cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Energy dissipation and radical scavenging by the plant phenylpropanoid pathway.

Environmental stresses such as high light, low temperatures, pathogen infection and nutrient deficiency can lead to increased production of free radicals and other oxidative species in plants. A growing body of evidence suggests that plants respond to these biotic and abiotic stress factors by increasing their capacity to scavenge reactive oxygen species. Efforts to understand this acclimatory process have focused on the components of the 'classical' antioxidant system, i.e. superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, catalase, monodehydroascorbate reductase, glutathione reductase and the low molecular weight antioxidants ascorbate and glutathione. However, relatively few studies have explored the role of secondary metabolic pathways in plant response to oxidative stress. A case in point is the phenylpropanoid pathway which is responsible for the synthesis of a diverse array of phenolic metabolites such as flavonoids, tannins, hydroxycinnamate esters and the structural polymer lignin. These compounds are often induced by stress and serve specific roles in plant protection, i.e. pathogen defence, ultraviolet screening, antiherbivory, or structural components of the cell wall. This review will highlight a novel antioxidant function for the taxonomically widespread phenylpropanoid metabolite chlorogenic acid (CGA; 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid) and assess its possible role in abiotic stress tolerance. The relationship between CGA biosynthesis and photosynthetic carbon metabolism will also be discussed. Based on the properties of this model phenolic metabolite, we propose that under stress conditions phenylpropanoid biosynthesis may represent an alternative pathway for photochemical energy dissipation that has the added benefit of enhancing the antioxidant capacity of the cell.
Alternative Minimalist Visions of Language

1. Goals and constraints The primary goal of modern linguistic theory (at least in the circles I inhabit) is an explanation of the human language capacity and how it enables the child to acquire adult competence in language. Adult competence in turn is understood as the ability (or knowledge) to creatively map between sound and meaning, using a rich combinatorial system – the lexicon and grammar of the language. An adequate theory must satisfy at least three crucial constraints, which I will call the Descriptive Constraint, the Learnability Constraint, and the Evolutionary Constraint.
Evolution of Insulin and Insulin Receptors

Insulin traditionally has been considered to be a unique product of the vertebrate pancreas. More recent studies, however, have suggested that there may be extrapancreatic sources of insulin and that insulin may act on tissues other than its classic target tissues. Of specific interest to us has been the suggestion that nervous tissue may be an extrapancreatic source of insulin synthesis and, furthermore, that nervous tissue may be a specific target for insulin. To pursue these questions, we and others have chosen a phylogenetic approach in our studies. In this review we will first discuss the evolutionary origins of insulin-related molecules including their presence in non-vertebrate species. These findings strongly suggest that insulin or a related molecule can be produced by tissues other than a pancreas. In the second part, we will describe studies on the phylogenetic conservation of the brain insulin receptor. Finally, we discuss the phylogenetic and developmental conservation of the structurally unique brain insulin receptor.
Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) detection of endotoxin in human blood

Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) has been applied to the detection of endotoxin in human serum, plasma and blood since the early 1970s. Although the diagnostic potential of LAL for endotoxemia was recognized immediately, the assay's modest sensitivity and specificity (for Gram-negative sepsis/bacteremia) were perceived as limiting the clinical usefulness of LAL. In an attempt to overcome these drawbacks, many studies have been conducted since the initial work by Levin and his colleagues. Numerous attempts have been made to improve the sensitivity of the assay by changing the formulation of the LAL and assay methodology. The original gel-clot method has for the most part been replaced with turbidimetric or chromogenic methods. The amount of endotoxin detectable within a 1 h incubation period has gone from the nanogram to the picogram range. Since blood (plasma) components interfere with the test, various methods to remove inhibition and/or enhancement have been developed. The chloroform extraction technique ...
The fate of the dry electron—A preliminary investigation

A set of electron impact cross sections for vibrational excitation of water in the gaseous phase are first presented. The associated loss function is used in conjunction with a rotational loss function to generate efficiencies for the conversion of low-energy electron energy to rotational and vibrational excitation. An analogous calculation is carried out for intramolecular and intermolecular modes in the liquid phase leading to similar results. We also examine a simple model for the time dependence of the electron hydration process based on a square well with a time-dependent radius and well depth. We can fit the time and wavelength dependence of the experimental absorption coefficients if we introduce another time-dependent parameter that might be encompassed by a diffuse potential well model.
Novel electrostatically tunable FeGaB/(Si)/PMN-PT multiferroic heterostructures for microwave application

Strong magnetoelectric (ME) coupling can be realized in multiferroic heterostructures, which have led to a variety of devices. However, it has been challenging in achieving strong ME coupling at microwave frequencies. Here, we report on novel FeGaB/Si/PMN-PT and FeGaB/PMN-PT microwave multiferroic heterostructures, which show strong ME coupling at both DC and microwave frequencies. A high microwave frequency tunability of Δƒ = 900 MHz or Δƒ/ƒ = 58%, which is equivalent to a magnetic field tunable range of ∼30 Oe, was demonstrated in the FeGaB/Si/PMN-PT heterostructures. By eliminating the Si substrate, which acts to impede the ME coupling, a much larger tunable magnetic field range of ∼330 Oe was observed in the FeGaB/PMN-PT heterostructures. These multiferroic heterostructures with strong ME coupling provide great opportunities for electrostatically tunable ME microwave devices.
Cartilage Status at Time of Arthroscopy Predicts Failure in Patients With Hip Dysplasia

The purpose of our study was to determine whether chondral damage at the time of arthroscopy predicted conversion to THA in patients with dysplasia. We identified 166 patients with dysplasia who underwent hip arthroscopy. Forty-seven went on to receive THA. The articular cartilage of three regions of the acetabulum and femoral head were assessed for signs of chondral damage (absent, mild, or severe]). A stepwise multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed mild damage on the posterior femoral head (P=0.001) and severe damage on the anterior acetabulum (P=0.007) made a significant contribution to the predictor. The presence of mild posterior femoral head chondral changes was indicative of more global cartilage damage in this series of patients. Our findings show that chondral damage on the posterior femoral head and anterior acetabulum is a strong predictor of ultimate conversion to THA in dysplastic patients.
Intravenous pyogenic granuloma of the hand

Intravenous tumors are rare. Intravenous pyogenic granuloma has recently been recognized. This case illustrates the characteristic findings and microscopic anatomy associated with this tumor when it occurs in the palm.
Neuron and glia numbers in the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala from preweaning through old age in male and female rats: a stereological study

The rat basolateral nucleus of the amygdala continues to develop connectivity with the frontal cortex through the periadolescent period and even into young adulthood. Although neuronal loss in the prefrontal cortex has been found during the periadolescent period, prior literature has not examined whether neuron number in the basolateral amygdala is stable through this period. In addition, aging of the rat basolateral nucleus is accompanied by significant increases in the dendritic tree of its principal neurons, but whether this occurs in the context of neuronal death has not been previously explored. In the present study, a stereological examination of neuron and glia numbers in the rat basolateral amygdalar nucleus was undertaken in male and female hooded rats at four ages across the lifespan. Our findings indicate 1) a significant decrease in the number of neurons and glia in the basolateral nucleus between adolescence and adulthood; and 2) the number of glia, as well as the volume of the basolateral nucleus, increases between adulthood and old age, whereas neuron number remains stable. These findings provide an important cellular context for interpretation of the neurochemical and other alterations documented in developmental and age-related literature on the rat basolateral amygdala, and underline the substantial development of this brain area during adolescence, as well as its comparative preservation during aging.
Oxyradical Stress, Endocannabinoids, and Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is responsible for most cardiovascular disease (CVD) and is caused by several factors including hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and chronic inflammation. Oxidants and electrophiles have roles in the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis and the concentrations of these reactive molecules are an important factor in disease initiation and progression. Overactive NADPH oxidase (Nox) produces excess superoxide resulting in oxidized macromolecules, which is an important factor in atherogenesis. Although superoxide and reactive oxygen species (ROS) have obvious toxic properties, they also have fundamental roles in signaling pathways that enable cells to adapt to stress. In addition to inflammation and ROS, the endocannabinoid system (eCB) is also important in atherogenesis. Linkages have been postulated between the eCB system, Nox, oxidative stress, and atherosclerosis. For instance, CB2 receptor-evoked signaling has been shown to upregulate anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative pathways, whereas CB1 signaling appears to induce opposite effects. The second messenger lipid molecule diacylglycerol is implicated in the regulation of Nox activity and diacylglycerol lipase β (DAGLβ) is a key biosynthetic enzyme in the biosynthesis eCB ligand 2-arachidonylglycerol (2-AG). Furthermore, Nrf2 is a vital transcription factor that protects against the cytotoxic effects of both oxidant and electrophile stress. This review will highlight the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in intracellular signaling and the impact of deregulated ROS-mediated signaling in atherogenesis. In addition, there is also emerging knowledge that the eCB system has an important role in atherogenesis. We will attempt to integrate oxidative stress and the eCB system into a conceptual framework that provides insights into this pathology.
Vaporization and Sublimation Enthalpies of Acetanilide and Several Derivatives by Correlation Gas Chromatography

The vaporization and fusion enthalpies of acetanilide and several of its derivatives have been measured and combined to provide their corresponding sublimation enthalpies. Since all of the materials examined are solid at T = 298.15 K, the vaporization enthalpies measured by correlation gas chromatography at this temperature are for the subcooled liquid state. Fusion enthalpies have also been adjusted to T = 298.15 K. The compounds examined and their vaporization enthalpies measured at T = 298.15 K include the following values (in kJ·mol–1): acetanilide (82.1 ± 3.0), 4-methylacetanilide (86.2 ± 3.2), 4-methoxyacetanilide (92.0 ± 3.4), 3-ethoxyacetanilide (94.1 ± 3.5), and 4-ethoxyacetanilide (94.8 ± 3.5). The following fusion enthalpies (kJ·mol–1) and fusion temperatures (onset temperatures, K) were measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC): acetanilide (22.1 ± 0.1), (386.9 ± 0.1), 4-methylacetanilide (29.4 ± 0.2), (421.3 ± 0.3), 4-methoxyacetanilide (25.4 ± 0.3), (398.2 ± 1.2), 3-ethoxyacetanili...
Study on desilication process of sodium aluminate solution by adding calcium sulfate

The desilication process from the sodium alumination solution with calcium sulfate is investigated.The optimum results show that the silica module reaches to 3681 by 90 min、 deep desilication with 30g/L calcium sulfate at 95℃.Mechanism of sodium alumination solution is analyzed by XRD.The Calcium sulfate is a promising agent for desilicatin on from sodium alumination solution.
Teaching the patient about his chronic pulmonary diseases.

When an individual is stricken with an acute illness such as appendicitis, he usually need only accept the diagnosis, give his permission for operation, take the anaesthetic and tolerate the surgical after-effects for a short time. This treatment is administered almost entirely without his conscious participation. When a patient becomes ill with a chronic disease, on the other hand, it becomes essential that he participate consciously and wholeheartedly in his treatment, and for many months as well. The fact that treatment ‘of chronic lung disease usually necessitates both active and passive participation makes it mandatory that he be educated about his disease. Education becomes all the more important when the disease is contagious, as with pulmonary tuberculosis. The education of the patient with chronic pulmonary disease is a cooperative project, involving the doctor, the nurse, the social worker and, most important, the fellow patient. The development of rapport between the staff and the patient is unquestionably the first objective and is of the utmost importance. It begins the day each staff member first meets the patient; it is a continuing project; it is undertaken in widely varying ways, depending largely on the personalities involved. While it is gratifying to be regarded as a good fellow by your patients, this approach can be overdone. On the other hand, there is the opposite tendency of some professional personnel who strive to achieve strict and prompt obedience. Strict discipline will help establish a neat and and outwardly efficient hospital or clinic but not always a happy and successful one. The subjects which should be stressed in such a patient education program are: 1. The mode of transmission of the disease (if infectious), and its prevention. For instance, we should encourage each patient to remind his fellow patient when he forgets to coven his mouth properly. 2. The anticipated future behaviour of the disease in the individual. Most patients appreciate a clear exposition of their problem and an estimation of their anticipated response to treatment. While harm can be done from excessive discussion of details, more harm is apt to be done by withholding pertinent information in the majority.
Effects of feeding systems on social and feeding behavior and performance of finishing pigs.

Two experiments were conducted to study the effects of feeding systems on feeding behavior, aggression, social ranks and average daily gain (ADG) of pigs. In Exp. 1, feed was delivered during the day from 1100 to 1400 and at night from 2300 to 0200. One pen containing 10 barrows and 10 gilts was used. Correlation coefficients were calculated between pairs of traits. In Exp. 2, four feeding systems were tested using similar group composition as in Exp. 1. Two feeding systems were ad libitum, offering either dry or wet feed; the other two used time-restricted feeding from 0900 to 1100 and from 1600 to 1800, but with water supplied either ad libitum or time-restricted. Analyses of variance were used to test feeding system effects; correlation coefficients were calculated for pairs of traits. Results of Exp. 1 indicated that pigs displayed predominantly daytime activities. Frequency of aggressive acts were correlated significantly with feeding frequency (r = .48), time to first feeding (r = -.50) and ADG (r = .56). In Exp. 2, pigs on time-restricted feeding with ad libitum water had significantly depressed ADG and reduced feed intake. A possible association between time-restricted feeding and water intake is postulated. Feeding behavior, aggression and social rank were associated with ADG in time-restricted systems but not in ad libitum systems. There was a tendency in time-restricted-fed pigs for the more aggressive pigs to perform more feeding activities, to rank higher in the social order, and to gain faster.
Abstract 2502: Bioengineered-induced cancer-like stem cells: characterization and applications

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a small subset of tumor cells capable of self-renewal, tumor initiation, and growth. Isolation, expansion, and differentiation of CSCs in the proper stem niches remain a topic of great debate. To address some of the challenges, we developed bioengineered-induced cancer like stem cells (iCLSCs) through in vitro oncogenic reprograming of C57BL/6 mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs). We constructed retroviral plasmids through integration of well-defined oncogenic elements such as SV40LTg and HrasV12 into a mouse stem virus long terminal repeat (MSCV-LTR) plasmid fused with either a GFP or RFP gene. We successfully acquired these bioengineered-iCLSCs through retroviral introduction alongside with FACS sorting of positively infected mESCs. We then cultured the bioengineered-iCLSCs on mouse embryonic fibroblast (mEF) feeder cells. Bioengineered-iCLSCs expressed the introduced oncogenic genes and showed enhanced proliferation similar to cancer cells. In addition, we ascertained the unhampered stem properties of the bioengineered-iCLSCs by examining the maintenance of alkaline phosphatase activity as well as the expression of mouse stem cell marker SSEA-1. Furthermore, the orthotopic inoculation of these bioengineered-iCLSCs into either the mammalian fat pad or the ovarian bursa of female C57BL/6 mice lead to the formation of teratomas in supportive niches. Interestingly, the teratomas formed in the ovarian bursa exhibited malignant and immature features, whereas the iCLSCs introduced to the mammary fat pad were not able to generate teratomas with similar features. These observations call for additional research to identify the dependency on a supportive niche and their role in metastasis based on a tumor-favorable microenvironment. Our study helped to establish the use of in vitro oncogenic reprograming to generate bioengineered-iCLSCs and suggests the potential application for the initiation of organ-specific, malignant tumor formation in an orthotopic small animal cancer model. Citation Format: Sungpil Cho, Hongsuk Park, Elke A. Jarboe, C Matthew Peterson, You Han Bae, Margit Matthew Janat-Amsbury. Bioengineered-induced cancer-like stem cells: characterization and applications. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 2502.
Polymer optical interconnect technologies for polylithic gigascale integration

Polymer optical waveguides embedded within buried air-gap cladding regions are presented as part of a wafer-level packaging technology for polylithic integration of optical interconnection with CMOS microelectronics. Functional 5 /spl mu/m wide/25 /spl mu/m pitch optical channels with dielectric/air core/cladding regions exhibit 0.43-1.22 dB/cm. scattering losses for unpassivated and passivated channels. A 1/spl times/4 multimode interference (MMI) power splitter constructed from the same polymer material exhibits 0.23-1.3 dB output power non-uniformity. Volume grating couplers constructed from a second photopolymer material exhibit /spl sim/72% input coupling efficiency.
“Run Like Hell” to “Look Before You Leap”: Teacher Educators’ Responses to Preparing Teachers for Diversity and Social Justice in the Wake of edTPA

The context and content of teacher education is continually impacted by political and policy shifts. One of the latest mandates to impact teacher education is an external evaluation called the edTPA. This assessment aims to determine a teacher candidate’s readiness for teaching and is being used as a certification requirement in some states. This chapter presents results of a study conducted with teacher education faculty to understand how edTPA impacts the work of preparing teachers for social justice. The study examined online survey data from higher education teacher educators who are currently using edTPA. While the results of the survey showed that some within the teacher education community welcomed the ensuing programmatic changes, most voiced concerns about a variety of changes that came with implementation.
Reprint of: Aging: Treating the Older Patient.

• Despite the greater use of autologous transplant for multiple myeloma and allogeneic transplant for AML, significant underuse persists.
Multi-conformal-symplectic PDEs and discretizations

Past work on integration methods that preserve a conformal symplectic structure focuses on Hamiltonian systems with weak linear damping. In this work, systems of PDEs that have conformal symplectic structure in time and space are considered, meaning conformal symplecticity is fully generalized for PDEs. Using multiple examples, it is shown that PDEs with this particular structure have interesting applications. What it means to preserve a multi-conformal-symplectic conservation law numerically is explained, along with presentation of two numerical methods that preserve such properties. Then, the advantages of the methods are briefly explored through applications to linear equations, consideration of momentum and energy dissipation, and backward error analysis. Numerical simulations for two PDEs illustrate the properties of the methods, as well as the advantages over other standard methods.
Mining Herbaria For Clues To the Historic Prevalence of Lily Leaf Spot Disease (Pseudocercosporella inconspicua) On Gray's Lily (Lilium grayi) and Canada Lily (L. canadense)

abstract Lily leaf spot disease, caused by the fungal phytopathogen, Pseudocercosporella inconspicua, infects Lilium canadense and L. grayi. The disease is currently ubiquitous in populations throughout the range of L. grayi. To determine the historical prevalence of the disease, lily specimens from eight herbaria were examined visually and microscopically, and a search for records of the pathogen was conducted using mycology databases and relevant literature. Of 516 herbarium specimens, two L. canadense and one L. grayi had the characteristic leaf lesions that contained diagnostic conidia of P. inconspicua. All three diseased specimens were collected prior to 1950. Mycological collections included two North American records of P. inconspicua on L. canadense, two on L. michiganense, one on L. philadelphicum var. andinum, and one on a cultivated Eurasian lily hybrid. Interestingly, the earliest diseased herbarium specimens were from the northeastern US with a later appearance in the southern Appalachians, ...
Abstract 5389: A personalized medicine approach to identifying dysregulated epigenetic enzyme activity in the development of castrate-resistant prostate cancer

Purpose: Recent advances in proteomic and chromatin immunoprecipitation tools have been vital in studying cancer epigenetics, but the ability to measure directly the enzyme activities of dysregulated histone-modifiers understudied. We utilize a novel approach to identify altered histone-modifying enzymes in the progression from hormone sensitive (HS) to castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) progression. Methods: We developed, validated and utilized a high-throughput peptide microarray assay to identify altered histone lysine (de)acetylation activity in tumor lysates. Functional assays, novel HS and CRPC human tumor arrays and xenografts were utilized to confirm these findings. Results: This microarray-based activity assay revealed up-regulated histone acetyltransferase (HAT) activity against specific histone H3 sites in a castrate-resistant (CR) PCa cell line compared to its hormone-sensitive (HS) isogenic counterpart. NAD + -dependent deacetylation assays revealed down-regulated Sirtuin activity in validated CR lines. Levels of acetyltransferases GCN5, PCAF, CBP and p300 were unchanged between matched HS and CR cell lines. However, auto-acetylation of p300 at K1499, a modification known to enhance HAT activity and a target of deacetylation by SIRT2, was highly elevated in CR cells, while SIRT2 protein level was reduced in CR cells. Interrogation of HS and matched CR xenograft lines reveals that H3K18 hyperacetylation, increased p300 activity, and decreased SIRT2 expression are associated with progression to CR in 8/12 (66%). Tissue microarray analysis revealed that hyperacetylation of H3K18 is a feature of CRPC. Inhibition of p300 results in lower H3K18ac levels and increased expression of androgen receptor. Conclusions: This novel microarray approach provides a method to identify commonly dysregulated chromatin enzymes during progression providing a personalized therapeutic strategy to direct available drugs to target enzymes. Reduced SIRT2 expression and increased p300 activity lead to a concerted mechanism of hyperacetylation at specific histone lysine sites (H3K9, H3K14, and H3K18).Support: DOD PCRP (Jarrard) Citation Format: Jin-Hee Lee, Melissa Boersma, Bing Yang, Nathan Damaschke, Eva Corey, John Denu, David F. Jarrard. A personalized medicine approach to identifying dysregulated epigenetic enzyme activity in the development of castrate-resistant prostate cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5389. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-5389
Gizzard Helminths in Female Northern Pintails (Anas acuta) Wintering Along the Texas Coast

Abstract Gizzard helminths were examined in 100 (50 adult, 50 juvenile) female northern pintails (Anas acuta). Sixty-three individual helminths, representing 5 species (Amidostomum acutum, Echinuria uncinata, Epomidiostomum uncinatum, Streptocara crassicauda, and Gastrotaenia cygni) were found. Twenty-seven northern pintails were infected with 1–3 helminth species and averaged 1.4 species. Overall, A. acutum and G. cygni were the most prevalent and abundant species (20%, n = 31 and 10%, n = 25, respectively), followed by S. crassicauda (5%, n = 5), E. uncinata (1%, n = 1), and E. uncinatum (1%, n = 1). Intensity of infection for A. acutum, E. uncinata, E. uncinatum, S. crassicauda, and G. cygni was 1.6 ± 0.3 [SE], 1.0 ± 0, 1.0 ± 0, 1.0 ± 0, and 2.5 ± 0.6, respectively. Our findings represent new information about gizzard helminth infections in northern pintails wintering along the Texas coast.
Differential Regulation of Immune Signaling and Survival Response in Drosophila melanogaster Larvae upon Steinernema carpocapsae Nematode Infection

Drosophila melanogaster is an excellent model to dissect the molecular components and pathways of the innate anti-pathogen immune response. The nematode parasite Steinernema carpocapsae and its mutualistic bacterium Xenorhabdus nematophila form a complex that is highly pathogenic to insects, including D. melanogaster. We have used symbiotic (carrying X. nematophila) and axenic (lacking X. nematophila) nematodes to probe the regulation of genes belonging to different immune signaling pathways in D. melanogaster larvae and assess the survival response of certain mutants to these pathogens. We found that both types of S. carpocapsae upregulate MyD88 (Toll), but not PGRP-LE (Imd); whereas axenic S. carpocapsae strongly upregulate Wengen (Jnk), Domeless (Jak/Stat), Dawdle (TGFβ, Activin), and Decapentaplegic (TGFβ, BMP). We further found that inactivation of Wengen and Decapentaplegic confers a survival advantage to larvae infected with axenic S. carpocapsae, whereas mutating PGRP-LE promotes the survival of larvae infected with symbiotic nematodes.
The Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus Type 1 Basic Leucine Zipper Factor Attenuates Repair of Double-Stranded DNA Breaks via Nonhomologous End Joining

Adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) is a fatal malignancy of CD4+ T cells infected with human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1). ATL cells often exhibit random gross chromosomal rearrangements that are associated with the induction and improper repair of double-stranded DNA breaks (DSBs). The viral oncoprotein Tax has been reported to impair DSB repair but has not been shown to be consistently expressed throughout all phases of infection. The viral oncoprotein HTLV-1 basic leucine zipper (bZIP) factor (HBZ) is consistently expressed prior to and throughout disease progression, but it is unclear whether it also influences DSB repair. We report that HBZ attenuates DSB repair by nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ), in a manner dependent upon the bZIP domain. HBZ was found to interact with two vital members of the NHEJ core machinery, Ku70 and Ku80, and to be recruited to DSBs in a bZIP-dependent manner in vitro We observed that HBZ expression also resulted in a bZIP-dependent delay in DNA protein kinase (DNA-PK) activation following treatment with etoposide. Although Tax is reported to interact with Ku70, we did not find Tax expression to interfere with HBZ:Ku complex formation. However, as Tax was reported to saturate NHEJ, we found that this effect masked the attenuation of NHEJ by HBZ. Overall, these data suggest that DSB repair mechanisms are impaired not only by Tax but also by HBZ and show that HBZ expression may significantly contribute to the accumulation of chromosomal abnormalities during HTLV-1-mediated oncogenesis.IMPORTANCE Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infects 15 million to 20 million people worldwide. Approximately 90% of infected individuals are asymptomatic and may remain undiagnosed, increasing the risk that they will unknowingly transmit the virus. About 5% of the HTLV-1-positive population develop adult T-cell leukemia (ATL), a fatal disease that is not highly responsive to treatment. Although ATL development remains poorly understood, two viral proteins, Tax and HBZ, have been implicated in driving disease progression by manipulating host cell signaling and transcriptional pathways. Unlike Tax, HBZ expression is consistently observed in all infected individuals, making it important to elucidate the specific role of HBZ in disease progression. Here, we present evidence that HBZ could promote the accumulation of double-stranded DNA breaks (DSBs) through the attenuation of the nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) repair pathway. This effect may lead to genome instability, ultimately contributing to the development of ATL.
Parent—Infant Interaction, Attachment, and Socioemotional Development in Infancy

Perhaps the most dramatic and significant event occurring during the first year of life is the formation of social attachments. Infantile attachments constitute the first social relationships, crown a rapid phase of emergent social understanding, and appear to have long-term implications for the individual’s personality development. In this chapter, I review recent evidence concerning the development of parent—infant attachments in the first year of life. Then I present a perspective on the manner in which the formation of attachments and individual differences can be interpreted. Finally, I discuss evidence concerning the long-term implications of individual differences in the quality of infant—parent attachments.
Mackinder, H. J.

Halford Mackinder (1861–1947) made a signal contribution to the institutional development of British Geography. He established the School of Geography at the University of Oxford and many of his students subsequently filled chairs elsewhere. He was also important in raising standards in school geography through a series of textbooks. He promoted geography as a necessary part of the education of children who, as British imperial subjects, needed a global perspective. He also applied geography directly to the study of imperial and geopolitical issues and is perhaps best known for his elaboration of the idea of the heartland. This referred to the resource-rich region of Eastern Europe and Western Russia that he saw as the fortress from which a future land-power might dominate the world. These ideas were appealed to as justification both for Nazi territorial ambitions and for Cold War policies of containing the Soviet Union.
(Re)acquaintance with Praxis: A Poetic Inquiry into Shame, Sobriety, and the Case for a Curriculum of Authenticity

Through the use of poetic inquiry, this article explores the possibilities that exist within education when we acknowledge ourselves as imperfect. Drawing upon personal experience, the author seeks to create a dialogic space for reconsidering oneself and one’s ways of being within practice. Engaging poetically with theory and experience, the author uses the method of currere to explore her journey through alcoholism and sobriety, as well as experiences in the classroom, as a means of attending to the loss of connection that often occurs when educators perform according to external definitions. Through her experience, the author discovered that it is authenticity that creates the opportunity for dialogue and connection, allowing us to move beyond definition toward a curricular landscape that embraces our humanity.
Optimal Power Cable for Smart Grids

This paper investigates the calculation of ampacity values of medium voltage cable in an unfavorable burial method. The ampacity values are obtained using the International Electro-technical Commission (IEC) 60287 for all ac voltages with a 100% load factor in ducts, pipes, trenches. The cables are obtained from Leading Solution (LS) cable data sheet which provides the values for parameters needed to calculate the ampacity. The ampacity values are analyzed with constant and varying ambient temperature and burial depth. An Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is created to allow users to input a cables voltage and ampacity values in different situations to obtain an output of parameters for that specific cable. Ampacity value calculations showed an 8-15% difference from listed to those calculated. The regression factor of the ANN was around 0.996 and the overall error for all fourteen outputs was at maximum between 1-2%.
Gene Regulatory Networks and the Maximum Likelihood Method

The different cell types in the human body look different and do very different things: Compare, for example, liver cells and brain cells. How do they manage to be so different given that they have the same DNA? The answer is that cells regulate the expression of their genes – that is, they control when and where their genes are used to make protein. As a result, different cell types make a different complement of proteins. In fact, the expression of a gene can be regulated by other genes. Biologists represent this using a gene regulatory network , a diagram that shows how genes interact. Figure 13.1 shows an example of such a network for some genes in the bacterium Bacillus subtilis . In the diagram, each gene is represented by a circular node . To show that one gene regulates another, we draw an edge , that is, a line with an arrow. This indicates that one gene (the one which the arrow is drawn from) regulates the transcription of the second (the one which the arrow is drawn to). The effect of this regulation might either be positive ( upregulation ) or negative ( downregulation ), but we won’t make a distinction between those two cases here.
Use of Antihypertensive Medications in Left Ventricular Assist Device Patients Who Undergo Sleeve Gastrectomy

Purpose The use of antihypertensive medications has been shown to significantly decrease in most morbidly obese patients who undergo sleeve gastrectomy (SG) surgery, with 58% of patients having complete resolution of their hypertension. It is unknown if this same effect is seen in morbidly obese patients with left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) who undergo SG. Methods This is a single center retrospective study of morbidly obese patients with stage D heart failure who underwent LVAD surgery with concomitant or subsequent SG and remained on LVAD support for at least 6 months. Baseline demographics, mean blood pressure (MAP) readings, medications, and compliance were collected by chart review from the first clinic visit following SG, at 6 months, and at 12 months. Results A total of 28 (57.1% Male, mean age 47.5 ±12 years) patients underwent LVAD with SG between November 2013 and June 2018. Twenty patients had concomitant SG during LVAD implantation and seven patients had SG between 5 and 20 months following LVAD implantation. One patient had SG 6 months prior to LVAD implantation. Prior to SG, average body mass index (BMI) was 43 kg/m2. At initial clinic visit, mean MAP was 88.54mmHg (±15.9mmHg). Only 42.9% of patients were on at least one antihypertensive agent, 14.3% were on two agents concomitantly. At 6 months, mean BMI was 34.2% kg/m2, mean MAP was 82.8mmHg (±12.34mmHg) with 39.3% on at least one antihypertensive agent, 21.4% were on two agents. At 12-months, mean BMI was 32.7 kg/m2, mean MAP was 89.1mmHg (±14.13mmHg), with 37.5% were on at least one antihypertensive agent, 29.2% were on two or more agents. Conclusion Unlike non-LVAD patients undergoing SG, it appears that there is no statistically or clinically significant decline in utilization of antihypertensive medications in LVAD patients despite a reduction in BMI. This could be related to improved nutritional status despite weight loss in chronically ill stage D heart failure patients along with LVAD-patient related interaction.
MRI in Spine Infection

Spine infection is unfortunately a common occurrence, especially in susceptible patient populations. Differentiating infection from other non-infectious disease processes can be extremely difficult both clinically and on imaging. This chapter will review imaging of pyogenic spondylodiscitis, tuberculous spondylodiscitis, fungal spondylodiscitis, infectious sacroiliitis, and epidural abscesses with focus on the unique imaging features differentiating these conditions from non-infectious disease processes in the spine.
Responses to COVID-19 in China and the United States: How Governance Matters

Emergency management necessarily requires collaboration across multiple layers and units of government. A country’s governance and intergovernmental system shapes its approaches to emergency management. This article focuses on two countries that have different governing systems—China and the United States. China’s administrative contracting system relies on vertical mechanisms such as hierarchical personnel control to hold local government officials accountable, thus creating incentives for delays in addressing crises when they first emerge. The United States’ polycentric system allows local officials, who are held accountable to local electorates, to sound alarms on emergencies early on. Yet the system may easily suffer from a lack of coordination across levels and units of government. A comparison between the two countries lays the foundations for comparing government responses to COVID-19 and other crises. It also illustrates the need to think about broader governance issues in preparation for large-scale crises in the future.
Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) Wastewater Treatment Using Polybenzimidazole (PBI) Hollow Fiber (HF) Membranes.

Polybenzimidazole (PBI) hollow fiber membranes were used to treat flue gas desulfurization (FGD) wastewater (WW) from a coal fired power plant. Membranes were tested using both single salt solutions and real FGD WW. The PBI membranes showed >99% rejection for single salt solutions of NaCl, MgCl2, CaSO4, and CaCl2 at approximately 2000 PPM (parts per million). The membranes also showed >97% rejection for FGD WW concentrations ranging from 6900 to 14,400 PPM total dissolved solids (TDS). The pH of the FGD WW was adjusted between 3.97–8.20, and there was an optimal pH between 5.31 and 7.80 where %rejection reached a maximum of >99%. The membranes were able to operate stably up to 50 °C, nearly doubling the water flux as compared to room temperature, and while maintaining >98% salt rejection.
Working Paper Waiting for Lord Curzon: India’s Grand Strategy in the Long Shadow of Nehru

In this chapter, I map out India’s quest for a new grand strategy and the impediments that have precluded a new grand strategy from fructifying. I first describe the lineaments of Nehru’s grand strategy and the systems and procedures that India adopted in to pursue them. Second, I exposit the factors that have galvanized a debate about jettisoning these Nehruvian commitments. Third, I describe the various schools of thought about what India’s grand strategy should be. Fourth, I exposit the various bureaucratic and political hindrances that mired this transition. Finally, in the concluding section, I submit that what has resulted is a form of incrementalism that has precipitated important changes in India’s behavior politically, diplomatically and militarily away from these past Nehruvian commitments; however, the ambivalence about these changes in the political classes and public alike precludes me from arguing what Indian grand strategy will eventually emerge.
Generating a framework for the evaluation of structural layout preferences within e-commerce websites

x CHAPTER 1. BACKGROUND 1 Research Goals 3 Hypothesis 4 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 5 Web Atmospherics 6 Website Design Features 7 Website Appeal and Loyalty 8 Gender and Consumer Decision-Making in E-Commerce Sites 9 Cross-Cultural Comparisons of Aesthetics of E-Commerce Sites 10 Website Attraction and Cross-Cultural Differences 12 CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY 14 Introduction 14 Background 14 Evaluation of Existing Websites 16 Preparation of Scripts and Graphics for Analysis 18 Preparation of Test Websites 25 Data Collection Objectives 30 Data Collection Procedures 31 User Profile Questions 33 Online Purchasing Related Questions 34 Preference Evaluation Questions 35
Growth, Survival and Migration: The Trk to Cancer

Trk signaling is of widespread importance during development as it regulates the differentiation, survival and migration of multiple cell types. Similar fanctions for Trks can be found in a wide variety of cancers. These activities not only determine the biology of these cancers but also offer a potentially unique target for the control of cancer cell growth and motility through the inhibition of the Trk kinase.
Implementation of Delayed Cord Clamping

Poster Presentation Purpose for the Program To disseminate information that was learned at the national AWHONN Conference in June 2014. Proposed Change To overcome barriers by educating staff and health care providers with evidence‐based research and implementing delayed cord clamping. Implementation, Outcomes, and Evaluation To provide support with the implementation, which started in August 2014, staff, obstetric providers, and pediatric providers were educated about the benefits of delayed cord clamping. Implications for Nursing Practice The change in practice pattern to allow delayed cord clamping allowed for placental transfusion of the newborn's blood at birth.
Hardware-assisted view-dependent isosurface extraction using spherical partition

Extracting only the visible portion of an isosurface can improve both the computation efficiency and the rendering speed. However, the visibility test overhead can be quite high for large scale data sets. In this paper, we present a view-dependent isosurface extraction algorithm utilizing occlusion query hardware to accelerate visible isosurface extraction. A spherical partition scheme is proposed to traverse the data blocks in a layered front-to-back order. Such traversal order helps our algorithm to identify the visible isosurface blocks more quickly with fewer visibility queries. Our algorithm can compute a more complete isosurface in a smaller amount of time, and thus is suitable for time-critical visualization applications.
A Kinetic Analysis of the Binding of Oxygen and Carbon Monoxide to Lamprey Hemoglobin PETROMYZON MARINUS AND PETROMYZON FLUVIATILIS

Abstract We have studied the ligand-binding reactions of lamprey (Petromyzon marinus and Petromyzon fluviatilis) hemoglobin with O2 and CO in the pH range 9.0 to 5.6 by means of both rapid reaction and equilibrium techniques. All the data can be accurately described by a model in which it is assumed that there are two forms of hemoglobin, a high affinity monomer and a lower affinity dimer, and that the formation of the dimer is pH dependent and requires the protonation on the protein of one specific site which has a pK of 6.0. For the deoxyhemoglobin monomer-dimer reactions, the dissociation equilibrium constant, K2,1, is estimated as 0.5 µm at pH 5.6; the association rate constant as 2 x 106 m-1sec-1; and the dissociation rate constant as 1 per sec. The binding rates for the reaction of CO with the monomer and the dimer are 0.9 x 106 m-1 sec-1 and 0.12 x 106 m-1 sec-1, respectively, and for the reaction of O2, 10 x 106 m-1 sec-1 and 0.25 x 106 m-1 sec-1. The dissociation rates of CO and O2 from the monomer are 0.09 and 80 per sec, respectively, and for the monomer the partition coefficient, M, is 89. In the proposed mechanism the deoxyhemoglobin dimer itself is supposed to be noncooperative, and cooperativity, as seen at acid pH, results from the oxygen-linked dissociation of the liganded dimer which has a dissociation rate constant of 150 per sec. This dissociation gives rise to a high affinity species, and thus produces the observed cooperativity. The rate constants that gave the best fits to the kinetic data were used to simulate equilibrium O2-binding curves. The model accurately predicts the equilibrium behavior of this protein without considering aggregation above the level of the dimer. Physiologically, higher aggregates may not have functional importance.
Dynamics of Ripples on the Sandy Inner Shelf off Martha's Vineyard: Surveys, Field Measurements, and Models

Abstract : The long-term goal of our research is to improve fundamental understanding and numerical representation of coastal sediment-transport processes. We participated in EuroSTRATAFORM project, where our goal has been to improve quantitative models describing the relationships among meteorological and oceanographic forcing, freshwater influx, particle resuspension, and transport and accumulation of sediment in the coastal ocean. We helped obtain data for the Optics Acoustics and Stress In Situ (OASIS) project with many of the same goals and additional focus on the interaction between bed and suspended sediments and the influence of fine sediments on optical properties in the water column. We are funded through the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Geology Program to help a National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP)-funded partnership develop a community sediment-transport modeling system (CSTMS). Quantitative understanding of sedimentary processes is important to the Navy because they define environmental conditions in coastal regions, including current speeds, turbulence, water-column turbidity, and bottom acoustic properties. They are also of great interest to geologists and coastal resource managers.
Reducing False Alarms in the Detection of Human Influence on Data

Benford's law states that the frequency of first significant digits (FSD) in a random sample decreases as those digits increase. While this curious law is increasingly used to test for human influe...