cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Battle Management Language Enables Rapid Integration of Command & Control with Simulation

Recent developments in XML-based interoperation technology have shown how to achieve rapid integration of different systems that can be mapped into the same symbolic namespace. This talk will describe a project in this area that created a system of interoperating systems, consisting of six different national command and control systems and five national simulations from participating NATO nations, using the XML-based Battle Management Language (BML).
Phosphatidylethanolamine deficiency in membrane lipids inhibits keratinocyte intercellular networks formation.

Abstract Ethanolamine (Etn) is required for the growth of epithelial cells in culture. Without Etn, the amount of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) in membrane lipids is reduced, and cell proliferation stops. When the membrane lipids are deficient of PE, some extracellular signaling processes become impaired. In this study, we examined the effect of Etn deprivation on the formation of intercellular networks in immortalized human oral keratinocytes. Keratinocytes proliferate with undifferentiated morphologies in a low-calcium medium, whereas they undergo differentiation to form intercellular networks in a high-calcium medium. The cells were first cultured with or without Etn supplement in a low-calcium (0.07 mM) medium, and then the calcium concentration was raised to 1.8 mM. The localization and organization of the following proteins were examined: (1) desmogleins and plakoglobin in desmosomes, (2) E-cadherin and β-catenin in adherens junctions and (3) actin and keratin filaments in cytoskeletons. As expected...
Keepers, Users, and Funders: Building an Awareness of Archival Value

Archivists need to build an awareness of "archival value" among the general public if they are to command the support the profession deserves, and they need to work together with the community of public and academic historians in creating this awareness. The recent emphasis on outreach indicates that archivists are becoming aware of this need. But is outreach moving in the right direction? Merely educating the public about what archivists do is not enough. Archivists must create a larger body of users. By doing so, the profession will not only build a larger advocacy base for its fiscal support but will also help create a citizenry more aware of the sources and value of history and heritage.
Leptin-Induced CART (Cocaine- and Amphetamine-Regulated Transcript) Is a Novel Intraovarian Mediator of Obesity-Related Infertility in Females

Obesity is considered detrimental to women's reproductive health. Although most of the attention has been focused on the effects of obesity on hypothalamic function, studies suggest a multifactorial impact. In fact, obesity is associated with reduced fecundity even in women with regular cycles, indicating that there may be local ovarian effects modulating fertility. Here we describe a novel mechanism for leptin actions directly in the ovary that may account for some of the negative effects of obesity on ovarian function. We find that normal cycling, obese, hyperleptinemic mice fed with a high-fat diet are subfertile and ovulate fewer oocytes compared with animals fed with a normal diet. Importantly, we show that leptin induces expression of the neuropeptide cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) in the granulosa cells (GCs) of ovarian follicles both in vitro and in vivo. CART then negatively affects intracellular cAMP levels, MAPK signaling, and aromatase mRNA expression, which leads to lower estradiol synthesis in GCs and altered ovarian folliculogenesis. Finally, in human samples from patients undergoing in vitro fertilization, we show a significant positive correlation between patient body mass index, CART mRNA expression in GCs, and CART peptide levels in follicular fluid. These observations suggest that, under obese conditions, CART acts as a local mediator of leptin in the ovary to cause ovarian dysfunction and reduced fertility.
Expanding the diversity of DNA base modifications with N 6 -methyldeoxyadenosine

Vertebrate DNA is subjected to epigenetic base modifications that have been thought to be limited to methylated and other modified forms of cytidine. A recent study shows that methylation of adenine to form N 6-methyladenine is a rare but readily detectable modification that can be mapped to distinct genomic sites in vertebrates.
Avifauna and human disturbance observations on Navassa Island.

Abstract. Navassa Island and waters surrounding it were designated a National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in 1999, becoming the eighth unit of the Caribbean Islands NWR Complex. Five expeditions to the island between July 1998 and October 2006 yielded 18 new records of birds, bringing the species list to 58. Winter mist netting allowed for the banding of several new species. Five seabird species roost and nest on Navassa Island including hundreds and thousands of magnificent frigate birds, Fregata magnificens, and red-footed boobies, Sula sula, respectively. Several grassland-associated bird species are now common, suggesting that this habitat has become more dominant during the last century. Habitat disturbance appears to primarily be the result of human caused fires. Future management efforts will focus on regulation of unauthorized hunting, fishing, and other public use, as well as control of nonnative invasive species and restoration of subtropical dry forest.
Variability in warm-season atmospheric circulation and precipitation patterns over subtropical South America: relationships between the South Atlantic convergence zone and large-scale organized convection over the La Plata basin

Warm-season precipitation variability over subtropical South America is characterized by an inverse relationship between the South Atlantic convergence zone (SACZ) and precipitation over the central and western La Plata basin of southeastern South America. This study extends the analysis of this “South American Seesaw” precipitation dipole to relationships between the SACZ and large, long-lived mesoscale convective systems (LLCSs) over the La Plata basin. By classifying SACZ events into distinct continental and oceanic categories and building a logistic regression model that relates LLCS activity across the region to continental and oceanic SACZ precipitation, a detailed account of spatial variability in the out-of-phase coupling between the SACZ and large-scale organized convection over the La Plata basin is provided. Enhanced precipitation in the continental SACZ is found to result in increased LLCS activity over northern, northeastern, and western sections of the La Plata basin, in association with poleward atmospheric moisture flux from the Amazon basin toward these regions, and a decrease in the probability of LLCS occurrence over the southeastern La Plata basin. Increased oceanic SACZ precipitation, however, was strongly related to reduced atmospheric moisture and decreased probability of LLCS occurrence over nearly the entire La Plata basin. These results suggest that continental SACZ activity and large-scale organized convection over the northern and eastern sections of the La Plata basin are closely tied to atmospheric moisture transport from the Amazon basin, while the warm coastal Brazil Current may also play an important role as an evaporative moisture source for LLCSs over the central and western La Plata basin.
Theoretical Investigation of Water Oxidation on Fully Saturated Mn2O3 and Mn2O4 Complexes

Understanding the factors that affect efficiency of manganese oxides as water oxidation catalysts is an essential step toward developing commercially viable electrocatalysts. It is important to understand the performance of the smallest versions of these catalysts, which will in return be advantageous with bottom up catalytic design. Density functional theory calculations have been employed to investigate water oxidation processes on Mn2(μ-OH)(μ-O)(H2O)3(OH)5 (Mn2O4·6H2O), Mn2(μ-OH)2(H2O)3(OH)4 (Mn2O3·6H2O), and Mn2(μ-OH)2(H2O)4(OH)4 (Mn2O3·7H2O) complexes. The effect of different oxidation states of manganese is considered in this study. Thermodynamically, the lowest energy pathway for the fully saturated Mn2O4·6H2O complex occurs through a nucleophilic attack of a solvent water molecule to a Mn(IV1/2)O oxo moiety. The lowest energy pathway on the Mn2O3·6H2O complex proceeds with an attack of Mn(VI)O group to the surface hydroxo group on the same manganese atom; this pathway is related to the third lowes...
Mill as Sage: The Essay on Bentham

Although regarded as a philosopher rather than an artist, John Stuart Mill employs artistry as well as rational argument to enlighten his reader. Mill's “Bentham,” for example, demonstrates how Mill operates as a sage using both logic and art to awaken the reader to a new perception of reality. In “Bentham” Mill creates a sense of disappointment arising from Bentham's great promise and limited performance, both as thinker and as man. Constructing an image of himself as a whole thinker, Mill thereby underscores Bentham's position as half-thinker. Mill also creates an elaborate portrait of Bentham as a great father-teacher-hero-God figure, only to reveal Bentham's inability to perform these roles adequately. By heavy use of negatives, Mill suggests that Bentham's thought has little positive value. And, finally, the essay's structure undermines all of Bentham's philosophical contributions. Deriving from Carlyle's “Boswell's Life of Johnson,” Mill's earlier writings on Bentham show him refashioning Carlyle's language and developing the ironic techniques used in “Bentham.” Like other Victorian sages, Mill has no clear-cut theory of prose artistry; he often regards poetry and prose as antithetical media. Nevertheless, in practice he writes as a complex logician-artist, using prose as an imaginative medium.
NI-79RAPID ASSESSMENT OF LESION VOLUMES FOR PATIENTS WITH GLIOMA USING THE SMARTBRUSH SOFTWARE PACKAGE.

The increasing interest in enhancing the RANO criteria by using quantitative assessments of changes in lesion size and image intensities has highlighted the need for rapid, easy-to-use tools that provide DICOM compatible outputs for evaluation of patients with glioma. To evaluate the performance of the SmartBrush software (Brainlab AG), which provides computer-assisted definitions of regions of interest (ROIs), a cohort of 20 patients with glioma (equal number having high and low grade and treated and un-treated) were scanned using a 3T whole-body MR system prior to surgical resection. The T2-weighted FLAIR, pre- and post-contrast T1-weighted gradient echo DICOM images were pushed from the scanner to an offline workstation where analysis of lesion volumes was performed using SmartBrush. Volumes of the T2Ls ranged from 7.9 to 110.2cm3 and the volumes of the CELs was 0.1 to 28.5 cm3 with 19/20 of the subjects having CELs and all 20 having T2Ls. the computer-assisted analysis was performed rapidly and efficiently, with the mean time for defining both lesions per subject was 5.77 (range 3.5 to 7.5) minutes. Prior analysis of ROIS with the SLICER package (www.slicer.org) took approximately 30 minutes/subject. SmartBrush provides lesion volumes and cross-sectional diameter as a PDF report, which can be stored in DICOM. The ROIs were also saved as DICOM objects and transferred to other packages for performing histogram analysis from ADC or other functional parameter maps. Ongoing studies that will be reported in this presentation are performing a similar analysis with multiple users in order to compare the relative intra- and inter-operator variations in terms of both the speed of analysis and the ROIs that are identified. Acknowledgements: The authors would like to acknowledge Rowena Thomson and Natalie Wright from Brainlab for helping to set up this study.
Comparison of some machine learning and statistical algorithms for classification and prediction of human cancer type

Use of gene expression profile of an animal under a certain disease gives pre-clinical insights for the potential efficacy of novel drugs. Selection of an animal model, accurately resembling the human disease, profoundly reduces the research cost in resources and time. Here, a statistical procedure based on analysis of variance (ANOVA) defined in [1] is investigated to select the animal model that most accurately mimics the human disease in terms of genome-wide gene expression. Two other commonly used data fitting algorithms in machine learning, logistic regression and artificial neural networks are examined and analyzed for the same data set. Implementing procedure of each of these algorithms is discussed and computational cost and advantage and drawback of each algorithm is scrutinized for prediction of pediatric Medulloblastoma cancer type.
Comparative study of pancreatic fat content between newly-diagnosed patients with type 2 diabetes and healthy volunteers by chemical shift magnetic resonance imaging

Objective: To compare pancreatic fat content between newly-diagnosed patients with type 2 diabetes and healthy volunteers by chemical shift MRI,and explore their correlations with hepatic fat content. Materials and Methods: Seventy patients with newly-diagnosed type 2 diabetes and BMI、gender and age matched 31 healthy volunteers were recruited in this study. Fat content in the pancreas and liver was respectively measured,calculated,and compared with the sequence of double-echo chemical shift gradient-echo magnetic resonance imaging. The correlation between liver and pancreatic fat content was analyzed. Results: The average fat content of the liver and pancreas in patients with newly-diagnosed type 2 diabetes were higher than that in the healthy volunteers. Hepatic and pancreatic fat fraction were 9.87%±3.19% and 7.24%±2.38%(t=-4.56,P0.05),as well as 5.15%±3.75% and 3.48%±1.97%(t=-3.01,P0.05),respectively,in the two groups,and statistically significant differences among them were obvious. Correlation coefficients in the two samples of liver and pancreatic fat content were 0.053(P0.05) and 0.337(P0.05),both of them were not correlated each other. Conclusions: Hepatic and pancreatic fat content in newly-diagnosed patients with type 2 diabetes were higher than that of healthy volunteers,and the pancreatic and hepatic fat content were not correlated in the two groups.
Estimation Method for No Load Loss of Large Power Transformer under Partial Discharge Test

Partial discharge test is an important way to test insulating condition of transformer.In recent years,the capacity of electric power transformer becomes larger and larger,so higher requirements of the power source and equipment for partial discharge test were put forward.It is a key factor for determining site power capacity and the key parameters of test equipment that how to accurately estimate the no load loss of transformer under partial discharge test.Due to there will be a bigger deviation in the estimating result of the specific conditions of the no load loss in engineering at present,it is necessary to study a method satisfied the engineering demand for estimating the no load loss of large power transformer under partial discharge test.
A mean-constrained finite mixture of normals model

A simple constructive approach to imposing a mean constraint in a finite mixture of multivariate Gaussian densities is proposed. All parameters in the model except for one have closed-form full conditional distributions and are fit through a simple Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm. For illustration, the mean-constrained finite mixture is implemented in a linear mixed model. Simulations reveal that the mean-constrained model is able to precisely estimate the regression coefficients and mean-constrained random effects distribution simultaneously. An analysis of the Framingham cholesterol data shows that, with relatively simple structure, the model has competitive predictive power with earlier approaches.
Future Directions in Abuse Potential Assessment

The focus of this chapter is on the future of preclinical abuse liability assessment with an emphasis on new directions for future evaluations. The growth of the rodent comparator compound database for different clinical indications will impact the industry's scientific tools for designing studies to meet the expectations of regulatory agencies. The development of future models for preclinical assessment and approaches for early compound screening to support portfolio decision making are considered as future areas for growth. Problems related to the testing of compounds with poor solubility and nontraditional parameters are discussed. Continued involvement in regulatory discussions and opportunities to impact future guidelines are seen as critical future activities.
An Examination of the Role Women Whistleblowers

Previous studies discuss the subject of whistleblowing by women and the consequences of retaliation. However an examination of the past and current research is needed to gain a more thorough understanding of this complex issue and how the women are viewed, and how the topic is evolving. As a starting point the purpose is to examine whistleblowing with a focus on women’s roles as well as the various legislation initiatives and global progress toward minimizing retaliation. The author investigates prior research in the areas of women whistle blowers, and adds current whistleblowers of note. This research review and derived information to encourage change will prove interesting in contributing further material for those embroiled in this issue. This work contributes to the existing literature by adding further insight into the areas of anti-retaliation progress and how society views women whistleblowers. Furthermore it evidences that women continue to demonstrate courage in standing up for ethics in the workplace in spite of persistent retaliation.
Bolt: I Know What You Did Last Summer... In The Cloud

Cloud providers routinely schedule multiple applications per physical host to increase efficiency. The resulting interference on shared resources often leads to performance degradation and, more importantly, security vulnerabilities. Interference can leak important information ranging from a service's placement to confidential data, like private keys. We present Bolt, a practical system that accurately detects the type and characteristics of applications sharing a cloud platform based on the interference an adversary sees on shared resources. Bolt leverages online data mining techniques that only require 2-5 seconds for detection. In a multi-user study on EC2, Bolt correctly identifies the characteristics of 385 out of 436 diverse workloads. Extracting this information enables a wide spectrum of previously-impractical cloud attacks, including denial of service attacks (DoS) that increase tail latency by 140x, as well as resource freeing (RFA) and co-residency attacks. Finally, we show that while advanced isolation mechanisms, such as cache partitioning lower detection accuracy, they are insufficient to eliminate these vulnerabilities altogether. To do so, one must either disallow core sharing, or only allow it between threads of the same application, leading to significant inefficiencies and performance penalties.
The Structure of Significant Lives

AbstractA human life is not made up of measurable equal increments. There are crises, setbacks and advances, obstacles and pathways, highs and lows. The prevailing methods for the study of significant lives, insofar as there is any interest at all in the subject, are hampered by scientism and materialism. The means for understanding how we progress as individuals in relation to society and to the future of humankind cannot be found in the standard disciplines of psychology or sociology, which are looking for measurable results and are dominated by the quest for objectivity. Guided primarily by the thought of Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy, we observe here the patterns in the life of two pioneering physicians, centuries apart, Theophrastus von Hohenheim, known as Paracelsus, and Sigmund Freud. Inspiration, revelation, conversion, orientation, grace are at the center, but none of these terms is reducible to material measurement. A new approach is suggested that better informs us about what makes the world go ‘roun...
Abstract WP19: Rate and Speed of Reperfusion Explains Variations in Treatment Effect Sizes Across Recent Trials of Endovascular Therapy for Acute Ischemic Stroke

Background: Five recent trials demonstrated benefit of endovascular treatment (ET) for large-vessel ischemic stroke. But, while all were positive, the trials differed in their estimates of benefit ...
Invisible transportation infrastructure technology to mitigate energy and environment.

Traditional transportation infrastructure built by heat trapping products and the transportation vehiles run by fossil fuel, both causing deadly climate change. Thus, a new technology of invisible Flying Transportation system has been proposed to mitigate energy and environmental crisis caused by traditional infrastructure system. Underground Maglev system has been modeled to be constructed for all transportation systems to run the vehicle smoothly just over two feet over the earth surface by propulsive and impulsive force at flying stage. A wind energy modeling has also been added to meet the vehicle’s energy demand when it runs on a non-maglev area. Naturally, all maglev infrastructures network to be covered by evergreen herb except pedestrian walkways to absorb CO2, ambient heat, and moisture (vapor) from the surrounding environment to make it cool. The research revealed that the vehicle will not require any energy since it will run by superconducting electromagnetic force while it runs on a maglev infrastructure area and directed by wind energy while it runs on non-maglev area. The proposed maglev transportation infrastructure technology will indeed be an innovative discovery in modern engineering science which will reduce fossil fuel energy consumption and climate change dramatically.
Evaluation of sFLT1 protein levels in human eyes with the FLT1 rs9943922 polymorphism.

PURPOSE Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a devastating disease characterized by central vision impairment in individuals with advanced age. Neovascular AMD is a form of end-stage disease in which choroidal vessel outgrowth occurs beneath the retina. While many hypotheses have been raised as to what triggers the formation of pathological choroidal neovascular membranes, the exact mechanism for their initiation remains unresolved. Polymorphisms in the FLT1 gene have previously been associated with neovascular AMD risk, including the rs9943922 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). Here, we aimed to determine the association between the high-risk FLT1 genotype and FLT1 protein levels in human retina or retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)/choroid tissue. METHODS Retina and RPE/choroid tissue from 10 human donor eyes was selected from a collection of eyes genotyped for the rs9943922 SNP. Differences in soluble and membrane bound FLT1 protein levels were assessed for retina versus RPE/choroid donor tissue using ELISA and Western blotting analyses. Genotype-associated changes in FLT1 protein levels were also evaluated. RESULTS We found soluble FLT1 levels in the RPE/choroid tissue to be approximately three times higher than that of the retina (p < 0.001), while both samples have similar levels of the membrane bound form. When tissue with the rs9943922 SNP was compared with controls, no significant genotypic differences in FLT1 protein levels were observed. CONCLUSIONS Based on these data, we conclude that the rs9943922 SNP in the FLT1 gene does not result in a large difference in FLT1 protein levels, regardless of whether it is the soluble or the membrane bound form.
Ocular Manifestations of Closed-Globe (Blunt) Ocular Trauma

Closed-globe blunt ocular trauma is a major medical, epidemiologic, and economic concern due to the high risk of severe vision loss. Types of closed-globe trauma can be divided into two categories: direct and indirect. Direct trauma includes traumatic retinal tear, detachment, and dialysis, traumatic macular hole, commotio retinae, contusion of the retinal pigment epithelium, choroidal rupture, chorioretinitis sclopetaria, and optic nerve avulsion. Indirect ocular trauma includes Valsalva retinopathy, solar and laser-induced retinopathy, Terson syndrome, Purtscher retinopathy, shaken baby syndrome, fat embolism syndrome, and whiplash retinopathy. Awareness of these conditions may help increase early detection and prevent reversible vision loss.
Brain Activity during Methamphetamine Anticipation in a Non-Invasive Self-Administration Paradigm in Mice

The ability to sense time and anticipate events is critical for survival. Learned responses that allow anticipation of the availability of food or water have been intensively studied. While anticipatory behaviors also occur prior to availability of regularly available rewards, there has been relatively little work on anticipation of drugs of abuse, specifically methamphetamine (MA). In the present study, we used a protocol that avoided possible CNS effects of stresses of handling or surgery by testing anticipation of MA availability in animals living in their home cages, with daily voluntary access to the drug at a fixed time of day. Anticipation was operationalized as the amount of wheel running prior to MA availability. Mice were divided into four groups given access to either nebulized MA or water, in early or late day. Animals with access to MA, but not water controls, showed anticipatory activity, with more anticipation in early compared to late day and significant interaction effects. Next, we explored the neural basis of the MA anticipation, using c-FOS expression, in animals euthanized at the usual time of nebulization access. In the dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), the pattern of c-FOS expression paralleled that of anticipatory behavior, with significant main and interaction effects of treatment and time of day. The results for the lateral septum (LS) were significant for main effects and marginally significant for interaction effects. These studies suggest that anticipation of MA is associated with activation of brain regions important in circadian timing, emotional regulation, and decision making.
Scanning elastic lidar observations of aerosol transport in New York City

In this study, spatial distribution of aerosols in New York City is observed using a scanning eyesafe 532 nm elastic-backscatter micro-pulse lidar system. Observations show dynamics of the boundary layer and inhomogeneous distribution and transport of aerosols. The data acquired are complemented with simultaneous measurements of particulate matter and wind speed and direction. Furthermore, the system observations are validated by comparing them with a colocated multi-wavelength lidar.
‘Just Google It’ – The Effect of Media Events on Patterns of Public Interest in the ‘Vaccines Cause Autism’ Fallacy from 2004–2017 (P2.182)

Objective: We aim to 1) describe trends in the public’s interest regarding the erroneous link between vaccination and autism, and 2) investigate whether these trends correlate with events in the media Background: In 2004, the myth that MMR vaccines cause autism was popularized. The pattern in which the public investigates this myth more than a decade after its inception remains undescribed. Design/Methods: Using Google Trends, an open-access utility that measures traffic for user-defined search terms, a list of common relevant search terms was generated. We extracted data from Google Trends to carry out non-parametric trend analyses, evaluating relative and absolute increases in traffic. Dates of significant increases were investigated for relevant corollary media events. Results: Between 2004 and 2017, traffic for search term “do vaccines cause autism” remained consistently higher than for search term “vaccines do not cause autism”. While significant upward trends for both search terms were found (p Conclusions: While the medical community has stalwartly refuted the “vaccines cause autism” fallacy, we identified a significant increase in the relative traffic of queries relating to the fallacious link from 2004 to 2017. There are strong temporal correlations between spikes in relevant Google search traffic and media coverage of this fallacy, suggesting the latter’s influence on the American public’s queries regarding safe practices in medicine. Disclosure: Dr. Sheikh BA has nothing to disclose. Dr. Swetlik has nothing to disclose. Dr. Wilson DO has nothing to disclose.
Exploring User Needs for a Mobile Behavioral-Sensing Technology for Depression Management: Qualitative Study

Background: Today, college students are dealing with depression at some of the highest rates in decades. As the primary mental health service provider, university counseling centers are limited in their capacity and efficiency to provide mental health care due to time constraints and reliance on students’ self-reports. A mobile behavioral-sensing platform may serve as a solution to enhance the efficiency and accessibility of university counseling services. Objective: The main objectives of this study are to (1) understand the usefulness of a mobile sensing platform (ie, iSee) in improving counseling services and assisting students’ self-management of their depression conditions, and (2) explore what types of behavioral targets (ie, meaningful information extracted from raw sensor data) and feedback to deliver from both clinician and students’ perspectives. Methods: We conducted semistructured interviews with 9 clinicians and 12 students with depression recruited from a counseling center at a large Midwestern university. The interviews were 40-50 minutes long and were audio recorded and transcribed. The interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis with an inductive approach. Clinician and student interviews were analyzed separately for comparison. The process of extracting themes involved iterative coding, memo writing, theme revisits, and refinement. Results: From the clinician perspective, the mobile sensing platform helps to improve counseling service by providing objective evidence for clinicians and filling gaps in clinician-patient communication. Clinicians suggested providing students with their sensed behavioral targets organized around personalized goals. Clinicians also recommended delivering therapeutic feedback to students based on their sensed behavioral targets, including positive reinforcement, reflection reminders, and challenging negative thoughts. From the student perspective, the mobile sensing platform helps to ease continued self-tracking practices. Students expressed their need for integrated behavioral targets to understand correlations between behaviors and depression. They also pointed out that they would prefer to avoid seeing negative feedback. Conclusions: Although clinician and student participants shared views on the advantages of iSee in supporting university counseling, they had divergent opinions on the types of behavioral targets and feedback to be provided via iSee. This exploratory work gained initial insights into the design of a mobile sensing platform for depression management and informed a more conclusive research project for the future.
Binding of Cations and Protons in the Active Site of Acetylcholinesterase

The active site of acetylcholinesterase contains a number of ionizable residues. The pK as of the catalytic histidine, His 440, is believed to be 6.3, based upon enzyme kinetic studies. However, the pK as of the other residues have not been measured. Here, we describe calculations of the pK a of the ionizable groups in this enzyme. Interestingly, the initial calculations predict a pK a of 9.3 for His 440. The deviation of 3 pK a units from the measured pK a is traceable to the influence of Glu 199 and Glu 443 upon His 440. We argue that the deviation does not represent a failure of the computational method. Rather it points to the need for an adjustment in the model of the protein. The adjustment we suggest involves a monovalent cation bound in the active site, near Glu 199 and His 440. Including such a cation in the calculations brings the computed pK a of His 440 into agreement with the measured value. Furthermore, the idea that a bound cation substantially reduces tbe pK a of His 440 leads to satisfying explanations of a number of otherwise puzzling experimental data.
Reproductive effects of inhaled methyl chloride in the male Fischer 344 rat: II. Spermatogonial toxicity and sperm quality

Studies were performed to assess the effects of inhaled methyl chloride (MeCl) on sperm quality and testicular histopathology in the Fischer 344 rat. Adult male F-344 rats were exposed to 1000 or 3000 ppm MeCl 6 hr/day for 5 days, or received an ip injection of 0.2 mg triethylenemelamine (TEM)/kg on the afternoon of Day 5. Five males from a control group and each of the three treatment groups were killed weekly for 8 weeks, and five more from the control and 3000 ppm groups at Week 16 postexposure. Male rats from the 1000 ppm MeCl- and TEM-exposed groups exhibited no consistent difference from control males in any parameter measured. In the 3000 ppm MeCl group, over 50% of the males had uni- or bilateral sperm granulomas in the cauda epididymis. Testes weights were significantly depressed in these males by 3 weeks postexposure, and remained depressed as late as 8 weeks after treatment. Testicular spermatid head counts were significantly lower by 2 weeks postexposure, and the testes showed a characteristic cytotoxic response to MeCl exposure, including a delay in spermiation, chromatin margination in round spermatids, epithelial vacuolation, luminal exfoliation of spermatogenic cells, and multinucleated giant cells. Counts of repopulating seminiferous tubule cross sections and of testicular sperm heads at 7 weeks postexposure indicated that 60 to 70% of the spermatogonial stem cells had been killed by MeCl exposure. Sperm isolated from the vasa deferentia had significantly depressed numbers and an elevated frequency of abnormal sperm head morphology by Week 1 postexposure, and significantly depressed sperm motility and an elevated frequency of headless tails by Week 3 postexposure. All parameters measured in the testes and in vasa deferentia sperm showed varying degrees of recovery, and all were near the normal range by Week 16 postexposure except sperm count. These data suggest that the previously reported high preimplantation loss caused by methyl chloride exposure may be primarily due to cytotoxic effects on the testis and epididymal epithelium, rather than to direct genotoxic effects on the sperm.
Function of creatine kinase localization in muscle contraction.

The creatine phosphate shuttle hypothesis, a central theme of the Congress, suggests that mitochondrial creatine kinase (CK) produces phosphocreatine (PCr) from ATP, that CK on or near the sarcomere produces ATP from PCr, and that energy is shuttled from mitochondria to the myofibrils via PCr. According to the hypothesis the CK reaction is crucial to the control of respiration and to the control of the microenvironment of the contractile apparatus. The nucleotide concentrations in the region of the myosin ATPase are thought to depend on the localization of CK on the sarcomere (Bessman and Geiger, 1981). Many studies have addressed the issue of CK localization on the mitochondrial membrane, and of the effects of nucleotide and PCr on oxidative respiration (Jacobus and Lehninger, 1973; Saks et al., 1980). At the opposite end of the shuttle, the sarcomere, there is evidence for CK localization on the M-line structure (Turner et al., 1973). This result motivated several investigations of CK interactions with myosin and with other M-line proteins. Although some studies came to the intriguing conclusion that CK binds to the head region of myosin, others failed to confirm this observation (Houk and Putnam, 1973; Botts et al., 1975; Mani et al., 1980; Woodhead and Lowey, 1983). The possibility of a direct interaction of CK with the myosin head suggests that the contractile mechanism may depend upon CK binding, and thus upon the CK concentration. However, the functional significance of the binding of CK to either myosin or the M-line has not been previously explored by physiological measurements of fiber contraction.
National patient experience data and correlation with in-hospital adverse gynecologic cancer surgical outcomes.

21Background: The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) is a patient experience and quality of care measure that impacts hospital reimbursement. HCAHPS data is m...
Oxidation of Methionine 77 in calmodulin alters mouse growth and behavior

Calmodulin is a ubiquitous signaling protein that upon binding calcium interacts with its intracellular targets, of which over 350 have been described. Methionine 77 in calmodulin can be stereospecifically oxidized to methionine sulfoxide by mammalian methionine sulfoxide reductase A. Whether this has in vivo significance is unknown, we therefore created a mutant mouse in which wild type calmodulin-1 was replaced by a calmodulin containing a mimic of methionine sulfoxide at residue 77. Total calmodulin levels were unchanged in the homozygous M77Q mutant, which is viable and fertile. No differences were observed on learning tests, including the Morris water maze and associative learning. Cardiac stress test results were also the same for mutant and wild type mice. However, young male and female mice were 20% smaller than wild type mice, although food intake was normal for their weight. Young M77Q mice were notably more active and exploratory than wild type mice. This behavior difference was objectively documented on the treadmill and open field tests. The mutant mice ran 20% longer on the treadmill than controls, and in the open field test, the mutant mice explored more than controls and exhibited reduced anxiety. These phenotypic differences bore a similarity to those observed in mice lacking calcium/calmodulin kinase Iiα (CaMKIIα). We then showed that M77Q calmodulin was less effective in activating CaMKIIα than wild type calmodulin. Thus, characterization of the phenotype of a mouse expressing a constitutively active mimic of calmodulin led to the identification of the first calmodulin target that can be differentially regulated by the oxidation state of Met77. We conclude that reversible oxidation of methionine 77 in calmodulin by MSRA can regulate cellular function.
Journeys as Communicative Gestures: My Relationships with/in the Sciences

In this piece I use autoethnography to communicate my relationships with/in the sciences, drawing from experiences as both a learner and an educator. I argue that giving voice to such experiences plays an important role in developing coalitions of critical science educators, and works against the ubiquitous appeal of disembodied objectivity in the sciences more broadly. At the same time, I worry about the ways in which autoethnographic research tacitly assumes a stable and transparent self, able to give voice to self-evident experiences. Instead, I draw on the work of Maria Lugones to frame this autoethnographic practice as a communicative gesture. Here, narratives underscore how past experiences become reconstructed in the present, not in order to uncover the truth of these experiences but to put them to use in the construction of coalitions of critical scholars in the field of science education.
Discreteness of spectrum and positivity criteria for Schr\"odinger operators

We provide a class of necessary and sufficient conditions for the discreteness of spectrum of Schr\"odinger operators with scalar potentials which are semibounded below. The classical discreteness of spectrum criterion by A.M.Molchanov (1953) uses a notion of negligible set in a cube as a set whose Wiener's capacity is less than a small constant times the capacity of the cube. We prove that this constant can be taken arbitrarily between 0 and 1. This solves a problem formulated by I.M.Gelfand in 1953. Moreover, we extend the notion of negligibility by allowing the constant to depend on the size of the cube. We give a complete description of all negligibility conditions of this kind. The a priori equivalence of our conditions involving different negligibility classes is a non-trivial property of the capacity. We also establish similar strict positivity criteria for the Schr\"odinger operators with non-negative potentials.
Identification of a Novel Toll-Like Receptor-Independent Immunoadjuvant Pathway That Depends upon Programmed Cell Death.

Molecules of microbial origin, and synthetic derivatives of these molecules, have long been used for their immuno-adjuvant effect, and as the key sensors of microbial infection, Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are thought to be essential for adjuvanticity. To the contrary, we now demonstrate the existence of a robust, TLR-independent pathway for adjuvant effect: one that is actually far stronger than the TLR-dependent pathway. Activation of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and the subsequent production of cytokines such as type I interferon leads to the maturation of dendritic cells (DCs) with upregulation of MHC molecules and costimulatory molecules such as CD40, CD80 and CD86, allowing for optimal interaction between DCs and T-cells. We have determined that TLR signal transduction is minimally dependent upon two adapter proteins, MyD88 and TRIF. In compound homozygous mutant (DKO) mice that lack functional MyD88 and TRIF, there is complete abrogation of all TLR signaling. Such animals therefore comprise a unique model with which to study TLR-independent immune responses. We have now used DKO mice to determine whether an adaptive immune response can be obtained in the absence of TLR signaling. As expected, adjuvanticity obtained via “classical” microbial adjuvants such as complete Freund’s adjuvant or LPS was completely absent in DKO mice. However, subcutaneous administration of syngeneic murine cells expressing ovalbumin and rendered apoptotic by exposure to ultraviolet light resulted in a strong T-cell response in vivo, with impressive production of interferon-g by CD8 + cells and efficient killing of EL-4 cells that expressed CD8-specific OVA peptides, both in wildtype and DKO mice. Adjuvanticity was observed only in the context of apoptosis, in that living cells, not exposed to ultraviolet light before injection, induced little or no response. Moreover, the mixture of the protein antigen with apoptotic cells was insufficient to induce an adaptive immune response; rather, only cells that expressed the protein prior to induction of apoptosis were stimulatory. These results indicate the existence of a specific, cell death-dependent mechanism for adjuvanticity that is TLR-independent and induced by endogenous molecules. We propose that this new adjuvant pathway is of fundamental importance to immune responses at large. We believe that it is required for initiation of the adaptive immune response witnessed in the context of allograft rejection, graft-versus-host disease, and autoimmune diseases as well.
Evaluation of RSSI as a Non-visual Target Tracking Technique for Drone Applications

Visual tracking algorithms for drone applications is a common technique for tracking and following targets. However, partial or full occlusion can cause visual trackers to lose its target or even begin following the wrong target. To combat this challenge, non-visual tracking algorithms can be used in parallel to provide more robust tracking in environments where line-of-sight cannot be guaranteed. In this study, a non-visual tracking technique using RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) is evaluated for its suitability in drone applications. The study results show a RMS error of 1.17 ft. for the RSSI technique within a 10 foot radius in outdoors environments, which is an improvement over the current reported accuracy of GPS. However, interference from multipath fading in indoors settings remains a significant challenge for the RSSI technique, and modifications to the RSSI technique to mitigate multipath fading are proposed as future work.
The UPGMA Algorithm

Our final task is to develop an algorithm to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships based on sequence data. In the final homework problem, the source sequences are mitochondrial DNA from a number of modern human individuals, as well as from several fossils, including a Neanderthal. Let us begin by saying something about these sequences and how they are used to create input for our algorithm. The cells of eukaryotes, such as humans, contain two types of DNA. The largest type is the nuclear DNA which is found in sets of chromosomes that are inherited sexually, with one copy of each chromosome coming from either parent. A second type of DNA can be found in the mitochondria, organelles specializing in energy metabolism. Mitochondria contain their own circular DNA molecule. As it turns out, mitochondria are inherited maternally – individual humans get their mitochondria from their mother’s egg rather than their father’s sperm. Thus, mitochondrial DNA is passed along the maternal line only. Mitochondrial DNA has frequently been used in studies of human evolution. One advantage is the fact that it’s inherited from a single parent, and thus is not subject to recombination. Another advantage is the fact that mutations arise comparatively quickly in mammalian mitochondrial DNA. If we are comparing closely related samples, such as human individuals, a higher rate of mutation is good because it produces more differences with which to distinguish the samples.
Making the Invisible Visible: Illuminating the Hidden Histories of the World War I Tunnels at Vauquois Through a Hybridized Virtual Reality Exhibition

Visualizing History: Tunnels of Vauquois is an educational immersive virtual reality (VR) exhibit that makes the invisible history of World War I soldiers’ experiences in the tunnels of Vauquois, France, visible to contemporary audiences. The exhibit presents the visitor with both discrete knowledge and the opportunity for emotional awareness. The virtual environment is recreated from scanned data of the original site. Visitors traverse the tunnel through the use of a head-mounted display, redirected walking, passive haptics, aligned physical and virtual environments, interactive tracked props, and narration. In this article, we describe the motivation and rationale for creating an immersive exhibit for informal learning environments, such as museums, libraries, and school VR laboratories. We also describe how the current exhibit functions and our iterative design process informed by observational feedback from pilot testing.