cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Higher Body Mass Index Predicts Need for Insulin but Not Hyperglycemia, Nosocomial Infection, or Death in Critically Ill Surgical Patients

ABSTRACT Background: Strict glycemic control in critically ill patients has been an important advance in surgical critical care, as hyperglycemia is associated with a higher likelihood of death, complications, and nosocomial infections. Insulin resistance is particularly common in obese patients, but the impact of body mass index (BMI) on insulin requirements, ability to achieve euglycemia, and infectious outcomes in critically ill surgical patients has not been studied. We hypothesized that obese patients would not incur a higher likelihood of infection if euglycemia was maintained. Methods: Admissions to the surgical intensive care unit (ICU) from October 1, 2004, to October 31, 2006, were identified. Necessary data were available for 946 patients. The main predictor variable was BMI, which was analyzed as both a continuous and a five-level categorical variable. Data on insulin requirements as well as glycemic control were captured. The main outcome variable was the occurrence of at least one nosocomial...
Significance of electrophoretic mobility distribution to bacterial transport in granular porous media.

Abstract A method is developed to obtain the electrophoretic mobility distribution of colloidal particles by microelectrophoresis. The results demonstrate that for small particles ( Comamonas sp. DA001, the predicted collision efficiency values span orders of magnitude, indicating that variation of surface charge density in a monoclonal bacterial population is a cause for the orders of magnitude variation of experimentally determined collision efficiencies. However, despite the fact that the predicted and experimental α distributions overlap, the match is not adequate. This inadequacy is ascribed to inability to probe heterogeneity of bacterial surface hydrophobicity, and the inability of the DLVO theory to quantitatively model particle deposition.
X-RAY MODULUS AND STRAIN DISTRIBUTION IN SINGLE FIBERS OF POLYETHYLENE

Synchrotron x-ray radiation was used to study structural changes during deformation of a single high-modulus, high-strength fiber of polyethylene (Spectra 1000, Allied Corp.) 20–40 μm in diameter. The high brightness of the synchrotron beam allowed x-ray diffraction patterns to be obtained from 0.5 μg fiber samples in ca. 1 min. The (002) chain axis reflection shifted and broadened when the fiber was loaded in tension. When a model of crystals and disordered material in series was used for the fiber, the measured lattice strain at stresses up to 1 GPa gave a crystal modulus of 250 GPa. At stresses above 1 GPa the (002) reflection no longer shifted with increasing load. A noncrystalline part of the material deforms and takes up the load; this effect has been observed by Raman spectroscopy. The (002) peak also broadens under stress. When fiber bundles were used as samples, broadening could be due to uneven loading of fibers, but with a single fiber sample, one can be sure that the loading at the fiber level is uniform. Broadening of the (002) reflection then indicates inhomogeneities within the fiber. Deconvolution with the line profile of the fiber at zero stress should give the distribution of crystal strains. The strain distributions are symmetric and during loading the full width at half maximum (fwhm) is approximately equal to the mean strain. With an assumed constant crystal modulus this describes the stress distribution as extending from zero to twice the mean stress.
SequenceL: transparency and multi-core parallelisms

In this paper, we review the computational laws upon which SequenceL is based, give evidence of the transparency of SequenceL code, and compare performance results of Parallel Haskell and SequenceL codes running on multi-core processors. For the comparisons with Haskell we employ a recently developed SequenceL compiler that generates multi-threaded C++ and has a runtime system that manages threads for multi-core processors.
Effective Nuclear Charges for the First- through Third-Row Transition Metal Elements in Spin−Orbit Calculations

The effective nuclear charges (Zeff), which are empirical parameters in an approximate spin−orbit Hamiltonian, are determined for the first- through third-row transition metal elements by using experimental results for the fine structure splittings in atomic terms. All calculations use multiconfiguration self-consistent-field (MCSCF) wave functions, whose active space includes nd and (n + 1)sp orbitals (n is the principal quantum number), with the effective core potential (ECP) basis sets proposed by Stevens et al., augmented by one set of polarization f functions. First-order or second-order configuration interaction (FOCI or SOCI) calculations were also performed in order to understand disagreements between the MCSCF results and the experimental ones.
Transformations to Extend the Range of Application of Power Series Solutions of Differential Equations of Motion

Let the solution of a differential equation, expanded in powers of the independent variablet, have radius of convergenceT. let τ, wheret=t(τ), be a new independent variable, and let the corresponding power series in τ have radius of convergenceS. Thent(S) will not in general be equal toT. Ift(S)>T, then the series in powers of τ may have advantages over those in powers oft. Mathematical consequences of this distinction have been appreciated since the time of Poincare. In this note the practical applications of some transformations are investigated.
Low dose irradiation for diffuse choroidal hemangioma.

Sturge-Weber Syndrome is a nonheritable congenital syndrome characterized by a “port-wine stain” on the face and angioma of the meninges. Ocular findings include diffuse choroidal hemangioma, retinal detachment, and various types of glaucoma. Management of diffuse choroidal hemangioma is aimed at preserving the affected eye and preventing glaucoma. In the past this has been challenging. Herein, we describe a case of Sturge-Weber Syndrome with diffuse choroidal hemangioma which was successfully treated with low dose lens-sparing external beam radiotherapy.
Editorial - The use of “High Dose” Dexmedetomidine in a Patient with Critical Tracheal Stenosis andAnterior Mediastinal Mass

Patients who present with an anterior mediastinal mass requiring surgical intervention continue to be a challenge for anesthetic care. The risk for airway and hemodynamic collapse during general anesthesia with inhaled agents complicates the management of these patients. Anesthetics that maintain spontaneous ventilation are optimal in this setting. Dexmedetomidine, a selective alpha2 agonist, which is devoid of significant respiratory depression at clinically approved doses, may have a role. However, there is a paucity of data quantifying level of anesthesia, as well as respiratory and hemodynamic response with high dose dexmedetomidine in adult patients. Previous case reports demonstrate a wide range of doses necessary to provide anesthesia [1-3]. Voscopoulos et al., described a case involving an adult patient with critical tracheal stenosis and a large mediastinal mass undergoing a tracheal stent placement and diagnostic evaluation of the esophagus. They utilized a high dose dexmedetomidine infusion to facilitate the procedure (1 mcg/kg/hr for 10 minutes followed by 2 mcg/kg/hr for 60 minutes).
Composite valve graft replacement of the proximal aorta: Comparison of techniques in 348 patients

Composite valve graft replacement of the ascending aorta is being increasingly used, although it is not clear which technique, the Bentall, Cabrol, or button, is the best method for coronary artery ostial reattachment. We retrospectively analyzed our results with respect to these three techniques in 348 consecutive patients operated on between September 17, 1979, and January 29, 1991. Variables included aortic arch replacement in 88 patients (25%), need for deep hypothermia and circulatory arrest in 119 (34%), aortic dissection in 131 (38%), acute dissection in 34 (9.8%), reoperation in 79 (23%), and insertion of St. Jude prostheses in 270 (78%). The 30-day survival rate was 91% (316/348), the in-hospital survival rate was 90% (312/348), and the 30-day incidence of postoperative new transient (n = 6) and permanent (n = 6) stroke was 3% (12/348). The 30-day survival rates for each method were as follows: Cabrol, 92% (144/157); button, 91% (39/43); and Bentall, 91% (125/137). On stepwise multivariate logistic regression analysis with control for operative date and independent prognostic factors, operative technique was not an independent determinant of early mortality or stroke. On late follow-up, the Kaplan-Meier 5-year survival rate was 71% with no significant difference between the groups (3-year survival: Cabrol, 76%; Bentall, 79%; and button, 81%; p = 0.28). The 3-year freedom from reoperation was 95% (Cabrol, 97%; Bentall, 91%; and button, 100%; p = 0.17). We conclude that for patients undergoing reoperation or complicated repairs or when tension on the ostial anastomoses may occur, the Cabrol technique is preferable. If feasible, however, the button technique has better long-term results for both survival and rate of reoperation. An alternative technique is to use an interposition graft to reattach the left coronary artery and excise an aortic button for the right coronary artery reattachment. This has the advantages of technical ease in reattaching the left coronary artery, good results for reattachment of the right coronary artery, minimal tension on the anastomoses, and visualization of all anastomoses.
Communication to the Editor---Is the “Diet Problem” Identical to the “Menu Planning Problem”?

Although the “diet problem” for animals and humans is similar in basic formulation, psychological parameters relating to monotony and production factors complicate the model for the human diet. The “diet problem” differs from the “menu planning problem” in 1 simplicity of the problem, 2 complete definition of the relevant parameters, and 3 availability of accurate, complete, and reliable data. For these reasons the designation “diet probem” should be restricted to linear programming methods applied in animal feed blending; textbook examples should use feedstuffs for illustration. The term “menu planning problem” should refer to methods for planning menus for the human diet, including the related psychological parameters and production factors, but should not include projects in data collection or the peripheral problems of menu control.
The relationship between the magnetic properties of terrestrial igneous rocks and the composition and internal structure of their component Fe-oxide grains

Summary. Hysteresis loops and the demagnetization of saturation remanence (SIRM), before and after heating, are used to determine the high field magnetic behaviour and the coercivity spectra for common igneous rock types containing discrete types of magnetic carriers. These incude homogeneous to highly exsolved titanomagnetite grains, oxidized titanomagnetite grains (martite), exsolved hemo-ilmenite grains, and oxidized ilmenite grains. Specific internal structures and changes in composition due to oxidation are found to have characteristic effects on both high and low field magnetic properties.
Synthesis of 1,5,9-cyclododecatriene-x-14C6

A small-scale synthesis of 1,5,9-cyclododecatriene-x-14C6 is described. 1,3-Butadiene-1,4-14C2, specific activity of 1.15 mCi/mmole, was prepared via the thermal decomposition of tetramethylene-1,4-14C2-bis-(trimethylammonium hydroxide) and immediately converted to a mixture of stereoisomers of 1,5,9-cyclododecatriene-x-14C6 using a Ziegler catalyst prepared in situ. The overall radiochemical yield was 15% (based on K14CN).
Evaluation of expurgated bound exponents

In this paper, we investigate the problem of optimizing the expurgated upper bound to the probability of error associated with transmission over discrete memoryless channels. We find a general sufficient condition under which, for a given value of the parameter \varrho \varepsilon [1, \infty) , the channel input distribution that leads to the optimal exponent corresponds to a constant memoryless source. We then derive a necessary and sufficient condition that the above property holds for all 1 \leq \varrho (even then, different values of o would, in general, induce different optimal input distributions). Finally, we define a class of equidistant channels that includes all binary input channels, and show that for this class and all \varrho \varepsilon [1, \infty) the optimal expurgated exponent is attained by the uniform distribution over the inputs.
Allergen immunotherapy in asthma: evidence for efficacy.

A recent article in this JOURNAL reviewed the efficacy of immunotherapy in allergic rhinitis.’ There are fewer studies of immunotherapy in allergic asthma. The use of immunotherapy in asthma remains controversial, and the reasons for this are probably related to difficulties in defining allergic asthma. In this article, an attempt will be made to define allergic asthma and then to discuss the design of an adequate trial of immunotherapy. Finally, the available evidence for efficacy and how this relates to specific indications will be summarized.
HLA desensitization in pediatric heart transplant candidates: efficacy of rituximab and IVIg.

Purpose: Pre-transplant (HTx) HLA-sensitization is associated with increased risk of post-HTx humoral rejection via donor-specific HLA antibodies (DSA). No universally accepted desensitizing protocol exists. This study details our 8-year experience using IVIg and Rituximab. Methods and Materials: The degree of HLA-sensitization was determined using ELISA or single-antigen bead Luminex assay with results expressed as median fluorescence intensity (MFI). Significantly sensitized patients were treated with one dose IVIg and serial Rituximab infusions. Serial HLA antibody measurement via calculated panel reactive antibody tests (CPRA) assessed treatment response. Paired t-tests compared the first and last CPRAs before HTx, death, or last follow-up. Results: Median follow-up was 5 2.8 months after the last Rituximab dose. 8/14 patients had a sustained (median 4 CPRAs/patient) decrease in circulating antibody assessed by ELISA or Luminex with reduction in class I and II CPRA from 50 25 to 17 36; p 0.009, and 61 26 to 17 38; p 0.045, respectively. Between responders and non-responders, there was no difference in median number of Rituximab doses (3 1.4 each) or patient age. However, 6/8 responders received 2 Rituximab doses before a significant PRA reduction was noted. Of the 14 patients, 1 died, 5 were delisted, and the remaining 8 (5 responders) underwent HTx using virtual crossmatching. One recipient made low-level DSA which cleared by 6 months post-HTx. Primary graft failure caused 2 post-HTx deaths; no patient had humoral rejection. Conclusions: Though not universal, a majority of allosensitized patients in this study experienced a significant reduction in HLA antibody after receipt of IVIg and Rituximab. For responders, this therapy increases the prospective donor pool through reduction in unacceptable antigens when using a virtual crossmatch process and may decrease waitlist mortality as well as post-HTx humoral rejection risk. IVIg and Rituximab appears to be a useful desensitization therapy and larger patient-base study is warranted.
Cast Metal Resin-Bonded Retainers for Posterior Teeth

The design, fabrication, and bonding of the cast resin-bonded retainer for posterior teeth are described, and the advantages of this development in restorative dentistry are discussed.
Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence, Peer Relations, and Risk for Internalizing Behaviors: A Prospective Longitudinal Study

The present study examines the quality of peer relations as a mediator between exposure to IPV (intimate partner violence) and internalizing behaviors in a sample of 129 preadolescents and adolescents (ages 10-18), who were interviewed via telephone as part of a multigenerational, prospective, longitudinal study. Relational victimization is also examined as a moderator of IPV exposure on internalizing behaviors. Results demonstrate a significant association of exposure to severe IPV and internalizing behaviors. Relational victimization is found to moderate the effects of exposure to severe IPV on internalizing behaviors. The present findings suggest that the effects of exposure to IPV had a particularly important effect on the risk for internalizing problems if the adolescent also experienced relational victimization. Conversely, the receipt of prosocial behaviors buffer against the effects of IPV exposure on internalizing symptoms in teen girls.
Teaching of neuroanatomy by means of self‐instructional laboratory stations

Neuroanatomical laboratory material was presented to first-year medical students in a series of six self-instructional stations. Each station was designed to emphasize one major objective and to be completed without reference to any other station. Upon completion of a station the students filled out a response questionnaire. Five weeks later, short examinations testing both station content and application of the neuroanatomical principles were administered to volunteers from the class. Student response to this teaching format was highly favourable for all areas questioned. Results of the tests indicated a mastery of station material as defined by the objectives and an ability to use the material in applied problems. The laboratory station concept is economical of both student and instructor time and allows flexibility in the design of neuroanatomical laboratory experiences.
Surface envelope glycoprotein is B-lymphocyte immunodominant in sheep naturally infected with ovine progressive pneumonia virus.

The B-lymphocyte-immunodominant antigen involved in naturally ovine progressive pneumonia virus (OPPV)-infected mature sheep remains unknown. Therefore, the amount of antibody in sera from 10 naturally OPPV-infected sheep was evaluated by immunoprecipitation (IP) of the major viral proteins in [35S]methionine/cysteine-labeled OPPV (whole virus) lysate. Using an excess of OPPV proteins in whole-virus lysate, 8 out of 10 sheep had the highest serum antibody IP endpoint titers to the gp135 surface envelope glycoprotein (SU). Also, 2 out of 10 sheep had equivalent serum antibody IP endpoint titers to the transmembrane glycoprotein oligomer (TM90) and SU. Since these data indicate that SU is the immunodominant protein in most mature sheep persistently infected with OPPV, SU-specific diagnostic serological assays can be utilized for OPPV diagnosis.
Who Matters in Coordination Problems

We consider a common investment project that is vulnerable to a self-fullling coordination failure and hence is strategically risky. Based on their private information, agents { who have heterogeneous investment incentives { form expectations or \sentiments" about the project’s outcome. We nd that the sum of these sentiments is constant across dierent strategy proles and it is independent of the distribution of incentives. As a result, we can think of sentiment as a scarce resource divided up among the dierent payo types. Applying this nding, we show that agents who benet little from the project’s success have a large impact on the coordination process. The agents with small benets invest only if their sentiment towards the project is large per unit investment cost. As the average sentiment is constant, a subsidy decreasing the investment costs of these agents will \free up" a large amount of sentiment, provoking a large impact on the whole economy. Intuitively, these agents, insensitive to the project’s outcome and hence to the actions of others, are inuential because they modify their
A laboratory study of asymmetric magnetic reconnection in strongly driven plasmas

Magnetic reconnection occurs close to the surface of the sun, in the Earth’s magnetosphere and in astronomical plasmas. Here, the authors investigate magnetic reconnection in a laboratory-based experiments with an asymmetric configuration similar to those found in real astrophysical situations.
Correlations between neutral and charged pions produced in 300-GeV/ c pp collisions

Neutral-pion production in $\mathrm{pp}$ interactions has been studied using 8000 photon conversions in the Fermilab 15-ft bubble chamber. Inclusive ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{0}$ multiplicity moments and $\ensuremath{\pi}\ensuremath{\pi}$ correlation integrals are presented; ${f}_{2}^{00}$ is determined to be + 3.0\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.8. For the semi-inclusive ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{0}$ multiplicity distributions we find ${〈n({\ensuremath{\pi}}^{0})〉}_{n\ensuremath{-}}$ to increase with ${n}_{\ensuremath{-}}$, while the dispersions are ${n}_{\ensuremath{-}}$ independent. Results on ${f}_{2}^{\ensuremath{-}0}$, ${f}_{2}^{00}$, and ${f}_{2,n\ensuremath{-}}^{00}$ are compared to predictions of simple cluster models.
Electrostatic interactions in ionic homopolypeptides in solutions of moderate ionic strength

At sufficiently high ionic strength, long-range electrostatic interactions in a polyelectrolyte such as poly(L-glutamic acid) might be adequately approximated in matrix calculations by use of statistical weights representing second-order interactions. The validity of this assumption has been investigated making use of experimental observations (CD spectra and titration curves) for poly(L-glutamic acid) as a function of temperature in 0.1–0.5M sodium chloride. Theoretical analysis, using a statistical weight matrix proposed by Warashina and Ikegami, is based on the Zimm-Rice theory. Implementation differs from that of Warashina and Ikegami in one respect. Refinement of the initial estimates is achieved using a form of the configuration partition function which does not assume diagonalization of the statistical weight matrix. This difference is of no consequence for the values of σ and s, but it does produce somewhat different values for the statistical weights used to represent the electrostatic interactions. The method used to treat electrostatic interactions in poly(L-glutamic acid) in 0.1M sodium chloride can be viewed as successful in that it properly reproduces the helix–coil transition and titration curves in this solvent and the molecular-weight dependence of the titration curves yields values for s in harmony with those obtained using a treatment which is independent of model, and gives a reasonable ionic-strength dependence for the electrostatic parameters. Furthermore, the model can account for measured helix–coil transitions and titration curves in homopolypeptides in which the side chain is —(CH2)xNHCO(CH2)yCOOH. The model, however, is not exact. It does not properly account for the molecular-weight dependence of the helical content for polymers of low degree of polymerization.
Mothers' Evaluations of Their Learning-Disabled Children

Mothers of learning-disabled and nondisabled children were interviewed to determine their perceptions of their child's strengths and weaknesses, causal attributions for these strengths and weaknesses, predictions for future performance, and evaluations of their child relative to other children. In comparison with mothers of nondisabled children, mothers of learning-disabled children described their children more negatively on each of the areas. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for the success of intervention programs.
Eliciting Self‐Explanations Improves Understanding

Learning involves the integration of new information into existing knowledge. Generoting explanations to oneself (self-explaining) facilitates that integration process. Previously, self-explanation has been shown to improve the acquisition of problem-solving skills when studying worked-out examples. This study extends that finding, showing that self-explanation can also be facilitative when it is explicitly promoted, in the context of learning declarative knowledge from an expository text. Without any extensive training, 14 eighth-grade students were merely asked to self-explain after reading each line of a possage on the human circulatory system. Ten students in the control group read the same text twice, but were not prompted to self-explain. All of the students were tested for their circulatory system knowledge before and after reading the text. The prompted group had a greater gain from the pretest to the posttest. Moreover, prompted students who generated o large number of self-explanations (the high explainers) learned with greater understanding than low explainers. Understanding was assessed by answering very complex questions and inducing the function of a component when it was only implicitly stated. Understanding was further captured by a mental model onolysis of the self-explanation protocols. High explainers all achieved the correct mental model of the circulatory system, whereas many of the unprompted students as well as the low explainers did not. Three processing characteristics of self-explaining are considered as reasons for the gains in deeper understanding.
Whispers in the dark: analysis of an anonymous social network

Social interactions and interpersonal communication has undergone significant changes in recent years. Increasing awareness of privacy issues and events such as the Snowden disclosures have led to the rapid growth of a new generation of anonymous social networks and messaging applications. By removing traditional concepts of strong identities and social links, these services encourage communication between strangers, and allow users to express themselves without fear of bullying or retaliation. Despite millions of users and billions of monthly page views, there is little empirical analysis of how services like Whisper have changed the shape and content of social interactions. In this paper, we present results of the first large-scale empirical study of an anonymous social network, using a complete 3-month trace of the Whisper network covering 24 million whispers written by more than 1 million unique users. We seek to understand how anonymity and the lack of social links affect user behavior. We analyze Whisper from a number of perspectives, including the structure of user interactions in the absence of persistent social links, user engagement and network stickiness over time, and content moderation in a network with minimal user accountability. Finally, we identify and test an attack that exposes Whisper users to detailed location tracking. We have notified Whisper and they have taken steps to address the problem.
Debugging overconstrained declarative models using unsatisfiable cores

Declarative models, in which conjunction and negation are freely used, are susceptible to unintentional overconstraint. Core extraction is a new analysis that mitigates this problem in the context of a checker based on reduction to SAT (systems analysis tools). It exploits a recently developed facility of SAT solvers that provides an "unsatisfiable core" of an unsatisfiable set of clauses, often much smaller than the clause set as a whole. The unsatisfiable core is mapped back into the syntax of the original model, showing the user fragments of the model found to be irrelevant. This information can be a great help in discovering and localizing overconstraint, and in some cases pinpoints it immediately. The construction of the mapping is given for a generalized modeling language, along with a justification of the soundness of the claim that the marked portions of the model are irrelevant. Experiences in applying core extraction to a variety of existing models are discussed.
Histologic follow-up in patients with Papanicolaou test findings of endometrial cells: results from a large academic women's hospital laboratory.

We studied 1,183 Papanicolaou (Pap) cytology cases (739 with normal endometrial cells [nEMCs], 423 with atypical EMCs [aEMCs], and 21 with endometrial cancer cells [EMCCs] in women 40 years or older) with histologic follow-up. Significant endometrial lesions were found in 2.7%, 18.4%, and 100% of cases with nEMCs, aEMCs, and EMCCs, respectively. Significant lesions were present in women 50 years or older with nEMCs found after day 12 of the menstrual cycle or who were postmenopausal (5.2%), but not in women with nEMCs before day 12 (0.5%) or women younger than 50 years with nEMCs after day 12 (1.6%). Our data indicate that endometrial sampling provides no clinical benefit in women (regardless of age) with nEMCs before day 12 of the menstrual cycle or women younger than 50 years with nEMCs after day 12. Endometrial sampling should be routinely performed in women with aEMCs and in women 50 years or older with nEMCs after day 12 of the menstrual cycle or who are postmenopausal. Upon completion of this activity you will be able to: The ASCP is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The ASCP designates this journal-based CME activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit ™ per article. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. This activity qualifies as an American Board of Pathology Maintenance of Certification Part II Self-Assessment Module. The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose. Questions appear on p 159. Exam is located at [www.ascp.org/ajcpcme][1]. [1]: http://www.ascp.org/ajcpcme
Structure-Function Analysis of CCL28 in the Development of Post-viral Asthma

CCL28 is a human chemokine constitutively expressed by epithelial cells in diverse mucosal tissues and is known to attract a variety of immune cell types including T-cell subsets and eosinophils. Elevated levels of CCL28 have been found in the airways of individuals with asthma, and previous studies have indicated that CCL28 plays a vital role in the acute development of post-viral asthma. Our study builds on this, demonstrating that CCL28 is also important in the chronic post-viral asthma phenotype. In the absence of a viral infection, we also demonstrate that CCL28 is both necessary and sufficient for induction of asthma pathology. Additionally, we present the first effort aimed at elucidating the structural features of CCL28. Chemokines are defined by a conserved tertiary structure composed of a three-stranded β-sheet and a C-terminal α-helix constrained by two disulfide bonds. In addition to the four disulfide bond-forming cysteine residues that define the traditional chemokine fold, CCL28 possesses two additional cysteine residues that form a third disulfide bond. If all disulfide bonds are disrupted, recombinant human CCL28 is no longer able to drive mouse CD4+ T-cell chemotaxis or in vivo airway hyper-reactivity, indicating that the conserved chemokine fold is necessary for its biologic activity. Due to the intimate relationship between CCL28 and asthma pathology, it is clear that CCL28 presents a novel target for the development of alternative asthma therapeutics.
Computer applications for the All American Pipeline Project

Most large-scale excavation projects are computerized, more-or-less, now in their methods of data recording. Here is described one which is computerized with more conviction and on a larger scale than most, with reflections on what that can and should amount to.
Political Activities, Time, and Social Network Websites

This paper explores the relationship between political activity and the use of social network websites (SNSs). Using data from a survey of attendees fielded at the 2010 United States Social Forum (USSF), a national meeting of social movement participants, this study focuses on individuals who use SNSs, such as Facebook or LinkedIn, for political and activist purposes. Specifically, the research examines the amount of time attendees spend on political activities per week and the number of political activities in which attendees engaged in the last 12 months, while controlling for individual factors. Results show the number of political activities in which attendees take part and the amount of time attendees spend on political activity significantly impact attendees’ use of SNSs. However, findings suggest that the average number of hours spent on political activities per week does not significantly impact attendees’ use of SNSs when included in a model with the number of activities in which attendees engage. Results suggest attendees who perform more varied political activities are more likely to use SNSs, but those individuals may not spend large amounts of time engaging in political activities. Findings extend the growing research focused on SNSs and social movements and suggest SNSs offer another space for activists to continue their involvement in social movements.
Agro-Pastoral Strategies and Food Production on the Achaemenid Frontier in Central Asia: A Case Study of Kyzyltepa in Southern Uzbekistan

This article discusses aspects of the agro-pastoral economy of Kyzyltepa, a late Iron Age or Achaemenid period (sixth-fourth century BC) site in the Surkhandarya region of southern Uzbekistan. The ...
“My Goose Child Martina”:The Multiple Uses of Geese in the Writings of Konrad Lorenz

In 1935, the graylag goose Martina (1935-?) hatched from an egg in the home of the zoologist Konrad Lorenz (1903-1989). Martina imprinted on Lorenz, slept in his bedroom, mated with the gander Martin, and flew off in 1937. Over the following decades, Konrad Lorenz helped to establish the discipline of ethology, received a share of the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and continued to write about his famous goose Martina. This essay examines the different instantiations of the geese in general, and Martina in particular, in Lorenz's writings aimed at readerships that included prewar zoologists, National Socialist psychologists, and popular audiences from the 1930s to 1980s. By developing an animal with her own biography, Lorenz created an individual whose lived and rhetorical agency made her especially well suited to perform widely divergent aspects of his evolving science. While a significant literature in the history of science has explored the standardization and stabilization of animals in science, I show how Lorenz's creation of a highly protean and increasingly public Martina was co-constitutive of the establishment of the science and public persona.
Abstract A65: Activation of ERK1/2 using combination of aspirin, curcumin and sulforaphane regimen leads to NF-κB inhibition and apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells

Pancreatic cancer ranks as the fourth most deadly form of cancer in the United States with approximately 37,000 deaths each year. Due to poor prognosis, attention has recently focused on the chemoprevention of this disease rather than on diagnosis and treatment. The present study aims to evaluate the combinatorial chemopreventive effects of low doses of aspirin (ASP), curcumin (CUR), sulforaphane (SFN) alone and in combination ACS (ASP+CUR+SFN) on two pancreatic cancer cell lines, MIA PaCa-2 and Panc-1. Results demonstrated that low doses of ASP (1mM), CUR (10μM) and SFN (5μM) alone did not reduce cell viability, whereas combination ACS reduced cell viability by ∼70% (P<0.001). ACS treatment also induced cell apoptosis by ∼60% accompanied by activation of caspase- 3 and Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) proteins. The NF-κB DNA binding activity was inhibited by ∼45% (P<0.01) and ∼75% (P<0.001) in MIA PaCa-2 and Panc-1 cells respectively. The reduction in NF-κB activity was accompanied by down-regulation of phospho IκBα and phospho Akt proteins. Mechanistic studies revealed that ACS promoted reduction in cell viability, associated with increased expression of phospho extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), phospho c-Jun, phospho p38 MAPK and phospho p53 proteins. Furthermore, to evaluate the significance of activation of ERK1/2 pathway on ACS induced reduction in cell viability and NF-κB, the cells were pretreated with U0126 (ERK1/2 inhibitor). The inhibition of ERK1/2 by U0126 pretreatment abolished the effect of ACS on cell viability and NF-κB DNA binding activity. Overall, our results for the first time, illustrate that low dose ACS combinations impart synergistic suppressive activity than chemopreventive agents alone thus confirming the importance of novel combination chemoprevention strategies against pancreatic cancer. Citation Format: Arvind Thakkar, Dhruvitkumar Sutaria, Karthik Grandhi, Ying Huang, Jeffrey Wang, Sunil Prabhu. Activation of ERK1/2 using combination of aspirin, curcumin, and sulforaphane regimen leads to NF-κB inhibition and apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research; 2012 Oct 16-19; Anaheim, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Prev Res 2012;5(11 Suppl):Abstract nr A65.
System-wide mapping of activated circuitry in experimental systemic inflammatory response syndrome

Sepsis-induced multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients and remains impervious to most therapeutic interventions. We utilized a clinically relevant murine model of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) during early MODS induced by ventilator-associated pneumonia to systematically delineate pathways dysregulated in lung, liver, and kidney. We focused on processes commonly activated across at-risk organs and constructed an SIRS-associated network based on connectivity among the gene members of these functionally coherent pathways. Our analyses led to the identification of several putative drivers of early MODS whose expression was regulated by epidermal growth factor receptor. Our unbiased, integrative method is a promising approach to unravel mechanisms in system-wide disorders afflicting multiple compartments such as sepsis-induced MODS, and identify putative therapeutic targets.
How sharp is the sharp Archean Moho? Example from eastern Superior Province

The Superior Province of North America has not experienced major internal deformation for nearly 2.8 Gyr, preserving the Archean crust in its likely original state. We present seismological evidence for a sharp (less than 1 km) crust-mantle boundary beneath three distinct Archean terranes and for a more vertically extensive boundary at sites likely affected by the 1.2–0.9 Ga Grenville orogeny. At all sites crustal thickness is smaller than expected for the primary crust produced by melting under higher mantle potential temperature conditions of Archean time. Reduced thickness and an abrupt contrast in seismic properties at the base of the undisturbed Archean crust are consistent with density sorting and loss of the residues through gravitational instability facilitated by higher temperatures in the upper mantle at the time of formation. Similar sharpness of crust-mantle boundary in disparate Archean terranes suggests that it is a universal feature of the Archean crustal evolution.
Toward Monitoring Parkinson's Through Analysis of Static Handwriting Samples: A Quantitative Analytical Framework

Detection of changes in micrographia as a manifestation of symptomatic progression or therapeutic response in Parkinson's disease (PD) is challenging as such changes can be subtle. A computerized toolkit based on quantitative analysis of handwriting samples would be valuable as it could supplement and support clinical assessments, help monitor micrographia, and link it to PD. Such a toolkit would be especially useful if it could detect subtle yet relevant changes in handwriting morphology, thus enhancing resolution of the detection procedure. This would be made possible by developing a set of metrics sensitive enough to detect and discern micrographia with specificity. Several metrics that are sensitive to the characteristics of micrographia were developed, with minimal sensitivity to confounding handwriting artifacts. These metrics capture character size-reduction, ink utilization, and pixel density within a writing sample from left to right. They are used here to “score” handwritten signatures of 12 different individuals corresponding to healthy and symptomatic PD conditions, and sample control signatures that had been artificially reduced in size for comparison purposes. Moreover, metric analyses of samples from ten of the 12 individuals for which clinical diagnosis time is known show considerable informative variations when applied to static signature samples obtained before and after diagnosis. In particular, a measure called pixel density variation showed statistically significant differences ( $p ) between two comparison groups of remote signature recordings: earlier versus recent, based on independent and paired t -test analyses on a total of 40 signature samples. The quantitative framework developed here has the potential to be used in future controlled experiments to study micrographia and links to PD from various aspects, including monitoring and assessment of applied interventions and treatments. The inherent value in this methodology is further enhanced by its reliance solely on static signatures, not requiring dynamic sampling with specialized equipment.
Analysis on Clinical Infection and Drug Resistance of 92 Enterococcus Strains

Objective:To investigate the infection and drug resistance of clinical Enterococcus strains isolated,and provide reference for the clinical therapy.Methods:Retrospectively survey and statistical analysis were carried out in the clinical distribution and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of Enterococcus strains isolated from July 2007 to July 2010.Results:There were 73.9% of Enterococcus faecalis,13.1% of Enterococcus faecium and 13.0% of other Enterococcus in 92 Enterococcus strains.The separated 92 Enterococcus strains were mainly from urine samples,ac-counting for 33.7%,and mainly distributed in cadre department and ICU department.The results of antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed that the highest resistance rate were ciprofloxacin 38.0% and erythromycin 37.0%;penicillin G,ampicillin and levofloxacin were also midrange re-sistance;the lower resistance rate were teicoplanin 6.5% and nitrofurantoin 6.5%.None of Enter-ococcus strains was resistant to vancomycin and linezolid.Conclusions:Enterococcus faecalis ma-inly caused urinary infection,and were resistant to some antibiotics.Medical staff should use anti-biotics reasonably and all-round supervision of drug resistance should be strengthened.
Abstract B11: Deep phenotyping of dissociated cells from PDX model solid tumors and human breast tumors using flow cytometry

The model of solid tumors as monolithic entities under the control of a handful of driver genes which seemed to dominate the general perception of cancer for many years is increasingly being replaced by that of highly diverse ecosystems of cells. Multiple tumor subpopulations, as well as attending non-cancerous cells such as fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and cells from the immune compartment populate this ecosystem, communicate with each other and all influence clinically relevant decision points throughout tumorigenesis. Progress in analyzing and characterizing this highly heterogeneous, complex “society of cells” has been remarkably enhanced using the strengths of flow cytometry. A rather comprehensive characterization of individual cells within a population, known as deep phenotyping, is becoming possible with recent advances in multi-parametric staining, collection, and analysis of solid tissue derived cells. This technology is enabling researchers to identify multiple targets within a single sample more efficiently than with more traditional methods. We have developed a process whereby single cells are liberated from solid tumors through a combination of mechanical and enzymatic treatments and then interrogated by flow cytometry using deep phenotyping. Our chosen marker panels include targets (CD24, CD44, CD49f, EpCAM, CD166, CD133, CD184, HER2/Neu) which have been used to investigate properties relevant for cancer stem cells (CSC), Endothelial Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) and Tumor Microenvironmental (TME) processes but options are built into the design to accommodate less well characterized targets such as GD2, CD73, Notch receptors, EphB2, and c-Met. We have identified discrete subpopulations in breast cancer patient-derived xenograft (PDX) tumors in mice, demonstrating consistent and reproducible results which constitute a distinct immunophenotypic fingerprint for every model. Building on the experience with PDX derived biopsies and adding markers targeting the immune system we applied our work flow to clinical breast cancer tissue. Our results demonstrate that the multi-dimensional analyses enabled by a surface marker panel reveals differences in highly characterized subpopulations, some at less than 1% of the total population, that remain hidden by more conventional assessment methods. Citation Format: Friedrich Hahn, Eileen Snowden, Warren Porter, Mitchell Ferguson, Shannon Dillmore, Aaron Middlebrook, Shahryar Niknam, Peter Llontop, Smita Ghanekar, Rainer Blaesius. Deep phenotyping of dissociated cells from PDX model solid tumors and human breast tumors using flow cytometry. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2015 Nov 5-9; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2015;14(12 Suppl 2):Abstract nr B11.
Non-Respiratory Functions of the Lung: Pharmacological Effects

ABSTRACT Prostaglandin metabolism was used as a marker of one of the non-respiratory functions of the lung, and the metabolism of prostaglandin E2 was found to be inhibited by exposure to NO2 concentrations as low 0.2 ppm in a dose related manner up to 19 ppm. Recovery of inhibition following a single exposure to NO2 for 3 hours was also dose-related and required over 160 hours for recovery after exposure to 19 ppm. The lung is also capable of metabolizing a wide variety of xenobiotic compounds including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Experiments in isolated ventilated and perfused lungs indicate that this metabolism is dependent upon the availability of reducing equivalents. Nitrogen dioxide may significantly alter the availability of these reducing equivalents through action on lung enzymes supplying NADH and NADPH. Thus, nitrogen dioxide exposure at ambient concentrations may have two effects: The first being the death of specific cells within the lung as evidenced by inhibition of non-respiratory functions of the lung and the second being alterations in the metabolism of a variety of xenobiotic compounds. Other, as yet uninvestigated, non-respiratory functions may likewise be effected. These functions of the lung are not only useful markers of injury but also potential mechanisms of pulmonary pathogenesis.