cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
HIF-1–Dependent Stromal Adaptation to Ischemia Mediates In Vivo Tumor Radiation Resistance

Purpose: Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) promotes cancer cell survival and tumor progression. The specific role played by HIF-1 and tumor–stromal interactions toward determining tumor resistance to radiation treatment remains undefined. We applied a multimodality preclinical imaging platform to mechanistically characterize tumor response to radiation, with a focus on HIF-1–dependent resistance pathways. Methods: C6 glioma and HN5 human squamous carcinoma cells were stably transfected with a dual HIF-1 signaling reporter construct (dxHRE-tk/eGFP-cmvRed2XPRT). Reporter cells were serially interrogated in vitro before and after irradiation as monolayer and multicellular spheroid cultures and as subcutaneous xenografts in nu/nu mice. Results: In vitro , single-dose irradiation of C6 and HN5 reporter cells modestly impacted HIF-1 signaling in normoxic monolayers and inhibited HIF-1 signaling in maturing spheroids. In contrast, irradiation of C6 or HN5 reporter xenografts with 8 Gy in vivo elicited marked upregulation of HIF-1 signaling and downstream proangiogenic signaling at 48 hours which preceded recovery of tumor growth. In situ ultrasound imaging and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI indicated that HIF-1 signaling followed acute disruption of stromal vascular function. High-resolution positron emission tomography and dual-contrast DCE-MRI of immobilized dorsal skin window tumors confirmed postradiotherapy HIF-1 signaling to spatiotemporally coincide with impaired stromal vascular function. Targeted disruption of HIF-1 signaling established this pathway to be a determinant of tumor radioresistance. Conclusions: Our results illustrate that tumor radioresistance is mediated by a capacity to compensate for stromal vascular disruption through HIF-1–dependent proangiogenic signaling and that clinically relevant vascular imaging techniques can spatially define mechanisms associated with tumor irradiation. Mol Cancer Res; 9(3); 259–70. ©2011 AACR .
The pharmacokinetics of lignocaine in humans during a computer-controlled infusion.

Abstract Several types of chronic pain syndromes are effectively treated with sodium channel blockers such as lignocaine. Further investigation of this therapeutic modality would be facilitated by refinement of the parameters describing lignocaine distribution and elimination. This would allow precise lignocaine infusion by a computer-controlled infusion to attain and maintain stable target lignocaine concentrations. Arterial blood samples were obtained at frequent intervals during a computer-controlled infusion of lignocaine in 12 adult human volunteers. Plasma lignocaine concentrations of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5μg/ml were targeted for 15 min at each concentration. A three-compartment mammillary pharmacokinetic model best described the resulting concentration vs time profile. A population pharmacokinetic analysis was performed using three different techniques; the two-stage, pooled and mixed effects modelling. There was marked overshoot of the plasma concentration above the target prior to refinement of the pharmacokinetic parameters. The best parameters of a three-compartment mammillary model fit to the measured concentration using the pooled data approach were: V 1 = 7.44, V 2 =11.5 and V 3 = 97.71; Cl 1 = 0.585, Cl 2 = 2.23 and Cl 3 =1.64 Umin. Similarly calculated parameters using NONMEM were V 1 = 6.99, V 2 =12.2 and V 3 =1341; Cl 1 = 0.703, Cl 2 =1.24 and Cl 3 =1.49 Umin. The addition of age as a covariate of the pharmacokinetic parameters improved the model in both cases. Height, lean body mass and body surface area as covariates of the pharmacokinetic parameters did not improve the predicted value of the model. Prospective testing of the pharmacokinetic parameters will be required to define whether they function well. The refinement of pharmacokinetic parameters for the computer-controlled intravenous infusion of lignocaine will facilitate further research in pain therapy. Published lignocaine pharmacokinetic values have a relatively large central volume of distribution, and hence, when implemented as a computer-controlled infusion, result in dramatic overshoot shortly after targeting a higher plasma concentration. In light of the long-lasting pain relief provided by sodium channel blockade in neuropathic pain states, overshoot of plasma concentrations must be avoided if the concentration vs effect relationship is to be defined.
Measuring the signal-to-noise ratio in magnetic resonance imaging: a caveat

The validity of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) as an objective quality measure for biomedical images has been the subject of a long-standing debate. Nevertheless, the SNR is the most popularly used measure both for assessing the quality of images and for evaluating the effectiveness of image enhancement and signal processing techniques. In this correspondence, we illustrate that under certain conditions the SNR can be changed by a nonlinear transformation, and also that it is often hard to measure objectively. Therefore, the issue is not only how well the SNR correlates with image quality as perceived by a human observer (which has been the primary subject of earlier debate), but also that SNR is questionable from a quantitative measurement point of view.
Unsupervised hyperspectral image analysis with projection pursuit

Principal components analysis (PCA) is effective at compressing information in multivariate data sets by computing orthogonal projections that maximize the amount of data variance. Unfortunately, information content in hyperspectral images does not always coincide with such projections. The authors propose an application of projection pursuit (PP), which seeks to find a set of projections that are "interesting," in the sense that they deviate from the Gaussian distribution assumption. Once these projections are obtained, they can be used for image compression, segmentation, or enhancement for visual analysis. To find these projections, a two-step iterative process is followed where they first search for a projection that maximizes a projection index based on the information divergence of the projection's estimated probability distribution from the Gaussian distribution and then reduce the rank by projecting the data onto the subspace orthogonal to the previous projections. To calculate each projection, they use a simplified approach to maximizing the projection index, which does not require an optimization algorithm. It searches for a solution by obtaining a set of candidate projections from the data and choosing the one with the highest projection index. The effectiveness of this method is demonstrated through simulated examples as well as data from the hyperspectral digital imagery collection experiment (HYDICE) and the spatially enhanced broadband array spectrograph system (SEBASS).
Analyses of frameshifting at UUU-pyrimidine sites

Others have recently shown that the UUU phenylalanine codon is highly frameshift-prone in the 3'(rightward) direction at pyrimidine 3'contexts. Here, several approaches are used to analyze frameshifting at such sites. The four permutations of the UUU/C (phenylalanine) and CGG/U (arginine) codon pairs were examined because they vary greatly in their expected frameshifting tendencies. Furthermore, these synonymous sites allow direct tests of the idea that codon usage can control frameshifting. Frameshifting was measured for these dicodons embedded within each of two broader contexts: the Escherichia coli prfB (RF2 gene) programmed frameshift site and a 'normal' message site. The principal difference between these contexts is that the programmed frameshift contains a purine-rich sequence upstream of the slippery site that can base pair with the 3'end of 16 S rRNA (the anti-Shine-Dalgarno) to enhance frameshifting. In both contexts frameshift frequencies are highest if the slippery tRNAPhe is capable of stable base pairing in the shifted reading frame. This requirement is less stringent in the RF2 context, as if the Shine-Dalgarno interaction can help stabilize a quasi-stable rephased tRNA:message complex. It was previously shown that frameshifting in RF2 occurs more frequently if the codon 3'to the slippery site is read by a rare tRNA. Consistent with that earlier work, in the RF2 context frameshifting occurs substantially more frequently if the arginine codon is CGG, which is read by a rare tRNA. In contrast, in the 'normal' context frameshifting is only slightly greater at CGG than at CGU. It is suggested that the Shine-Dalgarno-like interaction elevates frameshifting specifically during the pause prior to translation of the second codon, which makes frameshifting exquisitely sensitive to the rate of translation of that codon. In both contexts frameshifting increases in a mutant strain that fails to modify tRNA base A37, which is 3'of the anticodon. Thus, those base modifications may limit frameshifting at UUU codons. Finally, statistical analyses show that UUU Ynn dicodons are extremely rare in E.coli genes that have highly biased codon usage.
Predictors of health-related quality of life in obese youth.

ZELLER, MEG H. AND AVANI C. MODI. Predictors of health-related quality of life in obese youth. Obesity. 2006; 14:122-130. Objective: Recent literature has documented the psychosocial consequences of pediatric obesity, including poor health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The present study examines HRQOL and its association with depressive symptoms and perceived social support in African-American and white youth pursuing weight management treatment. Research Methods and Procedures: Study participants were 166 obese youth (mean = 12.7 years, 70% females, 57% African American, mean BMI = 37.0) referred to a pediatric weight management program. Parents of participants completed a demographics form and the parent-proxy Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL). Youth completed the Children's Depression Inventory, PedsQL, and Perceived Social Support Scale for Children. Results: HRQOL scores were quite impaired relative to published norms on healthy youth (p < 0.001). Approximately 11 % of the sample met criteria for clinically significant depressive symptoms. Simultaneous regression analyses revealed that depressive symptoms, perceived social support from classmates, degree of overweight, and socioeconomic status seem to be strong predictors of HRQOL. Discussion: Obesity has a clear impact on HRQOL regardless of respondent (e.g., parent, youth) or racial group. It is likely that assessing and treating depressive symptoms and fostering social support in the context of pediatric intervention have implications for both improved HRQOL and weight management outcomes.
Geoblock: a LVQ-based framework for geographic image retrieval

Novel approaches are needed to support content-based retrieval on geographic image databases. Motivated by the success in the text-based information retrieval, where the indexing and retrieval is based on keywords, we present the framework of geoblock-based image retrieval, where the retrieval is conducted based on the concept of visual keyword: "geoblock". We introduce a learning vector quantization (LVQ) based approach to construct the dictionary of semantic-oriented geoblocks. Based on the frequency and correlation of these geoblocks in the images, comprehensive geographic image features are extracted to facilitate image retrieval. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach.
The ethics of imposing healthy professional lifestyles on professionals

As chief of surgery at Salubrus, a large for-profit group practice, you received notification from the board of trustees that you cannot hire a surgeon you wanted to hire because she chain-smokes cigarettes. No other physician at Salubrus smokes. At the last board meeting, you presented your objections to the healthy lifestyle policy. It is the establishment of a policy of forcing healthy lifestyles on employees, especially those involved in direct patient care. The candidate has outstanding credentials and has initiated a new revolutionary treatment for vascular disease. Your ethical stance should be?
Farnesol, a common sesquiterpene, inhibits PQS production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Farnesol is a sesquiterpene produced by many organisms, including the fungus Candida albicans. Here, we report that the addition of farnesol to cultures of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic human bacterial pathogen, leads to decreased production of the Pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS) and the PQS-controlled virulence factor, pyocyanin. Within 15 min of farnesol addition, decreased transcript levels of pqsA, the first gene in the PQS biosynthetic operon, were observed. Transcript levels of pqsR (mvfR), which encodes the transcription factor that positively regulates pqsA, were unaffected. An Escherichia coli strain producing PqsR and containing the pqsA promoter fused to lacZ similarly showed that farnesol inhibited PQS-stimulated transcription. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays showed that, like PQS, farnesol stimulated PqsR binding to the pqsA promoter at a previously characterized LysR binding site, suggesting that farnesol promoted a non-productive interaction between PqsR and the pqsA promoter. Growth with C. albicans leads to decreased production of PQS and pyocyanin by P. aeruginosa, suggesting that the amount of farnesol produced by the fungus is sufficient to impact P. aeruginosa PQS signalling. Related isoprenoid compounds, but not other long-chain alcohols, also inhibited PQS production at micromolar concen-trations, suggesting that related compounds may participate in interspecies interactions with P. aeruginosa.
Akt Phosphorylates and Regulates Pdcd4 Tumor Suppressor Protein

Programmed cell death 4 (Pdcd4) is a tumor suppressor protein that interacts with eukaryotic initiation factor 4A and inhibits protein synthesis. Pdcd4 also suppresses the transactivation of activator protein-1 (AP-1)-responsive promoters by c-Jun. The Akt (protein kinase B) serine/threonine kinase is a key mediator of phosphoinositide 3-kinase pathway involved in the regulation of cell proliferation, survival, and growth. Because Pdcd4 has two putative Akt phosphorylation sites at Ser(67) and Ser(457), we investigated whether Akt phosphorylates and regulates Pdcd4. Our results show that Akt specifically phosphorylates Ser(67) and Ser(457) residues of Pdcd4 in vitro and in vivo. We further show that phosphorylation of Pdcd4 by Akt causes nuclear translocation of Pdcd4. Using luciferase assay, we show that phosphorylation of Pdcd4 by Akt also causes a significant decrease of the ability of Pdcd4 to interfere with the transactivation of AP-1-responsive promoter by c-Jun.
Use of parasympathetic stimulation in the production of bloody diarrhea in dogs, with reference to the role of red cell and colon cholinesterase.

Summary 1.Postganglionic celiac, superior and inferior mesenteric sympathectomy was associated with chronic, nonbloody diarrhea in 10 dogs. 2.Daily intramuscular injections of Mecholyl in oil (0.5 to 4.0 mg. per kg. per day) in 8 dogs led to bloody diarrhea in 3. In 2 of these the dose was 2.5 to 4.0 mg. per kg.; in the third, 1.0 mg. per kg. was given. 3.In contrast, acute and massive bloody diarrhea was produced in 4 out of 5 of these animals by administration of 0.5 to 1.5 mg. per kg. of Mecholyl following reduction of red blood cell and colon cholinesterase to 26 per cent and 30 per cent or less of control values, respectively, by means of oral administration of 1.0 mg. per kg. of octamethylpyrophosphoramide (OMPA) over a period of many weeks. Of importance, OMPA per se did not lead to bleeding, except in 1 animal which received 4 mg. per kg. for five days. 4.Explanation for this effect may lie in the results of several colon motility experiments which demonstrated that inhibition of colon tissue cholinesterase (Che potentiates contractile effect of a parasympathomimetic agent, although threshold dosage remains unaltered. 5.The significance of these findings is discussed in the light of the role of autonomic influences upon the colon in human beings, with reference to idiopathic ulcerative colitis.
Coping with the Anthropology of Tourism

Coping with Tourists: European Reactions to Mass Tourism. Jeremy Boissevain. ed. Oxford, England: Berghahn Books, 1996. 264 pp. International Tourism: Identity and Change. Marie- Frangoise Lanfant, John B. Allcock. and Edward M. Bruner. eds. London: Sage Publications Ltd, 1995. 246 pp.
Investigating the use of quick response codes in the gross anatomy laboratory.

The use of quick response (QR) codes within undergraduate university courses is on the rise, yet literature concerning their use in medical education is scant. This study examined student perceptions on the usefulness of QR codes as learning aids in a medical gross anatomy course, statistically analyzed whether this learning aid impacted student performance, and evaluated whether performance could be explained by the frequency of QR code usage. Question prompts and QR codes tagged on cadaveric specimens and models were available for four weeks as learning aids to medical (n = 155) and doctor of physical therapy (n = 39) students. Each QR code provided answers to posed questions in the form of embedded text or hyperlinked web pages. Students' perceptions were gathered using a formative questionnaire and practical examination scores were used to assess potential gains in student achievement. Overall, students responded positively to the use of QR codes in the gross anatomy laboratory as 89% (57/64) agreed the codes augmented their learning of anatomy. The users' most noticeable objection to using QR codes was the reluctance to bring their smartphones into the gross anatomy laboratory. A comparison between the performance of QR code users and non-users was found to be nonsignificant (P = 0.113), and no significant gains in performance (P = 0.302) were observed after the intervention. Learners welcomed the implementation of QR code technology in the gross anatomy laboratory, yet this intervention had no apparent effect on practical examination performance. Anat Sci Educ 8: 421–428. © 2014 American Association of Anatomists.
Automated bladder scan urine volumes are not reliable in complex neonatal cases.

ABSTRACT Purpose: We investigate the accuracy of urine volumes obtained by an automated bladder scan in complex neonatal cases. Materials and Methods: Automated bladder scan determinations of urine volumes were obtained by neonatal intensive care unit nursing staff in 10 patients with myelodysplasia and cloacal exstrophy. Urine volumes were then immediately obtained by straight catheterization. Correlation between the scan and catheter volumes was then evaluated across and within cases. Results: There was low correlation between automated bladder scan volume and catheter volume across and within cases (0.037 ± 0.37) and (0.188 ± 0.12), respectively. Using a cutoff of 20 cc 25% of significant volumes were missed. The 95% confidence interval from these data indicates that a significant volume is missed 7% to 25% of the time. Conclusions: We urge clinicians to exercise caution in the use of automated bladder scanners for determination of urine volumes in complex neonatal intensive care unit cases.
Comparison of swirl tube and hypervapotron for cooling of ITER divertor

The ITER divertor will have a peak steady state heat flux of 5 MW/m/sup 2/ and a heat flux of 15 MW/m/sup 2/ for up to 10 s duration. Cooling will be provided by water at an inlet temperature of 150/spl deg/C and a pressure of 4 MPa. A heat transfer enhancement technique is required in order to achieve a sufficient margin on critical heat flux at a reasonable flow velocity. Hypervapotron (KV) and swirl tube (ST) are under consideration as enhancement methods. There are many fundamental differences between these two devices, such as: (a) The ratio of surface heat flux to coolant channel heat flux, (b) the flow area per unit heat flux area, (c) critical heat flux (CHF) and (d) the pressure drop. This paper presents new CHF correlations for ST and HV concepts and compares them to the available experimental data. The friction factor correlation for ST is well known. A new friction factor correlation for HV based on existing data is presented. A comparison of the two concepts was performed for ITER conditions based on equal heat flux area. The comparison shows that the pumping power required for HV is slightly higher (about 10%) and the incident critical heat flux (ICHF) is slightly lower (8%) for HV compared to ST at similar flow conditions. These differences are small enough and uncertainties in data large enough so that the choice between the two concepts should be based on other considerations such as: (1) cost and ease of fabrication, (2) ease of brazing and (3) volume and reliability of available experimental data: These considerations lead to the conclusion that the choice of concept will depend on the particular application. For ITER, both of these concepts could be used in different areas of the divertor.
Virulence characteristics of oral treponemes in a murine model.

This study was designed to investigate the virulence characteristics of Treponema denticola, T. socranskii, T. pectinovorum, and T. vincentii following challenge infection of mice. These microorganisms induced well-demarcated, dose-dependent, raised subcutaneous (s.c.) abscesses which were similar in time of onset, lesion progression, and duration of healing. Only viable cells were capable of inducing these characteristic s.c. abscesses. Histological examination of the skin lesion 3 and 5 days postinfection revealed abscess formation in the s.c. tissues, and abundant spiral organisms were demonstrated to be present in the abscess. Host resistance modulation by dexamethasone (neutrophil alteration) and cyclophosphamide (neutrophil depletion) pretreatment had a minimal effect on the virulence expression by any of these treponemes. The T. denticola isolates demonstrated significant trypsin-like protease (TLPase) activity, while both T. socranskii and T. vincentii were devoid of this activity. Interestingly, T. pectinovorum strains were heterogeneous with respect to TLPase as high producers, low producers, and nonproducers. However, no differences in lesion formation were noted regardless of whether the species expressed this proteolytic activity or whether treatment with N alpha-p-tosyl-L-lysine chloromethyl ketone (TLCK) and dithiothreitol was performed. These results showed that (i) a murine model may be used to evaluate virulence expression by oral treponemes; (ii) while TLPase activity varies among the oral treponemes, this protease does not appear to participate in abscess induction in the mouse model; and (iii) T. pectinovorum strains show variation in TLPase activity.
Replication of the KEEP foster and kinship parent training program for youth with externalizing behaviors

Abstract This article presents findings from Maryland KEEP, a replication of KEEP (Keeping Foster and Kinship Parents Trained and Supported), a foster and kinship parent training intervention. We examined child behavior change, changes in caregiver parenting style, and permanency and placement stability at baseline and then after the KEEP intervention. The KEEP intervention was provided to 65 foster and kinship parents providing care for children ages 4–12. Children who participated in the study were referred due to behavior problems, as reported by foster parents: they all scored in the clinical range for externalizing behavior on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Baseline and posttest analyses assessed for child behavior and parenting style changes. Permanency data, including placement moves and exits from child welfare were examined. Overall, foster and kinship parents reported significantly fewer child behavior problems at posttest; severity levels on the CBCL and scores on the Parent Daily Report decreased. However, there were not any changes in parenting styles from baseline to posttest. Placement stability significantly increased between baseline and post-KEEP intervention. The results provide support for the effectiveness of KEEP for a child welfare population with a high level of behavior problems and for the effectiveness of KEEP as a training program for foster and kinship parents.
A Comparative Study of Motor Fitness Tests

Abstract Four criteria were used in this study in determining which of 12 test batteries were superior. The two validating criteria used were: the correlation coefficients obtained from the test batteries and a criterion score that was derived from 26 test elements which had been administered to 208 subjects; and the critical ratios obained from groups recognized as differing in motor fitness. The other two criteria were administrative feasibility and suitability to the students. The best measure of motor fitness was the General Motor Ability Score while the Indiana University Motor Fitness Index ranked second, when evaluated in the light of these criteria.
IL-15–Independent Maintenance of Tissue-Resident and Boosted Effector Memory CD8 T Cells

IL-15 regulates central and effector memory CD8 T cell (TCM and TEM, respectively) homeostatic proliferation, maintenance, and longevity. Consequently, IL-15 availability hypothetically defines the carrying capacity for total memory CD8 T cells within the host. In conflict with this hypothesis, previous observations demonstrated that boosting generates preternaturally abundant TEM that increases the total quantity of memory CD8 T cells in mice. In this article, we provide a potential mechanistic explanation by reporting that boosted circulating TEM do not require IL-15 for maintenance. We also investigated tissue-resident memory CD8 T cells (TRM), which protect nonlymphoid tissues from reinfection. We observed up to a 50-fold increase in the total magnitude of TRM in mouse mucosal tissues after boosting, suggesting that the memory T cell capacity in tissues is flexible and that TRM may not be under the same homeostatic regulation as primary central memory CD8 T cells and TEM Further analysis identified distinct TRM populations that depended on IL-15 for homeostatic proliferation and survival, depended on IL-15 for homeostatic proliferation but not for survival, or did not depend on IL-15 for either process. These observations on the numerical regulation of T cell memory indicate that there may be significant heterogeneity among distinct TRM populations and also argue against the common perception that developing vaccines that confer protection by establishing abundant TEM and TRM will necessarily erode immunity to previously encountered pathogens as the result of competition for IL-15.
Energy-transfer processes in Cs 2 U O 2 Br 4 crystals

The energy-transfer processes in ${\mathrm{Cs}}_{2}$U${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Br}}_{4}$ have been investigated. The emission and excitation spectra as well as the quantum efficiency and the decay of the luminescence were measured between 1.5 and 25 K with the use of selective excitation techniques. The results show that luminescence of ${\mathrm{Cs}}_{2}$U${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Br}}_{4}$ at low temperatures originates mainly from traps. For the trap with the dominant emission the concentration is determined to be about 100 ppm. On the basis of the experimental results possible models for the energy transfer in ${\mathrm{Cs}}_{2}$U${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Br}}_{4}$ are discussed. Finally, the energy-transfer processes in ${\mathrm{Cs}}_{2}$U${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Br}}_{4}$ are compared with those in uranates and ${\mathrm{Cs}}_{2}$U${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Cl}}_{4}$.
Learning of Geometric Concepts in a Logo Environment

To investigate the effects of computer programming in Logo on specific geometric conceptualizations of primary grade children, 48 third graders were randomly assigned to either a Logo or a control group. The Logo group was given 26 weeks of instruction in a Logo environment. The children were then interviewed to ascertain their conceptualizations of angles, shapes, and motions. In both groups children's notions of angle and angle measure were multifaceted and included a number of misconceptions, although performance was uniformly higher for the Logo group. The Logo children were more aware than the control children of the components of geometric shapes and were more likely to conceptualize geometric objects in terms of the actions or procedures used to construct them.
Plasmonic Effects of Au/Ag Bimetallic Multispiked Nanoparticles for Photovoltaic Applications

In recent years, there has been considerable interest in the use of plasmons, that is, free electron oscillations in conductors, to boost the performance of both organic and inorganic thin film solar cells. This has been driven by the possibility of employing thin active layers in solar cells in order to reduce materials costs, and is enabled by significant advances in fabrication technology. The ability of surface plasmons in metallic nanostructures to guide and confine light in the nanometer scale has opened up new design possibilities for solar cell devices. Here, we report the synthesis and characterization of highly monodisperse, reasonably stable, multipode Au/Ag bimetallic nanostructures using an inorganic additive as a ligand for photovoltaic applications. A promising surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect has been observed for the synthesized bimetallic Au/Ag multispiked nanoparticles, which compare favorably well with their Au and Ag spherical nanoparticle counterparts. The synthesized ...
A Crucible of Imagination

In a 1964 interview, the American poet Gary Snyder remarked that he holds “. . . the most archaic values on earth. They go back to the upper Paleolithic: the fertility of the soul, the magic of the...
Immunotherapy of Leukemia

The data reviewed in this paper indicate that immunotherapy is effective in prolonging remission and survival in acute and chronic leukemia. The acute lymphocytic leukemias may or may not respond to immunotherapy and further work is needed in this area. No studies of immunotherapy in chronic lymphocytic leukemia have been done, but this will be an important area for investigation, since there is often profound immunodeficiency in this disease. The malignant lymphomas are another fertile area for this type of research, since they have a high response rate, tumor-associated immunodeficiency, and at least differentiation antigens if not tumor-specific antigens. The scientific basis for the use of immunotherapy in leukemia includes the demonstration of a relationship of rate and duration of remission and survival to immunocompetence, the demonstration of unique tumor-associated antigens on leukemia cells, and the demonstration of immune responses to these antigens which can be boosted by immunization. At the present time, active nonspecific immunotherapy with BCG and MER and active specific immunotherapy have been proved effective in acute myelogenous leukemia. Careful attention should be given to dose, schedule, route, and so forth. Other types of immunotherapy remain to be explored.
Research of regional freight volume forecasting based on LIBSVM and time series

To the problem of excessive affecting factors and small sample size in regional freight volume forecasting, the LIBSVM support vector regression model and state space time series model with mutual information technique are proposed. In this approach,the MI is adopted to reduce the dimensionality of the high dimensional features, and then the new lower dimensional subspace is treated as the sample input to establish the LIBSVM support vector regression model and the state space time series model. The experimental results of Chongqing freight volume forecasting and comparative analysis show that the method can improve the prediction accuracy while accomplishing a valid forecast, and the relative error is about 0.06.
Design and Development of Visualization System for Corn

The virtual model and visualization are very important in visualization of the corn growth process on computer.Based on corn 3-dimensioned geometric modeling,an object oriented programming method is given,which can take a corn organ as single object.Using the model-document-view method,the corn 3-dimensioned visualization system is designed.The system can take a static model for a corn organ,individual and multiple corns,and can take the demonstration of corn dynamic growth.This method can be applied on others corns plant modeling and visualization system.
Removal of the 5‐nitro‐2‐pyridine‐sulfenyl protecting group from selenocysteine and cysteine by ascorbolysis

We previously reported on a method for the facile removal of 4-methoxybenzyl and acetamidomethyl protecting groups from cysteine (Cys) and selenocysteine (Sec) using 2,2'-dithiobis-5-nitropyridine dissolved in trifluoroacetic acid, with or without thioanisole. The use of this reaction mixture removes the protecting group and replaces it with a 2-thio(5-nitropyridyl) (5-Npys) group. This results in either a mixed selenosulfide bond or disulfide bond (depending on the use of Sec or Cys), which can subsequently be reduced by thiolysis. A major disadvantage of thiolysis is that excess thiol must be used to drive the reaction to completion and then removed before using the Cys-containing or Sec-containing peptide in further applications. Here, we report a further advancement of this method as we have found that ascorbate at pH 4.5 and 25 °C will reduce the selenosulfide to the selenol. Ascorbolysis of the mixed disulfide between Cys and 5-Npys is much less efficient but can be accomplished at higher concentrations of ascorbate at pH 7 and 37 °C with extended reaction times. We envision that our improved method will allow for in situ reactions with alkylating agents and electrophiles without the need for further purification, as well as a number of other applications. Copyright © 2016 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The H. A. Nicholson collection of Paleozoic stenolaemate bryozoans; comparison of cladistic and phenetic classifications

Until the late 1960's, most of Nicholson's types of Paleozoic bryozoans were not available for study. We present a set of coded characters of many of Nicholson's types, which should assist in bringing his species into conformity with current taxonomic standards so that his species can be consistently recognized and used in biostratigraphic, paleobiogeographic, and evolutionary studies. Cladistic and phenetic analyses of these species permit comparisons between inferred phylogenies of Nicholson specimens, adaptive morphospace, and treatise-based systematic relationships. Specimen-based cladistic and phenetic analyses of Nicholson's species both produce clusters that are congruent with existing family-level taxonomic assignments of species in the collection. However, cladistic analysis more fully retrieves the pattern of branching, or degree of relatedness, among higher taxa. Phenetic clusters represent adaptive peaks in morphospace for these specimens, but higher level “phenons” are strongly affected by multiple evolution of the same character states.
Resourcing Drug Development Commensurate With its Public Health Importance: The Road Ahead.

Cardiovascular (CV) disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States and worldwide, and remains an enormous disease burden [(1)][1]. Despite this fact, the investment in CV drug development has decreased over the past 2 decades relative to other therapeutic areas such as oncology [(2
Parental Reaction to Febrile Convulsions

The parental reaction to a child’s first febrile convulsion was investigated by telephone interview from the Department of Paediatrics, Randers Central Hospital, Denmark.
CARBONATE EROSION RATES IN SOUTHWESTERN WISCONSIN

Between 1977 and 1979 three sets of erosional weight loss tablets were em-placed in the karst of southwestern Wisconsin to measure both potential and actual rates of carbonate erosion. Tablets of Jamaican White Limestone, which has been used in many other karst areas, were used to gauge relative erosion potential while tablets of the local bedrock, Prairie du Chien dolomite, were used to assess absolute rates. Tablets of Yugoslavian limestone were emplaced as part of a world-wide study of comparative rates. Tablets were recovered in 1983 and 1984. Although potential erosion rates are similar to those in other carbonate areas, the sluggish dissolution of the indigenous dolomite retards karst development. Soil cover increases erosion rates and rates at a given depth are consistent over sites of up to 10 m2. The highest erosion rates were recorded by the Yugoslavian tablets but betweensite variations caution that results based on a single site may be unrepresentative. Over 37% of all tablets were affected by...
Structural basis of the allosteric trigger of the Hsp70 chaperone proteins.

This work solves a decades-old dilemma that stood in the way of understanding the allosteric mechanism of Hsp70 (heat shock 70 kDa) chaperone proteins. Hsp70s are central to protein folding, refolding, and trafficking in organisms ranging from Archae to Homo Sapiens, both at normal and at stressed cellular conditions. Hsp70s are comprised of two main domains: a 44 kDa N-terminal nucleotide-binding domain (NBD), and a 25 kDa substrate-binding domain (SBD) that harbors the substrate binding site. The nucleotide binding site in the NBD and the substrate binding site in the SBD are allosterically linked: ADP binding promotes substrate binding, while ATP binding promotes substrate release. It has long been a goal of structural biology to characterize the nature of the allosteric coupling in these proteins. However, even the most sophisticated X-ray crystallography studies of the isolated NBD could show no difference in overall conformation between the ATP and ADP state. Hence the dilemma: how is the state of the nucleotide communicated between NBD and SBD? The solution of the dilemma is especially interesting in light of the fact that Hsp70s are ancient proteins, and amongst the first allosteric proteins in nature.Here we report a solution NMR study of the NBD of the Hsp70 from Thermus thermophilus, in the APO, ADP and AMP-PNP states, where the latter is a non-hydrolysable ATP analogue. Using the modern NMR methods of residual dipolar coupling analysis, we discovered that the nucleotide binding cleft opens up by as much as 20 degrees between the AMP-PNP (closed) and ADP (open) state. We also discover that a surface cleft, hypothesized to be essential for the allosteric coupling between NBD and SBD, echoes these changes. Hence, the nature of the allosteric trigger and coupling for Hsp70 chaperones is revealed here for the first time, solving the dilemma.
Attributions of Responsibility

Notwithstanding Hart’s (1968) notion of “causality responsibility,” there is, as we have seen, a fundamental difference between “caused” and “was responsible for.” Many causes can exist independent of intervention by human beings—tornadoes cause extensive damage, bacteria cause disease in animals, lengthening spring days cause new leaves to appear on trees—so the actions of persons constitute only a fraction of the antecedents of effects. Although Reid (1863a, 1863b) was probably correct to argue that our intuitive idea of what is involved in causality arises from the exercise of our own will in doing something, it is still possible to conceive of a cause-effect sequence that does not include even the most remote participation of people. By contrast to this view of human agency as only one of several potential causes, there cannot be responsibility without human participation, either as cause or as perceiver, or both. An assignment of responsibility is a moral judgment, one made about the actions of another (presumably) moral individual. Certainly there are instances of human action for which perceivers will routinely decline to assign moral accountability. But these instances are recognized and debated for the exceptions they are, and even they do not violate the principle that limits “was responsible for” to events involving persons.
Influenza Virus: Dealing with a Drifting and Shifting Pathogen

Numerous modern technological and scientific advances have changed the vaccine industry. However, nearly 70 years of influenza vaccine usage have passed without substantial changes in the underlying principles of the vaccine. The challenge of vaccinating against influenza lies in the constantly changing nature of the virus itself. Influenza viruses undergo antigenic evolution through antigenic drift and shift in their surface glycoproteins. This has forced frequent updates of vaccine antigens to ensure that the somewhat narrowly focused vaccine-induced immune responses defend against circulating strains. Few vaccine production systems have been developed that can entertain such constant changes. Although influenza virus infection induces long-lived immunologic memory to the same or similar strains, most people do not encounter the same strain repeatedly in their lifespan, suggesting that enhancement of natural immunity is required to improve influenza vaccines. It is clear that transformative change of influenza vaccines requires a rethink of how we immunize. In this study, we review the problems associated with the changing nature of the virus, and highlight some of the approaches being employed to improve influenza vaccines.
Soft Overcomes Hard: Simulation Leadership as Mediation of Choice Architectures

Teachers, many of whom are trained to lead their students through learning activities, as a director of learning processes may find that they struggle to use simulations. Simulations—dynamic, chaordic, and often unpredictable—tax the conventional model of classroom leadership; they require instead a leadership model that is flexible, responsive, and equally dynamic. Simulations are activities that typically represent processes or systems that flow and develop from their own inertia. Teachers who use this approach to learning need not be involved as overtly in the process of the simulation as they do with more traditional teaching activities. Yet, it can be difficult for teachers to reimagine a leadership role that largely removes them from the activity. As a result, they may impose themselves in ways that are disruptive to the natural flow of the simulation. In this paper, I propose a conceptual framework to help teachers reimagine their role as leaders in simulations. This framework draws on work in the field of behavioral economics to help teachers to engage in the simulation leadership process less directly and yet more effectively by adopting a leadership approach based in libertarian paternalism through the use of design architectures.
Low Energy Subsurface Environments as Extraterrestrial Analogs

Earth's subsurface is often isolated from phototrophic energy sources and characterized by chemotrophic modes of life. These environments are often oligotrophic and limited in electron donors or electron acceptors, and include continental crust, subseafloor oceanic crust, and marine sediment as well as subglacial lakes and the subsurface of polar desert soils. These low energy subsurface environments are therefore uniquely positioned for examining minimum energetic requirements and adaptations for chemotrophic life. Current targets for astrobiology investigations of extant life are planetary bodies with largely inhospitable surfaces, such as Mars, Europa, and Enceladus. Subsurface environments on Earth thus serve as analogs to explore possibilities of subsurface life on extraterrestrial bodies. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of subsurface environments as potential analogs, and the features of microbial communities existing in these low energy environments, with particular emphasis on how they inform the study of energetic limits required for life. The thermodynamic energetic calculations presented here suggest that free energy yields of reactions and energy density of some metabolic redox reactions on Mars, Europa, Enceladus, and Titan could be comparable to analog environments in Earth's low energy subsurface habitats.
Intracortical Connectivities of Somatic Sensory and Motor Areas

The identification of multiple cortical areas involved in different aspects of somatic sensory and motor function has naturally led to interest in the relations between these areas. At the level of the cortex itself, connections between the different areas are formed by extensive ipsilateral intracortical pathways, which allow interactions between different areas, directly or via less direct routes through the basal ganglia, thalamus and cerebellum.
Site Evaluation and Design of Seepage Fields

A reevaluation of previous work by others indicated that soil can absorb septic tank effluent indefinitely if the application rate is kept below a certain level, which is a function of soil permeability. This long-term acceptance rate is independent of whether the soil is continuously or intermittently flooded, and varies from approximately 0.3 gpd/sq ft (0.01 m/day) for clay loam to approximately 0.8 gpd/sq ft (0.03 m/day) for sand. A study of the ground-water flow pattern below a seepage field showed that it is, in many cases, the hydraulic conductivity of the ground surrounding the field, as determined by the external water table, soil permeability, and impervious strata, that controls the size of the field required. Reliable techniques for site evaluation of soil permeability, depth to water table, and depth to any impervious strata are presented, and a chart is given for designing a seepage field based on this information. Design examples are included.
The Impact of Early Adversity on Health

A harsh early environment has adverse affects on health not only in childhood but across the life span. Chief among the toxic aspects of early environment that have been related to poor health are low childhood socioeconomic status and a harsh family environment, including physical and sexual abuse as well as more modest family dysfunction, such as family conflict, neglect, and a cold, non-nurturant environment. These characteristics of the early environment interact with genetic predispositions to affect socioemotional resources and coping skills; these include such resources as optimism, a sense of mastery or control, self-esteem, and social support. On the negative side, a harsh early environment affects a propensity for chronic negative affect, including depressive symptomatology, anxiety, and hostility. Health habits, such as substance use, diet, and exercise, are also affected by the early environment. Jointly, these factors predict alterations in biological stress regulatory systems. Together in interaction with genetic factors, these pathways help to account for the lifelong effects of early adversity on health.