cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The effect of methylmercury on the distribution and excretion of selenium by the guinea pig.

The influence of methylmercury (MeHg) on the tissue and subcellular binding of selenium was determined. Adult female guinea pigs received either75Se (as sodium selenite) or MeHg (as chloride) followed 5 h later by an equimolar dose of75Se. Animals were sacrificed 1,3,7, and 13 days after administration. Pretreatment with MeHg significantly altered the organ distribution of75Se, particularly during the first week of the study.75Se concentrations were markedly reduced in most organs of animals receiving both75Se and MeHg except the liver, which contained markedly elevated75Se levels. The subcellular distribution of75Se was also altered by MeHg. Within liver, kidney and brain,75Se was primarily bound to nuclear and mitochondrial fractions in both treatment groups, but nuclear binding was higher in animals receiving both compounds. Within nuclear fractions, most75Se was bound to insoluble-nonhistone proteins. In the presence of MeHg, total nuclear binding of75Se increased, but total binding to insoluble-non-histone proteins decreased. MeHg also reduced the total75Se binding to high molecular weight proteins of the soluble fraction. Alterations in tissue and subcellular binding of MeHg and Se may contribute to the lower degree of toxicity observed in animals receiving both compounds.
Validation of Prognostic Models for Melanoma

Prognostication involves the estimation of the probabilities of clinical outcomes in the history of a disease at some point after the diagnosis is made. A prognostic model characterizes patterns of probabilities and identifies patient-specific factors related to clinical outcomes. Implicit in the definition of a prognostic model is the population for which the probabilities are relevant. Changing the population characteristics can alter the probability of the clinical event. For example, among patients with melanoma, those with thin lesions have a different likelihood of disease recurrence than do those with thicker lesions. Statistical regression models are used to identify factors that explain this heterogeneity. Multivariate logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards survival analysis are both regression models used to define prognostic factors associated with a poor or good prognosis. These methods are complementary since the former focuses on a clinical event defined in terms of a specific survival time (eg, melanoma-related death within 5 years of diagnosis) and the latter considers all event rates (eg, melanoma-related death rates within any period during the follow-up interval), as well as hazard rates (eg, the likelihood of a clinical event in the next interval given that the patient has survived a number of years). Each approach has its own strengths and weaknesses, and the interpretation of the model depends on adherence to assumptions underlying the method. Logistic regression can give rise to a model that is
Colonoscopic surveillance in inflammatory bowel disease.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW To describe recent findings in the literature aimed at decreasing systematic error in dysplasia surveillance in inflammatory bowel disease. RECENT FINDINGS Despite great promise, colonoscopic surveillance in inflammatory bowel disease has yet to be demonstrated to reduce colorectal cancer mortality. In part, this stems from a number of inherent systematic troubles, including low rates of observer agreement among pathologists; lack of consensus on the natural history of dysplasia, particularly low-grade dysplasia; the patchy nature of dysplasia, which leads to sampling error caused by insufficient biopsy by endoscopists; and incomplete patient follow-up. Recent publications that have focused on defining better the natural history of different levels of dysplasia and improving dysplasia identification at the time of colonoscopy may aid in overcoming the flaws of surveillance. The key recent findings include conflicting evidence on the relative danger of flat low-grade dysplasia, the safety of treating polypoid low-grade dysplasia as a benign adenoma in the absence of flat dysplasia in the rest of the colon or the surrounding mucosa, and preliminary support of chromoendoscopy to target dysplasia better during colonoscopy and to limit unnecessary nontargeted biopsies. SUMMARY These and other advances stand a reasonable chance of making surveillance a more accurate tool to discriminate between patients with chronic colitis likely to progress to advanced pathology and those less likely to do so. Such advances may result in effective surveillance in which both colorectal cancer mortality and unnecessary colectomy may be limited.
Cervical carotid aneurysms: treatment by excision and restoration of arterial continuity.

Abstract Cervical carotid aneurysms are uncommon. Aneurysmectomy with restoration of arterial continuity at present is the treatment of choice. A review of the recent literature reveals twenty-two cases in which this approach has been utilized. Two additional cases encountered at the Mayo Clinic are presented. Certain problems were posed by the anatomic location of the lesion, and various technics were employed to cope with them. Differential diagnosis includes "buckled" carotid artery and chemodectoma. Arteriography is a valuable adjunct not only in diagnosis but also in accurate localization of carotid aneurysms. After excision, direct end to end or end to side anastomosis or replacement with a prosthetic graft was successfully employed. Protection of cerebral function during the operative procedure by means of a temporary vascular shunt is desirable.
Modeling aerosol growth by aqueous chemistry in a nonprecipitating stratiform cloud

[1] The modification of sulfate aerosol by the activation, aqueous chemistry, resuspension cycle in a shallow marine stratiform cloud is modeled using a large-eddy simulation (LES) model and a trajectory ensemble model (TEM). Both dynamical frameworks are coupled with a new microphysics module based on a 2-D joint size distribution function representing both interstitial and cloud particles. Particle mixing, which is represented in LES but not TEM, leads to slightly broader droplet spectra and 6% lower droplet number on average. TEM simulations with a 1-D moving-bin microphysics module, also included in the study, predict far narrower droplet spectra and 15% higher droplet number that are closer to observations except near the cloud boundaries where mixing appears to be important. Despite these differences in simulated droplet spectra, predicted changes in aerosol spectra due to aqueous chemistry are consistent among all three model configurations. The TEM model is used to evaluate assumptions about liquid water partitioning among activated cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). These assumptions are used in large-scale models to map the bulk aqueous chemistry sulfate production to the changes in the aerosol size distribution. Previously used assumptions, such as droplet mass being independent of CCN size or droplet mass being proportional to CCN mass, do not perform well in the considered case. The aerosol spectra changes from aqueous chemistry using these two assumptions differ markedly from the spectra changes with the explicitly predicted water partitioning and have root-mean-squared deviations normalized by the mean (RMSDnorm) of 0.51 and 1.17. These deviations greatly exceed the uncertainties because of the treatment of mixing in the TEM and numerical diffusion in the fixed-bin representation for which the RMSDnorm is about 0.15. Instead, the explicitly predicted water partitioning suggests that in the considered case the mean droplet mass is proportional to CCN dry size.
A research note on radio frequency transponder effects on bloom of beef muscle

This study was designed to determine if radio frequency transponders affect the bloom of tray-packed beef muscle. A radio frequency identification (RFID) passive transponder was applied to the overwrap film of beef strip loin steaks. Overwrapped tray packs were vacuum packaged and stored for two days at 4 °C. Samples were removed from the vacuum package and CIE L*, a*, and b* values were measured through the overwrap until CIE a* values stabilized (40 min). Overwrap was removed and CIE L*, a*, and b* values were measured directly below the RFID and an adjacent control area for 40 min. All CIE L*, a*, and b* values were statistically different (P<0.05) directly below the RFID when compared to the adjacent control area. The greatest differences were observed in the initial values and may be of consumer concern. After achieving full bloom (40 min post-overwrap removal), the difference between these areas were negligible.
A new approach to intramuscular placement of horseradish peroxidase

A new method of intramuscular placement of a semisolid paste of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) using a root canal file is described. This method has been demonstrated to produce consistent and reproducible numbers of labeled motoneurons in the mouse extensor digitorim longus muscle (EDL). While the number of labeled cells is similar to that found with optimal intramuscular injection of liquid HRP, this new technique provides more reproducible results by eliminating the reflux often associated with intramuscular injection of liquid HRP.
FACETING INDUCED BY ULTRATHIN METAL FILMS ON W(111) AND Mo(111): STRUCTURE, REACTIVITY, AND ELECTRONIC PROPERTIES

We have studied ultrathin films of transition and noble metals on Mo(111) and W(111) using Auger spectroscopy, LEED, thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The atomically rough, open bcc(111) surfaces are morphologically unstable when covered by films ≥ 1 monolayer thick of certain metals, i.e. they form faceted structures. For example, using a UHV STM to study Pd/W(111), we find that the Pd-covered W(111) surface becomes completely faceted to three-sided {211} pyramids upon annealing, for Pd coverages greater than a critical coverage θc. Formation of pyramidal facets also occurs when W(111) or Mo(111) surfaces are dosed with Pt, Au, Ir, Rh, oxygen or sulfur. In contrast, monolayer films of Ti, Co, Ni, Cu, Ag and Gd do not induce massive reconstruction or faceting on W(111) and Mo(111) surfaces. The faceting appears to be thermodynamically driven but kinetically limited: faceting is caused by an increased anisotropy in surface free energy that occurs for the film-co...
Ultrafast relaxation and modulation in the oxazine dye nile blue

Time-delayed four-wave mixing, using incoherent laser pulses 5 ns long and 350 \AA{} wide, has been used to measure the optical phase relaxation of a large molecule (nile blue) in solution at 300 and 4.5 K. In the latter case an asymmetric response as well as a quantum beat (signaling a vibronic mode at 583 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$) is observed. Its magnitude and shape gives its electron-vibron coupling factor S=0.79 together with the homogeneous relaxation time ${\mathit{T}}_{2}$=43.7 fs and the inhomogeneous relaxation time ${\mathit{T}}_{2}^{\mathrm{*}}$=13.3 fs (full width of 940 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$). Supporting evidence for the large value of S is presented.
Protein extravasation and cellular uptake after high-dose human-albumin treatment of transient focal cerebral ischemia in rats.

Treatment with human albumin administered intravenously in the immediate post-ischemic period following a 2-h period of transient focal cerebral ischemia leads to a reduction of cortical infarction in rat. Immunohistochemistry with antibodies to rat immunoglobulins (IgG), rat albumin and (exogenous) human albumin was used to study blood-brain barrier changes. The degree of IgG extravasation was not changed by human-albumin treatment. Diffuse signals and uptake into necrotic neurons was seen in cortex of saline animals. In animals treated with human albumin, cortical neurons with preserved structural features had taken up human albumin. Treatment with human albumin may provide direct neuronal protection.
Isolated Vortex and Vortex Lattice in a Holographic p-wave Superconductor

Using the holographic gauge-gravity duality, we find a solution for an isolated vortex and a vortex lattice in a $2+1$-dimensional $p$-wave superconductor, which is described by the boundary theory dual to an $SU(2)$ gauge theory in $3+1$-dimensional anti-de Sitter space. Both ${p}_{x}+i{p}_{y}$ and ${p}_{x}\ensuremath{-}i{p}_{y}$ components of the superconducting order parameter, as well as the effects of a magnetic field on these components, are considered. The isolated vortex solution is studied, and it is found that the two order parameter components have different amplitudes due to the time-reversal symmetry breaking. The vortex lattice for large magnetic fields is also studied, where it is argued that only one order parameter component will be nonzero sufficiently close to the upper critical field. The upper critical field exhibits a characteristic upward curvature, reflecting the effects of field-induced correlations captured by the holographic theory. The free energy is calculated perturbatively in this region of the phase diagram, and it is shown that the triangular vortex lattice is the thermodynamically preferred solution.
The development of vocational schemas

Abstract Previous research has conceptualized vocational development as a sequence of structural changes in the cognitive schemas used to interpret and anticipate vocational events. To test this conceptualization, three studies were designed to determine whether organizational features of vocational schemas varied with other, already established, developmental sequences. Results of Study 1 indicated that higher levels of vocational structure were related to higher levels of general identity development in a manner consistent with the model's developmental assumptions. Studies 2A and 2B extended these findings in the context of larger samples using independent measures of identity development. Together with findings relating higher structural development to higher levels of career decision-making self-efficacy and career decidedness, these results were interpreted as providing qualified support for the assumption that vocational schemas undergo organizational development.
Limb brightening on Uranus - The visible spectrum

Results are presented for pinhole and slit narrowband photoelectric area-scanning photometry of the Uranus disk at eight central wavelengths ranging from 5600 to 7500 A. The observations were undertaken to detect limb brightening on the planet and to study the nature of its disk profile as a function of geometrical albedo. A coarse analysis of the results shows that the disk must exhibit limb brightening in the two CH4 bands at 6190 and 7300 A relative to all other wavebands investigated. Except for the two CH4 bands, the shapes and widths of the images are found to be essentially identical; point-spread-function data for all wavebands indicate no significant variation in the representative Gaussian l/e width with wavelength. A fine analysis of the data reveals absolute limb brightening in the 7300-A CH4 band and absolute limb darkening in the adjacent wavebands. These results are shown to be consistent with the hypothesis that clouds are absent from the visible atmosphere of Uranus.
The budgetary arithmetics of loan guarantees and deposit insurance

Abstract Starting with FY1992, loan guarantees—but not deposit insurance, social security, or any source of revenue—must be budgeted on an accrual basis. Such accounting inconsistencies are neutral and innocuous in a world with optimizing rational agents and a tax-smoothing government, but not in a Gramm-Rudman/Read-My-Lips policy environment. This paper argues, therefore, that the Credit Reform Act of 1990, which implemented these accounting changes, should be rescinded and a pure cash-basis accounting principle restored. A present discounted value accounting of the government's activities might still be attempted, but off-budget and not solely for loan guarantees.
Pharmacology of peptide leukotrienes on ferret isolated airway smooth muscle.

Abstract The contractile activities of peptide leukotrienes (LT) on isolated spiral strips of ferret trachea were chracterized pharmacologically. LTC4 and LTD4 contracted ferret tracheal strips in a concentration-related manner and were 3- to 8-fold more potent than carbachol. In contrast, high concentrations of LTE4 evoked either weak contraction or none at all, whereas LTC4 and D4 were partial agonists compared to carbachol. In tissues which were unresponsive to LTE4, this compound antagonized contractile responses to LTC4 and D4 in an apparently competitive manner: Carbachol-induced contractions were not altered by LTE4. The cyclooxygenase inhibitor, indomethacin (5 μM), LT antagonists, FPL55712 (10 μM), atropine (1 μM), phenoxybenzamine (10 μM), and LTB4 (10 μM) failed to alter LTC4 and D4 concentration-response curves. The results in dicate that ferret trachea is sensitive to the contractile activity of LTC4 and LTD4 but not LTE4. The LT-induced contractions appear to be mediated by a direct action of the LT rather than indirectly through release of secondary mediators such as thromboxane, prostaglandin, or acetylcholine. LT receptors in ferret trachea are insensitive to FPL55712 but are antagonized by LTE4.
Predicted effects of future climate warming on thermal habitat suitability for Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens, Rafinesque, 1817) in rivers in Wisconsin, USA

Summary The Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens, Rafinesque, 1817) may be threatened by future climate warming. The purpose of this study was to identify river reaches in Wisconsin, USA, where they might be vulnerable to warming water temperatures. In Wisconsin, A. fulvescens is known from 2291 km of large-river habitat that has been fragmented into 48 discrete river-lake networks isolated by impassable dams. Although the exact temperature tolerances are uncertain, water temperatures above 28–30°C are potentially less suitable for this coolwater species. Predictions from 13 downscaled global climate models were input to a lotic water temperature model to estimate amounts of potential thermally less-suitable habitat at present and for 2046–2065. Currently, 341 km (14.9%) of the known habitat are estimated to regularly exceed 28°C for an entire day, but only 6 km (0.3%) to exceed 30°C. In 2046–2065, 685–2164 km (29.9–94.5%) are projected to exceed 28°C and 33–1056 km (1.4–46.1%) to exceed 30°C. Most river-lake networks have cooler segments, large tributaries, or lakes that might provide temporary escape from potentially less suitable temperatures, but 12 short networks in the Lower Fox and Middle Wisconsin rivers totaling 93.6 km are projected to have no potential thermal refugia. One possible adaptation to climate change could be to provide fish passage or translocation so that riverine Lake Sturgeon might have access to more thermally suitable habitats.
Cognitive systemization and interpersonal attraction.

Summary It has been proposed that differences in cognitive systemization, particularly differences in the manner in which persons' evaluative discriminations of others in their social environment are structured, constitute one of the significant variables which determine their differentials in attraction to such others. Reasoning from a position that views interpersonal attraction as a function of need gratification, it was hypothesized that individuals would manifest differences in their attraction to others because of the differences in reinforcement resulting from their perceptions of others as either similar to or different from themselves in cognitive complexity. Four specific predictions derived from this general hypothesis were tested in an experiment involving the exposure to both cognitively complex and cognitively simple Ss of the responses of either a cognitively simple or cognitively complex fictitious stranger, with the assessment of the degree of attraction to each by means of Byrne's attrac...
Thermal Lens Absorption Measurements in Binary Liquid Mixtures Near the Consolute Critical Point

Binary liquid mixtures near their consolute critical points are shown to possess desirable thermophysical properties for thermal lens absorption measurements. By use of a 2,6-dimethylpyridine/water mixture near critical composition and temperature, sensitivity was found to be enhanced relative to pure liquids by the Soret effect in which a concentration gradient is created between the two solvent components by thermally induced mass diffusion within the laser-excited temperature gradient. A 35-fold increase in sensitivity relative to a thermal expansion lens effect in pure water was obtained. A mechanism of phase separation unique to the critical point region known as spinodol decomposition was observed, as the sample temperature was driven above the critical point by laser excitation. This phenomenon was also found to be a potentially useful spectrophotometric technique for the thermooptical detection of small absorbances.
The need to restore the public health base for environmental control

Restoration of the public health base for local, national, and international efforts aimed at protection against adverse health consequences of environmental degradation should be of prime concern for today and the future. Wherever possible, whether it be a mission statement for a cabinet-level EPA or the training and composition of the environmental health work force, we must reinvigorate the public health mission of our environmental protection activities. This cannot be accomplished without recognition by the public health community that environmental health is a central public health concern. As we move toward facing the initially more subtle, but eventually more consequential, global environmental health challenges, it will become even more important for the public health profession to respond.
The basis for colored silver-protein complex formation in stained polyacrylamide gels.

Abstract Using a modified silver stain of Merril et al. [(1981) Science 211 , 1437–1438] for staining polypeptides in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels, protein bands reproducibly stain different shades of blue, yellow, red, and gray. The procedure is highly temperature dependent, with optimal color formation at 42°C. The procedure may be completed within 2 h. Color formation is due to silver ion complexes with charged amino acid side chains. The color of the silver-protein complex can be predicted if the amino acid sequence is known, although some exceptions are discussed. This provides another dimension to the characterization of proteins by gel electrophoresis.
Technical Challenges for Vehicle 14V/28V Lithium Ion Battery Replacement

Abstract : Modern commercial and military vehicles are equipped with more electrical accessories and demand more power than ever before. This causes an increase in the weight of the battery as well as drives the battery to end of life when the vehicle is stationary with the engine off. Lithium ion batteries, which are known for their high power and energy to weight density, long cycle life, and low self-discharge rate, are considered to be an alternative for the replacement of existing Starting, Lighting, and Ignition (SLI) lead acid batteries. Lithium ion battery chemistry offers double the reserve time of the stock battery and a significantly greater number of charging and discharging cycles while providing weight savings. There is no acid inside a lithium ion battery to cause corrosion, which eliminates potential damage to a vehicle from chemical spills and poisonous gases. Due to the slim cylindrical nature of many lithium ion cells, the battery design can be customized in order to fit a space claim in the vehicle. However, the characteristics, including the charge and discharge control of lithium ion battery chemistries, are different from those of flooded and sealed lead acid batteries. The traditional continuous battery charging approach may potentially result in overcharge and thus raise safety concerns for lithium ion battery replacement. In addition, lithium ion batteries experience reduced battery service life when exposed to very low and deep discharge levels. These and other technical challenges of 14V/28V lithium ion battery alternatives charging/discharging control will be discussed. In addition, cost comparisons and safety considerations for different lithium ion battery chemistries for lead acid battery replacement are included in this paper.
Comparison of the Vitek 2 yeast susceptibility system with CLSI microdilution for antifungal susceptibility testing of fluconazole and voriconazole against Candida spp., using new clinical breakpoints and epidemiological cutoff values.

A commercially available, fully automated yeast susceptibility test system (Vitek 2; bioMerieux, Marcy d'Etoile, France) was compared in 3 different laboratories with the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) reference microdilution (BMD) method by testing 2 quality control strains, 10 reproducibility strains, and 425 isolates of Candida spp. against fluconazole and voriconazole. Reference CLSI BMD MIC endpoints and Vitek 2 MIC endpoints were read after 24 hours and 9.1-27.1 hours incubation, respectively. Excellent essential agreement (within 2 dilutions) between the reference and Vitek 2 MICs was observed for fluconazole (97.9%) and voriconazole (96.7%). Categorical agreement (CA) between the 2 methods was assessed using the new species-specific clinical breakpoints (CBPs): susceptible (S) ≤2 μg/mL, susceptible dose-dependent (SDD) 4 μg/mL, and resistant (R) ≥8 μg/mL for fluconazole and Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, and Candida parapsilosis and ≤32 μg/mL (SDD), ≥64 μg/mL (R) for Candida glabrata; S ≤0.12 μg/mL, SDD 0.25-0.5 μg/mL, R ≥1 μg/mL for voriconazole and C. albicans, C. tropicalis, and C. parapsilosis, and ≤0.5 μg/mL (S), 1 μg/mL (SDD), ≥2 μg/mL (R) for Candida krusei. The epidemiological cutoff value (ECV) of 0.5 μg/mL for voriconazole and C. glabrata was used to differentiate wild-type (WT; MIC ≤ ECV) from non-WT (MIC > ECV) strains of this species. Due to the lack of CBPs for the less common species, the ECVs for fluconazole and voriconazole, respectively, were used for Candida lusitaniae (2 μg/mL and 0.03 μg/mL), Candida dubliniensis (0.5 μg/mL and 0.03 μg/mL), Candida guilliermondii (8 μg/mL and 0.25 μg/mL), and Candida pelliculosa (4 μg/mL and 0.25 μg/mL) to categorize isolates of these species as WT and non-WT. CA between the 2 methods was 96.8% for fluconazole and 96.5% for voriconazole with less than 1% very major errors and 1.3-3.0% major errors. The Vitek 2 yeast susceptibility system remains comparable to the CLSI BMD reference method for testing the susceptibility of Candida spp. when using the new (lower) CBPs and ECVs.
Learning about assistive technology: Hispanics and a national sample.

As early as 1988, the United States federal government mandated the creation of formal and informal programs to increase acquisition of assistive technology by persons with disabilities, with a special attention to underrepresented groups. This study compared the methods used by Hispanics with disabilities to learn about assistive technology with Whites and non-Whites. The study is the combination of the national study and a targeted study of Hispanics, due to this group's lower representation in the national sample. This study sought to answer the following questions: (1) Are there intergroup differences between Hispanics with disabilities and non-Hispanics with disabilities in terms of how they learn about assistive technology, and (2) are there intragroup differences among Hispanics' actions on how they learn about assistive technology? Findings indicated that regardless of ethnic/racial group, most individuals with disabilities learn about assistive technology through doctors or other medical professi...
The effect of agrochemicals on indicator bacteria densities in outdoor mesocosms.

Summary Water bodies, which are monitored for microbial water quality by quantification of faecal indicator organisms (IOs), can contain various zoonotic pathogens contributed by livestock waste and other sources. Sediments can serve as reservoirs of IOs and other enteric microorganisms, including pathogens. Agrochemicals may influence the survival of these microorganisms in water bodies impacted by livestock waste by enhancing or reducing their survival. Complex, 1100 l, freshwater mesocosms containing leaf litter, zooplankton, periphyton, phytoplankton, and invertebrate and vertebrate animals were used to investigate the response of Escherichia coli and enterococci to agrochemicals. Replicate tanks were treated with atrazine, malathion, chlorothalonil and inorganic fertilizer, either alone at 1¥ or 2¥ their expected environmental concentrations (EECs) or in pair-wise combinations at their EECs. IOs inoculated in sediment (~10 4 cfu per 100 ml) were enumerated over 28 days. IOs generally declined over time, but MANOVA revealed that addition of fertilizer and atrazine resulted in significantly greater IO densities. Malathion, chlorothalonil and agrochemical concentration (1¥ vs 2¥) did not significantly affect IO densities and no significant interactions between agrochemicals were noted. The augmentation of IO densities in sediments by fertilizer and atrazine may impact their reliability as accurate predictors of water quality and human health risk, and indicates the need for a better understanding of the fate of IOs and enteric pathogens in sediments exposed to agrochemicals.
The Virtue of Thucydides’ Brasidas

In his account of the 27-year Peloponnesian War, Thucydides makes virtue the theme of his presentation of the most outstanding Spartan, Brasidas. That presentation can guide us to an understanding of moral virtue in all its richness and complexity. We learn from a careful analysis of Brasidas’ deeds and speeches, and of Thucydides’ assessment of him, that Brasidas’ virtue, remarkable as it is, is problematic. Thucydides’ account of it may move us, in fact, to abandon our own attachment to this kind of virtue, as we find ourselves in need of a more consistent kind of virtue, one that becomes visible above all in the first speech of the Syracusan Hermocrates. The conversion to this kind of virtue constitutes Thucydides’ grounding of the life guided by reason.
Network-based Prediction of Cancer under Genetic Storm

Classification of cancer patients using traditional methods is a challenging task in the medical practice. Owing to rapid advances in microarray technologies, currently expression levels of thousands of genes from individual cancer patients can be measured. The classification of cancer patients by supervised statistical learning algorithms using the gene expression datasets provides an alternative to the traditional methods. Here we present a new network-based supervised classification technique, namely the NBC method. We compare NBC to five traditional classification techniques (support vector machines (SVM), k-nearest neighbor (kNN), naive Bayes (NB), C4.5, and random forest (RF)) using 50–300 genes selected by five feature selection methods. Our results on five large cancer datasets demonstrate that NBC method outperforms traditional classification techniques. Our analysis suggests that using symmetrical uncertainty (SU) feature selection method with NBC method provides the most accurate classification strategy. Finally, in-depth analysis of the correlation-based co-expression networks chosen by our network-based classifier in different cancer classes shows that there are drastic changes in the network models of different cancer types.
Accredited Indians: Increasing the Flow of Private Equity into Indian Country as a Domestic Emerging Market

Indian Country is America's domestic emerging market, and as in a number of emerging markets, many successful businesses in Indian Country are starving for expansion capital. The US Treasury estimates that the private equity deficit in Indian Country is $44 billion. While the handful of wealthier tribes might be logical investors in private equity funds deploying capital in Indian Country, the existing securities laws present a significant impediment. In particular, Regulation D of the Securities Act of 1933 does not treat tribes as "accredited investors," thus denying those tribes the ability to participate in the private equity market. Since there is no principled reason to exclude tribes from the list of accredited investors, this article makes the case for extending accredited investor status to tribes.
A distributed dynamical scheme for fastest mixing Markov chains

This paper introduces the problem of determining through distributed consensus the fastest mixing Markov chain with a desired sparsity pattern. In contrast to the centralized optimization-based problem formulation, we develop a novel distributed relaxation by constructing a dynamical system over the cross product of an appropriately patterned set of stochastic matrices. In particular, we define a probability distribution over the set of such patterned stochastic matrices and associate an agent with a random matrix drawn from this distribution. Under the assumption that the network of agents is connected, we employ consensus to achieve agreement of all agents regardless of their initial states. For sufficiently many agents, the law of large numbers implies that the asymptotic consensus limit converges to the mean stochastic matrix, which for the distribution under consideration, corresponds to the chain with the fastest mixing rate, relative to a standard bound on the exact rate. Our approach relies on results that express general element-wise nonnegative stochastic matrices as convex combinations of 0–1 stochastic matrices. Its performance, as a function of the weights in these convex combinations and the number of agents, is illustrated in computer simulations. Because of its differential and distributed nature, this approach can handle large problems and seems likely to be well suited for applications in distributed control and robotics.
Evaluation of the hip: History, physical examination, and imaging

There is a recent increase in interest of hip injuries in athletes. This increased interest is because of the increased awareness of hip problems in athletes as well as improvements in diagnostic imaging and less invasive surgical techniques. There may actually also be an increase in the incidence of hip problems in athletes with changing mechanics of certain sports, such as the open stance forehand in tennis; however, this has not been proven. Correct diagnosis is imperative to appropriate management of athletic injuries, including the hip. Some individuals are intimidated by evaluation of the hip, most often because of the lack of familiarity with this joint and the fact that the joint is deep to thick soft tissues and is highly constrained. However, a careful history, physical examination, and standard radiographs may provide important clues to the diagnosis, with advanced imaging, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) arthrography, helping confirm the diagnosis. Arthroscopy has also been advocated as a diagnostic tool for intra-articular hip pathology, although this is necessary in only a small minority of patients. It is imperative to differentiate intraarticular problems that may require surgical intervention from extra-articular problemsthatmayrequireonlyconservativemanagementincluding medications, injections, and/or therapy. This is particularly important because the majority of patients evaluated in our sports medicine center for hip pain have an extra-articular cause that is successfully managed nonoperatively. Furthermore, the hip is commonly a location of referred pain from the lumbar spine and sacrum as well as the abdomen and pelvis, confusing the issue further and making an accurate and precise evaluation of paramount importance. As we begin to understand hip anatomy, mechanics, and pathomechanics better, improvements and refinements in examination and imaging will also advance, along with management options. This manuscript serves as a review of my comprehensive hip evaluation, including history, physical examination, and ancillary studies.
Immunological capabilities of skeletal muscle cells

Muscle is the target of immunological injury in several muscle diseases. It is important therefore to understand the immunological capabilities of muscle cells themselves. Although it is conventional to discuss the effects of the immune system on other cells, tissues or organs, the system's boundaries cannot be sharply drawn, and in an increasing number of ways, the immunological capabilities of non-immune tissues are recognized as determining the course of immune-inflammatory processes. Muscle cells have an inherent ability to express and respond to a variety of immunologically relevant surface molecules, cytokines, and chemokines under inflammatory conditions. The ability of muscle cells to process and present antigens to the immune cells is currently debated; thus, this review is aimed at examining the immunological capabilities of skeletal muscle cells in vitro and in vivo.
A scalable method to protect from IP spoofing

Denial of Service (DoS) attacks present a serious problem for Internet communications. The problem is aggravated when the attacker(s) spoof their IP addresses. The Implicit Token Scheme (ITS), presented in , is an efficient method to defend against IP spoofing. ITS, however, requires perimeter routers to maintain state information for thousands of simultaneous connections. In this paper we add a component to ITS to improve its scalability using Bloom filters. It is found that implementing ITS using Bloom filters is simple, saves a substantial amount of router memory, and does not impose large strain on routers. The efficiency of the method is demonstrated through simulations by using real-world Internet data.
Some Thoughts on the Mechanism of Action of Insulin

Proposed mechanisms by which insulin exerts its effects are discussed. Evidence for a role for the tyrosine kinase activity of the insulin receptor and of a phosphorylation/dephosphorylation cascade is presented. The possible roles of phospholipid breakdown, diacylglycerol, and protein kinase C are discussed. The hypothesis that insulin elicits the hydrolysis of a glycosyl phosphatidylinositol to form a mediator of certain of its actions is considered in detail. The evidence that a G protein is involved in insulin action is analyzed.
The Adoption of State Climate Change Policies and Renewable Portfolio Standards: Regional Diffusion or Internal Determinants?

This paper draws upon policy innovation literature and quantitatively explains the adoption of state climate change policies, leading to a broader question—what makes states more likely to adopt policies that provide a global public good? First, existing empirical evidence relating to state climate change policy adoption is reviewed. Following this brief discussion, several analytic approaches are presented that test specific hypotheses derived from the internal determinants and regional diffusion models of policy adoption. Policy diffusion is tested as a function of the motivations, resources, and obstacles of policy change. Motivations for policy innovation include environmental conditions and demands of citizens. Resources include state financial and geographic resources, such as wind and solar potential. Obstacles include a state's reliance on carbon-intensive industries such as coal and natural gas. The results show that internal factors, particularly citizens' demands, are stronger predictors of states' policies than are diffusion effects from neighboring states.
Pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is one of the most curable pediatric and adult cancers, with long-term survival rates now exceeding 90% after treatment with chemotherapy alone or combined with radiotherapy (RT). Of note, global collaboration in clinical trials within cooperative pediatric HL study groups has resulted in continued progress; however, survivors of pediatric HL are at high risk of potentially life-limiting second cancers and treatment-associated cardiovascular disease. Over the last three decades, all major pediatric and several adult HL study groups have followed the paradigm of response-based treatment adaptation and toxicity sparing through the reduction or elimination of RT and tailoring of chemotherapy. High treatment efficacy is achieved using dose-dense chemotherapy. Refinement and reduction of RT have been implemented on the basis of results from collaborative group studies, such that radiation has been completely eliminated for certain subgroups of patients. Because pediatric staging and response criteria are not uniform, comparing the results of trial series among different pediatric and adult study groups remains difficult; thus, initiatives to harmonize criteria are desperately needed. A dynamic harmonization process is of utmost importance to standardize therapeutic risk stratification and response definitions as well as improve the care of children with HL in resource-restricted environments.
Planetary sample sealing for caching

A sample sealing technique was developed and tested for a possible Mars Sample Return mission application. The effect on the scientific viability of biological samples from storage of samples in a sample container for a long period of time on the Martian surface was also investigated. Sealing techniques were investigated and a soldering concept was developed and tested to provide a hermetic seal between a sample tube and cap. A sample caching subsystem design concept was updated to allow for sealing of sample tubes. A gas-tight vessel was constructed that could be used to simulate environmental conditions that would be experienced by a sample of regolith on Mars and to test the affects of thermal cycling of the vessel on psychrophilic microorganisms embedded in a regolith simulant to assess the degree of deterioration of the microorganisms.
Reduced-order models and controllers for continuous-time stochastic systems: an information theory approach

Reduced-order models and controllers for continuous-time stochastic systems are described. The reduced-order models are chosen to minimize the Kullback-Leibler information distance (KLID) between the outputs of the actual and reduced systems. An LQG controller based on a reduced-order system model is described. A second reduced-order controller is found to minimize the KLID between the closed-loop system outputs with the full and reduced-order controllers.
Why the market is ready for a nonisolated DC/DC power module standard

The migration to intermediate bus architectures (IBAs) is driving an increase in the use of nonisolated DC/DC power modules. Footprint standardization could be the next evolutionary step in the nonisolated power module industry. This paper will discuss why the market is ready for standardization and describe the effort by industry leading power module manufacturers to introduce a standard footprint.
A Short N-Terminal Sequence is Responsible for the Retention of Invariant Chain (Ii) in the Endoplasmic Reticulum

Proteins destined for the exocytic pathway are directed into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by an N-terminal signal peptide. Current views support the idea that transport occurs by default such that proteins inserted into the ER are carried passively to the cell surface unless retained by structural motifs (Pfeffer and Rothman 1987). In the case of ER resident proteins, such motifs have been identified for both lumenal and type I transmembrane proteins (Munro and Pelham 1987, Jackson et al 1990). When transplanted onto reporter proteins, these motifs maintain the chimeric proteins in the ER.
Increased hospitalizations among sarcoidosis patients from 1998 to 2008: a population-based cohort study

Background Diagnostic and treatment approaches for sarcoidosis have changed dramatically over the past decade. Yet, the most recent reports of trends in hospitalizations of sarcoidosis patients are over ten years old. The objectives of this study were to determine the incidence of sarcoidosis among hospitalized patients and to analyze recent trends and seasonality of hospitalizations in sarcoidosis patients.
BioPig: a Hadoop-based analytic toolkit for large-scale sequence data

Motivation: The recent revolution in sequencing technologies has led to an exponential growth of sequence data. As a result, most of the current bioinformatics tools become obsolete as they fail to scale with data. To tackle this ‘data deluge’, here we introduce the BioPig sequence analysis toolkit as one of the solutions that scale to data and computation. Results: We built BioPig on the Apache’s Hadoop MapReduce system and the Pig data flow language. Compared with traditional serial and MPI-based algorithms, BioPig has three major advantages: first, BioPig’s programmability greatly reduces development time for parallel bioinformatics applications; second, testing BioPig with up to 500 Gb sequences demonstrates that it scales automatically with size of data; and finally, BioPig can be ported without modification on many Hadoop infrastructures, as tested with Magellan system at National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center and the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud. In summary, BioPig represents a novel program framework with the potential to greatly accelerate data-intensive bioinformatics analysis. Availability and implementation: BioPig is released as open-source software under the BSD license at https://sites.google.com/a/lbl.gov/ biopig/
Simultaneous Determination of Silica and Phosphate in Water from a Single Experiment Using a Miniature Centrifugal fast Analyzer

Abstract The utility of Centrifugal Fast Analyzers for kinetic analyses of inorganic constituents is discussed and is illustrated for the simultaneous determination of silica and orthophosphate as the unreduced heteropoly acids. Silica is determined by an initial-rate approach, whereas the absorbance intercept is a measure of the orthophosphate content of the sample.
Cell signalling by reactive lipid species: new concepts and molecular mechanisms.

The process of lipid peroxidation is widespread in biology and is mediated through both enzymatic and non-enzymatic pathways. A significant proportion of the oxidized lipid products are electrophilic in nature, the RLS (reactive lipid species), and react with cellular nucleophiles such as the amino acids cysteine, lysine and histidine. Cell signalling by electrophiles appears to be limited to the modification of cysteine residues in proteins, whereas non-specific toxic effects involve modification of other nucleophiles. RLS have been found to participate in several physiological pathways including resolution of inflammation, cell death and induction of cellular antioxidants through the modification of specific signalling proteins. The covalent modification of proteins endows some unique features to this signalling mechanism which we have termed the ‘covalent advantage’. For example, covalent modification of signalling proteins allows for the accumulation of a signal over time. The activation of cell signalling pathways by electrophiles is hierarchical and depends on a complex interaction of factors such as the intrinsic chemical reactivity of the electrophile, the intracellular domain to which it is exposed and steric factors. This introduces the concept of electrophilic signalling domains in which the production of the lipid electrophile is in close proximity to the thiol-containing signalling protein. In addition, we propose that the role of glutathione and associated enzymes is to insulate the signalling domain from uncontrolled electrophilic stress. The persistence of the signal is in turn regulated by the proteasomal pathway which may itself be subject to redox regulation by RLS. Cell death mediated by RLS is associated with bioenergetic dysfunction, and the damaged proteins are probably removed by the lysosome-autophagy pathway.