cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On the nature of the chromate conversion coating formed on intermetallic constituents of AA2024‐T3

The objective of the research reported in this paper was to refine an existing model for chromate conversion coatings (CCC) formed on the surface of AA2024-T3, an Al–Cu aircraft alloy, by considering the composition and structure of the CCC formed on constituent intermetallic compounds (IMCs). To achieve this aim it was necessary to develop large-area samples composed of compositionally homogeneous thin films of the various IMCs found on the AA2024-T3 surface, which were galvanically attached to thin films of Al–4.2wt.%Cu (representative of the AA2024-T3 matrix). This was performed in a two-step process: disks of IMC compositions were formed by reactive arc melting (RAM), followed by femtosecond laser ablation of the RAM IMCs, resulting in the formation of homogeneous thin films. These thin films were used to analyze the formation of CCC on IMCs, the AA2024-T3 matrix analog and matrix–IMC galvanic couples. Secondary ion mass spectrometry depth profiling revealed significant variations in CCC film thickness and composition related to the underlying IMCs. The SIMS results indicated that the CCC formed on the matrix analog had the same average thickness as the average CCC formed on AA2024-T3, whereas those formed on individual θ and S phases were only 9% and 12% as thick, respectively, when uncoupled to the matrix and 11% and 14% as thick when coupled to the matrix. The CCC thickness on the Al20Cu2(MnFe)3 was found to be variable, having an islanded structure. Topographical maps indicate that the IMC/matrix boundaries are covered with CCC of a thickness approaching that of the matrix. Inhibition of CCC growth is related to the high copper content (and therefore insufficient aluminum) present in the IMCs compared to the matrix, which provides a more accurate model of CCC formation on AA2024-T3. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
CD147 Hooks Meningococcus

Neisseria meningitidis , or meningococcus, is a Gram-negative bacterium and part of the normal nasopharyngeal microbiota. This microorganism becomes dangerous when meningococci reach the circulation and spread to various tissues, causing meningitis or purpura fulminans (a severe invasive form of the disease). Despite antimicrobial therapy, systemic meningococcal infections remain a major cause of mortality and severe neurological sequelae. Targeting the endothelium that lines blood and lymphatic vessels is a crucial step in the pathogenesis of invasive bloodborne meningococci. This event leads to vascular colonization that is characterized by microbial adhesion and proliferation in both peripheral and brain blood microvessels. Type IV pili mediate adhesion to endothelial cells, allowing bacterial translocation through the endothelium. However, the host-derived ligands for these pili and their consequences in the pathogenesis of N. meningitidis have not been previously identified. Bernard et al . sought to investigate the ligands for different meningococcal pili and their role in the establishment of bacterial infection in human cells and tissues. Activating a human brain endothelial cell line with 12- O -tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) (a potent transcriptional regulator) increased the adhesion of N. meningitidis. When the authors performed a differential, quantitative, large-scale analysis of gene expression, they found that expression of CD147 (a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily and a marker of brain capillaries) was greatly enhanced when compared with unstimulated cells and that CD147 accumulated at sites of meningococcal adhesion to two different types of human endothelial cells. The authors used multiple approaches to inhibit CD147 expression and function and determined that CD147 was required to mediate Neisseria adhesion. In addition, they identified PilE and PilV as CD147 ligands and showed that deletion of these two components of pili prevented colonization of vessels in human brain tissue explants ex vivo and in humanized mice in vivo. Together, these findings demonstrate the molecular basis of a key pathophysiological step in human meningococcal disease and identify a role for CD147 in the cascade of events that follow meningococcal entry into the bloodstream. Therapeutic approaches that focus on preventing type IV pilus interaction with CD147 might be effective for treatment or prevention of meningococcal infection and associated vascular dysfunction. S.C. Bernard et al ., Pathogenic Neisseria meningitidis utilizes CD147 for vascular colonization. Nat. Med . 10.1038/nm.3563 (2014). [[Full Text]][1] [1]: http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nm.3563.html
Web-Scale Discovery in an Academic Health Sciences Library: Development and Implementation of the EBSCO Discovery Service

Funds made available at the close of the 2010–11 fiscal year allowed purchase of the EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS) for a year-long trial. The appeal of this web-scale discovery product that offers a Google-like interface to library resources was counter-balanced by concerns about quality of search results in an academic health science setting and the challenge of configuring an interface that serves the needs of a diverse group of library users. After initial configuration, usability testing with library users revealed the need for further work before general release. Of greatest concern were continuing issues with the relevance of items retrieved, appropriateness of system-supplied facet terms, and user difficulties with navigating the interface. EBSCO has worked with the library to better understand and identify problems and solutions. External roll-out to users occurred in June 2012.
Do Prevention Or Treatment Services Save Money? The Wrong Debate

Health improvements and cost savings are achievable by providing targeted, evidence-based, and cost-effective health promotion and disease prevention programs that reduce modifiable risk factors, often the cause of costly chronic diseases. Adopting commonsense health practices does not require expensive technology, medication, specialty training, or elaborate treatment facilities. Instituting environmental, policy, and normative interventions, in addition to individual behavior change programs, can shift our thinking about how we pay for health. Employers’ efforts in providing health promotion programs to their workers offer a microcosm of how prevention can lead to populationwide risk reduction and cost savings.
Enzymatic Reduction of Oxysterols Impairs LXR Signaling in Cultured Cells and the Livers of Mice

Liver X receptors (LXRs) are nuclear receptors that play crucial roles in lipid metabolism in vivo and are activated by oxysterol ligands in vitro. The identity of the ligand that activates LXRs in vivo is uncertain. Here we provide two lines of evidence that oxysterols are LXR ligands in vitro and in vivo. First, overexpression of an oxysterol catabolic enzyme, cholesterol sulfotransferase, inactivates LXR signaling in several cultured mammalian cell lines but does not alter receptor response to the nonsterol agonist T0901317. Adenovirus-mediated expression of the enzyme in mice prevents dietary induction of hepatic LXR target genes by cholesterol but not by T0901317. Second, triple-knockout mice deficient in the biosynthesis of three oxysterol ligands of LXRs, 24S-hydroxycholesterol, 25-hydroxycholesterol, and 27-hydroxycholesterol, respond to dietary T0901317 by inducing LXR target genes in liver but show impaired responses to dietary cholesterol. We conclude that oxysterols are in vivo ligands for LXR.
Knowing Too Much Using Private Knowledge to Predict How One Is Viewed by Others

People have more information about themselves than others do, and this fundamental asymmetry can help to explain why individuals have difficulty accurately intuiting how they appear to other people. Determining how one appears to observers requires one to utilize public information that is available to observers, but to disregard private information that they do not possess. We report a series of experiments, however, showing that people utilize privately known information about their own past performance (Experiments 1 and 2), the performance of other people (Experiment 3), and imaginary performance (Experiment 4) when intuiting how they are viewed by others. This tendency can help explain why people's beliefs about how they are judged by others often diverge from how they are actually judged.
Subtype selective substrates for histone deacetylases.

To probe the steric requirements for deacylation, we synthesized lysine-derived small molecule substrates and examined structure−reactivity relationships with various histone deacetylases. Rat liver, human HeLa, and human recombinant class I and II histone deacetylases (HDACs) as well as human recombinant NAD+-dependent SIRT1 (class III enzyme) were used in these studies. A benzyloxycarbonyl substituent on the α-amino group yielded the highest conversion rates. Replacing the e-acetyl group with larger lipophilic acyl substituents led to a pronounced decrease in conversion by class I and II enzymes; the class III enzyme displayed a greater tolerance. Incubations with recombinant FLAG-tagged human HDACs 1, 3, and 6 showed a distinct subtype selectivity among small molecule substrates. The subtype selectivity of HDAC inhibitors could be predicted with these substrates and an easily obtainable mixture of HDAC subtypes.
Creating Tomorrow’s Advantages

As we enter the twenty-first century, there is a pressing need for clear strategies.Because unless companies have a clear vision about how they are going to be distinctly different and unique, offering something different than their rivals to some different group of customers, they are going to get eaten alive by the intensity of competition. There was a time when markets were forgiving, when there weren’t that many rivals and companies could drift along with ‘me-too’ strategies. But now ‘me-too’ strategies are punished quickly and mercilessly. So the stakes of having a clear strategy are higher. I also sense that most companies have spent the last decade or so doing the reengineering thing, doing the downsizing thing, doing the overhead-reduction thing; and now the question is, what do they do next? Companies have to find ways of growing and building advantages rather than just eliminating disadvantages. Organizations everywhere have been rushing to implement all the latest ideas on management, sometimes to the point of overuse. And they’ve been struggling to fit all the pieces together: TQM, time-based competition, benchmarking etc. Most of these ideas are about doing things better, about improving operational effectiveness. This improvement is necessary just to stay in the game. But staying in the game is not sufficient. If everybody is competing on the same set of variables, then the standard gets higher but no company gets ahead. And getting ahead – then staying ahead – is the basis of strategy: creating a competitive advantage.Strategy is about setting yourself apart from the competition. It’s not just a matter of being better at what you do – it’s a matter of being different at what you do. Many companies have atrophied in their ability to think and act strategically. In the US we have so much short-term, quarter-to-quarter thinking. It’s all about immediate results – let’s cut staff or outsource to boost earnings next year. Companies seem to have gotten out of the habit of investing, and US capital markets are reinforcing those tendencies. This is true to different degrees in other countries as well.
An error-minimizing approach to inverse Langevin approximations

The inverse Langevin function is an integral component to network models of rubber elasticity with networks assembled using non-Gaussian descriptions of chain statistics. The non-invertibility of the inverse Langevin often requires the implementation of approximations. A variety of approximant forms have been proposed, including series, rational, and trigonometric divided domain functions. In this work, we develop an error-minimizing framework for determining inverse Langevin approximants. This method can be generalized to approximants of arbitrary form, and the approximants produced through the proposed framework represent the error-minimized forms of the particular base function. We applied the error-minimizing approach to Pade approximants, reducing the average and maximum relative errors admitted by the forms of the approximants. The error-minimization technique was extended to improve standard Pade approximants by way of understanding the error admitted by the specific approximant and using error-correcting functions to minimize the residual relative error. Tailored approximants can also be constructed by appreciating the evaluation domain of the application implementing the inverse Langevin function. Using a non-Gaussian, eight-chain network model of rubber elasticity, we show how specifying locations of zero error and reducing the minimization domain can shrink the associated error of the approximant and eliminate numerical discontinuities in stress calculations at small deformations.
Abstraction and performance, together at last; Auto-tuning message-passing concurrency on the java virtual machine

ion and performance, together at last; Auto-tuning message-passing concurrency on the java virtual machine
Some Speculations on Continental Evolution

There appears to exist a thick (>300 km) thermal boundary layer (TBL), or tectosphere, beneath the ancient cratonic nuclei that is stabilized against convective disruption by a buoyant, viscous, chemical boundary layer (CBL) depleted in basaltic constituents and enriched in large-ion lithophile (LIL) elements relative to the source mantle of mid-ocean ridge vulcanism. This paper discusses some implications of this tectosphere model for continental formation and evolution. The total volume of basalt extracted from the sub-lithospheric CBL is estimated to be at least 3 × 109 km3, about 40% of the present-day volume of continental crust. A multi-stage evolutionary scenario is required to decouple the process of basalt depletion from the process of CBL thickening. A plausible mechanism for the formation of the continental tectosphere is by the advective thickening of a basalt-depleted, LIL-charged CBL during major episodes of compressive orogenesis, particularly those accompanying the assembly of supercontinents. The seismic and heat flow data indicate that most of the cratons having thick TBLs are of Archaean and early Proterozoic age. Since these crustal ages mark the stabilization dates of the subcrustal tectospheric columns, it is inferred that the depletion and advective-thickening processes which produced the extant cratons were operating more efficiently prior to mid-Proterozoic time. The cold, refractory CBL of the continental tectosphere constitutes a large and particularly stable reservoir for LIL elements; crude estimates based on nodule data suggest that the subcrustal CBL’s total inventory of light rare earths and other incompatibles could be comparable to the crust’s. Both the geochemical and thermometric constraints indicate high heat production within the CBL and low heat flow through its base. It is inferred that very little of the internal heat being convectively transported out of the earth is escaping through the continental cratons. The stability of the continental tectosphere and the discrepancy in the heat fluxing from the deep mantle beneath continents and oceans are evidence that the surficial CBL is strongly coupled to large-scale convective flow in the mantle. A model of the earth is proposed consisting of four major dynamical systems: the two convecting shells of the mantle and core, and the two CBLs at the free surface and core-mantle interface. Strong interactions among the low-wavenumber states of these four systems offer new possibilities for explaining the earth’s large-scale, long-term behavior.
Current measurement expeditions: Deep-sea, shelf-edge, near-surface, shallow-water, and under ice

Development of a velocity measurement technology in science is driven by questions requiring the new technology for their answers. Thus application of the new technology is the only reason for its development and expeditions using it are the test of its behavior. Yet from an engineering viewpoint, the expeditions are simply testing milestones on the development path. This paper is tutorial to a degree to explain to less battle scarred oceanic engineers why and how development of instrumentation proceeds.
"Entrepreneurial Orientation in Thought, Word and Deed: Advancing the EO Conversation"

The present research builds on the growing body of research examining the relevance of processes and behaviors internal to the firm, as organizational antecedents of EO. In doing so we develop a conceptualization of EO that subdivides EO along the causal chain of attitude, intention, and behavior. We propose that the alignment of attitudes, intents and behaviors is important for the success of organizational entrepreneurship in general and for the manifestation of an entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in particular.
Behavior of Tobacco Budworm Larvae on Flue-Cured Tobacco and Possibilities of Improving the Effectiveness of Insecticidal Treatments Applied Mechanically for Control

Damage to flue-cured tobacco by Heliothis virescens (F.) is seldom reduced more than 50% by conventional power sprays and dusts. In searching for possibilities of improving effectiveness of such treatments, the following items were investigated: (1) distribution, movement, and feeding sites of tobacco bud worm larvae developing on untreated field-growing plants; and (2) distribution of a conventional power spray on similar but uninfested plants. Time of day and weather conditions had little effect on the exposure of larvae to treatment. As the larvae aged over an 18-day period, they gradually moved to parts of the plant more exposed to treatment. However, larval damage increased, and 33% of the potential damage and 50% of the actual damage occurred by the time larvae were 6 days old. Thus, control was needed earlier in the larval period, when the exposure of larvae to treatment was near minimum. When larvae were 3 days old, 95% were within 6 nodes of the bud—41 % on the almost completely sheltered bud and 55% on the partially sheltered stalk and 6 small leaves below the bud. Most of the larvae on leaves were very close to the stalk. In addition, about half the larvae on the bud did not move from the bud for 24 or more hours, and, on the average, those that did moved only to the 3rd node below the bud. These data suggest that a greater concentration of an insecticide on the basal half of leaves, leaf axils, and stalk (the bud is almost completely sheltered) of the 6 terminal nodes should accelerate and increase the kill of larvae and thus reduce damage. As possible means of accomplishment, the following methods of mechanized chemical application directed from above the bud appear worthy of exploration: (1) gravity flow of a fine granular formulation in a 6-inch band, (2) spraying with a 15¼ injectortype full-cone nozzle, and (3) atomizing a waterless sprayable concentrate at a relatively low pressure. New conventional insecticides which exhibit greater contact and fuming properties than the residual materials currently in use and new systemic insecticides should also be evaluated.
Functional characterization of human 1-acylglycerol-3-phosphate-O-acyltransferase isoform 9: cloning, tissue distribution, gene structure, and enzymatic activity

Most cells synthesize their glycerophospholipids and triglycerides (TG) to maintain the cellular integrity and to provide energy for cellular functions. The phospholipids are synthesized de novo in cells through an evolutionary conserved process involving serial acylations of glycerol-3-phosphate. Several isoforms of the enzyme 1-acylglycerol-3-phosphate-O-acyltransferase (AGPAT) acylate lysophosphatidic acid at the sn-2 position to produce phosphatidic acid. We cloned a cDNA predicted to be an AGPAT isoform and designated it AGPAT9. The human AGPAT9 gene spans across 14 exons and encodes for a polypeptide of 534 amino acids. AGPAT9 is highly expressed in the lung and spleen, followed by leukocyte, omental adipose tissue, and placenta. In the Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO), cell lysates overexpressing AGPAT9, we observed AGPAT activity but not the lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase activity. When AGPAT9 is coexpressed with AGPAT1 in CHO cells, both the isoforms localize to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and occupy the same ER domain as AGPAT1. Despite substitution of asparagine with proline in the NHX(4)D motif and arginine with cysteine in the EGTR motif, AGPAT9 retains AGPAT activity suggesting that residues asparagine and arginine in the NHX(4)D and EGTR motifs respectively are not essential for the enzymatic activity. Based on the X-ray crystallographic structure of a related acyltransferase, squash gpat, a model is proposed in which a hydrophobic pocket in AGPAT9 accommodates fatty acyl chains of both substrates in an orientation, whereas the HX(4)D motif participates in catalysis. Based on the activity and expression pattern of AGPAT9 in the lung and spleen, this novel isoform could be implicated in the biosynthesis of phospholipids and TG in these tissues.
Codling Moth (Lepidoptera: Olethreutidae): Determining the Drawing Range of Virgin Females

The drawing range of virgin females was determined based on the competitive interaction between blacklight (BL) traps and traps baited with virgin females, referred to as sex attractant traps. BL traps, independent from sex attractant traps, catch more males than females. When sex attractant traps are near, however, the BL traps catch fewer males than females. By encircling BL traps with sex attractant traps, the radial distance can be manipulated to locate the point where competition between the two traps terminates. At that point the distance represents the combined drawing range of the two attractants. Intra-sex attractant trap competition was also measured by a comparison of BL and virgin female baited trap catches. From these data it was determined that the average drawing range of 10 virgin females was 61 m and the average maximum range was 91m.
Psoas Muscle Cross-sectional Area as a Measure of Whole-body Lean Muscle Mass in Maintenance Hemodialysis Patients

Objective We investigate whether psoas or paraspinous muscle area measured on a single L4-L5 image is a useful measure of whole lean body mass (LBM) compared to dedicated midthigh magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Design Observational study. Setting Outpatient dialysis units and a research clinic. Subjects One hundred five adult participants on maintenance hemodialysis. No control group was used. Intervention Psoas muscle area, paraspinous muscle area, and midthigh muscle area (MTMA) were measured by magnetic resonance imaging. Main Outcome Measure LBM was measured by dual-energy absorptiometry scan. Results In separate multivariable linear regression models, psoas, paraspinous, and MTMA were associated with increase in LBM. In separate multivariate logistic regression models, C statistics for diagnosis of sarcopenia (defined as Conclusions We conclude that psoas muscle area provides a good measure of whole-body muscle mass, better than paraspinous muscle area but slightly inferior to midthigh measurement. Hence, in body composition studies a single axial MR image at the L4-L5 level can be used to provide information on both fat and muscle and may eliminate the need for time-consuming measurement of muscle area in the thigh.
Efficacy of high efficient Chuhaijing insecticide against mosquitoes,flies and cockroaches

ObjectiveTo develop high efficient water based insecticide to control pests.MethodsTesting the efficacy with the method of spraying directly,testing the toxicity according to animal acute oral toxicity and skin reaction experiment.ResultsThe KT50 of Chuhaijing against mosquitoes,flies and cockroaches in lab were 0.8,1.2 and 0.85 minutes respectively.The mortality of 48 h were 100%.Using the insecticide with the dose of 1ml/m3 for 3 hours,the density declined rate of mosquito and flies were 100%.With the dose of 1ml/m2 for 48 h,the density declined rate of cockroaches were 95.7%.ConclusionThe formula of Chuhaijing insecticide was scientific and efficient for killing pests,and it was environmental protecting.
Letter: Comment on Unger J. Modern Medicine Nearly Killed Me. [Editorial] Clinical Diabetes 2016;34:22–24

As a diabetes nurse practitioner and consulting associate faculty member in the Duke University School of Nursing nurse practitioner program, I read this article with great interest. I have practiced in inpatient diabetes care as an acute care nurse practitioner since 2001; I have been a nurse since 1993 and was a ward clerk in the early 1980s, when patients were admitted for respite care. Care has changed dramatically over those years. Unfortunately, I could see any of the things that happened to Dr. Unger during his hospitalization happening at almost any hospital (academic or otherwise) today. I am completely dismayed at times by the quality of education related to diabetes care, comprehensive history taking, review of systems, and physical examinations, as well as by the lack of …
School Psychologists’ Knowledge and Use of Evidence-based, Social-Emotional Learning Interventions

This article describes the results of a national survey pertaining to school psychologists’ knowledge and use of evidence-based, social-emotional learning (SEL) interventions. For the study, 331 school psychologists responded to a survey that listed (a) techniques for identifying SEL interventions, (b) 16 SEL programs that have been identified by more than one source as having strong evidence for their effectiveness, and (c) factors that school psychologists may use for deciding on a program to use in their schools. Participants in the survey were asked to rate their opinions about selecting and using SEL interventions, as well as their knowledge and experience with various SEL programs that have received much research attention. Results of the survey indicated that school psychologists have limited awareness of the majority of published, evidence-based SEL programs. These results are of interest to school psychologists and other school personnel who make decisions about purchasing and implementing SEL programs. Implications for training and practice are discussed.
Construct Validity of the Late-Life Function and Disability Instrument in African American Breast Cancer Survivors.

Limited data exist on the validity of the Late-Life Function and Disability (LLFD) instrument in cancer survivors. We examined the construct validity of the abbreviated LLFD instrument in a sample of African-American breast cancer survivors. African American breast cancer survivors (n = 181) aged 50 years and older completed the abbreviated LLFD instrument and questions about sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), Cronbach alphas, and structural models were used to evaluate the construct validity of these measures. Minor modifications were made to the three-factor functional component portion of the inventory to improve model fit. Cronbach alpha’s (range 0.85–0.92) and inter-factor correlations (r = 0.3–0.5, all p < 0.05) were appropriate. The two-factor disability component fit the data and Cronbach alpha’s (0.91 and 0.98) were appropriate with a high inter-factor correlation (r = 0.95, p < 0.01). The average variance extracted (range = 0.55–0.93) and composite reliabilities (range = 0.86–0.98) were in acceptable ranges. Floor effects ranged from 7% for advanced lower function to 74% for personal role disability. Education and number of comorbidities were correlated significantly with functional outcomes. The abbreviated LLFD instrument had adequate construct validity in this sample of African American breast cancer survivors. Further studies are needed that examine the stability of the instrument over time.
Use of a low-literacy written action plan to improve parent understanding of pediatric asthma management: A randomized controlled study.

ABSTRACTObjectives: The objective of the study was to determine whether parents who use a low-literacy, pictogram- and photograph-based written asthma action plan (WAAP) have a better understanding of child asthma management compared to parents using a standard plan. Methods: A randomized controlled study was carried out in 2 urban pediatric outpatient clinics. Inclusion criteria were English- and Spanish-speaking parents of 2- to 12-year-old asthmatic children. Parents were randomized to receive a low-literacy or standard asthma action plan (American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology) for a hypothetical patient on controller and rescue medications. A structured questionnaire was used to assess whether there was an error in knowledge of (1) medications to give everyday and when sick, (2) need for spacer use, and (3) appropriate emergency response to give albuterol and seek medical help. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed, adjusting for parent age, health literacy (Newest Vital Si...
History of Pancreas Transplantation

On December 20, 1893, 3 years after von Mering and Minkowski showed that total pancreatectomy in dogs resulted in diabetes mellitus,1 Dr. P. Watson Williams in Bristol, England, grafted three fragments of a pancreas obtained from a freshly slaughtered sheep into the subcutaneous tissue of a 15-year-old boy in extremis, 5 months after clinical onset of diabetes.2 The recipient died 3 days later, not of complications from the unsuccessful transplant but of unrelenting acidosis, a sequela of basically untreated diabetes. At autopsy, the recipient’s own pancreas was shriveled and sections showed little but fibrous stroma. According to Williams, the history and the postmortem examination left little doubt that the patient had “pancreatic diabetes” a case that “presented all the conditions that might lead one to hope for beneficial results from successful grafting of the pancreas, if anything can be hoped for in this direction at all.” He was not discouraged, and further stated that “failure was possibly due to obtaining the graft from a sheep that had been killed by bleeding....If ever I felt justified again in resorting to pancreatic grafts in a similar case, I should obtain them from a living animal anesthetized or dispense with the anesthetic altogether.”
A domain in human EXOG converts apoptotic endonuclease to DNA-repair exonuclease.

Human EXOG (hEXOG) is a 5′-exonuclease that is crucial for mitochondrial DNA repair; the enzyme belongs to a nonspecific nuclease family that includes the apoptotic endonuclease EndoG. Here we report biochemical and structural studies of hEXOG, including structures in its apo form and in a complex with DNA at 1.81 and 1.85 A resolution, respectively. A Wing domain, absent in other ββα-Me members, suppresses endonuclease activity, but confers on hEXOG a strong 5′-dsDNA exonuclease activity that precisely excises a dinucleotide using an intrinsic ‘tape-measure’. The symmetrical apo hEXOG homodimer becomes asymmetrical upon binding to DNA, providing a structural basis for how substrate DNA bound to one active site allosterically regulates the activity of the other. These properties of hEXOG suggest a pathway for mitochondrial BER that provides an optimal substrate for subsequent gap-filling synthesis by DNA polymerase γ. Human EXOG is crucial for mitochondrial DNA repair. Here the authors present the crystal structures of hEXOG in apo form and as DNA complex and suggest a `tape-measure' activity to generate optimal substrates for mitochondrial base excision repair.
Scholarly productions at the research commons (SP@RC): Making student research SP@RC-le

Aside from conducting research, students need to be able to produce quality scholarship products like oral presentations and posters. Scholarly Productions at the Research Commons (SP@RC) is an on campus resource located in Fenwick Library that can assist students with preparing research posters or other scholarly products. We provide access to, and workshops on, design software such as Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator. Other services include research poster design workshops, citation management software workshops, presentation skills workshops, and free poster printing. SP@RC staff will be available to answer questions and discuss what we do.
Production of Threat in an Interview Situation

Landfield’s exemplification and expectancy hypotheses about threat from others were tested in an interview situation. 80 undergraduate Ss were instructed to report for academic advisement. Actors posing as advisors exemplified and/or expected behaviors which the Ss had been attempting to change in themselves. As hypothesized, Ss’ threat was indicated by a variety of responses when unwanted behavior was expected. The exemplification hypothesis, however, was not supported. It was concluded that accurate predictions about threat must include statements about the example, the expectancy, and the S’s anticipation of the relationship between himself and the threatening other. Finally, variation within experimental groups suggests the need for additions to the threat hypotheses.
Freedom, Reason and Virtue

A theological reflection paper that examines the implications of Pope John Paul II's encyclical "The Splendor of Truth."
Residential support for energy efficiency by utility organizations in the Southeast US

Abstract This study examined residential policy support for energy efficiency (EE) subsidies for investor-owned utility organizations in the southeast United States. Residents in this region continue to increase electricity consumption, and utility organizations remain reliant on fossil fuels for generation. States in the region are resistant to federal clean energy policy. Investor-owned utilities in the region have offered residential EE programs, however, with mixed results. The study explored the likelihood that awareness of EE, past participation in EE, perceptions about utility motives for offering EE, socio-economic factors, attitudes, and planned behaviors would influence residential policy support for EE subsidies for utility organizations. Drawing from the theory of planned behavior, the study is the first to the author's knowledge to explore the mediating role that residential attitudes and planned behaviors occupy between the focal intrinsic and socio-demographic variables in the study and residential policy support for EE. The study found that the influence of Democratic affiliation on residential EE policy support was fully mediated through both attitudes and planned behaviors, and that perceptions of utility motives were fully mediated through planned behaviors. A large gap between attitudes and planned behaviors emerged for Democratic affiliates. Partially mediated relationships emerged for awareness in EE programs, past participation in EE programs, gender, and perceptions of utility motives. Gain- and loss-framing of messages was introduced and was significantly related to both residential attitudes and planned behaviors. The use of effective messaging strategies and implications for policy makers, utility organizations, and energy efficiency implementers are discussed.
An Analysis of Mathematics Requirements and Recommendations for Admission to PhD Programs in Economics

This article presents an analysis of the mathematics course requirements and recommendations for prospective students seeking entry into economics PhD programs in the United States. We find that applicants must complete seven mathematics courses to safely assume that they have enough math credits for admission to most programs. Using National Research Council (NRC) rankings of economics departments according to the level of research activity, we find no strong evidence that the mathematics courses required and recommended are dependent upon the level of academic research conducted by the faculty in the respective PhD programs.JEL Classifications: A22, A23
Queer Friendship: Male Intimacy in the English Literary Tradition

Friendship in the classical world was celebrated as among the highest human achievements: nothing was more likely to lead to the divine than looking for it in the eyes of a friend. In exploring the complexities of male-male relations beyond the simple labels of sexuality, Queer Friendship shows how love between men has a rich and varied history in English literature. The friend could offer a reflection of one's own worth and a celebration of a kind of mutuality that was not connected to family or home. These same-sex friendships are memorable because they give shape to the novels of which they are a part, and question the assumption that the love between friends is different from the love between lovers. Queer Friendship explores English literary friendship in three ways: the elegiac, the erotic, and the platonic, by considering a myriad of works, including Sterne's Tristram Shandy, Tennyson's 'In Memoriam A. H. H.', and Dickens' Great Expectations.
Physical Principles and Extant Biology Reveal Roles for RNA-Containing Membraneless Compartments in Origins of Life Chemistry

This Perspective focuses on RNA in biological and nonbiological compartments resulting from liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS), with an emphasis on origins of life. In extant cells, intracellular liquid condensates, many of which are rich in RNAs and intrinsically disordered proteins, provide spatial regulation of biomolecular interactions that can result in altered gene expression. Given the diversity of biogenic and abiogenic molecules that undergo LLPS, such membraneless compartments may have also played key roles in prebiotic chemistries relevant to the origins of life. The RNA World hypothesis posits that RNA may have served as both a genetic information carrier and a catalyst during the origin of life. Because of its polyanionic backbone, RNA can undergo LLPS by complex coacervation in the presence of polycations. Phase separation could provide a mechanism for concentrating monomers for RNA synthesis and selectively partition longer RNAs with enzymatic functions, thus driving prebiotic evolution....
VISTA expression on tumor-infiltrating inflammatory cells in primary cutaneous melanoma correlates with poor disease-specific survival.

Adaptive immune responses contribute to the pathogenesis of melanoma by facilitating immune evasion. V-domain Ig suppressor of T-cell activation (VISTA) is a potent negative regulator of T-cell function and is expressed at high levels on monocytes, granulocytes, and macrophages, and at lower densities on T-cell populations within the tumor microenvironment. In this study, 85 primary melanoma specimens were selected from pathology tissue archives and immunohistochemically stained for CD3, PD-1, PD-L1, and VISTA. Pearson’s correlation coefficients identified associations in expression between VISTA and myeloid infiltrate (r = 0.28, p = 0.009) and the density of PD-1+ inflammatory cells (r = 0.31, p = 0.005). The presence of VISTA was associated with a significantly worse disease-specific survival in univariate analysis (hazard ratio = 3.57, p = 0.005) and multivariate analysis (hazard ratio = 3.02, p = 0.02). Our findings show that VISTA expression is an independent negative prognostic factor in primary cutaneous melanoma and suggests its potential as an adjuvant immunotherapeutic intervention in the future.
A composite of multisystem injury and neurocognitive impairment in HIV infection: association with everyday functioning.

The Veterans Aging Cohort Study (VACS) Index is a composite marker of multisystem injury among HIV-infected persons. We aimed to examine its cross-sectional association with functional outcomes, after considering neurocognitive impairment (NCI) and other well-established correlates of everyday functioning among HIV-infected persons. Participants included 670 HIV-infected adults (ages 18-76; 88% male; 63% non-Hispanic White; median current CD4 = 404 cells/mm3; 67% on antiretroviral therapy; AIDS = 63%) enrolled in observational studies at the University of California San Diego HIV Neurobehavioral Research Program. Functional outcomes were assessed via self-report measures of declines in activities of daily living, perceived cognitive symptoms in daily life, and employment status. NCI was assessed via a comprehensive neurocognitive test battery and defined based on established methods. Covariates examined included demographics, HIV disease characteristics not included in the VACS Index, and psychiatric comorbidities. The VACS Index was computed via standard methods and categorized based on its distribution. Results from multivariable regression models showed that both higher VACS Index scores (indicative of worse health) and the presence of NCI were independently associated with declines in activities of daily living, increased cognitive symptoms in daily life, and unemployment. These independent effects remained after adjusting for significant covariates. In conclusion, the VACS Index may be a useful tool for identifying HIV-infected patients at high risk for everyday functioning problems. Considering factors such as NCI, historical HIV disease characteristics, and current mood might be particularly important to enhance the predictive power of the VACS Index for functional status among HIV-infected persons.
Systemic Side Effects of Glaucoma Medications

Direct ophthalmic administration is the usual method by which ophthalmologists medically manage most ocular diseases. Topical instillation of pharmacologic agents in the management of ocular disease offers the advantages of rapidly achieving high intraocular drug levels, particularly in the aqueous humor, using significantly smaller doses than that used to treat systemic disease. The management of chronic disease states such as glaucoma, in particular, involves long-term or lifelong administration of often multiple topical agents. Thus, chronic exposure to agents that are systemically active are of great importance from the perspective of safety. This is especially true in glaucoma since the prevalence of disease increases with age as does the prevalence of significant comorbidities that not only can influence the disease process, but can also pose limitations on various treatments due to potential systemic interactions leading to undesired side effects and toxicity. Although the total dosage relative to a comparable systemic agent is far lower, a topical agent is directly absorbed into the systemic circulation via the nasopharyngeal mucosa following passage through the nasolacrimal duct.
An XML-based framework for management of a course catalog system with zero information-loss

The transition from paper-oriented record keeping to their on-line counterpart has been anything but smooth. Often, the on-line systems are difficult to use and do not provide a structure to maintain organizational memory and procedures. A user momentarily sees the part he / she is currently working on and not aware of the big picture. Often, the user is has to work in such convoluted ways that require considerable learning curve. The Course Catalog at universities seem to be facing this these problems. In this thesis we provide XCCat, an XML-based road-map for an enterprise solution for design, implementation, usage, and maintenance of course catalogs for institutions of higher learning. XCCat brings information about curriculum requirements, courses, changes to courses, approval sequences, participants and deliberations surrounding catalog development, and report generation under a single umbrella in a live XML-based database that not only remembers everything but can also be queried for this memory. The concept of catalog publication is carefully developed so when a catalog for the next year is published, the development version of the catalog for the following year is also published; the latter automatically carries forward the unfinished work in progress. This simplifies many things: need for tracking is reduced considerably, the development version of the catalog is always available, increases opportunities for collaboration, there is only one goto place foll all participants (e.g. university, colleges, and programs) for all catalog related issues. There is only one view of the catalog, all information is visible to everyone except the parts that need authorization for making updates. A fair portion that is enough to assess the viability of the ideas behind XCCat have already been implemented. The approach comes close to what has been termed zero information-loss in the field of temporal databases. In the zero information loss model, one could query data, the database history of data, query updates, and query queries. Zero information-loss is a part of what is known as provenance in databases and information systems these days.
Biologic Markers of Acute Lung Injury

The pathogenetic mechanisms of acute lung injury have been examined in many clinical studies. There are at least three good reasons to search for sensitive and specific biologic markers of clinical acute lung injury (Pittet et al., 1997). First, these markers may improve the prediction of acute lung injury in high-risk clinical conditions such as sepsis, pneumonia, severe trauma, and following aspiration of gastric contents. Secondly, these biologic markers may provide new insights into the pathogenesis of clinical lung injury. Third, the biologic markers may help to predict the outcome of patients once clinical acute lung injury has developed.
Introduction to the Temperature Unit

Temperature feedback has been used both in dealing with vasoconstrictive disorders such as migraine and Raynaud’s disease2 and as a tool to encourage general relaxation (a general decrease in sympathetic arousal).3 In addition, exploration has been done with the technique in facilitating childbirth and optimizing physical performance.4
Synergistic Reduction of Apoptosis With Diazoxide and Erythropoietin in Spinal Cord Ischemic Injury.

Background Paraplegia remains a devastating complication of thoracoabdominal aortic intervention. Metabolic stress induces expression of beta common receptor subunit of erythropoietin (EPO) receptor (βcR) to exert a neuroprotective effect in spinal cord ischemia reperfusion injury (SCIR). Diazoxide (DZ) has been shown to induce ischemic tolerance. We previously reported that DZ upregulated βcR expression and enhanced the neuroprotective effects of EPO through the upregulation of βcR. We hypothesize that βcR expression induced by DZ before ischemia amplifies the antiapoptotic effects of EPO in a murine model of SCIR. Methods Experimental groups included phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) pretreatment + PBS immediately before the operation, PBS+EPO, DZ+PBS, DZ+EPO, and sham. Spinal cord ischemia was induced by a 4-minute thoracic aortic cross-clamp. Functional scoring (Basso Mouse Score) was done at 12-hour intervals for 48 hours. Spinal cords were harvested for histologic analysis, and antiapoptotic factors (caspase 3, 8, and 9, B-cell lymphoma-2, and neuroglobin) were evaluated by Western blot analysis. Results The motor function of DZ+EPO group was significantly preserved compared with all other groups. The levels of cleaved caspase 8 and 3 in DZ+EPO were significantly lower than in the other groups. Mice treated with DZ+EPO had significantly fewer terminal deoxynucleotide transferase-mediated deoxy uridine triphosphate nick-end labeling–positive cells than other groups. Conclusions Optimized upregulation of βcR by DZ can increase the extrinsic antiapoptotic effects of EPO. Better understanding of this synergetic mechanism may serve to help prevent ischemic complications caused by aortic intervention.