cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Schwinger-Dyson approach to large-N Gauge theory at finite temperature

We show how the Schwinger-Dyson equations can be used to extract useful information about gauge theories at finite temperature and infinite N. We derive equations for both the Wilson loop and the connected part of the correlation of 2 loops. In next-to-leading order the correlation between 2 loops has the temperature dependence of a generalized free field theory. We discuss the thermodynamic consequences of the previously obtained result that the Wilson loop is independent of the temperature in the cofining phase.
Comparison of dynamic (brush) and static (pressure) mechanical allodynia in migraine

Allodynia has been described in migraine but has not been fully investigated for the different sensory modalities. The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of dynamic (brush) and static (pressure) mechanical allodynia in migraine patients and to suggest a practical method of testing them in a clinical setting. Patients with International Headache Society-defined episodic migraine (EM) or with transformed migraine (TM) as defined by Silberstein and Lipton were prospectively recruited from the Jefferson Headache Center out-patient clinic. A questionnaire of migraine features and symptoms of allodynia was administered. Brush allodynia (BA) was tested by cutaneous stimulation with a gauze pad and pressure allodynia (PA) was tested using von Frey hairs (VFH). The prevalence of BA and PA in all patients and in the different subgroups was calculated and correlated with migraine features. We recruited 55 migraine patients. Twenty-five had EM and 30 had TM. BA was present in 18 (32.7%) patients and PA in 18-24 (32.7-43.6%). Allodynia to both brush and pressure was found in 13-17 (23.6-30.9%) patients. If a patient had allodynia to one modality only, it was more likely to be PA than BA. Both BA and PA were more common in patients with TM compared with those with EM [BA 46.7% vs. 16.0%; PA (differences significant for the medium and thick VFHs) 50% vs. 20% and 50% vs. 12%, respectively]. Both types of allodynia were also more common in patients with migraine with aura compared with those with migraine without aura (BA 57.1% vs. 17.6%; PA 57.1-61.9% vs. 17.6-32.7%). There was a positive correlation between allodynia score (as obtained by examination) and allodynia index (as obtained by history) for both BA and PA. The incomplete, although considerable, overlap between BA and PA suggests that allodynia to different sensory modalities is associated with sensitization of different neuronal populations. Because PA was more common than BA, it may be a more sensitive indicator of allodynia in migraine. PA can be tested clinically in a practical and systematic manner.
FingerSense: augmenting expressiveness to physical pushing button by fingertip identification

In this paper, we propose a novel method, FingerSense to enhance the expressiveness of physical buttons. In a FingerSense enabled input device, a pressing action is differentiated according to the finger involved. We modeled the human performance of FingerSense interfaces and derived related parameters from a preliminary usability study. Overall findings indicate that FingerSense is faster compared with traditional keypads when the finger switching action could be paralleled.
Structure and thermoelectric properties of new layered compounds in the quaternary system Cs-Pb-Bi-Te

By introducing of various equivalents of PbTe into the layered framework of CsBi 4 Te 6 , the four new compounds CsPbBi 3 Te 6 (1), CsPb 2 Bi 3 Te 7 (2), CsPb 3 Bi 3 Te 8 (3) and CsPb 4 Bi 3 Te 9 (4), were discovered. The compounds adopt layered structures built up of anionic slabs of progressively increasing thickness. The [Pb m Bi 3 Te 5+m ] - (m = 1, 2, 3, 4) slabs in the four structures can be viewed as fragments excised from the PbTe-type structures with 4-, 5-, 6- and 7-monolayers, respectively. As prepared, these materials are off-stoichiometric and n-type conductors. We present preliminary results of the crystal structures and thermoelectric properties of these materials and classify them as members of the new homologous series CsPb m Bi 3 Te 5+m (m = 1 to 4).
Theoretical and experimental investigation of spatial temperature gradient effects on cells using a microfabricated microheater platform

While the cellular interaction with the chemical microenvironment has been studied in detail in the past, the effect of thermal signals and gradients on cells is not well understood. While almost all biological macrosystems exhibit temperature sensitivity, this has not been studied much at the cellular level. The capability of precise control of temperature and heat flux at the scale of a few microns using microfabricated structures makes microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) ideal for investigating these effects. This work describes a MEMS-based microheater platform capable of subjecting surface-adhered cells to microscale temperature gradients. This microdevice comprises a free-standing thin film based microheater platform. The design and microfabrication of this microdevice are described. A thermal conduction model is developed in order to thermally characterize the microheater platform. Protocols for culturing cells on the microheater platform are developed, making it possible to adhere cells on the microheater surface and subject them to a desired spatial temperature gradient. Experiments demonstrating the spatial control of cell viability using the microheater device are described. This is followed by experiments that explore the possibility of cellular growth in response to thermal gradients, similar to chemotaxis. Thermotactic effect is well known at the organismal level. However, cells used in this work did not exhibit any thermotactic effect. A theoretical model for predicting cell response to a spatial temperature gradient in its microenvironment is proposed. The model is based on the effect of the temperature gradient on the chemical sensory process of the cell. The model predicts that in addition to the thermal gradient, the thermotactic effect also depends on a number of other parameters that have not been well characterized in the past. The microheater platform described in this work offers a fundamental new experimental tool with which to explore the interaction of cellular systems with their thermal microenvironment. The theoretical model of thermotaxis developed here furthers the understanding of the function of a cell as a thermal and chemical sensor.
Chaotic digital encoding: an approach to secure communication

A method for using chaos in the digital domain for secure communications is proposed. The method uses a nonlinear digital filter with finite precision (8 bits) in conjunction with its inverse filter to implement an encoder and a decoder, respectively. The nature of the encoder is such that it behaves in a quasi-chaotic fashion (since chaotic behavior requires infinite precision), both with zero and nonzero input sequences. The determination of its quasi-chaotic behavior is based on QC-properties defined in the paper, which are proposed as a test for finite state digital filters. At the very least, these properties suggest that the encoder possessing them will be of value in secure communications applications. Variations on the encoding scheme are suggested that allow the potential for a wide range of applications, ranging from cost-effective real-time systems to high security systems incorporating one or more "keys." Simulation results as well as a mathematical analysis are used to promote an understanding of the performance of the nonlinear encoder/decoder. >
Photochemistry of benzocyclobutene

Photolysis of bensocyclobutene (1) in pentane solution at 254 nm yields l,l-dihydro- pentalene (2) and 1,5-dihydropentalene (3) as the major isomeric products; formation of 2 and 3 ys consistent with a - - "prebenzvalene" -carbene rearrangement mechanism. The chemistry of bensocyclobutene (11 and of the dihydropentalenes are topics of current
Developing Knowledge Landscapes through Project-Based Learning

The traditional civil engineering-based approach to construction engineering and management education focuses significant attention on core subjects such as scheduling, estimating, and contracts. This paper introduces an alternative approach to this education based on the concepts of project-based learning. Through the introduction of courses developed by the writers, the paper provides a foundation for changing current education approaches from a lecture-based format to a project-based format. In this format, students are challenged with open-ended problems requiring greater application of multiple engineering concepts as well as requiring interaction with outside experts from within the construction industry and related professions. An outline for a project-based learning course is presented with experiences and lessons learned from four implementations of the course. Student responses are presented to indicate the potential benefits of such an approach. This finding is further supported by the introduction of the Knowledge Landscape concept for construction education that emphasizes greater use of context, scope, and multiple intelligences in construction engineering education.
Determinants and Effects of Corporate Lobbying

We examine the determinants and value effects of corporate lobbying, controlling for corporate PAC campaign contributions. We find evidence that firms with greater potential payoffs from favorable policy and regulations lobby most actively, and that managers often utilize both lobbying and campaign contribution channels to influence the political climate affecting the firm. We also find that shareholders value the lobbying activities pursued by management on their behalf, particularly if the firm does not have a PAC that contributed to an election campaign. The results are robust to a number of tests designed to mitigate potential omitted-variable and self-selection bias.
Influence of parental and grandparental major depressive disorder on behavior problems in early childhood: a three-generation study.

Objective This aim of this study was to examine the influence of grandparental (G1) and parental (G2) major depressive disorder (MDD) and other forms of psychopathology on behavior problems in very young offspring (G3).
One-Electron Electron−Molecule Potentials Consistent with ab Initio Møller−Plesset Theory†

Ab initio electronic structure methods such as Moller−Plesset (MP) theory can be used to compute electron affinities (EAs) of molecules or clusters of molecules to reasonable accuracy (±a few tenths of an electron volt). For systems in which an electron is bound to a closed-shell neutral in a manner that primarily localizes the excess electron exterior to most of the electron density of the neutral, we investigate how a given level of ab initio description can be accurately described by a one-electron potential governing the excess electron’s interaction with the neutral. We show what ingredients such a potential must possess not only to reproduce the ab initio EA but also to have long-range electrostatic, polarization, and other contributions identical to the ab initio potential. In particular, we show that using Hartree−Fock level electrostatic moments and polarizability can produce a one-electron potential consistent with MP2 theory. To be consistent with MP3 theory, MP2-level electrostatics and polari...
Endoscopic endonasal approaches to the cavernous sinus.

Background: Surgical access to the cavernous sinus (CS) has proven a challenge for the skull base surgeon. Traditional approaches include the transcranial route, which broaches the lateral wall of the CS and has a high risk of cranial nerve weakness. A medial approach is more logical but the microscopic transsphenoidal approach has a restricted view. The endoscopic endonasal approach provides an alternative medial approach with improved visualization to that provided with the microscope. We describe our results using this approach for resection of CS tumors. Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed of all patients treated surgically at a tertiary care referral center between January 2004 and February 2011 with a purely endoscopic endonasal approach to the CS. Results: Out of 400 total endoscopic skull base cases, 41 (10.3%) involved the cavernous sinus. The most common approach was the transsphenoidal transsellar approach (31 patients, 75.6%). Other approaches included the tran-sethmoidal transsphenoidal parasellar (4 patients, 9.8%) and transmaxillary transpterygoidal (6 patients, 14.6%). The most common pathology was pituitary macroadenoma (24 patients, 58.5%). Gross total resection was achieved in 18 patients (43.9%). Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak was not encountered in any patient postoperatively. Complications included 1 case of new postoperative VIth nerve palsy, 1 case of intraoperative hemorrhage, 2 cases of persistent diabetes insipidus, and 2 cases of sinusitis. Conclusion: The endoscopic endonasal approach is a safe and effective option for tumor resection in the CS using a medial to lateral route for selected cases. Morbidity is low and a variety of reconstructive options are available. © 2011 ARS-AAOA, LLC.
Adiposity signals and food reward: expanding the CNS roles of insulin and leptin

The hormones insulin and leptin have been proposed to act in the central nervous system (CNS) as adiposity signals as part of a theoretical negative feedback loop that senses the caloric stores of an animal and orchestrates adjustments in energy balance and food intake. Much research has provided support for both the existence of such a feedback loop and the specific roles that insulin and leptin may play. Most studies have focused on hypothalamic sites, which historically are implicated in the regulation of energy balance, and on the brain stem, which is a target for neural and humoral signals relating to ingestive acts. More recent lines of research, including studies from our lab, suggest that in addition to these CNS sites, brain reward circuitry may be a target for insulin and leptin action. These studies are reviewed together here with the goals of providing a historical overview of the findings that have substantiated the originally hypothesized negative feedback model and of opening up new lines of investigation that will build on these findings and allow further refinement of the model of adiposity signal/CNS feedback loop. The understanding of how motivational circuitry and its endocrine or neuroendocrine modulation contributes to normal energy balance regulation should expand possibilities for future therapeutic approaches to obesity and may lead to important insights into mental illnesses such as substance abuse or eating disorders.
Eruption conditions of Pele volcano on Io inferred from chemistry of its volcanic plume

We use thermodynamic models and published 1996 Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of SO2, SO, and monatomic sulfur gas in the Pele volcanic plume on Jupiter's moon Io to evaluate the temperature (1440 K) and oxidation state (3.3 log fO2 units below the Ni-NiO buffer) of Pele's magma and exsolved volcanic gas. Combination of these results with 1999 HST data on the SO2/S2 ratio in the Pele plume allows us to calculate pressures (10−4.7–10−5.4 bar) in the vicinity of volcanic vent and to present a detailed chemical model for the plume. Our model indicates that the Pele plume represents volcanic gas, which last equilibrated at magmatic temperature and was not significantly altered in the plume. Finally, the redox state of Pele plume indicates that Io is differentiated and has an oxidized, Fe-metal free mantle.
Flame images indicating combustion enhancement by dielectric barrier discharges

The capability of a plasma to enhance combustion has significant practical implications. We present pictures showing the effect of a dielectric barrier discharge applied to propane prior to combustion. The plasma causes an increase in the flame propagation rate, attributed to the production of reactive radicals and fuel fragments in the plasma.
Expression of CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 in human endothelial cells: regulation by fluid shear stress

Aims CYP1A1 and CYP1B1, members of the cytochrome P450 protein family, are regulated by fluid shear stress. This study describes the effects of duration, magnitude and pattern of shear stress on CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 expressions in human endothelial cells, towards the goal of understanding the role(s) of these genes in pro-atherogenic or anti-atherogenic endothelial cell functions. Methods and results We investigated CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 expressions under different durations, levels, and patterns of shear stress. CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 mRNA, protein, and enzymatic activity were maximally up-regulated at ≥24 h of arterial levels of shear stress (15–25 dynes/cm2). Expression of both genes was significantly attenuated by reversing shear stress when compared with 15 dynes/cm2 steady shear stress. Small interfering RNA knockdown of CYP1A1 resulted in significantly reduced CYP1B1 and thrombospondin-1 expression, genes regulated by the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). Immunostaining of human coronary arteries showed constitutive CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 protein expressions in endothelial cells. Immunostaining of mouse aorta showed nuclear localization of AhR and increased expression of CYP1A1 in the descending thoracic aorta, whereas reduced nuclear localization of AhR and attenuated CYP1A1 expression were observed in the lesser curvature of the aortic arch. Conclusion CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 gene and protein expressions vary with time, magnitude, and pattern of shear stress. Increased CYP1A1 gene expression modulates AhR-regulated genes. Based on our in vitro reversing flow data and in vivo immunostained mouse aorta, we suggest that increased expression of both genes reflects an anti-atherogenic endothelial cell phenotype.
A Statin a Day to Keep the Doctor Away? Comparing Aspirin and Statins for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease

For the primary prevention of cardiovascular (CV) disease, aspirin reduces the risk for major vascular events by approximately 15% to 20% with an absolute reduction of approximately 0.1%. Major bleeding occurs at an excess of approximately 2 cases per 1000 patient-years with aspirin therapy. For primary prevention, statin therapy has been shown to reduce the risk of CV events by approximately 30% to 40% with an absolute reduction of 1% to 2%. Rhabdomyolysis is rare, with an incidence of 3.4 cases per 100 000 patient-years. Compared with aspirin, statins have a more favorable risk-to-benefit profile for primary prevention.
Toward a scalable multi-GPU eigensolver via compute-intensive kernels and efficient communication

The enormous gap between the high-performance capabilities of GPUs and the slow interconnect between them has made the development of numerical software that is scalable across multiple GPUs extremely challenging. We describe a successful methodology on how to address the challenges---starting from our algorithm design, kernel optimization and tuning, to our programming model---in the development of a scalable high-performance tridiagonal reduction algorithm for the symmetric eigenvalue problem. This is a fundamental linear algebra problem with many engineering and physics applications. We use a combination of a task-based approach to parallelism and a new algorithmic design to achieve high performance. The goal of the new design is to increase the computational intensity of the major compute kernels and to reduce synchronization and data transfers between GPUs. This may increase the number of flops, but the increase is offset by the more efficient execution and reduced data transfers. Our performance results are the best available, providing an enormous performance boost compared to current state-of-the-art solutions. In particular, our software scales up to 1070 Gflop/s using 16 Intel E5-2670 cores and eight M2090 GPUs, compared to 45 Gflop/s achieved by the optimized Intel Math Kernel Library (MKL) using only the 16 CPU cores.
Challenges of managing the development of breakthrough products in Japan

We propose a contingency model and hypothesize that increases in product innovativeness weaken the influence of product synergies and development proficiencies on product performance. We incorporate these hypotheses in a path model linking measures of product synergy, development proficiency, product competitive advantage, and product performance. We test the model using data from Japan on 412 high-innovativeness projects and 375 low-innovativeness projects. We find that product innovativeness weakens three key relationships that determine new product success: (i) the impact of technical synergy on technical proficiency, (ii) the impact of technical proficiency on product competitive advantage, and (iii) the impact of product competitive advantage on new product success.
Fortune's 50 Best Companies for Minorities: Does Diversity Pay?

This paper investigates the relationship between racial diversity and financial performance. Annually, Fortune magazine publishes a list of the "50 Best Companies for Minorities". We compare the accounting profitability of firms appearing on the list to two benchmarks: 1) A set of firms matched by industry, size, and prior performance; and 2) Value-weighted industry averages. Results indicate that the companies recognized by Fortune as minority friendly, are strong financial performers. However, superior performance cannot be linked to diversity initiatives. Fortune firms outperform benchmarks as early as three years prior to recognition. While, there is some indication of relative improvement in the years leading up to and immediately following listing, no significant difference is found between the sample and benchmarks five years after listing.
Asteroid: Scalable Online Memory Diagnostics for Multi-core, Multi-socket Servers

Memory diagnostics are important to improving the resilience of DRAM main memory. As bit cell size reaches physical limits, DRAM memory will be more likely to suffer both transient and permanent errors. Memory diagnostics that operate online can be a component of a comprehensive strategy to allay errors. This paper presents a novel approach, Asteroid, to integrate online memory diagnostics during workload execution. The approach supports diagnostics that adapt at runtime to workload behavior and resource availability to maximize test quality while reducing performance overhead. We describe Asteroid’s design and how it can be efficiently integrated with a hierarchical memory allocator in modern operating systems. We also present how the framework enables control policies to dynamically configure a diagnostic. Using an adaptive policy, in a 16-core server, Asteroid has modest overhead of 1–4 % for workloads with low to high memory demand. For these workloads, Asteroid’s adaptive policy has good error coverage and can thoroughly test memory.
Material matting

Despite the widespread use of measured real-world materials, intuitive tools for editing measured reflectance datasets are still lacking. We present a solution inspired by natural image matting and texture synthesis to the material matting problem, which allows separating a measured spatially-varying material into simpler foreground and background component materials and a corresponding opacity map. We approach this problem in the context of Bayesian statistics and introduce a new prior on materials that favors those with highly self-similar stochastic structure. We describe a prototype system that iteratively performs these separations based on small sets of user scribbles and demonstrate multiple separations and edits.
A Newly Discovered Role for Aerobic Fungi in Anaerobic Salt Marsh Soils

70 x 8-10 pm, 8-spored, unitunicate, apex trun? cate, containing a non-amyloid apical ring, as? cospores biseriate in the middle, uniseriate above and below, filling the ascus. Ascospores ellipsoid to ovoid, 12-17 x 5.5-7.0 pm, 1-septate, septa often appearing angular, colorless, smooth, often 1-2 orange guttules per cell, sometimes germi? nating in the centrum, L/W 2.3. Centrum con? tents appearing slightly brown, orange oily drops emitted from crushed perithecia. Paraphyses not
Carbamazepine-Induced Hypersensitivity Syndrome and Role of HHV-6 Reactivation

A 14-year-old Japanese boy with localization-related epilepsy and carbamazepine (CBZ)-induced hypersensitivity syndrome is reported from Ehime University School of Medicine, Japan.
Tipping the Balance in Favor of Justice: Due Process andthe Thirteenth and Nineteenth Amendments in Child Removal from Battered Mothers

After Sharwline Nicholson was assaulted by her boyfriend for the first time, the Administration for Child Services (“ACS”) of New York took her children without a court proceeding and temporarily placed them with foster parents. This action was particularly surprising because the children had not been abused by either their father or their mother. Without determining who was at fault, ACS concluded that Nicholson was unfit to parent because she had “engage[d] in acts of domestic violence,” even though she had not assaulted her children or her boyfriend but was only assaulted herself. Nicholson’s experience was not unique, as she represented a class of mothers who had children removed under similar circumstances. In what has already been called a “landmark” ruling, Nicholson v. Williams held that the ACS policy violated abused mothers’ substantive due process rights by taking away their children “solely because the mother[s] [had] been abused.” In addition to finding a Fourteenth Amendment substantive due process violation against the city, the court suggested that the Thirteenth and Nineteenth Amendments should be “added” to this Fourteenth Amendment analysis. While noting that the Thirteenth and Nineteenth Amendments could aid a Fourteenth Amendment analysis, the Nicholson court did not adequately articulate the precise impact either of the amendments could have on the substantive due process analysis or how this analysis would impact a future battered mother’s substantive due process claim. There have been no prior attempts in the literature to articulate the connection between the Thirteenth and Nineteenth Amendments and a Fourteenth Amendment substantive due process analysis. Furthermore, prior to Judge Weinstein in Nicholson, no commentator has argued that the Thirteenth and Nineteenth Amendments should be combined in the context of domestic violence. This Comment builds on earlier writings by arguing that the Thirteenth Amendment’s prohibition of slavery-like treatment and the Nineteenth Amendment’s guarantee of autonomy bolster a battered mother’s Fourteenth Amendment substantive due process claim when her children have been taken from her solely because she was abused.
Modeling and performance simulation on multi-piconet Bluetooth system

This paper presents modeling, performance analysis and simulation on multi-piconet Bluetooth systems. Public areas equipped with multiple-piconet Bluetooth systems are classified into two types according to their geographical characters and the purposes of employing Bluetooth systems. For the first type of the public areas whose owners deploy multiple Bluetooth access points to provide their customers broadband access services, the applicability of the available model is interpreted. For the second type of the places where multiple users use their own Bluetooth equipped devices to form his /her own Ad-hoc network, a novel grid-like model is proposed in this paper after abstracting the common geographical character of those places. Theoretical analysis and computer simulations on the Bluetooth system performances are given, using these two models and considering interference from other piconets. The impacts of interference, synchronization, distance between piconet access points, and Rayleigh fading on Bluetooth system performance are discussed, respectively. The design outlines are summed up for installing multiple Bluetooth piconet access points in public areas.
Fabrication and laboratory-based performance testing of a building-integrated photovoltaic-thermal roofing panel

Abstract A building integrated photovoltaic-thermal (BIPVT) multifunctional roofing panel has been developed in this study to harvest solar energy in the form of PV electricity as well as heat energy through the collection of warm water. As a key component of the multifunctional building envelope, an aluminum/high-density polyethylene (HDPE) functionally graded material (FGM) panel embedded with aluminum water tubes has been fabricated through the vibration-sedimentation approach. The FGM layer gradually transits material phases from well-conductive side (with aluminum dominated) to another highly insulated side (with HDPE). The heat in the PV cells can be easily transferred into the conductive side of the FGM and then collected by the water flow in the embedded tubes. Therefore, the operational temperature of the PV cells can be significantly lowered down, which recovers the PV efficiency in hot weather. In this way, the developed BIPVT panel is able to efficiently harvest solar energy in the form of both PV electricity and heat. The performance of a prototype BIPVT panel has been evaluated in terms of its thermal efficiency via warm water collection and PV efficiency via the output electricity. The laboratory test results demonstrate that significant energy conversion efficiency improvement can be achieved for both electricity generation and heat collection by the presented BIPVT roofing system. Overall, the performance indicates a very promising prospective of the new BIPVT multifunctional roofing panel.
Copper deficiency increases hepatic apolipoprotein B secretion and mRNA editing in rats

Male weanling Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to copper-deficient (9.0 mumol Cu/kg diet) or copper-adequate (102 mumol Cu/kg diet) dietary treatments for 6 wk. Pulse-chase studies using freshly isolated rat liver parenchymal cells demonstrated that apolipoprotein B (apoB)-48 and apoB-100 syntheses were not altered, but secretion was increased twofold in hepatocytes derived from copper-deficient rats. Both plasma apoB-48 and apoB-100 levels were increased by copper deficiency, but only the apoB-48 increase was significant. Hepatic apoB mRNA editing, expressed as a ratio of apoB-48 mRNA to apoB-48 plus apoB-100 mRNA, was significantly increased from 60.8% in copper-adequate to 70.2% in copper-deficient rats. Moreover, hepatic apoB mRNA abundance was not significantly altered by copper deficiency. Thus the increased amount of nascent apoB-48 secreted into the medium as well as the enhanced apoB mRNA editing may have contributed to the differential increase in plasma apoB-48 over apoB-100 level in copper-deficient rats.
Discharge properties of neurons in the rostral superior colliculus of the monkey during smooth-pursuit eye movements.

The intermediate and deep layers of the monkey superior colliculus (SC) comprise a retinotopically organized map for eye movements. The rostral end of this map, corresponding to the representation ...
Nickel hexacyanoferrate, a versatile intercalation host for divalent ions from nonaqueous electrolytes

Abstract New energy storage chemistries based on Mg ions or Ca ions can theoretically improve both the energy density and reduce the costs of batteries. To date there has been limited progress in implementing these systems due to the challenge of finding a high voltage high capacity cathode that is compatible with an electrolyte that can plate and strip the elemental metal. In order to accelerate the discovery of such a system, model systems are needed that alleviate some of the issues of incompatibility. This report demonstrates the ability of nickel hexacyanoferrate to electrochemically intercalate Mg, Ca and Zn ions from a nonaqueous electrolyte. This material has a relatively high insertion potential and low overpotential in the electrolytes used in this study. Furthermore, since it is not an oxide based cathode it should be able to resist attack by corrosive electrolytes such as the chloride containing electrolytes that are often used to plate and strip magnesium. This makes it an excellent cathode for use in developing and understanding the complex electrochemistry of multivalent ion batteries.
Communication among Coworkers

This article provides an overview of communication among peer coworkers, or employees with no formal control over one another. It provides a history of scholarly research on coworker communication and outlines the four primary theoretical approaches in coworker communication research. The article highlights how uncertainty reduction theory, social exchange theory, and relational dialectics theory can be used to frame research on coworker communication. Finally, key topics of information exchange, social support, mentorships, close relationships, self-managed teams, and negative coworker interactions are discussed, along with future directions for research on communication among peer coworkers. Keywords: business and management; organizational behavior; organizational communication; organizational theory; relational communication
TRUSS ELEMENTS AND AXIS TRANSFORMATIONS

This chapter provides an overview of truss elements and axis transformations. The truss element is a very common structural member. A truss element is a two-force member, that is, it is loaded by two equal and opposite collinear forces. These two forces act along the line through the two connection points of the member. In elementary statics, the forces in truss elements are computed as if they were rigid bodies. However, there was a class of problems, called statically indeterminant, that could not be solved by treating the members as rigid bodies. With the finite element approach, both classes of problems can be solved. The elastic bar is a special form of a truss member. To extend the previous work to include trusses in two- or three-dimensions basically requires some review of analytic geometry. This chapter presents a review of that subject.
Ethnic Identity, Modern Nationhood, and the Sino‐Mongolian Contention over the Legacy of Chinggis Khan

The reason for China to enshrine Chinggis Khan as a national icon is threefold: to foster among the ethnic Mongols a sense of belonging to China by accommodating their cultural identity; to sustain the sense of belonging of Han Chinese to an uninterrupted national identity by depicting the Mongol Empire as a dynasty instead of an alien regime of China; and to justify the rule over other minority regions like Tibet whose unity with China proper was first achieved by the Mongol Empire. On Mongolia's part, the Khalkha-centric ethnic identity and the status of Chinggis Khan as a symbol of national independence make it impossible for Mongolia to share Chinggis Khan with either their ethnic compatriots in Inner Mongolia or their neighbour China. Thus, both countries find themselves in an irreconcilable contention over the legacy of Chinggis Khan because of their respective national identities and domestic political agendas.
Artifact detection in electrodermal activity using sparse recovery

Electrodermal Activity (EDA) – a peripheral index of sympathetic nervous system activity - is a primary measure used in psychophysiology. EDA is widely accepted as an indicator of physiological arousal, and it has been shown to reveal when psychologically novel events occur. Traditionally, EDA data is collected in controlled laboratory experiments. However, recent developments in wireless biosensing have led to an increase in out-of-lab studies. This transition to ambulatory data collection has introduced challenges. In particular, artifacts such as wearer motion, changes in temperature, and electrical interference can be misidentified as true EDA responses. The inability to distinguish artifact from signal hinders analyses of ambulatory EDA data. Though manual procedures for identifying and removing EDA artifacts exist, they are time consuming – which is problematic for the types of longitudinal data sets represented in modern ambulatory studies. This manuscript presents a novel technique to automatically identify and remove artifacts in EDA data using curve fitting and sparse recovery methods. Our method was evaluated using labeled data to determine the accuracy of artifact identification. Procedures, results, conclusions, and future directions are presented.
A model and framework for reliable build systems

Reliable and fast builds are essential for rapid turnaround during development and testing. Popular existing build systems rely on correct manual specification of build dependencies, which can lead to invalid build outputs and nondeterminism. We outline the challenges of developing reliable build systems and explore the design space for their implementation, with a focus on non-distributed, incremental, parallel build systems. We define a general model for resources accessed by build tasks and show its correspondence to the implementation technique of minimum information libraries, APIs that return no information that the application doesn't plan to use. We also summarize preliminary experimental results from several prototype build managers.
Protein synthesis, folding, modification, and secretion in mammalian cells

Publisher Summary Protein synthesis in eukaryotic cells is a complex process dependent upon numerous mechanisms to ensure the successful production and targeting of proteins. Most protein synthesis begins in the cytoplasm, with the exception of a small number of mitochondrial-encoded proteins that are synthesized within the mitochondria. Proteins destined for the mitochondria, peroxisomes, and nucleus are fully translated in the cytosol and delivered post-translationally to their final destinations. Post-translational modifications can affect the half-life of a protein in the extracellular environment and may be required for recognition by receptors, cofactors, and/or substrates. Most of the pivotal processing events are localized to the ER, including signal peptide cleavage, asparagine-linked oligosaccharide addition and modification, and post-translational modification of specific amino–acid residues. These modifications promote the correct formation of final tertiary or quaternary structures before transit of proteins through the remainder of the secretory pathway. The machinery that directs post-translational modifications recognizes specific structural and/or sequence determinants within the polypeptide backbone. The efficiency of these reactions is determined by the host –cell enzymatic repertoire, the availability of cofactors, and the character of the polypeptide to be modified. Investigators have employed numerous techniques to evaluate the role of post-translational modification in protein function. This chapter discusses the mechanisms involved in the biosynthesis, post-translational modification, and transport of proteins through the secretory pathway.
Are Calculators a Crutch

I understand the principle?get them motivated. But I have yet to be convinced that handing them a machine and teaching them how to push the button is the right approach. What do they do when the battery runs out? I see a lot of low-level math among college students who still don't understand multiplication and division. You take away their calculators and give them an exam in which they have to add 20 and 50, and they get it wrong. And I'm talking about business majors, the people who will soon be running my world. [James R. McKinney, professor of mathematics, California Polytechnic State University of Pomona, as quoted in the New York Times, Section IV, p. 7, 5 Jan. 1975]
Kant’s Conception of the Autonomous Dual Self

Kant’s conception of the self contains ideas of its actual duality and possible autonomy. The self’s duality is ingredient in his epistemology. Descartes’ search for certainty produced earlier the conceptualization of the thinking self. When Hume looked for this self in introspection, he found only a sequence of thoughts, impressions, and volitions, unassociated save through memory and habit. He thus replaced the self-identical Cartesian ego with the conception of a serialized self.
International Agricultural Trade

International trade offers promise to provide a considerable and favorable trade base for the future. However, foreign markets will not be a panacea for our current agricultural crisis. Even though foreign markets will remain important for the U.S., perhaps our previous share of these markets will never again be reached and the world market euphoria of the late 1970s will prove to be an aberration rather than a base for long-run planning investment and production decisions.
The Forecast For Advance Directives: Indispensable or Superfluous?

Advance directives are popular these days. Patient advocacy groups, medical ethics “think tanks”, attorneys, and many health care institutions are promoting them to patients and providers as useful and even indispensable documents. Advocacy groups send subscribers wallet-size laminated “living will” cards containing toll-free numbers for a central registry that can supply callers with the full text of the patient’s directive in emergencies. “Medic Alert” bracelets, ordinarily used to alert emergency personnel to a patient’s health problems, have been designed to alert caregivers to the patient’s refusal of hospitalization and treatment (see In re Finsterbach, 1990). Federal legislation has been passed requiring health care facilities to promote advance directives in order to receive Medicare and Medicaid dollars (Patient Self-Determination Act, 1990). At the same time, however, institutions, caregivers, and sometimes patients’ families fight hard to continue care for decisionally incapable patients and to promote policies that preserve life and discourage the cessation of treatment before death. This stark opposition could be a sign of healthy diversity of values in a pluralistic culture; it could represent the adversary viewpoints necessary, as in a court of law, for distilling the proper perspective; or it could demonstrate collective ambivalence and confusion over what advance directives are all about.
The Interpolation of Monotone Matrix Functions

Let f (x) be a sufficiently smooth function defined on an interval (a, b) of the real axis and let S be a set of N numbers in that interval. We write the elements of S in the form $${x_1} \leqslant {x_2} \leqslant \cdots \leqslant {x_N}$$ and shall say that a function φ(x) interpolates f(x) at S if φ(x) is a rational function of degree at most N/2 having the property that $${[{\lambda _1},{\lambda _2}, \cdots ,{\lambda _m}]_f} = {[{\lambda _1},{\lambda _2}, \cdots ,{\lambda _m}]_\varphi }$$ for every subset λ1, λ2,…, λm of S. Thus the function φ(x) is a solution to the Cauchy interpolation problem associated with the points of S and the function f (x).
Is it Time to Abandon the Milan Criteria?: Results of a Bicoastal US Collaboration to Redefine Hepatocellular Carcinoma Liver Transplantation Selection Policies

OBJECTIVES European liver transplant (LT) centers have moved away from using the Milan Criteria (MC) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patient selection, turning to models including tumor biological indices, namely alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). We present the first US model to incorporate an AFP response (AFP-R), with comparisons to MC and French-AFP models (F-AFP). METHODS AFP-R was measured as differences between maximum and final pre-LT AFP in HCC patients undergoing LT at 3 US centers (2001 to 2013). Cox and competing risk-regression analyses identified predictors of recurrence-free survival (RFS). RESULTS Of 1450 patients, 235 (16.2%) were outside MC. Tumor size, number, and AFP-R were independent predictors of RFS and were assigned weighted points based on Cox-regression analysis. An AFP-R consistently < 200 ng/mL predicted the best outcome. A 3-tiered competing-risk RFS model, the New York/California (NYCA) score, was developed, accurately discriminating between groups (P < 0.001), and correlating with overall survival (P < 0.001). Two hundred one of 235 patients outside MC (85.5%) would be recategorized into NYCA low/acceptable-risk groups. The c-statistic for our NYCA score is 0.731 compared with 0.613 for MC and 0.658 for F-AFP (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION Incorporation of AFP-R into HCC selection criteria allows for MC expansion. As United Network for Organ Sharing considers adding AFP to selection algorithms, the NYCA score provides an objective, user-friendly tool for centers to appropriately risk-stratify patients.
Patient Decision-making and Predictors of Genital Satisfaction Associated With Testicular Prostheses After Radical Orchiectomy: A Questionnaire-based Study of Men With Germ Cell Tumors of the Testicle

ABSTRACT Objective To better understand patient decision-making and genital satisfaction associated with postorchiectomy testicular prosthesis (TP) implantation in patients with germ cell tumors of the testicle. Materials and Methods An electronic survey to assess TP decision-making and genital satisfaction was distributed to patients via an institutional database (n = 70) and social media outlets (n = 167). Statistical analyses were performed using chi-square tests for categorical variables, Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests for continuous variables, and multivariate regression analyses to identify independent predictors of receiving a prosthesis, genital satisfaction, and prosthesis satisfaction. Results 24.9% of respondents elected to receive a TP, but 42% of men without a prosthesis reported never being offered one. Identifying as a heterosexual man (2.86) and receiving a TP (odds ratio = 3.29) were both positive predictors of overall genital satisfaction. Having the orchiectomy performed at an academic institution (odds ratio = 2.87) was a positive predictor of testicular prosthesis TP placement. 89.8% of TP recipients were satisfied with the look of their prosthetic, but only 59.3% of respondents were satisfied with prosthetic feel. Conclusion There are high levels of genital satisfaction in those who elect to receive a TP postorchiectomy. Associations between TP placement, genital satisfaction, and sexuality merit further investigation. Our results also indicate that patients who pursue an orchiectomy at an academic institution are more likely to receive a TP. The use of social media to recruit study participants in urology should be explored further.
Local complexity metrics to quantify the effect of anatomical noise on detectability of lung nodules in chest CT imaging.

The purpose of this study is to (1) develop metrics to characterize the regional anatomical complexity of the lungs, and (2) relate these metrics with lung nodule detection in chest CT. A free-scrolling reader-study with virtually inserted nodules (13 radiologists × 157 total nodules = 2041 responses) is used to characterize human detection performance. Metrics of complexity based on the local density and orientation of distracting vasculature are developed for two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) considerations of the image volume. Assessed characteristics included the distribution of 2-D/3-D vessel structures of differing orientation (dubbed “2-D/3-D and dot-like/line-like distractor indices”), contiguity of inserted nodules with local vasculature, mean local gray-level surrounding each nodule, the proportion of lung voxels to total voxels in each section, and 3-D distance of each nodule from the trachea bifurcation. A generalized linear mixed-effects statistical model is used to determine the influence of each these metrics on nodule detectability. In order of decreasing effect size: 3-D line-like distractor index, 2-D line-like distractor index, 2-D dot-like distractor index, local mean gray-level, contiguity with 2-D dots, lung area, and contiguity with 3-D lines all significantly affect detectability (P < 0.05). These data demonstrate that local lung complexity degrades detection of lung nodules.