cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SU-E-T-03: Justification and Feasibility of Neural Stem Cell Sparing in Whole Brain Irradiation Using VMAT.

Purpose: To determine the impact of radiation on neural stem cells and examine the feasibility of neural stem cell sparing using volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) for whole brain irradiation. Methods: Murine neural stem cells were harvested from the sub‐ventricular zone (SVZ), cultured and assessed for radio‐sensitivity and differentiation potential in response to radiation (0–6Gy). Clonogenic survival of these cells was compared to that of tumorcells derived from the murine PTEN−/−/Kras+ spontaneous braintumor model. The differentiation potential of neural stem cells surviving irradiation was examined by allowing the cells to differentiate for five days and analyzing cell types. In order to address the feasibility of neural stem cell sparing, a typical 3D whole braintreatment was compared to VMAT, in which the neural stem cell compartment, designated and contoured as the lateral ventricles with a 3–5mm margin, was spared. Whole braindose coverage was maintained similarly to conventional 3D treatment, while minimizing the dose to the stem cell compartment. Results: Neural stem cells are significantly more radio‐sensitive than their tumor counterparts (2Gy, p=0.018), and the neuronal differentiation capacity of stem cells that survive radiation treatment is markedly diminished. Compared to conventional 3D treatment, VMAT reduces radiationdose to the stem cell SVZ compartment while maintaining adequate coverage of the whole brain.Conclusions: Radiation‐induced cognitive decline from whole brain irradiation is of particular clinical relevance. Cognitive functions are strongly influenced by the activity of neural stem cells, thus stem cell sparing may help mitigate radiation‐induced cognitive decline. To our knowledge, this is the first study to confirm that radiation induces impaired neuronal differentiation at clinically relevant doses, and that improved stem cell sparing of the lateral ventricles (SVZ) is feasible using VMAT. Thus our studies confirm that VMAT should be examined further for clinical relevance in whole brain irradiation.
The effect of reduced oxygen partial pressure in inhaled air on the release of bio-active substances in human saliva.

Saliva gathered from hypoxic human subjects, as opposed to saliva collected at normal atmospheric pressure, proved highly musculo-active on rat uterus in vitro, and decreased the arterial blood pressure of dogs in vivo. The concentration of this bioactive agent in saliva gathered from subjects under induced hypoxia showed approximately a 10 fold increase over the same subjects under ambient atmospheric pressure. Both types of saliva were relatively non-toxic when administered to mice intraperitoneally. Tests with various activators and blocking agents suggested that the implicated substance is kallikrein, a kinin-releasing enzyme.
Adaptation of the AOCS Official Method for Measuring Hydroperoxides from Small-Scale Oil Samples

An adaptation of the American Oil Chemists' Society Official Method Cd 8–53 for determining peroxides in fats and oils using a 0.5-g sample is described. Comparisons of the Official Method and the small-scale method were performed by analyzing soybean oil samples spiked with t-butyl hydroperoxide and autoxidized soybean oil samples. A linear relationship between the Official Method and the small-scale method was obtained with an R2 of 0.998. The small-scale method is sensitive, precise, and suitable for small sample sizes and uses only about 10% of the chemicals necessary for the Official Method.
Pax3 functions at a nodal point in melanocyte stem cell differentiation

Most stem cells are not totipotent. Instead, they are partially committed but remain undifferentiated. Upon appropriate stimulation they are capable of regenerating mature cell types. Little is known about the genetic programmes that maintain the undifferentiated phenotype of lineage-restricted stem cells. Here we describe the molecular details of a nodal point in adult melanocyte stem cell differentiation in which Pax3 simultaneously functions to initiate a melanogenic cascade while acting downstream to prevent terminal differentiation. Pax3 activates expression of Mitf, a transcription factor critical for melanogenesis, while at the same time it competes with Mitf for occupancy of an enhancer required for expression of dopachrome tautomerase, an enzyme that functions in melanin synthesis. Pax3-expressing melanoblasts are thus committed but undifferentiated until Pax3-mediated repression is relieved by activated beta-catenin. Thus, a stem cell transcription factor can both determine cell fate and simultaneously maintain an undifferentiated state, leaving a cell poised to differentiate in response to external stimuli.
Light induced changes in the non-Gaussian noise statistics in doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon

The power spectrum of coplanar current fluctuations in n-type doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) has been measured before and after metastable defect creation by light soaking. The average magnitude and spectral slope of the 1/f noise are not affected by illumination, however significant changes in the higher order statistics are observed. Associated with the decrease of conductivity upon light soaking (the Staebler-Wronski effect), there is a decrease in the correlation of the noise power which characterize the non-Gaussian noise in the annealed state. These changes in the noise statistics are reversible by annealing. The light-induced changes in the non-Gaussian statistics provide experimental support for models of light induced defect creation which involve long-ranged and many body interactions.
Oscillation-synchronous control of a frequency-measuring atomic force microscope

We present a frequency-measuring atomic force microscope (AFM) system which uses a novel oscillation-synchronous period-feedback controller. Execution of the AFM's control algorithm synchronously to the tip oscillation allows low-noise and high-precision surface tracking. We use a digital FPGA-based controller to implement this control technique. We use simulation and experimental results to demonstrate the effectiveness of this method.
Discrimination between ribonuclease H- and ribonuclease L-mediated RNA degradation by 2'-O-methylated 2-5A-antisense oligonucleotides.

Abstract 2′,5′-Oligoadenylate (2-5A) antisense chimeric oligonucleotides were synthesized containing varying 2′-O-methyl-ribonucleotide substitution patterns in the antisense domain. The ability of these composite oligonucleotides to mediate RNase H- and RNase L-catalyzed RNA degradation showed that these two enzymes have different activation requirements.
Posters from the edge of the universe

The poster session at a conference typically represents the future of a subject for several reasons. First, the presenters are often graduate/research students and postdoctoral fellows, who will be working in the field when the rest of us have joined Eddington and Russell. Second, many of the posters are progress reports on interesting projects not yet complete. And, third, some of them present ideas far enough outside the mainstream that they are not represented in the oral program. This last seems to be less common at meetings on stellar astrophysics than in, say, cosmology or astrobiology. All posters actually displayed during the first three days of the meeting are mentioned here at least briefly. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.
Extending Monopoly Power under Joint Production: A Case Study of the Red Cross and the Blood Centers of America

This article provides a case study on joint production technologies in the market for blood products. The discussion and analysis are motivated by a patent for a plasma-scrubbing technology, acquired solely by the Red Cross. This example of joint production is used to illustrate questions surrounding the leveraging of monopoly power. Specifically, could the Red Cross utilize its monopoly over one jointly produced good (scrubbed plasma) to extend market power to a non-monopolized good (red blood cells) when competing with the Blood Centers of America? The case considers the potential for a dual monopoly (by the Red Cross in both markets), limit pricing on the part of the Red Cross in the market for red blood cells, and a shared market in which the Red Cross is a monopoly in the market for plasma but competes with the Blood Centers of America in the market for red blood cells.
Information programs for primatologists: Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center.

Four outreach programs of the WRPRC Library are: (1) the International Directory of Primatology, (2) Primate-Talk, (3) Primate Info Net (PIN), and (4) the Audiovisual Service. The first International Directory of Primatology, published in 1992, is intended to promote resource sharing among a wide variety of organizations involved in the field. Primate-Talk is an electronic mail-based network for communications among primatologists worldwide. It currently includes over 600 primatologists from 30 countries and allows for the rapid electronic transmission of information. The WRPRC Audiovisual Service promotes the collection and lending of audiovisual resources in primatology. This collection includes 500 videotapes, 5,500 slides, and a variety of audiotapes and films. A description of these services and information about how to access them is reviewed. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Silicon nanocrystals: from Coulomb blockade to memory arrays

Silicon nanocrystals provide opportunity to solve the challenging problem of tunnel oxide scaling of conventional flash memories by increasing immunity to charge loss via tunnel oxide defects. New aspects in silicon nanocrystal memory technology include Coulomb blockade or charge confinement effects, atomistic nucleation, and nanocrystal passivation to preserve them during subsequent processing and program/erase endurance characteristics. This paper discusses the above characteristics and culminates in presenting salient results from 4 Mb NOR memory arrays fabricated using 90 nm CMOS technology. Excellent memory characteristics including tight Vt distributions are obtained using a tunnel oxide thickness of 5 nm and a 6 V power supply.
The effect of late patency of the infarct-related coronary artery on left ventricular morphology and regional function after thrombolysis

Abstract The use of early coronary angiography to assess the benefits of coronary patency on left ventricular size and function fails to account for subsequent reocclusion or spontaneous reperfusion. To investigate the relationship between late vessel patency and changes in left ventricular structure and function after thrombolysis, echocardiography was performed within 48 hours and at 6 to 12 weeks in 30 patients treated with intravenous thrombolysis. Left ventricular endocardial surface area index (ESA i ; cm 2 /m 2 ) and extent of abnormal wall motion were quantitated in those with a patent ( n = 20) and those with an occluded ( n = 10) infarct-related artery on coronary angiography performed 8 ± 6 days after thrombolysis. Mean ESA i increased from (53 ± 7 to 61 ± 10 cm 2 /m 2 ; p 2 /m 2 ; p = NS) in the patent group. Mean percentage of abnormal wall motion decreased in the patent group (27 ± 16% to 18 ± 16%; p p = NS). Thus coronary patency at days after thrombolysis is associated with both improvement in regional left ventricular function and attentuated left ventricular dilatation.
Aldehyde dehydrogenase 3 gene regulation: studies on constitutive and hypoxia-modulated expression

We have previously shown that expression of the Class 3 aldehyde dehydrogenase gene (ALDH3) is abrogated by hypoxia. This phenomenon occurs in rat hepatoma systems in which ALDH3 expression is xenobiotic-inducible as well as in rat primary corneal epithelial cells that exhibit high constitutive ALDH3 expression. We have begun to test various segments of the ALDH3 5' flanking region for elements that may mediate this effect using CAT reporter gene constructs. In addition, although the involvement of the Ah receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT) in xenobiotic induction of ALDH3 is well established, the role of ARNT in constitutive ALDH3 expression is not clear. Moreover, ARNT is also a component of the hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) bipartite transcription factor complex that mediates hypoxic induction of a variety of genes. Concomitant activation of the xenobiotic and hypoxia pathways results in cross-talk and functional interference. It has been hypothesized that this interference is due to limiting levels of ARNT. To examine if ARNT levels are limiting during hypoxic and xenobiotic induction in the context of ALDH3 expression and to examine possible roles of ARNT in constitutive expression of ALDH3 in corneal epithelial cells we co-transfected rat corneal epithelial cells and H4-II-EC3 rat hepatoma cells with ALDH3 5' UTR-CAT reporter genes and expression vectors containing either wild type or dominant negative forms of ARNT. Our results indicate that during hypoxia and xenobiotic induction of ALDH3 in H4-II-EC3 cells ARNT is not the limiting transcription factor. Further, neither wild type nor dominant negative ARNT had effects on constitutive ALDH3 expression in corneal epithelial cells.
Clinoform Progradation by Turbidity Currents: Modeling and Experiments

Abstract Clinoform morphologies and growth patterns are typically viewed as the product of a particular mode of sediment transport, but process-specific models for their generation from turbidity currents are few, despite observations of turbidity currents on modern clinoforms and turbidites in ancient clinoform deposits. We present a simple morphodynamic model, supported by laboratory experiments, which shows how net-depositional turbidity currents can build sedimentary clinoforms. Most conceptual models for clinoform evolution assume that under constant (sea level, sediment supply) forcing progradation occurs via continuous basinward migration of a depocenter localized near the clinoform rollover. Abrupt basinward shifts in depocenter location are therefore an indication of allogenic variability in forcing. In contrast, our results document a unique style of progradation driven by autogenic cycles of slope steepening, sediment bypass, and depositional backstepping on the foreset slope. In experiments designed to investigate this slope–flow feedback, deposition from a continuous turbidity current transporting fine sand and silt repeatedly steepened a clinoform foreset to a graded slope which bypassed sediment to the slope base, depositing a sediment lobe. Continued deposition then caused the lobe to backstep up the slope, building a lower-slope foreset and eventually reinitiating the cycle. Our model shows how this cyclic depositional pattern arises from a morphodynamic feedback between the foreset gradient and the rate of sediment resuspension by the overriding turbidity current. Using our model to scale experimental results to the field, we predict gradual foreset steepening in prograding turbidity-current- dominated clinoform strata, with slope grading and cyclic deposition favored where these clinoforms build over steep basin slopes under conditions of high sediment supply and/or lateral confinement. We demonstrate how our results can add new insight to process-based interpretation of clinoform strata by application to a modern and an ancient field example.
Shear axial modes in a PCTSCM ☆: Part VI: simpler transmission spectral holes

Piezoelectric, continuously twisted, structurally chiral materials (PCTSCMs) exhibit the circular Bragg phenomenon in a narrow frequency regime when irradiated by a normally incident shear wave. In the predecessor paper, the interposition of a thin layer of a homogeneous material between two identical PCTSCM layers was shown to create a spectral hole in the transmittance spectrum. In the simpler design presented here, the homogeneous layer is absent but the two PCTSCM layers are twisted with respect to each other by 90° about their common helicoidal axis.
High performance controllers for Interior Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machines using look-up tables and curve-fitting methods

Interior Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machines (IPMSM) used in hybrid powertrain applications are required to deliver high efficiency over wide speed and torque ranges. The performance of any control algorithm is directly dependent on the accuracy of the parameters. Saturation and cross-saturation of permanent magnet synchronous machines are well recognized phenomena. Developing a controller utilizing either a two-dimensional look-up table or linear approximation of the machine parameters generated from characterization data will include the effects of saturation and cross-saturation and thereby achieve the desired performance. Both the look-up table and curve-fitting methods are implemented on a microcontroller. A 125kW IPMSM drive is used to experimentally evaluate both methods. The work presented here demonstrates that both the look-up table and curve-fitting methods provide satisfactory performance over the entire operating range. A comparison of the complexity of implementing both methods is included.
Scripts and Counterscripts. The Life and Death of Julien Sorel in Stendhal's Le rouge et le noir

Critical writings on and interpretations of Stendhal's famous novel and of his young hero Julien Sorel are of the most voluminous in French literature. Much has been said about the reasons, conscious and unconscious, for Julien's behavior, the nature of his love for the two women in his life, the social as well as personal aspects of his struggle for success and recognition in a society to which he does not belong, and the revenge of that society because he transgressed its laws. The ending of the novel in particular (that is the hero's apparently incomprehensible decision first to shoot Mme de Renal, then, in spite of finding happiness with her in his prison cell, to seek and obtain the death penalty for himself and refuse to ask for a pardon) has left many critics baffled. It is frequently seen as an enigma impossible to explain, or as the main weakness of the novel's psychological and structural integrity, or even as not needing an explanation at all, because Stendhal was simply reconstituting a real-life story (real life does not need to be explained, it just is), or because opacity of meaning is often a sign of great works of literature. After a review of the main interpretations that have been offered, this essay will attempt to offer a new one, which will focus primarily on a hypothesis aiming to clarify the enigma of the hero's final behavior, i.e. offer a psychological ‘‘coherence’’ of the novel, if not a formal one. So the aim of this essay will be to attempt to throw more light, or perhaps a different light, on the reasons why Julien feels and acts the way he does, from the moment we see him perched up on a beam in his father's sawmill reading Napoleon's memoirs to the day of his execution. It is hoped that this re-reading, with continuous and close reference to the text, may resolve the enigma of the ending and provide an explanation for the widely admitted ‘‘incomprehensible’’ behavior of Julien. I hope to demonstrate by the end that the hero's behavior is in fact quite comprehensible. In attempting to understand the why, the essay is guided by a specific approach to psychoanalysis called Transactional Analysis, a branch of social psychiatry developed in the United States by Eric Berne in the fifties and sixties.
Non‐linear rocking response of model containment structures

Small (1/24- to 1/8-size) nuclear containment structures were subjected to ground shaking from buried explosions and to oscillating forces. The apparent natural frequency or resonant frequency of rocking varies inversely with amplitude of the shaking. The present paper describes an explicit finite difference model of soil-structure interaction induced by explosive loading. The results indicate that non-linear rocking response is primarily a result of debonding-rebonding and compaction of soil at the soil-structure interface. Measurements of dynamic interface stress and post-test inspection of the interface region tend to confirm these findings.
School counselors’ knowledge of eating disorders

BACKGROUND: Twenty years ago, Price published a survey identifying knowledge deficits of school counselors regarding eating disorders. Our study surveys current school counselors to determine whether knowledge has increased and determine the availability of school-based prevention programming. METHODS: School counselors from a single metropolitan area were surveyed prior to a mandatory in-service on eating disorders. RESULTS: Of the 109 respondents, 55% felt eating disorders were a problem in their school. Very few felt “very competent” identifying (6%) or helping (2%) students with eating disorders. Today’s school counselors were more likely to know a symptom of anorexia nervosa (AN) is missing at least three consecutive menstrual cycles and malnutrition is not a common cause of death for bulimia nervosa (BN). CONCLUSIONS: While knowledge of AN and BN appear to have increased, school counselors still lack some basic understanding and report very low confidence in identifying and helping students with eating disorders.
Aguilar v. Avis Rent a Car System: The California Supreme Court Takes a Divided Freeway to Content-Oriented Regulation of Workplace Speech

In Aguilar v. Avis Rent A Car System, Inc., a badly fractured California Supreme Court upheld a remedial injunction against harassing speech in the workplace on the condition that the trial court modify the injunction to state its prohibitions more narrowly and specifically. The court failed to dispel the notion that the California Fair Employment and Housing Act ('FEHA') imposes liability for harassing speech based largely on the content of the speech. This result is not compelled by the FEHA and is bound to maintain a high level of tension between interests of equality and freedom of speech in California jurisprudence. The United States Supreme Court, in contrast, has laid the groundwork for a largely content-neutral theory of liability for harassing speech under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, thus greatly reducing the potential conflict between Title VII and the First Amendment without sacrificing interests in equality. This article develops that theme in several parts. Parts I and II summarize the multiple opinions of the California Court of Appeal and the California Supreme Court in Aguilar. Part III summarizes the author's theory of content-neutral regulation of discriminatorily-directed harassing speech under Title VII, and explains how the theory can apply to the FEHA. Part IV examines Professor Cass Sunstein's theory of judicial minimalism, and uses that theory as a framework within which to critique the Aguilar decision and to apply a content-neutral approach to Aguilar and similar cases in the future.
Identification and Enumeration of Small-Spored Alternaria Species Associated with Potato in the U.S. Northwest

A number of Alternaria spp. have been isolated from potato worldwide but only Alternaria solani and A. alternata have been described as pathogenic to this host in the United States. These taxa are ...
Abstract 97: Chronic nicotine and NNK exposure causes promoter hypermethylation of GAD2 in human pancreatic duct epithelial cells

Epigenetic alterations are present at early stages of carcinogenesis, and DNA promoter hypermethylation in precursor lesions potentially affects transcriptional regulation. Previous studies by our laboratory have shown that the inhibitory neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) inhibits the proliferation of human pancreatic cancer cells grown both in vitro and in mouse xenografts. To test the hypothesis that nicotine as well as the nicotine-derived nitrosamine 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) induce changes in methylation status of the GABA synthesizing enzymes GAD1 (GAD67) and GAD2 (GAD65), the human pancreatic duct epithelial cell line clone HPDE6-E6E7c7 has been exposed to daily treatment of either nicotine or NNK over a course of five days. This initial screen of the methylation status of the promoter region of GAD1 and GAD2 by bisulfate genomic sequencing in HPDE6-E6E7c7 indicates aberrant methylation of GAD2 by either nicotine or NNK. Quantitative methylation-specific PCR as well as gene expression studies by real-time PCR after 5-aza-2’-deoxycytidine treatment, alone or in combination with trichostatin A on the last day of treatment along with concurrent five day treatment with nicotine or NNK confirm these observations that aberrant methylation of GAD2 may be an important factor in the pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer. Quantitative methylation-specific PCR indicates aberrant methylation in six out of ten human matched normal versus cancerous pancreatic tissue samples, which corroborates the in vitro results. In conclusion, exposure to nicotine and NNK leads to significant epigenetic alterations of the GAD2 promoter region. Consecutive silencing of GAD2 with suppression of GABA synthesis may represent an important mechanism by which nicotine and related compounds induce disturbances in inhibitory neurotransmitter circuits which may contribute to the pathogenesis of ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. Supported by grants 1RO1CA130888 and 2RO1CA042829 with the National Cancer Institute. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 97. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-97
Dynamic hole trapping in InAs/AlGaAs/InAs quantum dot molecules

Charges and spins confined in quantum dots and quantum dot molecules are of great interest for new optoelectronic device applications. The strong confinement in quantum dot structures leads to unique interactions among electrons and holes. A detailed understanding of the magnitude and dynamics of these charge-carrier interactions will be essential to the development of future devices. We present experimental evidence of holes trapped in metastable higher-energy states of InAs/AlGaAs/InAs quantum dot molecules. We present a model for the kinetic pathways that lead to this dynamic hole trapping and analyze the consequences of dynamic hole trapping for carrier relaxation and optical emission.
A Technique for the Preparation of Thin-Film Cross-Sections for Transmission Electron Microscopy

A number of techniques for producing TEM cross-sections of thin films have been described in recent years as the need for improved and more-thorough microstructural study of thin-film materials has grown. We have developed a method for producing such cross-sections which involves little sophisticated equipment other than an ion mill for thinning. Following the method of Bravman and Sinclair (J. Elec. Micrs. Tech 1,53-61 (1984)), the film of interest is either deposited on or epoxied to a silicon wafer and a composite of six silicon beams (≈3mm x 25mm x 0.5mm) is fabricated. Slices are cut from this composite perpendicular to the film plane, and each slice is mechanically thinned by a series of simple grinding and polishing steps to ≈50-100fum. Dimpling is not necessary. The specimen is mounted onto a slotted TEM grid which provides a vehicle for safe handling, and the specimen is ion milled to perforation. We have found the technique to be relatively fast, reliable, and simple. Its success h nges on minimizing the amount of direct handling required when the specimen is thin and fragile. We present a detailed recipe describing its various steps and show typical results from studies of thin films for data-storage applications.
“Teflon” polytetrafluoroethylene resin as an electrical insulator

“Teflon” is the du Pont trade name for the polymer made from tetrafluorethylene. The polymer has a linear chain structure of carbon atoms, to each of which is attached two fluorine atoms. It is capable of continuously withstanding operating temperatures in the range of 200 to 300°C. It is insoluble, and is attacked only by a few rarely occurring materials. Its electrical losses are low, and its volume and surface resistivities are high.
The Role of Vitamin D in Type 2 Diabetes and Hypertension

Publisher Summary Type 2 diabetes has become a significant global health care problem. Hypertension is also a very common and well-established risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Based on accumulating evidence from animal and human studies, suboptimal vitamin D status has emerged as a probable risk factor for both type 2 diabetes and hypertension and vitamin D supplementation has been suggested as a potential intervention to prevent type 2 diabetes and hypertension. The results seen in the observational studies are supported by biological plausibility, and raise the possibility that optimizing vitamin D status may have a role in reducing risk of type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Type 2 diabetes and hypertension are multifactorial diseases and it is unlikely that vitamin D deficiency would prove to be a central cause or a major therapeutic target; nevertheless, it is imperative that randomized trials are conducted in well-defined populations (e.g., pre-diabetes, early diabetes, pre-hypertension, whites versus non-whites) to test the hypothesis that vitamin D is a direct contributor to the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes and hypertension and has a role in prevention or therapy.
Toxicologic Response in Mice Fed Cucurbita Fruit.

Reports from Australia of illness in consumers eating bitter squash prompted a 10-wk mouse-feeding study containing increased levels of the fruit of two cultivars of Cucurbita pepo , L., 'Blackjack' and 'Straightneck', and an accession of the bitter species, Cucurbita texana , Gray, was conducted. The latter produced poor growth, severe diarrhea, anemia and 40% mortality in mice fed diets containing 1% freeze-dried fruit. Diets containing 10 or 20% C. texana caused 100% mortality within a few days. The cultivar contained 3.56 and 1.39 mg per g of fresh fruit cucurbitacins E glycoside and I, respectively. The cultivars of C. pepo , 'Blackjack' and 'Straightneck', contained no detectable cucurbitacins; animals fed up to 20% freeze-dried squash in their diets showed no toxicity, with normal growth and hematology.
The Idea of “Community of Practice” as Paradigmatic in Library Collaboration

This issue of Collaborative Librarianship (as does every issue) explores modes of intraand interlibrary partnerships that expand and strengthen library services, but Volume 7, number 2 probes the topic in terms of Jong-Ae Kim’s article, “Integrating Communities of Practice into Library Services.” It defines “communities of practice” as intentional knowledge sharing opportunities for all types of libraries—public, academic, school and special libraries. Essentially, communities of practice (CoP) can be a re-invented paradigm for libraries to widen their roles as cultural and educational institutions through enriching creativity by using new tools for sharing information, improving skills and reducing costs.
Fuchs’ Endothelial Dystrophy and Glaucoma

Fuchs’ Endothelial Dystrophy (FED) is a common disorder of the cornea that causes slow progressive endothelial degeneration with subsequent corneal edema and loss of vision in late stages. It is characterized by a thickened Descemet’s membrane (DM) from the aberrant deposition of wide-spaced collagen and the development of guttae, or posterior excrescences that represent projections of abnormal extracellular matrix between DM and endothelial cells. The bilateral, though asymmetric, condition often presents clinically between the fourth and seventh decades of life and is reported to have a female predominance as high as 3.5:1. Pedigree analysis reveals an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern with variable expressivity, although sporadic cases are also reported. While several hypotheses exist, the primary etiology of FED is unknown. Multiple studies have proposed an association between FED and glaucoma including primary open angle, angle closure, and other glaucomas. The relationships remain unclear.
Intrinsic factor within parietal cells of patients with juvenile pernicious anemia. A retrospective immunohistochemical study.

One of the diverse group of disorders that cause pernicious anemia in childhood, juvenile pernicious anemia, has been characterized by normal acid secretion, normal gastric mucosal histology, adequate intestinal absorption of cobalamin in the presence of exogenous gastric intrinsic factor (IF), but the inadequate "production" of IF from birth. Inadequate production has been inferred from the absence of measured IF in stimulated gastric secretions. To assess whether immunogenic IF was commonly present within the parietal cells of subjects with juvenile pernicious anemia, we studied paraffin-embedded biopsy material from the largest reported series of childhood pernicious anemia, using a well-characterized indirect immunoperoxidase method. Preliminary studies were able to identify IF in fundic mucosal biopsy specimens that had been stored for as long as 27 yr. In a blinded evaluation, six of the nine fundic biopsy specimens from children with juvenile pernicious anemia demonstrated immunogenic IF. Twos sets of siblings were concordant for the presence or absence of intracellular IF, and six gastric biopsy specimens from patients with Imerslund's syndrome were all positive for IF. These findings indicate that juvenile pernicious anemia is a heterogeneous group of disorders whose similar clinical expression might be caused by (a) inadequate synthesis of IF, (b) a block in IF secretion, (c) the secretion of an abnormal IF that does not bind to cobalamin, or (d) the secretion of other abnormal IFs that could contain a number of other functional defects.
Regulation of Gene Expression in Response to Oxygen Tension

Purple photosynthetic bacteria control numerous energy-generating and energy-utilizing processes in response to alterations in cellular redox, which is affected by environmental oxygen tension. The list of redox-regulated events includes synthesis of the pigmented and cytochrome components of the photosystem, enzymes for fixation of carbon and nitrogen, the synthesis of several terminal respiratory electron transport complexes, and synthesis of the energy-generating hydrogenase complex. Regulating synthesis of these components involves several well-characterized transcription factors including the sensor kinase RegB and its cognate response regulator RegA. Other redox-responding regulators include CrtJ and Fnr. Mechanisms of redox sensing by these transcription factors are discussed.
Children’s Competence for Health Care Decisionmaking

What role should children play in decisionmaking about their health care?1 The doctrine of informed consent requires that medical treatment only be given to adults with their competent, informed and voluntary consent. The law, as well as common medical practice, presumes that adults are competent to decide about their medical treatment, though this presumption can be rebutted in particular instances. On the other hand, the law presumes that minors, who in most states are persons below the age of 18 years, are not competent to decide about their medical care; though with some exceptions to be noted below. For minors, the law generally holds that others, usually parents or guardians, are to decide for them about their medical treatment. The general presumption then in legal policy is that adults are entitled to decide about their medical care while children are not. However, medical practice, as we shall see, for good reason has often involved minors in decisionmaking about their care to a greater extent than the law seems to require.
Decision Support Systems and Internet Commerce

With the increased competition in E-commerce, Internet-based business applications have migrated from being on-line and cost-saving transactions into full-service Internet Commerce. These systems are expected to provide increasing decision support functionalities to help traders optimize their business decisions. This chapter provides a broad overview of how Decision Support technology — an established area with a substantial literature and body of practice — can be incorporated into the design of IC. In particular, it provides examples that show the potentiality of applying Decision Support Systems (DSS) concepts to design a second generation of IC capable of assisting its trading partners in their decision making.
Captivity-Induced Changes in the Skin Microbial Communities of Hellbenders ( Cryptobranchus alleganiensis )

Variation in environmental conditions can result in disparate associations between hosts and microbial symbionts. As such, it is imperative to evaluate how environmental variables (e.g., habitat quality) can influence host-associated microbiome composition. Within wildlife conservation programs, captive conditions can negatively influence the establishment and maintenance of “wild-type” microbiotas within a host. Alternative microbial communities can result in the proliferation of disease among captive stock or upon reintroduction. Hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) are a threatened salamander for which extensive captive management is currently employed. Using metabarcoding, we characterized the skin microbiota of wild and captive hellbenders from two subspecies in the state of Missouri, the eastern (C. a. alleganiensis) and the Ozark hellbender (C. a. bishopi). Both subspecies in our study included wild adults and captive juveniles that were collected from the wild as eggs. Our objectives were to investigate differences in the skin microbial communities’ richness/diversity, composition, and functional profiles of microbes between wild and captive individuals. Captive eastern hellbenders possessed richer communities than wild cohorts, whereas the opposite pattern was observed within the Ozark subspecies. We found significant microbial community structure between wild and captive populations of both subspecies. Microbiota structure translated into differences in the predicted metagenome of wild and captive individuals as well. As such, we can expect captive hellbenders to experience alternative microbial structure and function upon reintroduction into the wild. Our study provides a baseline for the effect of captivity on the skin microbial communities of hellbenders, and highlights the need to incorporate microbiota management in current captive-rearing programs.
A Defense of Modern Risk-Based Sentencing

In theory, accurate assessments of offender risk can save money, promote efficient allocation of correctional resources, and better protect the public. In pursuit of these goals, some jurisdictions have begun using structured means of assessing relative risk. This article briefly describes modern risk assessment instruments, the reasons why they might be preferred over traditional means of assessing risk, and three principles—the fit, validity and fairness principles—that should govern their use. It then contends that, when limited by these or similar principles, criminal justice dispositions can justifiably be based on assessments of risk, despite concerns about their reliability, consistency and legitimacy. Inaccuracy and disparity is as prevalent in desert-based sentencing as it is in risk-based sentencing. More importantly, desert-based sentencing is not as consistent with, and risk-based sentencing is not as inimical to, autonomy and dignity values as is commonly thought. The overall goal of these arguments is to defend modern risk-based sentencing against abolitionist proposals that could do more harm than good, both to offenders and to a punishment system that, at least in the United States, is obscenely harsh.
Synthesis and structure–activity relationships of retro bis-aminopyrrolidine urea (rAPU) derived small-molecule antagonists of the melanin-concentrating hormone receptor-1 (MCH-R1). Part 1

The design, synthesis, and SAR of a series of retro bis-aminopyrrolidine ureas are described. Compounds from this series exhibited potent binding affinity and functional activity at MCH-R1, and good oral bioavailability in rat.
Exploration of Substituent and Isotope Effects on Reaction Rates by a Computational Modeling Experiment

The effects of substitution on reaction rates are at the heart of both physical chemistry and organic chemistry. In this paper, we present a computational laboratory module to explore the effects of group substitution and isotopic substitution on reaction rates by using a readily accessible graphical interface, a computational engine, and spreadsheet software. The module focuses on simple unimolecular isomerization reactions, often used as a classic example for kinetics in first-year, organic, and physical chemistry courses. In the context of a physical or physical organic chemistry course, the module is used to illustrate substituent and/or isotope effects on reaction rates, as well as chemical reaction rate calculations.
Characterization of a Bayesian network-based radiotherapy plan verification model.

PURPOSE The current process for radiotherapy treatment plan quality assurance relies on human inspection of treatment plans, which is time-consuming, error prone and oft reliant on inconsistently applied professional judgments. A previous proof-of-principle paper describes the use of a Bayesian network (BN) to aid in this process. This work studied how such a BN could be expanded and trained to better represent clinical practice. METHODS We obtained 51 540 unique radiotherapy cases including diagnostic, prescription, plan/beam, and therapy setup factors from a de-identified Elekta oncology information system from the years 2010-2017 from a single institution. Using a knowledge base derived from clinical experience, factors were coordinated into a 29-node, 40-edge BN representing dependencies among the variables. Conditional probabilities were machine learned using expectation maximization module using all data except a subset of 500 patient cases withheld for testing. Different classes of errors that were obtained from incident learning systems were introduced to the testing set of cases which were withheld from the dataset used for building the BN. Different sizes of datasets were used to train the network. In addition, the BN was trained using data from different length epochs as well as different eras. Its performance under these different conditions was evaluated by means of Areas Under the receiver operating characteristic Curve (AUC). RESULTS Our performance analysis found AUCs of 0.82, 0.85, 0.89, and 0.88 in networks trained with 2-yr, 3-yr 4-yr and 5-yr windows. With a 4-yr sliding window, we found AUC reduction of 3% per year when moving the window back in time in 1-yr steps. Compared to the 4-yr window moved back by 4 yrs (2010-2013 vs 2014-2017), the largest component of overall reduction in AUC over time was from the loss of detection performance in plan/beam error types. CONCLUSIONS The expanded BN method demonstrates the ability to detect classes of errors commonly encountered in radiotherapy planning. The results suggest that a 4-yr training dataset optimizes the performance of the network in this institutional dataset, and that yearly updates are sufficient to capture the evolution of clinical practice and maintain fidelity.
The Injectisome, a Complex Nanomachine for Protein Injection into Mammalian Cells

Type III protein secretion systems (T3SSs), or injectisomes, are multiprotein nanomachines present in many Gram-negative bacteria that have a sustained long-standing close relationship with a eukaryotic host. These secretion systems have evolved to modulate host cellular functions through the activity of the effector proteins they deliver. To reach their destination, T3SS effectors must cross the multibarrier bacterial envelope and the eukaryotic cell membrane. Passage through the bacterial envelope is mediated by the needle complex, a central component of T3SSs that expands both the inner and outer membranes of Gram-negative bacteria. A set of T3SS secreted proteins, known as translocators, form a channel in the eukaryotic plasma membrane through which the effector proteins are delivered to reach the host cell cytosol. While the effector proteins are tailored to the specific lifestyle of the bacterium that encodes them, the injectisome is conserved among the different T3SSs. The central role of T3SSs in pathogenesis and their high degree of conservation make them a desirable target for the development of antimicrobial therapies against several important bacterial pathogens.
What Are We Talking about When We Talk about Privatization? A Qualitative Assessment of Privatized Corrections

Research on privatized corrections focuses primarily on for-profit prisons and tends to conceptualize correctional services as being strictly “private” or “public.” The current study argues that this conceptualization impedes theoretical and empirical assessments of privatization. To advance this argument, an analysis of data from interviews with individuals who work in or alongside correctional agencies is undertaken. The interviews sought insights about the meaning and implementation of privatized corrections, as well as how privatization compares to public corrections. The findings highlight the diverse nature of privatization. For example, governments, through their monitoring and oversight practices, may have an ongoing influence on the private sector’s operations. Taken as a whole, the study’s findings suggest that a more nuanced understanding of what privatization means may advance scholarship and policy about both private and public corrections.
Efficacy of Computed Tomography Utilization in the Assessment of Acute Traumatic Brain Injury in Adult and Pediatric Emergency Department Patients.

Background Computed tomography (CT) is commonly used to assess traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the emergency department (ED). Radiologists at a Level 1 trauma center implemented a novel tool, the RADiology CATegorization (RADCAT) system, to communicate injuries to clinicians in real time. Using this categorization system, we aimed to determine the rates of positive head CTs among pediatric and adult ED patients evaluated for TBI. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of all patients who received a head CT to assess for TBI. We classified head CTs using the RADCAT tool. On a 5-point scale, scores of 3 or less are considered normal or routine. Scores of 4-5 are considered high priority, representing findings such as intracranial bleeding. Results Of the 5,341 head CT's obtained during the study period, 992 (18.5%) had high priority results (scores 4-5). A large number of pediatric studies, 30.8%, were positive for high priority results. Among the adult population, 18.0 % contained high priority results. Conclusion The pediatric population had a higher rate of high priority reads among those undergoing non- contrast head CT for TBI compared to adult patients.
The GEM Model: A model of health based on generalized empirical method – Part 1 – Introduction

This is the first of a four-part essay in which I present a comprehensive model of health based on the philosophy of Bernard Lonergan. In this introductory article, I situate the model within my overall project to develop a philosophy of health based on Lonergan’s philosophy and within contemporary efforts to understand the relationship between health science and healthcare. In the following set of three articles I discuss the philosophical background of the model before fleshing the model out and then comparing it to other accounts of health and disease.
Improving Student’s Estimating Abilities through Experiential Learning

Experiential learning is a cyclical process whereby individuals learn from and build on past experiences. Typical construction estimating courses follow Kolb’s experiential learning theory process ...