cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Method for Risk Estimation Analysis for Unmanned Aerial System Operation over Populated Areas

The use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) within national airspace persists as a controversial issue within the United States, with much of the attention concerning privacy. However, methods to quantify and assess the possible risks associated with operation over populated areas remains as a serious obstacle. This paper presents a method of estimating the risk of operating UAS in a variety of capacities, including law enforcement, research, and commercial applications. It does so by estimating the number of casualties and property damage costs using simple probability factors for air to air and ground collisions of aircraft. This risk estimation method was developed with the goal of developing possible constraints, as well as guide certification standards toward safe and responsible operation of UAS in the future.
Effect of Carbon Dioxide on Toxicity of Hydrocyanic Acid and Methyl Bromide to Adults of the Confused Flour Beetle and Granary Weevil at Two Different Temperatures

Experiments were conducted with adult confused flour beetles, Tribolium confusum Jacquelin duVal, and granary weevils, Sitophilus granarius (L.), to determine the effect of CO2 on the efficacy of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) or methyl bromide fumigation. The effectiveness of HCN fumigation to T. confusum adults was increased up to 4 times by addition of various percentages of CO2; while that of methyl bromide fumigation was increased up to 1.5 times. Effectiveness of HCN fumigation to S. granaries adults was increased up to 1.7 times by the addition of various percentages of CO2; that of methyl bromide fumigation was increased up to 1.4 times. The greatest susceptibility was shown by confused flour beetle adults to HCN + CO2 mixtures at 80°F.
Home-based diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea in an urban population

Study Objectives:Home-based diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with portable monitoring (PM) is increasingly utilized, but remains understudied in underserved and minority populations. We t...
Simulation Analysis of Lightning Protection Characteristics of Photovoltaic System

photovoltaic system has characteristics,such as large area,many exposed device and the impact of direct lightning protection device shadows on the shelter of solar panels.Therefore,it exist difference between lightning shielding for photovoltaic system and conventional power plants.For a better understanding of photovoltaic system lightning protection performance,simulation software ATPDraw is used to modeling photovoltaic array and electrical equipment by considering photovoltaic system structure and lightning invasion way.Under the conditions of lightning photovoltaic array of different position,different lightning current amplitude and different grounding resistance,it simulates the damaged condition of photovoltaic array and the impact of photovoltaic system internal equipment over-voltage.According to the calculation results,it puts forward the focal point of lightning protection of photovoltaic system.
THE DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL INSOLATION IN EASTERN CHINA COMPUTED BY EMPIRICAL FORMULA

First in this paper different empirical formula for computing the total insolation are com-pared with insolation data observed at Nanking and Peking.Then the distribution of the totalinsolation in eastern China is computed with the empirical-graphical method designed by Ha-mon,Weiss and Wilson.
Review of "Cultures of Optimism: The Institutional Promotion of Hope," by Oliver Bennet

Cultures of Optimism: The Institutional Promotion of Hope, by Oliver Bennet. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015, 231 pages, ISBN 978-113-748-4802, $95.00.It is a rare occasion to read a book in whi...
Guttate psoriasis outcomes

Guttate psoriasis (GP) typically occurs following an acute infection such as streptococcal pharyngitis. It is thought to have a better prognosis than chronic plaque psoriasis (PP). This retrospective cohort study of 79 patients with GP aims to assess the likelihood of developing PP after the first episode of GP as well as compare clinical and laboratory data in patients with GP who do and do not develop PP.
Long-term prognosis for the infant with severe birth trauma.

Though the majority of traumatic birth injuries are benign and self-limited, a significant number are devastating and result in life-long disabilities requiring extensive medical care. This article focuses on these severe traumatic injuries, discussing predisposing factors, etiology, and outcome.
Total Chemical Protein Synthesis for the Determination of Novel X-ray Structures by Racemic Protein Crystallography

Total synthesis of proteins by modern chemical ligation methods enables the ready preparation of high purity protein molecules of typical size (up to ∼300 amino acid residues). This in turn enables the preparation of mirror image D-protein molecules not found in nature. Use of a racemic protein mixture (i.e. D-protein+L-protein) greatly facilitates the formation of diffraction-quality crystals of otherwise recalcitrant proteins. Facilitated crystallization is also observed for quasi-racemic protein mixtures. Centrosymmetric crystals of racemic proteins diffract to high resolution and offer enhanced possibilities for structure solution by direct computational methods. Racemic protein crystallography has been successfully applied to a number of recalcitrant protein molecules, and has been used to determine the structure of a 35kDa {L-protein target/D-protein ligand} complex.
A model for regulation by SynGAP-α1 of binding of synaptic proteins to PDZ-domain 'Slots' in the postsynaptic density

The formation of memories is believed to depend on the strengthening of connections, called synapses, between neurons in the brain. When neurons are activated together, their synaptic connections become permanently strengthened to record the memory. This strengthening is called activity-dependent long-term potentiation. As long-term potentiation develops, more protein receptors are added to the receiving side of the synapse. This allows the receiving neuron to produce a larger electrical response to the signaling chemicals it receives from the neuron on the sending side of the synapse. The addition of receptors is regulated by a set of enzymes held near the membrane of the synapse by a protein scaffold known as the postsynaptic density. A major scaffold protein called PSD-95 contains binding sites, known as PDZ domains, that hold protein receptors and regulatory enzymes in place. One regulatory enzyme called synGAP is present in large numbers in the postsynaptic density and binds to the same PDZ domains as the receptors. Humans that have just one copy (instead of the usual two) of the gene that encodes synGAP have cognitive disabilities that are often accompanied by autism and epilepsy. By studying purified proteins, Walkup et al. found that adding phosphate groups to synGAP reduces the enzyme’s ability to bind to the PDZ domains. This reduced binding ability could make more PDZ domains available to bind to protein receptors and hold them at the synapse. To measure the effect of reduced synGAP levels on the proteins found at postsynaptic densities, Walkup et al. used mice that had just one copy of the synGAP gene in their neurons. These mice have less synGAP in their postsynaptic densities and more of three proteins that bind to PDZ domains. These proteins hold receptors in the synapse and help synapses to form. Thus, synGAP may restrict the binding of other proteins to the PDZ domains in order to regulate the strength of the synapse. Further experiments are now needed to investigate the importance of restriction by synGAP of binding to PDZ domains under a variety of circumstances in which the activity of neurons alters the strength of synapses.
335. High Content Analysis Platform for Optimization of Lipid Mediated CRISPR-Cas9 Delivery Strategies in Human Cells

Background: Non-viral gene-editing of human cells using the CRISPR-Cas9 system requires optimized delivery of multiple components. Both the Cas9 endonuclease and a single guide RNA, that defines the genomic target, need to be present and co-localized within the nucleus for efficient gene-editing to occur. This work describes a new high-throughput screening platform for the optimization of CRISPR-Cas9 delivery strategies. Methods: By exploiting high content image analysis and microcontact printed plates, multi-parametric gene-editing outcome data from hundreds to thousands of isolated cell populations can be screened simultaneously. Employing this platform, we systematically screened four commercially available cationic lipid transfection materials with a range of RNAs encoding the CRISPR-Cas9 system. Analysis of Cas9 expression and editing of an endogenous and fluorescent mCherry reporter transgene within human embryonic cells was monitored over several days after transfection. Design of experiments analysis enabled rigorous evaluation of delivery materials and RNA concentration conditions. Results: The results of this analysis indicated that the concentration and identity of transfection material have significantly greater effect on gene-editing than ratio or total amount of RNA. Cell subpopulation analysis on microcontact printed plates, further revealed that low cell number and high Cas9 expression 24 hours after CRISPR-Cas9 delivery, were strong predictors of gene-editing outcomes. After purifying the population for high Cas9 expression, 24 hours after CRISPR-Cas9 delivery, greater than 92% of cells were properly edited. Significance: These results suggest design principles for the development of materials and transfection strategies with lipid-based materials. This platform could be applied to rapidly optimize materials for gene-editing in a variety of cell/tissue types in order to advance genomic medicine, regenerative biology and drug discovery.View Large Image | Download PowerPoint Slide
Parametric Excitations of Plasma Waves

Parametric amplifications of plasma waves result due to a periodic modulation of a parameter which characterizes the plasma waves. It may occur in two ways — either due to wave-wave interactions or due to temporal variations in the electromagnetic fields in the presence of a large-amplitude pump wave. We will consider in the following examples of both types of excitations.
Simulation of targeted pollutant-mitigation-strategies to reduce nitrate and sediment hotspots in agricultural watershed.

Abstract About 50% of U.S. water pollution problems are caused by non-point source (NPS) pollution, primarily sediment and nutrients from agricultural areas, despite the widespread implementation of agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs). However, the effectiveness of implementation strategies and type of BMPs at watershed scale are still not well understood. In this study, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) ecohydrological model was used to assess the effectiveness of pollutant mitigation strategies in the Raccoon River watershed (RRW) in west-central Iowa, USA. We analyzed fourteen management scenarios based on systematic combinations of five strategies: fertilizer/manure management, changing row-crop land to perennial grass, vegetative filter strips, cover crops and shallower tile drainage systems, specifically aimed at reducing nitrate and total suspended sediment yields from hotspot areas in the RRW. Moreover, we assessed implications of climate change on management practices, and the impacts of management practices on water availability, row crop yield, and total agricultural production. Our results indicate that sufficient reduction of nitrate load may require either implementation of multiple management practices (38.5% with current setup) or conversion of extensive areas into perennial grass (up to 49.7%) to meet and maintain the drinking water standard. However, climate change may undermine the effectiveness of management practices, especially late in the 21st century, cutting the reduction by up to 65% for nitrate and more for sediment loads. Further, though our approach is targeted, it resulted in a slight decrease (~ 5%) in watershed average crop yield and hence an overall reduction in total crop production, mainly due to the conversion of row-crop lands to perennial grass. Such yield reductions could be quite spatially heterogeneously distributed (0 to 40%).
A Pairwise Comparison Framework for Fast, Flexible, and Reliable Human Coding of Political Texts

Scholars are increasingly utilizing online workforces to encode latent political concepts embedded in written or spoken records. In this letter, we build on past efforts by developing and validating a crowdsourced pairwise comparison framework for encoding political texts that combines the human ability to understand natural language with the ability of computers to aggregate data into reliable measures while ameliorating concerns about the biases and unreliability of non-expert human coders. We validate the method with advertisements for U.S. Senate candidates and with State Department reports on human rights. The framework we present is very general, and we provide free software to help applied researchers interact easily with online workforces to extract meaningful measures from texts.
Effects of carotenoids on lipid bilayers

Carotenoids have been found to be important in improving the integrity of biomembranes in eukaryotes. However, the molecular details of how carotenoids modulate the physical properties of biomembranes are unknown. To this end, we have conducted a series of molecular dynamics simulations of different biologically-relevant membranes in the presence of carotenoids. The carotenoid effect on the membrane was found to be specific to the identity of the carotenoid and the composition of the membrane itself. Therefore, different classes of carotenoids produce a different effect on the membrane, and different membrane phases are affected differently by carotenoids. It is apparent from our data that carotenoids do trigger the bilayer to become thinner. The mechanism by which this occurs depends on two competing factors, the ability of the lipid tails of opposing monolayers to either (1) compress or (2) interdigitate as the bilayer condenses. Indeed, carotenoids directly influence the physical properties via these two mechanisms, thus compacting the bilayer. However, the degree to which these competing mechanisms are utilized depends on the bilayer phase and the carotenoid identity.
The architecture of an atom

The power of using abstractions is the essence of intellect, and with every increase in abstraction the intellectual triumphs of science are enhanced.
Increased Walking Speed and Speed Control in Exoskeleton Enabled Gait

A new exoskeleton control method has been developed to enable continuous joint motion and thereby increase walking speed and speed control in exoskeleton enabled gait. To characterize walking speed and speed control using this controller, a new assessment tool has also been proposed, the 40 Meter Walk Test (40MWT). This paper presents the controller, describes its implementation in a commercially-available exoskeleton, and provides clinical results obtained using the 40MWT with five individuals having spinal cord injury. Results include maximum walking speeds, which varied by subject from 0.48m/s to 0.78 m/s, and speed ranges (max speed - min speed), which varied from 0.33 m/s to 0.55 m/s. As these Ranges were associated with an average Speed Control Factor (a new outcome measure associated with the 40MWT) of 0.43, the results demonstrate that subjects were able to access speeds which spanned several functional categories and were able to control speed in a highly linear fashion while doing so.
Estimating the Relationship Between Multivariable Standing Ankle Impedance and Lower Extremity Muscle Activation

This study investigated artificial neural networks (ANN) that quantified the loaded ankle impedance of healthy subjects as they contracted their lower extremity muscles. The multivariable standing ankle impedance of 12 male subjects was determined using an instrumented vibrating platform. Surface electromyography (EMG) was used to measure the muscle activity while the subject's muscles were relaxed, and co-contracted to 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% of the subject's maximum voluntary contraction (MVC). The function fitting capabilities of ANN were used to relate the input information (measured EMG and subject biometrics) to the desired output ankle impedance parameters (stiffness, damping, and inertia). The results showed that the relationship between muscle activity and standing ankle impedance can be modeled with high accuracy, and showed feasibility towards a generalized model that works for subjects that did not participate in the experiment. Using the predicted impedance, future work could investigate this relationship during walking and be used to advance active ankle-foot prostheses control based on the user's intentions.
Osborne waves in the hot summer

Osborn waves are produced when the J-point deviates from baseline. While there are many known causes of Osborne waves, hypothermia remains the most common. Previous studies have been inconsistent about the risk of Osborne waves progressing to a deadly arrhythmia. Commonly, once patients are rewarmed, they no longer exhibit Osborne waves or experience cardiac arrhythmias. This patient presented with hypothermia on a hot, humid August day demonstrating two factors known to cause Osborne waves - hypothermia and hypocalcemia. While replenishing the calcium was beneficial, providing ventilator support and active rewarming remained the mainstays of treatment.
Innocent of Any Time: Modern Temporality and the Problem of Southern Poverty

This essay explores how poverty affected southerners’ experience of temporality in the 1930s. Two texts, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by James Agee and Walker Evans and “Long Black Song” by Richard Wright, represent the incongruous presence of clocks as signifiers for modern temporality in the homes and everyday lives of poor southerners. The superfluous clocks illustrate that the poor southerners continue to follow cyclical time, the measurement of time according to natural patterns, rather than following linear time, the measurement of time in hours and minutes, which was normative in modern America by 1930. This divergent perception of temporality marks the comparative developmental delay between the regions, and it works along several other indicators of poverty to other the South. Johannes Fabian’s theory of time and the other provides a framework for conceptualizing the way writers use allochronic discourse to depict the southerners as experiencing an alternate form of temporality. The texts themselves, however, illustrate that the southerners’ poverty is constituent with modernity, which means that they are experiencing the same temporality as other modern Americans. They are poor because of modernity, not in spite of modernity. The poor southerners’ lack of a need for timepieces, meanwhile, demonstrates the commercial materiality of time. Although the poor southerners do not need clocks, they have a desire for them as commodity fetishes. Their marginal position within the economic structure means that even though they do not use linear temporality, it defines their existence.
Reactions of O(3P) with alkyl iodides: Rate coefficients and reaction products

The rate coefficients for the reactions of O(3P) with CF3I (1) and CH3I (2) were measured between 213 and 364 K to be: k1(T) = (7.9 ± 0.8) x 10-12 exp[−(175 ± 40)/T] and k2(T) = (1.0 ± 0.2) x 10-11 exp[(160 ± 50)/T] cm3 molecule-1 s-1. The rate coefficients for the reaction of O(3P) with CD3I, (CH3)2CHCH2I, (CH3)2CHI, CF3CH2I, CF3CHFI, and CF3CF2I at 298 K were also measured. The yields of the IO and CF3O products in reaction 1 at 298 K were found to be 0.83 ± 0.09 and <0.01, respectively. Product yields of reaction 2 at 298 K were measured to be IO (0.44 ± 0.04), OH (0.16 ± 0.05), H (0.07 ± 0.02), CH3O (<0.03), and HI (<0.05). IO, OH, and CH3O were detected via laser-induced fluorescence, O and H atoms via resonance fluorescence, and IO, CF3O, and HI by chemical ionization mass spectrometry. The IO yield from reactions 1 and 2 showed a slight positive temperature dependence. Within our experimental error the OH yield from reaction 2 was temperature independent. An upper limit for the enthalpy of formati...
A Dilemma of Dogma: Specifying the Personality Root of Sexual Prejudice

The current study integrated prior research demonstrating 1) a mediational process by which the Five-Factor Model personality factor Openness to Experience, transmitted through right-wing authorita...
Rethinking stale ideas about the birth of higher education in Nigeria: Tim Livsey’s Nigeria’s University Age: Reframing Decolonisation and Development

Historians generally know that the first generation of universities came into existence in Africa from the 1940s when dramatic international and local developments after WWII changed some of the ce...
Steric stabilization of phycobiliprotein loaded liposome through polyethylene glycol adsorbed cellulose nanocrystals and their impact on the gastrointestinal tract

Abstract The goal of the study was to encapsulate phycobiliprotein (PBP), a seaweed bioactive compound with the help of liposome and stabilized through polyethylene glycol adsorbed cellulose nanocrystals (CNC). The study investigated the stability of CNC coating and the release of PBP compounds using a simulated human gastrointestinal tract (GIT) model. Adsorption of polyethylene glycol (PEG) with molecular weights of 400–4000 gmol-1 on desulfated CNCs (DCs) did not show any significant stability of liposomes during in-vitro GIT experiments. The effect of GIT phase on the quality characteristics of the sample revealed that the simulated gastric juice phase of GIT helps on desorption of polyethylene glycol from desulfated CNCs surface followed by precipitation of DCs. This phenomena confirmed the effective agglomeration of liposomes in the gastric phase of the GIT. The liposomes stabilized through the higher molecular weight of PEG adsorbed with DCs (i.e., DPCs-4000, DPCs-1500, and DPCs-1000) displayed a higher degree of anti-agglomeration behavior as compared to the lower molecular weight of PEG with desulfated CNCs (DPCs-600 and DPCs-400). However, liposomes stabilized through pure DCs displayed insignificant (p > 0.05) effect on the stability of PBP loaded liposomes. We concluded that the adsorption of PEG onto DCs surface was enough to stabilize PBP loaded liposomes in a mouth and saliva environment. This finding is relevant to understand the stability of CNC as coating material and PBP as core bioactive compounds in the human digestive system for potential nutraceutical and food applications.
Improving the transmission efficiency of plasmonic and dielectric metasurfaces (Conference Presentation)

Transmissive-type metasurfaces represent an ultrathin alternative to traditional optical elements, e.g., lenses and waveplates. However, transmissive-type plasmonic metasurfaces (PMs) have significantly low efficiency compared to dielectric metasurfaces and reflective type PMs particularly in the visible range. For example, the state-of-the-art geometric PMs transmission efficiency is ≤10% with extinction ratios ~ 0 dB. The low transmission efficiency is mainly due to three loss channels (i) absorption losses in metals, (ii) diffraction to undesired high-orders, and most importantly (iii) symmetric forward-backward scattering which puts a 25% theoretical limit on cross-polarization conversion for ultrathin metasurfaces. We use tunable, multipole-interference-based meta-atoms to address all loss channels simultaneously. The experimentally demonstrated transmission efficiency and extinction ratio of our geometric PM are 42.3% and 7.8dB, respectively. As for dielectric metasurfaces, we demonstrate a new class of metasurfaces where the meta-atoms consist of a simple anti-reflective coating (ARC). ARCs enable the control over the entire 2 pi phase range by varying the dielectric films thicknesses while realizing ~ 99% transmission efficiency even in the visible range. The metasurface consists of patches of ARC meta-atoms with dielectric optical thicknesses much lower than that required in Fresnel optics to control the entire phase range.
Interprofessional Simulation to Deliver Stroke Management and TeamSTEPPS® Content

Abstract Simulation-based medical education (SBME) is an established tool for training providers for critical situations. Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS®) is a program developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Department of Defense to improve teamwork. Previous work has demonstrated the effectiveness of SBME in stroke team performance among neurology residents and ICU nurses.1 Our objective was to develop a simulation–based interprofessional education (IPE) program for nursing and medical students on stroke team performance. Using a quantitative descriptive one group pretest/posttest design, stroke care, TeamSTEPPS® knowledge and attitudes toward IPE were assessed. After an initial survey, students were given online modules on stroke care and TeamSTEPPS®. Students were randomly assigned groups before participating in 2 high-fidelity simulations. During simulation, faculty assessed students using standardized checklists focusing on stroke management and teamwork. Participating faculty underwent 1-h interrater reliability training as well as 30-day just-in-time training between student cohorts. 147 students (n = 51 medical students and n = 96 nursing students) participated. Improvement was seen in knowledge assessment, cumulative psychomotor scores, and each affective item (p
Lay Theories of Heroism and Leadership: The Role of Gender, Communion, and Agency

Abstract. Whereas leadership is generally perceived as a masculine enterprise, heroism research suggests that people view heroes as similarly masculine, but having more feminine traits. We predicte...
Phase II trial of veliparib and temozolomide in metastatic breast cancer patients with and without BRCA1/2 mutations.

We evaluated the efficacy and safety of poly-(adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase (PARP) 1 and 2 inhibitor veliparib and temozolomide in metastatic breast cancer patients with and without germline BRCA1/2 mutations. In this single-arm phase II trial, patients with metastatic breast cancer received veliparib 30 to 40 mg twice daily on days 1 to 7 with concurrent temozolomide 150 mg/m2 on days 1 to 5 of a 28-day cycle. The primary cohort was unselected for BRCA mutation status, and an expansion cohort enrolled only BRCA1/2 carriers. The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR) in each cohort. Secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), clinical benefit rate (CBR), and evaluation of safety and tolerability. In the primary cohort of 41 unselected patients, which included 9 BRCA mutation carriers, the ORR was 10% and clinical benefit rate at 4 months (CBR) was 27%. In the expansion cohort of 21 BRCA1/2 carriers, the ORR was 14% and CBR was 43%. Among all 30 BRCA1/2 carriers, the ORR was 23% versus 0% among non-carriers. In the subset of BRCA1/2 carriers, the ORR was 32% among platinum-naive patients versus 9% among platinum-exposed patients. The median PFS was 3.3 months among BRCA1/2 carriers compared to 1.8 months among non-carriers (HR: 0.48, p = 0.006). A longer median PFS of 6.2 months was observed among BRCA1/2 carriers who had no prior platinum therapy. The most common grade 3 and 4 toxicities were thrombocytopenia (32%) and neutropenia (21%) that generally improved with dose modifications. Veliparib and temozolomide demonstrated clinical activity in platinum-naive BRCA-associated metastatic breast cancer with manageable toxicity at doses of veliparib well below the single-agent active dose. Although the study did not meet its primary endpoint in unselected nor BRCA-associated breast cancer, this regimen was further evaluated in the BROCADE 2 study. NCT01009788 (ClinicalTrials.gov), November 9, 2009
Discovery Proteomics of Human Placental Tissue

We describe a label-free proteomics protocol for the interrogation of the placental proteome. Step-by-step directions are provided from tissue clean-up and preparation, proteolytic digestion, nanoLC-MS/MS data collection and data analysis. The workflow has been applied towards exploring differential protein expression patterns in placentas from women who have been exposed to drugs during pregnancy relative to those who have not. We collected twenty tissue specimens, each representing a combination of spatially diverse sections across the placenta. These specimens were analyzed in the work described here, to survey information across the entire organ. This protocol can be scaled up or down as needed.
Ascertaining cells' synaptic connections and RNA expression simultaneously with massively barcoded rabies virus libraries

ABSTRACT Brain function depends on forming and maintaining connections between neurons of specific types, ensuring neural function while allowing the plasticity necessary for cellular and behavioral dynamics. However, systematic descriptions of how brain cell types organize into synaptic networks and which molecules instruct these relationships are not readily available. Here, we introduce SBARRO (Synaptic Barcode Analysis by Retrograde Rabies ReadOut), a method that uses single-cell RNA sequencing to reveal directional, monosynaptic relationships based on the paths of a barcoded rabies virus from its “starter” postsynaptic cell to that cell’s presynaptic partners1. Thousands of these partner relationships can be ascertained in a single experiment, alongside genome-wide RNA profiles – and thus cell identities and molecular states – of each host cell. We used SBARRO to describe synaptic networks formed by diverse mouse brain cell types in vitro, leveraging a system similar to those used to identify synaptogenic molecules. We found that the molecular identity (cell type/subtype) of the starter cell predicted the number and types of cells that had synapsed onto it. Rabies transmission tended to occur into cells with RNA-expression signatures related to developmental maturation and synaptic transmission. The estimated size of a cell’s presynaptic network, relative to that of other cells of the same type, associated with increased expression of Arpp21 and Cdh13. By tracking individual virions and their clonal progeny as they travel among host cells, single-cell, single-virion genomic technologies offer new opportunities to map the synaptic organization of neural circuits in health and disease.
Recent developments in clinical trials for the treatment of traumatic brain injury

The clinical understanding of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and its manifestations is beginning to change. Both clinicians and research scientists are recognizing that TBI and related disorders such as stroke are complex, systemic inflammatory and degenerative diseases that require an approach to treatment more sophisticated than targeting a single gene, receptor, or signaling pathway. It is becoming increasingly clear that TBI is a form of degenerative disorder affecting the brain and other organs, and that its manifestations can unfold days, weeks, and years after the initial damage. Until recently, and despite numerous industry- and government-sponsored clinical trials, attempts to find a safe and effective neuroprotective agent have all failed - probably because the research and development strategies have been based on an outdated early 20th century paradigm seeking a magic bullet that will affect a narrowly circumscribed target. We propose that more attention be given to the development of drugs, given alone or in combination, that are pleiotropic in their actions and that have systemic as well as central nervous system effects. We review current Phase II and Phase III trials for acute pharmacologic treatments for TBI and report on their aims, methods, status, and important associated research issues.
Toward improved prediction of AAA rupture risk: Implementation of feature-based geometry quantification measures compared to maximum diameter alone

Data mining techniques are capable of extracting important relationships and correlations among large amounts of data while machine learning methodologies can utilize these correlations to generate models capable of classification and prediction. The combination of machine learning and data mining is an important contribution of the present work for two reasons: (1) given a large database of features that describe the geometry of native abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs), patterns and relationships in the data are derived that may not be apparent to the human eye, and (2) statistical models are generated that can classify new data and determine which features discriminate among different aneurysm populations. The objectives of this study were to use anatomically realistic AAA models to evaluate a proposed set of global geometric indices describing the size, shape and individual wall thickness of the aneurysm sac, and use a learning algorithm to develop a model that is capable of discriminating the rupture status of these aneurysms.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Social competence of school-aged children with chronic illnesses.

Abstract This study examines social competence among 67 chronically ill children, aged 7 to 14 years, whose families participated in a grounded theory study of how families define and manage a child's chronic illness. Child Behavior Check List ratings (Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1983) by both fathers and mothers indicated a significantly greater risk for social competence difficulties among the chronically ill children as compared with the normative sample. Case vignettes, drawn from extensive interviews with family members, are used to show contrasting styles of family management and child coping and to suggest nursing interventions aimed at fostering social competence.
Tacit Agreement and Relationship-Specific Investment

Default rules of contract law permit recovery of consequential damages for breach when the breaching party had “reason to know” of those damages at the time of contracting. It is a common observation that sophisticated parties systematically bargain out of these default rules, since the scope of consequential damages is highly uncertain and largely within the control of the non-breaching party. Nevertheless, some parties retain the default rules, and some contracts involving sophisticated actors contain an explicit provision allowing consequential damages, including lost profits, for breach. In effect, these parties satisfy the test that awards consequential damages only when there has been “tacit agreement” to their recovery. That test, which has been repudiated by commentators and most case law outside of New York, limits recovery of consequential damages more severely than the standard “reason to know” test. In this Article, I examine contracts that include explicit “lost profits” clauses and cases in which courts have determined whether parties either tacitly agreed to or had reason to know of prospective lost profits. I claim that the relevant contracts and cases reveal that consequential damage clauses are used to solve a contracting problem that might otherwise frustrate mutually beneficial exchange. Parties and courts have perceived that a commitment to pay lost profits can diminish the threat of opportunistic behavior that is inherent where one party must make a relationship-specific investment prior to performance by the counterparty. In transactions with those characteristics, the investing party risks holdup by its counterparty between the period when the initial investment is made and when the second party must act. I suggest that a commitment to pay lost profits in the event of breach constrains the threat of holdup, and that in these circumstances the value of the promise compensates for the efficiency loss otherwise inherent in assigning consequential damages to the party least able to avoid them. While a pledge of lost profits in the event of breach is not the exclusive response to this holdup problem, it is a plausible and perhaps superior means of avoiding it. I conclude that the combination of near-universal opt-out of the default rule for consequential damages and the explicit adoption of a broad consequential damages clause in investment cases indicates that the “tacit agreement” test may be more consistent with the preferences of commercial parties for a contract default rule that the “reason to know” test.
Protein substrates activate the ATP-dependent protease La by promoting nucleotide binding and release of bound ADP.

Abstract The interaction of protein substrates with protease La from Escherichia coli enhances its ability to hydrolyze ATP and peptide bonds. These studies were undertaken to clarify how unfolded proteins allosterically stimulate this ATPase activity. The tetrameric protease can bind four molecules of ATP, which activates proteolysis, or four molecules of ADP, which inhibits enzymatic activity. Protein substrates stimulate binding of the nonhydrolyzable ATP analog [3H] adenyl-5'yl imidodiphosphate, although they do not increase the net binding of [3H]ATP or [3H]ADP. Once bound, ATP is quickly hydrolyzed to ADP, which remains noncovalently associated with protease La even through repeated gel filtrations. Exposure to protein substrates (e.g. denatured bovine serum albumin at 37 degrees C) induces the release of all the bound ADP from the enzyme. Nonhydrolyzable ATP analogs bound to the enzyme were not released by these substrates. Proteins that are not degraded (e.g. native bovine serum albumin) and oligopeptides that only bind to the catalytic site do not induce ADP release. Thus, polypeptide substrates have to interact with an allosteric site to induce this effect. The protein-induced ADP release is inhibited by high concentrations of Mg2+ and is highly temperature-dependent. Protein substrates promoted [3H]ATP binding in the presence of ADP and Mg2+ (i.e. ATP-ADP exchange) and reduced the ability of ADP to inhibit the enzyme's peptidase and ATPase activities. These results indicate that: 1) ADP release is a rate-limiting step in protease La function; 2) bound ADP molecules inhibit protein and ATP hydrolysis in vivo; 3) denatured proteins interact with the enzyme's regulatory site and promote ADP release, ATP binding, and their own hydrolysis.
Provider order entry with integrated decision support: from academia to industry.

Objectives: To describe the evolution of a provider order entry system with integrated decision support, from a research prototype to full implementation at one academic center, and finally to a commercial product. Methods: Describe the institutional environment and planning process in which the system originated. Highlight the historical evolution of the provider entry system, and analyze its system architecture and functionality. Describe the requirements for successful design and deployment both within a single health care organization and as part of a commercial product line. Results: Over a period of eight years the system evolved from a research prototype to a fully integrated order entry system in routine use on most inpatient units of a large academic medical center. Around 12,000 orders are entered every day into the computer system; 70% of those are entered directly by the responsible physician. The system embeds bestof- care practice guidelines, and is used to reduce resource utilization by limiting unnecessary testing and suggesting more effective or less costly therapeutic replacements. The system was recently acquired by a large HIS software vendor and is being rapidly implemented at numerous customer sites. Conclusions: Large-scale development or deployment of complex health information systems requires considerable organizational agreement and resources, as well as close attention to iterative system design that explicitly includes constant feedback from the user community. The transformation of such a system from a single-site success to a widely deployed product requires convergence of resources and needs.
“We ne motan deman ymbe þæt”: Clerical Judgment in Ælfric of Eynsham’s Lives of Saints Swithun, Edmund, and Æthelwold

The prolific late Anglo-Saxon homilist and hagiographer, AElfric of Eynsham (ca. 950-ca. 1010), is well-known to scholars for the meaningful editorial changes he made while condensing Latin saints’ lives and translating them into Old English. This essay focuses on one aspect of these changes - the way AElfric dealt with depictions of ecclesiastic officials’ participation in secular legal affairs. Evidence from his Old English lives of Swithun and Edmund, and his Latin abbreviation of the life of AEthelwold, suggests that the hagiographer was hostile to the notion that clerics should involve themselves in the judgment of criminals, whether or not these judgments resulted in the defendants’ executions. Ultimately, I argue that AElfric’s anxiety over the participation of ecclesiastics in secular legal affairs makes him an idiosyncratic cipher for understanding late Anglo-Saxon culture.
Evidence that vault ribonucleoprotein particles localize to the nuclear pore complex

Vaults are cytoplasmic ribonucleoprotein organelles that are highly conserved among diverse eukaryotic species. Their mass (12.9 MDa), diameter (26-35 nm) and shape (two halves, each with eightfold radial symmetry) have recently been determined and are similar to those ascribed to the central plug (or transporter) of the nuclear pore complex (NPC). The size and eightfold symmetry of the vault particle make it conducive to interacting physically in a complementary manner with NPCs. The present study demonstrates that vaults specifically associate with nuclei by both immunoblotting and immunofluorescence. Immunogold EM confirmed that vaults associate with the nuclear envelope in tissue sections and with NPCs of isolated nuclei.
Lateral and longitudinal vehicle control coupling for automated vehicle operation

This paper covers developments in the control integration part of the automated highway system (AHS) program of the California Partners for Advanced Transportation and Highways (PATH). The control integration project investigates the potential for improving controller performance through an integrated design of a combined steering and speed controller specifically designed to address the coupling between the steering and speed controls. The following results are presented: (1) the identification and characterization of the various coupling effects through an analysis of vehicle dynamics; (2) the design of a combined controller which compensates for the coupling effects; and, (3) the evaluation of the improvements contributed by the coupling compensation through simulations and through experiments on full-scale test vehicles. Sliding control and dynamic surface control (DSC) methods are used to facilitate the inclusion of the complex, nonlinear coupling effects in the controller derivation. A multiple-rate observer is designed to obtain a lateral velocity estimate which is essential to the implementation of the controller on the test vehicle. Simulations and experiments show that the coupling compensation does improve controller performance and that the combined controller is robust to modeling imperfections and vehicle parameter variations. The combined controller described in this paper may be the ideal basis for future implementation of the automated highway system.
Controversies in dealing with small renal masses: how did such a small thing become such a big problem?

Case Study A 66-year-old man is in good health. As a part of a workup for hematuria he was found to have a 2-cm right renal mass. The mass enhanced after contrast from 26 to 46 Hounsfi eld units (Fig. 1). It was interpreted as consistent with a neoplasm. The mass is anterior and superior. The patient has cysts in both kidneys in addition to the enhancing mass. The contralateral kidney is normal. The patient’s renal function is normal. What are the options for this man, and which would be preferable?
Las ventajas de la empresa flexible

El entorno economico es cada vez mas exigente. Por ello, las empresas deben dotarse de estructuras flexibles, tanto en lo que se refiere a sus tecnologias y procesos como en lo que se refiere a la fuerza de trabajo. Las politicas de flexibilidad en IBM son la respuesta de la Compania a las necesidades individuales de los profesionales que trabajan en la empresa. La flexibilidad es una necesidad de negocio y un modo de entender las relaciones laborales en beneficio de los empleados, de los clientes y de la propia empresa.
Modeling and analysis of non-rectangular gate for post-lithography circuit simulation

In the nano regime it has become increasingly important to consider the impact of non-rectangular gate (NRG) shape caused due to sub-wavelength lithography. NRG dramatically increases the leakage current and requires geometry dependent transistor models for post-litho circuit simulation, hi this paper, we propose a coherent modeling approach for non-rectangular gates based on equivalent gate length (Le). A gate-voltage dependent model of Le is developed which is scalable with design conditions, continuous across weak and strong inversion regions, accurate for both leakage and saturation current, and compatible with standard circuit analysis tools. We systematically verify this approach with 65 nm TCAD simulations. A generic CAD algorithm is further proposed to predict the value of Le under various non-rectangular geometries. The interaction with the narrow-width effect is efficiently convolved in this method. Depending on the gate geometry, the leakage current can vary more than 15X at 65 nm technology node. Our analytical method well captures this effect. Finally, we extrapolate the impact of NRG effect on future technology generations. The proposed model can be easily extracted from TCAD tools or direct silicon data. It bridges the gap between lithography, simulation, and circuit analysis for measuring transistor performance under increasingly severe NRG effect.
Synthesis and Polymerization of New Di-Octadecyl Ester Derivatives of α-Hydroxymethyl Acrylate : A Structure-Property Correlation for Their Copolymers with Methyl Methacrylate

New ether dimer (ED-Od) and diester (ODE) derivatives of α-hydroxymethylacrylate, each having two octadecyl side chains, were synthesized and (co)poly-merized to evaluate the effects of differences in the structures of the monomers on final (co)polymer properties, particularly glass transition temperature. The free radical polymerizations of both monomers yielded high-molecular weight polymers. Cyclopolymer formation of ED-Od was confirmed by 13 C NMR analysis and the cyclization efficiency (0.95 or greater) was found to be as high as the cyclization efficiencies of the cyclopolymerizations of ether dimers of various alkyl α-hydroxymethylacrylates synthesized previously. Copolymers of both ED-Od and ODE with methyl methacrylate (MMA) showed significant Tg decreases over PMMA due to octadecyl side groups causing "internal" plasticization. Comparison of the Tg's of the copolymers of octadecyl methacrylate, ED-Od and ODE with MMA revealed that the impacts of these monomers on depression of Tg's are identical. That is, the magnitude of decrease in Tg's was quantitatively related to the number of the octadecyl side groups in the copolymers rather than their placement on the same or randomly incorporated repeat units.