cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Carotid Endarterectomy: What Are the Real Risks?

1:10 p.lll. Carotid Endarterectomy: What Are the Real Risks? Bruce A. Perler, MD johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore, MD Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) was first performed in the 1950s, and over the last four decades this procedure has become the most frequently performed peripheral vascular operation in the United States, with more than 150,000 procedures now carried out annually in this counuy. During the late 1980s, however, in view of the rapid growth in the performance of this operation and isolated reports citing excessively high rates of operative mortality and morbidity, CEA came under intense scrutiny and in fact there was a substantial reduction in the number of procedures performed. Subsequently, several randomized prospective clinical trials have confirmed the safety and efficacy of this operation, and as a result there has been dramatic growth in the performance of the procedure over last several years. Most recently, however, the role of CEA has been challenged by the introduction of carotid stenting into clinical practice. While there is increasing interest in and enthUSiasm for carotid stenting, before we can view this therapeutic modality as an acceptable alternative to CEA for the treatment of carotid atherosclerotic disease, it must be proven that it is as safe and effective, and as durable, as CEA.
Target Visibility and Visual Awareness Modulate Amygdala Responses to Fearful Faces

The goals of the present study were twofold. First, we wished to investigate the neural correlates of aware and unaware emotional face perception after characterizing each subject’s behavioral performance via signal detection theory methods. Second, we wished to investigate the extent to which amygdala responses to fearful faces depend on the physical characteristics of the stimulus independently of the percept. We show that amygdala responses depend on visual awareness. Under conditions in which subjects were not aware of fearful faces flashed for 33 ms, no differential activation was observed in the amygdala. On the other hand, differential activation was observed for 67 ms fearful targets that the subjects could reliably detect. When trials were divided into hits, misses, correct rejects, and false alarms, we show that target visibility is an important factor in determining amygdala responses to fearful faces. Taken together, our results further challenge the view that amygdala responses occur automatically.
Noncoding RNA Gas5 Is a Growth Arrest– and Starvation-Associated Repressor of the Glucocorticoid Receptor

The availability of nutrients influences cellular growth and survival by affecting gene transcription. Glucocorticoids also influence gene transcription and have diverse activities on cell growth, energy expenditure, and survival. We found that the growth arrest-specific 5 (Gas5) noncoding RNA, which is abundant in cells whose growth has been arrested because of lack of nutrients or growth factors, sensitized cells to apoptosis by suppressing glucocorticoid-mediated induction of several responsive genes, including the one encoding cellular inhibitor of apoptosis 2. Gas5 bound to the DNA-binding domain of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) by acting as a decoy glucocorticoid response element (GRE), thus competing with DNA GREs for binding to the GR. We conclude that Gas5 is a "riborepressor" of the GR, influencing cell survival and metabolic activities during starvation by modulating the transcriptional activity of the GR.
Microfibrillar collagen hemostat in ophthalmic surgery.

Abstract Microfibrillar collagen hemostat (MCH) is a fluffy, fibrous, off-white material prepared from bovine collagen. MCH is highly effective in achieving hemostasis by forming a matrix for platelet aggregation, leading to a physiologic clot. A modified plastic syringe provides a useful means of delivery of MCH to inaccessible bleeding sites.
Does Structural Integrity Play a Role in Optimal Health and Human Function

DOI: 10.1177/1559827608323291. From the Department of Clinical Sciences and Department of Occupational Health, Northwestern College of Chiropractic, Northwestern Health Sciences University, Bloomington, Minnesota. Address for correspondence: Joseph J. Sweere, DC, DABCO, DACBOH, FICC, Northwestern College of Chiropractic, Northwestern Health Sciences University, 2501 West 84th Street, Bloomington, MN 55431-1599; e-mail: jsweere@nwhealth.edu.
Quantitation of Replication-Competent HIV-1 in Populations of Resting CD4+ T Cells

Central memory (TCM) CD4+ T cells are the principal reservoir of latent HIV-1 infection that persists despite durable, successful antiretroviral therapy (ART). In a study that measured HIV DNA in 17 patients and replication-competent HIV in 4 patients, pools of resting and activated transitional memory (TTM) CD4+ T cells were found to be a reservoir for HIV infection. As defective viruses account for the majority of integrated HIV DNA and do not reflect the actual frequency of latent, replication-competent proviral infection, we assessed the specific contribution of resting TTM cells to latent HIV infection. We measured the frequency of replication-competent HIV in purified resting memory cell subpopulations by a limiting-dilution, quantitative viral outgrowth assay (QVOA). HIV was routinely detected within the resting central memory compartment but was infrequently detected within the resting TTM compartment. These observations suggest that prolonged ART may limit persistent latent infection in the TTM compartment. Our results confirm the importance of latent infection within the TCM compartment and again focus attention on these cells as the most important latent viral reservoir. While proliferation may drive expansion of detectable viral genomes in cells, the frequency of replication-competent HIV must be carefully assessed. Latent infection appears to wane within the transitional memory compartment in patients who have sustained successful viral suppression via ART or were treated very early in infection. IMPORTANCE Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has led to a significant decrease in morbidity and mortality among HIV-infected patients. However, HIV integrates into the genome of CD4+ T cells, generating pools of long-lived cells that are reservoirs of latent HIV. Two main subsets of CD4+ T cells, central memory and transitional memory cells, were reported to be major reservoirs of HIV infection. However, this study primarily measured the HIV DNA content, which also includes defective proviruses that would not be able to replicate and initiate new rounds of infection. By analyzing the replication-competent virus in both cell subsets, we showed that transitional memory cells may not be a durable reservoir in patients on successful ART.
The Pseudomutual Small Group or Institution

A mode for defense of the status quo in a small group or institution is described in this paper: namely, the blurring of the awareness of critical boundaries, including those boundaries of external relations with other groups, internal disagreement, language distinctions, the role of the leader, and the individuality of group members. The systematic use of these defenses, previously described by Wynne, Ryckoff, Day, and Hirsch (1958) in relation to family dynamics and summarized by the term "pseudomutuality, " is described here in relation to public small groups and institutions. The findings of Wynne, et al., Laing and Cooper (1964), Laing (1967), and Orwell (1946), concerning different aspects of pseudomutuality, are reviewed. A case study of systematic use of the entire mode of pseudomutuality from an Intergroup Exercise of a Group Relations Conference is presented. Effective consultation to small groups or institutions which utilize these defenses must proceed by clarifying the critical boundaries tha...
Performance of rotavirus vaccines in developed and developing countries

The World Health Organization estimates that rotavirus diarrhea results in approximately half a million deaths and approximately 2.4 million hospitalizations in developing countries each year. Two live oral rotavirus vaccines, RotaTeq® (RV 5; Merck) and Rotarix® (RV 1; GlaxoSmithKline) with good efficacy against severe rotavirus disease and a reassuring safety profile could substantially impact the burden of rotavirus disease. In April 2009, WHO provided a recommendation for global introduction of these vaccines in national immunization programs of developing countries worldwide. In this article, we review published data on previous candidate rotavirus vaccines and vaccines in current use, with emphasis on their performance in developed versus developing countries. In developed countries, both first and second generation rotavirus vaccines have demonstrated high efficacy against severe rotavirus disease (pooled efficacy = 73% and 85%, respectively). In developing countries, small early trials for the first generation vaccines failed to provide protection against rotavirus disease (pooled efficacy = 20%), however, trials of the second generation vaccines yielded substantial improvements in efficacy in developing countries (pooled efficacy of 51%), leading to a global recommendation for rotavirus vaccine introduction by WHO. Future efforts for these vaccines should focus on optimizing the efficacy and delivery of these vaccines in challenging target populations of Asia and Africa with the greatest burden of severe rotavirus disease.
Conflicting Results Between Randomized Trials and Observational Studies on the Impact of Proton Pump Inhibitors on Cardiovascular Events When Coadministered With Dual Antiplatelet Therapy Systematic Review

Background—Discordant results have been reported on the effects of concomitant use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) for cardiovascular outcomes. We conducted a systematic review comparing the effectiveness and safety of concomitant use of PPIs and DAPT in the postdischarge treatment of unstable angina/non–ST-segment–elevation myocardial infarction patients. Methods and Results—We searched for clinical studies in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, from 1995 to 2012. Reviewers screened and extracted data, assessed applicability and quality, and graded the strength of evidence. We performed meta-analyses of direct comparisons when outcomes and follow-up periods were comparable. Thirty-five studies were eligible. Five (4 randomized controlled trials and 1 observational) assessed the effect of omeprazole when added to DAPT; the other 30 (observational) assessed the effect of PPIs as a class when compared with no PPIs. Random-effects meta-analy...
Effect of spontaneous emission in hydrogenlike magnesium and aluminum x-ray laser schemes

Two-dimensional modeling of magnesium exploding-foil experiments shows that spontaneous emission from regions outside of line focus makes the measurement of induced emission and gain difficult. An improved target design is proposed that solves the spontaneous-emission problem by replacing the foil by a ribbon. The new targets consist of an aluminum ribbon on a Formvar sheet with the potential 4–3 lasing line at lll A for H-like Al. We comment on what conditions are required for lasing in the 3–2 line of H-like Al at 39 A.
Molecular Cloning, Expression, and Immunogenicity of MTB12, a Novel Low-Molecular-Weight Antigen Secreted by Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Proteins secreted into the culture medium by Mycobacterium tuberculosis are thought to play an important role in the development of protective immune responses. In this report, we describe the molecular cloning of a novel, low-molecular-weight antigen (MTB12) secreted by M. tuberculosis. Sequence analysis of the MTB12 gene indicates that the protein is initially synthesized as a 16.6-kDa precursor protein containing a 48-aminoacid hydrophobic leader sequence. The mature, fully processed form of MTB12 protein found in culture filtrates has a molecular mass of 12.5 kDa. MTB12 protein constitutes a major component of the M. tuberculosis culture supernatant and appears to be at least as abundant as several other well-characterized culture filtrate proteins, including members of the 85B complex. MTB12 is encoded by a single-copy gene which is present in both virulent and avirulent strains of the M. tuberculosis complex, the BCG strain of M. bovis, and M. leprae. Recombinant MTB12 containing an N-terminal six-histidine tag was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified by affinity chromatography. Recombinant MTB12 protein elicited in vitro proliferative responses from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of a number of purified protein derivative-positive (PPD 1 ) human donors but not from PPD 2 donors. Tuberculosis remains one of the world’s most serious health threats, with approximately 2 billion people infected worldwide and an estimated 2.9 million deaths due to tuberculosis annually (20). The recent increase in the incidence of tuberculosis, particularly antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis, underscores the need for an effective vaccine against this important disease (19). The only vaccine currently in use is the live, attenuated strain
Granular shear flows at the elastic limit

This paper describes computer simulation studies of granular materials under dense conditions where particles are in persistent contact with their neighbours and the elasticity of the material becomes an important rheological parameter. There are two regimes at this limit, one for which the stresses scale with both elastic and inertial properties (called the elastic–inertial regime), and a non-inertial quasi-static regime in which the stresses scale purely elastically (elastic–quasi-static). In these elastic regimes, the forces are generated by internal force chains. Reducing the concentration slightly causes a transition from an elastic to a purely inertial behaviour. This transition occurs so abruptly that a 2% concentration reduction can be accompanied by nearly three orders of magnitude of stress reduction. This indicates that granular flows near this limit are prone to instabilities such as those commonly observed in shear cells. Unexpectedly, there is no path between inertial (rapid) flow and quasi-static flow by varying the shear rate at a fixed concentration; only by reducing the concentration can one cause a transition from quasi-static to inertial flow. The solid concentrations at which this transition occurs as well as the magnitude of the stresses in the elastic regimes are strong functions of the particle surface friction, because the surface friction strongly affects the strength of the force chains. A parametric analysis of the elastic regime generated flowmaps showing the various regimes that might be realized in practice. Many common materials such as sand require such large shear rates to reach the elastic–inertial regime that it is unattainable for all practical purposes; such materials will demonstrate either an elastic–quasi-static behaviour or a pure inertial behaviour depending on the concentration – with many orders of magnitude of stress change between them. Finally, the effects of nonlinear contacts are investigated and an appropriate scaling is proposed that accounts for the nonlinear behaviour in the elastic–quasi-static regime.
Ion Analysis Using Capillary Electrophoresis with Refractive Index Detection

Abstract An optically simple, inexpensive, microvolume refractive index detector has been applied to capillary electrophoresis, allowing universal solute detection at the subpicogram level. The micro-interferometric backscatter detector employs direct side illumination of an unmodified capillary by a He–Ne laser, producing a 360° fan of scattered light that contains a set of high-contrast interference fringes. Positional changes of the interference pattern extrema (backscattered light) are directly related to the refractive index (RI), n, of the fluid in the tube, and allow for the determination of Δ n at the 10 −7 level. These light and dark spots are viewed on a flat plane in the direct backscatter configuration. Signal interrogation is accomplished by a simple slit–photodetector assembly that is capable of monitoring the time-dependent fringe shifts produced or imparted by RI changes. Nanoliter detector volumes (0.27 × 10 −9 liter) are produced by this unique optical train that requires no modification of the separation capillary. The system's utility is demonstrated by the separation and quantitation of a mixture of cations (K + , Ba 2+ , Na + , and Li + ) that are separable and detectable at the parts-per-million level, using no active thermal stabilization.
AM/FM Monolithic Receivers

A recent development program consisted of the design and fabrication of integrated circuits for use in a broad class of AM/FM receivers. Various circuit designs were considered and a partitioning scheme was evolved utilizing three integrated circuits. Here the integrated circuits are described and performance data on a receiver are presented. Conclusions are drawn as to the proposed future work in this area.
What kind of science can information science be

During the 20th century there was a strong desire to develop an information science from librarianship, bibliography, and documentation and in 1968 the American Documentation Institute changed its name to the American Society for Information Science. By the beginning of the 21st century, however, departments of (library and) information science had turned instead towards the social sciences. These programs address a variety of important topics, but they have been less successful in providing a coherent explanation of the nature and scope of the field. Progress can be made towards a coherent, unified view of the roles of archives, libraries, museums, online information services, and related organizations if they are treated as information-providing services. However, such an approach seems significantly incomplete on ordinary understandings of the providing of information. Instead of asking what information science is or what we might wish it to become, we ask instead what kind of field it can be given our assumptions about it. We approach the question by examining some keywords: science, information, knowledge, and interdisciplinary. We conclude that if information science is concerned with what people know, then it is a form of cultural engagement, and at most, a science of the artificial.
A Survey of Postsecondary Programs for Students With Learning Disabilities

Four-year colleges and universities identified as offering special programs for post-secondary students with learning disabilities were surveyed to determine the types of services provided. Results related to students served, assessment and referral procedures used, academic and nonacademic services offered, and procedures employed for staff training are discussed in this article.
Wavelength Characteristics of Coupled Circuits Having Distributed Constants

The wavelength characteristics of a simple circuit and of a coupled circuit regenerative oscillator having distributed circuit constants are derived for the case of small resistance and compared with experimental results. A comparison is made with analogous characteristics of circuits with lumped constants and of the electron oscillator.
A distributed sensor and processor for surface control of a large reflector

The design and performance of a distributed optical sensor and processor for surface control of large reflectors are presented. The distributed optic sensor is a type of holographic contour mapper. Holographic images of the reflector surface are recorded in real time using multifrequency laser light. The stored holograms are used to generate contour maps of the surface which provide distributed measurements of the displacement of the surface. These contour maps may be processed optically to yield control signals to drive a finite number of actuators to control the shape of the surface. Real-time holographic sensing of the reflector surface is accomplished using a new optical image storage device. This storage device, which is being developed at NASA Langley Research Center, records and stores holographic images in photorefractive crystals. The information storage density of the crystals is high, thus allowing high restoration images to be stored. The theory of operation of the device and an estimate of sensor performance are discussed. >
Government and the Food Commission Report

Big business is here to stay, the Commission concluded-in farming and marketing as well. The question of whether big business is ethically good or bad is considered irrelevant. The family farm is now only nostalgia, although the Commission calls it a highly revered concept useful in its day. The production-marketing system for food is looked on as one entity-a highly efficient industry that compares well with any other segment of the economy. Statistics are no longer considered a business secret. Through a computer that flashes information on a screen, the marketing (and farmer) executive has all possible information on quantity produced and shipped and on prices for his company and competitors. This only intensifies the need for top-notch managerial decision making; the future is still unknown. Webster's 18th Collegiate no longer defines the word independent. It is noted as archaic, but the reader is referred to interdependence and responsibility. Oh yes-advertising and promotion are here to stay-an accepted and integral part of our economy. But we've "licked" the problem of trading stamps for the last time. They now come with self-sealing mucilage that adheres only to the special paper used in trading stamp books. To return to the here and now-the actions that result from the Com-
Influence of Temperature and Humidity on the Stability of Carotenoids in Biofortified Maize (Zea mays L.) Genotypes during Controlled Postharvest Storage

Maize is a staple crop that has been the subject of biofortification efforts to increase the natural content of provitamin A carotenoids. Although significant progress toward increasing provitamin A carotenoid content in maize varieties has been made, postharvest handling factors that influence carotenoid stability during storage have not been fully established. The objectives of this study were to determine carotenoid profiles of six selected provitamin A biofortified maize genotypes at various developmental stages and assess the stability of carotenoids in maize kernels during controlled storage conditions (12 month period), including elevated temperature and relative humidity. There were no significant changes in the content of individual carotenoids within genotypes during kernel development from 45 days after pollination through the time of harvest. Carotenoid losses through traditional grain drying were also minimal (<9%). However, the stability of carotenoids in maize kernels over storage time after harvest was found to be dependent on both temperature and humidity, with variation observed among genotypes. Different forms of provitamin A carotenoids follow similar degradation rates. The genotype C17xDE3 had a degradation rate 2 times faster than those of the other genotypes evaluated (P < 0.001). These differences in carotenoid stability under controlled storage were attributed, in part, to observed differences in the physical properties of the kernels (surface area and porosity). These results support the notion that effective control of moisture content and temperature of the kernels during storage conditions is essential to reduce the speed of degradative reactions.
The Slow House Drawing Apparatus

The Slow House is an unrealized weekend residence designed for an art collector in North Haven, Long Island. Conceived as a passage from a door to a window—physical entry to optical departure—the h...
The influence of glutaric acid on phlorhizin diabetes

Baer and Blum found that the subcutaneous injection of 10 gm. of glutaric acid had the power of greatly reducing the amount of sugar and nitrogen in the urine of phlorhizinized dogs. The degree of reduction in the nitrogen elimination in most of their dogs is so marked (less than 1 gm. per 24 hours for dogs weighing 5.4 to 10.0 kilos!) that a repetition of this experiment seemed desirable.Thanks to the kindness of Prof. Graham Lusk, I received 100 gm. of glutaric acid, which was prepared by Kahlbaum, and which enabled me to carry out the following research:Dogs were phlorhizinized in the usual manner, and after establishing the D : N ratio, they received, subcutaneously, 10 gm. of glutaric acid dissolved in water and neutralized by means of NaHCO3. The glutaric acid was administered in three equal doses during the course of the day.These results show that the glutaric acid, contrary to the findings of Baer and Blum, has no influence whatsoever either on the sugar or on the nitrogen elimination.Another exp...
Frontiers of Science of Information

In today's knowledge-based society, the central role of data, data-driven insights, and their use in scientific, commercial, and social enterprise is widely recognized. Information is acquired, stored, communicated, curated, organized, aggregated, analyzed, valued, secured, and used to understand, optimize, and control complex processes. In the context of real systems, these tasks pose significant challenges stemming from incomplete or noisy data, varying levels of abstraction and heterogeneity, requirements on scalability, constraints on resources, considerations of privacy and security, and realtime performance. These problems lie at the core of a large class of applications, ranging from analysis of biochemical processes in living cells to building robust wide-area communication systems, and understanding global-scale economic and social systems. Claude Shannon laid the foundation of information theory, demonstrating that problems of data transmission and compression can be precisely modeled, formulated, and analyzed. He also provided basic mathematical tools for addressing these problems. Motivated by Shannon's focus on the fundamental, and his precise quantitative analysis, the Center for Science of Information aims to develop rigorous principles guiding all aspects of information, integrating elements of space, time, structure, semantics, cooperation, and value, in different application contexts. Led by Purdue University, Center member institutions include Bryn Mawr, Howard, MIT, Princeton University, Stanford University, Texas A&M University, University of California at Berkeley and San Diego, University of Hawaii at Manoa, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Center mission is to advance science and technology through a new paradigm in the quantitative understanding of the representation, communication, and processing of information.
Arthropods Associated with Herring Gull ( Larus argentatus ) and Great Black-backed Gull ( Larus marinus ) Carrion on Islands in the Gulf of Maine

Arthropods frequenting gull carcasses, located within large seabird colonies on islands in the Gulf of Maine, were studied from 1980 to 1982. Of the numerous species collected, few played a major role in decomposition. Insects dominated carrion-consumer and predator trophic levels, even on carcasses located in close proximity to the sea. Marine invertebrates, such as crabs and amphipods, had a negligible impact upon decay. Seasonal variations in abundance were evident among species of carrion-feeding Diptera, but similar patterns among necrophagous and predatory beetles were lacking. Carcasses located in vegetated habitats supported a greater diversity of species, but decomposed more slowly than those located on beaches. Less extreme environmental conditions in vegetated areas supported significantly greater numbers of predatory insects, and fewer dry-tissue consumers, moderating the decay rate. Carrion availability to necrophagous arthropods was strongly influenced by seasonal changes in gull aggression and scavenging behavior.
Strengthening Construction of Mobile Medical Service Unit to Improve Support Abilities

To strengthen construction of mobile medical unit and ensure the improvement of general support abilities continuously,many measures should be carried out as setting up effective command mechanism,founding fighting spirit of daring to fight and ensuring the victory,outfitting capable service team,increasing input and improving training quality etc.
Crosslingual Information Retrieval System Enhanced with Transliteration Generation and Mining

This report documents the participation of Microsoft Research India (MSR India) in the Crosslingual Information Retrieval (CLIR) evaluation organized by the Forum for Information Retrieval Evaluation 2010 [FIRE 2010]. MSR India participated in two crosslingual evaluation tasks, namely the HindiEnglish and Tamil-English crosslingual tasks, in addition to the English-English monolingual task. Our core CLIR engine employed a language modeling based approach using query likelihood based document ranking and a probabilistic translation lexicon learned from English-Hindi and English-Tamil parallel corpora. In addition, we employed two specific techniques to deal with out-of-vocabulary terms in the crosslingual runs: first, generating transliterations directly or transitively, and second, mining possible transliteration equivalents from the documents retrieved in the firstpass. We show experimentally that each of these techniques significantly improved the overall retrieval performance of our crosslingual IR system. Our system, using all of the topic-description-and-narrative information, achieved the peak retrieval performance of a MAP of 0.5133 in the monolingual EnglishEnglish task; in crosslingual tasks, our systems achieved a peak performance of a MAP of 0.4977 in Hindi-English and 0.4145 in the Tamil-English. The post-task analyses indicate that the mining of appropriate transliterations from the top results of the first-pass retrieval achieved enhanced the crosslingual performance of our system overall, in addition to enhancing individual performance of more queries. Our Hindi-English crosslingual retrieval performance was nearly equal (~97%) to the English-English monolingual retrieval performance, indicating the effectiveness of our approaches to handle OOV‟s to enhance the baseline performance of our CLIR system.
Molecular biology of glycoconjugates in eukaryotic cells

Glycoconjugates, such as glycoproteins and glycolipids, are one of the macromolecules composing a living body. Biological roles of carbohydrate moieties in glycoconjugates have recently drawn great attention. Sugar chains of glycoconjugates comprise an enormous diversity of structures which are known to be expressed in a cell specific manner and are regulated with stage specificity during embryogenesis and cell-differentiation. It is generally accepted that genetic expression and regulation of glycosyltransferases which are present in Golgi apparatus determines the structures of sugar chains. For these several years, a number of successes of cDNA cloning of glycosyltransferases have been reported. Recent progress and accumulated molecular cloning evidences of glycosyltransferases are reviewed and future advance using cloned genes as useful tools for glycobiology and glycotechnology is discussed.
Commentary on a smoke-free medical campus in Jerusalem: data for action.

Over the past 30 years, Israel has made great progress in attitudes and practices about smoking; probably nothing else has contributed more to the health of its population. Yet, a recent survey about a non-smoking ban at an Israeli health sciences campus found incomplete enforcement. In addition, smoking rates among health sciences students, though lower than the general population, were higher than might be expected based on rates in other developed countries. Whether the ban is—as the authors speculate—“an intrusive life style intervention” or a justifiable public health intervention, cuts to the heart of the history of tobacco control efforts and their opposition by the tobacco industry. Despite concerns that the Israeli population is not ready to accept smoke-free bans, experience in other countries suggests otherwise.
Parallel image dehazing algorithm based on GPU using fuzzy system and hybird evolution algorithm

Haze is an atmospheric phenomenon that fogs the visibility of the scenes. Removing the haze has been an important issue in image processing technologies. Many image dehazing technologies with evolution algorithms have been proposed to remove the fog in the image. However, these algorithms usually are compute-intensive. In this paper, we propose a parallel hybrid evolution algorithm based on GPU to enhance the computational performance. In traditional evolution algorithms, the calculation of fitness function occupies the most of the computation time. In the proposed method, we implement this part on GPU by using CUDA framework to reduce the computational load. The experiment results show that the proposed method can remove the haze efficiently and successfully.
Novel Mechanism of Regulation of Microtubule Dynamics by Tau

The microtubule associated protein, Tau, is implicated in a class of neurodegenerative diseases that are characterized by misregulation of axonal transport. While Tau is known to regulate microtubule dynamics, its exact role in both the normal and pathological state of the neuron is still unclear. Moreover, six isoforms of tau are expressed in adult human brain, but the isoform specificity of Tau's function is not completely understood either. To address these issues, we use a total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy based dynamic microtubule assay. We are currently working with 3RS- and 3RL- isoforms of Tau, which differ in the number of alternatively-expressed acidic inserts in the N-terminal region of the molecule. Consistent with previous studies, our results show that both of these isoforms reduce microtubule catastrophe frequencies. Interestingly, our results also show that only the 3RL-isoform increases microtubule rescue frequency. We also show that Tau reduces the rate at which microtubule tip structure evolves while it is growing, such that the microtubule tips become tapered at a slower rate in the presence of Tau compared to the no Tau control. This is a previously unknown mechanism by which Tau can alter the microtubule catastrophe frequency, and provides important new insights into the isoform-specific regulation of microtubule dynamics by Tau.
Phonetic characteristics of delayed/S/development

Development of phonetically acceptable /s/ articulation by misarticulating 5-year-old children was assessed longitudinally. The specific error allophone produced by an individual child strongly predicted development. Children who represented /s/ with a lateral fricative at the age of 5 years universally failed to develop adequate [s] articulation by the age of 8 years. Approximately 50% of the children representing /s/ with a dentalized fricative acquired correct [s] production by age 8. Nearly all of the children who represented /s/ with a bladed fricative developed adequate [s] articulation. Phonetic context appeared not to differentially bias development of normal [s] articulation.
Crowds, Community, and Jeremy Bentham

“Many hands make light work. Many hands together make merry work.”—Jeremy BenthamIn the South Cloisters of University College’s main building in London resides the Auto-Icon of Jeremy Bentham, a Br...
Multiple roles of RARRES1 in prostate cancer: Autophagy induction and angiogenesis inhibition.

BACKGROUND Prostate cancer (PCa) poses a major health concern in men worldwide. Retinoic Acid Receptor Responder (RARRES1)/ Tazarotene-induced gene-1 (TIG-1) is a putative tumor suppressor gene that exerts its tumor suppressor function via unknown mechanisms. Epigenetic silencing of RARRES1 leads to its loss in several types of cancer, including PCa. Determining the molecular mechanisms that mediate the tumor suppressor role of RARRES1 in PCa is the focus of our study. FINDINGS Our data indicates that RARRES1 over expression in PCa cell lines represses mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation. RARRES1 expression induces the levels of autophagy-related genes, beclin, ATG3 and increases LC3B-II conversion. A significant induction of SIRT1 along with mTOR inhibition is noted on RARRES1 expression. Furthermore, RARRES1 over expression elevates the levels of the antioxidant enzyme, catalase. Our results also indicate that RARRES1 expression inhibits angiogenesis in endothelial cells. CONCLUSIONS In summary, the data presented here indicate that forced expression of RARRES1 in PCa cells (a) induces ER stress and autophagic response; (b) increases SIRT1 levels; and (c) higher levels of anti-oxidant enzymes. Our study also implicates the role of RARRES1 as a novel anti-angiogenic molecule. Overall this study reports the molecular players that RARRES1 modulates to serve as a tumor suppressor molecule. Future studies will help determine the in vivo mechanisms by which RARRES1 may serve as a target for therapeutic intervention both in cancer and in angiogenesis-related disorders.
Help Me Tell You What I Want: Decisional Capacity, Neurogenic Speech and Language Impairments, and the Law

Purpose Patients of speech-language pathologists frequently encounter a variety of important clinical, personal, family, residential, and financial decisions that need to be made in their lives. Va...
AlmG, responsible for polymyxin resistance in pandemic Vibrio cholerae, is a glycyltransferase distantly related to lipid A late acyltransferases

Cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAMPs), such as polymyxins, are used as a last-line defense in treatment of many bacterial infections. However, some bacteria have developed resistance mechanisms to survive these compounds. Current pandemic O1 Vibrio cholerae biotype El Tor is resistant to polymyxins, whereas a previous pandemic strain of the biotype Classical is polymyxin-sensitive. The almEFG operon found in El Tor V. cholerae confers >100-fold resistance to antimicrobial peptides through aminoacylation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), expected to decrease the negatively charged surface of the V. cholerae outer membrane. This Gram-negative system bears striking resemblance to a related Gram-positive cell-wall remodeling strategy that also promotes CAMP resistance. Mutants defective in AlmEF-dependent LPS modification exhibit reduced fitness in vivo. Here, we present investigation of AlmG, the hitherto uncharacterized member of the AlmEFG pathway. Evidence for AlmG glycyl to lipid substrate transferase activity is demonstrated in vivo by heterologous expression of V. cholerae pathway enzymes in a specially engineered Escherichia coli strain. Development of a minimal keto-deoxyoctulosonate (Kdo)-lipid A domain in E. coli was necessary to facilitate chemical structure analysis and to produce a mimetic Kdo-lipid A domain AlmG substrate to that synthesized by V. cholerae. Our biochemical studies support a uniquely nuanced pathway of Gram-negative CAMPs resistance and provide a more detailed description of an enzyme of the pharmacologically relevant lysophosphospholipid acyltransferase (LPLAT) superfamily.
Active plasmonic nanospirals

We report on the experimental demonstration of active Archimedean nanospirals that exhibit unique far-field patterns from the interaction of locally excited surface plasmon waves with an active medium. The captured far-field images show complicated internal mode structures such as plasmonic vortex-like modes.
Policy recommendations for using cool thermal energy storage to increase grid penetration of renewable power sources (1607-RP)

The majority of U.S. states have adopted policies intended to increase renewable energy generation. Because of the intermittent nature of wind and solar resources, in particular, several states hav...
Myocardial ischemia in an adolescent secondary to nutritional thiamine deficiency.

Thiamine (vitamin B1) is an essential vitamin found in most food products in developed nations. Deficiencies in this crucial vitamin lead to diseases related to nutritional needs, metabolic demands...
Magnetic Maps in Pigeons

The homing of racing pigeons is often slowed down on days of high sun-spot activity or variability in the earth’s magnetic field. The orientation of Ring-billed Gull chicks as well as the vanishing bearings of homing pigeons also seem to change in response to variability in the earth’s magnetic field. Furthermore, homing pigeons released under sunny skies at locations where the earth’s magnetic field is distributed are disoriented, yet pigeons equipped with devices that change the magnetic field around their head home normally. Weighing all this evidence, it is hard to believe that pigeons use a magnetic map.
Molecular and cellular correlates of cardiac function in end-stage DCM: a study using speckle tracking echocardiography.

Objectives: We sought to compare the effects of interstitial fibrosis and myocardial force generation/relaxation elements on left ventricular (LV) function in patients with end-stage dilated cardio...
The Quantum Physics of Handedness

By the end of the second decade of the nineteenth century—long before the discovery of X-rays and the invention of the electron microscope—it would still have been possible, using nothing more than a beam of light and two polarizing crystals (e.g., calcite), to determine that the intrinsic structure of at least some molecules was three dimensional (assuming one believed in molecules then [1]). The tell-tale “optical activity”—a rotation of the plane of polarization of the light upon transmission through the sample as shown in Figure 6.1—does not occur for all molecules, but only for those which cannot be superimposed upon their mirror image. Such a structure, subsequently termed “dissymmetric” by Louis Pasteur but referred to as “chiral” (derived from the Greek for “hand”) in current terminology—must necessarily be three dimensional, for a flat object and its mirror image could always be made to superimpose. Reflection, as illustrated in Figure 6.2, reverses the chirality or “handedness” of an object, thereby interchanging, for example, the right and left winding of a helix or screw.
The Differentiability of the Free Boundary for the n-Dimensional Porous Media Equation

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the question of the differentiability of the free boundary for solutions of the n-dimensional porous media equation Δum–ut=0. The chapter discusses the basic ideas involved in the proof of the extra transversality hypothesis: φ m–1 ∈ C1 (supp φ) and ▽φm–1≠ 0 along ∂supp φ. It also presents an equation based on Aronson–Berilon estimate.
“Co-Existing Lives”: Understanding and Facilitating Graduate Student Sense of Belonging

Graduate students constitute a sizable proportion of students on university campuses; still, the majority of administrative efforts focus on facilitating belonging for undergraduates exclusively. This study examines sense of belonging for graduate students and how it looks different from belongingness for undergraduate students. Research driven implications and data-based strategies for facilitating graduate student sense of belonging are discussed.
A Three-Phase AC-AC Matrix Converter with Simplified Bidirectional Power Control for Inductive Power Transfer Systems

The use of direct three-phase ac-ac matrix converter with bidirectional power control for inductive power transfer (IPT) systems is proposed. The converter enables direct power conversion between low-frequency three-phase AC mains and high-frequency IPT systems. A digital power controller is designed and developed to regulate the power transfer rate at the desired level in both directions. A simplified circuit for the bidirectional power controller is presented which can be implemented with a few number of logic components or using a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The controller enables soft-switching operations and benefits from the resonance frequency tracking capability to maintain the high-efficiency power transmission at any operating conditions. The converter achieves bidirectional power transfer which is specifically useful for establishing grid-to-vehicle (G2V) and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) connections through inductive electric vehicle (EV) charging/discharging systems. Also, the proposed converter can be employed in dynamic IPT systems as it can cope with variations of the system. The controller design methodology, simulation analysis, and the preliminary experimental results of the proposed matrix converter on a case study inductive battery charging system are presented in detail.
Parametric Models for Intransitivity in Pairwise Rankings

There is a growing need for discrete choice models that account for the complex nature of human choices, escaping traditional behavioral assumptions such as the transitivity of pairwise preferences. Recently, several parametric models of intransitive comparisons have been proposed, but in all cases the model log-likelihood is non-concave, making inference difficult. In this work we generalize this trend, showing that there cannot exist an parametric model that both (i) has a log-likelihood function that is concave in item-level parameters and (ii) can exhibit intransitive preferences. Given this observation, we also contribute a new simple model for analyzing intransitivity in pairwise comparisons, taking inspiration from the Condorcet method (majority vote) in social choice theory. The majority vote model we analyze is defined as a voting process over independent Random Utility Models (RUMs). We infer a multidimensional embedding of each object or player, in contrast to the traditional one-dimensional embedding used by models such as the Thurstone or Bradley-Terry-Luce (BTL) models. We show that a three-dimensional majority vote model is capable of modeling arbitrarily strong and long intransitive cycles, and can also represent arbitrary pairwise comparison probabilities on any triplet. We provide experimental results that substantiate our claims regarding the effectiveness of our model in capturing intransitivity for various pairwise choice tasks such as predicting choices in recommendation systems, winners in online video games, and elections.
On the Problem of “Phase Transitions” in Nuclear Structure

In the setting of Brice, so evocative of Homeric adventures, it may be appropriate to state that the nuclear physicist is forced to steer perpetually between the Scylla of inductive and the Charybdis of deductive reasoning. The first approach consists in attempting to organize the empirical facts in as model independent a fashion as possible with the aim of describing them analytically in order to gain deeper insight. The second approach consists in model building, where the model, although usually based on vastly simplifying assumptions, is expected to yield completeness and accuracy in its predictions. The nuclear structure talks we have heard so far during this workshop have proven very effectively the success of an approach which belongs in the second category, namely that associated with the Interacting Boson Model (IBM), in classifying the complex band structure of even-even nuclei. On the other hand the inductive method yielded the Variable Moment of Inertia (VMI) equations,1,2 which give a precise description of ground state band energies of non-magic nuclei in terms of the rotational energy expression:
Stasis mucinosis: Insights into euthyroid localized mucinosis

Introduction Stasis mucinosis and obesity-associated lymphedematous mucinosis (OALM) have been described as 2 discrete diagnostic entities. Case report A morbidly obese African American man in his late 60s presented to the emergency room with a 3-month history of swelling of both lower extremities and secondary changes suggestive of lymphedema and venous dermatitis. On physical examination, the patient had severe edema with multiple raised areas of verruciform skin changes and varicosities, diffuse induration, erythema, and scaling. He also had an open wound in his left hallux. The skin biopsy found mucinosis. A diagnosis of stasis mucinosis was rendered. He had normal thyroid function test laboratory results. Conclusions The authors suggest stasis mucinosis and OALM represent the spectrum of euthyroid mucin depositional disease in varying clinical settings.