cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
E1A-CR3 interaction-dependent and -independent functions of mSur2 in viral replication of early region 1A mutants of mouse adenovirus type 1.

mSur2, a subunit of the Mediator complex, is required for efficient mouse adenovirus type 1 (MAV-1) replication (L. Fang, J. L. Stevens, A. J. Berk, and K. R. Spindler, J. Virol. 78: 12888-12900, 2004). We examined the contributions of early-region 1A (E1A) to mSur2 function in MAV-1 replication with E1A mutant viruses. At a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 1, viruses containing CR3 replicated better in Sur2 +/+ mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) than in Sur2 −/− MEFs. In contrast, viruses lacking CR3 replicated no better in Sur2 +/+ than in Sur2 −/− MEFs. This result supports the hypothesis that the E1A CR3-mSur2 interaction is important for MAV-1 replication. However, at an MOI of 0.05, viruses lacking CR3 showed replication defects in Sur2 −/− MEFs compared to Sur2 +/+ MEFs, suggesting an E1A CR3 interaction-independent function of mSur2 in MAV-1 replication in cell culture. Paradoxically, CR1Δ, CR2Δ, and CR3Δ mutant viruses replicated slightly more efficiently than wild-type (wt) MAV-1 and E1A null mutant viruses in Sur2 −/− MEFs at an MOI of 0.05. Coinfection of Sur2 −/− MEFs with wt MAV-1 and CR1Δ, CR2Δ, or CR3Δ mutant viruses rescued the defects of wt MAV-1 replication. This result suggests that an inhibiting effect on wt E1A protein expression and/or E1A function might account for the severe viral replication defect of MAV-1 in Sur2 −/− MEFs at an MOI of 0.05. Moreover, titrations of virus yields from infected brains of inbred strains of mice showed that E1A null and CR3Δ mutant viruses had a significant defect in virus replication compared to wt MAV-1. This result supports the hypothesis that the MAV-1 E1A-mSur2 interaction is important in MAV-1 replication in mice.
Warmer and More Social: Recent Developments in Cognitive Social Psychology

Since the late 1970s, theorizing in psychological social psychology has been dominated by the computer metaphor of information processing models, which fostered an emphasis on “cold” cognition and the conceptualization of individuals as isolated information processors. More recent research shows a renewed interest in the interplay of feeling and thinking in social judgment and in the role of unconscious processes in reasoning and behavior. Moreover, research into socially situated cognition and the interplay of communication and cognition highlights the role of conversational norms, social interdependence, and power in social judgment. Experimental research into these issues is reviewed. The emerging picture is compatible with social psychology's latest metaphor, humans as motivated tacticians who pragmatically adapt their reasoning strategies to the requirements at hand.
Bi-directional DCM DC to DC converter for hybrid electric vehicles

This paper presents a bi-directional DC to DC converter with a unique concept in control. The converter was designed for hybrid electric vehicles, so size becomes a pressing design parameter. For that reason a buck converter in DCM was used to realize the DC to DC converter. The DCM operation was used in order to shrink the magnetic components, as described in the paper. However, DCM converters are not inherently bi-directional. The unique controller developed here allows for the DCM converter to seamlessly direct power from low voltage side to high voltage side and from high voltage side back to low voltage side. A power management technique was also developed to handle a wide array of conditions present in hybrid electric vehicle applications. The technology developed here offers the designer the option to utilize the benefits of a buck converter in DCM while still maintaining a bi-directional power flow.
Machinery-related fatalities in the construction industry.

The National Traumatic Occupational Fatalities (NTOF) surveillance system identified machinery-related incidents as the fourth leading cause of traumatic occupational fatalities in the U.S. construction industry between 1980 and 1992, resulting in 1,901 deaths and 2.13 deaths per 100, 000 workers. Fatality rates declined 50% over the study period. Workers in three occupation divisions—precision production, craft, and repair; transportation and material moving; and handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers—had both the highest frequency and rate of fatalities. Cranes, excavating machinery, and tractors were the machines most frequently involved. The most common incident types were: struck by a mobile machine; overturn; and struck by a boom. Further delineation of groups at highest risk for machinery-related injuries is complicated by a lack of data on exposure to machinery. The findings suggest that injury prevention programs should focus not only on machine operators, but on those who work on foot around machines. Am. J. Ind. Med. 32:42-50, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc. This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.
Novel algorithms and the benefits of comparative validation

Contact: 2robsmith@gmail.com, jtprince@chem.byu.edu Bioinformatic research has produced a large volume of proposed algorithmic solutions to a host of problems. Whether presented as a processing step in a clinical experiment or treated in a stand-alone publication, novel bioinformatic algorithms are often not subjected to the thorough comparative evaluation endured by their counterparts in other closely related fields—such as computer science—where an algorithm unevaluated against extant methods is considered unpublishable. Two audiences are interested in algorithmic publications: the practitioner, who may use the algorithm, and the researcher, who will work to develop solutions superior to those extant. We argue that failure during the review/publication process to require comparative evaluation for novel algorithms is detrimental to both parties. To demonstrate the dilemma, we conducted a case study of novel LC-MS alignment algorithms. Of the 48 publications from 2001 to 2012 that present alignment algorithms of which we are aware, 60% include no comparison to other methods. Another 20%
The shape and location of mandibular premolar access openings.

Summary. Access openings for mandibular premolars have invariably been shown in textbook diagrams to be wide ovals centered over the central groove. This study examined 100 mandibular premolars to evaluate this access outline. Pulp dimensions and locations were determined from radiographs in order to evaluate the relationship of the pulp canal to landmarks on the occlusal surface of the tooth. The results showed that in 96 per cent of teeth the pulp was narrower mesiodistally than 1.4 mm, and in the majority of premolars the pulp lay under the lingual triangular ridge of the buccal cusp. Therefore, the entire pulp would usually be accessible by a narrow opening with a lingual termination at the central groove.
Solvolysis of 4-acyloxy-3-nitrobenzoic acid substrates catalyzed by polyethylenimine derivatives

The solvolytic reactions of anionic activated esters (Sn−) catalyzed by dodecane-block-poly[ethylenimine-graft-4(5)-methylimidazole] and related model compounds were investigated. Hydrolysis of 4-acetyl-3-nitrobenzoic acid (S2−) as a function of pH suggested that electrostatic interactions are operative only in the higher molecular weight polymers. Apolar interactions were evident from the greater catalytic rates observed for the hydrolysis of a series of 4-acetoxy-3-nitrobenzoic acid substrates (Sn−). The largest rate enhancements were reflected by catalysts that make effective use of the electrostatic interaction and also provide an apolar binding site. Dodecane-block-poly[ethylenimine-graft-4(5)-methylimidazole], with a DP = 85, catalyzed hydrolysis of Sn−(n = 2, 4, and 7), in excess substrate, exhibited saturation kinetics and followed a simple Michaelis-Menten-type mechanism. Inhibition of the catalyst in the hydrolysis of S12− was observed and can be rationalized by analogy to certain multisite enzymatic reactions.
Detached-Eddy-Simulation of Supersonic Jet Flows

*† Fully three-dimensional, unsteady computations of supersonic jet flows are performed in the current investigation. Detached-Eddy-Simulation is performed, using the finite volume solver Cobalt. The one-equation Spalart-Allmaras and Menter’s Shear Stress Transport two-equation model act as sub grid scale models. Two types of jet flows are investigated: fully expanded and underexpanded. The numerical results are compared with existing experimental data. Fairly good agreement is obtained for the fully expanded jet. The size of the potential core region is well predicted. For the underexpanded jet flow, the first three shock cells are well predicted, and the numerical solution is less dissipative than the experimental data.
THE TEACHING OF THE GOD IDEA TO THE CONFIRMANDS

* A digest of a paper delivered at the Conference of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, Atlantic City, N. J., June 24, 1938.
Biodegradation of Organic Wastes Containing Surfactants in a Biomass Recycle Reactor

The microbial biodegradation of simulated graywater, containing 21.5 mg of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate liter-1, was investigated with a continuous-flow bioreactor with 100% biomass recycle. Low concentrations of organic matter in the ultrafiltration eluate were achieved by hydraulic residence times as short as 1.6 h and for periods of up to 74 days at a hydraulic residence time of 6 h. Upon a shift from the chemostat to the biomass recycle mode, the increase in biomass with time approximated a linear rather than an exponential function. Biomass densities as high as 6.8 g of cell protein liter-1 were reached; this was 50-fold higher than the steady-state biomass level in chemostats fed the same medium. We assessed physiological changes in the microbial community after a switch from the chemostat to the biomass recycle mode. Over 150 h, there was a two- to fourfold decrease in the respiratory potential of the microbes. After this decrease, respiratory potentials were relatively constant up to 74 days of operation. A decline in reactivity was also indicated by increasing lag periods before growth in response to organic nutrient inputs and by a decrease in the proportion of cells able to reduce tetrazolium dye. However, the bioreactor system was still capable of rapidly metabolizing inputs of organic matter, because of the very high biomass concentrations. It appears that < 10% of the organic carbon inputs accumulate as biomass.
Effect of epoxy–amine stoichiometry on cured resin material properties

Sizings and/or surface treatments are commonly employed to enhance the interaction of fiber reinforcements in polymer matrix composites. These modifications can induce physical and chemical interactions that cause local stoichiometric imbalances to occur that can affect the properties of the polymer matrix in the vicinity of the fiber surface. This work reports the results of an experimental study of the influence of stoichiometric imbalance on the thermoelastic properties of an epoxy–amine resin. It is shown that the modulus and glass transition temperature are significantly affected by relatively small variations in stoichiometry. These results suggest that a fiber-induced interphase region in thermosetting composites can exhibit material properties that are significantly different from those of the bulk resin. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Effects of lidocaine on shock-induced vulnerability and defibrillation

Lidocaine is known to increase monophasic shock (MS) defibrillation threshold (DFT). We investigated the underlying mechanisms using optical mapping of the shock-induced arrhythmias in Langendorf-perfused rabbit hearts. MS were delivered from two mesh electrodes during pacing. Vulnerability was assessed as vulnerable window (VW) within shock strengths of 15 V-150 V and vulnerable period (VP) within coupling intervals of 0-100% of action potential duration (%APD). Lidocaine caused significant increase in both VW (51/spl plusmn/16 V vs 100/spl plusmn/16 V, p<0.01) and VP (44/spl plusmn/21 V vs 49/spl plusmn/17 V, p<0.01). Lidocaine had no effect on virtual electrode polarization (AV.). In contrast, the conduction velocity (CV) slowed significantly by lidocaine during both pacing (0.58/spl plusmn/0.08 m/s vs 0.44/spl plusmn/0.05 m/s, p<0.01) and shock-induced reentry (0.34/spl plusmn/0.07 m/s vs 0.19/spl plusmn/0.08 m/s, p<0.01). Slowing of the conduction caused by lidocaine resulted in increased dispersion of repolarization. In conclusion, lidocaine increased vulnerability due to the slowing of shock-induced wavefront, which resulted in enhanced probability of survival of virtual electrode induced phase singularity. Lidocaine had no significant effect on shock-induced /spl Delta/V/sub m/.
Correspondence analysis of multivariate categorical data by weighted least-squares

SUMMARY A generalization of correspondence analysis to multivariate categorical data is proposed, where all two-way contingency tables of a set of categorical variables are simultaneously fitted by weighted least-squares. An alternating least-squares algorithm is developed to perform the fitting. This technique has a number of advantages over the usual generalization known as multiple correspondence analysis. It is also an analogue of least-squares factor analysis for categorical data.
Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli inhibits intestinal vitamin B1 (thiamin) uptake: studies with human-derived intestinal epithelial Caco-2 cells.

Infection with the gram-negative enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC), a food-borne pathogen, represents a significant risk to human health. Whereas diarrhea is a major consequence of this infe...
The Bipolar Line Level: A Simple Method of Topographic Surveying

This paper describes the materials and methods of a simple low-cost technique for topographic surveying, herein named the bipolar line level. It is suited for surveying mesoscale landforms, including areas with dense vegetation. Vertical accuracy was superior to the Abney level in field testing.
Impact of visual fatigue on observer performance

Our overall hypothesis is that current radiology practice produces oculomotor fatigue reducing diagnostic accuracy. The goal of this study is to determine whether accommodative stability and diagnostic accuracy are reduced following digital radiology interpretation. We are collecting data at two points in time - once in the morning prior to diagnostic reading and once in the afternoon after reading. Subjects are completing surveys about their current physical status and number of hours spent reading that day along and the type of images read. We are measuring accommodation using the WAM- 5500 Auto Refkeratometer. Subjects view bone images with subtle fractures and dislocations to determine if a fracture is present, locate it, and provide rating of their decision confidence to be used in a ROC analysis of the data. Preliminary results confirm our previous findings that we can measure visual fatigue. Radiologists are less able to focus on a distinct point, especially at near distances, after a day of reading images on digital displays as opposed to before any reading takes place. The SOFI and SSQ measures also indicate that radiologists are more fatigued at the end of a day's reading as compared to before. The confidence ratings are being evaluated using ROC techniques. The results so far suggest a reduction in diagnostic accuracy with tired eyes. Preliminary data from measuring visual accommodation and observer performance support our hypothesis that radiologists suffer visual fatigue after a day reading diagnostic images from digital displays reducing interpretation accuracy.
PET reveals occipitotemporal pathway activation during elementary form perception in humans

To define brain regions involved in feature extraction or elementary form perception, regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured using positron emission tomography (PET) in subjects viewing two classes of achromatic textures. Textures composed of local features (e.g. extended contours and rectangular blocks) produced activation or increased rCBF along the occipitotemporal pathway relative to textures with the same mean luminance, contrast, and spatial-frequency content but lacking organized form elements or local features. Significant activation was observed in striate, extrastriate, lingual, and fusiform cortices as well as the hippocampus and brain stem. On a scan-by-scan basis, increases in rCBF shifted from the occipitotemporal visual cortices to medial temporal (hippocampus) and frontal lobes with increased exposure to only those textures containing local features. These results suggest that local feature extraction occurs throughout the occipitotemporal (ventral) pathway during extended exposure to visually salient stimuli, and may indicate the presence of similar receptive-field mechanisms in both occipital and temporal visual areas of the human brain.
Jumping to conclusions and delusions: The impact of discussion of the bias on the bias

article i nfo The present study was an investigation of the impact a brief intervention designed to raise awareness of a cogni- tive bias known to be robust for individuals with delusions has on the reasoning strategies of individuals with delusions. Individuals with delusions (n = 57) were randomly assigned either to receive or not to receive a dis- cussionofthejumpingtoconclusionsbiasanditspitfalls.Participants'performanceon3reasoningtrials -1emo- tionally neutral (beads) and 2 emotionally salient (self-referred survey words) - was then assessed; the number of stimuli participants requested before making a decision was evaluated to determine if the Jumping to Conclu- sions Discussion resulted in increased data gathering. There was no difference between groups (those who re- ceived and those who did not receive the Jumping to Conclusions Discussion) in terms of how many beads they gathered (p = .36), but there were significant differences on both reasoning trials of emotionally salient stimuli (p's b .05), such that participants who received the Jumping to Conclusions Discussion requested more stimuli on those tasks than individuals who did not receive the discussion. Thus, results suggest that discussion of the jumping to conclusions bias may impact the bias directly, at least for material that is emotional in nature. Results are discussed in terms of their relevance to cognitive behavioral therapies for psychosis and existing re- search on reasoning and delusions.
Reflections of a participant-observer

Abstract The concept of technology assessment arose in the United States in the early 1970s in conjunction with other social movements of the era that promoted increased democracy and the apprlication of a wider set of values to public decision making. However, citizen participation in the policy process concerning new technologies has been resisted by some government institutions. The actual practice at the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) did not demonstrate very much involvement by citizen organizations; corporate and technocratic interests appeared to be dominant. Indeed, some critics have suggested that technology assessment is purposefully conducted in a fashion that serves to pacify citizen concerns. A case study shows OTA officials deflecting public interest input (although this may have been an aberrant situation).
A quantitative comparison of three Bode straight-line phase approximations for second-order, underdamped systems

Bode straight-line approximations are an extremely useful tool in the study of system frequency response. These approximations give good insight into the frequency variation of the amplitude and the phase of a system response without the use of computer simulation or complex calculations. Three Bode straight-line approximations to the phase of second-order, underdamped systems are subjected to quantitative error analysis. The magnitude of the maximum phase error and root-mean-square phase error are computed for each phase approximation as a function of the system damping coefficient. The results of the analysis indicates superiority of the little-known decade-fraction phase approximation technique.
ACCUMULATION OF INTERFERON GAMMA-PRODUCING TH1 HELPER T CELLS IN NASAL POLYPS

We investigated the mechanisms involved in the formation of nasal polyps by examining T-cell clones and their production of soluble mediators in nasal polyps. Recently, the allergic origin of nasal polyps has been challenged. To study this question we characterized T cells from polyp tissue of allergic individuals in terms of their cytokine pattern. Nasal polyp T cells were cloned from allergic individuals undergoing polypectomy. Polyp tissue was dispersed enzymatically, and T cells were stimulated with mitogen and interleukin-2. Control T cells were obtained from peripheral blood of nonallergic donors. Cytokine production of interleukin-4 and interferon was then determined by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay tests. Polyp T-cell clones were found to produce high interferon but low interleukin-4 levels that were not significantly different from control peripheral blood T-cell clones. In addition, immunoglobulin production by dispersed polyp tissue was investigated. Immunoglobulin levels were higher in polyp tissues than in serum with immunoglobulin A predominating. These results suggest that the inflammatory reaction in nasal polyps is different than that seen in a typical type I hypersensitivity response.
mTOR inhibition activates overall protein degradation by the ubiquitin proteasome system as well as by autophagy

Growth factors and nutrients enhance protein synthesis and suppress overall protein degradation by activating the protein kinase mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). Conversely, nutrient or serum deprivation inhibits mTOR and stimulates protein breakdown by inducing autophagy, which provides the starved cells with amino acids for protein synthesis and energy production. However, it is unclear whether proteolysis by the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS), which catalyzes most protein degradation in mammalian cells, also increases when mTOR activity decreases. Here we show that inhibiting mTOR with rapamycin or Torin1 rapidly increases the degradation of long-lived cell proteins, but not short-lived ones, by stimulating proteolysis by proteasomes, in addition to autophagy. This enhanced proteasomal degradation required protein ubiquitination, and within 30 min after mTOR inhibition, the cellular content of K48-linked ubiquitinated proteins increased without any change in proteasome content or activity. This rapid increase in UPS-mediated proteolysis continued for many hours and resulted primarily from inhibition of mTORC1 (not mTORC2), but did not require new protein synthesis or key mTOR targets: S6Ks, 4E-BPs, or Ulks. These findings do not support the recent report that mTORC1 inhibition reduces proteolysis by suppressing proteasome expression [Zhang Y, et al. (2014) Nature 513(7518):440–443]. Several growth-related proteins were identified that were ubiquitinated and degraded more rapidly after mTOR inhibition, including HMG-CoA synthase, whose enhanced degradation probably limits cholesterol biosynthesis upon insulin deficiency. Thus, mTOR inhibition coordinately activates the UPS and autophagy, which provide essential amino acids and, together with the enhanced ubiquitination of anabolic proteins, help slow growth.
The economic consequences of Hugo Chavez: A synthetic control analysis

Abstract We use the synthetic control method to perform a case study of the impact of Hugo Chavez on the Venezuelan economy. We compare outcomes under Chavez's leadership and polices against a counterfactual of “business as usual” in similar countries. We find that, relative to our control, per capita income fell dramatically. While poverty, health, and inequality outcomes all improved during the Chavez administration, these outcomes also improved in each of the corresponding control cases and thus we cannot attribute the improvements to Chavismo. We conclude that the overall economic consequences of the Chavez administration were bleak.
The African Rites of Passage and the Black Fraternity

Traditional West African organizations, called Asafo, bear a striking resemblance to Black Greek-letter organizations. The common bonds that link the Asafo companies of Ghana with the Black Greek-l...
Osmotic Stressing, Membrane Leakage, and Fluorescence: An Introductory Biochemistry Demonstration.

A fluorescence demonstration is described that incorporates several fundamental aspects of an introductory biochemistry course. A variation of a known leakage assay is utilized to prepare vesicles containing a quenched fluorophore. The vesicles are exposed to several osmotic environments ranging from isotonic to hypotonic. The degree of vesicle swelling, partial rupture or bursting, and subsequent release and dequenching of the encapsulated fluorophore can be observed. This demonstration introduces students to fluorescence, fluorescence quenching, lipid membrane dynamics, membrane permeability, and osmotic pressure. Students are also introduced to the lipid extrusion process and are able to observe the separation of compounds via size exclusion chromatography. This demonstration has the flexibility to be expanded to laboratory experiments that allow students to investigate a variety of membrane properties.
Examining HIV-related Knowledge Among Adults in the U.S.*

that adults in the U.S. know the most frequent modes of HIV transmission, but lack a more comprehensive understanding of HIV and AIDS. Elements from a diffusion model were isolated to create a path-analytic framework for examining the effects of population or recipient characteristics and information sources or communication channels on HIV-related knowledge with these data. This multivariate analysis suggests that persons of lower socioeconomic status, older adults, those from racial/ethnic minority groups, those living outside of metropolitan areas, men, and those citing mass media (television or newspapers) as their primary source of information about HIV and AIDS have slightly lower levels of HIV-related knowledge. Decomposition of the effects in the path analysis suggests that use of information sources or channels, as measured by survey data, accounts for little of the observed variation in HIV-related knowledge. The implications of these results for future research and HIV-related education are discussed.
Fuel Efficient Control Strategies for Connected Hybrid Electric Vehicles in Urban Roads

This paper presents a fuel efficient control strategy for a group of connected hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) in urban road conditions. A hierarchical control architecture is proposed in this paper where the higher level controller is considered to be a part of the transportation infrastructure while the lower level controllers are considered to be present in every HEV. The higher level controller uses model predictive control strategy to evaluate the energy efficient velocity profiles for every vehicle for a given horizon. Each lower level controller then tracks its velocity profile (obtained from the higher level controller) in a fuel efficient fashion using equivalent consumption minimization strategy (ECMS). In this paper, the vehicles are modeled in Autonomie software and the simulation results provided in the paper shows the effectiveness of our proposed control architecture.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Pair Formation in Cowbirds: Evidence Found for Screaming but not Shiny Cowbirds

Sixty Screaming Cowbirds (Molothrus rufoaxillaris) and 150 Shiny Cowbirds (M. bonariensis) were trapped and banded in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Analysis of recaptures provided statistical evidence for pair formation in Screaming but not Shiny cowbirds, a result supported by observations of free-living birds. Pairs of Screaming Cowbirds were stable throughout the breeding season. They are probably monogamous. Shiny Cowbirds showed no pattern of association between the sexes. This is consistent with a promiscuous mating system, although this conclusion is tentative. I also present ancillary data on sexual size dimorphism, sex ratio, and related aspects of behavior. Both species are dimorphic in size to a similar extent, although the Screaming Cowbird is slightly larger. Neither species departs from an adult (quaternary) sex ratio of unity. Pairs of Screaming Cowbirds are conspicuous near host nests. Female Shiny Cowbirds are not accompanied by males at nests, but may be accompanied by other females. Shiny Cowbird females were surreptitious near nests. Differences in host selection behavior may have profound effects on other aspects of the species breeding biology.
Optimum Culture Conditions for Aflatoxin B2 Production by a Human Pathogenic Strain of Aspergillus Flavus

The optimum culture conditions for mycelial growth and aflatoxin production by a human pathogenic strain of Aspergillus flavus were established. On the basis of its physical and chemical properties...
Record Maximum Transconductance of 3.45 mS/ $\mu \text{m}$ for III-V FETs

This letter presents a self-aligned InGaAs quantum-well MOSFET with a transconductance, $g_{m,\max }$ , of 3.45 mS/ $\mu \text{m}$ at $V_{\mathrm {ds}}= 0.5$ V. This is a record value among III-V FETs of any kind, including MOSFETs and HEMTs, and represents an improvement of over 10% with respect to the previous record on planar devices. This result was achieved by redesigning the access regions that link the intrinsic device to the source and drain contacts so as to increase their electron concentration. This mitigates the nonlinear increase of the access resistance at high current. This is often referred to as source starvation and leads to the loss of transconductance under strong on conditions.
Polarizability Tensor Retrieval for Subwavelength Particles of Arbitrary Shape

We present a semianalytical method to determine the full polarizability tensor of subwavelength particles with arbitrary shape and composition. This method extracts both co- and cross-coupling terms of the polarizability tensor, retrieving the full $6 \times 6$ polarizability tensor with three measurements, by appropriately rotating the inclusions, when embedded in a planar periodic array, with respect to their principle axes. In order to validate this method, we present four examples, including a magnetodielectric sphere, a magnetodielectric spheroid, a conducting helix and pairs of split-ring resonators, and discuss the relation with fundamental constraints such as reciprocity and Onsager’s relations. We also discuss how this retrieval method may be useful for the design and homogenization of periodic metamaterials and two-dimensional (2-D) metasurfaces formed by subwavelength inclusions.
Studies of Phytophthora citricola, isolated from Persea americana.

Five isolates of Phytophthora from avocado (Persea americana) were studied and compared with phytophthora citricola. In culture the avocado isolates closely resemble P. citricola. Growth at various...
Effects of avian and rat pituitary extracts on tibial growth and blood composition.

SummaryChicken and rat hypophyseal extracts were compared with a purified beef growth hormone preparation in the hypophysectomized, immature female rat using the tibial cartilage assay and hematological alterations. The avian adenohypophysis contains 1/8th of the growth-promoting material found in an equivalent amount of rat hypophyseal extract. Significant depression in hematocrit and WBSG levels occurs at doses of avian extracts which are unable to promote epiphyseal cartilage growth.
Systematic Review of Metabolic Syndrome Biomarkers: A Panel for Early Detection, Management, and Risk Stratification in the West Virginian Population.

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome represents a cluster of related metabolic abnormalities, including central obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia, and insulin resistance, with central obesity and insulin resistance in particular recognized as causative factors. These metabolic derangements present significant risk factors for cardiovascular disease, which is commonly recognized as the primary clinical outcome, although other outcomes are possible. Metabolic syndrome is a progressive condition that encompasses a wide array of disorders with specific metabolic abnormalities presenting at different times. These abnormalities can be detected and monitored via serum biomarkers. This review will compile a list of promising biomarkers that are associated with metabolic syndrome and this panel can aid in early detection and management of metabolic syndrome in high risk populations, such as in West Virginia. Methods: A literature review was conducted using PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar to search for markers related to metabolic syndrome. Biomarkers searched included adipokines (leptin, adiponectin), neuropeptides (ghrelin), pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α), anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10), markers of antioxidant status (OxLDL, PON-1, uric acid), and prothrombic factors (PAI-1). Results: According to the literature, the concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α), markers of pro-oxidant status (OxLDL, uric acid), and prothrombic factors (PAI-1) were elevated in metabolic syndrome. Additionally, leptin concentrations were found to be elevated in metabolic syndrome as well, likely due to leptin resistance. In contrast, concentrations of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10), ghrelin, adiponectin, and antioxidant factors (PON-1) were decreased in metabolic syndrome, and these decreases also correlated with specific disorders within the cluster. Conclusion: Based on the evidence presented within the literature, the aforementioned biomarkers correlate significantly with metabolic syndrome and could provide a minimally-invasive means for early detection and specific treatment of these disorders. Further research is encouraged to determine the efficacy of applying these biomarkers to diagnosis and treatment in a clinical setting.
A resource-dependent approach to word modeling for keyword spotting.

A hierarchical framework is proposed to address the issues of modeling different type of words in keyword spotting (KWS). Keyword models are built at various levels according to the availability of training set resources for each individual word. The proposed approach improves the performance of KWS even when no training speech is available for the keywords. It also suggests an easier way to collect training data for these resource-limited words. Experimental results show that the proposed framework improves performance in KWS in a figure-of-merit (FOM) metric regardless of the number of training instances for each keyword. For words with abundant speech data, the proposed method exploits the training data better than the conventional modeling technique and boosts the system FOM from 9.79% to 42.78%. For words with a small amount of training data, the new method increases the system FOM from 29.05% to 49.06%. Even for keywords without any training examples, the new modeling scheme improves the system FOM from 60.96% to 66.51%.
Historical Perspectives of Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis

This brief review of the history of Langerhans cell histiocytosis brings us into touch with the history of medicine of the last 100 years and the opportunity to reflect on the progress in medicine in general. Hand, Christian, Schuller, Letterer, and Siwe represent far more than names to attach to eponymns. This historical overview takes us from the first descriptions of the disease in the literature through the modern efforts to take the X out of histiocytosis-X.
OUTCOME OF MECHANICAL VENTILATION FOR ADULTS WITH HEMATOLOGIC MALIGNANCY

BACKGROUND Patients with hematologic malignancy who develop respiratory failure generally have a very poor prognosis. A few such patients, however, enjoy long-term survival. The objective of this study was to identify clinical characteristics of patients with hematologic malignancy and respiratory failure that are predictive of outcome. METHODS We performed a retrospective chart review of all patients who required mechanical ventilation for acute respiratory failure while on the leukemia or bone marrow transplantation units at the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center between January 1985 and October 1991 (n = 157). RESULTS Overall hospital mortality was 83%. Major organ system dysfunction, as measured by the acute physiology score (APS) of the APACHE III prognostic system, was significantly (P < 0.05) related to hospital mortality. Three disease-specific clinical characteristics were predictive of mortality: 1) stage beyond first complete remission, 2) duration of neutropenia greater than 30 days, and 3) treatment with bone marrow transplantation, especially if HLA-mismatched. None of the 15 (10%) patients with neutropenia greater than 30 days or the four patients who underwent HLA-mismatched transplantation survived to discharge. Age was also a significant predictor of hospital mortality. CONCLUSIONS Overall outcome of patients with hematologic malignancy and acute respiratory failure is poor. A larger prospective study will be required to confirm the relative value of disease-specific variables identified in this study when combined with established predictive variables. In the future, it may be possible to develop a predictive instrument that is specifically tailored for patients with hematologic malignancy who develop respiratory failure.
Stability and conductivity of self assembled wires in a transverse electric field

Self assembling wire networks typically evolve to minimize the resistance across electrical contacts which are frequently used in a manner comparable to Hebbian learning. In this work, we demonstrate that electrical fields can also be used to cause an increase in the resistance of the wire network. We show that if such a wire is exposed to a transverse electric field, the wire is deformed in a way that depends on it’s tensile strength. We measure the wire resistance as a function of transverse field for several field strengths and show that by deforming the wire, the amplitude of the resulting shape can be modified in a controllable fashion. At a critical value of the transverse field, we show that the wire loses stability. At this point we observe thresholding behavior in that the resistance increases abruptly to a maximum value and the wire is destroyed. This thresholding behavior suggests that self assembled wires may be manipulated via an transverse electric field and demonstrates that a mechanism exists for the destruction of undesirable connections.
Inductive and Deductive Models of Customer-Based Brand and Organizational Identification

Though not explicitly specified, a large body of research across marketing, psychology, and social psychology suggests there are two frameworks by which to understand customer identification with organizations and brands. The first is considered a deductive model of identification (DMI) in which a strong and appealing identity is created and communicated to a targeted group of customers. The second is an inductive model of identification (IMI) in which customers are allowed to imbue the organization or brand identity with meaning. Though these two models are not mutually exclusive, each draws on different theories. As a result, their prescriptions for practice can contradict each other. To clarify these differences, the current research details the separate research streams of the IMI and DMI and their key differences. Then, a study is detailed that tests and provides support for a key aspect of the IMI. The results of the experiment suggests greater self-brand congruity can be engendered with a brand that is less clearly defined (i.e. has low brand image clarity). Overall, the current research evidences that marketing practitioners may need to consider another strategy of engendering identification. Inherent in this strategy is that a brand’s identity can be intentionally vague and that self-categorization is not a state, but a series of events in which customers are prompted to consider the brand in relation to their self.
Metformin for infertility in PCOS: Going, going, gone

Clomiphene is still the first choice to treat infertility and the gold standard for women with PCOS, argues this expert. He critiques research that suggests metformin is superior and discusses the reason two key trials yielded such starkly different results.
Spatial Partition-Based Particle Filtering for Data Assimilation in Wildfire Spread Simulation

This article develops a spatial partition-based particle filtering framework to support data assimilation for large-scale wildfire spread simulation effectively. The developed spatial partition-based particle filtering framework breaks the system state and observation data into smaller spatial regions and then carries out localized particle filtering based on these spatial regions. Particle Filters (PFs) hold great promise to support data assimilation for spatial temporal simulations, such as wildfire spread simulation, to achieve more accurate simulation or prediction results. However, PFs face major challenges to work effectively for complex spatial temporal simulations due to the high-dimensional state space of the simulation models, which typically cover large areas and have a large number of spatially dependent state variables. The developed framework exploits the spatial locality property of system state and observation data and employs the divide-and-conquer principle to reduce state dimension and data complexity. This framework is especially developed for a discrete event cellular space model (the wildfire simulation model), which significantly differs from prior works that use numerical models specified by partial differential equations (PDEs) with continuous variables. Within this framework, a two-level automated spatial partitioning method is presented to provide automated and balanced spatial partitions with fewer boundary sensors. The developed framework is applied to a wildfire spread simulation and achieved improved results compared to using standard PF-based data assimilation methods.
Saturation-Induced Perfect Absorbers

We introduce a new regime of optical absorption where increasing the incoming intensity - equivalently inducing optical saturation - leads to the enhancement of total absorption in a device, and always reaches 100% at a critical value.
Authority and the Profession of Medicine

To broach the subject of authority and medicine is for many an invitation to launch an attack against what they consider the paternalism and arrogance endemic to current medical practice. Patients are encouraged to reclaim their autonomy against the usurped authority of doctors and other health professionals. Though some of these claims may be valid, it is not the purpose of this paper to provide yet another variation on that theme. Instead, a constructive account of authority and medicine will be presented in such a way as to demonstrate why finding a balance between autonomy and paternalism is an inadequate moral goal. I trust the reader will realize that such a balance reveals a misunderstanding of the concept of authority with regard to medicine as a moral practice.
A 35-Year-Old Woman with Puffy Hands, Raynaud’s Phenomenon, and Positive Antinuclear Antibody Test

Systemic sclerosis (scleroderma) is classified based on the extent of skin involvement as either limited cutaneous or diffuse cutaneous scleroderma. Patients with the limited cutaneous form of systemic sclerosis, once known as the CREST syndrome (Calcinosis, Raynaud’s phenomenon, Esophageal dysmotility, Sclerodactyly, Telangiectasias), often report a long history of Raynaud’s phenomenon preceding other clinical manifestations. Current classification criteria lack sensitivity for this subset of scleroderma, as it may take years or even decades before these patients fulfill classification criteria. Certain clinical and laboratory findings can facilitate earlier diagnosis, particularly the presence of digital pitted scars, telangiectasias, abnormal nailfold capillary morphology, and the presence of anticentromere antibodies (ACA). One should consider the diagnosis of limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis in any patient who gives a history of Raynaud’s phenomenon with one or more of these clinical and laboratory features, or with signs and symptoms suggesting visceral organ involvement. Although limited in the extent of skin involvement, these patients must be monitored for the development of internal organ complications such as pulmonary arterial hypertension, pulmonary fibrosis, and a variety of gastrointestinal complications.
Watching the TV Watchers

Studies have linked excessive TV watching to obesity in adults and children. In addition, TV content represents an important source of visual exposure to cues which can effect a broad set of health-related behaviors. This paper presents a ubiquitous sensing system which can detect moments of screen-watching during daily life activities. We utilize machine learning techniques to analyze video captured by a head-mounted wearable camera. Although wearable cameras do not directly provide a measure of visual attention, we show that attention to screens can be reliably inferred by detecting and tracking the location of screens within the camera's field-of-view. We utilize a computational model of the head movements associated with TV watching to identify TV watching events. We have evaluated our method on 13 hours of TV watching videos recorded from 16 participants in a home environment. Our model achieves a precision of 0.917 and a recall of 0.945 in identifying attention to screens. We validated the third-person annotations used to determine accuracy and further evaluated our system in a multi-device environment using gold standard attention measurements obtained from a wearable eye-tracker. Finally, we tested our system in a natural environment. Our system achieves a precision of 0.87 and a recall of 0.82 on challenging videos capturing the daily life activities of participants.
Identification of Peptide Mimotope Ligands for Natalizumab

Mimotope peptides selected from combinatorial peptide libraries can be used as capture reagents for immunoassay detection of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). We report the use of phage display libraries to identify peptide ligands (VeritopesTM) that bind natalizumab, a therapeutic mAb indicated for use in multiple sclerosis. PKNPSKF is identified as a novel natalizumab-binding motif, and peptides containing this motif demonstrated utility as capture reagents in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). A peptide containing the identified motif was shown to be competitive with the natural ligand (α4-integrin) and a neutralizing anti-idiotype antibody for natalizumab binding, indicating that VeritopesTM act as surrogate ligands that bind the antigen binding site of natalizumab. Affinity maturation further confirmed the motif sequence and yielded peptides with greater apparent affinity by ELISA. VeritopesTM are promising assay reagents for therapeutic drug level monitoring.