cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Estimates for conservation laws with little viscosity

We consider the parabolic system that is generated by adding “artificial viscosity” to the equations of one-dimensional nonlinear elasticity. We construct families of entropies that induce a priori bounds on solutions, independent of the viscosity. The entropies have exponential growth in the case of strain hardening and polynomial growth in the case of strain softening. In particular, we recover the standard theory of invariant regions.
Twisted hyperboloid (Strophoid) as a model of beta-barrels in proteins.

Using a least-squares fitting procedure, polypeptide backbones of one parallel and seven antiparallel beta-barrels were approximated with various curved surfaces. Although the hyperboloid gave better approximations to all the beta-barrel backbones than the ellipsoid, elliptical cylinder or catenoid, the best approximations were obtained with a novel surface, a twisted hyperboloid (strophoid). The root-mean-square errors between individual beta-barrels and the fitted strophoid surfaces ranged from 0.75 A to 1.64 A. The parameters which determine the strophoid surface allow groups of beta-barrel shapes to be defined according to their barrel twists (i.e. angles subtended by directions of the long axis of cross-section at the top and the bottom of the barrel), course of elliptical cross-sections (either monotonically increasing along the barrel axis, as in cones, or having a middle "waist", as in hyperboloids), and types of backbone curvatures (either convex or concave). The curvatures at individual points of strophoid surface are local, variable quantities related to the local helicity (coil) of the polypeptide backbone, in contrast to values of beta-sheet twist (i.e. dihedral angles subtended by adjacent beta-strands) known to be virtually identical in all the beta-sheets. The variability found in parameters such as barrel shapes and curvatures suggests that simple models (isotropically stressed surfaces, principle of minimal surface tension) proposed in the past to account for beta-barrel shapes are not sufficient. Rather, the complex nature of best-fit theoretical surfaces points to an important role played by a local variability of the forces involved.
Full length article: Optimal recovery of twice differentiable functions based on symmetric splines

Given values and gradients of a function at a finite set of nodes in R^d, we introduce symmetric spline recovery methods based on local information. We explicitly construct bivariate symmetric interpolating continuous splines on regular triangulations that solve the optimal global recovery problem studied in Babenko et al. (2010) [2] for the class of functions whose second derivatives in any direction are uniformly bounded. We further prove that in contrast to the univariate case, there are no smooth symmetric splines that solve this recovery problem for d>1.
Characterization of reaction intermediate aggregates in aniline oxidative polymerization at low proton concentration.

Aggregates of reaction intermediates form during the early stages of aniline oxidative polymerization whenever the initial mole ratio of proton concentration to aniline monomer concentration is low ([H+]0/[An]0 ≤ 1.0). Detailed characterization is carried out on those aggregates. The intermediate aggregates show a UV−Vis absorption peak at around 410 nm when dispersed in aqueous solution, whereas the peak is centered on 370 nm when dissolved in an organic solvent such as N-methylpyrrolidone. The electronic band gap decreases when the intermediates aggregate to form a solid, and thus, the absorption peak is red-shifted. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) shows the aggregates contain a major low molecular weight peak with a long tail. The oligoanilines with low molecular weights consistently show a UV−Vis absorption peak at around 370 nm. Mass spectrometry confirms that the intermediate aggregates contain mainly a component with mass number 363 (M + H+), likely a tetramer. UV−Vis, GPC, mass spectrometry, N...
Using portfolios in program evaluation: an investigation of interrater reliability

Portfolios and other open-ended assessments are increasingly incorporated into evaluations and testing programs. However, questions about the reliability of such assessments continue to be raised. After reviewing forces that may be leading to increased interest in and use of portfolio assessment, we investigate the interrater reliability of a portfolio assessment used in a small-scale program evaluation. Three types of portfolio scores were investigated—analytic, combined analytic (formed by summing across analytic scores), and holistic. The interrater reliability coefficient was highest for summed analytic scores (r = .86). Results indicate that at least three raters are required to obtain acceptable levels of reliability for holistic and individual analytic scores.
Synthesis and Characterization of Ge,Al-ZSM-5 Made in Alkaline Media

The synthesis and characterization of a series of Ge,Al-ZSM-5 samples made in hydroxide media is reported. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) indicate there is a germanium-rich overlayer on these crystals. Electron microscopy results validate this conclusion, and also indicate that the aluminum distribution through the samples is uniform. While powder X-ray diffraction does not reveal the presence of an impurity, the nitrogen adsorption isotherms show a reduced nitrogen uptake before the surface overlayer material is removed. The crystal size and the germanium uptake appear to correlate strongly with pH, as lower pH values lead to higher germanium uptake and larger crystal size. X-ray absorption spectroscopy indicates that the germanium is tetrahedrally coordinated in the zeolite framework, and that GeO2 is not present in these samples after they have been ion exchanged with sodium nitrate solutions. This work highlights some of the complexities involved in characterizing ...
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Gene Delivery for Revascularization in Transplanted Human Islets

Purpose. Islet transplantation is limited by islet graft failure because of poor revascularization, host immune rejection, and nonspecific inflammatory response. Human vascular endothelial growth factor (hVEGF) gene delivery is likely to promote islet revascularization and survival. Methods. We evaluated gene expression from a bicistronic plasmid encoding hVEGF and enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) (pCMS-EGFP-hVEGF). Glucose responsiveness of islets was evaluated both in vitro and in vivo, and revascularization in islet graft was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Results. After transfection, hVEGF and EGFP expression levels were comparable with original monocistronic plasmids in Jurkat cells but higher and prolonged hVEGF expression in islets transfected with the bicistronic plasmid was observed, possibly as the result of differences in promoter strength and hypoxia response. The 3:1 w/w complexes showed little toxicity to islets at a dose of 5 μg DNA per 2000 islets. On glucose challenge, insulin release from transfected islets as well as secretion from islets after transplantation under the mouse kidney capsules in response to glucose stimulation, increased with time. Immunohistochemical staining of transplanted islets using mouse anti-human insulin, mouse anti-human von Willebrand factor, and rat anti-mouse CD31 antibodies suggests that islets are functional and there is new blood vessel formation. Conclusions. These findings suggest that transient hVEGF gene expression by the islets may promote islet revascularization and prolong islet survival after transplantation.
Calcified basal ganglionic mass 12 years after radiation therapy for medulloblastoma

A patient treated 12 years previously with an operation and radiation therapy for a medulloblastoma developed weakness of the left hand and perivascular calcification involving the right internal capsule and caudate nucleus. These findings are considered possible long-term complications of the radiation therapy.
Failure to find a U-shaped distribution of suicide rates of USA cities as a function of their longitude.

Stanger, et al. (1986) claimed to find that the suicide rates of USA cities between longitudes 90" and 105" were lower than western and eastern cities. However, they used statistics obtained from the city governments and an unspecified sample of 33 cities rather than the standardized statistics prepared by the US Government. Data for the suicide rates of the largest 50 standard metropolitan statistical areas of the USA for 1970 were obtained from the National Center for Vital Statistics (personal communication, Robert Langberg). The 30 cities east of 90' had a mean suicide rate of 10.75 (SD = 3.12), the 10 cities between 90' and 105" had a mean suicide rate of 12.26 (SD = 3.72), and the 10 cities west of 105" had a mean suicide rate of 16.90 (SD = 2.67). These differences were significant (F2,4i = 14.18, p < 0.01) but the distribution of the cities was not U-shaped. The suicide rates of the SMSAs ranged from 5.5 for Newark, NJ to 22.1 for San Francisco, CA." similar set of differences was found when the 48 continental states were used rather than the largest 50 SMSAs. The present results differ from those of Stanger, et al., and this may be a result of using suicide rates collected by a central agency rather than the individual cities, and by using a clearly defined sample of cities.
Pain Assessment During a Vaso-Occlusive Crisis in the Pediatric and Adolescent Patient Rethinking Practice

Pain assessment of the child and adolescent with sickle cell disease is complex and challenging. We present a paradigm of pain assessment during a vaso-occlusive crisis in children and adolescents based on the Pain Assessment as a Social Transaction model. Using this model, the assessment of pain severity in sickle cell disease is uniquely highlighted as comprising at least 4 key factors: the limitations of current pain assessment tools, the existence of acute pain of various origins and the emergence and coexistence of chronic pain, the prevalence of cognitive deficits, and the sociocultural dynamics in America. Improved tools for pain assessment and targeted practitioner education are warranted.
Energy efficient operating strategies for building combined heat and power systems

A method was developed and demonstrated for evaluating and visualizing the optimal operating strategies for building combined heat and power systems. The method uses models of the component load-dependent operating characteristics matched to specific electrical and thermal load combinations for the building in a framework that substantially reduces the size of the search space and associated computational burden. The overall system primary energy input is determined for the range of possible operating conditions and is represented in the form of a performance map, allowing optimal component operating conditions and allocation of thermal energy to be determined by the operator or supervisory control system. The method was demonstrated for eight scenarios that were selected to cover a range of load combinations, and the optimal operating conditions were determined along with several metrics of energy use for the combined heat and power system compared to a conventional system and the overall system energy u...
Multistep extraction of coal

Abstract Unlike many natural and synthesized polymers, coal is a mixture of polyfunctional high-molecular-mass material. The usually observed limited extractability of coal is attributed to the disregard of various relatively strong intra- and intermolecular interactions and their co-operativity. Due to the polyfunctionality, ionic, charge-transfer and so-called π-π interactions are present, and their abundances are highly rank-dependent. Such relatively strong interactions are not completely solvated in a single step with any solvent. In this paper, multistep extraction was studied to solvate these interactions. Pyridine was mostly used after treatments to disrupt these interactions without breaking covalent bonds. Much larger pyridine extractability was obtained compared to a single step extraction. As solubilization or extraction is the first step to characterize coal, caution is advised against the limited extractability obtained by conventional procedures.
Heavy Quark Physics from Lattice NRQCD

I discuss recent lattice calculations of the spectroscopy of mesons containing only b and c quarks using the Non-Relativistic QCD (NRQCD) action for heavy quarks. I discuss the benefits of using a non-relativistic effective action in heavy quark calculations and the manner in which heavy quark systems are insensitive to the systematic errors common in lattice calculations. I discuss how these calculations can be used to determine the standard model parameters αs and mb by requiring that the calculated spectrum agree with experiment, and present our current estimates of these quantities.
Impacts of the Japanese patent system on productivity growth

Abstract We investigate empirically how the Japanese patent system has affected post-war growth in Japanese total factor productivity. The system has been criticized for several reasons, including that it encourages numerous filings of narrow claims that build incrementally on fundamental technologies developed by domestic and foreign inventors. Stated in different terms, the system was designed to promote technological catch-up and diffusion through incremental innovation. However, its effectiveness in achieving this purpose has not been studied systematically. We provide econometric evidence that the technology diffused through the Japanese patent system had a significant and positive impact on Japan's technical progress.
Ecological upheavals with special reference to desertification and predicting health impact.

Abstract This paper begins with an introduction that touches on the ecological upheavals of earthquakes, floods, as well as other upheavals that result from sudden huge crowding of people in one place such as in refugee situations and situations of a famine disaster. The point is made that for sudden emergencies the health impact will very much depend on the nature of traumatic physical damage on the people's bodies and property as well as the capacity with which response is organised for assessment of damage and medical management. A number of texts are mentioned with respect to management in emergencies, including health, feeding and water and the point made that familiarity with these texts provides a starting point in responding to emergencies. These have put together information on how one goes about organising the response to save lives. Also mentioned are the consequences of the approach taken to providing food in these situations; whether it is through distribution of dry ration to be taken home, or whether one is dealing with shelter situations. In this introduction, land degradation/desertification is mentioned as being the largest and possibly the most devastating ecological upheaval. The rest of the paper goes on to address this ecological upheaval of land degradation/desertification. The magnitude of this upheaval is presented. The contribution of overcultivation, overgrazing, deforestation and irrigation to desertification are discussed. The health consequence of this process is then presented and finally, there is a discussion on the challenges that social scientists and health professionals could help to address in order to bring about some appropriate interventions that would contribute to arresting and possibly reversing the desertification process.
Wall-Associated Kinases Are Expressed throughout Plant Development and Are Required for Cell Expansion

The mechanism by which events in the angiosperm cell wall are communicated to the cytoplasm is not well characterized. A family of five Arabidopsis wall-associated kinases (WAKs) have the potential to provide a physical and signaling continuum between the cell wall and the cytoplasm. The WAKs have an active cytoplasmic protein kinase domain, span the plasma membrane, and contain an N terminus that binds the cell wall. We show here that WAKs are expressed at organ junctions, in shoot and root apical meristems, in expanding leaves, and in response to wall disturbances. Leaves expressing an antisense WAK gene have reduced WAK protein levels and exhibit a loss of cell expansion. WAKs are covalently bound to pectin in the cell wall, providing evidence that the binding of a structural carbohydrate by a receptor-like kinase may have significance in the control of cell expansion.
Starch addition in renneted milk gels: Partitioning between curd and whey and effect on curd syneresis and gel microstructure

Milk gels were made by renneting and acidifying skim milk containing 5 different starches, and then compressed by centrifugation to express whey and simulate curd syneresis during the manufacture of low-fat cheese. A series of 17 starches were examined, with 5 starches being selected for in-depth analysis: a modified waxy corn starch (WC), a waxy rice starch (WR), an instant tapioca starch (IT), a modified tapioca starch (MT), and dextrin (DX). Milks containing WC, WR, and DX were given a 72°C heat treatment, whereas those containing IT and MT had a 30-min treatment at 66°C that matched their optimum gelatinization treatments. Curd yields were calculated by weight, estimated starch content in whey was measured gravimetrically by alcohol precipitation, and starch retention in curd was calculated. Curd yields were 13.1% for the control milk (no added starch) and 18.4, 20.7, 21.5, 23.5, and 13.2% for the gels containing starches WC, WR, IT, MT, and DX, respectively. Estimated starch retentions in the curd were, respectively, 71, 90, 90, 21, and 1%. Laser scanning confocal microscopy was used to determine the location of the starches in the curd and their interaction with the protein matrix. Waxy corn, WR, and IT starches have potential to improve texture of low-fat cheese because they had high retention in the curd and they generated interruptions in the protein matrix network that may have helped limit extensive protein-protein interactions. Modified tapioca starch interfered with formation of the protein structure of the curd and produced a soft noncohesive gel, even though most (79%) of the MT starch was lost in the whey. Few distinct starch particles were present in the MT curd network. Dextrin was not retained in the curd and did not disrupt the protein network, making it unsuitable for use in low-fat cheese.
ATF4 Regulates MYC-Mediated Neuroblastoma Cell Death upon Glutamine Deprivation

Oncogenic Myc alters mitochondrial metabolism, making it dependent on exogenous glutamine (Gln) for cell survival. Accordingly, Gln deprivation selectively induces apoptosis in MYC-overexpressing cells via unknown mechanisms. Using MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma as a model, we identify PUMA, NOXA, and TRB3 as executors of Gln-starved cells. Gln depletion in MYC-transformed cells induces apoptosis through ATF4-dependent, but p53-independent, PUMA and NOXA induction. MYC-transformed cells depend on both glutamate-oxaloacetate transaminase and glutamate dehydrogenase to maintain Gln homeostasis and suppress apoptosis. Consequently, either ATF4 agonists or glutaminolysis inhibitors potently induce apoptosis in vitro and inhibit tumor growth in vivo. These results reveal mechanisms whereby Myc sensitizes cells to apoptosis, and validate ATF4 agonists and inhibitors of Gln metabolism as potential Myc-selective cancer therapeutics.
Tocqueville's Puritans: Christianity and the American Founding

Tocqueville considered the Puritans America's founders because of their formative influence on America's national character. I first compare this novel view of America's founding with the views of contemporary scholars. I then explore Tocqueville's understanding of American Puritanism in detail focusing on his account of its Biblical origins and its main components. Finally, I discuss Tocqueville's analysis of the various ways the Puritans shaped American mores. In doing so, I answer the most vexing question to emerge from this analysis: How can Tocqueville assert that the Puritans founded a country which, as he describes it, was more secular than religious in the 1830s? I show that he defends his assertion by linking the demise of the religious elements of American Puritanism to certain secular tendencies fostered by Christianity.
A Simple Finite Element Model for Elastic-Plastic Plate Bending,

Abstract A consistent finite element model for a plate is developed based on triangular elements and a piecewise-linear displacement field. The resulting generalized stresses are the average normal moments across the element interfaces. Equilibrium equations are derived for each node, and a simple constitutive equation is obtained for each generalized stress. Applications are made to some square plate problems.
How to Monitor for Missing RFID tags

As RFID tags become more widespread, new approaches for managing larger numbers of RFID tags will be needed. In this paper, we consider the problem of how to accurately and efficiently monitor a set of RFID tags for missing tags. Our approach accurately monitors a set of tags without collecting IDs from them. It differs from traditional research which focuses on faster ways for collecting IDs from every tag. We present two monitoring protocols, one designed for a trusted reader and another for an untrusted reader.
The incidence of systemic lupus erythematosus in baltimore, maryland, 1970–1977

The incidence of systemic lupus erythematosus, based on first hospital discharge diagnosis, in Baltimore, Maryland for the years 1970 through 1977 was determined for individual sex-race groups and the total population. Age-specific incidence rates were consistently highest among black females and lowest among white males: rates for white females exceeded those for black males through age 54, but then declined for ages greater than or equal to 55. Mean age at diagnosis was significantly lower for black females versus white females (35.5 versus 41.7 years, P = 0.005) and for all females versus all males (37.2 versus 44.2 years, P = 0.012). There were no temporal trends noted in yearly age-adjusted incidence rates during the 8-year study period. The overall population incidence of systemic lupus erythematosus was 4.6 per 100,000 per year, representing a twofold increase over a comparable study done in New York City 15 years ago.
Congenital, reconstructive and regenerative cardiac surgery

Abstract The development of bioengineered heart valves that have prolonged durability and improved hydraulic functionality will significantly improve the management of pediatric congenital cardiac patients by limiting multiple reoperations. However, progressing one step further to tissue engineered heart valves that contain viable and phenotypically appropriate cell populations will result in growth capable heart valves that can remodel constructively and synchronously with the patient's somatic growth. Pediatric cardiac surgical and interventional catheter therapeutics now consists of a huge menu of multistage and palliative procedures. Readily available, patient specific or "personal" tissue engineered viable constructs for use as replacements for missing, hypoplastic, or structurally defective cardiac structures will fundamentally alter therapeutic strategies for numerous diagnoses. These transformational developments will result in definitive operations that can be performed early in the patient's life. Altered strategies that will become available are explored for tetralogy of Fallot, pulmonary atresia, congenital aortic stenosis, the single ventricle, and the "failing Fontan". The barriers and challenges to achieving routinely applicable Tissue Engineered and Regenerative (TERM) Cardiac Surgery Methods are also explored as is a novel concept for the Cardiac Hybrid Operating Room Suite of the 21st Century.
Why Nation‐States and Journalists Can't Teach People to Be Healthy: Power and Pragmatic Miscalculation in Public Discourses on Health

This article analyzes how Venezuelan public health officials collaborated with journalists in producing information about cholera in January-December 1991. It uses Michael Warner's (2002) observation that such public discourse involves a contradiction: it must project the image of reaching an actually existing public at the same time that it creates multiple publics as it circulates. The analysis explores the language ideologies that hide complex sets of practices, networks, and material conditions that shape how public discourses circulate. At the same time that epidemiologists targeted poor barrio residents, street vendors of food and drink, and indigenous people as being "at high risk," health education messages pictured women in well-equipped kitchens demonstrating cholera prevention measures. The gap between these ideal audiences and the discrepant publics created by their circulation limited the effectiveness of prevention efforts and created a substantial chasm between public health institutions and the publics they sought to reach.
Manganese: a unique neuroimaging contrast agent

Manganese is a strong magnetic resonance imaging relaxation agent with unique biological properties that make it suitable for in vivo studies of neuroachitecture, neuronal tracts and neuronal function in animals. However, in humans large doses of manganese are neurotoxic and cause damage, primarily to the basal ganglia, resulting in a form of parkinsonism termed manganism. If low doses can be safely used and detected in the human brain, manganese will provide insight into neuroanatomy, connectivity, function and neuropathology.
Three-dimensional assessment of MR imaging-guided percutaneous cryotherapy using multi-performer repeated segmentations

Rationale and objectives Accurate and reproducible segmentations of two-dimensional images are an important prerequisite for assessing tumor ablations three dimensionally (3D). We evaluated whether supervised learning methods would improve multiperformer repeated segmentations of magnetic resonance images (MRI) obtained before and after MRI-guided cryotherapy of renal cell carcinoma. Materials and methods Three medical students independently performed five manual segmentations of a biopsy-proven renal cell carcinoma that was treated with percutaneous MRI-guided cryotherapy. Using pretreatment (T2-weighted fast recovery fast spin echo [FRFSE]) and posttreatment (T1-weighted, fat-suppressed, dynamically enhanced) MRIs, regions of tumor cryonecrosis were segmented. The same tasks were repeated after an experienced abdominal radiologist provided supervised learning. Segmentation sensitivity was compared with an estimated 3D-ground truth via voxel counts for regions of tumor, both before and after treatment, and for the regions of cryonecrosis. The sensitivity of each repeated segmentation was compared against the estimated ground truth using sensitivity, overlap index, and volume (mL). Results Supervised learning significantly improved posttreatment segmentation sensitivity ( P = .03). With supervised learning, the ranges of the performance metrics over the segmentation performers were: pretreated tumor, sensitivity 0.902–0.999, overlap index 0.935–0.961, and volume 19.15–23.71 mL; posttreated tumor, sensitivity 0.923–0.991, overlap index 0.952–0.981, and volume 20.67–22.70 mL; in the ablation zone, sensitivity 0.938–0.969, overlap index 0.940–0.962, and volume 31.79–32.36 mL. Conclusions Supervised learning improved multiperformer repeated segmentations of MRIs obtained before and after MRI-guided percutaneous cryotherapy of renal cell carcinoma. These methods may prove useful in aiding the 3D assessment of percutaneous tumor ablations.
Displacement and gratitude: accounting for the political obligation of refugees

On what basis, and to what extent, are refugees obligated to obey the laws of their host countries? Consideration of the specific case of asylum-seekers generates, I think, two competing intuitions: (1) the refugee has a prima facie obligation to obey the laws of her host country and (2) none of the popularly canvassed substrates of political obligation—consent, tacit consent, fairness, or social role—is at all apt to explain the presence of this obligation. I contend that the unfashionable gratitude account of political obligation does the best job of accounting for the intuitions. As has been noticed by other commentators, obligations of gratitude are difficult to specify and subject to numerous cancelling conditions. I analyze these conditions in detail and conclude that if one accepts that gratitude is the basis of the political obligation of the refugee, then one must face up to just how frangible the obligation is. In particular, the obligation is conditional on the fair and generous treatment of refugees that is consistent with their dignity as human beings. Keywords: refugee; political obligation; gratitude; fairness; Simmons; Nozick; Rawls; Hart; Card (Published: 17 March 2014) Citation: Ethics & Global Politics, Vol. 7 , No. 1, 2014, pp. 1–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/egp.v7.22940
3,5-Bicyclic aryl piperidines: A novel class of α4β2 neuronal nicotinic receptor partial agonists for smoking cessation

3,5-Bicyclic aryl piperidines are a new class of high-affinity α4β2 nicotinic receptor agents. We have sought nicotinic receptor partial agonists of the α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor for smoking cessation, and a number of compounds fulfill potency, selectivity, and efficacy requirements in vitro. In vivo, selected agents demonstrate potent partial agonist efficacy on the mesolimbic dopamine system, a key measure of therapeutic potential for smoking cessation.
A Low-Power, Battery-Free Tag for Body Sensor Networks

A new tag for pervasive sensing applications consists of a custom integrated circuit, an antenna for radio frequency energy harvesting, and sensors for monitoring physiological parameters. This paper presents a wearable tag design that can monitor multiple signals. The tag generates an alarm when it suspects a patient emergency. To quickly cover a large portion of the population at risk, we kept the tag affordable (less than US$2 each when manufactured in volume), disposable, small, and easy to use. Such tags would be useful for hospitals, facilities for infants and the elderly, and ordinary homes to detect and alert caregivers to possible problems including SCA and SIDS.
Comparison of the folding mechanism of highly homologous proteins in the lipid-binding protein family

The folding mechanism of two closely related proteins in the intracellular lipid-binding protein family, human bile acid-binding protein (hBABP), and rat bile acid-binding protein (rBABP) were examined. These proteins are 77% identical (93% similar) in sequence. Both of these single domain proteins fit well to a two-state model for unfolding by fluorescence and circular dichroism at equilibrium. Three phases were observed during the unfolding of rBABP by fluorescence but only one phase was observed during the unfolding of hBABP, suggesting that at least two kinetic intermediates accumulate during the unfolding of rBABP that are not observed during the unfolding of hBABP. Fluorine NMR was used to examine the equilibrium unfolding behavior of the W49 side chain in 6-fluorotryptophan-labeled rBABP and hBABP. The structure of rBABP appears to be more dynamic than that of hBABP in the vicinity of W49 in the absence of denaturant, and urea has a greater effect on this dynamic behavior for rBABP than for hBABP. As such, the folding behavior of highly sequence related proteins in this family can be quite different. These differences imply that moderately sized proteins with high sequence and structural similarity can still populate quite different structures during folding.
CryoEM and computer simulations reveal a novel kinase conformational switch in bacterial chemotaxis signaling

To survive, an organism must be able to collect and interpret information about its environment and behave accordingly. Bacteria are able to do this via a process called “chemotaxis”. Inside the bacteria are sensors that contain a two-dimensional network of proteins called a chemosensory array, which detect chemical changes in the environment and signal to motor proteins to allow the bacterium to move to a more favorable location. Thousands of proteins make up the chemosensory array, and so a key question is how do these proteins interact with each other to work together as a team? Cassidy, Himes, Alvarez et al. have now used a technique called cryo-electron tomography to determine the three-dimensional structure of the chemosensory array in the bacteria species Escherichia coli in high detail. This revealed the structures of several key components of the array, including some protein regions that are critical for signaling during chemotaxis. Cassidy et al. were then able to use the electron tomography data to create a model of the array that details all of its individual atoms. Supercomputer simulations of this model revealed that during chemotaxis, a key signaling protein changes shape in a way that is critical for signal processing. This shape change was confirmed to be important for chemotaxis by chemical experiments and tests on mutant E. coli cells. The next steps are to further improve the structure so that more details of the array organization can be distinguished, as well as to investigate the structure of other signaling states. By assembling structural “snapshots” of these different states, in the long term Cassidy et al. aim to develop models that detail the atoms in every one of the components involved in the chemotaxis signaling pathway.
Complete Genome Sequences of Evolved Arsenate-Resistant Metallosphaera sedula Strains

Metallosphaera sedula is a thermoacidophilic crenarchaeote with a 2.19-Mb genome. Here, we report the genome sequences of several evolved derivatives of M. sedula generated through adaptive laboratory evolution for enhanced arsenate resistance.
Heaven and Heavenly Piety in Colonial American Elegies

When the Massachusetts schoolteacher Benjamin Tompson pictured his unmarried sister Elizabeth in heaven, he saw her in a palace-like ‘nunnerye’ where ‘Chast virgins have faire entertainment free’. Elizabeth and the other virgins in heaven ‘Enjoy their purest love in sacred mirth’ as ‘Great Jesus daily steps of his bright throne/And gives them hart embraces every one.’ Colonial Puritan elegies such as this one challenge our inherited scholarly categories, which contrast a spiritualized Christian heaven with a corporeal Muslim one and set ‘a distant, majestic [Protestant] God’ in opposition to the intimate afterlife of medieval Catholic mystics. The most interesting part about Elizabeth Tompson’s elegy, however, is that she narrates it herself. Benjamin imagined her speaking to him from the bosom of Christ, saying ‘I Dare not tell what hear in heart i find’, and then going on to describe her experience of the afterlife in the first person. Christ leads her to the top of a ‘mount of pleasure’ where, she says, ‘i [have] all [the] flowers of paradice to Crop.’ A Protestant saint embracing a physical Jesus, picking flowers to her heart’s content, and telling her brother about it – these are all images which challenge our notions of early modern views of heaven and demonstrate the fruitfulness of elegies, or funeral poems, for opening up the imaginative worlds of early modern belief.
Colloquium on Religion and Immigration: Strangers No Longer - Immigration Law and Policy in the Light of Religious Values

In 2005, lawyers, social workers, community activists, clergy and scholars gathered at Fordham Law School's Manhattan campus, just a few miles from New York Harbor, in search of a wider lens through which to examine the manifold dimensions of immigration law and policy. The focal point of the conference was to consider how religious values and commitments may support and inform efforts to reform immigration law and policy, and how a deeper understanding of religious values and traditions may help to heal increased tensions and division in a post-September 11th world. Conversations also tackled the tensions and conflicts that religious values may bring to the surface, and explored how to navigate those conflicts. Contributors include: Michael Scaperlanda, Stephen H. Legomsky, Elizabeth McCormick and Patrick McCormick, Marta Vides Saade, Kathryn A. Lee, and Michael Churgin.
Mexican Fruit Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) and the Phenology of its Native Host Plant Yellow Chapote (Rutaceae) in Mexico

Abstract In northeastern Mexico the Mexican fruit fly, Anastrepha ludens (Loew), breeds on its native host, yellow chapote, Casimiroa greggii (Wats.), which typically produces fruit in the spring. Peak populations of the fly occur in late spring or early summer when adults emerge from the generation of larvae which developed in the spring crop. The parents of the spring generation are flies attracted into the groves of yellow chapote by the presence of fruit. Thus, the reproductive phenology of the fly population depends on the reproductive phenology of the host plant. The reproductive phenology of the host plant follows ambient conditions, in particular, the timing and quantity of rainfall during the preflowering and fruiting season. A prolonged fruiting period can result in production of 2 successive generations of the fruit fly. Infestation rate of the fruit is inversely proportional to the size of the crop; a predictable outcome of the synchronized mass fruiting paradigm (environmental saturation) as ...
The Integration of Process and Cost Modeling-A Powerful Tool for Business Planning

Recent developments in modeling can eliminate much experimental laboratory work and can provide quick answers in a more cost-effective manner. This article presents a brief outline of technical cost modeling, a combination of physical modeling and cost modeling, which may be used to the mutual benefit of both the managerial decision makers and the R&D community within the materials processing field.
Effects of Salinity and the Extent of Water on Supercritical CO2-Induced Phlogopite Dissolution and Secondary Mineral Formation

To ensure the viability of geologic CO2 sequestration (GCS), we need a holistic understanding of reactions at supercritical CO2 (scCO2)−saline water−rock interfaces and the environmental factors affecting these interactions. This research investigated the effects of salinity and the extent of water on the dissolution and surface morphological changes of phlogopite [KMg2.87Si3.07Al1.23O10(F,OH)2], a model clay mineral in potential GCS sites. Salinity enhanced the dissolution of phlogopite and affected the location, shape, size, and phase of secondary minerals. In low salinity solutions, nanoscale particles of secondary minerals formed much faster, and there were more nanoparticles than in high salinity solutions. The effect of water extent was investigated by comparing scCO2−H2O(g)−phlogopite and scCO2−H2O(l)−phlogopite interactions. Experimental results suggested that the presence of a thin water film adsorbed on the phlogopite surface caused the formation of dissolution pits and a surface coating of seco...
Hyperandrogenism in the adolescent.

SUMMARY Problems of hyperandrogenism are becoming increasingly recognized in the female adolescent. Manifestations of androgen excess can have both farreaching metabolic implications and significant effects on body image. At a crucial time in personality development, these problems should not be taken lightly. A common pathophysiology associated with androgen excess is PCOS. Awareness of this fascinating syndrome and its metabolic implications can alert health-care professionals so that the adolescent’s metabolic, physical, and psychological needs are best addressed. Individualization of treatment is the rule. Team approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of the disorder have proven effective in reversing pathophysiology that has led to hirsutism.
Abstract 2884: Role of Kaiso in intestinal tumorigenesis

p120-catenin is a master regulator of classical cadherin stability and essential for epithelial homeostasis. p120 physically interacts with transcription factor Kaiso (ZBTB33) suggesting a direct or indirect role in transcription, but its precise function with respect to Kaiso is largely unknown. Kaiso belongs to the ZBTB family of transcription factors, most of which have important roles in development and/or cancer. Interestingly, Kaiso is strongly expressed in the intestinal crypt and abruptly downregulated as the cells move up onto the villus and terminally differentiate. Kaiso is constitutively upregulated in nascent adenomas initiated by loss of the tumor suppressor APC, suggesting a link between canonical Wnt signaling, Kaiso upregulation and intestinal tumorigenesis. Here, using ChipSeq and proteomics we describe several candidate Kaiso interactions with a group of proteins that include the tumor suppressor BRCA1, CHD2 (a chromatin remodifier) and the Ets1 oncoprotein, along with preliminary evidence for functional significance relevant to intestinal tumorigenesis. Citation Format: Manish K. Tripathi, Albert B. Reynolds. Role of Kaiso in intestinal tumorigenesis. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 2884.
Wandering: Philosophical performances of racial and sexual freedom

A Carrie Mae Weems photograph, All that Passes Before You, graces the cover of Sarah Jane Cervenak's Wandering: Philosophical Performances of Racial and Sexual Freedom. A figure in a dress gazes ou...
Advances in Epigenetic Technology

Epigenetics refers to the collective heritable changes in phenotype that arise independent of genotype. Two broad areas of epigenetics are DNA methylation and histone modifications and numerous techniques have been invented to analyze epigenetic processes not only at the level of specific genes, but also to analyze epigenetic changes that occur in defined regions of the genome as well as genome-wide. Advances have also been made in techniques devised to assess the enzymes that mediate epigenetic processes. These methods that are currently driving the field of epigenetics will greatly facilitate continued expansion of this exponentially growing discipline of genetics.
Photothermal deflection spectroscopy investigations of uranium electrochemistry - II

Photothermal Deflection Spectroscopy (PDS) has been successfully applied to the study of uranium oxide electrochemistry. A brief description of PDS and preliminary results that demonstrate the technique are presented. Concentration gradients formed at the electrode surface are measured by this technique. The gradients give insight into the reaction mechanisms. There is some evidence of the initiation of non-electrochemical dissolution of the uranium oxide. Optical absorption by the uranium oxide is measured by PDS and the first results indicate that the absorption of the surface does not change during electrochemical experiments. This result is contrary to literature measurements of bulk samples that indicate that the optical absorption should be strongly changing.
Lipids and Their Effects in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is an incurable common B-cell malignancy with a spectrum of clinical outcomes. Over the past decade, our increasing understanding of the drivers of CLL progression has led to the development and use of novel therapeutics. For example, B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling was shown to be overactive in CLL, and subsequently the kinase inhibitors ibrutinib (BTK inhibitor) and idelalisib (PI3K delta inhibitor) were found to have clinical efficacy in this malignancy (Byrd et al., 2013, Furman et al., 2014). Despite these new treatments, CLL remains incurable and there remains a need to identify new therapeutic targets.
Vision-Based Self-contained Target Following Robot Using Bayesian Data Fusion

Several visual following robots have been proposed in recent years. However, many require the use of several, expensive sensors and often the majority of the image processing and other calculations are performed off-board. This paper proposes a simple and cost effective, yet robust visual following robot capable of tracking a general object with limited restrictions on target characteristics. To detect the objects, tracking-learning-detection (TLD) is used within a Bayesian framework to filter and fuse the measurements. A time-of-flight (ToF) depth camera is used to refine the distance estimates at short ranges. The algorithms are executed in real-time (approximately 30 fps) in a Jetson TK1 embedded computer. Experiments were conducted with different target objects to validate the system in scenarios including occlusions and various illumination conditions as well as to show how the data fusion between TLD and the ToF camera improves the distance estimation.
An unexpected role for the yeast nucleotide exchange factor Sil1 as a reductant acting on the molecular chaperone BiP.

Unfavorable redox conditions in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) can decrease the capacity for protein secretion, altering vital cell functions. While systems to manage reductive stress are well-established, how cells cope with an overly oxidizing ER remains largely undefined. In previous work (Wang et al., 2014), we demonstrated that the chaperone BiP is a sensor of overly oxidizing ER conditions. We showed that modification of a conserved BiP cysteine during stress beneficially alters BiP chaperone activity to cope with suboptimal folding conditions. How this cysteine is reduced to reestablish 'normal' BiP activity post-oxidative stress has remained unknown. Here we demonstrate that BiP's nucleotide exchange factor - Sil1 - can reverse BiP cysteine oxidation. This previously unexpected reductant capacity for yeast Sil1 has potential implications for the human ataxia Marinesco-Sjogren syndrome, where it is interesting to speculate that a disruption in ER redox-signaling (due to genetic defects in SIL1) may influence disease pathology.
The child who convulses with fever

Despite their ubiquity, febrile convulsions remain one of the most controversial topics in pediatrics, with disagreement about definition, prognosis, and advisability of continued anticonvulsant therapy. Several recent studies have provided additional information which may be helpful to the pediatrician faced with the decision of how to manage this problem and what to tell the family.
"The Scarlet C": Exploring Caesarean Section Stigma.

ABSTRACTIn this article, I explore my own journey with delivering my first child via Caesarean section. I discuss the discourse in society surrounding childbirth and the stigma associated with giving birth via C-section, as well as the impacts that this discourse has for women whose births don’t go according to plan and who end up requiring medical intervention.
Improved gene delivery to adult mouse spinal cord through the use of engineered hybrid adeno-associated viral serotypes

Adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors are often used in gene therapy for neurological disorders because of its safety profile and promising results in clinical trials. One challenge to AAV gene therapy is effective transduction of large numbers of the appropriate cell type, which can be overcome by modulating the viral capsid through DNA shuffling. Our previous study demonstrates that Rec2, among a family of novel engineered hybrid capsid serotypes (Rec1~4) transduces adipose tissue with far superior efficiency than naturally occurring AAV serotypes. Here we assessed the transduction of adult spinal cord at two different doses of AAV vectors expressing green fluorescent protein (2 × 109 or 4 × 108 viral particles) via intraparenchymal injection at the thoracic vertebral level T9. In comparison with an equal dose of the currently preferable AAV9 serotype, Rec3 serotype transduced a broader region of the spinal cord up to ~1.5 cm longitudinally and displayed higher transgene expression and increased maximal transduction rates of astrocytes at either dose and neurons at the lower dose. These novel engineered hybrid vectors could provide powerful tools at lower production costs to manipulate gene expression in the spinal cord for mechanistic studies or provide potent vehicles for gene therapy delivery, such as neurotrophins, to the spinal cord.