cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A family history of deoxyribonuclease II: surprises from Trichinella spiralis and Burkholderia pseudomallei.

Deoxyribonuclease IIα (DNase IIα) is an acidic endonuclease found in lysosomes and nuclei, and it is also secreted. Though its Caenorhabditis elegans homolog, NUC-1, is required for digesting DNA of apoptotic cell corpses and dietary DNA, it is not required for viability. However, DNase IIα is required in mice for correct development and viability, because undigested cell corpses lead to lesions throughout the body. Recently, we showed that, in contrast to previous reports, active DNase IIα consists of one contiguous polypeptide. To better analyze DNase II protein structure and determine residues important for activity, extensive database searches were conducted to find distantly related family members. We report 29 new partial or complete homologs from 21 species. Four homologs with differences at the purported active site histidine residue were detected in the parasitic nematodes Trichinella spiralis and Trichinella pseudospiralis. When these mutations were reconstructed in human DNase IIα, the expressed proteins were inactive. DNase II homologs were also identified in non-metazoan species. In particular, the slime-mold Dictyostelium, the protozoan Trichomonas vaginalis, and the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei all contain sequences with significant similarity and identity to previously cloned DNase II family members. We report an analysis of their sequences and implications for DNase II protein structure and evolution.
Scale-Up Strategies for Processing High-Rate Data Streams in System S

High performance stream processing is critical in sense-and-respond application domains – from environmental monitoring to algorithmic trading. In this paper, we focus on language and runtime support for improving the performance of sense-and-respond applications in processing data from high rate streams. The central tenet of this work is the definition of a streaming architectural pattern for these application domains and the programming model and the code generation framework to support it. Using IBM Research's System S middleware and the SPADE language, we demonstrate how to scale up a financial trading application.
MO‐B‐330A‐01: Patient Radiation Doses in Diagnostic Imaging

The main goal of this presentation is to discuss factors which affect patient radiationdose delivered during various diagnostic radiology imaging examinations and to relate these radiationdoses to potential biological risks. Measurement methods to estimate patient radiationdoses and some examples of dose reduction for radiography,mammography,fluoroscopy,angiography and CT will be reviewed. Applications of these measurements to patient dose estimation will be shown. Procedures to obtain quick computational estimates of patient doses for IRB submissions, patient inquiries and fetal dose estimations will be provided. Approaches to convert entrance skindoses,dose area products and dose length products to effective doses and risks will be discussed. Typical patient radiationdose values for common diagnosticimaging procedures will be given. Limitations, uncertainties and ranges for patient radiationdose estimates will be examined. The utilization of “reference values” for patient radiationdoses will be reviewed. Some guidelines to aid physicists with relating radiationdose issues to the public and informational media will also be included. The material is intended to provide a brief overview of one crucial aspect of the responsibilities with which diagnosticmedical physicists and medical health physicists must routinely handle in their jobs. Our expectation is to stimulate introspective assessments and to expand the manner in which patient radiationdose determinations are viewed and performed. Educational Objectives: 1. To review fundamental X‐ray dosimetry quantities. 2. To identify important factors that affect patient dose delivered by various X‐ray imaging modalities. 3. To describe common methods to measure patient dose and review strategies in developing patient dose charts for routine diagnosticimaging procedures. 4. To examine the limitations of some current dosimetry methodologies. 5. To present a practical guidance to physicists in providing day‐to‐day clinical support service such as IRB submissions, patient inquiries and fetal dose estimations.
Cr photomask etch performance and its modeling

Mathematical prediction of dry etch results have been difficult, if not impossible, over the years due to the complexity inherent in plasma processing. With device requirements tightening combined with the high cost of running test masks, it becomes even more important for process engineers to have some means by which to model accurately this increasingly complex activity. In this paper, a correlation between a novel, plasma chrome etch model and empirical data will be presented. Practical effects of chrome loading are also discussed. From the empirical data side, studies on the photomask chrome etch process using e-beam resists were carried out following strict design of experiments (DOE) format. Photomask chrome etch processes with different resists (ZEP and positive CAR) were investigated using a Unaxis VLR 770 ICP etcher and an AMAT Tetra etcher. A Toshiba EBM-3500B (50KeV) was used for the pattern writing on positive CAR resist. A KLA-Tencor P12-EX profiler, Leica LWM 250 UV CD optical measurement system, and a KLA-Tencor 8250XP-R CD SEM were used for metrology and product characterization. Significant etch performance differences were shown on these etchers irrespective of the resist type used. A special measurable number was defined and found to have a linear relationship with etch movement on both AMAT and VLR etchers.
Discussion sections in psychology courses as fora for instructional development and student learning

Discussion sections in large‐enrolment undergraduate psychology courses can foster the development of teaching assistants (TAs) as instructors while also promoting student learning. This research note discusses specific strategies for accomplishing this, including the balance of structure and flexibility in supporting novice instructors, peer mentoring within a lead‐TA model, integrating assistantships with instruction on the scholarship of teaching, and recognising the power of labels in shaping student and TA perceptions of the discussion section.
Erosion on Miniature Pediments in Badlands National Monument, South Dakota

Measurements of erosion on miniature pediments in Badlands National Monument, South Dakota, show that during almost eight years, the pediments were lowered by sheetwash. The adjacent hillslopes have retreated leaving a belt of newly formed pediment from 6 to 12 cm wide at their bases. The hillslopes are rough and relatively permeable; the miniature pediments are smooth and less permeable. Calculations based on the Manning equation suggest that the velocity of overland flow on the pediments may be of the same magnitude as that on the hillslopes. The decrease in roughness from hillslope to pediment compensates for the decrease in slope angle. The pediments are swept free of debris and are regraded by a more effective utilization of runoff energy.
Neomycin fixation followed by ethanol pretreatment leads to reduced buckling and inhibition of calcification in bioprosthetic valves

Glutaraldehyde crosslinked bioprosthetic heart valves (BHVs) have two modalities of failure: degeneration (cuspal tear due to matrix failure) and calcification. They can occur independently as well as one can lead to the other causing co-existence. Calcific failure has been extensively studied before and several anticalcification treatments have been developed; however, little research is directed to understand mechanisms of valvular degeneration. One of the shortcomings of glutaraldehyde fixation is its inability to stabilize all extracellular matrix components in the tissue. Previous studies from our lab have demonstrated that neomycin could be used as a fixative to stabilize glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) present in the valve to improve matrix properties. But neomycin fixation did not prevent cuspal calcification. In the present study, we wanted to enhance the anti-calcification potential of neomycin fixed valves by pre-treating with ethanol or removing the free aldehydes by sodium borohydride treatment. Ethanol treatment has been previously used and found to have excellent anti-calcification properties for valve cusps. Results demonstrated in this study suggest that neomycin followed by ethanol treatment effectively preserves GAGs both in vitro as well as in vivo after subdermal implantation in rats. In vivo calcification was inhibited in neomycin fixed cusps pretreated with ethanol compared to glutaraldehyde (GLUT) control. Sodium borohydride treatment by itself did not inhibit calcification nor stabilized GAGs against enzymatic degradation. Neomycin fixation followed by ethanol treatment of BHVs could prevent both modalities of failure, thereby increasing the effective durability and lifetime of these bioprostheses several fold.
Length dependence of conductance in aromatic single-molecule junctions.

Using a scattering-state approach incorporating self-energy corrections to the junction level alignment, the conductance G of oligophenyldiamine−Au junctions is calculated and elucidated. In agreement with experiment, we find G decays exponentially with the number of phenyls with decay constant β = 1.7. A straightforward, parameter-free self-energy correction, including electronic exchange and correlations beyond density functional theory (DFT), is found to be essential for understanding the measured values of both G and β. Importantly, our results confirm quantitatively the picture of off-resonant tunneling in these systems and show that exchange and correlation effects absent from standard DFT calculations contribute significantly to β.
Introduction to the Special Section: Myelin and oligodendrocyte abnormalities in schizophrenia

A central tenet of modern views of the neurobiology of schizophrenia is that the symptoms of schizophrenia arise from a failure of adequate communication between different brain regions and disruption of the circuitry that underlies behaviour and perception. Historically this disconnectivity syndrome has been approached from a neurotransmitter-based perspective. However, efficient communication between brain circuits is also contingent on saltatory signal propagation and salubrious myelination of axons. The papers in this Special Section examine the neuroanatomical and molecular biological evidence for abnormal myelination and oligodendroglial function in schizophrenia through studies of post-mortem brain tissue and animal model systems. The picture that emerges from the studies described suggests that although schizophrenia is not characterized by gross abnormalities of white matter such as those evident in multiple sclerosis, it does involve a profound dysregulation of myelin-associated gene expression, reductions in oligodendrocyte numbers, and marked abnormalities in the ultrastructure of myelin sheaths.
Ideological Distance from the Majority Party and Public Approval of Congress

We analyze whether or not perceived ideological distance from the congressional majority party influences individuals' approval of the way Congress as a whole handles its job. We argue that, to the extent citizens see the majority party as representing an ideological stance that is distant from their own, they are unlikely to feel that Congress is representing them and therefore will be less supportive toward Congress. In contrast, when members of the public feel that the congressional majority is close to them ideologically, they are likely to feel well represented by and thereby approve of Congress. Using cross-sectional data covering periods of Democratic, Republican, and split party control of Congress (1980-98), this analysis provides strong support for the ideological proximity argument.
Genes Required for Intrinsic Multidrug Resistance in Mycobacterium avium

Genes required for intrinsic multidrug resistance by Mycobacterium avium were identified by screening a library of transposon insertion mutants for the inability to grow in the presence of ciprofloxacin, clarithromycin, and penicillin at subinhibitory concentrations. Two genes, pks12 and Maa2520, were disrupted in multiple drug-susceptible mutants. The pks12 gene (Maa1979), which may be cotranscribed with a downstream gene (Maa1980), is widely conserved in the actinomycetes. Its ortholog in Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a polyketide synthase required for the synthesis of dimycocerosyl phthiocerol, a major cell wall lipid. Mutants of M. avium with insertions into pks12 exhibited altered colony morphology and were drug susceptible, but they grew as well as the wild type did in vitro and intracellularly within THP-1 cells. A pks12 mutant of M. tuberculosis was moderately more susceptible to clarithromycin than was its parent strain; however, susceptibility to ciprofloxacin and penicillin was not altered. M. avium complex (MAC) and M. tuberculosis appear to have different genetic mechanisms for resisting the effects of these antibiotics, with pks12 playing a relatively more significant role in MAC. The second genetic locus identified in this study, Maa2520, is a conserved hypothetical gene with orthologs in M. tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae. It is immediately upstream of Maa2521, which may code for an exported protein. Mutants with insertions at this locus were susceptible to multiple antibiotics and slow growing in vitro and were unable to survive intracellularly within THP-1 cells. Like pks12 mutants, they exhibited increased Congo red binding, an indirect indication of cell wall modifications. Maa2520 and pks12 are the first genes to be linked by mutation to intrinsic drug resistance in MAC.
Why Won't Our Patients Stop Smoking?: The power of nicotine addiction

Health risks related to tobacco use have been well established for >50 years, with diseases including lung cancer, other malignancies, and cardiovascular diseases linked to smoking and causing early mortality in current and former smokers (1–4). Yet cigarette smoking remains highly prevalent in both the developing and developed worlds (5). Smoking uptake typically occurs in the teenage years, when risk-taking behavior is the norm and peer pressure is a powerful predictor of behavior. The prevalence of chronic diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, respiratory disease, arthritis, and cardiovascular disease, is low in teenagers and young adults but increases into middle-age and older adulthood (6–9). Conversely, in developed countries like the U.S., smoking prevalence peaks in young adults and decreases as the population ages, because people stop smoking or die (with current smokers dying at a faster rate than former or never smokers) (10). Most of the adult population in the developed world who are current smokers grew up in an environment where the risks of smoking were well established and well known to the public. So why do our adult patients, many of whom have diseases either related to tobacco smoking or complicated by smoking, find it difficult to quit? This question has been a vexing one to both clinicians and public health practitioners since the adverse affects of smoking became known to us. There are divergent truths. On one hand, in most developed countries, the majority of people who have ever smoked in their lifetime have successfully quit (11). On the other hand, many people with chronic diseases that are clearly worsened by cigarette smoking are unable to quit. So why can some patients quit quickly and easily while other patients smoke right …
A global timestamp-based approach to enhanced data consistency and fairness in collaborative virtual environments

Collaborative virtual environments are rapidly gaining in popularity for the implementation of intuitive workspaces and networked gaming environments. Primary challenges that have to be addressed by these systems are maintaining systemwide data consistency, enabling fair resource sharing and interaction between users, and compensating network latency jitters. This paper investigates two major concurrency problems - (1) fair request handling and (2) systemwide data consistency. A global timestamp-based approach is presented in combination with different implementation models. Both centralized and decentralized approaches to achieving systemwide consistency and fairness are analyzed. To improve the scalability of the approach, hierarchical models are discussed. Implementation of a proof-of-concept system based on a high-level object-oriented real-time programming scheme called TMO is presented.
Heat transfer from a continuous surface to a non-Newtonian fluid

Abstract Boundary layer solutions are presented to investigate the heat transfer characteristics of a continuous flat surface moving in a parallel stream of power-law-type non-Newtonian fluid. Analytical results have been given for the friction factor and heat transfer rates. The velocity difference between the surface and the free stream is treated as an important parameter.
STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF PANCREATIC LIPASE AND COLIPASE

Dietary fats are essential for life and good health. Efficient absorption of dietary fats is dependent on the action of pancreatic triglyceride lipase. In the last few years, large advances have been made in describing the structure and lipolytic mechanism of human pancreatic triglyceride lipase and of colipase, another pancreatic protein that interacts with pancreatic triglyceride lipase and that is required for lipase activity in the duodenum. This review discusses the advances made in protein structure and in understanding the relationships of structure to function of pancreatic triglyceride lipase and colipase.
Criminal conviction, impulsivity, and course of illness in bipolar disorder.

Objective: Criminal behavior in bipolar disorder may be related to substance use disorders, personality disorders, or other comorbidities potentially related to impulsivity. We investigated relationships among impulsivity, antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) or borderline personality disorder symptoms, substance use disorder, course of illness, and history of criminal behavior in bipolar disorder. Methods: A total of 112 subjects with bipolar disorder were recruited from the community. Diagnosis was by Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-I and SCID-II); psychiatric symptom assessment by the Change version of the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS-C); severity of Axis II symptoms by ASPD and borderline personality disorder SCID-II symptoms; and impulsivity by questionnaire and response inhibition measures. Results: A total of 29 subjects self-reported histories of criminal conviction. Compared to other subjects, those with convictions had more ASPD symptoms, less education, more substance use disorder, more suicide attempt history, and a more recurrent course with propensity toward mania. They had increased impulsivity as reflected by impaired response inhibition, but did not differ in questionnaire-measured impulsivity. On logit analysis, impaired response inhibition and ASPD symptoms, but not substance use disorder, were significantly associated with criminal history. Subjects convicted for violent crimes were not more impulsive than those convicted for nonviolent crimes. Conclusions: In this community sample, a self-reported history of criminal behavior is related to ASPD symptoms, a recurrent and predominately manic course of illness, and impaired response inhibition in bipolar disorder, independent of current clinical state. Language: en
Allograft rejection in patients supported with continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices

Background Both pulsatile-flow and continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) successfully provide patients a bridge to transplantation. Some data suggest that continuous-flow pumps increase the risk of allograft rejection, contributing to posttransplantation morbidity and mortality. We sought to analyze the relationship between LVAD flow characteristics and subsequent allograft rejection in bridge to transplant (BTT) patients. Methods Patients with LVADs from the UTAH Transplant Affiliated Hospitals were retrospectively analyzed. Rejection was determined pathologically according to the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation revised cardiac allograft rejection scale. Multimodal statistical analyses were applied. Results Of 1,076 patients who underwent transplantation over a 26-year period, 151 had LVADs. Of these, 111 (77 pulsatile flow, 34 continuous flow) patients had pathologic data available. There was no difference in overall rejection (grades 1R to 3R) between the pulsatile-flow LVAD and continuous-flow LVAD groups (2.00 ± 1.43 versus 1.50 ± 1.16 episodes/year; p = 0.076.) Patients with pulsatile-flow LVADs had more clinically relevant (grades 2R to 3R) rejection than did patients with continuous-flow LVADs (0.49 ± 0.72 versus 0.12 ± 0.33 episodes/year; p p = 0.920) or 4 years ( p = 0.721) after transplantation. Conclusions Patients with continuous-flow LVADs have similar overall rejection rates and a reduced rate of clinically relevant rejection compared with patients with pulsatile-flow LVADs during the first year after transplantation. Although there is theoretical concern that nonphysiologic, nonpulsatile flow could alter the neurohormonal profile of patients in heart failure, we are encouraged that the type of LVAD circulation does not influence posttransplantation allograft survival.
From the First Cell to the Last Universal Ancestor (LUA)

This chapter considers what must have happened to create the First Cell and what must have developed between the time when the First Cell arose and the time when the Last Universal Ancestor gave rise to multiple lines of descent. The First Cell was the first entity that could improve itself and its lot by Darwinian evolution. The Last Universal Ancestor is defined operationally as the latest organism that had various descendants that evolved into eubacteria, archaebacteria (archaea), eukaryotes, and organelles of eukaryotes. The parent of subcellular genetic elements, such as viruses, insertion sequences, and plasmids, has been little considered, but arguments can be made that its development was fairly late. The Last Universal Ancestor probably had many of the characteristics that we now find retained in bacteria and, of course, many of the features of most living organisms. During the intervening “monophyletic” epoch between the First Cell and the Last Universal Ancestor, the processes shown in the central part of Fig. 1.1 were being perfected, but had not reached the state in which we now find them in various organisms today. In this diagram, no phylogeny is implied except that within the epoch many mutations and changes occurred, but each improved organism totally displaced its predecessors and the side shoots, and that multiple branching occurred after the Last Universal Ancestor to produce a diversity of types of biological descendants.
Measurement of beta-function and phase using the response matrix

A new method for extracting the beta-function and phase for the beam position monitors (BPMs) and the corrector magnets from the measured response matrix is presented. The response matrix relates beam motion at the BPM locations to changes in corrector magnet strengths. Using the model beta and phase as the initial values, new values are obtained by iteration. The accuracy of beta and phase thus calculated is limited by the accuracy of response matrix measurement and calibration of BPMs and correctors. The scaling ambiguity in the beta-function is resolved by matching the beta product and phase advance across a drift region. A by-product of this technique is an accurate determination of the betatron tune, and in principle, quadrupole strengths can be calculated from the betas and phases. This method is applied to data obtained from the X-ray ring at the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven. The possibility of applying the results to lattice-debugging will also be discussed. >
Antipneumococcal Activity of Telithromycin by Agar Dilution, Microdilution, E Test, and Disk Diffusion Methodologies

Agar dilution and microdilution (both in air) and E test and disk diffusion (both in air and CO2) were used to test the activity of telithromycin against 110 erythromycin-susceptible and 106 erythromycin-resistant pneumococci. The MICs at which 50 and 90% of strains are inhibited (MIC50s and MIC90s, respectively) for erythromycin-susceptible strains varied between 0.008 and 0.016 μg/ml and 0.016 and 0.03 μg/ml when the samples were incubated in air. By comparison, telithromycin MIC50s and MIC90s for erythromycin-resistant strains were in air 0.03 to 0.125 and 0.125 to 0.5 μg/ml, respectively. When agar dilution was used as the reference method, essential agreement was found for 112 of 216 strains (51.9%) for microdilution, 168 of 216 (77.8%) for E test in air, and 132 of 216 (61.1%) for E test in CO2. With the exception of four strains tested by E test in CO2, all organisms were susceptible to a proposed telithromycin susceptibility breakpoint of ≤1 μg/ml. By disk diffusion with 15-μg telithromycin disks, all strains but one had zones of inhibition ≥19 mm in diameter when incubated in CO2, while all strains had zone diameters of ≥22 mm when incubated in air. Zone diameters in air were generally 4 to 5 mm larger than in CO2. By all methods, MICs and zones of all erythromycin-resistant strains occurred in clusters separated from those seen with erythromycin-susceptible strains. The results for macrolide-resistant strains with erm and mef resistance determinants were similar. The results show that (i) telithromycin is very active against erythromycin-susceptible and -resistant strains irrespective of macrolide resistance mechanism; (ii) susceptibility to telithromycin can be reliably tested by the agar, microdilution, E test, and disk diffusion methods; and (iii) incubation in CO2 led to smaller zones by disk diffusion and higher MICs by E test, but at a susceptible MIC breakpoint of ≤1 μg/ml and a susceptible zone diameter cutoff of ≥19 mm in CO2, 215 of 216 strains were found to be susceptible to telithromycin.
Continuously Cumulating Meta-Analysis and Replicability

The current crisis in scientific psychology about whether our findings are irreproducible was presaged years ago by Tversky and Kahneman (1971), who noted that even sophisticated researchers believe in the fallacious Law of Small Numbers—erroneous intuitions about how imprecisely sample data reflect population phenomena. Combined with the low power of most current work, this often leads to the use of misleading criteria about whether an effect has replicated. Rosenthal (1990) suggested more appropriate criteria, here labeled the continuously cumulating metaanalytic (CCMA) approach. For example, a CCMA analysis on a replication attempt that does not reach significance might nonetheless provide more, not less, evidence that the effect is real. Alternatively, measures of heterogeneity might show that two studies that differ in whether they are significant might have only trivially different effect sizes. We present a nontechnical introduction to the CCMA framework (referencing relevant software), and then explain how it can be used to address aspects of replicability or more generally to assess quantitative evidence from numerous studies. We then present some examples and simulation results using the CCMA approach that show how the combination of evidence can yield improved results over the consideration of single studies.
Visual Attention Allocation Between Robotic Arm and Environmental Process Control: Validating the STOM Task Switching Model

Fifty six participants time shared a spacecraft environmental control system task with a realistic space robotic arm control task in either a manual or highly automated version. The former could suffer minor failures, whose diagnosis and repair were supported by a decision aid. At the end of the experiment this decision aid unexpectedly failed. We measured visual attention allocation and switching between the two tasks, in each of the eight conditions formed by manual-automated arm X expected-unexpected failure X monitoring- failure management. We also used our multi-attribute task switching model, based on task attributes of priority interest, difficulty and salience that were self-rated by participants, to predict allocation. An un-weighted model based on attributes of difficulty, interest and salience accounted for 96 percent of the task allocation variance across the 8 different conditions. Task difficulty served as an attractor, with more difficult tasks increasing the tendency to stay on task.
Isomorphisms between inverse semigroups of injective transformations

We introduce a class of inverse semigroups of injective transformations and our main result concerns isomorphisms between two such semigroups. This result is then applied to semigroups of homeomorphisms between closed subsets of a T 1 topological space, semigroups of homeomorphisms between compact subsets of k -spaces and semigroups of isomorphisms between subsemilattices of semilattices. In the first two cases it is shown that the two inverse semigroups under consideration are isomorphic if and only if the corresponding topological spaces are homeomorphic. In the latter case, the two inverse semigroups are isomorphic if and only if the semilattices are either isomorphic or are dual isomorphic infinite chains.
SV40 T Antigen Inhibits Expression of MyoD and Myogenin, Up-Regulates Myf-5, but Does Not Affect Early Expression of Desmin or α7 Integrin during Muscle Development

Abstract The terminal stage of myogenic development is marked by the cessation of replication, fusion, and expression of genes which encode the myofibrillar proteins. Prior to terminal differentiation one or more stages of myogenic development take place. Expression of α7 integrin and desmin have been used as markers for these earlier stages of myogenesis. Both proteins are expressed in replicating secondary myoblasts prior to terminal differentiation and when these cells differentiate further, the expression of the α7 integrin and desmin genes is up-regulated. To determine whether the stages of myogenesis which precede terminal development and the factors which regulate them are distinct, the expression of α7 integrin and desmin was assayed in a variety of myogenic cell lines in which terminal differentiation was inhibited. LSE63 and C2 myoblasts in which terminal differentiation was inhibited by SV40 large T antigen, adenovirus E1A protein, or ras and an L6 mutant whose terminal differentiation is sensitive to α-amanitin were studied. In all cases, when terminal myogenic differentiation is inhibited the basal levels of desmin and α7 expression are not altered. Under these same conditions expression of the myogenic regulatory genes myogenin and MyoD also were inhibited whereas Myf-5 persisted. These results indicate that expression of the early myogenic phenotype and terminal differentiation are discrete and independent stages of myogenesis and that different transcription factors likely regulate the expression of each stage. In contrast with myoblasts in cultures of newborn rat hindlimb cells and the C2 cell line, myogenic cells derived from C3H10T1/2 cells by treatment with 5-azacytidine or by transfection with MyoD, Myf-5, or MRF4 do not express desmin as replicating myoblasts but do so upon terminal differentiation. This indicates that in vitro , terminal differentiation can proceed in the absence of the phenotypes that normally develop earlier and that the conversion of 10T1/2 cells to myogenic cells can bypass developmental stages which normally occur in vivo . These results are discussed in the context of a model of the myogenic lineage that is based on the expression of desmin.
After "Hiding the Ball" Is Over: How the NLRB Must Change Its Approach to Decision-Making

Is the National Labor Relations Board (the NLRB or the Board), the agency that oversees federal labor law, still relevant? When this question is considered, as it frequently is by scholars, lawyers and officials of the NLRB itself, the focus typically is on whether changes in the workplace, the economy and society are diminishing the relevance of the Board. But there is a new and more immediate threat to the relevance of the Board that so far has been mostly ignored - that the Board is in danger of being rendered a superfluous legal institution in the scheme of American administrative law. In 1998, the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Allentown Mack Sales and Service, Inc. v. NLRB created an opening for appellate courts to completely disregard the Board's rulings in labor law cases and decide these cases as they wish. And a number of appellate courts have already plunged through that opening to regularly decide labor law cases, and labor law issues, without any regard for the Board's views on them.The threat to the Board has come through courts' questioning of the Board's approach to fact-finding. In Allentown Mack, the Supreme Court declared that “(the Board) should not be able to impede judicial review, and indeed political oversight, by disguising its policymaking as fact-finding.” The Board technique of “disguising” policymaking as fact-finding had been identified by many scholars, most notably Professor Joan Flynn, who showed that the Board commonly engaged in the practice of making policy determinations in the guise of (ostensibly policy-neutral) fact-finding, a practice that Professor Flynn and others dubbed “hiding the ball.” These scholars argued that the Board hides the ball in order to make its policy determinations less visible and therefore less likely to be reversed by the federal courts of appeals or attacked by members of Congress.
Effect of nano-YSZ and nano-ZrO2 additions on the strength and toughness behavior of self-flowing alumina castables

Abstract In this work, a novel composition of self-flowing, ultra-low cement (ULCC) tabular alumina-based castables is developed. Ultra low cement castables (ULCC) are processed using various amounts (5, 3, 1, 0.1 and 0.01 wt%) of nano-ZrO 2 and yttria-stabilized zirconia, (YSZ) and then sintered at different temperatures up to 1773 K. In addition, binding systems without aggregates with varying yttria contents (1, 2, 3 and 8 mol%) and stabilized ZrO 2 are sintered at 1273 K, 1573 K and 1773 K for 3 h. In order to disclose the effect of nano-ZrO 2 additions, firing temperatures, and corresponding phases, present in the castables are investigated using dynamic light spectroscopy (DLS), X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fracture toughness, and three point bending (MOR). DLS results show that the nano-ZrO 2 particles are effectively distributed in the matrix using either additives or ultrasonification. It is found that the addition of 3 wt% nano-ZrO 2 improves the MOR of self-flowing castables (SFCs) by 20% and 50% matrix and binding systems respectively due to stabilization of t-ZrO 2 . Alternatively, there is no noticeable change in the exhibited K IC of castables when aggregates are present. In contrast, the K IC of aggregate-free binding systems can reach values of up to 2.27±0.21 MPa m 1/2 with the addition of 1 wt% Y-ZrO 2 . The experimental outcome indicates that the presence of alumina aggregates in the SFCs leads to excessive porosity and inherent flaws in the binding regions when the refractories are fired at high temperatures. Consequently, the effect of nano-YSZ in promoting toughness is significantly reduced or eliminated due to the presence of high porosity and internal flaws in the SFCs.
Prospects for GaAs-on-Si LSI Circuits

This paper will review some of the recent progress in GaAs-on-Si devices and circuits, and discuss the issues involved in realizing large scale ICs in GaAs-on-Si wafers. With a recent success in fabricating 1 Kbit static RAMs in GaAs-on-Si wafers, it has become apparent that this material is indeed acceptable for LSI complexity circuits. GaAs MESFETs fabricated using a standard process show an excellent threshold voltage uniformity which is comparable to that for bulk GaAs devices. GaAs bipolar devices on GaAs-on-Si have realized a gain of 25 which is the highest reported for bipolar devices in GaAs-on-Si material. Bipolar ring oscillators and 256-bit ROMs consisting of more than 100 gates have also been realized. In spite of these successes, however, there are numerous issues that need to be solved before this material becomes practical.
Interaction of a Single Synthetic Jet with a Finite Aspect Ratio Circular Cylinder

The interaction of a finite-span synthetic jet with a finite span low aspect ratio cylinder is explored experimentally using Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry (SPIV) measurements in the near wake and along the surface of the cylinder in order to understand how local small changes to the near surface flow field result in large alterations to the wake structure. A single synthetic jet located at mid-span and azimuthally at  = 90˚ with respect to the freestream velocity was oriented such that the long dimension of its orifice was parallel to the freestream direction. Without flow control, downwash from the free end dominates the near wake of the cylinder, resulting in suppression of the von-Karman vortex street and the creation of a symmetrically-shedding arch-type vortex. Once the synthetic jet is actuated, the interaction between the synthetic jet and the local near-surface flow induces large-scale global changes to the flow field, altering the circulation and a narrowed wake, while also creating a vortex dislocation along one leg of the arch-type vortex outboard of the synthetic jet orifice. Above the jet orifice, a pair of counter-rotating streamwise vortices are formed, which entrain flow from the separated region inboard of the jet orifice and delay separation outboard of the jet orifice, creating the narrowed wake and vortex dislocation seen in the near wake measurements.
Management strategies for the open abdomen: survey of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma membership.

Purpose : The purpose of this study is to report results from a survey of members of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) on strategies for management of the open abdomen. Material and methods : Invitations to participate in a web-based survey were sent to AAST members via email. Main results : The response rate was 26%. For 74% of surgeons surveyed, the number of cases treated per year has increased over the last 10 years. The abdomen is left open for damage control (46% of respondents) and abdominal organ distention (22%). Most respondents use the vacuum pack system to temporarily close the abdomen (57%) and a smaller proportion use a bogota bag (18%). Ventilatory failure was the most frequent complication (72%) and elderly patients have the worse outcome. Significant conclusions : Given the lack of consensus regarding optimal management strategies for the open abdomen, there is a need for prospective, multi-institutional studies to evaluate therapeutic approaches to treat this challenging problem.
Frequency of circulating topoisomerase-I-specific CD4 T cells predicts presence and progression of interstitial lung disease in scleroderma.

Scleroderma is an antigen-driven T cell-mediated autoimmune disease. Presence of anti-topoisomerase-I antibodies is associated with pulmonary fibrosis and predicts increased mortality. Characterization of autoreactive T lymphocytes may shed light on disease pathogenesis and serve as a biomarker for disease activity. Here, we aimed to quantify and functionally characterize circulating topoisomerase I (topo-I)-specific CD4+ T cells and to define their association with presence and progression of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in patients with scleroderma. Using flow cytometry, circulating topo-I-reactive CD4+ T cells were identified by the expression of specific activation markers (CD154 and CD69) upon stimulation with purified topo-I and quantified in 27 SSc patients and 4 healthy donors (HD). Polarization of autoreactive T cells (Th1, Th2, Th17, Th1–17) was defined using surface expression of specific chemokine receptors. Presence and progression of ILD were determined using high-resolution chest CT and pulmonary function tests. Topo-I-reactive CD4+ T cells were found in all topo-I-positive patients compared to one topo-I-negative subject and no HD. Topo-I-specific CD4+ T cells exhibited a distinct Th17 polarized phenotype. Autoreactive T cells were significantly increased in subjects with evidence of ILD and were quantitatively associated with the decline of lung volumes. Topo-I-specific T cells can be reliably quantified in the peripheral blood of patients with scleroderma, exhibit a pro-inflammatory Th17 phenotype, and predict progression of ILD.
Partner Preference Among Men Who Have Sex with Men: Potential Contribution to Spread of HIV Within Minority Populations

Abstract Purpose: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disproportionately affects men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States. Most prior research into drivers of HIV transmission has focused on individual characteristics rather than on dyadic-level behaviors such as sex partner selection. This article explores racial/ethnic preferences in sex and relationship partner selection among MSM to further contextualize the spread of HIV within minority groups. Methods: Participants were recruited through a mobile application (app) for men to meet other men in 2015 and completed an online survey on behaviors related to HIV risk. All analyses on the sample of 530 MSM were conducted in 2015. Results: There was significant homophily in partner selection within racial/ethnic minorities, but not for white MSM. In general, mobile app-using MSM reported a general preference for white and Hispanic men and a dispreference for black and Asian men, both for sex and relationship partners. Conclusion: Racial/ethnic pre...
Black Power and Black Madonna: Charting the Aesthetic Influence of Rev. Albert Cleage, Glanton Dowdell & the Shrine of the Black Madonna, #1

From his pulpit, Albert B. Cleage Jr. weighed in on a controversy, boldly asserting, “Jesus was a black Messiah born to a black woman. The pictures of the black Madonna which are all over the world did not all turn black through some mysterious accident.” This statement exemplifies the aesthetic perspective Rev. Cleage actively promoted during the 1960s and marks one aspect of his contribution to the Black Arts Movement: establishing a Christian icon as visual symbol for Black Power. Dialoging with Black Art Movement figures such as Amiri Baraka and Elridge Cleaver, Cleage and the Shrine of the black Madonna remains absent from art histories, despite the fact that they were active participants in shaping this Black Arts Movement history.
Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement in Lower Surgical Risk Patients: Review of Major Trials and Future Perspectives

Following the first successful transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in 2002, TAVR has globally evolved to become a standard procedure in high-risk patients. Surgical aortic valve replacement in non-high-risk patients remains the gold standard for treatment of severe aortic stenosis. However, a paradigm shift appears to be occurring in the direction of treating lower-risk patients, and several studies have suggested its impact on clinical outcomes. In this review, we highlight the current status of TAVR in intermediate-risk patients and review major trials including Placement of AoRTic TraNscathetER (PARTNER) 2A randomized intermediate-risk trial using SAPIEN XT (Edwards Lifesciences Corp, Irvine, CA) recently presented with excellent outcomes and the lowest major complications rate at the American College of Cardiology’s 65th Annual Scientific Session in Chicago. Clinical trials in low-risk patients using SAPIEN 3 and CoreValve Evolut R have just been launched, and they are going to be important milestones in the TAVR field.
Agonist-Induced Internalization and Degradation of γ-Aminobutyric AcidA (GABAA) Receptor Polypeptides from the Neuronal Surface

In the vertebrate brain, GABAA receptors on postsynaptic membranes are the major transducers of fast inhibitory neurotransmission. These receptors are hetero-pentameric proteins that provide specific binding sites for GABA, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and anesthetic steroids as well as an integral chloride channel (Macdonald and Olsen, 1994). Chloride channel openings are gated by GABA and allosterically potentiated by benzodiazepines and other anxiolytic and hypnotic drugs. The exceptionally rich pharmacology associated with GABAA receptors has evoked considerable interest in their structure and function. Chronic administration of many GABAAergic compounds in humans and animals produces syndromes of dependence and tolerance which limit their clinical value. Since the development of tolerance to GABAAergic drugs is attributed to functional rather than pharmacokinetic accomodation (Greenblatt and Shader, 1986), attention has focused on use-dependent modifications of GABAA receptors. Indeed, there is general agreement that chronic exposure of rodents to benzodiazepines produces a decline in GABAA receptor function which coincides with the onset of tolerance (Miller et al., 1988; Marley and Gallager, 1989; Lewin et al., 1989). However, the molecular events which underlie this loss of receptor function are not well defined.
Post-hospitalization experiences of older adults diagnosed with diabetes: "It was daunting!"

Abstract Multimorbidity combined with geriatric syndromes in older adults with diabetes exacerbate their risks for poor post-discharge outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine self-described hospital-to-home transition challenges encountered by older adults with a diagnosis of diabetes within the first 30 days following discharge. The qualitative responses for this paper emerged from a larger mixed methods study (n = 96) in which participants provided free responses specifying transition challenges during follow-up telephone interviews on the 7th day (n = 67) and 30th day (n = 55) post-discharge. Using inductive content analysis techniques four major themes emerged: a) “The daily stuff is difficult”; b) engineering care at home is complex; c) “life is very difficult”; and d) managing complex health problems is difficult. Findings suggest existing system-level metrics such as readmission rates fail to capture the complex and dynamic interplay of personal, family and social factors which complicate hospital-to-home transitions of older adults with pre-existing diabetes.