cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Upper Jurassic (Oxfordian) Radiolaria from the Sula Islands (East Indies): Their taxonomic, biostratigraphic, chronostratigraphic, and paleobiogeographic significance

Abstract This report deals with the Upper Jurassic (lower and middle Oxfordian) Radiolaria of the Sula Islands, Indonesia. The radiolarian assemblage, though abundant and extremely well preserved, is poorly diversified and includes ∼ fifty species level taxa. The presence of common Praeparvicingula and rare pantanelliids within the faunal assemblage in association with Austral ammonites suggests that the Sula Islands were situated in the Northern Austral Province (>30° south) during the Oxfordian. This paleolatitude is in keeping with the Gondwanaland origin proposed by some workers. The Sula Island middle Oxfordian assemblage is strikingly similar to that described from the Galice Formation (Smith River subterrane, Klamath Mountains, North America). Some faunal elements described from the Sula Island assemblage are characteristic of the Southern Hemisphere and are only known elsewhere from New Zealand (Aita and Mackie 1992). Three radiolarian taxa were originally described from the Galice Formation in th...
A Field Intercomparison Technique to Improve the Relative Accuracy of Longwave Radiation Measurements and an Evaluation of CASES-99 Pyrgeometer Data Quality

Abstract Techniques for improving the relative accuracy of longwave radiation measurements by a set of pyrgeometers [the Eppley Laboratory Precision Infrared Radiometer (Model PIR)] are presented using 10 PIRs from the 1999 Cooperative Atmosphere–Surface Exchange Study (CASES-99). The least squares–based optimization technique uses a field intercomparison (i.e., a time period during which all the PIRs were upward looking and set up side by side) to determine a set of optimization coefficients for each PIR. For the 10 CASES-99 PIRs, the optimization technique improved the standard deviation of the difference of downwelling irradiance between the PIRs from ±0.75 to ±0.4 W m−2 (for nighttime data). In addition to presenting the optimization method, various PIR data quality checks are outlined and applied to the PIR data. Based on these quality checks, the measured case and dome temperatures of the CASES-99 PIRs were all reasonable. Using the 10 CASES-99 PIRs, simple estimates of the average nighttime net rad...
Two Attempts to Formalize Counterpossible Reasoning in Deterministic Settings

This paper motivates the study of counterpossibles logically impossible counterfactuals as necessary for developing a decision theory suitable for generally intelligent agents embedded within their environments. We discuss two attempts to formalize a decision theory using counterpossibles, one based on graphical models and another based on proof search.
Relationship dynamics around depression in gay and lesbian couples.

Research on intimate relationship dynamics around depression has primarily focused on heterosexual couples. This body of work shows that wives are more likely than husbands to offer support to a depressed spouse. Moreover, when wives are depressed, they are more likely than husbands to try and shield their spouse from the stress of their own depression. Yet, previous research has not examined depression and relationship dynamics in gay and lesbian couples. We analyze in-depth interviews with 26 gay and lesbian couples (N = 52 individuals) in which one or both partners reported depression. We find evidence that dominant gender scripts are both upheld and challenged within gay and lesbian couples, providing important insight into how gender operates in relation to depression within same-sex contexts. Our results indicate that most gay and lesbian partners offer support to a depressed partner, yet lesbian couples tend to follow a unique pattern in that they provide support both as the non-depressed and depressed partner. Support around depression is sometimes viewed as improving the relationship, but if the support is intensive or rejected, it is often viewed as contributing to relationship strain. Support is also sometimes withdrawn by the non-depressed partner because of caregiver exhaustion or the perception that the support is unhelpful. This study points to the importance of considering depression within gay and lesbian relational contexts, revealing new ways support sustains and strains intimate partnerships. We emphasize the usefulness of deploying couple-level approaches to better understand depression in sexual minority populations.
The muricid gastropod subfamily Rapaninae: phylogeny and ecological history

Abstract Members of the neogastropod muricid subfamily Rapaninae are abundant, shallow-water predators whose phylogeny was previously investigated by Kool (1993b), who used mainly anatomical characters. In order to deepen understanding of the evolution of this important clade and to incorporate functional, ecological, and fossil evidence, we performed a phylogenetic analysis based on 34 shell characters in 45 genus-level taxa, including five muricid outgroups. Cladograms based on shell characters alone differed from those founded on anatomical features, and these analyses differed from the phylogenetic reconstruction combining all available morphological evidence. The preferred cladogram incorporates all evidence and reveals a “Thais group” and an “Ergalatax clade” that both emerge from the derived portion of a more primitive, paraphyletic group of other rapanines. The Ocenebrinae, the other four outgroup taxa, and three ergalataxine taxa all lie outside the rapanine clade that includes the remaining erga...
Abstract 3752: Induction of lung cancer stem-like cells by chronic exposure to carbon nanotubes.

Our previous studies have shown that chronic exposure to single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) induces malignant transformation of human lung epithelial cells. Most solid tumors including lung cancer cells are believed to contain poorly differentiated cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) that initiate tumorigenesis and confer resistance to chemotherapy. In this study we investigated whether SWCNT-transformed lung epithelial cells present CSC traits. Similar to human non-small cell lung cancer H460 cells, SWCNT-transformed lung epithelial BEAS-2B cells but not its passage-matched control cells formed tumor spheres in stem cell-selective conditions, indicating the existence of lung CSCs. Lung CSCs have previously been reported to reside in the side population (SP) of parental lung cancer cells. Analysis of SP fractions based on the ability of SP to efflux Hoechst 33342 dye to generate a Hoechst blue-red profile revealed that the SWCNT-transformed cells and H460 cells have high SP fractions, while passage-matched control cells showed no SP, thus confirming the existence of CSC population in SWCNT-transformed and H460 cells. Compared with the corresponding parental cells, the SP cells of SWCNT-transformed and H460 cells acquired apoptosis resistance to various chemotherapy including antimycin A, cisplatin, doxorubicin and etoposide. Together, our results indicate the ability of SWCNT to transform human lung epithelial cells and induce CSCs which could represent a novel mechanism of carcinogenesis induced by CNTs. Citation Format: Sudjit Luanpitpong, Liying Wang, Amruta Manke, Jamie Barr, Yon Rojanasakul. Induction of lung cancer stem-like cells by chronic exposure to carbon nanotubes. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3752. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-3752
Abstract 5418: α-Mangostin, a dietary xanthone, inhibits ectopic xenograft growth of pancreatic cancer cells in an athymic nude mice

Pancreatic cancer (PC), the most aggressive malignant disease, ranks fourth most leading cause of cancer related death among men and woman in United States. Therefore, it is necessary to intensify our efforts for a better understanding of this disease and for the development of novel therapeutic strategies for its prevention and treatment. One approach to control this malignancy is to slow its progression through the use of natural agents present in the diet consumed by humans. α-Mangostin (MG), a xanthone constituent isolated from the pericarp of Mangosteen fruit (Garcinia mangostana), possesses various health promoting benefits including anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic and anti-cancer properties. We have previously shown that MG treatment induces apoptosis and inhibits growth of human PC cells via targeting NF-kB, Stat3 and Hedgehog signalings. Here, we determined the anti-tumor potential of MG against human PC in a xenograft mouse model. Highly aggressive human PC ASPC1 cells (2X10 6 ) were injected subcutaneously into the flanks of 14 athymic nude mice. Three days post-injection, mice were randomly divided into two groups. One group of mice was administered with MG (6 mg/kg body wt. i.p) in a 0.2 ml of PBS containing 25% polyethylene glycol (PEG) for 7 weeks. Vehicle control group mice were administered with 0.2 ml of PBS containing 25% PEG. Tumor volume of both group animals was measured and their body weight recorded weekly. All the mice of both groups were sacrificed when the tumor size of the control mice reached 1000 mm 3. We observed that MG treatment inhibited the growth of ASPC1 cells in a xenograft mouse model as determined by significant (P Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5418. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-5418
Abstract A84: Grade- and stage-specific age incidence patterns of serous ovarian epithelial cancer among different racial and ethnic groups in the United States

Abstracts: Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research 2008 A84 Background Molecular and epidemiologic studies suggest that low- and high-grade serous ovarian epithelial cancers (sOEC) have distinct etiological pathways. However little is known about patterns in tumor grade and stage among different racial and ethnic groups in the US. Methods Data on sOEC (ICD-O-3 codes 8441, 8460-1) were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results 17-registry database (SEER17) for non-Hispanic Whites (NHW), Hispanic Whites (HW), African Americans (AA), and Asian Pacific Islanders (API), ages 20-84 years, for the period 2000-2005. Tumor stage was based on the American Joint Committee on Cancer Classification (AJCC) 6th edition, and was categorized as early (Stage I-II) and late (Stage III-IV). Tumor grade was categorized as low (well or moderately differentiated) and high (poorly differentiated or undifferentiated). Overall age-adjusted and age-specific rates of sOEC were calculated and stratified by race/ethnicity, stage, and/or grade using Poisson regression. Likelihood ratio tests were used to assess age interactions; age-specific incidence rate curves were smoothed using regression splines. Results There were a total of n=11,569 cases of sOEC; of which 79.8% were NHW, 9.2% HW, 5.4% AA, and 5.3% API. The age-adjusted rate for high-grade sOEC was nearly three times the rate for low-grade sOEC (IRR=2.85). Within low-grade sOEC, the IRR=2.62 for late- to early-stage; within high grade sOEC, the IRR=6.67 for late- to early-stage. Age-specific rates were similar for all groups except HW. There was significant age interaction with tumor grade (p<0.001 for both early and late stage), though within early-stage, the main effect of grade was non-significant (p=0.078). When age-specific rates were stratified by stage and grade, there was a highly significant age interaction in WH compared to WNH (reference group) in the late-stage/high-grade stratum (p=2.37x10-05). Conclusion Grade appears to play an important role in late-stage sOEC, particularly among WH. Though age incidence patterns by grade were generally similar among race/ethnicity groups in late-stage sOEC, the age incidence pattern for high-grade sOEC within late-stage was distinct for WH. Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2008;1(7 Suppl):A84.
Evaluating Physical Movement as Trigger for Transitioning Between Environments in Virtual Reality

Virtual reality allows users to experience unusual immersive environments. There are still several aspect of design for virtual reality that need more investigation, such as transitioning between environments. Multiple studies have shown that physical movement in a virtual environment supports immersion and presence. Our setup will allow the comparative study of the coupling of virtual camera movements with simultaneous physical movements of the user in terms of user preference and comfort. This work-in-progress uses a within-subject experimental design for evaluating interaction prototypes based on the Oculus Rift DK2 where participants will be tasked with transitioning between different environments; once using physical motion to merely trigger the transition and once with the virtual camera movement being coupled to the physical motion. Qualitative and quantitative data will be collected utilizing questionnaires and in-game metrics. Pretests of a similar setup were used to establish minimal levels of comfort.
Powering Small AMOLED Display in Portable GSM Systems

Passive Matrix OLEDs are now popular in many applications such as mobile phones, mainly for the sub display in clam shell or in automotive for dashboard. Compared to LCD-TFT, OLED technology has great advantage of wider viewing angle, higher contras ratio, very quick response time and elimination of the backlight power consumption. However the main limitation of Passive Matrix is the display size, making this technology not suitable for display larger than 1.5 inch. Active Matrix OLED technology is an emerging technology that will change the display world situation. It can associate PM technology advantages, easily overcomes this limitation and is now ready for mass production. However, AMOLED display raises new challenges for engineers.In fact the AMOLED driver requires a positive and negative power supply from a Li-Ion battery. Therefore a dual DC/DC converter made up of a boost plus an inverter is required to deliver regulated voltage with high signal integrity. Actually to avoid any color shift and flicker on the display the DC/DC converter must combine challenging features such as high accuracy and excellent dynamic parameters. Also key features for portable application are taking into account including preserving battery life time, parts count and very low profile solution.This paper reviews the challenge of powering AMOLED display for portable application and after discussing the various constraints requirements gives an efficient solution to the system designer.
Progress in Electric Propulsion Systems

The transportation capability of propulsion systems with separate power source, expressed by payload ratio, terminal velocity, and acceleration, depends primarily on two basic parameters: the specific power of the system, a, and the total time of propulsion, T. Highest terminal velocities to be expected with present technologies are 150 to 200 km sec−1; highest accelerations 5 × 10−4g0. The payload ratio depends on the specific mission, it may vary in typical cases between 5 and 95 percent.
A note on the standardized covariance

In a recent paper Andraszewicz and Rieskamp (2014) proposed using the standardized covariance, as a “measure of association, similarity and co-riskiness between choice options”. They stress that the standardized covariance is not a measure of linear association, but do not specify its exact nature. We relate the standardized covariance to Zegers and ten Berge’s (1985) family of metric association measures and show that is a measure of additive association, and we analyze some properties of this measure for binary lotteries. We distinguish between the case where both lotteries are driven by one (common) probability distribution as well as the more general case where the two are resolved, independently, by two distinct distributions, and we show how the range of the outcomes offered by the lotteries and their probability distributions drive the value of the standardized covariance.
Data Processing for Tissue Histopathology Using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectral Data

Optical microscopic examination of stained tissue by pathologists is the gold standard for the diagnosis of most cancers. Due to the human element involved, however, the process is slow, decisions are often complicated by subjective opinions and the uncertainty in diagnoses can affect therapy. Infrared spectroscopic imaging or hyperspectral molecular imaging, as opposed to optical wideband imaging, has been proposed as a viable alternative to provide automated, accurate, reproducible and useful diagnoses. Data processing to enable these applications, however, is not straightforward. Here we discuss recent advances in automatically profiling tissue and present the complexity and numerical strategies to address issues involved. Using breast cancer as an example, we show the importance of integrating statistical and mathematical tools into the analysis framework.
Risk communication design: video vs. text

There are significant differences between older and younger adults in terms of risk perception and risk behaviors offline. The previously unexplored existence of this dissimilitude online is the motivation for our work. What are the risk perceptions of older adults? How are these correlated with the classic dimensions of risk perception offline? Can we leverage episodic memory, particularly relevant for older adults, to increase the efficacy of risk communication? We conduct a survey based experiment with two groups: video (n=136) and text (113). We find that leveraging episodic memory using video risk communication can improve the ability of elders to avoid phishing attacks and downloading malware. The applicability of the dimensions of risk were different based not only the risk but also the mode of risk communication.
Microrna 29b Mediates Immune Evasion of Natural Killer Cells in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Abstract Natural killer (NK) cells are innate effector cells that can spontaneously recognize and kill cancer cells. While important in inducing long-term disease free survival (DFS) in the setting of killer immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) mismatch for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), harnessing NK cells to kill autologous or self AML blasts to extend DFS has had no success. In this study, we uncover one potential mechanism by which AML blasts can evade NK cell cytotoxicity. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that has now been shown to be expressed in immature human NK cells. Furthermore, activation of AHR in these immature cells suppresses human NK cell maturation and function. We and others have shown that human AML blasts secrete ligands that can activate AHR, leading us to hypothesize that AML may evade autologous NK cell cytotoxicity in part by inhibiting NK cell maturation. Expression of microRNA (miR)-29b has previously been shown to suppress the expression of transcription factors Tbx21 (TBET) and Eomesodermin (EOMES), both of which are critical for terminal NK cell differentiation and function. Here we show that AHR is able to directly regulate the expression of miR-29b and thus may serve as the link between AML and immune evasion of NK cells. We first identified putative AHR binding sites within the proximal promoter of miR-29b, suggesting that AHR may directly regulate miR-29b expression. To test this, we transfected the AHR responsive HepG2 human cell line with a miR-29b promoter driven luciferase reporter and measured luciferase activity after treatment with the known AHR agonist, FICZ, compared to vehicle control. We discovered that cells treated with 6-formylindolol[3,2-b]carbazole (FICZ) had increased luciferase activity compared to cells treated with vehicle control (P Download : Download high-res image (158KB) Download : Download full-size image Figure 1 . Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Abstract 4323: Metabolic reprogramming in acute myeloid leukemia cells by mesenchymal stromal cell-derived exosomes induces chemoresistance

Mesenchymal stromal cells play an important role in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) development. Altered cellular metabolism supports AML cells9 survival in multiple aspects, such as drug resistance. Here, we demonstrate the role of MSC-derived exosomes in metabolic regulation of AML cells, and put forward a combinatorial strategy to sensitize AML cells to chemodrugs. Exosomes secreted by MSCs can reprogram the metabolic machinery following their internalization by AML cells. Through 13C tracing experiments and flux analysis, we elucidate that MSC-derived exosomes enhance oxidative phosphorylation and glutamine9s entry into TCA cycle, which replenish the pool of carbon sources in mitochondria. Further, our work shows that inhibiting the interactions between MSCs and AML cells by targeting the metabolic regulation exerted by MSC-derived exosomes sensitizes AML cells to chemodrugs. Taken together, our work reveals a novel role of the TME in regulating the metabolic adaptation in AML cells and uncovers the improved strategy for AML therapy. Citation Format: Hongyun Zhao, Abhinav Achreja, Ziwen Zhu, Ahmed N. Rawi, Marina Konopleva, Michael Andreeff, Deepak Nagrath. Metabolic reprogramming in acute myeloid leukemia cells by mesenchymal stromal cell-derived exosomes induces chemoresistance [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4323. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-4323
New records from Banks Island expand the diversity of Eocene fishes from Canada’s western Arctic Greenhouse

Eocene vertebrates from the Canadian Arctic, including sharks, bony fishes, turtles, crocodylians, birds, and mammals, have provided strong evidence for relatively warm ice-free conditions in the Arctic during the Eocene Greenhouse interval. Recent expeditions to Banks Island (Northwest Territories) in the western Arctic have recovered a relatively more marine-influenced Eocene fauna, including sand tiger sharks, bony fishes, turtle shell fragments, and a single crocodylian specimen. We report here on new additions to this fauna, including diagnostic large scales that confirm the presence of Amia in the western Arctic. One very large lateral line scale corresponds to a fish approximately 1.4 m in total length, larger than the maximum size for extant Amia calva. We also recovered approximately 100 distinctive teeth that we assign to the teleost genus Eutrichiurides, which is otherwise known from lower latitude Paleogene sites in the United States, India, Africa, and Europe. The genus is interpreted as an a...
Prognostic significance of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in racial minorities with hepatocellular carcinoma.

e16154Background: An elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been shown to portend poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, studies that evaluated the prognostic signifi...
Urban form and driving: Evidence from US cities

Abstract We estimate the effect of urban form on driving. We match the best available travel survey for the us to spatially disaggregated national maps that describe population density and demographics, sectoral employment and land cover, among other things. To address inference problems related to sorting and endogenous density, we develop an estimator that relies on an assumption of imperfect mobility and exploit quasi-random variation in subterranean geology. The data suggest that increases in density cause small decreases in individual driving. Applying our estimates to the observed distribution of density and driving in the us suggests that plausible densification policies cause decreases in aggregate driving that are small, both absolutely and relative to what might be expected from gas taxes or congestion charging.
The effect of geographical and personal proximity on online discussions of service failure incidents

ABSTRACTOnline public discussions of service failure incidents might result in significant reputational damage for service providers. This study examines the geographical and personal proximity fac...
Regulation of endoreduplication in maize (Zea mays L.) endosperm. Isolation of a novel B1-type cyclin and its quantitative analysis

To investigate the involvement of cyclin in mitotic and endoreduplicative cell cycle control, we have isolated a mitotic cyclin clone from a maize endosperm cDNA library. The deduced amino acid sequence of this clone identifies a novel B1-type cyclin with distinctly different sequence in regions with putative involvement in intracellular localization. This cyclin, designated Zeama;CycB1;3 (CycZme1), was shown by RNA gel blots and quantitative RT-PCR to be specific for tissues engaging in cell proliferation. It accumulated in metaphase-arrested cells and declined rapidly upon release into G1 phase. During the transition from mitosis to endoreduplication in maize endosperm, CycZme1 transcript declined precipitously while transcripts associated with S phase (histone-H3 and PCNA) and multiple phases of the cell cycle (Cdc2, α-tubulin) remained at moderate to high levels. We conclude that CycZme1 down-regulation is involved in the cellular transition to endoreduplication.
1 – Distribution function

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the different aspects of distribution function. It presents an assumption where f is an increasing function defined on the real line (−∞, +∞). For any two real numbers x1 and x2, x1< x2→ f(x1) ≤ f(x2), the only possible kind of discontinuity of an increasing function is a jump. It is observed that points of jump may have a finite point of accumulation and that such a point of accumulation need not be a point of jump itself. Thus, the set of points of jump is not necessarily a closed set. It is shown that the set of points of jump of an increasing function may be everywhere dense and the set of rational numbers in the example may be replaced by an arbitrary countable set without any change of the argument. It is found that the condition of countability is indispensable.
Polycythemia Vera Presenting With Normal Hemoglobin and Hematocrit: A Rare Variant.

Polycythemia vera (PV) is a myeloproliferative neoplasm, and its diagnosis requires elevated hemoglobin level (>16.5 mg/dL in men and >16 mg/dL in women), bone marrow characteristics of PV (hypercellularity for age with trilineage growth), and presence of JAK2 (Janus kinase 2) mutations or subnormal erythropoietin level if JAK2 mutation is not present. There exists a subset of patients with normal hemoglobin and hematocrit due to either from dilution of the blood or from coincidental blood loss anemia but these patients still might have underlying PV. These patients have masked PV, which is a variant of overt PV. We present a case of masked PV presenting with venous thrombosis as a first presentation and with normal blood counts. A 42-year-old male with past medical history of portal vein thrombosis and portal hypertension presented with nausea and vomiting presumably secondary to viral gastroenteritis. He was not an alcoholic nor a smoker. He was diagnosed with portal vein thrombosis six years ago which was treated with warfarin but was never investigated for a cause. His physical exam was within normal limits except he had splenomegaly. His laboratory values on admission showed hemoglobin of 14.1 g/dL, white blood count of 7.4 x109/L, and platelet count of 164 x109/L. His liver function test and renal function tests were within normal limits. His viral gastroenteritis improved within 48 hours. Extensive workup to rule out myeloproliferative neoplasm, thrombophilia, antiphospholipid syndrome, and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria was arranged. Final results revealed JAK2V617F genetic mutation with a subsequent bone marrow analysis revealing a hypercellular marrow with increased trilineage hematopoiesis, consistent with primary PV. It is rare for myeloproliferative neoplasms to present with normal blood counts. There is a subgroup of patients with JAK2-positive PV presenting with normal hemoglobin and hematocrit. The prognosis of these subgroups seems to be poor especially when present in the older age group and with associated leukocytosis. Our case emphasizes two important points: first, need for extensive workup in a patient with unusual site thrombosis including JAK2 analysis and second, investigating for myeloproliferative neoplasm if presented with thrombosis even with normal blood counts.
Discontinuities in Criminal Law

The law values fairness, proportionality, and predictability. Accordingly, in the context of criminal law, punishments should be carefully calibrated to reﬂect the harm caused by an offense and the culpability of the offender. Yet, while this would suggest the dominance of “smooth” input/output relationships—for example, such that a minuscule increase in culpability would result in a correspondingly small increase in punishment—in fact, the law is laden with “bumpy” input/output relationships. Indeed, a minuscule change in input (be it of harm, culpability, or any number of other measures) may result in a drastic change in output, creating significant discontinuities. Leading scholars have argued that smooth input/output relationships, which feature careful gradation and calibration, better accord with dominant theories of punishment than do bumpy relationships, which lack fine-tuning. Accepting as a starting premise that smooth input/ output relationships are to be preferred in the criminal law, this Article focuses on the significant doctrinal and practical impediments to smoothing out these relationships. This analysis reveals challenges to smoothing out relationships between inputs and outputs, as well as the difficulties associated with addressing discontinuous relationships among inputs and outputs. Specifically, it exposes the law’s classification of inputs and outputs itself as contestable and responsible for a range of hard-to-resolve discontinuities. In doing so, this Article begins the task of laying the groundwork for further analysis and possible reforms.
A study of thrombocytopenia. New histologic criteria for the differentiation of idiopathic thrombocytopenia and thrombocytopenia associated with disseminated lupus erythematosus.

Sixty-nine cases of thrombocytopenia in which splenectomy had been performed have been reviewed. New cytological criteria are described for the diagnosis of disseminated lupus erythematosus by the examination of the splenic tissue. Six cases of thrombocytopenia associated with the ingestion of drugs and eight with infectious diseases responded promptly and permanently to splenectomy. The thrombocytopenia associated with disseminated lupus erythematosus (in 16 cases) and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (in 39 cases) had a much more variable response. Approximately three-fifths of patients in each group had a remission sustained for at least 12 months following splenectomy. In general those patients who had thrombocytopenia for more than one year before surgery were less likely to respond to splenectomy.
Transseptal left heart catheterization for cardiac ablation procedures.

Transseptal left heart catheterization has been performed as an alternative to the retrograde approach since 1958. However, this procedure can result in life-threatening complications, some of which may occur because of insufficient anatomical landmarks. Accordingly, we sought to assess the safety and efficacy of a new transseptal left heart catheterization technique designed for ablation procedures. Specifically, we examined whether electrode catheters could be used as anatomical landmarks, permitting identification of the aortic root and other critical structures.
Computer aided image analysis of mobile microscopic objects: the detection phase

We present details of an algorithm for the object detection phase of a computer aided image analysis system designed to work specifically on mobile microscopic organisms. We discuss the details of our approach and present results of our algorithm for three different sperm species.
Bayesian single channel speech enhancement exploiting sparseness in the ICA domain

We propose a Bayesian single channel speech enhancement algorithm to exploit speech sparseness in the independent component analysis (ICA) domain. While recent literature considers the idea of denoising in the ICA domain, it relies on the unrealistic assumption of uncorelatedness of noise components in the ICA domain. Here we drop this limiting assumption and address the general case. The approach consists of two elements: (1) a maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimator for speech coefficients in the ICA domain, further used to estimate enhanced speech in the time domain, and (2) ICA domain transformation of data, learned from speech training data and then used in step (1). An implementation of the method shows considerable noise reduction capability in denoising speech keywords such as car navigation commands. Evaluation is based on objective measures of signal-to-noise ratio and distortion in enhanced signals versus the real-world speech and noise mixtures from car, street, office, industrial environments.
Gut-Based Antioxidant Enzymes in a Polyphagous and a Graminivorous Grasshopper

Graminivorous species of grasshoppers develop lethal lesions in their midgut epithelia when they ingest tannic acid, whereas polyphagous grass- hoppers are unaffected by ingested tannins. This study tests the hypothesis that polyphagous species are defended by higher activities of antioxidant enzymes (constitutive or inducible) in their guts than are graminivorous species. Comparisons were made between four antioxidant enzymes: superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APOX), and glutathione transferase peroxidase (GSTPX). Enzyme activities were measured in the gut lumens and midgut tissues of Melanoplus sanguinipes (polyphagous) and Aulocara ellioti (graminivorous). The results of this study do not support the hypothesis that M. sanguinipes is better defended by antioxidant enzymes than is A. ellioti, nor are these enzymes more inducible in M. sanguinipes than in A. ellioti when insects consume food containing 15% dry weight tannic acid. Instead, tannic acid consumption reduced SOD, APOX, and GSTPX activities in both species. This study reports the first evidence that SOD is secreted into the midgut lumen in insects, with activities two- to fourfold higher than those found in midgut tissues. The spatial distribution of GSTPX and APOX activities observed in both species suggests that ingested plant antioxidant enzymes may function as acquired defenses in grasshoppers. In addition, the results of this study permit the first comparison between the antioxidant enzyme defenses of Orthoptera and Lepidoptera. Most notably, grasshoppers have higher SOD activities than caterpillars, but completely lack APOX in their midgut tissues.
Global climate sensitivity to land surface change: The Mid Holocene revisited

[1] Land surface forcing of global climate has been shown both for anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic changes in land surface distribution. Because validation of global climate models (GCMs) is dependent upon the use of accurate boundary conditions, and because changes in land surface distribution have been shown to have effects on climate in areas remote from those changes, we have tested the sensitivity of a GCM to a global Mid Holocene vegetation distribution reconstructed from the fossil record, a first for a 6 ka GCM run. Here we demonstrate that large areas of the globe show statistically significant temperature sensitivity to these land surface changes and that the magnitude of the vegetation forcing is equal to the magnitude of 6 ka orbital forcing, emphasizing the importance of accurate land surface distribution for both model validation and future climate prediction.
Sample-path conservation laws, with applications to scheduling queues and fluid systems

The achievable-region approach, based on strong conservation laws, has most often been applied to stochastic scheduling and other control problems in the context of performance measures that are steady-state expected quantities. For some problems, however, strong conservation laws hold for performance measures at every time point on every sample path. We exploit this property to study optimal control for certain scheduling problems on a sample-path basis. Examples include preemptive scheduling to minimize a weighted sum of work in the system in each class, nonpreemptive scheduling to minimize a weighted sum of the number of customers in each class (when all classes have the same service-time distribution), and scheduling the processing of fluid in a multiclass fluid system operating in a random environment. The last problem is solved by considering the related Skorohod problem and its minimal solution.
Mutations in a Dominant Nef Epitope of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Diminish TCR:Epitope Peptide Affinity but not Epitope Peptide:MHC Class I Binding

Viruses like HIV and SIV escape from containment by CD8+ T lymphocytes through generating mutations that interfere with epitope peptide:MHC class I binding. However, mutations in some viral epitopes are selected for that have no impact on this binding. We explored the mechanism underlying the evolution of such epitopes by studying CD8+ T lymphocyte recognition of a dominant Nef epitope of SIVmac251 in infected Mamu-A*02+ rhesus monkeys. Clonal analysis of the p199RY-specific CD8+ T lymphocyte repertoire in these monkeys indicated that identical T cell clones were capable of recognizing wild-type (WT) and mutant epitope sequences. However, we found that the functional avidity of these CD8+ T lymphocytes for the mutant peptide:Mamu-A*02 complex was diminished. Using surface plasmon resonance to measure the binding affinity of the p199RY-specific TCR repertoire for WT and mutant p199RY peptide:Mamu-A*02 monomeric complexes, we found that the mutant p199RY peptide:Mamu-A*02 complexes had a lower affinity for TCRs purified from CD8+ T lymphocytes than did the WT p199RY peptide:Mamu-A*02 complexes. These studies demonstrated that differences in TCR affinity for peptide:MHC class I ligands can alter functional p199RY-specific CD8+ T lymphocyte responses to mutated epitopes, decreasing the capacity of these cells to contain SIVmac251 replication.
Comparative Genome Analysis of Four Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesviruses, EEHV3, EEHV4, EEHV5, and EEHV6, from Cases of Hemorrhagic Disease or Viremia

ABSTRACT The genomes of three types of novel endotheliotropic herpesviruses (elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus 1A [EEHV1A], EEHV1B, and EEHV2) associated with lethal hemorrhagic disease in Asian elephants have been previously well characterized and assigned to a new Proboscivirus genus. Here we have generated 112 kb of DNA sequence data from segments of four more types of EEHV by direct targeted PCR from blood samples or necropsy tissue samples from six viremic elephants. Comparative phylogenetic analysis of nearly 30 protein-encoding genes of EEHV5 and EEHV6 show that they diverge uniformly by nearly 20% from their closest relatives, EEHV2 and EEHV1A, respectively, and are likely to have similar overall gene content and genome organization. In contrast, seven EEHV3 and EEHV4 genes analyzed differ from those of all other EEHVs by 37% and have a G+C content of 63% compared to just 42% for the others. Three strains of EEHV5 analyzed clustered into two partially chimeric subgroups EEHV5A and EEHV5B that diverge by 19% within three small noncontiguous segments totaling 6.2 kb. We conclude that all six EEHV types should be designated as independent species within a proposed new fourth Deltaherpesvirinae subfamily of mammalian herpesviruses. These virus types likely initially diverged close to 100 million years ago when the ancestors of modern elephants split from all other placental mammals and then evolved into two major branches with high- or low-G+C content about 35 million years ago. Later additional branching events subsequently generated three paired sister taxon lineages of which EEHV1 plus EEHV6, EEHV5 plus EEHV2, and EEHV4 plus EEHV3 may represent Asian and African elephant versions, respectively. IMPORTANCE One of the factors threatening the long-term survival of endangered Asian elephants in both wild range countries and in captive breeding populations in zoos is a highly lethal hemorrhagic herpesvirus disease that has killed at least 70 young Asian elephants worldwide. The genomes of the first three types of EEHVs (or probosciviruses) identified have been partially characterized in the preceding accompanying paper (L. K. Richman, J.-C. Zong, E. M. Latimer, J. Lock, R. C. Fleischer, S. Y. Heaggans, and G. S. Hayward, J. Virol. 88:13523–13546, 2014, http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/JVI.01673-14). Here we have used PCR DNA sequence analysis from multiple segments of DNA amplified directly from blood or necropsy tissue samples of six more selected cases of hemorrhagic disease to partially characterize four other types of EEHVs from either Asian or African elephants. We propose that all six types and two chimeric subtypes of EEHV belong to multiple lineages of both AT-rich and GC-rich branches within a new subfamily to be named the Deltaherpesvirinae, which evolved separately from all other mammalian herpesviruses about100 million years ago.
Eristic, dialectic, and rhetoric

This essay explores the relationship of eristic (i.e., illegitimate argumentation) to dialectical and rhetorical argumentation. The research into the origins of eristic in ancient Greece indicates that eristic is fallacious dialectic that corresponds to fallacious argumentation in rhetoric and is motivated by a disregard for the rules of serious argumentative pursuits.
Model studies aimed at the synthesis of Fredericamycin A. A simple o-quinodimethane route to the spiro naphthalene portion

Abstract The three contiguous rings in the naphthalene portion of a model compound related to Fredericamycin A have been prepared by the Diels-Alder cycloaddition reaction of an α-bromo-o-quinodimethane intermediate to the carbon—carbon double bond of the spiro dienophile, spiro[4.4]non-2, 3-ene-1, 4-dione.
Primary Central Nervous System Tumors in the Aging Population

The incidence of primary brain tumors peaks in the aging population, and advanced age in often a prognostic factor associated with shorter survival. In the United States, it is estimated that 69,720 individuals will be diagnosed with primary CNS tumors in 2013, of which 24,560 are expected to be malignant and 45,160 non-malignant. Approximately 50 % of primary CNS tumors are expected to occur in individuals who are 65 years or older. Management of elderly patients with primary brain tumors is challenging because there is no accepted standard of care treatment and this population may have multiple comorbidities, decreased tolerance to treatment, and increased risk for radiation-induced neurotoxicity. This review gives an overview of the treatment options for older patients with glioblastoma and meningioma, the most common primary brain tumors in this population. Treatment of elderly patients with primary brain tumors needs to be individualized, and old age alone should not preclude the use of life-prolonging treatments.
Evaluation of Alternative Methods to Increase Calcium Retention in Cottage Cheese Curd

The effect of several alternative methods including addition of rennet, addition of carrageenan and use of 2:1 (v/v) preconcentrated skim milk by ultrafiltration (UF) upon calcium retention, yield, composition and sensory properties of dry curd cottage cheese was investigated. Although each of the processing methods resulted in the manufacture of dry curd cottage cheese with different compositions and properties, none of them was satisfactory for increasing calcium retention. Added carrageenan bound additional whey proteins, added rennet interfered with curd syneresis and whey expulsion during cooking and use of UF preconcentrated skim milk resulted in an increase in yield, total solids and protein of the curd.
Using contextual information to improve SAR CCD: Bayesian contextual coherent change detection (BC CCD)

Semi-automated, subtle, ground surface change detection using synthetic aperture radar coherent change detection (SAR CCD) suffers from a high false alarm rate. Errors due to dispersion in coherence estimates propagate into change estimates based on coherence values. Low coherence values indicating ground surface changes also map to non-salient world states, such as leaf movement and radar shadows. In this paper, we address these issues by incorporating contextual information from a multispectral land-cover classification into SAR CCD using Bayesian approach, called Bayesian Contextual Coherent Change Detection (BC CCD). We demonstrate improved change detection performance of BC CCD with data over diverse areas using ROC curves. BC CCD shows substantial improvements over unprocessed SAR CCD and the SAR CCD false alarm reduction method Clutter Location Estimation and Negation (CLEAN) CCD. Supervised classification on the multispectral (MS) image coupled with a maximum entropy prior stipulation yields the highest performance gains.
A Candidate Substellar Companion to CD –33°7795 (TWA 5)

We present the discovery of a candidate substellar object in a survey of young stars in the solar vicinity using the sensitivity and spatial resolution afforded by the NICMOS coronagraph on the Hubble Space Telescope. The H = 12.1 mag object was discovered approximately 2'' from the TW Hydrae association member CD -33°7795 (TWA 5), and the photometry implies a spectral type M8-M8.5, with a temperature of ~2600 K. We estimate that the probability of a chance alignment with a background object of this nature is less than 2 × 10-5 and therefore postulate that the object (TWA 5B) is physically associated at a projected separation of 100 AU. Given the likely youth of the primary (~10 Myr), current brown dwarf cooling models predict a mass of ≈20MJup for TWA 5B.
Independence and Interdependence in Children’s Developmental Experiences

Abstract— Understanding the complexities of culture and development has been advanced by theory and research on how cultural conceptions of independence and interdependence shape child development. This article begins with a theoretical overview that traces a move from characterizing cultures in terms of either independence or interdependence to considering how both independence and interdependence are understood and structured in varied cultures. Then, a research review points to cross-cultural and within-culture variability in understanding and structuring children’s independence and interdependence. Applied implications and directions for future research are discussed.
Aggregated Models for Integrated Distillation Systems

In this work we present an aggregated representation for distillation columns that can be used in the synthesis of separation sequences with heat integration. A new aggregated model is first presented for the stripping and rectifying sections of individual distillation columns. This model is based on mass balances and equilibrium feasibility, expressed in terms of flows, inlet concentrations, and recoveries. The energy balance can then be decoupled from the mass balance, and the utilities can be calculated for each separation task. The proposed model is applied to three different superstructures: state task network, state equipment network, and an intermediate representation. The proposed model yields a lower bound to the vapor flow or to the total cost of the utilities. Performance of the different superstructure representations in terms of robustness and computational time is illustrated with several examples.