cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Potassium isotope cosmochemistry: Genetic implications of volatile element depletion

Abstract We report high precision (±0.5%o) potassium isotopic determinations on bulk chondrites, achondrites, and lunar samples, on a separated chondrule, and two CAls. We find that potassium shows a remarkable isotopic homogeneity in various solar system bodies, even though there are chemical depletions of a factor of about 30, between C1 chondrites and eucrites and lunar samples. Theories that propose the evaporation of volatile elements from initially condensed (C1 chondrite) material to account for such chemical depletions, necessarily imply the existence of large isotopic mass fractionations, e.g., about +40%o for Earth, +90%o for eucrites and lunar rocks. Volatile loss of potassium (and by implication Na, Rb, Cs, and other elements of similar volatility) during chondrule formation is also ruled out. The high precision of the data place stringent limits of ≤52% on the quantity of potassium that could have been lost by partial volatilization. This is not detectable by standard chemical techniques, which can resolve 5–20% changes in the K/La and K/U ratios. The two-component models proposed by Larimer and Anders (1967) and by Wanke et al. (1984) invoke vaporization of alkalis which is not supported by the potassium isotope results. The chemical depletion of alkalis and other volatiles must have preceded the processes of chondrule, chondrite, and planetary formation, and occurred during the condensation of precursor dust, probably from a hot stage in the solar nebula.
Propagation and Cryopreservation of Asplenium scolopendrium var. americanum, the American Hart’s-Tongue Fern

Abstract Asplenium scolopendrium var. americanum is a federally-listed fern species that is found in several northern populations in the U.S. and Canada, as well as in three isolated locations in the southern U.S. In vitro methods were applied to the germination, propagation, and cryopreservation of this species. Germination of spores was obtained both in vitro and on soil, but the production of sporophytes from gametophytes did not begin until over two years after the spores were sown. In vitro cultures of both sporophytes and gametophytes were established, but sporophyte production from gametophytes has thus far only been observed on soil. Both in vitro-grown gametophytes and sporophytes survived cryopreservation using the encapsulation-dehydration procedure. Preculture on ABA-containing medium increased survival of sporophytes after cryopreservation, but good survival of gametophytes was observed with or without ABA. The use of Green Globular Body-like sporophyte tissue demonstrates the use of this tis...
Panel on: The Problems and Prospects of Teaching in the Digital Age Personally Authenticating the Digital Divide

Is technology equalizing or polarizing this world? The authors answer this question by personally authenticating the dramatic state of the digital divide via their own experience. First, the authors will define “digital divide. Second, justification will be given to the significance of the issue. Third, with citation of research literature, the authors will substantiate the gravity of digital divide in our world. Finally, adducing their own personal experience, the authors intend to clinch the point that the digital divide is not distant and impersonal, a concern of someone else, but close, real, and very personal. The authors’ multi-regional and multi- national experiences put them in a poised position to explore and reflect upon the issue of the digital divide.
The Tea Party Gap within the Republican Party

For the first time, the American National Election Studies (ANES) in its 2012 dataset included variables regarding support for the Tea Party movement. This study analyzes the 2012 ANES data to compare the attitudes of Tea Party supporters to Republicans who do not support the Tea Party. Not only are Tea Party supporters demographically different from Non-Tea Party Republicans, but there are significant ideological and policy preference differences between the two groups as well. On virtually every issue analyzed, the issue positions of Tea Party supporters are more conservative, sometime considerably so, than Non-Tea Party Republicans. Theses demographic and ideological disparities have enormous implications for the future of the Republican Party.
Drug-drug interactions with antipsychotics.

Recognizing drug-drug interactions (DDIs) has become increasingly important as the country's demographics have aged, resulting in more complex medication regimens. Budnitz and colleagues highlighted the frequency of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and the substantial morbidity that results. Their study estimated >700,000 cases of ADRs in emergency rooms (ER) in the United States between 2004 and 2005, and that ADRs accounted for 6.7% of ER visits for unintentional injuries that led to hospitalization. Moreover, medications that require monitoring accounted for 41.5% of all the ADR-related hospitalizations.These data have tremendous implications for the field of psychiatry because many psychiatric drugs require therapeutic monitoring. The importance of DDIs is particularly relevant for the psychiatric population, where adverse effects not only cause short-term morbidity, but may lead to long-term treatment noncompliance. For many patients taking antipsychotics, adherence is the key to a successful outcome. Minimizing DDIs maximizes the chance that people will avoid unnecessary ADRs while achieving therapeutic drug levels.
Micro tools

Miro provides a visual way to specify security configurations. It consists of two visual specification languages, the instance language and the constrain language. The current Miro tool support is described. The set of tools is divided into front-end and back-end tools. Front-end tools include the editor, parser library, ambiguity checker, and constraint checker; the back-end tools are the file-system-specific probers and configures. What makes some of these tools particularly novel are the nontrivial algorithms implemented to check for properties such as ambiguity. What makes the overall design of the Miro environment particularly interesting and useful for prototyping is loosely coupled way in which the individual tools interact. >
A framework for estimating preconstruction service costs at the functional level for highway construction projects

viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1 Content Organization 1 CHAPTER 2 BACKGROUND AND MOTIVATIONS 4 Background 4 Motivation 5 Problem Statement 7 CHAPTER 3 OVERALL APPROACH TO RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND VALIDATION 8 CHAPTER 4 CONSTRUCTION COST CERTAINTY VERSUS CONSTRUCTION SAVINGS: WHICH IS THE CORRECT APPROACH? 10 Abstract 10 Introduction 10 Background 11 Budgeting for preconstruction services 12 Construction cost growth 13 Methodology 14 Results 15 Conclusions 16 CHAPTER 5 COST AND SCOPE BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE FOR FUNCTIONAL LEVEL ESTIMATING OF CONSULTANT FEES 18 Abstract 18 Introduction 19 Background 19 Methodology 22 Survey 22 Case studies 23 Current Functional Level Estimating Practices 24 Discussion 29 Conclusions and Recommendations 31
Analysis of Feedforward/Feedback Control Design for Underwater Gliders Based on Slowly Varying Systems Theory

Underwater gliders are highly efficient, winged autonomous underwater vehicles that propel themselves by modifying their buoyancy and their center of mass. The center of mass is controlled by a set of servo-actuators which move one or more internal masses relative to the vehicle’s frame. Underwater glid ers are so efficient because they spend most of their time in stable, steady motion, expending control energy only when changing their equilibrium state. Motion control thus reduces to varying the parameters (buoyancy and center of mass) that affect the state of steady motion. These parameters are conventionally controlled through feedback, in response to measured errors in the state of motion, but one may also incorporate a feedforward component to speed convergence and improve performance. This paper describes the analysis of a feedforward/feedback control system for an underwater glider using slowly varying systems theory. The results provide (conservative) bounds on the rate at which the reference command (the desired state of motion) may be varied while still guaranteeing stability of the closed-loop system.
Mode- and Bond-Selective Chemistry on Metal Surfaces: The Dissociative Chemisorption of CHD3 on Ni(111)

A quantum approach based on an expansion in vibrationally adiabatic eigenstates is used to explore CHD3 dissociation on Ni(111). Symmetric stretch vibrations are shown to have larger efficacies for promoting reaction and bond selectivity than antisymmetric stretches. Mode softening, associated with a localization of vibrational energy on the reacting bond, correlates adiabatically with the symmetric stretch. This lowers the barrier on that vibrationally adiabatic reaction path. At energies below these barriers, reaction occurs via nonadiabatic transitions to lower-energy vibrational states at the avoided crossings. This sudden behavior preserves energy localization on the reactive bond and converts vibrational energy into bond breaking. One of the antisymmetric stretches can typically not couple to the other states due to symmetry, eliminating these pathways. The ν1 stretch has a large efficacy and can give 100% C–H cleavage selectivity. Both CD3 stretches have reasonable efficacies, and both promote C–D ...
Traumatic Brain Injury and Neuronal Functionality Changes in Sensory Cortex.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI), caused by direct blows to the head or inertial forces during relative head-brain movement, can result in long-lasting cognitive and motor deficits which can be particularly consequential when they occur in young people with a long life ahead. Much is known of the molecular and anatomical changes produced in TBI but much less is known of the consequences of these changes to neuronal functionality, especially in the cortex. Given that much of our interior and exterior lives are dependent on responsiveness to information from and about the world around us, we have hypothesized that a significant contributor to the cognitive and motor deficits seen after TBI could be changes in sensory processing. To explore this hypothesis, and to develop a model test system of the changes in neuronal functionality caused by TBI, we have examined neuronal encoding of simple and complex sensory input in the rat’s exploratory and discriminative tactile system, the large face microvibrissae, which feeds to the so-called ‘barrel cortex’ of somatosensory cortex. In this review we describe the short-term and long-term changes in the barrel cortex encoding of whisker motion modelling naturalistic whisker movement undertaken by rats engaged in a variety of tasks. We demonstrate that the most common form of TBI results in persistent neuronal hyperexcitation specifically in the upper cortical layers, likely due to changes in inhibition. We describe the types of cortical inhibitory neurons and their roles and how selective effects on some of these could produce the particular forms of neuronal encoding changes described in TBI, and then generalize to compare the effects on inhibition seen in other forms of brain injury. From these findings we make specific predictions as to how non-invasive extra-cranial electrophysiology can be used to provide the high-precision information needed to monitor and understand the temporal evolution of changes in neuronal functionality in humans suffering TBI. Such detailed understanding of the specific changes in an individual patient’s cortex can allow for treatment to be tailored to the neuronal changes in that particular patient’s brain in TBI, a precision that is currently unavailable with any technique.
“Killing the Messenger”: Public Perceptions of Nonviolent Protest

No one would be surprised to hear that people who do not like what protesters have to say are likely to reject the protesters as people as well as their cause. After all, “killing the messenger” because he or she brings us bad news is a common enough phrase. It is to be expected that people angry about antinuclear weapons protests in their neighborhood would reject both the messenger and the message. At the same time, we might expect that the protesters’ commitment to nonviolence and their nonviolent tactics would be clear to everyone, no matter what their political beliefs. So many of the protesters at the Seneca Army Depot may have thought when they attended rallies or participated in civil disobedience actions at the Central New York army installation in 1983. However, as this paper will show, we don’t all agree on what is violent or peaceful and sometimes our disagreements fall along partisan lines.
Understanding Muslim Women's Self-Identity and Resistance to Feminism and Participatory Action Research

Copyright 2004, Praeger Publishing. This is a pre-copyedited version of an article accepted for publication in the edited book Traveling Companions: Feminism, Teaching, and Action Research, following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available through Praeger Publishing: http://www.greenwood.com/catalog/C8027.aspx. See also: http://www.eself-learning-arabic.cornell.edu/publications.htm#2
Dysregulation of SHFM1, a Novel Target for Prevention of Genomic Instability in Myeloma, Is Associated with Epigenetic Changes at Specific CpG Sites

We have previously demonstrated that elevated homologous recombination (HR) activity mediates genomic instability and progression in myeloma. We, therefore, hypothesized that mechanisms underlying dysregulation of HR, drive genomic instability and have potential to serve as novel markers of progression and target to make cancer cells static. In an attempt to identify molecular intermediates underlying increased HR, we conducted a high-throughput shRNA screen using HR activity in MM cells as an endpoint, and identified split hand/split foot malformation locus 1 - SHFM1 - as a novel regulator of HR in myeloma. We demonstrate that suppression of SHFM1 using specific lentiviral shRNA knockdown inhibits HR activity in myeloma as well as other (esophageal) cancer cells. Suppression of HR activity is also associated with reduction in spontaneous DNA breaks thus having a positive impact on genomic integrity. We have also observed that suppression of SHFM1 gene lead to reduction in acquisition of new genomic changes by both copy number alteration as well as SNPs. Evaluation of expression profile in 330 MM patients and 18 normal plasma cells indicated that the gene is overexpressed in myeloma, relative to normal plasma cells (P = 0.0059). Expression of this gene in myeloma also significantly correlates with its copy number (R=0.43; P In summary our results highlight SHFM1 as an important gene modulating genomic instability and its control by methylation provides an insight into epigenomic control of DNA stability. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Examining the Effects and Feasibility of a Teacher-Implemented Tier 1 and Tier 2 Intervention in Word Reading, Fluency, and Comprehension.

ABSTRACTThis study investigates the effects and feasibility of an intervention for first-grade students at risk for reading difficulties or disabilities (RD). The intervention was provided by general education classroom teachers and consisted of 15 min whole-class comprehension lessons (Tier 1) and 30 min Tier 2 intervention sessions in word reading, comprehension, and text reading. First-grade teachers (n = 21), with 4–5 students at risk for reading difficulties and potential reading disability were randomly assigned to treatment or typical practice comparison conditions. Significant group differences were detected on all measures of word reading, decoding, and fluency. Effect sizes were educationally important for all measures of word reading, decoding, and reading comprehension; however, effects on standardized measures were smaller than those in prior studies with similar students in which intervention was typically provided outside the regular classroom. An exploratory analysis indicated that student...
Perception of upright: Multisensory convergence and the role of temporo-parietal cortex

We inherently maintain a stable perception of the world despite frequent changes in the head, eye and body positions. Such ‘orientation constancy’ is a prerequisite for coherent spatial perception and sensorimotor planning. As a multimodal sensory reference, perception of upright represents neural processes that subserve orientation constancy through integration of sensory information encoding the eye, head and body positions. Although perception of upright is distinct from perception of body orientation, they share similar neural substrates within the cerebral cortical networks involved in perception of spatial orientation. These cortical networks, mainly within the temporo-parietal junction, are crucial for multisensory processing and integration that generate sensory reference frames for coherent perception of self position and extrapersonal space transformations. In this review, we focus on these neural mechanisms and discuss (i) neurobehavioral aspects of orientation constancy, (ii) sensory models that address the neurophysiology underlying perception of upright, and (iii) the current evidence for the role of cerebral cortex in perception of upright and orientation constancy, including findings from the neurological disorders that affect cortical function.
Plane Waves: Frequency-Domain Solutions

The frequency domain now becomes the lens for our study of plane waves. We will not rely on prior developments in the time domain, such as the d’Alembert solution and the ensuing wave image construction technique. The primary reason for pursuing the analysis in a self-contained manner is that it will prepare us for the study of multidimensional phenomena, for which a time-domain solution might not be available as a guide.
The Impact of Access Barriers on Fertility Treatment Decision Making: A Qualitative Study From the Perspectives of Patients and Service Providers

Abstract Objective The purpose of this study was to explore how barriers to accessing fertility services affect the treatment decisions made by fertility patients and service providers in Newfoundland and Labrador. Methods Semistructured, in-depth interviews were conducted with 11 patients across Newfoundland and with eight service providers from Newfoundland and Labrador Fertility Services (located in St. John's) to gather the perspectives of both patients and providers. The interview transcripts were analyzed thematically. Results Patients' responses to fertility service access barriers included choosing cheaper drugs, substituting intrauterine insemination (IUI) for IVF or not using IVF, delaying IVF, choosing more accessible IVF clinics, transferring multiple embryos, and stopping treatment altogether. Some patients, however, noted that the barriers would not stop them from continuing with treatment. Providers' responses to the barriers patients faced included changing drug protocols, manipulating ovulation, providing teleconsultations, and minimizing patients' clinic visits for those living some distance away from St. John's. Conclusion Both patients and providers make treatment-related decisions to maximize the likelihood of a successful pregnancy and to reduce costs, which can result in less effective care and at times increased risk to the patient. Unlike with other types of care, responses to barriers to fertility treatment largely result in changes to individual patient treatment plans rather than changing models of care. As a result, many patients must continue to seek fertility services in large urban centres and incur substantial personal costs.
Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth Affects the Responsiveness to Colchicine in Familial Mediterranean Fever

Objective. Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive disease due to a MEFV gene mutation. Since Helicobacter pylori infection has been described to increase the severity and frequency of FMF attacks, we evaluate if overgrowth of small intestinal bacterial (SIBO), associated with a release of bacterial products, can affect the response to colchicine in FMF patients poorly responsive to colchicine. Methods. We revised our Periodic Fever Centre database to detect FMF patients who were poorly responsive to colchicine, without a well-defined cause of drug resistance. They were evaluated for SIBO presence, then treated with decontamination therapy. Results. Among 223 FMF patients, 49 subjects show colchicine resistance, and no other known causes of colchicine unresponsiveness has been found in 25 patients. All 25 patients underwent glucose breath test; 20 (80%) of them were positive, thus affected by SIBO. After a successful decontamination treatment, 11 patients (55%) did not show FMF attacks during the following three months ( ), while 9 of them revealed a significant reduction of the number of attacks compared to three months before ( ). Conclusion. The SIBO eradication improves laboratory and clinical features of FMF patients. Thus, patients with unresponsiveness to colchicine treatment should be investigated for SIBO.
Hepatic Lymphoma Diagnosis

Systemic hematopoietic disorders may present on liver biopsy, and rare cases of primary hepatic lymphoma (PHL) may be encountered. Hepatopathologists must be familiar with the full spectrum of hematopoietic disorders involving the liver and be prepared to exclude benign mimics. PHL, which is confined to the liver without extrahepatic involvement, can present as solitary or multiple nodules, raising consideration for carcinoma on imaging, or may mimic benign inflammatory conditions, posing a diagnostic challenge. This article describes clinical, morphologic, and immunophenotypic features of some of the most common hematopoietic neoplasms involving the liver, along with differential diagnosis and recommended ancillary testing.
Creation of a formate: malate oxidoreductase by fusion of dehydrogenase enzymes with PEGylated cofactor swing arms

Enzymatic biocatalysis can be limited by the necessity of soluble cofactors. Here, we introduced PEGylated nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(H)) swing arms to two covalently fused dehydrogenase enzymes to eliminate their nicotinamide cofactor requirements. A formate dehydrogenase and cytosolic malate dehydrogenase were connected via SpyCatcher-SpyTag fusions. Bifunctionalized polyethylene glycol chains tethered NAD(H) to the fusion protein. This produced a formate:malate oxidoreductase that exhibited cofactor-independent ping-pong kinetics with predictable Michaelis constants. Kinetic modeling was used to explore the effective cofactor concentrations available for electron transfer in the complexes. This approach could be used to create additional cofactor-independent transhydrogenase biocatalysts by swapping fused dehydrogenases.
Risk Mitigation for the Design and Installation of Underdrain Systems

AbstractIncreased development has led to an increase in construction defect litigation. One commonly cited issue, underdrains, often results in large litigation claims because the work required to ...
Geophysical Studies in the Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a small ocean basin which, for the last 20 years, has been subject to intensive geological and geophysical investigation. Much has been learned about its framework, but a host of complex problems remains unsolved.
Tissue factor in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis

TF antigen and activity are found in abundance in human atherosclerotic plaques, particularly in the lipid-rich core. TF is also readily induced in the arterial wall by balloon injury and accumulates in the resulting neointima. In chronic atherosclerosis, the macrophage is likely to be the major source of TF within the plaque. TF accumulates as an early event associated with the migration of monocytes to the vessel wall in response to chemoattractants, such as MCP-1, and their differentiation into macrophages. As SMC become activated in the developing plaque, they provide a second source of TF. Macrophages and SMC accumulate lipid and become foam cells, ultimately degenerating into a necrotic core rich in TF. Spontaneous plaque rupture or acute interventions expose active TF in the core to circulating blood, triggering thrombosis. In acute arterial injury, SMC appear to be the chief source of TF. In normal vessels, the induction of TF in the medial SMC is not sufficient to generate fibrin, presumably because the TF is not readily accessible on the luminal surface. In contrast, endothelial denudation of previously injured arteries may expose intimal TF to circulating blood, resulting in rapid fibrin deposition. In advanced human atherosclerosis, it is likely that even in areas that do not contain "unstable" or "stable" plaques, the vessel wall is not normal and more closely resembles that of a previously injured artery possessing an active intima. Interventions, such as balloon angioplasty, coronary atherectomy, or stent placement may expose intimal TF, leading to fibrin deposition. As the initiator of coagulation, TF is a potential target for inhibiting the thrombotic complications of atherosclerosis. TFPI (reviewed in 52) is currently under clinical investigation as an anticoagulant and its effects on intimal hyperplasia in animal models are being studied. Direct factor Xa inhibitors, such as tick anticoagulant peptide (TAP) and leech anticoagulant peptide (ATS), are also under investigation (53-54). Finally, the recent crystallization of TF (55) and the TF:VIIa (56) should provide important new insights into the design of molecules for directly inhibiting TF.
Fundamentals of Amorphous Systems: Thermodynamic Aspects

Drugs that are poorly soluble in water present a major challenge to the pharmaceutical industry because they tend to show poor oral bioavailability. To overcome this problem, much attention has been given to delivering drugs in formulations that supersaturate in the gastrointestinal (GI) fluids. One approach to achieve the supersaturation is to formulate drugs in amorphous forms. This chapter considers amorphous forms of the pure active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), also known as neat amorphous APIs. The relationship between supersaturation and absorption is discussed, along with the thermodynamics of solubility of supersaturated solutions. The relevant properties of neat amorphous APIs are discussed and explained in terms of thermodynamics and microscopic models, and their relationships to improved solubility/dissolution and physical stability are considered. In addition, the relationship between neat amorphous forms and glasses, especially as presented in the literature, is reviewed.
Single-Cluster Spectral Graph Partitioning for Robotics Applications

We present SCGP, an algorithm for finding a single cluster of well-connected nodes in a graph. The general problem is NP-hard, but our algorithm produces an approximate solution in O(N 2 ) time by considering the spectral properties of the graph's adjacency matrix. We show how this algorithm can be used to find sets of self-consistent hypotheses while rejecting incorrect hypotheses, a problem that frequently arises in robotics. We present results from a range-only SLAM system, a polynomial time data association algorithm, and a method for parametric line fitting that can outperform RANSAC.
Reclaiming the Role of Lawyers as Community Connectors

With the prospect of nonlawyers stepping in to do low-fee legal work, how should the legal profession conceive of its relationship to that work and ensure that nonlawyers bolster rather than underm...
Resection margin distance in extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: How much is enough?

455Background: Surgical resection is required for curative treatment of patients with extra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma (EH-CCA). The objective of this study was to determine if the distance of surg...
A Persuasive Presentation Connecting the Dots Between Climate Change and Public Health

The author discusses an article published in late 2017 by the "Lancet" medical journal which tracked 41 indicators of climate change and discusses the health implications of climate change, offering suggestions to reduce the cumulative risk and addressing the affects of climate change on U.S. public health and the economy.
Wither the ‘development contract’? Historical conjunctures in Naomi Hossain’s The Aid Lab: Understanding Bangladesh’s Unexpected Success

This paper examines methodological avenues for a historical sociology of development through a close reading of Naomi Hossain’s recent book, The Aid Lab: Understanding Bangladesh’s Unexpected Succe...
Normal Vital Signs and Pulmonary Examination Results Rule Out CAP in Adults with Acute Respiratory Infection.

Community-dwelling adults who present to a primary care office with acute respiratory infection symptoms but normal vital signs and normal findings on a pulmonary examination have only a 0.4% likelihood of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).
Quantifying Wrinkling During Tow Placement on Curvilinear Paths

StereoDIC is employed to quantify wrinkling on 6.35 mm wide and 0.16 mm thick carbon-epoxy tows during advanced fiber placement along straight and circular paths on a planar composite surface. Measurements obtained just after placement provide quantitative deformation fields, including the presence of out-of-plane wrinkles that occur during the placement process. Results show that wrinkles occur at locations where the substrate has defects. Results also show that wrinkles occur at other locations only when the radius of curvature is less than 2540 mm.
Functionality and structure of yellow pea protein isolate as affected by cultivars and extraction pH

Abstract Pea (Pisum sativum L.) has been a promising source of plant-based protein, but better protein functionalities are needed by the food industry. In this study, pea protein isolate (PPI) was extracted by alkaline extraction-isoelectric precipitation method, followed by spray-drying. The functional attributes of PPI, as affected by four different cultivars (Agassiz, Spider, Trapeze and ND Trial) and four alkaline extraction pH (8.5, 9.0, 9.5, 10.0), were firstly studied. Results showed that cultivars had significant impacts on the solubility, emulsifying capacity and stability, and foaming capacity and stability of PPI, while alkaline extraction pH only affected emulsifying stability, and foaming capacity and stability. The protein structural characteristics were then evaluated using sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, size exclusion chromatography with multi-angle static light scattering, quantification of sulfhydryl/disulfide group and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses. The contents of legumin, aggregates, exposed sulfhydryl group and β-turn structure were different among PPI of different cultivars. Additionally, increasing alkaline extraction pH from 8.5 to 10.0 resulted in PPI with reduced surface tension, which contributed to their better foaming capacity and stability.
Geopriv4j: an open source repository for practical location privacy

The breach of users' location privacy can be catastrophic. To prevent privacy breaches, numerous location privacy methods have been developed in the last two decades. However, they have not been widely adopted in location-based applications. As a result, users' true location data is directly shared with untrusted service providers or researchers, raising concerns about location privacy. In this paper, we describe our effort to develop an open source repository, named Geopriv4j, in order to facilitate the adoption of location privacy methods in location-based services and research studies. Geopriv4j emphasizes on the practicality of location privacy, by identifying local, on-the-fly privacy methods under multiple categories. To facilitate adoption, Geopriv4j unifies the implementation of location privacy in Java, and provides usage examples as well as a sample Android app. To validate our implementation, we evaluate the location privacy methods in Geopriv4j with CPU, memory, and run time measures, using synthetically generated location traces.
CYCLIC NUCLEOTIDE PHOSPHODIESTERASES

The cyclic nucleotides, cAMP and cGMP, are important intracellular messengers that regulate multiple critical signaling pathways important in normal physiology, as well as pathogenesis of disease. Their intracellular concentrations are regulated by two enzyme systems: cyclases, which catalyze formation of cAMP and cGMP from ATP and GTP, respectively, and cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDEs), which cleave the high-energy 3′5′ cyclic phosphate bond of cAMP and cGMP to yield 5′AMP and 5′GMP, respectively. PDEs are divided into two major classes: I and II. Class I PDEs contain a conserved catalytic core (∼250–300 amino acids) and include the majority of presently identified PDEs. The 11 structurally related, highly regulated, and functionally distinct mammalian PDE gene families (PDEs 1–11) are class I PDEs, as are PDEs found in Drosophilia, nematodes, yeast, sponges, and parasites such as Trypanasoma brucei and T. cruzei. Class II PDEs are fewer in number and structurally unrelated to class I PDEs; no mammalian class II PDEs have been identified. Mammalian PDEs possess a conserved modular molecular architecture, with a conserved catalytic domain containing a signature sequence motif proximal to the C-terminal tail and downstream from a regulatory region in the N-terminal portion of the molecule. It is becoming clear that PDEs are important components of signaling modules and microdomains that are critical to establishing and maintaining intracellular cyclic nucleotide gradients, and compartmentalization of cyclic nucleotide pathways and responses. At present, mutations in the PDE6 gene represent the only known association of PDE mutations with human disease, for example, certain subclasses of retinitis pigmentosa. The mammalian PDE superfamily is a major potential target for drug discovery, that is, PDE3 inhibitors for certain types of cardiac failure and peripheral vascular disease, PDE4 inhibitors for inflammatory disorders such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, and PDE5 inhibitors for erectile dysfunction and, more recently, for pulmonary hypertension.
The epistemic status of the imagination

Imagination plays a rich epistemic role in our cognitive lives. For example, if I want to learn whether my luggage will fit into the overhead compartment on a plane, I might imagine trying to fit it into the overhead compartment and form a belief which is justified on the basis of this imagining. But what explains the fact that imagination has the power to justify beliefs, and what is the structure of imaginative justification? In this paper, I answer these questions by arguing that imaginings manifest an epistemic status: they are epistemically evaluable as justified or unjustified. This epistemic status grounds their ability to justify beliefs, and they accrue this status in virtue of being based on evidence. Thus, imaginings are best understood as justified justifiers. I argue for this view by way of showing how it offers a satisfying explanation of certain key features of imaginative justification that would otherwise be puzzling. I also argue that imaginings exhibit a number of markers of the basing relation, which further motivates the view that imaginings can be based on evidence. The arguments in this paper have theoretically fruitful implications not only for the epistemology of imagination, but for accounts of reasoning and epistemic normativity more generally.
Towards integrated landscape design and biofuel supply chain optimization

Although usually studied separately, integrating the landscape design problem with biomass supply chain network design (SCND) has the potential to identify farm to fuel production systems that work cohesively and are holistically sustainable. Expanding the SCND system boundary to include landscape design presents spatially explicit modeling challenges, but also allows better control of feedstock supply, a more accurate forecast of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the consideration of alternative sustainability metrics, and the ability to account for landscape-specific uncertainties. The opportunities for integrated models are supported by recent advancements in the field-scale modeling of crop yields, land use change (LUC), and advanced SCND models focused on fine spatial resolutions.
The Short Review of Parties’ Platforms Towards Elections of XXI-th Knesset. Reference Guide for Conservative Voter

In the paper, we provide a short review of the main Israeli parties' positions on the key issues towards elections scheduled on April, 9 2019. The set of "key issues" is our choice and contains Judicial (legal system) reform, Judea and Samaria status, 2nd amendment right and self-defense, Taxation/spending etc. (12 issues). We provide a formal classification of Left and Right parties to test the following hypotheses. Rightist parties' position is less stable and less consistent. The positions' analysis provides some evidence of higher consistency of Leftists' parties position in the Israel and poor ability of Right parties to keep promises. The real power of elected, accountable bodies in Israel is significantly less and the power of self-reproducing court system, public media and governmental bureaucracy higher than in majority old democracies. The positions review is made from point of view of supporters of economic liberty and Jewish (Israel's) sovereignty over all Land of Israel.
US Bilateralism Under Trump, Power Shift in East Asia, and Implications for Regional Security and Prosperity: A Theoretical Analysis of Japan’s Strategic Adjustment

Donald Trump’s presidency and his “America First” approach to world affairs have shaken US relations with China, Japan, Russia, Australia, India, and other Indo-Pacific countries, generating public expressions of concern, anxiety, and confusion on the part of regional powers. Washington’s inconsistent and contradictory pronouncements and demands have forced other states to struggle to adjust their foreign, trade, and security policies. This chapter examines Japan’s responses to the Trump presidency in the economic-trade and political-security policy areas, eclectically drawing on elements of realism, liberalism, and constructivism. On the one hand, Tokyo steadfastly defended Japan’s economic interests against the threats of tariffs in bilateral trade talks and played a leading role in trade and investment liberalization through multilateral institutions, most prominently in promoting the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and WTO reforms. On the other hand, the Abe administration endorsed US summit diplomacy with North Korea and accepted Washington’s call for greater sharing of defense and international security roles on the part of Japan and other US allies in the region. Moreover, Abe launched the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” (FOIP) initiative for promoting the establishment of a rules-based order to govern international relations in the region, in part as a hedging move to counter the rising power of China and in part to keep the United States engaged in regional affairs. Also, Abe actively promoted the Quadrilateral Dialogue Partnership (the “Quad”) as a minilateral regional framework, also designed to check China’s influence and ensure US’s commitment to ensuring regional security. Thus, Japan defended its economic interests bilaterally and multilaterally while retaining its identity as a junior partner in the security alliance with the United States. This chapter concludes with a discussion of the likely direction the new Biden administration will go in its engagement in the region..
Psychosocial factors related to Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Young African American Women: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE African American women are exposed to multiple adverse psychosocial factors, including racism, discrimination, poverty, neighborhood stress, anxiety, and depression. The impact of these psychosocial factors on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in women during early adulthood is limited. This review aims to summarize and synthesize the recent literature on psychosocial factors related to CVD risk in young African American women. METHODS We conducted a comprehensive search of the literature in PubMed, APA PsycINFO, and CINAHL. We systematically reviewed the literature for studies examining associations between psychosocial factors (e.g. racism, discrimination, neighborhood stress, anxiety) and CVD risk factors (e.g. body mass index [BMI], blood pressure, diabetes) in African American women age 19-24 years. Eligible studies measured at least one psychosocial factor, a CVD risk factor, and included young adult African American women (age 19-24) or reported sex-stratified analyses. RESULTS We identified nine studies that met our inclusion criteria: six cross-sectional and three longitudinal studies. Of these, eight studies reported that psychosocial factors (i.e. perceived stress, racial discrimination, internalized racism, depression) are related to higher BMI and blood pressure. The majority of studies were conducted among college students or had a small sample size (<200). The quality of six studies was rated as excellent; the remainder were good and fair. CONCLUSIONS Findings from this review suggest that exposure to adverse psychosocial factors may be related to increased CVD risk in early adulthood (age 19-24) in African American women. However, larger prospective analyses are necessary to examine these associations.
International Perspectives and Lessons Gained

Experiences recorded from countries that are pushed into reforming their agricultural market by varied forces yield a mixed picture. The western developed countries, the transition and the centralized economies and the less developed countries of Africa are all examples of how difficult and uneven the path of reforms can be.
On the notch ductility of a magnesium-rare earth alloy

Abstract The room-temperature notch ductility of magnesium-rare earth alloy WE43 is investigated for two loading orientations. This material is endowed with quasi-isotropic plastic flow properties, higher strength and similar uniaxial ductility in comparison with other commercially available Mg alloys. The authors have recently shown that the notch ductility of a Mg–Al–Zn alloy is greater than its uniaxial ductility over a wide range of notch geometries. This paper investigates whether the same trends hold for WE43, discusses the orientation dependence of ductility and the propensity for intergranular fracture at high levels of hydrostatic tension. The latter mode of fracture is analyzed by means of detailed fractography in order to elucidate the role of grain-boundary particles and precipitates in the fracture process.
System integration and preliminary in-vivo experiments of a robot for ultrasound guidance and monitoring during radiotherapy

We are developing a cooperatively-controlled robot system in which a clinician and robot share control of a 3D ultrasound (US) probe. The goals of the system are to provide guidance for patient setup and real-time target monitoring during fractionated radiotherapy. Currently, there is limited use of real-time US image feedback during radiotherapy for lower abdominal organs and it has not yet been clinically applied for upper abdominal organs. One challenge is that placing an US probe on the patient produces tissue deformation around the target organ, leading to displacement of the target. Our solution is to perform treatment planning on the deformed organ and then to reproduce this deformation during radiotherapy. We therefore introduce a robot system to hold the US probe on the patient. In order to create a consistent deformation, the system records the robot position, contact force, and reference US image during simulation and then introduces virtual constraints (soft virtual fixtures) to guide the clinician to correctly place the probe during the fractionated treatments. Because the robot is under-actuated (5 motorized and 6 passive degrees-of-freedom), the guidance also involves a graphical user interface (adjustment GUI) to achieve the desired probe orientation. This paper presents the integrated system, a proposed clinical workflow, the results of an initial in-vivo canine study with a 3-DOF robot, and the results of phantom experiments with an improved 5-DOF robotic system. The results suggest that the guidance may enable the clinician to more consistently and accurately place the US probe.
Incorporation of N-acetylmannosamine and N-acetylglucosamine into thyroglobulin in rat thyroid in vitro.

Abstract The incorporation of N-acetylmannosamine ([3H]ManNAc) and N-acetylglucosamine ([3H]GlcNAc and [14C]GlcNAc) has been studied in rat thyroid hemilobes and homogenates. The radioactive label is incorporated into thyroglobulin (TG), [3H]ManNAc showing a time course more rapid than [3H]GlcNAc. [3H]ManNAc is incorporated directly into 19 S thyroglobulin showing no lower molecular weight-labeled precursors of TG either in the soluble or in the solubilized proteins; [3H]GlcNAc is incorporated into 19 S TG and into precursors both in soluble and solubilized proteins. [3H]ManNAc is converted only into N-acetylneuraminic acid (sialic acid). [3H]GlcNAc and [14C]GlcNAc are incorporated mainly as GlcNAc, and an additional small proportion is converted into sialic acid. Both labeled GlcNAc and sialic acid are found in soluble TG but only GlcNAc is found in membrane-bound TG. [3H]ManNAc is particularly useful to study the last step of carbohydrate incorporation while [3H]GlcNAc is a better tool to study the initiation of carbohydrate incorporation. The presence of the label as sialic acid only in soluble TG suggests that sialic acid is incorporated at the time of TG release from endoplasmic membranes. It may, therefore, serve as an indicator of TG secretion.
First measurements of radar coherent scatter by the Radio Aurora Explorer CubeSat

[1] The Radio Aurora Explorer CubeSat detected the first radar echoes during the solar storm of March 8, 2012. The 300 s ground-to-space bi-static radar experiment was conducted in conjunction with the Poker Flat Incoherent Scatter Radar in the local morning (∼8 am) over Poker Flat, Alaska. The geomagnetic conditions for theEregion field-aligned irregularity generation were optimal due to strong (about 1500 m/s)F region ion drifts and sufficient E region ionization (electron densities were ∼2 × 1011 m−3). The corresponding Eregion electric field of ∼80 mV/m was larger than the excitation threshold for the Farley-Buneman instability. An auto-correlation analysis resolved, for the first time, the distribution of auroralEregion backscatter with 3 km resolution in altitude and sub-degree resolution in aspect angle. Moreover, the measured Doppler velocities of the UHF scatter shows the phase speed saturation of the meter-scale plasma waves. The measured Doppler velocity is in excellent agreement with theCs cos θ formula for auroral E region irregularities.