cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
mTOR Inhibition Subdues Milk Disorder Caused by Maternal VLDLR Loss

Summary It is unknown whether and how very-low density lipoprotein receptors (VLDLRs) impact skeletal homeostasis. Here, we report that maternal and offspring VLDLRs play opposite roles in osteoclastogenesis and bone resorption. VLDLR deletion in the offspring augments osteoclast differentiation by enhancing RANKL signaling, leading to osteoporosis. In contrast, VLDLR deletion in the mother alters milk metabolism, which inhibits osteoclast differentiation and causes osteopetrosis in the offspring. The maternal effects are dominant. VLDLR-null lactating mammary gland exhibits higher mTORC1 signaling and cholesterol biosynthesis. Pharmacological probing reveals that rapamycin, but not statin, treatment of the VLDLR-null mother can prevent both the low bone resorption and our previously described inflammatory fur loss in their offspring. Genetic rescue reveals that maternal mTORC1 attenuation in adipocytes, but not in myeloid cells, prevents offspring osteopetrosis and fur loss. Our studies uncover functions of VLDLR and mTORC1 in lactation and osteoclastogenesis, illuminating key mechanisms and therapeutic insights for bone and metabolic diseases.
Tracking invisible residents: how does this phenomenon impact city government?

This article introduces an emerging demographic trend, invisible residents, or retired persons who travel extensively seeking better climates during the winter. In this article, we articulate the costs and benefits these temporary residents could have on cities they visit in four areas: economic development, local government revenues, city service demands and indirect and intangible effects. We conclude that changes in city revenue structures may more closely align who uses and who pays for government services. However, the dearth of empirical evidence prohibits making strong conclusions about the relative attractiveness of this population to cities. Future research documenting this age-based phenomenon, currently estimated to include 10 million persons, is warranted as competition to attract these visitors heats up between Sunbelt cities.
Leading from the Heart of Nature

Charles describes how concepts from nature have informed and guided her work throughout her career as an educator, author, organizational executive, and facilitator of positive social change. She applied natural-systems concepts to the development and implementation of widely used interdisciplinary K-12 environment education programmes, Project Learning Tree and Project WILD in the 1970s and 1980s; in community-building work in the 1990s; and, for a decade, as co-founder and now CEO Emerita of the Children & Nature Network. She helped to create, inspire, support, and encourage the burgeoning worldwide movement to reconnect children, and people of all ages, with nature in their everyday lives. Currently, she helps coalesce the emerging field of nature-based leadership to apply nature’s lessons to achieve economic, environmental, and social justice.
Implications for Deep Learning: Unpacking the Practice of Teaching and Learning with Technologies

This chapter adds the view on the implications for deep learning that I see when taking a practice lens on the material conditions of learning and teaching with technologies. Grounded in Jonassen’s work on computers in the classroom, I develop the central place for unpacking the daily practice of learning with technology that spans the Learning Sciences and Educational Technology arenas. Learning with technology differs from learning about and from technologies. The term of teaching and learning with technologies has been shaped by David Jonassen many years ago. However, it is still relevant today, as it is shown in this chapter through the implications that it brings for the work of teachers, practitioners, schools, and researchers. Moreover, by using the approach of crossactionspaces, I provide an alternative view to the concept of teachers as workplace learners—the Teacher’s Zone of Proximal Development (T-ZPD).
Effects of Resveratrol on Inflammatory Biomarkers in Glaucomatous Human Trabecular Meshwork Cells

Purpose: Resveratrol (RSV), an antioxidant polyphenol, has demonstrated beneficial effects in various ocular diseases including glaucoma. Our study was designed to evaluate the effects of RSV on nitric oxide synthase (NOS) enzymes, nitric oxide (NO) and interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1 α), in human glaucomatous trabecular meshwork (TM) cells. Methods: Western blot was utilized to determine endothelial and inducible NOS (eNOS, iNOS) expression. The concentration-related effects of RSV on IL-1 α and NO levels were assessed using the respective ELISA kits. Results: Densitometry data showed concentration-related increases in eNOS, and reduction in iNOS expression at high RSV concentrations. RSV treatment (0.1, 1, 10 and 100 µM) resulted in increased NO levels (6 ± 0.7, 7 ± 0.8, 7.3 ± 0.7 and 9.5 ± 1 nM/mg protein, respectively). The average value obtained for control was 4.8 ± 0.6 nM/mg protein. Significant increases in IL-1α levels were observed with lower concentrations of RSV. However, at higher RSV concentrations (10–100 μM), IL-1 levels decreased. Conclusions: Resveratrol increased NO in glaucomatous TM cells, possibly by increasing eNOS expression. Thus, RSV-induced NO production supports the beneficial effects of this antioxidant in glaucoma. Furthermore, our results showing a reduction in iNOS, a contributor to oxidative stress expression, further support RSV’s antioxidant capabilities in vision.
Evaluating the Pleasures of Agency in Shiva's Rangoli, a Tangible Storytelling Installation

The experience of agency has been centralized in interactive digital storytelling research. Current approaches to agency place the actions of a reader into direct conflict with the authorial intentions of an interactive storyteller by privileging the authorial pleasures that come by interacting with the story's plot. In this paper we present the design and results of an empirical study of Shiva's Rangoli, a tangible interactive narrative system that supports meaningful interactions with the narratives that are decoupled from character actions and plot outcomes. Shiva's Rangoli allows readers to change the emotional, presentational, and aesthetic context of the story by giving them control over the ambience of the installation space where it is experienced, through a tangible interface. From our study, we identify three interaction styles or strategies undertaken by readers that reframe readers as Story Supporters, Meaning Makers, and Story Controllers to explore the pleasures of bounded agency within interactive storytelling.
Caffeine exposure biomonitoring: correlation and variability of urinary caffeine metabolites

The use of biomarkers to estimate caffeine exposure is a potentially more reliable alternative to using dietary intake data, given the intrinsic heterogeneity of major caffeine sources such as coff...
In-Memory Computing: Advances and prospects

High-dimensionality matrix-vector multiplication (MVM) is a dominant kernel in signal-processing and machine-learning computations that are being deployed in a range of energy- and throughput-constrained applications. In-memory computing (IMC) exploits the structural alignment between a dense 2D array of bit cells and the dataflow in MVM, enabling opportunities to address computational energy and throughput. Recent prototypes have demonstrated the potential for 10 t benefits in both metrics. However, fitting computation within an array of constrained bit-cell circuits imposes a number of challenges, including the need for analog computation, efficient interfacing with conventional digital accelerators (enabling the required programmability), and efficient virtualization of the hardware to map software. This article provides an overview of the fundamentals of IMC to better explain these challenges and then identifies promising paths forward among the wide range of emerging research.
Mass cytometry dissects T cell heterogeneity in the immune tumor microenvironment of common dysproteinemias at diagnosis and after first line therapies

Dysproteinemias progress through a series of clonal evolution events in the tumor cell along with the development of a progressively more “permissive” immune tumor microenvironment (iTME). Novel multiparametric cytometry approaches, such as cytometry by time-of-flight (CyTOF) combined with novel gating algorithms can rapidly characterize previously unknown phenotypes in the iTME of tumors and better capture its heterogeneity. Here, we used a 33-marker CyTOF panel to characterize the iTME of dysproteinemia patients (MGUS, multiple myeloma—MM, smoldering MM, and AL amyloidosis) at diagnosis and after standard of care first line therapies (triplet induction chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplant—ASCT). We identify novel subsets, some of which are unique to the iTME and absent from matched peripheral blood samples, with potential roles in tumor immunosurveillance as well as tumor immune escape. We find that AL amyloidosis has a distinct iTME compared to other dysproteinemias with higher myeloid and “innate-like” T cell subset infiltration. We show that T cell immune senescence might be implicated in disease pathogenesis in patients with trisomies. Finally, we demonstrate that the early post-ASCT period is associated with an increase of senescent and exhausted subsets, which might have implications for the rational selection of post-ASCT therapies.
A Freak Show in District 9: The Construction of a Freak Amongst Aliens

In District 9, the body of the main character, Wikus van de Merwe, becomes a battleground for the competing cultures of human and alien. But while it is widely recognized that the film is a science fiction metaphor for the Apartheid, less discussed are the parallels between Wikus’s story and that of the historical freak. This essay looks at the way in which Wikus’s transformation and clashing identities make him the star of Johannesburg’s own alien freak show.
Genetic Studies of Gestational Diabetes and Glucose Metabolism in Pregnancy

In this review, we summarize studies investigating genetics of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and glucose metabolism in pregnancy. We describe these studies in the context of the larger body of literature on type 2 diabetes (T2D) and glycemic trait genomics. We reviewed 23 genetic association studies for GDM and performed a meta-analysis, which revealed variants at eight T2D loci significantly associated with GDM after the Bonferroni correction. These studies suggest that GDM and T2D share a number of genetic risk loci. Only two unbiased genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have successfully revealed genetic associations for GDM and related glycemic traits in pregnancy. A GWAS for GDM in Korean women identified two loci (near CDKAL1 and MTNR1B) known to be associated with T2D, though the association of the MTNR1B locus with GDM appears to be stronger than that for T2D. A multi-ethnic GWAS for glycemic traits in pregnancy identified two novel loci (near HKDC1 and BACE2) which appear to be associated with post-load glucose and fasting c-peptide specifically in pregnant women. There are ongoing efforts to use this genetic information, in the form of polygenic scores, to predict risk of GDM and postpartum T2D. The body of literature examining genetic associations with GDM is limited, especially when compared to the available literature on T2D and glycemic trait genomics. Additional genetic discovery for glucose metabolism in pregnant women will require larger pregnancy cohorts and international collaborative efforts. Studies on the clinical implications of these findings are also warranted.
Exploring the step function distribution of the threshold fraction of adopted neighbors versus minimum fraction of nodes as initial adopters to assess the cascade blocking intra-cluster density of complex real-world networks

We first propose a binary search algorithm to determine the minimum fraction of nodes in a network to be used as initial adopters ( $$f_{IA}^{\min }$$ ) for a particular threshold fraction (q) of adopted neighbors (related to the cascade capacity of the network) leading to a complete information cascade. We observe the q versus $$f_{IA}^{\min }$$ distribution for several complex real-world networks to exhibit a step function pattern wherein there is an abrupt increase in $$f_{IA}^{\min }$$ beyond a certain value of q (qstep); the $$f_{IA}^{\min }$$ values at qstep and the next measurable value of q are represented as $$\underline{{f_{IA}^{\min } }}$$ and $$\overline{{f_{IA}^{\min } }}$$ respectively. The difference $$\overline{{f_{IA}^{\min } }} - \underline{{f_{IA}^{\min } }}$$ is observed to be significantly high (a median of 0.44 for a suite of 40 real-world networks studied in this paper) such that we claim the 1 − qstep value (we propose to refer 1 − qstep as the Cascade Blocking Index, CBI) for a network could be perceived as a measure of the intra-cluster density of the blocking cluster of the network that cannot be penetrated without including an appreciable number of nodes from the cluster to the set of initial adopters (justifying a relatively larger $$\overline{{f_{IA}^{\min } }}$$ value).
Comparative Proteomics Analysis Reveals Unique Early Signaling Response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to Oxidants with Different Mechanism of Action

The early signaling events involved in oxidant recognition and triggering of oxidant-specific defense mechanisms to counteract oxidative stress still remain largely elusive. Our discovery driven comparative proteomics analysis revealed unique early signaling response of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae on the proteome level to oxidants with a different mechanism of action as early as 3 min after treatment with four oxidants, namely H2O2, cumene hydroperoxide (CHP), and menadione and diamide, when protein abundances were compared using label-free quantification relying on a high-resolution mass analyzer (Orbitrap). We identified significant regulation of 196 proteins in response to H2O2, 569 proteins in response to CHP, 369 proteins in response to menadione and 207 proteins in response to diamide. Only 17 proteins were common across all treatments, but several more proteins were shared between two or three oxidants. Pathway analyses revealed that each oxidant triggered a unique signaling mechanism associated with cell survival and repair. Signaling pathways mostly regulated by oxidants were Ran, TOR, Rho, and eIF2. Furthermore, each oxidant regulated these pathways in a unique way indicating specificity of response to oxidants having different modes of action. We hypothesize that interplay of these signaling pathways may be important in recognizing different oxidants to trigger different downstream MAPK signaling cascades and to induce specific responses.
Whole Blood Is Back

Originally the only option available for transfusion therapy, whole blood transfusions fell out of widespread usage in civilian practice the United States towards the conclusion of World War II, as modern blood banking techniques emerged. With the emergence of blood banks, came the rise of component therapy, which allowed for more efficient utilization of blood products, with one unit of donated blood being able to serve several patients. However, the practice of whole blood transfusion in the military has continued, with forward surgical teams relying on it for massive transfusion scenarios in settings of limited supplies. Recent success with whole blood transfusion in the military has prompted new discussions about implication in a civilian setting, particularly in the treatment of traumatic hemorrhage. Current treatment guidelines for resuscitation of traumatic hemorrhage call for blood products to be administered in a 1:1:1 ratio of packed red blood cells, fresh frozen plasma, and platelets. The aim of this is to re-create whole blood as closely as possible. However, this mixture has been shown to be have a lower than anticipated hematocrit, as well as sub-optimal function of platelets and plasma coagulation factors. Whole blood delivers a product that most closely resembles what is being lost, with a higher hematocrit and better function of platelets and plasma coagulation factors. With clinical trials beginning at several major trauma centers across the United States, whole blood transfusion is poised to have a tremendous impact on the management of hemorrhage in the civilian setting that should be watched closely by anesthesiologists going forward.
Gorgonians Are Foundation Species on Sponge-Dominated Mesophotic Coral Reefs in the Caribbean

Foundation species [FS] regulate ecological processes within communities often facilitating biodiversity and habitat complexity. Typically FS are dominant structure-forming taxa; but less dominant taxa having disproportionate ecological impacts to the community can also be FS. Mesophotic coral ecosystems [MCEs] are deep (~30-150 m) fore-reef communities often dominated by structure-forming sponges. Despite the potential competitive advantage of sponges on MCEs, gorgonians are also common constituents of these deep reefs. Data from the Bahamas demonstrate increased biodiversity and densities of sponges on deep reefs with gorgonians relative to reefs without these species. Drawing upon fifteen years of field surveys at five sites in the Caribbean basin we assessed in situ interactions between gorgonians and sponges to quantify outcomes consistent with competition (i.e., tissue necrosis and overgrowth). We also examined recruitment patterns near gorgonians to assess their role in facilitating MCE biodiversity. Our results indicate that live gorgonians, Antillogorgia bipinnata and Ellisella elongata, facilitate biodiverse recruitment into MCEs, indicating that this process is governed by more than passive hydrodynamics. These gorgonians were effective competitors against a variety of sponges, and two allelochemicals produced by E. elongata were mechanistically important in interactions with other species. Collectively, these data indicate that these gorgonians exhibit both positive and negative ecological interactions (i.e., facilitation and competition, respectively) with sponges. Thus, these gorgonians are FS of MCE communities within the Caribbean basin that displays several traits contributing to the ecological structure of these understudied communities.
The Burden of Proof

“The Burden of Proof” In this first argumentative chapter of the text, Lorkowski argues that the supernaturalist rather than the atheist naturalist bears the burden of proof. The concept is first introduced as a dialectical tool necessary for evaluating the success of a debate. The author then argues that it should be determined using an idealized third party. With these pieces in place, Lorkowski argues that, because supernaturalists make an existence claim that is neither normally accessible nor supported by scholarly consensus, and further posits an existence very unlike those found in shared neutral evidence, they, rather than the atheist naturalist, must accept the burden of proof in defending their view.
The effect of worked examples on student learning and error anticipation in algebra

The present study examines the effectiveness of incorporating worked examples with prompts for self-explanation into a middle school math textbook. Algebra 1 students (N = 75) completed an equation-solving unit with textbooks either containing the original practice problems or in which a portion of those problems were converted into a combination of correct, incorrect, and incomplete examples. Students completed pre- and posttest measures of algebraic feature knowledge, equation-solving skills, and error anticipation. Example-based textbook assignments increased students’ equation-solving skills and their ability to anticipate errors one might make when solving problems. Differences in students’ anticipation of various types of errors are also examined. Error anticipation, a particular form of negative knowledge, is a potentially important skill that relates to algebraic feature knowledge and equation-solving skills.
Long duration flights in Venus’ atmosphere using passive solar hot air balloons

Abstract Solar balloons are a promising platform for providing multi-hour flights in and above the upper cloud layer of Venus. The temperature and pressure profiles from 55–75 km above the surface of Venus are very similar to Earth’s from sea level to approximately 30 km, the site of numerous terrestrial solar balloon missions. Additionally, Venus’s highly reflective cloud layer can provide a higher intensity of reflected solar radiation. An ideal solar balloon envelope incorporates a lightweight material that has a high absorbtivity in the visual spectrum, and a low emissivity in the infrared spectrum. The envelope then absorbs direct, reflected, and diffuse radiation, as well as infrared radiation, and heats up the internal balloon air through conduction, resulting in passive flight without the need for an external heat source or lifting gas. This work builds on previous high altitude and solar balloon models and adapts them for Venus’ atmosphere to explore their expected payload mass capacity and flight times. The possible equilibrium float altitudes for various system masses and solar zenith angles are compared between Earth and Venus. Finally, an Earth simulation is compared to terrestrial solar balloon mission data to validate the model and further demonstrate the feasibility of solar balloon flight on Venus.
The Law of Words: Standing, Environment, and Other Contested Terms

Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc., 528 U.S. 167 (2000), exposes fundamental incoherencies within environmental standing doctrine, even while it ostensibly makes standing easier to prove for plaintiffs in environmental citizen suits. According to Laidlaw, an environmental plaintiff needs only to show personal injury to satisfy Article ill’s standing requirement; she need not show that the alleged statutory violation actually harms the environment. This Article argues that Laidlaw’s distinbtion between injury to the plaintiff and harm to the environment is nonsensical. Both the majority and dissent in Laidlaw incorrectly assume that there exists an objective standard by which a plaintiff, society or a court can measure harm or injury. Using examples drawn both from history (the 7) aiI Smelter. Arbitration (1930-41)) and fiction (Barbara Klngsolver’s novel Animal Dreams), this Article illustrates that the inherent contingency of language renders it impossible to define harm or injury without acknowledging the systemic perspective from which the concepts are viewed. The path to an intelligible standing doctrine lies not in focusing on this artificial opposition, but instead in acknowledging statutory violations as injurious to the social and legal system of which we all form a part. Assuming the violated statute contains a citizen suit provision, the resulting harm to the system could and should enable individuals to sue. This policy would conform the Court’s standing jurisprudence to the language and intent of the statutes before Ii. Moreover, this policy would counter the undermining of the rhetoric of environmental protection that persists so long as the Supreme Court continues its frequent yet unsucceesfid efforts to retool its definition of cognizable legal injury.
Independent Regulation of Public Utilities in Developing Countries and Efficiency: The Case of Electricity Sector

This paper evaluates the effects of the establishment of an Independent Regulatory Authority (IRA) on electricity sector performance in developing countries. The study assesses the impact of such reform on electricity generated, technical quality of the service and country energy efficiency. Double-Difference and Matching are used to address sources of selection bias in identifying impacts; our empirical approach utilizes the panel structure of the data to control for time-invariant unobservables at the country level by applying propensity-score-matched double difference comparison.Our results suggest that introducing Independent Regulation in the electricity industry is effective in stimulating performance improvements: this lead to more generated electricity and better technical quality of the service. The impact on energy efficiency is positive but insignificant. The methodological lesson from this paper is that robust estimation of public reform is possible even in the absence of proper baseline survey.
Genetic and epigenetic changes in fibrosis-associated hepatocarcinogenesis in mice

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most prevalent cancers and is rising in incidence worldwide. The molecular mechanisms leading to the development of HCC are complex and include both genetic and epigenetic events. To determine the relative contribution of these alterations in liver tumorigenesis, we evaluated epigenetic modifications at both global and gene specific levels, as well as the mutational profile of genes commonly altered in liver tumors. A mouse model of fibrosis-associated liver cancer that was designed to emulate cirrhotic liver, a prevailing disease state observed in most humans with HCC, was used. Tumor and nontumor liver samples from B6C3F1 mice treated with N-nitrosodiethylamine (DEN; a single ip injection of 1 mg/kg at 14 days of age) and carbon tetrachloride (CCl4; 0.2 ml/kg, 2 times/week ip starting at 8 weeks of age for 14 weeks), as well as corresponding vehicle control animals, were analyzed for genetic and epigenetic alterations. H-ras, Ctnnb1 and Hnf1α genes were not mutated in tumors in mice treated with DEN+CCl4 . In contrast, the increased tumor incidence in mice treated with DEN+CCl4 was associated with marked epigenetic changes in liver tumors and nontumor liver tissue, including demethylation of genomic DNA and repetitive elements, a decrease in histone 3 lysine 9 trimethylation (H3K9me3) and promoter hypermethylation and functional downregulation of Riz1, a histone lysine methyltransferase tumor suppressor gene. Additionally, the reduction in H3K9me3 was accompanied by increased expression of long interspersed nucleotide elements 1 and short interspersed nucleotide elements B2, which is an indication of genomic instability. In summary, our results suggest that epigenetic events, rather than mutations in known cancer-related genes, play a prominent role in increased incidence of liver tumors in this mouse model of fibrosis-associated liver cancer.
Kinetics of thermal decomposition of the solid state

Abstract Present evidence shows that many thermal processes can be described by the generalized rate equation −d x /d t = Z exp( E */ RT ) f ( x ) but many others cannot. Still others may be adequately describable by a modified equation. A small set of tests will enable the experimenter to determine whether or not the equation applies. These include change of sample size, change of sample geometry, and extended time of reaction.
Planarity-tolerant fine-pitch reworkable interconnections with sharp protrusions and microbumps

Fine-pitch inter-strata connections in 3-D stacking lack rework solutions which can aide in early learning for 3-D integration. Reduced solder volume in the microbump or micropillar is also less tolerant to non-planarity and non-uniformity of the strata and interconnection array, especially as die size and number of interconnections increase. At fine pitch, heavily-loaded thermal underfills can have high viscosity and potential risk of filler entrapment. To address these issues, reworkable interconnections have been fabricated in our facility. In these structures, sharp metal tips were formed in a silicon mold and transferred to a silicon substrate to form one side of the reworkable interconnect. The other side of the reworkable interconnect is a silicon substrate with lead-free microbumps coated with underfill. The two silicon substrates were brought into contact at room temperature without reflowing the solder to perform electrical test. . The temporary stack can be easily separated (reworked) if test results indicate failure. Non-planarity is tolerated up to an amount which is the lesser of the height of the tips and solder thickness. A test vehicle with approximately 45,400 pairs of reworkable interconnects at 50 µm pitch was fabricated. Contact resistance as low as 115 mΩ was obtained at a contact force of 0.2 g per interconnect after insertion and partial cure. This same structure was also used to make initial permanent interconnects, the contact resistance measured 34 mΩ after reflow. Typical yield over the initial 10 mm × 12 mm test vehicles built was found to be > 99.9% out of 22,000 interconnects that can be electrically measured.
On Exploiting Locality for Generalized Consensus

Single leader-based Consensus protocols are known to stop scaling once the leader reaches its saturation point. On the other hand, establishing Consensus of commands by taking into account only their dependencies (as specified by Generalized Consensus) is appealing because of the potentially higher parallelism and lower latency. However, current solutions have well-known pitfalls due to the higher quorum size, which is required to exploit low-latency fast decisions, and the need for tracking dependency relations. In this paper we briefly introduce M2PAXOS, a new implementation of Generalized Consensus that provides a fast decision of commands by leveraging a classic quorum size, which matches just the majority of nodes deployed. M2PAXOS does not establish command dependencies based on conflicts, rather it associates accessed objects with nodes, so that the delivery decision of commands operating on the same objects is made by a common node. The evaluation study of M2PAXOS confirms its effectiveness by showing an improvement up to 7× over state-of-the-art (Generalized) Consensus protocols.
Home and Away: The Construction of Citizenship in an Emigration Context

Scholarly discourse on immigration is abundant, but little attention has been paid to emigration as such, and particularly to citizenship within the emigration context. This Article examines the ways in which citizenship has been reconfigured by emigrants and emigration states, and begins to construct a broadened conception of citizenship based on these actual practices. Citizenship as experienced by emigrants, or "external citizenship," has two dimensions: formal legal status and the lived experience of participation in national life. The Article highlights the strong economic incentives for emigration states to strengthen ties with their absent citizens. It also emphasizes emigrants' active stance in shaping their new role in the national life of their home countries. As emigrant states and emigrants negotiate the terms of their relationship, a new set of citizenship constructs has begun to emerge. States have newly styled emigrants as heroic citizens, as they seek to encourage emigrants to direct financial resources homeward, in the form of remittances, direct contributions styled as taxes, and investment. In approving dual nationality, states have allowed emigrants to retain legal membership at home, even as they acquire citizenship abroad. Emigrants themselves have begun to assert political claims in their home states, and in a number of states, emigrants have acquired the right to vote in national elections while abroad. Emigrants also continue to influence politics in their home states in other ways, including running for office, making contributions to candidates, and traveling home to vote there. The Article concludes by offering some initial thoughts on the ways in which emigrant citizenship might evolve in the future.
Relational configurations with information intermediaries: The effect of firm‐investment bank ties on expected acquisition performance

Recognizing information-related problems in acquisition transactions, we study how the characteristics of acquiring firms' relationships with information brokers or intermediaries like investment banks affect firms' access to acquisition-related information, thus influencing expected acquisition performance. We propose that relational configurations that enhance the intermediaries' ability and willingness provide the most beneficial and appropriate information to acquiring firms. We find that acquirers' expected acquisition performance increases with the number of prior transactions with investment banks but decreases when relationships with banks become exclusive. Further, the positive effect of number of prior transactions becomes even stronger for less related acquisitions. Our study provides insights on the beneficial performance implications of competition in multiple but nonexclusive relationships with information intermediaries such as investment banks. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Los jueces como creadores de reglas

Precedents are judicial decisions that form the bases of further judicial decisions by constraining those decisions. There are two aspects to the constraints exerted by precedent decisions: the scope of the constraint and the strength of the constraint. The scope refers to the range of decisions that are affected by the precedent. The strength refers to the conditions under which a court can escape being bound by the precedent. Models of precedential scope are discussed and evaluated, and the question of strength is analyzed.
The role of wettability in metal-ceramic joining

Abstract The effects of oxygen, applied DC voltage and surface orientation on the wettability of ceramics by liquid metals are clarified and new methods for metal–ceramic joining are proposed based on information from wetting experiments, using three examples. The strengths of Ni–Al 2 O 3 joints obtained at very low oxygen potentials are higher than in high oxygen potential environments. Applying a DC voltage to the interface between metals and partially stabilized zirconia is shown to improve the strength of metal–zirconia joints. Cu and SiC can be strongly joined without using active elements such as Ti and Zr by controlling the joining conditions.
Wavelet decomposition of transmitted ultrasound wave through a 1-D muscle–bone system

Abstract In the attempt for using ultrasound as a diagnostic device for osteoporosis, several authors have described the result of the in vitro experiment in which ultrasound is passed through a cancellous bone specimen placed in a water tank. However, in the in vivo setting, a patient's cancellous bone is surrounded by cortical and muscle layers. This paper considers in the one-dimensional case (1) what effect the cortical bone segments surrounding the cancellous segment would have on the received signal and (2) what the received signal would be when a source and receiver are placed on opposite sides of a structure consisting of a cancellous segment surrounded by cortical and muscle layers. Mathematically this is accomplished by representing the received signal as a sum of wavelets which go through different reflection–transmission histories at the muscle–cortical bone and cortical-cancellous bone interfaces. The muscle and cortical bone are modeled as elastic materials and the cancellous bone as a poroelastic material described by the Biot–Johnson–Koplik–Dashen model. The approach presented here permits the assessment of which possible paths of transmission and reflection through the cortical-cancellous or muscle-cortical-cancellous complex will result in significant contributions to the received waveform. This piece of information can be useful for solving the inverse problem of non-destructive assessment of material properties of bone. Our methodology can be generalized to three-dimensional parallelly layered structure by first applying Fourier transform in the directions perpendicular to the transverse direction.
Fragmentation studies of noncovalent sugar-sugar complexes by infrared atmospheric pressure MALDI.

An investigation of sugar-sugar noncovalent complex fragmentation was conducted using a 2.94 µm Er:YAG laser for infrared (IR) atmospheric pressure matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (AP MALDI) on an ion trap mass spectrometer (ITMS). This approach allowed the analysis of weak noncovalent complexes between a variety of biologically relevant oligosaccharides. The strength of interaction varied with different sugar structures, potentially due to varying strength of hydrogen bonding networks. In some cases, fragmentation of intramolecular sugar bonds preceded breakdown of the noncovalent complex. This result appeared primarily when complexes contained sugars with at least one sialic acid. Globotrios dimers also showed intramolecular fragmentation in preference to breakdown of the noncovalent dimer. This technique will allow further study of sugar-sugar interactions known to play a role in cellular interactions.
Abstract 3455: p53 status determines the radio-sensitizing effect of an Akt kinase inhibitor in malignant gliomas

Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL Purpose: It has been reported that PI3K-Akt pathway, which plays a role in cell survival and apoptosis, is deregulated in many cancer types. In gliomas, amplification and constitutive activation of Akt, which can result from amplifications in TKIs including EGFR, IGFR1α, PDGFRα, etc. and mutations in PI3K, PTEN, etc. are thought to play a role in radiation resistance. Some have tried to modulate the PI3K/Akt pathway by targeting molecules upstream of Akt such as Ras and PI3K, while others have used inhibitors targeting molecules downstream of Akt, such as mTOR. These inhibitors have been shown to reduce cancer cell growth in vitro and in vivo, but have had limited success in clinical settings as single agents. In our study, we have investigated the use of a phosphatidylinositol ether lipid analogue (PIA) that directly inhibits Akt activation as a radiosensitizer for GBM. Materials and Methods: We utilized multiple established (U87, LN18, LN229) and primary (VC3, MGH8, OSU61) cell lines with varying molecular and genetic signatures to determine radiosensitizing effects of PIA. We performed Annexin V, clonogenic survival, and COMET assays on glioma cells treated with PIA, radiation (RT), and a combination of PIA and RT. Western blot was performed using these cell lines to examine the changes in expression of PI3K-Akt pathway, apoptotic, and pro-survival proteins following treatment. Furthermore, we sequenced tumor suppressor genes p53 and PTEN in all cell lines used in this study. Gene silencing of p53 was done in U87 cells via a lentiviral transfection of shRNA. Results and Conclusions: PIA decreases the activation of Akt to a considerable extent (∼80%), induces apoptosis, and reduces clonogenicity of all cell lines tested. A subset of cell lines did show enhanced radiosensitization when PIA is combined with RT. Further detailed investigation of differential radiosensitizing effects led us to discover the link between p53 status, Akt kinase inhibition, and radiosensitization. GBMs with intact p53 had no radiosensitizing effect after Akt kinase inhibition, whereas radiosensitization was observed if either p53 is null or mutated. This observation was further validated using isogenic U87 p53 knockdown cells. Surprisingly, MGMT status, a predictive marker of outcome in GBM, did not determine radiosensitizing effects of PIA in the GBM cells tested. Through this preclinical study, we have identified which subset of GBM patients will derive benefit from Akt kinase inhibition and the investigations conducted justify future clinical trials and lays ground work for phase I study. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3455. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-3455
Molecular biogeography of the Pacific

Species-range information forms the empirical data base for much of biogeography, but even with a huge amount of data on species occurrences, many of the ecological and evolutionary processes generating biogeographic patterns remain obscure. Molecular genetic data from closely related, widely distributed species can help address biogeographic mechanisms by (1) providing independent evidence for genetic boundaries between cryptic species, (2) estimating species divergence times, (3) providing phylogenetic reconstructions of species divergence patterns, and (4) allowing us to examine the geography of allelic variants within species and ask if intra-specific alleles show the same biogeographic patterns as do species. Data from mitochondrial DNA variation in Pacific sea urchins and butterfly fishes show that congeneric species diverged within the Pleistocene. Thus, the processes that generate species diversity patterns probably have been acting throughout the recent past, and are ongoing aspects of Pacific marine biology. Phylogenetic analysis of mtDNA variants suggests that sea urchin species arise throughout the Pacific, with some originating by peripheral speciation and some evolving in the high diversity center of the Indo-West Pacific. Clines of mtDNA variation within species are similar to diversity clines in the entire fauna. Similar biogeographic patterns for species and for alleles within species may provide unique clues about the processes that generate biological diversity both within and between species.
Structure of His94→Asp carbonic anhydrase II in a new crystalline form reveals a partially occupied zinc binding site

The structure of histidine 94-->aspartate (H94D) carbonic anhydrase II (CAII) crystallized in an orthorhombic space group has been determined to 2.5 A resolution. This crystal form is not isomorphous with monoclinic wild-type enzyme crystals or with the monoclinic crystal form of H94D CAII reported earlier [Kiefer,L.L., Ippolito, J.A., Fierke, C.A. and Christianson, D.W. (1993) J. Am. Chem. Soc., 115, 12581-12582]. In monoclinic H94D CAII, a fully occupied zinc ion is tetrahedrally coordinated by D94, H96, H119 and a water molecule. In orthorhombic H94D CAII, a partially occupied zinc ion is coordinated by H96 and H119 and only weakly coordinated by a disordered D94 side chain. These differences are particularly surprising given that the two crystal forms co-precipitate in the same drop in the same experiment. Re-refinement of the orthorhombic crystal form of H94C CAII and comparison with its corresponding monoclinic crystal form yield similar results. It appears that partial-but not full-zinc dissociation accompanies the crystallization of CAII variants in the orthorhombic crystal form, and significant differences on the protein surface presumably affect the relative stability of each crystal lattice. These results underscore an unexpected ambiguity in this protein engineering experiment: which crystal structure of H94D CAII should be correlated with functional measurements made in solution?
Amylose Content and Puffed Volume of Gelatinized Rice

A total of 113 experimental and commercial rough rice consisting of 6 short, 49 medium and 58 long grain types were used to determine the role of amylose and other selected properties on the puffing characteristics of gelatinized rice. Statistical analysis of the data on head rice yield, volume, length-width ratio, moisture of gelatinized dried rice, amylose and expansion volume showed that (1) head rice negatively correlated to amylose (r = -0.48), (2) length-width ratio positively correlated to grain type (r =+0.95) and expansion (r =+0.62) and, (3) expansion positively correlated with amylose (r = 0.36).
Reaction of sodium hypochlorite with amines and amides: A new method for quantitating amino sugars in monomeric form☆

Abstract Free and N-acetylated hexosamines can be determined spectrophotometrically by a three-stage assay: chlorinating the amide or amine with NaOCl; reducing unreacted NaOCl with NaNO2; and reacting chloroamide (-amine) with amylose-KI reagent to produce the blue amylosetriiodide complex, measured at 615 nm. Distinctive behavior of the common 2-amino-2-deoxy- d -hexoses and their 2-acetyl derivatives allows three types of measurements to be made: (a) identification and differentiation by characteristic behavior (assay individually in primary cacodylate buffers over the pH range 6.0–9.5, then adjust pH to 5.5 with secondary phthalate buffer and remeasure the color); (b) assay individually in a single buffer at the optimum pH; and (c) assay differently admixed 2-amino-2-deoxy- d -hexose · HCl and 2-acctamindo-2-deoxy- d -hexose (assay in primary buffer at pH 9.0–9.5 gives measure of only HexNAc (no reaction with ManNAc), then adjust pH to 5.5 with secondary buffer to measure additional color that results only from HexN · HCl).
Development of a quantitative real-time PCR assay for the detection of Aspergillus carbonarius in grapes.

Abstract Aspergillus carbonarius is the main species responsible for the production of ochratoxin A (OTA) in wine grapes. To monitor and quantify A. carbonarious in grapes, a quantitative real-time PCR assay was developed as a possible tool for predicting the potential ochratoxigenic risk. DNA extraction from grape berries was performed by using conventional extraction and clean up through EZNA Hi-bond® spin columns. A TaqMan probe was used to quantify A. carbonarius genomic DNA in grape berries samples. An exogenous internal positive control was used to overcome DNA recovery losses due to matrix inhibition. The quantification of fungal genomic DNA in naturally contaminated grape was performed using the TaqMan signal versus spectrophotometrically measured DNA quantities (Log 10 ) calibration curve with a linearity range from 50 to 5 × 10 − 4 ng of DNA. A positive correlation ( R 2 = 0.92) was found between A. carbonarious DNA content and OTA concentration in naturally contaminated grape samples. This is the first application of TaqMan real-time PCR for identifying and quantifying A. carbonarius genomic DNA occurring in grapes. The rapid DNA extraction method for grapes, together with the commercial availability of reagents and instrumentation, allows to perform a remarkable number of reproducible assays (96-well format) in less than 4 h.
Remark on Romberg quadrature

A modified form of Romberg quadrature is described, which is less sensitive to the accumulation of rounding errors than the customary one.
Factorial Design in the Study of the Effects of Selected Liquid Chromatographic Conditions on Resolution and Capacity Factors

Abstract Certain factors associated with the flow rate and minor components of the mobile phase are known to exert a significant effect on various liquid chromatographic parameters. By using the beta-phenylethylamine compounds ephedrine and (±)-norephedrine (phenylpropanol-amine) as model solutes, the effects of pH, flow rate and concentrations of organic solvents and organic modifier in the mobile phase on solute peak resolutions and capacity factors were examined. A full factorial design was used and polynomial equations were derived to evaluate the quantitative relationships between the experimental conditions and the chromatographic parameters. A simple equation is proposed for the rapid estimation of resolution between solute peaks.