cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Lithium isotope compositions of U.S. coals and source rocks: Potential tracer of hydrocarbons

Abstract Kerogen in organic-rich rocks contains trace amounts of lithium (Li) that has been overlooked as a contributor to the global Li geochemical cycle. This study examined a variety of coals where kerogen is concentrated (>50% organic carbon) and hydrocarbon source rocks of different ages, depositional environments and thermal maturity to determine their range of Li isotopic compositions (δ7Li‰) and factors that influence their compositions. Using Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS), we analyzed 22 coals and 4 hydrocarbon source rocks (Types I, II, III), to determine the δ7Li of kerogen in situ, without chemical isolation of phases that can alter their original isotopic compositions. The δ7Li values of the coals surveyed are distinctly isotopically light ( NanoSIMS isotopic maps of the Lower Bakken Shale, and SIMS measurements of the Green River Shale show isotopically light Li associated with C-dominated areas, and heavier δ7Li with Si-dominated areas of the hydrocarbon source rocks. We conclude that kerogen is a source of isotopically light Li that contributes to fluids during thermal maturation and hydrocarbon generation. Kerogen may be a significant contributor of Li to pore fluids and its distinctly light Li isotopic composition relative to other terrestrial waters and minerals could provide a tracer of organic inputs to the global geochemical cycle.
Estimated number of eligible Part B beneficiaries for the medicare diabetes prevention program at the county level and by urban-rural classification.

Introduction Diabetes imposes large health and financial burdens on Medicare beneficiaries. Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed through lifestyle modification programs. In 2018, Medicare began to offer the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program (MDPP), a lifestyle intervention, to eligible beneficiaries nationwide. The number of MDPP-eligible beneficiaries is not known, but this information is essential in efforts to expand the program and increase enrollment. This study aimed to estimate the number and spatial variation of MDPP-eligible Part B beneficiaries at the county level and by urban-rural classification. Methods Data from 2011-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys and a survey-weighted logistic regression model were used to estimate proportions of prediabetes in the United States by sex, age, and race/ethnicity based on the MDPP eligibility criteria. The results from the predictive model were applied to 2015 Medicare Part B beneficiaries to estimate the number of MDPP-eligible beneficiaries. The National Center for Health Statistics' Urban-Rural Classification Scheme for Counties from 2013 were used to define urban and rural categories. Results An estimated 5.2 million (95% CI = 3.5-7.0 million) Part B beneficiaries were eligible for the MDPP. By state, estimates ranged from 13,000 (95% CI = 8,500-18,000) in Alaska to 469,000 (95% CI = 296,000-641,000) in California. There were 2,149 counties with ≤1,000 eligible beneficiaries and 11 with >25,000. Consistent with demographic patterns, urban counties had more eligible beneficiaries than rural counties. Conclusions These estimates could be used to plan locations for new MDPPs and reach eligible Part B beneficiaries for enrollment.
2 Violence, Propriety, Authenticity: A Symbolic Economy of the Dark Web

On a Tor-based market forum for customers of a counterfeit American currency vendor, one satisfied customer proclaimed, “I like the sparkly 20 [counterfeit dollar bill] because I do something to them that makes it look legit:) I also make the green eagle look legit. All by hand;).”
58,000 Minutes: An Essay on Law Majors and EmergingProposals for the Third Year of Law Study

Any number of recent debates, including those in this volume, animate discussions of legal education and its perdition, failures, and confidence-game character. As one of the many prescriptions offered for the wounded enterprise, a number of serious and semi-serious discussions have arisen considering the three-year period required by most law schools. In fact, the minimum of eightythree semester hour equivalents has been extended to longer periods than three calendar years due to longstanding part-time and evening programs that can stretch within current accreditation standards to as many as eighty-four months in unusual circumstances. Inasmuch as I was debt-averse in my own doctoral and law studies when I enrolled in Georgetown’s evening program in 1977, I offer my experience there of class five nights each week and Saturday mornings,
The Fat Fraction Percentage of White Adipose Tissue at various Ages in Humans: An Updated Review.

Abstract We recently reported the fat fraction percentage of white adipose tissue in adolescents and adults measured by the water-fat separation method, but there was limited discussion about the change in adipose tissue fat fraction with growth. The purpose of this updated review was to examine the fat content of white (subcutaneous) adipose tissue during the process from birth to adulthood by adding the latest available data. A relevant database was searched through November 2020. Nineteen studies were included. We found that calculated mean values of fat fraction percentage in white adipose tissue were 72.2% in neonates, 87.2% in children, and 87.4% in adults. In contrast, fat fraction percentage of truncal white adipose tissue in the fetuses was from 10% to 24% (29 and 34 wk of gestational age, respectively). Our results suggest that the fat fraction percentage of white adipose tissue may not undergo large changes during the process from birth to adulthood (neonates = 72.2%, children = 87.2%, adults = 87.4%), which was different from the results of a study utilizing a biopsy. The mean value and range of fat fraction percentages for children over 7 years old were especially similar to adults. Further, the fat fraction percentage for neonates was relatively close to the results of children and adults. At the moment, the characteristics of the changes in fat fraction percentage of adipose tissue from birth to preschool children are unclear and future research is needed to clarify this issue.
Forest Floor Manipulation Effects on the Relationship between Aggregate Stability and Ectomycorrhizal Fungi.

Abstract Forest floor and mineral soil manipulations influence the soil biogeochemical properties important for loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) tree growth. The impacts of forest floor manipulations on soil aggregate stability and the presence of ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF), was assessed to elucidate the relationship between EMF abundance and aggregate stability. The study site consists of a 14-year-old loblolly pine plantation managed by Weyerhaeuser Company in the Lower Coastal Plain, approximately 8 miles east of New Bern, North Carolina, USA. The soil samples were collected from the top 7.62 cm of each soil treatment which includes three levels of forest floor retention: removed, control, and doubled and two levels of forest floor mixing with the mineral soil: mixed and unmixed. Ectomycorrhizal fungi abundance was evaluated by ester-linked fatty acid methyl ester analysis and microbial community functionality was assessed by acid-phosphatase activity measurement. Aggregate stability was assessed using the aggregate mean weight diameter approach. Results indicate that the forest floor manipulations had no significant impact on aggregate stability and EMF abundance. However, a positive relationship between EMF abundance and aggregate stability was identified. Removing the forest floor resulted in a soil bulk density increase of 0.18 g cm−3 compared to doubling the forest floor. Our results demonstrate that some mineral soil properties recover relatively quickly from forest floor manipulations. The study informs forest managers interested in how soil responds to forest floor manipulation and the interaction between EMF and aggregate stability.
Revictimization Patterns Among Unhoused Youth.

Young people experiencing houselessness are at high risk for revictimization. As has been identified in other populations, symptoms of psychological distress may be an indirect pathway by which ini...
The Musculoskeletal Knowledge Portal: improving access to multi-omics data.

Built by and for the research community, the Musculoskeletal Knowledge Portal (MSK-KP) offers researchers a single integrated platform on which to display, access, distill and explore results from large genomic and epigenomic studies to formulate hypotheses and accelerate the development of patient-centered therapeutics for complex, multi-factorial conditions such as osteoarthritis.
Timing of events during flower organogenesis: Arabidopsis as a model system

Publisher Summary The Arabidopsis flower is typical of the Brassicaceae, containing four whorls of organs: four sepals, four petals, six stamens (four long, two short), and a single bicarpelate gynecium. This chapter describes flower development in Arabidopsis thulium wild type, as well as in members of the three classes of organ identity mutants and one meristic (organ number) mutant. Histological and morphological techniques were employed in conjunction with the plastochron index to better describe the events in terms of time. The first six stages of flower development, when organs are initiating, coincide with those of Smyth, whose stages were designed using the morphological features. The chapter discusses heterochrony and homeosis in flower development, organ identity genes as well as developmental indices for measuring time in plants. It also presents models for flower development.
TU-F-CAMPUS-J-05: Effect of Uncorrelated Noise Texture On Computed Tomography Quantitative Image Features

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between quantitative image features (i.e. radiomics) and statistical fluctuations (i.e. electronic noise) in clinical Computed Tomography (CT) using the standardized American College of Radiology (ACR) CT accreditation phantom and patient images. Methods: Three levels of uncorrelated Gaussian noise were added to CT images of phantom and patients (20) acquired in static mode and respiratory tracking mode. We calculated the noise-power spectrum (NPS) of the original CT images of the phantom, and of the phantom images with added Gaussian noise with means of 50, 80, and 120 HU. Concurrently, on patient images (original and noise-added images), image features were calculated: 14 shape, 19 intensity (1st order statistics from intensity volume histograms), 18 GLCM features (2nd order statistics from grey level co-occurrence matrices) and 11 RLM features (2nd order statistics from run-length matrices). These features provide the underlying structural information of the images. GLCM (size 128x128) was calculated with a step size of 1 voxel in 13 directions and averaged. RLM feature calculation was performed in 13 directions with grey levels binning into 128 levels. Results: Adding the electronic noise to the images modified the quality of the NPS, shifting the noise from mostly correlated to mostly uncorrelated voxels. The dramatic increase in noise texture did not affect image structure/contours significantly for patient images. However, it did affect the image features and textures significantly as demonstrated by GLCM differences. Conclusion: Image features are sensitive to acquisition factors (simulated by adding uncorrelated Gaussian noise). We speculate that image features will be more difficult to detect in the presence of electronic noise (an uncorrelated noise contributor) or, for that matter, any other highly correlated image noise. This work focuses on the effect of electronic, uncorrelated, noise and future work shall examine the influence of changes in quantum noise on the features. J. Oliver was supported by NSF FGLSAMP BD award HRD #1139850 and the McKnight Doctoral Fellowship.
6. Lattice Dynamics

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the basic concepts of lattice dynamics, a brief outline of the theories presently used in analyzing the experimental data, and the discussion of some selected experimental data is given. Many solid-state properties can be understood in terms of simple models based on the assumption that the atomic nuclei are fixed at their equilibrium positions. The subject of lattice dynamics, as the word lattice implies, is the study of the vibrational properties of crystalline solids. Many of the concepts initially introduced for crystalline solids have been extended, however, to the case of amorphous and glassy materials. These solids are metastable, and they should eventually crystallize. The relaxation times involved, however, are so large that in practice they may be considered as stable. The experimental measurements of the dispersion curves of solids have been analyzed, until recently, in terms of simple phenomenological models. These models are based on the Born-von Karman formalism, which is briefly outlined. Information about the lattice-dynamical properties of a solid can be obtained in a variety of experimental measurements. The most powerful and direct methods, however, are those involving the scattering of radiation by the solid. Among these latter methods, neutron and x-ray diffuse scattering provide the most detailed information regarding the phonon dispersion curves of a solid.
Re-expression of elafin in 21MT2 breast carcinomas by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate is mediated by the Ap1 site in the elafin promoter

elafin is a unique elastase inhibitor. It is differentially expressed at the transcriptional level in human normal mammary epithelial cells and carcinomas. The elafin gene is induced by PMA in 21MT2 breast tumor cells. By deletion analysis and mutagenesis, we have identified the Ap1 site in the promoter as the cis element mediating transcriptional activation of elafin in 70N normal breast cells and its induction by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) in 21MT2 breast tumors. PMA treatment induces AP1 factor expression, which binds to the Ap1 site of the elafin promoter. Mutation of this Ap1 abolishes the capability of induction by PMA. Furthermore, our data provide a basis for therapeutic manipulation of proteinase inhibitors such as elafin.
Transient x-rays, gamma-rays and neutrons in space

We survey the various astrophysical sources of transient x‐ray, gamma‐ray and neutron emission which can produce significant increases in the high energy (≳1 keV) radiation and particle background flux in space. These sources include solar flares, gamma‐ray bursts, supernovae and other astrophysical transients. We review the observations of these sources and then discuss the expected rate of occurrence of their transient emission as a function of intensity and energy.
Not so Fas: Re-evaluating the mechanisms of immune privilege and tumor escape.

Based on early studies, it was hypothesized that expression of Fas ligand (FasL) by tumor cells enabled them to counterattack the immune system, and that transplant rejection could be prevented by expressing FasL on transplanted organs. More recent studies have indicated that the notion of FasL as a mediator of immune privilege needed to be reconsidered, and taught a valuable lesson about making broad conclusions based on small amounts of data.
A protein taxonomy based on secondary structure

Does a protein's secondary structure determine its three-dimensional fold? This question is tested directly by analyzing proteins of known structure and constructing a taxonomy based solely on secondary structure. The taxonomy is generated automatically, and it takes the form of a tree in which proteins with similar secondary structure occupy neighboring leaves. Our tree is largely in agreement with results from the structural classification of proteins (SCOP), a multidimensional classification based on homologous sequences, full three-dimensional structure, information about chemistry and evolution, and human judgment. Our findings suggest a simple mechanism of protein evolution.
The International Game Developer Association (IGDA) Education Special Interest Group (EdSIG)

Developed in 2006 the IGDA EdSIG mission is to create community resources that will strengthen the academic membership of the IGDA while enhancing the education of future and current game developers. Since the inception of the SIG there have been two major projects: 1) 2008 IGDA Curriculum Framework which has become the standard for game education; 2) The Global Game JamTM where experimentation, innovation and creativity are the main components of it's success. The Global Game JamTM creates collaborations and partnerships globally to promote game studies. Author. Susan Gold recently joined the faculty of Full Sail University's Graduate Program in Game Design. Prof. Gold's personal focus is on collaboration, which resulted in the now annual Global Game JamTM (http:// globalgamejam.org) which she found and serves as the Executive Director. The Global Game JamTM (GGJ) was established in 2009 with great success and media attention, 1650 participants creating 370 video games. GGJ brings together talented individuals and teams from around the globe and rallies them around a central theme, for which they have 48 hours to create their game. Susan serves as chairperson of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) Education Special Interest Group (EdSIG) and her work with the IGDA EdSIG has created numerous resources for instructors in game education. Susan spearheaded the industry and academic collaborative project, the 2008 IGDA Curriculum Framework. Currently, her EdSIG work is focused on building an outreach campaign to meet the needs of educators worldwide, while continuing to develop tools & resources for educator professional development. Ms. Gold is a partner in the Game Program Review, a consulting firm specializing in game education game curricula. Susan is an artist, teacher, and activist with a specialization in digital art, new media and videogames. Her artwork and writing has been featured in numerous galleries, museums and publications.
A Review of “Teaching Young Language Learners”

This volume deals with a wide range of issues related to teaching children between 5 and 14 years old. It focuses in particular on English as a foreign language. The author notes: ‘this book is for...
A System for Building Detection from Aerial Images

We describe a method for detecting rectilinear buildings and constructing their 3-D shape descriptions from a single aerial image of a general viewpoint. 2-D roof hypotheses are generated from linear features by perceptual grouping. Good hypotheses are selected and then verified by computing wall and shadow evidence for them, which also provide the height information for the buildings. A 3-D reasoning process resolves conflicts among hypotheses in 3-D space. Results from several images can be integrated at a high level. An interactive system allows efficient editing of results by making use of the analysis performed by the automatic system; it also allows for some initial preparation of the data to improve results of the automatic system. Some results and their evaluation are included.
Nationhood and Law in the Hebrew Bible

This paper continues the analysis of political theory in the Hebrew Bible. The Book of Exodus identifies nationhood as the best form of political organization. Nationhood, in turn, requires self-government, centralized institutions, and control over territory. The narrative of Mount Sinai addresses the topic of centralized institutions. The author here distinguishes and insightfully analyzes four types of legal institution: the fundamental commitment, the rule of recognition, fundamental law, ordinary law, and rules pertaining to the organization of government.
NINA'S DECISION: HOW TO MAKE BETTER DECISIONS AND RESOLVE CONFLICTS- AN ESSAY FOR THE LAYMAN

Decision making is a central activity of all people, usually done so automatically that we do not even realize that we are doing it every moment of every day of every year for all our lives. This silent and inarticulate approach worked well when humanity was fragmented and individuals and groups of people didnâ€™t have to think of others very much. Today however, the world has become expanded and interdependent and many of its resources are becoming scarce and valuable, including water, land, air, vegetation and minerals. Now we have to consciously work together to choose important courses of action, and we have to justify these actions not only to ourselves but also to others, so we can live in harmony and with minimum conflict.http://dx.doi.org/10.13033/ijahp.v4i1.139
The Cyclic Dinucleotide c-di-AMP Is an Allosteric Regulator of Metabolic Enzyme Function

Cyclic di-adenosine monophosphate (c-di-AMP) is a broadly conserved second messenger required for bacterial growth and infection. However, the molecular mechanisms of c-di-AMP signaling are still poorly understood. Using a chemical proteomics screen for c-di-AMP-interacting proteins in the pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, we identified several broadly conserved protein receptors, including the central metabolic enzyme pyruvate carboxylase (LmPC). Biochemical and crystallographic studies of the LmPC-c-di-AMP interaction revealed a previously unrecognized allosteric regulatory site 25 A from the active site. Mutations in this site disrupted c-di-AMP binding and affected catalytic activity of LmPC as well as PC from pathogenic Enterococcus faecalis. C-di-AMP depletion resulted in altered metabolic activity in L. monocytogenes. Correction of this metabolic imbalance rescued bacterial growth, reduced bacterial lysis, and resulted in enhanced bacterial burdens during infection. These findings greatly expand the c-di-AMP signaling repertoire and reveal a central metabolic regulatory role for a cyclic dinucleotide.
Load balancing to adjust for proximity in some network topologies

Each job scheduler in large decentralized load balancing systems generally must consider whether it is advantageous to offload jobs to remote computation servers when the local load is too high. Although processing power may appear to be available at a very distant server, two problems arise due to the transmission delay between the scheduler and server. Predictably, the response time of the job is adversely affected as the job spends valuable time in transit, but a more subtle problem involves the value, or reliability, of the state information regarding job queues. The longer the delay between scheduler and server, the less a scheduler should value the state information of the server (given that the state changes over time). We examine the performance of schedulers in topologies with different average proximity and show a probabilistic algorithm that allows schedulers to dynamically form efficient clusters in the network.
Energy efficiency of lossless data compression on a mobile device: An experimental evaluation

Lossless compression and decompression are routinely used in mobile computing devices to reduce the costs of communicating and storing data. This paper presents the results of an experimental evaluation of common compression utilities on Pandaboard, a development platform similar to current commercial mobile devices. We study the compression ratio, compression and decompression throughput, and energy efficiency of different usage scenarios typical for mobile computing. We observe a wide variety of energy costs associated with data compression and provide practical guidelines for selecting the most energy-efficient configurations.
Note-Removing a Self-Imposed Restriction in Modelling Hierarchical Decision Processes

Models of decision-making in multi-level, hierarchical systems in the literature have been restricted to structures where the system is strictly pyramidal in nature. We will show that this restriction has been self-imposed and that existing models can be modified to represent a wide range of nonpyramidal structures.
Optimum specimen positioning in the electron microscope using a double-tilt stage.

Optimal imaging of complex structures requires proper alignment relative to the optic axis of the electron microscope. This is especially important for high-voltage and intermediatevoltage microscopes, which form an in-focus image throughout the entire thickness of the object. As a result, structures at different specimen heights form overlapping and confused images that severely curtail the usefulness of these instruments. The work described here provides a generalized, flexible method for optimizing specimen orientation and eliminating or limiting image overlap by means of a commonly used double-tilt stage. Analysis of the motion about the two axes provides accurate tilting for any azimuthal direction whether or not it corresponds to a mechanical axis of the stage. An object can be positioned to minimize image overlap, to record stereopairs for any parallax axis, and to record three-dimensional data sets by the conical collection geometry. Images of muscle paracrystals are shown after tilting about an axis perpendicular to a symmetry direction. The tilted image displays higher-order symmetry, which is altered by changes of one degree. Precision double-tilting for optimizing stereopairs is shown for a desmosome recorded using different parallax axes and pretilts. A tomographic conical data-collection scheme is demonstrated by imaging a microtubule axoneme for a specific cone half-angle and arbitrary azimuthal angles.
Foundations of the quantum statistics of systems in equilibrium: A measuretheoretic approach

The fundamental equations of equilibrium quantum statistical mechanics are derived in the context of a measure-theoretic approach to the quantum mechanical ergodic problem. The method employed is an extension, to quantum mechanical systems, of the techniques developed by R. M. Lewis for establishing the foundations of classical statistical mechanics. The existence of a complete set of commuting observables is assumed, but no reference is made a priori to probability or statistical ensembles. Expressions for infinite-time averages in the microcanonical, canonical, and grand canonical ensembles are developed which reduce to conventional quantum statistical mechanics for systems in equilibrium when the total energy is the only conserved quantity. No attempt is made to extend the formalism at this time to deal with the difficult problem of the approach to equilibrium.
Pharmacology and toxicology of novel drug delivery systems. Regulatory issues.

The lure of optimising the effect of the drug on the body (pharmacodynamics) and the body on the drug (pharmacokinetics) has produced an alternative group of products designed to achieve specialised delivery and/or disposition of drugs. A toxic drug may be used in more effective concentrations by targeting the drug to its site of action and decreasing additional systemic toxicity.
A balanced approach to first-year computer science

We describe a first-year course sequence for computer science majors that covers most of the traditional first-year concepts, providing a balance between formal analysis and software synthesis, with examples and assignments in three high-level programming languages: Pascal, Scheme (a lexically scoped dialect of Lisp), and C. We argue that this balanced, tri-lingual approach promotes more effective pedagogy and provides students with a broader foundation than does an all-formal, all-programming, or single-language focus.
Comfort food is comforting to those most stressed: Evidence of the chronic stress response network in high stress women

Chronically stressed rodents who are allowed to eat calorie-dense "comfort" food develop greater mesenteric fat, which in turn dampens hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis activity. We tested whether similar relations exist in humans, at least cross-sectionally. Fifty-nine healthy premenopausal women were exposed to a standard laboratory stressor to examine HPA response to acute stress and underwent diurnal saliva sampling for basal cortisol and response to dexamethasone administration. Based on perceived stress scores, women were divided into extreme quartiles of low versus high stress categories. We found as hypothesized that the high stress group had significantly greater BMI and sagittal diameter, and reported greater emotional eating. In response to acute lab stressor, the high stress group showed a blunted cortisol response, lower diurnal cortisol levels, and greater suppression in response to dexamethasone. These cross-sectional findings support the animal model, which suggests that long-term adaptation to chronic stress in the face of dense calories result in greater visceral fat accumulation (via ingestion of calorie-dense food), which in turn modulates HPA axis response, resulting in lower cortisol levels.
A Silver Bullet for T Cell Malignancies

Just like the werewolves of old legends, T cell malignancies present a mortal danger to humans, with poor survival rates even with the best treatments available. Current therapies also have substantial short-term and potential long-term side effects. Now, Guo et al. identify and characterize a selective inhibitor of Itk kinase, CTA056, which has potential for treating T cell malignancies. Itk is a tyrosine kinase that is important for T cell signaling and is aberrantly activated in multiple types of T cell malignancies. The researchers screened a small-molecule library, searching for inhibitors of Itk. They identified CTA056, which binds to the adenosine 5´-triphosphate (ATP)–binding pocket of Itk and specifically inhibits the ability of Itk to phosphorylate itself, thus preventing its activation. In vitro, CTA056 inhibited the growth of human cancer cell lines derived from T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemias (T-ALL) and cutaneous T cell lymphomas that expressed high levels of Itk. CTA056 was highly specific for T cell–derived cancer cells and did not affect the growth of non–T cell–derived cancer cells that did not express Itk, or noncancer cells. The authors found that CTA056 caused growth inhibition by inducing the T cell–derived cancer cells to undergo apoptosis. CTA056 also decreased activation and cytokine release from the malignant T cells, down-regulated oncogenic micro RNAs (miRNAs), and up-regulated miRNAs that switch on the expression of tumor suppressor genes. Last, the researchers demonstrated that CTA056 blocked tumor growth in mice transplanted with human T-ALL without evidence of major side effects. These findings represent a promising first step toward the development of a new treatment modality for T cell malignancies. More studies are needed to further validate the therapeutic potential of CTA056 in vivo, but a silver bullet may yet be in sight for this particular werewolf. W. Guo et al ., Molecular characteristics of CTA056, a novel Itk inhibitor which selectively targets malignant T cells and modulates oncomirs. Mol. Pharmacol. , 16 August 2012 (10.1124/mol.112.079889). [[PubMed]][1] [1]: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22899868
Biological activity of hybrid combinations of ovine and sea turtle LH subunits

Abstract Recombinations among the α- and β-subunits of luteinizing hormone (LH) from a mammal (sheep) and a turtle (Chelonia mydas) were tested in a variety of bioassays and binding assays to study the role of the two subunits in “species specificity” of hormone function. The subunits alone were relatively inactive, and a high degree of activity was regenerated when the two homologous pairs of α- and β-subunits were combined. Both intact molecules and homologous recombinations were active in the Xenopus ovulation assay, and the hybrids formed with turtle and ovine subunits were essentially as potent as the two intact native molecules in this assay. Turtle LH was inactive in a rat Leydig cell testosterone bioassay and in several LH binding tests with rat gonadal tissues. Only the subunit recombinations containing ovine LHβ showed appreciable activity in these tests; the hybrid containing turtle LHα and ovine LHβ was considerably more active than the individual constituents, but it was still much less active than the homologous ovine combination in the rat Leydig cell assay. Thus, while the turtle LHα is capable of combining with ovine LHβ, it may not be able to substitute fully for ovine LHα. In contrast, ovine LH was essentially inactive in bioassays and binding assays with turtle gonadal tissues, and only subunit recombinations containing turtle LHβ were active in these tests: the hybrid between ovine LHα and turtle LHβ showed essentially full activity. These results indicate that the β-subunit is primarily responsible for determining species specificity in responses to LH.
Deciphering the Sleeve: Technique, Indications, Efficacy, and Safety of Sleeve Gastrectomy

Some institutions perform sleeve gastrectomy (SG) as the initial operation for high-risk, high body mass index patients planning a definitive weight loss operation in 12-18 months. Other institutions consider SG a viable alternative to other bariatric operations. SG is frequently debated among the bariatric surgeons. Many questions remain about the current state of SG. Should it be performed as a definitive weight loss procedure or as a bridge for another bariatric procedure? Is there a specific BMI at which point SG should be encouraged? Is the weight loss comparable to other bariatric procedures? Is there a higher risk of gastric leak? What is the appropriate sleeve size? What are the hormonal benefits? Does SG predispose to gastroesophageal reflux disease? What is the mechanism of weight loss? Are long-term results available? And what are the complications? We conducted an extensive literature review aiming to resolve these commonly asked questions.
Clarifying the Function of Mortality Salience-Induced Worldview Defense: Renewed Suppression or Reduced Accessibility of Death-Related Thoughts?

Previous terror management research has shown that following mortality salience, there is an effortful suppression of death-related thoughts, reducing death-thought accessibility. This is followed, after a delay, by an increase in death thought accessibility, which instigates defense of the cultural worldview; that defense, in turn, reduces accessibility of death-related thoughts. Prior research has not shown, however, whether this postworldview defense reduction in death thought accessibility is due to an actual dissipation or to renewed efforts at suppressing such cognitions. The present study assessed these two possibilities by manipulating whether participants contemplated their mortality, had the opportunity for worldview defense, and were under high or low cognitive load. Results supported the dissipation explanation by showing that high cognitive load had no effect on levels of death thought accessibility after participants defended their worldview in response to mortality salience.
Water ingestion into jet engine axial compressors

An axial flow compressor has been tested with water droplet ingestion under a variety of conditions. The results illustrate the manner in which the compressor pressure ratio, efficiency and surging characteristics are affected. A model for estimating the performance of a compressor during water ingestion has been developed and the predictions obtained compare favorably with the test results. It is then shown that with respect to five droplet-associated nonlinearly-interacting processes (namely, droplet-blade interactions, blade performance changes, centrifugal action, heat and mass transfer processes and droplet break-up), the initial water content and centrifugal action play the most dominant roles.
The Iowa follow-up of chemically sensitive persons.

Clinical symptoms and self-reported health status in persons reporting multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS) are presented from a 9-year follow-up study. Eighteen (69%) subjects from a sample of 26 persons originally interviewed in 1988 were followed up in 1997 and given structured interviews and self-report questionnaires. In terms of psychiatric diagnosis, 15 (83%) met DSM-IV criteria for a lifetime mood disorder, 10 (56%) for a lifetime anxiety disorder, and 10 (56%) for a lifetime somatoform disorder. Seven (39%) of subjects met criteria for a personality disorder using the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-IV. Self-report data from the Illness Behavior Questionnaire and Symptom Checklist-90-Revised show little change from 1988. The 10 most frequent complaints attributed to MCS were headache, memory loss, forgetfulness, sore throat, joint aches, trouble thinking, shortness of breath, back pain, muscle aches, and nausea. Global assessment showed that 2 (11%) had "remitted", 8 (45%) were "much" or "very much" improved, 6 (33%) were "improved", and 2 (11%) were "unchanged/worse". Mean scores on the SF-36 health survey showed that, compared to U.S. population means, subjects reported worse physical functioning, more bodily pain, worse general health, worse social functioning, and more emotional-role impairment; self-reported mental health was better than the U.S. population mean. All subjects maintained a belief that they had MCS; 16 (89%) acknowledged that the diagnosis was controversial. It is concluded that the subjects remain strongly committed to their diagnosis of MCS. Most have improved since their original interview, but many remain symptomatic and continue to report ongoing lifestyle changes.
Supersymmetric non-abelian effective action in (2 + 1) dimensions

Abstract It is found for a supersymmetric non-abelian gauge theory in (2 + 1) dimensions that the even parity part of the effective action can be calculated for a restricted class of abelian-like background gauge superfields. But, unlike a true abelian theory, these gauge fields live in a nontrivial topological sector, hence the parity violating topological part of the effective action cannot be cancelled by local counterterms. In addition another gauge inequivalent class of fields exist which give rise to the same field strength but yield different effective actions.
Mitogen-associated protein kinase- and protein kinase A-dependent regulation of rhodopsin promoter expression in zebrafish rod photoreceptor cells

Mitogen-associated protein kinase (MAPK)- and protein kinase A (PKA)-dependent signal transductions play important roles in the regulation of gene expression. Both MAPK and PKA pathways can be activated by light exposure. In this study, we investigated the effect of light on MAPK and PKA signal transduction and their roles in the regulation of rhodopsin promoter expression by using transgenic zebrafish [Tg(rhod::GFP)]. The Tg(rhod::GFP) fish express short half-life GFP that is under the transcriptional control of the zebrafish rhodopsin promoter and can therefore be used for in vivo studies of rhodopsin gene transcription in live cells. Blue light plays a role in the regulation of rhodopsin promoter expression via an MAPK-mediated signal transduction cascade. Blue light excites cryptochromes (CRY), which activate the downstream PKC-dependent MAPK signal pathway. White light, on the other hand, regulates rhodopsin promoter expression via a G-protein-coupled cAMP-dependent PKA pathway. White light promotes dopamine release in the retina, which activates dopamine receptors and the downstream PKA pathway. Blocking MAPK signaling diminishes the blue light-induced increases in rhodopsin promoter expression, but this treatment has no effect on white light-mediated rhodopsin promoter expression. Conversely, blocking the PKA pathway diminishes the white light-induced rhodopsin promoter expression but does not affect rhodopsin promoter expression regulated by blue light. Together, the data suggest that MAPK and PKA regulate rhodopsin transcription through parallel signal transduction pathways.
Urine and Kidney Epidermal Growth Factor: Ontogeny and Sex Difference in the Mouse

We have explored the physiology of urinary epidermal growth factor (EGF) in the mouse by studying its ontogeny, and the effects of testosterone therapy on immunoreactive EGF (IR-EGF) concentrations in urine, kidney, serum and submandibular gland (SMG). Urine IR-EGF (U-EGF) increased about 100-fold relative to urea concentration and about 1000-fold relative to urine volume from the 1st day of life to adulthood. Most of this increase occurred between days 6 and 18, which is the known period of steep rise in plasma thyroid hormone concentration in the mouse. A small F greater than M sex difference was present in the adult. This difference was opposite in direction to the large M greater than F sex difference in adult SMG-EGF concentration. On day 26 (age of appearance of morphological sex difference in SMG) the sex difference was not yet present in urine, although in SMG it was even larger than in the adult. Kidney EGF concentration was low relative to U-EGF: 1 ml of adult urine contained approximately as much IR-EGF as 100 pairs of adult kidneys. In the adult, but not on day 26, there was a sex difference in kidney EGF concentration parallel to the sex difference in urine: female levels were about 30% higher than male levels. Ten days of testosterone treatment of adult female mice evoked an increase in IR-EGF concentration which was 1.7-fold for serum and 5-fold for SMG. In contrast, this treatment did not increase kidney or urine IR-EGF concentrations although kidney weight increased 1.3-fold.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Free-standing and reactive thin films fabricated by covalent layer-by-layer assembly and subsequent lift-off of azlactone-containing polymer multilayers.

We report an approach to the fabrication of free-standing and amine-reactive thin films that is based on the reactive layer-by-layer assembly and subsequent lift-off of azlactone-containing polymer multilayers. We demonstrate that covalently cross-linked multilayers fabricated using the azlactone-functionalized polymer poly(2-vinyl-4,4-dimethylazlactone) (PVDMA) and a primary amine-containing polymer [poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI)] can be delaminated from planar glass and silicon surfaces by immersion in mildly acidic aqueous environments to yield flexible free-standing membranes. These free-standing membranes are robust and can withstand exposure to strong acid, strong base, or incubation in high ionic strength solutions that typically lead to the disruption and erosion of polymer multilayers assembled by reversible weak interactions (e.g., “polyelectrolyte multilayers” assembled by electrostatic interactions or hydrogen bonding). We demonstrate further that these PEI/PVDMA assemblies contain residual reacti...
Stated and Unstated Reasons for Visiting a High School Nurse's Office

Purpose: To determine the presenting complaints of students visiting a high school nurse's office and seek associations between specific presenting complaints and psychosocial problems. Methods: One hundred eighty-six students visiting the school nurse in a suburban high school were surveyed with a questionnaire developed by the investigators. Categorical data were compared utilizing chi-square or Fisher's Exact Test. Associations were determined by the Kruskal-Wallis Test. Results: Headaches (25%), infections (17%), stomach aches (12%), and dizziness or tiredness (12%) were the most common presenting complaints. Students indicated that “not sleeping well” and “stress” were two factors that most frequently played a role in their visits. Most students wanted either to rest or await going home; few were interested in receiving medical care or talking to the nurse. Specific complaints of headache, dizziness or tiredness, and no specific symptom were associated (p Conclusions: Complaints of headache, dizziness or tiredness, and no specific symptoms may be used as markers for exploring possible psychosocial problems underlying a visit to the school nurse. If school nurses are to address psychosocial issues, they will need to look beyond stated reasons to unstated reasons for visits. Ways to achieve this expanded level of care are discussed.
Genetic counseling in translocations.

Advances in the treatment of male infertility-specifically intracytoplasmic sperm injection have now resulted in greater recognition of the clinical significance of genetic translocations. This article focuses on the different types of translocations (Robertsonian, reciprocal) as well as on the prevalence and incidence of translocations in infertile and other populations. The authors contrast theoretical and empiric meiotic segregation patterns in the different clinical settings of traditional prenatal genetic diagnosis and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. In particular, the significance of a higher prevalence of unbalanced blastomeres is discussed.
The end of the semiconductor industry as we know it

The goal of this paper is to discuss the technical and economic drivers of Moore’s Law, with special emphasis on their interdependence. These drivers can be classified as “push” (technology improvements push us down the Moore’s Law path) and “pull” (economic incentives create increasing chip production volumes which drive the technology learning curve). In fact, Moore’s Law can be considered as an instance of general learning curve theory, which places a special importance on the role of increasing chip volumes on the slope of Moore’s Law. After a general review of the history of Moore’s Law, its relevance today is described in terms of transistor shrinks rather than increasing functions per chip. The challenges required for the continuation of Moore’s Law are presented.
The polymerization of enzymically active α-chymotrypsin☆

Abstract There are strong attractive forces between α-chymotrypsin molecules in the pH range where they have maximum catalytic activity. These forces lead to appreciable polymerization of the α-chymotrypsin in solutions normally used in certain kinetic experiments with this enzyme. However, use of solutions with an ionic strength of 0.1 or higher will keep the α-chymotrypsin nearly monomeric, and thus will simplify the interpretation of the kinetic experiments.
Human Trafficking in the United States. Part II. Survey of U.S. Government Web Resources for Publications and Data.

This second part of a two-part series is a survey of U.S. government web resources on human trafficking in the United States, particularly of the online publications and data included on agencies’ websites. Overall, the goal is to provide an introduction, an overview, and a guide on this topic for library staff to use in their research and instruction services, as well as to benefit new researchers, students, government agencies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), social service providers, and others exploring this topic.
Nonparametric dark energy reconstruction from supernova data.

Understanding the origin of the accelerated expansion of the Universe poses one of the greatest challenges in physics today. Lacking a compelling fundamental theory to test, observational efforts are targeted at a better characterization of the underlying cause. If a new form of mass-energy, dark energy, is driving the acceleration, the redshift evolution of the equation of state parameter $w(z)$ will hold essential clues as to its origin. To best exploit data from observations it is necessary to develop a robust and accurate reconstruction approach, with controlled errors, for $w(z)$. We introduce a new, nonparametric method for solving the associated statistical inverse problem based on Gaussian process modeling and Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling. Applying this method to recent supernova measurements, we reconstruct the continuous history of $w$ out to redshift $z=1.5$.
Motor sequencing deficit as an endophenotype of speech sound disorder: A genome-wide linkage analysis in a multigenerational family

ObjectivesThe aim of this pilot study was to investigate a measure of motor sequencing deficit as a potential endophenotype of speech sound disorder (SSD) in a multigenerational family with evidence of familial SSD.MethodsIn a multigenerational family with evidence of a familial motor-based SSD, aff