cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Congress Promotes Perpetual Trusts: Why?

By unwittingly granting a tax exemption for perpetual trusts, Congress undermined state perpetuity law and promoted private trusts that can last and remain tax exempt for many centuries and maybe forever. As a direct result of Congress’s action, and then of lobbying by financial institutions and other interest groups holders to convince state legislatures to remove the obstacle of perpetuity law, the very wealthy can now create tax-exempt private trusts for generations upon generations of their descendants. And they are taking advantage of the opportunity.Congress as an institution has known of its blunder for years, but has failed — so far — to remedy its mistake. On February 26, 2014, the House Ways and Means Committee unveiled its long-awaited proposal for comprehensive tax reform, but the proposal did not address the tax exemption for perpetual trusts and, in any event, was not enacted.The author asks why Congress has not acted to correct its mistake and why it seems so uninterested in doing so. There is no federal interest in promoting perpetually tax-exempt trusts and, in fact, the federal interest cuts the other way. Tax revenues are lost by Congress’s action and subsequent inaction. A plausible explanation for Congress’s persistent indifference to the problem is that the revenue gain by correcting the oversight would be a long way off. Congress is not known for giving a high priority to problems of that sort. The longer Congress procrastinates, however, the amount of wealth that is safely sheltered in perpetually tax-exempt trusts — already estimated to be in the billions of dollars — continues to grow.The Treasury Department has a proposal before Congress for remedying the situation, but the Treasury’s proposal is not nearly as effective as it could and should be. The author proposes a remedy that would be entirely effective and would be consistent with the original purpose of the tax law.Regrettably, the prospect that Congress will ever address the problem, much less address it effectively, grows dimmer with each passing year.
Three dimensional unsteady aerodynamics and aeroelastic response of advanced turboprops

A method for the prediction of steady and unsteady aerodynamic loads and aeroelastic response of advanced turboprops is presented. The aerodynamic analysis uses three dimensional unsteady linearized compressible flow theory to compute the blade pressure distribution. The aeroelastic analysis is based on a normal mode representation of the structure. The method is applicable to both conventional and advanced turbo-prop configurations, provided that blade stall and transonic shock waves are not important factors. Aerodynamic results are presented which validate the model in various limits by comparisons to alternative theories and experimental data. Finally, results of a stability analysis of an advanced turboprop are given, with comparisons to measurements made at NASA Lewis Research Center.
Examining the influence of heterogeneous porosity fields on conservative solute transport

It is widely recognized that groundwater flow and solute transport in natural media are largely controlled by heterogeneities. In the last three decades, many studies have examined the effects of heterogeneous hydraulic conductivity fields on flow and transport processes, but there has been much less attention to the influence of heterogeneous porosity fields. In this study, we use porosity and particle size measurements from boreholes at the Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site (BHRS) to evaluate the importance of characterizing the spatial structure of porosity and grain size data for solute transport modeling. Then we develop synthetic hydraulic conductivity fields based on relatively simple measurements of porosity from borehole logs and grain size distributions from core samples to examine and compare the characteristics of tracer transport through these fields with and without inclusion of porosity heterogeneity. In particular, we develop horizontal 2D realizations based on data from one of the less heterogeneous units at the BHRS to examine effects where spatial variations in hydraulic parameters are not large. The results indicate that the distributions of porosity and the derived hydraulic conductivity in the study unit resemble fractal normal and lognormal fields respectively. We numerically simulate solute transport in stochastic fields and find that spatial variations in porosity have significant effects on the spread of an injected tracer plume including a significant delay in simulated tracer concentration histories.
Why reciprocal altruism is not a kind of group selection

Reciprocal altruism was originally formulated in terms of individual selection and most theorists continue to view it in this way. However, this interpretation of reciprocal altruism has been challenged by Sober and Wilson (1998). They argue that reciprocal altruism (as well as all other forms of altruism) evolves by the process of group selection. In this paper, we argue that the original interpretation of reciprocal altruism is the correct one. We accomplish this by arguing that if fitness attaches to (at minimum) entire life cycles, then the kind of fitness exchanges needed to form the group-level in such situations is not available. Reciprocal altruism is thus a result of individual selection and when it evolves, it does so because it is individually advantageous.
IR, NLP, AI and UFOS: or IR-relevance, natural language problems, artful intelligence and user-friendly online systems

User Friendly Online Searching is examined in the context of Natural Language Processing in Information Retrieval and Artificial Intelligence. Opportunities for synergetic R & D are identified as the basis for Intelligent Information Retrieval and Artificial Retrieval Intelligence.
Is Protein Misfolding and Aggregation a Common Disease Mechanism

ABSTRACT It has been known for several decades that protein aggregation is a hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease). It was assumed that these aggregations, which are closely associated with the lesions or plaques characteristic of these diseases, formed as a byproduct by the neurodegenerative disease process. This view of neurodegenerative diseases has changed dramatically over the last few years. It is now clear that protein aggregates are seen in the early stages of pathogenesis, suggesting that they are not the result of cellular damage. Furthermore, evidence that these insoluble complexes are cytotoxic and trigger apoptosis suggest that protein aggregation plays a seminal role in the etiology of neurodegenerative diseases. New evidence extends these finding further by demonstrating that insoluble protein aggregates of non-disease related proteins are toxic to cells and that the ubiquitin, w...
Interaction of 5-HTTLPR and Idiographic Stressors Predicts Prospective Depressive Symptoms Specifically Among Youth in a Multiwave Design

5-HTTLPR, episodic stressors, depressive and anxious symptoms were assessed prospectively (child and parent report) every 3 months over 1 year (5 waves of data) among community youth ages 9 to 15 (n = 220). Lagged hierarchical linear modeling analyses showed 5-HTTLPR interacted with idiographic stressors (increases relative to the child's own average level over time), but not nomothetic stressors (higher stress exposure relative to the sample), to predict prospective elevations in depressive, but not anxious, symptoms. Youth with copies of the S or LG alleles of 5-HTTLPR, who experienced more stressors relative to their typical level, exhibited prospective increases in depressive symptoms over time. These findings suggest that 5-HTTLPR confers susceptibility to depression via stress reactivity.
Stationarity of the Gabor basis and derivation of Janssen's formula

The theory of stationary processes is applied to homogeneous functional sequences. Examples of time and frequency shifts and dilations are considered. It is proved that the functional sequences are homogeneous (stationary) and therefore correspond to a one-dimensional stationary vector field. The spectral properties of these sequences are explored. It is also shown that the Gabor expansion corresponds to a two-dimensional homogeneous vector field. The spectral properties of the Gabor (1946) expansion are considered, and the formula for the coefficients of the Gabor decomposition is derived. >
Fault diagnosis algorithm and automated reasoning method for fault analysis

The author develops an algorithm to study the concept of fault diagnosis in a system which has been designed for fault diagnosis without repair using the models developed independently by F.P. Preparata et al. (1967) and S.L. Hakimi and T. Amin (1974). Having developed the algorithm for fault diagnosis, one can perform the process of the fault analysis. It is also demonstrated that the algorithm is correct and general for the number of faults of the system. It is shown that the results of the artificial intelligence algorithm developed in the paper agree with those of Hakimi and Amin. >
Improved Postoperative Clinical Outcomes after Ventricular Assist Device Implantation in Patients Older Than 60 Years of Age at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics

Purpose The number of older patients with end-stage heart failure requiring medical and surgical treatments is increasing. Advanced age is a risk factor for post-VAD implant survival. The purpose of our study was to analyze the survival and postoperative morbidity of patients aged 60 years and older who underwent VAD placement at our institution. Methods and Materials We retrospectively studied 167 consecutive VAD recipients between August 2003 and August 2012. The cohort was divided into the younger (age Results Mean age at VAD implantation was 64±3.8 yrs in the older group and 47.0±10.2 yrs in the younger group. The population of patients with diabetes mellitus was significantly larger in the older group (54% vs. 38%, p figure 1 ] Conclusions Mid-term survival in the older VAD recipients was equivalent to that of young patients. This study demonstrates that VAD therapy can be used in older patients with acceptable mortality and morbidity.
Real-Time and robust background updating for video surveillance and monitoring

Background updating is an important aspect of dynamic scene analysis. Two critical problems: sudden camera perturbation and the sleeping person problem, which arise frequently in real-world surveillance and monitoring systems, are addressed in the proposed scheme. The paper presents a multi-color model where multiple color clusters are used to represent the background at each pixel location. In the proposed background updating scheme, the updates to the mean and variance of each color cluster at each pixel location incorporate the most recently observed color values. Each cluster is assigned a weight which measures the time duration and temporal recurrence frequency of the cluster. The sleeping person problem is tackled by virtue of the observation that at a given pixel location, the time durations and recurrence frequencies of the color clusters representing temporarily static objects are smaller compared to those of color clusters representing the true background colors when measured over a sufficiently long history. The camera perturbation problem is solved using a fast camera motion detection algorithm, allowing the current background image to be registered with the background model maintained in memory. The background updating scheme is shown to be robust even when the scene is very busy and also computationally efficient, making it suitable for real-time surveillance and monitoring systems. Experimental results on real traffic monitoring and surveillance videos are presented.
Computer Analysis of the Fetal Heart Rate

Computer analysis of the fetal heart rate is a technology of the Information Age commercially available for research and clinical practice. Intelligent systems are engineered with algorithms or neural networks designed to simulate expert knowledge. Automated analysis has provided objective, standardized, and reproducible data used to research fetal heart rate responses in the antepartum and intrapartum setting. Perinatal information systems can integrate FHR analysis and data management.
INITIALIZING THE KALMAN FILTER FOR NONSTATIONARY TIME SERIES MODELS

. The problem of initializing the Kalman filter for nonstationary time series models is considered. Ansley and Kohn have developed a ‘modified Kalman filter’ for use with nonstationary models to produce estimates from what they call a ‘transformation approach’. We show that the same results can be obtained with a suitable initialization of the ordinary Kalman filter. Assuming there are d starting values for the nonstationary series, we initialize the Kalman filter using data through time d with the transformation approach estimate of the state vector and its associated error covariance matrix at time d. We give details of the initialization for ARIMA models, ARIMA component models and dynamic linear models. We present an example to illustrate how the results may differ from results obtained under more naive initializations that have been suggested.
Inner-outer factorization for strictly proper transfer matrices

Considers inner-outer factorization for strictly proper transfer matrices. We provide characterizations to the solution of this particular factorization problem, and develop a computational algorithm to solve it. A numerical example is used to illustrate the proposed theory and algorithm.
Reflections on the Agnes flood

The Department of Housing and Urban De velopment (HUD) claimed that more fam ilies in the Wyoming Valley were in need of temporary housing after tropical storm Agnes than after any previous disaster. A staggering number of dwellings—over 23,500, many of them multifamily units— were affected by the flood.2 The length of time that these families would need housing was estimated in most cases to be from six to twelve months, although in fact it has been even longer. The most desirable resi dential areas suffered the most extensive damage, and the governmental subdivisions and school districts that rely on property as sessment saw a significant part of their tax base washed away with the muddy waters. Most people affected by the flood lost nearly all of their personal property since water levels in the hardest hit areas reached sev eral feet into the second floor of homes and apartments. In my own case, the water reached about three feet into the second floor of our fam
Precise Correction of Disease Mutations in Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Derived From Patients With Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy

Limb girdle muscular dystrophies types 2B (LGMD2B) and 2D (LGMD2D) are degenerative muscle diseases caused by mutations in the dysferlin and alpha-sarcoglycan genes, respectively. Using patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), we corrected the dysferlin nonsense mutation c.5713C>T; p.R1905X and the most common alpha-sarcoglycan mutation, missense c.229C>T; p.R77C, by single-stranded oligonucleotide-mediated gene editing, using the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing system to enhance the frequency of homology-directed repair. We demonstrated seamless, allele-specific correction at efficiencies of 0.7-1.5%. As an alternative, we also carried out precise gene addition strategies for correction of the LGMD2B iPSC by integration of wild-type dysferlin cDNA into the H11 safe harbor locus on chromosome 22, using dual integrase cassette exchange (DICE) or TALEN-assisted homologous recombination for insertion precise (THRIP). These methods employed TALENs and homologous recombination, and DICE also utilized site-specific recombinases. With DICE and THRIP, we obtained targeting efficiencies after selection of ~20%. We purified iPSC corrected by all methods and verified rescue of appropriate levels of dysferlin and alpha-sarcoglycan protein expression and correct localization, as shown by immunoblot and immunocytochemistry. In summary, we demonstrate for the first time precise correction of LGMD iPSC and validation of expression, opening the possibility of cell therapy utilizing these corrected iPSC.
Study on the presence of abnormal proteins in the serum of oral contraceptive users

Beaumont reported that current and former oral contraceptive users and subjects with thromboembolic disease characteristically demonstrate elevated amounts of precipitated proteins, designated as "globulines anormalement precipitables (GAP)," following treatment of their sera with 25% saturated ammonium sulfate. In the present study, the reproducibility of Beaumont's methods and results was investigated in groups of women consisting of never users, current users, former users, and thrombosis subjects. The current users had the lowest serum GAP levels and no bimodal distribution. Values were higher for the never users and former users and highest in the thrombosis group. Race affected serum GAP values; mean values for blacks were significantly higher than for Caucasians. This study does not support Beaumont's earlier findings.
Tabular Values for the Logistic Curve

The logistic (or growth) curve has been used to describe the growth of populations since its publication (Pearl and Reed 1920). It has also been shown to fit the time-temperature development of poikilothermic animals (Davidson 1944), feeding-temperature activity of insects (Ruppel 1975), and has been used by the authors to describe the emergence from overwintering quarters, seasonal increase, and diurnal trapping of insects. The logistic should prove to be a useful tool for many more types of biological studies. Tabular values for the logistic curve have been computed to facilitate their use.
Phonons, Oxygen Isotope Effect and Superconductivity in Ba1-xKxBiO3

The phonon densities-of-states (DOS) of superconducting Ba1-xKxBi16O3 and Ba1-xKxBi18O3 (x=0.4) are determined using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and inelastic neutron scattering measurements. The reference isotope-effect exponent is obtained from the mass variation of the first frequency moment of the phonon DOS. The energy gap, oxygen isotope-effect exponent and electron tunneling characteristics are calculated within the framework of Eliashberg theory of electron-phonon coupling.
Sustainability Indicators for Chemical Processes: I. Taxonomy

High demand and consumption rates of ecological materials and services to satisfy societal needs and for the dissipation of emissions are quickly exceeding the capacity that nature can provide. To avoid a tipping point situation, where ecological services may no longer be available, society must consider a sustainable path forward. The chemical industry’s response is to incorporate a sustainability approach early into process design to reduce the quantity of goods and services needed and to prevent and minimize releases, while increasing their economic and social benefits. This approach leads to design modifications of existing and new chemical processes, which requires a complete sustainability performance assessment that can support a decision-maker to determine whether a process is becoming more or less sustainable. Hence, the development of indicators capable of assessing process sustainability becomes crucial. This work presents a taxonomic classification and definition of sustainability indicators a...
Fungi associated with populations of Heterodera glycines in two Illinois soybean fields

Fungi were isolated from Heterodera glycines cysts collected every 3-4 weeks for three consecutive years in two Illinois soybean fields. Sixty-nine species of fungi were identified, including a number of potential nematode pathogens. Fusarium solani, F. oxysporum, Stagonospora heteroderae, Gliocladium roseum, Paraphoma radicina, Pyrenochaeta terrestris, Exophiala pisciphila and Diheterospora chlamydosporia were the most common species isolated in both fields. Populations of H. glycines and associated fungi were compared in the two fields. One field had a typical, high nematode population level, and the second had an apparently suppressed H. glycines population despite years of continuous cropping with susceptible soybean cultivars. Fusarium solani and S. heteroderae were predominant in the first field, and F. oxysporum and P. radicina were predominant in the field with the suppressed nematode population. The mycota associated with the suppressed nematode population was more diverse and fluctuated less than the mycota associated with the high nematode population.
Effects of Intermediate-Term Grazing Rest on Sagebrush Communities with Depleted Understories: Evidence of a Threshold☆,☆☆

Millions of hectares of sagebrush (Artemisia L.) plant communities have been degraded by past improper management, resulting in dense sagebrush stands with depleted herbaceous understories. Rest from grazing is often applied to promote recovery. However, the effect of intermediate-term (5–10 years) rest from grazing in sagebrush communities with depleted herbaceous understories and dense sagebrush is relatively unknown. We compared well-managed, moderate grazing (grazed) with intermediate-term (5 and 6 years) rest (ungrazed) at five sites in southeastern Oregon. Sites were Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. subsp. wyomingensis Beetle & Young) communities with dense sagebrush and depleted herbaceous understories. Perennial herbaceous cover was greater in ungrazed compared with grazed areas, but this was expected because herbivory removes foliar vegetation tissue (i.e., cover). Density of herbaceous vegetation, diversity, and species richness did not differ between ungrazed and grazed areas. Similarly, bare ground, litter, and biological soil crust cover did not differ between treatments. These results suggest that intermediate-term rest is unlikely to elicit recovery of the understory compared with moderate grazing in these communities. The results of this study also suggest that degraded Wyoming big sagebrush communities likely have crossed a threshold that may be difficult to reverse.
Gallium nitride electro-acoustic devices and acoustic metamaterials

Gallium nitride (GaN) being one of a few piezoelectric semiconductors with low acoustic loss is a perfect material for electro-acoustic applications. Interactions of electrons and phonons are facilitated by the piezoelectric effect in addition to the deformation coupling in GaN, a property that can be used to implement a variety of very interesting devices and metamaterials, such as resonant transistors, acoustic amplifiers, circulators, and couplers. This talk covers theoretical basis of such devices and overviews recent advances in this technology.
CLINICAL PARAMETERS OF THE NORMAL BABOONS (PAPIO SPECIES) AND CHIMPANZEES (PAN TROGLODYTES

Improved equipment and advanced progressive techniques by scientists using baboons and chimpanzees in biomedical research have resulted in improved clinical laboratory data. The use of state-of-the-art clinical laboratory instruments, methodologies with improved accuracy, and an increased variety of individual tests routinely requested and performed has necessitated the comparison of current data with prior data produced in our laboratory and with those values reported in the literature. In addition to an expanded hematologic profile, including red blood cell distribution width and mean platelet volume, and a more comprehensive chemical profile of 28 individual tests, additional data collected included values for coagulation profiles, arterial blood gases, serum protein electrophoresis, and urine osmolalities. Samples for evaluation were obtained from clinically normal sedated adult baboons (Papio species) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and processed conventionally according to Good Laboratory Practice Act standards. Arithmetic means were calculated, values of 3 standard deviations or greater were eliminated, and means were recalculated to include 2 standard deviations. All data correlated well with prior in-house values, and no remarkable differences from established data were detected, thus indicating the reliability of past and present data. Data compared favorably with normal clinical values established for humans.
Process and Concept of Learning

Learning is an active process which utilizes the thinking and perceiving abilities and knowledge previously acquired for three major purposes: (1) acquiring new knowledge to explain events, (2) facilitating change, and (3) solving problems.
Partners in Justice: School Counselors and Teachers Creating Classrooms for Social Justice

Professional School Counselors (PSCs) are in a unique position to partner with teachers in promoting social justice in the classroom. Social justice involves action with the goal of positive change in situations where there are inequities. K-12 classrooms offer a rich setting for teacher/PSC collaboration. Since the late 1990s, PSCs have formally joined other educators in taking on the critical role of change agent and advocate for students. PSCs can partner with teachers in the classroom to model social action practices and engage students in social action activities, including mentorship experiences between upper and lower level high school students. This type of cooperative learning, paired with student personal reflection exercises, supports the personal and social emotional development of students, and prepares for success in college and career. In addition to a review of social action theory supporting social justice orientation in schools, this chapter includes a model for teacher/counselor collaboration to promote social justice learning, specific to the issues of truancy and lack of engagement. We provide an outline for a curriculum to address these issues along with sample lessons with instructional strategies that are infused with social justice themes and aligned with counseling standards for high school guidance and teaching standards for a social studies class.
Abstract 1840: Metabolomic profiling of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) T1 cell lines in response to imatinib therapy

Background: There is a growing need for novel drugs to treat drug resistant GIST. The aim of this study was to evaluate chronological metabolic changes in GIST cells treated with imatinib mesylate. Methods: Human GIST T1 cells were incubated with imatinib 0.5 mM. Metabolomic profiling was performed in extracted cell pellets at 12, 24 and 48 hours, after viability and cell counting was done, and compared with controls via acquisition of 1 H-NMR spectra using a 500MHz spectrometer equipped with a 5mm TCI 500S2 H-C/N-D-05 Z cryoprobe head at 298 K. Standard, one-dimensional NOESYpr1D pre-saturation pulse program was used. Spectra were further processed in an NMR suite processor; Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) model was used for characterization of chronological biochemical differences. Results: By 48 hours of exposure of cells to imatinib, glucose initially increased then significantly decreased with gradual decrease of lactate production and minimal changes in pyruvate and succinate denoting shifting from cytosolic to mitochondrial glycolysis, this was echoed with consumption of glutamine and glutamate. Glutathione and cell membrane phospholipids as phosphocholine gradually decreased by a factor of 1.6 for each, suggesting inhibited growth and invasiveness. Aspartate, myo-inositol, glycerophosphocholine and taurine gradually increased by a factor of 1.6, 1.7, 2.6 and 1.3, respectively. Tyrosine, valine and leucine showed minimal changes. Cell viability was directly correlated to changes in choline, creatine phosphate, myo-inositol and taurine (Pearson9s R >0.65). PLS-DA model suggested that changes in myoinositol, glycerophosphocholine, glutamate, aspartate, phosphcholine and glutathione were the metabolites mostly influencing the differential chronological global metabolic profiles of the cells with continued exposure to imatinib (R 2 X = 0.76, R 2 Y = 0.60, Q 2 (cum) = 0.20). Conclusion: Metabolomic profiling of GIST cells exposed to signal transduction modulators supplements molecular findings and provides further mechanistic insights into longitudinal changes of the mitochondrial and glycolytic pathways of oncogenesis, it can potentially provide novel as well as complementary therapeutic targets. Citation Format: Vered Marks, Gregory Tiesi, Ana Paz Mejia, Jonathan Trent, Jamie Walls, Alan Livingstone, Danny Yakoub. Metabolomic profiling of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) T1 cell lines in response to imatinib therapy. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 1840. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-1840
Sex-specific characterization and evaluation of the Alzheimer's disease genetic risk factor sorl1 in zebrafish during aging and in the adult brain following a 100 ppb embryonic lead exposure.

Developmental lead (Pb) exposure is suggested in laboratory studies to be a trigger for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Sortilin-related receptor, L (DLR class) A repeats-containing (SORL1) is a recently identified AD genetic risk factor. SORL1 has limited characterization in vertebrate models in comparison to other AD genetic risk factors. To characterize SORL1 further, protein sequence homology between humans, mice and zebrafish was analyzed and showed conservation of functional repeats and domain orientation. Next, spatial expression of sorl1 in zebrafish larvae was completed and diffuse expression in neural tissue that was not restricted to the brain was observed. Influences of sex and age on quantitative expression of sorl1 in the brain of adult zebrafish were then assessed. Sex-specific alteration of sorl1 expression transpired during the aging process in females. The zebrafish was then utilized to investigate the impacts of a 100 ppb embryonic Pb exposure on sorl1 expression and other known AD genetic risk factors. Sex-specific quantitative gene expression analysis was completed with adult zebrafish brain to compare those developmentally exposed to Pb or a control treatment, but no significant difference in sorl1 expression or other AD genetic risk factors was observed. Overall, this study provided characterization of sorl1 with changes in brain expression during aging being female-specific. This finding is in agreement with females being more prone to the onset of AD, but analysis of additional AD genetic risk factors is needed to facilitate our understanding of the impact of a 100 ppb embryonic Pb exposure. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
RACE: time series compression with rate adaptivity and error bound for sensor networks

Sensor networks usually have limited energy and transmission capacity. It is beneficial to reduce the data volume for dissemination in a sensor network that monitors continuous physical processes in order to reduce energy consumption. Data compression schemes in use should be able to adapt to limited bandwidth while preserving high data quality. We propose a wavelet-based, error aware compression algorithm that is targeted to achieving these goals. It is called RACE (rate adaptive compression with error bound). It can adjust its maximum normalized error to current network capacity. Additionally, errors due to multiple passes of compression during multi-hop relaying are additive and thus can be estimated easily upon data reconstruction. Moreover, during data dissemination, error ranges can be narrowed through an opportunistic patching process when excess bit rate is available. Consequently, the performance is less subject to the volatility of physical processes. The algorithm has been evaluated in various aspects and demonstrated to be effective in rate adaptivity, error range narrowing, and preservation of statistical interpretation.
Designing for dystopia: software engineering research for the post-apocalypse

Software engineering researchers have a tendency to be optimistic about the future. Though useful, optimism bias bolsters unrealistic expectations towards desirable outcomes. We argue that explicitly framing software engineering research through pessimistic futures, or dystopias, will mitigate optimism bias and engender more diverse and thought-provoking research directions. We demonstrate through three pop culture dystopias, Battlestar Galactica, Fallout 3, and Children of Men, how reflecting on dystopian scenarios provides research opportunities as well as implications, such as making research accessible to non-experts, that are relevant to our present.
Deletion of 13q14 Is Independent of CD38 Expression in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL).

Abstract Cytogenetic abnormalities detected by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) can predict differences in survival in patients with CLL. Patients (pts) with the 13q14 deletion experience a longer median survival that those with the 17p13.1 deletion. Overexpression of ZAP-70 and CD38 correlate with a poor prognosis. Data on 44 pts currently enrolled on a prospective CLL prognostic study were analyzed for cytogenetic abnormalities by FISH and CD38 by flow. Pt age ranged from 25 to 85 (median 59). 25/44 patients (57%) were followed without any therapy. Zap-70 expression was measured by immunohistochemistry using a monoclonal antibody to ZAP-70 (clone 2F3.2). Results: 22/44 (50%) pts were found to have abnormal cytogenetics. Of the 22 abnormalities, 17 had a 13q14 deletion (including one with an additional 11q22.31 deletion, and two with nullisomy 13q), five patients had trisomy 12, one patient a 17 p13.1 deletion. 8/44 patients overexpressed CD38. Of the pts with an isolated 13q deletion, 12/16 (75%) were CD38 negative and 10/17 (59%) were followed without any therapy, compared to 20/27 (74%) and 14/27 (52%) in those with other cytogenetic features respectively. Of those with other abnormal FISH findings, 4/5 pts (90%) with trisomy 12 were CD38 negative, a patient with 17p13.1 deletion and another patient with both 13q14 and 11q deletion were also CD38 positive. Of the patients with normal FISH results 19/21 (90%) were CD38 negative. ZAP-70 overexpression was noted in 22/26 pts with available data including 8/10 (80%) patients with and 13/26 (50%) patients without the 13q del. Conclusion: The presence of the 13q14 deletion appeared to be independent of CD38 expression. Further studies to determine the association of 13q14 deletion with ZAP-70 expression are warranted, as is the correlation with clinical data.
Life cycle environmental and economic performance of biochar compared with activated carbon: A meta-analysis

Abstract As the commercial production and distribution of biochar continues to grow internationally, and its applications diversifying from its early uses as soil amendment, it is important to study the environmental impacts and economic performance of biochar in comparison to activated carbon in order to assess its value. The goal of the study was to assess, through a meta-analysis, the environmental and economic performance of biochar in comparison to activated carbon under an equivalent functional unit to adsorb heavy metals. More than 80 data points on adsorption capacity of biochar and activated carbon were identified through literature, which were statistically analyzed as part of the study. Biochar was found to have lower energy demand and global warming potential impact than activated carbon, where average energy demands were calculated as 6.1 MJ/kg and 97 MJ/kg and average greenhouse gas emissions calculated as −0.9 kg CO 2 eq/kg and 6.6 kg CO 2 eq/kg for biochar and activated carbon, respectively. When adsorption of heavy metals were used as the functional unit during analysis, results indicate that there is typically an order of magnitude difference between the two materials, where biochar was found to have lower environmental impacts. The environmental impact resulting from long distance transportation of biochar would not overturn this conclusion. The adsorption cost of biochar was lower than activated carbon to remove chromium and zinc with a 95% confidence. Adsorption cost for lead and copper were found to be comparable, and therefore the specific type of biochar and its price could shift results both ways. There is evidence that biochar, if engineered correctly for the task, could be at least as effective as activated carbon and at a lower cost.
Upward leader development from tall towers in response to downward stepped leaders

We present high-speed video observations (up to 11,000 images per second) of downward propagating negative stepped leaders and associated non-connecting and connecting upward leaders from tall towers in Rapid City, South Dakota, USA. These rare time-resolved optical observations allow for 2-dimensional photogrammetric analysis of relative distances, geometry, speeds and timing between downward and upward leaders. These analyses are beneficial in quantifying natural lightning attachment processes and for comparison with current leader attachment models.
Nucleophosmin expression in ovarian cancer.

e15582 Background: The nucleolar protein, nucleophosmin (NPM1) is implicated multiple cellular processes, including proliferation, duplication of centrosomes, ARF-HDM2-p53 signaling. NPM1 is associ...
Archaic Ship Graffiti from Southern Attica, Greece: typology and preliminary contextual analysis

Since 1994 almost 2000 ancient rupestral engravings, both verbal and pictorial, have been discovered in southern Attica. These include about 200 depictions of warships, merchantmen, and smaller vessels of various types. These engravings are dated to the 6th century BC on the basis of their style and the formal characteristics of their associated inscriptions. They contain the earliest-known labelled images of the Greek ship types triakonter, pentekonter, and holkas, as well as the earliest depictions of two-masted merchantmen, and possibly Greek triremes. They also include the earliest images of the three-pronged ram and of the spur of a merchantman used as a cutwater, as well as possibly the earliest depictions of lead sheathing and of the spritsail.
Controlling surface recombination in a nanoscale III-V light emitting diode

We demonstrate low surface recombination velocity (∼8700 cm/s) and reduction of non-radiative lifetime in an InP/InGaAs nanoscale light emitting diode using a sacrificial Al2O3 layer. We predict high efficiency operation after modest enhancement of spontaneous emission rate with an optical antenna.
Review of Interventions and Radiation Exposure from Chest Computed Tomography in Children with Blunt Trauma.

Objective To determine the radiation risk to a child undergoing trauma evaluation with chest computed tomography (CCT) for every clinically actionable injury identified. Study design This observational, cross-sectional study included all blunt trauma patients under 18 years of age undergoing CCT in a single urban emergency department. Via a retrospective chart review, therapeutic interventions done exclusively for chest injuries identified on CCT scan were identified. Effective radiation from each CCT was calculated and averaged and the dose required to diagnose 1 management-changing chest injury was determined. Results Of 209 children undergoing CCT over a 19-month period, 168 were victims of blunt trauma. Ten required an intervention specifically for a chest injury identified on CCT (suggesting development of 1 malignancy per 37 actionable injures identified). None required an intervention for an injury exclusively noted on CCT, as all 10 actionable injuries were apparent via other modalities (radiograph, ultrasound examination, clinical examination). Conclusion Although 10 uniquely actionable injuries were identified on CCT, none were found only on CCT. Because CCTs rarely modified management, the amount of radiation administered per management change was sufficiently high to recommend reconsideration of current imaging practice in this single-center study.
Effects of Video Games on HBCU Students

Our research focuses on how video games play a role in the lives of returning upperclassmen college students (sophomores to graduate level). In total, there were 34 participants, but due to unforeseen circumstances, only 32 of the college students (24 male, 8 female) could complete the distributed pre- and post-surveys. We then conducted weekly interviews with eight of the participants (6 male, 2 female) for 9 weeks. With the use of surveys, interviews and daily logs, our research concludes mixed results of both positive and negative effects of playing video games. Further research details life as a college student and the college experience.
Stimulated Raman with Broadband LED Stokes Source for Analysis of Glucose and Hemoglobin

We demonstrate stimulated Raman gain using a broadband LED Stokes source in vibrational modes of glucose and hemoglobin. This versatile and cost-effective method increases the signal of Raman modes within the LED spectrum.
The rove beetle philonthus antipodum fauvel, 1877: A junior synonym of philonthus umbratilis (Gravenhorst, 1802) (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae)

'Philonthus antipodum' Fauvel, 1877 is placed in synonymy with 'Philonthus umbratilis' (Gravenhorst, 1802), a rove beetle from the Palaearctic adventive in Australia. To fix the identity of Philonthus antipodum Fauvel, 1877, a lectotype is designated.
Brain metastases in hematologic malignancies.

Central nervous system (CNS) involvement in patients with hematologic malignancies is a challenging clinical problem which carries a poor prognosis [1–5]. Hematopoietic and lymphoid neoplasms involve the CNS with varying frequencies. For example, long term disease control in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) was rare before the recognition of occult CNS disease at diagnosis [6, 7]. Patient outcomes and cure rates dramatically improved once adequate prophylaxis against CNS disease was instituted in the 1970’s, as part of standard treatment for childhood ALL [6–8].
The socioeconomic geography of Chinese outward foreign direct investment in Latin America

This article examines the spatial pattern of Chinese outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) to Latin America and socioeconomic determinants that affect the attractiveness of Latin America for Chinese capital. I also treat Latin America as a political stage between Mainland China and Taiwan in the diplomatic competition. This research examines recent shifts of Chinese OFDI strategies into the Global South and China’s rising political power in the global capital network. This article consists a brief review of the role of foreign investment for both sending and receiving countries, a cartographic analysis of Chinese OFDI in Latin America, a statistical modeling of socioeconomic determinants of Chinese OFDI in receiving countries, and a set of country-specific vignettes of new features in Chinese OFDI. This research unveils several new trends associated with Chinese OFDI to Latin America: first, Chinese OFDI tends to transform from a resource-focused to a market-focused player; second, Chinese OFDI establishes a more diverse sectoral structure; third, Chinese investors tend to avoid investing into Taiwan’s diplomatic allies. Policy implications and concluding thoughts are placed as the finale for this research.
Vascular lakes after doxorubicin drug-eluting bead chemoembolization with histologic analysis.

AbstractThis brief case presentation addresses an imaging phenomenon sometimes seen during chemoembolization, referred to the literature as vascular lakes or vascular lakes phenomenon. Other papers have discussed the clinical significance of this imaging pattern. We present a case of vascular lakes seen at the time of chemoembolization, with associated histologic findings after liver explantation. To the authors’ knowledge, this case represents the first histological correlative analysis of this imaging pattern.
Quantitative and qualitative assessment of frontal plane knee motion in males and females: A reliability and validity study.

Abstract Background The aim was to determine reliability and validity of frontal plane projection angle (FPPA) and visual assessments (VA) in both males and females. Methods Fifty-four participants (30 females) performed lateral step-downs while kinematics were recorded by two-dimensional and three-dimensional analyses. Two raters viewed the videos, extracted images, and measured the FPPA (quantitative). Using the videos, the raters also categorized (qualitative VA) each participant's motion as demonstrating dynamic valgus (> 10° valgus), dynamic varus (> 10° varus), or no change. Reliability was assessed for FPPA and VA using intraclass correlation coefficients and Kappa, respectively. Validity was determined by comparing the FPPA to three-dimensional measures (Pearson correlations) and comparing the VA to both FPPA and standard reference 3D kinematics (Kappa). Results FPPA showed good-excellent reliability (ICC = 0.850–0.998). VA showed minimal–moderate reliability (κ = 0.370–0.766). The FPPA showed large correlations (r = − 0.514–0.531) with hip adduction in both sexes but only a moderate relationship with knee abduction in males (r = 0.427–0.445). VA showed no-weak (κ = 0.153–0.475) and weak-moderate (κ = 0.455–0.698) agreement compared to FPPA and no-weak (κ = − 0.300–0.183) and no-minimal (κ = − 0.078–0.027) disagreement compared to the reference standard 3D kinematics in males and females, respectively. Conclusion The quantitative FPPA is more reliable and valid than qualitative VA of frontal knee plane motion.
Platelet Orientation in Slip Cast Ceramic Matrix Composites

Stereological field measurements were used to quantify the orientation of platelets in slip cast composites. The results showed strong orientation of the platelets close to the casting surface. The...
Cardiac patient-specific three-dimensional models as surgical planning tools.

Abstract Background Three-dimensional printing is an additive manufacturing method that builds objects from digitally generated computational models. Core technologies behind three-dimensional printing are evolving rapidly with major advances in materials, resolution, and speed that enable greater realism and higher accuracy. These improvements have led to novel applications of these processes in the medical field. Methods The process of going from a medical image data set (computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound) to a physical three-dimensional print includes several steps that are described. Medical images originate from Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine files or data sets, the current standard for storing and transmitting medical images. Via Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine manipulation software packages, a segmentation process, and manual intervention by an expert user, three-dimensional digital and printed models can be constructed in great detail. Results Cardiovascular medicine is one of the fastest growing applications for medical three-dimensional printing. The technology is more frequently being used for patient and clinician education, preprocedural planning, and medical device design and prototyping. We report on three case studies, describing how our three-dimensional printing has contributed to the care of cardiac patients at the University of Minnesota. Conclusion Medical applications of computational three-dimensional modeling and printing are already extensive and growing rapidly and are routinely used for visualizing complex anatomies from patient imaging files to plan surgeries and create surgical simulators. Studies are needed to determine whether three-dimensional printed models are cost effective and can consistently improve clinical outcomes before they become part of routine clinical practice.