cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract LB215: Transglutaminase 2 maintains hepatocyte growth factor signaling to enhance the epidermal cancer stem cell phenotype

Epidermal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is one of the most common cancers. Ultraviolet radiation exposure leads to DNA damage in keratinocyte stem cells leading to transformation. Epidermal cancer stem cells (ECS cells) display aggressive spheroid formation, invasion, and migration, and form rapidly growing and highly vascularized tumors. The transglutaminase 2 (TG2) cancer stem cell maintenance proteins is present at high levels in ECS cells and is required for maintenance of the ECS cell phenotype. Identifying how TG2 maintains the ECS cell phenotype is an important goal. RNA transcriptomic analysis, comparing gene expression in wild-type and TG2 knockout cells, reveals that hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) signaling is markedly reduced in TG2 knockout cells, a finding that was confirmed by showing that TG2 knockdown/knockout reduces HGF and MET mRNA and protein. HGF/MET signaling appears to play an important role in maintaining the cancer phenotype, as inhibition of HGF/MET reduces ECS cell spheroid formation, invasion and migration. Stem cell and EMT marker expression and MEK1/2 and ERK1/2 activity are also reduced. These changes phenocopy the response to TG2 knockdown. Treatment with MEK1/2 and ERK1/2 inhibitors suppresses the ECS cell phenotype indicating that MAPK signaling is a major HGF/MET target, and MET knockout reduces ECS cell tumor formation which is associated with reduced MEK1/2 and ERK1/2 activity. These findings suggest that TG2 maintains HGF/MET signaling which stimulates MEK1.2 and ERK1/2 activity to enhance the aggressive ECS cell cancer phenotype and drive tumor formation. Citation Format: Xi Chen, Gautam Adhikary, Suruchi Shrestha, Wen Xu, Richard Eckert. Transglutaminase 2 maintains hepatocyte growth factor signaling to enhance the epidermal cancer stem cell phenotype [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr LB215.
A Memory-Based Direct-Digital Frequency Synthesizer for Fractional Synchronization

This paper presents a fully integrated energy-efficient memory-based direct digital frequency synthesizer (DDFS). To overcome the limitation of using an accumulator and a Read-Only Memory (ROM) Lookup Table (LUT) within a DDFS, the proposed design utilizes a 6-bit memory with a configured mode of operation to synchronize the digital output clock with the input sampling clock. The proposed DDFS is able to tune the output phase and frequency once a phase rotator is used in the input clock path. To realize the proposed DDFS, a 6-bit memory in front-end and some analog blocks in back-end are employed. The prototype DDFS achieves jitter below 12.7 psrms integrated over a 100 MHz bandwidth with 28.25 Hz resolution while consuming less than 3 mW at sampling clock 3.12 GHz. The proposed DDFS is fabricated in a 0.9 V TSMC 7 nm CMOS process and occupies a core area of only 0.014 mm.
Chapter 16. Oncological Aspects of Growth Factors

Publisher Summary Growth factors are hormone-like proteins those can stimulate cell proliferation; function as trophic or survival factors, chemo-attractants, immune modulators, neurotransmitters, and as differentiation inducers or inhibitors whose receptors may perform in oncogenic transformation and in tumor promotion and progression. This chapter focuses on those more well-defined growth factors such as platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), transforming growth factors (TGFs), insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), and bombesin, which are associated with or synthesized by solid human tumor cells and their structural and/or functional relationship to specific oncogene and proto-oncogene proteins. The conversion of a normal cell to a fully malignant, metastatic cell through each of these steps represents a process of continuous selection for a cell(s) that can readapt and proliferate in an environment with a minimum number of growth regulatory constraints. PDGF is a heat stable, cationic polypeptide primarily synthesized in progenitor megakaryocytes and stored in the granules of mature platelets. It is a strong chemoattractant for smooth muscle cells and for stromal fibroblasts and one of several growth factors along with endothelial mitogens and chemoattractants, contributing to the process of angiogenesis or neovascularisation. EGF is an acid and heat stable single chain acidic peptide. The EGF receptor (EGF R ) has been purified to homogeneity from human placenta and A431 epidermoid carcinoma cells. EGF R contains tyrosine-specific protein kinase activity within its cytoplasmic domain that has been implicated in the autocrine or paracrine growth of tumor cells. The IGFs (somatomedins) are low molecular weight peptides those are structurally but not immunologically related to insulin and more distantly homologous to the β subunit of nerve growth factor. Bombesin is a tetradecapeptide originally isolated from amphibian skin. Bombesin or GRP can regulate the level of several gastrointestinal peptide hormones, can stimulate smooth muscle contraction, and can increase gastric acid secretion.
New Trends in Greek Financial Environment and Solution Proposed for the Survival and Development of SMEs and Small Business in the Insufferable Economic Inequalities

Abstract It is actually a fact that almost nothing changed in country of Greece in a spectacular way during the last period of three years; but what really changed for most people in Europe and countries worldwide is the world economic situation and the financial environment in which also Greece is placed. The main causes of this phenomenal situation are considered to be the basic form of liquidity crisis among business, the extreme shrinkage that almost all the economies of various countries faced, the public debts which started to increase in an uncontrollable way having as a result business and civilians to ask for loans so as to cover their daily needs, and the psychology crisis which appeared where civilians in countries started to face an economic recession and politicians started to seek for solutions in problems where in their minds seemed to be unsolved. Inside this insufferable and inauspicious environment, most of commercial business and/or SMEs started to “lose” ground in Greek market, while suffering serious financial problems even for their existence in present and near future time also. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to propose to Managers avenues in order to operate competitively and to promote their products and services so as to attract as much customers as possible. The suggestions of this paper are mostly based on secondary data as the specific topic is considered to be a later one and scarce empirical evidence exists.
Bottom-up evaluation of attribute grammars with two queues

The author presents a bottom-up evaluator for attribute grammars. Attribute grammars are among the best formalisms to specify the translation and semantics of the programming languages. The evaluator presented accomplishes the attribute evaluation in only one bottom-up pass, using two FIFO queues. The first queue holds the leaf attributes with known values the attribute queue. The reverse dependency graph shows the dependency of the attributes on each other and the other in which they are evaluated. These attributes give their values to their predecessor attributes. A predecessor attribute needs these values in order to be evaluated. The second queue holds the predecessor attributes of the first queue and is called the predecessor queue. >
Disability-related Simulations: If, When, and How to Use Them in Professional Development

Increasing numbers of students with disabilities participate in mainstream pre-college classes in preparation for higher education. Many educators and administrators have limited knowledge about specific accommodations that can facilitate learning for students with disabilities. Professional development has the potential to increase their knowledge and skills in this area. Simulations of disability experiences, such as completing tasks while covering eyes or sitting in a wheelchair, have sometimes been used to show learners what it is like to have a disability. This form of training has been criticized as inappropriate in the context of emerging paradigms of disability studies, which leads to the question: “Is the use of disability-related simulations ever appropriate?” In this article, we explore positive and negative aspects of disability-related simulations; paradigm shifts regarding approaches to disability studies; implications for training educators and administrators, and examples of disability awareness activities that maximize positive outcomes.
Capsaicin induced cough and urge-to-cough in elderly individuals with NTM (1178.6)

Mycobaterium avium complex infection is a type of nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections have been reported often occurred in elderly, white, thin and principally nonsmoking women. It has been postulated that such disease in woman is related to the way they cough. They often cough quietly and covertly, thereby the clearance of sputum is suppressed. In this study, we hypothesized that NTM subjects may have decreased cough sensitivity as measured by a higher threshold for inducing cough and the Urge-to-Cough compared to controls. Female, white and elderly NTM and control subjects were recruited in the study. Four concentrations of capsaicin (50, 100, 200, 500 uM) plus placebo (0 uM capsaicin) were presented to the subject three times each in a blinded-randomized block order. Each capsaicin presentation was separated approximately 1 min. At the end of each capsaicin presentation, subjects were asked to rate their Urge-to-Cough using the modified Borg scale from 1 (no Urge-to-Cough) to 10 (maximum Urge...
Effective Conductivities of Reciprocal Media

The conductivity σ of a medium is the coefficient of proportionality between a force E and a flux J in the linear relation J = σ E.
Tumor treating fields therapy device for glioblastoma: physics and clinical practice considerations

Alternating electric fields therapy, as delivered by the tumor treating fields device, is a new modality of cancer treatment that has been approved by the US FDA for recurrent glioblastoma. At a frequency of 200 kHz, these fields emanate from transducer arrays on the surface of the patient's scalp into the brain and perturb processes necessary for cytokinesis during tumor cell mitosis. In the registration Phase III trial for recurrent glioblastoma patients, the efficacy of the tumor treating fields as monotherapy was equivalent to chemotherapy, while scalp irritation was its major adverse event compared with systemic toxicities that were associated with cytotoxic chemotherapies. Alternating electric fields therapy is, therefore, an essential option for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma. Here, we summarize our current knowledge of the physics, cell biology and clinical data supporting the use of the tumor treating fields therapy.
Cutaneous microvascular flow in the foot during simulated variable gravities

Our objective was to understand how weight bearing with varying gravitational fields affects blood perfusion in the sole of the foot. Human subjects underwent whole body tilting at four angles: upright [1 gravitational vector from head to foot (Gz)], 22 degrees (0.38 Gz), 10 degrees (0.17 Gz), and supine (0 Gz), simulating the gravitational fields of Earth, Mars, Moon, and microgravity, respectively. Cutaneous capillary blood flow was monitored on the plantar surface of the heel by laser Doppler flowmetry while weight-bearing load was measured. At each tilt angle, subjects increased weight bearing on one foot in graded load increments of 1 kg beginning with zero. The weight bearing at which null flow first occurred was determined as the closing load. Subsequently, the weight bearing was reduced in reverse steps until blood flow returned (opening load). Mean closing loads for simulated Earth gravity, Mars gravity, Moon gravity, and microgravity were 9.1, 4.6, 4.4, and 3.6 kg, respectively. Mean opening loads were 7.9, 4.1, 3.5, and 3.1 kg, respectively. Mean arterial pressures in the foot (MAP(foot)) calculated for each simulated gravitational field were 192, 127, 106, and 87 mmHg, respectively. Closing load and opening load were significantly correlated with MAP(foot) (r =0.70, 0.72, respectively) and were significantly different (P < 0.001) from each other. The data suggest that decreased local arterial pressure in the foot lowers tolerance to external compression. Consequently, the human foot sole may be more prone to cutaneous ischemia during load bearing in microgravity than on Earth.
Bayesian erasure techniques for frequency-hop spread-spectrum communications with fading and partial-band interference

The use of block coding and errors-and-erasures decoding can enhance performance substantially in frequency-hop communication systems, provided that a good scheme is employed to determine which symbols to erase, In the paper, methods for determining erasures derived from Bayesian decision theory are applied to the mitigation of fading and partial-band interference. The performance of receivers using the Bayesian technique is compared with that of receivers that make erasure decisions using Viterbi's ratio-threshold test. The performance or hard-decision demodulation and the theoretical performance of receivers with access to perfect side information are also compared. It is found that the Bayesian receiver provides the best performance, and that error probabilities for the Bayesian receiver are lower than those for hard-decision demodulation by as much as six orders of magnitude. >
Immunodetection and quantification of airborne (1-3)-β-D-glucan-carrying particles with the halogen immunoassay.

Fungal cell wall components, such as (1–3)-β-D-glucan, are known to be capable of activating the innate immune system and pose a respiratory health risk in different environments. Mass-based non-viable techniques commonly used for assessment of fungal exposures could be β-D-glucan-specific, but are limited to analysis of liquid extracts. The variable solubility of different β-D-glucans may underestimate β-D-glucan exposure and long sampling times required for mass-based methods make assessing short-term exposures difficult. In this study, we evaluated the utility of the halogen immunoassay (HIA), an immunoblotting technique previously used for allergens, to immunodetect and quantify β-D-glucan-carrying particles (BGCPs). The HIA was able to detect BGCPs without background staining when β-D-glucan standards and air samples collected at a poultry house during short sampling periods were evaluated. The image analysis protocol previously developed by our group for mouse allergen allowed simultaneous immunodetection and quantification of β-D-glucan-containing particles. Our results suggest that the HIA holds promise for quantifying β-D-glucan exposures. To our knowledge, this is the first time in which the HIA was used for non-allergenic compounds of microbial or fungal origins.
Appearance-based Sex Discrimination and Stereotyping in the Workplace: Whose Conduct Should We Regulate?

Court treatment of sex discrimination and harassment claims based on appearance and gender stereotyping has been inconsistent, particularly where the facts involve reference to sexual orientation. Ironically, court willingness to allow such claims may turn on the choice of verbal or physical conduct by, or the sex or sexual orientation of, the alleged offenders. Because plaintiffs in such situations may assert retaliation claims to increase their chances of prevailing, employers should focus less on regulating aspects of personal appearance unrelated to job performance and more on problematic reactions by co-workers. Workplace civility policies may hold promise for limiting both legal liability and practical consequences in the absence of a legislative response.
Native subjects on display: reviving the colonial exposition in Marcos' Philippines

At the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, 1100 Filipino ‘natives’ were used as human displays to argue for the colonial enterprise in the Philippines. Seventy years later, the Marcos regime staged Kasaysayan ng Lahi (History of the Race), a mass ceremony that reworked the visual, performative and commercial dynamics of the 1904 colonial exposition to promote heritage tourism in the Philippines. While the use of human displays in colonial expositions has been well documented and analyzed as a constitutive element of a Eurocentric ‘exhibitionary complex’, its uptake in developing nations seeking entry into an emergent cultural economy has yet to be explored. This article places critical analyses of colonial expositions, human displays and heritage tourism in productive dialogue, and examines the continuities and discontinuities between the Philippine exhibit at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair and the 1974 staging of Kasaysayan ng Lahi by the Marcos regime. Against established views of ‘staged authenticities’ as e...
Ultraviolet molar absorptivities of aqueous hydrogen peroxide and hydroperoxyl ion

Abstract Molar absorptivities are measured at 11 wavelengths between 200 and 300 nm for H 2 O 2 (aq) with an average error of 8.5% (95% confidence limit), and at 10 wavelengths in the same range for HO 2 − (aq), from absorbance vs. concentration plots. Results are compared to previous measurements of both aqueous and vapor-phase molar absorptivities.
THE SOURCE OF FLUID AND PROTEIN IN SEROUS RETINAL DETACHMENTS

Purpose. To investigate the source and protein content of sub-retinal fluid in self-forming experimental serous retinal detachmentsMethods. Detachments were induced in Dutch rabbit eyes using rose bengal photosensitization to cause choriocapillaris injury and thrombosis. Serous detachments formed spontaneously within the next 24 h. Subretinal fluid was withdrawn 3, 8 and 24 hrs after photosensitization, and was analyzed for osmolality and albumin content by gel electrophoresis.Results. The albumin concentration in the subretinal fluid of light-induced detachments was 68% of serum level at 3 h after light damage, and rose close to serum level by 24 h. The osmolality of subretinal fluid 24 h after light damage was essentially the same as serum and vitreous fluid.Conclusions. The subretinal protein and fluid in light-induced detachments in the central retina of the rabbit must come from the choroid, since there are no intrinsic retinal blood vessels in that region of the fundus. These data demonstrate that s...
Maintaining professionalism in the face of emotional abuse from clients.

The harmful effects of emotional abuse have been studied in children, romantic relationships, and families, but little work has explored the phenomenon of therapists experiencing emotional abuse from their clients. The current paper examines the characteristics of emotional abuse as experienced by therapists, and presents methods by which clinicians can best maintain their professional decorum, responsibilities, objectivity, conceptual skills; and overall effectiveness in spite of aversive interactions with clients. Therapists can facilitate their own staying on task, and can reduce their subjective levels of stress by utilizing such self-help techniques as cognitive rehearsal, rational responding, assertiveness, and the use of social supports. These strategies help therapists to deal with patterns of hostile outbursts and boundary infringements from clients, without feeling helpless and burned out, and without terminating their clients prematurely out of desperation. Therapists also can remain suitably professional in managing emotionally abusive clients by making judicious use of documentation and supervisory consultations. Issues regarding appropriate termination of emotionally abusive clients are discussed in light of the ethical obligation not to abandon clients. The principle of “therapist self-preservation,” which takes into account the therapist's need to consider his or her own well-being, along with the client's, is addressed as well.
Some Properties of Distributions Useful in the Study of Rare Events

This paper presents techniques that facilitate estimation of the parameters of a gamma or beta distribution when two percentiles or one percentile and the mean value are known. Similarly, when the values of the parameters are known, simple techniques are developed to estimate the percentiles. These techniques apply when the random variable is small, e.g., when these distributions are the state-of-knowledge distributions of failure rates (failures per hour or demand). A further result of the paper is that, for distributions with one shape parameter, the mean value possesses a minimum, when an upper percentile is held constant. Expressions for these minima are derived for several useful distributions.
Judgment theory and school psychology

Abstract This article reviews criticism of research on judgmental biases in cognitive psychology and suggests caution in applying the findings of this research to research in school psychology. Additionally, it provides suggestions regarding the potential of theory in cognitive psychology to reconcile discrepant findings in selected research on special education decision making.
Purification and characterization of a hydrophobic amino acid—specific endopeptidase from Halobacterium halobium S9 with potential application in debittering of protein hydrolysates

Abstract An extracellular endopeptidase has been isolated and purified by a single step protocol using Bacitracin–NHS ( N -hydroxysuccinimide) Sepharose affinity system. Halobacterium halobium S9 endopeptidase has very high salt requirements in the range of 4 M NaCl. Molecular weight as determined by SDS-PAGE and gel filtration analysis was approximately 71 and 45 kDa respectively. N-terminal amino acid sequence analysis shows LVPNDAR as the probable residues. The enzyme has optimal activity at pH 8.7 and at a temperature of 40 °C. H. halobium endopeptidase exhibited significant stability under wide variations of pH and temperature. The effect of divalent cations on the enzyme is positive and Ca 2+ is the most significant of all the divalent salts tested. Inhibitor studies show inhibition by Ser, His and Asp specific inhibitors. Substrate specificity studies using peptides reveal high specificity for peptides containing Pro in the penultimate position and preference for hydrophobic amino acids in the carboxy terminal side of the peptides. The enzyme exhibits azocasein activity at low salt concentrations as against activities at higher salt concentrations for peptides. The action of endopeptidase on the complex peptide mixture of a tryptic digest of β-casein resulted in the degradation of hydrophobic peptides. Thus, these characteristics of the purified peptidase make it suitable for an array of industrial applications with special impetus in debittering of meso, cheese and protein hydrolysates in food processing industry.
Tin oxide (SnOX) carbon monoxide sensor fabricated by thick-film methods

Abstract A new way to fabricate thick-film semiconductor-type tin oxide (SnOx) carbon monoxide sensors is reported in this paper. The sensing material is made by metallo-organic decomposition and is composed of calcium oxide- and niobium oxide-doped tin oxide with platinum as a catalyst; the electrodes and the heater are made by screen printing. Sensing measurements are done by cycling the sensor temperature with high and low heating powers. The CO response curve is almost linear at CO concentrations below 400 ppm. The sensor can detect CO concentrations below 30 ppm. The CO response with time, CO sensitivity, operation temperatures, power consumption, reliability of the sensor and also the selectivity of the sensor to various gases have been investigated.
Magmatic degassing histories from apatite volatile stratigraphy

Measurements of OH and Cl growth zoning in apatite phenocrysts from the Cerro Galan ignimbrite describe the tumultuous volatile history of a magma chamber in the days to months prior to a supereruption. The chemical stratigraphy in these crystals provides a unique relative time scale not otherwise available when studying pre-eruptive volatiles in ancient magma chambers, and it allows us to temporally correlate the data within each crystal, resulting in a “volatile history.” The five crystals studied show broadly similar volatile histories, but distinctive differences between the various crystals suggest that each recorded a specific perspective on the magma chamber prior to eruption, perhaps correlating to different depths or laterally separated regions within the >1000 km 3 magma chamber. All crystals are consistent with the interpretation of a multistage magmatic history, including a period of residence in a quiescent magma, and a period of rapid growth under strongly varying conditions. Several apparent “events” during this period of growth, consistent with two competing processes of H 2 O degassing and recharge, are recorded by nearly all of these crystals. Such zoning could not have survived for more than ∼400 d prior to eruption, suggesting that during the days to months leading up to a supereruption, apatite records key aspects of the processes that directly lead to and influence these catastrophic events.
Probing the N-terminal sequence of spinach PsbO: evidence that essential threonine residues bind to different functional sites in eukaryotic photosystem II

The N-terminal 1E−6L domain of the manganese-stabilizing protein (PsbO) from spinach prevents non-specific binding of the subunit to photosystem II (PSII) and deletions of the 1E−7T or 1E−15T sequences from the PsbO N-terminus reduce or impair, respectively, functional binding of PsbO to PSII (Popelkova et al., Biochemistry 42:6193–6200, 2003). The work presented here provides deeper insights into the interaction of PsbO with PSII. The data show that a single mutation, 15T → A in mature PsbO from spinach reduces the stoichiometry of its functional binding from two to one subunit per PSII and decreases reconstitution of activity to about 45 % of the wild-type control. Replacement of the 1E−6L domain with 6M in the T15A PsbO mutant has no additional negative effect on recovery of O2 evolution activity, but it significantly weakens both functional and nonspecific binding of the truncated mutant to PSII. These results suggest that the 15T side-chain by itself is essential for binding of one of two PsbO subunits to eukaryotic PSII and that specific PSII-binding sites for PsbO are distinguishable; one PSII-binding site does not require PsbO–15T and probably interacts with the other N-terminal domain of PsbO. Identity of the latter domain is revealed by a requirement for the presence of the 1E−6L sequence that is shown here to be necessary for high-affinity binding of PsbO to PSII. When combined with previous results, the data presented here lead to a more detailed model for PsbO binding in eukaryotic PSII.
A compiler tutorial scaled for the programming languages course

This paper describes the structure of two, self-paced, language-translation tutorials that integrate nicely into a principles-based undergraduate programming languages course, thus bringing material normally covered in a compiler course down into the context of a traditional programming languages course. The primary goal of the tutorials is to provide students with useful models for programming language principles as well as a very basic introduction to compiling techniques, including tokenizing, parsing, static semantic checking, and code generation. The paper also exposes a pedagogic technique of repeated exposure that drives the success of these tutorials.
Time-frequency analysis of SAR images with ground moving targets

Abstract Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is used for imaging of terrain and stationary objects. For stationary targets,Doppler drifts are determined only by their geometric locations. However, for moving targets, the Doppler driftsare determined not only by their locations but also by their velocities. Therefore, the SAlt images of movingtargets become smeared due to interactions between their geometric locations and velocities; the cross-range ofmoving targets does not reflect their true geometric locations. In this paper, we analyze the effects of targetmotion on SAR images, review methods for SAR imaging of moving targets, and apply time-frequency analysisto SAlt imaging of moving targets.Keywords: SAR imaging, moving targets, time-frequency processing 1 Introduction Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is used for imaging of terrain and stationary objects[ 1 . When targets are moving,the motion-induced phase errors, which interact with the matched process of the SAR azimuth compression, causeimages of moving targets to mis-locate in the azimuth (cross-range) dimension and to smear in both the cross-rangeand the range domains.Figure 1: Geometry of SAR imaging of a moving target.Fig. 1 illustrates the geometry of a stripmap SAR system and a moving target. The radar platform is an aircraftflying at an altitude of h, is moving along the azimuth direction. The radar transmits a linear frequency modulated(LFM) chirp signal
STK-anonymity: k-anonymity of social networks containing both structural and textual information

We study the problem of anonymizing social networks to prevent individual identifications which use both structural (node degrees) and textual (edge labels) information in social networks. We introduce the concept of Structural and Textual (ST)-equivalence of individuals at two levels (strict and loose), and formally define the problem as Structure and Text aware K-anonymity of social networks (STK-Anonymity). In an STK-anonymized network, each individual is ST-equivalent to at least K-1 other nodes. The major challenge in achieving STK-Anonymity comes from the correlation of edge labels, which causes the propagation of edge anonymization. To address the challenge, we present a two-phase approach. In particular, a set-enumeration tree based approach and three pruning strategies are introduced in the second phase to avoid the propagation problem during anonymization. Experimental results on both real and synthetic datasets are presented to show the effectiveness and efficiency of our approaches.
Alteration of 5-HT1A receptor binding sites following chronic treatment with ipsapirone measured by quantitative autoradiography.

Ipsapirone, a high-affinity ligand for the 5-hydroxytryptamine1A (5-HT1A) receptor subtype, has been shown to be a full agonist at presynaptic serotonergic sites and a partial agonist at postsynaptic sites. Several recent studies have examined the effects of chronic treatment with ipsapirone or other structurally related pyrimidinylpiperazine compounds, including buspirone and gepirone, on 5-HT1A binding sites with mixed results. Since the neural mechanism responsible for the anxiolytic and antidepressant properties of these compounds is currently uncertain, further investigation of this issue appeared warranted. [3H]8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)-tetralin ([3H]8-OH-DPAT), a ligand specific for the 5-HT1A site, has been used successfully to label these sites using both membrane binding assays and autoradiography. Experiments were performed to determine whether chronic treatment with ipsapirone would differentially affect binding to 5-HT1A receptors at different brain sites. Rats were treated twice daily with ipsapirone (10 mg/kg i.p.) for 1 day or for 1, 2, or 3 weeks. Quantitative analyses were done of autoradiograms of in vitro [3H]8-OH-DPAT binding to selected brain regions. Binding in vehicle-treated rats was highest in the hippocampus, septal nucleus, interpeduncular nucleus, entorhinal cortex, and dorsal raphe nucleus. Following 3 weeks of treatment with ipsapirone, a large decline in binding was measured in the dorsal raphe nucleus. This decline was not seen with ipsapirone treatments for shorter periods. With the 3-week treatment, there were less robust declines in [3H]8-OH-DPAT binding in the entorhinal cortex and interpeduncular nucleus. Binding in the other brain regions analyzed was unaltered.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Computer-aided design of transformation toughened blast resistant naval hull steels: Part I

A systematic approach to computer-aided materials design has formulated a new class of ultratough, weldable secondary hardened plate steels combining new levels of strength and toughness while meeting processability requirements. A theoretical design concept integrated the mechanism of precipitated nickel-stabilized dispersed austenite for transformation toughening in an alloy strengthened by combined precipitation of M2C carbides and BCC copper both at an optimal ∼3 nm particle size for efficient strengthening. This concept was adapted to plate steel design by employing a mixed bainitic/martensitic matrix microstructure produced by air-cooling after solution-treatment and constraining the composition to low carbon content for weldability. With optimized levels of copper and M2C carbide formers based on a quantitative strength model, a required alloy nickel content of 6.5 wt% was predicted for optimal austenite stability for transformation toughening at the desired strength level of 160 ksi (1,100 MPa) yield strength. A relatively high Cu level of 3.65 wt% was employed to allow a carbon limit of 0.05 wt% for good weldability, without causing excessive solidification microsegregation.
Mutagenesis of the supF gene of pSP189 replicating in AD293 cells cocultivated with activated macrophages: roles of nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species.

Dysregulated production of nitric oxide (NO•) and reactive oxygen species by inflammatory cells contributes to mutagenesis and carcinogenesis. We have characterized mutagenesis in the target supF gene of pSP189 replicating in AD293 cells cocultivated with mouse macrophage-like RAW264.7 cells activated with interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Activated macrophages produced substantial amounts of NO•, superoxide anion (O2•-), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) over 12−72 h periods. A time-dependent decrease in total cell number and a 3.7-fold increase in supF mutation frequency (MF), compared with unstimulated controls, were observed at 72 h. The increase in MF was effectively suppressed by N-methyl-l-arginine monoacetate (NMA), an NO• synthase inhibitor, and also by superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT); cotreatment with NMA and SOD/CAT suppressed mutagenesis by 87% at 72 h. Mutations in supF were mainly multiple sequence changes (47%) and single base pair substitutions (51%) following IFN...
Utilization of Al2O3 Atomic Layer Deposition for Li Ion Pathways in Solid State Li Batteries

Limited interfacial contact area between active material and solid state electrolyte (SSE) in solid state lithium batteries (SSLBs) can be addressed by utilizing a thermally treated Al2O3 atomic layer deposition (ALD) coating as a lithium ion transport pathway. SSLBs with a LiCoO2/Li3.15Ge0.15P0.85S4/77.5Li2S-22.5P2S5/Li configuration were built and tested using charge-discharge cycles between 3.3 ∼ 4.3 V (vs. Li/Li+) at a current density of 45 μA cm−2. An increase of more than 10% in the inital discharge capacity as well as good cycling stability are achieved from SSLBs using LiCoO2 particles coated with 2 and 4 cycles of Al2O3 ALD. The dQ/dV analysis, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and the overpotential study with galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) were conducted to elucidate the enhancement of Li+ transport through Al2O3 ALD layers surrounding LiCoO2. © 2014 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI: 10.1149/2.0441503jes] All rights reserved.
Simulating Fish Movement Responses to and Potential Salinity Stress from Large‐Scale River Diversions

AbstractRiver diversions are a major but controversial management approach to restoring coastal wetlands and mitigating offshore oil spills in the northern Gulf of Mexico. One of the controversies concerns the potential displacement of and salinity stress on commercially and recreationally important fish species in response to the widespread and prolonged freshening of habitat. We developed a coupled hydrodynamics–fish movement model and applied it to the Caernarvon diversion located in the Breton Sound estuary, Louisiana. Hydrodynamics model output was used as input to the individual-based fish movement model. The period of model simulation was from April 1 to July 1, 2010. We simulated three diversion scenarios: baseline, pulse, and oil spill mitigation. We first used field data from Bay Anchovy Anchoa mitchilli and showed that the model predicted downestuary shifts similar to those observed in field studies under large diversions. We then defined generic low- and intermediate-salinity fish species and ...
Estimation of motion from a pair of range images: A review

Abstract The estimation of motion of a moving object from a sequence of images is of prime interest in computer vision. This paper reviews the different approaches developed to estimate motion parameters from a sequence of two range images. We give the mathematical formulation of the problem along with the various modifications by different investigators to adapt the formulation to their algorithms. The shortcomings and the advantages of each method are also briefly mentioned. The methods are divided according to the type of feature used in the motion estimation task. We address the representational and the computational issues for each of the methods described. Most of the earlier approaches used local features such as corners (points) or edges (lines) to obtain the transformation. Local features are sensitive to noise and quantization errors. This causes uncertainties in the motion estimation. Using global features, such as surfaces, makes the procedure of motion computation more robust at the expense of making the procedure very complex. A common error is assuming that the best affine transform is the best estimate of the desired motion, which in general is false. It is important to make the distinction between the motion transform and the general affine transform, since an affine transform may not be realized physically by a rigid object.
Contextualism and fallibility: pragmatic encroachment, possibility, and strength of epistemic position

A critique of conversational epistemic contextualism focusing initially on why pragmatic encroachment for knowledge is to be avoided. The data for pragmatic encroachment by way of greater costs of error and the complementary means to raise standards of introducing counter-possibilities are argued to be accountable for by prudence, fallibility and pragmatics. This theme is sharpened by a contrast in recommendations: holding a number of factors constant, when allegedly higher standards for knowing hold, invariantists still recommend assertion (action), while contextualists do not. Given the knowledge norm of assertion, if one recommendation is preferable to the other, the result favors the preferred recommendation’s account of knowledge. In the final section, I offer a unification of these criticisms centering on the contextualist use of ‘epistemic position’. Their use imposes on threshold notions of justification, warrant, or knowledge tests that are suitable only to unlimited comparative or scalar notions like confidence or certainty and places them at one with an important strand of sceptical reasoning.
Local Conformational Signals and the Statistical Thermodynamics of Collapsed Helical Proteins

We investigate the role that local conformational tendencies can have in guiding the folding of helical proteins, using simple statistical mechanical models. The theory provides a synthesis of classical models of the helix-coil transition in polymers with an approximate treatment of the effects of excluded volume, confinement, and packing alignment of the helices based on a free energy function. The theory studies the consequences of signals encoded locally in the sequence as stabilization energies associated with three types of local structure: native helical conformations, native non-helical conformations, and native helix caps or start-stop signals. The role of randomness in the energies of conformations due to tertiary interactions is also studied vis-a-vis the difficulty of conformational search. The thermal behavior of the model is presented for realistic values of the conformational signal energies, which can be estimated from experimental studies on peptide fragments. Estimates are made for the relative contribution of local signals and specific tertiary interactions to the folding stability gap.
Phonons and Quasi‐Periodic Static Fluctuations

Electron wave-packets moving in an external magnetic field experience a potential caused by quasi-periodic static fluctuations which arise from electron-lattice interactions. Such a potential is derived from first principles and the electron scattering probability is estimated. Zero-point vibrations of the phonon modes are properly included. The importance and consequence of phase-coherence are also emphasized. The calculation does not include effects due to electron-electron interaction. Electron–Wellen-Pakete die sich in einem auseren magnetischen Feld bewegen, sind einem Potential ausgesetzt, welches durch quasiperiodische statische Veranderungen, die von Elektron-Gitter-Wechselwirkungen herruhren, verursacht wird. Solch ein Potential wird abgeleitet und die Elektronenstreuwahrscheinlichkeit abgeschatzt. Die Bedeutung und die Konsequenz der Phasenkoharenz werden hervorgehoben. Die Rechnungen schliesen keine Effekte infolge von Elektron-Elektron-Wechselwirkung ein.
Evolutionary developmental psychology: Contributions from comparative research with nonhuman primates.

Abstract Evolutionary developmental psychology is a discipline that has the potential to integrate conceptual approaches to the study of behavioral development derived from psychology and biology as well as empirical data from humans and animals. Comparative research with animals, and especially with nonhuman primates, can provide evidence of adaptation in human psychological and behavioral traits by highlighting possible analogies (i.e., similar function, but independent evolution) or homologies (i.e., inheritance from a common ancestor) between human traits and similar traits present in animals. Data from nonhuman primates have played a crucial role in our understanding of infant attachment to the caregiver as a developmental adaptation for survival. Primate and human data are also consistent in suggesting that female interest in infants during the juvenile years may be a developmental adaptation for reproduction that facilitates the acquisition of maternal skills prior to the onset of reproduction.
An exploratory prospective study of marijuana use and mortality following acute myocardial infarction.

Background The relationship of marijuana use with coronary heart disease, including prognosis among patients with coronary heart disease, is uncertain. Methods We conducted an inception cohort study of 1913 adults hospitalized with myocardial infarction at 45 US hospitals between 1989 and 1994, with a median follow-up of 3.8 years. We ascertained total mortality according to self-reported marijuana use in the preceding year. Results A total of 52 patients reported marijuana use during the prior year, and 317 patients died during follow-up. Compared with nonuse, marijuana use less than weekly was associated with a hazard ratio of 2.5 (95% CI, 0.9-7.3). The corresponding hazard ratio for weekly use or more was 4.2 (95% CI, 1.2-14.3). The age- and sex-adjusted hazard ratios associated with any use were 1.9 (95% CI, 0.6-6.3) for cardiovascular mortality and 4.9 (95% CI, 1.6-14.7) for noncardiovascular mortality. In a comparison of 42 marijuana users and 42 other patients matched on propensity scores, there were 6 deaths among marijuana users and one among non-users (log-rank P = .06). Conclusions These preliminary results suggest possible hazards of marijuana for patients who survive acute myocardial infarction. Although marijuana use has not been associated with mortality in other populations, it may pose particular risk for susceptible individuals with coronary heart disease.
Proposed design of search radar for thin wire detection

In this paper we look at the scattering of electromagnetic waves from thin wires. We propose a vehicle mounted search radar system that rotates 360° about the vertical axis. Our wire of interest is lying on a lossy ground plane. It is generally flat but has many bends, which gives it a vertical extent. The system is designed using a wire scattering simulator to predict the response of a test wire to various illuminations. The simulator makes use of the Method of Moments technique to predict the scattering of E&M waves in 3D. Several approximations make the tool fast and versatile. Among these is the general assumption of the wire as a metal filament (with infinitesimal radius). To include a lossy ground plane we suggest the use of the NEC2 simulator. In the development of this problem, we first look at scattering from a 3D thin wire. The conclusion of the simulation phase of this work is that the cardinal flash or glint response of the wire must be observed for the wire to be detectable. This response occurs when the wire is illuminated directly from the side. Because this scenario occurs at an unknown location as the vehicle passes by the wire, our design suggests the use of a spinning search radar. A brief experiment is performed using a search radar as a validation of concept. The observed glint response is shown and suggestions are made for how a practical system could reduce false alarms. We conclude the paper with a preferential configuration for a search radar suggested by simulation for this given application.
ERK and MDM2 prey on FOXO3a

Constitutively active ERK signalling stimulates cell proliferation, thereby contributing to tumorigenesis. We now learn that ERK activity induces phosphorylation and MDM2-mediated degradation of the tumour-suppressing transcription factor FOXO3a, thus gaining new information on valuable targets for human cancer therapeutic intervention.
ETHNIC MINORITY SMALL BUSINESS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF RESTAURANTS IN DENVER

Significant ethnic minority business growth has occurred in the United States in the post-World War II period. The self-employment pattern of ethnic minority business, particularly the success of Asian-immigrant small business, is currently explained by two different hypotheses: the social resources explanation and the class resources explanation. While the former approach attributes the large number of small business enterprises and their success to the existence of such social resources as rotating credit associations, a protected market, and a labor source within Asian American communities, the latter argues that success instead is caused by greater investment of human and financial capital by these immigrants. The present study compares the self-employment pattern of the restaurant industry operated by African Americans and immigrant Chinese in Denver. Contrasts and similarities in ownership characteristics, start-up capital, location, soical networks, and economic significance prompted this study to ...