cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Optimal feedback control of a class of linear tubular processes

Optimal output feedback control low requiring measurment of the output only has been considered for a class of tubular processes. The advantage of this formulation, which requires a single measurement of the output only, over a previous result which requires an infinite number of measurements, has been demonstrated through a heat exchanger example. However, when the terminal time is grater than the residence time of fluid, a time-delay element is needed.
Behavior of solutions of 2D quasi-geostrophic equations

We study solutions to the 2D quasi-geostrophic (QGS) equation $$ \frac{\partial \theta}{\partial t}+u\cdot\nabla\theta + \kappa (-\Delta)^{\alpha}\theta=f $$ and prove global existence and uniqueness of smooth solutions if $\alpha\in (\frac{1}{2},1]$; weak solutions also exist globally but are proven to be unique only in the class of strong solutions. Detailed aspects of large time approximation by the linear QGS equation are obtained.
Clinical Trials of Arsenic Trioxide in Hematologic and Solid Tumors: Overview of the National Cancer Institute Cooperative Research and Development Studies

Arsenic trioxide inhibits growth and promotes apoptosis in many different cancer cell lines. The National Cancer Institute is working cooperatively with research centers across the U.S. to evaluate its clinical activity in hematologic malignancies, such as acute promyelocytic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphocytic leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, and multiple myeloma. It is also supporting research in solid tumors, such as advanced hormone-refractory prostate cancer and renal cell cancer and in cervical cancer and refractory transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. The safety and pharmacokinetics of arsenic trioxide are also being evaluated in pediatric patients with refractory leukemia and lymphoma. The results of these ongoing studies should provide important insights into the clinical utility of arsenic trioxide in these diseases.
The Role of Motion Extrapolation in Amphibian Prey Capture

Sensorimotor delays decouple behaviors from the events that drive them. The brain compensates for these delays with predictive mechanisms, but the efficacy and timescale over which these mechanisms operate remain poorly understood. Here, we assess how prediction is used to compensate for prey movement that occurs during visuomotor processing. We obtained high-speed video records of freely moving, tongue-projecting salamanders catching walking prey, emulating natural foraging conditions. We found that tongue projections were preceded by a rapid head turn lasting ∼130 ms. This motor lag, combined with the ∼100 ms phototransduction delay at photopic light levels, gave a ∼230 ms visuomotor response delay during which prey typically moved approximately one body length. Tongue projections, however, did not significantly lag prey position but were highly accurate instead. Angular errors in tongue projection accuracy were consistent with a linear extrapolation model that predicted prey position at the time of tongue contact using the average prey motion during a ∼175 ms period one visual latency before the head movement. The model explained successful strikes where the tongue hit the fly, and unsuccessful strikes where the fly turned and the tongue hit a phantom location consistent with the fly9s earlier trajectory. The model parameters, obtained from the data, agree with the temporal integration and latency of retinal responses proposed to contribute to motion extrapolation. These results show that the salamander predicts future prey position and that prediction significantly improves prey capture success over a broad range of prey speeds and light levels. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Neural processing delays cause actions to lag behind the events that elicit them. To cope with these delays, the brain predicts what will happen in the future. While neural circuits in the retina and beyond have been suggested to participate in such predictions, few behaviors have been explored sufficiently to constrain circuit function. Here we show that salamanders aim their tongues by using extrapolation to estimate future prey position, thereby compensating for internal delays from both visual and motor processing. Predictions made just before a prey turn resulted in the tongue being projected to a position consistent with the prey9s pre-turn trajectory. These results define the computations and operating regimen for neural circuits that predict target motion.
Echoes of the embryo: using the developmental biology toolkit to study cancer

The hallmark of embryonic development is regulation - the tendency for cells to find their way into organized and 'well behaved' structures - whereas cancer is characterized by dysregulation and disorder. At face value, cancer biology and developmental biology would thus seem to have little to do with each other. But if one looks beneath the surface, embryos and cancers share a number of cellular and molecular features. Embryos arise from a single cell and undergo rapid growth involving cell migration and cell-cell interactions: features that are also seen in the context of cancer. Consequently, many of the experimental tools that have been used to study embryogenesis for over a century are well-suited to studying cancer. This article will review the similarities between embryogenesis and cancer progression and discuss how some of the concepts and techniques used to understand embryos are now being adapted to provide insight into tumorigenesis, from the origins of cancer cells to metastasis.
Notes on Antistrophus pisum (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) and Three Types of Galls Induced by it on Lygodesmia juncea

In studies conducted over an 18-year period in 16 locations in western Kansas, 20 in Nebraska, 2 in northeastern Colorado, and 1 in northwestern Iowa, Antistrophus pisum (Walsh) was found to induce 3 distinct types of galls on Lygodesmia juncea (Pursh.). Two new gall types are described, whose types and paratypes will be deposited in the U. S. National Museum.
Current clinical application of serum biomarkers to detect ovarian cancer.

For the last decades, hundreds of potential serum biomarkers have been assessed in diagnosing of ovarian cancer including the wide spectrum of cytokines, growth factors, adhesion molecules, proteases, hormones, coagulation factors, acute phase reactants, and apoptosis factors but except CA125 none of them have been applied to everyday clinical practice. Nowadays, the growing number of evidence suggests that the classic marker CA125 should be accompanied by HE4 and in fact, Risk of Ovarian Malignancy Algorithm (ROMA) is becoming more and more widespread in clinical practice for the evaluation of adnexal masses. Early ovarian cancer is often asymptomatic, so the challenge still exists to develop serum markers suitable for early diagnosis and screening. Current knowledge strongly points to different mechanisms of pathogenesis, genetic disturbances and clinical course of major histological subtypes of ovarian cancer. Thus, future biomarker/multimarker panels should take into consideration the implications of different molecular patterns and biological behavior of various subtypes of ovarian cancer. Very promising are studies on miRNAs – small non-protein coding gene-regulatory RNA molecules functionally involved in the pathogenesis of cancers acting as oncogenes (oncomirs) or tumor suppressors. The studies devoted to ovarian cancer tissue miRNA profiling have shown that miRNAs could be useful in diagnosing and predicting the OC outcome. They also confirmed that OC is a highly heterogeneous disease, gathering four distinct histological tumor subtypes characterized not only by distinct origin, behavior and response to chemotherapy but also by different patterns of miRNA expression.
NADPH and heme redox modulate pulmonary artery relaxation and guanylate cyclase activation by NO

The hemoprotein oxidant ferricyanide (FeCN) converts the iron of the heme on soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) from Fe2+ to Fe3+, which prevents nitric oxide (NO) from binding the heme and stimulatin...
Cellular composition of the nipple aspirate specimen of breast fluid. I. The benign cells.

A nipple aspirator device was used to obtain breast secretions for cytologic examination, as well as for viral and biochemical analysis. Examination of the first 1,456 specimens from 796 women revealed ductal epithelium in 54%. Ductal epithelial cells were often absent in specimens from normal women; however, 78.5% of women with benign breast disease on tissue biopsy had specimens containing ductal epithelium. Apocrine metaplastic cells were a further indication of the presence of breast disease, and were rarely found in specimens from asymptomatic women. Foam cells were often abundant in specimens from normal breasts, but were found in decreased numbers in specimens from women with benign breast disease. Differences in the occurrence of ductal epithelial cells, apocrine metaplastic cells, and foam cells suggest an alteration in the rate of maturation of ductal epithelium in women with both benign and malignant breast disease. The finding of a relative abundance of cells in nipple aspirate specimens from women wiui breast disease and few or no cells in specimens from women with normal breasts is believed to be of great importance in the cytologic evaluation of nipple aspirate specimens.
Variations in Flight Phenology and New Data on the Distribution of the Banded Sunflower Moth (Lepidoptera: Cochylidae)

Populations of Cochylis hospes Walsingham were monitored with pheromonebaited traps from 1985 to 1987 at 47 locations in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, Iowa, Ohio, Indiana, New Jersey, Maine, Kansas, Arkansas, Texas, Georgia, and Oregon. Traps were placed at the edge of sunflower fields and were checked from 20 June to the end of the flight period (August or September, depending on the locality). In North Dakota and Minnesota, emergence of adults from the soil and oviposition also were observed through the season. Results indicated that in eastern North Dakota and Minnesota, emergence of adults and oviposition were concurrent in time with flight activity as indicated by pheromone trap catches. In western North Dakota, western South Dakota, Kansas, Indiana, and southwestern Ohio, moths emerged later than in the eastern Dakotas, Minnesota, and central Iowa. C. hospes was recorded for the first time in Ohio, Arkansas, Texas, Kansas, and Oregon.
Abstract 2831: Studies on the mechanistic basis of the anticancer activity of 2,4-disulfonyl-PBN (OKN-007)

Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL Sulfatase 2 (Sulf2) is a protein which resides in the extracellular matrix of cancer cells and enzymatically removes sulfate from the 6-O-sulfate esters of heparin. Several tumors have been shown to be enriched in Sulf2 in comparison to normal tissues where it is either absent or present at very low levels. The action of Sulf2 alters growth factor binding to the extracellular matrix of cells and has been shown to be important in the development of many cancers including breast, lung, liver, colon, and pancreas. Sulf2 mobilizes fibroblast growth factors (FGFs), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and stromal derived growth factor-1 (SDF-1) bound to heparin. We found that OKN-007 acts to weakly inhibit the aryl sulfatase activity of Sulf2 acting on the substrate 4-methylumbelliferyl-sulfate (4-MUS) and to more effectively inhibit the enzymatic activity of Sulf2 when it acts upon its natural substrate the 6-O-sulfate ester of heparin. The Sulf2 enzymatic activity was potently inhibited by suramin, a compound that has 6 phenyl-sulfonyl groups as part of its chemical structure and has been shown to have anti-cancer activity. Utilizing the natural substrate we have shown that other sulfonyl-phenyl compounds act to suppress the activity of Sulf2. We have conducted preliminary studies to see if OKN-007 has anti-cancer activity in a breast cancer mouse xenograph model. Balb/c female ovariectomized Estradiol pellet-implanted nude mice were implanted with MCF-7 breast cancer cells and OKN-007 was administered at 250mg/kg/day in the drinking water. The experiment was terminated at week 5 at which time the data showed that OKN-007 decreased the average tumor volume by 33%. OKN-007 has been shown to have anti-cancer activity in the rat C6 model of glioma. The anti-cancer mechanism of action of OKN-007 is still unknown. Recently we have explored the potential of OKN-007 to alter cancer cell migration in a gradient involving the chemokine SDF-1 and its cellular receptor CXCR4. The CXCL4/SDF-1 gradient is considered to be important in the metastasis of primary cancers. Results with rat C6 glioma cells, U87MG human glioma cells as well as MCF-7 breast cancer cells indicate that OKN-007 at low concentrations inhibits cancer migration in a CXCR4/SDF-1 gradient. These observations need to be explored in more depth utilizing animal models of cancer metastasis. Research supported in part by US Army Concept Grant W81XWH-09-1-0352. Dr. Floyd holds the Merrick Foundation Chair in Aging Research. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2831. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-2831
Part 2The firings of many neurons and their density; the neural network its connections and field of firings

This paper is concerned with the firing of many neurons and the synthesis of these firings to develop functions and their transforms which relate chemical and electrical phenomena to the physical world. The density of such functions in the most general spaces that we encounter allows us to use linear combinations of them to approximate arbitrarily close to any phenomenon we encounter, imagine or think about. Absence of the technology needed to represent all the senses and the mathematical difficulty of making geometric representations of functions of a complex and of more general division algebra variables make it difficult to validate the mathematical outcome of this approach to neural firings. But we think that this problem will be solved in the not-too-distant future when at least the senses of smell, taste and touch would have been so mathematized that it is possible to instill these qualities in robots in some fashion.
Analysis on the surveillance results of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in Cixi city from 1996 to 2011

Objective To analyze the epidemiologic characteristics of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome(HFRS) in Cixi city from 1996 to 2011 , providing a scientific basis for the prevention and control of the disease. Methods Regular surveillance of the epidemic and rodent infestation in Cixi city from 1996 to 2011 was conducted and analysis on the data collected was made. Results In the 16 years, there were totally 515 cases of HFRS in the whole city and 2 cases of death with an annual incidence of 2.35/10 5 and mortality of 0.39 % . This disease occurred around the year with peaks seen from March to June. People aged between 20 and 50 years were most often affected, accounting for 72.04 % of the total cases. In terms of occupation, farmers were more often affected accounting for 77.28 % . The ratio of male to female was 2.71∶1. Rattus norvegicus was the predominant species both outdoors and indoors, the virus carrying rate being 5.32 % (90/1692). Positive rat lung were typed by PCR as Hanta virus. Conclusion There are epidemic foci with house rat types in Cixi city, which belongs to a low to moderate incidence area with a trend of annual declining in the incidence of HFRS. Strengthening of surveillance and rodent control is an effective measure for the prevention of HFRS epidemic.
Critical Impedance Boundary-Based Risk Assessment on Simultaneous Faults in Multi-Infeed DC Transmission System

At present the risk assessment on simultaneous faults occurred in multi-infeed DC transmission system is mainly performed by use of time-domain transient simulation tolls.In view of heavy computational burden and long computation time,it is difficult to meet flexible and changeable application requirements of power system planning and operation.Leading in the definition of nodal voltage influencing factor(VIF),the expression of nodal impedance matrix for bus voltage drop ratio of converter substation is derived,and taking critical voltage drop threshold as criterion,the boundaries of critical fault impedances of converter stations are determined and according to overlap of critical fault impedance boundaries of converter stations the risk assessment of simultaneous faults occurred in multi-infeed DC transmission system can be concluded fast,accurately and intuitively.Taking an actual multi-infeed DC transmission system in Guangdong power gird for example,the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by comparing risk assessment results with time-domain simulation results.
Amphetamine withdrawal differentially affects hippocampal and peripheral corticosterone levels in response to stress

Amphetamine withdrawal is associated with heightened anxiety-like behavior, which is directly driven by blunted stress-induced glucocorticoid receptor-dependent serotonin release in the ventral hippocampus. This suggests that glucocorticoid availability in the ventral hippocampus during stress may be reduced during amphetamine withdrawal. Therefore, we tested whether amphetamine withdrawal alters either peripheral or hippocampal corticosterone stress responses. Adult male rats received amphetamine (2.5mg/kg, ip) or saline for 14 days followed by 2 weeks of withdrawal. Contrary to our prediction, microdialysis samples from freely-moving rats revealed that restraint stress-induced corticosterone levels in the ventral hippocampus are enhanced by amphetamine withdrawal relative to controls. In separate groups of rats, plasma corticosterone levels increased immediately after 20min of restraint and decreased to below stress-naive levels after 1h, indicating negative feedback regulation of corticosterone following stress. However, plasma corticosterone responses were similar in amphetamine-withdrawn and control rats. Neither amphetamine nor stress exposure significantly altered protein expression or enzyme activity of the steroidogenic enzymes 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11β-HSD1) or hexose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (H6PD) in the ventral hippocampus. Our findings demonstrate for the first time that amphetamine withdrawal potentiates stress-induced corticosterone in the ventral hippocampus, which may contribute to increased behavioral stress sensitivity previously observed during amphetamine withdrawal. However, this is not mediated by either changes in plasma corticosterone or hippocampal steroidogenic enzymes. Establishing enhanced ventral hippocampal corticosterone as a direct cause of greater stress sensitivity may identify the glucocorticoid system as a novel target for treating behavioral symptoms of amphetamine withdrawal.
Operative treatment of aortic dissections. Experience with 125 patients over a sixteen-year period.

An unselected, consecutive cohort of 125 patients underwent operative repair of acute and chronic aortic dissections with tubular graft interposition over a 16 year span. The absence of remote geographical referral biases and the unselected nature of this series provided a patient population that was representative of the disease process (as assessed heretofore only from autopsy series). Furthermore, this enabled high-risk subsets to be defined by retrospective analysis. Patients were classified according to whether the ascending aorta was involved (type A with involvement, type B without), irrespective of the site of intimal tear, and according to age of the dissection: Fifty-three patients had acute type A (Ac-A), 29 had chronic type A (Ch-A), 20 had acute type B (Ac-B), and 23 had chronic type B (Ch-B) dissections. Fourteen percent (17/125) of the dissections had ruptured. Concomitant aortic valve replacement (AVR) was performed in 11% (6/53) for Ac-A cases and 38% (11/29) of the Ch-A cases. A total of 391 patient-years of follow-up was analyzed; follow-up averaged 4.5 years and extended to 13.7 years. Over-all operative mortality rate was 34% (18/53) for Ac-A, 14% (4/29) for Ch-A, 45% (9/20) for Ac-B, and 22% (5/23) for Ch-B; during the most recent 5 year interval these figures were lower: 27%, 8%, 20%, and 20%, respectively, N = 50. Multiple preoperative variables were found to correlate significantly with both operative death and long-term survival. Operative survivors generally experienced satisfactory functional benefit. Late attrition averaged 8% per year; 61% of all late deaths were related to cardiac or cerebral causes. Over-all actuarial survival (±SEM) for the entire cohort was 54% ± 5% at 5 years and 26% ± 7% at 10 years; for the 89 patients surviving operation, these figures were 76% ± 5% and 37% ± 10%, respectively. No significant differences in long-term survival were evident between the different subgroups. Whether the primary intimal tear had been resected or concomitant AVR had been performed had no statistically significant bearing on operative mortality, functional result, necessity for late reoperation, or late attrition. The long-term “natural” history of surgically treated patients with aortic dissections, as defined in this study, should facilitate comparison with other treatment modalities. Results of the present analysis support immediate operative intervention for patients with Ac-A dissections and probably for those with Ac-B dissections. Additionally, surgical treatment of patients with symptomatic or enlarging Ch-A and Ch-B dissections provides satisfactory rehabilitation and long-term survival. Finally, we re-emphasize our recommendation for simplified classification of aortic dissections, based solely upon the presence or absence of ascending aortic involvement. Pathophysiology and expected biologic behavior pivot on this feature, and appropriate clinical strategy can thereby be defined.
This is Adaptation: The Elimination of Subsidies Under the National Flood Insurance Program

This article analyzes the ongoing debate over amendments to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in the broader context of adaptation to climate change. In the fifty years since its enactment, the NFIP has proven to be a financial and environmental disaster. The availability of flood insurance through the NFIP has encouraged an unprecedented population surge along the coasts, and, as this population has become increasingly vulnerable to hurricane activity and flooding from sea level rise, the federal government has paid billions in insurance claims and disaster relief. Moreover, the increased coastal population has jeopardized the ability of coastal ecosystems to adapt to rising sea levels, putting both humans and the natural environment at risk. The Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 was intended to correct some of the these problems in the NFIP by eliminating subsidized premium rates and updating insurance rates to more accurately reflect risk. Those amendments, however, have been met with bitter opposition from those now facing increased premium rates for flood insurance. Several recent pieces of legislation have called for significant delays in the rate increases. Much of the opposition to the NFIP amendments can be traced to a broader resistance to lifestyle changes that may be required by a changing climate. Adaptation to climate change is still in its infancy in the United States, and has not yet had an impact on the lifestyles of most individuals, including lifestyles made possible by substantial government subsidies for everything from flood insurance to roads to water. But as certain land use patterns and other behaviors become increasingly unsustainable, the elimination of subsidies that encourage environmentally harmful behaviors is likely to become an appealing first step toward adaptation. The elimination of those subsidies will work tremendous changes on communities that have relied upon them for decades, as is currently happening in coastal communities reliant on flood insurance. Consequently, prior to their elimination, it is important to understand whether the provision of subsidies in the past creates any future obligation on the part of the government to those people who have built their lives around subsidies. After considering several different legal frameworks through which such legal obligations might be imposed, my article concludes that the government is under no obligation to continue its subsidies of environmentally harmful behaviors. Despite the controversy and reluctance likely to accompany any measures that force changes in lifestyle, these are the kinds of changes that adaptation will require.
Genetics of Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remain a major source of mortality and morbidity worldwide, and considerable effort has been applied to identifying modifiable environmental factors such as diet, exercise, weight control, smoking, and drug therapy that can reduce the risk of CVD. Many CVDs have a strong familial component, however, and at least some of this is attributable to genetic factors. Over the past decades, our understanding of monogenic CVD (sometimes referred to as “simple” or “Mendelian diseases,” such as familial hypercholesterolemia and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) has increased dramatically. Monogenetic disorders are typically caused by relatively rare variants in single genes that have a large phenotypic effect in individuals and high penetrance. Consequently, these forms of CVD account for a small proportion of the total population CVD burden. In contrast, complex genetic diseases (sometimes referred to as “common” diseases, such as atherosclerosis) may be influenced by multiple (and interacting) sequence variants, epigenetics, and gene x environment interactions. The genetic component of complex diseases is possibly the aggregate of multiple small effects. The relatively small phenotypic variation (compared to monogenic traits) of intermediate CVD traits (such as hypertension) disposes individuals toward disease development. For these reasons, genetics (the study of the function of individual genes) and genomics (the study of the function of the entire genome, i.e., genes, non-protein-coding stretches of DNA, gene–gene interactions, etc.) play a potentially important part in our evolving understanding of CVDs, including risk prediction, discovery and functional explorations of susceptibility loci, and ultimately identification of new therapeutic targets.
Abstract PR14: HIF-2alpha regulates self-renewal of MYC dependent cancer stem cells

Numerous studies report that both hematopoietic and some solid tumors are organized in a hierarchical manner where tumor growth is driven by a small subset of cancer stem cells (CSCs). However, the distinct molecular identity of CSC versus non-CSC is not yet clearly known, which limit our understanding on how CSC self-renewal pathways operate to drive tumorigenicity. Here, we report that MYC and HIF-2alpha co-operate to maintain distinct identity and self-renewal capacity of CSCs. In a transgenic mouse model of conditional MYC driven thymic lymphoma, we identified a Sca-1+ cell population that showed tumor stemness (self-renewal and undifferentiation state) phenotype, including high expression of Nanog, Sox2 and HIF-2alpha. When injected to congenic mice, Sca-1+ cells but not Sca-1- cells exhibited hierarchical organization including self-renewal capacity. ChIP assay revealed direct MYC binding of HIF-2alpha promoter region in Sca-1+ but not in the Sca-1- cells. Inhibition of HIF-2alpha led to increase ROS generation, decrease of GSH synthesis, differentiation, and loss of self-renewal capacity of Sca-1+ cells. In contrast, inhibition of HIF-2alpha had no phenotypic effect on Sca-1- cells. Thus, we have identified a distinct CSC population in MYC dependent cancer cells, where MYC preferentially binds to HIF-2alpha to maintain self-renewal capacity. Citation Format: Bikul Das, Bikul Das, Hong Li, Hong Li, Rashmi Bhuyan, Dean W. Felsher. HIF-2alpha regulates self-renewal of MYC dependent cancer stem cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Myc: From Biology to Therapy; Jan 7-10, 2015; La Jolla, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2015;13(10 Suppl):Abstract nr PR14.
The Great God Pan

This essay starts from the premise that ghost stories of the late 19 th and 20 th centuries often engaged the same issues as older ‘gnostic’ treatises did (taking a particular line from Emanuel Swedenborg), but had the advantage of being able to describe encounters between humans and higher entities far more vividly than the treatises, and the corollary advantage of suggesting new ramifications of such encounters. It focuses on how such stories explore the possibility that, through encounters with higher entities who emerge as negative, protagonists discover that the divine world is either corrupt and ill-intended or (worse) completely meaningless. The first case, Arthur Machen’s The Great God Pan (1890), is contextualized not only within contemporary reactions to Darwin’s theories of evolution (developing Adrian Eckersley’s study) but also contemporary conceptualizations of the debt that modern civilization owed to ancient Greece and Rome. The second examines how H.P. Lovecraft developed Machen’s ideas in ‘The Dunwich Horror’ (1929), where mastery of ancient languages unleashes horror. The third case, Peter Straub’s Ghost Story (1979)—an homage to Lovecraft and Machen—delivers an even darker ‘gnostic’ message: entities whom we assume to have purposes (even if dark purposes) have none at all; only the well-skilled narrative can bring them into order and save himself from perdition.
High Risk Pathology: State-of-the-Art Post-operative Radiation Recommendations and Integration of Novel Genomic Risk Biomarkers

Robotic Prostate Surgeons must be experts in the whole disease process in addition to technical skills. In this chapter, we review the key dilemmas involved with patients with more aggressive pathology that is likely to recur. The considerations include observation vs. postoperative radiotherapy. Guidelines are now available. In addition, novel biomarkers are emerging and are recently approved for use that will help refine risk of recurrence and plan individual patient strategies.
Peering down from the Summit: The Path to Nuclear Security 2010–2016 and beyond

This article reviews the motivations, strengths, and weaknesses of the Nuclear Security Summits (NSS), both procedurally and substantively. Nearly fifty world leaders met at the various NSS—2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016. The circumstances that provoked these meetings were unusual, if not unique, but innovations undertaken at the meetings in global summitry and global governance will likely endure. The meetings advanced nuclear security in important ways, but the nuclear security problem cannot be resolved. It will require ultimately a commitment by states, international organizations, and nonstate actors to continuous improvement. It may ultimately require leaders to return to the summit.
Molecular model for chirality phenomena

Chirality is a hallmark feature for molecular recognition in biology and chemical physics. We present a three-dimensional continuum model for studying chirality phenomena in condensed phases using molecular simulations. Our model system is based upon a simple four-site molecule and incorporates non-trivial kinetic behavior, including the ability to switch chirality or racemize, as well as thermodynamics arising from an energetic preference for specific chiral interactions. In particular, we introduce a chiral renormalization parameter that can locally favor either homochiral or heterochiral configurations. Using this model, we explore a range of chirality-specific phenomena, including the kinetics of chiral inversion, the mechanism of spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking in the liquid, chirally driven liquid-liquid phase separation, and chiral crystal structures.
Performance study of localization methods for ad-hoc sensor networks

In ad-hoc wireless sensor networks, one approach for estimating the positions of sensor nodes is to use connectivity information of the network or local distance measurement. We compare two representative methods, multilateration and MDS-MAP, and study some of their key issues that affect the performance. First, we study the various optimization techniques and the effect of anchor selection for multilateration and the effects of the sizes of local maps and the refinement techniques for MDS-MAP. Secondly, we investigate the error property of localization by deriving the Cramer-Rao bound for different topologies and compare the bounds with the results of the two methods on different anchor placements. Previous results suggest that anchors should be placed on the perimeter of the network to get more accurate solutions. Our results show that MDS-MAP tolerates "ill placement" of anchors much better than multilateration. Finally, we compare the performance of the two methods through extensive simulation and identify the situations when one method is better than the other.
Two Applets for Teaching Hypothesis Testing

Interactive applets have the ability to enhance statistics teaching by providing multiple representations of new concepts and by facilitating experimentation. I introduce two applets that have been developed as aids in illustrating ideas relevant to hypothesis testing and describe how I have used these in my classes.
Should High-Risk Cardiac Patients Receive Perioperative Statins?

An 86-year-old woman with an abdominal aortic aneurysm presents for endovascular repair. She has no history of myocardial infarction (MI) or angina symptoms. Her electrocardiogram (ECG) shows no ST changes, q-waves, or T-wave abnormalities, and her echocardiogram is unremarkable. She takes no medications. You decide to administer 20 mg of rosuvastatin to the patient in the holding area since vascular surgery patients are at a high risk of perioperative MI. Shortly, thereafter you proceed to the operating room where a spinal anesthetic is placed and the vascular surgeon begins the procedure.
Design for excess capability to handle uncertain product requirements in a developing world setting

Products designed for the developing world often go unused or underused by the intended customers. One cause of this problem is uncertainty regarding the actual requirements of customers in the developing world. This can result when designers, with experience in technologically advanced countries, apply their own value structure to the products they design. Because of the designers’ lack of experience in the culture and environment of the developing world, the actual requirements are only partially known to them. This problem can be mitigated by (i) optimizing product flexibility and adaptability to react to uncertain requirements, and (ii) reducing the most critical uncertainties. The flexibility of a product to adapt to new or changing requirements has been shown to extend the service life of large complex engineered systems (e.g., aircraft carriers, aircraft, communication systems, and space craft). These systems must remain in service for extended periods of time, even though the environments and requirements may change dramatically. Applying these proven techniques to products designed for the developing world can alleviate the problem of uncertain requirements. This paper presents and demonstrates a technique aimed at improving the success of developing world engineering projects. Flexibility and adaptability minimize the impact of uncertainties, and are enabled by numerically optimized amounts of designed-in excess. A sensitivity analysis performed on the system model helps the designer prioritize the set of uncertain requirements and parameters for refinement. The technique is demonstrated in the design of a cookstove intended for use in the developing world.
Tissue mechanics regulate brain development, homeostasis and disease

All cells sense and integrate mechanical and biochemical cues from their environment to orchestrate organismal development and maintain tissue homeostasis. Mechanotransduction is the evolutionarily conserved process whereby mechanical force is translated into biochemical signals that can influence cell differentiation, survival, proliferation and migration to change tissue behavior. Not surprisingly, disease develops if these mechanical cues are abnormal or are misinterpreted by the cells - for example, when interstitial pressure or compression force aberrantly increases, or the extracellular matrix (ECM) abnormally stiffens. Disease might also develop if the ability of cells to regulate their contractility becomes corrupted. Consistently, disease states, such as cardiovascular disease, fibrosis and cancer, are characterized by dramatic changes in cell and tissue mechanics, and dysregulation of forces at the cell and tissue level can activate mechanosignaling to compromise tissue integrity and function, and promote disease progression. In this Commentary, we discuss the impact of cell and tissue mechanics on tissue homeostasis and disease, focusing on their role in brain development, homeostasis and neural degeneration, as well as in brain cancer.
Time course analysis of RNA quality in placenta preserved by RNAlater or flash freezing.

Problem Preservation of biospecimen quality is critical to accurately and reliably assessing genes and proteins. We evaluated the effect of preparation method and storage duration on RNA quality in placenta and decidua. Method of study Aliquots of nine placentas and decidua were placed in RNAlater® (RL) or flash frozen (FF) within 30 minutes of delivery. RNA was extracted immediately (baseline) and from matched samples stored at −80°C for 1 and 8-10 months. RNA Integrity Number (RIN) and housekeeping gene expression were quantified. Results At both time points, RL placenta had RIN and housekeeping gene Ct values similar to baseline. However, FF placenta had significantly lower RIN and higher Ct values at 1 and 8-10 months. In RL and FF decidua, RIN was unchanged from baseline. Conclusion We found RNAlater more effectively and consistently preserved placenta, compared to flash freezing. However, for decidua, which is less dense than placenta, both modes yielded comparable RNA integrity over time.
Current Management Strategy for Penile Cancer and Future Directions

The aim of this review is to evaluate the trends in multidisciplinary management of localized penile cancer and systemic therapy for advanced disease in the evolving era of targeted and immune checkpoint therapy. Organ preservation (surgical or incorporating radiation) and reconstructive techniques are important considerations for quality of life in penile cancer survivors. Although local recurrence may be higher with organ preservation, salvage therapy appears successful. Inguinal and pelvic node management requires multidisciplinary care, including chemotherapy; optimal use of radiation has not been fully defined. Advanced in understanding the biology of penile cancer, particularly with regard to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and HPV status, have led to clinical trials of targeted and immune therapy for patients with refractory disease. Refinements in the management of penile cancer are occurring, though level 1 evidence remains scarce. Referral to specialized centers will facilitate successful completion of clinical trials to advance standard care in this disease.
Isn’t that for Sorority Girls?: Narratives of College Men in Service-Learning

The purpose of this study was to examine how gender structured and informed the ways in which 10 undergraduate men experienced service-learning courses. Participant narratives underscore a perceive...
College students’ purchase intention for luxury brand fashion counterfeit goods: A cross-culturalcomparison

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (2012) reported that fashion counterfeiting keeps growing. Among the 25,000 counterfeits seized in 2011, fashion counterfeits were the largest category, representing 32%. China is one of the largest suppliers of counterfeits (Facts and Details, 2012). However, little is known about Chinese consumers’ fashion counterfeit purchase behaviors and no cross-cultural studies have examined the differences between U.S. and Chinese consumers in terms of factors influencing their behavioral intention related to fashion counterfeit consumption.
Mechanochemical activation of magnetite nanoparticles

Using Mossbauer spectroscopy as a function of ball milling time, it was found that nanomagnetite behaves differently than magnetite during mechanochemical activation. The phase sequence is determined by the original particle size of the powder. Magnetite suffers a phase transformation to hematite, while nanomagnetite (d = 19 nm) gives rise to superparamagnetism as effect of prolonged milling.
Triphase catalysis: a new rotating disk contactor for measuring mass transfer coefficients

Abstract Triphase catalysis (TPC) is a practically attractive way of carrying out phase transfer catalyzed reactions. The analysis of triphase catalytic systems requires a knowledge of mass transfer coefficients, but no correlations for estimating these are available. Therefore, a new rotating disk contactor (RDC) for measuring the external mass transfer coefficients of TPC systems has been designed and operated. Details of the design and construction of the contactor are discussed. In order to test the apparatus, experiments were carried out on a test system: synthesis of benzyl acetate from benzyl chloride and sodium acetate with polymer supported tributylmethylammonium chloride as the immobilized phase transfer catalyst. This reaction was found to be mass transfer controlled at low agitation speeds, and it was therefore possible to determine the external mass transfer coefficient as a function of the bulk agitation speed. The values ranged from 1.4×10 -3 to 2.0×10 -3 cm/min.
Assessing multimodal speech-gesture coordination: correlation map analysis for signal comparison

Speech acoustics and body movements are systematically linked during speaking; however, there is no consensus regarding which acoustic and/or kinematic signals are relevant for this coordination nor what critical landmarks facilitate this linkage. To address this, we use correlation map analysis (CMA) of speech acoustics and body movement to assess the hypothesis that speech and gesture are coordinated at prosodically prominent speech regions. CMA allows for the analysis of correlation between any two continuous signals both instantaneously and at user-defined ranges of delay. In this study, we examine the relationship of the speech’s RMS acoustic amplitude signal with the dominant hand’s velocity signal at speech turns, phrase boundaries, acoustic amplitude peaks, and other ("elsewhere") regions. We find that turns and phrase edges exhibit the greatest likelihood of positive correlation. Additionally, the likelihood of correlation is higher when the hand velocity signal is delayed with respect to the amplitude signal. These results suggest that speech and gesture may be strongly linked at speech turn landmarks for the purpose of signaling a floor exchange. Thus in addition to coordination for semantic and prosodic purposes, we propose that speech-gesture coordination can serve with prosody to signal speech turns in conversation. [Work supported by NIH.]
Protective Effects of TRPV1 Activation Against Cardiac Ischemia/ Reperfusion Injury is Blunted by Diet-Induced Obesity

BACKGROUND Activation of Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid Subtype 1 (TRPV1) channels protects the heart from Ischemia/Reperfusion (I/R) injury through releasing Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide (CGRP) and Substance P (SP). The current study aimed to study the cardioprotective effects of TRPV1 in obesity. METHODS TRPV1 gene knockout (TRPV1-/-) and Wild-Type (WT) mice were Fed a High-Fat Diet (HFD) or a control diet or for 20 weeks, and then the hearts were collected for I/R injury ex vivo. The hearts were mounted on a Langendorff apparatus and subjected to ischemia (30 min) and reperfusion (40 min) after incubated with capsaicin (10 nmol/L), CGRP (0.1 μmol/L) and SP (0.1 μmol/L). Then, Coronary Flow (CF), left ventricular peak positive dP/dt (+dP/dt), Left Ventricular Developed Pressure (LVDP) and Left Ventricular End-Diastolic Pressure (LVEDP) were measured. RESULTS HFD intake remarkably reduced CF, +dP/dt and LVDP and elevated LVEDP in both strains (P<0.05). Treatment with capsaicin decreased infarct size, increased CF, +dP/dt and LVDP, and decreased LVEDP in WT mice on control diet (P<0.05), but did not do so in other three groups. Treatment with CGRP and SP decreased infarct size in both strains fed with control diet (P<0.05). In contrast, not all the parameters of cardiac postischemic recovery in HFD-fed WT and TRPV1-/- mice were improved by CGRP and SP. CONCLUSION These results suggest that HFD intake impairs cardiac postischemic recovery. HFDinduced impairment of recovery is alleviated by CGRP in both strains and by SP only in TRPV1-/- mice, indicating that the effects of CGRP and SP are differentially regulated during HFD intake.
Prevention and treatmentfor pregnant women during the pandemic of influenza

：Influenza results inworldwide pandemics and has been a global public health problem.Pregnant women are at riskfor influenza.A responding plan for a future influenza pandemic should includecomideratiom specific to pregnant women.This article reviews the recent developmenteffects of influenza in pregnant worflen and fetus.and the use of prophylaxis andtreatment.
PrototypeML: A Neural Network Integrated Design and Development Environment.

Neural network architectures are most often conceptually designed and described in visual terms, but are implemented by writing error-prone code. PrototypeML is a machine learning development environment that bridges the dichotomy between the design and development processes: it provides a highly intuitive visual neural network design interface that supports (yet abstracts) the full capabilities of the PyTorch deep learning framework, reduces model design and development time, makes debugging easier, and automates many framework and code writing idiosyncrasies. In this paper, we detail the deep learning development deficiencies that drove the implementation of PrototypeML, and propose a hybrid approach to resolve these issues without limiting network expressiveness or reducing code quality. We demonstrate the real-world benefits of a visual approach to neural network design for research, industry and teaching. Available at this https URL
Discovery-Based Bromination of Alcohols: An Organic Chemistry Experiment Supporting Spectroscopic Analysis and Mechanistic Reasoning

The bromination of six isomeric alcohols is adapted to a discovery-based organic chemistry laboratory experiment, whereby students are provided an alcohol starting material and are charged with determining the product or product mixture produced using relevant spectroscopic data. The experiment solidifies NMR analysis skills while reinforcing the mechanistic reasoning that supports the study of organic reactions. The laboratory is highly customizable and can be adapted to align with available instrumentation to best meet the needs of students, and it has been successfully implemented at three separate universities.