cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Splitting bits for lossless compression of microarray images

In an earlier publication we reported on the effectiveness of the Burrows-Wheeler transformation followed by inversion coder (BWIC) in the lossless compression of DNA microarray images where we obtained gains of average 6.5% over generic image compressors. In this work, we propose an enhancement of our previous technique by exploiting the bit distribution of images. Using a simple statistical test, we first decide if it will be gainful to split a 16-bit microarray image into two 8-bit images. In case of splitting, it turns out that the first 8-bit image is highly compressible and we use BWIC to compress it. The second 8-bit image most often contains noise and the bit distribution can become nearly random. We use the Wald-Wolfowitz runs test of randomness to decide whether to compress the second 8-bit image with BWIC or not at all since attempting to compress random data usually results in a larger file size. On select microarray images, by splitting a 16-bit microarray image into 8-bit pieces and selectively compressing the pieces with BWIC, we can achieve upward of 3% compression gain over our previous work.
QPCR Detection of Early Life History Stage Chrysaora quinquecirrha (Sea Nettles) in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey

ABSTRACT Gaynor, J.J.; Bologna, P.A.X.; Restaino, D.J., and Barry, C.L., 2017. qPCR detection of early life history stage Chrysaora quinquecirrha (sea nettles) in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey. In: Buchanan, G.A.; Belton, T.J., and Paudel, B. (eds.), A Comprehensive Assessment of Barnegat Bay–Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey. The sea nettle Chrysaora quinquecirrha has become abundant in the Barnegat Bay estuary and frequently blooms in warm summer months. Various factors have been attributed to the increasing localized appearance of sea nettles and other jellyfish including eutrophication, overfishing, global warming, construction, and species introduction. Despite its abundance and frequent distribution within estuarine systems, very little work has been done to detect and quantify the early life history stages of this organism. Free-swimming larval stages of C. quinquecirrha can be detected and quantified using a quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay specific for the C. quinquecirrha 16S ribosomal (r)DNA...
Diagnosis and management of Gilles de la Tourette Disorder in rural North Dakota children

Tourette Disorder (TD) is more common than previously suspected. In the state of North Dakota, the prevalence rate among school-aged children is 5.2 per 10,000. In this paper the authors discuss di...
The Formation and Incorporation of Virtual Entrepreneurial Groups

This article argues that the recognition of anomaly in organizations is socially organized through the formation of virtual entrepreneurial groups. The process of group formation and incorporation ...
Reducing Sedentary Time for Obese Older Adults: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Older adults have high rates of obesity and are prone to chronic health conditions. These conditions are in part due to high rates of sedentary time (ST). As such, reducing ST could be an innovative strategy for improving health outcomes among obese older adults. To test this theory, we developed a novel, technology-enhanced intervention to reduce sitting time (I-STAND) and pilot tested it to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of the intervention on ST and biometric outcomes. Objective: The current paper aims to describe the rationale, design, and methods of the I-STAND sitting reduction pilot trial. Methods: Older adults with obesity (n=60) were recruited from a large health care system and randomized to receive I-STAND or a healthy living intervention. I-STAND combined personal coaching with a technology-enhanced intervention (Jawbone UP band) to cue breaks from sitting. Participants completed self-report and biometric assessments at baseline and 3 months. Additional qualitative results were collected from a subset of I-STAND participants (n=22) to further inform the feasibility and acceptability of the interventions. The primary outcome was total hours of daily sitting time measured by the activPAL device. Secondary outcomes included sit-to-stand transitions, bouts of sitting longer than 30 minutes, physical function, blood pressure, fasting glucose, cholesterol, and depressive symptoms. Results: Study enrollment has ended and data processing is underway. Conclusions: Data from randomized trials on sitting reduction are needed to inform novel approaches to health promotion among older adults with obesity. Our trial will help fill this gap. The methods used in our study can guide future research on using technology-based devices to assess or prompt sedentary behavior reduction, or those interested in behavioral interventions targeting obese older adults with novel approaches Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02692560; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02692560 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6wppLTWAl)
Procedural and perioperative results in patients treated with fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair planned by automated software in a physician-sponsored investigational device exemption trial of physician-modified endografts.

Abstract Objective Fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair (FEVAR) has been used successfully to treat patients with juxtarenal abdominal aortic aneurysms (JAAAs). Barriers to wide adoption of FEVAR include complexity in planning of fenestration locations on endografts. The purpose of this study was to validate the use of automated planning software to design fenestrated endografts and to treat patients with complex abdominal aortic aneurysms. Methods Patients with JAAA who were not candidates for open repair were enrolled into the automated planning arm of an ongoing investigational device exemption clinical trial and treated with FEVAR. Patient-specific fenestration size and location were determined by automated planning software using patient imaging data and algorithms that account for the interaction between the endograft delivery system and angulated aortic anatomy. Standard, off-the-shelf abdominal aortic aneurysm endografts from multiple manufacturers were modified on the back table by the physician according to the automated graft plan in the form of a patient-specific three-dimensional printed cylindrical template. Endografts typically included fenestrations for the superior mesenteric artery and both renal arteries. Procedural, perioperative, and long-term clinical and imaging data were collected per protocol. Results Thirty nonoperative JAAA candidate patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists class ≥3) were consented and treated with fenestrated endografts planned by automated software. The mean age was 74 ± 7 (61-86) years. The mean aneurysm diameter was 61.3 mm (range, 49-96 mm), and the mean infrarenal neck length was 6.1 mm (range, 2-15 mm). At the index procedure, 100% (30/30) of the patient-specific, surgeon-modified grafts were implanted with preservation of 97% (84/87) of branch vessels and a mean final proximal seal zone length of 41.9 mm (range, 27.3-60.6 mm). Three renal arteries were not cannulated during the index procedure because of complications not related to graft planning. The 30-day mortality rate in these high-risk JAAA patients was 6.7% (2/30), and both deaths were unrelated to the aneurysm. The 30-day major adverse event rate was 16.7% (5/30). There were no type IA or type III endoleaks, ruptures, or conversions to open surgery through 30 days. Conclusions This automated FEVAR planning software accurately and efficiently identifies fenestration locations for vital branch arteries, thus simplifying the planning process and facilitating the FEVAR procedure. Validated automated FEVAR planning could help bring this beneficial therapy to most patients harboring JAAAs.
Removal of Anionic and Non-ionic Surfactants in a Constructed Wetland

Removal of anionic and non-ionic surfactants from wastewater using a constructed wetland with a horizontal subsurface flow was studied. Surfactants were determined by extraction spectrophotometric methods. Anionic surfactants were removed from wastewater with the efficiency 81.7 %. The efficiency increased with increasing temperature of interstitial water and decreased with rising water inflow. Removal of anionic surfactants was influenced by aeration of the wetland bed via roots and rhizomes of vegetation. Oxygen introduced into the wetland accelerated removal of anionic surfactants. The removal of non-ionic surfactants under aerobic or anaerobic conditions was almost complete: its average efficiency was 98.1 %. Organics (expressed as chemical oxygen demand) were removed from treated water with the efficiency 86.4 %. Constructed wetlands can be used as suitable alternatives for treatment of wastewater from small villages. The wetlands are relatively simple and inexpensive. The used extraction spectrophotometric methods are sensitive, precise, and accurate enough for the purpose.
And Now this . . . Problem

As mathematics educators, much of our professional time is spent preparing candidates for future careers as classroom teachers. Although most of our students use technology routinely in activities outside the classroom—for instance, textmessaging friends between classes or posting videos to YouTube—many are surprisingly inexperienced users of mathematics-oriented teaching technology. For this reason, we spend considerable instructional time investigating the “how-to’s” of teaching technology with future classroom teachers.
Reusable anionic sulfonate functionalized nanofibrous membranes for cellulase enzyme adsorption and separation.

Abstract Poly (vinyl alcohol-co-ethylene) nanofibrous membranes (PVA-co-PE NFM) were successfully modified by sodium-3-sulfobenzoate to become negatively charged with sulfonate groups, and the sulfonated (PVA-co-PE) nanofiber membrane SS (PVA-co-PE NFM) was used in non-covalent adsorption of cellulases via electrostatic attraction. The modified NFM showed excellent adsorption to the enzyme molecules due to the incorporated static charge interaction with the fibers, high open-porosity and ultrahigh surface areas of the nanofibers. Such unique morphology and chemical structures lead to the adsorption capacity of 130 mg g−1 and reusability for 5 cycles without significant change in catalytic functions. The morphology changes of the nanofibrous membranes were observed by using a scanning electron microscopy, and chemical structures of the membranes were characterized by using FTIR and water contact angle measurements. SS (PVA-co-PE NFM) is a promising solid support media for enzyme immobilization, and the immobilized enzymes can be applied in industrial applications.
Effects of Academic Momentum on Degree Attainment for Students Beginning College at 2-Year Institutions:

Research has shown that academic momentum is a key factor in degree completion for students attending 4-year institutions. The characteristics of 2-year students (also called community college stud...
Impact of Tai Chi Exercise on Balance Disorders: A Systematic Review

Purpose Tai chi is receiving increasing research attention with its benefit of improving flexibility and balance. The objective of this review was to examine the evidence concerning the impact of t...
The Application of Deep Reinforcement Learning to Distributed Spectrum Access in Dynamic Heterogeneous Environments With Partial Observations

This papera 1 investigates deep reinforcement learning (DRL) based on a Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) for Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) under partial observations, referred to as a Deep Recurrent Q-Network (DRQN). Specifically, we consider a scenario with multiple independent channels and multiple heterogeneous Primary Users (PUs). Two key challenges in our problem formulation are that we assume our DRQN node does not have any prior knowledge of the other nodes’ behavior patterns and attempts to predict the future channel state based on previous observations. The goal of the DRQN is to learn a channel access strategy with a low collision rate but a high channel utilization rate. With proper definitions of the state, action and rewards, our extensive simulation results show that a DRQN-based approach can handle a variety of communication environments including dynamic environments. Further, our results show that the DRQN node is also able to cope with multi-rate and multi-agent scenarios. Importantly, we show the following benefits of using recurrent neural networks in DSA: (i) the ability to learn the optimal strategy in different environments under partial observations; (ii) robustness to imperfect observations and (iii) the ability to utilize multiple channels, and (iv) robustness in the presence of multiple agents. 1 A parton of this work was presented at MILCOM 2018 in [1] .
Unlocking HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Delivery: Examining the Role of HIV Providers in Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Care

Despite being a promising prevention strategy for populations at risk for HIV acquisition, there has not been rapid uptake of HIV antiretroviral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Yet, HIV clinics wi...
Association of patient weight status with plasma surfactant protein D, a biomarker of alveolar epithelial injury, in children with acute respiratory failure.

Aims and objectives Alveolar epithelial injury is a key determinant of acute respiratory failure (ARF) severity. Plasma surfactant protein D (SP-D), a biomarker of alveolar epithelial injury, is lower in obese adults with ARF compared to their lean peers. We aimed to determine if children with ARF have similar variance in plasma SP-D associated with their weight status on admission. Methods Plasma SP-D was measured on days 0, 1, or 2 in children (1-18 years) with ARF enrolled in the genetic variation and biomarkers in children with acute lung injury and RESTORE studies. Weight classification (underweight, normal, overweight, and obese) was based on body mass index or weight-for-height z-scores. Associations between weight group and SP-D on each day were tested. Results Inclusion criteria were met in 212 subjects, 24% were obese. There were no differences among weight groups in SP-D levels on days 0 and 1. However, on day 2, there was a statistically significant linear trend for lower SP-D levels as weight increased in both the univariate analysis (P = .02) and when adjusting for age, ethnicity, and diagnosis of pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (P = .05). Conclusions Obesity was associated with lower plasma SP-D levels on day 2 of ARF. This finding may be explained by altered ARF pathogenesis in obese individuals or a reduced incidence of ventilator-induced lung injury.
Trends over time in drug administration during pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrest in the United States.

Abstract Aims To describe trends in pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrest drug administration and to assess temporal associations of the Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) guideline changes with drug usage. Methods Pediatric patients Results A total of 6107 patients were analyzed. The adjusted odds of receiving lidocaine (0.33; 95% CI, 0.18, 0.61; p Conclusions Changes to the PALS guidelines for lidocaine and bicarbonate were not temporally associated with acute changes in the use of these medications; however, better alignment with these updates was observed over time. A minor update to the language surrounding atropine in the PALS text was associated with a modest acute change in the observed use of atropine. Future studies exploring other factors that influence prescribers in pediatric IHCA are needed.
In-Memory Computing based Accelerator for Transformer Networks for Long Sequences

Transformer networks have outperformed recurrent neural networks and convolutional neural networks in various sequential tasks. However, scaling transformer networks for long sequences has been challenging because of memory and compute bottlenecks. Transformer networks are impeded by memory bandwidth limitations because of their low operation per byte ratio resulting in low utilization of GPU's computing resources. In-memory processing can mitigate memory bottlenecks by eliminating the transfer time between memory and compute units. Furthermore, transformer networks use neural attention mechanisms to characterize the relationships between sequence elements. Efficient hardware solutions have been proposed to implement efficient attention mechanisms, which include ternary content addressable memories (TCAM), crossbar arrays (XBars), and processing in-memory (PIM). However, these solutions do not implement a multi-head self-attention mechanism. We propose using a combination of XBars and CAMs to accelerate transformer networks. We improve the speed of transformer networks by (1) computing in-memory, thus minimizing the memory transfer overhead, (2) caching reusable parameters to reduce the number of operations, (3) exploiting the available parallelism in the attention mechanism, and (4) using locality sensitive hashing to filter the number of sequence elements by their importance. Our approach achieves a 200x speedup and 41x energy improvement for a sequence length of 4098.
System Redesign: The Value of a Primary Care Liaison Model to Address Unmet Social Needs among Older Primary Care Patients.

Assessing and addressing social determinants of health can improve health outcomes of older adults. The Nebraska Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program implemented a primary care liaison (PCL) model of care, including training primary care staff to assess and address unmet social needs, patient counseling to identify unmet needs, and mapping referral services through cross-sectoral partnerships. A PCL worked with three patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs) that are part of a large integrative health system. A mixed-methods approach using a post-training survey and a patient tracking tool, was used to understand the reach, adoption, and implementation of the PCL model. From June 2020 to May 2021, the PCL trained 61 primary care staff to assess and address unmet social needs of older patients. A total of 327 patients, aged 65 years and older and within 3–5 days of acute-care hospital discharges, were counseled by the PCL. For patients with unmet needs, support services were arranged through community agencies: transportation (37%), in-home care (33%), food (16%), caregiver support (2%), legal (16%), and other (16%). Our preliminary results suggest that the PCL model is feasible and implementable within PCMH settings to address unmet social needs of older patients to improve their health outcomes.
Detection of fatigue damage by electrochemical scanning

Electrochemical reoxidation currents are shown to provide a new method of detecting fatigue damage in metals. The basic principle is demonstrated by measurements on anodized fatigue samples of aluminum. The initial anodic oxide film is ruptured at the site of the fatigue damage, and the flow of charge is measured during subsequent reanodization, or healing of the oxide. The localized distribution of the damage is revealed by a simple immersion scanning procedure, and the flow of charge to these localized regions correlates with observations of the severity of the damage by scanning electron microscopy. Fatigue cracks ∼50 μm long or longer can be detected. In our specimens, these occurred after 10 percent of the fatigue life. The magnitude of the associated reanodization current transient is an accurate measure of the crack length and can predict the fatigue life within ±50 percent.
Functional clustering of yeast proteins from the protein-protein interaction network

The abundant data available for protein interaction networks have not yet been fully understood. New types of analyses are needed to reveal organizational principles of these networks to investigate the details of functional and regulatory clusters of proteins. In the present work, individual clusters identified by an eigenmode analysis of the connectivity matrix of the protein-protein interaction network in yeast are investigated for possible functional relationships among the members of the cluster. With our functional clustering we have successfully predicted several new protein-protein interactions that indeed have been reported recently. Eigenmode analysis of the entire connectivity matrix yields both a global and a detailed view of the network. We have shown that the eigenmode clustering not only is guided by the number of proteins with which each protein interacts, but also leads to functional clustering that can be applied to predict new protein interactions.
Whose Ownership? Which Society?

The idea of an "ownership society" (OS) is not new to American politics or law. It might be called the seventeen year cicada of American domestic policy - emerging once per generation onto the national agenda, generating just a bit of buzz, then receding once again to leave a mass of empty shells and buried eggs behind. Unlike the insects, however, OS proposals seldom have sounded the same notes to everyone's ears. They have been proffered to or on behalf of differing constituencies for differing reasons, and therefore have tended to mean different things to different people. It is tempting to blame precisely this fragmentation and polyvalence both for the general idea's recurrence and for its repeated receding.This Article seeks to bring theoretic and programmatic coherence to the idea of an American OS, in hopes of generating an enduring and endurable version of it. The Article first identifies three political traditions that amount to our self-understandings as a people. An enduring American OS must resonate with those traditions. The Article then synthesizes a unified self-understanding from the three traditions - a coherent set of constitutive ideals that contour what the Article calls an Efficient Equal-Opportunity Republic (EEOR). The EEOR is the template for an endurable American OS. The Article then fleshes out the bare bones of the EEOR. It does so first by detailing how "ownership" must be interpreted and promoted not only in keeping with the broad constraints posed by the EEOR's core values, but in keeping with the narrower constraints posed by ownership psychology and the path-dependence of American law. It does so second by deriving a "Method" of financially engineered ownership-spreading that gives full expression both to the aforementioned core values and to the psychological and legal constraints.The Article concludes with a preview of its sequel, which catalogues and critically examines past OS programs and proposals under the aspect of the theory worked out in the present Article, and elaborates a coherent set of forward-looking ownership-promoting programs informed by the lessons that emerge from that critical encounter.
Reversible and Irreversible Dissociation of Globulins from Phaseolus vulgaris Seed

Acidic extraction procedures were shown to yield two discrete globulin fractions, G1 and G2, from french bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) seeds. The G1 fraction was found to be capable of reversible dissociation between tetrameric, protomeric, an peptide configurations, having s020, w values of 18.2 S, 7.1 S, and 3.0 S, respectively. The G2 fraction, s020, w = 6.6 S, was found not to undergo pH-dependent association but did irreversibly dissociate into unstable peptide components, s020, w = 1.6 S, at pH 13.0. A single boundary in sedimentation velocity studies has frequently been accepted as evidence for the presence of a homogeneous protein. However, it was possible to show that a mixture of G1 and G2 globulins gave two discrete boundaries at acid pH, while at neutral and alkaline pH values a mixture of the protomeric G1 globulin and the G2 fraction cosedimented in a single boundary.
“How Prepared am I to Succeed in the Hospitality Industry?” What the Students are Telling Us

(1992). “How Prepared am I to Succeed in the Hospitality Industry?” What the Students are Telling Us. Hospitality & Tourism Educator: Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 38-43.
Thermosonic bonding: an alternative to area-array solder connections

Thermosonic bondings for flip-chip, TAB, or surface mount technologies are potential alternatives to solder connections. They are dry processes having low-cost, simplicity, and fine-pitch advantages. The applications of these new connection technologies are expected to grow if their two major problems, assembly yield and reliability, are solved. The assembly problem is studied in this paper. It is well known that the use of ultrasonic energy can significantly simplify metal bonding processes. However, the changes of thermosonic process windows for area-array connections are not controllable; the progress of this technology development is not encouraging. Using flip-chip bonding cases with 30- and 1000-I/O chips, this work studies the effects on yields from tool configurations and masses. The yield is closely related to the ultrasonic amplitude of metal bumps. The amplitude associated with a good bonding process for a 30-I/O chip is about 1.30 /spl mu/m. However, it could be reduced to 0.26 /spl mu/m when the die collet is enlarged for a 1000-I/O chip. Fortunately, such a reduction can be overcome by a design that changes the mass of the collet and the length of the shank. This paper will address the understanding and the control of these effects with experimental and modeling studies. >
The Stability of the Irrotational Euler-Einstein System with a Positive Cosmological Constant

In this article, we study small perturbations of the family of Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker cosmological background solutions to the Euler-Einstein system with a positive cosmological constant in 1 + 3 dimensions. The background solutions describe an initially uniform quiet fluid of positive energy density evolving in a spacetime undergoing accelerated expansion. We show that under the equation of state p = c_s^2*(energy density), 0 < c_s^2 < 1/3, the background solutions are globally future asymptotically stable under small irrotational perturbations. In particular, we prove that the perturbed spacetimes, which have the topological structure [0,infinity) x T^3, are future causally geodesically complete.
Prata, açúcar e escravos: de como o império restaurou Portugal

O texto trata das relacoes entre Portugal e Espanha em meados do seculo XVII, bem como do papel das colonias e do comercio atlântico da prata, do acucar e dos escravos no fortalecimento do imperio portugues. Destaca a importância das estruturas imperiais globais e a centralidade do papel do imperio no quadro da restauracao portuguesa. Por fim, enfoca a importância das colonias e em particular do Brasil nas mudancas que ocorrem ao longo do seculo.
Climate History and the Great Geophysical Experiment

Climate history is an important resource in the study of the Great Geophysical Experiment being performed on the planet, that is, the large-scale release of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide and methane, and also others). Climate history is crucial in establishing that man-made global warming is an historic fact. The probability that recent warming has occurred independently of greenhouse gases derived from human activity is very small. The task is to make the best possible assessment of potential effects of global warming on regional agriculture and public health. The Great Experiment is a test of the response of the climate system to disturbance. It is also a test of the ability of human society to deal with environmental problems on a global scale.
Chalcogenide Glasses As Photoelectrodes For Solar Energy Conversion

have been surveyed where M =metal or chalcogen. Of those examined, the As -Se -Cu compositionappeared most promising for solar energy conversion. In particular, glassy compositions ator near the AsSe2Cu stoichiometry exhibited apparent bandgaps near 1.0 eV, open circuitphotopotentials as high as 600 mV under white light, and, conversion efficiencies (at 500 nm)of 0.01 -0.5% for a range of oxidants. In all cases p -type semiconduction dominates.Attempts to synthesize and then compare polycrystalline AsSe2Cu's photoelectrochemicalresponse to the glass are described. The latter so far appears to have generally superiorproperties for solar energy conversion.IntroductionIn the 12 years since Honda reported generating H2 and 02 from illuminated rutile TiO2electrodes immersed in water (1), much effort has been directed at using semiconductor/electrolyte junctions for solar energy conversion. Such photoelectrochemical (PEC) cellshave several intrinsic advantages over solid state photovoltaic devices, the most obviousbeing simplicity of junction formation, and, production of storable fuels. The vastmajority of semiconductor materials examined for PEC have been crystalline. Much less workhas been done on glassy semiconductors (2,3). The continuous adjustability of propertieswith composition, advantages in device fabrication and absence of detrimental grain boundar-ies, however, make glasses an appealing material for PEC applications. With this in mindwe undertook examining PEC responses for bulk, ternary glasses in the general class:
From the biology of PP2A to the PADs for therapy of hematologic malignancies

Over the past decades, an emerging role of phosphates in the pathogenesis of hematologic malignancies and solid tumors has been established. The tumor suppressor Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) belongs to the serine-threonine phosphatases family and accounts for the majority of serine-threonine phosphatase activity in eukaryotic cells. Numerous studies have shown that inhibition of PP2A expression and/or function contributes to disengage kinases and impairs the balance between kinases and phosphatases activities. Interestingly, in some cases unrestrained oncogene kinases suppresses PP2A activity, thus promoting a feed-back loop which further allows unrestrained kinase activity. Likewise, overexpression or aberrant expression of physiologic PP2A inhibitory molecules (e.g. SET and its associated SETBP1 and CIP2A) may turn off PP2A function and participate to leukemic progression. In chronic myeloid leukemia PP2A down-regulation seems to be a hallmark feature of leukemic hematopoietic progenitor and stem cells. Likewise, PP2A loss-of-function seems to confer poor prognosis also in many other myeloid and lymphoid malignancies. The discovery of PP2A as tumor suppressor has prompted the evaluation of the safety and the efficacy of new compounds which can restore PP2A activity in leukemic cells. Albeit further studies are needed to better understand how PP2A acts in the intricate phosphatases/kinases cancer network, the results reviewed herein strongly support the development on new PP2A activating drugs (PADs) and the immediate introduction of those available into clinical protocols for leukemia patients refractory or resistant to current available therapies.
TAT-mediated photochemical internalization results in cell killing by causing the release of calcium into the cytosol of cells

Background Lysis of endocytic organelles is a necessary step in many cellular delivery methodologies. This is achieved efficiently in the photochemical internalization approach but the cell death that accompanies this process remains a problem.
Numerical investigation of recombination gain in the Li III transition to ground state

We present a numerical investigation of the parameters characterizing the 2-->1 transition recombination gain in Li III ions ( 13.5 nm ). The numerical model includes the initial optical field ionization of the plasma by an intense 100 fs laser pulse, taking into account above threshold ionization heating, particle collisions, and spatial effects. Gain is then calculated during the process of recombination as the plasma expands and cools. We show that by taking into account the non-Maxwellian nature of the electron distribution function in the plasma and its spatial distribution, high gain in the 2-->1 transition of Li III is feasible under certain initial conditions, even though initial estimates based on the energy absorption during the ionization predict very low gain. We characterize the behavior of the gain under different pumping parameters and initial plasma conditions.
Cholesterol is stable.

Abstract The purity of a sample of cholesterol purified through the dibromide in 1937 has been examined. Its melting point has not decreased upon storage. Examination of the sterol, its acetate and its trimethylsilyl ether in three gas-chromatographic systems reveals it to be homogeneous. Two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography does not disclose any significant impurities. It is concluded that pure cholesterol is stable upon storage in the dark at room temperature for an extended time.
Stability determinants are localized to the 3'-untranslated region and 3'-coding region of the neurofilament light subunit mRNA using a tetracycline-inducible promoter.

Abstract The tetracycline-responsive expression system of Bujard was used to compare rates of decay of wild-type and mutant neurofilament (NF) light subunit (NF-L) mRNAs. Optimal conditions for activation and inactivation of the target transgene were determined using a luciferase reporter gene. Analyses of mRNA stability were thereupon conducted on cells that were doubly transfected with transactivator and inducible target genes and derived from pooled clones of transfected cells. Rates of mRNA decay were compared upon inactivation of the transgenes after high levels of mRNA had been induced. Deletion of the 445-nucleotide (nt) 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR) (L/+++−) or 527 nt of the 3′-coding region (3′-CR) (L/++−+) increased the stability of NF-L mRNA compared with the full-length (L/++++) transcript in neuronal (N2a and P19 cells) and non-neuronal (L cells) lines. Deletion of both the 3′-UTR and 3′-CR (L/++−−) led to a further stabilization of the transcript. A major stability determinant was then localized to a 68-nt sequence that forms the junction between the 3′-CR and 3′-UTR of NF-L and is the binding site of a unique ribonucleoprotein complex (Canete-Soler, R., Schwartz, M. L., Hua, Y., and Schlaepfer, W. W. (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 12655–12661). The studies establish a novel system for mapping determinants of mRNA stability and have applied the system to localize determinants that regulate the stability of the NF-L mRNA.
An X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) study of cobalt adsorbed on the clay mineral chlorite

Abstract Adsorption of Co(H2O)62+ and Co(NH3)63+ on chlorite has been studied. For Co(H2O)62+ the adsorption has been studied at pH 3 and 7, while adsorption of Co(NH3)63+ was initiated at pH 3. In oxygen-free solutions Co(H2O)6+ is adsorbed as Co(H2O)62+. When Co(NH3)63+ interacts with chlorite the pH of the solution increases and Co3+ is reduced to Co2+. These conclusions are obtained from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS or ESCA) studies of the binding energies of the Co 2p levels. A probable mechanism for adsorption and subsequent reduction of Co3+ is presented and discussed.
Internet security basics for treasury managers

CEOs, CFOs, and treasury managers know company practices for things like accounts payable, funds transfers, and investment strategies. But how well do you know your company's technology infrastructure—including its strengths and weaknesses? © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Randomized control trial for the treatment of hidradenitis suppurativa with a neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet laser.

BACKGROUNDHidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic suppurative condition for which there is limited efficacy of medical and surgical treatments.OBJECTIVETo assess whether the 1,064-nm neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (Nd:YAG) laser is an effective treatment for HS.MATERIALS AND METHODSPros
Electrophysiological evidence for a dopaminergic action of LSD: depression of unit activity in the substantia nigra of the rat.

Abstract LSD (25–50 μg/kg, i.v.) significantly decreased the firing rate of 78% of the dopamine-containing neurons in the substantia nigra of chloral hydrate anesthetized rats. In a subgroup of neurons (22%), LSD either had no clear effect or caused a slight excitation. On the other hand, brom-LSD (100 μg/kg, i.v.), a non-hallucinogenic congener of LSD, had no effect on 71% of dopaminergic cells and slightly reduced the firing rate with 29% of the units. Pretreatment with haloperidol (0.1 mg/kg) blocked the inhibitory effects of LSD, and haloperidol injected following LSD reversed its depressive effects. Non-dopaminergic neurons in the region of the substantia nigra typically showed large increases in firing rate in response to LSD administration. The inhibitory effects of LSD on dopamine-containing neurons are probably not attributable to the serotonergic properties of LSD, since 5-methoxy N,N dimethyltryptamine (25–100 μg/kg), which has central serotonergic properties similar to those of LSD, produced exclusively excitatory effects on the firing rate of dopaminergic cells. These electrophysiological results are consistent with recent behavioral and neurochemical data which suggest that LSD can act as a dopamine agonist in the CNS.
Surgical Approach to Mitral Regurgitation in Chronic Heart Failure: When Is It an Option?

Functional mitral regurgitation (MR) is common in patients with chronic heart failure and adversely affects survival and quality of life. Surgery is effective in improving symptoms and reverse remodeling of the ventricle. However, its effect on survival is unclear. Indications for surgery are challenging given the elevated surgical risk of these patients, lack of prospective randomized data, and uncertain long-term results in the historical series. A systematic approach to functional mitral regurgitation that addresses both the mitral insufficiency and the ventricular remodeling with careful patient selection can achieve reliable, reproducible, and lasting results. This article reviews the surgical procedures to treat functional mitral regurgitation and presents an algorithm for their application in patients with congestive heart failure.
STEPHEN HISLOP AND HIS 1860 CRETACEOUS CONTINENTAL MOLLUSCAN NEW SPECIES DESCRIPTIONS IN LATIN FROM THE DECCAN PLATEAU, INDIA

Abstract: In 1860, Stephen Hislop published a data-rich document on the infra- and intertrappean strata of the Deccan Plateau of central India, along with numerous new taxa of continental and marine molluscs. His scholarship interestingly blended antiquated, contemporary, and ahead-of-his-time palaeontological methods. Although his work established a completely adequate foundation upon which to build future end-Cretaceous Deccan molluscan studies, effectively no substantive work ensued, with only incidental subsequent reference to his effort.
Meta-Analysis of Experimental Manipulations: Some Factors Affecting the Velten Mood Induction Procedure

Manipulation validity may be influenced by many factors, including specific aspects of experimental procedure. Meta-analysis is an ideal tool for assessing factors that influence manipulations because it is capable of equating, combining, and gauging the impact of different experimental procedures on a given manipulation. This use of meta-analysis is demonstrated by meta-analyzing experiments employing the Velten mood manipulation. This manipulation has been criticized for creating experimental demand. Procedures relevant to experimental demand include whether an honest or deceptive cover story is used and whether a self-report or non-self-report manipulation check measure is used. Effect sizes are smaller when a deceptive (vs. honest) cover story is used and when a non-self-report (vs. self-report) manipulation check measure is used. Discussion concerns how the Velten manipulation may be compromised and how meta-analysis may be employed to evaluate factors influencing manipulation validity.
First and second order convex approximation strategies in structural optimization

In this paper, various methods based on convex approximation schemes are discussed, that have demonstrated strong potential for efficient solution of structural optimization problems. First, theconvex linearization method (CONLIN) is briefly described, as well as one of its recent generalizations, themethod of moving asymptotes (MMA). Both CONLIN and MMA can be interpreted as first order convex approximation methods, that attempt to estimate the curvature of the problem functions on the basis of semi-empirical rules. Attention is next directed toward methods that use diagonal second derivatives in order to provide a sound basis for building up high quality explicit approximations of the behaviour constraints. In particular, it is shown how second order information can be effectively used without demanding a prohibitive computational cost. Various first and second order approaches are compared by applying them to simple problems that have a closed form solution.
Social aspects of web 2.0 technologies: Teaching or teachers’ challenges?

Abstract University courses which examine the social aspects of Web 2.0 technologies should be available to all students enrolled either in socio-humanistic specializations or in computer science, management, engineering etc. Although there is a growing literature about the content and pedagogy of such courses in academia, there is little reference to content stressing the social impact of information technology and communications, and social media in particular, using teaching resources based on Web 2.0 technologies, tools, services and applications for collaboration, communication, information-sharing, on-line productivity, data organization, digital storytelling and other online social artifacts. This paper discusses some of the challenges which occur in the preparation and teaching courses about the social aspects of Web 2.0 and the ways to respond to them via pedagogical approaches that help students transform the social media universe in reflexive practice.
Global repression of host-associated genes of the Lyme disease spirochete through post-transcriptional modulation of the alternative sigma factor RpoS.

Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease, is a vector-borne pathogen that transits between Ixodes ticks and vertebrate hosts. During the natural infectious cycle, spirochetes must globally adjust their transcriptome to survive in these dissimilar environments. One way B. burgdorferi accomplishes this is through the use of alternative sigma factors to direct transcription of specific genes. RpoS, one of only three sigma factors in B. burgdorferi, controls expression of genes required during tick-transmission and infection of the mammalian host. How spirochetes switch between different sigma factors during the infectious cycle has remained elusive. Here we establish a role for a novel protein, BBD18, in the regulation of the virulence-associated sigma factor RpoS. Constitutive expression of BBD18 repressed transcription of RpoS-dependent genes to levels equivalent to those observed in an rpoS mutant. Consistent with the global loss of RpoS-dependent transcripts, we were unable to detect RpoS protein. However, constitutive expression of BBD18 did not diminish the amount of rpoS transcript, indicating post-transcriptional regulation of RpoS by BBD18. Interestingly, BBD18-mediated repression of RpoS is independent of both the rpoS promoter and the 5’ untranslated region, suggesting a mechanism of protein destabilization rather than translational control. We propose that BBD18 is a novel regulator of RpoS and its activity likely represents a first step in the transition from an RpoS-ON to an RpoS-OFF state, when spirochetes transition from the host to the tick vector.
Frequency Diversity in Low-Angle Radar Tracking

Elevation angle errors due to sea-reflected multipath are evaluated theoretically for a radar operating in an off-boresight monopulse tracking mode. The computer simulation accounts only for specular reflection. Angle estimates at three frequencies are assumed to be available. It is shown that one can improve upon a simple average of the three indicated angles by unequally weighting them according to rank (lowest, middle, or highest). Some sample computations show that there is an optimum difference between the three frequencies.
Fibronectin peptides that bind PDGF-BB enhance survival of cells and tissue under stress

Stressors after injury from a multitude of factors can lead to cell death. We have identified four fibronectin (FN) peptides: two from the first FN type III repeat (FNIII1), one from the 13th FN type III repeat (FNIII13), and one from FN variable region (IIICS), which when tethered to a surface acted as platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) enhancers to promote cell survival. One of the FNIII1 peptides and its smallest (14-mer) bioactive form (P12) were also active in solution. Specifically, P12 bound PDGF-BB (KD=200 nM), enhanced adult human dermal fibroblast (AHDF) survival under serum starvation, oxidative or endoplasmic reticulum stressors, and limited burn-injury progression in a rat hot comb model. Furthermore, P12 inhibited endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation. Although many growth factors have been found to bind FN directly or indirectly, here we identify peptide sequences of growth factor-binding sites in FN. The finding of these peptides further delineated how the extracellular matrix protein FN can support cell survival. As the peptide P12 is active in either soluble form or tethered to a substrate, it will have multifactorial uses as a bioactive peptide by itself or in tissue engineering.
The selective flotation of arsenopyrite from pyrite

Abstract Flotation tests were conducted to compare the arsenopyrite depressing effect of MAA with pH control, potassium permanganate and pre-aeration. The recovery and selectivity were optimised by varying the collector and depressant concentration, pH and the effect of copper sulphate addition. It was found that with MAA, depression of arsenopyrite was possible however, the recovery of pyrite was also adversely affected. To achieve the best separation, the pulp conditions were a pH of 8, 2.14 × 10−3 mol/l sodium ethyl xanthate and 250 mg/l of MAA depressant. These conditions resulted in an overall arsenopyrite recovery of 25.5% and a pyrite recovery of 62.1%, a decrease in recovery of 63.0% and 7.5%, respectively.
PLASMA‐DERIVED VERSUS RECOMBINANT FACTOR VIII FOR THE TREATMENT OF HEMOPHILIA A

Many excellent concentrates now exist for treating hemophilia A. The risk of transmitting donor viral infections with plasma-derived factor VIII (pdVIII) has been reduced to a very low level ; the risk of undetected microbial contamination of recombinant factor VIII (rVIII) probably is much lower, but is not zero. The risk of inducing an excess number of inhibitors (neoantigenicity) may vary among pdVIII brands and may be higher with rVIII than with the least antigenic pdVIII, but the relative risks are unproven. The lowest prices now charged in some areas for excellent pdVIII, or the additional cost in some areas of preparing pdVIII from local blood or plasma donations, are lower than the lowest price charged now or predicted for the future for rVIII. Shortages of both pdVIII and rVIII have occurred. Although pdVIII may remain the mainstay of those countries with limited budgets, and those that want to preserve self-sufficiency, while rVIII may be preferred by those who can afford its perceived lower risk of infection, multiple options should be kept open.