cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
FRET Analysis of Androgen Receptor Structure and Biochemistry in Living Cells

The androgen receptor (AR) is the central component of a dynamic conformational and interaction cascade initiated by androgenic hormones. AR function can be modified by cellular inputs not examined in test tube studies of AR action. Thus, there is a need to measure AR conformation and biochemistry directly within the cell where the intracellular locations, levels and availability of the hormone, AR, AR-interacting factors, DNA-binding sites, enzymes that modify those components of AR action, and factors that compete for the formation of functional AR-cofactor complexes may affect AR action. The dynamic nature of the AR functional cycle itself may introduce temporal fluctuations in factor status and location to affect AR output in the intact cell. This chapter focuses on the method of Forster resonance energy transfer which uniquely has the resolving power and ability to directly measure the conformation and biochemistry of AR signaling in living cells.
[Mosquito caused death: the yellow fever epidemics in San Juan of Puerto Rico 1804-1805]

At the end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth centuries, yellow fever epidemics occurred frequently in America and Europe, in the vicinity of the Mediterranean, Atlantic, and Caribbean coasts. There is only brief information available on the 1804-5 epidemic in San Juan, but it shows that mortality in the city was inordinate. Nevertheless, the minutes of the meetings of the Municipal Assembly in this period make no mention of the epidemic, and allude to it only in veiled fashion. In spite of the accumulation of individual tragedies (for example, it is likely that the two daughters of governor Ramon de Castro were among the victims), the documents show little evidence of community reaction to the epidemic, which apparently ceased in mid-1805.
A New Manifold Learning Technique for Face Recognition

One of the fundamental problems in pattern recognition is the curse of dimensionality in data representation. Many algorithms have been proposed to find a compact representation of data as well as to facilitate the recognition task. In this paper, we propose a novel Dimensionality Reduction technique called Marginality Preserving Embedding (MPE). Unlike Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) which projects data in a global sense, MPE seeks for local structure in the manifold. This is similar to other subspace learning techniques but the difference with them is that MPE preserves marginality in local reconstruction. Experimental results show that the proposed method provides better representation in low dimensional space and achieves lower error rates in face recognition.
Effects of salinity and nitrogen source on growth and lipid production for a wild algal polyculture in produced water media

Abstract An algae polyculture (discovered in oil and gas produced water (PW) originating from a production facility in the Permian Basin of southwestern New Mexico) was composed primarily of Cyanobacterium aponinum, Parachlorella kessleri, with the remaining populations consisting of several species of halotolerant bacteria. The polyculture was tested in PW based media at a variety of different salinities and initial nutrient concentrations to determine the effects of these environmental conditions upon growth and lipid production. The polyculture exhibited growth rates of 46–51 mg ash free dry weight (AFDW)/L/D in PW over a salinity range from 15 to 60 g total dissolved solids (TDS)/L in PW containing nitrate as a nitrogen source. Growth was reduced at higher salinity. Biomass productivity in 60 g TDS/L PW was higher with ammonium as the nitrogen source (47.2–57 mg AFDW/L/D) than nitrate, with the highest growth observed using initial concentrations of 13 mg NH4-N and 1.7 PO4-P/L (single day growth of 99 mg AFDW/L/D). Of the conditions tested lipid productivity was greatest (around 12 mg lipids/L/D) at a salinity of 60 g TDS/L after phosphorus depletion (ammonium still present), and the maximum lipid content (48% of AFDW) after ammonium depletion (phosphate still present). Higher salinity, initial ammonium, and phosphate levels enriched for P. kessleri over C. aponinum, which also resulted in increased lipid content and productivity. Conversion of lipids to fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) created a profile dominated by palmitic (C16:0) and stearic (C18:0) acid and would produce a usable biodiesel. The results indicated that a mixed culture of C. aponinum, P. kessleri, and other micro fauna is a potential candidate for cultivation in brackish to hypersaline PW based media for the production of biomass and/or biofuels.
China's dusty lung crisis: Rural-urban health inequity as social and spatial injustice

This paper examines rural-urban inequities in dusty lung (pneumoconiosis) deaths in China from 2002 to 2016 and possible causes for such inequities in the framework of social and spatial justice. The research reveals alarming results that have not been reported before. Dusty lung death rates for rural men increased twice as fast as those among urban men. The rural rates were particularly higher among middle-aged men, but lower in older age groups, as compared to urban rates. There were dramatic increases in death rates from 2011 to 2016 particularly among rural men aged 40-49 years old, who were many times more likely to die from dusty lung than urban men of a similar age. Chinese rural male victims also die at a younger age, compared to men in any of the seven countries or regions included in the study. For example, rural Chinese men aged 35-59 years old were many times more likely to die from dusty lung than their American, German, Polish, and Spanish counterparts. A possible explanation for the high death rates among middle-aged rural Chinese men is the tendency for rural migrant workers to be employed in unhealthy and unsafe working conditions in decent decades. Other explanations for the severe spatial injustice include the Hukou (household registration) system and the development policies that prioritize economic growth and urban development over occupational health and safety. The paper demonstrates the usefulness and weakness of the social and spatial justice concepts in understanding health inequity. Therefore, it proposes new definitions and models of social justice and spatial justice that combine the competing distribution and capabilities approaches and highlight interactions among multiple attributes.
Harness Technology for Social Good

The opportunities and ethical challenges presented by the rapid expansion of information and communication technologies (ICTs) along with the growing application of ICTs to social work interventions have finally caught the attention of the profession. Particularly for older adults’ intent on maintaining independent community living, there is great potential in technology-mediated practices if barriers such as access, skill, and relevant content can be addressed safely. For the gerontological social work agencies that serve older adults, there is a need to upgrade the technology knowledge and skills of staff as well as to develop resources and collaborations to provide ICT support for clients – in terms of both the relevant hardware and software and the training to use these new tools safely. These efforts will also aid caregivers and family members. This chapter explores key issues in gerontological social work where ICTs can play a role and improve outcomes. Broader issues in assessment and intervention processes that would support greater inclusion of ICTs in the lives of older adults are explored, and implications for research and policy are considered. The Grand Challenge to harness technology for social good makes clear that digital tools need to be considered by gerontological social work practitioners.
High-Fidelity Software-Defined Quantum Logic on a Superconducting Qudit.

We present an efficient approach to achieving arbitrary, high-fidelity control of a multilevel quantum system using optimal control techniques. As an demonstration, we implement a continuous, software-defined microwave pulse to realize a $0\ensuremath{\leftrightarrow}2$ SWAP gate that achieves an average gate fidelity of 99.4%. We describe our procedure for extracting the system Hamiltonian, calibrating the quantum and classical hardware chain, and evaluating the gate fidelity. Our work represents an alternative, fully generalizable route towards achieving universal quantum control by leveraging optimal control techniques.
A novel preoperative risk score to optimize patient selection for performing concomitant liver resection with cytoreductive surgery/HIPEC

BACKGROUND While parenchymal hepatic metastases were previously considered a contraindication to cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), liver resection (LR) is increasingly performed with CRS/HIPEC. METHODS Patients from the US HIPEC Collaborative (2000-2017) with invasive appendiceal or colorectal adenocarcinoma undergoing primary, curative intent CRS/HIPEC with CC0-1 resection were included. LR was defined as a formal parenchymal resection. Primary endpoints were postoperative complications and overall survival (OS). RESULTS A total of 658 patients were included. About 83 (15%) underwent LR of colorectal (58%) or invasive appendiceal (42%) metastases. LR patients had more complications (81% vs. 60%; p = .001), greater number of complications (2.3 vs. 1.5; p < .001) per patient and required more reoperations (22% vs. 11%; p = .007) and readmissions (39% vs. 25%; p = .014) than non-LR patients. LR patients had decreased OS (2-year OS 62% vs. 79%, p < .001), even when accounting for peritoneal carcinomatosis index and histology type. Preoperative factors associated with decreased OS on multivariable analysis in LR patients included age < 60 years (HR, 3.61; 95% CI, 1.10-11.81), colorectal histology (HR, 3.84; 95% CI, 1.69-12.65), and multiple liver tumors (HR, 3.45; 95% CI, 1.21-9.85) (all p < .05). When assigning one point for each factor, there was an incremental decrease in 2-year survival as the risk score increased from 0 to 3 (0: 100%; 1: 91%; 2: 58%; 3: 0%). CONCLUSIONS As CRS/HIPEC + LR has become more common, we created a simple risk score to stratify patients considered for CRS/HIPEC + LR. These data aid in striking the balance between an increased perioperative complication profile with the potential for improvement in OS.
Programmable Plasmonic Interferometer

Here, we experimentally demonstrate a programmable double-slot plasmonic ITO branchless interferometer featuring ultra-compact size and efficient high-speed modulation at telecom wavelength.
The Living Donor Navigator Program Provides Support Tools for Caregivers.

Introduction:The Living Donor Navigator (LDN) program is one of several initiatives designed to help transplant candidates identify living donors with the help of a friend or family member advocate...
Determinants of US household expenditures on fortified fruit juice

Fortified fruit juice represents a growing segment in the otherwise contracting juice industry. Health concerns and changing food policy have driven US consumers to demand fruit juice fortified wit...
End of treatment cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) is predictive of radiation response and overall survival in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Author(s): Sumner, Whitney; Kim, Sangwoo S; Vitzthum, Lucas; Moore, Kevin; Atwood, Todd; Murphy, James; Miyauchi, Sayuri; Califano, Joseph A; Mell, Loren K; Mundt, Arno J; Sharabi, Andrew B | Abstract: BackgroundImage guidance in radiation oncology has resulted in significant improvements in the accuracy and precision of radiation therapy (RT). Recently, the resolution and quality of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) for image guidance has increased so that tumor masses and lymph nodes are readily detectable and measurable. During treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), on-board CBCT setup imaging is routinely obtained; however, this CBCT imaging data is not utilized to predict patient outcomes. Here, we analyzed whether changes in CBCT measurements obtained during a course of radiation therapy correlate with responses on routine 3-month follow-up diagnostic imaging and overall survival (OS).Materials/methodsPatients with oropharyngeal primary tumors who received radiation therapy between 2015 and 2018 were included. Anatomical measurements were collected of largest nodal conglomerate (LNC) at CT simulation, end of radiation treatment (EOT CBCT), and routine 3-month post-RT imaging. At each timepoint anteroposterior (AP), mediolateral (ML) and craniocaudal (CC) measurements were obtained and used to create a 2-dimensional (2D) maximum.ResultsCBCT data from 64 node positive patients were analyzed. The largest nodal 2D maximum and CC measurements on EOT CBCT showed a statistically significant correlation with complete response on 3-month post-RT imaging (r = 0.313, p = 0.02 and r = 0.318, p = 0.02, respectively). Furthermore, patients who experienced a 30% or greater reduction in the CC dimension had improved OS (Binary Chi-Square HR 4.85, p = 0.028).ConclusionDecreased size of pathologic lymph nodes measured using CBCT setup imaging during a radiation course correlates with long term therapeutic response and overall survival of HNSCC patients. These results indicate that CBCT setup imaging may have utility as an early predictor of treatment response in oropharyngeal HNSCC.
Complication management in minimally invasive spinal surgery

Abstract Minimally invasive spine surgery (MIS) allows for the treatment of spinal abnormalities with considerably decreased soft tissue disruption and post-operative pain which has been associated with shorter hospitalizations and earlier mobilization. However, MIS procedures have a steep learning curve, offer decreased visualization, and require more advanced technical proficiency which may lead to the occurrence of a technical complication. This review examines common complications associated with various MIS procedures and provides suggestions for risk mitigation and complication management.
Morris, Adam, and Bruno Carvalho, editors. Essays on Hilda Hilst: Between Brazil and World Literature. Palgrave Macmillan, 2018.

The Brazilian writer Hilda Hilst (1930-2004) despaired at the reception of her work. Hilst was erudite and a hermetic stylist, which did not win her a broad readership. She had various explanations for the fate of her work, one of which was that she was ahead of her time. The fact that Hilst’s work has been garnering more attention could signal that we are finally catching up with her. The edited volume Essays on Hilda Hilst: Between Brazil and World Literature is one more sign of a belated recognition.
Analytical methodology and reported findings of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in foods.

Various polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) some of which are carcinogenic have been demonstrated to be present in water, air, food soils, etc. and are now considered by experts to be ubiquitous in our environment. During the last decade significant progress has been made in the development of multiresidue methods for the analysis of benzo(a)pyrene and other PAH in food at low microgram/kg (parts per billion levels). However, the majority of the available procedures are lengthy and tedious, which precludes their use as effective monitoring tools. Consequently, much of the effort has been accumulated on the benzo(a)pyrene content of foods which presents an incomplete picture of the total PAH in the food supply. This paper reviews the analytical methodology and the reported findings of PAH in foods, beverages, and related products. It points out the need for future work with respect to improved methods and the development of further information on the presence of PAH contamination of the food supply and total environment.
The 'Convenient' Envirnmental Presidency of George H.W. Bush: A Kingdonian Assessment

Air pollution and climate change were two important environmental issues squarely confronting President George H.W. Bush when he took office. By the end of his term, the first problem had been addressed, the second had been sidestepped. Why the differing outcomes? In seeking an answer this question, we utilize Kingdon’s (1995) agenda setting framework. Using documentary evidence found in presidential archives, we find an Administration wrestling with divergent views and approaches as it sought to manage and manipulate the agenda setting process in both instances. Policy solutions to the problem of air pollution could be designed in a manner congruent with Administration preferences. However, the issue of global climate change was too large, complex, and ambiguous given the policy atmosphere of the Bush years, and too new, to be addressed in the ordinary flow of Washington’s political work.
Fuel Effects on Diesel Combustion Processes

Abstract : The crank angle locations for the first occurrences of several main combustion events in a Diesel engine were investigated for varied fuel parameters. The events studied include: preflame reactions; premixed flame propagation; start of pressure rise; maximum rate of pressure rise (dp/dt); and peak cylinder pressure. The fuels employed in the study were in two groups: (1) Base fuel-1 and derivatives prepared by mixing it with small doses of a cetane number (CN) enhancing additive; and (2) Base fuel-2 and those made by adding different amounts of bio-Diesel fuel. The experiment was performed by using a single-cylinder direct-injection (DI) Diesel engine equipped with an electronically controlled high-pressure fuel injection unit. The in-cylinder processes during the periods of ignition delay and combustion reaction were measured by using a high-speed multispectral infrared (IR) imaging system developed at Rutgers University. The other events were found from the pressure-time history. The purpose of using these fuels was to investigate: additive effects on the (invisible) preflame reaction and visible premixed flame development; flame behaviors of bio-Diesel fuels; CN effects on in-cylinder reactions; and others. There is some evidence that the formation of the visible flame kernels may not be directly related to the preflame reactions when the additive is used to increase CN. The reactions during the ignition delay of bio-Diesel fuels were rather unpredictable, therefore requiring additional investigation. Among the most indicative timelines for determining a fuel's CN were those of: the maximum dp/dt; the start of pressure rise; the first premixed flame; and the peak pressure. The timeline of maximum dp/dt seems to be most insensitive to the variation of injection timing. Some new findings are also reported in the paper.
Chapter seven Molecular and biochemical investigations of sorgoleone biosynthesis

This chapter pursues a strategy based on the analysis of expressed sequence tags to identify genes involved in the biosynthesis of the allelochemical sorgoleone. This approach, coupled with high-throughput gene expression analysis that uses quantitative (real-time polymerase chain reaction) RT-PCR, has provided a highly efficient means for identifying candidate fatty acid desaturase, polyketide synthase, O -methyltransferase, and P450-like sequences preferentially expressed in S. bicolor root hair cells. This has led to significant progress in the characterization of O -methyltransferase, fatty acid desaturase, and polyketide synthase enzymes potentially involved in sorgoleone biosynthesis. These experiments will prove or disprove the role of the putative genes of the sorgoleone pathway. This could ultimately pave the way for the development of highly allelopathic elite sorghum varieties through the use of genetic engineering.
ASCAR: Automating contention management for high-performance storage systems

High-performance parallel storage systems, such as those used by supercomputers and data centers, can suffer from performance degradation when a large number of clients are contending for limited resources, like bandwidth. These contentions lower the efficiency of the system and cause unwanted speed variances. We present the Automatic Storage Contention Alleviation and Reduction system (ASCAR), a storage traffic management system for improving the bandwidth utilization and fairness of resource allocation. ASCAR regulates I/O traffic from the clients using a rule based algorithm that controls the congestion window and rate limit. The rule-based client controllers are fast responding to burst I/O because no runtime coordination between clients or with a central coordinator is needed; they are also autonomous so the system has no scale-out bottleneck. Finding optimal rules can be a challenging task that requires expertise and numerous experiments. ASCAR includes a SHAred-nothing Rule Producer (SHARP) that produces rules in an unsupervised manner by systematically exploring the solution space of possible rule designs and evaluating the target workload under the candidate rule sets. Evaluation shows that our ASCAR prototype can improve the throughput of all tested workloads — some by as much as 35%. ASCAR improves the throughput of a NASA NPB BTIO checkpoint workload by 33.5% and reduces its speed variance by 55.4% at the same time. The optimization time and controller overhead are unrelated to the scale of the system; thus, it has the potential to support future large-scale systems that can have millions of clients and thousands of servers. As a pure client-side solution, ASCAR needs no change to either the hardware or server software.
Open Access: Current Status, AAS Perspectives

Open Access, defined as the free provision of information by science publishers, is not likely to be mandated by law anytime soon in the United States. A collaborative effort, initiated by the House Science Committee, to come to some consensus within the scientific publishing enterprise has resulted in the release of the so-called “Roundtable Recommendations”. These will serve as a working model moving forward on fundamental shared starting points for both publishers and authors as well as the Open Access community. The AAS’ delayed open access model for publishing is flexible, supportive of our discipline and equitably distributes the cost of publishing to authors and readers. The AAS can support this flexible model because it is not dependent on journal revenues for the support of its member-focused activities.
Creating Opportunities for Reflection: Analyzing Middle School Student Work During a Service-Learning Course on Solar Cells

The purpose of this study is to describe how analyzing student work can be used to help undergraduates reflect on the effectiveness of their service-learning experiences. The service-learning collaboration between a university and middle school was designed to increase undergraduates’ and middle school students’ knowledge of solar energy. Three undergraduates enrolled in a service-learning course that covered basic solar energy concepts and formative assessment instructional strategies. The focal point of the course was the implementation of several activities in a middle school classroom that addressed middle school students’ misconceptions about solar energy, such as the amount of solar energy production at low temperatures or on a cloudy day. Data from this study includes student work during a small-group activity on solar cells. Findings suggest that undergraduates can analyze student work and use this information to better understand how their efforts can influence middle school student learning of solar energy.
Predictors of Perceived Negative Impact in Mothers of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract Mothers of 110 children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) were interviewed with the Child and Adolescent Impact Assessment when their children were approximately 9 years old. Regression analyses revealed that African American mothers reported lower levels of perceived negative impact of having a child with ASD than did Caucasian mothers. Higher repetitive behavior scores on the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised, lower adaptive behavior scores on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, and less perceived social support were also significant predictors of higher perceived negative impact. Identifying predictors of perceived negative impact is an important first step in designing interventions to support families and target parents who may be at risk for experiencing higher levels of stress.
Structural and electronic properties induced by hydrogen adsorption on the GaAs(100) surface

Abstract The structural and electronic properties for hydrogen adsorbed on the GaAs(110) surface have been studied by the self-consistent pseudopotential method with a slab geometry and half and one monolayer coverages. The positions of the hydrogen atoms and the surface atoms for the stable configuration are given. The bonding nature is presented and the states at the Fermi energy are also determined.
Theoretical insights into the augmented-neural-network approach for combinatorial optimization

The augmented-neural-network (AugNN) approach has been applied lately to some NP-Hard combinatorial problems, such as task scheduling, open-shop scheduling and resource-constraint project scheduling. In this approach the problem of search in the solution-space is transformed to a search in a weight-matrix space, much like in a neural-network approach. Some weight adjustment strategies are then used to converge to a good set of weights for a locally optimal solution. While empirical results have demonstrated the effectiveness of the AugNN approach vis-a-vis a few other metaheuristics, little theoretical insights exist which justify this approach and explain the effectiveness thereof. This paper provides some theoretical insights and justification for the AugNN approach through some basic theorems and also describes the algorithm and the formulation with the help of examples.
Integrating Regional Econometric and Input—Output Models: An Evaluation of Embedding Strategies

A number of integration strategies that embed input-output relations within dynamic econometric models of regional employment determination are examined. By viewing the alternative approaches in the literature as specific cases of restricted estimation a number of important methodological issues associated with model misspecification are identified and examined analytically. Additional insight as to the importance of these issues is provided by means of a series of Monte Carlo simulations. The results suggest that the relative performances of the various approaches towards integration are sensitive to errors associated with the form of the intersectoral linkages, labor-productivity coefficients, and regional purchase coefficients. The previous finding that the embedding strategies provide indicators of the strength of regional intersectoral linkages is shown to be potentially misleading.
Application of neurophysiological biomarkers for Huntington's disease: evaluating a phosphodiesterase 9A inhibitor.

Abstract Several neurophysiological abnormalities have been described in Huntington's disease, including auditory gating deficit, which are considered to reflect impaired brain information-processing. Since transgenic animal models of Huntington's disease capture basic neuropathology of the disorder, auditory gating was studied in BACHD (line5) transgenic rats and Q175 transgenic mice, together with local field gamma power in the hippocampus and primary auditory cortex. Using clinically equivalent acoustic-stimulation paradigms, impaired auditory gating was detected in transgenic BACHD rats under anesthesia and in freely-moving condition. In addition, transgenic BACHD rats showed a lower level of hippocampal and cortical field gamma band power compared to wild-type counterpart, which might be related to their compromised mitochondrial function. Systemic administration of the recently developed phosphodiesterase 9A (PDE9A) inhibitor PF-04447943 dose-dependently improved gating deficit in transgenic BACHD rats in both brain regions. Q175 mice, including wild-type, heterozygote and homozygote mice showed similarly poor gating, and administration of PF-04447943 was without effect. Treatment of transgenic BACHD rats with daily administration of PF-04447943 (1 mg/kg) over 7-days resulted in an improvement in their auditory gating both in the hippocampus and primary auditory cortex as evaluated 24 h after the last treatment. In fact, differences in auditory gating between wild-type and transgenic BACHD rats were totally abolished after sub-chronic treatment with the PDE9A inhibitor. Our findings indicate that BACHD transgenic rats show abnormal auditory gating with features resembling those of Huntington's disease patients, which could be considered as potential translational biomarker for drug development in treatment of this disease.
Plans for the next GRAPE balloon flight

The Gamma RAy Polarimeter Experiment (GRAPE) was first flown on a 26-hour balloon flight in the fall of 2011. GRAPE consists of an array of Compton polarimeter modules (based on traditional scintillation technologies) designed to operate in the energy range from 50 keV up to 500 keV. The ultimate goal is to operate GRAPE in a wide FoV configuration for the study of gamma-ray bursts. For the first (demonstration) balloon flight, GRAPE was configured in a collimated mode to facilitate observations of known point sources. The Crab nebula/pulsar, the active Sun, and Cygnus X-1 were the primary targets for the first flight. Although the Crab was detected, the polarization sensitivity was worse than expected. This paper will review the plans for the next GRAPE balloon flight, which is scheduled to take place in the fall of 2014 from Ft. Sumner, NM. These plans involve several modifications designed to improve the polarization sensitivity, including an expansion of the array of polarimeter modules from 16 to 24 and improvements to the instrument shielding. Sensitivity estimates of the resulting instrument, based on GEANT4 simulations, will be presented.
Enhanced Directional Transmission through a Subwavelength Plasmonic Slit by Optical Microcavities

We show that a compact structure consisting of multiple optical microcavities on both the entrance and exit side of a subwavelength plasmonic slit can lead to greatly enhanced directional transmission through the slit.
Deformation in the lowermost mantle: From polycrystal plasticity to seismic anisotropy

In the deep earth, deformation occurs at many scales: large-scale convection produces subduction of slabs and upwelling of plumes in the mantle. At the high temperature/high pressure conditions, strain is accommodated through crystal plasticity, either by diffusion or the movement of dislocations. Slip causes crystal rotations and thus produces a characteristic pattern of crystal preferred orientation and corresponding anisotropy of physical properties at the macroscopic scale. In this study we use polycrystal plasticity, with experimentally derived deformation mechanisms for perovskite, post-perovskite and magnesiowuestite, to predict texture development along streamlines in a 2D geodynamic convection model of the lowermost mantle. Strong preferred orientation develops during subduction and upwelling, while during spreading along the core–mantle boundary the orientation pattern is relatively stable. From preferred crystal orientation and single crystal elastic properties, bulk elastic properties can be calculated and compared with seismic observations. Post-perovskite with predominant (001) slip and magnesiowuestite with {110} and {111} slip produce anisotropy patterns which are consistent with observed anisotropy, i.e. fast S-waves polarized parallel to the core–mantle boundary and anti-correlation between P and S-wave anisotropies. In contrast, perovskite with dominant (001) slip and two post-perovskite models with dominant slip on (010) and (100) produce anisotropy patterns which are inconsistent with seismic observations.
Serum gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase and chronic alcoholism - Influence of alcohol ingestion and liver disease

Serum gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase was determined in 123 alcoholic patients and found elevated in all patients with liver disease but in only 52% of patients without significant liver disease. In patients without clinically obvious liver disease, the elevations were two to three times the upper limit of normal and decreased to normal in 80% of patients, eight weeks after abstinence. By contrast, in patients with liver disease, the elevations of serum gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase were of the order of eight to 10 times above normal and persisted at these high levels following eight weeks of abstinence. The degree of abnormality of the serum enzyme did not correlate with the daily amount of alcohol ingested or with the total length of time of alcohol consumption in these alcoholic patients. This study shows that serum gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase is persistently elevated in patients with clinically obvious liver injury, but only in 22% of chronic alcoholics without significant liver disease.
Ventilator-associated pneumonia: overdiagnosis and treatment are common in medical and surgical intensive care units.

Objective. Diagnosing ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is difficult, and misdiagnosis can lead to unnecessary and prolonged antibiotic treatment. We sought to quantify and characterize unjustified antimicrobial use for VAP and identify risk factors for continuation of antibiotics in patients without VAP after 3 days.Methods. Patients suspected of having VAP were identified in 6 adult intensive care units (ICUs) over 1 year. A multidisciplinary adjudication committee determined whether the ICU team’s VAP diagnosis and therapy were justified, using clinical, microbiologic, and radiographic data at diagnosis and on day 3. Outcomes included the proportion of VAP events misdiagnosed as and treated for VAP on days 1 and 3 and risk factors for the continuation of antibiotics in patients without VAP after day 3.Results. Two hundred thirty-one events were identified as possible VAP by the ICUs. On day 1, 135 (58.4%) of them were determined to not have VAP by the committee. Antibiotics were continued for 120 (...
The distribution of self-narrative memories in younger and older adults: Elaborating the self-narrative hypothesis

Abstract The age distribution of freely sampled autobiographical memories for older adults consistently reflects both a strong recency effect and a trend to report a large portion of memories from the age range 15-25. the self-narrative hypothesis proposes that the large proportion of youthful memories reflects the availability of a pool of identity-related memories from this age range. the present study tested and supported two related hypotheses. First, adults instructed to recall memories that are an important part of their life story report a large proportion of memories from the adolescent and young adult periods. Second, younger (median = 36 years) and older (median = 66 years) adults show similar patterns of sampling from that period. Additional analyses indicated that both age groups show similar profiles of rehearsal and preoccupation. the data provide support for the self-narrative hypothesis and the value of functional analyses of memory.
Delirium in the Older Emergency Department Patient – A Quiet Epidemic

Delirium is defined as an acute change in cognition that cannot be better accounted for by a preexisting or evolving dementia. This form of organ dysfunction commonly occurs in older patients in the emergency department (ED) and is associated with a multitude of adverse patient outcomes. Consequently, delirium should be routinely screened for in older ED patients. Once delirium is diagnosed, the ED evaluation should focus on searching for the underlying cause. Infection is one of the most common precipitants of delirium, but multiple causes may exist concurrently.
Bitter, Brossel, Kastler and beyond : thirty years of U.S.-French collaboration in optical resonance

A few reminescences of the role of A. Kastler, F. Bitter, and J. Brossel in the development of optical pumping and resonance and the influence on some current work in laser spectroscopy are presented. Coherence narrowing is recalled and results of an experiment with S. Klepner at N.Y.U., studying the effect at constant atom density but varying temperatures, are reported.
Fundamental Queries in Aggregation Theory

Abstract Aggregation articles in various areas of economics, statistics, and accounting are surveyed to develop a common body of fundamental queries which underlie these articles. The conditions for total consistency between a microsystem and a macrosystem that have been developed for various systems are investigated and are related to the consistency conditions for general relational systems. This is followed by an analysis of other types of queries commonly observed in the aggregation literature, e.g., partial consistency, errors and biases, evaluation and selection of aggregation functions. Finally, an assessment is made of the significance of aggregation theory in scientific investigations.
Determination of the presence of root-bound endotoxin using the local Shwartzman phenomenon (LSP).

The purpose of these studies was to determine, by attempting to elicit the local Shwartzman phenomenon (LSP), if the material extracted from periodontally involved root surfaces is actually endotoxin or only an endotoxin-like substance. A total of 719 periodontally involved teeth and 201 unerupted third molars yielded pooled samples of root surface grindings which were treated with the endotoxin extraction technique of Westphal and Jann. The resultant extracts were reconstituted with sterile, isotonic, nonpyrogenic saline or pyrogen-free water. In the first study each of the reconstituted extracts was injected into the right palatal gingiva of New Zealand white rabbits which had demonstrated the ability to elicit an LSP. Commercial Salmonella enteritidis endotoxin was injected into the left (control) palatal gingiva. This was followed 18 hours later by a provoking injection of 200 to 300 μg S enteritidis endotoxin in a marginal ear vein. In the second study, reconstituted extracts were injected into the r...
A numerical method for solving a stochastic inverse problem for parameters

We review recent work (Briedt et al., 2011., 2012) on a new approach to the formulation and solution of the stochastic inverse parameter determination problem, i.e. determine the random variation of input parameters to a map that matches specified random variation in the output of the map, and then apply the various aspects of this method to the interesting Brusselator model. In this approach, the problem is formulated as an inverse problem for an integral equation using the Law of Total Probability. The solution method employs two steps: (1) we construct a systematic method for approximating set-valued inverse solutions and (2) we construct a computational approach to compute a measure-theoretic approximation of the probability measure on the input space imparted by the approximate set-valued inverse that solves the inverse problem. In addition to convergence analysis, we carry out an a posteriori error analysis on the computed probability distribution that takes into account all sources of stochastic and deterministic error.
Methyl chloride in a deep ice core from Siple Dome, Antarctica

Methyl chloride (CH3Cl) is a naturally occurring ozone-depleting substance and a significant component of the atmospheric chlorine burden. In this study CH3Cl was analyzed in air bubbles from the West Antarctic Siple Dome deep ice core with gas ages ranging from about 65 kyr BP to the Late Holocene. CH3Cl levels were below the modern Antarctic atmospheric level of 530 ppt in glacial ice (456 ± 46 ppt, 33–65 kyr BP) and above it during the early Holocene (650–700 ppt, 10–11 kyr BP). For most of the Holocene, CH3Cl levels were 500–550 ppt, with good agreement between CH3Cl levels in this core and in the Dome Fuji ice core (Saito et al., 2007). Several late Holocene ice core samples (<2 kyr BP), show evidence of enrichment in CH3Cl relative to South Pole ice core samples of overlapping gas age. The Siple Dome record suggests that CH3Cl levels in the glacial Southern Hemisphere atmosphere were about 16% lower than those during the mid-late Holocene.
Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells: Adjuvants for Human Cell Transplantation

Abstract The Wharton's jelly of the umbilical cord is rich in mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) that fulfill the criteria for MSCs. Here we describe a novel, simple method of obtaining and cryopreserving UC-MSCs by extracting the Wharton's jelly from a small piece of cord, followed by mincing the tissue and cryopreserving it in autologous cord plasma to prevent exposure to allogeneic or animal serum. This direct freezing of cord microparticles without previous culture expansion allows the processing and freezing of umbilical cord blood (UCB) and UC-MSCs from the same individual on the same day on arrival in the laboratory. UC-MSCs produce significant concentrations of hematopoietic growth factors in culture and augment hematopoietic colony formation when co-cultured with UCB mononuclear cells. Mice undergoing transplantation with limited numbers of human UCB cells or CD34+ selected cells demonstrated augmented engraftment when UC-MSCs were co-transplanted. We also explored whether UC-MSCs could be further manipulated by transfection with plasmid-based vectors. Electroporation was used to introduce cDNA and mRNA constructs for GFP into the UC-MSCs. Transfection efficiency was 31% for cDNA and 90% for mRNA. These data show that UC-MSCs represent a reliable, easily accessible, noncontroversial source of MSCs. They can be prepared and cryopreserved under good manufacturing practices (GMP) conditions and are able to enhance human hematopoietic engraftment in SCID mice. Considering their cytokine production and their ability to be easily transfected with plasmid-based vectors, these cells should have broad applicability in human cell–based therapies.
Bringing Protein Engineering and Natural Product Biosynthesis Together

In this issue of Chemistry & Biology, Zhang and colleagues developed a yeast cell surface display strategy to effectively evolve the substrate specificity of DhbE, one of the adenylation domains of the bacillibactin synthetase complex. The method yields DbhE variants that have dramatically altered substrate specifities toward unnatural aryl substrates.
Study of theRhizobium japonicum-soybean symbiosis

Capsular polysaccharides were isolated fromRhizobium japonicum (61A76NS) and conjugated to a fluorescent dye to determine if the specificity in theRhizobium japonicum-soybean symbiosis is expressed by a component (lectin) located on soybean roots which binds to the sugars of the bacterial capsules. The conjugated Fraction A capsular polysaccharides ofR. japonicum bound only to the root hair tips of soybean seedlings. The polysaccharide would not bind specifically to the roots of clover or alfalfa seedlings. Rhodamine conjugated polysaccharides ofR. japonicum could be inhibited from binding to soybean root hairs by the addition of N-acetylgalactosamine or galactose, effective hapten inhibitors of this type of binding. This is the first report of hapten-reversible binding of an isolated rhizobial component to soybean root hairs, the differentiated epidermal cells which are subsequently infected by this nitrogen-fixing symbiont.
Effects of probenecid on ketoprofen kinetics

When six normal men took probenecid with ketoprofen in a two-treatment crossover study, steady-state plasma concentrations of ketoprofen and ketoprofen conjugates rose, but plasma protein binding of ketoprofen and urinary excretion of ketoprofen conjugates decreased. Probenecid decreased protein binding of ketoprofen by 28 +/- 7%, total ketoprofen clearance by 67 +/- 11%, clearance of unbound ketoprofen by 74 +/- 10%, clearance of unbound ketoprofen by conjugation by 91 +/- 5%, and renal clearance of ketoprofen conjugates by 93 +/- 4%. An apparent decrease (22 +/- 29%) in unbound ketoprofen clearance by mechanisms other than conjugation might have been established in a study of more than six subjects. Probenecid, which reaches plasma concentrations that approach 100 times those of ketoprofen or its conjugates, appears to inhibit both the conjugation of ketoprofen and the renal excretion of ketoprofen conjugates. An alternative explanation to inhibition of conjugation involves cumulation and subsequent hydrolysis of ketoprofen conjugates as a result of the renal action of probenecid. In addition to the advantages of obtaining simultaneous uricosuric and anti-inflammatory effects, there may be clinical kinetic advantages of administration of probenecid with ketoprofen, because the large interdose concentration swings of ketoprofen are then substantially reduced.
The magnetic collimation of bipolar outflows. I: Adiabatic simulations

The collimation of an isotropic, nonmagnetic protostellar wind by an ordered magnetic field in the ambient medium is investigated using self-consistent magnetohydrodynamic simulations in two dimensions. The strong protostellar wind inflates a low-density bubble in the ambient medium. The growth of this bubble is confined along the direction of the ambient magnetic field when the gas pressure in the interior drops to the level of the magnetic pressure at the surface. For typical molecular cloud conditions, collimation of the protostellar wind into a bipolar outflow occurs on time scales of 10 4 -10 5 yr
Expression of Fas ligand by microglia: possible role in glioma immune evasion

The immune-privileged status of the central nervous system is thought to limit the application of immunotherapy for treatment of malignant brain tumors. Because the Fas pathway has been proposed to play a role in immune evasion, we examined the effect of tumor environment on the expression of Fas ligand (FasL) in a mouse glioma model. Immunoblotting revealed the expression of membrane-bound FasL to nearly double when murine G26 gliomas were propagated intracranially (IC) as compared to subcutaneously (SC). Further analysis by flow cytometry revealed microglia, which were absent in the SC tumors, to account for half of the FasL expression in the IC tumors. Interestingly, when FasL activity was inhibited in IC tumors, the proportion of tumor-infiltrating leukocytes increased three-fold, reaching the same frequency as the SC tumors. These observations suggest that microglia are a major source of FasL expression in brain tumors and possibly contribute to the local immunosuppressive milieu of malignant gliomas.
On the Mechanism of Forced-Convection Subcooled Nucleate Boiling

In highly subcooled nucleate boiling the bubbles grow and collapse while sliding along the heated surface, so that there is no net vapor transport away from the surface. A long-standing question exists as to whether conduction and convection between the bubbles, or latent heat transport through the bubbles, is the dominant heat transfer mechanism. It is shown here by simple calculations that the sliding of the bubble results in augmentation of microlayer evaporation under the bubble by a factor of two or more over a stationary bubble with a continuous microlayer. It appears therefore that the latent heat transport mechanism may be dominant at large bulk subcoolings.
THz impulse radar for biomedical sensing: nonlinear system behavior

The THz impulse radar is an “RF-inspired” sensor system that has performed remarkably well since its initial development nearly six years ago. It was developed for ex vivo skin-burn imaging, and has since shown great promise in the sensitive detection of hydration levels in soft tissues of several types, such as in vivo corneal and burn samples. An intriguing aspect of the impulse radar is its hybrid architecture which combines the high-peak-power of photoconductive switches with the high-responsivity and -bandwidth (RF and video) of Schottky-diode rectifiers. The result is a very sensitive sensor system in which the post-detection signal-to-noise ratio depends super-linearly on average signal power up to a point where the diode is “turned on” in the forward direction, and then behaves quasi-linearly beyond that point. This paper reports the first nonlinear systems analysis done on the impulse radar using MATLAB.