cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Using A Blackboard Architecture For Control In A Knowledge-Based Document Understanding System

This paper describes a knowledge-based document understanding system that makes inferences about document images. This document understanding system basically consists of a rule-based reasoning system, a set of image processing modules, and a blackboard control system. The rule-based system controls the classification of the blocks in the document based on the various characteristics of the different blocks that are extracted by the low-level image processing routines. The interaction between the rule-based system and the image processing routines is controlled by the blackboard control architecture. This blackbord control system contains domain and control blackboards that store image data as well as information about intermediate processing states, and a blackboard control mechanism that monitors the invocation of various image processing operations on the document image and keeps track of the current processing status of the rule-based system. The exchange of control between the rule-based system and the blackboard control architecture brings up some interesting issues about opportunistic reasoning versus explicit control in reasoning, which are discussed in this paper.
A comparison of two ambulatory blood pressure monitors worn at the same time.

There are limited data in the literature comparing two simultaneously worn ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring (ABPM) devices. The authors compared BPs from two monitors (Mobil-O-Graph [I.E.M., Stolberg, Germany] and Spacelabs 90207 [Spacelabs Medical, Issequah, WA]). In the nonrandomized component of the study, simultaneous 8-hour BP and heart rate data were measured by Mobil-O-Graph, consistently applied to the nondominant arm, and Spacelabs to the dominant arm on 12 untreated adults. Simultaneous 8-hour BP and heart data were obtained by the same monitors randomly assigned to a dominant or nondominant arm on 12 other untreated adults. Oscillometric BP profiles were obtained in the dominant and nondominant arms of the above 24 patients using an Accutorr (Datascope, Mahwah, NJ) device. The Spacelabs monitor recorded a 10.2-mm Hg higher systolic pressure in the nonrandomized (P=.0016) and a 7.9-mm Hg higher systolic pressure in the randomized studies (P=.00008) compared with the Mobil-O-Graph. The mean arterial pressures were 1 mm Hg to 2 mm Hg different between monitors in the two studies, and heart rates were nearly identical. Our observations, if confirmed in larger cohorts, support the concern that ABPM device manufacturers consider developing normative databases for their devices.
Treating technophobia: A longitudinal evaluation of the computerphobia reduction program

Abstract This study describes a longitudinal evaluation of the Computerphobia Reduction Program. This program, aimed at reducing psychological reactions to computers and technology, includes two individualized treatment modules and one group treatment module to fit different types of computerphobics. One hundred and sixty-two students (clients) began one or more treatment modules while enrolled in a course that required computer interaction. Clients showed dramatic changes following the 5-week program, including decreased computer anxiety, improved computer cognitions, and enhanced computer attitudes. All treatment modules were equally successful in eliminating psychological reactions to computers. Two comparison studies added further support, showing that (a) clients evidenced a 50% reduction in dropout rate, an eightfold decrease in dropout rate, and a significant increase in graded performance in their computer course, and (b) clients had more marked changes in anxiety, cognitions, and knowledge in the 5-week program than comparable students in a variety of 10-week courses involving computer use. Finally, program dropouts were found to have more computer anxiety, more negative computer attitudes, and more negative computer cognitions than either the program clients or students who chose not to start a program module. Forty-one students were examined 6 months later and showed a maintenance of program gains plus a dramatic increase in computer knowledge and computer interaction. Perhaps most telling is that 50% of these former computerphobics would now consider a career involving computers. These results are discussed as evidence that computerphobia, whose roots are evident as early as childhood, can be treated successfully with brief, psychologically based intervention strategies.
Tat is required for efficient HIV‐1 reverse transcription

The ability of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) to undergo efficient reverse transcription is dependent on a number of parameters. These include the binding of the tRNA(3)(Lys) to the HIV-1 primer binding site and the subsequent interaction with the heterodimeric reverse transcriptase. Recently, we demonstrated that TAR RNA was also necessary for efficient HIV-1 reverse transcription. Given the fact that the Tat protein is involved in the activation of HIV-1 gene expression in conjunction with TAR, we wished to determine whether Tat might also be involved in the control of HIV-1 reverse transcription. HIV-1 virions deleted in the tat gene were unable to initiate reverse transcription efficiently upon infection of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). This defect was not due to decreased amounts of genomic RNA, reverse transcriptase or other HIV-1 proteins which were incorporated into the virion. Following transfection of wild-type but not mutant tat genes into cell lines producing HIV-1 lacking tat, the virions produced could be complemented for defects in reverse transcription upon subsequent infection of PBMCs. In contrast, the defect in reverse transcription seen with HIV-1 lacking the tat gene could not be complemented when the target cells rather than the producer cells contained tat. Viruses lacking tat were also defective in endogenous assays of reverse transcription, although these viruses contained similar levels of reverse transcriptase. These results indicate that the Tat protein, in addition to regulating the level of gene expression, is also important for efficient HIV-1 reverse transcription.
Bidirectional Associations Between Self-Regulation and Parenting Styles in Early Adolescence

The goal of this study was to explore bidirectional associations between teens' self-regulation and maternal and paternal parenting styles (i.e., authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive-indulgent) over one year. As part of an ongoing longitudinal study, 489 teens ages 11–16 (51% female, 70% European American, 69% in two-parent households) and their parents completed questionnaires on two occasions. Analyses revealed high temporal stability of parenting and self-regulation over time. No cross-lagged effects emerged in either authoritative parenting model. Bidirectional effects were observed in the maternal authoritarian parenting model only. Child effects on parenting were revealed in both permissive-indulgent parenting models. The interpretation of these findings and their implications for future research are delineated in the discussion.
Cytokinin Production in Relation to the Growth of Pea-root Callus Tissue

The natural occurrence of free cytokinins was examined in relation to the growth of serially propagated pea-root callus tissue cultures. The relatively slow-growing pea-root callus was harvested at regular intervals throughout a 12-week period and fresh weight, dry weight, cell number, and cytokinin activity were determined. At the end of the culture period the fresh weight had increased about 34 times, the cell number about 100-fold, and the dry weight approximately 19 times over that found on inoculation. Purified ethanol extracts from pea-root callus were tested for cytokinin activity by the soybean callus bioassay. Cytokinin activity was detected in extracts made at all stages of growth tested. There was a sharp rise in cytokinin content during the early period of culture. The peak in cytokinin activity established at the beginning of the phase of growth was associated with a high frequency in mitoses. As growth proceeded there was a decline in both cytokinin content and in the mitotic index.
Sources of Technical Variability in Quantitative LC–MS Proteomics: Human Brain Tissue Sample Analysis

To design a robust quantitative proteomics study, an understanding of both the inherent heterogeneity of the biological samples being studied as well as the technical variability of the proteomics methods and platform is needed. Additionally, accurately identifying the technical steps associated with the largest variability would provide valuable information for the improvement and design of future processing pipelines. We present an experimental strategy that allows for a detailed examination of the variability of the quantitative LC–MS proteomics measurements. By replicating analyses at different stages of processing, various technical components can be estimated and their individual contribution to technical variability can be dissected. This design can be easily adapted to other quantitative proteomics pipelines. Herein, we applied this methodology to our label-free workflow for the processing of human brain tissue. For this application, the pipeline was divided into four critical components: Tissue d...
An incremental algorithm for satisfying hierarchies of multiway dataflow constraints

One-way dataflow constraints have gained popularity in many types of interactive systems because of their simplicity, efficiency, and manageability. Although it is widely acknowledged that multiway dataflow constraint could make it easier to specify certain relationships in these applications, concerns about their predictability and efficiency have impeded their acceptance. Constraint hierarchies have been developed to address the predictability problem, and incremental algorithms have been developed to address the efficiency problem. However, existing incremental alogrithms for satisfying constraint hierarchies encounter two difficulties : (1) they are incapable of guaranteeing an acylic solution if a constraint hierarchy has one or more cyclic solutions and (2) they require worst-case exponential time to satisfy systems of multioutput constriants. This article surmounts these difficulties by presenting an incremental algorithm called QuickPlan that satisfies in worst-case O(N2) time any hierarchy of multiway, multiout-put dataflow constraint that has at least one acyclic solution, where N is the number of constraints. With benchmarks and real problems that can be solved efficiently using exisitng algorithms, its performance is competitive or superior. With benchmarks and real problems that cannot be solved using exisitng algorithms or that cannot be solved efficiently, QuickPlan finds solutions and does so efficiently, typically in O(N) time or less. QuickPlan is based on the strategy of propagation of degrees of freedom. The only restriction it imposes is that every constraint method must use all of the variables in the constraint as either an input or an output variable. This requirement is met in every constraint-based, interactive application that we have developed or seen.
Sensitivity of system stability to model structure

A community is stable, and resilient, if the levels of all community variables can return to the original steady state following a perturbation. The stability properties of a community depend on its structure, which is the network of direct effects (interactions) among the variables within the community. These direct effects form feedback cycles (loops) that determine community stability. Although feedback cycles have an intuitive interpretation, identifying how they form the feedback properties of a particular community can be intractable. Furthermore, determining the role that any specific direct effect plays in the stability of a system is even more daunting. Such information, however, would identify important direct effects for targeted experimental and management manipulation even in complex communities for which quantitative information is lacking. We therefore provide a method that determines the sensitivity of community stability to model structure, and identifies the relative role of particular direct effects, indirect effects, and feedback cycles in determining stability. Structural sensitivities summarize the degree to which each direct effect contributes to stabilizing feedback or destabilizing feedback or both. Structural sensitivities prove useful in identifying ecologically important feedback cycles within the community structure and for detecting direct effects that have strong, or weak, influences on community stability. The approach may guide the development of management intervention and research design. We demonstrate its value with two theoretical models and two empirical examples of different levels of complexity.
Treatment of hypertension in patients with comorbidities: Results from the study of hypertensive prescribing practices (SHyPP)

Approximately 50 million people have hypertension. Many agents with differing efficacy, side effects, dosing schedules, and costs are available to treat hypertension. Joint National Committee (JNC) guidelines attempt to simplify this decision by recommending specific agents based on special considerations such as comorbidities. The objective of this study was to survey primary care physicians' antihypertensive prescribing practices and their treatment recommendations for patients with comorbidities. A direct mail survey was sent to a national random sample of 500 office-based primary care internists, family practitioners, and general practitioners. There were no significant differences between initial treatment recommendations at the time of the survey and those recommended before the survey. However, there were several therapeutic classes whose reported utilization for specific comorbidities significantly changed over 18 months. Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors reportedly increased in patients with congestive heart failure and diabetes. In addition, the reported use of selective β-blockers increased for patients with a history of myocardial infarction. Physicians did not follow JNC recommendations when initiating treatment in black patients, older patients, or those with mild renal failure. Younger physicians were more likely than older physicians to select agents consistent with guideline recommendations. Physicians did not adhere to JNC guidelines when initiating treatment in patients with comorbidities; however, more physicians are prescribing recommended agents today as compared to 18 months ago. Younger physicians were more likely to prescribe agents consistent with the guidelines. More direct efforts are needed to ensure awareness and compliance with these guidelines.
Suicide and internal migration in Sri Lanka.

This paper examines the rise of suicide rates in Sri Lanka in recent decades and suggests that much of the increase is attributable to the disruptions caused by increased levels of internal migration. Attention is paid to suicide rates by district sex and age group. It is shown that while internal migration cannot explain completely the universal rise in suicide in Sri Lanka there is a strong association between suicide and internal migration particularly in the Dry Zone districts where migrants comprise more than half the population in most adult-age groups. (EXCERPT)
The Heparin-Binding Domains of IGFBP-2 Mediate Its Inhibitory Effect on Preadipocyte Differentiation and Fat Development in Male Mice

IGF-binding protein (IGFBP)-2 overexpression confers resistance to high-fat feeding and inhibits the differentiation of preadipocytes in vitro. However, whether administration of IGFBP-2 can regulate adipogenesis in vivo and the domains that mediate this response have not been defined. IGFBP-2 contains 2 heparin-binding domains (HBD), which are localized in the linker region (HBD1) and C-terminal region (HBD2) of IGFBP-2. To determine the relative importance of these domains, we used synthetic peptides as well as mutagenesis. Both HBD1 and HBD2 peptides inhibited preadipocyte differentiation, but the HBD2 peptide was more effective. Selective substitution of charged residues in the HBD1 or HBD2 regions attenuated the ability of the full-length protein to inhibit cell differentiation, but the HBD2 mutant had the greatest reduction. To determine their activities in vivo, pegylated forms of each peptide were administered to IGFBP-2(-/-) mice for 12 weeks. Magnetic resonance imaging scanning showed that only the HBD2 peptide significantly reduced (48 ± 9%, P < .05) gain in total fat mass. Both inguinal (32 ± 7%, P < .01) and visceral fat (44 ± 7%, P < .01) were significantly decreased by HBD2 whereas HBD1 reduced only visceral fat accumulation (24 ± 5%, P < .05). The HBD2 peptide was more effective peptide in reducing triglyceride content and serum adiponectin, but only the HBD2 peptide increased serum leptin. These findings demonstrate that the HBD2 domain of IGFBP-2 is the primary region that accounts for its ability to inhibit adipogenesis and that a peptide encompassing this region has activity that is comparable with native IGFBP-2.
Economies of Violence: The Bhagavadgītā and the Fostering of Life in Gandhi's and Ghose's Anticolonial Theories

This article compares the political theories that Mohandas Gandhi and Aurobindo Ghose develop around the assumption that harm or violence is an unavoidable feature of all human action. Both Ghose and Gandhi venerated the Bhagavadgītā and shared a concern to foster life, and they shaped Hindu political theory by combining modern biological concepts with spiritual perspectives to determine the impact of harmful human actions within a totality of interdependent living beings. Although each thinker develops his anticolonial theory by balancing the value of life, the acceptance of an economy of violence, and the duty to act rather than renounce action, they diverge on the acceptability of violence whether in politics or in interactions with nature. Analyzing their framing of human actions as simultaneously biological and spiritual opens up a new perspective on Gandhi's refusal and Ghose's willingness to resort to violence in resistance to British colonial rule in India.
Specific Immunologic Tolerance to Dinitrofluorobenzene Following Topical Application of Dinitrothiocyanobenzene: Modulation by Suppressor T Cells

In order to determine the mechanism(s) involved in the induction of immunologic tolerance for contact sensitivity via the topical application of a chemical that sensitizes if given with adjuvant, we utilized the hapten dinitrothiocyanobenzene (DNTB). Specific immunologic tolerance to dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB) was induced in mice by the topical application of DNTB 7 days before sensitization to DNFB. The tolerance could be abrogated if cyclophosphamide (200 mg/kg) was given 3 days before attempted sensitization. Using passive transfer studies we found that DNTB induced hapten-specific Lyt 1+2- suppressor T cells. These suppressor cells prevented the induction of contact sensitivity but did not affect its expression. Lymphocyte proliferation studies, using haptenated epidermal cells as antigen, indicate that lymph node cells obtained 5 days after DNFB sensitization are far less responsive if the mice have received DNTB epicutaneously 7 days before the DNFB. Binding studies demonstrated that DNTB bound to epidermal cells at least as well as did DNFB. It is postulated that DNTB induction of suppressor cells is related to the physicochemical interaction between the hapten and antigen-presenting cells in skin.
Evidence for a two pigment visual system in the fiddler crab, Uca thayeri

Intraocular recordings were made from the eyestalks of dark-adapted fiddler crabs (Uca thayeri) during presentation of monochromatic light flashes of different wavelengths and intensities. Two types of signals were recorded in different experiments: slow potentials (electroretinogram) and fast potentials (spikes). The latter were also recorded in the presence of a continuous green or red adapting light. The resulting visual spectral-sensitivity curves, when fitted to rhodopsin-based visual pigment absorption spectra (from Dartnall nomograms), indicated the presence of two visual pigments, one with an absorption maximum near 430 nm, and the other with a peak absorption between 500 nm and 540 nm. The data also provided evidence for some differential bleaching of the pigments in the presence of a colored adapting light, but most of the adaptation effect was probably due to changes in screening pigment and neural desensitization or inhibition. These two observations suggest that an adequate substrate for color vision may exist in this and other species of fiddler crabs. The electroretinogram and spike-recording methods produced similar visual-sensitivity data, suggesting that latter technique, a much more efficient way of collecting data that is physiologically relevant, may be the method of choice for determining spectral sensitivity in crustaceans.
Is Curiosity Good for Anybody

This essay is an opinion in progress.My view is that ecological paradigms thatcodify the questions asked and answered inmajor research institutions, and applica-tions of ecological science implemented byprivate or public agencies and exported tothe rest of the world, do not reflect mostissues relevant to either local or globalissues of environmental justice. An impor-tant step is to foster the curiosity that allowsadmission to the “paradigm elite” who cre-ate, practice, teach, and regulate ecology asa science,and who train new generations ofecologists. Here I state the problem; a moregeneral discussion will be published else-where. My main thesis is that the kinds ofcuriosity that develop in under-representedethnic groups in the United States,and inmuch of the developing world, are barred atthe graduate admissions committee gate inour major research universities, or are dis-couraged if admission occurs. The field,and our planet,are the worse for that exclu-sion.
Nonlinear dynamics in heart failure: Implications of long-wavelength cardiopulmonary oscillations

Nonlinear dynamics has become a major area of research in theoretical physics. One of its central foci of investigation concerns transitions between states of order and apparent randomness (“chaos”).l A paradoxic and important finding in this area is that a variety of mathematical and physical systems become more rather than less organized after being perturbed. Furthermore, this type of new order is often characterized by low-frequency (long-wavelength) oscillations that appear to control (slave) the multiple components of the system.’ The possible implications of this theory for the dynamics of physiologic disturbances remain to be explored. A potentially important interdisciplinary link is suggested by the patients described below with heart failure and Cheyne-Stokes breathing, who showed long (~0.02 Hz) sinusoidal oscillations with congruent periods in cardiac interbeat interval, ventilatory amplitude, and systemic arterial oxygen saturation. This observation is consistent with the hypothesis that perturbation of complex physiologic systems may also lead to their entrainment (slaving) by a dominant long wavelength. The emergence of such periodic order with disease conforms to
Nonparametric multiple imputation for receiver operating characteristics analysis when some biomarker values are missing at random

The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve is a widely used tool for evaluating discriminative and diagnostic power of a biomarker. When the biomarker value is missing for some observations, the ROC analysis based solely on complete cases loses efficiency because of the reduced sample size, and more importantly, it is subject to potential bias. In this paper, we investigate nonparametric multiple imputation methods for ROC analysis when some biomarker values are missing at random and there are auxiliary variables that are fully observed and predictive of biomarker values and/or missingness of biomarker values. Although a direct application of standard nonparametric imputation is robust to model misspecification, its finite sample performance suffers from curse of dimensionality as the number of auxiliary variables increases. To address this problem, we propose new nonparametric imputation methods, which achieve dimension reduction through the use of one or two working models, namely, models for prediction and propensity scores. The proposed imputation methods provide a platform for a full range of ROC analysis and hence are more flexible than existing methods that primarily focus on estimating the area under the ROC curve. We conduct simulation studies to evaluate the finite sample performance of the proposed methods and find that the proposed methods are robust to various types of model misidentification and outperform the standard nonparametric approach even when the number of auxiliary variables is moderate. We further illustrate the proposed methods by using an observational study of maternal depression during pregnancy. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A Transgenic Drosophila Model for Arsenic Methylation Suggests a Metabolic Rationale for Differential Dose-Dependent Toxicity Endpoints

The mechanisms by which exposure to arsenic induces its myriad pathological effects are undoubtedly complex, while individual susceptibility to their type and severity is likely to be strongly influenced by genetic factors. Human metabolism of arsenic into methylated derivatives, once presumed to result in detoxification, may actually produce species with significantly greater pathological potential. We introduce a transgenic Drosophila model of arsenic methylation, allowing its consequences to be studied in a higher eukaryote exhibiting conservation of many genes and pathways with those of human cells while providing an important opportunity to uncover mechanistic details via the sophisticated genetic analysis for which the system is particularly well suited. The gene for the human enzyme, arsenic (+3 oxidation state) methyltransferase, was introduced into nonmethylating Drosophila under inducible control. Transgenic flies were characterized for enzyme inducibility, production of methylated arsenic species, and the dose-dependent consequences for chromosomal integrity and organismal longevity. Upon enzyme induction, transgenic flies processed arsenite into mono and dimethylated derivatives identical to those found in human urine. When induced flies were exposed to 9 ppm arsenite, chromosomal stability was clearly reduced, whereas at much higher doses, adult life span was significantly increased, a seemingly paradoxical pair of outcomes. Measurement of arsenic body burden in the presence or absence of methylation suggested that enhanced clearance of methylated species might explain this greater longevity under acutely toxic conditions. Our study clearly demonstrates both the hazards and the benefits of arsenic methylation in vivo and suggests a resolution based on evolutionary grounds.
On the radical of a group algebra over a commutative ring

Several people, including Wallace [4] and Passman [3], have studied the Jacobson radical of the group algebra F[G] where F is a field and G is a multiplicative group. In [4], for instance, Wallace proves that if G is an abelian group with Sylow p-subgroup P and if F is a field of characteristic p, then the Jacobson radical of F[G] equals the right ideal generated by the radical of F[P]. In this paper we shall study group algebras over arbitrary commutative rings. By a reduction to the case of a semi-simple commutative ring, we obtain Theorem 1 whose corollary contains a generalization of Wallace's theorem. Theorem 2, on the other hand, uses the first theorem to obtain results related to the main theorem of [3].
Modeling Archival Repositories for Digital Libraries

This paper studies the archival problem: how a digital library can preserve electronic documents over long periods of time. We analyze how an archival repository can fail and we present different strategies that help solve the problem. We introduce ArchSim, a simulation tool that for evaluating an implementation of an archival repository system and compare options such as different disk reliabilities, error detection and correction algorithms, preventive maintenance, etc. We use ArchSim to analyze a case study of an Archival Repository for technical reports.
Effects of natural selection on patterns of DNA sequence variation at the transferrin, somatolactin, and p53 genes within and among chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) populations

This paper describes DNA sequence variation within and among four populations of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) at the transferrin, somatolactin and p53 genes. Patterns of variation among salmon species at the transferrin gene have been hypothesized to be shaped by positive natural selection for new alleles because the rate of nonsynonymous substitution is significantly greater than the rate of synonymous substitution. The twin goals of this study were to determine if the history of selection among salmon species at the transferrin gene is also reflected in patterns of intraspecific variation in chinook salmon, and to look for evidence of local adaptation at the transferrin gene by comparing patterns of nonsynonymous and synonymous variation among chinook salmon populations. The analyses presented here show that unlike patterns of variation between species, there is no evidence of greater differentiation among chinook salmon populations at nonsynonymous compared to synonymous sites. There is also no evidence of a reduction of within-species variation due to the hitchhiking effect at the transferrin gene, although in some populations nonsynonymous and synonymous derived mutations are both at higher frequencies than expected under a simple neutral model. Population size weighted selection coefficients (4Ns) that are consistent with both the inter and intraspecific data range from ~10 to ~235, and imply that between 1 and 40% of new nonsynonymous mutations at the transferrin gene have been beneficial.
Oral administration of type I interferon modulates the course of experimental allergic neuritis

We investigated the effect of oral administration of type I interferon (IFN) in experimental allergic neuritis (EAN) in Lewis rats immunized with bovine peripheral nerve myelin. Starting at 7 days preceding immunization, rats were fed daily until sacrifice either with 5000 U rat IFN-α/β or mock-IFN. The clinical severity of EAN was significantly reduced in IFN-α/β fed animals compared to mock-IFN fed controls. Demyelination, but not inflammation, was decreased in IFN-α/β fed compared to mock-IFN fed rats at day 20 after immunization. In situ IFN-γ production and inflammation were reduced when evaluated by immunocytochemistry at day 13 after immunization. Spleen cells from IFN-α/β fed compared to mock-IFN fed EAN rats showed significantly reduced proliferation to stimulation with Con A or peripheral nerve myelin. IFN-γ production in draining lymph node cells was significantly reduced after stimulation with bovine peripheral nerve myelin. Our data suggest that oral administration of IFN-α/β reduces the seve...
Teaching database management systems with Java

We present a multi-phase programming project, in Java, for an upper-division database course. The project parallels a modest reordering of the traditional classroom presentation of database management. In addition to illuminating theoretical concepts, the lab provides a capstone experience for an undergraduate computer science degree.
Polycrystal Plasticity Modeling of Cyclic Residual Stress Relaxation in Shot Peened Martensitic Gear Steel

Using a three-dimensional crystal plasticity model for cyclic deformation of lath martensitic steel, a simplified scheme is adopted to simulate the effects of shot peening on inducing initial compressive residual stresses. The model is utilized to investigate the subsequent cyclic relaxation of compressive residual stresses in shot peened lath martensitic gear steel in the high cycle fatigue (HCF) regime. A strategy is identified to model both shot peening and cyclic loading processes for polycrystalline ensembles. The relaxation of residual stress field during cyclic bending is analyzed for strain ratios R e = 0 and -1 for multiple realizations of polycrystalline microstructure. Cyclic microplasticity in favorably oriented martensite grains is the primary driver for the relaxation of residual stresses in HCF. For the case of R e = -1, the cyclic plasticity occurs throughout the microstructure (macroplasticity) during the first loading cycle, resulting in substantial relaxation of compressive residual stresses at the surface and certain subsurface depths. The initial magnitude of residual stress is observed to influence the degree (percentage) of relaxation. Describing the differential intergranular yielding is necessary to capture the experimentally observed residual stress relaxation trends.
RF large-signal model for SiO 2 /AlGaN/GaN MOSHFETs

For the first time, an RF large-signal model for GaN-based metal-oxide-semiconductor heterojunction field-effect transistors is extracted and validated. The model is based on the commercially available EEHEMT model that was originally developed for GaAs MODFETs. The model parameters were extracted from current-voltage characteristics and S parameters measured under both CW and pulsed conditions. The terminal impedances were extracted through global fitting over a wide frequency range, while the gate leakage across the oxide was modeled by a Schottky contact with a large ideality factor. Although the model simulates the Class-A power-amplifier performance of the unit transistor rather well, the EEHEMT model was found lacking provisions for gate capacitance nonlinearity and self-heating effects that are required for large transistors in reduced-angle power amplifiers.
Congenitally corrected L-transposition of the great arteries: abnormalities of atrioventricular conduction

Abstract L-transposition of the great arteries is a complex cardiac malformation with ventricular inversion and discordance of both atrioventricular and ventriculoarterial connections. Several electrophysiologic abnormalities can be associated with this entity including varying degrees of heart block, supraventricular arrhythmias such as sick sinus syndrome and supraventricular tachycardias (atrial flutter, atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia), as well as ventricular tachycardias. A review of the anatomic and functional abnormalities of the conduction system in L-transposition is provided along with a summary of the unique problems associated with the use of pacemakers in this patient population.
Hoarding in Children and Adolescents: A Review

The diagnostic conceptualization of hoarding has recently changed, and yet the application of these changes to hoarding in youth remains to be clarified. In this review we examine the literature on hoarding in youth. We discuss issues related to the assessment of pediatric hoarding, and the nature of hoarding in youth. We consider evidence for hoarding disorder as a distinct diagnosis in youth, and review the relationship between pediatric hoarding and other psychiatric disorders. Finally, we describe preliminary models of treatment for pediatric hoarding. We conclude that there is support for hoarding disorder as a distinct diagnosis in youth. However, more precise and developmentally appropriate assessment tools are needed to provide stronger evidence for this claim and to further our knowledge of prevalence and associated clinical characteristics. Although there is no evidence-based treatment for pediatric hoarding, preliminary evidence from case studies suggests that cognitive and behavioral methods may have promise.
Meeting the Challenge of Inpatient Diabetes Education: An Interdisciplinary Approach

Teaching diabetes self-management to the growing number of hospitalized patients with diabetes and hyperglycemia is a challenging task. Inpatients are acutely ill and in an environment that is fraught with frequent interruptions and other concerns related to the admitting diagnosis. Because of these competing priorities, limited time, and an ill-conducive learning environment, the primary focus for diabetes self-management education should be on those skills that are essential for the patient to be able to return home safely. This chapter explores the inpatient diabetes self-management education process including assessment, identifying barriers and advantages, goal setting, key topics of content, delivery, communication among providers, and discharge. Practical tips are offered to help integrate diabetes self-management education into current clinical practice in the inpatient setting.
Primary Lymphoepithelioma-like Carcinoma of the Lung in a 13 year old Girl

Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma, a large cell carcinoma with pronounced lymphocyte infiltration, is a rare entity mostly seen in the nasopharynx. But primary pulmonary LELC in children & adolescents is extremely rare. Here we present a 13 year old girl with chief complaint of fever, cough, shortness of breath and heaviness in the left side of chest. She underwent left upper lobectomy. Histopathological examination of the biopsy specimen confirmed it to be a case of large cell carcinoma of lung, lymphoepithelioma type, invading pleura (stage pT3N0M0) with high serum titre of anti Epstein-Barr virus IgG antibody.
The Genetics of Pancreatic Cancer Progression

Pancreatic cancer is caused by mutations in specific cancer genes. While these cancer genes are often categorized into those that are inherited versus somatically acquired, they may also be categorized into those that occur during carcinogenesis versus those that accumulate during clonal progression. This newfound approach to understanding pancreatic cancer genetics now opens the door to understanding those events that play a role specifically in progression to metastatic disease.
Preserving and restoring behavioral potential within the spinal cord using an instrumental training paradigm.

We have shown that spinal cord neurons can support a simple form of instrumental learning. In a typical experiment, rats are spinalized at the second thoracic vertebra (T2) and given shock to one h...
A Contribution toward the Decolonization of Philosophy: Asserting the Coloniality of Power in the Study of Non-Western Philosophical Traditions

This article proposes that the study of non-Western philosophical traditions ought to include a critical awareness of the experience, impact, and legacy of colonialism. In this regard, Latin American philosophy offers us a key concept—the coloniality of power. It will be shown that coloniality enriches and complicates our understanding of both the history of Western and non-Western philosophies. More specifically, coloniality helps to clarify and answer the following questions: First, how was it that the discipline of philosophy came to be centrally understood as Western? And second, to what degree did the modern distinction between West and non-West affect our understanding and the formation of non-Western thought? Ultimately, the methodological upshot of coloniality for the study of non-Western philosophical traditions is that it focuses our attention on the epistemic violence that was part and parcel of colonialism and therefore it frames the study of non-Western philosophical thought within the practi...
Parental Involvement and Children’s Academic Motivation and Achievement

There is now ample evidence demonstrating the significant effects of parents’ involvement in their children’s schooling for children’s school success. Yet how these effects occur and what factors facilitate parent involvement are less well understood. This chapter will focus on understanding how parent involvement might exert its effects, including examining multiple forms of involvement (e.g., at school, at home), parents’ motivations for being involved (whether more controlled or autonomous), and whether involvement is provided in a more controlling versus autonomy-supportive manner. In addition, the chapter will provide evidence for a model in which parent involvement affects children’s achievement largely by facilitating children’s motivational resources of perceived competence, perceived control, and autonomous self-regulation. Further, it will address how multiple factors including parents’, teachers’, and principals’ attitudes and situations affect parents’ involvement. The chapter will stress the importance of a partnership model in which parents, teachers, and administrators must work together to ensure children’s school success.
A Decision-Making Framework to Assess Stakeholder Value in Adoption of Sustainable Practices in Construction

The significant environmental impact of the construction industry, its critical role in the economy, and the urgent need to respond to global climate change has created economic and environmental challenges that the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry is increasingly encountering. The diversity of priorities and differing perceptions of risk about the adoption of green building practices among industry stakeholders is critically shaping the adoption of green technology, and the rate at which the industry is shifting towards more sustainable practices. In this paper, we develop an integrated framework that uses a probabilistic definition of value to integrate reductionist methods of sustainable decision-making, within a complex adaptive systems definition of the context within which such decisions are made. It is founded in probabilistic risk assessment and system dynamics, and is used to aid individual adoption of sustainable technology and study its diffusion through professional networks in the AEC industry.
Bioinspired Magnetite Mineralization of Peptide−Amphiphile Nanofibers

Peptide−amphiphile nanofibers displaying iron-binding sequences were used as templates to control the growth and organization of magnetite (Fe3O4) nanocrystals into linear arrays, mimicking aspects of the linear arrangement of magnetite crystals along a filamentous structure in magnetotactic bacteria.
Abstract LB-273: Preclinical assesment of a novel CDC7 inhibitor: Genomewide RNAi screening identifies unique synergetic and resistance genes

Despite extensive drug discovery efforts, drug-candidate failure and patients relapsing in the clinic remain as persistent problems. While insufficient drug-gene engagement leads to drug failure, de novo escape mutations give rise to patients relapsing, calling the need for systemic studies on how genes influence drug responsiveness. Towards this end, we have explored a functional short hairpin RNA (shRNA) based genomic screening platform aimed at interrogating drug-gene engagement and assessing its consequences on signaling pathways. We propose this concept as a novel way to evaluate drug candidates prior to clinical trials enabling liability assessment and predicting clinical outcome. We took advantage of the arrayed shRNA library produced in lentiviral particles and characterized by several obvious advantageous features including shRNA targeting one hairpin at a time and on the fly high content whole well microscopy imaging analysis. We carried out three parallel genomewide shRNA screens in the absence or presence of the novel CDC7 kinase inhibitor (MSK-777) at its IC20 and IC50 and have identified several gene candidates that influence MSK-777 sensitivity and resistance. These include synergizers that enhance MSK-777 sensitivity and rescuers that confer MSK-777 resistance. IPA analysis mapped clusters of these hits to multiple major pathways among them were the NF-kB pathway, the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, DNA replication, and several epigenetic regulatory genes. We will present and discuss this concept together with the emerging pathways as a means to identify both key therapeutic targets and biomarkers of sensitivity and resistance. Thus, allowing for not only a broader applicability of assessing candidate genes that modulate specific drug agents, but also for the identification of a tailored and more efficacious therapeutic regimen to treat cancer. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-273. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-LB-273
Correlating in Vitro and in Vivo Activities of Light-Inducible Dimers: A Cellular Optogenetics Guide

Light-inducible dimers are powerful tools for cellular optogenetics, as they can be used to control the localization and activity of proteins with high spatial and temporal resolution. Despite the generality of the approach, application of light-inducible dimers is not always straightforward, as it is frequently necessary to test alternative dimer systems and fusion strategies before the desired biological activity is achieved. This process is further hindered by an incomplete understanding of the biophysical/biochemical mechanisms by which available dimers behave and how this correlates to in vivo function. To better inform the engineering process, we examined the biophysical and biochemical properties of three blue-light-inducible dimer variants (cryptochrome2 (CRY2)/CIB1, iLID/SspB, and LOVpep/ePDZb) and correlated these characteristics to in vivo colocalization and functional assays. We find that the switches vary dramatically in their dark and lit state binding affinities and that these affinities correlate with activity changes in a variety of in vivo assays, including transcription control, intracellular localization studies, and control of GTPase signaling. Additionally, for CRY2, we observe that light-induced changes in homo-oligomerization can have significant effects on activity that are sensitive to alternative fusion strategies.
The 2015 Tornado Season: In Like a Lamb, Out Like a Lion

There were 1,152 tornadoes reported in the United States in 2015. While slightly below the 25-year annual mean of 1,220 tornadoes, the 2015 count reverses a trend of recent consecutive well-below n...
Monitoring and evaluation of Radiation in a Mining Area of Jilin Province

[Objective]To understand the radioactive levels of environment of a mining area,and make evaluation of environmental radiation.[Methods]Sampling and measurement methods were in accordance with the provisions of the national approach.[Results]Radon concentration in mine was 4140 ~ 8290 Bq /m3.The high level was 21 times of Standard limit;environmental γ dose rate was within the standard limit;natural radioactive nuclide "238U' was beyond the environment normal for 30.84 Bq/kg,the rest were in the limit range of Jilin Province.[Conclusion]The radon concentration of the mine is over the standard limit which shows that the present mine ventilation system can not meet the requirements of low Raton.The impacts of γ and natural radioactive nuclide on personnel and environment can be neglected.