cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of pulse oximetry and capnometry in postoperative ventilatory weaning

We examined the ability of capnometry and pulse oximetry to identify potential respiratory problems by comparing oxyhemoglobin saturation (O2Sat) as measured by pulse oximetry and end-tidal CO2 (PetCO2) with arterial blood gas (ABG) determinations in 40 mechanically ventilated ICU patients. Hemoglobin saturation as measured by pulse oximetry correlated significantly with PaO2 (r = .65, p less than .0001); more importantly, an oximeter O2 Sat less than 95% showed 100% sensitivity in identifying hypoxemia (i.e., PaO2 less than 70 torr). PetCO2 tended to correlate strongly with PaCO2 for individual patients, but not when evaluated as a screening tool for identifying ventilatory abnormalities in the overall group (r = .52, p less than .0001). A PetCO2 less than 26 torr identified hypocarbia (defined as PaCO2 less than 30 torr) with a sensitivity of 85%. However, a PetCO2 of greater than 40 torr predicted hypercarbia (PaCO2 greater than 45 torr) with a sensitivity of only 28%. The efficacy of pulse oximetry and capnometry in monitoring respiratory status during postoperative ventilatory weaning was examined in a subset of 24 patients who had undergone elective cardiac surgery. All patients were weaned by intermittent mandatory ventilation, but each was assigned randomly to either a control group monitored with periodic ABG sampling or to an experimental group, monitored by following PetCO2 and O2 Sat via pulse oximetry. In the experimental group, ABG values were obtained on ICU admission, but thereafter only if a) O2 Sat less than 95%, b) PetCO2 less than 26 or greater than 40 torr, or c) felt to be clinically indicated by ICU staff.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Empirical evaluation of partitioning schemes for phylogenetic analyses of mitogenomic data: An avian case study

Whole mitochondrial genome sequences have been used in studies of animal phylogeny for two decades, and current technologies make them ever more available, but methods for their analysis are lagging and best practices have not been established. Most studies ignore variation in base composition and evolutionary rate within the mitogenome that can bias phylogenetic inference, or attempt to avoid it by excluding parts of the mitogenome from analysis. In contrast, partitioned analyses accommodate heterogeneity, without discarding data, by applying separate evolutionary models to differing portions of the mitogenome. To facilitate use of complete mitogenomic sequences in phylogenetics, we (1) suggest a set of categories for dividing mitogenomic datasets into subsets, (2) explore differences in evolutionary dynamics among those subsets, and (3) apply a method for combining data subsets with similar properties to produce effective and efficient partitioning schemes. We demonstrate these procedures with a case study, using the mitogenomes of species in the grackles and allies clade of New World blackbirds (Icteridae). We found that the most useful categories for partitioning were codon position, RNA secondary structure pairing, and the coding/noncoding distinction, and that a scheme with nine data groups outperformed all of the more complex alternatives (up to 44 data groups) that we tested. As hoped, we found that analyses using whole mitogenomic sequences yielded much better-resolved and more strongly-supported hypotheses of the phylogenetic history of that locus than did a conventional 2-kilobase sample (i.e. sequences of the cytochrome b and ND2 genes). Mitogenomes have much untapped potential for phylogenetics, especially of birds, a taxon for which they have been little exploited except in investigations of ordinal-level relationships.
Joystick text entry with date stamp, selection keyboard, and EdgeWrite

MOTIVATION Mobile phones and game consoles are two domains in which a good joystick text entry method would be valuable, since these devices lack conventional keyboards. Joysticks have considerable tenure as input devices, but few text entry methods have been developed for them. Common joystick text entry methods, like date stamp and selection keyboard, are selection-based: they require screen real-estate to display options, are difficult to customize, cannot be used without looking, and are slow. A gestural joystick method, on the other hand, could alleviate these limitations in exchange for the need to learn letter-forms. If the letter-forms were easy to learn, such a technique could have significant advantages over current methods.
Where has the fifth dimension gone

We show that a simple solution to the vacuum field equations of general relativity in 4 + 1 space-time dimensions leads to a cosmology which at the present epoch has 3 + 1 observable dimensions in which the Einstein-Maxwell equations are obeyed. The large ratio of the electromagnetic to gravitational forces is a consequence of the age of the Universe, in agreement with Dirac's large-number hypothesis.
Jupiter's north and south polar aurorae with IUE data

Observations of Jupiter's auroral H2 emissions with the IUE spacecraft, from 1978 through 1990, show that aurorae at the two poles are similar in several respects: (1) emission intensity is modulated with magnetic longitude, north peak emission at lambda (III) (1965) 200 deg, south peak at (1965) about 20 deg; (2) emission intensity and degree of modulation are comparable for both poles; and (3) attenuation by hydrocarbons varies in phase with the intensity, peak attenuation coinciding approximately with peak emission. Increases in the hydrocarbon column are an indicator of either enhanced penetration depth and, thus, energy of the auroral primaries, or of increases in the high-altitude hydrocarbon content caused by modification of the local atmosphere.
Evidence Based Navigation in Swarms

A low-complexity, evidence based navigation algorithm for swarms of mobile sensors is presented. It can be effectively used in scenarios where a particular event signature is characterized by a mix of weak signal modalities with certain degrees of intensity, distributed in a local region. The method is based on Dempster-Shafer (DS) evidence theory and enables the mobile nodes to process temporally ordered sensor data and accommodate imprecise information from multi-modal sensors on board. Local decisions are made based on fused evidence triggering an attractive beacon, which in turn draws other agents for further detection and tracking. Simulation results are presented for a multi-modal signal signature tracking scenario
The Viet Village Urban Farm and the Politics of Neighborhood Viability in Post-Katrina New Orleans

Viability emerged as a contentious political term in post-Katrina New Orleans. While initial expert-led proposals defined neighborhood viability in terms of topography, community-based groups emphasized the cultural and historical aspects that defined neighborhoods as viable. This analysis focuses on the politics of neighborhood viability with regarding to a specific neighborhood, Village de l'Est, well known for its sizeable Vietnamese population. Community leaders effectively employed cultural discourses to increase the visibility of the neighborhood and make claims on recovery dollars. One of these proposals was for an urban farm. The case-study presented here focuses on how the proposal made evident how claims of viability often generated generated conflicting visions of neighborhoods in pre- and post-Katrina New Orleans. [Sustainability, Urban farm, Vietnamese Americans, New Orleans]
A self-exciting controller for high-speed vertical running

Traditional legged runners and climbers have relied heavily on gait generators in the form of internal clocks or reference trajectories. In contrast, here we present physical experiments with a fast, dynamical, vertical wall climbing robot accompanying a stability proof for the controller that generates it without any need for an additional internal clock or reference signal. Specifically, we show that this “self-exciting” controller does indeed generate an “almost” globally asymptotically stable limit cycle: the attractor basin is as large as topologically possible and includes all the state space excluding a set with empty interior. We offer an empirical comparison of the resulting climbing behavior to that achieved by a more conventional clock-generated gait trajectory tracker. The new, self-exciting gait generator exhibits a marked improvement in vertical climbing speed, in fact setting a new benchmark in dynamic climbing by achieving a vertical speed of 1.5 body lengths per second.
Search for Vacancies in Laser Annealed Silicon

In an effort to enhance vacancy trapping and detection in laser-annealed Si, float zone Si was implanted with oxygen to achieve concentrations between one and two orders of magnitude greater than the equilibrium saturation limit. Oxygen, which is known to be an effective trap for vacancies, was found to incorporate efficiently into Si regrown with Q-switched laser annealing. Interstitial oxygen, oxygen-vacancy defects and divacancies were observed after implantation. The laser-regrown layers, however, were free of detectable vacancy-associated defects. 4 figures.
More data, please!

In the February 2013 issue of Clinical Chemistry , Witwer (1) surveys the state of data reporting in microRNA (miRNA)2 studies and finds it wanting. I echo his concerns and agree the problems can and should be addressed. Data-reporting problems are affecting a number of areas beyond miRNA studies. Here I try to cast some of the issues (and solutions) in broader context. Witwer (1) observes in his review of miRNA studies that “data submission was reported at publication for <40% of all articles.” Sadly, the problem of poor data reporting is neither new nor restricted to miRNA data. Poor access to data motivated the 2001 MIAME (minimum information about a microarray experiment) standards in the first place (2). In 2008, Ochsner et al. (3) reviewed microarray studies from 2007 across 20 journals and found “the rate of deposition of datasets was <50%.” Related concerns motivated the 2011 editorial by Baggerly and Coombes (4). In considering the implications, I distinguish between reproduction (derivation of the reported results from the same raw data) and replication (obtaining qualitatively similar results from new experiments). Ideally, reproduction (which should be faster and cheaper) should precede replication as a sanity check. Poor data access hinders both. Even when data are supplied, reproducibility should not be presumed; in their survey of 18 microarray studies, Ioannidis et al. (5) were able to access data for 10 studies but could reproduce quantitative results for just 2. Given this poor rate of reproduction, poor replication rates, such as the rate of 6 of 53 reported by Begley and Ellis (6), for even “landmark” studies are not a huge surprise. It is not clear to what extent the lack of …
Characteristics of Female Homicide Offenders Found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity

Until recently, there has been little information regarding female offenders who commit homicides that are motivated by psychosis. We investigated gender differences in the characteristics of psychosis and crime variables in psychotically motivated homicide. In the study, conducted at a large U.S. forensic facility, we reviewed the records of women (n = 47) found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) who were hospitalized between January 1991 and August 2005 for a homicide offense. A random sample of 47 men who were committed during the same period for the same offenses was selected for comparison. Religious delusions were found more often in women who killed infants (0-1 year of age) and children between the ages of 2 and 18. Women were more likely to have a diagnosis of an affective problem and borderline personality disorder. The results indicate gender-specific areas to focus on during clinical and forensic assessments of the risk of violence in women with psychosis.
Single Electron Transistor-Based Gas Sensing With Tungsten Nanoparticles at Room Temperature

Single electron transistor (SET)-based gas sensors utilizing tungsten nanoparticles as conducting islands and operating at room temperature have been fabricated. Electrical characterization showed a strong correlation between the drain current of the SET device and the concentration of gas. The reversible exposure to gas resulted in reduction of both the Coulomb blockade voltage and the drain current. The reduction in the drain current shows an oscillatory behavior, with the variation on the gate bias. The sensitivity of the gas sensor can be tuned by controlling the charge on the gate electrode. Relaxation times of 400 ms for a concentration of 36% of gas in were achieved. Although the SET sensor has not been demonstrated with sensitivities in the few tens of ppm compared with existing technologies, the response is very fast and the sensitivity can be tuned by modulating the gate bias. The sensor demonstrates the possibility of gas sensing using SET devices as sensitive electrometers. The sensitivity of the SET gas sensor is higher at lower concentrations.
Age relationships and depositional environments of Paleozoic strata, northern Sierra Nevada, California

Upper Paleozoic volcanic rocks in the northern Sierra Nevada rest unconformably on the lower Paleozoic Shoo Fly Complex. Late Ordovician conodonts recovered from an exotic limestone block in Shoo Fly melange have North American affinities; the Complex may have traveled little from its original location. Magmatism may have begun as early as Early Devonian and persisted into Early Mississippian time. The volcanic rocks constitute a longitudinal section through a relatively immature volcanic arc dominated by tholeiitic magmas. Two lithologically distinct members of the overlying Peale Formation are given formation status. The predominantly volcanogenic lower member is renamed the “Keddie Ridge Formation”; the name “Peale Formation” is retained for the upper chert member. Two new Late Mississippian–Early Pennsylvanian radiolarian localities in the Peale chert at the north end of the Paleozoic outcrop belt correlate well with a previously described assemblage at the south end and thus rule out time-transgressive deposition. Early Permian fusilinids in a chert-pebble conglomerate only 10 m upsection from an Early Pennsylvanian radiolarian locality tightly constrain a regional depositional hiatus. The Peale chert displays common soft-sediment deformation, slump structures, intraformational breccias, and abrupt termination of thick sequences along strike. Locally, the chert is intruded by tholeiitic basalt. These features suggest deposition in small, tectonically active basins, possibly in an extensional, back-arc regime. The overlying Permian sequence of arc tholeiites is truncated by Mesozoic strata in most areas but appears to grade into Triassic shale and limestone in the extreme northwest.
Comparative study of one-sided factorizations with multiple software packages on multi-core hardware

The emergence and continuing use of multi-core architectures require changes in the existing software and sometimes even a redesign of the established algorithms in order to take advantage of now prevailing parallelism. The Parallel Linear Algebra for Scalable Multi-core Architectures (PLASMA) is a project that aims to achieve both high performance and portability across a wide range of multi-core architectures. We present in this paper a comparative study of PLASMA's performance against established linear algebra packages (LAPACK and ScaLAPACK), against new approaches at parallel execution (Task Based Linear Algebra Subroutines -- TBLAS), and against equivalent commercial software offerings (MKL, ESSL and PESSL). Our experiments were conducted on one-sided linear algebra factorizations (LU, QR and Cholesky) and used multi-core architectures (based on Intel Xeon EMT64 and IBM Power6). A performance improvement of 67% was for instance obtained on the Cholesky factorization of a matrix of order 4000, using 32 cores.
Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor activates a 72-kDa isoform of STAT3 in human neutrophils

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) signaling involves activation of STATs, proteins that serve the dual function of signal transduction and activation of transcription. We previously demonstrated that G-CSF activated a distinct Stat3-like protein in immature and mature normal myeloid cells, StatG. StatG in normal immature human myeloid cells, i.e. adult CD34+ bone marrow cells, was composed of Stat3beta. This investigation was undertaken to determine the composition of StatG in mature normal human myeloid cells, i.e. polymorphonuclear neutrophilic granulocytes (PMN). These studies revealed that the major protein in extracts of PMN activated by G-CSF to bind the high-affinity serum-inducible element (hSIE) is a 72-kDa protein that cross-reacts with Stat3 monoclonal antibody, which we have designated Stat3gamma. Stat3gamma is derived from Stat3alpha by limited proteolysis and lacks the carboxyl-terminal portion of Stat3alpha. Because this region of Stat3alpha is involved in transcriptional activation, our findings suggest the possibility that Stat3gamma may be transcriptionally inactive and may compete with Stat3alpha for Stat3 binding sites in these terminally differentiated myeloid cells.
Intermediate Fabrics: Virtual Architectures for Near-Instant FPGA Compilation

Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) suffer from lower application design productivity than other devices, which is largely due to compilation taking hours or even days. Making FPGA compilation comparable to software compilation is critical for continued FPGA usage due to competitive technologies, such as graphics-processing units, that use languages with runtime compilation models. In this letter, we evaluate virtual reconfigurable architectures, referred to as intermediate fabrics, which enable near-instant placement and routing of applications for commercial FPGAs.
Redox regulation of responses to hypoxia and NO-cGMP signaling in pulmonary vascular pathophysiology.

There is much controversy in mechanisms controlling the pulmonary arterial response to acute and chronic hypoxia. Our previous work suggests bovine pulmonary arteries (BPA) contract to hypoxia via removal of a relaxation mediated by hydrogen peroxide derived from superoxide generated by Nox4 [1]. In contrast, bovine coronary arteries (BCA) relax to hypoxia via cytosolic NADPH oxidation coordinating multiple processes that lower intracellular calcium [2]. Peroxide appears to relax BPA by both stimulation of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) and by a cGMP-independent activation of protein kinase G (PKG) resulting from thiol oxidation-mediated subunit dimerization [3]. A removal of both of these mechanisms appears to contribute to the hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) response seen in BPA. In addition, PKG dimerization appears to participate in the relaxation of coronary arteries to hypoxia. BPA secrete superoxide derived from Nox2 into the extracellular environment, and increased extracellular SOD (ecSOD) activity appears to attenuate the HPV response by increasing extracellular peroxide levels from this extracellular source of superoxide. Increased peroxide generated by Nox2 or mitochondria also appears to attenuate the relaxation of BCA to hypoxia by stimulating ERK MAP kinase [4]. Exposure of mice to 21 days of hypoxia (10% O2) promotes pulmonary hypertension associated with decreased pulmonary artery and aortic contraction to phenylephrine, NO-mediated relaxation to acetylcholine (ACh) and responses to hypoxia. While increased pulmonary arterial expression of sGC has been reported in this mouse model of pulmonary hypertension, chronic hypoxia had minimal effects on relaxation to an NO donor. Catalase markedly restored contraction to phenylephrine and the aortic relaxation to hypoxia. Chronic treatment of mice with cobalt protoporphyrin IX, which induces heme oxygenase and ecSOD, attenuated the development of pulmonary hypertension without restoring relaxation to ACh. In addition, chronic treatment of mice with delta-aminolevulinic acid, a precursor to the sGC activator protoporphyrin IX and heme needed for sGC activation and heme oxygenase activity, also attenuated pulmonary hypertension development without restoring responses to ACh. Thus, redox mechanisms regulating PKG seem to be important contributors to vascular oxygen sensing mechanisms. In addition, increased ecSOD expression and PKG-mediated vasodilation to endogenously generated peroxide and other sGC activators may function as a protective mechanism against the development of hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension.
First Record of Endopterygoid Teeth in the North American Late Cretaceous Teleostean Fish Enchodus gladiolus (Aulopiformes: Enchodontidae)

Abstract Teeth of the endopterygoid are described for the first time in the North American Late Cretaceous fish Enchodus gladiolus (Cope, 1872) from a previously described specimen from the Niobrara Chalk of Kansas. The teeth are located on the medial side of the bone with the greatest number concentrated at its posterior end. Most teeth consist of numerous small cones, but at the posterior end of the bone are several elongated teeth that run parallel to the length of the bone. E. lewesiensis (Mantell, 1822) and E. brevis Chalifa, 1989 are the only other two Enchodus species known to have endopterygoid teeth. Their teeth are very similar to those of E. gladiolus. Several fossil aulopiform genera besides Enchodus also have similar endopterygoid teeth. The endopterygoid teeth in E. gladiolus superficially resemble the tubercles found on other dermal bones. The presence of endopterygoid teeth in other fossil aulopiform taxa suggests that it may be a primitive condition.
Restoring Physiologic Barriers Against Neovascular Invasion

Age-related macular degeneration remains to be a major cause of irreversible blindness in the world. In this disease, neovascularization plays an important role in disease burden and progression. Current therapies focus on inhibition of neovascularization through suppression of the extracellular VEGF pathway. However, these strategies have several disadvantages including the need for monthly injections and the need for direct injections of drug therapies to the eye. Moreover, none of these strategies currently focus on inhibition of intracellular VEGF signaling. Here, we describe our recent efforts at developing (I) a novel VEGF inhibition strategy that utilizes Flt-1 intracellularly to suppress VEGF before being secreted out of the cell. We also describe our novel strategy of (II) delivering Flt-1 to sites of neovascularization in the eye using a nonviral, intravitreal-injection-free approach, utilizing surface-functionalized nanoparticles. Using this strategy, we are able to suppress choroidal neovascularization and fibrosis and restore visual acuity in several animal models including nonhuman primates. Our results show a promising alternative in our arsenal for anti-VEGF therapies.
Theory of the electromagnetic seismograph

Abstract Although the development of the first moving-coil electromagnetic seismograph and a primitive theory to account for its behavior date back almost fifty years, the responses of only a few simple types of these instruments have had adequate theoretical treatment. This lack of theory restricted, but did not stop, the development of other designs for which no adequate theory existed. Confusion and controversy have arisen over the behavior of these later designs. Some work has been done on obtaining magnification curves for these instruments directly by the use of shaking tables or other artificial driving devices. On the whole, however, instruments of this type now in use simply are not calibrated. An attempt guided by the work of previous investigators has been made to clarify further the behavior of electromagnetic seismographs by extending the theoretical treatment. Three new types of seismographs (more properly “adjustments” of seismographs), each of which includes the classical Galitzin as a limiting case, are proposed. Methods for adjusting and calibrating these instruments are outlined. Since overcritical damping is employed in two of the adjustments proposed, a method is given for determining the damping constant of an overdamped galvanometer or seismometer.
Response to disease modifying therapies in African Americans with multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: The African American (AA) population has a lower risk for developing multiple sclerosis (MS) than Caucasian (CA) population; however, the disease tends to be more severe with early disability in AA. The reason underlying the discrepancy in disease severity is not yet understood, and it could be caused by different response to disease modifying therapies (DMTs). OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether there are significant differences in profile of response to disease modifying therapies related to ethnicity, while controlling for disease characteristics. DESIGN: We performed a retrospective chart analysis of MS patients undergoing treatment with DMTs. Rating of disease progression was based on expanded disability status score (EDSS) difference at the time of first and last visit. PATIENTS: AA and CA patients with MS. RESULTS: Sex and age at the time of diagnosis did not differ significantly between AA and CA. There was statistically significant difference in disease duration, which was longer among CA patients (P < .001). Median of EDSS difference was higher in AA population than in CA population (P < .001). Increased EDSS difference suggests poorer response to DMTs among AA patients in our study. CONCLUSIONS: AA patients showed poorer response to DMTs when compared with CA patients. This suggests a trend, however, further prospective studies on the response of AA patients to DMTs are warranted. Ethn Dis . 2012 Spring;22(2):221-5.
Existing Rights of Children with Respect to State Decisions about their Relationships

This paper is an attempt to summarize the current state of the law in all areas of family law in which the state makes decisions, directly or indirectly, about what legal relationships children will have or which relationships of children will receive legal protection. It does so from a perspective that aims to discern whether children have any rights in connection with such decisions. The law rarely speaks of children having rights, but I posit and apply a test for determining whether the law effectively accords rights to children even when it does not speak explicitly in those terms. This effort to develop a comprehensive account of children's existing relationship rights is a prelude to a normative analysis of what the rights of children ought to be in connection with their intimate relationships, the topic of a book on which I am working. I would welcome and be very grateful for off-prints of articles on that topic written by others in the field.
Characterization of slow-gelling alginate hydrogels for intervertebral disc tissue-engineering applications

Reversal of intervertebral disc degeneration can have a potentially monumental effect on spinal health. As such, the goal of this research is to create an injectable, cellularized alginate-based nucleus pulposus that will restore disc function; with the primary goal of creating an alginate gel with tailorable rates of gelation to improve functionality over standard CaCl2 crosslinking techniques. Gelation characteristics of 1% sodium alginate were analyzed over various molar concentrations of a 1:2 ratio of CaCO3:glucono-δ-lactone (GDL), with 10% CaCl2 as the control crosslinker. Alginate construct characterization for all concentrations was performed via ultimate and cyclic compressive testing over a 28day degradation period in PBS. Dehydration, swell testing, and albumin release kinetics were determined, and cytotoxicity and cell homogeneity tests showed promise for cellularization strategies. Overall, the 30 and 60mM GDL alginate concentrations presented the most viable option for use in further studies, with a gelation time between 10 and 30min, low hysteresis over control, low percent change in thickness and weight under both PBS degradation and swelling conditions, and stable mechanical properties over 28days in vitro.
The effect of dietary fluoride on plasma free amino acid concentrations in the rat.

SummaryWhen diets containing 450 ppm F are fed to rats for 3 days, the concentrations of most amino acids are decreased, except for glycine which is elevated. By 17 days, the plasma amino acid concentrations are corrected towards normal. Fluoride ingestion causes a decreased food intake and an alteration in the pattern of food intake. The altered pattern of plasma amino acids at 3 days has been shown to be due to the decrease in amount of diet consumed and not the altered pattern of food intake.
Crystal structure of rac-(3a'R,9a'R)-3a'-(indol-3-yl)-1′,2′,3′,3a',4′,9a'-hexa­hydro­spiro­[cyclo­pentane-1,9′-penta­leno[1,2-b]indole] p-xylene hemisolvate

The title compound, C26H26N2·0.5C8H10, is the first reported characterized 2:2 product from acid-catalyzed condensation of indole with cyclo­penta­none and no other 2:2 products were observed. Recrystallization from p-xylene gave the title hemisolvate with the p-xylene mol­ecule located about an inversion center. The terminal penta­lene ring is envelope-flap disordered at the C atom farthest from the skeletal indole unit, with a refined occupancy ratio of 0.819 (4):0.181 (4). The major component has this C atom bent away from the spiro-fused cyclo­pentane ring. In the crystal, mol­ecules are connected by N—H⋯π inter­actions, forming chains along [100], and N—H⋯π and C—H⋯π inter­actions, forming chains along [001], which results in the formation of slabs parallel to (010).
Characterization and Optimization of $l_{\infty}$ Gains of Linear Switched Systems

In this paper, we consider the $l_{\infty}$ gain characterizations of linear switched systems (LSS) and present various relevant results on their exact computation and optimization. Depending on the role of the switching sequence, we study two broad cases: first, when the switching sequence attempts to maximize, and second, when it attempts to minimize the $l_{\infty}$ gain. The first, named as worst-case throughout the paper, can be related to robustness of the system to uncontrolled switching; the second relates to situations when the switching can be part to the overall decision making. Although, in general, the exact computation of $l_{\infty}$ gains is difficult, we provide specific classes, the input-output switching systems, for which it is shown that linear programming can be used to obtain the worst-case $l_{\infty}$ gain. This is a sufficiently rich class of systems as any stable LSS can be approximated by one. Certain applications to robust control design are provided where we show that a switched compensation independently of the plant has no advantage over a linear time invariant (LTI) compensation, and further, if the plant is strictly causal, even a switched compensation which has a matched switching with the plant does not provide a better performance over an LTI compensation. Also, we present a new necessary and sufficient condition to check the stability of LSS in form of a model matching problem. On the other hand, if one is interested in minimizing the $l_{\infty}$ gain over the switching sequences, we show that, for finite impulse response (FIR) switching systems the minimizing switching sequence can be chosen to be periodic. For input-only or output-only switching an exact, readily computable, characterization of the minimal $l_{\infty}$ gain is provided, and it is shown that the minimizing switching sequence is constant, which, as also shown, is not true for input-output switching.
Overview of phase I trials of multitargeted antifolate (MTA, LY231514)

Multitargeted antifolate (MTA, LY231514) is a novel antifolate antimetabolite, with antitumor activity via inhibition of thymidylate synthase, glycinamide formyl transferase, and dihydrofolate reductase. Three dosing schedules have been investigated in the phase I setting: daily x5 every 21 days, weekly x4 every 42 days, and once every 21 days. The maximum tolerated doses on these schedules were 4.0 mg/m2, 30 mg/m2, and 600 mg/m2, respectively. The major dose-limiting toxicity seen on all schedules was neutropenia, with a greater degree of reversible liver biochemistry disturbances observed on the daily x5 schedule. Given that toxicities were manageable and reversible, the antitumor activity exhibited, and the convenience of an every-21-day dosing schedule, this schedule was selected for phase II evaluation.
pd-gem5 : Simulation Infrastructure for Parallel/Distributed Computer Systems

Improving the performance and power efficiency of a single processor has been fraught with various challenges stemming from the end of the classical technology scaling. Thus, the importance of efficiently running applications on a parallel/distributed computer system has continued to increase. In developing and optimizing such a parallel/distributed computer system, it is critical to study the impact of the complex interplay amongst processor, node, and network architectures on performance and power efficiency in detail. This necessitates a flexible, detailed and open-source full-system simulation infrastructure. However, our community lacks such an infrastructure. In this paper, we present pd-gem5 , a gem5 -based infrastructure that can model and simulate a parallel/distributed computer system using multiple simulation hosts. Our experiment shows that pd-gem5 running on six simulation hosts speeds up the simulation of a 24-node computer system up to 3.2× compared with running on a single simulation host.
Serum Lipids and Long-Term Antiepileptic Therapy

Serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), very LDL-C, and triglycerides (TGs) were determined in 119 children with epilepsy treated with AEDs for 7 months to 10 years (mean, 5.8 years) and in 125 healthy controls at the Hospital General de Galicia, Clinico Universitario, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Experiments with junctions of the adhaerens type.

Publisher Summary This chapter describes some recent findings concerning the structure of adhaerens junctions, followed by the consideration of what is known of their development, their fate upon cell isolation, and after recombination of the cells of like and of unlike types. The desmosome or macula adhaerens exists in its mature form typically as a symmetrical structure spanning two cells and, therefore, requires coordinated activity in the adjacent cells for its formation. In addition to the relatively precise and symmetrical structure of the desmosome itself, this adhesive junction as well as the junctions of the intermediate type termed zonulae or fasciae adhaerentes have the advantage that the cytoplasm of the cell may be more or less extensively organized in close relation to these sites in an obvious way. Groups of the junctions on the cell surface are present in characteristic complexes and may be intimately related. There are a few particularly striking examples of the positioning of the junctions in relation to the polarity of the tissue. The corneal epithelium of the chick is suitable material for work on desmosome development, because at a given stage, there is a marked increase in junction formation over a relatively short period.
Statistical impulse response models for indoor optical wireless channels: Research Articles

The indoor optical wireless channel is significantly different than the radio channel. Statistical propagation models developed for the radio channel, which characterize path loss, shadowing, and multipath fading, do not apply. In this paper, we investigate statistical modelling for the indoor optical wireless channel through the examination of the characteristics of a large set of channel impulse responses. The channel responses are generated using an estimation method based on geometrical modelling of indoor environments together with an iterative technique for calculating multiple reflections. We confirm prior studies showing that channels with line-of-sight paths must be modelled separately from those fully diffuse channels with no such path. We show that the distribution of the channel gain in dB for the LOS component follows a modified gamma distribution, and the channel gain in dB for LOS channels including all reflections follows a modified Rayleigh distribution for most transmitter–receiver distances. Similar results are described for distributions of channel gains of diffuse channels and for distributions of rms delay spreads. Finally, we describe a method for generating a statistically realistic impulse response given any transmitter–receiver separation in an indoor environment. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A new approach for constructing and decoding maximum rank distance codes

A rank-metric code is a subset of F q n × m where F q is a finite field. Gabidulin codes are a well-known class of algebraic rank-metric codes that meet the Singleton bound on the minimum rank distance of a code. The construction, encoding, and decoding of Gabidulin codes use the extension field F q m, where the code is regarded as a linear block code of length n over F q m. However, the parameter m can be large in certain applications and therefore, performing field operations over F q m can become very complex. In this paper, we investigate methods for constructing and decoding rank-metric codes by looking into linear codes of length nm over the base field Fq. Random coding bounds are derived on the minimum distance of such codes and an explicit structure is demonstrated to construct maximum rank distance codes. It is shown how to construct sparse parity-check matrices for these structures which enables low complexity parallelized decoders with complexity that scales linearly with m.
Abstract 13646: Electrical Stimulation Upregulates the miR-99 Family to Promote Cardiac Differentiation and Maturation of Human iPS Cells

Background: Electrical stimulation (ES) can efficiently promote cardiomyocyte differentiation and maturation of several cardiac progenitors, but the underlying mechanism has not yet been identified...
Role of Enzymes in Homeostasis VIII. INHIBITION OF THE ACTIVITY OF GLYCOLYTIC ENZYMES BY FREE FATTY ACIDS

The free fatty acids octanoate, laurate, myristate, palmitate, and elaidate inhibit in vitro the activity of liver glucokinase, hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, and lactate production from glucose and glucose 6-phosphate. The inhibition is time- and concentration-dependent. The longer chain fatty acids are more effective at lower concentrations than is octanoate. There is selective protection of the glucose-phosphorylating enzymes by their substrate, glucose, and phosphofructokinase is protected by its substrate, fructose 6-phosphate. The possibility is discussed that a stimulation of gluconeogenesis might be caused by the inhibition of key enzymes of glycolysis by free fatty acids in vivo.
Taking Constructivism One Step Further: Post Hoc Analysis of a Student-Created Wiki.

Background: Wiki platform use has potential to improve student learning by improving engagement with course material. A student-created wiki was established to serve as a repository of study tools for students in a medical school curriculum. There is a scarcity of information describing student-led creation of wikis in medical education. Objective: The aim is to characterize website traffic of a student-created wiki and evaluate student perceptions of usage via a short anonymous online survey. Methods: Website analytics were used to track visitation statistics to the wiki and a survey was distributed to assess ease of use, interest in contributing to the wiki, and suggestions for improvement. Results: Site traffic data indicated high usage, with a mean of 315 (SD 241) pageviews per day from July 2011 to March 2013 and 74,317 total user sessions. The mean session duration was 1.94 (SD 1.39) minutes. Comparing Fall 2011 to Fall 2012 sessions revealed a large increase in returning visitors (from 12,397 to 20,544, 65.7%) and sessions via mobile devices (831 to 1560, 87.7%). The survey received 164 responses; 88.0% (162/184) were aware of the wiki at the time of the survey. On average, respondents felt that the wiki was more useful in the preclinical years (mean 2.73, SD 1.25) than in the clinical years (mean 1.88, SD 1.12; P<.001). Perceived usefulness correlated with the percent of studying for which the respondent used electronic resources (Spearman ρ=.414, P<.001). Conclusions: Overall, the wiki was a highly utilized, although informal, part of the curriculum with much room for improvement and future exploration.
Designing a virtual environment to evaluate multimodal sensors for assisting the visually impaired

We describe how to design a virtual environment using Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio in order to evaluate multimodal sensors for assisting visually impaired people in daily tasks such as navigation and orientation. The work focuses on the design of the interfaces of sensors and stimulators in the virtual environment for future subject experimentation. We discuss what type of sensors we have simulated and define some non-classical interfaces to interact with the environment and get feedback from it. We also present preliminary results for feasibility by showing experimental results on volunteer test subjects, concluding with a discussion of potential future directions.
Vitamins in Human Nutrition

The small amount of vitamins that are needed for life gives no clue to their significance; all metabolic processes that develop and maintain every cell in the human body depend on vitamins. This chapter discusses the role of minute quantities of vitamins in human nutrition. It provides an overview of the characteristics of vitamins. Vitamins are a chemically heterogeneous group; each has specific physiological functions in an organism as all the species of animals do not have the same dietary needs. The chemical properties of vitamins determine their functions, the food that supplies them, and their retention in food preparation. To clarify the characteristics of some 15 vitamins, they are divided into those that are soluble in water, and those that are soluble in fats and fat solvents. Because the circulatory medium of the human body is a water solution, the water soluble vitamins, after their release during digestion, are rapidly absorbed by the blood and filtered from the blood by the kidneys. The fat soluble group is digested and absorbed via the pathways common to fats or triglycerides. The fat soluble vitamins are stored in the liver and other organs where toxic levels may accumulate. The chapter also discusses the sources of vitamins and presents an analysis of pharmaceutical sources of vitamins. It further discusses the sources of nutrients that people actually consume and the percentages of the common vitamins supplied by different food groups in regular family diets.
Identification of residues in ornithine decarboxylase essential for enzymic activity and for rapid protein turnover

The importance of certain amino acid residues in mammalian ornithine decarboxylase activity and degradation was studied by site-specific mutagenesis. Changes were made to the mouse ornithine decarboxylase cDNA in a plasmid containing a T7 RNA polymerase promoter. The plasmid was then used for the synthesis of RNA, which was translated in a reticulocyte lysate system. The activity of the ornithine decarboxylase formed and the stability of the protein to degradation in a reticulocyte lysate system were determined. Changes of lysine-169 or of histidine-197 to alanine completely abolished enzyme activity, indicating that these residues are essential for enzyme activity. The removal of the C-terminal 36 residues, the mutation of lysine-349 to alanine, of lysine-298 to alanine or the double change of serine-303 and glutamic acid-308 to alanine residues still resulted in an active enzyme. The last-mentioned finding indicates that the phosphorylation of serine-303 does not play an essential role in the catalytic activity of ornithine decarboxylase. The control ornithine decarboxylase protein was degraded rapidly in a reticulocyte lysate provided that ATP was added. The truncated protein missing the 36 residues from the C-terminus was much more stable in this system, and the protein containing the double change of serine-303 and glutamic acid-308 to alanine residues was slightly more stable than control ornithine decarboxylase protein. These results indicate that the altered residues may play a role in interaction with factors responsible for the rapid turnover of ornithine decarboxylase.
Abstract 111: The CX3CR1-Fractalkine axis drives both circulating prostate cancer cells and macrophages to the bone metastatic microenvironment

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most frequently diagnosed cancer and its progression into metastatic disease reduces the 5-year survival rate to 29% in diagnosed men. A better understanding of the mechanisms underpinning metastatic dissemination and the role played by the tumor microenvironment at distant sites is essential. Our lab has shown that PCa cells express the chemokine receptor CX3CR1 and seed the skeleton when attracted by bone-derived Fractalkine (FKN) (a.k.a. CX3CL1). A crucial component of the bone microenvironment consists of heterogeneous populations of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), which can polarize into M1 or M2 phenotypes and are likely implicated in metastatic progression. TAMs migrate in close proximity of cancer cells and release growth factors, chemokines, and other inflammatory mediators that influence tumor growth. Using cell biology tools, we show that both PCa cells and macrophages express the CX3CR1 receptor, which signal to downstream targets when engaged by FKN and is inhibited by a novel small-molecule inhibitor. We also employed a mouse model of cancer cell dissemination and metastasis to show that our novel CX3CR1 antagonist impairs tumor seeding to the skeleton. Furthermore, as macrophages also express CX3CR1, targeting this receptor may potentially hinder TAMs9 accumulation into the metastatic microenvironment, depriving it of crucial pro-metastatic conditioning. In conclusion, we propose that the CX3CR1-FKN axis drives both cancer cells and TAMs to metastatic sites and that the mitigation of the functional interactions between this receptor and its unique chemokine ligand by antagonists of CX3CR1 will impair the clinical progression of PCa metastasis. Citation Format: Ramanpreet Kaur, Chen Qian, Joseph Salvino, Olimpia Meucci, Alessandro Fatatis. The CX3CR1-Fractalkine axis drives both circulating prostate cancer cells and macrophages to the bone metastatic microenvironment [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 111.