cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dnmt3b catalytic activity is critical for its tumour suppressor function in lymphomagenesis and is associated with c-Met oncogenic signalling.

Abstract Background DNA methylation regulates gene transcription in many physiological processes in mammals including development and haematopoiesis. It is catalysed by several DNA methyltransferases, including Dnmt3b that mediates both methylation-dependant and independent gene repression. Dnmt3b is critical for mouse embryogenesis and functions as a tumour suppressor in haematologic malignancies in mice. However, the extent to which Dnmt3b's catalytic activity (CA) is involved in development and cancer is unclear. Methods We used a mouse model expressing catalytically inactive Dnmt3b (Dnmt3bCI) to study a role of Dnmt3b's CA in development and cancer. We utilized global approaches including Whole-genome Bisulfite sequencing and RNA-seq to analyse DNA methylation and gene expression to identify putative targets of Dnmt3b's CA. To analyse postnatal development and haematopoiesis, we used tissue staining, histological and FACS analysis. To determine potential involvement of selected genes in lymphomagenesis, we used overexpression and knock down approaches followed by in vitro growth assays. Findings We show that mice expressing Dnmt3bCI only, survive postnatal development and develop ICF (the immunodeficiency-centromeric instability-facial anomalies) -like syndrome. The lack of Dnmt3b's CA promoted fibroblasts transformation in vitro, accelerated MLL-AF9 driven Acute Myeloid Leukaemia and MYC-induced T-cell lymphomagenesis in vivo. The elimination of Dnmt3b's CA resulted in decreased methylation of c-Met promoter and its upregulation, activated oncogenic Met signalling, Stat3 phosphorylation and up-regulation of Lin28b promoting lymphomagenesis. Interpretation Our data demonstrates that Dnmt3b's CA is largely dispensable for mouse development but critical to prevent tumourigenesis by controlling events involved in cellular transformation. Funding This study was supported by Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology and Cancer Centre at the University of Florida start-up funds, NIH/NCI grant 1R01CA188561-01A1 (R.O.).
Effects of Maltose Transport Related Gene Expression on Avermectins Production in Streptomyces avermitilis

Avermectin is a macrolide compound produced through fermentation by S. avermitilis,and it's a kind of widely used biological pesticide. This paper investigated the function of maltose transporter system and the relation between the expression of maltose transporter system and the yield of avermectins in S. avermitilis. The malEFG gene was amplified by PCR using genomic DNA of S. avermitilis as template,and then was inserted into multi-copy vector and integration vector,respectively. Each expression vector was transformed into S. avermitilis ATCC31267 and GB-165, respectively. The resulting transformants were cultured in fermentation medium to study the effect of malEFG overexpression on avermectin biosynthesis. The yield of avermectin was increased by 3 ~ 3. 2 fold in ATCC31267 and by 40% ~ 60% in GB-165 after the malEFG gene being overexpressed in them compared to that of parent strain.
Inspecting Insulin Products Using Water Proton NMR. I. Noninvasive vs Invasive Inspection

Background:There is a clear need to transition from batch-level to vial/syringe/pen-level quality control of biologic drugs, such as insulin. This could be achieved only by noninvasive and quantita...
Integrated torrefaction-extrusion system for solid fuel pellet production from mixed fiber-plastic wastes: Techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment

Abstract The world is witnessing an unprecedented generation and accumulation of fiber-plastic wastes resulting in various challenges due to inconsistency, waste-stream heterogeneity, conveying issues, self-heating, and difficulty in pelletization. This study presents a novel pilot-scale system that integrates torrefaction and extrusion to convert mix fiber-plastic waste into fuel pellets. The produced pellets have low cost, high heating value, better uniformity, and low environmental impact. They can be used as solid fuels or as feedstock for pyrolysis and gasification. To evaluate the pellet cost and its environmental impact, we performed Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The TEA integrates research findings from the torrefaction-extrusion project with the techno-economic models and estimates the costs, energy consumption, and mass balances for pelletizing and torrefaction. The analysis indicates that the baseline cost of producing uniform pellets is about $55.28/dry tonne (2020$). LCA results indicate that the torrefied product has cradle-to-gate embodied greenhouse gas emissions that are net negative, although they are higher than a comparable forest-derived woodchip product. Fossil energy demand for the torrefied product is lower than the forest-derived chip, indicating the torrefied product has strong potential for use as an environmentally beneficial feedstock for future processing.
Measured Activities of Al and Ni in gamma-(Ni) and gamma'-(Ni)3Al in the Ni-Al-Pt System

Adding Pt to Ni-Al coatings is critical to achieving the required oxidation protection of Ni-based superalloys, but the nature of the Pt effect remains unresolved. This research provides a fundamental part of the answer by measuring the influence of Pt on the activities of Al and Ni in gamma-(Ni), gamma prime-(Ni)3Al and liquid in the Ni-Al-Pt system. Measurements have been made at 25 compositions in the Ni-rich corner over the temperature range, T = 1400-1750 K, by the vapor pressure technique with a multiple effusion-cell mass spectrometer (multi-cell KEMS). These measurements clearly show adding Pt (for X(sub Pt) less than 0.25) decreases a(Al) while increasing a(Ni). This solution behavior supports the idea that Pt increases Al transport to an alloy / Al2O3 interface and also limits the interaction between the coating and substrate alloys in the gamma-(Ni) + gamma prime-(Ni)3Al region. This presentation will review the progress of this study.
Testing Specificity: Associations of Stress and Coping with Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in Youth

Research has documented the co-occurrence of symptoms of anxiety and depression across the lifespan, suggesting that these symptoms share common correlates and etiology. The present study aimed to examine potential specific and/or transdiagnostic correlates of symptoms of anxiety and depression in at-risk youth. The present study examined youth stress associated with parental depression and youth coping as potential correlates of symptoms of anxiety and depression in a sample of children of depressed parents. One hundred eighty parents with a history of depression and their children ages 9-15 completed measures assessing youths' stress associated with parental depression (RSQ), symptoms of anxiety and depression (YSR and CBCL), and coping (RSQ). The results support the hypothesis that secondary control coping is a transdiagnostic correlate of symptoms of anxiety and depression in youth. Youth stress related to parental depression and primary control coping were specific correlates of youth depressive symptoms and not anxiety symptoms. Disengagement coping was not a significant correlate of symptoms of anxiety or depression in youth. Results suggest that there are both transdiagnostic and specific correlates of symptoms of anxiety and depression in youth. The current study provides evidence to suggest specific types of stress and strategies to cope with this stress demonstrate specificity to symptoms of anxiety and depression in high-risk offspring of depressed parents. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the relationship between stress, coping, and symptoms to inform prevention and treatment research.
Inner-Shell Threshold Spectra

It can be argued that lithium is the lightest element with an inner-shell spectrum. In this case the spectrum begins at the threshold for excitation of one of the two is electrons in the K shell of lithium (binding energy = 54.75 eV).(1) These energies progressively increase throughout the periodic system to beyond 150 keV for the K shells of the transuranic elements. Thus photons from the vacuum ultraviolet to hard X-rays are effective in exciting the various inner shells. We will emphasize the low-energy part of this range, and our main concern will be for the details within ten or fifteen volts of threshold, the so-called Kossel structure. This threshold part of an element’s inner-shell spectrum may contain Rydberg or exciton effects, and valence orbital, ionization, and chemical shift information. It is most sensitive to the state of aggregation, whether it be atomic, molecular, or solid. Extended x-ray absorption fine structure (exafs)(2) (see also Chapters 10–13) or Kronig structure is likewise influenced by neighboring atoms, but in this case data must be taken several hundred or even a thousand electron volts above threshold. exafs is a kind of internal diffraction effect dependent upon interference between outgoing electron waves and waves back scattered from surrounding atoms.
Static Disassembly and Code Analysis

The classification of an unknown binary program as malicious or benign requires two steps. In the first step, the stream of bytes that constitutes the program has to be transformed (or disassembled) into the corresponding sequence of machine instructions. In the second step, based on this machine code representation, static or dynamic code analysis techniques can be applied to determine the properties and function of the program.
Contamination of the Small Intestine by Enterotoxigenic Coliform Bacteria among the Rural Population of Haiti

Coliform bacteria were isolated by either aerobic or anaerobic culture techniques from aspirates of the proximal small intestine of 4 of 5 Haitians with tropical sprue, but not from any of 10 well nourished Haitians who had milder gastrointestinal complaints and abnormalities. Klebsiella (Klebsiella pneumoniae and Klebsiella ozaenae) was cultured from the jejunal aspirates of 2 sprue patients and Escherichiae coli from the other 2. Fifteen colonies of coliform bacteria cultured from each aspirate were specifically identified by their biotype. In three instances, every colony in each aspirate was the same; In three instances, every colony in each aspirate was the same; in the fourth aspirate, two biotypes of E. coli were present, one of which grew under both aerobic and anaerobic culture conditions and another which grew only under anaerobic conditions on initial isolation. A randomly selected strain of each of the five coliform biotypes isolated was examined for enterotoxigenicity by determining the effect of variously prepared cell-free preparations on water transport in the rat jejunum using standard marker perfusion techniques. Every strain tested was toxigenic; one produced only a heat-stable toxin, one produced a heat-labile toxin only, and three elaborated both forms of enterotoxin. These observations indicate that most Haitians with tropical sprue have colonization of the proximal small intestine by a specific strain of enterotoxigenic coliform bacteria, but such is not the case among Haitians who have milder intestinal abnormalities.
Temperature, Humidity, and Airflow in the Emplacement Drifts Using Convection and Dispersion Transport Models

A coupled thermal-hydrologic-airflow model is developed, solving for the transport processes within a waste emplacement drift and the surrounding rockmass together at the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. Natural, convective air flow as well as heat and mass transport in a representative emplacement drift during post-closure are explicitly simulated, using the MULTIFLUX model. The conjugate, thermal-hydrologic transport processes in the rockmass are solved with the TOUGH2 porous-media simulator in a coupled way to the in-drift processes. The new simulation results show that large-eddy turbulent flow, as opposed to small-eddy flow, dominate the drift air space for at least 5000 years following waste emplacement. The size of the largest, longitudinal eddy is equal to half of the drift length, providing a strong axial heat and moisture transport mechanism from the hot to the cold drift sections. The in-drift results are compared to those from simplified models using a surrogate, dispersive model with an equivalent dispersion coefficient for heat and moisture transport. Results from the explicit, convective velocity simulation model provide higher axial heat and moisture fluxes than those estimated from the previously published, simpler, equivalent-dispersion models, in addition to showing differences in temperature, humidity and condensation rate distributions alongmore » the drift length. A new dispersive model is also formulated, giving a time- and location-variable function that runs generally about ten times higher in value than the highest dispersion coefficient currently used in the Yucca Mountain Project as an estimate for the equivalent dispersion coefficient in the emplacement drift. The new dispersion coefficient variation, back-calculated from the convective model, can adequately describe the heat and mass transport processes in the emplacement drift example.« less
A Multilevel Analysis of Mobility Disability in the United States Population: Educational Advantage Diminishes as Race-Ethnicity Poverty Gap Increases

Until now, they idea that economic inequalities affect health outcomes remains of interest and a topic under debated. If disability can be considered an adequate indicator of health and an acceptable argument could be made that educational attainment is partially affected by “life changes”, then investigating how educational attainment correlates with the likelihood of being “disable” and how it varies by level of social inequality in residential area may be of interest for research on health disparities. Microdata from the American Community Survey (ACS) 2009-2011 is used in a hierarchical logistic model that accounts for various person-level factors and differences in race-ethnicity poverty gap at the Public Use Microdata Area (PUMA) level. After nesting a total of 3,752,372 observations over 2,055 PUMAs, results indicate that risk for mobility disability decreases with educational attainment and that this protective effect decreases as the race-ethnicity poverty gap in the PUMA increases. Because unjust and avoidable health disparities should be mitigated, future work should continue on the topic.
Revisional weight loss surgery after failed laparoscopic gastric banding: an institutional experience

Increasing experience with laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) has demonstrated a high rate of complications and inadequate weight loss. Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) have been reported to be safe and effective in selected patients. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the incidence and outcomes of revisional weight loss surgery (RWLS) after laparoscopic gastric banding at our institution. From June 2006 to February 2013, all patients who underwent LAGB and those who required revision were retrospectively analyzed. All procedures were performed by two surgeons with extensive experience in bariatric surgery. Parametric data are presented as mean ± SD; nonparametric data are presented as median and interquartile range (IQR). During the study period, 256 patients underwent LAGB. A total of 111 patients (43 %) required reoperation. Sixty-one patients (56 women, age = 43.7 ± 12 years) with a BMI of 45.4 ± 6 kg/m2 successfully underwent RWLS (53 RYGB, 8 LSG). Indications for RWLS included dysphagia (40 patients, 63 %), inadequate weight loss (17 patients, 27 %), GERD (2 patients, 3 %), gastric prolapse (2 patients, 3 %), and needle phobia (1 patient, 2 %). Two required conversion to an open RYGB due to extensive adhesions. RWLS was undertaken approximately 36.3 [25–45] months after LAGB. Removal of the gastric band and the RWLS were performed in 15 patients with an interval of 3 [1.5–7] months between procedures. Median operative time was 165 [142–184] min. Median hospital length of stay was 2 [2–3] days. Early complications occurred in 11 patients (18 %), including 4 anastomotic leaks. Twelve patients (20 %) presented with late complications requiring intervention. There was one death. At a median follow-up of 12.4 months, excess weight loss was 47.5 ± 27 %, and 48 % of patients achieved a BMI < 33. LAGB is associated with a high incidence of reoperation. Reoperative weight loss surgery can be performed in selected patients with a higher rate of complications than primary surgery. Good short-term weight loss outcomes can be achieved.
Thermionic emission from single-crystal filaments☆

Abstract A thermionic projection diode with an aluminized fluorescent screen was used to determine the average and point-by-point Richardson constants for the [110] zone of W and Mo filamentary single crystals. Errors due to secondary emission of electrons at the anode were corrected by data collected in a separate experiment. An apparent functional relationship between measured values of φ R ∗ and a R ∗ is discussed in terms of a patch theory which departs from previous patch theories by the introduction of the fundamental patch. In terms of this theory, micropatches are composed of fundamental patches, and the micropatch distribution on an emitter determines the compensation between the Richardson constants. For filamentary single crystals of W and Mo, a Gaussian distribution of micropatches was found to establish the observed compensation between φ R ∗ and A R ∗ . The Gaussian micropatch distributions are centered on the work function of a fictitious apparent patch and the width of the Gaussian increases with atomic roughness of the emitting surfaces. The suggestion is made that the micropatch effect may be the dominant factor in the point-by-point variation in emission constants measured over a filamentary single crystal.
Subversion or Reinvention? Dilemmas and Debates in the Context of UNHCR's Increasing Involvement with IDPs

The Statute of 1950 deliberately excludes persons who have not crossed an international border from UNHCR’s competence and yet, nearly half the people assisted by UNHCR today are internally displaced. This important evolution rests in part on the restrictive and impractical nature of UNHCR’s original Statute, which necessitated a mandate extension. Additionally, UNHCR’s reorientation is a product of underlying post-Cold War political and international sociological factors, in particular the emergence of international humanitarianism, the erosion of the principle of absolute sovereignty, the emergence of ‘new wars’, and asylum fatigue. Undoubtedly, UNHCR’s involvement with IDPs is contentious. Critics claim that it lacks a legal basis and that it ultimately undermines the institution of asylum. Proponents highlight that in many of today’s complex emergencies it is impossible to distinguish between people who have crossed an international border and those who have not. In this context, UNHCR should act pragmatically based on humanitarian necessity, as opposed to rigid normative criteria.
Lipid Localization in Bacterial Cells through Curvature-Mediated Microphase Separation

Although many proteins are known to localize in bacterial cells, for the most part our understanding of how such localization takes place is limited. Recent evidence that the phospholipid cardiolipin localizes to the poles of rod-shaped bacteria suggests that targeting of some proteins may rely on the heterogeneous distribution of membrane lipids. Membrane curvature has been proposed as a factor in the polar localization of high-intrinsic-curvature lipids, but the small size of lipids compared to the dimensions of the cell means that single molecules cannot stably localize. At the other extreme, phase separation of the membrane energetically favors a single domain of such lipids at one pole. We have proposed a physical mechanism in which osmotic pinning of the membrane to the cell wall naturally produces microphase separation, i.e., lipid domains of finite size, whose aggregate sensitivity to cell curvature can support spontaneous and stable localization to both poles. Here, we demonstrate that variations in the strength of pinning of the membrane to the cell wall can also act as a strong localization mechanism, in agreement with observations of cardiolipin relocalization from the poles to the septum during sporulation in the bacterium Bacillus subtilis. In addition, we rigorously determine the relationship between localization and the domain-size distribution including the effects of entropy, and quantify the strength of domain-domain interactions. Our model predicts a critical concentration of cardiolipin below which domains will not form and hence polar localization will not take place. This observation is consistent with recent experiments showing that in Escherichia coli cells with reduced cardiolipin concentrations, cardiolipin and the osmoregulatory protein ProP fail to localize to the poles.
Photo-formation of interfacial layers during pulsed laser deposition of high-k dielectrics on silicon

Abstract ZrO2 and Y2O3 thin films were deposited on Si substrates using pulsed laser deposition in vacuum or oxygen ambient. Angle resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy investigations showed that there was always some oxidation of the Si substrate resulting in the formation of an interfacial layer that could have a deleterious effect on the overall capacitance of the resulting MOS devices. The positions and shape of the metal, the oxygen and the Si XPS peaks suggest that at the temperatures used for deposition (
The study of spurious scattering in nuclear emulsions and the effect of higher order differences in scattering measurements

By considering the higher order differences in the scattering measurement, a new approach of reducing the spurious scattering in nuclear emulsions is discussed. The possible effect of turbulence during the developing stage is discussed in brief.
Users’ views about the usability of digital libraries

This study examined users’ views about the usability of digital libraries—current and perceived importance. Age, gender, prior experience with the Internet, college status, and digital library proficiency are the independent variables. Users’ current views about the usability of digital libraries and users’ perceived importance of digital library usability are treated as dependent variables. The Digital Library Usability Survey, a Likert-type instrument developed by Koohang, was used. The study's participants were 107 undergraduate students enrolled in an interdisciplinary and cross-functional degree programme at a large state university in the Midwest, USA. The collected data were analysed through statistical procedures. The overall results yielded significant differences for the variables of users’ prior experience with the Internet and users’ proficiency level with the digital library. The univariate results indicated a significant difference on the users’ perceived importance of digital library usability. However, digital library proficiency produced a significant difference on users’ current views about the digital library's usability. These results are discussed. Recommendations are made for practice and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Polymerization of organic compounds in an electrodeless glow discharge. IV. Hydrocarbons in a closed system

The polymerization of hydrocarbons was investigated by measuring the hydrogen yield during the glow discharge polymerization in a closed system. It was found that the pressure change in the glow discharge polymerization of hydrocarbons was mainly due to the production of hydrogen and to the loss of vapor phase monomer by polymerization. The opening of triple or double bonds and cyclic structures plays an important role in the polymerization of hydrocarbons; however, these are not exclusive mechanisms. The major polymerization mechanism for saturated normal hydrocarbons seems to be by the formation of free radicals due to hydrogen abstraction and the recombination of these primary radicals. The polymerization due to this mechanism also seems to occur concurrently during the polymerization of hydrocarbons with multiple bond and/or cyclic structures. Aromatic hydrocarbons polymerize with very low hydrogen production, indicating that the utilization of an aromatic double bond is the major mechanism of polymerization.
Miss, Mister, Doctor: Preferred titles

I was interested to see that the survey on preferred titles (April 2006 JRSM1) was restricted to ENT surgeons. In my first pre-registration house job many years ago, one of my ‘chiefs’ was a bombastic and irascible ENT surgeon who, on one occasion when a nurse had the temerity to address him as ‘doctor’, responded ‘Call me sir, I'm not a doctor!’ I considered it an unwise career move to observe that ‘sir’ was also inappropriate as he was neither a knight nor a baronet. Strictly speaking, the only people entitled to use the title ‘doctor’ are those holding doctoral degrees, whether in medicine, philosophy, music, science, law or whatever. Indeed, in Germany, if one remarked that a person was a doctor, one would immediately be asked ‘of what?’. I agree that the term ‘specialist’ is unsatisfactory. Perhaps hospital consultants could use the term ‘professor’, which simply means that they profess to know something; but it would sound impressive and enhance their placebo effect. The teachers at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry are all called professor, and it must be admitted that the magical arts and the practice of medicine have a very great deal in common.
Relationship between child abuse and adult smoking.

Objective:A strong association between a history of child abuse and subsequent psychiatric disorders including substance use has been demonstrated. However, few studies have examined the relationsh...
Interactions of obliquely incident water waves with two vertical obstacles

The diffraction of obliquely incident water waves by two parallel floating rectangular cylinders is examined using linearized potential theory. The “exact” solution is obtained by the method of matched eigenfunction expansions; the resulting matrix equation is solved numerically. Two approximated solutions based on the “wide-spacing approximation” and the “plane-wave approximation” are also obtained for comparison. It is shown that the “wide-spacing approximation” gives much more accurate solutions than the “plane-wave approximation”. Moreover, the “wide-spacing approximation” yields accurate results when the drafts of the cylinders are small in comparison with the distance between cylinders, even if the distance is not very large compared with the wavelength. The analytical formula for resonance frequencies of the two-cylinder system is obtained using the “wide-spacing approximation”. The corresponding transmission coefficients are also determined.
Microsporidia and Cyclospora: Epidemiology and Assessment of Risk from the Environment

Two classes of parasites with an environmental stage in their lifestyle have recently emerged as significant gastrointestinal pathogens for humans. Microsporidia represent a group that contains a number of genera related to the genus Cryptosporidium. They are generally transmitted via direct human to human contact, but can survive in water and food, and recently have been found in surface water used as drinking source water. Their most common host range is in patients with clinical AIDS. Limited work to date suggests the group is susceptible to chlorine achievable CxT (concentration x time) values and is coagulated by filtration. Cyclospora cayetanensis is a species of parasite that has caused outbreaks from contaminated food. Its major risk is from the use of inadequately treated water used for irrigation. Cyclospora can infect normal and immunosuppressed hosts. Current information regarding the lifestyle, transmission, and control of both groups of parasites are discussed, with a health risk assessment analysis.
Angular Distribution of Photoelectrons Produced by 0.4-0.8-Mev Polarized Photons

The angular distribution of high-energy (0.4 to 0.8 Mev) photoelectrons produced in Pb and Au foils by linearly polarized photons has been investigated using scintillation counting and pulse-height analysis techniques. A Compton-scattered photon beam from ${\mathrm{Co}}^{60}$ provided a source of partially polarized radiation. Experimental results confirm the theoretical prediction of predominate photoemission orthogonal to the electric vector of the incident photon for photoelectron energies greater than 0.5 Mev.
Elbow loading promotes longitudinal bone growth of the ulna and the humerus

Mechanical stimulation plays a critical role in bone development and growth. In view of recently recognized anabolic responses promoted by a joint-loading modality, we examined the effects of elbow loading on longitudinal growth of the ulna and the humerus. Using a custom-made piezoelectric loader, the left elbow of growing C57/BL/6 female mice was given daily 5-min bouts of dynamic loading for 10 days. The right forelimbs of those mice served as contralateral controls, and the limbs of non-treated mice were used as age-matched controls. The effects of elbow loading were evaluated through measurement of bone length, weight, bone mineral density (BMD), and bone mineral content (BMC), as well as mRNA expression levels of load-sensitive transcription factors such as c-fos, egr1, and atf3. The results revealed that the humerus was elongated by 1.2% compared to the contralateral and age-matched controls (both p < 0.001), while the ulna had become longer than the contralateral control (1.7%; p < 0.05) and the age-match control (3.4%; p < 0.001). Bone lengthening was associated with increases in bone weight, BMD and BMC. Furthermore, the mRNA levels of the selected transcription factors were elevated in the loaded ulna and humerus. Interestingly, the increase was observed not only at the elbow but also at the wrist and shoulder in the loaded limb. The present study demonstrates that joint loading is potentially useful for stimulating bone lengthening and treating limb length discrepancy.
A meta-analysis of the California school-based risk reduction program.

Prominent nonquantitative reviews of research evaluating school-based interventions designed to deter adolescents from the use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs found the methodology to be flawed and thus little evidence existed that the interventions had the desired impact [1, 2]. Recent meta-analytic reviews indicate that information-focused interventions have more impact upon knowledge but less upon attitudes and behavior whereas alternative interventions have less impact upon knowledge but more upon attitudes and behavior [3–5]. This result is replicated by the current meta-analysis performed upon eight risk-reduction programs meeting six standard methodological requirements for evaluation research.
Promotion of articular cartilage matrix vesicle mineralization by type I collagen.

Objective Calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CPPD) and basic calcium phosphate (BCP) crystals occur in up to 60% of osteoarthritic joints and predict an increased severity of arthritis. Articular cartilage vesicles (ACVs) generate CPPD crystals in the presence of ATP and BCP crystals with added β-glycerophosphate. While ACVs are present in normal articular cartilage, they mineralize primarily in cartilage from osteoarthritic joints. The aim of this study was to explore the hypothesis that ACV mineralization is regulated by components of the surrounding extracellular matrix. Methods Porcine ACVs were embedded in agarose gels containing type II and/or type I collagen and/or proteoglycans. Mineralization was measured as 45Ca accumulation stimulated by ATP or β-glycerophosphate and reflects both nucleation and growth. Synthetic CPPD and BCP crystals were embedded in similar gels to isolate the effect of matrix components on crystal growth. Results After establishing baseline responsiveness of ACVs to ATP and β-glycerophosphate in agarose gels, we examined the ability of ATP and β-glycerophosphate to stimulate mineral formation in gels containing various matrix components. Type II collagen suppressed the ability of ATP to stimulate mineralization, while a combination of type II plus type I collagen increased the effect of ATP and β-glycerophosphate on mineralization. Type I collagen affected ACV mineralization in a dose-responsive manner. Neither type of collagen significantly affected crystal growth or levels of mineralization-regulating enzymes. Proteoglycans suppressed mineral formation by ACVs in gels containing both type I and type II collagen. Conclusion Cartilage matrix changes that occur with osteoarthritis, such as increased quantities of type I collagen and reduced proteoglycan levels, may promote ACV mineralization.
Disabling Dis-ability: Re-Building Inclusive Into Social Justice

Disability too often has been defined as a problem, abnormality, slow, not functioning properly, and broken. This article critiques common misconceptions and social constructions of the framing and defining of disability. The author introduces in the article field disability studies and his concept of disability pedagogy, while stressing that social justice educators need to re-evaluate their concepts of intersectionality and begin to include it in their discourse and awareness disability. [Article copies available for a fee from The Transformative Studies Institute. E-mail address: journal@transformativestudies.org Website: http://www.transformativestudies.org ©2009 by The Transformative Studies Institute. All rights reserved.]
Occupational Characteristics and Classification Systems: New Uses of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles in Social Research

Recent social research shows a renewed interest in detailed characteristics of jobs. The Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) and census classification systems as bases for measures of job features are reviewed. The article reports on a set of characteristics that have been estimated for detailed 1960 and 1970 census categories, including those generated by Temme and new indicators for routiniza tion and closeness of supervision in work. The report includes information on how the measures were generated, evidence on their validity as assessed against corresponding individual-level measures, and an assessment of the measurement slippage involved in moving between the different occupation classification systems.
CD19 maps to a region of conservation between human chromosome 16 and mouse chromosome 7

CD19 is a B lymphocyte cell surface protein expressed from the earliest stages of B lymphocyte development unitl their terminal differentiation into plasma cells. In this report the human CD19 gene (hCD19) was localized to band p11.2 on the proximal short arm of chromosome 16 by in situ hybridization to metaphase chromosomes, using hCD19 cDNA as probe. hCD19 gene localization was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction based analysis with hCD19-specific primers, using a panel of human/hamster somatic cell hybrid DNA as templates. The mouse CD19 gene (MCd19) was mapped to bands F3-F4 of chromosome 7 by in situ hybridization to metaphase chromosomes, using a mCD19 cDNA probe. Segregation analysis of nucleotide sequence polymorphisms in inter-specific backcross progeny revealed linkage of mCd19 with hemoglobin β (Hbb), Int-2, and H19, other loci previously mapped to the same region of mouse chromosome 7, confirming the localization of mCd19 to this region. The order of these loci was determined to be centromere — Hbb — mCd19 — H19 — Int-2 —telomere. The genetic distance between the loci examined, calculated from the recombination frequencies, suggested that mCd19 was located centrally between Hbb and H19. This region of mouse chromosome 7 is homologous to the region of human chromosome 16 to which the hCD19 gene maps. Multiple genes with a lymphocyte-related function also map to this conserved region including genes encoding the IL-4 receptor, CD11a, CD11b, CD11c, CD43 (leukosialin), and protein kinase C β polypeptide.
Familial adenomatous polyposis in two brothers with hepatoblastoma: implications for diagnosis and screening

Two brothers with hepatoblastoma were noted to have a family history of early onset colon cancer. Genetic testing of the younger brother revealed a deletion in exon 15 of the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene (2710-2711delAG), consistent with a diagnosis of familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). We review the clinical and molecular aspects of the relationship between hepatoblastoma and FAP, and the implications for diagnostic testing and cancer screening in affected patients.
Numerical and Experimental Study of Nonlinear Localization in a Flexible Structure with Vibro‐Impacts

In this work a numerical and experimental study of nonlinear motion confinement phenomena in a nonlinear flexible assembly with vibro-impacts is carried out. The assembly consists of two coupled cantilever beams whose motion is constrained by rigid barriers. In the theoretical model the impact nonlinearities are simulated by clearance nonlinearities with steep stiffness characteristics; special care is taken to model energy dissipation due to inelastic impacts. The theoretical results confirm that the vibro-impact system possess motion confinement properties. Both transient and steady state motions are studied, and it is shown that under certain conditions the vibrational energy of the system is passively confined to only one of the two beams. These essentially nonlinear responses exist inspite of direct coupling between the two beams, and have no analogs in linear theory. The experimental results confirm the theoretical predictions both in the transient and steady state regimes. The passive nonlinear motion confinement phenomena reported in this and previous works can be utilized to enhance the controllability of flexible structures with symmetries, and to improve current shock and vibration isolation desians of such systems.
Fabrication and design considerations for multilevel active polymeric devices

Recently interest has been growing in exploiting the advantageous fabrication properties of electro-optic polymer materials for optical interconnect applications. For many of these applications a technology for fabricating multilevel registered waveguide structures will be required. Described here is the use of a projection printing technique of waveguide fabrication which has been used to demonstrate a registered two level Mach-Zehnder modulator array. The details of this fabrication technique and design considerations for the multiple level device are presented.
Developmental immunotoxicity testing and protection of children's health.

Prenatal and postnatal exposure to persistent organochlorine pollutants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), has been implicated as a possible cause of impaired immune function in children. For example, studies have shown that children who have been exposed to PCBs and related compounds from their mothers' contaminated diets have reduced concentrations of immunoglobulins and increased frequency of childhood infections [1–3]. And a new study by Heilmann et al. published in PLoS Medicine shows that children exposed to PCBs have reduced antibody responses to childhood vaccinations, adding to the growing evidence that PCBs are associated with developmental immunotoxicity (DIT) [4]. The study provides a stark example of the heightened immune vulnerabilities that exist during early life and that must be adequately protected from environmental insult if we are to minimize health risks to children.
Compiling: a high-level introduction using Scheme

Traditional compilation courses use formal methods for parsing, but treat the more important semantic aspects informally. We present a one semester course in which compiler development is reduced to a number of transformation steps, each of which is formally specified, easily tested, and clearly motivated by semantic considerations. The source language is substantial (essentially the host language of the compiler) and the target is a popular RISC architecture.
Entamoeba histolytica. I. Aerobic metabolism.

Abstract The respiration of intact trophozoites harvested from axenic cultures of Entamoeba histolytica was studied with the polarographic technique utilizing the Clark oxygen electrode. A typical Qo2 value for the freshly harvested amebae was 1 μatom oxygen/mg protein/hr. It was conclusively demonstrated that this parasite, a putative anaerobe, not only consumes oxygen when provided, but has a high affinity for the gas. Added glucose, galactose, and ethanol increased the respiratory rates, whereas other carbohydrates were without effect on the endogenous respiration. Intermediates of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, amino and fatty acids did not stimulate the respiration of E. histolytica. Inhibitors of the mammalian respiratory chain (cyanide, antimycin) as well as agents that inhibit enzymes catalyzing the tricarboxylic acid cycle (malonate, fluoropyruvate, fluoroacetate, fluorocitrate) had little effect on the endogenous or glucose-supported respiration. Alkylating agents (iodoacetamide, iodoacetate), cinnamate, and N-ethylymaleimide strongly inhibited the oxygen consumption of E. histolytica. The chemotherapeutic agents, Paromomycin, Emetine and Metronidazole, at concentrations that inhibit growth in vitro, did not restrict the respiration. Storage of the trophozoites at 4 C led to progressive deterioraion of the parasites and loss of endogenous and glucose-supported respiration. The deterioration was paralled by loss of SH-materials from the amebae. Likewise, sonication or lysis with detergents abolished both the endogenous respiration and response to glucose. Exogenous NADH or NADPH evoked only marginal increases in oxygen consumption of the freshly harvested amebae, but were effective respiratory substrates with stored or sonicated organisms. Addition of vitamin K3 greatly enhanced the endogenous and glucose-supported respiration of the intact amebae, as well as enhancing the response of stored or sonicated amebae to reduced pyridine nucleotides.
Alternative preparation of inclusion bodies excludes interfering non-protein contaminants and improves the yield of recombinant proinsulin

The goal of simple, high-yield expression and purification of recombinant human proinsulin has proven to be a considerable challenge. First, proinsulin forms inclusion bodies during bacterial expression. While this phenomenon can be exploited as a capture step, conventionally prepared inclusion bodies contain significant amounts of non-protein contaminants that interfere with subsequent chromatographic purification. Second, the proinsulin molecules within the inclusion bodies are incorrectly folded, and likely cross-linked to one another, making it difficult to quantify the amount of expressed proinsulin. Third, proinsulin is an intermediate between the initial product of ribosomal translation (preproinsulin) and the final product secreted by pancreatic beta cells (insulin). Therefore, to be efficiently produced in bacteria, it must be produced as an N-terminally extended fusion protein, which has to be converted to authentic proinsulin during the purification scheme. To address all three of these problems, while simultaneously streamlining the procedure and increasing the yield of recombinant proinsulin, we have made three substantive modifications to our previous method for producing proinsulin:.•Conditions for the preparation of inclusion bodies have been altered so contaminants that interfere with semi-preparative reversed-phase chromatography are excluded while the proinsulin fusion protein is retained at high yield.•Aliquots are taken following important steps in the procedure and the quantity of proinsulin-related polypeptide in the sample is compared to the amount present prior to that step.•Final purification is performed using a silica-based reversed-phase matrix in place of a polystyrene-divinylbenzene-based matrix.
The use of near-field magneto-luminescence to study phase separation and localization in compound semiconductors

The use of near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) carried out at low temperature (5K) and magnetic fields up to 10 Tesla will be described, to investigate regions of strong confinement (e.g., quantum dots) in semiconductor alloys containing nitrogen .
Structuring Historic Site-Based History Laboratories for Teacher Education

Providing training for pre-service teachers at historic sites necessitates a reorientation for historic site-based teacher education programs away from strict content learning towards programs that emphasize the modeling of disciplinary problem solving and transfer learning. Outlined here is a History Lab model for teacher education that uses the resources of the historic sites to help teachers develop analytical skills and integrate site-based learning into their classroom practice.
Scanwave: A New Approach to Enhancing Spectral Data on a Tandem Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer

A new type of mass analyzer is described, which allows lowresolution axial ion ejection to be obtained from a traveling wave based, stacked ring collision cell. Linking this ejection temporally with the scanning of the second quadrupole of a tandem quadrupole mass spectrometer provides an improvement in sampling duty cycle, which results in significant signal intensity improvements for scanning acquisitions such as product ion spectra. A near 100% storage efficiency is enabled by a split cell design, which allows ion fragmentation and accumulation to be performed in one section of the collision cell whilst previously accumulated ions are simultaneously ejected from the rear of the cell. These characteristics combine to give an m/z-dependent signal gain of 7–20X over a conventional scanning quadrupole for a 1000 Th scan. The ability to swap very rapidly from a non-enhanced mode of operation to an enhanced mode whilst retaining the existing sensitivity, speed, and functionality of a conventional tandem quadrupole mass spectrometer is also described.
Paleobiogeographic relationships of the paleogene flora from the southeastern U.S.A: Implications for West Gondwanaland affinities

Abstract Recent biogeographic, paleontological and continental position studies suggest that limited interchange between North and South America probably occurred during the late Cretaceous and early Tertiary. Well preserved angiosperm fossils and published fossil reports from the early Tertiary of the southeastern United States were analyzed to see if the relationships of any of these fossils were with South American and/or African extant taxa. A group of these fossils do have these affinities. The phylogeny and biogeography of the extant taxa, and the distribution of fossil reports outside North America, are compatible with an early Tertiary to late Cretaceous interchange. Those extant taxa with disjunct South American and southeastern Asia-Australasian distribution have a fossil record with either shows a northern distribution pathway along the route of the Boreotropical flora, or a southern path through West Gondwanaland. This suggests that the high diversity of the Neotropical flora may be a result of the original West Gondwanaland flora with additional elements from the Boreotropical flora which migrated southwards.
Role of screening, heating, and dielectrics on high-field transport in graphene

Graphene is an interesting material for electronic applications due to its high intrinsic mobility at low-field. However, high-field transport in graphene is less well understood, with the simple assumption often made that it is limited by substrate optical phonon (SO) scattering. Here we model high-field transport in graphene on several dielectric substrates including SO and graphene phonons, proper charge screening, impurity scattering, and self-heating effects. Our model is carefully calibrated against existing experimental data for graphene on SiO 2 [1] at several ambient temperatures and different carrier densities. We then use it to investigate transport in graphene on other dielectrics where experiments do not exist yet.