cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Boltzmann-Machine Learning of Prior Distributions of Binarized Natural Images
Creators: name: Obuchi, Tomoyuki
name: Koma, Hirokazu
name: Yasuda, Muneki
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Machine Learning (stat.ML)
subject: Disordered Systems and Neural Networks (cond-mat.dis-nn)
subject: Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (cs.CV)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Prior distributions of binarized natural images are learned by using a Boltzmann machine. According the results of this study, there emerges a structure with two sublattices in the interactions, and the nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor interactions correspondingly take two discriminative values, which reflects the individual characteristics of the three sets of pictures that we process. Meanwhile, in a longer spatial scale, a longer-range, although still rapidly decaying, ferromagnetic interaction commonly appears in all cases. The characteristic length scale of the interactions is universally up to approximately four lattice spacings $ξ\approx 4$. These results are derived by using the mean-field method, which effectively reduces the computational time required in a Boltzmann machine. An improved mean-field method called the Bethe approximation also gives the same results, as well as the Monte Carlo method does for small size images. These reinforce the validity of our analysis and findings. Relations to criticality, frustration, and simple-cell receptive fields are also discussed.
description: 32 pages, 33 figures
Validation and Calibration of a Model Used to Reconstruct Historical Exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons for Use in Epidemiologic Studies
Creators: name: Hatch, Maureen
name: Prokopczyk, Bogdan
name: Gammon, Marilie D.
name: Santella, Regina M.
name: Camann, David
name: Teitelbaum, Susan L.
name: Beyea, Jan
name: Stellman, Steven D.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2006

description: ObjectivesWe previously developed a historical reconstruction model to estimate exposure to airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from traffic back to 1960 for use in case–control studies of breast cancer risk. Here we report the results of four exercises to validate and calibrate the model.MethodsModel predictions of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) concentration in soil and carpet dust were tested against measurements collected at subjects’ homes at interview. In addition, predictions of air intake of BaP were compared with blood PAH–DNA adducts. These same soil, carpet, and blood measurements were used for model optimization. In a separate test of the meteorological dispersion part of the model, predictions of hourly concentrations of carbon monoxide from traffic were compared with data collected at a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency monitoring station.ResultsThe data for soil, PAH–DNA adducts, and carbon monoxide concentrations were all consistent with model predictions. The carpet dust data were inconsistent, suggesting possible spatial confounding with PAH-containing contamination tracked in from outdoors or unmodeled cooking sources. BaP was found proportional to other PAHs in our soil and dust data, making it reasonable to use BaP historical data as a surrogate for other PAHs. Road intersections contributed 40–80% of both total emissions and average exposures, suggesting that the repertoire of simple markers of exposure, such as traffic counts and/or distance to nearest road, needs to be expanded to include distance to nearest intersection.
Some Problems in Statistical Analysis of Clinical data: From Missing Data to Non-Inferiority Trial
Creators: name: Chen, Ruizhe
Publisher: name: University of Illinois at Chicago
Year: 2022
Subjects: Uncategorized

description: In this dissertation, we present three separate yet related methodology works that focus on solving certain statistical problems one may encounter when analyzing clinical data, especially data with time-to-event endpoints from oncology trials. Restricted mean survival time (RMST) is defined as the expectation of a time-to-event random variable restricted to a time point of clinical interest. The RMST function is intuitive to interpret and robust against the proportional hazards (PH) assumption compared to the hazard ratio (HR) measure. We develop nonparametric Bayesian approaches to model RMST functions as a mixture of kernel RMST functions with time-independent mixture weights by assigning dependent stick-breaking process priors that incorporate covariates dependence. In recent years, the use of RMST difference as a treatment effect measure in non-inferiority (NI) trials has gained many interests. Many historical NI trials conducted using the HR measure can be reanalyzed under a RMST measure with a proper tool that converts the original NI margin measured in HR to one measured in RMST difference or ratio. We propose a NI margin conversion method, which relies on Kaplan-Meier (KM) estimators and the meta-analysis framework, to help achieve the reanalysis goal. Though there is an extensive literature on testing for the missing completely at random (MCAR) assumption, there is no existing approach for testing the MCAR assumption for incomplete multivariate data with both quantitative and categorical components subject to be missing, which are common in oncology studies. We develop a test for incomplete multivariate mixed-type data with variables measured in both quantitative and categorical scales, which are commonly observed in oncology trials.
Childhood Leukemia in the Vicinity of the Geesthacht Nuclear Establishments near Hamburg, Germany
Creators: name: Richardson, David B.
name: Hoffmann, Wolfgang
name: Terschueren, Claudia
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2007

description: BackgroundDuring 1990–1991 a childhood leukemia cluster was observed in the sparsely populated region surrounding two nuclear establishments southeast of Hamburg, Germany. Since then, several new cases have been reported. Recently a possible accidental release of radionuclides in 1986 was hypothesized.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to analyze the childhood leukemia incidence in this area since 1990.MethodsAll incident cases (< 15 years of age) were ascertained during 1990–2005 within a 5-km radius of the Krümmel nuclear power plant. We derived standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) using county and national leukemia incidence rates as referents. We stratified analyses by calendar period and attained age, and by subdividing the study region into areas north versus south of the Elbe river.ResultsFourteen cases were ascertained in the study area, whereas 4.0 were expected based on national referent rates [1990–2005: SIR = 3.5; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.9–5.9]. The excess was not confined to the early 1990s; for the more recent time period 1999–2005, the SIR is still elevated (SIR = 2.7; 95% CI, 0.9–6.2). SIRs of greatest magnitude were observed for children 0–4 years of age (SIR = 4.9; 95% CI, 2.4–9.0) and for residents south of the Elbe (SIR = 7.5; 95% CI, 2.8–16.4).ConclusionsThe incidence in this region is significantly higher than the childhood leukemia incidence for Germany as a whole. To date, no unique hazards have been identified in this population. The fact that the elevated rates have persisted in this community for > 15 years warrants further investigation.
Chronic Arsenic Exposure and Cardiac Repolarization Abnormalities with QT Interval Prolongation in a Population-based Study
Creators: name: Foster, James
name: Wu, Kegong
name: Yang, Zhihui
name: Kwok, Richard
name: Sanders, William E.
name: Xia, Yajuan
name: Mumford, Judy L.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2007

description: BackgroundChronic arsenic exposure is associated with cardiovascular abnormalities. Prolongation of the QT (time between initial deflection of QRS complex to the end of T wave) interval and profound repolarization changes on electrocardiogram (ECG) have been reported in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia treated with arsenic trioxide. This acquired form of long QT syndrome can result in life-threatening arrhythmias.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to assess the cardiac effects of arsenic by investigating QT interval alterations in a human population chronically exposed to arsenic.MethodsResidents in Ba Men, Inner Mongolia, have been chronically exposed to arsenic via consumption of water from artesian wells. A total of 313 Ba Men residents with the mean arsenic exposure of 15 years were divided into three arsenic exposure groups: low (≤ 21 μg/L), medium (100–300 μg/L), and high (430–690 μg/L). ECGs were obtained on all study subjects. The normal range for QTc (corrected QT) interval is 0.33–0.44 sec, and QTc ≥ 0.45 sec was considered to be prolonged.ResultsThe prevalence rates of QT prolongation and water arsenic concentrations showed a dose-dependent relationship (p = 0.001). The prevalence rates of QTc prolongation were 3.9, 11.1, 20.6% for low, medium, and high arsenic exposure, respectively. QTc prolongation was also associated with sex (p < 0.0001) but not age (p = 0.486) or smoking (p = 0.1018). Females were more susceptible to QT prolongation than males.ConclusionsWe found significant association between chronic arsenic exposure and QT interval prolongation in a human population. QT interval may potentially be useful in the detection of early cardiac arsenic toxicity.
The Kinase PIG-1/MELK is a Conserved Regulator of C. elegans Tubulogenesis and Vertebrate Angiogenesis
Creators: name: Socovich, Alexandra
Publisher: name: University of Illinois at Chicago
Year: 2022
Subjects: Uncategorized

description: Biological tube formation, or tubulogenesis, is a complex process, requiring precise cytoskeletal regulation, that plays an integral role in vascular development and physiology. Kinases are key regulators of cellular functions and signal transduction pathways, and their well-defined mechanism of action makes them attractive targets for therapeutic development. Therefore, finding kinase regulators of vascular tubulogenesis is a promising translational research approach. The C. elegans excretory canal (ExCa) cell, which forms a large unicellular tube, provides a tractable model to study tubulogenesis, and vertebrate orthologs of genes that regulate ExCa tubulogenesis are involved in vascular development and disease. Through an RNAi screen, confirmed with mutant alleles, for conserved kinases whose loss affected ExCa tubulogenesis we identified PIG-1, and found that its vertebrate ortholog, MELK, is expressed in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), consistent with a possible role for this kinase in angiogenesis. Genetic studies in C. elegans allowed us to identify a novel mode of PIG-1/MELK regulation unique from other AMPK family members. Through structure- function analysis we confirmed the kinase and KA1 domains, as well as the catalytic lysine and putative autophosphorylation site of PIG-1. are required for ExCa tubulogenesis. We defined a cytoskeletal role for PIG-1 in regulating the INF2 formins EXC-6 and INFT-2 and F-actin accumulation in the ExCa. We also found that MELK is required for cell migration and formation of angiogenic sprouting of HUVEC in culture, suggesting that PIG-1/MELK is a conserved regulator of tubulogenesis and angiogenesis. Moreover, we also find that CRISPR-mediated deletion of Zebrafish Melk causes angiogenic defects. Therefore, we propose a novel conserved PIG-1/MELK and INF2 pathway that regulates the cytoskeleton in tubulogenesis and angiogenesis. Notably, MELK is upregulated in various aggressive cancers and although inhibitory compounds are undergoing clinical trials, little is known about MELK’s physiological function. Thus, our work represents an important step in understanding the function of this clinically relevant kinase.
Coarse Particulate Matter (PM2.5–10) Affects Heart Rate Variability, Blood Lipids, and Circulating Eosinophils in Adults with Asthma
Creators: name: Williams, Ronald
name: Peden, David B.
name: Herbst, Margaret
name: Devlin, Robert B.
name: Kupper, Lawrence
name: Cascio, Wayne
name: Svendsen, Erik
name: Creason, John
name: Neas, Lucas
name: Yeatts, Karin
name: Scott, James
name: Alexis, Neil
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2007

description: IntroductionWe investigated whether markers of airway and systemic inflammation, as well as heart rate variability (HRV) in asthmatics, change in response to fluctuations in ambient particulate matter (PM) in the coarse [PM with aerodynamic diameter 2.5–10 μm (PM2.5–10)] and fine (PM2.5) size range.MethodsTwelve adult asthmatics, living within a 30-mile radius of an atmospheric monitoring site in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, were followed over a 12-week period. Daily PM2.5–10 and PM2.5 concentrations were measured separately for each 24-hr period. Each subject had nine clinic visits, at which spirometric measures and peripheral blood samples for analysis of lipids, inflammatory cells, and coagulation-associated proteins were obtained. We also assessed HRV [SDNN24HR (standard deviation of all normal-to-normal intervals in a 24-hr recording), ASDNN5 (mean of the standard deviation in all 5-min segments of a 24-hr recording)] with four consecutive 24-hr ambulatory electrocardiogram measurements. Linear mixed models with a spatial covariance matrix structure and a 1-day lag were used to assess potential associations between PM levels and cardiopulmonary end points.ResultsFor a 1-μg/m3 increase in coarse PM, SDNN24HR, and ASDNN5 decreased 3.36% (p = 0.02), and 0.77%, (p = 0.05) respectively. With a 1-μg/m3 increase in coarse PM, circulating eosinophils increased 0.16% (p = 0.01), triglycerides increased 4.8% (p = 0.02), and very low-density lipoprotein increased 1.15% (p = 0.01). No significant associations were found with fine PM, and none with lung function.ConclusionThese data suggest that small temporal increases in ambient coarse PM are sufficient to affect important cardiopulmonary and lipid parameters in adults with asthma. Coarse PM may have underappreciated health effects in susceptible populations.
Interaction energy between a charged medium and its electromagnetic field as a dark matter candidate
Creators: name: Arminjon, Mayeul
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: General Physics (physics.gen-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: In the scalar theory of gravitation with a preferred reference frame, a consistent formulation of electrodynamics in the presence of gravitation needs to introduce an additional energy tensor: the interaction energy tensor. This energy is gravitationally active and might contribute to the dark matter, because it has an exotic character and it is not localized inside matter. In order to check if that energy might form representative dark halos, one has to model the interstellar radiation field in a galaxy as a complete electromagnetic field obeying the Maxwell equations. A model has been built for this purpose, based on assuming axial symmetry and on recent results about axisymmetric Maxwell fields. Its predictions for the variation of the spectral energy density inside our Galaxy are relatively close to those of a recent radiation transfer model, except on the symmetry axis of the Galaxy, where the present model predicts extremely high values of the energy density.
description: 14 pages, including 3 figures. Text of a talk given at the 16th Marcel Grossmann Meeting, July 5-10, 2021 (online meeting, "Interacting Dark Matter" session)
Ganarse la vida. Género y trabajo a través de los siglos
Creators: name: Kackute, Egle
name: Heffernan, Valerie
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Motherhood
Work
Working mothers
Motherwork
Maternal employment
Mompreneur
Motherhood penalty
Covid-19 pandemic

description: El presente volumen reúne en sus veintiséis secciones temáticas más de dos centenares de abstracts correspondientes a las mesas y comunicaciones del Congreso Internacional Ganarse la vida. Género y trabajo a través de los siglos, celebrado en Pampaneira (Granada) del 12 al 16 de septiembre de 2022. Como el lector apreciará, los trabajos aquí recogidos son principalmente propuestas de debate, experiencias investigadoras, en ocasiones solo preguntas razonables de investigación, y en todos los casos nos muestran los diversos hilos de las conversaciones dentro y entre disciplinas que estudian género y trabajo.
description: This working session is organised by the MotherNet project. MotherNet has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 952366.
Land Use and Urbanization as Drivers of Change in Soil Properties of Urban Remnant Prairies
Creators: name: Yu, Kevin Kit
Publisher: name: University of Illinois at Chicago
Year: 2022
Subjects: Uncategorized

description: Prairieland management is crucial in effective carbon sequestration. Due to the unique dynamics of prairie C3 and C4 plants, prairies are highly productive, regardless of remnant or restored status. Projects of prairie conservation and/or restoration are extremely important, but they are challenged by different conditions and affected by different management and disturbances. The goal of this study was to observe whether fire control as a management practice affects prairie heterogeneity and how it affects soil carbon and nitrogen, soil physico-chemical properties, and C3 and C4 plant balance in the James Woodworth Prairie Preserve (IL, USA). Within the Preserve, we selected five sites, three of which are unburned and two which are burned annually. Soil core samples were analyzed for Soil Organic Carbon (SOC), Total Nitrogen (TN), grams of C3 and C4 carbon, percent N, percent C, δ15N, δ13C, proportion of C4 and C3 carbon, bulk density, pH and field water capacity. A plant survey was also conducted to identify species at the five sites. We found that soil C and N were similar between most sites and soil depths, with a few exceptions. Most soil C comes from C3 plants, as the chosen sites are mostly C3 dominated. Soil N did not differ between sites except for the deepest part of one specific site (Road). Belowground temperature differed between burned and unburned sites. Our Road site had the most alkaline pH (7.6) while the other four sites did not differ in pH. We also identified 77 unique plant species between our five sites, most of which were C3 species. From our findings, we conclude that annual fires may not have as large an impact on JWP as originally thought, and soil and species composition may be larger contributing factors in shaping this prairie’s characteristics and diversity.
A hierarchical Bayesian setting for an inverse problem in linear parabolic PDEs with noisy boundary conditions
Creators: name: Ruggeri, Fabrizio
name: Sawlan, Zaid
name: Scavino, Marco
name: Tempone, Raul
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Methodology (stat.ME)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: In this work we develop a Bayesian setting to infer unknown parameters in initial-boundary value problems related to linear parabolic partial differential equations. We realistically assume that the boundary data are noisy, for a given prescribed initial condition. We show how to derive the joint likelihood function for the forward problem, given some measurements of the solution field subject to Gaussian noise. Given Gaussian priors for the time-dependent Dirichlet boundary values, we analytically marginalize the joint likelihood using the linearity of the equation. Our hierarchical Bayesian approach is fully implemented in an example that involves the heat equation. In this example, the thermal diffusivity is the unknown parameter. We assume that the thermal diffusivity parameter can be modeled a priori through a lognormal random variable or by means of a space-dependent stationary lognormal random field. Synthetic data are used to test the inference. We exploit the behavior of the non-normalized log posterior distribution of the thermal diffusivity. Then, we use the Laplace method to obtain an approximated Gaussian posterior and therefore avoid costly Markov Chain Monte Carlo computations. Expected information gains and predictive posterior densities for observable quantities are numerically estimated using Laplace approximation for different experimental setups.
description: 30 pages, submitted, January 2015
title: SERSCIS-Ont : evaluation of a formal metric model using airport collaborative decision making
Creators: name: Surridge, Mike
name: Chakravarthy, Ajay
name: Bashevoy, Max
name: Wright, Joel
name: Hall-May, Martin
name: Nossal, Roman
Publisher: name: University of Southampton
Year: 2011

description: In the Future Internet, programs will run on a dynamically changing collection of services, entailing the consumption of a more complex set of resources including financial resources. The von Neumann model offers no useful abstractions for such resources, even with refinements to address parallel and distributed computing devices. In this paper we detail the specification for a post-von Neumann model of metrics where program performance and resource consumption can be quantified and encoding of the behaviour of processes that use these resources is possible. Our approach takes a balanced view between service provider and service consumer requirements, supporting service management and protection as well as non-functional specifications for service discovery and composition. The approach is evaluated using a case study based on an airport-based collaborative decision-making scenario. Two experimental approaches are presented: the first based on stochastic process simulation, the second on discrete event-based simulation.
Early Childhood Lower Respiratory Illness and Air Pollution
Creators: name: Sram, Radim
name: James Baker, Rebecca
name: Lipsett, Michael
name: Herr, Caroline E.W.
name: Greenfield, Teri
name: Joad, Jesse P.
name: Benes, Ivan
name: Yap, Poh-Sin
name: Shumway, Robert H.
name: Hertz-Picciotto, Irva
name: Dostal, Miroslav
name: Pinkerton, Kent E.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2007

description: BackgroundFew studies of air pollutants address morbidity in preschool children. In this study we evaluated bronchitis in children from two Czech districts: Teplice, with high ambient air pollution, and Prachatice, characterized by lower exposures.ObjectivesOur goal was to examine rates of lower respiratory illnesses in preschool children in relation to ambient particles and hydrocarbons.MethodsAir monitoring for particulate matter < 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was conducted daily, every third day, or every sixth day. Children born May 1994 through December 1998 were followed to 3 or 4.5 years of age to ascertain illness diagnoses. Mothers completed questionnaires at birth and at follow-up regarding demographic, lifestyle, reproductive, and home environmental factors. Longitudinal multivariate repeated-measures analysis was used to quantify rate ratios for bronchitis and for total lower respiratory illnesses in 1,133 children.ResultsAfter adjustment for season, temperature, and other covariates, bronchitis rates increased with rising pollutant concentrations. Below 2 years of age, increments in 30-day averages of 100 ng/m3 PAHs and of 25 μg/m3 PM2.5 resulted in rate ratios (RRs) for bronchitis of 1.29 [95 % confidence interval (CI), 1.07–1.54] and 1.30 (95% CI, 1.08–1.58), respectively; from 2 to 4.5 years of age, these RRs were 1.56 (95% CI, 1.22–2.00) and 1.23 (95% CI, 0.94–1.62), respectively.ConclusionAmbient PAHs and fine particles were associated with early-life susceptibility to bronchitis. Associations were stronger for longer pollutant-averaging periods and, among children > 2 years of age, for PAHs compared with fine particles. Preschool-age children may be particularly vulnerable to air pollution–induced illnesses.
3D printing of multifunctional polymer for space application
Creators: name:  U. LAFONT
name:   M. MUNCK
name:   J. WESSING
name:   M. TEROL-SANCHEZ
name:   R. RAMPINI
Publisher: name: Proceedings of  the 9th European Conference for Aerospace Sciences. Lille, France, 27 June - 1 July, 2022
Year: 2022
Subjects: STRUCTURES
MATERIALS
POLYMER
COMPOSITE

description: The European Space Agency is looking into the implementation and use of new materials to enable new applications for space from ground to out-of-earth application. In this respect, development of electrically conductive high performance thermoplastic like PolyEtherEtherKetone (PEEK) has been achieved using carbon nanotubes and graphene as fillers, enabling new applications aiming at metallic part replacement. However, the benefit of new functionalities or capabilities brought by materials shall be assessed against their behavior under effect of space environment. In this work, at first, the effect of processing (3D printing) on the material performance will be presented for electrically conductive PEEK. In view of future space application, the effect of space environment (VUV, Thermal Cycling, ATOX) on the functional performance of the material have been assessed. The results obtained on this material mechanical, optical and electrical (ESD, electrical conduction and data transfer capabilities) performances will be presented including several demonstrator enabled by such material and process combination like structural parts and implementation of PEEK based electrical conductive 3D printed payload in a CubeSat. The effect of the 3D printing process and its relation with the material on the final part performance will be discussed. Based on numerous test performed looking into the effect of printing, strategy, sample size, type of printers, among others. We will show that not having a standardized approach to enable accurate part qualification is not favorable to accelerate the use of polymer additive manufacturing for space application. However, it is clear that such material/process combination is a strong enabler for any out-of-earth / in-space manufacturing technology development.
Elevated Plasma Endothelin-1 and Pulmonary Arterial Pressure in Children Exposed to Air Pollution
Creators: name: Osnaya, Hector
name: Valencia-Salazar, Gildardo
name: Garrido-García, Luis
name: Torres-Jardón, Ricardo
name: Calderón-Garcidueñas, Lilian
name: Franco-Lira, Maricela
name: Reed, William
name: Hazucha, Milan J.
name: Vincent, Renaud
name: Romero, Lina
name: Mora-Tiscareño, Antonieta
name: Henríquez-Roldán, Carlos
name: Camacho-Reyes, Laura
name: Villarreal-Calderón, Rafael
name: Barragán-Mejía, Gerardo
name: Paredes, Rogelio
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2007

description: BackgroundControlled exposures of animals and humans to particulate matter (PM) or ozone air pollution cause an increase in plasma levels of endothelin-1, a potent vasoconstrictor that regulates pulmonary arterial pressure.ObjectivesThe primary objective of this field study was to determine whether Mexico City children, who are chronically exposed to levels of PM and O3 that exceed the United States air quality standards, have elevated plasma endothelin-1 levels and pulmonary arterial pressures.MethodsWe conducted a study of 81 children, 7.9 ± 1.3 years of age, lifelong residents of either northeast (n = 19) or southwest (n = 40) Mexico City or Polotitlán (n = 22), a control city with PM and O3 levels below the U.S. air quality standards. Clinical histories, physical examinations, and complete blood counts were done. Plasma endothelin-1 concentrations were determined by immunoassay, and pulmonary arterial pressures were measured by Doppler echocardiography.ResultsMexico City children had higher plasma endothelin-1 concentrations compared with controls (p < 0.001). Mean pulmonary arterial pressure was elevated in children from both northeast (p < 0.001) and southwest (p < 0.05) Mexico City compared with controls. Endothelin-1 levels in Mexico City children were positively correlated with daily outdoor hours (p = 0.012), and 7-day cumulative levels of PM air pollution < 2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) before endothelin-1 measurement (p = 0.03).ConclusionsChronic exposure of children to PM2.5 is associated with increased levels of circulating endothelin-1 and elevated mean pulmonary arterial pressure.
Meeting Report: The Use of Newborn Blood Spots in Environmental Research: Opportunities and Challenges
Creators: name: Olshan, Andrew F.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2007

description: IntroductionDried blood spots (DBS) are routinely collected from newborns in the United States using a heel stick. The DBS are screened for inborn errors of metabolism and other disorders. More states are keeping residual spots and making them available for research purposes. DNA extraction from the DBS has been widely applied; however, the development of methods to measure a range of environmental toxicants in DBS has been a more recent goal for laboratory scientists and epidemiologists.ObjectivesThe purpose of the meeting was to examine the utility of DBS to measure environmental exposures. Speakers and discussants were invited to present data and discuss approaches to measure a range of analytes using DBS.ResultsThis meeting was held on 20 February 2007 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The audience consisted of epidemiologists, chemists, and staff from state public health programs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health. The meeting included presentations on measurement of flame-retarding chemicals and pesticides, metals, perchlorate, infectious agents, markers of immune status, and protein adducts. Analytical methods included mass spectrometry, atomic absorption, molecular methods, and microfluidic techniques. Significant progress was reported, but important challenges remain. Concerns including storage conditions, sample volume, contamination, and normalization require additional systematic evaluation. In addition, DBS storage and access policies require coordination.ConclusionsDBS remain a highly valuable resource for clinical, epidemiologic, and toxicologic investigation. The use of DBS to measure environmental exposures shows promise but additional work is necessary before more widespread use is warranted.
Spadafora, F. e Milani, G., II libro sacro. Vol. II. Nuovo Testamento. II Vangelo. Ed. Messagero. Vol. de 306 ps. 150x210. Padova 1967
Creators: name: Santos, Alexandrino Fernandes Dos
Publisher: name: Theologica
Year: 1968

description: Theologica, v. 3 n. 4 (1968)
Molecular Mechanisms of the Diabetogenic Effects of Arsenic: Inhibition of Insulin Signaling by Arsenite and Methylarsonous Acid
Creators: name: Stýblo, Miroslav
name: Devesa, Vicenta
name: Paul, David S.
name: Thomas, David J.
name: Harmon, Anne W.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2007

description: BackgroundIncreased prevalences of diabetes mellitus have been reported among individuals chronically exposed to inorganic arsenic (iAs). However, the mechanisms underlying the diabetogenic effects of iAs have not been characterized. We have previously shown that trivalent metabolites of iAs, arsenite (iAsIII) and methylarsonous acid (MAsIII) inhibit insulin-stimulated glucose uptake (ISGU) in 3T3-L1 adipocytes by suppressing the insulin-dependent phosphorylation of protein kinase B (PKB/Akt).ObjectivesOur goal was to identify the molecular mechanisms responsible for the suppression of PKB/Akt phosphorylation by iAsIII and MAsIII.MethodsThe effects of iAsIII and MAsIII on components of the insulin-activated signal transduction pathway that regulate PKB/Akt phosphorylation were examined in 3T3-L1 adipocytes.ResultsSubtoxic concentrations of iAsIII or MAsIII had little or no effect on the activity of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI-3K), which synthesizes phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-triphosphate (PIP3), or on phosphorylation of PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten), a PIP3 phosphatase. Neither iAsIII nor MAsIII interfered with the phosphorylation of 3-phosphoinositide-dependent kinase-1 (PDK-1) located downstream from PI-3K. However, PDK-1 activity was inhibited by both iAsIII and MAsIII. Consistent with these findings, PDK-1-catalyzed phosphorylation of PKB/Akt(Thr308) and PKB/Akt activity were suppressed in exposed cells. In addition, PKB/Akt(Ser473) phosphorylation, which is catalyzed by a putative PDK-2, was also suppressed. Notably, expression of constitutively active PKB/Akt restored the normal ISGU pattern in adipocytes treated with either iAsIII or MAsIII.ConclusionsThese results suggest that inhibition of the PDK-1/PKB/Akt-mediated transduction step is the key mechanism for the inhibition of ISGU in adipocytes exposed to iAsIII or MAsIII, and possibly for impaired glucose tolerance associated with human exposures to iAs.
Determination of Women Patentees and their Impact on Participatory Ergonomics in Medicine
Creators: name: Crowell, Lake
Publisher: name: University of Illinois at Chicago
Year: 2022
Subjects: Uncategorized

description: This paper conducts an analysis of the number of women inventors in patents as well as the number of women degree recipients fields of study and how it directly relates to participatory ergonomics. It has often been said that women build for women, but is that the same for their respective subject matters. In comparison to women, men receive patents at a 96% higher rate than that of women. Surely if women invent for women then the lack of women in patents directly affects the amount of inventions designed for women. Participatory ergonomics will be proven true if there is a relationship between the number of women inventors in a given section and the number of women that receive degrees in that respective section as well.
Status of the Bio-Nano electron cyclotron resonance ion source at Toyo University
Creators: name: Uchida, T.
name: Minezaki, H.
name: Ishihara, S.
name: Muramatsu, M.
name: Racz, R.
name: Asaji, T.
name: Kitagawa, A.
name: Kato, Y.
name: Biri, S.
name: Drentje, A. G.
name: Yoshida, Y.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Instrumentation and Detectors (physics.ins-det)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: In the paper, the material science experiments, carried out recently using the Bio-Nano electron cyclotron resonance ion source (ECRIS) at Toyo University, are reported. We have investigated several methods to synthesize endohedral C60 using ion-ion and ion-molecule collision reaction in the ECRIS. Because of the simplicity of the configuration, we can install a large choice of additional equipment in the ECRIS. The Bio-Nano ECRIS is suitable not only to test the materials production but also to test technical developments to improve or understand the performance of an ECRIS.
Bharatohydracarus elongatus Cook 1967
Creators: name: Pešić, Vladimir
name: Chatterjee, Tapas
name: Bordoloi, Sabitry
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Actinedida
Hungarohydracaridae
Bharatohydracarus
Bharatohydracarus elongatus

description: Bharatohydracarus elongatus Cook, 1967
Records from the study area: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala—Cook (1967); Prasad (1974); Pešić & Ranga Reddy (2009).
Habitat: Hyporheic interstitial.
Distribution: India.
description: Published as part of Pešić, Vladimir, Chatterjee, Tapas & Bordoloi, Sabitry, 2010, A checklist of the water mites (Acari: Hydrachnidia) of India, with new records and description of one new species, pp. 1-54 in Zootaxa 2617 (1) on page 48, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2617.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/197964
Nanosize Titanium Dioxide Stimulates Reactive Oxygen Species in Brain Microglia and Damages Neurons in Vitro
Creators: name: Tajuba, Julianne
name: Veronesi, Bellina
name: Saleh, Navid
name: Hester, Susan
name: Swartz, Carol
name: Sama, Preethi
name: Long, Thomas C.
name: Parker, Joel
name: Lowry, Gregory V.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2007

description: BackgroundTitanium dioxide is a widely used nanomaterial whose photo-reactivity suggests that it could damage biological targets (e.g., brain) through oxidative stress (OS).ObjectivesBrain cultures of immortalized mouse microglia (BV2), rat dopaminergic (DA) neurons (N27), and primary cultures of embryonic rat striatum, were exposed to Degussa P25, a commercially available TiO2 nanomaterial. Physical properties of P25 were measured under conditions that paralleled biological measures.FindingsP25 rapidly aggregated in physiological buffer (800–1,900 nm; 25°C) and exposure media (~ 330 nm; 37°C), and maintained a negative zeta potential in both buffer (–12.2 ± 1.6 mV) and media (–9.1 ± 1.2 mV). BV2 microglia exposed to P25 (2.5–120 ppm) responded with an immediate and prolonged release of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Hoechst nuclear stain was reduced after 24-hr (≥100 ppm) and 48-hr (≥2.5 ppm) exposure. Microarray analysis on P25-exposed BV2 microglia indicated up-regulation of inflammatory, apoptotic, and cell cycling pathways and down-regulation of energy metabolism. P25 (2.5–120 ppm) stimulated increases of intracellular ATP and caspase 3/7 activity in isolated N27 neurons (24–48 hr) but did not produce cytotoxicity after 72-hr exposure. Primary cultures of rat striatum exposed to P25 (5 ppm) showed a reduction of immunohistochemically stained neurons and microscopic evidence of neuronal apoptosis after 6-hr exposure. These findings indicate that P25 stimulates ROS in BV2 microglia and is nontoxic to isolated N27 neurons. However, P25 rapidly damages neurons at low concentrations in complex brain cultures, plausibly though microglial generated ROS.
Night Heart Rate Variability and Particulate Exposures among Boilermaker Construction Workers
Creators: name: Chen, Jiu-Chiuan
name: Cavallari, Jennifer M.
name: Christiani, David C.
name: Eisen, Ellen A.
name: Schwartz, Joel
name: Dobson, Christine B.
name: Fang, Shona C.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2007

description: BackgroundAlthough studies have documented the association between heart rate variability (HRV) and ambient particulate exposures, the association between HRV, especially at night, and metal-rich, occupational particulate exposures remains unclear.ObjectiveOur goal in this study was to investigate the association between long-duration HRV, including nighttime HRV, and occupational PM2.5 exposures.MethodsWe used 24-hr ambulatory electrocardiograms (ECGs) to monitor 36 male boilermaker welders (mean age of 41 years) over a workday and nonworkday. ECGs were analyzed for HRV in the time domain; rMSSD (square root of the mean squared differences of successive intervals), SDNN (SD of normal-to-normal intervals over entire recording), and SDNNi (SDNN for all 5-min segments) were summarized over 24-hr, day (0730–2130 hours), and night (0000–0700 hours) periods. PM2.5 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 μm) exposures were monitored over the workday, and 8-hr time-weighted average concentrations were calculated. We used linear regression to assess the associations between HRV and workday particulate exposures. Matched measurements from a nonworkday were used to control for individual cardiac risk factors.ResultsMean (± SD) PM2.5 exposure was 0.73 ± 0.50 mg/m3 and ranged from 0.04 to 2.70 mg/m3. We observed a consistent inverse exposure–response relationship, with a decrease in all HRV measures with increased PM2.5 exposure. However, the decrease was most pronounced at night, where a 1-mg/m3 increase in PM2.5 was associated with a change of −8.32 [95% confidence interval (CI), −16.29 to −0.35] msec nighttime rMSSD, −14.77 (95% CI, −31.52 to 1.97) msec nighttime SDNN, and −8.37 (95% CI, −17.93 to 1.20) msec nighttime SDNNi, after adjusting for nonworking nighttime HRV, age, and smoking.ConclusionMetal-rich particulate exposures were associated with decreased long-duration HRV, especially at night. Further research is needed to elucidate which particulate metal constituent is responsible for decreased HRV.
The Influence of Jurors’ Sexual Abuse Severity on Their Child Sexual Abuse Case Judgments: Meta-Analyses
Creators: name: Cieminski, Tayler
Publisher: name: University of Illinois at Chicago
Year: 2022
Subjects: Uncategorized

description: Jurors with sexual abuse experience are more pro-child victim in child sexual abuse cases than are those without sexual abuse experience: They are more likely to empathize with a child victim, and in turn, more likely to find the victim credible and vote guilty (Jones, Bottoms, & Stevenson, 2020). I extended this finding in the current study by investigating the effect of the severity of jurors’ sexual abuse experiences on their child victim empathy and case judgments. Data is derived from seven mock jury studies including 361 (82% women) introductory psychology students who were sexually abused as a child or an adult and who reported the severity of their experiences. Meta-analyses were implemented to examine the effect of four separate severity indices: (a) victim’s relationship to the perpetrator, (b) frequency of the sexual abuse, (c) age sexual abuse began, and (d) self-report of emotional scarring from the sexual abuse on child victim empathy and case judgments of victim credibility and degree of guilt. I further tested a mediational model of jurors’ abuse severity, child victim empathy, and case judgments. Meta-analyses revealed that more severe sexual abuse experiences were, the more empathy victims had for child victims of sexual abuse (regardless of how sexual abuse severity was defined). Direct effects of severity on case judgments (perceptions of victim credibility and guilt judgments) and the full mediational model, however, failed to reach significance. Implications for clinical psychology, social psychology, and jury selection are discussed.
Obesity Is A Modifier of Autonomic Cardiac Responses to Fine Metal Particulates
Creators: name: Christiani, David C.
name: Chen, Jiu-Chiuan
name: Cavallari, Jennifer M.
name: Stone, Peter H.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2007

description: BackgroundIncreasing evidence suggests that obesity may impart greater susceptibility to adverse effects of air pollution. Particulate matter, especially PM2.5 (particulate matter with aero-dynamic diameter ≤2.5 μm), is associated with increased cardiac events and reduction of heart rate variability (HRV).ObjectivesOur goal was to investigate whether particle-mediated autonomic modulation is aggravated in obese individuals.MethodsWe examined PM2.5-mediated acute effects on HRV and heart rate (HR) using 10 24-hr and 13 48-hr ambulatory electrocardiogram recordings collected from 18 boilermakers (39.5 ± 9.1 years of age) exposed to high levels of metal particulates. Average HR and 5-min HRV [SDNN: standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals (NN); rMSSD: square-root of mean squared-differences of successive NN intervals; HF: high-frequency power 0.15–0.4 Hz] and personal PM2.5 exposures were continuously monitored. Subjects with body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m2 were classified as obese. Mixed-effect models were used for statistical analyses.ResultsHalf (50%) of the study subjects were obese. After adjustment for confounders, each 1-mg/m3 increase in 4-hr moving average PM2.5 was associated with HR increase of 5.9 bpm [95% confidence interval (CI), 4.2 to 7.7] and with 5-min HRV reduction by 6.5% (95% CI, 1.9 to 11.3%) for SDNN, 1.7% (95% CI, –4.9 to 8.4%) for rMSSD, and 8.8% (95% CI, –3.8 to 21.3%) for HF. Obese individuals had greater PM2.5-mediated HRV reductions (2- to 3-fold differences) than nonobese individuals, and had more PM2.5-mediated HR increases (9-bpm vs. 4-bpm increase in HR for each 1-mg/m3 increase in PM2.5; p < 0.001).ConclusionsOur study revealed greater autonomic cardiac responses to metal particulates in obese workers, supporting the hypothesis that obesity may impart greater susceptibility to acute cardiovascular effects of fine particles.
Ghost Particles, Entanglement of Historical Epochs and Time Machine
Creators: name: Guts, Alexander K.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: General Physics (physics.gen-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences
subject: 83C47

description: In the article the possibility of creating a time machine, based on the mechanism of quantum entanglement of macroscopic ordinary (many)partial configurations and (many) partially ghostly configurations of different historical epochs belonging to different parallel Everett universes is investigated
description: 8 pages
The Age of Regeneration: Capitalism and the French Intervention in Mexico (1861-1867)
Creators: name: Glaser, Noah Elias
Publisher: name: University of Illinois at Chicago
Year: 2022
Subjects: Uncategorized

description: This dissertation places the French Intervention in Mexico (1861-1867) within the broader history of transatlantic capitalism and nineteenth-century European imperialism. By the 1860s, France’s political leadership had largely adopted the belief that the population’s having a financial stake in industry, infrastructure, and even war could transcend social conflict. Such a technocratic, utopian vision of capitalist growth infused Napoleon III’s Second Empire, whose Saint-Simonian officials sought to export it to Mexico. Examining Mexico’s political economy in the era of the Reform Wars, this dissertation argues that the country was already the scene of repeated, destabilizing economic interventions from abroad. By using official and private correspondence, as well as mass media from France and Mexico, the author shows the effect when this ideology of capitalist “regeneration” was imposed across the Atlantic. For French officials, the Intervention quickly became a series of costly crises, in which the imperatives of free trade, debt repayment, and military domination of the countryside each came into conflict. Rather than focus on the personalities of the Emperor Maximilian and the Empress Charlotte, this dissertation examines the structural contradictions that arose in each year of the Intervention. The author shows how the France’s rulers, military officers, and bureaucrats sought to discharge responsibility through the Second Empire’s financial and administrative apparatus, particularly by means of two large loans raised to fund the Mexican Empire in 1864 and 1865. Resembling a pyramid scheme, these loans bound private investors, joint-stock banks, and limited-liability corporations into an unsustainable speculative bubble, ultimately prolonging the French army’s violent counterinsurgency campaign in Mexico. French ideas about Mexico and “Latin America” evolved to explain these tensions of empire, changes which this dissertation traces in the public and private discourse of the Interventionists and their rivals. By dissecting the politics of the collapse of the grand scheme for regeneration, the author positions the Intervention as a failure that informed France’s “New Imperialism” in the decades that followed.
Schürmann., Traditionsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen zu den Synoptischen. Evangelien. Ed. Patrnos. Vol. de 367 ps. 175x245. Diisseldorf 1968
Creators: name: Arieiro, José
Publisher: name: Theologica
Year: 1968

description: Theologica, v. 3 n. 4 (1968)
Soft-gluon resummations and NNNLO expansions
Creators: name: Kidonakis, Nikolaos
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2013
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: I discuss the effectiveness of soft-gluon resummations in describing higher-order corrections. I present a comparison of recent resummation approaches and their relative successes in approximating complete NNLO corrections. I also discuss fixed-order expansions through NNNLO and present some recent applications to QCD hard-scattering processes, including top-antitop pair production, single-top production, and W production at large transverse momentum.
description: 7 pages, 7 figures; presented at EPS-HEP 2013, Stockholm, Sweden, July 18-24, 2013