cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Linkage between ATP consumption and mechanical unfolding during the protein processing reactions of an AAA+ degradation machine

Proteolytic machines powered by ATP hydrolysis bind proteins with specific peptide tags, denature these substrates, and translocate them into a sequestered compartment for degradation. To determine how ATP is used during individual reaction steps, we assayed ClpXP degradation of ssrA-tagged titin variants with different stabilities in native and denatured forms. The rate of ATP turnover was 4-fold slower during denaturation than translocation. Importantly, this reduced turnover rate was constant during denaturation of native variants with different stabilities, but total ATP consumption increased with substrate stability, suggesting an iterative application of a uniform, mechanical unfolding force. Destabilization of substrate structure near the degradation tag accelerated degradation and dramatically reduced ATP consumption, revealing an important role for local protein stability in resisting denaturation. The ability to denature more stable proteins simply by using more ATP endows ClpX with a robust unfolding activity required for its biological roles in degradation and complex disassembly.
Weather-Responsive Signal Timing: Practical Guidelines

This paper presents a systematic investigation into the effects of adverse weather on signal operation and the potential benefits of implementing weather-responsive signal control. The investigation considered isolated and coordinated signalized intersections in urban and suburban areas under various traffic conditions. Both operational and safety analyses were conducted in this investigation. Traffic signal optimization and microscopic traffic simulation were used to perform the operational analysis with average travel time as a performance measure. The safety analysis used the adequacy of change and clearance intervals and the presence of dilemma zones as indicators of safety at signalized intersections. Study results suggest that operational benefits of weather-responsive signal control are generally significant and that the greatest benefits can be realized at coordinated corridors in town and city centers. Results also suggest that dilemma zones are most likely introduced on a particular intersection approach once the coefficient of friction between tire and pavement drops below the design value of a wet pavement. Further, a set of recommended guidelines that relate weather conditions to operational impacts and potential benefits of weather-responsive signal timing was developed and provided in this study.
BDNF Evokes Release of Endogenous Cannabinoids at Layer 2/3 Inhibitory Synapses in the Neocortex

The neurotrophin brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a potent regulator of inhibitory synaptic transmission, although the locus of this effect and the underlying mechanisms are controversial. We explored a potential interaction between BDNF and endogenous cannabinoid (endocannabinoid) signaling because activation of type 1 cannabinoid (CB1) receptors potently regulates γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) release and both trkB tyrosine kinase receptors and CB1 receptors are highly expressed at synapses in neocortical layer 2/3. Here, we found that the effects of BDNF at inhibitory cortical synapses are mediated by the release of endocannabinoids acting retrogradely at presynaptic CB1 receptors. Specifically, acute application of BDNF rapidly reduced the amplitude of inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) via postsynaptic trkB receptor activation because intracellular delivery of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor K252a completely blocked the BDNF effect. Although triggered by postsynaptic trkB activation, BDNF exposure decreased presynaptic release probability, as evidenced by increases in the paired-pulse ratio and coefficient of variation of evoked responses. In addition, BDNF decreased the frequency but not the amplitude of action potential–independent miniature IPSCs and BDNF did not alter the postsynaptic response to locally applied GABA. These results suggest that BDNF induces the release of a retrograde messenger from the postsynaptic cell that regulates presynaptic neurotransmitter release. Consistent with a role for endocannabinoids as the retrograde signal, the effect of BDNF on IPSCs was blocked by CB1 receptor antagonists and was occluded by a cannabinoid receptor agonist. Furthermore, inhibiting endocannabinoid synthesis or transport also disrupted the BDNF effect, implicating postsynaptic endocannabinoid release triggered by BDNF.
A Type VI Secretion-Related Pathway in Bacteroidetes Mediates Interbacterial Antagonism

Bacteroidetes are a phylum of Gram-negative bacteria abundant in mammalian-associated polymicrobial communities, where they impact digestion, immunity, and resistance to infection. Despite the extensive competition at high cell density that occurs in these settings, cell contact-dependent mechanisms of interbacterial antagonism, such as the type VI secretion system (T6SS), have not been defined in this group of organisms. Herein we report the bioinformatic and functional characterization of a T6SS-like pathway in diverse Bacteroidetes. Using prominent human gut commensal and soil-associated species, we demonstrate that these systems localize dynamically within the cell, export antibacterial proteins, and target competitor bacteria. The Bacteroidetes system is a distinct pathway with marked differences in gene content and high evolutionary divergence from the canonical T6S pathway. Our findings offer a potential molecular explanation for the abundance of Bacteroidetes in polymicrobial environments, the observed stability of Bacteroidetes in healthy humans, and the barrier presented by the microbiota against pathogens.
Transient heat conduction in a medium with multiple spherical cavities

This paper considers a transient heat conduction problem for an infinite medium with multiple nonoverlapping spherical cavities. Suddenly applied, steady Dirichlet-, Neumannor Robin-type boundary conditions are assumed. The approach is based on the use of the general solution to the problem of a single cavity and superposition. Application of the Laplace transform and the so-called addition theorem results in a semi-analytical transformed solution for the case of multiple cavities. The solution in the time domain is obtained by performing a numerical inversion of the Laplace transform. A large-time asymptotic series for the temperature is obtained. The limiting case of infinitely large time results in the solution for the corresponding steady-state problem. Several numerical examples that demonstrate the accuracy and the efficiency of the method are presented. Copyright 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Immunoelectron microscopic evidence that GLUT4 translocation explains the stimulation of glucose transport in isolated rat white adipose cells

We used an improved cryosectioning technique in combination with quantitative immunoelectron microscopy to study GLUT4 compartments in isolated rat white adipose cells. We provide clear evidence that in unstimulated cells most of the GLUT4 localizes intracellularly to tubulovesicular structures clustered near small stacks of Golgi and endosomes, or scattered throughout the cytoplasm. This localization is entirely consistent with that originally described in brown adipose tissue, strongly suggesting that the GLUT4 compartments in white and brown adipose cells are morphologically similar. Furthermore, insulin induces parallel increases (with similar magnitudes) in glucose transport activity, approximately 16-fold, and cell-surface GLUT4, approximately 12-fold. Concomitantly, insulin decreases GLUT4 equally from all intracellular locations, in agreement with the concept that the entire cellular GLUT4 pool contributes to insulin-stimulated exocytosis. In the insulin-stimulated state, GLUT4 molecules are not randomly distributed on the plasma membrane, but neither are they enriched in caveolae. Importantly, the total number of GLUT4 C-terminal epitopes detected by the immuno-gold method is not significantly different between basal and insulin-stimulated cells, thus arguing directly against a reported insulin-induced unmasking effect. These results provide strong morphological evidence (1) that GLUT4 compartments are similar in all insulin-sensitive cells and (2) for the concept that GLUT4 translocation almost fully accounts for the increase in glucose transport in response to insulin.
Development of level set methods for computing the semiclassical limit of schrodinger equations with potentials

In this thesis, several level set methods are developed and analyzed for computing multi-valued solutions to the semiclassical limits of Schroedinger equations. Both formulation and numerical results are obtained for level set method. Superposition is also proved via let set method setting. Meanwhile, multi-valued solutions of the Euler-Poisson equations are also analyzed and computed using level set formulation via field space. Multi-scale computation and homogenization are studied for a class of Schroedinger equations. A Bloch band based level set method is developed with a series of numerical examples.
Hydrogen bonding, base stacking, and steric effects in dna replication.

■ Abstract Understanding the mechanisms by which genetic information is replicated is important both to basic knowledge of biological organisms and to many useful applications in biomedical research and biotechnology. One of the main functions of a DNA polymerase enzyme is to help DNA recognize itself with high specificity when a strand is being copied. Recent studies have shed new light on the question of what physical forces cause a polymerase enzyme to insert a nucleotide into a strand of DNA and to choose the correct nucleotide over the incorrect ones. This is discussed in the light of three main forces that govern DNA recognition: base stacking, Watson-Crick hydrogen bonding, and steric interactions. These factors are studied with natural and structurally altered DNA nucleosides.
New directions in the development of MR imaging contrast media.

Ongoing developments in contrast media for magnetic resonance (MR) imaging should lead to an improvement in sensitivity for the detection of disease, better definition of normal and pathologic anatomy, added functional information, and an expansion of diagnostic MR imaging applications. Currently, only gadopentetate dimeglumine, a contrast enhancer of the extracellular fluid space that is able to show defects in the blood-brain barrier, is governmentally approved for routine clinical use in North America. An estimated 25%-35% of patients undergoing MR imaging receive this drug. Multiple, potentially competitive formulations have been tested and may soon be approved. In addition, contrast agents differing in purpose and primary magnetic effect, both paramagnetic proton relaxation and magnetic susceptibility agents, are being developed. These include agents for enhancing the blood pool, myocardium, liver, lymph nodes, tumors, and gastrointestinal lumen. Criteria for suitability of new contrast agents includ...
Lower bound on BER performance of finite length turbo codes using Gaussian approximation

In this paper, we propose a novel method to obtain the lower bound on the average BER of the finite-length turbo codes in an additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel considering the transition probability of the average BER curve between two asymptotes. For this purpose, we use the SNR TCB chart based on the Gaussian approximation of extrinsic values for each frame.
Mutual transparency of coherent laser beams through a terahertz-field-driven quantum well

Quantum-well excitons dressed by a terahertz field have multiple optical resonances. An optical beam tuned to any of the resonant frequencies excites the dressed-exciton state; therefore the optical beam experiences attenuation upon its transmission. For two coherent optical beams tuned to two different resonant frequencies, however, one can judiciously choose the amplitudes and phases in such a way that the beams do not produce any excitation, and thus they experience no attenuation, even though each of beams would be strongly attenuated in the absence of the other. This two-color scheme also suggests coherent control of dressed excitons by a pair of phase-locked pulses with different carrier frequencies and nonoverlapping spectra.
Measurement of the motional sidebands of a nanogram-scale oscillator in the quantum regime

We describe measurements of the motional sidebands produced by a mechanical oscillator (with effective mass 43 ng and resonant frequency 705 kHz) that is placed in an optical cavity and cooled close to its quantum ground state. The red and blue sidebands (corresponding to Stokes and anti-Stokes scattering) from a single laser beam are recorded simultaneously via a heterodyne measurement. The oscillator's mean phonon number $\overline{n}$ is inferred from the ratio of the sidebands, and reaches a minimum value of $0.84\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.22$ (corresponding to a mode temperature $T=28\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}7\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{K}$). We also infer $\overline{n}$ from the calibrated area of each of the two sidebands, and from the oscillator's total damping. The values of $\overline{n}$ inferred from these four methods are in close agreement. The behavior of the sidebands as a function of the oscillator's temperature agrees well with theory that includes the quantum fluctuations of both the cavity field and the mechanical oscillator.
The La Grande Fosse Trial

Fourteen Nazi SS officers were convicted in the "La Grande Fosse" trial for crimes against humanity. This contribution in The Oxford Companion to International Criminal Justice summarizes the case and proceedings.
The metabolism of thymol by a Pseudomonas

1. Pseudomonas putida when grown with thymol contained a meta-fission dioxygenase, which required ferrous ions and readily cleaved the benzene nucleus of catechols between adjacent carbon atoms bearing hydroxyl and isopropyl groups. 2. 3-Hydroxythymo-1,4-quinone was excreted towards the end of exponential growth and later was slowly metabolized. This compound was oxidized by partially purified extracts only when NADH was supplied; the substrate for the dioxygenase appeared to be 3-hydroxythymo-1,4-quinol, which was readily and non-enzymically oxidized to the quinone. 3. 2-Oxobutyrate (0.9 mole) was formed from 1 mole of 3-hydroxythymo-1,4-quinone with the consumption of 1 mole of oxygen; acetate, isobutyrate and 2-hydroxybutyrate (which arose from the enzymic reduction of 2-oxobutyrate) were also formed. 4. These products, which were produced only when the catechol substrate contained a third hydroxyl group, appeared to result from the enzymic hydrolysis of the ring-fission product.
Law [Review]'s Empire: The Assessment of Law Reviews and Trends in Legal Scholarship

Recent research details the close connections between a school's US News rankings and citations to a school's main law journal. This brief essay builds on that research. Drawing upon John Doyle's database at Washington and Lee Law School, it looks to the 100 most-cited secondary student-edited law journals, with the goal of seeing the connections between well-cited secondary journals and school ranking. A final table provides a ranking of the most-cited secondary journals.
Asymmetry of Inframammary Folds in Patients Undergoing Augmentation Mammaplasty.

Background Variation in the anatomical position of the inframammary fold (IMF) in women remains poorly studied. Objectives The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence of asymmetry between IMF locations on the chest wall of women undergoing breast augmentation and to determine breast measurements associated with IMF asymmetry. Methods Three-dimensional imaging analysis of the breasts was performed in 111 women with micromastia, using the Vectra Imaging SystemTM. The following measurements were recorded: vertical distance between right and left IMF (inter-fold distance), vertical distance between nipples (inter-nipple distance), and difference between projection of right and left breasts in anterior-posterior direction. Results Asymmetry between the right and left IMF positions was found in the majority of patients (95.4%), with symmetry only found in 5 patients (4.6%). In the majority of patients (60.3%), the right IMF was located inferior to the left IMF with median inter-fold distance 0.4 cm (range, 0.1, 2.1 cm). In 39 patients (35.1%), the left IMF was located inferior to the right with median inter-fold distance 0.4 cm (range, 0.1, 1.7 cm). There was strong correlation between the degree of asymmetry of IMF and asymmetry of nipple areola complex (NAC) positions ( r = 0.687, P < .01). Conclusions The majority of women with micromastia demonstrate asymmetry of the IMF, which correlates with asymmetry of NAC location. The authors propose a classification system based on most commonly observed IMF locations as types I (right IMF inferior to left), type II (left IMF inferior to right) and type III (both IMF located on the same level). Level of Evidence 4![Graphic][1] Diagnostic [1]: /embed/inline-graphic-1.gif
Effects of hot water treatment on the texture of bamboo shoots ( Dendrocalamus latiflorus)

The effects of hot water treatment on the texture of bamboo shoots were studied.Correlations among textural parameters of bamboo shoots(Dendrocalamus latiflorus) were also analyzed.The results showed that textural characteristics of bamboo shoots decreased significantly after the treatment,and the decreased was insignificant after treated for more than 10 min.The correlation analysis indicated the textural characteristics of bamboo shoots,including hardness,springiness,cohesiveness,chewiness,and resilience could well reflect the changes in texture of bamboo shoots.The above results will provide theoretical basis for the quality control of bamboo shoot during processing.
Investigation and Control of Power Transformer Noise

The importance and recent achievements in the field of noise control of power transformer are discussed.Vibration causes the noises of transformer and cooling system.The far-field radiation noise can be analyzed with statistic method of measured data or with calculating model.The sound intensity method is more accurate than the traditional sound pressure method in measuring radiation noise of a transformer.The methods for controlling transformer noise are introduced: for noise source control,using high-quality silicon-steel sheet,and adopting effective measures in transformer design,techniques and installation;for noise propagation control,adopting muffler device,sound insulation board and isolation booth,etc.to enhance noise attenuation.In addition,the trend of the power transformer noise control is prospected.
Organizing Metacognitive Tutoring Around Functional Roles of Teachers.

Metacognitive skills are critical in learning but difficult to teach. Thus the question becomes how can we facilitate metacognitive tutoring? We present an exploratory learning environment called MILA-T with embedded metacognitive tutors imitating five functional roles of teachers in classrooms. We tested MILA–T in a controlled experiment with 237 middle school students. We examine the impact of MILA–T on the models of a natural phenomenon constructed by the students. We find that students with access to MILA–T wrote better evidential justifications for their models, and thus, deliver better-justified models for the phenomenon. We also find that these improvements persisted during a transfer task. These results lend support for organizing metacognitive tutoring around the functional roles of teachers for supporting inquiry-driven modeling.
Direct synthesis of low-Coordinate pd catalysts supported on SiO2 via surface organometallic chemistry

Highly dispersed low-coordinate Pd sites on SiO2 are fabricated by grafting the PdII PCP-pincer complex (tBuPCP)Pd–OH (tBuPCP = 2,6-C6H3(CH2PtBu2)2) on SiO2, followed by calcination with ozone (100 °C) and reduction with H2 (300 °C). The chemisorption process and structure of this organometallic complex on SiO2 is established by solution-phase 1H and 31P NMR and solid-state 31P CPMAS NMR spectroscopy, XPS, DRIFTS, and AC-HAADF-STEM. The CO adsorption properties of the Pd centers reveal a surprisingly high fraction of adsorption sites where CO is bound in a linear fashion, indicative of low-coordinate Pd. Furthermore, enhanced selectivity of these catalyst centers in aerobic alcohol oxidation versus a control catalyst argues that these low-coordinate sites are the catalytically active sites.
Trainee-associated outcomes in laparoscopic colectomy for cancer: propensity score analysis accounting for operative time, procedure complexity and patient comorbidity

Surgical trainee association with operative outcomes is controversial. Studies are conflicting, possibly due to insufficient control of confounding variables such as operative time, case complexity, and heterogeneous patient populations. As operative complications worsen long-term outcomes in oncologic patients, understanding effect of trainee involvement during laparoscopic colectomy for cancer is of utmost importance. Here, we hypothesized that resident involvement was associated with worsened 30-day mortality and 30-day overall morbidity in this patient population. Patients undergoing laparoscopic colectomy for oncologic diagnosis from 2005 to 2012 were assessed using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program dataset. Propensity score matching accounted for demographics, comorbidities, case complexity, and operative time. Attending only cases were compared to junior, middle, chief resident, and fellow level cohorts to assess primary outcomes of 30-day mortality and 30-day overall morbidity. A total of 13,211 patients met inclusion criteria, with 4075 (30.8%) cases lacking trainee involvement and 9136 (69.2%) involving a trainee. Following propensity matching, junior (PGY 1–2) and middle level (PGY 3–4) resident involvement was not associated with worsened outcomes. Chief (PGY 5) resident involvement was associated with worsened 30-day overall morbidity (15.5 vs. 18.6%, p = 0.01). Fellow (PGY > 5) involvement was associated with worsened 30-day overall morbidity (16.0 vs. 21.0%, p < 0.001), serious morbidity (9.3 vs. 13.5%, p < 0.001), minor morbidity (9.8 vs. 13.1%, p = 0.002), and surgical site infection (7.9 vs. 10.5%, p = 0.006). No differences were seen in 30-day mortality for any resident level. Following propensity-matched analysis of cancer patients undergoing laparoscopic colectomy, chief residents, and fellows were associated with worsened operative outcomes compared to attending along cases, while junior and mid-level resident outcomes were no different. Further study is necessary to determine what effect the PGY surgical trainee level has on post-operative morbidity in cancer patients undergoing laparoscopic colectomy in the context of multiple collinear factors.
Implementation of metal-friendly EAM/FS-type semi-empirical potentials in HOOMD-blue: A GPU-accelerated molecular dynamics software

Abstract We present an implementation of EAM and FS interatomic potentials, which are widely used in simulating metallic systems, in HOOMD-blue, a software designed to perform classical molecular dynamics simulations using GPU accelerations. We first discuss the details of our implementation and then report extensive benchmark tests. We demonstrate that single-precision floating point operations efficiently implemented on GPUs can produce sufficient accuracy when compared against double-precision codes, as demonstrated in test simulations of calculations of the glass-transition temperature of Cu64.5Zr35.5, and pair correlation function g ( r ) of liquid Ni3Al. Our code scales well with the size of the simulating system on NVIDIA Tesla M40 and P100 GPUs. Compared with another popular software LAMMPS running on 32 cores of AMD Opteron 6220 processors, the GPU/CPU performance ratio can reach as high as 4.6. The source code can be accessed through the HOOMD-blue web page for free by any interested user.
Rapid assessment of pulmonary gas transport with hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI using a 3D radial double golden-means acquisition with variable flip angles.

PURPOSE To demonstrate the feasibility of using a 3D radial double golden-means acquisition with variable flip angles to monitor pulmonary gas transport in a single breath hold with hyperpolarized xenon-129 MRI. METHODS Hyperpolarized xenon-129 MRI scans with interleaved gas-phase and dissolved-phase excitations were performed using a 3D radial double golden-means acquisition in mechanically ventilated rabbits. The flip angle was either held fixed at 15 ° or 5 °, or it was varied linearly in ascending or descending order between 5 ° and 15 ° over a sampling interval of 1000 spokes. Dissolved-phase and gas-phase images were reconstructed at high resolution (32 × 32 × 32 matrix size) using all 1000 spokes, or at low resolution (22 × 22 × 22 matrix size) using 400 spokes at a time in a sliding-window fashion. Based on these sliding-window images, relative change maps were obtained using the highest mean flip angle as the reference, and aggregated pixel-based changes were tracked. RESULTS Although the signal intensities in the dissolve-phase maps were mostly constant in the fixed flip-angle acquisitions, they varied significantly as a function of average flip angle in the variable flip-angle acquisitions. The latter trend reflects the underlying changes in observed dissolve-phase magnetization distribution due to pulmonary gas uptake and transport. CONCLUSION 3D radial double golden-means acquisitions with variable flip angles provide a robust means for rapidly assessing lung function during a single breath hold, thereby constituting a particularly valuable tool for imaging uncooperative or pediatric patient populations.
Allied healthcare providers' role in screening for autism spectrum disorders

There is evidence documenting that children are not being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) early enough. This study surveyed allied healthcare providers to determine whether these professionals had received training on the characteristics of ASD and ASD-specific screening strategies through their pre-professional education or continuing education (CE). Additionally, participants were asked about their responsibility for screening children for ASD in their workplace and what would help them be better prepared to perform this type of screening. As a group, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and occupational therapists (OTs) reported receiving more training on the characteristics of ASD and screening for ASD in both their pre-professional education and CE workshops than reported by the physical therapists (PTs) and physicians assistants (PAs). Overall, the SLPS, OTs, and PTs had attended more CE trainings to gain information on ASD than had PAs. All groups expressed an interest in receiving more information on ASD via on- or off-site trainings. These results provide initial support for allied healthcare providers to become more active in screening and referring children who present with symptoms of ASD. The study also highlights the need for educational institutions to provide future healthcare professionals with the skills to provide appropriate early identification services for children and families.
Protein quality control in cardiomyocytes

Protein quality control (PQC) plays an indispensable role in maintaining protein homeostasis in cardiomyocytes. PQC is a fundamental cellular process, whose role it is to sense and repair misfolded/unfolded proteins and, if the repair fails, degrade the terminally misfolded polypeptides through an intricate collaboration between molecular chaperones and targeted proteolysis. Proteolysis of damaged proteins is performed primarily by the ubiquitin–proteasome system (UPS). The development of a range of heart diseases, including bona fide cardiac proteinopathies and various forms of cardiac dysfunction, have been linked to inadequacies in the PQC system. PQC inadequacy due to chaperone insufficiency and/or proteasome functional insufficiency has been shown to contribute to the progression of these diseases to chronic heart failure (CHF). Therefore, measures taken to enhance PQC in cardiomyocytes are expected to slow down the progression of a large subset of heart diseases and possibly prevent the escalation of these conditions to CHF.
The Cytoskeletal and Biomineralized Supportive Structures in Radiolaria

Pelagic Sarcodina, such as radiolaria and planktonic Foraminifera, are floating organisms that usually obtain nutrition by opportunistic predation. Consequently, they produce an elaborate peripheral halo of cytoplasmic structures to increase surface area and enhance prey apprehension. Radiolaria are identified taxonomically by the geometry of their siliceous skeletons (Fig. 1) and the presence of numerous, long, stiffened axopodia radiating outward from a clearly differentiated central spheroidal cytoplasmic mass called a central capsule. In many species, the axopodia are further elaborated to produce membranous sheaths (ca. 100 nm thick) enclosing algal symbionts held in the extracapsular cytoplasm. Based on electron microscope assessments of the number and distribution of axopodial strands emerging from the surface of the central capsular wall, and their calculated surface area; and the mean symbiont surface area enclosed by cytoplasmic sheaths, an estimated total outer membrane surface area for a typical large spongiose skeletal radiolarian is 1.4 × 106 μm2. This is un-, doubtedly a conservative estimate as additional membranous envelopes and weblike rhizopodial elements are often produced within the axopodial array. When prey is captured, moreover, large masses of ensheathing pseudopodia, called coelopodia (Anderson 1983), are elaborated to enclose the prey. The remarkable diversity of extracapsular cytoplasmic structures, their motility by cytoplasmic streaming, and the large membrane surface area enclosing these structures raise intriguing questions about the cellular biological interpretations of these phenomena. There is increasing evidence that the sometimes elaborate siliceous skeletal frameworks secreted by the radiolaria provide anchorage and surface support for an extensive pseudopodial system in many species (Anderson 1983, 1986). Some current knowledge of the cytoskeletal structures within the extracapsular cytoplasm is presented and the ontogenesis and functional biology of the biomineralized skeleton is discussed in relation to our present understanding of radiolarian cellular mechanics and physiological ecology.
Long-time non-contact water level measurement with a 5.8-GHz DC-coupled interferometry radar

Flooding caused by tropical cyclones, tsunami, and many other phenomena is one type of natural disaster that occurs all around the world. While these disasters cannot be prevented, the communities can be made more resilient and damages caused by them to lives and infrastructure can be minimized by developing early warning systems. Microwave-based systems provide a non-contact measurement setup to monitor water level, thus requiring low maintenance and operation costs. In this paper, a DC-coupled 5.8-GHz interferometry radar was designed and tested by observing water level in a barrel, which had water poured in and drained out over a long-time period. By adding more gains to the RF chain and removing the gain in the baseband, the proposed water-level monitoring radar system eliminates the requirement of complex DC tuning structure in the previous works. The experiment demonstrated that the proposed water-level monitoring radar system was able to accurately measure the relative position of water with mm-accuracy.
Patch Based Latent Fingerprint Matching Using Deep Learning

Latent fingerprints are fingerprint impressions unintentionally left on surfaces at a crime scene. Such fingerprints are usually incomplete or partial, making it challenging to match them to full fingerprints registered in fingerprint databases. Latent fingerprints may contain few minutiae and no singular structures. Matching algorithms that entirely rely on minutiae or alignment of singular structures fail when those structures are missing. This paper presents an approach for matching latent to rolled fingerprints using the (a) similarity of learned representations of patches and (b) the minutiae on the correlated patches. A deep learning network is used to learn optimized representations of image patches. Similarity scores between patches from the latent and reference fingerprints are determined using a distance metric learned with a convolutional neural network. The matching score is obtained by fusing the patch and minutiae similarity scores. The proposed system was tested by matching fingerprints segmented from the 258 latent fingerprints in the NIST SD27 database against a database of 2,257 rolled fingerprints from NIST SD27 and SD4 databases. Experimental results show a rank-1 identification rate of 81.35% and highlights the promise of our proposed approach.
NEO412: A temozolomide analog with transdermal activity in melanoma in vitro and in vivo .

Despite new treatments introduced over the past several years, metastatic melanoma remains difficult to cure. Although melanoma in situ (MIS) has better prognosis, it relies heavily on thorough surgical excision, where ill-defined margins can pose a challenge to successful removal, potentially leading to invasive melanoma. As well, MIS in the head and neck area can create serious aesthetic concerns with regard to the surgical defect and substantial scar formation. Toward improved treatment of localized melanoma, including the targeting of unrecognized invasive components, we have been studying a novel agent, NEO412, designed for transdermal application. NEO412 is a tripartite agent that was created by covalent conjugation of three bioactive agents: temozolomide (TMZ, an alkylating agent), perillyl alcohol (POH, a naturally occurring monoterpene with anticancer properties), and linoleic acid (LA, an omega-6 essential fatty acid). We investigated the anti-melanoma potency of NEO412 in vitro and in mouse models in vivo. The in vitro results showed that NEO412 effectively killed melanoma cells, including TMZ-resistant and BRAF mutant ones, through DNA alkylation and subsequent apoptosis. in vivo, NEO412 inhibited tumor growth when applied topically to the skin of tumor-bearing animals, and this effect involved a combination of increased tumor cell death with decreased blood vessel development. At the same time, drug-treated mice continued to thrive, and there was no apparent damage to normal skin in response to daily drug applications. Combined, our results present NEO412 as a potentially promising new treatment for cutaneous melanoma, in particular MIS, deserving of further study.
Similarity of fast and slow earthquakes illuminated by machine learning

Tectonic faults fail in a spectrum of modes, ranging from earthquakes to slow slip events. The physics of fast earthquakes are well described by stick–slip friction and elastodynamic rupture; however, slow earthquakes are poorly understood. Key questions remain about how ruptures propagate quasi-dynamically, whether they obey different scaling laws from ordinary earthquakes and whether a single fault can host multiple slip modes. We report on laboratory earthquakes and show that both slow and fast slip modes are preceded by a cascade of micro-failure events that radiate elastic energy in a manner that foretells catastrophic failure. Using machine learning, we find that acoustic emissions generated during shear of quartz fault gouge under normal stress of 1–10 MPa predict the timing and duration of laboratory earthquakes. Laboratory slow earthquakes reach peak slip velocities of the order of 1 × 10−4 m s−1 and do not radiate high-frequency elastic energy, consistent with tectonic slow slip. Acoustic signals generated in the early stages of impending fast laboratory earthquakes are systematically larger than those for slow slip events. Here, we show that a broad range of stick–slip and creep–slip modes of failure can be predicted and share common mechanisms, which suggests that catastrophic earthquake failure may be preceded by an organized, potentially forecastable, set of processes. Both fast and slow earthquakes are preceded by micro-failure events that radiate energy. According to machine learning, these events can foretell catastrophic failure in laboratory experiment earthquakes.
Using Process Evaluation for Implementation Success of Preschool‐Based Programs for Obesity Prevention: The TX Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration Study

BACKGROUND Through the Texas Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration study, we implemented and evaluated a system-oriented model of primary and secondary prevention approaches to mitigate obesity among low-income Texas children aged 2 to 12 years. Primary prevention included implementing the Coordinated Approach To Child Health Early Childhood (CATCH EC) program in Head Start preschools. In this paper, we describe the methods and results of CATCH EC program process evaluation over 2 years of implementation. METHODS We used a quasi-experimental design with serial cross-sectional data collected from Head Start centers across intervention and comparison catchment areas in Houston and Austin, Texas (intervention: N = 12 centers in 2012-2013 [Year 1], N = 12 in 2013-2014 [Year 2]; comparison: N = 13 centers in Year 1, N = 12 in Year 2). Process evaluation included center director and teacher surveys conducted in both years of implementation. We developed indices for implementation of CATCH EC and non-CATCH health events at the centers. RESULTS Implementation scores were higher among intervention centers as compared to comparison centers across both years of implementation, and these differences were statistically significant (p < .01). There was also high variability in program implementation in intervention centers across both years ranging from 55% to 95%. CONCLUSION These implementation index strategies may inform future evaluation of preschool-based obesity prevention program implementation.
Genome Sequence of the Moderately Halophilic Yellow Sea Bacterium Lentibacillus salicampi ATCC BAA-719T

ABSTRACT Lentibacillus salicampi SF-20T (=ATCC BAA-719T) was first isolated from a Yellow Sea salt field in Korea in 2002. Here, we report that the L. salicampi ATCC BAA-719T genome sequence has a predicted length of 3,897,716 bp, containing 3,945 total genes and a CRISPR array, with a G+C content of 43.0%.
Systemic to Pulmonary Collaterals in Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants: Incidence, Clinical Significance, and Hemodynamic Features.

Objective This study aimed to determine the incidence of systemic to pulmonary collaterals (SPCs) in extremely low birth weight infants and to assess its clinical and hemodynamic significance beyond the neonatal period. Study Design Retrospective cohort study was conducted on 61 infants with echocardiogram performed at the time of discharge to determine the presence of SPC and to measure the right and left ventricular outputs and left atrium to aortic ratio. We compared two groups: small or no SPC (Group 1) to moderate or large SPC (Group 2) on demographics, clinical outcomes, and echocardiographic parameters. Results Sixty-one infants were included. The incidence of SPC was 57%; 21% of infants had moderate or large shunts and 31% had small SPC. Demographics, clinical outcomes, and echocardiographic parameters were not significantly different between small or no SPC and moderate to large SPC. Conclusion More than half of the infants had SPC. The size of the shunt did not affect the clinical outcomes nor the echocardiographic parameters measured. All infants had cardiac output above the normative mean.
Self-aligned concentrating immersion-lens arrays for patterning and efficiency recovery in scaffold-reinforced perovskite solar cells

Abstract Unlike existing silicon, CIGS, and multi-junction cells that exhibit remarkable mechanical durability, perovskite solar cells have been shown to delaminate when subjected to the mechanical loads that occur during processing and field exposures, limiting their potential as a reliable solar technology. Mechanical reinforcement is thus essential for durable and reliable perovskite technologies. A recent strategy to overcome the thermomechanical fragility of perovskite solar cells is to extrinsically shield them by introducing reinforcing scaffolds which partition the cell into many distinct microcells, but improvements in mechanical stability coincide with a reduced device efficiency due to parasitic absorption by the scaffold. We address this reduced efficiency by integrating concentrating immersion-lens arrays (CILAs) into scaffold-reinforced solar cells. These scaffolds are lithographically patterned by a maskless process, in which ultraviolet light is used to pattern the scaffolds through the CILAs, ensuring self-alignment and optical contact with the microcells. This process creates mm-scale scaffold patterns with a line edge roughness of 17.5 ± 4.3 µm and line width roughness of 26.4 ± 8.5 µm. Perovskite devices are deposited into the microcells, and during operation, light is concentrated into the microcells and away from the insulating scaffolds, resulting in mechanically resilient solar cells with efficiencies comparable to planar devices. The devices with the strongest lenses—i.e., lower radius of curvature—recover up to 89 ± 15% of photocurrent and 91 ± 29% power conversion efficiency that would have been otherwise lost to parasitic absorption. Ray-tracing simulations of the CILAs also demonstrate passive tracking of incident light which is critical for optimal power output as the sun moves across the sky during the day. In these simulations, devices with CILAs showed improved passive tracking compared to devices without CILAs out to 60° off-normal. The UV stability of CILAs are experimentally verified through aging tests which show no change in their mechanical integrity after 1000 h of UV exposure. The simplicity of the fabrication process and the efficiency of the resulting scaffolded devices show that a lens-integrated scaffold-reinforced structure is a potential pathway to high-performance, robust, commercially viable perovskite solar cells.
Envy on social media: The good, the bad and the ugly

Abstract Observing the positive aspects of others’ lives on social media (SM) can bring about envy among users. Drawing from social comparison and technology acceptance theories, this study develops a research model to explain how envy occurs and impacts SM users’ behavior. In this work, we conducted two studies across three different SM settings to investigate two types of envy, benign and malicious envy. The results show that malicious envy is negatively related to the dependent variable of SM use intention while benign envy facilitates it. The findings provide many valuable contributions to both information systems (IS) academia and industry. This study identifies the unique SM factors intertwining with envy. Moreover, this work helps SM users and practitioners be aware of the potential envy issue on SM so they can take effective actions to enhance SM use.
Toward inverse-designed optical interconnect

We use inverse-design to experimentally demonstrate compact devices for multimode integrated silicon photonic systems. Inverse-design enables spatial mode conversion and mode-division splitting with compact footprint and low insertion loss, showing promise for use in implementing high-bandwidth on-chip or chip-to-chip optical interconnects.
Risk Factors for 100-Year Flood Events in the Mid-Atlantic Region of the United States.

Anecdotal information indicates that streams in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States experience more extreme flood events than might be expected. This leads to the question of whether this is an unfounded perception or if these extreme events are actually occurring more than should be expected. If the latter is true, is this due solely to randomness, or alternately to characteristics that make certain watersheds more prone to repeated events that may be defined as 100-year or greater floods? These questions are investigated through analysis of flood events based on standard flood frequency analysis. 100-year streamflow rates for stream gages were estimated using Bulletin 17B flood frequency analysis methods, and the probability of the annual peak flow record for each gage was calculated. These probabilities were compared to a set of synthetic probabilities to evaluate their distribution. This comparison indicates that for the Mid-Atlantic region as a whole, the Bulletin 17B method does not systematically over or underestimate flood frequency. A Random Forest model of probability of actual flood record (PAFR) versus watershed and stream gage characteristics was developed and used to understand if certain characteristics are associated with PAFR. This analysis indicated that unexpected numbers of large flood events in a stream gage period of record can be attributed primarily to randomness, but there is some correlation with watershed and gage characteristics including weighted skew, drainage area, and mean annual peak discharge. The results indicate that watersheds with high values of these characteristics may warrant advanced flood frequency methods.
Quenching to fix metastable states in models of prebiotic chemistry.

For prebiotic chemistry to succeed in producing a starting metastable, autocatalytic and reproducing system subject to evolutionary selection it must satisfy at least two apparently contradictory requirements: Because such systems are rare, a search among vast numbers of molecular combinations must take place naturally, requiring rapid rearrangement and breaking of covalent bonds. But once a relevant system is found, such rapid disruption and rearrangement would be very likely to destroy the system before much evolution could take place. In this paper we explore the possibility, using a model developed previously, that the search process could occur under different environmental conditions than the subsequent fixation and growth of a lifelike chemical system. We use the example of a rapid change in temperature to illustrate the effect and refer to the rapid change as a ``quench''borrowing terminology from study of the physics and chemistry of glass formation. The model study shows that interrupting a high-temperature nonequilibrium state with a rapid quench to lower temperatures can substantially increase the probability of producing a chemical state with lifelike characteristics of nonequilibrium metastability, internal dynamics and exponential population growth in time. Previously published data on the length distributions of proteomes of prokaryotes may be consistent with such an idea and suggest a prebiotic high-temperature ``search'' phase near the boiling point of water. A rapid change in $p\mathrm{H}$ could have a similar effect. We discuss possible scenarios on early Earth which might have allowed frequent quenches of the sort considered here to have occurred. The models show a strong dependence of the effect on the number of chemical monomers available for bond formation.