cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A high-level mammalian expression system based on the Madin-Darby canine kidney cell line

In this report, we demonstrate that a combination of the Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cell line and a cytomegalovirus promoter-based expression vector can achieve high-level expression of secretory recombinant proteins in mammalian cells. The matrix metalloproteinase MMP13, a secretory protein, was expressed in MDCK cells at a level high enough to be detectable in crude supernatants without concentration on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis stained with Coomassie brilliant blue R-250. The secreted MMP-13 accounts for about 15 to 20% of the total secreted proteins and reaches a concentration of at least 10 mg/liter of unconcentrated conditioned medium harvested from confluent monolayer culture. Furthermore, the recombinant protein appears to be properly folded and modified posttranslationally. This system may be employed for the production of human proteins of special interests, such as those for structural determination or therapeutical development.
Cartilage volume quantification via Live Wire segmentation.

Rationale and objectives A reduction in cartilage volume is characteristic of osteoarthritis and hence there exists a need for an accurate and reproducible method to measure in vivo cartilage volume. Quantification of cartilage volume from magnetic resonance (MR) images requires a segmentation technique such as the user-driven “Live Wire” strategy that can reliably delineate object volumes in a time-efficient manner. In the present work, the accuracy and reproducibility of the Live Wire method for the quantification of cartilage volume in MR images is evaluated. Materials and methods The accuracy of the Live Wire method was assessed by comparing the MR-based volume measurement of a patellar cartilage-shaped phantom versus data calculated via water displacement. The inter- and intra-operator reproducibility of the technique was evaluated from Live Wire segmentation of the patellar cartilage volume from fat-suppressed 3-dimensional spoiled-gradient-echo images of five healthy human volunteers performed by three operators. To provide data for analysis of inter-scan reproducibility, the human scans were repeated five times with the aid of a leg-restraining jig to minimize repositioning error. Results The volume of the patellar cartilage-shaped phantom measured via Live Wire segmentation of MR images was within 97.8% of its true volume. The average inter- and intra-operator coefficients of variation of three operators were 3.0% and 0.4%, respectively. The average inter-scan coefficient of variation of five repeated scans of each volunteer was 2.7%. Conclusion The data suggest that the Live Wire strategy is an accurate, reproducible, and efficient technique to measure cartilage volume in vivo in a feasible amount of operator time.
Input-Output-to-State Stability Tools for Hybrid Systems and Their Interconnections

We present results for the analysis of input/output properties of a general class of hybrid systems given by a flow set, a flow map, a jump set, a jump map, and an output map. For this class of systems, the notion of input-output-to-state stability is introduced in the first part of the technical note. Under mild assumptions on the functions and sets defining a hybrid system, sufficient conditions for this notion in terms of Lyapunov functions are derived. Equivalences between Lyapunov functions for input-output-to-state stability for asymptotic and exponential decay rates are established. The sufficient conditions and equivalences are linked to the existence of norm observers for hybrid systems. These results are used in the second part of the technical note to study interconnections of hybrid systems. An interconnection result in terms of a Lyapunov-based small gain theorem is also presented. Examples illustrate the results.
Neuroscience: Bacteria get on your nerves

During infection, the inflammatory immune response can cause pain by activating nociceptor neurons. A bacterial pathogen also seems to stimulatepain directly, modulating the immune response in its favour. See Article p.52 Bacterial infections such as those caused by Staphylococcus produce pain thought to be secondary to the immune response and inflammation. Now Clifford Woolf and colleagues report a previously unsuspected mechanism of pain induction during bacterial infection: a direct pathogen-mediated activation of nociceptors. They find that pain produced by Staphylococcus aureus infection in mice is independent of most known mediators of immunity. Rather, the bacteria produce two classes of molecules — formylated peptides and pore-forming toxins — that induce pain by directly activating nociceptor neurons that in turn modulate inflammation.
A comparison of the affective state and quality of life of chemotherapy patients who do and do not develop chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis.

Abstract The purpose of this longitudinal study was to compare the quality of life and affective state of patients receiving chemotherapy who developed oral mucositis to patients who did not. Outpatients had their mouths assessed at the beginning of their chemotherapy, completed the Multidimensional Quality of Life scale, Cancer version (MQOLS-CA) and the Profile of Mood States (POMS). Patients again completed the MQOLS-CA and POMS if they developed mucositis during their three cycles (monthly), or if they did not and were exiting the study. Seventy-seven outpatients completed the study; 28 patients developed mucositis and 49 did not. The MQOLS-CA total scores for the entire sample decreased significantly over time (F 1,75 = 25.44, P 1,75 = 19.55, P 1,75 = 4.85, P = 0.03). Patients who developed mucositis had a significant increase in mood disturbance compared to patients who did not. Further, the POMS subscales of depression and anger showed the same pattern of significant increases. In conclusion, the development of mucositis adversely affected the outpatients' affective states, but not their QOL.
An intelligent decision maker for optimal control

We present an expert system that can handle various complicated decision-making problems of optimal control that are hardly solvable manually or even by computer-aided design techniques. The expert system is the first implementation of solving decision-making problems of optimal control using a computer, which paves the way for us to develop the real-time intelligent optimal control environment. Through a user-friendly interface, the expert system can receive the needed information from the user, perform heuristic search, and provide the results of a decisionmaker quickly both on the screen and from a printer. The important features of this expert system are that it () makes a decision on the problem-solving strategies for optimal control, that is, provides the solution structure and transversality conditions as well as types of some key equations; (2) processes symbolic information; (3) breaks down the whole search into three reasoning levels such that the problem can be solved easily and the search rout...
Corrigendum to “Prevalence of thermoduric bacteria and spores on 10 Midwest dairy farms”1

Thermoduric bacteria (TDB), including sporeformers and their spores, can be present in milk and dairy products even after pasteurization. They have the potential to adversely affect the quality and shelf life of products. The objectives of this study were to identify the origin and common species of heat-resistant bacteria occurring during summer and winter on Midwest dairy farms. Bulk tank milk samples were taken from 10 dairy farms located along the South Dakota section of Interstate 29, with herd sizes ranging from 650 to 3,500 lactating dairy cows. Milk samples were profiled for the prevalence of TDB and spore counts (SC). Corn silage samples and swabs of the milking clusters were also taken at the dairies to further profile the potential sources of TDB and SC. The samples were taken 3 times during 2 seasons [winter (January–March) and summer (June–August)] to track seasonal changes in the farm bacterial flora. During winter, the average TDB counts in bulk tank milk were 1.83 log compared with 1.89 log TDB counts in the summer. The SC was 0.85 log in the winter, which was about half the 1.37 log SC present in the summer season. Corn silage sampled in winter contained 4.09 log TDB count compared with an increased 5.85 log TDB count during summer sampling. Concentrations of SC in corn silage reached an average of 3.60 log in winter compared with 6.33 log for summer. The seasonal effect was evident with an increase in summer counts across the board for TDB and SC, both in the feed and bulk tank milk samples. Bacillus licheniformis was the predominant species identified in 62.4% of winter (85 total) and 49.4% of summer (83 total) samples. Bacillus subtilis made up 9.4% of the remaining winter isolates, followed by Bacillus sonorensis at 8.2%. Conversely, B. sonorensis made up 12% of the summer isolates followed by Bacillus pumilus at 10.8%. Bacillus licheniformis is a ubiquitous microbe and was isolated from both TDB and sporeformer categories in all 3 sample types. There were larger increases in SC than TDB, indicating that summer temperatures and conditions may favor proliferation of sporeforming bacteria over that of TDB. In conclusion, samples from bulk tank milk, milking cluster swabs, and corn silage samples at each of the 10 sites indicated that B. licheniformis was the major contaminant species, regardless of season. In this experiment, corn silage was the major environmental source of both TDB and SC with higher concentrations in summer when compared with winter.
Superheating of Pb(111).

Time-resolved reflection high-energy electron diffraction is used to study the laser-induced superheating of Pb(111). For a heating laser pulse width of \ensuremath{\sim}180 ps, two regimes are observed depending upon the incident peak laser intensity. In the first regime, the time-resolved electron diffraction intensity indicates a transient superheating of the surface followed by cooling below the bulk melting temperature. In the second regime, which occurs at higher peak laser intensities, superheating is followed by melting. Superheating up to 120 K above the bulk melting temperature is observed.
Character-level Analysis of Semi-Structured Documents for Set Expansion

Set expansion refers to expanding a partial set of "seed" objects into a more complete set. One system that does set expansion is SEAL (Set Expander for Any Language), which expands entities automatically by utilizing resources from the Web in a language-independent fashion. In this paper, we illustrated in detail the construction of character-level wrappers for set expansion implemented in SEAL. We also evaluated several kinds of wrappers for set expansion and showed that character-based wrappers perform better than HTML-based wrappers. In addition, we demonstrated a technique that extends SEAL to learn binary relational concepts (e.g., "x is the mayor of the city y") from only two seeds. We also show that the extended SEAL has good performance on our evaluation datasets, which includes English and Chinese, thus demonstrating language-independence.
A Comparison of Three Measures of Nonverbal Decoding Ability

Summary Sixty male and female undergraduates and mental health professionals were tested to examine the relationship between three measures of the ability to decode nonverbal communications: the Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity (PONS), Beier's Test, and the Affective Sensitivity Scale (AFSS). Results showed no significant relationship between the three tests, implying that these different measures of nonverbal decoding ability may actually be measuring different, unrelated skills. Differences between the three measures are described as contributing to the lack of significant correlations.
COPS AND THE COLLEGE CROWD: YOUNG ADULTS AND PERCEPTIONS OF POLICE IN A COLLEGE TOWN

ABSTRACT Research on attitudes of college students toward police provides an opportunity to explore the relationship among age, subgroup/cultural adaptation, and anti-authority orientation. Using data that allow comparisons between college students and the general community population, this study finds that being in college, not age, diminishes students’ trust in police, and that students are two times more likely than general citizens to report feeling unsafe. Students’ decreased confidence in police, as compared to general citizens, holds for those with and without police contact. However, positive evaluation of contact significantly mediates perceptions of police for whites but not for Blacks. The study demonstrates that even within small, relatively homogeneous communities subgroup identity may inspire or discourage trust and, in turn, diminish feelings of safety. Further, patterns of trust and safety differ for women and men; women report higher confidence in police, but lower feelings of safety, a p...
Magnetothermopower of NbSe3

Abstract We report longitudinal thermopower measurements on the charge density wave (CDW) conductor NbSe 3 in transversely applied magnetic (H) fields up to 75 kG. In the lower CDW state, increasing H results in a positive increase in the thermopower, indicating that the magnetic field acts to destroy electron-like states on the Fermi surface. We interpret our results in terms of H-induced “one-dimensionalization” of the electronic band structure, and an associated normal-to-CDW carrier conversion.
A 2-site model for simulating supercritical fluoroform

A 2-site model of fluoroform (CHF3) has been developed for use in simulations of solvation in the near critical regime. The model was optimized to reproduce the critical point and the liquid−vapor ...
Optimal capacity planning for a manufacturing system with non-convex cost index and delayed growth dynamics

A manufacturing system is looked upon as a black box whose input vector is an r-tuple of planning decisions where each decision is a series of pulse functions in the time-domain, and whose output vector is an r-tuple of actual manufacturing capacities which is the response of the black box to the planning decisions. This response is described by a linear difference equation including transport lag (i.e., delay). The cost functional of the system is non-convex due to set up charges. In this paper, a method is discussed to determine the optimal planning decisions to minimize the cost using a discrete version of Pontryagin's Maximum Principle that gets around the problem of the increase in dimensionality caused by the delay term in the system equation.
Early events in the fibrillation of monomeric insulin.

Insulin has a largely α-helical structure and exists as a mixture of hexameric, dimeric, and monomeric states in solution, depending on the conditions: the protein is monomeric in 20% acetic acid. Insulin forms amyloid-like fibrils under a variety of conditions, especially at low pH. In this study we investigated the fibrillation of monomeric human insulin by monitoring changes in CD, attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, 8-anilinonaphthalenesulfonic acid fluorescence, thioflavin T fluorescence, dynamic light scattering, and H/D exchange during the initial stages of the fibrillation process to provide insight into early events involving the monomer. The results demonstrate the existence of structural changes occurring before the onset of fibril formation, which are detectable by multiple probes. The data indicate at least two major populations of oligomeric intermediates between the native monomer and fibrils. Both have significantly non-native conformations, and indicate that fibrillation occurs from a betarich structure significantly distinct from the native fold.
Humoral abnormalities in X-linked hypophosphatemic mice.

The question is whether this is the sole cause of the clinical severity of the resulting bone disease or whether other abnormalities are present which exacerbate the bone disease. We have evidence that in the Hyp mice there are two such exacerbating factors, one is 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D and the other is parathyroid hormone. In addition, we have data that another humoral factor, besides parathyroid hormone, may be responsible for the low renal tubular reabsorption of phosphate
Product of inductive and capacitive operators

The linear passive time-invariant systems are classified according to the reactive energy sign. Subsequently, overall inductive and capacitive systems and their `products′ are defined. A key theorem is presented, showing that the product of a pair of linear accretive inductive and capacitive operators corresponds to a linear passive system. The theorem has a broad range of applicability as the proposed proof encompasses lumped as well as distributed networks. In particular `the product′ of RL and RC n-port open-circuit impedance matrices represents a passive n-port. The same applies to `the product′ of arbitrary inductive and capacitive RLN n-ports open-circuit impedance or short-circuit admittance matrices.
Food Insecurity: Validation of a Two-Item Screen Using Convergent Risks

Food insecurity impacts children in over 10 % of US homes with negative effects for health, cognitive, and behavioral development. Experiences of food insecurity in childhood also carry negative consequences across the lifespan. Families cannot be connected with needed services when needs are unidentified. However, early detection is essential if the harmful effects of food insecurity are to be limited for children. An efficient and valid screen of food insecurity is needed for use by practitioners such as childcare providers, home visitors, or other intervention program staff working with low-income families. The present study provides evidence of validity for a 2-item screen for food insecurity as conducted by childcare providers. Concurrence with a wide range of convergent validity indicators suggests that 2 items can sufficiently identify families with food insecurity. Convergent indicators included other basic needs, physical health, environmental safety, caregiver mental health, parenting practices, and parenting stress. Sensitivity and specificity analyses also support the use of this screen. This study is the first to document the utility of a brief screen for food insecurity by childcare providers. With an efficient screen, these front-line service providers can be a valuable resource to identify and combat FI and its deleterious effects on children.
The molecular genetics of adrenocortical carcinoma.

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare endocrine malignancy defined by a heterogeneous clinical presentation, dismal prognosis, and lack of effective therapeutic regimens. The incidence of ACC ranges from 0.5 to 2 cases per million people per year, accounting for 0.02% of all reported cancers [1]. Unfortunately, most patients present with metastatic disease which reduces the 5 year survival rate to less than 10% [2]. The resultant limited clinical experience has hampered significant research interest, public awareness and overall support from a limited pool of funding agencies. This review aims to summarize emerging genetic and molecular events implicated in the pathogenesis of ACC that can serve to energize current and future efforts to provide effective diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to this deadly cancer.
Aneurysmal degeneration of the superficial femoral artery after remote endarterectomy

Superficial femoral artery reocclusion is the most common complication of remote endarterectomy with the Mollring device. We present the first reported case of a male patient who developed aneurysmal degeneration of the superficial femoral artery after a previous left common femoral endarterectomy and superficial femoral remote endarterectomy with popliteal stenting. He underwent thrombolysis with subsequent percutaneous transluminal angioplasty after developing acute left lower extremity ischemia. At 12-month follow-up, he was free of claudication symptoms. This case illustrates the need for close surveillance and discusses possible treatment options for patients with this rare complication.
The effect of market reform on racial differences in hospital mortality.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether racial differences in hospital mortality worsened after implementation of a New Jersey law in 1993 that reduced subsidies for uninsured hospital care and changed hospital payment from rate regulation to price competition. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: State discharge data for New Jersey and New York from 1990 to 1996. STUDY DESIGN: We used an interrupted time series design to compare risk-adjusted in-hospital mortality rates between states over time. Adjusting for patient characteristics, baseline interstate differences, and common intertemporal trends, we compared the effect sizes for whites and blacks in the following 4 groups: overall, uninsured, insured under age 65, and Medicare patients. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: The study sample included 1,357,394 patients admitted to New Jersey or New York hospitals between 1990 to 1996 with stroke, hip fracture, pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, congestive heart failure, or acute myocardial infarction (AMI). PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The increase in mortality in New Jersey versus New York was significantly larger among blacks than among whites for AMI (2.4% points vs 0.1% points, P-value for difference .026) but not for the other 6 conditions. In groupings of conditions for which hospital admission is non-discretionary and conditions in which admission is discretionary, we found qualitatively larger increases in mortality for blacks but no statistically significant racial differences among patients overall, uninsured patients, insured patients under age 65, or Medicare patients. CONCLUSIONS: Market-based reform and reductions in subsidies for hospital care for the uninsured in New Jersey were associated with worsening racial disparties in in-hospital mortality for AMI but not for 6 other common conditions.
Photorefractive Optics At Near-Infrared Wavelengths

Measurements of two-wave mixing gain and phase-conjugate response in barium titanate using GaAlAs diode laser sources emitting at 830 nm are discussed. Gain coefficients as large as 18 cm-1 have been obtained with optimized mixing geometries. With an optically isolated barium titanate ring passive phase-conjugate mirror we have obtained phase-conjugate reflectivities as large as 56% (uncorrected for Fresnel reflection losses) and response times on the order of tens of seconds. These results represent significant improvements over corresponding values previously reported in the literature.© (1989) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Gel electrophoresis for studying biological function

Recent advances in studying the function of muscle, liver, and breast tissues by protein analysis using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis are described. New developments in sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) techniques are presented first, including staining, immunodetection, and other basic methods. In the tissue analysis, the muscle section is divided into three parts, skeletal, cardiac and smooth. Within each section, proteins that recently contributed to the understanding of muscle activity are represented. The gel electrophoresis of these proteins is discussed in relation to the functional, morphological, or developmental characteristics of the muscle. The human muscular diseases are also considered. The discussion of liver and breast protein analysis by gel electrophoresis focuses on the use of 2DE to detect quantitative changes in proteins characteristic of these two tissues. Quantitative changes related to specific chemical exposures are of interest in liver tissue whereas quantitative differences in breast cell proteins have been analyzed in the context of cancer research. The review ends with a discussion of the future prospects for gel electrophoresis.
Cultural Terms for Communication: Sources of Intercultural Asynchrony in ESL Settings in Finland

This work presents an analytical approach to assessing intercultural communication through cultural terms for communication. Using data drawn from discussions and interviews with Finnish informants I show how the term asiasta puhumisen [speaking to the fact of the matter] functions in Finnish classrooms for adult education and what impact it has on Business English classes for English as a Second Language (ESL). Intercultural analysis based on these descriptions shows that the asiasta puhumisen term is one source of asynchronous communication when a foreign expressive order meets the Finnish one and has the potential to undermine the success that foreign teachers feel they are having when they teach Business English for ESL in Finland.
Step-FMCW signaling and target detection for ultrasound imaging systems with conformal transducer arrays

This paper presents the use and evaluation of stepped frequency modulated continuous waves (FMCW) in a conformal ultrasound array-based medical imaging system currently in development. Conventional medical ultrasound systems featuring rigid transducer arrays are highly user-dependent and require manual rotation and translation to identify and image landmarks. Conformal ultrasound arrays have a larger aperture that can follow the surface curvature of the body, thereby enabling increased data capture without mechanical scanning. The complexity of image reconstruction in conformal ultrasound necessitates the use of step-FMCW, since it directly captures the frequency space thereby enabling image reconstruction techniques to operate directly on the data, greatly simplifying and allowing for real-time performance. Further, FMCW is advantageous in general since it requires lower peak power and produces better receiver noise characteristics than conventional pulse-echo signaling. In the proposed stepped FMCW signaling, packets of acoustic waves at stepped frequencies are emitted from transducers sequentially. Phase and magnitude information from each transmitter-receiver pair of the array are captured producing the frequency space representation of the conventional A-scan data. The results comprise of simulations and bistatic experimental data produced by the step-FMCW signaling method, and obtained using a multistatic transducer array with a stationary metal target. In experimental verification using, the step- FMCW signaling and processing method gave accurate target detection, thereby demonstrating its viability in a conformal ultrasound array and imaging system.
Insect sociometry, a field in search of data

The study of social insects has proceeded without adequate descriptive data on social insect attributes. The term “sociometry” is proposed for the collection and analysis of the physical and numerical attributes of social insect colonies and their inhabitants. Sociometry can be seen as having 3 levels — the compilation of data, the distribution patterns of the attributes among species (comparative studies), and the detection of relationships of the attributes to each other. Many sociometric attributes may be linked, hence evolve under constraint from other attributes. The study of social insects would benefit greatly through the organized collection of sociometric data.
Religion in Gerontology: From Benign Neglect to Belated Respect

Aging and God: Spiritual Pathways to Mental Health in Midlife and Later Years, by Harold G. Koenig. Haworth Pastoral Press, Binghamton, NY, 1994, 544 pp., $79.95 (cloth), $29.95 (paper). Aging and the Religious Dimension, edited by L. Eugene Thomas and Susan A. Eisenhandler. Auburn House, Westport, CT, 1994, 241 pp., $57.95 (cloth). Cohesiveness and Coherence: Religion and the Health of the Elderly, by Ellen L. Idler. Garland Publishing, New York, 1994, 277 pp., $67.00 (cloth). From Age-ing to Sage-ing: A Profound New Vision of Growing Older, by Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Ronald S. Miller. Warner Books, New York, 1995, 303 pp., $21.95 (cloth). Humanity Comes of Age: The New Context for Ministry with the Elderly, by Susanne S. Paul and James A. Paul. Risk Book Series No. 64, WCC Publications, Geneva, Switzerland, 1994,143 pp., $11.50 (paper). Religion in Aging and Health: Theoretical Foundations and Methodological Frontiers, edited by Jeffrey S. Levin. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA, 1994, 253 pp., $46.00 (cloth), $23.95 (paper). Research on Religion and Aging: An Annotated Bibliography, compiled by Harold G. Koenig. Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, 1995,173 pp., $55.00 (cloth).
Anxiety sensitivity and panic attacks in an asthmatic population.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among anxiety sensitivity, the experience of frequent, spontaneous panic attacks, and pulmonary function in individuals with asthma. Ninety-three asthmatics participated by completing a battery of questionnaires and a spirometric assessment. Twenty-three percent of the asthmatics reported a history of spontaneous panic attacks with 9.7% reporting attacks that were severe and frequent enough to meet the DSM-IIIR criteria for panic disorder (PD). Anxiety sensitivity (ASI) scores, but not pulmonary function, was significantly related to PD. In addition, we compared the asthmatics (with and without PD) to 10 clinically diagnosed PD S s without asthma and to 32 nonanxious, nonasthmatic controls on the ASI, the Body Sensations Questionnaire, and the Agoraphobic Cognitions Questionnaire. Whereas S s with PD (asthmatic and nonasthmatic) displayed significant elevations on these measures compared to those without PD, the presence of asthma alone had no effect. The present study concurs with that of Porzelius et al . [ Behaviour Research and Therapy , 30, 75–77 (1992)] in extending the validity of the cognitive model of PD to individuals with pulmonary disease.
Properties and physiological role of asparagine and glutamine, with a new interpretation of the structure of asparagine.

Properties and Physiological Role of Asparagine and Glutamine, with a new Interpretation of the Structure of Asparagine
Expression of c-Fos in subcutaneous adipose tissue of the fetal pig

Subcutaneous adipose tissue from fetal pigs was examined for c-Fos expression in developing adipocytes. Enhanced c-Fos expression was found in the nuclei of adipocytes and cells closely associated with fat cell clusters from 75 and 105 day old fetuses. 50 day old fetuses which had no adipocytes showed no enhanced c-Fos expression in undifferentiated cells. c-Fos expression in adipocytes was not transient, but persisted through the gestational period from 75 to 105 days. The timing of c-Fos induction appears to be closely related to adipocyte differentiation and was found only in developing adipocytes and cells closely associated with fat cell clusters and was not found in independent stromal-vascular cells.
UNIMPROVABLE ALLOCATIONS IN ECONOMIES WITH INCOMPLETE INFORMATION

Abstract The paper considers an exchange economy with incomplete information in which agents can retrade goods until all gains from trade are exhausted. Unimprovable allocations are defined to be those allocations from which agents would not wish to deviate either by retrading goods or by revealing further information. The concept of unimprovability is then used to analyze a lemons market and an adverse selection insurance market in which agents can renegotiate after information has been revealed. Finally, unimprovability is compared to different concepts of efficiency and to the concept of durability. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Number: D82.
Mcm2 deficiency results in short deletions allowing high resolution identification of genes contributing to lymphoblastic lymphoma

Mini-chromosome maintenance (Mcm) proteins are part of the replication-licensing complex that is loaded onto chromatin during the G1-phase of the cell cycle and required for initiation of DNA replication in the subsequent S-phase. Mcm proteins are typically loaded in excess of the number of locations that are used during S-phase. Nonetheless, partial depletion of Mcm proteins leads to cancers and stem cell deficiencies. Mcm2 deficient mice, on a 129Sv genetic background, display a high rate of thymic lymphoblastic lymphoma. Here array comparative genomic hybridization is used to characterize the genetic damage accruing in these tumors. The predominant events are deletions averaging less than 0.5 Mbp, considerably shorter than observed in prior studies using alternative mouse lymphoma models or human tumors. Such deletions facilitate identification of specific genes and pathways responsible for the tumors. Mutations in many genes that have been implicated in human lymphomas are recapitulated in this mouse model. These features, and the fact that the mutation underlying the accelerated genetic damage does not target a specific gene or pathway a priori, are valuable features of this mouse model for identification of tumor suppressor genes. Genes affected in all tumors include Pten, Tcfe2a, Mbd3 and Setd1b. Notch1 and additional genes are affected in subsets of tumors. The high frequency of relatively short deletions is consistent with elevated recombination between nearby stalled replication forks in Mcm2-deficient mice.
Neuro-oncology: The long and winding road--gene therapy for glioma.

Gene therapy approaches for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) have been under investigation in clinical trials since the 1990s, but the results to date have been disappointing. A recently published phase III trial of adenovirus-based gene therapy for GBM has demonstrated modest—but possibly clinically relevant—improvements in patient survival.
Predictors for maximal outcome in patients undergoing salvage surgery for radio-recurrent prostate cancer

Objectives. To determine preradiation and preoperative clinical staging and postoperative pathologic factors that can predict disease-free survival in patients undergoing salvage surgery for radio-recurrent prostate cancer. Methods. A retrospective review was performed on 40 patients who underwent salvage surgery for radio-recurrent prostate cancer. Preradiation and preoperative clinical staging factors, as well as pathologic stage were analyzed as predictors of disease-free survival. Biochemical failure was defined as a persistent serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) elevation greater than 0.4 ng/mL. Results. As a group, salvage surgery provided excellent clinical disease control in 35 of 40 patients (87.5%). Overall, 18 of 38 (47.4%) patients analyzed had no evidence of biochemical progression. Preradiation clinical stage and pathologically organ-confined disease were statistically significant predictors of disease-free survival (P = 0.03 and P = 0.02, respectively). Seminal vesicle invasion and positive lymph nodes were the worst pathologic prognostic factors. Preoperative clinical T1c disease approached statistical significance in predicting pathologically organ-confined disease and disease-free survival (P = 0.08 and P = 0.07, respectively). Conclusions. Ideal candidates for salvage surgery should have preradiation and preoperative clinically organ-confined disease. All patients with pathologically organ-confined disease following salvage prostatectomy were disease free at a mean follow-up of 36.1 months. Salvage surgery, although technically feasible, should not be widely advocated as an effective curative treatment in patients with locally advanced disease at the time of diagnosis.
Function without purpose

Philosophers of evolutionary biology favor the so-called “etiological concept” of function according to which the function of a trait is its evolutionary purpose, defined as the effect for which that trait was favored by natural selection. We term this the selected effect (SE) analysis of function. An alternative account of function was introduced by Robert Cummins in a non-evolutionary and non-purposive context. Cummins's account has received attention but little support from philosophers of biology. This paper will show that a similar non-purposive concept of function, which we term causal role (CR) function, is crucial to certain research programs in evolutionary biology, and that philosophical criticisms of Cummins's concept are ineffective in this scientific context. Specifically, we demonstrate that CR functions are a vital and ineliminable part of research in comparative and functional anatomy, and that biological categories used by anatomists are not defined by the application of SE functional analysis. Causal role functions are non-historically defined, but may themselves be used in an historical analysis. Furthermore, we show that a philosophical insistence on the primary of SE functions places practicing biologists in an untenable position, as such functions can rarely be demonstrated (in contrast to CR functions). Biologists who study the form and function of organismal design recognize that it is virtually impossible to identify the past action of selection on any particular structure retrospectively, a requirement for recognizing SE functions.
The CoreValve US Pivotal Trial

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has been developed as a less-invasive approach to address patients at high risk to extreme risk for surgical aortic valve replacement. The CoreValve US trial enrolled patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis into 2 separate cohorts: an extreme-risk cohort and a high-risk cohort. The study of transfemoral TAVR using the CoreValve system in extreme-risk patients achieved its primary end point of all-cause mortality or stroke at 1 year. This was achieved with a low stroke rate and low paravalvular leak rate that improved with time. The CoreValve high-risk trial is the only randomized trial of TAVR vs surgical aortic valve replacement to show superior survival of TAVR. This was achieved with a numerically lower rate of major stroke and statistically superior changes in aortic valve function from baseline to 1 year.
An unusual case of anti-glomerular basement membrane disease presenting with nephrotic syndrome.

Anti-glomerular basement membrane (anti-GBM) disease is a vasculitic disease characterized by acute kidney injury, oliguria, hematuria and proteinuria. Proteinuria is rarely in the nephrotic range. A case of anti-GBM disease with proteinuria of 22.5g/day is discussed. Immunofluorescence showed strong linear IgG deposits while electron microscopy showed widespread visceral epithelial cell foot cell process effacement. No electron dense immune complex-type deposits were identified. Pathology findings were not suggestive of simultaneous presentation of anti-GBM disease and other diseases associated with nephrotic range proteinuria. Anti-GBM disease should be considered in a comprehensive differential diagnosis of severe proteinuria.
Property Modification via Crosslinking in CBDO-Based Copolyterephthalates

The work discussed herein focuses on the examination of the effects of crosslinking CBDO containing copolyterephthalates. A series of copolyterephthalates containing the aliphatic CBDO monomer along with aromatic diols was examined. These materials incorporate CBDO, bisphenol A, phloroglucinol, and terephthaloyl chloride and were made using standard solution polymerization techniques. The phloroglucinol, a trifunctional aromatic alcohol, was used as the crosslinking agent. The series of materials examined included both linear and crosslinked systems. The percent incorporations of the selected monomers, CBDO, bisphenol A, phloroglucinol, and terephthaloyl chloride, was varied to create a homologous series of polymers. Each polymer material was characterized for both thermal and mechanical performance.
Studies of the inactivation of human placentae aromatase by 17α-ethynyl-substituted 10β-hydroperoxy and related 19-nor steroids

The inactivation of human placental aromatase by 17 alpha-ethynyl-10 beta-hydroperoxy-17 beta-hydroxy-4-estren-3-one (SCH 10015) was investigated. In either the presence or absence of added NADPH, SCH 10015 (Ki = 41 microM) caused a time-dependent loss of aromatase activity (e.g. 50% loss after 20 min with 20 microM SCH 10015). Evidence for the oxidation of an active site sulfhydryl group as the molecular basis for SCH 10015 inactivation is presented. The contraceptive 17 alpha-ethynyl-substituted 19-nor steroids, norethisterone (Ki = 48 microM) and norethynodrel (Ki = 38 microM), were evaluated and found not to inactivate aromatase, suggesting that the potential conversion of either compound to SCH 10015 did not occur to a significant extent in these microsomal incubations. It is speculated that the previously observed potent contraceptive effects of SCH 10015 may have been the result of irreversible inhibition of estrogen biosynthesis.
Pancreatic Cancer: Insights from Counterterrorism Theories

Recently, a molecular tumor profile analyzed at our medical institution evoked an uncommon communications hub in one of the molecular pathway networks. The patient was a multiyear survivor of pancreatic cancer, and the oncologist requested molecular analyses that would assist in treatment decisions. The hub was noticed because of its topological similarity to optimal terrorist networks that are resilient against attack. Although the hub's topology could have been simply a methodological artifact, its presence did support the consulting pathologist's recommendation that the oncologist refrain from overstimulating the patient's active immune system. In addition, the terrorism/cancer analogy sparked investigation into environments that neutralize covert networks; this led to novel hypotheses about cancer prevention and control for further research. Despite parallels between the “war on cancer” and the “war on terrorism,” there has been very little crossover work between biomedical researchers and researchers in military intelligence. Here is an example of how analytical methods based on infrastructure similarities between molecular interaction pathways and terrorism networks support preclinical research and medical decision making for diseases that have progressed beyond standard-of-care treatments.
Complex network inspired fault-tolerant NoC architectures with wireless links

The Network-on-Chip (NoC) paradigm has emerged as a scalable interconnection infrastructure for modern multi-core chips. However, with growing levels of integration, the traditional NoCs suffer from high latency and energy dissipation in on-chip data transfer due to conventional metal/dielectric based interconnects. Three-dimensional integration, on-chip photonic, RF and wireless links have been proposed as radical low-power and low-latency alternatives to the conventional planar wire-based designs. Wireless NoCs with Carbon Nanotube (CNT) antennas are shown to outperform traditional wire based NoCs by several orders of magnitude in power dissipation and latency. However such transformative technologies will be prone to high levels of faults and failures due to various issues related to manufacturing and integration. On the other hand, several naturally occurring complex networks such as colonies of microbes and the internet are known to be inherently fault-tolerant against high rates of failures and harsh environments. This paper proposes to adopt such complex network based architectures to minimize the effect of wireless link failures on the performance of the NoC. Through cycle accurate simulations it is shown that the wireless NoC architectures inspired by natural complex networks perform better than their conventional wired counterparts even in the presence of a high degree of faults.
Clinical preventive medicine in primary care: background and practice: 3. Delivering preventive screening services.

The first article in this 3-part review on clinical preventive medicine described background information, supportive evidence, and current practices in preventive medicine. The second article discussed incorporating primary preventive activities including health promotion and immunizations into primary care practice. This third and final article in the series focuses on secondary prevention, ie, screening, and examines the evidence and recommendations for various screening tests and procedures. Screening for hyperlipidemia and hypertension, 2 areas in which national programs are in place, are discussed. Wider incorporation of currently underutilized preventive services into primary care has a great potential to improve morbidity, mortality, and the quality of life in the general population.
Small-angle X-ray scattering study of a weak polyelectrolyte in water

Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) was used to obtain solution parameters of a weak polyelectrolyte in water in the absence of any additives, such as neutralizing agents or salt. Poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) was used as a weak polyelectrolyte from which SAXS data were obtained in the dilute region of 1-10 mg cm -3 . An intrinsic viscosity of 15.7 dL g -1 was obtained from a plot of reciprocal reduced viscosities versus the concentration. The application of the SAXS data, that is, the contour length (L = 1.97 x 10 4 A), the persistence length (a* = 58.5 A), and the molecular weight (M = 5.9 x 10 5 Da), to the Yamakawa-Fujii equation suggested that PAA in water at 25 °C could be described as a wormlike chain having a cylindrical body of d = 6 A. An end-to-end distance (r = 1.6 x 10 3 A) was calculated from r = 2a*L - 2(a*) 2 . The nonisotropic expansion factor (α = 2.9) was calculated for PAA expanding from the random coil in dioxane at 30 °C Θ) temperature) to the wormlike chain in water at 25 °C.
Implications of the family expert role for parental rules regarding adolescent use of social technologies

We conducted individual semi-structured qualitative interviews with a diverse group of 40 adolescents to assess their perceptions related to (a) the location of expert power within their families with respect to social technology use (cell phones and social networking sites) and (b) the implications of such power for parental rule setting and enforcement related to adolescent use of these technologies. Results indicated substantial variability in who adolescents perceived to be the family experts. Rules regarding access to social technologies existed in most families regardless of the technology type and regardless of whether parents or youth were perceived as technology experts. In contrast, family expert status had implications for the types of content rules that parents set regarding adolescents’ use of social technologies and the manner in which such rules were enforced.
Efficacy of Entomopathogenic Fungi in Suppressing Pecan Weevil, Curculio caryae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), in Commercial Pecan Orchards

Abstract. The pecan weevil, Curculio caryae (Horn), is a key pest of pecans, Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch. The entomopathogenic fungi Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin and Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin are pathogenic to and are being developed as microbial control agents for pecan weevil. One approach to suppressing pest populations and the resultant damage might be to apply entomopathogenic fungi when adult pecan weevils are emerging from the soil. Here we report the efficacy of B. bassiana (GHA strain) and M. anisopliae (F52 strain) applied to trees in orchards at three locations: Byron, GA, Fort Valley, GA, and Comanche, TX. At Fort Valley, treatments included B. bassiana as an oil-based spray with a UV-protective screen applied to the trunk, M. anisopliae applied as an impregnated fiber band stapled onto the trunk, and a nontreated check. At Byron, GA, we compared the B. bassiana trunk treatment to a nontreated check. Treatments at the Texas location were the B. bassiana...