cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Proposed rule: current good manufacturing practice in manufacturing, packing, or holding dietary ingredients and dietary supplements

The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) was enacted in October 1994 to promote the health of Americans by ensuring easier access to safe dietary supplements. Many supplements such as vitamins, minerals, herbs and amino acids have been reported to be helpful in chronic conditions (i.e., heart disease, cancer and osteoporosis). Under DSHEA, dietary supplements can be marketed without prior FDA approval; the burden is on this agency to show that a marketed dietary supplement is unsafe. However, DSHEA retained the FDA's authority to issue regulations that require the manufacture of dietary supplements be in compliance with current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) standards, which are needed to ensure their quality. Several quality-related concerns of marketed dietary supplements that came to light since the passage of DSHEA prompted the FDA in 2003 to propose rules for cGMP for the manufacture, packaging and holding (storage) of dietary supplements. This review will present the highlights of these proposed rules, focusing on the legislative history of DSHEA, rationale for proposing cGMPs along with a general discussion of the specific requirements. Given the voluminous nature of the specific details, the reader is directed to the pertinent FDA publications for details. In this analysis, selected scientific and legal issues are also discussed to promote a better understanding and implications of these rules.
Improving teleoperated robot speed using optimization techniques

Current autonomous robots are not sophisticated enough to complete many mobile tasks, so human-in-the-loop control -- including teleoperation -- remains the only way to accomplish these tasks. However, most teleoperated tasks cannot be performed at a reasonable speed. When evaluating design choices, it is not always clear which designs will yield the greatest speed increase at the lowest cost. This paper introduces a optimization-based approach for evaluating multiple design options that weighs robot speed against costs such as component price and size. An example is presented to illustrate the methodology.
Recurrent decreases of erythrocyte electrophoretic mobility in rats exposed to 1.0 R whole-body x-radiation.

Circulating erythrocytes from rats were examined up to 30 weeks post whole-body exposures of 1.0 R for alterations in the expression of net negative surface charge as measured by whole-cell microelectrophoresis in saline sorbitol. Erythrocyte electrophoretic mobility was determined in an apparatus composed of a horizontal transilluminated cylindrical chamber, equipped with a reversible, blacked platinum electrode, immersed in a water bath maintained at 25.0±0.1°C (Rank Brothers). In two separate experiments, recurrent decreases in the expression of net negative surface charge occurred at 10, 17, and 30 weeks post-irradiation. At these times distribution analyses of recorded erythrocyte electrophoretic mobility (EEPM) values revealed a skewing of the normally distributed EEPM population values to lower EEPM. Total sialic acid content released from hydrolyzed erythrocyte membrane preparations revealed no significant differences between erythrocytes from sham and irradiated animals. In vivo post-irradiation labeling of erythrocytes with diisopropyl-[32P] phosphorofluoridate at 4 and 33 weeks (separate experiments) indicated only a minor abbreviated erythrocyte life span at 33 weeks. Therefore, effects from low dose (1.0 R) whole-body irradiation would appear to include a recurrent defect in the expression of the net negative surface charge.
Analysis and application of node layout algorithms for intrusion detection

The need to monitor today's networked computer systems for security purposes is a major concern. Our monitoring environment aids system administrators in keeping track of the activities on such systems with much lower time requirements than that of perusing typical log files. With many systems connected to the network the task becomes significantly more difficult. If an attack is identified on one system then all systems have likely been attacked. The ability to correlate activity among multiple machines is critical for complete analysis and monitoring of the environment. Developing an effective organization of the nodes (systems) on the display is a nontrivial task. The organization must clearly show activity on all systems simultaneously while not cluttering the display or unnecessarily distracting the user. This paper discusses the layout techniques we have experimented with and their effectiveness.
Modulating Plant Calcium for Better Nutrition and Stress Tolerance

External Ca2+ supplementation helps plants to recover from stress. This paper considers genetic methods for increasing Ca2+ to augment stress tolerance in plants and to increase their nutritional value. The transport of Ca2+ must be carefully controlled to minimize fluctuations in the cytosol while providing both structural support to new cell walls and membranes, and intracellular stores of Ca2+ for signaling. It is not clear how this is accomplished in meristems, which are remote from active transpiration—the driving force for Ca2+ movement into shoots. Meristems have high levels of calreticulin (CRT), which bind a 50-fold excess of Ca2+ and may facilitate Ca2+ transport between cells across plasmodesmatal ER. Transgenes based on the high-capacity Ca2+-binding C-domain of CRT1 have increased the total plant Ca2+ by 15%–25% and also increased the abiotic stress tolerance. These results are compared to the overexpression of sCAX1, which not only increased total Ca2+ up to 3-fold but also caused Ca2+ deficiency symptoms. Coexpression of sCAX1 and CRT1 resolved the symptoms and led to high levels of Ca2+ without Ca2+ supplementation. These results imply an important role for ER Ca2+ in stress tolerance and signaling and demonstrate the feasibility of using Ca2+-modulating proteins to enhance both agronomic and nutritional properties.
Antibiotic activity of an extract of peyote (Lophophora Williamii (Lemaire) Coulter)

Attempts to obtain antibiotics from diverse groups of plants have been numerous. These attempts have included such varied taxa as bacteria, lichens, mosses (1) and flowering plants (2). The Arizona State Department of Liquor Control recently confiscated several sacks of peyote, Lophophora williamsii (Lemaire) Coulter, and turned a number of the plants over to the authors for research purposes. The use of peyote in religious rites by many Indian tribes is common knowledge (3). In addition, curative properties for such varied ailments as toothache, pain in childbirth, fever, breast pain, skin diseases, rheumatism, diabetes, colds, and blindness, among other things, have been claimed for this plant by the same peoples (4). It is listed in the Farmocopia Mexicana where incorporation of the name into a native term, the verb "empeyotizarse," meaning self medication for the relief of a hangover after over indulgence in alcoholic beverages, is reported (5). The U. S. Dispensatory (6) lists peyote under the name Anhaloniui and indicates its use to some extent in various forms of neurasthenia and hysteria and also in cases of asthma. The alkaloid composition of this plant has been intensively studied (7). However, peyote is often listed under a
Treatment of head injuries in the American Civil War

At the time of the American Civil War (1861-1865), a great deal was known about closed head injury and gunshot wounds to the head. Compression was differentiated from concussion, but localization of lesions was not precise. Ether and especially chloroform were used to provide anesthesia. Failure to understand how to prevent infection discouraged physicians from aggressive surgery. Manuals written to educate inexperienced doctors at the onset of the war provide an overview of the advice given by senior surgeons. The Union experiences in the treatment of head injury in the Civil War were discussed in the three surgical volumes of The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion. Wounds were divided into incised and puncture wounds, blunt injuries, and gunshot wounds, which were analyzed separately. Because the patients were not stratified by severity of injury and because there was no neuroimaging, it is difficult to understand the clinical problems and the effectiveness of surgery. Almost immediately after the war, increased knowledge about cerebral localization and the development of antisepsis (and then asepsis) permitted the development of modern neurosurgery.
Surfactant analysis by high performance liquid chromatography: I. A rapid analysis for mixtures of amphoteric surfactants and soap

A method has been developed for the rapid and direct analysis of amphoteric surfactants (sulfobetaines) in combination with mixtures of coconut and tallow soaps, with the aid of reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The mobile phase consisted of methanol-water (85:15, v/v) with 0.2% by volume acetic acid (pH ≐ 4). At this pH, tallow and coconut soap mixtures are analyzed as the fatty acids and are conveniently separated from the sulfobetaine. A typical HPLC analysis of such mixtures requires 25 min.
The number of elements in a generalized partition semilattice

Abstract Let Πn, k be the partially ordered set whose elements are all nonempty intersections of the affine hyperplanes H i,j,r ={x∈R n :x i =x j +r} for integers i, j, k, r such that 1 ⩽ i, j ⩽ n and vbr ⩽ k, ordered by reverse inclusion. First we show that for a fixed k, the exponential generating function Mk(x) of the number of maximal elements in this poset is M k (x)= e x −1 (1+k)−ke x , and then from this, it follows immediately, using species, that the number of elements in this poset which have a given dimension d is the coefficient of tdxn/n! in Nk(x, t) = etMk(x). After we do this, we use the fact that Mk+1(x) can be expressed in terms of Mk(x) for each k to show that this implies that there is a bijection between the set of maximal elements of Πn, k+1 and a certain other set.
RACE, CLASS, AND THE KATRINA CRISIS

The recent human tragedy in New Orleans created by Hurricane Katrina has generated an interesting and important debate about the underlying causes of black suffering and oppression. In its most simple form, the question being debated is whether race and racism were most responsible for the Katrina crisis that disrupted the lives of hundreds of thousands of African Americans, or whether class and poverty were relatively more significant in explaining this human catastrophe.
Resonant soft X-ray and extreme ultraviolet magnetic scattering in nanostructured magnetic materials: Fundamentals and directions ☆

Abstract Theoretical and practical aspects of resonant magnetic and charge scattering in the soft X-ray and extreme ultraviolet spectral ranges are reviewed. Intensity-only measurements are considered because they are more efficient than polarization-resolving measurements. Two very different approaches are discussed and compared; transmission small-angle scattering described by a simple kinematical scattering model and specular reflection described by more complex yet standard magneto-optical formalisms. In both cases the scattered intensity is seen to contain distinct terms resulting from pure-charge scattering, pure-magnetic scattering, and charge-magnetic cross-terms, and emphasis is placed on distinguishing these contributions via their energy spectra and its dependence on incident polarization. Combined with measurements vs. scattering vector q, both approaches provide significant capability to resolve magnetic and chemical structure down to nanometer length scales. The role of and need for modeling to obtain reliable information from data is discussed, as are current directions and opportunities.
Rasmussen's Encephalitis with Concomitant Cortical Dysplasia: The Role of GluR3

The role of the glutamate receptor GluR3 in Rasmussen's encephalitis is actively under investigation. Autoimmune processes with this receptor as the target are currently theorized. We provide an additional case of pathologically proved Rasmussen's encephalitis (with concomitant cortical dysplasia) in the presence of antibodies against the GluR3 receptor.
The hydrolysis and radiolysis of 191Os hexachloroosmate(IV)

Abstract The 191Os191mIr decay is suitable for construction of an ultra short lived radionuclide generator. The long lived parent ( T 1 2 15.3 day) may be loaded on some column support such that the short lived daughter ( T 1 2 4.9 sec) may be selectively removed and used in radionuclide angiographic applications. In work related to the development of this generator, we have investigated the hydrolysis and radiolysis properties of hexachloroosmate(IV). The aquation of OsCl6−2 in 1.5F NaCl solutions at pH 2.2 proceeds by the formation of Os(H2O)Cl5−1. The aquopentachloroosmate(IV) anion then hydrolyzes to a previously uncharacterized species with an absorption spectrum consisting of a peak at 365 mμ. The similarity of the spectrum to that of (H2O)Cl4OsOOsCl4(H2O)−2 indicates that this species may be (OH)Cl4OsOOsCl4(OH)−4. The rate of formation of the hydrolysis products is accelerated by radiation; the hydrolysis of hexachloroosmate(IV) on anion exchange resin is about 30–50 times greater on columns receiving about 106 rads/day.
An investigation of the effects of ductile phase reinforcement on the mechanical behavior of advanced high temperature intermetallics

Abstract The effects of ductile phase reinforcement on the mechanical behavior of Ti-48Al reinforced with 20 vol.% TiNb and MoSi 2 reinforced with 20 vol.% Nb are reported. Ductile phase reinforcement is shown to promote improved fracture toughness and a reduction in fatigue crack growth resistance. The role of crack/tip shielding by bridging and deflection mechanisms is also modeled, and the effects of temperature on the bend and tensile strengths are assessed.
Biological activity of Friend spleen focus-forming virus after cold storage.

Abstract Two stocks of Friend spleen focus-forming virus (SFFV) were prepared, one in saline and the other in Eagle's medium with 2% fetal calf serum, and the effects of different freezing, storage and thawing temperatures were determined for the recovery of infectious virus from each diluent. Once frozen, virus maintained its titer at −70 and at −170 °C for up to 13 weeks, while it lost titer at −13 °C more rapidly if it had been prepared in saline than in medium. However, during the freezing process lower ambient temperatures (−70 and −170 °C) gave lower virus yields than a higher temperature (−13 °C) did. Similarly, rapid thawing (in a 37 °C water bath) was less efficient than slow thawing (in 4 or 20 °C air) for the recovery of infectious SFFV, This study illustrates the importance, for efficient recovery of leukemogenic activity from stored murine leukemia virus stocks, of the temperature used for freezing or thawing, as well as for storage.
Test-firing ammunition for spliceosome inhibition in cancer.

E7107 is a derivative of the pladienolide family of natural product spliceosome inhibitors, which targets the U2 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP) subunit SF3b. The results of a first-in-man trial with E7107 have been reported, representing an important translational step towards the goal of modulating RNA splicing for cancer therapy.
Dynamic CO2 adsorption performance of internally cooled silica‐supported poly(ethylenimine) hollow fiber sorbents

The dynamic adsorption behavior of CO2 under both nonisothermal and nearly isothermal conditions in silica supported poly(ethylenimine) (PEI) hollow fiber sorbents (Torlon®-S-PEI) is investigated in a rapid temperature swing adsorption (RTSA) process. A maximum CO2 breakthrough capacity of 1.33 mmol/g-fiber (2.66 mmol/g-silica) is observed when the fibers are actively cooled by flowing cooling water in the fiber bores. Under dry CO2 adsorption conditions, heat released from the CO2-amine interaction increases the CO2 breakthrough capacity by reducing the severity of the diffusion resistance in the supported PEI. This internal resistance can also be alleviated by prehydrating the fiber sorbent with a humid N2 feed. The CO2 breakthrough capacity of prehydrated fibers is adversely affected by the release of the adsorption enthalpy (unlike the dry fibers); however, active cooling of the fiber results in a constant CO2 breakthrough capacity even at high CO2 delivery rates (i.e., high adsorption enthalpy delivery rates). In full RTSA cycles, a purity of 50% CO2 is achieved and the adsorption enthalpy recovery rate can reach ∼72%. Studies on the cyclic stability of uncooled fiber sorbents in the presence of SO2 and NO contaminants indicate that exposure to NO at 200 ppm over 120 cycles does not lead to a significant degradation of the sorbents, but SO2 exposure at a similar high concentration of 200 ppm causes 60% loss in CO2 breakthrough capacity after 120 cycles. A simple amine reinfusion technique is successfully demonstrated to recover the adsorption capacity in poisoned fiber sorbents after deactivation by exposure to impurities such SO2. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 3878–3887, 2014
POD-based reduced order optimal control of parabolic PDE systems via diffusivity-interior-boundary actuation

We present a framework to solve an optimal control problem for parabolic partial differential equations (PDEs) with diffusivity-interior-boundary actuators. The proposed approach is based on reduced order modeling (ROM) and successive optimal control computation. First we simulate the parabolic PDE system with given inputs to generate data ensembles, from which we then extract the most energetic modes to obtain a reduced order model based on the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) method and Galerkin projection. The obtained reduced order model corresponds to a bilinear system. By solving the optimal control problem of the bilinear system successively, we update the given initial optimal inputs iteratively until the convergence is obtained. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Category coherence and category-based property induction

One important property of human object categories is that they define the sets of exemplars to which newly observed properties are generalized. We manipulated the causal knowledge associated with novel categories and assessed the resulting strength of property inductions. We found that the theoretical coherence afforded to a category by inter-feature causal relationships strengthened inductive projections. However, this effect depended on the degree to which the exemplar with the to-be-projected predicate manifested or satisfied its category's causal laws. That is, the coherence that supports inductive generalizations is a property of individual category members rather than categories. Moreover, we found that an exemplar's coherence was mediated by its degree of category membership. These results were obtained across a variety of causal network topologies and kinds of categories, including biological kinds, non-living natural kinds, and artifacts.
Nitric acid formation during gamma irradiation of air/water mixtures

Abstract Two series of 60Co irradiations have been performed on air/water mixtures, one with both gas and liquid phases present and the other with only air-saturated liquid phase. A third series of irradiations was conducted with two-phase nitrogen/water mixtures. The data confirm that direct interaction of radiation with the gas, presumably the N2 molecule, is required to generate nitric acid. An additional requirement for the production of nitric acid is the presence of both N2 and O2 in the gas phase. Data from previous studies show that the reaction mechanism is modified somewhat when neutron or alpha irradiation is involved.
Resale Price Maintenance: A Reassessment of its Competitive Harms and Benefits

This paper was prepared for the Academic Society for Competition Law (ASCOLA) Conference on 'More Common Ground for International Competition Law?' held in Washington, D.C., June 17, 2009. In a 5-4 antitrust decision in Leegin, the Supreme Court overruled Dr. Miles in 2007 to end per se condemnation of resale price maintenance (RPM) in favor of a rule of reason analysis. But the case has hardly settled the debate on the economics and appropriate legal treatment of RPM. It has also created a divergence with EU competition law, which treats RPM as a 'hard core' restraint. In this paper, after providing a short history of RPM and a synopsis of Leegin and post-Leegin developments, I will discuss the theories relating to RPM’s competitive harms and benefits. With respect to anticompetitive theories, I will primarily develop arguments on two less recognized effects - to explain why evidence of higher prices under RPM should not be viewed as neutral or irrelevant, but should be read to presume anticompetitive effect; and to focus attention on RPM’s adverse effect on the retail sector. With respect to the procompetitive theories, I argue that the free-rider explanation for RPM, though theoretically elegant, has limited application. As for the more recently advanced non free-rider procompetitive theories, I identify and analyze a few common problems: their failure to show that the theories are socially efficient and not merely privately efficient; their unpersuasive explanation as to why RPM would be necessary in a competitive retail market absent free riding; and the lack of consideration of less restrictive alternatives. The problem with a full-blown rule of reason analysis in real-world antitrust litigation is that it often devolves into a de facto legality rule, at least in vertical restraint cases. Indeed, given the stringent pleading standards recently articulated by the Supreme Court in Twombly, RPM plaintiffs may have difficulty even surviving a motion to dismiss on the pleadings going forward, a result that is undesirable. We should not forget that market competition is the norm in our economy and that price is a dimension of competition. RPM is essentially a restraint on intrabrand price competition. To the extent that economists disagree on the prevalence and significance of RPM’s benefits, and there is little reliable empirical evidence, it seems wiser to place the onus on those seeking to restrain competition, through RPM (which almost always raises prices), to demonstrate that it is procompetitive.
Real-Time Development of Patient-Specific Alarm Algorithms for Critical Care

The state-of-the-art monitoring systems for critical care measure vital signs and generate alerts based on the logic of general patient population models, but they lack the capabilities of accurately correlating physiological data with clinical events and of adapting to individual patient's characteristics that do not fit the population models. This research examines the feasibility of developing patient-specific alarm algorithms in real time at the bedside and evaluates the potential of these algorithms in helping improve patient monitoring. Modular components that facilitate real-time development of alarm algorithms were added to a system that simultaneously collects physiological data and clinical annotations at the bedside. At a pediatric intensive care unit (ICU), classification trees and neural networks for generating clinical alarms were trained for individual patients. These algorithms were evaluated immediately after training on subsequently collected data. The implemented system was capable of training and evaluating patient-specific algorithms in a consistent manner in real time at the bedside. The performance of patient-specific alarm algorithms improved as training data increased. Neural networks with eight hours of training data on average achieved a sensitivity of 0.96, a specificity of 0.99, a positive predictive value of 0.79, and an accuracy of 0.99; these figures were 0.84, 0.98, 0.72, and 0.98 respectively for the classification trees. These results suggest that real-time development of patient-specific alarm algorithms is feasible using machine learning techniques. The patient-specific alarm algorithms developed in this study outperformed the bedside monitors from a decade ago and came close in performance to the new generation of monitors.
Translation to near the distal end of the penultimate exon is required for normal levels of spliced triosephosphate isomerase mRNA.

The translation of human triosephosphate isomerase (TPI) mRNA normally terminates at codon 249 within exon 7, the final exon. Frameshift and nonsense mutations within the TPI gene that cause translation to terminate prematurely at or upstream of codon 189, within exon 6, result in a decreased level of TPI mRNA (I.O. Daar and L.E. Maquat, Mol. Cell. Biol. 8:802-813, 1988). For all mutations in this group, the decrease is to the same extent, i.e., to approximately 20% of the normal level. We show here that a second group of nonsense mutations that cause translation to terminate prematurely at or downstream of codon 208, in exon 6, did not affect TPI mRNA abundance. Deletion analysis demonstrated that the abundance of translationally active TPI mRNA is a function of both the distance and the polarity of the nonsense codon relative to the final intron in TPI pre-mRNA. Our results indicate that if translating ribosomes are unable to progress to at least a certain position within the penultimate exon relative to the final intron, then the level of the corresponding mRNA will be abnormally low. Studies inhibiting RNA synthesis with dactinomycin demonstrated that a block in translation does not affect the half-life of mature TPI mRNA. The simplest interpretation of our data is that the translation of TPI mRNA in the cytoplasm facilitates the splicing of TPI pre-mRNA or the transport of TPI mRNA across the nuclear envelope or both.
Bacterial colonization of nanomodified endotracheal tubes in a bench top airway model

Chemical etching techniques can create nano-rough surface features on PVC that suppress S. aureus growth in both static and dynamic studies. In addition, dynamic lung conditions have an effect on both the concentration and location of bacterial growth on the ETT. Particularly, increased vorticity at the walls of the tube in curved regions seems to influence initial ETT colonization. Another interesting result concerns orientation of the tubes within the lung model. Orientation of the tube seems to have an effect on the concentration of bacteria in specific locations. Further investigation into these effects is warranted. A more comprehensive computer model will be created to further understand of the influence of turbulence and vorticity on bacterial colonization along the length of the ETT. Additionally, other materials such as ETT modified with nano-C will be tested in the dynamic lung system.
Specific association of the proto-oncogene product pp60c-src with an intracellular organelle, the PC12 synaptic vesicle

The protein product of the proto-oncogene c-src is a membrane-associated tyrosine kinase of unknown function. Identification of pp60c-src target membranes may elucidate the function of the c-src protein. The available evidence indicates that pp60c-src associates with distinct membranes within single cell types and has different distributions in different cell types. Our experiments demonstrate targeting of pp60c-src to an isolatable and biochemically identified membrane fraction in the neuroendocrine cell line PC12. The c-src protein was found to be specifically associated with synaptic vesicles since: (a) the pp60c-src immunofluorescent pattern overlapped with a synaptic vesicle marker, synaptophysin; (b) a significant proportion (44%) of the pp60c-src from PC12 but not fibroblast postnuclear supernatants was recovered in a small vesicle fraction; (c) an anti-synaptophysin cytoplasmic domain antibody immunodepleted all of the pp60c-src vesicles in this fraction, and (d) pp60c-src copurified during a 100-fold purification of PC12 synaptic vesicles. These results suggest a role for the c-src protein in the regulation of synaptic vesicle function.
Cloning and Characterization of Porcine Ovarian Estrogen Receptor β Isoforms

The cDNA for the full-length porcine estrogen receptor beta (ER beta) and an alternatively spliced transcript with a deletion of exon 5 (ER beta delta 5) was cloned from pig ovary. RNase protection assays revealed that ER beta mRNA was expressed in the preovulatory follicles and early, midluteal, and regressing corpora lutea (CL) of eCG +/- hCG-primed gilts. ER beta and ER beta delta 5 transcripts were shown by semiquantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction to be expressed at a ratio of approximately 2:1 in granulosa cells, small, medium, and large antral follicles, and midluteal phase corpora lutea of unprimed animals. Immunoreactive ER beta proteins corresponding to the size of in vitro translated ER beta and ER beta delta 5 were detected by immunoblot. Full-length ER beta was detected in granulosa, small, medium, and large antral follicles, and midluteal phase CL of unprimed animals. Putative ER beta delta 5 immunoreactive bands were abundant only in granulosa cell extracts. In COS-1 cells, transfected ER beta delta 5 had no effect on basal transcription of an estrogen-responsive reporter construct but did repress wild-type ER beta transactivation when cotransfected at 10-fold excess plasmid. No repression of ER alpha transactivation was observed. In primary granulosa cell cultures, transfected ER beta delta 5 plasmid did not inhibit basal reporter activation. ER beta delta 5 was shown by immunofluorescence to localize to the nucleus in transfected COS-1 cells. In vitro translated ER beta delta 5 proteins bound estrogen response elements in DNA in electrophoretic mobility shift assays, as indicated by supershift analysis. ER beta is abundant in porcine ovary, and a naturally occurring splice variant missing exon 5 may have biological function.
Legislative budget cycles

Recent literature suggests that electoral budget cycles are a phenomenon of new rather than established democracies. What part of the democratization process explains the amelioration of the political budget cycle? We argue the answer lies (in part) in the development of a strong party system. We extend the classic Rogoff-Siebert model to show that political budget cycles are possible in a legislative context with rational voters. We then demonstrate that the development of a strong party system can restrain political budget cycles in a majoritarian electoral system. Finally, we follow prior work in using vote share volatility as a measure of the institutionalization of the party system. Using newly collected vote-share data for 433 elections for 90 democracies from 1980–2007, we calculate a measure of party institutionalization. We then use this data to demonstrate that institutionalized party systems are associated with mitigated political budget cycles, especially in majoritarian electoral systems.
Studying the rapid bioconversion of lignocellulosic sugars into ethanol using high cell density fermentations with cell recycle

The Rapid Bioconversion with Integrated recycle Technology (RaBIT) process reduces capital costs, processing times, and biocatalyst cost for biochemical conversion of cellulosic biomass to biofuels by reducing total bioprocessing time (enzymatic hydrolysis plus fermentation) to 48 h, increasing biofuel productivity (g/L/h) twofold, and recycling biocatalysts (enzymes and microbes) to the next cycle. To achieve these results, RaBIT utilizes 24-h high cell density fermentations along with cell recycling to solve the slow/incomplete xylose fermentation issue, which is critical for lignocellulosic biofuel fermentations. Previous studies utilizing similar fermentation conditions showed a decrease in xylose consumption when recycling cells into the next fermentation cycle. Eliminating this decrease is critical for RaBIT process effectiveness for high cycle counts. Nine different engineered microbial strains (including Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains, Scheffersomyces (Pichia) stipitis strains, Zymomonas mobilis 8b, and Escherichia coli KO11) were tested under RaBIT platform fermentations to determine their suitability for this platform. Fermentation conditions were then optimized for S. cerevisiae GLBRCY128. Three different nutrient sources (corn steep liquor, yeast extract, and wheat germ) were evaluated to improve xylose consumption by recycled cells. Capacitance readings were used to accurately measure viable cell mass profiles over five cycles. The results showed that not all strains are capable of effectively performing the RaBIT process. Acceptable performance is largely correlated to the specific xylose consumption rate. Corn steep liquor was found to reduce the deleterious impacts of cell recycle and improve specific xylose consumption rates. The viable cell mass profiles indicated that reduction in specific xylose consumption rate, not a drop in viable cell mass, was the main cause for decreasing xylose consumption.
THE PAST IS MADE BY WALKING: Labor Activism and Historical Production in Postcolonial Guadeloupe

The act of walking represents an important (yet underexamined) element of political protest and collective action, as well as an increasingly common form of historical commemoration. In this article I examine the development of a series of “memory walks” by labor activists in the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. I argue that these peripatetic practices constitute a particular spatial, kinesthetic, and sensorial form of historical and archival production. Along the way, I consider what these events reveal about postcolonial forms of archival production and the importance of historical praxis to the formation of political subjectivities.
Aquaporin-3 facilitates epidermal cell migration and proliferation during wound healing

Healing of skin wounds is a multi-step process involving the migration and proliferation of basal keratinocytes in epidermis, which strongly express the water/glycerol-transporting protein aquaporin-3 (AQP3). In this study, we show impaired skin wound healing in AQP3-deficient mice, which results from distinct defects in epidermal cell migration and proliferation. In vivo wound healing was ~80% complete in wild-type mice at 5 days vs ~50% complete in AQP3 null mice, with remarkably fewer proliferating, BrdU-positive keratinocytes. After AQP3 knock-down in keratinocyte cell cultures, which reduced cell membrane water and glycerol permeabilities, cell migration was slowed by more than twofold, with reduced lamellipodia formation at the leading edge of migrating cells. Proliferation of AQP3 knock-down keratinocytes was significantly impaired during wound repair. Mitogen-induced cell proliferation was also impaired in AQP3 deficient keratinocytes, with greatly reduced p38 MAPK activity. In mice, oral glycerol supplementation largely corrected defective wound healing and epidermal cell proliferation. Our results provide evidence for involvement of AQP3-facilitated water transport in epidermal cell migration and for AQP3-facilitated glycerol transport in epidermal cell proliferation.
Nanotechnology regulation: The United States approach

In this Chapter, we set out the pivotal questions relating to the United States approach to nanotechnology and other emerging technologies. We note how the experiences of biotechnology regulation are likely to continue to inform United States approaches. After setting out these principles, we discuss three regulatory experiences and approaches that we believe do and will inform United States regulatory policy going forward. We examine the Coordinated Framework for the regulation of biotechnology and, in so doing, look at the actions of three separate agencies: (1) EPA; (2) FDA; and (3) NIOSH. We conclude with a high-level discussion of the various issues that remain unresolved in the United States approach.
Analysis of Experimental Data

This chapter illustrates the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and related techniques including the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), the multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), and the multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). The analysis of variance will be introduced as a simple extension of the t-test, but as the title of this chapter implies, it is when these methods are applied to experimental data that their full potential can be realized. Thus, the emphasis in the chapter is on data that might arise from experiments.
Linguistic Variation in Research Articles: When discipline tells only part of the story

Linguistic Variation in Research Articles investigates the linguistic characteristics of academic research articles, going beyond a traditional analysis of the generically-defined research article to take into account varied realizations of research articles within and across disciplines. It combines corpus-based analyses of 70+ linguistic features with analyses of the situational, or non-linguistic, characteristics of the Academic Journal Registers Corpus : 270 research articles from 6 diverse disciplines (philosophy, history, political science, applied linguistics, biology, physics) and representing three sub-registers (theoretical, quantitative, and qualitative research). Comprehensive analyses include a lexical/grammatical survey, an exploration of structural complexity, and a Multi-Dimensional analysis, all interpreted relative to the situational analysis of the corpus. The finding that linguistic variation in research articles does not occur along a single parameter like discipline is discussed relative to our understanding of disciplinary practices, the multidimensional nature of variation in research articles, and resulting methodological considerations for corpus studies of disciplinary writing.
A contemporary analysis of the ability of preoperative serum CA-125 to predict primary cytoreductive outcome in patients with advanced ovarian, tubal, and peritoneal carcinoma

5572 Background: We previously reported that preoperative CA-125 may predict primary cytoreductive outcome in patients (pts) with stage III ovarian carcinoma. We performed a contemporary analysis o...
Skills development, habits of mind, and the spiral curriculum: A dialectical approach to undergraduate general education curriculum mapping

AbstractThis essay seeks to contribute to growing discussion concerning the need for more intentional inclusion of habits of mind in curriculum development, particularly in undergraduate general education, and to fuel an examination of the “dialectical” relationship between skills development and the development of habits of mind. The essay begins by generating a tentative curriculum map for the development of a set of habits of mind. It then provides an overview of the theoretical framework of dialectical analysis, which is used to identify points of synergy between skills development and the development of habits of mind. This essay hopes to enrich and expand the ways we think about undergraduate general education and spiral curriculum design, with the ultimate goal of illuminating the role of undergraduate pedagogy in shaping the academic habits of mind and professional character that we wish our students to develop. Toward that end, this essay encourages us to recognize that our students don’t magical...
Ultrasound waveform tomography with the second-order total-generalized-variation regularization

Ultrasound waveform tomography with the total-variation regularization could improve reconstructions of tumor margins, but the reconstructions usually contain unwanted blocky artifacts. We develop a new ultrasound waveform tomography method with a second-order total-generalized-variation regularization scheme to improve tomographic reconstructions of breast tumors and remove blocky artifacts in reconstruction results. We validate our new method using numerical phantom data and real phantom data acquired using our synthetic-aperture breast ultrasound tomography system with two parallel transducer arrays. Compared to reconstructions of ultrasound waveform tomography with modified total-variation regularization, our new ultrasound waveform tomography yields accurate sound-speed reconstruction results with significantly reduced artifacts.
The dependence of the intensity PDF of a random beam propagating in the maritime atmosphere on source coherence

Measurements of intensity statistics of a spatially pre-randomized laser beam propagating in a turbulent atmosphere along two horizontal links in close proximity to grassy ground and above a creek have been carried out in the fall of 2012. The pre-randomization of the laser beam was made by using a nematic Spatial Light Modulator placed at the laser source exit. The beam’s phase is randomized with Gaussian statistics with zero mean and fully controllable degree of coherence. The receiver consisted of an amplified photodetector and data acquisition device which were used to capture the beam intensity fluctuations after propagation through turbulent media. The results for the intensity Probability Density Function (PDF), the Cumulative Distribution Function and, in particular, for the scintillation index are presented for a variety of the source’s states of coherence and environmental conditions. The analytical PDF is reconstructed from the statistical moments of intensity with the help of the Gamma-Laguerr...
Hydrologic controls on radiogenic Sr in meltwater from an alpine glacier system: Athabasca Glacier, Canada

Abstract Filtered subglacial meltwater samples were collected daily during the onset of melt (May) and peak melt (July) over the 2011 melt season at the Athabasca Glacier (Alberta, Canada) and analyzed for strontium-87/strontium-86 (87Sr/86Sr) isotopic composition to infer the evolution of subglacial weathering processes. Both the underlying bedrock composition and subglacial water–rock interaction time are the primary influences on meltwater 87Sr/86Sr. The Athabasca Glacier is situated atop Middle Cambrian carbonate bedrock that also contains silicate minerals. The length of time that subglacial meltwater interacts with the underlying bedrock and substrate is a predominant determining factor in solute concentration. Over the course of the melt season, increasing trends in Ca/K and Ca/Mg correspond to overall decreasing trends in 87Sr/86Sr, which indicate a shift in weathering processes from the presence of silicate weathering to primarily carbonate weathering. Early in the melt season, rates of carbonate dissolution slow as meltwater approaches saturation with respect to calcite and dolomite, corresponding to an increase in silicate weathering that includes Sr-rich silicate minerals, and an increase in meltwater 87Sr/86Sr. However, carbonate minerals are preferentially weathered in unsaturated waters. During the warmest part of a melt season the discharged meltwater is under saturated, causing an increase in carbonate weathering and a decrease in the radiogenic Sr signal. Likewise, larger fraction contributions of meltwater from glacial ice corresponds to lower 87Sr/86Sr values, as the meltwater has lower water–rock interaction times in the subglacial system. These results indicate that although weathering of Sr-containing silicate minerals occurs in carbonate dominated glaciated terrains, the continual contribution of new meltwater permits the carbonate weathering signal to dominate.
Influential factors analysis on the commercial bank performance appraisal

The environmental factor influences the commercial bank greatly and especially the exterior environment produces bigger impact during the period of business operation.Therefore,in order to completely appraise the performance of commercial bank,we have to analyze the exterior environment and internal environment of the commercial bank and its influence process.Thus,on the basis of the environmental analysis,the performance appraisal of commercial bank can reflect the management result more objectively,and the commercial bank can also adopt the corresponding measures so as to further promote its performance management level.
Considerations for the use of SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells in neurobiology.

The use of primary mammalian neurons derived from embryonic central nervous system tissue is limited by the fact that once terminally differentiated into mature neurons, the cells can no longer be propagated. Transformed neuronal-like cell lines can be used in vitro to overcome this limitation. However, several caveats exist when utilizing cells derived from malignant tumors. In this context, the popular SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell line and its use in in vitro systems is described. Originally derived from a metastatic bone tumor biopsy, SH-SY5Y (ATCC® CRL-2266™) cells are a subline of the parental line SK-N-SH (ATCC® HTB-11™). SK-N-SH were subcloned three times; first to SH-SY, then to SH-SY5, and finally to SH-SY5Y. SH-SY5Y were deposited to the ATCC® in 1970 by June L. Biedler. Three important characteristics of SH-SY5Y cells should be considered when using these cells in in vitro studies. First, cultures include both adherent and floating cells, both types of which are viable. Few studies address the biological significance of the adherent versus floating phenotypes, but most reported studies utilize adherent populations and discard the floating cells during media changes. Second, early studies by Biedler's group indicated that the parental differentiated SK-N-SH cells contained two morphologically distinct phenotypes: neuroblast-like cells and epithelial-like cells (Ross et al., J Natl Cancer Inst 71(4):741-747, 1983). These two phenotypes may correspond to the "N" and "S" types described in later studies in SH-SY5Y by Encinas et al. (J Neurochem 75(3):991-1003, 2000). Cells with neuroblast-like morphology are positive for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and dopamine-β-hydroxylase characteristic of catecholaminergic neurons, whereas the epithelial-like counterpart cells lacked these enzymatic activities (Ross et al., J Natl Cancer Inst 71(4):741-747, 1983). Third, SH-SY5Y cells can be differentiated to a more mature neuron-like phenotype that is characterized by neuronal markers. There are several methods to differentiate SH-SY5Y cells and are mentioned below. Retinoic acid is the most commonly used means for differentiation and will be addressed in detail.
Massey’s Theorem and the Golay Codes

Massey’s theorem is used to determine the minimum distance of the Golay codes. The same method can be used to determine the minimum distance of other cyclic codes. This suggests that Massey’s theorem may be a powerful tool whose uses are not yet fully uncovered.
Request Fulfilling: When Citizens Demand Clientelist Benefits:

Traditional accounts of clientelism typically focused on patron–client relations with minimal scope for citizen autonomy. Despite the heightened agency of many contemporary citizens, most studies c...