cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Acute normovolemic hemodilution can replace preoperative autologous blood donation as a standard of care for autologous blood procurement in radical prostatectomy

Predonation of autologous blood (PAD) is a standard of care for patients undergoing radical prostatectomy, but recent studies have shown that PAD is not cost-effective. Acute normovolemic hemodilution (ANH) is an alternative autologous blood procurement technique that is much less costly than PAD. We compared the efficacy and costs of ANH alone to ANH combined with PAD. Two hundred-fifty patients who predonated fewer than 3 units of autologous blood before radical prostatectomy underwent ANH to a target hematocrit of 28%. Perioperative hematocrit levels, transfusion outcomes and costs, and postoperative outcomes were compared for patients who predonated 0, 1, or 2 units of blood before surgery. A computer model was used to estimate the savings in red blood cells (RBC) associated with each autologous intervention. ANH alone resulted in a 21% allogeneic transfusion rate and contributed a mean net savings of 112 mL RBC in blood conservation (equivalent to 0.6 unit of blood). The addition of 1 or 2 units of PAD reduced allogeneic exposure rates to 6% or 0%, respectively. Overall, patients who predonated blood had a mean net loss of 198 mL of RBC (equivalent to 1 blood unit), due to both an absence in compensatory erythropoiesis and to the wastage of 60% of the blood units donated. Patients who underwent ANH alone had a 60% reduction in mean total transfusion costs ($103 +/- $102) compared with patients who predeposited 2 units of autologous blood in addition to ANH ($269 +/- $11, P < 0.05). We conclude that ANH can replace PAD as an autologous blood option because it is less costly and equally effective. A combination of ANH and PAD can further decrease allogeneic blood exposure, but it increases transfusion costs and wastage. Implications: A patient's own blood can be obtained for use in surgery by predonation or acute normovolemic hemodilution on the day of surgery. Both blood collection techniques decrease the need for blood bank transfusions, but acute normovolemic hemodilution is less expensive and more convenient for patients. (Anesth Analg 1997;85:953-8)
The evaluation of eye pain with a normal ocular exam

Eye pain with or without associated head or face pain is a common complaint to the ophthalmologist. The ocular exam may reveal the etiology (e.g., corneal disease, angle closure glaucoma) but typically the exam is normal. This paper reviews the evaluation and management of eye pain with a "normal" ocular exam, including: 1) subtle findings on ocular exam; 2) transient findings on exam, and 3) no abnormal ocular findings. Ophthalmologists should be aware of the various etiologies for eye pain and the specific and distinctive features that make the diagnosis.
A case study of emission changes and ozone responses

Abstract The ability to determine the sensitivity of 03 to NO, and/or VOC is central to the development of successful programs to reduce ambient 03 concentrations. Equally, quantifying trends in surface 0 3 time series in response to emissions changes is critical to determining the success of those programs. However, whilst both tasks are desirable from a regulatory perspective they are scientifically challenging. Herein daily maximum 03 concentrations from sites in the Greater Vancouver region are declimatized to determine the underlying trends, and those trends interpreted in the light of information regarding changing precursor emissions and ambient concentrations. Declimatized daily maximum 03 concentrations at sites outside the urban core decreased between 1984 and 1991. Using ambient data and emission inventories it is determined that O 3 concentrations in this region are VOC-sensitive. This finding coupled with information regarding changing precursor emissions and ambient NO, concentrations and previously reported changes in the form of the diurnal profile of 03 concentrations are used to develop the hypothesis that the decrease in declimatized daily maximum 03 concentrations in this region are a product of enhanced NO scavenging.
What surgeons should know about viral hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Abstract Most patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have viral hepatitis, either hepatitis C (HCV) or hepatitis B (HBV). HCV is an RNA virus that does not integrate into the host genome but likely induces HCC through viral protein: for example, host protein interactions or via the inflammatory response to the virus. Eradication of HCV with interferon plus riboviron therapy may help prevent cancer recurrence in selected patients. In contrast to HCV, HBV is an DNA virus that integrates into the host genome, and this integration is believed, in part, to be carcinogenic. HBV is usually classified as replicative (DNA-positive in the serum) or nonreplicative (DNA-negative in the serum). Treatment with nucleoside analogs is indicated in most patients with cirrhotic-stage replicating HBV. Nonreplicative stages of this virus do not merit therapy with these agents.
Comments on a paper by B. B. Hicks: ‘A procedure for the formulation of bulk transfer coefficients over water’

In formulating bulk transfer coefficients over water, Hicks (1975) assumes that an appropriate temperature roughness parameter, zH, may be derived with a method proposed by Sheppard (1958). The assumption is questioned in this note. For simplicity, the discussion is restricted to sensible heat transfer, and stability dependence is ignored. The ratio of the eddy diffusivity for heat to that for momentum, cx, is included in the calculations. Hicks considers only Q = 1. Usual eddy diffusivity assumptions for the neutral surface layer lead to
Determination of the Pseudo-Atomic Structure of Nuclear Pore Complex (NPC) Components by Small Angle X-Ray Scattering (SAXS) and Computational Modeling

The Nuclear Pore Complex (NPC, ∼50 MDa) is the sole passageway for the transport of macromolecules across the nuclear envelope. The pore plays a key role in numerous critical cellular processes such as transcription, and many of its components are implicated in human diseases such as cancer. Previous works provided the first description of the macromolecular architecture of the yeast NPC. This structure defined the relative positions and proximities of its 456 constituent nucleoporin (nup) proteins, based on spatial restraints derived from experimental data. Further elucidation of the evolutionary origin and transport mechanism of the NPC will require higher resolution information. To help improve upon the resolution and accuracy of the NPC structure, we obtained small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) data.We prepared sets of single protein, protein domain, and small NPC sub-complex samples for SAXS analysis, because producing crystal structures for many of the proteins has proven difficult. We generated SAXS profiles for individual proteins or sub-complexes in solution, which provide shape information. This shape information generated by SAXS can in turn be used to improve atomic homology models for individual proteins or complexes.We apply our Integrated Modeling Platform (IMP) software to incorporate a diverse set of experimental data, including SAXS spectra, as spatial restraints, to determine the three dimensional structures of these sub-complexes and proteins by simultaneously minimizing violations of all of the restraints.We specifically focus on components of two sub-complexes, the 7-protein Nup84 sub-complex, and the 4-protein Nup170 sub-complex, for which complementary experimental data are available. For each SAXS profile, we utilize a score that evaluates a model structure based on the deviation between the experimental profile and a calculated profile for the model.
Mesodermal retinoic acid signaling regulates endothelial cell coalescence in caudal pharyngeal arch artery vasculogenesis

Disruption of retinoic acid signaling causes a variety of pharyngeal arch artery and great vessel defects, as well as malformations in many other tissues, including those derived from the pharyngeal endoderm. Previous studies implied that arch artery defects in the context of defective RA signaling occur secondary to pharyngeal pouch segmentation defects, although this model has never been experimentally verified. In this study, we examined arch artery morphogenesis during mouse development, and the role of RA in this process. We show in normal embryos that the arch arteries form by vasculogenic differentiation of pharyngeal mesoderm. Using various genetic backgrounds and tissue-specific mutation approaches, we segregate pharyngeal arch artery and pharyngeal pouch defects in RA receptor mutants, and show that RA signal transduction only in pharyngeal mesoderm is required for arch artery formation. RA does not control pharyngeal mesodermal differentiation to endothelium, but instead promotes the aggregation of endothelial cells into nascent vessels. Expression of VE-cadherin was substantially reduced in RAR mutants, and this deficiency may underlie the arch artery defects. The consequences of disrupted mesodermal and endodermal RA signaling were restricted to the 4th and 6th arch arteries and to the 4th pharyngeal pouch, respectively, suggesting that different regulatory mechanisms control the formation of the more anterior arch arteries and pouches.
PI5P migrates out of the PIP shadow.

In a recent study published in EMBO reports, the group of Jorgen Wesche identified a new role for PI5P as a positive regulator of cell migration, most likely by facilitating actin cytoskeletal rearrangements.
Managing through Collaborative Networks: A Twenty-First Century Mandate for Local Government

Local governments face a conundrum; a structural decline in revenues concurrent with a complex environment where service responsibility must be viewed as multijurisdictional, multigovernmental, and...
Extended tables of the exact distribution of a rank statistic for all treatments multiple comparisons in one-way layout designs

In this paper we present the exact null distribution of a rank statistic used in making all treatments multiple comparisons in one-way layout designs. If we let denote the ith observation from the jth population, then we are dealing with independent random samples of sizes from populations respectively. Letting is the combined samples rank of xij among all observations, and N∗ = least common multiple of Tables are given for the upper tail probabilities of the exact null distribution of R∗ for most useful combinations of .
A parsimonious description of motoneuron dendritic morphology using computer simulation

Most quantitative descriptions of neuronal dendrite morphology involve tabulations of measurements and correlations among them. The present work is an attempt to extract from such data a parsimonious set of parameters that are sufficient to describe the quantitative features of individual and pooled dendrites, including their statistical variability. A relatively simple stochastic (Monte Carlo) model was devised to simulate branching dendritic trees. The necessary parameters were then derived directly from measurements of 64 completely reconstructed dendrites belonging to six gastrocnemius alpha- motoneurons, labeled by intracellular injection of HRP. Comparison of actual and simulated dendrites was used to guide the process of parameter extraction. The model included only two processes, one to generate individual branches given their starting diameters and the second to select starting diameters for the daughter branches produced at dichotomous branching points. The stochastic process for branch generation was controlled by probability functions for branching (Pbr) and for terminating (Ptrm), together with a constant rate of branch taper. All model parameters were fixed by motoneuron measurements except for branch taper rate, which was allowed to vary within limits consistent with observed taper rates in order to generate the appropriate total number of branches. The simplest model (model 1), in which Pbr and Ptrm depended only on local branch diameter, produced simulated dendrites that fit many, but not all, characteristics of actual motoneuron dendrites. Two additional properties produced significant improvements in the fit: (1) a small but significant dependence of daughter diameters on the normalized starting diameter of the parent branch, and (2) a dependence of Pbr and Ptrm on distance from the soma as well as on local branch diameter. The process of developing this model revealed unsuspected relations in the original data that suggest the existence of fundamental mechanisms for morphological control. The final model succinctly describes a large amount of data and will enable quantitative comparisons between the dendritic structures of different types of neurons, regardless of their relative sizes.
Single interaction point operation of CESR

The Cornell Electron Storage Ring is configured to collide beams at a single interaction point. There are seven bunches in each beam and the beams are separated horizontally at each of the thirteen parasitic crossing points. The horizontal displacement is achieved with two symmetrically placed pairs of electrostatic separators. The optical functions are constrained to minimize the long-range beam-beam tune shift and maximize the aperture for the separated beams. In addition, the optics are designed to eliminate differences in damping partition numbers and path lengths for the two beams. The sextupole strengths are distributed so that the tunes of the electrons and positrons are equal. >
Multi-vehicle Coordination for Wireless Energy Replenishment in Sensor Networks

Mobile vehicles equipped with wireless energy transmission technology can recharge sensor nodes over the air. When to recharge which nodes, and in what order, critically impact the network performance. So far only a few works have studied the recharging policy for a single mobile vehicle. In this paper, we study how to coordinate the recharging activities of multiple mobile vehicles, which provide more scalability and robustness than a single vehicle. We leverage concepts and mechanisms from NDN (Named Data Networking) to design energy monitoring protocols that deliver energy status information to mobile vehicles in an efficient manner. Then we study how to minimize the total traveling cost of multiple vehicles while ensuring no node failure. We derive theoretical results on the energy neutral condition and the minimum number of mobile vehicles required for perpetual network operations. We formulate the optimization problem into a Multiple Traveling Salesman Problem with Deadlines (m-TSP with Deadlines), which is NP-hard. To accommodate the dynamic nature of node energy conditions and reduce computational overhead, we present a heuristic algorithm that selects the node with the minimum weighted sum of traveling time and residual lifetime. Our scheme not only improves network scalability but also guarantees the perpetual operation of networks. Finally, we conduct extensive simulations to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our proposed design, and validate the correctness of theoretical analysis.
Long-Term Efficacy of Carbon Dioxide Laser Resurfacing for Facial Actinic Keratosis

Purpose To evaluate the efficacy and long-term effectiveness of carbon dioxide laser resurfacing in the treatment of patients with facial actinic keratosis. Patients and Methods A retrospective chart analysis was conducted of 31 patients who underwent full face carbon dioxide laser resurfacing for facial actinic keratosis from July 1998 to November 2002. Results Of 31 patients, 18 (58%) were free of lesions at their longest visit. The average actinic keratosis free period, excluding 2 deceased patients, was 27.4 months. Conclusion Carbon dioxide laser resurfacing is an effective tool in the management of patients with facial actinic keratosis.
Teaching Foreign Policy Decision‐Making Processes Using Role‐Playing Simulations: The Case of US–Iranian Relations

Butcher, Charity. (2012) Teaching Foreign Policy Decision-Making Processes Using Role-Playing Simulations: The Case of US–Iranian Relations. International Studies Perspectives, doi: 10.1111/j.1528-3585.2012.00457.x © 2012 International Studies Association Most undergraduate courses on foreign policy discuss important models and explanations of foreign policy decision making, such as the rational actor, organizational process and governmental politics models, and groupthink. It is often difficult for students to fully understand how to apply and use these concepts to analyze foreign policy decision-making processes. One way to encourage such analytical thinking is to have students utilize various models to explain a specific event. While this is a useful task, students often gain a greater level of comprehension when they are evaluating a decision-making process in which they have personally taken part in. As such, role-playing simulation can be a very effective tool in helping students learn to understand and, more importantly, apply these various decision-making models and explanations. This paper presents an example of how simulations can help teach these concepts by presenting specific information regarding a simulation of US–Iranian relations.
C/EBPβ regulates multiple IL-1β-induced human astrocyte inflammatory genes

CCAAT enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP)β regulates gene expression in multiple organ systems and cell types, including astrocytes in the central nervous system (CNS). Inflammatory stimuli, interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 and lipopolysaccharide induce astrocyte C/EBPβ expression. C/EBPβ is detectable in brains of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD) and HIV-1-associated dementia (HAD) patients, yet little is known about how C/EBPβ contributes to astrocyte gene regulation during neuroinflammation. The expression of 92 human inflammation genes was compared between IL-1β-treated primary human astrocytes and astrocytes transfected with C/EBPβ-specific small interfering (si)RNA prior to IL-1β treatment for 12 h. Transcripts altered by > two-fold compared to control were subjected to one-way analysis of variance and Newman-Keuls post-test for multiple comparisons. Expression of two genes, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and bradykinin receptor B2 (BDKRB2) was further confirmed in additional human astrocyte donors. Astrocytes were treated with mitogen-activated protein kinase-selective inhibitors, then with IL-1β for 12 or 24 h followed by COX-2 and BDKRB2, expression analyses. IL-1β altered expression of 29 of 92 human inflammation genes by at least two-fold in primary human astrocytes in 12 h. C/EBPβ knockdown affected expression of 17 out of 29 IL-1β-regulated genes by > 25%. Two genes relevant to neuroinflammation, COX-2 and BDKRB2, were robustly decreased and increased, respectively, in response to C/EBPβ knockdown, and expression was confirmed in two additional donors. COX-2 and BDKRB2 mRNA remained altered in siRNA-transfected astrocytes at 12, 24 or 72 h. Inhibiting p38 kinase (p38K) activation blocked IL-1β-induced astrocyte COX-2 mRNA and protein expression, but not IL-1β-induced astrocyte BDKRB2 expression. Inhibiting extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 activation blocked IL-1β-induced BDKRB2 mRNA expression while increasing COX-2 expression. These data support an essential role for IL-1β in the CNS and identify new C/EBPβ functions in astrocytes. Additionally, this work suggests p38K and ERK1/2 pathways may regulate gene expression in a complementary manner to fine tune the IL-1β-mediated astrocyte inflammatory response. Delineating a role for C/EBPβ and other involved transcription factors in human astrocyte inflammatory response may lead to effective therapies for AD, PD, HAD and other neurological disorders.
Cultural stereotypes die hard: the case of transracial adoption

Transracial adoption (commonly understood as the adoption of black children by white families) has been the subject of a persistent debate among adoption specialists, legal advocates, mental health professionals, and even civil rights advocates in this country for a long time. This has been so despite cumulative research evidence indicating that transracial adoptees can thrive and develop into confident adults with strong senses of identity and self-esteem. We contend that the evidence undergirding transracial adoption has not been effectively persuasive because of the tenacious and ubiquitous cultural belief that children and their potential adoptive parents should be matched along racial lines. However, the cultural principle of racial matching has also been diluted by judicial decisions that have narrowly allowed the use of race as one factor rather than as the controlling factor in adoption decisions. This article focuses on the use of a third element--federal statutory attempts intended to remove race as a controlling factor in child placement decisions. We will show how as a matter of public policy, the statutory efforts were meant to promote race-neutral approaches to adoption and to support transracial adoptions. However, in practice, the statutory attempts may still leave the door open to continued race-matching, which suggests that the cultural preference for race-matching in the construction of families remains powerfully ingrained and difficult to eradicate. As a consequence, transracial adoption appears to maintain its status as a culturally suspect phenomenon.
Photographic Mapping of a Tissue Surface to Locate Fields for Electron Microscopy; Mouse Lung

Precise sampling from whole lobes of mouse lungs fixed in the inflated state and embedded in epoxy resin can be not only feasible but also efficient. A 1 μm section is cut from an embedded lobe with a rotary microtome and a steel knife. This section is stained and photographed, and from it a 35 × enlarged print is prepared. A grid of transparent plastic scored with 35 mm squares, lettered vertically and numbered horizontally, is superimposed over the photograph. The area chosen for electron microscopy thus becomes identifiable by a letter-number designation obtained from the grid. This area is then located by light microscopy on a 2 mm slice taken from the block from which the 1 μm section was cut, by use of oblique illumination and the calibrated mechanical stage of the light microscope. A block of 1.3 mm diameter is removed for electron microscopy from the tissue by a rotatable circular spring-loaded punch screwed into the objective turret of the microscope. The removed cylinder is mounted on a metal st...
The Identification of Gifted Students with Learning Disabilities: Challenges, Controversies, and Promising Practices

What does a gifted student with learning disabilities look like? How can school psychologists and teachers recognize gifted students with learning disabilities? Consider the case of Ronald, a fourth grade boy with a 145 IQ. In kindergarten, before students are expected to read, Ronald was at the top of his class. Teachers raved about Ronald’s verbal skills and his clever responses in class. He was inquisitive and he loved books. He had memorized several of his favorite picture books, and could “read” them verbatim to the delight of his family and friends. In first grade, Ronald struggled with phonics, but had a fairly large sight-word vocabulary for a student his age. He was in the top reading group. By second grade, Ronald had slipped into the middle reading group, and he no longer seemed to enjoy books and reading. By fourth grade, Ronald was a very average-looking student. Ronald seemed to daydream in class. Teachers began to notice that Ronald had some difficulty reading textbooks in the content areas. Ronald’s mother reported that at home, Ronald was inquisitive and curious, that he enjoyed building models and playing with Legos. However, Ronald’s teachers only rarely saw such a spark in school. Occasionally, he would contribute something clever to the classroom discussion, but mostly he seemed disengaged.
Severe reaction in a child with asymptomatic codfish allergy: Food challenge reactivating recurrent pancreatitis

An 8-year-old child during the first year of life manifested severe atopic dermatitis and chronic diarrhea with mucorrhea and rectal bleeding; a fish-free diet was started based on weakly positive skin-prick tests to codfish extract. At the age of 4 years the child began to suffer of recurrent pancreatitis. When he came to our attention for the evaluation of his fish allergy, he was asymptomatic; a weak reactivity to codfish was observed (SPTs: cod, 4 mm, sIgE ImmunoCAP: cod, 1.30kU/l). The food challenge test with cod was negative. When the child ate cod again, within 5 minutes, developed anaphylactic reaction and complained of abdominal pain compatible with pancreatitis (enzyme serum levels risen and parenchymal oedema at ultrasonography), that resolved within 7 days after specific therapy. This case raises two issues: the elimination diet in asymptomatic food allergy on the basis only of SPT and the ethicality of food challenge in gastrointestinal chronic disease.
Species boundaries, specialization, and the radiation of sponge-dwelling alpheid shrimp

Microevolutionary studies and natural history suggest that host-specialization has promoted the high diversity of tropical sponge-dwelling snapping shrimps (Decapoda, Alpheidae, Synalpheus). Yet the taxonomic difficulty of this genus has precluded rigorous tests of this hypothesis. S. rathbunae Coutiere is among the most abundant invertebrates inhabiting the framework of sponges and dead coral that forms the floor of Caribbean coral reefs. Even within a small area S. rathbunae exhibits the apparently wide variation in size, color, and morphology that has long frustrated efforts to identify and define species boundaries within this large ( > 100 described species) genus. Here I show that sympatric populations of this nominal species occupying different sponge hosts display clear, concordant differences in allozyme genotypes and in multivariate morphometrics, confirming that the populations represent three distinct biological species. Moreover, careful field sampling revealed that the three S. rathbunae taxa and the closely related S. filidigitus Armstrong showed almost no overlap in the species of hosts occupied. Interestingly, while there was significant differentiation between Belizean and Panamanian populations of the one taxon that occurred at both sites ( ~ 1500 km apart), these populations were recognizable as conspecific using both genetic and morphological characters. These results show that (1) diversity of Synalpheus, which is already among the most species-rich crustacean genera, is probably several times higher than currently recognized, and (2) species of sponge-dwelling Synalpheus are highly host-specific, with related species distinctly segregated among hosts. Together with previous evidence of host race differentiation within shrimp species, these results suggest a primary role for resource specialization in the origin and/or maintenance of this group's characteristically high diversity.
Behaviour processors: layers between end-users and Java virtual machines

Visual programming approaches are limited in their usefulness if they do not include a profile of their users that defines exactly who is attempting to solve what kind of problems using which tools and why. Without such a definition, visual programming approaches can end up as solutions in search of problems. Reconceptualizing-programming environments as layered behaviour processors in the context of creating SimCity/sup TM/ like interactive simulations-makes end user programming more feasible. The layered approach serves the programming needs for a range of users, including casual computer end users and professional programmers. The extension of the Agentsheets system with the Ristretto/sup TM/ agent to Java bytecode compiler is used to illustrate how a behaviour processor enables end users to create their own Java applets that can be embedded into Web pages.
A new performance analysis metric for medical ultrasound

The resolution of medical ultrasound systems is usually characterized by the width of the mainlobe, typically the full width at half maximum (FWHM), in beamplots. The FWHM has, however, been shown to sometimes provide misleading information about systems. The concept of "cystic resolution" in which performance is quantified as the size of the void that produces a specified contrast, has been previously introduced to medical ultrasound. We extend the concept and develop a general metric to analyze the 3D broadband performance of arbitrary ultrasound systems. We provide an example of application in which we compare the performance of a conventional system using a 1D array and time delay beamforming of radiofrequency (RF) data to that of a system based on a 2D array that focuses solely via phase rotation of complex I/Q data formed by directly sampling the received RF signal.
The Selective Staining of Mitochondria

A critical analysis of extant selective mitochondrial stains has elucidated certain empirical criteria for the adoption of dyes for trial. These criteria include a specific triphenylmethane structure for the dye, with sulfonation and the use of aniline and heat as adjuvants. By the application of these characteristics the dyes fast green FGF and light green SF yellowish were chosen for study and proved to be highly selective mitochondrial stains. They are applicable to both tissue slices and homogenate studies and permit examination of the internal structure of mitochondria.
General decomposition theorems form-convex sets in the plane

A setS inRdis said to bem-convex,m≧2, if and only if for everym distinct points inS, at least one of the line segments determined by these points lies inS. Clearly any union ofm−1 convex sets ism-convex, yet the converse is false and has inspired some interesting mathematical questions: Under what conditions will anm-convex set be decomposable intom−1 convex sets? And for everym≧2, does there exist aσ(m) such that everym-convex set is a union ofσ(m) convex sets? Pathological examples convince the reader to restrict his attention to closed sets of dimension≦3, and this paper provides answers to the questions above for closed subsets of the plane.
Movement of Lycoriella mali (Diptera: Sciaridae) Through Mushroom-Growing Medium

Knowledge of the location of Lycoriella mali (Fitch) in mushroom-growing medium throughout the insect’s life cycle may enable mushroom growers to direct control efforts where the insects are concentrated, thus reducing control costs and insecticide usage. Compost and casing, exposed to a laboratory colony of L. mali , were divided into several horizontal layers by nylon netting that did not inhibit insect movement. At regular intervals (3-5 d) after exposure to L. mali , each layer of medium was extracted to determine the number and stage of insects in the layer. Insects were extracted from the medium by screening, differential sucrose densities, and centrifugation. Females penetrated the compost to a depth of 5.7 cm to oviposit, but most eggs were laid at 1.9-3.8 cm. As larvae hatched and matured, most moved deeper into the compost. Late fourth instars or pupae migrated to the upper level of the compost. Very little movement into casing occurred when the compost was infested before casing was added; infestation of casing resulted from exposure of the medium to flies after the casing was added. Results indicate that directing control efforts to the upper few cm of compost would provide the greatest return for the effort.
Age-related Differences in Binocular Backward Masking With Visual Noise

Peripheral processing, as defined by Turvey (1973), was investigated in a study of binocular backward masking involving random visual noise. For young (mean age 20.3 years) and old (mean age 55.4 years) adults, processing time (represented by stimulus onset asynchrony, SOA) was characterized as a power function of target energy (TE) (i.e., TEb x SOA = K). Over a wide range of target energy levels, processing time showed a similar rate of decline (similar exponent, b) for both age groups with increasing target energy. However, old subjects processed targets more slowly at all target energy levels (different constant, K), and this age difference was constant across all target energy levels. Results were independent of variables such as sex, education, response criterion, unmasked threshold, and method of determining stimulus onset asynchrony.
Genome-Wide Functional Annotation of Human Protein-Coding Splice Variants Using Multiple Instance Learning.

The vast majority of human multiexon genes undergo alternative splicing and produce a variety of splice variant transcripts and proteins, which can perform different functions. These protein-coding splice variants (PCSVs) greatly increase the functional diversity of proteins. Most functional annotation algorithms have been developed at the gene level; the lack of isoform-level gold standards is an important intellectual limitation for currently available machine learning algorithms. The accumulation of a large amount of RNA-seq data in the public domain greatly increases our ability to examine the functional annotation of genes at isoform level. In the present study, we used a multiple instance learning (MIL)-based approach for predicting the function of PCSVs. We used transcript-level expression values and gene-level functional associations from the Gene Ontology database. A support vector machine (SVM)-based 5-fold cross-validation technique was applied. Comparatively, genes with multiple PCSVs performe...
A Recommendation for the Use of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) to Bridge the LMS to LOR Data Movement Interoperability Gap for Education

The purpose of this discussion paper is to explain why we are convinced that Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is the best alternative to resolve the data movement interoperability gap that exists between LMSs and LORs. An example of a successful implementation of SOA in the Healthcare and Insurance industries is discussed, followed by a recent endorsement of SOA by the Instructional Management Systems (IMS) Global Learning Consortium. An example of the use of SOA for Internet data movement between LMSs and LORs is presented. Network Centric System (NCS) architectures are defined, followed by a comparison of SOA with the relevant alternative architectures.
Field Theory in Social Science: Selected Theoretical Papers by Kurt Lewin

(1951). Field Theory in Social Science: Selected Theoretical Papers by Kurt Lewin. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy: Vol. 1, No. 4, pp. 388-389.
Measurement of fractional lipid synthesis using deuterated water (2H2O) and mass isotopomer analysis

Fractional biosynthesis of palmitate, stearate, and cholesterol was determined with deuterated water (2H2O) using mass isotopomer analysis in Hep G2 and MCA sarcoma cells in culture. The method employed differs from previous ones in that the number of deuterium atoms from 2H2O incorporated into newly synthesized molecules was determined and not assumed. After correction for background natural abundances, the isotopomer distribution due to deuterium incorporation in fatty acids and cholesterol was shown to follow a simple binomial distribution depending on the deuterium enrichment in water (p) and the maximum number of deuterium atoms incorporated per molecule (N). Under a wide range of 2H2O enrichments, N could be determined to be 17 for palmitate, 20 for stearate, and 20 for cholesterol by regression analysis or from a series of consecutive mass isotopomer ratios. The fraction derived from de novo synthesis was given by the ratio of the observed to the theoretical deuterium enrichment, which is the product (N x p). The new synthesized fraction of palmitate and stearate by Hep G2 cells for the length of the experiment was found to be 77 and 65%, respectively. These values were confirmed by experiments with [U-13C]glucose as the precursor. In MCA sarcoma cells grown in lipid-poor medium, the average values for fractional synthesis of palmitate, stearate, and cholesterol were 70, 35, and 70%, respectively. This approach should be generally applicable to the simultaneous determined of fractional synthesis of a number of compounds with either deuterium or 13C tracers. Its application is only limited by the accuracy of mass spectrometric analysis.
The onset of plasma potential locking

In this paper, we provide insight into the role and impact that a positively biased electrode (anode) has on bulk plasma potential. Using two-dimensional Particle-in-Cell simulations, we investigate the plasma potential as an anode transitions from very small (“probe” mode) to large (“locking” mode). Prior theory provides some guidance on when and how this transition takes place. Initial experimental results are also compared. The simulations demonstrate that as the surface area of the anode is increased transitions in plasma potential and sheath polarity occur, consistent with experimental observations and theoretical predictions. It is expected that understanding this basic plasma behavior will be of interest to basic plasma physics communities, diagnostic developers, and plasma processing devices where control of bulk plasma potential is important.
Effects of Environmentally Acquired Heavy Metals and Nutrients on the Epigenome and Phenotype

Cadmium, arsenic, mercury and lead are ubiquitous environmental contaminants that tend to co-occur. Unlike organic compounds that are chemically, biologically, or photo-degraded, these metals persist in the environment for indefinite periods. Although protein disruption/misfolding, generation of oxidative stress, and endocrine disruption are known effects of toxic metal exposure, beyond the known toxic effects of high dose exposure, mechanisms causing these effects, especially at low chronic doses, are still largely unknown. Epigenetics is emerging as a viable mechanistic framework to explain how the environment interacts with the genome to alter disease risk. Alterations in DNA methylation, histone marks and chromatin structure have been proposed as useful exposure assessment biomarkers that can substantially improve assessment of risk in etiologic studies where exposure occurs early during the life course. If developed into exposure-specific biomarkers, these epigenetic marks can be a powerful tool to identify populations exposed to low doses where phenotypic response may not be immediately apparent, and also to evaluate the efficacy of therapeutic and public health interventions. This could be particularly important as exposed populations tend to be the socioeconomically disadvantaged who have limited contact with the health care system. In this review, we provide an overview of the current state of literature on heavy-metal-associated epigenetic alterations. We discuss the extent to which such epigenetic alterations alter susceptibility to common chronic diseases and how they might be mitigated by some nutrients, albeit within narrow margins. We conclude by discussing key issues that must be resolved if human epigenetic data is to provide useful biomarkers and mechanistic insights into how low dose chronic exposure to these metals might alter the epigenome and increase disease susceptibility.
Inappropriate Sympathies in Gaskell and Eliot

In previous chapters, this book has suggested that capitalism is a space structured by moral irony, and that in capitalist society individual actions are not supposed to be judged on the basis of their immediate effects or the possibly evil intentions of the agent, but rather within a field that encompasses those actions’ many possible unintended consequences. The realist novels analysed here proceed from the premise (implied in Smith’s figure of the invisible hand) that a true understanding of moral action in this kind of social space requires a composite vision that somehow takes into account both the individual and an overview of the whole social system, and work out the implications of this vision by playing with different narrative forms. The discussion of these novels in Part II began with the question of genre, showing how Austen and Dickens attempt to encompass both fields of vision by toggling between the Gothic and realism (in Northanger Abbey) or between omniscient and self-consciously innocent narrators (in Bleak House). The next chapter proposed that one characteristic result of viewing individual tragedies as trivial from the point of view of the whole system is a mood of tortured irony, both in the somewhat strained triumphalism of Martineau’s Illustrations of Political Economy and in Dickens’s bitter rebellion against it in Hard Times. Thackeray’s Vanity Fair offers a more ludic kind of tortured irony in its combination of an abstract compassion with consistent mockery of both individual delusion and narratorial authority.
Abstract 5137: IQGAP1, an ERK1/2 MAPK scaffold, is an oncogenic target in canine melanoma

BACKGROUND: Human cutaneous melanoma is primarily driven by activating mutations in Braf (60%) or Nras (20%). However, human oral melanoma harbors these mutations much less frequently. Similarly, canine oral mucosal melanomas have not been found to have activating Braf or Nras mutations. This makes them an ideal model to study alternative means of ERK1/2 MAPK pathway activation as these tumors are still reliant on MAPK signaling. We have previously studied IQGAP1 as a tumor specific ERK1/2 MAPK scaffold and shown that it is required for cancer progression. METHODS: In this study, we utilized canine oral melanoma cell lines obtained from the University of California-Davis. We examined the expression and localization of IQGAP1, a signaling scaffold that regulates oncogenic ERK1/2 MAPK signaling in human cancer, and validate it as an oncogenic target in the canine melanoma model. Using a CRISPR/Cas9 knockout of IQGAP1, we examined effects on downstream pathway activation. Additionally, we assayed proliferation of these cell lines when treated with a peptide that blocks the interaction between IQGAP1 and ERK1/2. RESULTS: We observed that canine IQGAP1 is expressed and localizes to a similar extent in human and canine melanoma by qPCR, Western blot and immunofluorescence. Deletion of IQGAP1 from two canine oral melanoma cell lines using CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing reduces MAPK pathway activation, similar to effects seen in human BrafV600E cell lines. Additionally, we demonstrated reduced proliferation when these cells are treated with the WW blocking peptide in-vitro. We are currently investigating the expression and localization of IQGAP1 in primary canine oral melanoma compared to normal oral mucosa. CONCLUSION: Building on the above findings to explore alternative MAPK signaling in melanoma using the canine melanoma model may yield novel therapeutic strategies and novel means to target canine and human tumors that are resistant to current Braf and MEK targeted therapies. Citation Format: Ashley Zehnder, Becky Lee, Poornima Neela, Paul Khavari. IQGAP1, an ERK1/2 MAPK scaffold, is an oncogenic target in canine melanoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 5137. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-5137
Workload and teacher absence

Abstract We investigate the determinants of teacher absences both within and across schools. We find that teachers generally respond to increased workload by decreasing their rate of absence. Teachers are less likely to be absent when they are teaching larger classes, have new grade assignments or have fewer years of experience. Moreover, we show that when teachers change schools, their absence rate quickly gravitates towards the mean absence rate of their new school, suggesting that school-level factors are an important determinant of absence rates. Finally, we show that the inverse relationship between workload and absence may lead researchers to underestimate the ceteris paribus effect of certain teacher inputs. We illustrate this point in the context of estimating the effect of teacher experience on test scores and show that controlling for absence rates increases the estimated returns to experience by approximately 10%.
An Interactive Multisensing Framework for Personalized Human Robot Collaboration and Assistive Training Using Reinforcement Learning

There is a recent trend of research and applications of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) in manufacturing to enhance human-robot collaboration and production. In this paper, we propose a CPS framework for personalized Human-Robot Collaboration and Training to promote safe human-robot collaboration in manufacturing environments. We propose a human-centric CPS approach that focuses on multimodal human behavior monitoring and assessment, to promote human worker safety and enable human training in Human-Robot Collaboration tasks. We present the architecture of our proposed system, our experimental testbed and our proposed methods for multimodal physiological sensing, human state monitoring and interactive robot adaptation, to enable personalized interaction.
Tesla inspired pump and microfliudic gradient realized with lithography based additive manufacturing

The bladeless turbine was demonstrated by Nichola Tesla in 1913, though limited by its difficulty to maintain laminar flow between rotor disks and a lack of applications for the characteristically smooth flow outputs. These aforementioned limits are addressable by scaling to the microfluidic flow regime. Demonstrated here is a microscale Tesla pump designed and fabricated using a Digital Light Processing (DLP) based 3D printer. The miniaturized pump is characterized by low Reynolds number of 1000 and a flow rate of up to 12.6 mL/min at 1200 rpm, outputting 53 μW pump power. Coupling to a Tesla-valve based mixer network, the combination represents an all Tesla-inspired microfluidics system, Figure 1.
The Clinical Pharmacokinetics of Amphetamines Utilized in the Treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Abstract Amphetamine (AMP), an indirectly acting psychostimulant approved for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children, adolescents, and adults, is among the most long-standing therapeutic agents in all of clinical psychopharmacology. This review focuses on AMP absorption, metabolism, and elimination brought to bear on comparative pharmacokinetics in its various formulations. A comprehensive search of the published literature was conducted using MEDLINE (PubMed) and Google Scholar databases through April 2017 to retrieve all pertinent in vitro and human studies for review and synthesis. Additionally, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) databases were accessed for otherwise unavailable data when possible. Initially available as racemic (dl)-AMP, this drug was later supplanted by enantiopure (d)-AMPH or enantioenriched (75:25 dl)-AMP formulations; although racemic AMP returned as an approved drug to treat ADHD in 2014. Presently, there are several immediate-release (IR) fo...
Components of Web Image Processing Pipeline

This chapter is for advanced readers who would like to learn about the building blocks of the web image processing pipeline (WIPP). By overviewing a WIPP generic usage scenario, we first map the WIPP functionality to information technologies that form a set of building blocks for client-server applications. Next, we describe the information technologies at a high level so that a reader gains some general understanding about designing web image processing pipelines.