cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Isotopic constraints on crustal growth and recycling

The Sm-Nd isotopic data on clastic and chemical sediments are used with the present-day age distribution of continental crustal rocks to estimate the rates of crustal accretion, growth and recycling throughout earth's history. A new method for interpreting Nd model ages on both chemical and clastic sediments is proposed. A general relationship is derived between the mean crustal residence time of material recycled from the crust to the mantle (i.e., sediments), the mean age of the crust, and the crustal growth and recycling rates. This relationship takes into account the fact that the age distribution of material in the continental crust is generally different from the age distribution of material recycled into the mantle. The episodic nature of the present-day age distribution in crustal rocks results in similar episodicity in the accretion and recycling rates. The results suggest that by about 3.8 Ga ago, about 40 percent of the present continental volume was present. Recycling rates were extremely high 3-4 Ga ago and declined rapidly to an insignificant value of about 0.1 cu km/a during most of the Phanerozoic. The Nd model age pattern on sediments suggests a fairly high rate of growth during the Phanerozoic.
Senior wellness: practices of community senior centers

In the U.S., approximately 15,000 community senior centers provide a broad spectrum of programs for seniors to increase their overall health and wellness in their community. Although previous studies reported on the various benefits of participation in such programs, little research has been conducted to understand how technology can support this practice. We initiated a research study to understand the current practices of senior centers and their potential technology needs. In this article, we describe findings from our literature review as well as a field study with nine senior centers located in urban and suburban areas of Chicago, IL, and Tampa, FL. Based on the preliminary results, we share design implications for future technology development.
Effect of Compressive Straining on Nanoindentation Elastic Modulus of Trabecular Bone

Trabecular bone with its porous structure is an important compressive load bearing member. Different structural factors such as porosity, non-homogeneous deformation, varying trabeculae thickness, connectivity, and nanoscale (10 nm to 1 μm) to macroscale (~0.1 mm to 10 mm) composition hierarchy determine the failure properties of trabecular bone. While the above factors have important bearing on bone properties, an understanding of how the local nanoscale properties change at different macroscale compressive strain levels can be important to develop an understanding of how bone fails. In the present work, such analyses are performed on bovine femoral trabecular bone samples derived from a single animal. Analyses focus on measuring nanoindentation elastic moduli at three distinct levels of compressive strains in the bone samples: (1) when the samples are not loaded; (2) after the samples have been loaded to a strain level just before apparent yielding and the macroscale compression test is stopped; and (3) after the samples have been compressed to a strain level after apparent yielding and the macroscale compression test is stopped. Nanoindentation elastic modulus values are two orders of magnitude higher than the macroscale compressive elastic modulus values of all samples. A high variability in macroscale compressive elastic modulus values is observed because of porous architecture and small sample size. Nanoindentation elastic modulus values show a progressive reduction with increase in the extent of macroscale compressive deformation. Apparent yielding has a significant effect on this trend. The decrease in nanoindentation modulus value for all samples accelerates from approximately 20% before yielding to approximately 60% after yielding in comparison to the nanoindentation modulus values at 0% strain level. The level of variation in the predicted nanoindentation modulus values is the lowest for uncompressed samples (~16–18%). However, with increase in the extent of compression, the level of variation increases. It varied between 50% and 90% for the samples tested after yielding showing a widespread heterogeneity in local nanoscale structural order after apparent yielding. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations suggest that apparent yielding significantly destroys local nanoscale structural order. However, quantitative results suggest that a significant residual nanoscale stiffness varying from 5 GPa to 8 GPa among different samples still remains for possible repair facilitation.
Hemorrhagic complications in association with silastic dural substitute: pediatric and adult case reports with a review of the literature.

OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE : Delayed intracranial hemorrhage is an unusual complication associated with the use of silastic dural substitute. CLINICAL PRESENTATION : We present three patients with this complication. Two adult patients developed subdural and epidural hemorrhages 9 months and 10 years after posterior fossa surgery for Chiari malformations. The remaining patient, a 13-month-old child, is the youngest reported patient to develop an epidural hematoma 8 months after a craniosynostosis repair. INTERVENTION : The hematomas were removed with the silastic dural substitute from all three patients, and the dural defect was repaired with autologous paracervical fascia. CONCLUSION : Silastic dural grafts have an increased incidence of hemorrhage associated with their use. A slight increase in the prevalence of hemorrhagic complications with silastic dural substitute was observed in women. We report our radiographic and surgical findings, including an extensive review of the literature.
DISCREPANCIES IN INTERPERSONAL PERCEPTION, ADJUSTMENT AND THERAPEUTIC SKILL.

From interpersonal theories of Sullivan, Leary, and Rogers, it was predicted that discrepancy between self-description and others' description of S, disagreement among others in describing S, and maladjustment would be positively interrelated and negatively related to skill in psychotherapeutically oriented psychiatric nursing. These predictions were tested in two groups of student nurses from successive years. Adjustment was rated from the MMPI. The discrepancy and disagreement measures were derived from Interpersonal Check List self and peer ratings. Psychotherapeutic skillfulness was rated by two psychiatric supervisors on a specially devised scale. Results from Group I (N = 64) provided some support for the major predictions but were not cross-validated in Group II (N = 74). Reasons for lack of replication were discussed.
On the role of telecommunications in development

Abstract Numerous studies document the relationship between telecommunications and economic development. The main types and relative merits of these are summarized. The paper argues that more of the same will do little to help promote accelerated telecommunications investment in developing countries as needed. Rather, the efforts should now mainly concentrate on conveying existing sector knowledge to governments and international agencies. The paper focuses on examples of simple, proven tools which can be used to supplement telecommunications project analysis for this purpose.
Adenylyl Cyclase Responsiveness to Guanyl Nucleotides in the Developing Rat Heart

Summary: Guanyl nucleotides are effective activators of rat heart adenylyl cyclase activity from the earliest age studied, 16 fetal days, through adulthood. Both guanosine triphosphate and guanylyl-imidodiphosphate (GMP-PNP) significantly enhance epinephrine-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity at all fetal and postnatal ages. The dose-response curves for epinephrine alone, GMP-PNP alone, or for the combination of epinephrine and GMP-PNP are similar for the newborn and adult heart preparations. Our results indicate that the epinephrine-guanyl nucleotide-adenylyl cyclase system is "mature" as a functional unit in the rat heart even prior to birth. The rat heart adenylyl cyclase system shows a dramatic increase in responsiveness to epinephrine and to guanyl nucleotides just before birth, a responsiveness which rapidly falls by 3 days of neonatal life. With increasing age, the absolute guanosine triphosphate or GMP-PNP activated rate rises in parallel with the basal rate of adenylyl cyclase activity in the rat heart. Speculation: The activation of adenylyl cyclase systems by guanyl nucleotides may be a general feature of fetal as well as of adult tissues. This activation by guanyl nucleotides may magnify tissue hormonal responses at some stages of development.
Quantum dot sensitized solar cells. A tale of two semiconductor nanocrystals: CdSe and CdTe.

CdSe and CdTe nanocrystals are linked to nanostructured TiO2 films using 3-mercaptopropionic acid as a linker molecule for establishing the mechanistic aspects of interfacial charge transfer processes. Both these quantum dots are energetically capable of sensitizing TiO2 films and generating photocurrents in quantum dot solar cells. These two semiconductor nanocrystals exhibit markedly different external quantum efficiencies (∼70% for CdSe and ∼0.1% for CdTe at 555 nm). Although CdTe with a more favorable conduction band energy (ECB = −1.0 V vs NHE) is capable of injecting electrons into TiO2 faster than CdSe (ECB = −0.6 V vs NHE), hole scavenging by a sulfide redox couple remains a major bottleneck. The sulfide ions dissolved in aqueous solutions are capable of scavenging photogenerated holes in photoirradiated CdSe system but not in CdTe. The anodic corrosion and exchange of Te with S dominate the charge transfer at the CdTe interface. Factors that dictate the efficiency and photostability of CdSe and C...
Effect of heart failure on skeletal muscle myofibrillar protein content, isoform expression and calcium sensitivity.

Abstract Background Alterations in skeletal muscle with heart failure contribute to exercise intolerance and physical disability. The majority of studies to date have examined abnormalities in skeletal muscle oxidative capacity and mitochondrial function. In contrast, less information is available regarding the effect of heart failure on myofibrillar protein metabolism and function. To address this issue, we examined the effect of heart failure on skeletal muscle myofibrillar protein content, isoform distribution and Ca 2+ sensitivity. Methods We measured skeletal muscle myosin heavy chain (MHC) and actin protein content and MHC isoform distribution in soleus (SOL), extensor digitorum longus (EDL), plantaris (PL) and diaphragm (DIA) muscles and myofibrillar Ca 2+ sensitivity in EDL muscles from Dahl salt-sensitive rats with (high-salt fed: HS; n =10) or without heart failure (low-salt fed: LS; n =8) and assessed the relationship of these variables to markers of disease severity. Results No differences in muscle mass were found. Similarly, no differences in MHC (mean±SE; SOL: 1353±29 vs. 1247±52; EDL: 1471±31 vs. 1441±31; PL: 1207±66 vs. 1286±36; DIA: 1166±42 vs. 1239±26 AU/μg protein) or actin (EDL: 348±13 vs. 358±19; PL: 245±20 vs. 242±9; DIA: 383±9 vs. 376±17 AU/μg protein) protein content or the actin-to-MHC ratio were observed, with the exception of lower ( P 2+ sensitivity (i.e., pCa 50 ) of extensor digitorum longus myofilaments (5.68±0.11 vs. 5.65±0.09). Finally, MHC and actin content, MHC isoform distribution and myofibrillar Ca 2+ sensitivity were not related to markers of disease severity. Conclusions Our results show that this animal model of heart failure is not characterized by alterations in the quantity or isoform distribution of key skeletal muscle myofibrillar proteins or the Ca 2+ sensitivity of isometric force production. These findings suggest that alterations in skeletal muscle myofibrillar protein metabolism do not develop in parallel with myocardial failure in the Dahl salt-sensitive rat.
Time-resolved cardiac interventional cone-beam CT reconstruction from fully truncated projections using the prior image constrained compressed sensing (PICCS) algorithm

C-arm cone-beam CT could replace preoperative multi-detector CT scans in the cardiac interventional setting. However, cardiac gating results in view angle undersampling and the small size of the detector results in projection data truncation. These problems are incompatible with conventional tomographic reconstruction algorithms. In this paper, the prior image constrained compressed sensing (PICCS) reconstruction method was adapted to solve these issues. The performance of the proposed method was compared to that of FDK, FDK with extrapolated projection data (E-FDK), and total variation-based compressed sensing. A canine projection dataset acquired using a clinical C-arm imaging system supplied realistic cardiac motion and anatomy for this evaluation. Three different levels of truncation were simulated. The relative root mean squared error and the universal image quality index were used to quantify the reconstruction accuracy. Three main conclusions were reached. (1) The adapted version of the PICCS algorithm offered the highest image quality and reconstruction accuracy. (2) No meaningful variation in performance was observed when the amount of truncation was changed. (3) This study showed evidence that accurate interior tomography with an undersampled acquisition is possible for realistic objects if a prior image with minimal artifacts is available.
Colonic neoplasia in young patients with inflammatory bowel disease and primary sclerosing cholangitis.

Aim Current guidelines recommend annual surveillance for colorectal cancer (CRC) in all patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). The aim of our study was to validate the need for annual surveillance for colon neoplasia in patients ≤ 45 of age with a combined diagnosis of PSC and IBD. Method We identified patients, ≤ 45 years of age with a combined diagnosis of PSC and IBD, who were seen at the Mayo Clinic between 1995 and 2010. We then reviewed the medical records of the patients who developed colonic neoplasia defined as cancer, high-grade dysplasia (HGD) or dysplasia-associated lesion or mass (DALM). Results In the population of 784 patients ≤ 45 years of age with a combined diagnosis of PSC and IBD, 10 (1.3%) of 784 developed colonic neoplasia during the follow-up period. Seven patients had colon cancer, one had HGD and two had a DALM. Conclusion Colonic neoplasia is uncommon in young patients (≤ 45 years of age) with a combined diagnosis of PSC and IBD. We suggest delaying surveillance in young patients and propose that studies should be carried out to clarify the cost-effectiveness of annual or biannual surveillance colonoscopies according to patient age.
Genome-based knowledge and public health: the vision of tomorrow and the challenge of today.

Several years after the first human genome has been decoded, the various ‘omics’ technologies struggle to translate basic science discoveries into clinical and public health applications. While several success stories are available, the promise of genomic medicine for 2010 remains largely unfulfilled. Most genomic publications are in basic sciences and little translational research is carried out to feed the pipeline of applications. We need to take a closer look at the way we translate discoveries from the bench to the population and how we process and integrate evidence. This also implies that more realistic expectations are needed to fulfil the promise of genomics to improve health. The area of predictive genomics is currently undergoing substantial change, with a more rapid translation of scientific evidence into products and a sharp decrease of sequencing costs are predicted. With emerging fields like epigenomics and systems biology, we face challenges both within the framework for research and the regulatory response to the emerging knowledge. Ultimately, …
Support for fault tolerance in VLSI processors

A description is given of alternative implementations of such circuits and various ways in which they can be connected in VLSI modules. The authors also describe possible performance enhancements through the use of a technique, called micro rollback, which allows error detection to be performed in parallel with intermodule communication. As a concrete example, they present area and performance measurements of alternative microarchitectures and circuits that can be used to add detection and correction to a VLSI RISC processor they are implementing. >
Bouncing of vector solitons

Summary form only given. We have shown how to control the collisions of vector solitons: from solitons going through, to solitons bouncing and developed a simple physical explanation based on gratings. We are currently investigating experimental implementations in saturable nonlinear media such as photorefractives.
La fidelidad cubana durante la edad de las revoluciones

La historiografia cubana tradicional explica la fidelidad de la perla de las Antillas durante las revoluciones americanas por razon del miedo al intimidaste ejercito espanol acuartelado en la isla y por miedo a que cualquier division politica diera aliento a una sublevacion de la masiva poblacion esclava. Este articulo plantea la tesis de que el asunto fue mucho mas complicado que lo que estas explicaciones dan a entender. Por una parte, el ejercito de la isla llego a estar esencialmente controlado por cubanos y, por otra, un movimiento revolucionario nacio entre los elementos ilustrados ; pero fallo por la oposicion abrumadora que surgio dentro de la propia clase criolla. La fidelidad cubana no se explica actualmente tanto por los temores como por las relaciones positivas que se crearon entre la corona espanola y las elites cubanas durante el siglo XVIII, sobre todo durante el reinado de Carlos III, relaciones que resultaron sumamente ventajosas para los azucareros que dominaban la vida economica y politica de la isla
Socioeconomic Status and Health: Policy Implications in Research, Public Health, and Medical Care

The role of public policy in research, public health, and medical care is discussed as well as the extent to which public policy has been informed by increased knowledge about the relationship between SES and health and to what extent policy has affected SES-related health disparities. Observations on current healthcare policy and recommendations for the future are offered.
Should the denosumab metastasis prevention trial change practice for men with nonmetastatic prostate cancer

Presentation of the case. A 68-year-old man presents for management of prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-recurrent prostate cancer. His PSA level had become undetectable after prostatectomy for a high-risk localized tumor but began to rise 8 months later. This later led to the initiation of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), which he has received for the last 3.5 years. After initially falling in response to ADT, his PSA level again trended steadily upward and is now 13.2. Restaging with an abdominal and pelvic computed tomography scan and a bone scan reveals no evidence of metastases. Is this man likely to benefit from denosumab? Bone is the most common site of metastasis for advanced prostate cancer. Bone metastases can cause considerable morbidity in the form of pain, pathologic fractures, and even spinal cord compression. Two bone-targeted therapies (zoledronic acid and denosumab) have been shown to reduce the risk for skeletal events (SREs) among men with bone metastases and a rising PSA level despite a testosterone level <50 ng/dL (castration-resistant prostate cancer [CRPC]). Until recently, no therapy had been shown to reduce the risk for developing bone metastases for the first time. Denosumab 147 was a randomized, placebo-controlled, phase III trial that enrolled 1,432 men with CRPC, no bone metastases, and at least one feature consistent with a high risk for the development of bone metastases (PSA ≥8 ng/mL or PSA doubling time ≤10 months). Participants were treated every 4 weeks with s.c. denosumab (120 mg) or placebo. The trial was positive because denosumab led to a 4.2-month significantly longer bone-metastasis-free survival time relative to placebo (median, 29.5 months versus 25.2 months; hazard ratio [HR], 0.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.73-0.98; p = .028) [1]. The time to first bone metastasis and risk for symptomatic bone metastasis were also significantly better with denosumab treatment. Dror Michaelson and Philip Saylor discuss the potential implications of this trial.
Paper to Electronic Questionnaires: Effects on Structured Questionnaire Forms

With the use of computers, paper questionnaires are being replaced by electronic questionnaires. The formats of traditional paper questionnaires have been found to affect a subject's rating. Consequently, the transition from paper to electronic format can subtly change results. The research presented begins to determine how electronic questionnaire formats change subjective ratings. For formats where subjects used a flow chart to arrive at their rating, starting at the worst and middle ratings of the flow charts were the most accurate but subjects took slightly more time to arrive at their answers. Except for the electronic paper format, starting at the worst rating was the most preferred. The paper and electronic paper versions had the worst accuracy. Therefore, for flowchart type of questionnaires, flowcharts should start at the worst rating and work their way up to better ratings.
CTLA-4 in filarial infections: implications for a role in diminished T cell reactivity.

To determine the role that CTLA-4 might play in mediating the diminished parasite Ag-specific T cell responsiveness that is characteristically seen in filaria-infected patients, several study populations and methods were used. First, quantitative assessment of mRNA expression determined that PBMC from uninfected adolescents exposed in utero to microfilarial (Mf) Ag demonstrated a strong up-regulation of CTLA-4 to the Mf stage of the parasite in contrast to that observed in cells from children born of uninfected mothers ( p = 0.005). Next, the frequency of CTLA-4 expression was examined using flow cytometry in cells from filaria-infected and -uninfected individuals ex vivo. Individuals born in filarial endemic regions of the world (with long-standing infections) had greater percentages of CD4 + CTLA-4 + cells than did expatriate infected or uninfected individuals ( p = 0.005 and 0.05, respectively); in addition, Mf + patients demonstrated higher frequencies of CD4 + CTLA-4 + and CD8 + CTLA-4 + cells ( p = 0.027 and 0.037, respectively) than did Mf − infected individuals. Of interest, the greatest intensity of CTLA-4 expression occurred in CD4 + CD25 + cells, a population purported to include suppressor cells. Finally, in vitro blocking of CTLA-4 expression in PBMC from filaria-infected individuals induced a mean increase of 44% in IL-5 production to Mf Ag, whereas there was a concurrent mean decrease of 42% in IFN-γ production, suggesting that CTLA-4 also acts to alter the Th1/Th2 balance in filaria-infected individuals. Together, these data indicate a significant role for CTLA-4 in regulating the host response to filarial infections and that factors such as length of exposure and patency are important codeterminants.
Larval green and white sturgeon swimming performance in relation to water-diversion flows

Little is known of the swimming capacities of larval sturgeons, despite global population declines in many species due in part to fragmentation of their spawning and rearing habitats by man-made water-diversion structures. Larval green (Acipenser medirostris) and white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) inhabit the highly altered Sacramento–San Joaquin watershed, making them logical species to examine vulnerability to entrainment by altered water flows. The risk of larval sturgeon entrainment is influenced by the ontogeny of swimming capacity and dispersal timing and their interactions with water-diversion structure operations. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe and compare the ontogeny and allometry of larval green and white sturgeon swimming capacities until completion of metamorphosis into juveniles. Despite the faster growth rates and eventual larger size of larval white sturgeon, green sturgeon critical swimming velocities remained c onsistently, though modestly, greater than those of white sturgeon throughout the larval life stage. Although behavioural interactions with water-diversion structures are also important considerations, regarding swimming capacity, Sacramento– S an Joaquin sturgeons are most vulnerable to entrainment in February–May, when white sturgeon early larvae are in the middle Sacramento River, and April–May, when green sturgeon early larvae are in the upper river. Green sturgeon migrating downstream to the estuary and bays in October–November are also susceptible to entrainment due to their movements combined with seasonal declines in their swimming capacity. An additional inter-species comparison of the allometric relationship between critical swimming velocities and total length with several sturgeon species found throughout the world suggests a similar ontogeny of swimming capacity with growth. Therefore, although dispersal and behaviour differ among river sy stems and sturgeon species, similar recommendations are applicable for managers seeking to balance water demands with restoration and conservation of sturgeons worldwide.
Complexity and performance tradeoffs of near-optimal detectors for cooperative ISI channels

Cooperative communication has attracted a lot of attention for its ability to exploit increased spatial diversity available at distributed antennas on other nodes in the system. For a cooperative system employing non-orthogonal amplify-and-forward half-duplex relays, the maximum likelihood sequence estimation (MLSE) is the optimal detector in intersymbol interference (ISI) channels. The implementation complexity of the optimal detector scales exponentially with the length of effective channel impulse response (CIR), however, which becomes very long and sparse as the relay period increases. In this paper, we focus on suboptimal detector design, complexity, and performance for cooperative relays in ISI channels. We first explore use of a decision feedback sequence estimator (DFSE). Next, to exploit the structured sparsity in the effective CIR, we consider an iterative belief propagation (BP) algorithm based detector. Using simulation results, we explore the tradeoff between complexity and performance.
Abel solution to a bremmstrahlung inverse problem

Bremsstrahlung is correlated with high-energy electrons in laser-heated plasma [K. Brueckner, Phys. Rev. Lett. 36, 677 (1976)]. Since the result is important to the National Ignition Campaign (NIC) we reconsider the derivation, and the energy dependence of the Gaunt factor(s). We find an expression for bremsstrahlung we can Abel invert, and we demonstrate the accuracy of the transform with a simple numeric exercise.
Characterization of lateral tape motion and disturbances in the servo position error signal of a linear tape drive

Lateral tape displacement in a tape drive is believed to be one of the critical limiting factors in achieving high track density in tape storage media. For improving track density, servo control systems can be designed on the basis of information from a position error signal to improve the track following capabilities in a tape drive. In this paper, we consider the characterization of lateral tape motion and additional disturbances that contribute to the position error signal. From a commercially available tape drive, the position error signal is measured electronically and lateral tape motion of the magnetic tape is measured using an optical edge sensor. This information is used to characterize the filtering effects of the disturbance rejection transfer function that determines the lateral tape motion and disturbances present in the position error signal. The disturbance rejection transfer function is characterized by two different methods. In the first method, we model the disturbance rejection transfer function as a simple high pass filter. Using lateral motion measurements as an input to this system, the position error signal is simulated and compared with the measured position error signal. In the second method, system identification methods are used to estimate a detailed high order filter that models the essential components of the disturbance rejection transfer function. Using these models, the position error signal is simulated and predicted and the effects of additional disturbances such as the servo track variability can be separated from the effects of the lateral tape motion. It is shown that the position error signal exhibits contributions from lateral tape motion and additional disturbances that differ significantly at higher frequencies.
Human-Level AI's Killer Application: Interactive Computer Games

� Although one of the fundamental goals of AI is to understand and develop intelligent systems that have all the capabilities of humans, there is little active research directly pursuing this goal. We propose that AI for interactive computer games is an emerging application area in which this goal of human-level AI can successfully be pursued. Interactive computer games have increasingly complex and realistic worlds and increasingly complex and intelligent computer-controlled characters. In this article, we further motivate our proposal of using interactive computer games for AI research, review previous research on AI and games, and present the different game genres and the roles that human-level AI could play within these genres. We then describe the research issues and AI techniques that are relevant to each of these roles. Our conclusion is that interactive computer games provide a rich environment for incremental research on human-level AI.
DOOR: a database for prokaryotic operons

We present a database DOOR (Database for prOkaryotic OpeRons) containing computationally predicted operons of all the sequenced prokaryotic genomes. All the operons in DOOR are predicted using our own prediction program, which was ranked to be the best among 14 operon prediction programs by a recent independent review. Currently, the DOOR database contains operons for 675 prokaryotic genomes, and supports a number of search capabilities to facilitate easy access and utilization of the information stored in it. (1) Querying the database: the database provides a search capability for a user to find desired operons and associated information through multiple querying methods. (2) Searching for similar operons: the database provides a search capability for a user to find operons that have similar composition and structure to a query operon. (3) Prediction of cis-regulatory motifs: the database provides a capability for motif identification in the promoter regions of a user-specified group of possibly coregulated operons, using motif-finding tools. (4) Operons for RNA genes: the database includes operons for RNA genes. (5) OperonWiki: the database provides a wiki page (OperonWiki) to facilitate interactions between users and the developer of the database.
The direct correlation of CDTE solar cell stability with mobile ion charge generation during accelerated lifetime testing

CdS/CdTe cells deposited on cadmium and zinc stannate (CTO/ZTO) transparent conducting oxide (TCO) substrates show greater degradation than similar devices fabricated on SnO 2 -based substrates. This has been confirmed in two separate studies in which J-V changes during stress suggest different degradation mechanisms believed to be due to differences in processing. In addition, cells made using the CTO/ZTO substrates exhibit greater variations in initial performance relative to SnO 2 -based substrates. A capacitance-voltage (CV) method using different initial bias conditions is used to quantify mobile ion concentration. CV hysteresis was observed in Cu-containing cells and was absent in cells that were not intentionally doped with Cu. With increasing stress, hysteresis increased. A faster rate of hysteresis gain was observed in CTO/ZTO cells relative to SnO 2 cells. A model is introduced for explaining the origin of the hysteresis and why it increases with increasing stress.
Hair Follicle: A Novel Source of Stem Cells for Cell and Gene Therapy

The adult body harbors powerful reservoirs of stem cells that enable tissue regeneration under homeostatic conditions or in response to disease or injury. The hair follicle is a readily accessible mini organ within the skin and contains stem cells from diverse developmental origins that are shown to have surprisingly broad differentiation potential. In this chapter, we discuss the biology of the hair follicle with particular emphasis on the various stem cell populations residing within the tissue. We summarize the existing knowledge on putative hair follicle stem cell markers, the differentiation potential, and technologies to isolate and expand distinct stem cell populations. We also discuss the potential of hair follicle stem cells for drug and gene delivery, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine. We propose that the abundance of stem cells with broad differentiation potential and the ease of accessibility make the hair follicle an ideal source of stem cells for gene and cell therapies.
United Nations Subcommission on Freedom of Information and of the Press (Encyclopedia Article)

Encyclopedia article on United Nations Subcommission on Freedom of Information and of the Press.
Is Hemoglobin Antigenic

Thus in work reported by Leblanc,1 a precipitin for beef hemoglobin was obtained by immunizing a dog with a preparation obtained by saturating laked, washed, red cells with ammonium sulphate after removal of globulins and stromata. This preparation was by no means pure since no attempt was made to free the hemoglobin from possible contamination by other proteins which may have been carried down by the crystals. Levene1' was unable to produce either a lysin or an agglutinin for red cells by immunization with twice crystallized hemoglobin. Ford and Halsey,3 working with various fractions of the red cell, were unable to demonstrate antibodies?precipitins, lytic or agglutinating substances in rabbits or anaphylaxis in guinea-pigs injected with dog or hen hemoglobin recrystallized 4-5 times from 25*^ alcohol. These authors used special precautions to exclude protein contamination and their results appear to be more reliable than other workers in this field. Schittenhelm and
Parotid melanoma of unknown primary

Purpose Rarely, melanoma is discovered in the parotid gland without an identifiable primary site. It is not known how patients with parotid melanoma of unknown primary (PMUP) compare to those with a known primary (PMKP). As such, we describe the largest series of patients with PMUP to date and compare them to patients with PMKP.
Prevention of nitrate tolerance with concomitant administration of hydralazine

Organic nitrates have frequently been used for the treatment of patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). Nitrate tolerance has been identified as a major limitation of this therapy preventing a continuous effect. In the past several years, an effort has been made to develop strategies to prevent nitrate tolerance. Recent animal experimentation has demonstrated the prevention of nitrate tolerance with a concomitant administration of hydralazine. A later study demonstrated similar results in a patient with chronic CHF. The use of oral hydralazine (75 mg qid) resulted in prevention of early development of nitrate tolerance and attenuation of nitrate mediated hemodynamic effects which occurred within the first several hours after initiation of nitroglycerin therapy in the control group not receiving hydralazine. Recent data obtained in in vitro studies have demonstrated enhancement of vascular superoxide production secondary to exposure to nitrates which may be an important mechanism leading to nitrate tolerance. These same studies demonstrated a strong antioxidant effect of hydralazine reducing superoxide formation and preventing nitrate tolerance. Both animal and human experiments have demonstrated prevention of nitrate tolerance with a concomitant use of hydralazine. In vitro studies suggest that hydralazine, by virtue of its antioxidant effect, prevents the nitrate-mediated formation of vascular superoxide, and thus prevents nitrate tolerance. These data provide an explanation for the benefit demonstrated in the V-HeFT studies with the combination of isosorbide dinitrate and hydralazine in the treatment of patients with chronic CHF, and provide a support for the use of this therapeutic regimen in the treatment of patients with chronic heart failure.
Multivariate Kurtosis as a Tool for Comparing Copula Models

This paper studies the effectiveness of the Multivariate Kurtosis in comparing the Clayton Copula and the Farleigh-Gumbel-Morgenstern Copula in modeling when the actual populations follow either the bivariate exponential distribution or the bivariate normal distribution. The study shows that the Multivariate Kurtosis (as defined by Mardia) is a very effective tool in comparing Copulas and that Farleigh-Gumbel-Morgenstern Copula is slightly more accurate than the Clayton Copula for modeling.
Badger Springs: Evidence for a Late Paleoindian Angostura Occupation on the Southwestern Colorado Plateau

The Badger Springs site (AZ D:5:13; NA10924) is a late Paleoindian occupation located on the Kaibito Plateau in northeastern Arizona, just northwest of Black Mesa. The site was discovered and surface-collected in the 1970s. Quantitative analyses conducted as part of this research revealed that the Badger Springs projectile points are morphologically consistent with projectile points of the Angostura type. Previous archaeological investigations have failed to identify late Paleoindian campsites, especially Angostura occupations, on the southwestern Colorado Plateau. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we present a morphological analysis of projectile points from the Badger Springs site in northeastern Arizona using quantitative methods developed by Pitblado [Pitblado, Bonnie L. 2007 Angostura, Jimmy Allen, Foothills-Mountain: Clarifying Terminology for Late Paleoindian Southern Rocky Mountain Spear Points. In Frontiers in Colorado Paleoindian Archaeology, edited by R. H. Brunswig and B. L. Pitblad...
Huntsman Advanced Materials and Haydale Composite Solutions deliver significant step change in the market for nanocomposites

Huntsman Advanced Materials and Haydale Composite Solutions (Haydale) are jointly researching opportunities for developing graphene-enhanced composite solutions. Focused specifically on incorporating graphene into Huntsman's ARALDITE ® epoxy resin systems, it is anticipated that the collaboration will deliver significant step change in the market for nanocomposites. Here we examine how the research program is progressing and look at whether graphene, the often described ‘wonder material’, is likely to live up to its promise as a viable commercial proposition.
Not Just Black and White: How Race/Ethnicity and Gender Intersect in Hookup Culture

The increasing interest in research on hookups (i.e., noncommittal unions focused on sexual acts ranging from kissing to intercourse) often highlights individual-level predictors (e.g., alcohol use...
Historical highlights in ultrasonics - 2

A chronology of the history of ultrasonics is one of fascinating discoveries, inventions and uses of this high frequency branch of acoustics. Behind this record of discovery lie equally fascinating tales of persons and personalities that have laid the groundwork for our still expanding field of science and technology. The highlights presented note some of the people and stories behind the scientific headlines of discovery. Ranging from the historically curious to the borders of scandal, the personalities of ultrasonics are as interesting as their inventions. The topics dealt with include sonar and biomedical ultrasonics.
Multiple Wavelength Concentric Vortex Optics: λ = 1064 nm and 2090 nm

Using a single concentric vortex optic to generate vortices with multiplexed 1064 nm and 2090 nm laser sources is studied and experimentally confirmed. The rotation of the resulting diffracted patterns is also explored.
RSK-dependent 14-3-3 interactions

14-3-3 proteins were identified as abundant proteins from bovine brain homogenates. They eluted at the 14 th fraction from a two-dimensional DEAE-cellulose chromatography column and were the 3.3 band on the subsequent gel electrophoresis. 1 14-3-3s were also given different names according to their novel roles in different organisms ranging from plants to animals as reviewed by Aitken. 2 Physiologically, these are 30kDa acidic proteins and modulate other proteins in signal transduction pathways by binding to specific phospho-serine/threonine target motifs. The two highly preferred motifs recognized by 14-3-3 on their target proteins are R[S/Φ][+]pS/TXP (mode 1) and RX[S/Φ][+]pS/TXP (mode 2) where pS/T means phosphorylated serine or threonine, Φ means an aromatic residue, + is a basic residue and X is any type of an amino acid with a preference for Leu, Glu, Ala, Met. 3 The regulation of multiple oncogenic proteins has spotlighted 14-3-3 as the central point of various signaling cues which govern cell proliferation, growth and tumor suppression. 4 There are seven distinct isoforms in mammals (ζ, β, γ, η, σ, τ and e), fifteen in plants and two each in D. melanogaster and C. elegans. 5 They exist as homodimers and except for the sigma isoform which exists as heterodimers within the cell and can bind to more than one protein due to the dimerization of the monomers. 12
Trumping Refugee Security

Closing U.S. borders to refugees will not likely enhance domestic security. The United Nations (U.N.) and some Western democracies suggest that a policy of integrating refugees may more effectively promote the security interests of both refugees and the countries in which they resettle. Refugee integration is a multifaceted process requiring accommodation on behalf of individual refugees and host societies. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) requires states admitting resettled refugees to facilitate their integration. Contrary to this mandate, the U.S. government has not strived to integrate the refugees it has agreed to resettle within its borders. Instead, federal policy emphasizes rapid and minimal economic self-sufficiency for refugees, consistent with other government policies that privatize social welfare for the poor. When compared to a theoretical model of refugee integration, this article concludes that U.S. resettlement efforts fall short of an integration process. To the contrary, the U.S. strategy of prioritizing immediate participation in the work force undermines the successful incorporation of refugees into American society. This failure stands to impair the security interests of both refugees and host communities. Community efforts can help fill the gap between the inadequate U.S. resettlement program and the UNHCR’s integration mandate. The author has presented workshops on U.S. law to educate local refugees about their legal rights and responsibilities. These workshops – described in this article – reflect one way in which host communities can foster integration, even in the absence of a national integration policy. Such a local effort can promote mutual understanding and safety.
Standardized Rat Model Testing Effects of Inflammation and Grafting on Extraction Healing.

Background: Loss of alveolar ridge width and height after tooth extraction is well documented, but models to evaluate ridge preservation are neither standardized nor cost-effective. This rat model characterizes the pattern of bone turnover and inflammation after extraction and bone grafting with or without local simvastatin (SIM).Methods: Fifty retired-breeder rats underwent extraction of the maxillary right first molar and standard surgical defect creation under inhalation/local anesthesia. The left side of each animal served as unmanipulated control. Untreated groups (n = 8 to 9 per group) were compared (analysis of variance, t test) at days 0, 7, 14, and 28 for alveolar ridge height and width and for markers of inflammation and bone turnover by microcomputed tomography, histology, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Seventeen additional specimens had defects grafted with either bone mineralized matrix (BMM) or a BMM+SIM conjugate.Results: Extraction-induced bone loss (BL) was noted on buccal, palata...
P183 IMPACT OF OBESITY ON SHORT- AND INTERMEDIATE-TERM OUTCOMES IN INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES: POOLED ANALYSIS OF PLACEBO ARMS OF INFLIXIMAB CLINICAL TRIALS

Background and aims To assess whether obesity may affect natural history of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), we conducted an individual participant data (IPD) pooled analysis of placebo arms, using data from clinical trials of infliximab in IBD and using the Yale Open Data Access (YODA) Project. Methods We obtained IPD from 4 placebo-controlled trials of infliximab in adults with IBD (ACCENT-I and ACCENT-II; ACT-1 and ACT-2). Patients were categorized into quartiles based on body mass index (BMI) or weight at time of trial entry. Primary outcome was clinical remission (Crohn's disease activity index [CDAI]<150, Mayo Clinic Score <3); secondary outcomes were clinical response and mucosal healing. Using multivariable logistic regression analysis, we compared association between quartiles of BMI (or weight) and achieving remission, after adjusting for sex, smoking, disease activity, and concomitant prednisone or immunomodulators. Results We included 575 placebo-treated patients (mean age 38 years, 51.6% males, 16% obese). Obesity was not associated with odds of achieving clinical remission (Q4 vs Q1: adjusted OR, 1.36; 95% CI, 0.65-2.89; P-value for trend = 0.57), clinical response (Q4 vs Q1: adjusted OR, 1.31; 95% CI, 0.61-2.81; P = 0.45), or mucosal healing remission (Q4 vs Q1: adjusted OR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.12-2.34; P = 0.31). These results were consistent across strata based on disease type (CD and ulcerative colitis) and trial design (induction and maintenance therapy). Conclusions Based on IPD pooled analysis of placebo arms, obesity does not significantly impact short- and intermediate-term clinical outcomes in patients with IBD. The impact of obesity on long-term patient-important outcomes like surgery and hospitalization merits evaluation.
(Revelatory) events: a response to commentators

I want to thank all five commentators for their careful, close readings of the book, their elaborations on various points, and their critical commentary. All approached the task in a very construct...
Missing the Revolution Beneath Their Feet: The Significance of the Slave Revolution of the Civil War to the Black Power Movement in the USA

At the outset of the Black Power Movement (BPM), Malcolm X called for both a black political and cultural revolution; however, he never developed his thesis on the latter and did not adequately explain the relationship between the two. Like many BPM revolutionists, he drew on cases of revolutions from abroad which were ill-fitted to the peculiar history and contemporary challenges of black America. W.E.B. Du Bois (1935) historicized a black political revolution in the USA in his Black Reconstruction, and Alain Locke theorized cultural revolution in the USA a decade later; thus, prior to the BPM, theses on black political and cultural revolution in the USA were available to BPM revolutionists, but they were ignored. They suggested the salience of the Slave Revolution in the Civil War as an exemplar of subsequent black revolutions in the USA. In this essay, I examine Du Bois’ and Locke’s arguments and their relevance to the BPM, focusing less on the revolutionary theory the BPM adopted and more on this one it neglected.