cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Space Vehicle Maneuver Method to Lower Collision Risk to an Acceptable Level

A method for determining the maneuver required by a space vehicle to reduce its collision probability with another tracked object below a predefined threshold was developed. The methodology employs efficient computationalschemes for computing collision probability, propagating space vehicles, and three-dimensional root finding. The collision probability calculation was improved by reducing a two-dimensional integral to a one-dimensional integral, thereby realizing a significant reduction in computational effort. In addition, a method to circumvent high-fidelity propagation of the space objects from the time of the maneuver to the time of closest approach was found. The method essentially replaces high-fidelity propagation with simple two-body Keplerian propagation. A gradient technique is used to find the maneuver direction. The maneuver magnitude is found using a one-dimensional root finding scheme that takes advantage of the linear relationship between the maneuver velocity and resulting displacement. The method was applied to an actual case involving two geostationary satellites whose collision probability was unacceptably high. For various times before closest approach, the maneuver required to reduce the collision probability below a required threshold was found and provided to satellite operators. A maneuver time was selected and the associated maneuver was executed by satellite operators. Postmaneuver tracking of the satellites indicated that the maneuver worked as planned and reduced the collision probability to the desired level.
Sympathovagal balance: how should we measure it?

There are complex interactions between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system inputs to the sinus node. The concept of “sympathovagal balance” reflects the autonomic state resulting fro...
Human prostate cancer heterotransplants: a review on this experimental model.

A common model used for preclinical research was in vitro human tumor cell culture. An alternative model was the direct implantation of a unique patient's tumor biopsy specimens into immunodeficient host mice. Published data from PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) and Current Contents Connect databases (http://thomsonreuters.com/products_services/science/science_ products/a-z/current_contents_connect) were reviewed. Prostate cancer (PCa) heterotransplantation was evaluated using histopathology, morphology, cell differentiation, DNA content, tumor marker expression, metastases, tumor kinetics, tumor take rate and tumor vasculature in the first tumor heterotransplant. The heterotransplanted tumor retained the biological properties of the original tumor, such as morphology, degree of differentiation, pathology, secretory activity, expression of tumor markers and human vasculature. Human PCa heterotransplants have considerable experimental advantages over cell culture following xenotransplantation.
Surgical salvage of peritoneal dialysis catheters from chronic exit-site and tunnel infections.

Abstract Background Chronic exit-site and tunnel infections of the peritoneal dialysis catheter are significant causes of catheter loss. Surgical salvage procedures that can effectively resolve the infection and preserve dialysis are of major importance. Methods Thirteen patients with chronic exit-site and tunnel infections underwent surgical salvage consisting of unroofing the tunnel tract and shaving of the superficial catheter cuff. A control group of 138 patients implanted during the same time span as the study group was used for infection rate and survival comparisons. Results The salvage procedure cured the infection in all patients. No dialysate leaks occurred. Peritoneal dialysis was not interrupted. Surgical salvage provided successful long-term peritoneal dialysis that was equivalent to the cohort dialysis population. Conclusion Surgical salvage by unroofing/cuff shaving is an effective long-term solution for chronic exit-site and tunnel infection.
The Genetics of Deafness in Domestic Animals

Although deafness can be acquired throughout an animal’s life from a variety of causes, hereditary deafness, especially congenital hereditary deafness, is a significant problem in several species. Extensive reviews exist of the genetics of deafness in humans and mice, but not for deafness in domestic animals. Hereditary deafness in many species and breeds is associated with loci for white pigmentation, where the cochlear pathology is cochleo-sacular. In other cases there is no pigmentation association and the cochlear pathology is neuroepithelial. Late onset hereditary deafness has recently been identified in dogs and may be present but not yet recognized in other species. Few genes responsible for deafness have been identified in animals, but progress has been made for identifying genes responsible for the associated pigmentation phenotypes. Across species, the genes identified with deafness or white pigmentation patterns include MITF, PMEL, KIT, EDNRB, CDH23, TYR, and TRPM1 in dog, cat, horse, cow, pig, sheep, ferret, mink, camelid, and rabbit. Multiple causative genes are present in some species. Significant work remains in many cases to identify specific chromosomal deafness genes so that DNA testing can be used to identify carriers of the mutated genes and thereby reduce deafness prevalence.
Reduced-complexity delay-Doppler correlator for time-frequency hopping signals

The delay-Doppler correlator is most commonly used for target detection in a radar system. It is essentially a two-dimensional filter matched to the hypothesized delay and Doppler shifts of echoes reflected from the illuminating signal. More recently, it has been applied in communication to the detection of signature sequences generated from artificially introduced time-frequency shifts of a base sequence. In this paper, we derive a computationally efficient delay-Doppler correlator for a class of time-frequency hopping waveforms that can be represented by segments of equal-length sinusoids. These sequences can be found in applications such as continuous waveform radar and device identification in wireless communication. By applying sliding Discrete Fourier Transform and exploiting the structure of the waveform, the number of multiplications required for evaluating the entire delay-Doppler range can be reduced by a factor equaling the length of the sequence.
Cardiac organ donor management

There is a critical shortage of donor organs. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), 20% of organs are discarded after procurement. Many of these may be potentially salvageable. Brain death is particularly detrimental to cardiac function. The initial sympathetic storm can produce direct myocardial injury. The ensuing spinal shock reduces global oxygen delivery. There is a change to anaerobic metabolism due to global mitochondrial dysfunction. Diabetes insipidus worsens hypovolemia and thyroid deficiency impairs cardiac function. Inadequate replacement of blood loss from trauma and coagulopathy worsens anemia and oxygen delivery. In the mid-1990s, the Papworth Hospital group in the UK advocated early invasive hemodynamic monitoring and administration of a ‘hormonal cocktail’, consisting of triiodothyronine (T3), vasopressin, methylprednisolone and insulin. This has been widely accepted and is endorsed by UNOS. Ventricular function, volume status and adequacy of resuscitation should be gu...
Role of renal nerves in the potentiation of atriopeptin-induced natriuresis by vasopressin.

Previous studies have shown that vasopressin potentiates the natriuresis produced by atriopeptin. In five anesthetized dogs of this study, we found that the potentiation was proportional to the dose of vasopressin infused. Sodium excretion was 46 +/- 16 mueq/min with atriopeptin (103-126) (AP24) alone (0.36 nmol/kg.min), was increased to 127 +/- 29 by concomitant intravenous infusion of 0.4 mU/kg.min vasopressin, was further increased to 301 +/- 75 by 1.2 mU/kg.min vasopressin and leveled off at 328 +/- 37 with 3.6 mU/kg.min vasopressin. To investigate whether the potentiation by vasopressin was due to an intrarenal action, we infused three doses of vasopressin (0.04, 0.12, and 0.36 mU/kg.min) into the renal artery during intravenous AP24 infusion in a second group of five dogs. The natriuresis, 128 +/- 18 mueq/min, was unaffected by any intrarenal dose of vasopressin. In a third group, we determined whether the potentiation produced by vasopressin was mediated by a mechanism involving the renal nerves by denervating the left kidney before AP24 infusion. In the denervated kidneys, sodium excretion was increased from a control value of 33 +/- 5 mueq/min to 303 +/- 38 with AP24 alone and was unresponsive to subsequent intravenous vasopressin administration. The exaggerated natriuresis with AP24 alone was of the same magnitude as that produced by AP24 plus the highest doses of intravenous vasopressin in the innervated kidneys of the first group. From these results we conclude that the potentiation of AP-induced natriuresis by vasopressin is mediated by a mechanism involving the renal nerves and probably results from the known effect of vasopressin to inhibit renal nerve activity.
Fisher information of sampled packets: an application to flow size estimation

Packet sampling is widely used in network monitoring. Sampled packet streams are often used to determine flow-level statistics of network traffic. To date there is conflicting evidence on the quality of the resulting estimates. In this paper we take a systematic approach, using the Fisher information metric and the Cramer-Rao bound, to understand the contributions that different types of information within sampled packets have on the quality of flow-level estimates. We provide concrete evidence that, without protocol information and with packet sampling rate p = 0.005, any accurate unbiased estimator needs approximately 1016 sampled flows. The required number of sampled flows drops to roughly 104 with the use of TCP sequence numbers. Furthermore, additional SYN flag information significantly reduces the estimation error of short flows. We present a Maximum Likelihood Estimator (MLE) that relies on all of this information and show that it is efficient, even when applied to a small sample set. We validate our results using Tier-1 Internet backbone traces and evaluate the benefits of sampling from multiple monitors. Our results show that combining estimates from several monitors is 50% less accurate than an estimate based on all samples.
The influence of microhabitat on availability of drifting invertebrate prey to a net-spinning caddisfly

Freshwater Biology (1987) 17, 91-98The influence of microhabitat on availability ofdrifting invertebrate prey to a net-spinning caddisflyFRANCIE L. SMITH-CUFFNEY and J. BRUCE WALLACEDepartment of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, U.S.A.SUMMARY. 1. Invertebrate drift was sampled at both a rockface and adeep pebble riffle site in streams draining both a clearcut and a forestedcatchment.2. A sampler was designed to separate the bottom 2cm of flow,encompassing the effective range of caddisfly (Hydropsychidae:Trichoptera) catchnets, from upper flow.3. No significant difference in drift density (numbers per cubic metre)was seen between sites within each stream. However, numbers persquare centimetre intake area per day at the rockface sites were 4 timeshigher in the clearcut and 10 times higher in the forested stream than atthe pebble-riffle site.4. Rockface habitat which had highest drift availability was also thesite of maximum secondary production of the predaceous collector-filterer Parapsyche cardis in both streams studied.5. Increased sediment load in the clearcut stream may influence theefficiency of utilization of invertebrate drift by collector-filterers.IntroductionThe study of invertebrate drift in streams hasmost often been approached from the stand-point of its role as a behavioural response tosuch factors as food availability (Elliott, 1967;Hildebrand, 1974) and population density(Waters, 1961; Dimond, 1967; Ciborowski,1983). The importance of physical factors, suchas flow (Minshall & Winger, 1968) and sub-strate (Hall, Waters & Cook, 1980), have beenrecognized as both independent and as closelyassociated factors (Waters, 1969; Elliott,1971). The above approaches emphasize driftas part of the animal's life history and itsCorrespondence: Dr F. L. Smith-Cuffney, Depart-ment of Entomology, University of Georgia,Athens, Georgia 30602, U.S.A.importance as such to individual species andbenthic communities as a whole. The presenceof macroinvertebrates in the water column of astream can also be viewed as a food resource.This approach has been used primarily by fishecologists (Allan, 1978; Fausch, 1984). Fishhave been found to exhibit selectivity in uti-lization of drift (Griffith, 1974; Johnson &Johnson, 1982) as well as behavioural re-sponses in relation to drift availability, primari-ly in their positioning within the stream(Everest & Chapman, 1972).In small, high gradient, headwater streams,where fish are generally absent, drifting in-vertebrates are used as food by collector-filterer macroinvertebrates such as larvae ofHydropsychidae (Trichoptera). Animal mate-rial contributes significantly to the production91
Equations governing steady three-dimensional large-amplitude motion of a stratified fluid

The exact equations governing three-dimensional motion of an inviscid non-diffusive incompressible fluid stratified in density or of an inviscid non-diffusive gas stratified in entropy are given and briefly discussed.
Decorating the cloud: enabling annotation management in MapReduce

Data curation and annotation are indispensable mechanisms to a wide range of applications for capturing various types of metadata information. This metadata not only increases the data's credibility and merit, and allows end users and applications to make more informed decisions, but also enables advanced processing over the data that is not feasible otherwise. That is why annotation management has been extensively studied in the context of scientific repositories, web documents, and relational database systems. In this paper, we make the case that cloud-based applications that rely on the emerging Hadoop infrastructure are also in need for data curation and annotation and that the presence of such mechanisms in Hadoop would bring value-added capabilities to these applications. We propose the "CloudNotes" system, a full-fledged MapReduce-based annotation management engine. CloudNotes addresses several new challenges to annotation management including: (1) scalable and distributed processing of annotations over large clusters, (2) propagation of annotations under the MapReduce's blackbox execution model, and (3) annotation-driven optimizations ranging from proactive prefetching and colocation of annotations, annotation-aware task scheduling, novel shared execution strategies among the annotation jobs, and concurrency control mechanisms for annotation management. These challenges have not been addressed or explored before by the state-of-art technologies. CloudNotes is built on top of the open-source Hadoop/HDFS infrastructure and experimentally evaluated to demonstrate the practicality and scalability of its features, and the effectiveness of its optimizations under large workloads.
Effects of diet on plumage coloration and pigment deposition in red and yellow domestic canaries

The Atlantic Canary (Serinus canaria) is the most common caged bird with extensive carotenoid plumage coloration. Domestic strains of canaries have been bred for a range of colors and patterns, making them a valuable model for studies of the genetic bases for feather pigmentation. However, no detailed account has been published on the feather pigments of the various strains of this species, particularly in relation to dietary pigments available during molt. Moreover, in the twentieth century, aviculturists created a red canary by crossing Atlantic Canaries with Red Siskins (Carduelis cucullata). This red-factor canary is reputed to metabolically transform yellow dietary pigments into red ketocarotenoids, but such metabolic capacity has yet to be documented in controlled experiments. We fed molting yellow and red-factor canaries seed diets supplemented with either B-carotene, lutein/zeaxanthin, or B-cryptoxanthin/B-carotene and measured the coloration and carotenoid content of newly grown feathers. On all diets, yellow canaries grew yellow feathers and red canaries grew red feathers. Yellow canaries deposited dietary pigments and metabolically derived canary xanthophylls into feathers. Red-factor canaries deposited the same plumage carotenoids as yellow canaries, but also deposited red ketocarotenoids. Red-factor canaries deposited higher total amounts of carotenoids than yellow canaries, but otherwise there was little effect of diet treatment on feather hue or chroma. These observations indicate that canaries can use a variety of dietary precursors to produce plumage coloration and that red canaries can metabolically convert yellow dietary carotenoids into red ketocarotenoids.
Achievement Goals during Middle Childhood: Individual Differences in Motivation and Social Adjustment.

Person-centered analyses of achievement goals have been scarce in studies of elementary school children. In this investigation, the authors examined the natural combinations of achievement goals (mastery, performance-approach, performance-avoidance) among 3rd grade students (N = 195) and how clusters differed in self-, teacher-, and peer-reported adjustment variables. Cluster analysis revealed four groups of students: mastery (above average in mastery goals, below average in performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals), multi-goal (above average in all three goals), avoidant (above average in performance-avoidance goals, below average in mastery and performance-approach goals), and low motivation (below average in all three goals). Clusters differed in self-reported academic self-efficacy and perceptions of teacher support, teacher-reported academic competence, and peer nominations of social status. Mastery students had the most adaptive profiles; low motivation, the least adaptive. Avoidant boys...
The conformational flexibility of the tetradentate ligand (tBu)N4 is essential for the stabilization of ((tBu)N4)Pd(III) complexes.

The conformationally flexible tetradentate pyridinophane ligand tBuN4 effectively lowers the oxidation potential of (tBuN4)PdII complexes and promotes their facile chemical and electrochemical oxidation, including unpredecented aerobic oxidation reactivity. While the low potential of a number of PdII (and PtII) complexes supported by various fac-chelating polydentate ligands is often attributed to the presence of a coordinating group in the axial position of the metal center, no detailed electrochemical studies have been reported for such systems. Described herein is the detailed electrochemical investigation of the effect of ligand conformation on the redox properties of the corresponding PdII complexes. These Pd complexes adopt different conformations in solution, as supported by studies using variable scan rate, variable-temperature cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential pulse voltammety, and digital CV simulations at variable scan rates. The effect of the axial amine protonation on the spectroscopic an...
Sublimity and the Ends of Reason: Questions for Deligiorgi

The sublime has come under severe criticism in recent years. Jane Forsey, for instance, has argued that all theories of the sublime “rest on a mistake” (2007, 381). In her article, “The Pleasures of Contra-purposiveness: Kant, the Sublime, and Being Human,” Katerina Deligiorgi (2014) provides a rejoinder to Forsey. Deligiorgi argues—with the help of Kant—that a coherent theory of the sublime is possible, and she provides a sketch for such a theory. Deligiorgi makes good progress in the debate over the sublime. But here I raise two questions in relation to her account. The aim of these questions is to help clarify and augment her theory and thus extend the discussion about the tenability and relevance of the sublime. The first question is about the pleasure of the sublime. The pleasure, she claims, comes from our catching a glimpse of ourselves as agents in the world. But, I argue, Deligiorgi's conception of agency is insufficient for explaining the pleasure of sublimity, and this is because she does not take into account what I call (echoing Kant) the “ends of reason,” those ends that matter most to us as agents. The second question pertains to the phenomenology of the sublime. The worry here is that Deligiorgi overcomplicates the subject's experience and, in doing so, greatly restricts the scope of the sublime.
Upper and Lower Limb Imaging

The application of dual energy techniques to peripheral angiography in the upper and lower limbs has the potential to improve clinical workflow and study accuracy. Dual-energy techniques optimize postprocessing of three-dimensional data sets with more accurate and efficient bone removal compared to traditional techniques. Recent evidence suggests that monoenergetic reconstructions have the potential for improved vessel contrast over standard polyenergetic, single-energy techniques which may allow studies to be done with reduced contrast volumes. In this chapter, we will review current state of dual-energy imaging as it relates to peripheral angiography, highlighting technical aspects that pertain to the lower extremities, standardized protocols, the current state of evidence in the field, as well as potential advantages and disadvantages of the technique. Finally, we will provide illustrated descriptions of important clinical applications.
Multinucleon short-range correlation model for nuclear spectral functions: Theoretical framework

We develop a theoretical approach for nuclear spectral functions at high missing momenta and removal energies based on the multinucleon short-range correlation (SRC) model. The approach is based on the effective Feynman diagrammatic method which allows us to account for the relativistic effects important in the SRC domain. In addition to two-nucleon (2N) SRC with center of mass motion we also derive the contribution of three-nucleon SRCs to the nuclear spectral functions. The latter is modeled based on the assumption that 3N SRCs are a product of two sequential short-range nucleon-nucleon (NN) interactions. This approach allows us to express the 3N SRC part of the nuclear spectral function as a convolution of two NN SRCs. Thus the knowledge of 2N SRCs allows us to model both two- and three-nucleon SRC contributions to the spectral function. The derivations of the spectral functions are based on two theoretical frameworks for evaluating covariant Feynman diagrams: In the first, referred to as virtual nucleon approximation, we reduce Feynman diagrams to the time ordered noncovariant diagrams by evaluating nucleon spectators in the SRC at their positive energy poles, neglecting explicitly the contribution from vacuum diagrams. In the second approach, referred to as light-front approximation, we formulate the boost invariant nuclear spectral function in the light-front reference frame in which case the vacuum diagrams are generally suppressed and the bound nucleon is described by its light-front variables such as momentum fraction, transverse momentum, and invariant mass.
Causal Mediation Analysis Warning! Assumptions Ahead

In policy evaluations, interest may focus on why a particular treatment works. One tool for understanding why treatments work is causal mediation analysis. In this essay, I focus on the assumptions needed to estimate mediation effects. I show that there is no “gold standard” method for the identification of causal mediation effects. In particular, mediation effects will always have the character of estimates from observational data since they are generally subject to a specific form of confounding. Additionally, I demonstrate how randomization of the mediator and instrumental variables methods lead to fundamentally different quantities than causal mediation analyses. I also review recent work that discusses how the assumptions of mediation analyses differ when there is treatment noncompliance or when there are multiple mediators. Throughout, I motivate concepts using path diagrams and an example of a classroom intervention designed to increase test scores.
Peter Whitewood, The Red Army and the Great Terror: Stalin’s purge of the Soviet military

Peter Whitewood clearly states his argument to be that Stalin attacked the Red Army because of a misperceived security threat. Beyond that, the author concludes that Stalin’s attack on the army was...
Utility of whole-lesion ADC histogram metrics for assessing the malignant potential of pancreatic intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs).

To evaluate whole-lesion ADC histogram metrics for assessing the malignant potential of pancreatic intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs), including in comparison with conventional MRI features. Eighteen branch-duct IPMNs underwent MRI with DWI prior to resection (n = 16) or FNA (n = 2). A blinded radiologist placed 3D volumes-of-interest on the entire IPMN on the ADC map, from which whole-lesion histogram metrics were generated. The reader also assessed IPMN size, mural nodularity, and adjacent main-duct dilation. Benign (low-to-intermediate grade dysplasia; n = 10) and malignant (high-grade dysplasia or invasive adenocarcinoma; n = 8) IPMNs were compared. Whole-lesion ADC histogram metrics demonstrating significant differences between benign and malignant IPMNs were: entropy (5.1 ± 0.2 vs. 5.4 ± 0.2; p = 0.01, AUC = 86%); mean of the bottom 10th percentile (2.2 ± 0.4 vs. 1.6 ± 0.7; p = 0.03; AUC = 81%); and mean of the 10–25th percentile (2.8 ± 0.4 vs. 2.3 ± 0.6; p = 0.04; AUC = 79%). The overall mean ADC, skewness, and kurtosis were not significantly different between groups (p ≥ 0.06; AUC = 50–78%). For entropy (highest performing histogram metric), an optimal threshold of >5.3 achieved a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 70%, and an accuracy of 83% for predicting malignancy. No significant difference (p = 0.18–0.64) was observed between benign and malignant IPMNs for cyst size ≥3 cm, adjacent main-duct dilatation, or mural nodule. At multivariable analysis of entropy in combination with all other ADC histogram and conventional MRI features, entropy was the only significant independent predictor of malignancy (p = 0.004). Although requiring larger studies, ADC entropy obtained from 3D whole-lesion histogram analysis may serve as a biomarker for identifying the malignant potential of IPMNs, independent of conventional MRI features.
Resultados do implante de stent coronário eluidor de everolimus em mulheres latino-americanas

1 , e os stents farmacologicos (SFs) tornaram-se um dos pilares das intervencoes coronarias percutâneas. Maior atencao tem sido dada as diferencas dos resultados entre as regioes geograficas e entre os generos. Estudos ante- riores demonstraram que latino-americanos tem taxas mais elevadas de doencas cardiovasculares e podem ter pior evolucao em comparacao aos pacientes de outras regioes. 2-4 Mulheres latino-americanas podem representar uma populacao de alto risco, ja que o sexo feminino tambem e considerado fator de risco para piores resultados apos intervencoes coronarias percutâneas. 5,6
Satellite based seasonal land use classification and change detection analysis of landsat-8 operational land imager

This study investigated the Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) to determine its suitability for change detection analysis and mapping applications due to its enhanced signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), spectral band configuration, technical superiority, improved system design and high radiometric resolution. Earlier Landsat series had a lower SNR, comparatively smaller radiometric resolution and limitations in spectral band configurations. Pre-classification methods e.g., image differencing; image rationing, vegetation indices and principal components used for change detection analysis do not indicate type of the change due to its limitations. Therefore, better technique of post classification change detection was used on OLI data in the study area which provided information of the type of the change i.e., from-to change detection. This paper evaluated the OLI support vector machines (SVM) classification suitability using data covering four different seasons (i.e., spring, autumn, winter, and summer) after pre-processing and atmospheric correction. After classification, the major change detection results of OLI SVM-classified data for the four seasons were compared to change detection results of six cases: (1) winter to spring; (2) winter to summer; (3) winter to autumn; (4) spring to summer; (5) spring to autumn; and (6) summer to autumn. Seasonal change in the shoreline resulted with the corresponding change in categories. The OLI data classifications were made by applying SVM classifier and due to its improved features, OLI data is found suitable for seasonal land cover classification and post classification change detection analysis.
Antibiotic Stimulation of a Bacillus subtilis Migratory Response.

ABSTRACT Competitive interactions between bacteria reveal physiological adaptations that benefit fitness. Bacillus subtilis is a Gram-positive species with several adaptive mechanisms for competition and environmental stress. Biofilm formation, sporulation, and motility are the outcomes of widespread changes in a population of B. subtilis . These changes emerge from complex, regulated pathways for adapting to external stresses, including competition from other species. To identify competition-specific functions, we cultured B. subtilis with multiple species of Streptomyces and observed altered patterns of growth for each organism. In particular, when plated on agar medium near Streptomyces venezuelae , B. subtilis initiates a robust and reproducible mobile response. To investigate the mechanistic basis for the interaction, we determined the type of motility used by B. subtilis and isolated inducing metabolites produced by S. venezuelae . Bacillus subtilis has three defined forms of motility: swimming, swarming, and sliding. Streptomyces venezuelae induced sliding motility specifically in our experiments. The inducing agents produced by S. venezuelae were identified as chloramphenicol and a brominated derivative at subinhibitory concentrations. Upon further characterization of the mobile response, our results demonstrated that subinhibitory concentrations of chloramphenicol, erythromycin, tetracycline, and spectinomycin all activate a sliding motility response by B. subtilis . Our data are consistent with sliding motility initiating under conditions of protein translation stress. This report underscores the importance of hormesis as an early warning system for potential bacterial competitors and antibiotic exposure. IMPORTANCE Antibiotic resistance is a major challenge for the effective treatment of infectious diseases. Identifying adaptive mechanisms that bacteria use to survive low levels of antibiotic stress is important for understanding pathways to antibiotic resistance. Furthermore, little is known about the effects of individual bacterial interactions on multispecies communities. This work demonstrates that subinhibitory amounts of some antibiotics produced by streptomycetes induce active motility in B. subtilis , which may alter species interaction dynamics among species-diverse bacterial communities in natural environments. The use of antibiotics at subinhibitory concentrations results in many changes in bacteria, including changes in biofilm formation, small-colony variants, formation of persisters, and motility. Identifying the mechanistic bases of these adaptations is crucial for understanding how bacterial communities are impacted by antibiotics.
A Computer Program for Simple Linear Regression with Censored Data

Many practical problems require fitting a line to censored data, that is, data for which some of the observations are only known to be above or below a specific value. In relating stress to time to...
The Relevance of Ethics to Agriculture and Weed Science

This chapter discusses that underlying views on agricultural issues is an ethical foundation that determines agriculture's ethical horizon, including one of agriculture's subdisciplines: weed science. Knowing that foundation for any position, it was suggested, is an important step toward resolving any of agriculture's ethical dilemmas. The question is can one show how ethics and ethical theory can be applied to weed science, a small segment of agriculture? If such a connection can be made, it should be easy to extrapolate the connection to agriculture's many other subdisciplines. The chapter further discusses that productivity and profitability of agriculture should be debated, because production and profitability are but instrumental goals. They are means to meet human needs. As operative values are discussed, one should consider broadening the concept of productivity and efficiency to include basic environmental, resource, ecological, health, social, and political processes, and the costs and benefits of agricultural technology. The ultimate formulation of a sustaining ethic for weed science will not be as difficult as all of these criteria imply, if the ethic can be based on a value all might accept, such as meeting human needs. Innovation in agriculture can be good, but perhaps it will be best when what agricultural scientists declare good is also judged good by a concerned populace that finds agricultural innovations compatible with their view of what constitutes the good life, the good society, and satisfaction of human needs.
Are Constitutional Norms Legal Norms

Modern legal positivism prides itself on the clear distinction it draws between legal and nonlegal norms. But how are we supposed to tell whether a given norm practiced and prevalent among the powerful in a society governed by law is actually one of its laws, part of its legal system, as opposed to a moral principle that powerful people happen to accept? The familiar answer refers us to the rule of recognition—the fundamental secondary rule, present in every system of law, whose function it is to pick and choose among positive norms and identify those that are accorded legal status. But this will not help if the norm we are asking about is arguably a part of the rule of recognition itself or part of some other fundamental secondary rule. Then we have a problem, for modern positivism provides no clear basis for distinguishing legal from nonlegal norms in this area. The rule of recognition helps us distinguish legal primary rules from nonlegal primary rules, but it is not clear how it can operate at the secondary level. Evidently, this is going to be a problem for constitutional norms, as many of the most important constitutional norms make up the secondary rules of the legal system to which they pertain. So we have to ask, Is there a way of distinguishing those constitutional norms that merely pertain to the foundations of the legal system from those that should be counted among the legal rules—the secondary legal rules—of the legal system itself?
Prevention of Back Injury in the Work Place

Back pain and back injuries represent serious health problems with a significant socioeconomic impact on the United States. Use of education and prophylactic bracing may prevent back injury and reduce time lost from work. It appears that the use of intermittent prophylactic bracing has no adverse affect on abdominal strength and may contribute to deceased time lost from work injuries. No evidence supports the practice of providing workers with lumbosacral orthoses without appropriate training and proper biomechanical techniques. It is important to intervene early and vigorously with even mild or moderate back impairment to prevent a continuation of biomechanical factors that may lead to repeated and progressively more severe episodes of impairment.
Using phylogenetic comparative methods to gain insight into the evolution of social complexity

Social complexity can have important evolutionary implications, and phylogenetic comparative methods have long been used as a way to assess interspecific support for hypotheses on the subject. Statistical approaches for conducting such analyses have come a long way in the last few decades, and it is now possible to use comparative data to ask sophisticated questions about the evolution of complex phenotypes while taking also uncertainty in the phylogeny into account. Here, we illustrate these advances by applying a phylogenetic analysis of covariance to two data sets addressing the evolution of social complexity in primates. First, we find that social complexity (as inferred by group size) is predicted by whether a species is diurnal and terrestrial. Second, we find that social complexity (as inferred by social organization) has increased over evolutionary time and can impact trait evolution. Particularly, we find that baculum length has been growing with body size in dispersed, pair-living and, more weakly, multi-male species, becoming relatively smaller and more variable in aggregations that are more socially stable. Sociality poses a particular challenge for interspecific analyses because of the many ways that its intrinsic complexity can be coded into statistical variables and models. However, with methods that incorporate phylogenies and nuanced inferences about underlying evolutionary processes, even coarse measures of social complexity can offer valuable insights in the study of behavioral trends through time. Exploring two interspecific data sets on primates, we show how simple measures of sociality, either coded as continuous or categorical variables, can be used to revisit latent evolutionary hypotheses while revealing new pieces of information that become available thanks to the added complexity of novel phylogenetic comparative methods. One example reveals that larger and more variable groups are associated with shifts in habitat and activity patterns, while the other reveals that baculum evolution might be influenced by the increasing social stability of primate aggregations.
Complex spatiotemporal variation in processes shaping song variation

Understanding factors that contribute to song divergence bolsters our understanding of signal evolution and reproductive isolation. Hybrid zones often occur across environmental gradients; as such, they are excellent places to examine how signals diverge and how differentiation is maintained. We studied song variation across two hybrid zones, one old and one recent, of Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) and Black-crested Titmouse (B. atricristatus), across an environmental gradient where the two titmouse populations meet. In the recent zone, noise and vegetation structure were correlated with several song characteristics, but in the older zone, these features did not correlate despite similar gradients in song features. Our data, combined with previous studies, suggest that despite overall similarities in characteristics, songs in the older zone may be more shaped by sexual selection, whereas songs in the young zone are shaped by environment. Thus, even within the same species, processes shaping signal structure can vary spatially and temporally.
Barcodes for subcellular protein localization.

The localization of target proteins, at subcellular resolution, in fixed patient-derived tissues can now be achieved via antibodies conjugated with tetrahedral DNA nanostructures self-assembled in situ.
Antibody-Drug Conjugates Targeting CD45 Plus Janus Kinase (JAK) Inhibitors As Conditioning for Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Introduction Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT) is a potentially curative therapy for the treatment of hematologic diseases. AlloHSCT is associated with significant treatment-related morbidity and mortality from conditioning-related toxicities and graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), which limits its use to the most life-threatening indications, such as acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, for conditions like AML that are primarily diagnosed in elderly patients, alloHSCT may be contraindicated due to poor patient functional status or medical comorbidities. Thus, an unmet clinical need exists for novel, highly-effective alloHSCT conditioning regimens with greater tolerability and minimal toxicity. Objectives Previously, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) composed of a CD45.2 antibody bound to the ribosome-inactivating protein saporin (CD45-SAP) were shown to allow high-level engraftment of syngeneic murine hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Here, we describe ADC-based conditioning regimens for murine alloHSCT which overcome immune barriers to engraftment imposed by minor histocompatibility antigen (miHA) and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) mismatches. Methods Mice were conditioned for HSCT with 3 mg/kg CD45-SAP 7 days prior to infusion of 10 × 106 bone marrow cells. Haploidentical F1-to-parent (CB6F1→B6) and miHA-mismatched (BALB/c→DBA/2) HSCT models were used. For GvHD studies, a parent-to-F1 (B6→CB6F1) model was used in which recipients were infused with 25 × 106 donor splenocytes after CD45-SAP treatment or sublethal irradiation. Results CD45-SAP combined with T cell depletion was sufficient for high-level engraftment in our alloHSCT models (Fig 1). The selective Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor baricitinib, previously shown by our lab to prevent GvHD, also permitted HSC engraftment when mice received the drug during the peri-transplant period (Fig 2A-B). Graft stability in baricitinib-treated mice was optimized by either combining daily baricitinib treatment with pre-transplant T cell depletion, or by delivering baricitinib via continuous infusion (Fig 2C-D). Notably, CD45-SAP conditioned mice showed minimal morbidity or mortality from GvHD when infused with allogeneic splenocytes, whereas mice conditioned with sublethal irradiation developed acute GvHD. (Fig 3). Conclusion CD45-SAP combined with T cell depletion and/or pharmacologic immunomodulation with baricitinib effectively conditioned mice for engraftment of mismatched HSCs. Strikingly, mice conditioned with CD45-SAP did not develop GvHD even when infused with high doses of allogeneic splenocytes. These studies provide proof-of-principle evidence that targeted immunotherapeutics (ADCs plus JAK inhibitors) can prepare HSCT recipients for engraftment of allogeneic donor HSCs with minimal toxicities and without development of GvHD.
Nuclear Transport Factor 2 (NTF2) suppresses metastatic melanoma by modifying cell migration, metastasis, and gene expression

While changes in nuclear structure and organization are frequently observed in cancer cells, relatively little is known about how nuclear architecture impacts cancer progression and pathology. To begin to address this question, we studied Nuclear Transport Factor 2 (NTF2) because its levels decrease during melanoma progression. We show that increasing NTF2 expression in metastatic melanoma cells reduces cell proliferation and motility while increasing apoptosis. We also demonstrate that increasing NTF2 expression in these cells significantly inhibits metastasis and increases survival of mice. Mechanistically, we show that NTF2 levels affect the expression and nuclear positioning of a number of genes associated with cell proliferation and migration. We propose that by decreasing nuclear size and/or lamin A nuclear localization, ectopic expression of NTF2 in metastatic melanoma alters chromatin organization to generate a gene expression profile with characteristics of primary melanoma, concomitantly abrogating several phenotypes associated with advanced stage cancer both in vitro and in vivo. Thus NTF2 acts as a melanoma tumor suppressor to maintain proper nuclear structure and gene expression and could be a novel therapeutic target to improve health outcomes of melanoma patients.
1 – Thermoanalytical Techniques

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview on thermoanalytical technique. Thermal analysis covers a variety of techniques that record the physical and chemical changes occurring in a substance as a function of temperature. Therefore, it encompasses many classical techniques such as thermogravimetry (TG), evolved gas analysis (EGA), differential thermal analysis (DTA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and the modern techniques, such as thermomechanical analysis (TMA) as well as dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and dilatometry. The application of thermal analysis to the study of construction materials stems from the fact that they undergo physicochemical changes on heating.
A Unified Approach to Stabilization, Trajectory Tracking, and Formation Control of Planar Underactuated Vehicles *

This paper develops a procedure to design passivity-based controllers for stabilization, trajectory tracking, and formation control of a class of underactuated planar vehicles. The proposed approach uses generalized canonical transformations and energy shaping techniques and offers a framework to design stabilization and trajectory tracking controllers with the same structure. This approach is further applied to multi-agent formation stabilization and tracking problems. The proposed method can be used to solve motion control problems for a class of underactuated planar vehicles with a unified controller structure. As an example, the method is then applied to design controllers for planar mobile robots. Numerical simulations are presented for each case.
Targeting antigens to the human mannose receptor expressed in transgenic mice elicits potent CD4 and CD8 responses in vivo

1419 Cellular responses, and in particular, cytolitic T cell responses, are critical for the efficacy of most therapeutic cancer vaccines. Our approach to enhancing the cross-presentation of exogenously provided tumor associated antigens (TAA), involves targeting these antigens to dendritic cells and macrophages for efficient uptake, processing, and presentation. We have previously demonstrated that TAA linked to a human mAb specific for the human mannose receptor (hMR) are effectively presented by MHC class I and class II on human dendritic cells in vitro. Moreover, using transgenic mice engineered to express hMR, we have demonstrated that administration of the MR-targeted vaccines resulted in an efficient MR-mediated antigen loading into MR-expressing cells and a rapid, potent and adjuvant-independent humoral response. Here we have further exploited the use of the hMR transgenic mice to investigate the induction of antigen-specific CD4 and CD8 T cell responses after immunization with MR-targeted vaccines. hMR-expressing mice immunized with a fusion protein consisting of the anti-hMR mAb (B11) and the TAA, human chorionic gonadotropin b-subunit (hCGβ) resulted in significantly greater hCGβ-specific T cells secreting IL-4 or IFN-γ than control mice immunized with the vaccine. The magnitude and polarization of the response was influenced by combination with adjuvants. Using CpG alone or in combination with other toll-like receptor ligands as adjuvant, such as polyI:C and HKLP, led to Th1 polarization and promoted antigen-specific T cell activation, as illustrated by increasing IFNγ ELISPOT number and positive intracellular staining of granzyme B. In vivo enhancement of MHC class I presentation was further investigated using ovalbumin (OVA) chemically coupled to the B11 mAb and the OVA-specific OT-I CD8 transgenic T cells. Injection of low doses of B11-OVA triggered efficient OT-I cell proliferation in hMR-Tg. In contrast, similar concentrations of B11-OVA induce little or no proliferation of OT-I cells in wild type mice. These data, demonstrating induction of T cell responses in vivo are consistent with our previous in vitro studies demonstrating that delivering antigens to dendritic cells via an MR-specific antibody results in cross presentation of antigen-derived epitopes by accessing both the Class I and Class II pathways and offers potential for therapeutic intervention of cancers.