cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Detection of a Calcium-Activated Protein Kinase in Mougeotia by Using Synthetic Peptide Substrates

By using a synthetic peptide, KM-14, a protein kinase was detected and partially purified from Mougeotia sp. The peptide contains the sequence of the regulatory light chain of smooth muscle myosin that is phosphorylated by calcium-calmodulin-dependent myosin light chain kinase (MLCK). The Mougeotia kinase was stimulated 40-fold by calcium with half-maximal stimulation occurring at 1.5 micromolar. The enzyme was fractionated from calmodulin and was depleted of calmodulin based on enzyme activator analysis. The calmodulin-depleted enzyme was fully active and calcium dependent, and was not stimulated further by exogenous calmodulin nor by the calcium effectors phosphatidylserine and diacylglycerol. The enzyme phosphorylated intact chicken gizzard myosin light chain as well as the KM-14 substrate. KM-13, a peptide analog of KM-14 with a deletion of a glutamine at position 5, was a poor substrate with a Vmax/Km ratio 200-fold lower than KM-14. Thus, similarly to vertebrate MLCK, the Mougeotia enzyme is very sensitive to changes in sequence surrounding the phosphorylation site. Calcium-dependent KM-14 kinase activity also was detected in two other algae, Mesotaenium caldariorum and Spirogyra sp., as well as in pea seedlings. The data suggest that plant and algal tissues possess an enzyme with a substrate specificity similar to MLCK, but unlike MLCK, does not appear to require calmodulin for activity.
Informational orthogonality of two-dimensional chromatographic separations.

A qualitative informational similarity technique has been used to describe the informational orthogonality of projected two-dimensional (2-D) chromatographic separations of complex mixtures from their one-dimensional 1-D separations. The reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC), supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC), gas−liquid chromatography (GLC), and micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MECC) retention behavior of up to 46 solutes of varying molecular properties was studied by 2-D range-scaled retention time plots and information entropy calculations. One hundred five combinations of technique/stationary phase pairs were used to simulate the 2-D chromatographic analyses. The informational entropy of one and two dimensions, the mutual information, the synentropy or “cross information”, and the informational similarity were calculated to describe the informational orthogonality. In addition, pattern descriptors were used to qualitatively describe the 2-D peak distribution. With the sol...
A multinomial selection procedure for evaluating pattern recognition algorithms

Abstract This paper introduces a multinomial selection problem (MSP) procedure as an alternative to classification accuracy and receiver operating characteristic analysis for evaluating competing pattern recognition algorithms. This new application of MSP demonstrates increased differentiation power over traditional classifier evaluation methods when applied to three “toy” problems of varying difficulty. The MSP procedure is also used to compare the performance of statistical classifiers and artificial neural networks on three real-world classification problems. The results provide confidence in the MSP procedure as a useful tool in distinguishing between competing classifiers and providing insights on the strength of conviction of a classifier.
A bivariate binormal ROC methodology for comparing new methods to an existing standard for screening applications

Validating the use of new imaging technologies for screening large patient populations is an important and very challenging area of diagnostic imaging research. A particular concern in ROC studies evaluating screening technologies is the problem of verification bias, in which an independent verification of disease status is only available for a subpopulation of patients, typically those with positive results by a current screening standard. For example, in screening mammography, a study might evaluate a new approach using a sample of patients that have undergone needle biopsy following a standard mammogram and subsequent work-up. This case sampling approach provides accurate independent verification of ground truth and increases the prevalence of disease cases. However, the selection criteria will likely bias results of the study. In this work we present an initial exploration of an approach to correcting this bias within the parametric framework of binormal assumptions. We posit conditionally bivariate normal distributions on the latent decision variable for both the new methodology as well as the screening standard. In this case, verification bias can be seen as the effect of missing data from an operating point in the screening standard. We examine the magnitude of this bias in the setting of breast cancer screening with mammography, and we derive a maximum likelihood approach to estimating bias corrected ROC curves in this model.
Time-resolved phosphorescence of proteins: structural studies using energy transfer in the rapid diffusion limit

Room temperature phosphorescence emitted by tryptophan residues in deoxygenated aqueous solutions of proteins is extremely sensitive to the environment of these residues and can be utilized for the detailed study of protein structure and dynamics. The long decay time of their triplet state makes the phosphorescent tryptophans suitable donors for resonance energy transfer in the rapid diffusion limit. As shown by Stryer et al. (Ann. Rev. Biophys. Bioeng. 11, 203 (1982)) proper data analysis can then yield the distance of closest approach between the donor-acceptor pair. This method can thus allow one to map the distances of phosphorescent tryptophans from the surface of the protein. In the present study a laser-based photon counting system was used to follow the room-temperature phosphorescence decays of alkaline phosphatase and horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase and to study the quenching of their triplet states by several molecules whose absorption spectra overlap the long-lived emission of these proteins. The results demonstrate the potential applicability of these measurements for the mapping of phosphorescent tryptophan residues and confirm the phosphorescence of alkaline phosphatase to originate in Trp-109. Limitations to the applicability of the energy-transfer approach arise from quenching mechanisms which compete with resonance transfer. Two such processes - electron transfer and exchange interactions - are discussed.
Leveraging mobile grid computing for Interference Alignment and Cancelation

Interference Alignment and Cancelation (IAC) aims at significantly improving the wireless channel capacity. Existing algorithms for IAC are computationally intensive, which may lead to long execution times. A practical implementation of IAC is infeasible for fast-varying channels (when the coherence time is small, e.g., less than 0.5 s). This is because a significant amount of time has to be spent on channel estimation as IAC techniques are extremely sensitive to the degree of accuracy of channel estimates, thus leaving a very small portion of time for actual data transmission. The collective computational capabilities of nodes in the neighborhood can be exploited (for parallelism) to facilitate the practical realization of compute-intensive IAC techniques. A novel resource provisioning framework, which organizes the mobile devices in the neighborhood to form an elastic resource pool — a heterogeneous mobile computing grid — is presented. This framework enables distributed execution of compute-intensive communication algorithms like IAC. The effectiveness of the approach is studied under different operational scenarios.
Adipose Tissue-Derived Stem Cells Secrete CXCL5 Cytokine with Chemoattractant and Angiogenic Properties

Adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ADSC) secreted CXCL5 cytokine abundantly and higher passaged ADSC up to passage 6 (P6) secreted more CXCL5 than lower passaged ADSC. Higher passaged ADSC also appeared to express higher levels of CXCL5 receptor, i.e., CXCR2. Both CXCL5 and CXCR2 were localized in the tunica intima and tunica adventitia of blood vessels in adipose tissue. Colocalization with CD34 further indicates their association with the putative ADSC in tunica adventitia. Migration assay indicates chemoattractant effects of CXCL5 on ADSC and HUVEC endothelial cells. CXCL5 also enhanced matrigel-based endothelial tube-like formation of HUVEC.
ABP50: An actin‐binding elongation factor 1α from Dictyostelium discoideum

ABP50 is a polypeptide elongation factor 1α from Dictyostelium that is associated with the actin cytoskeleton. Upon chemotactic stimulation, ABP50 undergoes a dramatic cytoplasmic redistribution into newly formed surface projections and in vitro binds to and bundles actin filaments. Many questions are raised by this interaction pertaining to the spatiotemporal regulation of protein synthesis and cytoskeletal organization by extracellular signals.
IL-2 and IL-15 manifest opposing effects on activation of nuclear factor of activated T cells.

Abstract IL-2 and IL-15 are cytokines involved in T cell activation and death. Their non-shared receptors, IL-2Rα and IL-15Rα, are important in the homeostasis of lymphocytes as evidenced by gene deletion studies. How these cytokine/receptor systems affect T cell antigen receptor signaling pathways is poorly understood. Here, we show that the IL-2 and IL-15 cytokine/receptor α systems regulate activation of nuclear factor of activated T cells (NF-AT) in opposing ways. IL-15Rα increased while IL-2Rα decreased basal NF-AT activation status in a Jurkat transient transfection model. The effect of each of the α chain receptors on NF-AT activation was further opposed by addition of the respective cytokine. These effects were inhibited by anti-cytokine and anti-cytokine receptor reagents as well as by inhibitors of TCR signaling. These results suggest a novel pathway of cytokine action to regulate T cell signaling, activation, death, and homeostasis.
Arguments and Able Man Colud Refute: Parmenides 133b-134e

In his polemic against the Theory of Forms put forward by the young Socrates in Parmenides 128 e-130 a, Parmenides does not save the best until last. After the probing questions about the extent of the Form-world and the nature of participation, after the fireworks of the Third Man Argument, there comes a curious argument that Parmenides himself hints is no good. At 133 b 4 and following, Parmenides says that only an intelligent and experienced person, one who feels no horror at the prospect of a long, drawn-out argument, would be able to uphold the position that Forms are knowable. It surely follows from this that Plato believed that Forms are knowable, and hence that any argument that purported to prove the contrary must be fallacious. In that the argument of 133 b-134 e does try to show that we cannot know the Forms, Plato must have believed that this part of Parmenides' polemic contains a subtle, but discoverable error. Cornford, in his Plato and Parmenides, agrees that there is an error in Parmenides' reasoning but not a subtle one. It is, he says, "almost grossly fallacious."" (One wonders about the qualification implied by the 'almost'l) The fallacy, according to Cornford, lies in taking the Form of Mastery as if it were "the master of Slavery or of anything else."3 One must not confuse Forms with their perfect instances. Unfortunately, Plato makes such a confusion many times. I do not propose here to rehearse the arguments showing that Plato, at least at one time, held the view that every Form possesses that quality with which it is associated. It is surely sufficient to mention that the Third Man Argument, which precedes the passage with which I am dealing, rests on precisely the same Self-Predication assumption.8 If Self-
Isolement et identification de deux glucosyl-lutéolines mono-C -substituées et de la diglucosyl-6,8-lutéoline di-C -substituée dans les tiges feuillées de Passiflora incarnata L.

Isolation and Identification of two Mono-C-glucosyl-luteolins and of the Di-C-substituted 6,8-Diglucosyl-luteolin from the Leavy Stalks of Passiflora incarnata L. The present work on Passiflora incarnata presents the isolation and the structural identification of C-glycosylluteolins, i.e. of orientin (1), homoorientin (2) and lucenin 2 (3). The latter compound is new for this plant.
Memory Strategies and Retrieval Success in Preschool Children: Relations to Maternal Behavior Over Time

We examined how maternal strategic behaviors during a mother–child collaborative sort-recall task of categorically similar items related to children's recall and children's strategic behavior in a sort-recall task that they completed independently. Mother–child dyads participated in the collaborative sort-recall task when children were 40 months and 52 months of age; children completed the individual sort-recall task at one time point only when they were 52 months old. We found relations both concurrently and longitudinally between maternal behavior, child behavior, and child recall. The pattern of findings indicates that there are differences among mothers in how they use memory strategies with their children and that these differences are related to children's recall and their own employment of strategies over time. The results highlight the importance of examining the development of deliberate and strategic remembering in social context.
High-purity germanium charged-particle detectors: A LBL-IUCF update☆

Abstract During the continued use and corresponding analysis of the performance of high-purity germanium charged-particle detectors, two important conclusions were reached: (1) Germanium transmission detectors should not be made from material that is “too” pure. It is desirable to have the largest possible net donor concentration consistent with maintaining a reasonable value for the depletion bias. (2) It is very desirable to use detectors fabricated from n-type germanium in a high-radiation environment.
Tools to therapeutically harness the human antibody response

The natural human antibody response is a rich source of highly specific, neutralizing and self-tolerant therapeutic reagents. Recent advances have been made in isolating and characterizing monoclonal antibodies that are generated in response to natural infection or vaccination. Studies of the human antibody response have led to the discovery of crucial epitopes that could serve as new targets in vaccine design and in the creation of potentially powerful immunotherapies. With a focus on influenza virus and HIV, herein we summarize the technological tools used to identify and characterize human monoclonal antibodies and describe how these tools might be used to fight infectious diseases.
Frequency Chirp Of A Low-Pressure Hybrid TE CO2 Laser

The frequency chirp in the output of a hybrid TE CO2 laser has been measured using a heterodyne technique. Due to the low operating pressure of about 35 Torr, laser kinetic and hydrodynamic processes differ considerably in time scale from those in regular TEA CO2 lasers. We have observed that the chirps in laser pulses up to 150 μs long could not be described adequately with existing theories. Almost complete cancellation of the laser chirp was achieved by appropriate use of acousto-optic modulators external to the hybrid TE CO2 laser. The operating and output characteristics of this laser and other parameters related to chirp will be discussed.
Factors associated with probation outcome

Abstract In an attempt to determine how certain demographic, employment, prior criminal history, and probation sentence variables are associated with probation outcome, this study investigated probation terminations of 266 felony adult probationers in Tennessee whose cases had been terminated between January 1, 1980 and December 31, 1989 by completion of probation, revocation, or absconding. Probation outcome, the dependent variable, was measured as success or failure. Hypotheses predicting significant relationships between key variables including race, sex, prior criminal history, marital status, and employment status were tested for statistical significance and strength. Chi square was used to determine the statistical significance. All of the predicted relationships were in the right direction; with the exception of the variables race and age, all of the relationships were statistically significant. Logit regression was used to determine the best predictors of probation outcome. Four models were estimated, with statistically insignificant variables being deleted. The final model contained the variables sex, work status, marital status, prior felonies, and conviction offense, which were statistically significant and cited as the best predictors of probation outcome.
F. Herbert Bormann (1922–2012)

F. Herbert Bormann was a leading architect of our modern view of land ecosystems. At a time when ecology was largely concerned with individual species in local environments, Bormann and his collaborators proposed that nature can be rigorously understood as an integrated whole by measuring how entire ecosystems of interacting species cycle nutrients and minerals at the scale of forested watersheds. The result—the small watershed ecosystem approach—has since grown into a leading tool for understanding how complex land ecosystems function in the biosphere and how these systems are affected by stresses such as air pollution or climate change.
Convergent route to the purpuromycin bisphenolic spiroketal: hydrogen bonding control of spiroketalization stereochemistry

A mild and efficient [3+2] nitrile oxide/olefin cycloaddition provided a rapid and convergent entry into precursors of bisphenolic spiroketals, a structural type unique to the rubromycin family of natural products. In addition, implementation of the premise that a hydrogen bond from the C4-OH controls the stereochemistry of the purpuromycin core resulted in moderate diastereocontrol in the spiroketalization. Spectroscopic and X-ray data of these systems have provided the first assignment of the relative configuration of purpuromycin.
Heme Oxygenase-1 and Acute Kidney Injury following Cardiac Surgery.

Background: Intraoperative hemolysis and inflammation are associated with acute kidney injury (AKI) following cardiac surgery. Plasma-free hemoglobin induces heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expression. HO-1 degrades heme but increases in experimental models of AKI. This study tested the hypothesis that plasma HO-1 concentrations are associated with intraoperative hemolysis and are increased in patients that develop AKI following cardiac surgery. Methods: We measured plasma HO-1, free hemoglobin, and inflammatory markers in 74 patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). AKI was defined as an increase in serum creatinine concentration of 50% or 0.3 mg/dl within 72 h of surgery. Results: Twenty-eight percent of patients developed AKI. HO-1 concentrations increased from 4.2 ± 0.2 ng/ml at baseline to 6.6 ± 0.5 ng/ml on postoperative day (POD) 1 (p Conclusion: Plasma HO-1 is increased in patients that develop AKI, and CPB duration, hemolysis, and inflammation are associated with increased HO-1 concentrations following cardiac surgery. Strategies that alter hemolysis and HO-1 expression during cardiac surgery may affect risk for AKI.
Fast computation of motion vectors for MPEG

Motion compensated video coding in the MPEG standard relies on the knowledge of a single motion vector per 16 X 16 block of pixels called the macroblock. While a brute force approach known as the full search block matching algorithm (BMA) or its variations has been commonly adopted in computing the motion vector in most implementations of the MPEG standard, we study a gradient based method in this work. The proposed method is based on our previous results on multiresolution computation of a discontinuous optical flow field, and some modifications are introduced in this research for efficient computation. Classical motion compensated coding methods approximate the motion field with a piecewise constant function. In contrast, our algorithm approximates the motion field by a piecewise linear function over small triangular subregions. Hence, the resulting algorithm is not only attractive from a computational point of view, but also it provides a better model of the motion field which may result in better compression factors than BMA. Experimental results on some standard test images are reported.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
SU-E-T-116: The Water Equivalence of Organic Liquid Scintillators for Proton Dosimetry.

Purpose: Organic liquid scintillators are currently under investigation for use in protondosimetry. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the water equivalence of these materials as a preliminary step to identify scintillators that are well‐suited to this purpose. Methods: Stopping powers were calculated for 0.001–1000 MeV protons in water, polystyrene, and two organic liquid scintillators: BC‐531 and OptiPhase ‘Hi‐Safe’ 3 at 0%, 25%, and 50% concentrations of water. Angular scatter was quantified by theta0, a characteristic multiple Coulomb scattering angle analogous to the standard deviation of a Gaussian distribution of proton angles relative to the incident beam axis. Theta0 was calculated as a function of depth over the range of 200 MeV protons in these materials. Results: Collisional stopping power in BC‐531 ranged from +44% to +1% ofthat in water. It remained within 6% from 2–600 MeV. OptiPhase ranged from +24% to −2%, with smaller deviations at increased water concentrations. At all concentrations, OptiPhase showed smaller deviations than polystyrene and BC‐531 and remained within 1% of water from 2–600 MeV.Theta0 was very similar for all materials, with deviations from water of 5 milliradians or less over the majority of the proton range. BC‐531 showed deviations of 10 milliradians or more in the last few millimeters of the range. OptiPhase showed smaller deviations than BC‐531 or polystyrene, and these deviations decreased with increasing water concentration. Conclusions: OptiPhase was found to be more water equivalent than BC‐531 or polystyrene in stopping power and angular scatter, and increased water concentration improved both quantities. Large deviations in stopping power were only found below 2 MeV for any material, where proton range is less than 0.1 millimeter. The deviations from water found in angular scatter were less significant, and probably too small to affect measurement.
Solvent effects and dynamic averaging of 195Pt NMR shielding in cisplatin derivatives.

The influences of solvent effects and dynamic averaging on the 195Pt NMR shielding and chemical shifts of cisplatin and three cisplatin derivatives in aqueous solution were computed using explicit and implicit solvation models. Within the density functional theory framework, these simulations were carried out by combining ab initio molecular dynamics (aiMD) simulations for the phase space sampling with all-electron relativistic NMR shielding tensor calculations using the zeroth-order regular approximation. Structural analyses support the presence of a solvent-assisted “inverse” or “anionic” hydration previously observed in similar square-planar transition-metal complexes. Comparisons with computationally less demanding implicit solvent models show that error cancellation is ubiquitous when dealing with liquid-state NMR simulations. After aiMD averaging, the calculated chemical shifts for the four complexes are in good agreement with experiment, with relative deviations between theory and experiment of abo...
Commentary on Paper by Steven Cooper

In this discussion of Steven Cooper's paper, it is argued that, although Cooper's desire to hold himself “accountable” in his work with patients is laudable, the “pluralistic third” approach that he employs gives rise in his doing so to several difficulties in the way that it is described in the paper. The vivid clinical material that Cooper provides to illustrate his approach is used as a starting point to offer an understanding of what transpired between analyst and patient, which although convergent with Cooper's formulations in some respects nevertheless follows a very different line of thinking in other areas. Broadly speaking, it is suggested that although these divergences arise from many sources—a discussion of which is beyond the scope of this contribution—one particular issue involved is a rather different understanding of the role of early internalized object relations in the patient's psychic life and the way these get lived out at many levels in the treatment situation. It is further argued t...
Totalsynthese von Altohyrtin A (Spongistatin 1): Teil 1

Auserordentlich cytotoxisch sind die aus Meeresschwammen isolierten Spongipyrane. Sie wirken gegen mehrere menschliche Krebszellinien, wobei das als erste Verbindung dieser Naturstoffklasse isolierte Spongistatin 1 am wirksamsten ist. Die erste Totalsynthese dieses Makrolids wurde nun abgeschlossen. Durch sie wird die von Kitagawa et al. vorgeschlagene relative und absolute Konfiguration bestatigt und nachgewiesen, das Altohyrtin A und Spongistatin 1 identisch sind.
A Matter of Time: The Temporal Relationship of Oneota and Central Plains Traditions

Sites of the Central Plains and Oneota traditions in the Lovewell Reservoir locality, north-central Kansas, provide radiocarbon dates critical to the problem of relations between these Late Prehistoric cultures. Statistical tests of dates from eight sites of that period suggest late thirteenth century occupation by both traditions, and perhaps a third. Despite temporal and geographic proximity, there is no clear archaeological evidence of interaction between these distinct cultures at Lovewell. Temporal placement of Oneota sites at Lovewell is also critical to identification of candidate sites or areas of origin for migrants to that locality. Dates from other western Oneota sites (Leary, Swantek, Ashland, and Dixon) post-date A.D. 1300, indicating they could not have been points of origin for these migrants. Pending a greater sample of radiocarbon dates from all western Oneota sites, hypotheses are offered that posit late thirteenth century Oneota migration to the Lovewell locality from an as yet unidentified Oneota locale that may have displaced some CPt groups.
Race Differences in Personality and Affect Between Older White and Black Patients: an Exploratory Study

There is limited research focusing on the five-factor model (FFM) of personality among diverse older adults, particularly cancer patient populations. This study aimed to examine the association of personality traits, positive and negative affect, and health in White and Black older adults receiving outpatient treatment for various cancer types. Data were collected from 150 patients (123 White and 27 Black patients), with a mean age of 65.38 years (SD = 7.72). Participants were surveyed on personality traits, affect, physical and mental functioning, and demographic characteristics. Analyses showed no significant race differences in the FFM of personality. However, Black patients reported significantly higher positive affect than White patients. Results further indicated that higher positive affect and lower negative affect were significant predictors of higher mental functioning for White patients. Neuroticism predicted worse mental functioning (lower vitality, social functioning, emotions, and mental health) in Black patients but not for the White patients. These findings suggest associations among identified sociocultural factors, personality, affect, and health. These characteristics may ultimately influence health outcomes and symptom management across various patient populations.
Dimension reduction techniques and the classification of bent double galaxies

As data mining gains acceptance in the analysis of massive data sets, it is becoming clear that there is a need for algorithms that can handle not only the massive size, but also the high dimensionality of the data. Certain pattern recognition algorithms can become computationally intractable when the number of features reaches hundreds or even thousands, while others can break down if there are large correlations among the features. A common solution to these problems is to reduce the dimension, either in conjunction with the pattern recognition algorithm or independent of it. We describe how dimension reduction techniques can be applied in the context of a specific data mining application, namely, the classification of radio-galaxies with a bent double morphology. We discuss certain statistical and exploratory data analysis methods to reduce the number of features, and the subsequent improvements in the performance of decision tree and generalized linear model classifiers. We show that a careful extraction and selection of features is necessary for the successful application of data mining techniques.
Approach-avoidance conflict in preweanling rats: A developmental study

Ten- and 15-day-old rat pups were trained with two procedures to approach an anesthetized mother, and then were punished for approaching. Both ages of subjects exhibited increased latencies to reapproach the mother, indicating passive inhibitions, but only the older pups retreated. All but one of the younger pups eventually reached the mother within 3 min after the punishment, while only half of the older pups did so. In a second experiment examining the development of locomotor avoidance reactions, 5- to 20-day-old rats were shocked without the mother present. Fifteen- and 20-day-old rats significantly decreased their activity patterns in reaction to shock and spent significantly less time in the shock area than either of the younger aged pups. These results suggest that flight reactions are components of a rat’s defensive repertoire that appear very rapidly between 10 and 15 days of age.
An Integrative Attributional Perspective of Empowerment and Learned Helplessness: A Multimethod Field Study:

A multimethod study was conducted to explore the relationship between empowerment and Learned Helplessness (LH). Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to examine the attributions, expectancies, affect, and behaviors associated with empowerment and LH. Thematic, nonparametric, and parametric analyses of interview, questionnaire, and observational data indicated reliable and reciprocal differences between empowered and LH individuals regardless of the method used for measuring the data. Implications of the results and refinements to theories of empowerment and LH are discussed.
Local Rail Innovations: Antebellum States and Policy Diffusion

Antebellum states were critical in supporting the emerging rail system of the nineteenth century, yet not all states engaged in active rail promotion efforts. In this analysis, I consider how local economic and political conditions, as well as the rail promotion activities of a state's contiguous neighbors, impacted a legislature's rail promotion decisions. The findings suggest that states only engaged in rail promotion when local infrastructure was of poor quality and a state's tax revenues were sufficient to support rail expenditures. These findings reveal that diffusion, powered by social learning, does not drive all state policy innovations. Instead, local conditions and parallel thinking are important factors in state policy development. Furthermore, the analysis underscores the power of local governments in the antebellum period, while also raising the question of whether such diffuse state building was effective.
Where have all the tickets gone

In a large and complex outsourcing organization, with millions of incidents being handled by hundreds of geographically dispersed workgroups, each workgroup is typically measured on the number of incidents it receives, the percentage it resolves, and the average duration for each incident it processes. Incidents that are misrouted will take longer to be resolved. This can lead to the situation where all workgroups are meeting their individual service levels, but the overall service still delivers poor customer satisfaction. In this paper we describe a new approach to analyzing the efficiency of an IT service organization using existing data to provide insight into the quality of incident transfer between workgroups. Based on this approach, we have developed a tool - the IT X-ray - that an analyst can use to quickly provide service organizations with an indication of where incident routing problems are occurring, leading to increased customer satisfaction and reduced delivery costs.
Pelvic pedicled omental flaps and autologous free omental grafts in a rabbit model

There is a need to identify an inexpensive, effective method to prevent postoperative adhesion formation. The objective of this study was to create a novel model for studying omentum as a pelvic adhesion barrier. Randomized, prospective, controlled surgical intervention with serial follow-up in 16 female rabbits at a University-based Center for Comparative Medicine. Interventions included bilateral hysterotomy incision and repair. The left hysterotomy was randomized into coverage with an omental flap or graft; the right hysterotomy remained uncovered. Adhesions were scored via laparoscopy on postoperative days 2, 4, 8, and 12; postmortem evaluation and scoring took place on postoperative day 16. Statistical tests consisted of Kappa tests of agreement between adhesion scorers and Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric tests for the comparison of adhesion scores by intervention arm and by uterine horn. All omental flaps and grafts survived. The only significant difference in mean adhesion scores was seen in non-hysterotomy-associated adhesions, where grafts had a lower score than flaps (p = 0.03). Survival of all omental flaps and grafts demonstrates that this is a practical model for studying omentum as a pelvic adhesion barrier. Determining the efficacy of omentum as a pelvic adhesion barrier will require further investigation.
Predicting Asthma in Individual Patients

The degree to which asthma attacks were related to seven environmental variables was determined for each of 17 individuals. Using stepwise regression procedures, cladosporium mold, ragweed pollen, and a change in temperature were significant predictors of asthma attacks in 5 of 17 individuals. The information provided by these analyses could prove useful in helping some individuals manage their asthma.
The visual cortex as a crystal

A theory of pattern formation in primary visual cortex (V1) is presented that takes into account its crystalline-like structure. The cortex is partitioned into fundamental domains or hypercolumnsof a lattice describing the distribution of singularities or pinwheels in the orientation preference map. Each hypercolumn is modelled as a network of orientation and spatial frequency selective cells organised around a pair of pinwheels, which are associated with high and low spatial frequency domains, respectively. The network topology of the hypercolumn is taken to be a sphere with the pinwheels located at the poles of the sphere. Interactions between hypercolumns are mediated by anisotropic long-range lateral connections that link cells with similar feature preferences. Using weakly nonlinear analysis, we investigate the spontaneous formation of cortical activity patterns through the simultaneous breaking of an internal O(3) symmetry and a discrete lattice symmetry. The resulting patterns are characterised by states in which each hypercolumn exhibits a tuned response to both orientation and spatial frequency and the distribution of optimal responses across hypercolumns is doubly periodic or quasi-periodic with respect to the underlying lattice. © 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.
Molecular evolution of Drosophila metallothionein genes.

The metallothionein genes of Drosophila melanogaster, Mtn and Mto, may play an important role in heavy metal detoxification. Several different tandem duplications of Mtn have been shown to increase cadmium and copper tolerance, as well as Mtn expression. In order to investigate the possibility of increased selection for duplications of these genes in natural populations exposed to high levels of heavy metals, we compared the frequencies of such duplications among flies collected from metal-contaminated and non-contaminated orchards in Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Georgia. Restriction enzyme analysis was used to screen 1666 wild third chromosomes for Mtn duplications and a subset (327) of these lines for Mto duplications. The frequency of pooled Mtn duplications found ranged from 0% to 20%, and was not significantly higher at the contaminated sites. No Mto duplications were identified. Estimates of sequence diversity at the Mtn locus among a subsample (92) of the duplication survey were obtained using four-cutter analysis. This analysis revealed a low level of polymorphism, consistent with both selection at the Mtn locus, and a fairly recent origin for the duplications. To further examine this hypothesis, we sequenced an Mtn allele of Drosophila simulans and measured the amount of nucleotide sequence divergence between D. simulans and its sibling species D. melanogaster. The levels of silent nucleotide polymorphism and divergence in the Mtn region were compared with those in the Adh region, using the neutrality test of R.R. Hudson, M. Kreitman and M. Aguade.
Clinical and Pathological Features Associated With Prognosis in Patients With Papillary Renal Cell Carcinoma

Purpose: We determined the clinical and pathological features associated with death from papillary renal cell carcinoma in 395 surgically treated patients.Materials and Methods: Papillary renal cell carcinoma tissue slides from each patient were reviewed for type (1 or 2), grade, TNM stage, coagulative tumor necrosis and sarcomatoid differentiation. Associations of clinical and pathological features with death from renal cell carcinoma were evaluated using Cox proportional hazards regression models and summarized by the HR and 95% CI. Cancer specific survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method.Results: Univariate analysis revealed that symptoms, tumor thrombus, tumor size, perinephric/renal sinus fat invasion, 2010 primary tumor classification, regional lymph node involvement, distant metastasis, 2010 TNM stage group, grade, tumor necrosis, sarcomatoid differentiation and papillary renal cell carcinoma type were associated with death from renal cell carcinoma. Grade was more strongly associated w...
Agile lensing-based non-contact liquid level optical sensor for extreme environments

To the best of the author's knowledge, demonstrated is the first opto-fluidic technology- based sensor for detection of liquid levels. An opto-fluidic Electronically Controlled Variable Focus Lens (ECVFL) is used to change the spatial intensity profile of the low power optical beam falling on the liquid surface. By observing, tuning and measuring the liquid surface reflected intensity profile to reach its smallest size, the liquid level is determined through a beam spot size versus ECVFL focal length calibration table. Using a 50 μW 632.8 nm laser wavelength liquid illuminating beam, a proof-of-concept sensor is tested using engine oil, vegetable oil, and detergent fluid with measured liquid levels over a 75 cm range. This non-contact Radio Frequency (RF) modulation-free sensor is particularly suited for hazardous fluids in window-accessed sealed containers including liquid carrying vessels in Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) rich environments.
Collective decision-making in multi-agent systems by implicit leadership

Coordination within decentralized agent groups frequently requires reaching global consensus, but typical hierarchical approaches to reaching such decisions can be complex, slow, and not fault-tolerant. By contrast, recent studies have shown that in decentralized animal groups, a few individuals without privileged roles can guide the entire group to collective consensus on matters like travel direction. Inspired by these findings, we propose an implicit leadership algorithm for distributed multi-agent systems, which we prove reliably allows all agents to agree on a decision that can be determined by one or a few better-informed agents, through purely local sensing and interaction. The approach generalizes work on distributed consensus to cases where agents have different confidence levels in their preferred states. We present cases where informed agents share a common goal or have conflicting goals, and show how the number of informed agents and their confidence levels affects the consensus process. We further present an extension that allows for fast decision-making in a rapidly changing environment. Finally, we show how the framework can be applied to a diverse variety of applications, including mobile robot exploration, sensor network clock synchronization, and shape formation in modular robots.
Statistical learning for variable annuity policyholder withdrawal behavior

The variable annuity product has many desirable features for retirement saving purposes, such as stock-linked growth potential, protection against losses in the investment, and guarantees of minimum payout amount at annuitization. Therefore, it is of great interest to study this product for designing next generation retirement solutions. Policyholder behavior is one of the most important profit or loss factors for the variable annuity product, and insurance companies generally do not have sophisticated models at the current time. This paper will discuss a new approach using modern statistical learning techniques to model policyholder withdrawal behavior with promising results. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Comment on “The Predictive Capacity of Personal Genome Sequencing”

An alternative calculation of the predictive capacity of genomic sequencing and an analysis based on the occurrence of cancer in the second breast of breast cancer patients both offer a more optimistic view of the predictive value of genetic data than that presented by Roberts et al .
Estimation of the Flow of Microbial Nitrogen to the Duodenum Using Milk Uric Acid or Allantoin

Data were collected from six experiments using duodenally cannulated Holstein dairy cows (88 combinations of cow and period) to evaluate the relationship between urinary purine metabolites and microbial N flow. Experiments evaluated the effects of dietary factors on microbial N production, which included 1) varying concentrations of ruminally degradable protein and nonstructural carbohydrates, 2) supplemental sources of protected amino acids, 3) grass silage treated with fibrolytic enzymes, 4) bacterial inoculation of corn silage, and 5) ruminal starch availability as affected by corn silages of varying maturity. The coefficient of determination for individual experiments that measured the relationship between microbial N flow and allantoin or uric acid excretion in urine ranged from 0.01 to 0.68 and 0.02 to 0.82, respectively. Across all experiments, the coefficients of determination between microbial N flow and allantoin or uric acid excretion in urine were r2 = 0.002 and 0.11, respectively. Removal of data from one experiment improved the overall coefficient of determination between microbial N flow and urinary uric acid to r2 = 0.32. Urinary allantoin excretion across experiments was negatively correlated with microbial N flow, but urinary allantoin excretion within experiments was positively correlated with microbial N flow. Uric acid excretion in urine was positively correlated with microbial N flow across and within experiments, except for one experiment. Our data demonstrate that uric acid excretion in urine can be used to predict microbial N production, except in early lactation, and that urinary allantoin excretion cannot be used to predict microbial N production accurately among cows at different stages of lactation.
Triebel-Lizorkin sequence spaces are genuine mixed-norm spaces†

We show that the Triebel-Lizorkin sequence spaces are, in an appropriate context, genuine mixed-norm spaces, then use this identification together with the general machinery developed in conjunction with the latter scale of spaces to establish interpolation, duality, factorization, and other functional analytic properties of the Triebel-Lizorkin spaces.
Noise-Shaping Gradient Descent-Based Online Adaptation Algorithms for Digital Calibration of Analog Circuits

Analog circuits that are calibrated using digital-to-analog converters (DACs) use a digital signal processor-based algorithm for real-time adaptation and programming of system parameters. In this paper, we first show that this conventional framework for adaptation yields suboptimal calibration properties because of artifacts introduced by quantization noise. We then propose a novel online stochastic optimization algorithm called noise-shaping or ΣΔ gradient descent, which can shape the quantization noise out of the frequency regions spanning the parameter adaptation trajectories. As a result, the proposed algorithms demonstrate superior parameter search properties compared to floating-point gradient methods and better convergence properties than conventional quantized gradient-methods. In the second part of this paper, we apply the ΣΔ gradient descent algorithm to two examples of real-time digital calibration: 1) balancing and tracking of bias currents, and 2) frequency calibration of a band-pass Gm-C biquad filter biased in weak inversion. For each of these examples, the circuits have been prototyped in a 0.5- μm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor process, and we demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is able to find the optimal solution even in the presence of spurious local minima, which are introduced by the nonlinear and non-monotonic response of calibration DACs.
Endoscopic screening for varices in cirrhotic patients: data from a national endoscopic database

Background The current guidelines for primary prophylaxis of variceal hemorrhage in cirrhotic patients recommend screening for varices with upper endoscopy (EGD). Utilization and outcomes of screening in clinical practice are unknown. Objective Our purpose was to determine the use of endoscopic variceal screening in diverse practice settings and to determine factors associated with the finding of esophageal varices. Design Endoscopic reports generated by the Clinical Outcomes Research Initiative (CORI) repository were analyzed to determine the use, changes over time, and findings of screening upper endoscopies between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2003. Setting Data from 68 CORI practices (70% community/17% academic/13% Veterans Affairs Medical Center [VAMC]) were evaluated. Patients A total of 1688 of 172,854 EGDs were performed for the purpose of screening for varices. Results Overall, there was a linear increase in annual proportion of screening EGDs performed ( P P = .02). Limitations A limitation of this study was the inability to determine the total number of cirrhotic patients cared for at each CORI site included in this study. Conclusions Endoscopic screening for varices represents a small proportion of all upper endoscopies performed. This proportion increased between 2000 and 2003. Varices were found more frequently in patients with more severe liver disease.
Biochemical Regulation of the Nonmuscle Myosin Light Chain Kinase Isoform in Bovine Endothelium

Specific models of vascular permeability are critically dependent on myosin light chain phosphorylation, a reaction catalyzed by a novel high molecular-weight (214 kD) Ca2+/calmodulin (CaM)-dependent myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) isoform recently cloned in human endothelium (Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol., 1997;16:489–494). To evaluate mechanisms of endothelial cell (EC) barrier dysfunction evoked by the serine protease thrombin, we studied the regulation of the 214-kD EC MLCK isoform expressed in bovine endothelium. The EC MLCK isoform bound biotinylated CaM in a Ca2+-dependent manner and co-immunoprecipitated in a functional complex with myosin, actin, and CaM. Thrombin rapidly increased MLCK activity in concert with time-dependent translocation of the enzyme to the actin cytoskeleton. To evaluate whether EC MLCK activity was regulated by direct phosphorylation, amino acid sequence analysis identified multiple potential EC MLCK sites for Ser/Thr phosphorylation, including highly conserved phosphoryla...