cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Role of central nervous system microvascular pericytes in activation of antigen-primed splenic T-lymphocytes.

The cellular constituents of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) must make finely tuned, regulatory responses to maintain microvascular homeostasis. The mechanisms by which this task is accomplished are largely unknown. However, it is thought they involve a series of cross-talk mechanisms among endothelial cells (EC), pericytes (PC), and astrocytes. During inflammation, the BBB is exposed to a number of biological response modifiers including cytokines released by infiltrating leukocytes. The response to inflammatory cytokines may alter the normal regulatory function of EC and PC. These changes may account for some of the pathological findings in central nervous system (CNS) inflammatory disease. Previous studies have shown that PC and EC may have immune potential. We have investigated the response of the PC to a variety of inflammatory cytokines. Primary rat PC constitutively express low levels of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecule, which can be upregulated in response to the cytokine interferon-γ (IFNγ). IFNγ also induced the expression of MHC class II molecule. After induction of MHC class II molecule, CNS PC acquired the capacity to present antigen to primed syngeneic rat T-lymphocytes. Antigen presentation by PC was comparable to that seen with classic antigen-presenting cells. A small number of primary PC constitutively express low levels of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), which was increased on exposure to tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα). Results suggest that CNS PC respond to inflammatory cytokines, are involved in T-lymphocyte activation, and express cell surface adhesion molecules (VCAM-1, ICAM-1) that may provide costimulatory activity. It is likely that CNS PC are important in neuroimmune networks at the BBB. J. Neurosci. Res. 55:578–587, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Occupational fatalities caused by contact with overhead power lines in the construction industry

Fatality inspection records from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were examined to determine which construction industry trades have significantly greater proportions of occupational fatalities resulting from contact with overhead power lines than are expected. Proportionate mortality ratios were calculated for each construction industry trade, and Mantel-Haenszel chi-squared tests were performed to determine significance. The heavy construction, highway and streets construction, painting and roofing trades had significantly greater proportions of fatalities resulting from contact with overhead power lines (P < 0.05). The heavy construction industry experienced the greatest number of fatalities among the four trades. Employee training and education in the identification and elimination of overhead power line hazards should be emphasized in the construction industry. Accident prevention should also include maintaining minimum clearances to the lines and the proper use of equipment.
The Alignment of the Informal and Formal Organizational Supports for Reform: Implications for Improving Teaching in Schools

Previous qualitative studies show that when the formal organization of a school and patterns of informal interaction are aligned, faculty and leaders in a school are better able to coordinate instructional change. This article combines social network analysis with interview data to analyze how well the formal and informal aspects of a school’s social context are aligned. The focus is on two elementary schools engaged in initiatives aimed to use data to inform instructional decision making. The multimethod case study integrated findings from questionnaire and interview data. Data were collected over two years from case study schools. By fitting multilevel social selection models to longitudinal social network data collected from surveys, the authors estimated the relative influence of formal and informal processes on patterns of advice giving in each school. They used interview data to contextualize and corroborate findings. The social selection models they fit revealed distinct patterns in each school tha...
The aesthetics of white racism in pre‐service teacher education: a critical race theory perspective

The authors use critical race theory (CRT) and critical race feminism (CRF) as a lens for analyzing and grappling with White students’ resistance to learning about and deconstructing systems of oppression. The authors build on the work of critical scholars whose work exposes the ways in which White pre‐service teachers resist counter‐hegemonic pedagogical approaches and subject matter. In the so‐called ‘post‐racial’ era, these ways of resisting have become more virulent and structural in nature, thereby institutionalizing racism. Included in the article are excerpts from the authors’ end of the academic year teaching evaluations. The excerpted comments serve as evidence that students use evaluations as weapons to speak back to and against, not only to anti‐racist philosophies, but counter‐hegemonic narratives that represent the diversity of their future teaching experiences. Both faculty members are formally trained in social work, multicultural education, and educational policy. Finally, using CRT and CR...
Poster: Real-time markerless kinect based finger tracking and hand gesture recognition for HCI

Hand gestures are intuitive ways to interact with a variety of user interfaces. We developed a real-time finger tracking technique using the Microsoft Kinect as an input device and compared its results with an existing technique that uses the K-curvature algorithm. Our technique calculates feature vectors based on Fourier descriptors of equidistant points chosen on the silhouette of the detected hand and uses template matching to find the best match. Our preliminary results show that our technique performed as well as an existing k-curvature algorithm based finger detection technique.
Unit cell geometry of 3-D braided structures

The traditional approach used in modeling of composites reinforced by three-dimensional (3-D) braids is to assume a simple unit cell geometry of a 3-D braided structure with known fiber volume fraction and orientation. In this article, we first examine 3-D braiding methods in the light of braid structures, followed by the development of geometric models for 3-D braids using a unit cell approach. The unit cell geometry of 3-D braids is identified and the relationship of structural parameters such as yarn orientation angle and fiber volume fraction with the key processing parameters established. The limiting geometry has been computed by establishing the point at which yarns jam against each other. Using this factor makes it possible to identify the complete range of allowable geometric arrangements for 3-D braided preforms. This identified unit cell geometry can be translated to mechanical models which relate the geometrical properties of fabric preforms to the mechanical responses of composite systems.
Oxygen-derived free radicals and hemolysis during open heart surgery.

Reperfusion injury occurs during open-heart surgery after prolonged cardioplegic arrest. Cardiopulmonary bypass also is known to cause hemolysis. Since reperfusion of ischemic myocardium is associated with the generation of oxygen free radicals, and since free radicals can attack a protein molecule, it seems reasonable to assume that hemolysis might be the consequence of free radical attack on hemoglobin protein. The results of this study demonstrated that reperfusion following ischemic arrest caused an increase in free hemoglobin and free heme concentrations, simultaneously releasing free iron and generating hydroxyl radicals. In vitro studies using pure hemoglobin indicated that superoxide anion generated by the action of xanthine oxidase on xanthine could release iron from the heme ring and cause deoxygenation of oxyhemoglobin into ferrihemoglobin. This study further demonstrated that before the release of iron from the heme nucleus, oxyhemoglobin underwent deoxygenation to ferrihemoglobin. The released iron can catalyze the Fenton reaction, leading to the formation of cytotoxic hydroxyl radical (OH·). In fact, the formation of OH. in conjunction with hemolysis occurs during cardiac surgery, and when viewed in the light of the in vitro results, it seems likely that oxygen-derived free radicals may cause hemolysis during cardiopulmonary bypass and simultaneously release iron from the heme ring, which can catalyze the formation of OH·.
Co-occurrence of Autism and Asthma in a Nationally-Representative Sample of Children in the United States

Few large epidemiological studies have examined the co-occurrence of autism and asthma. We performed a cross-sectional study to examine this association using the 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health dataset (n = 77,951). We controlled for confounders and tested for autism-secondhand smoke interaction. Prevalence of asthma and autism were 14.5 % (n = 11,335) and 1.81 % (n = 1,412) respectively. Unadjusted odds ratio (OR) for asthma among autistic children was 1.35 (95 % CI 1.18–1.55). Adjusting for covariates (age, gender, body mass index, race, brain injury, secondhand smoke and socio-economic status) attenuated the OR to 1.19 (95 % CI 1.03–1.36). Autism-secondhand smoke interaction was insignificant (p = 0.38). Asthma is approximately 35 % more common in autistic children; screening may be an efficient approach to reduce risk of morbidity due to asthma.
Effect of Metronidazole on the Intestinal Microflora of the American Cockroach, Periplaneta americana L

The effect of feeding to cockroaches the antimicrobial agent metronidazole, which acts specifically against anaerobes, was assessed by light and scanning electron microscopy, bacteriological examination, and methane formation. Types of organisms and total numbers were greatly reduced from controls. The health of mature adults was unaffected, but stunting occurred in subadult animals maintained on the antibiotic from hatching. The intracellular bacteria of the fat body were not affected by the drug. The results are discussed with respect to a proposed microbe-host extracellular symbiosis.
Data-Driven Design Optimization for Composite Material Characterization

The main goal of the present paper is to demonstrate the value of design optimization beyond its use for structural shape determination in the realm of the constitutive characterization of anisotropic material systems such as polymer matrix composites with or without damage. The approaches discussed are based on the availability of massive experimental data representing the excitation and response behavior of specimens tested by automated mechatronic material testing systems capable of applying multiaxial loading. Material constitutive characterization is achieved by minimizing the difference between experimentally measured and analytically computed system responses as described by surface strain and strain energy density fields. Small and large strain formulations based on additive strain energy density decompositions are introduced and utilized for constructing the necessary objective functions and their subsequent minimization. Numerical examples based on both synthetic (for one-dimensional systems) and actual data (for realistic 3D material systems) demonstrate the successful application of design optimization for constitutive characterization.
Father Julien Vidal and the Social Transformation of a Small Polynesian Village (1787–1930): Historical Archaeology at Massacre Bay, American Samoa

The site of A‘asu, American Samoa, is infamous in the annals of history as the site of a tragic encounter, in 1787, between French explorers and Samoans, that left 42 or more dead and wounded. Beginning in 1876, an investigation of A‘asu was independently conducted by a French missionary priest, Father Julien Vidal (SM). His letters document his search for answers at A‘asu, and to find the resting places for the men left behind by the French fleet. Archaeological investigations at A‘asu carried out in 2001 and 2002 yielded evidence that contribute to our understanding of the social transformations taking place in Tutuila during the late 18th to early 20th century.
Participation Determinants in Armenia's Housing Purchase Certificate Programme:

A housing purchase certificate (HPC) is a voucher for the purchase of a dwelling unit, either for the full price (up to a programme-determined maximum) or a grant for a partial payment (i.e. a downpayment subsidy). Using a special sample survey of programme participants, this paper examines why some participants have been successful and others not in using the certificates for the full price of a unit distributed under the HPC programme providing assistance to victims of Armenia's 1988 earthquake. Findings indicate that participants with the following attributes are more likely to succeed in finding a unit (and using the certificate): living in more difficult housing conditions at the time they receive the certificate, having more economic resources, considering more units in their housing search, relying on information about available dwellings from friends and family members rather than relying on information in the mass media and searching in markets where the supply of units on offer is relatively gre...
Chinese segmentation and new word detection using conditional random fields

Chinese word segmentation is a difficult, important and widely-studied sequence modeling problem. This paper demonstrates the ability of linear-chain conditional random fields (CRFs) to perform robust and accurate Chinese word segmentation by providing a principled framework that easily supports the integration of domain knowledge in the form of multiple lexicons of characters and words. We also present a probabilistic new word detection method, which further improves performance. Our system is evaluated on four datasets used in a recent comprehensive Chinese word segmentation competition. State-of-the-art performance is obtained.
Comparative sequence analysis of open reading frames 2 to 7 of the modified live vaccine virus and other North American isolates of the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus

To elucidate changes associated with the attenuated virulence in a modified live porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) vaccine (Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, St. Joseph, MO), derived from an American prototype ATCC virus VR-2332, nucleotide sequence of 3′ genome covering open reading frames (ORFs) 2 to 7 coding regions from the vaccine virus was determined by RT-PCR with two overlapping fragments. Comparisons showed 98 base changes (94 substitutions, 3 deletions, and 1 addition) out of 3318 nucleotides between the vaccine virus and its parental virus. There were 15, 26, 17, 29, 9, and 6 base substitutions in ORFs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, respectively, resulting in 5, 13, 8, 13, 2, and 3 amino acid (a.a.) substitutions in their deduced proteins, respectively. Most of these a.a. substitutions were also present in 17 known virulent/wild type PRRS virus isolates from North America. However, there were 1, 4, 1, and 1 unique a.a. substitutions in the vaccine virus ORFs 2, 3, 4, and 5 deduced proteins, respectively. These unique amino substitutions may be responsible for the attenuated virulence in the vaccine virus.
Valence band symmetry and deformation potentials of ZnO

Abstract The negative spin-orbit splitting of the valence band at k = 0 in ZnO, as proposed by Thomas and Hopfield, has been confirmed experimentally by measuring the effect of static uniaxial compression along the c-axis on the exciton spectrum of ZnO at 77°K. Four deformation potentials have been determined and are compared with the previously obtained values for CdS.
Cancer and diabetes mellitus. A review of the literature.

Abstract Patients with cancer of various types have been examined in many clinical studies for evidence of abnormalities in carbohydrate metabolism. In the methods of selecting patients or controls and in the criteria for diabetes mellitus the studies differ widely. Considered in the aggregate, however, the clinical evidence seems preponderant in the direction of a positive association between neoplasia and concomitant abnormality in sugar metabolism. Because of the retrospective nature of these studies, the temporal relationships of the association have not been elucidated. Also left unanswered is the question of whether the metabolic derangement is characteristic of neoplasia or of chronic disease in general. It is interesting to note that, in contrast with the clinical studies, a negative association between cancer and diabetes has been found in most autopsy-based investigations. That methodological differences may account for some of the discrepancies is readily apparent. It is also likely that systematic artifacts of some kind may be responsible for the unidirectionality of the results obtained in each of the two modes of study. Cancer case may be preferentially selected for autopsy as contrasted with diabetic cases. The presence or absence of diabetes may receive more attention in the hospital chart than in the autopsy protocol used in the analysis of many autopsy studies. Autopsy rates may differ among ethnic and socio-economic groups as well as by sex in such a way that the diabetes-prone are less likely to be autopsied. On the other hand, these same groups may be disproportionately represented among hospitalized cancer patients selected for study. The studies of proportionate mortality from cancer have usually demonstrated a decreased rate among diabetics when compared with the general population of deaths. As might be expected, these findings agree with those of the autopsy studies. Pancreatic cancer is a consistent exception to the rule: its prevalence is usually increased among diabetic decedents. The ‘statistical studies’ of cancer risk among diabetics are also difficult to evaluate because of their widely varying methods, criteria and comparison groups. There is no concensus between the published papers except as regards a positive association between diabetes and pancreatic cancer. Unfortunately, the critical information on antecedent disease is frequently lacking in these studies. One large study [125], while relatively free of this problem is subject to another, viz. the estimation of outcome from cancer mortality rather than incidence. The need for additional epidemiological studies on cancer and diabetes is suggested by the laboratory findings on the carbohydrate metabolism of tumors and by the observed relationships between insulin and glycolysis. The possibility of a mutagenic effect of diabetes (perhaps, specifically, insulin) expressing itself either in teratogenesis or carcinogenesis, is also in need of further investigation.
Phospholemman is a negative feed-forward regulator of Ca2+ in β-adrenergic signaling, accelerating β-adrenergic inotropy

Sympathetic stimulation enhances cardiac contractility by stimulating β-adrenergic signaling and protein kinase A (PKA). Recently, phospholemman (PLM) has emerged as an important PKA substrate capable of regulating cytosolic Ca(2+) transients. However, it remains unclear how PLM contributes to β-adrenergic inotropy. Here we developed a computational model to clarify PLM's role in the β-adrenergic signaling response. Simulating Na(+) and sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca(2+) clamps, we identify an effect of PLM phosphorylation on SR unloading as the key mechanism by which PLM confers cytosolic Ca(2+) adaptation to long-term β-adrenergic receptor (β-AR) stimulation. Moreover, we show that phospholamban (PLB) opposes and overtakes these actions on SR load, forming a negative feed-forward loop in the β-adrenergic signaling cascade. This network motif dominates the negative feedback conferred by β-AR desensitization and accelerates β-AR-induced inotropy. Model analysis therefore unmasks key actions of PLM phosphorylation during β-adrenergic signaling, indicating that PLM is a critical component of the fight-or-flight response.
Infrared conductivity of chalcogenide glasses

Abstract The general features of the conductivity spectra of chalcogenide glasses in the frequency range 109 to 1013 Hz are briefly reviewed.
Complete Genome Sequence of the Anaerobic Perchlorate-Reducing Bacterium Azospira suillum Strain PS

Azospira suillum strain PS (formally Dechlorosoma suillum strain PS) is a metabolically versatile betaproteobacterium first identified for its ability to grow by dissimilatory reduction of perchlorate and chlorate [denoted (per)chlorate]. Together with Dechloromonas species, these two genera represent the dominant (per)chlorate-reducing bacteria in mesophilic freshwater environments. In addition to (per)chlorate reduction, A. suillum is capable of the anaerobic oxidation of humic substances and is the first anaerobic nitrate-dependent Fe(II) oxidizer outside the Diaphorobacter and Acidovorax genera for which there is a completed genome sequence.
Circuit Modeling of Nonlinear Lossy Frequency-Dependent Thin-Film Magnetic Inductors

Thin-film magnetic inductors are useful for integrated power delivery solutions for microprocessors and mobile devices. In many of these applications, the inductor dimensions have to be optimized simultaneously with the other circuit components, and thus accurate circuit models are required. Hence, we present an accurate physics-based circuit model that can capture the frequency dependency, losses, and the nonlinear behavior of thin-film magnetic inductors both for the uncoupled and coupled configurations. The model is based on the magnetic circuit description of the inductors with additional elements to model the frequency dependency within the magnetic material. The model is verified using vector network analyzer measurements of direct current biased inductors.
Gold nanorod enhanced organic photovoltaics: The importance of morphology effects

Abstract Organic photovoltaic devices with a 30% improvement in power conversion efficiency are achieved when gold nanorods (Au NR) are incorporated into the active bulk heterojunction (BHJ) layer. Detailed analysis of the system is provided through microscopy, device characterization, and spectroscopy, demonstrating that the enhancement effects are predominantly caused by induced morphology changes in the BHJ film rather than plasmonic effects. Wide angle X-ray diffraction provides evidence that the nanorods loaded into the BHJ film have an effect on polymer crystal orientation, leading to a systematic performance increase in the devices as a result of both internal and external efficiency improvements.
NF‐κB p50 promotes HIV latency through HDAC recruitment and repression of transcriptional initiation

Cells latently infected with HIV represent a currently insurmountable barrier to viral eradication in infected patients. Using the J-Lat human T-cell model of HIV latency, we have investigated the role of host factor binding to the κB enhancer elements of the HIV long terminal repeat (LTR) in the maintenance of viral latency. We show that NF-κB p50–HDAC1 complexes constitutively bind the latent HIV LTR and induce histone deacetylation and repressive changes in chromatin structure of the HIV LTR, changes that impair recruitment of RNA polymerase II and transcriptional initiation. Knockdown of p50 expression with specific small hairpin RNAs reduces HDAC1 binding to the latent HIV LTR and induces RNA polymerase II recruitment. Similarly, inhibition of histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity with trichostatin A promotes binding of RNA polymerase II to the latent HIV LTR. This bound polymerase complex, however, remains non-processive, generating only short viral transcripts. Synthesis of full-length viral transcripts can be rescued under these conditions by expression of Tat. The combination of HDAC inhibitors and Tat merits consideration as a new strategy for purging latent HIV proviruses from their cellular reservoirs.
Nonmotor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease

Nonmotor symptoms occur commonly in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and are frequently under-recognized and undertreated. Symptoms include sleep abnormalities, fatigue, autonomic disturbances, mood disorders and cognitive dysfunction. Early recognition and treatment of nonmotor symptoms in PD is critical to providing optimal management. A new screening questionnaire and the revised Unified PD Rating Scale should assist healthcare providers to better identify and evaluate these symptoms. This article reviews the identification and treatment of nonmotor symptoms in PD.
Protection against murine cytomegalovirus infection in aged mice and mice with severe combined immunodeficiency disease with the biological response modifiers polyribosinic-polycytidylic acid stabilized with L-lysine and carboxymethylcellulose, maleic anhydride divinyl ether and colony stimulating factor 1.

Abstract A variety of biological response modifiers (BRMs) have provided antiviral protection to immunocompetent mice, and this prompted us to determine their efficacy against murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) infection in immunocompromised mice-including the profoundly immunocompromised SCID mice and C57B1/6 and B6D2F1 aged mice. SCID mice showed a marked decrease (>20-fold) in resistance to MCMV, while there was a slight decrease (3-fold) in aged mice. In BRM antiviral protection studies, SCID mice were almost completely protected against MCMV infection by the pleiotropic immunomodulators, MVE-2 and pICLC, but much less by the more selective CSF-1. pICLC-induced IFN and NK cell cytotoxicity were maintained in SCID mice, suggesting that pleiotropic immunomodulatory effects may be required for antiviral protection in such a profoundly immunocompromised model. pICLC also effectively protected aged mice against lethal MCMV infection and effectively induced IFN. These results emphasize the potential for BRM treatment in immunocompromised hosts.
PC12 cells release stimulatory factors after transfection with beta/A4-C-terminal DNA of the Alzheimer amyloid precursor protein.

The β/A4 region of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) accumulates in brains of victims of Alzheimer disease (AD) where it is a major component of senile plaques. We examined the pathophysiological consequences of overexpression of the β/A4-C-terminal DNA in PC12 cells. Serum-free conditioned media (SFCM) from positive transfectants stimulated control PC12 cells to extend neurites and increase in size. Unlike the factor that affected cell size, neurite lengthening activity was significantly decreased after immunoabsorption with anti-β/A4 monoclonal antibodies (MAb) and changes in pH. The data support the view that among the consequences of β/A4-C-terminal DNA overexpression in PC12 cells is the release of factors that stimulate nontransfected cells to undergo morphological transformations that include differentiation to a neuronal phenotype. It is hypothesized that similar activities that may contribute to the molecular pathophysiology of the disorder may be present in the AD brain.
Low level vision via switchable Markov random fields

Markov random fields play a central role in solving a variety of low level vision problems, including denoising, in-painting, segmentation, and motion estimation. Much previous work was based on MRFs with hand-crafted networks, yet the underlying graphical structure is rarely explored. In this paper, we show that if appropriately estimated, the MRF's graphical structure, which captures significant information about appearance and motion, can provide crucial guidance to low level vision tasks. Motivated by this observation, we propose a principled framework to solve low level vision tasks via an exponential family of MRFs with variable structures, which we call Switchable MRFs. The approach explicitly seeks a structure that optimally adapts to the image or video along the pursuit of task-specific goals. Through theoretical analysis and experimental study, we demonstrate that the proposed method addresses a number of drawbacks suffered by previous methods, including failure to capture heavy-tail statistics, computational difficulties, and lack of generality.
Approximate axial alignment times for spinning bodies

Abstract Using a different approximate scheme for each of two separate body shapes, we compute for torque-free rotating quasi-rigid bodies the rate of damping of the nutation angle due to internal energy dissipation. The first method calculates the alignment rate as well as the free precession period of a Maxwell body; it modifies, and thereby makes clearer, a similar calculation by Gerstenkorn (1967b) . The second method deals with an elongated body and models it by symmetrically placing masses along a massless rod, where all energy dissipation occurs through the hysteresis loss of the strain energy stored during the precession motion. For both cases, the damping time is proportional to the material strength of the body and to its damping properties, and inversely proportional to the square of the body's radius and the cube of the rotation frequency. The results agree well with those of another approximate solution (Burns and Safronov, 1973) and numerically check that solution for the alignment times of asteroids. They show that essentially all observed asteroids align quite rapidly and thus explain why asteroids are observed in pure spin despite numerous misaligning collisions.
Generating words in a context-free language uniformly at random

Abstract Given an unambiguous context-free grammar G and an integer n > 0, we give two algorithms for generating words derived from the grammar uniformly at random (u.a.r.). The first algorithm generates a word u.a.r. in O( n 2 ) time using a data structure of size O( n ). The second algorithm generates a word u.a.r. in O( n ) time using a data structure of size O( n 2 ). Both algorithms make use of a preprocessing stage, where a data structure is built to facilitate the later generation of words uniformly at random. The algorithms are analyzed in a unit-cost model where the grammar is considered as a constant, and a weighted probabilistic choice among m outcomes is computed in O( m ) time. When the unit-cost memory assumption is replaced by a logarithmic-cost measure, we give a simple approximation scheme that reduces the bit complexity of the above space bounds by a factor of Θ(log n / n ), while generating words with probability N -1 (1 + O( n -k )) for any integer k >0, where N is the number of derivable words of length n .
Abstract 4763: Targeting p300 for inhibiting triple negative breast cancer

Breast cancer (BC) can be classified into four main subtypes: normal-like, HER2 overexpressing, luminal A and B, and basal-like BC. Normal-like BC cells exhibit gene expression pattern resembling basal epithelial cells. Erb-B-2/HER2-positive BC cells display high levels of Her2 expression. Luminal tumors show heightened expression of luminal cytokeratins and genes specific to the luminal epithelial cells, and are generally ER positive. Basal-like BC is characterized by the lack of expression of ER, progesterone receptor (PgR), and HER2. Triple-negative BC (TNBC) is defined by the lack of expression of ER, PgR and HER2 with distinct molecular, histological and clinical characteristics. Among the four BC subtypes, TNBC shares many of the molecular features of basal-like BC. Patients with TNBC have worse prognosis than those with other types of BC due to residual diseases that are resistant to chemotherapy and display heightened tendency to disseminate to distant organs. Available targeted therapies are ineffective for TNBC. Interestingly, cells derived from TNBC contain an elevated proportion of tumor cells with stem cell traits. These cells, known as cancer stem cells (CSCs), can self renew, differentiate into other types of cells in the tumor bulks, and efficiently promote tumor regrowth. CSCs are highly resistant to chemotherapy due to the expression of antiapoptotic genes. Several highly active signaling pathways, including cytokine-JAK-STAT3, Wnt-β-catenin, and Hippo-TAZ cascades, support the survival and sustained self-renewal of CSCs. One remarkable feature of these diverse signaling pathways is the reliance on the functions of the coactivators and acetyltransferases p300 and its paralog CBP for the expression of the effector genes that underlie the CSC phenotypes. We therefore hypothesize that inhibition of p300/CBP is an effective strategy for treating TNBC. Using an unbiased ultra high-throughput screening, we have identified small chemical compounds that were highly toxic to TNBC cell line MDA-MB-231 and potently inhibited the enzymatic activity of p300. Validation experiments revealed that a specific compound, L002, with the IC50 of 1.98 µM against p300 in vitro suppressed histone acetylation at several known sites of p300 acetylation in cell-based assay. L002 was highly toxic to MDA-MB-231 cells but much less so to MCF7 derived from a luminal BC. Experiments are underway to examine the effects of L002 on the survival of breast CSCs. (This work was supported by Bankhead-Coley Cancer Research Program of the Florida Department of Health.) Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4763. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-4763
Room temperature operation of resonant tunneling quantum dot infrared detectors

We present a novel tunnel quantum dot infrared photodetector which exhibit large photoresponse at 6/spl mu/m and 17/spl mu/m at 300K and ultra-low dark currents. Peak detectivity is 1.52/spl times/10/sup 7/ cm/spl middot/Hz/sup 1/2//W at 300K for 17/spl mu/m response.
Fiber Optic Sensors and Smart Fabrics

This paper presents novel work on developing fiber optic micro-sensors and integrating them into soldiers’ uniforms. These fiber optic sensors can be used to sense various battlefield hazards in re...
Use of the Galleria mellonella Caterpillar as a Model Host To Study the Role of the Type III Secretion System in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Pathogenesis

Nonvertebrate model hosts represent valuable tools for the study of host-pathogen interactions because they facilitate the identification of bacterial virulence factors and allow the discovery of novel components involved in host innate immune responses. In this report, we determined that the greater wax moth caterpillar Galleria mellonella is a convenient nonmammalian model host for study of the role of the type III secretion system (TTSS) in Pseudomonas aeruginosa pathogenesis. Based on the observation that a mutation in the TTSS pscD gene of P. aeruginosa strain PA14 resulted in a highly attenuated virulence phenotype in G. mellonella, we examined the roles of the four known effector proteins of P. aeruginosa (ExoS, ExoT, ExoU, and ExoY) in wax moth killing. We determined that in P. aeruginosa strain PA14, only ExoT and ExoU play a significant role in G. mellonella killing. Strain PA14 lacks the coding sequence for the ExoS effector protein and does not seem to express ExoY. Moreover, using ΔexoU ΔexoY, ΔexoT ΔexoY, and ΔexoT ΔexoU double mutants, we determined that individual translocation of either ExoT or ExoU is sufficient to obtain nearly wild-type levels of G. mellonella killing. On the other hand, data obtained with a ΔexoT ΔexoU ΔexoY triple mutant and a ΔpscD mutant suggested that additional, as-yet-unidentified P. aeruginosa components of type III secretion are involved in virulence in G. mellonella. A high level of correlation between the results obtained in the G. mellonella model and the results of cytopathology assays performed with a mammalian tissue culture system validated the use of G. mellonella for the study of the P. aeruginosa TTSS.
Gore-Tex tubing as a conduit for repair of lingual and inferior alveolar nerve continuity defects: A preliminary report

Abstract Purpose: This report describes the results of using a Gore-Tex (Gore Company, Flagstaff, AZ) tube as a conduit for repair of continuity defects in the inferior alveolar or lingual nerves. Patients and Methods: Seven nerve repairs were performed in five patients (M:F = 1:4) with an age range of 16 to 56 years. The duration from injury to repair ranged from 4 to 30 months. Two inferior alveolar and five lingual nerves were repaired. Results: All seven patients had anesthesia by objective testing preoperatively and had a continuity defect at the time of operation. The size of the defects ranged from 2 to 15 mm. Two of the seven patients had some return of sensation, occurring in defects of 3 mm or smaller. Conclusion: The results of this pilot study indicate that Gore-Tex tubing may not be effective in the repair of continuity defects except in those defects 3 mm or smaller, in which it may act as a protective barrier membrane rather than as a conduit.
Coding for a class of unknown channels

A channel which is selected for each use (without knowledge of past history) to be one of a given set of discrete memoryless channels is to be used by an ignorant communicator, i.e., the transmitter and receiver are assumed to have no knowledge of the particular channels selected. For this situation an upper bound on the insurable average error probability for block codes of length n is obtained which exponentially approaches zero for all rates less than capacity. Communication design techniques for achieving these results are discussed.
Lipids of Treponema pallidum Kazan 5.

The lipid composition of Treponema pallidum Kazan 5 cultivated in a lipid-defined medium was investigated. Lipids comprised 18 to 20% of the dry weight of the treponeme. Glycolipid and phospholipids accounted for 90 to 95% of the total lipids and free fatty acids made up the remaining 5 to 10%. The major polar lipids were the glycolipid, 1-(O-α-d-galactopyranosyl)-2,3-diglyceride (45 to 55%), and phosphatidylcholine (30 to 40%). Phosphatidylethanolamine (5 to 10%), an unidentified compound (1 to 2%), and occasional trace amounts of diphosphatidylglycerol (cardiolipin) were also found. The monogalactosyldiglyceride was also a major component (50%) of the lipids of the Reiter, Noguchi, and Nichols strains of T. pallidum. The fatty acid composition of Kazan 5 usually consisted of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids ranging from 14 to 18 carbons depending upon the fatty acids added to the culture medium. When the cells were cultivated on elaidic acid (trans-9-octadecenoic acid), their lipids contained only elaidic acid.
Shades of White: Separating Degrees of Injury in the Aging Brain

See related article, p 1721. In the play Art by Yasmina Reza, the main character puts his friendship with 2 others at risk when he purchases a piece of modern art that consists of a large white canvas with barely visible fine diagonal white lines.1 One of his friends attempts to explain the work to the unconvinced third. “Imagine a canvas about five foot by four…with a white background…completely white in fact…with fine white diagonal stripes…” “If the background’s white, how can you see the lines?” his friend asks. “You just do.…or anyway there are degrees of white! There’s more than one kind of white!” he responds, exasperated. In this issue of Stroke , Maillard et al2 quantitatively define the different types of white in the aging brain by examining fluid attenuation inversion recovery (FLAIR) intensity maps and fractional anisotropy (FA) in regions of white matter hyperintensites (WMH) and surrounding tissue. This work nicely elaborates and extends early work on diffusion changes in normal-appearing white matter in genetic small vessel disease3 and previous work from this group in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease.4,5 WMH are frequently noted on FLAIR sequences in elderly patients. The prevalence of WMH increases with age6 and is associated with known vascular risk factors.7,8 The extent of WMH has been linked to cognitive impairment8,9 and to the risk of incident dementia.10 Progression of WMH has …
Irrigation and Land Use Drive Ground Arthropod Community Patterns in an Urban Desert

Urbanization has been observed to affect arthropod communities through mechanisms such as removal of habitat and creation of habitat remnants. However, very little research has been conducted that simultaneously analyzes the range of anthropogenic, remnant, and quasi-natural land uses in a city as potential habitat for arthropods. Here we report on >2 yr of a long-term study of ground arthropods of Phoenix, AZ, focusing on the communities assembled in agricultural fields, commercial sites, mesic and xeric residential yards, desert remnants surrounded by the city, and peripheral natural desert. Agricultural fields and mesic residential yards generally supported the greatest number of individuals and taxa, showed the best separation from other types in ordination analyses, and had the greatest number of significantly associated taxa in indicator species analysis. Thus, of the urban habitats, two heavily irrigated and highly productive land use types seem to stand apart from the others in most community measures. Outlying desert sites also supported significantly associated taxa, including those not found regularly in desert parks and members of higher trophic levels less common in the city. Despite this, outlying desert and desert parks supported similar taxon richness. Xeric residential yards and commercial sites did not support any taxa not found in other land use types. While our results may be dependent on the location of Phoenix in the water-limited Sonoran Desert, we urge broader consideration of highly modified urban landscapes as wildlife habitat.
Translating Research For Health Policy: Researchers’ Perceptions And Use Of Social Media

As the United States moves forward with health reform, the communication gap between researchers and policy makers will need to be narrowed to promote policies informed by evidence. Social media represent an expanding channel for communication. Academic journals, public health agencies, and health care organizations are increasingly using social media to communicate health information. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now regularly tweets to 290,000 followers. We conducted a survey of health policy researchers about using social media and two traditional channels (traditional media and direct outreach) to disseminate research findings to policy makers. Researchers rated the efficacy of the three dissemination methods similarly but rated social media lower than the other two in three domains: researchers’ confidence in their ability to use the method, peers’ respect for its use, and how it is perceived in academic promotion. Just 14 percent of our participants reported tweeting, ...
Large-scale spatial synchrony and cross-synchrony in acorn production by two California oaks

Seed production that varies greatly from year to year, known as ''masting'' or ''mast-fruiting'' behavior, is a population-level phenomenon known to exhibit geographic synchrony extending, at least in some cases, hundreds of kilometers. The two main nonexclusive hypotheses for the driver of such geographically extensive synchrony are (1) environmental factors (the Moran effect), and (2) the mutual dependence of trees on outcrossed pollen (pollen coupling). We tested 10 predictions relevant to these two hypotheses using 18 years of acorn production data on two species of California oaks. Data were obtained across the entire ranges of the two species at 12 sites (10 for each species) separated by up to 745 km. In general, our results provided strong support for the importance of the Moran effect as a driver of spatial synchrony in and between these two species. Particularly compelling was evidence of close concordance between spatial synchrony in acorn production and key environmental factors extending over the range of both species and significant spatial cross-synchrony between the two species, despite considerable differences in their geographical ecology. Because oaks are monoecious, female flowers are not necessarily related to pollen production, and thus, our tests do not address the role of pollen coupling in bisexual species where pollen and flower production are necessarily correlated. For the oak species considered here, however, the Moran effect is a key driver of large-scale spatial synchrony in acorn production.
Knowledge, technology trajectories, and innovation in a developing country context: evidence from a survey of Malaysian firms

This paper investigates the applicability of contemporary firm-level innovation concepts to a developing country context by drawing on the results of a survey of Malaysian manufacturing and service establishments. We build on Keith Pavitt's 'technology trajectories' framework to empirically test the effect of firms' structure, strategy, resources, and environment on the probability of their product, process, and organisational innovations across various sectors. We find that Malaysian firms possess relatively high process and organisational innovation capabilities, but lag in new product development. Further, they more frequently utilise a variety of 'soft factors' like employee training, knowledge management practices, and collaboration with market actors as inputs to innovation rather than formal R&D. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings about Malaysian firms' technology trajectories to innovation policy in that country.
Laser driven quasi-isentropic compression experiments (ICE) for dynamically loading materials at high strain rates

We demonstrate the recently developed technique of laser driven isentropic compression (ICE) for dynamically compressing Al samples at high laoding rates close to the room temperature isentrope and up to peak stresses above 100GPa. Upon analysis of the unloading profiles from a multi-stepped Al/LiF target a continuous path through Stress-Density space may be calculated. For materials with phase transformations ramp compression techniques reveals the location of equilibrium phase boundaries and provide information on the kinetics of the lattice re-ordering.
Reusable Laryngeal Mask Airways can be used more than 40 times

Study objective To compare the mechanical properties of classic, reusable Laryngeal Mask Airways (LMAs) that have been used more than 100 times with one unused LMA. Design Laboratory testing of devices used clinically. Setting Metropolitan university hospital. Measurements Cuff and tube specimens from LMAs that had been used at least 100 times were tested for elongation, tensile strength, stiffness, and tear strength using standard American Society of Testing and Materials protocols. Samples from an unused LMA were analyzed in the same manner for comparison. Main results Tensile strength of the cuff samples was found to increase by approximately 25%. There was an increase in cuff stiffness and decreased tear strength similar to the manufacturer-reported trends. Cuff elongation decreased by 30%. Results for the LMA tube differed depending on whether the samples were taken in the machine direction or transverse direction. Tensile strength decreased by 30% in machine direction and, on average, very little in transverse direction. Conclusions The material in reusable classic LMAs does not lose its strength after 100 uses to the extent that its manufacturer claims. At least 100 uses may be considered safe for these devices.