cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Biological characteristics of peripheral nerve tumors induced with ethylnitrosourea.

Nervous system tumors were induced in the offspring of BD-IX (inbred) and CFE (non-inbred) rats by transplacental administration of ethylnitrosourea. Tumors of the peripheral nervous system (PNS) were obtained in approximately 80% of all animals, and tumors of the central nervous system (CNS) in 16%. Although several peripheral nerves were sites of tumor formation, the trigeminal nerve was the most frequent nerve affected. In male CFE rats, 70% of all PNS tumors affected the trigeminal nerve. The incidence of trigeminal nerve tumors in female BD-IX rats was only 33% of PNS tumors. Light and electron microscopy showed that the PNS tumors are made-up of Schwann cells, and behave like malignant tumors. The tumors began as a proliferation of recognizable Schwann cells, later they lost their basement lamina, destroyed the nerve tissue and invaded neighboring structures, but did not metastasize. Like their human counterparts, they showed “dense” and “loose” areas. In both of these, Schwann cells were recognized as the tumor cells. Trigeminal nerve tumors were transplanted fromin vitro cultured cells or directly from transplanted fresh tumor fragments to isologous rats (BD-IX). Subcutaneous. intraperitoneal and intracerebral transplants were done. The morphology and behavior of the transplanted tumors were similar to the original malignant neurinomas.
In vitro senescence of immune cells

Immune cells are eminently suitable model systems in which to address the possible role of replicative senescence during in vivo aging. Since there are more than 10(8) unique antigen specificities present within the total T lymphocyte population of each individual, the immune response to any single antigen requires massive clonal expansion of the small proportion of T cells whose receptors recognize that antigen. The Hayflick Limit may, therefore, constitute a barrier to effective immune function, at least for those T cells that encounter their specific antigen more than once over the life course. Application of the fibroblast replicative senescence model to the so-called cytotoxic or CD8 T cell, the class of T cells that controls viral infection and cancer, has revealed certain features in common with other cell types as well as several characteristics that are unique to T cells. One senescence-associated change that is T cell-specific is the complete loss of expression of the activation signaling surface molecule, CD28, an alteration that enabled the documentation of high proportions of senescent T cells in vivo. The T cell model has also provided the unique opportunity to analyze telomere dynamics in a cell type that has the ability to upregulate telomerase yet nevertheless undergoes senescence. The intimate involvement of the immune system in the control of pathogens and cancer as well as in modulation of bone homeostasis suggests that more extensive analysis of the full range of characteristics of senescent T cells may help elucidate a broad spectrum of age-associated physiological changes.
Video Capsule Endoscopy in Patients with Chronic Abdominal Pain with or without Associated Symptoms: A Retrospective Study

Background Chronic abdominal pain (CAP) is a common indication for gastroenterology referrals. More insidious causes of CAP isolated to the small bowel, such as malignancies and Crohn’s disease, are rising in incidence and causing more gastroenterologists to evaluate their patients with video capsule endoscopy (VCE). However, the role of VCE in patients with CAP is still unclear. Aims We assessed the efficacy of VCE in patients with CAP and whether it led to findings that contributed to disease management and meaningful interventions. Methods This retrospective study evaluated 607 capsule endoscopy studies at an open referral endoscopy unit. Ninety of the studies were for CAP. These studies were compared to those performed for other indications to compare diagnostic yield. In addition, we investigated whether VCE led to an intervention that improved clinical outcomes. Results Overall, the number of abnormal findings in CAP patients was significantly lower than VCE performed for other indications (24.4% vs 39.0%, respectively p = 0.009). When patients with CAP presented with other pertinent clinical findings (e.g. nausea, weight loss, anemia, history of in inflammatory bowel disease, etc.), the likelihood of an abnormal finding increased to a level that was not different from those who received VCE for other indications (27.1%, p = 0.10). The findings from VCE lead to changed management and improved outcomes in 16.2% of CAP patients with associated symptoms. However, the subgroup that benefited the most were those who had a prior history of Crohn’s disease. Patients with CAP who did not have any associated symptoms continued to have a significantly lower abnormal finding rate compared to those who received VCE for other indications (19.4%, p = 0.03) and VCE rarely led to a change in management that would improve outcomes (5.6%). Conclusions VCE for CAP has a lower rate of abnormal findings than other indications. However, VCE is a useful diagnostic tool that can help provide a possible etiology of CAP in patients with associated symptoms. However, a change in management from VCE is likely to be limited to those with a history of Crohn’s disease.
The distribution of elastic fibrous elements within the human penis

Objective To determine the distribution of elastic fibres in the tunica albuginea and the erectile tissue of the penis. Materials and methods Samples of tunica albuginea or penile erectile tissue were taken from seven cadavers and five patients undergoing surgery. Light and electron microscopy were performed. Results There were two anatomical regions in which elastic fibres were seen rarely: the proximal crus and the distal tunica. In the rest of the corpora cavernosa where the tunica was more compliant, the elastic fibres were in relative abundance. In the corpus spongiosum, abundant irregularly oriented elastic fibres were present; the densest elastic network was found in the glans penis and was composed of coarse elastic fibres. A perisinusoidal fibroelastic shell was seen in the glans, which was probably an extension of Buck's fascia. The elastic components within the sinusoids (cavernosal, spongiosal, and glanular) were similar but finer than the elastic lamellae in the penile arterial wall. Conclusion The elastic fibres were unevenly distributed, often forming an irregular network on which the collagen component rested. Elastic fibres were more abundant in the corpus spongiosum, around the blood vessels and surrounding the sinusoid of the corpus cavernosum.
Soil Factors Affecting Plant Concentrations of Cadmium, Copper, and Zinc on Sludge-Amended Soils

Establishment of maximum cumulative metal loading rates of sludge require metals in soils be related to metal concentrations in plants grown on those soils. The relationship between plant concentrations of Cd, Cu, and Zn and soil properties on sites of long-term municipal sludge application were evaluated. Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris L.) and lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) were planted on five fields (Typic Hapludults) with known sludge disposal history. After harvest, tobacco (Nicotina tabacum L.) following swiss chard and peanut (Arachis hypogea L.) following lettuce were planted in the same plots. Extractable Cd, Cu, and Zn (Mehlich-3, 0.05 M DTPA, 0.05 M EDTA), clay, humic matter, organic C, and pH were determined on a composite 20-cm depth soil sample and Mehlich-3 extractable metals were determined by 15-cm increments on a 60-cm depth sample from each plot. Tissue concentrations of Cd, Cu, and Zn were measured near harvest maturity (swiss chard and lettuce) or shortly after anthesis (tobacco and peanut). Simple linear regressions were poor between plant metal concentration and soil-extractable metal for all extractants. Inclusion of soil properties in the best-fit multivariate regression models improved the relationship for metal concentration in plants. Values for R 2 ranged from 0.30 to 0.96 with the poorest correlations obtained for Cu in lettuce and peanut. Best-fit models for all other crop-extractant-metal combinations had R 2 > 0.83. Metals extracted by the three extractants were correlated with each other so their inclusion in models describing plant concentrations of heavy metal in this study gave similar results.
Geographic variation of sex-linked translocation heterozygosity in the termite Kalotermes approximatus snyder (Insecta: Isoptera)

The primitive termite Kalotermes approximatus carries a number of reciprocal translocations (segmental interchanges) that are linked to the sex-determining mechanism in such a way that males are permanent structural heterozygotes, forming long chains or rings of chromosomes in meiosis, while females are structural homozygotes, forming only bivalents. A survey of male meiosis from collections covering nearly the whole species range in the southeastern United States reveals considerable variation in the number of translocations: males with a diploid number of 32 or 33 have meiotic chains of 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 or 19 chromosomes. The different types can be arranged in an evolutionary series of rearrangements involving translocations or Robertsonian fusions between chromosomal elements in the ring and those outside. In addition, the existence of a closed chain (ring) of 16, and of four different types of chain of 13, indicate that similar rearrangements have occurred among chain elements. The geographic pattern of these rearrangements suggests that their selection accompanied the expansion of the species northward from southern Florida sometime since the last glaciation or, alternatively, that as they arose the new translocation types successively supplanted the ancestral types, preferentially in the east-central portion of the range.
Delayed neurotoxicity from continuous low-dose oral administration of leptophos to hens

Abstract Delayed neurotoxicity in hens was produced following daily oral administration of subneurotoxic doses, i.e., 1, 2.5, 5, 10, and 20 mg/kg of leptophos [ O -(4-bromo-2,5-dichlorophenyl) O -methyl phenylphosphonothioate] in gelatin capsules for 60 days or until ataxia developed. A “no-effect” dose was found to be 0.5 mg/kg. Severity of the clinical condition depended on the size of the daily ingested dose, i.e., while paralysis was permanent after large doses, it was temporary after smaller doses. Duration of administration and “total dose” before onset of ataxia depended on the daily dose. The effect was not only cumulative but the total dose required to produce ataxia decreased with decrease of the daily dose. Degeneration of myelin and axons was seen in spinal cords and sciatic nerves of intoxicated birds. The extent of change varied with increasing dose. Paralyzed hens had significant histologic alteration while ataxic birds exhibited only mild changes. Red blood cell acetylcholinesterase was inhibited and recovered when the administration of leptophos had stopped. On the other hand, plasma cholinesterase, after initial inhibition and recovery, was severely inhibited as the signs of neurotoxicity progressed.
Demographic Trends that will Shape Future Housing Demand.

Four important demographic influences will shape housing demand in the United States: (1) the population's changing age profile, which foreshadows significant shifts in the composition of future housing demand, (2) the tendency for young men and women to remain single longer than they did in the past and to establish households in “nonfamily” living situations as primary individuals, (3) the widening mortality differential between the sexes, which has increased the tendency for women to outlive men, (4) a reversal of long-standing migration trends, which has brought about a redirection of settlement patterns within and outside the nation's metropolitan areas. Together, these trends will influence the type of housing people seek, and where they seek it, in three distinct ways: (1) by governing the rate of change in population of prime household-formation age, (2) by influencing the manner in which people group themselves into social units for housing purposes at different stages of the life cycle, (3) by concentrating specific socioeconomic or age strata of the population in certain places.
Amine Oxidative N-Dealkylation via Cupric Hydroperoxide Cu-OOH Homolytic Cleavage Followed by Site-Specific Fenton Chemistry

Copper(II) hydroperoxide species are significant intermediates in processes such as fuel cells and (bio)chemical oxidations, all involving stepwise reduction of molecular oxygen. We previously reported a CuII-OOH species that performs oxidative N-dealkylation on a dibenzylamino group that is appended to the 6-position of a pyridyl donor of a tripodal tetradentate ligand. To obtain insights into the mechanism of this process, reaction kinetics and products were determined employing ligand substrates with various para-substituent dibenzyl pairs (-H,-H; -H,-Cl; -H,-OMe, and -Cl,-OMe), or with partially or fully deuterated dibenzyl N-(CH2Ph)2 moieties. A series of ligand–copper(II) bis-perchlorate complexes were synthesized, characterized, and the X-ray structures of the -H,-OMe analogue were determined. The corresponding metastable CuII-OOH species were generated by addition of H2O2/base in acetone at −90 °C. These convert (t1/2 ≈ 53 s) to oxidatively N-dealkylated products, producing para-substituted benzal...
The social honeypot project: protecting online communities from spammers

We present the conceptual framework of the Social Honeypot Project for uncovering social spammers who target online communities and initial empirical results from Twitter and MySpace. Two of the key components of the Social Honeypot Project are: (1) The deployment of social honeypots for harvesting deceptive spam profiles from social networking communities; and (2) Statistical analysis of the properties of these spam profiles for creating spam classifiers to actively filter out existing and new spammers.
Constitutive expression of MMP9 in intestinal epithelium worsens murine acute colitis and is associated with increased levels of proinflammatory cytokine Kc

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which includes ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, is a chronic inflammatory disease associated with an increased risk for colon cancer. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are the predominant proteinases expressed in the gut mucosa during active IBD. Our laboratory has previously demonstrated that epithelial-derived MMP9 is absent in normal colonic tissue but is upregulated during IBD. In this study MMP9 transgenic mice (Tg-villin-MMP9) are generated specifically to overexpress MMP9 in intestinal epithelium to examine the role and underlying mechanism by which it modulates the pathogenesis of acute colitis. Dextran sodium sulfate (3% DSS)- and Salmonella typhimurium (S.T.)-induced colitis models were used to study gut inflammation in Tg-villin-MMP9 and wild-type littermates (WT). Colonic tissue was analyzed via Western blot, histology, myeloperoxidase (MPO) assay, and quantitative PCR. Tg-villin-MMP9 mice expressed significantly increased MMP9 mRNA and protein expression at basal level. There was a significant decrease in the goblet cells, but a significant increase in proliferation and apoptosis were observed among Tg-villin-MMP9 mice compared with WT mice. There was also a significant increase in the proinflammatory chemokine Kc among Tg-villin-MMP9 compared with WT mice. Tg-villin-MMP9 exhibited a severe inflammatory response than WT mice in both DSS- and S.T.-induced colitis models as evident by greater weight loss and higher clinical score, histological score, and MPO activity, which correlated with relative levels of Kc mRNA. MMP9 expressed by intestinal epithelial cells mediates inflammation in colitis with simultaneous increase in proinflammatory cytokine Kc.
Cross-Level Measurement Invariance in School and Classroom Environment Surveys Implications for Policy and Practice

Measures of classroom and school environments are central to policy efforts that assess school and teacher quality. These measures are often formed by aggregating individual survey responses to for...
Diffusion approximations for a single node accessed by congestion-controlled sources

We consider simple models of congestion control in high-speed networks, and develop diffusion approximations which could be useful for resource allocation. We first show that, if the sources are ON-OFF type with exponential ON and OFF times, then, under a certain scaling, the steady-state distribution of the number of active sources can be described by a combination of two appropriately truncated and renormalized normal distributions. For the case where the source arrival process is Poisson and the service times are exponential, the steady-state distribution consists of appropriately normalized and truncated Gaussian and exponential distributions. We then consider the case where the arrival process is a general renewal process with finite coefficient of variation and service-time distributions that are phase type, and show the impact of these distributions on the steady-state distribution of the number of sources in the system. We also establish an insensitivity to service-time distribution when the arrival process is Poisson. We use these results to relate the capacity of a bottleneck node to performance measures of interest for best effort traffic.
Development of an HPLC Stability‐Indicating Assay for 1‐(2‐Thienylethyl)‐4‐imidazoline‐2‐thione

Abstract A stability‐indicating assay method using high performance liquid chromatography was developed for monitoring 1‐(2‐thienylethyl)‐4‐imidazoline‐2‐thione bulk compound. A sample of the compound was dissolved in mobile phase and chromatographed using a Zorbax Rx‐C8 column. The mobile phase composition was 35/65 (v/v) acetonitrile/water made 0.02 M in sodium phosphate buffer at apparent pH 6.9. Ultraviolet detection at 239 nm was used for the assay. Solutions containing 1‐(2‐thienylethyl)‐4‐imidazoline‐2‐thione were stressed using acidic and basic conditions at elevated temperatures. Oxidative stress using hydrogen peroxide treated solutions were also used to verify the stability‐indicating capability of the developed chromatographic method. The validation and other facets of this developed method will be discussed.
Teaching More by Grading Less (or Differently).

The authors explore a history of grading and review the literature regarding the purposes and impacts of grading. They then suggest strategies for making grading more supportive of learning, includ...
Systemic and cellular responses to intermittent hypoxia: evidence for oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction.

Episodic hypoxia is associated with recurrent apnea syndromes (central or obstructive apneas). Epidemiological studies have shown good correlation between apneas and hypertension, myocardial infarctions and abnormalities in ventilatory control system (Nieto et al., 2000). Studies on experimental animal models have demonstrated that hypoxia, rather than hypercapnia, is the-primary stimulus that is responsible for developing cardiovascular abnormalities (see Fletcher, 2001 for ref).
A polymorphism of the mu-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1) and sensitivity to the effects of alcohol in humans.

Background: Recent research has implicated the endogenous opioid system in the development of alcohol use disorders. The A118G polymorphism of the OPRM1 gene has been shown to confer functional differences to μ-opioid receptors, such that the G variant binds β-endorphin three times more strongly than the A variant. The goal of this study was to test whether the A118G polymorphism is associated with sensitivity to the effects of alcohol. Methods: Participants who were either homozygous for the A allele (n= 23) or heterozygous (n= 15) received intravenous doses of alcohol designed to reach three target levels of breath alcohol concentration: 0.02, 0.04, and 0.06. The testing procedure consisted of measures of subjective intoxication, stimulation, sedation, and mood states at baseline and at each of the three target breath alcohol concentrations. Results: The results suggested that individuals with the G allele reported higher subjective feelings of intoxication, stimulation, sedation, and happiness across trials as compared with participants with the A allele. Furthermore, participants with the G allele were almost three times more likely to report a positive family history of alcohol use disorders than participants with the A allele. Conclusions: These findings may help to explain previous research suggesting that naltrexone is more effective among individuals with the G allele. A medication that reduces feelings of euphoria after alcohol consumption may be more successful among individuals with a genetic predisposition to greater feelings of euphoria after consuming alcohol.
Challenges in Reducing Surgical "Never Events".

Theoperating room is a complex, high-risk systemwhere adverse events remain commonplace. Certain errors, including wrong-site surgery,a retainedsurgical item(RSI),oranoperating roomfire,have been termed never events, indicating these should be 100% preventable.Despite significantattentionandpreventionefforts,never events still occur. It is estimated that physicians operating on bilateral structures will have a 25% lifetime risk of performing wrongsite surgery and that 1 in 8000 inpatient operations will have an RSI.1,2 These events can lead to significant physical andpsychological harm to patients. The consequences can also be severe for cliniciansand institutions, including theprofoundpsychological toll on involvedclinicians, aswell as the financial burdenofmedicolegal action and negative effects on professional reputation.3 In a study published in JAMA Surgery, Hempel et al4 conducted a systematic review to examine the current body of literature for the incidence, root causes, and interventions to prevent wrong-site surgery, RSIs, and surgical fires after the implementation of the Joint Commission’s Universal Protocol in 2004. Based on their assessment of 138 empirical studies, the authors concluded that the incidence andestimates forwrong-site surgery and RSIs are low (median estimate of 0.09 events per 10 000 surgical procedures and 1.32 events per 10 000 procedures, respectively) and vary considerably by data source and procedure. In addition, therewerenodata to estimate the frequencyof surgical fires. Even though the authors identified that studies highlighted the need for better communicationas amajor contributing factor to thesenever events, of more concern is that no clear mechanism has been developed toprevent or considerably reduce themiscommunication. The evidence supporting the effectiveness of the few existing interventions to reduce these events is inconclusive. Reducing the incidence of these serious events requires amultifaceted approach. In light of the study’s findings, several targets JAMASURGERY
Employment and Earnings: A Case Study of Urban Detroit:

This paper investigates the roles of manufacturing employment, neighborhood poverty, and family structure in determining wages among Detroit, MI workers, just prior to the current economic crisis. Employment in manufacturing has been crucial for blacks and whites: 39% of black and of white men in the Detroit metropolitan area worked in manufacturing in 2000. Regression analysis in this paper estimates employment in manufacturing raised wages 15.8% for all workers in the metropolitan area, 24.4% for blacks and 13.8% for whites. It finds a higher wage penalty (4.7%) for blacks in non-manufacturing industries than is found when manufacturing sector jobs are included (2.6%). Wage returns to education were greater in the non-manufacturing employment sector, especially for blacks. Residence in the poorest central city neighborhoods reduced wages significantly for white manufacturing and non-manufacturing workers. Its coefficient was insignificant for black workers. Gender and marital status effects on wages differed between blacks and whites in magnitude: White women suffered a larger penalty for their sex than black women (22.6 versus 9.6%) yet black men enjoyed a greater return to marriage than white men (27.5 versus 25.0%). Controlling for manufacturing reduced the gender wage gap and the returns to marriage for men. These findings suggest greater accessibility for women; and lower returns to marriage in non-manufacturing sectors. Among employed blacks access to manufacturing jobs has been their main source of decent wages. The adverse effects of the industry’s job loss in the 1980s and 1990s impacted all Detroit residents. Other high wage industries have employed relatively few blacks, have not paid them well; and have suffered job loss and slow growth over the period. Education could have raised wages for non-manufacturing workers, but not as much as access to manufacturing jobs. Today as in 2000, Detroit’s residents desperately need job creation or relocation to the central city; and job training and anti-discrimination policy enforcement throughout the metro-area. All of these would be necessary to offset job loss and reduce inequality and poverty in Detroit. The extent to which blacks will benefit from 2010–11 improvements in manufacturing employment in Detroit depends upon whether private companies and the state provide equal access to the jobs and the training new technologies require.
Hyperthermia-induced increase in potassium transport in Chinese hamster cells.

The effect of hyperthermia (42/sup 0/C) on K/sup +/ transport has been examined by monitoring the uptake of /sup 42/KCl by Chinese hamster (line CHO) cells at both 37/sup 0/ and 42/sup 0/C as well as 37/sup 0/C following a 30-min treatment at 42/sup 0/C. Early studies showed that CHO cells exhibit two components of uptake at both 37/sup 0/ and 42/sup 0/C. Consequently, it was necessary to determine rate equations describing a three-compartment system (i.e., the bathing medium and two cell-associated compartments) and apply them to this system. Using the equations describing the behavior of the tracer in each compartment as well as the general solutions given by Robertson et al, a method was developed for obtaining the two components of influx. The two transport rates were determined from equations arising from mathematical analysis and requiring only measurable quantities for their solutions. The results of this study showed that (1) both components of influx at 42/sup 0/C are increased over influx at 37/sup 0/C; (2) the increase is significant (by an average 68% for the rapid component and 55% for the slow component); and (3) the increase is due entirely to an increase in active transport. The increased activemore » transport is both immediate and quickly reversible when cells are returned to 37/sup 0/C; resumption of cell division is delayed for several additional hours, indicating that changes in potassium transport are not directly responsible for the prolonged delay in cell division. Rather, the results suggest that increased activity of the membrane pump may be the initial event in a series of events resulting from heat treatment.« less
Modeling studies of the effect of thermal and electrical conductivities and relative density of field-activated self-propagating combustion synthesis

The role of the electrical conductivity of the product and of the thermal conductivities of the reactants on self-propagating combustion synthesis was investigated through modeling studies. Similar studies were made to investigate the role of the relative density of the reactants. The effect of an imposed electric field on the results of the modeling analysis was considered. For any given imposed field, the wave velocity exhibited a maximum at a given normalized thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, and relative density. The results are discussed in terms of the Joule heat contribution of the field and are compared with experimental observations.
Versatile generation of optical vector fields and vector beams using a non-interferometric approach.

We present a versatile, non-interferometric method for generating vector fields and vector beams which can produce all the states of polarization represented on a higher-order Poincare sphere. The versatility and non-interferometric nature of this method is expected to enable exploration of various exotic properties of vector fields and vector beams. To illustrate this, we study the propagation properties of some vector fields and find that, in general, propagation alters both their intensity and polarization distribution, and more interestingly, converts some vector fields into vector beams. In the article, we also suggest a modified Jones vector formalism to represent vector fields and vector beams.
The Chloroplasts as Platform for Recombinant Proteins Production

Chloroplasts are a useful platform for the expression of recombinant proteins in higher plants. Transgenes can be introduced into the plastid genome (plastome) either by PEG transformation of plant protoplasts, or, more commonly, by the biolistic method, using leaves or suspension cells. Transgenes are integrated by double recombination events between flanking sequences in the vector and homologous sequences in the plastome. The genetic engineering of the plastome allows high-level foreign protein expression, site-specific gene integration, expression of multiple genes as operons, marker gene excision, and transgene containment. Since the first example of stable plastid transformation in higher plants, methods for DNA introduction, marker genes and selection strategies, vector types, and methods for marker excision have been improved. Although the plastids of some species remain difficult to transform, positive results have been shown for about 20 species. In this chapter, we summarize the basic structural and expression features of the plastid genome of higher plants, and discuss the development of a number of innovative enabling technologies for plastome transformation, the most recent and significant biotechnological applications, and the future perspectives of this technology.
Agrarian Change and Conflict In Kenya

(1991). Agrarian Change and Conflict In Kenya. Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue canadienne des etudes africaines: Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 122-128.
Aspects of Western Chou Appointment Inscriptions: The Charge, the Gifts, and the Response

The significance of the conferral of gifts recorded in Western Chou appointment inscriptions, together with some related linguistic issues, is considered in this article, with the intention of indicating the distinction between gifts as regards and gifts as insignia of office, and, in the latter case, of establishing the far greater importance to the recipient of the “charge” or appointment to the king's service, with its attendant implications of recognition and honor.
A Method for the Testing of Adhesive Tape

Abstract The authors performed several thousand tests upon adhesives of different compositions, manufactured under excellent controlled factory conditions and carried upon backs of a variety of constructions. One conclusion was clear, which is included here even though this particular paper is devoted largely to a description of the test procedure alone. This is that other things being the same (paper or cloth of the same construction, methods of manufacture, and so on) each adhesive, when tested as described, gives a curve which is characteristic of its composition.
Biotransport in Optical Diagnostics, Imaging, and Therapy

Non-invasive characterization and manipulation of tissue structure and function across spatial scales is one of the most challenging problems facing the use of optical techniques in biomedicine. A broad technical goal for the use of optical methods is the non-invasive measurement and/or manipulation of tissue structure and function on the microscopic scale while preserving the ability to interrogate the largest possible tissue volume. This overall goal has resulted in a plethora of optical diagnostic, imaging, and therapeutic methodologies that utilize specific light-tissue interactions and exploit various endogenous and/or exogenous optical contrast elements.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Biodiversity impact assessment of mineral resources exploitation and conservation planning in Ganzi Prefecture of Sichuan Province,Southwest China

In order to explore the impact of the exploitation and conservation planning of mineral resources on the local biological diversity,the Ganzi Prefecture of Sichuan Province was divided into 8 types of vegetation landscape,with the landscape density,frequency,proportion,and dominance in 2005(the year before the planning implemented) calculated,and the variations of these indices in 2010 and 2020(the years after the planning implemented) predicted.Through the overlapping of the planning areas and the biodiversity sensitive areas,their spatial conflicts were analyzed,and,based on the screening,integration,and synthesizing of the information from the vegetation maps in the upper reaches of Yangtze River,in combining with field survey,40 vegetation types in the Prefecture were divided.The biomass distribution map of the vegetations in the Prefecture was drawn,and the biomass in each planning area was calculated.By using the distribution map of the fauna and flora in the Prefecture,the ratio of the grid of each species in each encouraged mining area and restrictive mining area to the total grids in whole planning area was calculated,and applied to denote the affecting extent of the mining activities on each species.Based on the above work,the adjustment proposals for the mineral resources exploitation and conservation planning in the Prefecture were raised.
Towards a more universal understanding of radiation drive in gas-filled hohlraums

We have found that radiation-hydrodynamic calculations that use the high flux model assumptions [1] can accurately predict the radiation drive produced by a laser-heated hohlraum under certain conditions, but can not predict drive over a broad range of parameters (pulse energy, hohlraum gas fill density, hohlraum case-to-capsule ratio). In particular, the model is accurate for ~7 ns long laser pulses used to implode capsules with high density carbon (HDC) ablators in hohlraums with helium fill gas densities of 0-0.6 mg/cc. By systematically varying the gas fill density from 0 to 1.6 mg/cc we found that the agreement with drive begins to diverge for fills > 0.85 mg/cc. This divergence from the model coincides with the onset of measureable SRS backscatter. In this same set of experiments the radiation drive symmetry inferred from the imploded shape of a gas-filled capsule is not predicted with this model. Finally, several possible fixes to the model to reduce the observed discrepancies are considered.
Exploring the Insertion Mechanism of SVS-1 β-Hairpin Peptide into an Anionic Lipid Bilayer

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are ubiquitous in many biological systems and act as host defenses against microbial pathogens. Existing theories on how AMPs insert and cause pore formation still lack mechanistic detail. In this study, we investigate the insertion mechanism of SVS-1 (KVKVKVKVDPPTKVKVKVK), an anti-cancer beta-hairpin peptide, into an anionic lipid bilayer using atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.There is an energy barrier needed to overcome the strong electrostatic interactions of positive peptide sidechains and negatively charged lipid head groups. By comparing the folding of SVS-1 in charged and uncharged lipid bilayers, we found that folding occurs at different rates and lead to different secondary structures. The introduction of one valine sidechain site into the bilayer promotes folding at the surface. We see correct folding and misfolding in the forms of a beta bulge and partial α-helical formation in our simulations. We infer these single molecule structures as intermediates and suggest a cooperative peptide effect will induce correct folding and insertion. Further insight gained from our studies can potentially aid in design of novel AMPs as therapeutic or cancer targets and classify the mechanisms of insertion and membrane disruption.
Frontal QRS-T Angle and the Risk of Atrial Fibrillation in the Elderly

Background Frontal QRS-T angle reflects changes in regional action potential duration and the direction of repolarization. Although it has been suggested that abnormal ventricular repolarization predisposes to atrial arrhythmias, it is unknown whether abnormal frontal QRS-T angle is associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods We examined the association between frontal QRS-T angle and AF in 4282 participants (95% white; 41% male) from the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS). QRS-T angle was computed from baseline electrocardiogram data. Abnormal QRS-T angle was defined as values greater than the sex-specific 95th percentile (men >131°; women: >104°). AF cases were identified from study electrocardiograms and from hospitalization discharge data through December 31, 2010. Cox regression was used to compute hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between abnormal QRS-T angle and AF. Results Over a median follow-up of 12.1 years, a total of 1276 (30%) participants developed AF. In a Cox regression model, adjusted for socio-demographics and known AF risk factors, abnormal QRS-T angle was associated with a 55% increased risk of AF (HR = 1.55, 95%CI = 1.23, 1.97). When QRS-T angle was examined as a continuous variable, each 10° increase was associated with a 3% increased risk of AF (HR = 1.03, 95%CI = 1.01, 1.05). This finding was consistent in subgroups stratified by age, sex, and race. Conclusion Our findings suggest that an abnormal frontal QRS-T angle on the electrocardiogram provides important prognostic information regarding AF risk in the elderly, and further implicate ventricular repolarization abnormalities in the pathogenesis of AF.
Preventing Eating Disorders in Adolescents

Eating disorders consist of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and other specified eating and feeding disorders (OSFED). Many eating disorders onset during adolescence, making this a critical target period for prevention efforts. To date, eating disorder prevention efforts have targeted key risk factors presumed to increase risk of disorder onset. This chapter reviews risk factors often targeted by prevention researchers, common components to existing prevention programs, as well as a selection of specific programs that have received empirical investigation. Three programs have been found to reduce onset of eating disorders in higher risk populations. Additional programs have yielded reductions in critical risk factors and eating disorder symptoms. Overall, despite significant advances in the prevention of eating disorders, many research trials suffer from insufficient statistical power, lack adequate control groups, and need longer follow-up periods. Further research must investigate whether or not promising risk factor reducing programs actually prevent onset of eating disorders.
Avoiding the tragedy of (un)common knowledge: reflections on conducting qualitative criminological research in conservation science

The interdisciplinary nature of conservation science has generated much discussion. Previous scholars have highlighted the lack of mutual understanding between the natural and social sciences in te...
Representing Patient Assessments in LOINC

Without being included in accepted vocabulary standards, the results of completed patient assessment instruments cannot be easily shared in health information exchanges. To address this important barrier, we have developed a robust model to represent assessments in LOINC through iterative refinement and collaborative development. To capture the essential aspects of the assessment, the LOINC model represents the hierarchical panel structure, global item attributes, panel-specific item attributes, and structured answer lists. All assessments are available in a uniform format within the freely available LOINC distribution. We have successfully added many assessments to LOINC in this model, including several federally required assessments that contain functioning and disability content. We continue adding to this "master question file" to further enable interoperable exchange, storage, and processing of assessment data.
Early lineages of Vespidae (Hymenoptera) in Cretaceous amber

Three wasp (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) fossils in Cretaceous amber (Late Albian) of northern Myanmar are described. Two are new species of the Mesozoic genus Curiosivespa (Rasnitsyn): C. zigrasi sp.n. and C. striata sp.n. The third species, Protovespa haxairei gen.n. et sp.n., has a combination of features unique among Mesozoic Priorvespinae and the extant subfamilies. These well preserved fossils provide new morphological data for a cladistic analysis of the basal lineages of Vespidae. Results suggest that Euparagiinae is the sister group of all other Vespidae. The new genus Protovespa appears more closely related to extant Masarinae, Eumeninae and social wasps than to Priorvespinae. We assign it to a new subfamily: Protovespinae. Finally, fossil information combined with a phylogenetic tree shows that the main groups of Vespidae probably evolved during the Early Cretaceous. This published work has been registered in ZooBank, http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:1E7E4796-6E70-4D81-BB34-0FEEA765DC25.
Beyond Pelvic Incidence–Lumbar Lordosis Mismatch: The Importance of Assessing the Entire Spine to Achieve Global Sagittal Alignment:

Study Design:Retrospective case series.Objective:To investigate which sagittal parameters contribute to a normal sagittal vertical axis (SVA) when there is a pelvic incidence-lumbar lordosis (PI-LL...
Epigenetic mechanisms underlying maternal diabetes-associated risk of congenital heart disease

Birth defects are the leading cause of infant mortality, and they are caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Environmental risk factors may contribute to birth defects in genetically susceptible infants by altering critical molecular pathways during embryogenesis, but experimental evidence for gene-environment interactions is limited. Fetal hyperglycemia associated with maternal diabetes results in a 5-fold increased risk of congenital heart disease (CHD), but the molecular basis for this correlation is unknown. Here, we show that the effects of maternal hyperglycemia on cardiac development are sensitized by haploinsufficiency of Notch1, a key transcriptional regulator known to cause CHD. Using ATAC-seq, we found that hyperglycemia decreased chromatin accessibility at the endothelial NO synthase (Nos3) locus, resulting in reduced NO synthesis. Transcription of Jarid2, a regulator of histone methyltransferase complexes, was increased in response to reduced NO, and this upregulation directly resulted in inhibition of Notch1 expression to levels below a threshold necessary for normal heart development. We extended these findings using a Drosophila maternal diabetic model that revealed the evolutionary conservation of this interaction and the Jarid2-mediated mechanism. These findings identify a gene-environment interaction between maternal hyperglycemia and Notch signaling and support a model in which environmental factors cause birth defects in genetically susceptible infants.
Dual Master of Social Work / Master of Public Health Degrees: Perceptions of Graduates and Field Instructors

Despite growing interest in Master of Social Work/Master of Public Health (MSW/MPH) programs, limited research literature is available on MSW/MPH graduates and none has examined field instructors’ perceptions of MSW/MPH students. This study describes the perceptions and experiences of MSW/MPH alumni and field instructors from a recently implemented MSW/MPH program at the University of Georgia. Electronic surveys were administered to 32 alumni and 34 field instructors; response rates were 71.9% (n=23) and 70.6% (n=24), respectively. Alumni reported satisfaction with the dual degree and utilization of both social work and public health skills in the workplace. Field instructors underscored the complementary skill sets of dually-trained students and noted the added value of MSW/MPH professionals in their agencies. Dually-trained MSW/MPH practitioners are uniquely prepared to address the need for transdisciplinary and interprofessional collaborations to address long-standing social and health issues.
Multi-scale segmentation using deep graph cuts: Robust lung tumor delineation in MVCBCT

Deep networks have been used in a growing trend in medical image analysis with the remarkable progress in deep learning. In this paper, we formulate the multi-scale segmentation as a Markov Random Field (MRF) energy minimization problem in a deep network (graph), which can be efficiently and exactly solved by computing a minimum s-t cut in an appropriately constructed graph. The performance of the proposed method is assessed on the application of lung tumor segmentation in 38 mega-voltage cone-beam computed tomography datasets.
Rethinking data storage for the zettabyte cloud era: The journey from metal to glass

Microsoft’s Project Silica aims to create a cloud-scale storage system designed and built from the media up to service cloud workloads. Recent discoveries at Southampton University on how to use ultrafast lasers to store data in quartz glass [1] is the starting point. Using femtosecond lasers provides the raw ability to control the formation of nano-gratings in the silica (which we call voxels), and this forms the basis on which we build Project Silica. Collaborating with Southampton University, we aim to understand the process of controlling the formation of voxels, to enable us to encode multiple bits per voxel.To build a full storage system, we need to address multiple challenges at each layer, from taming the writing of voxels, to understanding how to efficiently read the voxels in the glass, and ultimately how to build a cloud-scale storage system that can exploit the unique properties of storing data in silica and can service a cloud workload. This creates an incredibly exciting opportunity to challenge and completely re-think traditional storage system design, and to co-design the future media, hardware and software infrastructure for the cloud.
Spin–photon entanglement in diamond for quantum optical networks

Abstract: This chapter describes progress towards the realization of quantum networks through optical interconnections between isolated solid-state spin quantum bits (qubits) in diamond. Measurement-induced nonlinearity between photons emitted by two such qubits, and the resulting heralded entangled state, represents a key starting primitive in many theoretical protocols for quantum networks. This chapter first reviews the theory behind heralded entanglement generation, and then discusses the key requirements and some recent experiments that demonstrate all the ingredients necessary to achieve remote entanglement between spin qubits in diamond.
Tracking the Housing Bubble Across Metropolitan Areas – A Spatio-Temporal Comparison of House Price Indices

This article presents an analysis of five available house price indices that are used to track house prices at the metropolitan area level. These five indices are (1) the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), (2) the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller® Home Price Indices, (3) an adjusted version of the FHFA House Price Index, (4) the Zillow Home Value Index, and (5) the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Median Home Price. This study first discusses the strengths and weaknesses of these indices for use in a spatio-temporal analysis. Then, it provides a comparative analysis of their change rate for 10 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) for two time periods: the third quarter of 2006 through the third quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of 2007 through the first quarter of 2008. In addition, this research constructs a series of spatio-temporal indicators based on time and spatial lags of the HPI for 302 MSAs for the 2000 to 2007 period. The results of this data brief could help researchers interested in spatio-temporal analyses of the latest housing bubble and of house price indices at large.