cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Gneiss domes and orogeny

Many gneiss domes record positive feedback between decompression and partial melting of orogenic middle crust. Exhumed orogens are riddled with gneiss domes cored by migmatites that underwent dehydration melting during decompression. The decreasing buoyancy associated with increasing melt fraction drives further decompression at near-isothermal conditions as the partially molten crust rises diapirically. This combination of processes may explain the generation and retention of large volumes of crustally derived melt recorded in many deep-seated migmatite terranes and inferred for active orogens. In exhumed orogens, the signature of the rapid ascent of partially molten crust is a gneiss dome cored by migmatite ± granite. The large volume of material involved in the vertical transfer of partially molten crust indicates that the formation of gneiss domes is an efficient mechanism for heat advection during orogenesis.
Zebrafish as a model for investigating developmental lead (Pb) neurotoxicity as a risk factor in adult neurodegenerative disease: A mini-review

A B S T R A C T Lead (Pb) exposure has long been recognized to cause neurological alterations in both adults and children. While most of the studies in adults are related to higher dose exposure, epidemiological studies indicate cognitive decline and neurobehavioral alterations in children associated with lower dose environmental Pb exposure (a blood Pb level of 10 mg/dL and below). Recent animal studies also now report that an early-life Pb exposure results in pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease later in life. While previous studies evaluating higher Pb exposures in adult animal models and higher occupational Pb exposures in humans have suggested a link between higher dose Pb exposure during adulthood and neurodegenerative disease, these newer studies now indicate a link between an early-life Pb exposure and adult neurodegenerative disease. These studies are supporting the ‘‘fetal/developmental origin of adult disease’’ hypothesis and present a new challenge in our understanding of Pb neurotoxicity. There is a need to expand research in this area and additional model systems are needed. The zebrafish presents as a complementary vertebrate model system with numerous strengths including high genetic homology. Several zebrafish genes orthologous to human genes associated with neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases are identified and this model is starting to be applied in neurodegenerative disease research. Moreover, the zebrafish is being used in developmental Pb neurotoxicity studies to define genetic mechanisms of toxicity and associated neurobehavioral alterations. While these studies are in their infancy, the genetic and functional conservation of genes associated with neurodegenerative diseases and application in developmental Pb neurotoxicity studies supports the potential for this in vivo model to further investigate the link between developmental Pb exposure and adult neurodegenerative disease pathogenesis. In this review, the major factors influencing the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, Pb neurotoxicity, the developmental origin of adult disease paradigm, and the zebrafish as a model system to investigate the developmental origin of lowdose Pb-induced neurodegenerative diseases is discussed.
The Proximal Carboxyl-terminal Domains of ADAMTS13 Determine Substrate Specificity and Are All Required for Cleavage of von Willebrand Factor

ADAMTS13 limits platelet-rich thrombosis by cleaving von Willebrand factor at the Tyr(1605)-Met(1606) bond. Previous studies showed that ADAMTS13 truncated after spacer domain remains proteolytically active or hyperactive. However, the relative contribution of each domain within the proximal carboxyl terminus of ADAMTS13 in substrate recognition and specificity is not known. We showed that a metalloprotease domain alone was unable to cleave the Tyr-Met bond of glutathione S-transferase (GST)-VWF73-H substrate in 3 h, but it did cleave the substrate at a site other than the Tyr-Met bond after 16-24 h of incubation. Remarkably, the addition of even one or several proximal carboxyl-terminal domains of ADAMTS13 restored substrate specificity. Full proteolytic activity, however, was not achieved until all of the proximal carboxyl-terminal domains were added. The addition of TSP1 2-8 repeats and two CUB domains did not further increase proteolytic activity. Furthermore, ADAMTS13 truncated after the spacer domain with or without metalloprotease domain bound GST-VWF73-H with a K(d) of approximately 7.0 or 13 nm, comparable with full-length ADAMTS13 (K(d) = 4.6 nm). Metalloprotease domain did not bind GST-VWF73-H detectably, but the disintegrin domain, first TSP1 repeat, Cys-rich domain, and spacer domain bound GST-VWF73-H with K(d) values of 489, 136, 121, and 108 nm, respectively. These proximal carboxyl-terminal domains dose-dependently inhibited cleavage of fluorescent resonance energy transfer (FRETS)-VWF73 by full-length ADAMTS13 and ADAMTS13 truncated after the spacer domain. These data demonstrated that the proximal carboxyl-terminal domains of ADAMTS13 determine substrate specificity and are all required for recognition and cleavage of von Willebrand factor between amino acid residues Asp(1595) and Arg(1668).
Efficient High-Pressure State Equations

A method is presented for a relatively accurate, noniterative, computationally efficient calculation of high-pressure fluid-mixture equations of state, especially targeted to gas turbines and rocket engines. Pressures above I bar and temperatures above 100 K are addressed The method is based on curve fitting an effective reference state relative to departure functions formed using the Peng-Robinson cubic state equation Fit parameters for H2, O2, N2, propane, methane, n-heptane, and methanol are given.
Generalized pencil-of-function method for extracting poles of an EM system from its transient response

A generalized pencil-of-function (GPOF) method is developed for extracting the poles of an electromagnetic system from its transient response. The GPOF method needs the solution of a generalized eigenvalue problem to find the poles. Subspace decomposition is also used to optimize the performance of the GPOF method. The GPOF method has advantages over the Prony method in both computation and noise sensitivity, and approaches the Cramer-Rao bound when the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is above threshold. An application of the GPOF method to a thin-wire target is presented. >
Suspended aggregate analysis using ISAAC, Elbe River, 9–10 June 1993

Abstract A portable underwater camera system, the In Situ Aggregate Analysis Camera (ISAAC), was used for precise and accurate sizing of suspended particulate material in the Elbe River estuary during an intercalibration experiment in 1993. ISAAC differs from other camera designs in that flow disruption is minimized by the small housing size and by maintaining an orientation into the flow with the lens port facing down. Problems with depth-of-field have been reduced by using Plexiglas collimators which eliminate most of the out-of-focus particles. Profiles in the Elbe show that particles occur as irregular ellipsoids and elongate stringers. Maximum diameters are on the order of 2 to 3 mm although individual stringers bound by thin threads can exceed 10 mm. Whereas apparent vertical changes in population size can result from a small number of abnormally large aggregates, significant size changes in fact do occur on hourly time scales. Composite samples reveal that particle populations tend to be lognormally distributed.
A study of alcohol use by designated drivers among college students.

Objective: College students tend to drink while serving as a designated driver (DD). The predictors of alcohol use by DDs among college students were examined. Participants: Participants were 119 undergraduate students in introductory psychology courses who had experience with DD use. Methods: Survey data were analyzed to examine the predictors of planning components of DD use, such as choosing a DD before drinking and choosing an abstinent DD, and the relations of these components to alcohol use by DDs. Results: History of DD use, friends' willingness to be the DD, frequency of riding with a driver who drank and drove, and age of drinking onset were associated with planning components of DD use. Among the planning components of DD use, choosing a DD before drinking was significantly related to less alcohol use by DDs. Conclusions: Increasing awareness of the planning components of DD use could deter alcohol use by DDs among college students. Language: en
A cavity-backed slot antenna with high upper hemisphere efficiency for sewer sensor network

A wireless sewer sensor network has been widespread to monitor combined sewer overflow (CSO) causing human health and environmental hazards. To enable the wireless interconnection between sensor nodes, a radiator needs to be embedded into a manhole cover with sufficient mechanical strength. In addition, the high efficiency in upper hemisphere is essential for successful communication to above-ground sensor nodes. In order to meet these requirements, a full wavelength slot antenna embedded in a shallow cavity inside a cast-iron manhole cover is designed. An electromagnetic analysis is conducted to verify the antenna design. Simulation and measurement show a good agreement. The result shows 2.5dB higher total radiated power in three-dimensional upper hemisphere, compared to a half wavelength slot on the same substrate without a cavity.
Cross-sectional comparison of physical activity and inactivity patterns in Chinese and Filipino youth

Background To compare and contrast youth physical activity (PA) and inactivity patterns in two developing Asian countries: the Philippines and China. Methods Comparative analysis of 1997‐1999 Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey and the 1997 China Health and Nutrition Survey, large-scale surveys that included questions on type, frequency and duration of: commuting mode to school, sports/exercise in and outside of school, select sedentary activities and chores. Results Filipino data included 760 males and 872 females aged 14‐16 years. The comparable Chinese sample consisted of 202 males and 197 females. Active commuting is proportionately high in both countries (70‐71% in the Philippines vs. 77‐90% in China), although commuting by bicycling is rare in the Philippines ( 4 h/day ( < 10%) vs. Chinese youth ( < 1%), both are lower than comparable US reports. Conclusion In the Philippines, continued modernization augurs a decrease in local primary PA sources (chores and active commuting). In China, where youth already are not expected to perform chores, shifts to more passive commuting modes (i.e. increased motorized transportation) are anticipated.
Contribution of the pentose cycle to the metabolism of glucose in the isolated, perfused brain of the monkey.

— Isolated brains from three adult monkeys were perfused for 1 hr with [2-14C]glucose. Glycogen was isolated from the brain stem, cerebral hemispheres, cerebellum and the hypothalamic area at completion of the perfusions. The distribution of 14C in carbons of the glucose unit of glycogen was determined and from this the contribution of the pentose cycle to metabolism of glucose was calculated. The data indicate a maximum contribution by the pentose cycle of 5–8 per cent in brain. No significant difference was observed in the various portions of brain. Oxygen consumption was noted to be low in relation to the amount of glucose utilized, as measured in these experiments.
Seasonal pattern of oviposition by the North American grape berry moth (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

The seasonal patterns of oviposition by the North American grape berry moth, Paralobesia viteana (Clemens) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) were monitored in juice grape (Vitis labrusca) vineyards in southwest Michigan. Egg deposition was recorded throughout the growing season at two vineyards in 2006, and at four vineyards from 2007 to 2009. In each vineyard, a random sample of 100 grape clusters was visually inspected twice-weekly and the number of newly laid eggs was counted. We found that oviposition was continuous but variable throughout the season. Egg deposition started in early June coinciding with early grape bloom, continued at low level until mid- to late July, intensified in August close to veraison, and ended in September often before harvest. There were no consistent periods without oviposition that would indicate distinct generations. To determine the contribution of moth immigration into the vineyard to the pattern of oviposition, six grape plants located at the edge of a vineyard next to woods were covered with field cages and stocked with infested fruit. Oviposition and berry infestation were followed weekly on covered and exposed plants. Although higher numbers of eggs and infested berries were found on fruit of exposed vines than enclosed vines, egg deposition and berry infestation followed the same pattern in both treatments. This result indicates that the seasonal pattern of egg deposition is not dependent on immigration of grape berry moth of wild grape origin. The pattern of oviposition by grape berry moth described here contributes to the difficulty of controlling this pest using conventional insecticides with short residual activity. J. Appl. Entomol.
Effect of Lowered Blood Supply and of Glucose-1-Phosphate on Healing of Bone Fractures.

Summary1. A long delay in bone fracture healing can be produced by reducing the blood supply to the affected bone. This technic is suggested for the study of therapeutic measures to promote the healing of delayed union of bone in the aged. 2. Glucose-1-phosphate, when administered by subcutaneous injection, had no favorable effect on the healing of bone fractures.
Conditional associative learning of spatial and object information in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

The present study assessed frontostriatal mediated memory functions in children with ADHD (N = 12) and healthy control participants (N = 12) using two tests of conditional associative learning (i.e., object and spatial) that shared similar stimulus-response association structures but that differed in terms of the demands placed upon strategic processes. Children with ADHD displayed normal performance on the object learning task but were impaired on the spatial learning task that placed greater demands on internally derived strategic processes. Secondary analyses further indicated that this strategic processing impairment cannot be attributed specifically to perseverative or working memory errors but rather appears to be related to a more general inability to maintain a high degree of consistency in responding across trials. Although the results of this study must be interpreted in light of the small sample sizes, they suggest that ADHD does not produce a basic deficit in acquiring stimulus-response associ...
Overcoming the problems in information systems development by building and sustaining commitment

Abstract The successful development of information systems requires that numerous problems encountred during the development process be solved. Through an in-depth study of one large system development effort, this paper shows how the resolution of many of these problems requires the building and sustaining of commitment of the various stakeholders. Tactics that were employed to build and sustain commitment are also described. The problems, the need for commitment, and the tactics used to build and sustain commitment are linked to six issues which arose from the strategic potential of this particular system (large investments and a desire to develop the system quickly), the interorganizational nature of the system (dependence on the system partner and system complexity), and outsourcing of the system's development (dependence on the vendor and need for cooperation with the vendor). Some implications of the paper's findings for future research and practice are examined.
The Cross Effects of Lottery Taxes On Alternative State Tax Revenue

This article both theoretically and empirically identifies sizable cross effects of lottery taxes on other sources of state tax revenue. Specifically, those states without income taxes and those with high sales and excise tax rates may lose as much as 23 cents in alternative state revenue for every dollar of lottery revenue they collect. Even though this extreme still implies that the state receives 77 cents more tax revenue than before the lottery was imposed, those states that earmark their lottery dollars likely see significant reductions in their nonlottery revenue sources that need to be accounted for in their budgets. Otherwise, a bonanza in one area of the budget causes a sizable and likely unexpected shortfall elsewhere.
Associative-Commutative Discrimination Nets

Use of discrimination nets for many-to-one pattern matching has been shown to dramatically improve the performance of the Knuth-Bendix completion procedure used in rewriting. Many important applications of rewriting require associative-commutative (AC) function symbols and it is therefore quite natural to expect performance gains by using similar techniques for AC-completion. In this paper we propose such a technique, called AC-discrimination net, that is a natural generalization of the standard discrimination net in the sense that if no AC-symbols are present in the pattern, it specializes to the standard discrimination net. Moreover we show how AC-discrimination nets can be augmented so as to further improve the performance of AC-matching on problems that are typically seen in practice.
The scan‐column index

The scan-column index is a book-form coordinate index. Each document is entered at just one place, and the documents can be in almost any order. A document identification may be anything from a serial number to several dozen words of description, depending on the amount of space used. Speed of searching might be anywhere from several hundred to perhaps one thousand or more documents per minute, depending to a considerable extent on column density, which depends in turn on the amount of space used. Error and fatigue also depend considerably on column density. Some possible format variations are described. Advantages and disadvantages of the scan-column index are described and compared with some other common retrieval devices such as peek-a-boo cards, edge-notched cards, etc. A number of possible applications for a scan-column index are suggested. A motorized scroll form of scan-column index and its possible use for subject-searching microfilm reels are also suggested.
The Mindsets of Political Compromise

Political compromise is difficult in American democracy even though no one doubts it is necessary. It is difficult for many reasons, including the recent increase in political polarization that has been widely criticized. We argue that the resistance to compromise cannot be fully appreciated without understanding its source in the democratic process itself, especially as conducted in the U.S. The incursion of campaigning into governing in American democracy—the so called “permanent campaign”—encourages political attitudes and arguments that make compromise more difficult. These constitute what we call the uncompromising mindset, characterized by politicians' standing on principle and mistrusting opponents. This mindset is conducive to campaigning, but not to governing, because it stands in the way of necessary change and thereby biases the democratic process in favor of the status quo. The uncompromising mindset can be kept in check by an opposite cluster of attitudes and arguments—the compromising mindset—that inclines politicians to adapt their principles and respect their opponents. This mindset is more appropriate for governing, because it enables politicians more readily to recognize and act on opportunities for desirable compromise. We explore the dynamics of these mindsets by examining the processes that led to the compromises on tax reform in 1986 and health care reform in 2010.
The circadian rhythm in photosynthesis in Acetabularia in the presence of actinomycin D, puromycin, and chloramphenicol.

Anucleate Acetabularia crenulata shows a circadian rhythm in photosynthesis. In this study, an oxygen electrode was employed to measure this photosynthetic rhythm in the presence and absence of the inhibitors, actinomycin D, chloramphenicol, and puromycin. High concentrations of the inhibitors were used: actinomycin D, 20–40 µg ml-1 puromycin, 30 and 100 µg ml-1; and chloramphenicol, 250 µg ml-1. The effectiveness of these inhibitors on protein synthesis was also measured under the same conditions used for the determination of rhythmicity. In spite of large effects of all three inhibitors on the incorporation of 14C leucine, no effect on the period or the phase of the photosynthetic rhythm was observed. The higher concentration of puromycin and chloramphenicol produced toxic effects which were expressed as a reduction in the amount of photosynthesis, but rhythmicity was still apparent. After 3 or 4 days' exposure to actinomycin, Acetabularia became resistant to its effect. Recovery was also observed in the ability to incorporate leucine. The implications of these results for theories of the basic oscillator responsible for circadian rhythmicity are discussed.
Computationally efficient confidence intervals for cross-validated area under the ROC curve estimates

In binary classification problems, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) is commonly used to evaluate the performance of a prediction model. Often, it is combined with cross-validation in order to assess how the results will generalize to an independent data set. In order to evaluate the quality of an estimate for cross-validated AUC, we obtain an estimate of its variance. For massive data sets, the process of generating a single performance estimate can be computationally expensive. Additionally, when using a complex prediction method, the process of cross-validating a predictive model on even a relatively small data set can still require a large amount of computation time. Thus, in many practical settings, the bootstrap is a computationally intractable approach to variance estimation. As an alternative to the bootstrap, we demonstrate a computationally efficient influence curve based approach to obtaining a variance estimate for cross-validated AUC.
A Preliminary Investigation of the Impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on Information Security

This paper examines the information security implications of the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act of 2002. It is well-established in the information systems field that managers do not rank security as a high priority, an attitude that is believed to result in low levels of information system protection. We consider whether information security benefits are likely to result from compliance efforts associated with SOX. A qualitative analysis consisting of semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and document analysis was conducted to address this question. Based on the results of this investigation, a framework was developed which integrates several factors associated with SOX compliance and demonstrates that firms are likely to reap information security benefits as a result of SOX compliance efforts.
Glucocorticoids increase pulmonary epidermal growth factor receptors in female and male fetal rabbit.

Abstract Experimental evidence in animals and humans suggest that glucocorticoids enhance fetal pulmonary maturation. Mechanisms of glucocorticoid effects remain unclear; but apparently include up regulation of fetal pulmonary insulin and β-adrenergic receptors. A role of Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) in fetal lung maturation through plasma membrane bound receptors has been recently proposed. Betamethasone, 0.085 mg/kg, was administered on 25th and 26th day of gestation to the rabbit doe. Fetal pulmonary EGF receptor characteristics in male or female fetuses were studied on the 27th day of pregnancy. The percent specific binding of 125-I-EGF to lung plasma membranes (LPM) and the number of receptor sites per mg of LPM protein or DNA content were significnatly higher in the glucocorticoid treated female as well as male fetuses when compared to the control pups, with no difference in the Kd. Presence of high affinity receptors for EGF and their up regulation by glucocorticoids support the hypothesis that EGF plays an important role in fetal lung maturation and that some of the beneficial effects of glucocorticoids in decreasing the incidence of HMD may be mediated through its interaction with EGF.
Tree-weighted neighbors and geometric k smallest spanning trees

We compute the k smallest spanning trees of a point set in the planar Euclidean metric in time O(n log n log k + k min(k, n)1/2log(k/n)), and in the rectilinear metric in time O(n log n + n log log n log k + k (min{k, n})1/2log(k/n)). In three or four dimensions our time bound is O(n4/3 + ∊ + k(min{k, n})1/2log(k/n)), and in higher dimensions the bound is O(n2−2/(⌈d/2⌉+1)+∊ + kn1/2log n). Our technique involves a method of computing nearest neighbors using a modified set of distances formed by subtracting tree path lengths from the Euclidean distance.
Adnexus Therapeutics, Inc.: Considering the Exit

Dr. John Mendlein, CEO of Adnexus Therapeutics Inc., (Adnexus), a private biotechnology company, must decide whether to pursue acquisition talks with Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) after a successful six month collaboration or continue with Adnexus' planned IPO.
Recruitment order of motoneurons in stretch reflexes is highly correlated with their axonal conduction velocity

Motor units of soleus and medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscles were studied in pairs during stretch reflexes in the decerebrate cat to determine the relation between their recruitment orders and axonal conduction velocities. In 97% of soleus pairs, the motor unit with the lower axonal conduction velocity was recruited first. Since the soleus is a homogeneous muscle in the cat, differences in motor-unit type are, therefore, not a sine qua non for orderly recruitment nor is recruitment random within homogeneous populations of motor units, as recently proposed (28). In the medial gastrocnemius, a heterogeneous muscle, the same high correlation (97%) between recruitment sequence and conduction velocity was observed. Thus, the factors that determine recruitment order in heterogeneous muscles are as closely correlated with axonal diameter as they are in homogeneous muscles. Comparison of axonal conduction velocities in our sample of MG units with those in three samples of type-identified MG units studied by other investigators also suggests that motor-unit type is not the critical factor controlling the sequence of activation in heterogeneous muscles. It is concluded that the combined effects of all presynaptic and postsynaptic factors that determine susceptibility to discharge in motoneurons during stretch reflexes are strictly correlated with their axonal conduction velocities, as predicted by the size principle.
Optimization-based mesh correction with volume and convexity constraints

We consider the problem of finding a mesh such that 1) it is the closest, with respect to a suitable metric, to a given source mesh having the same connectivity, and 2) the volumes of its cells match a set of prescribed positive values that are not necessarily equal to the cell volumes in the source mesh. This volume correction problem arises in important simulation contexts, such as satisfying a discrete geometric conservation law and solving transport equations by incremental remapping or similar semi-Lagrangian transport schemes. In this paper we formulate volume correction as a constrained optimization problem in which the distance to the source mesh defines an optimization objective, while the prescribed cell volumes, mesh validity and/or cell convexity specify the constraints. We solve this problem numerically using a sequential quadratic programming (SQP) method whose performance scales with the mesh size. To achieve scalable performance we develop a specialized multigrid-based preconditioner for optimality systems that arise in the application of the SQP method to the volume correction problem. Numerical examples illustrate the importance of volume correction, and showcase the accuracy, robustness and scalability of our approach.
GENETIC HERITABILITY AND COMMON ENVIRONMENTAL COMPONENTS OF RESTING AND STRESSED BLOOD PRESSURES, LIPIDS, AND BODY MASS INDEX IN UTAH PEDIGREES AND TWINS

The relative contributions of genes and shared environment to cardiovascular risk factors were studied in twins and pedigrees in 1983-1985. Sitting, standing, isometric hand grip, bicycling, and mentally stressed (serial subtraction) blood pressures were obtained from 146 male monozygous twins, 162 male dizygous twins, and 1,102 healthy adults in 67 Utah pedigrees. Fasting total plasma cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), and body mass index were also measured. Heritability was estimated before and after adjusting for 12 environmental variables (measures of socioeconomic status; personality types; exercise levels; use of tobacco, alcohol, coffee, etc.) by using age-adjusted twin intraclass correlations. These heritabilities were compared with those obtained from a variance components analysis of the pedigree data separating genetic and common household effects. Sitting and standing blood pressure heritability estimates were much higher from twin than from pedigree data (39-63% in twins vs. 16-22% in pedigrees), as were those for cholesterol and triglycerides (65 and 75% from twins vs. 42 and 37% from pedigrees) and body mass index (51 vs. 21%). Estimates were similar for heritability of HDL cholesterol (51 vs. 45%). Most of the stressed blood pressure heritabilities were similar to sitting blood pressure estimates. No common household effect (except for adjusted HDL cholesterol (24%), p less than 0.01) was statistically significant for the lipids, blood pressures, or body mass index. Environmental variables correlated much better in monozygous twins and spouses than in dizygous twins, brothers, or sisters. Spouse correlations for lipids, blood pressures, and body mass index were low, with a maximum of 0.12 (p less than 0.05) for HDL cholesterol. We conclude that genes contribute much more than shared environment to the well-recognized familial correlation of blood pressures, lipids, and body mass index.
A Shepherd for the Naïve: Images of Future Government in Huxley, Bradbury, and Forster

Intellectuals of the 20th century bore witness to society’s injustices. They viewed and commented on erosion of rights and humankind’s callousness to itself. For example, Huxley’s Brave New World and Brave New World Revisited illustrate with contempt a society that had renounced personal individuality and rejected freedom, choosing a drugged totalitarian state set adrift from any sense of morality. Huxley’s work is a familiar touchstone, in that it presupposed a world that seems increasingly real to us, even though a faithful portrayal of the future was hardly Huxley’s intent. Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 soberly reminded the world of the wages of intolerance to divergent ideas, in envisioning a government solidifying its hold on power by banishing the spectrum of human emotion in literature and mass media. Forster’s ambitious short story “The Machine Stops” countered the naivete of a positive equal utopia, with a world cruel in its homogenization and dependent on a deified machine for all facets of its exis...
More protected vibrational states at the dissociation limit of SCCl2.

Local vibrational coupling models predict that intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution (IVR) is not completely statistical even at the dissociation limit of polyatomic molecules. Thus states protected from IVR and from rapid dissociation form regular progressions and can be assigned vibrational quantum numbers. We previously observed such regular progressions of states in vibrational spectra of the molecule SCCl2, but a discrepancy in the density of such states remained between theory and experiment. Here we show that the gap can be closed by observing and assigning additional vibrational transitions above the dissociation limit of SCCl2, and by carefully analyzing the theoretically expected density of protected states. The newly observed transitions originate from recently assigned and more highly excited vibrational levels in the B electronic state, connecting to the X ground state by different Franck–Condon factors. Based on our analysis of Franck–Condon activity, we conclude that theory and...
Equalizing a Two-Person Alternation Game

Classroom Capsules serves to convey new insights on familiar topics and to enhance pedagogy through shared teaching experiences. Its format consists primarily of readily understood mathematics capsules which make their impact quickly and effectively. Such tidbits should be nurtured, cultivated, and presented for the benefit of your colleagues elsewhere. Queries, when available, will round out the column and serve to open further dialog on specific items of reader concern. Readers are invited to submit material for consideration to:
Abstract 5143: ErbB2 activation up-regulates glutaminase 1 expression via NF-κB pathway

Active glutamine utilization is essential for cell proliferation in many tumors, for it provides critical carbon and nitrogen sources. Glutaminolysis represents the first and rate-limiting step of glutamine utilization and is catalyzed by glutaminase. Previous studies have shown that c-Myc regulates glutaminolysis by increasing glutaminase expression in tumor cells. However, it remains unclear whether other oncogenic signaling pathways promote glutaminolysis. Breast cancer is the second most common cause of death for women in the United States and ErbB2 activation is one of the major causes of breast cancer. Using MCF10A and MCF10A-derived NeuT cells, we studied the effect of ErbB2 activation on glutaminase expression, and found that ErbB2 activation increased glutaminase 1 expression at both mRNA and protein levels. Knockdown of ErbB2 decreased glutaminase 1 expression in several human ErbB2-positive cell lines. Consistently, blocking ErbB2 signaling pathway by trastuzumab repressed glutaminase 1 expression. We further showed that in these cells, ErbB2-mediated up-regulation of glutaminase 1 was independent of c-Myc expression. In addition, we found that activation of PI3K/Akt or MAPK pathway was not sufficient to up-regulate glutaminase 1 expression. Instead, inhibition of NF-κB down-regulated glutaminase 1 expression whereas stimulation of NF-κB induced glutaminase 1 expression, suggesting a PI3K/Akt-independent activation of NF-κB signaling pathway up-regulates glutaminase 1. Finally, inhibition of glutaminase activity significantly decreased human breast cancer cell proliferation. Our data indicate that ErbB2 activation promotes glutaminase 1 expression via NF-κB in breast cancer cells, identifying another oncogenic signaling pathway which stimulates glutamine utilization. These findings may facilitate the identification of novel targets for cancer therapy. 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 5143. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-5143
Short-Term Effects of Insecticidal Applications on Predaceous Arthropods and Oribatid Mites in Kentucky Bluegrass Turf

Chlorpyrifos, bendiocarb, trichlorfon, and isofenphos were applied as surface sprays to Kentucky bluegrass turf, and effects on nontarget arthropods were measured. The most abundant families of predaceous Insecta, Araneida, and Acari were Staphylinidae, Erigonidae, Parasitidae, and Eupodidae. Chlorpyrifos and isofenphos had the greatest impact on predaceous arthropods, with some taxa significantly reduced for at least 6 weeks. Effects of bendiocarb and trichlorfon were generally less severe and more temporary. Oribatid mite populations were apparently unaffected by the insecticides. Bendiocarb increased trap catches of ants for up to 2 weeks after application.
Energy cost of rehabilitation calisthenics

This study examined the relationship between total energy cost and cardiac effort for a set of graded calisthenics that have been used in cardiac rehabilitation programs. Cardiac effort was quantified by calculating myocardial oxygen cost from the product of heart rate and systolic blood pressure. Total energy cost was determined by measuring oxygen uptake during steady-state exercise. Results indicate that total energy-cost values accurately reflect the cardiac effort required during the performance of these calisthenic exercises by normal subjects.
Blood Volume Responsivity to ICP Change in Head Injured Patients

Our studies of severely head injured patients have shown that CSF parameters play a relatively minor role in the sequence of events leading to intracranial hypertension. We hypothesized that the major factor leading to raised ICP is mediated by a vascular mechanism (Marmarou et al. 1987). These findings prompted us to examine means by which the cerebrovascular system could be challenged to permit a quantitative assessment of the blood volume — intracranial pressure relationship. In this study, we tested the vessel responsivity in head injured patients by quantifying the change in ICP for a known change in PCO2 introduced by varying ventilatory rate.
Explicitly Unraveling the Roles of Counterions, Solvent Molecules, and Electron Correlation in Solution Phase Reaction Pathways.

Studies utilizing continuum solvation methods can sometimes omit critically important solute–solvent interactions, while explicitly sampling full solution phase mechanisms accurately with Born–Oppenheimer molecular dynamics (BOMD) is computationally costly. In this work, we benchmark components for an alternative IRCMax-like procedure for refined analyses of electronic energies along reaction pathways. The procedure involves obtaining molecular clusters from nudged elastic band calculations for use in mixed explicit-continuum models. The reaction energetics from these models correspond well to energetics obtained from explicit models using periodic boundary conditions, and the clusters obtained are more amenable to treatments with high levels of quantum chemistry theory. We demonstrate this approach using CO2 reduction by NaBH4 and NaBH3OH in aqueous solution as test cases. We show that the local solvation environment containing explicit solvent molecules and a counterion within the entire first solvation...
The Acta Perpetuae

The late antique Acta Perpetuae are two fourth- or fifth- century texts which narratively retell the story of St. Perpetua in ways that fundamentally change the theological implications of the martyr’s story, privileging an ecclesiastically sanctioned theology of martyrdom while suppressing aspects of the Passio that suggest the subversion of traditional power structures and the gender binary. Although the Acta are much less studied in modern scholarship on Perpetua, they were far more popular than the Passio in the Middle Ages, and as such, provide the basis for many later reinterpretations of Perpetua’s hagiography. This chapter provides close readings of the Acta and identifies the important ways in which these texts influence the later medieval hagiographic tradition.
Rethinking the Providence Hill cable car: transit, equity, and urban design in Rio de Janeiro

AbstractIn July 2014, the oldest slum in Rio de Janeiro, Morro da Providencia (“Providence Hill”), received a cable car meant to facilitate up- and downhill commuting for residents of this hilltop community adjacent to downtown. Socioeconomic indicators suggest that this community was an ideal recipient of such a project, which facilitated mobility to center-city transit and potential employment. Yet the resulting impact on the adjacent built environment may have negatively impacted small-business vitality and development opportunities for residents of the community. Using social indicators and urban design analysis, this paper examines the distributional and design implications of these choices and proposes improvements.
Joint Blind Symbol Rate Estimation and Data Symbol Detection for Linearly Modulated Signals

This paper focuses on non-data aided estimation of the symbol rate and detecting the data symbols in linearly modulated signals. A blind oversampling-based signal detector under the circumstance of unknown symbol period is proposed. First, the symbol rate is estimated using the Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm. However, within the framework of EM algorithm, it is difficult to obtain a closed form for the loglikelihood function and the density function. Therefore, these two functions are approximated in this paper by using the Particle Filter (PF) technique. In addition, a symbol rate estimator that exploits the cyclic correlation information is proposed as an initialization estimator for the EM algorithm. Second, the blind data symbol detector based on the PF algorithm is designed. Since the signal is oversampled at the receiver side, a delayed multi-sampling PF detector is proposed to manage the intersymbol interference caused by oversampling, and to improve the demodulation performance of the data symbols. In the PF algorithm, the hybrid importance function is used to generate both data samples and channel model coefficients, and the Mixture Kalman Filter (MKF) algorithm is used to marginalize out the fading channel coefficients.
Heavy: The Obesity Crisis in Cultural Context

Heavy reflects a methodological shift underway in food studies scholarship to embrace rhetorical tools in reading the culture of American eating and contemporary constructs of obesity. Helene A. Sh...
The courage to become: Augusto Boal’s revolutionary politics of the body

The cover illustrating Birgit Fritz’s treatise on Augusto Boal’s politics of the body features two human silhouettes connecting against a backdrop reminiscent of a Spirograph© design – a playful gr...
Human IL6 stimulates bovine satellite cell proliferation through a Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3)-dependent mechanism.

Bovine satellite cell (bSC) myogenesis and skeletal muscle hypertrophy occur through the orchestrated actions of multiple autocrine and paracrine growth factors. Intimate to the bSC niche is IL6, a dual-purpose cytokine with proinflammatory and mitogenic properties. The objective of the experiment was to examine the effects of IL6 on proliferation and differentiation of bSC in vitro. Treatment of primary bSC cultures with recombinant bovine IL6 (bIL6) failed to alter myogenesis owing to the absence of intracellular signal transduction. The cytokine was able to stimulate phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 tyrosine 705 (STAT3Y705) in Madin-Darby bovine kidney (MDBK) epithelial cells, thus demonstrating bioactivity. Media supplemented with recombinant human IL6 (hIL6) caused phosphorylation of STAT3Y705 in bSC and increased (P 0.05) following treatment for 48 h with hIL6. These results support a role for hIL6 as a bSC mitogen in vitro. The inability of bIL6 to initiate an intracellular signal in bSC requires further investigation.
Use of Complementary Health Approaches Among Diverse Primary Care Patients with Type 2 Diabetes and Association with Cardiometabolic Outcomes: From the SF Bay Collaborative Research Network (SF Bay CRN).

Author(s): Handley, Margaret A; Quan, Judy; Chao, Maria T; Ratanawongsa, Neda; Sarkar, Urmimala; Emmons-Bell, Sophia; Schillinger, Dean | Abstract: PurposeTo describe use of complementary health approaches (CHAs) among patients with type 2 diabetes, and independent associations between CHA use and Hemoglobin A1c (A1C) and lower-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.MethodsParticipants were enrolled onto the SMARTSteps Program, a diabetes self-management support program conducted between 2009 and 2013 in San Francisco. At the 6-month interview, CHA use in the prior 30 days was estimated using a 12-item validated instrument. Demographic and diabetes-related measures A1C were assessed at baseline and 6-month followup. AIC and LDL values were ascertained from chart review over the study period. Medication adherence was measured using pharmacy claims data at 6 and 12 months.ResultsPatients (n = 278) completed 6-month interviews: 74% were women and 71.9% were non-English speaking. Any CHA use was reported by 51.4% overall. CHA modalities included vitamins/nutritional supplements (25.9%), spirituality/prayer (21.2%), natural remedies/herbs (24.5%), massage/acupressure (11.5%), and meditation/yoga/tai chi (10.4%). CHA costs per month were $43.86 (SD = 118.08). Nearly one third reported CHA (30.0%) specifically for their type 2 diabetes. In regression models, elevated A1C (g8.0%) was not significantly associated with overall CHA use (odds ratio [OR] = 1.78; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.7 to 4.52) whereas elevated LDL was (OR = 3.93; 95% CI, 1.57 to 9.81). With medication adherence added in exploratory analysis, these findings were not significant.ConclusionsCHA use is common among patients with type 2 diabetes and may be associated with poor cardiometabolic control and medication adherence.
Twelve tips for incorporating and teaching sexual and gender minority health in medical school curricula.

The World Health Organization has identified many barriers to improving the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) patients, including challenges to incorporating and teaching abo...
VisPod: Content-Based Audio Visual Navigation

Current audio player interfaces generally provide brief information such as title and duration time and support basic playback control functions. These features alone are not sufficient for certain user tasks, such as quickly finding a previously-visited location or browsing the main topics covered in the audio content. We present VisPod, a visual audio player that visually displays the main topics and keywords extracted from the transcript. VisPod supports (1) audio content browsing, (2) topic-based and keyword-based navigation, (3) communication of transcript and speaker information in real time, and (4) content-based query. VisPod encodes audio as a donut chart comprised of topic segments, and uses text processing algorithms to segment the transcript into independent topics and utilizes a deep learning model to generate human-readable topic names. An informal study suggests users prefer VisPod over traditional audio playback approaches specifically with regards to its benefits for audio browsing and navigation.
An explicit algorithm for imbedding solid boundaries in Cartesian grids for the reactive Euler equations

We present a local and point-wise scheme for imposing reflective boundary conditions to stationary internal boundaries for solving the reactive Euler equations on Cartesian grids. The scheme is pre...
Archaean thermostable carboxypeptidases

Publisher Summary This chapter elaborates the structural chemistry and the biological aspects of archaean thermostable carboxypeptidases. The search for thermophilic carboxypeptidases suitable for C-terminal ladder sequencing by mass spectroscopy led to the discovery of the M32 family of metallocarboxypeptidases, the first member being the Thermus aquaticus carboxypeptidase (TaqCP). Biochemical characterization of TaqCP demonstrated that it was distinct from any other carboxypeptidase in both size (59 kDa) and sequence. One other member of the M32 family that has been characterized is the hyperthermophilic Pyrococcus furiosus carboxypeptidase (PfuCP). Like other carboxypeptidases, TaqCP and PfuCP catalyze the C-terminal hydrolysis of peptides and proteins. PfuCP exhibits a broad specificity towards a wide range of C-terminal substrates that include basic, aromatic, neutral and polar amino acids. TaqCP and PfuCP have been isolated from their respective host organisms. TaqCP has also been cloned and overexpressed in E. coli. Important insight into the structural features of this family of carboxypeptidases comes from the structure of PfuCP to 2.2 A resolution. As predicted from the biochemical studies, the overall structure is a homodimer, with an overall shape reminiscent of a butterfly.