cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A versatile optical tool for studying synaptic GABAA receptor trafficking

Live-cell imaging methods can provide critical real-time receptor trafficking measurements. Here we describe an optical tool to study synaptic GABA A receptor (GABA A R) dynamics using adaptable fluorescent tracking capabilities. A fluorogen-activating peptide (FAP) was genetically inserted into a γ2 subunit tagged with pH-sensitive green fluorescent protein (γ2 pH FAP). The FAP selectively binds and activates malachite green (MG) dyes that are otherwise non-fluorescent in solution. γ2 pH FAP GABA A Rs are expressed at the cell surface in transfected cortical neurons, form synaptic clusters, and do not perturb neuronal development. Electrophysiological studies show γ2 pH FAP GABA A Rs respond to GABA and exhibit positive modulation by the benzodiazepine, diazepam. Imaging studies using γ2 pH FAP transfected neurons and MG dyes show time-dependent receptor accumulation into intracellular vesicles, revealing constitutive endosomal and lysosomal trafficking. Simultaneous analysis of synaptic, surface, and lysosomal receptors using the γ2 pH FAP-MG dye approach reveals enhanced GABA A R turnover following a bicucculine-induced seizure paradigm, a finding not detected by standard surface receptor measurements. To our knowledge, this is the first application of the FAP-MG dye system in neurons, demonstrating the versatility to study nearly all phases of GABA A R trafficking.
Effects of Chemical Restraint and Anesthesia on Blood Glucose Levels

Although it is not a direct cardiovascular effect, almost every pharmacological agent used for restraint and/or anesthesia has been shown to be associated with changes in blood glucose levels. These changes are frequently linked to responses mediated by pancreatic or other insulin mechanisms, autonomic nervous system responses and/or adrenal gland responses. It is well accepted that there is a great deal of dependency and interaction among these various physiological control systems. There is also little question that these responses play a role in cardiovascular function. This role has not been completely quantitated nor even described qualitatively in detail. The purpose of this chapter is only to emphasize that the agents discussed can cause physiological adjustments that could interfere with the basic mechanism under study. This could result in erroneous conclusions by the investigator.
The role of scientific expertise in local adaptation to projected sea level rise

Abstract Adaptation to sea level rise (SLR) is primarily taking place at the local level, with varied governments grappling with the diverse ways that SLR will affect cities. Interpreting SLR in the context of local planning requires integrating knowledge across many disciplines, and expert knowledge can help planners understand the potential ramifications of decisions. Little research has focused on the role that experts play in local adaptation planning. Understanding how and when local governments undertake adaptation planning, and how scientists and scientific information can be effectively incorporated into the planning process, is vital to guide scientists who wish to engage in the planning process. This study aimed to establish how experts are currently involved in SLR planning, identify any gaps between planners’ needs and expert involvement, and determine the characteristics of experts that are perceived as highly valuable to the planning process. We surveyed individuals involved with planning in a broad range of US coastal communities about SLR planning and the role that experts have played in the process. We found that SLR planning is widespread in cities across geographic regions, population sizes, and population characteristics and has increased rapidly since 2012. Contrary to our expectation, whether a SLR plan existed for each city was not related to the percentage of the population living on vulnerable lands or the property value of those lands. Almost all cities that have engaged in SLR planning involved experts in that process. Planners identify atmospheric scientists, oceanographers, economists and political scientists, and geologists as currently underutilized according to planners’ needs. Members of these expert disciplines, when involved in planning, were also unlikely to be affiliated with the local planning government, but rather came from other governmental and academic institutions. Highly effective experts were identified as making scientific research more accessible and bringing relevant research to the attention of planners. Results from our dataset suggest that planners perceive local SLR planning could benefit from increased involvement of experts, particularly atmospheric scientists, oceanographers, economists and political scientists, and geologists. Since experts in these disciplines were often not affiliated with local governments, increasing the exchange of information between local governments and academic and other (non-local) government organizations could help draw valued experts into the planning process.
Optimizing Service Delivery with Minimal Runtimes

In this paper, we argue that deploying applications inside minimal runtime environments, which only contain the files necessary and sufficient for the application to run, can cut down the operating costs, specifically the costs for ensuring the application security and compliance. We identify a way to deliver minimal runtimes as Docker containers built from scratch. We describe a use case where minimal runtimes simplify the service maintenance operations, by reducing the number of updates for fixing security vulnerabilities.
Post-CRT Imaging Based Optimization

The utility of CRT optimization remains to be confined to patients whose response to the treatment is either suboptimal or negligible. There are several techniques, mostly echocardiographic, to optimize device settings but none has been universally accepted as gold standard. Methods differ in recording techniques and may therefore vary significantly in performance. Several studies have employed various techniques in interrogating AV interval with or without concomitant V-V interval optimization. Optimization was performed at varying time points. Even the definition for favorable response to CRT varied. Optimization of AV and V-V intervals is patient-specific and optimal values change over time. This may relate to time-related LV reverse remodeling or to progression of disease. The effects of inter-atrial conduction defect, right atrial pacing, and exercise on AV delay add complexities to performance of AV delay optimization. At the very least, it has to be ensured that the programmed AV delay should neither produce fusion of mitral E and A waves nor truncation of the latter. Despite evidences of hemodynamic benefits, the utility of V-V interval optimization remains controversial. Evidence for the incremental long-term benefits on mortality and morbidity is still lacking. Three large clinical trials reported conflicting results in terms of clinical and echocardiographic improvement. Differences in the study designs could have contributed to the conflicting results. It is important to remember, however, that simultaneous biventricular pacing is not always synonymous with suboptimal V-V interval, nor should sequential pacing be routinely regarded as ideal.
Identification of the Groups of Insect Pathogens

Disease may be considered to be a state in which the body, or a tissue or organ of the body, is disturbed either functionally or structurally or both. Insect diseases may be infectious, that is, caused by pathogens, or noninfectious—caused by abiotic factors (temperature, starvation, chemicals, injury). As only the former condition is dealt with here, one should keep in mind that a seemingly diseased insect without any visible foreign particles may have a noninfectious disease, and, aside from the possibility of a noninclusion virus, factors other than those pathogens listed here should be considered as causative.
Feature Selection for Highly Imbalanced Software Measurement Data

Many data sets include an overabundance of features (i.e., attributes). However, not all features make the same contributions to the class. Selecting a subset of features that are most relevant to the class attribute is a necessary step to create a more meaningful and usable model [11]. In addition, for a two-group classification problem, class imbalance is frequently encountered [7, 34]. Class imbalance refers to the cases where the examples of one class are significantly outnumbered by the examples of the other class in a data set. For instance, in software quality classification, fault-prone (fp) modules typically are much less common than not-fault-prone (nfp) modules. Traditional classification algorithms attempt to improve classification accuracy without considering the relative significance of the different classes, resulting in a large number of misclassifications from minority class (e.g., fp) to majority class (e.g., nfp). This type of misclassification is extremely severe in some domains such as software quality assurance, implying a lost opportunity to correct a faulty module prior to deployment and operation. A variety of techniques have been proposed to counter the problems associated with class imbalance [30].
Haunted City: Three Centuries of Racial Impersonation in Philadelphia

Christian DuComb’s lively book, Haunted City, offers a trans-historical account of three centuries of Philadelphian performance and popular culture. DuComb traces “hauntologies of performance” through three prevailing tropes of racial impersonation in the Philadelphia Mummers Parade: blackface, orientalism, and gender drag.
An Update on Myoclonus Management.

Introduction: Myoclonus is a hyperkinetic movement disorder characterized by sudden, brief, lightning-like involuntary jerks. There are many possible causes of myoclonus and both the etiology and c...
Thermal transport in monocrystalline and polycrystalline lithium cobalt oxide.

Efficient heat dissipation in batteries is important for thermal management against thermal runaway and chemical instability at elevated temperatures. Nevertheless, thermal transport processes in battery materials have not been well understood especially considering their complicated microstructures. In this study, lattice thermal transport in lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2), a popular cathode material for lithium ion batteries, is investigated via molecular dynamics-based approaches and thermal resistance models. A LiCoO2 single-crystal is shown to have thermal conductivities in the order of 100 W m−1 K−1 with strong anisotropy, temperature dependence, and size effects. By comparison, polycrystalline LiCoO2 is more isotropic with much lower thermal conductivities. This difference is caused by random grain orientations, the thermal resistance of grain boundaries, and size-dependent intra-grain thermal conductivities that are unique to polycrystals. The grain boundary thermal conductance is calculated to be in the range of 7.16–25.21 GW m−2 K−1. The size effects of the intra-grain thermal conductivities are described by two empirical equations. Considering all of these effects, two thermal resistance models are developed to predict the thermal conductivity of polycrystalline LiCoO2. The two models predict a consistent thermal conductivity–grain size relationship that agrees well with molecular dynamics simulation results. The insights revealed by this study may facilitate future efforts on battery materials design for improved thermal management.
Machine Learning of Commercial and Residential Load Components in the Northwestern United States

The impacts of weather attributes on commercial and residential electricity demands and their components in the northwestern United States were examined. Two machine learning methods, regression tree (RT), and random forest (RF), were integrated and compared. Both RT and RF models provide reliable predictions of commercial cooling load. RF models particularly yield higher accuracy with reduced overfitting.
Practical Two-Step Lookahead Bayesian Optimization

Expected improvement and other acquisition functions widely used in Bayesian optimization use a "one-step" assumption: they value objective function evaluations assuming no future evaluations will be performed. Because we usually evaluate over multiple steps, this assumption may leave substantial room for improvement. Existing theory gives acquisition functions looking multiple steps in the future but calculating them requires solving a high-dimensional continuous-state continuous-action Markov decision process (MDP). Fast exact solutions of this MDP remain out of reach of today's methods. As a result, previous two- and multi-step lookahead Bayesian optimization algorithms are either too expensive to implement in most practical settings or resort to heuristics that may fail to fully realize the promise of two-step lookahead. This paper proposes a computationally efficient algorithm that provides an accurate solution to the two-step lookahead Bayesian optimization problem in seconds to at most several minutes of computation per batch of evaluations. The resulting acquisition function provides increased query efficiency and robustness compared with previous two- and multi-step lookahead methods in both single-threaded and batch experiments. This unlocks the value of two-step lookahead in practice. We demonstrate the value of our algorithm with extensive experiments on synthetic test functions and real-world problems.
CHAPTER ONE – PRINCIPLES

In this chapter we discuss the principles that underlie our definition of observer. We then illustrate the principles by two examples of observers, one fabricated and one realistic.
Assembly of Cellular Nanomachines

Figure: Schematic diagram and the EM micrograph of the self-assembled t-/v-SNARE ring complex established when v-SNARE-associated membrane interacts with t-SNARE-associated membrane [Taken from J. Cell. Mol. Med. 2011, 15:31–37.] ©Bhanu Jena.
The Naïve Utility Calculus as a unified, quantitative framework for action understanding.

The human ability to reason about the causes behind other people' behavior is critical for navigating the social world. Recent empirical research with both children and adults suggests that this ability is structured around an assumption that other agents act to maximize some notion of subjective utility. In this paper, we present a formal theory of this Naive Utility Calculus as a probabilistic generative model, which highlights the role of cost and reward tradeoffs in a Bayesian framework for action-understanding. Our model predicts with quantitative accuracy how people infer agents' subjective costs and rewards based on their observable actions. By distinguishing between desires, goals, and intentions, the model extends to complex action scenarios unfolding over space and time in scenes with multiple objects and multiple action episodes. We contrast our account with simpler model variants and a set of special-case heuristics across a wide range of action-understanding tasks: inferring costs and rewards, making confidence judgments about relative costs and rewards, combining inferences from multiple events, predicting future behavior, inferring knowledge or ignorance, and reasoning about social goals. Our work sheds light on the basic representations and computations that structure our everyday ability to make sense of and navigate the social world.
Deepwater Horizon, Environmental Justice, and the Prosecution of Federal Environmental Crimes in the U.S. Gulf Coast

The Deepwater Horizon disaster inflicted untold damage on humans and the natural environment in the U.S. Gulf Coast. Less discussed is that British Petroleum (BP) was prosecuted and found guilty of...
Early Season NFL Over/Under Bias:

In this paper we analyze the total line betting market for National Basketball Association (NBA) regular season games for the 2009-2012 seasons. Specifically, we divide seasons by week and analyze points scored, total lines and game statistics such as field goal percentage and turnovers. We find the NBA total line market is generally very efficient with points scored and total lines increasing nearly evenly over the first 17 weeks of the season before leveling off. However, the total line market is inefficient in Week 1 with 58.2% of first week games having total scores less than total lines during our sample period. This win rate is significantly higher than the 52.38% win rate required for profiting from the betting strategy. Betting under total lines on all games in the first week on the 2009-2012 NBA season yields average returns of 11.1% per game.
Data-Driven Approximation of Koopman-Invariant Subspaces with Tunable Accuracy

This paper studies the problem of identifying finite-dimensional functional spaces that are close (within a predefined level of accuracy) to being invariant under the application of the Koopman operator. Given a dictionary of functions spanning a finite-dimensional functional space and a set of data snapshots gathered from a potentially nonlinear dynamical system, we define a measure of how close a functional space in the span of the dictionary is to being invariant under the Koopman operator. This measure provides a way of determining the prediction accuracy of the functional space. Given a desired level of accuracy, we propose a numerical algorithm, termed Tunable Symmetric Subspace Decomposition (T-SSD), to find a dictionary of functions with elements in the span of the original dictionary that satisfies it. Starting from the original dictionary, the T-SSD algorithm proceeds by iteratively removing the functions that violate the accuracy bound. We prove that T-SSD converges to a dictionary satisfying the accuracy criteria after a finite number of iterations.
The Anti-egalitarian

Open your eyes, gentle reader. Peruse that thar sunset or this beautiful flower. Visual magnificence is all around us, from a baby’s smile to the rainbow.
Feedback Loop Regulation Between Pim Kinases and Tax Keeps HTLV-I Viral Replication in Check.

The Pim family of serine/threonine kinases promote tumorigenesis by enhancing cell survival and inhibiting apoptosis. Three isoforms exist, Pim-1, -2, and -3 that are highly expressed in hematological cancers, including Pim-1 in Adult T-cell leukemia (ATL). Human T-cell leukemia virus type-1 (HTLV-I) is the etiological agent of ATL, a dismal lymphoproliferative disease known as adult T-cell leukemia. The HTLV-I virally encoded oncogene Tax promotes CD4+ T-cell transformation through disruption of DNA repair pathways and activation of survival and cellular proliferation pathways. In this study, we found Tax increases the expression of Pim-1 and Pim-3, while decreasing Pim-2 expression. Furthermore, we discovered that Pim-1, -2, and -3 bind Tax protein to reduce its expression thereby creating a feedback regulatory loop between these two oncogenes. The loss of Tax expression triggered by Pim kinases led to loss in Tax-mediated transactivation of the HTLV-I LTR and reductions in HTLV-I virus replication. Since Tax is also the immunodominant cytotoxic T cell lymphocytes (CTL) target, our data suggest that Pim kinases may play an important role in immune escape of HTLV-1-infected cells. IMPORTANCE The Pim family of protein kinases have established pro-oncogenic functions. They are often up regulated in cancer; especially leukemias and lymphomas. In addition, a role for Pim kinases in control of virus expression and viral latency is important for KSHV and HIV-1. Our data demonstrate that HTLV-I encodes viral genes that promote and maintain Pim kinase activation, which in turn may stimulate T-cell transformation and maintain ATL leukemic cell growth. HTLV-I Tax increases expression of Pim-1 and Pim-3, while decreasing expression of Pim-2. In ATL cells, Pim expression is maintained through extended protein half-life and heat shock protection. In addition, we found that Pim kinases have a new role during HTLV-I infection. Pim-1, -2, and -3 can subvert Tax expression and HTLV-I virus production. This may lead to partial suppression of the host immunogenic responses to Tax and favor immune escape of HTLV-1-infected cells. Therefore, Pim kinases have not only pro-oncogenic roles but also favor persistence of the virus-infected cell.
Management of Herpesvirus Infections in the Healthy Host

Human herpesvirus infections continue to be a concern in immunocompetent as well as immunocompromised hosts. They are often life threatening in the immunocompromised patient. In the healthy immunocompetent person the infections tend to be self-limited, although they can directly or indirectly cause periods of severe discomfort and disability, and their treatment can affect productivity, as shown by cost-outcome models. Treatment of primary or secondary episodes in the immunocompetent host is therefore directed toward more rapid resolution of initial and recurrent episodes, thereby limiting the impact of the infections.
Cylotron line models for the X-ray pulsar A0535+26

The spectrum of the transient X-ray binary pulsar A0535+26 obtained by OSSE in February 1994 shows an absorption feature at 110 keV but does not confirm a feature at around 55 keV, as previously reported by other instruments. If the 110 keV feature is due to cyclotron scattering at the first harmonic, then the magnetic field required is about $10^{13}$ Gauss, the highest observed in an X-ray pulsar. Conversely, if this strong feature is a second harmonic and the line formation process is such that an extremely weak fundamental results at $\simeq$ 55 keV, the estimate of the field strength is halved. We present results of detailed cyclotron line transfer models from two source geometries to explore the theoretical contraints on the line shapes in this source. It is found that while a fundamental harmonic line at $\sim$ 55 keV may be partially filled-in by angle redistribution in cylindrical geometries, the required viewing angles give a second harmonic line shape inconsistent with the observation. Interpretation of the feature at 110 keV as a first harmonic seen at small angles to the field yields more consistent line shapes.
Assumption-based pruning in conditional CSP

A conditional constraint satisfaction problem (CCSP) is a variant of the standard constraint satisfaction problem (CSP). CCSPs model problems where some of the variables and constraints may be conditionally inactive such that they do not participate in a solution. Recently, algorithms were introduced that use MAC at their core to solve CCSP. We extend MAC with a simple assumption-based reasoning. The resulting algorithm, Activity MAC (AMAC), is able to achieve significantly better pruning than existing methods. AMAC is shown to be more than two orders of magnitude more efficient than CondMAC on certain problem classes. Our algorithm is most naturally expressed using a variant of the CCSP representation that we refer to as Activity CSP (ACSP). ACSP introduces activity variables which explicitly control the presence of other variables in the solution. Common aspects of CCSP, such as activity clustering and disjunction, are easily captured by ACSP and contribute to improved pruning by AMAC.
Eye Movements and Pupil Size Reveal Deception in Computer Administered Questionnaires

An oculomotor test is described that uses pupil diameter and eye movements during reading to detect deception. Forty participants read and responded to statements on a computerized questionnaire about their possible involvement in one of two mock crimes. Twenty guilty participants committed one of two mock crimes, and 20 innocent participants committed no crime. Guilty participants demonstrated speeded and accurate reading when they encountered statements about their crime and increases in pupil size. A discriminant function of oculomotor measures successfully discriminated between guilty and innocent participants and between the two groups of guilty participants. Results suggest that oculomotor tests may be of value for pre-employment and security screening applications.
Pharmacokinetics and tissue disposition of meloxicam in beef calves after repeated oral administration

The objective of this study was to investigate the pharmacokinetics and tissue disposition of meloxicam after repeated oral administration in calves. Thirteen male British × Continental beef calves aged 4 to 6 months and weighing 297-392 kg received 0.5 mg/kg meloxicam per os once daily for 4 days. Plasma meloxicam concentrations were determined in 8 calves over 6 days after first treatment. Calves were randomly assigned to be euthanized at 5, 10, 15 (n = 3/timepoint), and 19 days (n = 4) after final administration. Meloxicam concentrations were determined in plasma (LOQ= 0.025 μg/mL) and muscle, liver, kidney, and fat samples (LOQ = 2 ng/g) after extraction using validated LC-MS-MS methods. The mean (± SD) Cmax , Cmin , and Caverage plasma meloxicam concentrations were 4.52 ± 0.87 μg/mL, 2.95 ± 0.77 μg/mL, and 3.84 ± 0.81 μg/mL, respectively. Mean (± SD) tissue meloxicam concentrations were highest in liver (226.67 ± 118.16 ng/g) and kidney samples (52.73 ± 39.01 ng/g) at 5 days after final treatment. Meloxicam concentrations were below the LOQ in all tissues at 15 days after treatment. These findings suggest that tissue from meloxicam-treated calves will have low residue concentrations by 21 days after repeated oral administration.
Ratchet Cellular Automata and Logic Devices

We examine a building block for logic devices in which the positions of superconducting vortices in coupled elongated antidots provide the elementary logic states of 0 and 1. We show analytically and through simulation the maximum operating frequency of a pair of antidots as a function of antidot spacing and elongation. At finite temperatures, a signal can propagate through a series of identically shaped antidots with correctly chosen spacing, with an exponential distribution of switching times for the signal to move over by one antidot.
Spermine, a Molecular Switch Regulating EGFR, Integrin β3, Src, and FAK Scaffolding

Intracellular polyamine levels are highly regulated by the activity of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), which catalyzes the first rate-limiting reaction in polyamine biosynthesis, producing putrescine, which is subsequently converted to spermidine and spermine. We have shown that polyamines regulate proliferation, migration, and apoptosis in intestinal epithelial cells. Polyamines regulate key signaling events at the level of the EGFR and Src. However, the precise mechanism of action of polyamines is unknown. In the present study, we demonstrate that ODC localizes in lamellipodia and in adhesion plaques during cell spreading. Spermine regulates EGF-induced migration by modulating the interaction of the EGFR with Src. The EGFR interacted with integrin β3, Src, and focal adhesion kinase (FAK). Active Src (pY418-Src) localized with FAK during spreading and migration. Spermine prevented EGF-induced binding of the EGFR with integrin β3, Src, and FAK. Activation of Src and FAK was necessary for EGF-induced migration in HEK293 cells. EGFR-mediated Src activation in live HEK293 cells using a FRET based Src reporter showed that polyamine depletion significantly increased Src kinase activity. In vitro binding studies showed that spermine directly binds Src, and preferentially interacts with the SH2 domain of Src. The physical interaction between Src and the EGFR was severely attenuated by spermine. Therefore, spermine acts as a molecular switch in regulating EGFR-Src coupling both physically and functionally. Upon activation of the EGFR, integrin β3, FAK and Src are recruited to EGFR leading to the trans-activation of both the EGFR and Src and to the Src-mediated phosphorylation of FAK. The activation of FAK induced Rho-GTPases and subsequently migration. This is the first study to define mechanistically how polyamines modulate Src function at the molecular level.
Swelling characteristics of acrylic acid polyelectrolyte hydrogel in a dc electric field

A novel application of environmentally sensitive polyelectrolytes is in the fabrication of BioMEMS devices as sensors and actuators. Poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) gels are anionic polyelectrolyte networks that exhibit volume expansion in aqueous physiological environments. When an electric field is applied to PAA polyelectrolyte gels, the fixed anionic polyelectrolyte charges and the requirement of electro-neutrality in the network generate an osmotic pressure, above that in the absence of the electric field, to expand the network. The objective of this research was to investigate the effect of an externally applied dc electric field on the volume expansion of the PAA polyelectrolyte gel in a simulated physiological solution of phosphate buffer saline (PBS). For swelling studies in the electric field, two platinum-coated plates, as electrodes, were wrapped in a polyethylene sheet to protect the plates from corrosion and placed vertically in a vessel filled with PBS. The plates were placed on a rail such that the distance between the two plates could be adjusted. The PAA gel was synthesized by free radical crosslinking of acrylic acid monomer with ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) crosslinker. Our results demonstrate that volume expansion depends on the intensity of the electric field, the PAA network density, network homogeneity, and the position of the gel in the field relative to positive/negative electrodes. Our model predictions for PAA volume expansion, based on the dilute electrolyte concentration in the gel network, is in excellent agreement with the experimental findings in the high-electric-field regime (250–300 Newton/Coulomb).
Large diameter refractive Fresnel lenses as low-cost optical communication ground receiver aperture

Feasibility of utilizing large diameter custom designed and fabricated Fresnel lenses as the front optical aperture for Earth-based reception of optical communication signals from remote spacecraft is investigated. This includes preliminary optical designs, investigation of stray-light effects for a particular optical design, effect of temperature variations and mechanical sag on the performance of the photon bucket, and effect of temporal dispersion on the link performance. Experimental results for several commercial off-the-shelf Fresnel lenses with diameters exceeding 1-meter are presented as well as plans for custom diamond turning fabrication of two-meter diameter Fresnel lenses.
Intrinsic viscosity of cottonseed globulin solutions

Abstract Intrinsic viscosity of macromolecular solutions has become a very useful tool in evaluating high polymeric substances for various industrial applications. The shape characteristics of cottonseed globulin molecules in solution as determined by viscosity data are important in adapting the globulin for use in making synthetic fibers or adhesives and in evaluating chemical and physical modification of the globulin. These characteristics of cottonseed globulin (18.06% nitrogen), extracted from solvent-extracted cottonseed meal by means of 0.5 M sodium chloride solution, precipitated by dialysis, and lyophilized, are reported. The intrinsic viscosity of the globulin in urea solutions was calculated to be 0.093, equivalent to a viscosity increment of 12.3 and an axial ratio (Simha equation) of 9.4 assuming elongated macromolecules or of 16.3 assuming flattened-disc-type macromolecules. These values are comparable with reported axial ratios of other vegetable protein macromolecules.
Residual Stresses and Stacking Faults in n-Type 4H-SiC Epilayers

Residual stresses were measured in n-type 4H-SiC epilayers having nitrogen-doping levels of 5 x 10 17 , 5 x 10 18 , and 2 x 10 19 cm -3 and grown homoepitaxially on n-type 4H-SiC substrates having doping levels between 1.82 and 2.10 x 10 19 cm -3 (ρ = 0.010-0.011 Ω-cm). Radius of curvature measurement of the epilayer/substrate bicrystals indicates the existence of compressive stresses of magnitudes between 250 and 400 MPa. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) examination of the epilayer/substrate bicrystals, after they were annealed at 1150°C in nitrogen for thirty minutes, revealed bands of stacking faults (SFs) confined within the epilayers that have doping levels of 5 x 10 17 cm -3 and 5 x 10 18 cm -3 . The SFs, some as wide as 80 nm, give rise to a 3C- SiC like stacking sequence. The lowest doping level is approximately two orders of magnitude below the threshold value of 3 x 10 19 cm -3 previously proposed for the onset of SF generation in thermally annealed epilayers. The residual stress in all the epilayers was above the critical stress for dislocation formation above 1000°C in 4H-SiC, thus the partial dislocations giving rise to SFs may be stress induced and can occur across a much wider range of doping levels than previously believed.
Picosecond Nd:YAG regenerative amplifier with acoustooptic injection and electrooptic VFET pulse switchout

A system is described for amplification of low-power 80-ps pulses from a CW mode-locked YAG laser to greater than 10-MW peak power at kilohertz repetition rates. It is shown how to optimize the resonator for high-power operation and avoidance of optical damage. A novel method of injection locking which uses an acoustooptic modulator is presented. Reliable pulse switching and cavity dumping are accomplished with a high-voltage driver using VFETs. >
Effects of ventilation-perfusion inequality on elimination of inert gases

Abstract Since elimination of an inert gas by the lung depends on the a / ratio, elements which have different ratios will show a different pattern of elimination. Alveoli having a high a / will contribute to the “alveolar dead space.” However, the extent of this contribution depends on the gas considered, with gases of low solubility being better suited for detecting these hyperventilated elements. Alveoli with a low a / contribute to the “venous admixture,” the effect being more pronounced with gases of high solubility. Consideration of the simultaneous elimination of two different inert gases allows to draw a a / line for these two gases. This can be used to assess a / inhomogeneity in terms of a two-compartment model.
Uridine-33 in yeast tRNA not essential for amber suppression.

The nucleotide at position 33 on the 5′ side of the anticodon of almost all tRNAs is a uridine1. Crystallographic studies of different tRNAs2–6 reveal that although the precise orientation of uridine-33 is not always the same, it connects the anticodon stacked along the 3′ side of the loop with the pyrimidine-32 stacked on the 5′ side of the loop. The remarkably conserved nature of uridine-33 and its unique position in the anticodon loop structure has led to suggestions6–8 that this nucleotide has an essential role in the translational mechanism. We have developed a biochemical procedure to replace nucleotides 33–35 in yeast tRNATyr with any desired sequence and used it to construct amber suppressor tRNAs having different nucleotides at position 33. As all of these synthetic amber suppressor tRNAs functioned well in eukaryotic in vitro suppression assays, we conclude that uridine-33 does not have an obligatory role in the translation mechanism.
Relationships between speech delivery and speech effectiveness

Six speech delivery variables—volume, rate, voice quality, posture, gesture, and bodily movement—were varied within a five‐minute persuasive speech. The speech was delivered in each of ten conditions by the same speaker in the same environment. The resultant video‐tapes were validated and shown to more than 220 subjects. The findings of this phase of the research indicated that speech delivery, as operationally defined in this study, had virtually no effect on attitude change, recall‐comprehension, or ethos. Further investigation using vitiated evidence in the speech indicated that in “composition ineffective” conditions, delivery contributed significantly to some measures of speech effectiveness. However, the greatest variance in most measures emerged in connection with the composition of the speech, with speech delivery being an augmenting variable in “ineffective composition” conditions.
Institutional review boards (IRBs) and conflict of interest.

(1999). Institutional review boards (IRBs) and conflict of interest. Accountability in Research: Vol. 7, No. 2-4, pp. 201-212.
Enhanced Molecular Order in Polythiophene Films Electropolymerized in a Mixed Electrolyte of Anionic Surfactants and Boron Trifluoride Diethyl Etherate

We synthesized polythiophene (PTh) films on stainless steel electrodes using chronoamperometry in boron trifluoride diethyl etherate (BFEE) electrolyte with anionic surfactants. The presence of the anionic surfactants in BFEE reduced the oxidation potential of thiophene and increased the oxidation current during electropolymerization. The measured in-plane electrical conductivity of PTh films synthesized in the presence of anionic surfactants was up to 300% higher than that of films synthesized under similar conditions without surfactants. The observed increase in conductivity reflects the improved order and packing of polymer chains revealed by X-ray diffraction.
Polymer translocation in solid-state nanopores: Dependence on hydrodynamic interactions and polymer configuration

Abstract We present a Brownian dynamics investigation of 3-D Rouse and Zimm polymer translocation through solid-state nanopores. We obtain different scaling exponents α for both polymers using two initial configurations: minimum energy, and ‘steady-state’. For forced translocation, Rouse polymers (no hydrodynamic interactions), shows a large dependence of α on initial configuration and voltage. Higher voltages result in crowding at the nanopore exit and reduced α . When the radius of gyration is in equilibrium at the beginning and end of translocation, α = 1 + υ where υ is the Flory exponent. For Zimm polymers (including hydrodynamic interactions), crowding is reduced and α = 2υ. Increased pore diameter does not affect α at moderate voltages that reduce diffusion effects. For unforced translocation using narrow pores, both polymers give α = 1 + 2υ. Due to increased polymer–pore interactions in the narrow pore, hydrodynamic drag effects are reduced, resulting in identical scaling.
Some engineering aspects of the mechanism of body control

Motions of the body become amenable to the disciplines of control and communication engineering after they have been learned. They are shown to involve presetting, closed-loop operation, and prediction.
Feminist geopolitics, everyday death, and the emotional geographies of Dang Thuy Tram

Women's everyday experiences in war remain occluded; moreover, the bodily impacts of war remain hidden, masked by masculinist accounts of warfare that too often glorify heroic male combatants. In this article, we contribute, first, to the ongoing project to understand violence in everyday life and, second, to the understanding, specifically, of women's experiences in warfare. We do so through a reading of the diaries of Dang Thuy Tram, a female Vietnamese doctor who lived and died in the Vietnam War. By drawing on feminist geopolitics, coupled with the insights from emotional geographies – and specifically, those of love – we focus on two main themes: the emotional transformation of death and life, and the care of life amidst pervasive death. We conclude that an emotionally grounded feminist geopolitics is necessary to challenge masculinist accounts that normalize, naturalize, and glorify war.
Beyond fulfilling the core competencies: an objective structured clinical examination to assess communication and interpersonal skills in a surgical residency.

Abstract Objective The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has challenged program directors to assess their residents' core competencies, including communication and interpersonal skills (CIS). We report our institution's experience using a series of standardized patient encounters in an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) to evaluate CIS in surgical residents. Methods Standardized patients rated the residents' ability to maintain a patient-centered approach across 6 challenging communication tasks. Residents received verbal feedback from the patients after each encounter and completed a survey indicating their experience and comfort with each task. Individual and group reports documented resident competency and provided aggregate information for curriculum review. Formal grades were not assigned. Results Twenty-two residents in 2 surgical residency programs piloted the assessment. The Generalizability of the assessment was 0.81. Scores of second- and third-year residents were not significantly different. Residents found the program to be helpful and able to assess their skills. Conclusions The standardized patient-based OSCE is an effective method to assess communication and interpersonal skills and provides useful information for curriculum review.
Efficient algorithms based on relational queries to mine frequent graphs

Frequent subgraph mining is an important problem in data mining with wide application in science. For instance, graphs can be used to represent structural relationships in problems related to network topology, chemical compound, protein structures, and so on. Searching for patterns from graph databases is difficult since graph-related operations generally have higher time complexity than equivalent operations on frequent itemsets. From a practical standpoint, databases keep growing with lots of opportunities and need to mine graphs. Even though there is a significant body of work on graph mining, most techniques work outside the database system. Programming frequent graph mining in SQL is more difficult than traditional approaches because the graph must be represented as a table and algorithmic steps must be written as relational queries. In our research, we study three fundamental problems under a database approach: graph storage and indexing, frequent subgraph search, and identifying subgraph isomorphism. We outline main research issues and our solution towards solving them. We also present preliminary experimental validation focusing on query optimizations and time complexity.
The NICHE LISTSERV

Abstract Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders (NICHE) includes a set of tools that hospitals can use to improve care for their older patients and their families. The hospitals that have implemented NICHE depend on a small cadre of nurses prepared in geriatrics. The number of nurses responsible for implementing NICHE in each hospital represents a small percentage of the total hospital nursing staff. The geriatric resource nurse (GRN) and acute care of the elderly (ACE) unit models of practice implemented in most NICHE hospitals typically depend on only one advanced practice geriatric nurse.
Self-consistent field theory of directed self-assembly in laterally confined lamellae-forming diblock copolymers

We use Self-Consistent Field Theory (SCFT) to study the directed self-assembly of laterally confined diblock copolymers. In this study, we focus on systems where the self-assembled lamellae are oriented parallel to the selective sidewalls of the channel. While well-ordered, perfect lamellae are observed both experimentally and numerically, undesirable defective structures also emerge. We therefore investigate the energetics of two isolated defects, dislocations and disclinations, for various chain lengths and channel dimensions and establish conditions that favor the formation of defects. We also determine the energy barrier and the transition path between the defective and perfect state using the string method.
Further Determinations of the Curvature Radius of Space-Time

IN continuation of my letter of January 1 on this subject, published in NATURE of March 8, p. 350, I should like to add, in the first place, two more items to the list of eight R-values then determined from seven globular clusters and the Lesser Magellanic Cloud. According to R. E. Wilson (Publs. of the Lick Observatory, 13, part 5, 1918, p. 187) the Greater Magellanic Cloud shows a spectrum shift this being the mean of seventeen but slightly different effects for as many nebulae distributed over the area of the cloud. The distance of this cloud is estimated by Shapley (Astrophys. Journ. 49, 1919, p. 322) at 61,000 light-years or astronomical units.
EVALUATION OF SUBSONIC INFLOW TREATMENTS FOR UNSTEADY JET FLOW

Linearized Euler simulations of the unsteady flow of a subsonic jet and its associated acoustic field are presented in this paper. Various subsonic inflow treatments are evaluated. Some of these treatments have been found to produce reflections at the inflow while others are reflection-free. Results are then presented for the effect of Mach number on the radiated sound. It is shown that as the Mach number increases the source becomes noncompact and the directivity is characterized by a well-defined peak. By comparing the linear prediction to the experimental results, validity range of linear approximation for subsonic jet noise is assessed.
Diagnostic yield of echocardiography in cancer patients with ischemic stroke

The yield of echocardiography in cancer patients with acute ischemic stroke is unknown. We identified adult patients with active systemic cancer diagnosed with acute ischemic stroke at a tertiary-care cancer center from 2005 through 2009 who underwent transthoracic (TTE) or transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). Two neurologists independently reviewed all clinical data, including TTE and TEE reports, and adjudicated whether echocardiographic studies revealed a definite or possible source of stroke according to pre-defined criteria. Patients were classified as having suspected cardioembolic strokes if imaging showed embolic-appearing infarcts in more than one vascular territory. Among 220 patients with cancer and ischemic stroke who underwent echocardiography, 216 (98%) had TTE and 37 (17%) had TEE. TTE revealed a definite source in 15 (7%, 95% CI 4-10%) patients and a possible source in 42 (19%, 95% CI 14-25%), while TEE revealed a definite source in 10 (27%, 95% CI 12-42%) patients and a possible source in 14 (38%, 95% CI 21-54%). In 92 patients with suspected cardioembolic strokes who underwent TTE, 6 (7%, 95% CI 1-12%) had a definite source, including 4 with marantic endocarditis, and 20 (22%, 95% CI 13-30%) had a possible source. Twenty-one of these patients also underwent TEE, which demonstrated a definite or possible source in 16 (76%, 95% CI 56-96%) patients, including marantic endocarditis in 4 (19%). The yield of TTE for detecting marantic endocarditis and other cardiac sources of stroke in cancer patients is low, but TEE may provide a higher yield in targeted patients.
Incorporating within-pair order effects in the analytic hierarchy process

Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) has the objective of finding the priority weights of alternatives by using human judgments. A methodology that relies on human judgments should be capable of recognizing the complex behavioral or situational factors which contribute to the oder-dependent prioritizations. This dependence characterized as order effects is the effect of order of presentation within a pair of alternatives and should be removed before deriving the priority weights of alternatives. In the statistical approach to the AHP, a multiplicative model is provided for accommodating the order effects. These order effects being separate entities from the priority weights, they should be accounted in a proper model in the order-sensitive situations. If the order effects are not identified as separate entities, the estimated priority weights from the corresponding model do not yield pure priority weights-instead, they give the estimate of the parameters of priority weights in which order effects are confounded. Estimation of the parameters for the order effects does not have any significance as such. Instead, we propose a method for testing whether order effects are statistically significant in a typical situation. In case of the presence of these order effects, a method of estimation of priority weights is provided. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the method proposed in the paper.