cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Species Differences in Microsomal Oxidation and Glucuronidation of 4-Ipomeanol: Relationship to Target Organ Toxicity

4-Ipomeanol (IPO) is a model pulmonary toxicant that undergoes P450-mediated metabolism to reactive electrophilic intermediates that bind to tissue macromolecules and can be trapped in vitro as the NAC/NAL adduct. Pronounced species and tissue differences in IPO toxicity are well documented, as is the enzymological component of phase I bioactivation. However, IPO also undergoes phase II glucuronidation, which may compete with bioactivation in target tissues. To better understand the organ toxicity of IPO, we synthesized IPO-glucuronide and developed a new quantitative mass spectrometry-based assay for IPO glucuronidation. Microsomal rates of glucuronidation and P450-dependent NAC/NAL adduct formation were compared in lung, kidney, and liver microsomes from seven species with different target organ toxicities to IPO. Bioactivation rates were highest in pulmonary and renal microsomes from all animal species (except dog) known to be highly susceptible to the extrahepatic toxicities induced by IPO. In a complementary fashion, pulmonary and renal IPO glucuronidation rates were uniformly low in all experimental animals and primates, but hepatic glucuronidation rates were high, as expected. Therefore, with the exception of the dog, the balance between microsomal NAC/NAL adduct and glucuronide formation correlate well with the risk for IPO-induced pulmonary, renal, and hepatic toxicities across species.
72 MHz A-scan optical coherence tomography using continuous high-rate photonically-enabled compressed sensing (CHiRP-CS)

Randomly spectrally patterned laser pulses acquire more information in each sample, allowing for increasing imaging speed independent of detector limitations.
Foraging decisions underlying restricted space use: effects of fire and forage maturation on large herbivore nutrient uptake

Citation: Raynor, E. J., Joern, A., Nippert, J. B., & Briggs, J. M. (2016). Foraging decisions underlying restricted space use: effects of fire and forage maturation on large herbivore nutrient uptake. Ecology and Evolution, 6(16), 5843-5853. doi:10.1002/ece3.2304
Optimizing by accident: A/an allomorphy and glottal stop

English a/an appears to be a textbook case of phonologically optimizing allomorphy: it conspires to yield CV syllables instead of hiatus ( % E™ apple) or extra codas (*an book). But does this effect need to be explained in the synchronic grammarâ€”e.g., is an selected before vowels in order to provide an onset? I argue that it cannot be, based on the selection of an before emphatic glottal stop (anÂ [E”]Aipple). I provide a serialist analysis of a/an in which allomorphy strictly precedes phonology and cannot â€˜seeâ€™ surface phonetic forms.
Trend of the Standardization of the Laser Optics and the Test Methods for Laser Optical Components

Laser optical components for ultra violet, visible, near infrared and infrared region are standardized. Qualityof the materials (birefringence, bubbles, inclusions and striae), the manufacturing tolerance (surface figureerror, decentering and scratch) and dimensional tolerance are standardized. Their coded name is also standardized.Methods of measurement of transmittance, reflectance, absorptance and scattering are going to be standardized.Test methods of laser damage threshold for both 1 on 1 and s on 1 test are also going to be standardized. Their methods and the status of the standardization are described.
Implications of HER family inhibition in targeted therapy of ovarian cancer

13120 Background: The human epidermal receptor (HER) family couples binding of extracellular ligands to intracellular tyrosine kinase (TK) signal transduction pathways, contributing to cellular pro...
The First Hundred Days for Health Care

President Donald Trump promised to make health care reform an early focus, and congressional Republicans have been trying to repeal and replace Obamacare. Despite having railed against Democrats for passing reform on a single-party vote, Republicans are doing exactly the same.
Assessing Allosteric Modulation of CB1 at the Receptor and Cellular Levels

The cannabinoid CB1 receptor is abundant in the central nervous system and regulates neuronal transmission and other key physiological processes including those leading to pain, inflammation, memory, and feeding behavior. CB1 is activated by the endogenous ligands, arachidonoyl ethanolamine and 2-arachidonoyl glycerol, by various synthetic ligands (e.g., CP55940), and by Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive component of Cannabis sativa. These CB1 ligands are orthosteric and transduce downstream signals by binding CB1 and primarily inducing Gi coupling, but Gs and β-arrestin coupling are also possible. Recently, allosteric modulators for CB1 were discovered that bind to topographically distinct sites and can noncompetitively impact the potency and efficacy of orthosteric compounds. These offer the exciting potential for mechanistic analyses and for developing therapeutics. Yet, it is critical to elucidate whether a compound is a positive allosteric modulator or a negative allosteric modulator of orthosteric ligand-induced CB1 profiles to understand pathway specificity and ameliorate diseases. In this chapter, we present equilibrium and kinetic binding analysis to reveal the impact of allosteric modulators on CB1. Also described are activities consistent with CB1 activation (or inactivation) and include cellular internalization of CB1 and downstream signaling patterns. Since many CB1 allosteric modulators do not enhance G protein coupling, it is critical to distinguish CB1 activation and biased signaling patterns via β-arrestin from CB1 inactivation. These strategies can illuminate pathway specificity and are valuable for the fine-tuning of CB1 function.
Utilization of simultaneous saccharification and fermentation residues as feedstock for lipid accumulation in Rhodococcus opacus

Use of oleaginous microorganisms as “micro-factories” for accumulation of single cell oils for biofuel production has increased significantly to mitigate growing energy demands, resulting in efforts to upgrade industrial waste, such as second-generation lignocellulosic residues, into potential feedstocks. Dilute-acid pretreatment (DAP) is commonly used to alter the physicochemical properties of lignocellulosic materials and is typically coupled with simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) for conversion of sugars into ethanol. The resulting DAP residues are usually processed as a waste stream, e.g. burned for power, but this provides minimal value. Alternatively, these wastes can be utilized as feedstock to generate lipids, which can be converted to biofuel. DAP-SSF residues were generated from pine, poplar, and switchgrass. High performance liquid chromatography revealed less than 0.13% monomeric sugars in the dry residue. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was indicative of the presence of lignin and polysaccharides. Gel permeation chromatography suggested the bacterial strains preferred molecules with molecular weight ~ 400–500 g/mol. DAP-SSF residues were used as the sole carbon source for lipid production by Rhodococcus opacus DSM 1069 and PD630 in batch fermentations. Depending on the strain of Rhodococcus employed, 9–11 lipids for PD630 and DSM 1069 were observed, at a final concentration of ~ 15 mg/L fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) detected. Though the DAP-SSF substrate resulted in low FAME titers, novel analysis of solid-state fermentations was investigated, which determined that DAP-SSF residues could be a viable feedstock for lipid generation.
On Pseudo-elasticity of Living Tissues

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the pseudo-elasticity of living tissues; soft tissues, such as arteries, muscles, skin, lung, and ureter have been considered. The mechanical properties of these tissues are qualitatively similar. It focuses on arteries. As a material, arteries are inelastic. They do not meet the definition of an elastic body, which requires that there should be a single-valued relationship between stress and strain. Arteries show hysteresis when they are subjected to cyclic loading and unloading. When held at a constant strain, they show stress relaxation. When held at a constant stress, they show creep. They are anisotropic. Their stress-strain-history relationships are non-linear. Their properties vary with the sites along the arterial tree, ageing, short- or long-term effects of drugs, hypertension, and inervation or denervation. An approach to non-linear elasticity uses the incremental law: a linearized relationship between the incremental stresses and strains obtained by subjecting a material to a small perturbation about a condition of equilibrium.
Towards Fault Recovery and Management inCommunication Networks

Society’s growing use of communication networks in both the public and private sector has led to an increased focus on reliability and survivability. Over the last decade, widely publicized network outages illustrated that a disruption of communications services can be very expensive to businesses and critical services (such as 911 service). The growing vulnerability of the public switched telephone network in the United States was initially discussed in 1989 by the National Research Council which noted a As we become more dependent on network, the consequences of network failure become greater and the need to reduce network vulnerabilities increases commensurately.o With the popularity of the Internet, a variety of network failures has surfaced in the recent years. It is clear that fault management will grow in importance for the foreseeable future. A variety of network failures are possible with typical events resulting in a failure being accidental cable cuts, hardware malfunctions, software errors, natural disasters (e.g., ® re, hurricane, earthquake), human error (e.g., incorrect maintenance), and malicious attack (both hardware and software). Broadly, we can classify the failures as physical-type failures and software-type failures. First we discuss physical failures in this context. Consider, a ® ber cable cut in a selfhealing ring in a metropolitan area telecommunication network; the failure can be restored in milliseconds by changing the direction of ow (with appropriate availability of capacity). However, using such a ring approach on a national or an international scale is likely to be cost prohibitive. This may lead to an approach which allows a combination of ring and digital cross-connect systems for transmission layer restoration, although it should be kept in mind that the spare capacity provided for such restoration is unused during normal network
The Relationship between Mean Surface Curvature and the Stereologic Counting Measurements

In any structural change driven by surface tension, the local geometric variable of central importance is the mean curvature of the surfaces involved. Gibbs showed(1) that the local values of both the chemical potential and of the pressure difference supported by an interface are proportional to the local mean surface curvature. A method for estimating mean surface curvature, based upon a relationship between the average of this quantity and two of the basic counting measurements of stereology, is presented in this paper.
The Revised Inventory of Parent Attachment: Measuring Attachment in Families

This study develops the Revised Inventory of Parental Attachment (R-IPA). The Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA, Armsden & Greendberg, 1987), was reworded to ask parents their perspective of attachment towards their children. When used together the R-IPA and the IPPA rate attachment scripts from parent and adolescent's perspectives. Results suggest the original factor structure of the IPPA does not fit the data for parent's ratings on the R-IPA or adolescent's ratings of mothers and fathers on the IPPA. Exploratory factor analyses demonstrate a two-factor structure for both measures. Reliability and validity of the two factors are presented. Reasons for the factor structure change are discussed.
What Are Drugs

FDA defines a drug in the following three ways: (1) articles intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease in man or other animals; (2) articles (other than food) intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of man or other animals; and (3) articles recognized in the official United States Pharmacopeia, Homeopathic Pharmacopeia of the United States or National Formulary or any supplement to any of them (Table 2.1). FDA-approved drugs are classified as either non-prescription – so-called Over-the-Counter (OTC) drugs – or prescription drugs. The latter are mainly either New Drugs, including Biological Drugs (Biologics), or Generic Drugs. However, prescription drugs may also be in the Botanical or DESI (Drug Efficacy Study Implementation) category. FDA regulation of human drugs is by its Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) while veterinary drugs are regulated through its Center for Veterinary Medicine. By FDA definition all drugs, in contrast to devices (Table 2.2), work, that is, achieve their intended purpose by chemical action in or on the body or through being metabolized.
Permutation tests for mixed paired and two-sample designs

Permutation tests based on previously developed statistics are proposed for the case of mixed paired and two-sample designs. Different weighting schemes of previous tests are explored to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each test. A simulation study compares the power and Type I error rates of the new tests with those previously developed. Rank-based statistics generally performed as well as or better than parametric statistics, particularly for nonnormal distributions.
Swelling and Inflation in Polyelectrolyte Complexes

The properties of polyelectrolyte complexes, PECs, made from blended polycations, Pol+, and polyanions, Pol–, are routinely studied under conditions where they are at least partially swollen with water. Water plasticizes PECs, transforming them from an intractable, glassy, and brittle state when dry to tough and viscoelastic when wet. In the present work the supreme efficiency of water, compared to other solvents on a polarity scale, in swelling a PEC is illustrated. Using a PEC of poly(diallyldimethylammonium) and poly(styrenesulfonate) with precisely determined density, we show that swelling tracks a Dimroth–Reichardt polarity scale until the molecular volume exceeds ∼50 A3, whereupon the degree of swelling drops sharply. Long-term (>1 year) swelling of this PEC in pure water reveals an instability, wherein the material substantially inflates, generating large pores even though T < Tg. The mechanism for this instability is attributed to a small population of counterions, resulting from slight nonstoichi...
Gatekeeping practices, gatekeeper states and beyond

This article is a response to critics of the concept of the gatekeeper state, whose contributions have been collected in this volume. Emphasizing the importance of thinking with rather than in soci...
Risk Factors and Clinical Treatments of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer Disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the most common form of dementia, which is characterized by progressive memory loss and cognitive decline. The pathologic symptoms of AD are amyloid beta (Aβ) accumulation and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) caused by protein tau. Age is the greatest risk factor for AD, and the opportunities of developing AD increase two-fold every 5 years after age 65. AD also has a raising tendency on healthcare costs as the population have longer life span than before. In 2017, about 5.3 million people over the age of 65 in the United States were diagnosed with AD and under the influence of AD caused dementia. Researchers has been predicted that over 100 million patients will suffer from AD by 2050. Consequently, there is an urgent need to improve the investigation and treatment of AD. This paper summaries risk factors of two types of AD, molecular networks and symptoms of AD, and also current and future treatments of AD.
Staccato pulse interleukin-2 (IL-2) in metastatic melanoma (MM) previously treated with checkpoint inhibitors (CPI).

e21022Background: The CPI ipilimumab, nivolumab, and pembrolizumab have been adopted into common use for patients (pts) with MM. While their clinical activity is undeniable, a substantial fraction ...
Vascular compression of the duodenum associated with the treatment of scoliosis. Review of the literature and report of eighteen cases.

Thirty cases of vascular duodenal obstruction have been collected from the literature and from our own experience: eighteen associated with the correction of spinal curvature and twelve with the application of a body jacket. The clinical manifestations and treatment of vascular duodenal obstruction have been presented and the pathogenesis of this entity has been discussed. It is believed that traction on the spine in patients with scoliosis with significant correction of the spinal curvature (21 to 61 degrees in our series) may increase the acuteness of the angle of departure of the superior mesenteric arterial trunk sufficiently to cause duodenal obstruction. Correction of a curvature of the spine, especially abrupt correction produced by internal spinal fixation, halo-femoral traction, a localizer cast, or Milwaukee brace, may apply the requisite traction. The term cast syndrome is a misnomer when used to describe the vascular duodenal obstruction that may develop as a complication of the treatment of scoliosis without the application of a corrective cast.
Authority, Social Theories of

Authority is a concept denoting a relationship of unequal power, where those who have authority demand obedience from others who are expected to accept the legitimacy of those demands and comply with them. Authority is an elementary form of social life, found in all societies, and in all social institutions.
The National Kidney Registry: Time to Buy In?

In this issue of CJASN , Leeser et al. ([1][1]) describe patient and graft survival in patients who participated in the National Kidney Registry, a nonprofit, 501(c) organization founded in 2007 to facilitate living kidney donor exchange. Outcomes of recipients of paired kidneys in the National
The Effect of Operational Stressors on Emergency Department Clinician Scheduling and Patient Throughput.

Study objective We assess the effect of emergency department (ED) operational stressors on clinician scheduling and throughput. Methods We evaluated 2014 to 2018 data from a national ED group. Operational stressors included measures of workload, patient acuity, and complexity. We used multilevel linear regression to estimate the effect of operational stressors, temporal factors, and facility characteristics on ED clinician scheduling; patient throughput, measured as shift-level patient departures per corrected clinician hour; and length of stay. Results In greater than 14 million ED visits across 359 facility-years, the mean of patient departures per corrected clinician hour was 2.23 (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.15 to 2.31). Temporal and facility effects had the greatest influence on patient departures per hour (eg, –0.55 [95% CI –0.75 to –0.36] in 7 am to 3 pm shifts versus midnight to 7 am on Mondays, 0.25 [95% CI 0.03 to 0.47]) in teaching versus nonteaching hospitals, and 0.43 (95% CI 0.24 to 0.61) in larger EDs (30,000 to 59,999 ED visits/year) versus smaller EDs. Operational stressors had significant but small effects on patient departures per hour (eg, length of stay [per-minute increase] 0.002 [95% CI 0.0019 to 0.0023] and percentage admitted [per 1% increase] –0.003 [95% CI –0.004 to –0.001]). Weekday nights, particularly Mondays, had the highest proportion of shifts with increasing length of stay compared with previous years in the same ED. Conclusion ED operational stressors had minimal influence on patient throughput when included in adjusted ED clinician scheduling models, whereas temporal and facility factors were more influential. Therefore, incorporating operational stressors into ED clinician scheduling is less likely to balance workloads than accounting for temporal and facility-level factors alone. Length of stay on some shifts, particularly Monday nights, became increasingly long, suggesting they require additional resources.
The burden of prosthetic hip dislocations in the United States is projected to significantly increase by 2035

Introduction:Prosthetic hip dislocation is a common, costly complication of total hip arthroplasty (THA). Despite this, the national burden of prosthetic hip dislocations remains uncharacterised in...
Early Outbreak Detection for Proactive Crisis Management Using Twitter Data: COVID-19 a Case Study in the US

During a disease outbreak, timely non-medical interventions are critical in preventing the disease from growing into an epidemic and ultimately a pandemic. However, taking quick measures requires the capability to detect the early warning signs of the outbreak. This work collects Twitter posts surrounding the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic expressing the most common symptoms of COVID-19 including cough and fever, geolocated to the United States. Through examining the variation in Twitter activities at the state level, we observed a temporal lag between the rises in the number of symptom reporting tweets and officially reported positive cases which varies between 5 to 19 days.
An assessment of the applicability of multigroup cross sections generated with Monte Carlo method for fast reactor analysis

Abstract This paper presents an assessment of applicability of the multigroup cross sections generated with Monte Carlo tools to the fast reactor analysis based on transport calculations. 33-group cross section sets were generated for simple one- (1-D) and two-dimensional (2-D) sodium-cooled fast reactor problems using the SERPENT code and applied to deterministic steady-state and depletion calculations. Relative to the reference continuous-energy SERPENT results, with the transport corrected P0 scattering cross section, the k-eff value was overestimated by 506 and 588 pcm for 1-D and 2-D problems, respectively, since anisotropic scattering is important in fast reactors. When the scattering order was increased to P5, the 1-D and 2-D problem errors were increased to 577 and 643 pcm, respectively. A sensitivity and uncertainty analysis with the PERSENT code indicated that these large k-eff errors cannot be attributed to the statistical uncertainties of cross sections and they are likely due to the approximate anisotropic scattering matrices determined by scalar flux weighting. The anisotropic scattering cross sections were alternatively generated using the MC2-3 code and merged with the SERPENT cross sections. The mixed cross section set consistently reduced the errors in k-eff, assembly powers, and nuclide densities. For example, in the 2-D calculation with P3 scattering order, the k-eff error was reduced from 634 pcm to −223 pcm. The maximum error in assembly power was reduced from 2.8% to 0.8% and the RMS error was reduced from 1.4% to 0.4%. The maximum error in the nuclide densities at the end of 12-month depletion that occurred in 237Np was reduced from 3.4% to 1.5%. The errors of the other nuclides are also reduced consistently, for example, from 1.1% to 0.1% for 235U, from 2.2% to 0.7% for 238Pu, and from 1.6% to 0.2% for 241Pu. These results indicate that the scalar flux weighted anisotropic scattering cross sections of SERPENT may not be adequate for application to fast reactors where anisotropic scattering is important.
On the Role of Reward Functions for Reinforcement Learning in the Traffic Assignment Problem

The traffic assignment problem (TAP) consists of assigning routes to road users in order to minimize traffic congestion. Traditional methods for solving the TAP assume the existence of a central authority who computes and dictates routes to road users. Multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) approaches are more realistic in solving this kind of problem because they consider that road users (agents) have complete autonomy for choosing routes. However, MARL approaches usually require a long training period in order to compute the optimal routes, which could be a major limitation in more realistic traffic scenarios. In this paper, we tackle this problem by evaluating the performance of three conceptually different reward functions, namely: expert-designed rewards, difference rewards, and intrinsically motivated rewards. In particular, our focus lies on providing a deeper understanding of the impact of these reward functions on the agents’ performance, thus contributing towards reducing congestion levels. To this end, we perform an extensive experimental evaluation on different road networks, including up to 360,600 concurrently learning agents. Our results show that, although the adopted reward functions were not able to speed up the learning process, the correct reward function choice plays an important role in the quality of the learned solution.
Phase II trial of ribociclib and letrozole in patients with relapsed oestrogen receptor-positive ovarian or endometrial cancers

ABSTRACT Objective We describe a phase II clinical trial of the combination of ribociclib and letrozole for treatment of relapsed oestrogen receptor (ER)-positive ovarian cancer (OC) and endometrial cancer (EC). The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients alive, progression-free survival (PFS), and still on treatment at 12 weeks (PFS12), with 45% or greater considered positive. Methods Patients with measurable, relapsed ER-positive OC or EC (platinum-sensitive or resistant) were eligible and treated with 400 mg of oral ribociclib and 2.5 mg of oral letrozole daily. Patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) were created from imaging-guided tumour biopsies. Results Forty patients (20 OC and 20 EC) were enrolled. A PFS12 of 55% was observed in the EC cohort and 50% in the OC cohort. A PFS greater or equal to 24 weeks (PFS24) was seen in 20% (4/20) of the OC cohort and 35% (7/20) of the EC cohort. The greatest benefit was seen in low-grade serous OC (LGSOC) (3/3, 100% PFS24) and grades 1 and 2 EC (5/11, 45% PFS24). All three LGSOC patients obtained at least a partial response lasting for over 2 years, with two of the three patients still on treatment. PDX tumour engraftment was feasible in 45% of patients. Positive survival effects of the combination of ribociclib and letrozole were observed in two of three EC PDX models. Conclusion Ribociclib and letrozole have promising clinical activity in relapsed ER-positive OC and EC, particularly in LGSOC and relapsed ER-positive grade 1 and 2 EC. Generation of PDX models is feasible with positive survival effects observed in EC models. Trial registration number ClinicalTrials.gov registry ( NCT02657928 ).
Multi-FSR Flex-LIONS: a Bandwidth Reconfigurable Optical Interconnect Architecture with Minimal Network Diameter

We propose a SiPh multi-FSR Flex-LIONS architecture that leverages the multiple FSRs of an AWGR to enable topology and bandwidth reconfigurability to adapt the interconnection to different traffic profiles while maintaining a minimum-diameter all-to-all interconnectivity.
Vectorial Generalized g-Fractional Direct and Iterated Quantitative Approximation by Linear Operators

In this work we consider quantitatively with rates the convergence of sequences of linear operators applied on Banach space valued functions. The results are pointwise estimates with rates. To prove our main results we use an elegant and natural boundedness property of our linear operators by their companion positive linear operators. Our inequalities are generalized g-direct and iterated fractional involving the right and left vector Caputo type generalized g-direct and iterated fractional derivatives, built in vector moduli of continuity. We treat wide and general classes of Banach space valued functions. We give applications to vectorial Bernstein operators. See also [6].
What Do We Know about Ethnic Outbidding? We Need to Take Ideology Seriously

The term “ethnic outbidding” refers to an auction-like process where ethnically-based political parties adopt extreme ideological positions as a means of distancing themselves from rival parties. W...
Designing Consumer Health Information Technology to Support Biform and Articulation Work: A Qualitative Study of Diet and Nutrition Management as Patient Work.

Background Diet and nutrition management is an integral component of Crohn disease (CD) management. This type of management is highly variable and individualized and, thus, requires personalized approaches. Consumer health information technology (CHIT) designed to support CD management has typically supported this task as everyday life work and, not necessarily, as illness work. Moreover, CHIT has rarely supported the ways in which diet and nutrition management requires coordination between multiple forms of patient work. Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate diet and nutrition management as biform work, identify components of articulation work, and provide guidance on how to design CHIT to support this work. Methods We performed a qualitative study in which we recruited participants from CD-related Facebook pages and groups. Results Semistructured interviews with 21 individuals showed that diet and nutrition management strategies were highly individualized and variable. Four themes emerged from the data, emphasizing the interactions of diet and nutrition with physical, emotional, information, and technology-enabled management. Conclusions This study shows that the extent to which diet and nutrition management is biform work fluctuates over time and that articulation work can be continuous and unplanned. The design guidance specifies the need for patient-facing technologies to support interactions among diet and nutrition and other management activities such as medication intake, stress reduction, and information seeking, as well as to respond to the ways in which diet and nutrition management needs change over time.
Analysis of Peptide Photofragmentation for Single-Molecule Protein Sequencing

We analyze the feasibility of using light to fragment a peptide into its constituent amino acids before identifying them by mass spectrometry (MS) for the purpose of single-molecule protein sequencing. Laser power considerations strongly favor photofragmenting peptides in solution before they leave the ion source rather than in the gas phase. Ultaviolet (UV) wavelengths near 200 nm are weakly absorbed in water, and a single photon can selectively cleave a peptide bond that links amino acids together. These properties make UV photofragmentation more promising than methods based on infrared or x-ray light. We develop a simple model of the probability of liberating an amino acid intact by cleaving the peptide bonds on either side of it before the light damages the amino acid itself. We predict 193 nm light can liberate many amino acids with probabilities ranging from 0.65-0.92; however, the aromatic amino acids and histidine, me- thionine, arginine, and lysine, which are relatively susceptible to photodamage, would be liberated intact with a probability in the range 0.004-0.330. These findings suggest that UV photofragmentation could reveal a significant amount of a single protein’s sequence information to a mass spectrometer.
A study of the effect of privacy assurance mechanisms on self-disclosure in social networking sites from the view of protection motivation theory

Users’ information privacy issue becomes an important challenge not only for SNS users but also for the SNS service providers and governing organizations. This study’s objectives are: (1) to study how assurance mechanisms affect SNS users’ self-disclosure intention by applying protection motivation theory (PMT), and (2) to empirically test the perceived privacy concern as part of the PMT in order to predict selfdisclosure on SNS. There are a number of expected contributions for this study. First, this study applies PMT in order to understand how assurance mechanisms applied by SNSs affect users to disclose their personal information. Second, we introduce the customizing privacy as an assurance mechanism which has not been studied in previous literature. Finally, we consider fear component of PMT which has not been studied by previous researchers who applied PMT in this context.
Meaning, Expression, and Thought: Ideas or Concepts

Chapter 14 introduced the thesis that ideas or concepts are thought-parts, and sought to clarify and establish the underlying assumption that thoughts have constituents. This chapter will formally define “idea,” and set out the basic properties of concepts. We will introduce the distinction between atomic and complex concepts, and analyze what it is to conceive concepts. We will discuss the content of concepts, and the fact that concepts represent objects. And we will distinguish the intentional content of ideas from their extension or objective reference. FORMAL DEFINITION The terms “idea” and “concept” are ambiguous in English, and have been used with many different meanings in philosophy and psychology. In particular, they have been used to mean universals (e.g., Husserl), sensory images (Hume), objects of thought (Descartes), contents (Burge), senses (Katz), conceptions or belief systems (many contemporary psychologists), and mental representations generally (Brentano). We will use “idea” and “concept” exclusively for thought-parts , distinguishing them from universals and other objects, images, and conceptions (see Chapter 19) as well as from contents (§15.6) and senses (§21.1). An idea, on my conception, is only one kind of mental representation. Whereas ideas or concepts are wordlike mental representations, images are picturelike, and conceptions are theorylike. Even when “idea” and “concept” both denote thought-parts, they have somewhat different patterns of usage in standard English. The terms are equally natural when discussing expression or containment. They are interchangeable when discussing the contents and objects of thought-parts, and what they represent.
The effect of lattice defects on Hydrogen solubility in palladium: II. Interpretation of solubility enhancements

Abstract It is proposed that the stress-field of the dislocation array is the principal cause of the solubility enhancement observed in the low hydrogen content, α-phase of cold-worked palladium. With an assumed uniform dislocation density of 9 × 10 11 cm −2 , the observed solubility enhancement of 1.65 (298 K) for heavily cold-worked palladium can be reproduced if the core radius is assumed to be 2 × Burgers vector. The temperature dependence of the solubility enhancement is also reasonably well predicted. The significance of measured relative partial molar enthalpies and entropies of absorption of hydrogen into cold-worked palladium is examined.
A methodology for managing risk in electronic transactions over the Internet

The explosive growth of the Internet has made possible an economic transformation in which commerce will become largely electronic. In this vision, the medium of communication and negotiation becomes a distributed network of computers equipped with robust, secure and trusted “cash” mechanisms. It is thus of paramount importance to design mechanisms that will ensure timely and reliable transactions in cyberspace. In this paper we present a methodology for quantitatively managing the risk and cost of executing transactions in a distributed network environment by exploiting an analogy with modern financial portfolio theory. We illustrate the methodology with several concrete examples under different pricing schemes, as well as with empirical measurements of Internet traffic.
Acute Hepatitis C Virus Infection Induces Consistent Changes in Circulating MicroRNAs That Are Associated with Nonlytic Hepatocyte Release.

Plasma microRNAs (miRNAs) change in abundance in response to disease and have been associated with liver fibrosis severity in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. However, the early dynamics of miRNA release during acute HCV infection are poorly understood. In addition, circulating miRNA signatures have been difficult to reproduce among separate populations. We studied plasma miRNA abundance during acute HCV infection to identify an miRNA signature of early infection. We measured 754 plasma miRNAs by quantitative PCR array in a discovery cohort of 22 individuals before and during acute HCV infection and after spontaneous resolution (n = 11) or persistence (n = 11) to identify a plasma miRNA signature. The discovery cohort derived from the Baltimore Before and After Acute Study of Hepatitis. During acute HCV infection, increases in miR-122 (P < 0.01) and miR-885-5p (Pcorrected < 0.05) and a decrease in miR-494 (Pcorrected < 0.05) were observed at the earliest time points after virus detection. Changes in miR-122 and miR-885-5p were sustained in persistent (P < 0.001) but not resolved HCV infection. The circulating miRNA signature of acute HCV infection was confirmed in a separate validation cohort that was derived from the San Francisco-based You Find Out (UFO) Study (n = 28). As further confirmation, cellular changes of signature miRNAs were examined in a tissue culture model of HCV in hepatoma cells: HCV infection induced extracellular release of miR-122 and miR-885-5p despite unperturbed intracellular levels. In contrast, miR-494 accumulated intracellularly (P < 0.05). Collectively, these data are inconsistent with necrolytic release of hepatocyte miRNAs into the plasma during acute HCV infection of humans. IMPORTANCE MicroRNAs are small noncoding RNA molecules that emerging research shows can transmit regulatory signals between cells in health and disease. HCV infects 2% of humans worldwide, and chronic HCV infection is a major cause of severe liver disease. We profiled plasma miRNAs in injection drug users before, during, and (in the people with resolution) after HCV infection. We discovered miRNA signatures of acute and persistent viremia and confirmed these findings two ways: (i) in a separate cohort of people with newly acquired HCV infection and (ii) in an HCV cell culture system. Our results demonstrate that acute HCV infection induces early changes in the abundance of specific plasma miRNAs that may affect the host response to HCV infection.
IBM's reuse programs: knowledge management and software reuse

Two separate reuse initiatives exist in industry-knowledge management and software reuse. Within the communities of these initiatives there seems to be little awareness of the other initiative. In IBM there has been an effort to leverage the value of knowledge management and software reuse across the communities and improve integration of the efforts. The lessons learned were not what either community expected.
Epidemiology and patterns of musculoskeletal motorcycle injuries in the USA

Introduction: Motorcycles have become an increasingly popular mode of transportation despite their association with a greater risk for injury compared with automobiles. Whereas the recent incidence of annual passenger vehicle fatalities in the United States of America (USA) has progressively declined, motorcycle fatalities have steadily increased in the past 11 years. Although motorcycle injuries (MIs) have been studied, to the author’s knowledge there are no published reports on MIs in the USA during this 11-year period. Methods : Study data were derived from a prospectively collected Level I trauma center database. Data sampling included motorcycle crash injury evaluations for the 10-year period ending on 31 August 2008. This retrospective analysis included patient demographic and medical data, helmet use, Glasgow coma scale (GCS) score, injury severity score (ISS), length of hospital stay (LOS), specific injury diagnosis, and death. Data statistics were analyzed using the Spearman correlation coefficient, Kruskal-Wallis tests, and logistic regression. Results: The study identified 1252 motorcycle crash injuries. Helmets were worn by 40.7% of patients for which helmet data were available. The rates of the most common orthopedic injuries were tibia/fibula (19.01%), spine (16.21%), and forearm (10.14%) fractures. The most common non-orthopedic motorcycle crash injuries were concussions (21.09%), skull fractures (8.23%), face fractures (13.66%), and hemo- and pneumothorax (8.79%). There was a significant correlation between greater age and higher ISS (r=0.21, P<0.0001) and longer LOS (r=0.22, P<0.0001). Older patients were also less likely to wear a helmet (OR=0.99, 95% CI: 0.98, 0.997), associated with a significantly higher risk for death (after adjustment for helmet use OR=1.03, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.05). All patients without helmets had a significantly lower GCS score (P=0.0001) and a higher mortality rate (after adjustment for patient demographic data OR=2.28, 95% CI: 1.13, 4.58). Conclusion : Compared with historical reports, the prevalence of skull, face, spine, and pelvis fractures have increased in American motorcycle crashes. Compared to recent European studies, the incidence of USA skull and face fractures is much higher, while the incidence of USA spine and pelvis fractures is more comparable; however, this is not associated with increased in-hospital mortality.
Potato cold hardiness development and abscisic acid. I. Conjugated abscisic acid is not the source of the increase in free abscisic acid during potato (Solanum commersonii) cold acclimation.

Free and conjugated abscisic acid (ABA) levels in stem-cultured plantlets of potato (Solanum commersonii Dun, PI 458317) during cold acclimation were measured. The levels of free and conjugated ABA were measured by an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) with rabbit anti-ABA-serum. The use of immunoglobulin G fraction purified from rabbit antiserum and the methylated form of ABA resulted in an improved measuring range (0.01 to 10 pmol ABA) and precision (slope of logit-log plot, −1.35) of EIA, compared to the use of antiserum and free ABA. Estimates of the EIA were consistent with those resulting from a commercial EIA. Under a 4/2°C (day/night) temperature regime, the potato plantlets increased cold hardiness from −5°C (warm-grown control) to −10°C by the 7th day. During the same period, there were two transitory increases in free ABA, the first one three-fold from 1.5 to 5.3 nmol (g dry weight)−1 on the 2nd day and the second one five-fold from 1.5 to 7.6 nmol (g dry weight)−1 on the 6th day. Each increase in ABA concentration was followed by an increase in cold hardiness. There was no significant change in conjugated ABA content (4.2±0.6 nmol [g dry weight]−1) throughout the cold acclimation period. The lack of an interrelationship between levels of free and conjugated ABA suggested that the transitory increase in free ABA during cold acclimation was not a result of the conversion of conjugated ABA. The increase in free ABA due to biosynthesis of ABA during potato cold acclimation is discussed.
The diagnosis and cure of neonatal osteopetrosis : experimental evidence from congenitally osteopetrotic (ia) rats

Abstract The phenotypic determination of osteopetrosis in incisors absent (ia) rats is made on the tenth day after birth, when the teeth fail to erupt in the mutants. The disease can be cured at this age by the transfer of spleen or thymus cells from a normal littermate to irradiated is animals. We sought to identify and treat newborn osteoteprotic rats without irradiation to eliminate the requirement for restoration of hematopoiesis during the cure of the disease. This would provide a direct means for investigating the precise cellular source of the cure. Using finegrain film and a point-source x-ray tube, newborn ia rats were identified radiographically by the absence of a marrow cavity in the femur. This criterion was validated by microscopic examination of long bones in 30 ia and normal rats. To test the ability of spleen cells to cure the disease in unirradiated hosts, 31 ia rats were given normal spleen cells, without irradiation on the day of birth and the progress of skeletal cure was monitored radiographically and histologically. The skeleton was completely remodeled by seven weeks. These results show that osteopetrosis can be identified in newborn ia rats and that cure of the disease can begin at this age.
Socializing Puros Pericos (Little Parrots): The Negotiation of Respect and Responsibility in Antonero Mayan Sibling and Peer Networks

This article examines family and peer practices of socialization that illuminate a culture specific social ontology of intentions (Duranti 2006). An interpretive approach to the study of children's language socialization and peer talk is adopted to analyze how local beliefs concerning children's socialization and development are afforded within multiparty participation frameworks that involve teasing and shaming routines. These routines are powerful discursive strategies in the everyday negotiation and co-construction of peer politics and kin group social relationships. Data include ethnographic observational and naturally occurring video-recorded quotidian interactions collected March 1998–March 1999 in San Antonio Aguas Calientes, a highland Guatemala Kaqchikel Maya town. [responsibility, intentionality, language socialization, peer talk-in-interaction]
Modeling electro-rheological materials through mixture theory

Abstract Electro-rheological materials are suspensions of particles in non-conducting fluids, and all models that have been developed to date describe their behavior by treating them as a homogenized single continuum, and ignoring the multicomponent structure of the material. The theory of interacting continua is ideally suited for modeling such mixtures and in this paper we present a simple theory which takes into account the distribution of the particles in the fluid, the Applied electric field, and the relative motion of the two constituents. To illustrate the utility of such a theory we study the flow of an electro-rheological material between two parallel plates under the application of an electrical field normal to the plates.
Congress Confronts Communism: Thana District, 1945–47

From 1945 to 1947 the Communist Party led the impoverished Warli tribals of Bombay's Thana District in a movement for fair wages and freedom from forced labor and landlord violence. The immediate targets of the action were the local landed interests and moneylenders who dominated the region and held the tribals (known as ‘adivasis’) in virtual slavery. The longer range goal, however, was to build the Communist Party and challenge Congress dominance.
Membrane structure and muscarinic function: A temperature acclimation approach

Abstract 1. The affinity of binding of quinuclidinyl benzilate to muscarinic cholinergic receptors is altered non-linearly by changes in assay temperature and membrane composition. 2. Membrane composition was changed by acclimation of frogs ( Rana pipiens pipiens ) to different temperatures. 3. Assay temperature probably has its effect through altered membrane fluidity.
Processing of Thermoset Prepreg Laminates Via Exposure to Microwave Radiation

Studies of microwave-assisted curing of neat resins (epoxy) and unidirectional glass and carbon fiber laminates have shown that a substantial reduction in the curing time was obtained. This may be explained by the penetration of microwave energy directly and throughout the laminate with enhancement of the kinetics of the chemical reaction. Results of this work indicate that the microwave assisted curing of glass fiber laminates also shows a substantial reduction of the required curing time. Microwave radiation of 2.45 GHz has been demonstrated to be an acceptable method to cure unidirectional carbon fiber laminates. Also, effective curing of crossply (0/90) laminates through this method was observed when proper rotation of the parts accompanied the curing process. This is in accordance with previous work. Multidirectional carbon fiber/epoxy laminates demonstrate a lack of coupling during the curing process. A direct curing of these laminates was not possible by microwave radiation with the experimental approach used, in agreement with previous work. Nevertheless, a moderate reduction in the curing time of these thin laminates was observed due to hybrid curing.