cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Identifying barriers and motivators for adoption of multifunctional perennial cropping systems by landowners in the Upper Sangamon River Watershed, Illinois

The demand on agriculture to meet food security goals and mitigate environmental impacts requires multifunctional land-use strategies. Considering both farmer motivations and rural development needs, one option is to transition marginal farmland to perennial crops. In this study, we considered the potential for Multifunctional Perennial Cropping Systems (MPCs) that would simultaneously provide production and ecosystem service benefits. We examined adoption potential of MPCs on marginal farmland through an agricultural landowner survey in the Upper Sangamon River Watershed in Illinois, USA. We identified adoption preferences among landowners in conjunction with socio-demographic characteristics that would facilitate targeted implementation. Hierarchical cluster analysis and discriminant analysis identified landowner categories and key factors affecting adoption potential. Landowner age, appreciation for plant diversity, and future farm management involvement were the strongest predictors of potential MPCs adoption. The landowner categories identified within the survey data, supplemented with focus group discussions, suggested a high adoption potential farmer profile as a young, educated landowner with known marginal land they would consider converting to MPCs for improved soil and water quality conservation.
Afro-Surreal and Afro-Futuristic Visual Technologies in Junot Díaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and Colson Whitehead’s Zone One

The recent explosion of interest in black speculative fiction necessitates study of these new, innovative texts. Afro-Surrealism, a form of black speculative fiction that began in the 1920s (First Wave Afro-Surrealism) and gained popularity in the 1960s (Second Wave Afro-Surrealism), has entered a Third Wave, one that closely mirrors its aesthetic cousin Afro- Futurism in its incorporation of technology into various texts. Both Afro-Surrealism and Afro-Futurism have sparked an outpouring of visual art, music, books, websites, and films, but more importantly, these movements have reinvigorated the novel by incorporating film’s storytelling techniques (jump cuts, montages). These narrative changes, when coupled with the frequent references to film, reveal how some black writers are rethinking technology. For the Afro-Surrealist, borrowing from film’s visual technologies allows for a more meaningful retelling of history, while for the Afro-Futurist, cinematic writing represents people of color’s ability to work as technological innovators and creators. This paper positions Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao as the representative Third Wave Afro-Surrealist text, and Colson Whitehead’s Zone One as the representative Afro-Futurist text.
Education: Whatâ€™s It All About?

One of the greatest proponents of public education, Thomas Jefferson, believed that only an educated population could assure the survival of democracy. His Bill for the General Diffusion of Knowledge in 1778 attempted to establish an elementary grade of instruction in Virginia that would enable citizens to â€œunderstand their rights, to maintain them, and to exercise with intelligence their parts in self governmentâ€ (Jefferson, 1984). In a time when liberty, freedom, and democracy were a common concern, the purpose of education was to prepare individuals for civic duties.
The Old Tenseless Theory: Back from the Dead?

Recently, Orilia and Oaklander have attempted to revive the so-called old tenseless theory of time, which most tenseless theorists themselves had given up as untenable, heralding the appearance of the so-called new tenseless theory. I argue that Orilia and Oaklander have not successfully shown that the old tenseless theory of time is still viable.
Impact of Pedagogical Agents’ Conversational Formality on Learning and Engagement

This study investigated the impact of pedagogical agents’ conversational formality on learning and engagement in a trialog-based intelligent tutoring system (ITS). Participants (N = 167) were randomly assigned into one of three conditions to learn summarization strategies with the conversational agents: (1) a formal condition in which both the teacher agent and the student agent spoke with a formal language style, (2) an informal condition in which both agents spoke informally, and (3) a mixed condition in which the teacher agent spoke formally, whereas the student agent spoke informally. Result showed that the agents’ informal discourse yielded higher performance, but elicited higher report of text difficulty and mind wandering. This discourse also caused longer response time and lower arousal. The implications are discussed.
Maternal iron nutriture as a critical modulator of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder risk in alcohol-exposed pregnancies.

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy places the fetus at risk for permanent physical, cognitive, and behavioral impairments, collectively termed fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). However, pre...
A29 Session 8: Gastrointestinal Cryotherapeutic Indications

Endoscopic cryotherapy (Cryo) or local application of cryogen to the gastrointestinal mucosa is a thermal ablative treatment that has been used for Barrett’s esophagus (BE) and high grade dysplasia, as well as for palliative use in esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). Most of the existing data are related to this indication, but endoscopic cryotherapy has also successfully used for treatment of gastric antral vascular ectasia and radiation proctitis. Cryo using liquid nitrogen or compressed carbon dioxide or nitrogen gas is delivered via an endoscopic spray catheter resulting in tissue destruction without direct contact. Freezing occurs due to the Joules-Thompson effect. Data on the optimal dosimetry are limited, but a variable number of cycles of 8–20 s of freeze and thaw have been used. For Barrett’s esophagus, there are no randomized controlled trials. However, retrospective studies on the use of Cryo in patients with high grade dysplasia and/or early adenocarcinoma suggest great potential safety and efficacy for curative intent. Complete response rates of 68–100% have been reported. Complete response rates for eradiation of esophageal intestinal metaplasia (BE) are about 53–84%. These results are comparable to radiofrequency ablation, which is the reference standard for BE ablation. These provide a distinct advantage for Cryo over superficial forms of endoscopic ablation such as radiofrequency ablation or argon plasma coagulation. Adverse events have also been uncommon, mainly due to strictures (9%, all easily dilated), and very rare perforations during early studies. Cryo may also be a viable outpatient endoscopic treatment option for patients with obstructing tumors and cancers that recur after chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. Compared to alternative endoscopic cancer palliative therapies for EAC such as photodynamic therapy (that results in extreme photosensitivity, greater pain and more frequent esophageal strictures) and esophageal stenting (which causes chest pain and does not treat the primary tumor), Cryo is an attractive viable palliative treatment option. One retrospective multicenter study of liquid nitrogen Cryo reported complete regression of BE HGD of 100%, luminal cancer in 75% with no serious adverse events and 2 year follow-up (Gossain et al., Gastrointest Endosc 2013). Finally, Cryo may also be considered for local treatment of high risk inoperable patients with BE adenocarcinomas in non-lifting nodular lesions, depressed and ulcerated lesions (Paris IIc and III class), or deep margin positive invasive EAC following endoscopic mucosal resection. Device development is ongoing, including improvements of existing devices and clinical trials on new devices such as a focal and circumferential cryotherapy balloon. Clinical trials are ongoing. Endoscopic cryotherapy has a great potential for mainstream clinical therapeutic use in early studies but more data are needed, particularly on optimal dosimetry, safety and cost-effectiveness compared with other existing therapies, long term outcomes, and quality of life.
Transferring a petabyte in a day

Abstract Extreme-scale simulations and experiments can generate large amounts of data, whose volume can exceed the compute and/or storage capacity at the simulation or experimental facility. With the emergence of ultra-high-speed networks, researchers are considering pipelined approaches in which data are passed to a remote facility for analysis. Here we examine an extreme-scale cosmology simulation that, when run on a large fraction of a leadership computer, generates data at a rate of one petabyte per elapsed day. Writing those data to disk is inefficient and impractical, and in situ analysis poses its own difficulties. Thus we implement a pipeline in which data are generated on one supercomputer and then transferred, as they are generated, to a remote supercomputer for analysis. We use the Swift scripting language to instantiate this pipeline across Argonne National Laboratory and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, which are connected by a 100 Gb/s network; and we demonstrate that by using the Globus transfer service we can achieve a sustained rate of 93 Gb/s over a 24-hour period, thus attaining our performance goal of one petabyte moved in 24 h. This paper describes the methods used and summarizes the lessons learned in this demonstration.
How do e-patients connect online? a study of social support roles in health social networking

E-patients use online support communities as a way to meet other patients who have experienced or are currently undergoing similar health issues. In these communities they either seek social support or provide social support. This study incorporates the blockmodeling research technique for graphically representing the community member interactions as social positions in order to provide a clear picture of the network's social structure. This analysis views network data from six lenses to compare three different computer-mediated communication formats (forum information, journal informational, notes informational, forum nurturant, journal nurturant, notes nurturant). Results show that forum users are more likely to only be in the position of receiving or offering support, while journal users are often straddling both roles. Notes users tend to be recipients of messages.
High Resolution Diffuse X-Ray Scattering by Protein Crystals — From hkl to 000

Much of our knowledge of the structure of protein and related macromolecules has come from X-ray diffraction analyses of protein crystals. Typically a protein is crystallized; the crystal is irradiated, and the angular positions and intensities of the diffracted beams are recorded. The directions of the diffracted beams depend on the positions of the atoms within the unit cell, while the intensities of the diffracted X-ray beams are determined by the types of atoms that occupy specific sites within that unit cell. By measuring the intensities of a large number of X-ray reflections and comparing the measured data set to that calculated from an assumed structure, it has been possible to describe in detail the atomic structures of an increasing number of protein and other biologically important molecules.1, 2
Diarrhea in the intensive care patient.

Diarrhea frequently complicates the clinical course of critically ill patients. This article discusses the common causes of diarrhea in the intensive care setting. Issues such as optimal nutrition in the setting of diarrhea and possible measures for the prevention of diarrhea are addressed. A cost-effective and timely strategy for the evaluation of a critically ill patient with diarrhea is discussed. Therapeutic options and pathophysiologic mechanisms of diarrhea are reviewed.
Photosynthetic characteristics of phycoerythrin-containing marine Synechococcus spp.: I. Responses to growth photon flux density

Marine Synechococcus spp. are sufficiently abundant to make a significant contribution to primary productivity in the ocean. They are characterized by containing high cellular levels of phycoerythrin which is highly fluorescent in vivo. We sought (Jan.–Apr., 1984) to determine the adaptive photosynthetic features of two clonal types of Synechococcus spp., and to provide a reliable physiological basis for interpreting remote sensing data in terms of the biomass and productivity of this group in natural assemblages. It was found that the two major clonal types optimize growth and photosynthesis at low photon flux densities by increasing the numbers of photosynthetic units per cell and by decreasing photosynthetic unit size. The cells of clone WH 7803 exhibited dramatic photoinhibition of photosynthesis and reduction in growth rate at high photon flux densities, accompanied by a large and significant increase in phycoerythrin fluorescence. Maximal photosynthesis of cells grown under 10–50 μE m-2 s-1 was reduced by 20 to 30% when the cells were exposed to photon flux densities greater than 150 μE m-2 s-1. However, steady-state levels of photosynthesis maintained for brief periods under these conditions were higher than those of cells grown continuously at high photon flux densities. No photoinhibition occurred in clone WH 8018 and rates of photosynthesis were greater than in WH 7803. Yields of in-vivo phycoerythrin fluorescence under all growth photon flux densities were lower in clone WH 8018 compared to clone WH 7803. Since significant inverse correlations were obtained between phycoerythrin fluorescence and Pmax and μ for both clones grown in laboratory culture, it may be possible to provide a reliable means of assessing the physiological state, photosynthetic capacity and growth rate of Synechococcus spp. in natural assemblages by remote sensing of phycoerythrin fluorescence. Poor correlations between phycoerythrin fluorescene and pigment content indicate that phycoerythrin fluorescence may not accurately estimate Synechococcus spp. biomass based on pigment content alone.
T1 Mapping in Cardiac Hypertrophy

Cardiac hypertrophy is defined as an increase in left ventricular mass and can result from a number of underlying pathologies including hypertensive heart disease, physiological hypertrophy in athletic heart, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and infiltrative cardiac processes such as cardiac amyloidosis or storage diseases such as Fabry’s Disease. The end process of an increased LV mass can result from changes in both the intracellular space due to myocyte hypertrophy and/or due to expansion of the interstitial space by fibrosis, inflammation or protein deposition. While some changes in myocardial architecture manifest as focal scar, which can be detected by conventional late-gadolinium enhanced imaging (LGE), more diffuse processes cannot readily be detected, using conventional LGE techniques. It is in this situation where techniques based on T1 mapping, such as assessment of native T1 or extra-cellular volume (ECV), can provide unique insights into diffuse changes in the myocardial structure of a thickened heart muscle. This chapter will first review the relationship between T1 parameters of native T1 and ECV with the intracellular and extracellular spaces. Then we will review the current state of the art for using these T1 mapping techniques in cardiac pathologies characterized by left ventricular hypertrophy.
Correlation of ultrasound cross-sectional area of the median nerve, nerve conduction studies and 2-point discrimination.

Introduction The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between a measure of physical performance, a measure of physiology and a measure of anatomy in the setting of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Methods A retrospective review of 215 consecutive patients with suspected CTS was conducted. All patients were evaluated with static 2-point discrimination (2PD), ultrasound (US) measurement of the median nerve cross-sectional area (CSA), and nerve conduction studies (NCS). Correlations between 2PD and US and NCS parameters were calculated. The ability of US/NCS to predict 2PD was evaluated. Results Analysis failed to prove a statistically significant correlation between 2PD and median nerve CSA. A weak correlation was detected between 2PD and NCS parameters. When 2PD was used as a reference standard, NCS parameters combined had the greatest sensitivity, followed by US. Conclusions Currently used diagnostic tests (NCS and US) correlate poorly with 2PD. Muscle Nerve 000: 000-000, 2018 Muscle Nerve 59:236-239, 2019.
Joint-reconstruction-enabled partial-dithering strategy for edge-illumination x-ray phase-contrast tomography

Edge illumination X-ray phase-contrast tomography (EIXPCT) is a emerging imaging technology in which partially opaque gratings are utilized with laboratory-based X-ray sources to estimate the distribution of the complex-valued refractive index. Spatial resolution in EIXPCT is mainly determined by the grating period of a sample mask, but can be significantly improved by a dithering technique in which multiple projection images are required per tomographic view angle as the object is moved over sub-pixel distances. Drawbacks of dithering include increased data acquisition times and radiation doses. Motivated by the flexibility in data acquisition designs enabled by a recently developed joint reconstruction (JR) method, a novel partial-dithering strategy for data acquisition is proposed. In this strategy, dithering is implemented at only a subset of the tomographic view angles. This results in spatial resolution that is comparable to that of the conventional full-dithering strategy where dithering is performed at every view angle, but the acquisition time is substantially decreased. The effect of dithering parameters on image resolution is explored.
Social work and disability management policy: yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Although social work has traditionally been involved with persons with disabilities, our position in the area of disability policy has been less evident. This article presents a brief review of the history of policy toward those with disabilities along with a summary of some philosophical perspectives which undergird those policies. A Disability Systems Case Manageer is proposed as a solution to the morass of conflicting rules and regulations currently applied by numerous governmental, vocational, and welfare agencies. This manager would operate from the Structural Paradigm which recommends an intitial examination of a client's environment for impediments to successful functioning before focusing on the client's potential vulnerabilities or problems.
Putting the “Is for” Back into the Study of Cognition and Behavior: Commentary on “Unifying Themes for Educational Psychology”

Understanding human behavior situated in a classroom context has traditionally been the domain of educational psychology. This rich tradition continues today, but in a fragmented manner. This fragmentation is undoubtedly the result of a number of factors, but two contributing factors that come readily to mind are (a) the demise of grand theories and (b) the increase in multidisciplinary research efforts. In some respects, the former may be a function of the latter. Regardless, multidisciplinary efforts will continue to increase simply due to the complexity of the problems we are addressing. However, the major significance of the Dempster and Corkill paper is the call for unifying themes couched within a biological system that focuses on personal knowledge construction through the process of learning. In many respects this is a clarion call for a reconsideration of the theoretical roots of functionalism from which educational psychology sprang.
Gene therapy for the prevention of corneal haze after photorefractive/phototherapeutic keratectomy excimer laser surgery.

A decade ago the first patient was successfully treated using gene therapy to correct a severe combined immunodeficiency. Since then hundreds of patients have been treated with this therapy for many pathologic conditions. However, progress in developing clinical protocols has been slow, in part due to a lack of safe and efficient delivery systems for the therapeutic genes.
Interdisciplinary Computing: Applied Computing for Behavioral and Social Sciences

As the digital economy grows, so does the demand for technology-capable workers who have both computing skills and domain expertise. Growing such a workforce is critical to ensuring the nation's competitiveness, according to a recent National Science Board publication. To address this need, faculty from the Colleges of Engineering and Social Sciences at San Jose State University worked together to create the Applied Computing for Behavioral and Social Sciences minor degree. The minor targets students in majors such as Psychology and Economics, which have a more diverse student population than that of Computer Science or Engineering. The minor, designed with industry input, includes a four-course sequence that focuses on Python and R and includes topics such as data structures, algorithms, data cleaning and management, and data analysis. Our cohort-based program was built specifically for social science students using social science content, helping to foster a sense of community and belongingness among students. The first full cohort of 26 students graduated in Spring 2019, 48% of whom were female and 23% of whom were underrepresented minorities. Our approach of embedding computing education into the social sciences demonstrates a promising model of broadening participation in computing and meeting the nation's increasing demand for interdisciplinary computing workers in the digital age.
Uniaxial compression of [001]-oriented CaFe2As2 single crystals: the effects of microstructure and temperature on superelasticity Part I: Experimental observations

Abstract Micropillar compression experiments on [001]-oriented CaFe2As2 single crystals have recently revealed the existence of superelasticity with a remarkably high elastic limit of over 10%. The collapsed tetragonal phase transition, which is a uni-axial contraction process in which As-As bonds are formed across an intervening Ca-plane, is the main mechanism of superelasticity. Usually, superelasticity and the related structural transitions are affected strongly by both the microstructure and the temperature. In this study, therefore, we investigated how the microstructure and temperature affect the superelasticity of [001]-oriented CaFe2As2 micropillars cut from solution-grown single crystals, by performing a combination of in-situ cryogenic micromechanical testing and transmission electron microscopy studies. Our results show that the microstructure of CaFe2As2 is influenced strongly by the crystal growth conditions and by subsequent heat treatment. The presence of Ca and As vacancies and FeAs nanoprecipitates affect the mechanical behavior significantly. In addition, the onset stress for the collapsed tetragonal transition decreases gradually as the temperature decreases. These experimental results are discussed primarily in terms of the formation of As-As bonds, which is the essential feature of this mechanism for superelasticity. Our research outcomes provide a more fundamental understanding of the superelasticity exhibited by CaFe2As2 under uni-axial compression.
Gynecologic tumor board: a radiologist’s guide to vulvar and vaginal malignancies

Primary vulvar and vaginal cancers are rare female genital tract malignancies which are staged using the 2009 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) staging. These cancers account for approximately 2,700 deaths annually in the USA. The most common histologic subtype of both vulvar and vaginal cancers is squamous cell carcinoma, with an increasing role of the human papillomavirus (HPV) in a significant number of these tumors. Lymph node involvement is the hallmark of FIGO stage 3 vulvar cancer while pelvic sidewall involvement is the hallmark of FIGO stage 3 vaginal cancer. Imaging techniques include computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET)-CT, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and PET-MRI. MRI is the imaging modality of choice for preoperative clinical staging of nodal and metastatic involvement while PET-CT is helpful with assessing response to neoadjuvant treatment and for guiding patient management. Determining the pretreatment extent of disease has become more important due to modern tailored operative approaches and use of neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy to reduce surgical morbidity. Moreover, imaging is used to determine the full extent of disease for radiation planning and for evaluating treatment response. Understanding the relevant anatomy of the vulva and vaginal regions and the associated lymphatic pathways is helpful to recognize the potential routes of spread and to correctly identify the appropriate FIGO stage. The purpose of this article is to review the clinical features, pathology, and current treatment strategies for vulvar and vaginal malignancies and to identify multimodality diagnostic imaging features of these gynecologic cancers, in conjunction with its respective 2009 FIGO staging system guidelines.
Young Adults’ Reactions and Engagement with Short-form Videos on Sea Level Rise

This study examines young South Floridians’ perceptions of visual elements and four generic types of engagement identified via a novel interdisciplinary methodology (Vaughan, H., & Johns, L. N. [20...
Effects of Instagram User-Generated Content on Travel Inspiration and Planning: An Extended Model of Technology Acceptance

Focusing on four types of user-generated content (UGC) on Instagram for travel planning, this study examined the impacts of UGC format, distribution channel, and engagement on travelers’ feelings o...
Thin-Film Gallium Antimonide for Room-Temperature Radiation Detection

Thin-film GaSb diodes were fabricated and investigated for room-temperature radiation detection. GaSb PN junction-based detectors were fabricated by use of both ion-implantation and epitaxial methods, and were compared for crystal quality and detector performance. The implanted junctions were obtained by p-type Be ion-implantation in n-type GaSb substrates whereas the epitaxial junctions were grown by solid-source molecular beam epitaxy. Alpha-particle and fission-fragment peaks were observed in spectra from 241Am and 252Cf. A highly uniform response was obtained from epitaxially grown GaSb junctions whereas large pulse-height response variation was observed for the implanted diodes. The devices were fabricated in the form of metalized squares with dimensions varying from 2 × 2 mm2 to 500 × 500 μm2. Reducing the size reduced detection efficiency but also increased the pulse height response and thus the signal-to-noise ratio, consistent with diode capacitance and output voltage pulse relationships. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscope imaging revealed very high-quality material for the epitaxial structure and implantation-induced damage for the implanted material.
Oxidation and protection of milk and dairy products.

Milk and dairy products are susceptible to oxidation, especially because of photosensitizing molecules such as riboflavin. Although relatively low in antioxidants, milk structure and composition offer some protective mechanisms against oxidation but milkfat modifications, processing and storage conditions increase the risk. Oxidation alters protein structure and fatty acid composition, reduces nutrient value, and degrades sensory quality of milk and dairy products. Light-induced oxidation is the primary concern for most products although modification of milk lipids to increase omega-3 lipids increases the potential for autoxidation. Appropriate selection of packaging materials for dairy products can protect against light-induced oxidation.
Development and Processing of Nickel Aluminide-Carbide Alloys

With the upper temperature limit of the Ni-based superalloys attained, a new class of materials is required. Intermetallics appear as likely candidates because of their attractive physical properties. With a relatively low density, high thermal conductivity, excellent oxidation resistance, high melting point, and simple crystal structure, nickel aluminide (NiAl) appears to be a potential candidate. However, NiAl is limited in structural applications due to its low room temperature fracture toughness and poor elevated temperature strength. One approach to improving these properties has been through the application of eutectic composites. Researchers have shown that containerless directional solidification of NiAl-based eutectic alloys can provide improvement in both the creep strength and fracture toughness. Although these systems have shown improvements in the mechanical properties, the presence of refractory metals increases the density significantly in some alloys. Lower density systems, such as the carbides, nitrides, and borides, may provide NiAl-based eutectic structure. With little or no information available on these systems, experimental investigation is required. The objective of this research was to locate and develop NiAl-carbide eutectic alloys. Exploratory arc-melts were performed in NiAl-refractory metal-C systems. Refractory metal systems investigated included Co, Cr, Fe, Hf, Mo, Nb, Ta, Ti, W, and Zr. Systems containing carbides with excellent stability (i.e.,HfC, NbC, TaC, TiC, and ZrC) produced large blocky cubic carbides in an NiAl matrix. The carbides appeared to have formed in the liquid state and were randomly distributed throughout the polycrystalline NiAl. The Co, Cr, Fe, Mo, and W systems contained NiAl dendrites with a two-phase interdendritic microconstituent present. Of these systems, the NiAl-Mo-C system had the most promising microstructure for in-situ composites. Three processing techniques were used to evaluate the NiAl-Mo-C system: arc-melting, slow cooling, and containerless directional solidification. Arc-melting provided a wide range of compositions in an economical and simple fashion. The slow cooled ingots provided larger ingots and slower cooling rates than arc-melting. Directional solidification was used to produce in-situ composites consisting of NiAl reinforced with molybdenum carbides.
On the power of clause-learning SAT solvers with restarts

In this work, we improve on existing work that studied the relationship between the proof system of modern SAT solvers and general resolution. Previous contributions such as those by Beame et al (2004), Hertel et al (2008), and Buss et al (2008) demonstrated that variations on modern clause-learning SAT solvers were as powerful as general resolution. However, the models used in these studies required either extra degrees of non-determinism or a preprocessing step that are not utilized by any state-of-the-art SAT solvers in practice. In this paper, we prove that modern SAT solvers that learn asserting clauses indeed p-simulate general resolution without the need for any additional techniques.
Reaction of Ozone with Protein Tryptophans: Band III, Serum Albumin, and Cytochrome C

Treatment of red cell ghosts with ozone inhibited both AChE (marking the outside of the membrane) and G3PDH (marking the inside of the membrane). There was no change in tryptophan fluorescence of the ghosts after the ozone treatment. Band 3 protein was isolated from the ozone-treated ghosts. The protein was digested with trypsin to obtain water soluble peptides from the cytoplasmic N-terminal tail and the interhelical loops. Fluorescent peptides included GWVIHPLGLR from the outer loop between helices 7 and 8, and peptide WMEAAR from the N-terminal cytoplasmic tail. Neither one of these peptides was oxidized by ozone. This was true whether or not the ghosts were sealed. We conclude that the position of these tryptophans either in the membrane structure, or because of binding to other proteins in the cytoplasmic tail, protects them from oxidation by ozone. Treatment of horse heart cytochrome c with ozone did not change the absorbance spectrum in the heme region or the tryptophan absorbing region. HPLC of the ozone-treated cytochrome c showed that cytochrome c was being modified, indicated by a change in the elution time. Treatment of cytochrome c with ozone did not change the activity in the NADH-cytochrome c reductase assay. Digestion of the ozone-treated cytochrome c with trypsin gave peptides which demonstrated normal fluorescence. (Cytochrome c has abnormally low fluorescence, which is not changed by ozone exposure.) The peptides were separated by HPLC. The fluorescence of the tryptophan-containing peptide (GITWK) was not decreased by treatment of the cytochrome c by ozone. Amino acid analysis of the ozone-treated cytochrome c indicated that methionine was oxidized. We conclude that tryptophan in cytochrome c is protected from oxidation by ozone because of the interaction with the porphyrin ring. Bovine serum albumin and human serum albumin were treated with ozone. There was a monotonic decrease in tryptophan fluorescence in both cases. Digestion of BSA with trypsin produced two fluorescent peptides. The peptide FWGK was identified by coelution with the authentic peptide. The putative peptide AWSVAR was not the same as the chemically synthesized peptide. The peptide sequences FWGK and "AWSVAR" were both oxidized in ozone-treated bovine serum albumin, with no detectable discrimination. Tryptic digestion of the ozone-treated human serum albumin produced a single fluorescent peptide, which was oxidized by ozone. The putative peptide AWAVAR in the tryptic digest of HSA was distinct from chemically synthesized peptide. The oxidation of tryptophans in proteins by ozone is markedly influenced by position in tertiary structure, position in membrane structure, and by chemical interactions within the protein.
Sensitivity of RECQL4-deficient fibroblasts from Rothmund–Thomson syndrome patients to genotoxic agents

RECQ helicase protein-like 4 (RECQL4) is a member of the human RECQ family of DNA helicases. Two-thirds of patients with Rothmund-Thomson syndrome (RTS) carry biallelic inactivating mutations in the RECQL4 gene. RTS is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by poikiloderma, sparse hair, small stature, skeletal abnormalities, cataracts, and an increased risk of cancer. Mutations in two other RECQ helicases, BLM and WRN, are responsible for the cancer predisposition conditions Bloom and Werner syndromes, respectively. Previous studies have shown that BLM and WRN-deficient cells demonstrate increased sensitivity to hydroxyurea (HU), camptothecin (CPT), and 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO). Little is known about the sensitivity of RECQL4-deficient cells to these and other genotoxic agents. The purpose of this study was to determine if RTS cells display any distinct cellular phenotypes in response to DNA damaging agents or replication blocks that could provide insight into the molecular function of the RECQL4 protein. Our results show that primary fibroblasts from RTS patients carrying two deleterious RECQL4 mutations, compared to wild type (WT) fibroblasts, have increased sensitivity to HU, CPT, and doxorubicin (DOX), modest sensitivity to other DNA damaging agents including ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, ionizing radiation (IR), and cisplatin (CDDP), and relative resistance to 4NQO. The RECQ family of DNA helicases has been implicated in the regulation of DNA replication, recombination, and repair. Because HU, CPT, and DOX exert their effects primarily during S phase, these results support a greater role for the RECQL4 protein in DNA replication as opposed to repair of exogenous damage.
Cellular Mechanisms of Resistance to Chronic Oxidative Stress

Oxidative stress is implicated in several pathologies such as AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease, as well as in normal aging. As a model system to study the response of cells to oxidative insults, glutamate toxicity on a mouse nerve cell line, HT-22, was examined. Glutamate exposure kills HT-22 via a nonreceptor-mediated oxidative pathway by blocking cystine uptake and causing depletion of intracellular glutathione (GSH), leading to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species and, ultimately, apoptotic cell death. Several HT-22 subclones that are 10-fold resistant to exogenous glutamate were isolated and the mechanisms involved in resistance characterized. The expression levels of neither heat shock proteins nor apoptosis-related proteins are changed in the resistant cells. In contrast, the antioxidant enzyme catalase, but not glutathione peroxidase nor superoxide dismutase, is more highly expressed in the resistant than in the parental cells. In addition, the resistant cells have enhanced rates of GSH regeneration due to higher activities of the GSH metabolic enzymes gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase and GSH reductase, and GSH S-transferases activities are also elevated. As a consequence of these alterations, the glutamate resistant cells are also more resistant to organic hydroperoxides and anticancer drugs that affect these GSH enzymes. These results indicate that resistance to apoptotic oxidative stress may be acquired by coordinated changes in multiple antioxidant pathways.
Towards a measure of auditory-filter phase response

This study investigates how the phase curvature of the auditory filters varies with center frequency (CF) and level. Harmonic tone complex maskers were used, with component phases adjusted using a variant of an equation proposed by Schroeder [IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory 16, 85–89 (1970)]. In experiment 1, the phase curvature of the masker was varied systematically and sinusoidal signal thresholds were measured at frequencies from 125 to 8000 Hz. At all signal frequencies, threshold differences of 20 dB or more were observed between the most effective and least effective masker phase curvature. In experiment 2, the effect of overall masker level on masker phase effects was studied using signal frequencies of 250, 1000, and 4000 Hz. The results were used to estimate the phase curvature of the auditory filters. The estimated relative phase curvature decreases dramatically with decreasing CF below 1000 Hz. At frequencies above 1000 Hz, relative auditory-filter phase curvature increases only slowly with increasing CF, or may remain constant. The phase curvature of the auditory filters seems to be broadly independent of overall level. Most aspects of the data are in qualitative agreement with peripheral physiological findings from other mammals, which suggests that the phase responses observed here are of peripheral origin. However, in contrast to the data reported in a cat auditory-nerve study [Carney et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 105, 2384–2391 (1999)], no reversal in the sign of the phase curvature was observed at very low frequencies. Overall, the results provide a framework for mapping out the phase curvature of the auditory filters and provide constraints on future models of peripheral filtering in the human auditory system.
The eyes have it.

The Jackson Laboratory’s huge resource of defined mouse strains, coupled with the genetic malleability of the mouse and the accessibility of the mouse eye to a variety of noninvasive analyses of retinal function, makes it clear that our understanding of human retinal disease will remain intimately tied to the mouse eye throughout the upcoming, functional genomics age of human gene medicine.
Synthesizing low loss negative index metamaterial stacks for the mid-infrared using genetic algorithms

Negative index metamaterial designs for the mid-infrared with low absorption and impedance mismatch losses are presented. A robust genetic algorithm is employed to optimize the flexible metamaterial structure for targeted refractive index and impedance values. A new figure of merit is introduced to evaluate the impedance match of the metamaterial to free space. Two designs are presented demonstrating low-loss characteristics for a thin metamaterial with two metal screens and a thick metamaterial stack with five screens. The device performance is analyzed when adding more screens to the structure, revealing that optimizing a thick stack produces a metamaterial with properties approaching those of a bulk material.
Modeling the fischer-tropsch reactionin a slurry bubble column reactor

Reactant (CO and H 2 ) concentration and conversion profiles were determined as a function of axial distance for the Fischer-Tropsch reaction in a slurry bubble column reactor. Model equations were developed from the basic concepts, i.e., conservation of mass and momentum, and combined with iron catalyst reaction kinetics as well as mass transfer coefficients, gas, liquid, and solid phase holdup, Henry's Law constants, minimum fluidization velocity, and terminal velocity obtained from empirical correlations. Concentration profiles and conversion were determined for varying key process variables: liquid-phase velocity and rate constant. Results suggest that the reaction is kinetically limited and that conversion is proportional to liquid velocity. Thus, process improvements can be achieved by either maximizing liquid-phase velocity or increasing the rate constant by modifying the catalyst.
Effects of repeated gram-positive and gram-negative clinical mastitis episodes on milk yield loss in Holstein dairy cows

The objective of this study was to estimate the effects of recurrent episodes of gram-positive and gram-negative cases of clinical mastitis (CM) on milk production in Holstein dairy cows. We were interested in the severity of repeated cases in general, but also in the severity of the host response as judged by milk production loss when a previous case was caused by a similar or different microorganism. The results were based on data from 7,721 primiparous lactations and 13,566 multiparous lactations in 7 large dairy herds in New York State. The distribution of organisms in the CM cases showed 28.5% gram-positive cases, 31.8% gram-negative cases, 15.0% others, and 24.8% with no organism identified. Mixed models, with a random herd effect and an autoregressive covariance structure to account for repeated measurements, were used to quantify the effect of repeated CM and several other control variables (parity, week of lactation, other diseases) on milk yield. Our data indicated that repeated CM cases showed a very similar milk loss compared with the first case. No reduction of severity was present with increasing count of the CM case. Gram-negative cases had more severe milk loss compared with gram-positive and other cases irrespective of the count of the case in lactation. Milk loss in multipara (primipara) due to gram-negative CM was approximately 304 kg (228 kg) in the 50 d following CM. This loss was approximately 128 kg (133 kg) for gram-positive cases and 92 kg (112 kg) for other cases. The severity of a second case of gram-negative CM was not reduced by previous cases of gram-negative CM in multipara and only slightly less severe in a similar scenario in primipara cows. Similarly, a previous gram-positive case did not reduce severity of a second or third gram-positive case. Hence, our data do not support that immunological memory of previous exposure to an organism in the same generic class provides protection for a next case of CM with an organism in the same class.
Sarcoidosis presenting as a posterior fossa mass

We describe the second known case of sarcoidosis presenting as a cerebellar mass. There was no evidence of systemic sarcoidosis until fourteen months after the onset of cerebral symptoms and computerized tomography (CT) failed to demonstrate the presence of meningeal sarcoidosis which was documented postmortem.
Cultural competency and humanistic psychology.

Abstract Developing cultural competence is increasingly important for humanistic psychologists in our ethnoculturally diverse society. In the past, training in ethnocultural issues involved learning about the cultural values and characteristics of a small number of cultural groups. Today, cultural competence requires that the psychologist become aware of their own ethnocultural values and their own ethnocentrism. This process of self‐examination can be emotionally challenging. This paper addresses some of the problems encountered on the path to increasing cultural sensitivity and the effect of unexamined cultural values upon the therapeutic interaction. Psychologists are encouraged to become aware of the privilege associated with European American culture, with the cultural values embedded within psychological theory in general, and with cultural values of humanistic psychology.
Shifting paradigms in hormonal therapy for breast cancer.

Background: Tamoxifen has been the mainstay of endocrine treatment for postmenopausal patients with early and advanced breast cancer for many years. However, as an anti-estrogen with partial estrogenic effects, tamoxifen also has some serious safety and tolerability issues. Following tamoxifen treatment failure there were initially limited options for subsequent therapy. Therefore, new agents, including new anti-estrogens and aromatase inhibitors (AIs) were developed.Methods: Data for this review were identified by searches of PubMed and references from relevant articles. Abstracts were included only when the relevant information had not been published in full elsewhere. Only papers published in English were included.Results: The AIs have been shown to be effective treatments for hormone-sensitive metastatic breast cancer.Conclusions: Current clinical trial data in early breast cancer show longer disease-free survival and time to recurrence with anastrozole than that demonstrated with tamoxifen and very g...
Rearing of Toxorhynchites rutilus septentrionalis (Diptera: Culicidae) from Florida and Pennsylvania with Notes on Their Pre-diapause and Pupal Development

Larvae of the carnivorous tree-hole mosquito, Toxorhynchites rutilus septentrionalis (Dyar and Knab), overwinter as diapausing fourth instars from northern Florida to Pennsylvania. When reared in the laboratory at 21 °C after induced mating, larvae from Florida require a longer period for prediapause and pupal development than those from Pennsylvania.
Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Retropharyngeal Lymph Node Metastasis Identified by FDG PET/CT

Purpose Retropharyngeal lymph node (RPLN) metastasis is an uncommon finding in patients with oral cavity squamous carcinoma (OSCC). We sought to investigate the clinical outcomes, clinicopathological characteristics, and the priority of treatment with curative intent in OSCC patients with RPLN involvement. Methods and Materials Between January 2007 and January 2011, we identified 36 patients with primary RPLN metastases (n = 10) or RPLN relapse (n = 26). The follow-up continued until June 2013. Disease-specific survival (DSS), disease-free survival (DFS), and the potential benefits of salvage therapy served as the main outcome measures. Results The 2-year DSS and DFS rates of untreated patients with RPLN involvement were 20% and 24%, respectively. Level IV/V neck lymph node involvement was an adverse prognostic factor for DSS (P = 0.048) and DFS (P = 0.018). All of the patients presenting with neck lymph node involvement at level IV/V died within 6 months. Among patients who were treated for RPLN relapse, the 2-year DSS and DFS rates from the relapse day were 12.8% and 9.6%, respectively. Concomitant contralateral neck lymph node metastases (N2c) were associated with lower 2-year DSS (P = 0.005) and DFS (P = 0.011) rates. Moreover, five (55%) of the nine patients with recurrent disease in the contralateral RPLN had distant metastases within 6 months. Salvage therapy yielded the maximum survival benefit in patients without N2c disease and ipsilateral RPLN involvement alone (P = 0.005). Conclusion OSCC patients with RPLN involvement have poor outcomes. The risk factor for definitive treatment in OSCC patients with FDG PET/CT defined RPLN disease in primary disease was neck lymph node involvement at level IV/V and N2c and/or contralateral RPLN disease in recurrent disease. Treatment efforts with curative intent should be tailored according to individual risk factors.