cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The seasonal march of the equatorial Pacific upper-ocean and its El Niño variability

Abstract Based on two modern data sets, the climatological seasonal march of the upper-ocean is examined in the equatorial Pacific for the period 2004–2014, because of its large contribution to the total variance, its relationship to El Nino, and its unique equatorial wave phenomena. Argo provides a broadscale view of the equatorial Pacific upper-ocean based on subsurface temperature and salinity measurements for the period 2004–2015, and satellite altimetry provides synoptic observations of the sea surface height (SSH) for the period 1993–2015. Using either 11-year (1993–2003/2004–2014) time-series for averaging, the seasonal Rossby waves stands out clearly and eastward intraseasonal Kelvin wave propagation is strong enough in individual years to leave residuals in the 11-year averages, particularly but not exclusively, during El Nino onset years. The agreement of altimetric SSH minus Argo steric height (SH) residuals with GRACE ocean mass estimates confirms the scale-matching of in situ variability with that of satellite observations. Surface layer and subsurface thermohaline variations are both important in determining SH and SSH basin-wide patterns. The SH/SSH October-November maximum in the central-eastern Pacific is primarily due to a downward deflection of the thermocline (∼20 m), causing a warm subsurface anomaly (>1 °C), in response to the phasing of downwelling intraseasonal Kelvin and seasonal Rossby waves. Compared with the climatology, the stronger October-November maximum in the 2004–2014 El Nino composites is due to higher intraseasonal oscillations and interannual variability. Associated with these equatorial wave patterns along the thermocline, the western warm/fresh pool waters move zonally at interannual timescales through zonal wind stress and pressure gradient fluctuations, and cause substantial fresh (up to 0.6 psu) and warm (∼1 °C higher than the climatology) anomalies in the western-central Pacific surface-layer during the El Nino onset year, and of the opposite sign during the termination year. These El Nino-related patterns are then analyzed focusing on the case of the onset of the strong 2015/2016 episode, and are seen to be around two times larger than that in the 2004–2014 El Nino composites. The present work exploits the capabilities of Argo and altimetry to update and improve the description of the physical state of the equatorial Pacific upper-ocean, and provides a benchmark for assessing the accuracy of models in representing equatorial Pacific variability.
Creating an online program

Good planning is key to the development of a successful online learning program. For online learning (as with any form of distance education), initial planning should primarily center on two issues: identifying the educational goal of the program, and identifying the practical issues of implementation. Planners must recognize that while online learning is a technology-based activity, it must be organized around clear educational goals that are strongly aligned with one or more key areas for the institution. Although educational goals will be different for each institution, this chapter suggests common tools and strategies that can be used to help identify key goals. Once goals (and accompanying objectives) are identified, practical issues of implementation must also be carefully considered. These include determining the initial investment, deciding on profitability goals, putting strong program leadership in place, creating an effective program, and identifying support needs for faculty and students.
Abstract 2871: Non-invasive monitoring of the efficacy of anticancer therapeutic agent in lung orthotopic xenograft models of NSCLC using Bio-Luminescence Imaging (BLI)

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) patients have a poor rate of survival owing to diagnosis at a later stage. This necessitates development of novel therapeutic strategies that limit rapid progression of NSCLC and imaging techniques that monitor such changes in vivo. There has been a significant growth of bioluminescence imaging applications in small laboratory animal models in recent years, owing to its high sensitivity, efficiency, and non-invasive nature. Our lab has previously demonstrated that a therapeutic agent that disrupts mitochondrial respiration effectively hampers proliferation of NSCLC cell lines in vitro. With an effort to investigate the potential of this therapeutic agent in clinical settings, we used a lung orthotopic xenograft mouse model along with bioluminescence imaging (BLI) to continuously monitor the efficacy of the drug in vivo. Briefly, we implanted NSCLC cell line transduced with lentiviral particles carrying luciferase sequence, in the left lung of 6-8 weeks old female NOD/SCID mice to generate lung orthotopic xenografts. The therapeutic agent was administered intravenously over several weeks. Tumor growth was then compared between the untreated versus the treated mice, non-invasively through bioluminescence imaging (Perkin Elmer’s IVIS Lumina III Imager). On sacrificing the mice, the lungs were harvested, formalin fixed and paraffin embedded for Immunohistochemistry. Our BLI data show that in the mice treated with the therapeutic agent, tumors are localized to the left lung (site of implantation) as opposed to the control mice where the tumors metastasized to the right lung. The BLI data indicates significant decrease in radiance (total flux in photons per second) in mice subjected to treatment when compared to control mice. We show that the therapeutic agent significantly inhibits progression and metastasis of human NSCLC cell line orthotopically injected in the lungs of NOD/SCID mice. The results suggest that it might be potent anti-cancer drug as it is effective in a model that recapitulates the natural environment of lung tumorigenesis. Immunohistochemical studies are underway to discern the mechanistic details. Citation Format: Sanchareeka Dey, Sarada Preeta Kalainayakan, Poorva Ghosh, Li Zhang. Non-invasive monitoring of the efficacy of anticancer therapeutic agent in lung orthotopic xenograft models of NSCLC using Bio-Luminescence Imaging (BLI) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2871. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-2871
Predicting the evolution of counseling psychology in the United States: results from a Delphi poll of academic training directors

What might the field of counseling psychology in the United States of America look like 10 years from now? In a Delphi Poll, an expert panel, consisting of 28 training directors from APA-accredited...
Benefits of College—By Degrees

Should everyone go to college? College graduates, especially STEM graduates, earn more than non-college graduates and are on average more productive than those not attending college. That does not mean, however, that a traditional baccalaureate degree is optimal for everyone, nor that most students should pursue STEM disciplines for financial reasons (for example, biological science majors on average earn less than many non-science majors). There are several risk factors in pursuing a degree, including high dropout rates, and those with mediocre academic preparation are particularly susceptible to having poor college outcomes. For some, non-degree postsecondary vocational training may be a better option.
Spine Injuries in the Aesthetic Athlete

The aesthetic athlete is a unique combination of athleticism and artistry. Their training begins at a young age with increased demands and high-level performance by their adolescence. They are susceptible to spine injuries based on the unique physical and aesthetic demands of their art/sport and errors in technique and training. The biomechanics of dance, gymnastics, and figure skating is explored as it applies to risk for spinal injury. This is followed by a discussion on spinal injuries in the aesthetic athlete. Injuries reviewed include spondylolysis, posterior element overuse syndrome, sacroiliac joint dysfunction, disc injury, Schuermann’s and atypical Schuermann’s, scoliosis, and mechanical back pain. Injury diagnosis, rehabilitation, and prevention are addressed.
Human nasal and tracheo-bronchial respiratory epithelial cell culture

Human airway epithelial (hAE) cell cultures are instrumental for studying basic and applied aspects of respiratory tract biology, disease, and therapy. When primary epithelial cells from the human nasal passages or tracheo-bronchial airways are grown on porous supports at an air-liquid interface (ALI) they undergo mucociliary differentiation, reproducing both the in vivo morphology and key physiologic processes. These cultures are useful for studying basic biology, disease pathogenesis, gene therapy and aerosol administration of drugs. This chapter gives detailed protocols for tissue procurement, cell isolation, production of complex media, and cell culture initiation and maintenance needed for hAE cell ALI cultures with non-proprietary reagents.
Authoritarian armies and democratizing states: how the military influences African transitional politics

This article uses descriptive statistics, cross-country regression analysis, and cases in Niger, Chad and Mali to investigate how authoritarian armies impact democratic transition and survival in A...
Transmission Design for a Joint MIMO Radar and MU-MIMO Downlink Communication System

We study a cooperative transmission scheme for a joint multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar and multi-user (MU) MIMO downlink communication system, where both systems operate on the same frequency band simultaneously. Maximization of the total weighted system mutual information or sum rate is considered with the presence of an extended target and environmental clutter. An alternating optimization based iterative algorithm is proposed to find the transmit covariance matrices for both radar and communication applications. A power allocation policy for the downlink communication is also developed through the same algorithm.
Treatment Sequencing for Borderline Resectable Pancreatic Cancer

Borderline resectable pancreatic cancer accounts for approximately 7-10% of all patients diagnoses with pancreatic cancer each year. Because there is significant tumor-vascular interface, patients are at a high risk of margin-positive resection with a surgery first approach. We advocate for a multimodal approach to the management of these patients in order to mitigate this risk. In this chapter we will discuss the rational for use of preoperative systemic therapy and local-regional chemoradiation in borderline resectable pancreatic cancer to improve R0 resection rates and provide the best chance for favorable long-term outcomes.
Cooperative Two-Pursuer One-Evader Blocking Differential Game

A pursuit-evasion scenario with two pursuers and one evader is considered. The evader aims at reaching a goal line which is protected by the pursuers. When reaching this goal is not possible, the evader strives to position itself as close as possible with respect to the goal line at the time of capture. The pursuers try to capture the evader as far as possible from the goal line. The problem is posed as a zero-sum differential game where the two pursuers cooperate against the evader. It represents an extension of Isaacs' game of guarding a target except now there are two cooperating defenders. State feedback strategies are derived in this paper and the Value function is obtained. It is also shown that the Value function is continuous, continuously differentiable, and it satisfies the Hamilton-Jacobi-Isaacs equation.
Evaluating patterns of inconsistent and missing data on the eating disorders examination-questionnaire in a sample of treatment-seeking adults and adolescents

Missing or inconsistent responses on self-report assessments can have implications for the use of empirically validated measurements in research and clinical practice. However, literature on frequency and systematic patterns of missingness on common measures of eating pathology is lacking. The current study evaluated EDE-Q missing and inconsistent responding in a clinical eating disorders (EDs) sample (N = 739). Thirteen percent (13.4%; n = 99) of the sample failed to provide complete responses on the EDE-Q and 13.8% (n = 101) inconsistently responded to behavioral items of the EDE-Q. Males were more likely to provide missing data, and mean BMI was higher among individuals with missing responses. Inconsistent responders endorsed higher scores on several EDE-Q subscales, were younger, and were more likely to be Hispanic/Latinx. However, many of these differences were not significant following correction for multiple comparisons. Although our results indicated similar rates of missingness and inconsistency to past work in college samples, our results suggest that missing and inconsistent responding on the EDE-Q in clinical samples may not warrant specialized consideration within statistical analyses.
Invoquer les communs : migrants mayas et quartiers informels de squatteurs au Mexique

La Riviera Maya, au Mexique, est devenue le terrain de jeu des riches et des celebrites. Le passage du tourisme de masse aux boutiques haut de gamme et au tourisme elitiste a provoque un vaste developpement le long de cet axe. A cote de ce paradis se trouvent des bidonvilles sans eau courante ni electricite. L’explosion du prix de l’immobilier et l’erosion des communs rendent les choses difficiles pour les travailleurs emigres, la plupart etant Autochtones et travaillant dans l’industrie touristique pour pouvoir acquerir une terre et un logement. Cet article examine le cas des migrants mayas qui vivent dans une colonia de squatteurs, la Colonia Mario Villanueva. Squatter est, depuis longtemps, une pratique qui permet d’acceder a la terre. Pourtant, les squatteurs sont confrontes a des menaces constantes d’expulsion de la part des proprietaires fonciers et de l’Etat qui leur refusent l’acces aux services publics de base comme l’eau courante, l’electricite et les routes goudronnees. Malgre les epreuves et le manque de services publics, les migrants mayas considerent leur lutte pour le logement comme enracinee dans les pratiques foncieres communautaires autochtones et comme une forme de resistance contre l’Etat et le capital mondial. Cette etude de cas illustre la maniere dont le concept de « communs » est invoque dans un milieu urbain ou la propriete privee est enchevetree avec la diminution du soutien que l’Etat apporte a un regime foncier communautaire et aux services publics.
Circadian-Like Rhythmicity of Extracellular Brain Glutamate in Epilepsy

Seizures often exhibit striking circadian-like (approximately 24-hour) rhythms. While chronotherapy has shown promise in treating epilepsy, it is not widely used, in part because the patterns of seizure rhythmicity vary considerably among patients and types of epilepsy. A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying rhythmicity in epilepsy could be expected to result in more effective approaches which can be tailored to each individual patient. The excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate is an essential modulator of circadian rhythms, and changes in the extracellular levels of glutamate likely affect the threshold to seizures. We used a reverse translational rodent model of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) combined with long-term intracerebral microdialysis to monitor the hourly concentrations of glutamate in the seizure onset area (epileptogenic hippocampus) over several days. We observed significant 24-hour oscillations of extracellular glutamate in the epileptogenic hippocampus (n = 4, JTK_CYCLE test, p < 0.05), but not in the hippocampus of control animals (n = 4). To our knowledge, circadian glutamate oscillations have not been observed in a seizure onset region, and we speculate that the oscillations contribute to the rhythmicity of seizures in MTLE.
Lifetime Asthma Prevalence and Correlates Among US Youths by Sexual Identity and Race/Ethnicity, 2009-2017.

Objectives. To comprehensively assess asthma disparities and identify correlates in youths at the intersections of sex, sexual identity, and race/ethnicity in the United States.Methods. We obtained...
On Optimal and Suboptimal Policies in Control Systems

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the optimal and suboptimal policies in control systems. Optimal control policies may be given as a function of state of the control systems or as a function of time. They represent closed-loop control of the system in the former case and represent open-loop control in the latter. The way of controlling the system in some nonoptimal way for the given criterion of performance is called a suboptimal control policy. Because of the scale and complexity of systems, it may not be possible to solve optimal control problems exactly even if optimal policies are assumed to exist, or, for that matter, optimal policies may not exist. Also, if optimal policies whose existences are assumed are too complex either from the viewpoint of analysis or engineering implementation, then various approximate solutions of the optimal control problems must be considered. The chapter presents sufficient conditions for the existence of optimal control and the problem of controlling systems where optimal controls do not exist.
Hedonic hunger as a mechanism of action in outpatient cognitive behavioral therapy for bulimia nervosa

Objective Hedonic hunger (i.e., the motivation to consume palatable foods in the absence of an energy deficit) has been associated with the onset and maintenance of loss of control (LOC) eating. However, it remains underexplored as a mechanism of action in outpatient cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for bulimia nervosa (BN). In the present study, we hypothesized that reductions in hedonic hunger would significantly mediate reductions in overall eating pathology and LOC episodes in two samples (N1 = 28, N2 = 23) of 20 and 16 sessions, respectively. Method Participants completed the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE) and Power of Food Scale (PFS) at pre- and post-treatment. Results In both samples, EDE Global scores, LOC episodes, and PFS Total scores significantly improved over the course of treatment. In Sample 1, significant indirect effects of PFS Total scores on EDE Global scores and LOC episodes were observed. In Sample 2, the indirect effect of PFS Total scores was significant on EDE Global scores and nonsignificant on LOC episodes though it followed a similar pattern of change. Discussion Results suggest that reductions in hedonic hunger are associated with better outcomes in CBT for BN. Replication and further research is needed to elucidate the treatment components driving these reductions.
The distributed farmer: rethinking US Midwestern precision agriculture techniques

This article examines changes in the social world of farming, agricultural decision-making, and environmental outcomes in regions where precision agriculture (PA) techniques are increasingly common...
Success of Nonsedated Neuroradiologic MRI in Children 1-7 Years Old.

Please see the Editorial Comment by Hansel J. Otero discussing this article. BACKGROUND. MRI use and the need for monitored anesthesia care (MAC) in children have increased. However, MAC is associa...
When are two hydrogen bonds better than one? Accurate first-principles models explain the balance of hydrogen bond donors and acceptors found in proteins

Hydrogen bonds (HBs) play an essential role in the structure and catalytic action of enzymes, but a complete understanding of HBs in proteins challenges the resolution of modern structural (i.e., X-ray diffraction) techniques and mandates computationally demanding electronic structure methods from correlated wavefunction theory for predictive accuracy. Numerous amino acid sidechains contain functional groups (e.g., hydroxyls in Ser/Thr or Tyr and amides in Asn/Gln) that can act as either HB acceptors or donors (HBA/HBD) and even form simultaneous, ambifunctional HB interactions. To understand the relative energetic benefit of each interaction, we characterize the potential energy surfaces of representative model systems with accurate coupled cluster theory calculations. To reveal the relationship of these energetics to the balance of these interactions in proteins, we curate a set of 4000 HBs, of which >500 are ambifunctional HBs, in high-resolution protein structures. We show that our model systems accurately predict the favored HB structural properties. Differences are apparent in HBA/HBD preference for aromatic Tyr versus aliphatic Ser/Thr hydroxyls because Tyr forms significantly stronger O–H⋯O HBs than N–H⋯O HBs in contrast to comparable strengths of the two for Ser/Thr. Despite this residue-specific distinction, all models of residue pairs indicate an energetic benefit for simultaneous HBA and HBD interactions in an ambifunctional HB. Although the stabilization is less than the additive maximum due both to geometric constraints and many-body electronic effects, a wide range of ambifunctional HB geometries are more favorable than any single HB interaction.
Robotic omental flap harvest for near-total anterior chest wall coverage: a potential application of robotic techniques in plastic and reconstructive surgery.

We present the robotic harvest of a pedicled omentum flap for reconstruction of a near-total anterior chest wall defect. The patient was a 68-year-old woman with recurrent secondary chest wall angiosarcoma after previous mastectomy and radiation therapy. She underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiation, followed by wide radical chest wall resection with a final defect size of 15×35 cm. A one-stage reconstruction was performed with an omentum flap harvested by robotic technique and split-thickness skin grafts from thigh donor sites. The patient healed with minimal complications. Our case supports more widespread application of robotics in plastic and reconstructive surgery.
Simulation study evaluating the ability of two statistical approaches to identify variance quantitative trait loci Arabidopsis and maize

Genomic loci that control the variance of agronomically important traits are increasingly important due to the profusion of unpredictable environments arising from climate change. The ability to identify such variance quantitative trait loci (vQTL) in association studies will be critical for future breeding efforts. Two statistical approaches that have already been used to detect vQTL are the Brown-Forsythe test (BFT) and the double generalized linear model (DGLM). To ensure that they are deployed to variance genome-wide association studies as effectively as possible, it is critical to study the factors that influence their ability to identify vQTL. We used genome-wide marker data in maize (Zea mays L.) and Arabidopsis thaliana to simulate traits controlled by variance quantitative trait nucleotides (vQTNs) and then quantified true and false positive detection rates of the BFT and DGLM. We observed that the DGLM yielded similar or higher true positive vQTN detection rates than the BFT, regardless of the effect size or minor allele frequency (MAF) of the vQTNs. Low true positive detection rates were noted for QTNs with low MAFs (~0.10), especially when tested on subsets of n = 500 individuals. We recommend that larger data sets than those used in our study (i.e., n > 2,532) be considered to overcome these low observed true positive detection rates. Such an undertaking should maximize the potential of the BFT and DGLM to highlight which vQTLs should be considered for further study.
Non-operative Management of Anterior Shoulder Instability Can Result in High Rates of Recurrent Instability and Pain at Long-term Follow-up

ABSTRACT Background Data on the long-term outcomes of non-operative treatment for anterior shoulder instability are lacking, particularly for the United States (US) population. The purpose was to 1) describe the characteristics of patients with anterior shoulder instability treated non-operatively, 2) assess long-term outcomes of non-operative management in a US population, and 3) identify risk factors for poor outcomes following non-operative management. Methods A geographic cohort of >500,000 subjects was used to identify patients treated non-operatively for anterior shoulder instability. Only patients Results Two-hundred and fifty-four patients were included (73% male) with a median age of 19 years (range, 16-26) at initial instability. At median 17 year follow-up, 37.5% experienced recurrent instability, 58.4% had recurrent pain, and 12.2% developed symptomatic OA. Factors associated with recurrent pain at final follow-up were multiple instability events prior to presentation (hazard ratio [HR] 2.43, p Conclusions At long-term follow-up of 17 years, there was a high rate of poor outcomes following non-operative management of anterior shoulder instability. Overall, 37.5% of patients experienced recurrent shoulder instability, 58.4% had recurrent shoulder pain, and 12.2% developed symptomatic OA. Risk factors associated with adverse clinical outcomes included: increased pain at initial visit, recurrent instability prior to presentation, seizure disorder, and smoking. Level of evidence Level IV; Case Series; Prognosis Study
Equations of Physics

The remainder of this book will discuss the method of solving some differential equations. These equations are those encountered in a variety of physics problems: $$Laplaces{\text{ }}Equation{\text{ }}{\nabla ^2}\phi = 0$$ (9.1) $$Helmholtz{\text{ }}Equation{\text{ }}({\nabla ^2} + {k^2})\phi = 0$$ (9.2) $$Poisson{\text{ }}Equation{\text{ }}({\nabla ^2}\phi = - \frac{e}{{{\varepsilon _0}}})n(r)$$ (9.3) $$Diffusion{\text{ }}Equation{\text{ }}(D{\nabla ^2} - \frac{\partial }{{\partial t}})\phi = 0$$ (9.4) $$Wave{\text{ }}Equation{\text{ }}({v^2}{\nabla ^2} - \frac{{{\partial ^2}}}{{\partial {t^2}}})\phi = 0$$ (9.5)
An example of a harmonizable process whose spectral domain is not complete

The question of completeness of the spectral domain of harmonizable processes has been open for some years. An example is given of a harmonizable process whose spectral domain is not complete. This shows that a recent result which claims the completeness of all such spectral domains is false.
Option Trading Strategies

The following sections are included:IntroductionTraders in Options MarketsProfit DiagramsOptions StrategiesCommon Options Price DataNaked Trades: The Basic Building BlocksHedged StrategiesSpread StrategiesEXTENSION 15.1: Collars, Ratio Spreads, Butterflies, and CondorsEXTENSION 15.2: Reinsurance Contracts and Call SpreadsCombination StrategiesSummaryCasesQuestions and Problems
Labor in the Era of Globalization: Symphony Musicians and Symphony Orchestras

This paper investigates the extent to which the economic challenges faced by symphony orchestras in the United States reflect collectively bargained wage increases and work rules. Since the late 1960s, collective bargaining agreements have transformed the artistic expenses of orchestras from variable to fixed costs by providing both wage and employment guarantees. The resulting agreements limit the ability of orchestras to adjust labor costs in the face of financial challenges, and the paper presents econometric evidence indicating that musicians' wages are not significantly correlated with measures of their orchestra's financial balance. The paper discusses features of the nonprofit governance of symphony orchestras which reduces the bargaining resistance of orchestras to wage and employment security proposals.
The Aesthetics of Action: Continuity and Change in a West African Town

The Aesthetics of Action: Continuity and Change in. West African Town. Kris L. Hardin. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993. 314 pp.
Effects of Mood and Elaboration on Processing and Evaluation of Goal-Framed Appeals

Two experiments examined the influence of mood and elaboration on consumer processing and evaluation of goal-framed appeals. Subjects displayed more favorable attitudes and purchase intent (PI) when exposed to negative goal frames than equivalent positive ones. These effects were attenuated under high-elaboration conditions. Compared to subjects in positive moods, those in negative moods exhibited more favorable thoughts, attitudes, and PI toward negative goal frames. Finally, mood and frame valence did not affect depth of processing but had a consistent impact on style of processing, that is, positive frames and moods induced relational processing whereas negative frames and moods engendered item-specific processing.
Trends in Hypertension Prevalence, Awareness, Treatment, and Control in Older U.S. Adults: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1988 to 2004

OBJECTIVES: To describe hypertension trends in U.S. adults aged 60 and older using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data. SETTING: NHANES III (1988-1994) and NHANES 1999 to 2004. DESIGN: Cross-sectional nationally representative health examination survey. PARTICIPANTS: Participants in NHANES III (n = 5,093) and NHANES 1999 to 2004 (n = 4,710). MEASUREMENTS: Blood pressure (BP). RESULTS: In 1999 to 2004, 67% of U.S. adults aged 60 and older years were hypertensive, an increase of 10% from NHANES III. Between 1988 to 1994 and 1999 to 2004, hypertension control increased for men from 39% to 51% (P .05). Non-Hispanic black men and women had higher prevalences of hypertension than non-Hispanic whites (odds ratio (OR) = 2.54, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.90-3.40 and OR = 2.07, 95% CI = 1.31-3.26, respectively), but men were less likely to have controlled BP (OR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.41-0.86). Mexican-American men and women were less likely than non-Hispanic whites to have controlled BP (OR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.33-0.91 and OR = 0.63, 95% CI= 0.40-0.98, respectively). Women and men aged 70 and older were significantly less likely to control their hypertension than those aged 60 to 69. In addition, women aged 70 and older were significantly less aware and treated. Having BP measured within 6 months was significantly associated with greater awareness, greater treatment in men and women, and greater control in women. A history of diabetes mellitus or chronic kidney disease (CKD) was significantly associated with less hypertension control. CONCLUSION: There was a significant increase in hypertension prevalence from 1988 to 2004. Hypertension control continues to be problematic for women, persons aged 70 and older, non-Hispanic blacks and Mexican Americans, and individuals with diabetes mellitus and CKD.
Time Preference, Stock Externalities and Strategic Reactions

This paper examines the relationship between the rateof time preference and strategic reactions in dealing with climate change caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Treating climate change as stock externalities, the RICE model (Nordhaus and Yang [1996]) is employed in this paper for simulation studies. The simulation results show that when regions' rate of time preference in evaluating climatechange is sufficiently low, the paths of efficient GHGemission reduction measurement and the inefficient Nash equilibrium outcome are close. The paper also provides general interpretations of such phenomena. Finally, the implications of a low rate of time preference on GHG emission reduction policies are discussed.
SMOC: A secure mobile cloud computing platform

Mobile devices are now ubiquitous in the modern world. In this paper, we propose a novel and practical mobile-cloud platform for smart mobile devices. Our platform allows users to run the entire mobile device operating system and arbitrary applications on a cloud-based virtual machine. It has two design fundamentals. First, applications can freely migrate between the user's mobile device and a backend cloud server. We design a file system extension to enable this feature, so users can freely choose to run their applications either in the cloud (for high security guarantees), or on their local mobile device (for better user experience). Second, in order to protect user data on the smart mobile device, we leverage hardware virtualization technology, which isolates the data from the local mobile device operating system. We have implemented a prototype of our platform using off-the-shelf hardware, and performed an extensive evaluation of it. We show that our platform is efficient, practical, and secure.
Applicative architectures for fault-tolerant multiprocessors

This paper proposes functional programming frameworks for the design of highly reliable multiprocessor systems. In contrast to imperative programming environments, a functional environment offers elegant, relatively simple, and efficient solutions to concurrent error detection and recovery problems in multiprocessors. Specific fault tolerance mechanisms for upset exposure, fault containment, secure task assignment, and recovery are developed for a class of applicative multiprocessor architectures. Verification of abstract behavioral characteristics of applicative tasks is used for exposing faults during the execution of tasks. The fault containment mechanism is based on isolation of stack and heap segments of tasks. A protocol for secure task assignment is defined between system components. The architecture permits incremental, distributed, and asynchronous backups of system state. Finally, recovery is accomplished, even in the worst cases, by re-execution of a small number of tasks.
Role of glucokinase and glucose-6-phosphatase in the acute and chronic regulation of hepatic glucose fluxes by insulin.

Abstract Increased hepatic glucose production (HGP) is the major cause of fasting hyperglycemia in all forms of diabetes. Glucokinase (GK) and glucose-6-phosphatase (Glc-6-Pase) are the proximal and the distal enzymatic steps, respectively, in the regulation of HGP. We examined the impact of changes in GK and Glc-6-Pase activities on in vivo hepatic glucose fluxes in diabetic (D) and control (C) rats. In particular, the acute regulation by insulin was investigated using the euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp technique in conscious rats. In experimental diabetes (6 weeks): (a) GK mRNA was decreased by approximately 40%; (b) the Vmax of GK was markedly decreased (approximately 4 versus 9 mumol/g wet weight/min) and that of Glc-6-Pase was 2-fold increased (approximately 30 versus 15 mumol/g wet weight/min, D versus C), while (c) the Km of GK (approximately 10 mM) and Glc-6-Pase (approximately 1.5 mM) were unchanged. HGP was increased by 65% in diabetes and correlated highly with the ratio of Glc-6-Pase/GK (r = 0.81, p < 0.01). Following acute hyperinsulinemia (2 h): (a) GK mRNA increased by approximately 2-fold in both C and D; (b) GK Vmax did not change in C, but doubled to near-normal in D; (c) Glc-6-Pase Vmax decreased by 23% in C and by 34% in D; (d) the Km of GK decreased by approximately 40% (p < 0.01) in C. Acute hyperinsulinemia almost completely inhibited HGP in both C and D, and no correlation was demonstrated between HGP and the ratio of Glc-6-Pase/GK in these groups. Our data suggest that GK and Glc-6-Pase are important determinants of fasting HGP in diabetes. However, acute changes in Glc-6-Pase and GK activities can account for only a small portion of the in vivo inhibition of hepatic glucose flux by insulin, suggesting additional mechanisms for the short-term regulation of HGP.
Incorporation of nitrogen into amorphous silica using a direct plasma reaction technique

Abstract A direct plasma reaction (DPR) technique has been used to surface-nitride amorphous silica. The nitride treatment has been performed over a temperature range of 750 to 1300°C and a low-pressure range of 40 to 268 Pa using a 90:10 nitrogen-hydrogen gas mixture. The plasma is generated by an inductively coupled rf power supply and is used as both a thermal and chemical source. The effects of various process parameters such as surface temperature, gas pressure and treatment time on nitrogen content and weight loss have been studied. Nitrogen is incorporated in both molecular and structural form. A very high nitridation rate has been observed. A good agreement among the nitrogen content, weight loss and microstructures is established. Electron and X-ray diffraction studies showed the treated layers as amorphous. Microblisters form at higher temperatures and this may limit the treatment temperatures to below 900°C. The effect of post-treatment annealing has been investigated. Unlike the case of thermal nitridation, pure nitrogen has also been shown to be a good candidate for surface modification.
Chronic granulomatous disease and the Kell blood groups

Fifteen antigenic determinants are known to be related to the Kell blood group. Some boys with X-linked chronic granulomatous disease have the very rare McLeod or Ko phenotype on their red cells. Serological studies of the McLeod type suggest that the weak Kell antigens that are present differ qualitatively and quantitatively from those on red cells of common Kell type. A new antigen, Kx, has been characterized and shown to be present on red cells and neutrophil leucocytes. Lack of red-cell Kx is associated with the McLeod phenotype, lack of leucocyte Kx is associated with chronic granulomatous disease.
Implementation equations for HSn RF pulses

Implementation equations for the family of stretched hyperbolic secant (HSn) pulses are derived in the linear adiabatic range for inversion of spins. These master equations provide convenience relations for relating the peak amplitude RFmax of the pulse to the frequency sweep (bwdth) range of the pulse and its duration Tp. The bandwidth of the pulse can also be related to the effective coverage (bweff) of the pulse to a defined or chosen spectral region. The choice of pulse determined by the use of these derived expressions guarantees uniform inversion to a prescribed efficiency across the selected spectral region. The performance of HSn pulses in determining the cut-off region between spectral regions was also examined. It is found that beyond a unique Tpbwdth product no additional gain may be obtained by extending pulse durations for a chosen bwdth of pulse. An example of practical implementation of the inversion pulses is presented for adiabatic decoupling using HS7 and HS8 pulses. It is shown that despite added B1 inhomogeneity in the form of additional amplifier power to 400% from optimal, these pulses can still yield reproducible decoupled spectra.
Quantum effects in large molecule collisional energy transfer

Recently, Gilbert and Zare proposed that dynamical quantum effects might explain the poor performance ofclassical trajectory calculations in simulating the vibrational deactivation of excited azulene by the lighter noble gases. They proposed an experimental test: a comparison of 3He and 4He deactivation of azulene. In this Letter, the collisional deactivation of benzene, toluene and toluene-ds by ‘He and ‘He has berm investigated by infrared fluorescence to assess the importance of dynamical quantum effects. The results show that the proposed dynamical quantum effect is not important for these systems over the range of vibrational energies from x 8000 to ?5 35000 cm-‘.
Impacts of Cytoplasmic Inheritance on Genetic Evaluations

Simulation was used to examine the consequences of ignoring cytoplasmic effects on genetic evaluations. Effects on variance component estimation, accuracy of selection, genetic trend, and selection of bull-dams were considered. Comparisons were made for sire and animal models, several levels of cytoplasmic variance, and definition of cytoplasmic effects as either fixed or random. Ten replications with approximately 9000 cows and 20,000 records were simulated for each model and level of cytoplasmic variance. Derivative-free REML was used for estimation of variance components. Ignoring cytoplasmic effects caused overestimation of heritability with an animal model. Permanent environmental variance was underestimated with an animal model and overestimated with a sire model. Results were used for simulation of large (approximately 200,000 cow) data files for analysis of effects on accuracy of selection. Accuracy of selection increased when cytoplasmic effects were accounted for properly. Improvement of predicted breeding values was greater for cows than for sires and increased as cytoplasmic variance increased. Genetic trend also increased slightly, primarily as a function of increased accuracy of bull-dam selection. Little practical difference was detected when cytoplasmic effects were considered to be fixed rather than random.
Orientational isomerization in the excited state of electron donor-acceptor complexes: bπ-aπ complex of p-xylene with tetracyanobenzene

Abstract Time-resolved fluorescence spectra and energy-resolved fluorescence decay were utilized to demonstrate the orientational isomerization that takes place in the excited singlet state of the electron donor-acceptor complex of p -xylene with 1,2,4,5-tetracyanobenzene.
Impact of security risks on cloud computing adoption

Cloud computing has been a paradigm shift in the information technology domain. It offers potential benefits to users in terms of instant availability, scalability and resource sharing, while potentially posing security issues. Especially, recent events like Amazons system failure increased the concerns related to cloud computing1. Given these security and reliability concerns, we explore the optimal decision rule for moving certain IT function to public clouds. We formulate the problem as an entrepreneurial decision for an optimal stopping time at which the entrepreneur shall migrate to the cloud computing paradigm. Two different models are presented. Recognizing that an important and specific issue related to different computing paradigm is the potential “security” risk posed by each technology, we consider security risks in both models. The first model approaches the optimal adoption problem from assessing the cloud computing adoption under project value uncertainty. The entrepreneur has the timing flexibility and solves his optimal adoption decision under uncertainty. The optimal adoption rule obtained is a threshold strategy. A firm should adopt the cloud computing only if the value from the adoption exceeds the threshold level. The second model builds on a comprehensive assessment of two different computing paradigms. The entrepreneur can either keep the traditional on-site computing paradigm or migrate to the cloud computing paradigm. His problem is to make the paradigm shift optimally. We model such a problem as optimally swapping two “risky” assets, which refer to benefits of the traditional on-site computing paradigm and those of the cloud computing paradigm. The term “risky” captures the fact that actual benefits can only be resolved through time, and thus estimates of benefits are embedded with uncertainty. We obtain the optimal swapping rule as a threshold strategy, defined in terms of the two benefit ratio. A firm should only shift the part of its business to the cloud computing service if the ratio, the benefit from the cloud computing paradigm over that from the traditional on-site computing paradigm, exceeds the threshold. In both models, both the extent of riskiness (i.e. uncertainty) and the significance of security risks (both in terms of potential occurrence probability and the severity of damage) affect the threshold level, thus the entrepreneurial adoption decision.
Precipitation of Mg2Zr5O12 in MgO-Partially-Stabilized ZrO2

Decomposition of cubic, MgO-stabilized ZrO2 solid solutions has been studied. Precipitates of the ordered compound, Mg2Zr5O12, form, but only when a two-stage heat treatment involving nucleation at a low temperature followed by growth at a higher temperature is used. Other decomposition products are also present after such a heat treatment.
Global Control Plane Architecture for Cognitive Radio Networks

This paper presents an architecture for adaptive cognitive radio networks based on the concept of a "global control plane". The proposed control architecture uses a predetermined common coordination channel for spectrum etiquette, network establishment and adaptation to changing interference environments. The focus of this work is on design and evaluation of three key components of the control protocol - bootstrapping, discovery and naming/addressing. The bootstrapping protocol uses beacons to inform neighboring nodes about a node's PHY/MAC capabilities and current status. The network discovery protocol helps nodes to obtain a global view of reachability and end-to-end paths in the network by exchanging and propagating local link states. Further, nodes obtain their IP addresses and perform name to network address translations using a distributed naming/addressing scheme. An ns2 simulation model of the cognitive radio network with global control has been developed and used to evaluate performance in terms of network setup time, control overhead and achievable data throughput.
Physiological and behavioural effects of the endogenous cannabinoid, arachidonylethanolamide (anandamide), in the rat

1. Arachidonylethanolamide (AEA; anandamide) has been isolated from mammalian brain and found to bind to, and is thought to be, an endogenous ligand for the cannabinoid receptor. In order to understand better its behavioural and physiological properties, we have examined its acute effects in unanaesthetized freely behaving rats. 2. Intravenous AEA caused dose-related decreases in locomotor behaviour, a pronounced hyperreflexia, and a moderate antinociceptive state. At doses between 3 and 30 mg kg-1, a dose-dependent hypothermia and profound, time-dependent cardiovascular changes were also observed. 3. An immediate bradycardia exceeding 50% was seen within 10-15 s of administration and lasted up to 11 min following the highest dose of the drug. In contrast, the change in mean arterial pressure was biphasic: an immediate 20% decrease in mean arterial pressure followed by a significant increase in blood pressure that lasted about 13 min after the highest dose. 4. These data demonstrate that AEA in the unanaesthetized rat exerts behavioural and physiological effects generally similar to those seen following natural cannabinoids and synthetic cannabimimetic agents and suggests a role for AEA in regulation of various physiological processes.
Abstract 2967: CCL3 autocrine signaling regulate retention of metastasis associated macrophages and promote breast cancer metastasis

Macrophages abundantly found in the tumor microenvironment enhance malignancy. At metastatic sites a distinct population of metastasis associated macrophages (MAMs) promotes tumor cell extravasation, seeding and persistent growth. These macrophages are derived from circulating inflammatory monocytes recruited by CCL2/CCR2 chemokine signaling. Our current study identified a distinct gene expression signature of the MAMs in comparison with resident macrophages in lung and spleen. Majority of these genes encodes cell surface proteins and secreted factors which mediate MAM9s interaction with the metastatic microenvironment. Interestingly, we identified another chemokine, CCL3, is highly expressed by MAMs in a CCL2/CCR2 dependent manner. This indicates that CCL2 not only regulate MAM recruitment but also its function. RNA interference mediated CCL3 knockdown significantly reduced their potential in promoting tumor cell extravasation in vitro. Anti-CCL3 antibody and genetic ablation of CCL3 significantly reduced tumor cell metastatic potential in vivo. Importantly, MAM also express high level of CCR1 and CCR5, receptors for CCL3, upon differentiation. Anti-CCL3 inhibitory antibody significantly reduced MAM retention in pulmonary metastasis. Together, our data indicates an autocrine signaling via CCL3 regulated by CCL2/CCR2 controls MAM retention and promote breast tumor lung metastasis which identified a novel therapeutic target for treating metastatic breast disease. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2967. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-2967