cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Avicins: A Novel Class of Anti-Myeloma Agents.

Abstract Multiple myeloma (MM) remains an incurable neoplasia, despite recent development of several novel therapies. As part of our efforts to identify new compounds with anti-MM activity, we evaluated the class of avicins, which are triterpenoid saponins that have been shown to induce apoptosis of neoplastic cells by affecting mitochondrial function independently of membrane-bound death receptors. Because we have previously shown that mitochondria constitute key regulators of MM cell responsiveness to diverse anti-tumor agents, (e.g. the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib), we evaluated the in vitro anti-MM effects of this class of compounds. Our vitro drug-sensitivity studies showed that Avicin D and Avicin G, the main members of this class of compounds, are active against a broad panel of MM cell lines and primary tumor cells, including tumor cells resistant to conventional (e.g. dexamethasone, alkylating agents, anthracyclines) or novel (e.g. thalidomide, immunomodulatory thalidomide derivatives, proteasome inhibitor PS-341[bortezomib], Apo2L/TRAIL) anti-MM agents. Using MTT survival assays, we confirmed that the IC50 values for both Avicins were highly concordant and were less than 250 nM for the overwhelming majority of MM cell lines tested. Importantly, this potent in vitro anti-MM activity was triggered by concentrations of Avicins which had minimal, if any, effect on the viability of normal hematopoietic cells or bone marrow stromal cells. Furthermore these IC50 values were comparable with the in vitro activity of this agent among the most Avicin-sensitive tumor models that have been previously tested. This potent anti-MM effect was not inhibited by transfection of MM cells with construct for constitutively active Akt. Although cytokine- or cell adhesion-mediated interactions of the local bone marrow (BM) microenvironment (e.g. BM stromal cells) protects MM cells from conventional therapies (e.g. dexamethasone or cytotoxic chemotherapy), avicins were able to overcome this protective effect in co-culture models of MM cells with BM stromal cells and sensitized MM cells to cytotoxic chemotherapy-induced cell death. Using hierarchical clustering analyses and relevance network algorithms, we compared the patterns of MM cell sensitivity to Avicin D vs Avicin G vs. other anti-cancer drugs and found that the pattern of dose-response relationships of the 2 main members of this class of compounds are very similar to each other, but clearly distinct from the patterns of sensitivity or resistance to other drugs, either conventional or investigational. This further supports the notion that the anti-MM properties of Avicins are mediated by molecular mechanisms distinct from those of currently available anti-MM drugs, and also suggests that Avicins may have anti-tumor activity even against subgroups of MM which may be resistant to other novel therapies that are currently in clinical development. These results have provided the framework for ongoing in vivo studies of anti-tumor activity of these agents, to evaluate the feasibility of future clinical trials of Avicins to improve patient outcome in MM.
On The Dynamics Of Taut Oceanographic Surface Moorings

Oceanographic surface moorings, made from a combination of nylon rope and wire rope, are susceptible to high dynamic tensions. This is due to the fact that, when the length of the nylon rope is greater than 1000 m, the elastic natural frequency of the mooring coincides with the frequency range of ocean waves. Attaching large oceanographic instruments or masses to the upper portion of the mooring has little effect on the the elastic natural frequency and the shape of the mooring's transfer function. The only effect is a magnification of the dynamic tension by a factor that is equal to the combined mass of the wire rope and the attached instruments. The sensitivity of the dynamic response to the size and placement of attached instruments or masses can be greatly enhanced by using line of the same material throughout the mooring.
Assessment of GE Reflux: Esophageal Motility Studies

Esophageal manometry has no role in the diagnosis of GER and is not indicated in the routine evaluation of patients with GERD. Esophageal manometry is indicated when a primary motility disorder is suspected. Esophageal manometry has documented motor abnormalities in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease, but their clinical significance is not clear. The use of preoperative manometry has not been shown to be useful to predict which patients will develop postoperative dysphagia in otherwise healthy children or adults, but may be useful in the evaluation of those children with severe underlying motility disorders. However, the predictive role of esophageal manometry in deciding which patients will be at risk after fundoplication, or if the reflux surgery needs to be modified according to the motility abnormalities, has not been established.
Child-Adult Differences in Using Dual-Task Paradigms to Measure Listening Effort.

Purpose The purpose of the project was to investigate the effects modifying the secondary task in a dual-task paradigm to measure objective listening effort. To be specific, the complexity and dept...
Response of the Brown Stink Bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) to the Aggregation Pheromone, Methyl (2E,4Z)-Decadienoate

Field-based experiments were conducted to evaluate the response of the abundant brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say), to commercially available pheromone lures containing methyl (2E,4Z)-decadie...
Human health tradeoffs in wellhead drinking water treatment: Comparing exposure reduction to embedded life cycle risks.

Abstract Treatment of drinking water decreases human health risks by reducing pollutants, but the required materials, chemicals, and energy emit pollutants and increase health risks. We explored human carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic disease tradeoffs of water treatment by comparing pollutant dose-response curves against life cycle burden using USEtox methodology. An illustrative wellhead sorbent groundwater treatment system removing hexavalent chromium or pentavalent arsenic serving 3200 people was studied. Reducing pollutant concentrations in drinking water from 20 μg L −1 to 10 μg L −1 avoided 37 potential cancer cases and 64 potential non-cancer disease cases. Human carcinogenicity embedded in treatment was 0.2–5.3 cases, and non-carcinogenic toxicity was 0.2–14.3 cases, depending on technology and degree of treatment. Embedded toxicity impacts from treating Cr(VI) using strong-base anion exchange were 90% of the toxicity impacts for treatment options requiring pH control. In scenarios where benefits exceeded burdens, tradeoffs still existed. Benefits are experienced by a local population but burdens are born externally where the materials and energy are produced, thus exporting the health risks. Even when burdens clearly exceeded benefits, cost considerations may still drive selecting a detrimental treatment level or technology.
Graphene nanoscrolls fabricated by ultrasonication of electrochemically exfoliated graphene

Here we present a bulk production process for the creation of graphene nanoscrolls utilizing electrochemistry. Due to the open-ended morphology of graphene nanoscrolls they make an excellent candidate for hydrogen storage. Theoretical estimates show that graphene nanoscrolls can store at least twice as much hydrogen as carbon nanotubes. Graphite is converted into graphene through a green electrochemical exfoliation method with sodium dodecyl sulfate (commonly found in consumer products). Applying ultrasonication, the graphene nanosheets will roll up into scrolls from the shock waves created due to cavitation created in an ethanol solution. X-ray analysis and electron microscopy, we show the transition from graphite to graphene to nanoscrolls. X-ray analysis shows the crystallinity of our material, looking at the 26°mark can determine whether the structure is considered graphite (>10 layers of graphene) or graphene. Comparison of Graphene nanoscrolls with SWCNT and MWCNT at 45°show similar structuring.
Screening: CyTOF-the next generation of cell detection.

A new single cell detection technology allows simultaneous measurement of up to 100 surface markers and signaling proteins of immune cells. This method provides the opportunity to make great advances into the scientific understanding of rheumatic disease and the provision of individualized patient care.
Environmentally relevant concentrations of tramadol and citalopram alter behaviour of an aquatic invertebrate

Abstract Environmental pollution by pharmaceutically active compounds, used in quantities similar to those of pesticides and other organic micropollutants, is increasingly recognized as a major threat to the aquatic environment. These compounds are only partly removed from wastewaters and, despite their low concentrations, directly and indirectly affect behaviour of freshwater organisms in natural habitats. The aim of this study was to behaviourally assess the effects of an opioid painkiller (tramadol) and antidepressant drug (citalopram) on behaviour patterns of a clonal model species, marbled crayfish. Animals exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations of both tested compounds (∼1 μg l−1) exhibited significantly lower velocity and shorter distance moved than controls. Crayfish exposed to tramadol spent more time in shelters. Results were obtained by a simple and rapid method recommended as suitable for assessment of behaviour in aquatic organisms exposed to single pollutants and combinations.
Heat Exchangers for Thermoacoustic Refrigerators: Heat Transfer Measurements in Oscillatory Flow

During the past fifteen years heat transfer in oscillatory flows has become the subject of increasing interest in the engineering community. Applications of oscillatory flows include, for example, the cooling of electronic equipment or alternative, environmentally safe refrigeration technologies, such as thermoacoustic refrigeration, pulse tubes or Stirling refrigerators. Important components of these refrigerators are their heat exchangers. In such devices the working fluid is subjected to oscillatory forcing which is a key part of the process, as opposed to situations where oscillations are generated with the aim to enhance heat transfer. Heat transfer in oscillatory, and often compressible, flows has not yet been completely understood, and the lack of design methodologies for heat exchangers in such flows is one reason that efficiencies of these devices are limited. In this paper, convective heat transfer in steady flow is contrasted to measurements of heat transfer in oscillatory flow obtained by holographic interferometry in operating regimes characteristic of the heat exchangers. The results of the research are expected to lead to guidelines that will allow the design of heat exchangers with improved heat transfer performance.
The influence of pressure on the large deformation shear response of a Polyurea

A new shear-compression experiment is developed to characterize the influence of hydrostatic pressure on the shear constitutive response of nearly incompressible viscoelastic materials undergoing large deformations. In this design, a uniform torsional shear stress is superposed on a uniform hydrostatic compressive state of stress generated by axially deforming samples confined by a stack of thin steel disks. The new design is effective in applying uniform multiaxial compressive strain while preventing buckling and barreling during inelastic deformation. In addition, it allows for the direct measurement of the stress and strain fields during the deformation history. The new shear-compression setup is developed to aid in characterizing the influence of pressure or negative dilatation on the shear constitutive response of viscoelastic materials in general and Polyurea in particular. Experimental results obtained with this technique illustrate the significant increase in the shear stiffness of polyurea under moderate to high hydrostatic pressures.
Bimodal Information Clustering Methods

A large variety of clustering methods exist including the deterministic, probabilistic and fuzzy clustering methods. However, these methods are devoted to handling different types of uncertainty. No works exist on clustering taking into account a confluence of probabilistic and fuzzy information termed as a bimodal information. Indeed, real-world information is characterized by partial reliability of sources, uncertainty, incompleteness and imprecision of data.
Hierarchy in adaptive radiation: A case study using the Carnivora (Mammalia).

Simpson's "early burst" model of adaptive radiation was intended to explain the early proliferation of morphological and functional variation in diversifying clades. Yet, despite much empirical testing, questions remain regarding its frequency across the tree of life. Here, we evaluate the support for an early burst model of adaptive radiation in 14 ecomorphological traits plus body mass for the extant mammalian order Carnivora and its constituent families. We find strong support for early bursts of dental evolution, suggesting a classic Simpsonian adaptive radiation along dietary resource axes. However, the signal of this early burst is not consistently recovered in analyses at the family level, where support for a variety of different models emerges. Furthermore, we find no evidence for early burst-like dynamics in size-related traits, and Bayesian analyses of evolutionary correlations corroborate a decoupling of size and dental evolution, driven in part by dietary specialization. Our results are consistent with the perspective that trait diversification unfolds hierarchically, with early bursts restricted to traits associated with higher level niches, such as macrohabitat use or dietary strategy, and thus with the origins of higher taxa. The lack of support for early burst adaptive radiation in previous phylogenetic studies may be a consequence of focusing on low-level niche traits (i.e., those associated with microhabitat use) in clades at shallow phylogenetic levels. A richer understanding of early burst adaptive radiation will require a renewed focus on functional traits and their evolution over higher level clades.
Dose-intensive, time-compressed procarbazine, CCNU, vincristine (PCV) with peripheral blood stem cell support and concurrent radiation in patients with newly diagnosed high-grade gliomas.

The dose intensity of the PCV regimen can be doubled using peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) support. This study sought to determine the feasibility of giving dose-intensive PCV concurrently with radiation therapy. Twelve patients, age 3.2–22.7 years, median 7.5 years, with newly diagnosed high grade gliomas were enrolled. Diagnoses included diffuse intrinsic brainstem gliomas (BSG) (n=6), glioblastoma (n=4), anaplastic astrocytoma (n=2). PBSCs were harvested prior to chemotherapy with G-CSF priming. Chemotherapy consisted of CCNU 130 mg/m2 and vincristine 1.5 mg/m2 on day 0, and procarbazine 150 mg/m2 on days 1–7. PBSCs were reinfused on day 9 of each course. Four courses of chemotherapy were administered every 28 days or when blood counts recovered. The first course was administered the week prior to RT, the second course began on week 3 of RT and the third and fourth course were given after RT. Hematologic toxicity was mild and the majority of courses were given on schedule. Five of six patients with diffuse BSG showed clinical improvement and three showed a radiographic response; however, only one remains alive 12+ months from diagnosis. All four patients with non-brainstem large-volume tumors showed clinical deterioration and radiographic progression during or shortly after RT. MRI scans showed massive edema and enhancement. Median time to radiographic progression was five months. Median overall survival was 11 months. We conclude that dose-intensive, time-compressed PCV given concurrently with large-volume RT appears to result in unacceptable toxicity in patients with large residual tumors.
Studio Television Production and Directing: Studio-Based Television Production and Directing

Learn how to direct television programs, understand complex directing tasks, and learn the fundamentals of studio production procedure in this back-to-basics guide to studio-based productions. Learn about lighting, set, camera operations, floor direction, technical direction, audio, tape, graphics, prompting, and assistant directing. As it's one of the most challenging types of programming, the live newscast is used to illuminate television producing and directing procedures for your newscast or other program genre. You'll soon be able to direct any type of studio-based program with ease.
Noninvasive assessment of fetal central nervous system insult: Potential application to prenatal diagnosis

OBJECTIVE We have developed novel methods for isolating fetal central nervous system (CNS)-derived extracellular vesicles (FCEs) from maternal plasma as a non-invasive platform for testing aspects of fetal neurodevelopment in early pregnancy. We investigate the hypothesis that levels of defined sets of functional proteins in FCEs can be used to detect abnormalities in fetal neuronal and glial proliferation, differentiation, and survival. METHOD Maternal plasma was obtained between 10 and 19 weeks from women with current heavy EtOH exposure and matched controls. FCE levels of synaptophysin, synaptotagmin, synaptopodin, and neurogranin were quantified normalized to the exosome marker CD81. Quantitative RT-PCR was performed with specific primers for miR-9. RESULTS FCE cargo protein levels of synaptophysin, synaptotagmin, synaptopodin, and neurogranin were all significantly reduced in pregnancies exposed to current heavy EtOH use (P < .001 for all). Both synaptophysin and neurogranin appeared to be particularly discriminatory with no overlap between exposed and control subjects. Up to tenfold inhibition (90%) in MicroRNA-9 was observed in FCEs from EtOH exposed fetuses compared with controls. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that FCEs purified from maternal plasma may be a powerful tool to assess abnormal proliferation and differentiation of CNS stem cells as early as the late first trimester. What's already known about this topic? Exosomes/extracellular vesicles (ECVs) are emerging as exciting novel biomarkers in neurologic disease (Alzheimers) What does this study add? Evidence that Fetal CNS ECVs can be isolated from maternal blood The origin of the ECVs appears to be the fetal brain and not the placenta Findings with ECVs correlates with fetal exposure to alcohol. Potential for first trimester prenatal diagnosis of fetal neurologic disease.
Tamoxifen activity against Plasmodium in vitro and in mice

Tamoxifen is an oestrogen receptor modulator that is widely used for the treatment of early stage breast cancer and reduction of recurrences. Tamoxifen is also used as a powerful research tool for controlling gene expression in the context of the Cre/loxP site-specific recombination system in conditional mutant mice. To determine whether the administration of tamoxifen affects Plasmodium growth and/or disease outcome in malaria, in vitro studies assessing the effect of tamoxifen and its active metabolite 4-hydroxytamoxifen on Plasmodium falciparum blood stages were performed. Tamoxifen effects were also evaluated in vivo treating C57/B6 mice infected with Plasmodium berghei (ANKA strain), which is the standard animal model for the study of cerebral malaria. Tamoxifen and its active metabolite, 4-hydroxytamoxifen, show activity in vitro against P. falciparum (16.7 to 5.8 µM IC50, respectively). This activity was also confirmed in tamoxifen-treated mice infected with P. berghei, which show lower levels of parasitaemia and do not develop signs of cerebral malaria, compared to control mice. Mice treated with tamoxifen for 1 week and left untreated for an additional week before infection showed similar parasitaemia levels and signs of cerebral malaria as control untreated mice. Tamoxifen and its active metabolite, 4-hydroxytamoxifen, have significant activity against the human parasite P. falciparum in vitro and the rodent parasite P. berghei in vivo. This activity may be useful for prevention of malaria in patients taking this drug chronically, but also represents a major problem for scientists using the conditional mutagenic Cre/LoxP system in the setting of rodent malaria. Allowing mice to clear tamoxifen before starting a Plasmodium infection allows the use the Cre/LoxP conditional mutagenic system to investigate gene function in specific tissues.
Secondhand smoke exposure and higher blood pressure in children and adolescents participating in NHANES.

Abstract We assessed the relationship between acute and intermittent secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS) exposure with child and adolescent blood pressure (BP). We analyzed cross-sectional data from 3579 children and adolescents aged 8–17 years participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) collected between 2007 and 2012, with SHS exposure assessed via serum cotinine (a biomarker for acute exposures) and urine NNAL (4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol, a biomarker for intermittent exposures). BP percentiles and z-scores were calculated according to the 2017 guidelines established by the American Academy of Pediatrics. We used weighted linear regression accounting for the complex sampling weights from NHANES and adjusting for socio-demographic and clinical characteristics. Overall, 56% of the children were non-Hispanic white with a mean age of 12.6 years. There was approximately equal representation of boys and girls. Approximately 15.9% of participants lived in homes where smoking was present. In adjusted models, an interquartile range (IQR) increase in urinary NNAL was associated with 0.099 (95% CI: 0.033, 0.16) higher diastolic blood pressure (DBP) z-score, and with a 0.094 (95% CI: 0.011, 0.18) higher systolic blood pressure (SBP) z-score. The odds of being in the hypertensive range was 1.966 (95% CI: 1.31, 2.951) times greater among children with high NNAL exposures compared to those with undetectable NNAL. For serum cotinine, an IQR increase was associated with 0.097 (95% CI: 0.020, 0.17) higher DBP z-scores, but was not significantly associated with SBP z-scores. The associations of cotinine and NNAL with BP also differed by sex. Our findings provide the first characterization of the relationship between a major tobacco-specific metabolite, NNAL, and BP z-scores in a nationally representative population of US children.
BANKING COMPETITION, CAPITAL ACCUMULATION, AND INTEREST ON RESERVES

In recent years, the increased concentration of activity in the banking system has received much attention. In addition, numerous central banks have expanded their range of policy tools to include paying interest on reserves. The objective of this paper is to study the implications of concentration in the banking sector and the effects of various reserve policies. Changes in the competitive structure affect investment, risk‐sharing, and social welfare. In general, perfect competition should not be a regulatory goal for the banking system. Moreover, it is generally not optimal to pay the same interest rate on required reserves as excess reserves. (JEL O42, D42, E52)
Ultra-short-period massive black hole binary candidates in LSST as LISA ‘verification binaries’

The Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory is expected to discover tens of millions of quasars. A significant fraction of these could be powered by coalescing massive black hole (MBH) binaries, since many quasars are believed to be triggered by mergers. We show that under plausible assumptions about the luminosity functions, lifetimes, and binary fractions of quasars, we expect the full LSST quasar catalogue to contain between 20-100 million compact MBH binaries with masses $M=10^{5-9}M_{\odot}$, redshifts $z=0-6$, and orbital periods $P=1-70$ days. Their light-curves are expected to be distinctly periodic, which can be confidently distinguished from stochastic red-noise variability, because LSST will cover dozens, or even hundreds of cycles. A very small subset of 10-150 ultra-compact ($P\lesssim1$ day) binary quasars among these will, over $\sim$5-15 years, evolve into the mHz gravitational-wave (GW) frequency band and can be detected by $\textit{LISA}$. They can therefore be regarded as "$\textit{LISA}$ verification binaries", analogous to short-period Galactic compact-object binaries. The practical question is how to find these handful of "needles in the haystack" among the large number of quasars: this will likely require a tailored co-adding analysis optimised for this purpose.
Detouring adrenergic stimulation to induce adipose thermogenesis.

Harnessing the thermogenic, energy-expending capacity of adipocytes has the potential to combat metabolic disorders. Although β3-adrenergic receptor agonists are the best-known activators of thermogenesis, they carry considerable cardiovascular risks. A new study demonstrates the ability of G protein-coupled receptor 3 to intrinsically drive adipose thermogenesis independent of β3-adrenergic receptor signalling.
Entanglement and Chaos in De Sitter Space Holography: An SYK Example

Entanglement, chaos, and complexity are as important for de Sitter space as for AdS, and for black holes. There are similarities and also great differences between AdS and dS in how these concepts are manifested in the space-time geometry.In the first part of this paper the Ryu–Takayanagi prescription, the theory of fast-scrambling, and the holographic complexity correspondence are reformulated for de Sitter space. Criteria are proposed for a holographic model to describe de Sitter space. The criteria can be summarized by the requirement that scrambling and complexity growth must be ``hyperfast."In the later part of the paper I show that a certain limit of the SYK model satisfies the hyperfast criterion. This leads tothe radical conjecture that a limit of SYK is indeed a concrete, computable, holographic model of de Sitter space. Calculations are described which support the conjecture.
SOURCE MATERIALS FOR LAKE MICHIGAN BEACHES

The extensive wave erosion which has occurred in many parts of the Lake Michigan shoreline since I9I4.3 has centered interest on the materials composing the bluffs above the water line and on the amount and grain size of beach sediments yielded by wave erosion of these bluffs. The present study grew out of a preliminary mapping of the landform types and shore materials of the Lake Michigan basin carried out in 1952-53 for the Beach Erosion Board of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The report prepared for the Beach Erosion Board summarized the geology of the Lake Michigan shoreline. Types of bedrock were indicated not only where such rocks form cliffs or reefs above water level but also beneath the unconsolidated materials which form three-quarters of the actual shoreline. Such unconsolidated materials were also mapped as to type and present form, and on these bases the shoreline was divided into physiographic units. These physiographic units and materials will be evaluated with respect to the total proportion of each type along the shoreline and the sediments yielded to the beach zone by wave erosion.
The Program Environment Scale: assessing client perceptions of community-based programs for the severely mentally ill.

The Program Environment Scale (PES) was developed for use with clients of community-based programs for the severely mentally ill. It is intended to fill the gap in available tools for assessing clients' perceptions of program functioning as it affects their “quality of life” in a program. Formal pretests were conducted with 121 clients at 12 randomly selected programs near Washington, DC. The final field test used a revised form (29 domains; 129 items) with 221 clients in 22 programs selected randomly throughout the U.S., including Clubhouse, day treatment, psychosocial rehabilitation, and social club programs. Twenty-three subscales met at least five of eight psychometric criteria for internal consistency and discriminant validity. A 24th subscale was retained because of its substantive importance. Successful subscales cover program atmosphere and interactions (program cares about me, energy level, friendliness, openness, staff-client and client-client respect, reasonable rules, availability of positive physical contact, protection from bad touch, staff investment in their jobs, and confidentiality), client empowerment/staff-client equality (program and treatment empowerment, egalitarian space use), and service components (support for paid work, work importance, emergency access, family activities, housing, public benefits, community activities, medications, substance abuse, and continuity). Subscale validity is indicated by associations of specific service offerings with scores on scales measuring client perceptions of those services, and by an ability to differentiate among program models (i.e., Clubhouses, day treatment programs, and psychosocial rehabilitation programs look different from each other). Subscale scores were not influenced by client characteristics (gender, race, age, diagnosis, number of hospitalizations, length of time in program). The final scale has 97 items and takes about 25 minutes to complete. The PES succeeds in measuring different aspects of programs as clients perceive them. In the programs we visited, directors felt the PES covers the important things they want to know about how clients perceive their program. The PES should become a useful tool both for researchers interested in how client responses to programs may influence their therapeutic outcomes, and for practitioners interested in improving their clients' program experiences and/or increasing convergence of staff and client views of their program.
A large-scale dynamic vector and raster data visualization geographic information system based on parallel map tiling

With the exponential increasing demands and uses of GIS data visualization system, such as urban planning, environment and climate change monitoring, weather simulation, hydrographic gauge and so forth, the geospatial vector and raster data visualization research, application and technology has become prevalent. However, we observe that current web GIS techniques are merely suitable for static vector and raster data where no dynamic overlaying layers. While it is desirable to enable visual explorations of large-scale dynamic vector and raster geospatial data in a web environment, improving the performance between backend datasets and the vector and raster applications remains a challenging technical issue. This dissertation is to implement these challenging and unimplemented areas: how to provide a large-scale dynamic vector and raster data visualization service with dynamic overlaying layers accessible from various client devices through a standard web browser, and how to make the large-scale dynamic vector and raster data visualization service as rapid as the static one. To accomplish these, a large-scale dynamic vector and raster data visualization geographic information system based on parallel map tiling and a comprehensive performance improvement solution are proposed, designed and implemented. They include: the quadtree-based indexing and parallel map tiling, the Legend String, the vector data visualization with dynamic layers overlaying, the vector data time series visualization, the algorithm of vector data rendering, the algorithm of raster data re-projection, the algorithm for elimination of superfluous level of detail, the algorithm for vector data gridding and re-grouping and the cluster servers side vector and raster data caching.
Masquerade detection via customized grammars

We show that masquerade detection, based on sequences of commands executed by the users, can be effectively and efficiently done by the construction of a customized grammar representing the normal behavior of a user. More specifically, we use the Sequitur algorithm to generate a context-free grammar which efficiently extracts repetitive sequences of commands executed by one user – which is mainly used to generate a profile of the user. This technique identifies also the common scripts implicitly or explicitly shared between users – a useful set of data for reducing false positives. During the detection phase, a block of commands is classified as either normal or a masquerade based on its decomposition in substrings using the grammar of the alleged user. Based on experimental results using the Schonlau datasets, this approach shows a good detection rate across all false positive rates – they are the highest among all published results inpknown to the author.
Mechanism of inverted‐chirp infrasonic radiation from sprites

[1] Farges and Blanc (2010) reported inverted-chirp infrasonic signals with high frequencies arriving before low frequencies, possibly emitted by sprite discharges and observed on the ground at close range (<100 km) from the source. In the present work a parallel version of a 2-D FDTD model of infrasound propagation in a realistic atmosphere is applied to demonstrate that the observed morphology of infrasound signals is consistent with general scaling of diameters of sprite streamers inversely proportionally to the air density. The smaller structures at lower altitudes radiate higher infrasonic frequencies that arrive first at the observational point on the ground, while the low frequency components are delayed because they originate at lower air densities at higher altitudes. The results demonstrate that strong absorption of high frequency infrasonic components at high altitudes (i.e., ∼0.2 dB/km for 8 Hz at 70 km) may also contribute to formation of inverted-chirp signals observed on the ground at close range.
Distance Measuring Equipment and its Evolving Role in Aviation

Publisher Summary Two main types of distance measuring equipment (DME)—that is,DME/N and DME/P—have been standardized by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). This chapter views both DME/N and the new DME/P from a broad systems engineering perspective. Like many other navigation aids, DME is characterized in terms of a signal format, accuracy, coverage, radio frequency assignment, the measurement technique used to extract the DME navigation parameter, and the output guidance information rate. A DME must also satisfy certain levels of signal integrity and availability. The chapter provides the background and historical perspective necessary to view DME in the broader context of air navigation and its specific role in the National Airspace System (NAS). The navigation applications discussed in this chapter are restricted to the air traffic control system as it is defined by the ICAO and as it is implemented in the United States. Therefore, only the domestic enroute, terminal, and approach/landing phases of flight have been addressed. Enroute and approach/landing scenarios have been defined using only the conventional takeoff and land (CTOL) aircraft type. However, DME is not restricted to these applications or to CTOL aircraft. Both helicopter and remote area operations, for example, come under the broad envelope of DME applications.
Legal Indeterminacy Made in America: American Legal Methods and the Rule of Law

The thesis of this Article is that the indeterminacy that plagues American law is "Made in America." It is not inherent in law. Rather, it is a product of specific choices of legal methods and of legal structures made in the American legal system.
Performance of an array of vertical dipoles over an inhomogeneous ground system

The elevation radiation patterns of a stacked array of vertical electric dipoles (VEDs) over several different azimuthally symmetric inhomogeneous ground systems are studied using an integral formulation. As the ground influences the pattern of each VED differently, there is no known optimum array excitation which can be used to achieve desired beam shaping and steering. Patterns in an array of 21 VEDs spaced 0.1 lambda apart are computed and compared to HF (10 MHz) for three excitation functions: (a) conventional linear spacial phasing, (b) phasing according to the complex conjugate of the field produced by each VED in the direction of steering, and (c) spacially sinusoidal excitation with constant phasing. Results are given for grounds consisting of homogeneous earth, a perfectly conducting ground plane, a perfectly conducting disk on homogeneous earth and 2 lambda long radial wire ground systems on well- and poorly-conducting earth. It is found that the radiation pattern cannot be steered below about 9/sup 0/ in elevation for any of the excitation functions or the ground systems used. For low-angle steering conjugate excitation produces a slightly narrower beam with smaller sidelobes. Highly conducting grounds tend to permit steering to slightly higher elevations with narrower beams.
Physical properties and subunit structure of L-asparaginase isolated from Erwinia carotovora.

1. l-Asparaginases from Erwinia carotovora and Escherichia coli (EC2 enzyme) are both capable of inhibiting and eliminating certain types of tumour cells. The Er. carotovora enzyme is a more basic protein, however, and in contrast with the EC2 enzyme it contains neither tryptophan nor cystine, and disulphide bonds are therefore absent. The molecule is very stable in solution from pH3.0 to about pH12.0, and is somewhat more stable at alkaline pH than is the Esch. coli enzyme. Calculations based on a s(0) (20,w) 7.43S and a sedimentation-equilibrium molecular weight of 135000+/-10000 give a frictional ratio (f/f(0)) of 1.08. The molecular conformation is therefore very compact in solution, and the electron microscope shows the negatively stained molecules as almost spherical particles with a diameter of 7.2+/-0.7nm. 2. Sedimentation-velocity and equilibrium ultracentrifugation, in 5-8m solutions of urea and guanidinium chloride, and also electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel, reveal a dissociation of the native protein molecule into four subunits of similar molecular weight in the range 32500-38000. The enzymically inactive subunits can be physically reassembled into an active tetramer when urea is removed by dialysis. Although the subunit structures of the Er. carotovora enzyme and the Esch. coli enzyme molecules are similar, the secondary bonding forces holding the subunits together in the tetramer are somewhat stronger in the Er. carotovora enzyme. 3. The optical-rotatory-dispersion (o.r.d.) parameters that characterize the Cotton effects arising from ordered structure in the molecule are [m'](233)=-3522+/-74 degrees and [m'](200)=9096+/-1700 degrees . These show very marked changes as the secondary structure is disrupted and the molecule dissociates into subunits. A correlation pathway was traced on the basis of o.r.d. parameters and enzyme activity as the polypeptide chains were denatured and renatured (and reconstituted) into active molecules after the dilution of solutions in urea. Subunits resulting from treatment with sodium dodecyl sulphate do not show the typically disordered o.r.d. profile, but nevertheless they are inactive.
Anaerobic digestion of onion residuals using a mesophilic Anaerobic Phased Solids Digester

Abstract The anaerobic digestion of onion residual from an onion processing plant was studied under batch-fed and continuously-fed mesophilic (35 ± 2 °C) conditions in an Anaerobic Phased Solids (APS) Digester. The batch digestion tests were performed at an initial loading of 2.8 gVS L −1 and retention time of 14 days. The biogas and methane yields, and volatile solids reduction from the onion residual were determined to be 0.69 ± 0.06 L gVS −1 , 0.38 ± 0.05 L CH 4 gVS −1 , and 64 ± 17%, respectively. Continuous digestion tests were carried out at organic loading rates (OLRs) of 0.5–2.0 gVS L −1 d −1 . Hydrated lime (Ca(OH) 2 ) was added to the APS-Digester along with the onion residual at 16 mg Ca(OH) 2 gVS −1 to control the pH of the biogasification reactor above 7.0. At steady state the average biogas yields were 0.51, 0.56, and 0.62 L gVS −1 for the OLRs of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 gVS L −1 d −1 respectively. The methane yields at steady state were 0.29, 0.32, and 0.31 L CH 4 gVS −1 for the OLRs of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 gVS L −1 d −1 respectively. The study shows that the digestion of onion residual required proper alkalinity and pH control, which was possible through the use of caustic chemicals. However, such chemicals will begin to have an inhibitory effect on the microbial population at high loading rates, and therefore alternative operational parameters are needed.
An orthogonal feature selection method

Abstract A new preprocessing method that has found considerable use for chemical applications is presented. Features are selected that are useful for class discrimination, orthogonal, and at least in part, retain identity to the original measurements. A brief introduction to chemical pattern recognition is presented followed by a description of the method and an application to mass spectral data analysis.
Thermal pretreatment of algae for anaerobic digestion.

The objective of this work was to determine the benefit of thermal pretreatment on biogas yield from microalgae-fed anaerobic digester mesocosms. Replicate Nanochloropsis oculata cultures were heated for 4 h at 30, 60, and 90 °C, as well as at a constant temperature of 90 °C for 1, 3.5, and 12 h. Net biogas production increased from 0.28 L biogas/g volatile solids added (VSa) for the control to 0.39 L biogas/g VSa (p < 0.01) when heated at 90 °C, but there was no improvement at 30 or 60 °C. Increased biogas production correlated with increased soluble chemical oxygen demand (COD). Net biogas production increased as a function of heating time, from 0.32 L biogas/g VSa for the control, to 0.41, 0.43, and 0.44 L biogas/g VSa (p < 0.05 for all combinations vs. control) when preheated at 90 °C for 1, 3.5, and 12 h, respectively. However, despite enhanced biogas production the energy balance is negative for thermal pretreatment.
Why Take the Cog Out of Infant Cognition

A number of recent commentaries on studies of infant cognition (e.g., Haith, 1998; Haith & Benson, 1998; Munakata, McClelland, Johnson & Siegler, 1997; Smith, 1999) criticized several reports by investigators (e.g., Baillargeon, 1999; Spelke, 1998; Wynn, 1998) who offered a so-called “rich interpretation” of findings gathered from young infants. The fundamental danger associated with such rich interpretations is that some simpler lower level mechanism may be discovered that can account for these same findings. This commentary is directed to three articles that appear in this issue of Infancy (Bogartz, Shinskey, & Schilling; Cashon & Cohen; Schilling). All three articles present empirical evidence from 4-, 51⁄2-, and 8-month-old infants that the authors contend is more consistent with a perceptually based interpretation than with the rich interpretation offered by two classic studies of object permanence in young infants (Baillargeon, 1987a; Baillargeon, Spelke, & Wasserman, 1985). I argue that the alternative explanation offered by these three sets of authors is inconsistent with both the original studies and with their own data.
Sesquiterpene lactones from Helianthus grosseserratus

Abstract The isolation is reported of six new sesquiterpene lactones based on the eudesmanolide, trans , trans -germacradienolide and heliangolide skeletons from Helianthus grosseserratus Martens. The diterpenes grandifloric, 17-hydroxy- ent -isokaur-15-enic and ciliaric acids and the flavones hispidulin and pectolinarigenin were also found.
Probing conformational changes in the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor by Fourier transform infrared difference spectroscopy

We have developed a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) difference method for probing conformational changes that occur upon the binding of ligands to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR). Our approach is to deposit reconstituted nAChR membranes in a thin film on the surface of a germanium internal reflection element, acquire FTIR spectra in the presence of bulk aqueous solution using attenuated total reflection, and then trigger conformational changes by sequentially flowing a buffer either with or without an agonist past the film surface. Using the fluorescent probe, ethidium bromide, it is demonstrated that the method of nAChR film deposition does not affect the ability of the receptor to undergo the resting-to-desensitized state transition. The difference of FTIR spectra of nAChR films recorded in the presence and absence of agonists reveal highly reproducible infrared bands that are not observed in the difference of spectra recorded with only buffer flowing past the film surface. Some of the bands are assigned to changes in protein secondary structure and to changes in the structure of individual amino acid residues. Bands arising from the vibrations of the agonist bound to the receptor are also observed. The results demonstrate that FTIR difference spectroscopy can detect structural changes in the nAChR that occur upon the binding of ligands. The technique will be an effective method for investigating nAChR structure and function as well as receptor-drug interactions.
Parental age and unbalanced Robertsonian translocations associated with Down syndrome and Patau syndrome: comparison with maternal and paternal age effects for 47, + 21 and 47, + 13

Data are analysed on livebirths with trisomic syndromes associated with unbalanced Robertsonian translocations born from 1968 to 1981 and reported to the New York State Chromosome Registry. The maternal ages of reported cases were compared with those of the livebirths in the general population who were born in the same year. The number of translocations studied, the mean case-control differences in years in maternal age (and the standard errors of the mean) were respectively, as follows: D/21 mutants, n = 36, -0.1 (+/- 0.9); G/21 mutants, n = 46, +1.5 (+/-0.8); D/13 mutants, n = 16, +0.6 (+/-1.5); D/21 inherited, n = 12, -1.0 (+/-1.4); G/21 inherited, n = 3, -0.3 (+/-4.4); and D/13 inherited, n = 6, +2.1 (+/-2.4). There was little change in any category if the few cases diagnosed prenatally were included. Only the value for the G/21 mutants is significantly different from zero at the 0.05 level. (The results on G/21 mutants in maternal age are consistent with an earlier Japanese report of an increase of about 2 years over the control values.) The distribution of maternal ages suggests that G/21 mutants may be produced both by maternal age-independent and maternal age-dependent components. The data on D/21 mutants, however, do not indicate the negative association with maternal age reported in Japan. Differences between this study and the Japanese study in analyses of controls may explain this slight variation. But in any event both studies reveal no evidence for an increase in maternal age for unbalanced D/21 mutant or D/21 inherited translocations associated with Down syndrome. This is evidence against the hypothesis that relaxed selection during gestation, after recognition of pregnancy, accounts for the maternal age effects of 47, +21. In comparison with the results on Robertsonian translocations, the case-control differences in maternal age in years (and the standard errors of the mean) for 47, +21 for 2148 livebirths was +4.6 (+/-0.2), and for 2354 cases including those diagnosed prenatally was +5.3 (+/-0.2). The most likely value for an estimated total of 2292 cases of 47, +21 livebirths that would have been reported in the absence of prenatal diagnosis was +5.1 (+/-0.2). For 47, +13, for 98 livebirths the mean case-control difference in maternal age in years was +1.5 (+/-0.7) and for 116 cases including those diagnosed prenatally was +3.2 (+/-0.7).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)