cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
P1E-8 Ultrasonic Doppler Measurement of Tissue Vibrations: Opportunities and Limitations

Doppler measurement of tissue vibrations (ultrasonic vibrometry) can provide clinical information about vascular pathology that may be otherwise difficult to obtain using conventional duplex ultrasound. Vibrometry can provide improved sensitivity, since the scattering strength from tissue is significantly higher than that from blood. In addition, detection of tissue vibrations has reduced angle dependency and does not require visualization of the vessel lumen, making the exam less dependent on operator skill and less time-consuming. The fundamental sources of error that can affect the measurement accuracy of the vibration characteristics are Doppler spectral broadening and tissue acceleration. Parametric simulation studies analyzing the effect of these sources of error and their implications are presented. We also present preliminary results from renal artery stenosis (RAS), demonstrating that a diagnosis based on the characteristics of measured tissue vibrations correlates well with the routine clinical diagnosis
Appearances and the Problem of Affection in Kant

Hans Vaihinger, in the late nineteenth century, posed a now famous trilemma for Immanuel Kant's theory of affection: (1) If things-in-themselves are the affecting objects, then one must apply the categories beyond the conditions of their application (space and time). (2) If one holds that appearances are the affecting objects, then one must hold that these appearances which are the effects of affection are themselves the causes of affection. (3) If one holds that things-in-themselves affect the noumenal self in parallel with appearances affecting the empirical self, then that which is a representation for the noumenal self must serve as a causally efficacious thing-in-itself for the empirical self's production of an empirical representation of the very same object (so-called ‘double affection’).
Microtubule mediation of cytoplasmic and nuclear maturation during the early stages of resumed meiosis in cultured mouse oocytes

Abstract A perinuclear accumulation of mitochondria characterizes the premetaphase I stages of reinitiated meiosis in the laboratory mouse oocyte. The cellular basis of this organelle-specific translocation was examined by fluorescent probe analysis, immunostaining, and immunoelectron microscopy in oocytes cultured at specific stages of meiotic maturation in the presence and absence of drugs that influence the stability of microfilaments and microtubules. The results suggest that a temporal, spatial, and developmental relationship exists between the location of microtubule organizing centers and the progressive translocation of mitochondria to the nuclear region. The findings indicate that mitochondrial translocations are mediated by microtubules and that individual microtubule organizing centers are not only foci for mitochondrial aggregation but may also facilitate the establishment of the circular bivalent configuration.
Molecular mechanism of hepatocellular injury in alpha1 antitrypsin deficiency

Liver injury in PiZZ α1-antitrypsin (α1-AT) deficiency probably results from toxic effects of the abnormal α1-AT molecule accumulating within the ER of liver cells. However, only 12–15% of individuals with this same genotype develops liver disease. Therefore, we predicted that other genetic traits that determine the net intracellular accumulation of the mutant α1-AT molecule would also determine susceptibility to liver disease. To address this prediction, we transduced skin fibroblasts from PiZZ individuals with liver disease or without liver disease with amphotropic recombinant retroviral particles designed for constitutive expression of the mutant α1-AT Z gene. Human skin fibroblasts do not express the endogenous α1-AT gene but presumably express other genes involved in postsynthetic processing of secretory proteins. The results show that expression of human α1-AT M gene was conferred on each fibroblast cell line. Compared to the same cell line transduced with the wild-type α1-AT M gene, there was selective intracellular accumulation of the mutant α1-AT Z protein in each case. However, there was a marked delay in degradation of the mutant α1-AT Z protein after it accumulated in the fibroblasts from ZZ individuals with liver disease (“susceptible hosts”) as compared to those without liver disease (“protected hosts”). Appropriate disease controls showed that the lag in degradation in susceptible hosts is specific for the combination of PiZZ phenotype and liver disease. Biochemical characteristics of α1-AT Z degradation in the protected hosts were found to be similar to those of a common ER degradation pathway previously described in model experimental cell systems for T-cell receptor α subunits and asialoglycoprotein receptor subunits, therefore, raising the possibility that the lag in degradation in the susceptible host is a defect in this common ER degradation pathway. Thus, these data provide evidence that other genetic traits that affect the fate of the abnormal α1-AT Z molecule, at least in part, determine susceptibility to liver disease. These data also validate a system for elucidating the biochemical/genetic characteristics of these traits and for examining the relevance to human disease of pathways for protein deradation in the ER.
Priming of CD8+ T Cells during Central Nervous System Infection with a Murine Coronavirus Is Strain Dependent

Virus-specific CD8(+) T cells are critical for protection against neurotropic coronaviruses; however, central nervous system (CNS) infection with the recombinant JHM (RJHM) strain of mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) elicits a weak CD8(+) T-cell response in the brain and causes lethal encephalomyelitis. An adoptive transfer model was used to elucidate the kinetics of CD8(+) T-cell priming during CNS infection with RJHM as well as with two MHV strains that induce a robust CD8(+) T-cell response (RA59 and SJHM/RA59, a recombinant A59 virus expressing the JHM spike). While RA59 and SJHM/RA59 infections resulted in CD8(+) T-cell priming within the first 2 days postinfection, RJHM infection did not lead to proliferation of naive CD8(+) T cells. While all three viruses replicated efficiently in the brain, only RA59 and SJHM/RA59 replicated to appreciable levels in the cervical lymph nodes (CLN), the site of T-cell priming during acute CNS infection. RJHM was unable to suppress the CD8(+) T-cell response elicited by RA59 in mice simultaneously infected with both strains, suggesting that RJHM does not cause generalized immunosuppression. RJHM was also unable to elicit a secondary CD8(+) T-cell response in the brain following peripheral immunization against a viral epitope. Notably, the weak CD8(+) T-cell response elicited by RJHM was unique to CNS infection, since peripheral inoculation induced a robust CD8(+) T-cell response in the spleen. These findings suggest that the failure of RJHM to prime a robust CD8(+) T-cell response during CNS infection is likely due to its failure to replicate in the CLN.
Simultaneous transmission of two channels operating at the same wavelength in standard multimode fibers

Spatial domain multiplexing is a novel multiplexing technique providing a method to transmit multiple channels of same wavelength inside an optical fiber. Two such analog channels on optical fibers for LAN applications are reported.
Minimal-scan reconstruction algorithms for fan-beam diffraction tomography and their analogy to halfscan fan-beam CT

In fan-beam diffraction tomography (DT), a scattering object is interrogated using a cylindrical acoustical or electromagnetic wavefield, and the scattered wavefield around the object is measured and used to reconstruct the refractive index distribution of the scattering object. Recently, there has been a strong interest in developing ultrasound-, microwave- and photon density-based DT systems as medical imaging modalities. In conventional fan-beam computed tomography (CT), it is possible to reduce the scanning time by use of the so-called minimal-scan approach (also referred to as the halfscan approach) in which one acquires the minimal-scan fan-beam sinogram at projection angles from zero to /spl pi/ plus the fan angle. It is widely believed that in fan-beam DT, measurements from a full angular range of 2 /spl pi/ around the scattering object are generally required to exactly reconstruct a complex-valued refractive index distribution. In this work the authors reveal that to perform an exact reconstruction, one needs measurements only over the angular range O/spl les//spl phi//spl les//spl phi/ min, where /spl pi/</spl phi//sub min//spl les/3/spl pi//2 is a specified function describing the fan-beam DT geometry. Based on this observation, the authors develop minimal-scan reconstruction algorithms for fan-beam DT. They also present a discussion of the conceptual similarities between the minimal-scan fan-beam DT and CT reconstruction problems.
Conditions for the discovery of solution horizons

We present necessary and sufficient conditions for discrete infinite horizon optimization problems with unique solutions to be solvable. These problems can be equivalently viewed as the task of finding a shortest path in an infinite directed network. We provide general forward algorithms with stopping rules for their solution. The key condition required is that of weak reachability, which roughly requires that for any sequence of nodes or states, it must be possible from optimal states to reach states close in cost to states along this sequence. Moreover the costs to reach these states must converge to zero. Applications are considered in optimal search, undiscounted Markov decision processes, and deterministic infinite horizon optimization.
4-dimensional local spatio-temporal features for human activity recognition

Recognizing human activities from common color image sequences faces many challenges, such as complex backgrounds, camera motion, and illumination changes. In this paper, we propose a new 4-dimensional (4D) local spatio-temporal feature that combines both intensity and depth information. The feature detector applies separate filters along the 3D spatial dimensions and the 1D temporal dimension to detect a feature point. The feature descriptor then computes and concatenates the intensity and depth gradients within a 4D hyper cuboid, which is centered at the detected feature point, as a feature. For recognizing human activities, Latent Dirichlet Allocation with Gibbs sampling is used as the classifier. Experiments are performed on a newly created database that contains six human activities, each with 33 samples with complex variations. Experimental results demonstrate the promising performance of the proposed features for the task of human activity recognition.
Exploring the Limits of Codon and Anticodon Size

We previously employed a combinatorial approach to identify the most efficient suppressors of four-base codons in E. coli. We have now examined the suppression of two-, three-, four-, five-, and six-base codons with tRNAs containing 6-10 nt in their anticodon loops. We found that the E. coli translational machinery tolerates codons of 3-5 bases and that tRNAs with 6-10 nt anticodon loops can suppress these codons. However, N-length codons were found to prefer N + 4-length anticodon loops. Additionally, sequence preferences, including the requirement of Watson-Crick complementarity to the codon, were evident in the loops. These selections have yielded efficient suppressors of four-base and five-base codons for our ongoing efforts to expand the genetic code. They also highlight some of the parameters that underlie the fidelity of frame maintenance.
A diagnostic dilemma: infectious versus noninfectious multifocal choroiditis with panuveitis.

Background The objective of this study was to report a diagnostic dilemma in a patient with multifocal choroiditis. This is a case report study.
Higgs-Boson production at hadron colliders: differential cross sections through next-to-next-to-leading order.

We present a calculation of the fully differential cross section for Higgs-boson production in the gluon fusion channel through next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in perturbative QCD. We apply the method introduced in C. Anastasiou, K. Melnikov, and F. Petriello, Phys. Rev. D 69, 076010 (2004), to compute double real emission corrections. Our calculation permits arbitrary cuts on the final state in the reaction $hh\ensuremath{\rightarrow}H+X$. It can easily be extended to include decays of the Higgs boson into observable final states. In this Letter, we discuss the most important features of the calculation, and present some examples of physical applications that illustrate the range of observables that can be studied using our result. We compute the NNLO rapidity distribution of the Higgs boson, and also calculate the NNLO rapidity distribution with a veto on jet activity.
The effect of polarization on multiple hydrogen‐bond formation in models of self‐assembling materials

We report density functional theory calculations at the B3LYP/D95(d,p) level on several different cyclic H-bonding dimers, where the monomers of each are connected by a pair of N-H···O=C H-bonding interactions, and the H-bonding donors and acceptors on each monomer are separated by polarizable spacers. Depending on the structures, the individual H-bonds vary in strength (enthalpy) by over a factor of four, from 2.41 to 10.99 kcal/mol. We attribute most of the variation in interaction energies to differences in the extent of polarization due to each of the H-bonds, which can either combine constructively or destructively. The dipole-dipole interactions between the pair of H-bonds also contribute somewhat to the relative stabilities. The relevance of these results to the design of self-assembling materials is discussed.
Faculty Resistance to Writing-Intensive Courses

This article examines professors' resistance to implementing writing as learning and contends that strategies developed for inhibited writers can also help inhibited teachers. These strategies were combined with surveys and observations of professors implementing writing-intensive courses to produce a sequence of steps for overcoming resistance: (a) raising consciousness about resistance, (b) helping students generate momentum, (c) establishing regimens of brief writing sessions, and (d) making writing more socially skilled.
Preoperative imaging of cervical pedicles: comparison of accuracy of oblique radiographs versus axial CT scans.

In spite of concerns about safety during their insertion, cervical spine pedicle screws have demonstrated biomechanical superiority over lateral mass screws in several biomechanical studies. One of the concerns for placement of cervical pedicle screws is their small size. Preoperative planning with computed tomography to assess pedicle width has been shown to be extremely accurate and is recommended by several authors. To date there has been no study assessing the accuracy of oblique radiographs for pedicle measurement. We sought to compare accuracy of the oblique radiographic measurements of cervical pedicle width with axial CT scan measurements. Five fresh-frozen human cadaveric cervical spines C3–C7 were studied. Thin cut 1.25 mm computed tomography axial cuts were made through the pedicle isthmus. Oblique radiographs at 35°, 45°, and 55° angles were taken of the right and left pedicles of each specimen using a standardized technique. Each radiograph contained a pin of known length to correct for magnification. All pedicles were again measured and corrected for magnification using the standard pin. Corrected oblique radiograph measurements were compared to CT for each specimen. The outer pedicle width was measured and agreed upon by consensus. The radiograph measurements were on average significantly larger than CT measurements for the pedicles indicating that the pin standard did not completely correct magnification. Plain radiographic data failed to reveal that one oblique angle was favorable to another in terms of magnification or precision. Plain radiographs at oblique angles do not provide accurate measurements of subaxial cervical pedicles at 35°, 45°, or 55° angles. We recommend that thin cut axial CT scans be obtained on all patients prior to transpedicular fixation in the cervical spine.
The Crisis of Liberalism and the Politics of Modernism

This essay gives a brief overview of the different ways in which literary criticism has understood modernism’s response to the crisis of liberalism that occurred in the early 20th century. Beginning with a historical explanation of the crisis and an account of its stakes for modernist art, the essay proceeds to discuss a central debate among critics that had taken place in the 1930s and that was particularly concerned about the ideological values of modernism during such a time of political instability. The essay shows how this early debate continues to frame and inform current criticism on the ‘politics of modernism’, which similarly seeks to analyze modernism’s relationship to the values of liberalism that had been so dominant for most of the 19th century. Focusing subsequently on contemporary criticism, the essay looks at two major thematic concerns that have shaped modernist studies from the 1980s onwards: first, the issue of how modernist aesthetics subverts forms of liberal subjectivity; and second, the issue of the extremist politics – invariably fascism – that modernist authors have frequently embraced. Both these concerns reflect a sense that modernism is fundamentally antagonistic to the 19th-century heritage of liberalism, imagining alternative models of consciousness from the liberal subject and repudiating the moderation of liberal politics. However, this essay concludes with more recent criticism which seeks to rethink modernism’s relationship to liberalism in more positive ways, focusing in particular on studies that examine modernism’s response to the transformation of liberalism from its classical Victorian form to the modern form of liberal democracy.
Evaluation of system BIST using computational performance measures

The impact of built-in self-test (BIST) techniques and system maintenance strategies on the performance of a VLSI processor system is examined. The specific BIST technique used was shown to have a significant influence upon instantaneous and cumulative system reward. It was shown that the additional overhead of the distributed and BILBO approaches is justified for this model when area utilization and cumulative area utilization are considered. For the assumed design parameters, the results presented allow a VLSI system designer to choose an optimal configuration based on system requirements and individual component parameters. The optimal performance will also depend on system and component parameters such as processor failure rates and fault coverage. These results are relevant to the design, evaluation, and optimization of highly reliable, high-performance digital processing systems. >
T2K^2: a System for Automatically Extracting and Organizing Knowledge from Texts

In this paper, we present T2K^2, a suite of tools for automatically extracting domain―specific knowledge from collections of Italian and English texts. T2K^2 (Text―To―Knowledge v2) relies on a battery of tools for Natural Language Processing (NLP), statistical text analysis and machine learning which are dynamically integrated to provide an accurate and incremental representation of the content of vast repositories of unstructured documents. Extracted knowledge ranges from domain―specific entities and named entities to the relations connecting them and can be used for indexing document collections with respect to different information types. T2K^2 also includes linguistic profiling functionalities aimed at supporting the user in constructing the acquisition corpus, e.g. in selecting texts belonging to the same genre or characterized by the same degree of specialization or in monitoring the added value of newly inserted documents. T2K^2 is a web application which can be accessed from any browser through a personal account which has been tested in a wide range of domains.
Identification and Functional Prediction of Large Intergenic Noncoding RNAs (lincRNAs) in Rainbow Trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss )

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been recognized in recent years as key regulators of diverse cellular processes. Genome-wide large-scale projects have uncovered thousands of lncRNAs in many model organisms. Large intergenic noncoding RNAs (lincRNAs) are lncRNAs that are transcribed from intergenic regions of genomes. To date, no lincRNAs in non-model teleost fish have been reported. In this report, we present the first reference catalog of 9674 rainbow trout lincRNAs based on analysis of RNA-Seq data from 15 tissues. Systematic analysis revealed that lincRNAs in rainbow trout share many characteristics with those in other mammalian species. They are shorter and lower in exon number and expression level compared with protein-coding genes. They show tissue-specific expression pattern and are typically co-expressed with their neighboring genes. Co-expression network analysis suggested that many lincRNAs are associated with immune response, muscle differentiation, and neural development. The study provides an opportunity for future experimental and computational studies to uncover the functions of lincRNAs in rainbow trout.
What Sports Can Teach Tax Policymakers: Lessons from the Luxury Tax

Luxury taxes are increasingly used by major sports leagues, such as Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association, to raise revenue and affect behavior. This brief article lists three lessons that general tax policy can take from the sport world’s taxes, helping to make the case for a progressive spending tax on a national scale.
Phase II trial of carboplatin, weekly paclitaxel, and biweekly bevacizumab in patients with unresectable stage IV melanoma

8560 Background: In patients with metastatic melanoma, the combination of chemotherapy with an agent that specifically targets vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) might be able to control tumor growth and progression much more effectively than chemotherapy alone. Methods: A two-stage phase II clinical trial was conducted in patients with unresectable stage IV melanoma to assess the anti-tumor activity and toxicity profile of the combination of paclitaxel (80 mg/m2 IV on days 1, 8 and 15 of a 28-day cycle), carboplatin (AUC = 6 IV on day 1) and bevacizumab (10 mg/kg IV on days 1 and 15). The primary end point of the study was the 8-week progression-free survival rate (PFS). Enrollment to the second stage of the study was opened if 8 or more of the first 20 patients enrolled remained progression-free at 8 weeks. Eligible patients had measurable disease by RECIST criteria, a performance status (PS) of 0–2 and acceptable pre-registration organ function. Exclusion criteria included: brain metastases, sig...
Reliability of blistered hermetic magnetic wire

We have developed life tests which seem to be sensitive to the effect of blistering, and have found that effect to be minor for polyesterimide wire treated with acrylic varnish. This is confirmed by the continued success of this combination in actual service.
Experimental research and clinical application of inhaled nitric oxide in premature neonates

One of the new indications of inhaled nitric oxide(NO) now is focused on efficacy of prevention and treatment of chronic lung disease(CLD) in prematurity.Results from large-sample randomized trials of single or multicenter based studies revealed that NO therapy reduced incidence of CLD as well as brain damage,especially in those with birth weight above 1000 g.The dosage of inhaled NO in most of the studies was below 5 parts per million,and usually supplied continuously for 1-2 weeks.As more evidence of safety is required based on follow-up studies,this therapy is not recommended for routine use.However,in patients with CLD and ventilator dependence,or patients at high risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia,NO therapy can be considered for investigational use only.
Hippo Signaling in the Heart – Non-Canonical Pathways Impact Growth, Survival and Function –

Initially identified inDrosophila melanogaster, the Hippo signaling pathway regulates organ size through modulation of cell proliferation, survival and differentiation. This pathway is evolutionarily conserved and canonical signaling involves a kinase cascade that phosphorylates and inhibits the downstream effector Yes-associated protein (YAP). Recent research has demonstrated a fundamental role of Hippo signaling in cardiac development, homeostasis, injury and regeneration, and remains the subject of intense investigation. However, 2 prominent members of this pathway, RASSF1A and Mst1, have been shown to influence heart function and stress responses through YAP-independent mechanisms. This review summarizes non-canonical targets of RASSF1A and Mst1 and discusses their role in the context of cardiac hypertrophy, autophagy, apoptosis and function. (Circ J 2016; 80: 1504-1510).
Virulence profile: Hinh Ly

I was born in South Vietnam a few years before the end of the Vietnam War. My memories of childhood were mostly about what happened after the war—it was a hard time, just to put it lightly! I lived...
Optical Generation of Coherent High-Frequency Acoustic Phonons in a Periodic Multilayer Structure

A specifically-engineered [001]-oriented GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well structure, excited with nJ,.1 psec pulses from a Ti:Sapphire laser source is used to optically generate 50 GHz coherent acoustic waves. The acoustics are generated through photothermal expansion when the short light pulse incident on the structure is absorbed in the GaAs layers. The phonons are detected by monitoring the strain-induced change in reflectivity of the surface with a time-delayed probe pulse.
When Social Ties Bind: An Exploration of the Adverse Effects of Using Social Relationships to Make Purchases

In this paper, we extend previous research on social capital in the consumer domain by exploring the negative effects of consumers’ use of social relationships to facilitate purchases. Although social capital research focuses primarily on the positive benefits derived from using social relationships, our research uncovers unintended negative consequences for consumers who draw upon such relationships to make purchases. Using a grounded theory methodology, we identify three categories of negative outcomes that can arise when consumers use social relationships for consumption purposes: recourse restraint , trust decay , and relationship atrophy . In addition, we identify possible higher order relationships among these negative outcome categories and we link them to important marketing outcomes, such as customer complaining behavior, satisfaction, and loyalty. Ultimately, our findings contribute to relationship marketing and social capital theory by highlighting and examining this overlooked dimension of consumer social capital behavior. Identifying these negative consequences and their impact on consumers and firms provides marketing scholars and practitioners with an enhanced conceptual foundation for studying and managing important marketing relationships.
A Structural Model of Indigenous Innovation and Catch-Up for Developing Economies

This paper introduces an extended structural innovation model a la Crepon et al. (1998), adapted to study empirically the process of indigenous innovation and catch-up in a developing economy context. Specifically, three key extensions to the original model are introduced in order to study how FDI, spillovers and policy reforms, respectively, drive innovation and what are the implications for productivity. Using a large panel of firms in China, the results reveal that receiving more FDI boosts Chinese firms’ innovation and productivity driven by their attempts to adapt foreign technologies to local applications. Moreover, FDI liberalization policies are more successful in regions with higher local industrial relatedness, indicating the importance of combining opening-up reforms with regional clustering policies to spur the indigenous innovation process and promote catch-up. Beyond the empirical findings, a key advantage of the extended structural model is that it can be readily extended to other developing economies.
Challenges and opportunities in modeling and optimization of 3D optical metasurfaces

Planar meta-lenses, such as the v-antenna lens, are usually designed by varying two physical parameters of the vantenna (arm length and central angle spread) and identifying a collection of antennas to discretize a modulo 2π phase swing with high transmission amplitude. Translation of the v-antenna structure into a vertically oriented antenna in a 2-dimensional array increases the necessary design parameter space, bringing to bear additional polarization and configurational possibilities which do not exist in the planar version. This talk will outline this increase in parameter space and the challenges and opportunities it presents.
Construction and application of hierarchical matrix preconditioners

H -matrix techniques use a data-sparse tree structure to represent a dense or a sparse matrix. The leaves of the tree store matrix sub-blocks that are represented in full-matrix format or Rk-matrix (low rank matrix) format. H -matrix arithmetic is defined over the H -matrix representation, which includes operations such as addition, multiplication, inversion, and LU factorization. These H -matrix operations produce approximate results with almost optimal computational complexity. Based on the properties of H -matrices, the H -matrix preconditioner technique has been introduced. It uses H -matrix operations to construct preconditioners, which are used in iterative methods to speed up the solution of large systems of linear equations (Ax = b). To apply the H -matrix preconditioner technique, the first step is to represent a problem in H -matrix format. The approaches to construct an H -matrix can be divided into two categories: geometric approaches and algebraic approaches. In this thesis, we present our contributions to algebraic H -matrix construction approaches and H -matrix preconditioner technique. We have developed a new algebraic H -matrix construction approach based on matrix graphs and multilevel graph clustering approaches. Based on the new construction approach, we have also developed a scheme to build algebraic H -matrix preconditioners for systems of saddle point type. To verify the effectiveness of our new construction approach and H -matrix preconditioner scheme, we have applied them to solve various systems of linear equations arising from finite element methods and meshfree methods. The experimental results show that our preconditioners are competitive to other H -matrix preconditioners based on domain decomposition and existing preconditioners such as JOR and AMG preconditioners. Our H -matrix construction approach and preconditioner technique provide an alternative effective way to solve large systems of linear equations.
Detection of occult follicular lymphoma by specific DNA amplification.

To detect occult lymphoma, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique was used to amplify joined bcl-2/JH DNA sequences at the juncture of the t(14:18) translocation in follicular lymphoma. Using the heat-stable DNA polymerase Taq and automated cycling of the reaction, we were able to detect as few as one to two copies of bcl- 2/JH. Under these conditions, PCR proved to be at least 10,000-fold more sensitive than either conventional flow cytometry or Southern blot restriction analysis. In addition, genomic DNA sequences of four lymphomas confirmed that the size of the amplified segment serves as a tumor marker. Direct application of PCR to patient staging revealed occult malignant lymphoma in tissue otherwise considered uninvolved by standard criteria. We conclude that the striking enhancement in diagnostic sensitivity attained by DNA amplification can serve as a valuable adjunct to the staging and clinical monitoring of follicular lymphoma.
DEVELOPMENT AND EPILEPTOGENIC AGENTS MODULATE AN IDENTIFIED ELECTRICAL SYNAPSE

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses role of epileptogenic agents in modulation of an identified electrical synapse. It discusses electrical PSP from R 2 to LPZ 1 in the nervous system of aplysia. In developing animals, this connection functionally couples the cells so that spikes in either cell activate the other, while in adults, the connection is functionally insignificant. Because it was found that this functional inactivation is highly dependent on shunting of synaptic current, it was investigated to see whether drugs or disease states that reduce shunting might reactive functional coupling in the adult. It is found that strychnine, tetraethylammonium, or high extracellular K + restore functional coupling in the adult. The functional repression of electrical synapses occurs with development. Development leaves the mature brain with occult or weakly functioning electrical connections that can be reactivated into a highly conducting state by changes in the presynaptic potential or of postsynaptic properties. Convulsant agents and perhaps factors initiating epileptic episodes may open up pathways in the mature nervous system that are normally restricted by weak electrical connections.
What You Should Know About NAMD and Charm++ But Were Hoping to Ignore

The biomolecular simulation program NAMD is used heavily at many HPC centers. Supporting NAMD users requires knowledge of the Charm++ parallel runtime system on which NAMD is built. Introduced in 1993, Charm++ supports message-driven, task-based, and other programming models and has demonstrated its portability across generations of architectures, interconnects, and operating systems. While Charm++ can use MPI as a portable communication layer, specialized high-performance layers are preferred for Cray, IBM, and InfiniBand networks and a new OFI layer supports Omni-Path. NAMD binaries using some specialized layers can be launched directly with mpiexec or its equivalent, or mpiexec can be called by the charmrun program to leverage system job-launch mechanisms. Charm++ supports multi-threaded parallelism within each process, with a single thread dedicated to communication and the rest for computation. The optimal balance between thread and process parallelism depends on the size of the simulation, features used, memory limitations, nodes count, and the core count and NUMA structure of each node. It is also important to enable the Charm++ built-in CPU affinity settings to bind worker and communication threads appropriately to processor cores. Appropriate execution configuration and CPU affinity settings are particularly non-intuitive on Intel KNL processors due to their high core counts and flat NUMA hierarchy. Rules and heuristics for default settings can provide good default performance in most cases and dramatically reduce the search space when optimizing for a specific simulation on particular machine. Upcoming Charm++ and NAMD releases will simplify and automate launch configuration and affinity settings.
Anaesthetic management for cardiac surgery in patients with cold haemagglutinin disease

Cold haemagglutination is a primary or acquired autoimmune disease involving antibodies that lead to agglutination of red blood cells at low temperature followed by complement fixation and haemolysis on rewarming. This disease can lead to adverse consequences in patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgery, especially when hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass is applied. The authors discuss the management of two patients who underwent mitral valve replacement surgery while cold agglutinins were detected in the perioperative period. In the first patient, the diagnosis was made preoperatively followed by administration of glucocorticoids to achieve acceptable level of antibody titers. The second patient experienced haemoglobinuria during her intensive care unit stay. The case report describes the pathophysiology of cold agglutination, relevant laboratory investigations such as antibody titers and thermal amplitude, identification of at-risk patients, and management strategies to avoid serious complications.
Effects of Vegetation-Free Strip Width and Irrigation on Newly Planted Peach

ABSTRACTField experiments were conducted at two locations (Clayton and Jackson Springs, NC) to determine the influence of vegetation-free strip width (VFSW) and irrigation on newly planted peach growth and yield in a low-density orchard with a volunteer weedy ground cover. The experiments included VFSW of 0, 0.6, 1.2, 2.4, 3, or 3.6 m under irrigated or nonirrigated conditions. Seasonal variation in the orchard floor vegetation was observed as different weed species reported in summer and winter. However, this difference was not apparent with respect to VFSF and irrigation. At Jackson Springs, NC, the predicted irrigated VFSW which would produce the same trunk cross-sectional area (TCSA) as the grower standard (3-m nonirrigated) was 1.5, 1.3, and 0.8 m for one-, two-, and three-year-old trees, respectively. The predicted irrigated VFSW which would produce the same yield as the grower standard was 1.16 m. At Clayton, TCSA and fruit yield were not different by irrigation, but did increase linearly with VFSW...
Quantifying the effects of projected urban growth on connectivity among wetlands in the Great Plains (USA)

Abstract Urban wetlands often have prolonged hydroperiods relative to non-urban ones, so they may play an outsized, positive role for wildlife. Ecological studies of urban wetlands have typically focused on large metropolitan areas, but non-traditional urbanizing areas such as the towns of the Great Plains of North America are projected to experience land-use and climate changes that will alter connectivity among the freshwater wetlands along a continental-scale migratory wildlife corridor. We used seven graph theory metrics to quantify connectivity among 89,798 of these wetlands under landscape-change forecasts from two models built for three climate-change and development scenarios, projected to the year 2050. We compared outcomes from models that differed in focal variable (impervious surface or developed land use). Overall, models with impervious surface projections resulted in the most wetlands affected, whereas models featuring developed land use projections resulted in the largest spatial distribution of effect. There were differences in how many and which wetlands were forecast to become urbanized by model and scenario, resulting in different wetland network topologies and differences in the connectivity roles of individual wetlands. A consensus network was therefore developed based on the wetlands that were projected to increase in impervious surface and exist within developed land use by 2050. These 126 wetlands can be prioritized for urban ecological studies or management because they are highly likely to be affected regardless of model or scenario. Lastly, our study highlights the utility of considering a range of developmental futures when planning urban wetland management in non-traditional urbanizing areas.
Conditions and Stability Analysis for Saddle-Node Bifurcations of Solitary Waves in Generalized Nonlinear Schrödinger Equations

Saddle-node bifurcations of solitary waves in generalized nonlinear Schrodinger equations with arbitrary forms of nonlinearity and external potentials in arbitrary spatial dimensions are analyzed. First, general conditions for these bifurcations are derived. Second, it is shown analytically that the linear stability of these solitary waves does not switch at saddle-node bifurcations, which is in stark contrast with finite-dimensional dynamical systems where stability switching takes place. Third, it is shown that this absence of stability switching does not contradict the Vakhitov–Kolokolov stability criterion or the results in finite-dimensional dynamical systems. Fourth, it is shown that this absence of stability switching holds not only for real potentials but also for complex potentials. Lastly, various numerical examples will be given to confirm these analytical findings. In particular, saddle-node bifurcations with both branches of solitary waves being stable will be presented.
The Music and Sound of Experimental Film

The Music and Sound of Experimental Film, edited by Holly Rogers and Jeremy Barham, is a welcome addition to the expanding literature exploring the cultural, political, technological, and esthetic ...
Classification of Smart Contract Bugs Using the NIST Bugs Framework

Blockchain technology has recently emerged as the primary platform for the transfer of digital currency. This technology, which has been heralded as a revolutionary tool to facilitate the transfer of funds between participating parties, is still in its infancy and should be subjected to thorough scrutiny. In recent years, researchers have attempted to uncover a litany of bugs embedded within these distributed systems; however, there does not yet exist a formal and standardized method for their classification. In this paper, we present the first formal classifications of known bugs in smart contract systems using NIST’s Bugs Framework and propose two new classes: Distributed System Protocol (DSP) and Distributed System Resource Management (DRM).
Neuromorphic nanoelectronic materials

Memristive and nanoionic devices have recently emerged as leading candidates for neuromorphic computing architectures. While top-down fabrication based on conventional bulk materials has enabled many early neuromorphic devices and circuits, bottom-up approaches based on low-dimensional nanomaterials have shown novel device functionality that often better mimics a biological neuron. In addition, the chemical, structural and compositional tunability of low-dimensional nanomaterials coupled with the permutational flexibility enabled by van der Waals heterostructures offers significant opportunities for artificial neural networks. In this Review, we present a critical survey of emerging neuromorphic devices and architectures enabled by quantum dots, metal nanoparticles, polymers, nanotubes, nanowires, two-dimensional layered materials and van der Waals heterojunctions with a particular emphasis on bio-inspired device responses that are uniquely enabled by low-dimensional topology, quantum confinement and interfaces. We also provide a forward-looking perspective on the opportunities and challenges of neuromorphic nanoelectronic materials in comparison with more mature technologies based on traditional bulk electronic materials. This Review highlights the progress made towards the development of neuromorphic devices and architectures enabled by low-dimensional nanomaterials
Vague size predicates

Vague predicates such as heap, tall, bald, near to, nicer than, etc., are characterized by their Sorites susceptibility and the existence of borderline cases. In attempting to develop a general theory, diverse vague predicates are often analyzed in rather broad natural language settings. Because this has proven to be rather difficult, the phenomenon of vagueness is studied here in a narrower and strictly formalized setting: Vague size predicates such as "roughly the same size" and "negligible in size with respect to" are studied within the framework of a formalized theory of parthood extended by size predicates. Such a restricted axiomatic framework has a number of advantages: (i) it is easier to analyze logical and semantical aspects of vagueness; (ii) it is possible to study the interrelations between precise quantitative facts and the interpretation of vague and qualitative predicates in a restricted class of models; (iii) it is possible to precisely analyze the logical properties of vague and qualitative size predicates which are fundamental to formalized deductive reasoning. All three aspects are critical for the representation and reasoning about many vague predicates as they are used in many sciences and in medicine.
Using Zillow data to value green space amenities at the neighborhood scale

Abstract It is important to quantify the value of green space amenities in order to justify the cost of their creation and maintenance; furthermore, advances in available data and methods have produced exciting ways to measure the economic values of green infrastructure. In this study, we use publicly available data from Zillow, Inc. to implement the hedonic pricing method at a novel scope and scale. We analyze over 5000 Zillow neighborhoods located in metropolitan areas across 44 states to identify the marginal value of urban green spaces with respect to median neighborhood home prices. By incorporating a vast, heterogeneous study area, we are able to gain a national-scale perspective on the effects of green spaces on home values. Furthermore, Zillow neighborhoods permit reproducible, extensible, and policy-relevant insight into the effects of green spaces on neighborhoods holistically. Our results suggest that for Zillow neighborhoods on average the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and open space are dis-amenities; however, parks and tree cover add premiums to Zillow neighborhood value. By interacting tree cover with land surface temperature, we find the amenity value of trees is realized in part through shading; furthermore, we find that tree-shading has a greater amenity value in higher-income areas.
Avobenzone incorporation in a diverse range of Ru(II) scaffolds produces potent potential antineoplastic agents

Four structurally distinct classes of polypyridyl ruthenium complexes containing avobenzone exhibited low micromolar and submicromolar potencies in cancer cells, and were up to 273-fold more active than the parent ligand. Visible light irradiation enhanced the cytotoxicity of some complexes, making them promising candidates for combined chemo-photodynamic therapy.
The Fellowship of Suffering: Insights from Trauma Healing:

In a world brimming over with trauma and suffering, what is the gospel? And what is the church? In this article, Harriet Hill explores the church as a fellowship of suffering, drawing insights from...
Air Pollution Impact of Railroad Electrification

The potential air pollutant emission reductions and energy savings were evaluated for freight and passenger traffic diversion from existing modes to electrified railroad in the Houston-Dallas intercity corridor. Energy savings of 5%-10% could be realized by conversion from diesel to electric railroad operation. Energy savings of 55% could occur by conversion from automobiles to electric railroads, and up to 75% by conversion from diesel trucks to electric railroads for equivalent freight and passenger movements. Domestic coal and uranium could be used as energy sources. Conversion to electrified railroad would reduce overall emissions by 86% as compared to diesel trucks for freight, and up to 96.5% as compared to automobiles for passengers. Reductions of over 90% could occur in hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions, and over 50% for nitrogen oxides emissions. High efficiency sulfur oxides controls were necessary when burning coal to reduce its emissions to levels equivalents to other modes.
Living Lean: Missy's Car Maintenance

This case is part of the "Living Lean" series, which presents accessible, everyday scenarios for a Lean process-improvement journey. In this episode on equipment maintenance, a young professional with car trouble discusses with a friend the effect ownership can have on maintenance decisions. Excerpt UVA-OM-1434 Rev. Nov. 7, 2013 Living Lean: Missy's Car Maintenance Recent MBA grads Kate and Missy rented condos in the same building in Adams Morgan, near downtown Washington, DC. Both were new to the area, having rented their condos immediately after graduating from business school. They met while walking to the same Bikram yoga class a few blocks away. Illustrations by Michael Twery. The condo was a popular place to live due to its proximity to the Metro station and the zoo, as well as its covered parking garage. Missy usually took the subway to work, but she would drive if she had errands or knew she would be arriving home late. . . .