cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clusterin inhibits apoptosis by interacting with activated Bax

Clusterin is an enigmatic glycoprotein that is overexpressed in several human cancers such as prostate and breast cancers, and squamous cell carcinoma. Because the suppression of clusterin expression renders human cancer cells sensitive to chemotherapeutic drug-mediated apoptosis, it is currently an antisense target in clinical trials for prostate cancer. However, the molecular mechanisms by which clusterin inhibits apoptosis in human cancer cells are unknown. Here we report that intracellular clusterin inhibits apoptosis by interfering with Bax activation in mitochondria. Intriguingly, in contrast to other inhibitors of Bax, clusterin specifically interacts with conformation-altered Bax in response to chemotherapeutic drugs. This interaction impedes Bax oligomerization, which leads to the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria and caspase activation. Moreover, we also find that clusterin inhibits oncogenic c-Myc-mediated apoptosis by interacting with conformation-altered Bax. Clusterin promotes c-Myc-mediated transformation in vitro and tumour progression in vivo. Taken together, our results suggest that the elevated level of clusterin in human cancers may promote oncogenic transformation and tumour progression by interfering with Bax pro-apoptotic activities.
Memory, Identity, and NAGPRA in the Northeastern United States

ABSTRACT Determinations of cultural affiliation in compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) often rely on culture history and the direct-historical approach. Both methods ignore important developments in our understanding of identity. A recent NAGPRA claim illustrates an alternative. Using culture history and the direct-historical approach, it was difficult to ascribe the Engelbert Site of New York State to a federally recognized tribe because it contained material from multiple culture-historic taxa, often in the same feature. Taphonomic analyses of selected mixed deposits revealed a previously undocumented mortuary ritual that has since been found at other sites. Using memory as a framework for interpretation, this ritual appears reflective of a kinship-based shared identity between culture-historic taxa. The multivocality of this ritual provided an additional means for evaluating cultural affiliation by ascribing a consciousness of history to the subjects of this repatriation claim.
Soil Gas Screening for Chlorinated Solvents at Three Contaminated Karst Sites in Tennessee

Soil gas was sampled using active sampling techniques and passive collectors at three sites in Tennessee to evaluate the effectiveness of these techniques for locating chlorinated solvent sources and flowpaths in karst aquifers. Actively collected soil gas samples were analyzed in the field with a portable gas chromatograph, and the passive soil gas collectors were analyzed in the lab with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Results of the sampling indicate that the effectiveness of both techniques is highly dependent on the distribution of the contaminants in the subsurface, the geomorphic and hydrogeologic characteristics of the site, and, in one case, on seasonal conditions. Both active and passive techniques identified areas of elevated subsurface chlorinated solvent concentrations at a landfill site where contamination remains concentrated in the regolith. Neither technique detected chlorinated solvents known to be moving in the bedrock at a manufacturing site characterized by thick regolith and an absence of surficial karst features. Passive soil gas sampling had varied success detecting flowpaths for chloroform in the bedrock at a train derailment site characterized by shallow regolith and abundant surficial karst features. At the train derailment site, delineation of the contaminant flowpath through passive soil gas sampling was stronger and more detailed under winter conditions than summer.
Molecular Dissection of AKT Activation in Lung Cancer Cell Lines

AKT is a critical signaling node downstream of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), which is often activated in cancer. We analyzed the state of activation of AKT in 80 human non-small cell lung carcinoma cell lines under serum starvation conditions. We identified 13 lines, which showed persistent AKT activation in the absence of serum. In 12 of 13 lines, AKT activation could be attributed to loss of PTEN, activating mutation in EGF receptor (EGFR) or PIK3CA, or amplification of ERBB2. HCC2429 was the only cell line that had no alterations in those genes, but had high phospho-AKT(Ser473) levels under serum starvation conditions. However, the activation of AKT in HCC2429 was PI3K- and mTOR complex 2 (mTORC2)-dependent based upon use of specific inhibitors. Kinome tyrosine phosphorylation profiling showed that both Notch and SRC were highly activated in this cell line. Despite the activation of Notch, AKT activation and cell survival were not affected by Notch inhibitors DAPT or compound E. In contrast, SRC inhibitors PP2 and dasatinib both significantly decreased pAKT(Ser473) levels and reduced cell survival by inducing apoptosis. Furthermore, a combination of SRC and mTOR inhibition synergistically blocked activation of AKT and induced apoptosis. Overexpression of SRC has been identified previously in human lung cancers, and these results suggest that a combination of SRC and mTOR inhibitors may have unique therapeutic benefit for a subset of lung cancers with these molecular features.
A probabilistic analysis of a locality maintaining load balancing algorithm

This paper presents a simple load balancing algorithm and its probabilistic analysis. Unlike most of the previous load balancing algorithms, this algorithm maintains locality. The authors show that the cost of this load balancing algorithm is small for practical situations and discuss some interesting applications for data remapping. >
Numerical Simulation of Post-Flame Oxidation of Hydrocarbons in Spark Ignition Engines

About 50-90 percent of the hydrocarbons that escape combustion during flame passage in spark-ignition engine operation are oxidized in the cylinder before leaving the system. The process involves the transport of unreacted fuel from cold walls towards the hotter burned gas regions and subsequent reaction. In order to understand controlling factors in the process, a transient one-dimensional reactive-diffusive model has been formulated for simulating the oxidation processes taking place in the reactive layer between hot burned gases and cold unreacted air/fuel mixture, with initial and boundary conditions provided by the emergence of hydrocarbons from the piston top land crevice. Energy and species conservation equations are solved for the entire process, using a detailed chemical kinetic mechanism for propane. Simulation results show that the post-flame oxidation process takes place within a reactive layer where intermediate hydrocarbon products are formed at temperatures above 1100-1200 K, followed by a carbon monoxide conversion region closer to the hot burned gases. Model results show that most of hydrocarbons leaving the crevice are completely oxidized inside the cylinder. The largest contribution of remaining hydrocarbons are those leaving the crevice at temperatures below 1400 K. The largest fraction of non-fuel (intermediate) hydrocarbons results from hydrocarbons leaving the crevice when core temperatures are around 1400 K Copyright © 1997 Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.
Mechanism and function of synaptotagmin-mediated membrane apposition

Synaptotagmin-1 is a Ca(2+) sensor that triggers synchronous neurotransmitter release. The first documented biochemical property of synaptotagmin-1 was its ability to aggregate membranes in response to Ca(2+). However, the mechanism and function of this process were poorly understood. Here we show that synaptotagmin-1-mediated vesicle aggregation is driven by trans interactions between synaptotagmin-1 molecules bound to different membranes. We found a strong correlation between the ability of Ca(2+)-bound synaptotagmin-1 to aggregate vesicles and to stimulate SNARE-mediated membrane fusion. Moreover, artificial aggregation of membranes-using non-synaptotagmin proteins-also efficiently promoted fusion of SNARE-bearing liposomes. Finally, using a modified fusion assay, we observed that synaptotagmin-1 drove the assembly of otherwise non-fusogenic individual t-SNARE proteins into fusion-competent heterodimers, independently of aggregation. Thus, membrane aggregation and t-SNARE assembly appear to be two key aspects of fusion reactions that are regulated by Ca(2+)-bound synaptotagmin-1 and catalyzed by SNAREs.
Molecular weight of rat liver ornithine-ketoacid aminotransferase.

SummaryThe molecular weights of orni-thine-ketoacid aminotransferase in pure form and in crude extracts of rat liver were compared. The molecular weight of the pure enzyme was concentration dependent. At concentrations of 10 mg/ml its molecular weight was 202,000 dal-tons, but this value was reduced to 116,000 daltons when the enzyme was diluted and allowed to equilibrate at a concentration of 0.1 mg/ml. The crude enzyme preparation also had a molecular weight of 116,000 daltons. The molecular weight of the enzyme subunit was 52,000 daltons and the pure enzyme contained one pyridoxal phosphate moiety per subunit. The data suggest that the enzyme may exist as a dimer in vivo.Excellent technical assistance was provided by Aldona Prapuolenis. The electron micrograph was prepared by Theodore N. Tahmisian.
Benefit of adjuvant radiation therapy for localized prostate cancer with a positive surgical margin.

Purpose: Positive surgical margins are common after radical prostatectomy, and the role of adjuvant therapy in such cases is controversial. We determined the benefit of postoperative external beam radiation therapy in patients with margin positive prostate cancer with respect to biochemical progression or cancer recurrence. To decrease confounding factors that may affect the likelihood of biochemical progression our study was limited to men with organ confined cancer and a single positive margin. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the records of a nested matched cohort of 76 patients with pathological stage T2N0 prostate cancer and a single positive margin who underwent adjuvant radiation therapy within 3 months of radical prostatectomy. There was a positive margin at the prostatic apex in 35 cases, prostatic base in 18, posterior prostate in 11, urethra in 7, and prostatic apex and urethra in 5. These patients were matched 1:1 with 76 controls who did not receive adjuvant radiation therapy. Neither group received androgen deprivation therapy. Patients and controls were matched exactly for the margin positive site, age at surgery, preoperative serum prostate specific antigen, Gleason score and DNA ploidy. Biochemical relapse was defined as posttreatment PSA greater than 0.2 ng./ml. Results: Overall there was significant estimated improvement plus or minus standard error in 5-year clinical and biochemical progression-free survival in 88% ± 5% versus 59% ± 11% of patients treated with adjuvant radiation therapy versus no radiation therapy (p = 0.005). No patient who received radiation therapy had local or distant recurrence, while 16% of controls had recurrence (p = 0.015). When stratified by site of margin positivity, the 5-year estimated clinical and biochemical progression-free rate in 18 cases and controls with a positive base margin was 95% ± 15% and 65% ± 13%, respectively (p = 0.02). The rate in 35 cases and cases with a positive apex margin was 95% ± 5% and 64% ± 15%, respectively (p = 0.07). Limited sample size precluded analysis of the other sites. Conclusions: Patients with localized prostate cancer and a singe positive surgical margin appear to have a lower rate of biochemical relapse at 5 years when adjuvant radiation therapy is administered. Definitive evidence of the beneficial effect of adjuvant radiation therapy for patients with involved surgical margins awaits conclusion of randomized clinical trials.
Effect of an inelastic channel on the position and width of a resonance

We have constructed a simple model to study the effect of adding one extra channel in anN/D calculation of the position and width of a resonance. We find that the mass of the resonance is shifted toward thereshold. This means that the effect of the extra channel is always to add an attractive force. The situation with regard to the width is ambiguous and requires more detailed numerical calculations.
RT-Xen: towards real-time hypervisor scheduling in xen

As system integration becomes an increasingly important challenge for complex real-time systems, there has been a significant demand for supporting real-time systems in virtualized environments. This paper presents RT-Xen, the first real-time hypervisor scheduling framework for Xen, the most widely used open-source virtual machine monitor (VMM). RT-Xen bridges the gap between real-time scheduling theory and Xen, whose wide-spread adoption makes it an attractive platform for integrating a broad range of real-time and embedded systems. Moreover, RT-Xen provides an open-source platform for researchers and integrators to develop and evaluate real-time scheduling techniques, which to date have been studied predominantly via analysis and simulations. Extensive experimental results demonstrate the feasibility, efficiency, and efficacy of fixed-priority hierarchical real-time scheduling in RT-Xen. RT-Xen instantiates a suite of fixed-priority servers (Deferrable Server, Periodic Server, Polling Server, and Sporadic Server). While the server algorithms are not new, this empirical study represents the first comprehensive experimental comparison of these algorithms within the same virtualization platform. Our empirical evaluation shows that RT-Xen can provide effective real-time scheduling to guest Linux operating systems at a 1ms quantum, while incurring only moderate overhead for all the fixed-priority server algorithms. While more complex algorithms such as Sporadic Server do incur higher overhead, none of the overhead differences among different server algorithms are significant. Deferrable Server generally delivers better soft real-time performance than the other server algorithms, while Periodic Server incurs high deadline miss ratios in overloaded situations.
Conditional MTTF and its computation in Markov reliability models

The authors discuss the notion of conditional MTTF (mean time to failure) and develop an efficient computational method for the absorption probability and conditional MTTF in a finite state-space Markov model. The method requires the solution of two systems of linear equations of size n, where n is the number of transient states in the Markov chain. The concept of cumulative conditional MTTF is introduced and applied to computation of the mean time to critical (unsafe, hazardous) failures. >
Detection of autoantibodies to amylase by ELISA: comparison of detection of macroamylase and free autoantibody

New ELISAs for detecting macroamylase or free autoantibodies to amylase were tested with 48 samples that had been characterized by gel chromatography and electrophoresis. The macroamylase ELISA, with anti-IgG or anti-IgA for detection, detected macroamylase in 28 of 33 samples known to contain macroamylase (85% sensitivity), whereas the ELISA for free autoantibody to amylase was positive for only 11 samples. Specificities of both ELISAs were 93%. Among 28 true positives detected with the macroamylase ELISA, 22 contained IgA, 3 contained IgG, and 3 contained both immunoglobulins. Detection of IgM added no true positives. ELISA responses (y) were proportional to log [macroamylase concentration by chromatography (x)] from 0 to 1200 U/L: y = 5.15 x + 1.66; r = 0.72; Sy x = 1.65. As new tools for detecting macroenzymes consisting of enzyme-autoantibody complexes, the ELISAs show that some autoantibodies are detected more sensitively as antibody-antigen complexes than as free antibody.
Kuramoto Models, Coupled Oscillations and laser networks

In this paper we study the problem of stability for one of the most popular models of coupled phase oscillators, the Kuramoto model. The Kuramoto model is used to describe the phenomenon of collective synchronization, in which an enormous system of oscillators spontaneously locks to a common frequency although the oscillators have distinct natural frequencies. In the paper we consider the stability of the Kuramoto model of coupled oscillators with identical natural frequency and provide a stability analysis of phase difference equilibrium. The stability of the phase difference equilibrium make it possible to apply the Kuramoto model in pattern recognition.
Clinical outcomes and rates of molecular remission with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (As2O3) combination therapy in newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL)

6503 Background: ATRA and anthracyclines provide durable remissions in patients with untreated APL. As2O 3 has improved outcomes in untreated and relapsed/refractory APL. The aim of this study was ...
Digital Citizenship or Inequality? Linking Internet Use and Education to Electoral Engagement in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election Campaign

This study examines the relationship among digital citizenship, digital inequality, education, and electoral engagement in the unprecedented 2008 U.S. presidential election. The 2008 presidential e...
Identification Of Migratory Birds And Their Spesific Characteristics Of Habitat In The Salt Water Lake Of Gili Meno, North Lombok Distric

The aim of this research was to identify the species of migratory birds in the ecosystem of salt water lake of Gili Meno and their specific characteristics of habitat. Data collection for birds, mangrove and fish species has been carried out in September and October 2013. In this study, a Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index and Importance Value Index (IVI) of mangrove vegetation were calculated to identify carrying capacity of mangrove population in the form of specific habitat in salt water lake of Gili Meno. This research has identified 17 species of birds which are divided into 5 families: Scolopacidae, Charadriidae, Ardeidae, Meropidae and Alcedinidae. Moreover, 3 species of mangrove were discovered that are A. marina, A. lanata and E. Agallocha , as well as one species of fish (Mujair fish/ O. mossambicus ). N. Nycticorax and B. Striatus were well-known to have higher population than other bird species. The Diversity Index showed that mangrove vegetation in the ecosystem of salt water lake of Gili Meno has a low species diversity (0.565). This is due to higher dominance of one species than the others. What is more, the IVI of A. marina demonstrated a fairly significant value compared to that of other species (189,01). Mangrove vegetation which surrounds the ecosystem of salt water lake of Gili Meno has formed a unique habitat and and an ideal stopover site for migratory birds. The ecosystem not only provides shelters from predators but also supplies for various abundant feeding sources. The lake it self is rather shallow and muddy around the shore which gives advantages for the migratory birds to obtain plenty small fish from the lake.
The Growth of GaAs on Si by Molecular Beam Epitaxy

Successful growth of GaAs on Si has recently been demonstrated. This work is directed toward an understanding of the processes occurring during the growth and their effects on the quality of the GaAs epilayers. Reflection High Energy Electron Diffraction monitoring of the growth in situ shows that the islands that are initially formed coalesce into an epilayer with a 2×4 surface reconstruction. Ion channeling indicates that the crystallinity of the entire epilayer improves with coverage. Substantial reordering of the material occurs when buffer layers grown at low temperatures are annealed at 575°C before and during further growth at this temperature. Comparison of 300 nm layers differing in the growth temperature of the first 100 nm shows no variation in the crystallinity as determined by ion channeling. Surface morphology degrades, however, and 77K photoluminescence intensity rises with the initial growth temperature. The optical and structural properties of 2µm thick films are also discussed.
Teaching the Teachers

The National Science Foundation Summer Institute Program brings teachers together for short, concentrated periods of study in order to increase their competence in the subject matter of science. We are chiefly concerned here with Institutes for high school teachers and with biology in particular. This is the first time that such a device has been used on a national scale, and for this reason the program has been largely experimental. Two major types of Institutes have evolved during the last six years: one in which several sciences are taught and the other which is devoted to a particular science. Less than 10 per cent of the Institutes have been devoted exclusively to teachers of high school biology. In view of the importance of biology in the high school curriculum, more Institutes of this type are needed. Our own experience has been so rewarding for both the teachers and the faculty that we would like to encourage other biologists to initiate similar programs of their own. The NSF Summer Institute Program started with one experimental series of lectures in biology held at the University of Oklahoma in 1953 and has grown to more than 381 Institutes in 1960. All the major fields of science are represented, and institutions throughout the continental United States, Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico are participating. In 1957, there were 5 of a total of 95 Summer Institutes devoted exclusively to high school biology teachers; in 1958 there were 3 of 108; in 1959 there were 22 of 350; and in 1960, 26 of 381. The statistics do not reflect all the biology teaching being done, however. Several Radiation Biology Institutes, jointly sponsored by the Atomic Energy Commission and the National Science Foundation, have been organized each year. Seventeen, the maximum number, were held in 1959 and 1960. Also, many Summer Institutes offer courses in several fields of science, and biology is one that is usually included. We believe, however, that biology teachers can be stimulated and their knowledge deepened more effectively if they attend a summer program especially tailored for them in the field of their greatest interest. In order to support this viewpoint, we will describe our concept of an Institute as it has developed at Indiana University from 1956 to 1960, together with a background of a few historical cases from which it has grown. We do not wish, however, to leave the impression that ours is the ultimate solution to the problem of teaching the teachers. On the contrary, it can be accomplished successfully in a variety of ways, and our program is only one.
Middle School Reading Comprehension and Content Learning Intervention for Below-Average Readers

ABSTRACTThis study aimed to determine the efficacy of a content knowledge and reading comprehension treatment implemented by 8th-grade social studies teachers over the course of 1 school year. We randomly assigned 8th-grade students with reading difficulties to the intervention treatment condition (n = 45) or the business-as-usual comparison condition (n = 33). Students in the treatment condition scored statistically higher than students in the comparison condition on measures of knowledge acquisition (effect size [ES] = 0.35), content reading comprehension (ES = 0.59), and vocabulary recall (ES = 0.65). The small ES on standardized reading comprehension (ES = 0.10) favoring the treatment condition was not statistically significant.
The Influence of Family Firms and Institutional Owners on Corporate Social Responsibility Performance

Research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) has traditionally focused on managerial discretion and stakeholders’ influence. This study extends current research by addressing the effect of family firms and institutional owners on CSR performance, namely, CSR strengths and concerns. Based on stewardship theory and the socioemotional wealth perspective, we propose that family firms are more likely to value CSR performance. Next, drawing from multiple agency theory, we predict that institutional owners, unlike family owners, will influence a firm’s CSR performance differently. We tested our hypotheses using a sample of 153 firms from 1994 to 2006 and found general support for our hypotheses. A higher percentage of family owned equity and the presence of a family CEO are found to increase CSR strengths, whereas transient institutional owners have an opposite effect. The presence of a family CEO and founding family are found to reduce CSR concerns. Contrary to our predictions, dedicated institutional owne...
An Empirical Study of the Influencial Factors on Capital Structure of Listed Company with CDM Project in China

CDM project is the core of the development of low-carbon economy.With the help of principle component analysis and colleration analysis,this paper makes an empirical study on the influential factors on Capital Structure of listed company with CDM project in China by using the panel date on CDM project in listed company in China in 2008.The results indicate that effects of different factors on capital structure in listed company with CDM project exhibits certain difference: influences of debt paying ability,profitability,growth ability of enterprises to capital structure is positively correlated,while the influence of operating capacity is not obvious.
Research Progress on Regional Health Informatization Construction

The regional health informatization construction is the important part of health informatization construction,and it becomes an important Subject at present.This paper starts with the concept,content,target,role and significance of regional health informatization construction,puts forward the development direction of regional health informatization construction on the basis of research status at home and abroad,and reviews the regional health informatization construction and its development direction in China.
Perioperative inefficiencies and distractions in an endocrine surgical service

Abstract Introduction The goal of this study was to examine intraoperative timing, distractions, and delays in search of inefficiencies as a basis for future quality improvement projects. Method Cervical endocrine surgeries at a large tertiary academic center were analyzed over a two year period. Time spent in the operating room (OR) and post-anesthesia recovery area, in addition to time was studied for variations between surgeons. A select number of operations were observed from the time the patient first entered the OR to the time the patient left the OR to document any distractions. Distractions were documented from the time of entry in the OR to the time the patient left the OR. These distractions were categorized to determine whether a delay in the operation had occurred. Results A total of 1518 cervical endocrine operations were performed. The total overall time in the OR and total operative time were statistically significantly different both overall and broken down for parathyroid and thyroid cases (p Conclusion Variation in timing exists between surgeons during the different components of the operation even on a standardized endocrine surgery service. Distractions frequently occur and can lead to delays in the operation. These should be targeted for future OR efficiency improvement projects.
WE-A-BRC-01: Introduction to the Certificate Course

Quality and safety in healthcare are inextricably linked. There are compelling data that link poor quality radiation therapy to inferior patient survival. Radiation Oncology clinical trial protocol deviations often involve incorrect target volume delineation or dosing, akin to radiotherapy incidents which also often involve partial geometric miss or improper radiation dosing. When patients with radiation protocol variations are compared to those without significant protocol variations, clinical outcome is negatively impacted. Traditionally, quality assurance in radiation oncology has been driven largely by new technological advances, and safety improvement has been driven by reactive responses to past system failures and prescriptive mandates recommended by professional organizations and promulgated by regulators. Prescriptive approaches to quality and safety alone often do not address the huge variety of process and technique used in radiation oncology. Risk-based assessments of radiotherapy processes provide a mechanism to enhance quality and safety, both for new and for established techniques. It is imperative that we explore such a paradigm shift at this time, when expectations from patients as well as providers are rising while available resources are falling. There is much we can learn from our past experiences to be applied towards the new risk-based assessments. Learning Objectives: 1.Understand the impact of clinical and technical quality on outcomes 2.Understand the importance of quality care in radiation oncology 3.Learn to assess the impact of quality on clinical outcomes D. Followill, NIH Grant CA180803
Genetic and biological aspects of the HL-A system of human histocompatibility.

The HL-A system of leukocyte group antigens is a system of great complexity and polymorphism, governed by an autosomal region which includes a number of subunits or subloci. It constitutes the principal system of histo-compatibility in man. Extensive population and family studies have resulted in the identification of two HL-A subloci. The first sublocus determines antigens HL-A 1, 2, 3, 9, Da 15 and Da 17 as alternative alleles. Antigens HL-A 5, 7, 8, Da 4, Da 6, HN, and probably Da 9 and Da 18 are determined in similar fashion at a second sublocus. The products of 20 per cent of the genes of the first sublocus, and of 29 per cent of the genes of the second sublocus are still unknown. Study of 113 families has documented 226 human HL-A genotypes and 452 haplotypes. The observed gene and haplotype frequencies were in close agreement with the anticipated values calculated on the basis of Mendelian laws. This result supports the concept that the HL-A system is in equilibrium. Although the HL-A system plays a major role as a determinant of human allograft responses, its primordial function may be of relevance to other fundamental biological problems, with particular reference to host defenses against microorganisms, viruses and neoplastic cells.
The Scanner, the Twitcher, or Both: How Best to Perform Peripheral Nerve Blocks?

What is the role of nerve stimulation in the new era of the ultrasound guided regional anesthesia? Two practitioners debate the merits of ultrasound and/or nerve stimulating guidance of peripheral nerve blocks during the challenging case of performing nerve block in a morbidly obese patient.
Forecasting dynamics of red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico

Abstract Understanding dynamics and stock structures of fish is particularly relevant to assessments and management of marine living resources. Using the nonparametric, nonlinear time series (NLTS) approach, we modeled dynamics of red snapper ( Lutjanus campechanus ) represented by time series of two fisheries-independent abundance indices and two fisheries-dependent abundance indices in the eastern and western portions of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (Gulf). Further, we examined regional dynamics of red snapper in the two areas and explored the utility of NLTS models in generating short term forecasts. Overall, red snapper in the eastern Gulf and western Gulf displayed distinct patterns in terms of the Gulf-wide ecosystem indicators, which likely implies different underlying regional dynamics of the species. Moreover, dynamic features of red snapper differed between the two regions. Specifically, the system dimension (mean ± SE), i.e., the number of potential processes affecting the underlying dynamics of the species, was higher in the western Gulf (5.5 ± 1.32) than in the eastern Gulf (3.75 ± 1.44). The NLTS models exhibited significant skill (i.e., a measure of the goodness of fit (ρ) between observations and predictions) in forecasting red snapper abundance indices. The forecast skill (one year ahead) was 0.48 ± 0.01 for indices representing the eastern Gulf and 0.33 ± 0.05 for indices representing the western Gulf. The average dimension and forecast skill was 3 ± 1.43 and 0.37 ± 0.01 for fisheries-dependent indices, and 6.25 ± 1.32 and 0.45 ± 0.05 for fisheries-independent indices. These findings have implications for the Gulf red snapper fisheries in that the NLTS approach shows potential for forecasting stock abundance indices, and provides new information regarding the appropriate spatial scale for management of the species. Moreover, the ecosystem considerations in this study can be further explored to forecast the dynamics of red snapper for better assessments and management of the species.
A genealogy of electronic moving image displays

This essay addresses one element of the ongoing process of moving image culture “going digital”, a process which includes the move to digital terrestrial broadcasting, the introduction of the digital video recorder, and the shift to digital formats in theatrical film exhibition. Specifically, I would like to explore some of the promotional strategies associated with the recent shift from cathode-ray tube to flat panel display technologies, not only in domestic television receivers, but also in flat panel displays outside the home ranging in scale from hand held devices to massive electronic billboards in public venues.
A new genus and species of entocytherid ostracod (Ostracoda: Entocytheridae) from the John Day River Basin of Oregon, U.S.A., with a key to genera of the subfamily Entocytherinae

Targeted sampling efforts by the authors for the signal crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus, from its native range in the John Day River Basin, Oregon, U.S.A. yielded entocytherid ostracods with a male copulatory complex so clearly different from other entocytherines that a new genus, Aurumcythere gen. nov. is proposed to receive them. This newly proposed, apparently nonsclerotized, genus with hook and spur-like prominences of the posteroventral end of the peniferum is the first new genus of the subfamily Entocytherinae named since Hobbs & Peters described Aphelocythere (= Waltoncythere) in 1977. Aurumcythere gen. nov. represents only the second genus of entocytherid known from the Pacific Northwest. Lack of sclerotization in Aurumcythere gen. nov. provides new insight into poorly understood mating behaviors of entocytherid ostracods.
Diversification in Korean Banking Business: Is Non-interest Income a Financial Saviour?:

This article examines whether the diversification of operating income in Korean banks has persistently enhanced the performance of Korean banks. The results show that, despite Korean banks’ efforts...
The Speedometer of Life: Stress, Health and Aging

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the links between stress, health, and aging; to identify stress processes that lead to changes in key psychological and physiological indicators; and to examine the associations between biological indicators, health, and well-being. These links are based on life-span developmental theory of stress and health that highlights variations and differences within and between individuals as they develop in multidimensional sociohistorical contexts. This chapter provides a broad framework for incorporating the role of stress into the study of health and aging by describing the concepts and measurement of stress processes, life-span and life course perspectives on stressors and their consequences, biomarkers that provide a link between stressors and health, and merging research documenting the effects of stress on cognitive health. There are multiple dimensions of stressors ranging from major life events to chronic stressors to daily hassles. Adult developmental researchers have examined how stressors affect health by assessing intra-individual change in exposure and reactivity to these types of stressors. Research has also begun to document individual and group differences in changes in these stress processes. Much of the psychological literature on stress and aging has assessed affective reactivity, but emerging work has begun to incorporate biological as well as cognitive outcomes of stress processes. These are all important advances in understanding how stress may speed not only biological aging but also cognitive aging.
Toward cost effective and optimal selection of IT disaster recovery cloud solution

Many organizations rely on Disaster Recovery services to ensure availability and continuity of their operations during undesired circumstances and outages. Business Impact Analysis concept enables adequate planning for business continuation as it delivers essential information on services' criticality levels and their impact on business. The advancement in communication and technology has reshaped the development of Disaster Recovery solutions over cloud that become an attractive approach and fundamental part to sustain business operations. Organizations should select the model that best balances the level of control, software configuration, maintenance, and cost. In this paper, we explore Disaster Recovery architecture in term of hardware, software, data replication, networking, and access points. Further, the paper identifies key challenges, benefits, security concerns, and protections methodologies for Disaster Recovery cloud solution. Additionally, we present our illustrative cost analysis of different type of Disaster Recovery solutions based on cost of assets, operating cost, and cost of failures.
Remote Recession Measurements of Wire-Seeded PICA Samples in an Arc-Jet Flow

Various methods for remote recession sensing of PICA have been developed and several seeding methods have been tested. The most recent method involved seeding the ablator with wires fed to the sample from the backside with a defined amount of PICA left towards the upstream front of the sample. This seed method mimics the installation of in-depth thermocouples as they are frequently used in ground testing and flight. Arc-jet tests were conducted in the NASA Langley HYMETS facility at a heat flux of 320 W/sq.cm. The emission of the post-shock layer was observed in spectral resolution from the side along an optical axis perpendicular to the arc-jet flow and from the front, looking at the sample surface from an upstream position. Various metallic seed materials with different melting points were used. In addition to the emission spectroscopy measurements, the samples were monitored during the tests through pyrometry and videography. The time resolved response of the seeded material is described and compared to earlier tests with different seeding methods. The combination of seed materials was found to be critical for the selection of emission signatures characteristic for the material recession which can be isolated in the final emission spectra.
The Coming Cross-Pollination of Leisure Studies and Recreation and Park Education: A Response

There is increasing evidence of a coming together of Leisure Studies and Recreation and Park Education which is mutually beneficial. Leisure studies is not a discipline. It is, rather, a subject of...
Role of the “Craniofacial Orthodontist” in a “Craniofacial Team”:

The “craniofacial orthodontist” (CO) plays a vital and integral role in the management of craniofacial anomalies such as cleft lip and palate, and craniofacial syndromes. The COs involvement in the management of craniofacial deformity begins right from birth (e.g., cleft lip and palate) up to complete cessation of active biological growth (adult life). The long-term association of patient–doctor relationship not only demands a consistent understanding of the complexities involved in the multidisciplinary management of the anomaly but also provides a unique opportunity for the CO to work in tandem with other specialties in delivering a holistic treatment. Furthermore, the CO, as a member of the craniofacial team, could make use of the remarkable advancements in the diagnosis and management of craniofacial anomalies. This paper provides an overview of the synergistic management of cleft lip and palate and craniofacial anomalies, with a specific focus on the COs contribution in the craniofacial team with case illustrations, author's favored treatment protocols and integration of recent advancements.
Bernstein modes in a non-neutral plasma column

This paper presents theory and numerical calculations of electrostatic Bernstein modes in an inhomogeneous cylindrical plasma column. These modes rely on finite Larmor radius effects to propagate radially across the column until they are reflected when their frequency matches the upper hybrid frequency. This reflection sets up an internal normal mode on the column and also mode-couples to the electrostatic surface cyclotron wave (which allows the normal mode to be excited and observed using external electrodes). Numerical results predicting the mode spectra, using a novel linear Vlasov code on a cylindrical grid, are presented and compared to an analytical Wentzel Kramers Brillouin (WKB) theory. A previous version of the theory [D. H. E. Dubin, Phys. Plasmas 20(4), 042120 (2013)] expanded the plasma response in powers of 1/B, approximating the local upper hybrid frequency, and consequently, its frequency predictions are spuriously shifted with respect to the numerical results presented here. A new version...
Relinquishing Control: What Romanian De Se Attitude Reports Teach Us About Immunity To Error Through Misidentification

Higginbotham (2003) argued that certain linguistic items of English, when used in indirect discourse, necessarily trigger first-personal interpretations. They are: the emphatic reflexive pronoun and the controlled understood subject, represented as PRO. PRO is special, in this respect, due to its imposing obligatory control effects between the main clause and its subordinates (Chierchia (1989)). Folescu & Higginbotham (2012), in addition, argued that in Romanian, a language whose grammar doesn’t assign a prominent role to PRO (if it assigns it a role at all), de se triggers are correlated with the subjunctive mood of certain verbs. That paper, however, didn’t account for the grammatical diversity of the reports that display immunity to error through misidentification (IEM henceforth) in Romanian: some of these reports are expressed by using de se triggers; others are not. Their IEM, moreover, is not systematically lexically controlled by the verbs, via their theta-roles; it is, rather, determined by the meaning of the verbs in question. Given the data from Romanian, I will argue, the phenomenon of IEM cannot be fully explained starting either from the syntactical or the lexical structure of a language.
Impacts of Elevated Temperatures on Bentonite Extrusion and Cesium Transport in the Excavated Damaged Zone

AbstractThe study presented in this paper examines the potential of extruded bentonite as an additional barrier to radionuclide release to the far field. In the saturated repository, the bulk bentonite buffer surrounding the waste package will extrude into an intersecting fracture. Subsequent radionuclide release and transport into the fracture could be affected by the presence of this extrusion region. A model was previously established to describe the transport of radionuclides in the fracture that also includes this extruded bentonite. In this paper, we study model simulations for an idealized case of cesium transport through the extrusion region at elevated temperature. Extrusion speed will increase and cesium transport is enhanced with temperature; however, this extrusion region shows favorable performance in confining cesium at all temperatures. This study suggests that additional, rigorous modeling of this extrusion region as a barrier to radionuclide release with consideration of performance asses...
The Relationship Between Communication Style and Sales Performance

This paper reviews the current literature cx>rK2erning determinants of sales performance. Ihe focus of the review is upon communication factors which impact selling performance. In particular, literature dealing with caramuni-cation style is reviewed and implications are drawn relative to its impact upon sales performance. Questions are posed for future research efforts.
MERTK promotes resistance to irreversible EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancers expressing wild-type EGFR-family members

Purpose: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 85% of all lung cancers and over 60% express wild-type EGFR (wtEGFR); however, EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have limited effect in most patients with wtEGFR tumors. We previously identified MERTK tyrosine kinase as a potential therapeutic target in NSCLC and developed MRX-2843, a novel MERTK-selective inhibitor with favorable properties for clinical translation. The goal of the current study is to determine if MERTK and EGFR inhibitor combination therapy could provide anti-tumor efficacy against wtEGFR NSCLC. Experimental Design: An unbiased screen of 378 kinase inhibitors was conducted to identify synergistic interactions with MRX-2843 and biochemical and therapeutic effects were determined in vitro and in vivo. Results: Numerous irreversible EGFR TKIs, including CO-1686 and osimertinib, synergized with MRX-2843 to inhibit wtEGFR NSCLC cell expansion, irrespective of driver oncogene status. CO-1686 and MRX-2843 combination therapy inhibited MERTK, wtEGFR, and ERBB2/ERBB3 and decreased downstream PI3K-AKT, MAPK-ERK, and AURORA kinase (AURK) signaling more effectively than single agents. Inhibition of PI3K, AKT or AURK, but not MEK, synergized with CO-1686 to inhibit tumor cell expansion, suggesting their roles as key redundant resistance pathways. Treatment with MRX-2843 and CO-1686 or osimertinib prevented xenograft growth while single agents had limited effect. Tumor growth inhibition was durable even after treatment with combination therapy was stopped. Conclusions: Our data support the application of MRX-2843 in combination with an irreversible EGFR TKI as a novel strategy for treatment of patients with wtEGFR NSCLC.