cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sequencing and de novo assembly of the transcriptome of the glassy-winged sharpshooter (Homalodisca vitripennis).

Background: The glassy-winged sharpshooter Homalodisca vitripennis (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), is a xylem-feeding leafhopper and important vector of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa; the causal agent of Pierce’s disease of grapevines. The functional complexity of the transcriptome of H. vitripennis has not been elucidated thus far. It is a necessary blueprint for an understanding of the development of H. vitripennis and for designing efficient biorational control strategies including those based on RNA interference. Results: Here we elucidate and explore the transcriptome of adult H. vitripennis using high-throughput paired end deep sequencing and de novo assembly. A total of 32,803,656 paired-end reads were obtained with an average transcript length of 624 nucleotides. We assembled 32.9 Mb of the transcriptome of H. vitripennis that spanned across 47,265 loci and 52,708 transcripts. Comparison of our non-redundant database showed that 45% of the deduced proteins of H. vitripennis exhibit identity (e-value #1 25 ) with known proteins. We assigned Gene Ontology (GO) terms, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) annotations, and potential Pfam domains to each transcript isoform. In order to gain insight into the molecular basis of key regulatory genes of H. vitripennis, we characterized predicted proteins involved in the metabolism of juvenile hormone, and biogenesis of small RNAs (Dicer and Piwi sequences) from the transcriptomic sequences. Analysis of transposable element sequences of H. vitripennis indicated that the genome is less expanded in comparison to many other insects with approximately 1% of the transcriptome carrying transposable elements. Conclusions: Our data significantly enhance the molecular resources available for future study and control of this economically important hemipteran. This transcriptional information not only provides a more nuanced understanding of the underlying biological and physiological mechanisms that govern H. vitripennis, but may also lead to the identification of novel targets for biorationally designed control strategies.
Maternal Vitamin D Status: Effect on Milk Vitamin D Content and Vitamin D Status of Breastfeeding Infants

There are increasing reports of rickets and vitamin D deficiency worldwide. Breastfeeding without adequate sunlight exposure and vitamin D supplementation are the major risk factors. In view of the drive to promote and increase the rate of exclusive breastfeeding, the relationship among maternal vitamin D status, vitamin D concentration of human milk, and hence vitamin D status of breastfeeding infants deserves reassessment. This review provides current information on the interrelationship between maternal vitamin D status and the vitamin D status of the breastfeeding infant. It also reviews the results of ongoing research on the effect of high-dose maternal vitamin D supplementation alone as a possible option to prevent vitamin D deficiency in the breastfeeding mother-infant dyad.
Two-dimensional, self-consistent, three-moment simulation of RF glow discharge

A two-dimensional self-consistent nonequilibrium fluid model is used to simulate radio frequency (RF) glow discharges to evaluate the quantitative effects of the radial and axial flow dynamics inside a cylindrically symmetric parallel-plate geometry. This model is based on the three moments of the Boltzmann equation and on Poisson's equation. Radial/axial flow dynamics of plasma in low-pressure parallel plate RF glow discharges are investigated. Instead of uniform profiles along the radial direction, which are assumed in one-dimensional models, nonplate profiles are obtained from the two-dimensional simulations. Ionization rate and three moment distributions of plasma density, average velocity, and mean energy are presented in a two-dimensional configuration. The maximum ionization rate occurs in the radial sheath region and agrees with experimental results. Variations in ion density distributions at different positions, various gas pressures frequencies, and applied fields are discussed. >
Critical issues in the teaching of responsible writing.

In this paper I identify some of the more common, problematic writing practices (e.g., plagiarism, selective reporting of literature, and/or results, ‘spin’) found in traditional journal articles, along with associated variables, and suggest ways to correct them. The primary aim of the discussion is to emphasize the cultivation of transparency, excellence in scholarship, and a ‘best practices’ approach to disseminating the results of our research.
IN TERROREM APPEALS TO THE CROWN COURT

M agistrates' Courts are designed to provide more economical and expeditious adjudications than may be possible in the Crown Courts. It is the summary nature of Magistrates' Courts' determinations that justifies the defendant's statutory right to a rehearing in a Crown Court if he is dissatisfied with the result of his first trial. However the powers of a Crown Court on disposing of an appeal can deter defendants from lodging what they consider to be meritorious appeals. This article assesses the nature and legitimacy of those powers, which work in terrorem of appeals.
Supersaturation Intermittency in Turbulent Clouds

Abstract It is hypothesized that bursts of high supersaturation are produced in turbulent, convective clouds through interactions between cloud droplets and the small-scale structure of atmospheric turbulence. This hypothesis is based on the observation that intermittency in the energy dissipation of turbulence at small scales is, in part, related to the presence of rare but intense vortex tubes. Scaling relationships for the size, lifetime, and intensity of vortex tubes observed in numerical simulations and laboratory studies of turbulence are presumed to hold at the high Reynolds numbers encountered in the atmosphere. Under this assumption a scale analysis shows that the tubes are sufficiently intense and persistent as to cause large flux divergences in the local concentrations of cloud droplets. When embedded in a mean updraft, a vortex tube will become a localized region of high supersaturation due to the low number concentration of cloud droplets (condensation sites). For typical cumulus conditions, ...
Congenic mice provide in vivo evidence for a genetic locus that modulates intrinsic transforming growth factor β1-mediated signaling and bone acquisition

Osteoporosis, the most common skeletal disorder, is characterized by low bone mineral density (BMD) and an increased risk of fragility fractures. BMD is the best clinical predictor of future osteoporotic fracture risk, but is a complex trait controlled by multiple environmental and genetic determinants with individually modest effects. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping is a powerful method for identifying chromosomal regions encompassing genes involved in shaping complex phenotypes, such as BMD. Here we have applied QTL analysis to male and female genetically-heterogeneous F2 mice derived from a cross between C57BL/6 and DBA/2 strains, and have identified 11 loci contributing to femoral BMD. Further analysis of a QTL on mouse chromosome 7 following the generation of reciprocal congenic strains has allowed us to determine that the high BMD trait, which tracks with the DBA/2 chromosome and exerts equivalent effects on male and female mice, is manifested by enhanced osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in vitro and by increased growth of metatarsal bones in short-term primary culture. An insertion/deletion DNA polymorphism in Ltbp4 exon 12 that causes the in-frame removal of 12 codons in the DBA/2-derived gene maps within 0.6 Mb of the marker most tightly linked to the QTL. LTBP4, one of four paralogous mouse proteins that modify the bioavailability of the transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) family of growth factors, is expressed in differentiating MSC-derived osteoblasts and in long bones, and reduced responsiveness to TGF-β1 is observed in MSCs of mice homozygous for the DBA/2 chromosome 7. Taken together, our results identify a potential genetic and biochemical relationship between decreased TGF-β1–mediated signaling and enhanced femoral BMD that may be regulated by a variant LTBP4 molecule. © 2012 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Malignant B Cells at the Helm in Follicular Lymphoma

Lymph nodes in patients with follicular lymphoma contain not just malignant B cells but normal immune cells including T cells, intratumoral macrophages, monocytes, dendritic cells, and natural-killer cells. Recent data have shown that the tumor microenvironment plays an important role in the outcome of patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and that the composition of the microenvironment has prognostic significance for patients with follicular lymphoma. It is becoming increasingly clear that, although the tumor microenvironment supports the growth and survival of malignant B cells, the malignant B cells also define the constitution of the tumor microenvironment. Malignant B cells from biopsies of tumors in patients with lymphoma do not play a passive role but instead clearly drive the differentiation and function of intratumoral T cells (Fig 1). Malignant B cells have been found to express multiple ligands responsible for inducing regulatory T cells (Treg cells) and suppressing other intratumoral effector cells. Lymphoma B cells have been found to express CD70, and CD70/CD27 signaling promotes the induction of FoxP3positive Treg cells. 2 Malignant cells also express PD-L1, and interactions with PD1 expressed on intratumoral immune cells results in immune suppression. B cells from lymphoma biopsies have been found to secrete chemokines and cytokines responsible for further immune suppression. CCL22 secreted by lymphoma B cells is involved in chemotaxis and migration of intratumoral Treg cells that express the receptor CCR4, which results in recruitment of Treg cells to the tumor microenvironment. Treg cells recruited to sites of lymphoma have been shown to suppress both effector CD8 T cells and intratumoral CD4 cells. Cytokines and chemokines such as interleukin 12 and CXCL10 produced by the malignant B cells also have a role in regulating effector T-cell function. However, interleukin 12 has been shown to induce T-cell exhaustion, resulting in ineffective T cells that are unable to proliferate or lyse target B cells. Overall, malignant B cells skew the T-cell balance within lymph nodes promoting Treg cells and inhibiting effector T cells or TH17 cells. 9
Recombination Within a Nucleotide-Binding-Site/Leucine-Rich-Repeat Gene Cluster Produces New Variants Conditioning Resistance to Soybean Mosaic Virus in Soybeans

The soybean Rsv1 gene for resistance to soybean mosaic virus (SMV; Potyvirus) has previously been described as a single-locus multi-allelic gene mapping to molecular linkage group (MLG) F. Various Rsv1 alleles condition different responses to the seven (G1-G7) described strains of SMV, including extreme resistance, localized and systemic necrosis, and mosaic symptoms. We describe the cloning of a cluster of NBS-LRR resistance gene candidates from MLG F of the virus-resistant soybean line PI96983 and demonstrate that multiple genes within this cluster interact to condition unique responses to SMV strains. In addition to cloning 3gG2, a strong candidate for the major Rsv1 resistance gene from PI96983, we describe various unique resistant and necrotic reactions coincident with the presence or absence of other members of this gene cluster. Responses of recombinant lines from a high-resolution mapping population of PI96983 (resistant) x Lee 68 (susceptible) demonstrate that more than one gene in this region of the PI96983 chromosome conditions resistance and/or necrosis to SMV. In addition, the soybean cultivars Marshall and Ogden, which carry other previously described Rsv1 alleles, are shown to possess the 3gG2 gene in a NBS-LRR gene cluster background distinct from PI96983. These observations suggest that two or more related non-TIR-NBS-LRR gene products are likely involved in the allelic response of several Rsv1-containing lines to SMV.
Squigraphs for Fine and Compact Modeling of 3-D Shapes

We propose to superpose global topological and local geometric 3-D shape descriptors in order to define one compact and discriminative representation for a 3-D object. While a number of available 3-D shape modeling techniques yield satisfactory object classification rates, there is still a need for a refined and efficient identification/recognition of objects among the same class. In this paper, we use Morse theory in a two-phase approach. To ensure the invariance of the final representation to isometric transforms, we choose the Morse function to be a simple and intrinsic global geodesic function defined on the surface of a 3-D object. The first phase is a coarse representation through a reduced topological Reeb graph. We use it for a meaningful decomposition of shapes into primitives. During the second phase, we add detailed geometric information by tracking the evolution of Morse function's level curves along each primitive. We then embed the manifold of these curves into ?3, and obtain a single curve. By combining phase one and two, we build new graphs rich in topological and geometric information that we refer to as squigraphs. Our experiments show that squigraphs are more general than existing techniques. They achieve similar classification rates to those achieved by classical shape descriptors. Their performance, however, becomes clearly superior when finer classification and identification operations are targeted. Indeed, while other techniques see their performances dropping, squigraphs maintain a performance rate of the order of 97%.
Long-term Results of Total Knee Arthroplasty

Early development of total knee replacement included hinged-type knee prostheses and interposition arthroplasty. These implants had high failure rates due to loosening, infection, or inadequate pain relief. The total condylar prosthesis was a tricompartmental, posterior cruciate sacrificing implant that was first used at the Hospital for Special Surgery in 1974. The results of the total condylar prosthesis have served as a standard by which newer designs have been compared. Numerous long-term studies have confirmed the excellent results of the total condylar knee. Scudari and Insall reported the 15-year survivorship of 224 total condylar prostheses and the cumulative rate of survival was 91%. The total condylar prosthesis led to the development of the Insall-Burstein (IB) posterior stabilized prosthesis. The IB design incorporated a femoral cam and tibial peg that increased rollback of the femoral component on the tibial component and improved flexion. The results of the Insall-Burstein posterior stabilized knee have proved to be even better than those of the total condylar prosthesis. Seven-year clinical survivorship was reported by Scudari and Insall to be 99%. Stern reported an overall 12-year survivorship rate of 94%. Total knee arthroplasty has proven to be a highly successful procedure for treating patients with advanced arthritis of the knee.
Correction to: ‘The Warburg Effect: How Does it Benefit Cancer Cells?’: [Trends in Biochemical Sciences, 41 (2016) 211]

In the version of this paper originally published online on January 5th, 2016, reference 55 was incorrect. The reference has been corrected online and in print. The authors regret this error and apologize for any confusion that it has caused.
Trends in laser micromachining

Laser Micromachining is well established in industry. Depending on the application lasers with pulse length from μseconds to femtoseconds and wavelengths from 1064nm and its harmonics up to 5μm or 10.6μm are used. Ultrafast laser machining using pulses with pico or femtosecond duration pulses is gaining traction, as it offers very precise processing of materials with low thermal impact. Large-scale industrial ultrafast laser applications show that the market can be divided into various sub segments. One set of applications demand low power around 10W, compact footprint and are extremely sensitive to the laser price whilst still demanding 10ps or shorter laser pulses. A second set of applications are very power hungry and only become economically feasible for large scale deployments at power levels in the 100+W class. There is also a growing demand for applications requiring fs-laser pulses. In our presentation we would like to describe these sub segments by using selected applications from the automotive and electronics industry e.g. drilling of gas/diesel injection nozzles, dicing of LED substrates. We close the presentation with an outlook to micromachining applications e.g. glass cutting and foil processing with unique new CO lasers emitting 5μm laser wavelength.
Colorado tick fever; the behavior of CTF virus in the porcupine.

occurs in western United States. During the past few years cases have been recognized in steadily increasing numbers. The Rocky Mountain wood tick, Dermacentor andersoni, is the only known vector, although isolations of virus have been reported from D. variabilis (Florio and Miller, 1950), D. parumapertus (Philip and Hughes, 1953), D. occidentalis, D. albipictus, and Otobius lagophilus (Eklund et al, 1955). Although considerable knowledge of the natural history of CTF has been acquired, little has been published. Some hosts of immature stages of D. andersoni have been suspected as virus reservoirs. Smaller rodents, such as ground squirrels (Citellus species), pine squirrels (Tamiasciurus species), wood rats {Neotoma species), chipmunks (Eutamias species), rats, and mice, serve as hosts for larvae and nymphs. Larger animals such as woodchucks, rabbits, and porcupines are considered hosts of both immature and adult ticks.
EEG Findings May Serve as a Potential Biomarker for Anti–NMDA Receptor Encephalitis:

Objective To determine if an electroencephalographic (EEG) characteristic, beta:delta power ratio (BDPR), is significantly higher for N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor encephalitis (NMDARE) patients than for non-NMDARE patients on presenting EEG. Identification of an additional EEG biomarker with significant specificity for NMDARE (in the absence of frank delta brush) could potentially allow for early identification of at-risk patients. Methods Single center retrospective comparison of NMDARE and non-NMDARE consecutive cases of encephalitis, collated over a 6-year period (from 2008 to 2014). Results None of the 10 NMDARE patients displayed the extreme delta brush pattern on EEG previously described, but the ratio of BDPR was significantly higher for NMDARE patients (P < .005). There was no significant relationship between BDPR and the time of recording from symptom onset. Additional analysis of clinical characteristics also indicated that the patients with NMDARE (median age 19.5 years) were younger than the 5 patients with non-NMDARE (median age 36 years). Encephalopathy, seizure, and psychiatric complaints were the most common diagnoses at time of first health care presentation and did not favor a single etiology, though the latter was present only in the NMDARE population (50% at T0). Prodromal illness featuring headache was more common in the non-NMDARE population. Outcomes, as measured by the Modified Rankin Scale, were globally better in the NMDARE group. Conclusions Patients with NMDARE had a significantly higher BDPR on EEG when compared with non-NMDARE patients even in the absence of extreme delta brush. This suggests that early EEG characteristics may be helpful in distinguishing NMDARE from non-NMDARE.
Preliminary Results of Aftershock Studies Following the Aug. 2nd, 1974, South Carolina Earthquake

Aftershock studies following the 2 August 1974 earthquake in McCormick County, South Carolina indicate continuing seismic activity with a pattern of increasing and decreasing seismicity near the Clark Hill reservoir. The shallow earthquakes have a predominantly strike slip motion, with the strike direction along the Appalachian trend. The activity appears to be associated with temporal velocity changes and bears several similarities to seismic activity near the Blue Mountain Lake area, New York.
Simone de Beauvoir and Loving Authentically

Romantic loving is, for Simone de Beauvoir, existentially dangerous. The two most important points of departure from the treatment of loving that Stirner, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Sartre identified are: Beauvoir’s acknowledgment that situations modify freedom; her attempt to create an ethics; and the way she incorporates equality and economic independence as a way to navigate through the dangers of love. Less concerned with creating a system than Jean-Paul Sartre was, Beauvoir was more attentive to practical solutions.1 I argue that while Beauvoir did not solve all the existential dilemmas (mainly because she appeals to non-existential solutions), she does enrich our understanding of the complexity of the problems of loving with her analysis of what constitutes inauthentic loving and the conditions under which authentic loving ought to be achievable.
Observation of a Barn Owl (Tyto alba) bathing in a rainwater pool in Jamaica

I observed a Barn Owl ( Tyto alba ) bathing in a rainwater pool near Portland Point Lighthouse, Clarendon Parish, Jamaica. This appears to be the first published instance of bathing behavior in a wild individual of this cosmopolitan species in the Western Hemisphere. Observe un ejemplar de Tyto alba banandose en un charco de agua de lluvia cerca del faro de Portland Point, distrito de Clarendon, Jamaica. Esta parece ser la primera publicacion de este tipo de conducta en un individuo silvestre de esta especie cosmopolita en el Hemisferio Occidental. Une Effraie des clochers ( Tyto alba ) a ete observee se baignant dans une flaque d'eau de pluie pres du phare de Portland Point, Clarendon Parish, en Jamaique. Cela semble etre la premiere mention publiee de ce comportement chez un individu sauvage appartenant a cette espece cosmopolite dans l'hemisphere occidental.
Inaccuracy of dubowitz gestational age in low birth weight infants

The Dubowitz gestational age was compared to the obstetric clinical age of 119 predominantly black mother-infant pairs for whom certain clinical criteria were met. Forty-five hypertensive and 74 nonhypertensive gestations with infant birth weight less than 2500 g were evaluated. Overall the clinical age was 33.6 +/- 4.5 weeks versus 34.7 +/- 4.3 weeks by Dubowitz age (P = NS). The Dubowitz age differed from clinical age by more than 2 weeks in 33.6% (40/119). Of gestations under 33 weeks (clinical age) (N = 45) the clinical age was 30.1 +/- 2.4 weeks as compared to the Dubowitz age of 32.2 +/- 2.7 weeks (P less than .01). Fifty-one percent (23/45) of Dubowitz ages were more than two weeks discordant with the clinical age. The Dubowitz assessment of gestational age may be unacceptably inaccurate in the determination of gestational age in low birth weight infants, particularly in those whose gestational age is less than 33 weeks. The findings suggest that studies in which conclusions were based on the Dubowitz age assessment may need reevaluation.
Association of herd management factors with colonization of dairy cattle by shiga toxin-positive Escherichia coli O157

Management factors in 36 Pacific Northwest dairy herds were evaluated for their association with the prevalence of Shiga toxin-positive Escherichia coli 0157 (E. coli 0157) in dairy cattle. The within-herd prevalence of E. coli 0157 was estimated by bacteriological culture of fecal pat samples, collected monthly for 6 months (approximately 60 per visit), from heifer cattle. During the first visit to each farm, a management questionnaire was administered that covered a broad range of animal husbandry practices. On each subsequent visit, a brief questionnaire was administered to detect changes in management practices. A significantly higher prevalence of E. coli 0157 was noted in herds that fed corn silage to heifers compared to herds that did not feed corn silage. More tentative associations of E. coli 0157 prevalence were observed for weaning method, protein level of calf starter, feeding of ionophores in heifer rations, feeding of grain screens to heifers, and feeding of animal by-products to cows.
The curious case of Ahmed Necmeddin Bey: a look into the sociopolitical climate in Aintab on the eve of 1915

ABSTRACTAhmed Necmeddin Bey was the kaimakam (district governor) of Aintab in late July 1908. One day, however, Ahmed Necmeddin Bey was beaten by a group of Turks and Armenians in Aintab; his clothes torn, he was dismissed from his post and finally expelled him from the city. But what was the reason for this incident? Within the first year of the declaration of the Constitution, it was the most important event that occurred in the city. This particular incident calls for careful examination, for this significant event reflects how the Second Constitutional era and the new regime were perceived by Muslims and Armenians in Aintab on a local level. Additionally, it offers us some useful clues regarding how the Union and Progress Party as a political organization and its policies were received on a local scale. By studying this case, it is also possible to see a clear example of how ordinary Ottoman citizens reacted towards the revival of the Constitution.
The Theory of Justice

Moral and value judgments are viewed by many people as at base subjective, nonrational, and incapable of proof. In academic moral philosophy this view is reflected in the dominance in much of this century of what is known as meta-ethics-roughly, the logical analysis of moral language and of the structure of moral reasoning. Meta-ethics is concerned largely with philosophical questions about ethics rather than with substantive moral theories or issues themselves. This focus on meta-ethics, as well as the linguistic or analytic movement in philosophy generally, has vastly increased the philosophical sophistication and rigor of contemporary ethics. But on the debit side, moral and, in turn, political philosophers often have had very little to say directly relevant to the pressing moral issues of our time, and students as well as the general public have learned to look elsewhere for serious reflection on these issues. This is not to say that substantive moral and political philosophy has ceased to exist. Utilitarianism, the view that human actions and social institutions are morally justified to the extent that they tend to maximize the happiness of those they affect, has long engaged the interest and allegiance of many moral philosophers; it is a simple and systematic theory, capable of serving both as an individual ethic and as a social and political philosophy. But utilitarianism has the fatal drawbacks of conflicting at important points with most persons' considered moral judgments, particularly those on justice, and of failing to provide a firm basis for our western liberal political tradition with its emphasis
The Role of Personality, Cognition, and Shocks in Determining Labor Outcomes of Young Adults in Madagascar

There is growing evidence that noncognitive skills affect economic, behavioral, and demographic outcomes in the developed world. However, there is little such evidence in developing country contexts. This paper estimates the joint effect of five specific personality traits and cognition measured through achievement test scores on the age of entry into the labor market, labor market sectoral selection, and within sector earnings for a sample of young adults in Madagascar. The personality traits that we examine are known as the Big Five Personality Traits: Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. Additionally, we look at how these traits interact with household-level shocks in determining their labor market entry decisions. We find that personality, as well as cognitive test scores, have an effect on these outcomes of interest, and that their impact on labor supply is, in part, a function of how individuals respond to exogenous shocks.
Continuation phase intravenous ketamine in adults with treatment-resistant depression

Abstract Background Little is known about the antidepressive effects of repeated intravenous ketamine infusions beyond the acute phase of treatment in patients with refractory depression. Methods Twelve subjects with treatment-resistant non-psychotic unipolar or bipolar major depression and suicidal ideation were given repeated (up to 6) thrice-weekly acute-phase intravenous infusions of ketamine (0.5 mg/kg, administered over 100 min). Those who remitted during acute-phase treatment received continuation-phase treatment that consisted of 4 weekly ketamine infusions, followed by 4 weeks of post-continuation phase follow-up (during which no further ketamine infusions were administered). Clinical measures were assessed at baseline, at 24 h following each infusion, at the last acute-phase observation, and during continuation and post-continuation follow-up (acute phase remitters only). Results Of the 12 enrollees, 5 (41.7%) remitted and 7 (58.3%) responded to ketamine treatment during the acute-phase. All five subjects who remitted during the acute-phase experienced further depressive symptom improvement during continuation-phase treatment. Four subjects lost remission status during the post-continuation phase, but all were still classified as positive treatment responders at the end of the post-continuation phase. Adverse effects were generally mild and transient during acute- and continuation-phase treatment; however, one subject developed behavioral outbursts and suicide threats during follow-up while hospitalized, and one subject died by suicide several weeks after the end of follow-up. Limitations This was an uncontrolled feasibility study with a small sample size. Conclusions The continuation-phase administration of ketamine at weekly intervals to patients with treatment-resistant depression who remitted during acute-phase ketamine treatment can extend the duration of depressive symptom remission. The antidepressive effect of ketamine persisted for several weeks after the end of continuation-phase treatment. Our results highlight the need for close monitoring of subjects who are at high baseline risk for suicide but do not respond clinically to ketamine. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02094898.
Relating the minimum model for DNA computation and Boolean circuits

This paper provides a refinement of the minimum DNA computational model by [OR98b], which assumes the smallest set of permissible biochemical operations. The power of the refined model is characterized in terms of standard Boolean circuit complexity classes.
Does closeness in virtual space complement urban space

Abstract The rapid growth of the internet poses a challenge for understanding how cities will grow in the future. An advantage of the internet is that groups can be close, in terms of interactions, without being close in physical space. Thus the internet may substitute for urban areas. Or the internet may increase the extent and scope of interactions so that the internet complements physical closeness. We compare the two possibilities, and using data from US states show that urban areas increase the per-capita demand for internet access, suggesting a complementary relation. The complementarity emanates more from consumers than producers.
Pretest Measures of the Study Outcome and the Elimination of Selection Bias: Evidence from Three Within Study Comparisons

This paper examines how pretest measures of a study outcome reduce selection bias in observational studies in education. The theoretical rationale for privileging pretests in bias control is that they are often highly correlated with the outcome, and in many contexts, they are also highly correlated with the selection process. To examine the pretest’s role in bias reduction, we use the data from two within study comparisons and an especially strong quasi-experiment, each with an educational intervention that seeks to improve achievement. In each study, the pretest measures are consistently highly correlated with post-intervention measures of themselves, but the studies vary the correlation between the pretest and the process of selection into treatment. Across the three datasets with two outcomes each, there are three cases where this correlation is low and three where it is high. A single wave of pretest always reduces bias across the six instances examined, and it eliminates bias in three of them. Adding a second pretest wave eliminates bias in two more instances. However, the pattern of bias elimination does not follow the predicted pattern—that more bias reduction ensues as a function of how highly the pretest is correlated with selection. The findings show that bias is more complexly related to the pretest’s correlation with selection than we hypothesized, and we seek to explain why.
Game theory and H∞-optimal control. The continuous-time case

We discuss the versatility of differential game theory in the derivation of optimally disturbance attenuating controllers for linear (continuous-) time varying systems under various measurement schemes. These include the perfect state, delayed state, sampled state measurements, and a particular partial state information pattern. In each case we obtain a characterization of the optimal or suboptimal controller, and determine the corresponding minimax attenuation level.
Fruit Are Heavy: A Prototype Public IoT System to Support Urban Foraging

Smart cities are one area of interactive systems design where the technologies and services of the Internet of Things (IoT) have the potential to serve public interest. In this paper we present a design research project that explores the use of IoT technologies-specifically environmental sensing-to support urban foraging. We describe the design of a simple proof-of-concept sensing platform to monitor the relative ripeness of fruit in trees, and reflect upon its potential effectiveness for urban foraging. From the project, we draw out themes for designing in the context of smart cities, including questioning the presumed "smartness" of IoT systems, and highlight issues in designing to support diverse community economies.
Kierkegaard, Nagel, Conclusions

This chapter discusses the philosophy of Soren Kierkegaard and Thomas Nagel, and provides the conclusion to the book. First, Kierkegaard’s philosophy is reconsidered in the context of the Gigantomachy, in particular, as another thinker, alongside Heidegger, of Platonic methexis (participation). Second, Nagel’s critique of scientific reductionism and arguments for Platonism and Cartesianism are discussed in light of the Gigantomachy. I conclude in agreement with Nagel, and against Heidegger and Nietzsche, in favor of traditional metaphysics (Platonism) and elements of Cartesianism.
How knowledge deficit interventions fail to resolve beginning farmer challenges

Beginning farmer initiatives like the USDA’s Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP), farm incubators, and small-scale marketing innovations offer new entrant farmers agricultural training, marketing and business assistance, and farmland loans. These programs align with alternative food movement goals to revitalize the anemic U.S. small farm sector and repopulate landscapes with socially and environmentally diversified farms. Yet even as these initiatives seek to support prospective farmers with tools for success through a knowledge dissemination model, they remain mostly individualistic and entrepreneurial measures that overlook structural barriers to productive and economic success within U.S. agriculture. Analysis of the BFRDP’s funding history and discourse reveals a “knowledge deficit” based program focused on the technical rather than the structural aspects of beginning farming. This is contrasted with qualitative analysis of beginning farmer experiences in California’s Central Coast region. The discrepancies between the farmer experiences and national structure of the BFRDP program ultimately reveal a policy mismatch between the needs of some beginning farmers and the programs intended to support them.
The Influence of Václav Klaus on Czech Public Opinion Regarding the European Union

While president of the Czech Republic between 2003 and 2013, Vaclav Klaus, an outspoken critic of the European Union, employed speeches, interviews, and writings as a means of discrediting the EU in the eyes of Czech citizens. The author used opinion polls from Eurobarometer and the Public Opinion Research Center (CVVM) of the Czech Academy of Sciences to establish the correlation between Klaus’s popularity and Euroskepticism. In the early years of Klaus’s presidency, scepticism about the EU among Czechs grew, and between 2006 and 2010, there was a strong correlation between Klaus’s popularity and Czech Euroskepticism. As Klaus’s popularity waned during his last years in office, Czech confidence in the EU began to rise. This study not only helps to explain some bases of Czech Euroskepticism, but it also addresses the influence Czech presidents have in shaping public opinion in their country.
Is CRISPR an Ethical Game Changer

By many accounts, CRISPR gene-editing technology is revolutionizing biotechnology. It has been hailed as a scientific game changer and is being adopted at a break-neck pace. This hasty adoption has left little time for ethical reflection, and so this paper aims to begin filling that gap by exploring whether CRISPR is as much an ethical game changer as it is a biological one. By focusing on the application of CRISPR to non-human animals, I argue that CRISPR has and will continue to result in significant shifts in the ethical debate landscape. For instance, the fact that many CRISPR edits are non-transgenic has important implications for the ethical debate, particularly the popular objection to genetic engineering that it objectionably involves “crossing species boundaries,” as well as the regulatory debate in the United States, where currently only transgenic organisms are officially genetically modified organisms. I also explore various impacts CRISPR may have on animal welfare, suggesting that although the improved precision of CRISPR suggests fewer unintended welfare problems in comparison to past techniques, the greater versatility means that more animals than ever will be engineered. Finally, I end my discussion of animal welfare issues by exploring the possibility of using CRISPR to directly improve animal welfare, for instance through introducing disease resistance.
Impact of tree locations and arrangements on outdoor microclimates and human thermal comfort in an urban residential environment

Trees serve as a valuable asset in the urban built environment. In an arid city like Phoenix, trees are one of the primary urban green infrastructures to ameliorate extreme heat stress. Because of the cost of water and space in the desert residential environment, designing the optimal tree arrangement to maximize overall thermal benefits for residential neighborhoods is important and necessary. In this research, we first simulated a real neighborhood with current tree arrangement in ENVI-met (a holistic three-dimensional model for the simulation of surface-plant-air interactions), and validated the reliability of ENVI-met models by comparing the simulated results with systematic temperature collection transects. Further, we evaluated and compared differences in outdoor microclimates and human thermal comfort by simulating different tree layouts (clustered, equal interval, or dispersed) in the same neighborhood. Tree benefits at individual building scale and neighborhood scale are also compared and discussed. Based on the simulation, an equal interval two trees arrangement provided the most microclimate and human thermal comfort benefits in the neighborhood due to the importance of shading in the hot arid desert environment, following by clustered tree arrangement without canopy overlap. These findings will help policy makers and urban planners offer better guidelines for planting and establishing residential trees to mitigate extreme heat in the hot arid residential environment.
Can Cooperative Intrusion Detectors Challenge the Base-Rate Fallacy?

In recent years, researchers have focused on the ability of intrusion detection systems to resist evasion: techniques attackers use to bypass intrusion detectors and avoid detection. Researchers have developed successful evasion techniques either for network-based (e.g., [14], [191]) or host-based (e.g., [18],[20]) detectors.
Pilot Test of a Natural-Language Tutoring System for Physics That Simulates the Highly Interactive Nature of Human Tutoring

This poster describes Rimac, a natural-language tutoring system that engages students in dialogues that address physics concepts and principles, after students have solved quantitative physics problems. We summarize our approach to deriving decision rules that simulate the highly interactive nature of human tutoring, and describe a pilot test that compares two versions of Rimac: an experimental version that deliberately executes these decision rules within a Knowledge Construction Dialogue (KCD) framework, and a control KCD system that does not intentionally execute these rules.
Explorations in Martingale Theory and Its Applications

These lectures center on new and other recent work giving sharp inequalities for martingales and stochastic integrals with some applications to harmonic analysis and the geometry of Banach spaces. But to introduce some of the ideas and notation, we shall begin with an example from earlier work. At the end of the introduction is a summary of the remaining chapters.
SPECIFIC AND NON-SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES IN DIALYZABLE TRANSFER FACTOR

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the recent progress in defining the effects of the transfer factor on immunologic and inflammatory responses. There are several reports in which immunodeficient patients with subnormal numbers of circulating T-cells have shown increases in the percentages of E-rosette-forming lymphocytes after receiving the transfer factor. From observations on patients with immunodeficiency diseases, it appears that the most consistent consequence of transfer factor therapy on lymphocyte responses is the appearance of lymphokine-producing cells. There seems to be a quantitative disparity between the relative ease of obtaining lymphokine production by lymphocytes from persons who have received transfer factor in vivo and the inconsistent results obtained when lymphocytes are treated with transfer factor in vitro. The polypeptide model can generate large numbers of reactive combinations.
Foundations of Prehistoric Social Inequality

Over the course of our human past there is no more fundamental transition than the emergence of inequality. In many regions of the world, this critical shift occurred long before the advent of written history and “civilization.” The investigation of this subject thus falls squarely in the realm of prehistoric archaeology. Yet, surprisingly, this critical transition has received less analytical attention to date than other key evolutionary episodes such as the origins of agriculture or the rise of the state.
Tokamak Coil Current Trajectories Including Structure

A computational procedure is developed to include the structure in the determination of coil current and voltage trajectories to achieve a specified equilibrium evolution and drive the required pla...
Do adolescents help and share

Although developmental and social psychologists have studied prosocial behavior for the past twenty years, its occurrence in adolescents has received little attention. In the present paper, observational and self-report data were collected on 37 nonhandicapped and handicapped (behaviorally disordered) adolescents in public school settings. Helping, sharing, cooperating, comforting, defending, donating, and rescuing were the prosocial behaviors investigated. The adolescents with handicaps displayed significantly more prosocial behavior than did the nonhandicapped adolescents. However, the nonhandicapped adolescents perceived themselves as engaging more frequently in prosocial behavior than did their handicapped peers. The teachers of the handicapped adolescents used a prosocial teaching style more frequently than did the teachers of the nonhandicapped adolescents. Implications for future research and training are discussed.
Modifying HMMER3 to Run Efficiently on the Cori Supercomputer Using OpenMP Tasking

HMMER3 is biological sequence search suite used in significant volume on systems hosted at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center. This heavy usage has revealed ways that HMMER3 underutilizes the resources available in an HPC environment such as the Manycore architecture Knights Landing processors available in the Cori supercomputer. After rigorous performance analysis it was determined that the thread architecture of HMMER3 is the most promising optimization target to increase throughput and efficiency. A refactoring effort introduced an OpenMP task based threading design, the ability to respond to imbalanced computation with work stealing, and input buffering to eliminate a large amount of redundant parsing. These efforts have been implemented and in production on Cori for over a year. In that time they have simplified the best practice for use of HMMER3 in workflows and conserved hundreds of thousands of CPU hours.
Computational Texture and Patterns: From Textons to Deep Learning

Abstract Visual pattern analysis is a fundamental tool in mining data for knowledge. Computational representations for patterns and texture allow us to summarize, store, compare, and label in order...
A Data-Driven Framework for Assessing Cold Load Pick-Up Demand in Service Restoration

Cold load pick-up (CLPU) has been a critical concern to utilities. Researchers and industry practitioners have underlined the impact of CLPU on distribution system design and service restoration. The recent large-scale deployment of smart meters has provided the industry with a huge amount of data that are highly granular, both temporally and spatially. In this paper, a data-driven framework is proposed for assessing CLPU demand of residential customers using smart meter data. The proposed framework consists of two interconnected layers: 1) At the feeder level, a nonlinear autoregression model is applied to estimate the diversified demand during the system restoration and calculate the CLPU demand ratio. 2) At the customer level, Gaussian mixture models and probabilistic reasoning are used to quantify the CLPU demand increase. The proposed methodology has been verified using real smart meter data and outage cases.