cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The impact of intravenous acetaminophen on pain after abdominal surgery: a meta-analysis.

Abstract Background Pain after surgery is commonly controlled with opioid pain medications. A multi-modal pain strategy that involves acetaminophen may help minimize the negative consequences of opioids, such as ileus, respiratory depression, and addictive potential. There are limited data on the effectiveness of intravenous (IV) acetaminophen in comparison with other nonopioid pain medications. Materials and methods Four databases were queried for the keywords “acetaminophen,” “intravenous,” and “postoperative”. Prospective studies of adult patients receiving at least 24 h of IV acetaminophen after intraabdominal surgery were analyzed for 12- and 24-h pain scores and 24-h narcotic consumption. A random effects model was performed using mean differences and 95% confidence intervals to assess the effect of IV acetaminophen on outcomes. Heterogeneity was assessed using χ2 and the I2 statistics. Results Seventeen articles were identified that complied with inclusion and exclusion criteria. There was no significant difference in 24-h pain scores between IV acetaminophen and any other comparator, or in secondary endpoints of 12-h pain scores and 24-h narcotic consumption. Subgroup analysis demonstrated significant benefit for IV acetaminophen in open surgeries for decreased 24-h narcotic consumption. When analyzing individual medications, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs demonstrated the largest reduction in 24-h narcotic consumption. Data were of moderate quality and demonstrated significant heterogeneity between studies. Conclusions The lack of significant differences in primary endpoints may be explained by the heterogeneous, moderate-quality data. However, subgroup analyses suggested IV acetaminophen may be advantageous in open surgeries, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may lower the 24-h narcotic requirement.
Cancer Therapy by Ultrasound

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on cancer therapy by ultrasound. Several physical properties of ultrasound make it desirable for inducing local hyperthermia: well-columnated beams can be produced making good localization of energy deposition possible, (2) ultrasound can be focused, (3) absorption is proportional to frequency and therefore, treatment depth can be altered to some extent by using different frequencies, and (4) absorption in fat is less than in soft tissues and thus, there is no difficulty as a result of excess heating of the subcutaneous fat layer. Several limitations to deep heating with ultrasound are apparent from physical considerations: (1) ultrasound is reflected at tissue-air interfaces and thus, it can neither be used to heat tumors in lung nor to heat a tumor behind gas-filled bowel, and (2) there is also a large impedance mismatch between bone and adjacent soft tissue. This causes reflection and scatter of ultrasonic energy resulting in excess heating of periosteum and soft tissue near bone and in shadowing of structures behind bone.
FRIENDLY HOMES: A SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY

ABSTRACT Friendly Homes is a cooperative community in a rural Kentucky setting which is to be food and energy self sufficient. It is located on 115 acres of rolling Madison County farmland (36° N) and consists of 116 dwelling units with supporting community facilities to be built over a ten year period. Started by a group of retired people, it is a Utopian model for a sustainable future. The “Seniors” live on fixed incomes, and over the years have built up savings and equity in their present homes. From these resources, they are able to provide the capital for the construction of the community. Younger community members will do the construction, grow the food and provide the services required by the community, receiving wages and building equity in their homes and in the community. Because of this internal economy, the quality of life will remain uncompromised even though the community is to be built at low cost. To complement this unusual economic and social structure, it was necessary to design an architectural counterform which was generated from the same sorts of values. During the process of designing Friendly Homes, it was discovered that a number of low energy approaches become possible as well as economical at the integrative community scale which are not possible at smaller scales. Such concepts as the Hillside annual cycle passive solar heating system, the conditioned Village Walk, and the methane digester/sewage disposal system are all very cost effective at Friendly Homes, but would be in appropriate in a smaller project. Indeed it appears that many widely scattered approaches in alternate energy integrate very naturally within the framework of a cooperative community. This seems to be just the right scale and structure for appropriate technology to provide the dwelling counterform for the sustainable towns of the future.
Chapter 7 – Nanotechnology safety in the aerospace industry

Abstract Nanomaterials, which take the form of particles, tubes, films, composites, wires, flakes, and fibers, are used for various purposes in the aerospace industry because of their extraordinary physiochemical properties. Some nanomaterials can enter the human body via inhalation, ingestion, and/or skin contact during the fabrication, machining, transportation, and assembly of components, and they can stay in the body for a long period of time. Because nanomaterials are composed of different compounds with various surface areas, sizes, shapes, surface charges, and energies, they can interact with human tissue, damage or kill cells and organs, block blood flow, and cause serious illnesses. This chapter discusses the application of nanomaterials in the aerospace industry, the health and safety issues related to nanomaterials, and the methods of protection used against their harmful effects.
Modulated Signals and Their Power Spectral Densities

Modulation is a process where the message information is embedded into the radio carrier. Message information can be transmitted in the amplitude, frequency, or phase of the carrier, or a combination of these, in either analog or digital form. For mobile radio applications it is desirable to use bandwidth and power resources most efficiently. The primary objective of bandwidth and power efficient modulation is to maximize the bandwidth efficiency, measured in bits/s/Hz, while achieving a prescribed bit error probability with a minimum expenditure of power resources. Good bit error rate performance must be achieved in the presence of a variety of channel impairments including fading, Doppler spread, intersymbol interference, adjacent and co-channel interference, and thermal noise. Furthermore, portable and mobile radio transmitters normally use power efficient nonlinear amplifiers to conserve battery resources. Because of the amplifier nonlinearities, modulation techniques with a relatively constant envelope are often used. All first generation cellular systems used analog FM. However, the pressing need for greater bandwidth efficiency has lead to the use of digital modulation techniques in second generation digital cellular standards. The North American IS-54 and Japanese PDC systems use π/4-DQPSK, the European GSM system uses Gaussian minimum shift keying (GSMK), and the Motorola Integrated Radio System (MIRS) uses orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM).
Elizabeth Gaskell: Investment Cultures and Global Contexts

This chapter investigates the financial networks that influenced Gaskell’s early life, including the business activities of her extended family in relation to the financial plots in Mary Barton, Ruth, Cranford, North and South, Sylvia’s Lovers and Wives and Daughters. Gaskell’s investments in docks, railways and real estate demonstrate that her critique of capitalism was complicated by the investments upon which she depended to support herself and her daughters. Shifting the critical and biographical focus away from Manchester and toward Gaskell’s rich explorations of other communities such as Liverpool, Wales and Whitby, Henry emphasizes the importance of familial, economic networks to her identity and her fiction.
What is Flint? Place, storytelling, and social media narrative reclamation during the Flint water crisis

The Flint Water Crisis became a national news story in January of 2016, when major publishers such as The New York Times began covering the story. In the same month, an influx of social media activ...
TRS2P PREDICTS MORTALITY AFTER MI IN YOUNG ADULTS: FROM THE PARTNERS YOUNG-MI REGISTRY

Several risk scores exist to predict outcomes among patients who experienced a myocardial infarction (MI), however none have been validated in young adults. We evaluated the role of the TIMI risk score for secondary prevention (TRS2°P), a 9-point risk stratification tool for predicting recurrent CV
The coordinate actions of calcineurin and Hog1 mediate the response to cellular stress through multiple nodes of the cell cycle network

Summary Upon exposure to environmental stressors, cells transiently arrest the cell cycle while they adapt and restore homeostasis. A challenge for all cells is to distinguish between diverse stress signals and coordinate the appropriate adaptive response with cell cycle arrest. Here we investigate the role of the stress-activated phosphatase calcineurin (CN) in this process and show that CN utilizes multiple pathways to control the cell cycle. Upon activation, CN inhibits transcription factors (TFs) that regulate the G1/S transition through activation of the stress-activated MAPK Hog1. In contrast, CN inactivates G2/M TFs through a combination of Hog1-dependent and -independent mechanisms. These findings demonstrate that CN and Hog1 act in a coordinated manner at multiple nodes of the cell cycle-regulatory network to rewire gene expression and arrest cells in response to stress. Our results suggest that crosstalk between CN and stress-activated MAPKs helps cells tailor their adaptive responses to specific stressors.
P490 Incidence and 5 years survival rates of childhood cancer diagnosed less than 1 year old in Ireland 2007–2017

Introduction Childhood cancer is the second commonest cause of death in children in developed countries. Childhood cancer survival rates has improved over the last decade with the advancement of diagnostic procedures and continuous improvement of multimodal treatment strategies. According to the National Cancer Registry of Ireland, an average of 137 cancers were diagnosed per year in children under the age of 15 between 1994 and 2014. The 5-year overall survival rate for this entire cohort was 81%. It is well documented that survival rates in paediatric oncology vary depending on specific cancer diagnosis, age of the patient at diagnosis and disease stage. Aim We describe the incidence of cancer in very young children and the influence of age on outcome in children diagnosed with cancer in Ireland under the age of 1 between 2007–2017. Method Data were extracted from the database of the National Children’s Cancer Service (NCCS) based at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Dublin. The data presented refer to the International Classification of Childhood Cancer (ICCC) version 3 with the inclusion of Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (LCH). Result 185 patients were diagnosed with paediatric cancer under the age of 1 at the time of their initial diagnosis. 159 (85.5%) patients were diagnosed with solid tumours or LCH. 86 (46.5%) were male. The average age at diagnosis was 5.24 (range 0–12) months. 19 (10.3%) patients were diagnosed following an abnormal antenatal scan. The most common cancers diagnosed were neuroblastoma (22.7%), CNS tumours (19.5%) and leukaemia (13.5%). 158 (85.5%) patients received treatment. 124 (78.4%) patients received chemotherapy as part of their treatment. 20 (12.7%) patients received radiotherapy. The mean age for radiotherapy was 1.35 years (range 0.17–4). 18 (9.7%) patients received stem cell transplant/rescue. The cumulative overall survival rate at 5 years is 80%. CNS tumours have the worst prognosis followed by leukaemias. 35 (18.9%) patients have relapsed during follow up, and 20 are alive in follow-up. Conclusion Incidence rates of specific paediatric cancer types vary according to the age at diagnosis. There is no difference in survival rates between children diagnosed with cancer under 1 year of age and older children. Outcomes at the NCCS compare favourably with international standards.
Quality of Life Dilemmas in Pediatric Patients with Epilepsy Residing in Long-Term Care Facilities

Children with chronic care or complex medical needs, such as epilepsy, depend on advocates to ensure their safety and well-being, a role typically filled by parents or extended family. Close participation to provide vital history and details is quintessential to help guide appropriate management decisions to ensure optimal neurodevelopmental outcome. However, when these vulnerable children are placed in the foster care system, their need for an advocate becomes even more paramount. Unfortunately, this can be lacking and can lead to a breakdown in their medical care. Their complex medical conditions often can be intimidating to most potential foster families and may result in placement in long-term care facilities. This, in turn, presents additional obstacles that can hinder optimal care such as lack of consistent, dedicated caretakers. This void not only impacts their outcome and medical care but also leads to excessive use of limited healthcare resources as well as unwanted adverse reactions that can be prevented if a reliable source of history is available. As a result, there is a need for dedicated resources to help provide devoted advocates for these vulnerable children.
Reciprocal Interactions between Bivalve Molluscs and Seagrass: A Review and Meta-Analysis

Both seagrasses and bivalves molluscs act as ecosystem engineers in marine systems by forming habitat or modifying environmental conditions. They also have the potential for reciprocal interactions when colocated, through a wide variety of potential mechanisms involving different directions in effect. Pathways mediated by biogenic structure could be facilitative through protection from predation or bioturbators, or by harboring beneficial interactors, or alternatively could result in competition for space or reduced food supply. Other pathways mediated by biological activity could positively link autotrophic roles of seagrass and heterotrophic roles of bivalves, but excessive organic matter production or nutrient release could be damaging. Published studies were compiled for a meta-analysis of field experiments testing bivalve response to seagrass (25 studies) and vice versa (11 studies), as well as for surveys of bivalves in and out of seagrass (39 studies). In experiments, seagrass improved bivalve survival, and bivalves at high cover reduced seagrass density, but seven other response metrics showed no consistent change. In surveys of particular bivalve species, densities were 1.6 times higher in seagrass than out of seagrass. This augmentation did not differ by body size but was especially pronounced in some functional groups, especially lucinid and solemyid bivalves harboring sulfide-oxidizing bacteria. Weak overall directional effects of colocation of seagrass and bivalves reflect weak effects in some individual studies, for instance because of low densities in soft-sediment systems, as well as strong but inconsistent effects because different pathways of interaction dominate. Therefore, generalizations about the outcome of interactions between these two ecosystem engineers when they are colocated cannot be made, although coexistence is typically enabled by weak or positive interactions. Further work is needed, especially outside of some well-studied regions, to explore the specific mechanisms and spatiotemporal scales enabling seagrasses and bivalves to coexist because there are many pathways at work.
Where the Dickens Are Melville’s Phrasal Verbs?

This study expands digital research in the humanities by using NooJ to examine Phrasal Verb (PV) usage in the complete works of the nineteenth-century British author Charles Dickens and his American counterpart Herman Melville. The goal is to ascertain if PVs are indeed a characteristic feature of early American English. To compare the PV usage of these two writers, we used a specially designed NooJ grammar, electronic dictionary, and a series of disambiguation grammars, adverbial and adjectival expression filters, and idiom dictionaries. Since usage could be attributed to subject matter, we analyzed usage per 1,000 words of text in the complete works of both Melville (1.3 million words) and Dickens (4 million words), obtained from Project Gutenberg. To avoid excessive noise, the NooJ PV dictionary was limited to 1,148 expressions using the particles out, up, down, away, back, and off. The NooJ platform successfully identified PVs with a precision of 98.8% for the novels of Dickens and an overall accuracy of 98.3% for the works of Melville. After eliminating this residual noise, we conclude that Dickens uses more PVs than Melville: 3.32 PVs per 1,000 words of text as compared to 2.49 PVs per 1,000 words of text.
Effect of ARTEMIS (DCLRE1C) deficiency and microinjection timing on editing efficiency during somatic cell nuclear transfer and in vitro fertilization using the CRISPR/Cas9 system.

Abstract The ability to efficiently introduce site-specific genetic modifications to the mammalian genome has been dramatically improved with the use of the CRISPR/Cas9 system. CRISPR/Cas9 is a powerful tool used to generate genetic modifications by causing double-strand breaks (DSBs) in DNA. Artemis (ART; also known as DCLRE1C), is a nuclear protein and is essential for DSB end joining in DNA repair via the canonical non-homologous end joining (c-NHEJ) pathway. In this work, we tested whether ART deficiency affects DNA repair following CRISPR/Cas9 induced DSBs in somatic cells. We also demonstrated the effect of microinjection timing on embryo developmental ability and gene targeting efficiency of CRISPR/Cas9 system to disrupt the interleukin 2 receptor subunit gamma (IL2RG) locus using porcine in vitro fertilization (IVF) and somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) derived embryos. In comparison to non-injected controls, CRISPR/Cas9 injection of IVF derived zygotes at 4 h and 8 h after fertilization did not impact cleavage and blastocyst rate. Gene modification rate was observed to be higher, 53.3% (9/16) in blastocysts injected 4 h post-fertilization as compared to 11.1% (1/9) in blastocysts injected 8 h post-fertilization. Microinjection 8 h after chemical activation of SCNT derived embryos decreased blastocyst development rate compared to non-injected controls but showed a higher gene modification efficiency of 66.7% as compared to 25% in the 4 h post-activation injection group. Furthermore, we observed that male ART-/- and ART+/- porcine fetal fibroblast (pFF) cells showed lower modification rates (2.5% and 1.9%, respectively) as compared to the ART intact cell line (8.3%). Interestingly, the female ART-/- and ART+/- pFF cells had modification rates (4.2% and 10.1%, respectively) similar to those seen in the ART intact cells. This study demonstrates the complex effect of various parameters such as microinjection timing and ART deficiency on gene editing efficiency in in vitro derived porcine embryos.
Methods for the Manipulation of Herpesvirus Genome and the Application to Marek's Disease Virus Research.

Herpesviruses are a group of double-strand DNA viruses that infect a wide range of hosts, including humans and animals. In the past decades, numerous methods have been developed to manipulate herpesviruses genomes, from the introduction of random mutations to specific genome editing. The development of genome manipulation methods has largely advanced the study of viral genes function, contributing not only to the understanding of herpesvirus biology and pathogenesis, but also the generation of novel vaccines and therapies to control and treat diseases. In this review, we summarize the major methods of herpesvirus genome manipulation with emphasis in their application to Marek’s disease virus research.
Special Event Impacts for Direct Stakeholders: Perspectives of Indonesia’s Independence Day Celebration

Indonesia’s Independence Day Celebration (IIDC) as one of great assets to attract better tourism development. The increase in the number of high visits is basically a potential that must continue to be developed. The IIDC has its own uniqueness and distinctive aspects for tourists to experience or participate. IIDC is celebrated throughout Indonesia with various cultural activities according to each province’s local wisdoms. This event is a national joy and certainly reoccurs annually. This study aims to discuss the importance of holding an event as a tourist attraction together with its impacts on direct stakeholders and how the event or festival of IIDC commemoration can be a sustainably profitable tourist attraction for Indonesia. This study used descriptive method, and the data collected through literature review taken from various sources such as academic books, journals, newspaper articles, and publication in electronics media. The results found that IIDC would serve as a potential sustainable tourist attraction which will breed great economic output as well as building better community-based tourism activities since it is celebrated annually. IIDC is considered a very special event which has the potential of boosting tourism development in Indonesia.
Context differentiation and remindings in episodic memory updating

Abstract Navigating an ever-changing environment requires memory updating to distinguish past events from more recent experiences. Memory updating is important for adapting to everyday changes such as a collaborators' new work routine or for correcting misinformation. An enduring puzzle in the study of episodic memory is that two apparently conflicting updating mechanisms can support memory for changes. One mechanism involves differentiating the contexts associated with representations of the past and the present to keep them separate and prevent them from interfering with each other. Another mechanism involves integrating representations of the past and present to encode the relationship between events and facilitate recent memories. In the present chapter, we selectively review key studies showing how these apparently conflicting updating mechanisms can both support memory for new information. Studies from the classic interference literature suggest that updating is supported by context differentiation occurring when more time passes between study episodes, learning occurs in separate locations, and thoughts between events shift to new contexts. In contrast, studies from the temporal memory literature suggest that new events can trigger remindings of previous events, allowing them both to be encoded as part of an integrated representation. To reconcile these conflicting findings, we advance the perspective that reinstating past contexts during study can impair or improve memory for changed information, depending on whether remindings enabled integrative encoding and later retrieval was recollection-based. Our work shows that this view accounts for remembering in several updating paradigms varying in their likeness to everyday situations.
Algorithms as Employees: Holding Corporations Accountable for Their Digital Workforce

The workforce is digitizing. Leading consultancies estimate that algorithmic systems will replace forty-five percent of human-held jobs by 2030. This is a well-documented and alarming trend for the millions of truckers, bankers, and line-workers whose jobs will become obsolete. But now that corporations are using algorithms like employees, another public threat that has received far less attention is also arising: a growing corporate accountability gap. One feature that algorithms share with the human employees they are replacing is their capacity to cause harm. Even today, algorithms discriminate against loan applicants, manipulate stock markets, collude over prices, and cause traffic deaths. Ordinarily, corporate employers would be responsible for these injuries, but the rules for assessing corporate liability arose at a time when only humans could act on behalf of corporations. Those rules apply awkwardly, if at all, to silicon. Some corporations have already discovered this legal loophole and are rapidly automating business functions to limit their own liability risk. This Article seeks a way to hold corporations accountable for the algorithmic harms of their digital workforce. It draws inspiration from responses to earlier corporate efforts to dodge liability by manipulating the formal boundary defining employment. For more than a century, corporations have sought to jilt victims and immunize themselves by shifting operations from employees to various non-employee laborers, like temps, contractors, and gig workers. Lawmakers and scholars have responded to each of these machinations by developing functional tests that recharacterize some of these workers as employees, thereby closing the corporate accountability gap. This Article proposes an analogous approach for algorithms: some algorithms should be treated, for liability purposes, as corporate employees. Drawing on existing functional characterizations of employment, the Article defines the concept of an “employed algorithm” as one over which a corporation exercises substantial control and from which it derives substantial benefits. If a corporation employs an algorithm that causes criminal or civil harm, the corporation should be liable just as if the algorithm were a human employee. This would allow plaintiffs and prosecutors to leverage existing, employee-focused liability rules to hold corporations accountable when the digital workforce transgresses.
Molecular Composition of Synaptic Junctions and Post-Synaptic Densities: A Functional Perspective

The development of subcellular methods to isolate central nervous system synapses and their subcomponents has made it possible to carry out detailed chemical analysis and to examine the capacities of the constituent molecules. The data gathered on the molecular structure and composition of synapses are making it possible to gain new insights into synapse development, maintenance and function. In this chapter we will first briefly review the molecular composition of isolated synaptic junctions and postsynaptic density fractions. We will then focus on the properties of synapse glycoproteins and receptor sites for excitatory neurotransmitters. Finally, in the last section we will describe the properties of a synapse-specific antibody which we have used as a probe for monitoring both the development of postsynaptic densities and their turnover following partial denervation. Several reviews on the general properties of synapse macromolecules have appeared (Cotman and Kelly, 1980; Mahler, 1977; Matus, 1981).
Losing Resilience on the Gulf Coast: Hurricanes and Social Memory

Evacuee post Hurricane Katrina Decades before Hurricane Katrina made its awesome landfall in August 2005, two transformative hurricanes struck the U.S. Gulf Coast. Hurricane Betsy sped inland follo...
The Space of Kaehler metrics

Donaldson conjectured \cite{Dona96} that the space of K\"ahler metrics is geodesic convex by smooth geodesic and that it is a metric space. Following Donaldson's program, we verify the second part of Donaldson's conjecture completely and verify his first part partially. We also prove that the constant scalar curvature metric is unique in {\bf each} K\"{a}hler class if the first Chern class is either strictly negative or 0. Furthermore, if $C_1 \leq 0,$ the constant scalar curvature metric realizes the global minimum of Mabuchi energy functional; thus it provides a new obstruction for the existence of constant curvature metric: if the infimum of Mabuchi energy (taken over all metrics in a fixed K\"{a}hler class) isn't bounded from below, then there doesn't exist a constant curvature metric. This extends the work of Mabuchi and Bando\cite{Bando87}: they showed that Mabuchi energy bounded from below is a necessary condition for the existence of K\"{a}hler-Einstein metrics in the first Chern class.
CHARACTERIZATION OF A MARINE CYANOBACTERIUM THAT BORES INTO CARBONATES AND THE REDESCRIPTION OF THE GENUS MASTIGOCOLEUS(1).

A marine, filamentous, endolithic cyanobacterium, strain BC008, was obtained in pure culture and characterized using a polyphasic approach. BC008 could bore into calcium carbonate minerals (calcite, aragonite) and, weakly, into strontium carbonate (strontianite), but not into other carbonates, phosphates, sulfates, silicates, or oxides, including those of calcium. We describe procedures for its continued cultivation in an actively boring state. BC008 was developmentally complex: it displayed lateral, terminal, and intercalary heterocysts; true branching; trichome tapering; and motile hormogonia. It also displayed considerable morphological plasticity between boring and nonboring modes. Boring brought about a halving of trichome diameter, a marked decrease in the ratio of heterocysts to vegetative cells, and a significant preference for lateral versus terminal heterocyst development. The cytoplasm of vegetative cells was filled with 20 nm thick, nanocompartment-like structures of polyhedral appearance and of unknown function. BC008 was capable of complementary chromatic adaptation but did not produce sheath pigments. When boring, it conformed well morphologically to Lagerheim’s (1886) description of Mastigocoleus testarum, one of the most common and pervasive bioerosive agents of marine carbonates. We propose strain BC008 as type strain for the species. Multigene (16S rRNA, nif H, rbcL) phylogenies confirm that Mastigocoleus is a distinct, deeply branching genus of cyanobacteria that shares affinities and critical traits with two major taxonomic groups in the heterocystous clade (Nostocales and Stigonematales). We provide a revision of the genus and species descriptions based on our strain and findings.
Structure of cytochrome c2 from Rhodospirillum centenum

Cytochrome c2 from the purple photosynthetic bacterium Rhodospirillum centenum has been crystallized by the sitting-drop vapour-diffusion method. The crystals belong to the orthorhombic space group P212121, with unit-cell parameters a = 29.7, b = 59.9, c = 65.4 A, and diffract to a resolution limit of 1.7 A. The Fe-atom position was determined from its anomalous scattering contribution and a molecular-replacement solution was calculated. The correctness of the solution was confirmed by parallel isomorphous replacement studies. The resulting model has a type I cytochrome fold with two features, an extended α-helix and a surface-charge distribution, that are distinctive to this protein. The implications of these structural features for the ability of the cytochrome to serve as an electron carrier are discussed.
To Move Forward, We Must Be Mobile: Practical Uses of Mobile Technology in Literacy Education Courses.

AbstractTechnology continues to shift the definition of what it means to be literate. As literacy educators in teacher preparation programs, we must consider how emerging and mobile technology may be used within coursework to not only create multiple ways to conceptualize teaching 21st century literacy, but also as a professional imperative. This article presents practical insights from two literacy education courses at two universities that built mobile technologies into coursework in ways that expand and socially network student learning. This work offers educators who lead literacy education courses in teacher preparation programs a variety of ways to incorporate technology that benefit students and are value-added, rather than simply added on.
Synthesis of (±)-14-epi-hydroxydolasta-1(15),7,9-triene and (±)-7-epi-acetoxy-14-epi-hydroxydolasta-1(15),8-diene**Taken in part from the Ph.D. dissertation of Jianhua Yu, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA, 2009.

1,3-Dimethyl-2-nitrobenzene was converted to the key intramolecular Friedel–Crafts intermediate 24 in ten steps. Treatment of 24 with TiCl4 produced tricyclic enone 25 in 61%–75% yield, having the ...
Methods for the derivation and use of cardiomyocytes from human pluripotent stem cells

The availability of human cardiomyocytes derived from embryonic stem cells (ESCs) has generated -considerable excitement, as these cells are an excellent model system for studying myocardial development and may have eventual application in cell-based cardiac repair. Cardiomyocytes derived from the related induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have similar properties, but also offer the prospects of patient-specific disease modeling and cell therapies. Unfortunately, the methods by which cardiomyocytes have been historically generated from pluripotent stem cells are unreliable and typically result in preparations of low cardiac purity (typically 90% cardiomyocytes using straightforward physical methods.
Lateral plantar artery aneurysm: a case report.

We report a case of a true plantar artery aneurysm in an adult. True aneurysms of the inframalleolar vessels are rare. The limited literature on the subject is reviewed, including differential diagnosis and suggested treatment. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 97(6): 480–482, 2007)
Online gambling participation and problem gambling severity: is there a causal relationship?

Studies of Internet gambling have consistently shown that online gamblers are more likely to report disordered gambling behaviour than offline gamblers. However, little research has focused on whether this is a causal relationship or whether this risk factor is capturing a relationship with one or more missing variables. To address whether there is a strong causal argument for the effect of online gambling participation on problem gambling severity, we use a secondary data method that corrects for potential omitted variable bias. Once this issue is addressed, we find that past-year participation in online gambling is related to a decrease in problem gambling severity, which is the opposite of the popular view in current literature. The estimates in this study are found to be robust to various forms of online gambling, control variables and problem gambling measurement instruments. The findings were also consistent when using a representative sample from the United Kingdom and when using an online research...
The role of sebum and epidermal lipids in the cosmetic properties of skin.

Synopsis Lipids found in the skin are derived both from the keratinized epidermis and from the sebaceous glands. The composition of human sebum and epidermal lipids has only been fully elucidated during the past few years, and the role of these lipids is still being evaluated. This presentation reviews sebaceous gland structure and function composition of human sebum, the effects of aging and hormones on sebum secretion and the role of sebum in acne and in dry skin. In addition, a review of the role of epidermal lipids in the properties of skin includes consideration of the structure and function of the epidermis, the composition of the epidermal lipids, and the function of lipids in epidermal differentia-tion and water barrier properties. Le role du sebum et des lipides de I'epiderme dans les proprietes cosmetiques de la peau.
Antagonists of the luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) with emphasis on the Trp7 of the salmon and chicken II LHRH's

The sequences of four naturally occurring luteinizing hormone releasing hormones (LHRH's) differ only in positions 5, 7 and 8. Salmon and chicken II LHRH's have Trp7; porcine/ovine (P/O) and chicken I LHRH's have Leu7. The receptor for P/O LHRH might effectively bind certain antagonists with Trp7. Thirteen antagonists having Trp7 and eight antagonists with other substitutions in position 7 were synthesized. One of the thirteen antagonists with the natural Trp7, [N-Ac-D-2-Nal1,D-pClPhe2,D-3-Pal3,D-Arg6,Trp7,D- Ala10]-LHRH, not only maintained activity, but had increased potency (ca. 58%; 90% antiovulatory activity/250 ng; rats) in comparison with the companion analog with the natural Leu7 of P/O LHRH. The other twelve Trp7-antagonists had lower potency.
Kikokushijo as bicultural

Abstract If you move to another country during your formative years and grow up with two languages and cultures, to which society and culture do you ultimately belong? Such is the question of identity facing many kikokushijo , children of Japanese expatriates. While their readjustment difficulties upon returning to Japan are well documented, efforts to link their intercultural experiences to broader issues of bilingual and bicultural identity have been scarce. This study aims to make that link. Four teenage kikokushijo’s life stories are told. Adjustment difficulties, misfit identities, ambivalent cultural and ethnic allegiance are themes that unite their stories, but each kikokushijo has a different way of dealing with them. An analysis of their stories suggests that factors that impede their adjustment may come from both the society and the kikokushijo themselves. Despite the now prevalent view that today little discrimination against kikokushijo remains, schools in both the host and home countries still tend to fault them for what they do not know while giving little recognition to their bilingual and bicultural abilities. On the other hand, some kikokushijo may also refuse to identify with the society they live in, adding to their own isolation.
Finding Final Postures

Abstract In this study, a model of movement planning (Rosenbaum, Engelbrecht, Bushe, & Loukopoulos, 1993a, 1993b; Rosenbaum, Loukopoulos, Meulenbroek, Vaughan, & Engelbrecln, 1995), in which movements are generated on the basis of the efficacy of different possible goal postures, was tested. The model predicts which limb segments will be used and how the segments will be combined in reaching. The model's predictions were compared with observations from a study in which seated participants reached for targets in a sagittal plane, using the hip, shoulder, and elbow. Estimates of 4 free parameters—an expense factor for each of the 2 contributing joints, and a 4th parameter that specified the relative weight of spatial accuracy versus effort minimization, were used for fitting the model to the observed joint angles. The model accounted for 96% of the variance of the observed joint angles and did a better job accounting for the data than several alternative models. A key new finding was that balance constraint...
Two-hybrid Analysis Reveals Fundamental Differences in Direct Interactions between Desmoplakin and Cell Type-specific Intermediate Filaments *

Desmosomes are cell junctions that act as sites of strong intercellular adhesion and also serve to anchor the intermediate filament (IF) cytoskeleton to the plasma membrane of a variety of cell types. Previous studies demonstrated that the COOH terminus of the desmosomal plaque protein, desmoplakin (DP), is required for the association of DP with IF networks in cultured cells and that this domain interacts directly with type II epidermal keratin polypeptides in vitro. However, these studies left open the question of how desmosomes might anchor other IF types known to associate with these junctions. In this report we used yeast two-hybrid and in vitro dot blot assays to further examine the requirements for direct interactions between desmoplakin and various IF types. Our results confirm the ability of the DP COOH terminus (DPCT) to interact with at least two regions of the head domain of the type II epidermal keratin K1 and also demonstrate that DPCT can interact with the type III IF family members, vimentin and desmin, as well as simple epithelial keratins. Unlike the situation for type II epidermal keratins, the interaction between DPCT and simple epithelial keratins appears to depend on heterodimerization of the type I and II keratin polypeptides, since both are required to detect an interaction. Furthermore, although the interaction between DPCT and K1 requires the keratin head domain, deletion of this domain from the simple epithelial keratins does not compromise interaction with DPCT. The interaction between DPCT and type III or simple epithelial keratins also appeared to be less robust than that between DPCT and K1. In the case of K8/K18, however, the interaction as assessed by yeast two-hybrid assays increased 9-fold when a serine located in a protein kinase A consensus phosphorylation site 23 residues from the end of DP was altered to a glycine. Taken together, these data indicate that DP interacts directly with different IF types in specific ways.
Leukotriene B4 Activation of Arterial Smooth Muscle BK Channels

Blood circulation depends on the myogenic tone of small arteries. Tone is increased by a rise in overall cytosolic calcium [Ca2+]i in the arterial smooth muscle cell (SMC). This rise leads to activation of large-conductance, Ca2+/voltage-gated K+ (BK) channels. This generates outward currents that hyperpolarize the membrane and limit Ca2+ entry. Thus, BK channel activation opposes SMC contraction.Several negatively charged endogenous lipids, such as PIP2, fatty and bile acids have been shown to directly activate SMC BK channels. The chemical structure of leukotrienes (LTs) includes a long hydrophobic backbone and a carboxylic end group, which is largely ionized at physiological pH=6.8-7.4. Thus, we hypothesized that LTs were BK channel activators.We tested LTA4, LTB4, LTC4, LTD4, and LTE4 on heterologously expressed BK channels conformed by cbv1 (AY330293) and rβ1 (FJ154955) subunits cloned from rat cerebral artery SMC. LTs were applied at 1 nM to the cytosolic side of inside-out (I/O) membrane patches from Xenopus oocytes; Vm=-80 to −20 mV, [Ca2+]i=10 μM. LTB4 was the only LT that significantly increased BK channel activity (130% from pre-LT values), with a ≈330% increase in activity in response to 2 μM LTB4. LTB4-induced BK channel activation was also observed in I/O patches from freshly isolated cerebral artery SMCs. Therefore, we identified LTB4 as a potent and effective SMC BK channel activator that works independently of cell signaling. using pressurized, de-endothelized cerebral arteries from rats, we blocked LTB4 production by 50 μM bestatin. This treatment reduced artery diameter by ≈5%, which is expected to cause up to 10-20% decrease in cerebral blood flow. This result suggests that LTB4 production within arterial SMC exerts a tonic effect on arterial tone, favoring SMC relaxation and opposing vasoconstriction.
Sub‐100‐nm‐wide, deep trenches defined by reactive ion etching

In this study, reactive ion etching (RIE) has been used to define vertical trenches with dimensions considerably smaller than the lithographically defined width. Gratings with 320 nm period were defined using a masked ion beam exposure of PMMA, followed by lift‐off of a Ni mask. For shallow etching, tapered profiles were obtained. For more deeply etched structures, the tapered walls converged and formed sub‐100‐nm‐wide, highly anisotropic trenches. The trench formation is not a crystal orientation dependent effect and has been obtained in GaAs, SiO2, and nonstoichiometric silicon nitride (SiNx). The etched profiles and the final trench widths depend on the RIE conditions and the substrate materials. Ion divergence in the RIE reactor was measured using nitrocellulose and was found to increase with chamber pressure. The measured half‐angle of ion divergence was 0.7° at 2 mTorr and increased to 1.2° at 20 mTorr during RIE in CF4 at 500 V self‐induced dc bias voltage. The ion distribution inside these trenche...
Evaluation of molecularly imprinted polyurethane as an optical waveguide for PAH sensing

We developed a numerical model for the fluorescence output efficiency of a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) waveguide sensing system. A polyurethane waveguide imprinted with a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecule was fabricated using micromolding in capillaries. The coupling of light into a 5 mm long MIP segment was verified by comparing the output transmission signals of a deuterium lamp from the MIP waveguide collected by an optical fiber with the background lamp signals collected by the same optical fiber. It was found that polyurethane MIP was an effective waveguide but absorbed much shorter wavelengths, especially in the UV region, thereby the transmission of light appeared orange/red in color. The high background absorption of polyurethane in the spectrometric regions of interest was found to be a critical problem for sensor sensitivity. Our numerical model shows that the fluorescence output is only 2x10-6 of the input excitation for 25 mM anthracene for a 5 mm polyurethane waveguide. A 10 fold decrease of background absorption will increase the fluorescence output 250 times.
Enhanced analgesic potency and reduced tolerance of morphine in 129/SvEv mice: evidence for a deficiency in GM1 ganglioside-regulated excitatory opioid receptor functions.

A recent study reported that chronic morphine treatment of the 129/SvEv strain of mice did not result in the usual development of tolerance observed in most other mouse strains. The authors' analyses suggested that the anomalous lack of tolerance in 129/SvEv mice might be due to a defect in NMDA receptor functions. However, our previous studies suggested that cellular signs of tolerance and dependence in chronic morphine-treated dorsal root ganglion neurons in culture are due to sustained activation of supersensitized excitatory Gs-coupled, GM1 ganglioside-regulated, opioid receptor functions. We decided, therefore, to investigate whether 129/SvEv mice might be selectively deficient in excitatory, but not inhibitory, opioid receptor functions. Using hot-water-immersion tail-flick antinociceptive assays, we observed a much lower degree of tolerance in 129/SvEv mice after treatment with daily injections of 3 mg/kg morphine (s.c.), whereas similar treatment of Swiss–Webster (SW) mice showed progressive development of marked tolerance. Interestingly, acute injections of 0.1–0.3 mg/kg morphine in naive 129/SvEv mice elicited unexpectedly large antinociceptive effects comparable in magnitude, and lasting for many hours longer, than observed with >10-fold higher doses in SW mice. Furthermore, cotreatment of 129/SvEv mice with morphine plus a low dose of naltrexone (ca. 0.1 μg/kg) that markedly enhances and prolongs morphine's antinociceptive effects in SW mice did not enhance, and often attenuated, antinociception in 129/SvEv mice. These comparative data suggest that 129/SvEv mice may be deficient in excitatory opioid receptor functions. In the absence of masking by concomitant anti-analgesic excitatory opioid receptor functions, the very low residual concentrations of morphine in the CNS at >2 h after an acute injection can, nevertheless, elicit substantial long-lasting inhibitory opioid receptor-mediated antinociceptive effects. Pretreatment of 129/SvEv mice with low doses of GM1 ganglioside (0.1–1 mg/kg, i.p.) for about 30 min resulted in a marked decrease in morphine's antinociceptive potency tested within the first hour after administration of morphine and lasting for >6 h. The marked GM1-induced attenuation of morphine's antinociceptive effects in 129/SvEv mice may be due to conversion of some of the opioid receptors in these mice from an inhibitory Gi/Go-coupled to an excitatory Gs-coupled mode. Exogenous GM1 supplementation can, therefore, reverse the anomalous lack of morphine tolerance displayed by this mouse strain in comparison to SW and other mice. The present study may provide insights into factors that regulate the marked variability in nociceptive sensitivity and opioid tolerance/dependence liability among individual humans.