cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Motives and Barriers for Physical Activity among Low-Income Black Single Mothers

Physical activity is associated with positive health outcomes, yet previous evidence suggests that single mothers, Black women, and those with low-income levels have low rates of physical activity. The purpose of the present study was to examine health status, as well as barriers and motives for physical activity, among low-income, Black single mothers from an intersectionality framework. Participants (n = 32) in this cross-sectional, mixed methods study completed questionnaires to assess physical activity, health status, stress, and barriers to physical activity and then participated in one of six focus groups to explore physical activity motives and barriers. Although participants reported many risk factors for disease including obesity, stress, and family disease history, most participants were not engaging in behaviors that would improve health such as regular leisure-time physical activity. Participants cited being a role model, stress relief, and weight loss as motives for physical activity that were connected to their social identities as low-income, Black single mothers. Chronic stress and stressors, responsibilities associated with single motherhood, and lack of social and community supports were described as barriers to physical activity. Future researchers and practitioners should consider these specific motives and barriers when designing interventions to increase physical activity among low-income, Black single mothers. We recommend that these programs focus on: promoting motives for physical activity that are meaningful and specific to this subpopulation of mothers, reducing stress, and enhancing affordable physical activity opportunities in the community for single mothers and their children.
What Is the Role of Hospitalists in the Acute Care for Elders

Over the past 15 years healthcare delivery has changed from one in which primary care physicians (PCPs) oversaw the care of their patients in the hospital to one in which hospital medicine specialists—hospitalists—have assumed this role. Hospitalists, who are mainly trained in internal medicine with little formal geriatric training, now provide much acute care for older patients. To address the needs of the older inpatient population, hospitalists—often in partnership with geriatricians and gerontology nurses—have developed or participated in care innovations for acutely ill elders, harnessing the shared mission of improving quality of and decreasing harm from acute care. This chapter provides an overview of care innovations for acutely ill frail elders including modifications or interactions with classic models of geriatric care (ACE units, consult services, perioperative care, nursing best practice) and newer models of geriatric care (population-based identification, QI paradigms, transitional care, train the trainer). Engagement of this important group of care providers will be critical for improving care for acutely ill elders.
Factors Influencing Detection of the Federally Endangered Diamond Darter Crystallaria Cincotta: Implications for Long-Term Monitoring Strategies

Abstract Population monitoring is an essential component of endangered species recovery programs. The federally endangered Diamond Darter Crystallaria cincotta is in need of an effective monitoring design to improve our understanding of its distribution and track population trends. Because of their small size, cryptic coloration, and nocturnal behavior, along with limitations associated with current sampling methods, individuals are difficult to detect at known occupied sites. Therefore, research is needed to determine if survey efforts can be improved by increasing probability of individual detection. The primary objective of this study was to determine if there are seasonal and diel patterns in Diamond Darter detectability during population surveys. In addition to temporal factors, we also assessed five habitat variables that might influence individual detection. We used N-mixture models to estimate site abundances and relationships between covariates and individual detectability and ranked models using...
Optimal ON-OFF scheduling for a class of discrete event systems with real-time constraints

This paper studies an optimal ON-OFF scheduling problem for a class of discrete event systems with real-time constraints. Our goal is to minimize the overall costs, including the operating cost and the wake-up cost, while still guaranteeing the deadline of each individual task. In particular, we consider the homogeneous case in which it takes the same amount of time to serve each task and each task needs to be served by d seconds upon arrival. The problem involves two subproblems: (i) finding the best time to wake up the system and (ii) finding the best time to let the system go back to sleep. With the first subproblem studied previously, we focus on the second one in this paper. In particular, we consider the off-line control scenario that all task information is known to us a priori. We show that dynamic programming can be used to calculate the optimal schedule.
BUBBLE-RELATED SOURCES OF OCEAN AMBIENT NOISE

A review of our recent work involving experimental investigations of bubble-related ambient noise mechanisms is presented. Intermediate and high-frequency ambient noise is associated with precipitation and bubble entrainment from capillary-gravity waves. Evidence of intermediate and lowfrequency noise from collective oscillations of bubble clouds is also presented. All results are viewed in light of existing theories for underwater bubble-noise production.
Nanoengineered devices for solar energy conversion

Nanoengineered materials have exciting, untapped potential to develop high performance solar energy conversion systems. One example is in solar thermophotovoltaic devices, where solar energy can be harvested by converting broadband sunlight to narrowband thermal radiation tuned for a photovoltaic cell. We show how nanoengineered surfaces including a carbon nanotube absorber, photonic crystal emitter and a tandem plasma-interference optical filter can play important roles in defining the spectral characteristics. Accordingly, we report solar-to-electrical conversion efficiencies of 6.8%, exceeding that of the underlying cell. Such nanoengineered materials also have important implications for various other solar thermal devices to address important needs in energy sustainability.
Appreciating Learning Styles

Discussions of learning styles have been popular for many decades now. Encouraging educators to teach to different learning styles has almost become cliche. This is both a good and a bad thing. On the positive side of the ledger, the commonality of this discussion suggests that almost all teachers are now aware of the concept and are trained to vary their educational methods.
The role of pitch range variation in the discourse structure and intonation structure of Korean.

This study explores pitch range variation in Korean spontaneous narratives and read transcripts of the same narratives. There are two research goals. One is to examine whether pitch range variation helps mark discourse segment boundaries and signal the hierarchy of discourse segment purposes. Another is to see whether categorical differences in pitch range encode the contrast between the two intonationally marked units in the Korean prosodic hierarchy. The narratives were prosodically annotated for Accentual and Intonational Phrase boundaries and the F0 maximum was measured in each Accentual Phrase. Comparing F0 maxima across adjacent phrases shows that pitch range is reset at discourse segment boundaries in spontaneous speech, and also that size of the pitch range reset reflects the hierarchy of discourse segment levels. By contrast, there is no systematic difference in pitch range resetting values between higher Intonational Phrases as compared to lower Accentual Phrase boundaries.
Accidental gods: figures of contingency in the enlightenment fable

ABSTRACTDrawing on late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century discussions of fable as myth and apologue, this essay examines the way the form of the fable elicits interpretive practices that enable the reader to recognise the contingency of the mythical figures and fictive forms Enlightenment writers used to make the world intelligible.
Integrated Citrus Information System

To manage the business of citrus processing, Coca-Cola Foods re-engineered the information systems that supports their fruit processing functions. The single, integrated system that was developed is called Citrix: the CITRus Information exchange. This new information system starts with information about procured fruit and adds additional information as the fruit is delivered, processed, and paid for. “State of the art” computer technology and techniques are used to deliver the best possible tool to those involved in the business of citrus processing for Coca-Cola Foods.Paper published with permission.Compilation Copyright © 2018 ASME
More is less, less is more, or does it really matter? The curious case of impact of azacitidine administration schedules on outcomes in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes.

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) encompass a diverse group of hematologic disorders characterized by ineffective and malignant hematopoiesis, peripheral cytopenias and significantly increased risk of progression to acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The hypomethylating agents (HMA) azacitidine and decitabine induce meaningful clinical responses in a significant subset of patients with MDS. Though never compared directly with decitabine, only azacitidine has improved overall survival (OS) compared to conventional care in a randomized trial in patients with higher-risk MDS. The azacitidine regimen used in this pivotal trial AZA-001 included administration at 75 mg/m2/day for 7 consecutive days in 28-day cycles (7–0 regimen). Given the logistical difficulties of weekend administration in the 7–0 regimen, as well as in efforts to improve response rates, alternative dosing schedules have been used. In a typical 28-day cycle, administration schedules of 3, 5, 10, and (with the oral version of azacitidine) 14 and 21 days have been used in clinical trials. Most trials that evaluated alternative administration schedules of azacitidine did so in lower-risk MDS and did not directly compare to the 7–0 schedule. Given the lack of randomized prospective studies comparing the 7–0 schedule to the other regimens of azacitidine in MDS, Shapiro et al. conducted a systematic review in an attempt to answer this question. Here we place the findings of this important work in clinical context and review the current knowledge and unresolved issues regarding the impact of administration schedules of azacitidine on outcomes of patients with both lower-risk and higher-risk MDS.
Gender Research in International Relations

This chapter begins by introducing some of the classic works in IR, a field founded around the time of World War I, demonstrating their masculine bias that is evident in their focus on war and security. Next, the chapter overviews some feminist scholarship that has entered the field in the last twenty-five years and some of the very different issues on which it has focused. It suggests that feminists are using very different methodologies from conventional IR to understand world politics. Feminists claim that we cannot fully understand international politics or the workings of the global economy without a gender analysis. In conclusion, the chapter describes some of the ways in which women’s issues have been introduced onto the agenda of the United Nations
Powder Neutron Diffraction Study of the Structural Phase Diagram of the Ba1−xKxBiO3 System

In this article we present a brief report of recent work carried out to elucidate the phase diagram of the Ba1−xKxBiO3 system. A full account of this investigation will be published shortly.1
2MASS J10274572+0629104: the very short period young M6 dwarf binary system identified in K2 data

We report the identification of a very low mass new binary system 2MASS J10274572+0629104, based on Kepler K2 photometry and Gaia DR2 astrometry. The K2 light curve is consistent with a beat pattern of two periodic signals, and using Lomb-Scargle periodogram, we find two rotation periods of 0.2114 \pm 0.0002 day and 0.2199 \pm 0.0003 day.We conclude that these rotation periods arise from two stars with similar spectral types of M6, and have near equal luminosity. It is the first ultracool binary system to be identified based on beat patterns in the light curve. Near-infrared spectroscopy yields RV = -9.8 \pm 0.6 km s^-1, v sin i = 21.5 \pm 1.1 km s^-1, T_eff = 3110 \pm 40 K, and log g = 5.2 \pm 0.2. The motions are consistent with a young age, as are the rotation periods, but the source does not appear to be part of any known moving group. Furthermore, we detected three strong white light flares in the K2 light curve, with estimated total bolometric (UV/optical/IR) energies to be 2.6 X 10^33, 5.0 X 10^33, and 3.5 X 10^33 erg respectively.
Carotid Endarterectomy and Carotid Artery Stenting in a Predominantly Symptomatic Real-World Patient Population.

Background Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and carotid artery stenting (CAS) are well-established treatments that have been shown to decrease stroke recurrence in patients with underlying carotid artery disease. We assessed clinical outcome, safety, and restenosis rates for patients who underwent standardized CEA or CAS at our tertiary care center using patient selection criteria based on available scientific evidence. Methods Retrospective chart review of patients who underwent CEA or CAS between 2009 and 2016. Results In total, 314 cases (204 with CEA and 110 with CAS) were analyzed. Patients were predominantly white (84.4%), men (61.1%) with hypertension (86.9%) and hyperlipidemia (81.8%). Most patients (84.5%) had symptomatic carotid disease. No significant differences were observed in median postoperative National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale and modified Rankin scale (mRS) scores based on pretreatment symptomatic status or treatment modality (CEA vs. CAS). Most patients (85.9%) had favorable outcomes (mRS score 0–2) at a median follow-up of 11.7 months (interquartile range, 1.8–28.8). The perioperative complication rate was low (3.2%), and permanent neurologic deficit was seen in only 3 patients (1%). Restenosis was found in 7.3%, without significant difference between CEA and CAS at last follow-up. Restenosis was asymptomatic in most patients. Conclusions Our findings in a real-world predominantly symptomatic cohort demonstrate that favorable patient outcomes and low restenosis and complication rates can be achieved with both CEA and CAS by the utilization of a consistent institutional patient selection and treatment process.
Untargeted Metabolomic Profiling Identifies Disease-specific Profiles in Food Allergy

Abstract Background Food allergy (FA) affects an increasing proportion of children for reasons that remain obscure. Identification of pathogenic mechanisms involved in FA using untargeted metabolomic approaches may provide much needed diagnostic and prognostic disease biomarkers and improved treatment options. Methods Mass spectrometry-based untargeted metabolomic profiling was performed on serum samples of children with either FA alone, asthma alone or both FA and asthma as well as healthy pediatric controls. Results FA subjects exhibited a disease-specific metabolomic signature as compared to both control subjects and asthmatics. In particular, FA was uniquely associated with a marked decrease in sphingolipids, as well as a number of other lipid metabolites, in the face of normal frequencies of circulating natural killer T (NKT) cells. Specific comparison of FA and asthmatic subjects revealed differences in the microbiota-sensitive aromatic amino acid and secondary bile acid metabolism. Children with both FA and asthma exhibited a metabolomic profile that aligned with that of FA alone but not asthma. Among children with FA, distinct profiles were associated with history of severe reactions and presence of multiple FA. Conclusions Children with FA display a disease-specific metabolomic profile that is informative of disease mechanisms and severity, and which dominates in the presence of asthma. Lower levels of sphingolipids and ceramides and other metabolomic alterations observed in FA children may reflect the interplay between an altered microbiota and immune cell subsets in the gut.
Physical properties and crystal structure of polonium

Measurements of the physical properties, and crystal structure of polonium show that the element is very metal­ lic. Measurements of the electrical resistivity of thin films of metal show that polonium e3dsts in two allotrppic forms. The specific resistivity and thermal coefficient of resistivity of the tv/o phases are respectively: RQ of ot-Po s 42 micro-ohm-cm oCof o(-Po = .0046 RQ of /9-Po = 44 " o^of ^-Po = .0070 The element has a melting point of 254°C and a density of 9,4 g/cc. Its hardness is similar to that of lead. X-ray diffraction studies have shown that c<Po has a simple cubic structure with a lattic parameter "a" 3.34 A, The -jihase has a simple rhomhohedral structure with "a" r 3.36 A and o( s 98° 13». A sample which was photographed intermittently for 138 days the half life of Po has shown no new diffraction patterns, thiis indicating that lead is soluble in polonium to the extent of 50 atomic percent. Diffraction patterns taken with the sample of different temperatures show that -polonium has a negative thermal co­ efficient of expansion equal to -300 100 x 10"® cm/cm/°C. The coefficient of expansion for -polonium is probably 50 x 10 .
The potential of letrozole use for priming in vitro maturation cycles.

Objective: To compare the pregnancy rates with two different methods of priming for in vitro maturation cycles (IVM). Cycles using letrozole together with hCG were compared to cycles using FSH together with hCG in 75 cycles in patients being treated for infertility by IVM. Study design: Retrospective cohort non-inferiority trial Results: Using letrozole for priming was found to not be inferior to using FSH for priming cycles. The live birth rate per transfer was 31.6% in letrozole primed cycles compared to 20.8% in FSH primed cycles (not significant). However, FSH priming produced more oocytes that were mature on the day of retrieval (p = 0.004) and also resulted in more high quality embryos than did letrozole priming (p = 0.004). Conclusion: Letrozole may be used for priming in IVM cycles in which the clinician views the characteristics of letrozole as more desirable than FSH.
Racial Disparities in Total Knee Replacement Failure As Related to Poverty

Objective To determine whether racial disparities in total knee replacement (TKR) failure are explained by poverty. Methods Black and white New York state residents, enrolled in a prospective single-institution TKR registry January 1, 2008 to February 6, 2012, who underwent primary unilateral TKR (n = 4,062) were linked to the New York Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System database (January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2014) to capture revisions performed at outside institutions. Patients were linked by geocoded addresses to residential census tracts. Multivariable Cox regression was used to assess predictors of TKR revision. Multivariable logistic regression was used to analyze predictors of TKR failure, defined as TKR revision in New York state ≤2 years after surgery, or as Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) TKR quality of life score "not improved" or "worsened" 2 years after surgery. Results The mean ± SD age was 68.4 ± 10 years, 64% of patients were female, 8% lived in census tracts with >20% of the population under the poverty line, and 9% were black. Median follow-up time was 5.3 years. A total of 3% of patients (122 of 4,062) required revision a median 454 days (interquartile range 215-829) after surgery. TKR revision risk was higher in blacks than whites, with a hazard ratio of 1.69 (95% confidence interval 1.01-2.81), but in multivariable analysis, only younger age, male sex, and constrained prosthesis were predictors of TKR revision. TKR failure occurred in 200 of 2,832 cases (7%) with 2-year surveys. Risk factors for TKR failure were non-osteoarthritis TKR indication, low surgeon volume, and low HSS Expectations Survey score, but not black race. Community poverty was not associated with TKR revision or failure. Conclusion There was a trend toward higher TKR revision risk in blacks, but poverty did not modify the relationship between race and TKR revision or failure.
The Intensity of Lived-Experience in Martin Heidegger’s Basic Problems of Phenomenology (WS 1919/2020): A Comparison to Being and Time

The following essay compares and contrasts Martin Heidegger’s Being and Time with an earlier lecture course that he delivered in the Winter Semester of 1919/2020 entitled Basic Problems of Phenomenology. Heidegger says explicitly that the pre-phenomenal basis for his analysis in Being and Time is “entities” in their equipmental totality. He calls these the “preliminary theme” for his analysis of Dasein. While the analytic of Dasein is the first step in posing the question of Being, the pre-phenomenal basis for the analytic of Dasein is, he says, “entitities” or “equipment”. I argue that this can lead to certain misunderstandings, especially when he talks about nature and human relationships. In Basic Problems, Heidegger’s focus is not on “entities” or “equipment” but rather on experiences. In this earlier work, he is trying to develop a language that can capture the intensity of lived-experience, suggesting an experiential vibrancy to Dasein that is implicit but not thematized in Being and Time. I aim to show that while Heidegger turns away from the term “life” in Being and Time, his understanding of Dasein can still draw on the intensity and immediacy of experience so prominent in this early lecture course.
Can credit errors be fixed? Probably not

Abstract Data errors in credit reports are essentially unfixable. An individual does not pay the CRAs for collecting his/her data, nor is there an incentive for making the data correct. In 2003, Leonard Bennett testified before the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions about the e-OSCAR process, which pretends to correct errors in credit reports but rarely does. This is a process that converts all arguments and evidence into a two-digit code, which is sent to creditors, who typically have software respond that there is no problem. While regulations pay lip service to the notion that credit reports should be accurate and complete, mine is not, and I attempted to file a dispute to have Chase report the monthly payments on my credit card. In the chapter, I discuss the many hours of effort I put in, leading to various bewildering software failures and no progress toward my goal.
Correlation of circulating or disseminated tumor cells with the Oncotype DX Recurrence Score.

New biomarkers are emerging to predict recurrence risk in women with early-stage breast cancer. High Oncotype DX Recurrence Score® (RS) is associated with worse disease-free and overall survival. Similarly, circulating tumor cells (CTCs, blood) and disseminated tumor cells (DTCs, bone marrow) have prognostic value in breast cancer. We investigated the association between high RS and CTCs or DTCs. Using a prospective database, we evaluated patients with hormone receptor-positive/HER2-negative, node-negative invasive breast cancer from 1/2005 to 1/2017. RS was classified using TAILORx study cutoff points: low ( 25). CTCs were assessed using CellSearch® and DTCs using cytospin specimens of bone marrow aspirates. Positive result was defined as one or more CTCs or DTCs identified. Chi-square analyses were utilized to evaluate the relationship between RS and CTCs or DTCs. 233 patients were identified from a prospective database, of which 96 had RS results. Of these patients, 88 had CTC results and 58 had DTC results. CTCs were detected in 17/88 (19%) patients, while DTCs were detected in 20/58 (34%). Patients with high RS were not more likely to have CTCs (18%) compared to patients with low/intermediate RS (20%; p = 0.919). Similarly, high RS was not associated with DTC detection, with DTCs present in 40% of patients with high RS versus 33% with low/intermediate RS (p = 0.687). In the subgroup of patients ≤ 50 years, no associations were found between high RS and CTCs (p = 0.383) or DTCs (p = 0.234). High Oncotype DX RS did not correlate with CTCs in blood or DTCs in bone marrow in our study.
Psychological distress and cognition among long-term survivors of adolescent and young adult cancer in the USA.

Patients diagnosed with cancer as adolescent and young adult (AYA) are at risk for a range of long-term psychosocial sequelae, which have been poorly studied. We sought to characterize the prevalence of cognitive dysfunction and psychological distress among long-term AYA cancer survivors. Using data from the National Health Interview Survey between 2010 and 2018, multivariable logistic regression analyses defined the association between AYA cancer diagnosis and cognitive dysfunction and psychological distress, as defined by the 6-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. Among AYA cancer survivors, the association between psychological distress and cognitive dysfunction was assessed via multivariable logistic regression. Among 230,675 participants, 2646 (1.1%) were AYA cancer survivors diagnosed > 10 years prior to survey administration. Prior AYA cancer diagnosis was associated with greater odds of cognitive dysfunction (AOR 1.61, 95% CI 1.41–1.82; 27.8% vs. 16.4%) and psychological distress (AOR 1.60, 95% CI 1.41–1.83; 26.6 vs. 15.3%) as compared to individuals without a cancer history. Among survey participants reporting a cancer diagnosis, greater psychological distress was associated with greater odds of cognitive dysfunction (AOR 12.31, 95% CI 7.51–20.18 for severe psychological distress) and cognitive dysfunction was associated with having psychological distress (AOR 4.97, 95% CI 3.66–6.73). Long-term survivors of AYA cancer have higher rates of cognitive dysfunction and psychological distress as compared to the general population. Additional services addressing psychosocial and neurocognitive issues should be integrated into standard AYA cancer survivorship care. Cancer survivors should be aware of self-reported high rates of long-term cognitive dysfunction and psychologic distress and actively seek out formal evaluation and services such as mental health counseling
Diastolic inflow is associated with inefficient ventricular flow dynamics in Fontan patients.

Abstract Objective This study used cardiac magnetic resonance imaging to evaluate flow characteristics and ventricular hemodynamics for children with single right (hypoplastic left heart syndrome) and single left (hypoplastic right heart syndrome) systemic ventricle anatomy after Fontan palliation compared with normal biventricular controls. Methods Twenty children with single ventricle anatomy (hypoplastic left heart syndrome, n = 10; hypoplastic right heart syndrome, n = 10) underwent standardized 4-dimensional flow cardiac magnetic resonance and were compared with age-matched controls (n = 10). End-diastolic volume was partitioned into 4 defined components of variable kinetic energy (direct flow, retained inflow, delayed ejection, and residual volume) and compared between groups. Further, volumetric and functional parameters as defined by cardiac magnetic resonance were evaluated. Results Children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome had significantly increased indexed end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes compared with both hypoplastic right heart syndrome and control groups. Flow component analysis demonstrated diastolic inefficiency in both hypoplastic left heart syndrome and hypoplastic right heart syndrome groups compared with controls as defined by decreased direct flow and increased residual volumes. Decreased direct flow correlated with decreased ejection fraction and increased end-diastolic and end-systolic volume indices. Increased residual volume correlated with decreased ejection fraction and increased end-systolic volume index. Conclusions Fontan-palliated patients with single ventricle physiology (hypoplastic left heart syndrome and hypoplastic right heart syndrome) demonstrate altered and inefficient flow patterns in the systemic ventricle as defined by 4-dimensional flow cardiac magnetic resonance compared with normal biventricular controls. Decreased direct flow and increased residual volume indicate that diastolic ventricular dysfunction is prevalent after Fontan palliation. This study provides a foundation for future predictive modeling and cardiac magnetic resonance flow diagnostic studies in this high-risk patient population.
Seeing vs. Seeing That: Children's Understanding of Direct Perception and Inference Reports

Young children can reason about direct and indirect visual information, but fully mapping this understanding to linguistic forms encoding the two knowledge sources appears to come later in development. In English, perception verbs with small clause complements ('I saw something happen') report direct perception of an event, while perception verbs with sentential complements ('I saw that something happened') can report inferences about an event. In two experiments, we ask when 4-9-year-old English-speaking children have linked the conceptual distinction between direct perception and inference to different complements expressing this distinction. We find that, unlike older children or adults, 4-6-year-olds do not recognize that see with a sentential complement can report visually-based inference, even when syntactic and contextual cues make inference interpretations highly salient. These results suggest a prolonged developmental trajectory for learning how the syntax of perception verbs like see maps to their semantics.
Parallel and distributed neurocomputing with wireless sensor networks

This paper proposes a novel hardware computing platform for fully parallel and distributed computation of artificial neural network (ANN) algorithms. The proposed idea entails leveraging the existing wireless sensor networks (WSN) technology to serve as a parallel and distributed hardware platform to implement computations for artificial neural network algorithms. Feasibility of the proposed neurocomputing architecture is demonstrated through a simulation-based case study, which uses Kohonen's self-organizing map as the neural network algorithm. MATLAB-based PROWLER, which is a protocol and application level simulator for wireless sensor networks, is employed for the simulation study. Findings demonstrated that the proposed neurocomputing architecture was able to train the SOM neural network with competitive accuracy values for the unsupervised clustering task. Conclusions of the simulation study suggest that the WSN-based neurocomputing architecture is a feasible alternative for realizing parallel and distributed computation of artificial neural network algorithms.
Physical Feature Encoding and Word Recognition Abilities Are Altered in Children with Intractable Epilepsy: Preliminary Neuromagnetic Evidence

Objective evaluation of language function is critical for children with intractable epilepsy under consideration for epilepsy surgery. The purpose of this preliminary study was to evaluate word recognition in children with intractable epilepsy by using magnetoencephalography (MEG). Ten children with intractable epilepsy (M/F 6/4, mean ± SD 13.4 ± 2.2 years) were matched on age and sex to healthy controls. Common nouns were presented simultaneously from visual and auditory sensory inputs in “match” and “mismatch” conditions. Neuromagnetic responses M1, M2, M3, M4, and M5 with latencies of ~100 ms, ~150 ms, ~250 ms, ~350 ms, and ~450 ms, respectively, elicited during the “match” condition were identified. Compared to healthy children, epilepsy patients had both significantly delayed latency of the M1 and reduced amplitudes of M3 and M5 responses. These results provide neurophysiologic evidence of altered word recognition in children with intractable epilepsy.
Chromatographic determination of extinction coefficients of non-glycosylated proteins using refractive index (RI) and UV absorbance (UV) detectors: Applications for studying protein interactions by size exclusion chromatography with light-scattering, UV, and RI detectors

Publisher Summary Knowing the extinction coefficient, ɛ , of a protein is important for many biochemical and biophysical studies. In size-exclusion chromatography with online light-scattering, uv absorbance, and refractive index detectors (SEC-LS/UV/RI) used in the study of molecular weights of glycosylated proteins and protein–carbohydrate complexes, it is apparent that when ɛ of the polypeptide is known, it is possible to combine the information from all three detectors to obtain the polypeptide molecular weight of the complex. Also for many other reasons, it would be useful to have a convenient method to measure ɛ . For non-glycosylated proteins, it has been found that the signals from refractive index (RI) and absorbance (UV) detectors provide a simple chromatographic method for ɛ determination with a reasonable accuracy, and thus when SEC-LS/UV/RI experiments are done, the data for determining ɛ are available without extra effort. This chapter describes a method of using RI and UV detectors to determine the extinction coefficients of non-glycosylated proteins and present results for several commercial proteins. Then it discusses applications of this method for studying protein interactions when using SEC-LS/UV/RI. Focus lies on the on-line chromatographic determination of extinction coefficients of non-glycosylated proteins and its applications in SEC-LS/UV/RI.
Integrated Operation of the INL HYTEST System and High-Temperature Steam Electrolysis for Synthetic Natural Gas Production

The primary feedstock for synthetic fuel production is syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Current hydrogen production technologies rely upon fossil fuels and produce significant quantities of greenhouse gases as a byproduct. This is not a sustainable means of satisfying future hydrogen demands, given the current projections for conventional world oil production and future targets for carbon emissions. For the past six years, the Idaho National Laboratory has been investigating the use of high-temperature steam electrolysis (HTSE) to produce the hydrogen feedstock required for synthetic fuel production. High-temperature electrolysis water-splitting technology, combined with non-carbon-emitting energy sources, can provide a sustainable, environmentally-friendly means of large-scale hydrogen production. Additionally, laboratory facilities are being developed at the INL for testing hybrid energy systems composed of several tightly-coupled chemical processes (HYTEST program). The first such test involved the coupling of HTSE, CO2 separation membrane, reverse shift reaction, and methanation reaction to demonstrate synthetic natural gas production from a feedstock of water and either CO or a simulated flue gas containing CO2. This paper will introduce the initial HTSE and HYTEST testing facilities, overall coupling of the technologies, testing results, and future plans.
The turtle bladder: II. Observations on the epithelial cytotoxic effect of amphotericin B☆

Abstract Turtle bladders maintained in vitro were exposed to amphotericin B. Those mucosal cells whose surface had luminal contact showed marked rarefaction, dilatation of endoplasmic reticulum, organelle displacement, and mitochondrial matrical contraction. These changes were first noted after 8 minutes and involved a particular cell type but progressed to include all superficial cells. Electrophysiological parameters were severely altered, but the bladder was still “viable” 2 hours after exposure. In light of investigations utilizing other models of cell injury and work with artificial membranes, these results suggest that the primary effect of amphotericin B is on luminal plasma membranes. Similar findings in another class of animals, amphibians, suggest that these results may be relevant to the human kidney.
The expression of optimum ATPase activities in human erythrocytes. A comparison of different lytic procedures.

Abstract The exposure of the Na + /K + /Mg 2+ - and Ca 2+ /Mg 2+ -stimulated ATPase activities in human erythrocytes through the use of several different lytic procedures revealed significant variations in the level of activity. Density (age)-separated as well as mixed-age human erythrocytes were subjected to hemolysis in isotonic buffer using saponin or ethylene glycol, to hemolysis in hypotonie buffer using low osmolarity buffers, or to freeze-thaw to allow potential accessibility to the ATPases. The results ranged from maximum exposure of both types of ATPases in saponin-treated cells, to little or no exposure of activity in ethylene glycol-treated cells, to variable responses in membranes derived by hypotonie hemolysis. The inability to elicit maximum exposure of ATPases in young cells by the freeze-thaw treatment was reversed by the use of saponin lysis in isotonic medium. These results illustrate the importance of the lytic conditions of membrane preparations on the recovery of as well as exposure to ATPase activities. It is concluded that saponin lysis in isotonic buffer medium is the preferred lytic technique for preparation of membranes retaining significant levels of the Na + /K + /Mg 2+ - and Ca 2+ /Mg 2+ -stimulated ATPases. These data are also discussed in reference to the degree of retention of the activator protein for the Ca 2+ Mg 2+ ATPase system.
Stimulation of tumor necrosis factor release from monocytic cells by the A375 human melanoma via granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor.

Abstract It has long been known that complex interactions occur between tumors and normal host immune cells. The human melanoma cell line A375 has been used previously as an indicator cell for tumor cell cytotoxicity mediated by monocytes. During other studies on this tumor cell line, we noted that the conditioned media harvested from A375 cultures induced both the human monocytoid cell line U937 and human blood monocytes to release the cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF). We characterized this tumor factor which induced TNF release by monocytic cells. Purification was performed using ammonium sulfate precipitation, ion exchange (DEAE) chromatography, gel filtration, and reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography. The factor copurified with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). The purified material caused the release of TNF by U937 cells and stimulated formation of granulocyte-macrophage colonies in methyl cellulose. TNF release by U937 cells in response to A375-conditioned medium was inhibited by neutralizing antibodies to GM-CSF. The TNF-inducing activity in A375-conditioned medium was completely removed by an anti-GM-CSF affinity column. Western blotting using antibodies to GM-CSF confirmed a single Mr27,000 band in A375-conditioned medium. We found that recombinant human GM-CSF stimulated TNF production by the same cells as the tumor-conditioned medium. These data show that A375 human melanoma cells produce GM-CSF, which in turn causes TNF production by cells in the monocyte lineage. The combination of GM-CSF production by the tumor and TNF production by immune cells may influence not only tumor growth but also some of the paraneoplastic syndromes associated with malignancy such as hypercalcemia, cachexia and leukocytosis.
Genetically integrated traits and rugged adaptive landscapes in digital organisms

When overlapping sets of genes encode multiple traits, those traits may not be able to evolve independently, resulting in constraints on adaptation. We examined the evolution of genetically integrated traits in digital organisms—self-replicating computer programs that mutate, compete, adapt, and evolve in a virtual world. We assessed whether overlap in the encoding of two traits – here, the ability to perform different logic functions – constrained adaptation. We also examined whether strong opposing selection could separate otherwise entangled traits, allowing them to be independently optimized. Correlated responses were often asymmetric. That is, selection to increase one function produced a correlated response in the other function, while selection to increase the second function caused a complete loss of the ability to perform the first function. Nevertheless, most pairs of genetically integrated traits could be successfully disentangled when opposing selection was applied to break them apart. In an interesting exception to this pattern, the logic function AND evolved counter to its optimum in some populations owing to selection on the EQU function. Moreover, the EQU function showed the strongest response to selection only after it was disentangled from AND, such that the ability to perform AND was lost. Subsequent analyses indicated that selection against AND had altered the local adaptive landscape such that populations could cross what would otherwise have been an adaptive valley and thereby reach a higher fitness peak. Correlated responses to selection can sometimes constrain adaptation. However, in our study, even strongly overlapping genes were usually insufficient to impose long-lasting constraints, given the input of new mutations that fueled selective responses. We also showed that detailed information about the adaptive landscape was useful for predicting the outcome of selection on correlated traits. Finally, our results illustrate the richness of evolutionary dynamics in digital systems and highlight their utility for studying processes thought to be important in biological systems, but which are difficult to investigate in those systems.
A 150 MHz CMOS EPLD with mu W standby power

The design and performance of a universal 300-gate equivalent CMOS electrically programmable logic device (EPLD) are reported. Innovative circuit techniques were utilized to achieve high performance. The maximum propagation delay in combinatorial mode is 6 ns, while in register mode, the device can operate at frequencies up to 150 MHz. The standby and active I/sub CC/ is 10 mu A and 70 mA, respectively. The device was fabricated with a 1.0- mu m double-metal CMOS EPROM process. The die size is 1.95*2.05 mm. >
RF (gigahertz) ATE production testing on wafer: options and tradeoffs

This paper describes the hardware solution tradeoffs in testing RF devices on wafer in a production environment using ATE. The options, which are available today, will be compared with respect to RF measurement integrity and production worthiness.
Isaac Bloomberg Meets Michael Bloomberg: Better EntityDisambiguation for the News

This paper shows the implementation and evaluation of the Entity Linking or Named Entity Disambiguation system used and developed at Bloomberg. In particular, we present and evaluate a methodology and a system that do not require the use of Wikipedia as a knowledge base or training corpus. We present how we built features for disambiguation algorithms from the Bloomberg News corpus, and how we employed them for both single-entity and joint-entity disambiguation into a Bloomberg proprietary knowledge base of people and companies. Experimental results show high quality in the disambiguation of the available annotated corpus.
Active Landmark Sampling for Manifold Learning Based Spectral Unmixing

Nonlinear manifold learning based spectral unmixing provides an alternative to direct nonlinear unmixing methods for accommodating nonlinearities inherent in hyperspectral data. Although manifolds can effectively capture nonlinear features in the dimensionality reduction stage of unmixing, the computational overhead is excessive for large remotely sensed data sets. Manifold approximation using a set of distinguishing points is commonly utilized to mitigate the computational burden, but selection of these landmark points is important for adequately representing the topology of the manifold. This study proposes an active landmark sampling framework for manifold learning based spectral unmixing using a small initial landmark set and a computationally efficient backbone-based strategy for constructing the manifold. The active landmark sampling strategy selects the best additional landmarks to develop a more representative manifold and to increase unmixing accuracy.
Development of a self-inactivating tet-on retroviral vector expressing bone morphogenetic protein 4 to achieve regulated bone formation

The aims of this study were to explore the possibility of improving the design of self-inactivating (SI) retroviral vectors and to develop an SI vector that would allow optimal tet-on-regulated therapeutic gene expression. To minimize any interference between the viral promoter and the inducible promoter, we deleted different regulatory elements in the 3'LTR and examined their effects on transgene expression in transfected or transduced cells. In transfected cells, such deletions reduced the transgene expression. The insertion of a polyadenylation sequence could not completely compensate for this effect. We observed three patterns of transgene expression in cells transduced with these tet-on retroviral vectors: (1) high levels of both basal and inducible expression, (2) low levels of both basal and inducible expression, and (3) low levels of basal and high levels of inducible expression. After using the optimal vector to transduce muscle-derived stem cells, we were able to regulate the strong in vitro expression of transgenes-including enhanced green fluorescent protein and bone morphogenetic protein 4-via the addition or withdrawal of doxycycline (Dox). Implantation of the transduced cells and subsequent Dox-dependent induction of gene expression resulted in bone formation in vivo. Thus, we have developed an optimal SI retroviral vector that maintains a high titer, efficiently transduces muscle-derived stem cells, and enables both high levels of inducible gene expression in vitro and robust regulated bone formation in vivo.
Augmentation du comportement phénotypique de synthèse des cellules musculaires lisses en réponse à un modèle in vitro de lésion par angioplastie à ballonnet

La restenose reste un probleme frequent apres angioplastie par ballonnet, et on a specule le que les changements de l'environnement mecanique du aux interventions endovasculaires sont correles avec des modifications du phenotype des cellules musculaires lisses (CML). Afin d'etudier la reponse des CML a des forces semblables a celles exercees pendant l'angioplastie a ballonnet, un simulateur in vitro associant des forces de cisaillement et tensiles a ete developpe. Apres 24 heures d'exposition a une tension cyclique (5%) et a un cisaillement (0.1-0.5 dyne/cm2) simules apres lesion d'angioplastie (etirement de 12%), les CML aortiques de rat avaient un comportement synthetique marque. Ces reponses incluaient une augmentation de la proliferation cellulaire, de l'apoptose, et de l'hypertrophie des cellules comparativement aux cellules exposees a la seule contrainte. Tandis que toutes les CML exposees aux stimuli dynamiques (contrainte, contrainte+lesions de ballon, contrainte+lesions de ballon +cisaillement) montraient une diminution d'expression des proteines contractiles, le groupe lesionnel avait egalement une expression significativement accrue du marqueur synthetique vimentine. Ces resultats in vitro sont conformes aux evenements in vivo apres angioplastie de ballon et representent un modele dynamique affine a mettre en application pour une meilleure comprehension de l'activation des CML et une prevention des reponses au traitement pharmacologique.