cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Improved methods for fluorescent labeling and detection of single extracellular vesicles using nanoparticle tracking analysis

Growing interest in extracellular vesicles (EV) has necessitated development of protocols to improve EV characterization as a precursor for myriad downstream investigations. Identifying expression of EV surface epitopes can aid in determining EV enrichment and allow for comparisons of sample phenotypes. This study was designed to test a rigorous method of indirect fluorescent immunolabeling of single EV with subsequent evaluation using nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) to simultaneously determine EV concentration, particle size distribution, and surface immunophenotype. In this study, EV were isolated from canine and human cell cultures for immunolabeling and characterized using NTA, transmission electron microscopy, and Western blotting. Indirect fluorescent immunolabeling utilizing quantum dots (Qd) resulted in reproducible detection of individual fluorescently labeled EV using NTA. Methods were proposed to evaluate the success of immunolabeling based on paired particle detection in NTA light scatter and fluorescent modes. Bead-assisted depletion and size-exclusion chromatography improved specificity of Qd labeling. The described method for indirect immunolabeling of EV and single vesicle detection using NTA offers an improved method for estimating the fraction of EV that express a specific epitope, while approximating population size distribution and concentration.
Somatization, mental health and pain catastrophizing factors associated with risk of opioid misuse among patients with chronic non-cancer pain

Objective: To examine somatization, mental health, and pain catastrophizing factors as predictors of risk for opioid misuse in patients with chronic non-cancer pain. Methods: Risk for prescription ...
A Reliability Overview of Intel’s 10+ Logic Technology

We provide a comprehensive overview of the reliability characteristics of Intel’s 10+ logic technology. This is a 10 nm technology featuring the third generation of Intel’s FinFETs, seventh generation of strained silicon, fifth generation of high-k metal gate, multi-Vt options, contact over active gate, single-gate isolation, 14 metal layers, low-k inter-layer dielectric, multi-plate metal-insulator-metal capacitors, two thick-metal routing layers for low-resistance power routing, and lead-free packaging. The technology meets all relevant reliability metrics for certification.
Atomic-Level Characterization of the Methadone-Stabilized Active Conformation of µ-Opioid Receptor

Methadone is a synthetic opioid agonist with notoriously unique properties, such as lower abuse liability and induced relief of withdrawal symptoms and drug cravings, despite acting on the same opioid receptors triggered by classic opioids-in particular the µ-opioid receptor (MOR). Its distinct pharmacologic properties, which have recently been attributed to the preferential activation of β-arrestin over G proteins, make methadone a standard-of-care maintenance medication for opioid addiction. Although a recent biophysical study suggests that methadone stabilizes different MOR active conformations from those stabilized by classic opioid drugs or G protein-biased agonists, how this drug modulates the conformational equilibrium of MOR and what specific active conformation of the receptor it stabilizes are unknown. Here, we report the results of submillisecond adaptive sampling molecular dynamics simulations of a predicted methadone-bound MOR complex and compare them with analogous data obtained for the classic opioid morphine and the G protein-biased ligand TRV130. The model, which is supported by existing experimental data, is analyzed using Markov state models and transfer entropy analysis to provide testable hypotheses of methadone-specific conformational dynamics and activation kinetics of MOR. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Opioid addiction has reached epidemic proportions in both industrialized and developing countries. Although methadone maintenance treatment represents an effective therapeutic approach for opioid addiction, it is not as widely used as needed. In this study, we contribute an atomic-level understanding of how methadone exerts its unique function in pursuit of more accessible treatments for opioid addiction. In particular, we present details of a methadone-specific active conformation of the µ-opioid receptor that has thus far eluded experimental structural characterization.
Nursing and psychological treatment during tension-free inguinal hernia repair under local nerve blocked anesthesia

Tension-free inguinal hernia repair under local nerve blocked anesthesia is an up-to-date technology and is different from the traditional approach.The aim of this study is to evaluate the nursing and psychological treatment during operation under local nerve blocked anesthesia.
Climate Indices Predict Black Gill Prevalence in White Shrimp Penaeus setiferus (Linnaeus, 1767) in South Carolina and Georgia, USA

The white shrimp fisheries in South Carolina and Georgia, USA, have undergone substantial reductions in commercial landings over the past few decades. These declines are associated with reduced commercial effort, shifting climate patterns, and disease outbreaks. For example, recent increases in the occurrence of gill melanization, also known as black gill, have led to the suggestion that this epidemic is a major contributor to reduced shrimp abundance in the region. The goal of this study was to assess long-term patterns and drivers of black gill, and its effects on white shrimp abundance, particularly during the fall, when most of the commercial harvest of white shrimp in this region has historically occurred. Data were compiled for fishery-independent (2002–2017) metrics of white shrimp abundance and black gill prevalence from seven estuaries along the South Carolina and Georgia coasts. Phenology of black gill was variable among years, but mean black gill prevalence was significantly related to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and El Nino–Southern Oscillation climate indices. These analyses show that the prevalence of black gill is sensitive to large-scale fluctuations in climate patterns.
Multi-Player Multi-Armed Bandits With Collision-Dependent Reward Distributions

We study a new stochastic multi-player multi-armed bandits (MP-MAB) problem, where the reward distribution changes if a collision occurs on the arm. Existing literature always assumes a zero reward for involved players if collision happens, but for applications such as cognitive radio, the more realistic scenario is that collision reduces the mean reward but not necessarily to zero. We focus on the more practical no-sensing setting where players do not perceive collisions directly, and propose the Error-Correction Collision Communication (EC3) algorithm that models implicit communication as a reliable communication over noisy channel problem, for which random coding error exponent is used to establish the optimal regret that no communication protocol can beat. Finally, optimizing the tradeoff between code length and decoding error rate leads to a regret that approaches the centralized MP-MAB regret, which represents a natural lower bound. Experiments with practical error-correction codes on both synthetic and real-world datasets demonstrate the superiority of EC3. In particular, the results show that the choice of coding schemes has a profound impact on the regret performance.
Expectancy Violation and COVID-19 Misinformation: A Comment on Bogomoletc and Lee's “Frozen Meat Against COVID-19 Misinformation: An Analysis of Steak-umm and Positive Expectancy Violations”

The social media account for Steak-umm, a frozen food product, achieved notoriety in 2020 for its messages about how to evaluate the quality of information. Bogomoletc and Lee proposed that the pos...
Language, Discourse and Power in African American Culture: Language, discourse and power: outing schools

While conducting fieldwork in Los Angeles, I observed a family working together to enroll a young child in a pre-school program. I visited the Cousin family regularly because one of the children, Mark, was a hip hop deejay. When I first met Mark, I was fascinated with his resourcefulness in procuring old vinyl recordings and updating his mixing equipment. Originally, I paid little attention to the rest of Mark's family, except to note that he lived at his grandmother's home more often than he did at his parents'. His mixing equipment and thousands of records were in his grandmother's basement – and he preferred to sleep with his records. Everything about him – and his parents and grandmother – was middle class. It was only after his nephew Rob began his campaign to enter school early that I paid attention to Mark's sister, who regularly visited their grandmother. Mark's nineteen-year-old sister Dina had a four-year-old son named Rob who desperately wanted to go to school. When asked if he wanted to go to daycare Rob would reply, “Not day care! School!” All of Rob's aunts and great aunts and uncles, his mother, grandmother and great grandmother thought Rob was special – an old soul. They use to say “He been here before!” And getting him into school was an elaborate undertaking that included the entire family. As I watched them work to fulfill Rob's dream I found myself repeatedly thinking “Just a typical black family in America.
Data transformation for sum squared residue

The sum squared residue has been popularly used as a clustering and co-clustering quality measure, however little research on its detail properties has been performed. Recent research articulates that the residue is useful to discover shifting patterns but inappropriate to find scaling patterns. To remedy this weakness, we propose to take specific data transformations that can adjust latent scaling factors and eventually lead to lower the residue. First, we consider data matrix models with varied shifting and scaling factors. Then, we formally analyze the effect of several data transformations on the residue. Finally, we empirically validate the analysis with publicly-available human cancer gene expression datasets. Both the analytical and experimental results reveal column standard deviation normalization and column Z-score transformation are effective for the residue to handle scaling factors, through which we are able to achieve better tissue sample clustering accuracy.
IMPROVING OXIDATIVE STABILITY OF DEEP-FRIED PEANUTS BY FRYING UNDER APPROPRIATE PROCESS CONDITIONS IN A GREATER STABILITY MEDIUM

ABSTRACT The present study thoroughly investigated a conventional process for frying peanuts to demonstrate what causes a reduction in the oxidative stability of fried peanut. We attempted to improve the oxidative stability of fried peanuts by controlling the process without changing the taste or materials and without investing in new equipment. The frying process was found to most significantly influence the oxidative stability. The shelf life of fried peanuts was almost doubled by omitting the deoiling (centrifugation) process, as frying oil with palm and palm kernel oils creates an edible coating that protects against oxidation. The shelf life can also be almost doubled by the formation of melanoidin (or a similar compound) as an antioxidant by changing the frying conditions (frying time at 150C). As mentioned earlier, effective use of frying oil and control of the frying process are the key points for improving the oxidative stability of fried peanuts. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS This study improved the oxidative stability of deep-fried peanuts by simply changing the production process without changing the taste, materials, or packaging and without investing in equipment. Using palm and palm kernel frying oils; forming an edible coating by omitting the deoiling step; and controlling the frying conditions, such as the frying time and temperature, to form melanoidin or similar compounds were the points for improvements. This finding will suggest a simple approach to extending the shelf life and will be useful for practical applications.
A high performance broadcast design with hardware multicast and GPUDirect RDMA for streaming applications on Infiniband clusters

Several streaming applications in the field of high performance computing are obtaining significant speedups in execution time by leveraging the raw compute power offered by modern GPGPUs. This raw compute power, coupled with the high network throughput offered by high performance interconnects such as InfiniBand (IB) are allowing streaming applications to scale to rapidly. A frequently used operation that constitutes to the execution of multi-node streaming applications is the broadcast operation where data from a single source is transmitted to multiple sinks, typically from a live data site. Although high performance networks like IB offer novel features like hardware based multicast to speed up the performance of the broadcast operation, their benefits have been limited to host based applications due to the inability of IB Host Channel Adapters (HCAs) to directly access the memory of the GPGPUs. This poses a significant performance bottleneck to high performance streaming applications that rely heavily on broadcast operations from GPU memories. The recently introduced GPUDirect RDMA feature alleviates this bottleneck by enabling IB HCAs to perform data transfers directly to / from GPU memory (bypassing host memory). Thus, it presents an attractive alternative to designing high performance broadcast operations for GPGPU based high performance streaming applications. In this work, we propose a novel method for fully utilizing GPUDirect RDMA and hardware multicast features in tandem to design a high performance broadcast operation for streaming applications. The experiments conducted with the proposed design show up 60% decrease in latency and 3X-4X improvement in a throughput benchmark compared to the naive scheme on 64 GPU nodes.
An improved enzymatic synthesis of labeled gibberellin A12-aldehyde and gibberellin A12

Abstract The biochemical synthesis of labeled gibberellin A12-7-aldehyde (GA12ald) and gibberellin A12 (GA12) from labeled R,S-mevalonic acid (MVA) using cell-free extracts from pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) endosperm has been improved over the previously reported procedure. Three major improvements were (a) developing a one-step HPLC procedure to isolate GA12ald and GA12 in radiochemically pure form; (b) adjusting the pH of the reaction mix to pH 6.9 which increased the GA 12 ald GA 12 ratio over that at pH 7.8 by ca. 18-fold while reducing the combined yield of these two compounds by less than 17%; and (c) developing a technique that permitted sampling of the fruits without interrupting growth; this doubled the fraction of extracts with “high activity.” Conversion of MVA into GA12ald or GA12 displayed Michaelis-Menten kinetics with half-maximal synthesis at 0.4 m m MVA. Four-hour incubations afforded the highest yields from 0.25 m m MVA. Up to 15 and 7% of the MVA was incorporated into GA12ald and GA12, respectively. About one-quarter of the extracts incorporated at least 10% of the 0.25 m m MVA into GA12ald. One pumpkin fruit can provide sufficient endosperm to synthesize ca. 0.6 μmol of GA12ald.
Bees in disturbed habitats use, but do not prefer, alien plants

Abstract Alien plants form important interactions with flower visitors across many systems and are especially likely to dominate these interactions in disturbed habitats where native plants are rare. Most studies of alien plant–pollinator interactions have focused on the effects of alien plants on native plant reproduction; however, these alien plants may also be important food resources for native bees especially if they dominate the “floral market”. Dominance of alien species in the diet of bees could occur due to high relative density and abundance of alien plants and flowers, and/or to bee preference for alien plants when they are present. We investigated bees’ use of and preference for alien plants using two data sets from distinct regions of North America, central California and southern New Jersey. In each system, we sampled bees and flowering plants in multiple habitat types that differ in level of disturbance and in the relative abundance of alien plant species. Alien plants as a group dominated interactions with bee communities in more disturbed habitats. Importance, however, varied among plant species such that a subset of highly used plant species drove the overall pattern of use within the community. Despite higher use of alien plants in more disturbed sites, alien plants as a group were not more preferred. Rather, bees’ use of individual alien plants correlated with plant abundance in the community. Consistent with the interpretation that bees use, but do not prefer, alien plants, we found no effect of alien plant abundance or richness on bee abundance or richness.
Antiischemic effects of propentofylline (HWA 285) against focal cerebral infarction in rats

The effects of the xanthine derivative propentofylline (HWA 285), an inhibitor of adenosine transport, on ischemic brain damage have been evaluated in a model of permanent middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion in rats. During the postischemic survival period of 24 h, the animals were subjected to neurological and behavioral observations and then sacrificed to assess the extent of ischemic tissue damage by tetrazolium chloride. Posttreatment with propentofylline (0.01, 0.05 or 0.1 mg/kg/min, continuous i.v. infusion) initiated 15 min following MCA occlusion, produced significant reductions in infarct volumes; the highest being the most effective (reduction by 39%; P < 0.005) and improved the neurological symptoms when compared with an untreated control group. In contrast to other antiischemic agents, such as glutamate receptor antagonists, the drug induced no behavioral disturbances. This study indicates that propentofylline may provide neuroprotective effect against ischemic brain damage following stroke without negative behavioral side effects.
The role of physiological noise in resting-state functional connectivity

Abstract Functional connectivity between different brain regions can be estimated from MRI data by computing the temporal correlation of low frequency (
Standard deviation of CPI: A new metric to evaluate architectural time predictability

This paper first proposes the concept of architectural time predictability, which separates the time variation due to hardware architectural/microarchitectural design from that caused by software. We then propose a new metric - standard deviation of clock cycles per instruction (CPI), to measure architectural time predictability. Our experiments confirm that standard deviation of CPI is an effective metric to evaluate and compare architectural time predictability for different processors.
Identification and preliminary characterization of AcsF, a putative Ni-insertase used in the biosynthesis of acetyl-CoA synthase from Clostridium thermoaceticum.

Abstract The acs ABCDE genes in the Clostridium thermoaceticum genome are used for autotrophic acetyl-CoA synthesis using the Wood–Ljungdahl pathway. A 2.8-kb region between acs C and acs D was cloned and sequenced. Two open reading frames, orf 7 (∼1.9 kb) and acs F (∼0.7 kb) were identified. orf 7 appears to encode an Fe–S protein, in that it contains five conserved cysteine residues, three of which are present in a motif (CGGXXXCGXC) commonly used to coordinate Fe–S clusters. However, Orf7 is probably not involved in autotrophic acetyl-CoA synthesis, as homologous genes are present in organisms that do not utilize this pathway and are absent in many that do. In contrast, acs F is probably involved in this pathway. Sequence alignment of AcsF and eleven homologs reveals a number of conserved regions, including a P-loop that binds nucleoside triphosphates and catalyzes their hydrolysis. One homolog is CooC, an ATPase/GTPase that inserts Ni into a precursor form of the C-cluster of the carbon monoxide dehydrogenase (CODH) from Rhodospirillum rubrum . Purified AcsF lacked Ni and Fe, and slowly catalyzed the hydrolysis of ATP. Such similarities to CooC suggest that AcsF may function to insert Ni into a Ni-deficient form of the bifunctional acetyl-CoA synthase/CODH from C. thermoaceticum (ACS Ct ). However, this could not be established, as expression of acs F did not effect activation of recombinant AcsAB expressed in E. coli . Also, E. coli cells defective in hyp B retained the ability to synthesize active recombinant AcsAB. Rather, the concentration of extracellular Ni 2+ ions was critical to activation.
Assembly of pili on the surface of Bacillus cereus vegetative cells

Summary Vegetative forms of Bacillus cereus are reported to form pili, thin protein filaments that protrude up to 1 μm from the bacterial surface. Pili are assembled from two precursor proteins, BcpA and BcpB, in a manner requiring a pilus-associated sortase enzyme (SrtD). Pili are also formed on the surface of Bacillus anthracis expressing bcpA-srtD-bcpB. BcpA is distributed throughout the entire pilus, whereas BcpB appears positioned at its tip. In agreement with the hypothesis for pilus assembly in Gram-positive bacteria, BcpA encompasses the YPK pilin motif and the LPXTG sorting signal, each of which is absolutely required for the incorporation of BcpA and BcpB into pili. In contrast to BcpB, which relies on the presence of BcpA for incorporation into pili, BcpA fibre assembly occurs even in the absence of BcpB. B. anthracis sortase A (srtA), but not sortase B (srtB) or C (srtC), is required for proper anchoring of pili to the bacterial envelope, suggesting that BcpA/BcpB pili are linked to peptidoglycan cross-bridges.
Identification of multiple amyloidogenic sequences in laminin-1

Amyloid fibril formation is associated with several pathologies, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, type II diabetes, and prion diseases. Recently, a relationship between basement membrane components and amyloid deposits has been reported. The basement membrane protein, laminin, may be involved in amyloid-related diseases, since laminin is present in amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease and binds to amyloid precursor protein. Recently, we showed that peptide A208 (AASIKVAVSADR), the IKVAV-containing peptide, formed amyloid-like fibrils. We previously identified 60 cell adhesive sequences in laminin-1 using a total of 673 12-mer synthetic peptides. Here, we screened for additional amyloidogenic sequences among 60 cell adhesive peptides derived from laminin-1. We first examined amyloid-like fibril formation by the 60 active peptides with Congo red, a histological dye binding to many amyloid-like proteins. Thirteen peptides were stained with Congo red. Four of the 13 peptides promoted cell attachment and neurite outgrowth like the IKVAV-containing peptide. The four peptides also showed amyloid-like fibril formation in both X-ray diffraction and electron microscopic analyses. The amyloidogenic peptides contain consensus amino acid components, including both basic and acidic amino acids and Ser and Ile residues. These results indicate that at least five laminin-derived peptides can form amyloid-like fibrils. We conclude that the laminin-derived amyloidogenic peptides have the potential to form amyloid-like fibrils in vivo, possibly when laminin-1 is degraded.
Inhaled nitric oxide: a tenth anniversary observation.

* Abbreviations: NINOS = : Neonatal Inhaled Nitric Oxide Study Group • ECMO = : extracorporeal membrane oxygenation It is a rare event indeed in pediatrics when three important and well-designed reports, each describing a test of the same potentially life-saving new therapy for an important clinical syndrome, arrive in a single 7-month period. Such an exciting time frame has now been defined by the recent publication of Wessel et al,1 which follows closely the reports of Roberts et al2 and the Neonatal Inhaled Nitric Oxide Study Group (NINOS).3 These three studies jointly describe the role of inhaled nitric oxide in the treatment of neonatal respiratory disorders characterized by pulmonary hypertension. Because of the marked similarities in patient populations, in study design, and, not least, in outcomes, these three studies deserve close inspection and at least an attempt at integration of their results. Treatment of neonatal pulmonary hypertensive disorders, occurring either in association with pulmonary parenchymal disease or as isolated idiopathic disorders, has proven frustrating. From the original description of the syndrome of “persistent fetal circulation” (now persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn) in 19694to its more recent and complete characterization,5investigators have sought the Holy Grail of an agent capable of immediate, sustained, and selective reduction of elevated pulmonary vascular resistance. Many supportive approaches, including induction of an elevated arterial pH, administration of systemic vasopressor agents, and administration of nonspecific vasodilator agents (eg, prostacyclin or tolazoline) have been used. Results have been … Address correspondence to: William E. Truog, MD, Children's Mercy Hospital, 2401 Gillham Rd, Kansas City, MO 64108-9898.
The Impact of Remedial English on the Improvement of English Proficiency: The Case of the United States International University-Africa☆

Abstract This study probes the effect of a remedial English course in raising the level of English proficiency of freshmen at the United States International University. Using a quasi-experimental design, it tracks 46 underprepared students, admitted to the USIU in the Summer Semester of 2011 who failed to make the threshold for university course in a placement test (pretest) and went through a remedial English course for 14 weeks. On completion of the course, they were given the same placement test (posttest). Comparisons between the scores in the pretest and those on the post-test are used to determine the significance of the change the treatment gives the students. Further comparisons are made between the scores in composition and in the grammar sections of the pretest and posttest and variation between the scores of students. T-tests establish a significant and positive difference at p value of p=0.00 between overall performance between the pretest and posttest and between grammar and composition aspects of the tests. The conclusion is therefore that the remedial class raises the English proficiency of the students.
Use of bronchoalveolar lavage in humans--past necessity and future imperative.

Limited bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) as an extension of fiberoptic bronchoscopy has permitted the recovery of airway-alveolar space cells and soluble substances in the extracellular lining fluid that have been used diagnostically and as research specimens in patients with a variety of lung diseases and in normal subjects for the study of lung host defenses. During the past three decades, use of BAL specimens has stimulated immunologic and cellular research of pulmonary diseases, which has provided significant insight into local host immunity, inflammation, fibrogenesis, asthma mechanisms, and infections. From this research new methods of antifibrotic therapy of interstitial pulmonary fibrosis, for example, have followed. Moreover, BAL applications have greatly enhanced professional interest in the field of pulmonary medicine. This review attempts to analyze the history and impact of BAL, appraise its current status, and assess its future usefulness. Understanding the immunopathogenesis of many lung diseases is predicated on obtaining in situ specimens from affected lung tissue and airways. BAL provides a direct sample that can be compared with an endobronchial or transbronchial biopsy tissue specimen and with cellular and immunologic components in the vascular circulation. Thus, the recovery of BAL fluid and its components involved directly with a disease process or continguous with interstitial tissue permits a much more detailed assessment of new cellular mediators and cytokines participating in the pathologic process. Furthermore, subjecting BAL cells to microarrays of DNA to discern what genes are activated will be one step closer to identifying intracellular processes involved or deranged. Identification of causative factors may solve questions of causation, so that preventive strategies or definitive therapy can be used.
Generally contracted valence–core/valence basis sets for use with relativistic effective core potentials and spin–orbit coupling operators

Abstract A procedure for structuring generally contracted valence–core/valence basis sets of Gaussian-type functions for use with relativistic effective core potentials (gcv-c/v-RECP basis sets) is presented. Large valence basis sets are enhanced using a compact basis set derived for outer core electrons in the presence of small-core RECPs. When core electrons are represented by RECPs, and appropriate levels of theory, these basis sets are shown to provide accurate representations of atomic and molecular valence and outer-core electrons. Core/valence polarization and correlation effects can be calculated using these basis sets through standard methods for treating electron correlation. Calculations of energies and spectra for Ru, Os, Ir, In and Cs are reported. Spectroscopic constants for RuO 2+ , OsO 2+ , Cs 2 and InH are calculated and compared with experiment.
Behavior of thermoelectric generators exposed to transient heat sources

Abstract This paper describes the power generation behavior of a thermoelectric generator (TEG) exposed to a transient heat source on the hot side and natural convection on the cold side. The simulation situation is typical in energy harvesting applications. Modeling thermoelectric generators (TEGs) under these conditions is complicated compared to thermoelectric coolers because of the non-linearities and the unknown electric currents in a closed-loop circuit. A transient thermoelectric model that includes Seebeck, Peltier, Thomson, and Joule effects is solved using finite-difference techniques and the power generated from a TEG is simulated. Using open-circuit experiments were used to establish key parameters governing the thermal behavior and thermoelectric coupling. Experiments with closed-circuits and load resistors were used to validate the model. The results show that inclusion of Thomson effect plays a significant role in accurately predicting the power generated by the device.
Bismuth Triiodide Sheet-Assisted Growth and Enhanced Field Emission Properties of Cadmium Sulfide Nanowire Array Attached to a Flexible CdS Film

We report a bismuth triiodide (BiI 3 ) sheet-assisted solution-phase procedure for the growth of long CdS nanowire arrays attached to flexible CdS films. The growth was dominated by the coordination between the deposition of CdS on BiI 3 sheets and BiI 3 decomposition. Electrical properties were measured by using a single CdS nanowire as a transport channel in a field-effect transistor. The arrays of nanowires were also characterized as electron field emitters. The conductive nanowires and the attached CdS film formed excellent connections between the vertical nanowire tips and the Si substrate. This enabled the nanowire array to generate a strong electron field emission with a high emission current density of 320 mA/cm 2 at the applied electric field of 14.21 V/μm.
Effects of appliace size, arch wire diameter, and alloy composition on the in vitro delivery of the quad-helix appliace

The quad-helix appliance is a fixed lingual arch wire appliance that produces slow maxillary expansion for the treatment of maxillary constriction or crossbite in the primary and mixed dentitions. Despite considerable success in the clinical treatment of patients, there is little quantitative information about the force delivery of this appliance. The purpose of this investigation was to characterize the in vitro force delivery of the quad-helix appliance. Appliances of four sizes were fabricated from Elgiloy blue and stainless steel wires with diameters of 0.032, 0.036, and 0.038 inch. The force delivery in grams for 8-mm activation was determined from the force-extension characteristics using an Instron mechanical testing machine. The results show that the force delivery of the quad-helix appliance is affected significantly by changes in the appliance size and arch wire diameter, but is independent of alloy type (stainless steel or Elgiloy blue). The quantitative results from this investigation should provide worthwhile information for clinical appliance selection and treatment of patients with varying arch dimensions.
Size and Conformational Stability of the Hepatitis a Virus used to Prepare VAQTA, a Highly Purified Inactivated Vaccine

Abstract A variety of biophysical techniques have been employed to examine the size and conformational integrity of highly purified hepatitis A virus (HAV) in solution (purified HAV particles are subsequently formalin-inactivated and adsorbed to aluminum salts for use as the vaccine VAQTA). The size of HAV particles was assessed by a combination of electron microscopy, sedimentation velocity, and dynamic light scattering. The effect of ionic strength and temperature on the overall conformational stability of HAV was determined by a combination of intrinsic HAV protein fluorescence, fluorescent probes of both RNA and protein, and UV–visible spectroscopy. A major structural change in HAV occurs near 60°C with the addition of 0.2 M magnesium chloride enhancing the thermal stability of HAV by ∼10°C. Salt concentrations above 0.2 M, however, decrease the solubility of HAV. The effect of pH on the physical properties of HAV particles was monitored by dynamic light scattering, analytical size exclusion HPLC, and interaction with fluorescent dyes. HAV particles undergo a substantially reversible association/aggregation at pH values below 6 with the concomitant exposure of previously buried hydrophobic surfaces below pH 4. These results are in good agreement with previous studies of HAV thermal stability under extreme conditions in which the irreversible inactivation of the viral particles was measured primarily by the loss of viral infectivity. The wide variety of biophysical measurements described in this work, however, directly monitor structural changes as they occur, thus providing a molecular basis with which to monitor HAV stability during purification and storage.
Anticancer flavonoids are mouse-selective STING agonists.

The flavonoids FAA and DMXAA showed impressive activity against solid tumors in mice but failed clinical trials. They act on a previously unknown molecular target(s) to trigger cytokine release from leukocytes, which causes tumor-specific vascular damage and other antitumor effects. We show that DMXAA is a competitive agonist ligand for mouse STING (stimulator of interferon genes), a receptor for the bacterial PAMP cyclic-di-GMP (c-di-GMP) and an endogenous second messenger cyclic-GMP-AMP. In our structure–activity relationship studies, STING binding affinity and pathway activation activity of four flavonoids correlated with activity in a mouse tumor model measured previously. We propose that STING agonist activity accounts for the antitumor effects of FAA and DMXAA in mice. Importantly, DMXAA does not bind to human STING, which may account for its lack of efficacy or mechanism-related toxicity in man. We propose that STING is a druggable target for a novel innate immune activation mechanism of chemotherapy.
Oscillations in a Simple Microvascular Network

We have identified the simplest topology that will permit spontaneous oscillations in a model of microvascular blood flow that includes the plasma skimming effect and the Fahraeus–Lindqvist effect and assumes that the flow can be described by a first-order wave equation in blood hematocrit. Our analysis is based on transforming the governing partial differential equations into delay differential equations and analyzing the associated linear stability problem. In doing so we have discovered three dimensionless parameters, which can be used to predict the occurrence of nonlinear oscillations. Two of these parameters are related to the response of the hydraulic resistances in the branches to perturbations. The other parameter is related to the amount of time necessary for the blood to pass through each of the branches. The simple topology used in this study is much simpler than networks found in vivo. However, we believe our analysis will form the basis for understanding more complex networks.
Back to the future : the new ICE age

Summary The analysis of bacterial genomes has revealed an extraordinary array of conjugal elements (integrative and conjugative element or ICE) that reside in bacterial chromosomes. These elements contribute to the pan-genomes of individual species and confer a wide variety of properties on their bacterial hosts. ICEBs1 is a conjugal element found in Bacillus subtilis that has a remarkable regulatory mechanism that apparently favours conjugation when there are suitable recipient bacteria at high density or when the bacterial host is facing DNA-damaging stresses. In the current issue, Bose et al. dissect the mechanism of induction of transfer of this element, and reveal a new, apparently widespread repressor anti-repressor system and a new mechanism of repressor destruction by proteolysis.
Are serum suPAR determinations by current ELISA methodology reliable diagnostic biomarkers for FSGS

A soluble proteinuric substance has been postulated as a cause of primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), and one candidate soluble urokinase receptor (suPAR). Evaluation of published results shows that serum suPAR determinations by current methodology do not reliably distinguish FSGS from other proteinuric glomerular diseases and serum suPAR cannot currently be considered a valid biomarker for primary or secondary FSGS. However, this should not discourage further research on potential roles of suPAR in proteinuric renal disease, including FSGS.
On the Benefits of Intentional Mistuning of Friction Dampers to Reduce the Response of Tuned and Mistuned Bladed Disks

This paper investigates the potential benefits resulting from using two different types of friction dampers on a bladed disk. In this scenario, every blade or platform is equipped with a damper of either type A or type B with these two types differing by their friction forces. The variations in friction force are assumed here to be induced by similar variations in the damper mass. The benefit of this strategy is measured in comparison with using identical dampers of optimized mass on every blade/platform and is dependent on the pattern of A/B dampers around the disk as well as the damper masses.It is accordingly desired to optimize both the pattern and the damper masses to obtain the largest benefit. As a discovery effort, this optimization is accomplished here through an exhaustive search for all patterns and on a large grid of values of the two damper masses. Owing to the large computational cost of this effort, only single degree of freedom per blade models are assumed with both blade-blade and blade-ground dampers and only small blade counts are considered (6 and 12).Three particular situations are considered: disks with tuned blades except for the arrangement of A/B dampers, disks that also exhibit random mistuning of the blade stiffnesses, and, finally, disks exhibiting random mistuning of both blade stiffness and of the friction forces of the dampers. This latter situation is considered to include the variability induced by manufacturing and wear on the friction dampers.In all cases considered, the benefit of this intentional mistuning of friction dampers is either zero or small, of the order of a few percent, consistently with a single data point reported in the literature.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
Probing a Membrane Matrix Regulating Hormone Action: I. The Molecular Length of Effective Lipids

Auxin-induced pea ( Pisum sativum ) stem section elongation is enhanced at levels of 3 to 40 micromolar by six new classes of alkane derivatives additional to those described earlier, providing that length of their molecules exceeds 20 A. Increasingly longer homologous series of alkyl chlorides, bromides and iodides, alkyl benzenes, dialkyl ethers, and sulfides show a logarithmically linear increase in specific activity above this length, reaching an optimum near 28 to 30 A. Longer dialkyl ethers and sulfides are less effective, while steroids, or alkanes with substituents at both ends, are ineffective. Neither common metabolism nor common physical properties, other than over-all length of active molecules, seem to explain these results. However, the dimensions of the most abundant phospholipid of etiolated peas, 1-palmitoyl-2-linoleoyl-3-sn-phosphatidyl choline are such that a monolayer of this lecithin would contain cavities 20 A long. It is postulated that lipids of this length or longer are active in the pea assay by forcing apart lecithin molecules, changing the charge distribution or chelating properties of a regulatory membrane. Steroid dimensions also match the cavity in lecithin monolayers and steroids would be maintained within such a cavity by hydrogen bonds. The name lipometrin for lipids whose physiological activity varies with length is proposed, among these, substances active in the pea bioassay could be termed oleanimins.
Lasing characteristics of GaSb∕GaAs self-assembled quantum dots embedded in an InGaAs quantum well

The authors report the optical characteristics of GaSb∕GaAs self-assembled quantum dots (QDs) embedded in an InGaAs quantum well (QW). Variations in the In composition of the QW can significantly alter the emission wavelength up to 1.3μm and emission efficiency. Lasing operation at room temperature is obtained from a 2-mm-long device containing five stacked GaSb QDs in In0.13Ga0.87As QWs at 1.026μm with a threshold current density of 860A∕cm2. The probable lasing transition involves electrons and holes confined in the QW and QDs, respectively, resulting in a large peak modal gain of 45cm−1. A significant blueshift of the electroluminescence peak is observed with increased injection current and suggests a type-II band structure.
Clinical benefits of tight glycaemic control: Focus on the perioperative setting

The benefits of tight glycaemic control (TGC) were first shown in cardiac surgical patients with diabetes. These concepts migrated to other surgical and medical specialties through intensive care units caring for a variety of patients with a variety of disease states. Although some disagreement and controversy surrounds the use of TGC in the medical population, the benefits of this therapy in the diabetes cardiac surgery population is unblemished. Perioperative hyperglycaemia has been shown to be associated with adverse surgical outcomes in several different patient populations. TGC for 3 full postoperative days or more mitigates these risks. Although this has been definitively proven in the diabetes coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) population, evidence for beneficial effects of TGC in other surgical populations remains elusive at this point in time. In this article, we explore the risks of hyper- and hypoglycaemia in the surgical patient; safety and efficacy of insulin protocols in the surgical population, target range goals and duration of therapy; the beneficial effects of TGC on decreasing mortality, reducing infectious complications, length of stay and other complications; define target surgical populations that benefit from TGC; analyse current controversies as they relate to surgical populations; and describe questions that remain for the future of TGC.
Achieving data K-availability in intermittently connected sensor networks

We consider the problem of preserving data in intermittently connected sensor networks wherein sensor nodes do not always have connected paths to the base stations. The generated data is first stored inside the network before being uploaded to the base station when uploading opportunities arise. Each node has both limited energy level and limited storage space, and is associated with a probability of failure. To guarantee that at any moment, each generated data item is available for being uploaded in the presence of node failure, we propose to replicate K copies of each data item in the network, where K depends upon the node failure probability. We refer to the problem as Data K-Availability Problem (DKAP). DKAP is naturally divided into two phases:K-Availability creation and KAvailability maintenance. For K-Availability creation, we show that the problem is NP-hard for arbitrary data sizes, and that it is equivalent to minimum cost flow problem for unit data sizes. For K-Availability maintenance, we show that it is NP-hard even for unit data sizes and design a centralized greedy heuristic. We further design an efficient and low-overhead distributed algorithm, which is applicable to both phases, and show using extensive simulations that it performs close to the heuristic.
The Effect of Phospholipase A2Inhibitors on Proliferation and Apoptosis of Murine Intestinal Cells

Abstract Background. Group II phospholipase A 2 (PLA 2 ) enzymes, the rate controlling enzymes in arachidonic acid metabolism, have been well characterized and subdivided into secretory 14-kDa PLA 2 (sPLA 2 ) and cytoplasmic 85-kDa PLA 2 (cPLA 2 ). Previous research has demonstrated increased PLA 2 in colorectal tumors. The present study was performed to determine the effect of specific PLA2 inhibitors on the proliferation and induction of apoptosis of intestinal epithelial cells. Methods. A continuously proliferating rat small intestinal cell line (IEC-18) and a mouse colon cancer cell line (WB-2054-M 4 ) were utilized for these experiments. The cells were placed in microwells with serum-free or serum-supplemented media. The effects of serum on proliferation were then evaluated in the presence of the cPLA 2 inhibitor, methylarachidonyl fluorophosphate (MAFP), or the sPLA 2 inhibitor p -bromophenacyl bromide (BPB). The sPLA 2 and cPLA 2 protein was estimated by Western blotting. Proliferation of intestinal cells was quantitated by incorporation of [ 3 H]thymidine into DNA and PLA 2 activity was evaluated by quantitating arachidonic acid formation and prostaglandin E 2 production. Results. Western blotting of IEC-18 and WB-2054 cell protein demonstrated sPLA 2 and cPLA 2 enzyme in cells incubated in media containing 10% serum. Spontaneous DNA synthesis was present in both cell lines and serum consistently increased proliferation. In IEC-18 cells [ 3 H]thymidine incorporation stimulated by serum was inhibited by MAFP and BPB, while in the malignant cell line, proliferation was inhibited only by BPB. BPB, but not MAFP, produced a dose-dependent increase in apoptotic ratios in both cell lines. Arachidonic acid and PGE 2 formation, stimulated by serum, was inhibited by MAFP and BPB. Conclusions. A differential effect on intestinal cell mitogenesis was seen with different PLA 2 inhibitors. The sPLA 2 inhibitor, but not the cPLA 2 inhibitor, significantly inhibited [ 3 H]thymidine incorporation in the malignant cell line. This occurred with an induction of apoptosis. sPLA 2 inhibitors may be specific inhibitors of growth of malignant cells. The inhibition of arachidonic acid and PGE 2 production did not correlate with the inhibition of proliferation, suggesting that the two processes may be unrelated.