cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Molecular Cloning of 8-Epicedrol Synthase from Artemisia annua☆☆☆

A cDNA library was prepared from Artemisia annua, and a 129-bp fragment was amplified from this library using primers corresponding to sequences conserved in known dicot sesquiterpene synthases. A 1641-bp open reading frame that encoded a predicted protein 35-38% identical to dicot sesquiterpene synthases was cloned using this fragment as a hybridization probe. The gene product expressed in Escherichia coli cyclized farnesyl diphosphate to a 96:4 mixture of (-)8-epicedrol and cedrol. Neither cedrol epimer was detected by GC-MS in an A. annua extract prepared from the same specimen as the cDNA.
An analysis of the effect of management participation in director selection on the long-term performance of the firm

Abstract A major criticism of corporate boards of directors is the absence of objectivity in appraising and monitoring management [The Business Lawyer, 48 (1992) 59–77]. Recently, Shivdasani and Yermack [Journal of Finance LIV (5) (1999) 1829] find that CEO involvement in board selection is associated with a greater proportion of gray and a lower proportion of outside director appointments. The question addressed here is whether corporate performance, as measured by Tobin's q , is affected by management influence in the board nominating process. Agrawal and Knoeber [Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 31 (3) (1996) 377] find interdependence among seven mechanisms to control agency problems between managers and stockholders. Their finding suggests that cross-sectional OLS regressions of firm performance on a single mechanism may be misleading and that interpretation of multiple regression methods is weakened by multicollinearity. In this study, a principal component analysis (PCA) is employed to mitigate such problems. An index of management involvement in director nomination is constructed for a sample of 106 firms from 1989 to 1992 via a PCA method utilizing selected governance mechanisms within the nominating process. We find a positive relationship between management participation in the director selection process and corporate performance.
Differences in embryonic growth hormone secretion between slow and fast growing chicken strains

This study was designed to test for differences in somatotroph ontogeny, abundance, growth hormone (GH) secretion rate and GH-releasing hormone (GHRH) responsiveness between pituitaries of slow and fast growing chicken strains during embryonic development. Day 10, 12, 14 and 16 embryonic anterior pituitary cells from slow and fast growing chickens were subjected to reverse hemolytic plaque assays (RHPA) for GH. No differences were found in the day on which GH-secreting cells were first detected; somatotrophs were first present on day 14 of embryonic development for both strains. Similarly, no differences were found in the proportions of pituitary cells that secreted GH between the two strains at any of the ages tested. In contrast, differences were observed in GH secretory characteristics of individual somatotrophs between slow and fast growing embryos on day 16 of development, when a substantial somatotroph cell population was first present. Somatotrophs of fast growing embryos released more GH per hour in the presence of GHRH and had a greater capacity for GH release than those of slow growing birds. Furthermore, the majority of GH-secreting cells of fast growing embryos were responsive to GHRH on embryonic day 16, while less than half of the somatotrophs found in slow growing embryos were GHRH responsive. In contrast to these enhanced GH secretory characteristics in the fast growing strain during embryonic growth, a greater percentage of GH-secreting cells was found in the slow growing strain 5 weeks after hatch. It is concluded that differences in GH secretion during embryonic development may contribute to the increased growth rate of chickens selected for greater body weight.
Patient Safety at Handoff in Rehabilitation Medicine

The Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare has cited communication as the most frequent root cause in sentinel events, with failed patient handoffs playing a "role in an estimated 80% of serious preventable adverse events." Handoff, or transfer of patient care information, occurs formally and informally many times each day, within and between care teams, across all levels of care providers and between institutions. Handoff at rehabilitation admission is at a particularly high risk for communication failure, potentially affecting patient safety. This review of the patient handoff literature discusses the importance of safe handoff, the information to be included, barriers to handoff, and improvement methodologies.
Visible Light Controlled Release of Anticancer Drug through Double Activation of Prodrug

We designed and synthesized a novel double activatable prodrug system (drug–linker–deactivated photosensitizer), containing a photocleavable aminoacrylate-linker and a deactivated photosensitizer, to achieve the spatiotemporally controlled release of parent drugs using visible light. Three prodrugs of CA-4, SN-38, and coumarin were prepared to demonstrate the activation of deactivated photosensitizer by cellular esterase and the release of parent drugs by visible light (540 nm) via photounclick chemistry. Among these prodrugs, nontoxic coumarin prodrug was used to quantify the release of parent drug in live cells. About 99% coumarin was released from the coumarin prodrug after 24 h of incubation with MCF-7 cells followed by irradiation with low intensity visible light (8 mW/cm2) for 30 min. Less toxic prodrugs of CA-4 and SN-38 killed cancer cells as effectively as free drugs after the double activation.
Performance and physiological responses of type A and type B individuals during a cognitive and perceptual-motor task

Abstract A total of 36 male individuals, 18 classified as Type A and 18 as Type B performed a cognitive (tonal memory) and a perceptual-motor (simulated race car driving) task along with a secondary reaction time (RT) task. Heart rate (HR), skin temperature, and skin conductance (SC) were measured. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that tracking was related to Jenkins Activity Survey indicating superior performance for those scoring high in overall Type A behavior and low in the H sub-scale (hard driving, competitive behavior). Persons scoring high in the S scale (speed and impatience) and low in the H scale performed better in the short-term memory task. Type A subjects had higher HR and performed better (faster RTs and higher scores) than Type Bs, but only while engaged in the cognitive task. The Type As also had higher SCs than Bs, although there were not differentiated according to task. Sub-scale patterns may have important implications for refining the Type A behavior concept.
The ability of young people to purchase alcohol without age identification in northeastern Minnesota, USA

The purpose of this study was to determine the rate at which young people can purchase alcohol without age identification in off-premises businesses, and the factors which influence the rate of purchase. All retail outlets licensed to sell distilled spirits and/or full strength beer and wine in 28 northern Minnesota communities were visited on different occasions by three 21-year-old female buyers who appeared to be aged 19 or younger. These youthful buyers were able to purchase beer without age identification in 47% of the 336 purchase attempts. Almost four-fifths of the businesses sold beer to these buyers at least once in three attempts. These results provide clear evidence that many commercial off-sale businesses in the US supply alcohol to youthful buyers, and that practices vary significantly by community and by business. These results support the need for greater attention to availability as a factor in teenage drinking patterns.
Controls on transpiration in a semiarid riparian cottonwood forest

Cottonwood(Populus spp.)forestsareconspicuousandfunctionallyimportantelementsofriparianvegetationthroughoutmuchof the western U.S. Understanding how transpiration by this vegetation type responds to environmental forcing is important for determining the water balance dynamics of riparian ecosystems threatened by groundwater depletion. Transpiration was measured in semiarid riparian cottonwood (Populus fremontii) stands along a perennial and an intermittent reach of the San Pedro River in southeastern Arizona. Sap flow was measured using thermal dissipation probesandscaled to the standlevel to investigate standwater useinrelationtocanopystructure,depthtogroundwaterandclimateforcing.Thecottonwoodstandlocatedattheperennialstreamsite hadhigherleaf-to-sapwoodarearatio(0.31 � 0.04 m 2 cm � 2 ),leafareaindex(2.75)andshallowergroundwaterdepth(1.1‐1.8m)than the standattheintermittentstreamsite (0.21 � 0.04 m 2 cm � 2 , 1.75and3.1‐3.9 m,respectively).Moreover,totalannualtranspiration was higher at the perennial stream site (966 mm) than at the intermittent stream site (484 mm). The significant positive and linear correlation between transpiration and vapor pressure deficit indicated high hydraulic conductance along the root‐shoot pathway of cottonwoodtreesatthe perennialstreamsite.Duringthepeakdryperiodpriortothe summerrainyseason,the treesattheintermittent streamsiteexhibitedgreaterwaterstressastranspirationdidnotincreasebeyonditsmid-morningpeakwithincreasingvaporpressure deficit, which was likely due to leaf stomatal closure. However, this stress was alleviated after significant monsoonal rains and runoff events had recharged soil moisture and raised groundwater levels. Riparian cottonwood forests are exposed to extremefluctuations in water availability and transpiration demand throughout the growing season, and their access to shallow groundwater sources determines their structural and physiological responses to drought. Spatial and temporal variation in depth to groundwater induces drought stress in cottonwood threatening their productivity and existence along the river systems throughout much of western U.S. # 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Doubts or variability

Reinterpreting most of the market price of risk as a price of model uncertainty eradicates a link between asset prices and measures of the welfare costs of aggregate fluctuations that was proposed by Hansen et al. (1999), Tallarini (2000), and Alvarez and Jermann (2004). Prices of model uncertainty contain information about the benefits of removing model uncertainty, not the consumption fluctuations that Lucas (1987, 2003) studied. A max-min expected utility theory lets us reinterpret Tallarini’s riskaversion parameter as measuring a representative consumer’s doubts about the model specification. We use model detection instead of risk-aversion experiments to calibrate that parameter. Plausible values of detection error probabilities give prices of model uncertainty that approach the Hansen and Jagannathan (1991) bounds. Fixed detection error probabilities give rise to virtually identical asset prices as well as virtually identical costs of model uncertainty for Tallarini’s two models of consumption growth.
Community-based study of erectile dysfunction and sildenafil use: the Rancho Bernardo study

Abstract Objectives. To evaluate erectile dysfunction (ED) using a validated self-administered 5-item questionnaire (5-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function [IIEF-5]) and the use of sildenafil in community-dwelling older men. Methods. In October 1998, the IIEF-5 was mailed to all surviving members of an established community-based cohort of older men. The degree of ED was stratified by the erectile function domain score as complete (4 or less), severe (5 to 10), moderate (11 to 14), mild (15 to 18), or none (19 to 20). Men were also asked about sildenafil use and its effectiveness. Results. A total of 976 men (64%) responded to the questionnaire. The internal consistency of the questionnaire construct was confirmed, with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.96 for all 5 questions. Eighty-nine percent of men younger than 50 years were sexually active compared with 37% of men older than age 80. Twenty-six percent of sexually active men reported complete (3%), severe (10.5%), or moderate (12.6%) ED. The prevalence of moderate or complete ED increased with age and was reported by 58% of men aged 75 to 79 years. Eleven percent of sexually active men had used sildenafil one or more times, with 63% reporting good or "terrific" effects and 11% reporting no benefit. The response to sildenafil deteriorated with age and increasing degree of ED. Conclusions. The results of this community-based study confirm the strong correlation between advancing age and the prevalence and degree of ED, with 33% of men aged 75 and older reporting at least moderate ED. Nevertheless, more than 33% of men older than 75 years remained sexually active. Of the 660 sexually active men, 81% reported satisfaction with sexual intercourse; only 11% had tried sildenafil.
Pain, sleep disturbances, and functional limitations in people living with HIV/AIDS-associated distal sensory peripheral neuropathy.

Background:Pain, sleep, and functional disturbances are a common occurrence in people living with HIV/AIDS-related distal sensory peripheral neuropathy (PLWHA-DSPN) yet lack group classification and quantification.Methods:A total of 46 PLWHA-DSPN were recruited, as part of a 2-group intervention study, to complete the Neuropathic Pain Scale and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaires. The participant’s performance during a forward reach task and walking distance in 6 minutes was recorded as a measure of function.Results:The pain (60.77 ± 17.85) and sleep (14.62 ± 4.28) scores denote marked pain and sleep disturbances, compared to sero-negative, age-matched individuals. The ambulation distance was limited (243.99 ± 141.04 m) and inversely associated with the PSQI-sleep efficiency subscale (rs = −.35, P < .05). The average reaching distances measured (36.07 ± 7.37 cm) were similar to sero-negative, age-matched individuals. Pain, sleep, and functional measures exhibited significant associati...
Between the Rivers: A Socio-Historical Account of Hegemony and Heritage

Drawing from the writings of George Ritzer, James Scott, and others this paper offers a critical, first-person account of a people's struggle to defend their cultural heritage and connection to place against the Weberian application of "order," and "modernity" by government agencies attempting to "improve" their lives. This paper focuses on the experiences of the Between the Rivers people, who, since the eighteenth century, lived on an inland peninsula formed by the Cumberland, Tennessee and Ohio Rivers in far western Kentucky and extending into Tennessee, but the threat to placed cultures by the rationalized forces of "progress" applies to innumerable localities. Beginning with a sketch of the historical context in which geographical and social forces combined to forge a cultural heritage that is place specific, I move from the failed attempts to remain on the land as the Land Between the Lakes recreation area project culminated in a total population expulsion, to the twenty-first century struggle of a displaced people to retain ownership of their cultural heritage in the face of government attempts to "preserve" that heritage by usurping it as a commodity to market for heritage tourism.
Vireo song repertoires and migratory distance: three sexual selection hypotheses fail to explain the correlation

Previous studies have found a relationship between migration and the degree of elaboration of sexually selected traits, but investigators have differed in the mechanisms they proposed to account for this association. We examined the relationship between song repertoire size and distance migrated among birds in the genus Vireo. There is a strong positive relationship between migratory distance and repertoire size in this genus, but our data do not support the specific predictions of any of the three proposed mechanisms (the “rapid pairing,” “good migrations,” and “territory lottery” hypotheses). Migration distance is presumably correlated with other life-history characteristics that influence the development of sexually selected traits.
When being different is detrimental: Solo status and the performance of women and racial minorities

Individuals experience solo status when they are the only members of their social category (e.g., gender or race) present in an otherwise homogenous group. Field studies and surveys indicate that members of socially disadvantaged groups, such as women and racial minorities, have more negative experiences as solos than do members of privileged groups, such as Whites and males (Kanter, 1977; Niemann & Dovidio, 1998). In this article, we review research showing that the public performance of women and African-Americans is more debilitated by solo status than that of Whites and males. We also show that this effect is exacerbated when negative stereotypes about the performer’s social group seem relevant to their performance, and we discuss the contributing roles of lowered performance expectancies and feelings of group representativeness. We discuss how findings from social psychological research can be applied towards the goal of reducing the decrements typically associated with being the only member, or one of few members, of one’s race and/or gender in the environment. Diversification efforts have resulted in increasing representation of women and racial minorities in higher education and upper-level positions that have traditionally been dominated by White males (e.g., Eccles, 1987; Farley, 1984; Freeman, 1978). Yet several studies have indicated that members of socially
Infarct Related Intramyocardial Dissection

Dissecting intramyocardial hematoma is a rare mechanical complication of acute myocardial infarction (MI). We describe four patients who sustained an acute inferior / inferoposterior MI, developed a new pansystolic murmur, and hemodynamically deteriorated in the first week following infarction. Two-dimensional echocardiography identified a complex rupture that dissected across the inferior portion of the interventricular septum, tunneled through right ventricular (RV) myocardium, and reentered the cavity of the RV. Color flow Doppler was particularly valuable in identifying the serpiginous course of the dissections as well as the entry and exit points. Cardiac catheterization demonstrated markedly increased right heart filling pressures, multivessel coronary artery disease, and evidence of the ventricular septal rupture. One patient died prior to surgery, and the other three expired within 24 hours of attempted surgical repair. We conclude that intramyocardial dissection is a complication of inferior / inferoposterior MI that can be rapidly diagnosed by echocardiography.
On the stability of discrete-time systems using delta-operators

The author presents a review of the delta-operator formulation of an analog system. Stability and robust stability analysis techniques are presented. Moreover, some of the existing analog robust stability techniques are evaluated for extension to delta-operator formulated digital systems.
Passive mode locking and optical bistability of an argon-ion laser.

The completely passive mode locking of an argon-ion laser has been investigated using a rhodamine 110 dye. A novel bistable operation with an additional hysteresis loop was discovered. (AIP)
SCPM: Facilitating Process-Centric Deployment in Enterprise System Implementation

Nowadays lots of organizations rely on enterprise systems to gain efficient and effective business operation. However, enterprise system implementation is a complex endeavor of business process transformation. In the journey, multifarious procedures are carried out while raising a lot of fatal problems. In this paper, based on process-centric methodology and cross-platform integration technology, we developed an integrated platform SCPM to facilitate the whole life of business process transformation. SCPM possesses rich functionalities in business modeling and analysis. Besides, it facilitates to deploy business processes for enterprise system implementation through integrating BPM tool with enterprise system configuration tool. SCPM closes the gap between business process, system configuration and IT execution. And the cross-platform structure makes SCPM to be a milestone on the way of SOA.
Thoughts Toward a Theory of Natural Selection: The Importance of Microbial Experimental Evolution

Natural selection should no longer be thought of simply as a primitive (magical) concept that can be used to support all kinds of evolutionary theorizing. We need to develop causal theories of natural selection; how it arises. Because the factors contributing to the creation of natural selection are expected to be complex and intertwined, theories explaining the causes of natural selection can only be developed through the experimental method. Microbial experimental evolution provides many benefits that using other organisms does not. Microorganisms are small, so millions can be housed in a test tube; they have short generation times, so evolution over hundreds of generations can be easily studied; they can grow in chemically defined media, so the environment can be precisely defined; and they can be frozen, so the fitness of strains or populations can be directly compared across time. Microbial evolution experiments can be divided into two types. The first is to measure the selection coefficient of two known strains over the first 50 or so generations, before advantageous mutations rise to high frequency. This type of experiment can be used to directly test hypotheses. The second is to allow microbial cultures to evolve over many hundreds or thousands of generations and follow the genetic changes, to infer what phenotypes are selected. In the last section of this article, I propose that selection coefficients are not constant, but change as the population becomes fitter, introducing the idea of the selection space.
Determining optimum pulse mode for ultrasound enhanced biodiesel production

Abstract This study evaluated the most suitable pulse mode (pulse ON–OFF pattern) for transesterification of waste cooking oil (WCO) using sodium hydroxide. Pulse sonication effect was investigated using ethanol, methanol, and ethanol–methanol mixtures to convert waste cooking oil into biodiesel. The importance of duty cycle (pulse-mode operation) and the role of reaction temperature during the conversion process were discussed. A maximum biodiesel yield of 99% was obtained for a pulse ON–OFF combination of 7 s–2 s at 150 W power output, and the optimum reaction conditions of 9:1 alcohol-to-oil molar ratio (50%-ethanol, 50%-methanol), 1 wt.% of NaOH, and 1.5 min reaction time.
Direct Analysis in Real Time (DART) of an Organothiophosphate at Ultrahigh Resolution by Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry and Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Direct analysis in real time (DART) is a recently developed ambient ionization technique for mass spectrometry to enable rapid and sensitive analyses with little or no sample preparation. After swab-based field sampling, the organothiophosphate malathion was analyzed using DART-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometry (MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Mass resolution was documented to be over 800,000 in full-scan MS mode and over 1,000,000 for an MS/MS product ion produced by collision-induced dissociation of the protonated analyte. Mass measurement accuracy below 1 ppm was obtained for all DART-generated ions that belonged to the test compound in the mass spectra acquired using only external mass calibration. This high mass measurement accuracy, achievable at present only through FTMS, was required for unequivocal identification of the corresponding molecular formulae.
Translational Approaches in Alzheimer’s Disease

The identification of potential diagnostic, pharmacodynamic, and patient selection biomarkers has had a profound impact on Alzheimer disease (AD) drug development. These biomarkers include amyloid positron emission tomography imaging and the measurement of amyloid beta in the cerebrospinal fluid. Amyloid-targeting agents can be loosely categorized into three categories: (1) agents that are designed to prevent the aggregation and formation of amyloid plaques, (2) agents that are designed to stimulate the innate immune system to clear existing amyloid plaques and prevent further deposition, and (3) agents that prevent the formation of the precursor of amyloid, the Aβ peptide. Biomarkers have been instrumental in determining the disease-modifying effects of these treatments and thus ultimately have an impact on whether drugs continue in development all the way to approval or are instead terminated. Furthermore, the use of newly developed biomarkers has had a profound impact on the diagnosis of this disorder. This chapter reviews the role of amyloid in AD and shows examples of translational biomarker strategies used in drug development for antiamyloid therapeutic agents.
Life History of Megacerus discoidus (Coleoptera: Bruchidae), a Seedfeeder of Hedge Bindweed, in Southwestern Virginia

The biology of Megacerus discoidus (Say), a potential candidate for the biological control of hedge bindweed, was studied in southwestern Virginia from 1982 to 1984. The beetle has four larval instars, one generation a year, and overwinters as a fourth instar inside the seed. Each larva consumed ca. 40–50% of the seed content before diapause, and the rest of the seed in the following spring. Only one larva can successfully complete development within a seed. Cannibalism was most common among second and third instars. Adults emerge in mid- to late June; they are active diurnal fliers. The females usually oviposit under bracts of the host seedpods and occasionally on flowers. The period of oviposition activity lasts about a month. Good synchronization was observed between life cycle of the insect and phenology of hedge bindweed. An egg parasite, Uscana semifumipennis Girault (Trichogrammatidae), and an external larval parasite, Dinamus sp. (Pteromalidae), were found.
Development of the ORION Crew Exploration Vehicle's Aerothermal Database Using A Combination of High Fidelity CFD and Engineering Level Methods

The aerothermal environments for the ORION Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) are developed by a multi-center NASA team through the use of state of the art CFD tools supplemented with engineering level analyses. The high fidelity NASA CFD codes DPLR and LAURA are used to develop the convective heating environments, whilst the NEQAIR code is used to develop the shock radiative heating predictions. Due to the computational cost of running these high fidelity tools only a limited number of solutions, which span the design space, are generated. The engineering level aerothermal tool CBAERO is then used interpolate between the higher fidelity solutions using the engineering based prediction methods as a ‘smart’ interpolation process. This overall process is referred to as ‘anchoring’ of the CBAERO engineering level methods. The anchoring process permits a few, select, CFD solutions to be used beyond the specific flight condition at which they were original run. The anchoring process allows for the cost effective use of high fidelity, and computationally expensive, CFD solutions, early in the design process when the vehicle trajectories are often in a constant state of change.
Effect of deep injection on field-scale emissions of 1,3-dichloropropene and chloropicrin from bare soil

Abstract Fumigating soil is important for the production of many high-value vegetable, fruit, and tree crops, but fumigants are toxic pesticides with relatively high volatility, which can lead to significant atmospheric emissions. A field experiment was conducted to measure emissions and subsurface diffusion of a mixture of 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D) and chloropicrin after shank injection to bare soil at 61 cm depth (i.e., deep injection). Three on-field methods, the aerodynamic (ADM), integrated horizontal flux (IHF), and theoretical profile shape (TPS) methods, were used to obtain fumigant flux density and cumulative emission values. Two air dispersion models (CALPUFF and ISCST3) were also used to back-calculate the flux density using air concentration measurements surrounding the fumigated field. Emissions were continuously measured for 16 days and the daily peak emission rates for the five methods ranged from 13 to 33 μg m−2 s−1 for 1,3-D and 0.22–3.2 μg m−2 s−1 for chloropicrin. Total 1,3-D mass lost to the atmosphere was approximately 23–41 kg ha−1, or 15–27% of the applied active ingredient and total mass loss of chloropicrin was
Using measures of nonlinear dynamics to test a mathematical model of the oculomotor system

Mathematical models are widely used and well-established in studies of the oculomotor system. Some of the newer techniques of nonlinear systems analysis also are now beginning to be applied to data from eye movement experiments. This convergence of established models and new methods allows us to address two issues in computational neuroscience. First, many published models are seldom subject to verification and further study by independent researchers. Second, some of the newly-developed measures of nonlinear dynamics are not easily interpreted in a way that is physiologically meaningful. We set out to address these issues by applying nonlinear dynamical measures to a specific model of oculomotor control, and also to the animal data upon which the model was based, to verify the model. We then made systematic alterations to the model to see how the dynamic measures changed, to help provide some basis for interpretation of these measures.
On the Perfect Benefit Conveyance by the Social Recognition with the Visual Angle of Harmonic Society

It is important object for building the overall comfortable society to construct the socialist harmonic society.Thanks to the existent of pluralistic benefit,the benefit conveyance is expressed as disequilibrium in conveying ability among the benefit groups,impeded in the channel of benefit conveyance,and tendency to violence.So,we have to take the social recognition as the closed point,and perfect the benefit conveyance by using constructing the kernel value outlook,fostering the higher and intermediate stratums,regularizing the conveyance channel,and building the harmonic mechanism for the social recognition.
Molecular Origins of Temperature-Induced Jamming in Self-Suspended Hairy Nanoparticles

Suspensions of solvent-less, polymer-grafted nanoparticles have previously been reported to exhibit enhanced elasticity, glassy dynamics, and jamming as temperature is increased. This so-called thermal jamming behavior is not predicted by current models for soft glassy materials and is opposite to what is normally observed for polymer melts. Here we report results from a detailed study of structural, dynamic, and rheological transitions in solvent-less silica–poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether (SiO2–PEGME) hybrid particles aimed at understanding the molecular origins of the phenomenon. We find that interdigitated PEGME corona chains enforce coupling between SiO2 cores analogous to cross-links in associating polymer networks leading to elastic behavior at low strains and small deformation rates. Pullout and slippage of interdigitated corona chains is thought to produce yielding of the materials in nonlinear shear flow and stretched exponential relaxation following small amplitude step shear. We show with t...
Chromosomal Instability as a Driver of Tumor Heterogeneity and Evolution

Large-scale, massively parallel sequencing of human cancer samples has revealed tremendous genetic heterogeneity within individual tumors. Indeed, tumors are composed of an admixture of diverse subpopulations-subclones-that vary in space and time. Here, we discuss a principal driver of clonal diversification in cancer known as chromosomal instability (CIN), which complements other modes of genetic diversification creating the multilayered genomic instability often seen in human cancer. Cancer cells have evolved to fine-tune chromosome missegregation rates to balance the acquisition of heterogeneity while preserving favorable genotypes, a dependence that can be exploited for a therapeutic benefit. We discuss how whole-genome doubling events accelerate clonal evolution in a subset of tumors by providing a viable path toward favorable near-triploid karyotypes and present evidence for CIN-induced clonal speciation that can overcome the dependence on truncal initiating events.
Reply to Yamini and Nestorovich: Alternate clamped states of the anthrax toxin protective antigen channel.

Yamini and Nestorovich (1) recently commented on our article in PNAS (2). In their letter, they weigh in on two issues with the previously reported (3, 4) alternate conductance substate of the protective antigen (PA) translocase channel. The first point they raised was whether the conductance substate was a clamped state of the PA channel’s phenylalanine clamp (ϕ-clamp) site. We believe that such is the case because when the ϕ-clamp was mutated from phenylalanine to alanine, the current difference between the two substates of the channel increased … [↵][1]1Email: bkrantz{at}umaryland.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Estradiol and progesterone influence on influenza infection and immune response in a mouse model

Problem Influenza infection severity may be mediated by estradiol and/or progesterone. Method of Study An exploratory study was designed to evaluate 17-β-estradiol and progesterone on influenza infection and examine immune-mediated response in a mouse model. Inoculation with placebo or mouse-adapted H1N1 influenza virus occurred. Treatment groups included 17-β-estradiol, progesterone, ovariectomy, and pregnancy. Mice were assessed for morbidity and mortality. Toll-like receptor gene studies and airspace cell differentials were performed. Results Onset of morbidity was earlier and morbidity duration greater for progesterone. Absence of morbidity/mortality and overall survival was greater for 17-β-estradiol. Airspace cell differentials suggest improved immune cell recruitment for 17-β-estradiol. Pregnant mouse data demonstrate significant mortality during the period of increased progesterone. Select immune cell markers demonstrate patterns of regulation that may promote proper immune response to influenza infection for 17-β-estradiol. Conclusion Estradiol may play a protective and progesterone a detrimental role in the pathophysiology of influenza infection.
Classification of Journal Articles in a Search for New Experimental Thermophysical Property Data: A Case Study

We present a case study in which we use natural language processing and machine learning techniques to automatically select candidate scientific articles that may contain new experimental thermophysical property data from thousands of articles available in five different relevant journals. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Thermodynamic Research Center (TRC) maintains a large database of available thermophysical property data extracted from articles that are manually selected for content. Over time the number of articles requiring manual inspection has grown and assistance from machine-based methods is needed. Previous work used topic modeling along with classification techniques to classify these journal articles into those with data for the TRC database and those without. These techniques have produced classifications with accuracy between 85 % and 90 %. However, the TRC does not want to lose data from the misclassified articles that contain relevant information. In this study, we start with these topic modeling and classification techniques, and then enhance the model using information relevant to the TRC's selection process. Our goal is to minimize the number of articles that require manual selection without missing articles of importance. Through a series of selection methods, we eliminate those articles for which we can determine a rejection criterion. We can reduce the number of articles that are not of interest by 70.8 % while retaining 98.7 % of the articles of interest. We have also found that topic model classification improves when the corpus of words is derived from specific sections of the articles rather than the entire articles, and we improve on our classification by using a combination of topic models from different sections of the article. Our best classification used only the Experimental and Literature Cited sections.
On the Hardware Implementation of MRAM Physically Unclonable Function

Intrinsic properties of magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) are exploited for low-power security electronics. The combination of: 1) fast and nonvolatile storage; 2) stochastic nature of subcritical switching; and 3) random variation in the magnetic anisotropy of MTJ make MRAM array ideal for implementing physically unclonable function (PUF). We develop two bit-pattern randomization procedures, one of which can be exercised at wafer level in process line, while the other can be completed in the in-line tester. The procedures generate unpredictable and unclonable bit patterns in a spin-transfer torque (STT)-MRAM array and store them securely in the array. We show the resistance of MTJ is stable through rounds of thermal baking, the readback from the PUF shows no ambiguity from 25 °C to 75 °C. A single embedded STT-MRAM PUF can cover many needs of security electronics.
Fronto-thalamic Architectures for Cognitive Algorithms

In this issue of Neuron, Collins et al. (2018) delineate the functional circuit architecture connecting the prefrontal cortex with two major thalamic territories, the mediodorsal and ventromedial.
Osteoarthritis pain: What are we learning from animal models?

Abstract All experimental models of osteoarthritis (OA)-like joint damage are accompanied by behaviors indicative of pain. In experimental knee OA, evoked pain responses to exogenously applied stimuli suggest that animals become sensitized to mechanical stimuli. Neurobiological techniques including electrophysiology and in vivo calcium imaging confirm that joint damage is associated with mechanical stimuli through peripheral sensitization. Several mediators present in the OA joint can cause peripheral sensitization, most notably the neurotrophin nerve growth factor (NGF). Furthermore, experimental OA is associated with neuroinflammation in the peripheral nervous system and central nervous system (CNS), including macrophage infiltration of the dorsal root ganglia and microglial activation in the spinal cord. Increasingly, researchers are employing models that are slowly progressive, and this approach has revealed that distinct pain mechanisms operate in a time-dependent manner, which may have important translational significance. While the study of pain in experimental OA is rapidly evolving, with the application of increasingly sophisticated techniques to assess pain and unravel the neurobiology of its genesis, important gaps and limitations in our current approaches exist, which our research community needs to address.
Accumbens brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) transmission inhibits cocaine seeking.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) regulates a variety of physiological processes, and several studies have explored the role of BDNF in addiction-related brain regions like the nucleus accumbens core (NAcore). We sought to understand the rapid effects of endogenous BDNF on cocaine seeking. Rats were trained to self-administer cocaine and extinguished. We then microinjected two inhibitors of BDNF stimulation of tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB), the non-competitive receptor antagonist ANA-12 and TrkB/Fc, a fusion protein that binds BDNF and prevents TrkB stimulation. Blocking TrkB or inactivating BDNF in NAcore potentiated active lever pressing, showing that endogenous BDNF tone was present and supplying inhibitory tone on cue-induced reinstatement. To determine if exogenous BDNF also negatively regulated reinstatement, BDNF was microinjected into NAcore 15 minutes before cue-induced reinstatement. BDNF decreased cocaine seeking through TrkB receptor binding, but had no effect on inactive lever pressing, spontaneous or cocaine-induced locomotion, or on reinstated sucrose seeking. BDNF-infusion potentiated within trial extinction when microinjected in the NAcore during cue- and context + cue induced reinstatement, and the inhibition of lever pressing lasted at least 3 days post injection. Although decreased reinstatement endured for 3 days when BDNF was administered prior to a reinstatement session, when microinjected before an extinction session or in the home cage, BDNF did not alter subsequent cued-reinstatement. Together, these data show that endogenous BDNF acts on TrKB to provide inhibitory tone on reinstated cocaine seeking, and this effect was recapitulated by exogenous BDNF.
Existential Psychotherapy with Couples Facing Breast Cancer: A Twenty Year Report

An existential approach to the treatment of couples facing breast cancer, as well as qualitative themes describing the central clinical concerns of the couples in treatment, is outlined and described. In addition, a descriptive clinical study that reviews the changes made by 27 couples facing breast cancer treated by the first author between 1978 and 1998 is also outlined and described. A non-parametric test was used to determine that changes in scores on two clinical measures were significant, suggesting the usefulness of the presented existential clinical approach.
The Postural Tachycardia Syndrome: Etiology, Diagnosis and Treatment

Syncope, the transient loss of consciousness and postural tone, has long been recognized by medical science. Only relatively recently, however, was it established that many episodes of syncope were due to transient periods of auto-nomically-mediated hypotension and bradycardia. During the last 15 years, tilt-table testing has been employed as a useful modality for the diagnosis of these conditions, while simultaneously providing a controlled setting where precise observations and measurements of these phenomena could be made [1]. Thus, during this period there was a very rapid increase in our knowledge of these disorders. One such observation was that these transient disturbances in autonomic nervous system tone could produce varying degrees of hypotension, while not enough to result in loss of consciousness, could nonetheless be great enough to produce symptoms such as vertigo, dizziness, near-syncope and focal neurologic deficits that appeared remarkably similar to transient ischemic attacks. At the same time, several groups of investigators noted that there was a group of patients who exhibited a less severe form of autonomic disturbance, resulting in a form of orthostatic intolerance manifested by postural tachycardia, severe fatigue, blurred vision, exercise intolerance, dizziness and near-syncope. Detailed analysis of these patients uncovered the fact that their clinical histories, physical examinations, and responses to upright posture and head upright tilt were essentially similar.
Asymptotic analysis of resonances of small volume high contrast linear and nonlinear scatterers

We consider the asymptotic analysis of the resonances of high contrast small volume scatterers for linear and nonlinear scalar waves. The resonance problem is formulated as a nonlinear eigenvalue problem. We derive asymptotic formulae for linear scatterers and nonlinear scatterers of the Kerr type. Our results are illustrated with numerical examples.
Acidification effects on larval striped bass, Morone saxatilis in Chesapeake Bay tributaries: a review

Reduced striped bass populations along the East Coast of the United States have prompted numerous studies to assess various factors contributing to the decline. Available data from in-situ, on-site and laboratory studies with striped bass in conjunction with water quality and contaminants data confirm that the eastern shore rivers of the Chesapeake Bay (Choptank, Nanticoke, and Pocomoke Rivers) are susceptible to acidic conditions. The Choptank and Nanticoke Rivers are significant striped bass spawning areas. Acidification conditions (low pH, Al, low hardness) were documented in these systems in 1984 at levels reported to cause high mortality to striped bass larvae. Striped bass populations in several western shore tributaries such as the Mattaponi, Pamunkey, Patuxent, and Rappahannock Rivers also appear to be vulnerable to acidic pH conditions. In-situ toxicity studies documenting actual striped bass larval mortality are lacking in these systems; however, based on laboratory data it appears that potentially toxic acidic conditions can exist. Although certain Chesapeake Bay spawning tributaries do exhibit acidic conditions during spawning periods, other systems are resistant to acidification. The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal (C & D Canal), Elk River and Susquehanna River of the Upper Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River on the western shore appear to be resistant to reductions in pH. The upper Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River are major striped bass spawning areas. Therefore, reduced striped bass production in these systems may be related to factors other than acidification.
Techniques and Systems for Anomaly Detection in Database Systems

Techniques for detection of anomalies in accesses to database systems have been widely investigated. Existing techniques operate in two main phases. The first phase is a training phase during which profiles of the database subjects are created based on historical data representing past users’ actions. New actions are then checked with these profiles to detect deviations from the expected normal behavior. Such deviations are considered indicators of possible attacks and may thus require further analyses. The existing techniques have considered different categories of features to describe users’ actions and followed different methodologies and algorithms to build access profiles and track users’ behaviors. In this chapter, we review the prominent techniques and systems for anomaly detection in database systems. We discuss the attacks they help detect as well as their limitations and possible extensions. We also give directions on potential future research.
Smart City Investments: A Rapid Decision Framework for Public Private Partnerships

The city of Syracuse in New York announced an ambitious smart city plan which, when fully implemented, promises to make it the most connected city in the northeastern US. Thanks to a strategic investment by the State of New York, the city is home to what is billed as the world’s first Drone Corridor for RD. We outline a decision framework (The Syracuse Wheel) for public private partnership to help city leaders and private investors navigate the exciting implications stemming from these two strategic developments and the city’s environment to augment the priority areas of Autonomous Mobility and Connectivity. The Wheel positions Syracuse as a prime market for visionary Public Private Partnership (PPP) proposals given its infrastructure and assets specific to Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs) and Autonomous Vehicle Testing. The research also suggests ways to mitigate the problems associated with data governance and IP governance that various large-scale PPPs have faced in the past. We conclude with a decision-making framework which facilitates a fast-track approval mechanism for investment proposals from private entities as Syracuse prepares for its future as leading-edge Smart City and UAS RD hub.