cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Learning Social Circles in Ego-Networks Based on Multi-View Network Structure

Automatic social circle detection in ego-networks is a fundamentally important task for social network analysis. So far, most studies focused on how to detect overlapping circles or how to detect based on both network structure and node profiles. This paper asks an orthogonal research question: how to detect circles by leveraging multiple views of the network structure? As a first step, we crawl ego networks from Twitter and model them by six views, including user relationships, user interactions, and user content. We then apply both standard and our modified multi-view spectral clustering techniques to detect circles on these ego-networks. By extensive automatic and manual evaluations, we deliver two major findings: first, multi-view clustering techniques detect better circles than single-view clustering methods; second, our modified clustering technique which presumes sparse networks are incomplete detects better circles than the standard clustering technique which ignores such potential incompleteness. In particular, the second finding makes us conjecture a direct application of standard clustering on potentially incomplete networks may yield biased results. We lightly investigate this issue by deriving a bias upper bound that integrates theories of spectral clustering and matrix perturbation, and discussing how the bound may be affected by several network characteristics.
Fuzzy morphological algorithms

Processing gray-scale realizations of images that are ide- ally binary (such as gray-scale realizations of printed characters) is problematic due to the fact that gray-scale processing should be con- sistent with the binary nature of the ideal image. Essentially, any final decision (such as the recognition of a specific character at a spe- cific location) should reflect the content of the ideal image, which is generally unknown. Too often, a gray-scale realization of an ideal binary image is processed using methods appropriate for gray-scale re- alizations of ideal gray-scale images. These should not be expected to lead, ipso facto, to decision procedures appropriate to binary images. Fuzzy morphological algorithms do not assume probabilistic knowledge of the degradation process; however, they mirror the processing that one would have performed were the ideal binary image known. Thus, they lead to decision procedures consistent with those that would have been taken following processing of the ideal binary image. The theory of fuzzy mathematical morphology has been fully char- acterized in terms of a set of axioms for subset fuzzzfication. Within the general framework there exists an infinite number of realizations of fuzzy mathematical morphology and the determination of which the- ory is relevant is application dependent; nevertheless, there does exist a general paradigm for the construction of fuzzy algorithms from cor- responding binary algorithms. In this chapter 'we discuss this general paradigm for algorithm construction, and in particular, we discuss morphological algorithms for smoothing, geometric filtering, edge de- tection, object detection, and peak detection. The efficacy of these algorithms are underlined by the various simulations presented herein.
By Design or by Default: Varieties of Neoliberal Urban Development:

With the onset of the Great Recession, it looked for a moment that neoliberalism had become vulnerable to challenges from the urban level. Yet, it appears that the neoliberal ideas, institutions, a...
Social change, crime, and culture: The defense of provocation

What is here labeled ``a culture defense of provocation'' describes a crime committed by a person who in anger kills someone forgravely insulting him, his family, or his cultural community. The defendantblames his crime on cultural dictates that compelled him, he contends, totake violent offense at the harm his victim caused. While few if anyjurisdictions accept such claims as formal grounds for exculpation orextenuation, many jurists will spare the culturally compelled killer his lifeand reduce the maximum sentence allowed, provided that he belongs to anunassimilated cultural minority group, or that his motives otherwise meritsympathy. The paper traces historical trends involving crimes, laws, anddefenses of provocation, focusing on problems associated, first, withdetermining the assimilation status of cultural defendants and, second, withincongruities between the law's expanding restrictions on killing in the nameof honor or in the heat of passion and the penchant in practice of givingculture defendants of provocation a legal break.
Large-Area High-Performance Flexible Pressure Sensor with Carbon Nanotube Active Matrix for Electronic Skin

Artificial “electronic skin” is of great interest for mimicking the functionality of human skin, such as tactile pressure sensing. Several important performance metrics include mechanical flexibility, operation voltage, sensitivity, and accuracy, as well as response speed. In this Letter, we demonstrate a large-area high-performance flexible pressure sensor built on an active matrix of 16 × 16 carbon nanotube thin-film transistors (CNT TFTs). Made from highly purified solution tubes, the active matrix exhibits superior flexible TFT performance with high mobility and large current density, along with a high device yield of nearly 99% over 4 inch sample area. The fully integrated flexible pressure sensor operates within a small voltage range of 3 V and shows superb performance featuring high spatial resolution of 4 mm, faster response than human skin (<30 ms), and excellent accuracy in sensing complex objects on both flat and curved surfaces. This work may pave the road for future integration of high-perfor...
The Pencil Beam Problem for Screened Rutherford Scattering

We consider the problem of describing steady-state transport of a perpendicularly incident pencil beam of particles through a thin slab of material. The scattering is assumed to be described by the continuous slowing down approximation in energy and by the screened Rutherford formula in angle. For very small screening parameters, it is well known that the scalar flux, as a function of depth and radius, is described reasonably well by the classic Fermi-Eyges formula. However, realistic screening parameters, such as encountered in medical physics applications, are not small enough for this formula, which is Gaussian in radius, to be accurate. A correction to the spatial component of the Fermi-Eyges formula for screened Rutherford scattering is developed. This correction exhibits an algebraic, rather than exponential, falloff of the scalar flux with radius. Comparisons with benchmark Monte Carlo calculations confirm the inaccuracy of the scalar flux spatial distribution of the Fermi-Eyges formula for realistic screening parameters and demonstrate the good results obtained with the present formalism. Contact is made with earlier work by Moliere.
Saudi Deaf Students Post-Secondary Transitioning Experience: A Grounded Theory Study.

ABSTRACTUnderstanding how deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) international students transition to post-secondary institutions is important for ensuring their academic and personal success. In this grounded theory study, five Saudi Arabian students who are DHH and enrolled at Gallaudet University were interviewed about their transition experience. Participants reported positive transition experiences and revealed that successful transition depended on resolving the tensions between Saudi and American cultures, accepting more personal responsibility, and social and academic integration. The results revealed that professors who are also DHH are influential role models, mentors are beneficial, remedial English language classes are necessary, and both male and female Saudi DHH students should attend social events on campus. This study is the first to focus on Saudi students who are DHH transitioning to academic institutions in the U.S.
Central venous dialysis access: Experience with a dual-lumen, silicone rubber catheter

The central venous dialysis catheter has gained wide acceptance for short-term hemodialysis with the realization of the need to spare peripheral extremity vessels for the creation of more durable internal arteriovenous fistulas. The Hemocath (Quinton Instrument Co., Seattle, Wash.), a soft, silicone rubber, double-lumen central venous dialysis catheter, was introduced as a permanent access device in 1984. A prospective evaluation of 53 catheters placed in 51 patients over a 9-month period is presented. Forty-nine catheters were placed for temporary access and four were placed for permanent access. All 53 catheters were discontinued after functioning an average of 63.9 days (range, 5 to 324 days). No major complications occurred during insertion or on dialysis. One catheter fragmented during removal and was retrieved in the operating room. Infection led to the removal of 17 catheters (34.7%). Thrombosis occurred in 11 catheters and was the cause of removal in two (4.1%). Excluding the two catheters that functioned at the time of the patient's deaths and those placed for permanent access, 91.5% of the catheters performed successfully as temporary accesses devices until permanent access sites were available for use. The catheter provided reliable, relatively safe, and easily maintained central venous access for hemodialysis.
The Student Guided Functional Assessment Interview: An Analysis of Student and Teacher Agreement

Functional assessment strategies are used to guide the treatment of problem behavior with individuals who have severe disabilities. Also, researchers have extended functional assessment applications to individuals with emotional and behavioral disabilities. One such extension is the use of students as informants in the functional assessment process. The present study assessed an interview tool designed to elicit information directly from students regarding their problem behaviors. We examined agreement between students and their teachers. Results showed high agreement on the causes and functions of problem behavior with mixed agreement on support plan recommendations.
Brief Note: Erythroid Hypoplasia Associated with Chloramphenicol Therapy

1. A case of transient erythroid hypoplasia with maturation arrest and thrombocytopenia probably due to a large dose of chloramphenicol is reported. 2. The literature is briefly surveyed.
Low-dose aspirin: I. Effect on angiotensin II pressor responses and blood prostaglandin concentrations in pregnant women sensitive to angiotensin II☆

Decreased incidence of proteinuric hypertension after low-dose aspirin therapy is hypothesized to be a consequence of selective thromboxane A2 inhibition and sparing of prostacyclin. This study was designed to ascertain if low-dose aspirin therapy (81 mg/day for 1 week) alters vascular refractoriness to angiotensin II and the prostacyclin/thromboxane A2 ratio in pregnant women sensitive to angiotensin II (n = 17). Low-dose aspirin increased the effective pressor dose of angiotensin II from 5.9 ± 2.4 to 10.2 ± 5.5 ng/kg/min (p < 0.01, mean ± SD). Platelet-derived serum thromboxane B2 (a metabolite of thromboxane A2), a measure of therapy compliance, decreased from 1804 ± 1771 to 132 ± 206 pg/ml (p < 0.01). Plasma thromboxane B2 decreased from 130 ± 107 to 19 ± 12 pg/ml (p < 0.01). Inhibition was not selective because 6-keto-prostaglandin F1α (a metabolite of prostacyclin) also decreased from 243 ± 90 to 163 ± 90 pg/ml (p = 0.039) and prostaglandin E2 was reduced from 155 ± 67 to 95 ± 40 pg/ml (p = 0.014). Decreases in thromboxane B2, however, were significantly greater (75% ± 19%) than decreases in 6-keto-prostaglandin F1α (21% ± 33%) or prostaglandin E2 (29% ± 36%); thus the 6-keto-prostaglandin F1α/thromboxane B2 ratio increased from 3.1 ± 2.0 to 12.4 ± 9.9 (p < 0.01). Although low-dose aspirin increases the effective pressor dose of angiotensin II, it does not return to normal pregnancy values. This observation is consistent with the hypothesis that this represents only a partial selective prostaglandin inhibition.
Chemistry, manufacturing and controls for gene modified hematopoietic stem cells

Gene modification of hematopoietic stem cells is increasingly becoming popular as a therapeutic approach, given the recent approvals and the number of new applications for clinical trials targeting monogenetic and immunodeficiency disorders. Technological advances in stem cell selection, culture, transduction and gene editing now allow for efficient ex vivo genetic manipulation of stem cells. Gene-addition techniques using viral vectors (mainly retrovirus- and lentivirus-based) and gene editing using various targeted nuclease platforms (e.g., Zinc finger, TALEN and Crispr/Cas9) are being applied to the treatment of multiple genetic and immunodeficiency disorders. Herein, the current state of the art in manufacturing and critical assays that are required for ex vivo manipulation of stem cells are addressed. Important quality control and safety assays that need to be planned early in the process development phase of these products for regulatory approval are also highlighted.
Junk Bonds, Bank Debt, and Financial Flexibility

New issues of public high yield debt, or junk bonds, reached record levels in the 1990s. This paper studies transactions where firms issue junk bonds and use the proceeds to repay their bank debt. These substitutions represent the most frequent use of junk bonds. Our analysis suggests that firms undertake these substitutions to preserve financial flexibility--a capital structure's ability to support activities at low transaction and opportunity cost. Junk bond substitutions typically occur around negative earnings surprises. Since junk bonds contain substantially fewer and less restrictive covenants than bank debt, and also mature later, these substitutions reduce the probability of default and increase the range of activities in which firms can engage. The earnings surprises are short-term, and firms eventually reborrow from banks. Junk bond issues convey negative information about sample firms' prospects and cause stock prices to fall, but the decline is less severe for firms that benefit more from the increased financial flexibility. While giving managers increased flexibility could also harm shareholders (by allowing them to take actions that reduce firm value) our evidence does not strongly support this possibility.
The Effect of Socialization and Maven Characteristics on Viral Advertising

The purpose of this article is to study the social aspects of viral advertising, including differences related to social influencers analyzed in the Consumer Socialization Theory, such as family, the tie strength element from the Social Network Theory, as well as maven characteristics. The study uses a survey distributed to a national consumer sample from the U.S., that is analyzed in a multivariate regression procedure. The analysis shows the importance of social factors for consumers’ viral intentions, integrating the socialization theory and market maven theory in the viral research. The results support a positive relationship between consumers’ socialization and communication related to advertising with their family and their viral intentions, showing that reference groups are important for viral advertising. This underlines the effect that the close interpersonal circle has on consumers’ involvement in viral communication. The statistical analysis also found a psychosocial characteristic, such as consumers’ market maven traits, to be positively related to viral intentions. Attitude toward the ad is also a significant influencer of viral intentions, as expected, showing that a positive impression about the ad is positively related to its viral potential. Overall, different social factors are found to be essential antecedents of viral ads, and future research can further focus on this topic, to create a social profile of consumers prone to participate in viral advertising.
Global legislation for plastic materials in contact with food

Abstract This chapter highlights some of the plastics used in food contact applications, as well as several specific uses such as films and housewares. The chapter first provides an overview of what the author considers the major government jurisdictions that regulate food contact materials, a simple overview of how their regulatory processes work, and how each regulates plastics. The regulatory picture for each of the chosen plastics is presented for each of the government jurisdictions mentioned above. In addition, a few applications are examined as to how the government jurisdictions regulate them. Finally, the author presents some thoughts on future trends and further information concerning the regulation of plastics.
Initial clinical experience with high-pitch dual-source CT as a rapid technique for thoraco-abdominal evaluation in awake infants and young children.

AIM To evaluate dual-source high-pitch computed tomography (HPCT) imaging of the chest and abdomen as a rapid scanning technique to obtain diagnostic-quality imaging evaluation of infants and young children without sedation. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fifty-three paediatric patients (age 24.1±2 months) who underwent chest or abdomen HPCT (≥1.5) and standard pitch CT (SPCT, RESULTS Most of the CT examinations were performed in children who were >1 year old (n=15 and n=20) followed by ≤1 year old (n=8 and n=10) in SPCT and HPCT, respectively. The mean radiation dose (SSDE) from HPCT was 1.96±1 mGy compared to 2.2±1 mGy for SPCT (p=0.3). No major artefacts were reported and overall image quality of all HPCT examinations was acceptable diagnostically. In addition, objective image noise values were not significantly different between HPCT compared with SPCT (11±3 versus 11±5, p=0.7). CONCLUSION Ultra-fast, HPCT can be performed without the need for sedation as a potential alternative to anaesthetised magnetic resonance imaging in infants and young children.
LoRaBee: Cross-Technology Communication from LoRa to ZigBee via Payload Encoding

Low-power wireless mesh networks (LPWMNs) have been widely used in wireless monitoring and control applications. Although LPWMNs work satisfactorily most of the time thanks to decades of research, they are often complex, inelastic to change, and difficult to manage once the networks are deployed. Moreover, the deliveries of control commands, especially those carrying urgent information such as emergency alarms, suffer long delay, since the messages must go through the hop-by-hop transport. Recent studies show that adding low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) radios such as LoRa onto the LPWMN devices (e.g., ZigBee) effectively overcomes the limitation. However, users have shown a marked reluctance to embrace the new heterogeneous communication approach because of the cost of hardware modification. In this paper, we introduce LoRaBee, a novel LoRa to ZigBee cross-technology communication (CTC) approach, which leverages the energy emission in the Sub-1 GHz bands as the carrier to deliver information. Although LoRa and ZigBee adopt distinct modulation techniques, LoRaBee sends information from LoRa to ZigBee by putting specific bytes in the payload of legitimate LoRa packets. The bytes are selected such that the corresponding LoRa chirps can be recognized by the ZigBee devices through sampling the received signal strength (RSS). Experimental results show that our LoRaBee provides reliable CTC communication from LoRa to ZigBee with the throughput of up to 281.61bps in the Sub-1 GHz bands.
Recent advances in taste transduction and signaling.

In the last few years, single-cell profiling of taste cells and ganglion cells has advanced our understanding of transduction, encoding, and transmission of information from taste buds as relayed to the central nervous system. This review focuses on new knowledge from these molecular approaches and attempts to place this in the context of previous questions and findings in the field. The individual taste cells within a taste bud are molecularly specialized for detection of one of the primary taste qualities: salt, sour, sweet, umami, and bitter. Transduction and transmitter release mechanisms differ substantially for taste cells transducing sour (Type III cells) compared with those transducing the qualities of sweet, umami, or bitter (Type II cells), although ultimately all transmission of taste relies on activation of purinergic P2X receptors on the afferent nerves. The ganglion cells providing innervation to the taste buds also appear divisible into functional and molecular subtypes, and each ganglion cell is primarily but not exclusively responsive to one taste quality.
Supplementation with Seabuckthorn Oil Augmented in 16:1n-7t Increases Serum Trans-Palmitoleic Acid in Metabolically Healthy Adults: A Randomized Crossover Dose-Escalation Study

Background In animal models cis-palmitoleic acid (9-hexadecenoic acid; 16:1n-7c), a lipokine, improves insulin sensitivity, inflammation, and lipoprotein profiles; in humans trans-palmitoleic acid (16:1n-7t) has been associated with lower incidence of type 2 diabetes. The response to dose-escalation of supplements containing cis- and trans-palmitoleic acid has not been evaluated. Objectives We examined dose-escalation effects of oral supplementation with seabuckthorn oil and seabuckthorn oil augmented in 16:1n-7t on serum phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs). Methods Thirteen participants (7 women and 6 men; age 48 ± 16 y, BMI 30.4 ± 3.7 kg/m2) participated in a randomized, double-blind, crossover, dose-escalation trial of unmodified seabuckthorn oils relatively high in 16:1n-7c (380, 760, and 1520 mg 16:1n-7c/d) and seabuckthorn oils augmented in 16:1n-7t (120, 240, and 480 mg 16:1n-7t/d). Each of the 3 escalation doses was provided for 3 wk, with a 4-wk washout period between the 2 supplements. At the end of each dose period, fasting blood samples were used to determine the primary outcomes (serum concentrations of the PLFAs 16:1n-7t and 16:1n-7c) and the secondary outcomes (glucose homeostasis, serum lipids, and clinical measures). Trends across doses were evaluated using linear regression. Results Compared with baseline, supplementation with seabuckthorn oil augmented in 16:1n-7t increased phospholipid 16:1n-7t by 26.6% at the highest dose (P = 0.0343). Supplementation with unmodified seabuckthorn oil resulted in a positive trend across the dose-escalations (P-trend = 0.0199). No significant effects of either supplement were identified on blood glucose, insulin, lipids, or other clinical measures, although this dosing study was not powered to detect such effects. No carryover or adverse effects were observed. Conclusions Supplementation with seabuckthorn oil augmented in 16:1n-7t and unmodified seabuckthorn oil moderately increased concentrations of their corresponding PLFAs in metabolically healthy adults, supporting the use of supplementation with these fatty acids to test potential clinical effects in humans.This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02311790.
Emergence of phenotypic and genotypic resistance in the intestinal microbiota of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) exposed long-term to sub-inhibitory concentrations of sulfamethoxazole

Natural waters are contaminated globally with pharmaceuticals including many antibiotics. In this study, we assessed the acquisition of antimicrobial resistance in the culturable intestinal microbiota of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) exposed for 6 months to sub-inhibitory concentrations of sulfamethoxazole (SMX), one of the most prevalent antibiotics in natural waters. SMX was tested at three concentrations: 3000 µg/L, a concentration that had no observed effect (NOEC) on the in vitro growth of fish intestinal microbiota; 3 µg/L, a theoretical predicted no effect concentration (PNEC) for long-term studies in natural environments; and 0.3 µg/L, a concentration detected in many surveys of surface waters from various countries including the USA. In two independent experiments, the emergence of phenotypic resistance and an increased prevalence of bacteria carrying a sulfonamide-resistance gene (sul1) were observed in SMX-exposed fish. The emergence of phenotypic resistance to1000 mg/L SMX was significant in fish exposed to 3 µg/L SMX and was in large part independent of sul resistance genes. The prevalence of bacteria carrying the sul1 resistance gene increased significantly in the culturable intestinal microbiota of SMX-exposed fish, but the sul1-positive population was in large part susceptible to 1000 mg/L SMX, suggesting that the gene confers a lower resistance level or a growth advantage. The increased prevalence of sul1 bacteria was observed in all groups of SMX-exposed fish. Overall, this study suggests that fish exposed long-term to waters contaminated with low levels of antibiotics serve as reservoir of antimicrobial resistant genes and of resistant bacteria, a potential threat to public health.
The Functional Areas Utilizing HRIS in a Public Organization

HRIS is like the tentacles of an octopus reaching out from a centralized system to touch multiple business processes, compliance reporting and decision making within an organization. A small public or non-profit organization can probably manage to do business using a homegrown system to house their HR system, or can outsource those functions to a specialized vendor to handle certain organizational aspects. However, an organization with a certain threshold of employees will need some type of HRIS system that is standardized. Throughout this chapter the functional areas of a public or non-profit organization will be discussed and reviewed on how those areas interact with HRIS.
A Bilinear Failure Criterion for Mixed-Mode Delamination

Many different failure criteria have been suggested for mixed-mode delamination toughness, but few sets of mixed-mode data exist that are consistent over the full range of Mode 1 opening load to Mode 2 shear load range. The mixed-mode bending (MMB) test was used to measure the delamination toughness of a brittle epoxy composite, a state-of-the-art toughened epoxy composite, and a tough thermoplastic composite over the full mixed-mode range. To gain insight into the different failure responses of the different materials, the delamination fracture surfaces were also examined. An evaluation of several failure criteria that have been reported in the literature was performed, and the range of responses modeled by each criterion was analyzed. A bilinear failure criterion was introduced based on a change in the failure mechanism observed from the delamination surfaces. The different criteria were compared to the failure response of the three materials tested. The responses of the two epoxies were best modeled with the new bilinear failure criterion. The failure response of the tough thermoplastic composite could be modeled well with the bilinear criterion but could also be modeled with the more simple linear failure criterion. Since the materials differed in their mixed-mode failure response, mixed-mode delamination testing will be needed to characterize a composite material. This paper presents consistent sets of mixed-mode data, provides a critical evaluation of the mixed-mode failure criteria, and should provide general guidance for selecting an appropriate criterion for other materials.
Heterologous Hosts and the Evolution and Study of Fungal Pathogenesis

A variety of human bacterial and fungal pathogens are highly virulent in diverse nonvertebrate hosts. This chapter focuses on three invertebrate systems that have been used to study human fungal pathogens. It first discusses two genetically tractable hosts: the fly Drosophila melanogaster and the microscopic nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Then it discusses the use of the greater wax moth caterpillar Galleria mellonella, which provides certain interesting technical advantages, even though it does not have a sequenced genome. The chapter briefly mentions other nonmammalian model hosts that have been used for the study of pathogenesis due to bacteria or parasites, which workers may wish to consider for the study of fungal pathogens. One of the exciting aspects of the C. elegans model is that it can be used to screen libraries of random mutants in order to identify hypovirulent mutants that can then be evaluated in mammalian models. The similarities between microbial pathogenesis in mammalian models and host-pathogen interactions in alternative model hosts suggest that certain virulence aspects of these pathogens may have developed during the interaction of these microbes with environmental predators. In addition to providing a paradigm for understanding the origin and maintenance of fungal virulence, these models provide invaluable insights into host-pathogen interactions in general.
Determining response and recurrence in pediatric B-cell lymphomas of the bone.

Background Primary lymphomas of the bone are rare in children, but have an excellent response to therapy. Evaluating patients for remission and recurrence can be challenging given the difficulties of distinguishing healing bone from residual tumor on imaging. A review of imaging in patients treated for primary bone lymphoma (PBL) in one center was performed in an effort to determine best practice. Methods Twelve cases of PBL diagnosed and treated from 2000 to 2011 at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia were identified. Information about presentation, histology, imaging, treatment, and outcomes was collected. Results There were no recurrences of the primary bone tumor after therapy. One patient developed therapy-related AML. Although PET-avid lesions usually fell below a SUVmax of 3 within 3 months, low-level SUVmax lesions often remained up to 12 months post-therapy. At no point during therapy did radiographs, MRI, bone scans or CT of bones normalize, most remaining abnormal for several months to years. Patients were exposed to significant ionizing radiation, with estimated levels ranging from 9.5 to 183.1 mSv per patient. Over 10% of scans had incidental findings, which led to 17 extra imaging studies and 4 biopsies, but no clinically significant outcomes. Conclusions In our cohort, frequent imaging did not affect or improve outcome. Due to the low risk of relapse and high rate of repeated imaging for incidental findings, minimization of post-therapy imaging should be considered. This modification in practice will significantly reduce radiation exposure, as well as potentially decrease parent and patient anxiety. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2013;601281-1286. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Measuring Dynamics of Nuclear Proteins by Photobleaching

The mobility of nuclear proteins can be studied by photobleaching techniques. The three main advantages of photobleaching are fast experimental turn around, good spatial and temporal resolution, and the ability to measure kinetics inside of living cells. The main disadvantage of these techniques is the requirement for fluorescently tagged proteins that have rigorously tested to ensure it has the same properties and function as its native counterpart. Three major methods of photobleaching microscopy are described: fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP), fluorescence loss in photobleaching (FLIP), and inverse fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (iFRAP). Each of these techniques has characteristics permitting the determination of distinct parameters of protein behavior in vivo.
The study of ZrCl by self-consistent band calculation

A nonrelativistic self-consistent electronic band structure calculation has been performed on zirconium monochloride using the KKR method. The exchange potential was approximated by the X..cap alpha.. method. The compound contains homoatomic layers in the sequence Cl--Zr--Zr--Cl and has the characteristics of a graphite-like two-dimensional metal. A substantial charge transfer is found toward the metallic layers and away from the loosely bonded halogen layer. There is also significant admixture of Zr-d character within the filled Cl-3p bands. The total density of states is in good agreement with the valence band photoemission results.
Cytoskeletal organization during terminal differentiation and enucleation of mammalian erythroblasts (538.3)

Terminal differentiation of red blood cells is a complex morphogenetic process involving chromatin condensation, cell polarization and nuclear expulsion. Microtubules are important for cell polarization, while F-actin assembly and myosin activity are important for nuclear expulsion. In this study, we used confocal microscopy to examine erythroblasts from mouse fetal liver, adult bone marrow and phlebotomized mouse spleen. In non-polarized erythroblasts, the F-actin cytoskeleton is organized into a cage-like structure surrounding the nucleus. In polarized erythroblasts from fetal liver or spleen, the F-actin reorganizes to a bright spot at the side of the nucleus. Mitochondria are relocated from the periphery of the cell to this actin spot. This bright spot of F-actin and the mitochondria travels with the rear of the nucleus as it is ejected. Additional foci of F-actin are located at the neck separating the expelled nucleus from the reticulocyte. Linear cables of F-actin are also observed in the nuclear ‘b...
Acceleration of Insulin Pharmacodynamic Profile by a Novel Insulin Infusion Site Warming Device

Background and Objective Subcutaneously injected rapid-acting insulin analogs do not replicate physiologic insulin action due to delays in their onset and peak action resulting in postprandial glucose excursions. The InsuPatch (IP) is a novel insulin infusion site warming device developed to accelerate insulin action by increasing blood flow to the area of insulin absorption. Thirteen adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D, mean age 14 ± 4 yr) were enrolled in this study to investigate the effect of the IP on the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of a 0.2 unit/kg bolus dose of aspart insulin using the euglycemic clamp technique. Research Design and Methods Each subject underwent two euglycemic clamp procedures on separate occasions: one with IP and one without IP activation in random order. Results When the insulin bolus was given with IP activation as compared to without IP activation, time to reach maximum insulin action (TGIRmax) and to reach 50% maximum action (T50%GIRmax) were 35 and 18 min earlier (125 ± 8 min vs. 90 ± 6 min, p = 0.002 and 58 ± 5 min. vs. 40 ± 3 min, p = 0.01, respectively), and the area under curve, AUCGIR0–90 min, reflecting early glucodynamic action, was significantly greater (p = 0.001). IP activation also accelerated the rise in plasma insulin levels after the bolus (p = 0.03) and resulted in a higher peak (p = 0.04) and greater overall increase (p = 0.02) in plasma insulin levels. Conclusions Our results show that insulin infusion site warming with IP activation accelerates the time action profile of aspart insulin which may be of benefit to current open-loop and future closed-loop insulin delivery in patients with T1D.
The management of excessive fluid retention in normal and toxemic pregnancies.

A STATE of positive water balance is a normal accompaniment of pregnancy and is evidenced by an increase both in plasma volume and in extravascular fluid.l This phenomenon may be exaggerated to a point at which edema without any other demonstrable abnormality appears but a few patients develop preeclampsia in which the extravascular fluid retention is further exaggerated and with which the increased blood pressure and the appearance of proteinuria indicate a definite alteration in the physiology of the vascular system. Chesley states that the patient who retains fluid in excess of the normal is six times as likely to develop pre-eclampsia as is the one who retains only the normal amount.’ The reasons for the extravasation of fluid from the vascular system with its accumulation in the interstitial spaces are multiple but for the normally pregnant patient little evidence can be presented that more than a small minority fad1 into the following groups :
Relationship of Spermatozoal Migration in Cervical Mucus to Bovine Fertility

Frozen bovine semen from males of wellestablished, generally high fertility levels was thawed and used in three experiments for In vitro capillary tube migration through cervical mucus. Bovine cervical mucus from individual heifers or a group of heifers was evaluated in these assays. Correlations between spermatozoal migration and bull fertility were small and not significant. Significant differences in spermatozoal migration distances were due to bulls, source of mucus, and storage time of mucus before use in the assay. These differences did not appear to affect the correlations obtained, but they require that the sperm migration test be standardized relative to sources of mucus and storage time if different seminal specimens are to be compared.
Relationships between perceptions of conducting effectiveness and ensemble performance.

Conducting is a complex art that involves, among other things, effective nonverbal communication. While this communication includes hand and arm gestures as well as eye contact and facial expressio...
REDOX REGULATION OF UBIQUITIN-CONJUGATING ENZYMES : MECHANISTIC INSIGHTS USING THE THIOL-SPECIFIC OXIDANT DIAMIDE

The ubiquitin-proteasome pathway (UPP) regulates critical cell processes, including the cell cycle, cytokine-induced gene expression, differentiation, and cell death. Recently we demonstrated that this pathway responds to oxidative stress in mammalian cells and proposed that activities of ubiquitin-activating enzyme (E1) and ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes (E2s) are regulated by cellular redox status (i.e., GSSG:GSH ratio). To test this hypothesis, we altered the GSSG:GSH ratio in retinal pigment epithelial cells with the thiol-specific oxidant, diamide, and assessed activities of the UPP. Treatment of cells with diamide resulted in a dose-dependent increase in the GSSG:GSH ratio resulting from loss of GSH and a coincident increase in GSSG. Increases in the GSSG:GSH ratio from 0.02 in untreated cells to > or = 0.5 in diamide-treated cells were accompanied by dose-dependent reductions in the levels of endogenous Ub-protein conjugates, endogenous E1-ubiquitin thiol esters, and de novo ubiquitin-conjugating activity. As determined by the ability to form E1-ubiquitin and E2s-ubiquitin thiol esters, E1 and E2s were both inhibited by elevated GSSG:GSH ratios. Inhibition of E1 was associated with the formation of E1-protein mixed disulfides. Activities of E1 and E2s gradually recovered to preoxidation levels, coincident with gradual recovery of the GSSG:GSH ratio. These data support S-thiolation/dethiolation as a mechanism regulating E1 and E2 activities in response to oxidant insult. Ubiquitin-dependent proteolytic capacity was regulated by the GSSG:GSH ratio in a manner consistent with altered ubiquitin-conjugating activity. However, ubiquitin-independent proteolysis was unaffected by changes in the GSSG:GSH ratio. Potential adaptive and pathological consequences of redox regulation of UPP activities are discussed.
Gait Recognition Using Encodings With Flexible Similarity Measures

Gait signals detectable by sensors on ubiquitous personal devices such as smartphones can reveal characteristics unique to each individual, and thereby offer a new approach to recognizing users. Conventional pattern matching approaches use inner-product based distance measures which are not robust to common variations in time-series analysis (e.g., shifts and stretching). This is unfortunate given that it is well understood that capturing such variations is paramount for model performance. This work shows how machine learning methods which encode gait signals into a feature space based on a dictionary can use convolution and Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) similarity measures to improve classification accuracy in a variety of situations common to gait recognition. We also show that data augmentation is crucial in gait recognition, as diverse training data in practical applications is very limited. We validate the effectiveness of these methods empirically, and demonstrate the identification of user gait patterns where shift and stretch variations in measurements are substantial. We present a new gait dataset that contains a complete representation of the variations that can be expected in real-world recognition scenarios. We compare our techniques against the current state of the art gait period detection and normalization schemes on our dataset and show improved classification accuracy under all experimental scenarios.
Space-hardware design for long life with high reliability

In 1991, the Cassini Project, NASA's planetary project to place a spacecraft in orbit about Saturn, funded a study at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to identify rules for design and test of hardware required to function reliably in space for very long lifetimes. Twenty-nine subjects were considered comprising 130 specific rules related to long-life issues such as accelerated life testing, cycling of mechanical devices, selection and application of parts, semiconductor junction temperatures, and worst-case analysis for long life. The study was subsequently published as a JPL document. One major conclusion of the workshop was that unattended space missions extending out to 25 years or more are feasible. The paper reports on the study and the one-day workshop. >
Ultrastructure of rhabdomyoma.

Ultrastructural studies of rhabdomyoma, a rare benign human tumor, confirm its origin from skeletal muscle and differentiate it from other tumors, such as granular cell myoblastoma with which it may be confused by light microscopy. Evidence is presented that characteristic “crystals” observed by light microscopy in rhabdomyoma are in fact modified and hypertrophied Z-bands similar to the rods of nemaline myopathy. The structural characteristics of myofibrils, satellite cells, T-system, paracrystalline inclusions, glycogen, and mitochondria are described in rhabdomyoma. Many parallels were found between the fine structure of the tumor and that of normal and pathological muscle, especially denervation atrophy of muscle with which a special relationship is suggested.
Abstract 1633: Ets2 in tumor fibroblasts promotes angiogenesis in breast cancer.

Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC Objective of study Cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are often thought to acquire a modified phenotype and these ‘activated’ fibroblasts have been implicated as active partners in tumorigenesis. However, the molecular mechanisms by which CAFs promote tumor progression remain ill-defined. Ets2 (v-ets erythroblastosis virus E26 oncogene homologue 2) is an evolutionarily conserved proto-oncogene overexpressed in breast cancer. Previous studies indicate that Ets2 specifically acts in the stroma to promote breast cancer progression. The exact mechanisms of how and from where in the stroma Ets2 regulates breast cancer tumorigenesis are poorly understood. The objectives of this study are to determine whether the function of Ets2 in stromal fibroblasts is critical to promote tumor progression and to identify novel tumor-dependent stroma-specific target genes and pathways controlled by Ets2.Our hypothesis is that genetic deletion of Ets2 specifically in the stromal fibroblasts will delay mammary tumor progression. Methods We used Fibroblast specific protein 1 (Fsp1) promoter-Cre to delete Ets2 in the stromal fibroblasts associated with mouse mammary tumors. We evaluated the effect of stromal fibroblast specific deletion of Ets2 on tumor progression and angiogenesis in MMTV-PyMT and MMTV-Her2/neu spontaneous breast cancer mouse models. Also, in order to elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which stromal Ets2 regulates tumor progression, we profiled the primary fibroblasts isolated from mammary glands of mice with Ets2 deletion in the context of both oncogenes. Results We observed a significant delay in tumor progression in both PyMT and Her2/neu tumor models with fibroblast specific Ets2 deletion. Gene expression profiling of fibroblasts from both models revealed that Ets2 in tumor fibroblasts selectively regulated the expression of genes involved in angiogenesis and extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling. Functional in vivo angiogenesis assays further illustrated a significant decrease in tumor angiogenesis when Ets2 is deleted in fibroblasts. Conclusions Our study demonstrates that stromal fibroblast specific Ets2 drives mammary tumorigenesis by promoting angiogenesis and ECM remodeling. Although the Ets2 deleted fibroblast gene signatures differ between PyMT and Her2/neu models, the study identifies similar pathways affecting tumor angiogenesis in both models. This finding implies a functional role of Ets2 in aiding tumor progression independent of the oncogenic driver. Citation Format: Subhasree Balakrishnan, Julie A. Wallace, Fu Li, Chelsea K. Martin, Thierry Pecot, Gustavo Leone, Michael C. Ostrowski. Ets2 in tumor fibroblasts promotes angiogenesis in breast cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1633. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-1633
The synthesis of indolizidines by intramolecular ene cyclizations. Preparation of (E)-alkylidene analogs of pumiliotoxin A.

Abstract 6-Alkylidene-8-hydroxyindolizidines 4 can be prepared by Lewis acid-catalyzed intramolecular ene cyclization of proline-derived ketones 3 .
Electron microscopic changes following canine cardiac allografts: the effects of irradiation.

Orthotopic cardiac allotransplantation was performed on ten adult mongrel dogs. At the time of acute rejection (decline in QRS voltage to at least onehalf of the post-operative level) a cardiac biopsy was removed from the left ventricle of each dog and followed by 300 r of local x-irradiation on five consecutive days. After a full course of x-irradiation (1500r) to each dog a second biopsy was removed from the left ventricle. In this way, each dog acted as its own control in order to determine the effects of x-irradiation on cardiac transplants and the rejection phenomenon. The electron microscopic findings at the time of acute rejection involved primarily the myocytes and their cellular organelles in that the A, I, and Z bands were less distinct and there was significant enlargement and cytological distortion of the mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum and T tubules. Endothelial hyperplasia of the smaller blood vessels was also more apparent in the pre-irradiation biopsies. Following irradiation the ultrastructural changes appeared to be reversed in six of the ten dogs; mitochondria and other organelles of the myocytes were more normal and the banding of the fibers was more distinct. Vascular alterations were less and the tissue approached normal cytological architecture. Pre- and post-irradiated cardiac tissues were not different in two animals and in two other animals the post-irradiated tissues appeared more abnormal than those showing acute rejection. Local irradiation as a method of immunosuppression in cardiac transplants is discussed.