cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Synthesis of sonicated fibrin nanoparticles that modulate fibrin clot polymerization and enhance angiogenic responses

Chronic wounds can occur when the healing process is disrupted and the wound remains in a prolonged inflammatory stage that leads to severe tissue damage and poor healing outcomes. Clinically used treatments, such as high density, FDA-approved fibrin sealants, do not provide an optimal environment for native cell proliferation and subsequent tissue regeneration. Therefore, new treatments outside the confines of these conventional fibrin bulk gel therapies are required. We have previously developed flowable, low-density fibrin nanoparticles that, when coupled to keratinocyte growth factor, promote cell migration and epithelial wound closure in vivo. Here, we report a new high throughput method for generating the fibrin nanoparticles using probe sonication, which is less time intensive than the previously reported microfluidic method, and investigate the ability of the sonicated fibrin nanoparticles (SFBN) to promote clot formation and cell migration in vitro. The SFBNs can form a fibrin gel when combined with fibrinogen in the absence of exogenous thrombin, and the polymerization rate and fiber density in these fibrin clots is tunable based on SFBN concentration. Furthermore, fibrin gels made with SFBNs support cell migration in an in vitro angiogenic sprouting assay, which is relevant for wound healing. In this report, we show that SFBNs may be a promising wound healing therapy that can be easily produced and delivered in a flowable formulation.
Clinical Applications of Myelin Plasticity for Remyelinating Therapies in Multiple Sclerosis

Central nervous system demyelination in multiple sclerosis (MS) and subsequent axonal degeneration represents a major cause of clinical morbidity. Learning, salient experiences, and stimulation of neuronal activity induce new myelin formation in rodents and in animal models of demyelination, remyelination can be enhanced by via experience- and activity-dependent mechanisms. Furthermore, preliminary studies in MS patients supports the use of neuromodulation and rehabilitation exercises for symptomatic improvement, suggesting that these interventions may represent non-pharmacological strategies for promoting remyelination. Here, we review the literature on myelin plasticity processes and assess the potential to leverage these mechanisms to develop remyelinating therapies. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Food Allergies Are Associated With Increased Disease Activity In Multiple Sclerosis (P4.2-068)

Objective: To assess the association between a self-reported history of allergic conditions and multiple sclerosis (MS) clinical and MRI disease activity. Background: Epidemiological studies investigating the association between a history of allergy and the risk of MS have shown conflicting results. Despite this controversy, one relevant question remains unanswered: is MS activity less or more intense among patients with an atopic history? Design/Methods: A subset of 1,349 patients enrolled in the Comprehensive Longitudinal Investigation of Multiple Sclerosis at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (CLIMB) study completed a self-administered questionnaire on environmental, food and drug allergies. Patients were distributed among four allergy groups: 1-environmental, 2-food, 3-drug, and 4-no known allergies (NKA). Clinical (number of attacks, expanded disability status scale [EDSS], MS severity score [MSSS]) and radiological variables (presence of Gadolinium (Gad)-enhancing lesions and lesion count) were analyzed between the different allergy groups with NKA. Results: The mean follow-up period between the questionnaire date and the analysis visit date was 2.0 (1.8) years for the whole cohort. The food allergy group had a rate 1.38 times higher for cumulative number of attacks compared to the NKA group (p=0.0062); this difference remained significant in the adjusted analysis (relapse rate ratio 1.27, p=0.0305). The food allergy group showed more than twice the likelihood (OR=2.53, p-value=0.0096) to have a Gad-enhancing lesion. The environmental and drug allergy groups did not show major differences when compared to the NKA group. The EDSS and MSSS were not affected by any type of allergy. Conclusions: MS patients with food allergy had more relapses and a higher likelihood of Gad-enhancing lesions as compared to patients with no known allergy. Future prospective studies are needed to confirm our findings and understand the underlying biological mechanism, which can lead to new therapeutic and preventative strategies for MS. Disclosure: Dr. Fakih has nothing to disclose. Dr. Diaz-Cruz has nothing to disclose. Dr. Chua has nothing to disclose. Dr. Gonzalez has received research support from Verily Life Sciences. Dr. Healy has received research support from Verily Life Sciences, Novartis, Merck Serono and Genzyme. Dr. Sattarnezhad has nothing to disclose. Dr. Glanz has received research support from Merck-Serono and Verily Life Sciences. Dr. Weiner has received personal compensation for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board, speaking, or other activities with Genentech, Tiziana Life Sciences, Tilos Therapeurics, IM Therapeutics, vTv Therapeutics and MedDay Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Weiner has received research support from NIH, NMSS, EMD Serono, Novartis, Sanofi Genzyme, Teva Neurosciences, and Verily Life Sciences. Dr. Chitnis has received personal compensation for advisory boards/consulting with F. Hoffman-La Roche, Biogen and Novartis. Dr Chitnis has received research support from Biogen, Merck Serono, Verily and Novartis.
Lightweight Sybil Attack Detection in IoT based on Bloom Filter and Physical Unclonable Function

Abstract Routing protocols play an important role in the communication and information distribution within an Internet of Things (IoT) system. RPL is one such popular routing protocol for IoT devices and systems. However, security in RPL is an afterthought, and it does not meet the demands of today’s complex cyberthreat landscape. Focusing on sybil attack detection in RPL-based IoT, we first propose a lightweight Bloom filter and physical unclonable function (PUF) based sybil attack detection mechanism (hereafter referred to as liteSAD). Our approach is designed to minimize memory cost as well as detection latency, without affecting the detection accuracy. Specifically, in liteSAD, Destination-Oriented Directed Acyclic Graph (DODAG) root generates a Bloom filter array through hashing each legitimate node’s identifier and PUF response, and distributes it through a new packet named BF-DAO. Upon receiving the BF-DAO packet, each legitimate node retrieves the Bloom filter array, updates its local copy, and employs it to detect sybil attack. We also propose a probabilistic DIO reply mechanism (i.e., proDIO) to reduce the number of broadcasted DIO packets in response to attack DIS packets. We investigate the setting of Bloom filter parameters that minimize the probability of false positive and time complexity while meeting the requirement of memory constraints in IoT devices. We also evaluate the performance of our mechanism liteSAD+proDIO through extensive simulation experiments, where the results demonstrate that liteSAD+proDIO can provide better performance in terms of detection rate, detection latency, miss detection rate, DIO Trickle timer, number of broadcasted DIO packets, and energy consumption. In summary, our major contributions are twofold: (i) the comprehensive analysis of RPL routing protocol, Trickle algorithm, and the impact of sybil attack; and (ii) the proposal of lightweight Bloom filter and PUF based sybil attack detection mechanism.
Quantitation of primary in vitro clonogenic keratinocytes from normal adult murine epidermis, following initiation, and during promotion of epidermal tumors

A quantitative in vitro assay for clonogenic epidermal cells from adult mice has been designed to focus on the cells from normal epidermis that are potential targets for carcinogens. Dorsal epidermal cells were isolated by trypsinization from groups of three to six CD-1 female mice with yields of 1.31 +/- 6.84 X 10(6) (average of n = 7; SD) viable epidermal cells per square centimeter of skin. Suspensions of single epidermal cells were plated at clonal density onto irradiated Swiss 3T3 cells. The cultures were maintained in high calcium SPRD-105 medium designed to support concomitant proliferation and terminal differentiation of keratinocytes from normal as well as carcinogen-exposed mice. Two weeks later, the dishes were fixed and stained with rhodanile blue, and epidermal colonies were counted. The average number of colonies from normal epidermis was 45 +/- 8.5 (n = 11; SD) per 10(4) cells plated for mice 9 to 69 weeks of age. To determine the effects of initiation on the number of clonogenic epidermal cells, groups of mice 8 weeks of age were treated topically with 200 nmol of 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene or acetone alone. The number of colonies in both treatment groups remained within the control (untreated) range at all intervals from 7 to 61 weeks after initiation. In contrast, the number of clonogenic cells from control as well as initiated epidermis remained elevated at 1 month following multiple in vivo treatments of skin with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). The increase in the number of clonogens was always greater from initiated epidermis treated with TPA than from control epidermis treated with TPA. These results suggest that an increase in the clonogenic population was a consequence of promotion rather than initiation and are in agreement with a concomitant carcinogenesis experiment confirming the apparent irreversibility of initiation, the veritable absence of tumors in the absence of promotion, and the similarity of the tumor responses regardless of the age of the animal at initiation or the length of the delay interval between initiation and promotion.
Conditions for Sexual Interactions Between Wild Grey Wolves, Canis lupus , and Coyotes, Canis latrans

Genetic evidence for the hybridization of wild Grey Wolves and Coyotes was first reported by Lehmann et al (1991). Subsequent genetic and landscape-environmental analyses have attempted to grasp the extent of Wolf-Coyote crosses in North America. Since Wolves are normally territorial and thus aggressive towards Coyotes, hybridization events remain rare, not withstanding the taxonomic debates regarding Canis in eastern Ontario. In this paper I report on amicable interactions between Wolves and Coyotes observed in Wisconsin in recent decades and discuss circumstances that may lead to pairing between individuals of the two species.
Safaricom Kenya Ltd: 2000 to 2010

The mobile telephony industry in Kenya has been dominated by Safaricom Kenya Ltd, a company that has come to be known as one of the most innovative companies in Africa. This paper describes the company's background, strengths, weaknesses, and mainly its strategy. The Kenyan mobile telephony industry is analyzed based on Michael Porter's Five-Force Competition model. The industry starts off with just two players in 2000 but by 2010 there are four players intensifying the competition and threatening to weaken Safaricom's position as market leader. The governing forces in the external environment are found to be the rivalry among competitors, the bargaining power of suppliers and the bargaining power of buyers. The conclusion is that Safaricom needs to re-invent itself using its strengths as leverage, for the sake of its long-term survival in the fast maturing industry.
Campaign Finance Laws and Unequal Political Representation

Whose opinions are reflected in the policy decisions made by state governments? A growing literature in political science documents unequal political representation at the national level, but political inequality at the state level remains under examined. This omission is unfortunate because the rich variation in political behavior, laws, institutions, and culture across the fifty states provides unique leverage for investigating what conditions lead to more or less political equality. Using public opinion measures from the National Annenberg Election Survey and data on state policy outputs, I find that state policy is consistently more proximate to the opinions of citizens with higher “social status” (a composite of income, educational attainment, and occupational prestige). Using this measure of opinion-policy proximity, I generate an index of the equality of political representation that is comparable across the states. I then evaluate the relationship between campaign finance laws and political equality and find preliminary evidence that states with more stringent campaign finance regulations (particularly disclosure requirements) weight citizens’ opinions more equally in the policymaking process. These findings suggest that laws and political institutions play an important role in promoting political equality.
Probabilistic reasoning for plan robustness

A planning system must reason about the uncertainty of continuous variables in order to accurately project the possible system state over time. A method is devised for directly reasoning about the uncertainty in continuous activity duration and resource usage for planning problems. By representing random variables as parametric distributions, computing projected system state can be simplified. Common approximations and novel methods are compared for over-constrained and lightly constrained domains within an iterative repair planner. Results show improvements in robustness over the conventional non-probabilistic representation by reducing the number of constraint violations during execution. The improvement is more significant for larger problems and those with higher resource subscription levels but diminishes as the system is allowed to accept higher risk levels.
FORUM: TOWARD A PHENOMENOLOGY OF INTERVIEWS

In these comments on Roth/Middleton’s very careful and impressive analysis of interviews in the construction of knowledgeability about a topic in science, I want to first discuss their own theoretical and methodological approach, and then pose some questions about broader implications for teaching and assessment in science education. The initial point and key examples made by Roth/Middleton are typical of the CA (Conversation Analysis) approach and its inheritance from Alfred Schutz’ phenomenological micro-sociology (or “ethnomethodology”): that talk is a way of accomplishing face-to-face interaction in a local, situated, and contingent process. This perspective is a useful antidote to more foundationalist or essentialist perspectives (as in classical macro-sociology) that reify categories like “knowledge” and “expertise” or even “gender,” “intelligence,” or “social class” into pre-given realities. Phenomenology in general takes reality to be a rather blurry and messy, dynamic flow which natural and social science tries to corral into a deceptive neatness, putting our own cultural and analytical categories in the place of the reality of primary experience. For instance, we substitute metric time for the experience of duration and call our new “time” a reality, when we have no warrant for claiming it is more real (and plenty of historiographical reasons for knowing that it is our own invention) than the experience of duration or persistent doing. All the more so for our social categories like “intelligence,” “race,” “gender,” “age,” or “knowledge.” What then is the experiential reality that underlies these categories? The CA school, following the early work of Harvey Sacks and now led in the USA by Emanuel “Manny” Schegloff, more or less contends that ordinary talk is at the heart of how we make social reality seem real to us. I have no basic disagreement with this, but I do see this view as in some respects too limited an approach both to the social functions of talk and to useful ways of conceptualizing social reality. That talk is constitutive of social reality is as sure as anything in social science. But if we look at talk not as an answer to the phenomenologists’
Fermionic extension of the scalar Born–Infeld equation and its relation to the supersymmetric Chaplygin gas

Abstract In this Letter, we present a fermionic extension of the scalar Born–Infeld equation, which has been derived from the Nambu–Goto superstring action in ( 2 + 1 ) dimensions through the Cartesian parameterization. It is demonstrated that in the relativistic limit where c → ∞ , the fermionic Born–Infeld model reduces to the supersymmetric Chaplygin gas model in one spatial dimension. However, the supersymmetry itself is not preserved.
Sodium spray fires

Abstract The experimental and theoretical evidence on the behavior of sodium spray fires in closed vessels is reviewed for applicability to LMFBR containment. Only when the liquid sodium is explosively ejected at very high velocities into air do the experimental pressure and temperature increases approach those predicted from thermodynamic considerations alone. In all other cases, the peak pressures are substantially less than the thermodynamic limit, especially when sodium droplets of the sizes expected in LMFBR accidents are used.
Relative Hydrolytic Rates of Certain Alkyl (b) dl-α-(2-Piperidyl)-phenylacetates

A series of alkyl esters of (b) dl-α-(2-piperidyl)-phenylacetic acid have been prepared and the kinetics of the hydroxyl ion-catalyzed hydrolysis at 80° and the hydronium ion-catalyzed hydrolysis at 95° of six of these esters were studied. In the base-catalyzed reaction, the following order of reactivity was found: 2-chloroethyl > 2-methoxyethyl > methyl > ethyl > n-propyl > n-butyl. The apparent free energy reaction constant for the base-catalyzed hydrolysis of this series was determined to be + 1.372 and, from the substituent constants reported in the literature, the relative rates of the isopropyl, isobutyl, and sec-butyl esters were calculated. The relative central stimulating activities of this series of esters reveals a decrease in activity with an increase of alkyl chain length.
Low-Complexity Array Codes for Random and Clustered 4-Erasures

A new family of low-complexity array codes is proposed for correcting 4 column erasures. The new codes are tailored for the new error model of clustered column erasures that captures the properties of high-order failure combinations in storage arrays. The model of clustered column erasures considers the number of erased columns, together with the number of clusters into which they fall, without pre-defining the sizes of the clusters. This model addresses the problem of correlated device failures in storage arrays, whereby each failure event may affect multiple devices in a single cluster. The new codes correct essentially all combinations of clustered 4 erasures, i.e., those combinations that fall into three or less clusters. The new codes are significantly more efficient, in all relevant complexity measures, than the best known 4-erasure correcting codes. These measures include encoding complexity, decoding complexity and update complexity.
Generation of enhancer trap lines in Arabidopsis and characterization of expression patterns in the inflorescence

Eleven thousand, three hundred and seventy enhancer/promoter trap lines in Arabidopsis were generated via T-DNA transformation utilizing the binary vector pD991 that contains a minimal promoter fused to the uidA reporter gene. Overall 31% of the lines generated exhibit a staining pattern in the inflorescence. Flanking DNA has been cloned from 15 lines exhibiting inflorescence staining patterns by either thermal asymmetric interlaced PCR (TAIL-PCR), inverse PCR (IPCR), or partial library construction. Seeds from these lines are available from the ABRC and NASC Arabidopsis stock centers and DNA pools are available from the ABRC.
Response of chrysanthemum to uniconazole and daminozide applied as dip to cuttings or as foliar spray

Uniconazole and daminozide were used as dip on unrooted cuttings or as foliar spray on pinched Dendranthema grandiflora Tzvelev. ‘Dalvina’ to control height. Stem elongation was determined on cuttings dipped in solutions of 0, 1.25, 2.5, 5, or 10 mg/L uniconazole or cuttings were dipped and later treated with foliar sprays in concentrations of 1.25/5, 1.25/10, 2.5/10, and 5/5 mg/L uniconazole, respectively. Other plants were sprayed once or twice with uniconazole at 10 mg/L. Daminozide treatments included a pre-plant dip/foliar spray application of 1000/2000 mg/L, respectively, or two foliar sprays of 2,000 mg/L. Uniconazole dip alone retarded stem elongation linearly up to 8 weeks after propagation, 5 weeks after pinching, but was not discernible from the control treatment 8 weeks after pinching. Uniconazole at 2.5/10 and 5/5 mg/L as a dip/spray combination resulted in plants 33% shorter than the control at the end of the production. Doubling uniconazole dip or spray treatments from 5 to 10 mg/L provided no additional reduction of stem elongation. The single uniconazole spray and both daminozide treatments had no effect on final height, although daminozide treatments reduced stem dry weight compared to the control. Stem dry weight was reduced by uniconazole dip/spray combinations compared to dip treatments alone. Similarly, inflorescence and root dry weights were also reduced by the highest uniconazole concentrations. Higher concentrations of uniconazole reduced transpiration on a per leaf area basis up to 47% compared to the control at the end of production. In contrast to previous work, leaf area and leaf thickness increased with some uniconazole treatments, while time to anthesis was not affected by any of the treatments.
Phloem mobility of xenobiotics VI. A phloem‐mobile pro‐nematicide based on oxamyl exhibiting root‐specific activation in transgenic tobacco

Phloem mobility is a desirable attribute for pesticides in many applications, and the physicochemical properties necessary for phloem mobility are now well understood. However, attempts to derivatize pesticides to make them phloem mobile are often frustrated by a concomitant loss of activity. This study describes a phloem-mobile pro-nematicide, a hydroxymethyloxamyl glucuronide (JR522) coupled with an in-situ activation mechanism in transgenic tobacco expressing Escherichia coli β-glucuronidase in its root tips. When applied foliarly to the transgenic tobacco, JR522 and its methyl ester (JM775) showed greater nematicidal activity than oxamyl against root-knot nematodes. This example of combining pro-pesticide chemistry with crop genetic engineering for site-specific activation provides a model system for demonstrating how to circumvent the often mutual exclusivity of phloem mobility and pesticidal activity. Additional advantages of this scheme include the potential mammalian safety of the pro-pesticide, as exhibited by JR522 in this study, and a high degree of site-specific release of xenobiotics in plants
A prospective, randomized, controlled trial comparing ultrasound versus nerve stimulator guidance for interscalene block for ambulatory shoulder surgery for postoperative neurological symptoms.

BACKGROUND: Visualization with ultrasound during regional anesthesia may reduce the risk of intraneural injection and subsequent neurological symptoms but has not been formally assessed. Thus, we performed this randomized clinical trial comparing ultrasound versus nerve stimulator-guided interscalene blocks for shoulder arthroscopy to determine whether ultrasound could reduce the incidence of postoperative neurological symptoms. METHODS: Two hundred thirty patients were randomized to a standardized interscalene block with either ultrasound or nerve stimulator with a 5 cm, 22 g Stimuplex® insulated needle with 1.5% mepivacaine with 1:300,000 epinephrine and NaCO3 (1 meq/10 mL). A standardized neurological assessment tool (questionnaire and physical examination) designed by a neurologist was administered before surgery (both components), at approximately 1 wk after surgery (questionnaire), and at approximately 4–6 weeks after surgery (both components). Diagnosis of postoperative neurological symptoms was determined by a neurologist blinded to block technique. RESULTS: Two hundred nineteen patients were evaluated. Use of ultrasound decreased the number of needle passes for block performance (1 vs 3, median, P 0.001), enhanced motor block at the 5-min assessment (P 0.04) but did not decrease block performance time (5 min for both). No patient required conversion to general anesthesia for failed block, and patient satisfaction was similar in both groups (96% nerve stimulator and 92% ultrasound). The incidence of postoperative neurological symptoms was similar at 1 wk follow-up with 11% (95% CI of 5%–17%) for nerve stimulator and 8% (95% CI of 3%–13%) for ultrasound and was similar at late follow-up with 7% (95% CI of 3%–12%) for nerve stimulator and 6% (95% CI of 2%–11%) for ultrasound. The severity of postoperative neurological symptoms was similar between groups with a median patient rating of moderate. Symptoms were primarily sensory and consisted of pain, tingling, or paresthesias. CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasound reduced the number of needle passes needed to perform interscalene block and enhanced motor block at the 5 min assessment; however, we did not observe significant differences in block failures, patient satisfaction or incidence, and severity of postoperative neurological symptoms. (Anesth Analg 2009;109:265‐71)
Impairment of hemolytic complement activation by both classical and alternative pathways in serum from patients with kwashiorkor.

MANY DIVERSE DEFECTS in host defense mechanisms have been described in children with severe protein-energy malnutrition? 3 A consistent finding has been a reduction in classical pathway hemolytic complement activity, ~,2 diminished concentration of all classical pathway components except C4, 4 and evidence of in vivo complement activation (including the demonstration of C3 breakdown products and immunoconglutinin, an antibody to activated C423 complexes, in serum? Much less has been reported about a!ternative pathway activity in PEM, 6,v although this mechanism may be of considerable importance in defense against gram-negative bacteria, a common cause of terminal sepsis in PEM? We assessed both pathways of complement activation and serum opsonic activity in patients with acute PEM and observed changes with nutritional rehabilitation.
Metastatic urachal carcinoma in bronchial brush cytology

Urachal carcinoma is rare comprising less than 1% of all bladder carcinomas. Metastases of urachal carcinoma have been reported to meninges, brain, ovary, lung, and maxilla. Cytologic features of metastatic urachal carcinoma have not been previously reported. We present a case of metastatic urachal adenocarcinoma in bronchial brushings and review the use of immunohistochemistry in its diagnosis. A 47-year-old female was seen initially in 2007 with adenocarcinoma of the bladder dome for which she underwent partial cystectomy. She presented in 2011 with a left lung mass and mediastinal adenopathy. Bronchoscopy showed an endobronchial lesion from which brushings were obtained. These showed numerous groups of columnar cells with medium sized nuclei and abundant cytoplasm. The cells were positive for CK20 and CDX2 and negative for CK7. The cytomorphological findings were similar to those in the previous resection specimen and concurrent biopsy. This is the first case report of bronchial brushings containing metastatic urachal carcinoma. No specific immunohistochemical profile is available for its diagnosis. The consideration of a second primary was a distinct possibility in this case due to the lapse of time from primary resection, absence of local disease, and lack of regional metastases.
Inhibition of Nuclear Waste Glass Leaching by Chemisorption

Leaching of waste glass in lead and aluminum containers is much less extreme than in relatively inert Teflon containers. Lead and aluminum are already included in several waste-package designs. The chemical durability imparted to a waste glass by sorption of lead and aluminum corrosion products onto the glass surfaces, as reported in this study, is an additional reason to include these metals in the waste-package assembly. Glass corrosion was inhibited in lead containers even though the solution pH rose to values considerably higher than necessary to accelerate silica dissolution in the absence of lead. Relatively minor effects on glass leaching were found in copper, tin, and titanium containers when compared to those measured in Teflon containers. No sorption of materials from any of these containers onto the glasses was evident, although sorption of glass corrosion products onto the container walls was observed.
Breast Cancer Stem Cells and the Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition.

The acquisition of highly malignant traits by carcinoma cells is often associated with the activation of a transdifferentiation program termed the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). The EMT program is deployed in a variety of steps of embryonic morphogenesis, enabling the interconversion of epithelial and mesenchymal cell types. When both normal and neoplastic epithelial cells undergo an EMT, they acquire addition changes in addition to expressing characteristic mesenchymal cell markers. In particular, they acquire motility, an increased resistance to apoptosis and, in the case of carcinoma cells, invasiveness. The motility and invasiveness components associated with the EMT would appear to empower many types of cancer cells to metastasize. An interesting question is how the resulting disseminated cancer cells are able to spawn a macroscopic tumor mass at distant anatomical sites, since this clonal expansion would appear to require an ability to self-renew. Recently, we have examined the cellular products of an EMT. Contrary to our expectations, the resulting cells acquired many of the attributes of stem cells, including the expression of stem cell-associated cell-surface markers. Conversely, mammary epithelial cells that naturally express these markers also express greatly elevated levels of at least four pleiotropically acting transcription factors that have been found able to induce an EMT. More recent studies have confirmed that the product of an EMT in mouse mammary epithelial cells is a cell that has a greatly increased ability to generate an entire mammary ductal epithelial tree. Moreover, we find that cells with the attributes of stem cells exist naturally as minor subpopulations in cultured human mammary epithelial cells. These cells can differentiate spontaneously into non-stem cells and, conversely, the non-stem cells appear capable of dedifferentiating spontaneously into cells with progenitor or stem-cell phenotypes. Hence, the study of certain aspects of mammary epithelial cell biology, including the biology of mammary carcinoma stem cells, may be feasible with cultured cells. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr A1-1.
Retirement Communities: We Know What They Are … or Do We?

While retirement communities have existed for over fifty years, they have received relatively little analysis. A clear consensus on definition does not even exist. Based on a literature review, we offer a definition that includes several criteria related to the housing units, boundaries, services and/or leisure amenities, age restrictions, voluntary relocation, and shared space. We delineate the variety of types of retirement communities and address the current and future challenges facing retirement communities. Such a discussion is urgent, given the lack of current housing policy, when both the potential demand and pertinent financial challenges are greater than ever.
The porphyromonas gingivalis prtP/kgp homologue exists as two open reading frames in strain 381.

P- gingivalis is considered to be a major pathogen of adult periodontitis. Among its cadre of putative virulence factors are hemagglutinins (adhesins) and proteases. We here report the cloning, sequencing and characterization of two genes, designated kgp(381) and hagD. Kgp(381), an open reading frame (ORF) of 1095 bp encoding a 40.1 kda protein, has high homology to the proteolytic domain of cysteine protease/hemagglutinin genes. HagD, an ORF of 4077 bp encoding a 147.1 kda protein, contains one HArep sequence which establishes it as an additional member of the HArep multigene family. Although similar in sequence to kgp and prtP which were identified from strains HG66 and W12, respectively, the kgp(381)-hagD genes have several characteristics which distinguish them from kgp and prtP. Foremost among these is a single base difference which produces a termination codon and an immediate frame shift resulting in two ORFs in strain 381 as compared to one ORF in strains HG66 and W12. In addition, a 172 amino acid sequence near the C-terminal end of hagD has very low identity (20.5–27.8%) to the corresponding region of kgp and prtP. These demonstrate that the homologue of kgp and prtP in strain 381 occurs as two separate genes which may genetically separate the adhesive and enzymatic domains of Kgp and PrtP proteins. Reverse polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis indicates that hagD expression is regulated by hemin concentration.
An endogenous electron carrier for the nitrogenase system of Rhizobium bacteroids.

Abstract A partly purified electron carrier isolated from an extract of Rhizobium bacteroids (from soybean root nodules) mediated the transfer of reducing power generated by illuminated spinach chloroplasts to the nitrogenase of Rhizobium bacteroids or of Azotobacter vinelandii . The electron carrier is reducible by dithionite and, according to preliminary evidence, is similar to the recently reported Azotobacter type of ferredoxin.
Processing and Characterization for Implementation of Ni-Ti SMA Bending Actuators

This project is based on the predicated growth in the demand for high force/displacement NiTi SMA actuators and structural components for industrial and aerospace applications. As the use of SMAs has advanced, focus has shifted from intrinsic material behavior to identifying the influence of conditioning and processing of NiTi SMAs for actuators and structural components. While the uniaxial actuation of NiTi SMAs is rather mature, little data is available on their potential use as bending actuators. The difficulty encountered in thermomechanical conditioning of a NiTi SMA under an applied bending moment is the asymmetry of the tensile and compressive response, thus creating a shifting neutral axis. In this study, the uniaxial characteristics of 55 NiTi (49.9 at% Ni ∼50.1 at% Ti) are used to develop a process to maximize the actuation strain of a NiTi SMA bending actuator. The characterization includes monotonic tension/compression tests, tension/compression training, tension/compression actuation strains, and transformation temperatures. From these results, the most efficient thermomechanical training method for bending is identified as a cyclic temperature induced phase transformation under a constant flexural stress. The resulting actuation strains and deformation conditions are discussed in light of the complex loading path created by the bending stress. Predicted outcomes of the training methodology are made for comparison to future experimental results.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Effects of prolactin, growth hormone, and triiodothyronine on prolactin receptors in larval and adult tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum)

The effects of porcine growth hormone (pGH) or ovine prolactin (oPRL) alone and in combination with triiodothyronine (T3) on renal PRL receptors were determined in both pre- and post-metamorphic tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum). The protein hormones were given at a dose of 1.0 micrograms/gm body weight/day and the T3 was given at 10.0 ng/gm body weight/day. The duration of treatment was 7 days. Effects on growth, and plasma thyroid hormone levels were also determined. Ovine PRL increased growth in both larvae and adults and reversed metamorphic changes. Administration of T3 increased the plasma T3 concentration, as measured by radioimmunoassay, and when given alone caused weight loss at both stages. The GH decreased plasma T4 and increased plasma T3 concentrations, indicating that it caused an increase in T4 deiodination. In adults the renal PRL receptor affinity of 2.9 +/- 0.7 x 10(10) L/mol and capacity of 160 +/- 22 fmol/mg protein were higher than the corresponding values of 1.8 +/- 0.3 x 10(10) L/mol and 29.2 +/- 3.8 fmol/mg in larvae. In adults only, there is an additional low-affinity, high capacity PRL binding site. The oPRL treatment decreased the binding capacity of 33.2 +/- 1.2 and 5.9 +/- 4.9 fmol/mg in adults and larvae, respectively. By contrast, pGH increased the capacities to 249 +/- 18 and 62.1 +/- 6.8 fmol/mg in adults and larvae, respectively. Treatment with T3 alone doubled the oPRL binding capacity to 58.3 +/- 4.7 fmol/mg in larvae, but there was no effect in adults. In both developmental stages the effects of oPRL and pGH on the receptors were not changed by the simultaneous T3 treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Defining "liver-up": does the volume of liver herniation predict outcome for fetuses with isolated left-sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia?

Abstract Purpose The aim of the study was to evaluate the relationship between the degree of liver herniation and mortality or need for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in isolated left-sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). Methods This is a retrospective review of all fetuses with isolated left-sided Bochdalek-type CDH evaluated at our center with ultrafast fetal magnetic resonance imaging between January 2004 and December 2010. Percentage of liver herniation was defined as the ratio of herniated liver volume to total fetal liver volume. The liver/thoracic volume ratio was defined as the ratio of herniated liver volume to total thoracic volume. Data were analyzed using receiver operating characteristic curves and Fisher's Exact and Mann-Whitney U tests. Results Fifty-three fetuses with isolated left-sided CDH were evaluated. Fetuses with "liver-up" (n = 32) and "liver-down" (n = 21) anatomy had similar rates of mortality (25% vs 14%, P = .49) and ECMO use (41% vs 29%, P = .40). The accuracy of liver-up (a dichotomous variable) to predict mortality or need for ECMO was 49% and 53%, respectively. Percentage of liver herniation greater than 21% was associated with mortality ( P P P P = .01, respectively), with an accuracy of 85% and 72%, respectively. Conclusion Increased amounts of liver herniation in fetuses with isolated left-sided CDH are associated with higher rates of mortality or the need for ECMO support. Quantification of liver herniation (a continuous variable) is superior to overall liver herniation as a dichotomous variable (liver-up vs liver-down) in the prediction of perinatal morbidity and mortality.
Compton scattering in a degenerate electron gas

First Compton scattering of photons in a hot partially degenerate plasma is discussed, correcting an error in the literature and avoiding two previously made approximations. An analytical fitting formula for the Rosseland mean opacity is given. Next the Compton scattering functions for neutrini are worked out which are needed in the study of neutrino transport in a supernova model.
Effects of auditory feedback deprivation on non-native French vowels produced by children with cochlear implants

The objective of the present study was to examine alternative explanations for changes in speech demonstrated by individuals with a cochlear implant, in response to auditory feedback deprivation. By employing French vowels, for which monolingual English speakers do not have internal representations, this study compared formant frequencies of vowels produced in the presence and absence of auditory feedback. It was hypothesized that the lack of auditory feedback should not lead to vowel formant frequency shifts for these novel sounds. However, if, in addition to formants frequency shifts, increases in speaking rate and fundamental frequencies are observed in the absence of auditory feedback, the data would support the idea that talkers attempt to speak more clearly to maximize information from other sensory channels. Four children with cochlear implants (7–11 years of age) and four children with normal hearing (mean age 8.6 years) repeated English (familiar) and French (unfamiliar) vowels presented through ...
Sequences of Predictive Saccades Are Correlated Over a Span of ∼2 s and Produce a Fractal Time Series

We previously demonstrated that there is an abrupt (rather than smooth) transition between reactive and predictive modes of eye-movement tracking of target lights (a phase transition). We also found evidence that the sequence of eye movements in the reactive mode was independent, whereas those in the predictive mode were correlated and possibly formed a random fractal sequence. Here we confirm the finding of fractal structure by quantifying the rate of decay of nonlinear forecasting when applied to these data. We also estimate the window over which consecutive trials are correlated and show that the duration of this window is fixed in time rather than number of trials. These results have implications for the neural mechanisms that drive predictive movements.
Treatment of nitrosamine-induced pancreatic tumors in hamsters with analogs of somatostatin and luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone.

Abstract Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma was induced in female Syrian golden hamsters by injecting N-nitrosobis(2-oxopropyl)amine (BOP) once a week at a dose of 10 mg per kg of body weight for 18 weeks. Hamsters were then treated with somatostatin analog D-Phe-Cys-Tyr-D-Trp-Lys-Val-Cys-Trp-NH2 (RC-160) or with [6-D-tryptophan]luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone [( D-Trp6]LH-RH) delayed delivery systems. Microcapsules of somatostatin analog RC-160, designed to release a dose of 5 micrograms/day, were injected twice a month and microcapsules of [D-Trp6]LH-RH, calculated to liberate 25 micrograms per day, once a month. After 18 weeks of BOP administration, the hamsters were divided into three groups of 10-20 animals each. Group I consisted of untreated controls, group II was injected with RC-160, and group III was injected with [D-Trp6]LH-RH. A striking decrease in tumor weight and volume was obtained in animals treated with [D-Trp6]LH-RH or with the somatostatin analog RC-160. After 45 days of treatment with either analog, the survival rate was significantly higher in groups II and III (70%), as compared with the control group (35%). The studies, done by light microscopy, high-resolution microscopy, and electron microscopy, showed a decrease in the total number of cancer cells and changes in the epithelium, connective tissue, and cellular organelles in groups II and III treated with the hypothalamic analogs as compared to controls. These results in female hamsters with induced ductal pancreatic tumors confirm and extend our findings, obtained in male animals with transplanted tumors, that [D-Trp6]LH-RH and somatostatin analogs inhibit the growth of pancreatic cancers.
Avian influenza viruses in wild birds: A moving target

The long-standing evolutionary and ecological relationships between wild birds and influenza A viruses has created a broad pool of viral genetic diversity and a reservoir of potentially transmissible viruses. An understanding of these relationships can help us identify and modify critical control points to reduce transmission of avian influenza viruses into animal and human populations.
Intestinal Evisceration Resulting from a Motor Vehicle Accident

Presented is the case of a motor vehicle accident (MVA) victim with hypotension and evisceration of small intestine. Vigorous resuscitation in the emergency department was required, after which a portion of small bowel was resected at laparotomy. Evisceration secondary to trauma in an MVA is a rare injury. Significant blood loss occurs. Although abdominal sepsis did not occur in our case, this is a complication for which the patient must be monitored closely.
A Self-Sustained Oscillatory Flow Phenomenon in Two-Phase Condensing Flow Systems

This paper presents the results of an experimental and theoretical investigation of an unstable flow phenomenon that leads to sustained limit-cycle type of oscillations of large amplitude, and which under certain conditions, can involve flow reversals. This unstable behavior normally exists for conditions of low outlet throttling. Upstream compressible volume and downstream inertia appear to be the dominant energy storage mechanisms for the self-sustained oscillations. A linearized analysis based on the system mean void fraction model successfully predicts the experimentally observed stability boundary.
Exogenous testosterone reverses age-related atrophy in a spinal neuromuscular system

Aging is associated with a variety of pathologies, including motor dysfunctions and reductions in sexual behavior. In male rats, declines in sexual behavior during the aging process may be caused in part by the loss of the lumbar spinal cord motoneurons that innervate the penile musculature. Alternatively, declining sexual behavior may be caused by the precipitous reductions in circulating testosterone that occur during aging. In this paper, we report two experiments examining these issues. In Experiment 1, we counted motoneurons in the lumbar motor nuclei and measured several androgen-sensitive morphological properties of the penile muscles and their innervating motoneurons at several time points during the aging process. Motoneuron number in the lumbar nuclei did not change over time, even with very advanced age. In contrast, the penile muscles and their innervating motoneurons underwent profound atrophy, with muscle weight and motoneuron dendritic length declining to less than 50% of young adult levels. In Experiment 2, we treated aged animals with exogenous testosterone, and then examined their penile neuromuscular systems for morphological changes. Testosterone treatment, both acute and chronic, completely reversed age-related declines in the weight of the penile muscles and in the soma size and dendritic length of their innervating motoneurons. Together, these data suggest that reductions in male sexual behavior during the aging process are caused primarily by declines in testosterone levels rather than motoneuron loss. Furthermore, they raise the possibility that testosterone treatment could play an important role in maintaining neuronal connectivity in the aging body.
THE EVOLUTION OF RESTRAINT IN BACTERIAL BIOFILMS UNDER NONTRANSITIVE COMPETITION

Theoretical and empirical evidence indicates that competing species can coexist if dispersal, migration, and competitive interactions occur over relatively small spatial scales. In particular, spatial structure appears to be critical to certain communities with nontransitive competition. A typical nontransitive system involves three competing species that satisfy a relationship similar to the children's game of rock-paper-scissors. Although the ecological dynamics of nontransitive systems in spatially structured communities have received some attention, fewer studies have incorporated evolutionary change. Here we investigate evolution within toxic bacterial biofilms using an agent-based simulation that represents a nontransitive community containing three populations of Escherichia coli. In structured, nontransitive communities, strains evolve that do not maximize their competitive ability: They do not reduce their probability of death to a minimum or increase their toxicity to a maximum. That is, types evolve that exercise restraint. We show that nontransitivity and spatial structure (in the form of localized interactions) are both necessary for the evolution of restraint in these biofilms.