cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Opioid Therapy in Chronic Pain

pium is a bitter, brown, granular powder derived from the seedpod of the poppy ( Papaver somniferum ). People have used opium for the relief of pain and suffering for thousands of years. Before the 19th century, opium was cultivated and used chiefly in the Middle East, whereas in Europe and the United States it was a luxury available mainly to the elite. During the 19th century, several historical events conspired to make opium and other opioids more readily available. The production of opium increased rapidly, and after the morphine alkaloid was identified in 1806 pharmacologic production of opioid drugs began. Use of morphine-containing tinctures such as laudanum became commonplace, especially in the treatment of the “travails” and “boredom” of Victorian women. Morphine-containing cures for colic, diarrhea, dysmenorrhea, and other painful conditions were widely available and could be bought from doctors and pharmacists. With the rise of the “street use” of opium and heroin, legal controls were introduced. In the United States, the first attempts to control the abuse of narcotics came at the end of the 19th century, when a few states instituted limited controls. By the 1940s, opioids were so tightly restricted that they could be used legally only when they were prescribed by physicians according to strict regulatory controls. The legal use of opioids was thus placed entirely in the hands of physicians, who were, and still are, liable to lose their medical licenses and risk criminal prosecution if they prescribe these drugs inappropriately. The immediate effect of such strict regulatory control was that physicians became reluctant to prescribe opioids, and as a result pain was woefully undertreated. 1 Through the efforts of advocates of pain control, toward the end of the 20th century opioid therapy was reestablished as an invaluable and accepted treatment for acute pain, pain due to cancer, and pain caused by a terminal disease. The most difficult issue now facing physicians who treat patients with chronic pain probably is whether and how to prescribe opioid therapy for chronic pain that is not associated with terminal disease, including pain experienced by the increasing number of patients with cancer in remission who need long-term opioid therapy. Many of the issues involved in the treatment of patients with pain due to cancer in remission are the same as those in the treatment of patients with chronic pain that is unrelated to malignant conditions. Our review addresses specific questions about dose and toxicity in the light of recent studies that suggest a need to modify current practices in the use of opioid therapy for chronic pain.
Granville Solvents: growth and remediation of a chemical recycling facility in a small Ohio town

Granville Solvents Inc. (GSI) operated for years on the Raccoon Creek flood plain in the central Ohio town of Granville, handling bulk quantities of fuels and solvents. The site is adjacent to Granville’s public water supply. The water wells of the village draw from a substantial buried-valley aquifer, which is vulnerable to surface influences and contaminants. GSI received a 3-year Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Part A permit without any siting evaluation because of its grandfather status, and was able to expand its operations greatly. During the expansion, continued negotiations involving permit applications and modifications were conducted; with continued disregard for site contamination. Although a Part B permit was never granted, GSI operated for 6 years under RCRA. Today the site is a Superfund operation and more than five million dollars have been spent on cleanup and maintenance of contaminated soil and groundwater. After 15 years of cleanup, the active remediation has been suspended for the present; however, management of the site for the protection of the adjacent well field is likely to continue well into the future.
Multipath fading reduction using a phase-conjugating array in a dual-reflector environment

This paper investigates the use of a phase-conjugating array to mitigate multipath fading in wireless communications. A four-element phase- conjugating array is placed in a multipath environment consisting of two reflectors parallel to the primary signal path. The distance between the interrogator and receiver is varied to produce multipath signals of varying angles of incidence. A comparison between the phase-conjugating array and a conventional four- element array shows that the phase-conjugating array reduces fading by up to 14 dB, showing that the phase- conjugating array is a viable solution for multipath mitigation.
Reproduction and morphology of Polydorella (Polychaeta: Spionidae), including the description of a new species from the Philippines

A new spionid polychaete, Polydorella kamakamai, associated with sponges is described from the Philippines. Polydorella kamakamai is characterized by acicular neurosetae in segments 2–7, a fifth segment containing a ventral row of spines with digitiform bosses, and lack of branchiae. As in all members of the genus, P. kamakamai undergoes asexual reproduction via paratomy; the process of paratomy is examined through scanning electron and light microscopy. This species exhibits a growth zone following segment 10, leading to the production of stolon individuals budding from the stock individual; five or more individuals can thus be formed in a single chain. Paratomic division typically occurs in chains containing four to five individuals and as a result colonies are dominated by chains of two individuals. Sexual reproduction is documented for only the second time in the genus; P. kamakamai produces eggs in segments 13–15. Asexual reproduction and fine morphological structure of the ventral spines of the fift...
Fetal Alcohol Exposure and Temporal Vulnerability: Effects of Binge-Like Alcohol Exposure on the Ventrolateral Nucleus of the Thalamus

Background: Prenatal alcohol exposure disrupts motor performance in affected offspring. The ventrolateral nucleus (VLN) of the thalamus functions to relay information between the cerebellum and motor cortex. Reductions in the size of the thalamus have been found in children with fetal alcohol syndrome, and therefore a rat model system was used to determine whether VLN size and neuronal number were altered by alcohol exposure during development. Methods: Rat pups were exposed to alcohol in utero during the first 10 days of gestation (first trimester equivalent), the second 10 days of gestation (second trimester equivalent), or the first two trimesters equivalent combined. Some pups were exposed to alcohol in utero during the time of VLN neurogenesis. In addition, offspring from some of the dams treated during the first two trimesters equivalent were reared artificially from postnatal day (P) 4 through P9 (part of the third trimester equivalent) and received binge-like alcohol during this time, resulting in offspring exposed to alcohol during all three trimesters equivalent. Other offspring from untreated dams were reared in the same manner but received alcohol only during the third trimester equivalent. Control animals (nutritional and untreated) were reared for all treatment conditions. All pups were perfused on P10. Results: A unique effect of alcohol treatment was not found for the VLN volume or the number of neural cells within the VLN. However, the period of VLN neurogenesis was found to be sensitive to both alcohol and nutritional control treatments, resulting in significant decreases in the VLN volume and neural cell number. Conclusions: Motor deficits seen in offspring exposed prenatally to alcohol do not seem to result from direct effects on the structure of the VLN of the thalamus.
Induced role hierarchies with attribute-based RBAC

The Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) model is traditionally used to manually assign users to appropriate roles. When the service-providing enterprise has a massive customer base, assigning users to roles ought to be automated. RB-RBAC (Rule-Based RBAC) provides the mechanism to dynamically assign users to roles based on a finite set of authorization rules defined by the enterprise's security policy. These rules may have seniority relation among them, which induces a roles hierarchy. The main contribution of this paper is to explore the possible discrepancies between the Induced Roles Hierarchy and any existing roles hierarchy. The functional impact of existing discrepancies and ways of reconciling them are discussed.
Asymptotic and spectral properties of operator‐valued functions generated by aircraft wing model

The present paper is devoted to the asymptotic and spectral analysis of an aircraft wing model in a subsonic air flow. The model is governed by a system of two coupled integro-differential equations and a two parameter family of boundary conditions modelling the action of the self-straining actuators. The differential parts of the above equations form a coupled linear hyperbolic system; the integral parts are of the convolution type. The system of equations of motion is equivalent to a single operator evolution–convolution equation in the energy space. The Laplace transform of the solution of this equation can be represented in terms of the so-called generalized resolvent operator, which is an operator-valued function of the spectral parameter. More precisely, the generalized resolvent is a finite-meromorphic function on the complex plane having a branch-cut along the negative real semi-axis. Its poles are precisely the aeroelastic modes and the residues at these poles are the projectors on the generalized eigenspaces. The dynamics generator of the differential part of the system has been systematically studied in a series of works by the second author. This generator is a non-selfadjoint operator in the energy space with a purely discrete spectrum. In the aforementioned series of papers, it has been shown that the set of aeroelastic modes is asymptotically close to the spectrum of the dynamics generator, that this spectrum consists of two branches, and a precise spectral asymptotics with respect to the eigenvalue number has been derived. The asymptotical approximations for the mode shapes have also been obtained. It has also been proven that the set of the generalized eigenvectors of the dynamics generator forms a Riesz basis in the energy space. In the present paper, we consider the entire integro-differential system which governs the model. Namely, we investigate the properties of the integral convolution-type part of the original system. We show, in particular, that the set of poles of the adjoint generalized resolvent is asymptotically close to the discrete spectrum of the operator that is adjoint to the dynamics generator corresponding to the differential part. The results of this paper will be important for the reconstruction of the solution of the original initial boundary-value problem from its Laplace transform and for the analysis of the flutter phenomenon in the forthcoming work. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Blast Assessment of Load-Bearing Reinforced Concrete Shear Walls

In this paper a methodology for assessing the performance of structural elements subject to explosive loading is presented. The method combines basic section analyses, equivalent single degree of freedom (SDOF) modeling, and a static finite element pushover analysis to calculate the blast resistance of an existing shear wall subject to an external explosion. The method optimizes the breadth of results while minimizing the calculation complexity required. A static pushover analysis is conducted to identify regions of vulnerability. The second floor wall is identified as the location of failure and is modeled as a system, which includes the stiffness contributions of adjoining wall sections, and also as a component with fixed ends. Pressure–impulse curves are developed to quantify the blast resistance of the wall relative to various levels of damage. The component model is found to underpredict the blast resistance by 7% when compared to the system model for impulsive demands. Simplified energy methods are ...
Patient and physician agreement on abdominal pain severity and need for opioid analgesia

Whereas controversy surrounds emergency department (ED) analgesia administration to patients with undifferentiated abdominal pain, few studies have addressed the level of patient-physician agreement on abdominal pain severity and need for opioid analgesia. This prospective study was undertaken to assess concordance between emergency physicians and patients on abdominal pain severity. Study subjects were a convenience sample of 30 adults seen in an urban university-affiliated tertiary care ED (annual census 65,000) who had undifferentiated abdominal pain meeting an initial severity threshold of 5 on a 10 cm visual analog scale (VAS) marked by the patient. Patients' and physicians' VAS scores, obtained in blinded fashion at presentation (t0) and at one (t1) and two (t2) hours into the ED stay, were compared with t test (VAS scores) and sign-rank (percent change in VAS scores) analyses. In addition, patients and physicians were asked at each assessment time, in blinded fashion, "Is the pain severe enough to warrant morphine?" The kappa statistic was used to characterize the degree of agreement between physician and patient assessments as to whether opioids were indicated. At t0, t1, and t2, patients' mean VAS scores (7.5, 6.7, and 5.1) were significantly (P .50 for time intervals t0 - t1 and t1 - t2). Overall, patients and physicians agreed on the question of whether pain was sufficient to warrant opioids in 71 of 90 (78.9%) assessments; the corresponding kappa statistic of .57 indicated moderate agreement (P < .0001). These results, indicating that patients and physicians usually agree on whether opioids are warranted for abdominal pain, have important implications for further research on ED analgesia in this population.
Arabic Morphological Tagging, Diacritization, and Lemmatization Using Lexeme Models and Feature Ranking

We investigate the tasks of general morphological tagging, diacritization, and lemmatization for Arabic. We show that for all tasks we consider, both modeling the lexeme explicitly, and retuning the weights of individual classifiers for the specific task, improve the performance.
Paragraphing, reader, and task effects on discourse comprehension

Interactions among text, task, and reader factors were examined in two experiments that looked at the role of paragraphing, a surface text feature, on the identification of and memory for main ideas as compared to elaborative information in expository passages. In the coincident paragraphing condition, main ideas of the passage were paragraph initial; that is, semantic (content) and structural cues in the text converged on the same sentences as the main ideas. In the conflicting condition, elaborations of the main ideas were paragraph initial. Although paragraphing identified these elaboration sentences as main ideas, the content information conflicted with that designation. Participants read and recalled (Experiment 1) or summarized (Experiment 2) four passages, two about topics rated “more familiar” and two about topics rated “less familiar.” As predicted, in both studies the paragraphing manipulation had a greater effect on the differentiation of main ideas and elaborations when passage content was les...
Exposure to Phthalates Affects Calcium Handling and Intercellular Connectivity of Human Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes

Background The pervasive nature of plastics has raised concerns about the impact of continuous exposure to plastic additives on human health. Of particular concern is the use of phthalates in the production of flexible polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products. Di-2-ethylhexyl-phthalate (DEHP) is a commonly used phthalate ester plasticizer that imparts flexibility and elasticity to PVC products. Recent epidemiological studies have reported correlations between urinary phthalate concentrations and cardiovascular disease, including an increased risk of high blood pressure and coronary risk. Yet, there is little direct evidence linking phthalate exposure to adverse effects in human cells, including cardiomyocytes.
Evaluating the Speech of Younger and Older Adults: Age, Gender, and Speech Situation:

This study examines how listeners arrive at judgments of speech as irrelevant or off-topic (off-target). Older adults and college students evaluated a set of narratives ascribed to speakers differi...
A Decade of Progress in Modern Genetics

This paper was adapted from Professor Carlson's presentations to the NABT National Convention in Anaheim, February 1968. The author received the Distinguished Teaching Award at UCLA, is the author of several books, and is currently working on the biography of H. J. Muller. He received his undergraduate education at New York University and his doctorate in 1958 from Indiana University. Prof. Carlson attributes his initial interest in genetics as the result of reading of Muller's radiation experiments and work on a fruit fly project while a student at Thomas Jefferson High School, Brooklyn, New York
Garbage matters Concepts in new geographies of waste

In this article, I critically review important concepts in new geographies of waste. I focus on both the conceptual frameworks that are used to examine issues concerning waste and the political pos...
Valence and Conduction Band Offsets of a ZrO2/SiOxNy/n-Si CMOS Gate Stack: A Combined Photoemission and Inverse Photoemission Study

The densities of states above and below the Fermi energy for the ZrO 2 /SiO x N y /n-Si system are examined by photoemission and inverse photoemission and compared with results from first principles calculations. The measured band gap of ZrO 2 is 5.68 eV and the valence and conduction band offsets relative to silicon are 3.40 and 1.16 eV respectively.
Lubricin as a Surface Treatment to Reduce Post-operative Biofouling and Infection

The goal of this research was to investigate the ability of lubricin to prevent bio-fouling of intraocular lenses after surgery, through surface coating trials with lubricin and analogues of the two major sub-units of the lubricin molecule (mucin and vitronectin). Yearly, there are over 6 million surgeries worldwide that involve intraocular lenses (IOLs) 1 . However, preventing post-operative biofouling and bacterial infection of these implants remains a challenge 2 . Surface modification of IOLs may provide a solution. This study proposes the use of the anti-adhesive protein lubricin (LUB), a glycoprotein found in the synovial fluid, as a means to make polymer surfaces less prone to bacterial adhesion and proliferation; thus, reducing the opportunity for post-operative infection 3 . This study used extended bacteria growth trials on tissue cultures polystyrene coated with either lubricin, vitronectin, or mucin to investigate how lubricin and protein sub-regions of lubricin may reduce bacterial adhesion and proliferation.
Autoimmune Gastrointestinal Dysmotility Treated Successfully With Pyridostigmine

Background & Aims: Autoimmune gastrointestinal dysmotility (AGID) is a limited form of autoimmune autonomic neuropathy occurring idiopathically or in a paraneoplastic context. This disorder is considered rare, but is underrecognized as a cause for GI dysmotilities of varying anatomic extent, severity, and duration. We describe the diagnosis and management of an instructive case. Methods: A 60-year-old (nondiabetic) woman presented with a 15-year history of severe isolated gastroparesis. Paraneoplastic autoantibody evaluation aided the diagnosis of AGID. This included indirect immunofluorescence (neuronal nuclear and cytoplasmic antibodies), radioimmunoprecipitation assays (neuronal and muscle plasma membrane cation channel antibodies), and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (muscle striational antibodies). Results: Serologic testing revealed both ganglionic neuronal acetylcholine receptor and N-type voltage-gated calcium channel autoantibodies. This profile was consistent with AGID and, despite the long history, raised the possibility of lung, breast, or ovarian carcinoma or thymoma. An underlying neoplasm was excluded by appropriate investigations. In a 1-month trial of oral pyridostigmine therapy, the patient's GI symptoms improved and her weight stabilized. Pyridostigmine was continued at a low dose, and was supplemented by tegaserod. Conclusions: Autoimmune serology is a valuable adjunct to the diagnosis and guide to management of patients with AGID. The favorable response to acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, despite a 15-year history, suggests an immunopharmacologic rather than an inflammatory cytotoxic pathology. Immunomodulatory therapy may not always be required. Of numerous autoantibodies currently recognized as biomarkers of AGID, the ganglionic acetylcholine receptor autoantibody is the only proven pathophysiologic effector. Certain neuronal nuclear and cytoplasmic autoantibodies are highly predictive of an underlying malignancy.
An analytical model of vehicle-based automated material handling systems in semiconductor fabs

This research explores analytical models useful in the design of vehicle-based Automated Material Handling Systems (AMHS) to support semiconductor manufacturing. The objective is to correctly estimate the throughput and move request delay. This analysis proposes a computationally effective analytical approach to multi-vehicle AMHS performance modeling for a simple closed loop. A probabilistic model is developed, based on a detailed description of AMHS operations, and the system is analyzed as an extended Markov chain. The model tracks the operations of one vehicle on the closed-loop considering the possibility of vehicle-blocking. This analysis provides the essential parameters such as the blocking probabilities in order to estimate the performance measures. A numerical example is analyzed and simulated using Automod to demonstrate and validate the queuing model.
Identification of Low-Level Point Radiation Sources Using a Sensor Network

Identification of a low-level point radiation source amidst background radiation is achieved by a network of radiation sensors using a two-step approach. Based on measurements from three sensors, the geometric difference triangulation method is used to estimate the location and strength of the source. Then a sequential probability ratio test based on current measurements and estimated parameters is employed to finally decide: (1) the presence of a source with the estimated parameters, or (2) the absence of the source, or (3) the insufficiency of measurements to make a decision. This method achieves specified levels of false alarm and missed detection probabilities, while ensuring a close-to-minimal number of measurements for reaching a decision. This method minimizes the ghost-source problem of current estimation methods, and achieves a lower false alarm rate compared with current detection methods. This method is tested and demonstrated using: (1) simulations, and (2) a test-bed that utilizes the scaling properties of point radiation sources to emulate high intensity ones that cannot be easily and safely handled in laboratory experiments.
US-Japan Science Program: United States-Japan Cooperative Science Program Fourth Seminar on Paleomagnetism Honolulu, Hawaii, February 2”6, 1970

Geophysicists and geologists from Japan and the United States met in Honolulu, February 2 through 6, 1970, to discuss rock magnetism, paleomagnetism, and geomagnetism in a seminar held at the East-West Center of the University of Hawaii as part of the United States-Japan Cooperative Science Program. This fourth meeting of the paleomagnetism series—on The History of the Geomagnetic Field Revealed from Paleomagnetic Studies of the Pacific Ocean Floor and Circum-Pacific Areas—followed an organizational meeting at Tokyo in 1962, a second meeting at Berkeley in 1964, and a third meeting at Kyoto in 1966. During the meeting 40 papers were presented by 18 scientists from the United States and 10 from Japan. Four other scientists from the United States were in attendance.
Relaxation and music to reduce postsurgical pain

Relaxation and music to reduce postsurgical pain Aims: We investigated the effects of relaxation, music, and the combination of relaxation and music on postoperative pain, across and between two days and two activities (ambulation and rest) and across ambulation each day. This secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial was conducted from 1995 to 1997. Background: After surgery, patients do not always receive sufficient relief from opioids and may have undesired side-effects. More complete relief (10–30%) was found recently with adjuvant interventions of relaxation, music, and their combination. Comparison of effects between days and treatments have not been examined longitudinally. Methods: With a repeated measures design, abdominal surgery patients (n = 468) in five US hospitals were assigned randomly to one of four groups; relaxation, music, their combination, and control. With institutional approval and written informed consent, subjects were interviewed and taught interventions preoperatively. Postoperative testing was at ambulation and rest on days 1 and 2 using visual analogue (VAS) sensation and distress of pain scales. Results: Multivariate analysis indicated that although pain decreased by day 2, interventions were not different between days and activities. They were effective for pain across ambulation on each day, across ambulation and across rest over both days (all P < 0·001), and had similar effects by day and by activity. Conclusions: Nurses can safely recommend any of these interventions for pain on both postoperative days and at both ambulation and rest.
Asbestos-induced injury to cultured human pulmonary epithelial-like cells: role of neutrophil elastase.

The mechanisms responsible for asbestos-induced pulmonary epithelial cell cytotoxicity, especially oxidant-independent mechanisms, are not established. We determined whether human polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) proteases contribute to asbestos-induced damage to human pulmonary epithelial-like cells (PECs) assessed using an in vitro chromium-51 release assay. Serine antiproteases, phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride and alpha 1-antitrypsin, each ameliorated PEC injury induced by amosite asbestos and PMNs. A role for a specific proteinase, human neutrophil elastase (HNE), is supported by the facts that (1) asbestos increased HNE release assessed by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique (1.7 +/- 0.5 vs. 2.8 +/- 0.5 micrograms/ml; P < .025), (2) purified HNE or porcine pancreatic elastase (PPE) each alone caused PEC detachment, (3) asbestos plus either HNE or PPE caused PEC lysis similar to that mediated by asbestos and PMNs, and (4) cationic agents released from PMNs were unlikely to be involved because polyanions did not ameliorate injury resulting from asbestos and PMNs. Compared to elastase, cathepsin G caused less PEC detachment and negligible augmentation in asbestos-induced PEC lysis. Asbestos increased the association of 125I-labeled elastase with PECs nearly 50-fold compared with PPE alone (14.4% vs. 0.3%, respectively; P < .01) and nearly 10-fold compared with another particle, opsonized zymosan. We conclude that PMN-derived proteases, especially elastase, may contribute to asbestos-induced lung damage by augmenting pulmonary epithelial cell injury.
Single-molecule spectroscopy of amino acids and peptides by recognition tunnelling

Single amino acids and peptides can be identified by trapping the molecules between two electrodes that are coated with a layer of recognition molecules and measuring the electron tunnelling current across the junction.
On again – off again: COP9 signalosome turns the key on protein degradation

Abstract The COP9 signalosome is an eight-subunit protein complex that regulates protein ubiquitination and protein turnover in a variety of plant developmental and physiological contexts, including light-regulated development, hormone signaling, and defense against pathogens. In all eukaryotes tested, the COP9 signalosome is able to posttranslationally modify the cullin subunit of E3-ubiquitin-ligase complexes by cleaving off the covalently coupled peptide, Nedd8. Two contrasting models ascribe stimulatory or inhibitory roles to the modification of cullin/E3 that is mediated by the COP9 signalosome. There is considerable disagreement as to whether Nedd8 cleavage underlies all of the COP9 signalosome’s numerous cellular and phenotypic effects. This is because macroscopic phenotypes do not always correlate with biochemical defects in COP9 signalosome mutants. Additional biochemical activities, including protein interactions with the cellular machineries for protein phosphorylation, protein turnover, and protein translation, have been proposed to account for the role of the COP9 signalosome in development and disease.
Prevalence of SEN Viruses among Injection Drug Users in the San Francisco Bay Area

SEN viruses (SENVs) are newly discovered bloodborne viruses that may play a role in liver disease. SENV strain prevalence was examined in a race/ethnicity-stratified sample of 531 injection drug users (IDUs) from the San Francisco Bay area. Weighted prevalences were as follows: SENV-A, 45.7%; SENV-C/H, 35.6%; and SENV-D, 10.3%. Infection was associated with a longer duration of injection drug use. SENV-A was more common in black subjects (adjusted odds ratio [OR(a)], 4.37; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.65-7.21) and Hispanic subjects (OR(a), 2.30; 95% CI, 1.38-3.85) than in white and non-Hispanic subjects, and the pattern was similar for SENV-C/H. For SENV-D, prevalence was similar in black and white subjects, but lower in Hispanic subjects; infection was less common among women than men (OR(a), 0.32; 95% CI, 0.15-0.71) and more common among men with at least 1 recent male sex partner than among heterosexual men (OR(a), 7.05; 95% CI, 2.62-18.95). SENV strains are common among San Francisco Bay area IDUs, and prevalence varies demographically within this group.
Functional and evolutionary inference in gene networks: does topology matter?

The relationship between the topology of a biological network and its functional or evolutionary properties has attracted much recent interest. It has been suggested that most, if not all, biological networks are 'scale free.' That is, their connections follow power- law distributions, such that there are very few nodes with very many connections and vice versa. The num- ber of target genes of known transcriptional regulators in the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, appears to fol- low such a distribution, as do other networks, such as the yeast network of protein-protein interactions. These findings have inspired attempts to draw biolog- ical inferences from general properties associated with scale-free network topology. One often cited general property is that, when compromised, highly connected nodes will tend to have a larger effect on network function than sparsely connected nodes. For example, more highly connected proteins are more likely to be lethal when knocked out. However, the correlation between lethality and connectivity is relatively weak, and some highly connected proteins can be removed without noticeable phenotypic effect. Similarly, net- work topology only weakly predicts the response of gene expression to environmental perturbations. Evo- lutionary simulations of gene-regulatory networks, presented here, suggest that such weak or non-existent correlations are to be expected, and are likely not due to inadequacy of experimental data. We argue that 'top-down' inferences of biological properties based on simple measures of network topology are of limited utility, and we present simulation results suggesting that much more detailed information about a gene's location in a regulatory network, as well as dynamic gene-expression data, are needed to make more meaningful functional and evolutionary predictions. Specifically, we find in our simulations that: (1) the relationship between a gene's connectivity and its fit- ness effect upon knockout depends on its equilibrium expression level; (2) correlation between connectivity and genetic variation is virtually non-existent, yet upon independent evolution of networks with identical topologies, some nodes exhibit consistently low or high polymorphism; and (3) certain genes show low poly- morphism yet high divergence among independent evolutionary runs. This latter pattern is generally taken as a signature of positive selection, but in our simula- tions its cause is often neutral coevolution of regula- tory inputs to the same gene.
Induction of Strong Protection by Vaccination with Partially Attenuated Serotype 1 Marek's Disease Viruses

SUMMARY. Studies were conducted to better understand the relationship among Marek's disease (MD) vaccine strains between induction of protective immunity and the degree of attenuation (or virulence). To obtain viruses at different stages of attenuation, very virulent plus MD strains 584A and 648A and selected clones of these strains were serially passaged in chicken and duck cells. These viruses were considered fully attenuated after passage for 70–100 times in chicken embryo cell cultures until they no longer induced gross lesions in susceptible, maternal antibody–negative (ab−) chickens. Lower passages of the same strains were considered partially attenuated, provided their virulence was less than that of the parent strain. Four of five partially attenuated preparations derived from MD virus strains 584A and 648A or the previously attenuated Md11 strain induced 28%–62% higher levels of protection in maternal antibody–positive (ab+) chickens against virulent MD challenge than the fully attenuated counter...
Induced expression of NMDAR2 proteins and differential expression of NMDAR1 splice variants in dysplastic neurons of human epileptic neocortex

Immunocytochemistry was used to study the expressions of glutamate receptor subunit proteins for NMDAR2A/B, NMDAR1 splice variants, and AMPA Glu-R2/3 in human brain resected for intractable epilepsy associated with cortical dysplasia. NMDAR2A/B intensely labeled dysplastic neurons showing staining in both the cell bodies and dendritic profiles. However, nondysplastic neurons were not immunoreactive to NMDAR2A/B. The antibody selective to NMDAR1 splice variants of NR1-1a, -1b, -2a, and -2b labeled dysplastic neurons, but few nondysplastic neurons. In contrast, the antibody to splice variants of NR1-1a, -1b, 2a, -2b, -3a, -3b, -4a, and -4b labeled both dysplastic and nondysplastic neurons. The different labeling patterns by these two antibodies indicate that variants of NMDAR1-3a, -3b, -4a, and -4b are present in nondysplastic neurons. Both dysplastic neurons and nondysplastic neurons were immunoreactive to AMPA GluR2/3, but denser immuno-reactivity was observed in dysplastic neurons. We also found that the locations of dysplastic neurons labeled by NMDAR2A/B were related to focal epileptic EEG seizure onsets or spiking and to focal behavioral seizure types. Our results suggest that there is hyperexcitability of dysplastic cortical regions, at least in part, from the presence of NMDAR2 subunits and selectively expressed NMDAR1 splice variants in dysplastic neurons.
Abstract LB-259: Arid1a loss in collaboration with PI3K pathway activation leads to ovarian tumorigenesis in mouse.

Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC ARID1A encoding BAF250a is a recently identified tumor suppressor involved in chromatin remodeling. Inactivating somatic mutations occur in a wide variety of human cancers including ovarian carcinoma. Interestingly, ARID1A mutations significantly co-occur with either PIK3CA or PTEN mutations in human neoplastic tissues, suggesting a molecular collaboration of ARID1A and PI3K/PTEN pathways in tumor development. We tested this possibility in Arid1a knockout mice (n=10) and Arid1a/Pten double knockout mice (n= 12), in which Arid1a and Pten can be conditionally deleted in the mouse ovarian surface epithelium (OSE) by intra-ovarian bursal injection of Ad-Cre virus. Arid1a knockout mice did not develop discernable histopathological changes 12 months after Ad-Cre administration in OSE, a finding similar to Pten knockout mice as reported previously. In contrast, Arid1a/Pten double knockout mice developed ovarian tumors in 40% mice 6 months after Ad-Cre virus injection. The tumors effaced ovarian tissues, disseminated intraperitoneally and developed ascites. None of the tumors expressed detectable ARID1A and Pten immunoreactivity, while fibroblastic cells and OSE cells from control ovaries are positive for both markers. Although all the tumors appear poorly differentiated, 80% tumors were positive for cytokeratin 8, suggestive of an epithelial origin. The remaining 60% mice without grossly visible tumors showed hyperplasia of OSE in Ad-Cre treated ovaries but not in non-injected controls. The hyperplasia of OSE developed as early as 2 months after Ad-Cre administration. In summary, our results demonstrate that mutation of Arid1a requires a second hit to initiate tumorigenesis. Collaboration between Arid1a inactivation and PI3K/Pten pathway aberration is sufficient to induce OSE hyperplasia and to develop poorly differentiated carcinomas. Citation Format: Bin Guan, Tian-Li Wang, Ie-Ming Shih. Arid1a loss in collaboration with PI3K pathway activation leads to ovarian tumorigenesis in mouse. [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 LB-259. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-LB-259
Carbon Nanotubes as Optical Materials

This paper discusses some of the highly interesting effects that occur when photons interact with carbon nanotubes. From position dependent photoconductivity of nanotube thin films to photon induced elastic actuation of carbon nanotubes is presented. A new field of micro-opto-mechanical systems (MOMS) is envisioned through the miniaturization of nanotube actuators using MEMS and CMOS processes. Number of remotely controlled MOMS devices including MOMS grippers, MOMS cantilevers and MOMS mirrors are presented. The performance of these devices rivals their MEMS electrostatic counterparts while consuming only fraction of energy and enabling remote controllability. Finally, the interaction of light with nanotubes for biomedical nanotechnology and photodynamic cancer therapy is presented.
Congenital self-healing reticulohistiocytosis: an underreported entity.

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH), also known as histiocytosis X, is a group of rare disorders characterized by the continuous replication of a particular white blood cell called Langerhans cells. These cells are derived from the bone marrow and are found in the epidermis, playing a large role in immune surveillance and the elimination of foreign substances from the body. Additionally, Langerhans cells are capable of migrating from the skin to lymph nodes, and in LCH, these cells begin to congregate on the bone, particularly in the head and neck region, causing a multitude of problems. Langerhans cell histiocytosis is classified into 4 variants: congenital self-healing reticulohistiocytosis (CSHR)(also known as Hashimoto-Pritzker disease), Letterer-Siwe disease, Hand-Schuller-Christian disease, and eosinophilic granuloma. Despite various clinical presentations and severity, all subtypes are pathologically caused by the proliferation of the Langerhans cell.
Red blood cell disorders

Abstract Anemia is the most common red blood cell disorder. Anemia can be classified on the basis of morphology (normocytic normochromic, microcytic hypochromic, and macrocytic) or etiology (anemia due to blood loss, anemia due to deficiency of hematopoietic factors, anemia due to bone marrow failure, and anemia due to increased red cell breakdown). Iron deficiency results in microcytic hypochromic anemia with anisocytosis. Anisocytosis precedes microcytosis and hypochromasia. In lead poisoning, two important enzymes of heme synthesis are inhibited. These are delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase and ferrochelatase. The punctate basophilia occurs due to inhibition of the enzyme 5 pyrimidine nucleotidase by lead. Megaloblastic anemia is due to folate or vitamin B12 deficiency. In the peripheral blood, macrocytic red cells are seen, and these are classically oval macrocytes. Hypersegmented PMNs may be seen. Megaloblastic anemia is a cause of pancytopenia. The bone marrow shows erythroid hyperplasia with large erythroid precursors. This is known as megaloblastoid changes. The myeloid precursors may also be large. Giant myelocytes and giant metamyelocytes may be seen. Nuclear cytoplasmic dyssynchrony may also be seen. In addition, anemia may be related to hereditary causes. This chapter focuses on various causes of anemia.
Quantitative 13C NMR characterization of fast pyrolysis oils

Quantitative 13C NMR analysis of model catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) oils following literature procedures showed poor agreement for aromatic hydrocarbons between NMR measured concentrations and actual composition. Modifying integration regions based on DEPT analysis for aromatic carbons resulted in better agreement. Solvent effects were also investigated for hydrotreated CFP oil.
Through-Casing Hydraulic Fracture Evaluation by Induction Logging II: The Inversion Algorithm and Experimental Validations

Evaluation of hydraulic fractures has been under intensive study since the last decade. Among published works, only a few have included casing effects. This paper focuses on the through-casing electromagnetic (EM) induction imaging method that evaluates hydraulic fractures with enhanced contrasts. An experimental system and an inverse scattering algorithm are presented. The laboratory scaled experimental system is built for the feasibility study of the EM induction imaging method for the through-casing hydraulic fracture evaluation. To develop the inverse scattering algorithm, fractures outside boreholes with metallic casing are modeled by a novel hybrid approximation method. This method combines the distorted Born approximation and the mixed order stabilized bi-conjugate gradient fast Fourier transform method to solve the forward scattering problem. The variational Born iterative method is applied to solve the nonlinear inverse problem iteratively. Experimental results show that the inverse scattering algorithm is effective for EM contrast enhanced through-casing hydraulic fracture evaluation.
Inter-Kingdom Modification of Metabolic Behavior: [GAR+] Prion Induction in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Mediated by Wine Ecosystem Bacteria

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has evolved to dominate grape juice fermentation. A suite of cellular properties, rapid nutrient depletion, production of inhibitory compounds and the metabolic narrowing of the niche, all enable a minor resident of the initial population to dramatically increase its relative biomass in the ecosystem. This dominance of the grape juice environment is fueled by a rapid launch of glycolysis and energy generation mediated by transport of hexoses and an efficient coupling of transport and catabolism. Fermentation occurs in the presence of molecular oxygen as the choice between respiratory or fermentative growth is regulated by the availability of sugar a phenomenon known as glucose or catabolite repression. Induction of the [GAR+] prion alters the expression of the major hexose transporter active under these conditions, Hxt3, reducing glycolytic capacity. Bacteria present in the grape juice ecosystem were able to induce the [GAR+] prion in wine strains of S. cerevisiae. This induction reduced fermentation capacity but did not block it entirely. However, dominance factors such as the rapid depletion of amino acids and other nitrogen sources from the environment were impeded enabling greater access to these substrates for the bacteria. Bacteria associated with arrested commercial wine fermentations were able to induce the prion state, and yeast cells isolated from arrested commercial fermentations were found to be [GAR+] thus confirming the ecological relevance of prion induction. Subsequent analyses demonstrated that the presence of environmental acetic acid could lead to [GAR+] induction in yeast strains under certain conditions. The induction of the prion enabled yeast growth on non-preferred substrates, oxidation and reduction products of glucose and fructose, present as a consequence of bacterial energy production. In native ecosystems prion induction never exceeded roughly 50-60% of the population of yeast cells suggesting that the population retains the capacity for maximal fermentation. Thus, the bacterial induction of the [GAR+] prion represents a novel environmental response: the query of the environment for the presence of competing organisms and the biological decision to temper glucose repression and dominance and enter a metabolic state enabling coexistence.
Acculturation, Enculturation, Perceived Racism, and Psychological Symptoms among Asian American College Students.

This study examined the potential moderating influences of behavioral and values acculturation and enculturation in a sample of 113 Asian Americans. Findings from regression analyses revealed that acculturation to European American cultural values, alone and in interaction with perceived racism, was related to less psychological symptoms, whereas enculturation to Asian American values alone was associated with more psychological symptoms. Findings, which partially supported the authors' hypotheses, are discussed in light of the cultural adaptation literature. Este estudio examino las potenciales influencias moderadoras de la aculturacion y enculturacion de comportamiento y valores en una muestra de 113 americanos asiaticos. Los resultados de analisis de regresion revelaron que la aculturacion a los valores culturales euro-americanos, por si sola y en interaccion con el racismo percibido, estaba relacionada con una menor incidencia de sintomas psicologicos, mientras que la enculturacion a los valores asiatico-americanos por si sola estaba relacionada con una mayor incidencia de sintomas psicologicos. Los resultados, que confirmaron parcialmente nuestras hipotesis, se discuten teniendo en cuenta la literatura sobre adaptacion cultural.
Effect of pressure on sedimentation velocity patterns. 3. Concentration-dependent hypersharpening in myosin at pH 8.3.

Abstract Recently completed computer simulations for the effects of pressure on the sedimentation of myosin were in approximate agreement with the experimental findings of Josephs and Harrington for the region of the pattern including the two Schlieren peaks. Below this region, the simulations predicted a hypersharp inverted gradient of concentration. The model chosen ignored the very large concentration dependence of the sedimentation of the myosin polymer, however, thus predicting a diffuse fast peak instead of the observed hypersharp peak. The present model has corrected for this omission. With inclusion of terms for the hydrodynamic concentration dependence of the sedimentation of monomer and polymer, the predicted pattern now looks very much the same as experimental patterns, in the region containing both peaks. Below this region, there is now much greater accentuation and sharpening of the already very large hypersharp negative concentration gradient, verifying the general prediction which had been made earlier as to the necessity of such a phenomenon in self-aggregating systems subject to very large dissociating effects of pressure. The stabilization afforded by the hypersharp fast boundary validates the procedures used by Josephs and Harrington to evaluate polymer formation constants and their pressure dependence.