cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Multiple receiver strategies for minimizing packet loss in dense sensor networks

A typical wireless sensor network consists of many small sensors that collect instrument data around their locations and forward it to a central location for data processing. These networks can be deployed to monitor livestock and agricultural assets, products in a store, patients in a hospital, and so on. In many cases sensors have to be densely deployed, and collisions or overhead due to collision avoidance will considerably degrade the system performance below an application's required levels. With the decreasing cost of radio devices the obvious solution to this problem is the use of multiple receivers on different radio channels. However, we show that if receivers can be placed in different locations then increasing the number of receivers on a single channel will increase the rate of the capture effect and decrease collision losses, while also increasing the fairness of the transmitters' radio links. Not only can this single channel approach be more effective than using multiple channels, it is also required for some techniques, such as localization, where each receiver must be able to detect a transmission from any transmitter. We also show that the optimal choice between these two solutions is influenced by the radio attenuation rate and the number of receivers in the system.
HIGHER-ORDER BIAS AND MSE OF NONLINEAR ESTIMATORS

We derive the approximate results for the bias and mean squared error of a large class of estimators to orders O(n 5=2 ) and O(n 3 ); respectively, given a sample of n observations. The results are built on a stochastic expansion of the moment condition used to identify the econometric estimator and a Nagar-type expansion of the inverse of the gradient of the moment condition.
Sphingomyelinase Restricts the Lateral Diffusion of CD4 and Inhibits Human Immunodeficiency Virus Fusion

Previously, we reported that treatment of cells with sphingomyelinase inhibits human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) entry. Here, we determined by measuring fluorescence recovery after photobleaching that the lateral diffusion of CD4 decreased 4-fold following sphingomyelinase treatment, while the effective diffusion rate of CCR5 remained unchanged. Notably, sphingomyelinase treatment of cells did not influence gp120 binding, HIV-1 attachment, or fluid-phase and receptor-mediated endocytosis. Furthermore, sphingomyelinase treatment did not affect the membrane disposition of the HIV receptor proteins CD4, CXCR4, and CCR5, as determined by Triton X-100 extraction. Restriction of CD4 diffusion by antibody cross-linking also inhibited HIV infection. We therefore interpret the decrease in CD4 lateral mobility following sphingomyelinase treatment in terms of clustering of CD4 molecules. Examination of fusion intermediates indicated that sphingomyelinase treatment inhibited HIV at a step in the fusion process after CD4 engagement. Maximal inhibition of fusion was observed following short coculture times and with target cells that express low levels of CD4. As HIV entry into cells requires the sequential engagement of viral envelope protein with CD4 and coreceptor, we propose that sphingomyelinase inhibits HIV infection by inducing CD4 clustering that prevents coreceptor engagement and HIV fusion.
Route optimization in network mobility: Solutions, classification, comparison, and future research directions

Network mobility (NEMO) handles mobility of a set of mobile nodes in an aggregate way using one or more mobile routers. NEMO introduces several advantages, such as reduced signaling, increased manageability, reduced power consumption and conservation of bandwidth when compared to individual host mobility. NEMO Basic Support Protocol (BSP), the IETF standard for NEMO, suffers from a number of limitations, like inefficient route and increased handoff latency. Most of the recent research efforts on NEMO have concentrated on solving the problem of inefficient route resulting in several route optimization schemes to solve the problem. To choose a route optimization scheme, it is very important to have a quantitative comparison of the available route optimization schemes. The objective of this article is to survey, classify and compare the route optimization schemes proposed in the literature over the last five years. We classify the schemes based on the basic approach for route optimization, and compare the schemes based on protocol overhead, such as header overhead, amount of signalling, and memory requirements. We conclude that performance of the classes of schemes has to be evaluated under criteria such as available bandwidth, topology of the mobile network and mobility type.
Primary naive and interleukin-2-activated natural killer cells do not support efficient ectromelia virus replication.

Natural killer (NK) cells are known for their ability to lyse tumour cell targets. Studies of infections by a number of viruses, including poxviruses and herpesviruses, have demonstrated that NK cells are vital for recovery from these infections. Little is known of the ability of viruses to infect and complete a productive replication cycle within NK cells. Even less is known concerning the effect of infection on NK cell biology. This study investigated the ability of ectromelia virus (ECTV) to infect NK cells in vitro and in vivo. Following ECTV infection, NK cell gamma interferon (IFN-γ) production was diminished and infected cells ceased proliferating and lost viability. ECTV infection of NK cells led to early and late virus gene expression and visualization of immature and mature virus particles, but no detectable increase in viable progeny virus. It was not unexpected that early gene expression occurred in infected NK cells, as the complete early transcription system is packaged within the virions. The detection of the secreted early virus-encoded immunomodulatory proteins IFN-γ-binding protein and ectromelia inhibitor of complement enzymes (EMICE) in NK cell culture supernatants suggests that even semi-permissive infection may permit immunomodulation of the local environment.
A Semiotic Interpretation of Authentic Civility: Preserving the Ineffable for the Good of the Common

This article interrogates civility as a semiotic and phenomenological enactment within human relations. We discover that civility is much more than a mere social code. Drawing from the insights of Charles Sanders Peirce, I contend that the lived dialectic of civility and incivility is best understood as an existential boundary setting process. Within this process, semiotic and phenomenological boundaries are instituted between the Self and the Other, the private and the public, the personal and the cultural, and the ineffable and intelligible through communicative praxis. We find that authentic enactments of civility are an ironic testament to the phenomenal (existential) horizon of the private Other, publically bearing witness to those aspects of the Other that must be existentially acknowledged but remain unspoken. Authentic civility is an embodied sign condition that ultimately preserves the ineffable within human experience for the good of the common (the intelligible), not the common good. Some impli...
DoS analysis of reservation based MAC protocols

Reservation based medium access control (MAC) protocols such as the 802.11 distributed coordination function (DCF), are designed to maximize throughput efficiency, by utilizing small control packets. However, this ability to reserve bandwidth makes the protocol susceptible to sophisticated MAC layer denial of service (DoS) attacks. A novel attack on reservation based MAC protocols is described using the example of 802.11 networks. An analysis of the attack demonstrates the catastrophic effect on network throughput of a low power MAC layer jammer. This is in contrast to physical layer jamming, where the loss of throughput is proportional to jammer power. A counter-measure based on modifying the MAC protocol is developed, and shown to limit the intelligent jammer's effect. Protections against further attacks on the modified protocol are also discussed.
Space-based radio telescopes and an orbiting deep-space relay station

Foremost among the candidates for early utilization of the Shuttle-launched self-deployable structures are the space-based radio telescopes. Several space-based telescopes are examined including an orbiting VLBI terminal, an orbiting submillimeter telescope, and a large ambient deployable IR telescope. Particular consideration is given to the high-gain Orbiting Deep-Space Relay Station for communication with deep-space probes. Details of deployable antenna technology are discussed.
A low voltage W-CDMA polar transmitter with digital envelope path gain compensation

This letter presents a polar transmitter using a dual-phase pulsewidth-modulated buck converter with a 50-MHz effective switching frequency. Using a wideband code division multiple access voice signal, the overall system can achieve 52.8% drain efficiency (49.8% power added efficiency) at 24-dBm output power at 836.5MHz with a 3.5-V supply voltage, while passing both adjacent channel leakage power ratio (ACLR1) and alternate channel leakage power (ACLR2) specifications. A digital finite impulse response filter is included in the envelope path to compensate for gain roll-off at higher baseband frequencies. This envelope path compensation allows greater linear bandwidth to be achieved at lower switching frequencies, thus boosting efficiency, and improving ACLR by as much as 8dB. The polar transmitter is characterized over a supply voltage of 2.5-4.5V, making it well suited for battery powered, handheld applications
Towards a Unified Solution for Constraint-Satisfaction Problems: A Survey-Propagation Approach Based on Normal Realizations

Motivated by the celebrated success of survey propagation (SP) in solving k-SAT problems and its recent applications in coding and data compression, this paper approaches general constraint satisfaction problems from a unified perspective, aiming at developing a general SP-style algorithmic framework for such problems. Although many aspects along our direction remain open, in this paper, we have arrived at a unified combinatorial framework, "lifting" the solution space to what we call the space of all "rectangles". We also present a Markov random field (MRP) formalism over this space using a normal realization. This MRP formalism then brings to surface a new SP-style algorithm family, which contains the existing SP algorithms as a special case
Induction of c-fos by excitatory amino acids in developing chick retina is affected by changes in cellular interactions

Cell contact is important for normal maturation of chicken retinal Muller cells. In order to gain a better understanding as to how this occurs, we examined the ability of retinal cells with altered cell contacts to respond to an environmental stimulus. The response of Muller cells cultured under conditions which alter cell contacts was measured by activating intracellular signaling systems leading to induction of the earlyinducible gene c-fos. Chicken retinal cells were cultured as explants, reaggregates, and monolayers and exposed to extracellular stimuli in the form of the excitatory amino acids D, L-alpha aminoadipic acid (AAA) and N-methyl-D, L-aspartic acid (NMDA). Each culture was exposed to 1.25 mM AAA, 2.5 mM AAA,50 μM NMDA, or 100 μM NMDA. Toxicity was assessed histologically and by immunocytochemical labeling of Muller cells after 2 days of exposure. Activation of c-fos was determined by Western blot analysis for Fos protein after 30,60, and 120 minutes of exposure. Exposure to AAA led to a loss of Muller cells in explant and reaggregate cultures; however, Muller cells in monolayer culture; however, Muller cells in monolayer culture were not susceptible to AAA at either dose. NMDA was toxic to a specific population of neurons under all three culture conditions. Fos protein expression paralleled the histologic findings. Fos protein was significantly elevated after exposure to either dose of AAA in explant and reaggregate cultures but not in monolayer cultures. Monolayer and reaggregate cultures did not exhibit a significant increase in Fos levels in response to either dose of NMDA. Explant cultures exhibited an equivical response to only the 50 μM NMDA. These results suggest that the ability of Muller cells to respond to AAA by increasing levels of Fos protein requires that specific cell contacts occur during development. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Protecting Our Shorelines: Modeling the Effects of Tsunamis and Storm Waves

Predicting the complex behavior and aftermath of coastal tsunamis and storm surges is inherently difficult. Real-time disaster warning requires rapid computation with reliable accuracy and effective output presentation. The authors present two ways to leverage high-performance computing resources to address these challenges.
Our Uncommon Heritage: Biodiversity externalities and public goods

Market failures and biodiversity externalities The MA found that 60 percent of the ecosystem services evaluated had declined in the second half of the twentieth century (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005). As Kinzig et al . have remarked, this should not have been at all surprising. The same 60 percent of services are unpriced in the market. We do not pay for them, and they generate no return to the landholders whose actions affect their supply. Since we get what we pay for, we should expect such services to be neglected (Kinzig et al . 2011). Indeed, this is only a problem if it imposes social costs we would prefer to avoid. The conclusion of the MA was that the physical changes it recorded were the socially undesirable consequences of the growth of markets for fuels, foods, and fibers. The external effects of market transactions, externalities for short, are the unintended or incidental consequences of the production or consumption of marketed goods and services. They may be positive or negative. The changes recorded by the MA would have been described by Crocker and Tschirhart as ecosystem externalities: market-driven actions that impact the wellbeing of either consumers or producers by altering the ecological functioning on which consumption or production depends, but where the welfare effects of those actions are ignored (Crocker and Tschirhart 1992). In what follows I refer to them as biodiversity externalities. The drivers of the biodiversity loss recorded in the MA, and described in Chapter 2, define the most important of the biodiversity externalities. The expansion of land committed to agriculture or industry directly reduces habitat, and with it both species richness and abundance. The introduction of roads (and development along roads) leads to the fragmentation of habitat. While this may not immediately reduce species richness, the long-run effects are quite similar. The appropriation of water for human use in arid and semi-arid lands increases stress on other species, with direct effects on the abundance of those species. The accidental or deliberate introduction of invasive species through trade, transport, and travel frequently leads to the depletion of native species. Aside from these headline externalities, however, there are many more subtle stressors that also change biodiversity and the processes it supports.
Effect of porosity and carbon composition on pore microstructure of magnesium/carbon nanotube composite foams

Abstract Three-dimensional (3D) pore microstructure was investigated for six types of carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced magnesium (Mg) composite foams with various porosities (i.e. 29%, 39%, and 49%) and compositions (0.05 wt.% CNT and 1 wt.% CNT) using a nondestructive x-ray micro-computed tomography technique. The data were analyzed to explore the effect of overall porosity and carbon composition on 3D pore microstructure such as the number of large pores, pore connectivity, pore size, pore size distribution, pore shape distribution, and specific surface area. The increase of overall porosity resulted in more large and connected pores, and a larger specific surface area. For all studied composite foams, pore size varies in the range of several microns to hundreds of microns; over 80% of the pores have the aspect ratio ≤ 2 and over 96% of the pores have the aspect ratio ≤ 3. The volume fractions are very low for the pores with the smallest and biggest sizes. The volume fraction for pores with a size ≥ 40 μm (i.e. the average size of raw Mg powders) increases from almost 40% to about 50% and then to almost 80% when the overall porosity increases from 29% to 39% and then to 49%. A critical pore size was defined and extracted for each of the studied foams and this size increases with the increase of overall porosity. Additionally, the variation of CNT concentration only slightly affects the pore microstructure.
Headquarter Services in the Global Integration of Production

Abstract This study examines knowledge management within multinational enterprises (MNEs) by analyzing whether greater interdependence of production between U.S. parent firms and their foreign subsidiaries increases the provision of headquarter (HQ) services from the home country. The findings suggest that U.S. parents provide more assistance to their foreign subsidiaries that are linked in a global value chain than to those that are not involved in production sharing. This study builds on the earlier studies of the relationship between intra-MNE product flows and knowledge flows in multiple ways. First, it separately examines the relationship for high-tech and low-tech manufacturing industries, and finds that knowledge services from HQ that could be combined with knowledge of the subsidiary, such as R&D services, are primarily associated with production sharing with subsidiaries in high-tech manufacturing industries, which are assumed to be more technologically capable. Likewise, it finds that knowledge services from HQ that might be considered to be more passively received from the parent, such as industrial-type maintenance and design, are primarily associated with subsidiaries in low-tech manufacturing industries, which are assumed to be less technologically capable. Second, this study is the first one, to our knowledge, that gauges intra-firm knowledge flows using dollar-denominated measures of HQ services provided by parents to their subsidiaries.
Simultaneous measurement of preferred ambient temperature and metabolism in rats

A recent study from this laboratory found that rats placed in a temperature gradient preferred ambient temperatures (Ta) that were significantly below the lower critical Ta of the thermoneutral zone for elevating metabolic rate (MR). To further evaluate the interaction between preferred Ta and MR in the rat, a system was developed where preferred Ta, MR (i.e., O2 consumption), and activity could be automatically monitored in the unrestrained rat. Two groups of male Sprague-Dawley rats, a light-weight group and a heavy-weight group, were placed in a longitudinal temperature gradient for 90 min. These animals were further divided into two groups. One group was permitted free run in the gradient with a temperature range of 7-40 degrees C, whereas another group was restricted to the warm end of the gradient where the coolest available temperature was approximately equal to the lower critical Ta (29 degrees C). The preferred Ta and MR data were statistically analyzed over the last 20 min of the experimental run. Rats allowed to run freely in the gradient selected Ta of 17-20 degrees C and had MR significantly higher than animals restricted to a range of Ta no cooler than the lower critical Ta. Animals that selected the cooler Ta were much more active than those forced to remain at the warmer Ta. In conclusion, the interaction between behavioral and autonomic thermoregulation in the rat is unique compared with other rodent species such as the mouse, hamster, and guinea pig, which prefer Ta associated with thermoneutrality.
Oh, I Love Trash: Personality of a Robotic Trash Barrel

This demonstration merges two of our prior research foci: 1) exploring how robotic, expressive everyday objects-such as a trash barrel or a sofa-can and should interact with, and support, people during their daily activities, and 2) how imbue a personality into these objects, expressed through movement alone, to make their goals and intentions clear, understandable and agreeable.
Forecasting the Demand for New Convenience Products

The author’s stochastic evolutionary adoption model (STEAM) is described. Methods for estimating its parameters from panel data covering the first part of the introductory period are outlined. A method by which the future purchase history of each panel household can be simulated and the results projected into a total market forecast is reported. Results obtained by applying the model and simulation procedure to live data for a new product are shown, and compared with the product’s actual sales during the years after its introduction.
Ultrastructure of a cardiac myxoma.

A cardiac myxoma of the left atrium was studied by means of the electron microscope. A single cell type was seen, occurring predominantly as closely-apposed groups of 3 to 6 cells, and characterized by extensively anastomosing microvilli forming peripheral intracytoplasmic membrane-bound spaces (some of which may have been the result of cellular secretory activity), prominent linear and parallel roughsurfaced endoplasmic reticulum, variable electron-dense intracytoplasmic deposits, and poorly developed and sparse mitochondria and Golgi apparatuses. No fibroblasts, smooth muscle cells, or vascular channels lined by endothelial cells were present, although these have been reported in some of the earlier electron microscopic studies of cardiac myxomas. An endocardial subendothelial reserve cell origin of this tumor appears most likely.
Boll Weevils are Attracted to Volatile Oils from Cotton Plants

The volatile oil obtained by distilling cotton plants was attractive both to emerging overwintered boll weevils, Anthonomus grandis Boheman, and to late-season migrating weevils in the field. The evidence indicates that the volatiles from cotton plants influence the migratory behavior of boll weevils and also are sufficiently attractive to guide overwintered boll weevils to fields of seedling cotton.
A New Pheidole (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Florida

Holotype , major (Cole collection, No. E-138).—Differing from the typical sitarches and its other known subspecies in the following characteristics: It lacks the transverse delicate rugules on the occipital lobes of the head, giving the head a more shining appearance; the coarse longitudinal cephalic rugae are more irregular and form weak reticulations; the hairs on the occipital lobes of the head are shorter, stouter, and more numerous; the pronotum is more coarsely and irregularly rugose; a few fine rugae extend transversely between the bases of the epinotal spines; the thoracic hairs are more pointed and somewhat more delicate, being not at all clavate.
Study on the epidemical trend and genetic( HA1) characteristics of influenza H3N2 virus in Shaanxi province from 2011 to 2013

Objective To understand the epidemic characteristics and hemagglutinin( HA1) genetic traits of influenza H3N2 virus in Shaanxi province from 2011 to 2013. Methods To collect surveillance data of influenza-like cases in 18 sentinel hospitals and the etiology testing results in 12 influenza network laboratory; the HA1 gene sequence amplification of some H3N2 viruses were conducted by RT-PCR. The characteristics of gene sequences were analyzed with bioinformatics software. Results The H3N2 was not the dominant strain in Shaanxi province from 2011 to 2012,accounting for 17. 38% in the influenza positive virus,the peak time was from February to March; the H3N2 was the dominant strain in Shaanxi province from 2012 to 2013,accounting for 56. 61% in the influenza positive virus,the peak time was from November to February of the next year. The length of the nucleotide sequence of HA1 gene obtained by sequencing was 987 bp,encoding 329 amino acids( aa). In the two years there were 12 amino acids mutations sites,in which there were 4 mutations sits at antigen determinants. Two potential glycosylation sites were increased within two years. The HA1 receptor binding locus and disulfide bond were relatively stable,no change occurred within two years. Conclusion The H3N2 was dominant strain in Shaanxi province from 2012 to 2013,and compared with the international vaccine strains,the antigen drift has been found.
Discussion on Personalized Information Services in the Preventive Medical Libraries

The paper starts from the meaning of personalized information services in libraries,discusses the inevitability of launching personalized services in the preventive medical libraries,furthermore,introduces the service modes,including personalized information service based on sci - tech novelty assessment,consulting - based vertical information service,decision - making - based knowledge referral service,and express service update on new resources
Technology-dependent children in New York State.

Abstract A survey in New York State revealed 210 medically stable technology-dependent children retained inappropriately in acute-care hospitals. They remained in hospitals primarily because of a shortage of skilled home nursing services in the communities where they lived, family problems that prevented their care at home, and a shortage of beds in appropriate skilled nursing facilities. Most of the children were younger than one year of age, most had disorders of the central nervous system or respiratory system, and most needed respiratory support. The average child needed more than 13 hours of skilled nursing care per day. With adequate nursing services, many of these children could be cared for in their homes. For some, family care was not feasible because of social, psychological, and economic problems. To make it possible to care for medically stable technology-dependent children most effectively, we must develop additional community-based resources. Home nursing services of the highly skilled kind needed to care for them are in short supply today in New York State. There is a shortage of beds in extended care nursing facilities capable of caring for them, especially for infants and very young children. There is a shortage of the other supportive social services needed by families who attempt to care for them at home. Until we address these needs and develop these services, technology-dependent children medically appropriate for care outside acute-care hospitals will be forced to remain hospitalized, to the detriment of the children and their families.
Observation of compound semiconductors and heterovalent interfaces using aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy

This paper reviews our recent investigations of compound semiconductors and heterovalent interfaces using the technique of aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy. Bright-field imaging of compound semiconductors with a collection angle that is comparable in size to the incident-beam convergence angle is demonstrated to provide better atomic-column visibility for lighter elements in comparison with the more traditional high-angle annular-dark-field approach. Several pairs of Group II–VI/Group III–V compound semiconductors with zincblende structure have been studied in detail. These combinations are all valence-mismatched (i.e., heterovalent), and include CdTe/InSb (Δa/a≤ 0.05%), ZnTe/InP (Δa/a = 3.8%), and ZnTe/GaAs (Δa/a = 7.4%). CdTe/InSb (001) interfaces are observed to be defect-free with a slight lattice contraction at the interface plane. For interfaces with larger lattice-parameter mismatch, the primary interfacial defects are identified as Lomer edge dislocations and perfect 60° dislocations. However, the atomic structure of the dislocation cores has not yet been unambiguously determined.
Predictors of left ventricular systolic function recovery in the setting of sinus tachycardia in patients with cancer.

Objectives To identify unique echocardiographic features that could be used to reliably predict LVEF recovery upon resolution of sinus tachycardia in patients with cancer. Background Sinus tachycardia may be a manifestation of underlying cardiomyopathy or can lead to a reversible form of dilated cardiomyopathy known as tachycardia-mediated cardiomyopathy. While distinguishing the two can be challenging, predicting recovery regardless of cause can be of significant clinical importance in the cancer population. Methods Results of echocardiograms performed were collected. Patients with a repeat echocardiogram within 6 months of the initial echocardiogram were included. Patients with structural heart disease, acute coronary syndrome, sepsis, and pericardial disease were excluded. A comparison between baseline echocardiogram and subsequent echocardiogram was made to determine whether specific echocardiographic parameters predicted LVEF recovery. Two groups of patients were defined at the outset of the study. The recovered group was comprised of patients with reduced LVEF in the setting of sinus tachycardia and normal LVEF with resolution of tachycardia to normal sinus rhythm (NSR). The unrecovered group was comprised of subjects with low LVEF in the setting of both sinus tachycardia and NSR. Results A total of 40 patients were included in the study. LVEF in the recovered group (n=18) was 42.8% with sinus tachycardia and increased to 58.3% with NSR. Average LVEF in the unrecovered group (n=22) was 35.1% with tachycardia and improved to 38.5% with NSR. Medial TDI (E′) was significantly greater in the recovered group with both tachycardia (7.95 cm/s versus 4.56 cm/s, P 6.5 cm/s (OR=30.9, P=.001) and lateral TDI >7.8 cm/s (OR=52.5, P=.002) are positively associated with the probability of LVEF recovery. Conclusions In conclusion, TDI (medial E′>6.5 cm/s; lateral E′>7.8 cm/s) appears to predict LVEF recovery in patients with sinus tachycardia upon resolution of the tachycardia in patients with cancer.
Local Arp2/3 dependent actin assembly modulates applied traction force during apCAM adhesion site maturation

Homophilic binding of immunoglobulin superfamily molecules such as the Aplysia cell adhesion molecule (apCAM) leads to actin filament assembly near nascent adhesion sites. Such actin assembly can generate significant localized forces that have not been characterized in the larger context of axon growth and guidance. We used apCAM-coated bead substrates applied to the surface of neuronal growth cones to characterize the development of forces evoked by varying stiffness of mechanical restraint. Unrestrained bead propulsion matched or exceeded rates of retrograde network flow and was dependent on Arp2/3 complex activity. Analysis of growth cone forces applied to beads at low stiffness of restraint revealed switching between two states: frictional coupling to retrograde flow and Arp2/3-dependent propulsion. Stiff mechanical restraint led to formation of an extensive actin cup matching the geometric profile of the bead target and forward growth cone translocation; pharmacological inhibition of the Arp2/3 complex or Rac attenuated F-actin assembly near bead binding sites, decreased the efficacy of growth responses, and blocked accumulation of signaling molecules associated with nascent adhesions. These studies introduce a new model for regulation of traction force in which local actin assembly forces buffer nascent adhesion sites from the mechanical effects of retrograde flow.
94. AAV Integration Site Determination Using Illumina Mate Pair Sequencing

Integration of AAV into genomic loci has been well studied using low throughput techniques, which has revealed clear integration hotspots. Recent studies using high throughput sequencing have uncovered new genomic loci where AAV may integrate. However, the low integration frequency combined with the AAV inverted terminal repeats (ITR) makes amplification technologically challenging and prone to artifacts that may mis-identify or miss some integration sites. Our lab has utilized a modified Illumina Mate Pair sequencing technique to uncover genomic integration sites and bypass the need to amplify through the AAV ITR. We believe that this technique can accurately establish bona-fide integration sites, uncover novel integration sites, and provide further evidence for existing known hotspots.At its core, mate pair sequencing involves self-circularization of fractured genomic fragments followed by recovery and sequencing of the junction. In essence, it bridges the low throughput shuttle vector systems used in the past with high throughput sequencing. Here we have utilized biotinylated loxP linkers added to the ends of genomic fragments and at unique sites in AAV vectors followed by Cre circularization (Van Nieuwerburgh, 2012). The circularized fragments are enriched by exonuclease treatment to remove linear fragments then fractured to ~400 bp. The fragments containing the loxP junction are purified using magnetic strepavadin coated beads and Illumina sequencing adapters are added before sequencing. Using this technique, we have successfully recovered control sequences of plasmids mixed with genomic DNA. Importantly, the Cre recombination reaction allows us to accurately distinguish self-circularized fragments from cross-recombined fragments and eliminate apparent false positive integration sites. We are working on applying this technique to DNA samples from mice injected with AAV. Continued study of AAV integration will be extremely important for establishing the safety profile of AAV used in clinical applications. View Large Image | Download PowerPoint Slide
A Non-Reciprocal Component with Distributedly Modulated Capacitors

The concept of distributedly modulated capacitors (DMC) is proposed as a form of time-varying transmission-line structure offering nonreciprocal propagation and coupling characteristics. The nonreciprocity is achieved by taking advantage of the additional dimension of time-variance in the transmission-line property. The complete theory, based on: 1) the distributed parametric effect on a time-varying transmission line and 2) the distributed capacitive mixers, is presented with emphasis on the theoretical bounds of the isolation and insertion performances of DMC. Simulations are carried out and a prototype consisting of double-balanced varactor diodes on microstrip lines is implemented on a Rogers board. The measured results agree well with the theoretical derivations and the simulation results. It is thus confirmed that the DMC has great potential of being a circulator device with broadband, minimum insertion loss, and synthesizable isolation characteristics. It can be integrated into an RF system front-end that allows transmission and reception of signals at the same time and the same frequency.
Aortic Lipid Metabolism

Windaus (1) was one of the first investigators to demonstrate the presence of inordinate amounts of cholesterol ester in atherosclerotic aortas. Analyses of the lipids of aortic plaques revealed that their composition was roughly comparable to that of plasma (Table 1) and these findings lent support to the hypothesis that aortic lipids were derived from the blood. However it has been shown that aortas of children contain either very little choles- teryl ester or none (6), so that aortic lipids cannot be due to filtration of plasma. The aorta can synthesize fatty acids (7) and phospholipids (8, 9) but its cholesterol is derived almost entirely from the blood (10, 11). Calculations of the extent of transfer of cholesterol into the human aorta based on the formula: that transfer (mg. cholesterol per day per gm tissue) is the product of aortic cholesterol content (mg/g) by aortic cholesterol specific activity (% plasma) divided by days times 100 suggest a net transfer of 0.30-0.45 mg/gm aorta/day (12–14).
Spin glass transition in a thin-film NiO/permalloy bilayer

We experimentally study magnetization aging in a thin-film NiO/permalloy bilayer. Aging characteristics are nearly independent of temperature below the exchange bias blocking temperature ${T}_{B}$, but rapidly vary above it. The dependence on the magnetic history qualitatively changes across ${T}_{B}$. The observed behaviors are consistent with the spin glass transition at ${T}_{B}$, with significant implications for magnetism and magnetoelectronic phenomena in antiferromagnet/ferromagnet bilayers.
Analysis of multifunctional piezoelectric metastructures for low-frequency bandgap formation and energy harvesting

Vibration-based energy harvesting is a growing field for generating low-power electricity to use in wireless electronic devices, such as the sensor networks used in structural health monitoring applications. Locally resonant metastructures, which are structures that comprise locally resonant metamaterial components, enable bandgap formation at wavelengths much longer than the lattice size, for critical applications such as low-frequency vibration attenuation in flexible structures. This work aims to bridge the domains of energy harvesting and locally resonant metamaterials to form multifunctional structures that exhibit both low-power electricity generation and vibration attenuation capabilities. A fully coupled electromechanical modeling framework is developed for two characteristic systems and their modal analysis is presented. Simulations are performed to explore the vibration and electrical power frequency response maps for varying electrical load resistance, and optimal loading conditions are presented. Case studies are presented to understand the interaction of bandgap formation and energy harvesting capabilities of this new class of multifunctional energy-harvesting locally resonant metastructures. It is shown that useful energy can be harvested from locally resonant metastructures without significantly diminishing their dramatic vibration attenuation in the locally resonant bandgap. Thus, integrating energy harvesters into a locally resonant metastructure enables a new potential for multifunctional locally resonant metastructures that can host self-powered sensors.
Generalized Contributon Response Theory

A general theory is developed to describe the mechanism by which the response observed on a detector propagates throughout a system. The response is transferred between a particle source and the de...
Hurricane Bonnie (1998): Maintaining Intensity During High Vertical Wind Shear and an Eyewall Replacement Cycle

AbstractHurricane Bonnie (1998) was an unusually resilient hurricane that maintained a steady-state intensity while experiencing strong (12–16 m s−1) vertical wind shear and an eyewall replacement ...
The Flint Water Crisis: A Coordinated Public Health Emergency Response and Recovery Initiative.

CONTEXT The City of Flint was already distressed because of decades of financial decline when an estimated 140 000 individuals were exposed to lead and other contaminants in drinking water. In April 2014, Flint's drinking water source was changed from Great Lakes' Lake Huron (which was provided by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department) to the Flint River without necessary corrosion control treatment to prevent lead release from pipes and plumbing. Lead exposure can damage children's brains and nervous systems, lead to slow growth and development, and result in learning, behavior, hearing, and speech problems. After the involvement of concerned residents and independent researchers, Flint was reconnected to the Detroit water system on October 16, 2015. A federal emergency was declared in January 2016. PROGRAM The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provided assistance and support for response and recovery efforts including coordinating effective health messaging; assessing lead exposure; providing guidance on blood lead screening protocols; and identifying and linking community members to appropriate follow-up services.In response to the crisis in Flint, Congress funded the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to establish a federal advisory committee; enhance Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program activities; and support a voluntary Flint lead exposure registry. The registry, funded through a grant to Michigan State University, is designed to identify eligible participants and ensure robust registry data; monitor health, child development, service utilization, and ongoing lead exposure; improve service delivery to lead-exposed individuals; and coordinate with other community and federally funded programs in Flint. The registry is also collaborating to make Flint "lead-free" and to share best practices with other communities. DISCUSSION The Flint water crisis highlights the need for improved risk communication strategies, and environmental health infrastructure, enhanced surveillance, and primary prevention to identify and respond to environmental threats to the public's health. Collecting data is important to facilitate action and decision making to prevent lead poisoning. Partnerships can help guide innovative strategies for primary lead prevention, raise awareness, extend outreach and communication efforts, and promote a shared sense of ownership.
Conservative Women’s Groups & Tax Lobbying 1924-1936 Part 5: American Voices in a Changing Democracy: Women, Lobbying, and Tax 1924-1936

This Part of AMERICAN VOICES IN A CHANGING DEMOCRACY: WOMEN, LOBBYING, AND TAX 1924-1936 examines the tax activities of several conservative women groups in the mid-1930s, specifically attempts to defeat Roosevelt in the 1936 election. It focuses on one significant tax aspect of the anti-Roosevelt campaign—the emphasis on the heavy burden his administration was placing on the average person (the forgotten “man”) through reliance on “hidden taxes”. It concentrates on women’s efforts in the Republican campaign but also discusses other women’s activities including the Minute Women of 1936.
Fabrication of Nanoscale Cage Cubes by Drilling Orthogonal, Intersected Holes through All Six Side Faces of Ag Nanocubes

We report a general method based on the galvanic replacement for the fabrication of nanoscale, multimetallic, cage cubes by confining the drilling of Ag to the center of each side face of a Ag nano...
Recent Progress on Inverse and Data Assimilation Procedure for High-Latitude Ionospheric Electrodynamics

Polar ionospheric electrodynamics plays an important role in the Sun–Earth connection chain, acting as one of the major driving forces of the upper atmosphere and providing us with a means to probe physical processes in the distant magnetosphere. Accurate specification of the constantly changing conditions of high-latitude ionospheric electrodynamics has long been of paramount interest to the geospace science community. The Assimilative Mapping of Ionospheric Electrodynamics procedure, developed with an emphasis on inverting ground-based magnetometer observations for historical reasons, has long been used in the geospace science community as a way to obtain complete maps of high-latitude ionospheric electrodynamics by overcoming the limitations of a given geospace monitoring system. This Chapter presents recent technical progress on inverse and data assimilation procedures motivated primarily by availability of regular monitoring of high-latitude electrodynamics by space-borne instruments. The method overview describes how electrodynamic state variables are represented with polar-cap spherical harmonics and how coefficients are estimated from the point of view of the Bayesian inferential framework. Some examples of the recent applications to analysis of SuperDARN plasma drift, Iridium, and DMSP magnetic fields, as well as DMSP auroral particle precipitation data are included to demonstrate the method.
The Dark Room Problem.

Predictive Processing theories hold that the mind’s core aim is to minimize prediction-error about its experiences. But prediction-error minimization can be 'hacked', by placing oneself in highly predictable environments where nothing happens. Recent philosophical work suggests that this is a surprisingly serious challenge, highlighting the obstacles facing ‘theories-of-everything’ in psychology.
New polyacetylene and other compounds from Bupleurum chinense and their chemotaxonomic significance

Abstract Here, we isolated a new polyacetylene, (2Z,8E)-heptadecadiene-10-oxo-4,6-diyn-1-ol (1), an oxylipin (2), eight phenolic compounds (3–10), and 15 saponins (11–25) from the roots of Bupleurum chinense. We elucidated their structures by analysis of 1D and 2D-NMR spectroscopic data and mass spectrometry, and by comparison with those of related metabolites. This is the first report of the presence of compounds 2 and 6 in the Bupleurum spp.. Chemotaxonomic significance of these compounds is described herein.
Minimum-Bit-Error Rate Tuning for PDNP Detection

A dominant impediment in magnetic recording is pattern-dependent media noise, and its impact will only grow more severe as areal densities increase. A widely used strategy for mitigating media noise in a trellis-based detector is pattern-dependent noise prediction (PDNP); in this approach, each bit pattern (which determines a trellis branch) will have its own set of branch metric parameters (including the signal levels, noise predictor coefficients, and residual variances). Because the number of states grows exponentially with the number of tracks being detected, a multitrack detector has far more parameters than a single-track detector. In this article, we propose the adaptive minimum-bit-error rate (AMBER) algorithm for adapting these pattern-dependent multitrack detector parameters with the aim of minimizing BER. Numerical results for a 2-D-PDNP multitrack detector based on a quasi-micromagnetic simulated channel show that, when compared to a conventional MMSE criterion, the AMBER algorithm decreases the BER by 17%.
Optical-Cavity Manipulation of Conical Intersections and Singlet Fission in Pentacene Dimers.

We demonstrate how the singlet fission process in pentacene dimers mediated by a conical intersection is controlled by coupling the molecule to a confined optical cavity photon mode. By following t...
Metal-Enhanced Photosensitization of Singlet Oxygen (ME1O2) from Brominated Carbon Nanodots on Silver Nanoparticle Substrates

The deleterious effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS), including singlet oxygen (1O2), on biological systems have cultivated widespread interest in fields ranging from therapeutic techniques to sterilization materials. Researchers have, for example, sought to capitalize on the oxidative damage from singlet oxygen to treat tumors as well as to kill antibiotic resistant bacteria. To generate 1O2 in a controllable manner, photosensitizers are optimized to generate 1O2 from ground state oxygen (3O2) when excited by light. When considering applications of photosensitization, favorable properties include high 1O2 yield, low synthetic complexity, and minimal cost. Previously, studies have shown that plasmonic nanoparticles are able to amplify the photosensitization of 1O2 from small molecule photosensitizers in a mechanism similar to metal-enhanced fluorescence (MEF), thereby improving yield. A recent study from our lab has demonstrated that brominated carbon nanodots, which are an inexpensive and simple-to-collect as a hydrocarbon combustion byproduct, generate reactive oxygen species that can be used for antimicrobial photodynamic inactivation of bacteria. Herein we investigate the combination of these advantageous properties. Using the turn-on fluorescent probe Singlet Oxygen Sensor Green™ to detect 1O2, we report the metal-enhanced photosensitization of 1O2 by brominated dots in silvered Quanta Plate™ wells. These results provide a promising direction for the potential optimization of carbon nanodot-based agents in light-activated antimicrobial materials.