cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Toxicity of moniliformin and fumonisin B1 fed singly and in combination in diets for young channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus

.— Growth, histological lesions, and biochemical changes were investigated in channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus fed various concentrations of moniliformin with or without fumonisin B1. Channel catfish (average initial weight, 1.5 g) were fed diets formulated to contain 0, 20, 40, 60, and 120 mg moniliformin/kg; 0, 20, and 40 mg fumonisin B1/kg, or two combinations of moniliformin and fumonisin B1 for 10 wk. Fish fed diets with the lowest concentration of moniliformin or fumonisin B1 (20 mg/kg diet) had significantly (P < 0.05) less weight gain than the control fish. Increasing the level of moniliformin in the diets resulted in a linear decrease in weight gain. Overall mortality of fish was 4% and not related to treatment effects. Hematocrit was significantly (P < 0.05) lowered by 60-mg moniliformin/kg diet or 40-mg fumonisin B1/kg diet. Dose-dependent increases in serum pyruvate concentration and ratio of free sphinganine to free sphingonine were obtained with increasing concentration of dietary moniliformin and fumonisin B1, respectively. Mean serum pyruvate level was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in fish fed the diet containing 60-mg moniliformin/kg diet. Addition of fumonisin B1 (40 mg/kg) to the diet containing 40-mg moniliformin/kg significantly increased the serum pyruvate level above that of the control. Also, the lowest concentration of fumonisin B1 (20 mg/kg diet) significantly (P < 0.05) increased the ratio of sphingolipids. Combinations of moniliformin and fumonisin B1 at levels of 20:40 and 40:40 mg/kg diet did not significantly change the effect of fumonisin B1 on the ratio of sphingolipids. The only tissue lesions observed in liver and heart were smaller nuclei of cells in livers of fish fed diets containing the two highest levels of moniliformin and the combinations of the two toxins.
Delirium as a contributing factor to “crescendo” pain: Three case reports

Cancer patients occasionally experience periods of rapidly escalating pain--"crescendo" pain--that may present a challenge in assessment and management. Although these episodes are often associated with progressive neoplasm, any of a variety of other processes may be involved. Delirium is a potentially treatable and frequently unrecognized factor. We present three patients who illustrate this relationship between delirium and a crescendo pattern of cancer pain.
Programs of safety surveillance and control of fishery products

In the United States, fishery product safety at the federal level falls primarily under the authority of the Food and Drug Administration. However, other federal agencies play an important role. The Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for setting and recommending pesticide limits in seafood, and the National Marine Fisheries Service operates a voluntary inspection program. The Centers for Disease Control is responsible for the collection and evaluation of data characterizing the source of seafood-borne illness. Individual states also play a dominant role in the control of seafood-borne risk because of the important differences in consumption and contaminant levels across regions of the country. State public health, environmental protection, and resource management agencies have developed programs designed to mitigate that risk. Because of the complication and variability of the fishery industry, an effective safety system can be developed based on partnership among federal and state agencies, in which state governments retain the dominant role and the federal government develops and updates guidance programs and provides oversight. The international community has developed practices and protocols impacting the regulation of seafood safety in the United States. In view of developing trade agreements, the international community should address the criteria of setting equivalent contaminant levels and consider the option of establishing import contract criteria for fishery products.
Dedicated Emergency Department Ultrasound Rotation Improves Residents’ Ultrasound Knowledge and Interpretation Skills

Abstract Background Graduates of Emergency Medicine (EM) residency training programs are expected to be proficient in ultrasound. However, best practices for teaching residents ultrasonography has yet to be determined. Study Objectives To determine if a dedicated Emergency Department (ED) ultrasound rotation objectively improves residents’ EM ultrasound knowledge, interpretation accuracy, and clinical decision-making based on ultrasound findings. Methods EM residents completing a required ED-based ultrasound rotation were prospectively studied. Before the start of the rotation, each resident completed a 20-question pre-test. At the end of the rotation, residents completed a 20-question post-test. Both tests covered physics, trauma (focused assessment with sonography for trauma), first-trimester pregnancy, aorta, biliary, echocardiography, and vascular sonography, using a multiple-choice format. In both tests, ultrasound images were included in 11 of the 20 questions. The questions were divided into three categories: knowledge-based (8 questions), interpretation (9 questions), and clinical decision-making (3 questions), for both tests. Scores on pre-tests and post-tests were compared using a Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results During the 2-year study period, 21 residents completed the rotation. The median pre-test score was 16 (interquartile range [IQR] 14.5–17), compared to a median post-test score of 19 (IQR 18–20), p Conclusions A dedicated ED ultrasound rotation improves residents’ EM ultrasound knowledge and interpretation accuracy based on ultrasound findings, as measured by improvement on ultrasound test scores.
Chemistry and antiviral activities of acyclonucleosides

Article de synthese sur les acyclonucleosides derives de purine ou de pyrimidine et les acyclo-C-nucleosides
Planarized Copper Interconnects by Selective Electroless Plating

Electroless deposition of planarized copper in SiO2 trenches has been carried out using Pd/Si plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) or Pd2Si deposition to form a seed layer at the bottom of trenches. Electrical resistivity of the plated Cu is ≤ 2 μΩ-cm for both types of seeding layers. For the PHI seeding method, we found a threshold Pd dose of 2 ×l014/cm2 is required to initiate Cu plating, and RBS analysis confirms intermixing of Pd, Si, and SiO2 improves the adhesion of the plated Cu to SiO2. Electromigration tests show both void and hillock formation under accelerated current stress testing, with an activation energy of 0.8 eV for interconnect open failure. The DC and pulse-DC median-time-to-failure (MTF) of plated Cu are found to be about two orders of magnitude longer than that of Al-2%Si at 275°C, and about four orders of magnitude longer than that of Al-2%Si when extrapolated to room temperature. Pulsed DC electromigration stressing exhibits a transition from low to high frequency behavior around 900 kHz, indicating a vacancy relaxation time much shorter than that of Al. For bipolar AC stressing, the ratio MTFAC / MTFDC of Cu is much smaller than that of Al-2%Si, indicating a different void recovery mechanism for Cu.
Awarding and promoting excellence in hearing loss prevention

AbstractObjective: To describe the rationale and creation of a national award to recognize and promote hearing loss prevention. Design: In 2007, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health partnered with the National Hearing Conservation Association to create the Safe-in-Sound Excellence in Hearing Loss Prevention Award™ (www.safeinsound.us). The objectives of this initiative were to recognize organizations that document measurable achievements and to share leading edge information to a broader community. Results: An expert committee developed specific and explicit award evaluation criteria of excellence in hearing loss prevention for organizations in different industrial sectors. The general approach toward award criteria was to incorporate current ‘best practices’ and familiar benchmarks of hearing loss prevention programs. This approach was reviewed publicly. In addition, mechanisms were identified to measure the impact of the award itself. Interest in the award was recorded through the m...
Pulmonary Arterial Tree following Prolonged Experimental Reduction of Pulmonary Blood Flow

A Blalock anastomosis between the left subclavian artery and the left pulmonary artery was performed on six dogs soon after birth. As an unexpected complication of surgery, blood flow through the left lungs of two of the dogs was greatly reduced. Over a period of 22 months, widespread arterial thromboses developed in these two lungs. The thrombotic lesions were comparable to those which develop in human beings with severe pulmonic valvular stenosis or atresia. Hypoxemia and polycythemia have often been implicated in the development of these lesions. Our study demonstrates that such lesions can be induced in the dog by reduction in pulmonary blood flow alone since hypoxemia and polycythemia were absent in our experimental animals.
A high throughput method for identifying personalized tumor-associated antigens

Received: March 12, 2010 , Accepted: April 25, 2010 , Published: June 27, 2010 // Circulating autoantibodies against tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) and their pattern of glycosylation can be used as diagnostic indicators of cancer. Using random peptide library screening, we identified patient-specific sets of peptides recognized by colon cancer patients’ serum IgG and IgM antibodies. We demonstrate a strategy for analyzing BLAST search results for identifying tumor-associated antigens represented by peptides that mimic sequential epitopes. Statistical analysis of the frequency with which the proteins are retrieved by BLAST homology searching and an estimation of the probability of a match by chance can identify the proteins that are the real targets of the immune response against tumors. In addition, we observed an over-expression of the mRNA for the match-producing protein only in the corresponding tumor sample, out of fourteen tumor and normal samples analyzed. This observation confirms that personalized tumor-associated antigens can be identified by BLAST homology search following random peptide library screening on cancer patient’s serum antibodies.
Accuracy-Speedup Tradeoffs for a Time-Parallel Simulation of Wireless Ad hoc Networks

We introduce a scalable algorithm for time-parallel simulations of wireless ad hoc networks and report on our results. Our approach decomposes the simulation into over-lapping temporal components; the individual components are computed using an unmodified sequential network simulator such as NS-2. Our algorithm is iterative and the accuracy of the results increases with the number of iterations. We find that the approach allows the simulation of ad hoc networks with a number of nodes larger than those feasible with sequential network simulators on single CPUs. The algorithm is scalable, we can simulate larger time intervals by increasing the number of virtual processors carrying out the simulation. We identify the parameters that can be investigated with the algorithm and report on the accuracy of our results and on the achieved simulation speedup.
Healing quantitative trait loci in a combined cross analysis using related mouse strain crosses

Inbred mouse strains MRL and LG share the ability to fully heal ear hole punches with the full range of appropriate tissues without scarring. They also share a common ancestry, MRL being formed from a multi-strain cross with two final backcrosses to LG before being inbred by brother-sister mating. Many gene-mapping studies for healing ability have been performed using these two strains, resulting in the location of about 20 quantitative trait loci (QTLs). Here, we combine two of these crosses (N=638), MRL/lpr × C57BL/6NTac and LG/J × SM/J, in a single combined cross analysis to increase the mapping power, decrease QTL support intervals, separate multiple QTLs and establish allelic states at individual QTL. The combined cross analysis located 11 QTLs, 6 affecting only one cross (5 LG × SM and 1 MRL × B6) and 5 affecting both crosses, approximately the number of common QTLs expected given strain SNP similarity. Amongst the five QTLs mapped in both crosses, three had significantly different genetic effects, additive in one cross and over or underdominant in the other. It is possible that allelic states at these three loci are different in SM and B6 because they lead to differences in dominance interactions with the LG and MRL alleles. QTL support intervals are 40% smaller in the combined cross analysis than in either of the single crosses. Combined cross analysis was successful in enhancing the interpretation of earlier QTL results for these strains.
A comparison of the carcinogenic effect of internal and external irradiation on the thyroid gland of the male Long-Evans rat.

THERE has been increasing interest since the first case of thyrotoxicosis was treated with I131, in the possible carcinogenic effect of this form, or indeed any form, of irradiation of the thyroid gland. Evidence bearing on this possibility has been sought in various ways. Surveys have been made of patients, mostly adults, whose thyroidal disorders have been treated by radiation (1). Surveys have also been reported of the incidence of thyroid malignancy in patients who, as children, had received irradiation (2). Experimental series, comparable to the one to be presented, with somewhat conflicting results have also been published (3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8). In view of the possible significance of the first of these direct experiments with I131 (3) it was decided to repeat the work but also to extend the observations to compare the effect of internal and external irradiation.
Analysis of output power variation under mismatched load in Power Amplifier FEM with directional coupler

Directional couplers are used for output power detection and control in both WCDMA and GSM/EDGE Power Amplifier (PA) Front End Modules (FEM). At high values of load VSWR, delivered power shows significant variations with the phase. Back-of-envelope calculations are used to estimate output power variations. The objective of this analysis is to define a unified platform for understanding the power control mechanism in PA FEM with directional coupler, explain known-best practices and provide insight into minimizing output power variation. It illustrates how a complex load at isolation port of directional coupler is used to compensate certain non-ideal factors in PA FEM. A practical approach to minimize delivered power variations systematically was implemented and verified in a PA FEM design.
Membrane expansion alleviates endoplasmic reticulum stress independently of the unfolded protein response

Cells constantly adjust the sizes and shapes of their organelles according to need. In this study, we examine endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane expansion during the unfolded protein response (UPR) in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We find that membrane expansion occurs through the generation of ER sheets, requires UPR signaling, and is driven by lipid biosynthesis. Uncoupling ER size control and the UPR reveals that membrane expansion alleviates ER stress independently of an increase in ER chaperone levels. Converting the sheets of the expanded ER into tubules by reticulon overexpression does not affect the ability of cells to cope with ER stress, showing that ER size rather than shape is the key factor. Thus, increasing ER size through membrane synthesis is an integral yet distinct part of the cellular program to overcome ER stress.
Fault tolerant circuits for highly reliable systems

Transient effects such as cosmic rays and device degradation due to aging may lead catastrophic failure in many applications. Redundancy-based techniques have been widely used to implement fault-tolerant system. N-tuple Modular Redundancy (NMR) systems, in particular, are all based on the majority voting. The voter unit, therefore, becomes a reliability bottleneck. In this paper, we advocate a circuit-level voting mechanism to design a highlily reliable system. When applied to the logic gates, analog components and on-chip interconnects, we can completely eliminate the centralized voter unit and push the redundancy to the circuit level. Our strategy achieves high reliability that is vital for mission critical systems for which high reliability and/or long lifetime is expected. Experimental results are reported to prove the concept, clarify the design procedure and measure the system's reliability.
Finding ‘Just the Right Moment’ for Operative Intervention in the Asymptomatic Patient With Moderate to Severe Aortic Regurgitation

The decision to recommend operative intervention to the patient with valve disease is the most difficult when the valve disease is severe chronic aortic regurgitation and the patient is asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic. Because aortic valve replacement is almost always necessary and because the biological and mechanical valves still have problems resulting in significant mortality and morbidity, the decision to recommend surgery in an asymptomatic patient must wait until there are indications that changes are occurring that will predict an increased risk of death or congestive heart failure even after valve replacement. The goals of operative intervention in valve disease are to (1) decrease or diminish symptomatology and thus to improve the quality of life for the patient; (2) prevent “catastrophes” or problems that are irreversible, such as myocardial infarction, left ventricular (LV) fibrosis, decreasing myocardial contractility, thromboemboli, and sudden death; and (3) prolong life. There is little doubt that the first goal is achievable, that of decreasing symptomatology. Every study reported of aortic valve replacement succeeds in that goal. If the patient survives, the chances of improvement in symptoms and functional classification are excellent. Success of the third goal, that of prolonging life, is difficult to prove. The problem is that the mortality rate in patients with aortic regurgitation, especially those who are asymptomatic or only mildly symptomatic, is very low, and it would take large numbers of patients followed for a long period of time to randomize for study. This is not likely to be done. To randomize patients who are symptomatic would be unethical because surgery would improve the quality of life, even if it did not prolong survival. Consequently, the most difficult task for the cardiologist who is following an asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic patient with moderate to severe aortic regurgitation is to choose which parameters …
Security test generation using threat trees

Software security issues have been a major concern to the cyberspace community, so a great deal of research on security testing has been performed, and various security testing techniques have been developed. Most of these techniques, however, have focused on testing software systems after their implementation is completed. To build secure and dependable software systems in a cost-effective way, however, it is necessary to put more effort upfront during the software development life cycle. In this paper, we provided a security testing approach that derives test cases from design-level artifacts. The security testing approach we consider consists of four activities: building threat trees from threat modeling; generating security tests from threat trees; generating test inputs including valid and invalid inputs; and assigning input values to parameters. We also conducted an empirical study to show feasibility of our approach.
Both the Cyclic AMP Response Element and the Activator Protein 2 Binding Site Mediate Basal and Cyclic AMP-Induced Transcription from the Dominant Promoter of the Rat α1B-Adrenergic Receptor Gene in DDT1MF-2 Cells

SUMMARY cAMP markedly increases a1B adrenergic receptor (a1B-AR) expression in FRTL-5 and PC C13 rat thyroid cells, DDT1MF-2 smooth muscle cells, primary rat hepatocytes, and K9 rat liver cells. Here, we used DDT1MF-2 cells to evaluate further the mechanisms by which cAMP stimulates a1B-AR expression. Receptor binding assays, Northern blotting, and nuclear run-on analyses demonstrated that forskolin (1 mM) in the presence of isobutylmethylxanthine (0.25 mM) increased a1B-AR numbers, mRNA level, and gene transcription rate by 2.3 6 0.2-, 2.5 6 0.3-, and 3.5 6 0.2-fold over control, respectively. Dibutyryl cAMP (1 mM) plus isobutylmethylxanthine (0.25 mM) also enhanced a1B-AR density by 2.7 6 0.1-fold over control. Further experiments demonstrated that the induction of a1B-AR by forskolin requires new protein synthesis and is protein kinase A dependent. In DDT1MF-2 cells transfected with a1B-AR gene P2 promoter/CAT constructs, both forskolin and dibutyryl cAMP significantly increased P2 promoter activity. The P2 promoter region of the rat a1B-AR gene (2813 to 2432) contains a cAMP response element (CRE) (2444 to 2437) and an AP2 binding site (2647 to 2638). Mutations in either one of these elements alone led to a decrease in both basal and cAMPinduced P2 promoter activity. Mutations in both elements caused a further inhibition of basal transcription and a complete block of cAMP-induced P2 promoter activity. Direct binding of purified activator protein 2 (AP2) to the AP2 element in the P2 promoter was reported previously. Gel mobility shift and supershift assays using liver nuclear extracts from either rat liver or DDT1MF-2 cells demonstrated that the CRE in the a1B-AR gene bound CRE binding protein. These data indicate that both the CRE and the AP2 element in the P2 promoter contribute to basal as well as cAMP-induced transcription of the a1B-AR gene in DDT1MF-2 cells.
Who's Afraid of Dissent?: Addressing Concerns about Undermining Scientific Consensus in Public Policy Developments

Many argue that encouraging critical dissent is necessary for promoting scientific objectivity and progress. Yet despite its importance, some dissent can have negative consequences, including undermining confidence in existing scientific consensus, confusing the public, and preventing sound policy. For example, private industries and think tanks have funded dissenting research to create doubt and stall regulations. To protect scientifically sound policies, some have responded by attempting to minimize or discourage dissent perceived to be problematic. We argue that targeting dissent as an obstacle to public policy is both misguided and dangerous.
Multiple Framing: Verbal, Facial, and Vocal Cues in Risky Choice

Verbal framing effects have been widely studied, but little is known about how people react to multiple framing cues in risk communication, where verbal messages are often accompanied by facial and vocal cues. We examined joint and differential effects of verbal, facial, and vocal framing on risk preference in hypothetical monetary and life–death situations. In the multiple framing condition with the factorial design (2 verbal frames × 2 vocal tones × 4 basic facial expressions × 2 task domains), each scenario was presented auditorily with a written message on a photo of the messenger's face. Compared with verbal framing effects resulting in preference reversal, multiple frames made risky choice more consistent and shifted risk preference without reversal. Moreover, a positive tone of voice increased risk-seeking preference in women. When the valence of facial and vocal cues was incongruent with verbal frame, verbal framing effects were significant. In contrast, when the affect cues were congruent with verbal frame, framing effects disappeared. These results suggest that verbal framing is given higher priority when other affect cues are incongruent. Further analysis revealed that participants were more risk-averse when positive affect cues (positive tone or facial expressions) were congruently paired with a positive verbal frame whereas participants were more risk-seeking when positive affect cues were incongruent with the verbal frame. In contrast, for negative affect cues, congruency promoted risk-seeking tendency whereas incongruency increased risk-aversion. Overall, the results show that facial and vocal cues interact with verbal framing and significantly affect risk communication. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
State of the Art in Radiation Therapy for Pancreas Cancer

Despite an extraordinary tendency for metastatic spread, radiotherapy may have an important role in the management of locally advanced unresectable cancer of the pancreas. Local control remains a significant clinical problem. In patients with unresectable disease, failure to control local disease is virtually uniform, and in patients undergoing curative resection, the rate of local relapse is 50–85% ( 1 ). Failure to control the primary is associated with symptoms such as pain, gastric outlet, and duodenal obstruction, and upper gastrointestinal ulceration and bleeding. Palliation of symptoms with radiotherapy (as the sole modality) is accomplished in nearly half of patients ( 2 ). It is almost certain that modern day combined-modality therapy provides even better palliation, but unfortunately solid data on symptom control and quality of life associated with such therapy are not available. Improved local control not only provides a palliative benefit, but may also impact on survival. Chemotherapy can extend survival of patients with advanced disease by 2–3 months to a median of 5–6 months ( 3 , 4 ) and it has been suggested that radiotherapy can also extend survival ( 5 ). The Gastrointestinal Tumor Study Group (GITSG) conducted a prospective phase III trial comparing SMF (streptozotocin, mitomycin, and 5-fluorouracil) chemotherapy alone to SMF plus external-beam radiotherapy to a dose of 54 Gy. They reported a significant benefit in median survival (9.7 months versus 7.4 months) in favor of the combined modality arm. Patients with unresectable disease who are rendered resectable by chemoradiotherapy and undergo surgery, appear to have a survival similar to patients who are surgical candidates at presentation ( 10 ), suggesting that aggressive local therapy may have an impact on survival. Like other fields of oncology (breast cancer and lymphoma, for instance), with the advent of more effective systemic agents, the need for local control and the impact of local control on survival are likely to become more evident. A number of approaches have been taken to improve efficacy of radiation therapy, including the use of cytotoxic chemotherapy to enhance radiation effects and escalation of the physical radiation dose by means of intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) or brachytherapy. Unfortunately, delivery of adequate radiation doses to the pancreas is limited by the radiosensitivity of the adjacent uninvolved organs in
Graph 500 in OpenSHMEM

This document describes the effort to implement the Graph 500 benchmark using OpenSHMEM based on the MPI-2 one-side version. The Graph 500 benchmark performs a breadth-first search in parallel on a large randomly generated undirected graph and can be implemented using basic MPI-1 and MPI-2 one-sided communication. Graph 500 requires atomic bit-wise operations on unsigned long integers but neither atomic bit-wise operations nor OpenSHMEM for unsigned long are available in OpenSHEM. Such needed bit-wise atomic operations and support for unsigned long are implemented using atomic condition swap CSWAP on signed long integers. Preliminary results on comparing the OpenSHMEM and MPI-2 one-sided implementations on a Silicon Graphics Incorporated SGI cluster and the Cray XK7 are presented.
Tetrazolium stains for diphosphopyridine nucleotide (DPN) diaphorase and triphosphopyridine nucleotide (TPN) diaphorase in animal tissue.

SummaryMethods for the specific staining for DPN diaphorase and TPN diaphorase in frozen sections of fresh tissue are presented. The staining patterns of rat kidney are highly reproducible and are distinctly different for each of the 2 diaphorases and for the succinic dehydrogenase system.
Conversion of porphobilinogen to porphyrin by liver homogenates of rats with experimental hepatic porphyria.

SummaryLiver homogenates of rats treated with allyl-isopropyl-acetyl-carbamide (Sedormid) converted PBG to porphyrin at approximately the same rate as homogenates of normal rat liver. It is concluded that the excess PBG in the liver and urine of the “porphyric” rats is due to overproduction and not to a block in its further metabolism.
Defense against insect attack in susceptible plants: black cutworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) growth on corn seedlings and artificial diet

Black cutworm, Agrotis ipsilon (Hufnagel), larvae grew more slowly on susceptible corn seedlings than on artificial diet. Solvent extracts incorporated into artificial diet reduced growth; the most inhibitory fraction was the acetone extract. Field-collected black cutworms were at least as sensitive to the deleterious effects of the seedlings as larvae from an old laboratory colony (reared on artificial diet for up to 41 generations). No evidence was found for the selection of a laboratory strain more sensitive to the deleterious effects of plants.
No Child Left Behind: A Postmortem for Illinois.

In this study, the outcomes of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), as implemented in Illinois, are evaluated in terms of high school standards testing results between 2003-2013. NCLB was a policy dedicated to closing the gap in schooling outcomes nationally in the space of a decade. There have been few systematic examinations of its macro-level results for those exiting high school, especially considering the attention, time, effort, and money dedicated to its implementation. It has been subsumed into newer reform policies that move forward from the same assumptions and structures without a look back. This is a macro study of the outcomes in one state, Illinois, using its assessment system. Data include Prairie State Achievement Examination (PSAE) results in reading and math as well as graduation rates from high schools. The data is evaluated across the state as a whole and within categories of urban, suburban, town, and rural. Outcomes in reading, math, and graduation rates remain unchanged across the decade at the state and all community-type categories. Potential problems with implementation and design of NCLB are proposed with the intention of informing current and future policy, especially in regard to continuing a standards/accountability regime under the Common Core.
Plasma PAF-AH (PLA2G7): Biochemical Properties, Association with LDLs and HDLs, and Regulation of Expression

This chapter is focused on the plasma form of PAF-acetylhydrolase (PAF-AH), a lipoprotein-bound, calcium-independent phospholipase A2 activity also referred to as lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 and PLA2G7. PAF-AH catalyzes the removal of the acyl group at the sn-2 position of PAF and truncated phospholipids generated in settings of inflammation and oxidant stress. Here, I discuss current knowledge related to the structural features of this enzyme, including the molecular basis for association with lipoproteins and susceptibility to oxidative inactivation. The circulating form of PAF-AH is constitutively active and its expression is upregulated by mediators of inflammation at the transcriptional level. Several new mechanisms of regulation have been identified in recent years, including effects mediated by PPARs, VEGFR, and the state of cellular differentiation. Moreover, I discuss recent studies describing significant variations in the structure and regulation of PAF-AH from diverse species, which is likely to have important implications for the function of this enzyme in vivo.
Issues in the development of thrombin receptor antagonists.

The identification of the human thrombin receptor has prompted considerable interest in the development of receptor antagonists that can inhibit the effects of thrombin on cells without affecting fibrin formation. Increasing information about the biology of the receptor highlights some of the potential pitfalls in the development and application of such agents. However, italsoprovides additional insights into the potential mechanisms by which an antagonist might work beyond the original approach of developing competitive inhibitors of the tethered ligand domain. Thrombin receptors have proved to be present on variety of cells other than platelets, including other vascular cells and cells within the central nervous system. Although most of the recent emphasis in thinking about the need for anti-thrombin receptor agents has focused on their use as anti-platelet agents, it is worth considering that the best clinical uses of such drugs may ultimately prove to have little to do with platelets.
Abstract 416: Tumor cell isolation using antibody/aptamer-based multivalent binding

Isolation and enumeration of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in peripheral blood have been used for cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and theragnosis. The majority of the CTC isolation methods, including the FDA-approved CellSearch®, employ one antibody to capture tumor cells. Using such a monovalent-binding capture agent likely results in lower cell capture efficiency than multivalent-binding methods, which tend to have stronger binding force (or lower dissociation constant). We have investigated in a multivalent-binding-based tumor cell isolation method by immobilizing a mixture of aptamers and antibodies on the surfaces of microfluidic devices. Since aptamers are much smaller in the size (8-15 kDa) than antibodies (150 kDa), aptamers and antibodies could interact with different receptors on cell surfaces, resulting in a configuration that one cell simultaneously interacts with multiple different types of capture agents. The microfluidic devices we used are in the size of a microscope slide and each of them consists of an inlet, eight parallel channels connected via consecutive bifurcation, and an outlet. There are micromixers inside the channels for enhanced interactions. Biotinylated aptamers and biotinylated antibodies were coated onto microchannel surfaces using avidin-biotin chemistry. We tested the devices by isolating human leukemia cells (CCRF-CEM) in devices immobilized with a mixture of sgc8 aptamers and protein tyrosine kinase-7 (PTK7) antibodies. Both sgc8 aptamers and anti-PTK7 exhibited strong binding with CCRF-CEM cells according to flow cytometry. An antibody-to-aptamer ratio of 1:300 showed the highest capture efficiency among the range we studied (from 1:30 to 1:3000). We found that the antibody-aptamer surfaces had higher capture efficiency than antibody-alone or aptamer-alone surfaces; the degree of enhancement increased with the flow rate. Control experiments using non-specific aptamer (TD05) and non-specific antibody (anti-EpCAM) were carried out to verify the benefits of multivalent binding. We also found that the multivalent-binding surfaces have higher specificity than monovalent-binding surface, especially at a high flow rate. A calibration curve was obtained by spiking leukemia cells into human whole blood. In summary, antibody/aptamer-coated multivalent-binding surfaces in microfluidic devices showed higher capture efficiency and specificity than monovalent-binding surfaces, suggesting their potential for the isolation and enumeration of CTCs for clinical applications. Citation Format: Z. Hugh Fan, Jinling Zhang, Weian Sheng. Tumor cell isolation using antibody/aptamer-based multivalent binding. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 416.
Records of continental slope sediment flow morphodynamic responses to gradient and active faulting from integrated AUV and ROV data, offshore Palos Verdes, southern California Borderland

Abstract Variations in seabed gradient are widely acknowledged to influence deep-water deposition, but are often difficult to measure in sufficient detail from both modern and ancient examples. On the continental slope offshore Los Angeles, California, autonomous underwater vehicle, remotely operated vehicle, and shipboard methods were used to collect a dense grid of high-resolution multibeam bathymetry, chirp sub-bottom profiles, and targeted sediment core samples that demonstrate the influence of seafloor gradient on sediment accumulation, depositional environment, grain size of deposits, and seafloor morphology. In this setting, restraining and releasing bends along the active right-lateral Palos Verdes Fault create and maintain variations in seafloor gradient. Holocene down-slope flows appear to have been generated by slope failure, primarily on the uppermost slope (~ 100–200 m water depth). Turbidity currents created a low relief (
The algorithm and application for the symmetrical routing

In the integrated circuit routing, we often consider the routing for some special nets under the restrictions, such as equidistance and symmetry. The symmetrical routing is operated between the routing for the bus and the clock and the routing for most the others without the priority. We prove that the symmetrical routing problem under the H-V model is equivalent to finding a Steiner free of the corresponding vertices for all of the pins in the valid connected graph. We put forward an algorithm for the symmetrical routing under the H-V model. In the actual wiring process, when the symmetrical routing is needed, the routing is finished by hand. This paper provides a method and the theory based on graphs for the automation design of the symmetrical routing.
Extracellular Cyclophilin A, Especially Acetylated, Causes Pulmonary Hypertension by Stimulating Endothelial Apoptosis, Redox Stress, and Inflammation.

Objective—Oxidative stress and inflammation play key roles in the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Cyclophilin A (CypA) is secreted in response to oxidative stress and promotes...
De novo design of a hyperstable non-natural protein–ligand complex with sub-Å accuracy

Protein catalysis requires the atomic-level orchestration of side chains, substrates and cofactors, and yet the ability to design a small-molecule-binding protein entirely from first principles with a precisely predetermined structure has not been demonstrated. Here we report the design of a novel protein, PS1, that binds a highly electron-deficient non-natural porphyrin at temperatures up to 100 °C. The high-resolution structure of holo-PS1 is in sub-A agreement with the design. The structure of apo-PS1 retains the remote core packing of the holoprotein, with a flexible binding region that is predisposed to ligand binding with the desired geometry. Our results illustrate the unification of core packing and binding-site definition as a central principle of ligand-binding protein design.
Health and the Little Ice Age in Southeastern Germany and Alpine Austria: Synergies between Stress, Nutritional Deficiencies, and Disease

Climate change has diverse effects on populations depending on their local contexts. This paper examines bioarchaeological samples from central Europe to elucidate the impacts of the Little Ice Age (LIA) on populations living in non-marginal environments. Frequency and severity of multiple skeletal indicators (linear enamel hypoplasia [LEH], cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis, and lower limb osteoperiostitis) are assessed from four German and Austrian skeletal series ( N = 170). Earlier periods (Medieval Climate Anomaly/Little Ice Age [MCA/LIA]) were compared to the later, peak-LIA to test hypotheses predicting temporal increase in indicator frequency and severity. Multiple LEH defects per tooth are more common in the peak-LIA, though LEH prevalence is not different, likely due to the near ubiquity of this indicator in the samples. Lower limb osteoperiostitis is more frequent and severe in the peak-LIA than in the other periods, but cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis are more common in the MCA/LIA. The complexity of these results underscores how local contexts, historical selective pressures, and pathological processes interact to influence human biological responses to climate change. Keywords: Stress; climate; Little Ice Age; cribra orbitalia; porotic hyperostosis; osteoperiostitis; linear enamel hypoplasia Der Klimawandel hat unterschiedliche Auswirkungen auf die Bevolkerung, abhangig von ihrem lokalen Kontext. In diesem Beitrag werden bioarchaologische Proben aus Mitteleuropa untersucht, um die Auswirkungen der Kleinen Eiszeit (LIA) auf Populationen in nicht-marginalen Umgebungen aufzuklaren. Haufigkeit und Schwere von multiplen skelettalen Indikatoren (lineare Schmelzhypoplasie [LEH], Cribra orbitalia und porotische Hyperostose und Osteoporose der unteren Extremitaten) werden aus vier deutschen und osterreichischen Skelettserien ( N = 170) bestimmt. Fruhere Perioden (Mittelalterliche Klimaanomalie/Kleine Eiszeit [MCA/LIA]) wurden mit dem spateren Peak-LIA verglichen, um Hypothesen zu testen, die eine zeitliche Zunahme der Indikatorfrequenz und -schwere vorhersagen. Mehrere LEH-Defekte pro Zahn sind im Peak-LIA ublicher, obwohl die LEH-Pravalenz nicht unterschiedlich ist, wahrscheinlich aufgrund der weiten Verbreitung dieses Indikators in den Proben. Die Osteoperiostitis der unteren Extremitat ist haufiger und in der LIA hoher als in den anderen Perioden, aber Cribra orbitalia und porotische Hyperostose sind haufiger in der MCA/LIA. Die Komplexitat dieser Ergebnisse unterstreicht, wie lokale Kontexte, historische Selektionsdrucke und pathologische Prozesse interagieren, um die biologischen Reaktionen des Menschen auf den Klimawandel zu beeinflussen. Keywords: Stress; Klimawandel;
The Emergence of Tools Suppliers in the Semiconductor Industry

While the R&D intensive semiconductor tools industry has become pivotal to the advancement of technology and the growth of the downstream semiconductor chip manufacturing industry, this was not always the case. In the early stages of the industry, the chip manufacturers made their own tools in-house. Using data at the initial stages of the industry and a wealth of publicly available information from interviews with industry pioneers conducted as part of oral history projects, I examine how (i) market size (ii) intellectual property protection (iii) geographic proximity to downstream firms, influenced the process of emergence of the tools suppliers.
Friending instructors on Facebook: Exploring the role of privacy on student-instructor connection on cyberspace

Abstract In the new media era, students and instructors are able to connect and interact with each other via various social network sites (SNS) like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. When offered with the connection opportunity, which factor would predict students’ decision of connection? A survey conducted among three hundred and fifty students ( N = 350) indicated students who were commonly active on SNS had a tendency to stay close with their instructors socially on the cyberspace. It is also found that once the professional relationship between the students and the instructors ended, students were more likely to connect with their instructors online. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Pediatric (Non-CNS) Tumors

This chapter will discuss Wilms’ tumor, neuroblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, Ewing’s sarcoma, pediatric Hodgkin’s disease, and retinoblastoma. The number one cause of death in children is accidents (44%), followed by cancer (10%), congenital abnormalities (8%), homicide (5%), and heart disease (4%). Of childhood cancers, leukemias are the most common (∼30%, the majority of which are ALL) followed by CNS neoplasms (∼20%), lymphomas (∼15%, Hodgkin’s > NHL > Burkitt’s lymphoma), neuroblastoma (∼8%), Wilms’ tumor (∼6%), osteosarcoma (∼3%), rhabdomyosarcoma (∼3%), non­r­ha­b­domyo­sarcoma soft-tissue sarcomas (∼3%), Ewing’s sarcoma (∼2%), retinoblastoma (∼2%), and others. Of pediatric CNS neoplasms, gliomas are most common (low-grade astrocytomas ∼35–50%, brainstem gliomas ∼15%, malignant astrocytomas ∼10%, optic pathway gliomas ∼5%), followed by medulloblastoma (∼20%), ependymomas (∼10%), craniopharyngioma (∼5–10%), and germ cell tumors (<5%). These are discussed in (Chapter 2). Whenever possible, we recommend that children be enrolled in cooperative group protocols.
Learning-based Multi-Sieve Co-reference Resolution with Knowledge

We explore the interplay of knowledge and structure in co-reference resolution. To inject knowledge, we use a state-of-the-art system which cross-links (or "grounds") expressions in free text to Wikipedia. We explore ways of using the resulting grounding to boost the performance of a state-of-the-art co-reference resolution system. To maximize the utility of the injected knowledge, we deploy a learning-based multi-sieve approach and develop novel entity-based features. Our end system outperforms the state-of-the-art baseline by 2 B3 F1 points on non-transcript portion of the ACE 2004 dataset.
Evaluating a Cloud Service Relationship Theory

This chapter presents an empirical evaluation of the cloud service relationship theory based on a large scale survey. First, the context in which the cloud service relationship was evaluated is introduced and an explanation is given why PLS-SEM was chosen as a statistical method. Second, a comprehensive scale development study is presented that was very valuable for developing reliable and valid measurement instruments. Third, transparent record is provided on the sampling strategy and how the survey was administered. Fourth, the results of both measurement model and structural model evaluation are presented. Fifth, the findings are discussed in the light of the extant knowledge about IS and the theoretical contribution of the study is carved out. Last but not least, implications for practice are provided and limitations of the empirical evaluation are debated.
Synthesis of Optimal Controlled Trajectories: From Local to Global Solutions

Our overall objective is to analyze the mapping properties of a flow of extremal controlled trajectories and to show that the cost-to-go function satisfies the Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman equation in regions where this flow covers an open set of the state injectively (x-space in the time-invariant case, respectively (t, x)-space in the time-dependent case).
Improving Database Security with Pixel-based Granular Encryption

Encryption is the process of encoding data in a way that prevents unauthorized access. Encryption is commonly applied in two ways. One is to encrypt the entire disk storage. This type of encryption can only be effective when the system is stopped, or the drive ejected. Another one is called granular encryption, which encrypts specific data at different granularity levels while the application is running. Although many granular encryption methods have been proposed, data security has not been fully achieved. In this paper, we propose a novel pixel-based granular encryption method to better protect sensitive user data in database systems. Our experimental results show that the proposed encryption method is not only more secure, but also generally faster than other existing text-based encryption methods, and it takes less time to encrypt long digits of data.
How to Create a Crisis : A study of ESL narrative prose

In this paper, I will examine ESL learner attempts at a key component of narrative prose, its complication. The complication is the defining component of the four-part schematic structure of narrative (LABOV 1981, LABOV & WALETZKY 1967), because it introduces the crisis of the story. This is the most impassioned phase of the narrative and therefore one expects (following Labov) that the narrator is the least disposed to strive to uphold prestige norms, and adopted rules. It is ironical, then, that what is acknowledged to be effective development of the narrative crisis is highly convention-bound prose. I will describe the basic textual - semantic, informational, organisational and representational - conventions that govern the development of the narrative crisis. I will then take random samples from a body of 35 student narratives, written by Cantonese-speaking ESL learners at a Hong Kong university, to illustrate the difficulties these learners face in conforming to these conventions. In a final section, I will discuss the pedagogical implications of this study