cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
ROMOLA AND VICTORIAN LIBERALISM

In his 1867 review of two recent historical novels, Henry James worried that, barring “a second Walter Scott,” no modern mind could synthesize the increasingly scientific discipline of history and the imagination of fiction. “[S]tory-tellers are, for the most part, an illogical, loose-thinking, ill-informed race” (280), James teased, while the new historian – he refers to “writers of a purely scientific turn of mind” such as “Niebuhr and Mommsen, Gizot and Buckle” (278) – “works in the dark, with a contracted forehead and downcast eyes, on his hands and knees, as men work in coal-mines” (279). James's anxious jocularity does little to disguise his interest in (and intimidation before) the ascetic historian, particularly that new professional's willingness to “say sternly to his fancy: So far thou shalt go, and no further.” Why, James subsequently wondered, should the novelist “not [also] imprison his imagination, for the time, in a circle of incidents from which there is no arbitrary issue, and apply his ingenuity to the study of a problem to which there is but a single solution” (279)?
Possible Approach to the Low-Temperature Resistance Maximum in Dilute Alloys of Transition Metals in Noble Metals

If a dilute alloy of a transition metal in a noble metal becomes ferromagnetic, the spin degeneracy of the ground state of the impurity atom is removed by the local field. Scattering of the conduction electrons by the impurity atoms can then take place by inelastic as well as elastic collisions. Assuming the scattering cross section for elastic scattering is larger for the lower lying nondegenerate states, one gets the following results: (1) There is a maximum in the temperature dependent resistivity. (2) The temperature at which the maximum occurs varies rapidly with concentration of the transition metal. (3) The magnetoresistance is negative up to some temperature higher than the temperature at which the maximum in resistivity occurs. The experimental observations of Gerritsen and Linde and of Gerritsen on the resistivity of these alloys are, for the most part, in qualitative agreement with these consequences. This model does not require the existence of localized electronic states with energy near the Fermi energy as does the model presented by Korringa and Gerritsen.
Modelling concepts and database implementation techniques for complex biological data

Biological data such as protein structure and function, DNA sequences, and metabolic pathways require conceptual modelling characteristics that are not available in the widely used Entity-Relationship (ER) model and its variants, such as the Enhanced-Entity Relationship (EER) model. In particular, three constructs that occur frequently in bioinformatics data are ordered relationships, functional processes, and 3-dimensional (3D) structures. In this paper, we suggest a solution to this problem, requiring only minimal changes to the EER model by introducing specialised formal relationships for ordering, processes and molecular spatial structure. We show how these new concepts can be implemented in relational databases.
The Associative Action Between Certain Yeasts and Bacterium Linens

Summary The data reported herein support the hypothesis that the yeasts of limburger cheese contribute to the growth of Bacterium linens by decreasing the acidity of the curd and by simultaneously secreting required growth factors. The presence of a yeast is required for growth of all B. linens strains in a vitamin-sufficient medium adjusted to pH 5.0 but not in the same medium adjusted to pH 6.5. A majority of the yeasts possess this growth-promoting ability. The presence of a yeast is required for the growth of vitamin-dependent B. linens strains in a vitamin-free medium adjusted to pH 6.5 unless pantothenic acid is present. All of the yeasts possess growth-promoting ability under these conditions. All of the yeasts secrete appreciable amounts of pantothenic acid, riboflavin and niacin.
The effect of etomidate on adrenal function in critical illness: a systematic review.

Purpose Although etomidate is a preferred anesthetic agent for rapid sequence intubation (RSI) in critical illness, as an inhibitor of cortisol synthesis (11β-hydroxylase), it may be associated with adrenal dysfunction. The objectives are to review the effects of etomidate versus comparator anesthetics in critical illness for: primary outcome of mortality and secondary outcome of adrenal insufficiency (AI).
Not welcome here: Discrimination towards women who wear the Muslim headscarf

This study addresses discrimination that individuals who wear religious attire encounter during the hiring process. We build from the relational demography literature and contemporary research on discrimination in the workplace to propose possible discriminatory effects against Hijabis (Muslim women who wear the headscarf). Specifically, we conduct a field experiment in which confederates portraying Hijabis or not applied for jobs at stores and restaurants. Evidence for formal discrimination (job call backs, permission to complete application), interpersonal discrimination (perceived negativity, perceived interest), and low expectations to receive job offers in the workplace was found for Hijabi confederates. Furthermore, Hijabis were less likely to receive call backs when there was low employee diversity compared to when there was high employee diversity. Implications of these findings with regards to Hijabis and organizations are discussed.
On the calculation of matrix polynomials

The purpose of this note is to prove a theorem which permits the calculation of the vector b without the necessity of transforming the matrix A into the Jordan form for the Cayley-Hamilton theorem. The only requirement is the calculation of the characteristic polynomial of the matrix A, which may be easily done using the existing computational procedures. The author includes a computer program listing of a subroutine that calculates the coefficients of the n-dimensional vector b. This subroutine makes use of certain standard IBM subroutines, as SMPY, GMPRD, GMSUB, and GMADD, from the IBM 1130 Scitific Subroutine Package, and utilized another subroutine CHEQ described by the author in ibid., vol AC-20, pp. 134-135, Feb. 1975, that calculates the coefficients of the characteristic polynomial of the matrix A.
Intravenous immunoglobulin therapy in the treatment of patients with pemphigus vulgaris unresponsive to conventional immunosuppressive treatment.

Abstract Background: Severe pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is conventionally treated with high-dose oral prednisone, usually in combination with an immunosuppressive agent (ISA). Some patients experience significant side effects, which are sometimes fatal, from prolonged immunosuppression. Objective: Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) was administered to 21 patients with severe cutaneous and mucosal PV who had not responded to the prolonged use of oral prednisone and multiple ISAs. Methods: A preliminary dose-determination study tested 7 additional volunteers to ascertain the optimal IVIg dose of 2 g/kg per cycle. Parameters to assess clinical outcome were recorded before and after IVIg therapy. Variables tested were highest dose, total dose, and duration of prednisone and ISAs, their side effects, frequency of recurrence and relapse, duration of IVIg therapy, clinical response, induction and duration of remission, number of hospitalizations, total days of hospital stay, and quality of life. Results: Use of IVIg monotherapy resulted in effective control of disease and produced a sustained remission in the 21 patients. The patients became free of lesions and remained so after finishing IVIg therapy. IVIg had a steroid-sparing effect and produced a high quality of life. Serious side effects from the use of IVIg were not observed. IVIg needs to be gradually withdrawn after achievement of clinical control. Conclusion: In patients with PV who do not respond to conventional immunosuppressants, IVIg appears to be an effective treatment alternative. Its early use is of significant benefit in patients who may experience life-threatening complications from immunosuppression. IVIg is effective as monotherapy. (J Am Acad Dermatol 2001;45:679-90.)
Twenty-two novel LMX1B mutations identified in nail patella syndrome (NPS) patients.

We report twenty-two novel mutations in the gene encoding the transcription factor LMX1B, previously shown to be mutated in persons with Nail Patella Syndrome (NPS). The mutations comprised eight missense, one splice-site, three insertion/deletion and ten nonsense or frameshift mutations. A sub-set of five recurrent mutations within the homeodomain represents over one-quarter of the described NPS mutations. The type and distribution of the mutations is consistent with the hypothesis that NPS is the result of haploinsufficiency for LMX1B. © Wiley-Liss, Inc.
RESOLVING PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH ALCOHOL AND DRUG MISUSE: UNDERSTANDING RELATIONS BETWEEN ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOR CHANGE AND THE USE OF SERVICES

“Natural resolutions” highlight how influences on addictive behavior change may differ from and interact with influences on the use of substance-related services. These distinct literatures are summarized and implicate extra-therapeutic environmental variables in both processes. Whether assisted by interventions or not, stable resolutions are surrounded by environmental contexts characterized by improved circumstances across several years that bracket cessation of substance misuse. Psychosocial problems associated with substance use increase help-seeking, and interventions enhance improvements that typically follow initial resolution. Implications for promoting help-seeking and behavior change and necessary revisions in conventional views about relations between the processes are discussed. [Translations are provided in the International Abstracts section of this issue.]
MicroRNA expression profiles of bovine milk exosomes in response to Staphylococcus aureus infection.

Milk exosomes are a rich source of microRNAs (miRNAs) that are protected from degradation. Ingestion of milk and subsequent absorption of miRNAs into recipient cells by endocytosis may play a role in the regulation of neonatal innate and adaptive immunity. In contrast, the miRNA content of milk exosomes may also be indicative of a lactating animal’s health; whereby, the presence or absence of specific miRNAs could serve as biomarkers for early detection of bacterial infection that can lead to mastitis. In the present study, we therefore analyzed and compared miRNA expression profiles of milk exosomes from four Holstein cows obtained during mid-lactation prior to and after infection (48 h) of the mammary gland with Staphylococcus aureus. Milk exosomes, purified from control and S. aureus infected cows, were extracted for RNA. Following preparation indexed libraries from both groups the samples were subjected to next generation sequencing. Next generation sequencing of eight, unpooled small RNA libraries derived from milk exosomes produced about 60.5 million high-quality, bovine-specific sequence reads for comparison of miRNA expression between treatments. Sequence identity analysis showed the miRNAs make up about 13 % of the average RNA content of these exosomes. Although 417 known bovine miRNAs were identified, miRNAs represented the least diverse class of RNA accounting for only 1 % of all unique sequences. The 20 most prevalent unique sequences within this class accounted for about 90 % of the total miRNA-associated reads across samples. Non-annotated, unique reads provided evidence for another 303 previously unknown bovine miRNAs. Expression analyses found 14 known bovine microRNAs significantly differed in frequency between exosomes from infected and control animals. Our survey of miRNA expression from uninfected milk exosomes and those produced in response to infection provides new and comprehensive information supporting a role for delivery into milk of specific miRNAs involved in immune response. In particular, bta-miR-142-5p, and −223 are potential biomarkers for early detection of bacterial infection of the mammary gland. Additionally, 22 mammary-expressed genes involved in regulation of host immune processes and response to inflammation were identified as potential binding targets of the differentially expressed miRNAs.
Power efficiency of 3D vs 2D ICs

3D integration is considered as one of the most promising solutions to improve energy efficiency of heterogeneous ICs. We use floorplannning tools to evaluate power consumption related to inter-block connections for digital ICs implemented as 2D and 3D systems. We focus on 3D stacking using through-silicon-vias (TSVs). We evaluate contributions of wires, buffers and TSVs based on information available on the floorplannig level that include netlist, and positions of circuit blocks and TSV islands. Our results show that reduction in dynamic power could be achieved.
Pool boiling heat transfer characteristics of nanocoating in various working fluids

An experimental pool boiling study was conducted using plain and nanocoated heater surfaces immersed in various working fluids. Working fluids include water, ethanol and HFE-7100 and pool boiling tests were performed on a flat 1 cm × 1 cm heaters. Unlike in water, CHF enhancement of the nanocoating seems to be less or marginal in ethanol and HFE-7100 at 1 atm. The reduced effect of the nanocoating in ethanol and HFE-7100 is believed to be due to the highly wetting nature of these fluids since no obvious difference in wettability through apparent contact angle measurement is observed between nanocoated and uncoated surfaces at 1 atm. Moreover, pressure effects were also investigated for the fluids mentioned above. The uncoated and nanocoated surfaces were tested in the working fluids at four different pressures. For the uncoated surface, measured CHF values closely matched those of Zuber's [13]. In the case of the nanocoated surface, CHF enhancement of the nanocoating appeared to be dependent on the test pressure, showing the greatest CHF enhancement value at the lowest pressure and the enhancement decreased as the pressure increased. Although CHF enhancement of pure water was superior to that of other fluids, it was observed that there was also noticeable CHF enhancement as pressure decreased for the highly wetting fluids. It is believed that this enhancement could be closely related to the bubble departure diameter. As the test pressure decreases, the departure bubble size increases and this allows the nanocoating to become more influential, even for the highly wetting fluids, in delaying local dry-out, which in turn results in increasing CHF enhancement.
Commentary on: “an appraisal of behavioral price research (Part I)”

In their article, Cheng and Monroe (2013) undertake a comprehensive review of the major historical, theoretical and empirical developments in the field of behavioral price research. They reveal that theoretical principles underlying work in this area are derived from centuries-old observations in the fields of mathematics (Bernoulli 1954) and psychophysics (Weber 1834; Fechner 1860). Based on these early studies, as well as more recent work by Scitovszky (1944); Adam (1958); Emery (1962) and others, Cheng and Monroe (2013) demonstrate that behavioral price research is grounded in the premise that price is a physical stimulus. As such, it is subject to perceptual bias, distortion, and processing interpretation just as any other physical stimulus. An important implication is that demand for products changes relative to perceived (rather than actual) differences in prices. Further, buyers’ judgments of price reflect a logarithmic relationship between price and value. Using these principles and observations as background, Monroe (1968, 1973) identified the four fundamental concepts of behavioral price research. These are: (1) reference price, (2) differential price threshold, (3) absolute price threshold, and (4) acceptable price range.
Use of the tunable dye laser to delay McFarlane skin flaps

Objective: To determine whether the argon tunable dye laser, used in a noncutting, hemocoagulative mode, improves skin flap survival as effectively as a surgical delay procedure. Design: A physiologic, controlled trial was completed with three groups: acute control skin flaps, surgical delay skin flaps, and experimental laser delay skin flaps. The outcome variable was percentage of skin flap survival. Subjects: Forty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats. Interventions: McFarlane skin flaps were raised in all groups. The first group had no delay procedure, the second had the standard surgical delay, and the third group was lased at the periphery of the flap 2 weeks before raising the acute flap. Results: The acute control group had survival of 85.7%±1.5% (mean±SE) of skin flaps; surgical control group, 94.4%±0.7%; laser delay group, 96.5%±0.1%. The survival of the experimental group was better than the acute control group and was not different from the surgical delay group by the Scheffe multiple comparison test. Conclusions: This research may lead to a technique to reproduce the benefits of the delay phenomenon without the risks and cost of a surgical procedure. (Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1995;121:1158-1161)
POPULATION DENSITY AND HABITAT PREFERENCES OF THE KENYA LESSER GALAGO (GALAGO SENEGALENSIS BRACCATUS) ALONG THE EWASO NYIRO RIVER, LAIKIPIA, KENYA

Surveys of the Kenya lesser galago (or bushbaby) Galago senegalensis braccatus on Mpala Ranch near the Mpala Research Centre, Kenya, were conducted in June and July 1995. Data were collected along two transects. Galago s. braccatus reached its highest density in Fever Tree Acacia xanthophloea riverine woodland and was found primarily at a height of 4–6 m above the ground, followed by 14–16 m. Within A. xanthophloea, G. s. braccatus was closely associated with trees having dense liana tangles. We suggest that lianas provide G. s. braccatus with protection both while sleeping during the day and while foraging at night.
Open research challenges with Big Data — A data-scientist's perspective

In this paper, we discuss data-driven discovery challenges of the Big Data era. We observe that recent innovations in being able to collect, access, organize, integrate, and query massive amounts of data from a wide variety of data sources have brought statistical data mining and machine learning under more scrutiny and evaluation for gleaning insights from the data than ever before. In that context, we pose and debate the question — Are data mining algorithms scaling with the ability to store and compute? If yes, how? If not, why not? We survey recent developments in the state-of-the-art to discuss emerging and outstanding challenges in the design and implementation of machine learning algorithms at scale. We leverage experience from real-world Big Data knowledge discovery projects across domains of national security, healthcare and manufacturing to suggest our efforts be focused along the following axes: (i) the ‘data science’ challenge — designing scalable and flexible computational architectures for machine learning (beyond just data-retrieval); (ii) the ‘ science of data’ challenge — the ability to understand characteristics of data before applying machine learning algorithms and tools; and (iii) the ‘scalable predictive functions’ challenge — the ability to construct, learn and infer with increasing sample size, dimensionality, and categories of labels. We conclude with a discussion of opportunities and directions for future research.
Cowboy Ethics: Marketing Gimmick or Business Ethics Tool?

The ten principles of cowboy ethics, as developed by James Owen (2004), have gained attention and application, particularly in Western U.S. states, in recent years, as evidenced by their adoption by both business and government entities. This paper examines Owen’s principles for parallels to commonly used ethical frameworks drawn from moral philosophy. A sample of students enrolled in a Marketing Ethics class at a Western U.S. university completed an open-ended survey matching ethical frameworks to the cowboy ethics principles. Though levels of agreement were not particularly high, parallels were most often drawn between cowboy ethics principles and Utilitarianism, the Golden Rule, the Professional Ethic, and the TV Test or Open Forum Rule. Further research of a more structured nature may help to identify clearer roots for the cowboy ethics principles.
Discriminative Joint Modeling of Lexical Variation and Acoustic Confusion for Automated Narrative Retelling Assessment

Automatically assessing the fidelity of a retelling to the original narrative ‐ a task of growing clinical importance ‐ is challenging, given extensive paraphrasing during retelling along with cascading automatic speech recognition (ASR) errors. We present a word tagging approach using conditional random fields (CRFs) that allows a diversity of features to be considered during inference, including some capturing acoustic confusions encoded in word confusion networks. We evaluate the approach under several scenarios, including both supervised and unsupervised training, the latter achieved by training on the output of a baseline automatic word-alignment model. We also adapt the ASR models to the domain, and evaluate the impact of error rate on performance. We find strong robustness to ASR errors, even using just the 1-best system output. A hybrid approach making use of both automatic alignment and CRFs trained tagging models achieves the best performance, yielding strong improvements over using either approach alone.
Breathing room for early animals.

If life has been present on our planet for much of its history—more than three and a half billion years—why did it take so long for animals to appear? This question emerged long ago from the incipient fabric of the fossil record, which embodies the sudden appearance of metazoans in sedimentary strata deposited near the end of Precambrian time—and scientists have wrestled with this issue now for well over a hundred years (1). For the past 50 or so years, the most popular and pertinacious hypotheses have concerned atmospheric dioxygen (2–5). Because of their aerobic physiology, the idea was that O2 levels were perhaps too low to have supported animals until sometime near the end of Precambrian time, and that rising O2 levels thereafter provided a quantum evolutionary leap of sorts for aerobic biology culminating in the “late” evolution of animals (3). A recent study of middle Proterozoic sedimentary rocks in China, however, favors a different view—suggesting that O2 levels capable of supporting animal physiology were present more than 500 million years before the appearance of animals (6).
Constitutional Law--Elections--Validity of Congressional Districting

In Wesberry v. Sanders, 84 Sup. Ct. 526 (1964), the Supreme Court of the United States addressed the precise issue of whether congressional districts established by a state presented a justiciable issue in federal courts. It held that Article I, section 2 of the Constitution requires that state legislatures must apportion congressional districts to insure as nearly as is practicable that they contain equal numbers of people.. The case involved qualified voters who brought an action to have a Georgia statute establishing congressional districts declared invalid. Plaintiffs urged that the numbers of voters in Georgia's several congressional districts were so disproportionate that they were deprived of the full benefit of their right to vote, in violation of both article I, section 2, and the fourteenth amendment of the Constitution of the United States. This article analyzes this decision and considers each Justices’ positions.
Full Length Article: Dynamic clustering of multi-modal sensor networks in urban scenarios

The paper addresses the issue of self-adaptation of a multi-modal sensor network with mobile sensors to better observe and track events of interest in a changing urban scenario by presenting a software module (middleware) called Event-driven Network Controller (ENC) that resides at every sensor node in the network and is independent of the sensor type. ENC translates the requirements of the application layer into messages that are diffused locally with the purpose of clustering multi-modal sensor nodes in the vicinity of an event and dynamically changing the local network topology, all to enhance the quality of the multi-modal data fusion. ENC is implemented in NS-2 to show its applicability for tracking a mobile target in an urban scenario using a network of pressure, video, and magnetic sensors.
Microglial activation and recruitment, but not proliferation, suffice to mediate neurodegeneration

Microglial activation occurs during excitotoxin-induced neurodegeneration. We have reported that microglia can exhibit neurotoxic behaviors after injection of excitotoxins into the hippocampus. It is not known, however, whether microglial proliferation, which is part of the activation response, is required for neurodegeneration to be observed, or whether activation of the pre-existing resident microglia suffices. Using osteopetrotic (op/op) mice, in which injury-induced microglial proliferation does not take place, we demonstrate that only the microglia initially residing in the CNS are adequate to promote neurodegeneration. Our data suggest that there is a threshold at which a maximal microglial contribution to neurotoxicity is observed. This threshold appears to be sufficiently low, such that activation of just 40% of the microglia present in wild-type mice serves to trigger neurodegeneration. Furthermore, since the decrease in microglial numbers coincides with a decrease in tissue plasminogen activator's activity, we suggest that tissue plasminogen activator can be used as a marker for microglial proliferation.
Calculation and Sampling of Quasi-Classical Trajectories for Nonequilibrium Reacting Flow Simulations

Since it takes multiple collisions for molecules in the flow to return back to equilibrium, if these molecules are significantly perturbed from the equilibrium or the bulk flow velocity is high compared to geometry feature sizes, the flow may be in nonequilibrium. Under such conditions a detailed understanding of collision processes becomes important. Quasiclassical trajectory calculations make it possible to study internal energy exchange and reactions of individual collisions. This work attempts to extend the results from Quasiclassical trajectory calculations to larger flow simulations. This is done by averaging Quasiclassical trajectory calculations to produce reaction and energy exchange probabilities that are dependent on the impact parameter, relative velocities and ro-vibrational energies.
Time Horizon: Implications for Aggregate Scheduling Effectivness1

Abstract This performance of intuitive aggregate scheduling is compared with the scheduling performance of a mathematical model. A controlled experiment was designed to illustrate one scheduling problem characteristic which accounts for the superiority of model decisions over intuitive decisions. This relative superiority increases as the time-horizon complexity increases. The horizon complexity is a manifestation of the cost structure of the decision setting.
“A Silence Between Us Like a Language”: The Untranslatability of Experience in Sandra Cisneros's Woman Hollering Creek

scribe as the "antagonistic" yet potentially "positive" relationship of minority to dominant linguistic and cultural codes (153), are critical matters in Woman Hollering Creek. The text includes frequent references to the specificity and difference coded into any and all languages; to the violence of inadequacy of translation and interpretation; to the translator's and, by extension, the writer's unfaithful role as betrayer of the culture's inside secrets; and to the existence of encoded messages, which are more accessible to readers familiar with various insider codes and cryptographic devices deployed in the text. These attributes Cisneros's text shares with texts by other Chicano, Latino, and minority writers, who implicitly or explicitly refer to their own ambiguous relationships to both dominant and subordi
Why a Notice Requirement Will Not Reduce Serial Litigation to Enforce the ADA

The Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 USC 12101 et seq. ("ADA"), mandates that individuals with disabilities shall have equal access to public accommodations. In recent years, it has been alleged that the ADA has given rise to serial litigation, and that amending the ADA to require a plaintiff to wait a certain period would beneficially chill litigation brought under this statute. I argue that this outcome would not eventuate, because a waiting period does nothing to change the incentives which operate on litigants to either bring a suit in the first place, or to litigate it vigorously and thus perpetuate it.
Replication Factor C3 Is a Direct Target Of CREB, Promotes G1/S Transition Of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells, and Increases Hematopoietic Stem/Progenitor Cell Self-Renewal

CREB (cAMP Response Element Binding protein) promotes cellular transformation of hematopoietic cells and proliferation of myeloid leukemia cells. However, the underlying mechanisms of CREB function in leukemic transformation and hematopoiesis are not fully understood. To address this, we have investigated the downstream pathways of CREB activation in proliferation using a human acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell line KG1 cells knocked-down for CREB with specific shRNAs. The CREB-knockdown KG1 cells were significantly defective in proliferative capability compared to control cells [cell number after 4d (X10 5 ), seeding (1X10 5 ), control vs. CREB-knockdown: 34.18 +/– 1.27 vs. 14.52 +/– 0.46, n=3, p CCNE1 , CCNA1 , CCNB1 and PCNA and compared their RNA expression levels in the CREB-knockdown with those in control KG1 cells after release from mitotic arrest. To our surprise, we failed to detect any noticeable differences in the mRNA expression levels of those genes between CREB-knockdown and control KG1 cells. In an effort to search for CREB responsive target genes, we analyzed additional CREB targets previously identified from microarray data (Pellegrini et al BMC Cancer 2008). We found that expression of replication factor C3 ( RFC3 ), a 38kDa subunit of the RFC complex involved in DNA replication and repair processes, was significantly reduced in CREB-knockdown cells compared to control cells [38 +/– 1% of control, n=3, p RFC3 mRNA expression in U937 and HL60 AML cell lines. Consistent with these results, mRNA expression levels of RFC3 appeared to be closely correlated with those of CREB when we examined bone marrow samples obtained from AML patients [n = 16, Pearson coefficient = 0.6366, p = 0.0008]. Moreover, we found that CREB directly interacted with the CRE site in the RFC3 promoter region in vivo , as assessed by chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. Exogenous overexpression of RFC3 in CREB-knockdown KG1 cells restored the defective G1/S progression [S phase (%), CREB-knockdown vs. CREB-knockdown with RFC3 overexpression, 9h after release: 38.97 +/– 0.45 vs. 62.24 +/– 1.06; 12h: 48.12 +/– 0.60 vs. 67.70 +/– 1.15, n=3, p We previously reported that CREB is a critical regulator of normal myelopoiesis (Cheng et al Blood 2008). To determine whether RFC3 could exert similar effects on normal hematopoiesis, we compared human umbilical cord blood derived CD34-positive cells with and without RFC3 overexpression for the capacity to form hematopoietic colonies. Overexpression of RFC3 in the CD34-positive cells resulted in significant increases of multi-potential CFU-GEMM colony numbers [without vs. with overexpression of RFC3 (per 1000 cells): 3.2 +/– 1.3 vs. 22.3 +/– 3.3, n=3, p Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Power Efficient Distributed Estimation in a Bandlimited Wireless Sensor Network

The problem of distributed estimation of a non-random parameter in a wireless sensor network (WSN) with, in general, correlated observations over a bandlimited channel is addressed. Each distributed node performs amplify-and-forward (AF) processing on its noise corrupted local observations and sends the locally processed data to the fusion center over a wireless channel sharing a common bandwidth. The bandwidth constraint is taken into account by assigning a direct sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) signaling waveform for each node. The communication with orthogonal, equi-correlated and perfect correlated signaling waveforms is considered. We find the best linear unbiased estimator (BLUE) based on the observations at the fusion center. Assuming perfect synchronization in sensor transmissions, we first analyze the asymptotic mean squared error (MSE) performance with correlated observations assuming equal node power and identical channel gains. Next the optimal power allocation scheme is derived to minimize the total power consumption of the network meeting a required MSE. We show that the optimal power scheduling scheme with perfect correlated signaling waveforms has a significant performance over that of using orthogonal signaling. The impact of synchronization errors on MSE performance is also analyzed and it is shown that with small synchronization errors the use of perfect correlated signaling waveforms performs well when compared with orthogonal channels.
Impact of Water-Dilution on the Solvation Properties of the Ionic Liquid 1-Methyltriethoxy-3-ethylimidazolium Acetate for Model Biomass Molecules

Many studies have suggested that the processing of lignocellulosic biomass could provide a renewable feedstock to supplant much of the current demand on petroleum sources. Currently, alkyl imidazolium-based ionic liquids (ILs) have shown considerable promise in the pretreatment, solvation, and hydrolysis of lignocellulosic materials although their high cost and unfavorable viscosity has limited their widespread use. Functionalizing these ILs with an oligo(ethoxy) tail has previously been shown through experiment to decrease the IL’s viscosity resulting in enhanced mass transport characteristics, in addition to other favorable traits including decreased inhibition of some enzymes. Additionally, the use of cosolvents to mitigate the cost and unfavorable traits of ILs is an area of growing interest with particular attention on water as the presence of water in biomass processes is inevitable. Through the use of biased and unbiased molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, this study provides a molecular-level per...
Medical complications of surgery: an orthogeriatrician's perspective

Hip fracture is one of the most common admission diagnoses in the UK, accounting for more than 75,000 hospital admissions per year in England and Wales. Fractured neck of femur can be classified as a ‘frailty’ presentation because of an average age of over 80 years, a clear association with ‘pathological falls’, including syncope, and a high number of co-morbidities. The combination of traumatic injury, frailty and surgery presents significant challenges to the managing team and requires an multidisciplinary approach to reduce the risk of perioperative complications, most commonly postoperative delirium, sepsis, cardiac complications, stroke and metabolic disturbance. Close monitoring with geriatric co-management has been shown to reduce complications and resultant morbidity, length of stay and mortality. Many lessons learnt from the experience of managing these very challenging patients are transferable to other frail patients undergoing surgery.
Who Are These Sneakerheads

Despite an increasing social significance within the sneakerhead culture (i.e., consumption misbehaviors), an understanding of sneakerheads in terms of their perceptions, motivations and decision-making processes is virtually non-existent. In order to fill a gap in the literature, the current study incorporates a Grounded Theory (Glaser & Strauss, 2009) approach and aims to address 3 research questions; 1) Why do these sneakerheads buy, collect, and wear sneakers with such a high level of enthusiasm?, 2) How do these sneakerheads go about buying, collecting, and wearing sneakers?, and 3) What perceptions do these sneakerheads have regarding inequity and violent incidents related to the limited release of highly anticipated sneakers?
Extended-Spectrum Cephalosporin-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae in Enteric Microflora of Wild Ducks

We tested 772 cloacal swabs from wild ducks to estimate the prevalence of enteric bacteria resistant to extended-spectrum cephalosporins (ESC). We found a low prevalence of the important ESC resistance genotypes, blaCMY (5.7%) and blaCTX-M (0.3%). This suggests a minor role for wild ducks in the movement of resistant bacteria in the environment.
Control code for laboratory adaptive optics teaching system

By sensing and compensating wavefront aberration, adaptive optics (AO) systems have proven themselves crucial in large astronomical telescopes, retinal imaging, and holographic coherent imaging. Commercial AO systems for laboratory use are now available in the market. One such is the ThorLabs AO kit built around a Boston Micromachines deformable mirror. However, there are limitations in applying these systems to research and pedagogical projects since the software is written with limited flexibility. In this paper, we describe a MATLAB-based software suite to interface with the ThorLabs AO kit by using the MATLAB Engine API and Visual Studio. The software is designed to offer complete access to the wavefront sensor data, through the various levels of processing, to the command signals to the deformable mirror and fast steering mirror. In this way, through a MATLAB GUI, an operator can experiment with every aspect of the AO system’s functioning. This is particularly valuable for tests of new control algorithms as well as to support student engagement in an academic environment. We plan to make the code freely available to the community.
“Potsdam Revisited: Prelude to a Divided Korea”

Scholarly debate about the reasons for Korea’s division at the 38th parallel in August 1945 has not been particularly intense. Early historical accounts accepted the U.S. government’s claim that the United States and the Soviet Union made a hasty decision to partition the country as a matter of military convenience to coordinate the acceptance of the surrender of Japanese forces at the end of World War II . By the early 1980s, however, new research had established that President Harry S. Truman planned to occupy all of Korea after using the atomic bomb, which was designed to force Japan’s surrender before the Soviet Union entered the Pacific War. But when Premier Joseph Stalin sent the Red Army into Korea, Truman proposed dividing Korea to prevent the Soviets from imposing Communist rule on the entire nation. Recently, some South Korean scholars have challenged this interpretation. Relying on new research, they contend that during the Potsdam Conference, U.S. and Soviet officials negotiated a secret agreement to divide Korea at the 38th parallel. This research note examines Won Bom Lee’s article making this argument, showing how it lacks evidentiary support to overturn the standard explanation for Korea’s division.
New Insights into the Photochemical Degradation of the Insensitive Munition Formulation IMX-101 in Water

This study describes photolysis of the insensitive munition formulation IMX-101 [2,4-dinitroanisole (DNAN), NQ (nitroguanidine), and 3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one (NTO)] in aqueous solutions using a solar simulating photoreactor. Due to a large variance in the water solubility of the three constituents DNAN (276 mg L–1), NQ (5,000 mg L–1), and NTO (16,642 mg L–1), two solutions of IMX-101 were prepared: one with low concentration (109.3 mg L–1) and another with high concentration (2831 mg L–1). The degradation rate constants of DNAN, NQ, and NTO (0.137, 0.075, and 0.202 d–1, respectively) in the low concentration solution were lower than those of the individually photolyzed components (0.262, 1.181, and 0.349 d–1, respectively). In the high concentration solution, the molar loss of NTO was 4.3 times higher than that of NQ after 7 days of irradiation, although NQ was two times more concentrated and that NQ alone degraded faster than NTO. In addition to the known degradation products, DNAN removal in IMX-101 ...
The Spanish Availability and Readability of Diabetes Apps.

Background:There is growing evidence supporting the use of mobile health apps for the management of diabetes. Given the disproportionate impact of diabetes on Latinos, especially those with limited...
Nonnutritive Sweeteners in Weight Management and Chronic Disease: A Review.

Objective The objective of this review was to critically review findings from recent studies evaluating the effects of nonnutritive sweeteners (NNSs) on metabolism, weight, and obesity-related chronic diseases. Biologic mechanisms that may explain NNS effects will also be addressed. Methods A comprehensive review of the relevant scientific literature was conducted. Results Most cross-sectional and prospective cohort studies report positive associations between NNS consumption, body weight, and health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Although findings in cellular and rodent models suggest that NNSs have harmful effects on metabolic health, most randomized controlled trials in humans demonstrate marginal benefits of NNS use on body weight, with little data available on other metabolic outcomes. Conclusions NNS consumption is associated with higher body weight and metabolic disease in observational studies. In contrast, randomized controlled trials demonstrate that NNSs may support weight loss, particularly when used alongside behavioral weight loss support. Additional long-term, well-controlled intervention studies in humans are needed to determine the effects of NNSs on weight, adiposity, and chronic disease under free-living conditions.
Formal Organizations, Informal Networks, and Work Flow: An Agent-Based Model

Few computational network models contrasting formal organization and informal networks have been published. A generalized organizational agent-based model (ABM) containing both formal organizational hierarchy and informal social networks was developed to simulate organizational processes that occur over both formal network ties and informal networks. Preliminary results from the current effort demonstrate “traffic jams” of work at the problematic middle manager level, which varies with the degree of micromanagement culture and supervisory span of control. Results also indicate that some informal network ties are used reciprocally while others are practically unidirectional.
Critical Phenomena for Field Theorists

Many of us who are not habitually concerned with problems in statistical physics have gradually been becoming aware of dramatic progress in that field. The mystery surrounding the phenomenon of second-order phase transitions seems to have lifted, and theorists now seem to be able to explain all sorts of scaling laws associated with these transitions, and even (more or less) to calculate the “critical exponents” of the scaling laws.1 Furthermore, the methods used to solve these problems appear to have a profound connection with the methods of field theory — one overhears talk of “renormalization group equations”, “infrared divergences”, “ultraviolet cut-offs”, and so on. It is natural to conclude that field theorists have a lot to learn from their statistical brethren.
Generating Diagnostic Multiple Choice Comprehension Cloze Questions

This paper describes and evaluates DQGen, which automatically generates multiple choice cloze questions to test a child's comprehension while reading a given text. Unlike previous methods, it generates different types of distracters designed to diagnose different types of comprehension failure, and tests comprehension not only of an individual sentence but of the context that precedes it. We evaluate the quality of the overall questions and the individual distracters, according to 8 human judges blind to the correct answers and intended distracter types. The results, errors, and judges' comments reveal limitations and suggest how to address some of them.
Hypertension—The Symptom and a Hemodynamic Model

This chapter has two parts. The first will initially summarize an existing literature, not inclusive of our own research, concerned with the role of behavioral influences in hypertension. This literature focuses on the BP as a symptom and not BP control mechanisms. Then I shall review another literature that has focused on BP control but not in the context of behavioral influences. From this research, a cardiodynamic (mechanistic) model has evolved that can be used to evaluate behavioral- cardiovascular interactions and BP effects. This will be discussed in the next chapter.
Freshwater mussels as monitors of bacteriological water quality

A species of commercially obtained freshwater mussel (Elliptio complanata) was shown to actively filter, concentrate, and retain fecal coliform (FC) bacteria from a variety of freshwater stream environments. Fecal coliform densities in mussel viscera were maximum within 48 hr of in situ exposure. Significant FC reproduction did not occur in mussel viscera at temperatures below 30 °C. Variation in replicate FC determinations from mussels exposed in situ for 48 hr was less than that obtained directly from water samples. Numbers of FC concentrated in mussel viscera were retained for several hours after FC densities declined in the surrounding water, suggesting the utility of mussels to record recent episodes of fecal pollution.
Ontologies for Smart and Networked Manufacturing: Past, Present, and Future

The early part of this millennium has witnessed the emergence of an Internet-based engineering marketplace, where engineers, designers, and manufacturers from small and large companies are collaborating through the Internet to participate in various product development and marketing activities. This will be further enhanced by the next generation manufacturing environment, which is being influenced by the recent developments in artificial intelligence. Agent-based interaction will become more prevalent in this new paradigm. Ontologies will play a major role in the success of this smart and networked manufacturing: both for knowledge encoding and for agent interoperability. This talk will provide a historical perspective on my three decades of work in developing ontologies in the manufacturing domain.
Life-Cycle cost-benefit analysis of Bridge deck de-icing using geothermal heat pump system: A case study of North Texas

Abstract Transportation infrastructures suffer major damage from ice and snow each year, negatively affecting the U.S. economy. Bridges, a key element of the transportation network, are the most vulnerable to impairment from ice and snow. The conventional snow and ice removal system (CSRS) is not a satisfactory solution, as it causes additional problems relating to the acceleration of bridge deck corrosion, motorist safety, travel delays, and environmental damages. In an attempt to provide a sustainable, economically viable alternative, this research performed a scenario-based life-cycle cost-benefit analysis (LCCBA) of the geothermal heat pump de-icing system (GHDS). The results of the analysis show that the benefits of the GHDS outweigh its cost. In addition, the output of a sensitivity analysis, using the Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS), indicates that traffic flow enhancement is the most dominant variable affecting the overall result. For a daily traffic volume of 24,000 vehicles, the benefits are estimated to be 2.32 times greater than the costs, with 95% reliability. The analysis output demonstrates that the application of the GHDS is economically viable for bridges with a minimum daily traffic volume of 7000 vehicles.