cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Caenorhabditis elegans Models of Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia

Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP), characterized by relatively selective axonal degeneration, is a genetically heterogeneous condition, with more than 50 genes causing a similar neurologic phenotype. Details about the normal function of these genes and how their mutations lead to HSP are only now emerging. Several identified disease-causing genes are highly conserved in both vertebrates and invertebrates, suggesting their fundamental biologic function in axonal maintenance. Suitable animal models are crucial for deciphering this complex genetic landscape, and Caenorhabditis elegans is one of the model systems successfully used in studies of HSP pathogenesis. This chapter describes the rationale for using C. elegans to understand mechanisms of spinal cord degeneration, including the advantages and limitations of this model organism. We also review the two most studied HSP-causing orthologous genes in C. elegans, SPAST and NIPA1, and their contributions to our understanding of the microtubule-severing function of spastin and role of endoplasmic reticulum stress in NIPA1-associated HSP.
Ultrasound and differential diagnosis of fetal abdominal cysts

The present study aimed to investigate the use of ultrasound and differential diagnosis to diagnose a fetal abdominal cyst. A retrospective analysis of 41 cases of fetal abdominal cyst, which included ovarian cysts, choledochal cysts, intestinal duplication and mesenteric cysts, was performed. Imaging characteristics of various types of cysts were summarized, compared and discussed. Among 41 fetal abdominal cyst cases, there were 21 cases of ovarian cysts, 11 cases of bile duct cyst, six cases of intestinal duplication and three cases of mesenteric cyst. Each type of fetal cyst had its own distinctive characteristics on abdominal ultrasound examination. Ovarian cysts were located at one side of the bladder, round-shaped and observed in female fetuses; choledochal cysts were located in the hilar, were oblong- or oval-shaped and connected to the bile duct; intestinal duplication was located in the middle of abdomen, close to the intestine, and presented as an intestinal wall-like structure; mesenteric cysts were round-shaped with thin tensionless wall, presented with multiple chambers, and were easily deformable on compression. The findings of the present study demonstrated that a comprehensive analysis of the association between the cyst and its adjacent location, shape, wall thickness, motility and other aspects of dynamic changes via ultrasonography may provide a differential diagnosis of different types of fetal abdominal cysts.
Sexting Panic: Rethinking Criminalization, Privacy, and Consent

Sexting Panic: Rethinking Criminalization, Privacy, and Consent, the latest in the Feminist Media Studies book series from the University of Illinois Press and written by Dr Amy Adele Hasinoff, cri...
Full information and ideal deliberation

Soulevant la question normative des principes ou des intuitions qui gouvernent la bonne deliberation concernant nos choix les plus importants, l'A. montre que les theories de l'information complete, fondees sur l'idee d'un conseiller ideal, se heurtent au probleme du jugement ideal et ne rendent pas compte de certaines caracteristiques du jugement bon. L'A. developpe une conception du deliberateur ideal qui permet de realiser une evaluation rationnelle des fins de l'agent et d'etablir les normes de la deliberation ideale
Antitrust Abuses and the FDA Approval Process: Statement Before the Committee on the Judiciary's Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial, and Antitrust Law U.S. House of Representatives

Various scholars and policymakers have voiced concern over the years that pharmaceutical companies often operate in ways that are inconsistent with norms of fair competition and may violate antitrust law — in particular that, despite complying with the regulatory framework and the intellectual property framework, these companies invoke or employ these frameworks inappropriately. I was asked by subcommittee staff to provide my perspective on three aspects of the regulatory paradigm of particular interest: citizen petitions, use and distribution restrictions, and FDA’s unapproved drugs initiative. The written statement concludes with a page of concrete recommendations, which reflect four core values. The first value is the public health mandate embodied in FDA’s statutory mission: promotion of the public health through prompt and efficient review of clinical research and timely appropriate action on marketing of regulated products, and protection of the public health by ensuring that drugs are safe and effective. The second value is the open government principle embodied in the petition clause of the First Amendment, the agency’s mission statement, the APA, and other federal statutes: transparency, access, and accountability. The third value is the importance of the patent property right to continued innovation in medicine, and the final value is the importance of evidence-based policymaking, both in the legislature and in administrative agencies.
Selective Sums of an Infinite Series

The sum of a subset of the terms of an infinite series is called a selective sum of the series. We describe the set of all selective sums for some series, and we show that for a series which satisf...
Incidence of dysphagia after odontoid screw fixation of type II odontoid fracture in the elderly.

Background Although surgery may reduce mortality rates from type II odontoid fractures in the elderly population, post-operative dysphagia resulting from screw fixation remains a serious complication. Methods We retrospectively performed a chart review of patients over 65 years of age who underwent odontoid screw placement for type II odontoid fractures (2009-2014) and sustained post-operative dysphagia. The severity of dysphagia was determined based on the requirements for modified diets, PEG tubes, and prolonged length of stay (LOS), while costs were based upon discharge disposition (e.g. home vs. rehabilitation facilities) and total hospital costs. Results The incidence of postoperative dysphagia was 80%; 33% required feeding tubes, and 35% warranted PEG placement. The mean LOS for patients with dysphagia was 5 days longer and the total hospital costs averaged $50,000 higher. Conclusions Age over 65 is a significant predictor of post-operative dysphagia in patients undergoing type II odontoid screw fixation. Notably, with each additional year above 65, the likelihood of post-operative dysphagia increased by 12%. Furthermore, postoperative dysphagia statistically increased the LOS and total costs.
PCO Rates in a Large Series of Human Eyes Obtained Postmortem

A significant amount of information can be obtained from pathological analyses of pseudophakic human eyes obtained postmortem in terms of interactions between an intraocular lens material/design and surrounding ocular tissues. The ability to perform direct analyses of an entire organ containing an artificial implant, obtained at different intervals after implantation and in large numbers, is unique to Ophthalmology. In our laboratory located at the Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, we have analyzed more than 600 donor eyes implanted with different lenses. In this chapter we describe some of our major studies using these important specimens, which focused on capsular bag opacification. Relatively large series of eyes were used to compare 1- and 3-piece hydrophobic acrylic lenses in terms of posterior capsule opacification. The outcome of this complication was also compared between 3-piece silicone lenses with round or square posterior optic edges. Furthermore, we had the opportunity to evaluate a small number of eyes implanted with the bag-in-the-lens, which is not available in the United States. We expect to gain better knowledge on preventative measures for posterior capsule opacification and other complications as our series increases and new intraocular lens designs become available in the market.
Bulk Electronic Structure of Disordered Transition and Noble Metal Alloys

The recent research concerning the electronic structure of disordered transition and noble metal alloys has focussed on the properties of the muffin-tin Hamiltonian.1 The reason is that the simple one-and two-band tight binding model Hamiltonians are not adequate for describing the detailed experimental information which is now available on specific systems.2 In this connection, an extensive use has been made of the coherent potential (CPA) and the average t-matrix (ATA) approximations.1 The former treats the disorder self-consistently, while the latter does not. Hence, it is generally agreed that the CPA is a better approximation from a theoretical point of view. The attractiveness of the ATA derives from its relative simplicity in application to realistic models and the fact that many aspects of the electronic spectrum of muffin-tin alloys are not sensitive to whether the disorder is treated within the framework of the CPA or the ATA.3
Modeling the Power Generation Dispatching in Cyber-Physical Interdependent Perspective

Modeling of the modern electric power infrastructure (EPI) which is a typical Cyber-Physical System has been an important method to analyzing the possible vulnerabilities in it and promoting its security. A modeling and simulation method based on Multi-Agent System (MAS) is proposed. And the modeling of generation dispatching in cyber-physical interdependent perspective has been completed first. The simulation experiment using the data coming from a real power grid system shows that our system could model the electrical characteristic of the real system and the generation dispatching according to the changing loads in reason.
Might School Performance Grow on Trees? Examining the Link Between "Greenness" and Academic Achievement in Urban, High-Poverty Schools

In the United States, schools serving urban, low-income students are among the lowest-performing academically. Previous research in relatively well-off populations has linked vegetation in schoolyards and surrounding neighborhoods to better school performance even after controlling for important confounding factors, raising the tantalizing possibility that greening might boost academic achievement. This study extended previous cross-sectional research on the "greenness"-academic achievement link to a public school district in which nine out of ten children were eligible for free lunch. In generalized linear mixed models, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)-based measurements of green cover for 318 Chicago public schools predicted statistically significantly better school performance on standardized tests of math, with marginally statistically significant results for reading-even after controlling for disadvantage, an index combining poverty and minority status. Pupil/teacher ratio %bilingual, school size, and %female could not account for the greenness-performance link. Interactions between greenness and Disadvantage suggest that the greenness-academic achievement link is different for student bodies with different levels of disadvantage. To determine what forms of green cover were most strongly tied to academic achievement, tree cover was examined separately from grass and shrub cover; only tree cover predicted school performance. Further analyses examined the unique contributions of "school tree cover" (tree cover for the schoolyard and a 25 m buffer) and "neighborhood tree cover" (tree cover for the remainder of a school's attendance catchment area). School greenness predicted math achievement when neighborhood greenness was controlled for, but neighborhood greenness did not significantly predict either reading or math achievement when school greenness was taken into account. Future research should assess whether greening schoolyards boost school performance.
SwICh: A Channel Assignment Technique for Self Coexistence of Cognitive Radio Networks

When various radio systems of the same type of Cognitive Radio Networks (CRNs) compete for channel resources, it becomes important to define some measures for them to coexist with the members of their own community, this is known as self-coexistence in literature. This paper studies self-coexistence by considering switching, interference, and channel quality as the three major impacting factors and thus presents the channel assignment algorithm (SwICh) for self coexistence in cognitive radio networks. This paper presents the assignment of blocks of channels (spectrum) available at various time periods, also known as time spectrum block (TSB) assignment. A set of access points (APs) or base stations (BSs), are allocated TSBs for data transmission by a centralized server. This server provides each AP a TSB based upon the three factors of switching, interference, and channel quality and their relative importance. When all the factors are equally important then all the three factors are given equal weights. When least switching is the goal, e.g. in real time applications such as Voice over Internet Protocol, it is important to avoid any kinds of delays, then switching can be given the highest weight. When interference is the major concern, as is in most coexistence scenarios, then interference can be given higher weight. When there is a huge channel quality variation, it is better to give channel quality a higher weight. Similarly their combinations can be utilized by changing their respective weights. These three factors are optimized by formulating a quadratic integer programming (QIP) problem over two time slots. This formulation is NP hard. To avoid the NP-hard complexity, we propose a near-optimal heuristic algorithm SwICh (Switching, Interference, and Channel Quality base Channel Allocation) that can be obtained at a much lower complexity. The SwICh algorithm offers near optimal solutions for TSB assignment.
More-than-human government and the Tbilisi zoo flood

Abstract On 17 June 2015, an unprecedented series of rain events caused a wall of water to tear through an affluent urban neighborhood in the Georgian capital Tbilisi. The flood damaged 700 homes, displaced 67 families, killed 19 people, left 3 more unaccounted for – while also leaving nearly 300 animals either drowned or killed as the flood destroyed the Soviet-era Tbilisi Zoo. Deadly and headline grabbing interactions among humans and non-humans continued surprising those in Tbilisi as diverse actors tried to control the precarious situation unfolding in this post-Soviet urban landscape, and survivors of all sorts roamed the streets. I illustrate these relationships by analyzing news coverage, government statements, technical reports, archival resources, and my own experiences as a participant observer within the events surrounding the flood. In doing so I extend arguments by Foucault and his interlocuters to present a case of more-than-human government, requiring the arrangement of non-human elements to maintain the life of a political population such as the Tbilisi citizenry. As I demonstrate, such governmental practices require not only calculations of what life to protect and what to destroy via sovereignty, discipline, and biopolitics, but also a constellation of other powers, including historically embedded regimes of truth and authority. From this perspective, the security of a human population may at times rely on its imbrication with the government of animals and infrastructure alike, and vice versa – by securing, disciplining, knowing, and at times destroying our material environments and companion species, however we may be related.
A Preliminary Examination of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy-Based Program for Incarcerated Domestic Violence Offenders

Batterers intervention programs (BIPs) have only a marginal impact on domestic violence (DV) recidivism, in part because treatment attrition is high. The current study evaluates a new BIP based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (called ACTV, Achieving Change Through Values-Based Behavior) in a sample of incarcerated DV offenders who failed to complete community-based BIP (N = 23). The current study examined participants' risk factors and assessed criminal justice outcomes in the 1 year following treatment completion. The men exhibited high levels of experiential avoidance, adverse childhood experiences, psychopathy, and attachment when compared to clinical and forensic samples from past research. Consistent with the theory underlying ACTV, experiential avoidance decreased significantly over the course of treatment. In addition, 1 out of 22 (4.5%) had a domestic assault charge in the 1-year follow-up period. Overall, the current study offers preliminary support for the use of ACTV with noncompliant, incarcerated offenders.
Retroperitoneal Approach to Laparoscopic Hysterectomy in Patient with Complete Uterus Didelphys

Video Objective Demonstrate how a retroperitoneal dissection can facilitate hysterectomy in cases of uterine anomalies Setting University affiliated hospital Interventions 55 year old patient presented with severe abnormal uterine bleeding and dysmenorrhea. Imaging was suspicious for a Mullerian anomaly. A laparoscopic hysterectomy was planned. On entry into the abdomen, complete uterine didelphys was noticed. Using a retroperitoneal dissection we were able to identify all critical structures and maintain adequate hemostasis during the case, resulting in a satisfactory outcome for the patient. Conclusion Developing the retroperitoneal space is paramount in order to successfully perform surgery in a uterus with distorted anatomy
Using Quality Improvement Methodology to Implement Survivorship Care Plans

PURPOSE:Accreditation requirements for cancer centers by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer have included provision of survivorship care plans (SCPs) to patients treated with cu...
A method for achieving complete microbial genomes and better quality bins from metagenomics data

Abstract Metagenomics facilitates the study of the genetic information from uncultured microbes and complex microbial communities. Assembling complete microbial genomes (i.e., circular with no misassemblies) from metagenomics data is difficult because most samples have high organismal complexity and strain diversity. Only 63 circularized bacterial and archaeal genomes have been assembled from metagenomics data despite the thousands of datasets that are available. Circularized genomes are important for (1) building a reference collection as scaffolds for future assemblies, (2) providing complete gene content of a genome, (3) confirming little or no contamination of a genome, (4) studying the genomic context and synteny of genes, and (5) linking protein coding genes to ribosomal RNA genes to aid metabolic inference in 16S rRNA gene sequencing studies. We developed a method to achieve circularized genomes using iterative assembly, binning, and read mapping. In addition, this method exposes potential misassemblies from k-mer based assemblies. We chose species of the Candidate Phyla Radiation (CPR) to focus our initial efforts because they have small genomes and are only known to have one copy of ribosomal RNA genes. We present 34 circular CPR genomes, one circular Margulisbacteria genome, and two circular megaphage genomes from 19 public and published datasets. We demonstrate findings that would likely be difficult without circularizing genomes, including that ribosomal genes are likely not operonic in the majority of CPR, and that some CPR harbor diverged forms of RNase P RNA.
Simpler is Better: How Linear Prediction Tasks Improve Transfer Learning in Chemical Autoencoders

Transfer learning is a subfield of machine learning that leverages proficiency in one or more prediction tasks to improve proficiency in a related task. For chemical property prediction, transfer learning models represent a promising approach for addressing the data scarcity limitations of many properties by utilizing potentially abundant data from one or more adjacent applications. Transfer learning models typically utilize a latent variable that is common to several prediction tasks and provides a mechanism for information exchange between tasks. For chemical applications, it is still largely unknown how correlation between the prediction tasks affects performance, the limitations on the number of tasks that can be simultaneously trained in these models before incurring performance degradation, and if transfer learning positively or negatively affects ancillary model properties. Here we investigate these questions using an autoencoder latent space as a latent variable for transfer learning models for predicting properties from the QM9 data set that have been supplemented with semiempirical quantum chemistry calculations. We demonstrate that property prediction can be counterintuitively improved by utilizing a simpler linear predictor model, which has the effect of forcing the latent space to organize linearly with respect to each property. In data scarce prediction tasks, the transfer learning improvement is dramatic, whereas in data rich prediction tasks, there appears to be little adverse impact of transfer learning on prediction performance. The transfer learning approach demonstrated here thus represents a highly advantageous supplement to property prediction models with no downside in implementation.
History of Myringotomy and Grommets: A Perpetuation of Inaccuracies?

This letter discuss the inaccuracies contained in the recent paper about history of myringotomy and grommets
Improved Noisy Student Training for Automatic Speech Recognition

Recently, a semi-supervised learning method known as "noisy student training" has been shown to improve image classification performance of deep networks significantly. Noisy student training is an iterative self-training method that leverages augmentation to improve network performance. In this work, we adapt and improve noisy student training for automatic speech recognition, employing (adaptive) SpecAugment as the augmentation method. We find effective methods to filter, balance and augment the data generated in between self-training iterations. By doing so, we are able to obtain word error rates (WERs) 4.2%/8.6% on the clean/noisy LibriSpeech test sets by only using the clean 100h subset of LibriSpeech as the supervised set and the rest (860h) as the unlabeled set. Furthermore, we are able to achieve WERs 1.7%/3.4% on the clean/noisy LibriSpeech test sets by using the unlab-60k subset of LibriLight as the unlabeled set for LibriSpeech 960h. We are thus able to improve upon the previous state-of-the-art clean/noisy test WERs achieved on LibriSpeech 100h (4.74%/12.20%) and LibriSpeech (1.9%/4.1%).
Toward adaptive infrastructure: the Fifth Discipline

Modern infrastructure have been a relatively stable force for decades, ensuring that basic and critical services are met, without significantly changing their core designs or management principles....
Ultrasonic Communication through a Metallic Barrier: Transmission Modeling and Crosstalk Minimization

For systems that require complete metallic enclosures (e.g., containment buildings for nuclear reactors), it is impossible to access interior sensors and equipment using standard electromagnetic techniques. A viable way to communicate and supply power through metallic barriers is the use of elastic waves and ultrasonic transducers, introducing several design challenges that must be addressed. The objective of this work is to investigate the use of piezoelectric transducers for both sending and receiving power and data through a metallic barrier using elastic waves at ultrasonic frequencies above 1 MHz. High-fidelity numerical and simplified analytical models are developed for ultrasonic transmission and novel strategies are explored to eliminate crosstalk between channels.
Musculoskeletal Health Literacy is Associated With Outcome and Satisfaction of Total Knee Arthroplasty.

Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to investigate if there is an association between musculoskeletal health literacy with outcome and satisfaction after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Methods A cross-sectional study was performed at our tertiary center to include patients between one and six years postoperatively after primary TKA. Patients were provided a survey including basic demographics, validated musculoskeletal health literacy scale (Literacy in Musculoskeletal Problems), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), and TKA satisfaction (whether they would choose to undergo the same operation again). Patients were categorized as either low or normal health literacy based on number of questions (cutoff 6 out of 9) answered correctly on the Literacy in Musculoskeletal Problems. Statistical analysis included multivariate regression with significance at P Results Four hundred fifty-three individuals fully completed the survey of eligible participants. Two hundred ninety-six individuals (65.3%) had normal health literacy, and one hundred fifty-seven individuals (34.7%) had low health literacy. Average WOMAC (/96) was 18.0 ± 19.7 in the low and 12.1 ± 15.4 in the normal health literacy groups. Patients with low health literacy had significantly higher WOMAC (worse function) than those with normal health literacy (P = .001). Patients with normal musculoskeletal health literacy were significantly more likely to undergo the same operation again (P = .01, odds ratio 2.163). Conclusion This study shows that patients with low musculoskeletal health literacy have worse outcome scores and are less likely to be satisfied with their TKA. By identifying these patients preoperatively, emphasis can be placed on enhancing procedure expectations and understanding to improve outcome measures and overall satisfaction.
Inflammatory markers and tract-based structural connectomics in older adults with a preliminary exploration of associations by race

Peripheral inflammation has been implicated in cognitive dysfunction and dementia. While studies outline the relationship between elevated inflammation and individual gray or white matter alterations, less work has examined inflammation as related to connectivity between gray and white matter or variability in these associations by race. We examined the relationship between peripheral inflammation and tract-based structural connectomics in 74 non-demented participants (age = 69.19 ± 6.80 years; 53% female; 45% Black) who underwent fasting venipuncture and MRI. Serum was assayed for C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and interleukin-1β. Graph theory analysis integrated T1-derived gray matter volumes and DTI-derived white matter tractography into connectivity matrices analyzed for local measures of nodal strength and efficiency in a priori regions of interest associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors and dementia. Linear regressions adjusting for relevant covariates showed associations between inflammatory markers and nodal strength in the isthmus, posterior and caudal anterior cingulate (p’s ≤ .042). Adding an inflammatory marker*race term showed race-modified associations between C-reactive protein and efficiency in the thalamus and amygdala, and nodal strength in the putamen (p’s ≤ .048), between interleukin-6 and efficiency in the pars triangularis and amygdala (p’s ≤ .024), and between interleukin-1β and nodal strength in the pars opercularis (p = .048). Higher levels of inflammation associated with lower efficiency and higher strength for White participants but higher efficiency and lower strength for Black participants. Results suggest inflammation is associated with tract-based structural connectomics in an older diverse cohort and that differential relationships may exist by race within prefrontal and limbic brain regions.
Pharmacokinetics and tissue elimination of flunixin in veal calves

Currently flunixin is one of the leading violative drug residue found in veal calves. Although it is approved for use in adult cattle, there is not a specific approval for use in calves that are to be processed for veal. However the drug is often used in an extralabel manner as supportive therapy associated with calf diarrhea or pneumonia. Unfortunately pharmacokinetic data regarding the use of flunixin in young calves is not available. Therefore the primary objective of this study was to examine the pharmacokinetics and tissue elimination of flunixin following administration to veal calves.
Heart failure in pregnancy: what is the long-term impact of pregnancy on cardiac function? A tertiary care centre experience and systematic review.

BACKGROUND Women with cardiomyopathy (CM) are often advised against pregnancy due to risk for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). However, the impact of CM subtype on maternal MACE is not understood, and so we sought to evaluate the influence of CM phenotype on maternal outcomes, as well as the effect on immediate and late left ventricular function. METHODS We evaluated all pregnant women in our high-risk maternal cardiovascular programme (2009-2019). Composite maternal MACE included: death, inotrope use, left ventricular assist device, orthotopic heart transplant and/or escalation in transplant listing status, acute decompensated heart failure and sustained ventricular arrhythmia. RESULTS Among 875 women followed, 32 had CM (29±7 years old, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) 41%±12%): 3 ischaemic CM (ICM), 10 peripartum CM (PPCM) and 19 non-ICM (NICM). MACE events occurred in 6 (18%) women (PPCM: 2 (33%), NICM: 4 (67%)). There was no difference in LVEF at baseline, however, women with MACE had significantly lower LVEF both early (LVEF: 27±5% vs . 41±2%, p<0.05) and late post partum (LVEF: 28±5% vs . 44±2%, p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS In this contemporary cohort of women with CM, maternal MACE rates were lower than previously reported, and were less common in PPCM as compared with ICM and NICM. Heart function in women with MACE was negatively impacted immediately after delivery and in late postpartum follow-up, suggesting that pregnancy itself likely has influence on future left ventricular function in women with underlying CM.
Communities Going Virtual: Examining the Roles of Online and Offline Social Capital in Pandemic Perceived Community Resilience-Building

Pandemics overthrow our fundamental understanding of social capital and perceived community resilience-building. Social capital, the very source of support and resources during natural disasters to...
Genetic Expression of Aryl Hydrocarbon Hydroxylase Activity INDUCTION OF MONOOXYGENASE ACTIVITIES AND CYTOCHROME P1-450 FORMATION BY 2,3,7,8-TETRACHLORODIBENZO-p-DIOXIN IN MICE GENETICALLY "NONRESPONSIVE" TO OTHER AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS

Abstract The intraperitoneal administration of aromatic hydrocarbons such as 3-methylcholanthrene, β-naphthoflavone, or naphthacene induces several monooxygenase activities and the new formation of a spectrally distinct CO-binding cytochrome in genetically "responsive" inbred mouse strains, but these compounds, even when administered chronically at high doses, fail to induce these changes in genetically "nonresponsive" inbred strains. On the contrary, administration of 2, 3, 7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) causes induction of a similar magnitude in either "responsive" or "nonresponsive" mice of: (a) aryl hydrocarbon (benzo[a]pyrene) hydroxylase activity in liver, bowel, lung, kidney, and skin; (b) 7-ethoxycoumarin O-deethylase activity in liver and kidney; (c) hepatic p-nitroanisole O-demethylase and 3-methyl-4-methylaminoazobenzene Ndemethylase activities; and (d) the new formation of cytochrome P1-450 in liver, bowel, lung, kidney, and skin. Application of TCDD to the skin of either "responsive" or "nonresponsive" mice induces aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity more than 6-fold in the skin and also in the liver. The inbred mice used in this study include the "responsive" C57BL/6N, C57BL/6J, C3H/HeN, BALB/cAnN, and CBA/HN strains and the "nonresponsive" DBA/2N, DBA/2J, AKR/N, NZW/BLN, and NZB/BLN strains. These data demonstrate that genetically "nonresponsive" mice have the structural and regulatory genes necessary for expression of these inducible microsomal monooxygenase activities and associated new formation of cytochrome P1-450 and that the defect in these mice is a failure to recognize aromatic hydrocarbons which are less potent inducers. In the "nonresponsive" inbred strains, perhaps a mutation has occurred which results in production of an inducerbinding receptor having a diminished affinity for aromatic hydrocarbons.
Efficiently scaling up video annotation with crowdsourced marketplaces

Accurately annotating entities in video is labor intensive and expensive. As the quantity of online video grows, traditional solutions to this task are unable to scale to meet the needs of researchers with limited budgets. Current practice provides a temporary solution by paying dedicated workers to label a fraction of the total frames and otherwise settling for linear interpolation. As budgets and scale require sparser key frames, the assumption of linearity fails and labels become inaccurate. To address this problem we have created a public framework for dividing the work of labeling video data into micro-tasks that can be completed by huge labor pools available through crowdsourced marketplaces. By extracting pixel-based features from manually labeled entities, we are able to leverage more sophisticated interpolation between key frames to maximize performance given a budget. Finally, by validating the power of our framework on difficult, real-world data sets we demonstrate an inherent trade-off between the mix of human and cloud computing used vs. the accuracy and cost of the labeling.
Perspectives in vortex dynamics

Interest in vortices and whirlpools goes back to prehistory, and the vortex is a fairly common old religious symbol In more recent times, philosophers and artists have been attracted by vortex motion. Beautiful drawings of vortices in turbulent flow were made by Leonardo da Vinci at the beginning of the 16th century. Van Gogh's painting "Starry Night" suggests that he was familiar with the phenomenon of vortex pairing. For further examples, see Lugt 1.
Shaping the nuclear action of NF-κB

The NF-κB/REL family of transcription factors pivotally control the inflammatory and immune responses, as well as other genetic programmes that are central to cell growth and survival. The cytoplasmic regulation of NF-κB is well characterized and, recently, significant progress has been made in understanding how its nuclear action is regulated. Post-translational modification of the NF-κB subunits as well as histones surrounding the NF-κB target genes has a key role in this regulation. Here, we review the important advances that constitute this new and exciting chapter in NF-κB biology.
Context models for palette images

A family of two dimensional context models appropriate for palette images is described. The models are designed for use with a binary arithmetic coder. A complete image encoder/decoder using three models from the family is disclosed. The new coder is compared against five alternate coding methods: JBIG bit plane coding, CALIC predictive coding, CALIC plus palette ordering, and two dictionary methods, GIF and PNG. The aggregate compression achieved by the new method on a corpus of fifteen palette images is 25% better than the best alternate method. The appropriateness of the corpus is validated by the similar aggregate compression achieved by the alternate methods even though compression varies widely from image to image. Remarkably, the new method achieves 20% better compression than a composite coder formed from the best alternate method for each image.
Exclusion is Not Automatic: Improving the Enforcement of ITC Exclusion Orders Through Notice, a Test for Close Cases, and Civil Penalties

The U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) has become increasingly important in the enforcement of intellectual property (“IP”) rights in recent years. Despite the increase in ITC filings, however, very little literature discusses the effectiveness of ITC exclusion orders. This Essay analyzes seventy-three ITC exclusion orders issued from 2002–2011, finding their scope to be imprecise and vague. Because of this lack of clarity, this Essay proposes that the ITC improve the enforcement of exclusion orders by providing notice to IP rightsholders, adopting a practical test to resolve close cases, and providing for a civil penalty to deter violations. More specifically, the ITC should provide notice to IP rightsholders when importers file certifications with Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) or when CBP issues ex parte decisions concerning exclusion orders. The ITC should also adopt the colorable differences test used by some district courts to resolve close cases concerning redesigned products in contempt proceedings. Contempt proceedings share many similarities with ITC enforcement proceedings, including a prior patent infringement trial, a previous order by the tribunal against infringement, disagreement concerning redesigned products, and an expedited proceeding. Finally, the ITC should issue cease-and-desist orders in tandem with exclusion orders because cease-and-desist orders are enforceable with civil penalties. The most natural remedy to deter a violation of an exclusion order is an order to cease-and-desist from selling the infringing, imported products. By issuing cease-and-desist orders in tandem with exclusion orders, the ITC could eliminate duplicative enforcement proceedings, increase efficiency, and lower litigation costs.
Digital Archives in the Wired World Literature Classroom in the US

Digitized archival materials open up exciting possibilities for teaching and learning in the undergraduate World Literature classroom. Generally, if undergraduates are introduced to archival analysis at all, it is often not until the junior or senior year. However, current research suggests that students can greatly benefit even from a preliminary exposure to archives early in their undergraduate careers, by means of short-term, small-scale archival research tasks. In this essay, the author draws on case studies from her introductory World Literature classes in order to demonstrate how digital archives enable students to tap into the rich history of English-language world literature as intimately tied to legacies and contexts of imperialism. The article concludes with strategies and considerations to assist educators interested in incorporating digital archives in the undergraduate World Literature classroom.
Spatial distribution of acoustic noise caused by radial vibration in switched reluctance motors: application to design and control

This paper proposes a magneto-acoustic approach for the calculation of the acoustic field caused by radial vibration of the stator, which is known to be the main source of noise in the switched reluctance motor (SRM). In the first step, using a 2-D finite element (FE) method along with a dynamic model of the SRM drive, radial forces acting on the stator poles are calculated. Furthermore, stator deformation due to radial forces is computed using a time stepping FE analysis. This structural information is then fed into another FE based fluid-simulator, which predicts the acoustic field at any point in the surrounding space. Furthermore, the impact of current profile on the emitted noise has been analyzed. The results of this study have been used to develop a design and control guideline for development of low noise SRM drives. Finally, an 8/6, 300 W experimental SRM drive has been targeted in this study. The accuracy of the results has been confirmed by measuring the noise at a very close distance from the machine.
How relevant is an individual difference theory of personality

Doubts are raised as to the extent of "applicability of the conceptualization that "personality" consists "of more or less stable internal factors that make one person's behavior consistent from one time to another, and different from the behavior other people would manifest in comparable situations". This is done by demonstrating the questionable validity of much of the extant empirical support for the "personality" concept. Respondents on interpersonal checklists, personality inventories and questionnaire interviews are shown to unwittingly sub stitute a theory of conceptual likenesses for a description of behavioral co-occurrences. Considerations about similarity are confounded with judgments about probability to such an extent that items alike in concept are inferred to be behaviorally characteristic of the same person even when, as is typically the case, conceptual relationships among items do not correspond to the actual behavioral relationships among items. Examined are extant "personality theories" having to do with children's social behavior, adult behavior in small groups, maternal socialization practices, and psychopathology. These "theories" are shown to be no more than statements about how respondents (and psychologists) classify things as alike in meaning.
Berührungsloses elektrolytisches Abscheiden von Palladiumkatalysatoren

Die ortsselektive Elektrodeponierung katalytisch aktiver Metalle auf elektrisch leitfahigen Tragerteilchen in einer nichtleitenden Matrix gelang durch deren Polarisierung im elektrischen Feld in Gegenwart von Metallsalzlosungen. Die transmissionselektronenmikroskopische Aufnahme zeigt ein Graphitpartikel, auf dem durch Umdrehen des elektrischen Feldes nacheinander Pd und Au an gegenuberliegenden Enden deponiert wurden.
A method for isolating and culturing vascular smooth muscle cells from porcine cerebral arteries

Cerebral blood vessels have unique properties when compared to most peripheral vascular beds. One such property is that large cerebral vessels are involved in the regulation of cerebral vascular resistance. Studying smooth muscle cells isolated from these vessels will determine how phenotypic properties of these cells contribute to unique cerebrovascular function. Therefore we developed a method of culturing smooth muscle cells from explants of cerebral arteries of porcine brains obtained, gratis, from a local slaughter house. Cells isolated and cultured by the methods described herein were of smooth muscle origin as indicated by histochemical staining for smooth muscle α-actin. Further, we examined the response of the cultured cells to agonists which activate the cGMP dependent vasodilator system by stimulating soluble guanylyl cyclase (nitroglycerin and sodium nitroprusside) or particulate guanylyl cyclase (C-type natriuretic peptide). Also, forskolin activation of adenylyl cyclase was examined. These agents stimulated an increase in intracellular cGMP and cAMP in a manner that was reproducible in every cell isolation (20 brains) and which remained unchanged through nine passages. Additionally, the cells could be frozen, thawed and replated without loss of responsiveness to these agents. The protocol reported here provides a method for culturing cerebral artery smooth muscle cells that is inexpensive, relatively simple, and which yields cells that can be utilized through multiple passages.
CPMBK: An improved cluster-based interconnection network

This paper presents a cluster-based PMBK (CPMBK) multiprocessor system and analyses its performance of bandwidth. This interconnection network offers advantages such as more flexibility. Two situations are considered: (1), a processor is equally likely to address any one of the memory modules, (2), a processor has a few favourite memory modules. The results derived show that the cluster-based PMBK multiprocessor system performs well and is fairly close to a typical partial multiple bus system with K classes (PMBK) for high rates of favourite requests. The number of connections of this system is also evaluated and compared with those of other systems. It shows that the cluster-based PMBK system can reduce the network cost and complexity without significantly reducing the performance compared with those of crossbar, PPMB, PMBK and cluster-based crossbar systems.
An experimental study of blood flow in neurogenic hypotension and hemorrhagic shock

Abstract Contrary to established doctrine of blood flow, our experiments demonstrated a significant decrease in flow rate with sympathetic denervation. Explanation of the difference between the clinical state of neurogenic hypotension and hemorrhagic shock must be explained on a basis other than maintenance of normal flow.
Carbon dioxide stripping in aquaculture -- part III: model verification

Abstract Based on conventional mass transfer models developed for oxygen, the use of the non-linear ASCE method, 2-point method, and one parameter linear-regression method were evaluated for carbon dioxide stripping data. For values of K L a CO 2 K L a CO 2 . How to correct K L a CO 2 for gas phase enrichment remains to be determined. The one-parameter linear regression model was used to vary the C CO 2 * over the test, but it did not result in a better fit to the experimental data when compared to the ASCE or fixed C CO 2 * assumptions. For the packed column, the conventional mass transfer equation assumes that C CO 2 * is a constant within the column while the variable model assumes that C CO 2 * changes. When the column is divided into a large number of segments (300–500), the two models give comparable results because the change in mole fraction across an individual segment is small. For a smaller number of segments, the variable model is more accurate than the conventional model. K 20 CO 2 values need to be computed from the variable mass transfer model because of the large change in mole fraction across the entire column. The variability of K 20 CO 2 is reduced when the kinetics are slow (low pH and temperature). Future experimental work should start in this region and move toward faster kinetics (higher pH and temperature).
The novel glycoproteins of coronaviruses

Abstract The two glycoproteins of coronavirus envelopes have different functions in intracellular budding, cytopathic effects and virus infectivity, and have markedly different biochemical properties.
Proof of a conjecture on cycles in a bipartite graph

It was conjectured in [Wang, to appear in The Australasian Journal of Combinatorics] that, for each integer k ≥ 2, there exists M(k) such that if G= (V1, V2, E) is a bipartite graph with |V1| = |V2| = n ≥ M(k) and d(x) + d(y) ≥ n + k for each pair of nonadjacent vertices x and y of G with x e V1 and y e V2, then, for any k independent edges e1, …, ek of G, there exist k vertex-disjoint cycles C1, …, Ck in G such that ei e E(Ci for all i e {1, …, k} and V(C1 ⊎ ··· ∪ Ck) = V(G). This conjecture is also verified for k = 2, 3 in [Wang, to appear; Wang, manuscript]. In this article, we prove this conjecture to be true if n ≥ 3k, i.e., M(k) ≤ 3k. We will also show that, if n ≥ 3k, then for any k independent edges e1, …, ek of G, there exist k vertex-disjoint cycles C1, …, Ck of length at most 6 in G such that ei e E(Ci) for all i e {1, …, k}. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 31: 333343, 1999