cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract 3425: Interleukin-27 inhibits epithelial mesenchymal transition in lung carcinogenesis

Proceedings: AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011‐‐ Apr 2‐6, 2011; Orlando, FL Interleukin-27 (IL-27), the newest member of the IL-6/IL-12 family, is secreted by antigen presenting cells and has anti-tumor activity through its activation of the JAK-STAT pathway. Transcriptional factors STAT1 and STAT3 have been implicated in the balance of tumor suppressor and oncogenic functions. Epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a process whereby cells undergo changes from a highly polarized epithelial phenotype to a mesenchymal, migratory phenotype, which plays an important role in tumor metastasis. The role of IL-27 in EMT was evaluated in lung carcinogenesis. Human bronchial epithelial cells (HBECs), genetically modified HBEC to over-express Snail and K-ras (HBEC-Snail, HBEC-K-ras), and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) lines (A549, H2122) were treated with IL-27 at multiple time points. Phosphorylation of STAT1 and STAT3 measured by Western Blot demonstrated activation of both pathways in these cell lines treated with IL-27. However, the STAT1 pathway was attenuated in HBEC-K-ras cells exposed to IL-27. Western analysis of markers for epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) (E-cadherin, γ-catenin, N-cadherin, Vimentin, and Snail) showed up-regulation of E-cadherin and γ-catenin, important for the epithelial phenotype, which peaked 8 hours after IL-27 exposure, while markers important for the mesenchymal phenotype (N-cadherin, Vimentin, and Snail) were all down-regulated at similar time points. The addition of a STAT3 inhibitor to IL-27 treatment led to continued down-regulation of Vimentin beyond 8 hours. A wound healing functional assay to study cell migration after IL-27 treatment of cancer cell lines for up to 48 hours, demonstrated overall decrease in cell migration. In summary, IL-27 inhibits epithelial mesenchymal transition in NSCLCs and oncogenically manipulated HBECs through the regulation of STAT1 and STAT3 pathways. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3425. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-3425
Respiration of the Confused Flour Beetle in Five Atmospheres of Varying CO2:O2 Ratios

The respiratory gas exchange of adult (2-week-old) confused flour beetles, Tribolium confusum Jacquelin duVal, was determined at 30°C in 5 different CO2:O2 ratios ranging from 1:0.74 to the “normal atmosphere” ratio of 1:717. The respiratory quotient (RQ) was less than 1.0 in all CO2:O2, ratios except 1:717. At the lowest O2, concentration (4.9%) the RQ was lowest (0,60). Lack of O2 rather than high CO2 content appeared to stimulate increased O2 consumption.
The impact of cloud vertical profile on liquid water path retrieval based on the bispectral method: A theoretical study based on large-eddy simulations of shallow marine boundary layer clouds.

Passive optical retrievals of cloud liquid water path (LWP), like those implemented for Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), rely on cloud vertical profile assumptions to relate optical thickness (τ) and effective radius (re ) retrievals to LWP. These techniques typically assume that shallow clouds are vertically homogeneous; however, an adiabatic cloud model is plausibly more realistic for shallow marine boundary layer cloud regimes. In this study a satellite retrieval simulator is used to perform MODIS-like satellite retrievals, which in turn are compared directly to the large-eddy simulation (LES) output. This satellite simulator creates a framework for rigorous quantification of the impact that vertical profile features have on LWP retrievals, and it accomplishes this while also avoiding sources of bias present in previous observational studies. The cloud vertical profiles from the LES are often more complex than either of the two standard assumptions, and the favored assumption was found to be sensitive to cloud regime (cumuliform/stratiform). Confirming previous studies, drizzle and cloud top entrainment of dry air are identified as physical features that bias LWP retrievals away from adiabatic and toward homogeneous assumptions. The mean bias induced by drizzle-influenced profiles was shown to be on the order of 5-10 g/m2. In contrast, the influence of cloud top entrainment was found to be smaller by about a factor of 2. A theoretical framework is developed to explain variability in LWP retrievals by introducing modifications to the adiabatic re profile. In addition to analyzing bispectral retrievals, we also compare results with the vertical profile sensitivity of passive polarimetric retrieval techniques.
Predicting healthcare associated infections using patients' experiences

Healthcare associated infections (HAI) are a major threat to patient safety and are costly to health systems. Our goal is to predict the HAI performance of a hospital using the patients' experience responses as input. We use four classifiers, viz. random forest, naive Bayes, artificial feedforward neural networks, and the support vector machine, to perform the prediction of six types of HAI. The six types include blood stream, urinary tract, surgical site, and intestinal infections. Experiments show that the random forest and support vector machine perform well across the six types of HAI.
Intervals from norgestomet withdrawal and injection of equine chorionic gonadotropin or P.G. 600 to estrus and ovulation in ewes.

Synchronization of estrus and ovulation is essential for AI of ewes during a predetermined time frame, and progestogen-eCG treatments are typically used to prepare the ewes. However, eCG is not readily available in the United States, but P.G. 600 (400 IU of eCG and 200 IU of hCG) is available. Thus, we conducted a study to determine the effects of eCG and P.G. 600 on the timing of estrus and ovulation after progestogen withdrawal. Ewes were assigned to two replicates of an experiment with the following treatments: 1) 3-mg norgestomet implant (i.e., one-half of a Syncro-Mate-B [SMB] implant) for 10 d, plus 2 mL of saline i.m. at SMB removal (n = 11); 2) 3-mg SMB implant for 10 d, plus 400 IU of eCG i.m. at SMB removal (n = 13); and 3) 3-mg SMB implant for 10 d, plus P.G. 600 i.m. at implant removal (n = 9). On d 6 after SMB insertion, PGF2alpha was used to induce luteolysis. Beginning 12 h after implant removal, vasectomized rams were used at 12-h intervals to check for estrus. When a ewe was detected in estrus, each ovary was evaluated ultrasonically. Ovaries were evaluated again 16 h later and then at 8-h intervals until ovulation. Treatment altered the interval from implant removal to estrus (less [P < 0.05] in SMB + eCG than in the other two groups) and to ovulation (greatest [P < 0.05] in SMB). However, the treatment x replicate interaction was significant for the intervals from implant removal to estrus (P < 0.03) and from implant removal to ovulation (P < 0.05). An inconsistent response in the SMB-treated ewes seemed to be primarily responsible for the interaction. The intervals to estrus and to ovulation for the SMB-treated ewes were shorter (P < 0.05) in Replicate 1 than in Replicate 2. Also, both intervals seemed to be less consistent between replicates for the SMB + P.G. 600- than for the SMB + eCG-treated ewes; that is, eCG seemed to increase the predictability of the intervals to estrus and to ovulation. Neither the main effects of treatment and replicate nor their interaction were significant for the interval from estrus to ovulation (38.4 +/- 3.3 h), size of the ovulatory follicle (7.7 +/- 0.8 mm), or ovulation rate (1.6 +/- 0.2). We concluded from this experiment that eCG is a better choice than P.G. 600 as the gonadotropin to use at the time of progestogen withdrawal to prepare ewes for AI during a predetermined interval.
Constructing abelian surfaces for cryptography via Rosenhain invariants

This paper presents an algorithm to construct cryptographically strong genus curves and their Kummer surfaces via Rosenhain invariants and related Kummer parameters. The most common version of the complex multiplication (CM) algorithm for constructing cryptographic curves in genus 2 relies on the well-studied Igusa invariants and Mestre’s algorithm for reconstructing the curve. On the other hand, the Rosenhain invariants typically have much smaller height, so computing them requires less precision, and in addition, the Rosenhain model for the curve can be written down directly given the Rosenhain invariants. Similarly, the parameters for a Kummer surface can be expressed directly in terms of rational functions of theta constants. CM-values of these functions are algebraic numbers, and when computed to high enough precision, LLL can recognize their minimal polynomials. Motivated by fast cryptography on Kummer surfaces, we investigate a variant of the CM method for computing cryptographically strong Rosenhain models of curves (as well as their associated Kummer surfaces) and use it to generate several example curves at different security levels that are suitable for use in cryptography.
Response properties of single units in the lateral terminal nucleus of the accessory optic system in the behaving primate

1. To determine the potential role of the primate accessory optic system (AOS) in optokinetic and smooth-pursuit eye movements, we recorded the activity of 110 single units in a subdivision of the AOS, the lateral terminal nucleus (LTN), in five alert rhesus macaques. All monkeys were trained to fixate a stationary target spot during visual testing and to track a small spot moving in a variety of visual environments. 2. LTN units formed a continuum of types ranging from purely visual to purely oculomotor. Visual units (50%) responded best for large-field (70 x 50 degrees), moving visual stimuli and had no response associated with smooth-pursuit eye movement; some responded during smooth pursuit in the dark, but the response disappeared if the target was briefly extinguished, indicating that their smooth-pursuit-related response reflected activation of a parafoveal receptive field. Eye movement and visual units (36%) responded both for large, moving visual stimuli and during smooth-pursuit eye movements made in the dark. Eye movement units (14%) discharged during smooth-pursuit or other eye movements but showed no evidence of visual sensitivity. 3. Essentially all (98%) LTN units were direction selective, responding preferentially during vertical background and/or smooth-pursuit movement. The vast majority (88%) preferred upward background and/or eye movement. During periodic movement of the large-field visual background while the animal fixated, their firing rates were modulated above and below rather high resting rates. Although LTN units typically responded best to movement of large-field stimuli, some also responded well to small moving stimuli (0.25 degrees diam). 4. LTN units could be separated into two populations according to their dependence on visual stimulus velocity. For periodic triangle wave stimuli, both types had velocity thresholds less than 3 degrees/s. As stimulus velocity increased above threshold, the activity of one type reached peak firing rates over a very narrow velocity range and remained nearly at peak firing for velocities from approximately 4-80 degrees/s. The firing rates of the other type exhibited velocity tuning in which the firing rate peaked at an average preferred velocity of 13 degrees/s and decreased for higher velocities. 5. A close examination of firing rates to sinusoidal background stimuli revealed that both unit types exhibited unusual behaviors at the extremes of stimulus velocity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Generalization and discrimination

This chapter discusses the concept and theory of generalization and discrimination. Generalization refers to the fact that if a given response is connected to a particular stimulus, then similar stimuli will tend to elicit that same response. The greater the similarity, the greater is the generalization. Discrimination refers to an increase in the tendency to restrict a response to one stimulus value along a stimulus dimension. It is brought about by differential reinforcement. Stimulus generalization and discrimination may well be opposite sides of the same coin. An increase in one represents a decrease in the other. Some studies show that the generalization gradient will become more peaked as the number of reinforced responses to the training stimulus is increased, whereas others show no change or an actual flattening of the gradient. In discrimination learning, responses to both the positive and negative stimuli initially increase. Then the response to the negative stimulus drops out and the response to the positive stimulus increases.
Low-signal, coronagraphic wavefront estimation with Kalman filtering in the high contrast imaging testbed

For direct imaging and spectral characterization of cold exoplanets in reflected light, the proposed Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) Coronagraph Instrument (CGI) will carry two types of coronagraphs. The High Contrast Imaging Testbed (HCIT) at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been testing both coronagraph types and demonstrated their abilities to achieve high contrast. Focal plane wavefront correction is used to estimate and mitigate aberrations. As the most time-consuming part of correction during a space mission, the acquisition of probed images for electric field estimation needs to be as short as possible. We present results from the HCIT of narrowband, low-signal wavefront estimation tests using a shaped pupil Lyot coronagraph (SPLC) designed for the WFIRST CGI. In the low-flux regime, the Kalman filter and iterated extended Kalman filter provide faster correction, better achievable contrast, and more accurate estimates than batch process estimation.
Characterization of a novel germline PALB2 duplication in a hereditary breast and ovarian cancer family.

Mutations in PALB2 have been associated with a predisposition to breast and pancreatic cancers. This study aims to characterize a novel PALB2 exon 13 duplication in a hereditary breast and ovarian cancer family. The PALB2 exon 13 duplication in this family was evaluated using Memorial Sloan Kettering-Integrated Mutation Profiling of Actionable Cancer Targets (MSK-IMPACT™) and confirmed by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA). The duplication breakpoints were determined by long-range PCR and DNA sequencing. The effects of this mutation on mRNA splicing were characterized using RT-PCR, cloning, and DNA sequencing. The 5′ and 3′ breakpoints were mapped to intron 12 and downstream of 3′UTR. The tandem duplication is mediated by Alu elements in these regions. This duplication disrupts normal mRNA splicing and presumably leads to a frameshift and premature protein truncation. This duplication segregates with ovarian and breast cancer in multiple members in this family. Our results indicate that the PALB2 exon 13 duplication is a pathogenic variant. The presence of the PALB2 duplication in the proband affected with high-grade serous ovarian cancer suggests that PALB2 might be associated with a predisposition to ovarian cancer.
Glycopeptide-Specific Chimeric Antigen Receptor Targeting of T Cell Leukemia

Abstract Background Adoptive transfer of T cells redirected with chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) has shown tremendous efficacy in targeting CD19-expressing leukemic cells; however, these CAR T cells also deplete normal CD19-expressing B cells. Although B cell lymphopenia can be overcome by gamma-globulin supplementation, other forms of on-target, off-site toxicity emphasizes the need for cancer cell-specific epitopes in CAR T cell therapy. To date, T cell leukemia has not been targeted due to possible fratricide because of shared antigens expressed on leukemic T cells and CAR T cells. Cellular transformation often produces altered glycosylation patterns, making cancer-specific glycoantigens attractive targets for CAR development. Here we demonstrate the successful eradication of the Jurkat T cell leukemia with Tn-specific CAR T cells. Methods The Jurkat E6.1 T cell leukemia line contains a frameshift mutation in the T synthase chaperone protein Cosmc that prevents core 1 structure formation on O-linked protein glycosylation, resulting in the presentation of Tn antigen on many glycoproteins. Here we describe the development of a CAR using a scFv sequence derived from the 5E5 mAb, which was developed against the Tn antigen of Mucin-1 (Muc1). A CAR was constructed by linking the 5E5 scFv to CD8alpha hinge and transmembrane region to the signaling endodomain comprised of 4-1BB and CD3zeta. The resultant Tn specific CAR was expressed in a lentiviral vector. Results In preliminary experiments Tn-CAR T cells had cytotoxicity to a variety of primary ovarian, breast and pancreatic tumor cells. Specific killing of Jurkat T leukemic cells was demonstrated by lysis of wild type Jurkat while the CAR T cells failed to kill Jurakat after overexpression of Cosmc. In specific, expression of full-length Cosmc expression in the Jurkat E6.1 cell line abolished staining by the 5E5 mAb, restoredT synthase activity, and protected the cells from lysis by 5E5-CAR T cells. Human T cells expressing the 5E5-CAR demonstrate rapid clearance of established Jurkat tumors in NSG mouse xenograft models, as assessed by serial bioluminescence imaging and prolonged survival compared to mice expressing a control CD19-specific CAR T cells (P Conclusions These results demonstrate that the 5E5-CAR is specific for the Tn antigen and provides a potent cancer-specific immunotherapy for the targeting of non-dispensable tissues such as T cell leukemias. Disclosures June: Novartis: IP licensed by University of Pennsylvania to Novartis. Author entitled to royalties from the University. Patents & Royalties, Research Funding.
Restart Could Optimize the Probability of Success in a Bernoulli Trial

The recently noticed ability of restart to reduce the expected completion time of first-passage processes allows appealing opportunities for performance improvement in a variety of settings. However, complex stochastic processes often exhibit several possible scenarios of completion which are not equally desirable in terms of efficiency. Here we show that restart may have profound consequences on the splitting probabilities of a Bernoulli-like first-passage process, i.e., of a process which can end with one of two outcomes. Particularly intriguing, in this respect, is the class of problems where a carefully adjusted restart mechanism maximizes the probability that the process will complete in a desired way. We reveal the universal aspects of this kind of optimal behavior by applying the general approach recently proposed for the problem of first-passage under restart.
Network Parallelization in HPC Clusters

HPC typically employs parallelization in software and hardware in order to accelerate the computing processing. The underlying network itself is used collectively by all HPC experiments. In this paper, we propose a parallelization for the underlying network based on the different running HPC experiments or jobs. Each experiment/job will be logically sliced and isolated from other experiments. Additionally, each experiment/job includes different logical nodes across the HPC cluster. SDN controller is used to manage and control the slicing process. We evaluated this model using Opendaylight controller, FlowVisor and Mininet. We showed the impact that such network parallelization/slicing will bring to HPC clusters in terms of cluster efficiency and experiments' performance.
Evolution of Aggregate Structure in Solutions of Anionic Monorhamnolipids: Experimental and Computational Results.

The evolution of solution aggregates of the anionic form of the native monorhamnolipid (mRL) mixture produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027 is explored at pH 8.0 using both experimental and computational approaches. Experiments utilizing surface tension measurements, dynamic light scattering, and both steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy reveal solution aggregation properties. All-atom molecular dynamics simulations on self-assemblies of the most abundant monorhamnolipid molecule, l-rhamnosyl-β-hydroxydecanoyl-β-hydroxydecanoate (Rha-C10-C10), in its anionic state explore the formation of aggregates and the role of hydrogen bonding, substantiating the experimental results. At pH 8.0, at concentrations above the critical aggregation concentration of 201 μM but below ∼7.5 mM, small premicelles exist in solution; above ∼7.5 mM, micelles with hydrodynamic radii of ∼2.5 nm dominate, although two discrete populations of larger lamellar aggregates (hydrodynamic radii of ∼10 and 90 nm) a...
Vaccination Rates among Younger Siblings of Children with Autism.

The vaccination rate was significantly lower among younger siblings of 206 children with autism spectrum disorder in California than among controls. Parents of children with this disorder reported adverse reactions to vaccination in older children and younger siblings.
Turbulent Spray Combustion

Understanding turbulence is one of the most difficult topics in science and engineering. This is because turbulent spray combustion involves many areas of physics and chemistry which accompany a variety of mathematical challenges. Defining the various length and timescales existing in turbulent flow provides a better way to understand and characterize this chaotic phenomenon. However, the degree of complexity increases when there is a strong interaction between turbulence flow and chemistry. Here, characteristic times of chemical reaction in a molecular level (chemical) and fluid-mechanic level (physical) determine which of these are more dominant. This interaction remains as one of the most important and challenging aspects of turbulent reacting spray. In the present chapter, we begin with a general discussion on turbulence. The following section covers description of key features involved in a spray combustion scenario. Concepts involving higher fidelity in description of turbulent combustion are covered by discussion of interaction of turbulence and combustion. In most actual spray combustion applications, the combustion is dominantly non-premixed. There is a minor aspect of premixed combustion too which are discussed in this chapter. New advanced combustion modes such as partially premixed combustion (PPC) and multiple injections, topics with growing interests, are introduced and discussed later. Finally, numerically simulating these aspects is a key area of combustion research. It is of utmost important to optimize the combustion system using computer-based simulations to avoid higher cost for experimentally parametric study. Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) models are mostly used in commercial sector for computationally tractable simulation time. Large-eddy simulation (LES) offers a higher fidelity approach. With the advent of higher computational resources, LES approaches are becoming more popular for obtaining solutions of turbulent combustion. Aspects of both RANS and LES relevant to spray combustion scenarios are discussed. Although usually requiring very high computational power, direct numerical simulation (DNS) can provide an actual representative of many chemical and physical aspects of spray combustion such as evaporation and auto-ignition, which are discussed at the end of this chapter.
Community-based Learning Experiences of Graduate Education Students within Applied Statistics and Science: Emerging Insights

Integrating community-based learning in graduate education programs is an emerging trend in the United States. This study examined community engagement in graduate applied statistics and science education using four procedures: (1) defining a conceptual framework aligned with National Standards for Community Engagement; (2) examining ten community-based learning applications from graduate education programs in statistics and science relative to Standards; (3) determining specific emerging characteristics of community-based learning; and (4) providing insights for graduate education programs.
Protecting Natural Resources on Private Lands: The Role of Collaboration in Land-Use Planning

Private lands are important for managing biological diversity, but ­tensions between a landowner’s perceived property rights and conservation interests make landscape-scale conservation a challenge. To reconcile this conflict, there is a growing trend toward more inclusive, collaborative efforts to involve multiple stakeholders in land-use policy decisions. In theory, a collaborative approach is a logical framework for decision-making and action, and the benefits of collaboration are touted in the academic literature and popular press. This strategy is not without critics, however, and the merits of collaboration are at the center of debate. This chapter reviews the rhetorical and theoretical debate over collaboration; identifies the limitations of past and current approaches to measure the success of collaboration in practice; and applies a performance evaluation framework to investigate and link the process and outputs of a multi-stakeholder, conservation planning process in Maine to social and environmental outcomes. While this analysis focuses on the Vernal Pool Working Group, a state-initiated and led collaborative planning process, it offers noteworthy lessons about the possibilities and limits of using collaboration as a tool to manage natural resources on private lands. By offering an example of progressive collaborative conservation, this chapter illustrates the central role collaborative communication can play in shaping the character of local-level planning efforts and, by extension, planning at larger spatial scales.
Experiential Learning in Public Administration Education

(1997). Experiential Learning in Public Administration Education. Journal of Public Administration Education: Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 219-227.
A Federal US Carbon Tax: Major Design Decisions and Implications

Download : Download high-res image (107KB) Download : Download full-size image Noah Kaufman is a Research Scholar at the Columbia SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) where he directs the Carbon Tax Research Initiative. He worked on energy and climate change policy for World Resources Institute, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and NERA Economic Consulting. Download : Download high-res image (92KB) Download : Download full-size image Jason Bordoff is the Founding Director of the CGEP. Previously, he served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Energy and Climate Change on the Staff of the National Security Council, and prior to that he held senior policy positions on the White House's National Economic Council and Council on Environmental Quality.
Update on Clinical Trials of Losartan With and Without β-Blockers to Block Aneurysm Growth in Patients With Marfan Syndrome: A Review.

Importance Thoracic aortic aneurysms leading to acute aortic dissections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality despite significant advances in surgical treatment, which remains the main intervention to prevent type A dissections. In the past 2 decades progress has been made toward a better understanding of molecular mechanisms that lead to aneurysm formation and dissections of the thoracic aorta. This focused review emphasizes the results of clinical trials using β-blocker, losartan potassium, and irbesartan in patients with Marfan syndrome and comments briefly on mechanisms of aortic remodeling, including fibrosis and transforming growth factor β signaling. Observation The major risk factors for the disease are increased hemodynamic forces, typically owing to poorly controlled hypertension, and heritable genetic variants. The altered genes predisposing to thoracic aortic disease have been shown or are predicted to decrease vascular smooth muscle cell contraction, decrease transforming growth factor β signaling, or alter the extracellular matrix. Preclinical models of Marfan syndrome showed promising results for losartan as a potential therapy to attenuate aortic dilation in mice. However, several clinical trials did not conclusively confirm that losartan attenuated aortic aneurysm expansion better than β-blockers. Most importantly, clinical trials assessing whether losartan therapy not only reduces aortic growth but also improves adverse aortic outcomes, including dissection, need for surgery, and death, have not been conducted. The largest trial to date to our knowledge, the Pediatric Heart Network trial, sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, showed a nonsignificant increase in adverse aortic outcomes, with almost a doubling of adverse events in patients randomized to losartan treatment compared with β-blockers, suggesting that this study was underpowered to assess adverse aortic outcomes. On the other hand, the evidence for β-blocker therapy to reduce morbidity and mortality in Marfan syndrome is limited to a single small, prospective randomized and nonblinded clinical trial. Conclusions and Relevance Taken together, these data emphasize the need for clinical trials adequately powered to assess both aortic aneurysm growth and adverse aortic outcomes to identify effective medical therapies for Marfan syndrome and other aortopathies.
The Ecology and Conservation of Wild Rice, Zizania palustris L., in North America

Abstract Wild rice is an enigmatic plant species in the upper northern Midwestern U.S. Wild rice (Zizania palustris L.) is widespread in the region. However, it is both a wild species and a semi-domesticated crop. It is enigmatic because it is grown and harvested by machine in large paddies by commercial farmers but wild populations are considered to be important spiritually to native Americans in the United States. Native Americans and the public harvest wild rice by hand and sell and trade it on a local basis. This has caused a political controversy between people who consider wild rice to be a crop belonging only to native Indian bands and those who consider that it belongs to citizens of the U.S. Conservation of populations of wild rice has become politically difficult because of these contrasting views. This paper discusses this controversy and addresses the difficulty of conserving this economically widespread plant that is under ecological pressure in modern times.
Three-dimensional rendering of trabecular bone microarchitecture using a probabilistic approach

In the past, researchers have attempted to model trabecular bone using computational techniques. However, only a few of these models are visually similar, but not representative of the microstructural characteristics of real trabecular bones. In this study, we hypothesized that probabilistic modeling approaches could be used to generate representative digital models that capture the microstructural features of real trabecular bones. To test this hypothesis, we proposed a novel mathematical framework to build the digital models and compared the digital models to real bone specimens. First, an initial three-dimensional cellular structure was generated using Voronoi tessellation, with the faces and edges of the Voronoi cells considered as a pool of potential trabecular plates and rods, respectively. Then, inverse Monte Carlo simulations were performed to select, delete, or reassign plates and rods until the underlying size, orientation, and spatial distributions of the plates and rods converged to the target distributions obtained from real trabecular bone microstructures. Next, digital graphics techniques were used to define the thickness of trabecular plates and the diameter of trabecular rods, followed by writing the model into a Standard Tessellation Language file and then smoothing the model surfaces for a more natural appearance. To verify the efficacy of the digital model in capturing the microstructural features of real trabecular bones, forty-six digital models with a large variation in microstructural features were generated based on the target distributions obtained from trabecular bone specimens of twelve human cadaveric femurs. Then, the histomorphological parameters of the digital models were compared with those of the real trabecular bone specimens. The results indicate that the digital models are capable of capturing major microstructural features of the trabecular bone samples, thus proving the hypothesis that the proposed probabilistic modeling approach could render real trabecular bone microstructures.
SpecLock: Speculative Lock Forwarding

As core counts increase, lock acquisition and release become even more critical because they lie on the critical path of shared memory applications. In this paper, we show that many applications exhibit regular and repeating lock sharing patterns. Based on this observation, we introduce SpecLock, an efficient hardware mechanism which speculates on the lock acquisition pattern between cores. Upon the release of a lock, the cache line containing the lock is speculatively forwarded to the next consumer of the lock. This forwarding action is performed via a specialized prefetch request and does not require coherence protocol modification. Further, the lock is not speculatively acquired, only the cache line containing the lock variable is placed in the private cache of the predicted consumer. Speculative forwarding serves to hide the remote core's lock acquisition latency. SpecLock is distributed and all predictions are made locally at each core. We show that SpecLock captures 87% of predictable lock patterns correctly and improves performance by an average of 10% with 64 cores. SpecLock incurs a negligible overhead, with a 75% area reduction compared to past work. Compared to two state of the art methods, SpecLock provides a speedup of 8% and 4% respectively.
Sustainability Analysis of Turning Aerospace Alloy Ti-6Al-4V under Dry, Wet and Cryogenic Conditions

Sustainability of a manufacturing system defines its efficiency and productivity. In the world of ever growing energy requirements and depleting resources the need of sustainability is greater than ever. Present research was undertaken to analyze sustainability of turning aerospace alloy Ti-6Al-4V under different cutting conditions including dry, wet and cryogenic. Feed rate, cutting speed and depth of cut were taken as input variables along with cutting condition. Specific cutting energy was analyzed under varying machining parameters. It was found that energy consumption under cryogenic conditions was lower than dry and wet conditions. At speed of 50 m/min cryogenic turning energy consumption was 9% lower than dry cutting and 16% lower than wet cutting.
AFLAP: Assembly-Free Linkage Analysis Pipeline using k-mers from whole genome sequencing data

Background: Genetic maps are an important resource for validation of genome assemblies, trait discovery, and breeding. Next generation sequencing has led to the production of high-density genetic maps constructed with 10,000s of markers. Most current approaches require a genome assembly of the organism under study, or a close relative, to identify markers. Our Assembly Free Linkage Analysis Pipeline (AFLAP) removes this requirement by using uniquely segregating k-mers as markers. This removes potential biases including preferential read alignment and variant calling. Results: We tested AFLAP using 100 F2 individuals of Arabidopsis thaliana, sequenced to low coverage. Genetic maps generated using k-mers specific for each parent contained over 130,000 markers that were concordant with the genomic assembly of the five chromosomes. AFLAP was then applied to 83 F1 individuals, sequenced to >5x coverage, generated from two crosses of the oomycete Bremia lactucae. The genetic map contained over 90,000 markers ordered in 19 large linkage groups. The genetic map was used to fragment, order, orient, and scaffold the reference assembly of B. lactucae, resulting in a much improved, genetically consistent genome assembly. Conclusions: AFLAP can therefore be used to generate high density linkage maps and improve draft genome assemblies of non-model organisms when a mapping population sequenced to adequate coverage is available. The genetic maps produced for B. lactucae were accurately aligned to the reference assembly and resulted in significant improvements of the assembly.
The atmospheric importance of methylamine additions to Criegee intermediates

Criegee intermediates are important targets for study in atmospheric chemistry because of their capacity to oxidize airborne species. Among these species, ammonia has received critical attention for its presence in polluted agricultural or industrial areas and its role in forming particulate matter and condensation nuclei. Although methylamine has been given less attention than ammonia, both theoretical and experimental studies have demonstrated that the additional methyl substitution on the ammonia derivatives increases the rate constants for some systems. This suggests that the methylamine addition to Criegee intermediates could be more significant to atmospheric processes. In this work, geometries are optimized at the DF-CCSD(T)/ANO1 level for the methylamine addition reactions to the simplest Criegee intermediate and the anti- and syn-methylated Criegee intermediates. Energies for each stationary point were computed at the CCSD(T)/CBS level with corrections from the CCSDT(Q) method. Rate constants are obtained for each reaction using canonical transition state theory. Although methylamine addition proved to be a more favorable reaction relative to ammonia addition, the significantly lower concentration of atmospheric methylamine limits the prevalence of these reactions, even in the most optimal conditions. It is unlikely that the methylamine addition to Criegee intermediates will contribute significantly to the consumption of Criegee intermediates in the atmosphere.
3D printing of metal-based materials for renewable energy applications

Large-scale renewable energy must overcome conversion and storage challenges before it can replace fossil fuels due to its intermittent nature. However, current sustainable energy devices still suffer from high cost, low efficiency, and poor service life problems. Recently, porous metal-based materials have been widely used as desirable cross-functional platforms for electrochemical and photochemical energy systems for their unique electrical conductivity, catalytic activity, and chemical stability. To tailor the porosity length scale, ordering, and compositions, 3D printing has been applied as a disruptive manufacturing revolution to create complex architected components by directly joining sequential layers into designed structures. This article intends to summarize cutting-edge advances of metal-based materials for renewable energy devices (e.g., fuel cells, solar cells, supercapacitors, and batteries) over the past decade.
The Mathematics of Positive Feedback

Concomitant with the cybernetics revolution of the past half century has been the rapid development of mathematical modeling in the biological and ecological sciences, a methodology now firmly established. A model may be defined as an abstract description of the real world, a simple representation of more complex forms, processes, and functions of physical phenomena or ideas (Rubinstein, 1975). Models have aided in the understanding of ecological systems. When a model is put into explicit mathematical form, it can be analyzed to predict the effect on all parts of the system of external intervention on any single part.
The Emergence and Development of Causal Representations

In this article I intend to analyze how infants’ initial causal representations emerge and how their primitive causal knowledge evolves during cognitive development. Recent studies from developmental psychology report that infants acquire knowledge of physical causality earlier than what Piaget has described—by 6 months of age infants have already shown signs of sensibility to causality in simply physical events such as mechanical collision. Studies also suggest that infants recognize causality at such an early age by activating a primitive schema that uses merely spatial and temporal cues to identify causal relations. As infants grow, they learn to use complex information to identify causal relations, and they eventually acquire sophisticated schemas to represent causality. However, the development of causal knowledge is not a linear progression as Piaget has suggested. Infants’ primitive causal schema never disappears completely when infant grow and acquire mature understanding of causal relations. Infants’ primitive causal schema continues to exist in adulthood and plays a role in adults’ cognitive processing. When adults’ cognitive system is overloaded by processing information required by sophisticated causal schemas, it would protect itself by falling back to a lower level of information processing and returning to the primitive causal schema. When adults fall back to the primitive causal schema and overextend it beyond the realm of mechanical causation, misconceptions are bound to occur.
Simple Flume for Guidance and Impingement Studies

The design and operation of a simple recirculating test flume is described. This inexpensive flume has proven useful in developing design criteria for power plant intake screens. Two series of tests are described to demonstrate use of the flume. One series of tests dealt with a fish guidance device, while a second series produced data relating impingement mortality to approach velocity and impingement time. The application of impingement mortality data to the design of power plant intake screens is analyzed, with several examples.
Age, Gender, And Occupational Label: A Test of Social Role Theory

Two studies tested the social role theory (Eagly, 1987) prediction that role information would override the age-related agency stereotype. Although results of Study 1 showed that employed people were viewed similarly in agency regardless of target age, interpretation was limited because employed targets were most often imagined to be male and young homemaker targets were most often imagined to be female. To control for this, target gender was added as an independent variable in Study 2. As expected, agency and communion ratings of employed targets and targets who cared for a home did not differ by target age, but agency ratings of average targets were higher for 35-year-old than for 70-year-old targets. Communion ratings for average targets did not differ by target age. Target gender effects on the agency measure replicated Eagly and Steffen's (1984, 1988) results. The importance of context to understanding stereotypes of the elderly is illustrated.
Clinical symptoms in Alzheimer's disease.

Publisher Summary This chapter describes that Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent form of dementia in individuals age 65 and older. The pathological substrate of the dementia is felt to be altered metabolism of amyloid precursor protein (APP) resulting in formation of amyloid plaques in the cortex and limbic system, and altered process of the microtubuleassociated protein tau, which leads to the formation of neurofibrillary tangles (NFT). Significant loss of synapses, cholinergic, serotonergic, noradrenergic function, and glutamatergic dysfunction contribute to the cognitive and behavioral symptoms.Clinically, AD starts with deficits in recent memory, wordfinding, and language difficulties, and gradually progresses to global cognitive impairment. The cognitive deficits are accompanied by a variety of abnormal neurological and psychiatric symptoms that increase in frequency and severity as the disease progresses; some of these have been associated with a more rapid cognitive and functional decline. The chapter also explains the clinical presentation of AD, and the factors that can influence its progression. The chapter discusses current controversies in AD and call for reconsideration of the definition of dementia, and their implications for the diagnosis of AD.
Discrete Littlewood-Paley-Stein theory and multi-parameter Hardy spaces associated with flag singular integrals

The main purpose of this paper is to develop a unified approach of multi-parameter Hardy space theory using the discrete Littlewood-Paley-Stein analysis in the setting of implicit multi-parameter structure. It is motivated by the goal to establish and develop the Hardy space theory for the flag singular integral operators studied by Muller-Ricci-Stein and Nagel-Ricci-Stein. This approach enables us to avoid the use of transference method of Coifman-Weiss as often used in the $L^p$ theory for $p>1$ and establish the Hardy spaces $H^p_F$ and its dual spaces associated with the flag singular integral operators for all $0<p\leq 1$. We also prove the boundedness of flag singular integral operators on $BMO_F$ and $H^p_F$, and from $H^p_F$ to $L^p$ for all $0<p\le 1$ without using the deep atomic decomposition. As a result, it bypasses the use of Journe's type covering lemma in this implicit multi-parameter structure. The method used here provides alternate approaches of those developed by Chang, R. Fefferman, Journe and Pipher in the pure product setting. A Calderon-Zygmund decomposition and interpolation theorem are also proved for the implicit multi-parameter Hardy spaces.
NEOLIBERALISM, BIODISCIPLINE, AND CULTURAL CRITIQUE

My response to Ladelle McWhorter's essay covers two main points. First, I argue that Foucault fleshed out the relation between biopower and neoliberalism more fully than McWhorter claims and that this enables us to take McWhorter's analysis further than she does. Second, even though this Foucault-inspired analysis is revealing, a full criticism of reprogenetic technologies requires us to attend to racial and sexual dimensions of social experience and domination that may not be captured simply by following Foucault.
Evaluation and illustration of a free software (FS) tool for wireless network monitoring and security

Wireless communication provides users many benefits such as portability, flexibility, reduced hardware need and lower installation costs. Wireless local area networks (WLANs) for example allow users the ability to carry their laptops from place to place without any physical wires and without losing network connectivity.However, some amount of security risk is always associated with wireless networks. The most significant security risk for wireless technology is the potential outsiders have in gaining access to the communications medium, the communications medium being the air waves. Though WLANs provide the users with the option of roaming, this convenience is facilitated by broadcasting packets to anyone with compatible equipment within range of a transmitting device. This broadcasting of packets induces a compromise between convenience and security. Having an unsecured WLAN can result in a loss of service, or can be used as a staging area to launch attacks against other networks. The significant challenges faced today in securing wireless LANs are maintaining privacy, data confidentiality, and preventing unauthorized access using proper access control mechanisms.As wireless networking and security become more prevalent in the market, more and more computer science programs are incorporating courses in wireless networks or at the least, devoting a significant percentage of the advanced networking courses to wireless topics. As a result, in addition to industry practitioners, there is a growing interest among university researchers and faculty regarding tools used in monitoring and assessing security threats for wireless networks.This paper will demonstrate and evaluate a free and open source software tool, called Network Stumbler, used for monitoring and assessing security threats for wireless networks. Network Stumbler is a Windows-based tool that allows you to detect Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) using 802.11b, 802.11a and 802.11g. It has many uses:• Verifies that your network is set up the way you intended.• Find locations with poor coverage in your WLAN.• Detects other networks that may be causing interference on your network.• Detects unauthorized "rogue" access points in your workplace.• Helps aim directional antennas for long-haul WLAN links.• Can be used recreationally for WarDriving.