cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Axonal transport in the goldfish visual system.

Intraocular injection of either 3H-proline or 3H-asparagine produced highly specific labelling of the rapidly transported protein of the goldfish optic nerve. These amino acids are therefore ecxellent specific markers of rapid axonal flow. Studies on the accumulation of transported protein in the tectum show rapid transport to be a temperature dependent process occurring at the rate of 70–100 mm per day at 23°. Transported protein was found to be widely distributed among particulate subcellular fractions including synaptosomes, mitochondria and myelin, but not nuclei and ribosomes.
Age, gender, medical treatment, and medication effects on smell identification

Olfactory function diminishes with increasing age, which may impact on the safety and quality of life of older persons. This study examined the influence of age, gender, medical treatment, and medications on smell identification in a group of generally healthy individuals. Males (n = 221) and females (n = 166) between the ages of 19 and 95 years, from the oral physiology component of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, were administered the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test [UPSIT; (1)]. Older subjects had lower UPSIT scores, were more likely to be anosmic, and more often complained about their sense of smell and taste compared to younger subjects. Females had higher UPSIT scores compared to males. Although these age and gender effects are comparable to previous findings, performance among all subjects was superior to other studies; this is attributable, in part, to the overall healthy status of the population. Subjects being treated for medical problems and taking prescription medications had slightly lower UPSIT scores and more smell and taste complaints compared to other subjects, but these findings did not achieve statistical significance. Results suggest that age-related declines in olfaction occur as a part of the normal physiological aging process.
POLLUTION: CAN THE PEOPLE BE INNOCENT WHILE THEIR SYSTEMS ARE GUILTY?

as an important aspect of both the physical and social systems of life. Secondly, research activity as an organization theorist occasioned a visit to a rather large corporation which is a major polluter of both air and water in its community.' A relationship, which became apparent almost immediately, served to explain the pollution in terms of the synergy. The purpose of this paper, then, is to evolve and discuss the basic relationship between these two concepts-organizational behavior and environmental pollution. Synergy In its purest definition, synergism 2 is energy which exists in unexplainable opposition to entropy,3 the movement of all organisms toward death. More specifically, it is that property by which an arrangement or system of component parts takes on an identity which is essentially different from the aggregate of the parts of the system.4 An example of this process is the human body which is a combination of water and a number of rather complex carbon molecules. If a strange being from another planet were studying the earth's water, for example, he might view a human being as simply an unusual arrangement of H20. But clearly, the particular arrangement, that is to say the person himself, takes on an identity which transcends his "parts list." Another and perhaps more visible example is a transistor radio. In its unassembled form the instrument consists of transistors, capacitors, resistors, diodes, wire, and a number of other parts. But the particular combination of those parts which is called a radio suddenly exhibits behavior which is unlike the behavior which might be expected of a typical electrical part. It plays music!
Failure analysis of domestic hot water heating elements

Domestic electric heating elements that failed after a few years of use but before their expected service life were received for failure analysis. The investigation mainly involved visual examination and SEM studies including EDX (Energy-Dispersive X-ray analysis) analysis. From the background information and the SEM investigation revealed that the premature failure was mainly due to the general type of corrosion of (resulting in short-circuiting) the heater elements as a result of the formation of magnesium and calcium based salts over a period of time.
Enhancement of adrenocorticotrophic activity.

Summary1. Subcutaneous administration of purified corticotrophin in gelatin; in phosphorylated hesperidin; and in gelatin plus phosphorylated hesperidin results in an enhanced effect of the hormone upon the adrenal cortex as measured by adrenal ascorbic acid. The combination of gelatin plus phosphorylated hesperidin has been shown to be most effective in extending the duration of effect of the corticotrophin. 2. The mechanism of action is attributed to the antihyaluronidase as well as the anti-proteolytic properties of the phosphorylated hesperidin.
Standard Design and Implementation of Anti-misoperation Blocking Model in Smart Substation

The anti-misoperation blocking(AMB) model is designed based on IEC 61850 standard and with existing models of control logical node CSWI and blocking logical node CILO.The configuration of AMB logic element is implemented with the data attribute(DA) intAddr of CILO and the DA sAddr of control logic node CSWI.The configuration of blocking logic signal is implemented with blocking logic calculation value stVal of CILO and the data source setSrcRef of control logic node CSWI.AMB rule is implemented through configuring EnaOpn and EnaCls of CILO which changes AMB logics with reverse Polish algorithm to reverse Polish expression which can be recognized by the device and system.The whole design of AMB rule is based on substation configuration description(SCD) or intelligent electronic device configuration description files.It does not need extra configuration files and has good interoperability to realize the seamless replacement among different devices or systems of different manufactures.
Ten Challenges in Highly-Interactive Dialog Systems

Systems capable of highly-interactive dialog have recently been developed in several domains. This paper considers how to build on these successes to make systems more robust, easier to develop, more adaptable, and more scientifically significant.
The ebb and flow of the wish to live and the wish to die among suicidal military personnel

BACKGROUND: The relative balance between the wish to live and the wish to die (i.e., suicidal ambivalence) is a robust predictor of suicidal behavior and may be a mechanism underlying the effectiveness of treatments that reduce suicidal behaviors. To date, however, few studies have explored possible mechanisms of action in these treatments. METHOD: Active duty Soldiers (N=152) with a recent suicide attempt and/or active suicide ideation were randomized to receive brief cognitive behavioral therapy (BCBT) or treatment as usual (TAU). The Suicide Attempt Self-Injury Inventory (Linehan et al., 2006a) was used to assess the incidence of suicide attempts during the 2-year follow-up. The wish to live and the wish to die were assessed with items 1 and 2, respectively, of the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (Beck and Steer, 1991). RESULTS: Across both treatments, the wish to live was significantly weaker among patients who attempted suicide but the wish to die was stronger only among patients who attempted suicide in TAU. Among nonattempters, the wish to die stabilized the wish to live, but among attempters the wish to live and the wish to die were not associated with each other. In BCBT the wish to live destabilized the wish to die among nonattempters. LIMITATIONS: Self-report methodology, predominantly male sample. CONCLUSIONS: The emergence of suicidal behavior is driven primarily by the absence of the wish to live. BCBT is associated with a unique coupling of an ambivalent wish to live and wish to die, which may suggest an underlying mechanism of action.Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V. Language: en
Use of Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology for the Diagnosis of Testicular Relapse in Patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

AbstractThe testis frequently is the site of relapse in male patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. While many patients with testicular involvement by acute lymphoblastic leukemia have enlarged or firm testes, clinical examination alone is insufficient to establish or exclude the diagnosis completely. Open biopsy generally has been used to document the presence of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. However, this procedure requires general anesthesia and hospitalization.We studied 11 patients with a history and/or physical findings suspicious for testicular acute lymphoblastic leukemia relapse to determine the efficacy of fine needle aspiration cytology in the evaluation of the testes for leukemic infiltration. Of the 11 patients fine needle aspiration cytology correctly identified all 5 patients with histologically proved testicular acute lymphoblastic leukemia, it was negative in 5 with no histological evidence of leukemia and it demonstrated rare atypical cells that were not evident on subsequent histol...
Lymphedema After Surgery for Cancer

Lymphedema remains a relatively common, and often under-recognized, complication of breast cancer therapy. When present, arm edema can engender significant morbidity and psychological distress in survivors of breast cancer. Therapeutic approaches to post-mastectomy lymphedema further compromise mental health because of the unrelenting demands on patient time and energies. It is proposed that psychoeducational interventions, including supportive group therapy, would be helpful. Although formal outcomes studies are lacking, extrapolation from studies of more broadly defined groups of people surviving cancer suggest that this approach might be useful to further acceptance of preventive strategies, diminish social isolation, and provide more effective coping skills.
Community-Based Urban Teacher Education: Theoretical Frameworks and Practical Considerations for Developing Promising Practices

Traditional campus-based teacher education programs, located on college or university campuses, have been criticized for being removed from the “real world” of community life, and a number of programs have moved directly into urban communities in order for preservice teachers to become immersed in the life of the community. This article describes common theoretical frameworks and practical considerations for developing community-based urban teacher education programs and presents four programs that exemplify how community-based teacher education programs prepare future teachers to teach within the context of a community's cultural life. The article discusses theoretical frameworks of culturally relevant pedagogy, funds of knowledge, community cultural wealth, communities of practice, and the community teacher. It then raises several practical considerations that need to be addressed when preparing to initiate or reposition teacher education programs directly within the community: how much of the program s...
Accelerated hydrothermal aging of cycloaliphatic epoxy/graphene nanoparticle composites

Abstract Cycloaliphatic epoxy (CE) resin systems are of primary interest in applications that require improved resistance to harsh conditions relative to other epoxy systems. Because other epoxy systems have demonstrated improved resistance to hydrothermal aging with the addition of carbon-based nanoparticle reinforcement, it is expected that the hydrothermal resistance of CE resins will likewise be improved with incorporation of nanoparticles. Therefore, the objective of this study is to determine the influence of graphene nanoparticles (GNP) on the hydrothermal aging resistance of CE resins. CE specimens are fabricated with varying levels of GNP and exposed to elevated temperatures and moisture levels for varying amounts of time up to 400 h. The results from flexure and dynamical-mechanical testing indicate that the addition of GNP provides modest improvements in the stiffness and glass transition temperature for all aging levels, while the strength is improved for aging times below 400 h.
Fiduciary-isms: A Study of Academic Influence on the Expansion of the Law

Fiduciary law aspires to nullify power imbalances by obligating strong parties to give themselves over to servient parties. For example, due to profound imbalances of legal know-how, lawyers must as fiduciaries pursue their clients’ interests, not their own, lest clients get lost in the competitive shuffle. As a peculiar hybrid of status and contract relations, politics and law, compassion and capitalism, fiduciary law is very much in vogue in academic circles. As vogue as it is, there remains room for my “Fiduciary-isms...”, a meditation on the expansion of fiduciary law from its origins in the law of trusts through partnerships, corporations, and agency, to a current usage at times so cut off from its doctrinal origins as to be idiomatic, no longer technical. Surprisingly, this expansion in fiduciary law – which is unhappily no longer dependent on property – owes to academic influences that in the past half-century have operated on courts, despite the widespread perception that academics have sway only with their own. That fiduciary law has been expanded though not improved by academic endeavors reveals the scholarly activity of expanding the law to be a mixed bag: both high art, crucial to the path of the law, but also low theatricality, more likely to create than alleviate legal snags.
Non-visually-guided distance perception depends on matching torso fluctuations between training and test

Blindwalking to replicate an instructed distance requires various sensory signals. Recent evidence in movement science across many organisms suggests that multifractal organization of connective tissue supports the use of these signals. Multifractal structure is a multiplicity of power laws defining distribution of proportion across many time scales that helps predict judgments of the objects' length. Present work tests whether the multifractal structure in postural accelerometry during blindwalking predicts blindwalking distance replications. Ten undergraduate student participants each completed 20 trials of distance-perception each comprising two laps. On each Lap 1, experimenters led participants to walk on any of five prescribed distances, randomly assigning half to walk Lap 1 with eyes open and another half to walked Lap 1 with eyes closed. On Lap 2, all participants walked with eyes closed to replicate instructed distances from Lap 1. We collected postural accelerometry from the torso during each lap. Regression modeling showed that multifractality of postural accelerometry on both Lap 1 and Lap 2 contributed significantly to Lap-2 blindwalking responses. According to this model, more accurate Lap-2 replications of Lap-1 distance came from eyes-closed participants whose posture had comparable multifractality on both laps. Multifractality provides insights into the sequence of exploratory behaviors for blindwalking responses to distance perception.
Exploiting dynamic aspects of visual perception for object recognition

When computer vision algorithms are applied to autonomous robots, several dynamic aspects of perception must be taken into account. Among the most important ones is the capability to modify the image acquisition parameters, in order to perform ocular saccades, or to visually track moving objects. This ability is provided by the alerting and attention mechanisms, which allow one to rapidly detect and locate potential visual targets. Another important dynamic aspect of perception is the difference in latencies of the neural signals arriving to cells in the visual cortex. Neurophysiological findings suggest for instance that stronger stimuli elicit earlier responses than weaker ones. In data processing terms, these signals represent a data flow of stimuli. The article describes a computer vision system that exploits these two types of dynamic mechanisms. First, two algorithms are proposed for rapidly detecting interesting parts of the input image; one of them acts on an image sequence, and extracts the regions containing moving objects. The other one acts on a static image, and selects the regions containing the most salient information. The second algorithm performs object recognition by exploiting the different latencies in the data flow of image primitives. The results shown suggest that the proposed mechanisms can be usefully integrated in robotic systems, so as to provide efficient perception action behaviors.
On shape and motion recovery from underwater imagery for 3D mapping and motion-based video compression

The authors discuss the problems of 3D motion and shape recovery from underwater images. They exploit radiometric and geometric cues in extracting various information for the construction of high-resolution elevation maps, and for efficient compression and accurate reconstruction of video imagery. They demonstrate selected significant issues in the analysis and interpretation of underwater imagery, including some that are currently investigated based on more general physics-based image models. They present results from experiment with images of underwater scenes.
Repeated unpredictable threats without harm impair spatial working memory in the Barnes maze.

Abstract Psychological stressors elicit the anticipation of homeostatic challenge, whereas physical stressors are direct threats to homeostasis. Many rodent models of stress include both types of stressors, yet deficits, like those reported for working memory, are often attributed to psychological stress. To empirically test whether intermittent psychological stressors, such as repeated threats, are solely sufficient to impair spatial working memory, we developed a novel rodent model of stress that is restricted to the anticipation of threat, and free of direct physical challenge. Adolescent male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to control (CT) or stress (ST) housing conditions consisting of two tub cages, one with food and another with water, separated by a tunnel. Over three weeks (P31–P52), the ST group received random (probability of 0.25), simultaneous presentations of ferret odor, and abrupt lights, and sound at the center of the tunnel. Relative to the CT group, the ST group had consistently fewer tunnel crossings, consistent with avoidance of a psychological stressor. Both groups had similar body weights and crossed the tunnel more in the dark than light period. Three days after removal from the treatment conditions, spatial working memory was tested on the Barnes maze. The ST group displayed deficits in spatial working memory, including longer latencies to enter the goal box position, and a greater number of returns to incorrect holes, but no significant differences in speed. Memory can be affected by sleep disruption, and sleep can be affected by stress. Circadian activity patterns in the tunnels were similar across groups. Therefore, the data suggest that intermittent threats without physical stress are sufficient to impair spatial working memory in adolescence.
The Spider’s Spiral Spin

The orb web of a garden spider is made in a spiral pattern. Many people have claimed that these spirals are logarithmic. Probably the first, and certainly the most eloquent, was the French entomologist Jean-Henri Fabre (1823–1915). In his book “The Life of the Spider”, he writes at length about the alleged logarithmic spiral shape of the garden spider Epeira (now no longer considered a valid Latin name) (Fig. 52.1):
Gestão acadêmica exercida por professores universitários: um estudo de caso

No Brasil e muito comum que o professor universitario seja designado ao exercicio de cargos administrativos sem que ele tenha sido previamente treinado ou orientado em relacao as funcoes administrativas. Especificamente na area da saude, nao existem trabalhos que relatem ou questionem este processo de transicao de professor de area tecnica para gestor. O presente artigo trata-se de uma analise qualitativa sobre a perspectiva que professores com formacao academica em area da saude ou biologicas possuem sobre o fato de assumirem cargo de gerencia em uma universidade federal no estado de Minas Gerais. Com o objetivo de fazer uma reflexao sobre a importância de um treinamento previo a estes gestores, o trabalho consiste numa descricao qualitativa dos principais questionamentos desses docentes durante a conducao das atividades relativas ao trabalho de coordenacao de colegiado de graduacao ou pos graduacao. Apos comparacao dos resultados das entrevistas com outros trabalhos da literatura com propositos semelhantes, foi possivel evidenciar que os professores acreditam nao possuir formacao qualificada e especifica para assumirem cargos de gerencia dentro da universidade e que seu trabalho, quando bem-sucedido, decorre de praticas empiricas
The transformation in biomarker detection and management of drug-induced liver injury.

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a major concern for patients, care givers and the pharmaceutical industry. Interpretation of the serum biomarkers routinely used to detect and monitor DILI, which have not changed in almost 50 years, can be improved with recently proposed models employing quantitative systems pharmacology. In addition, several newer serum biomarkers are showing great promise. Studies in rodents indicate that the ratio of the caspase cleaved fragment of cytokeratin 18 to total K18 in serum (termed the “apoptotic index”) estimates the relative proportions of apoptosis vs necrosis during drug-induced liver injury. Glutamate dehydrogenase can reliably differentiate liver from muscle injury and, when serum is properly prepared, may also detect mitochondrial toxicity as a mechanism of liver injury. MicroRNA-122 is liver-specific, but recent data suggests it can be actively released from hepatocytes in the absence of overt toxicity limiting enthusiasm for it as a DILI biomarker. Finally, damage associated molecular patterns, particularly high mobility group box 1 and its various modified forms, are promising biomarkers of innate immune activation, which may be useful in distinguishing benign elevations in aminotransferases from those that portend clinically important liver injury. These new biomarkers are already being measured in early clinical trials, but broad acceptance will require widespread archiving of serum from diverse clinical trials and probably pre-competitive analysis efforts. We believe that utilization of a panel of traditional and newer biomarkers in conjunction with quantitative systems pharmacology modelling approaches will transform DILI detection and risk management.
Concomitant Myeloproliferative Disorders (MPD) and Amyloidosis

Background: The combination of MPD and amyloidosis is rare, and this patient population9s clinical outcome is not well studied. Methods: Pts with a MPD and amyloidosis were identified via an clinical note search engine that searches through the electronic medical records of patients seen at Mayo Clinic Rochester, Jacksonville, and Scottsdale between 1990 and 2016. Terms used included amyloid or amyloidosis, chronic myelogenous leukemia or CML, essential thrombocytopenia or ET, and polycythemia vera or PV. Demographic and clinical data were abstracted from the medical record. Pts with both disorders were analyzed and their mortality rates along with median time to death were calculated. Prevalences at the Mayo Clinic were calculated for the years 2014 and 2015. Results: Twenty-three pts diagnosed with both a MPD and amyloidosis were identified. Thirteen (56.5%) were male, 10 (43%) were female. Eleven (47.8%) were initially diagnosed at the Mayo Clinic. Types of amyloidosis were as follows: Eleven (47%) had immunoglobulin light-chain (AL), four had localized (17%), two (8.7%) had wild-type transthyretin (ATTR), one (4.3%) had mutant ATTR, and five (21.8%) were unknown. Types of MPD were as follows: Seven (30%) had polycythemia vera (PV), seven (30%) had chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), five (22%) had myelofibrosis, and four (17%) had essential thrombocytosis (ET). Fifteen (65%) were initially diagnosed with a MPD. Median time to last follow-up from second diagnosis was 1.7 years, and median time to death following second diagnosis was 1.4 years. The mortality rate was 87% in the total population. The median time to death for AL and PV was 2.7 years, AL and CML 1.0 years, and AL and ET 1.17 years. Myelofibrosis did not occur with AL. The most common combination was AL and PV, which accounted for five (22%) of the cases. Treatment regimens for the patients with AL were varied. Multiple drugs were combined with dexamethasone including melphalan, velcade, pomalidomide, lenalidomide, doxorubicin, and revlimid. Cyclophosphamide, bortezomib, and dexamethasone (CyBorD) were used in two cases. The mean time to diagnosis of amyloidosis from symptom onset was 10.3 months. Prevalences of AL and a MPD in 2014 and 2015 at the Mayo Clinic were 2.8% and 1.5%, respectively. Conclusions: The mortality rate for the combined diagnoses is high. The most common combination of diagnoses was that of AL and PV, which was associated with a mean time to death of 2.7 years. Disclosures Al-Kali:Celgene: Research Funding; Onconova Therapeutics, Inc.: Research Funding.
Cultural understanding for the development of an American-Chinese cross-cultural simulator

The need for effective cross-cultural training has been recognized throughout the United States Army, Department of Defense, and the wider business and education community as critical to successful international relationships. However, achieving effective cross-cultural capability training currently requires long-term immersion into foreign culture which is a large investment of both time and resources. This paper will focus on the development of key cultural stress points, analyzed by Hofstede's cultural dimensions, that will provide the cultural groundwork for a computer-based, linguistically-sophisticate, real-world-oriented virtual simulator to achieve the same goals of developing cross-cultural expertise as from long-term immersion but without the same initial investment requirement. This paper will develop the socio-cultural basis for the virtual, computer-based, Chinese-language simulator and will serve as a framework on which similar projects could be undertaken for various other global cultures. By isolating these cultural stress points, the specific aspects of culture that cause conflict between American and Chinese perspectives, this paper will develop socio-cultural content that will make the simulator culturally significant. This research and the associated fieldwork conducted both in mainland China and on Taiwan are broken up into four components. This paper, sequentially, focuses on the relevant cross-cultural competency theories and previous cultural education research, significant historical cultural norms and traditions that are unique to the Chinese-speaking world, and then how these unique aspects of Chinese culture manifest in modern China in both informal and formal interactions. This research, coupled with fieldwork, will isolate cultural stress points between American and Chinese culture and target scenarios in which these stress points are exposed. The end result is the development of Chinese-language dialogue trees of these stress-point exposure, real-world cultural scenarios that can be incorporated into the development and improvement of the virtual simulator.
The human IL-22 binding protein isoforms are a rheostat for IL-22 signaling.

The cytokine interleukin-22 (IL-22) activates signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) to drive various processes central to tissue homeostasis and immunosurveillance; its dysregulation causes inflammatory diseases. IL-22 has a soluble receptor, IL-22 binding protein (IL-22BP; IL22RA2 ), which antagonizes IL-22 activity and has genetic associations with autoimmune diseases. Humans express three IL-22BP isoforms, whereas mice only express an IL-22BPi2 homolog. Given the lack of IL-22BPi1 and IL-22BPi3 expression in mice, there has not been a thorough characterization of their activities to date. In this study, we show that IL-22BPi2 and IL-22BPi3 differentially modulate IL-22 activity: IL-22BPi3 has lower inhibitory activity than IL-22BPi2, but is expressed more abundantly throughout the body during homeostasis. IL-22BPi2 and IL-22BPi3 also differentially alter the cooperative actions between IL-22 and IL-17, which are commonly co-expressed in autoimmune settings. In addition, we demonstrate that IL-22BPi1 is inactive because it is not secreted. Importantly, while IL-22BPi3 is the dominant isoform expressed constitutively, only IL-22BPi2 is induced when myeloid cells are activated by Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) or retinoic acid. These data suggest that the IL-22BP isoforms have distinct spatial and temporal roles and coordinately fine-tune IL-22-dependent STAT3 responses in tissues as a rheostat. This work is the first to date to perform a thorough biochemical and molecular characterization of the human IL-22BP isoforms.
Ultrasonic attenuation spectroscopy and dispersion characteristics in cortical bone

A mathematical model to predict the ultrasonic attenuation coefficient as a function of frequency in cortical bone is proposed, and the effects of micro-architectural changes on model parameters are studied in this work. Spectroscopy was performed in numerical finite differences time domain simulations to study the individual effects of pore diameter on ultrasonic attenuation. The attenuation coefficient was calculated by measuring the wave amplitude of the wave propagated in simulated bone slabs. Data obtained from numerical simulations show an acceptable match with the proposed model, and the model parameters varied consistently with increasing pore diameter in the cortical bone slabs. Results of this research indicate the potential of a mathematical model to predict the dispersion of attenuation in cortical bone as a function of frequency, pore size and pore density.
Examining the Relationship Between Social Support Satisfaction and Perceived Stress and Depression in Athletic Training Students

Context: Although social support has been reported to be a factor that increases retention of athletic trainers in their profession, there is a lack of literature examining the specific relationship of social support satisfaction and its predictive influence on stress and depression among athletic training students. Objective: To determine which sources of social support were perceived to be the most salient and ascertain whether social support satisfaction can predict stress and depression among athletic training students. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Nine Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education–accredited professional athletic training programs. Patients or Other Participants: A total of 204 athletic training students from Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education–accredited athletic training programs were included in this study. Main Outcome Measure(s): Participants completed the Perceived Stress Scale, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, an...
Ultrastructural Morphometric/Biochemical Approaches to Assessing Metal-Induced Cell Injury

Correlated approaches (as in title) have been used to assess mechanisms of metal- or metalloid-induced cell injury following in vivo (usually rat) exposure to these agents. Relationships have been studied between indium- and thallium-induced perturbations of hepatic haem metabolism and associated changes in e.r.* and mitochondrial membrane structure. Seemingly such structural changes largely mediate the inhibitions of cytochrome P-450-dependent enzyme activities observed following acute administration of various metals.
Intracellular DNA Cargo Release from a Gold Nanoparticle Modulated by the Nature of the Surface Coupling Functionality

Covalently coupling nucleic acids to a gold nanoparticle (AuNP) surface has been demonstrated for generating effective gene therapy agents to modify cellular protein expression. The therapeutic efficacy of the approach is anticipated to be impacted by the length of time the nucleic acid sequence resides in the endolysosomal pathway once transfected into a cell. It is believed that the dynamics of the processing should reflect the linkage chemistry of the DNA to the AuNP surface. In this manuscript the dynamics of nanotherapeutic uptake, nucleic acid release, and gene processing are investigated in vitro for a AuNP-nucleic acid delivery platform transfected into A375 human melanoma cells, as a function of the nucleic acid-gold linkage chemistry. The dynamics of cell processing of the single monodentate thiol (SX), bidentate dual thiol (SS), or mixed bidentate thiol plus amine (SN) coordination of nucleic acids to the AuNP surface are evaluated using a multicolor nanosurface energy transfer bio-optical tran...
Depression Agency-Based Collaborative: Effect of Problem-Solving Therapy on Risk of Common Mental Disorders in Older Adults With Home Care Needs.

ABSTRACT Background Interventions to prevent depression in older adults have mainly focused on young-old ambulatory adults, not on the old-old with disabilities who receive supportive services in their homes. Objective The Depression Agency-Based Collaborative (Dep-ABC) is a single-blind pilot randomized controlled trial assessing the effect of an intervention-development strategy using problem-solving therapy (PST) on the risk of common mental health disorders in this vulnerable population. Methods The intervention involved six to eight sessions of PST over 12 weeks. Participants were followed up to 12 months postintervention. Results Dep-ABC randomized 104 participants—68.4% of eligible and 17.5% of all older adults screened. The proportion of participants with incident major depressive disorder or generalized anxiety disorder was 11.4% in PST and 14.3% in the enhanced usual care control arm. A test of the interaction between time and intervention for anxiety symptoms favored the PST arm (p = 0.04). Conclusion PST did not lower the risk of incident common mental illness but did lower anxiety symptom burden. Apart from low power, the effects of PST may have been blunted by referral for medical and aging services in the enhanced usual care group.
TMEM106B Effect on cognition in Parkinson disease and frontotemporal dementia.

Objective Common variants near TMEM106B associate with risk of developing frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Emerging evidence suggests a role for TMEM106B in neurodegenerative processes beyond FTD. We evaluate the effect of TMEM106B genotype on cognitive decline across multiple neurogenerative diseases. Methods We longitudinally followed 870 subjects with diagnoses of Parkinson disease (PD; n = 179), FTD (n = 179), Alzheimer disease (AD; n = 300), memory-predominant mild cognitive impairment (MCI; n = 75), or neurologically normal control subjects (NC; n = 137) at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn). All participants had annual Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE; median follow-up duration = 3.0 years) and were genotyped at TMEM106B index single nucleotide polymorphism rs1990622. Genotype effects on cognition were confirmed by extending analyses to additional cognitive instruments (Mattis Dementia Rating Scale-2 [DRS-2] and Montreal Cognitive Assessment [MoCA]) and to an international validation cohort (Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative [PPMI], N = 371). Results The TMEM106B rs1990622T allele, linked to increased risk of FTD, associated with greater MMSE decline over time in PD subjects but not in AD or MCI subjects. For FTD subjects, rs1990622T associated with more rapid decrease in MMSE only under the minor-allele, rs1990622C , dominant model. Among PD patients, rs1990622T carriers from the UPenn cohort demonstrated more rapid longitudinal decline in DRS-2 scores. Finally, in the PPMI cohort, TMEM106B risk allele carriers demonstrated more rapid longitudinal decline in MoCA scores. Interpretation Irrespective of cognitive instrument or cohort assessed, TMEM106B acts as a genetic modifier for cognitive trajectory in PD. Our results implicate lysosomal dysfunction in the pathogenesis of cognitive decline in 2 different proteinopathies. ANN NEUROL 2019;85:801-811.
Online teaching: advantages, obstacles and tools for getting it right

An increasing number of travel, tourism, and hospitality management programs are developing and implementing online courses. Faculty and students are encountering advantages and disadvantages as th...
Using webcasts to teach computer security

Computer security classes can be enhanced by listening to or viewing webcasts. Through webcasts students can learn about current security trends from experts. This paper discusses of variety of sources of webcasts and how they can be used to spice up a computer security class.
CHAPTER 57 – Lactation and Its Hormonal Control

The mammary gland undergoes its final development in the adult animal, filling the mammary fat pad with a ductal tree and rudimentary alveoli during puberty, and expanding and fully differentiating during pregnancy. The hormones of pregnancy, prolactin, placental lactogen, growth hormone, and progesterone, cooperate to produce a gland that is fully developed but nonfunctional. Secretory activity commences around parturition, with the withdrawal of progesterone and maintained prolactin and glucocorticoid. The lactating gland produces milk of a composition defined for the species using several specialized pathways, including (a) exocytosis for the secretion of milk proteins, lactose, and divalent ions; (b) a unique lipid secretion pathway that produces membrane-bound milk fat globules; (c) transport systems for monovalent ions, glucose, and amino acids; and (d) transcytosis for the secretion of immunoglobulins and other milk components. Tight junctions form a gasket around the apical surface of the epithelial cells that is open to traffic of large and small molecules in pregnancy, but tightly closed in lactation. During lactation, prolactin provides a comprehensive signal that fosters synthesis and secretion of milk components and the survival of the alveolar cell. The volume of milk produced is determined by milk removal from the gland, a function dependent on oxytocin secretion by the posterior pituitary and contraction of myoepithelial cells to force milk out of the alveoli. These considerations provide a framework for the application of a myriad of new molecular technologies that are beginning to bring our understanding of these complex phenomena to a new level. Abbreviations: ADPH, adipophilin; Btn, Butyrophilin; CLA, trans-10, cis-12 conjugated linoleic acid; Cx, connexin; GH, growth hormone; GHR, growth hormone receptor; GR, glucocorticoid receptor; LPL, lipoprotein lipase; PL, placental lactogen; PR, progesterone receptor; PRL, prolactin; SREBP, sterol response element binding protein; XOR, xanthine oxidoreductase.
The Hypermobile Patient

Hypermobility disorders, including the Ehlers-Danlos syndromes, Marfan syndrome and others, affect not only the joints but multiple other body tissues, with significant implications for inpatient management. Extra care is required during airway management, anesthesia, surgery, rehabilitation, and positioning throughout the stay. Some hypermobile individuals manifest heightened allergic reactions; others exhibit reduced responsiveness to local anesthetics. An understanding of hypermobility disorders will help the consultant more effectively manage the patient’s pain while reducing the risk of complications during hospitalization.
Bounded Rational Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Coordination for Adversarial Target Tracking

This paper addresses the problem of tracking an actively evading target by employing a team of coordinating unmanned aerial vehicles while also learning the level of intelligence for appropriate countermeasures. Initially, under infinite cognitive resources, we formulate a game between the evader and the pursuing team, with an evader being the maximizing player and the pursuing team being the minimizing one. We derive optimal pursuing and evading policies while taking into account the physical constraints imposed by Dubins vehicles. Subsequently, we relax the infinite rationality assumption, via the use of level-k thinking. Such rationality policies are computed by using a reinforcement learning-based architecture and are proven to converge to the Nash policies as the thinking levels increase. Finally, simulation results verify the efficacy of the approach.
“That Brand is So Humane”: The Influence of Perceived Human Values on Attitudes toward CSR PR Messages and Company

We investigated (i) how various human values (benevolence, conformity, achievement, and stimulation) expressed in corporate social responsibility (CSR) public relation (PR) messages differentially relate to consumers' attitude toward the company by influencing their attitude toward the PR message and (ii) how the consistency of these PR values to consumers' existing values affect these relationships. Conducting an online survey, we found that different value dimensions perceived from CSR PR messages influence consumers' attitudes toward the company and the PR message differently. We found that benevolence, among all human values, is most important to communicate through CSR PR to drive positive consumer responses toward both the PR and the company. The significant perceived PR conformity x consumer conformity interaction that positively predicted company attitude suggests that conformity value perceived from the PR message is likely to lead to a more positive company attitude among consumers who place higher value in conformity.
From Transformative Travels to Translingual Poetics: the "Ultime voyage" of Victor Segalen and François Cheng

Francois Cheng and Victor Segalen are widely acknowledged for their common role of “cultural ambassador” between China and France. However, according to Jean Mouttapa who wrote the preface for Cheng’s book L’Un vers l’autre. En voyage avec Victor Segalen (2008), there exists a “spiritual affinity” between the two authors that connects them in a fundamental way. Focusing on this unusual bond, this article examines how the dual destinations of travel – lieu (Other/Elsewhere) and milieu (Self/Home) – are represented in two poetic creations, namely “Perdre le Midi Quotidien” by Segalen and “Ultime voyage” by Cheng. At the intersection of French and Chinese, the travelers-poets trace and translate the courses of their internal progress through their physical displacements. Drawing on essential concepts from Segalen’s theory such as the Divers and the Exote, my analysis reveals the extent to which Segalen and Cheng’s translingual poetics serve as a powerful vehicle to display and disseminate their positive view of the Self-Other bond.
Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council: A Tangled Web of Expectations

Although anticipated before its arrival, last term's decision in Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council ' has been rightly regarded as anticlimactic. To be sure, the decision represents something of a high water mark in takings jurisprudence, for a six justice majority of the Court2 allowed that some restrictions on land use might in principle be caught by the Takings Clause. But what the Court gave with one hand, it took away with the other. Justice Scalia held that the Takings Clause reached only those land use restrictions that deprived the owner of "all economically beneficial uses" of property.3 The proper status of permanent but partial restrictions on land use was not explicitly addressed, but these may now be regarded as legitimate and noncompensable exercises under the state police power. Yet even with total regulatory takings, Justice Scalia stopped short of embracing Lucas's theory that the total loss of beneficial use constitutes a per se compensable taking. Rather, he held that even for total regulatory takings a second test had to be passed as well: If the regulated activity constitutes some form of noxious use or nuisance-like activity subject to regulation at common law, then the state need not compensate the landowner for any resulting economic loss.4 Scalia's constitutional edifice thus rests on two critical distinctions. The first is whether the restriction on use is partial or total. If partial, then the constitutional inquiry is at its end, and the restriction is sustained. If total, then
Percutaneous closure of tricuspid paravalvular leak

While transcatheter closure of mitral and aortic paravalvular leaks has been well-described, there are no prior reports of such procedures for prosthetic tricuspid valves. We describe our experience with percutaneous closure of a tricuspid paravalvular leak in a 34-year-old patient with a history of tricuspid atresia. He had previously undergone repair with placement of a right atrium-to-right ventricle conduit and most recently, placement of a bio-prosthetic tricuspid valve. He subsequently developed significant tricuspid paravalvular leak with symptoms of severe right heart failure. His clinical status was improved following successful transcatheter closure of the defect.
Asymptotic Properties of Self-Consistent Estimators with Mixed Interval-Censored Data

Mixed interval-censored (MIC) data consist of n intervals with endpoints Li and Ri, i = 1, ..., n. At least one of them is a singleton set and one is a finite non-singleton interval. The survival time Xi is only known to lie between Li and Ri, i = 1, 2, ..., n. Peto (1973, Applied Statistics, 22, 86–91) and Turnbull (1976, J. Roy. Statist. Soc. Ser. B, 38, 290–295) obtained, respectively, the generalized MLE (GMLE) and the self-consistent estimator (SCE) of the distribution function of X with MIC data. In this paper, we introduce a model for MIC data and establish strong consistency, asymptotic normality and asymptotic efficiency of the SCE and GMLE with MIC data under this model with mild conditions.
An Evolutionary Dead End

Phenotypic Evolution A Reaction Norm Perspective. Carl D. Schlichting and Massimo Pigliucci. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA, 1998. 400 pp. Paper, $38.95. ISBN 0-87893-799-4. Schlichting and Pigliucci argue for the evolutionary importance of the "developmental reaction norm," a concept that combines adaptive plasticity, development, and allometry.
Optical OFDM for Next-Generation Passive Optical Networks (PON)

Key principles, benefits, and advanced DSP technology requirements of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)-based passive optical networks (PON) are overviewed, revealing OFDM to be a strong next-generation candidate technology for this application domain.
NORMALIZED RELATIONSHIPS FOR DEPTH OF EMBEDMENT OF SHEET PILE WALLS AND SOLDIER PILE WALLS IN COHESIONLESS SOILS

ABSTRACT Normalized, non-dimensional relationships for calculating the depths of embedment of sheet pile walls and soldier pile walls embedded in cohesionless soils are presented. Rankine theory for lateral earth pressures in active and passive conditions are used in the analyses. Relationships are presented for cantilever walls and walls propped at crest. The proposed relationships can be used in dry soil conditions and as well as in saturated soil conditions with steady state seepage. The embedment depth relationships are presented in terms of non-dimensional parameters and can be used for a variety of soil conditions, dimensions and spacing of the walls, and depths of excavation. The presented relationships are simple, easy to use, and do not require tedious calculations.
Possible role of glial cells in the onset and progression of Lyme neuroborreliosis

Background Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB) may present as meningitis, cranial neuropathy, acute radiculoneuropathy or, rarely, as encephalomyelitis. We hypothesized that glia, upon exposure to Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease agent, produce inflammatory mediators that promote the acute cellular infiltration of early LNB. This inflammatory context could potentiate glial and neuronal apoptosis.