cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clinkering-Free Cementation by Fly Ash Carbonation

Abstract The production of ordinary portland cement (OPC) is a CO2 intensive process. Specifically, OPC clinkering reactions not only require substantial energy in the form of heat, but they also result in the release of CO2; i.e., from both the decarbonation of limestone and the combustion of fuel to provide heat. To create alternatives to this CO2 intensive process, this paper demonstrates a new route for clinkering-free cementation by the carbonation of fly ash; i.e., a by-product of coal combustion. It is shown that in moist environments and at sub-boiling temperatures, Ca-rich fly ashes react readily with gas-phase CO2 to produce robustly cemented solids. After seven days of exposure to vapor-phase CO2 at 75 °C, such formulations achieve a compressive strength of around 35 MPa and take-up 9% CO2 (i.e., by mass of fly ash solids). On the other hand, Ca-poor fly ashes due to their reduced alkalinity (i.e., low abundance of mobile Ca- or Mg-species), show limited potential for CO2 uptake and strength gain—although this deficiency can be somewhat addressed by the provision of supplemental/extrinsic Ca agents. The roles of CO2 concentration and processing temperature are discussed, and linked to the progress of reactions and the development of microstructure. The outcomes create new pathways for achieving clinkering-free cementation while enabling the beneficial utilization (“upcycling”) of emitted CO2 and fly ash; i.e., two abundant, but underutilized industrial by-products.
Identification of human monoamine oxidase (MAO) A and B gene promoters

The promoter of human monoamine oxidase (MAO) A and B genes have been identified. The core promoter region of MAO A is comprised of two 90 bp repeats each of which contains two Sp1 elements and lacks a TATA box. The MAO B core promoter region contains two sets of overlapping Spl sites which flank a CACCC element all upstream of a TATA box. The different organization of the MAO A and B promoters may underlie their different cell and tissue specific expression.
Suggested pharmacy practice laboratory activities to align with pre-APPE domains in the Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum.

Abstract Our situation The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education outlines ability statements that pharmacy students should be able to demonstrate prior to beginning their Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs). Practice laboratory courses offer extensive opportunities for students to participate in activities and assessments that enable them to meet the objectives outlined in the Pre-APPE Core Domains in Standards 2016. This review identifies selected published literature, activities, and assessment methods that can be adapted and implemented in practice laboratory courses to help achieve the abilities outlined within the Pre-APPE Core Domains. Methodological literature review The Medline database and journals related to pharmacy education were searched to identify activities and assessments for each domain. Search terms for each core domain were extracted from the domain titles, ability statements, and performance competencies and coupled with “laboratory” or “lab.” “Pharmacy” was also added as a search term when searching the Medline database. Preference was given to example activities published in the last 15 years. Abstracts and activities based on author experience were also included. Our recommendations and their applications Specific examples of how activities and assessments can be included in practice laboratories to develop or refresh skills identified in the pre-APPE core domains were described. Potential impact The practice laboratory setting is an ideal place for students to learn and practice the skills necessary to demonstrate readiness for APPEs. This paper serves as a resource for instructors, curriculum committees, or pharmacy programs looking for ideas to expand specific training or develop particular skill areas.
Determination of Hageman Factor (HG, Factor XII) and Plasma Prekallikrein (Fletcher Factor) by Radioimmunoassays

The titers of components of the plasma kallikrein-kinin system have been measured conventionally by their biological functions. The functional assays are, however, antagonized by the presence of inhibitors and/or the absence of potentiators in test samples. Immunologic assays obviate these difficulties. We have developed specific, sensitive and reproducible radioimmunoassays (RIA) for HF and prekallikrein, and have applied these assays to some clinical conditions. Normal pooled human plasma contained approximately 40 μg of HF and 50 μg of prekallikrein per ml. RIA were able to measure concentrations of HF and prekallikrein as low as 0.1% and 0.3% that of normal pooled plasma respectively. A good correlation existed between titers measured by clotting and radioimmunoassays among 40 normal subjects (correlation co-efficient = 0.82 for HF and 0.71 for prekallikrein). There was no significant difference between the levels of HF and prekallikrein in plasma and those in serum. Both HF and prekallikrein were significantly reduced in plasmas of patients with advanced liver cirrhosis or disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and in cord serums, but they were normal in plasmas obtained after strenuous physical exercise and in plasmas of patients under treatment with warfarin.
Morphology and toughening mechanisms in clay-modified styrene-butadiene-styrene rubber-toughened polypropylene

Clay-modified styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) rubber is utilized to toughen polypropylene (PP). The SBS rubber is found to have good compatibility with clay particles. SBS rubber helps to finely disperse clay particles in PP matrix. Mode-I fracture mechanisms are investigated using optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy techniques. Rubber particle cavitation and matrix shear yielding are found to be the main toughening mechanisms in PP/SBS system. In the case of PP/SBS/clay system, widespread rubber particle cavitation, which appears to be facilitated by the presence of clay particle inclusions inside the SBS rubber particles, takes place in the PP matrix. This, in turn, leads to the formation of a bigger shear yielded zone in PP matrix. As a result, an enhanced toughness is observed.
Induction chemotherapy with carboplatin, nab-paclitaxel and cetuximab for at least N2b nodal status or surgically unresectable squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Abstract Background Although induction studies of TPF in SCCHN have not improved outcomes compared to chemoradiotherapy alone, phase II studies of weekly carboplatin (CbP), paclitaxel and cetuximab (C225) have shown promising results. Nano-albumin-paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel) based chemotherapy has demonstrated a higher response rate (RR) than solvent-based paclitaxel in squamous cell carcinoma of the lung with favorable toxicity. Materials and methods Patients with treatment naive SCCHN of any site with ≥N2b disease or that was unresectable by strict criteria were eligible. Patients were treated with nab-paclitaxel 100 mg/m2, CbP area under the curve (AUC) 2 and C225 400 mg/m2 week 1 then 250 mg/m2 for six weeks, followed by standard of care chemoradiotherapy (CRT). The primary endpoint was clinical response rate to induction therapy as defined by RECIST version 1.1. Secondary measures included toxicity, progression-free survival, overall survival and quality of life as measured by FACT-HN. Results 38 eligible subjects were treated. Primary sites were: oropharynx (OPX) (25), larynx (3) oral cavity (OC) (9), hypopharynx (1). The most common grade 3 or 4 toxicity during induction was acneiform rash (26%) followed by neutropenia (16%). RR was 76.3%. Median PFS and OS have not been reached (median follow-up of 3.3 years); they were superior in patients with response. Conclusions The combination of nab-paclitaxel, CbP and C225 is feasible, tolerable and active against locally advanced SCCHN.
Transfer of TLC screening methods to quantitative HPTLC–densitometry methods for pharmaceutical products containing amlodipine besylate, cefpodoxime proxetil, cetirizine 2HCl, diclofenac sodium, efavirenz, mefenamic acid, and atovaquone + proguanil HCl

Transfer of seven thin-layer chromatography (TLC) Global Pharma Health Fund E.V. Minilab protocols for screening counterfeit pharmaceutical products in the field to quantitative high-performance TL...
Flow Separation Control over a Thin Post-Stall Airfoil: Effects of Excitation Frequency

The results of experiments investigating excitation of flow instability over a VR-7 airfoil at a post-stall angle of attack of 19° are presented. The Reynolds number based on the chord was fixed at...
Towards a new classification of systemic sclerosis.

Analysis of data from the European Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) cohort has initially identified six subsets of systemic sclerosis (SSc), as opposed to the binary classification of limited and diffuse cutaneous SSc. We now move closer to a more actionable SSc classification for improved clinical care and trial design.
Irreducible Volar DRUJ Dislocation with Distal Radius Fracture Dislocation.

Background Volar dislocations of the distal radioulnar joint (DRUJ) are rare and often missed during initial evaluation. Chronic dislocations and disability can occur when DRUJ dislocations are unrecognized and not reduced. DRUJ dislocations often occur with other wrist injuries, which may complicate reduction. Closed reduction can fail to reduce DRUJ dislocations, in which case open reduction is necessary. Case Description This case describes a patient who had a volar dislocation of the DRUJ with an associated dorsal distal radius fracture dislocation. Initial attempts at closed reduction were unsuccessful which prompted surgical intervention. After open reduction and internal fixation of the distal radius fracture dislocation, closed reduction of the DRUJ remained unsuccessful. This prompted an open reduction of the DRUJ. Surgical exposure demonstrated that the extensor carpi ulnaris and the distal radius had prevented closed reduction of the DRUJ. Postoperatively, a splint was placed with the wrist in supination. The patient followed-up at the 2- and 4-month intervals with persistent subluxation. However, the patient also reported minimal pain and the ability to return to work and previous level of activity. Literature Review Current literature regarding irreducible volar DRUJ dislocations with distal radius fracture dislocations includes sparse case reports, which are reviewed in this report. Clinical Relevance This case illustrates successful treatment for an uncommon volar DRUJ dislocation associated with a dorsal distal radius fracture dislocation and can be utilized to help guide future treatment of similar complex cases.
Theoretical Investigation of Positional Substitution and Solvent Effects on n-Cyanoindole Fluorescent Probes.

The absorption and fluorescence of indole and n-cyanoindole derivatives are modeled in the gas phase and aqueous solution using high-level quantum mechanical methods and implicit solvation. These molecules have been experimentally examined as fluorescent probes for studying the structure, function, and hydration status of proteins and it is found that substitution of the cyano group on different positions of indole has diverse effects on the absorption and fluorescence spectra in water solvent. Our calculations predict that in absorption the Lb excited state is lower in energy than the La state for all positional isomers in the gas phase and in solution. In fluorescence, however, water solvent causes level inversion leading to emission from the La excited state for indole and n-cyanoindole derivatives with the cyano on the six-membered ring. However, when cyano substitution is on the five-membered ring, La is not stabilized enough and emission occurs from the Lb excited state. In addition, we predict that the relatively high fluorescence intensity of 4-cyanoindole in aqueous solution results from minimization of radiationless decay pathways since both absorption and fluorescence occur from the lowest excited state (unlike the other derivatives).
Laparoscopic anti-reflux procedures with hepatic shoulder technique in the surgical management of large hiatal hernias and paraesophageal hernias: a follow-up study

Numerous techniques have been historically proposed in the management of gastroesophageal reflux and paraesophageal hernias (PEH). A follow-up study (Quilici et al. in Surg Endosc 23(11):2620–2623, 2009) to a novel laparoscopic approach introduced in 2009 and performed in 49 patients is presented. All procedures were performed via laparoscopy. Thirty-two patients underwent a Nissen Fundoplication, eleven a reduction of the PEH with a Nissen fundoplication, two without a fundoplication, and four with a Collis–Nissen fundoplication. In all patients, the left hepatic lobe was freed, repositioned, and anchored under and inferior to the gastroesophageal junction, propping the gastroesophageal junction anteriorly. This maneuver entirely covers and closes the diaphragmatic defect. At the time of laparoscopy, several patients were found not to be suitable candidates for this procedure (morphology of the left hepatic lobe). Forty-nine procedures were completed. One patient was re-explored on POD 2 for a tight hiatus post-Collis fundoplication. Post-operatively, all other patients did well without notable, unusual complaints. The average length of stay was 2.2 days. Although not statistically significant, 43 patients had no recurrence of symptoms with the longest follow-up at 10 years, two patients were lost to follow-up, one patient had a recurrence of the PEH and three patients stated they were experiencing some form of gastroesophageal reflux requiring medical management. In selected patients, patients with an “at-risk” crural closure during a laparoscopic anti-reflux procedure or PEH can safely be managed via a laparoscopic anti-reflux procedure with the hepatic shoulder technique. This technique has shown good early post-operative results and could be used as an alternative to a laparoscopic mesh-reinforced fundoplication in difficult crural closures or in the management of large paraesophageal hernias.
α-Branched amines by catalytic 1,1-addition of C–H bonds and aminating agents to terminal alkenes

α-Branched amines are present in hundreds of pharmaceutical agents and clinical candidates and are important targets for synthesis. Here, we show the convergent synthesis of α-branched amines from three readily accessible starting materials: aromatic C–H bond substrates, terminal alkenes and aminating agents. This reaction proceeds by an intermolecular formation of C–C and C–N bonds at the sp3 carbon branch site through an uncommon 1,1-alkene addition pathway. The reaction is carried out under mild conditions and has high functional group compatibility. Ethylene and propylene feedstock chemicals are effective alkene inputs, with ethylene in particular providing for the one-step synthesis of α-methyl branched amines, a motif prevalent in drug structures. The reaction is scalable and 1% loading of an air-stable dimeric rhodium precatalyst is effective for several different types of products. The use of chiral catalysts also enables the asymmetric synthesis of α-branched amines. α-Branched amines are commonplace in pharmaceutical agents. This work reports the synthesis of α-branched amines by simultaneous C–C and C–N bond formation at the sp3 carbon branch site through an 1,1-alkene addition pathway and utilization of three readily accessible starting inputs in a single catalytic cycle.
Strain-specific responses of toxic and non-toxic Microcystis aeruginosa to exudates of heterotrophic bacteria

Although the cyanobacterium Microcystis is colonial during water blooms, isolated Microcystis strains become unicellular in culture. Studies indicate that heterotrophic bacteria can promote Microcystis colonies in culture, but little is known about the underlying mechanism or how widespread it is among bacteria. This study investigated the identity and colony-promoting effects of bacteria isolated from the 2014 Microcystis bloom in Lake Erie. Isolates were classified by their 16S rRNA gene sequences. Toxic and non-toxic cultures of M. aeruginosa were exposed to exudates of bacterial isolates, and their morphology, polysaccharide content, and reflectance spectra were compared to those of M. aeruginosa control cultures. Six isolates belonging to three genera enhanced the frequency or size of M. aeruginosa colonies in cultures where a dialysis barrier prevented direct contact between heterotrophic cells and M. aeruginosa cells. Toxic and non-toxic M. aeruginosa strains differed in how their morphology and optical properties responded to treatment. This study demonstrates that heterotrophic bacteria can promote colonial morphology in Microcystis without making physical contact with the Microcystis cells, as well as the first to indicate that toxic and non-toxic strains of the same morphospecies have different morphological and optical responses.
The isolation and molecular characterization of cerebral microvessels

The study of cerebral microvessels is becoming increasingly important in a wide variety of conditions, such as stroke, sepsis, traumatic brain injury and neurodegenerative diseases. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying cerebral microvascular dysfunction in these conditions are largely unknown. The molecular characterization of cerebral microvessels in experimental disease models has been hindered by the lack of a standardized method to reproducibly isolate intact cerebral microvessels with consistent cellular compositions and without the use of enzymatic digestion, which causes undesirable molecular and metabolic changes. Herein, we describe an optimized protocol for microvessel isolation from mouse brain cortex that yields microvessel fragments with consistent populations of discrete blood-brain barrier (BBB) components (endothelial cells, pericytes and astrocyte end feet) while retaining high RNA integrity and protein post-translational modifications (e.g., phosphorylation). We demonstrate that this protocol allows the quantification of changes in gene expression in a disease model (stroke) and the activation of signaling pathways in mice subjected to drug administration in vivo. We also describe the isolation of genomic DNA (gDNA) and bisulfite treatment for the assessment of DNA methylation, as well as the optimization of chromatin extraction and shearing from cortical microvessels. This optimized protocol and the described applications should improve the understanding of the molecular mechanisms governing cerebral microvascular dysfunction, which may help in the development of novel therapies for stroke and other neurologic conditions.
Preliminary report of a novel formulation of clinical-grade, fully matured, tumor-associated peptide-loaded dendritic cells for cancer immunotherapy

We developed and clinically test a new method to manufacture mature dendritic cells for autologous cell therapy of solid and hematological malignancies. Peripheral blood monocytes are matured into dendritic cells with GM-CSF/IL-4 mixture, and then activated through IL1b, TNFa, IFNa-2A, and Poly(I:C), then viably frozen until use. DC are injected intra-dermally for a total of 6 injections. High-grade mDC with high pre- and post- freezing yields could be generated. These DC spontaneously produce IL12p70 and they can be further stimulated via CD40. In a patient with advanced pancreatic cancer treated with our mDC formulation, we observed no toxicity but remarkable immune response and objective response in terms of tumor shrinking. We describe a new method to manufacture GMP-grade dendritic cells for autologous therapeutic cancer vaccines. We also show proof-of-principle efficacy in a patient with advanced pancreatic cancer. NCT02705703.
A scoping review of transfer learning research on medical image analysis using ImageNet.

Abstract Objective Employing transfer learning (TL) with convolutional neural networks (CNNs), well-trained on non-medical ImageNet dataset, has shown promising results for medical image analysis in recent years. We aimed to conduct a scoping review to identify these studies and summarize their characteristics in terms of the problem description, input, methodology, and outcome. Materials and methods To identify relevant studies, MEDLINE, IEEE, and ACM digital library were searched for studies published between June 1st, 2012 and January 2nd, 2020. Two investigators independently reviewed articles to determine eligibility and to extract data according to a study protocol defined a priori. Results After screening of 8421 articles, 102 met the inclusion criteria. Of 22 anatomical areas, eye (18%), breast (14%), and brain (12%) were the most commonly studied. Data augmentation was performed in 72% of fine-tuning TL studies versus 15% of the feature-extracting TL studies. Inception models were the most commonly used in breast related studies (50%), while VGGNet was the common in eye (44%), skin (50%) and tooth (57%) studies. AlexNet for brain (42%) and DenseNet for lung studies (38%) were the most frequently used models. Inception models were the most frequently used for studies that analyzed ultrasound (55%), endoscopy (57%), and skeletal system X-rays (57%). VGGNet was the most common for fundus (42%) and optical coherence tomography images (50%). AlexNet was the most frequent model for brain MRIs (36%) and breast X-Rays (50%). 35% of the studies compared their model with other well-trained CNN models and 33% of them provided visualization for interpretation. Discussion This study identified the most prevalent tracks of implementation in the literature for data preparation, methodology selection and output evaluation for various medical image analysis tasks. Also, we identified several critical research gaps existing in the TL studies on medical image analysis. The findings of this scoping review can be used in future TL studies to guide the selection of appropriate research approaches, as well as identify research gaps and opportunities for innovation.
A pharmacovigilance study of hydroxychloroquine cardiac safety profile: Potential implication in COVID‐19 mitigation

In light of the favorable outcomes of few small, non-randomized clinical studies, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) for hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. In fact, subsequent clinical studies with COVID-19 and HCQ have reported limited efficacy and poor clinical benefits. Unfortunately, a robust clinical trial for its effectiveness is not feasible at this emergency. Additionally, HCQ was suspected of causing cardiovascular adverse reactions (CV-AEs), but it has never been directly investigated. The objective of this pharmacovigilance analysis was to determine and characterize HCQ-associated cardiovascular adverse events (CV-AEs). We performed a disproportionality analysis of HCQ-associated CV-AEs using the FDA adverse event reporting system (FAERS) database. The FAERS database, comprising more than 11,901,836 datasets and 10,668,655 patient records with drug-adverse reactions, was analyzed. The disproportionality analysis was used to calculate the reporting odds ratios (ROR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) to predict HCQ-associated CV-AEs. HCQ was associated with higher reporting of right ventricular hypertrophy (ROR: 6.68; 95% CI: 4.02 to 11.17), left ventricular hypertrophy (ROR: 3.81; 95% CI: 2.57 to 5.66), diastolic dysfunction (ROR: 3.54; 95% CI: 2.19 to 5.71), pericarditis (ROR: 3.09; 95% CI: 2.27 to 4.23), torsades de pointes (TdP) (ROR: 3.05; 95% CI: 2.30 to 4.10), congestive cardiomyopathy (ROR: 2.98; 95% CI: 2.01 to 4.42), ejection fraction decreased (ROR: 2.41; 95% CI: 1.80 to 3.22), right ventricular failure (ROR: 2.40; 95% CI: 1.64 to 3.50), atrioventricular block complete (ROR: 2.30; 95% CI: 1.55 to 3.41) and QT prolongation (ROR: 2.09; 95% CI: 1.74 to 2.52). QT prolongation and TdP are most relevant to the COVID-19 treatment regimen of high doses for a comparatively short period and represent the most common HCQ-associated AEs. The patients receiving HCQ are at higher risk of various cardiac AEs, including QT prolongation and TdP. These findings highlight the urgent need for prospective, randomized, controlled studies to assess the risk/benefit ratio of HCQ in the COVID-19 setting before its widespread adoption as therapy.
Community Sentiment and the Law: Concluding Thoughts and Future Directions

The belief that individuals have little impact on political processes and outcomes seems to be increasingly common in recent years. Indeed, external efficacy in the political system, which taps into the belief that one has a say in government decisions, has sharply declined over the past 50 years in the USA, with the lowest amounts occurring in 1990, 1994, and 2008, (www.electionstudies.org; see Chamberlain, 2013). A recent analysis indicates that these declines have occurred across different political cultures, suggesting a universal shift toward lower external efficacy (Chamberlain, 2013). While it may be easy to identify cases in which one is not heard by governmental officials (e.g., an elected official not voting according to the will of their constituency), there are numerous avenues through which individuals and collectives can impact the political landscape. Serving as a juror is one way in which members of the community can impact legal outcomes in both civil and criminal cases. Individuals can also impact local law and policy voting on referenda, whether they are related to fiscal (e.g., tax increases) or social (e.g., affirmative action) issues. Individuals can also vote for local and national candidates who best represent (and theoretically act on) their interests and values. Empirical (e.g., Oldmixon & Calfano, 2007) and anecdotal (e.g., Supreme Court opinions in Weems v. U.S., 1910 and Furman v. Georgia, 1972) evidence suggests that community sentiment does impact the law through these various avenues, albeit in sometimes indirect and imperfect ways (see Chaps. 1, 2, and 3, this volume, for discussions). Thus, in spite of dropping confidence in one’s ability to impact the legal system, evidence suggests that there are various channels through which community sentiment does impact the law.
How Managers Maintain Control Through Collaborative Repair: Evidence from Platform-Mediated “Gigs”

This paper develops a new understanding about how “client managers”—those using platform labor markets to hire and manage workers—attempt to maintain control when managing skilled contractors. We c...
The role of emotion in interactivity effects: positive emotion enhances attitudes, negative emotion helps information processing

Individuals can react to the same media content in significantly different ways depending on their emotions, yet only little attention has been paid to this topic in the context of interactive medi...
Assumption-Based Planning: A Tool for Reducing Avoidable Surprises

Unwelcome surprises in the life of any organization can often be traced to the failure of an assumption that the organization's leadership didn't anticipate or had 'forgotten' it was making. Assumption-based planning (ABP) is a tool for identifying as many as possible of the assumptions underlying the plans of an organization and bringing those assumptions explicitly into the planning process. This book presents a variety of techniques for rooting out those vulnerable, crucial assumptions. The book also presents steps for monitoring all the vulnerable assumptions of a plan, for taking actions to control those vulnerable assumptions where possible, and for preparing the organization for the potential failure of those assumptions where control is not possible. The book provides a variety of examples and practical advice for those interested in carrying out an application of ABP in the fields of business, management, strategic planning, engineering, and in military applications.
Diindolylmethane inhibits indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase activity in breast cancer cells

2461 Introduction: Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) metabolizes tryptophan to kynurenine. Recent evidence is revealing a critical role of IDO in the regulation of immune function, and especially in the local control of tolerance vs. rejection in tissues including tumors. A lack of clinically available IDO inhibitors has limited the experimental progress in developing anticancer therapies based on IDO as a therapeutic target. Since the nutritional supplements, indole-3-carbinol and its in vivo metabolite, 3,3’-diindolylmethane (DIM), are indole containing compounds with structural similarities to tryptophan, we hypothesized that these compounds may be inhibitors of IDO enzyme activity that could be used clinically. The goals of these experiments were to characterize the IDO expression in human breast cancer cells and tumors and to test the effect of DIM on the IDO enzyme activity. Methods: MCF-7 and SkBr-3 cells were cultured in medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum. Cells were treated with recombinant human interferon-gamma (IFN) for 48 hrs for the dose response studies and for multiple timepoints in the timecourse studies. Total RNA was isolated and IDO mRNA expression was determined by real-time PCR. IDO enzyme activity in living cells was determined by measuring the depletion of tryptophan and the appearance of kynurenine in the cultured medium using an HPLC. IDO enzyme inhibition assays were conducted using SkBr-3 cell lysates using kynurenine production as an endpoint. IDO expression in human breast tumors was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Results: In the absence of IFN treatment, both the MCF-7 and the SkBr-3 breast cancer cells metabolized very little of the trptophan to kynurenine (Kyn). However, IFN treatment induced a significant increase in the IDO activity in both breast cancer cell lines. This resulted in the disappearance of ∼70% of the tryptophan and the accumulation to approximately 20 micromolar kynurenine in the SkBr-3 media. The IDO mRNA was also induced >100-fold following the IFN treatment. DIM competitively inhibited tryptophan metabolism in SkBr-3 cell lysates with a Ki of ∼25 micromolar. DIM did not inhibit tryptophan metabolism in human liver cytosolic preparations, suggesting that it does not inhibit tryptophan dioxygenase. IDO protein expression was also detected by immunohistochemistry in human breast tumors and normal human breast tissue. Conclusions: We conclude that IDO is readily expressed in breast cancer tissues and that the IDO activity in breast cancer cell lysates is inhibited by DIM. This opens the possibility that part of the anticancer activity of indole-3-carbinol maybe mediated through the inhibition of IDO and that the potential side effects of tryptophan inhibition should be monitored in subjects taking this supplement.
Spammer success through customization and randomization of URLs

Spam researchers and security personnel require a method for determining whether the URLs embedded in email messages are safe or potentially hostile. Prior research has been focused on spam collections that are quite insignificant compared to real-world spam volumes. In this paper, researchers evaluate 464 million URLs representing nearly 1 million unique domains observed in email messages in a six day period from November 2014. Four methods of customization and randomization of URLs believed to be used by spammers to attempt to increase deliverability of their URLs are explored: domain diversity, hostname wild-carding, path uniqueness, and attribute uniqueness. Implications of the findings suggest improvements for “URL blacklist” methods, methods of sampling to decrease the number of URLs that must be reviewed for safety, as well as presenting some challenges to the ICANN, Registrar, and Email Safety communities.
Predator Effects on Dense Zooplankton Aggregations in the Coastal Ocean

Abstract : The distribution of organisms in the ocean is highly heterogeneous, influencing both sampling and ecological structure. The complex spatial and temporal structure of predators and prey affect one another. Numerous studies in pelagic systems have investigated the effects of prey distribution on predator behavior and studies in benthic habitats have revealed the significant impacts predators can have on prey distribution. However, primarily because of sampling difficulties, few studies have investigated the effects of predators on prey distribution in pelagic systems. In the last decade, advances in measurement capabilities have led to the discovery of plankton aggregations over continental shelves with vertical dimensions of tens of centimeters. These thin layers can have a horizontal extent of several kilometers and may persist for days. Sharply distinct from the surrounding water column, the density of phytoplankton and zooplankton in these layers can be orders of magnitude higher than at surrounding depths. The discovery of these ubiquitous layers of plankton has opened up new possibilities in studying aggregation in the ocean. The long-term goal of this work is to understand the ecological importance of thin layers of plankton
A novel statistical method to estimate the effective SNP size in vertebrate genomes and categorized genomic regions

The local environment of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) contains abundant genetic information for the study of mechanisms of mutation, genome evolution, and causes of diseases. Recent studies revealed that neighboring-nucleotide biases on SNPs were strong and the genome-wide bias patterns could be represented by a small subset of the total SNPs. It remains unsolved for the estimation of the effective SNP size, the number of SNPs that are sufficient to represent the bias patterns observed from the whole SNP data. To estimate the effective SNP size, we developed a novel statistical method, SNPKS, which considers both the statistical and biological significances. SNPKS consists of two major steps: to obtain an initial effective size by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (KS test) and to find an intermediate effective size by interval evaluation. The SNPKS algorithm was implemented in computer programs and applied to the real SNP data. The effective SNP size was estimated to be 38,200, 39,300, 38,000, and 38,700 in the human, chimpanzee, dog, and mouse genomes, respectively, and 39,100, 39,600, 39,200, and 42,200 in human intergenic, genic, intronic, and CpG island regions, respectively. SNPKS is the first statistical method to estimate the effective SNP size. It runs efficiently and greatly outperforms the algorithm implemented in SNPNB. The application of SNPKS to the real SNP data revealed the similar small effective SNP size (38,000 – 42,200) in the human, chimpanzee, dog, and mouse genomes as well as in human genomic regions. The findings suggest strong influence of genetic factors across vertebrate genomes.
Variability of Irradiance in the Wave Boundary Layer

Abstract : Our primary goal is improve our understanding of the role of surface waves, bubble clouds, and near surface oceanic processes on the spatial distribution of oceanic irradiance. The objectives are to: 1. Measure the variance in the oceanic light field. 2. Associate the variance in the light field with surface waves and variance in the inherent optical properties and physical properties. We are using an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to make spatial measurements of physical (near surface T, C, turbulence levels), and optical (a, c, bb, Ed) fields from sensors mounted on OSU's AUV. We are working with Satlantic to also incorporate a radiance camera within the AUV. By measuring the irradiance field at high frequency we will be able to provide the optical measurements needed to evaluate models of surface effects on the irradiance field (e.g., Zaneveld et al. 2001). The optical measurements will be combined with physical measurements to improve physical models associated with surface mixing.
Interfacial reactions between thin metal films and polar {0001} oriented CdS substrates

The interaction between deposited Al films on opposite polar {0001} surfaces of CdS single crystals was investigated by Auger electron spectroscopy. Aluminium reacts strongly with CdS resulting in a chemical shift of the Al Auger peaks. A chemical drawing effect is believed to dominate with thinner films, while a chemical trapping effect is dominant with thicker films. A sharp boundary between Al and CdS was formed initially; however, due to the reactive out-diffusion, the boundary became extended (over tens of nanometres) with time. A possible mechanism is proposed to explain these observations. The behaviour of the two polar surfaces of CdS was virtually the same.
Validation of a High-Throughput Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method for Urinary Cortisol and Cortisone

Background: Urinary free cortisol and cortisone measurements are useful in evaluation of Cushing syndrome, apparent mineralocorticoid excess, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, and adrenal insufficiency. To reduce analytical interference, improve accuracy, and shorten the analysis time, we developed a liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for urinary cortisol and cortisone. Methods: We added 190 pmol (70 ng) of stable isotope cortisol-9,11,12,12-d4 to 0.5 mL of urine as an internal standard before extraction. The urine was extracted with 4.5 mL of methylene chloride, washed, and dried, and 10 μL of the reconstituted extract was injected onto a reversed-phase C18 column and analyzed using a tandem mass spectrometer operating in the positive mode. Results: Multiple calibration curves for urinary cortisol and cortisone exhibited consistent linearity and reproducibility in the range 7–828 nmol/L (0.25–30 μg/dL). Interassay CVs were 7.3–16% for mean concentrations of 6–726 nmol/L (0.2–26.3 μg/dL) for cortisol and cortisone. The detection limit was 6 nmol/L (0.2 μg/dL). Recovery of cortisol and cortisone added to urine was 97–123%. The regression equation for the LC-MS/MS ( y ) and HPLC ( x ) method for cortisol was: y = 1.11 x + 0.03 μg cortisol/24 h ( r 2 = 0.992; n = 99). The regression equation for the LC-MS/MS ( y ) and immunoassay ( x ) methods for cortisol was: y = 0.66 x − 12.1 μg cortisol/24 h ( r 2 = 0.67; n = 99). Conclusion: The sensitivity and specificity of the LC-MS/MS method for urinary free cortisol and cortisone offer advantages over routine immunoassays or chromatographic methods because of elimination of drug interferences, high throughput, and short chromatographic run time.
Paraelectric thin films for microwave applications

Abstract We have designed, fabricated and characterized electrically tunable and adaptive microwave devices incorporating paraelectric thin films of Sr0.5Ba0.5TiO3 (SBTO) and SrTiO3 (STO) on 1 cm × 1 cm × 0.5 mm LaAlO3 substrates. The paraelectric layer thickness for these devices varied between 0.5 μm and 2 μm. We used normal metal Au and superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-x top electrodes for SBTO and STO devices, and operated them at room- and cryogenic-temperatures, respectively. The microwave devices included voltage-tunable resonators, voltage-tunable phase shifters, voltage-tunable mixers, and voltage-tunable filters. Under dc voltage bias, these compact planar devices exhibited up to 30% resonant frequency modulation, about 1°/mm-GHz phase shift, more than 40 dB change in mixed microwave power, and fine-tunable symmetric filter profile with less than 2% bandwidth and more than 15% adaptive range.
A comparative analysis of effects of early versus late prenatal WIC participation on birth weight: NYS, 1995.

Objectives: This study examined the effects of prenatal participation in the NYS WIC Program on birth weight through enhanced control of selection bias and gestational age bias. Program effects were assessed separately for White, Black, and Hispanic women and subpopulations defined by values of Kotelchuck index of adequacy of prenatal care utilization. Methods: 1995 New York State Vital Statistics records were linked to WIC certifications, administrative and check redemption files, and to the 1990 federal census of NY county level data. The final data set contained 77,601 records. Birth weight among WIC participants who enrolled early and participated longer were compared to those who enrolled late and participated a shorter time. Selection bias was addressed using classification tree methods as part of a propensity score analysis. Gestational age bias was addressed by analyzing preterm and full-term pregnancies separately. Results: Adjusted estimates showed a significant positive effect of longer prenatal WIC participation on birth outcomes for all groups studied. Infants born to WIC participants who enrolled early were heavier than those who enrolled late by, on average, 70 g for full-term and 129 grams for preterm. Black and Hispanic full-term infants experienced larger WIC effects than Whites (79, 75, 43 g, respectively). Looking at full-term pregnancies using Kotelchuck's index indicated that effects of longer prenatal WIC participation were greatest for the inadequate prenatal care group (83 g). Conclusion: Longer prenatal WIC participation was associated with an increase in birth weight overall and for all groups studied. The effect on birth weight of longer participation in WIC was greatest in Black and Hispanic, inadequate and no prenatal care groups.
Introduction to “Working Conditions of the Child Worker in Turkish Labour Law”

In the first decade of the twenty-first century, child labor remains a topic of significant interest in developing, industrial and post-industrial countries although the specific issues regarding the employment of children with which each country might be concerned differs. In this timely and comprehensive essay, Levent Akin, Associate Professor of Law at Ankara University (Turkey), discusses the recent attempts undertaken by Turkey to protect and improve the working conditions of child laborers in Turkey in the twenty-first century’s first decade. I welcome international legal scholars to contribute future articles and essays analyzing important employment-related topics within their own country from any one of a variety of theoretical perspectives. Moreover, if any of the journal’s readers would like to respond to essays published in the “Perspectives” Section or would like to write on any topic in the field of employee relations, please do not hesitate to contact me with your proposal. I welcome both practitioner-based and scholarly-based articles. I hope that you enjoy this article and find it most illuminating. Employ Respons Rights J (2009) 21:51 DOI 10.1007/s10672-008-9097-8
Thoughts about the Future of the Journal of Information Systems

This article looks at the future of the publication of the "Journal of Information Systems."
Discussion tasks as a measure of influence structure and reversal of role structure in normal families. Implications for the study of pathological families

A RESEARCHER’S conception of the ‘normal’ structure of the family will determine what family structures are labeled ‘abnormal’. Since the 1950’s, there has been a considerable body of clinical and experimental research on normal and abnormal families. Many of the clinical ideas about the structural characteristics of abnormal families have not been formulated in operational research terms. Moreover, there have been conflicting reports about the actual structure of normal families elicited in an experimental small group setting. This paper reviews some of the ideas about the structure of normal and abnormal families. It then reports the results of a study in small sample of normal volunteer families in which one important methodological modification is made from previous small group family studies. The findings are used to clarify research approaches to the study of normal family structure and the type of structural abnormalities which should be looked for in pathological families.
Coacervation of gelatin-gellan gum mixtures and their use in microencapsulation

Abstract Complex coacervation has been observed in gellan gum-gelatin mixtures at low total polymer concentrations. Coacervation was restricted to the pH range ≈ 3·5–5·0. Procedures are described for the microencapsulation of oils and solid particles.
The Color of Unstained Wood

Reflectances and colors are given for various natural woods. The results are summarized in a table, which gives the coefficients for empirical equations that fit all the spectral reflectance curves, and a second table which gives integrated values obtained by the analytic method. Clear varnish is found to reduce reflectance to approximately 85 percent of that for the unvarnished wood.
Texture evolution in Al-Li 2195 alloy during net shape roll forging

The quest to manufacture low-cost, large complex structures with minimum material wastage has instigated research into near-net shape (NNS) technologies. In this paper, the microstructural and texture evolution in Al-Li 2195 alloy resulting from a specific NNS processing called roll forging was evaluated. The processing consists of five stages and combines conventional ingot conversion (stages I and II), back extrusion (stage III) and ring rolling to produce hollow cylinder (stage IV). Considerable potential exists for the property enhancement of the components produced by this processing method if a better understanding of the evolution of microstructure and texture is developed.
Carbon fiber microelectrodes with multiple sensing elements for in vivo voltammetry.

Abstract Electrically evoked dopamine release was monitored in the striatum of anesthetized rats using voltammetric microelectrode assemblies with two to four separately addressable carbon fiber sensing elements. The sensing elements were disk-shaped, had a diameter of about 1 μm, and were separated from each other by less than 15 μm. The microelectrodes were used to monitor extracellular dopamine at multiple depths beneath the brain surface during electrical stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle. When the sensing elements were 10–15 μm apart, the stimulus responses at each element were distinct, suggesting that each response was representative of a distinct recording site. The possibility of performing measurements at distinct but closely spaced sites provides a potential route to high spatial resolution information about extracellular events. On the other hand, when the individual sensing elements were about 1 μm apart, similarities between the observed stimulus responses suggest that the multiple elements were recording from a single site. The ability to perform multiple chemical measurements at a single site presents several opportunities for new approaches to the in vivo study of neurochemistry.
Choline in cerebrospinal fluid

Abstract The method of Bligh for determining plasma choline has been applied to the measurement of choline in cerebrospinal fluid. Values obtained for free choline are approximately one tenth of those which have been reported for plasma. Barbiturate anesthesia results in a decrease in CSF choline. The source and significance of CSF choline are presently unknown.
Screening bacteria for root colonizing ability by a rapid method.

Abstract A method is described for a rapid screening of a large number of bacterial isolates for their root colonizing ability based on direct microscopic observation of roots grown in water agar. Root colonizing bacteria could be seen swarming around roots and forming highly visible bright halos within 7–12 h after bacterial suspensions were placed near the root tips. To determine the relative value of the direct microscopic method, 16 randomly selected bacterial isolates were screened for their root colonizing ability by the direct observation of roots of cucumber and tomato grown in agar and by the standard dilution plating method using roots grown in soil. The rankings of the isolates for root colonizing ability obtained by the two methods were highly correlated. In 32 plant-bacterium combinations tested, the outcome of only two combinations were different in the two methods. One isolate which colonized cucumber in water agar and another isolate which colonized tomato roots in water agar did not colonize roots of these plants in the soil. Results show that the direct microscopic method can be used for a rapid qualitative screening of bacteria for their ability to colonize roots of certain plants.