cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Polyphenol compounds and PKC signaling

Abstract Background Naturally occurring polyphenols found in food sources provide huge health benefits. Several polyphenolic compounds are implicated in the prevention of disease states, such as cancer. One of the mechanisms by which polyphenols exert their biological actions is by interfering in the protein kinase C (PKC) signaling pathways. PKC belongs to a superfamily of serine-threonine kinase and are primarily involved in phosphorylation of target proteins controlling activation and inhibition of many cellular processes directly or indirectly. Scope of review Despite the availability of substantial literature data on polyphenols' regulation of PKC, no comprehensive review article is currently available on this subject. This article reviews PKC-polyphenol interactions and its relevance to various disease states. In particular, salient features of polyphenols, PKC, interactions of naturally occurring polyphenols with PKC, and future perspective of research on this subject are discussed. Major conclusions Some polyphenols exert their antioxidant properties by regulating the transcription of the antioxidant enzyme genes through PKC signaling. Regulation of PKC by polyphenols is isoform dependent. The activation or inhibition of PKC by polyphenols has been found to be dependent on the presence of membrane, Ca2 + ion, cofactors, cell and tissue types etc. Two polyphenols, curcumin and resveratrol are in clinical trials for the treatment of colon cancer. General significance The fact that 74% of the cancer drugs are derived from natural sources, naturally occurring polyphenols or its simple analogs with improved bioavailability may have the potential to be cancer drugs in the future.
Expressing Intellectual Freedom: A Content Analysis of Catholic Library World from 1980 to 2015

Objective – Professional librarians have varying values relating to the topic of intellectual freedom that may or may not align with the American Library Association’s (ALA) policies defining professional expectations on the topic. The personally held values and beliefs of Roman Catholic librarians and those working in libraries affiliated with Roman Catholicism are worthy of study to determine how personal religious values may translate into professional practice. The objective of this paper is to ascertain how frequently and in what context the topics of intellectual freedom and censorship were expressed in articles published in Catholic Library World (CLW), the professional journal of the Catholic Library Association (CLA) from 1980 to 2015. Published content on these topics can be used as evidence to determine how this population discusses the concept of intellectual freedom. Methods – Articles relevant to these topics were retrieved from the American Theological Library Association Catholic Periodical and Literature Index (ATLA CPLI) and Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (LISTA) databases by conducting keyword searches using the terms “intellectual freedom” and censorship. Each retrieved publication was analyzed by counting the number of times the phrase “intellectual freedom” and the root censor* occurred. Through a deep reading of each publication, statements containing these search terms were then coded as positive, negative, or neutral, establishing a context for each occurrence. Results – The majority of published content supported intellectual freedom and opposed censorship. Negative content typically occurred in publications about children or school libraries. Additionally, CLW contributors did express a certain level of conflict between personally held religious values and professional values. Conclusions – This study adds to the limited research available on the intersection of personally held religious values and professional values. Further research is needed to gain a better understanding of the conflict between values amongst Catholic librarians, librarians of other faith traditions, and librarians in general.
Price and Nonprice Competition in Oligopoly With Scaling of Characteristics

In most models that include both price and quality competition, characteristics are assumed to be cardinally measurable and, therefore, capable of immediate incorporation as variables in analytical and simulation analysis. This paper deals initially with the difficult task of “scaling” characteristics which are qualities that are not at the present time directly “measurable” in the meaning of the theory of measurement or with attributes which can be measured only in a nominal 0-1 manner. The procedure in this paper moves from scaling at the product or brand level to study competition without tacit collusion to price-nonprice competition in a collusive context, and from general functional forms in closed analysis to specific forms in simulation runs.
Hospital resuscitation teams: a review of the risks to the healthcare worker.

“Code blue” events and related resuscitation efforts involve multidisciplinary bedside teams that implement specialized interventions aimed at patient revival. Activities include performing effective chest compressions, assessing and restoring a perfusing cardiac rhythm, stabilizing the airway, and treating the underlying cause of the arrest. While the existing critical care literature has appropriately focused on the patient, there has been a dearth of information discussing the various stresses to the healthcare team. This review summarizes the available literature regarding occupational risks to medical emergency teams, characterizes these risks, offers preventive strategies to healthcare workers, and highlights further research needs. We performed a literature search of PubMed for English articles of all types (randomized controlled trials, case-control and cohort studies, case reports and series, editorials and commentaries) through September 22, 2016, discussing potential occupational hazards during resuscitation scenarios. Of the 6266 articles reviewed, 73 relevant articles were included. The literature search identified six potential occupational risk categories to members of the resuscitation team—infectious, electrical, musculoskeletal, chemical, irradiative, and psychological. Retrieved articles were reviewed in detail by the authors. Overall, we found there is limited evidence detailing the risks to healthcare workers performing resuscitation. We identify these risks and offer potential solutions. There are clearly numerous opportunities for further study in this field.
Anaerobic Digestion as an Effective Biofuel Production Technology

The methane produced from the anaerobic digestion of organic wastes and energy crops represents an elegant and economical mean of generating renewable biofuel. Anaerobic digestion is a mature technology and is already used for the conversion of the organic fraction of municipal solid wastes and primary and secondary sludge from wastewater treatment plant. High methane yield up to 0.45 Nm3 CH4/kg volatile solids (VS) or 12,390 Nm3 CH4/ha can be achieved with sugar and starch crops, although these cultures are competing for high quality land with food and feed crops. The cultivation of lignocellulosic crops on marginal and set-aside lands is a more environmentally sound and sustainable option for renewable energy production. The methane yield obtained from these crops is lower, 0.17–0.39 Nm3 CH4/kg VS or 5,400 Nm3 CH4/ha, as its conversion into methane is facing the same initial barrier as for the production of ethanol, e.g., hydrolysis of the crops. Intensive research and development on efficient pretreatments is ongoing to optimize the net energy production, which is potentially greater than for liquid biofuels, since the whole substrate excepted lignin is convertible into methane. Algal biomass is another alternative to food and feed crops. Their relatively high methane potential (up to 0.45 Nm3 CH4/kg VS fed) combined with their higher areal biomass productivity make them particularly attractive as a feedstock for an anaerobic digestion-based biorefinery concept.
Dysphagia in the Older Patient

Dysphagia in older adults is a challenging problem and necessitates a team approach. The key to effective management is recognition. Patients tend to dismiss their symptoms as normal aging; therefore, early diagnosis depends on the diligence of the primary care doctors. No diagnostic technique can replace the benefits of a thorough history, with a detailed understanding of nutritional status and aspiration risk. Although one of the main goals in management is to ensure safe swallowing, the impact of a nonoral diet on the quality of life of patients should not be underestimated.
Asymptotic normality for plug-in estimators of diversity indices on countable alphabets

The plug-in estimator is one of the most popular approaches to the estimation of diversity indices. In this paper, we study its asymptotic distribution for a large class of diversity indices on cou...
Eliciting preferences for adoption of fully automated vehicles using best-worst analysis

Abstract Autonomous mobility is one of the rapidly evolving aspects of smart transportation which carries the potential of reshaping both demand and supply sides of transportation systems. While understanding public opinions about autonomous vehicles (AVs) is a compelling step towards their successful implementation, still little is known about to which extent people will embrace this new technology and how the vehicle features will affect their adoption decision. This study presents a new approach for modeling the adoption behavior of fully AVs using the profile-case best-worst scaling model. In this approach, an AV profile which is characterized in terms of the main vehicle attributes and their associated levels is presented to the decision maker and he/she is asked to select the most and the least attractive attributes. Further, a binary adoption question at the end of the choice task inquires if the respondent is willing to purchase the described AV. Utilizing this method, we can recognize the difference between the intrinsic impacts of the vehicle attributes and the impact of the attribute levels on the adoption decision. Results of the analysis indicate that people are much more sensitive to the purchase price and incentive policies such as taking liability away from the “driver” in case of accidents and provision of exclusive lanes for AVs compared to other factors such as fuel efficiency, safety, or environmental friendliness. Further, it is found that millennials with higher income, those who live in the downtown area, and the majority of people who have experienced an accident in the past have greater interests in adopting this technology.
G-6-PD Tripler: A Unique Variant Associated with Chronic Hemolytic Disease

A 52-year-old Caucasian was hospitalized for recurring jaundice. Laboratory tests established a compensated hemolytic anemia due to partial erythrocyte G-6-PD deficiency. Biochemical characterization of the affected enzyme uncovered a unique variant: G-6-PD Tripler. Its significant properties include marked thermal instability, an electrophoretic mobility slower than the normal B variant in all systems studied, and slightly increased affinity for the substrate G-6-P.
Why children with dyslexia struggle with writing and how to help them

Purpose Children with dyslexia often have related writing difficulties. In the simple view of writing model, high-quality writing depends on good transcription skills, working memory, and executive...
Biphasic concentration-dependent interaction between imidacloprid and dietary phytochemicals in honey bees (Apis mellifera)

Background The presence of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid in nectar, honey, pollen, beebread and beeswax has been implicated in declines worldwide in the health of the western honey bee Apis mellifera. Certain phytochemicals, including quercetin and p-coumaric acid, are ubiquitous in the honey bee diet and are known to upregulate cytochrome P450 genes encoding enzymes that detoxify insecticides. Thus, the possibility exists that these dietary phytochemicals interact with ingested imidacloprid to ameliorate toxicity by enhancing its detoxification. Approach Quercetin and p-coumaric acid were incorporated in a phytochemical-free artificial diet individually and together along with imidacloprid at a range of field-realistic concentrations. In acute toxicity bioassays, honey bee 24- and 48- hour imidacloprid LC50 values were determined in the presence of the phytochemicals. Additionally, chronic toxicity bioassays were conducted using varying concentrations of imidacloprid in diets with the phytochemicals to test impacts of phytochemicals on longevity. Results In acute toxicity bioassays, the phytochemicals had no effect on imidacloprid LC50 values. In chronic toxicity longevity bioassays, phytochemicals enhanced honey bee survival at low imidacloprid concentrations (15 and 45 ppb) but had a negative effect at higher concentrations (105 ppb and 135 ppb). p-Coumaric acid alone increased honey bee longevity at concentrations of 15 and 45 ppb imidacloprid (hazard ratio (HR): 0.83 and 0.70, respectively). Quercetin alone and in combination with p-coumaric acid similarly enhanced longevity at 45 ppb imidacloprid (HR:0.81 and HR:0.77, respectively). However, p-coumaric acid in combination with 105 ppb imidacloprid and quercetin in combination with 135 ppb imidacloprid increased honey bee HR by approximately 30% (HR:1.33 and HR:1.30, respectively). Conclusions The biphasic concentration-dependent response of honey bees to imidacloprid in the presence of two ubiquitous dietary phytochemicals indicates that there are limits to the protective effects of the natural diet of honey bees against neonicotinoids based on their own inherent toxicity.
Balancing in-house and outsourced logistics services: effects on supply chain agility and firm performance

The purpose of this study is to explore the role of logistics strategies (flexibility, collaboration, and differentiation) as antecedents of supply chain agility (SCA) and financial performance. Toward this end, we develop an integrative model based on the strategy–structure–performance paradigm, the resource-based view, and the relational view. Using structural equation modeling, we test the model with survey data gathered from 279 companies. The findings indicate that logistics strategies influence financial performance both directly and indirectly through SCA, providing empirical evidence for SCA’s central role in helping firms quickly sense and respond to changing environments.
L-WRN conditioned medium for gastrointestinal epithelial stem cell culture shows replicable batch-to-batch activity levels across multiple research teams

Conditioned medium (CM) derived from engineered cells often facilitates the cost-effective culture of a variety of stem cells. Growing emphasis on the importance of rigor and reproducibility in lab-based science requires development of best practices approaches, including quality control procedures for the assessment of CM batches to ensure reliable interpretation and reproducibility. Here, we tested activity level variations of L-WRN CM, which is produced from an L cell line engineered to secrete Wnt3a, R spondin 3, and Noggin into a single CM that is widely used for gastrointestinal stem cell culture. We assessed 14 independent batches of L-WRN CM, produced by 5 laboratories at 3 research institutions, by multiple quantitative assays. We observed highly replicable activity levels among L-WRN CM batches prepared according to a previously published protocol. Quality control assays measuring spheroid growth or mRNA gene marker expression were best able to distinguish the quality L-WRN CM batches, whereas a Wnt reporter assay did not. Thus, we have validated that L-WRN CM activity is highly reproducible over time and between laboratories and have provided guidelines for L-WRN CM quality control testing. These validation procedures and guidelines will benefit experiment replication efforts in stem cell research.
Arecoline stimulation of radiolabeled arachidonate incorporation from plasma into brain microvessels of awake rat.

The cholinergic agonist, arecoline, was used to examine the effects of cholinergic stimulation upon incorporation of radiolabeled arachidonic acid from blood into cerebral microvessels of awake rats. Animals received a single I.P. injection of arecoline (1 mg/kg) followed 3 to 5 minutes later by a 5 minute intravenous infusion of [1-14C]arachidonic acid (AA) (170 μCi/kg) via the femoral vein. Timed arterial blood samples were collected over 20 minutes following the start of infusion, after which the animal was killed, and the brain was removed. The incorporation coefficient k* for [1-14C] AA was approximately 2-fold higher in microvessels isolated from arecoline-injected than from sham-injected animals. The data demonstrate in an in vivo paradigm, that activation of cholinergic pathways within the rat CNS stimulates arachidonic acid turnover in cerebral microvessels. This suggests a direct involvement of this fatty acid in second messenger function within microvessel endothelial cells and possibly attached pericytes.
Frequency and Risk Factors for Prolonged Opioid Prescriptions After Surgery for Brachial Plexus Injury.

Purpose We hypothesized that patients with preoperative opioid prescriptions and diagnoses of depression and anxiety would be at increased risk for prolonged opioid prescriptions after surgery for brachial plexus injury (BPI). Methods Using an administrative database of privately insured patients, we assembled a cohort of BPI surgery patients and a control group of non-BPI patients, matching for age, sex, and year. Pharmacy claims for prescriptions filled for opioids and neuropathic pain medications were examined 12 months before surgery to 180 days after surgery. The primary outcome was prolonged opioid prescription, defined as receiving a prescription 90 to 180 days after the index (BPI surgery or randomly selected date of service for controls). Multivariable regression was used to examine risk factors for postoperative opioid use, including diagnoses of depression, anxiety, drug abuse, tobacco use, and preoperative use of opioids and neuropathic pain medications. A subgroup analysis was performed for opioid-naive BPI patients between 30 days to 1 year before surgery. Results Among BPI surgery patients (n = 1,936), 27.7% had prolonged opioid prescriptions. Among opioid-naive BPI patients (n = 911), 10.8% had prolonged opioid prescriptions. In controls (n = 19,360), frequency of prolonged opioid prescriptions was 0.11%. Among all BPI patients, after adjustment for age and sex, predictors of prolonged postoperative opioid prescriptions in BPI patients were preoperative opioids, preoperative neuropathic pain medication use, histories of drug abuse, tobacco use, and anxiety. Conclusions Prolonged postoperative opioids prescriptions after BPI reconstruction are higher than previous estimates among other surgical patients. In addition to establishing normative data among this population, our findings serve to increase awareness of risk factors for prolonged opioids after BPI reconstruction and encourage coordinated multidisciplinary care. Type of study/level of evidence Prognostic II.
Bulk and localized plasmonic heating in nanogold doped polymers

Colloidal gold (Auc) nanoparticles (GNPs) and nanorods (GNRs) were incorporated into polymer blend films and electrospun fibers to utilize the nanoparticle plasmonic response for localized heating of the polymer. In this work, mathematical modeling was used to describe the GNP distribution and heat/melt profile surrounding each GNP in the polymer blend, demonstrating that a bulk temperature change of only 0.2 °C results in a 20-nm-diameter melted polymer sphere around the GNP. In addition, it was shown that by reducing the radius of polymer material around the GNP through the use of electrospinning fibers in place of thin film deposition, heating of the bulk material increased by 72%. Bulk heating of polymer blend films containing either GNPs or GNRs was mapped using an infrared camera system with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) at 530 and 810 nm. The change in temperature observed in the thin films was used to calculate the photothermal energy conversion efficiency of the respective nanogold doped polymer thin films. Significantly, GNR-doped film efficiencies recorded were up to 6.6 times (558.6% increase) that of the polymer blend-only film when interrogated at 810 nm, while the GNP-doped film efficiency increased by 1.8 times (75.7% increase) under the 530 nm LED.Colloidal gold (Auc) nanoparticles (GNPs) and nanorods (GNRs) were incorporated into polymer blend films and electrospun fibers to utilize the nanoparticle plasmonic response for localized heating of the polymer. In this work, mathematical modeling was used to describe the GNP distribution and heat/melt profile surrounding each GNP in the polymer blend, demonstrating that a bulk temperature change of only 0.2 °C results in a 20-nm-diameter melted polymer sphere around the GNP. In addition, it was shown that by reducing the radius of polymer material around the GNP through the use of electrospinning fibers in place of thin film deposition, heating of the bulk material increased by 72%. Bulk heating of polymer blend films containing either GNPs or GNRs was mapped using an infrared camera system with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) at 530 and 810 nm. The change in temperature observed in the thin films was used to calculate the photothermal energy conversion efficiency of the respective nanogold doped polymer t...
Chapter 13 – Vitamin D Disorders

Inherited disorders in the metabolism and recognition of vitamin D cause hypocalcemia, hypophosphatemia, and severe skeletal deformities classic for rickets. Mutations of the 25-hydroxyvitamin d-1-hydroxylase are responsible for pseudovitamin D resistant rickets. Mutations of the vitamin D receptor are responsible for vitamin D deficiency rickets. Alterations in phosphate metabolism can also impair the 25-hydroxyvitamin d-1-hydroxylase (CYP27B1). Patients with X-linked hypophosphatemic rickets and autosomal dominant hypophosphatemic rickets have an alteration in the metabolism of fibroblast growth factor 23 and possibly other phosphatonins, leading to severe phosphate wasting in the kidneys and reduced production of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D. A mutation of the 25-hydroxyvitamin d-24-hydroxylase (CYP24A1) is a cause for idiopathic infantile hypercalcemia, due to an unregulated increase in intestinal calcium absorption due to the lack of breakdown of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D. Various treatment strategies are described to help mitigate the calcium and phosphate metabolism disorders and the skeletal consequences of these inherited disorders.
Transatlantic Divisions in Methods of Inquiry About Law: What It Means for International Law

This is a chapter for the Handbook on Research Methods in International Law edited by Rossana Deplano & Nicholas Tsagourias and to be published by Edward Elgar in 2021. It is based on a presentation at a workshop at the University of Leicester on “The Neglected Methodologies of International Law: Empirical, Socio-Legal and Comparative,” on January 31, 2018. The chapter explores a question that many have voiced but which is difficult to answer: why do differences persist in approaches to research and scholarship about international law, as between the United States and Europe, and even within the Anglo-American tradition as between British and American traditions? There are likely many reasons and this is not a study of “causes.” It is an exercise in interpretation. It locates the differences in traditions of inquiry about the law in general and international law more particularly in two frames, one based in the rise of the analytical and empirical sciences in the United States and the other in the rise of the critical tradition in the wake of American Legal Realism. The chapter proceeds on an assumption that to understand how international legal scholars perceive their methods is to be explored from the perspective of the history of the social sciences and the humanities generally. It places the current work of international legal scholars in the context in which they operate within the broader university and community of scientists and humanists.
Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome In a Child with Tuberculous Meningitis

Case Report A 2-year-old previously healthy, HIV negative, female was recently diagnosed with TB meningitis and treated with directly-observed, four-drug anti-tuberculous therapy (rifampin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, ethambutol) and dexamethasone taper. Her initial diagnosis was made via history, imaging, and positive interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA); after discharge, her cerebrospinal fluid culture grew a single colony of pan-sensitive Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Six weeks after discharge from this initial hospitalization, she presented with seizures, emesis, and altered mental status. She was unable to follow commands, had intermittent facial droop, and was irritable. MRI showed non-communicating hydrocephalus, leptomeningeal enhancement, and possible basilar …
Presenting Symptomatology of Mediastinal Masses and Its Effect on Surgical Outcomes

ObjectiveMediastinal masses are commonly encountered by the thoracic surgeon. Few studies have reported on the frequency and characteristics of symptoms at presentation. The primary objective of th...
Wideband Beam-Steerable Cylindrical Lens Antenna with Compact Integrated Feed Elements

In this paper, a wideband and compact high gain Lunenburg-based lens antenna for the Ka-band is proposed. The main potential applications are for 5G wireless communication systems and automotive radar applications. The antenna provides about 46.7% of bandwidth (|S11| ≤ -10 dB) covering a frequency band ranging from 23.6 - 38 GHz. It also exhibits excellent propagation characteristics with only a 2.7 dB maximum gain variation with sidelobe levels lower than -18 dB over the entire bandwidth. In addition, with a multi-feed system, the antenna presents a beam switching capability of ±32° in the azimuth plane with a gain fluctuation of less than 0.4 dB and sidelobes levels of less than -14 dB over the entire scan range. The simulated results show that the proposed antenna features a simple structure while supporting wider bandwidth and lower sidelobes levels when compared to that of Parallel plate waveguide (PPW) Luneburg-based lens antennas.
Hypercalcemia as a predictor of adverse treatment outcomes in DLBCL during chemotherapy: A national inpatient database study.

e19571Background: Hypercalcemia occurs in up to 7% of NHL and up to 18% in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) representing about 60% of cases. Thus far, there are only a few studies that have es...
From Preparación to Adaptación: Language and the Imagined Futures of Maya-Speaking Guatemalan Youth in Los Angeles

Scholars acknowledge that Indigenous Latinx immigrants’ complex process of adapting to life in the United States, or incorporation, differs from that of their non-Indigenous counterparts. Understanding these differences is especially important as arrivals of Indigenous refugees and asylum seekers from Central America have increased steadily over the past decade and intensified in the last few years. Among them are undocumented, unaccompanied youth, whose migration to the U.S. reached a historic high in 2014 and has persisted into the present (U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 2020). Guatemalans make up the largest segment of the unaccompanied minor migrant population arriving from Central America today. In 2019, Guatemalans made up about 41% of unaccompanied minors apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border (U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 2020). Many come from rural, often predominantly Maya regions such as the Western Highlands (Stinchcomb & Hershberg, 2014). Their migration is due largely to a legacy of political and gang-related violence and economic instability in the aftermath of a civil war in which Indigenous Guatemalans were targets of ethnic cleansing.
Direct visualization of bottlebrush polymer conformations in the solid state

Although the behavior of single chains is integral to the foundation of polymer science, a clear and convincing image of single chains in the solid state has still not been captured. For bottlebrush polymers, understanding their conformation in bulk materials is especially important because their extended backbones may explain their self-assembly and mechanical properties that have been attractive for many applications. Here, single-bottlebrush chains are visualized using single-molecule localization microscopy to study their conformations in a polymer melt composed of linear polymers. By observing bottlebrush polymers with different side chain lengths and grafting densities, we observe the relationship between molecular architecture and conformation. We show that bottlebrushes are significantly more rigid in the solid state than previously measured in solution, and the scaling relationships between persistence length and side chain length deviate from those predicted by theory and simulation. We discuss these discrepancies using mechanisms inspired by polymer-grafted nanoparticles, a conceptually similar system. Our work provides a platform for visualizing single-polymer chains in an environment made up entirely of other polymers, which could answer a number of open questions in polymer science.
Ordering Problems Approximated: Single-Processor Scheduling and Interval Graph Completion

In this paper, we give the first polynomial time approximation algorithms for two problems in combinatorial optimization. The first problem is single-processor scheduling to minimize weighted sum of completion times, subject to precedence constraints. The second problem, interval graph completion, is finding a minimum-size interval graph containing the input graph as a subgraph. Both problems are NP-complete; our algorithms output solutions that are within a polylogarithmic factor of optimal. To achieve these bounds, we make use of a technique developed and first applied by Leighton and Rao [12], together with a technique of Hansen [5].
The role of apoptosis within the retina of coronavirus-infected mice.

Purpose To evaluate the possible roles of apoptosis in the murine retinopathy induced by coronavirus. Methods Mice were inoculated with virus intravitreally. Mouse eyes harvested at varying times after inoculation were evaluated for apoptotic and immunologic events by hematoxylin and eosin staining, immunohistochemical staining, in situ terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay, and electron microscopy. Isolated retinas were analyzed for infectious virus and for expression of apoptosis-associated genes. Results The number of apoptotic events was significantly elevated in infected eyes from BALB/c and CD-1 mouse strains, reaching a maximum at days 6 through 10, and returning to normal levels at day 20. The majority of apoptotic cells were observed in the outer nuclear layer of the infected retina. In contrast, few apoptotic cells were observed in normal or mock-injected mouse eyes. Apoptotic events within the retina were associated with the presence of viral antigen, infiltration of CD8(+) T cells, and clearance of infectious virus. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis identified the upregulation of Fas ligand (FasL) and granzyme B mRNAs within the infected retinas. The development of apoptosis, regulative gene expression, and viral clearance were similar in both retinal degeneration-susceptible (BALB/c) and -resistant (CD-1) mice. Conclusions Retinal apoptosis was associated with retinal inflammation, a decrease in infectious virus, and upregulation of genes associated with CTL killing. These studies indicate that retinal apoptosis may be one of the host mechanisms that contribute to limiting this retinal infection.
Decimal floating-point division using Newton-Raphson iteration

Decreasing feature sizes allow additional functionality to be added to future microprocessors to improve the performance of important application domains. As a result of rapid growth in financial, commercial, and Internet-based applications, hardware support for decimal floating-point arithmetic is now being considered by various computer manufacturers and specifications for decimal floating-point arithmetic have been added to the draft revision of the IEEE-754 Standard for Floating-Point Arithmetic (IEEE-754R). This work presents an efficient arithmetic algorithm and hardware design for decimal floating-point division. The design uses an optimized piecewise linear approximation, a modified Newton-Raphson iteration, a specialized rounding technique, and a simplified combined decimal incrementer/decrementer. Synthesis results show that a 64-bit (16-digit) implementation of the decimal divider, which is compliant with IEEE-754R, has an estimated critical path delay of 0.69 ns when implemented using LSI Logic's 0.11 micron gflx-p standard cell library.
Horizons of History: Space, Time, and the Future of the Past

Big is back across a wide range of historical fields. Many historians are stretching space, to create international, transnational and global histories. Others are expanding time, to pursue Big History, Deep History and the history of the Anthropocene. What explains this broadening of horizons? And what does it mean for the future of history? This article makes a case for history as a discipline of social and political transformation amid crises of global governance, rising inequality, and anthropogenic climate change.
Ingress Point Spreading: A New Primitive for Adaptive Active Network Mapping

Among outstanding challenges to Internet-wide topology mapping using active probes is balancing efficiency, e.g. induced load and time, with coverage. Toward maximizing probe utility, we introduce Ingress Point Spreading (IPS). IPS utilizes ingress diversity discovered in prior rounds of probing to rank-order available vantage points such that future probes traverse all known paths into a target network. We implement and deploy IPS to probe ~49k random prefixes drawn from the global BGP table using a distributed collection of vantage points. As compared to existing mapping systems, we discover 12% more unique vertices and 12% more edges using ~50% fewer probes, in half the time.
Racetrack converter: A low power and compact data converter using racetrack spintronic devices

Current-induced domain wall motion in racetrack memory promises energy-efficient analog computation using compact magnetic nanowires. This paper explores the feasibility of data converters based on current-induced domain wall motion and introduces an n-bit ADC using n racetrack magnetic nanowires. With each magnetic nanowire having a different configuration granularity, an n-bit binary or gray code is generated simultaneously. The proposed ADC structure achieves 21fJ/conversion-step at 20MHz with area under 10μm2. The racetrack ADC is suitable for applications requiring dense ADC arrays, such as image sensors. This paper describes one ultra-high speed DPS imaging system benefiting from the racetrack ADC.
Adaptive, maladaptive, mediational, and bidirectional processes of relational and physical aggression, relational and physical victimization, and peer liking.

A three-wave longitudinal study among ethnically diverse preadolescents (N = 597 at Time 1, ages 9-11) was conducted to examine adaptive, maladaptive, mediational, and bidirectional processes of relational and physical aggression, victimization, and peer liking indexed by peer acceptance and friendships. A series of nested structural equation models tested the hypothesized links among these peer-domain factors. It was hypothesized that (1) relational aggression trails both adaptive and maladaptive processes, linking to more peer victimization and more peer liking, whereas physical aggression is maladaptive, resulting in more peer victimization and less peer liking; (2) physical and relational victimization is maladaptive, relating to more aggression and less peer liking; (3) peer liking may be the social context that promotes relational aggression (not physical aggression), whereas peer liking may protect against peer victimization, regardless of its type; and (4) peer liking mediates the link between forms of aggression and forms of peer victimization. Results showed that higher levels of peer liking predicted relative increases in relational aggression (not physical aggression), which in turn led to more peer liking. On the other hand, more peer liking was predictive of relative decreases in relational aggression and relational victimization in transition to the next grade (i.e., fifth grade). In addition, relational victimization predicted relative increases in relational aggression and relative decreases in peer liking. Similarly, physical aggression was consistently and concurrently associated more physical victimization and was marginally predictive of relative increases in physical victimization in transition to the next grade. More peer liking predicted relative decreases in physical victimization, which resulted in lower levels of peer liking. The directionality and magnitude of these paths did not differ between boys and girls.
Why The Affordable Care Act Needs A Better Name: ‘Americare’

The culmination of a century’s effort to enact universal coverage in the United States is a law with an uninspiring title, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and an even more awkward acronym, PPACA. The Obama administration has decided to call the legislation the Affordable Care Act, but the expansion of health coverage that the law sets in motion has no name, and therefore no identity. It badly needs one.
An Experimental and CFD Study of a Supersonic Coaxial Jet

A supersonic coaxial jet facility is designed and experimental data are acquired suitable for the validation of CFD codes employed in the analysis of high-speed air-breathing engines. The center jet is of a light gas, the coflow jet is of air, and the mixing layer between them is compressible. The jet flow field is characterized using schlieren imaging, surveys with pitot, total temperature and gas sampling probes, and RELIEF velocimetry. VULCAN, a structured grid CFD code, is used to solve for the nozzle and jet flow, and the results are compared to the experiment for several variations of the kappa - omega turbulence model
“Hymns of the Future”: Reading Félicien David's Christophe Colomb (1847) as a Saint-Simonian Symphony

Among the musicians in Paris of the 1830s with whom ideas of art social, the avant garde, and positivism resonated, the most dedicated was surely Felicien David. Besides David's compositions written specifically for Saint-Simonian ceremonies, his ode-symphonie, Le desert (1844), is usually considered the most important of his works inspired by Saint-Simonianism. David's other compositions present equally fascinating case studies of the complicated relationship between Saint-Simonian doctrine and artistic concerns in musical works that are squarely located in the camp of art social. In particular David's second ode-symphonie, Christophe Colomb (1847), offers a text ripe for close reading in the nexus of avant-garde aesthetic claims, musical Realpolitik, and competing ideologies in those last two years of the July Monarchy. Christophe Colomb embodies specific references to Saint-Simonian principles, and various aspects of its deliberate musical configuration reflect Saint-Simonian ideals. Yet Christophe Col...
Enzyme activities in the repairing epithelium during wound healing.

Abstract Fluorometric microchemical methods provided a quantitative assay of enzyme activity in 0.5-μg. samples obtained from the epithelial cells participating in the different processes of epithelialization during skin wound healing. In the proliferating epithelium at the wound margin, hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, lactate dehydrogenase, and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase increased 2-fold on day 1 after wounding and maintained an increased level of activity during the 10-day period of observation. Phosphorylase activity increased by 30–120% of normal, with the maximum increase occurring on day 6. There was no increase in isocitrate dehydrogenase activity, whereas malate dehydrogenase activity increased by 40% after 3 days healing. The migrating epithelium, during the first 3 days of healing, exhibited an even more dramatic enzymatic response: 6.5-fold increase in glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, and 3–4-fold increase in glycolytic enzymes. No significant changes were observed in the enzymes of the tricarboxylic acid cycle or phosphorylase. In the repaired epithelium covering the wound site at days 6 and 10, the enzyme activities of glycolysis and the pentose shunt were reduced from the increased level of activities during migration but still higher than in normal or the epithelium at the wound margin. The activities of the enzymes of the tricarboxylic acid cycle increased by 20–30% and the activity of phosphorylase increased by 2-fold during the late period of healing. DNA content of the proliferating epithelium at the wound margin decreased to 9.1 and 6.9 gm./kg. dry weight on days 2 and 3, respectively, after wounding. No significant change of DNA content was observed in the migrating or repaired epithelium.
The Electric Arc in High Vacuum

WHATEVER the mechanism of the electric arc, we can scarcely expect an arc to strike and to persist under pressures so low as to render difficult the passage of a high voltage discharge. However, in the course of some experiments on the discharge of electricity through gases, it was observed that under certain conditions an electric arc carrying many amperes can be maintained in a vacuum as high as 0.001 mm.
Directed sibling donor cord blood banking for children with β-thalassemia major in Greece: Usage rate and outcome of transplantation for HLA-matched units

Abstract Several cord blood banks store cord blood units from healthy siblings of patients, who are candidates for stem cell transplantation. We analyzed the quality characteristics of 50 cord blood units collected from families with β -thalassemia major and the outcome of subsequent stem cell transplantations during a 15-year period. All cord blood units were found suitable for banking based on a minimum net volume of 40 ml. The mean volume of the units was 98.9 ml; the mean total nucleated cell count (NC) was 7.8 × 10 8 and the mean CD34 + cell count was 2.8 × 10 6 . Eight out of twelve HLA matched collections were released for transplantation. All but one recipient belonged to Pesaro II-III risk classes. Three patients received a cord blood graft with > 5 × 10 7 NC/kg . One of them with Pesaro class I disease engrafted, whereas the other two who failed to engraft, were re-transplanted with bone marrow from the same donor later. Cord blood grafts containing NCs 7 /kg combined with reduced volume bone marrow from the same donor were used in all 5 remaining cases and stable engraftment was achieved. All patients survived, 7/8 thalassemia-free. Cord blood banking from healthy siblings of children with β -thalassemia major can result in a successful transplantation in cases in which there is HLA compatibility. However, in high-risk patients, the use of combined cord blood and bone marrow grafts seems necessary in order to ensure stable engraftment, especially when cord blood unit cell counts are low.
A Simple and Inexpensive Method for Accurately Measuring Stead-State and Transient High Voltages

This paper presents a simple method for accurately measuring voltages present on high-voltage systems during both transient and steady-state conditions without modifying the conditions producing the voltage to be measured. An electronic amplifier having high input resistance and negligible circuit loading provides adequate current to operate magnetic oscillograph galvanometers (or meters and relays) in proportion to the input voltage obtained from capacitance voltage dividers. These may be transmission line switching-transient voltages, voltages across circuit breaker contacts, static capacitor transient voltages, or neutral displacement voltages. Frequencies ranging from direct current to a hundred or more kilocycles are within the capability of the device, although the actual value, determined by the indicating or recording instrument which it actuates, may be limited to a few thousand cycles. Limitations and problems encountered in the use of capacitance potential dividers are also briefly discussed.
Central diabetes insipidus due to herpes simplex in a patient immunosuppressed by Cushing's syndrome

Abstract Objective To describe a patient immunocompromised by Cushing’s syndrome in whom central diabetes insipidus developed as a complication of herpes simplex involvement of the hypothalamus. Methods We present a case, including results of laboratory and histopathologic studies, in which herpes simplex was established as the causative agent for central diabetes insipidus. Results A woman with ectopic corticotropin-dependent Cushing’s syndrome, diabetes mellitus, carcinoid tumor, and a history of thyroid cancer had the precipitous onset of seizure and fever, and hypotonic polyuria and progressive hypernatremia developed. Central diabetes insipidus was diagnosed and successfully treated with desmopressin. Nevertheless, the patient’s condition deteriorated and she died. Autopsy revealed herpes simplex encephalitis involving the magnicellular neurons of the hypothalamus. Conclusion Central diabetes insipidus caused by viral infections has been reported in immunosuppressed patients, such as those with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). To our knowledge, this is the first report of a herpes infection causing diabetes insipidus in a patient immunosuppressed by Cushing’s syndrome. This case demonstrates that, in patients with Cushing’s syndrome, diabetes insipidus may develop as a result of herpes simplex infection of the hypothalamus. (Endocr Pract. 2000; 6: 26-28)
Effects of Fuel Lewis Number on and Damkohler Number Scaling of Nitric Oxide Emission Levelof Burke-Schumann Type Flames

Results are reported on the thermo-diffusive effects in laminar diffusion flames. The flames studied are those of the Burke-Schumann type, with the exceptions that the axial velocity is uniform in the inlet instead of having uniform mass flux, and that the fuel Lewis number is not equal to unity. The fuel Lewis number was varied using argon and helium dilution of the fuel. Dramatic Lewis number effects were experimentally observed. In some cases a higher degree dilution may cause the measured flame temperature (radiation corrected) to be higher than that with lesser dilution if increasing dilution reduces the Lewis number. The NOx emission level of the flame follows similar trend, consistent with the diffusive-thermal effects. A scaling analysis of NOx emission recently proposed for turbulent jet diffusion flames was examined for the present flames. It was found that as the Damkohler number decreases the normalized NOx emission increases. This further confirms thesuper-equilibrium effects for NOx emission...
Voting and not voting at the same time

The marginal abstention hypothesis is that once at the polls, individuals are more likely to vote in the closer races on the ballot and to abstain from voting in the safer races. This hypothesis is a straightforward extension of the rational voting model. In previous empirical applications of the rational voter theory, voter turnout and voting in a given election are treated as one in the same. These studies have produced mixed results. When applied to the problem of explaining marginal voting behavior, the theory works well.