cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Intranasal delivery of adjuvant-free peptide nanofibers elicits resident CD8+ T cell responses.

Abstract Influenza vaccines that can be administered intranasally or by other needle-free delivery routes have potential advantages over injected formulations in terms of patient compliance, cost, and ease of global distribution. Supramolecular peptide nanofibers have been investigated previously as platforms for vaccines and immunotherapies and have been shown to raise immune responses in the absence of exogenous adjuvants and without measurable inflammation. However, at present it has not been tested whether the immunogenicity of these materials extends to the intranasal route. Here we investigated the extent to which self-assembled peptide nanofibers bearing an influenza peptide epitope elicit antigen-specific CD8+ T cell responses when delivered intranasally, and we compared these responses with those elicited by subcutaneous immunization. Peptides containing an epitope from influenza acid polymerase (PA) and the Q11 self-assembly domain formed nanofibers that were avidly taken up by dendritic cells in lung-draining mediastinal lymph nodes after intranasal immunization. Intranasally delivered nanofibers generated greater antigen-specific CD8+ T cell responses in the lung-draining lymph nodes than subcutaneous immunizations while retaining the non-inflammatory character of the materials observed in other delivery sites. The CD8+ T cells elicited systemically were functional as assessed by their ability to produce IFN-γ ex vivo, lyse epitope-pulsed target cells in vivo, and diminish viral loads in infected mice. Compared to subcutaneously delivered nanofibers, intranasally delivered peptide nanofibers significantly increased the number of persisting antigen-specific tissue resident memory CD8+ T cells in the lung, allowing for a more rapid response to infection at 6 weeks post-vaccination. These results indicate that intranasally delivered self-assembled peptide nanofibers are immunogenic when delivering CD8+ epitopes without adjuvant or CD4+ epitopes, are non-inflammatory, and promote more lung-resident memory CD8+ T cells compared to subcutaneous immunization.
Food Ingredients from Plant Cell and Tissue Culture

Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), food ingredients that are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by qualified experts, (either based on scientific principles or because they have had a history of safe consumption in food) are exempt from mandatory premarket approval. Those that are not GRAS are defined as “food additives” under the FFDCA and are subject to premarket review and approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before they can be used in food. Before any new color additive can be marketed, a manufacturer must first petition the FDA for its approval. Since enactment of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994, certain dietary ingredients used in dietary supplements are exempt from the definition of food additive and are instead subject to the provisions of DSHEA.
Reinforcement learning and the creative, automated music improviser

Automated creativity, giving a machine the ability to originate meaningful new concepts and ideas, is a significant challenge. Machine learning models make advances in this direction but are typically limited to reproducing already known material. Self-motivated reinforcement learning models present new possibilities in computational creativity, conceptually mimicking human learning to enable automated discovery of interesting or surprising patterns. This work describes a musical intrinsically motivated reinforcement learning model, built on adaptive resonance theory algorithms, towards the goal of producing humanly valuable creative music. The capabilities of the prototype system are examined through a series of short, promising compositions, revealing an extreme sensitivity to feature selection and parameter settings, and the need for further development of hierarchical models.
Regulation of the Biosynthesis of the Branched-Chain Amino Acids

Publisher Summary This chapter presents the regulation of the biosynthesis of the branched-chain amino acids. For a long time, the branched-chain amino acids have been considered under a common heading in biochemistry textbooks. The basis for this grouping was solely their structural relationship as before the advent of isotopie tracer techniques and mutant methodology, so little was known of their catabolism and nothing was known of their biosynthesis. On the basis of their catabolism, they might have been considered separately as studies with the diabetic dog revealed that leucine was a ketogenic amino acid, valine was glycogenic, and isoleucine was both. With the elucidation of the biosynthetic pathways leading to the branched-chain amino acids by isotopie, enzymatic, and genetic studies, it became quite clear that the three amino acids were indeed quite closely related to each other with respect to their biosynthesis.
Exotic Invasive Pomacea maculata (Giant Apple Snail) Will Depredate Eggs of Frog and Toad Species of the Southeastern US

Pomacea maculata (Giant Apple Snail) is a freshwater snail from South America that is an invasive species on the Gulf of Mexico coastal plain. A sister species has been shown to prey on amphibian eggs in Asia. To test whether the Giant Apple Snail will prey on amphibian eggs, we presented eggs of Lithobates palustris (Pickerel Frog), Lithobates pipiens (Northern Leopard Frog), and Anaxyrus americanus (American Toad) to Giant Apple Snails in a laboratory experiment. Giant Apple Snails ate the eggs of all 3 species.
Quantum Mereotopology

While mereotopology – the theory of boundaries, contact and separation built up on a mereological foundation – has found fruitful applications in the realm of qualitative spatial reasoning, it faces problems when its methods are extended to deal with those varieties of spatial and non-spatial reasoning which involve a factor of granularity. This is because granularity cannot easily be represented within a mereology-based framework. We sketch how this problem can be solved by means of a theory of i>granular partitions, a theory general enough to comprehend not only the familiar sorts of spatial partitions but also a range of coarse-grained partitions of other, non-spatial sorts. We then show how these same methods can be extended to apply to finite sequences of granular partitions evolving over time, or to what we shall call coarse- and fine-grained i>histories.
Sign Language Recognition: Learning American Sign Language in a Virtual Environment

In this paper, we propose an approach, for sign language recognition, that makes use of a virtual reality headset to create an immersive environment. We show how features from data acquired by the Leap Motion controller, using an egocentric view, can be used to automatically recognize a user signed gesture. The Leap features are used along with a random forest for real-time classification of the user's gesture. We further analyze which of these features are most important, in an egocentric view, for gesture recognition. To test the efficacy of our proposed approach, we test on the 26 letters of the alphabet in American Sign Language in a virtual environment with an application for learning sign language.
Implications of anesthesiology resident availability on first-case staffing

Abstract Background Anesthesia departments start an agreed-upon number of locations each workday. For academic departments, variability in the number of anesthesiology residents available to start the first cases each day affects hiring and staff scheduling. These decisions depend on the median number of available residents and variability among days. We analyzed the number of residents starting first-cases of the day over a 13.5-year interval to provide quantitative data to guide long-term decision-making related to hiring other anesthesia providers (e.g., nurse anesthetists, anesthesia assistants). Methods We obtained electronic data from an academic hospital's anesthesia information management system to determine the number of cases started by anesthesiology residents and other anesthesia providers. We assessed variability among days using quartile regression with clustering by 6-month period. Results From 2006 through 2018, the annual number of anesthetics increased progressively from 31,559 to 44,981. The percentage of all cases started by residents decreased from 38.4% to 21.4%, as did the number of cases started during regular workdays (-9.7 [SE 2.9] cases per year, P = 0.008). The number of resident days starting a first-case was unchanged. On half the days (0.5 quartile), the percentage of full-time equivalent residents who started a first-case was 36.5% during July to December periods and 32.8% during January to June periods (difference = 3.7%, SE 0.7%, P Conclusions The fraction of anesthesiology residents starting first-cases on regular workdays remained stable over 13.5 years, but there was considerable day to day variability. For long-term staffing purposes, we suggest relying on the first quartile of residents starting first-cases (rounded down) as a strategy to calculate the number of anesthesia providers required each day to staff the first cases of the day.
97 – Rare Stroke

Publisher Summary Rare causes of stroke can be broadly categorized into embolic, vascular, hematologic, or other miscellaneous medical conditions. These diseases are more often diagnosed as causes of cerebral ischemia in young stroke patients. Myocardial hypokinesis due to cardiomyopathy is a frequent cause of embolic stroke and results from intracardiac stasis of blood and formation of a mural thrombus. Some rare causes of cardiomyopathy associated with embolic stroke include viral infections, diphtheria, typhoid, trypanosomiasis, toxoplasmosis, amyloidosis, inherited myocardial hypertrophy, chemotherapy, hemochromatosis, glycogen storage diseases, muscular dystrophy, immunologic disorders, nutritional deficiencies, sarcoidosis, toxins, and collagen vascular diseases. Embolic stroke occurs less commonly with restrictive or hypertrophic cardiomyopathies than with dilated cardiomyopathy. Transient ischemia and stroke due to rotational occlusion of the vertebral artery, unassociated with chiropractic manipulation, has also been reported. The surgical intervention to remove the source of mechanical compression has occasionally been reported to produce symptomatic relief.
2019 clinical trials in lipid lowering.

Purpose of review Lipid-lowering therapies play a major role in reducing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). This article reviews the most recent lipid-lowering therapy trials, many of which provide a unique opportunity to further reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels and ASCVD risk on top of statin therapy, and in doing so further decrease the number of future major adverse cardiovascular events. Recent findings Although statin therapy has been the mainstay of treatment for lowering LDL-C levels for many years, many individuals require additional or alternative options for further reducing their risk. Trials on previously studied therapies, such as PCSK9 inhibitors, and new therapies, including inclisiran, bempedoic acid and icosapent ethyl demonstrate significant potential for further lowering of LDL-C levels and risk for events on top of maximally tolerated statin therapy with favourable side effect profiles. Summary As therapies for ASCVD prevention continue to emerge, clinicians will need to identify the appropriate treatment for individuals based on their estimated risk and risk-enhancing factors. When statin therapy is either not sufficient or patients do not tolerate adequate statin therapy, relying on newer therapies, such as PCSK9-inhibitors, inclisiran, bempedoic acid and icosapent ethyl, will be critical to maximize risk factor profiles to reduce adverse outcomes.
Fetal hemoglobin production in cultures of primitive and mature human erythroid progenitors: differentiation affects the quantity of fetal hemoglobin produced per fetal-hemoglobin-containing cell

Single-cell microscopic immunodiffusion assays were used to determine the cellular mechanisms that regulate fetal hemoglobin (HbF) levels in cultures of primitive and late erythroid precursors obtained from human adult bone marrow. Two variables--the percentage of cells containing HbF (F cells) and the picograms (pg) of HbF/F cell--were assayed in cells derived from erythroid colony-forming units (CFU-E) and from erythroid burst-forming units (BFU-E) at 7 and 14 days in culture, respectively. The percentage of F cells among all nucleated cells from CFU-E-derived colonies (29.4% +/- 12.5%, mean +/- SD) was not significantly different (p = 0.2) from the percentage of F cells from BFU-E-derived bursts (37.3% +/- 10.1%). Serial daily assays of all cells in cultures on days 3 through 7 and on day 14 revealed a marked increase in F cells between days 4 and 6 in culture. The average amount of HbF/F cell was less in CFU-E-derived F cells than in BFU-E-derived cells (3.5 +/- 0.3 pg versus 6.2 +/- 3.3 pg; p less than 0.01), while adult hemoglobin (HbA) levels in CFU-E-and BFU-E-derived cells remained comparable (19.9 +/- 2.2 pg versus 21.9 +/- 5.3 pg, p = 0.3). These findings indicate that F cell number in culture is not significantly influenced by the relative maturity of the erythroid precursors from which the cells are derived. Differences in the levels of HbF between CFU-E-and BFU-E-derived cells are due to differences in the amount of HbF per F cell, not F cell number.
Electronic Engine Control

Electronics in the automobile has a relatively long history beginning with the installation of AM radio receivers in automobiles. There has been essentially an orderly, continuous evolution from the earlier vacuum tube autoradios to the latest complex automotive entertainment systems employing microprocessors.
Impact of in situ current stressing on Sn-based solder joint shear stability

This paper reports experimental observations showing that a current flow produces an effect of strengthening a solder joint against a shear load. This conclusion is found from a single-joint shear test conducted on Sn–1Ag–0.5Cu wt% (SAC 105) joints with in situ current stressing varied from 700 to 1400 A/cm2 at room temperature. To isolate the current effect from the Joule heat effect, the same type of tests were conducted at room temperature, 40, 50, and 80 °C, without current applied to the joint, thus mimicking the condition of steady-state temperature resulting from Joule heating. Comparative testing was also conducted after aging the samples at 150 °C for 200 h. These tests produced indications suggesting that the current flow causes the maximum shear load to increase, while the rise in temperature by the Joule heat effect results in the opposite effect. Experimentally, as much as a 9.5% increase in the maximum shear load was observed from the isothermally aged sample tested under a current density of 700 A/cm2, while an ~ 25% reduction was estimated to result from a temperature increase by Joule heating. The potential mechanism for these observations is discussed.
Remediation for NCLEX-RN success in high-risk nursing students

Abstract Background: The National Council Licensure Exam (NCLEX-RN) pass rate is often used as a measurement to determine a successful undergraduate nursing program. Students that are not successful in the first attempt of taking this exam are statistically unlikely to pass on the second attempt. Purpose: To determine if the implementation of a prescribed remediation protocol would improve undergraduate baccalaureate predictor scores for passing the NCLEX-RN exam on the first attempt for high-risk students. Methods: A retrospective cohort study design was used to compare scores of nursing students after a prescribed remediation protocol was instituted. Results: A one-way ANOVA test was conducted to compare the effect of a remediation policy on nursing students enrolled in an undergraduate nursing program. Remediation had a significant effect at the p Conclusion: A prescribed remediation protocol assisted students in achieving the necessary scores on the Comprehensive Predictor exam to increase their likelihood of success on NCLEX.
The Expressive Workplace Doctrine: Protecting the Public Discourse from Hostile Work Environment Actions

This paper reviews the hostile work environment suits that have been filed in expressive workplaces: workplaces that create, distribute or facilitate expression that is protected by the First Amendment. It concludes that these cases pose a danger to the public discourse at large by chilling offensive speech dealing with race, sex, gender and religion. Next, it explains how the hostile work environment action violates the First Amendment when it is applied to expressive workplaces, noting how the action does not fall under any of the recognized exceptions to First Amendment protection. Finally, it proposes that expressive workplaces be given a limited exemption from hostile work environment suits, subject to reasonable accommodation.
Transitions in Discrete Absorption Bands of Au130 Clusters upon Stepwise Charging by Spectroelectrochemistry.

Rich and tunable physicochemical properties make noble metal clusters promising candidates as novel nanomolecules for a variety of applications. Spectroelectrochemistry analysis is employed to resolve previously inaccessible electronic transitions in Au130 clusters stabilized by a monolayer of di- and monothiolate ligands. Well-defined quantized double-layer charging of the Au core and oxidizable ligands make this Au130 nanocluster unique among others and enable selective electrolysis to different core and ligand charge states. Subsequent analysis of the corresponding absorption changes reveals that different absorption bands originate from different electronic transitions involving both metal core energy states and ligand molecular orbitals. Besides the four discrete absorption bands in the steady-state UV–visible–near-IR absorption spectrum, additional transitions otherwise not detectable are resolved upon selective addition/removal of electrons at cores and ligand energy states, respectively, upon elec...
Stratified Deformation Space and Path Planning for a Planar Closed Chain with Revolute Joints

Given a linkage belonging to any of several broad classes (both planar and spatial), we have defined parameters adapted to a stratification of its deformation space (the quotient space of its configuration space by the group of rigid motions) making that space “practically piecewise convex”. This leads to great simplifications in motion planning for the linkage, because in our new parameters the loop closure constraints are exactly, not approximately, a set of linear inequalities. We illustrate the general construction in the case of planar nR loops (closed chains with revolute joints), where the deformation space (link collisions allowed) has one connected component or two, stratified by copies of a single convex polyhedron via proper boundary identification. In essence, our approach makes path planning for a planar nR loop essentially no more difficult than for an open chain.
Bayesians in Space: Using Bayesian Methods to Inform Choice of Spatial Weights Matrix in Hedonic Property Analyses

The choice of weights is a non-nested problem in most applied spatial econometric models. Despite numerous recent advances in spatial econometrics, the choice of spatial weights remains exogenously determined by the researcher in empirical applications. Bayesian techniques provide statistical evidence regarding the simultaneous choice of model specification and spatial weights matrices by using posterior probabilities. This paper demonstrates the Bayesian estimation approach in a spatial hedonic property model estimating the impacts of repeated wildfires on house prices in Southern California. We find that improper choice of spatial model and weights can result in up to 5% difference in estimated coefficients and in our case study up to a $15 Million difference in total benefits of reducing wildfires in Los Angeles County.
On the expressiveness of return-into-libc attacks

Return-into-libc (RILC) is one of the most common forms of code-reuse attacks. In this attack, an intruder uses a buffer overflow or other exploit to redirect control flow through existing (libc) functions within the legitimate program. While dangerous, it is generally considered limited in its expressive power since it only allows the attacker to execute straight-line code. In other words, RILC attacks are believed to be incapable of arbitrary computation--they are not Turing complete. Consequently, to address this limitation, researchers have developed other code-reuse techniques, such as return-oriented programming (ROP). In this paper, we make the counterargument and demonstrate that the original RILC technique is indeed Turing complete. Specifically, we present a generalized RILC attack called Turing complete RILC (TC-RILC) that allows for arbitrary computations. We demonstrate that TC-RILC satisfies formal requirements of Turing-completeness. In addition, because it depends on the well-defined semantics of libc functions, we also show that a TC-RILC attack can be portable between different versions (or even different families) of operating systems and naturally has negative implications for some existing anti-ROP defenses. The development of TC-RILC on both Linux and Windows platforms demonstrates the expressiveness and practicality of the generalized RILC attack.
Competing Across Boundaries: Technological Scope and Inter-Industry Convergence

Information technology industries are often characterized by fluid boundaries, wherein firms do not compete merely with others within their own industry, but face a competitive threat from companies in other adjacent industries. This is often driven by a change over time in the scope of capabilities associated with an underlying technology, and the move towards infrastructures that are more general purpose and platform-based. Recent examples of boundaries blurring include those between the mobile computing and cellular device industries, and between the cable television and wireline voice telephony industries. As a consequence, IT industries are not described well by standard models of imperfect competition, in which the costs of entry, the scope of a product and the boundaries between industries are immutable. We study this phenomenon by developing a model of competition across IT industries with strategic choices of technological scope by firms in neighboring industries. The choice of scope affects both the extent of product differentiation for incumbent IT firms as well as the fixed costs of entry by new ones. Our analysis establishes unique symmetric equilibrium choices of scope and price, both in the absence and the presence of potential competition caused by convergence from outside one's own industry. We show that the right strategic response to a threat of convergence may be to either deter convergence in their core industry, or accommodate it while entering the neighboring industry, and that technological scope is a central strategic variable in accommodation or deterrence. We establish that the benefits of convergence to consumers can be realized before the convergence across industries actually occurs, due to preemptive responses to the threat of convergence by firms within each industry. We analyze a game of bilateral inter-industry convergence to show how gradual progress in an underlying technology can result in radical switches between isolated industries and convergent industries equilibria, leading to the periodic and sudden shifts in industry concentration and firm profitability even in the absence of technological shocks. Such shifts have been observed during the competitive crash in the computer industry, and are likely to recur in the near future on account of voice and video convergence.
How Historical Concepts of Supervision Relate to Supervisory Practices Today

(1995). How Historical Concepts of Supervision Relate to Supervisory Practices Today. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas: Vol. 68, No. 5, pp. 320-325.
Fluorometric Measurement of Creatine Kinase Activity

The amount of creatine liberated in the creatine kinase reaction is conveniently measured by formation of a fluophor with ninhydrin in strongly alkaline solution. The method is rapid and sensitive. The incubation conditions developed are more nearly optimal than those in previous methods.
Structural brain abnormalities in aggression and violent behavior

Abstract The purpose of this review is to synthesize the existing research on the structural brain abnormalities among perpetrators of violence. While previous work has documented the functional brain correlates of aggressive behavior, insufficient attention has been paid to structural brain damage and abnormalities associated with violence perpetration. Thus, the present review consists of three domains that have been examined in the context of violence perpetration, namely, head injury, lesion, and structural neuroimaging studies. Findings from head-injury studies suggest that brain damage is associated with difficulties in decision making and affect regulation. Lesion studies suggest that lesions in the prefrontal, temporal and associated limbic structures are particularly important, while imaging studies emphasize the orbitofrontal cortex as an area of influence. Overall conclusions include strong evidence from all three domains that damage or reductions in frontal areas of the brain and connected regions are associated with violence and aggression. Discussion of the clinical implications of existing findings, and suggestions for future studies is included.
A workforce design model: providing energy to organizations in transition

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the change in performance realized by a professional services organization, which resulted in the Life Giving Workforce Design (LGWD) model through a grounded theory research design. This study produced a workforce design model characterized as an organizational blueprint that provides virtuous values to an open system in such a way to generate boundless energy to coordinate, motivate and stimulate human capital in accomplishing organizational objectives. The model represents an organizational strategy and structure that builds upon four primary disciplines – liberating leadership, authentic engagement, appreciative culture and sustainable systems – and encompasses each discipline's corresponding operational practices. The operational practices were formulated to operationalize the model and to provide specific actionable tasks that would be meaningful to managerial practitioners. The potential utility and adaptability of the LGWD model and its related practices provides an organizational configuration maximizing the proficient use of human capital in the advancement of managerial objectives. The LGWD suggests that a collaborative correlation of the four disciplines, through the activation of operational practices, assists in the creation of a workforce that is self-engaging and an organization that is effective, productive, and successful. The main conclusions of this study are that specific organizational characteristics and conditions inspire human capital to flourish and contribute in organizational effectiveness. The model advocates that effective and efficient use of human capital is a prerequisite to improving corporate performance as measured by enhanced revenues, increased operating profits, improved employee retention, and superior client relations.
A Correlation of Bulk Moduli and P-V-T Data for Silicone Fluids at Pressures up to 500,000 psig

The increased sophistication of hydraulic systems along with the advancement of elastohydrodynamics and high pressure metal forming techniques has created a need for more complete bulk moduli and P-V-T data. By correlation of the available data on silicones, a generalized relationship for this class of fluids is determined for bulk modulus as a function of pressure, temperature, and density of the fluid at atmospheric pressure and 77F. Thus, density and bulk modulus for most silicone fluids may be predicted at temperatures from 32F to 400F and pressures up to 500,000 psig. For most silicone fluids only the density at atmospheric pressure and 77F is needed beforehand. A few exceptions are listed for which the correlation is applicable with minor modifications. The average deviation of the predicted values of bulk moduli from the experimental data is 1%. Presented at the 23rd ASLE Annual Meeting in Cleveland, May 6–9, 1968.
Variable presentation of Rothmund‐Thomson syndrome

The recent finding that a subset of patients with Rothmund-Thomson syndrome (RTS) have mutations of a helicase gene has prompted reexamination of the phenotypes of individuals diagnosed with this disorder. We report on two patients with variable presentations of RTS. Initial presenting symptoms included growth deficiency and absent thumbs in one patient and osteogenic sarcoma and poikiloderma in the second patient. The growth-deficient patient was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency and had a subnormal response to growth hormone supplementation. Neither malformations nor growth deficiency were present in the patient with osteogenic sarcoma, and her only other manifestation of RTS was poikiloderma. The diagnosis of RTS should be considered in all patients with osteogenic sarcoma, particularly if associated with skin changes.
Biosynthesis of emulsan biopolymers from agro-based feedstocks.

Aims: The need for biocompatible, biodegradable, and versatile biopolymers permeates many fields including environmental and food technology. The goal of the study presented here is to establish the utility of agricultural oils as an inexpensive carbon source to produce materials useful for biomedical materials and offer positive attributes in terms of green chemistry. Methods and Results: Structural variants of the complex acylated polysaccharide, emulsan, secreted from Acinetobacter venetianus RAG-1, were biosynthesized in cultures supplemented with agricultural feedstocks to examine the feasibility of conversion of these substrates into value-added biopolymers. Acinetobacter venetianus produced chemically and biologically distinct emulsan variants in culture on soy molasses and tallow oil. These variants possess significant biological function, including macrophage activation and adjuvant activity, in similar range to that observed for the standard emulsan formed on ethanol-fed A. venetianus. Conclusions: The results indicate that this novel family of biopolymers can be produced in significant quantities from the readily available renewable agricultural feedstocks and the resulting structures and functions can be correlated to the chemistry of these feedstocks. Significance and Impact of the Study: The significant quantities of agricultural oils produced annually represent an untapped source for bioconversion to valuable products. The results of this study confirm that the important polymer emulsan can be synthesized from this inexpensive carbon source.
In silico molecular modeling of neuraminidase enzyme H1N1 avian influenza virus and docking with zanamivir ligands

Abstract Objective Neuraminidase is an enzyme aspartic protease that is essential for the life cycle of H1N1. Methods Constructed a model of Neuraminidase enzyme the 3D structure as template using with Modeller software. The Neuraminidase enzyme model was predicted and validated by Procheck, What check, Errat, Verify-3D and AutoDock web server for reliability. Results The Modeller homology-modeling algorithm was demonstrated excellent accuracy in blind predictions. The Neuraminidase enzyme model built with little, 35% identity could be accurate enough to be successfully used in receptor based rational drug design. The closest homologue with the highest sequence identity 100% was selected. Zanamivir drug and analogues were retrieved from PubChem database, as well as subjected to docking interaction with Neuraminidase enzyme used AutoDock programme. Based on the root mean square deviation and lowest binding energy values the best docking orientation was selected. The better lowest binding energy value −6.91 was selected of CID_25209232. Conclusions This study will be used in broad screening of inhibitors of the protein. However, further implemented experimental and clinical verification is needed to establishment these analogues as drug.
Whole saliva and the diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome: an evaluation of patients who complain of dry mouth and dry eyes. Part 2: Immunologic findings.

UNLABELLED Sjogren's syndrome (SS) is a multisystem, autoimmune disease characterised by generalised desiccation, exocrine hypofunction and serologic abnormalities. Last year we showed that the antibodies which are quasi-specific for diagnosis of SS, anti SS-A/Ro and anti SS-B/La, were present in the saliva of patients with this disease. OBJECTIVE To determine their presence in patients who complain of dry mouth and dry eyes. SETTING The study was conducted at the School of Dental Medicine, SUNY at Stony Brook. PATIENTS There were 49 patients (Mean Age = 54 +/- 13 years). TESTS Serum was analysed for the SS and other antibodies with "Western Blot Autoantibody Strips". RESULTS The findings showed that there was a strong correlation between the presence of the SS antibodies in the serum and the saliva. The SS antibodies were primarily found in the saliva of the patients whose resting and stimulated, whole saliva, flow rates were abnormally low. Antibodies to other autoimmune disease (lupus, scleroderma and mixed connective tissue disease) were also found in whole saliva. CONCLUSIONS The findings in Part 1 of this study, of patients who had complained of dry mouth and dry eyes, suggest that those patients, who demonstrated low resting and stimulated flow rates and had lacrimal hypofunction, suffered from SS. The observation in this paper, that the whole saliva of these patients contains the SS antibodies, confirms this diagnosis. The data suggest that whole saliva can be used to establish the diagnosis of SS and other autoimmune diseases.
Programs for the Gifted in Mathematics.

The author's experiences demonstrate the value of university support and involvement with teaching the gifted.
The interaction between Bacillus subtilis sigma-A (σA) factor and RNA polymerase with promoters

Abstract The P2 promoter from Bacillus subtilis sigma-A (σA) operon and the strong O29 phage G3b promoter were used to study their interactions with free σA and with RNA polymerase holeenzymes (EσA and Eσ70). No binding of free σA to the tested promoters was observed, suggesting that the B subtilis free σA does not bind promoter by itself for the initiation of RNA transcription. Different footprints of B subtilis RNA polymerase holoenzyme (EσA) on the P2 and G3b promoters were detected. The footprint on the P2 promoter is mainly in the −10 downstream region of the bottom strand (noncoding strand) DNA and limited on the top strand (coding strand), whereas the footprints on both strands of the G3b promoter are very clear. These results suggest that the footprint regions of RNA polymerase on a promoter and the strength of its binding to the promoter depend on the properties of the specific promoter DNA sequence. It also suggests that the −10 and its downstream regions are more important than the −35 region for the formation of the EσA-P2 promoter open complex. Footprints of B subtilis EσA and E coli Eσ70 on the same G3b promoter are very similar on the top strand but different on the bottom strand, with the footprint being about 17 bases wider (−4 to +13) in the case of E coli Eσ70. Since this region contains most of the basesinvolved in promoter DNA melting, we suggest that E coli and B subtilis RNA polymerases have different efficiency in forming the open complex with heterologous promoter DNA during initiation of transcription.
Ca2+-permeable AMPA (α-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic Acid) Receptors and Dopamine D1 Receptors Regulate GluA1 Trafficking in Striatal Neurons

Regulation of striatal medium spiny neuron synapses underlies forms of motivated behavior and pathological drug seeking. A primary mechanism for increasing synaptic strength is the trafficking of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors (AMPARs) into the postsynapse, a process mediated by GluA1 AMPAR subunit phosphorylation. We have examined the role of converging glutamate and dopamine inputs in regulating biochemical cascades upstream of GluA1 phosphorylation. We focused on the role of Ca2+-permeable AMPARs (CPARs), which lack the GluA2 AMPAR subunit. Under conditions that prevented depolarization, stimulation of CPARs activated neuronal nitric oxide synthase and production of cGMP. CPAR-dependent cGMP production was sufficient to induce synaptic insertion of GluA1, detected by confocal microscopy, through a mechanism dependent on GluA1 Ser-845 phosphorylation. Dopamine D1 receptors, in contrast, stimulate GluA1 extra synaptic insertion. Simultaneous activation of dopamine D1 receptors and CPARs induced additive increases in GluA1 membrane insertion, but only CPAR stimulation augmented CPAR-dependent GluA1 synaptic insertion. This incorporation into the synapse proceeded through a sequential two-step mechanism; that is, cGMP-dependent protein kinase II facilitated membrane insertion and/or retention, and protein kinase C activity was necessary for synaptic insertion. These data suggest a feed-forward mechanism for synaptic priming whereby an initial stimulus acting independently of voltage-gated conductance increases striatal neuron excitability, facilitating greater neuronal excitation by a subsequent stimulus.
Does the Milky Way launch a large-scale wind?

The ROSAT All-Sky Survey revealed soft X-ray emission on kiloparsec scales towards the Galactic center. Separately, it has also been observed that the cosmic ray intensity (measured via γ-ray emission) rises only very slowly towards the center of the Galaxy, counter to expectations based on the greater number of cosmic ray sources there. A thermal and cosmic-ray driven wind could potentially explain both of these observations. We find that a cosmic-ray and thermally driven wind fits the X-ray observations well; in fact, a wind fits significantly better than an earlier-proposed static-polytrope gas model.
On crack path selection and the interface fracture energy in bimaterial systems

The intent of this article is to apply recent solutions for the mechanics of cracks at and near bimaterial interfaces to rationalize crack trajectories observed by experiment and to provide a basis for interpreting measurements of the interface fracture energy, Γi. It is demonstrated that the choice of test specimen governs the tendency of cracks to either remain at interfaces or deviate away, based on considerations of the phase angle of loading, ψ. It is further revealed that the measured interface fracture energy may be strongly influenced by the crack trajectory, as governed by ψ, through crack shielding and plasticity effects. Consequently, interfaces do not typically have unique fracture energies, but instead Γi depends on ψ which, in turn, is influenced by the test method.
(+/-)-1-Methyl-1,3,6-triphenyl-7-(2-phenylpropenyl)-1,2-dihydronaphthalene.

The crystal structure of the title compound, C38H32, presents a novel framework that combines the functionalities of a 1,6-diarene-substituted 1,2-dihydro­naphthalene (DHN) with a 1,4-distyrylbenzene (DSB) to form a crossed bis-diarene. The lamellar crystal structure is held together by arene–arene inter­actions. While the orientations of the phenyl rings of the DSB units alternate within both the R and the S substructures, the homochiral substructures feature opposing polarity along the long axes of the DHN-based diarenes.
GFA expression in aggregating cultures of rat C6 glioma

Few C6 glioma cells synthesize the astroglia-specific GFA protein in monolayer culture. A uniform population of GFA-positive cells was obtained by aggregating C6 cells in suspension culture, as previously reported for C6 glioma maintained on sponge foam matrices. These results strongly suggest that cell-to-cell interactions promote GFA expression.
Novel approach for implementing convolutions with small tables

We present a new algorithm, ‘the one over eight squared algorithm’, which can be useful in computing tasks with convolutional complexity, such as convolutions, correlations and complex multiplications. The new algorithm reduces the address space requirement and hardware investment for table lookup implementations of such tasks from 22n to 2n where n is the width of the operands. Owing to considerable reduction in the required table size, convolutions and correlations with table lookups can be cost-effectively extended to wider operands.
The Influence of Gender on the Performance of Organizational Citizenship Behaviors

This paper examines the relationship between gender and reports of organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). Drawing on gender role theory, I examine the effects of employee gender (male/female), gender orientation (masculine/feminine) and gender-dominated occupational choice (nurse/engineer) on OCBs. I hypothesize relationships between gender and the performance of gender-congruent OCBs, i.e., female-typed altruism and male-typed civic virtue. The results demonstrate significant differences in line with traditional gender roles. Implications are discussed.
Spin-polarization-induced structural selectivity in Pd3X and Pt3X (X=3d) compounds.

Spin polarization is known to lead to important magnetic and optical effects in open-shell atoms and elemental solids, but has rarely been implicated in controlling structural selectivity in compounds and alloys. Here we show that spin-polarized electronic structure calculations are crucial for predicting the correct $T\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}0$ crystal structures for ${\mathrm{Pd}}_{3}X$ and ${\mathrm{Pt}}_{3}X$ compounds. Spin polarization leads to (i) stabilization of the ${L1}_{2}$ structure over the ${D0}_{22}$ structure in ${\mathrm{Pt}}_{3}\mathrm{Cr}$, ${\mathrm{Pd}}_{3}\mathrm{Cr}$, and ${\mathrm{Pd}}_{3}\mathrm{Mn}$, (ii) stabilization of the ${D0}_{22}$ structure over the ${L1}_{2}$ structure in ${\mathrm{Pd}}_{3}\mathrm{Co}$, and (iii) ordering (rather than phase separation) in ${\mathrm{Pt}}_{3}\mathrm{Co}$ and ${\mathrm{Pd}}_{3}\mathrm{Cr}$. The results are analyzed in terms of first-principles local spin density calculations.
Effect of ozone on softening enzymes, sorbate, pigment and bacteria in recycled pickle brine

The effects of ozone (O 3 ) introduced into recycled cucumber pickle brines on cellulase (Cx) and polygalacturonase (PG) activities, potassium sorbate, color and bacteria content were examined. Cx and PG were effectively inactivated by O 3 . The amount of O 3 required to inactivate a large range of Cx and PG activities was about 176 to 246 μg/ml of recycled brine that was added in 10-14 min. The O 3 treatments also destroyed potassium sorbate and bacteria in the recycled brines. While being treated with O 3 , brine color faded as measured at 400 nm, and after exposure to O 3 , the color gradually returned to its original absorbance. Utilization of O 3 provides an alternative method of inactivating Cx and PG in recycled pickle brines; however, the effects of O 3 treated brines on cucumber fermentation and subsequent pickle quality must also be evaluated prior to implementing commercial treatments
Decomposing non-rigid cell motion via kinematic skeletonization

Considering that most cells have an intricate spatial organization to their components and biological processes, it is beneficial to express sub-cellular positions and displacements in coordinates relative to the enclosing cell. This spatial context is often more meaningful than that of the microscope field of view in which a cell is observed. However, defining such a cell coordinate system can be difficult for cells which are moving rapidly and changing shape, requiring that one define a moving frame of reference to which measurements can be transformed.
Acute repeated nicotine injections increase enkephalin and decrease AP-1 DNA binding activity in rat adrenal medulla

Previously we reported that a single injection of nicotine decreased AP-1 DNA binding activity in adrenal medullae, although chronic bidaily nicotine (and saline) injections increased this binding activity [15]. Repeated acute nicotine injections (3 mg/kg i.p., 7 injections equi-spaced over a 3 h period) effectively increased adrenal tyrosine hydroxylase [3] and [Met5]enkephalin levels and also profoundly decreased adrenal medulla AP-1 DNA binding activity for over 8 h.
On why public servants must cultivate their own watchdogs

Purpose – The article seeks to argue for an engaged civil service to foster a vibrant citizenry, essential in and of itself to sustain democracy especially during a time of turmoil.Design/methodology/approach – The article is based on an extensive review of the literature.Findings – Using the US as an example, the author argues that citizens have traditionally engaged in public life when political elites developed the infrastructure required for mass participation. Political elites no longer have an incentive to do so, as they can now pursue their agenda more efficiently through other means. The resulting decline in opportunities for social learning, however, highlights the importance of reinvigorating civil society to one remaining category of political elite – public servants.Originality/value – A critical review, the article reaffirms the negative consequences of declining civil society at a time when increasingly complex public problems, such as those posed by the global financial and economic crisis,...
Geopotential Research Mission: Status Report

The Geopotential Research Mission (GRM) is a planned NASA mission that promises to produce significant improvements in our knowledge and understanding of the Earth's gravity and geomagnetic fields. This paper gives a description of this mission and discusses some of the engineering investigations that are being conducted to make improvements in the current spacecraft configuration.
Stent redilation in canine models of congenital heart disease: Pulmonary artery stenosis and coarctation of the aorta

In a canine puppy model, pulmonary artery stenosis was created by banding the left pulmonary artery to 30-40% of its original diameter. Animals underwent right heart catheterization and angiography 1-2 mo later, and Palmaz P308 stents were implanted. Stent redilation was performed 3-5 mo later. One mo postredilation, the animals were restudied and sacrificed. Coarctations of the aorta were created by transverse aortic incision and longitudinal repair. P308 stent implantation was performed 2-3 mo later. Stent redilation was performed after 6-10 mo, and the animals were restudied and sacrificed 1-2 mo later. Stent implantation was performed in 6 puppies with pulmonary artery stenosis, as 2 animals developed postoperative pulmonary arterial hypoplasia, precluding stenting. The stenosis diameter increased from 4.8 +/- 0.5 mm to 7.4 +/- 0.6 mm (mean +/- SE) following stenting (P = 0.005), and increased further to 9.2 +/- 0.7 mm following redilation (P < 0.001). There were no significant vessel tears or ruptures. Coarctation stenting was performed in 8 animals. The coarctation was dilated from 5.8 +/- 0.9 mm to 9.8 +/- 0.6 mm (P < 0.001), and to 13.5 +/- 0.5 mm at redilation (P = 0.002). Redilation could not be performed in 1 animal. Aortic rupture and death occurred in 2 of 7 animals at redilation. Stent implantation and redilation in experimental pulmonary artery stenosis appears safe and effective. Though stent implantation for coarctation of the aorta appears safe, there was a 28% aortic rupture rate at stent redilation in this model.