cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Toll-Like Receptor 4 Agonist Monophosphoryl Lipid A Augments Innate Host Resistance to Systemic Bacterial Infection

ABSTRACT Monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA) is a Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) agonist that is currently used as a vaccine adjuvant in humans. In this study, we evaluated the effect of MPLA treatment on the innate immune response to systemic bacterial infections in mice. Mice treated with MPLA after burn injury showed improved survival and less local and systemic dissemination of bacteria in a model of Pseudomonas aeruginosa burn wound infection. Prophylactic treatment with MPLA significantly enhanced bacterial clearance at the site of infection and reduced systemic dissemination of bacteria despite causing attenuation of proinflammatory cytokine production during acute intra-abdominal infection caused by cecal ligation and puncture. Administration of MPLA at 1 h after CLP also improved bacterial clearance but did not alter cytokine production. MPLA treatment increased the numbers of granulocytes, double-positive myeloid cells, and macrophages at sites of infection and increased the percentage and total numbers of myeloid cells mediating phagocytosis of bacteria. Depletion of Ly6G+ neutrophils, but not macrophages, eliminated the ability of MPLA treatment to improve bacterial clearance. The immunomodulatory effects of MPLA were absent in TLR4-deficient mice. In conclusion, these studies show that MPLA treatment significantly augments the innate immune response to bacterial infection by enhancing bacterial clearance despite the attenuation of proinflammatory cytokine production. The enhanced bacterial clearance is mediated, in part, by increased numbers of myeloid cells with effective phagocytic functions at sites of infection and is TLR4 dependent.
Selection of oligonucleotide probes for protein coding sequences

Motivation: Large arrays of oligonucleotide probes have become popular tools for analyzing RNA expression. However to date most oligo collections contain poorly validated sequences or are biased toward untranslated regions (UTRs). Here we present a strategy for picking oligos for microarrays that focus on a design universe consisting exclusively of protein coding regions. We describe the constraints in oligo design that are imposed by this strategy, as well as a software tool that allows the strategy to be applied broadly. Result: In this work we sequentially apply a variety of simple filters to candidate sequences for oligo probes. The primary filter is a rejection of probes that contain contiguous identity with any other sequence in the sample universe that exceeds a pre-established threshold length. We find that rejection of oligos that contain 15 bases of perfect match with other sequences in the design universe is a feasible strategy for oligo selection for probe arrays designed to interrogate mammalian RNA populations. Filters to remove sequences with low complexity and predicted poor probe accessibility narrow the candidate probe space only slightly. Rejection based on global sequence alignment is performed as a secondary, rather than primary, test, leading to an algorithm that is computationally efficient. Splice isoforms pose unique challenges and we find that isoform prevalence will for the most part have to be determined by analysis of the patterns of hybridization of partially redundant oligonucleotides. Availability: The oligo design program OligoPicker and its source code are freely available at our website.
How to Avoid Being Surprised by Hepatotoxicity at the Final Stages of Drug Development and Approval

Drugs that caused severe drug-induced live injury (DILI) in humans have typically not shown clear hepatotoxic signals in preclinical assessment. However, clinical trial databases may show evidence of a drug's potential for severe DILI if clinical and laboratory data are evaluated for evidence of milder liver injury. The most specific indicator during a clinical trial for a drug's potential to cause severe DILI is occurrence of cases of drug induced hepatocellular injury accompanied by altered liver function (eg, elevated direct bilirubin). Meticulous causality assessment of hepatic cases and strict adherence to hepatic discontinuation rules are critical components of this approach.
Routing TCP Flows in Underwater Mesh Networks

Due to the growing importance of coastline surveillance and protection, underwater communication is playing an increasingly important role in military networks. As compared to terrestrial networks, large propagation delays and low data rates are fundamental characteristics of underwater communication. Furthermore, due to some key differences in the factors causing fluctuations in the quality of the underwater channels, the corresponding communication links experience more prolonged data rate changes as compared to those in terrestrial networks. Large propagation delays and prolonged link data rate deteriorations severely degrade the end-to-end performance of Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) based applications. Since military applications often require the reliable data delivery provided by TCP, it is important to devise solutions to alleviate this problem. In this paper, we propose a new routing scheme called Linear Coded Digraph Routing (LCDR) to enhance the end-to-end throughput of TCP based packet flows in underwater mesh networks. LCDR is a fully distributed scheme designed to locally respond to changes in the link data rates. In LCDR, each ingress node forwards packets after network coding. Each intermediate node adaptively uses network coding before forwarding the packets to the outgoing links. Each terrestrial gateway decodes the network coded packets before forwarding them to terrestrial networks. Each node adapts its packet forwarding rate based on the available bandwidth on the outgoing links, such that the terrestrial gateway can successfully receive packets with higher probability without significantly affecting cross-traffic. The effectiveness of the proposed scheme is evaluated using simulation. The simulation results show that the proposed scheme uses the spare bandwidth on each link efficiently and it significantly improves end-to-end throughput of TCP flows.
Using force sensors and neural models to encode tactile stimuli as spike-based responses

Tactile sensors will augment the next generation of prosthetic limbs. However, currently available sensors do not produce biologically-compatible output. This work seeks to illustrate that a force sensor combined with a bi-phasic, neural spiking algorithm, or spiking-sensor, can produce spiking patterns similar to that of the slowly adapting type I (SAI) mechanoreceptor. Experiments were conducted where first spike latency and inter-spike interval, in response to a rapidly delivered (100 ms) sustained displacement (1.1, 1.3, 1.5 mm for 5 s), were compared between the spiking-sensor and SAI recording. The results indicated that the predicted spike times were similar, in magnitude and increasing linear trend, to those observed with the SAI. Over the three displacements, average dynamic ISIs were 7.3, 4.2, 3.8 ms for the spiking-sensor and 6.2, 6.9, 4.1 ms for the SAI, while average static ISIs were 69.0, 45.2, 35.1 ms and 159.9, 69.6, 38.8 ms. The predicted first spike latencies (74.3, 73.9, 96.3 ms) lagged in comparison to those observed for the SAI (26.8, 31.7, 28.8 ms), which may be due to both the different applied force ramp-ups and the SAI's exquisite dynamic sensitivity range and rapid response time.
SENSORY AND OBJECTIVE MEASUREMENTS OF PEACH FIRMNESS

A non-destructive random-vibration technique was used to test whole intact peaches over the frequency region 250–10000 Hz. Changes in the vibration properties of peaches during maturation and ripening were related to changes in fruit firmness. Vibration measurements in the frequency region 2–5 kHz provided the best correlations with pressure test measurements and with sensory firmness ratings. Such correlations were in general greater than 0.80.
Equilibrium modeling of U(VI) speciation in high carbonate groundwaters: Model error and propagation of uncertainty

Abstract Remediation of U-contaminated sites relies upon thermodynamic speciation calculations to predict U(VI) movement in the subsurface. However, reliability and applicability of geochemical speciation and reactive transport models may be limited by determinate (model) errors and random (uncertainty) errors in the equilibrium speciation calculations. This study examines propagated uncertainty in two types of subsurface calculations: I. Dissolved U(VI) speciation based on measured analytical constraints and solution phase equilibria and II. Overall U(VI) speciation which combined the dissolved phase equilibria with previously published adsorption reactions. Three levels of uncertainty, instrumental uncertainty, temporal variation and spatial variation across a site, were investigated using first-derivative sensitivity calculations and Monte Carlo simulations. Dissolved speciation calculations were robust, with minimal amplification of uncertainty and normal output distributions. The most critical analytical constraints in the dissolved system are pH, DIC, total U and total Ca, with some effect from dissolved SO 4 2 - . When considering adsorption equilibria, calculations were robust with respect to adsorbed U(VI) concentration prediction, but bimodal distributions of dissolved U(VI) concentrations were observed in simulations with background levels of total U(VI) and higher (spatial and temporal variability) estimates of input uncertainty. Consequently, sorption model predictions of dissolved U(VI) may not be robust with respect these higher levels of uncertainty.
Taphonomy and Information Losses in Fossil Communities

Taphonomy explores post-mortem relations between organic remains and their external environment. Paleoecologists must first be taphonomists, because studies of life-environmental histories require prior knowledge of post-mortem events. Two types of post-mortem events can seriously hamper the recognition and analysis of fossil communities: (1) information losses through nonpreservation, and (2) losses through transport away from the life setting. Although many organisms are capable of leaving multiple or redundant evidence of their presence, redundancy cannot fully counterbalance the many processes leading to information losses. At the present stage of our knowledge, in situ preservation is the only valid criterion we possess for recognizing fossil communities. Information losses through transport must be minimal in these cases; major losses occur through nonpreservation. Data on potential information losses through nonpreservation are not numerous. The available analyses of Recent marine communities indicate that from 7 to 67 percent of these communities9 species are soft-bodied and have little potential for preservation. Fewer data exist concerning actual information losses for fossil communities of any type. Actual losses can be estimated for oyster communities from the Atlantic Coastal Plain in North Carolina. An Oligocene Crassostrea gigantissima (Finch) community at Belgrade contains about 18 preserved megascopic species. Documented processes contributing to information loss included dissipation of organic soft parts and dissolution of chitinous, siliceous, and aragonitic skeletons. A Recent minimal Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin) community from the Beaufort area includes 80 megascopic animal species. This Recent community, if subjected to the same history as the fossil one, would yield similar types and amounts of preserved information. The comparative analysis suggests, therefore, that the Oligocene community contained the same major taxa as the Recent community; over 75 percent of the species in the original Oligocene community have not been preserved.
Memristor―CMOS Hybrid Integrated Circuits for Reconfigurable Logic

Hybrid reconfigurable logic circuits were fabricated by integrating memristor-based crossbars onto a foundry-built CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) platform using nanoimprint lithography, as well as materials and processes that were compatible with the CMOS. Titanium dioxide thin-film memristors served as the configuration bits and switches in a data routing network and were connected to gate-level CMOS components that acted as logic elements, in a manner similar to a field programmable gate array. We analyzed the chips using a purpose-built testing system, and demonstrated the ability to configure individual devices, use them to wire up various logic gates and a flip-flop, and then reconfigure devices.
SOLIDIFICATION AND CONSOLIDATION OF A LIQUEFIED SAND COLUMN

ABSTRACT Saturated sandy soils have been observed to liquefy during earthquakes and in laboratory experiments. Following liquefaction the soil grains settle out, and the material solidifies from the base up. The history of pore pressure in a solidifying liquefied sand has been obtained in centrifuge experiments. It is found that the excess pore pressure lags the pore pressure decay which would be expected from the solidification of a mass of rigid grains. Consequently the accreting solid sand layer is consolidating with time during and following accretion. A mathematical description of this process is given by an adaptation of Gibson’s (1958) theory of consolidation of a sedimenting clay layer. The resulting theory is compared with experimental centrifuge results, and found to give a satisfactory description of the observations.
Estimating the need for hepato-pancreatico-biliary surgeons in the USA

Background Hepato-pancreatico-biliary (HPB) fellowship training has risen in popularity in recent years and hence large numbers of graduating fellows enter the workforce each year. Studies have proposed that the increase in HPB-trained surgeons will outgrow demand in the USA. This study shows that the need for HPB-trained surgeons refers not to the meeting of demand in terms of case volume, but to improving patient access to care.
Plasma Concentrations of Six Steroids and LH During the Ovulatory Cycle of the Hen, Gallus domesticus

Five laying hens were serially sampled via a brachial vein cannula at 2 h intervals for a period of 34 to 72 h. Plasma samples were grouped to the nearest 2 h interval relativeto the estimated time of ovulation, and subsequently each sample was assayed for progesterone (P4), estradiol-1 7i3 (E2), estrone (E1), testosterone (T), 5a-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), corticosterOne (B), and LH. Mean concentrations of plasma LH, P4, E,, E2, and DHT were highest 6 h prior to ovulation, while a peak of T preceded ovulation by 8 h. There was a surge of B preceding ovulation by 2 h; however, this is attributed to a peak related to oviposition and not to ovulation. There was a small daily surge of LH occurring at the onset of darkness regardless of whether an ovulation occurred on the subsequent morning. These hormone fluctuations are discussed with reference to the potential direct or indirect role of each hormone in the induction of ovulation.
Parallel Medullary Gustatospinal Pathways In a Catfish: Possible Neural Substrates for Taste-Mediated Food Search

Taste and tactile fibers in the facial nerve of catfish innervate extraoral taste buds and terminate somatotopically in the facial lobe (FL)—a medullary structure crucial for gustatory-mediated food search. The present study was performed to determine the neural linkages between the gustatory input and the spinal motor output. Spinal injections of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) label spinopetal cells in the octaval nuclei, the nucleus of the medial longitudinal fasciculus, and reticulospinal neurons (Rsps) in the brainstem medial reticular formation (RF), including the Mauthner cell. A somatotopically organized, direct faciospinal system originating from superficial cells scattered in the lateral lobule of the facial lobe (ll) is also labeled. The brainstem reticulospinal cells are segmentally organized into 14 clusters within eight segments of the reticular formation and includes one cluster (RS5) directly ventral to the FL. Injections of HRP or fluorescent tracers into the medial lobule of the FL label a facioreticular projection terminating around the Rsps of RS5. DiI injections into this area of the RF retrogradely label deeply situated bipolar neurons, especially in the medial and intermediate lobules of the FL. Electrophysiological recordings in and around RS5 show units with large receptive fields and with responses to chemical and tactile stimulation. The FL projects to the spinal cord via two pathways: (1) a topographically organized direct faciospinal pathway, and (2) an indirect facioreticulospinal pathway in which reticular neurons process and integrate gustatory information before influencing spinal circuitry for motor control during food search.
Using Hybrid Branch Predictors to Improve Branch Prediction Accuracy in the Presence of Context Switches

Pipeline stalls due to conditional branches represent one of the most significant impediments to realizing the performance potential of deeply pipelined, superscalar processors. Many branch predictors have been proposed to help alleviate this problem, including the Two-Level Adaptive Branch Predictor, and more recently, two-component hybrid branch predictors.In a less idealized environment, such as a time-shared system, code of interest involves context switches. Context switches, even at fairly large intervals, can seriously degrade the performance of many of the most accurate branch prediction schemes. In this paper, we introduce a new hybrid branch predictor and show that it is more accurate (for a given cost) than any previously published scheme, especially if the branch histories are periodically flushed due to the presence of context switches.
Focused Elements and Snippets

This paper reports briefly on the final results of experiments to produce competitive (i.e., highly ranked) focused elements in response to the various tasks of the INEX 2010 Ad Hoc Track. These experiments are based on an entirely new analysis and indexing of the INEX 2009 Wikipedia collection. Using this indexing and our basic methodology for dynamic element retrieval [5, 6], described herein, yields highly competitive results for all the tasks involved. This is important because our approach to snippet retrieval is based on the conviction that good snippets can be generated from good focused elements. Our work to date in snippet generation is described; this early work ranked 9th in the official results.
Function and Distribution of Apolipoprotein A1 in the Artery Wall Are Markedly Distinct From Those in Plasma

Background—Prior studies show that apolipoprotein A1 (apoA1) recovered from human atherosclerotic lesions is highly oxidized. Ex vivo oxidation of apoA1 or high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cross-links apoA1 and impairs lipid binding, cholesterol efflux, and lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase activities of the lipoprotein. Remarkably, no studies to date directly quantify either the function or HDL particle distribution of apoA1 recovered from the human artery wall. Methods and Results—A monoclonal antibody (10G1.5) was developed that equally recognizes lipid-free and HDL-associated apoA1 in both native and oxidized forms. Examination of homogenates of atherosclerotic plaque–laden aorta showed >100-fold enrichment of apoA1 compared with normal aorta (P 90%) of apoA1 within aortic...
The Role of Personal Relationships in Facilitating Supply Chain Communications: A Qualitative Study

While the importance of communication between companies within the supply chain has been well established in the literature, a number of gaps remain pertaining to how individual-level employee relationships influence firm-to-firm communications. One such gap in the literature represents the focus of the current study; little research has addressed the role of nonwork focused personal relationships (i.e., friendships) formed between employees of supply chain partner firms, and specifically how such relationships impact business-related communication processes. Because research in this area is limited, and qualitative methods are considered most appropriate to assess emergent research phenomena, grounded theory building (Strauss and Corbin 1990) via semi-structured interviews was undertaken. The results reveal that interpersonal relationships facilitate business communications through four emergent process themes. Our analysis thus allows us to develop initial theory related to how two different personal social network layers – personal relationships and interorganizational communications – relate within supply chain settings. Implications for future research are also considered.
Initial hydrogen-bonding dynamics of photoexcited coumarin in solution with femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy

Hydrogen bond (H-bond) making and breaking dynamics in solute–solvent systems represent a fundamental class of intermolecular interactions that play a crucial role in numerous chemical reactions and biological processes. To reveal the initial H-bond dynamics following electronic excitation of a shape-responsive fluorophore in the condensed phase, we develop tunable femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS) with 660/670–760 nm Raman pump/probe pulses to pre-resonantly enhance transient coumarin 102 (C102) species in the singly excited state S1 following 400 nm photoexcitation. Within 400 fs ( 1 ns decay, which are attributed to solvation of the nascent free C102, H-bond reformation of the solvated C102, and radiative emission from the relaxed excited state. The mechanistic understanding is corroborated by the time-resolved excited-state absorption of C102 in ethanol as a function of probe wavelength in the visible to near-IR range, as well as ground-state bleaching signal evolution in the UV region. The direct observation of H-bond breaking events followed by excited-state population bifurcation and solvation of both free and H-bonded C102 in ethanol provides an unambiguous, rich portrait of structural dynamics of a fluorophore in solution on crucial molecular timescales (fs to ps). These insights will enable the rational development of photosensitive molecules in general with prescribed functions for materials and biological applications.
Alternate Wind Turbine Blade Planform Design Studies for Low Wind Speeds

Wind turbine design for low wind regimes is gaining importance as existing high wind sites are heavily utilized. Maximizing energy yield from a low wind regime while adhering to load constraints is the biggest challenge. Longer rotors and higher towers are currently being used to maximize energy capture and improve AEP. The focus of this work is to assess new blade planforms for low wind speed blade design. Planforms with maple shape are studied and a new design methodology based on lift force distribution is adopted. CFD analysis is carried out for the blade planforms to validate the design methodology and the results show similar performance trends as that of the conventional design method.© 2015 ASME
Varieties of Legitimacy at the World Trade Organization

As the international trading system expanded considerably in recent decades, the World Trade Organization (WTO) played a controversial role in reconfiguring people’s relationships to consumer goods and business services. There has been considerable opposition from the losers in the free trade system and attendant challenges to the legitimacy of the WTO. As the preeminent organization in charge of managing tensions associated with the phenomenon and institution of free trade, the WTO thus found itself responding to more diverse constituents and than in the past and drawing on outside experts when ruling on issues of scientific and economic uncertainty. This chapter analyzes how the WTO has sought legitimacy for itself and for the underlying institution of free trade in the midst of questions regarding its organizational mandate and management of international trade negotiations. Initially, legitimacy was claimed to derive from an expanding membership and the lowering of tariffs in progressively more categories of goods and services. More recently, legitimacy comes from institutional deepening by means of dispute resolution procedures and rulings by the dispute settlement body. This shift, it is argued, raises foundational questions of expertise, the relationship of models to real-world outcomes, and methods for bounding disputes over scientific facts. Based on a trend analysis of over 400 total WTO disputes and a case study of the Brazil – Upland Cotton Dispute, this chapter finds that the WTO dispute process is helping to legitimize the institution of free trade through a public display of rational authority and neutral expertise. At the same time, dispute panels have begun to pass judgment on issues of scientific and econometric uncertainty. As a result, the basis for the broader legitimacy of the WTO is shifting from questions of representation that have long drawn attention to epistemic issues, especially concerning the design of econometric models. This chapter thus offers insights on the resolution of disputes in global trade while also contributing more generally to our understanding of the evolving role of expertise and econometric modeling at international organizations.
Uma Introdução Ao Direito De Autor Europeu (EU Copyright Law - An Introduction)

Portuguese Abstract: Este artigo apresenta uma introducao ao direito de autor europeu. Comeca por apresentar as principais diferencas entre dois sistemas: droit d'auteur e copyright e qual o seu impacto na harmonizacao do direito de autor. Depois apresenta o acervo de directivas, descrevendo-as sucintamente, descreve a intervencao do TJUE nesta area e da conta da actual discussao em torno de um titulo unitario. Da-se igualmente nota das areas nao harmonizadas. Finalmente, a quarta seccao procura caracterizar o sistema abordando: a nocao de obra, titularidade e gestao colectiva, direitos patrimoniais e limites e excepcoes.English Abstract: This article is a brief introduction to the field of EU Copyright Law. It starts by presenting the main differences between copyright and droit d'auteur systems and the way this has impacted on harmonization of copyright at the EU level. Then it focuses on the methods for harmonization used thus far, providing an overview of the nine directives on copyright matters, the interaction with EU treaties and CJEU's role therein, and the ongoing discussion concerning a unitary copyright title. The non-harmonized fields are also noted. Finally, the fourth section looks at the harmonized system addressing: the notion of work, ownership and collective management, economic rights and limits and exceptions.
Computation of Tidal Flow in Well-Mixed Estuaries

A new efficient procedure is developed for computing periodic flow in well-mixed estuaries of arbitrary geometry. A harmonic analysis is performed in which accurate representations of the nonlinear terms in the equations of motion are developed by successive approximation. At each iteration, the modal coefficients satisfy a system of first-order equations and boundary conditions which are combined in such a way as to promote algorithmic efficiency. The method is illustrated by applications to a model river estuary and to a deep inlet with a sill. Accuracy is demonstrated for the former case (where nonlinear effects are strong) by close agreement with results obtained from a time-stepping method. The method appears to be very efficient, and computation time may be less than 10% of that required by conventional time-stepping procedures. Analysis of multiple branches and networks of estuaries is also considered.
Decadal evaluation of regional climate, air quality, and their interactions over the continental US and their interactions using WRF/Chem version 3.6.1

Abstract. The Weather Research and Forecasting model with Chemistry (WRF/Chem) v3.6.1 with the Carbon Bond 2005 (CB05) gas-phase mechanism is evaluated for its first decadal application during 2001–2010 using the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 (RCP 8.5) emissions to assess its capability and appropriateness for long-term climatological simulations. The initial and boundary conditions are downscaled from the modified Community Earth System Model/Community Atmosphere Model (CESM/CAM5) v1.2.2. The meteorological initial and boundary conditions are bias-corrected using the National Center for Environmental Protection's Final (FNL) Operational Global Analysis data. Climatological evaluations are carried out for meteorological, chemical, and aerosol–cloud–radiation variables against data from surface networks and satellite retrievals. The model performs very well for the 2 m temperature (T2) for the 10-year period, with only a small cold bias of −0.3 °C. Biases in other meteorological variables including relative humidity at 2 m, wind speed at 10 m, and precipitation tend to be site- and season-specific; however, with the exception of T2, consistent annual biases exist for most of the years from 2001 to 2010. Ozone mixing ratios are slightly overpredicted at both urban and rural locations with a normalized mean bias (NMB) of 9.7 % but underpredicted at rural locations with an NMB of −8.8 %. PM2.5 concentrations are moderately overpredicted with an NMB of 23.3 % at rural sites but slightly underpredicted with an NMB of −10.8 % at urban/suburban sites. In general, the model performs relatively well for chemical and meteorological variables, and not as well for aerosol–cloud–radiation variables. Cloud-aerosol variables including aerosol optical depth, cloud water path, cloud optical thickness, and cloud droplet number concentration are generally underpredicted on average across the continental US. Overpredictions of several cloud variables over the eastern US result in underpredictions of radiation variables (such as net shortwave radiation – GSW – with a mean bias – MB – of −5.7 W m−2) and overpredictions of shortwave and longwave cloud forcing (MBs of ∼ 7 to 8 W m−2), which are important climate variables. While the current performance is deemed to be acceptable, improvements to the bias-correction method for CESM downscaling and the model parameterizations of cloud dynamics and thermodynamics, as well as aerosol–cloud interactions, can potentially improve model performance for long-term climate simulations.
Sociocognitive apprenticeship: mediating practices and identities

The learning sciences community has gleaned a good deal from research on traditional apprenticeships, and efforts to implement cognitive apprenticeships in schools. A hybrid model of "sociocognitive apprenticeship" is proposed, combining aspects of traditional and cognitive apprenticeships to aid culturally disadvantaged students to develop successful participation in and identification with professional communities of practice. The sociocognitive apprenticeship model is illustrated through results of a descriptive study of a community science and engineering program for teenage youth.
The Dynamics of Singlet Fission in Crystalline Tetracene and Covalent Analogs

Singlet fission (SF) is a spin-allowed process in which an excited singlet state spontaneously splits into a pair of triplet excitons. This relaxation pathway is of interest as a mechanism for increasing the efficiency of photovoltaic solar cells, since ionization of the triplets could produce two charge carriers per absorbed photon. In this Account, we summarize our recent work on trying to understand how SF occurs using both covalent and noncovalent assemblies of tetracene. We first give a brief overview of the SF process and discuss why tetracene, where the singlet and triplet pair energies are nearly degenerate, is a particularly useful molecule for studying this process. Then we describe our experiments, beginning with the study of phenylene-linked tetracene dimers as covalent analogs for the crystal form, where SF is known to be very efficient. We found that only 2-3% of the initially excited singlets underwent SF in these dimers. These results motivated us to study crystalline tetracene in more detail. Transient absorption and photoluminescence experiments on polycrystalline thin films provided evidence for a delocalized singlet exciton that decays with a complicated temperature-dependence, but we were unable to unambiguously identify the signature of the triplet pair formed by SF. Then, using ultrathin single crystals, we observed quantum beats in the delayed fluorescence arising from recombination of spin-coherent triplet pairs. Analyzing these quantum beats revealed that SF proceeds through a direct one-step process occurring within 200 ps at room temperature. The product of this reaction is a pair of unperturbed triplets that have negligible interaction with each other. Looking at the overall SF process in tetracene, remaining issues that need to be clarified include the role of exciton diffusion, the temperature dependence of the SF rate, and how to use insights gained from the solid-state studies to generate design principles for high-efficiency covalent systems. Our experiments provide a good illustration of why the polyacenes, and tetracene in particular, play an important role as systems for the study of SF.
Relational origins of inequality

Transformations of credit in 16th-century England illustrate how interpersonal transactions cause changes in inequality. Despite the efforts of such outstanding scholars as Eric Wolf, Don Kalb, and Timothy Earle, inequality has lost the prominent position it once occupied among anthropological concerns. As a result, anthropologists are missing the opportunity to intervene in important debates about inequality in history and the social sciences. A primitive general theory of inequality centering on the dynamics of interpersonal relations identifies one way in which anthropological investigation can contribute to those debates.
Some Novel Projected Motion Picture Presentations

MANY of us remember Lyman H. Howe who toured this country for several years, with his famous travel pictures. He began before the birth of the Nickelodeon and continued to be a success for a number of years after our present movie palaces became established. Let us analyze his methods. Most of his subjects were photographed with short focal length lenses. He then brought his audience right into the scene by making his projected picture nearly large enough to fill the average stage opening. It appears that this, together with especially good projection for that time, was the greatest factor of his continued success. The above is cited merely to show that motion pictures of greatly enlarged dimensions are really nothing new.
Magnesium and Phosphorus: The Neglected Electrolytes

Magnesium and phosphorus normally are present in very low serum concentrations and usually are not included in common serum electrolyte laboratory studies. Though their normal serum concentrations are relatively low, both of these ionized minerals are necessary for many critical physiologic functions, and decreases in normal serum levels can have serious deleterious effects. Some of these effects, especially in myocardial tissues, may lead to permanent tissue damage. Hospitalized patients at greatest risk for developing hypomagnesemia or hypophosphatemia are trauma victims; individuals with poorly controlled diabetes mellitus, renal impairment, parathyroid dysfunction, or chronic alcoholism; and individuals who have been treated with antineoplastic agents.
Cooking chicken and turkey from the frozen and thawed states.

Are there differences in cooking times, yield, and palatability if poultry is cooked from the frozen state rather than thawed first?
Decreased expression of a glycoprotein component of bladder surface mucin (GP1) in interstitial cystitis.

AbstractInterstitial cystitis is a disease of unknown etiology characterized by unremitting urinary frequency, urgency and suprapubic pain. Recently, a change in urothelial permeability has been identified in interstitial cystitis patients that is presumably mediated by aberrations in bladder surface mucin. For this study we evaluated qualitative changes in a previously defined glycoprotein component of this layer (GPl) as it occurs in interstitial cystitis patients and normal controls.Paraffinized bladder biopsies were obtained from 23 interstitial cystitis patients (all meeting National Institutes of Health inclusion criteria) and 11 normal controls. All biopsy tissue was stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and periodic acid, Schiff reaction. The tissues were examined immunohistochemically for GPl using an anti-GPl serum. Periodic acid, Schiff staining clearly identified bladder surface proteoglycans in all specimens. Moderate GPl reactivity was noted in all normal control specimens. Alternatively, GPl ...
Synaptic Abnormalities and Neuroplasticity: Molecular Mechanisms of Cognitive Dysfunction in Genetic Mouse Models of Schizophrenia

Abstract Cognitive dysfunction is a core symptom of schizophrenia and the most accurate predictor of clinical outcome. Unfortunately, current treatments cannot improve cognitive deficits, resulting in a need for deeper understanding of the disease's pathogenesis. Dendritic spines are intimately linked to cognition, with strong evidence that spine plasticity is impaired in the schizophrenic brain. Mouse models can provide unprecedented insight into how genetic factors influence cognition via regulation of spine plasticity. Here, we review the cognitive and spine data of several prominent genetic mouse models of schizophrenia risk genes.
Evidence Based Treatments for Trauma-Related Psychological Disorders: A Practical Guide for Clinicians, edited by U. Schnyder and M. Cloitre.

Ulrich Schnyder and Marylene Cloitre state that their purpose in editing Evidence Based Treatments for Trauma-Related Psychological Disorders: A Practical Guide for Clinicians was to create a text ...
Evaluation and Management of Common Scrotal Conditions

Objectives 1. Identify three conditions associated with acute scrotal pain. 2. Review the anatomy associated with hydrocele formation. 3. Discuss two percutaneous treatment options for varicoceles. 4. Outline the differences between a retractile testis and an undescended testis.
Activation of mTOR Signaling Pathway Contributes to Tumoral Cell Survival in ALK-Positive Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma.

Abstract Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) frequently carries the t(2;5)(p23;q35) resulting in aberrant expression of nucleophosmin (NPM)-ALK. Previously, NPM-ALK has been shown to activate phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and its downstream effector, the serine/threonine kinase AKT. Recently, we have shown that mTOR signaling proteins are activated in ALK-positive ALCL tumors and that mTOR activation depends, at least in part, on activation of AKT (Lab Invest 2005; 85: 255A). In this study, we investigate the biological effects of inhibition of mTOR on two ALK-positive ALCL cell lines, Karpas 299 and SU-DHL1. For this purpose, we used rapamycin to inhibit mTOR-raptor complex and mTOR-specific small interfering RNA (siRNA) to silence the endogenous mtor gene. Treatment with rapamycin, resulted in a marked concentration-dependent decrease of phosphorylated (p)-mTOR, and its downstream targets, p-p70S6K, p-S6K, p-4E-BP1 and total eIF4E. Similarly, silencing the expression of mtor resulted in a decrease in the activation/phosphorylation level of these proteins as well as in the level of p-AKT. Both treatments induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in both ALK-positive ALCL cell lines as demonstrated by trypan blue exclusion, annexin V staining, BrdU incorporation, and cell cycle studies. There was a concentration-dependent decrease in the anti-apoptotic proteins BCL-2, BCL-XL, MCL-1 and c-FLIP (L and S) with increasing concentrations of rapamycin or after mTOR siRNA treatment. The cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors p21waf1 and p27kip1 and underphosphorylated (Un-p)-RB protein were upregulated, after treatment with rapamycin or after mTOR siRNA treatment. In conclusion, we provide evidence that inhibition of mTOR induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in ALK-positive ALCL cells. The decrease of p-AKT by silencing mtor suggests that mTOR is necessary to activate AKT in ALK-positive ALCL, and thus, mTOR can function as a feedback signal activity of its own pathway.
The pearl of great price

“The Pearl of Great Price” is a short story that explores the ways faith can go wrong. The central character, Janet, a single mom in a dead end job, is drawn into a multi-level marketing scheme, Benevite, by an unscrupulous salesman. She is encouraged to believe in herself and her dream and to give everything she has to it. She is fed the standard cliches to the effect that you can achieve whatever you want if you try hard enough. In the end her faith in her dream leads to the loss of her relationship with her child and other losses. Her pursuit exhibits many of the standard features of faith, belief, desire, resilience, tenacity, passion, and yet she does not save herself. The story is not meant as an indictment of faith in general, but as an acknowledgement of the fact that faith can be a vice and an exploration of when this might be so.
Complete Genome Sequence of Desulfovibrio piger FI11049.

ABSTRACT The complete genome sequence of Desulfovibrio piger FI11049 was determined. The genome consists of a single circular chromosome of 2,807,531 bp encoding seven rRNA operons, 76 tRNA genes, and 2,535 coding genes.
Index switching causes “spreading-of-signal” among multiplexed samples in Illumina HiSeq 4000 DNA sequencing

Illumina-based next generation sequencing (NGS) has accelerated biomedical discovery through its ability to generate thousands of gigabases of sequencing output per run at a fraction of the time and cost of conventional technologies. The process typically involves four basic steps: library preparation, cluster generation, sequencing, and data analysis. In 2015, a new chemistry of cluster generation was introduced in the newer Illumina machines (HiSeq 3000/4000/X Ten) called exclusion amplification (ExAmp), which was a fundamental shift from the earlier method of random cluster generation by bridge amplification on a non-patterned flow cell. The ExAmp chemistry, in conjunction with patterned flow cells containing nanowells at fixed locations, increases cluster density on the flow cell, thereby reducing the cost per run. It also increases sequence read quality, especially for longer read lengths (up to 150 base pairs). This advance has been widely adopted for genome sequencing because greater sequencing depth can be achieved for lower cost without compromising the quality of longer reads. We show that this promising chemistry is problematic, however, when multiplexing samples. We discovered that up to 5-10% of sequencing reads (or signals) are incorrectly assigned from a given sample to other samples in a multiplexed pool. We provide evidence that this “spreading-of-signals” arises from low levels of free index primers present in the pool. These index primers can prime pooled library fragments at random via complementary 3′ ends, and get extended by DNA polymerase, creating a new library molecule with a new index before binding to the patterned flow cell to generate a cluster for sequencing. This causes the resulting read from that cluster to be assigned to a different sample, causing the spread of signals within multiplexed samples. We show that low levels of free index primers persist after the most common library purification procedure recommended by Illumina, and that the amount of signal spreading among samples is proportional to the level of free index primer present in the library pool. This artifact causes homogenization and misclassification of cells in single cell RNA-seq experiments. Therefore, all data generated in this way must now be carefully re-examined to ensure that “spreading-of-signals” has not compromised data analysis and conclusions. Re-sequencing samples using an older technology that uses conventional bridge amplification for cluster generation, or improved library cleanup strategies to remove free index primers, can minimize or eliminate this signal spreading artifact.
The Impact of Electronic Reading Devices on Reading Speed and Comfort in Patients with Decreased Vision

Background/Aims. To evaluate the impact of back-illuminated and nonilluminated electronic reading devices on reading speed and comfort in patients with decreased vision. Methods. A prospective study involving a convenience sample of 167 patients at a single retina practice from January 2011 to December 2012. Participants were asked to read five different excerpts on five different media in a randomly assigned order. Media included a printed book at 12-point font (12PF), iPad2 at 12PF, iPad2 at 18-point font (18PF), Kindle2 at 12PF, and Kindle2 at 18PF. Reading speed in words per minute (WPM) and medium preference were recorded and stratified by visual acuity (VA). Results. Mean reading speeds in WPM: iPad2 at 18PF (217.0), iPad2 at 12PF (209.1), Kindle2 at 18PF (183.3), Kindle2 at 12PF (177.7), and printed book at 12PF (176.8). Reading speed was faster on back-illuminated media compared to nonilluminated media. Text magnification minimized losses in reading performance with worsening patient VA. The majority of participants preferred reading on the iPad2 at 18PF. Conclusions. Back-illuminated devices may increase reading speed and comfort relative to nonilluminated devices and printed text, particularly in patients with decreased VA.
Selective electrochemical CO2 reduction to CO using in situ reduced In2O3 nanocatalysts

Both metallic indium and indium oxide electrocatalysts typically have high selectivity for producing formate via the electrochemical reduction of CO2 in aqueous media. It has been suggested that under highly negative potentials, i.e. potentials typically sufficient to reduce indium oxide to In0, the native oxide layer on metallic indium or indium oxide particles is not reduced to In0 when exposed to CO2-saturated electrolytes. This meta-stable oxide layer is crucial in the mechanism for producing formate via the two-electron, two-proton reduction of CO2; however it prevents the catalysis from occurring on In0. Herein, we report that electrochemically reducing In2O3 nanocatalysts in Ar-saturated electrolytes in situ, prior to CO2 exposure, will remove this metastable oxide layer and create an In0–In2O3 composite. This In0–In2O3 composite material changes the selectivity and is able to electrochemically reduce CO2 to CO with near 100% selectivity at relatively low overpotentials (c.a. −1.0 V vs. Ag/AgCl). We attribute the change in selectivity to the direct exposure of In0 to CO2 in solution that typically does not exist due to the native oxide layer that forms on In metal. In addition, we observed that the first electron-transfer step to form the surface adsorbed intermediates is highly reversible on the In0–In2O3 composite; however it is irreversible on an In foil electrode. We also report the utilization of Substrate Generation-Tip Collection Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy (SG-TC SECM) to measure the production of CO as a function of applied potential. This technique allows for the collection of CO in situ during the voltammetry experiment as it is produced on the catalytic electrode, which results in accurate potential dependent measurements of CO production.