cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Identifying hotspots of human anthrax transmission using three local clustering techniques

Abstract This study compared three local cluster detection methods to identify local hotspots of human cutaneous anthrax (HCA) transmission in the country of Georgia where cases have been steadily increasing since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Recent reports have indicated that the disease has reached historical levels in 2012 highlighting the need for better informed policy recommendations and targeted control measures. The purpose of this paper was to identify spatial clusters of HCA to aid in the implementation of targeted public health interventions. At the same time, we compared the utility of different statistical tests in identifying hotspots. We used the Getis-Ord ( G i ∗ ( d ) ) , a multidirectional optimal ecotope-based algorithm (AMOEBA) – a cluster morphology statistic, and the spatial scan statistic in SaTScan™. Data on HCA cases from 2000 to 2012 at the community level were aggregated to an 8 × 8 km grid surface and population data from the Global Rural and Urban Mapping Project (GRUMP) were used to calculate local incidence. In general, there was agreement between tests in the locations of HCA hotspots. Significant local clusters of high HCA incidence were identified in the southern, eastern and western regions of Georgia. The G i ∗ ( d ) and spatial scan statistics appeared more sensitive but less specific than the AMOEBA algorithm. The scan statistic identified larger geographic areas as hotspots of transmission. In general, the spatial scan statistic and G i ∗ ( d ) performed well for spatial clusters with lower incidence rates, whereas AMOEBA was well suited for defining local spatial clusters of higher HCA incidence. In resource constrained areas, efficient allocation of public health interventions is crucial. Our findings identified hotspots of HCA that can be used to target public health interventions such as livestock vaccination and training on proper outbreak management. This paper illustrates the benefits of evaluating statistical approaches for defining disease hotspots and highlights differences in these clustering approaches applicable beyond public health studies.
Doxycycline Modulates Nitric Oxide Production in Murine Lung Epithelial Cells

Many effective therapeutic agents exhibit effects that are different from their intended primary mode of action. Antibiotics such as doxycycline and erythromycin A are no exception. They also display anti-inflammatory activity. Using LA4 murine lung alveolar epithelial cells, effects of doxycycline and erythromycin A on inducible NO synthase (iNOS) NO production as well as iNOS protein and mRNA production were investigated. Induction of iNOS was accomplished by treatment with cytomix (TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, and IFN-gamma each at 5 ng/ml). Production of NO or iNOS was not detected in controls with or without erythromycin A. In the presence of cytomix, erythromycin A did not decrease NO, nitrite, iNOS protein, or mRNA production. In contrast, doxycycline caused a dose-dependent decrease in NO, nitrite, iNOS protein, and mRNA production in cytomix-treated cells. Doxycycline at 30 mug/ml produced a 90% decrease in nitrite and NO production and a 52% decrease in iNOS mRNA transcription compared with cytomix treatment alone. Actinomycin D treatment suggests that doxycycline decreases stability of iNOS mRNA in cytomix-treated cells. To determine a mechanism for the decrease in iNOS expression, NF-kappaB and AP-1 transcription regulatory systems and p38 MAPK were examined. Doxycycline treatment gave no statistically significant change in NF-kappaB activation but did decrease p38 MAPK protein in cytomix-treated cells by 50%, suggesting that p38 MAPK may be responsible for stabilization of iNOS mRNA. These results demonstrate that doxycycline decreases NO production from iNOS by destabilization of iNOS mRNA via decreased expression of p38 MAPK.
p–y curve and lateral response of piles in fully liquefied sands

This paper provides a technique to assess the response of laterally loaded piles and associated p–y curves in fully liquefied soils (where p is the soil–pile reaction and y is the pile deflection). The technique accounts for the variation of water pressure in the liquefied soils around the pile and its impact on the shape of the p–y curves and the pile lateral response. A constitutive undrained stress–strain model for fully liquefied saturated sands using the basic properties of sand is established to predict the post-liquefaction varying resistance of liquefied sands at different levels of loading assuming fully undrained conditions. The degradation in soil strength due to the free-field excess pore-water pressure (uxs,ff), caused by an earthquake and resulting in full liquefaction, is considered along with the near-field excess pore-water pressure (uxs,nf) induced by lateral loading from the superstructure. The presented procedure also accounts for the influence of the overburden pressure and sand densi...
School functioning and violent behavior among young adolescents: a contextual analysis

This paper examines associations between overall school functioning and frequency of violent behaviors among young adolescents (ages 10-14). The sample included 16 middle schools participating in an unrelated intervention study (on nutrition) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A School Functioning Index, developed to characterize schools' overall stability, performance and demographics, was constructed using data from public archives and school administrator surveys. Data on violent behaviors and other variables were collected in student surveys in fall 1998 and spring 1999. We used multilevel modeling to assess the effect of school functioning on violent behavior after adjusting for known individual-level covariates of violent behaviors. We found an interaction between school functioning (group-level variable) and expectations for future education (individual-level variable). Among students who reported expectations of completing a college degree (71% of the sample), positive school functioning was negatively associated with violent behaviors. Among students that reported expectations of completing less than a college degree, no association was found between school functioning and violent behaviors. These results support earlier work suggesting that objectively measured school characteristics are associated with students' violent behaviors even after accounting for individual-level factors and also identify a subgroup of students for whom school detachment may be an issue.
High Power Microwave Surface Flashover of a Gas-Dielectric Interface at 90 to 760 Torr

The major limiting factor in the transmission of high-power microwave (HPM) has been the interface between dielectric-vacuum or, even more severely, between dielectric-air, if HPM is to be radiated into the atmosphere. Extensive studies have identified the physical mechanisms associated with vacuum-dielectric flashover, as opposed to the mechanisms associated with air-dielectric flashover, which are not as well known. Surface-flashover tests involving high field enhancement due to the presence of a triple point have shown that volume breakdown threshold (dielectric removed) is approximately 50% higher than the flashover threshold with a dielectric interface over the 90-760 torr range. In order to quantify the role of field enhancement in the flashover process independent of electron injection from metallic surfaces, the effects of the triple point are minimized by carefully choosing the geometry, and in some cases, the triple point is "removed" from the flashover location. Experimental results were presented, including the impact of gas pressure and the presence of UV illumination, along with temperature analysis of the developing discharge plasma and temporally resolved images of the flashover formation. These results are compared with literature data for volume breakdown in air, with discussion on the similarities and differences between the data
Polymerization of acrylates and methacrylates to make homopolmers and block copolymers initiated by N-alkoxyphthalimides and succinimides

Various N-alkoxyphthalimides were prepared and tested as initiators for polymerization of a variety of monomers. Acrylates and methacrylates polymerized at 40–50°C. Vinyl acetate and styrene were moderately reactive at 60–65°C. Rates of reaction were sensitive to the choice of solvent. THF generally gave the highest conversions, with much reduced reactivities in solvents of higher polarity, such as acetonitrile, acetone, DMSO or DMF. In aliphatic hydrocarbon solvents or di-n-butyl ether no polymers were obtained. Bulk polymerizations proceeded well, depending on the monomer. Rates of polymerization were sensitive to the structure of the group attached to nitrogen. OR groups, where R contained α-electron-withdrawing esters, benzylic or allylic groups, were more reactive than when R was an aliphatic group. A–B block copolymers were readily prepared, starting with PMA, PBA or PMMA. However, because the rates of initiation were slow, relative to rates of propagation, N-alkoxyphthalimide initiators survived mostly intact. Consequently, final A–B block copolymers were invariably contaminated with indeterminate amounts of homopolymer from polymerization of the second monomer.
pH dependence of iron photoreduction in a rocky mountain stream affected by acid mine drainage

The redox speciation of dissolved iron and the transport of iron in acidic, metal-enriched streams is controlled by precipitation and dissolution of iron hydroxides, by photoreduction of dissolved ferric iron and hydrous iron oxides, and by oxidation of the resulting dissolved ferrous iron. We examined the pH dependence of these processes in an acidic mine-drainage stream, St Kevin Gulch, Colorado, by experimentally increasing the pH of the stream from about 4.0 to 6.5 and following the downstream changes in iron species. We used a solute transport model with variable flow to evaluate biogeochemical processes controlling downstream transport. We found that at pH 6.4 there was a rapid and large initial loss of ferrous iron concurrent with the precipitation of aluminium hydroxide. Below this reach, ferrous iron was conservative during the morning but there was a net downstream loss of ferrous iron around noon and in the afternoon. Calculation of net oxidation rates shows that the noontime loss rate was generally much faster than rates for the ferrous iron oxidation at pH 6 predicted by Singer and Stumm (1970. Science 167: 1121) The maintenance of ferrous iron concentrations in the morning is explained by the photoreduction of photoreactive ferric species, which are then depleted by noon.
Design Partitioning for Reducing Crosstalk Analysis Time

With increasing complexity of designs and reducing process nodes, the number of devices in designs has been rapidly rising. This has a dramatic impact on analysis of these designs, as the software and hardware are unable to analysis such designs "flat". The authors discuss a method for partitioning designs so that crosstalk analysis can be done on these smaller partitions and show that the technique cleanly divides the netlist into independent problem statements that can be analyzed parallely. The authors also show that the results of such independent runs can be merged and that the final report of the analysis is accurate (as compared to the analysis on the complete design). The authors show that the technique provides for dramatic reductions in runtime, and that the memory requirements of the design are also partitioned across the machines in approximately the same ratio as the size of the partitions themselves
Microbial growth in Arctic tundra soil at −2°C

There is some evidence that microbes inhabiting permanently frozen environments are capable of cell maintenance and growth under in situ conditions. In contrast, Arctic tundra surface soils that are only frozen during the winter have exhibited CO2 respiration under frozen conditions. This could result from maintenance metabolism fuelled by recycling cell material, but does necessarily indicate growth, which requires the synthesis of new cell material. We used (13) C-glucose to trace C into membrane lipids and 5-bromo-3-deoxyuridine to monitor DNA synthesis in a laboratory microcosm study on Arctic tundra soils. Organisms were not equally active: fungi incorporated more C than any other group. Although some bacteria were growing, Gram(+) bacteria were almost completely inactive. Shrub tundra microbes were more active in early winter than tussock microbes, incorporating more C and synthesizing more DNA. In late winter, the C incorporation pattern reversed, although DNA production was similar. We demonstrated for the first time that microbes in frozen tundra soils synthesized new cell membranes and DNA, processes fundamentally associated with growth. That microbes can grow during Arctic winters may have important implications for C cycle modelling under a changing climate.
Zygomycosis involving lungs, heart and brain, superimposed on pulmonary edema

Zygomycosis is an uncommon but frequently fatal infection and occurs mostly in immunosuppressed hosts, whereas approximately 50% of zygomycosis occurs in diabetic patients. The current patient initially presented with persistent pulmonary edema secondary to renal failure. This was the last of four admissions within 1 year for this 68-year-old woman, for whom the chief complaints were shortness of breath and chest pain. Her past medical history included insulin-requiring type 2 diabetes and hypertension for 10 years, and chronic heart and renal failure. She was previously admitted to the hospital for what appeared to be pulmonary edema secondary to renal failure. In the last admission the patient developed pulmonary hemorrhage and metabolic acidosis. Transbronchial biopsy was performed, showing irregular fungal hyphae in the blood vessels, morphologically consistent with zygomycosis. Central nervous system computed tomography also revealed a large infarct in the cerebral hemisphere. The patient died on the seventh hospital day. At autopsy three organs were extensively involved by zygomycosis: (i) lungs were diffusely hemorrhagic with acute infarcts; (ii) pericardium had fibrotic inflammation; and (iii) the left cerebral hemisphere, cerebellum and pons had large hemorrhagic infarct by zygomycosis infection. Corticosteroid medication and hemodialysis triggered increasing hyperglycemia, metabolic acidosis and iron overload, which contributed to zygomycosis infection that subsequently spread to the heart and brain as a rare consequence.
Neuropsychological comparison of children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure and an IQ-matched comparison group

An objective in current research on children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) is to determine neurobehavioral profiles to identify affected individuals. Deficits observed when children with FASD are compared to typically developing controls may be confounded by lower IQ scores in the subjects with FASD. To determine if prenatal alcohol exposure is associated with neurobehavioral deficits after controlling for IQ differences, multivariate analyses were conducted to compare alcohol-exposed (ALC) subjects to a comparison group closely matched on IQ (IQC). The initial analysis included a broad neuropsychological battery with measures of language, executive function, visual-motor integration, motor ability, and academic achievement. Additional, in depth comparisons focused on visual sustained attention, verbal learning and memory and parent/guardian-reported behavior problems. Group differences (ALC < IQC) were found on verbal learning and parent-rated behavior problems. Group differences were marginally significant (measures within the broad neuropsychological comparison) or not significant (visual attention, retention of verbal material) on the remaining comparisons. Therefore, some deficits (e.g., verbal learning and behavior problems) in children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure cannot be explained by the lower FSIQ observed in the population. These areas of relative weakness could be useful in distinguishing children with FASD from other children with lowered IQ.
Testing resource description and access (RDA) with dublin core

Resource Description and Access (RDA) is a new standard for describing all types of resources. Columbia University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign evaluated the guidelines by means of the Dublin Core element set during the U.S. National Libraries RDA Test, held from October to December 2010. This paper speaks to the issues which emerged during the test and what each institution did to address them. Test setups employed, and tools used, as well as a selection of problems encountered are described in the following summation of findings.
Device use: walking AIDS, braces, and orthoses for symptomatic knee osteoarthritis

With too few conservative options in the current medical system, increasing numbers of osteoarthritis (OA) sufferers are using untested folk remedies and self-prescribed dietary supplements. There is enormous popular demand for noninvasive and nonpharmacologic therapies for OA, and there is a pressing need for clinicians to respond to this demand by updating their practice. This review introduces clinicians to the most important noninvasive devices used in the conservative management of knee OA. Because the shared goal of these devices is to favorably alter lower limb biomechanics, each section of the review considers evidence of biomechanical and clinical efficacy.
Progress and prospects for an IFE relevant FI point design

The physics issues involved in scaling from sub-ignition to high gain fast ignition are discussed. Successful point designs must collimate the electrons and minimise the standoff distance to avoid multi- megajoule ignition energies. Collimating B field configurations are identified and some initial designs are explored. Fast ignition (FI) is an advanced concept for inertial confined fusion (ICF) that has the potential to deliver gain ∼100× for a driver energy ∼ 1MJ. It is attractive for the development of inertial fusion energy (IFE) because target performance in this regime would be most effective for an IFE power plant. It is currently less attractive than central hot spot (CHS) ignition because it lacks a credible point design for high gain. Here we discuss our work to develop such a point design. Experimental research on FI and much of the numerical modeling effort have been focused on near term sub-ignition-scale FI experiments that are accessible with current laser facilities. The issues arising with scaling up to high gain have had less attention. High gain requires R ∼ 3gcm −2 whereas R values in leading FI experiments (e.g., FIREX I and OMEGA EP cone guided electron FI studies) are an order of magnitude smaller. Increase of R is obtained by self similar scaling of the hydrodynamics of the target. This brings two difficulties which lead to reduced coupling efficiency of laser energy to the ignition hot spot. Distances scale in proportion to R so that the stand off between the cone tip and the dense fuel is increased, reducing the coupling efficiency for a divergent electron source. Scaled up thickness of the cone tip increases the energy loss and scattering of the electrons which also reduces the coupling efficiency. Measurements of the divergence of the electrons in initially cold solid targets include significant self- collimation by azimuthal B fields and therefore underestimate the true source divergence. Large-scale particle in cell (PIC) modeling has indicated higher source divergence with a normalized integrated solid angle ∼5 steradians (1). While the results of the PIC modeling lack adequate validation by experimental benchmarking, they are currently the best available guides to the source characteristics.
Response of laminated composite flat panels to sonic boom and explosive blast loadings

This paper deals with a theoretical analysis of the dynamic response of shear deformable symmetrically laminated rectangular composite flat panels exposed to sonic boom and explosive blast loadings. The pertinent governing equations incorporating transverse shear deformation, transverse normal stress, as well as the higher-order effects are solved by using the integral-transform technique. The obtained results are compared with their counterparts obtained within the framework of the first-order transverse shear deformation and the classical plate theories and some conclusions concerning their range of applicability are outlined. The paper also contains a detailed analysis of the influence played by the various parameters characterizing the considered pressure pulses as well as the material and geometry of the plate.
A Semantics and Methodology for Ceteris Paribus Hypotheses

Taking seriously the arguments of Earman, Roberts and Smith that ceteris paribus laws have no semantics and cannot be tested, I suggest that ceteris paribus claims have a kind of formal pragmatics, and that at least some of them can be verified or refuted in the limit.
THE CREATION OF NOVEL AND MARKETABLE SERVICE IDEAS

Novel and marketable service ideas are useful to most service enterprises. However, the literature has identified several reasons for innovations in services as lagging behind those in manufacturing. Some service enterprises believe that service ideas and innovations are readily imitated by competitors. Others view the impact of service innovations on profitability difficult to assess because specific innovative service elements are typically bundled with many other service elements when delivered to or used by customers. Some service enterprises do not have in-house groups specifically dedicated to innovative pursuits, making it difficult for them to systematically produce new service ideas. Furthermore, because services are usually produced and consumed concurrently, any failure tends to expose the service enterprise immediately, unlike the manufacturing companies which can minimize such risks of exposure by conducting pilot testing away from the marketplace. As a result, many service enterprises are said to shy away from aggressively pursuing new service development projects. It does not have to be this way. This paper describes the combinatorial, heuristic, and normatively guided method, which when correctly applied to a service enterprise enhances the generation of new service ideas in a systematic, speedy, and cost-effective manner, and without requiring the creation of a dedicated and rigid organizational structure. Virtual teams of the "stealth" type are set up to address innovation needs related to marketability and cost competitiveness. These teams may include frontline customer-facing employees as well as customers, suppliers, and other external experts, who can work together despite geographical and time-zone constraints. The application of this method toward developing a specific new service idea is discussed in greater detail. The integration of a "stealth" team can also be readily applied to the front end of a typical stage-gate service development process, whereby parallel teams are engaged to address critical issues and steps needed to successfully market a service idea before initiating costly development, thereby raising the service enterprises' overall probability of developing commercially successful new services over time.
Experimental Foam Fractionation Selectivity Coefficients for the Alkali (Group IA) Metals

Abstract An experimental investigation is presented of the continuous-flow foam fractionation of each of the colligends Li+, K+, Rb+, and Cs+ versus Na+, the counterion of the dodecylsulfate anion over the aqueous solution concentration range of 1.0 × 10−4 to 6.0 × 10−4 M. Initial experiments with K+ confirm the achievement of a single-equilibrium-stage separation. Surfactant selectivity coefficients, defined in terms of a colligend-surfactant counterion exchange model at the interfaces of the rising gas bubbles, are established. They represent the ratio of colligend to sodium in the interfacial “stream” to that in the residual steam and are Li+, 0.92; K+, 1.10; Rb+, 1.51; Cs+, 1.65. The selectivity sequence is compared to the sequence of absolute partial molal entropies of the cations in aqueous solution.
Improvisations for Hart Crane

Super-ego crash-meshed idiot-savant. And what have you. This has to be the show-stopper. Stay put. Slumming for rum and rumba, dumb Rimbaud, he the sortilegist, visionary on parole, floor-walker watching space, the candy man, artiste of neon, traf1⁄2c’s orator, gaunt cantilevers engined by the dawn of prophecy. A sight to see itself: he, swinger with the saints in mission belfries, broken and randy zooming on the toll, love-death by elocution a close thing. Publish his name, exile’s remittancer, prodigal who reclaimed us brought to book.
Patterns and spatiotemporal chaos in parametrically forced surface waves: a systematic survey at large aspect ratio

Abstract A systematic experimental survey of both the primary patterns and the secondary instabilities of parametrically forced surface waves (Faraday waves) in the large system limit is presented. The symmetry of the primary pattern (stripes, squares, or hexagons) depends on viscosity ν and driving frequency f o . Hexagons are observed at low f o over the whole viscosity range despite the subharmonic symmetry that tends to suppress them. Possible mechanisms for the occurrence of hexagons for single frequency forcing are discussed. Boundary-induced distortion is absent for the hexagonal and square patterns, but present for stripes. Phase defects occur between hexagonal domains differing in temporal phase by π (with respect to the forcing). Patterns of different symmetry coexist in certain parameter ranges. The transition to spatiotemporal chaos (STC) depends on the symmetry of the primary patterns. The hexagonal patterns undergo an order/disorder transition in which the angular anisotropy in Fourier space declines continuously to zero. Striped patterns at high viscosity become unstable via transverse amplitude modulations in regions of high curvature; this instability results in a spatially nonuniform mixed state in which domains of STC coexist with stripes. We propose that this phenomenon may be understood in terms of a critical curvature that depends on the acceleration. A secondary oscillatory instability is also observed to deform the stripes within the mixed state at intermediate viscosities.
The alpha-helical rod domain of human lamins A and C contains a chromatin binding site.

Abstract We examined regions of human lamins A and C involved in binding to surfaces of mitotic chromosomes. An Escherichia coli expression system was used to produce full-length lamin A and lamin C, and truncated lamins retaining the central alpha-helical rod domain (residues 34-388) but lacking various amounts of the amino-terminal 'head' and carboxy-terminal 'tail' domains. We found that lamin A, lamin C and lamin fragments lacking the head domain and tail sequences distal to residue 431 efficiently assembled into paracrystals and strongly associated with mitotic chromosomes. Furthermore, the lamin rod domain also associated with chromosomes, although efficient chromosome coating required the pH 5-6 conditions needed to assemble the rod into higher order structures. Biochemical assays showed that chromosomes substantially reduced the critical concentration for assembly of lamin polypeptides into pelletable structures. Association of the lamin rod with chromosomes was abolished by pretrypsinization of chromosomes, and was not seen for vimentin (which possesses a similar rod domain). These data demonstrate that the alpha-helical rod of lamins A and C contains a specific chromosome binding site. Hence, the central rod domain of intermediate filament proteins can be involved in interactions with other cellular structures as well as in filament assembly.
Towards a new era in medicine: therapeutic genome editing

Genome editing is the process of precisely modifying the nucleotide sequence of the genome. It has provided a powerful approach to research questions but, with the development of a new set of tools, it is now possible to achieve frequencies of genome editing that are high enough to be useful therapeutically. Genome editing is being developed to treat not only monogenic diseases but also infectious diseases and diseases that have both a genetic and an environmental component.
Pharmacomechanical Coupling Through Regulation of Myosin Light Chain Phosphatase

The two major components of pharmacomechanical coupling, inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-induced Ca2+ release and modulation of Ca2+ sensitivity, are described. Desensitization of phasic smooth muscles to Ca2+ is demonstrated through time-dependent divergence, during relaxation, between the level of Ca2+ and the decline in MLC20 phosphorylation and force. Possible mechanisms of desensitization include down-regulation of myosin light chain kinase and up-regulation of myosin light chain phosphatase. Sensitization to Caz’ is shown to be mediated by a G protein-coupled system that inhibits the (type 1) protein phosphatase responsible for dephosphorylation of the regulatory smooth muscle myosin light chain (MLC20). The diacylglycerol/kinase C system and arachidonic acid are identified as potential messengers mediating the inhibition of MLC20 phosphatase. The inhibitory effects of arachidonic acid on myosin light chain phosphatase, through dissociation of the catalytic from the targeting subunits, are illustrated, and studies showing the inhibition of voltage-gated Ca“ current by arachidonic acid are summarized. It is suggested that G protein-coupled protein phosphatase inhibition plays a significant role in the regulation of nonmuscle functions in which phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of nonmuscle myosins have functionally important effects.
Referential effects on articulatory learning.

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of referent changes on the articulatory learning of familiar words.Two groups of school-age children learned correct articulatory produc...
Detection of benign prostatic hyperplasia nodules in T2W MR images using fuzzy decision forest

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in men MRI has proven useful for detecting prostate cancer, and CAD may further improve detection. One source of false positives in prostate computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) is the presence of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) nodules. These nodules have a distinct appearance with a pseudo-capsule on T2 weighted MR images but can also resemble cancerous lesions in other sequences such as the ADC or high B-value images. Describing their appearance with hand-crafted heuristics (features) that also exclude the appearance of cancerous lesions is challenging. This work develops a method based on fuzzy decision forests to automatically learn discriminative features for the purpose of BPH nodule detection in T2 weighted images for the purpose of improving prostate CAD systems.
Adaptive Significance of ERα Splice Variants in Killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) Resident in an Estrogenic Environment

The possibility that chronic, multigenerational exposure to environmental estrogens selects for adaptive hormone-response phenotypes is a critical unanswered question. Embryos/larvae of killifish from an estrogenic-polluted environment (New Bedford Harbor, MA [NBH]) compared with those from a reference site overexpress estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) mRNA but are hyporesponsive to estradiol. Analysis of ERα mRNAs in the two populations revealed differences in splicing of the gene encoding ERα (esr1). Here we tested the transactivation functions of four differentially expressed ERα mRNAs and tracked their association with the hyporesponsive phenotype for three generations after transfer of NBH parents to a clean environment. Deletion variants ERαΔ6 and ERαΔ6-8 were specific to NBH killifish, had dominant negative functions in an in vitro reporter assay, and were heritable. Morpholino-mediated induction of ERαΔ6 mRNA in zebrafish embryos verified its role as a dominant negative ER on natural estrogen-responsive promoters. Alternate long (ERαL) and short (ERαS) 5'-variants were similar transcriptionally but differed in estrogen responsiveness (ERαS ≫ ERαL). ERαS accounted for high total ERα expression in first generation (F1) NBH embryos/larvae but this trait was abolished by transfer to clean water. By contrast, the hyporesponsive phenotype of F1 NBH embryos/larvae persisted after long-term laboratory holding but reverted to a normal or hyper-responsive phenotype after two or three generations, suggesting the acquisition of physiological or biochemical traits that compensate for ongoing expression of negative-acting ERαΔ6 and ERαΔ6-8 isoforms. We conclude that a heritable change in the pattern of alternative splicing of ERα pre-mRNA is part of a genetic adaptive response to estrogens in a polluted environment.
A Shaped Paraboloid Antenna with Fan-shaped Beam

A numerical calaulation and experiment show that a new kind of shaped paraboloid antenna can generate fan-shaped beams.The shaped method is rotating up the lower portion of the paraboloid around the vertex of the paraboloid.Half-power beamwidths of the shaped paraboloid on the E-plane and H-plane are 1.2 0 and 5.60 respectively,sidelobe levels of the shaped paraboloid on the E-plane and H-plane are-19.00 dB and-14.85 dB respectively(radiation pattern of the feed is cos3 and the aperture radius of the shaped paraboloid is 0.8m).
Bisphosphonates in Breast Cancer Patients with Skeletal Metastases

The utility of bisphosphonates is well established in the treatment of acute hypercalcemia of malignancy. Bisphosphonates may also decrease the complications and morbidity of skeletal metastases. This article emphasizes the use of bisphosphonates in breast cancer patients with skeletal metastases.
CONGENITAL INCLUSION BODY HEMOLYTIC ANEMIA ASSOCIATED WITH EPILEPSY AND DISORDERED PYRIDOXINE METABOLISM.

An 18-year-old girl with severe congenital hemolytic anemia due to an intracorpuscular erythrocytic defect is presented. In addition to persistent and severe jaundice, the child9s erythrocytes always demonstrated severe hypochromia, poikilocytosis, anisocytosis, and a remarkable proportion were nucleated. Large numbers of iron-positive inclusion bodies were a constant feature of her erythrocytes, as well. The tryptophan loading test was abnormal, suggesting disordered pyridoxine metabolism. The free erythrocyte coproporphyrin values were elevated, indicating a defect in heme synthesis. The patient had a life-long history of a convulsive disorder. It is suggested that the entire symptom complex was the expression of a defect in tryptophan metabolism related to pyridoxine. However, therapeutic challenge with pyridoxine was not performed; the patient cannot be included among the pyridoxine-responsive anemias.
Vasopressin receptor-mediated endocytosis: current view

A number of peptide hormones have been shown to undergo receptor-mediated endocytosis (RME). RME involves the internalization of receptor-ligand complexes followed by delivery to an intracellular compartment, the endosome, from which ligands or receptors can be delivered to lysosomes or other cellular destinations. Vasopressin, a peptide hormone that plays a role in kidney and vascular physiology, has recently been demonstrated to undergo RME in LLC-PK1 and A10 cells, which express V2- and V1-type vasopressin receptors, respectively. Fluorescent vasopressin analogues are internalized by RME from the basolateral surface of polarized LLC-PK1 cells. The precise role of RME in vasopressin action is uncertain, but it is likely that it is involved in the desensitization of target cells by altering the number of cell surface vasopressin receptors. Alterations in the rate of RME may alter the response of the cell to vasopressin. Fluorescent and biotinylated vasopressins are useful tools for the study of this process.
Method for recovering ATP content and mitochondrial function after chemical anoxia in renal cell cultures

Cultured renal cells provide a highly reproducible and malleable model to study cellular responses to metabolic perturbations. Nevertheless, there is currently no good method to achieve metabolic i...
Why Do Equally Weighted Portfolios Outperform Value Weighted Portfolios

Using the Modigliani-Miller (MM) theorem and the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), we prove that equally weighted portfolios have higher expected return than value weighted portfolios when the market premium is positive, bankruptcy costs do not exist, and tax shields exist. This paper also proves that equally weighted portfolios have higher volatility than value weighted portfolios when bankruptcy costs do not exist and tax shields exist. Furthermore, we prove that diff erences between an equally weighted and a value weighted portfolio pair in terms of return and volatility increase as we add more assets to each portfolio. Using datasets that include the Ken-French Data Library and equities in the S&P500 index, we provide empirical evidence that supports these theoretical results in this paper.
Aspects of interrogative use in near-native French: Form, function, and register

This paper reports on interrogative (question) use in the informal spontaneous speech of near-native second-language French speakers. Interrogatives present considerable variation in French, and choices of interrogative form depend on semantics, communicative function, and register. Using a corpus of spontaneous conversations between near-native (NNSs) and native speakers (NSs), the inventory of interrogatives used is described; A detailed examination is then given of the question marker est-ce que (“is it that”), a candidate for overuse in L2 French ( Zwanziger 2008, p. 91 ). The results, from 825 occurrences of interrogative structures, reveal that the NNSs possess extremely similar inventories of interrogative forms to their NS interlocutors and that their interrogative choices are both communicatively and socio-stylistically appropriate. What appears quantitatively as overuse of est-ce que by two NNSs is, from a communicative point of view, entirely felicitous: Like NSs, the NNSs reserve est-ce que for several marked interrogative contexts. The results suggest that the NNSs successfully integrate syntactic, semantic, communicative, and sociolinguistic information in spontaneous conversation.
Impedance-based stability analysis of multiple STATCOMs in proximity

With the advanced technology of power electronics and the increasing load demand in modern power systems, it is possibly necessary to have multiple STATCOM (static compensator) units in physical proximity to share the work burden and to tackle emergencies too. Then there is a possibility that these STATCOMs may interact in an undesired way, which could drive the system into unwanted oscillations and potentially into instability, due to dynamic phenomena generated and dependent on the respective controllers of these converters as well as on the system impedance in their operating region. On the contrary, a system with a single STATCOM would not be subject to these specific occurrences. To investigate this problem, this paper extends the impedance-based stability analysis in order to explains the dynamics behind. A sample transmission system and its corresponding simulation model are used as test bed to conduct the study.
Cobalt-alumina sol gels: Effects of heat treatment on structure and catalytic ability

Abstract Cobalt-alumina (Co-Al) aerogel catalysts show potential as less expensive, sustainable alternatives to the platinum-group-metal catalysts used in three-way catalytic converters. Effects of heat treatment on the structure of Co-Al xerogels and aerogels and catalytic performance of Co-Al aerogels were investigated. Alumina gels were prepared by epoxide-assisted sol-gel synthesis, impregnated with ~ 3% cobalt, and either processed via rapid supercritical extraction to yield aerogels, or dried under ambient conditions to form xerogels. These materials were calcined at temperatures ranging from 400 °C to 1100 °C and characterized using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller gas adsorption. When the aerogels and xerogels were heated to ~ 500 °C, crystalline portions of the alumina support underwent the expected phase transformation from boehmite to γ-alumina. Aerogels resisted further changes in samples heated to 1100 °C, whereas γ-alumina in the xerogels converted to α-alumina by 1100 °C. Heat-treated aerogels had high thermal stability, evidenced by their maintaining a surface area of 400 (± 30) m2/g after significant heating and resisting catalytically inhibiting θ/α-alumina phase changes. Color changes observed following heating are consistent with changes in cobalt-containing species within the materials. Preliminary catalytic tests showed that pre-heating Co-Al aerogels to 750 °C improves catalytic performance.
The Oxygen Sensing Characteristics of Microsomal Enzymes

The endoplasmic reticulum (microsomal fraction) of many types of tissues contains an electron transport system composed of hemoproteins and flavoproteins which function in the oxygen dependent transformation of a wide variety of natural and foreign chemicals. Although less well characterized than the mitochondrial respiratory chain, microsomal oxygenase reactions, in particular those in which cytochrome P-450 plays a central role, have attracted a great deal of attention recently because of the potential harmful effects of formed epoxide products as causative agents for chemical carcinogenesis as well as the function of this electron transport system for the detoxification of a variety of drugs as related to the pharmacologic effectiveness of these chemicals. The purpose of the present paper is to provide a brief overview of our current knowledge of the oxidative reactions catalyzed by microsomes and to identify a few areas of current interest related to the reaction of oxygen with the unique hemoprotein, cytochrome P-450. The details of many of these reactions have been discussed at recent symposia (1–4).
Comparison between American and Chinese consumers in the use of verbal and numerical 9-point hedonic scales and R-Index ranking for food and personal products

Abstract The food industry is now global, so that hedonic comparisons for various products may need to be made between consumers from different countries. Using the 9-point hedonic scale, it has been shown that East Asians use a significantly smaller range of scores than Americans; they are essentially using different scales, rendering comparisons between the two sets of consumers problematic. There is a necessity for a culture-free method of hedonic numerical assessment, which is not affected by such ‘cultural range variation’. American and Chinese consumers assessed candies, toothbrushes and pens, using the regular verbal 9-point hedonic scale as well as a purely numerical version. As expected from previous studies, the Chinese consumers tended to have a significantly smaller range of responses than the American consumers, although the effect was not as strong for the purely numerical 9-point hedonic scale. This meant that Chinese consumers were often using a shorter scale than the Americans, making comparisons between the two groups problematic. However, a ranking protocol with an R-Index analysis was also used. With this protocol, the range of responses for the Chinese and Americans was the same, being equal to the number stimuli being ranked, circumventing the problem of ‘cultural range variation’.
Bridging the Racial Divide through Cross-Racial Dialogue: Lessons and Reflections From My Experience as a Facilitator

One of the most difficult things about talking about race in the United States, is talking about race, particularly in cross-racial dialogues. One reason for this is because as a society, we tend not to do it, and when we do, we do not do it well (Johnson, 2006; Simpson, 2008), with attempts often ending in increased polarization (Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, 2011). After reviewing reasons for the relative lack of cross-racial dialogue and the ways these dialogues benefit individuals and contribute to social justice, I trace my inspiration and preparation for facilitating cross-racial dialogues about race in a community, using a pop-in style (no advanced registration required) through a social media website, as a form of social justice action. I also share strategies, protocols, and lessons learned from challenges I encountered. My hope is that my experiences as a facilitator will serve as inspiration, provide some humor, and most importantly, provide some action steps for the reader who chooses to be a leader and begin cross-racial dialogues as a way of increasing communication, understanding and relationships across races.
Outlook on the Potential of nTMS in Neurosurgery

Since 2011, we have observed rapid increase in the use of nTMS at specialized neuro-oncological centers worldwide. Like few other techniques before, preoperative functional mapping with nTMS has been integrated into the clinical workflow by neurosurgeons and clinical neurophysiologists in an unprecedented manner.
Development of Accommodation and Refractive State in the Eyes of Humans and Chickens

The optical quality of the eyes of some higher vertebrates (mainly primates and birds) is so good that aberrations induced by the image-forming structures are not the limiting factor of optical resolution. Instead, diffraction of light at the pupil aperture prohibits a further improvement of the optical resolution at the particular eye size. To attain such optical quality, considerable precision in the arrangement of the ocular structures is required. It can be calculated that for an emmetropic human eye with a depth of focus of about 0.5 D (Campbell, 1957), the retina may not move out of its proper position by more than about 100 µm without detectable loss of resolution. (Emmetropia is the technical name for that condition where a distant image is in good focus on the retina with resting accommodation.)
Competition and economic development efforts in the garden state: perceptions of municipal public officials

Competition for private investment, it has been argued, is often the fiercest between neighboring cities or cities within the same region. One result of maintaining a competitive edge (stimulating private investment) over other localities, is that local public officials rely on tax and non-tax incentive packages. If this is true, it seems that municipal public officials in New Jersey would perceive this competition and offer incentive packages given their location near major cities like Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. This article explores the perceptions of local public officials in New Jersey about competition and the impact of tax and non-tax incentives in the context of population, unemployment, income, geographic location, and government structure.
Model Checking of Security Properties in Industrial Control Systems (ICS)

With the increasing inter-connection of operation technology to the IT network, the security threat to the Industrial Control System (ICS) is increasing daily. Therefore, it is critical to utilize formal verification technique such as model checking to mathematically prove the correctness of security and safety requirements in the controller logic before it is deployed on the field. However, model checking requires considerable effort for regular ICS users and control technician to verify properties. This paper, provides a simpler approach to the model checking of temperature process control system by first starting with the control module design without formal verification. Second, identifying possible vulnerabilities in such design. Third, verifying the safety and security properties with a formal method.