cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Post-Structuralism and Law

Liberal law polices the social universe as much by policing meaning as by making certain that those who do not benefit greatly from liberal capitalism do not get out of hand. Liberal law polices meaning by making certain that concepts like equality and fairness are limited to understandings that do not disturb the basic structure of liberal society, a structure characterized by a high degree of material inequality and practical unfairness. Hence, equality, for example, shall mean equal treatment by government rather than a redistribution of wealth or a levelling of power. Those other meanings or references exist in potential form in the liberal conceptual scheme, but they are held in place by a version of the same distinction that holds workers and managers, non-owners and owners apart in capitalism. The right meaning is thought to be the one most detached from materiality, from the world of empirical contingency and difference. It is ideal and formal, and as a result, it is more general and universal. It can be applied equally to all, like equality itself. Another way of putting this is to say that the right meaning is one that transcends situation as well as representation. It is not bound to any specific context or material site, and it rises above the material vehicles of thought, as formal principles are always said to exist outside language particularly.
Fuel cells technologies for wireless MEMS

Fuel cells offer attractive solutions in energy converters. Some fuel cells have been used in large scale vehicles, eg, buses, and others are expected to penetrate a variety of markets. Such fuel cells also benefit small-size, low-power demands, such as wireless MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems), including remote sensors, wearable electronics, and environmental monitoring. This chapter introduces miniaturized fuel cells for wireless MEMS, analyzes their technologies, compares their performance parameters, and discusses a specific device, namely the supercapacitor, to utilize miniaturized fuel cell technologies.
MitraClip Procedural Echocardiography

The MitraClip is a complex interventional procedure that is primarily guided by transesophageal echocardiography. A successful procedure is dependent on efficient and precise communication between the primary operator and the echocardiologist. In this chapter, key components of a safe and efficient procedural echocardiogram are described.
Plenary lecture 2: local surface approximation for edge structure preserving 3-D image denoising

In various applications, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and functional MRI (fMRI), 3-D images get increasingly popular. To improve reliability of subsequent image analyses, 3-D image denoising is often a necessary pre-processing step, which is the focus of the current paper. In the literature, most existing image denoising procedures are for 2-D images. Their direct extensions to 3-D cases generally can not handle 3-D images efficiently, because the structure of a typical 3-D image is substantially more complicated than that of a typical 2-D image. For instance, edge locations are surfaces in 3-D cases, which would be much more challenging to handle, compared to edge curves in 2-D cases. In this paper, we propose a novel 3-D image denoising procedure, by approximating the edge surfaces properly, using local smoothing and nonparametric regression methods. One important feature of this method is its ability to preserve edges and major edge structures (e.g., intersections of two edge surfaces and pointed corners). Numerical studies show that it works well in various applications.
Preservice teachers’ video simulations and subsequent noticing: a practice-based method to prepare mathematics teachers

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study was to implement a Video Simulation Task in a mathematics methods teacher education course to engage preservice teachers in considering both the teaching and learning aspects of mathematics lesson delivery. Participants anticipated student and teacher thinking and created simulations, in which they acted out scenes on a specific mathematics standard. They then viewed their own simulations and those of their classmates with a focus on the most salient moments of students’ thinking. The research focused on the contents of collaboratively-created video simulations and the focus of preservice teachers’ attention when viewing said simulations. Results indicate that preservice teachers primarily focus on classroom elements and the teacher when viewing the simulation content, which raises questions for how to support an emphasis on students’ mathematical thinking.
Social Relations and Health: Comparing “Invisible” Arab Americans to Blacks and Whites

This paper establishes preliminary benchmarks by comparing average values of social relations and health among Arab Americans, Blacks and Whites. Specifically, we expand traditional racial/ethnic categories to distinguish Arab Americans, historically and legally considered White. Data come from a unique random digit dial (RDD) sample of Arab Americans (N=96), Blacks (N=102) and Whites (N=100) from metro-Detroit collected in 2011, ranging in age from 19-89. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted to compare health, network structure, composition and support quality. Findings established preliminary benchmarks showing that Arab Americans reported more depressive symptoms (7.6) than Whites (5.2), but no difference in physical health. Arab Americans also reported more contact frequency (4.4) than Blacks (4.1) and Whites (4.0), yet lower proportions of networks comprised of the same ethnicity (77%) compared to Blacks (96%) and Whites (97%). Unpacking the White category to identify Arab Americans in a comparative analysis identified benchmarks to show how Arab American health and social relations are distinct from Blacks and Whites, yielding unique avenues for thinking about new ways to conceptualize how race and social relations impact health disparities.
Autoeroticism: Rethinking Self-Love with Derrida and Irigaray

Eros is often considered to be a desire or inclination for what is irreducibly other to the self. This view is particularly prominent among philosophers who reject a “fusion” model of erotic love in favor of one that foregrounds the difference between lovers. Drawing from this “difference” model, I argue in this essay that autoeroticism is a genuine form of Eros, even when Eros is understood to involve irreducible alterity. I claim that the autoerotic act is not adequately captured by traditional views of masturbation, where it is seen as distinct from the erotic encounter with another being. Instead, I employ Derrida and Irigaray to argue that the autoerotic act is auto-hetero-erotic, which depends on a view of the self as self-othering and heterogeneous.
Examining the Latent Structure of the BASC-3 BESS Parent Preschool Form:

Screening for emotional and behavioral risk at the preschool level provides an opportunity to inform early intervention and prevention efforts. This study reports initial validation information for...
What was Bitcoin, what will it be? The techno-economic imaginaries of a new money technology

In its first decade, Bitcoin has not proven to be a practical money form for most circumstances, but it has become a staging ground for debate around the cultural role of money in society. This deb...
Any sleep is a dream far away: a nominal group study assessing how gout affects sleep.

Objective There are no qualitative studies of sleep in gout; the aim of this study was to examine the impact of gout on sleep. Methods Nine nominal groups were conducted, oversampling for African-Americans and women with gout. Patients discussed and rank-ordered their concerns. Results Nine nominal groups with 46 gout patients were conducted with mean age, 61 years (s.d. 10.6) and gout duration, 14.9 years (s.d. 12); 63% were men, 46% African-American, 52% married, 46% retired and 63% were allopurinol users. The most frequently cited highly ranked concerns could be divided into three categories. The first category, character of sleep interruption, included the concerns: severe and complete sleep interruption by gout flare pain (nine groups); and inability to get rapid eye movement sleep (one group). The second category, causes of sleep interruption, included: inability to get into a comfortable position during sleep (six groups); anxiety and depression associated with severe gout pain (seven groups); sleep interruption by moderate chronic joint pain (three groups); frequent trips to the bathroom interfering with sleep (two groups); gout medication side effects (four groups); frequent trips to the emergency room (one group); joint swelling with physical/functional deficit interfering with sleep (two groups); and flare pain interfering with sleep apnoea management (two groups). The final category, consequences of sleep interruption, included: effect on daily functioning (two groups); worsens other health conditions, which then affect sleep (four groups); and cumulative effect on sleep (one group). Conclusion Gout has significant impact on sleep quantity, quality and architecture. Sleep disruption due to gout has several pathways and significant consequences.
Overcoming resistance to antiandrogens with a TGF-β RI inhibitor in preclinical mouse model of PCa.

288Background: Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a significant contributor to PCa metastatic progression and therapeutic resistance in patients treated with the androgen receptor (AR) directed therapies. We previously demonstrated that aberrant TGF-β signaling accelerates prostate tumor progression in the TRAMP mouse model of tumorigenesis via selective effects on EMT. Methods: We hypothesize that the combination of the TGF-β receptor inhibitor, galunisertib (G), and enzalutamide (E) will perturb the interactive signaling between TGF-β and AR signaling affecting the phenotypic landscape of EMT. This perturbation may be exploited in our mouse model, towards enhanced anti-tumor efficacy in advanced castration-resistant PCa (CRPC). We treated 2-week old mice for two weeks with the G (75mg/kg) and/or E (30mg/kg) in combination and as single agents. Results: Treatment with G alone or in combination with E resulted in a significant reduction in prostate tumor weight without affecting total body weight....
Examining the Effects of Performance Feedback on Preschool Teachers’ Fidelity of Implementation of a Small-Group Phonological Awareness Intervention

Although a growing body of literature indicates that high-quality preschool and/or prekindergarten programs can improve child outcomes, research evidence suggests that some children may continue to...
MALFUNCTION OF DOPAMINE SYSTEMS IN ETHANOL-DEPENDENT ANIMALS

Ethanol-withdrawn mice were found to be significantly less responsive to dopamine (DA) receptor agonists. The behaviorally and physiologically measured “subsensitivity” was accompanied by changes in responsiveness of DA-sensitive adenylate cyclase to DA and changes in neuroleptic-induced activation of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH).
Childhood Feeding Problems and Adolescent Eating Disorders

Cooper, Stein, Preface. Part I: Feeding and weight problems of early childhood, The nature and consequences of feeding problems in infancy Sheena Reilly, David Skuse and Dieter Wolke, The management of infant feeding problems Dieter Wolke, David Skuse and Sheena Reilly, Nature and management of eating problems in pre-school children Gillian Harris and Ian W. Booth, Body dissatisfaction and dieting in children Andrew J. Hill, The influence of maternal eating disorder on children Alan Stein, Helen Woolley and Heather Williams, Nature of anorexia nervosa and of bulimia nervosa, Anorexia nervosa of early onset and its impact on puberty Gerald F. M. Russell, The nature of adolescent anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa David B. Herzog, Safia C. Jackson and Debra L. Franko, Genetic factors in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa Michael Strober, Lisa R. Lilenfeld, Walter Kaye and Cynthia Bulik, Treatment of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, Management of early onset anorexia nervosa Bryan Lask and Rachel Bryant-Waugh, Outpatient management of anorexia nervosa Kelly Vitousek and Jennifer Gray, Outpatient management of bulimia nervosa Peter J. Cooper, Day hospital treatment for eating disorders Marion Olmsted, Traci McFarlane, Lynda Molleken and Allan Kaplan, Inpatient treatment of anorexia nervosa: the Toronto General Hospital program Blake Woodside, Sandy Sonnenberg, Kelli Young, Debbi Jonas, Jacqueline Carter, Allan S. Kaplan, Rochelle Martin, Regina Cowan and Sophie Grigoriadis
STRUCTURAL STUDIES OF IONOMERS BY INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY

Vibrational spectroscopy provides information on the local structure of ionomers which cannot be derived by other methods. Results of infrared studies on perfluorinated sulfonate ionomers are reviewed. Infrared spectra, recorded for specimens with different counterions at different water contents and different degrees of deuteration, yield information on the local environment of water molecules and on the structure of the hydrated ion clusters.
The Realization Theorem for S5 A Simple, Constructive Proof

Ten years ago I wrote a paper in honor of Rohit Parikh’s 60th birthday, [4]. Now I am honored to write another for his 70th. In this paper I will make use of my paper from 10 years ago, to help provide a simple, constructive proof of the Realization Theorem for the modal logic S5. The Realization Theorem is a fundamental result in a developing area known as justification logics. Since these are not (yet) standard in the way that modal logics are, I will begin by sketching what justification logics are, saying why they are significant, and saying what the Realization Theorem is about. Then we can get to the more technical material, which essentially amounts to combining work from two of my earlier papers, [4] and [9].
Induction of aneurysmogenic high positive wall shear stress gradient by wide angle at cerebral bifurcations, independent of flow rate

OBJECTIVEEndothelium adapts to wall shear stress (WSS) and is functionally sensitive to positive (aneurysmogenic) and negative (protective) spatial WSS gradients (WSSG) in regions of accelerating and decelerating flow, respectively. Positive WSSG causes endothelial migration, apoptosis, and aneurysmal extracellular remodeling. Given the association of wide branching angles with aneurysm presence, the authors evaluated the effect of bifurcation geometry on local apical hemodynamics.METHODSComputational fluid dynamics simulations were performed on parametric bifurcation models with increasing angles having: 1) symmetrical geometry (bifurcation angle 60°–180°), 2) asymmetrical geometry (daughter angles 30°/60° and 30°/90°), and 3) curved parent vessel (bifurcation angles 60°–120°), all at baseline and double flow rate. Time-dependent and time-averaged apical WSS and WSSG were analyzed. Results were validated on patient-derived models.RESULTSNarrow symmetrical bifurcations are characterized by protective nega...
Noncommutative standard table algebras with at most one nontrivial multiplicity

Abstract Standard table algebras that have an irreducible character of degree two, and with all other irreducible characters of multiplicity one, are classified to exact isomorphism.
PINSPlus: a tool for tumor subtype discovery in integrated genomic data.

SUMMARY Since cancer is a heterogeneous disease, tumor subtyping is crucial for improved treatment and prognosis. We have developed a subtype discovery tool, called PINSPlus, that is: (i) robust against noise and unstable quantitative assays, (ii) able to integrate multiple types of omics data in a single analysis and (iii) dramatically superior to established approaches in identifying known subtypes and novel subgroups with significant survival differences. Our validation on 12,158 samples from 44 datasets shows that PINSPlus vastly outperforms other approaches. The software is easy-to-use and can partition hundreds of patients in a few minutes on a personal computer. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION The package is available at https://cran.r-project.org/package=PINSPlus. Data and R script used in this manuscript are available at https://bioinformatics.cse.unr.edu/software/PINSPlus/. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
"I'm Not a Bystander":

Rural teachers need ongoing, flexible professional development designed to encourage collaboration and curriculum development. Furthermore, rural school reform requires successful collaborations between schools and colleges to create leaders within schools. Therefore, this case study is a program review that investigates how social studies teachers at Timberwood High School, a rural high school in the American southeast, are emerging as teacher leaders through a school-university partnership to improve their practice, mentor pre-service teachers, and generate reform. Interviews were conducted with members of the social studies department, all of whom were involved in the project. The findings indicate that the school-university partnership encouraged experimentation with new strategies, stimulated reflective practices and teacher growth, and created a more cohesive social studies department. However, while it was evident that teacher leadership did develop through the process, traditional school norms of egalitarianism and structural hierarchy prevented teachers from fully embracing their roles as teacher leaders. Study findings suggest that rural administrators and rural school-university partnerships must focus on developing teacher leaders to initiate school reform and grow professionally.
America’s Farther West: The Trans-Mississippi West, 1815–1890

This chapter looks at the period 1815 to 1890—from the end of the War of 1812 to the closing of the American frontier—during the third (and final) phase of the War for North America. It traces and interprets events during this period, within the book’s main themes: conquest (invasion and occupation); dispossession (theft of Indigenous lands and resources); depopulation (the logic of elimination and the genocidal imperative); and repopulation (supplanting the Indigenous inhabitants). It also summarizes the demographic and geopolitical outcome of the third (and final) phase of the Anglo-American settler-colonial supplanting project.
Pattern of CXCR7 Gene Expression in Mouse Brain Under Normal and Inflammatory Conditions

The chemokine stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1)/CXCL12 acting via its G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) CXCR4 has been implicated in neurogenesis, neuromodulation, brain inflammation, HIV-1 encephalopathy and tumor growth. CXCR7 was identified as an alternate receptor for SDF-1/CXCL12. Characterization of CXCR7-deficient mice demonstrated a role for CXCR7 in fetal endothelial biology, cardiac development, and B-cell localization. Despite its ligand binding properties, CXCR7 does not seem to signal like a conventional GPCR. It has been suggested that CXCR7 may not function alone but in combination with CXCR4. Here, we investigated the regional localization of CXCR7 receptors in adult mouse brain using CXCR7-EGFP transgenic mice. We found that the receptors were expressed in various brain regions including olfactory bulb, cerebral cortex, hippocampus, subventricular zone (SVZ), hypothalamus and cerebellum. Extensive CXCR7 expression was associated with cerebral blood vessels. Using cell type specific markers, CXCR7 expression was found in neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocyte progenitors. GAD-expressing neurons exhibited CXCR7 expression in the hippocampus. Expression of CXCR7 in the dentate gyrus included cells that expressed nestin, GFAP and cells that appeared to be immature granule cells. In mice with Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE), CXCR7 was expressed by migrating oligodendrocyte progenitors in the SVZ. We then compared the distribution of SDF-1/CXCL12 and CXCR7 using bitransgenic mice expressing both CXCR7-EGFP and SDF-1-mRFP. Enhanced expression of SDF-1/CXCL12 and CXCR7 was observed in the corpus callosum, SVZ and cerebellum. Overall, the expression of CXCR7 in normal and pathological nervous system suggests CXCR4-independent functions of SDF-1/CXCL12 mediated through its interaction with CXCR7.
Immobilization of Lipoxygenase in an Alginate-Silicate Solgel Matrix: Formation of Fatty Acid Hydroperoxides

Lipoxygenase (EC1.13.11.12) (LOX) catalyzes the positionally specific dioxygenation of polyunsaturated fatty acids to their corresponding hydroperoxy derivatives. Reduction of the latter compounds gives the corresponding hydroxy acids which are potential substitutes for ricinoleic acid, an industrially important fatty acid. LOX has been conventionally immobilized by adsorption to glutenin, glass wool, talc, polymer beads and ion exchange supports or by covalent linkage to matrices such as CNBr-activated Sepharose, agarose, or oxirane acrylic beads (1,2) or a carbonyl diimidazole activated polymer (3,4). In this study, a novel method for immobilizing LOX entrapped in an alginate-silicate sol-gel matrix was developed. The stability and reusability of LOX immobilized by this improved method was investigated.
Molecular‐scale drug entrapment as a precise method of controlled drug release I: Entrapment of cationic drugs by polymeric flocculation

A system of molecular-scale drug entrapment has been developed which provides a physicochemical and highly reproducible method of effecting drug entrapment and subsequent controlled drug release from polymeric matrices. The flocculation of highly concentrated colloidal polymeric dispersions (latices), in the presence of the drug in solution which is to be occluded, provides the entrapment mechanism. A solid-state, highly reproducible molecular entrapment combination of methapyrilene hydrochloride and an acrylic copolymer was prepared and evaluated for sustained-action characteristics. A significant increased duration of action and a reduction of the acute toxicity of methapyrilene in the entrapped form were established by in vivo effectiveness studies. The broad application of the entrapment process to acid salts of 11 widely used cationic nitrogen-containing drugs was demonstrated.
Cannabis use history is associated with increased prevalence of ascites among patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: A nationwide analysis.

Background Recent studies have revealed the endocannabinoid system as a potential therapeutic target in the management of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Cannabis use is associated with reduced risk for NAFLD, we hypothesized that cannabis use would be associated with less liver-related clinical complications in patients with NAFLD. Aim To assess the effects of cannabis use on liver-related clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients with NAFLD. Methods We performed a retrospective matched cohort study based on querying the 2014 National Inpatient Sample (NIS) for hospitalizations of adults with a diagnosis of NAFLD. The NIS database is publicly available and the largest all-payer inpatient database in the United States. The patients with cannabis use were selected as cases and those without cannabis were selected as controls. Case-control matching at a ratio of one case to two controls was performed based on sex, age, race, and comorbidities. The liver-related outcomes such as portal hypertension, ascites, varices and variceal bleeding, and cirrhosis were compared between the groups. Results A total of 49911 weighed hospitalizations with a diagnosis of NAFLD were identified. Of these, 3820 cases were selected as the cannabis group, and 7625 non-cannabis cases were matched as controls. Patients with cannabis use had a higher prevalence of ascites (4.5% vs 3.6%), with and without cannabis use, P = 0.03. The prevalence of portal hypertension (2.1% vs 2.2%), varices and variceal bleeding (1.3% vs 1.7%), and cirrhosis (3.7% vs 3.6%) was not different between the groups, with and without cannabis use, all P > 0.05. Hyperlipidemia, race/ethnicity other than White, Black, Asian, Pacific Islander or Native American, and higher comorbidity score were independent risk factors for ascites in the cannabis group. Among non-cannabis users, obesity and hyperlipidemia were independent protective factors against ascites while older age, Native American and higher comorbidity index were independent risk factors for ascites. Conclusion Cannabis was associated with higher rates of ascites, but there was no statistical difference in the prevalence of portal hypertension, varices and variceal bleeding, and cirrhosis.
Efficient verification for outsourced genome-wide association studies

With cloud computing is being widely adopted in conducting genome-wide association studies (GWAS), how to verify the integrity of outsourced GWAS computation remains to be accomplished. Here, we propose two novel algorithms to generate synthetic SNPs that are indistinguishable from real SNPs. The first method creates synthetic SNPs based on the phenotype vector, while the second approach creates synthetic SNPs based on real SNPs that are most similar to the phenotype vector. The time complexity of the first approach and the second approach is Om and Omlogn2, respectively, where m is the number of subjects while n is the number of SNPs. Furthermore, through a game theoretic analysis, we demonstrate that it is possible to incentivize honest behavior by the server by coupling appropriate payoffs with randomized verification. We conduct extensive experiments of our proposed methods, and the results show that beyond a formal adversarial model, when only a few synthetic SNPs are generated and mixed into the real data they cannot be distinguished from the real SNPs even by a variety of predictive machine learning models. We demonstrate that the proposed approach can ensure that logistic regression for GWAS can be outsourced in an efficient and trustworthy way.
Model-based assessment of replicability for genome-wide association meta-analysis.

Genome-wide association meta-analysis (GWAMA) is an effective approach to enlarge sample sizes and empower the discovery of novel associations between genotype and phenotype. Independent replication has been used as a gold-standard for validating genetic associations. However, as current GWAMA often seeks to aggregate all available datasets, it becomes impossible to find a large enough independent dataset to replicate new discoveries. Here we introduce a method, MAMBA (Meta-Analysis Model-based Assessment of replicability), for assessing the “posterior-probability-of-replicability” for identified associations by leveraging the strength and consistency of association signals between contributing studies. We demonstrate using simulations that MAMBA is more powerful and robust than existing methods, and produces more accurate genetic effects estimates. We apply MAMBA to a large-scale meta-analysis of addiction phenotypes with 1.2 million individuals. In addition to accurately identifying replicable common variant associations, MAMBA also pinpoints novel replicable rare variant associations from imputation-based GWAMA and hence greatly expands the set of analyzable variants. In genome-wide association meta-analysis, it is often difficult to find an independent dataset of sufficient size to replicate associations. Here, the authors have developed MAMBA to calculate the probability of replicability based on consistency between datasets within the meta-analysis.
Large-Scale Parametrized Metasurface Design Using Adjoint Optimization

Optical metasurfaces are planar arrangements of subwavelength meta-atoms that implement a wide range of transformations on incident light. The design of efficient metasurfaces requires that the res...
Belowground mechanisms for oak regeneration: Interactions among fire, soil microbes, and plant community alter oak seedling growth

Abstract It has been firmly established that oak regeneration benefits from prescribed burning and reduced competition with fire-intolerant tree species. Despite recommendations for research on the role of the microsite environment for oak regeneration, very little is known about the interacting effects of fire, soil, and surrounding plant community on oak establishment. We collected undisturbed and burned soil in the aftermath of a wildfire in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and used amplicon sequencing to identify differences in composition of bacterial and fungal communities between unburned and burned soils. To assess the effects of plant community, fire-induced shifts in soil microbial communities, and their interaction we conducted a glasshouse experiment and grew Quercus velutina seedlings in factorial treatments of plant neighbor (oak vs. pine seedling) and soil burn status (unburned vs. burned soil). Fire reduced the diversity of plant pathogenic and saprotrophic fungi and reduced the relative abundance of plant pathogenic fungi. Fire did not affect soil bacterial communities. Shifts in soil fungal community composition enhanced oak seedling root growth, but the effect of the soil microbiome was mediated by plant neighbor interactions. Seedling root growth was negatively correlated with diversity of pathogenic fungi. Root growth was enhanced in burned soil relative to unburned soil, but only when growing with a pine seedling neighbor as opposed to an oak seedling neighbor. Results from this study show that interactions between soil microbes and nearby plants can in part mediate oak seedling growth. As such, nuanced decisions that consider the ecological interactions of the microsite environment are needed to achieve desired outcomes for oak regeneration.
The Case for an Integrative Approach

Because integration relies on reciprocity, cooperation must be the basis for any integrative approach. Having proven to be evolutionarily stable, cooperative structures promise greater collective gains than rivalries do, they lead to more robust and durable relationships, and they better promote long-term adaptation. In short, cooperative strategies for Space exploration and habitation will better insure the success of extraterrestrial settlements than competition-based strategies that currently define the status quo.
On teaching pharmacology and therapeutics in our medical schools: Deliberation upon and a rephrasing of an article by John J. Abel

Abstract There is a need for scientific advancement in the care of the patient. The basic science elements of care of the patient are largely covered by inadequate courses in the first two years of medical school. This leads to empirical use of concepts and hampers the physician at the patient's bedside. Needed improvement in medical school teaching can be met by joint appointments between the basic science and clinical departments. Basic science teaching by basic scientists at all levels should be limited to fundamental elements. The clinical faculty should mold these elements into concepts to be used in the care of the patient. The clinical faculty should aid in the basic science departments in the direction of the medical student in his first two years. They should offer clinical instruction to the basic science student who plans to teach in the medical school. Joint research projects will provide the greatest application of fundamental knowledge. The clinical problems can be resolved in “artificially contrived experiments”, and the knowledge gained in the experiments can be evaluated in regard to clinical concepts.
The present and future of lattice QCD

These lectures provide an introduction to lattice methods for nonperturbative studies of Quantum Chromodynamics. I give a brief introduction to the subject, then discuss areas of current interest: spectroscopy, matrix elements, and the physics of high temperature QCD.
Higher-order structure and dynamics of FK506-binding protein probed by backbone amide hydrogen/deuterium exchange and electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry

Publisher Summary The FK506 binding protein (FKBP) is a small (107 amino acids) protein, which—when complexed to ascomycin or rapamycin—is involved in immunosuppression through the formation of ternary complexes with calcineurin or FRAP, respectively. The study described in this chapter has used FKBP to study the role of non-random conformations in the unfolded state on folding stability mechanisms. The chapter presents FT-ICR mass analysis of global and local hydrogen exchange behavior of a mutant of recombinant human FKBP under native and mildly denaturing conditions, thereby identifying the number of distinct conformations, location of surface-accessible segments of the primary amino acid sequence, and partial kinetics and equilibria of the folding/unfolding pathways. FT-ICR offers several unique advantages over other forms of mass spectrometry for such problems. First, because of its ultrahigh mass resolution, isotopic peaks of an intact protein can be resolved. The natural isotopic abundance distribution may thus be deconvolved out of the isotopic distribution of the deuterated protein or protein fragments, to leave just the distribution of the artificially introduced deuteriums. The deuterium distribution is critical for identifying folding intermediates and their kinetics and equilibria.
Primate model for the evaluation of vaginal contraceptives

Abstract A good animal model that simulates the human subject has not been available for the evaluation of the in vivo effectiveness of vaginal contraceptives. After careful consideration, The stumptailed macaque ( Macaca arctoides ) was studied for its applicability since it has a reproductive tract similar to that of the woman, is easy to handle, does not require tranquilization or anesthesia when the contraceptive is deposited, and breeds and conceives readily under caged conditions. The reported observations show the usefulness of this animal. Both postcoital sperm motility studies and breeding experiments were performed with the use of Delfen vaginal cream and K-Y jelly. K-Y jelly had no effect on the motility of vaginal spermatozoa or on the conception rate of the primates. Although Delfen vaginal cream consistently immobilized all spermatozoa in the postcoital test, half of the animals became pregnant within an average of 3.7 breeding cycles. These results illustrate the discrepancy between spermicidal tests and fertility measurements, and it is recommended that primate-breeding experiments be performed before a spermicide is evaluated in women as a contraceptive.
Structure, Reactivity, and Biology of Double-Stranded RNA

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the structure and physicochemical properties of double stranded RNA (dsRNA); on the enzymes that degrade, modify, or otherwise modulate dsRNA structure and function; and on protein motifs that specifically recognize dsRNA. It discusses the metabolism and regulatory functions of dsRNA in the prokaryotic cell, as are the functions of dsRNA and dsRNA-specific enzymes in eukaryotic cells. It also covers the mammalian cellular and physiological response to dsRNA and the prospects of dsRNA as a therapeutic agent. The RNA double helix is a ubiquitous structural motif in living organisms. Double stranded RNA is created by a number of biosynthetic pathways and is subsequently degraded, denatured, or specifically modified by enzymatic activities. It also serves as a stable repository of genetic information for many viruses. The diverse functional roles of dsRNA have spurred intensive studies on the biochemical processes that involve dsRNA. The first structural information on dsRNA came from X-ray diffraction analyses of synthetic or naturally occurring dsRNA fibers. Analyses of the structures of prokaryotic antisense RNAs and the precise interactions with their targets provide insight into the dynamics of dsRNA formation and the way gene expression is regulated by RNA–RNA interactions.
Recursive sequences in first-year calculus

This article provides ready-to-use supplementary material on recursive sequences for a second-semester calculus class. It equips first-year calculus students with a basic methodical procedure based on which they can conduct a rigorous convergence or divergence analysis of many simple recursive sequences on their own without the need to invoke inductive arguments as is typically required in calculus textbooks. The sequences that are accessible to this kind of analysis are predominantly (eventually) monotonic, but also certain recursive sequences that alternate around their limit point as they converge can be considered.
Reversal of the Drug Binding Pocket Defects of the AcrB Multidrug Efflux Pump Protein of Escherichia coli

The AcrB protein of Escherichia coli, together with TolC and AcrA, forms a contiguous envelope conduit for the capture and extrusion of diverse antibiotics and cellular metabolites. In this study, we sought to expand our knowledge of AcrB by conducting genetic and functional analyses. We began with an AcrB mutant bearing an F610A substitution in the drug binding pocket and obtained second-site substitutions that overcame the antibiotic hypersusceptibility phenotype conferred by the F610A mutation. Five of the seven unique single amino acid substitutions--Y49S, V127A, V127G, D153E, and G288C--mapped in the periplasmic porter domain of AcrB, with the D153E and G288C mutations mapping near and at the distal drug binding pocket, respectively. The other two substitutions--F453C and L486W--were mapped to transmembrane (TM) helices 5 and 6, respectively. The nitrocefin efflux kinetics data suggested that all periplasmic suppressors significantly restored nitrocefin binding affinity impaired by the F610A mutation. Surprisingly, despite increasing MICs of tested antibiotics and the efflux of N-phenyl-1-naphthylamine, the TM suppressors did not improve the nitrocefin efflux kinetics. These data suggest that the periplasmic substitutions act by influencing drug binding affinities for the distal binding pocket, whereas the TM substitutions may indirectly affect the conformational dynamics of the drug binding domain. Importance The AcrB protein and its homologues confer multidrug resistance in many important human bacterial pathogens. A greater understanding of how these efflux pump proteins function will lead to the development of effective inhibitors against them. The research presented in this paper investigates drug binding pocket mutants of AcrB through the isolation and characterization of intragenic suppressor mutations that overcome the drug susceptibility phenotype of mutations affecting the drug binding pocket. The data reveal a remarkable structure-function plasticity of the AcrB protein pertaining to its drug efflux activity.
Neural representations of emotion are organized around abstract event features.

Summary Research on emotion attribution has tended to focus on the perception of overt expressions of at most five or six basic emotions. However, our ability to identify others' emotional states is not limited to perception of these canonical expressions. Instead, we make fine-grained inferences about what others feel based on the situations they encounter, relying on knowledge of the eliciting conditions for different emotions. In the present research, we provide convergent behavioral and neural evidence concerning the representations underlying these concepts. First, we find that patterns of activity in mentalizing regions contain information about subtle emotional distinctions conveyed through verbal descriptions of eliciting situations. Second, we identify a space of abstract situation features that well captures the emotion discriminations subjects make behaviorally and show that this feature space outperforms competing models in capturing the similarity space of neural patterns in these regions. Together, the data suggest that our knowledge of others' emotions is abstract and high dimensional, that brain regions selective for mental state reasoning support relatively subtle distinctions between emotion concepts, and that the neural representations in these regions are not reducible to more primitive affective dimensions such as valence and arousal.
A Formal Approach to Modeling Expected Behavior in Parallel Program Visualizations

Visualizations of program execution are useful for debugging the complex behavior of parallel programs. However, the effectiveness of the visualizations is limited by how well their representations match the programmer's conceptual model of the expected program behavior. In this paper, we show that the LOTOS specification of a parallel program may be used to model expected behavior in the visualizations of the program's execution. We developed a prototype debugging environment, Panorama, to provide a framework for the modeling of expected behavior, collection of trace data, and the generation of the corresponding visualizations. We illustrate, by example, that debugging of incorrect message-passing communication is facilitated by this visualization strategy.
Ad hoc localization technique for wireless sensor networks

Location-awareness is a key enabler for using energy-conserving protocols and other location-based services in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN). Due to the ad hoc nature of WSN, and resource-constrained sensor nodes, the localization technique must be infrastructure-free, computationally simple, and energy-efficient. In this paper we present an ad hoc localization technique that satisfies these requirements. The proposed localization technique is infrastructure-free, anchor-free, and is computationally efficient with reduced communication. We use a novel combination of TOA/TDOA and AOA ranging techniques to detect and estimate ranges between neighbors. Using this information we construct unidirectional coordinate systems to avoid the reflection ambiguity. This reduces the amount of information, and thus communication, required to induce location-awareness in sensor nodes. We then compute node positions using a transformation matrix [T] which reduces the computational complexity of the localization algorithm while computing positions relative to the fixed coordinate system.
Hypogammaglobulinemia, allergy, and absence of intrinsic factor

Abstract Primary acquired hypogammaglobulinemia in a 41-year-old white woman with a history of atopy and an absence of intrinsic factor is described. Only trace amounts of IgG and no detectable IgA or IgM were found in both the serum and sputum. Clinically, the subject manifested an inordinate susceptibility to recurrent pyogenic bacterial infections and seasonal symptoms of respiratory tract allergy. Absence of intrinsic factor was discovered prior to pathognomonic clinical and hematological manifestations of pernicious anemia. Serum samples obtained from this patient with acquired hypogammaglobulinemia were analyzed for the presence of blocking antibodies after a two-year period of immunization therapy with aqueous Bermuda grass antigen. The in vitro bis diazotized benzidine (BDB) technique and the in vivo Prausnitz-Kustner reaction failed to detect blocking antibodies in this patient's sera. Control sera analyzed by both of these techniques revealed the presence of immune globulins directed against the allergen. This individual did not synthesize measurable IgG in response to Bermuda grass allergen.
Distributed result set iterator: a design pattern for efficient retrieval of large result sets from remote data sources

Retrieving large amounts of information over wide area networks, including the Internet, is problematic due to issues arising from latency of response, lack of direct memory access to data serving resources, and fault tolerance. As both the public and industry require an ever increasing amount of data to be transferred in a timely fashion, we face the challenge of providing the technology to meet these consumer-driven demands. We must be able to deliver large amounts of information promptly with immediate feedback to user requests. In addition, this must be achieved in a robust manner while conserving computing resources. This paper describes a design pattern for solving the issues of handling results from queries that return large amounts of data. Typically, these queries would be made by a client process across a wide area network (or Internet) to a relational database residing on a remote server. The solution is discussed in detail in this paper and has recently been incorporated into the framework of a commercial software product developed at Oracle Corporation.
Investigating the effects of learning speeds on Xpilot agent evolution

In this paper we present a comparison of the effects of varying play speeds on a genetic algorithm in the space combat game Xpilot. Xpilot-AI, an Xpilot add-on designed for testing learning systems, is used to evolve the controller for an Xpilot combat agent at varying frames per second to determine an optimal speed for learning. The controller is a rule-based system modified to work with a genetic algorithm that learns numeric parameters for the agent's rule base. The goal of this research is to increase the quality and speed of standard learning algorithms in Xpilot as well as determine a suitable speed for employing Punctuated Anytime Learning (PAL) in the Xpilot-AI environment. PAL is the learning component of an overall system of autonomous agent control with real-time learning.
Risk factor profiles among intravenous drug using young adults: A latent class analysis (LCA) approach

Abstract Using data from a cross-sectional study that examined health risk behaviors among urban intravenous drug-using (IDU) adolescents and young adults, this study investigated risk profiles among a high-risk sample (n = 274). Risk profiles were empirically derived through latent class analysis based on indicators of engagement in health-risking behaviors, experience of abuse and violence as well as individual and family risk factors. The best fitting model was a 3-class model. Class 1 (n = 95) captured participants with the lowest risk across all indicators. Compared to Class 1, Class 2 (n = 128) and Class 3 (n = 51) had elevated rates of engagement in health-risking behaviors as well as individual and family risk factors; however, Class 3 had the highest rate of engagement in sexual risk behavior, and backgrounds of substantial abuse and violence as well as familial psychopathology. Class 2 was the group most socioeconomically disadvantaged, with the highest percentage of participants coming from poor backgrounds, spending the longest time homeless and working the fewest months. Identifying subgroups of IDU has the potential to guide the development of more targeted and effective strategies for prevention and treatment of this high-risk population.
Explaining Racial Differences: A Study of City-to-Suburb Residential Mobility

Although black city-to-suburb residential mobility increased markedly during the 1970s, the rate of outmovement by whites was still much higher. In this article we examine empirically three explanations for this continuing racial difference in suburbanization: (1) socioeconomic differences between the white and black central city populations, (2) racially motivated outmovement by whites (white flight), and (3) abnormally low outmovement by blacks (black retention). Using 1974-1976 Annual Housing Survey data from 35 large SMSAs, we begin by replicating Frey's (1979) analysis of white outmovement during the late 1960s. We then modify the model and apply it to black outmovement. We conclude from our analysis that black retention, attributable to actual or anticipated racial discrimination against blacks, is responsible for most of the white-black gap in rates of city-to-suburb movement. The other two explanations play only secondary roles.