cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Epigenetic silencing contributes to the loss of BRMS1 expression in breast cancer

Breast Cancer Metastasis Suppressor 1 (BRMS1) suppresses metastasis of human breast cancer, ovarian cancer and melanoma in athymic mice. Studies have also shown that BRMS1 is significantly downregulated in some breast tumors, especially in metastatic disease. However, the mechanisms which regulate BRMS1 expression are currently unknown. Upon examination of the BRMS1 promoter region by methylation specific PCR (MSP) analysis, we discovered a CpG island (−3477 to −2214), which was found to be hypermethylated across breast cancer cell lines. A panel of 20 patient samples analyzed showed that 45% of the primary tumors and 60% of the matched lymph node metastases, displayed hypermethylation of BRMS1 promoter. Furthermore, we found a direct correlation between the methylation status of the BRMS1 promoter in the DNA isolated from tissues, with the loss of BRMS1 expression assessed by immunohistochemistry. There are several studies investigating the mechanism by which BRMS1 suppresses metastasis; however thus far there is no study that reports the cause(s) of loss of BRMS1 expression in aggressive breast cancer. Here we report for the first time that BRMS1 is a novel target of epigenetic silencing; and aberrant methylation in the BRMS1 promoter may serve as a cause of loss of its expression.
A Neuro-Muscular Elasto-Dynamic Model of the Human Arm

In this paper we develop a neuro-muscular elasto-dynamic model of the human arm. The generality of the approach provides a method for relating effects of neural and muscular control on stress development in skeletal structures. The humerus is pinned parallel to the body and allowed to rotate in the plane. The radius and ulna are free to move in the sagittal plane. The bones are modeled as elastic elements, allowing large transverse deflections and elongations. Standard Hill-type models of the musculotendon actuators are used to generate the joint torques. Simulations are presented that correspond to both open and closed loop neural stimulus, and stresses and strains that result from both types of control are compared.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
The Role of Gait Analysis in Treating Gait Abnormalities in Cerebral Palsy

Individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) cannot take a normal activity like walking for granted. CP is the most common pediatric neurologic disorder, with an incidence of 3.6 per 1000 live births. The current trend in the treatment of individuals with CP is to perform a thorough evaluation including a complete patient history from birth to present, a comprehensive physical examination, appropriate radiographs, consultation with other medical specialists, and analysis of gait.
The Galileo Magnetic Field Investigation

The Galileo Orbiter carries a complement of fields and particles instruments designed to provide data needed to shed light on the structure and dynamical variations of the Jovian magnetosphere. Many questions remain regarding the temporal and spatial properties of the magnetospheric magnetic field, how the magnetic field maintains corotation of the embedded plasma and the circumstances under which corotation breaks down, the nature of magnetic perturbations that transport plasma across magnetic shells in different parts of the system, and the electromagnetic properties of the Jovian moons and how they interact with the magnetospheric plasma. Critical to answering these closely related questions are measurements of the dc and low-frequency magnetic field. The Galileo Orbiter carries a fluxgate magnetometer designed to provide the sensitive measurements required for this purpose. In this paper, the magnetometer is described. The instrument has two boom-mounted, three-axis sensor assemblies. Flipper mechanisms are included in each sensor assembly for the purpose of offset calibration. The microprocessor controlled data handling system produces calibrated despun data that can be used directly without further processing. A memory system stores data for those periods when the spacecraft telemetry is not active. This memory system can also be used for storing high time-resolution snapshots of data.
A high-efficiency SiGe BiCMOS WCDMA power amplifier with dynamic current biasing for improved average efficiency

This paper demonstrates a WCDMA single-stage power amplifier, fabricated in a 0.25 /spl mu/m SiGe BiCMOS process. With dynamic biasing of the collector current, the average power efficiency is improved by more than a factor of two compared to a typical class AB power amplifier. The power amplifier satisfies the 3GPP class-III WCDMA adjacent channel power ratio (ACPR) specifications (ACPR_5M= -33 dBc and ACPR_10M = -58.8 dBc) with 23.9 dBm average channel output power. The measured output power at the 1 dB compression point is 25.9 dBm.
Localized Artificial Viscosity Stabilization of Discontinuous Galerkin Methods for Nonhydrostatic Mesoscale Atmospheric Modeling

AbstractGibbs oscillation can show up near flow regions with strong temperature gradients in the numerical simulation of nonhydrostatic mesoscale atmospheric flows when using the high-order discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method. The authors propose to incorporate flow-feature-based localized Laplacian artificial viscosity in the DG framework to suppress the spurious oscillation in the vicinity of sharp thermal fronts but not to contaminate the smooth flow features elsewhere. The parameters in the localized Laplacian artificial viscosity are modeled based on both physical criteria and numerical features of the DG discretization. The resulting numerical formulation is first validated on several shock-involved test cases, including a shock discontinuity problem with the one-dimensional Burger’s equation, shock–entropy wave interaction, and shock–vortex interaction. Then the efficacy of the developed numerical formulation on stabilizing thermal fronts in nonhydrostatic mesoscale atmospheric modeling is demonstra...
Cooling of the Arctic and Antarctic Polar Stratospheres due to Ozone Depletion

Abstract Long time records of stratospheric temperatures indicate that substantial cooling has occurred during spring over polar regions of both hemispheres. These cooling patterns are coincident with observed recent ozone depletions. Time series of temperature from radiosonde, satellite, and National Centers for Environmental Prediction reanalysis data are analyzed in order to isolate the space–time structure of the observed temperature changes. The Antarctic data show strong cooling (of order 6–10 K) in the lower stratosphere (∼12–21 km) since approximately 1985. The cooling maximizes in spring (October–December), with small but significant changes extending throughout Southern Hemisphere summer. No Antarctic temperature changes are observed during midwinter. Significant warming is found during spring at the uppermost radiosonde data level (30 mb, ∼24 km). These observed temperature changes are all consistent with model predictions of the radiative response to Antarctic polar ozone depletion. Winter and...
Novel Role for Cyclophilin A in Regulation of Chondrogenic Commitment and Endochondral Ossification

Recent studies showed that cyclophilin A (CypA) promotes NF-κB/p65 nuclear translocation, resulting in enhanced NF-κB activity and altered expression of its target genes, such as the Sox9 transcriptional factor, which plays a critical role in chondrogenic differentiation and endochondral ossification. In this report, we unveil the role of CypA in signal-induced chondrogenic differentiation and endochondral ossification. Expression levels of the chondrogenic differentiation markers and transcriptional regulators Sox9 and Runx2 were all significantly lower in CypA knockdown chondrogenic cells than in wild-type cells, indicating that CypA plays a functional role in chondrogenic differentiation. In vitro differentiation studies using micromass cultures of mouse limb bud cells further supported the conclusion that CypA is needed for chondrogenic differentiation. Newborn CypA-deficient pups double stained with alcian blue and alizarin red exhibited generalized, pronounced skeletal defects, while high-resolution micro-computed tomography (microCT) analyses of the femurs and lumbar vertebrae revealed delayed or incomplete endochondral ossification. Comparative histology and immunohistochemistry (IHC) analyses further verified the effects of CypA deficiency on chondrogenic differentiation. Our results provide evidence for the important contribution of CypA as a pertinent component acting through NF-κB-Sox9 in regulation of chondrogenesis signaling. These findings are important to better understand signal-induced chondrogenesis of chondrogenic progenitors in physiological and pathophysiological contexts.
The Use of Injectable Nitroglycerin in the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory: Nitroglycerin in Cardiac Catheterization

At our institution, injectable nitroglycerin (TNG) has been employed during cardiac catheterization since 1976. Initially, it was primarily used in patients undergoing a provocative test for coronary spasm with ergonovine maleate. After the initial favorable experience, the use of injectable TNG became routine.
Integral transforms covariant to unitary operators and their implications for joint signal representations

Fundamental to the theory of joint signal representations is the idea of associating a variable, such as time or frequency, with an operator, a concept borrowed from quantum mechanics. Each variable can be associated with a Hermitian operator, or equivalently and consistently, as we show, with a parameterized unitary operator. It is well known that the eigenfunctions of the unitary operator define a signal representation which is invariant to the effect of the unitary operator on the signal, and is hence useful when such changes in the signal are to be ignored. However, for detection or estimation of such changes, a signal representation covariant to them is needed. Using well-known results in functional analysis, we show that there always exists a translationally covariant representation; that is, an application of the operator produces a corresponding translation in the representation. This is a generalization of a recent result in which a transform covariant to dilations is presented. Using Stone's theorem, the "covariant" transform naturally leads to the definition of another, unique, dual parameterized unitary operator. This notion of duality, which we make precise, has important implications for joint distributions of arbitrary variables and their interpretation. In particular, joint distributions of dual variables are structurally equivalent to Cohen's class of time-frequency representations, and our development shows that, for two variables, the Hermitian and unitary operator correspondences can be used consistently and interchangeably if and only if the variables are dual.
A Comparison of Traditional and Online Instruction in an Introduction to Special Education Course

There has been a proliferation of college courses and programs offered via distance education and particularly via the Internet (online). Although there is evidence that distance education using vi...
Sleep enhances category learning.

The ability to categorize objects and events in the world around us is a fundamental and critical aspect of human learning. We trained healthy adults on a probabilistic category-learning task in two different training modes. The aim of this study was to see whether either form of probabilistic category learning (feedback or observational) undergoes subsequent enhancement during sleep. Our results suggest that after training, a good night of sleep can lead to improved performance the following day on such tasks. [Supplemental material is available online at http://www.learnmem.org.] From infancy, humans categorize objects and events they encounter. In our daily lives, this category learning enables us to extract rules and patterns from our varied experiences, and to formulate new responses and inferences to familiar objects and events, thereby facilitating decision-making and problem-solving processes (Gluck et al. 2008). While there is now considerable understanding of the early
Genetic architecture of key social trait differs significantly between primitive and advanced eusocial species

The one trait that differentiates social and eusocial insects from solitary insects is reproductive division of labor (i.e., one or a few individuals of a group reproduce and others work). Currently, the general consensus of the molecular and behavioral underpinnings of social evolution is based on ideas in evolutionary developmental biology in which novel traits are linked to changes in regulatory mechanisms rather than novel genes (1⇓⇓–4). This is in particular true for a trait such as reproductive division of labor, because during the early stages of social evolution all individuals had the same reproductive potential (i.e., the trait was phenotypically plastic). It was only later in social evolution when the determination of queen versus worker was shifting from behavioral interactions between omnipotent individuals to developmental mechanisms that reacted to environmental conditions provided by the colony or environment [e.g., differential feeding (5)] that phenotypic plasticity of adult individuals was reduced. For example, in some highly derived ant species, workers emerge with no or nonfunctional ovaries and thus are true “somatic cells” of a superorganism (6). In PNAS, Patalano et al. (7) sequenced the genomes, brain transcriptomes, and methylomes of two eusocial species in which caste determination is still highly plastic (Polistes) or has reversed from a caste determination with a dedicated reproductive caste (queens) to the ancestral state with omnipotent individuals competing for reproductive rights by evolutionarily “losing” the queen phenotype (Dinoponera). Hence, this study gives us a rare glimpse into the genome organization and molecular mechanisms that represent or resemble the earliest stages in social evolution where reproductive castes were not yet fixed or …
THE RATE OF BACTERIOPHAGE INACTIVATION BY FILTRATES OF ESCHERICHIA COLI CULTURES.

The inactivation of bacteriophage by substances from susceptible bacteria has been studied by Burnet (1) and Freeman (2). Its inactivation by antisera has been studied by Andrewes and Elford (3) and Burnet, Keogh, and Lush (4). Recently Ashenburg et al. (5) reported that saline solutions of gum arabic, starch, or glycogen inactivated an anti-Klebsiella pneumoniae phage. We have studied in more detail the rate of phage inactivation by culture filtrates of the susceptible bacteria in order to determine the dependence of the process on phage and inhibitor concentrations.
Canine Malignant Melanotic Schwannomas: A Light and Electron Microscopic Study of Two Cases

Malignant, melanotic schwannoma of the spinal cord was diagnosed in two two-year-old dogs. The neoplastic spindle cells were arranged in a herringbone or storiform pattern; the intracytoplasmic melanin varied in amount in different areas of the two neoplasms. Ultrastructural features including cytoplasmic lamellar premelanosomes and melanosomes, rudimentary cell junctions, scattered pinocytotic vesicles, and remnants of external lamina supported the diagnosis of melanotic schwannoma.
The Micellar Arrangement in Various Cellulose Fibres

The fluorescence front fibres dyed with strongly fluorescent direct dyes is examined for polarization, and the result interpreted in terms of the micellar orientation and spiral structure of the fibres. Results on a number of natural and artificial cellulose fibres are given and discussed.
Determination of Pipe Diffusion Coefficients in Undoped and Magnesia-Doped Sapphire (α-Al2O3): A Study Based on Annihilation of Dislocation Dipoles

The breakup of dislocation dipoles in plastically deformed samples of undoped and 30-ppm-MgO-doped sapphire (α-Al 2 O 3 ) was monitored using conventional TEM techniques. Dislocation dipoles break up into prismatic dislocation loops in a sequential process during annealing; i.e., dislocation loops are pinched off at the end of a dislocation dipole. This pinch-off process is primarily controlled by pipe diffusion, and pipe diffusion coefficients at temperatures between 1300° and 1500°C were estimated by monitoring the kinetics of the dipole breakup process. We determined D U p = 8.1 ( +9.1 -4.3 x 10 -3 exp [-4.5 ± 1.3eV)lkT)] m 2 /s for the undoped material. The pipe diffusion kinetics for the MgO-doped crystal was determined at 1250° and 1300°C and was about 6 times higher than for undoped sapphire. Finally, climb dissociation of the dislocations constituting the perfect dipoles in sapphire is common; annihilation of one set of partials can result in the formation of faulted dipoles, which can pinch off to form faulted dislocation loops. D u p for faulted dipoles in the undoped material was determined at 1300° and 1350°C, and was about 4-10 times higher than for perfect dipoles.
Visual servo control of a three degree of freedom robotic arm system

The remote controlled weapon station (RCWS) is currently highly emphasized in infantry warfare. The future trend will focus on automatic targeting procedure to improve efficiency, and meanwhile to save the operator from hostile fire. In addition to operate the gun turret remotely, it is presently a direction to be integrated with the Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) to serve as surveillance unit in the combat hot zone, such as peace keeping mission. In this research, an improved targeting algorithm based on visual servo concept, Kalman estimator and fuzzy logic theory is proposed, and a SCORBOT ER5+ robotic system was modified as a platform to demonstrate the result.
Relation of ration sucrose level and grain content to lactation performance and rumen fermentation.

Abstract Sixteen cows were used in a 4 × 2 factorial experiment in which sucrose replaced corn at 0, 3, 6, and 9% (dry basis) of total dry matter in rations of 30 and 70% grain. Solids-corrected milk yield increased linearly (P Raising the sucrose levels in the ration produced linear decreases of the molar percentages of propionate (24.2 to 19.2 molar per cent) and isovalerate (3.5 to 1.0 molar per cent) and a linear increase in butyrate (15.9 to 22.4 molar per cent) in rumen fluid. Inclusion of sucrose in the ration resulted in a high proportion of ketogenic acids (acetate plus butyrate) relative to propionate in the rumen fluid. Rumen pH and the ratio of acetate to propionate were not significantly different among treatments.
Restrukturierungsmethoden im Finanzwesen und Controlling

Die Bereiche Finanzen und Controlling als Organisationseinheit ist im Rahmen der akuten Problembehebung bei Sanierungen oftmals nicht im direkten Fokus von Restrukturierungsmasnahmen. Jedoch kann durchaus von einer Schlusselstellung bezuglich der Unterstutzung der Entscheidungstrager gesprochen werden. Die wesentliche Anforderung ist dabei die Schaffung der notwendigen Transparenz, um die Sanierungsentscheidungen abzusichern. Als besondere Schwerpunkte haben sich dabei in der Praxis das Working Capital Management, die Erstellung einer integrierten Unternehmensplanung, der Aufbau einer aussagefahigen Kostenrechnung sowie der Aufbau und die Durchfuhrung eines stringenten Sanierungscontrollings herauskristallisiert.
Effect of compounding method and processing conditions on the electrical response of exfoliated graphite nanoplatelet/polylactic acid nanocomposite films

The focus of this study is to understand the effect of compounding method and polymer physical properties on the electrical response of exfoliated graphite nanoplatelet (GNP)/polylactic acid (PLA) nanocomposite films. Two compounding methods were employed: (i) melt mixing, followed by compression molding, and (ii) solution mixing once the polymer was dissolved in chloroform, followed by solution casting. The physical properties of the polymer, namely the crystallization characteristics were altered using two different cooling rates during compression molding: (i) slow cooling and (ii) fast cooling. The microstructure of the films was examined using scanning electron microscopy. Thermal properties, crystallization behavior, and electrical behavior were determined as a function of the GNP content, compounding method, and cooling rate using differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, and impedance spectroscopy, respectively. It was concluded that the SC films had the lowest percolation threshold between 1 and 5 wt% of GNP, followed by the solution-cast films with percolation threshold between 5 and 8 wt% of GNP. The FC films did not percolate until a GNP content of 15 wt% was used. The vast differences in percolation thresholds are attributed to the differences in polymer matrix crystallinity and composite microstructure both in terms of microporosity and GNP dispersion/distribution within the polymer due to the different cooling rates and different compounding methods employed.
Motion correction for passive radiation imaging of small vessels in ship-to-ship inspections

Abstract Passive radiation detection remains one of the most acceptable means of ascertaining the presence of illicit nuclear materials. In maritime applications it is most effective against small to moderately sized vessels, where attenuation in the target vessel is of less concern. Unfortunately, imaging methods that can remove source confusion, localize a source, and avoid other systematic detection issues cannot be easily applied in ship-to-ship inspections because relative motion of the vessels blurs the results over many pixels, significantly reducing system sensitivity. This is particularly true for the smaller watercraft, where passive inspections are most valuable. We have developed a combined gamma-ray, stereo visible-light imaging system that addresses this problem. Data from the stereo imager are used to track the relative location and orientation of the target vessel in the field of view of a coded-aperture gamma-ray imager. Using this information, short-exposure gamma-ray images are projected onto the target vessel using simple tomographic back-projection techniques, revealing the location of any sources within the target. The complex autonomous tracking and image reconstruction system runs in real time on a 48-core workstation that deploys with the system.
Ethnic Tourism and Resident Quality-of-Life

Ethnic tourism has been promoted as a strategy for economic development and cultural preservation in many destinations in recent years. Such tourism development has significant impacts on the quality-of-life (QOL) of residents in ethnic communities where the option for development is limited. This study reviews existing research lying at the intersection of the study of ethnic tourism and QOL, and examines how ethnic tourism affects host groups’ culture, ethnicity, and QOL from a community perspective. The review indicates that while substantial research has been devoted to the impact of ethnic tourism in general, little effort has been made to link the insights to residents’ QOL. It is argued that there is a need to develop a more comprehensive framework that integrates both objective and subjective measurements to examine the ability of ethnic tourism to contribute to QOL as well as the degree to which it can be generalized across situations or destinations.
Robert Desgabets on the Physics and Metaphysics of Blood Transfusion

Robert Desgabets (1610–1678), an early defender and teacher of the Cartesian philosophy, gives experience a central role in metaphysics, physics, and theology. Desgabets’ Discourse on the Communication or Transfusion of Blood (1668) delivered 10 years earlier at a Montmor Conference describes his scientific work on blood transfusion. I show how Desgabets’ Cartesian conception of the body and its mechanistic functioning had important consequences for the Cartesian metaphysics and physics as well as scientific method. For Desgabets, experiments on blood transfusion were as much demonstrations of the truth of the Cartesian metaphysics as they were demonstrations of empirically known effects. The role of experiment was to provide demonstrations of the first principles or truths of physics and theology by connecting them to the way God actually made the world. I conclude that Desgabets’ treatment of experience plays an essential role in the content and form of physical knowledge.
Causal attributions following a cardiac event: Short- and long-term differences in health appraisals and outcomes:

This study examined attributions generated by cardiac rehabilitation patients shortly after experiencing a cardiovascular event, exploring whether attribution type was associated with health appraisals and outcomes concurrently and 21 months later. Attributions fell into three categories: controllable behavioral ones, uncontrollable biological ones, and stress-related causes. Linking attribution type to appraisals and outcomes showed that creating a behavioral attribution was beneficial in the short-term for control appraisals, but was associated with increased anxiety symptoms 21 months later. Thus, cardiac rehabilitation providers should encourage patients to maintain a future-focus that promotes perceived control over health promotion behaviors that reduce risk for recurrence.
Isolation and characterization of the earliest taxon-specific organic molecules (Mississippian, Crinoidea)

Biomarkers and other ancient preserved molecules are rapidly being discovered and used to study the evolution of life on Earth. We report the existence of echinoderm-specific organic molecules from different lower Mississippian (340 Ma) crinoid species that occur in the same sedimentary bed. These are the oldest examples of biomarker molecules extracted directly from fossilized remains. These biomarker molecules appear to resemble aromatic or polyaromatic quinones, based upon ultraviolet and visible light spectroscopy, fluorescence excitation-emission matrix spectroscopy, and electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Results suggest that the preservation of diagnostic organic molecules is much more common that previously realized, and that preserved organic molecules may provide an independent method to unravel phylogenetic relationships among echinoderms and, perhaps, other fossilized organisms.
EPR Spectroscopic Study of the Voltage-Sensor Domain (VSD) of the Human KCNQ1 Potassium Ion Channel

KCNQ1 is a voltage-gated potassium channel modulated by members of the KCNE protein family. KCNQ1 is essential to both the cardiac action potential that mediates heartbeat and K+ homeostasis in the inner ear. KCNQ1 dysfunction has been linked to multiple diseases, including various cardiac arrhythmias, congenital deafness, and type II diabetes mellitus. Human KCNQ1 is a 676-residue protein consisting of 100-residue N-terminal cytosolic domain, followed by an ∼260-residue channel domain containing six transmembrane (TMD) helices, and a 300-residue cytosolic C-terminus. The first four TMD helices (S1-S4) form the voltage-sensor domain (VSD) that is linked to the pore domain (helices S5 and S6). Roughly 40% of the >200 reported disease-related mutations in the KCNQ1 gene result in amino acid substitutions in the VSD, making structural and dynamic studies of this domain important in unraveling molecular mechanisms in human pathophysiology. Site-directed spin labeling EPR is a very powerful structural biology technique to study the structural and conformational dynamics of membrane proteins in membrane environment. In this study, we have successfully expressed the Cysteine substituted Q1-VSD in E. Coli, purified into detergent micelles, labeled with MTSL spin labels, and collected CW-EPR spectra. We are developing several advanced EPR spectroscopic techniques (such as double electron-electron resonance (DEER) and electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM)) for probing the structural and dynamic properties of Q1-VSD in a lipid bilayer environment. This study will provide important mechanistic information on the Q1-VSD channel upon binding with KCNE1.
Computing Depths of Patterns

Pattern avoidance is an important research topic in combinatorics on words which dates back to Thue’s construction of an infinite word over three letters that avoids squares, i.e. , a sequence with no two adjacent identical factors. This result finds applications in various algebraic contexts where more general patterns than squares are considered. A more general form of pattern avoidance has recently emerged to allow for undefined positions in sequences. New concepts on patterns such as depth have been introduced and a number of questions have been raised, some of them we answer. In the process, we prove a strict bound on the number of square occurrences in an unavoidable pattern, and consequently, any pattern with more square occurrences than distinct variables is avoidable over three letters. We also provide an algorithm that determines whether a given pattern is of bounded depth, and if so, computes its depth.
The effect of prostatectomy technique on genitourinary toxicity.

100Background: Recent clinical trials have examined the toxicity associated with various treatment modalities available for prostate cancer. None have examined genitourinary (GU) toxicity using CTCAE v4.02 among prostatectomy (RP) techniques. Methods: An IRB-approved inception cohort study was used to assess the association of GU toxicity by prostatectomy technique: open RP, pure laparoscopic (lap RP) RP, and robotic-assisted laparoscopic (robotic) RP. The primary end point was grade 3 or greater GU toxicity. The cumulative incidence method was used to calculate the rates of grade 3 or higher GU toxicity, and Gray’s test was used to compare the rates of toxicity among the three treatment modalities. Results: There were 1308 patients in the study with a median follow-up of 55.6 months. The patients were segregated into the three cohorts as follows: 732 open RP, 103 lap RP, and 473 robotic RP. The cumulative incidence rates of the primary end point is shown in table 1. There was no significant difference am...
Geometric proposals for faster R-CNN

Faster R-CNN has established itself as the de-facto best object detector but it remains strongly limited in two aspects: (i) it is sensitive to background clutter and its classification performance decreases when it is confronted with more noisy proposals; (ii) it suffers when the objects vary largely in scale and specifically for the small objects. We address both issues with our geometric-proposals for Faster R-CNN (GP-FRCNN), whereby we re-rank the generic object proposals with an approximate geometric estimate of the scene. But the devil is in the details: the simple extension requires involved scale adjustments (e.g. anchors, layer resolution) which we detail in this paper. Finally, our GP-FRCNN performs equally well on smaller and larger objects, a long standing challenge for any object detection algorithm. The application of GP-FRCNN to surveillance videos is straightforward and does not require an explicit geometric formulation. We extensively test the model on the UA-DETRAC dataset, where GP-FRCNN outperforms the standard Faster R-CNN by 19%.
Culturally Responsive Pedagogy for African Immigrant Children in U.S. P-12 Schools:

This article sheds light on the challenges African immigrant children face in navigating through a relatively different and unfamiliar system of education in the United States. It also provides pre...
Big Data Aware Virtual Machine Placement in Cloud Data Centers

While society continues to be transformed by insights from processing big data, the increasing rate at which this data is gathered is making processing in private clusters obsolete. A vast amount of big data already resides in the cloud, and cloud infrastructures provide a scalable platform for both the computational and I/O needs of big data processing applications. Virtualization is used as a base technology in the cloud; however, existing virtual machine placement techniques do not consider data replication and I/O bottlenecks of the infrastructure, yielding sub-optimal data retrieval times. This paper targets efficient big data processing in the cloud and proposes novel virtual machine placement techniques, which minimize data retrieval time by considering data replication, storage performance, and network bandwidth. We first present an integer-programming based optimal virtual machine placement algorithm and then propose two low cost data- and energy-aware virtual machine placement heuristics. Our proposed heuristics are compared with optimal and existing algorithms through extensive evaluation. Experimental results provide strong indications for the superiority of our proposed solutions in both performance and energy, and clearly outline the importance of big data aware virtual machine placement for efficient processing of large datasets in the cloud.
EFFECT OF INTRAVENOUS FENTANYL ADMINISTRATION ON MYOCARDIAL INJURY IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING PERCUTANEOUS CORONARY INTERVENTION: A SUB-ANALYSIS OF THE PACIFY RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL

We recently demonstrated that fentanyl, an opiate often administered during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), delays gastrointestinal absorption of oral P2Y12 inhibitors and attenuates platelet inhibition. In this secondary analysis of the PACIFY trial, we studied whether the interaction
Numerical simulation of finite disturbances interacting with laminar premixed flames

Compression waves can be generated during combustion processes and subsequently interact with flames to augment their behaviour. The study of these interactions thus far has been limited to shock a...
Intercountry Adoption to the United States: A Quantitative Analysis

Chapter 7 provides a quantitative analysis of Intercountry Adoptions (ICAs) to the United States (U. S.). The analysis of ICAs is possible because, unlike in other areas of adoption there are national ICA data. Immigration data document that an immigrant is admitted for purposes of adoption. Data used are historical data from prior researchers for data prior to the 1970s and current data from the U.S. State Department’s Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) is the repository for the earlier INS data, 1971–1995.
Genetical and physiological mechanisms of face fly, Musca autumnalis DeGeer, diapause

Face flies, Musca autumnalis DeGeer, respond to short photoperiods by entering a facultative diapause. Diapause responses at 17°C to different photoperiods varied among seven laboratory face fly strains. Old laboratory strains lost much of their diapause responses to short days. To analyze the nature of inheritance of diapause, hybrids and backcrosses were made between two strains that showed the greatest difference in diapause induction at 10:14 h (L:D), and a mean 17°C. Hybrids had responses to the short photoperiod that were intermediate to those of their parents. Joint scaling tests showed that diapause did not fit an additive model. The lack of fit to the additive model was attributed to incomplete dominance of diapause-associated genes. No cytoplasmic effect was detected. Another characteristic of diapause inheritance in face flies was sex-linkage of some diapause-associated genes. Estimates of the minimum number of genes involved in diapause suggested that a small number were involved. Heritabilities varied among replications with mean estimations of ca. 50% and 30% for broad and narrow sense heritabilities, respectively. Developmental rates of egg to adult, follicle growth, and pterin accumulation correlated significantly with diapause propensities among lines. High diapause lines had slower developmental rates than low diapause lines, suggesting
A revision of Lycinella Gorham, 1884 with the description of six new species (Coleoptera, Lycidae, Calopterini)

The Neotropical genus Lycinella Gorham, 1884 is revised. Lycinellaopaca Gorham, 1884 and Lycinellaparvula Gorham, 1884 are redescribed and illustrated. Six new species are described for the genus: Lycinellaadamantis sp. n., L.hansoni sp. n., L.milleri sp. n., L.cidaoi sp. n., L.marshalli sp. n. and L.pugliesae sp. n.. Lycinellahumeralis Pic, 1933 is moved to Ceratoprionhumerale (Pic, 1933), comb. n. A key to the species of Lycinella, illustrations and a distribution map is provided.
The Two Faces of Globalization

We conceptualize and measure two aspects of globalization - economic and informational/communicative - during the period from 1978 to 2002. Our approach offers advantages over previous, economic-based measures. Moreover, we find that informational globalization precedes - and drives -economic openness.
Vaccinia virus strain differences

The kinetics of neutralization by heterologous and homologous antisera was measured using four strains of vaccinia virus: (1) U.S. Reference Smallpox Vaccine, Lot #2, calf lymph origin (CL); (2) low passage chorioallantoic membrane-propagated strain (CAM); (3) high passage chorioallantoic membrane-propagated strain (CV1); and (4) high passage chick embryo tissue culture virus (CTC). Extent of neutralization depended more on the strain of virus being neutralized than on the use of homologousvs heterologous antiserum. The CV1 and CTC strains were readily neutralized by any antiserum and the CL and CAM strains were remarkably resistant to neutralization. The CL strain could be neutralized by the addition of complement or anti-bovine gamma globulin in the absence of added antivaccinial antibody. Immunodiffusion tests showed the presence of bovine gamma globulin in the CL vaccine. The hypothesis was formed that virus in some calf lymph vaccines is already sensitized by early antibody, making it resistant to neutralization by additional anti-vaccinial antibody but susceptible to neutralization by complement or anti-bovine gamma globulin.
The logic of input-output models

Relying on a 5-industry aggregation of the 28-industry table for Georgia, this chapter presents the logic of a regional input-output model. First, we look at the table as an accounting system for an economy. Then we rationalize the use of a model and examine the construction of a regional input-output model. The chapter closes with a brief look at economic change in input-output models as a prelude to later chapters.
A randomized controlled trial of acceptance and commitment therapy for clinical perfectionism

Abstract Clinical perfectionism is characterized by imposing excessively high standards on oneself and experiencing severe distress when standards are not met. It has been found to contribute to the development and maintenance of various clinical presentations including anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, and eating disorders. The present study tested the efficacy of ten weekly individual sessions of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) relative to a waitlist control on clinical perfectionism and global outcomes among 53 individuals with clinical perfectionism. ACT is a process-based therapy that targets maladaptive underlying processes (e.g., rigid adherence to unrealistic high standards) rather than symptom topography (e.g., anxiety, depression). Participants completed assessments at pretreatment, posttreatment, and one-month follow-up. Compared to the waitlist condition, the ACT condition led to greater improvements in clinical perfectionism as well as outcomes related to wellbeing, functional impairment, distress, and processes of change. Our study suggests targeting core dysfunctional processes (i.e., clinical perfectionism) rather than symptom topography with treatments like ACT is feasible and efficacious, supporting a shift from symptom-focused to process-based care. We also note potential weaknesses in our treatment protocol and study methodology that should be addressed in future research. Study limitations included a small sample size and high dropout rate (35.7%).
Burger King and Transnational American Studies: Lessons from the 2013 Nordic Association for American Studies Conference

This article explores the incongruities between transnational American studies as theorized and practiced. Inspired by our experience at the 2013 Nordic Association of American Studies (NAAS) conference, we discuss the challenges of practicing “transnational” American studies within specific nation- and regionbased communities. U.S. scholars tend to conceptualize “transnational” American Studies as an attempt to destabilize U.S. nation—a broadening of the geopolitical frames of reference to promote a variety of heuristics such as hemispheric, Atlantic, circum-Caribbean, borderlands, and transpacific. Scholars at the NAAS conference foregrounded emergent trends and lines of exchange that are sometimes elided in a transnational American studies conceived largely from the vantage point of the U.S. While many themes emerged at the NAAS conference, we examine how the focus on Scandinavian-American relations, Asia, and transnational families help us rethink the transnational turn in American Studies and the borders that bind its practice. In this context, we discuss the paradox of transnational American Studies – that, despite its aim to expand toward an all-encompassing “transnational” paradigm, it remains defined by our geopolitical positions. This paradox presents opportunities for theorizing the divide between American studies and its varying scholarly terrains, especially through international scholarly practice.
Structure and Perspective: Philosophical Perplexity and Paradox

My topic today is structuralism in the philosophy of science. The name “structuralism” is often used in a narrow sense to denote specific programs, such as Bourbaki’s in mathematics and the approach to science due to Sneed and Stegmuller. I will use it in a broad sense, for any of a variety of views to the effect that science describes only structure, that scientific theories give us information only about the structure of processes in nature, or even that all we can know is structure. Since the very term “structuralism” comes from a by now fragile traditional distinction between form and structure, I will focus on the precise formulation of such views, with little regard to whether they honor that putative distinction. I shall describe some of the history of the general idea and its problems, and then ask what form of structuralism could be viable today.
Fractal dimension from radiographs of peridental alveolar bone. A possible diagnostic indicator of osteoporosis.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a radiographic estimate of osseous fractal dimension is useful in the characterization of structural changes in alveolar bone. Ten dry mandibular bone segments were radiographed from three controlled projection angles (-5, 0, +5 degrees), before and after acid-induced partial decalcification. Fractal dimension was estimated by regression analysis of power spectra computed by Fourier transform of selected regions of interest in digitized images of the radiographs. Repeated-measures ANOVA showed that fractal dimension so determined varied over anatomic locations (p less than .01), but increased after acid-induced demineralization (p less than .0005), irrespective of the radiographic projection angles (p greater than .99). In vivo fractal dimension was computed from randomly selected intraoral radiographs of six premenopausal (ages, 32.8 +/- 3.9) and six postmenopausal (ages, 62.5 +/- 4.1) women. A significantly (p less than .01) higher fractal dimension was observed in the older group.
An unusual congenital pulmonary arterio-venous fistula

Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (AVM) are rare causes of a cardiac murmur in the paediatric population. They are caused by abnormal communications between pulmonary arteries and veins that are most commonly congenital in nature. Although these lesions are fairly uncommon, they are an important differential diagnosis to consider in patients with common pulmonary problems such as hypoxaemia and/or a pulmonary nodule(s). This report illustrates the clinical presentation, radiological features and pathological findings in an eight-month-old boy.
Tidal Wetlands in a Changing Climate: Introduction to a Special Feature

Through multiple interacting forcing factors, global climate change is poised to alter the structure and function of tidal wetlands worldwide, and consequently, the ecosystem services they provide. For low-lying tidal wetlands, these impacts arise largely as a result of changes in macroclimatic conditions; inputs of freshwater, nutrients, and sediments from coastal watersheds; sea-level rise; and storm activity. Collectively, these climate-driven impacts influence the hydrology, physicochemical environment, species composition, and ecological functioning of tidal wetlands. Given the scope of the threat, it is important to examine climate-change impacts at various spatial and temporal scales and across the various sub-disciplines of wetland science. Insight into climate impacts can inform vulnerability assessments, conservation and restoration plans, and adaptation and mitigation strategies. The articles in this special feature cover a range to topics related to climate-change impacts on tidal wetlands from different biogeographic regions around the world. They examine shifts in foundation species, impacts to wildlife habitat, the use of models to predict responses to different climate-change scenarios, and the potential for restoration to sustain tidal wetlands in the face of climate change.
Supramolecular design in 2D covalent organic frameworks

2D covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are a class of porous polymers with highly crystalline structures and tunable function. The structure of a 2D-COF consists of two dimensional sheets held together through covalent bonds which are then stacked together through non-covalent forces. Since their first report, the synthesis of new COFs has relied mostly on imparting functionality to the monomer structures through covalent modification, or through the use of new thermodynamically controlled covalent bond forming methods. This tutorial review will discuss recent efforts to use supramolecular design to leverage the non-covalent forces between COF monomers and sheets to improve their properties and function. The importance of supramolecular interactions in COFs to their mechanisms of formation and overall structure will also be covered.
Environmental Variability of the LBVDS Sea Tests

The Lightweight Broadband Variable Depth Sonar (LBVDS) Demonstration Model (LDM) Sea Test was conducted in September–October 2001 off the eastern coast of the United States. The primary objective of the LBVDS program is to develop and demonstrate a prototype sonar system that will improve the Navy’s capability to conduct surface undersea warfare (USW) operations, particularly against low-Doppler threat submarines in highly reverberant, littoral areas. One of the sea test objectives of the LBVDS program was to evaluate the benefits of environmental adaptation. Studies of shallow-water active sonar system performance have indicated that a large loss in potential performance is often incurred because the sonar operating parameters are not matched to the current environment. The LDM system can recommend waveforms and processing parameters that are based on environmental measurements and performance predictions. Acoustic performance predictions and measured results from this LBVDS sea test will be presented.