cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A semantic problem solving environment for integrative parasite research: identification of intervention targets for Trypanosoma cruzi.

Background Research on the biology of parasites requires a sophisticated and integrated computational platform to query and analyze large volumes of data, representing both unpublished (internal) and public (external) data sources. Effective analysis of an integrated data resource using knowledge discovery tools would significantly aid biologists in conducting their research, for example, through identifying various intervention targets in parasites and in deciding the future direction of ongoing as well as planned projects. A key challenge in achieving this objective is the heterogeneity between the internal lab data, usually stored as flat files, Excel spreadsheets or custom-built databases, and the external databases. Reconciling the different forms of heterogeneity and effectively integrating data from disparate sources is a nontrivial task for biologists and requires a dedicated informatics infrastructure. Thus, we developed an integrated environment using Semantic Web technologies that may provide biologists the tools for managing and analyzing their data, without the need for acquiring in-depth computer science knowledge. Methodology/Principal Findings We developed a semantic problem-solving environment (SPSE) that uses ontologies to integrate internal lab data with external resources in a Parasite Knowledge Base (PKB), which has the ability to query across these resources in a unified manner. The SPSE includes Web Ontology Language (OWL)-based ontologies, experimental data with its provenance information represented using the Resource Description Format (RDF), and a visual querying tool, Cuebee, that features integrated use of Web services. We demonstrate the use and benefit of SPSE using example queries for identifying gene knockout targets of Trypanosoma cruzi for vaccine development. Answers to these queries involve looking up multiple sources of data, linking them together and presenting the results. Conclusion/Significance The SPSE facilitates parasitologists in leveraging the growing, but disparate, parasite data resources by offering an integrative platform that utilizes Semantic Web techniques, while keeping their workload increase minimal.
Kinetic and mechanistic studies of the copolymerization of bis‐4‐substituted‐1,2,4‐triazoline‐3,5‐diones with styrenes

Highly reactive 4-substituted-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-diones (TDs) have been studied extensively as dienophiles, but little work has been done on their role as enophiles and particularly on their use as propagating species in polymerization studies. The copolymerization between bis-4-substituted-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-diones (bis-TDs) and styrene has been reported. The purpose of the present work was to synthesize new copolymers derived from a variety of substituted styrenes and bis-TDs and to study the mechanism and kinetics of this novel polymerization. Three bis-TDs were prepared: 3,3′-dimethyl-4,4′-bis[3,5-dioxo-1,2,4-triazoline-4-yl] biphenyl (8), t-1,4-bis[3,5-dioxo-1,2,4-triazoline-4-yl] methyl cyclohexane (9), and 4,4′-bis[3,5-dioxo-1,2,4-triazoline-4-yl] phenyl ether (10). Their structures were fully established by spectroscopic studies, elemental analyses, and indirectly, their quantitative ene reactions with 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene. Copolymerization between bis-TDs and substituted styrenes was carried out in dimethylformamide (DMF), tetrahydrofuran (THF), or dichloroethane (DCE). Polymers formed were characterized by infrared (IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and viscometry. Molecular weights of polymers range from 5000 to 16,000 in most cases. They were stable up to 250°C and higher. Polymers derived from bis-TDs and p-t-butylstyrene, α-methylstyrene, p-nitrostyrene, and p-acetoxystyrene contained only Diels-Alder-ene (DAe) repeating units, whereas those derived from styrene, p-chlorostyrene, p-bromostyrene, p-methylstyrene, p-methoxystyrene, and 4-vinylbiphenyl contained both DAe and double Diels-Alder (dDA) repeating units. A kinetic study of the copolymerization of 4,4′-bis-(3,5-dioxo-1,2,4-triazoline-4-yl) phenyl ether with α-methylstyrene, p-t-butylstyrene, styrene, p-chlorostyrene, and p-nitrostyrene in DCE was carried out; the copolymerization rate constants were 60.9, 49.8, 8.4, 5.5, and 0.8 (1 mol−1s), respectively.
Chronic Hypoxia Impairs Muscle Function in the Drosophila Model of Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy (DMD)

Duchenne's muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe progressive myopathy caused by mutations in the DMD gene leading to a deficiency of the dystrophin protein. Due to ongoing muscle necrosis in respiratory muscles late-stage DMD is associated with respiratory insufficiency and chronic hypoxia (CH). To understand the effects of CH on dystrophin-deficient muscle in vivo, we exposed the Drosophila model for DMD (dmDys) to CH during a 16-day ascent to the summit of Mount Denali/McKinley (6194 meters above sea level). Additionally, dmDys and wild type (WT) flies were also exposed to CH in laboratory simulations of high altitude hypoxia. Expression profiling was performed using Affymetrix GeneChips® and validated using qPCR. Hypoxic dmDys differentially expressed 1281 genes, whereas the hypoxic WT flies differentially expressed 56 genes. Interestingly, a number of genes (e.g. heat shock proteins) were discordantly regulated in response to CH between dmDys and WT. We tested the possibility that the disparate molecular responses of dystrophin-deficient tissues to CH could adversely affect muscle by performing functional assays in vivo. Normoxic and CH WT and dmDys flies were challenged with acute hypoxia and time-to-recover determined as well as subjected to climbing tests. Impaired performance was noted for CH-dmDys compared to normoxic dmDys or WT flies (rank order: Normoxic-WT ≈ CH-WT> Normoxic-dmDys> CH-dmDys). These data suggest that dystrophin-deficiency is associated with a disparate, pathological hypoxic stress response(s) and is more sensitive to hypoxia induced muscle dysfunction in vivo. We hypothesize that targeting/correcting the disparate molecular response(s) to hypoxia may offer a novel therapeutic strategy in DMD.
A wideband aperture-coupled pentagon shape dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) for wireless communication applications

A wideband aperture-coupled pentagon shape dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) is presented for wireless communication applications. The antenna shows wideband impedance matching of 42% from 2.55 GHz to 3.9GHz with respect to S 11 = −10dB and offers acceptable directional radiation patterns. This antenna also covers almost two major WiMAX (2.5GHz to 2.7GHz, and 3.3GHz to 3.8GHz) frequency bands.
Studies on Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Secretion: Effects of EGTA, Lanthanum, and the Ionophore A23187

Human malignant trophoblast cells that secrete human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in culture were employed to assess the calcium requirement for hormone production. Cellular and secreted hCG was measured by radioimmunoassay. Cells cultured for 7 h in Ca2+- and Mg2-free medium or in Ca2+-free medium, secreted less hCG than cells cultured in medium containing Ca2+. Addition of ethylene glycol bis (β-aminoethyl ether)N, N′-tetraacetic acid (EGTA), ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), or La3+ inhibited hCG release from the cells, but did not affect the amount of hCG in the cells. Inhibition of hCG release was dependent on time of incubation and on concentration of agent added. Inhibition of hCG secretion by EGTA was reversed upon removal of the EGTA from the culture fluid or by addition of equimolar Ca2+ to the fluid. These results demonstrated that divalent cations, probably Ca2+, are required for release and further synthesis of hCG. Addition of the divalent cation ionophore A23187 (0.1 to 10 μ failed to...
Interpretation of fine‐needle aspirates processed by the Thin Prep® technique: Cytologic artifacts and diagnostic pitfalls.

The improvement in quality of cytologic preparations with the use of the ThinPrep methodology has been well-documented, but the cytologic artifacts resulting from this technique have not been adequately described. This study describes and illustrates the cytologic artifacts introduced by the ThinPrep technique when used on fine-needle aspirates (FNAs), and evaluates these artifacts as potential diagnostic pitfalls. We reviewed a total of 120 FNAs simultaneously processed by both conventional smears and ThinPrep. FNAs were obtained from the following sites: lymph node (27), breast (23), soft-tissue sites (20), salivary glands (13), gastrointestinal tract (10), lung (9), thyroid gland (13), liver (3), adrenal gland (1), and kidney (1). The ThinPrep smears were consistently devoid of obscuring elements, and the cells were adequately preserved and evenly dispersed. However, we noted some cytomorphologic alterations that should be recognized to avoid erroneous diagnoses. The size of cell clusters was decreased, large branching sheets were fragmented, and there were more single cells, resulting in apparent discohesion. Small cells such as lymphocytes tended to aggregate. All cells were generally smaller and occasionally spindled, the chromatin detail was attenuated, and nucleoli were more prominent. Intranuclear inclusions were difficult to visualize. Background matrix was often altered in both quantity and quality. Extracellular particles, small mononuclear cells, red blood cells, and myoepithelial cells were markedly decreased in number. The pathologist should be cautious in interpreting FNAs prepared using ThinPrep if that is the only methodology employed. Familiarity with artifacts is essential to avoid misinterpretations.
Transmission distortion and mosaicism in an unusual transgenic mouse pedigree

We have analyzed the structure, expression, and inheritance of a foreign DNA insert of an unusual transgenic mouse, designated MyK-103. The insert is composed of two copies of pMK (a metallothionein-thymidine kinase fusion gene) oriented as inverted repeats. No methylation of the foreign DNA could be detected. The original transgenic mouse was mosaic; 10% to 20% of both somatic and germ cells contained the plasmid insert. The pMK insert has been stably transmitted by females through five generations; however, expression of thymidine kinase is extremely variable in different members of the pedigree. Although males carrying the pMK insert are fertile, they never transmit the pMK insert. We propose that the foreign DNA has disrupted a gene that must be expressed during haploid stages of spermatogenesis.
Acquired Robertsonian translocations are not rare events in acute leukemia and lymphoma

Robertsonian translocations are the most common constitutional structural abnormalities but are rarely reported as acquired aberrations in hematologic malignancies. The nonhomologous acrocentric rearrangements are designated as Robertsonian translocations, whereas the homologous acrocentric rearrangements are referred to as isochromosomes. Robertsonian rearrangements have the highest mutation rates of structural chromosome rearrangements based on surveys of newborns and spontaneous abortions. It would be expected that Robertsonian recombinations would be more common than suggested by the literature. A survey of the cytogenetics database from a single institution found 17 patients with acquired Robertsonian rearrangement and hematologic malignancies. This is combined with data from the literature for a total of 237 patients. All of the possible types of Robertsonian rearrangements have been reported in hematologic malignancies, with the i(13q), i(14q), and i(21q) accounting for nearly 60%. Complex karyotypic changes are seen in the majority of cases, corresponding with disease evolution. These karyotypes consistently show loss of chromosomes 5 and/or 7 in the myelocytic disorders, nonacrocentric isochromosomes, and centromeric breakage and reunion. However, nearly 25% of the acquired rearrangements were found as the sole abnormality or in addition to an established cytogenetic aberration. Most of these were the i(14q) with the myelodysplasia subtypes refractory anemia and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia.
A Simplified Model for Detonation Based Pressure-Gain Combustors

*A time-dependent model is presented which simulates the essential physics of a detonative or otherwise constant volume, pressure-gain combustor for gas turbine applications. The model utilizes simple, global thermodynamic relations to determine an assumed instantaneous and uniform post-combustion state in one of many envisioned tubes comprising the device. A simple, second order, non-upwinding computational fluid dynamic algorithm is then used to compute the (continuous) flowfield properties during the blowdown and refill stages of the periodic cycle which each tube undergoes. The exhausted flow is averaged to provide mixed total pressure and enthalpy which may be used as a cycle performance metric for benefits analysis. The simplicity of the model allows for nearly instantaneous results when implemented on a personal computer. The results compare favorably with higher resolution numerical codes which are more difficult to configure, and more time consuming to operate.
Question Generation and Formulation: An Indication of Information Need.

A methodology is developed and applied to a data collection consisting of questions in order to discern the nature of the cognitive need “to know”: the information need. The experimental design for the generation and formulation of questions was achieved by means of a “closed” problem situation. A “closed” problem situation has within it sufficient and available data with which to reach solution of said problem. The question is an observable behavioral act which reflects information need. Because it is a hypothetical construct, information need had to be operationalized indirectly via the question as the dependent variable and the data input as the independent variable. The varying of this independent variable was achieved by partitioning the “closed” problem. Two experimental hypotheses guided this methodology for a “closed” problem situation: H1 where the number of questions generated varies directly as the Information need varies, and H2 where the number of questions generated varies inversely as the data input varies. The results of the statistical analysis supported the indicated trend to decreasing questioning activity as the data input rose. The results of the linguistic analysis revealed a consistent question formulation pattern between the two “closed” problems. Thus it follows in theory that the nature of information need can be discerned indirectly through question generation and formulation.
Parent Training With High-Risk Immigrant Chinese Families: A Pilot Group Randomized Trial Yielding Practice-Based Evidence

We studied the efficacy and implementation outcomes of a culturally responsive parent training (PT) program. Fifty-four Chinese American parents participated in a wait-list controlled group randomized trial (32 immediate treatment, 22 delayed treatment) of a 14-week intervention designed to address the needs of high-risk immigrant families. Parents were eligible for intervention if they were Chinese-speaking immigrants referred from schools, community clinics, or child protective services with concerns about parenting or child behavior problems. Retention and engagement were high with 83% of families attending 10 or more sessions. Results revealed that the treatment was efficacious in reducing negative discipline, increasing positive parenting, and decreasing child externalizing and internalizing problems. Treatment effects were larger among families with higher levels of baseline behavior problems and lower levels of parenting stress. Further augmentation of PT to address immigrant parent stress may be warranted. Qualitative impressions from group leaders suggested that slower pacing and increased rehearsal of skills may improve efficacy for immigrant parents unfamiliar with skills introduced in PT.
Microscopic Image-Based Finite Element Analysis of Porous Composite Cathode Microstructures

We reconstruct three-dimensional (3D) microstructures of porous ceramic composite cathodes of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) using a series of two-dimensional (2D) images. We then discretize the reconstructed 3D models into 8-node brick elements, and analyze the models and performed stress and probability of failure analyses using a general-purpose commercial finite element (FE) software package. We numerically investigate the effects of volume fractions and temperature-dependent material properties on the thermo-mechanical stress behavior of cathode microstructures.
CD8α+ and CD11b+ Dendritic Cell-Restricted MHC Class II Controls Th1 CD4+ T Cell Immunity

The activation, proliferation, differentiation, and trafficking of CD4 T cells is central to the development of type I immune responses. MHC class II (MHCII)-bearing dendritic cells (DCs) initiate CD4+ T cell priming, but the relative contributions of other MHCII+ APCs to the complete Th1 immune response is less clear. To address this question, we examined Th1 immunity in a mouse model in which I-Aβb expression was targeted specifically to the DCs of I-Aβb−/− mice. MHCII expression is reconstituted in CD11b+ and CD8α+ DCs, but other DC subtypes, macrophages, B cells, and parenchymal cells lack of expression of the I-Aβb chain. Presentation of both peptide and protein Ags by these DC subsets is sufficient for Th1 differentiation of Ag-specific CD4+ T cells in vivo. Thus, Ag-specific CD4+ T cells are primed to produce Th1 cytokines IL-2 and IFN-γ. Additionally, proliferation, migration out of lymphoid organs, and the number of effector CD4+ T cells are appropriately regulated. However, class II-negative B cells cannot receive help and Ag-specific IgG is not produced, confirming the critical MHCII requirement at this stage. These findings indicate that DCs are not only key initiators of the primary response, but provide all of the necessary cognate interactions to control CD4+ T cell fate during the primary immune response.
Rate-Distortion Theory

Rate-distortion theory is the branch of information theory that treats compressing the data produced by an information source down to a specified encoding rate that is strictly less than the source's entropy. This necessarily entails some lossiness, or distortion, between the original source data and the best approximation thereto that can be produced on the basis of the encoder's output bits. Rate-distortion theory was introduced in the seminal works written in 1948 and 1959 by C. E. Shannon, the founder of information theory. We describe Shannon's contribution and then trace its subsequent development worldwide. Heavier than usual emphasis is placed on the concept of “matching” a channel to a source in the rate-distortion sense, and also on the analogous matching of a source to a channel. Experimental evidence has been mounting in support of the hypothesis that living organisms often simultaneously achieve both of these matchings when processing their sensory inputs, thereby eliminating the need for the complex encoding and decoding operations that are needed in order to produce an information-theoretically optimum system in the absence of such double matching. Keywords: rate-distortion; lossy source coding; distortion measure; Shannon; joint source-channel coding; bioinformation theory
Transient gain of effector function by CD8+ T cells undergoing peripheral tolerance to high‐dose self‐antigen

Induction of peripheral T cell tolerance is mediated by bone marrow-derived dendritic cells that cross-present self-antigen to self-reactive T cells. The current model for peripheral CD8+ T cell tolerance is that TCR engagement by self-antigen in the absence of costimulation results in abortive activation without development of effector function. Here we demonstrate in vivo that high-dose self-antigen ("signal 1") can compensate for lack of costimulation ("signal 2"), leading to full activation of and development of effector function by self-reactive T cells. In the setting of low-dose self-antigen, acquisition of effector function by self-reactive T cells is dependent on costimulation via CD40 ligation in vivo. However, gain of effector function ineither setting does not prevent eventual tolerance of self-reactive CD8+ T cells. These results suggest that the mechanisms for peripheral CD8+ T cell tolerance are more complex than the proposed "signal 1 in the absence of signal 2" hypothesis. Further exploration of these mechanisms will have direct impact on the design of effective immunotherapy for autoimmune diseases, chronic infections and cancers.
Results from Quantum Cosmological Gravity

This is a report on my work with Professor Nicholas Tsamis of the University of Crete on quantum gravity with a non-zero cosmological constant.1-5 Because this theory differs so radically from conventional quantum gravity we have taken to calling it, “quantum cosmological gravity,” or QCG for short. The Lagrangian of QCG is: $$L = \frac{1}{{16\pi G}}\left( {R - 2\Lambda } \right)\sqrt { - g} + counterterms$$ (1) where G is Newton’s constant, A is the cosmological constant, and we employ an infinite series of local counterterms to absorb ultraviolet divergences. The astute reader will note that our metric has spacelike signature and our Riemann tensor is \(R_{\sigma \mu \nu }^\rho = \Gamma _{\nu \sigma ,\mu }^\rho + \Gamma _{\mu \lambda }^\rho \Gamma _{\nu \sigma }^\lambda - \left( {\mu \leftrightarrow \nu } \right).\)
Sound-localization ability of the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) in a task with a simplified response map

The characterization of ability in behavioral sound-localization tasks is an important aspect of understanding how the brain encodes and processes sound location information. In a few species, both physiological and behavioral results related to sound localization are available. In the Mongolian gerbil, physiological sensitivity to interaural time differences in the auditory brainstem is comparable to that reported in other species; however, the gerbil has been reported to have relatively poor behavioral localization performance as compared with several other species. In this study, the behavioral performance of the gerbil for sound localization was re-examined using a task that involved a simpler response map than in previously published studies. In the current task, the animal directly approached the speaker on each trial, thus the response map was simpler than the 90°-right vs. 90°-left response required in previous studies of localization and source discrimination. Although the general performance across a group of animals was more consistent in the task with the simpler response map, the sound-localization ability replicated that previously reported. These results are consistent with the previous reports that sound-localization performance in gerbil is poor with respect to other species that have comparable neural sensitivity to interaural cues.
Gut microbiota: Diet promotes dysbiosis and colitis in susceptible hosts

New findings demonstrate novel interactions between diet, bacteria, genetic susceptibility and immune responses in IBD. Milk fat increases production of taurocholine-conjugated bile acids, which promotes growth of sulphate-reducing bacteria that cause immune-mediated colitis in susceptible mice. These observations will guide human studies that might improve dietary advice for patients with IBD.
“Sputum aeruginosa”: time to rewrite the textbooks on virus-induced airway inflammation

“Acute bronchitis is a common sequence of catching cold and is often nothing more than the extension downward of an ordinary coryza . . . The cough is rough at first, cutting and sore . . . it comes on in paroxysms which rack and distress the patient extremely . . . at first the cough is dry but in a few days the secretion becomes muco-purulent and abundant, and finally purulent . . . In healthy adults, by the end of a week, the fever subsides and the cough loosens. In another week or ten days convalescence is fully established.” Sir William Osler, MD 1892 (1)
Pituitary component of the aromatic hydrocarbon-mediated expression of CYP2B and CYP2C11.

1. The aim was to determine if the ethylbenzene (EB)-mediated expression of CYP2B and CYP2C11 involved a hormonally controlled component. 2. The hypophysectomized (HX) and intact rats were treated with EB for 1 or 2 days, and the effects on specific CYP levels measured. 3. Differences were observed in the inducibility of CYP2B by EB in the HX rat when compared with intact controls. Whereas significant elevations of CYP2B-dependent activities and protein levels were observed after both 1 and 2 days of EB injection in intact controls, CYP2B levels were significantly elevated in the HX rat only after 2 days of hydrocarbon treatment. 4. Both CYP2C11-dependent activities and protein levels were decreased after EB administration to the intact rat. In contrast, CYP2C11 levels were unaffected by EB in the HX rat at any of the time points indicated. 5. CYP2C11 protein levels were unaffected by treatment with EB for 24 h in cultured hepatocytes, also supporting the hypothesis that hormones are involved in CYP2C11 e...
Egomotion from global flow field data

The author presents two independent, global algorithms to compute the motion parameters. The flow circulation algorithm fits a linear surface to the curl of the flow field. The parameters of this linear surface are proportional to the angular velocity components. The author shows that instead of the curl values one can use circulation values that are simply contour integrals of the flow field on the image plane. The FOE (focus of expansion) location algorithm computes a certain circular components of the flow field that is a quadratic polynomial only when the correct FOE is used in the computation of the circular component. The author uses this observation to provide a method to determine the location of the FOE. Experimental results are presented. >
A long-term analysis of growth and usage patterns in the Multicast Backbone (MBone)

The Multicast Backbone (MBone), the Internet's multicast research infrastructure, has existed since the early 1990s. Since its inception, there have been few formal studies investigating the "state of multicast", i.e., the success of multicast deployment. Our work attempts to understand: (1) how the MBone is used, (2) how multicast deployment has progressed, and (3) what barriers exist for the continued deployment of multicast. Future research and deployment efforts would benefit significantly with answers to these macro-scale questions. Our work is based on data sets collected over a 4.5 year period. These data sets include join/leave statistics for many of the MBone sessions advertised through the MBone's session directory tool. Using this data, we examine characteristics about the number and frequency of multicast groups and about the users participating in these groups. In addition, we attempt to qualify the accuracy of our results by examining other sources of multicast traffic statistics. Among our conclusions, we find that the use and deployment of multicast has continued to grow, but at a relatively slow rate. Furthermore, most of the activity in the MBone occurs among a relatively small group of core users. Finally, in an attempt to understand why these conditions exist, we offer several possible reasons why multicast deployment has not been more rapid.
The Effect of Polyvinylpyrrolidine on the Stability of Taurolidine

In an aqueous solution, taurolidine reversibly degrades to taurultam, hydroxymethyltaurultam, taurineamide, and formaldehyde. The objectives of this research were to investigate the mechanism of polyvinylpyrrolidine (PVP)-induced taurolidine stabilization by measuring the effect of PVP on the rate and extent of formaldehyde release from taurolidine and its decomposition products, the ionization of taurineamide, and the NMR and FT-IR spectra of taurineamide. PVP was found to a) increase the rate constant for taurultam formation from taurineamide and formaldehyde, b) decrease the apparent pKa of taurineamide, and c) alter the NMR and FT-IR taurineamide spectra. The effect of PVP on the stability of taurolidine was to increase the stability of its primary degradation product, taurultam, which, in turn increased taurolidine stability because taurultam was reversibly formed from taurolidine. Furthermore, the increased stability of taurultam in acidic, aqueous PVP solutions was due to an increased rate of taurultam formation from its primary degradation products: taurineamide and formaldehyde. The rate constant for taurultam formation increased three-fold in the presence of 5% PVP. The rate increase was caused by the interaction of unprotonated taurineamide with PVP. The estimated taurineamide-PVP association constant was 1800 M-1. This interaction decreased the concentration of unreactive/protonated taurineamide while increasing the concentration of unprotonated/associated substrate which was found to be fivefold less reactive than the free/unprotonated amine.
Recent progress on the characterization of aldonolactone oxidoreductases.

Abstract l -Ascorbic acid (ascorbate, AsA, vitamin C) is essential for animal and plant health. Despite our dependence on fruits and vegetables to fulfill our requirement for this vitamin, the metabolic network leading to its formation in plants is just being fully elucidated. There is evidence supporting the operation of at least four biosynthetic pathways leading to AsA formation in plants. These routes use d -mannose/ l -galactose, l -gulose, d -galacturonate, and myo-inositol as the main precursors. This review focuses on aldonolactone oxidoreductases, a subgroup of the vanillyl alcohol oxidase (VAO; EC 1.1.3.38) superfamily, enzymes that catalyze the terminal step in AsA biosynthesis in bacteria, protozoa, animals, and plants. In this report, we review the properties of well characterized aldonolactone oxidoreductases to date. A shared feature in these proteins is the presence of a flavin cofactor as well as a thiol group. The flavin cofactor in many cases is bound to the N terminus of the enzymes or to a recently discovered HWXK motif in the C terminus. The binding between the flavin moiety and the protein can be either covalent or non-covalent. Substrate specificity and subcellular localization differ among the isozymes of each kingdom. All oxidases among these enzymes possess dehydrogenase activity, however, exclusive dehydrogenases are also found. We also discuss recent evidence indicating that plants have both l -gulono-1,4-lactone oxidases and l -galactono-1,4-lactone dehydrogenases involved in AsA biosynthesis.
Oxygen isotopic ratios in quartz as an indicator of provenance of dust

Quartz was isolated in the long range aerosol size range (fine silt, 1-10 ..mu..m in diameter) from atmospheric aerosols, wind-erosive soils, soil silts, shales, and Pacific pelagic sediments of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, to trace their provenance or origin, as part of a study of dust mineral sequestering of /sup 137/Cs and other products of nuclear fission. The oxygen isotopic ratio (/sup 18/O//sup 16/O) was determined by mass spectrometry. The provenance has been established for this fine silt fraction which reflects the relative proportion of two classes of quartz source: (a) weathering of igneous and metamorphic rocks (high temperature origin and low /sup 18/O//sup 16/O ratio) and (b) of quartz crystallized in cherts and overgrowths (low temperature origin and high /sup 18/O//sup 16/O ratio). This quartz mixing ratio is a basic model or paradigm. Analyses of present day atmospheric aerosols and eolian-derived soils, Pacific pelagic sediments, and now-raised Phanerozoic marine sediments show that the Northern and Southern Hemispheres have separate large-scale reservoirs of the fine grain sizes that contribute to aerosol dusts. These can be identified by distinctive values of /sup 18/O//sup 16/O ratios of the quartz therein. The difference in quartz delta/sup 18/O value in parts per thousandmore » per ml (/sup 0///sub 00/ of about 12 +- 2 /sup 0///sub 00/ in Southern Hemisphere mixed detrital sediments and about 19 +- 2 /sup 0///sub 00/ in those of the Northern Hemisphere (for constant size, the 1-10 ..mu..m size fraction) results from the presence of a considerably larger proportion of quartz having low-temperature origin and higher delta/sup 18/O values (chert, silica overgrowths, etc.) in the Northern Hemisphere reservoirs. The early paleoclimatic and paleogeochemical differences remain the control of the North-South Hemisphere difference in delta/sup 18/O values in long-range aerosol sized quartz.« less
A phosphomimetic-based mechanism of dengue virus to antagonize innate immunity

14-3-3 proteins regulate biological processes by binding to phosphorylated serine or phosphorylated threonine motifs of cellular proteins. Among the 14-3-3 proteins, 14-3-3ɛ serves a crucial function in antiviral immunity by mediating the cytosol-to-mitochondrial membrane translocation of the pathogen sensor RIG-I. Here we found that the NS3 protein of dengue virus (DV) bound to 14-3-3ɛ and prevented translocation of RIG-I to the adaptor MAVS and thereby blocked antiviral signaling. Intriguingly, a highly conserved phosphomimetic RxEP motif in NS3 was essential for the binding of 14-3-3ɛ. A recombinant mutant DV deficient in binding to 14-3-3ɛ showed impairment in antagonism of RIG-I and elicited a markedly augmented innate immune response and enhanced T cell activation. Our work reveals a novel phosphomimetic-based mechanism for viral antagonism of 14-3-3-mediated immunity, which might guide the rational design of therapeutics.
The Ontological Problem of Risk and Endangerment in Criminal Law

Penal codes are rife with what Antony Duff calls “crimes of explicit endangerment,” that is, offenses that are explicitly framed as the conduct of “endangering” or “jeopardizing” another or creating a “risk,” “danger,” and/or a “likelihood” of harm to another. Risks and dangers, in turn, are conventionally understood to be probabilistic in nature. Probabilistic understandings of risk are compatible with some crimes of endangerment. However, they cannot account for most such offenses, including most that arise under provisions modeled upon Model Penal Code section 211.2. Specifically, they cannot account for commonplace offenses that punish persons for creating risks that exist objectively and apart from the mental states of those who bring them about – at least not regarding events that by their nature must either materialize in harm or not by the time of trial but do not thus materialize in harm. I shall argue that this ontological problem of risk can be resolved, but only by replacing conventional, probabilistic understandings of risks with an alternative, counterfactual understanding that is similar to the counterfactual judgments at play in impossibility attempts.
Successful Salvage of Late Anastomotic Thrombosis after Free Tissue Transfer.

Background Anastomotic thrombosis following free tissue transfer (FTT) on or after day 5 (“late thrombosis”) is reported to have extremely low rates of salvage. Analysis of our institution's experience with FTT was performed to make recommendations about the optimal management of late thrombosis, and to identify any variables that are correlated with increased salvage rates. Methods The study included patients who underwent FTT between 1986 and 2014, then suffered anastomotic thrombosis on or after postoperative day 5. Twenty-six variables involving demographic information, flap characteristics, circumstances of the thrombotic event, and details of any salvage attempt were analyzed. Patients whose FTT were successfully salvaged and those whose were not were statistically compared. Results Of the 3,212 patients who underwent FTT, 23 suffered late thrombosis (0.7%), and the salvage rate was 60.8% (14 of 23). The salvage rate for reconstruction of the head and neck was 53.3%, breast was 66.7%, and extremity was 100%. There was a statistically significantly greater salvage rate in flaps performed after 1998 than in those performed before 1998 ( p = 0.023). There was a nonstatistically significant trend toward increased salvage rates in patients who had no anastomotic thrombotic risk factors, reconstruction using fasciocutaneous flaps, and anastomotic revision using new recipient vessels. Conclusion Our data demonstrate that flap survival after episodes of late thrombosis can be higher than what the literature has previously reported. This underscores the importance of rigorous postoperative monitoring, as well as the importance of exploration at the earliest instance of concern for threatened flap viability.
Effects of faulty knowledge engineering on structured classification learning

Past research has shown that when tree-structured background knowledge is available, it can be exploited to increase the efficiency of classification learning. When this kind of background knowledge is available, the problem becomes one of compositional classification. Of course, if the background knowledge contains errors, the quality of the learned hypothesis will suffer. In this paper we study the effect of faulty knowledge engineering on compositional classification learning. We present and analyze empirical results that show the impact on the quality of compositional classification learning as the quality of knowledge engineering is degraded.
Cancer of the Cheek

Primary cutaneous tumors of the cheek can be treated successfully with micrographic surgery. The terminal branches of the facial nerve as well as Stenson’s duct can usually be preserved except in cases of very extensive tumor growth. If these structures appear at risk on clinical examination or if there is suspicion of bone invasion or neurophilic tumor, magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography is recommended. Reconstruction of the cheek is usually accomplished with excellent to good results because of the wide range of options available to the surgeon. Smaller defects are repaired with local cheek flaps; a variety of techniques can be used for larger and full-thickness defects, including distant flaps, tissue expansion, and free tissue transfers.
Sodium, Potassium and Calcium Ions in the Hæmolymph of Oncopeltus fasciatus (Dallas)

THE inorganic constituents in the haemolymph of insects have been investigated in many orders, according to the report of Florkin1. There is a dearth of information in the order Hemiptera. Mature adults of this species were used in this investigation.
Postwar Affluence Meets the Great Society

As the earliest postwar studies foreshadowed, rising prosperity did not produce universal happiness for Americans. Komarovsky, investigating working-class marriages, found a gulf in communication that many spouses could not bridge. Gans, too, looked at working-class life in an Italian urban village but found that his subjects did not aspire to upward social mobility, a suburban existence, or a higher standard of living. Later, Gans explored the emerging lower-middle-class suburban development in Levittown, NJ, and found, as in his earlier study, that the American Dream has distinctive contours related to different class orientations. E. Digby Baltzell, to the contrary, scrutinized elite Americans and the in-group protections they erected to maintain their status and exclusive way of life. Finally, Hannerz investigated the opposite end of the social spectrum during this period with his study of a Washington, DC urban ghetto, affirming Baltzell’s recognition of a racially and economically divided nation.
Blake and the Syntax of Sentiment: An Essay on ‘Blaking’ Understanding

My subject is Blake’s relation to the literary movement associated with the emergence of the sentimental in late eighteenth-century literary culture, the period that Northrop Frye long ago christened ‘the Age of Sensibility.’ To locate Blake in such a context, I suggest, is indeed to engage in a practice of ‘historicizing Blake,’ as contributors to this volume’s predecessor did, but it is to do so in a way that they did not. For it also involves a sense of how to go about ‘Blaking understanding,’ to modify Blake’s own playful reworking of a title of one of Hume’s important contributions to the theory of moral sentiments.1 This is not a simple matter of influence exerted or resisted but rather of a deep and complex relationship to a literary and philosophical tradition, a relationship that, as far as I can tell, has not had the attention it deserves. How this relationship bears on a topic such as ‘Blake and the Nation’ becomes clearer when we consider the importance of ‘national sentiment’ to British nationalism in a period roughly corresponding to Blake’s life — national sentiment both as an emerging concept and as a significant fact on the ground. For Blake’s life spanned at once the early history of the sentimental as an acknowledged discourse and the emergence of a discourse of British nationalism in its recognizably modern form.2
Anxiety and Trauma-Related Disorders

Like most other mental health disorders, anxiety-related disorders have been found to be more common among juvenile offenders than in children and adolescents in the general population. This is particularly true for post-traumatic stress disorder, which is to be expected given that the majority of youth offenders have been exposed to violence, abuse, or trauma at some point during their childhood or adolescence. Over the last decade, research has increasingly demonstrated the high rates of trauma-related histories and symptoms among juvenile delinquency population, and evidence increasingly suggests that it may have a causal relationship with delinquency and need to be treated accordingly in order to help promote long-term success for these youth. This chapter provides background information on generalized anxiety disorder and its presence among the youth offender population, but it focuses on the relationship between trauma-related disorders (i.e., post-traumatic stress disorder) and juvenile delinquency. Diagnostic criteria are provided, as well as implications on functioning and how this may relate to the strong relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder and repeat offending. The impact that anxiety-related disorders may have on risk assessment and competency is also discussed.
Imperialism and Samoan National Identity

(1985). Imperialism and Samoan National Identity. Amerasia Journal: Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 49-56.
Language socialization and code-switching: a case study of a Korean–English bilingual child in a Korean transnational family

ABSTRACTThis study presents a sociolinguistic analysis of a Korean–English bilingual child’s code-switching practices from the perspective of language socialization. The ethnographic description and discourse analysis of a migrant Korean family’s interaction in the US home shows how the social meanings of languages and language ideologies present within the family’s language socialization context were brought into play through code-switching practices. This analysis illuminates the relation of the bilingual child’s language socialization practices in his home to the shifts in tones of voice and speech acts in his code-switching, through which he evokes different stances and personae in English and Korean. In this regard, the code-switching practice is a creative linguistic performance co-constituted by the agency and language ideologies enacted in his home context. The language socialization framework in this study provides richer contextual information for the interpretation of complex social meanings of...
Candle-Type Test for Flammability of Polymers

The flammability of a gaseous fuel can be investigated by finding the limiting mixture with air which just propagates a flame. For example,(1) mixtures of hydrogen and air burn only if the molecular ratio, O2/2H2, lies in the range 0.15–10. Mixtures of n-hexane and air burn only over a narrower range of compositions containing 0.3–1.8 times the stoichiometric amount of oxygen. The hydrocarbon may therefore be considered less flammable than hydrogen.
Histopathological Evaluation in Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer (Pca) is one of the most common cancers diagnosed in men. Despite its prevalence, healthcare providers dealing with the disease still face challenges ranging from screening, diagnosis, to selection of patients for treatment and development of resistance to therapy. Over the years, with wide acceptance of screening practices, specifically with the use of serum PSA assays, the composition of the cohort of men who are newly diagnosed with prostate cancer (Pca) shifted from symptomatic men with clinically advanced disease to men where the diagnosis is based on a few neoplastic glands on a needle core biopsy. While histopathologic features of Pca have been well established, diagnosis of cancer on a limited number of neoplastic glands has presented new challenges. In this chapter we will review some of the diagnostic challenges as well as recent updates in grading and other pathologic parameters that aid management decisions.
The Dorsa Argentea Formation and the Noachian-Hesperian climate transition

Abstract The Dorsa Argentea Formation (DAF), a set of geomorphologic units covering ∼1.5 million square kilometers in the south circumpolar region of Mars, has been interpreted as the remnants of a large south polar ice sheet that formed near the Noachian-Hesperian boundary and receded in the early Hesperian. Determining the extent and thermal regime of the DAF ice sheet, as well as the mechanism and timing of its recession, can therefore provide insight into the ancient martian climate and the timing of the transition from a presumably thicker CO2 atmosphere to the present climate. We used the Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique (LMD) early Mars global climate model (GCM) and the University of Maine Ice Sheet Model (UMISM) glacial flow model to constrain climates allowing development of a south polar ice sheet of DAF-like size and shape. In addition, we modeled basal melting of this ice sheet in amounts and locations consistent with observed glaciofluvial landforms. A large, asymmetric region of ice stability surrounding the south pole is a robust feature of GCM simulations with spin-axis obliquity of 15° or 25° and a 600–1000 mb CO2 atmosphere. The shape results from the large-scale south polar topography of Mars and the strong dependence of surface temperature on altitude under a thicker atmosphere. Of the scenarios considered in this study, the extent of the modeled DAF ice sheet in UMISM simulations most closely matches that of the DAF when the surface water ice inventory of Mars is a ∼137 m global equivalent layer (GEL) and spin-axis obliquity is 15°. In climates warmed only by CO2, significant basal melting does not occur except when the ice inventory is larger than plausible estimates for early Mars. In this case, the extent of the south polar ice sheet is also much larger than that of the DAF, and basal melting is more widespread than observed landforms indicate. When an idealized greenhouse gas warms the surface by at least 20°C near the poles relative to CO2 alone, the stable extent of the ice sheet is less than that of the DAF units, but widespread basal melting occurs, with maxima in the locations where eskers are currently observed. We therefore conclude that warming by a gas other than CO2 alone was necessary to enable the construction of glaciofluvial landforms in the DAF. Previously published crater exposure ages of eskers in the DAF indicate that eskers were being exposed as activity was ceasing in the equatorial valley networks, suggesting that the warming that allowed basal melting at the edges of the DAF ice sheet were broadly contemporaneous with those in which the valley networks were carved. Finally, elevated Tharsis topography is required to produce an ice sheet with the shape of the DAF. Thus, our results are not consistent with the DAF (and the valley networks) forming before the emplacement of Tharsis, as recently suggested.