cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
BMRF-MI: integrative identification of protein interaction network by modeling the gene dependency

Identification of protein interaction network is a very important step for understanding the molecular mechanisms in cancer. Several methods have been developed to integrate protein-protein interaction (PPI) data with gene expression data for network identification. However, they often fail to model the dependency between genes in the network, which makes many important genes, especially the upstream genes, unidentified. It is necessary to develop a method to improve the network identification performance by incorporating the dependency between genes. We proposed an approach for identifying protein interaction network by incorporating mutual information (MI) into a Markov random field (MRF) based framework to model the dependency between genes. MI is widely used in information theory to measure the uncertainty between random variables. Different from traditional Pearson correlation test, MI is capable of capturing both linear and non-linear relationship between random variables. Among all the existing MI estimators, we choose to use k-nearest neighbor MI (kNN-MI) estimator which is proved to have minimum bias. The estimated MI is integrated with an MRF framework to model the gene dependency in the context of network. The maximum a posterior (MAP) estimation is applied on the MRF-based model to estimate the network score. In order to reduce the computational complexity of finding the optimal network, a probabilistic searching algorithm is implemented. We further increase the robustness and reproducibility of the results by applying a non-parametric bootstrapping method to measure the confidence level of the identified genes. To evaluate the performance of the proposed method, we test the method on simulation data under different conditions. The experimental results show an improved accuracy in terms of subnetwork identification compared to existing methods. Furthermore, we applied our method onto real breast cancer patient data; the identified protein interaction network shows a close association with the recurrence of breast cancer, which is supported by functional annotation. We also show that the identified subnetworks can be used to predict the recurrence status of cancer patients by survival analysis. We have developed an integrated approach for protein interaction network identification, which combines Markov random field framework and mutual information to model the gene dependency in PPI network. Improvements in subnetwork identification have been demonstrated with simulation datasets compared to existing methods. We then apply our method onto breast cancer patient data to identify recurrence related subnetworks. The experiment results show that the identified genes are enriched in the pathway and functional categories relevant to progression and recurrence of breast cancer. Finally, the survival analysis based on identified subnetworks achieves a good result of classifying the recurrence status of cancer patients.
Mesodermal patterning activity of SCL

The transcription factor SCL is critically required for establishing hematopoiesis and for proper endothelial development, but not for maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells or endothelial cells in the adult. Conflicting data exists regarding the developmental function of SCL, namely, whether it acts as a master regulator, actively patterning mesoderm toward hematopoietic development at the expense of other lineages, or is merely necessary to maintain the earliest committed hematopoietic precursors. To answer this question, we have engineered murine embryonic stem cells with a conditional doxycycline-inducible SCL transgene, and evaluated the effects of SCL expression at defined time points during in vitro development. Continual SCL expression during differentiation results in markedly increased hematopoiesis. By using pulses of gene expression over a 6-day differentiation time course, we map and characterize windows of SCL responsiveness. Notably, a pulse of SCL expression during early mesodermal patterning (48 to 72 hours of differentiation) promoted Flk1 + PDGFRα neg presumptive extraembryonic/lateral plate mesoderm at the expense of PDGFRα + Flk1 neg presumptive paraxial mesoderm. Consistent with this, the early pulse of SCL expression also expanded hematopoietic colony-forming cell numbers, while concomitantly repressing expression of paraxial and cardiac markers, and inhibited development of beating cardiomyocytes. By mixing the inducible embryonic stem cells with fluorescently labeled wild-type cells in chimeric embryoid bodies, we show that these effects of SCL are cell autonomous. These data support a master-regulatory role for SCL in mesodermal patterning, in addition to its established later roles in hematopoietic differentiation.
Skeletons, Homomorphisms, and Shapes: Characterizing Protocol Executions

In this paper we develop a framework, based on strand spaces, for reasoning about cryptographic protocols and characterizing their executions. We define skeletons, homomorphisms, and shapes. Skeletons model partial information about regular (honest) behavior in an execution of a cryptographic protocol. A homomorphism between skeletons is an information-preserving map. Much protocol analysis may be regarded as an exploration of the properties of the category of skeletons and homomorphisms. A set of skeletons can characterize all runs of the protocol; the smallest such set is the set of shapes. This approach is a foundation for mechanizing protocol analysis.
Three-dimensional magnetic field computation on a distributed memory parallel processor

The author reports on an implementation of a finite-element code for nonlinear three-dimensional low-frequency magnetic field calculation on Intel's iPSC/2. The approach used exploits the natural parallelism in the finite-element method via parallel processing. Element assembly and the linear equation solution are the two subtasks that consume the majority of CPU cycles and are the two areas where parallelism is best exploited. >
Silhouettes: A Reply from the Dark Side

From beneath a glass table (Fig. 1), you peer up at a smooth stack of razor-thin disks: You see a silhouette. But of what? Each disk has the same apparent diameter. Replacing any of these opaque disks with a glass disk would not alter the appearance. So you cannot be viewing the bottom disk. It is causally idle, completely enveloped in a shadow cast from above. This shadow is not cast by any intermediate disk because none of them block light. Therefore, you see the silhouette of the top disk. The disks are so flat that they are held together by a vacuum effect. The top disk is the back surface of this cohesive stack. Now you understand why I believe that we see the backs of silhouetted objects.
An X-ray computed tomography technique for the measurement of packing density in granular particles

It has been shown that the flow and shear characteristics of granular particles such as soils are significantly dependent on the shape of the particles. This is important from a practical viewpoint because a fundamental understanding of granular behavior will lead to an improved understanding of soil stability and influence the design of structural foundations. Furthermore, the calculation of soil stability and consequently structural stability is particularly useful during earthquake events. In previous work, we have demonstrated the applicability of X-ray and optical tomography measurements for characterizing 3-D shapes of natural sands and manufactured granular particles. In this paper, we extend the work to measure the arrangement and orientation of an assemblage of such particles. A combination of X-ray CT for measuring the coordinates of the individual particles, and basic image processing techniques for computing the local variations in packing density are employed to generate density maps. Such maps can be used to gain a more fundamental understanding of the shear characteristics of granular particles. In this paper, we demonstrate the success of our technique by exercising the method on two sets of granular particles - glass beads (used as a control) and Michigan Dune sand.
The Saccharomyces cerevisiae TRT2 tRNAThr gene upstream of STE6 is a barrier to repression in MATα cells and exerts a potential tRNA position effect in MATa cells

A growing body of evidence suggests that genes transcribed by RNA polymerase III exhibit multiple functions within a chromosome. While the predominant function of these genes is the synthesis of RNA molecules, certain RNA polymerase III genes also function as genomic landmarks. Transfer RNA genes are known to exhibit extra-transcriptional activities such as directing Ty element integration, pausing of replication forks, overriding nucleosome positioning sequences, repressing neighboring genes (tRNA position effect), and acting as a barrier to the spread of repressive chromatin. This study was designed to identify other tRNA loci that may act as barriers to chromatin-mediated repression, and focused on TRT2, a tRNAThr adjacent to the STE6 α2 operator. We show that TRT2 acts as a barrier to repression, protecting the upstream CBT1 gene from the influence of the STE6 α2 operator in MATα cells. Interestingly, deletion of TRT2 results in an increase in CBT1 mRNA levels in MATa cells, indicating a potential tRNA position effect. The transcription of TRT2 itself is unaffected by the presence of the α2 operator, suggesting a hierarchy that favors assembly of the RNA polymerase III complex versus assembly of adjacent α2 operator-mediated repressed chromatin structures. This proposed hierarchy could explain how tRNA genes function as barriers to the propagation of repressive chromatin.
Primary liver carcinoma arising in people younger than 30 years

Primary liver carcinomas in children and young adults are uncommon and poorly described. We examined primary liver carcinomas in people younger than 30 years and performed immunostains for markers of biliary (cytokeratin [CK] 7, CK19, CD56) and hepatocellular (HepPar) differentiation. We found 23 primary liver carcinomas were found: 13 hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs), 9 fibrolamellar carcinomas (FLCs), and 1 cholangiocarcinoma. Most HCCs showed compact (n = 7) or trabecular (n = 4) growth patterns. The Edmondson grades were as follows: 1, 3 tumors; 2, 8 tumors; and 3, 2 tumors). All HCCs and FLCs were HepPar(+). All FLCs and 7 of 9 HCCs were CK7(+). In contrast, a control group of 65 adult HCCs showed less CK7 positivity (24 [37%]; P = .03). CK19 was positive in 2 HCCs and CD56 in 1 HCC. No chronic background liver disease was seen, although 3 cases showed foci of altered hepatocytes. HCCs are the most common primary liver carcinoma in children and young adults followed by FLCs. They are morphologically similar to adult HCC, but more likely to be CK7(+).
A salivary nitrophorin (nitric-oxide-carrying hemoprotein) in the bedbug Cimex lectularius.

Salivary gland homogenate of the bedbug Cimex lectularius caused vasodilation of the preconstricted rabbit aortic ring in the absence of endothelium. Vasodilation was augmented in the presence of superoxide dismutase and inhibited in the presence of Methylene Blue. Utilization of the Griess reaction indicated the presence of reactive nitrogen equivalents of the order of 337 +/- 57 pg equivalent NO2- per pair of salivary glands (mean +/- S.E.M.; N = 3). Salivary gland homogenates have a nitrosyl-hemoprotein that releases nitric oxide in a pH-dependent manner. The fraction containing the NO-carrying hemoprotein, when separated by HPLC, caused vasodilation of the preconstricted rabbit aortic strip. Furthermore, the presence of a nitrosyl-hemoprotein in Cimex lectularius salivary gland was verified by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. It is proposed that, as in the case of Rhodnius prolixus (Triatominae), Cimex lectularius salivary glands contain a hemoprotein (nitrophorin) that carries NO from the glands to the host tissues. However, because Cimex lectularius and Rhodnius prolixus belong to different hemipteran families (Cimicidae and Reduvidae) and evolved independently to blood feeding, Cimex lectularius and Rhodnius prolixus nitrophorin may be a case of convergent evolution.
Quadrigeminal Arachnoid Cysts in a Kitten and a Dog

Two quadrigeminal arachnoid cysts with different pathogenesis are described in 2 different species. A 10-week-old male Persian kitten with a progressively decreasing level of consciousness died spontaneously. At necropsy, mild internal hydrocephalus, caudal cerebellar coning, and cerebellar herniation through the foramen magnum were associated with a congenital quadrigeminal arachnoid cyst compressing the rostral cerebellum and shifting the entire cerebellum caudally. In contrast, a possibly acquired quadrigeminal cyst was observed in a 2-year-old male neutered Yorkshire Terrier in association with necrotizing encephalitis. Quadrigeminal arachnoid cysts have been rarely reported in dogs and humans.
Mobility: A Medium for Computation, Communication, and Control

The advent of ubiquitous mobile computing has widely been regarded as the convergence of pager-like communications technology and laptop-like computational power enabling applications that span both realms of functionality. However ubiquitous mobile computing, coupled with the proliferation of microprocessor-controlled appliance s and networking, creates another important new application arena: that in which mobile computers act as controllers for and interfaces to, appliances and services in the surrounding environment. This position paper explores the convergence of computation with communications and control applications, and the models of mobile computing that consequently arise. Established applications and models are positioned relative to this framework, and hither to unexplored control-based models of mobile computation are described.
Associative processes in intuitive judgment

Dual-system models of reasoning attribute errors of judgment to two failures: the automatic operations of a ‘System 1' generate a faulty intuition, which the controlled operations of a ‘System 2' fail to detect and correct. We identify System 1 with the automatic operations of associative memory and draw on research in the priming paradigm to describe how it operates. We explain how three features of associative memory – associative coherence, attribute substitution and processing fluency – give rise to major biases of intuitive judgment. Our article highlights both the ability of System 1 to create complex and skilled judgments and the role of the system as a source of judgment errors.
Temperature measurement on the job site using RTDs and thermocouples

Abstract The use of new, distributed control systems and programmable logic controllers (PLC) to monitor temperature in the process industries require that accurate temperature measurements be made on the job site. This paper will discuss the problems experienced in using test equipment in the harsh environment of chemical plants, electrically noisy areas, and under conditions of wide ambient temperature changes.
Cell wall protein mannosylation determines Candida albicans cell surface hydrophobicity

Cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH) has been shown to be an important factor in the ability of the opportunistic pathogenic yeast Candida albicans to adhere to surfaces. Hydrophobic cells adhere more readily to host tissue, and are more resistant to phagocytic killing, than hydrophilic cells. Consequently, CSH plays an important role in the pathogenicity of C. albicans. Previous work suggested a relationship between CSH and cell wall protein glycosylation. The present work tests the hypothesis that changes in outer chain mannosylation, rather than complete loss of oligosaccharide groups, are sufficient to modulate CSH. These studies compared wild-type cells to a variant that has altered mannosylation and is hydrophobic under conditions in which wild-type cells are hydrophilic. Composition analysis of cell surface digests showed that the glycosylation of wild-type cell surface proteins was much more extensive than that seen in the variant. Antibodies which recognize the acid-labile and acid-stable portions of C. albicans mannan showed not only differences between wild-type and variant cells but also differences between wild-type hydrophilic and wild-type hydrophobic cells. The results suggest that exposure of surface hydrophobic regions on C. albicans may be related to the abundance of phosphodiester-linked, acid-labile mannosyl groups rather than the complete loss of outer chain mannosylation on cell wall proteins.
Family Socialization and the Ethnic Identity of Mexican-American Children:

This research focused on the role of the ethnic family background and ethnic socialization in the social cognitive development of ethnic identity in Mexican-American children. Aspects of a theoretical model of the socialization of ethnic identity were tested in forty-five 6- to 10-year-old children and their mothers. Individually administered scales assessed parental generation of migration; parental education; mothers' cultural orientation; mothers' teaching about Mexican culture, ethnic pride, and discrimination; Mexican objects in the home; and children's ethnic identity. As predicted, the socialization indices functioned as a mediator of the influence of ethnic family background on their children's ethnic identity.
Role of NF-κB in Cell Survival and Transcription of Latent Membrane Protein 1-Expressing or Epstein-Barr Virus Latency III-Infected Cells

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) latency III infection converts B lymphocytes into lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) by expressing EBV nuclear and membrane proteins, EBNAs, and latent membrane proteins (LMPs), which regulate transcription through Notch and tumor necrosis factor receptor pathways. The role of NF-kappa B in LMP1 and overall EBV latency III transcriptional effects was investigated by treating LCLs with BAY11-7082 (BAY11). BAY11 rapidly and irreversibly inhibited NF-kappa B, decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, induced apoptosis, and altered LCL gene expression. BAY11 effects were similar to those of an NF-kappa B inhibitor, Delta N-I kappa B alpha, in effecting decreased JNK1 expression and in microarray analyses. More than 80% of array elements that decreased with Delta N-I kappa B alpha expression decreased with BAY11 treatment. Newly identified NF-kappa B-induced, LMP1-induced, and EBV-induced genes included pleckstrin, Jun-B, c-FLIP, CIP4, and I kappa B epsilon. Of 776 significantly changed array elements, 134 were fourfold upregulated in EBV latency III, and 74 were fourfold upregulated with LMP1 expression alone, whereas only 28 were more than fourfold downregulated by EBV latency III. EBV latency III-regulated gene products mediate cell migration (EBI2, CCR7, RGS1, RANTES, MIP1 alpha, MIP1 beta, CXCR5, and RGS13), antigen presentation (major histocompatibility complex proteins and JAW1), mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway (DUSP5 and p62Dok), and interferon (IFN) signaling (IFN-gamma R alpha, IRF-4, and STAT1). Comparison of EBV latency III LCL gene expression to immunoglobulin M (IgM)-stimulated B cells, germinal-center B cells, and germinal-center-derived lymphomas clustered LCLs with IgM-stimulated B cells separately from germinal-center cells or germinal-center lymphoma cells. Expression of IRF-2, AIM1, ASK1, SNF2L2, and components of IFN signaling pathways further distinguished EBV latency III-infected B cells from IgM-stimulated or germinal-center B cells.
Contributions to a revision of the earthworm family Octochaetidae. I–II

(1962). Contributions to a revision of the earthworm family Octochaetidae. I–II. Annals and Magazine of Natural History: Vol. 5, No. 52, pp. 209-215.
Pharmacokinetic Modeling of Lamivudine and Zidovudine Triphosphates Predicts Differential Pharmacokinetics in Seminal Mononuclear Cells and Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells

ABSTRACT The male genital tract is a potential site of viral persistence. Therefore, adequate concentrations of antiretrovirals are required to eliminate HIV replication in the genital tract. Despite higher zidovudine (ZDV) and lamivudine (3TC) concentrations in seminal plasma (SP) than in blood plasma (BP) (SP/BP drug concentration ratios of 2.3 and 6.7, respectively), we have previously reported lower relative intracellular concentrations of their active metabolites, zidovudine triphosphate (ZDV-TP) and lamivudine triphosphate (3TC-TP), in seminal mononuclear cells (SMCs) than in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) (SMC/PBMC drug concentration ratios of 0.36 and 1.0, respectively). Here, we use population pharmacokinetic (PK) modeling-based methods to simultaneously describe parent and intracellular metabolite PK in blood, semen, and PBMCs and SMCs. From this model, the time to steady state in each matrix was estimated, and the results indicate that the PK of 3TC-TP and ZDV-TP in PBMCs are different from the PK of the two in SMCs and different for the two triphosphates. We found that steady-state conditions in PBMCs were achieved within 2 days for ZDV-TP and 3 days for 3TC-TP. However, steady-state conditions in SMCs were achieved within 2 days for ZDV-TP and 2 weeks for 3TC-TP. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, ZDV-TP in SMCs does not achieve the surrogate 50% inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) (as established for PBMCs, assuming SMC IC 50 = PBMC IC 50 ) at the standard 300-mg twice-daily dosing. Mechanistic studies are needed to understand these differences and to explore intracellular metabolite behavior in SMCs for other nucleoside analogues used in HIV prevention, treatment, and cure.
Nodal decomposition–coordination for stochastic programs with private information restrictions

ABSTRACTWe present a nodal decomposition–coordination method for stochastic programs with private data (information) restrictions. We consider coordinated systems where a single optimal or close-to-optimal solution is desired. However, because of competitive issues, confidentiality requirements, incompatible database issues, or other complicating factors, no global view of the system is possible. In our iterative methodology, each entity in the cooperation forms its own nodal deterministic or stochastic program. We use Lagrangian relaxation and subgradient optimization techniques to facilitate negotiation between the nodal decisions in the system without any one entity gaining access to the private information from other nodes. We perform a computational study on supply chain inventory coordination problem instances. The results demonstrate that the new methodology can obtain solution values that are close to the optimal within a stipulated time without violating private information restrictions. The resu...
Parasaccharibacter apium, gen. nov., sp. nov., Improves Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Resistance to Nosema

The honey bee, Apis mellifera L., is host to a variety of microorganisms. The bacterial community that occupies the adult worker gut contains a core group of approximately seven taxa, while the hive environment contains its own distribution of bacteria that is in many ways distinct from the gut. Parasaccharibacter apium, gen. nov., sp. nov., is a hive bacterium found in food stores and in larvae, worker jelly, worker hypopharyngeal glands, and queens. Parasaccharibacter apium increases larval survival under laboratory conditions. To determine if this benefit is extended to colonies in the field, we tested if P. apium 1) survives and reproduces in supplemental pollen patty, 2) is distributed throughout the hive when added to pollen patty, 3) benefits colony health, and 4) increases the ability of bees to resist Nosema. Parasaccharibacter apium survived in supplemental diet and was readily consumed by bees. It was distributed throughout the hive under field conditions, moving from the pollen patty to hive larvae. While P. apium did not significantly increase colony brood production, food stores, or foraging rates, it did increase resistance to Nosema infection. Our data suggest that P. apium may positively impact honey bee health.
Social capital, substance use disorder and depression among youths.

ABSTRACTBackground: Social capital – the network of social connections that exists among people – is known to be related to depression and substance use among adults. However, little is known about these relationships among adolescents, even though this age group is vulnerable due to factors of peer pressure, family, neighborhood, and maturational changes. Objectives: To evaluate the associations among social capital, substance use disorder and depression on a sample of 17 705 respondents between the ages of 12 and 17 in the 2009 National Survey of Drug Use and Health. Methods: Structural equation modeling was used to examine social capital; responses to 48 items differentiated into two factors that measured structural social and cognitive social capital. Adolescent depression and substance use disorder were measured as past-year major depressive episodes and substance use disorder according to DSM-IV criteria. Results: Structural social capital was associated with substance use disorder (β = −0.12; p = 0...
Circulating Interferon in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

SummaryCirculating interferon, which may be indirect evidence of viral infections, was searched for in the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). A viral inhibitor with the properties of inteferon was detected in the serum of three out of 44 cases of SIDS, and in one out of 22 control cases. These results show that circulating interferon is not frequently detected in SIDS, and suggest that if viruses do play a role in the final common pathway of SIDS, they may possibly function in a local manner, rather than in a disseminated type of infection.
Early diagnostic and prognostic value of procalcitonin in critical ill patients with sepsis

Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of procalcitonin(PCT)as an early indicator for sepsis.Methods Serum levels of PCT and C-creative protein(CRP)and white blood cell (WBC)count were measured in 30 patients in critical condition hospitalized at an intensive care unit(ICU) with diagnosis of systemic inflammatory response syndrome(SIRS).They were divided into two groups, sepsis and non-sepsis,based on their clinical manifestations and results of lab tests.Blood specimen was collected from each patient for measurement of PCT,CRP and WBC count on the 1~(st),3~(rd)and 7~(th)day after hospitalization and bacteriological culture for blood and sputum,and chest X-ray was performed,as well. Acute physiology,age and chronic health evaluation(APACHE Ⅱ)was made on the 1~(st),3~(rd)and 7~(th)day after hospitalization to assess their ill condition.Their prognosis were judged on the 28~(th)day of the follow-up. Results Serum level of PCT increased significantly in the sepsis group(with the highest of 10.13 ng/ml), as compared with that in the non-sepsis group.Sensitivity,specificity and predictive value of a positive test for a cut-off value of serum level of PCT at 0.5 ng/ml were 97.0%,91.7% and 82.1%,respectively, which were all better than those of serum level of CRP and WBC count.Serum level of PCT in the patients was significantly associated with their prognosis,and PCT in those died was significantly higher than that in those survived.Whereas,serum level of CRP and WBC count elevated in both groups,but the difference between the two groups did not reach a level of statistical significance.Conclusion Serum level of PCT can be used as an early indicator for judgment of sepsis for a patient with infection and reflection of severity of illness.
Does marital status matter? Support, personal autonomy and economic power among Abaluyia widows in Kenya

This article considers issues of personal and economic power among African women in regard to their marital situation. Since marriage is usually crucial to young African women's gaining access to resources, in later life does marital status matter? Are widows worse off than wives, as is the situation of widows in much of the world? A brief description of widowhood worldwide is followed by material from research among older Abaluyia women in Kenya, among whom widowhood offers advantages which today are leading some Abaluyia women to choose widowhood over remarriage. Finally, the discussion is broadened to a consideration of widows in other sub-Saharan African countries. While some African women's situation becomes precarious with the loss of a husband, others prefer not to be married, for a variety of reasons relating to personal autonomy and control of resources and also because in general security in old age depends more on other kin, especially sons, than on husbands. Thus it seems that while marital status matters among older African women, the status preferred may be that of widow (or in some places retired" wife), when widowhood results in the empowerment of the widow and does not threaten her personal security.
Ab initio engineering of materials with stacked hexagonal tin frameworks

The group-IV tin has been hypothesized to possess intriguing electronic properties in an atom-thick hexagonal form. An attractive pathway of producing sizable 2D crystallites of tin is based on deintercalation of bulk compounds with suitable tin frameworks. Here, we have identified a new synthesizable metal distannide, NaSn2, with a 3D stacking of flat hexagonal layers and examined a known compound, BaSn2, with buckled hexagonal layers. Our ab initio results illustrate that despite being an exception to the 8-electron rule, NaSn2 should form under pressures easily achievable in multi-anvil cells and remain (meta)stable under ambient conditions. Based on calculated Z2 invariants, the predicted NaSn2 may display topologically non-trivial behavior and the known BaSn2 could be a strong topological insulator.
An Extreme Example of Subclavian Crush.

The patient presented in 2008 for follow-up of her implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, which had reached its elective replacement indicator. The ventricular lead was a Medtronic 6949 lead (Minneapolis, Minnesota), which was electively replaced with the current Medtronic 6947. There was
Deployment of a Geographical Information System Life Cycle Assessment Integrated Framework for Exploring the Opportunities and Challenges of Enhanced Oil Recovery Using Industrial CO2 Supply in the United States

This paper integrated the life cycle assessment (LCA) approach with a geographical information system (GIS) in order to compare greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) process, utilizing carbon dioxide (CO2) from three industrial pathways. Pathway 1 is a corn-based ethanol plant with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), while pathways 2 and 3 are coal-fired and natural gas-fired power plants, respectively, with amine-based postcombustion CCS technology. The pathways were compared to a conventional crude recovery, transport, refinement, and end-use combustion baseline, which had net GHG emissions of 0.47 tCO2-e/bbl. Overall, net GHG emissions from pathways 1, 2, and 3 were lower than in the baseline case. In this LCA study, the system expansion approach was applied and the results indicated that ethanol-based CCS-EOR was notably the better alternative. However, the CO2 supply from ethanol plants is limited; they would have the capacity to produce only about 25 000 bbl/d, compar...
The distribution and utilization of glucose in isolated lymph node cells.

(Received for publication, March 19, 1959) The present work is concerned with an analysis of some factors which determine the distribution of glucose between isolated lymph node cells and extracellular medium. Such information is relevant to the increasing interest in the role of permeability in the regulation of cell metabolism. Studies of permeability of isolated mammalian cells have utilized erythrocytes almost exclusively (2). More recently, ascites tumor cells have been used for this purpose (3, 4). In respect to correlations between distribution and utilization of glucose, skeletal muscle has been shown to be a suitable tissue (5). For correlating permeability and metabolism, one wishes ideally to measure simultaneously the rate of penetration and the rates of metabolic conversion of a penetrant. For this purpose, isolated cells should offer advantages over more complex tissue prepara- tions, such as skeletal muscle. In the present study, isolated lymph node cells were used. These cells, which are readily obtainable as single cell suspen- sions, are active in the formation of antibodies and y-globulins and are more representative of mammalian cells, in general, than are erythrocytes or ascites tumor cells. Lymph node cells were found to be well suited for determination of the rate of glucose utilization, since they exhibit high glycolytic activities and con- tain, in contrast to muscle, only trace amounts of glycogen. Complications arising from glycogenolysis (5) could, therefore, he excluded. Unfortunately, however, penetration of glucose into lymph node cells was too fast, even at O”, for determination of rate constants for entry. In view of this limitation, intracel- lular sugar concentrations were evaluated in the steady state, i.e. when intracellular sugar concentrations were constant with time. Utilization of glucose or other rapidly metabolized sugars was measured concomitantly with distribution. Information concerning interrelationships between permeability and utiliza- tion was obtained by deliberately altering one or both of these processes. * A preliminary report was given at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Biological Chemists in Chicago (1) and at the IV. International Congress of Biochemistry, Vienna,
Ear Pain and Cerumen Impaction

This chapter succinctly summarizes the diagnosis and management of common ear-related complaints encountered by primary care and emergency clinicians alike, including otitis media and otitis externa. Attention is also directed at differentiating these relatively benign entities from more sinister diagnoses such as malignant otitis externa and mastoiditis.
State-level projections of cancer-related medical care costs: 2010 to 2020.

Healthcare costs continue to rise nationally and impose greater burdens on state budgets.1 Since cancer-related medical care costs constitute a substantial portion of overall US medical care costs,2-4 accurate projections of future cancer-related care costs are critical. Over the past 20 years, the cost of treating cancer has nearly doubled nationally.2,5 As a result of an aging population and more expensive cancer treatments, the national costs of cancer care are expected to increase significantly in the near future.6 Although previous increases in spending on cancer have occurred despite the decreases in cancer incidence rates and increases in average survival times for patients with many types of cancers,7 researchers have noted many opportunities to further improve cancer detection and treatment while controlling costs.8-10 To take advantage of these opportunities, state-administered insurance providers such as Medicaid and public healthcare providers such as the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program11 need state-level projections of future cancer care costs. Previous projections of cancer prevalence and cancer care costs have focused only on the national level.6 This study produces state-level projections of cancer care costs through 2020. While our goal is not to explain differences across states, our projections do reflect projected changes in the distribution of state residents by age and sex during this period. They provide a useful baseline against which to gauge the impact of current and future cancer policies and could be useful for budget allocations for investments in cancer prevention and early detection.
Cancer Genomics and Important Oncologic Mutations: A Contemporary Guide for Body Imagers

The future of oncologic imaging may include radiologist-observed and computer-extracted imaging features as part of staging or follow-up studies.
Impedance measures in analysis and characterization of multistable structures subjected to harmonic excitation

Abstract Structural components susceptible to adverse, post-buckled dynamic behaviors have long challenged the success of applications requiring lightweight, slender curved structures, while researchers have begun to leverage such bistable systems in emerging applications for novel energy attenuation and shape-changing properties. To expedite development and deployment of these built-up platforms containing post-buckled constituents, efficient approaches are required to complement time-consuming full-field models in the prediction of the near- and far-from-equilibrium dynamics. This research meets the need by introducing a semi-analytical model framework to enable the characterization of steady-state responses in multi degree-of-freedom (DOF) and multistable structural systems subjected to harmonic excitation. In so doing, the pathway for assessing impedance measures is created here so as to identify how energy travels and returns within built-up multistable structures. Verified by simulations and qualitatively validated by experiments, the analysis is shown to accurately reproduce both near- and far-from-equilibrium responses including different classes of energetic snap-through dynamics that only exist in such multistable structures. A first look at the impedance measures of different dynamic regimes reveals a connection between damping in multistable structures and the sustainability of far-from-equilibrium oscillations.
Evolutionary algorithm analysis of the biological genetic codes

An evolutionary algorithm program has been used to investigate the evolution of the universal and several alternate genetic codes in biology. Various fitness functions were evaluated using a fixed set of genes and a genetic code that mutates every generation for up to 1000 organisms. The evolution of the population was found to be stable if starting with the universal genetic code.
Governing Emergent Public Responses: The Aftermath of the Boston Marathon Attack

What do emergent public responses to disasters mean for public administration and its conceptualizations of governance? To address this question, I evaluate the aftermath of the 2013 Boston Maratho...
Revisiting Seminole Rock

The rule that reviewing courts must defer to agencies’ interpretations of their own regulations has come under scrutiny in recent years. Critics contend that this doctrine, often associated with the 1997 Supreme Court decision Auer v. Robbins, violates the separation of powers, gives agencies perverse regulatory incentives, and undermines the judiciary’s duty to say what the law is. This essay offers a different argument as to why Auer is literally and prosaically bad law. Auer deference appears to be grounded on a misunderstanding of its originating case, the 1945 decision Bowles v. Seminole Rock. A closer look at Seminole Rock suggests an unremarkable application of the less-deferential standard of review associated with the case Skidmore v. Swift & Co. These conclusions shed new light on contemporary worries about Auer deference, ground the Court’s recent limitations on the doctrine and lower the stakes for overruling it altogether. After Auer, the Court should return to Seminole Rock.
Suitability of Oyster Restoration Sites Along the Louisiana Coast: Examining Site and Stock × Site Interaction

ABSTRACT Recognition of the global loss of subtidal oyster reefs has led to a rise in reef restoration efforts, including in the Gulf of Mexico. Created reef success depends entirely on selecting a location that supports long-term oyster growth and survival, including the recruitment and survival of on-reef oysters. Significant changes in estuarine salinity through management of freshwater inflows and through changed precipitation patterns may significantly impact the locations of optimal oyster restoration sites. These rapid shifts in conditions necessitate a need to better understand both impacts to on-reef oyster growth and population development, and variation in oyster stock performance. Oyster growth, mortality, condition, and disease prevalence were examined in three different stocks of oysters located in protected cages, as well as oyster recruitment and mortality on experimental reef units in three different locations representing a salinity gradient, along the Louisiana Gulf coast in 2011 and 20...
Adoption Counselors' Perspectives of Counseling Postadoptive Families

This study was conducted to explore the mental health needs of families who adopted from the state welfare system. Using consensual qualitative research, the authors examined the perspectives of 8 clinical mental health counselors who provided counseling services to postadoptive families. Findings represented by 5 domains and supported by 15 categories include the counselors' perspective of (a) strength of the current program, (b) families in crisis, (c) parents' construction of their child's problem, (d) programmatic limitations, and (e) systemic limitations.
The structure–energy landscape of NMDA receptor gating

N-Methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are the main calcium-permeable excitatory receptors in the mammalian central nervous system. The NMDA receptor gating is complex, exhibiting multiple closed, open, and desensitized states; however, central questions regarding the conformations and energetics of the transmembrane domains as they relate to the gating states are still unanswered. Here, using single-molecule Forster resonance energy transfer (smFRET), we map the energy landscape of the first transmembrane segment of the Rattus norvegicus NMDA receptor under resting and various liganded conditions. These results show kinetically and structurally distinct changes associated with apo, agonist-bound, and inhibited receptors linked by a linear mechanism of gating at this site. Furthermore, the smFRET data suggest that allosteric inhibition by zinc occurs by an uncoupling of the agonist-induced changes at the extracellular domains from the gating motions leading to an apo-like state, while dizocilpine, a pore blocker, stabilizes multiple closely packed transmembrane states.
Signal Parameter Estimation for Passive Bistatic Radar With Waveform Correlation Exploitation

This paper addresses the problem of target delay and Doppler frequency estimation for passive bistatic radar employing noncooperative illuminators of opportunity (IOs), where the receivers are contaminated by nonnegligible noise, clutter, and direct-path interference. A parametric approach is proposed by modeling the unknown signal transmitted from the IO as an autoregressive process whose temporal correlation is jointly estimated and exploited for passive estimation. An iterative estimator based on the expectation-maximization (EM) principle is utilized to solve this highly nonlinear problem. We also discuss the initialization of the EM-based estimator and a fast implementation based on the fast Fourier transform and interpolation techniques. In addition, we derive the Cramer–Rao lower bound for the estimation problem to benchmark the performance of the proposed estimator. Simulation results show that the proposed estimator behaves similarly to a clairvoyant EM estimator, which assumes knowledge of the IO waveform covariance matrix, and significantly outperforms other methods that ignore the waveform correlation.
Sex pheromones and plasmid transfer in Streptococcus faecalis: a pheromone, cAM373, which is also excreted by Staphylococcus aureus.

Recipient strains of Streptococcus faecalis excrete small, peptide sex pheromones which induce donors harboring certain conjugative plasmids to synthesize a proteinaceous adhesin that facilitates the formation of mating aggregates. (For a recent review of this phenomenon, see Ref. 2.) Referred to as “aggregation substance,” the adhesin has been revealed as a unique antigen that uniformly coats the donor cell surface (14,25). Self aggregation of donors also occurs; for this reason the pheromones are also referred to as clumping inducing agents (CIAs). It has been proposed that “aggregation substance” binds specifically to a “binding substance” present on the surface of both donor and recipient cells (6,7).
Monetary Policy in an Era of Structural Change

Understanding the similarities and differences in the monetary transmission mechanism across the EMU member countries facilitates the design of the common monetary policy by the ECB. The more the channels of transmission differ in strength and in dynamic profile the more likely cyclical asymmetries across the EMU member countries are to occur in response to the common monetary policy. In these circumstances it is almost inevitable that some countries will disagree with the policy stance imposed by the independent ECB.
Planning for stream processing systems

With the advent of compositional programming models in computer Science, applying planning technologies to automatically build workflows for solving large and complex problems in such a paradigm becomes not only technically appealing but also feasible approach. The application areas that will benefit from automatic composition include, among others, Web services, Grid computing and stream processing systems. Although the classical planning formalism is expressive enough to describe planning problems that arise in a large variety of different applications, it can pose significant limitations on planner performance in compositional applications, in particular, in stream processing systems. In this paper we exlend the classical planning formalism by introducing new language constructs that support the structure of stream processing domains. Exposing this structure to the planner can result in dramatic performance improvements: our experiments show exponential planning time reduction in comparison to most recent metric planners.
More About Graphs

We discuss two further aspects of graph theory, trees and graph coloring. Trees are graphs reminiscent of the tree diagrams introduced in Chap. 3. In particular, spanning trees are defined and algorithms for finding minimum-cost spanning trees are outlined. Coloring and chromatic number are introduced as are some applications of graph coloring. The famous four-color theorem is discussed briefly.
Difference as practice: Diffracting geography and the area studies turn:

After decades of geography and area studies drifting apart, I argue there has been an area studies turn in geography. The long divergence between the two, however, has resulted in a certain misunde...
Challenges and Opportunities for Improving the Safety Assessment of Botanical Dietary Supplements: A United States Pharmacopeia Perspective

The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) is an independent, nonprofit, science-based organization whose mission is to improve global health through public quality standards for dietary supplements, medicines, and food ingredients.1 Before developing standards for dietary supplement ingredients, the USP performs an "Admission Evaluation" (Figure 1), which includes an assessment to ascertain that an ingredient does not present a serious health risk.2 This article discusses the challenges encountered during the evaluation of botanicals and proposes possible solutions.
Food Chemistry: A Model for Upper Level Chemistry Electives

Upper level chemistry electives provide an opportunity to integrate modern interdisciplinary topics into the chemistry curriculum. One such elective is Food Chemistry, a course first taught as part of a Common Read program. The course has changed over time to incorporate activities designed to illustrate the connection between food and chemistry as well as reinforce soft skills like team work and oral communication. In addition to student learning outcomes, benefits for faculty and the department have been realized and are described.