cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
From Prediction to Prescription: Evolutionary Optimization of Nonpharmaceutical Interventions in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Several models have been developed to predict how the COVID-19 pandemic spreads, and how it could be contained with nonpharmaceutical interventions, such as social distancing restrictions and school and business closures. This article demonstrates how evolutionary AI can be used to facilitate the next step, i.e., determining most effective intervention strategies automatically. Through evolutionary surrogate-assisted prescription, it is possible to generate a large number of candidate strategies and evaluate them with predictive models. In principle, strategies can be customized for different countries and locales, and balance the need to contain the pandemic and the need to minimize their economic impact. Early experiments suggest that workplace and school restrictions are the most important and need to be designed carefully. They also demonstrate that results of lifting restrictions can be unreliable, and suggest creative ways in which restrictions can be implemented softly, e.g., by alternating them over time. As more data becomes available, the approach can be increasingly useful in dealing with COVID-19 as well as possible future pandemics.
Brain insulin signaling and cerebrovascular disease in human postmortem brain.

Insulin is an important hormone for brain function, and alterations in insulin metabolism may be associated with neuropathology. We examined associations of molecular markers of brain insulin signaling with cerebrovascular disease. Participants were enrolled in the Religious Orders Study (ROS), an ongoing epidemiologic community-based, clinical-pathologic study of aging from across the United States. Using cross-sectional analyses, we studied a subset of ROS: 150 persons with or without diabetes, matched 1:1 by sex on age-at-death and education. We used ELISA, immunohistochemistry, and ex vivo stimulation with insulin, to document insulin signaling in postmortem midfrontal gyrus cortex tissue. Postmortem neuropathologic data identified cerebrovascular disease including brain infarcts, classified by number (as none for the reference; one; and more than one), size (gross and microscopic infarcts), and brain region/location (cortical and subcortical). Cerebral vessel pathologies were assessed, including severity of atherosclerosis, arteriolosclerosis, and amyloid angiopathy. In separate regression analyses, greater AKT1 phosphorylation at T308 following ex vivo stimulation with insulin (OR = 1.916; estimate = 0.650; p = 0.007) and greater pS616IRS1 immunolabeling in neuronal cytoplasm (OR = 1.610; estimate = 0.476; p = 0.013), were each associated with a higher number of brain infarcts. Secondary analyses showed consistent results for gross infarcts and microinfarcts separately, but no other association including by infarct location (cortical or subcortical). AKT S473 phosphorylation following insulin stimulation was associated with less amyloid angiopathy severity, but not with other vessel pathology including atherosclerosis and arteriolosclerosis. In summary, insulin resistance in the human brain, even among persons without diabetes, is associated with cerebrovascular disease and especially infarcts. The underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms need further elucidation. Because brain infarcts are known to be associated with lower cognitive function and dementia, these data are relevant to better understanding the link between brain metabolism and brain function.
Groundwater development leads to decreasing arsenic concentrations in the San Joaquin Valley, California.

In the San Joaquin Valley (SJV), California, about 10% of drinking water wells since 2010 had arsenic concentrations above the US maximum contaminant level of 10 μg/L. High concentrations of arsenic are often associated with high pH (greater than 7.8) or reduced geochemical conditions. Although most wells have low arsenic (<3 μg/L) and do not have changing arsenic concentrations, this study found that most wells with concentrations above 10 μg/L had arsenic trends. Overall, about 24% of wells had time-series trends since 2010 and 59% had paired-sample trends since 2000. Most wells had decreasing arsenic trends, even in wells with higher arsenic concentrations. These wells often had co-detections of increasing nitrate and sulfate trends that reflect oxic groundwater likely derived from agricultural recharge. Wells with increasing arsenic trends were deeper or located in the valley trough where aquifer materials are more fine-grained and where reducing conditions favor arsenic mobility. Wells with arsenic trends also tend to be clustered near areas of higher well density. Groundwater pumping in these areas has likely increased the contribution of younger, more oxic groundwater in wells with declining arsenic or, less frequently, increased the contribution of higher pH or reduced groundwater in wells with rising arsenic. Projections of arsenic trends indicate that 37 wells with high arsenic presently will be below 10 μg/L in ten years. Unfortunately, these improvements will be largely offset by 31 wells that are expected to increase above 10 μg/L in addition to expected rises in nitrate in wells where arsenic decreased. This study shows how human-altered flow systems can impact the natural geochemical character of water in both beneficial and deleterious ways.
Cardiovascular Damage Phenotypes and All-Cause and CVD Mortality in Older Adults

Abstract Purpose The association between CVD risk factors and mortality is well established, however, current tools for addressing subgroups have focused on the overall burden of disease. The identification of risky combinations of characteristics may lead to a better understanding of physiologic pathways that underlie morbidity and mortality in older adults. Methods Participants included 5067 older adults from the Cardiovascular Health Study, followed for up to 6 years. Using latent class analysis (LCA), we created CV damage phenotypes based on probabilities of abnormal brain infarctions, major echocardiogram abnormalities, N-terminal probrain natriuretic peptide, troponin T, interleukin-6, c reactive-protein, galectin-3, cystatin C. We assigned class descriptions based on the probability of having an abnormality among risk factors, such that a healthy phenotype would have low probabilities in all risk factors. Participants were assigned to phenotypes based on the maximum probability of membership. We used Cox-proportional hazards regression to evaluate the association between the categorical CV damage phenotype and all-cause and CVD-mortality. Results The analysis yielded 5 CV damage phenotypes consistent with the following descriptions: healthy (59%), cardio-renal (11%), cardiac (15%), multisystem morbidity (6%), and inflammatory (9%). All four phenotypes were statistically associated with a greater risk of all-cause mortality when compared with the healthy phenotype. The multisystem morbidity phenotype had the greatest risk of all-cause death (HR: 4.02; 95% CI: 3.44, 4.70), and CVD-mortality (HR: 4.90, 95% CI: 3.95, 6.06). Conclusions Five CV damage phenotypes emerged from CVD risk factor measures. CV damage across multiple systems confers a greater mortality risk compared to damage in any single domain.
Justice Peters and the Criminal Law

When first invited to participate in this tribute to Justice Raymond E. Peters, I hesitated.' After all, I had not closely followed his career as a jurist, nor did I have any special familiarity with his opinions or judicial philosophy. But I was intrigued by the opportunity to study the justice who only recently in writing the opinion in People v. [another] Norman Abrams2 commented that the issues turned "largely upon the credibility of petitioner" and then proceeded to reject all of the petitioner's contentions.' Reading the opinions, both majority and dissenting, written by a single justice over a limited period of time is an instructive exercise. Although it may not give any longterm historical perspective into the evolution of the man's judicial philosophy, it will reveal his stance on some of the more important legal issues of the time. It may also provide some insight into the degree to which that justice possesses the qualities that a jurist ought to have-qualities such as independence of mind, craftsmanship, imagination and breadth of vision. On all of these counts, Justice Peters scores well. That he possesses these qualities is best demonstrated by a close examination of his opinions. In Part I, therefore, I review a number of his dissents on constitutional criminal procedure. Although he has written numerous majority opinions in this area,' it is clearly in the vigor and independence of his dissents that he is at his best. It is much more difficult to get a clear impression of Justice Peters from his opinions on substantive criminal law. Consequently in Part II, I have contented myself with taking the opportunity to use two of his recent opinions on felony-murder as a vehicle to make some suggestions for correcting an existing imbalance in the California law of homicide.
Hydroxyurea in the treatment of neoplasms of the head and neck. A resurvey.

Summary We have presented the survival rates of patients with cancer of the head and neck treated with radiation therapy, surgery, and Hydroxyurea. The survival of patients receiving Hydroxyurea was significantly higher, suggesting that the chemical may possess a cytotoxic or radiosensitizing effect useful as an adjunct to radiation therapy and surgery in the treatment of cancer of the head and neck.
Image masking schemes for local manifold learning methods

We consider the problem of selecting a subset of the dimensions of an image manifold that best preserves the underlying local structure in the original data. We have previously shown that masks which preserve the data neighborhood graph are well suited to global manifold learning algorithms. However, local manifold learning algorithms leverage a geometric structure beyond that captured by this neighborhood graph. In this paper, we present a mask selection algorithm that further preserves this additional structure by designing an extended data neighborhood graph that connects all neighbors of each data point, forming local cliques. Numerical experiments show the improvements achieved by employing the extended graph in the mask selection process.
Small PARP inhibitor PJ-34 induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of adult T-cell leukemia cells

HTLV-I is associated with the development of an aggressive form of lymphocytic leukemia known as adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL). A major obstacle for effective treatment of ATLL resides in the genetic diversity of tumor cells and their ability to acquire resistance to chemotherapy regimens. As a result, most patients relapse and current therapeutic approaches still have limited long-term survival benefits. Hence, the development of novel approaches is greatly needed. In this study, we found that a small molecule inhibitor of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), PJ-34, is very effective in activating S/G2M cell cycle checkpoints, resulting in permanent cell cycle arrest and reactivation of p53 transcription functions and caspase-3-dependent apoptosis of HTLV-I-transformed and patient-derived ATLL tumor cells. We also found that HTLV-I-transformed MT-2 cells are resistant to PJ-34 therapy associated with reduced cleaved caspase-3 activation and increased expression of RelA/p65. Since PJ-34 has been tested in clinical trials for the treatment of solid tumors, our results suggest that some ATLL patients may be good candidates to benefit from PJ-34 therapy.
Dayside flow bursts in the Earth's outer magnetosphere

[1] Observations from the Polar/Thermal Ion Dynamics Experiment indicate the presence of cold magnetospheric/ionospheric H+, He+, and a trace of O+ in the vicinity of the subsolar magnetopause during intervals of moderate geomagnetic activity (Kp ∼ 4). These cold ions were accelerated to a perpendicular speed (ΔV⊥B) of the order of 100 km s−1 or 0.3 MA outward, relative to the magnetopause boundary oscillations. The accelerated flows produced ∼4 mV m−1 in convection electric field and carried ∼1–100 ions cm−3 in number density or ∼0.1–5 × 108 ions cm−2 s−1 in particle flux or 4 × 1025–2 × 1027 ions s−1 in transfer rate (assuming sunward convecting flux tube with latitudinal cross-section of 1 RE in width and 10 RE in length along magnetopause). This rate of plasma transfer from inside the magnetopause is comparable with that entering the LLBL with the same incident cross section on the magnetopause from the solar wind influx. The occurrence of these flow burst events is accompanied by changes in the local magnetic field orientation, departing from nominal magnetospheric magnetic field, and is sensitive to the variation in the IMF clock angle. We suggest that the magnetospheric/ionospheric ions contribute plasma of dynamical significance to physical processes such as magnetic reconnection, for the cases presented in this study at the subsolar magnetopause.
Effect Tool Wear During End Milling on the Surface Integrity and Fatigue Life of Inconel 718

Abstract Inconel 718 is known to be among the most difficult-to-cut materials due to its high strength even at high temperatures, low thermal conductivity, and especially rapid work hardening. Machining Inconel 718 is a challenging task since tool wear adversely affects surface integrity and product performance of machined components. In this paper, the effect of tool wear on surface integrity and its impact on fatigue performance of Inconel 718 alloy (45 ± 1 HRC) by end milling using PVD coated tools are studied. The evolutions of surface integrity including surface roughness, microstructure, and microhardness were characterized at three levels of tool flank wear (VB = 0, 0.1 mm, 0.2 mm). At each level of tool flank wear, the effects of cutting speed, feed, and radial depth-of-cut on surface integrity were investigated respectively. End milling can produce surface finish between 0.1 μm and 0.3 μm under most of the conditions. Roughness is generally higher in step-over direction than feed direction. No obvious white layer is observed in subsurface microstructure. The machined surface is significantly work-hardened due to the dominant mechanical loading. Four-point bending fatigue test shows that none of the milled samples failed within four million cycles. Fatigue endurance limits of the machined samples at different reliability levels were calculated and correlated with the experimentally determined fatigue life.
Effects of familial hemiplegic migraine type 1 mutation T666M on voltage-gated calcium channel activities in trigeminal ganglion neurons.

Familial hemiplegic migraine type 1 (FHM-1), a rare hereditary form of migraine with aura and hemiparesis, serves as a good model for exploring migraine pathophysiology. The FHM-1 gene encodes the pore-forming CaV2.1 subunit of human P/Q-type voltage-gated Ca2+ channels (VGCCs). Some FHM-1 mutations result in a decrease of whole cell P/Q-type current density in transfected cells/neurons. Questions remain as to whether and how these mutations may increase the gain of the trigeminal nociceptive pathway underlying migraine headache. Here, we investigated the effects of T666M, the most frequently occurring FHM-1 mutation, on VGCC currents and neuronal excitability in trigeminal ganglion (TG) neurons. We expressed human wild-type and T666M CaV2.1 subunits in cultured TG neurons from CaV2.1 knockout mice and recorded whole cell VGCC currents in transfected neurons. Currents mediated by individual VGCC subtypes were dissected according to their pharmacological and biophysical properties. TG neurons were sorted into three subpopulations based on their soma size and their affinity to isolectin B4 (IB4). We found that the T666M mutation did not affect total or surface expression of CaV2.1 proteins but caused a profound reduction of P/Q-type current in all subtypes of TG neurons. Interestingly, a compensatory increase in CaV3.2-mediated low-voltage-activated T-type currents only occurred in small IB4-negative (IB4−) TG neurons expressing T666M subunits. Current-clamp recordings showed that the T666M mutation resulted in hyperexcitability of the small IB4− TG population. Taken together, our results suggest a possible scenario through which FHM-1 mutations might increase the gain of the trigeminal nociceptive pathway.
Kinetics of the oxidation—reduction reactions of the photosystem II quinone acceptor complex, and the pathway for deactivation

When the photosystem II quinone acceptor complex has been singly reduced to the state QAQ−B, there is a 22 s half-time back-reaction of Q−B with an oxidized photosystem II donor (S2), directly measured here for the first time. From the back-reaction kinetics with and without inhibitors, kinetic and equilibrium parameters have been estimated. We suggest that the state QAQ−B of the complex is formed by a second-order reaction of vacant reaction centers in the state Q−A with plastoquinone from the pool, and discuss the physico-chemical parameters involved.
Roscovitine Suppresses CD4+ T Cells and T Cell-Mediated Experimental Uveitis

Background T cells are essential for the development of uveitis and other autoimmune diseases. After initial activation, CD4+ lymphocytes express the co-stimulatory molecule OX40 that plays an important role in T cell proliferation. Cyclin dependent kinase 2 (CdK2) plays a pivotal role in the cell cycle transition from G1 to S phase. In addition, recent research has implicated CdK2 in T cell activation. Thus, we sought to test the immunosuppressive effect of roscovitine, a potent CdK2 inhibitor, on CD4+ T cell activation, proliferation, and function.
Transcytosis of Gastrointestinal Epithelial Cells by Escherichia coli K1

Escherichia coli K1 is an important neonatal pathogen that is usually transferred from maternal to infant gastrointestinal tract at the time of parturition. Approximately 20% of neonates are colonized, and a proportion of colonized infants goes on to have systemic infection. Entry into the bloodstream from the gastrointestinal tract is hypothesized to occur via epithelial cell invasion. Invasion of multiple epithelial cell lines was studied using gentamicin protection assays and transcytosis of polarized monolayers. Electron microscopy was used to confirm cellular invasion. Cell lines used include two human gastrointestinal lines, Caco-2 and T84; a human respiratory cell line, A549; a human laryngeal cell line, HEp-2; and a canine kidney cell line, MDCK. A virulent E. coli K1 strain, RS218, readily invaded HEp-2, A549, and T84 cell lines in gentamicin protection assays, but was less invasive into MDCK and Caco-2 cells. RS218 also demonstrated transcytosis of both T84 and Caco-2 cells. Four clinical isolates of E. coli K1 demonstrated levels of transcytosis of T84 cells similar to RS218. Caco-2 invasiveness correlated with length of time in tissue culture with maximum invasiveness demonstrated at 11 d in culture, when cells were polarized and differentiated.
The dynamics of metals in the American oyster, Crassostrea virginica. I. Seasonal effects

The seasonal dynamics of Mn, Fe, Zn, Cu and Cd were investigated in a genetically similar population of hatchery-reared American oysters, Crassostrea virginica, maintained in plastic trays in the Rhode River, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. Samples were collected monthly from September, 1971 through May, 1973. Annual cycles resulting in the turnover of large portions of the body burden were observed for all metals studied. Subtly different patterns of metal dynamics were observed as a result of the reduction in biological variations realized by employing genetically similar oysters. Metals are grouped into two classes according to their dynamics: (1) Mn and Fe concentrations in soft tissues are significantly correlated with shell deposition. A high rate of Mn turnover in soft tissues (approximately 2 times the body burden per day) occurs during the shell growth season. (2) Zn and Cu concentrations are not correlated with shell growth. Zn and Cu body burdens exhibit a gradual increase during the spring and early summer followed by a rapid loss during August–September in which 33% of the Zn and 50% of the Cu is lost in less than 4 weeks. Cd behavior is similar to zn and Cu with a 50% reduction in body burden during an 11 week period between July and October.
In1-xGaxAsyP1-y nipi structure and its application to semiconductor optical amplifiers

In1-xGaxAsyP1-y nipi Structure has been grown by MOCVD and been characterized by photoluminescence. The two PL profiles from the direct and the indirect recombination channels were clearly observed. The excitation intensity and temperature dependence of the PL profiles are studied. A calculated carrier lifetime, as long as 71μs is possible to be realized. With such a long carrier lifetime, we can push the XT noise out of the signal band down to frequencies < f=f=1/(2πτ)=2.2kHz. Equivalently, the XT is eliminated.
Computer analysis for the thermal transition midpoint of DNA.

A programmable thermal analyzer system in conjunction with a computer program were used to determine the thermal transition midpoint, Tm, and percentage of guanine plus cytosine, % G + C, of a bacterial and two viral DNAs.
Low-Level Immunoassay Screen for 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid in Apples, Grapes, Potatoes, and Oranges: Circumventing Matrix Effects

We have been able to circumvent the variability in immunoassay data due to matrix effects by development of a standard addition ratio method. This technique was used to develop a screen for ≥10 ppb of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) in apples, grapes, oranges, peaches, and potatoes using a commercially available (Ohmicron) immunoassay. To compensate for matrix effects observed at 0.5 g produce/mL, standard is added to an aliquot of each sample extract and run alongside it, without need of a standard curve. The apparent response of each sample varies according to its matrix, but the ratio of spiked to blank sample is consistent (±4.6%) and characteristic of the quantity spiked. For a positive sample (≥5 ppb in the assay), the ratio is ∼22% higher than for a negative sample. Comparing immunoassay with gas chromatography values for 226 samples gave 2−18.7% false positives and 2.9% negatives. The immunoassay is carried out by diluting an acetonitrile extract produced in support of other analyses with a...
Electronic imaging and scanning system.

Frequency-variable illumination has been used previously to provide high resolution imaging in one dimension. The paper extends the results on this imaging by frequency scanning to derive the expression for a two-dimensional image. This is the Fourier transformation, with respect to the angle and frequency of illumination, of the electric field detected in the far-field region of the object. The case is considered of a rough object and it is shown that for roughness finer than the resolution of the imaging system, the image has a granular appearance corresponding to the classical speckle effect. Large scale phase perturbations lead to the elevation displacement effect.
Urinary excretion of an isomer of bilirubin during phototherapy.

ABSTRACT: Lumirubin, a water-soluble photoproduct of bilirubin formed in vivo during phototherapy, is excreted in the urine. In premature infants with little or no bilirubin conjugating activity, lumirubin is the principal yellow pigment found in the urine during phototherapy. The clearance rate of lumirubin in nine premature infants varied from 0.05 to 0.65 ml/min and increased with postconceptional age in parallel with increased creatinine clearance rate. The amount of lumirubin excreted per 24 h was estimated to be from 0.2 to 9.4 mg with a mean of 3.2 mg. The urinary excretion of lumirubin is a significant pathway for pigment elimination during phototherapy.
The practicality of the use of the steady-state assumption and the inflection point method in enzyme kinetics.

Abstract For a given enzyme reaction, decreasing the ratio of initial substrate to initial enzyme generally decreases the validity of the steady-state assumption. An alternative method for kinetic studies of enzymes, namely measurements of rates at the inflection point of the time-course of the product, is suggested and discussed. The relationship between steady-state validity and linearity of plots involving rates and initial substrate concentrations is illustrated. The more sensitive relationship between steady-state validity and linearity of plots of rate versus initial enzyme is also discussed. The extent to which the physical interpretation of the slopes and intercepts of these types of plots depends on steady-state validity is described. The possibility of using initially added product as a means of inferring the extent of steady-state validity is examined.
Synthesis of planar arrays based on convolution technique

A noniterative synthesis technique for planar arrays with arbitrary triangular lattice is described. The method, using a convolution process, synthesises the pattern nulls which may be completely arbitrary. An example of a 36-element diamond array synthesis is presented.
Development of Field Stabilization Program to Enhance Survival of Seabirds During Oil Spill Response

ABSTRACT Particularly during large or remote spills, transportation of oiled animals to a primary care center where they can receive medical care can take more than half a day. The primary goal of developing a Field Stabilization (FS) program is to provide initial medical care as quickly as possible after capture in order to increase survival. A secondary benefit is the ability to organize the transportation of birds to primary care centers to avoid overwhelming limited space and personnel resources. To meet these goals FS programs must be mobile, flexible and scalable. Personnel, equipment and shelter need to be located near sites where birds are being recovered. Depending on the size of the spill, multiple FS sites may be required. The numbers and locations may need to change overtime. Therefore a modular design is desirable. This talk will provide an overview of one FS program and information to consider when adding FS to an existing oil spill response program.
The hemolymph composition and neurochemistry of the spider wasp, Pepsis formosa (Say) (Hymenoptera, Pompilidae).

Abstract 1. 1. Hemolymph chemistry and free amino acid composition of the brain of adult Pepsis formosa were analysed. Total osmotic pressure was 447 mOsm/l. 2. 2. Na + and Cl − concentrations comprised 1.2 and 5.6% of hemolymph osmolytes. Amino acids accounted for 47.1%, and lipids 5.1%. The most abundant FAA were Pro, Ala, Asp, Ser and Arg. 3. 3. In brain tissue, GABA, taurine, Gly, Glu and Ala were most abundant, comprising 32% of the total ninhydrin-positive compounds.
Oscillator Stengths and Their Uncertainties

The oscillator strength is a key parameter in the description of the line absorption coefficient. It can be determined through experiment, ab initio and semi-empirical calculations, and backward analysis of line profiles. Each method has its advantages, and the uncertainty attached to its determination can range from low to indeterminable. For analysis of line profiles or equivalent widths the uncertainty in the oscillator strength can rival or surpass the difference between the derived element abundance from classical LTE and non-LTE analyses. It is therefore important to understand the nature of oscillator strength uncertainties and to assess whether this uncertainty can be a factor in choosing to initiate a non-LTE analysis or in the interpretation of its results. Methods for the determination of the oscillator strength are presented, prioritizing experiments, along with commentary about the sources and impact of the uncertainties. The Se I spectrum is used to illustrate how gf -values can be constructed from published data on atomic lifetimes and line intensities.
A note on a result for two SUR models

Revankar (1974, p. 190, equation (4.4)) obtains a result for the covariance matrices of the “Aitken” estimators of the regression coefficients parameter matrices of two SUR models. The present note supplies a simpler derivation of this result. It is obtained by using a known result in multivariate statistical analysis, see e.g., Sarkar (1981, p. 560, Theorem 3.1).
Rating the hospitality journals

Abstract A survey of directors at four year hospitality programs, who were CHRIE members, rated the quality of 15 refereed and 31 nonrefereed journals. Most of the refereed journals were rated higher than nonrefereed journals. Thirty seven percent of the respondents reported that a hierarchical ranking of refereed journals existed at their institution and was used when evaluating the publications of faculty. The difference in ratings was examined between graduate and undergraduate only program directors.
Persistent pollutants: A brief history of the discovery of the widespread toxicity of chlorinated hydrocarbons

Rachel Carson's Silent Spring is often depicted as the beginning of a broad societal concern about the dangers of DDT and other pesticides. Attention to the other chlorinated hydrocarbons, specifically PCBs, is seen as an outgrowth of the late 1960s environmental movement. Carson's work was clearly critical in broadening the history to include the environmental impact and set the stage for the path breaking work decades later by Theo Colburn and others on endocrine disruptions associated with other synthetic chemicals. This article reviews the development of the understanding the dangers of the chlorinated hydrocarbons in the decades preceding Carson's book. Although little noticed, Rachel Carson makes this observation herself.
Turbulent flow of non‐newtonian systems

A theoretical analysis for turbulent flow of non-Newtonian fluids through smooth round tubes has been performed for the first time and has yielded a completely new concept of the attending relationship between the pressure loss and mean flow rate. In addition, the analysis has permitted the prediction of non-Newtonian turbulent velocity profiles, a topic on which the published literature is entirely silent. To confirm the theoretical analysis, experimental data were taken on both polymeric gels and solid-liquid suspensions under turbulent-flow conditions. Fluid systems with flow-behavior indexes between 0.3 and 1.0 were studied at Reynolds numbers as high as 36,000. All the fully turbulent experimental data supported the validity of the theoretical analysis. The final resistance-law correlation represents a generalization of von Karman's equation for Newtonian fluids in turbulent flow and is applicable to all non-Newtonians for which the shear rate depends only on shear stress, irrespective of rheological classification. All the turbulent experimental data for the non-Newtonian systems were correlated by this relationship with a mean deviation of 1.9%.
Comparative Analysis of Distance Education and Classroom-based Formats for a Clinical Social Work Practice Course

A growing body of research suggests that online courses are as effective as face-to-face courses in delivering knowledge-based content. Scant research, however, has been conducted to examine the usefulness of distance education (DE) for teaching clinical coursework. This study compared the outcomes of students who participated in DE sections of a graduate level Social Work Practice with Groups course with students engaged in traditional face-to-face sections of the same course. The DE sections were primarily online and used asynchronistic and synchronistic technology coupled with a few Saturday sessions. Results revealed no significant differences between DE and in-class students in knowledge of leadership skills, group processes and dynamics, or perception of course content and effectiveness. Implications for social work education are discussed.
Phage head size determination and head protein cleavage in vitro.

Satellite phage P4 causes the head proteins of a helper phage, such as P2, to form a small head. This small head is never found in cells infected by the helper virus alone. This finding, coupled with the dominance of P4 over its helper, indicates that the P4 genome has the potential for specific head size determination. Satellite phage P4 codes for a late protein which is found in the P4 head (45 copies/head). This protein may determine head size. Our finding that the small size of P4 DNA does not determine small head size in an in vitro DNA packaging system lends further support to the idea that a P4 protein determines small head size. Formation of P2 headlike structures is accompanied by cleavage of P2 head proteins. Cleavage of the major head protein precursor can be observed in vitro after lysis of infected cells with lysozyme. The rate of this in vitro reaction is not affected by deoxyribonuclease; thus there cannot be a tight coupling between DNA packaging and the cleavage of the major capsid protein.
Sparse principal component analysis by choice of norm

Recent years have seen the developments of several methods for sparse principal component analysis due to its importance in the analysis of high dimensional data. Despite the demonstration of their usefulness in practical applications, they are limited in terms of lack of orthogonality in the loadings (coefficients) of different principal components, the existence of correlation in the principal components, the expensive computation needed, and the lack of theoretical results such as consistency in high-dimensional situations. In this paper, we propose a new sparse principal component analysis method by introducing a new norm to replace the usual norm in traditional eigenvalue problems, and propose an efficient iterative algorithm to solve the optimization problems. With this method, we can efficiently obtain uncorrelated principal components or orthogonal loadings, and achieve the goal of explaining a high percentage of variations with sparse linear combinations. Due to the strict convexity of the new norm, we can prove the convergence of the iterative method and provide the detailed characterization of the limits. We also prove that the obtained principal component is consistent for a single component model in high dimensional situations. As illustration, we apply this method to real gene expression data with competitive results.
Genetic Variation and Antioxidant Response Gene Expression in the Bronchial Airway Epithelium of Smokers at Risk for Lung Cancer

Prior microarray studies of smokers at high risk for lung cancer have demonstrated that heterogeneity in bronchial airway epithelial cell gene expression response to smoking can serve as an early diagnostic biomarker for lung cancer. As a first step in applying functional genomic analysis to population studies, we have examined the relationship between gene expression variation and genetic variation in a central molecular pathway (NRF2-mediated antioxidant response) associated with smoking exposure and lung cancer. We assessed global gene expression in histologically normal airway epithelial cells obtained at bronchoscopy from smokers who developed lung cancer (SC, n = 20), smokers without lung cancer (SNC, n = 24), and never smokers (NS, n = 8). Functional enrichment analysis showed that the NRF2-mediated, antioxidant response element (ARE)-regulated genes, were significantly lower in SC, when compared with expression levels in SNC. Importantly, we found that the expression of MAFG (a binding partner of NRF2) was correlated with the expression of ARE genes, suggesting MAFG levels may limit target gene induction. Bioinformatically we identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in putative ARE genes and to test the impact of genetic variation, we genotyped these putative regulatory SNPs and other tag SNPs in selected NRF2 pathway genes. Sequencing MAFG locus, we identified 30 novel SNPs and two were associated with either gene expression or lung cancer status among smokers. This work demonstrates an analysis approach that integrates bioinformatics pathway and transcription factor binding site analysis with genotype, gene expression and disease status to identify SNPs that may be associated with individual differences in gene expression and/or cancer status in smokers. These polymorphisms might ultimately contribute to lung cancer risk via their effect on the airway gene expression response to tobacco-smoke exposure.
Neuroendocrine carcinomas (carcinoid tumor) of the thymus. A clinicopathologic analysis of 80 cases.

We studied 80 cases of primary thymic neuroendocrine carcinomas. Most patients had symptoms; approximately one third were asymptomatic. All cases were treated by surgical excision. The tumors were divided according to histopathologic features into low(n = 29), intermediate- (n = 36), and high-grade (n = 15) types. The tumors displayed a variegated histologic appearance and unusual cytologic features. Some cases showed transition from low to high grade within the same tumor mass. Mitotic activity ranged from fewer than 3 to more than 10 mitotic figures per 10 highpower fields, and most tumors displayed marked cellular atypia and areas of necrosis. In 73 patients, the tumor was confined to the anterior mediastinum. Positive immunohistochemical reaction was observed using antibodies for CAM 5.2 low-molecular-weight cytokeratins, broad-spectrum keratin, chromogranin, synaptophysin, and Leu-7. The clinical follow-up obtained in 50 patients correlated well with tumor differentiation. Therefore, the behavior of these tumors seems to correlate with histologic grade, which seems directly proportional to degree of differentiation. We propose replacing the term thymic carcinoid with thymic neuroendocrine carcinoma, which better reflects the aggressive biologic behavior of these tumors in the mediastinal location. The term carcinoid was introduced in 1907 by Oberndorfer 1 to designate a group of tumors in the small intestine that behaved less aggressively than conventional carcinomas. A few years later, Gosset and Masson 2 demonstrated the presence of argentaffin granules in the cells of these tumors and suggested that they were derived from Kulchitsky cells. In due time, the occurrence of these tumors in other anatomic areas was recognized. Rosai and Higa 3 were the first to acknowledge the existence of carcinoid tumors in the thymus and to separate them from more common tumors arising in this location, such as thymoma. Since then, numerous single case reports and short series of cases have been reported in the literature. 4-41 Although some previous studies seemed to indicate that carcinoid tumors arising in mediastinal location may behave more aggressively than their foregut counterparts, the true spectrum of histopathologic features and the range of clinical behavior of these lesions has not been analyzed in a large series of patients. We studied a large series of primary neuroendocrine carcinoma of the thymus (thymic carcinoids) in an attempt to correlate their morphologic features with their clinical behavior. Our results indicate that these tumors can display a broad range of cytologic features of atypia that generally are more pronounced than those observed in other foregut carcinoids. In addition, such tumors also are characterized by a more aggressive biologic behavior, justifying their inclusion within the spectrum of neuroendocrine carcinomas of the thymus.
Effect of a caspase inhibitor, zVADfmk, on the inhibition of breast cancer cells by herpes simplex virus type 1

The oncolytic effects of herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) are limited, possibly because of premature death of infected cells by apoptosis, which limits the amount of progeny virus that is produced. It has been proposed that inhibition of apoptosis in infected tumor cells would allow increased viral persistence, replication and therapeutic effect. To test this hypothesis, we infected monocyte chemoattractant factor-7 (MCF-7) and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells with HSV-1 strain 17(+) and 17Δγ34.5 in the presence or absence of N-benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp-fluoromethylketone (zVADfmk), a pan-caspase inhibitor. At low doses of HSV-1 strain 17(+) and 17Δγ34.5, the growth of MCF-7 cells was reduced to 37% or 42%, respectively, of uninfected cells. However, when cells were infected in the presence of zVADfmk, cell growth was further reduced to 24 and 33%. Similar results were seen in MDA-MB-231 cells. Cells treated with zVADfmk contained roughly 10 times more infectious viral particles than cells infected without zVADfmk, as shown by both plaque-forming and quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays. To model the situation within an infected tumor, supernatant fluids were collected from infected and non-infected cell cultures and then passed to non-infected cells. In the presence of zVADfmk, the cell growth inhibitory effect became stronger with repeated passages and was attributed to viral replication, because it could be prevented by anti-HSV antibody. These results suggest that caspases represent a novel target for drugs that increase the therapeutic efficacy of oncolytic herpes viruses against breast cancer.
Comparison of Hemoglobin and Myoglobin for In Situ Metabolite Generation in Chemical Toxicity Sensors Using a Metallopolymer Catalyst for DNA Damage Detection

Detection of DNA damage can serve as the basis for rapid, inexpensive screening of the toxicity of new chemicals. Sensors for this purpose can be constructed on electrodes using layer-by-layer electrostatic adsorption of DNA and bioactivating proteins that mimic liver cytochrome P450s. This paper evaluates the use of the inexpensive protein hemoglobin (Hb) as the bioactivating “enzyme” in such sensors. Stable films containing myoglobin (Mb) and DNA, and Hb and DNA, were assembled one layer at a time on rough pyrolytic graphite (PG) electrodes on top of a 900 nm thick layer of chloro-bis(bipyridyl)ruthenium(II)-poly(vinylpyridine) [PVP-ClRu(bpy)22+], a catalyst for DNA oxidation. The films showed independent, chemically reversible voltammetric peaks for protein heme FeIII/FeII and polymer RuIII/RuII redox sites. Incubation of PVP-ClRu(bpy)22+-(DNA/protein)3 films in pH 5.5 buffer containing styrene and hydrogen peroxide over 15 min resulted in nearly linear increases in catalytic square-wave voltammetric (SWV) peaks at the RuII oxidation potential of ca. 0.73 V (vs. SCE). Films using Hb performed equally well as those containing Mb. No significant changes in SWV peaks were found for control incubations with toluene and hydrogen peroxide, styrene without hydrogen peroxide, or hydrogen peroxide alone.
Bureaucracy in Japan

Japan, the first Asian country to enter the ranks of the industrialized democracies, provides an excellent case study of a non-Western, but highly modern, national bureaucracy. As such, it provides a useful, informative, but culturally different, country for comparative purposes, whether with the United States specifically or with other industrialized democracies more generally.—Because of the central role that the Japanese bureaucracy has played in planning and implementing so many of the major changes in Japan, it is a good example of bureaucracy as planner and agent of change.—Because the Japanese bureaucracy has been so closely linked to political leadership, it provides an important contrast to countries where bureaucrats and politicians are presumed to have rather separate and antagonistic roles.—Because Japan has selfconsciously limited the size of its governmental bureaucracy, the Japanese case provides an excellent counter-case to presumptions that bureaucratic expansion is inevitable. Japan instead offers a most important case of systematic downscaling of bureaucracy.—Because the Japanese bureaucracy has gone through several conscious historical reformulations, including explicit imitation of the Prussian model, and systematic reformulation by American bureaucrats, it is an excellent case for examining the interaction of competing bureaucratic traditions.
Quasi-Steady Katabatic Winds on Slopes in Wide Valleys: Hydraulic Theory and Observations

Theoretical and field observational studies on mean velocity and temperature fields of quasi-steady nocturnal downslope (katabatic) flows on sloping surfaces are reported for the case of very wide valleys in the presence of weak synoptic winds. Because of the lateral constraints on the flow, Coriolis effects are considered negligible. The layer-averaged equations of Manins and Sawford were used for the analysis. It is shown that (i) in the absence of significant turbulent entrainment into the current (i.e., at large Richardson numbers Ri h cos /U 2 ) the downslope flow velocity U is related to the slope length (LH), slope angle (), and the buoyancy jump between the current and the background atmosphere ( )a sU u(LH sin) 1/2 , where u is a constant and h is the flow depth; (ii) on very long slopes h is proportional to Lh(tan) 1/2 ; and (iii) under highly stable conditions (i.e., Ri 1) the katabatic flow exhibits pulsations with period T0 2/N sin, where N is the buoyancy frequency of the background atmosphere. These predictions are verified principally using observations made during the Vertical Transport and Mixing Experiment (VTMX) conducted in Salt Lake City, Utah, in October 2000. By assuming the flow follows a straight line trajectory to the nearest ridgeline a good agreement was found between the predictions and observations over appropriate Richardson number ranges. For Ri 1.5, u 0.2, although u was a decreasing function of Ri at lesser stabilities. Oscillations with period T0 are simply alongslope (critical) internal-wave oscillations with a slope-normal wavenumber, which are liable for degeneration into turbulence during their reflection. These critical internal waves may be responsible, at least partly, for weak sustained turbulence often observed in complex-terrain nocturnal boundary layer flows.
FABRICATION, CHARACTERIZATION AND MICROSENSING OF WHISPERING- GALLERY MODE MICRO-COUPLING SYSTEMS

An optical micro-coupling system of whispering-gallery mode usually consists of a resonator (e.g. a sphere) and a coupler (e.g. a taper). In this report, silica microspheres of 50–500 μm in diameter are fabricated by hydrogen flame fusing of an end of a single mode fiber or fiber taper. Fiber tapers are fabricated by the method of heating and pulling that meets an adiabatic condition. Taper’s waist diameter can routinely be made less than 1 μm and almost zero transmission loss in a taper is achieved which allows an effective and phase-matched coupling for a wide range sizes of microspheres. Both resonators and couplers’ surface microstructure and shapes are examined by scanning electronic microscopy. Three regimes of coupling are achieved, enabling a good flexibility to control Q value and coupling efficiency of a micro-coupling system. Whispering gallery mode shift is used to demonstrate a novel temperature micro-sensor. Its sensitivity determined from actual experimental results agrees well with the theoretical value. A concept of using the photon’s cavity ring down (CRD) in the microsphere to make a novel high-sensitivity trace gas micro-sensor is proposed. The CRD time constant when ammonia is chosen as the analyte gas is predicted using the simulated absorption lines.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Blood 'n' guts: an update on schistosome digestive peptidases.

Peptidases (proteolytic enzymes) found in the gut of schistosomes digest host blood proteins and facilitate the maintenance of optimal nutritional and reproductive status. We review the latest information regarding these peptidases, including their individual biochemical and biophysical characteristics, and their possible interactions in vivo. The crucial issues of functional redundancy and suitability as drug targets are also discussed with respect to recent advances in genetic and chemical technologies.