cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SIRT6 represses LINE1 retrotransposons by ribosylating KAP1 but this repression fails with stress and age

L1 retrotransposons are an abundant class of transposable elements that pose a threat to genome stability and may have a role in age-related pathologies such as cancer. Recent evidence indicates that L1s become more active in somatic tissues during the course of ageing; however the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain unknown. Here we report that the longevity regulating protein, SIRT6, is a powerful repressor of L1 activity. Specifically, SIRT6 binds to the 5′-UTR of L1 loci, where it mono-ADP ribosylates the nuclear corepressor protein, KAP1, and facilitates KAP1 interaction with the heterochromatin factor, HP1α, thereby contributing to the packaging of L1 elements into transcriptionally repressive heterochromatin. During the course of ageing, and also in response to DNA damage, however, we find that SIRT6 is depleted from L1 loci, allowing the activation of these previously silenced retroelements. Retrotransposons are repetitive sequences in the genome that can amplify themselves and whose activity has been linked to age-related pathologies. Here, Van Meter et al.report that the histone deacetylase SIRT6 represses activity of the L1 retrotransposon by ribosylating the nuclear corepressor protein, KAP1.
KSHV vCyclin counters the senescence/G1 arrest response triggered by NF-κB hyperactivation

Many oncogenic viruses activate nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) as a part of their replicative cycles. We have shown recently that persistent and potentially oncogenic activation of NF-κB by the human T-lymphotropic virus 1 (HTLV-1) oncoprotein Tax immediately triggers a host senescence response mediated by cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors: p21(CIP1/WAF1) (p21) and p27(Kip1) (p27) Here we demonstrate that RelA/NF-κB activation by Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV) latency protein vFLIP also leads to p21/p27 upregulation and G1 cell cycle arrest. Remarkably, KSHV vCyclin, another latency protein coexpressed with vFLIP from a bicistronic latency-specific mRNA, was found to prevent the senescence and G1 arrest induced by HTLV-1 Tax and vFLIP, respectively. This is because of the known ability of vCyclin/cyclin-dependent kinase 6 complex to resist p21 and p27 inhibition and cause p27 degradation. In KSHV-transformed BCBL-1 cells, sustained vFLIP expression with small hairpin RNAs-mediated vCyclin depletion resulted in G1 arrest. The functional interdependence of vFLIP and vCyclin explains why they are cotranslated from the same viral mRNA. Importantly, deregulation of the G1 cyclin-dependent kinase can facilitate chronic I-κB kinases/NF-κB activation.
Interaction of structural modules in substrate binding by the ribozyme from Bacillus subtilis RNase P

The ribozyme from bacterial ribonuclease P recognizes two structural modules in a tRNA substrate: the T stem-loop and the acceptor stem. These two modules are connected through a helical linker. The T stem-loop binds at a surface confined in a folding domain away from the active site. Substrates for the Bacillus subtilis RNase P RNA were previously selected in vitro that are shown to bind comparably well or better than a tRNA substrate. Chemical modification of P RNA-substrate complexes with dimethylsulfate and kethoxal was performed to determine how the P RNA recognizes three in vitro selected substrates. All three substrates bind at the surface known to interact with the T stem-loop of tRNA. Similar to a tRNA, the secondary structure of these substrates contains a helix around the cleavage site and a hairpin loop at the corresponding position of the T stem-loop. Unlike a tRNA, these two structural modules are connected through a non-helical linker. The two structural modules in the tRNA and in the selected substrates bind to two different domains in P RNA. The properties of substrate recognition exhibited by this ribozyme may be exploited to isolate new ribozyme-substrate pairs with interactive structural modules.
Efficiency of Solar Electricity Production With Long-Term Storage

Solar electric production systems with energy storage were simulated and compared, including an ammonia thermochemical cycle, compressed air energy storage (CAES), pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES), vanadium flow battery, and thermal energy storage (TES). All systems used the same parabolic concentrator to collect solar energy and Stirling engine to produce electricity. Efficiency and storage losses were modeled after existing experiments. At receiver and ammonia synthesis temperatures of 800 K, efficiencies of all systems except TES were initially similar at 17–19%, while TES provided ∼23%. Further, TES was most efficient for diurnal-scale storage. However, lower time-dependent storage losses caused the ammonia system to have the highest efficiency after one month of storage and to be increasingly favored as time of storage increased. Solar electric production with full capacity factor may be most efficient with a combination of systems including direct solar-electric production and systems with both diurnal and long-term storage.
Measurement of Submicron Grains in the Coma of Comet Hale-Bopp C/1995 O1 during 1997 February 15-20 UT

We present 1.20-18.5 μm infrared (IR) spectrophotometric measurements of comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) during 1997 February 15 and 20 UT. The spectral energy distribution (SED) was dominated by scattering and thermal emission from submicron sized dust grains that were unusually small. Hale-Bopp's surprising brightness may have been largely a result of the properties of its coma grains rather than the size of its nucleus. The thermal emission continuum from the grains had a superheat of S=Tcolor/TBB ≈ 1.84, the peak of the 10 μm silicate emission feature was 1.81 mag above the carbon grain continuum, and the albedo (reflectivity) of the grains was ≈ 0.41 at a scattering angle of θ ≈ 144°. These are the highest values for these empirical parameters ever observed in 20 years of optical/IR measurements of bright comets. The observations indicate that the optically important grains dominating the visual scattering and near-IR emission from the coma had an average radius of a≤0.4 μm. The strong silicate feature is produced by grains with a similar size range. These dust radii are comparable to the radii of the grains that condense in the outflows of some novae ("stardust") but still about 10 times larger than the average radius of the grains that produce the general interstellar extinction.
Donor CD8 T cell activation is critical for greater renal disease severity in female chronic graft-vs-host mice and is associated with increased splenic ICOShi host CD4 T cells and IL-21 expression

Abstract Lupus-like renal disease in DBA/2-into-F1 (DBA → F1) mice is driven by donor CD4 T cells and is more severe in females. Donor CD8 T cells have no known role. As expected, we observed that females receiving unfractionated DBA splenocytes (CD8 intact → F1) exhibited greater clinical and histological severities of renal disease at 13 weeks compared to males. Surprisingly, sex-based differences in renal disease severity were lost in CD8 depleted → F1 mice due to an improvement in females and a worsening in males. CD8 intact → F1 female mice exhibited significantly greater donor and host effector (CD44 hi , CD62L lo ) CD4 T cells and ICOS hi CD4 T follicular helper cells than males. CD8 depleted → F1 female mice exhibited a reduction in the absolute numbers of host, but not donor CD4 Tfh cells and lost the significant increase in host CD4 effector cells vs. males. Greater female IL-21 expression, a product of Tfh cells, was seen in CD8 intact → F1 and although reduced was still greater than male CD8 depleted → F1 mice. Thus, donor CD8 T cells have a critical role in mediating sex-based differences in lupus renal disease severity possibly through greater host ICOS hi CD4 T cell involvement.
The size of focus samples in multiple-category concept identification

Introductory psychology students solved unidimensional four-category concept identification (CI) problems. In the experimental group (N = 38) two dimensions were redundant and relevant, while two control groups (N = 18 in each) solved problems where only one of these dimensions was relevant. Of the Ss in the experimental group, 26.3% were assessed as solving the problem using both relevant dimensions. To account for the data, a dimension selection theory of multiple-category CI is described, which incorporates the assumption that S is attending to more than a single dimension and employing a focusing strategy
Follicle Stimulating Hormone and Its Rate of Change in Defining Menopause Transition Stages

Context/Objective: The objective of the study was to identify menopause transition stages using acceleration or deceleration patterns of FSH rates of change from the late reproductive years to postmenopause. Setting/Participants: Participants were the Michigan Bone Health and Metabolism Study cohort of 629 women, aged 24–44 yr (in 1992/3), with 5757 annual FSH data points over a 14-yr period. Design/Main Outcome Measures: The study was designed to relate acceleration/deceleration patterns in FSH rate of change to time to final menstrual period (FMP) and chronological age using nonparametric and piecewise regression modeling. Results: Four major FSH stages, based on rate of FSH change patterns, were identifiable in relation to the FMP. In FSH stage 1, the rate of FSH change increased modestly up to −7 yr prior to the FMP; in FSH stage 2 (−7 to −2 yr prior to FMP), there was a major acceleration in FSH rate of change. FSH stage 3 had an acute increase in FSH rate of change (−2 to +1 yr around the FMP), with average FSH level of 34 mIU/ml. The fourth, or plateau, FSH stage began at 1 yr after FMP when the average FSH level was 54 mIU/ml. During the yr 28–60, there were eight age-specific epochs defined by significant changes of FSH trajectory accelerations or decelerations and rate of change. Conclusions: Four menopause transition stages bounding the FMP and eight epochs in chronological aging from age 28 to 60 yr were defined by changes of FSH trajectory accelerations/decelerations and rates of change. This timing information, combined with knowledge of FSH levels and menstrual cycle characteristics, can help discern the likely status of women with respect to their reproductive viability and menopause transition stage.
Adsorptive control of water in esterification with immobilized enzymes: I. Batch reactor behavior.

Experimental and theoretical studies are conducted to understand the dynamic behavior of a continuous-flow fixed-bed reactor in which an esterification is catalyzed by an immobilized enzyme in an organic solvent medium. The experimental system consists of a commercial immobilized lipase preparation known as Lipozyme as the biocatalyst, with propionic acid and isoamyl alcohol (dissolved in hexane) as the reaction substrates. A complex dynamic behavior is observed experimentally as a result of the simultaneous occurrence of reaction and adsorption phenomena. Both propionic acid and water are adsorbed by the biocatalyst resulting in lower reaction rates. In addition, an excessive accumulation of water in the reactor leads to a rapid irreversible inactivation of the enzyme. A model based on previously-obtained adsorption isotherms and kinetic expressions, as well as on adsorption rate measurements obtained in this work, is used to predict the concentration and thermodynamic activity of water along the reactor length. The model successfully predicts the dynamic behavior of the reactor and shows that a maximum thermodynamic activity of water occurs at a point at some distance from the reactor entrance. A cation exchange resin in sodium form, packed in the reactor as a selective water adsorbent together with the catalyst particles, is shown to be an effective means for preventing an excessive accumulation of water formed in the reaction. Its use results in longer cycle times and greater productivity. As predicted by the model, the experimental results show that the water adsorbed on the catalyst and on the ion exchange resin can be removed with isoamyl alcohol with no apparent loss in enzyme activity.
Excision of rhinophyma with high-frequency electrosurgery.

background. Rhinophyma is an uncommon progressive disfiguring process of the lower nasal region that most commonly affects middle-aged white men. It is characterized by painless hyperplasia of the sebaceous and subcutaneous tissues, in the end stage, resulting in a bulbous nodular telangiectatic nose. Surgical modalities of treatment include electrosurgery, laser ablation, dermabrasion, cryosurgery, scalpel excision, and others. objective. We present two patients with rhinophyma who were treated with the Ellman Surgitron using high-frequency current. methods. Two patients with significant rhinophyma and associated subcutaneous abscesses underwent excision with the Ellman Surgitron using high-frequency electrosurgery with a wire loop. The sebaceous hypertrophy was shaved down to the level of the normal skin surface. results. This technique provided a quick, efficient, bloodless operative field with a good cosmetic result and pain-free postoperative recovery. Photographs were taken at regular intervals to document the healing process. conclusion. The Ellman Surgitron uses high-frequency current to achieve a bloodless field in the treatment of rhinophyma. This enabled efficient and quick removal of hypertrophied tissue with a good cosmetic result and an essentially pain-free recovery. This radiofrequency device is well suited for the outpatient setting and offers advantages over the other modalities used to treat rhinophyma.
A Static Approximation for Dynamic Demand Substitution with Applications in a Competitive Market

We propose a static approximation of dynamic demand substitution behavior based on a fluid network model and a service-inventory mapping. This approximation greatly enhances our ability to analyze the interdependent inventory/service, price, and product assortment decisions in noncompetitive and competitive scenarios with demand substitution. We demonstrate that the approximation is well behaved and then apply it to two previously intractable applications. First, we study a price and service competition between single-product retailers. After establishing a unique pure-strategy Nash equilibrium, we find that competition results in lower price, higher demand, and a higher level of inventory. We also observe that the aggregate profit and inventory level increase to positive constants as the number of retailers goes to infinity. Second, we study a duopolistic competition on price, service, and product assortment. We establish a pure-strategy Nash equilibrium for the product assortment competition and identify a condition for uniqueness. We find that competition on both price and product assortment results in lower price and less variety for each competitor, but the total number of products and the aggregate inventory level in a duopoly market are both likely to be higher than in a monopolistic market.
Seed Germination of Habenaria repens (Orchidaceae) in situ Beyond its Range, and its Potential for Assisted Migration Imposed by Climate Change

Abstract All orchids require free-living, mycorrhizal fungi to complete their life cycles in nature and consequently, orchid conservation must take into account both organisms. In light of climate change now underway, orchids and other plants must be capable of migrating to higher latitudes, either on their own or with human intervention ( = assisted migration). In this paper, we describe the symbiotic germination of a common terrestrial orchid, Habenaria repens, in situ using seeds from a southern ecotype (Florida) placed at latitudes at and above the species' current natural range. To recover fungi in situ, 500 nylon packets containing 25,000–50,000 seeds were buried at 5 field sites within the Atlantic coastal plain in North Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia. After ca. 5 months, a total of 10 leafless seedlings (protocorms) were recovered from two North Carolina sites, one harboring an extant H. repens population, the other an extirpated population. These protocorms yielded mycorrhizal fungi assignable ...
History and function of scale microornamentation in lacertid lizards

Differences in surface structure (ober-hautchen) of body scales of lacertid lizards involve cell size, shape and surface profile, presence or absence of fine pitting, form of cell margins, and the occurrence of longitudinal ridges and pustular projections. Phylogenetic information indicates that the primitive pattern involved narrow strap-shaped cells, with low posteriorly overlapping edges and relatively smooth surfaces. Deviations from this condition produce a more sculptured surface and have developed many times, although subsequent overt reversals are uncommon. Like variations in scale shape, different patterns of dorsal body microornamentation appear to confer different and conflicting performance advantages. The primitive pattern may reduce friction during locomotion and also enhances dirt shedding, especially in ground-dwelling forms from moist habitats. However, this smooth microornamentation generates shine that may compromise cryptic coloration, especially when scales are large. Many derived features show correlation with such large scales and appear to suppress shine. They occur most frequently in forms from dry habitats or forms that climb in vegetation away from the ground, situations where dirt adhesion is less of a problem. Microornamentation differences involving other parts of the body and other squamate groups tend to corroborate this functional interpretation. Microornamentation features can develop on lineages in different orders and appear to act additively in reducing shine. In some cases different combinations may be optimal solutions in particular environments, but lineage effects, such as limited reversibility and different developmental proclivities, may also be important in their genesis. The fine pits often found on cell surfaces are unconnected with shine reduction, as they are smaller than the wavelengths of most visible light.
The Ultrasound Identification of Simulated Long Bone Fractures by Prehospital Providers

Objective In austere environments, patient management decisions are often limited by obtainable resources. Portable ultrasound may allow for the detection of fractures when imaging modalities such as radiography are unavailable. We used a simulation training model in a pilot study to examine the ability of emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to detect the presence or absence of a variety of simulated fracture patterns with portable ultrasound. Methods The fracture simulation model is composed of a mechanically fractured bare turkey leg bone housed in a shallow container within a completely opaque gelatin solution. Five different fracture patterns were created. Twenty EMTs sonographically evaluated these models with a portable ultrasound device to determine the presence or absence of a fracture. Results EMTs correctly identified the presence or absence of a fracture in the no fracture, transverse fracture, and oblique fracture models 95% of the time. They always correctly identified the presence of a fractured model when assessing the comminuted and segmental fracture models. Across all fracture patterns, a final detection sensitivity of 97.5% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 94.1%–100.0%) and a specificity of 95.0% (95% CI: 85.4%–100.0%) were observed. Conclusions Using portable ultrasound, EMTs correctly detected the presence or absence of simulated long bone fractures with a high degree of sensitivity and specificity. Future studies may evaluate the ability of other groups to use ultrasound to assist in the diagnosis of fractures and examine the clinical impact of this skill in environments where conventional imaging modalities are limited or unavailable.
Current Thyroid Cancer Trends in the United States

Importance We have previously reported on a doubling of thyroid cancer incidence—largely due to the detection of small papillary cancers. Because they are commonly found in people who have died of other causes, and because thyroid cancer mortality had been stable, we argued that the increased incidence represented overdiagnosis. Objective To determine whether thyroid cancer incidence has stabilized. Design Analysis of secular trends in patients diagnosed with thyroid cancer, 1975 to 2009, using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program and thyroid cancer mortality from the National Vital Statistics System. Setting Nine SEER areas (SEER 9): Atlanta, Georgia; Connecticut; Detroit, Michigan; Hawaii; Iowa; New Mexico; San Francisco–Oakland, California; Seattle–Puget Sound, Washington; and Utah. Participants Men and women older than 18 years diagnosed as having a thyroid cancer between 1975 and 2009 who lived in the SEER 9 areas. Interventions None. Main Outcomes and Measures Thyroid cancer incidence, histologic type, tumor size, and patient mortality. Results Since 1975, the incidence of thyroid cancer has now nearly tripled, from 4.9 to 14.3 per 100 000 individuals (absolute increase, 9.4 per 100 000; relative rate [RR], 2.9; 95% CI, 2.7-3.1). Virtually the entire increase was attributable to papillary thyroid cancer: from 3.4 to 12.5 per 100 000 (absolute increase, 9.1 per 100 000; RR, 3.7; 95% CI, 3.4-4.0). The absolute increase in thyroid cancer in women (from 6.5 to 21.4 = 14.9 per 100 000 women) was almost 4 times greater than that of men (from 3.1 to 6.9 = 3.8 per 100 000 men). The mortality rate from thyroid cancer was stable between 1975 and 2009 (approximately 0.5 deaths per 100 000). Conclusions and Relevance There is an ongoing epidemic of thyroid cancer in the United States. The epidemiology of the increased incidence, however, suggests that it is not an epidemic of disease but rather an epidemic of diagnosis. The problem is particularly acute for women, who have lower autopsy prevalence of thyroid cancer than men but higher cancer detection rates by a 3:1 ratio.
Reduced acoustic and electric integration in concurrent-vowel recognition

The present study used concurrent-vowel recognition to measure integration efficiency of combined acoustic and electric stimulation in eight actual cochlear-implant subjects who had normal or residual low-frequency acoustic hearing contralaterally. Although these subjects could recognize single vowels (>90% correct) with either electric or combined stimulation, their performance degraded significantly in concurrent-vowel recognition. Compared with previous simulation results using normal-hearing subjects, the present subjects produced similar performance with acoustic or electric stimulation alone, but significantly lower performance with combined stimulation. A probabilistic model found reduced integration efficiency between acoustic and electric stimulation in the present subjects. The integration efficiency was negatively correlated with residual acoustic hearing in the non-implanted ear and duration of deafness in the implanted ear. The present result suggests a central origin of the integration deficit and that this integration be evaluated and considered in future management of hearing impairment and design of auditory prostheses.
Understanding uncertainty: forecasting seasonal climate for farmers in Zimbabwe

Climatological and agricultural research has shown that El Nino cycles in the Pacific Ocean are a good predictor of maize yields in southern Africa, particularly Zimbabwe. However, forecasters can only offer probabilistic predictions, rather than saying with certainty whether Zimbabwe will experience wet or dry conditions. In an effort to avoid confusing farmers, extension service officers translate the forecast into deterministic terms. This approach conflicts with the literature in risk communication, which suggests that participatory discussions of the full forecast content is necessary to maintain credibility over time. But most of the research on which this literature is based has taken place in industrialized countries, and it is unclear whether the lessons apply as well in places like rural Zimbabwe. To test for this, an experiment was conducted with farmers in villages throughout Zimbabwe, in which they revealed their ability to make decisions under situations of uncertainty. The results are qualitatively similar to those of similar experiments conducted in industrialized countries. This suggests that improvements could be made to current forecast communication practices in Zimbabwe.
Edible Fibers From Apple Pomace

Apple pomace was subjected to a mild alkaline degradation that yielded an cu-cellulosic fraction of approximately 26% of the untreated dry matter. Extraction by various aqueous solvents yielded water-dispersible, uronide fractions comprising 10 - 18% also of the untreated dry matter. These latter fibers had a different viscometric character, depending on the extractant used. All the fibers have the potential to provide nonnutritive bulk to low-fiber, fabricated foods. Additionally, they may provide a high concentration of solid matter to an aqueous, food system without significantly altering the viscosity of that system.
Gate oxide evaluation under very fast transmission line pulse (VFTLP) CDM-type stress

Gate oxide breakdown is analyzed under very fast transmission line pulsed (VFTLP) stress, using different pulse - rise times and -widths. The switching of oxide behavior pre- and post- breakdown occurs in tenths of a nanosecond and it shows reproducible voltage and current characteristics. The total stress and time-dependent-dielectric-breakdown (TDDB) during pulsed stress-method are evaluated using the following two procedures: 1) by adding up the total pulsed stress time, and 2) by extrapolation of the pulsed stress time to a constant voltage stress (CVS)-type measurements. It is shown that the latter method allows for a better comparison of identical oxides TDDB under various stress conditions. A methodology to characterize gate oxide breakdown using a single pulse is finally discussed. This is important to assess the gate-oxide failure condition during a charged device model (CDM)-type electrostatic discharge (ESD).
A wireless FM multi-channel microsystem for biomedical neural recording applications

This paper presents a four-channel wireless microsystem, suitable for a variety of biomedical neural recording applications. The neural recording circuitry features onchip AC amplification, DC rejection, clock generation, time-division-multiplexing, and frequency modulation with RF carrier frequency tunable in the 88-108 MHz commercial FM band. A wide-band FM radio followed by a LabView-based system is utilized for demodulation and de-multiplexing to re-construct the original input data. This system consists of a 2.2 mm/spl times/2.2 mm integrated circuit and four off-chip components (1 inductor and 3 capacitors) that are wire bonded to the chip. It measures 1.8/spl times/1.3/spl times/0.16 cm/sup 3/, weighs 1.1 g including two 1.5 V batteries, and dissipates less than 2.5 mW from a 3 V power supply. The chip is fabricated using AMI 1.5 /spl mu/m double-poly double-metal n-well CMOS process. Benchtop tests show complete functionality of the wireless microsystem in both ambient light and dark conditions.
Restorative occlusion utilizing a custom incisal guide table

Abstract A technique for the fabrication of a custom incisae guide table and its rationale has been described. Existing incisae tables can be modified to afford the dentist a convenient modality for reproducing desirable anterior guidance.
A URA3 null mutant of Candida albicans (CAI-4) causes oro-oesophageal and gastric candidiasis and is lethal for gnotobiotic, transgenic mice (Tgε26) that are deficient in both natural killer and T cells.

Current data suggest that functional URA3 genes are necessary for the full pathogenesis of Candida albicans. Herein it is shown that a putatively avirulent URA3/URA3 null mutant of C. albicans (CAI-4) can colonize the murine alimentary tract, invade oro-oesophageal and gastric tissues with yeasts and hyphae, evoke a granulocyte-dominated inflammatory response, and kill transgenic mice that are deficient for both natural killer cells and T cells. Because C. albicans-colonized (gnotobiotic) mice lack a viable prokaryotic microbiota, this study also demonstrates that the gut microbiome is not required to supply the mutant's nutritional needs. The gnotobiotic murine model described herein can be used to assess the capacity of C. albicans mutants to colonize and infect cutaneous, mucosal and systemic tissues and kill the susceptible host via a clinically common, natural route of infection; namely the alimentary tract.
Oogenesis: When Most Is Good Enough

Summary In male meiosis an unaligned chromosome blocks meiotic progression. However, oocytes with one or more misaligned chromosomes can complete meiosis. This difference reflects a more permissive role of the spindle assembly checkpoint, rather than solely reflecting the ability of some univalents to adopt a meiosis II-like orientation on the spindle.
Ergativity and Transitivity

Ergative case is said to mark transitive subjects, and it is widely assumed that this is true under the ordinary definition of transitive; however, Bittner and Hale (1996) propose that ergative languages fall into two types, neither of which is based on the ordinary notion of transitivity. In one, a direct object is not necessary for ergative case: any verb with an external argument counts as transitive, following Hale and Keyser 1993 (e.g., Warlpiri). In the other, a direct object is necessary, but not sufficient: the subject gets ergative case only if the object moves out of the VP (e.g., Inuit). This article argues that Niuean, Dyirbal, and Nez Perce are also of this object shift type. A search yielded no language where ergative case is clearly governed only by ordinary transitivity; languages that do fit the stereotype have only ergative agreement. A formal account of the correlation between object shift and ergative case is proposed, under which ergative case can be used as a ‘‘last resort,’’ as one ...
Accumulation of Stones on Beaches by Codium fragile1

The green alga Codium fragile, recently introduced to the area, is a prominent transporter of rocks and gravel to Cape Cod beaches and may cause many sand beaches to evolve into gravel beaches.
Least‐Squares Analysis of the Thick‐Film Solution to the Diffusion Equation

A mathematical treatment for using least-squares analysis of the thick-film solution to the diffusion equation is discussed. (FS)
Control of Mitotic Events by Nap1 and the Gin4 Kinase

Little is known about the pathways used by cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases to induce the events of the cell cycle. In budding yeast, a protein called Nap1 binds to the mitotic cyclin Clb2, and Nap1 is required for the ability of Clb2 to induce specific mitotic events, but the role played by Nap1 is unclear. We have used genetic and biochemical approaches to identify additional proteins that function with Nap1 in the control of mitotic events. These approaches have both identified a protein kinase called Gin4 that is required for the ability of Clb2 and Nap1 to promote the switch from polar to isotropic bud growth that normally occurs during mitosis. Gin4 is also required for the ability of Clb2 and Nap1 to promote normal progression through mitosis. The Gin4 protein becomes phosphorylated as cells enter mitosis, resulting in the activation of Gin4 kinase activity, and the phosphorylation of Gin4 is dependent upon Nap1 and Clb2 in vivo. Affinity chromatography experiments demonstrate that Gin4 binds tightly to Nap1, indicating that the functions of these two proteins are closely tied within the cell. These results demonstrate that the activation of Gin4 is under the control of Clb2 and Nap1, and they provide an important step towards elucidating the molecular pathways that link cyclin-dependent kinases to the events they control.
An L2 Norm Trajectory-Based Local Linearization for Low Order Systems

This paper presents a linear transformation for low order nonlinear autonomous differential equations. The procedure consists of a trajectory-based local linearization, which approximates the nonlinear system in the neighborhood of its equilibria. The approximation is possible even in the non-hyperbolic case which is of a particular interest. The linear system is derived using an L2 norm optimization and the method can be used to approximate the derivative at the equilibrium position. Unlike the classical linearization, the L2 norm linearization depends on the initial state and has the same order as the nonlinearity. Simulation results show good agreement of the suggested method with the nonlinear system.
Financial Analysis of Alternative Treatments for Clinical Mastitis Associated with Environmental Pathogens

For two large California dairy herds with twice daily milking, 171 infected quarters of lactating cows with mild clinical mastitis were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups. Group A (50 cows) was treated with 62.5 mg of intramammary amoxicillin every 12 h for three milkings. Group C (50 cows) was treated with 200 mg of intramammary cephapirin every 12 h for two milkings. Group O (71 cows) was treated with 100 U of intramuscular oxytocin every 12 h for three milkings. Clinical cure rates did not differ among treatment groups. The cost per episode of clinical mastitis was higher ($54.47) for group C than for groups A ($38.53) or O ($34.88). Group O had a higher incidence of relapse (41%), and a greater percentage of group O cows (65%) experienced an additional mastitic event in the enrolled lactation than did cows in groups A and C. Treatment had no effect on the mean number of nonsalable milkings (24.7) associated with mastitis in the lactation interval subsequent to enrollment on the trial. Twenty-two percent of the cows accrued more than 30 nonsalable milkings and produced 55% of the total nonsalable milkings associated with mastitis. There was no treatment effect on total milk production, fat production, or time to removal of the enrolled cows from the herd.
Annexin 2/factor xa-mediated signal transduction.

See related article, pages 457–464 In this issue of Circulation Research , Bhattacharjee et al1 provide evidence that annexin 2 may be important in the ability of factor Xa to induce signal transduction dependent on protease-activated receptor (PAR)-1. The significance of these observations must be considered in the context of broader questions related to thrombosis and fibrinolysis. In the first decade of the 20th century, knowledge of blood coagulation resulted in a relatively simple model. In 1905, Morowitz proposed that the coagulation cascade consists of 4 fluid phase components of blood.2 The 4 components involved in coagulation were identified as fibrinogen, Ca2+, prothrombin, and “tissue thromboplastin.” He also recognized that platelets and perhaps leukocytes played a role in blood clotting.2 Tissue thromboplastin was identified as a lipid- and protein-containing component of tissues that was released during vascular injury. In the presence of Ca2+, this substance activated prothrombin. The resultant thrombin converted fibrinogen to fibrin. The discovery of “factor V” in 1943 expanded the model of coagulation beyond these 4 components and triggered a search for other coagulation factors. During the 20th century, many more such factors were discovered. Most of these received factor numbers, whereas some were known more commonly by name. The concept arose that there were 2 pathways of coagulation, namely, the intrinsic and extrinsic systems. It was believed that the intrinsic pathway was most important at the surface of damaged blood vessels, whereas the extrinsic system became activated after major vascular injury causing the release of tissue thromboplastin or, as it became known, tissue factor (TF). Both the extrinsic and intrinsic systems were seen as converging at the point where factor X was activated and this factor Xa was responsible for the activation of prothrombin. The 2 systems were …
Norm evolution and violation on Facebook

This study explores how norms on social network sites evolve over time and how violations of these norms impact individuals’ self-presentational and relationship goals. Employing Expectancy Violations Theory (Burgoon, 1978) as a guiding framework, results from a series of focus groups suggest that both the content of the violation and the users’ relationship to the violator impact how individuals react to negative violations. Specifically, acquaintances who engage in minor negative violations are ignored or hidden, while larger infractions (that could negatively impact the individual) result in deletion of the offending content and – in extreme cases – termination of the Facebook friendship. Negative violations from close friends (that did not impact participants’ goals) resulted in confrontations, while similar violations from acquaintances were often ignored by participants in an effort to ‘keep the peace.’ Furthermore, positive violations were more likely to arise from acquaintances than close friends.
Estimating temporal changes in hydraulic head using InSAR data in the San Luis Valley, Colorado

The sustainability of the confined aquifer system in the San Luis Valley, Colorado is of utmost importance to the valley's agricultural economy. There is a dearth of hydraulic head measurements in the confined aquifer to which the current groundwater flow model can be calibrated. Here we investigate the extent to which spatially and temporally dense measurements of deformation from Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data can be used to fill in spatial and temporal gaps in the head data set by calibrating the InSAR data with head at the monitoring well locations. We conduct this calibration at 11 wells where we expect sufficient deformation for reliable InSAR measurement, given the accepted level of uncertainty (∼1 cm). In the San Luis Valley, crop growth degrades the quality of the InSAR signal, which means that the high-quality deformation data may not be collocated with the wells. We use kriging to estimate the deformation directly at the well locations. We find that the calibration is valid at three well locations where the seasonal magnitude of the deformation is much larger than the uncertainty of the InSAR measurement. At these well locations, we predict head prior to and within the temporal sampling window of the head measurements. We find that 59% of the InSAR-predicted hydraulic head values agree with the measured values, within the uncertainty of the data. Given our success in extending the hydraulic head data temporally, the next step in our research is to use InSAR data to interpolate spatially between head measurements.
Evaluating Online Social Presence: An Overview of Social Presence Assessment

As an important variable in online learning environment, the construct of social presence has been widely studied by researchers in order to investigate students’ online communication behavior and their related performance. This study will especially provide an overview of the assessment of social presence throughout its historical development. In this review, both primary subjective and objectives measures of social presence will be introduced, followed by criticisms towards current social presence measures as well as recommendations for future development of valid and reliable measurement tools.
The Convergence between Nonprofit and For-Profit Hospitals in the Us; 1960-1999

Theoretical models that were developed in the 1970's predict large differences in behavior between for-profit and nonprofit hospitals, while recent empirical studies have consistently failed to detect these differences. This paper attempts to solve this apparent contradiction by suggesting that organizations with different objectives may behave similarly under certain market conditions. By tracking key variables of hospital behavior in the United States between 1960 and 1999, this paper argues that the similar behavior of hospitals under different ownership structure found in recent empirical studies may be the result of a continuing convergence process. Theoretical analysis suggests that the introduction of federally funded insurance for certain patient groups may account for the growing convergence in the behavior of these two ownership types. Analysis of hospital-level data for California indicates that the convergence was effected largely through acquisitions of nonprofit hospitals by for-profit institutions and vice versa.
Creation and Covenant - A Hermeneutical Approach to the Correlation of the Seventh-day and the Biblical Sabbath

For centuries, scholars have debated the nature of the relationship between the seventh day (Gen 2:1-3) and the biblical Sabbath (Exod 20:8-11). While Covenant Theologians insist that the seventh day works as the theological foundation of the biblical Sabbath, New Covenant Theologians reject this relationship and insist the Sabbath is an institution given exclusively to the Israelites. This article argues that according to an exegetical-historical and theological reading of selected texts on the Sabbath, one must regard the seventh day as the theological foundation of the biblical Sabbath to sustain a consistent and coherent theological system that uses Scripture as its epistemological foundation.
Medicaid status is associated with higher surgical site infection rates after spine surgery.

Study Design. The Spine End Results Registry (2003–2004) is a registry of prospectively collected data of all patients undergoing spinal surgery at the University of Washington Medical Center and Harborview Medical Center. Insurance data were prospectively collected and used in multivariate analysis to determine risk of perioperative complications. Objective. Given the negative financial impact of surgical site infections (SSIs) and the higher overall complication rates of patients with a Medicaid payer status, we hypothesized that a Medicaid payer status would have a significantly higher SSI rate. Summary of Background Data. The medical literature demonstrates lesser outcomes and increased complication rates in patients who have public insurance than those who have private insurance. No one has shown that patients with a Medicaid payer status compared with Medicare and privately insured patients have a significantly increased SSI rate for spine surgery. Methods. The prospectively collected Spine End Results Registry provided data for analysis. SSI was defined as treatment requiring operative debridement. Demographic, social, medical, and the surgical severity index risk factors were assessed against the exposure of payer status for the surgical procedure. Results. The population included Medicare (N = 354), Medicaid (N = 334), the Veterans' Administration (N = 39), private insurers (N = 603), and self-pay (N = 42). Those patients whose insurer was Medicaid had a 2.06 odds (95% confidence interval: 1.19–3.58, P = 0.01) of having a SSI compared with the privately insured. Conclusion. The study highlights the increased cost of spine surgical procedures for patients with a Medicaid payer status with the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 provisions could cause a reduction in reimbursement to the hospital for taking care of patients with Medicaid insurance due to their higher complication rates and higher costs. This very issue could inadvertently lead to access limitations. Conclusion. Level of Evidence: 3
FRI0263 Activation of the interferon pathway is dependent upon autoantibodies in african american sle patients, but not in european-american sle patients

Background Lupus is a heterogeneous autoimmune disease characterized by anti-RNA-binding protein autoantibodies and high circulating levels of interferon. The disease is more prevalent and more severe in African-Americans as compared to European-Americans. Objectives We aimed to explore how IFN-related gene expression pathways differ in patients according to their ancestry and anti-RBP profile. Methods Whole blood from 33 female SLE patients and 16 matched controls from EA and AA ancestral backgrounds was analyzed through Affymetrix gene expression arrays, and the data were further studied through Ingenuity Pathways Analysis for canonical pathway comparison. An independent replication cohort of more than 100 SLE patient samples and 30 controls was used to test the hypotheses generated by the microarray data, using qPCR to quantify gene expression. Results Both EA and AA patients with positive anti-RBP (RBP+) showed involvement of IFN-related canonical pathways including IFN Signaling (P = 5.8 x 10-11 and 1.3 x 10-7 respectively), and a number of pattern recognition receptor pathways. All of these pathways were also involved in EA patients with negative anti-RBP (RBP-) but they were completely absent in AA patients with RBP-. The microarray results were confirmed by a replication study through qPCR on 3 IFN-inducible genes, IFIT1, MX1 and PKR. Conclusions Our data show that IFN-induced gene expression is completely dependent on the presence of autoantibodies in AA SLE patients but not in EA patients. Disclosure of Interest : None Declared
Why Do We Need Emotion Words in the First Place? Commentary on Lakoff (2015)

George Lakoff (2016) discusses how emotion metaphors reflect the discrete bodily states associated with each emotion. The analysis raises questions about the context for and frequency of use of emotion metaphors and, indeed, emotion labels (e.g., “angry”), per se. An assumption implicit to most theories of emotion is that emotion language is just another channel through which people express ongoing emotion states. Drawing from recent evidence that labeling ongoing emotions reduces their intensity, we propose that a primary function of emotion language is regulatory rather than expressive.
Diet and cancer.

Unhealthy diets are a major cause of cancer. Extensive scientific research implicates three components of diet as being particularly important in the etiology of various cancers: dietary fat, fruits and vegetables, and fiber. The evidence linking these components to the incidence of numerous cancers warrants physicians making strong dietary recommendations to reduce their patients' risk of developing cancer.