cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Facilitated Dissociation of a Nucleoid Protein from the Bacterial Chromosome.

UNLABELLED Off-rates of proteins from the DNA double helix are widely considered to be dependent only on the interactions inside the initially bound protein-DNA complex and not on the concentration of nearby molecules. However, a number of recent single-DNA experiments have shown off-rates that depend on solution protein concentration, or "facilitated dissociation." Here, we demonstrate that this effect occurs for the major Escherichia coli nucleoid protein Fis on isolated bacterial chromosomes. We isolated E. coli nucleoids and showed that dissociation of green fluorescent protein (GFP)-Fis is controlled by solution Fis concentration and exhibits an "exchange" rate constant (kexch) of ≈10(4) M(-1) s(-1), comparable to the rate observed in single-DNA experiments. We also show that this effect is strongly salt dependent. Our results establish that facilitated dissociation can be observed in vitro on chromosomes assembled in vivo IMPORTANCE Bacteria are important model systems for the study of gene regulation and chromosome dynamics, both of which fundamentally depend on the kinetics of binding and unbinding of proteins to DNA. In experiments on isolated E. coli chromosomes, this study showed that the prolific transcription factor and chromosome packaging protein Fis displays a strong dependence of its off-rate from the bacterial chromosome on Fis concentration, similar to that observed in in vitro experiments. Therefore, the free cellular DNA-binding protein concentration can strongly affect lifetimes of proteins bound to the chromosome and must be taken into account in quantitative considerations of gene regulation. These results have particularly profound implications for transcription factors where DNA binding lifetimes can be a critical determinant of regulatory function.
Analysis on the Wealth Management’s Competitiveness of China Bank Industry Based on CCR Model of DEA

From the year 2001 when China became the member of WTO,China bank industry had ended the transition period by the year 2006.Since the year 2007,China has continued to maintain stable and rapid economic growth supplying the macro insurance,Meanwhile,the sustained residents saving laying the material foundation for wealth management,and the aging of population making wealth management become their current demand.Synthesizing recent researches,there are few empirical study about wealth management in China,so this research will make up that by empirical analysis about the wealth manage ment of China bank industry,the results still have some reference value as well.
Roasting process of mixture of high ferric bauxite and ammonium bisulfate

A novel process of roasting high-iron bauxite using ammonium bisulfate was proposed to overcome the defects of traditional process, such as high power consumption and low extraction rates. First, the thermodynamics in decomposition process of high-iron gibbsitic bauxite resource in Guangxi was analyzed. Then, various parameters including ammonium bisulfate addition, roasting temperature and roasting time were investigated. The product was also characterized by XRD. The results show that extraction rates of over 93% and 95% respectively for aluminum and iron are obtained after roasting at 450 ℃ for 60 min and mass ratio of ammonium bisulfate to bauxite being 3.5:1. The phase of alumina-containing compounds is always NH4Al(SO4)2 in product.(NH4)3Fe(SO4)3 is produced as intermediate products, and it is replaced by NH4Fe(SO4)2 finally. The process is proved to be significant with the advantages of high extracting rates and low temperature.
Abstract A147: Sunitinib upregulates IFNγ-STAT1 signaling to modulate the tumor immune microenvironment in renal cell carcinoma

Antiangiogenic therapy is the current mainstay of treatment for renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Recently we reported that antiangiogenic therapy-treated primary tumors demonstrated both increased infiltration of CD4 and CD8 T cells and higher expression of the immune checkpoint ligand PD-L1, all of which were associated with therapy resistance. The underlying mechanism remains unknown. IFNγ-STAT1 signaling pathway drives the expression of both immunosuppressive PD-L1, and immunostimulatory chemoattractants, adhesion molecules and class I antigen presentation components. We studied the effects of sunitinib on the IFNγ-STAT1 signaling pathway. We found that sunitinib treatment magnified IFNγ-induced STAT1 activity. Sunitinib not only increased the activity of janus kinase (JAK) and the tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT1, but also decreased the protein level of PIAS and SOCS, negative regulators of STAT1 signaling. These results indicate that sunitinib treatment potently activates IFNγ-mediated STAT1 signaling by modulating both activators and inhibitors of STAT1. Further investigation is underway into the precise signaling pathways involved in sunitinib mediated regulation of upstream regulators of STAT1, and on the effect of sunitinib mediated STAT1 signaling on other immunostimulatory molecules in the tumor cell. Understanding the impact of STAT1 activation on target proteins after stimulation by antiangiogenic therapy will guide us to develop predictive biomarkers for combination antiangiogenic and immunomodulatory therapy, and devise precise interventions to overcome tumor cell specific immunosuppressive signaling. Citation Format: Xian-De Liu, Anh Hoang, Mianen Sun, Zhou Lijun, Zhiyong Ding, Xuesong Zhang, Shanshan Bai, Nizar Tannir, Eric Jonasch. Sunitinib upregulates IFNγ-STAT1 signaling to modulate the tumor immune microenvironment in renal cell carcinoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR Inaugural International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival; September 16-19, 2015; New York, NY. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2016;4(1 Suppl):Abstract nr A147.
Operating System Support for Reconfigurable Computing

Publisher Summary This chapter presents the needs, opportunities, benefits, and techniques surrounding the abstraction of reconfigurable resources. It shows how abstraction affects the application specification process and discusses the issues involved in implementing these abstractions in the operating system and architecture of the reconfigurable computing system. The primary role of the operating system is to provide abstraction. Abstraction benefits the application designer in several ways that include simplifying the design process to remove the burden of low-level details, allowing the application to run on various hardware platforms and capacities, and implementing a virtual machine for each application to prevent interference between them. An operating system, coupled with the proper compilation environment, can simplify the programming of reconfigurable computing systems by providing a well-defined, well-documented compute model that abstracts the structure and capacity of the underlying hardware. This model may explicitly provide constructs for defining hardware tasks (the parts of the application implemented in reconfigurable logic). Like the compute fabric, the communication structures between tasks can be abstracted by the compute model to simplify the design process.
Reflexiones de Federico Campbell sobre el proceso escritural

We analyzed the way of addressing the issues of literary helplessness or writing sterility, frustration and depression arising from this condition. Sham, memory and father’s image influence on the writer and his creation in Post scriptum sad (1994) and father and memory (2009), by Federico Campbell. The employed theory were the ideas by American philosopher Stanley Cavell about the skepticism and the ability of a text of influencing its reader.
Privacy in Crises: The NIST Privacy Framework

Information systems are essential for crisis management; therefore, maintaining the security of those systems is important. Furthermore, during a crisis, privacy and personal integrity issues can sometimes be overlooked. Yet, both security and privacy are fundamental to the survival of a civilized and democratic society. If an information system's security plan also includes privacy considerations, then the resilience of the system can provide for the resilience of privacy. The problem is that privacy principles as they have traditionally been identified are not amenable to being incorporated into system design. This study discusses the NIST Privacy Framework, privacy engineering and its relevance to crisis planning and response.
An FTNC receiver with +32.5dBm effective OB-IIP3 using baseband IM3 cancellation

An IM3 cancellation technique is proposed and implemented in a 65nm CMOS 0.5–2.5GHz FTNC (frequency translational noise-cancelling) receiver with a wideband auxiliary path which also offers wideband interferer awareness. It achieves 8.8MHz BB BW, 40dB conversion gain, 3.3dB NF, +5dBm OB-IIP3, and −6.5dBm OB-B1dB without IM3 cancellation while consuming 36mW at 1.2V. Using IM3 cancellation, the equivalent OB-IIP3 for two-tone interferers is up to +32.5dBm with an extra 34mW of power consumption. For two −15dBm modulated interferers 18.8dB cancellation is demonstrated over 10MHz.
The Fourth International Seminar on Biomechanics

(1974). The Fourth International Seminar on Biomechanics. Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation: Vol. 45, No. 2, pp. 69-70.
On-the-fly Doppler broadening of unresolved resonance region cross sections

Abstract Two methods for computing temperature-dependent unresolved resonance region cross sections on-the-fly within continuous-energy Monte Carlo neutron transport simulations are presented. The first method calculates Doppler broadened cross sections directly from zero-temperature average resonance parameters. In a simulation, at each event that requires cross section values, a realization of unresolved resonance parameters is generated about the desired energy and temperature-dependent single-level Breit-Wigner resonance cross sections are computed directly via the analytical ψ − χ Doppler integrals. The second method relies on the generation of equiprobable cross section magnitude bands on an energy-temperature mesh. Within a simulation, the bands are sampled and interpolated in energy and temperature to obtain cross section values on-the-fly. Both of the methods, as well as their underlying calculation procedures, are verified numerically in extensive code-to-code comparisons. Energy-dependent pointwise cross sections calculated with the newly-implemented procedures are shown to be in excellent agreement with those calculated by a widely-used nuclear data processing code. Relative differences at or below 0.1% are observed. Integral criticality benchmark results computed with the proposed methods are shown to reproduce those computed with a state-of-the-art processed nuclear data library very well. In simulations of fast spectrum systems which are highly-sensitive to the representation of cross section data in the unresolved region, k-eigenvalue and neutron flux spectra differences of
A graph-theoretic approach to virtual access point correlation

The wireless boundaries of networks are becoming increasingly important from a security standpoint as the proliferation of 802.11 WiFi technology increases. Concurrently, the complexity of 802.11 access point implementation is rapidly outpacing the standardization process. The result is that nascent wireless functionality management is left up to the individual provider's implementation, which creates new vulnerabilities in wireless networks. One such functional improvement to 802.11 is the virtual access point (VAP), a method of broadcasting logically separate networks from the same physical equipment. Network reconnaissance benefits from VAP identification, not only because network topology is a primary aim of such reconnaissance, but because the knowledge that a secure network and an insecure network are both being broadcast from the same physical equipment is tactically relevant information. In this work, we present a novel graph-theoretic approach to VAP identification which leverages a body of research concerned with establishing community structure. We apply our approach to both synthetic data and a large corpus of real-world data to demonstrate its efficacy. In most real-world cases, near-perfect blind identification is possible highlighting the effectiveness of our proposed VAP identification algorithm.
Teacher Perspectives on Grief Among Children with Intellectual Disabilities

The death of a parent can have a profound impact on a child. However, little is known about how children with intellectual disabilities demonstrate grief or how teachers respond to student grief. C...
Orbital apex syndrome from bacterial sinusitis without orbital cellulitis.

Abstract Purpose To describe a case of orbital apex syndrome as a result of isolated bacterial sinusitis. Observations A 63-year-old woman presented with an orbital apex syndrome from isolated bacterial sinusitis with rapidly declining visual acuity to no light perception. We compared our case with 6 similar cases of severe vision loss from isolated bacterial sinusitis. In contrast to previously published cases, our patient presented with good vision yet deteriorated to no light perception despite appropriate treatment. Conclusions and importance Orbital apex syndrome can present as a constellation of cranial neuropathies including optic neuropathy from conditions affecting the orbital apex. Although vision loss remained permanent, prompt initiation of broad-spectrum antibiotics and antifungals and surgical intervention prevented further extension of infection into intracranial structures.
Compact low power avionics for the Europa Lander concept and other missions to ocean worlds

This paper presents the results of NASA's game changing technology development entitled “Ultra Low Temperature Electronics” which represents a paradigm shift in spacecraft avionics development. The project has developed compact avionics technologies to address the Command & Data Handling (CDH), Power and Motor Control needs for mission concepts to ocean worlds such as a potential Europa Lander. We addressed this need by developing the key technologies necessary to develop a next generation compact avionics package. The key technologies that we developed significantly reduce the size, weight, power, and cost (SWAP-C) of the avionics package. These technologies will also allow extreme-environment missions to last longer in their environment by reducing the power and energy requirement to keep the avionics warm.
Israel: Where Have We Been?

1. Israel’s healthcare is very accessible. Access to critical care is thus available to all regardless of health insurance. 2. There is a severe shortage of ICU beds in acute care hospitals in Israel. Therefore, most patients requiring critical care are hospitalized in general ward beds. 3. Families tend to insist on maximal care in Israel even when care is deemed futile by the attending physicians.
Luteal phase defects and ectopic pregnancy

Objective To determine whether luteal phase defect (LPD) may be an etiologic factor in ectopic pregnancy (EP). Design All patients who were seen over a 6-year period with the chief complaint of infertility underwent an extensive infertility workup and were followed prospectively. The diagnoses of the causes of infertility were assigned retrospectively. Setting Two hospital-based tertiary care reproductive endocrine-infertility units. Patients A total of 1,077 infertility patients were evaluated. Of the 633 who became pregnant, the infertility had been due to LPD in 51 and to anovulation in 210. Main Outcome Measures All the infertility patients who became pregnant were followed to determine whether they miscarried, developed an EP, or had a viable birth. The incidence of EP and miscarriage in the patients whose infertility was found to be due to LPD were compared with a control group in whom the infertility was due to anovulation. Results The EP rate in the patients with LPD was significantly higher than in a control group whose infertility was due to anovulation (6 of 51 pregnancies versus 6 of 210 pregnancies, respectively). The spontaneous abortion rate in LPD cases also was highly significantly greater than in the control group (19 of 51 pregnancies versus 12 of 210 pregnancies, respectively). The EP and spontaneous abortion rates also were higher in patients with LPD who were untreated than in those who were treated. Conclusions This study suggests that there is a significantly increased incidence of tubal EP in patients with LPD and that when patients with LPD become pregnant early ultrasound should be performed to rule out EP. The study also indicated that spontaneous abortion occurs in a significantly high percentage of LPD cases.
Strong Electron Hybridization and Fermi-to-Non-Fermi Liquid Transition in LaCu3Ir4O12.

The AA′3B4O12-type perovskite LaCu3Ir4O12 is prepared by high pressure solid state reaction of a stoichiometric mixture of La2O3, CuO, Ir powder, and IrO2 (Pt capsule in MgO crucible, multianvil press, 9 GPa, 1523 K, 1 h).
Predictors of Burnout, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover in Behavior Technicians Working with Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Frequent turnover of behavior technicians working with individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have negative impacts on organizations, staff, and patients. The current paper set out to conduct a systematic review of predictors of staff retention in behavior technicians. Two databases were searched to identify studies relating to retention, turnover, burnout, and job satisfaction across samples of behavior technicians working with individuals with ASD. Of the 33 articles identified, 5 studies met inclusion criteria. A number of employee and organizational factors were identified as predictors of burnout, job satisfaction, and intention to turnover in behavior technicians. These findings are informative for hiring practices, ongoing supervision, and support of behavior technicians working with individuals with ASD.
Time-restricted feeding improves markers of cardiometabolic health in physically active college-age men: a 4-week randomized pre-post pilot study

Abstract Time-restricted feeding (TRF) has been shown to improve body composition, blood lipids, and reduce markers of inflammation and oxidative stress. However, most of these studies come from rodent models and small human samples, and it is not clear if the benefits are dependent upon a caloric deficit, or the time restriction nature of TRF. Based off of previous research, we hypothesized that humans following an ad libitum TRF protocol would reduce caloric intake and this caloric deficit would be associated with greater improvements in cardiometabolic health including blood pressure, body composition, blood lipids, and markers of inflammation and antioxidant status compared to an isocaloric TRF protocol. The purpose of this study was to: (1) examine the impact of TRF on markers of cardio-metabolic health and antioxidant status and (2) determine if the adaptations from TRF would differ under ad libitum compared to isocaloric conditions. Twenty-three healthy men were randomized to either an ad libitum or isocaloric 16:8 (fasting: feeding) TRF protocol. A total of 22 men completed the 28-day TRF protocol (mean ± SD; age: 22 ± 2.5 yrs.; height: 178.4 ± 6.9 cm; weight: 90.3 ± 24 kg; BMI: 28.5 ± 8.3 kg/m2). Fasting blood samples were analyzed for glucose, lipids, as well as adiponectin, human growth hormone, insulin, cortisol, C-reactive protein, superoxide dismutase, total nitrate/nitrite, and glutathione. Time-restricted feeding in both groups was associated with significant (P
Intimate Communication across Borders: Spousal Labor Migration and Recent Partner Communication about Family Planning in Nepal

Amid widespread labor migration in Nepal, spousal separation may affect partner communication about intimate topics like family planning. We examined the association between spousal migration exper...
Chapter 10 – Maintenance Section

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses various aspects of system maintenance. Current and Rollback partitions are used in order to ensure that one always have a spare bootable operating system with a previously working configuration. Rollbacks are permanent since there is no rollforward function, and one should be sure to archive configuration before performing a rollback. Hardware Acceleration is available as a system-wide option to greatly improve the performance of user transactions. The system offers a binary import/export function that is an all or none import. Importing the configuration will cause a services restart and one should exercise caution when importing configurations onto live systems. Push Configuration can be used when managing nonclustered nodes or when pushing selected data from a cluster to another cluster or node. Policy Tracing and Simulation tools are used to troubleshoot user sessions on the Extensive Instant Virtual Extranet (IVE) and are available to assist with understanding that a particular user cannot authenticate or gain access to a particular resource. It is found that remote debugging allows the IVE Administrator to provide Juniper's Support Team the ability to remotely run debugging tools on the IVE y.
Prostasin and hepatocyte growth factor B in factor VIIa generation: Serine protease knockdowns in zebrafish.

Background Blood clotting in humans is initiated by the binding of tissue factor to activated coagulation factor VII (FVIIa) in the plasma. Previous studies have reported that hepsin and factor VII (FVII)-activating protease are responsible for generating FVIIa. Objectives We aimed to identify other proteases that may activate FVII using zebrafish as a model. Methods We screened 179 genes encoding serine protease domains using the piggyback knockdown method to identify genes involved in the activation of zebrafish Fvii. A prolonged kinetic prothrombin time (kPT) assay was used to detect gene knockdown effects. Results In the primary screen, 21 genes showed prolonged kPT. In the secondary screen, 14 of 21 genes showed positive results. In the tertiary screen, all 14 genes showed prolonged kPT. These 14 genes were knocked down again to estimate relative levels of zebrafish Fviia. Six genes, including known genes, such as f10 and novel prostasin and hepatocyte growth factor B (hgfb), showed lower Fviia levels. Fvii levels were affected only by the knockdown of f7 and not by the knockdown of the other five genes. Conclusions Prostasin and hgfb are involved in generating Fviia. We hypothesize that prostasin exerts serine protease activity directly or indirectly to activate Fvii. As Hgfb has a mutated serine protease domain, it may not cleave Fvii but may bind to Fvii to induce autoactivation. The approach developed here may be extended to design other large-scale knockdown screens.
Parallel natural selection in the cold-adapted crop-wild relative Tripsacum dactyloides and artificial selection in temperate adapted maize

Artificial selection has produced varieties of domesticated maize which thrive in temperate climates around the world. However, the direct progenitor of maize, teosinte, is indigenous only to a relatively small range of tropical and sub-tropical latitudes and grows poorly or not at all outside of this region. Tripsacum, a sister genus to maize and teosinte, is naturally endemic to the majority of areas in the western hemisphere where maize is cultivated. A full-length reference transcriptome for Tripsacum dactyloides generated using long-read isoseq data was used to characterize independent adaptation to temperate climates in this clade. Genes related to phospholipid biosynthesis, a critical component of cold acclimation on other cold adapted plant lineages, were enriched among those genes experiencing more rapid rates of protein sequence evolution in T. dactyloides. In contrast with previous studies of parallel selection, we find that there is a significant overlap between the genes which were targets of artificial selection during the adaptation of maize to temperate climates and those which were targets of natural selection in temperate adapted T. dactyloides. This overlap between the targets of natural and artificial selection suggests genetic changes in crop-wild relatives associated with adaptation to new environments may be useful guides for identifying genetic targets for breeding efforts aimed at adapting crops to a changing climate.
Memory as Triage: Facing Up to the Hard Question of Memory

The Hard Question of memory is the following: how are memory representations stored and organized so as to be made available for retrieval in the appropriate circumstances and format? In this essay, I argue that philosophical theories of memory should engage with the Hard Question directly and seriously. I propose that declarative memory is a faculty performing a kind of cognitive triage: management of information for a variety of uses under significant computational constraints. In such triage, memory representations are preferentially selected and stabilized, but also systematically modified and integrated into generalized, model-like representational structures. Further, I propose a hybrid theory of remembering, which takes into account both the nature of the cognitive processes underlying remembering and the norms that govern representational success in relevant cognitive/epistemic contexts.
Forty-Nine Ways to Get the Wrong Answer from a Bronchoscopy

Other than death of the patient, the most severe complication of a bronchoscopy is to have performed the procedure and obtained the wrong diagnostic impression or the wrong outcome. This chapter reviews some of the many ways things can go wrong and the traps awaiting the unwary or unprepared bronchoscopist.
A Cys374Tyr homozygous mutations of platelet glycoprotein IIIa (β3) in a Chinese patient with Glanzmann's thrombasthenia

A 20-year-old woman from a consanguineous family in the Hunan Province of the People's Republic of China was diagnosed as having Glanzmann's thrombasthenia based on (1) nearly a lifelong history of epistaxis, gum bleeding, petechiae, and purpura ; (2) severe menorrhagia resulting in anemia and need for whole-blood transfusion ; (3) normal coagulation assays ; (4) prolonged bleeding time ; (5) absent clot retraction ; (6) decreased glass bead retention ; (7) absent platelet aggregation in response to adenine diphosphate, epinephrine, and collagen ; and (8) normal initial slope of platelet aggregation in response to ristocetin, but with a diminished maximal extent. The patient's platelets had a decreased level of platelet fibrinogen, but the deficiency was not as severe as in other Glanzmann's thrombasthenia patients. As judged by monoclonal antibody binding studies, surface glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa (α IIb β 3 ) expression was less than 15% of normal and α v β 3 vitronectin receptor expression was 15% to 19% of normal, suggesting that the defect was in GPIIIa (β 3 ). Immunoblotting of platelet lysates demonstrated decreased levels of GPllb (∼30% to 35% of normal) and GPllla (∼10% of normal), and the GPIIb had undergone normal maturational processing into GPllb heavy and light chains. Sequence analysis of the patient's GPIIIa RNA identified a G to A mutation at nucleotide 1219, predicting a Cys to Tyr substitution at residue 374. The patient's parents, who are first cousins, are asymptomatic and have only minor reductions in platelet aggregation. Direct sequencing of polymerase chain reaction-amplified cDNA and GPIIIa exon VIII indicated that the patient is homozygous and her parents are heterozygous for the mutation. Transient transfection studies in Chinese hamster ovary cells indicated that the mutation results in an 85% to 90% reduction in GPIIb/IIIa surface expression, but these cells retain the ability to mediate adhesion to immobilized fibrinogen. The relative preservation of platelet fibrinogen despite the very low level of platelet surface GPIIb/IIIa expression in this patient raises some interesting questions regarding the mechanism of fibrinogen uptake and the pathophysiology of Glanzmann's thrombasthenia.
The Influence of Pd-Atom Substitution on Au25(SC8H9)18 Cluster Photoluminescence

The photoluminescence (PL) of Au25(SC8H9)18 and Au24Pd(SC8H9)18 was investigated using variable-field magnetic circular photoluminescence (VH-MCPL) spectroscopy. The comparison of low-temperature (...
Current Limiting Reactors with Fire-Proof Insulation on the Conductor

In a previous paper, tests were described which proved conclusively that if conducting material were lodged between the turns of a reactor having bare conductor, the reactor would flash-over at the instant a failure occurred on the circuit in which the reactor was placed. In this paper, tests are described which were made during the development of a proper insulation for the conductor of reactors. Short-Circuit Tests. Reactors tested consisted of one reactor with enameled conductor and two reactors with asbestos insulated conductor; one having a thin covering of asbestos; the other a thicker covering. The reactor with enameled conductor flashed over during the first short-circuit test. That with a thin covering of asbestos stood one short circuit and arced over in the second short circuit. The reactor with the thick covering stood many short circuit tests without any failure or sign of distress. These tests established thefact that thin insulation on the conductor will not prevent such failures, even though it has sufficient dielectric strength to with stand the voltages placed across it for the reason that the magnetic force exerted on iron and steel objects will cause them to break through thin insulation. On the other hand, thick insulation will adequately protect the reactor from failure due to foreign substances. Thermal Tests. Thermal tests on the asbestos insulation established the following facts: First: That this insulation does not smoke excessively at temperatures below 350 deg. cent. Second: That it does not burn even at temperatures of melting copper.
Period Trends in Self-Rated Health at Midlife: Variations by Race/Ethnicity, Union Status, and Education

Research shows rising midlife morbidity among US non-Hispanic white adults, but it is unclear if and how self-rated health of racial/ethnic minority adults has changed in recent years. More research is also needed to understand factors moderating self-rated health trends among middle-aged white adults. Given the racial/ethnic and educational differences in family experiences in recent decades, scholars have called for analysis of union status and educational differentials in self-rated health trends across racial/ethnic groups. We used data from 2000–2018 National Health Interview Survey to analyze racial/ethnic variations in self-rated health trends at midlife across union status and educational groups. The findings showed that recent trends in self-rated health differed not just by race/ethnicity, but also by union status and education. Changes in self-rated health were more pronounced among non-Hispanic white men and women than among racial/ethnic minorities. However, not all groups of middle-aged white adults experienced self-rated health decline. Also, worsening self-rated health at midlife extends to some nonwhites. Compared to the health decline among many racial/ethnic/gender and educational groups, married black women with college degree or higher reported significant improvement in their self-rated health over time. The findings demonstrate the interactions among race/ethnicity, gender, union status, and education in recent self-rated health trends.
The Effect of Diabetes on Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Growth Over Two Years

Abstract INTRODUCTION Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) is a common progressive disease and a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Prior investigations have shown that diabetes mellitus (DM) may be relatively protective of AAA incidence and growth. The Non-invasive Treatment of Aortic Aneurysm Clinical Trial (N-TA3CT) is a contemporary study of small AAA growth which provides a unique opportunity to validate and explore the effect of DM on AAA. Confirming the effect of DM on AAA growth in this study may present opportunities to explore for clues to potential biologic mechanisms as well as inform current patient management. METHODS This is a secondary analysis examining the association of diabetes and aneurysm growth within N-TA 3 CT: a placebo-controlled multicenter trial of doxycycline in 261 patients with AAA maximum transverse diameters (MTD) between 3.5cm and 5cm. The primary outcome is the change in the MTD from baseline as determined by CT scans obtained during the trial. Secondary outcome is the growth pattern of the AAA. Baseline characteristics and growth patterns were assessed with t-tests (continuous) or chi-square tests (categorical). Unadjusted and adjusted longitudinal analyses were performed with a repeated measures linear mixed model to compare AAA growth rates between diabetic patients and non-diabetic patients. RESULTS Of 261 patients, 250 subjects had sufficient imaging and were included in this study. There were 56 (22.4%) with diabetes and 194 (77.6%) without. Diabetes was associated with higher BMI and increased rates of hypercholesterolemia and coronary artery disease (p CONCLUSIONS Patients with diabetes have more than a 35% reduction in the median growth rates of AAA despite more severe concomitant vascular co-morbidities and similar initial sizes of aneurysms. This effect persists and remains robust after adjusted analysis; and slower growth rates may delay the time to reach repair threshold. Rapid growth (>0.5 cm/year) is infrequent in diabetic patients.
A pragmatic guide to multiphoton microscope design

Multiphoton microscopy has emerged as a ubiquitous tool for studying microscopic structure and function across a broad range of disciplines. As such, the intent of this paper is to present a comprehensive resource for the construction and performance evaluation of a multiphoton microscope that will be understandable to the broad range of scientific fields that presently exploit, or wish to begin exploiting, this powerful technology. With this in mind, we have developed a guide to aid in the design of a multiphoton microscope. We discuss source selection, optical management of dispersion, image-relay systems with scan optics, objective-lens selection, single-element light-collection theory, photon-counting detection, image rendering, and finally, an illustrated guide for building an example microscope.
Local Political Context and Negative Campaigns

ABSTRACT Research into the intended and unintended consequences of negative campaigns has spawned a variety of approaches and a variety of contradictory findings. This paper suggests that some of the contradictions are likely due to methodological issues. First, we examine the use of elite assessment as an improved means of operationalizing the tone of political campaigns. Second, several hypotheses about the mediating effects of local electoral culture are tested. That is, we first derive a measure of negativity from the perceptions of newspaper editors and reporters who covered the 1998 congressional campaigns in the USA, and then merge this information with the 1998 NES data to measure the effects on respondents in different electoral subcultures. We find that the unintended effects of negative campaigns are more pronounced in U.S. states with little or no history of partisan competition. We conclude that elite assessment should be considered as a method for measuring a race's “negativity” and that con...
Butanol-ethanol dehydrogenase and butanol-ethanol-isopropanol dehydrogenase: different alcohol dehydrogenases in two strains of Clostridium beijerinckii (Clostridium butylicum)

Alcohol-producing strains of Clostridium beijerinckii (Clostridium butylicum) produce, besides acetone, either n-butanol and ethanol or n-butanol, ethanol, and isopropanol as their characteristic products. Alcohol dehydrogenase has been isolated from a strain (NRRL B593) of C. beijerinckii producing isopropanol and from a strain (NRRL B592) not producing isopropanol. Butanol-ethanol dehydrogenase activities were present in both strains, but isopropanol dehydrogenase activity was present only in the isopropanol-producing strain. The butanol-ethanol dehydrogenase of strain NRRL B592 had M(r) 66,000 and a K(m) of 6 muM for butyraldehyde. In contrast, the butanol-ethanol-isopropanol dehydrogenase of strain NRRL B593 had a M(r) 100,000 and K(m)s of 9.5 and 1.0 mM for butyraldehyde and acetone, respectively. In a purification by four different types of separatory methods (DEAE-cellulose, hydroxyapatite, Sephacryl S-300, and Matrex Gel Red A), butanol-ethanol-isopropanol dehydrogenase activities of strain NRRL B593 were purified up to 200-fold (10 to 30% yield), and these activities were not separated. Gel electrophoresis followed by activity stain also revealed distinct mobilities for the butanol-ethanol dehydrogenase of strain NRRL B592 and the butanol-ethanol-isopropanol dehydrogenase of strain NRRL B593. In cell extracts from both strains, a higher alcohol dehydrogenase activity was measured with NADP(H) than with NAD(H). The 150- to 200-fold-purified alcohol dehydrogenase from strain NRRL B593 did not show any NAD(H)-linked activities. The K(m) for NADPH was 31 muM (with butyraldehyde as cosubstrate) and 18 muM (with acetone as cosubstrate) for the alcohol dehydrogenase of strain NRRL B593. This study showed that the alcohol dehydrogenases from two strains of C. beijerinckii differed significantly.
Applied efficiency analysis in education

Performance in the education sector is of interest in terms of its share of private and public expenditures as well as its key policy relevance through its links to human capital, growth and innovation. Measuring efficiency in services in general and education in particular is challenging. Luckily there are recently developed empirical models—specifically what we call frontier models— which can address some of these challenges. Here we focus on some of the modeling and measurement choices that are important for those seeking to apply frontier efficiency methods to the educational arena. Included is a discussion of available data choices for the practitioner.
On the flow of non-axisymmetric perturbations of cylinders via surface diffusion

We study the surface diusion ow acting on a class of general (non{axisymmetric) perturbations of cylinders Cr in IR 3 . Using tools from parabolic theory on uniformly regular manifolds, and maximal regularity, we establish existence and uniqueness of solutions to surface diusion ow starting from (spatially{unbounded) surfaces dened over Cr via scalar height functions which are uniformly bounded away from the central cylindrical axis. Addition- ally, we show that Cr is normally stable with respect to 2 {axially{periodic perturbations if the radius r > 1,and unstable if 0 < r < 1. Stability is also shown to hold in settings with axial Neumann boundary conditions.
Magnetic circular dichroism studies XXXIV. Improved instrumentation for MCD measurements.

Abstract The use of a 15-kG electromagnet in conjunction with a circular dichrometer of enhanced sensitivity affords MCD spectra of quality comparable to those obtained using a superconducting magnet and an instrument of lower sensitivity. To demonstrate this, the MCD spectra of zinc octaethylporphyrin, human serum albumin, a microsomal suspension containing cytochromes P -450 and b 5 , adenine, and benzene in the vapor phase are reported. The convenience, economy of operation, and availability of electromagnets should be a major incentive for the utilization of this spectroscopic technique in a variety of potentially interesting areas in chemistry and biochemistry.
Space-Time Extensions in Quantum Gravity

Space-time as described by special and general relativity is a classical object. In general relativity, it becomes dynamical, participates in the interactions between all degrees of freedom and can even cease to exist when a singularity is reached. As a dynamical object, space-time should be subject to quantization just like matter degrees of freedom, which would change the basic conceptual understanding and also, in general, its dynamics. Corresponding deviations from the classical theory, welcome or unwelcome, are important to test the viability of proposed quantum theories of gravity, but also to understand the fundamental meaning of space-time. Two of the main examples are the singularity problem, where one would like quantum gravity to change the classical dynamics strongly enough to avoid curvature divergences, and the local Lorentz symmetry, which one would like quantum gravity to change not too much. Several recent results for these two cases are discussed based on a loop quantization. Singularities are resolved in cosmological models as a dynamical consequence of discrete quantum space-time which can turn attractive gravity repulsive. The state of the universe existed before the big bang, although it could have been very different from what it appears to be now. Local Lorentz symmetries can be tested in an effective description, where restrictions on quantization ambiguities are already realized. Both features shed light on the nature of quantum space-time.
Does Participation Affect Deception Success? A Test of the Interactivity Principle

Communication episodes may range from highly interactive to noninteractive. The principle of interactivity refers to the constellation of structural and experiential features associated with interactivity that systematically affect communication processes and outcomes. One such feature is degree of participation. In deceptive interchanges, senders may engage in dialogic (high participation, two-way) or monologic (low participation, one-way) communication. According to the principle of interactivity, dialogue should advantage deceivers relative to monologue due to increased mutuality between sender and receiver and greater opportunities for deceivers to improve their performance over time. An experiment in which friends or strangers alternated between deceiving and telling the truth to a partner under dialogue or monologue conditions tested this principle. All hypotheses received some support. Relative to monologue, dialogue created snore mutuality among strangers. Dialogue also enabled deceivers to better manage their informational content, speech fluency, nonverbal demeanor, and image, resulting in less accurate deception detection by partners. These results support the interactivity principle and interpersonal deception theory, from which the principle emanated.
A century of phage research: Bacteriophages and the shaping of modern biology

2015 marks the centennial of the discovery of bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria. Phages have been central to some of biology's most meaningful advances over the past hundred years (shown here); they greatly influence the workings of the biosphere, and are poised to play expanded roles in biomedicine, biotechnology, and ecology.
Surveying the Rubble: The Transition from State Socialism in Europe

The Curtain Rises: Rethinking Culture, Ideology and the State in Eastern Europe. Hermine G. DeSoto and David G. Anderson, eds. Symbols, Conflict and Identity: Essays in Political Anthropology. Zdzislaw Mach.
The Benefits of Sexual Orientation Diversity in Sport Organizations

While sexual orientation diversity can potentially serve as a source of competitive advantage, researchers have largely failed to fully articulate the theoretical linkage between this diversity form and organizational effectiveness. As such, we propose a theoretical framework to understand these dynamics. Sexual orientation diversity is posited to positively contribute to organizational effectiveness through three mechanisms: enhanced decision making capabilities, improved marketplace understanding, and goodwill associated with engaging in socially responsible practices. We also propose two approaches to leveraging the benefits of sexual orientation diversity: targeting the categorization process and creating a proactive and inclusive diversity culture. Contributions and implications are discussed.
Second harmonic generation in Yb doped YCa4O(BO3)3

Abstract We report efficient second harmonic conversion in a new nonlinear optical crystal, Yb 3+ doped YCa 4 O(BO 3 ) 3 , that is non-hygroscopic, has good optical and mechanical properties, and can be grown in large sizes. The effect of Yb concentration on the harmonic conversion efficiency is also investigated.
Social Initiation and Response Styles in Lower and Middle Class Preschool Children

Lower SES children in Head Start and middle SES children in private preschools were compared on peer social interaction, particularly social reciprocity. Although the lower SES children had more initiations and responses (including the response of ignoring the initiation of a peer) than the middle SES children, the type of response that lower income children made to positive and negative initiations differed from the type of response that the middle SES children made. A log‐linear analysis indicated that the lower SES children made proportionately fewer positive and more negative responses to positive initiations than middle SES children. The lower SES children also had a significantly greater proportion of ignore responses to both positive and negative initiations from peers than the middle SES children. The results imply that special attention and help should be provided for lower SES preschool children in the development of social skills.
Design and synthesis of novel tri-aryl CB2 selective cannabinoid ligands.

Abstract A novel series of cannabinoid ligands with a structurally unique tri-aryl core has been designed, synthesized and assayed. Receptor binding assays show that these compounds possess CB2 receptor sub-type selectivity with binding affinities ranging from 1.07 (±0.05) for 7 to 4.77 (±0.57) nM for 6. The selectivity of the compounds was enhanced 9–600-fold for the CB2 receptor over the CB1 receptor. The results of our present study identify a novel, highly selective cannabinoid scaffold with a non-classical core.
Partial purification and characterization of acetyl coenzyme A: taxa-4(20),11(12)-dien-5alpha-ol O-acetyl transferase that catalyzes the first acylation step of taxol biosynthesis.

The acetylation of taxa-4(20),11(12)-dien-5alpha-ol is considered to be the third specific step of Taxol biosynthesis that precedes further hydroxylation of the taxane nucleus. An operationally soluble acetyl CoA:taxadienol-O-acetyl transferase was demonstrated in extracts of Taxus canadensis and Taxus cuspidata cells induced with methyl jasmonate to produce Taxol. The reaction was dependent on both cosubstrates and active enzyme, and the product of this acetyl transferase was identified by radiochromatographic and GC-MS analysis. Following determination of the time course of acetyl transferase appearance in induced cell cultures, the operationally soluble enzyme was partially purified by a combination of anion exchange, hydrophobic interaction, and affinity chromatography on immobilized coenzyme A resin. This acetyl transferase has a pI and pH optimum of 4.7 and 9.0, respectively, and a molecular weight of about 50,000 as determined by gel permeation chromatography. The enzyme shows high selectivity and high affinity for both cosubstrates, with Km values of 4.2 and 5.5 microM for taxadienol and acetyl CoA, respectively. The enzyme does not acetylate the more advanced Taxol precursors, 10-deacetylbaccatin III or baccatin III. This acetyl transferase is insensitive to monovalent and divalent metal ions, is only weakly inhibited by p-hydroxymercuribenzoate, N-ethylmaleimide, and coenzyme A, and resembles in general properties the few other O-acetyl transferases of higher plant origin that have been examined.