cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
TCT-390 Impact of SYNTAX Score on Long-Term Clinical Outcomes in Patients Treated With New-Generation Drug-Eluting Stents for Unprotected Left Main Disease

Impact of SYNTAX score (SS) on long-term clinical outcomes after new-generation drug-eluting stents implantation for unprotected left main disease remains unclear. Between February 2010 and July 2012, 2,519 consecutive patients with 3,410 lesions were treated only with new-generation drug-eluting
End-of-Life Care of Persons With Alzheimer Disease: An Update for Clinicians:

While end-of-life (EOL) care has been a relatively common option for patients with terminal cancer, the utilization of EOL care in Alzheimer disease and other dementias has become available more recently. By the time end-stage dementia is present, the clinicians and caregivers become faced with multiple clinical issues-their inability to provide subjective complaints of pain and discomfort, behavioral symptoms, delirium, food refusal, and so on. In addition to providing quality EOL care to the patients, clinicians need to work with their families in an open and empathic manner, assuring that their loved ones will receive supportive measures to keep them comfortable.
Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Regulates Skeletal Myogenesis by Inhibiting SP1 Interaction with cis-Acting Regulatory Elements within the Fbxl2 Gene Promoter

FBXL2 is an important ubiquitin E3 ligase component that modulates inflammatory signaling and cell cycle progression, but its molecular regulation is largely unknown. Here, we show that tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), a critical cytokine linked to the inflammatory response during skeletal muscle regeneration, suppressed Fbxl2 mRNA expression in C2C12 myoblasts and triggered significant alterations in cell cycle, metabolic, and protein translation processes. Gene silencing of Fbxl2 in skeletal myoblasts resulted in increased proliferative responses characterized by activation of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases and nuclear factor kappa B and decreased myogenic differentiation, as reflected by reduced expression of myogenin and impaired myotube formation. TNF-α did not destabilize the Fbxl2 transcript (half-life [t 1/2], ∼10 h) but inhibited SP1 transactivation of its core promoter, localized to bp -160 to +42 within the proximal 5' flanking region of the Fbxl2 gene. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and gel shift studies indicated that SP1 interacted with the Fbxl2 promoter during cellular differentiation, an effect that was less pronounced during proliferation or after TNF-α exposure. TNF-α, via activation of JNK, mediated phosphorylation of SP1 that impaired its binding to the Fbxl2 promoter, resulting in reduced transcriptional activity. The results suggest that SP1 transcriptional activation of Fbxl2 is required for skeletal muscle differentiation, a process that is interrupted by a key proinflammatory myopathic cytokine.IMPORTANCE Skeletal muscle regeneration and repair involve the recruitment and proliferation of resident satellite cells that exit the cell cycle during the process of myogenic differentiation to form myofibers. We demonstrate that the ubiquitin E3 ligase subunit FBXL2 is essential for skeletal myogenesis through its important effects on cell cycle progression and cell proliferative signaling. Further, we characterize a new mechanism whereby sustained stimulation by a major proinflammatory cytokine, TNF-α, regulates skeletal myogenesis by inhibiting the interaction of SP1 with the Fbxl2 core promoter in proliferating myoblasts. Our findings contribute to the understanding of skeletal muscle regeneration through the identification of Fbxl2 as both a critical regulator of myogenic proliferative processes and a susceptible gene target during inflammatory stimulation by TNF-α in skeletal muscle. Modulation of Fbxl2 activity may have relevance to disorders of muscle wasting associated with sustained proinflammatory signaling.
The critical effect of water content in the electrolyte on the reversible electrochemical performance of Zn–VPO4F cells

The electrochemistry of the Zn–VPO4F system has been studied for the first time in both wet non-aqueous and aqueous zinc-ion electrolytes. It is shown that H+ ions present in the electrolyte insert into the cathode host in preference to sluggish Zn2+ ion insertion. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that while H2O as a source of H+ is essential for proper cell operation, an aqueous electrolyte is detrimental to cathode stability due to extensive dissolution.
RENAL CELL CARCINOMA

Renal cell carcinoma remains a challenge for oncologists, with only 20% of patients being cured by surgical removal of the involved kidney and a handful of patients with advanced disease being cured by surgery, immunotherapy, or both. Although advances in early detection, recognition of high-risk groups, and chemotherapy remain disappointing, advances in immunotherapy as well as our basic understanding of the renal carcinoma cell have been made. Translation into clinical trials will likely occur within the next few years based on these findings.
Integrated photoacoustic microscopy, optical coherence tomography and fluorescence microscopy imaging of rabbit ocular neovascularization in vivo

This work descripts a multi-modality photoacoustic microscopy, optical coherence tomography, and fluorescence microscopy imaging for visualization of angiogenesis in large animal eye, and could be an important step toward the clinical translation of the technology.
The Intermediate-State Dispute in Buddhism

The possibility of life after death has always fascinated mankind. India was no exception, even with its metaphysical setting of rebirth theory. Then, with the belief in the extraordinary powers of yogins to delve into nature’s secrets it was held that some individuals could communicate what really happened after death. As when the Buddha used a divine eye (divya-caksus) to observe the sentient beings going from here to various destinies good and bad, and later told his disciples about it.
Abstract 1714A: TGF-beta signaling on myeloid cells regulates ECM deposition in mammary carcinoma via adenosine dependent mechanisms

TGF-beta plays a crucial role in tumor microenvironment by regulating cell-cell and cell-stroma interactions. We previously demonstrated that TGF-beta signaling on myeloid cells regulates expression of CD73, a key enzyme for production of adenosine, a pro-tumorigenic metabolite implicated in regulation of tumor cell behaviors, immune response and angiogenesis. Using MMTV-PyMT mouse mammary tumor model, we discovered that deletion of TGF-beta signaling on myeloid cells (PyMT/TGFbRII-LysM) affects ECM formation in tumor tissue, specifically increases collagen and decreases fibronectin deposition, and these changes associate with mitigated tumor growth and reduced metastases. Using multiplexed five-color immunofluorescent staining and spatial analysis on a single-cell level, we discovered that reduced TGF-beta signaling on fibroblasts associates with their proximity to CD73 positive myeloid cells in tumor tissue. Consistent with these findings, in vitro gel contraction assay and Western blotting for Collagen I and pSMAD proteins confirmed that adenosine significantly downregulates TGF-beta signaling on fibroblasts. Using in vitro pharmacological approach, we found that this effect is regulated by A2a and A2b adenosine receptors. TCGA data base analysis revealed that patients with triple negative breast cancer and basal type have similar signature of adenosine and ECM profiles: high expression of A2b adenosine receptors correlates with decreased expression of Col1 and is associates with poor outcome. Taken together, our studies reveal a new role for TGF-beta signaling on myeloid cells in tumorigenesis. Discovered crosstalk between TGF-beta/CD73 on myeloid cells and TGF-beta signaling on fibroblasts can contribute to ECM remodeling and pro-tumorigenic actions of CAFs. Citation Format: Georgii Vasiukov, Tatiana Novitskaya, Samantha Schwager, Harold Moses, Timothy Blackwell, Igor Feoktistov, Sergey Novitskiy. TGF-beta signaling on myeloid cells regulates ECM deposition in mammary carcinoma via adenosine dependent mechanisms [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 1714A.
A Comparative Study on Structural and Semantic Properties of Sentence Embeddings.

Sentence embeddings encode natural language sentences as low-dimensional dense vectors. A great deal of effort has been put into using sentence embeddings to improve several important natural language processing tasks. Relation extraction is such an NLP task that aims at identifying structured relations defined in a knowledge base from unstructured text. A promising and more efficient approach would be to embed both the text and structured knowledge in low-dimensional spaces and discover semantic alignments or mappings between them. Although a number of techniques have been proposed in the literature for embedding both sentences and knowledge graphs, little is known about the structural and semantic properties of these embedding spaces in terms of relation extraction. In this paper, we investigate the aforementioned properties by evaluating the extent to which sentences carrying similar senses are embedded in close proximity sub-spaces, and if we can exploit that structure to align sentences to a knowledge graph. We propose a set of experiments using a widely-used large-scale data set for relation extraction and focusing on a set of key sentence embedding methods. We additionally provide the code for reproducing these experiments at this https URL. These embedding methods cover a wide variety of techniques ranging from simple word embedding combination to transformer-based BERT-style model. Our experimental results show that different embedding spaces have different degrees of strength for the structural and semantic properties. These results provide useful information for developing embedding-based relation extraction methods.
Association between coarse particulate matter and inflammatory and hemostatic markers in a cohort of midlife women.

Exposure to particulate matter air pollution has been associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality; however, most studies have focused on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure and CVD. Coarse particulate matter (PM10–2.5) exposure has not been extensively studied, particularly for long-term exposure, and the biological mechanisms remain uncertain. We examined the association between ambient concentrations of PM10–2.5 and inflammatory and hemostatic makers that have been linked to CVD. Annual questionnaire and clinical data were obtained from 1694 women (≥ 55 years old in 1999) enrolled in the longitudinal Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN) at six study sites from 1999 to 2004. Residential locations and the USEPA air monitoring network measurements were used to assign exposure to one-year PM10–2.5, as well as co-pollutants. Linear mixed-effects regression models were used to describe the association between PM10–2.5 exposure and markers, including demographic, health and other covariates. Each interquartile (4 μg/m3) increase in one-year PM10–2.5 exposure was associated with a 5.5% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.8, 9.4%) increase in levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and 4.1% (95% CI: − 0.1, 8.6%) increase in high-sensitivity C-creative Protein (hs-CRP). Stratified analyses suggested that the association with PAI-1 was particularly strong in some subgroups, including women who were peri-menopausal, were less educated, had a body mass index lower than 25, and reported low alcohol consumption. The association between PM10–2.5 and PAI-1 remained unchanged with adjustment for PM2.5, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide. Long-term PM10–2.5 exposure may be associated with changes in coagulation independently from PM2.5, and thus, contribute to CVD risk in midlife women.
Estivation site selection of western chicken turtles (deirochelys reticularia miaria)

Western chicken turtles (Deirochelys reticularia miaria) spend most of the year estivating on land, but researchers know little about their choice of estivation locations, and understanding their terrestrial requirements is important for conservation efforts. Therefore, we used radio telemetry to examine the estivation locations of nine males and four females. We followed six of those males and three of those females for 2 years, and two males and one female for 3 years. We examined site fidelity and compared the habitat features of their estivation locations to the habitat available in the area. We found that males exhibited site fidelity across years, but females generally did not. We also found that D. r. miaria selected sites that contained small-mammal burrows, leaf litter, and <25% vegetative ground cover. There was no evidence of selection for sites with or without slopes. Because this species relies on estivation sites with specific characteristics, protecting suitable habitat is an important part of conservation efforts. This study can help to guide those efforts.
Eosinophilic crystalline pneumonia, an age-related lesion in mice

Eosinophilic crystalline pneumonia (ECP), also known as acidophilic macrophage pneumonia (AMP), is a common intrapulmonary lesion that increases in prevalence with age in mice, especially those on a C57BL/6 and 129Sv background. Gross changes may be evident in severe cases as lobar to diffuse red to brown foci throughout the lungs, which fail to collapse. Definitive diagnosis is by histopathology, which shows the accumulation of brightly eosinophilic crystals within macrophages or free within lumens of alveolar spaces and conducting airways. Granulocytes, multinucleated giant cells, and epithelial hyalinosis may also be present in affected areas of the lung. The disease may represent a cause of morbidity and mortality when other disease processes interfere with clearance, leading to the accumulation of crystals and crystal laden macrophages in airways, resulting in dyspnea. Other anatomic locations may be affected by epithelial hyalinosis and/or crystals as part of the syndrome, including respiratory tract, stomach, gall bladder, bile duct, and pancreatic duct. Keywords: Epithelial hyalinosis, crystals, acidophilic macrophage pneumonia (AMP), eosinophilic crystalline pneumonia (ECP)
Reflection-free Transmission in Time-reversal Symmetry-proteced Slot Line Waveguide

A slot line waveguide that incorporates an enclosure in the form of a perfect-magnetic conductor (PMC) is presented. The configuration exclusively supports the propagation of a quasi-transverse electromagnetic (TEM) mode, that is shown to be immune to reflections associated with bends in the propagation pathway. This is due to the mode forming time-reversal symmetry-warranted pseudospin states (decoupled polarizations), which are locked to the wavevector. Generally, spin-polarized states like in photonic topological insulators (PTIs) can exhibit backscattering-immune transmission if the scatterer does not flip the spin. Unlike PTIs, however, the proposed structure does not demand a special global behavior of the wavefunction of a periodic system. Here, the pseudospin property is intrinsic to the quasi-TEM mode and is simply enforced by eliminating all other modes including plane waves through the use of the PMC cover. We show a proof-of-concept design that is compatible with low-cost printed-circuit-board fabrication process as well as numerical full-wave simulation results. The evident competitive performance and simplicity of the proposed waveguide make it attractive for numerous microwave, millimeter-wave and terahertz applications.
Diagnostic Guide: Fusarium Crown Rot of Winter Wheat

Fusarium crown rot of winter wheat is an economically important disease in most regions where winter wheat is grown. Fusarium crown rot is caused by Fusarium culmorum and F. pseudograminearum. This...
From molecules to mating: Rapid evolution and biochemical studies of reproductive proteins.

Abstract Sexual reproduction and the exchange of genetic information are essential biological processes for species across all branches of the tree of life. Over the last four decades, biochemists have continued to identify many of the factors that facilitate reproduction, but the molecular mechanisms that mediate this process continue to elude us. However, a recurring observation in this research has been the rapid evolution of reproductive proteins. In animals, the competing interests of males and females often result in arms race dynamics between pairs of interacting proteins. This phenomenon has been observed in all stages of reproduction, including pheromones, seminal fluid components, and gamete recognition proteins. In this article, we review how the integration of evolutionary theory with biochemical experiments can be used to study interacting reproductive proteins. Examples are included from both model and non-model organisms, and recent studies are highlighted for their use of state-of-the-art genomic and proteomic techniques. Significance Despite decades of research, our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that mediate fertilization remain poorly characterized. To date, molecular evolutionary studies on both model and non-model organisms have provided some of the best inferences to elucidating the molecular underpinnings of animal reproduction. This review article details how biochemical and evolutionary experiments have jointly enhanced the field for 40 years, and how recent work using high-throughput genomic and proteomic techniques have shed additional insights into this crucial biological process.
Immediate Restoration of Single Tapered Implants with Nonoccluding Provisional Crowns: A 5‐Year Clinical Prospective Study

Background Dental literature has limited number of publications regarding long-term outcome data of immediate restoration of single missing teeth with an implant-supported provisional crown. Purpose This 5-year study evaluated hard and soft tissue responses to the immediate placement of single implant-supported provisional crowns. Materials and Methods Twenty patients received one dental implant restored immediately with a provisional acrylic resin screw-retained crown. Crestal bone loss was evaluated from standardized periapical radiographs collected at 3-month intervals for the first 21 months followed by a 5-year evaluation. Historical controls acquired from available dental literature were used for comparison. Results One implant failed within 2 months of surgical placement, presenting with pain and mobility. The remaining implants demonstrated no infection, pain, or radiolucencies. Nineteen implants were clinically immobile, osseointegrated, and asymptomatic at 21 months. At 5 years, one patient died, three patients were noncompliant, and 15 implants were evaluated as functional. Mean bone loss (MBL) at 1 year and 21 months was approximately 0.5 ± 0.5 mm and 0.70 ± 0.26 mm at 5 years. There was no statistically significant difference between MBLs at p < 0.05. Conclusions Immediate provisionalization of single dental implants compares favorably with conventional loading protocols. Long-term data suggest that immediate provisionalization of single dental implants is a viable treatment option.
Extensions to $2$-Factors in Bipartite Graphs

A graph is $d$-bounded if its maximum degree is at most $d$. We apply the Ore-Ryser Theorem on $f$-factors in bipartite graphs to obtain conditions for the extension of a $2$-bounded subgraph to a $2$-factor in a bipartite graph. As consequences, we prove that every matching in the $5$-dimensional hypercube extends to a $2$-factor, and we obtain conditions for this property in general regular bipartite graphs. For example, to show that every matching in a regular $n$-vertex bipartite graph extends to a $2$-factor, it suffices to show that all matchings with fewer than $n/3$ edges extend to $2$-factors.
Discrimination in Employment – Description and Legal Responses

This article defines “discrimination in employment,” identifies the major legal provisions governing it under United States law, and describes the requirements of Title VII, the most important provision and the one on which most specific legal prohibitions are modeled. In particular, it describes the shifting of evidentiary burdens that typically applies, the limited exception for bona fide occupational qualifications, and sexual harassment. It concludes by describing the requirements placed on employers to accommodate employees' religious beliefs, practices, and physical and psychological disabilities. Keywords: discrimination; Title VII; disparate treatment; disparate impact; equal protection; employment accommodations; business necessity; sexual harassment
Understanding the trade-offs of blending collaboration services in support of contextual collaboration

Contextual collaboration seamlessly integrates existing groupware technologies into a uniform user experience that combines synchronous and asynchronous interactions. This user experience is usually supported by a contextual collaboration infrastructure that needs to efficiently cope with the fast switching and integration of different modes of interaction. This paper experiments with a new model for contextual collaboration based on the notion of generic shared objects. We describe a native implementation of this model and evaluate its behavior under different media traffic conditions. We compare the native implementation with an alternative implementation that integrates existing notification and meeting servers to deliver the same model behavior. We discuss trade-offs and limitations of those two implementations.
Development and Validation of the Parental Authority Questionnaire - Revised

Baumrind's conceptualization of parenting style has influenced research and theorizing about child-rearing for more than 30 years, yet few clinical applications of this work have been realized. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of a parenting style measure, the Parental Authority Questionnaire – Revised (PAQ-R). This project furthered the development and validation of the instrument by examining the factor structure, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent validity of the PAQ-R in a large, ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample. The factor structure and reliability of the PAQ-R was modest, but generally within the acceptable range. Specifically, the Authoritarian and Permissive subscales of the PAQ-R had modest reliability and convergent validity; these PAQ-R subscales correlated with relevant subscales of the Parenting Scale and the Parent–Child Relationship Inventory. By contrast, the Authoritativeness subscale had poorer psychometric properties when used in lower SES, primarily African American populations. While African American mothers in the sample reported being more Permissive than did Caucasian mothers, these differences disappeared after controlling for income and maternal education. By contrast, African American mothers continued to report more Authoritarian attitudes even after controlling for income and maternal education.
Mono‐Oxido‐Bridged Heterobimetallic and Heterotrimetallic Compounds Containing Titanium(IV) and Chromium(III)

A series of oxido-bridged heterobi- and heterotrimetallic complexes, [(tmtaa)Ti=OCr(Por)Cl] and [(tmtaa)Ti=OCr(Por)O=Ti(tmtaa)]+ (tmtaa = 7,16-dihydro-6,8,15,17-tetramethyldibenzo[b,i][1,4,8,11]tetraazacyclotetradecine; Por = 5,10,15,20-tetraarylporphyrin), have been synthesized. To the best of our knowledge, these complexes are the first structurally characterized examples to contain a Ti=OCr or Ti=OCrO=Ti structural motif. Crystal structures of representative heterobimetallic compounds, including the Ti=OCr binuclear complex 2 and two separate trimers, [Ti=OCrO=Ti]SbF6 (10) and [Ti=OCrO=Ti]Cl (12), are reported. The bi- and trimetallic molecules have similar structural parameters, including Ti–O, Cr–O, and Ti–O–Cr bond lengths and angles with a linear Ti=OCr geometry. Magnetic studies showed that a high-spin CrIII (S = 3/2) center is present in both the bi- and trinuclear molecules. The redox potentials for CrIV/III (ΔE = 320 mV) and Por/Por·– (ΔE = 260 mV) can be tuned by modifying the porphyrin ligand. By determining the thermodynamics and kinetics of the formation of these complexes by titration experiments and electrochemistry, it was found that the bi- and trimetallic species undergo isomerization in solution, allowing easy substitution of the apical chlorido ligand.
ergm.userterms: A Template Package for Extending statnet

Exponential-family random graph models (ERGMs) represent a powerful and flexible class of models for the statistical analysis of networks. statnet is a suite of software packages that implement these models. This paper details how the capabilities for ERGM modeling can be expanded and customized by programming additional network statistics that may be included in ERGMs. We describe a template R package called ergm.userterms that can be modified for this purpose. It is designed to make this process as straightforward as possible. We also explain some of the internal workings of statnet that will help users develop their own network analysis capabilities.
Evaluation of bupropion hydrochloride: the first of a new class of atypical antidepressants.

Bupropion hydrochloride is a new antidepressant that differs clinically and pharmacologically from the tricyclic antidepressants and the monoamine oxidase inhibitors. Pharmacokinetically, bupropion is an intermediate-lived drug with a half-life of about 12 hours. Its antidepressant activity in man has been demonstrated in double-blind, placebo and active drug-controlled studies. Onset of antidepressant action occurs in one to three weeks. Bupropion has a greater effect on the neuronal reuptake of dopamine than of other biogenic amines. At a recommended dose of 450-600 mg/day, the side effect profile of bupropion also distinguishes it from other antidepressants. It does not bind to cholinergic receptors in vitro at clinically relevant concentrations and does not produce appreciable autonomic side effects. The exception is dry mouth, which is reported in 13% of patients. The mechanism underlying this effect is unclear. Bupropion is devoid of cardiovascular effects (e.g., impaired intracardiac conduction, reduced myocardial contractility, decreased peripheral resistance, orthostatic hypotension) in both human and animal studies. The drug is nonsedating and antagonizes the effects of commonly used sedatives, such as alcohol and diazepam. It does not produce weight gain. In susceptible patients, activating effects can occur. Given this profile, bupropion should be less toxic than conventional antidepressants when taken in overdoses; however overdose experience with the drug is limited.
Stability of a continuous stirred reactor with delay in the recycle stream

The authors discuss the local stability properties of a first-order exothermic irreversible reaction carried out in a well-mixed continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) with a delayed recycle stream. Surprising results are obtained which suggest that, in a first-order, irreversible, exothermic reaction A to B carried out in a CSTR, the delay in the recycle stream does not affect stability of steady states. The delay still may cause increased oscillation and, perhaps, a slower response time; however, local stability is unchanged. This may allow the engineer the ability to ignore the recycle delay in the model when developing a control scheme. >
Can we colonize the solar system? Human biology and survival in the extreme space environment

Throughout the history of the space age the dominant vision for the future has been great spaceships plying the solar system, and perhaps beyond, moving living beings from one planet to another. Spacesuited astronauts would carry out exploration, colonization, and settlement as part of a relentlessly forward looking movement of humanity beyond Earth. As time has progressed this image has not changed appreciably even as the full magnitude of the challenges it represents have become more and more apparent. This essay explores the issues associated with the human movement beyond Earth and raises questions about whether humanity will ever be able to survive in the extreme environment of space and the other bodies of the solar system. This paper deals with important historical episodes as well as wider conceptual issues about life in space. Two models of expansion beyond Earth are discussed: (1) the movement of microbes and other types of life on Earth that can survive the space environment and (2) the modification of humans into cyborgs for greater capability to survive in the extreme environments encountered beyond this planet.
Degradation of phenylalanine:pyruvate transaminase after glucagon treatment.

Abstract Using a single-isotope and immune precipitation technique the half-life ( t 1 2 ) of hepatic phenylalanine:pyruvate transaminase (aminotransferase, EC 2.6.1.—, number not yet assigned) from glucagon-treated rats was determined to be 2.8 days, similar to that of the control rats ( t 1 2 = 3.3 days ). The half-life of rat liver total soluble proteins also remained unchanged after glucagon treatment ( t 1 2 = 2.7 days in glucagon-treated rats ; t 1 2 = 2.8 days in normal . Thus, glucagon has no effect on the degradation of phenylalanine:pyruvate transaminase. Furthermore, the degradation rates are similar for both the holoenzyme and the apoenzyme of phenylalanine:pyruvate transaminase.
Selective synthesis of T-even bacteriophage early messenger in vitro.

Only restricted portions of the native T2 and T4 DNA templates are transcribed by Escherichia coli RNA polymerase in vitro . All the polynucleotide sequences of T2 and T4 early messenger are represented in the in vitro synthesized product, which lacks detectable proportions of late messenger and contains very little RNA complementary to early T2 or T4 messenger.
Expedited Freezing of Nanoparticle-Enhanced Phase Change Materials (NEPCM) Exhibited Through a Simple 1-D Stefan Problem Formulation

An analytic/integral approach is utilized to solve a model 1-dimensional Stefan problem for a nanofluid that undergoes freezing. Initially, the isothermal nanofluid is contained in a finite slab. During the freezing process, the traveling interface separates the liquid and solid phases that possess their respective thermophysical properties. The most favorable feature of this model is that the thermal property jumps between the liquid and solid phases are accounted for. The problem is made dimensionless and is shown to depend on the thermal conductivity ratio, thermal diffusivity ratio, Stefan (Ste) and subcooling numbers. The energy equation within the solid layer is solved exactly and that of the liquid layer is solved using the integral method. The instantaneous interface position and the moving front velocity are obtained and the total freezing time is then determined. Combinations of two base PCM (water and cyclohexane) and four nanoparticles (alumina, copper, copper oxide and titanium oxide) are chosen for demonstration purposes. The thermal properties of the resulting nanofluids as a function of the volume fraction were determined using models proposed in the literature. The results show that the dimensionless freezing time is independent of the nanofluid constituents and only depends on the volume fraction. Keeping everything else the same, the freezing time is shown to decrease as the volume fraction of the nanoparticle is raised.© 2009 ASME
Salvage chemotherapy for recurrent spinal cord ependymona

BACKGROUND Ependymomas are reported to constitute 4% of all primary central nervous system (CNS) malignancies in adults, 30% of which occur in the spinal cord. A prospective Phase II study to determine toxicity and response to chronic oral etoposide in patients with recurrent low-grade intramedullary spinal cord ependymoma (SCE) was conducted. METHODS Ten patients (6 males and 4 females with a median age of 30 years) with recurrent SCE were treated with oral etoposide (50mg/m2/day given daily for 21 days followed by a 14-day break and then repeated constituted a cycle of therapy). All patients had failed surgery and radiotherapy and four patients had failed one prior chemotherapy. Blood counts were obtained weekly, and neurologic examination and a chemistry panel were performed monthly. Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of the spine was performed every 8 weeks after a cycle of etoposide and before the next cycle of chemotherapy was initiated. RESULTS Treatment-related complications included alopecia in 9 patients, nonbloody diarrhea in 6 patients, a baseline weight loss of > 10% in 5 patients, Grade (according to the National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Scale) 3-4 neutropenia in 3 patients, Grade 3-4 thrombocytopenia in 3 patients, and Grade 3-4 anemia in 2 patients. There were no treatment-related deaths reported. After 1 cycle of etoposide, 3 patients (30%) demonstrated progressive disease, 2 patients (20%) achieved a partial response, and 5 patients (50%) maintained stable disease. The overall median response or stable disease duration (disease-free progression) was 15 months (range, 2.5–45+ months). The overall median survival was 17.5 months (range, 3–45+ months). CONCLUSIONS Chronic oral etoposide appears to be well tolerated, has modest toxicity, and had apparent activity in the small cohort of adults in the current study with surgically and medically refractory, recurrent, intradural intramedullary SCE. Cancer 2002;95:997–1002. © 2002 American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.10826
Implementation of a smoking ban on a locked psychiatric unit

Abstract The purpose of this study was to measure alterations in the level of disruptive patient activity on a locked psychiatric unit after initiation of a smoking ban. Most of the monitored parameters of disruptive behavior remained stable, and/or changes did not reach statistical significance after the implementation of the smoking prohibition. This is in agreement with previous investigations. The only exception was an increase in the amount of p.r.n. medications dispensed specifically for agitated behavior [ t (8 df) = −3.07 ( p = 0.015)]. Though major clinical disturbances did not occur, it appeared that patients experienced a small yet documentable increase in agitation. Despite there being no major problems in establishing a smoke-free psychiatric service, abolishing tobacco products may create some minor management difficulties. This may be most commonly observed on locked units that treat large numbers of severely disturbed, involuntarily hospitalized individuals.
Recursive distributed representations

Abstract A longstanding difficulty for connectionist modeling has been how to represent variable-sized recursive data structures, such as trees and lists, in fixed-width patterns. This paper presents a connectionist architecture which automatically develops compact distributed representations for such compositional structures, as well as efficient accessing mechanisms for them. Patterns which stand for the internal nodes of fixed-valence trees are devised through the recursive use of backpropagation on three-layer auto-associative encoder networks. The resulting representations are novel, in that they combine apparently immiscible aspects of features, pointers, and symbol structures. They form a bridge between the data structures necessary for high-level cognitive tasks and the associative, pattern recognition machinery provided by neural networks.
Fast and flexible CRC calculation

An algorithm for software or hardware implementation is presented, allowing fast computation of cyclic redundancy checks with arbitrary polynomials and a high flexibility, such as updating of checksums after modifying data block parts with a known old checksum.
Exploitation and International Development

Discusses the Dymski and Elliott scheme of meanings of exploitation in the context of workers and owners of capital within a country as extended (with some variations) to a discussion of exploitation in the international setting. The international dependence model can be, and has been interpreted as an extension of Marxist theory (where owners of capital dominate the workers as well as the national economy) to the global economy where developed countries and multinational corporations operating therefrom dominate the economies of the developing countries.
A secure communication system based on the finite element method

Abstract A novel idea for creating a secure communication system is described. This system is based on implementing the finite element method into the utilization of a laser lens.
Asteroids: How to make a flying saucer.

Wherever we look in the Solar System, small bodies often seem to come in twos. Simulations show how asteroids spun in the Sun can produce such pairings — one of whose members acquires a strangely familiar shape. Many asteroids and trans-neptunian objects have satellites: the tally stands at over 150 on http://tinyurl.com/dweqf . The smallest of these binary systems are main-belt and near-Earth asteroids, but the environments of these two types of object are very different, making it difficult to work out a common mechanism to explain their formation. Now Walsh et al. present a model that fits the bill. Properties of the observed main-belt and near-Earth asteroids with satellites are matched by simulations involving the slow spinup of a 'rubble pile' asteroid via the thermal YORP effect (where radiation from an irregular body exerts a net force on that body). The mass shed from the equator of a spinning body accretes into a satellite if the material consists of particles undergoing energy-dissipating collisions.
RESPONSE OF MICROVILLAR α-AND β-SACCHARIDASES TO STARCH, SUCROSE AND GLUCOSE POLYMERS IN SOLID AND LIQUID DIETS

RESPONSE OF MICROVILLAR α-AND β-SACCHARIDASES TO STARCH, SUCROSE AND GLUCOSE POLYMERS IN SOLID AND LIQUID DIETS
Toward a theory for step pools in stream channels

Over the past 10 to 15 years there has been a surge in interest in step-pool streams in fluvial geomorphological research. This reflects recognition of the geomorphic significance of step pools in high-gradient channels, and a growing interest in rivers in mountainous regions in general. This paper synthesizes the recent literature on step pools, with particular reference to theory construction and progress made over the past decade and a half. Four groups of contributions are identified. The first focuses on understanding morphological relations in order to seek causal mechanisms. The second emphasizes processes that result from the step-pool configuration. The third is a group of integrative studies that seek broader explanations for step-pool sequences. The fourth and growing body of literature applies what has been learned about step pools toward managing and restoring steep channels. We conclude by highlighting some future possible research directions toward gaining a complete explanation for step po...
Stops for Cops: Impaired Response Implementation for Older Drivers with Cognitive Decline

Response to an emergency vehicle requires detection and recognition of an object in peripheral vision, situation recognition, and a rapid response to execute a safety maneuver to decrease the potential for crashing into the vehicle or striking people situated near it. To investigate situation awareness and response to a roadway emergency in at-risk elderly drivers, 149 licensed older drivers were tested with a battery of visual and cognitive tests and in a driving simulator scenario in which drivers encountered a police car on the shoulder of the road. Forty-eight drivers (mean age of 73.5) had cognitive impairments caused by mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease, and 101 (mean age of 69.3 years) were neurologically normal. Results showed that compared with controls, drivers with Alzheimer's reacted more slowly (P=0.0008)—with abrupt decelerations resulting—or failed to steer clear of the police car (P = 0.0036). Several older drivers stopped in the middle of the road. Poorer scores on neuropsychological t...
Quantum Chemical Calculations on Novel Molecules from Xenon Insertion into Hydrocarbons

Ab initio calculations have been performed on novel compounds that may greatly expand the scope of rare gas chemistry. These molecules are insertion compounds of xenon into unsaturated hydrocarbons...
Repertoire Development and the Control of Cytotoxic/Effector Function in Human T Cells

T cells develop into two major populations distinguished by their T cell receptor (TCR) chains. Cells with the αβ TCR generally express CD4 or CD8 lineage markers and mostly fall into helper or cytotoxic/effector subsets. Cells expressing the alternate γδ TCR in humans generally do not express lineage markers, do not require MHC for antigen presentation, and recognize nonpeptidic antigens. We are interested in the dominant Vγ2Vδ2+ T cell subset in human peripheral blood and the control of effector function in this population. We review the literature on γδ T cell generation and repertoire selection, along with recent work on CD56 expression and defining a cytotoxic/effector lineage within the phosphoantigen-reactive Vγ2Vδ2 cells. A unique mechanism for MHC-independent repertoire selection is linked to the control of effector function that is vital to the role for γδ T cells in tumor surveillance. Better understanding of these mechanisms will improve our ability to exploit this population for tumor immunotherapy.
Pattern selection in ferrofluids

Pattern formation by surface instabilities in a ferrofluid is studied as a function of an applied vertical magnetic field H. The effects of sidewalls are neglected. The problem is formulated as a bifurcation problem on an appropriately chosen doubly-periodic lattice. Normal forms for both square and hexagonal lattices are given and the necessary coefficients computed from the partial differential equations. On the square lattice solutions in the form of parallel ridges are never stable near onset. For a relative magnetic permeability μ<1.4 stable squares are formed. On the hexagonal lattice a finite amplitude instability produces hexagons. Analysis of a degenerate bifurcation predicts a hysteretic transition to ridges with increasing H.
Effect of Tilt-Angle on Electron Tunneling through Organic Monolayer Films

This work explores how the geometry of alkanethiol molecules in organic thin films impacts the tunneling of electrons from an electrode to a redox species in solution. Film thicknesses for C8H17SH (C8), C12H25SH (C12), and C16H33SH (C16) self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on InP(100) were determined by angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to be 6.4 ± 0.7, 11.1 ± 0.6, and 14.9 ± 1.2 A, respectively. These thicknesses correspond to tilt-angles of 62 ± 4° for C8, 53 ± 3° for C12, and 51 ± 4° for C16 SAMs, which gives an average tilt-angle of 55 ± 6°. The decay constants for electron tunneling through alkanethiols on InP(100), Au(111), and Hg(liquid) are shown to correlate with the geometry, “tilt” angle, of the alkane chains on the surface. This work suggests that superexchange coupling between the alkane chains, which comprise the insulating film, can play an important role in defining electron tunneling barriers, especially for highly tilted chains.
Cover locations: availing location-based services without revealing the location

Location-Based Services (LBSs) have been gaining popularity due to a wide range of interesting and important applications being developed. However, the users availing such services are concerned about their location privacy, in that they are forced to reveal their sensitive location information to untrusted third-parties. In this paper, we propose a new privacy-preserving approach, Cover Locations, which allows a user to access an LBS without revealing his/her actual location. Based on its current location, the user's device queries for a few specifically chosen surrounding locations and constructs the results corresponding to its location from the results obtained for each queried location. Since the user location does not leave the user's device - as either a latitude and longitude pair, or as an obfuscated region - the user is guaranteed very high level of privacy. The Cover Locations approach only requires minimal changes on the user's device and can be readily deployed by privacy-conscious users. An adversary, trying to identify the user location, can only resolve the location to few triangular regions and not to the actual location itself. We evaluate the privacy provided by Cover Locations based on the number of locations queried and the total area under the resolved triangular regions. We also ascertain the robustness of Cover Locations approach when the adversary has access to a short-term user history, employing machine learning techniques. Overall, our results show that the proposed solution, which requires minor computations without the need for any out-of-band information such as traffic densities in a region or the road network information, is superior to other client-based solutions.
Assessment of the SAGE sampling strategy in the derivation of tropospheric water vapor Distribution in a general circulation model

The Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) II has provided unprecedented information of water vapor distribution in the upper troposphere. For the purpose of comparison with output from climate models, the present study assesses the impact of the SAGE II sampling strategy on the tropospheric water vapor climatology in a general circulation model. Since water vapor is sampled only in {open_quotes}non-cloudy{close_quotes} regions in the SAGE strategy, the sampled water vapor concentration is smaller than the real climatology. This difference is associated with two factors. One is the water-vapor sampling frequency, the other is the humidity variability inside and outside the clouds. It is shown that maximum difference is at around 300 to 500 mb where it reaches up to 40% in the zonal mean humidity. 10 refs., 5 figs.
Calcium-Mediated Reversal of CaM on the Nav 1.2 IQ Motif: Nested Anti-Parallel Sites

Calmodulin (CaM) regulates many signal transduction pathways, binding to both enzymes and intracellular segments of several classes of transmembrane receptors and channels. CaM binds its targets with dissociation constants ranging from pM to µM. CaM regulates the inactivation of the neuronal voltage-gated sodium channel 1.2 (NaV1.2). CaM is considered to be a constitutive subunit: both apo and calcium-saturated C-domain of CaM bind tightly to the IQ motif located in the carboxyl-terminal tail of the channel. Apo CaM binds in a semi-open conformation to the IQ motifs of NaV1.2, 1.5, and 1.6. Calcium-saturated CaM binds to the IQ motif, but also binds to a linker between transmembrane domains III and IV. The calcium-dependent competition for CaM between the DIII-DIV linker and the IQ motif is not well understood. Particularly perplexing is the high affinity of CaM for the IQ motif under both apo and calcium-saturating conditions. Does CaM dissociate to bind the III-IV linker? Could a second CaM bind to the channel? How does CaM change position on the channel after binding calcium? To address these questions, we solved the solution (NMR) structure of calcium-saturated CaM C-domain bound to NaV1.2IQ (2M5E). It reveals that calcium binding triggers a reversal relative to that of bound apo CaM C-domain (2KXW). Several NaV1.2IQ residues participate in the interface of both complexes, but their contacts with CaM are distinct because of differences in the topography of the semi-open and open hydrophobic clefts. Comparison of 2M5E with several other complexes of calcium-saturated CaM C-domain bound to target sequences emphasizes why CaM-binding domains are characterized by so many different sequence “motifs”. Favorable energies of association are determined by noncovalent interactions that are made on an atom-by-atom, rather than residue-by-residue, basis. NIH R01 GM57001