cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Preemption as a Judicial End-Run Around the Administrative Process?

Judicial review of agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and preemption challenges provide parallel proceedings for resolution of disputes over whether state and federal law are simpatico or at war. Douglas v. Independent Living Center of Southern California, Inc., provides an opportunity to reflect upon the coexistence of, and relationship between, these parallel tracks for adjudicating federal-state conflicts. Who is, and who should be, the ultimate arbiter of whether such federal-state conflicts exist and how to resolve them — agencies or courts?In this Essay, I used Douglas as a lens through which to explore two concepts: first, whether courts can act as “prompters,” pushing federal agencies to discharge their duty to weigh in on whether a conflict between federal and state law exists in a given context; and second, whether there can exist a synergistic relationship between courts and agencies in determining whether a conflict between federal and state law exists. Specifically, I explore two questions left unresolved by the Court’s Douglas decision: (1) Why permit a preemption cause of action at all in situations where there is a viable administrative action? And (2) where parallel proceedings persist, should agency determinations receive varying degrees of deference in each?
Dynamics of paternal contributions to early embryo development in large animals

This review focuses on current knowledge of paternal contributions to preimplantation embryonic development with particular emphasis on large animals. Specifically, the included content aims to summarize genomic and epigenomic contributions of paternally expressed genes, their regulation, and chromatin structure that are indispensable for early embryo development. The accumulation of current knowledge will summarize conserved allelic function among species to include functional molecular and genomic studies across large domestic animals in context with reference to founding experimental models.
Abstract 2525: Low frequency TP53 mutations in airway epithelial cells serve as lung cancer risk biomarker

Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in men and women in the United States. Based on evidence from controlled trials in the United States and Europe that low dose CT (LDCT) screening significantly reduces lung cancer mortality, the United States Preventative Services Tasks Force (USPSTF) recommends LDCT screening for individuals with high demographic risk based on age and smoking history. However, a large fraction of lung cancers occur in individuals who do not meet LDCT screening threshold criteria. Thus, there is a need for biomarkers that supplement demographic factors to more accurately detect those at highest lung cancer risk and include additional individuals who will benefit from LDCT screening. An initial study from this lab demonstrated that TP53 mutations with 0.05-1.0% variant allele fraction (VAF) were significantly more prevalent (p Methods: AEC specimens were prospectively collected through the National Cancer Institute Early Detection Research Network (EDRN) program from 60 subjects at high demographic risk for lung cancer by bronchoscopic brush biopsy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Genomic (g)DNA was extracted from each AEC specimen and stored at -80 degrees Celsius. Subjects matched for age and smoking history who subsequently did or did not develop lung cancer were identified and gDNA specimens, blinded with respect to cancer status, were shipped to the University of Toledo. gDNA specimens were quantified and 50,000 gDNA copies were included in each NGS library preparation. Synthetic DNA internal standards (IS) were prepared for multiple lung cancer driver mutations within the TP53 gene and mixed with each AEC gDNA specimen prior to competitive multiplex PCR NGS library preparation. By controlling for technical error, this approach enables reliable detection of mutations with VAF as low as 5 x 10-4 (0.05%) (Craig et al, BMC Cancer, 2019). Results: Following library preparation and sequencing on Illumina Novaseq, there was sufficient library complexity to detect TP53 VAF 90% of AEC specimens. The data are currently in pipeline analysis. After analysis is complete, VCF files will be sent to Vanderbilt for unblinding and validation of the biomarker. Conclusions: Based on preliminary data, we expect that sufficient AEC gDNA is available from most subjects enrolled in the EDRN program for TP53 low VAF biomarker analysis, and the previously reported method (Craig et al, BMC Cancer, 2019) is reliable and feasible. The current study should provide additional information regarding validity of the biomarker. Citation Format: Daniel J. Craig, Erin L. Crawford, Pierre P. Massion, Thomas Morrison, James C. Willey. Low frequency TP53 mutations in airway epithelial cells serve as lung cancer risk biomarker [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 2525.
Sensitivity limitations of high-resolution perfusion-based human fMRI at 7 Tesla.

Abstract The study of the brain's functional organization at laminar and columnar level of the cortex with blood oxygenation-level dependent (BOLD) functional MRI (fMRI) is affected by the contribution of large veins downstream from the microvascular response to brain activity. Blood volume- and especially perfusion-based techniques may reduce this problem because of their reduced sensitivity to venous effects, but may not allow the same spatial resolution because of smaller signal changes associated with brain activity. Here we investigated the practical resolution limits of perfusion-weighted fMRI in human visual stimulation experiments. For this purpose, we used a highly sensitive, single-shot perfusion labeling (SSPL) technique at 7 T and compared sensitivity to detect visual activation at low (2 mm, n = 10) and high (1 mm, n = 8) nominal isotropic spatial, and 3 s temporal, resolution with BOLD in 5½-minute-long experiments. Despite the smaller absolute signal change with activation, 2 mm resolution SSPL yielded comparable sensitivity to BOLD. This was attributed to a superior suppression of physiological noise with SSPL. However, at 1 mm nominal resolution, SSPL sensitivity fell on average at least 42% below that of BOLD, and detection of visual activation was compromised. This is explained by the fact that at high resolution, with both techniques, typically thermal noise rather than physiological noise dominates sensitivity. The observed sensitivity loss implies that to perform 1-mm resolution, perfusion weighted fMRI with a robustness similar to BOLD, scan times that are almost 3 times longer than the comparable BOLD experiment are required. This is in line with or slightly better than previous comparisons between perfusion-weighted fMRI and BOLD. The lower sensitivity has to be weighed against the spatial fidelity advantages of high-resolution perfusion-weighted fMRI.
Racial Disparities in Access to Public Green Spaces: Using Geographic Information Systems to Identify Underserved Populations in a Small American City

Green spaces are integral components of urban environments, as they provide numerous health benefits to people. However, urban green spaces are often inequitably distributed. Understanding the rela...
On the requirements for user-centric spatial data warehousing and SOLAP

Data warehouses and OLAP systems help to analyze complex multidimensional data and provide decision support.With the availability of large amounts of spatial data in recent years, several new models have been proposed to enable the integration of spatial data in data warehouses and to help analyze such data. This is often achieved by a combination of GIS and spatial analysis tools with OLAP and database systems, with the primary goal of supporting spatial analysis dimensions, spatial measures and spatial aggregation operations. However, this poses several new challenges related to spatial data modeling in amultidimensional context, such as the need for new spatial aggregation operations and ensuring consistent and valid results. In this paper, we review the existing modeling strategies for spatial data warehouses and SOLAP in all three levels: conceptual, logical and implementation. While studying these models, we gather the most essential requirements for handling spatial data in data warehouses and use insights from spatial databases to provide a "meta-framework" for modeling spatial data warehouses. This strategy keeps the user as the focal point and achieves a clear abstraction of the data for all stakeholders in the system. Our goal is to make analysis more user-friendly and pave the way for a clear conceptual model that defines new multidimensional abstract data types (ADTs) and operations to support spatial data in data warehouses
Three new iron-ligand complexes of human methemoglobin A.

Abstract The binding of thiosulfate, bromide, and iodide to human methemoglobin A is examined. Visible and electron paramagnetic spectra of the substituted methemoglobins suggest that the bromide and iodide complexes are predominantly low spin, and the thiosulfate, high spin. Thiosulfate binds hyperbolically while iodide and bromide show apparent sigmoidal behavior. The binding behavior of the halide ions is not due to cooperative interaction, but rather to a protein, structural perturbation induced by neutral salts.
Computational analysis and simulation of vacuum infusion molding process

The current work focuses on resin bleeding process during the Seeman composite resin infusion molding process (SCRIMP), which is a subset of liquid composite molding (LCM) process. Finite difference method (FDM) is implemented to predict the preform thickness, bleeding resin volume, and fiber volume fraction by using a non-rigid control volume. After the fibrous preform is completely impregnated, the resin flow within the preform has a great impact on the dimension and mechanical properties of the final composite parts. As the resin flows out of the preform, the resin pressure and preform thickness are reduced, which increases the fiber volume fraction and the dimension tolerance of the preform. In this paper, the influence of resin flow rate at vent in the mold is also investigated. It is found that there is a critical flow rate to optimize the SCRIMP process at the vacuum line.
Spontaneous Collective Action

We propose a dynamic, probabilistic model of collective action. While agents’ incentives are approximately captured by the normal form suggested in Palfrey and Rosenthal (1984), agents’ behavior is only boundedly rational. The model deÞnes a discrete time, discrete state Markov process. We identify the process’ unique limiting distribution and show that in the long-run even in large populations mass protests may occur as rare, sudden events of comparatively short duration. Moreover, mass collective action is possible in the absence of any coordination device. We then show that our model can be used to give a formal “as-if” interpretation of game-theoretic analyses of collective action.
Synthetic data for small area estimation

Increasingly, researchers are demanding greater access to microdata for small geographic areas to compute estimates that may affect policy decisions at local levels. Statistical agencies are prevented from releasing detailed geographical identifiers in public-use data sets due to privacy and confidentiality concerns. Existing procedures allow researchers access to restricted geographical information through a limited number of Research Data Centers (RDCs), but this method of data access is not convenient for all. An alternative approach is to release fully-synthetic, public-use microdata files that contain enough geographical details to permit small area estimation. We illustrate this method by using a Bayesian Hierarchical model to create synthetic data sets from the posterior predictive distribution. We evaluate the analytic validity of the synthetic data by comparing small area estimates obtained from the synthetic data with estimates obtained from the U.S. American Community Survey.
Engineering Kindness: Building a Machine with Compassionate Intelligence

The author provides first steps toward building a software agent/robot with compassionate intelligence. She approaches this goal with an example software agent, EM-2. She also gives a generalized software requirements guide for anyone wishing to pursue other means of building compassionate intelligence into an AI system. The purpose of EM-2 is not to build an agent with a state of mind that mimics empathy or consciousness, but rather to create practical applications of AI systems with knowledge and reasoning methods that positively take into account the feelings and state of self and others during decision making, action, or problem solving. To program EM-2 the author re-purposes code and architectural ideas from collaborative multi-agent systems and affective common sense reasoning with new concepts and philosophies from the human arts and sciences relating to compassion. EM-2 has predicates and an agent architecture based on a meta-cognition mental process that was used on India's worst prisoners to cultivate compassion for others, Vipassana or mindfulness. She describes and presents code snippets for common sense based affective inference and the I-TMS, an Irrational Truth Maintenance System, that maintains consistency in agent memory as feelings change over time, and provides a machine theoretic description of the consistency issues of combining affect and logic. The author summarizes the growing body of new biological, cognitive and immune discoveries about compassion and the consequences of these discoveries for programmers working with human-level AI and hybrid human-robot systems.
Atrial natriuretic peptide in heart and specific binding in organs from fetal and newborn rats.

To assess the possibility that atrial natriuretic peptide plays a role in salt and water balance during early mammalian development, we examined hearts from fetal and neonatal rates for the presence of this peptide and presumed target tissues for their ability to bind the hormone. Immunohistochemistry was used to localize and radioimmunoassay to quantify this peptide in heart. Immunoreactive artrial natriuretic peptide was visualized in the fetal heart on day 17·5 post-conception. It was distributed throughout the atrial appendages and free wall and, in ventricle, in the trabeculae carnae and chordae tendineae. The concentrations of immunoreactive atrial natriuretic peptide in atria of rats on day 19·5 post-conception were one-tenth of those in the adult. Levels of this peptide in fetal ventricle were low and virtually absent from the adult tissue. Specific binding of radiolabelled atrial natriuretic peptide measured by whole organ counting occurred in several organs from 19·5-day fetal and neonatal rats. A number of these tissues, including the kidney, ileum, adrenal, lung and liver, are targets for and/or bind the peptide in adult rats. Specific binding in these tissues was localized using autoradiography at anatomical sites similar to those in adult organs. Specific binding was also seen in fetal but not neonatal skin. In the kidney, binding was associated with immature as well as mature glomeruli. These findings support the proposition that atrial natriuretic peptide may function in the perinatal rat as it does in the adult and, in addition, may play a unique role during fetal life.
Non-spherical lobate chondrules in CO3.0 Y-81020: General implications for the formation of low-FeO porphyritic chondrules in CO chondrites

Non-spherical chondrules (arbitrarily defined as having aspect ratios greater than or equal to 1.20) in CO3.0 chondrites comprise multi-lobate, distended, and highly irregular objects with rounded margins; they constitute approx. 70% of the type-I (low-FeO) porphyritic chondrules in Y-81020, approx. 75% of such chondrules in ALHA77307, and approx. 60% of those in Colony. Although the proportion of non-spherical type-I chondrules in LL3.0 Semarkona is comparable (approx. 60%), multi-lobate OC porphyritic chondrules (with lobe heights equivalent to a significant fraction of the mean chondrule diameter) are rare. If the non-spherical type-I chondrules in CO chondrites had formed from totally molten droplets, calculations indicate that they would have collapsed into spheres within approx. 10(exp -3) s, too little time for their 20-micrometer-size olivine phenocrysts to have grown from the melt. These olivine grains must therefore be relicts from an earlier chondrule generation; the final heating episode experienced by the non-spherical chondrules involved only minor amounts of melting and crystallization. The immediate precursors of the individual non-spherical chondrules may have been irregularly shaped chondrule fragments whose fracture surfaces were rounded during melting. Because non-spherical chondrules and circular chondrules form a continuum in shape and have similar grain sizes, mineral and mesostasis compositions, and modal abundances of non-opaque phases, they must have formed by related processes. We conclude that a large majority of low-FeO chondrules in CO3 chondrites experienced a late, low-degree melting event. Previous studies have shown that essentially all type-II (high-FeO) porphyritic chondrules in Y-81020 formed by repeated episodes of low-degree melting. It thus appears that the type-I and type-II porphyritic chondrules in Y-81020 (and, presumably, all CO3 chondrites) experienced analogous formation histories. Because these two types constitute approx. 95% of all CO chondrules, it is clear that chondrule recycling was the rule in the CO chondrule-formation region and that most melting events produced only low degrees of melting. The rarity of significantly non-spherical, multi-lobate chondrules in Semarkona may reflect more-intense heating of chondrule precursors in the ordinary-chondrite region of the solar nebula.
Comparisons of lactate dehydrogenase in several trematodes and a host tissue.

Abstract Lactate dehydrogenases (LDH) were compared for the lung fluke, Hematoloechus medioplexus, the bladder fluke, Gorgoderina attenuta, the raccoon pancreatic fluke, Procyotrema marsupiformis and host tissue (lung) of Rana pipeins pipiens. 1. 1. The specific activities were 81 units in the lung fluke, 10 units in the bladder fluke, 71 units in the raccoon pancreatic fluke and 98 units in the frog lung. 2. 2. Pyruvate saturation curves indicate indicate that frog lung LDH saturated at lower pyruvate concentrations and displayed stronger substrate inhibition than did the lung fluke LDH. 3. 3. Whole orgnanism preparations of H. medioplexus LDH gave four isoenzymes, two of which corresponde to the two isoenzymes of from lung.
A Chemical Genetic Screen in Zebrafish for Pathways Interacting with cdx4 in Primitive Hematopoiesis

cdx4, a caudal-related homeodomain-containing transcription factor, functions as a regulator of hox genes, thereby playing a critical role in anterior-posterior (A-P) patterning during embryogenesis. In zebrafish, homozygous deletion of the cdx4 gene results in a mutant phenotype known as kugelig, with aberrant A-P patterning and severe anemia characterized by decreased gata1 expression in the posterior lateral mesoderm. To identify pathways that interact with cdx4 during primitive hematopoiesis, we conducted a chemical genetic screen in the cdx4 mutant background for compounds that increase gata1 expression in cdx4 mutants. Among 2640 compounds that were tested, we discovered two compounds that rescued gata1 expression in the cdx4-mutant embryos. The strongest rescue was observed with bergapten, a psoralen compound found in bergamont oil. Another member of the psoralen family, 8-methoxypsoralen, was also found to rescue gata1 expression in cdx4-mutant embryos. The psoralen compounds also disrupted normal A-P patterning of embryos. These compounds modify the cdx4-mutant phenotype and will help elucidate signaling pathways that act downstream or parallel to the cdx4-hox pathway.
Open Secret in the Rearview Mirror

Much scholarly and popular attention has been centered on whether or not Menaḥem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh rebbe of the Ḥabad-Lubavitch dynasty, identified himself as the Messiah. While this interest is surely understandable, both doctrinally and anthropologically, in my judgment, it obscures the central question concerning the nature of the messianism he propagated. This line of inquiry might seem gratuitous for two reasons. First, his writings, discourses, and actions are replete with references to a personal Messiah, and since there is no evidence that he ever deviated from the strictures of rabbinic orthodoxy, there should be no reason to cast doubt on his explicit assertions. Second, a distinguishing feature of Ḥabad ideology, in consonance with the general drift of Ḥasidism, is the ostensible commitment to divulging mystical secrets, penimiyyut ha-torah, the spreading of the wellsprings outward (hafaṣat ma‘yanot ḥuṣah) to broadcast the mysteries that impart knowledge of divinity mandatory for proper worship. Prima facie, it would appear that Ḥabad breaks the code of esotericism upheld (in theory if not unfailingly in practice) by kabbalists through the centuries. This is surely the self-understanding sanctioned by the seventh rebbe, and it can be justifiably argued that he went to greater lengths than his predecessor and father-in-law, Yosef Yiṣḥaq Schneersohn—availing himself of the socioeconomic opportunities of the postwar American environment and making use of the instruments of technology—to accomplish the diffusion of the inwardness of the Torah.
Spironolactone increases integrin β3 gene expression in kidney and heart muscle cells

In clinical trials of heart failure, spironolactone, an antagonist of the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), reduced mortality rates by unknown mechanisms. We hypothesized that spironolactone functions by upregulating expression of certain cardiovascular genes. An RNA differential display technique was used to identify genes whose expression was increased by spironolactone in an Xenopus kidney epithelial cell line (A6), a known target of aldosterone. We found that integrin beta3 gene expression was increased by spironolactone, and reversed by aldosterone or dexamethasone in a dose dependent manner. Competition binding studies and RT-PCR indicate the presence of MR in A6 cells, suggesting that regulation of expression occurred primarily through MR. Spironolactone also increased integrin beta3 expression in rat neonatal cardiomyocytes. In summary, spironolactone increases integrin beta3 gene expression in kidney epithelial cells and cardiomyocytes. The findings suggest new mechanisms for spironolactone actions with possible relevance to treatment of heart disease.
Simply Presented Valuated Modules

Abstract Let R be a principal ideal domain and let p be a fixed prime in R. We show how from a valuated forest F a p-valuated R-module S(F) may be derived, and then we discuss the basic properties of S(F). We develop and explore the concept of levels in R-modules, and this investigation leads to some useful observations about endomorphisms of R-modules. Two principal results are that a valuated torsion-free tree T is irretractable if and only if S(T) is indecomposable as a p-valuated R-module, and if F and F′ are forests consisting of reduced irretractable valuated torsion-free trees and S(F) ≅ S(F′), then F ≅; F′.
Possible predicates and actual properties

In “Properties and the Interpretation of Second-Order Logic” (Hale, Philos Math 21:133–156, 2013) Bob Hale develops and defends a deflationary conception of properties where a property with particular satisfaction conditions actually (and in fact necessarily) exists if and only if it is possible that a predicate with those same satisfaction conditions exists. He argues further that, since our languages are finitary, there are at most countably infinitely many properties and, as a result, the account fails to underwrite the standard semantics for second-order logic. Here a more lenient version of the view is explored, which allows for the possibility of countably infinite predicates understood as the product of linguistic supertasks. This enriched deflationist account of properties—the Infinitary Deflationary Conception of Existence—supports the standard semantics for models with countable first-order domains, and allows one to prove the categoricity of the second-order Peano axioms.
The Nature of the Stable Blood Clot Procoagulant Activities

The function of tissue factor (Tf)-initiated coagulation is hemorrhage control through the formation and maintenance of an impermeable platelet-fibrin barrier. The catalytic processes involved in the clot maintenance function are not well defined, although the rebleeding problems characteristic of individuals with hemophilias A and B suggest a link between specific defects in the Tf-initiated process and defects in the maintenance function. We have previously demonstrated, using a methodology of “flow replacement” (or resupply) of ongoing Tf-initiated reactions with fresh reactants, that procoagulant complexes are produced during Tf-initiated coagulation, which are capable of reinitiating coagulation without input from extrinsic factor Xase activity (Orfeo, T., Butenas, S., Brummel-Ziedins, K. E., and Mann, K. G. (2005) J. Biol. Chem. 280, 42887–42896). Here we used Tf-initiated reactions in normal and hemophilia blood or in their corresponding proteome mixtures as sources of procoagulant end products and then varied the resupplying material to determine the identity of the catalysts that drive the new cycle of thrombin formation. The central findings are as follows: 1) the prothrombinase complex (fVa-fXa-Ca2+-membrane) accumulated during the episode of Tf-initiated coagulation is the primary catalyst responsible for the observed pattern of prothrombin activation after resupply; 2) impairments in intrinsic factor Xase function, i.e. hemophilias A and B, result in an impaired capacity to mount a resupply response; and 3) in normal hemostasis the intrinsic factor Xase function contributes to the durability of the resupply response.
Theory of the Concave Grating. III. Seya-Namioka Monochromator*†‡

As an example of a mounting in which the optical components are not on the Rowland cylinder, the Seya-Namioka mounting is treated mainly from the standpoint of physical optics. An ambiguity in the physical meaning of Beutler’s focal conditions is clarified; using the corrected condition a brief summary of the optical conditions in this mounting is given. Astigmatism, spectral line shape, instrumental resolving power, and optimum grating width are discussed in detail and, for convenience of practical application, numerical results are also given for the following conditions: 1-m concave grating with 15 000 lines/in., first order spectrum, with ratios of the radius of curvature of the grating to the distances between the grating center and the entrance and exit slits 1.2223, and 1.2230, respectively, and the angle between the lines connecting the grating center to the entrance and exit slit 70° 15′.
Identification of a CO2 Responsive Regulon in Bordetella

Sensing the environment allows pathogenic bacteria to coordinately regulate gene expression to maximize survival within or outside of a host. Here we show that Bordetella species regulate virulence factor expression in response to carbon dioxide levels that mimic in vivo conditions within the respiratory tract. We found strains of Bordetella bronchiseptica that did not produce adenylate cyclase toxin (ACT) when grown in liquid or solid media with ambient air aeration, but produced ACT and additional antigens when grown in air supplemented to 5% CO2. Transcriptome analysis and quantitative real time-PCR analysis revealed that strain 761, as well as strain RB50, increased transcription of genes encoding ACT, filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA), pertactin, fimbriae and the type III secretion system in 5% CO2 conditions, relative to ambient air. Furthermore, transcription of cyaA and fhaB in response to 5% CO2 was increased even in the absence of BvgS. In vitro analysis also revealed increases in cytotoxicity and adherence when strains were grown in 5% CO2. The human pathogens B. pertussis and B. parapertussis also increased transcription of several virulence factors when grown in 5% CO2, indicating that this response is conserved among the classical bordetellae. Together, our data indicate that Bordetella species can sense and respond to physiologically relevant changes in CO2 concentrations by regulating virulence factors important for colonization, persistence and evasion of the host immune response.
The Stars Are Aligning

Over a year ago, as I began thinking about what the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) could and should do during my presidency, I was encouraged by many of the things that were happening in the world of health care and pharmacy. There seems to be more and more opportunities for pharmacists to get paid for providing services—not just drugs, but authentic services delivered to patients. Health care reform was the hot topic on the Hill with potentially many important benefits for patients and for pharmacy; specifically, the health care home espouses a team-based approach to care which AACP has long championed.
A pyridine-based chelating solvent extraction system for selective extraction of nickel and cobalt

Abstract A novel pyridine-based chelating extractant, 2,6-bis-[5-n-nonylpyrazol-3-yl] pyridine (BNPP), has been developed and characterized. The solvent extraction of Ni and Co by a mixed system of BNPP and dinonyl naphthalene sulfonic acid (DNNSA) was studied as a function of pH, diluent, temperature, and DNNSA concentration. Stripping of Ni and Co was examined as a function of HCl and H 2 SO 4 concentration. The novel system can extract Ni and/or Co selectively against Fe, Mn, Ca, Mg, and A1 from acidic sulfate solutions at a pH as low as 0.5. Separation of Ni and Co can be achieved either during loading, or during stripping stages of solvent extraction. The extractant system is stable and can be regenerated with acid. The synergistic extraction distribution diagrams and the slope analyses methods {log D vs. log[BNPP]} showed that both BNPP and DNNSA are present in the extracted Co and Ni complexes, and that two molecules of BNPP are coordinated with one metal cation.
BMP-2 and BMP-4, but Not BMP-6, Increase the Number of Adrenergic Cells Which Develop in Quail Trunk Neural Crest Cultures

The bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are members of the TGF β superfamily of growth factors. We have investigated the effects of BMP-2, BMP-4, and BMP-6 on the development of quail trunk neural crest cells in tissue culture. The presence of human recombinant BMP-2 or BMP-4 resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-immunoreactive cells which developed after 7 daysin vitro.In contrast, BMP-6 showed little or no effect. Total cell number was not altered significantly by BMP-2, BMP-4, or BMP-6. However, in the presence of BMP-2 and BMP-4, but not BMP-6, the fraction of the cell population that became melanocytes was reduced to about two-thirds the control value. Addition of BMP-2 and BMP-4 also increased the number of Islet-1-immunoreactive and Hu-immunoreactive cells, but the magnitude of these increases was less than that observed for the TH-immunoreactive cell population. The Islet-1-immunoreactive cells were a subset of the TH-immunoreactive cells, while the Hu-positive cells were distinct from the TH-immunoreactive population. Analysis using bromodeoxyuridine labeling indicated that the increased numbers of TH-immunoreactive cells observed in the presence of BMP-2 and BMP-4 were not due to an increased rate of cell division in committed TH precursors. Further experiments, in which cultures were initiated from single cells, showed that the presence of BMP-2 resulted in colonies containing numerous catecholamine-positive cells without altering the overall number of colonies which survived and developed. In summary, our findings indicate that BMP-2 and BMP-4 are potent regulators of the adrenergic development of avian trunk neural crest cells.
Enabling seamless access to digital graphical contents for visually impaired individuals via semantic-aware processing

Vision is one of the main sources through which people obtain information from the world, but unfortunately, visually impaired people are partially or completely deprived of this type of information. With the help of computer technologies, people with visual impairment can independently access digital textual information by using text-to-speech and text-to-Braille softwares. However, in general, there still exists a major barrier for people who are blind to access the graphical information independently in real time without the help of sighted people. In this paper, we propose a novel multilevel and multimodal approach aiming at addressing this challenging and practical problem, with the key idea being semantic-aware visual-to-tactile conversion through semantic image categorization and segmentation, and semantic-driven image simplification. An end-to-end prototype system was built based on the approach. We present the details of the approach and the system, report sample experimental results with realistic data, and compare our approach with current typical practice.
Ecology of aerobic methanotrophs in controlling methane fluxes from wetlands

Abstract Methane (CH4) is a critical greenhouse gas, with wetlands and flooded rice soils contributing >38% of the global emissions of CH4. A key process that offsets CH4 production is biological oxidation by methanotrophs that can consume as much as 90% of the CH4 produced in aerobic soils. The objective was to review the literature on the biochemical pathways, ecology of methanotrophs, research methods, and environmental and management controls on CH4 oxidation in wetlands. Methanotrophs have been extensively studied using phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) but much less so using nucleic acid analysis or with the powerful stable-isotope probing technique of 13C-PLFA analysis. Of the environmental factors that affect CH4 oxidation, temperature, water content and redox potential are the most important whereas a wide range of soil pH enables oxidation. Methane oxidation varies with season as functions of temperature and plant community shifts (changes with growth stage of C input chemistry and oxygenation from aquatic rhizospheres). Indirect evidence suggests there is greater CH4 oxidation in pulsing than permanently flooded soils based on observations that static wetlands have greater emissions than pulsing wetlands. Basic research is needed on: the role of inorganic N species in controlling CH4 oxidation pathways; phylogenetic analysis of methanotrophs; and environmental and edaphic effects on methanotroph growth and activity. Research is needed to develop wetland systems that optimize CH4 oxidation relative to wetland type and environments and hydrology while maintaining and/or promoting other ecosystem services (e.g. C sequestration, pollution remediation, wildlife habitat, flood control).
Towards high efficiency GaAsP solar cells on (001) GaP/Si

We demonstrate metamorphic 1.66 eV GaAs 0.77 P 0.23 solar cells grown by molecular beam epitaxy on exact (001) GaP/Si templates. Cascading such a cell with a 1.1 eV Si junction enables theoretical efficiencies of > 37% under the AM1.5G spectrum. We optimized the initial GaP growth on pseudomorphic GaP/Si templates to promote maximum strain relaxation with minimal nucleation of new threading dislocations. Electron beam-induced current studies of our cells reveal a threading dislocation density (TDD) of 7.8×106 cm−2, about 18% lower than our prior results on GaP/Si. The lower TDD has contributed to a low bandgap-voltage offset (W OC =E G /q-V OC ) of 0.55 V, which is 40 mV lower than our previous report, and represents significant progress for GaAs y P 1−y /GaP/Si metamorphic solar cells.
Serine phosphorylation of protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP1B) in HeLa cells in response to analogues of cAMP or diacylglycerol plus okadaic acid

The major intracellular protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP1B) is a 50kDa protein, localized to the endoplasmic reticulum. This PTP is recovered in the particulate fraction of mamalian cells and can be solubilized as a complex of 150 kDa by extraction with non-ionic detergents. Previous work from this laboratory implicated phosphorylation of serine/threonine residues in the regulation of this PTP. Activity was several-fold higher in cells treated with activators of cAMP-dependent or Ca2+/phospholipid-dependent protein kinases or inhibitors of protein phosphatase 2A. Here we show that these treatments result in more than an 8-fold increase in the phosphorylation of the 50kDa PTP catalytic subunit within the 150kDa form of the phosphatase in HeLa cells. The phosphorylation occurred exclusively on serine residues, and the same tryptic and cyanogen bromide,32P-phosphopeptides were recovered in the PTP from control and stimulated cells. Either multiple kinases phosphorylate a common site in the PTP1B, or a single kinase is activated ‘downstream’ of cAMP- and Ca2+/phospholipid-dependent kinases. The results indicate that phosphorylation of a serine residue in the segment 283–364, probably serine 352 in the sequence Lys-Gly-Ser-Pro-Leu, occurs in response to cell stimulation. Phosphorylation in this region of PTP1B, between the N-terminal catalytic domain and the C-terminal membrane localization segment, is proposed to regulate phosphatase activity.
Profound abnormality of the B/T lymphocyte ratio during chemotherapy for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia

The fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) was utilized to phenotype lymphocyte compartments in children receiving intensive chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Sixteen patients (eight males and eight females) of diverse ages, risks of relapse, and within weeks 7-53 of maintenance/continuation chemotherapy treatment were arbitrarily selected for study. All 16 patients had profound B cell lymphopenia. In contrast, T cell numbers were often normal or marginally low, and accounted for up to 98% of the lymphocyte populations. No abnormality in T cell phenotypes could be demonstrated. Due to the highly skewed B/T lymphocyte ratios in these ALL patients, the absolute white blood cell counts and lymphocyte percentages were not predictive of the underlying B cell lymphopenia. Patients were also tested for serum immunoglobulin levels and most had abnormally low IgG and IgM. None of four patients immunized with the 1996-1997 influenza virus vaccine seroconverted to at least two vaccine antigens as compared to 10 of 10 healthy, age-matched controls. In total, these data highlight for the first time the profound abnormality of the B/T lymphocyte ratio in patients during treatment for ALL, and argue for consideration of B cell-targeted immunotherapy.
The comparative expression of life-history traits and its relationship to the numerical dynamics of four populations of the least killifish

1. We examined the numerical dynamics in four natural populations of the least killifish [Heterandria formosaAgassiz (1855)]; to ascertain how those dynamics affected the expression of key life-history traits and, in turn, whether life-history variation among populations might be responsible for different dynamic properties. Populations were chosen from two types of communities, spring-fed rivers and lakes, to examine the relative influence of community characteristics on these relationships. 2. Populations in lakes had lower densities, more female-biased sex ratios and a smaller proportion of immature individuals than populations in rivers. Predator faunas differed between habitats and the ratio of predator to H. formosa density was higher in lakes than in rivers. 3. Females in lake populations were 35−40% larger than river females. Female size was positively correlated with the number of broods carried by a female at any given time and the number of offspring in a particular brood. These correlations and the larger body size of females in lake populations indicate that the reproductive output per female was higher in lake than river populations. 4. Female size was negatively correlated with population density in two of the four populations. After adjusting for the variation in female size, brood size and brood numbers were negatively correlated with population density in only the highest density population. 5. Average offspring size was negatively correlated with brood size in all of the populations, indicating a general trade-off between offspring size and number. The average offspring size in the highest density population was as much as 45% larger than that of all other populations, an effect independent of any phenotypic plasticity in offspring size with respect to female body size or density. 6. The effects of density on female body size are the major avenue for negative feedback of population density on the subsequent dynamics through life-history expression. Whether such an effect is stabilizing or destabilizing cannot yet be determined. If the variation in offspring size among populations is adaptive, it may be a prominent example of density-dependent life-history evolution.
Preferred line of sight angle.

Abstract Recent experiments with 16 male and 16 female subjects indicated that they like to look down rather steeply at an average of −29° below horizontal, s.d. 11·6°, when sitting with trunk and head upright. This angle is steeper when the visual target is at 0·50 m distance (−33°±11·3°) but flatter when the target is at 1·00 m (−24° ± 10·4°). When head and trunk are reclined to 105° behind horizontal, the overall angle of the preferred line of sight is reduced to −20° ±11·7° below horizontal, with −23° (± 12·5°) at 0·5 m and −16° (±9·6°) below horizontal at 1·0 m target distance. These preferred visual angles did not depend on the visual task. The finding that people look down much more steeply than listed in most human engineering design guides has obvious implications for the layout of workplaces where the task has a strong visual component, e.g. at computer workstations.
Clinical rubella reinfection during pregnancy in a previously vaccinated woman.

Abstract We report a documented case of clinically apparent rubella reinfection during pregnancy with rubelliform rash and fever followed by lymphodenopathy at the 18th week of gestation, in a previously vaccinated woman with haemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibody titre of 1:32. The serological tests results (including neutralizing antibodies) demonstrated a significant rise in her rubella specific IgG level with strongly positive IgM reactivity. In addition, rubella-specific IgG antibody avidity testing displayed high avidity index (53–88%) typical of rubella reinfection. Umbilical cord blood, drawn by sonographic-guided cordocentesis at 24 weeks' gestation, was found to be negative for rubella-specific IgM antibody. The pregnancy was continued to term, and a healthy infant was born.
THE HYPERTRIGLYCERIDEMIC WAIST PHENOTYPE AMONG WOMEN

Background: Elevated plasma triglycerides (TG) and waist girth (hypertriglyceridemic waist (HTGW)) has been associated with elevated insulin, small dense low-density lipoprotein (sLDL) particles, and Apo B in men. The HTGW has not been reported for women and the effect of cardiorespiratory fitness (“fitness”) on associations between HTGW and coronary risk factors is unknown. Purpose: To determine the prevalence of HTGW and the influence of fitness on the relationship between HTGW and coronary risk among 137 healthy women (54±9 year; body mass index (BMI)=28±6 kg/m2). Methods: HTGW was defined as waist girth >88 cm and TG >150 mg/dl. The metabolic triad was defined as insulin >31 pmol/l, Apo B >69 mg/dl and LDL-C >84 mg/dl. Fitness was assessed with a maximal treadmill exercise test. Results: The sample prevalence of HTGW (n=15) was 11% (95% CI=5.7–16.0%). Apo B (P=0.04) and insulin (P=0.0001) increased across quintiles of waist girth, and LDL-C (P=0.004) increased across quintiles of TG. Metabolic triad prevalence was highest (67%, n=10) among HTGW women and lowest (22%, n=26) among non-HTGW women. A trend for higher coronary heart disease CHD risk factors was observed among HTGW compared with non-HTGW women. Among the HTGW group, a trend for lower CHD risk factors was observed among fit (≥6.5 METs, n=7) versus unfit women (<6.5 METs, n=8). Sample size limitations prohibited meaningful tests of significant differences in CHD risk factors when stratified simultaneously on HTGW and fitness status. Conclusions: HTGW is associated with increased coronary risk factors similarly among women as reported for men. Higher fitness may improve the CHD risk profile among women with HTGW.
Heterologous desensitization of leukocytes: a possible mechanism of beta adrenergic blockade in atopic dermatitis

Studies of mononuclear leukocytes from patients with atopic dermatitis showed depressed cyclic AMP (cAMP) responses after exposure to isoproterenol, histamine, and prostaglandin E1. Because plasma and tissue histamine levels are elevated in atopic dermatitis, we questioned whether histamine or other mediators might be responsible for cAMP abnormalities. We found that exposure of normal cells to low (10(-6)M) concentrations of histamine, isoproterenol, or prostaglandin E desensitized the cells to subsequent stimulatory concentrations of any of the agonists. This heterologous desensitization occurred within 15 min and persisted for days, with gradual recovery of cAMP responses roughly paralleling those of cells from patients with atopic dermatitis. These findings provide a possible explanation for Szentivanyi's beta adrenergic blockade theory and the depressed leukocyte cAMP response to multiple agonists in atopy.
The role of nitrite ion in phagocyte function—perspectives and puzzles

Macrophages and neutrophils are essential elements of host cellular defense systems that function, at least in part, by generating respiration-driven oxidative toxins in response to external stimuli. In both cells, encapsulation by phagocytosis provides a mechanism to direct the toxins against the microbes. The toxic chemicals formed by these two phagocytic cells differ markedly, as do the enzymatic catalysts that generate them. Nitrite ion is microbicidal under certain conditions, is generated by activated macrophages, and is present at elevated concentration levels at infection sites. In this review, we consider potential roles that nitrite might play in cellular disinfection by these phagocytes within the context of available experimental information. Although the suggested roles are plausible, based upon the chemical and biochemical reactivity of NO2(-), studies to date provide little support for their implementation within phagosomes.