cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dynamic voltage allocation with quantized voltage levels and simplified channel modeling

After numerous program and erase (P/E) operations the Flash memory read channel experiences significant degradation, especially after certain retention time. As the volume of data programmed and erased from the device increases, successful recovery of the stored data becomes more difficult. Dynamic voltage allocation (DVA) allocates the write threshold voltages of each level as a function of the current degree of channel degradation to increase the lifetime of Flash memory. Several real-world constraints can limit the performance of DVA in practical Flash systems. This paper proposes specific solutions to address two major constraints: imperfect channel modeling and quantized voltage levels. The resulting implementation provides performance close to that of idealized settings.
Bias Stress Induced Instabilities in Amorphous Silicon Nitride / Crystalline Silicon and Amorphous Silicon Nitride / Amorphous Silicon Structures

The effects of positive and negative bias stress on hydrogenated amorphous silicon nitride / crystalline silicon and hydrogenated amorphous silicon nitride / hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) structures are investigated as a function of stress time, stress temperature and stress bias. It is shown that in both structures bias stress induces a parallel shift of the C-V (capacitance-voltage) characteristics. For a given stress bias the direction of the C-V shift depends on the sign of the applied stress voltage, while the magnitude of the C-V shift depends on stress time and temperature. In addition, it is shown that positive bias stress slightly increases the number of localized states in the a-Si:H mobility gap, but negative bias stress does not. These results lead us to conclude that the C-V shift is not induced by dangling bond defects in a-Si:H but rather by carrier trapping in the insulator.
KINETICS OF LEACHING Ti-BEARING SLAG BY DILUTE SULPHURIC ACID

The kinetics of the leaching reaction for dilute sulphuric acid (20%-60%) and Ti-bearing slag at 363-383 K was investigated and the reaction may be descripted by the named unreacted-core shrinking model: l-(l-X)1/3 = kMBcAt/(rowB) = Kt. The apparent reaction order of the leaching reaction is 1.222, apparent activation energy is 87.01 kJ/mol, K may be described by K=5.090xl04 x (10.59 + l/r0)cA1.222e-10.465x103/T. The experiment results agree well with the model before achieving 90% TiO2 leaching rate.
Chemical modification of Ca(2+)-activated potassium channels of GH3 anterior pituitary cells.

The effects of amino group specific reagents were examined on single, large-conductance, Ca(2+)-activated, K+ channels in excised membrane patches from GH3 cells. The reagents used include trinitro...
Morbidity and mortality after total splenectomy for lymphoid neoplasms.

Abstract Background Splenectomy is indicated for selected patients with lymphoid neoplasms. We examined surgical morbidity and mortality in this high-risk patient population using a contemporary national cohort, with attention to hospitalization status before surgery. Materials and methods The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database (2005-2013) was queried for patients with lymphoid malignancies undergoing splenectomy. Stepwise statistical analyses were performed to identify factors associated with increased risk of death and serious morbidity (DSM). A risk scoring system was developed to predict DSM. Results In 456 patients, morbidity rate was 24.1%, and mortality rate was 2.4%. Albumin Conclusions Splenectomy for lymphoid neoplasm in hospitalized patients is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Risk stratification in this group may aid in perioperative management to mitigate DSM.
A stress intensity factor solution due to holes ahead of growing cracks in thin sheet material

The variation of the Crack Stress Intensity Factor (SIF), for two cracks growing from one hole only in an array of holes in an isotropic material under uni-axial tension has been studied. The effect of the fastener hole ahead of the growing crack was found to give an increase in the SIF only when the crack was within about one and a half diameters of the approached hole edge, compared with the level predicted by considering a single central hole in a plate. An equation suitable for inclusion in a crack growth program has been derived from the research results.
Audit Quality and Regulation

Since 2002, there has been a significant and rapid growth in regulation related to the audit profession. However, despite significant progress in the quality of audits, as well as some complaints about over-auditing, there are still concerns that audit quality is lower than wished by some stakeholders. In the end, the question of whether audit quality is good or not, depends on one's viewpoint. In order to reconcile potentially competing views of audit quality, it may be helpful to re-consider what is meant by the term ‘audit quality’. Audit quality is generally defined as consisting of two important attributes: competence (expertise) and independence (objectivity). In this paper, I analyze how these two attributes interact with each other, creating different points of view for regulators and practitioners. Further, I illustrate how fundamental economic theory can be used to analyze how regulation might influence competence and independence to impact overall audit quality. However, because regulation may not always appropriately consider the economic theory underlying the market for assurance services, it is likely that the positive benefits obtained from regulation will also be tempered by negative unintended consequences.
Understanding and alleviating intra-die and intra-DIMM parameter variation in the memory system

Continued process scaling must overcome several manufacturing challenges. At the same time, industry is exploring many new memory technologies that require new manufacturing processes. In such challenging fabrication regimes, parameter variation (PV) and yield will be important problems. While many recent bodies of work have targeted PV in processors, few have targeted PV in the memory system. Mitigation techniques have either focused on refresh, or have focused on inter-die variation. In this work, with empirical measurements, we first show that PV and specifically intra-die PV is indeed a real phenomenon in modern DRAM chips. We show that this intra-die PV can impact timing parameters for different banks within a DRAM chip. In response to growing PV, memory timing parameters will likely be set very conservatively to accommodate the worst case. To overcome these worst-case limitations, we propose the design of a reconfigurable memory module that detects PV in the field and organizes the memory system into fast/slow regions. This requires changes to the memory controller and to buffer chips on DIMMs. Further, OS migration policies can move frequently accessed pages to the fast regions. This overall approach not only improves performance and energy, it also provides a configurable platform for systems that can tolerate errors or approximation. The proposed system yields an average performance improvement of 12.6% in DRAM systems, and 25.5% in NVM systems.
The relation between voids in XLPE insulation and electrical breakdown strength of XLPE insulated cables

Electrical defects in cross-linked polyethylene insulated cables (XLPE cable) such as voids and contaminants in XLPE or characteristics of XLPE such as crystallinity and microporosity have been investigated in relation to the electrical characteristics of XLPE cable. Very small defects which can be observed with a microscope are being investigated. The authors studied the relation between the ac breakdown strength of XLPE cables and the void size in XLPE insulation considering the discharge inception in the voids.
Progress on Broadband Access to the Internet and Use of Mobile Devices in the United States.

Healthy People 2020 (HP2020) aims to improve population health outcomes through several objectives, including health communication and health information technology. We used 7 administrations of the Health Information National Trends Survey to examine HP2020 goals toward access to the Internet through broadband and mobile devices (N = 34 080). We conducted descriptive analyses and obtained predicted marginals, also known as model-adjusted risks, to estimate the association between demographic characteristics and use of mobile devices. The HP2020 target (7.7% of the US population) for accessing the Internet through a cellular network was surpassed in 2014 (59.7%), but the HP2020 target (83.2%) for broadband access fell short (63.8%). Sex and age were associated with accessing the Internet through a cellular network throughout the years (Wald F test, P <.05). The increase in the percentage of people accessing the Internet through mobile devices presents an opportunity for technology-based health interventio...
Optimizing Schedule for Parallel Software Deployments Based on Profiles of Network Activity and Installation Time in Cloud Environments

We introduce a new scheduling method that reduces the time required to deploy applications by parallelizing and optimizing a schedule on multiple virtual machines (VMs) in cloud computing. Enterprise solutions typically consist of multiple servers and clients with complicated installation dependencies. If users deploy such a solution, they need to install the software sequentially in the proper installation order without violating the dependencies. Auto-deployment tools such as Chef and Puppet take a long time to install multiple applications on multiple VMs in sequential order because these tools cannot find the dependencies automatically and cannot optimize the deployment schedules. Users need to configure and schedule the deployment carefully after they understand the entire architecture of the enterprise solution. Our new automated deployment approach, Parallelized and Optimized Deployment Scheduling (PODS), can detect these application dependencies and optimize the deployment schedules based on two profiles: 1) the network connectivity between a server and clients, and 2) the time required to install applications for sequential deployment. PODS optimization can reduce the duplication timings of multiple VMs' requests to download applications from the same repository server in the parallelized deployment, which reduces network congestion of the repository server. We implemented PODS with Chef and evaluated it on a commercial public cloud environment. PODS reduced the time to deploy four VMs by 36% compared with the standard sequential deployment method.
Standing Voting Instructions: Empowering the Excluded Retail Investor

Despite the increasing importance of shareholder voting, regulators have paid little attention to the rights of retail investors who own approximately 30% of publicly traded companies but who vote less than 30% of their shares. A substantial factor contributing to this low turnout is the antiquated mechanism by which retail investors vote. The federal proxy voting rules place primary responsibility for facilitating retail voting in the hands of custodial brokers who have limited incentives to develop workable procedures, and current regulatory restrictions impede market-based innovation that incorporate technological innovations. One of the most promising such innovations is standing voting instructions (SVI). SVI allows investors to designate their voting preferences in advance of shareholders’ meetings and have their shares voted in accordance with those preferences. Although SVI is readily available to institutional investors, the federal proxy rules prevent its use by retail investors, and proposals seeking modifications of these rules have languished before the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) for years. The SEC’s primary rationale for failing to act is the concern that SVI will lead to uninformed voting. This Article addresses and rejects the claim that the risk of uninformed voting justifies the SEC’s failure to remove the regulatory obstacles to SVI. Current technology is consistent with the creation of voting platforms that allow retail investors meaningful participation in the voting process while retaining appropriate safeguards to minimize the potential for adverse effects. Ironically, implementation of voting platforms allowing SVI has the potential to make retail investor voting both more efficient and better informed and to increase the legitimacy of corporate democracy.
Commentary on Asian arms industries and impact on military capabilities

AbstractThis paper shows how alliance networks have affected defence industrialization policies and processes in countries in the Asia-Pacific region. In countries that enjoyed security assurances from the United States like Japan and South Korea, they are primarily focused industrialization and technology development in civilian sectors, and consequently, defence industrialization is a secondary priority. On the other hand, defence industrialization was/is of higher priority for states that face acute security threats such as China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. In contemporary industrialization processes, the paper concludes that the preference between commercial and defence industrialization is now closing, leading towards an integrated model from which both sectors can benefit.
Dislocation Drag Mechanisms, High Velocity Dislocations,and Twinning

The switching of a magnetic field while plastically deforming a zinc crystal causes a change in stress which is associated with electron-dislocation interactions. In this paper the dependence of this change in stress on strain-rate, field strength, and temperature will be presented. In addition, the connection between electron-dislocation interactions, dislocation velocities, and the occurrence of twinning in zinc will be established.
The Zhuangist views on emotions

In this article, I will look into the Zhuangist views on emotions. I will argue that the psychological state of the Zhuangist wise person is characterized by emotional equanimity accompanied by a g...
Stealing Youth: Personality Disorder Goes to College

Personality disorders are common in young adults and can be very disruptive on college campuses. This chapter describes the case of a young man with major depressive disorder complicated by borderline, avoidant, and antisocial personality traits. The case presentation illustrates the evolution of his symptoms as he transitions to college, the challenges of making a correct diagnosis with inadequate corroborating information from family and previous treatment providers, and the difficulties encountered when information “silos” exist among campus offices. The discussion focuses on the importance of adequate history taking, teaching non-clinicians about maladaptive personality traits and splitting, managing safety concerns, and establishing appropriate treatment on campus.
COMPLEX GENETIC CONTROL OF POLYKETIDE TOXIN PRODUCTION BY COCHLIOBOLUS HETEROSTROPHUS

A fundamental issue in microbe/plant interactions is how pathogens alter their levels of virulence or change host range. What genetic events cause the appearance of new pathogenic races? The filamentous Ascomycete Cochliobolus heterostrophus, a pathogen of corn, offers a clear example of the appearance of a new race at a distinct point in time. Until 1969 only one pathogenic form (race O) of C. heterostrophus was known. During the period 1969-1970, a new form (race T) of the fungus appeared and was distinguished by having extreme virulence on corn carrying Texas (T) male sterile cytoplasm (1). The distribution of mating type frequencies in the field populations of race T and race O indicate that race T is a recent mutant of race O (2). Genetic analyses involving the two races revealed that the essential difference between them is a single genetic locus designated Toxl (3, 4). This gene controls production of an unusual secondary metabolite, a large (C41) polyketide called T-toxin, which specifically affects T cytoplasm corn (5). Thus, C. heterostrophus provides an opportunity to understand a distinct step in the evolution of a new race if the difference between the “alleles” at Toxl in race T vs. race O can be determined.
Survival disparities and trend of head and neck cancer in the United States: A Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database study 1973-2010.

6066 Background: Despite recent advances in the management of head and neck cancer (HNC), there is little evidence of improvement in 5-year overall survival (OS) over the last few decades. Ethnicit...
Structural effects on the performance of epoxide-based negative-tone molecular resists

Several 0.26N tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH)-soluble epoxide molecular resists have been synthesized and are reported here. Previously, the patterning performance of 1,1,2,2-tetrakis(p-hydroxyphenyl)ethane-3 epoxide (TPOE-3Ep) was reported and resolved 26 nm lines using extreme ultraviolet lithography. Here, a deeper study is performed to determine the effects of various structural features on the lithographic performance of 0.26N TMAH-soluble molecular resists. Increasing the number of phenols resulted in a notable increase in the glass transition temperature (Tg) of these materials, which required high postexposure bake (PEB) temperatures to achieve normalized remaining thickness (NRT) values of 1 in methyl isobutyl ketone development. Such high PEB temperatures resulted in insoluble material (high NRT values) in unexposed regions in the 248 nm contrast curves. Methyl groups were introduced adjacent to the hydroxyl group of phenol in an attempt to lower the Tg of the resists to allow the use of lower PEB temperatures. The methyl groups only slightly lowered the Tg of the resists, while detrimentally reducing the final NRT. Thus, instead of using the TPOE core or its methylated analog, a smaller core was used, and the resist trihydroxyphenyl ethane (THPE)-2Ep was designed and synthesized to be a low-Tg base-soluble resist. THPE-2Ep has a Tg of 41 °C and showed promising early performance using e-beam lithography and resolves 30 nm lines in 0.26N TMAH developer at a dose of 72 μC/cm2 at a PEB of 50 °C.
Morphology control in semicrystalline solid polymer electrolytes for lithium batteries

Solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) are one of the most promising solutions to the safety issues of lithium batteries. Understanding the morphology and dynamic effects on the ion transport properties of SPEs would be essential for future SPE design. In this article, using poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) as an example, we focus on morphology control in semicrystalline SPEs. We show that the effect of semicrystallinity can be quantitatively separated into volume, structure and dynamic effects. We further demonstrate that morphological control plays an important role in ion transport control in semicrystalline SPE systems.
Apprendre sur les erreurs des autres: ce que l'histoire de la science politique américaine peut nous raconter là-dessus

Cet article tient a montrer que l'analyse de l'histoire de la Science Politique americaine peut nous aider a reflechir critiquement sur les Sciences Sociales au Bresil. La version historiographique prioritaire, representee par John Gunnell et d'autre, ne prend pas en compte le role ideologique et antidemocratique que la Science Politique behavioriste a joue pedant la Guerre Froide, alors que des histoires plus critiques sont tenues en marge dela discipline. Cette situation est le reflet de l'arrangement institutionnel de la Science Politique elle-meme qui favorise l'isolement des sousfilieres de theorie politique par rapport aux autres sousfilieres a caractere plus «scientifique».
X-Ray Crystallography

X-ray crystallography is a technique for determining the detailed three-dimensional structure of molecules, including complicated biological macromolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids. The interpretation of X-ray diffraction patterns to determine the molecular structure of crystallized matter traces its roots to the early part of the twentieth century. The experiment requires highly purified material prepared in crystalline form. Diffraction data are collected by passing a beam of collimated X-rays through a single crystal and accurately measuring the position and intensity of each diffracted ray. This intensity information must then be combined with some estimate of phases before a three-dimensional envelope of electron density can be calculated and the periodic repeating arrangement of atoms in the crystal can be deduced. This method has been used to determine with extremely high precision the three-dimensional arrangement of atoms within whole viral capsids, nucleic acid polymerases, ribosomes, membrane channels, and many other macromolecular systems of biological interest.
On the significance of blood flow shear-rate-dependency in modeling of Fontan hemodynamics

Abstract For univentricular heart patients, the Fontan operation creates a unique non-physiologic circulation where the pulmonary arteries are directly supplied from the systemic venous blood return, leading to chronic non-pulsatile low-shear-rate pulmonary blood flow. Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations are widely used in cardiovascular biofluid studies and a Newtonian fluid assumption is common since blood acts as a Newtonian fluid in large arteries. Although blood viscosity increases exponentially in low-shear-rate flow environments, a Newtonian assumption is still conventionally used in both experimental and CFD studies of the low-shear-rate Fontan circulation. The error introduced by a Newtonian assumption in this setting has not been thoroughly evaluated. Recent in vitro studies have demonstrated that non-Newtonian effects are substantial in the Fontan circulation. However, no previous studies have used CFD to systemically investigate non-Newtonian effects in Fontan simulations. Thus the role of shear-rate-dependent non-Newtonian blood viscosity in this pathophysiology is still unclear. In this study we used a computational approach to compare flow behavior between a non-Newtonian fluid and a Newtonian fluid in a simplified model of the Fontan circulation over a wide range of experimental conditions. We examined important clinical metrics in Fontan hemodynamics: shear stress, power loss, pulmonary flow distribution, viscous dissipation, and non-Newtonian importance factors. Our results suggest that the Newtonian fluid assumption for blood introduces considerable error into the simulations of the Fontan circulation, where the fluid environment is predominated by low-shear-rate flow.
Understanding the Transferrin Receptor and Cellular Iron Deficiency Outside the Erythron

Our laboratory showed that mouse embryos lacking the classical transferrin receptor, Tfrc, experienced anemia, pericardial effusion and a kinking of the neural tube, but otherwise appeared to be developing normally, suggesting that Tfrc was not needed by most tissues (Levy et al. 1999). Subsequently, we reported that Tfrc was essential for hematopoiesis but seemed to be dispensable in other tissues (Ned et al., 2003). A recent paper showing that a missense mutation in the TFRC internalization motif resulted in immunodeficiency without other clinical manifestations was consistent with this idea (Jabara et al., 2016). Nonetheless, we were not entirely convinced. More than thirty years ago, Larrick and Hyman described a patient with an anti-TFRC autoantibody who suffered from a broader range of clinical problems, suggesting that TFRC might have other roles (Larrick and Hyman, 1984). To help resolve the issue, we developed mice carrying an allele of Tfrc that can be conditionally inactivated, and used Cre/lox-mediated recombination to disrupt that allele in vivo, in several key cell types. We asked two questions: (1) is Tfrc important in those cell types and, if so, (2) what are the cellular consequences of Tfrc loss? We found that some cell types do not need Tfrc but others are highly dependent upon it. Those cell types that depend upon Tfrc generally need it for iron uptake, as expected, with one exception. Tfrc is critically important for normal development of the intestinal epithelium, but our data indicate that its essential role does not involve iron uptake. While surprising in view of our earlier results, the roles of Tfrc that we have unmasked through conditional knockout experiments would not have been apparent prior to the death of global Tfrc knockout embryos in mid-gestation. Nonetheless those roles are important, and our results give insight into why iron deficiency exacerbates heart failure, how muscle iron deficiency leads to disruption of systemic carbon metabolism, and how iron deficiency, rather than iron excess, may play a role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders. Levy JE, Jin O, Fujiwara Y, Kuo F, Andrews NC. Transferrin receptor is necessary for development of erythrocytes and the nervous system. Nat Genet. 1999;21:396-9. Ned RM, Swat W, Andrews NC. Transferrin receptor 1 is differentially required in lymphocyte development. Blood. 2003;102:3711-8. Jabara HH, Boyden SE, Chou J et al. A missense mutation in TFRC, encoding transferrin receptor 1, causes combined immunodeficiency. Nat Genet. 2016;48:74-8. Larrick JW, Hyman ES. Acquired iron-deficiency anemia caused by an antibody against the transferrin receptor. N Engl J Med. 1984;311:214-8. Disclosures Andrews: Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.
Adapting Evidence-Based Sexuality Education to Meet the Needs of Refugee Youth in the USA

The sexual health of adolescents globally and in the USA remains a significant public health challenge. No evidence-based sexual health education programs exist that specifically target refugee ado...
Learning about literacy outside the classroom: pre-service teachers reflect on learning a second language through cultural immersion

In the United States, it is increasingly likely that elementary teachers will encounter students whose first language is not English. There are 10.9 million school-age children who speak a language...
Evergreen trees as inexpensive radiation shields for temperature sensors

[1] Evergreen trees provide temperature sensors with shielding from solar radiation and an elevated location above the snowpack. Sensors were deployed with simple funnel radiation shields in the Sierra Nevada, California, and Rocky Mountains, Colorado. Compared with unaspirated, Gill-shielded thermistors, inexpensive self-recording temperature sensors hung in dense stands of trees have less than 0.8°C (0.4°C) mean difference in daily maximum (mean) temperature. In contrast, sensors in sparse and isolated trees had a bias of 2–5°C (0.3–1.3°C) in daily maximum (mean) temperature. Sensors on poles were biased 5–13°C (0.5–3.0°C) for daily maximum (mean) temperatures. In locations with deep winter snowpacks, sensors can be raised high into a tree using a pulley system.
How does a knotted protein fold

The issue of how a newly synthesized polypeptide chain folds to form a protein with a unique three-dimensional structure, otherwise known as the 'protein-folding problem', remains a fundamental question in the life sciences. Over the last few decades, much information has been gathered about the mechanisms by which proteins fold. However, despite the vast topological diversity observed in biological structures, it was thought improbable, if not impossible, that a polypeptide chain could 'knot' itself to form a functional protein. Nevertheless, such knotted structures have since been identified, raising questions about how such complex topologies can arise during folding. Their formation does not fit any current folding models or mechanisms, and therefore represents an important piece of the protein-folding puzzle. This article reviews the progress made towards discovering how nature codes for, and contends with, knots during protein folding, and examines the insights gained from both experimental and computational studies. Mechanisms to account for the formation of knotted structures that were previously thought unfeasible, and their implications for protein folding, are also discussed.
A Relational Model of Authority in Groups

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on one particular aspect of authoritativeness: voluntary compliance with the decisions of authorities. Social psychologists have long distinguished between obedience that is the result of coercion, and obedience that is the result of internal attitudes. Opinions describe “reward power” and “coercive power”, in which obedience is contingent on positive and negative outcomes, and distinguish both of these types of power from legitimate power, in which obedience flows from judgments about the legitimacy of the authority. Legitimate power depends on people taking the obligation on themselves to obey and voluntarily follow the decisions made by authorities. The chapter also focuses on legitimacy because it is important to recognize, that legitimacy is not the only attitudinal factor influencing effectiveness. It is also influenced by other cognitions about the authority, most notably judgments of his or her expertise with respect to the problem at hand. The willingness of group members to accept a leader's directives is only helpful when the leader knows what directives to issue.
Sa1731 Neurotensin-HIF-1α-MicroRNA 210 Axis Orchestrates Hypoxia, Colonic Inflammation and Intestinal Angiogenesis

G A A b st ra ct s or constructs overexpressing HA-tagged 14-3-3σ plasmids. 14-3-3σ, Rictor (an mTORC2 protein), MUC2, cleaved Notch1, p-Akt(S473), Akt1 and Akt2 protein expression was determined by Western blotting. Enterocyte differentiation was induced by treatment of HT29 cells with sodium butyrate (NaBT) and assayed by measuring intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP) activity, an enterocyte differentiation marker. The expression of the goblet cell differentiation marker MUC2 and the Notch1 target gene HES1 was also determined by RT-PCR. The interaction between Akt andmTORC2was determined by immunoprecipitation followed by Western blot analysis. RESULTS. Knockdown of 14-3-3 σ did not alter basal or NaBT-induced of IAP activity. However, knockdown of 14-3-3 σ significantly increased MUC2 expression associated with the inhibition of Notch1 signaling as shown by decreased cleaved Notch1 protein and decreased HES1 mRNA expression. These results suggested that 14-3-3σ plays an important role in the regulation of goblet cell differentiation without impacting enterocyte differentiation. In addition, overexpression of 14-3-3σ decreased Akt (Ser473) phosphorylation and knockdown of either Akt1 or Akt2 decreased MUC2 expression. Moreover, overexpression of 14-3-3σ decreased the interaction between Akt and mTORC2. These results suggest that 14-3-3σmay regulate Akt activity through the inhibition of mTORC2-mediated Akt (Ser473) phosphorylation. CONCLUSIONS. Our results suggest a role for 14-3-3σ in goblet cell differentiation through the alteration of TSC2, Notch and Akt signaling pathways. Importantly, our data demonstrate that 14-3-3 σ regulation of Akt phosphorylation is mediated through the altered interaction between mTORC2 and Akt.
Weak Hydrogen Bonding Enables Hard, Strong, Tough, and Elastic Hydrogels

A new type of "rigid and tough" hydrogel with excellent elasticity is designed by dense clustering of hydrogen bonds within a loose chemical network. The resultant hydrogel exhibits a good combination of high modulus (28 MPa), toughness (9300 J m(-3) ), extensibility (800%), and tensile stress (2 MPa). Furthermore, the gel displays good fatigue-resistance and complete and extremely fast recovery of shape and mechanical properties (3 min at 37°C).
Toward a Core Typology of Service Organizations

Typologies of organizations have generally failed to address the special character of service organizations. In this article we develop a core typology for service organizations based on the personal Interface between the client-customer and the service organization. Three types of service organizations are described utilizing seven dimensions of the interaction between a focal organization and its customer-clients. The typology developed and discussed is an attempt at providing more precision in the classification of organizations.
Distribution of oxacyanine dyes between water and nitrobenzene: Determination of the partition constants, association, and potentials of transfer of the dye cations on liquid/liquid interfaces

Abstract Partition constants for the oxacyanine dyes between water and nitrobenzene were determined using their absorbance and fluorescence properties. From these values the standard potential of transfer for a group of oxacyanine dye cations was calculated. Several effects which can cause a variation of observed distribution ratio with dye concentration are examined. In particular, association of the dyes in the aqueous phase is determined conductometrically and is used in the correction. The effects of dye concentration and acidity of the solvent on the dye distribution ratio are also examined. The standard potential of transfer for these ions is quite negative so that the dyes are more suitable as supporting electrolytes, or must be studied on liquid/liquid interfaces without supporting electrolytes.
Spatial and temporal variability of 7Be surface concentrations

7Be (t1/2 = 53 days) is generated by cosmic rays in the upper troposphere and stratosphere, and is a tracer of downward aerosol transport. We apply a singular value decomposition (SVD)-based techni...
The Study of Multiple Murder Preliminary Examination of the Interface Between Epistemology and Methodology

Cases of multiple murder stimulate intense feeling in both the public and scientific community. Because of this highly charged emotional climate and the statistical difficulties inherent in predicting low base rate behaviors, this topic has been difficult to evaluate scientifically. This article reviews the literature on multiple murder from dual perspectives of how knowledge is developed and major methodologic problems encountered in accruing such knowledge.
Systematics of Plant Pathogenic Fungi: Why It Matters

Systematics is the study of biological diversity; it is the science that discovers, describes, and classifies all organisms and includes taxonomy, nomenclature, and phylogeny. Scientific names accurately define a set of organisms and are used to communicate about them. As systematic scientists learn more about species, scientific names change to reflect this increased knowledge. Accurately named and precisely defined species reflect what is known about their biology, host range, and geographic distribution. Online resources are available to help users determine the accepted scientific name of fungal plant pathogens. Recent advances in the systematics of fungi are discussed, including the knowledge that: (i) true Fungi are more closely related to animals than to plants; and (ii) the Oomycetes are not true Fungi; rather they are closely related to the yellow-brown algae, known as stramenopiles or Kingdom Chromista. Using molecular data, the higher level classification of true Fungi is more precisely defined...
Combinatorial determination of sequence specificity for nanomolar DNA-binding hairpin polyamides.

Development of sequence-specific DNA-binding drugs is an important pharmacological goal, given the fact that numerous existing DNA-directed chemotherapeutic drugs rely on the strength and selectivity of their DNA interactions for therapeutic activity. Among the DNA-binding antibiotics, hairpin polyamides represent the only class of small molecules that can practically bind any predetermined DNA sequence. DNA recognition by these ligands depends on their side-by-side amino acid pairings in the DNA minor groove. Extensive studies have revealed that these molecules show extremely high affinity for sequence-directed, minor groove interaction. However, the specificity of such interactions in the presence of a large selection of sequences such as the human genome is not known. We used the combinatorial selection method restriction endonuclease protection, selection, and amplification (REPSA) to determine the DNA binding specificity of two hairpin polyamides, ImPyPyPy-gamma-PyPyPyPy-beta-Dp and ImPyPyPy-gamma-ImPyPyPy-beta-Dp, in the presence of more than 134 million different sequences. These were verified by restriction endonuclease protection assays and DNase I footprinting analysis. Our data showed that both hairpin polyamides preferentially selected DNA sequences having consensus recognition sites as defined by the Dervan pairing rules. These consensus sequences were rather degenerate, as expected, given that the stacked pyrrole-pyrrole amino acid pairs present in both polyamides are unable to discriminate between A.T and T.A base pairs. However, no individual sequence within these degenerate consensus sequences was preferentially selected by REPSA, indicating that these hairpin polyamides are truly consensus-specific DNA-binding ligands. We also discovered a preference for overlapping consensus binding sites among the sequences selected by the hairpin polyamide ImPyPyPy-gamma-PyPyPyPy-beta-Dp, and confirmed by DNase I footprinting that these complex sites provide higher binding affinity. These data suggest that multiple hairpin polyamides can cooperatively bind to their highest-affinity sites.
Information for Coarticulation: Static Signal Properties or Formant Dynamics?

Perception of a speech segment changes depending on properties of surrounding segments in a phenomenon called compensation for coarticulation (Mann, 1980). The nature of information that drives these perceptual changes is a matter of debate. One account attributes perceptual shifts to low-level auditory system contrast effects based on static portions of the signal (e.g., third formant [F3] center or average frequency; Lotto & Kluender, 1998). An alternative account is that listeners' perceptual shifts result from listeners attuning to the acoustic effects of gestural overlap and that this information for coarticulation is necessarily dynamic (Fowler, 2006). In a pair of experiments, we used sinewave speech precursors to investigate the nature of information for compensation for coarticulation. In Experiment 1, as expected by both accounts, we found that sinewave speech precursors produce shifts in following segments. In Experiment 2, we investigated whether effects in Experiment 1 were driven by static F3 offsets of sinewave speech precursors, or by dynamic relationships among their formants. We temporally reversed F1 and F2 in sinewave precursors, preserving static F3 offset and average F1, F2, and F3 frequencies, but disrupting dynamic formant relationships. Despite having identical F3s, selectively-reversed precursors produced effects that were significantly smaller and restricted to only a small portion of the continuum. We conclude that dynamic formant relations rather than static properties of the precursor provide information for compensation for coarticulation.
Syndrome Characterized by Gynecomastia, Aspermatogenesis without A-Leydigism, and Increased Excretion of Follicle-Stimulating Hormone1

The syndrome under discussion begins during 11 adolescence and is characterised by gynecomastia and a very specific type of hypogonadism. This latter is almost entirely in respect to the function of the tubular tissue (germinal epithelium and Sertoli cells) while the function of the Leydig cells (growth of phallus and prostate and of sexual hair) remains relatively normal. Thus one finds bilateral gynecomastia, small testes, aspermatogenesis. evidence of normal to moderately reduced function of the Leydig cells, increased excretion of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and usually a reduced excretion of 17-ketosteroids. During the last 4 years, 7 cases have been observed in the clinics of the Massachusetts General Hospital; studies on these patients and two additional private patients form the subject of this report. review of literature Although these cases are not uncommon, few reports are found in the literature, and to our knowledge, no author has grouped them together as a definite clinical entity.
Adducts of 3-methylindole and glutathione: Species differences in organ-selective bioactivation

Lung and liver microsomes of several species were evaluated for potential to form activated metabolites of 3-methylindole (3MI). Microsomes were incubated with [14C]3MI and glutathione (GSH). Electrophilic 3MI metabolites were trapped and quantitated as GSH adducts by HPLC, and by determining the amounts of activated intermediates which became covalently bound to microsomal protein. The highest rates of 3MI-GSH adduct formation by the lung were detected in microsomes of the goat, followed in decreasing order by pulmonary microsomes from the horse, monkey, mouse, and rat, respectively. In contrast, hepatic 3MI-GSH adduct production was highest in microsomes from the rat, followed by mouse, monkey, goat, and horse microsomes, respectively. These results suggest that the species and organ-selective toxicity of 3MI are primarily caused by differences in rates of oxidative metabolism of 3MI to an electrophilic intermediate.
Über Steroide und Sexualhormone. 204. Mitteilung. Zur Stereochemie der epimeren 17a-Methyl-D-homo-testosterone

Die aus 17 β-Oxy-pregnenolon durch Umlagerung des Gerustes zuganglichen 17 a-Oxy-17-keto-D-homo-Steroide VI und XII wurden mit den beiden bekannten 17a-Methyl-D-homo-testosteronen I und II stereochemisch verknupft. Damit konnte die bereits fruher vorgenommene Konfigurationszuteilung an diese beiden D-Homo-androgene bestatigt werden.
Constitutive activity of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors

We review the literature describing constitutive activity of the five muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in native and recombinant systems and discuss the effect of constitutive activity on muscarinic pharmacology in the context of modern models of receptor activation. We include a summary of mutations found to cause constitutive activity and discuss the implications of these data for the structure, function, and activation mechanism of muscarinic receptors. Finally, we discuss the possible physiological significance of constitutive activity of muscarinic receptors, incorporating information provided by targeted deletion of each of the muscarinic subtypes.
Reduced-Order Aerodynamic Model and Its Application to a Nonlinear Aeroelastic System

Starting from a finite state model for a two-dimensional aerodynamic flow over an airfoil, the eigenmodes of the aerodynamic flow are determined. Using a small number of these aerodynamic eigenmodes, ie., a reduced-order model, the aeroelastic model is formed by coupling them to a typical section structural model with a trailing-edge flap. A free-play nonlinearity is modeled. Results are shown from the finite state model, the reduced-order model, and previous theoretical and experimental work. All results are in good agreement.
Inhibition of Alzheimer’s amyloid toxicity with a tricyclic pyrone molecule in vitro and in vivo

Small β-amyloid (Aβ) 1–42 aggregates are toxic to neurons and may be the primary toxic species in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Methods to reduce the level of Aβ, prevent Aβ aggregation, and eliminate existing Aβ aggregates have been proposed for treatment of AD. A tricyclic pyrone named CP2 is found to prevent cell death associated with Aβ oligomers. We studied the possible mechanisms of neuroprotection by CP2. Surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy shows a direct binding of CP2 with Aβ42 oligomer. Circular dichroism spectroscopy reveals monomeric Aβ42 peptide remains as a random coil/α-helix structure in the presence of CP2 over 48 h. Atomic force microscopy studies show CP2 exhibits similar ability to inhibit Aβ42 aggregation as that of Congo red and curcumin. Atomic force microscopy closed-fluid cell study demonstrates that CP2 disaggregates Aβ42 oligomers and protofibrils. CP2 also blocks Aβ fibrillations using a protein quantification method. Treatment of 5× familial Alzheimer’s disease mice, a robust Aβ42-producing animal model of AD, with a 2-week course of CP2 resulted in 40% and 50% decreases in non-fibrillar and fibrillar Aβ species, respectively. Our results suggest that CP2 might be beneficial to AD patients by preventing Aβ aggregation and disaggregating existing Aβ oligomers and protofibrils.
Delayed match‐to‐sample performance in autistic children

The involvement of temporal lobe structures in autism has found support in several animal and human studies. The delayed match‐ and nonmatch‐to‐sample paradigms are two tasks that are sensitive to temporal lobe and frontal lobe development and damage and may be useful in the study of autism. High and low‐functioning autistic disordered (HAD, LAD) subjects and developmental language‐disordered (DLD) and mentally retarded (MR) control subjects were tested on a two stimuli matching paradigm. Both trial‐unique and repeated‐stimuli procedures were used. All subjects performed equally well with both procedures. Performances of HAD subjects and controls of similar nonverbal intelligence (DLD subjects) were not significantly different. The LAD group performed at chance levels and scored significantly lower than all other groups, but covarying for nonverbal intelligence eliminated all significant group differences. These results indicate successful performance on a visual recognition memory task by HAD subjects. T...
Integrated numerical modeling of the blow molding process

The numerical modeling of the extrusion blow molding of a fuel tank is considered in this work. The integrated process phases are consecutively simulated, namely, parison formation, clamping, and inflation, as well as part solidification, part deformation (warpage), and the buildup of residual stresses. The parison formation is modeled with an integral type viscoelastic constitutive equation for the sag behavior and a semi-empirical equation for the swell behavior. A nonisothermal viscoelastic formulation is employed for the clamping and inflation simulation, since parison cooling during extrusion strongly affects the inflation behavior. Once the parison is inflated, it solidifies while in the mold and after part ejection. Warpage and residual stress development of the part are modeled with a linear viscoelastic solid model. Numerical predictions are compared with experimental results obtained on an industrial scale blow molding machine. Good agreement is observed. A process optimization based on a desired objective function, such as uniform part thickness distribution and/or minimal part weight, is performed. The integrated clamping, inflation, and cooling stages of the process are considered. The optimization is done by the systematic manipulation of the parison thickness distribution. Iterations are performed employing a gradient based updating scheme for the parison thickness programming, until the desired objective of uniform part thickness is obtained.