cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Diazepam Useful in ESES Treatment (I3-1.006)

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the efficacy of high-dose diazepam in treating electrical status epilepticus of sleep (ESES). BACKGROUND: ESES is an age related, self-limited disorder of unknown etiology characterized by neuropsychological impairment, motor delays, focal or generalized epilepsy and the EEG finding of electrical status epilepticus during slow wave sleep. Our experience with diazepam for treatment of ESES has been encouraging. DESIGN/METHODS: 41 patients with ESES were included in this retrospective chart review. Parameters noted for our study included age, gender, weight, seizure types, medications, spike localizations, spike counts (initially, then after the first and second treatments with diazepam), comorbidities, MRI findings, and clinical outcomes. RESULTS: Mean age was 8 years. 78% of patients had complex partial seizures, 44% had generalized tonic clonic seizures. Comorbidities included developmental delays, behavioral difficulties, language learning disabilities, history of prematurity, autism, mental retardation, cerebral palsy, ADHD. Most patients were on levetiracetam. Commonest MRI findings included periventricular leucomalacia, hyperintensities or loss of white matter. Slow wave sleep spikes were predominantly identified over the left hemisphere. The mean of the initial spike count was 1500, and the mean total spike reduction was 80% (p < 0.01) after both diazepam treatments. Spike counts were reduced by over 75 % in 69.57% of patient admissions. CONCLUSIONS: High-dose diazepam is generally effective in the treatment of ESES and leads to significant improvement in spike index. Further studies are needed to elicit long-term outcomes, drug interaction effects, and the potential effects of spike locations on symptomatology. Disclosure: Dr. El-Hagrassy has nothing to disclose. Dr. Gunasekara has nothing to disclose. Dr. Eksioglu has nothing to disclose.
Over-complete representations on recurrent neural networks can support persistent percepts

A striking aspect of cortical neural networks is the divergence of a relatively small number of input channels from the peripheral sensory apparatus into a large number of cortical neurons, an over-complete representation strategy. Cortical neurons are then connected by a sparse network of lateral synapses. Here we propose that such architecture may increase the persistence of the representation of an incoming stimulus, or a percept. We demonstrate that for a family of networks in which the receptive field of each neuron is re-expressed by its outgoing connections, a represented percept can remain constant despite changing activity. We term this choice of connectivity REceptive FIeld REcombination (REFIRE) networks. The sparse REFIRE network may serve as a high-dimensional integrator and a biologically plausible model of the local cortical circuit.
SecureMA: protecting participant privacy in genetic association meta-analysis.

Motivation: Sharing genomic data is crucial to support scientific investigation such as genome-wide association studies. However, recent investigations suggest the privacy of the individual participants in these studies can be compromised, leading to serious concerns and consequences, such as overly restricted access to data. Results: We introduce a novel cryptographic strategy to securely perform meta-analysis for genetic association studies in large consortia. Our methodology is useful for supporting joint studies among disparate data sites, where privacy or confidentiality is of concern. We validate our method using three multisite association studies. Our research shows that genetic associations can be analyzed efficiently and accurately across substudy sites, without leaking information on individual participants and site-level association summaries. Availability and implementation: Our software for secure meta-analysis of genetic association studies, SecureMA, is publicly available at http://github.com/XieConnect/SecureMA. Our customized secure computation framework is also publicly available at http://github.com/XieConnect/CircuitService Contact: ude.tlibrednav@nilam.b Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Acf1 confers unique activities to ACF/CHRAC and promotes the formation rather than disruption of chromatin in vivo

Chromatin assembly is required for the duplication of chromosomes. ACF (ATP-utilizing chromatin assembly and remodeling factor) catalyzes the ATP-dependent assembly of periodic nucleosome arrays in vitro, and consists of Acf1 and the ISWI ATPase. Acf1 and ISWI are also subunits of CHRAC (chromatin accessibility complex), whose biochemical activities are similar to those of ACF. Here we investigate the in vivo function of the Acf1 subunit of ACF/CHRAC in Drosophila. Although most Acf1 null animals die during the larval-pupal transition, Acf1 is not absolutely required for viability. The loss of Acf1 results in a decrease in the periodicity of nucleosome arrays as well as a shorter nucleosomal repeat length in bulk chromatin in embryos. Biochemical experiments with Acf1-deficient embryo extracts further indicate that ACF/CHRAC is a major chromatin assembly factor in Drosophila. The phenotypes of flies lacking Acf1 suggest that ACF/CHRAC promotes the formation of repressive chromatin. The acf1 gene is involved in the establishment and/or maintenance of transcriptional silencing in pericentric heterochromatin and in the chromatin-dependent repression by Polycomb group genes. Moreover, cells in animals lacking Acf1 exhibit an acceleration of progression through S phase, which is consistent with a decrease in chromatin-mediated repression of DNA replication. In addition, acf1 genetically interacts with nap1, which encodes the NAP-1 nucleosome assembly protein. These findings collectively indicate that ACF/CHRAC functions in the assembly of periodic nucleosome arrays that contribute to the repression of genetic activity in the eukaryotic nucleus.
Determination of enrofloxacin stability and in vitro efficacy against Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in four ear cleaner solutions over a 28 day period

Chemical stability and in vitro bactericidal efficacy of 0.9% enrofloxacin-compounded solutions were evaluated following storage at room temperature for 28 days. Chemical stability of enrofloxacin was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in five compounded solutions, including sterile water. Bactericidal efficacy was determined by spiral plating serial 10-fold dilutions of bacteria and solutions followed by colony counts. Tris-EDTA [TrizEDTA(®) (TE)], Tris-EDTA and 0.15% chlorhexidine [TrizChlor(®) (TC)], 2.5% lactic acid, 0.1% salicylic acid and 0.1% parachlorometaxylenol [Epi-Otic (EO)], and 0.1% free salicylic acid, 0.1% parachlorometaxylenol and 0.5% EDTA [Epi-Otic Advanced (EA)] were used. High-performance liquid chromatography was carried out with one-step liquid/liquid extraction to detect and quantify enrofloxacin stability. Mean recoveries for compounded samples run in triplicate at 28 days were 97.7% (TE), 99.9% (TC), 98.1% (EO) and 97.8% (EA). Kruskal-Wallis analysis showed no significant difference in the percentage recovery (H=0.0539, df=3, P=0.9967). American Type Culture Collection strains of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were used to evaluate in vitro efficacy following 30 min incubation on days 0, 14 and 28. Consistent in vitro bactericidal efficacy of all compounded solutions, indicated by killing >2.3×10(7) colony-forming units/mL, was seen; however, bactericidal efficacy decreased for compounded TC on day 14. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was more sensitive to the ear cleaners and enrofloxacin than S. pseudintermedius. The HPLC and in vitro data suggest that 0.9% enrofloxacin compounded with sterile water, TE, EO and EA maintains chemical stability and bactericidal efficacy for 28 days.
Conversion and Demonism: Colonial Christian Discourse and Religion in Sri Lanka

Since the publication of Edward Said's Orientalism in 1978, it has been difficult for anthropology to avoid the fact that its own discourse is ever entangled in a whole Western archive. What became clear, of course, was that the categories through which anthropology constructs descriptions and analyses of the social discourses and practices of non-Western peoples are themselves participants in a network of relations of knowledge and power. Interestingly enough, however, whereas the general import of this Foucauldian thesis has now been quickly assimilated, its challenge has hardly been taken up in terms of tracing out the lines of formation of specific anthropological, or, let us say, anthropologized, concepts.
THE CHANGING NATURAL HISTORY OF RENAL CELL CARCINOMA

Purpose: Our understanding of the natural history of renal cell carcinoma, the role of nephrectomy, the benefits of immunotherapy and the possibilities of new technologies are evolving and being integrated with advances in classification and staging. We reviewed the relevant literature to clarify these pertinent questions and provide a current review of the changes in the epidemiology, treatment and prognosis of patients with renal cell carcinoma.Materials and Methods: We comprehensively reviewed the peer reviewed literature on the current management of and results of treatment for renal cell carcinoma.Results: The incidence of and mortality from renal cell carcinoma have continuously increased during the last 50 years. Despite this increase in the number of new patients and consequently the number of deaths yearly the percent of those surviving for 5 years has notably improved. Factors related to improved survival include advances in renal imaging, earlier diagnosis, improved staging, better understandin...
Life-sustaining planets in interstellar space?

During planet formation, rock and ice embryos of the order of Earth's mass may be formed, some of which may be ejected from the Solar System as they scatter gravitationally from proto-giant planets. These bodies can retain atmospheres rich in molecular hydrogen which, upon cooling, can have basal pressures of 10^2 to 10^4 bars. Pressure-induced far-infrared opacity of H_2 may prevent these bodies from eliminating internal radioactive heat except by developing an extensive adiabatic (with no loss or gain of heat) convective atmosphere. This means that, although the effective temperature of the body is around 30 K, its surface temperature can exceed the melting point of water. Such bodies may therefore have water oceans whose surface pressure and temperature are like those found at the base of Earth's oceans. Such potential homes for life will be difficult to detect.
Variations in community exposure to lahar hazards from multiple volcanoes in Washington State (USA)

Understanding how communities are vulnerable to lahar hazards provides critical input for effective design and implementation of volcano hazard preparedness and mitigation strategies. Past vulnerability assessments have focused largely on hazards posed by a single volcano, even though communities and officials in many parts of the world must plan for and contend with hazards associated with multiple volcanoes. To better understand community vulnerability in regions with multiple volcanic threats, we characterize and compare variations in community exposure to lahar hazards associated with five active volcanoes in Washington State, USA—Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier, Mount Adams and Mount St. Helens—each having the potential to generate catastrophic lahars that could strike communities tens of kilometers downstream. We use geospatial datasets that represent various population indicators (e.g., land cover, residents, employees, tourists) along with mapped lahar-hazard boundaries at each volcano to determine the distributions of populations within communities that occupy lahar-prone areas. We estimate that Washington lahar-hazard zones collectively contain 191,555 residents, 108,719 employees, 433 public venues that attract visitors, and 354 dependent-care facilities that house individuals that will need assistance to evacuate. We find that population exposure varies considerably across the State both in type (e.g., residential, tourist, employee) and distribution of people (e.g., urban to rural). We develop composite lahar-exposure indices to identify communities most at-risk and communities throughout the State who share common issues of vulnerability to lahar-hazards. We find that although lahars are a regional hazard that will impact communities in different ways there are commonalities in community exposure across multiple volcanoes. Results will aid emergency managers, local officials, and the public in educating at-risk populations and developing preparedness, mitigation, and recovery plans within and across communities.
RANK- and c-Met-mediated signal network promotes prostate cancer metastatic colonization

Prostate cancer (PCa) metastasis to bone is lethal and there is no adequate animal model for studying the mechanisms underlying the metastatic process. Here, we report that receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) expressed by PCa cells consistently induced colonization or metastasis to bone in animal models. RANK-mediated signaling established a premetastatic niche through a feed-forward loop, involving the induction of RANKL and c-Met, but repression of androgen receptor (AR) expression and AR signaling pathways. Site-directed mutagenesis and transcription factor (TF) deletion/interference assays identified common TF complexes, c-Myc/Max, and AP4 as critical regulatory nodes. RANKL-RANK signaling activated a number of master regulator TFs that control the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (Twist1, Slug, Zeb1, and Zeb2), stem cell properties (Sox2, Myc, Oct3/4, and Nanog), neuroendocrine differentiation (Sox9, HIF1α, and FoxA2), and osteomimicry (c-Myc/Max, Sox2, Sox9, HIF1α, and Runx2). Abrogating RANK or its downstream c-Myc/Max or c-Met signaling network minimized or abolished skeletal metastasis in mice. RANKL-expressing LNCaP cells recruited and induced neighboring non metastatic LNCaP cells to express RANKL, c-Met/activated c-Met, while downregulating AR expression. These initially non-metastatic cells, once retrieved from the tumors, acquired the potential to colonize and grow in bone. These findings identify a novel mechanism of tumor growth in bone that involves tumor cell reprogramming via RANK-RANKL signaling, as well as a form of signal amplification that mediates recruitment and stable transformation of non-metastatic bystander dormant cells.
The impact of social support on the risk of eating disorders in women exposed to intimate partner violence

BACKGROUND: Eating disorders (EDs) are often found among women exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV). The role of social support (SS) as a protective factor against ED among IPV-exposed women is not firmly established. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to determine the distribution of risk of EDs among women exposed to IPV and to examine the impact of SS on risk of ED among IPV-exposed women. METHODS: Women (aged 18-64 years) exposed to IPV during their lifetimes (defined by the Humiliation-Afraid-Rape-Kick instrument) were recruited from primary care and domestic violence service agencies and surveyed on demographics, mood/anxiety disorders, psychosocial/community factors, and strategies used in response to IPV. The Eating Disorder Screen for Primary Care assessed the risk of ED. A modified Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey assessed overall functional support (scale range: 0-32; categorized into quartiles). Ordinal logistic regression examined the risk of ED based on SS, controlling for prespecified demographics (age, race/ethnicity, marital status, near-poverty level), and health-related factors significant in bivariate analyses (risky alcohol use). RESULTS: Among 302 women with lifetime IPV, 41 (14%) were at high risk, 127 (42%) were at moderate risk, and 134 (44%) were at low risk of an ED. In bivariate analyses, high risk of an ED was significantly more frequent among women with a low SS score (CONCLUSION: Among IPV-exposed women, low SS is associated with an increased risk of ED. SS may protect against ED by reducing anxiety and promoting positive actions, but further study is needed to confirm this. Language: en
In situ time-resolved characterization of novel Cu-MoO2 catalysts during the water-gas shift reaction

A novel and active Cu–MoO2 catalyst was synthesized by partial reduction of a precursor CuMoO4 mixed-metal oxide with CO or H2 at 200–250 °C. The phase transformations of Cu–MoO2 during H2 reduction and the water–gas shift reaction could be followed by in situ time resolved XRD techniques. During the reduction process the diffraction pattern of the CuMoO4 collapsed and the copper metal lines were observed on an amorphous material background that was assigned to molybdenum oxides. During the first pass of water–gas shift (WGS) reaction, diffraction lines for Cu6Mo5O18 and MoO2 appeared around 350 °C and Cu6Mo5O18 was further transformed to Cu/MoO2 at higher temperature. During subsequent passes, significant WGS catalytic activity was observed with relatively stable plateaus in product formation around 350, 400 and 500 °C. The interfacial interactions between Cu clusters and MoO2 increased the water–gas shift catalytic activities at 350 and 400 °C.
Front-Haul Compression Using Scheduling Side Information for Cloud Radio Access Networks

Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN) is a novel mobile network architecture that allows for efficient and economic building, upgrading and maintenance of RAN networks to cope with increasing mobile traffic data. The main idea behind C-RAN is to maintain distributed remote radio head (RRH) units for transmission and reception of radio signals, while pool the Baseband Units (BBUs) from multiple base stations into a centralized location for statistical multiplexing gain. The BBUs are connected to RRH via front-haul links. Although the C-RAN architecture enjoys significant advantages in terms of both the capital expenditure (CAPEX) and the operational expenditure (OPEX) over traditional networks, it also exerts considerable burden on the capacity- constrained front-haul links of transporting the high bandwidth complex baseband data between RRH and BBUs. Fortunately, the LTE signal is inherently redundant and compressible. In this paper, we propose a low-complexity, frequency domain, front-haul compression algorithm, that leverages the user scheduling side-information available at the BBU pool, in addition to the LTE signal redundancy, to achieve a compression ratio of $10$X for a full-buffer traffic model. We also provide extensive link-level and system-level simulations to validate the performance of our proposed front-haul compression algorithm on simulated LTE signal.
Dependence of the Li-Ion Conductivity and Activation Energies on the Crystal Structure and Ionic Radii in Li6MLa2Ta2O12

Inspired by the promising ionic conductivities of the lithium conducting garnets, we present a comparative study on the influence of the ionic radius of M2+ on the 8-coordinate site and the crystal structure on the ionic transport in the solid solution Li6MLa2Ta2O12. Neutron diffraction and synchrotron diffraction in combination with AC impedance measurements are employed to understand the systematic substitution with different-sized alkaline earth cations M2+. As may be expected, the unit-cell parameters increase linearly with increasing ionic radius from Ca2+ over Sr2+ to Ba2+, accompanied by an increase in the polyhedral volumes of the dodecahedral, and tetrahedral positions and the ionic conductivities. While the TaO6 octahedral volume remain constant, the anisotropic thermal parameters of the coordinating oxygen anions suggest a high degree of rotational freedom with increasing unit-cell size. These structural parameters lead to lower activation energies because of broader Li conduction pathways and ...
Audible Noise Spectrum Characteristics of UHVDC Positive Line Using Corona Cage

In order to measure audible noise of UHVDC transmission lines in outdoors accurately,and to study the relation between corona discharge and the audible noise,using a corona cage in UHVDC Test Base of State Grid Corporation,we experimentally measured and analyzed corona noise and some different typical background noise spectra of DC lines.The difference between spectrum characteristics of positive corona noise and background noise was studied firstly,as well as the difference in spectrum characteristics of positive corona noises aroused by different conduct surface electric fields.Then,stability of relations between A sound level and its spectral components of corona noise was analyzed.A stable corona noise band differing largely from background noises was obtained,and a numerical difference of 11dB between the corona noise's A sound level and 8 kHz audible noise band component which were measured in the corona cage was obtained.An audible noise test of 4×1 000 mm2 conductor in the corona cage confirmed the validity of the proposed method.
Calculation of Electric Vehicles Charging Load and Necessary Amount of Charging Facilities under Different Modes

The technology road map of electric vehicle(EV)charging facilities can be selected from a variety of views. Based on analysis on charging facilities and the requirements of EV users,charging load models are presented in this paper respectively under the charging modes of slow charging,fast charging and battery-exchange. Monte Carlo simulation is used to calculate the total charging load profiles of EVs during one day under three charging modes. The required amount of fast charging equipment is calculated according to the maximum number of EVs under charging during one day. The required amount of batteries in battery swap stations is calculated according to the numbers of charging batteries and full batteries. The results show that under the slow charging mode,the total power demand for EVs is larger due to relatively concentrated charging. Compared with the slow charging,the fast charging and battery-exchange mode can significantly improve the utilization of facilities. To ensure swapping services,a sufficient number of batteries should be made available in batteryexchange stations.
Preparation of LiFePO_4 Anode Material for Lithium-ion Battery by Microwave Heating

The anode material of olivine LiFePO4 is prepared by microwave heating.The structure,morphology of particles and electrochemical performance of the samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction,scanning electron microscopy,cyclic voltammetry and constant current charge-discharge test.The effect of different carbon sources,e.g.dextrose and conductive carbon black is studied.The results show that the single phase LiFePO4 powder can prepared by this method;at a low discharging rate,the initial specific discharge capacity of the anode material with dextrose as carbon sources is 131.1 mA·h/g;the circulating performance is good with only 2.1% capacity fading after 30 discharge-charge circles.The specific discharging capacity of the anode material with conductive carbon black as carbon sources is 118.3 mA·h/g;the circulate performance is good with only 5.2% capacity fading after 30 discharge-charge circles.
Effect of Nostoc sphaeroids Kutz Polysaccharides on Tumor Inhibition and Immunity of Mice in vivo

The bearing-S180 female mice were injected 50, 100, 200 mg/kg bw·d Nostoc sphaeroids Kutz polysaccharides for 10d, the contrast were injected Cy20 mg/kg bw·d. The tumor index, thymus index, the spleen lymphocyte transformation, the NK cell activity and delayed-type hypersensitivity(DTH), anti-oxidative were determined, in order to inquire into the tumor inhibition and immunity effect of the Nostoc sphaeroids Kutz polysaccharides. Results showed that the Nostoc sphaeroids Kutz polysaccharides can remarkable inhibit the tumor that is related to the dose, the tumor inhibition rate of 50, 100, 200 mg/kg polysaccharides were 29.91%, 38.24%, 64.08%, while it can restrain the cellular immunity which is descended by tumor, but it had effect to mice anti-oxidative.
Bone marrow examination in the diagnosis of acute and chronic leukemias.

This article presents a brief review of the morphologic and cytochemical features of acute and chronic leukemias, followed by a discussion about new techniques that can be? applied to the diagnosis of leukemias. The four techniques described include immunophenotyping, DNA content and cell cycle analysis, cytogenetics, and molecular studies. The utility of these specialized techniques in establishing a diagnosis of leukemia and in predicting prognosis is presented.
Making Sense of the Interplay of Identity, Agency, and Context in the Development of Beginning Science Teachers in High-Poverty Schools

Thousands of individuals enter all manner of science teacher preparation programs in North America each year, some that are university-based and some that are not, some that are more traditional, and some that are targeted with respect to preparing teachers for particular contexts or with a particular thematic or philosophical stance. Some of these candidates do not complete their programs, and among the many who do, many of these leave their careers within the first three years.
Large-Base Groups

The central theme of this book is the design and analysis of nearly linear-time algorithms. Given a permutation group G = 〈 S 〉 ≤ Sym(Ω), with |Ω| = n , such algorithms run in O (| S | n log c | G |) time for some constant c . If, as happens most of the time in practice, log | G | is bounded from above by a polylogarithmic function of n then these algorithms run in time that is nearly linear as a function of the input length | S | n . In most cases, we did not make an effort to minimize the exponent c of log | G | in the running time since achieving the smallest possible exponent c was not the most pressing problem from either the theoretical or practical point of view. However, in families of groups where log | G | or, equivalently, the minimal base size of G is large, the nearly linear-time algorithms do not run as fast as their name indicates; in fact, for certain tasks, the may not be the asymptotically fastest algorithms at all. Another issue is the memory requirement of the algorithms, which again may be unnecessarily high. The purpose of this chapter is to describe algorithms that may be used in the basic handling of large-base groups. The practical limitation is their memory requirement, which is in most cases a quadratic function of n .
Parathyroid Hormone as Monotherapy for the Treatment of Osteoporosis

This chapter reviews the clinical trial data using PTH as monotherapy for osteoporosis in both women and in men as well as in glucocorticoid induced osteoporosis. The chapter also briefly mentions applications of PTH treatment for other indications, including hypoparathyroidism and fracture healing.
The Ensoulment of Sensation: Triumph of the Totalizing Psyche

Husserl’s great Ideatic inversion in LU intersects with what might be called the “great reversal” in the same work. The latter decisively draws the fangs of spatio-temporal reality, causality, and the probability associated with the inductive method appropriate to it.
Management of the Full Stomach

Although relatively uncommon in clinical anesthesia, pulmonary aspiration can be a serious and sometimes deadly complication. There are different categories of “full stomach”, which, in turn requires different management. Techniques for managing a full stomach safely are described.
Mitigating Risks From Fracking-Related Earthquakes: Assessing State Regulatory Decisions

ABSTRACTPublic concern about earthquakes linked to wastewater injection from fracking operations is rising. However, few have examined how “induced seismicity” is acted upon by state officials. For some, an incremental response to smaller quakes can be viewed as an acceptable risk policy orientation because of the sizeable economic benefits that accompany drilling activities while others prefer risk mitigation policies (such as the use of “threshold policies”) as a better way to address quake-related problems. To account for state response to induced seismicity impacts, we examine three factors: the emergence of quakes as focusing events, the economic importance of oil and gas to state jobs and revenue, and selected characteristics of earthquakes as a policy issue, i.e., complexity and categorical precedence. Using information drawn from documentary sources, we consider which factors are most helpful in accounting for agency decisions aimed at reducing seismic risks linked to nearby injection wells.
Crossover and coexistence of superconductivity and antiferromagnetism in the filled-skutterudite system Pr 1 -x Eu x Pt 4 Ge 12

The superconducting and normal-state properties of the filled-skutterudite system ${\mathrm{Pr}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Eu}}_{x}{\mathrm{Pt}}_{4}{\mathrm{Ge}}_{12}$ were studied. Polycrystalline samples were investigated via x-ray diffraction, electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and specific-heat measurements. Upon Eu substitution, we observed a crossover from superconducting to antiferromagnetic states with a region where both states coexist. In the superconducting region, the specific-heat data exhibit a change of temperature dependence, suggesting an evolution from a nodal to a nodeless superconducting energy gap or a suppression of multiband superconductivity. This change is relatively slower than those reported for different substituent ions, suggesting that paramagnetic impurities have a weaker pair-breaking effect on unconventional superconductivity in ${\mathrm{PrPt}}_{4}{\mathrm{Ge}}_{12}$. In the normal state, an evolution from Fermi-liquid to non-Fermi-liquid behavior was observed, accompanied by the coexistence of superconductivity and antiferromagnetism, suggesting that the underlying electronic structure is primarily responsible for the complex physical phenomena found in this system.
Urine assay for tenofovir to monitor adherence in real time to tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine as pre-exposure prophylaxis.

Objectives Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine (TDF/FTC) is approved for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against HIV infection. Adherence is critical for the success of PrEP, but current adherence measurements are inadequate for real-time adherence monitoring. We developed and validated a urine assay to measure tenofovir (TFV) to objectively monitor adherence to PrEP. Methods We developed a urine assay using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry with high sensitivity/specificity for TFV that allowed us to determine TFV concentrations in log10 categories between 0 and 10 000 ng/mL. We validated the assay in three cohorts: (1) HIV-positive subjects with undetectable viral loads on a TDF/FTC-based regimen, (2) healthy HIV-negative subjects who received a single dose of TDF/FTC, and (3) HIV-negative subjects receiving daily TDF/FTC as PrEP for 24 weeks. Results The urine assay detected TFV with greater sensitivity than plasma-based measures and with a window of measurements within 7 days of the last TDF/FTC dose. Based on the urine log-linear clearance after the last dose and its concordance with all detectable plasma levels, a urine TFV concentration > 1000 ng/mL was identified as highly predictive of the presence of TFV in plasma at > 10 ng/mL. The urine assay was able to distinguish high and low adherence patterns within the last 48 h (> 1000 ng/mL versus 10–1000 ng/mL), as well as nonadherence (< 10 ng/mL) extended over at least 1 week prior to measurement. Conclusions We provide proof of concept that a semiquantitative urine assay measuring levels of TFV could be further developed into a point-of-care test and be a useful tool to monitor adherence to PrEP.
The Distributional Effects of Yield Control Monetary Policy: A Helicopter Money Drop to Financial Institutions

On September 21st, 2016, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) embarked on a new unconventional monetary policy, called yield curve control (YCC). We show that YCC creates an arbitrage opportunity in an otherwise frictionless and arbitrage-free government bond market which financial institutions can exploit. This arbitrage creates a wealth transfer from the BOJ to these financial institutions. We estimate a lower bound on this wealth transfer for the first 28 months to be $5.25 billion or 582.32 billion yen, which constitutes an unexplored policy externality. This corresponds to 7.49 percent per annum on the notional employed in this arbitrage strategy.
A review and comparison of fault detection and diagnosis methods for squirrel-cage induction motors: State of the art.

Abstract Preventing induction motors (IMs) from failure and shutdown is important to maintain functionality of many critical loads in industry and commerce. This paper provides a comprehensive review of fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) methods targeting all the four major types of faults in IMs. Popular FDD methods published up to 2010 are briefly introduced, while the focus of the review is laid on the state-of-the-art FDD techniques after 2010, i.e. in 2011–2015 and some in 2016. Different FDD methods are introduced and classified into four categories depending on their application domains, instead of on fault types like in many other reviews, to better reveal hidden connections and similarities of different FDD methods. Detailed comparisons of the reviewed papers after 2010 are given in tables for fast referring. Finally, a dedicated discussion session is provided, which presents recent developments, trends and remaining difficulties regarding to FDD of IMs, to inspire novel research ideas and new research possibilities.
The mechanism of cell membrane repair

Disruption of plasma membranes is a widespread, common and normal event that occurs in many mechanically challenged tissues (McNeil & Steinhardt, 1997). After injury to the plasma membrane, rapid resealing of the membrane occurs with little loss of intracellular contents. Analysis of plasma membrane repair in the sea urchin egg and early embryos revealed a new model of the mechanism for plasma membrane repair. Resealing of disrupted plasma membranes required external Ca2+ that could be antagonised by Mg2+. Block of Ca2+/calmodulin kinase II, which regulates exocytotic vesicle availability at synapses (Llinas et al., 1991), inhibited membrane resealing. Resealing was also inhibited by botulinum neurotoxins A, B, C1, and tetanus toxin, which disrupt SNARE vesicle docking/fusion proteins. Confocal microscopic observations of exocytotic events in sea urchin eggs and embryos during membrane resealing showed that inhibition of kinesin or myosin motor activity, which are believed to be required for vesicle transport (Goodson et al., 1997), also inhibited membrane resealing and delivery of vesicles to sites of membrane disruption. This pattern of inhibition indicates that membrane repair of micrometre-sized lesions requires vesicle delivery, docking and fusion, similar to the exocytosis of neurotransmitter (Steinhardt et al., 1994; Bi et al., 1995, 1997). The mechanism of resealing in eggs and embyros was found to be a general property of all cells (Steinhardt et al., 1994; Togo et al., 1999). It is now known that elevated intracellular Ca2+ triggers exocytosis in various types of cells (Dan & Poo, 1992; Coorssen et al., 1996), and that endosomal compartments such as lysosomes can behave as Ca2+-regulated exocytotic vesicles (Rodriguez et al., 1997).
Inflammation in Aging Processes: An Integrative and Ecological Perspective

Publisher Summary This chapter surveys inflammation during aging and chronic disease in an integrative and ecological perspective that emphasizes generalizable changes, interactions of inflammation with oxidative damage, and environmental influences. The fundamental role of inflammation in aging processes is now widely recognized, particularly for arterial disease, which begins before birth. The strong age trends for elevated blood glucose and glycated proteins starting in midlife are hypothesized to be a fundamental driver of vascular disease and the acceleration of risk for vascular events. Pre- and postnatal environmental factors influence the progression of arterial degeneration, obesity, and hyperglycemia, but also airborne inflammogens from tobacco smoke and air pollution. These myriad pre- and postnatal environmental influences on arterial disease during aging give some insight into the low heritability of life spans in humans, which is <35% in identical twins, as well as in mice, flies, and worms maintained under highly uniform environments. The major effects of statins on decreasing the rate of heart attacks may be mediated by anti-inflammatory mechanisms as well as by improving cholesterol indicators. The prospective apoE4 protective drugs being developed might also benefit health generally in the later years by reducing the risk of arterial events and Alzheimer disease. Drugs being developed as caloric restriction mimetics may also have anti-inflammatory activities, e.g., resveratrol. Of importance to life in the real world, resveratrol also inhibits wound healing, as does caloric restriction. Despite these bright prospects, one must be concerned with global transmission of infectious diseases, which can accelerate aging processes, as observed for the 1918 influenza, and the increase in airborne inflammogens from combustion products.
A comprehensive approach to identification of pathogenic FANCA variants in Fanconi anemia patients and their families.

Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare recessive DNA repair deficiency resulting from mutations in one of at least 22 genes. Two-thirds of FA families harbor mutations in FANCA. To genotype patients in the International Fanconi Anemia Registry (IFAR) we employed multiple methodologies, screening 216 families for FANCA mutations. We describe identification of 57 large deletions and 261 sequence variants, in 159 families. All but seven families harbored distinct combinations of two mutations demonstrating high heterogeneity. Pathogenicity of the 18 novel missense variants was analyzed functionally by determining the ability of the mutant cDNA to improve the survival of a FANCA-null cell line when treated with MMC. Overexpressed pathogenic missense variants were found to reside in the cytoplasm, and nonpathogenic in the nucleus. RNA analysis demonstrated that two variants (c.522G > C and c.1565A > G), predicted to encode missense variants, which were determined to be nonpathogenic by a functional assay, caused skipping of exons 5 and 16 respectively, and are most likely pathogenic. We report 48 novel FANCA sequence variants. Defining both variants in a large patient cohort is a major step towards cataloging all FANCA variants, and permitting studies of genotype-phenotype correlations. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
Pluripotency—What Does Cell Polarity Have to Do With It?

Polarization is a mechanism commonly used by cells to establish asymmetries and create specialized subcellular functional domains. The process of cell polarization is especially important during mammalian development, when pluripotent cells are first established. Pluripotent cells are, by definition, capable of giving rise to the entire fetus. In addition, pluripotent stem cell lines can be derived from mammalian embryos and can be created by reprogramming differentiated cells. Understanding the molecular and cell biological differences between pluripotent and nonpluripotent cells is an important research direction in regenerative medicine. This chapter focuses on examining the role that cell polarization plays in establishing and maintaining pluripotency in the mouse embryo and in pluripotent stem cell lines. The literature shows that, in the early embryo, cell polarization is repressed in emerging pluripotent epiblast cells, while apicobasal polarization is established in multipotent cells of the extraembryonic lineages. Since polarization of extraembryonic cells is essential for defining which cells become pluripotent, cell polarization is indirectly responsible for establishing pluripotency in the embryo. Later, in the established pluripotent epiblast, cells polarize just before they exit pluripotency and commence differentiation. Just as multiple stages of pluripotency exist in the embryo, multiple pluripotent states exist among stem cell lines, ranging from naive to primed pluripotency. Mirroring the embryonic stages of pluripotency, polarity is associated with primed, and not naive, pluripotent stem cell lines. Therefore, in both embryos and in stem cell lines, cell polarization is a hallmark of decreased developmental potential, suggesting that the purpose of pluripotent cell polarization is to prepare cells for the next developmental goal: differentiation.
Investigation on Mechanical Properties of Austenitic Stainless-Steel Pipes Welded by TIG Method

هذا البحث يدرس الخواص الميكانيكية للأنابيب الفولاذية الاوستنايتي (نوع 204) الملحومة بطريقة اللحام بغاز التنغستن الخامل. اجريت فحوصات اختبار الصلادة روكويل C، قوة الشد وقوة الانحناء لأنابيب الصلب الملحومة بدرجتين مختلفتين من درجة حرارة اللحام 700 درجة مئوية و900 درجة مئوية مع وبدون استخدام حشوة اللحام. كذلك تم إجراء فحص البنية المجهرية لمناطق اللحام. أظهرت الخصائص أن اللحامات الفولاذية المكتملة عند 900 درجة مئوية مع استخدام حشوة اللحام أعلى مقاومة شد ومقاومة انحناء مقارنة بتلك الملحومة بدرجة 700 بدون حشوة اللحام ويعزى ذلك الى ان حشوة اللحام انصهرت بدرجة حرارة كافية وقد ملئت النقص الحاصل لمعدن النيكل في المادة الاساس اثناء فترة اللحام.
Identification of ubiquitin ligase substrates by in vitro expression cloning

The number of identified E3 ubiquitin ligases has dramatically increased in recent years. However, the substrates targeted for degradation by these particular ligases have not been easily identified. One reason for the inability of matching substrates and ligases is the finding that E3 recognition elements in substrates are often poorly defined. This minimizes the likelihood that bioinformatic approaches will lead to the identification of E3 substrates. For example, the multi-subunit complex the anaphase promoting complex (APC) is an E3 that recognizes destruction boxes (RXXLXXXXD/N/E) or KEN motifs within substrates (Glotzer et al., 1991; Pfleger and Kirschner, 2000). However, many proteins that contain either a potential destruction or a KEN motif are not recognized by the APC in vitro or in vivo, suggesting that there are other, less well-defined characteristics of substrates that contribute to their ability to serve as APC substrates (Ayad, Rankin, and Kirschner, unpublished observations). Aside from bioinformatic approaches of identifying APC substrates, several groups have also attempted to use affinity techniques to discover novel APC substrates. This has not been widely successful, because many APC substrates are not abundant. Also, as is the case with many ligase-substrate interactions, the affinity of substrates for the APC is likely to be very low. All these considerations have motivated a search for other techniques to assist in identifying substrates of this particular E3 ligase. Here, we describe the use of in vitro expression cloning to identify novel APC substrates.
New small molecule immunosuppressants for transplantation: review of essential concepts.

More immunosuppressive drugs than ever have recently graduated from the laboratory to extensive clinical trials of their safety and efficacy in patients undergoing transplantation. Although none of these drugs is perfect, they control different forms of rejection in stringent animal models more effectively than other immunosuppressants; yet these novel molecules suppress the immune system far more specifically than steroids and regimens that cause lymphopenia. Cyclosporin G and IMM 125 (analogues of cyclosporine) and FK506 are the only drugs that selectively inhibit T-cell proliferation by blocking cytokine synthesis. The primary action of rapamycin and leflunomide appears to be an inhibition of the actions of cytokines and growth factors on T, B, and some nonimmune cells. T and B cells are more sensitive than nonimmune cells to the depletion of purines and pyrimidines caused by mizoribine, mycophenolic acid, and brequinar sodium. Nucleotide depletion causes interruption of DNA synthesis and glycosylation of adhesion molecules in immune cells. Further differentiation of T and B cells after proliferation into fully functional immune cells is inhibited by unknown mechanisms by brequinar and deoxyspergualin. On the basis of preclinical studies, these drugs may effectively suppress clinical rejection that is (1) acute (all drugs), (2) chronic (rapamycin, leflunomide, and mycophenolic acid), or (3) antibody-mediated (brequinar, deoxyspergualin, mycophenolic acid, and rapamycin). Some drugs (FK506, deoxyspergualin, mycophenolic acid, rapamycin, and leflunomide) may reverse acute rejection refractory to conventional immunosuppression. These new drugs not only block different biochemical steps that normally lead to fully functional T and B cells after stimulation by alloantigen, but their toxicity profiles also differ. Results from preclinical studies predict that use of selected combinations of these drugs in patients will be more effective, less nephrotoxic, less myelotoxic, and less broadly immunosuppressive than current regimens based on cyclosporine, T-cell depletion, steroids, and azathioprine ... at least, that's the idea! Or as former Vice President Dan Quayle said, "It's a question of whether we're going to go forward into the future, or past to the back."
Rat lens aldehyde reductase.

Abstract Aldehyde reductase (E.C. 1.1.1.2) has been purified to apparent homogeneity from rat lens and its properties have been compared to those of both rat lens aldose reductase and rat kidney aldehyde reductase. The purification was accomplished by ammonium sulfate fractionation, Sephadex G-75 chromatography, affinity chromatography on Amicon Matrex Gel Orange A and chromatofocusing. The purified enzyme is distinct from rat lens aldose reductase but appears similar to rat kidney aldehyde reductase in molecular weight, immunological properties and substrate specificities. Rat lens aldehyde reductase is inhibited by a number of aldose reductase inhibitors; however, its susceptibility to inhibition is more similar to rat kidney aldehyde reductase than to rat lens aldose reductase.
Preparing Teacher Educators in U.S. Doctoral Programs

To a large extent, the quality of future generations of K-12 teachers and their students’ performance is dependent on how well teacher educators, the teachers of teachers, are prepared in doctoral programs. Preparing quality teacher educators in academe encompasses being able to conduct high-quality educational research and be strong teacher leaders. Currently, teacher educators are prepared in either a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) or Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree program in the United States. In this paper, I discuss implications of these two degree programs and the challenges of preparing U.S. teacher educators in attaining both educational research literacy and teaching competence.
A METHOD FOR SELECTING AGGREGATION-DEFECTIVE MUTANTS OF DICTYOSTELIUM DISCOIDEUM

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses a method for selecting aggregation-defective mutants of Dictyostelium discoideum. Development of procedures that specifically select certain classes of mutants should be highly useful in biochemical analysis of individual stages of differentiation. The chapter describes a method for the selection of specific classes of developmental mutants based on their failure to display chemotaxis toward cAMP. Of the mutants obtained when thermal restrictions are imposed on the selection, one third are temperature-sensitive for aggregation. Several of the mutant cells show thermolabile surface binding of cAMP. Although one has no evidence that this is because of a primary defect in the cAMP receptor, the method will provide biochemically interesting and useful mutant strains.