cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ideal Corticosteroid Choice for Epidural Steroid Injections: A Review of Safety and Efficacy

Spine pathology and pain are common. Epidural injections for radicular pain are a common treatment option. While effective for certain populations, these injections have been associated with rare but significant complications including paralysis. The mechanism of injury is felt to be an embolic event following an injection of non-soluble particulate corticosteroids inadvertently into an artery that perfuses the spinal cord or brain. This dire complication has varying risks based on the anatomic considerations of a given route of injection and the corticosteroid utilized. This article will review the proposed mechanism of injury, anatomy principles of the routes of epidural injections, and the solubility and efficacy research on the different commonly utilized corticosteroid options.
Placebo and nocebo effects in randomized double-blind clinical trials of agents for the therapy for fatigue in patients with advanced cancer

Background We have previously reported significant response to placebo in randomized controlled trials of treatments for cancer related fatigue (CRF). We conducted a retrospective study to determine the frequency and predictors of response to placebo effect and nocebo effect in patients with CRF treated in those trials.
Varicella-zoster virus glycoprotein expression differentially induces the unfolded protein response in infected cells.

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is a human herpesvirus that spreads to children as varicella or chicken pox. The virus then establishes latency in the nervous system and re-emerges, typically decades later, as zoster or shingles. We have reported previously that VZV induces autophagy in infected cells as well as exhibiting evidence of the Unfolded Protein Response (UPR): XBP1 splicing, a greatly expanded Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) and CHOP expression. Herein we report the results of a UPR specific PCR array that measures the levels of mRNA of 84 different components of the UPR in VZV infected cells as compared to tunicamycin treated cells as a positive control and uninfected, untreated cells as a negative control. Tunicamycin is a mixture of chemicals that inhibits N-linked glycosylation in the ER with resultant protein misfolding and the UPR. We found that VZV differentially induces the UPR when compared to tunicamycin treatment. For example, tunicamycin treatment moderately increased (8 fold) roughly half of the array elements while downregulating only three (one ERAD and two FOLD components). VZV infection on the other hand upregulated 33 components including a little described stress sensor CREB-H (64 fold) as well as ER membrane components INSIG and gp78, which modulate cholesterol synthesis while downregulating over 20 components mostly associated with ERAD and FOLD. We hypothesize that this expression pattern is associated with an expanding ER with downregulation of active degradation by ERAD and apoptosis as the cell attempts to handle abundant viral glycoprotein synthesis.
Multifunctional Triblock Nanocarrier (PAMAM-PEG-PLL) for the Efficient Intracellular siRNA Delivery and Gene Silencing

A novel triblock poly(amido amine)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly-l-lysine (PAMAM-PEG-PLL) nanocarrier was designed, synthesized, and evaluated for the delivery of siRNA. The design of the nanocarrier is unique and provides a solution to most of the common problems associated with the delivery and therapeutic applications of siRNA. Every component in the triblock nanocarrier plays a significant role and performs multiple functions: (1) tertiary amine groups in the PAMAM dendrimer work as a proton sponge and play a vital role in the endosomal escape and cytoplasmic delivery of siRNA; (2) PEG, a linker connecting PLL and PAMAM dendrimers renders nuclease stability and protects siRNA in human plasma; (3) PLL provides primary amines to form polyplexes with siRNA through electrostatic interaction and also acts as penetration enhancer; and (4) conjugation to PEG and PAMAM reduced toxicity of PLL and the entire triblock nanocarrier PAMAM-PEG-PLL. The data obtained show that the polyplexes resulted from the conjugation of siRNA, and the proposed nanocarriers were effectively taken up by cancer cells and induced the knock down of the target BCL2 gene. In addition, triblock nanocarrier/siRNA polyplexes showed excellent stability in human plasma.
What Can I Tell You About the Flint River in Alabama

The south bend of the Tennessee River in north Alabama defines a drainage containing a large part of Alabama's diverse fish fauna, with 163 recognized species in the Tennessee proper and tributarie...
Expression of human TFIIA subunits in Saccharomyces cerevisiae identifies regions with conserved and species-specific functions

The transcription factor TFIIA stabilizes the interaction between the TATA-binding protein (TBP) and promoter DNA and facilitates activator function. In yeast, TFIIA is composed of large (TOA1) and small (TOA2) subunits that interact to form a beta-barrel domain and a helix bundle domain. Here we report plasmid shuffle experiments showing that the human subunits (TFIIAalpha/beta, ALF, and TFIIAgamma) are not able to support growth in yeast and that the failure is associated with morphological abnormalities related to cell division. To determine the regions responsible for species specificity, we examined a series of chimeric yeast-human subunits. The results showed that yeast-human hybrids that contained the N-termini of TFIIAgamma or TFIIAalpha/beta were viable, presumably because they could form a functional interspecies alpha-helical bundle. Likewise, a TOA1 hybrid that contained the nonconserved internal region from TFIIAalpha/beta also had no effect on TFIIA function. However, hybrids that contained the acidic region III or C-terminal region IV from TFIIAalpha/beta grew more slowly than the wild-type TOA1 subunit, and if both regions were exchanged, this effect was far more severe. Although these hybrids exchanged sequences which are involved in beta-barrel formation and interactions with TBP, they were all active in a TBP-dependent mobility shift assay. The results suggest that the growth phenotypes of these hybrids might be due to a failure to interact with components of the yeast transcription machinery other than TBP. Finally, we show that sequences from region III of TFIIA large subunits fall into classes that are either highly acidic or that are divergent and nonacidic, and provide the first evidence to suggest that, at least in yeast, this region is important for TFIIA function.
Sarcocystis hemionilatrantis (Sp. N.) life cycle in mule deer and coyotes.

Fifteen coyotes (Canis latrans) shed sporulated sporocysts in their feces after eating freshly ground skeletal muscles from a mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus) infected with microscopic-sized cysts of Sarcocystis. Sporocysts were shed intermittently from 12 to 36 days after ingestion of the infected meat. Sporocyst size averaged 14.4 × 9.3 μm. Eleven mule deer fawns orally inoculated with these sporocysts became infected and 9 of 11 died between post-inoculation days (PID) 27 and 63. Clinical signs of anorexia, weight loss, pyrexia and weakness were evident prior to death. A calf (Bos taurus) and two lambs (Ovis aries) orally inoculated with these sporocysts did not become infected and remained healthy throughout the experiment. Similarly, uninoculated control animals consisting of three mule deer fawns, two lambs and one calf remained healthy during the experiment. Preliminary histologic examinations conducted on selected tissues from all animals revealed microscopic-sized schizogonous stages in m...
Ultrasonic ratio of fetal thoracic to abdominal circumference: An association with fetal pulmonary hypoplasia

Real time ultrasound was used in pregnant women who were considered to be at risk for development of pulmonary hypoplasia (n = 26). The population consisted of women who had either premature rupture of membranes (n = 16) or oligohydramnios (n = 10). The ratio calculated by comparing the fetal thoracic circumference to abdominal circumference was obtained in all cases within 10 days of delivery. This ratio correlated strongly with neonatal outcome. Multivariate regression models of neonatal outcome were developed to analyze the relationship of gestational age at which premature membrane rupture occurred, the duration of premature rupture, date of birth, and prenatal diagnosis. The addition of the thoracic circumference to the abdominal circumference ratio increased significantly the proportion of explained variability. Application of this ratio should be considered in evaluating fetal status in oligohydramnios and in the expectant management of premature rupture of membranes.
Confidence intervals for affinity constants, heterogeneity indices and concentration of reactive sites estimated by the 50% ammonium sulphate method on rat's anti-DNP sera☆

Abstract 50% ammonium sulphate macro and micro methods of estimating the reaction parameters for the binding of ϵ-DNP-lysine by rat's anti-DNP antibodies differ by one log unit in their estimates of K0 while both estimate a = 1 . Within each method K0 is estimated with an average precision of ± 0·5 log units. A dependence of K0 on the initial concentration of reactive sites was detected in the micromethod, and possibly also in the macromethod. The validity of these methods is in question since heterogeneity of binding sites is the only explanation for increase of K0 with dilution, and both methods estimate a = 1 .
Controlled release of proteins with gel microparticles

Protein therapeutics are playing an ever increasing role in disease treatment; however, their controlled release remains challenging. In this study a series of microgels with varying crosslinking densities was synthesized, characterized and evaluated for their potential as controlled release protein delivery devices.
Interpenetration of covalent and noncovalent networks in the crystal structures of {[M(4,4′-bipyridine)2(NO3)2]⋅2p-nitroaniline}n where M=Co, 1, Ni, 2, Zn, 3

Abstract The synthesis and crystal structures of {[M(4,4′-bipyridine)2(NO3)2]⋅2p-nitroaniline}n, M=Co, 1, Ni, 2, Zn, 3, are described. 1, 2 and 3 crystallize in the form of compounds that can be described as interpenetrating covalent and noncovalent networks. Analysis of the crystal packing in these compounds reveals that the p-nitroaniline molecules form a noncovalent network that is complementary from a topological perspective with [M(4,4′-bipyridine)2(NO3)2] networks, which exist as square grids. These structures are interpreted in the broader perspective of crystal engineering strategies and development of new hybrid materials.
GAME THEORY-AN EXTENSION OF ITS APPLICATION TO FARM PLANNING UNDER UNCERTAINTY

Current game theoretic models for farnt planning are limited in scope and restrictive in their assumptions. This paper reviews the current status of such models, compares them to the quadratic programming model, and then combines the desirable features of the game theoretic and quadratic Programming approaches by means of parametric linear programming
High‐grade soft tissue sarcomas of the extremities

From July 1975 to December 1982, 358 patients were referred to the Surgery Branch of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) with the diagnosis of soft tissue sarcoma of the extremities. Two hundred eleven of these patients presented with resectable, localized high-grade soft-tissue sarcomas and have been included in the present analysis of the management and outcome of patients with high-grade soft tissue sarcomas of the extremity treated at the NCI. One hundred forty-seven of these 211 patients have been included in randomized prospective trials. The remaining 64 patients in this analysis have been followed at the NCI, but were not included in randomized trials because of patient refusal or ineligibility. Tumor size was identified as a highly significant prognostic variable for disease-free and overall survival (P2 = 0.00001 and 0.0081, respectively). Tumor site, histologic type, and microscopic margins of resection were not significant prognostic variables. There was no difference between patients undergoing amputation compared to those undergoing limb-sparing procedures plus postoperative radiotherapy in disease-free or overall survival for all 211 patients in this study (P2 = 0.068 and 0.131, respectively). A significantly greater frequency of local failure among patients treated by local excision was noted compared to patients undergoing amputation (12/128 versus 0/83, P2 = 0.004), but this did not result in decreased overall survival in patients undergoing combined modality limb-sparing procedures. Adjuvant chemotherapy significantly prolonged disease-free survival (P2 = 0.005) for the 124/211 patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy, although analysis of overall survival did not reveal a significant increase (P2 = 0.10). In a subset of 65 patients included in a prospective randomized trial evaluating the efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy, a significant improvement in both disease-free (P2 = 0.033) and overall (P2 = 0.055) survival was seen in patients receiving chemotherapy. Sixty-five patients developed recurrent disease (65/211, 31%) and 42 of these patients were rendered disease-free surgically. Survival from the time of first recurrence was significantly prolonged among the 42 patients who were rendered disease-free (median survival, 31 months) compared to those who were not (median survival, 9 months, P2 less than 0.001).
Electronic and geometric structure in silver clusters

Abstract One-photon ionization mass spectra were recorded for silver clusters (generated by pulsed laser vaporization) throughout the 4.92 to 5.96 eV energy range. Results include: (i) the observation of electronic structure effects to Ag x , x ⩽440 and (ii) the determination of vertical ionization potentials for most x ⩽100 and x =138. Data are discussed in terms of various model calculations incorporating particle-size-dependent electronic/geometric structure and compared to analogous measurements of cold sodium and copper clusters.
Advancing research beyond the ruling theory stage

Seldom do researchers in science education state causal hypotheses they seek to test. Even less often are alternative hypotheses stated, much less tested. Further, science education researchers as a rule confuse hypotheses with predictions. Thus, they stand little chance of conducting research which distinguishes among alternative explanations, and consequently stand little chance of advancing knowledge beyond the Ruling Theory Stage of thinking. The present article offers five research criteria and their rationale intended to help researchers avoid these problems and help them conduct higher-quality research, which should in turn improve the quality of science teaching.
A Web 2.0-Based Collaborative Model for Multicultural Education

Purpose – Web 2.0 is a collaborative web development platform that has had tremendous usage in building effective, interactive, and collaborative virtual societies at home and abroad. Multicultural study is another trend that has tremendous possibilities to help people in the fight against racism and enables them to become active members of a democratic society. Based on the advanced and interactive features, Web 2.0 technologies could be appropriate media to build many virtual collaborative societies among students in local and global classrooms. Students and teachers from any corner of the world would be able to participate in such virtual communities to practice effective multicultural skills with no or minimum cost. The purpose of this paper is to address these issues.Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual framework of a Web 2.0 model. This paper focuses the background of Web 2.0 technologies and multiculturalism and a feasibility study of using Web 2.0 technologies in the teaching and lea...
A rationale for sampling deposited submicrometer beryllium particulate matter.

The established particle size-selective criteria are based on the probability of an aerosol penetrating into the lung rather than depositing. For submicrometer particulate matter, penetration is a constant 100%, while deposition fluctuates. The deposited submicrometer particulate criterion has been suggested as a more appropriate measure of exposure for particles less than 1 μ m in size. There is some preliminary evidence that these smaller particles may be of significance for chronic beryllium disease. It has also been suggested that particle number might provide a better surrogate of exposure than total mass for beryllium sampling. There are two basic approaches that can be used for sampling for a deposition based criterion. The first is to determine the overall size distribution and apply a deposition factor based on the geometric mean and geometric standard deviation to the total amount of material collected. The second approach is to have specifically designed equipment for the deposition criterion o...
The Content and Clinical Utility of Psychiatric Advance Directives

OBJECTIVE: This paper provides the first systematic examination of the content and clinical utility of psychiatric advance directives, which are documents that specify treatment preferences in advance of periods of compromised decision making. METHODS: Directives were completed by 106 community mental health center outpatients with at least two psychiatric hospitalizations or emergency department visits within two years. Participants used AD-Maker software in groups of up to six people led by peer trainers. Clinical utility was defined as the degree to which instructions are clinically feasible, useful, and consistent with standards of care. RESULTS: Fifty-five percent of participants were female, and 24 percent were nonwhite. Their mean±SD age was 42±9.1 years. Primary diagnoses included schizophrenia spectrum disorders (44 percent), bipolar disorders (27 percent), major depression (22 percent), and other disorders (7 percent). Eighty-one percent of participants listed preferred medications, most often a...
Ten Facts About Fundamental Tax Reform

This is a written version of testimony given to the Joint Economic Committee in November, 2003, subsequently published in Tax Notes. Meaningful simplification is possible, but depends on fundamental tax reform. Fundamental tax reform must start with the tax base, logically distinct from tax rates. Under progressive marginal rates, the two standard forms of consumption tax, prepaid, yield-exempt or (all equivalently) wage, and postpaid, cash-flow or (all equivalently) spending, are not equivalent. Actual tax policy today is drifting towards a flat wage tax, which never includes the yield to capital in the base. A more liberal answer is a progressive spending tax, which does tax the yield to capital, under just the right conditions: when but only when this yield facilitates higher material lifestyles. Hence such a tax stands between an income tax, which double taxes all savings, and a wage tax, which taxes none. A consistent progressive spending tax also generates great simplification, because all further taxes on capital, such as the corporate income or gift and estate taxes, can be reduced or repealed, and all rules about capital gains, losses, realization, recognition and so on become moot. Even further simplification can obtain by substituting another form of spending tax, such as a VAT or a national retail sales tax, plus a rebate for the two lowest brackets of the progressive spending tax, leaving a supplemental spending tax only for the wealthy, such as households spending over $100,000 per year.
Hypospadias and Kallmann's syndrome: Distinction between morphogenesis and growth of the male phallus

Although some boys with hypospadias have a small phallus, few actually have micropenis. Boys with Kallmann's syndrome have an endocrinopathy and micropenis, yet the disease is not associated with hypospadias. We present a boy affected by both Kallmann's syndrome and hypospadias. One might assume a closer association of these two diseases, as they both are hormonally dependent and severely affect the genitalia. In actuality, the coexistence of the two disorders has not been previously reported. This rare association provides the opportunity to consider how the morphogenesis and growth of the male phallus are temporally and hormonally distinct.
Cute Enough to Eat: The Transformation of Animals into Meat for Human Consumption in Commercialized Images:

In order for a culture that generally likes, even loves, animals to eat them, and especially not to make the link between the two, it is necessary to construct the consumption of meat-eating in such a way that the connection is blurred or erased. In this paper, I suggest that one way this is done is by transforming animals, which are loved, into meats, which are eaten, so that the concepts of “animals” and “meats” seem distinct and unrelated. Using content analysis of commercialized images of animals, I find that this transformation involves two key processes, the representation of meat as something that no longer resembles any animal origins and the “cutification” (making objects appear cuter than they usually appear) of animals, that promote the consumption of their animal flesh. I argue that these types of objectification are similar to other forms of objectification of oppressed groups in society, including women and minorities, and serve to perpetuate the oppression of animals in contemporary society.
Integrated Systematics of the Simuliidae (Diptera): Evolutionary Relationships of the Little-Known Palearctic Black Fly Simulium acrotrichum

Simulium (Simulium) acrotrichum Rubtsov, a black fly from Central Asia, provides a platform for examining the evolutionary relationships of selected species groups in the subgenus Simulium Latreille. The female, male, pupa, and larva of S. acrotrichum are properly associated and morphologically redescribed and illustrated. The banding sequence of the larval polytene chromosomes is compared with that of the Simulium subgeneric standard, from which it differs by nearly 30 fixed rearrangements. Structural and chromosomal features indicate that S. acrotrichum is the sister species of S. flavidum Rubtsov. Simulium acrotrichum can be placed confidently in a group consisting of the S. malyschevi Dorogostaisky, Rubtsov, and Vlasenko and S. reptans (L.) groups, which are part of a larger clade that also includes the S. jenningsi Malloch group. This more inclusive clade is defined chromosomally by a minimum of four fixed inversions, compared with the standard map for the subgenus Simulium. All four inversions are uniquely derived relative to the two selected outgroups, Simulium (Psilozia) vittatum Zetterstedt and Simulium (Boophthora) erythrocephalum (De Geer). The independent monophyly of the S. malyschevi and S. reptans groups, however, cannot be tested without study of additional group members. The problems illustrated by the taxonomic identity and phylogenetic placement of S. acrotrichum argue for an integrated approach to simuliid systematics, drawing from the character stores of morphology, cytology, and molecular biology.
Low Agreement Between Previous Physician Diagnosed Prostatitis and National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index Pain Measures

ABSTRACTPurpose: We evaluate the agreement between self-reported physician diagnosed prostatitis and pain questions from the National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (CPSI).Materials and Methods: A randomly selected cohort of white men 47 to 90 years old from Olmsted County, Minnesota completed a study questionnaire on a history of physician diagnosed prostatitis in the preceding 2 years, including the CPSI questions. The medical records were also reviewed for physician diagnosis of chronic prostatitis during the preceding 10 years.Results: Of 1,543 men 27 (1.7%) reported a physician diagnosis of prostatitis in the preceding 2 years. There were strong associations between self-reported prostatitis and pain at the tip of the penis (OR 6.3, 95% CI 1.4, 28.5), ejaculatory (5.9, CI 1.3, 26.6) and testicular (3.6, 1.2, 10.8) pain. The chance corrected agreement between self-reported prostatitis and pain symptoms was low at 0.01 (pubic pain) to 0.07 (pain at the tip of the penis, ejaculat...
Analysis of demographic and functional subacute (transitional) rehabilitation data.

Demographic and functional data were obtained on 102 patients from three subacute rehabilitation units specializing in low-level traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients. Functional assessment evaluation was performed using the Disability Rating Scale (DRS). The average admission and discharge DRS scores were 17-4 and 13-6, respectively. On average this patient population improved from an extremely severe level of disability to a severe level. The TBI patient subset improved on average from 20-4 to 13-1. Significant correlation exists between admission, discharge, and differential DRS scores, as has been demonstrated previously in the evaluation of this scale among only TBI patients. No significant correlation was demonstrated between demographic information and DRS scores. Thus, no demographic predictors of good or bad functional outcome were identified. In addition, analyses of relationships between diagnosis, length of stay, and age will provide information about subactute rehabilitation, an emerging but ...
A Disaster-Recovery IT Framework Based on Disaster Indexing Measurement Mechanism in E-Government

Recently, the frequency of natural disasters is increasing sharply, especially the seismic activities which have been reached to a new peak, such as WenChuan earthquake in China, L’Aquila earthquake in Italy. The disasters not only cause immeasurable casualties and infrastructures damage, but information and data losses, which will bring big troubles to the post-disaster reconstruction projects, since the re-collect work will be time-consuming and need unpredictable efforts.In this paper, a new disaster-recovery IT framework is proposed. The framework is combined with P2M (point to multi-points) and P2P (point to point) to form a hierarchical IT infrastructure distributed in different geographic location. It ensures the high availability for the data through the DIMM (Disaster Indexing Measurement Mechanism), which uses a scheduling model for the data backup and synchronization locally and remotely, based on the hierarchical infrastructure. Once the disaster happens, the framework can quickly regain the lost data in the area from its hierarchical structure, meanwhile the DIMM guarantees to maintain the data with high availability and avoid data losses.
Self-Rated Health Changes and Oldest-Old Mortality

Objectives. This study e xplores how 2 measures of self-rated health (SRH) change are related to mortality among oldest-old adults. In doing so, it also considers how associations between SRH and mortality may depend on prior SRH. Method. Data come from the Asset and Health Dynamics survey—the oldest-old portion of the Health and Retirement Study—and follow 6,233 individuals across 13 years. I use parametric hazard models to examine relationships between death and 2 measures of short-term SRH change—a computed measure comparing SRH at time t–1 and t, and a respondent-provided retrospectively reported change. Results. Respondents who demonstrate or report an y SRH change between survey waves died at a greater rate than those with consistent SRH. After controlling for morbidity, individual characteristics, and SRH, those who changed SRH categories between survey waves and those who retrospectively reported an improvement in health continue to have a greater risk of death, when compared with those with no change. Discussion. These findings suggest that the well-established associations between SRH status and mortality may understate the risk of death for oldest-old indi viduals with recent subjective health improvements.
Caffeine lowers muscle pain during exercise in hot but not cool environments.

Caffeine (CAF) ingestion may enhance endurance exercise by lowering perceived exertion (RPE) and muscle pain. However, exercise in the heat may be detrimental to performance by increasing RPE and pain. The purpose of this study was to examine if caffeine affects pain and related perceptual responses differently in cool and hot ambient conditions. Eleven male cyclists (mean ± SD; age, 25 ± 6 years; mass, 72.6 ± 8.1 kg; VO(2max), 58.7 ± 2.9 ml kg(-1) min(-1)) completed four trials in a randomized, double blind design. While remaining euhydrated, subjects cycled for 90 min at 65 ± 7% VO(2max) followed by a 15-min performance trial. Subjects ingested 3 mg kg(-1) of encapsulated caffeine (CAF) or placebo (PLA) 60 min before and 45 after beginning exercise in 12°C and 33°C (i.e., 12-CAF, 33-CAF, 12-PLA, and 33-PLA trials). Central, local, and overall perceived exertion (C-, L-, and O-RPE) and pain were measured throughout exercise. Throughout submaximal exercise C-, L-, and O-RPE were significantly greater in 33°C (P 0.05). Using area-under-the-curve analysis, pain in 33-PLA was increased by 74% vs 12-PLA (P<0.05). CAF did not reduce pain in 12°C (P=0.542), but in 33°C, CAF reduced pain by 27% (P=0.032). Despite this apparent advantage, CAF improved performance independent of ambient temperature (i.e., non-significant interaction; P=0.662). This study found that, although caffeine improves exercise capacity, its effect on leg muscle pain is dependent on ambient temperature. Although exercise in the heat increases muscle pain compared to a cooler environment, caffeine reduces this pain.
Anti-tumor promoting effects of palmitoyl: protein thioesterase inhibitors against a human neurotumor cell line

Inhibiting the depalmitoylation of proteins disrupts cell survival signaling in tumor cells and leads to increased cell death. We chemically synthesized a non-hydrolyzable analog of the palmitoyl-cysteine thioester linkage (AcG-alpha-ketoamido-palmitoyl diamino propionate-VKIKK) (DAPKA) and showed that it inhibits palmitoyl:protein thioesterase (PPT1) in an in vitro assay using a specific fluorescent-based (4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-gluco-6-thiopalmitate) assay. We then showed that it killed cultured tumor cells and enhanced the killing of neurotumor cells by chemotherapeutic drugs such as etoposide and adriamycin. Overexpression of PPT1 protected against apoptosis induced by etoposide and the ketoamide and the inhibitory effect of the two was additive.
A Socio-Technical Perspective on Interdisciplinary Interactions During the Development of Complex Engineered Systems

This study investigates interdisciplinary interactions that take place during the research, development, and early conceptual design phases in the design of large-scale complex engineered systems (LaCES) such as aerospace vehicles. These interactions, that take place throughout a large engineering development organization, become the initial conditions of the systems engineering process that ultimately leads to the development of a viable system. This paper summarizes some of the challenges and opportunities regarding social and organizational issues that emerged from a qualitative study using ethnographic and survey data. The analysis reveals several socio-technical couplings between the engineered system and the organization that creates it. Survey respondents noted the importance of interdisciplinary interactions and their benefits to the engineered system as well as substantial challenges in interdisciplinary interactions. Noted benefits included enhanced knowledge and problem mitigation and noted obstacles centered on organizational and human dynamics. Findings suggest that addressing the social challenges may be a critical need in enabling interdisciplinary interactions
Development of a myeloid cell-binding adenovirus for the potential gene therapy of alpha-1 anti-trypsin deficiency

Alpha-1 anti-trypsin (A1AT) deficiency lung disease represents an ideal candidate for definitive gene therapy treatment. As the liver is the major locale for A1AT synthesis, the majority of gene therapy approaches have been directed towards induction of functional wild type A1AT within hepatocytes. Despite the diverse range of gene therapy strategies applied, the levels of serum A1AT achieved have not been sufficient to correct the elastase/anti-elastase balance within the lung. To this end, we hypothesized that in vivo gene delivery to pulmonary endothelium could provide A1AT augmentation of Epithelial Lining Fluid (ELF) more effectively than liver-based transduction methods. To re-target the expression of transgene in the lung, the knob domain of Ad5 has been successfully modified genetically in our lab. We have identified a novel peptide sequence called myeloid binding peptide (MBP) which increases the lung targeting. Based on this we created a recombinant adenovirus expressing A1AT with MBP in the fiber protein (AdMBPA1AT). When we injected this Ad systemically in mice we saw a high expression of the transgene in the serum in comparison to the control Ad expressing A1AT without MBP in the fiber protein. In order to confirm that the AdMBPA1AT localizes to the lung, we analyzed viral copy number using total DNA extracted from the organs of mice by qPCR and the expression of the protein in serum and ELF. Our strategy will test the hypothesis that A1AT deriving from the pulmonary endothelium can augment more effectively ELF A1AT to provide a corrective anti-elastase screen.
MODELING TEMPERATURE, pH, NaCl, NITRITE AND LACTATE ON THE SURVIVAL OF ESCHERICHIA COLI O157:H7 IN BROTH

A model was developed to estimate the survival times for a four-strain cocktail of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in BHI broths with pH values from 3.5 to 7.0, NaCl from 0.5 to 15%, Na lactate from 0.0 to 2.0% and NaNO 2 from 0 to 75 ppm. Broths were stored between 4 and 37C for up to 6 months. Samples were removed and enumerated at appropriate intervals. A primary level model with a shoulder period (no decline) and a subsequent log-linear decline was fitted to the survival data and the times for 3, 4, 5, and 6 log 10 -units of decline determined. A secondary level second-order regression equation with the environmental conditions and declines being the independent variables was fitted to the survival times. Confidence limits about the estimated mean were also estimated. In foods with equivalent conditions that do not permit E. coli O157:H7 growth, this model provides an initial estimate of the survival times.
Kinetic dissection of fundamental processes of eukaryotic translation initiation in vitro

Approaches have been developed for the kinetic dissection of eukaryotic translation initiation in vitro using rabbit reticulocyte ribosomes and a crude preparation of initiation factors. These new approaches have allowed the kinetics of formation of the 43S and 80S ribosomal complexes to be followed and have substantially improved the ability to follow formation of the first peptide bond. The results suggest the existence of a new step on the initiation pathway that appears to require at least one additional factor and the hydrolysis of GTP and may prepare the 80S complex for the formation of the first peptide bond. The initial kinetic framework and methods developed herein will allow the properties of individual species along the initiation pathway to be probed further and will facilitate dissection of the mechanistic roles of individual translation factors and their interplay with RNA structural elements.
Speculative parallelization of sequential loops on multicores

The advent of multicores presents a promising opportunity for speeding up the execution of sequential programs through their parallelization. In this paper we present a novel solution for efficiently supporting software-based speculative parallelization of sequential loops on multicore processors. The execution model we employ is based upon state separation, an approach for separately maintaining the speculative state of parallel threads and non-speculative state of the computation. If speculation is successful, the results produced by parallel threads in speculative state are committed by copying them into the computation's non-speculative state. If misspeculation is detected, no costly state recovery mechanisms are needed as the speculative state can be simply discarded. Techniques are proposed to reduce the cost of data copying between non-speculative and speculative state and efficiently carrying out misspeculation detection. We apply the above approach to speculative parallelization of loops in several sequential programs which results in significant speedups on a Dell PowerEdge 1900 server with two Intel Xeon quad-core processors.
Deseos y necesidades

La distincion entre necesidades y deseos es importante para la etica, la prudencia y el razonamiento practico. Las necesidades fundamentales deben distinguirse de las necesidades instrumentales, que son condiciones necesarias para un proposito. La necesidades fundamentales buscan evitar un dano serio. Muestro como el dano no puede ser explicado en terminos de frustracion de deseos y preferencias, sino que debe entenderse en terminos de los intereses que yacen detras de nuestros deseos. Sostengo que las necesidades fundamentales forman parte de nuestra inescapable naturaleza, defendiendo esta idea contra la tesis de que los humanos son primordialmente creaturas socialmente determinadas. Finalmente muestro la importancia de la inescapabilidad para el razonamiento practico acerca de necesidades y valores
Defining an Embedded Code for Protein Ubiquitination

It has been more than 30 years since the initial report of the discovery of ubiquitin as an 8.5 kDa protein of unknown function expressed universally in living cells. And still, protein modification by covalent conjugation of the ubiquitin molecule is one of the most dynamic posttranslational modifications studied in terms of biochemistry and cell physiology. Ubiquitination plays a central regulatory role in number of eukaryotic cellular processes such as receptor endocytosis, growth-factor signaling, cell-cycle control, transcription, DNA repair, gene silencing, and stress response. Ubiquitin conjugation is a three step concerted action of the E1-E2-E3 enzymes that produces a modified protein. In this review we investigate studies undertaken to identify both ubiquitin and SUMO (small ubiquitin-related modifier) substrates with the goal of understanding how lysine selectivity is achieved. The SUMOylation pathway though distinct from that of ubiquitination, draws many parallels. Based upon the recent findings, we present a model to explain how an individual ubiquitin ligase may target specific lysine residue(s) with the co-operation from a scaffold protein.
Determination of nitrate in the blood of the hydrothermal vent tubeworm Riftia pachyptila using a bacterial nitrate reduction assay

The vestimentiferan tubeworm Riftia pachyptila derives most or all of its nutrition from intracellular chemosynthetic bacterial symbionts. Because purified preparations of symbionts respire nitrate, possibly nitrite, and oxygen, host transport of nitrate is a topic of interest. In the present study, we have developed a nitrate detection assay that utilizes a nitrite reductase-deficient Escherichia coli strain for the reduction of nitrate to nitrite, which is then determined spectrophotometrically. Nitrate and nitrite concentrations were measured in the blood and coelomic fluids of R. pachyptila collected from hydrothermal vent sites at 9°N and 13°N. The blood was shown to have nitrate concentrations up to one hundred times that of ambient sea water (40 μM). Blood nitrate levels reached concentrations of >1 mM, while nitrite was measured in the range of 400–700 μM. The concentrations of nitrate and nitrite in the coelomic fluids were 150–240 μM and <20 μM, respectively. The nitrate determination technique we present here is simple, applicable for laboratory and shipboard use on sea water or biological fluids, and works reliably within the 0.5 to 2000 μM range.
The Indiana Public Health Emergency Surveillance System: ongoing progress, early findings, and future directions.

Abstract Beginning in 2004, the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) partnered with the Regenstrief Institute on a 4-year project to implement a statewide biosurveillance system incorporating more than 110 hospitals. This paper describes our evolving experience with the system including ongoing implementation challenges, how the system has helped to uncover events of public health significance, and future directions. The system currently receives emergency department visit data from 50 hospitals totaling nearly 5,000 visits per day, and is projected to have 65 hospitals connected by August 2006. Introduction Biosurveillance systems focus on the use of early disease indicators to identify outbreaks before definitive diagnoses are made. In the face of recent bioterrorism threats such as anthrax and current concerns about pandemic influenza, these systems are viewed as critical to the nation's health care infrastructure.
Large scale finite element analyses on a vector processor

Abstract Linear and nonlinear finite element software development considerations for vector processors are presented. Areas of discussion include performance measurement, data management, element level calculations and nonlinear problem solution. An example problem which demonstrates software performance is also presented. Incorporation of the methods presented in this paper can lead to finite element software which requires approximately one tenth the CPU time and as little as one-hundredth the I/O effort of conventional software.
Bariatric surgery interest around the world: What Google Trends can teach us

Abstract Background Bariatric surgery may prove an effective weight loss option for those struggling with severe obesity, but it is difficult to determine levels of interest in such procedures at the population level through traditional approaches. Analysis of Google Trend information may give providers and healthcare systems useful information regarding Internet users' interest in bariatric procedures. The objective of this study was to gather Google Trend information on worldwide Internet searches for "bariatric surgery", "gastric bypass", "gastric sleeve", "gastric plication", and "lap band" from 2004–2012 and to explore temporal relationships with relevant media events, economic variations, and policy modifications. Methods Data were collected using Google Trends. Trend analyses were performed using Microsoft Excel Version 14.3.5 and Minitab V.16.0. Results Trend analyses showed that total search volume for the term "bariatric surgery" has declined roughly 25% since January 2004, although interest increased approximately 5% from 2011 to 2012. Interest in lap band procedures declined 30% over the past 5 years, while "gastric sleeve" has increased 15%. Spikes in search numbers show an association with events such as changing policy and insurance guidelines and media coverage for bariatric procedures. Conclusion This report illustrates that variations in Internet search volume for terms related to bariatric surgery are multifactorial in origin. Although it is impossible to ascertain if reported Internet search volume is based on interest in potentially undergoing bariatric surgery or simply general interest, this analysis reveals that search volume appears to mirror real world events. Therefore, Google Trends could be a way to supplement understanding about interest in bariatric procedures.
Design of adiabatic matching stages for efficient light coupling to propagating modes of photonic crystals

We propose a general, robust, and easy-to-implement scheme to design adiabatic buffer stages to couple light into and out of arbitrary photonic crystal (PC) structures. This buffer layer can be used as an intermediate layer to reduce the reflection for coupling the incident beam to PCs, extracting the light from PCs, or coupling light from one PC to another PC. The design is based on gradually changing the structure from the incident region to the PC in order to minimize the reflection due to modal mismatch. The results are compared with those with no matching stage used, and show considerable reflection reduction in a broad range of frequencies. We show that the resulting adiabatic design is insensitive to the frequency and angle of incident light, and is therefore superior to other schemes proposed to date that are designed for a specific incident angle and frequency.
Large-Scale Influences on Tropical Cyclogenesis in the Western North Pacific

Abstract Objectively analyzed data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts are used to examine the large-scale aspects of the formation of tropical cyclones. It is hypothesized that tropical cyclogenesis occurs when external atmospheric forcing on the synoptic or larger scale provides uplift through a deep layer, enhancing convection, in a region with environmental conditions favorable for genesis. Emphasis is placed on the roles of upper-level troughs, low-level wind surges, preexisting tropical cyclones, and propagating wave disturbances in triggering tropical cyclogenesis. Composites of the 200-hPa and 850-hPa flows reveal the presence of both upper-level troughs and low-level wind surges, respectively, prior to genesis. In the composites, the wind surges also appear to be related to the presence of a prior circulation located approximately 2000 km to the west of the genesis location. An examination of the individual cases demonstrates that approximately 85% of all storms had either...
Deep-inelastic scattering in 124,136 Xe+ 58,64 Ni at energies near the Coulomb barrier

Cross sections, angular distributions, and mass distributions have been measured for deep-inelastic scattering in {sup 124}Xe+{sup 58}Ni and {sup 136}Xe+{sup 64}Ni at laboratory energies in the vicinity of the Coulomb barrier. The mass distributions show distinct components due to deep-inelastic and fissionlike processes. The strength of deep-inelastic scattering is similar in the two systems measured and comparable to previous measurements in {sup 58}Ni+{sup 112,124}Sn. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}
Отвалы горной породы на леднике Давыдова (хр. Акшыйрак, Тянь-Шань)

Since 1995, a barren rock has been formed at the Davydov Glacier, due to the works at the Kumtor Gold Mine. By the end of 2010, total amount of the rock, stockpiled on the glacier, apparently exceeded 200 million tons, the height of dumps of rock sometimes exceeded 50 meters. The most noticeable effects of this are provoking local surges of the Davydov Glacier and squeezing glacier ice out of the dumps of rock. For a detailed analysis of both processes, we also used the results of periodic geodetic measurements (over 8000) of monitoring rods (about 800 rods) of the gold mining company. A number of local surges of the glacier has been found, the first of which began in March–April 2002. To analyze glacier squeezing out of the dumps of rock, mathematical modeling of that process has been done. It was established that in most cases, the glacier is almost completely squeezed out of for 1–2 years.