cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Generation of interfacial instabilities in charged electrified viscous liquid films

This study is concerned with the stability of a two-dimensional incompressible conducting liquid film surrounded by a passive conducting medium, when an electric field is applied in a direction parallel to the initially flat bounding fluid interfaces. Currents generate charges at the bounding interfaces which in turn affect the stress balances there. In the absence of an electric field, the viscous liquid film is stable (instability can be induced by the inclusion of van der Waals forces for ultra thin films). A complete model is presented, at arbitrary Reynolds number, which accounts for conductivity and permittivity contrasts between the fluid and surrounding medium, as well as surface tension. The linear stability of the system is considered for arbitrary Reynolds numbers and it is shown that the stable film can become unstable if, (i) σ R ɛ p >1, or (ii) σ R ɛ p <1 and (σ R −1)(1−ɛ p )<0, where σ R is the ratio of outer to inner conductivity and e p is the ratio of inner to outer permittivity. Instability is possible only if the electric field is non-zero and the scalings near bifurcation points that can be used to construct nonlinear theories are calculated. Several asymptotic limits are also considered including zero Reynolds numbers and short or long waves. The instability criteria given above are constructed explicitly in the case of Stokes flow.
Presence of lipids in urinary stones: results of preliminary studies

The presence of lipids in urinary stones was determined by histochemical and biochemical methods. When crystals of calcium oxalate, made by mixing calcium chloride and potassium oxalate solutions and sections of human calcium oxalate urinary stones, were exposed to osmium vapors, there was no staining of the pure crystals whereas the stone sections were stained. De-paraffinized sections of demineralized calcium oxalate stones showed positive sudanophilia on staining with Sudan black B. Both these experiments indicate the presence of lipids in calcium oxalate stones. Lipids were extracted from uric acid, struvite, and calcium oxalate stones using standard techniques. Phospholipids were separated by one-dimensional thin layer chromatography. All the stones studied contained lipids. In calcium oxalate stones they accounted for 10.15% of the matrix. Calcium oxalate and struvite stones contained more phospholipids than uric acid stones. Cardiolipin, sphingomyelin, phosphatidyl choline, phosphatidyl inositol, phosphatidyl ethanolamine, phosphatidyl serine, and phosphatidyl glycerol were identified in lipid extracts. Demineralization by ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) treatment increased lipid output from calcium oxalate stones by 15.5%.
The disaccharide repeating-units of heparan sulfate

Abstract Five disaccharides have been isolated after degradation of heparan sulfate by heparinase (heparin lyase) and heparitinase (heparan sulfate lyase) and are suggested to represent the repeating units of the polysaccharide. They all contain a 4,5-unsaturated uronic acid residue and are: (a) A trisulfated disaccharide that is apparently identical to a disaccharide repeating-unit of heparin; (b) a disulfated disaccharide that seems unique for heparan sulfate and contains 2-deoxy-2-sulfamidoglucose and uronic acid sulfate residues; (c) a nonsulfated disaccharide containing a 2-acetamido-2-deoxyglucose residue; (d) a monosulfated disaccharide containing a 2-acetamido-2-deoxyglucose sulfate residue; and (e) a monosulfated disaccharide containing a 2-deoxy-2-sulfamidoglucose residue. Yields of these disaccharides from different heparan sulfate fractions are discussed in relation to possible arrangements of these units in the intact polymer.
Structuralism, functionalism, and the four Aristotelian causes

In recent years it has become increasingly appreciated that what is known as the "modern synthesis of evolutionary theory" has severely neglected the role played by ontogeny in the evolution (i.e., the creation and transformation) of complex organismic systems. Glancing through the subject index of Julian Huxley's book Evolution: The Modern Synthesis, first published in 1942,2 one finds no entry on ontogeny. No more than two pages are dedicated to the discussion of the role of ontogeny in the creation of evolutionary novelties in Ernst Mayr's Animal Species and Evolution.3 The severe neglect of developmental aspects in the context of the modern synthesis was highlighted by the development of the theory of punctuated equilibria as an alternative to phyletic gradualism;4 although this theory was originally designed to explain the rather abrupt appearance (on the geologic time scale) of new species in the fossil record on the basis of the
Hegemony, dance and nation: The construction of the classical dance in India

(1998). Hegemony, dance and nation: The construction of the classical dance in India. South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies: Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 107-120.
Use of the mitral valve-tricuspid valve distance as a marker of fetal endocardial cushion defects.

Objective The purpose of this study was to compare the mitral valve–tricuspid valve distance in second-trimester fetuses with normal cardiac anatomy versus those fetuses with endocardial cushion defects. Study design We identified fetuses between 16 and 24 weeks of gestation. The distance between the insertions of the medial leaflets of the mitral and tricuspid valves were obtained. Linear regression curves were generated. Results The mean mitral valve–tricuspid valve distance for 86 fetuses with normal cardiac anatomy was 2.02 mm, compared with 0.37 mm in 13 fetuses with endocardial cushion defects ( P =.0001). Linear regression curve correlating mitral valve–tricuspid valve distance with gestational age showed a gradual slope (R 2 =0.28; P P =.0001). Conclusion The mitral valve–tricuspid valve distance is useful clinically in the detection of endocardial cushion defects in second-trimester fetuses.
The Scientific Foundation, Rationale and Argument for a Nonfrequentist Bayesian Analysis in Clinical Trials in Coronary Artery Disease

Randomised control trials (RCT) are considered the gold standard for the strength of evidence used in formulation of guidelines in the contemporary clinical practice. The analysis is based on the design of an experiment that analyses data collected in a future event space with no regard to past observations. It bases its conclusions on arbitrary values of significance that might not be clinically relevant or plausible. A Bayesian analysis looks at all the past evidence and observations to reach a conclusion and does not have the shortcomings of a RCT.
An improved algorithm for finding saddlepoints of two-person zero-sum games

It is well-known that one can sort (order)n real numbers in at mostF 0(n) =nl − 2 l + 1 steps (comparisons), wherel = [log2 n]. We snow how to find the strict saddlepoint or prove its absence in anm byn matrix,m ≤n, in at mostF 0(m)+F 0(m+1)+n+m − 3 + (n−m) [log2(m+1)] steps.
Photoelastic investigation of the double-torsion specimen

Abstract The stress distribution of the double-torsion fracture mechanics specimen geometry is presented using a photoelastic “frozen stress” technique. Isochromatic fringes of a plastic double-torsion specimen under load were photographed and analyzed in the top, middle and bottom planes parallel to the top surface. Principal stress directions for these planes are also given. The relative magnitudes of the principal stresses perpendicular to the crack plane at the crack tip, crack origin and a point midway between the origin and crack tip are shown.
NOBOX DEFICIENCY DISRUPTS EARLY FOLLICULOGENESIS AND OOCYTE-SPECIFIC GENE EXPRESSION

Primordial ovarian follicles in mice form when somatic cells surround individual oocytes. We show that lack of Nobox, an oocyte-specific homeobox gene, accelerates postnatal oocyte loss and abolishes the transition from primordial to growing follicles in mice. Follicles are replaced by fibrous tissue in female mice lacking Nobox in a manner similar to nonsyndromic ovarian failure in women. Genes preferentially expressed in oocytes, including Oct4 and Gdf9, are down-regulated in Nobox-/- mice, whereas ubiquitous genes such as Bmp4, Kit, and Bax remain unaffected. Therefore, Nobox is critical for specifying an oocyte-restricted gene expression pattern essential for postnatal follicle development.
Does money really matter? A review of the literature on the relationships between healthcare organization finances and quality.

The authors review empirical literature from 1980 to 2005 on relationships between healthcare organizations' Finances and quality of care. They found only 16 studies of this topic that employed statistical methods. This research indicates cumulatively that expenses, fiscal margin, and asset and liability management all affect healthcare outcome quality. There is less evidence about how organizational finance factors affect structural or process quality, and there is no information about how structural or process quality mediates between finances and outcomes. The authors note what patterns have emerged from previous studies and make specific suggestions about what future research is necessary and why.
Directional emittance of a two-dimensional scattering medium with Fresnel boundaries

The influences of the refractive index, scattering albedo, and optical sizes on the thermal radiation in a two-dimensional rectangular, isotropically scattering medium bounded by opically smooth boundaries having Fresnel reflection are considered. The complexity of formulation resulting from this specular resulting from this specular reflection is reduced by treating the images as effective media and by neglecting the radiation from faraway images. The problem can then be described by an integral equation (the source function) that is solved iteratively here; the method is then applied to study the directional emittance of a two-dimensional semi-infinite slab. Results show that the directional emittance is aximuthally dependent for the rectangular geometries, that the effects of the relative refractive index on the emittance depend significantly on the albedo, and that Fresnel reflection generally decreases the angular dependence of the emittance compared to free boundaries. 28 refs.
Effect of retaking the medical college admission test on applicants' scores.

This study was designed to determine whether or not retaking the Medical College Admission Test, a practice commonly engaged in by medical school applicants, results in significant improvement in test scores. A sample of 532 applicants, of which 93 applicants retook the test on two consecutive administrations, was studied. Multivariate analysis of variance indicated that the retake group initially was significantly lower than the non-retake group on all six scales. Although applicants who had retaken the test significantly improved their scores, the magnitude of this improvement was not impressive. Furthermore, scores of the retake group on their second test were still significantly lower than those of the non-retake group on two scales. Although retaking this test may lead to greater similarity between the two groups, retakers remain distinguishable from those who did not retake the test.
Inter-rater reliability and false confidence in precision: Using standard error of measurement within PharmD admissions essay rubric development

Abstract The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education requires that written communication be assessed in Doctor of Pharmacy admissions processes. Reliability is a standard for ethical testing, and inter-rater reliability with scoring essays necessitates continued quality assurance. Both inter-rater consistency and inter-rater agreement are part of inter-rater reliability and so both need scrutiny. Within our admission process, we analyzed inter-rater reliability for faculty rater essay scores from 2008–2012 using intraclass correlation (ICC) for consistency and standard error of measurement (SEM) for agreement. Trends in these scores were examined to evaluate the impact of rubric implementation, revisions, and rater training integrated over the course of those five admission cycles. For regular admission (RA) candidates, an analytic rubric was implemented in 2009. Scoring without a rubric began with an ICC of 0.595 (2008) and improved to 0.860 (2012) after rubric implementation, revisions, and rater training. In a separate but similar process for contingent admission (CA) candidates, a holistic rubric was implemented in 2010. The ICC for CA essay scoring before rubric was 0.586 (2009), and it improved to 0.772 (2012). With both rubrics, inter-rater agreement (using SEM) improved with smaller scoring scales (i.e., 4-point > 20-point > 50-point). In our experience, rubric implementation and training appeared to improve inter-rater consistency, though inter-rater agreement was not improved with every rubric revision. Our holistic rubrics’ 4-point scale was most precise for both inter-rater consistency and inter-rater agreement. Our rubrics with larger scoring scales appeared to foster false confidence in precision of scores—with larger variation in scores introducing more measurement error.
Reducing Second Breast Cancers: A Potential Role for Prophylactic Mammary Irradiation

Breast-conserving surgery followed by radiotherapy is the standard of care for most women with early-stage breast cancer, resulting in excellent long-term survival. Post-treatment, however, the rate of second breast cancers is significant; for example, the average ipsilateral second-cancer rate from four long-term studies is 13% after 15 years, and increases with still longer follow-up times. Rates in the contralateral breast are typically only slightly lower. We focus here on the rate of second cancers, which are genetically independent of the primary (ie, not recurrences); this rate is much higher than could be explained from the natural background rate of breast cancer in the general population, for both breasts. After conservative surgery, the ipsilateral breast is typically administered a fractionated whole-breast radiotherapeutic dose of at least 45 Gy, followed by a local boost to the tumor site. There is now considerable evidence that such large radiation doses to the breast result in significantly increased breast cancer risks. For example, recent long-term studies of Hodgkin’s disease patients who underwent radiotherapy show large radiation-induced breast cancer risks at sites exposed to doses 40 Gy, with excess relative risks in the range of 10 to 30. That tissues exposed to fractionated radiation doses as high as 40 to 50 Gy are at significant risk for radiation-induced cancer has only recently become apparent. Early models of radiation-induced cancer had predicted that virtually all radiation-mutated cells would be killed by such large doses, and thus the risk of radiationinduced cancer would be minimal. However, the epidemiologic data showing high risks of radiation-induced cancer at high radiation doses have made it apparent that simple models of radiation carcinogenesis involving radiation-induction of premalignant cells, modulated solely by cell killing, are not adequate at high radiation doses. Consequently, more recent models take into account repopulation of normal and of premalignant cells by proliferation, occurring during and after fractionated radiotherapy, whereby some repopulating cells carry and pass on radiationinduced premalignant damage. Including repopulation in models of radiation-induced cancer results in predictions of substantial cancer risks at high radiation doses, consistent with epidemiologic data. Thus, recent epidemiologic data and theory both lead to the expectation that women who receive a whole breast dose of 45 to 50 Gy will be at significant long-term risk for radiation-induced breast cancer, for all relevant ages. Here we estimate the cancer risks associated with adjuvant whole-breast irradiation after lumpectomy, both in the ipsilateral and contralateral breasts, and compare the predictions with the measured long-term risks of genetically independent second cancers in each breast. This allows an assessment for each breast of the relative importance of tumor recurrence, background risk, and radiation risk. The resulting insights in turn suggest potential strategies for reducing these risks.
Magnetic fluctuations associated with field-aligned striations

In a laboratory experiment modeling conditions in the auroral ionosphere, magnetic and density fluctuations are observed to grow spontaneously within a field aligned density depletion. The plasma has both cross-field pressure gradients and magnetically field-aligned currents. The magnetic fluctuations, identified as shear Alfven waves, are coupled with the density fluctuations depending upon the plasma beta, β. The fluctuations exhibit a coherent eigenmode structure at higher β and evolve towards broadband Alfven turbulence as β is lowered. We identify the cross field pressure gradient as the dominant driving source for the fluctuations.
Glucose meters: A review of technical challenges to obtaining accurate results

Glucose meters are universally utilized in the management of hypoglycemic and hyperglycemic disorders in a variety of healthcare settings. Establishing the accuracy of glucose meters, however, is challenging. Glucose meters can only analyze whole blood, and glucose is unstable in whole blood. Technical accuracy is defined as the closeness of agreement between a test result and the true value of that analyte. Truth for glucose is analysis by isotope dilution mass spectrometry, and frozen serum standards analyzed by this method are available from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Truth for whole blood has not been established, and cells must be separated from the whole blood matrix before analysis by a method like isotope dilution mass spectrometry. Serum cannot be analyzed by glucose meters, and isotope dilution mass spectrometry is not commonly available in most hospitals and diabetes clinics to evaluate glucose meter accuracy. Consensus standards recommend comparing whole blood analysis on a glucose meter against plasma/serum centrifuged from a capillary specimen and analyzed by a clinical laboratory comparative method. Yet capillary samples may not provide sufficient volume to test by both methods, and venous samples may be used as an alternative when differences between venous and capillary blood are considered. There are thus multiple complexities involved in defining technical accuracy and no clear consensus among standards agencies and professional societies on accuracy criteria. Clinicians, however, are more concerned with clinical agreement of the glucose meter with a serum/plasma laboratory result. Acceptance criteria for clinical agreement vary across the range of glucose concentrations and depend on how the result will be used in screening or management of the patient. A variety of factors can affect glucose meter results, including operator technique, environmental exposure, and patient factors, such as medication, oxygen therapy, anemia, hypotension, and other disease states. This article reviews the challenges involved in obtaining accurate glucose meter results.
Turning science into junk: the tobacco industry and passive smoking.

In this issue, Glantz and Ong offer a powerful analysis of the tobacco industry’s attempt to discredit the scientific evidence on passive smoking, particularly the industry’s use of the label “junk science.” Environmental epidemiologic studies in other arenas have also been targets for the “junk science” label. Lessons for researchers involved in high-stakes issues in the public policy arena include a need for awareness of competing interests, for transparency concerning funding, and for adherence to rigorous quality assurance and peer review practices. The goal of “sound science” seems an admirable one; it should not, however, be used to dismiss available but uncertain evidence in order to delay action.
Downlink User Capacity of Cellular Systems: TDMA vs Dirty Paper Coding

Dirty paper coding has been shown to achieve the capacity region of a Gaussian broadcast channel. However, it is a complicated scheme and assumes knowledge of the interfering signals at the transmitter. In this paper, we compare the downlink user capacity of dirty paper coding and time-division multiple access (TDMA) in a single cell of a cellular network with single antennas at the transmitter and each of the receivers. Here we define user capacity as the expected value of the number of users/receivers to which the transmitter can simultaneously transmit at an equal rate. The system that we consider selects the users to which it will transmit from a population of mobile users. We derive closed-form expressions for the downlink user capacity using dirty paper coding and TDMA under a total transmit power constraint and a common target information rate at all the mobile users, as the user population tends to infinity. The results indicate that DPC provides a gain of at most 12% in user capacity over TDMA for the scenarios that we consider. Thus TDMA may be an attractive alternative to DPC because of the complexity of the latter.
Requirement of Borate Cross-Linking of Cell Wall Rhamnogalacturonan II for Arabidopsis Growth

Turgor-driven plant cell growth depends on wall structure. Two allelic l-fucose-deficient Arabidopsis thaliana mutants (mur1-1 and 1-2) are dwarfed and their rosette leaves do not grow normally. mur1 leaf cell walls contain normal amounts of the cell wall pectic polysaccharide rhamnogalacturonan II (RG-II), but only half exists as a borate cross-linked dimer. The altered structure of mur1 RG-II reduces the rate of formation and stability of this cross-link. Exogenous aqueous borate rescues the defect. The reduced cross-linking of RG-II in dwarf mur1 plants indicates that plant growth depends on wall pectic polysaccharide organization.
Moderate Alcohol Exposure during the Rat Equivalent to the Third Trimester of Human Pregnancy Alters Regulation of GABAA Receptor-Mediated Synaptic Transmission by Dopamine in the Basolateral Amygdala

Fetal ethanol (EtOH) exposure leads to a range of neurobehavioral alterations, including deficits in emotional processing. The basolateral amygdala (BLA) plays a critical role in modulating emotional processing, in part, via dopamine (DA) regulation of GABA transmission. This BLA modulatory system is acquired during the first two weeks of postnatal life in rodents (equivalent to the 3rd trimester of human pregnancy) and we hypothesized that it could be altered by EtOH exposure during this period. We found that exposure of rats to moderate levels of EtOH vapor during the 3rd trimester-equivalent (postnatal days (P) 2-12) alters DA modulation of GABAergic transmission in BLA pyramidal neurons during periadolescence. Specifically, D1R-mediated potentiation of spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) was significantly attenuated in EtOH-exposed animals. However, this was associated with a compensatory decrease in D3R-mediated suppression of miniature IPSCs. Western blot analysis revealed that these effects were not a result of altered D1R or D3R levels. BLA samples from EtOH-exposed animals also had significantly lower levels of the DA precursor (L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine) but DA levels were not affected. This is likely a consequence of reduced catabolism of DA, as indicated by reduced levels of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and homovanillic acid in the BLA samples. Anxiety-like behavior was not altered in EtOH-exposed animals. This is the first study to demonstrate that the modulatory actions of DA in the BLA are altered by developmental EtOH exposure. Although compensatory adaptations were engaged in our moderate EtOH exposure paradigm, it is possible that these are not able to restore homeostasis and correct anxiety-like behaviors under conditions of heavier EtOH exposure. Therefore, future studies should investigate the potential role of alterations in the modulatory actions of DA in the pathophysiology of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
Man-Computer Cooperation in Decisions Requiring Common Sense

Men and computers could cooperate more efficiently in real-time systems?and perhaps in long-range planning too? if a man could tell the computers how he wanted decisions made, and then let the machine make the decisions for him. In the next few years there will probably be considerable pressure on system designers to adopt such arrangements. The problem of enabling a man to convey his decision rules to a machine will in many cases prove less formidable than it might at first appear. Three methods are discussed. As experience with man-machine cooperation of this type accumulates, problems for research will be generated. An attempt is made to foresee what some of them will be.
Cerebral Blood Flow

In the commentary, "Pulsatility Index, Patent Ductus Arteriosus, and Brain Damage," It was stated that we have shown that "blood flow" to the brain was not reduced in premature lambs with left-right ductal shunting. The abstracted data referred primarily to alteration of the percent distribution of blood flow and not to changes of absolute blood flow to systemic organs before and after patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) occlusion in preterm lambs. We subsequently demonstrated that absolute cerebral blood flow (milliliters per gram per minute) in fact was significantly reduced in preterm lambs with PDA.
Toward reliable and efficient message passing software through formal analysis

The quest for high performance drives parallel scientific computing software design. Well over 60% of the high-performance computing (HPC) community writes programs using the MPI library; to gain performance, they are known to perform many manual optimizations. Even tools that accept high level descriptions often generate MPI code, due to its eminent portability. However, since the overall performance of a program does not usually port (due to variations in the target architecture, cluster size, etc.), manual changes to the code are inevitable in today's approaches to MPI programming and optimization. This, together with the vastness and evolving nature of the MPI standard, and the innate complexity of concurrent programming introduces costly bugs. Our research addresses these challenges through specific efforts in the following broad areas: (i) high level expression of the parallel algorithm and compilation thereof into optimized MPI programs, (ii) optimizations of user-written detailed MPI programs through localized transformations such as barrier removal, (iii) formal modeling of complex communication standards, such as the MPI-2 standard and a facility for answering putative queries (this need arises when standard documents are impossibly difficult to manually study in order to answer questions that are not explicitly addressed in the standard), (iv) formal modeling of new (and hence relatively less well understood) features of communication libraries, such as the one-sided communication facility of MPI-2, and (v) formal modeling of intricate control algorithms in these libraries such as the progress engine for TCP and/or shared memory in MPICH2 (a formal model can explicate commonalities, help formally verify, as well as help create better future implementations). Our research gains focus through numerous collaborations.
Abnormal Origin of the Right Pulmonary Artery From Ascending Aorta (Hemitruncus Arteriosus)

Hemitruncus arteriosus is a rare congenital deformity that results in early infant mortality. Persistence into adulthood is very unusual and is associated with pulmonary hypertension. We report a case in an adult male with the associated clinical issues.
Robust recognition based on adaptive combination of weak classifiers

We describe a novel adaptive method that achieves robustness in pattern classification by combining a large number of weak classifiers. The individual classifiers are trained on subsets of features of the training samples and the output classification is obtained by a weighted sum of the individual weak classifiers. When the classifier is applied to the test set, the combination weights are adaptively adjusted in accordance with the agreement among the individual classifiers. We evaluated the performances of several different combination methods using simulated data and the results proved to be robust.
Erectile dysfunction drugs and nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy

t ISUAL LOSS FROM NONARTERITIC ANTERIOR ISCHemic optic neuropathy (NAION) has been reported after the use of phosphodiesterase (PDE)-5 nhibitors.1–9 Those that argue a causal association cite a emporal relationship (half an hour to 36 hours) between he cause (taking the drug) and purported effect NAION); a suggested mechanism of lowered blood presure reducing the blood supply to the optic nerve; prior eports of visual symptoms (for example transient blue vision) s side effects of these drugs; and rare rechallenge cases. In response to a recent flurry of lay press coverage about he possible association of NAION and sildenafil (Viagra), he Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved ew labeling for these drugs (including sildenafil, [vardnafil] Levitra, and [tadalafil] Cialis) to include informaion on NAION. According to the FDA Web site,10 as of May 18, 2005, 3 cases of ION after the use of PDE-5 inhibitors had been eported to the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System. f these 43 cases, 38 were sildenafil, four were tadalafil, nd one was vardenafil. Most (25 of 43) were presumed to ave had NAION. Thirty-six of the 43 cases had visual oss, and 26 of these 36 had “continuing or permanent” oss. A temporal relationship was proposed in 19 sildenafil ases, four tadalafil cases, and the one vardenafil case. ecurrent ocular symptoms were reported in five sildenafil ases and one tadalafil case. The mean age of the sildenafil cases was 60.3 years median 60 years). The FDA also readily acknowledges hat “most, but not all, of these patients had underlying natomic or vascular risk factors for development of AION, including: (small) cup to disk ratio (“crowded isk”), age over 50, diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery
Habitual physical activity facilitates stress-induced HSP72 induction in brain, peripheral, and immune tissues.

The mechanism(s) for how physically active organisms are resistant to many damaging effects of acute stressor exposure is unknown. Cellular induction of heat-shock proteins (e.g., HSP72) is one successful strategy used by the cell to survive the damaging effects of stress. It is possible, therefore, that the stress-buffering effect of physical activity may be due to an improved HSP72 response to stress. Thus the purpose of the current study was to determine whether prior voluntary freewheel running facilitates the stress-induced induction of HSP72 in central (brain), peripheral, and immune tissues. Adult male Fischer 344 rats were housed with either a mobile running wheel (Active) or a locked, immobile wheel [sedentary (Sed)] for 8 wk before stressor exposure. Rats were exposed to either inescapable tail-shock stress (IS; 100 1.6-mA tail shocks, 5-s duration, 60-s intertrial interval), exhaustive exercise stress (EXS; treadmill running to exhaustion), or no stress (controls). Blood, brain, and peripheral tissues were collected 2 h after stressor termination. The kinetics of HSP72 induction after IS was determined in cultured mesenteric lymph node cells. Activation of the stress response was verified by measuring serum corticosterone (RIA). Tissue and cellular HSP72 content were measured using HSP72 ELISA in cell lysates. Both Active and Sed rats had elevated levels of serum corticosterone after stress. In contrast, Active but not Sed rats exposed to IS and/or EXS had elevated HSP72 in dorsal vagal complex, frontal cortex, hippocampus, pituitary, adrenal, liver, spleen, mesenteric lymph nodes, and heart. In addition, Active rats exposed to IS demonstrated a faster induction of lymphocyte HSP72 compared with Sed rats. Thus Active rats responded to stress with both greater and faster HSP72 responses compared with Sed rats. These results indicate that previous physical activity potentiates HSP72 expression after a wide range of stressors. Facilitated induction of HSP72 may contribute to the increased stress resistance previously reported in physically active organisms.
Genomic variability among enteric pathogens: the case of the mutS-rpoS intergenic region.

Abstract The mutS – rpoS intergenic region of enteric bacteria ranges in size from 88bp in Yersinia to >12 000bp in Salmonella . We interpret this expansion as the result of the horizontal transfer of segments of DNA from diverse origins. Both comparative genomic analysis and selective sequencing of a variety of Escherichia coli pathogens have provided additional evidence for reassortment of segments within this region.
The Role of Informatics in Health Care Reform

Improving health care quality while simultaneously reducing cost has become a high priority of health care reform. Informatics is crucial in tackling this challenge. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 mandates adaptation and "meaningful use " of health information technology. In this review, we will highlight several areas in which informatics can make significant contributions, with a focus on radiology. We also discuss informatics related to the increasing imperatives of state and local regulations (such as radiation dose tracking) and quality initiatives.
Image adaptive watermarking techniques using models of the human visual system

Digital watermarking has been a rapidly growing field during the last 10 years. Many different techniques have been identified to aid in data authentication, copyright control, etc. This paper describes the results of implementing an algorithm that utilizes a model of the human visual system to increase the robustness of the watermark without sacrificing imperceptibility. In addition, various improvements to the algorithm were made and the results are compared to the original.
A distribution-free tabular CUSUM chart for correlated data with automated variance estimation

We formulate and evaluate distribution-free statistical process control (SPC) charts for monitoring an autocorrelated process when a training data set is used to estimate the marginal mean and variance of the process as well as its variance parameter (i.e., the sum of covariances at all lags). We adapt variance-estimation techniques from the simulation literature for automated use in DFTC-VE, a distribution-free tabular CUSUM chart for rapidly detecting shifts in the mean of an autocorrelated process. Extensive experimentation shows that our variance-estimation techniques do not seriously degrade the performance of DFTC-VE compared with its performance using exact knowledge of the variance parameter; moreover, the performance of DFTC-VE compares favorably with that of other competing distribution-free SPC charts.
Experiments on liquid mixing and reaction in a vortex

A series of experiments were conducted in water to study mixing in the field of a single, two-dimensional vortex. The experimental configuration is that of a laminar line vortex initiated along a diffusion layer between two streams of different scalar concentrations. Measurements of passive scalars in inert and chemically reactive environments were made using a planar laser-induced fluorescence technique. A fast acid/base isothermal reaction was utilized to highlight the molecular mixing. The experimental results show that the mixing enhancement in the presence of a vortex is linearly dependent on the vortex strength and the time elapsed since vortex initiation. In particular, the mixedness, defined as the spatially integrated second moment of concentration field in the vortex, and the spatially averaged scalar dissipation are found to follow this dependence. This variation is mainly attributed to the contact area generation along the diffusion layers between the two streams as a result of inviscid deformations in the vortical flow field. The results presented pertain to mixing in liquids and in the limit of high Schmidt numbers.
Semi-global robust stabilization of nonlinear systems by partial state and output feedback

We study the problem of semi-global robust stabilization for a class of multi-input multi-output uncertain nonlinear systems which cannot be transformed, via a change of coordinates and a state feedback, into a lower dimensional zero dynamics driven by a set of chains of integrators, but more complicated interconnected structures. Sufficient conditions are presented for the existence of a linear high-gain partial state controller and/or a nonlinear dynamic output feedback compensator, which achieves semi-global asymptotic stability, uniformly in unknown time-varying parameters ranging over a known compact set. Both the partial state and dynamic output controllers are explicitly constructed via the design tools such as semi-global backstepping and high-gain observer. We also show how the results obtained for affine systems can be extended to a more general class of MIMO non-affine systems.
Fructose in perspective

Whether dietary fructose (as sucrose or high fructose corn syrup) has unique effects separate from its role as carbohydrate, or, in fact, whether it can be considered inherently harmful, even a toxin, has assumed prominence in nutrition. Much of the popular and scientific media have already decided against fructose and calls for regulation and taxation come from many quarters. There are conflicting data, however. Outcomes attributed to fructose — obesity, high triglycerides and other features of metabolic syndrome — are not found in every experimental test and may be more reliably caused by increased total carbohydrate. In this review, we try to put fructose in perspective by looking at the basic metabolic reactions. We conclude that fructose is best understood as part of carbohydrate metabolism. The pathways of fructose and glucose metabolism converge at the level of the triose-phosphates and, therefore, any downstream effects also occur with glucose. In addition, a substantial part of ingested fructose is turned to glucose. Regulation of fructose metabolism per se, is at the level of substrate control — the lower Km of fructokinase compared to glucokinase will affect the population of triose-phosphates. Generally deleterious effects of administering fructose alone suggest that fructose metabolism is normally controlled in part by glucose. Because the mechanisms of fructose effects are largely those of a carbohydrate, one has to ask what the proper control should be for experiments that compare fructose to glucose. In fact, there is a large literature showing benefits in replacing total carbohydrate with other nutrients, usually fat, and such experiments sensibly constitute the proper control for comparisons of the two sugars. In terms of public health, a rush to judgement analogous to the fat-cholesterol-heart story, is likely to have unpredictable outcome and unintended consequences. Popular opinion cannot be ignored in this problem and comparing fructose to ethanol, for example, is without biochemical correlates. Also, nothing in the biochemistry suggests that sugar is a toxin. Dietary carbohydrate restriction remains the best strategy for obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. The specific contribution of the removal of fructose or sucrose to this effect remains unknown.
Lenalidomide Inhibits Lymphangiogenesis in Preclinical Models of Mantle Cell Lymphoma

Lymphomas originate in and spread primarily along the lymphatic system. However, whether lymphatic vessels contribute to the growth and spreading of lymphomas is largely unclear. Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) represents an aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. We found that MCL exhibited abundant intratumor lymphatic vessels. Our results demonstrated that the immunomodulatory drug lenalidomide potently inhibited the growth and dissemination of MCL in a xenograft MCL mouse model, at least in part, by inhibiting functional tumor lymphangiogenesis. Significant numbers of tumor-associated macrophages expressing vascular endothelial growth factor-C were found in both human MCL and mouse MCL xenograft samples. Lenalidomide treatment resulted in a significant reduction in the number of MCL-associated macrophages. In addition, in vivo depletion of monocytes/macrophages impaired functional tumor lymphangiogenesis and inhibited MCL growth and dissemination. Taken together, our results indicate that tumor lymphangiogenesis contributes to the progression of MCL and that lenalidomide is effective in decreasing MCL growth and metastasis most likely by inhibiting recruitment of MCL-associated macrophages.
A combinatorial approach to characterize the substrate specificity of protein arginine methyltransferase 1

The dysregulation of protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) is implicated in a wide variety of disease states. Here we report the design, synthesis, and screening of a combinatorial peptide library used to characterize the substrate specificity of PRMT1. The information gained from this approach was used to develop a PRMT1 inhibitor with enhanced selectivity.
Cuprous Chloride Promoted Coupling Reaction of Diethoxyphosphinyldifluoromethylcadmium Reagent with Aryl Iodides: A Practical and Convenient Preparation of α,α‐Difluoro Benzylic Phosphonates.

α,α-Difluoro benzylic phosphonates (III) are obtained by the CuCl-promoted coupling reaction of aryl iodides with a diethoxyphosphinyldifluoromethylcadmium reagent formed in situ from Cadmium and (I).
Hepatoblastomas: an ultrastructural and immunohistochemical study.

Seven hepatoblastomas were studied by electron microscopy, and four of these were studied by immunohistochemistry. Five tumors were purely epithelial, and two were mixed epithelialmesenchymal. They showed a spectrum of cellular differentiation ranging from primitive epithelial cells to differentiated cells resembling adult hepatocytes. Glycogen, lipid, basal lamina, and canaliculi were present in all cases. Mitochondria with large, membrane-bound, amorphous inclusions were present in one tumor, and large, complex, basal cell processes were present in two tumors. Ultrastructural features most characteristic of hepatocytes were most common in fetal type hepatoblastomas. Immunoreactive chromogranin cells were present in two tumors, one of which also contained immunoreactive somatostatin cells. The somatostatin-positive tumor had cells with granules resembling those seen in somatostatin-containing cells of normal pancreas and somatostatin-containing neuroendocrine carcinomas. Other immunoreactive substances w...
Racial and ethnic differences in women's preferences for features of contraceptive methods

Abstract Objectives To understand women's preferences for specific features of contraceptive methods, the extent to which features of existing methods match women's preferences and whether this match differs by racial and ethnic subgroups. Study design Using data from 1783 women in family planning and abortion clinics across the United States, we performed analyses of racial and ethnic differences in contraceptive features reported to be "extremely important" by participants. We explored how preferences vary for more and less effective contraceptive methods. Results In multivariate analysis, non-Hispanic Black, Latinas and Asian Pacific Islander women were more likely to report the following features as extremely important compared to non-Hispanic Whites (p Conclusions High rates of unintended pregnancy among minority women may be due in part to differences in contraceptive features preferences and discrepancy between their preferences and the features of currently available highly effective methods. Implications In the context of disparities in rates of unintended pregnancy by racial and ethnic group, this variation in preferences for contraceptive features by race/ethnicity may explain differences in contraceptive use and can inform the development of more acceptable methods of contraception.
High Flux Microscale Solar Thermal Receiver for Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Cycles

Characterization of a microchannel solar thermal receiver for a supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) is presented. The receiver design is based on conjugate computational fluid dynamics and heat transfer simulations as well as thermo-mechanical stress analysis. Two receivers are fabricated and experimentally characterized — a parallel microchannel design and a microscale pin fin array design. Lab-scale experiments have been used to demonstrate the receiver integrity at the design pressure of 125 bar at 750°C surface temperature. A concentrated solar simulator was designed and assembled to characterize the thermal performance of the lab scale receiver test articles. Results indicate that, for a fixed exit fluid temperature of 650°C, increase in incident heat flux results in an increase in receiver and thermal efficiency. At a fixed heat flux, efficiency decreased with an increase in receiver surface temperature. The ability to absorb flux of up to 100 W/cm2 at thermal efficiency in excess of 90 percent and exit fluid temperature of 650°C using the microchannel receiver is demonstrated. Pressure drop for the pin array at the maximum flow rate for heat transfer experiments is less than 0.64 percent of line pressure.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Targeting immune checkpoints in lymphoma

Purpose of review The purpose of this article is to discuss the tumor microenvironment in lymphoma, and to review potential immune targets that are now becoming relevant because of clinical responses seen with the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors. Recent findings Recent data have shown that cells within the immune microenvironment in lymphoma express programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) and many of the intratumoral T cells with an exhausted immune phenotype express programmed cell death-1 (PD-1). This provides a novel opportunity to inhibit the immune checkpoints and initial clinical trials utilizing antibodies that block the interaction between PD-1 and PD-L1 have demonstrated significant clinical responses in various lymphomas, including Hodgkin lymphoma. Summary The use of immune checkpoint inhibitors, including nivolumab and pembrolizumab, in relapsed and refractory patients with lymphoma is proving highly successful. Patients with Hodgkin lymphoma, in particular, have a very high response rate to PD-1 blockade and responses in these patients appear durable.
Transforming Students, Transforming Selves: Teaching Social Justice Struggles in Context

This essay reflects on the cross-cultural learning and teaching moments of students completing bilingual externships in Guatemala and working on projects related to the environmental justice struggles of indigenous communities affected by the Canadian Marlin Mine operations in the country. Transnational mining in Guatemala is one example of how the convergence of the local and global has divided a nation and has introduced new powerful actors and norms to change power dynamics and reshape strategies for social justice. The essay explores how the poor indigenous communities in Guatemala have experienced Canadian Mining. To the local Mayan communities of San Miguel, Ixtahuacan and Sipacapa, global strategies and norms have inevitably shaped their daily struggles for cultural cohesiveness and sustainability as they encounter transnational actors and forces. These struggles have radically transformed these communities, and their plight offer broader lessons to other communities facing similar struggles and to law students learning about social justice in the context of globalization.