cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Practical Application of Quantitative Accelerated Life Testing in Power Systems Engineering

Demonstrating product reliability is a common challenge within industry, and one that has become continuously more difficult to address due to the marketplace demands for decreased development time and cost. This challenge presents industry with new constraints as proven reliability assessment techniques are becoming increasingly difficult to apply due to the test duration standing in conflict with resource demands placed on engineering organizations. These limitations represent the main influence behind this paper, which explores an alternative reliability demonstration approach using quantitative accelerated life testing (QALT). Accelerated life testing is a reliability discipline that has been the focus of much research, and from which a great many publications have been derived. Yet many proposed approaches can be difficult to apply within industry due to the aforementioned resource constraints, and therefore an alternative methodology will be proposed that delivers accurate reliability data within the aforementioned constraints, thus addressing the limitations imposed by conventional reliability demonstration tests.
Supersession or Subsession? Exodus Typology, the Christian Eucharist and the Jewish Passover Meal

Contemporary Christian construals of the Eucharist, both in doctrine and in practice, generally tend to subordinate, de-emphasise or omit theological reference to the Jewish Passover meal. And yet the key New Testament texts in which the Eucharist's institution is variously narrated – the very texts and institution allegedly ‘remembered’ in eucharistic rites – are virtually unintelligible apart from Passover. Thus, at the heart of Christian doctrine and practical life sits a particular theological problem: namely, precisely how to relate the distinctively Jewish character of the Eucharist's origins as narrated in the New Testament to the distinctively Christian character of eucharistic doctrine and liturgy. Drawing on two Jewish thinkers, Michael Fishbane and Yair Zakovitch, in this article I offer one model for understanding the Eucharist–Passover relationship in particular, and the Christian–Jewish relationship generally, as fundamentally typological, performative and ‘subsessionist’. That is, I propose a subsessionist (as opposed to supersessionist) typological understanding of the Eucharist as a Christian rendition of Passover, at once distinct from its Jewish counterparts today and utterly dependent on the ancient Israelite festival for its intelligibility and force. From Fishbane, I draw the idea that throughout the Hebrew Bible, the exodus narrative provides a crucial interpretative key applicable to both prior and anticipated redemptions. From Zakovitch, I draw the idea that the ubiquity of exodus typology in Hebrew scripture may function to create an impression of periodic repetition in salvation history, in effect reassuring Israel that future deliverance will conform to the essential patterns of the prestigious past. The typology at play here, then, so far from being a triumphalist ‘prophecy-fulfilment’ arrangement in which the ‘old’ is valuable only insofar as it serves as a signpost pointing to the ‘new’, is rather a ‘paradigm-rendition’ typology in which the new performance is clarified and authenticated precisely insofar as it corresponds to the old, exalted original. At stake here, I contend, is not only a more fruitful framework for conceiving the relationship between Eucharist and Passover (or indeed between Christianity and Judaism), but also a crucial theological strategy for resisting what amounts to a de facto Marcionism in contemporary Christian communities.
Additive Fast Fourier Transforms Over Finite Fields

We present new additive Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithms based on Taylor expansions over finite fields of characteristic two. The new algorithms improve previous approaches by Wang and Zhu (1988), Cantor (1989), and von zur Gathen and Gerhard (1996).
Multisystem hypersensitivity reaction to lamotrigine

Lamotrigine acts by directly inhibiting voltage-sensitive sodium channels and, indirectly, blocks excitatory amino acid release and thereby stabilizes neuronal membranes. Common adverse reactions to lamotrigine include skin rash, dizziness, headache, diplopia, ataxia, blurred vision, and nausea. Additionally, several accounts of multiorgan failure and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) have been reported in patients taking lamotrigine. In these reports, the patients had prolonged seizures with associated rhabdomyolysis or rhabdomyolysis alone and, therefore, the direct role of the lamotrigine was unclear. We report a patient in whom DIC, rash, and hepatic dysfunction developed while receiving lamotrigine without evidence of generalized seizures or muscle injury. A 27-year-old woman was prescribed lamotrigine by her physician as adjuvant therapy to her phenobarbital regimen for seizures. Eleven days later, she was hospitalized with fever, headache, myalgia, and neck pain. She was febrile to 102.2 °F and had nuchal rigidity. The lumbar puncture was normal and blood …
LIGHT‐INDUCED ABSORBANCE CHANGES IN PHYCOMYCES PHOTOMUTANTS

— Blue-light-induced absorbance changes indicating the reduction of a b-type cytochrome by a flavin photoreceptor have been reported elsewhere for Dictyostelium, Neurospora, and Phycomyces. On the basis of action spectra alone these absorbance changes were associated with the blue-light physiological photoresponses in the latter two organisms. We have investigated phototropically abnormal mutants of Phycomyces in order to determine if there were common defects in blue-light-induced absorbance changes and photophysiology. However, mutants representing four genes, madA, madB, madC, and madE, the first two of which are associated with early steps in the sensory pathway, showed blue-light-induced absorbance changes identical to those in a phototropically normal strain. A pigment kinetics model, which was used to interpret dose-response data, indicated a rather low quantum yield of 0.015 for the light-induced absorbance changes. Similar blue-light induced absorbance changes were observed in HeLa cells. These cells are derived from a human cervical carcinoma and are thus very unlikely to possess any natural photophysiology. Our results question the relevance of these blue-light-induced absorbance changes regarding the blue-light receptor for physiological responses in various organisms.
Analysis of the spherical indentation cycle for elastic-perfectly plastic solids

A finite element analysis of frictionless indentation of an elastic-plastic half-space by a rigid sphere is presented and the deformation behavior during loading and unloading is examined in terms of the interference and elastic—plastic material properties. The analysis yields dimensionless constitutive relationships for the normal load, contact area, and mean contact pressure during loading for a wide range of material properties and interference ranging from the inception of yielding to the initiation of fully plastic deformation. The boundaries between elastic, elastic-plastic, and fully plastic deformation regimes are determined in terms of the interference, mean contact pressure, and reduced elastic modulus-to-yield strength ratio. Relationships for the hardness and associated interference versus elastic-plastic material properties and truncated contact radius are introduced, and the shape of the plastic zone and maximum equivalent plastic strain are interpreted in light of finite element results. The unloading response is examined to evaluate the validity of basic assumptions in traditional indentation approaches used to measure the hardness and reduced elastic modulus of materials. It is shown that knowledge of the deformation behavior under both loading and unloading conditions is essential for accurate determination of the true hardness and reduced elastic modulus. An iterative approach for determining the reduced elastic modulus, yield strength, and hardness from indentation experiments and finite element solutions is proposed as an alternative to the traditional method.
Collective behavior of viscoelastic asperities as a model for static and kinetic friction

We propose a statistical model for static and sliding friction between rough surfaces. Approximating the contact between rough surfaces by the contact of an ensemble of one-dimensional viscoelastic elements with a rough rigid surface, we study the collective behavior of the elements. We find that collective response of the contacts can lead to macroscopic behavior very different from the microscopic behavior. Specifically, various observed features of friction emerge as collective phenomena, without postulating them directly at the microscale. We discuss how parameters in our model can be related to material and surface properties of the contacting surfaces. We compare our results to commonly used rate and state phenomenological models, and propose a new interpretation of the state variable.
Radio frequency identification: supply chain impact and implementation challenges

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has received considerable attention from practitioners, driven by mandates from major retailers and the US Department of Defense. RFID technology promises numerous benefits in the supply chain, such as increased visibility, security and efficiency. Despite such attentions and the anticipated benefits, RFID is not well understood and many problems exist in the adoption and implementation of RFID. The purpose of this paper is to introduce RFID technology to practitioners and academicians by systematically reviewing the relevant literature, discussing how RFID systems work, their advantages, supply chain impacts, and the implementation challenges and the corresponding strategies, in a hope of providing guidance for practitioners in the implementation of RFID technology and offering a springboard for academicians to conduct future research in this area.
Emulated transmission in confocal Raman microscopy

We propose to use a mirror to simulate transmission configuration in a reflection confocal optical and Raman microscopy. Such a configuration allows an increased contrast of optical images of cells and increases the efficiency of Raman signal detection from cells by a factor of two.
Net radiative effect of dust aerosols from satellite measurements over Sahara

[1] The clear-sky aerosol top of atmosphere shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) radiative effects over the Saharan desert (15–30°N, 10°W–30°E) are investigated based entirely on the satellite observations of aerosol optical thickness (AOT), surface albedo, surface temperature, surface emissivity, atmospheric water vapor content, and SW/LW fluxes. The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on Aura and the Multi-angle SpectroRadiometer (MISR) on Terra satellite are used to estimate AOT at 558 nm (EAOT) for June to September, 2005–2006 when the predominant aerosol type is dust. We then use these EAOT values in conjunction with broadband measurements from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) to calculate the top-of-atmosphere SW and LW flux radiative effect due to these aerosols. The difference in SW flux between desert surface and dust aerosols is found to be negligible due to the high surface reflectance over the Sahara desert. The instantaneous area-averaged LW radiative effect is calculated as +11.4 Wm−2 with radiative efficiencies ranging from +11 to +26 Wm−2/AOT. The results indicate that net radiative effect of dust over the Sahara desert is dominated by the longwave effect in contrast to oceans where the shortwave effect dominates.
Toddlers' Empathy-Related Responding to Distress: Predictions From Negative Emotionality and Maternal Behavior in Infancy

This study focused on the predictive contributions of infants' temperamental negative emotionality (proneness to fear, anger), sex, maternal responsivity, and their interaction on toddlers' empathy-related responding to distress in 3 contexts. Ninety-eight infants and their mothers participated in a longitudinal study. When the infants were 10 months of age, mothers completed assessments of infant temperamental anger and fear, and maternal behaviors were observed in a free-play setting. At 18 months of age, toddlers' empathy-related responding to the distress of a stranger, a crying baby doll, and the mother was assessed. A series of hierarchical and logistic regressions were performed, and results indicated that infant fear predicted higher concerned awareness toward adults and higher personal distress reactions toward the mother. In addition, maternal responsivity predicted higher concerned attention and lower personal distress reactions toward the baby doll and mother. Findings also revealed several in...
Ideological Warriors and Constituent Servants: Understanding the Determinants of Participation on Health Care Legislation in the Polarized Senate

Recent scholarship on the Senate indicates that partisanship and polarization have fundamentally changed the dynamics and the nature of policy making in the institution. To understand how senators balance their roles as constituent servants and partisan warriors, we examine senators’ participation in floor amending on major health legislation over a 10-year period (2000–2010). Health care is central to the ideological divide over the nature of the welfare state and has a significant impact on constituents. Unlike previous studies, we develop a fuller picture of the factors that motivate senators to participate by analyzing both amendments filed to a bill and amendments considered on the floor. We find that minority party status and ideology, both the liberal-conservative dimension and ideological extremism, are important indicators of participation. Furthermore, senators elevate ideology in comparison to constituent need when an issue is a presidential priority. Finally, the influence of constituency fact...
Harnessing the Multicores: Nested Data Parallelism in Haskell

If you want to program a parallel computer, a purely functional language like Haskell is a promising starting point. Since the language is pure, it is by-default safe for parallel evaluation, whereas imperative languages are by-default unsafe. But that doesn't make it easy! Indeed it has proved quite difficult to get robust, scalable performance increases through parallel functional programming, especially as the number of processors increases. A particularly promising and well-studied approach to employing large numbers of processors is to use data parallelism. Blelloch's pioneering work on NESL showed that it was possible to combine a rather flexible programming model (nested data parallelism) with a fast, scalable execution model (flat data parallelism). In this talk I will describe Data Parallel Haskell, which embodies nested data parallelism in a modern, general-purpose language, implemented in a state-of-the-art compiler, GHC. I will focus particularly on the vectorisation transformation, which transforms nested to flat data parallelism, and I hope to present performance numbers.
The role of nutrition in stimulating muscle protein accretion at the molecular level

Nutrients act both directly and indirectly to modulate muscle protein accretion through changes in protein synthesis and degradation. For example, glucose, amino acids and fatty acids can all be metabolized to produce energy in the form of ATP that can be utilized for protein synthesis. In addition, amino acids are used directly for the synthesis of new proteins. Nutrients also regulate protein synthesis through activation of a signalling pathway involving the protein kinase, mTOR [mammalian TOR (target of rapamycin)]. Together with several regulatory proteins, mTOR forms a complex referred to as TORC1 (TOR complex 1). Because of its central role in controlling cell growth, TORC1 is an integral component of the mechanism through which nutrients modulate protein synthesis. Herein, the mechanism(s) through which nutrients, and in particular amino acids, regulate signalling through TORC1 will be discussed. In addition, downstream effectors of TORC1 action on mRNA translation will be briefly presented. Finally, a previously unrecognized effector of TORC1 signalling in regulating protein synthesis will be described.
Overestimating the Effect of Complementarity on Skill Demand

Many recent studies estimate cost function parameters to measure the influence of capital-skill complementarity on changes in skill demand. This paper argues that standard cost function estimates assuming quasi-fixed capital systematically overestimate the effect of complementarity when subject to skill-biased technological change. While previous work has considered bias due to measurement error or general endogeneity concerns, this paper shows that upward bias results directly from cost minimizing behavior. I also develop a novel instrumental variables strategy based on the tax treatment of capital to more accurately measure the effect of complementarity. Although somewhat imprecise, the IV results support the model's prediction that the standard approach overestimates the effect of complementarity.
Confrontation Clause - Crawford/Davis/Melendez-Diaz: 2010 Application Summary - Recent Chaos

This article explores the state of confrontation clause analysis as it existed following the Melendez-Diaz United States Supreme Court 2009 decision that an forensic analyst’s affidavit that a substance is cocaine is “testimonial” as that term is presented and somewhat defined in Crawford and Davis. A then current “testimonial/nontestimonial application summary is incorporated followed by a contention that future confusion in the continuing saga of confrontation clause doctrine development is assured. This prediction was in fact borne out by the United States Supreme Court decisions in Bryant and Bullcoming, decisions that were penned after this article was published.
Long-term functional outcomes of women receiving cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure.

The current study sought to determine whether trauma-focused treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) improve psychosocial functioning outcomes, and whether treatment gains are maintained over a long-term follow-up (LTFU) period (5–10 years). The relationship between symptoms of PTSD and depression and psychosocial functioning also were explored. A sample of 154 female rape victims who received cognitive processing therapy (CPT) or prolonged exposure therapy (PE) were assessed at pretreatment, posttreatment, 9 months, and 5–10 years following treatment. Hierarchical linear modeling demonstrated significant improvements in overall functioning, social/leisure adjustment, family unit adjustment, and economic adjustment in both treatment conditions, with gains maintained over the LTFU. Lower household income at baseline was associated significantly with poorer overall functioning, social/leisure adjustment, and economic adjustment over time. Structural equation modeling revealed that poorer overall functioning at posttreatment was associated significantly with higher levels of depressive symptoms at 9 months, whereas higher levels of depressive symptoms at 9 months were associated significantly with poorer levels of overall functioning at LTFU. Findings suggest that both cognitive and exposure-based treatments for PTSD have the potential to impact functioning outcomes over a long period of time.
Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation in Early Stage Parkinson’s Disease May Slow the Progression of Rest Tremor (P3.365)

Objective: To examine whether subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) in early stage Parkinson’s disease (PD) differentially influenced subdomains of the motor examination of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS Part III) after a seven-day washout of therapy. Background: Despite the demonstrated efficacy of DBS for advanced stage PD and promising preclinical data supporting its earlier application, no studies have shown disease modification resulting from DBS or any other surgical or medical therapy for PD. Methods: An analysis of blinded UPDRS Part III subdomain off scores after a seven-day washout of medication and stimulation from the DBS in early PD pilot trial (NCT00282152) was conducted. Subjects in the pilot were randomized to DBS plus optimal drug therapy (DBS+ODT) or optimal drug therapy (ODT) and evaluated at baseline and every six months for two years. Results: Blinded scores for 13 UPDRS Part III subdomains were analyzed, and changes in rest tremor were striking. Rest tremor off therapy scores significantly increased for the ODT group (n=14) over two years (+3.2, p<0.05), while there was a minimal increase for the DBS+ODT group (+0.3, p=0.72, n=13). Slopes of rest tremor off scores vs. time were different between the groups, with the ODT group increasing significantly more than the DBS+ODT group (DBS+ODT minus ODT = -1.53 points/year, 95[percnt] CI = -2.50 to -0.56, p<0.05).The risk of suffering a two point worsening for rest tremor off therapy was 2.6 times higher in the ODT group compared to the DBS+ODT group (95[percnt] CI = 0.8 to 8.3, logrank p=0.07). Conclusions: STN-DBS in early stage PD may slow the progression of rest tremor. Additional investigation is needed to confirm this finding, and the FDA has approved a pivotal, Phase III, double-blind, multicenter clinical trial evaluating DBS in early stage PD. Disclosure: Dr. Hacker has nothing to disclose. Dr. Drye has nothing to disclose. Dr. Heusinkveld has nothing to disclose. Dr. Turchan has nothing to disclose. Dr. Currie has nothing to disclose. Dr. Konrad has received research support from Medtronic, Inc. Dr. Davis has received personal compensation for activities with Addvie as a consultant. Dr. Neimat has received personal compensation for activities with Medtronic, Inc. as a consultant and for research. Dr. Phibbs has received personal compensation for activities with Medtronic, Boston Scientific, and St. Jude Medical as a consultant. Dr. Hedera has nothing to disclose. Dr. Tonascia has nothing to disclose. Dr. Shade has nothing to disclose. Dr. Sternberg has nothing to disclose. Dr. David Charles has received research support from Allergan, Ipsen, Merz, and Medtronic.
CITED4 induces physiologic hypertrophy and promotes functional recovery after ischemic injury

The mechanisms by which exercise mediates its multiple cardiac benefits are only partly understood. Prior comprehensive analyses of the cardiac transcriptional components and microRNAs dynamically regulated by exercise suggest that the CBP/p300-interacting protein CITED4 is a downstream effector in both networks. While CITED4 has documented functional consequences in neonatal cardiomyocytes in vitro, nothing is known about its effects in the adult heart. To investigate the impact of cardiac CITED4 expression in adult animals, we generated transgenic mice with regulated, cardiomyocyte-specific CITED4 expression. Cardiac CITED4 expression in adult mice was sufficient to induce an increase in heart weight and cardiomyocyte size with normal systolic function, similar to the effects of endurance exercise training. After ischemia-reperfusion, CITED4 expression did not change initial infarct size but mediated substantial functional recovery while reducing ventricular dilation and fibrosis. Forced cardiac expression of CITED4 also induced robust activation of the mTORC1 pathway after ischemic injury. Moreover, pharmacological inhibition of mTORC1 abrogated CITED4's effects in vitro and in vivo. Together, these data establish CITED4 as a regulator of mTOR signaling that is sufficient to induce physiologic hypertrophy at baseline and mitigate adverse ventricular remodeling after ischemic injury.
Marine microbiology: Community clean up.

A combination of metagenomics and stable isotope probing provides new insight into the community-wide degradation of hydrocarbons released during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Abstract 3841: Curcumin enhances the efficacy of docetaxel- induced apoptosis of prostate cancer cell

Despite the different prostate cancer (PCa) treatment therapies it continues to be one of the leading causes of death in men. Docetaxel is a well-established chemotherapeutic agent used to target metastatic PCa, however long-term treatment with docetaxel results in drug resistant and toxicity in PCa cells. Combining agents is common to improve outcomes, but the combination should not significantly increase toxicity. Curcumin is a non-toxic natural compound with multifaceted chemo preventive potential. In current study we evaluated whether curcumin can reinforce the effect of docetaxel on PCa cell lines (RWPE-1, C4-2b, DU145 and PC3). PCa cell lines were treated with curcumin or docetaxel alone or in combination followed by cell viability (MTT assay) and apoptosis assay (TUNEL assay and flow-cytometric analysis of annexin V/propidium iodide-stained cells). The expressions of pro- and anti-apoptotic markers were quantitated with real-time PCR and western blot assay. Our results indicate that curcumin combined with docetaxel led to lower cell viability than treatment with docetaxel or curcumin alone. Annexin V staining followed by flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that curcumin treatment enhanced the docetaxel-induced apoptosis of PCa cells, which was further confirmed by TUNEL assay. The down-regulation of the anti-apoptotic proteins (Bcl2, Mcl-1) and upregulation of pro-apoptotic proteins (Bax, Bid etc.) further confirm that we can considerably reduce docetaxel dose using synergistic combination therapy with curcumin. Thus, our results strongly suggest that we can reduce dose levels of docetaxel and compensate it with non-toxic curcumin and it could be a potential therapeutic contender in enhancing the efficacy of docetaxel in PCa treatment. Citation Format: Saswati Banerjee, Santosh K. Singh, James W. Lillard, Rajesh Singh. Curcumin enhances the efficacy of docetaxel- induced apoptosis of prostate cancer cell. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 3841.
Long-Term Safety of Observation in Selected Women Following Core Biopsy Diagnosis of Atypical Ductal Hyperplasia

Purpose Atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH) found on core biopsy is associated with an upgrade to carcinoma in 10–30 % of women, thus surgical excision remains the standard of care. This study compares the incidence of breast cancer in women with ADH who were observed with those who underwent surgical excision of the ADH site.
Classical non-homologous end-joining pathway utilizes nascent RNA for error-free double-strand break repair of transcribed genes

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) leading to loss of nucleotides in the transcribed region can be lethal. Classical non-homologous end-joining (C-NHEJ) is the dominant pathway for DSB repair (DSBR) in adult mammalian cells. Here we report that during such DSBR, mammalian C-NHEJ proteins form a multiprotein complex with RNA polymerase II and preferentially associate with the transcribed genes after DSB induction. Depletion of C-NHEJ factors significantly abrogates DSBR in transcribed but not in non-transcribed genes. We hypothesized that nascent RNA can serve as a template for restoring the missing sequences, thus allowing error-free DSBR. We indeed found pre-mRNA in the C-NHEJ complex. Finally, when a DSB-containing plasmid with several nucleotides deleted within the E. coli lacZ gene was allowed time to repair in lacZ-expressing mammalian cells, a functional lacZ plasmid could be recovered from control but not C-NHEJ factor-depleted cells, providing important mechanistic insights into C-NHEJ-mediated error-free DSBR of the transcribed genome.
Effect of vitamin D replacement on insulin sensitivity in subjects with vitamin D deficiency.

Background and Objective Low vitamin D levels correlate with measures of insulin resistance and prevalence of diabetes mellitus, but there are limited and conflicting data on changes in insulin resistance after vitamin D replacement. The objective of the current study was to examine whether vitamin D replacement improves insulin sensitivity. Methods In this randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study, 12 healthy subjects with plasma 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25[OH]D) levels of less than 20 ng/mL were treated with ergocalciferol, 50,000 units, orally once a week for 8 weeks or matching placebo. The main outcome measure was insulin-stimulated glucose infusion rate during the last 20 minutes of a hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic glucose clamp study. Results At baseline, plasma 25(OH)D levels were similar between the ergocalciferol and placebo groups (13.3 ± 3.8 and 15.7 ± 2.4 ng/mL, respectively; P = 0.3) but were higher in the ergocalciferol group at 8 weeks (18.8 ± 5 vs 12.5 ± 2.2 ng/mL; P = 0.02). Glucose infusion rate was similar between the 2 groups both at baseline and after 8 weeks of treatment. Changes in plasma 25(OH)D levels did not correlate with change in glucose infusion rate. Conclusion Administration of ergocalciferol, 50,000 units, weekly for 8 weeks in subjects with low vitamin D levels improves 25(OH)D levels but does not improve insulin sensitivity.
Progesterone-Mediated Non-Classical Signaling

Progesterone is essential for pregnancy maintenance and menstrual cycle regulation. Hormone action has been primarily ascribed to the well-characterized classical signaling pathway involving ligand binding, activation of nuclear progesterone receptors (PRs), and subsequent activation of genes containing progesterone response elements (PREs). Recent studies have revealed progesterone actions via non-classical signaling pathways, often mediated by non-genomic signaling. Progesterone signaling, in conjunction with growth factor signaling, impacts on the function of growth factors and regulates important physiological actions such as cell growth and remodeling, as well as apoptosis. This review focuses on non-classical progesterone signaling pathways, both including and excluding PR, and highlights how research in this area will provide a better understanding of progesterone actions and may inform novel therapeutic strategies.
Positional Identities, Access to Learning Opportunities, and Multiliteracies: Negotiations in Heritage and Non-heritage Spanish-Speaking Students’ Critical Narratives

Grounded in positioning theory and the Multiliteracies framework, this chapter explores the complex relationships among positional identities, access to learning opportunities, and the development of professional multiliteracies in a doctoral program. The study investigates how seven heritage and non-heritage graduate students in Hispanic linguistics positioned themselves in relation to Spanish and gained access to learning opportunities in their program. The data consisted of autobiographical narratives, collected through life history interviews (Pavlenko, Appl Linguist 28: 163–188, 2007), that focused on the participants’ socio-historically situated experiences while being students. The analysis presented provides insights into the struggles, accomplishments, and identities of heritage language learners who are to become Spanish language teachers or university faculty members, and into how their experiences differ from those of their non-heritage Spanish-speaking peers.
Autonomy of Mobile Robots

What do we actually mean when we talk about “autonomous mobile robots”? This chapter gives an introduction into the technical side of autonomy of mobile robots in the current state of the art and provides the relevant technical background for discussions about autonomy in mobile robot systems. A short history of robotic development explains the origins of robotics and its development from industrial machines into autonomous agents. The term “autonomous robot” is looked at in more detail by presenting the way of decision-making with different categories of robots and by introducing the general model of a rational agent for decision making. Additionally a short outlook on the process of understanding the environment is discussed, giving an overview of the individual steps from sensing up to interpretation of a scene. Selected examples of modern robots present the current state of the art and its limitations within this field. Overall, this introduction provides the required technical insight for non robotic experts to get an understanding of the term autonomous mobile robots and the implications for regulations concerning it.
Environmentally Sustainable Clothing Consumption: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behavior

The purpose of this chapter is to overview the current body of knowledge related to environmentally sustainable clothing consumption. The chapter discusses consumers’ knowledge of and attitudes towards environmental issues related to the production, consumption, and distribution of clothing. Additionally, the chapter examines current consumer engagement levels in environmentally sustainable clothing consumption and analyzes the relationships between knowledge, attitudes, and clothing consumer behavior. Finally, the chapter concludes with a consideration of consumers’ perceived barriers to environmentally sustainable clothing consumption.
Mentoring and the Spiritual Well-Being of Late Adolescents.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible impact of faculty mentoring on the spiritual well-being of late adolescents. The sample consisted of randomly chosen students in their first year at a Christian liberal arts college in New England. Students in the experimental group participated in the freshman seminar program (small classes with seminar leaders/mentors), while those in the control group did not have the freshman seminar experience. Students in both groups were administered a self-assessment survey in September of their freshman year and again in May to determine if there was any change in their spiritual well-being and to explore their perceptions of mentor-student interactions. The findings revealed significant differences between the two groups. In addition, the three aspects of mentoring were positively correlated with the two components of spiritual well-being.
Analysis of Gas Exchange in The Ophthalmic Rete of Pigeons

Many birds have ophthalmic retia (OR), paired vascular networks in the head, that cool arterial blood flowing toward the brain. They thus independently regulate brain and core body temperatures (Bernstein et al., 1979; Kilgore et al., 1979). The system works because evaporation from nasal and oral membranes cools venous blood before it flows through the OR. This blood then takes up heat from warmer arterial blood flowing countercurrent to it (Midtgard 1983; Clair, 1985). The vascular and neural anatomy of the OR suggests that the sympathetic nervous system controls both total blood flow and the proportioning of flow between heat-exchange and shunt vessels (Midtgard, 1985). Birds routinely tolerate body temperatures of 45°C, indicating an extreme capacity for heat storage. This and the ability to cool the brain serves during heat exposure and exercise by reducing the need for evaporative cooling.
Doxycycline-induced esophageal ulceration in the U.S. Military service.

U.S. military forces are frequently deployed with little warning to regions of the world where chloroquine-resistant malaria is endemic. Doxycycline is often used for malaria chemoprophylaxis in these environments. The use of doxycycline can be complicated by esophageal injury. Two cases of esophageal ulceration will be discussed, followed by a review of the literature. Doxycycline causes esophageal injury through a combination of drug-specific factors, the circumstances of drug administration, and individual patient conditions. Patients with dysphagia attributable to esophageal ulceration are managed by intravenous fluid support and control of gastric acid reflux until their symptoms resolve over 5 to 7 days. The risk of esophageal injury can be minimized by use of fresh capsules, drug administration in the upright position well before lying down to sleep, and drinking at least 100 ml of water after swallowing the medication.
Translational control during poxvirus infection

Poxviruses are an unusual family of large double-stranded (ds) DNA viruses that exhibit an incredible degree of self-sufficiency and complexity in their replication and immune evasion strategies. Indeed, amongst their approximately 200 open reading frames (ORFs), poxviruses encode approximately 100 immunomodulatory proteins to counter host responses along with complete DNA synthesis, transcription, mRNA processing and cytoplasmic redox systems that enable them to replicate exclusively in the cytoplasm of infected cells. However, like all other viruses poxviruses do not encode ribosomes and therefore remain completely dependent on gaining access to the host translational machinery in order to synthesize viral proteins. Early studies of these intriguing viruses helped discover the mRNA cap and polyadenylated (polyA) tail that we now know to be present on most eukaryotic messages and which play fundamental roles in mRNA translation, while more recent studies have begun to reveal the remarkable lengths poxviruses go to in order to control both host and viral protein synthesis. Here, we discuss some of the central strategies used by poxviruses and the broader battle that ensues with the host cell to control the translation system, the outcome of which ultimately dictates the fate of infection. This article is categorized under: Translation > Translation Regulation.
Data Subjects' Privacy Rights: Regulation of Personal Data Retention and Erasure

The European Union's right to erasure came into effect May 25, 2018, as Article 17 of the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"). Unlike the U.S. "marketplace of ideas" model of free speech, the GDPR gives greater weight to data subjects' privacy interests than to audiences' curiosity about others' intimate lives. The U.S. and EU models advance human thirst for knowledge through open and uninhibited debates, whereas the internet marketplace tends to favor social media companies' commercial interests: put more specifically, free speech is not entirely harmonious with the interests of social media intermediaries whose algorithms tend to favor companies' bottom lines rather than strictly the expansion of knowledge. European law is less tolerant of privacy invasions than is U.S. constitutional jurisprudence. This Essay examines the GDPR's privacy policies and contrasts them from the U.S. preference for augmenting information available to audiences. It further critiques current U.S. recalcitrance in matters of commercial internet governance and suggests limited U.S. regulatory reform.
Packaged microbubble resonators as a robust field sensing device

Whispering Gallery Mode (WGM) microresonators are a powerful class of optical devices in which light is confined within a small volume. These devices offer the advantages of high sensitivity, affordable cost of fabrication, and ease of integration with conventional electronic systems. In particular, microbubble resonators are a unique type of WGM devices in which the optical and fluidic elements are combined into a single component. We have developed a packaged, silica microbubble resonator device for field applications using 3-D printed substrates. These devices offer Qfactors at high as 106.
Fermi surface reconstruction by a charge-density-wave with finite correlation length

Even a small amplitude charge-density wave (CDW) can reconstruct a Fermi surface, giving rise to new quantum oscillation frequencies. Here, we investigate quantum oscillations when the CDW has a finite correlation length $\ensuremath{\xi}$---a case relevant to the hole-doped cuprates. By considering the Berry phase induced by a spatially varying CDW phase, we derive an effective Dingle factor that depends exponentially on the ratio of the cyclotron orbit radius, ${R}_{c}$, to $\ensuremath{\xi}$. In the context of $\mathrm{YBa}{}_{2}\mathrm{Cu}{}_{3}\mathrm{O}{}_{y}$ (YBCO), we conclude that the values of $\ensuremath{\xi}$ reported to date for bidirectional CDW order are, prima facie, too short to account for the observed Fermi surface reconstruction; on the other hand, the values of $\ensuremath{\xi}$ for the unidirectional CDW are just long enough.
New-onset refractory status epilepticus: A retrospective cohort study

Abstract Purpose To describe the clinical, laboratory, neuroimaging, electroencephalographic features, etiology, treatment, as well as short-term and long-term outcomes of adults with new-onset refractory status epilepticus (NORSE). Method A retrospective, single institution cohort study (2010–2018) of consecutive adult patients with NORSE. Results Among 20 patients with NORSE, nine (45 %) had prodromal febrile illness, 12 (60 %) had evidence of inflammation on CSF profile. Six patients (30 %) met criteria for definite autoimmune encephalitis (AE) while 8 patients (40 %) had probable AE. Eleven out of 13 (85 %) patients had an abnormal FDG-PET scan with the most common finding being regional hypermetabolism. Fourteen patients (70 %) received immunotherapy and ten (50 %) received the ketogenic diet (KD). Fifteen patients (75 %) progressed to super-refractory status epilepticus (SRSE) and seven patients (35 %) died in the hospital or within six months of discharge. Among the surviving patients, eight (40 %) had a good outcome (i.e., modified Rankin Scale score 0–2); 12 (80 %) received a diagnosis of epilepsy of which nine (75 %) developed drug-resistant epilepsy. Conclusions New-onset refractory status epilepticus is a syndrome associated with multiple complications, high mortality, and subsequent intractable epilepsy. There are multiple causes, some of which are autoimmune encephalitides; however, in this series the majority of patients had no clear etiology identified after extensive evaluation. Prospective studies are needed to determine optimal evaluation and treatment.
Resolving the mystery of the concentration-dependence of amphoteric dopant diffusion in III-V semiconductors

Abstract Amphoteric dopants, such as silicon, exhibit a concentration-dependent diffusivity in III-V compounds characterized by a low to negligible diffusion at low dopant concentrations, which increases by orders of magnitude at high concentrations. The reason for this anomalous and non-intuitive diffusivity has largely remained a mystery. Leading models from literature, built to explain existing experimental results, make contradictory assumptions on the nature of the diffusing species, based only on thermodynamic considerations. In this work, we perform ab initio calculations to characterize the kinetics of dopant diffusion in III-V materials revealing how the nature of the primary diffusing species changes with concentration. We use these results to derive a new analytical model which fits historical, as well as more recent, experimental data on Si diffusion in GaAs and In0.57Ga0.43As. This work provides a fundamentals-based understanding of Si diffusion in III-V alloys as well as a new predictive analysis tool while showcasing a mutiscale approach of solving diffusion problems. We hope this work will help guide the design of the next generation of III-V based electronic and photonic devices.
Facial Amphiphilicity-Induced Self-Assembly (FAISA) of Amphiphilic Copolymers

Amphiphilic molecules, including macromolecules and small surfactants, inherently self-assemble into a wide variety of nanostructures in selective solvents. However, the sequential structure for sy...
Geochemical characteristics of trace occurrences of Mississippi Valley-type mineralization in the U.S. mid-continent: Implications for deposit growth

Abstract The Paleozoic strata of the U.S. mid-continent host several major Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) ore deposits and many trace occurrences of MVT mineralization. The present study sought to test the hypothesis that systematic differences in fluid composition led to the differences in scale of mineralization. To conduct this test, fluid inclusions in trace MVT occurrences were characterized and compared to previously characterized fluid inclusions in mid-continent MVT ore deposits. Primary sphalerite-hosted fluid inclusions in trace MVT occurrences from across the U.S. mid-continent were analyzed using microthermometry, Raman spectroscopy, and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Interquartile ranges (25th to 75th percentile) of trace MVT fluid inclusion properties were found to be as follows: homogenization temperature = 78 to 107 °C, salinity = 13.8 to 23.9 equivalent weight percent NaCl, atomic ratios of K/Na = 0.017 to 0.038, Ca/Na = 0.18 to 0.31, Mg/Na = 0.0081 to 0.013, Sr/Na = 0.0093 to 0.015, Ba/Na = 0.00013 to 0.00041. Compared to MVT ore deposits, fluid inclusions in trace MVT occurrences have lower homogenization temperatures and K/Na and Ba/Na ratios, similar salinities and Ca/Na and Sr/Na ratios, and slightly higher Mg/Na ratios (excluding Mg-rich fluid inclusions from the Upper Mississippi Valley district). In addition, fluid inclusions in trace MVT occurrences have low to undetectable methane contents whereas MVT ore deposits have high methane concentrations on the order of 100's to 1000's of ppm. Sphalerite matrix trace metal concentrations of trace MVT occurrences generally overlap those of MVT ore deposits. Differences in elemental concentrations and temperature between trace MVT and MVT ore-forming fluids are insufficient to account for the differences in deposit size. This suggests that differences in the local availability of sulfide, which could not be measured in this study but may correspond with the large observed differences in methane content, may have governed MVT deposit size.
Novel Mechanism of Microvesicle Regulation by the Antiviral Protein Tetherin During HIV Infection

Background Microvesicles are cell membrane–derived vesicles that have been shown to augment inflammation. Specifically, monocyte‐derived microvesicles (MDMVs), which can express the coagulation pro...
Abstract 3254: MOTO-CARs™: A novel macrophage-based chimeric antigen receptor technology

We report the development of a novel macrophage-mediated immunotherapy targeting mesothelin-expressing solid tumors. Although the advent of immunotherapy heralded a new era in cancer treatment, it has been accompanied by severe limitations, including antigen escape, cytokine release syndrome (CRS), and the inability to penetrate solid tumors. We sought to ameliorate these issues by developing a macrophage toll-like chimeric antigen receptor (MOTO-CAR™) designed to target and activate upon cancer antigen recognition. Here we show evidence supporting this proof-of-concept MOTO-CAR™ technology in a murine macrophage cell line (RAW 264.7) targeting a mesothelin-expressing, triple-negative, mammary gland squamous carcinoma cell line (HCC-1806). The MOTO-CAR™ construct was transfected into macrophage cells with an average efficiency above 50%. The presence of the chimeric construct was confirmed via mesothelin scFv amplification of isolated mRNA, and the engineered macrophages stably expressed the chimeric receptor for over 7 days, with the highest level of expression approximately 24 hours post transfection. We found that upon exposure to HCC-1806 cells, MOTO-CARs™ are not only effective at eliminating the cancer cells, but also secrete significant levels of TNF-α when compared to mock controls (p= 0.009), indicating activation and polarization to an M1 phenotype upon target recognition. In vitro cytotoxicity assays confirmed that macrophages containing the MOTO-CAR™ construct increasingly targeted and killed HCC-1806 cells when compared to the mock control (p Citation Format: Michelle Hannah Townsend, Zachary D. Ewell, Kelsey A. Bennion, Guoying Wang, Jonathan Skidmore, David Lum, Michael Boyer, Kim L. O9Neill. MOTO-CARs™: A novel macrophage-based chimeric antigen receptor technology [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 3254.