cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Gapped alignment of protein sequence motifs through Monte Carlo optimization of a hidden Markov model

Certain protein families are highly conserved across distantly related organisms and belong to large and functionally diverse superfamilies. The patterns of conservation present in these protein sequences presumably are due to selective constraints maintaining important but unknown structural mechanisms with some constraints specific to each family and others shared by a larger subset or by the entire superfamily. To exploit these patterns as a source of functional information, we recently devised a statistically based approach called c ontrast h ierarchical a lignment and i nteraction n etwork (CHAIN) analysis, which infers the strengths of various categories of selective constraints from co-conserved patterns in a multiple alignment. The power of this approach strongly depends on the quality of the multiple alignments, which thus motivated development of theoretical concepts and strategies to improve alignment of conserved motifs within large sets of distantly related sequences. Here we describe a hidden Markov model (HMM), an algebraic system, and Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling strategies for alignment of multiple sequence motifs. The MCMC sampling strategies are useful both for alignment optimization and for adjusting position specific background amino acid frequencies for alignment uncertainties. Associated statistical formulations provide an objective measure of alignment quality as well as automatic gap penalty optimization. Improved alignments obtained in this way are compared with PSI-BLAST based alignments within the context of CHAIN analysis of three protein families: Giαsubunits, prolyl oligopeptidases, and transitional endoplasmic reticulum (p97) AAA+ ATPases. While not entirely replacing PSI-BLAST based alignments, which likewise may be optimized for CHAIN analysis using this approach, these motif-based methods often more accurately align very distantly related sequences and thus can provide a better measure of selective constraints. In some instances, these new approaches also provide a better understanding of family-specific constraints, as we illustrate for p97 ATPases. Programs implementing these procedures and supplementary information are available from the authors.
Manufacturability assessment: an object-oriented approach

The concepts and techniques of object-oriented modeling are used to model the assessment knowledge as well as part definition data to automate manufacturability assessment. Each type of knowledge (i.e., assessment and control knowledge) is represented in terms of production rules and abstracted into objects to facilitate the management of knowledge and modeling of the entire assessment process. Part definition data are represented in an object-oriented part model with the characteristics of data abstraction, adaptability and modularization. The behavior of the assessment process is defined in terms of methods in both part models and assessment process objects. The approaches to conflict resolution used in the system are considered. >
Development of Trivia Game for speech understanding in background noise

AbstractPurpose: Listening in noise is an everyday activity and poses a challenge for many people. To improve the ability to understand speech in noise, a computerized auditory rehabilitation game was developed. In Trivia Game players are challenged to answer trivia questions spoken aloud. As players progress through the game, the level of background noise increases. A study using Trivia Game was conducted as a proof-of-concept investigation in healthy participants.Method: College students with normal hearing were randomly assigned to a control (n = 13) or a treatment (n = 14) group. Treatment participants played Trivia Game 12 times over a 4-week period. All participants completed objective (auditory-only and audiovisual formats) and subjective listening in noise measures at baseline and 4 weeks later.Result: There were no statistical differences between the groups at baseline. At post-test, the treatment group significantly improved their overall speech understanding in noise in the audiovisual conditio...
Characterization and Isolation of Five Microsatellite Loci in Northern Flying Squirrels, Glaucomys sabrinus (Sciuridae, Rodentia)

ABSTRACT. Northern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus) are found in boreal forests of northern and northwestern North America, but a small population is isolated to the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming. Few micro satellite primers have been developed for this species, though they are needed to examine the genetic structure of these populations. Thus, we isolated and characterized 5 micro satellite loci in northern flying squirrels through a series of steps involving microbiology, molecular biology, and genetic techniques. Data analyses with these primers indicated that the northern flying squirrel population found in the Black Hills may have low heterozygosity and significant departure from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The development of these primers not only provides additional data for analyzing a small, disjunct population but also serves as a mechanism for understanding population dynamics and assisting with overall management and conservation of unique populations.
Ontogeny of intestinal phosphate absorption in rabbits.

The ontogeny of intestinal phosphate transport was examined in brush-border membrane vesicles prepared from 2-wk, 4-wk, 6-wk, and 3-mo-old rabbits. At all four ages, vesicles prepared from the duod...
Treatment of Spine Deformity in Neuromuscular Diseases

Spinal deformity adversely affects the quality of life of patients with progressive hereditary neuromuscular diseases (NMDs). While the impact of spinal arthrodesis on pulmonary function remains controversial (the disease pathogenesis continues to affect chest wall muscles and diaphragm), there can be no doubt that failure to aggressively treat spinal deformity in progressive NMD can have profound negative consequences on sitting balance, pelvic obliquity, ability to sit comfortably in a wheelchair, cosmesis, and quality of life. There are emerging data that improvements in disease management in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) including treatment with corticosteroids, surgical management of spine deformity, noninvasive ventilation, and more effective treatment of cardiomyopathy have led to improved function and survival in DMD and a changing natural history of disease. Spinal arthrodesis with internal instrumentation is the only effective treatment, but optimally is deferred to the second decade so that anterior approaches are avoided. Spinal orthotics may be used in younger patients to provide postural support and more balanced sitting, but spinal orthotics generally do not affect the natural history of spinal deformity in NMD conditions. Surgical management of the spinal deformity often requires a multidisciplinary approach beginning in the preoperative surgical planning period owing to concomitant restrictive lung disease and cardiomyopathy in selected NMD conditions.
Reflections on Communication and Sport: On Reporting and Journalists

In this essay, Wayne Wanta reflects on sports reporting and journalists in the context of the traditions of mass communication research and theory. The first section focuses on the importance of co...
Selectionable distributions for a random set

Artstein has given a characterization of the distributions induced by selections of a random compact subset of a complete separable metric space. In this paper, Artstein's results are extended to spaces which may be neither metric nor separable.
Rescher's Principle of Decreasing Marginal Returns of Scientific Research

In his book "Scientific Progress", Rescher (1978, German ed. 1982, French ed. 1993)developed a principle of decreasing marginal returns of scientific research, which is based, interalia, on a law of logarithmic returns and on Lotka's law in a certain interpretation. In the presentpaper, the historical precursors and the meaning of the principle are sketched out. It is reported onsome empirical case studies concerning the principle spread over the literature. New bibliometricdata are used about 19th-century mathematics and physics. They confirm Rescher's principleapart from the early phases of the disciplines, where a square root law seems to be moreapplicable. The implication of the principle that the returns of different quality levels grow theslower, the higher the level, is valid. However, the time-derivative ratio between (logarithmized)investment in terms of manpower and returns in terms of first-rate contributors seems not to belinear, but rather to fluctuate vividly, pointing to the cyclical nature of scientific progress. Withregard to Rescher's principle, in the light of bibliometric indicators no difference occurs betweena natural science like physics and a formal science like mathematics. From mathematical progressof the 19th century, constant or increasing returns in the form of new formulas, theorems andaxioms are observed, which leads to a complementary interpretation of the principle of decreasingmarginal returns as a principle of scientific "mass production".
Nursing Students Assess Nursing Education

This study assessed the characteristics of nursing students currently enrolled in nursing education programs, how students finance their nursing education, their plans for clinical practice and graduate education, and the rewards and difficulties of being a nursing student. Data are from a survey administered to a national sample of 496 nursing students. The students relied on financial aid and personal savings and earnings to finance their education. Parents, institutional scholarships, and government loans are also important sources, but less than 15% of the students took out bank loans. Nearly one quarter of the students, particularly younger and minority students, plan to enroll in graduate school immediately after graduation and most want to become advanced nursing practitioners. Most of the nursing students (88%) are satisfied with their nursing education and nearly all (95%) provided written answers to two open-ended questions. Comments collapsed into three major categories reflecting the rewards (helping others, status, and job security) and three categories reflecting the difficulties (problems with balancing demands, quality of nursing education, and the admissions process) of being a nursing student. Implications for public policymaking center on expanding the capacity of nursing education programs, whereas schools themselves should focus on addressing the financial needs of students, helping them strike a balance among their school, work, and personal/family responsibilities and modifying certain aspects of the curriculum.
The Effect of Preslaughter Temperature, Stress, Struggle and Anesthetization on Color and Textural Characteristics of Turkey Muscle

Abstract Forty tom turkeys at 24 weeks of age were equally randomized into the following four treatments: 1) Heat stress at 42 C for one hour prior to slaughter; 2) Cold stress in ice water immersion for 20 minutes at 4 C prior to slaughter; 3) Anesthetization with sodium pentobarbital at a dose of .143 grains per pound of live weight just prior to slaughter; 4) Birds were allowed to struggle freely during slaughter. All birds were slaughtered using the subscald method (59 C) and chilled overnight prior to freezing at —29 C. Carcasses were packaged in polyvinylidene chloride film and measurements were made after storage at —29 C for 3 months. Cold stressed and anesthetized turkeys showed little struggle during bleeding, whereas free struggle and heat stressed birds exhibited considerable struggle. The free struggle birds were noted to have a lower muscle pH than that observed in the other treatments. Shear values of the pectoralis muscle was significantly higher in heat stressed and free struggle birds. There was a significant increase in Gardner L and a decrease in Gardner aL values of white meat as struggle was minimized in the cold stress and anesthetized treatments. These results indicate that pre-slaughter stress and struggle may affect the color and textural characteristics of turkey meat.
Neural substrates of the development of cognitive control in children ages 5-10 years

Cognitive conflict detection and resolution develops with age across childhood and likely supports age-related increases in other aspects of cognitive and emotional development. Little is known about the neural correlates of conflict detection and resolution in early childhood. In the current study, we investigated age-related change in neural recruitment during a blocked spatial-incompatibility task Simon task in children ages 5-10 years using fMRI. Cortical thickness was measured using structural MRI. Across all children, there was greater activation in right prefrontal and bilateral parietal cortices for incompatible than compatible conditions. In older children, compared with younger children, there was decreased activation and decreased gray matter thickness in the medial PFC. Thickness and activation changes across age were associated within participants, such that thinner cortex was associated with less activation in the rostral ACC. These findings suggest that developmental change in medial PFC activation supports performance on cognitive control tasks in early childhood.
CRL4-like Clr4 complex in Schizosaccharomyces pombe depends on an exposed surface of Dos1 for heterochromatin silencing

Repressive histone H3 lysine 9 methylation (H3K9me) and its recognition by HP1 proteins are necessary for pericentromeric heterochromatin formation. In Schizosaccharomyces pombe, H3K9me deposition depends on the RNAi pathway. Cryptic loci regulator 4 (Clr4), the only known H3K9 methyltransferase in this organism, is a subunit of the Clr4 methyltransferase complex (CLRC), whose composition is reminiscent of a CRL4 type cullin-RING ubiquitin ligase (CRL) including its cullin Cul4, the RING-box protein Pip1, the DNA damage binding protein 1 homolog Rik1, and the DCAF-like protein delocalization of Swi6 1 (Dos1). Dos2 and Stc1 have been proposed to be part of the complex but do not bear similarity to canonical ubiquitin ligase components. CLRC is an active E3 ligase in vitro, and this activity is necessary for heterochromatin assembly in vivo. The similarity between CLRC and the CRLs suggests that the WD repeat protein Dos1 will act to mediate target recognition and substrate specificity for CLRC. Here, we present a pairwise interaction screen that confirms a CRL4-like subunit arrangement and further identifies Dos2 as a central component of the complex and recruiter of Stc1. We determined the crystal structure of the Dos1 WD repeat domain, revealing an eight-bladed β-propeller fold. Functional mapping of the putative target-binding surface of Dos1 identifies key residues required for heterochromatic silencing, consistent with Dos1’s role as the specificity factor for the E3 ubiquitin ligase.
DIALOG SYSTEMS FOR SURVEYS: THE RATE-A-COURSE SYSTEM

In this paper, we discuss why surveys are an interesting application of spoken dialog systems from both commercial and research perspectives. We then describe a prototype survey spoken dialog system, the Rate-A-Course system. We show how dialog epiphenomena, including the order in which questions are answered and the duration of respondents' answers, can be used to learn information beyond that covered explicitly by survey questions.
Increasing Participation of Females and Underrepresented Minorities in Computing

The demand for computer scientists is growing, but production of CS degrees in the US has been declining and we may face a shortage in the computing workforce in the next decade. In recent years, women earned fewer than 20 percent of computing degrees in the US, and African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans combined earned fewer than 8 percent of computer science and engineering degrees. The low participation of women and underrepresented minorities not only contributes to the shortage of computer scientists but also hampers creativity within the discipline by reducing the richness in perspectives that would accompany diversity. Therefore, recruiting and retaining women and underrepresented minorities in computing is an important issue for computing educators.
AMMONIA TOXICITY IN CULTURED LARVAE OF THE AMERICAN LOBSTER (Homarus americanus)1

Ammonia is the chief nitrogenous excretory product of lobsters and is known to be toxic to these crustaceans at relatively low concentrations. The primary purpose of this study was to determine tolerance limits of larval Homarus americanus to ammonia in order to optimize design of the seawater circulation and waste treatment components of a lobster mariculture system. This is often a critical problem in culture systems in which a major part of the seawater is recycled. The incipient median lethal concentration (LC50) and tentatively safe ammonia concentration were determined for fourth stage larvae of H. americanus to be 1.4 and 0.14 mg/liter un-ionized ammonia-nitrogen (NH3-N), respectively. The effects of pH, temperature, and salinity on ammonia toxicity also were evaluated. Increasing pH from 7.4 to 8.4 increases toxicity markedly. Increasing temperature from 21°C, near the optimum for growth, to 25°C increases toxicity only slightly. Changes in salinity from 31 to 36 ppt produce no appreciable effect. These increase in pH or temperature shift the NH3/NH+4 equilibrium unfavorably toward the more toxic NH3 negligible effect on the equilibrium. A simplified steady-state equation was developed for predicting the optimum biomass loading for a lobster culture system, based on the ammonia toxicity determined for fourth stage larval lobsters. This equation relates the ammonia tolerance limit, ammonia excretion rate, ambient ammonia concentration of the water source, water flow rate, degree of water reuse, and efficiency of ammonia removal. The time lag required for the culture system to attain steady-state conditions also is considered.
The Problem with Paradigms: Bateman's Worldview as a Case Study

SYNOPSIS. Bateman’s principles, their corollaries and predictions constitute a paradigm for the study of sexual selection theory, evolution of mating systems, parental investment theory, and sexual dimorphism in male and female behavior. Some aspects of this paradigm have been challenged in recent years, while others have been supported by empirical and theoretical research. We re-examine Bateman’s 1948 paper in detail, including some methodological problems. Additionally, we review three areas in which an over-reliance on Bateman’s predictions about sexual dynamics hindered our ability to understand the potential importance of certain behaviors: 1) male mate choice and sperm allocation; 2) the role of females in initiating and soliciting extra-pair copulations and fertilizations; and 3) the role of females in lekking systems, in which recent evidence suggests that copulations with multiple males (polyandrous behavior) may be common. We conclude this introduction to the symposium by emphasizing the heuristic value of Bateman’s contributions, as well as the problems that arise when Bateman’s paradigm is viewed through the lens of modern behavioral ecology and evolutionary theory.
Crowdsourcing in the Field: A Case Study Using Local Crowds for Event Reporting.

While crowd work typically involves tasks that performed at any time and anywhere, some tasks inherently require the physical presence of workers at a specific time and location. This paper presents a case study of a hybrid crowdsourcing process that involves the collaborative production of event reports using a combination of local and remote workers. The process extends human computation into the physical world by using local workers to collect information in person at events and remote workers to curate the collected information and generate event reports. We deployed the process at 11 events, employing 84 workers, and identified the challenges local workers face as constraints in mobility, time available to perform tasks, unpredictability of events, and interaction with others. We discuss issues related to collaboration with remote workers and bias in field reporting, and conduct a qualitative analysis to make design recommendations for extending human computation into the physical environment.
Single Crystal Fibers By The Laser-Heated Pedestal Growth Method

The versatility of the laser-heated pedestal growth method for producing a wide range of compounds in single-crystal fiber form is discussed, along with some potential applications. Some preliminary results on the growth of single-domain LiNbO3 crystals, and crystals of BaF2 and CaF2, sapphire, and several laser materials are discussed.
Acoustic Detection of Phase Transitions at the Nanoscale

Materials near structural phase transitions find applications in a wide range of devices. Typically, phase transitions are determined macroscopically through measurements of relevant order parameters and related property coefficients. Here, a method for understanding electric field induced phase transitions in ferroelectrically active materials at the nanometer scale via acoustic detection with band-excitation piezoresponse force microscopy (BE-PFM) is introduced. Specifically, the field-induced rhombohedral (R) to tetragonal (T) phase transition in single crystal 0.72PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3-0.28PbTiO3 (PMN-PT) is mapped. It is shown that due to sample heterogeneity, some regions are more prone to the R–T transition, and display signatures in the acquired piezoresponse loops, as well as pronounced softening in the elastic modulus (monitored via the resonant frequency and calibrated with models of cantilever dynamics) that occurs just prior to phase switching. Landau–Devonshire thermodynamic theory confirms the stability of the tetragonal phase under applied fields in PMN-PT, while phase-field modeling suggests that the transition evolves smoothly in the probed volume of the tip, both in agreement with the BE-PFM results. These results confirm the validity and utility of utilizing acoustic changes at phase transitions to detect their onset in nanoscale probed volumes, allowing spatial mapping of their onset with unprecedented resolution.
From butterboxes to wooden shoes: the shift in English popular sentiment from anti-Dutch to anti-French in the 1670s

While Restoration historians have traditionally assumed that there was little public initerest in foreign affairs, and that English attitudes towards Europe were determined either by religious or domestic concerns, this essay argues that there was a lively and sophisticated English debate about Europe which turned on the proper identification of the uiniversal monarch rather than religion. In the later i66os the English political nation wvas deeply divided in its understanding of European politics. Enthusiastic supporters of the restored monarcly thought that the republican United Provinces sought universal dominion, while the monarchy's radical critics identified absolutist France as an aspirant to universal monarchy. French success in the early phases of the third AngloDutch war, the failure of the French navy to support the English fleet at sea, and the overthrow of the Dutch republican regime in favour of William III, Prince of Orange, convinced the vast majority of the English that France represented the greater threat. Ultimately popular pressure compelled Charles II to abandon the French alliance. In addition, the popular convictioni that Louis XIV had succeeded in corrupting the English court resulted in a new-found desire for popular accountability in foreign affairs, and a consequent diminution of the royal prerogative in that sphere. 'No one is able to explain why the people of England detest the French alliance so violently or why they wish for peace with Holland at any cost', complained the Venetian secretary in England, Girolamo Alberti, in the autumn of i673.1 Especially perplexing for contemporary observers was the sudden shift in English opinion from general support of the third Anglo-Dutch war (i672-4) to virtually unanimous condemnation. Modern historians, while acknowledging the importance of this shift in popular opinion, have been no less uncertain of its causes. K. H. D. Haley, in his path-breaking study William of Orange and the English opposition 1672-4, offered an intriguing and persuasive explanation. Prior to the summer of I 673, Haley argued, public opinion and the house of commons were 'quite unmoved by foreign considerations'.2 It was at this point that William of Orange, and his propagandist par excellence Pierre Du Moulin, intervened decisively on * I am grateful to Toby Barnard, Gerald MacLean, Peter Miller, Nelly Oliensis,Jenny Paxton, John Robertson, Jennifer Poulos, Claire Valente, and Blair Worden for commenting upon and criticizing this essay. 1 Alberti to Doge and senate, 3 I Oct./ I o Nov. I 673, Calenidar of State Papers Venetian, p. I 70. K. H. D. Haley, WVilliam of Orankge and the Enlglish oppositionI i67-4 (Oxford, 1953), p. 90.
Obesity and Cancer—Opportunities to Break the Link

Obesity is a major global health problem with a rising worldwide burden. In addition to its association with several diseases, obesity is associated with increased incidence and worse prognosis for many malignances. Many possible mechanisms that contribute to the obesity-cancer link have been proposed, but key pathways likely include steroid hormone signaling, altered gut microbiota, insulin and insulin growth factor interactions, levels of circulating adipokines, and local and systemic inflammation. By understanding these mechanisms and their interactions, we may be able to intervene to improve the public health burden imposed by obesity. Equally critical to the development of targeted intervention strategies is the identification of accurate biomarkers to better detect populations that are more or less likely to benefit from specific interventions.
Effect of Salmonella typhosa endotoxin on perfused dog spleen.

SummaryThese results demonstrate that local injection of the endotoxin S. typhosa into the splenic vascular bed of the dog, perfused at a constant flow, results in a progressive increase in calculated vascular resistance. The response of the splenic vasculature to lethal doses of endotoxin, furthermore, is unlike that of the intestine and resembles the response of other organs of the portal circulatory bed, the liver and stomach. Where a persistent venular constriction occurs in the intestine, only a transitory venoconstriction occurs in the spleen.
SOLITARY SPLENIC METASTASIS FOLLOWING OPERATION FOR LUNG CANCER-REPORT OF A CASE-

症例は58歳,男性.平成10年3月25日に原発性右肺腺癌に対し,胸骨正中切開・右上葉切除+ND3αの手術を行い,同年5月1日に両側頸部郭清が行われ, p-TIN3γM0と診断されていた.その後,平成11年11月より腫瘍マーカー(CEA)の上昇と,腹部CTで脾臓に増大傾向を有する単発のlow density area(以下LDA)を認めた.肺癌の脾転移を疑い,摘脾術を施行.病理学的にも肺癌の脾転移と診断された. 原発性肺癌術後の孤立性脾転移を切除した症例を経験し,今後肺癌の単一臓器転移先として脾臓をも念頭に置く必要を示唆すると考え報告した.
Effect of the Anastomotic Angle on the Wall Shear Stress Profiles in the Arteriovenous Fistulae

1 ABSTRACT A significant number of arteriovenous fistulae (AVFs) fail to mature to support hemodialysis. Hemodynamic parameters, mainly wall shear stress (WSS), are believed to play a crucial role in the maturation or failure of AVFs. Our goal is to study the effects of the AVF configuration on the WSS profile. Idealized AVFs with 90°, 60°, and 30° anastomotic angles were created based on our previous experimental data from an in-vivo swine model [1]. The hemodynamic parameters were then obtained using numerical techniques under steady state condition. The average WSS values for our models were within range of the swine model average WSS (=174.9±64.6 dyne/cm). For all AVFs, WSS was higher along the bend. The highest WSS occurred on the outer wall (OW) of the 30° AVF (=613 dyne/cm) compared to the 60° (=407 dyne/cm) and 90° AVFs (=329 dyne/cm). WSS on the inner wall (IW) of the bend was negative with the smallest magnitude in the 90° AVF (=-91 dyne/cm) compared to the 60° (=-172 dyne/cm) and 30° AVFs (=-169 dyne/cm). In addition, the maximum difference in WSS (∆WSS: measure of axial WSS gradient) was less for the 90° AVF (=158 dyne/cm) than the 60° (=170 dyne/cm) and 30° AVFs (=414 dyne/cm). A similar trend was found on the OW with ∆WSS of 161, 405, and 870 dyne/cm for the 90°, 60°, 30° AVF, respectively. Moreover, AVFs with different angles can be categorized based on Dean number (De) which showed an inverse correlation to WSS range. Thus, creating an AVF with a surgical configuration that results in a low De, representing a sharp bend with large radius of curvature, could result in a hemodynamic condition (high WSS and ∆WSS) that could have adverse effects on the fistula maturation.
65 FATTY ACIDS ACTIVATE NUCLEAR FACTOR κB AND INDUCE INTERLEUKIN-6 PRODUCTION FROM MOUSE 3T3-L1 PREADIPOCYTES AND ISOLATED HUMAN SUBCUTANEOUS STROMAL-VASCULAR CELLS.

Obesity markedly elevates circulating proinflammatory cytokines, which are found to be associated with multiple chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, the underlying mechanisms for systemic inflammation in obese individuals are poorly understood. One unambiguous physiologic change from lean to obese individuals is a chronic elevation of circulating free fatty acids (FFAs), imparted owing to enlarged fat cell size and population as well as impaired antilipolytic actions of insulin. FFA has been shown to induce cytokine production in several cell types, including macrophages. Obesity is found to be associated with increased macrophage infiltration in adipose tissue, but the cause of such is still not conclusive. On the other hand, adipose tissue is naturally enriched with preadipoctyes. Striking similarity has been documented between preadipocytes and macrophage with even conversion between the two cell types under adequate conditions. Paradoxically, little is known about how FFA affects the function of preadipocytes, the cell type that is closely associated with adipocyte-derived FFA. In this study, we showed that FFA directly activates NF-κB, the master proinflammatory transcription factor and its downstream products IL-6 and TNF-α in clonal preadipocytes (3T3-L1) and in isolated human adipose stromal-vascular cells (SVCs). Inhibition of NF-κB using NF-κB-specific inhibitor (TLCK), proteasome inhibitor (MG132), and siRNA-mediated inhibition of NF-κB-p105 significantly attenuated FFA-stimulated IL-6 production in both 3T3-L1 and human SVAs (p
Comparative analysis on results of 4 different methods for detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis in sputum

Objective To perform the comparative analysis on the application value of the clinical diagnostic methods of tuberculosis.Methods The smear,immune magnetic beads technology separation smear(IMS-smear),sputum culture and FQ-PCR methods were adopted to detect the sputum specimens in 112 cases of tuberculosis and 53 control cases.Results The sensitivity of the common smear method was lowest(25.00%),which of the IMS-smear and the sputum culture were 39.29% and 37.50% respectively.The sensitivity of FQ-PCR was 67.86%,which was significantly higher than that of other methods.Conclusion FQ-PCR and IMS-smear can be used as an important supplement of common acid-fast staining and culture methods or complementary approach,which has great clinical significance to increase the detection rate,early discover and early treat tuberculosis.
Martian north polar cap summer water cycle

Abstract A key outstanding question in Martian science is “are the polar caps gaining or losing mass and what are the implications for past, current and future climate?” To address this question, we use observations from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) of the north polar cap during late summer for multiple Martian years, to monitor the summertime water cycle in order to place quantitative limits on the amount of water ice deposited and sublimed in late summer. We establish here for the first time the summer cycle of water ice absorption band signatures on the north polar cap. We show that in a key region in the interior of the north polar cap, the absorption band depths grow until L s = 120, when they begin to shrink, until they are obscured at the end of summer by the north polar hood. This behavior is transferable over the entire north polar cap, where in late summer regions 'flip' from being net sublimating into net condensation mode. This transition or 'mode flip' happens earlier for regions closer to the pole, and later for regions close to the periphery of the cap. The observations and calculations presented herein estimate that on average a water ice layer ∼70 microns thick is deposited during the L s = 135–164 period. This is far larger than the results of deposition on the south pole during summer, where an average layer 0.6–6 microns deep has been estimated by Brown et al. (2014) Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 406, 102–109.
Embodied Communication Practices in Instructive Interaction between Musicians

Musicians, in the discussion and teaching of their art, commonly make use of vocalizations in order to demonstrate a particular melody or musical phrase. In the present study, we consider the use of these vocalizations as part of embodied depictions, and the role that these embodied communication practices play in music instruction. Data drawn from video recordings of private lessons between a clarinetist and his instructor demonstrate that these enactments are used in order to (re-)represent the experience of both performing and listening. The music instructor makes use of these embodied depictions for a number of actions central to teaching the art, including assessment, direction, and displays of understanding. In considering body-based communicative practices as an instructive tool, we consider both simulation and social action based cognitive perspectives through application in the analysis of goal-oriented interaction.
A Line as Real Numbers (REAL); Coordinatization of a Plane (RR)

This chapter derives basic properties of least upper bounds and explores their relationship with the Archimedean property. On an arbitrary line in a Euclidean/LUB plane (which has been built into an ordered field) real multiples of points are defined and their algebraic properties derived. These properties are used to show the existence of an order-preserving isomorphism between the set of all real numbers and the whole line. The chapter ends with coordinatization of a Euclidean/LUB plane.
Evolution of Oleosins

The seeds of most plant species store triacylglycerols (TAGs) as food reserves for germination. The TAGs are present in small subcellular spherical oil bodies of about 0.6–2 μm in diameter. Each oil body has a matrix of TAGs surrounded by a layer of phospholipids (PL) embedded with structural proteins called oleosins (Huang 1996). The small entities of oil bodies provide a large surface area per unit TAG that would facilitate lipase binding and lipolysis during germination. Oleosins are also present on the storage oil bodies in pollens and in lipid-containing organelles in the tapetum cells of anthers (Roberts et al. 1993; Lee et al. 1994; Robert et al. 1994).
Increasing minority representation in the health professions: one student at a time.

eyond sporadic trips to the clinic for immunization shots, they have limited opportunity to communicate with a physician. A majority of these individuals have never crossed the threshold of a dental office and even fewer understand what the man behind the counter at the local drug store really does. Who are “they” you ask? They are the many minority and disadvantaged students who have received limited contact to adequate health care and little to no exposure to any health care practitioners that mirror their image. It is important to understand some contributing factors to this harsh reality. Health Disparities
Computer Methods for Geochemical and Petrologic Mixing Problems

Mixing problems arise frequently in examinations of compositional variations in rock bodies, particularly in studies of magmatic differentiation. At one time the problems were examined graphically, but ten years ago geochemists and petrologists were shown the matrix algebra that could be used to obtain least-squares solutions. Computer programs based on the fundamental matrix operations, and variations of them, have been circulated broadly and used widely by petrologists.
Full Core Multiphysics Simulation with Offline Mesh Deformation

In this report, building on previous reports issued in FY13 we describe our continued efforts to integrate thermal/hydraulics, neutronics, and structural mechanics modeling codes to perform coupled analysis of a representative fast sodium-cooled reactor core. The focus of the present report is a full core simulation with off-line mesh deformation.
Vestibular Testing Techniques

The Therapeutics and Technology Assessment Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology has issued a report on the assessment of vestibular testing techniques in adults and children.
An Investigation of Anomalous Thermal Power Generation from a Proton-Conducting Oxide

A high-temperature Seebeck-effect calorimeter, in which the thermoelectric electromotive force across a large-area-enveloping thermopile is a measure of the heat flux from a power source, has been constructed to examine the claimed generation of excess thermal energy from a proton-conducting oxide immersed in deuterium gas. The claim has been confirmed in a few experiments out of many unsuccessful ones.
Rare ecomorphological convergence on a complex adaptive landscape: body size and diet mediate evolution of jaw shape in squirrels (Sciuridae)

Convergence is widely regarded as compelling evidence for adaptation, often being portrayed as evidence that phenotypic outcomes are predictable from ecology, overriding contingencies of history. However, repeated outcomes may be very rare unless adaptive landscapes are simple, structured by strong ecological and functional constraints. One such constraint may be a limitation on body size because performance often scales with size, allowing species to adapt to challenging functions by modifying only size. When size is constrained, species might adapt by changing shape; convergent shapes may therefore be common when size is limiting and functions are challenging. We examine the roles of size and diet as determinants of jaw shape in Sciuridae. As expected, size and diet have significant interdependent effects on jaw shape and ecomorphological convergence is rare, typically involving demanding diets and limiting sizes. More surprising is morphological without ecological convergence, which is equally common between and within dietary classes. Those cases, like rare ecomorphological convergence, may be consequences of evolving on an adaptive landscape shaped by many-to-many relationships between ecology and function, many-to-one relationships between form and performance, and one-to-many relationships between functionally versatile morphologies and ecology. On complex adaptive landscapes, ecological selection can yield different outcomes.
Care for Autism and Other Disabilities — A Future in Jeopardy

Americans with autism or other disabilities face growing threats to essential policies that support their health and well-being, beginning with proposed changes to public health insurance and efforts to degrade or eliminate the essential health benefit regulations.
Patterns of gun deaths across US counties 1999-2013.

Abstract Purpose We examined the socio-demographic distribution of gun deaths across 3143 counties in 50 United States’ states to understand the spatial patterns and correlates of high and low gun deaths. Methods We used aggregate counts of gun deaths and population in all counties from 1999 to 2013 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER). We characterized four levels of gun violence, as distinct levels of gun death rates of relatively safe, unsafe, violent, and extremely violent counties, based on quartiles of 15-year county-specific gun death rates per 100,000 and used negative binomial regression models allowing clustering by state to calculate incidence rate ratios and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Results Most states had at least one violent or extremely violent county. Extremely violent gun counties were mostly rural, poor, predominantly minority, had high unemployment rate and homicide rate. Overall, homicide rate was significantly associated with gun deaths (incidence rate ratios = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.06–1.09). In relatively safe counties, this risk was 1.09 (95% CI = 1.05–1.13) and in extremely violent gun counties was 1.03 (95% CI = 1.03–1.04). Conclusions There are broad differences in gun death rates across the United States representing different levels of gun death rates in each state with distinct socio-demographic profiles.
Hemoglobin A1c as a Predictor of Postoperative Infection Following Elective Forefoot Surgery.

Background:There remains little evidence to support a perioperative hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level that could serve as a threshold for a significantly increased risk of postoperative surgical site infection (SSI) following forefoot surgery.Methods:A national database was queried for patients who underwent elective forefoot surgery with diabetes. Patients with a perioperative HbA1c level within 3 months of surgery were identified and stratified based on HbA1c level in 0.5 mg/dL increments. The incidence of SSI was determined by either a diagnosis or procedure for SSI within 1 year and a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and area under the curve (AUC) analysis was performed to determine an optimal threshold value of HbA1c.Results:A total of 4630 patients who underwent forefoot surgery with diabetes with a perioperative HbA1c were included. The rate of SSI ranged from 2.3% to 11.8%. The inflection point of the ROC curve corresponded to an HbA1c level above 7.5 mg/dL (P < .0001; 95% confidence inter...
The imprecise impermissivist’s dilemma

Impermissivists hold that an agent with a given body of evidence has at most one rationally permitted attitude that she should adopt towards any particular proposition. Permissivists deny this, often motivating permissivism by describing scenarios that pump our intuitions that the agent could reasonably take one of several attitudes toward some proposition. We criticize the following impermissivist response: while it seems like any of that range of attitudes is permissible, what is actually required is the single broad attitude that encompasses all of these single attitudes. While this might seem like an easy way to win over permissivists, we argue that this impermissivist response leads to an indefensible epistemology; permissive intuitions are not so easily co-opted.
Significant improvement in cardiometabolic health in healthy nonobese individuals during caloric restriction-induced weight loss and weight loss maintenance

Calorie restriction (CR) triggers benefits for healthspan including decreased risk of cardiometabolic disease (CVD). In an ancillary study to CALERIE 2, a 24-mo 25% CR study, we assessed the cardio...
Analfabetismo afetivo em adolescentes e suas consequências para as organizações

Afetividade e amor podem construir uma relacao, onde, atraves do desenvolvimento dos mesmos, podera aprender-se a arte de viver juntos como irmaos. O objetivo geral foi identificar quais consequencias o analfabetismo afetivo causa para as organizacoes. Participaram 2.100 adolescentes na faixa etaria 15 a 17 anos. Os resultados apontam 23% dos adolescentes que nao conseguem sentir nem desenvolver todos os aspectos necessarios para serem afetivos e como consequencia possuirem uma relacao interpessoal positiva. Considera-se que a postura dos adolescentes inseridos no contexto do analfabetismo afetivo influenciara na convivencia com o outro, dificultando o trabalho em equipe e a comunicacao.
Base deficit is superior to lactate in trauma

Abstract Background Base Deficit (BD) and lactate have been used as indicators of shock and resuscitation. This study was done to determine the association of BD and lactate and to determine if one is superior. Methods A retrospective review from 3/2014–12/2016 was performed. Data included demographics, systolic BP, ISS, BD, lactate, blood transfusion, and outcomes. BD and lactate were modeled continuously and categorically and compared. Results 1191 patients were included. BD and lactate correlated strongly (r = -0.76 p Conclusions BD and lactate are strongly related. BD was superior to lactate in assessing the need for transfusion. The BD categories discriminate high risk trauma patients better than lactate.
An in-situ phase-preserving data decimation method for high-channel-count wireless μECoG arrays

This paper presents a new data decimation method called phase-preserving quantization (PPQ) that allows wireless data transmission of thousands of simultaneously recorded μECoG channels. PPQ consists of a 1-bit compression scheme and a simple decision condition that permits efficient in-situ hardware implementation. The effectiveness of PPQ was validated by demonstrating accurate calculation of phase synchrony across many channels of real ECoG recording datasets. Results show that PPQ preserves the instantaneous phase information needed to produce synchrony patterns with a minimum accuracy of 90%. The presented method enables high-channel-count μECoG recordings suitable for the future study of functional interactions across diverse areas of the brain.
Long-Term Potentiation: A Candidate Cellular Mechanism for Information Storage in the CNS

This chapter reviews long-term potentiation (LTP) of synaptic transmission, currently one of the most widely studied and popular candidate mechanisms for a cellular phenomenon underlying long-term information storage in the nervous system. This chapter will provide an overview of the historical context, molecular dependence, and basic attributes of LTP.
A Conserved Biomimetic Control Architecture for Walking, Swimming and Flying Robots

Simple animals adapt with impunity to the most challenging of conditions without training or supervision. Their behavioral repertoire is organized into a layered set of exteroceptive reflexes that can operate in parallel and form sequences in response to affordances of the environment. We have developed a common architecture that captures these underlying mechanisms for implementation in engineered devices. The architecture instantiates the underlying networks with discrete time map-based neurons and synapses on a sequential processor. A common board set instantiates releasing mechanisms, command neurons, coordinating neurons, central pattern generators, and reflex functions that are programmed as networks rather than as algorithms. Layered exteroceptive reflexes mediate heading control, impediment compensation, obstacle negotiation, rheotaxis, docking, and odometry and can be adapted to a variety of robotic platforms. We present the implementation of this architecture for three locomotory modes: swimming, walking, and flying.
An Overview of Current Research Efforts on the Application of Biological Markers to Carcinogen Testing

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was enacted in 1976 on the assumption that: 1) there is substantial exposure of humans and the environment to chemicals; 2) that some of these exposures may present an unreasonable risk of injury; and 3) that existing laws do not fully protect against such injury. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a broad range of authorities under this law including screening new chemicals in commerce, requiring industry to test chemicals of concern, and assessing chemicals for control actions.