cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Chapter 2 Preparative Thin Layer Chromatography

Publisher Summary Preparative thin layer chromatography (PTLC) is used to separate and isolate amounts of material larger than are normal for analytical TLC. The quantities processed range from 10 mg to greater than 1 gram. In preparative TLC, materials to be separated are often applied as long streaks, rather than spots, in the sample application zone. After development, specific components may be recovered by scraping the sorbent layer from the plate in the region of interest and eluting the separated material from the sorbent using a strong solvent. The material that is recovered from the layer may require further purification by TLC or other chromatographic methods, or the purity may be adequate for identification and structure determination by elemental analysis o spectrometry, for use in biological activity or chemical synthesis studies, or for use as standard reference material for comparison with unknown samples.
Symmetry Breaking in the Transformation of Nanoporous Carbons Solids

Nanoporous carbons (NPC) or carbogenic molecular sieves (CMS) are unique materials that are able to produce shape selectivity for very precise molecular separations, such as that of oxygen from nitrogen on the basis of size. Surprisingly, the structure of NPC is globally amorphous. This seems at first irreconcilable, since regular transport behavior is expected to arise from regular porous solids such as zeolites and other crystalline molecular sieves. With this problem in mind as motivation, in this paper we describe some of the more intriguing aspects of the nanopore formation process. It is argued that at the nanoscale the NPC are both regular and structurally self similar, consisting of curved aromatic nanodomains that arise from the broken symmetry of hexagonal arrays. The symmetry breaking process is a direct result of the dissipation that takes place during pyrolysis leading to small molecules and a defect-laden carbogenic solid. In this context, some preliminary results illustrating how these NPC structures can be used to stabilize cesium for base catalysis and to prepare supported molecular sieve membranes for small molecule separations.
Calcium-permeable AMPA receptors mediate glutamatergic signaling in neural precursor cells of the postnatal olfactory bulb.

Neural precursor cells (NPCs) in the mammalian olfactory bulb give rise to local inhibitory neurons that integrate into existing circuitry throughout adult life. However, the functional properties of neurotransmitter receptors expressed by NPCs are not well understood. In this study, we use patch-clamp recording and calcium imaging to explore the properties of glutamate receptors expressed by NPCs in the olfactory bulb subependymal layer. We find that calcium-permeable AMPA receptors (AMPARs) are the major receptor type underlying glutamatergic signaling in olfactory bulb NPCs. We also show that when transmitter uptake is reduced, glutamate spillover from distant nerve terminals in the olfactory bulb can activate nonsynaptic NPC AMPARs and generate increases in intracellular calcium. Together, these results suggest that Ca2+ influx via AMPARs may contribute to calcium-dependent processes that govern NPC differentiation and maturation.
Piezo‐Spectroscopic Coefficients of Tetragonal‐Prime Yttria‐Stabilized Zirconia

The Raman piezo-spectroscopic constants of tetragonal prime yttria-stabilized zirconia under uniaxial compression have been determined. Although the Raman band at 461 cm -1 is not the most intense, it is the most appropriate peak for stress measurement because of its large stress-induced peak shift and the minimum overlap with the other Raman peaks. The peak separation between bands at 258 and 461 cm -1 or 258 and 638 cm -1 can also be used to measure stress.
Cysteinyl leukotrienes regulate endothelial cell inflammatory and proliferative signals through CysLT 2 and CysLT 1 receptors

Cysteinyl leukotrienes (cys-LTs), LTC4, LTD4, LTE4 are potent inflammatory lipid mediators that act through two distinct G-protein-coupled receptors, CysLT1R and CysLT2R. Although cys-LTs are shown to induce vascular leakage and atherosclerosis, the molecular mechanism by which cys-LTs modulate endothelial function is not known. Here, we show that cys-LTs (LTC4 and LTD4) induce robust calcium influx in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) through CysLT2R, but not CysLT1R. Further, cys-LT treatment induced endothelial cell (EC) contraction leading to monolayer disruption via CysLT2R/Rho kinase dependent pathway. Furthermore, stimulation with cys-LTs potentiated TNFα-induced VCAM-1 expression and leukocyte recruitment to ECs through CysLT2R. In contrast, we found that both LTC4 and LTD4 stimulated EC proliferation through CysLT1R. Taken together, these results suggest that cys-LTs induce endothelial inflammation and proliferation via CysLT2R/Rho kinase and CysLT1R/Erk dependent pathways, respectively, which play critical role in the etiology of cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction.
A layer-adaptive M algorithm for multiple-input multiple-output channel detection

We present a new detection algorithm for multiple-input multiple-output channels called the CLAM algorithm. The CLAM algorithm is similar to the classical M algorithm for searching the detection tree, except that it varies from one stage to the next the number of children extended from each retained node. These numbers are optimized based on knowledge of the channel at the receiver. This simple enhancement not only reduces complexity, it also enables the CLAM to significantly outperform the M algorithm. For example, on a 4-input 4- output Rayleigh-fading channel with 64-QAM inputs, the CLAM algorithm outperforms the M algorithm by 2 dB at a BER of 10"3, falling only 0.6 dB short of the joint maximum-likelihood detector, while simultaneously reducing the average search complexity by 12%.
Invariant densities for generalized β -maps

We find an explicit formula for the invariant density of a generalized β-map. This allows us to also find an explicit formula for the invariant density of Chebyshev map and discuss the monotonicity of the asymptotic average for such maps. Our results are based on a generalization of works of Parry (Acta Math. Acad. Sci. Hungar. 11 (1960), 401–416; 15 (1964), 95–105).
CI-PASM - Computational Intelligence Based Prognostic Automotive System Model

In an ideal case physically oriented vehicle models can reduce the required practical knowledge of a vehicle designer. These types of models are effective cost reducing tools used in industrial development cycles. There are many variables that can be used as input both internal and external to model automobile performance. The focus of this paper is on those external variable factors such as environment conditions that are not controllable by a human but are instantaneously measurable and affect performance. This paper presents CI-PASM, A Computational Intelligence Based Prognostic Automotive System Model. Initial feature reduction was accomplished by a human expert. Principal Component Analysis was performed to further reduce the input set. Using expert chosen features, the CI-PASM algorithm produced results having an error at worst in the hundredths of a second. These output results were compared against a support vector machine implementation and were shown to be superior. The CI-PASM mean error was half that of the support vector machine error. Results from using PCA attributes and a support vector machine indicated that these are relevant alternative methods given different requirements.
Application of geostatistics to evaluate partial weather station networks

Abstract Climatic data are an essential input for the determination of crop water requirements. The density and location of weather stations are the important design variables for obtaining the required degree of accuracy of weather data. The planning of weather station networks should include economic considerations, and a mixture of full and partial weather stations could be a cost-effective alternative. A ‘full’ weather station is defined here as one in which all the weather variables used in the modified Penman equation are measured, and a ‘partial’ weather station is one in which some, but not all, weather variables are measured. The accuracy of reference evapotranspiration (Etr) estimates for sites located some distance from surrounding stations is dependent on measurement error, error of the estimation equation, and interpolation error. The interpolation error is affected by the spatial correlation structure of weather variables and method of interpolation. A case-study data set of 2 years of daily climatic data (1989–1990) from 17 stations in the states of Nebraska, Kansas, and Colorado was used to compare alternative network designs and interpolation methods. Root mean squared interpolation error (RMSIE) values were the criteria for evaluating Etr estimates and network performance. The kriging method gave the lowest RMSIE, followed by the inverse distance square method and the inverse distance method. Co-kriging improved the estimates still further. For a given level of performance, a mixture of full and partial weather stations would be more economical than full stations only.
Progress with MEMS Based UGS (IR/THz)

The sensor community has long been presented with the problem of prioritizing among several competing sensor system variables due to the inability to produce a high confidence, low-cost, reliable, and compact device. Typically a solution for very critical scenarios has been a high-cost scale reduction of larger laboratory based instrumentation. This often produced data on a single parameter that is beyond reproach, however this can also produce a very delicate, bulky, and costly system often requiring a vacuum system of some sort. An alternative approach involves using micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) based sensors. This typically results in low-cost and extremely compact devices that often produce dubious or insufficient data. Our approach integrates multiple orthogonal stimuli within a single chip to produce a MEMS based sensor that has a very high degree of signal confidence. Each individual sensed parameter may not produce very high-confidence data, but the combination of multiple independent parameters significantly improves detection reliability in a small low-cost package. In this work we address the integration of THz to our traditional MEMS based IR sensor elements. Also it is very significant that we can now produce IR images at atmospheric pressures which enables the integration of chemical and biological sensing within the same MEMS array.
Adaptive resource management for multimedia applications in wireless networks

Flow and admission control algorithms have been proposed for efficient resource utilization in wireless networks with scarce and randomly varying resource availability. Transport and lower layer control protocols administer generic control behavior, ignoring particular application requirements or characteristics. Network-aware applications, on the other hand, enable us to develop application specific control mechanisms. We propose a novel control theory based adaptive resource management framework for network-aware scalable multimedia applications in wireless networks. In particular, we design an application-aware pro-active middleware based on level crossing analysis of stochastic models assisting a set of control algorithms founded on automatic control theory, thus avoiding network congestion and ensuring optimal resource utilization and application level QoS. Simulation experiments show that the resource management framework is capable of achieving bandwidth utilization within 1.5% of the optimum (theoretical) value and a delay jitter of 1.3 msec/sup 2/ only, for real-time video streaming. Also, it ensures a low session blocking rate (less than 10% for high session arrival rate) and high percentage of sessions with good quality video.
Trauma associated splenic artery aneurysms: an analysis of the National Trauma Data Bank

Abstract Background Trauma associated splenic artery aneurysm (SAA) is potentially life threatening and infrequently studied. We evaluated the subject using a large trauma database. Methods The National Trauma Data Bank (2002 to 2006) was queried. All patients aged greater than or equal to 18 years with a primary diagnosis of SAA (International Classification of Diseases: Ninth Revision code 442.83) were identified. Data on demographics, injury severity, pre-existing comorbidities, surgical interventions, complications, and mortality were analyzed. Results One hundred twenty-four patients were included with a mean age of 40 ± 13 years and 72% were male. Mean Injury Severity Score was 24 ± 12. All patients suffered blunt trauma, and 5% of the patients (n = 6) had systolic blood pressure less than 90 mm Hg on arrival. The most frequent interventions were surgical ligation of aneurysm (45%), bronchoscopy (35%), endovascular procedures (27%), splenectomy (27%), and thoracostomy tube (25%). About 1.7% developed pulmonary collapse. Mean length of stay was 13 days and mortality was 1.6%. Conclusions Trauma associated SAA has low mortality and most patients require surgical intervention. Pulmonary dysfunction and invasive pulmonary procedures are frequent despite low rate of chest injuries possibly due to anatomic proximity of lung and spleen.
Some Sediment Aspects of Tropical Storm Agnes

This note documents the runoff and sediment aspects of hurricane Agnes (June 1972) on the drainage basin of Stave Run in Reston, Vir. The total drainage basin area contributing to the runoff was 49.1 acres (19.87 x 10 4 m²) composed of 13.7 acres (5.5 x 10 4 m²) of a wooded (hardwood) area, 8.6 acres (3.48 x 10 4 m²) of asphalt paving, and 2.7 (1.09 x 10 4 m²) of the main Geological Survey building. The remaining area, termed the construction area, is in various states of stability relative to sediment yield. Tables and graphs are presented showing the amount of rainfall, the amount of runoff, and the amount of sediment eroded, site deposited, and transported.
Strong enhancing effect of correlations of photon trajectories on laser beam scintillations

To provide a detailed description of the dynamics of laser beam propagation in the atmosphere we use the method of the photon distribution function in the phase space, which reduces the analysis to consideration of photon trajectories and their correlations. The scintillation index ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}^{2}$ is calculated for the range of moderate and strong turbulence, which is the most challenging for analytical consideration. The considerable growth of ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}^{2}$ (by two to three times) found for moderate turbulence is shown to be due to correlations between photon trajectories. Our calculations demonstrate that the maximum of ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}^{2}$ can be considerably decreased by an increase of the source aperture or the use of the fast phase diffuser.
777PHIGH-DEFINITION SINGLE CELL ANALYSIS (HD-SCA) OF PROSTATE CANCER (PCA) CELLS IN MATCHED BONE MARROW AND BLOOD FROM PATIENTS

ABSTRACT Aim: The approval of multiple therapies with diverse mechanisms of action for advanced PCa highlights a need to refine methods to select patients, monitor therapy effects and develop more efficacious sequences or combinations. The bone marrow is typically enriched for tumor cells in PCa. We applied this knowledge to test the hypothesis that analysis of tumor cells in bone marrow aspirates (BMA) will complement and overcome some of the challenges associated to circulating tumor cell (CTC) evaluation (serial identification, recognition of driver among heterogeneous tumor cell populations). To establish robust single PCa cell characterization for both phenotype and genotype, we developed a novel HD-SCA assay that is applied to blood and BMA specimens. Methods: Matched peripheral blood and BMA (obtained through the posterior iliac crest) were collected synchronously from 9 individual PCa patients. Nucleated cells were stained for cytokeratins (epithelial cell marker), CD45 (leukocyte marker), and androgen receptor (AR), allowing for detailed characterization of morphology, AR expression and its subcellular distribution. For single cell sequencing, candidate tumor cells were relocated and isolated. Using whole genome amplification, high-resolution whole genome copy number variation profiles were obtained from individual cells and tumor microemboli. Results: Eight patients had progressive bone metastatic castration resistant disease and 1 patient had been newly diagnosed with high-risk non-metastatic PCa (therapy naive). The number of cancer cells per mL in the marrow (median 536, range 2-4381) exceeded that in the blood (10, 1-30) in all but the non-metastatic patient, who had 13 CTC/mL and 2 disseminated tumor cells per mL. PCa cells in BMAs showed heterogeneous expression of AR, which we found positive in 2 cases with AR-negative CTC. In the 2 cases with single cell genomic analysis available, we identified cancer sub-clones with different representation in blood versus BMA for both patients. Conclusions: Our results suggest that HD-SCA provides complementary characterization of tumor cells in the fluid phase of blood and bone marrow. Morphologic and genomic profiling of single cells in simultaneously collected marrow and blood may help identify the most relevant drivers of disease progression in the individual PCa patient. Disclosure: All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
Ascending aortitis: a clinicopathological study of 21 cases in a series of 300 aortic repairs

Summary There are few single-institution clinicopathological series of aortitis. In this study, all ascending aneurysms were prospectively evaluated pathologically with ≥6 aortic sections over a 6-year period. Of 300 ascending aortic resections, there were 21 cases of aortitis (7%), in 11 women and 10 men (mean 67, range 41-88 years). There were 19 patients with aneurysms, and two patients with sclerosing periaortitis, clinically suspected to have intramural haematoma. Of the 19 patients with aneurysms (11 women), two had prior temporal arteritis, one ankylosing spondylitis, one IgA nephropathy, one undifferentiated autoimmune disease, one Lyme disease, and one fibromyalgia. In only two patients was aortitis suspected before surgery as the cause of aneurysm. Four patients developed distal aortic aneurysm requiring repeat surgery. Valve replacement or repair was necessary in nine patients, and two patients died after surgery. There were no significant differences between patients with and without autoimmune disease. The histological features were necrotising aortitis in 18 of 19 patients with aneurysmal aortitis, and there was one case of non-necrotising aortitis. One valve showed autoimmune valvulitis, congenitally bicuspid associated with ankylosing spondylitis. Necrotising aortitis was classified as acute ( n = 5), healing ( n = 9), and healed ( n = 4). Acute necrotising aortitis was associated with need for valve replacement (p = 0.01) and younger age ( p = 0.01). The healed phase had subtle histological features, sparse medial inflammation, marked medial attenuation, and chronic adventitial inflammation. Two patients with periaortitis demonstrated marked fibroinflammatory thickening of the adventitia with histological features typical of IgG4-related disease; neither had systemic symptoms. Ascending aortitis is histologically diverse, most frequently of the medial necrotising type, and is usually not suspected pre-operatively. Awareness of the histological spectrum is necessary for pathological diagnosis.
Repair of left ventricular aneurysm. Changes in ventricular mechanics, hemodynamics, and oxygen consumption.

Anteroapical left ventricular aneurysms were produced in 23 sheep by coronary arterial ligation. Plication of the aneurysm does not change stroke volume or cardiac output and does not significantly change left ventricular oxygen consumption from the preoperative value of 5.1 ± 2.6 ml/100 gm per minute. Plication, however, does increase left ventricular end-systolic elastance from 3.2 ± 0.9 to 4.4 ± 1.5 mm Hg/mm (p = 0.005). In nine of these sheep the midsagittal plane of the left ventricle was imaged by means of an array of sonomicrometry crystals before and after plication of the aneurysm. Regional wall stresses at end-systole and end-diastole and changes in diastolic function were calculated for anterior and posterior ventricular walls in the border zone adjacent to the aneurysm and in more basilar myocardium remote from the infarct. Plication significantly reduced end-systolic wall stresses and systolic stress integrals in the posterior border zone and remote myocardium, but it did not significantly change anterior wall systolic stresses or stress integrals. Plication also decreased diastolic stretching of border zone myocardium. Plication of anteroapical left ventricular aneurysm produced a shorter, more spherical ventricle and removed the dyskinetic segments but altered deformation (strain) in both circumferential and longitudinal directions. The changes in ventricular wall geometry and deformation provide an explanation for the increased ventricular end-systolic elastance and unchanged stroke volume observed after aneurysm plication. (J T horac C ardiovasc S urg 1992;104:752-62)
On‐resin N‐terminal peptoid degradation: Toward mild sequencing conditions

A novel approach to sequentially degrade peptoid N-terminal N-(substituted)glycine residues on the solid-phase using very mild conditions is reported. This method relies on the treatment of resin-bound, bromoacetylated peptoids with silver perchlorate in THF, leading to an intramolecular cyclization reaction to liberate the terminal residue as a N-substituted morpholine-2,5-dione, resulting in a truncated peptoid upon hydrolysis and a silver bromide byproduct. Side-chain functional group tolerance is explored and reaction kinetics are determined. In a series of pentapeptoids possessing variable, non-nucleophilic side-chains at the second position (R(2) ), we demonstrate that sequential N-terminal degradation of the first two residues proceeds in 87% and 74% conversions on average, respectively. We further demonstrate that the degradation reaction is selective for peptoids, and represents substantial progress toward a mild, iterative sequencing method for peptoid oligomers. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers (Pept Sci) 106: 726-736, 2016.
Platelets in sepsis: beyond hemostasis.

In this issue of Blood , [Claushuis et al][1] report on a rigorous evaluation of the associations among baseline platelet counts, biomarkers of host response, and clinical outcomes in a large cohort of critically ill patients with sepsis.[1][2] ![Figure][3] Three typical examples of how
The Effects of Fill Strategies on SBR Performance under Nitrogen Deficiency and Rich Conditions

The effects of anoxic and oxic fill strategies on SBR performance under nitrogen (NH 4 Cl as the nitrogen source) deficiency and rich conditions are evaluated using glucose as the sole substrate. The performance is evaluated according to substrate removal, sludge settleability, supernatant suspended solids (SS), and reactor biomass concentration. Substrate removal efficiencies are found to be independent of the fill strategies adopted under all conditions tested. The incorporation of anoxic selector environment fails to prevent the development of bulking sludge under nitrogen deficiency conditions thereby resulting in a gradual depletion of reactor biomass. Under nitrogen rich conditions, on the other hand, the sludge settleability improves significantly by adopting the anoxic fill strategy. Furthermore, SS readings taken at the end of settling period are greater with anoxic fill than with oxic fill, indicating that the latter discourages the growth of dispersed bacteria.
Making Consent Work in Alzheimer Disease Research

Informed consent has been the veritable ethical gold standard for research with human subjects at least since the Nuremberg Code (1949), but even the Nuremberg Code includes other requirements such as protection of subjects from physical or mental suffering and injury, the requirement of a qualified researcher using an appropriate research design, and freedom of subjects to withdraw from the experiment at anytime. Similarly, although informed consent is central in recent research ethics, it is balanced by other principles. For example, The Belmont Report (1979) endorsed three cardinal ethical principles for research involving human subjects: respect for persons, beneficence, and justice. Respect for persons involves both protection of human subjects as well as respect for autonomous choice, which is the basis for informed consent. Thus, although informed consent is important, it needs to be viewed within a wider ethical framework. Awareness of this wider framework is certainly evident in discussions of Alzheimer disease (AD) research ethics (Dubler, 1984; High, 1992; High et al., 1994; High and Doole, 1995), but the focus of attention has nonetheless been on the issue of informed consent. The recent literature has focused on proxy consent and advance directives for research, rather than actual consent by the AD subject. The question addressed in this paper is whether there is a role for actual consent by AD subjects and how can such consent be made to work.
Federal actions to incentivise state adoption of 0.08 g/dL blood alcohol concentration laws

Objective To model rates of 0.08 g/dL blood alcohol concentration (BAC) per se law implementation among the states associated with (1) a federal incentive grant programme and (2) a threat from the federal government to withhold highway transportation funds. Methods An observational study of state-level 0.08 g/dL BAC per se law enactment among all 50 US states from 1982 to 2006 using a parametric survival analysis to assess the time-dependent risk of policy enactment. Results The federal government9s threat to withhold transportation funds was associated with a 10.30 times greater hazard (HR: 10.30, 95% CI 3.88 to 27.36) of states adopting a 0.08 g/dL BAC law compared with periods of time when this threat was not in place. The incentive grant programme created by the federal government was associated with a non-significant 17% decrease in the hazard of states adopting a 0.08 g/dL BAC law (HR: 0.83, 95% CI 0.35 to 2.0). Conclusion In the case of 0.08 g/dL BAC per se laws, the federal government9s threat to withhold transportation funds was effective at accelerating policy adoption.
Big Data issues for remote sensing: Variety

There are a number of Big Data issues that are relevant for dealing with remotely-sensed data. The major ones are: Volume: How much data (TB), Variety: How variable the organization and meaning of the data is, Velocity: Data coming in very fast (TB/sec), Variability: Data varying in format or composition over time.
Response by Herrmann et al to Letter Regarding Article, "vascular Toxicities of Cancer Therapies: The Old and the New - An Evolving Avenue"

We deeply appreciate the comments by Giuseppina and Giovanni emphasizing an important point: the overlap between disease conditions and chemotherapeutic agents with regard to vascular toxicities. In our article,1 we alluded to the parallels among vascular endothelial growth factor signaling pathway inhibitor effects, peripartum cardiomyopathy, and preeclampsia. This aspect was outlined in even greater detail in an article by Bellinger et al2 in this journal. The current perception is that the placental release of soluble fms-related tyrosine kinase 1 and endoglin leads to vascular endothelial growth factor signaling pathway and transforming growth factor-beta signaling pathway inhibition with profound effects on endothelial cells and pericytes. The interplay of those 2 cell populations is …
Neurophysiological and behavioral responses of mandarin lexical tone processing

Language experience enhances discrimination of speech contrasts at a behavioral- perceptual level, as well as at a pre-attentive level, as indexed by event-related potential (ERP) mismatch negativity (MMN) responses. The enhanced sensitivity could be the result of changes in acoustic resolution and/or long-term memory representations of the relevant information in the auditory cortex. To examine these possibilities, we used a short (ca. 600 ms) versus long (ca. 2600 ms) interstimulus interval (ISI) in a passive, oddball discrimination task while obtaining ERPs. These ISI differences were used to test whether cross-linguistic differences in processing Mandarin lexical tone are a function of differences in acoustic resolution and/or differences in long-term memory representations. Bisyllabic nonword tokens that differed in lexical tone categories were presented using a passive listening multiple oddball paradigm. Behavioral discrimination and identification data were also collected. The ERP results revealed robust MMNs to both easy and difficult lexical tone differences for both groups at short ISIs. At long ISIs, there was either no change or an enhanced MMN amplitude for the Mandarin group, but reduced MMN amplitude for the English group. In addition, the Mandarin listeners showed a larger late negativity (LN) discriminative response than the English listeners for lexical tone contrasts in the long ISI condition. Mandarin speakers outperformed English speakers in the behavioral tasks, especially under the long ISI conditions with the more similar lexical tone pair. These results suggest that the acoustic correlates of lexical tone are fairly robust and easily discriminated at short ISIs, when the auditory sensory memory trace is strong. At longer ISIs beyond 2.5 s language-specific experience is necessary for robust discrimination.
New Continuum Approaches for Determining Protein-Induced Membrane Deformations.

The influence of the membrane on transmembrane proteins is central to a number of biological phenomena, notably the gating of stretch activated ion channels. Conversely, membrane proteins can influence the bilayer, leading to the stabilization of particular membrane shapes, topological changes that occur during vesicle fission and fusion, and shape-dependent protein aggregation. Continuum elastic models of the membrane have been widely used to study protein-membrane interactions. These mathematical approaches produce physically interpretable membrane shapes, energy estimates for the cost of deformation, and a snapshot of the equilibrium configuration. Moreover, elastic models are much less computationally demanding than fully atomistic and coarse-grained simulation methodologies; however, it has been argued that continuum models cannot reproduce the distortions observed in fully atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. We suggest that this failure can be overcome by using chemically and geometrically accurate representations of the protein. Here, we present a fast and reliable hybrid continuum-atomistic model that couples the protein to the membrane. We show that the model is in excellent agreement with fully atomistic simulations of the ion channel gramicidin embedded in a POPC membrane. Our continuum calculations not only reproduce the membrane distortions produced by the channel but also accurately determine the channel's orientation. Finally, we use our method to investigate the role of membrane bending around the charged voltage sensors of the transient receptor potential cation channel TRPV1. We find that membrane deformation significantly stabilizes the energy of insertion of TRPV1 by exposing charged residues on the S4 segment to solution.
Methane emissions from dairy lagoons in the western United States

Methane generation from dairy liquid storage systems is a major source of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. However, little on-farm research has been conducted to estimate and determine the factors that may affect these emissions. Six lagoons in south-central Idaho were monitored for 1 yr, with CH4 emissions estimated by inverse dispersion modeling. Lagoon characteristics thought to contribute to CH4 emissions were also monitored over this time period. Average emissions from the lagoons ranged from 30 to 126 kg/ha per day or 22 to 517 kg/d. Whereas we found a general trend for greater emissions during the summer, when temperatures were greater, events such as pumping, rainfall, freeze or thaw of lagoon surfaces, and wind significantly increased CH4 emissions irrespective of temperature. Lagoon physicochemical characteristics, such as total solids, chemical oxygen demand, and volatile solids, were highly correlated with emission. Methane prediction models were developed using volatile solids, wind speed, air temperature, and pH as independent variables. The US Environmental Protection Agency methodology for estimating CH4 emissions from manure storage was used for comparison of on-farm CH4 emissions from 1 of the lagoon systems. The US Environmental Protection Agency method underestimated CH4 emissions by 48%. An alternative methodology, using volatile solids degradation factor, provided a more accurate estimate of annual emissions from the lagoon system and may hold promise for applicability across a range of dairy lagoon systems in the United States.
The Stability of Self-Reported Anxiety in Youth with Autism Versus ADHD or Typical Development

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at risk for anxiety symptoms. Few anxiety measures are validated for individuals with ASD, and the nature of ASD raises questions about reliability of self-reported anxiety. This study examined longitudinal stability and change of self-reported anxiety in higher functioning youth with ASD (HFASD) compared to youth with symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and typical development (TD) using the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (March, 2012; March et al. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 36(4):554–565, 1997). Diagnostic groups demonstrated comparable evidence of stability for most dimensions of anxiety. The HFASD group displayed higher anxiety than both comparison groups, especially physical symptoms. These findings have implications for identification and measurement of anxiety in ASD.
The Genomic Tag Model for the Origin of Protein Synthesis

A central problem in envisioning the evolution of modern protein synthesis has been that none of the individual components—ribosomal RNAs and ribosomal proteins, initiation and elongation factors, tRNAs and tRNA synthetases—appears to be useful individually, yet the molecular apparatus for translation must have evolved stepwise. We have proposed that modern tRNAs derive from 3’ terminal tRNA-like structures that tagged genomes for replication in the RNA world [1]. In early genomes these tRNA-like structures would have provided an initiation site for the replicase and functioned as primitive telomeres. In contemporary genomes similar structures persist as the termini of many RNA viruses; as primers for retrovirus replication; as punctuation in the rRNA operons of eubacteria, chloroplasts, and mitochondria; as the termini of the genomic RNAs of two Neurospora mitochondrial retroplasmids; as modern DNA telomeres; and possibly as internal promoters for RNA polymerase III. These contemporary functions and structures of tRNA motifs reflect evolutionary history as well as the requirements of function, and may therefore be considered molecular fossils of ancient genomic tags.
Ethical Implications of Posthumous Reproduction

Posthumous conception of children has only recently become technologically possible, raising new ethical questions about whether and when to engage in it. These questions will be addressed from the perspectives of key stakeholders. When a request for posthumous reproduction is made, first we consider the interests of the deceased. In the United States, the consensus is generally that the explicit consent or well-known intention or desire of the deceased to procreate after death is needed to proceed. Next we consider the point of view of the requestor: while family members are generally not considered to have a controlling stake in others’ reproductive behavior, romantic partners’ autonomy and reproductive interests may be linked to those of the deceased. The well-being of the resulting child must be considered carefully, but little is currently known about the effects of being posthumously conceived. Lastly, the third parties who are instrumental in the practice, including gestational carriers, physicians, and society, have a say in whether to participate in or allow the practice.
Psychiatric issues affecting long duration space missions

Background: As we move into the next Millennium, increasing numbers of people will travel into space. Psychological screening methods will be relaxed on near-Earth missions, such as might occur on a space station or a lunar colony. Crewmembers on interplanetary missions such as a trip to Mars will have to deal with psychiatric problems themselves with no possibility of evacuating an affected individual. For these reasons, it is important for support personnel on Earth and crewmembers in space to be knowledgeable about psychiatric difficulties that might occur and their appropriate treatments. Methods: Anecdotal reports from long duration manned space missions and studies from space analog environments on Earth were reviewed for information concerning these issues. Results: Psychiatric problems pertinent to the space environment include adjustment and psychosomatic reactions, asthenia, mood and thought disorders, and post-mission personality changes and family problems. Counter-measures to ameliorate these difficulties involve prelaunch selection and training; monitoring, support, and counseling/psychotherapy during the mission; and post-return debriefings with crew members and their families. Psychoactive medications have been useful during space missions, although unclear pharmacokinetic issues related to microgravity need to be taken into account. Conclusion: Although much is known about psychiatric issues related to long duration manned space travel, more empirical work needs to be done during actual space missions.
Moulin mechanism design for freight consolidation

Abstract In freight consolidation, a “fair” cost allocation scheme is critical for forming and sustaining horizontal cooperation that leads to reduced transportation cost. We study a cost-sharing problem in a freight consolidation system with one consolidation center and a common destination. In particular, we design a mechanism that collects bids from a set of suppliers, and then decides whose demand to ship via the consolidation center and the corresponding cost shares. We use the Moulin mechanism framework to design a truthful mechanism for the cost-sharing problem, and study the mechanism’s budget-balance guarantee and economic efficiency. We find that it is generally not possible to obtain a simultaneously truthful and budget-balanced Moulin mechanism under the transportation cost structure we study. For our proposed mechanism, there exists a trade-off between the budget-balance guarantee and the level of incentives that can be given to large suppliers. Additionally, the mechanism has better economic efficiency when there are more bidding suppliers or the destination is farther away. In our setting, either the consolidation center or the suppliers need to be subsidized. The parameters that determine the trade-off between the consolidation center’s benefit and suppliers’ cost savings should be set based on the specific goals of the consolidation center. Encouraging more suppliers to bid helps to increase the overall social welfare.
The cycle of food socialization: leisure as resistance

Historically, the relationship between humans and food is complex. The necessity of food for life has resulted in food being important in structuring life and identity. The increasing stronghold of...
Association Between Clonogenic Cell Growth and Clinical Risk Group in B-Cell Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia of B-cell origin (B-CLL) is a disease with a variable clinical course, despite the fact that the neoplastic cells in this disorder are homogeneous with respect to morphology, immunophenotype, and cell cycle stage. To further investigate the heterogeneity observed in the clinical behavior of B-CLL, we determined the phenotype and growth requirements of clonogenic cells from 28 patients with B-CLL from low-, intermediate-, and high-risk groups as defined by the Rai staging system. Using methyl-cellulose as a semi-solid media with feeder cells and/or growth factors, colonies were observed with one or more of the culture conditions tested in 25 of 28 CLLs. Phenotypic analysis of colonies demonstrated that the clonogenic cells uniformly expressed la, CD19, CD20, CD5, and the identical light chain as the original CLL cell cultured. However, heterogeneity was observed in clonogenic B-CLL cell growth among the three different CLL risk groups. Clonogenic cells from patients with low-risk CLL required either irradiated unstimulated T cells, with or without conditioned media (CM) or irradiated activated T cells alone for colony formation. Both the number of colonies (227 +/- 15) as well as the number of cells per colony (220 +/- 82) were large, with a mean cloning efficiency of 0.39%. In contrast, clonogenic cells from patients with intermediate- and high-risk CLL required the combination of both irradiated activated T cells and CM. As compared with the low-risk CLLs, both the number and size of the colonies formed by the intermediate- (74 +/- 17, 70 +/- 39) and high- (83 +/- 28, 40 +/- 14) risk groups were significantly lower (P less than .0001). Similarly, the mean cloning efficiency was significantly reduced to 0.15% and 0.14%, respectively. None of the recombinant cytokines (interleukin 1 [IL-1] to IL-7, tumor necrosis factor, alpha and gamma-interferon, B-cell growth factor, and granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor) alone or in combination with each other could entirely replace the stimulatory effect of the activated T cells. These data suggest that clinical progression of B-CLL is associated with a loss of clonogenic potential in the circulating pool of neoplastic cells, which require as yet undefined factors provided by activated T cells and CM.
Curcumin and Intestinal Inflammatory Diseases: Molecular Mechanisms of Protection

Intestinal inflammatory diseases, such as Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and necrotizing enterocolitis, are becoming increasingly prevalent. While knowledge of the pathogenesis of these related diseases is currently incomplete, each of these conditions is thought to involve a dysfunctional, or overstated, host immunological response to both bacteria and dietary antigens, resulting in unchecked intestinal inflammation and, often, alterations in the intestinal microbiome. This inflammation can result in an impaired intestinal barrier allowing for bacterial translocation, potentially resulting in systemic inflammation and, in severe cases, sepsis. Chronic inflammation of this nature, in the case of inflammatory bowel disease, can even spur cancer growth in the longer-term. Recent research has indicated certain natural products with anti-inflammatory properties, such as curcumin, can help tame the inflammation involved in intestinal inflammatory diseases, thus improving intestinal barrier function, and potentially, clinical outcomes. In this review, we explore the potential therapeutic properties of curcumin on intestinal inflammatory diseases, including its antimicrobial and immunomodulatory properties, as well as its potential to alter the intestinal microbiome. Curcumin may play a significant role in intestinal inflammatory disease treatment in the future, particularly as an adjuvant therapy.
Land-Based Wastewater Treatment System Modeling Using HYDRUS CW2D to Simulate the Fate, Transport, and Transformation of Soil Contaminants

AbstractLand-based wastewater treatment systems (onsite or decentralized) have been used for many years because of their low cost, energy use, and maintenance requirements compared to conventional ...
Racial Disparities in the Utilization and In-Hospital Outcomes of Percutaneous Left Atrial Appendage Closure Among Patients with Atrial Fibrillation.

Background Select patients with atrial fibrillation and contraindication to anticoagulation may benefit from percutaneous left atrial appendage closure (pLAAC). Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate racial disparities in the nationwide utilization and outcomes of pLAAC. Methods We identified 16,830 hospitalizations for pLAAC between 2015 and 2017 using the National Inpatient Sample. Baseline characteristics, in-hospital mortality, complications, length of stay, and discharge disposition were assessed between White and Black/African American (AA) populations. Results Black/AA patients represented 4.1% of nationwide pLAAC recipients and were younger, more likely to be female, and had greater prevalence of hypertension, heart failure, hyperlipidemia, obesity, chronic kidney disease, and prior stroke history (P Conclusion Among pLAAC recipients nationwide, Black/AA populations were underrepresented and had greater complication rates, length of stay, and discharge complexity. This study highlights the importance of addressing ongoing racial disparities in both utilization and outcomes of pLAAC.
Immunoregulation by antibody secreting cells in inflammation, infection, and cancer

Antibody-secreting cells (ASCs) are considered work horses of the humoral immune response for their tireless effort to produce large amounts of antibodies that fulfill an array of functions in host defense, inflammation, and maintenance of homeostasis. While traditionally considered largely senescent cells, surprising recent findings demonstrate that subsets of ASCs downmodulate ongoing immune responses independent of antibody formation. Such regulatory ASCs produce IL-10 or IL-35 and are implicated in maintaining tissue and immune homeostasis. They also serve to suppress pathogenic leukocytes in infection, allergy, and inflammatory diseases that affect tissues, such as the central nervous system and the respiratory tract. Additionally, regulatory ASCs infiltrate various cancer types and restrict effective anti-tumor T cell responses. While incompletely understood, there is significant overlap in factors that control ASC differentiation, IL-10 expression by B cells and the generation of ASCs that secrete both antibodies and IL-10. In this review, we will cover the biology, phenotype, generation, maintenance and function of regulatory ASCs in various tissues under pathological and steady states. An improved understanding of the development of regulatory ASCs and their biological roles will be critical for generating novel ASC-targeted therapies for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, infection, and cancer.
Aggressivity-Reducing Structure for Large Vehicles in Frontal Car-to-Car Crash (2004-01-1163)

This paper clarifies aggressivity reduction approach for MPV, Multi-Purpose Vehicles, derived from large passenger vehicles toward small passenger vehicles. The effects of aggressivity-reducing approach were measured through full-frontal rigid barrier crash simulations with TRL aluminum honeycomb by Finite Element Method. The front-end structures of large vehicles studied in this paper based on this aggressivity reduction approach show good front-end homogeneity and low average height of force. The structures were also found to effectively reduce aggressivity toward small vehicles by car-to-car simulation. However, there are some cases where the effect was influenced by overlap ratios. From this result, overlap ratio is considered to be one of the important factors to improve compatibility performance.