cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Functional genomics approaches to understand cytomegalovirus replication, latency and pathogenesis

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a species-specific herpesvirus that is ubiquitous in the population and has the potential to cause significant disease in immunocompromised individuals as well as in congenitally infected infants. CMV establishes latency in cells of the myeloid lineage following primary infection. High-throughput functional genomics approaches have provided insight into the mechanisms of CMV replication, but although CMV latency cell models have been useful in elucidating the mechanisms of viral latency and reactivation, omics approaches have proven challenging in these cell systems. This review will summarize the current state of knowledge concerning the use of functional genomics technologies to understand mechanisms of CMV replication, latency and pathogenesis.
Radial component of CNS myelin: junctional subunit structure and supramolecular assembly.

The radial component is a structural specialization within CNS myelin that is believed to stabilize the apposition of membranes in the internode. Previous observations on thin sections and freeze-fracture replicas show that this junctional complex consists of linear, particulate strands that run parallel to the nerve fibre axis and radially through the myelin sheath, but details on its molecular organization are lacking. The objective of our current study was to gain further insight into its arrangement and composition by examining its fine-structure and incidence in: myelin with known deficits in protein composition (e.g., shiverer, transgenic shiverer, myelin deficient and jimpy mutant mice); isolated CNS myelin, which has been shown by X-ray diffraction to be more stable than intact CNS myelin; and human white matter, in which this junctional complex has not yet been described. Our results confirm the localization and general appearance of the radial component as previously reported. In addition, we found that: (1) the radial component occurs abundantly in human CNS myelin where it has a complex subunit structure; (2) the constituent junctional unit of this structure is organized as a pair of globular domains (each approximately 40 A diameter) at the extracellular apposition which is linked by approximately 15 A diameter filaments extending through the bilayer to approximately 25 A globular domains in the adjacent cytoplasmic apposition; (3) the radial component is present with apparently normal structure in the sparse, compact myelin of murine mutants containing either different amounts of MBP or no PLP which indicates that neither of these proteins is necessary for junctional integrity; (4) the radial component is present in purified CNS myelin membranes which may account for the stability of these membranes; and (5) the radial component is structurally resistant to Triton, which suggests a method for its further biochemical characterization. Finally, from an analysis of images from tilted transverse and longitudinal sections, we have reconstructed a model of its three-dimensional, supramolecular organization.
Low-Temperature Magnetic Remanence, Molecular Field, and Approach to Saturation of Holmium Metal

Magnetization approaching absolute magnetic saturation has been achieved for polycrystalline holmium metal. At 1.3\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K and 70 000 gauss, the magnetic moment is approaching 4.0 Bohr magnetons per atom of holmium in contrast to the 10 Bohr magnetons per atom expected on the basis of the spectroscopically determined quantum numbers. The actual results are explained on the basis of crystalline electric field splitting of the ground term of holmium and application of the Pauli exclusion principle. In the liquid helium range, there is a pronounced hysteresis; i.e., the moment at 10 000 gauss is 50% higher in decreasing fields than in increasing fields. The remanence is 0.22 Bohr magneton per atom of holmium at 4.2\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K and 0.42 Bohr magneton per atom at 1.3\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K. A sample motion technique was used to measure the magnetic moment of the 5-gram sample. The equipment was calibrated with iron and nickel.
Weighing the evidence: Risks and benefits of participatory documentary in corporatized clinics

Abstract This paper describes the effects of one U.S.-based public psychiatry clinic's shift to a centralized, corporate style of management, in response to pressures to cut expenditures by focusing on “evidence based” treatments. Participant observation research conducted between 2008 and 2012 for a larger study involving 127 interviews with policy makers, clinic managers, clinical practitioners and patients revealed that the shift heralded the decline of arts based therapies in the clinic, and of the social networks that had developed around them. It also inspired a participatory video self-documentary project among art group members, to portray the importance of arts-based therapies and garner public support for such therapies. Group members found a way to take action in the face of unilateral decision making, but experienced subsequent restrictions on clinic activities and discharge of core members from the clinic. The paper ends with a discussion of biopolitics, central legibility through corporate standardization, and the potential and risks of participatory documentaries to resist these trends.
A microculture system for the measurement of antigen-induced murine lymphocyte proliferation. Advantages of 5% horse serum and 5 x 10-5 m mercaptoethanol.

Short term microculture systems which measure murine lymphocyte proliferative responses to mitogens are well established. We demonstrate here that these microculture methods are not suitable for antigen-induced responses because of the high levels of murine lymphocyte proliferation in control cultures associated with the use of fetal calf serum or human serum. We also show that this problem can be eliminated with the use of a combination of 5% horse serum and 5 X 10(-5) M mercaptoethanol. We describe an antigen-induced murine lymphocyte proliferation microculture system in which good stimulation indices are achieved and the lymphocyte proliferation in control cultures remain at a low level throughout the 7 day culture period.
The use of epsilon-aminocaproic acid for the management of hemophilia in dental and oral surgery patients

Epsilon-aminocaproic acid has proved to be efficient and practical for managing hemophiliacs who require dental treatment. Eleven patients with classical hemophilia who had factor VIII levels ranging from less than 0.5% to 7% of normal were treated on 16 occasions. Epsilon-aminocaproic acid and a single infusion of factor VIII were used during restorative and surgical procedures. No postoperative complications were encountered in 13 of the 16 sessions; on three occasions postoperative bleeding that required additional therapy occurred. Other benefits of this program included considerably decreased cost and length of hospitalization.
MOCVD of cadmium and gallium using metastable atom energy transfer

We show that metalorganic compound decomposition by energy transfer reactions with metastable argon may be used in a flow system to deposit quality metal films. Cadmium and gallium thin films were obtained using this new technique. The films show crystalline structure and almost carbon-free growth. We believe MOCVD assisted by metastable atoms or molecules will provide a general low-temperature fabrication method.
On the s-Importance of Elements and Prime Implicants of Non-Coherent Systems

This paper extends methods for evaluating the s-importance of elements and cut-sets of s-coherent systems to elements and prime implicants of non-coherent systems. Existing measures of s-importance are redefined to provide general expressions for the system elements and prime implicants when non-coherent systems are encountered. The redefined measures utilize the methodology of I&H and the absolute value of the influence of event i (or prime implicant j) on the top-event occurrence probability (or unavailability). An example illustrates the evaluation of the extended Birnbaum and critically measures of s-importance for a non-coherent system. Further research is required to implement the extended measures in procedures for determining optimum restoration sequences (assuming such sequences exist and are meaningful).
The Influence of Diet and Exercise on the Physical Health of Affected Individuals with VCP Disease

While there is no curative treatment for the Inclusion body myopathy, Paget disease of bone and/ or frontotemporal dementia (IBMPFD) disorder, it is worthwhile to investigate alternate therapies that may slow the progression of the disease and improve the quality of life in this patient population. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the impact of diet and exercise changes on the Quality of Life questionnaire. We assessed data from the questionnaire in 30 individuals (mean age 50.86 years; range 27-65 years; 16 Males, 14 Females) that participated in the clinical study of Valosin Containing Protein (VCP) disease. Eleven affected individuals consumed a high fat/sugar diet and 15 low fat/sugar diet of 4.09±0.25 and 1.53±0.13 servings/day respectively. Eleven individuals reported not exercising and 12 reported moderate exercise of 2.44±0.74 hours/week. In this cohort we found significantly higher mean physical health domain score for all those who exercised (P=.02) and surprisingly in those who had a high fat/sugar diet (P=.01). In the high fat/sugar diet group there was a significantly greater ability to walk; greater perceived muscle strength in arms and legs (P=.03; P=.02 and P= .02 respectively). Therefore lifestyle changes with exercise training and a higher fat/ sugar diet may have a beneficial effect in affected individuals with VCP disease. Nevertheless, larger studies with further research are needed to confirm these preliminary studies before making clinical practice recommendations.
Concentration dependence of tin (IV) isomer shifts in ice

Abstract Sn(IV) isomeric shifts in ice have been studied as a function of concentration of added HX(X = F, Cl. Br. I). The results suggest that the number of halide nearest neighbors appropriate to water is frozen in by quick freezing. This provides a new method for the study of complex ions of tin.
Tropical soils could dominate the short-term carbon cycle feedbacks to increased global temperatures

Results of a simple model of the effects of temperature on net ecosystem production call into question the argument that the large stocks of soil carbon and greater projected warming in the boreal and tu ndra regions of the world will lead to rapid efflux of carbon from these biomes to the atmosphere. We show that low rates of carbon turnover in these regions and a relatively greater response of net primary production to changes in temperature may lead to carbon storage over some limited range of warming. In contrast, the high rates of soil respiration found in tropical ecosystems are highly sensitive to small changes in temperature, so that despite the less pronounced warming expected in equatorial regions, tropical soils are likely to release relatively large amounts of carbon to the atmosphere. Results for high-latitude biomes are highly sensitive to parameter values used, while the net efflux of carbon from the tropics appears robust.
Determination of surface area by chemisorption: Unsupported platinum

Abstract The adsorption of hydrogen and oxygen, as well as the reaction of hydrogen with adsorbed oxygen, was studied gravimetrically and volumetrically on platinum black. The water formed during the reaction leaves the surface and as it does so, it is not replaced by additional hydrogen. The amount of hydrogen adsorbed is the same on a reduced and evacuated surface as it is on a preoxidized surface. The ratio of adsorbed hydrogen and oxygen atoms to surface platinum atoms is close to unity at room temperature and a pressure of 50 torr.
Alterations of Myocardial Dynamic Stiffness Implicating Abnormal Crossbridge Function in Human Mitral Regurgitation Heart Failure

Mitral regurgitation (MR) causes ventricular dilation, a blunted myocardial force-frequency relation, and increased crossbridge force-time integral (FTI). The mechanism of FTI increase was investigated using sinusoidal length perturbation analysis to compare crossbridge function in skinned left ventricular (LV) epicardial muscle strips from 5 MR and 5 nonfailing (NF) control hearts. Myocardial dynamic stiffness was modeled as 3 parallel viscoelastic processes. Two processes characterize intermediate crossbridge cycle transitions, B (work producing) and C (work absorbing) with Q10s of 4 to 5. No significant differences in moduli or kinetic constants of these processes were observed between MR and NF. The third process, A, characterizes a nonenzymatic (Q10=0.9) work-absorbing viscoelasticity, whose modulus increases sigmoidally with [Ca2+]. Effects of temperature, crossbridge inhibition, or variation in [MgATP] support associating the calcium-dependent portion of A with the structural “backbone” of the myos...
Design and optimization of large area thin-film CdTe detector for radiation therapy imaging applications.

Purpose: The authors investigate performance of thin-film cadmium telluride (CdTe) in detecting high-energy (6 MV) x rays. The utilization of this material has become technologically feasible only in recent years due to significant development in large area photovoltaic applications. Methods: The CdTe film is combined with a metal plate, facilitating conversion of incoming photons into secondary electrons. The system modeling is based on the Monte Carlo simulations performed to determine the optimized CdTe layer thickness in combination with various converter materials. Results: The authors establish a range of optimal parameters producing the highest DQE due to energy absorption, as well as signal and noise spatial spreading. The authors also analyze the influence of the patient scatter on image formation for a set of detector configurations. The results of absorbed energy simulation are used in device operation modeling to predict the detector output signal. Finally, the authors verify modeling results experimentally for the lowest considered device thickness. Conclusions: The proposed CdTe-based large area thin-film detector has a potential of becoming an efficient low-cost electronic portal imaging device for radiation therapy applications.
Linguistic environment of the deaf child: a focus on teachers' use of nonliteral language.

Teachers' communication with deaf and hearing children was compared to identify differences in the teachers' use of two types of nonliteral language: idiomatic language and indirect requests. Two g...
Quantum corrections to the ground-state energy of a trapped Bose-Einstein condensate: A diffusion Monte Carlo calculation

The diffusion Monte Carlo method is applied to describe a trapped atomic Bose-Einstein condensate at zero temperature, fully quantum mechanically and nonperturbatively. For low densities, ${n(0)a}^{3}l~2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$ $[n(0),$ peak density; a, s-wave scattering length], our calculations confirm that the exact ground-state energy for a sum of two-body interactions depends to a good approximation on only the atomic-physics parameter a, and no other details of the two-body model potential. Corrections to the mean-field Gross-Pitaevskii energy range from being essentially negligible to about 20% for $N=2--50$ particles in the trap with positive s-wave scattering length $a=100--10000\mathrm{a}.\mathrm{u}.$ Our numerical calculations confirm that inclusion of an additional effective potential term in the mean-field equation, which accounts for quantum fluctuations [see, e.g., E. Braaten and A. Nieto, Phys. Rev. B 56, 14 745 (1997)], leads to a greatly improved description of trapped Bose gases.
Comment on ’’Inelastic scattering in atom–diatomic molecule collisions. I. Rotational transitions in the sudden approximation’’

It is argued that conflicting approximations in a recent paper [J. R. Stallcop, J. Chem. Phys. 61, 5085 (1974)] render the resulting theory invalid. (AIP)
Effect of cover crops and tillage system on symphylan (Symphlya: Scutigerella immaculata, Newport) and Pergamasus quisquiliarum Canestrini (Acari: Mesostigmata) populations, and other soil organisms in agricultural soils

Abstract The garden symphylan ( Scutigerella immaculata : Newport) is a common myriapod soil pest of vegetable crops in the Pacific Northwest and other regions of the US. Symphylans consume germinating seeds, plant roots, and above-ground plant parts in contact with the soil. Factors regulating symphylan populations in agricultural soil systems are poorly understood, particularly the effects of farming practices such as cover cropping and reduced-tillage. Cover crops were planted in the fall of 1994 through 1996 and either incorporated into the soil in the spring with tillage or killed with glyphosate and the residue left on the soil surface. Fewer symphylans were recovered with Berlese funnels from soil under cereal cover crops than soil in mustard cover crops, regardless of tillage system. Fewer symphylans were recovered from soil under the spring oat cover crop than soil under the barley cover crop. Eliminating spring tillage may have increased symphylan populations but the effect of reduced tillage on symphylan populations was less important than cover cropping. Predaceous mites were more abundant in soil under large amounts of cover crop residue but these predators were not correlated with lower populations of symphylans. Spring tillage dramatically reduced populations of Pergamasus quisquiliarum , a known predator of symphylans. Cover crops increased both the ratio of predaceous mites to symphylans and the total population of potential prey, thereby, reducing the capacity of predaceous mites to regulate symphylan populations.
Travel Grants to IUGGA‐Associated Meetings

The procedures and policies for AGU travel grants to attend IUGG-associated symposia is presented, including information on the nomination of the reviewing committee, the selection criteria, and examples of a few of the headaches and problems encountered in the selection process. A suggested “application etiquette” is also given.
The course in business ethics: Can it work?

An examination of ninety-nine syllabi for undergraduate courses in business ethics, collected by the Center for Business Ethics at Bentley College, reveals that half the courses are offered to freshmen and sophomores. Because of the fact that these students will have minimal knowledge of the functional areas of business firms, and because these courses rely heavily on case analysis, it is likely that the students in these courses are not able to deal effectively with the material in the course. Therefore, any expectation that the business ethics course will raise the students' ethical sensitivity when considering business problems or decisions is unrealistic.
The genetic architecture of lipoprotein subclasses in Gullah-speaking African American families enriched for type 2 diabetes: The Sea Islands Genetic African American Registry (Project SuGAR)

We sought to partition the genetic and environmental influences on lipoprotein subclasses and identify genomic regions that may harbor genetic variants that influence serum lipoprotein levels in a sample of Gullah-speaking African-Americans. We genotyped 5,974 SNPs in 979 subjects from 418 pedigrees and used the variance component approach to compute heritability estimates, genetic and environmental correlations, and linkage analyses for selected lipoprotein subclasses. The highest heritability estimate was observed for large VLDL particle concentration (0.56 ± 0.14). Mean LDL particle size and small LDL particle concentration (−0.94) had the strongest genetic correlation estimate. The highest logarithm of odds (LOD) score detected (3.0) was on chromosome 6p24 for small LDL particle concentration. The strongest signal, obtained with the reduced sample of diabetic individuals only, was observed on chromosome 20p13 for small LDL particle concentration. The highest bivariate linkage signal (LOD 2.4) was observed on chromosome 6p24 for mean LDL particle size and small LDL particle concentration.jlr Our results suggest a significant genetic contribution to multiple lipoprotein subclasses studied in this sample and that novel loci on chromosomes 6, 10, 16, and 20 may harbor genes contributing to small, atherogenic LDL particle concentration and large, triglyceride-rich VLDL particle concentration.
Developing a model for understanding patient collection of observations of daily living: a qualitative meta-synthesis of the Project HealthDesign program

We conducted a meta-synthesis of five different studies that developed, tested, and implemented new technologies for the purpose of collecting observations of daily living (ODL). From this synthesis, we developed a model to explain user motivation as it relates to ODL collection. We describe this model that includes six factors that motivate patients' collection of ODL data: usability, illness experience, relevance of ODL, information technology infrastructure, degree of burden, and emotional activation. We show how these factors can act as barriers or facilitators to the collection of ODL data and how interacting with care professionals and sharing ODL data may also influence ODL collection, health-related awareness, and behavior change. The model we developed and used to explain ODL collection can be helpful to researchers and designers who study and develop new, personal health technologies to empower people to improve their health.
Estimate of the conversion rate of so2 to so2 from the da vinci flight data

Abstract The conversion rates of SO 2 to SO 4 are estimated from the Da Vinci flight data reported by Forrest et al . (1979). From the Da Vinci II data, an upper bound for the conversion rate over St. Louis County is estimated to be 3.6%h −1 during the daytime. From the Da Vinci III data, the conversion rate in the St. Louis urban plume is estimated to be 4.2%h −1 during the daytime.
POS Tags and Decision Trees for Language Modeling

Language models for speech recognition concentrate solely on recognizing the words that were spoken. In this paper, we advocate redefining the speech recognition problem so that its goal is to find both the best sequence of words and their POS tags, and thus incorporate POS tagging. To use POS tags effectively, we use clustering and decision tree algorithms, which allow generalizations between POS tags and words to be effectively used in estimating the probability distributions. We show that our POS model gives a reduction in word error rate and perplexity for the Trains corpus in comparison to word and class-based approaches. By using the Wall Street Journal corpus, we show that this approach scales up when more training data is available.
South Asian Muslims in Hong Kong: Creation of a ‘Local Boy’ Identity

South Asian Muslims migrating throughout the world usually establish tight-knit communities in which most of their socioeconomic and religious activities occur. The social organization of South Asian Muslims in Hong Kong is unique in that their separation and isolation into a cohesive ethnic group is a relatively recent phenomenon. Communal orientations have undergone substantial change over time, often paralleling the kinds of changes occuring in Hong Kong as a result of its relationship to the British Empire. This paper seeks to understand the characteristics of the early South Asian Muslim community in Hong Kong and contrast these with social themes which are found in the contemporary community so as to discover the principles underlying social cohesion and cultural identification within this group.
HERBERT G. BLUMER (1900–1987): A LEGACY OF CONCEPTS, CRITICISMS, AND CONTRIBUTIONS

This article introduces a collection of articles written in honor of Herbert Blumer. It is noted what contributing authors identify as strengths and weaknesses of his theoretical and methodological analyses. Emphasized, however, is his view of reality as an ongoing emergent process. This view, coupled with his fundamental pragmatist stance, are the unifying and enduring themes in his life work. Blumer's impact on the social sciences will grow as more scholars become familiar with the full range of his ideas.
Evaluation of intramuscular fosphenytoin vs intravenous phenytoin loading in the ED.

Abstract Objective A comparison of length of stay in an emergency department (ED) after loading patients at risk for seizures with either intravenous (IV) phenytoin or intramuscular (IM) fosphenytoin was studied. Methods This was a retrospective observational cohort study that was conducted over a 24-month period in an academic teaching hospital (693 beds). Patients included were 18 years or older, discharged from the ED without hospital admission, and loaded with either IV phenytoin or IM fosphenytoin. The primary end point was the comparison of length of stay in the ED until discharge after loading. Characterization of seizure etiology, cardiac risk factors, and adverse drug events were also observed. Results A total of 51 patients were evaluated who received IV phenytoin compared with 59 for IM fosphenytoin. The median time-to-discharge difference between IV phenytoin vs IM fosphenytoin was 1:49 hours (95% confidence interval, 1:24-2:24 hours; P Conclusions This study found that patients were discharged from the ED earlier with the loading of IM fosphenytoin compared to IV phenytoin.
Platelet‐derived growth factor, epidermal growth factor, and insulin‐like growth factor I regulate specific cell‐cycle parameters of human diploid fibroblasts in serum‐free culture

The growth regulation of human diploid fibroblasts by platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) (somatomedin C), dexamethasone, and transferrin was investigated in a serum-free, chemically defined culture system. Cell-cycle kinetic parameters were determined using 5'-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation and flow cytometric analysis with the DNA-specific dye Hoechst 33258. We found that PDGF and EGF regulate the proportion of cells capable of entering the cell cycle from the quiescent state, with smaller effects upon the rate of cell transition from G1 into S phase. IGF-1, on the other hand, regulates the rate of cell exit from G1 without affecting the cycling fraction. Transferrin and dexamethasone showed less effect upon the cell-cycle kinetics under these culture conditions. The data provide functional evidence that PDGF and EGF regulate similar cell-kinetic parameters in human fibroblast cultures. IGF-I is functionally distinct from both PDGF and EGF in its role of regulating G1 exit rate without affecting the cycling fraction. These observations made by BrdU-Hoechst flow cytometric techniques provide a novel perspective on the regulatory effects exerted by different classes of growth factors, and suggest a mode of interdependence of these mitogens in regulating the net growth rate which could be a feature of growth regulation in vivo. These data also provide a different perspective on the regulation of the growth of fibroblast-like cells than that of the "competence/progression" cell-cycle model.
Chiral single crystal surface chemistry

Several experiments have been performed to probe the enantiospecific properties of chiral single crystal surfaces. The surfaces chosen have been the (643) planes of Ag and Cu, both face centered cubic structures. The chirality of these surfaces arises from the handedness of their kinked step structures. These structures are such that the (643) and the .643/ surfaces are related by mirror symmetry but are non-superimposable. We denote them as (643) R and (643) S . As a consequence of this handedness it is expected that the interactions of these surfaces with the left- and right-handed enantiomers of a chiral molecule should be different. In other words the chemistry of chiral molecules on these surfaces should be enantiospecific. We have observed that the desorption energies of R-3-methyl-cyclohexanone differ by 0:22 0:05 kcal/mole on the Cu(643) R and the Cu(643) S surfaces. Similarly, on the Ag(643) R surface we have observed that the orientations of R- and S-2-butanoxy groups differ. This enantiospecific orientation is revealed by the intensities of the absorption bands in an infrared absorption spectra of these species on the Ag(643) R surface. These two results expand the small but growing set of observations of the enantiospecific properties of chiral single crystal surfaces. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Immunity to Recombinant Plasmodium falciparum Merozoite Surface Protein 1 (MSP1): Protection in Aotus nancymai Monkeys Strongly Correlates with Anti-MSP1 Antibody Titer and In Vitro Parasite-Inhibitory Activity

A number of malarial blood-stage candidate vaccines are currently being tested in human clinical trials, but our understanding of the relationship between clinical immunity and data obtained from in vitro assays remains inadequate. An in vitro assay which could reliably predict protective immunity in vivo would facilitate vaccine development. Merozoite surface protein1 (MSP1) is a leading blood-stage malaria vaccine candidate, and anti-MSP1 antibodies from individuals that are clinically immune to malaria inhibit the invasion of Plasmodium merozoites into erythrocytes in vitro. Using expression in Escherichia coli and subsequent refolding, we have produced two allelic forms of MSP1(42) (FVO and 3D7). Aotus nancymai monkeys were immunized with MSP1(42)-FVO, MSP1(42)-3D7, or a combination of FVO and 3D7 allelic forms, (MSP1(42)-C1) and were subsequently challenged with Plasmodium falciparum FVO parasites. Sera obtained prior to challenge were tested by standardized enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to determine antibody titer, and immunoglobulin G (IgG) fractions were also obtained from the same sera; the IgG fractions were tested in an in vitro growth inhibition (GI) assay to evaluate biological activity of the antibodies. Regardless of the immunogen used, all monkeys that had >200,000 ELISA units against MSP1(42)-FVO antigen before challenge controlled their infections. By contrast, all monkeys whose purified IgGs gave <60% inhibition activity in an in vitro GI assay with P. falciparum FVO required treatment for high parasitemia after challenge. There is a strong correlation between ELISA units (Spearman rank correlation of greater than 0.75) or GI activity (Spearman rank correlation of greater than 0.70) and protective immunity judged by various parameters (e.g., cumulative parasitemia or day of patency). These data indicate that, in this monkey model, the ELISA and GI assay values can significantly predict protective immunity induced by a blood-stage vaccine, and they support the use of these assays as part of evaluation of human clinical trials of MSP1-based vaccines.
Exploratory use of docetaxel loaded acid-prepared mesoporous spheres for the treatment of malignant melanoma

Introduction Five year survival for metastatic melanoma (MM) is very low at <10%. Therapeutic options have been limited secondary to systemic toxicity. As a result there has been a growing movement towards developing targeted drug delivery models. Prior research of this group has demonstrated the effectiveness of acid-prepared mesoporous spheres (APMS-TEG) in delivering chemotherapeutic agents at a lower effective dose than systemic administration. This study aims to assess the ability of the previously developed APMS-TEG particles to deliver therapeutic doses of docetaxel for the treatment of melanoma.
How Effective Were Lifestyle Interventions In Real-World Settings That Were Modeled On The Diabetes Prevention Program?

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of twenty-eight US-based studies applying the findings of the Diabetes Prevention Program, a clinical trial that tested the effects of a lifestyle intervention for people at high risk for diabetes, in real-world settings. The average weight change at twelve months after the intervention was a loss of about 4 percent from participants’ baseline weight. Change in weight was similar regardless of whether the intervention was delivered by clinically trained professionals or lay educators. Additional analyses limited to seventeen studies with a nine-month or greater follow-up assessment showed similar weight change. With every additional lifestyle session attended, weight loss increased by 0.26 percentage point. We conclude that costs associated with diabetes prevention can be lowered without sacrificing effectiveness, using nonmedical personnel and motivating higher attendance at program sessions.
Localization of Knowledge and the Mobility of Engineers in Regional Networks

Knowledge, once generated, spills only imperfectly among firms and nations. We posit that since institutions and labor networks vary by region, there should be regional variations in the localization of spillovers. We investigate the relationship between the mobility of major patent holders and the localization of technological knowledge through the analysis of patent citations of important semiconductor innovations. We find that knowledge localization is specific to only certain regions (particularly Silicon Valley) and that the degree of localization varies across regions. By analyzing data on the interfirm mobility of patent holders, we empirically show that the interfirm mobility of engineers influences the local transfer of knowledge. The flow of knowledge is embedded in regional labor networks.
Pop-and-chop nucleofractis

Horizontal chopping is effective for endocapsular nucleofractis. We describe pop and chop, a variant of chopping that enables an easy first crack and initial segment removal. It involves partial extracapsular prolapse of the nucleus prior to the initial chop. It is particularly useful when hydrodissection results in partial prolapse of the lens nucleus so that it is wedged into the anterior capsule opening. It is also helpful when beginning surgeons are learning phaco chop.
Transverse diode-pumped neodymium-doped yttrium vanadate laser of simple design

Abstract. The design and performance of an all-solid-state Nd:YVO 4 laser, transversely pumped by a single 20-W at 808 nm diode with nocoupling optics, are presented. The prototype, which is devised to be thesource of a micro-LIDAR station, is very simple, easy to align, compact,and stable. The key element is a roof prism as the end mirror of the lasercavity, which is used to symmetrize the effects of the thermal distortionand the inhomogeneity of the population inversion distribution. Typicalnumbers are 4.2-W cw with a slightly astigmatic 3:2 homogeneous spotand a divergence of 0.5 mrad. The protoype is also tested in the activeQ-switching mode, providing pulses 50-ns full width at half maximum FWHM at 14 KHz, 3.5 W average. Frequency doubling external to thecavity in a nonoptimized conﬁguration provides 700 mW at 532 nm. © 2010 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. DOI: 10.1117/1.3361670 Subject terms: diode-pumped solid-state lasers; thermal effects; high-powertransversal pumping; LIDAR
Exclusionary Equilibria in Health-Care Markets

We have demonstrated that when providers of health insurance are perceived to be differentiated by consumers, circumstances may arise under which they find it advantageous to restrict the set of health-care providers that they approve to their customers. Even if all health-care providers are equally qualified and efficient, payers may choose to contract with a selected subset of them in order to secure more favorable contract terms. Moreover, in a concentrated health-care market that consists of two health insurance companies (payers) and two health-care providers (hospitals), both payers may choose to contract with only one of the hospitals while excluding the other completely from the market. When consumers' valuation of an extended choice of providers is small in comparison with the extent of differentiation that exists between the payers, such an exclusionary outcome is the unique equilibrium of the game.
Manganese deposits on Mars suggest a highly oxidized past

As the Curiosity rover picks its way across the Martian surface, sampling rocks and snapping photos, it searches for signs that the dusty craters and ridges under its treads may once have supported life or, at least, that they might have been habitable. Now, using measurements of manganese abundances in Martian rocks, Lanza et al. provide new evidence that Mars may have hosted liquid water and a more strongly oxygenated atmosphere at some point in its past.
Machine Learning Enhancement of Storm-Scale Ensemble Probabilistic Quantitative Precipitation Forecasts

AbstractProbabilistic quantitative precipitation forecasts challenge meteorologists due to the wide variability of precipitation amounts over small areas and their dependence on conditions at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Ensembles of convection-allowing numerical weather prediction models offer a way to produce improved precipitation forecasts and estimates of the forecast uncertainty. These models allow for the prediction of individual convective storms on the model grid, but they often displace the storms in space, time, and intensity, which results in added uncertainty. Machine learning methods can produce calibrated probabilistic forecasts from the raw ensemble data that correct for systemic biases in the ensemble precipitation forecast and incorporate additional uncertainty information from aggregations of the ensemble members and additional model variables. This study utilizes the 2010 Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms Storm-Scale Ensemble Forecast system and the National Severe ...
Speed and accuracy for a telerobotic human/machine system: experiments with a target-threshold control theory model for Fitts' law

A target-threshold control theory model for predicting human-machine speed and accuracy is proposed. It allows the previously empirical parameters of Fitts' law to be determined theoretically. This target-threshold model has been used successfully to predict human-machine movement times in response to step inputs in experiments involving camera pointing for a novel class of point-and-direct telerobotics. The target-threshold model, as a tool for human factors and control system designers, allows fundamental control theory techniques to be used to predict speed of response for a potential system in order to compare performance to that of other human-machine systems before construction begins. >
Injury News Coverage, Relative Concern, and Support for Alcohol-Control Policies: An Impersonal Impact Explanation

Research on the impersonal impact hypothesis suggests that news (especially print) coverage of health and safety risks primarily influences perceptions of risk as a societal issue, and not perceptions of personal risk. The authors propose that the impersonal impact of news-impact primarily on concerns about social-level risks-will mediate effects of news stories on support for public health policies; such effects substantively matter as evidence suggests health policies, in turn, have important effects on protective behaviors and health outcomes. In an experiment using 60 randomly selected violent crime and accident news stories manipulated to contain or not contain reference to alcohol use as a causative factor, the authors find that the effect of stories that mention alcohol as a causative factor on support for alcohol-control policies is mediated by social-level concern and not by personal-level concern. In so doing, the authors provide a theoretical explanation as well as empirical evidence regarding the potential for news coverage-including breaking or episodic news-to influence health-related public policy.
Polymorphic Control for Cost‐Effective Design of Optical Networks

A WDM optical layer can provide differentiated services to various upper layer protocols by forming many virtual optical networks (VONs). Polymorphic control of an optical layer in the form of On-demand-reconfiguration in some VONs and Self-reconfiguration in other VONs is proposed. The former is suitable for bursty traffic and short-lived connections, and the latter is for steady traffic and long-lived connections. In respect to On-demand-reconfiguration, efficient distributed wavelength reservation protocols, and in particular optical burst switching (OBS) protocols supporting bursty traffic (e.g. Internet traffic) are described. In respect to Self-reconfiguration, optimal algorithms to schedule all-to-all personalized communications (AAPC) in WDM rings and its extensions are described.
Debugging programs that use atomic blocks and transactional memory

With the emergence of research prototypes, programming using atomic blocks and transactional memory (TM) is becoming more attractive. This paper describes our experience building and using a debugger for programs written with these abstractions. We introduce three approaches: (i) debugging at the level of atomic blocks, where the programmer is shielded from implementation details (such as exactly what kind of TM is used, or indeed whether lock inference is used instead), (ii) debugging at the level of transactions, where conflict rates, read sets, write sets, and other TM internals are visible, and (iii) debug-time transactions, which let the programmer manipulate synchronization from within the debugger - e.g., enlarging the scope of an atomic block to try to identify a bug.In this paper we explain the rationale behind the new debugging approaches that we propose. We describe the design and implementation of an extension to the WinDbg debugger, enabling support for C# programs using atomic blocks and TM. We also demonstrate the design of a "conflict point discovery" technique for identifying program statements that introduce contention between transactions. We illustrate how these techniques can be used by optimizing a C# version of the Genome application from STAMP TM benchmark suite.
Fast photography of a laser generated plasma expanding across a transverse magnetic field

The dynamics and confinement of laser generated Carbon plumes expanding across a transverse magnetic field have been investigated. 1.06-/spl mu/m, 8-ns pulses from an Nd:YAG laser were used to create a plasma that was allowed to expand across a 0.64-T magnetic field. Fast photography employing an intensified charged-coupled device was used for two-dimensional imaging of the plume. Photographic studies showed the collapse of the ablation plume after the bubble lifetime, and formation of two lobes near the target surface at later times.
Consequences of Circadian Disruption on Neurologic Health

Circadian rhythms have a major role in physiology and behavior. Circadian disruption has negative consequences for physiologic homeostasis at molecular, cellular, organ-system, and whole-organism levels. The onset of many cerebrovascular insults shows circadian temporal trends. Impaired sleep-wake cycle, the most robust output rhythms of the circadian system, is significantly affected by neurodegenerative disorders, may precede them by decades, and may also affect their progression. Emerging evidence suggests that circadian disruption may be a risk factor for these neurologic disorders. This article discusses the implications of circadian rhythms in brain disorders, with an emphasis on cerebrovascular and neurodegenerative disorders.
The mechanism of action of malt β-glucanases

Abstract The proteins present in 0.1 M sodium chloride extracts of germinated barley were separated by dialysis into an albumin and globulin fraction. The albumin fraction contained endo-β-glucanase, laminarinase, and carboxymethyl cellulase activities. The globulin fraction contained a second endo-β-glucanase and small amounts of the albumin enzymes. Separation of crude extract on phosphorylated cellulose yielded four distinct enzyme fractions: two endo-β-glucanases, a laminarinase, and a carboxymethyl cellulase. Each fraction could act on just one of the three substrates.
Comparative Proteomic Analysis and IgE Binding Properties of Peanut Seed and Testa (Skin)

To investigate the protein composition and potential allergenicity of peanut testae or skins, proteome analysis was conducted using nanoLC-MS/MS sequencing. Initial amino acid analysis suggested differences in protein compositions between the blanched seed (skins removed) and skin. Phenolic compounds hindered analysis of proteins in skins when the conventional extraction method was used; therefore, phenol extraction of proteins was necessary. A total of 123 proteins were identified in blanched seed and skins, and 83 of the proteins were common between the two structures. The skins contained all of the known peanut allergens in addition to 38 proteins not identified in the seed. Multiple defense proteins with antifungal activity were identified in the skins. Western blotting using sera from peanut-allergic patients revealed that proteins extracted from both the blanched seed and skin bound significant levels of IgE. However, when phenolic compounds were present in the skin protein extract, no IgE binding was observed. These findings indicate that peanut skins contain potentially allergenic proteins; however, the presence of phenolic compounds may attenuate this effect.
Patient-Physician Communication in the 21st Century

In clinical practice, a successful patient-physician partnership can improve the outcome of treatment, especially in cases of chronic disease or cancer. To establish this partnership, physicians must explain treatment options and potential outcomes, but how to best do this when treatment is based on scientific principles and findings that the lay patient will not be familiar with? Here we present a paradigm for patient-physician communication using the immunotherapy of cancer as a model. In this context, we argue for the importance of incorporating techniques in communicating science with patients into the training of early career physicians.
New aspects of prevention and therapy of meningitis

Cefotaxime and ceftriaxone are currently the agents of first choice for empiric treatment of bacterial meningitis in children. Further studies are necessary to determine the optimal antibiotic therapy for meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates relatively or fully resistant to penicillin. The Haemophilus influenzae type b capsular polysaccharide-protein conjugate vaccines undoubtedly will alter the relative importance of the three common meningeal pathogens in pediatrics and make additional studies of the adjunctive use of dexamethasone in the treatment of bacterial meningitis even more critical.