation of a proton gradient and an electrical potential across the membrane(1-3). The cytochrome bc 1 complexes of photosynthetic purple non-sulfur bacteria have proven particularly useful for studying the pathway of electron movement for the following reasons:1. The ability to perform kinetic measurements after electron flow is initiated by a short, single-turnover light flash has provided a detailed sequence of electron transfer steps in Rhodobacter sphaeroides and Rhodobacter capsulatus(4,5) and, to a lesser extent, in Rhodospirillum rubrum (6); 2. While the electron-carrying chromophore content of the complexes isolated from photosynthetic bacteria and mitochondria are identical, the peptide compositions of the former are much simpler than those of mitochondria(i.e., three or four vs. ten subunits-Ref. 1,3,7); 3. The amino acid sequences, deduced from the nucleotide sequences of the corresponding genes, are known for all three chromophorecontaining subunits of the Rb. capsulatus complex(8,9). Sequences should be available soon for the Rb. sphaeroides and Rhodopseudomonas viridis complexes (A.R. Crofts and D. Oesterhelt, peronal communications) and sequence work is beginning on the R. rubrum complex(See below). The R. rubrum cytochrome bc 1 complex(10,11) has several additional advantages, including its unambiguous three peptide subunit composition, its stability and the fact that it contains a high affinity binding site for its electron acceptor, cytochrome c 2(12).
Quality Control and Good Epidemiological Practice

The use of data is fundamental in epidemiology. Epidemiologic research on causation uses data in a search for the true nature of the relationship between exposure and disease. Similarly, research on the consequences of interventions seeks an unbiased characterization of the effects of independently varying factors on the outcome measure(s). One of the most rewarding moments for a researcher is obtaining the preliminary results from his or her study. However, the question “do I believe what I see?” should immediately come to mind. The answer to this question is determined in large part by the more mundane but critical question of how good is the quality of the data, rather than by the elegance of the scientific method. Errors that occur during study population selection or in the measurement of study exposures, outcomes, or covariates can lead to a biased estimate of the effect of exposure on risk for the disease of interest. Misclassification of exposure or disease that occurs randomly between all study participants decreases the power of the study to detect an association where it exists. Data collection that is differentially biased may have more severe consequences, and can lead to an incorrect assessment of the relationship between exposure and disease.
Song and Substance: Women Writing Poetry in Cebuano

Among the emergent voices in Philippine Literature in the past decade up to the present, the most exciting to read and listen to are those of the women in the Visayas and Mindanao who are writing poetry and fiction in Cebuano. Never before since the “golden age of Cebuano literature” from 1900-1940 have the creative work of women seen such burgeoning. And this growth is substantiated by the creative work published in three literary anthologies by women, namely Centering Voices (1995), Fern Garden: Anthology of Women Writing in the South (1998), and Sinug-ang: A Cebuano Trio (1999). This paper focuses on the poetry written in Cebuano by women who are breaking new ground in the tradition of the balak, and who are bringing this tradition farther in imaginative power and reach. In particular, it will present the literary themes and issues these women are writing on, and also show how these issues are tackled by the language of poetry.
Disruption of columnar and laminar cognitive processing in primate prefrontal cortex following cocaine exposure

Prefrontal cortical activity in primate brain plays a critical role in cognitive processes involving working memory and the executive control of behavior. Groups of prefrontal cortical neurons within specified cortical layers along cortical minicolumns differentially generate inter- and intra-laminar firing to process relevant information for goal oriented behavior. However, it is not yet understood how cocaine modulates such differential firing in prefrontal cortical layers. Rhesus macaque nonhuman primates (NHPs) were trained in a visual delayed match-to-sample (DMS) task while the activity of prefrontal cortical neurons (areas 46, 8 and 6) was recorded simultaneously with a custom multielectrode array in cell layers 2/3 and 5. Animals were reinforced with juice for correct responses. The first half of the recording session (control) was conducted following saline injection and in the second half of the same session cocaine was administered. Prefrontal neuron activity with respect to inter- and intra-laminar firing in layers 2/3 and 5 was assessed in the DMS task before and after the injection of cocaine. Results showed that firing rates of both pyramidal cells and interneurons increased on Match phase presentation and the Match response in both control and cocaine halves of the session. Differential firing under cocaine vs. control in the Match phase was increased for interneurons but decreased for pyramidal cells. In addition, functional` interactions between prefrontal pyramidal cells in layer 2/3 and 5 decreased while intra-laminar cross-correlations in both layers increased. These neural recordings demonstrate that prefrontal neurons differentially encode and process information within and between cortical cell layers via cortical columns which is disrupted in a differential manner by cocaine administration.
Critical Thickness of Atomically Ordered III-V Alloys

The critical thickness model is modified with a general boundary energy that describes the change in bulk energy as a dislocation regularly alters the atomic structure of an ordered material. The model is evaluated for dislocations gliding through CuPt-ordered GaInP and GaInAs, where the boundary energy is negative and the boundary is stable. With ordering present, the critical thickness is significantly lowered and remains finite as the mismatch strain approaches zero. The reduction in critical thickness is most significant when the order parameter is greatest and the amount of misfit energy is low. The modified model is experimentally validated for low-misfit GaInP epilayers with varying order parameters using in situ wafer curvature and ex situ cathodoluminescence. With strong ordering, relaxation begins at a lower thickness and occurs at a greater rate, which is consistent with a lower critical thickness and increased glide force. Thus, atomic ordering is an important consideration for the stability of lattice-mismatched devices.
Application of depression rating scales in patients with Parkinson's disease with and without co-Occurring anxiety

Background In patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), depressive symptom rating scales facilitate identification of depressive disorders, which are common and disabling. Anxiety disturbances in PD, which lack valid assessment scales, frequently co-occur with PD-depression, are under-recognized, and require different interventions than depressive disorders. Whether high anxiety rates in PD confound depression scale performance or if any depression scales also predict anxiety disturbances is not known. Objective To test the impact of co-occurring anxiety disorders on psychometric properties of depression rating scales in depressed PD patients and compare disability between PD patients with anxiety, depression, and comorbid anxiety and depressive disorders. Methods PD subjects (n = 229) completed self-report and clinician-administered depression scales. Receiver operating characteristic curves were developed to estimate psychometric properties of each scale in those with depression alone, anxiety alone, and comorbid depression and anxiety. Between-group differences on all measures were examined. Results Comorbid anxiety did not affect the psychometric properties of any scale when identifying depressive disorders, but is associated with greater symptom severity and disability. Depression-scale scores were not significantly different between subjects with anxiety disorders only and those without depressive or anxiety diagnoses. Conclusions Co-occurring anxiety disorders do not impact performance of depression rating scales in depressed PD patients. However, depression rating scales do not adequately identify anxiety disturbances alone or in patients with depression.
Rapid, Semiquantitative Assay To Discriminate among Compounds with Activity against Replicating or Nonreplicating Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The search for drugs that can kill replicating and nonreplicating Mycobacterium tuberculosis faces practical bottlenecks. Measurement of CFU and discrimination of bacteriostatic from bactericidal activity are costly in compounds, supplies, labor, and time. Testing compounds against M. tuberculosis under conditions that prevent the replication of M. tuberculosis often involves a second phase of the test in which conditions are altered to permit the replication of bacteria that survived the first phase. False-positive determinations of activity against nonreplicating M. tuberculosis may arise from carryover of compounds from the nonreplicating stage of the assay that act in the replicating stage. We mitigate these problems by carrying out a 96-well microplate liquid MIC assay and then transferring an aliquot of each well to a second set of plates in which each well contains agar supplemented with activated charcoal. After 7 to 10 days-about 2 weeks sooner than required to count CFU-fluorometry reveals whether M. tuberculosis bacilli in each well have replicated extensively enough to reduce a resazurin dye added for the final hour. This charcoal agar resazurin assay (CARA) distinguishes between bacterial biomasses in any two wells that differ by 2 to 3 log10 CFU. The CARA thus serves as a pretest and semiquantitative surrogate for longer, more laborious, and expensive CFU-based assays, helps distinguish bactericidal from bacteriostatic activity, and identifies compounds that are active under replicating conditions, nonreplicating conditions, or both. Results for 14 antimycobacterial compounds, including tuberculosis (TB) drugs, revealed that PA-824 (pretomanid) and TMC207 (bedaquiline) are largely bacteriostatic.
Identification of attenuating mutations on the reovirus type 3 S1 double-stranded RNA segment with a rapid sequencing technique.

Reovirus type3 variants withmutations inthemajorneutralization domainofthe urlprotein have attenuated neurovirulence andrestricted neurotropism. We devised a variation oftherapid RNA sequencing technique tofacilitate theanalysis ofdouble-stranded RNA. We sequenced theS1double-stranded RNA segment, whichencodes theirl protein, offive attenuated reovirus type3variants. Fourofthevariants have changes incodon419,anda fifth variant hasa changeatcodon340,allofwhichresulted inaminoacid substitutions inthecxlprotein. We identified twosites on thereovirus type3crlprotein thatplay acritical role inneurovirulence. We usedthemammalian reoviruses asamodeltobetter understand viral pathogenesis andtodefine atamolecular level thedeterminants responsible forthecapacity ofthese viruses toinfect specific cells andtissues (tropism). The reovirus genomeconsists of10segments ofdouble-stranded (ds) RNA (reviewed inreference 8).Infection ofneonatal micewithmammalian reovirus type3 produces a fatal encephalitis secondary tolocalization ofreovirus type3in neurons (10, 13). Thereovirus S1ds-RNAsegment encoding theclprotein (viral hemagglutinin) determines thetropism ofreovirus forneurons (21, 23,24)andpituitary cells (12). Theo1protein isalsoresponsible fordetermining anumber ofvirus-host cellinteractions, including serotype-specific humoralandcellular immunity, binding tocellular microtubules, andinhibition ofcellular DNA syntheis (8). To identify different domains ofthereovirus type3hemagglutinin, we isolated ol-specific monoclonal antibodies (3). Analysis ofthecrlprotein byusing these monoclonal antibodies indicated that there areatleast three distinct domains (20). Onedomain, termedtheneutralization domain, is primarily defined bytwomonoclonal antibodies, A2andG5, thatshowhightiters ofneutralizing activity. TheG5monoclonal antibody wasusedtogenerate viral variants (designatedA,F,andK)thatresist neutralization (19). These variant viruses aremarkedly less virulent thantheparental reovirus type3virus fromwhichtheywereselected. In addition, examination ofbrain sections ofneonatal mice injected intracerebrally withthevariants showsthatthey causetissue injury inrestricted regions ofthemousebrain (18). Theseresults indicate thatmutations inthereovirus type3clprotein causemarkedalterations inviral virulence andtropism. Inaddition totheoriginal attenuated reovirus type3 variants, twomorereovirus type3 viruses with antigenically altered olproteins wereselected aspreviously described (19), (designated A14andA17), except thatthe parental reovirus type3 wasgrowninthepresence of neutralizing monoclonal antibody A2instead ofG5.Thus,
In Their Own Words: A Content-Analytic Study of College Women’s Resistance to Sexual Assault

The purpose of this study was to utilize a mixed methodological approach to better understand the co-occurrence of perpetrator tactics and women's resistance strategies during a sexual assault and women's reflections on these experiences. College women were recruited from introductory psychology courses and completed both forced-choice response and open-ended survey questions for course credit. Content-analytic results of college women's written responses to an open-ended question suggested that women's resistance strategies generally mirrored the tactics of the perpetrator (e.g., women responded to perpetrator verbal pressure with verbal resistance). However, there were some instances in which this was not the case. Furthermore, a number of women expressed a degree of self-blame for the sexual assault in their responses, as well as minimization and normalization of the experience. These findings suggest that sexual assault risk reduction programs need to directly address victims' self-blame as well as create an atmosphere where societal factors that lead to minimization can be addressed.
Microfluorimetry defines early axonal damage in a rat model of optic neuritis : A novel method targeting early CNS autoimmunity

Autoimmune optic neuritis is a common early manifestation of multiple sclerosis (MS), yet early therapeutic interventions for MS often have high ocular toxicity associated with increased risks for glaucoma, cataract, or retinopathy. This need to discover better early treatment options prompted our development of a sensitive and reliable means to quantify the broad range of pathologies that potentially develop very early in autoimmune optic neuritis. Tissue microfluorimetry was used to measure seven established markers for human MS pathology in normal and autoimmune optic nerves 13 days after antigen exposure, in a Brown Norway rat model of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) peptide (35-55)-induced autoimmune optic neuritis. Optic neuritis rats demonstrated early and significant pathologic changes in five established indices for neuroinflammation, immune infiltration, and demyelination that accurately modeled pathologies characteristic of MS. Two indices of MS-like axon damage advanced significantly within 13 days of antigen exposure. Fluorimetrically measured immunoreactivity (-ir) was significantly decreased for paranodin (PN, the requisite axonal paranodal junction protein) and significantly increased for amyloid precursor protein (APP), indicating loss of paranodal junctions and impaired fast axonal transport, respectively. Measurements showing decreased PN-ir with increased APP-ir quantitatively defined a pattern of early axonal damage in autoimmune optic neuritis.
The regeneration of an oesophagus in the anemone, Sagartia luciae

1) An oesophagus regenerates in small pieces cut from the base of Sagartia luciae as an invagination of the mesogloea and endoderm in the shape of an inverted cup in which the mesogloea forms the middle layer and is covered on both outside and inside by endoderm. Later the ectoderm breaks above the cup and becomes continuous with the endoderm lining it. The ectoderm takes no part in the regeneration of the oesophagus. 2) Tentacles develop as outgrowths of the old body wall (including ectoderm, mesogloea and endoderm). 3) New mesenteries regenerate as infoldings of the mesogloea and the endoderm which become attached to the oesophagus. 4) The orientation of the regenerating piece may, or may not, be the same as that of the individual from which it was cut. 5) The fixation of the piece to the bottom of the dish takes place before the oesophagus regenerates. The contact, in some ways, stimulates the regeneration of an oesophagus at the opposite end. If the piece is cut so that it contains a small part of the old pedal disk or if it has lost the power of turning itself over, it must remain in the position in which it falls and its orientation is therefore determined by gravity.
Calculation of the optical-model potential for neutron scattering by 58Ni in a particle-vibration coupling picture☆

Abstract The imaginary part of the optical model potential is calculated within a picture of strong coupling of core vibrations with the incident particle. Dependence of the optical-model potential upon choice of the energy interval over which averaging is carried out, is studied.
Paclitaxel up-regulates interleukin-8 synthesis in human lung carcinoma through an NF-κB- and AP-1-dependent mechanism

Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. For this reason we chose to study the specific cellular effects that one chemotherapeutic agent, paclitaxel, has on lung carcinoma. In addition to its known mechanism of action, which is to stabilize microtubules, paclitaxel has been shown to have other interesting and relevant cellular effects. In this report, we demonstrate that a subset of human lung carcinoma cell lines respond to paclitaxel treatment with an up to a fivefold increase in the production of interleukin-8 (IL-8). We demonstrate that this increased production is specific to IL-8 but not to other chemokines, and is both dose- and time-dependent. Increased IL-8 mRNA is seen as early as 45 min with a peak at 4 h after paclitaxel treatment. This increase in mRNA is due to transcriptional activation because actinomycin D treatment blocked the increase. Paclitaxel also activates the mitogen-activated protein kinase family member, JNK1, in dose-dependent fashion. IL-8 enhancement is completely abolished with the use of an inhibitor of NF-κB, the super-repressor IκB. Similar results were obtained upon the inhibition of AP-1 activation with the MEK1/2 inhibitor, U0126. By gaining a better understanding of the differences in cellular response to paclitaxel chemotherapy, these findings might lead to either improved patient selection or to the development of adjuvant therapy targeted at specific-cell signaling proteins.
Ultrathin Y2O3(111) films on Pt(111) substrates

Abstract The growth of ultrathin films of Y 2 O 3 (111) on Pt(111) has been studied using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), and low energy electron diffraction (LEED). The films were grown by physical vapor deposition of yttrium in a 10 − 6 Torr oxygen atmosphere. Continuous Y 2 O 3 (111) films were obtained by post-growth annealing at 700 °C. LEED and STM indicate an ordered film with a bulk-truncated Y 2 O 3 (111)–1 × 1 structure exposed. Furthermore, despite the lattices of the substrate and the oxide film being incommensurate, the two lattices exhibit a strict in-plane orientation relationship with the [110] directions of the two cubic lattices aligning parallel to each other. XPS measurements suggest hydroxyls to be easily formed at the Y 2 O 3 surface at room temperature even under ultra high vacuum conditions. The hydrogen desorbs from the yttria surface above ~ 200 °C.
Remote single-ended measurements of atmospheric temperature and humidity at 1.77 μm using a continuously tunable source

Simultaneous remote measurements of temperature and humidity using a narrow-linewidth, continuously tunable, LiNbO3 optical parametric oscillator as a transmitter source are reported. Relative measurement errors of 1.0°C for temperature and better than 1% for humidity over a 45-sec averaging time are observed. The absolute accuracy is limited by the accuracy of available spectroscopic data.
Explanation in Organic Chemistry

In this paper, a model of a subclass of the explanations given in organic chemistry is developed. This model is supported by three concrete examples. The model suggests that in this discipline, laws, theories, and causal reasoning are interrelated in interesting and heretofore unexplored ways. The model also reserves a prominent place for idealizations and capacities ascribed on the basis of the structural features of molecules. The author hopes to have established that philosophical reflection on the methodology of organic chemistry can yield interesting and valuable new insights into classical issues in the philosophy of science.
Fetal thymocyte development: putting a zinc finger on it?

Lymphocyte development must be tightly regulated in utero to prevent rejection. New work shows that the zinc finger protein Zfp608 negatively regulates the expression of recombination-activating genes 1 and 2 and may suppress fetal T cell development.