cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Some Properties of the Nonsporing Anaerobes from Poultry Caeca

MANY DIFFERENT types of anaerobic nonsporing bacteria are known to occur as a major part of the caecal flora of birds. In this laboratory they have been isolated from chickens, turkeys, pheasants and ducks at c. lOl'J/g of wet caecal material. Very little is known about the function of the caecum and the role of the caecal flora in the nutrition of the bird. The involvement of the caecum in the digestion of the crude fibre complex (lignin, pentosans, hemicelluloses and celluloses) in the domestic fowl has been considered by Thornburn & Willcox (1965) but their results were inconclusive. Masson (1954) compared diets containing different types of starch. She found by microscopical examination that a significant quantity of potato starch reached the caecum but that cereal starches tended to be digested higher up the gut. The appearance of the caecal flora in the 2 cases was markedly different. Using a radiographic technique, Akester, Anderson, Hill & Osbaldiston (1967) found that urine will flow back into the caecum but not into the small intestine. It is thus probable that uric acid, the main nitrogenous excretory substance of the bird, is present in caeca. The anaerobic bacteria so far isolated from caeca have now been examined for their ability to attack various substrates of potential importance and the results are given in this paper. In the report of the Joint Committee on the Use of Antibiotics in Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine (REPORT, 1969) it was recommended that therapeutically important antibiotics such as the tetracyclines and penicillins should be withdrawn from use as animal feed supplements. Whilst testing the anaerobes on a number of substrates the opportunity was also taken to test their resistance to zinc bacitracin and virginiamycin, antibiotics which are used at present as poultry feed supplements. At the present time the isolation and characterization of the caecal anaerobes is laborious. The behaviour of the individual organisms on a number of substrates has been used in an attempt to develop certain selective and differential media combining
Guidelines for clinical trials in systemic sclerosis (scleroderma). I. Disease-modifying interventions. The American College of Rheumatology Committee on Design and Outcomes in Clinical Trials in Systemic Sclerosis

Objective. To develop guidelines for therapeutic trials designed to improve the overall course of systemic sclerosis (SSc), that is, to reduce the development of significant organ damage or death. Methods. A committee developed general guidelines for patient inclusion and exclusion criteria, randomization, blinding of patients and physicians, controls, duration of the trial, investigator training, responses, samples size, study dropouts, statistical analyses, data management, and safety monitoring. Delphi and nominal group techniques were used. Results. Briefly, patients with diffuse cutaneous SSc of less than 24 months' duration should be included because they are at greatest risk for the development of severe organ damage and death. Patients should be excluded if they have other connective tissue diseases, SSc-like illnesses related to exposures or ingestions, severe existing internal organ damage, an unacceptable risk of side effects, or concurrent therapies that might independently influence the outcome. Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials are preferred. The treatment and followup period must be long enough to permit observation of any disease modification, which is likely to require 18–36 months, unless an extraordinarily effective therapy is identified. Responses selected should be quantitative, consistently and accurately reflect activity of SSc in major target organs (not solely the skin), be sensitive to change, and be standardized, with limited variability. An example of a set of responses is given. Surrogate responses are desirable, but none have been validated as correlating with organ damage. Conclusion. Guidelines have been established for trials of disease-modifying interventions in SSc. These guidelines will need to be altered as additional information becomes available. Any given protocol will be individualized based on the nature of the intervention and objectives of the study. Nonetheless, each study team should develop a protocol that meets the spirit of these guidelines.
Nutrition and the endothelium.

Growing evidence suggests that dietary factors play an important role in modulating endothelial function. Epidemiologic and clinical studies have related intake of α-linolenic acid and long-chain n-3 fatty acids to lower plasma concentrations of inflammatory cytokines and endothelial adhesion molecules, both of which are considered markers of endothelial dysfunction. In contrast, trans fatty acid intake and a higher dietary glycemic load have been associated with increased plasma concentrations of these biomarkers. Recently, several epidemiologic and intervention studies have examined the relationship between overall dietary patterns and endothelial dysfunction. In general, a "prudent diet," characterized by higher intake of fruits, vegetables, legumes, fish, poultry, and whole grains, is associated with a beneficial effect on the endothelium. Conversely, a "Western diet," characterized by higher intake of red and processed meats, sweets, desserts, French fries, and refined grains, is associated with an impairment of the endothelial function. These findings provide additional biological mechanisms through which dietary factors influence the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Admissible trajectory determination for two cooperating robot arms

The problem of finding an allowable object trajectory for a cooperating two-robot system is investigated. The purpose is to move an object from one point to another by firmly grasping it at two different points using two robotic hands. The major difficulty is caused by the fact that, unless the robots have true six degrees of freedom, the trajectories the object can follow are severely limited and, in general, are difficult to find. The method proposed in the paper is based on reformulating the problem as a nonlinear optimization problem with equality constraints in terms of the joint variables. The optimization problem is then solved numerically on a computer. The solution automatically gives the corresponding joint variable trajectories as well, thus eliminating the need for solving the inverse kinematic problem. The method has been successfully applied to a real experimental system.
A Framework for Model-Based Continuous Improvement of Global IT Service Delivery Operations

In recent years, the ability to deliver IT infrastructure services from multiple geographically distributed locations has given rise to an entirely new IT services business model. In this model, called the "Global Delivery Model", clients out source components of their IT infrastructure operations to multiple service providers, who in turn use a combination of onsite and offsite (including offshore) resources to manage the components on behalf of the.ir clients. Since the components of services provided can be assembled and processed at any of the delivery centers, a framework for continuous monitoring of quality and productivity of the delivery processes is essential to pinpoint and remedy potential process inefficiencies. In this paper, we describe a framework implemented by a large global service provider that uses continuous monitoring and process behavior charts to detect any potential shifts in its global ITservice delivery environment. Using this framework, the service provider has already improved several of its IT delivery processes resulting in improved quality and productivity. We discuss the major components of the framework, challenges in deploying such a system for global processes whose lifecycle spans multiple delivery centers, and present examples of process improvements that resulted from deploying the framework.
Evidence of Infection with Simian Type D Retrovirus in Persons Occupationally Exposed to Nonhuman Primates

Simian type D retrovirus (SRV) is enzootic in many populations of Asian monkeys of the genus Macaca and is associated with immunodeficiency diseases. However, the zoonotic potential of this agent has not been well defined. Screening for antibodies to SRV was performed as part of an ongoing study looking for evidence of infection with simian retroviruses among persons occupationally exposed to nonhuman primates (NHPs). Of 231 persons tested, 2 (0.9%) were found to be strongly seropositive, showing reactivity against multiple SRV antigens representing gag, pol, and env gene products by Western immunoblotting. Persistent long-standing seropositivity, as well as neutralizing antibody specific to SRV type 2, was documented in one individual (subject 1), while waning antibody with eventual seroreversion was observed in a second (subject 2). Repeated attempts to detect SRV by isolation in tissue culture and by using sensitive PCR assays for amplification of two SRV gene regions (gag and pol) were negative. Both individuals remain apparently healthy. We were also unable to transmit this seropositivity to an SRV-negative macaque by using inoculation of whole blood from subject 1. The results of this study provide evidence that occupational exposure to NHPs may increase the risk of infection with SRV and underscore the importance of both occupational safety practices and efforts to eliminate this virus from established macaque colonies.
FA-STAC: A Framework for Fast and Accurate Static Timing Analysis with Coupling

This paper presents a framework for fast and accurate static timing analysis considering coupling. With technology scaling to smaller dimensions, the impact of coupling induced delay variations can no longer be ignored. Timing analysis considering coupling is iterative, and can have considerably larger run-times than a single pass approach. We propose a novel and accurate coupling delay model, and present techniques to increase the convergence rate of timing analysis when complex coupling models are employed. Experimental results obtained for the ISCAS benchmarks show promising accuracy improvements using our coupling model while an efficient iteration scheme shows significant speedup (up to 62.1%) in comparison to traditional approaches.
Transplacental drug transfer and frequency of Tk and Hprt lymphocyte mutants and peripheral blood micronuclei in mice treated transplacentally with zidovudine and lamivudine.

In previous studies, we have shown that zidovudine (3′-azido-3′-deoxythymidine; AZT), but not lamivudine [(-)2′,3′-dideoxy-3′-thiacytidine; 3TC], is genotoxic when administered to neonatal mice, and that 3TC when coadministered with AZT does not alter the responses observed with AZT alone (Von Tungeln et al. [2002] Carcinogenesis 23:1427–1432). We now have investigated the transplacental transfer of these drugs and the induction of mutants and micronuclei in the neonatal offspring. From gestational day 12 until parturition, female C57BL/6N and C57BL/6N/Tk+/− mice, which had been mated to male C3H/HeNMTV mice, were treated daily by gavage with AZT, 3TC, or a combination of AZT and 3TC. In both dams and fetuses, AZT was found at much higher levels than its metabolites, AZT 5′-glucuronide and 3′-azido-3′-deoxythymidine. In the neonates, AZT and the mixture of AZT and 3TC caused a decrease in the percentage of reticulocytes (RETs) and an increase in the percentage of micronucleated RETs and micronucleated normochromatic erythrocytes. When assessed 3 weeks after birth, AZT and the combination of AZT and 3TC increased the thymidine kinase (Tk) mutant frequency in male mice; at 5 weeks, 3TC increased the Tk mutant frequency in female mice. The increase in Tk mutants in mice treated with AZT and the mixture of AZT and 3TC was associated with loss of the wild-type (Tk+) allele (loss of heterozygosity; LOH) and a pattern of discontinuous LOH. These data indicate that AZT, 3TC, and the combination of AZT and 3TC are transplacental mutagens and that the increase in mutants resulting from AZT is due mainly to large-scale genetic alterations. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 47:, 2006. Published 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
A global phase III randomized controlled trial of etanercept in psoriasis : safety, efficacy, and effect of dose reduction

BACKGROUND: In previous studies, etanercept significantly improved plaque psoriasis and was well tolerated. OBJECTIVES: To examine further the efficacy and safety of etanercept and to assess maintenance of treatment effect after dose reduction of etanercept. METHODS: In this multicentre 24-week study in the U.S.A., Canada and Western Europe, patients were at least 18 years old; had active, clinically stable plaque psoriasis involving at least 10% of body surface area; had a minimum Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) of 10 at screening; and had received or were a candidate to receive systemic psoriasis therapy or phototherapy. During the first 12 weeks of the study, patients were randomly assigned to receive by subcutaneous injection etanercept twice weekly (BIW) at a dose of 50 mg or 25 mg, or placebo BIW in a double-blind fashion. During the second 12 weeks, all patients received etanercept 25 mg BIW. The primary endpoint was a 75% or greater improvement from baseline in PASI (PASI 75) at 12 weeks. RESULTS: Five hundred and eighty-three subjects were randomized and received at least one dose of study drug. At week 12, a PASI 75 was achieved by 49% of patients in the etanercept 50 mg BIW group, 34% in the 25 mg BIW group, and 3% in the placebo group (P < 0.0001 for each etanercept group compared with placebo). At week 24 (after 12 weeks of open-label 25 mg etanercept BIW), a PASI 75 was achieved by 54% of patients whose dose was reduced from 50 mg BIW to 25 mg BIW, by 45% of patients in the continuous 25 mg BIW group, and by 28% in the group that received placebo followed by etanercept 25 mg BIW. Etanercept was well tolerated throughout the study. CONCLUSIONS: Etanercept provided clinically meaningful benefit to patients with chronic plaque psoriasis, with no apparent decrease in efficacy after dose reduction.
Population Aging as the Social Body in Representation and Real Life

This article uses three levels of body analysis as presented by Nancy Scheper-Hughes and Margaret Lock to compare old age as a construct in population aging discourse with research on lived experience of people aging in the United States and Ghana. I first describe how demographers construct social bodies as becoming “gray” through population statistics and how policy makers then use dependency ratios to rationalize intervention on behalf of older adults in the body-politic. The construction of old age within this discourse is then compared with ethnographic research that suggests this construct leaves out much of the lived experience familiar to anthropologists of aging. Rather than debunk the old age construct, however, the purpose of this article is to argue for study of population aging discourse as constituting a social body reflecting cultural constructions of nature and society. Moreover, this representation is made real through policy and social intervention work, and with very real effect on people’s lives. As such, an anthropology of aging bodies can include the social life of old age as a social construct.
Using least median of squares for structural superposition of flexible proteins

The conventional superposition methods use an ordinary least squares (LS) fit for structural comparison of two different conformations of the same protein. The main problem of the LS fit that it is sensitive to outliers, i.e. large displacements of the original structures superimposed. To overcome this problem, we present a new algorithm to overlap two protein conformations by their atomic coordinates using a robust statistics technique: least median of squares (LMS). In order to effectively approximate the LMS optimization, the forward search technique is utilized. Our algorithm can automatically detect and superimpose the rigid core regions of two conformations with small or large displacements. In contrast, most existing superposition techniques strongly depend on the initial LS estimating for the entire atom sets of proteins. They may fail on structural superposition of two conformations with large displacements. The presented LMS fit can be considered as an alternative and complementary tool for structural superposition. The proposed algorithm is robust and does not require any prior knowledge of the flexible regions. Furthermore, we show that the LMS fit can be extended to multiple level superposition between two conformations with several rigid domains. Our fit tool has produced successful superpositions when applied to proteins for which two conformations are known. The binary executable program for Windows platform, tested examples, and database are available from https://engineering.purdue.edu/PRECISE/LMSfit .
Sequences important for heterokaryon incompatibility function in MAT A-1 of Neurospora crassa

Strains of Neurospora crassa exist as two alternative mating type forms, A and a; differences in mating type are required for the initiation of the sexual cycle (Shiu and Glass, 2000). The mating-type (mat) locus also acts as a heterokaryon incompatibility (het) locus, such that hyphal fusion between A and a strains results in a heterokaryon that shows extremely inhibited growth, absence of conidiation, and hyphal compartmentation and death (Glass et al., 2000). The A and a mating type sequences occupy the same locus in A and a strains, but are highly dissimilar in sequence. The mat a-1 gene, which encodes a putative HMG (high mobility group) type of transcriptional regulator, provides all the functions for the a mating type, including mating, ascospore formation, and heterokaryon incompatibility (Chang and Staben, 1994). The mat A locus encodes three proteins. MAT A-2 and MAT A-3 are responsible for ascospore formation (Ferreira et al., 1998); MAT A-3 is a putative HMG type of transcriptional regulator. MAT A-1 is predicted to be a a-domain type of transcriptional regulator and is both necessary and sufficient to confer A mating specificity and trigger heterokaryon incompatibility with a strains (Glass et al., 1990). Mutations in an unlinked locus, tol, suppress mating-type incompatibility such that tol A and tol a strains are capable of forming a vigorous heterokaryon (Newmeyer, 1970; Shiu and Glass, 1999).
Appropriating Invention through Concept Maps in Writing for Multimedia and the Web.

As an alternative approach to web preproduction, I propose the use of concept maps for invention of website projects in business and professional writing courses. This mapping device approximates o...
Effects of spatial filtering on high-ℓ power spectra and rotational splitting inversions

The effects of the spatial filtering algorithm on the results of an inversion of high-degree solar oscillation data are examined. In attempting to isolate sectoral modes, the Fourier transforms in longitude are accompanied by three different spatial filterings in the orthogonal direction. The filters are: simple averaging in the plane of the sky, averaging along lines of constant heliographic longitude with uniform weighting, and another with weighting based on appropriate Legendre functions. The choice of spatial filter changes the distribution of power in the two-dimensional spectrum of the oscillations, particularly in the f and p1 ridges. These variations in the power distribution affect the determination of the rotational splittings, thereby influencing the results of inversions which emphasize information contained in the low-order ridges.
Canonical sequence method applied to a two-dimensional spin system

A number of years ago, Horn and Weinstein introduced a novel nonperturbative method, the t-expansion, for calculating ground-state expectation values for Hamiltonian systems. Recently Samaj et al. have generalized the t-expansion technique and the related connected moments expansion to a more general canonical sequence. In the present work we have expounded upon this work and have applied this to the two-dimensional square anisotropic XXZ Heisenberg model.
EFFECT OF CYCLE MEAN STRAIN ON SMALL CRACK GROWTH IN ALLOY 718 AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURES

The influence of the cyclic compressive excursion on the fatigue crack growth behavior of small surface cracks in Alloy 718 at 650°C is experimentally studied. Test conditions were chosen to simulate the cyclic plasticity found at notch locations in high temperature structural components. During cycling, the crack lengths were continuously monitored using the direct current potential drop method while the near field crack mouth opening displacement and global cyclic stressstrain behavior were measured using a laser interferometry technique and mechanical extensometry, respectively. Two aspects related to cyclic compressive excursion have been studied; crack closure and crack tip plasticity. Attempts have been made to use several modified ΔK expressions as well as ΔJeff to account for the effects of closure and decrease crack tip plasticity. It was concluded that the compressive excursion is most prominent in this alloy in its effect on the global plasticity and the subsequent loss of constraint. Closure was not found to be significant in the consolidation of test data.
Student Perspectives in an All-Female First-Year Engineering Innovation Course*

In Fall 2008 the University of Dayton first offered their restructured first-year design course entitled Engineering Innovation. Ayear later an all-female section of the course was offered, in conjunction with the development of a Women in Science andEngineering Living Learning Community. Now having finished the second year of this initiative, this paper focuses on studentperspectives of having been in an all-female engineering design class. Reflection papers written by the students detailed bothperceived benefits and consequences of the all-female class experience. This paper examines these perceptions and discusses theimplications these perceptions have for teaching traditional mixed-gendered innovation courses so that they might be more inclusiveto all students.
Lactate influx into red blood cells of athletic and nonathletic species

Transport of lactate across the erythrocyte membrane proceeds by three distinct pathways: 1) nonionic diffusion of lactic acid, 2) inorganic anion exchange (band 3), and 3) a monocarboxylate-specif...
Combinatorial Optimization in a Cattle Yard: Feed Distribution, Vehicle Scheduling, Lot Sizing, and Dynamic Pen Assignment

In this chapter describes various interesting combinatorial optimization problems which constantly present themselves in an operation of a large cattle yard. These problems include feed distribution, distribution vehicle scheduling, feed lot sizing (mixing) operation, and reassignment of cattle to pens. We examine the mathematical models and the corresponding solution methodologies for these problems, modeling them as a combination of arc routing, machine scheduling, lot sizing, and very large general 0–1 integer programming problems. Partial results and the considerable insight gained by our analysis is presented.
Analysis of Molecular Clusters in Simulations of Lithium-Ion Battery Electrolytes

Graph theoretic tools were used to identify and classify clusters of ions and solvent molecules in molecular dynamics simulations of lithium-ion battery electrolytes. Electrolytes composed of various concentrations of LiPF6 dissolved in ethylene carbonate (EC), dimethylene carbonate (DMC), or a 1:1 EC/DMC mixture were simulated at multiple temperatures using classical molecular dynamics. Contrary to Nernst–Einstein theory but consistent with experiment, pure DMC systems had the greatest diffusivity but the lowest conductivity. This disagreement with Nernst–Einstein theory is explained by the observed clustering behavior, which found that systems with pure EC as a solvent formed ion clusters with nonzero charge, whereas systems with pure DMC as a solvent formed primarily neutral clusters.
An Analytic System Model for Organization Theory

This paper represents an effort to synthesize the work of philosophers of science with regard to teleological or adaptive systems. Methodological in focus, the intent is to identify a set of logica...
Study on (Ni-P)-nano Si_3N_4 Electroless Composite Plating——Effects of Surfactants

A (Ni-P)-nano Si_3N_4 composite coating was prepared by electroless plating.The effects of dif- ferent types of surfactants and dispersion manners on the dispersion stability of nanometer particles in the plating bath were studied.The results show that the nano-powder dispersion effect in the plating solution are improved by using the ultrasonic dispersing technique and with anion surfactant adding,and hardness of the coating is increased;compared with Ni-P alloy electroless coating,the corrosion resistance of the composite coating is improved by 20%～50% and the wear resistance of the composite coating is in- creased by 4 times.
The Histone Variant H3.3 Is Enriched at Drosophila Amplicon Origins but Does Not Mark Them for Activation

Eukaryotic DNA replication begins from multiple origins. The origin recognition complex (ORC) binds origin DNA and scaffolds assembly of a prereplicative complex (pre-RC), which is subsequently activated to initiate DNA replication. In multicellular eukaryotes, origins do not share a strict DNA consensus sequence, and their activity changes in concert with chromatin status during development, but mechanisms are ill-defined. Previous genome-wide analyses in Drosophila and other organisms have revealed a correlation between ORC binding sites and the histone variant H3.3. This correlation suggests that H3.3 may designate origin sites, but this idea has remained untested. To address this question, we examined the enrichment and function of H3.3 at the origins responsible for developmental gene amplification in the somatic follicle cells of the Drosophila ovary. We found that H3.3 is abundant at these amplicon origins. H3.3 levels remained high when replication initiation was blocked, indicating that H3.3 is abundant at the origins before activation of the pre-RC. H3.3 was also enriched at the origins during early oogenesis, raising the possibility that H3.3 bookmarks sites for later amplification. However, flies null mutant for both of the H3.3 genes in Drosophila did not have overt defects in developmental gene amplification or genomic replication, suggesting that H3.3 is not essential for the assembly or activation of the pre-RC at origins. Instead, our results imply that the correlation between H3.3 and ORC sites reflects other chromatin attributes that are important for origin function.
Comparison of neck muscle activation patterns during head stabilization and voluntary movements

The motor system that controls the neck musculature serves two major functions: stabilization of the head in the face of external perturbations or body movements, and generation of voluntary or orientating head movements. Typically the latter are thought to be mediated by complex pathways involving cerebral cortex and superior colliculus while stabilization is thought to be mediated by simple short-loop pathways that generate vestibulocollic and cervicocollic reflexes (VCR and CCR). Our work has been directed towards evaluating the extent to which the VCR and CCR are in fact responsible for head stabilization, and to determining how the motor patterns produced by these reflexes compare with those produced by the voluntary head movement system. To address these questions we have analysed the dynamic and spatial (kinematic) properties of the head movement system in cats and humans.
Glow Discharge Mass Spectrometry: Fundamentals and Potential Applications in Stable Isotope Geochemistry

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the theory, application and practical aspects of a direct-sampling ion source similar to secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), but not well known to the geological community that is the glow discharge. The application of glow discharge mass spectrometry (GDMS) in the Geosciences is limited largely to the elemental analysis of soils, meteorites, and ceramics. Glow discharge (GD) ion sources sputter the sample's surface, and thereby permit direct atomization, ionization and analysis. It is a mechanically simple, highly efficient ion source for mass spectrometry and optical spectroscopy. Commercially built GDMS instrumentation includes single-collector, double-focusing mass spectrometers designed for rapid determinations of trace and major elements at high mass-resolving powers. Its direct solid sampling capability and very low matrix dependence makes GDMS a convenient technique for the rapid analysis of highly refractory materials, or for samples where compositional depth profiling is needed. However, very little work is done to optimize GDMS for routine use in isotope ratio determinations. Promising developments includes the development of GD ion sources fitted to compact, robust time-of-flight mass analyzers capable of isotope ratio precision and accuracy.
Optical tomographic image reconstruction with quasi-Newton methods

Most of the currently existing image reconstruction algorithms for optical tomography (OT) can he formulated as an optimization problem. To find a minimum of an appropriately defined objective function, researchers in OT mostly rely on conjugate-gradient (CG) methods. In this work we have tested the performance of quasi-Newton methods, which prove to be superior to CG methods, both in terms of conversion time and image quality.
Neural mechanisms of human temporal fear conditioning.

Abstract Learning the temporal relationship between a warning cue (conditioned stimulus; CS) and aversive threat (unconditioned stimulus; UCS) is an important aspect of Pavlovian conditioning. Although prior functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research has identified brain regions that support Pavlovian conditioning, it remains unclear whether these regions support time-related processes important for this type of associative learning. Elucidating the neural substrates of temporal conditioning is important for a complete understanding of the Pavlovian conditioning process. Therefore, the present study used a temporal Pavlovian conditioning procedure to investigate brain activity that mediates the formation of temporal associations. During fMRI, twenty-three healthy volunteers completed a temporal conditioning procedure and a control task that does not support conditioning. Specifically, during the temporal conditioning procedure, the UCS was presented at fixed intervals (ITI: 20 s) while in the control condition the UCS was presented at random intervals (Average ITI: 20 s, ITI Range: 6–34 s). We observed greater skin conductance responses and expectancy of the UCS during fixed (i.e., temporal conditioning) relative to random (i.e., control procedure) interval trials. These findings demonstrate fixed trials support temporal conditioning, while random trials do not. During fixed interval trials, greater conditioned fMRI signal responses were observed within dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, inferior parietal lobule, inferior and middle temporal cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala. The current findings suggest these brain regions constitute a neural circuit that encodes the temporal information necessary for Pavlovian fear conditioning.
Agency Theory and Its Application to Small Firms: Evidence from the Swedish Venture Capital Market

The research in small firms financing is characterized by a lack of a theoretical framework. One basic assumption in this study is that agency theory can provide an essential framework to explain the interaction between informal and formal venture capitalists and their portfolio firms. Five hypotheses generated from agency theory are formulated and tested on 62 firms backed by informal venture capitalists and 145 firms backed by formal venture capitalists. The theoretical conclusion is that agency theory does not provide a satisfactory framework to explain either the informal venture capitalist’s, nor the formal venture capitalist’s relationship to their portfolio firms. Therefore, more exploratory research must be done to develop a theory of finance which will be applicable in the small firms situation.
Storm surge along the Pacific coast of North America

Storm surge is an important factor that contributes to coastal flooding and erosion. Storm surge magnitude along eastern North Pacific coasts results primarily from low sea level pressure (SLP). Thus, coastal regions where high surge occurs identify the dominant locations where intense storms make landfall, controlled by storm track across the North Pacific. Here storm surge variability along the Pacific coast of North America is characterized by positive nontide residuals at a network of tide gauge stations from southern California to Alaska. The magnitudes of mean and extreme storm surge generally increase from south to north, with typically high amplitude surge north of Cape Mendocino and lower surge to the south. Correlation of mode 1 nontide principal component (PC1) during winter months (December–February) with anomalous SLP over the northeast Pacific indicates that the dominant storm landfall region is along the Cascadia/British Columbia coast. Although empirical orthogonal function spatial patterns show substantial interannual variability, similar correlation patterns of nontide PC1 over the 1948–1975 and 1983–2014 epochs with anomalous SLP suggest that, when considering decadal-scale time periods, storm surge and associated tracks have generally not changed appreciably since 1948. Nontide PC1 is well correlated with PC1 of both anomalous SLP and modeled wave height near the tide gauge stations, reflecting the interrelationship between storms, surge, and waves. Weaker surge south of Cape Mendocino during the 2015–2016 El Nino compared with 1982–1983 may result from changes in Hadley circulation. Importantly from a coastal impacts perspective, extreme storm surge events are often accompanied by high waves.
Evaluation of the Microbiological Safety of Tempeh Made from Unacidified Soybeans

Studies were done to evaluate the safety of tempeh made from unacidifed soybeans and inoculated with different bacterial pathogens. Pathogens were added to either the soybeans before fermentation by Rhizopus oligosporus or the tempeh after fermentation and steaming. In the latter method, the inoculated products were incubated at several different temperatures (5, 10, 15 and 25°C). Clostridium botulinum (types A and/or B) toxin was produced in 2 d during the fermentation and within 5 d at 25°C or 4 wk at 15°C in tempeh inoculated and incubated in vacuum packages after fermentation and steaming. Staphylococcus aureus grew very well (>6-log10 CFU/g increase) in 2 d during the fermentation, and grew from ca. 103 CFU/g to 108 CFU/g in 7 d at 25°C and 21 d at 15°C in tempeh inoculated after fermentation and steaming. Staphylococcal enterotoxins were detected in some of these samples. Salmonella typhimurium also grew well during the fermentation (>6-log10 CFU/g increase in 1 d), but grew relatively slowly at 25 and 15°C in tempeh inoculated after fermentation and steaming. Yersinia enterocolitica grew very well (>6-log10 CFU/g increase) in 1 d during the fermentation, and also grew well in tempeh inoculated after fermentation and steaming, with a >6 log10 CFU/g increase in 2 d at 25 or 15°C and 5 d at 10°C. Results of these studies indicate the need for maintaining: (a) a high level of sanitary practices during production and (b) good refrigeration (≤5°C) of the product following fermentation until it is used.
Entropy: A Stealth Measure of Agency in Learning Environments

This study investigates variations in how users exert agency and control over their choice patterns within the game-based ITS, iSTART-2, and how these individual differences relate to performance. Seventy-six college students interacted freely with iSTART-2 for approximately 2 hours. The current work captures and classifies variations in students’ behavior patterns using three novel statistical techniques. Random walk analyses, Euclidean distances, and Entropy measures indicated that students who interacted exhibiting more controlled and systematic patterns demonstrated higher quality strategy performance compared to students who interacted with the system in more disordered fashions. These results highlight the potential for dynamical analyses as stealth assessments indicative of students’ degree of agency within adaptive learning environments.
NPM-RAR Enhances NFκB Transcriptional Activity

Abstract 5117 Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL) is characterized by recurrent translocations of 17q21, which result in expression of fusion proteins of the retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARα). We have been studying the t(5;17)(q35;q21) variant of APL, which fuses the N-terminal 117 amino acids of nucleophosmin (NPM) to the C-terminus of RARα. NPM-RAR is capable of binding to retinoic acid response elements (RAREs), and we have previously shown that NPM-RAR can recruit both corepressor and coactivator complexes to retinoic acid target promoters, to modulate transcription in a ligand-dependent fashion, though with a different sensitivity to ligand than RARα. The N-terminal NPM-sequence of NPM-RAR contains a dimerization domain capable of mediating not only homodimerization of the fusion protein, but also heterodimerization with wild-type NPM, to potentially modulate NPM functionality. NPM serves as a molecular chaperone, and binds to a diverse set of proteins. Amongst these are the p50 and p65 subunits of NFκB. NPM has been shown to serve as a coactivator for the NFκB transcriptional complex. We hypothesized that NPM-RAR might interact with NPM to modulate NFκB dependent transcription. We focused on NFκB regulation of the Superoxide Dismutase 2 (MnSOD, SOD2) promoter, since NPM regulation of NFκB mediated transcription has been most extensively studied in this model system. We found that NPM-RAR enhances both basal and TNFα-induced transcription of an NFκB-reporter construct (containing a minimal MnSOD promoter/enhancer) in HepG2 and Hela cells. This effect was not dependent upon translocation of NFκB to the nucleus, indicating that the positive effect on NFκB was mediated downstream of the canonical activation pathway of NFκB. The MnSOD promoter does not contain a consensus RARE, and this effect was not seen in cells transfected with RARα, suggesting that this effect is not mediated through the DNA binding motifs of the NPM-RAR C-terminal RARα sequences. NPM-RAR does not directly interact with NFκB; preliminary experiments using siRNA to down-regulate NPM indicate that NPM-RAR enhancement of MnSOD transcription is dependent upon the presence of wild-type NPM. This leads us to propose a model whereby NPM-RAR binds to the NPM/NFκB transcriptional complex through interaction with NPM, to enhance NFκB mediated transcription. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Gluon dipole penguin contributions to ϵ′/ϵ and CP violation in hyperon decays in the standard model

Abstract We consider the gluon dipole penguin operator contributions to ϵ′/ϵ and CP violation in hyperon decays. It has been proposed by Bertolini et al. that the contribution to ϵ′/ϵ may be significant. We show that there is a cancellation in the leading order contribution and this contribution is actually suppressed by a factor of order O(mπ2, mK2)/Λ2. We find that the same operator also contributes to CP violation in hyperon decays where it is not suppressed. The gluon dipole penguin operator can enhance CP violation in hyperon decays by as much as 25%.
I teach, therefore iPad: Improving asynchronous learning through formative assessment

Asynchronous learning involves more than archiving and accessing content online. In this chapter, authors from three disciplines (communication, mathematics, and literacy education) share how they use digital formative assessment tools to see and support student composition, problem-solving, and analytic discussion in the time between traditional, face-to-face classes. iAnnotate encourages students to see, apply, and revise their own multimedia projects to conform to esthetic conventions. Educreations affords students the opportunity to create artifacts of their mathematical thinking and promotes reflection on heuristics. VoiceThread supports students’ ability to draw upon research and data to substantiate or challenge statements made during disciplinary discussions. The goal: to improve students’ academic processing through the use of asynchronous formative assessment. Yes, there’s an app for that.
Evaluation of "College CHEF," a Campus-based, Culinary Nutrition Education Program

Aim : Evaluate the impact of a campus-based culinary nutrition education program, the College CHEF: Cooking Healthfully Education for Life-long Change, to determine if there were significant differences preto post- intervention with participants' attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge with healthy eating/cooking. Background : College students have high rates of overweight and obesity and tend to have unhealthy dietary practices. Culinary nutrition programs may provide students a means to improve related attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge. Methods : College students residing on campus were recruited. Participants completing both pre- and post-measures were included in analysis: Control (n= 17) and intervention groups (n = 15). Quasi-experimental pre-, post- design: Surveys were administered to both groups at baseline and post-intervention in October-November 2015. Results: There was a statistically significant improvement in fruit and vegetable consumption (p = .03) and with knowledge of cooking terms and techniques (p < .001). Conclusions: Campus-based culinary nutrition education programming has potential to positively impact college students’ fruit and vegetable consumption and cooking knowledge. Future programs should incorporate strategies such as additional opportunities to engage in hands-on practice and building cross-campus collaborations to promote sustainability.
HIV Positive Gay Men, Health Care, Legal Rights, and Policy Issues

Gay men living with HIV have complex health care needs involving physical and mental health and comorbidities with other health conditions. The health disparities affecting gay men must be understood in the context of macro-level processes. A life-course framework along with the constructs of minority stress and resiliency will be examined in understanding the health of gay men. Aging and caregiving issues for HIV positive gay men will be explored. The concept of Treatment as Prevention will be examined, along with biomedical prevention technologies that can help HIV negative partners in serodiscordant couples remain negative. Legal issues such as criminalization and discrimination will be considered. Myriad recent changes in health policy will be addressed, including the expanded access to both private and public health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. The experiences of HIV positive gay men in the Veterans Administration system and in senior settings will also be examined, as well as policy changes that can better equip these systems to provide clinically competent care.
We're Not in Kansas Anymore: Detecting Domain Changes in Streams

Domain adaptation, the problem of adapting a natural language processing system trained in one domain to perform well in a different domain, has received significant attention. This paper addresses an important problem for deployed systems that has received little attention - detecting when such adaptation is needed by a system operating in the wild, i.e., performing classification over a stream of unlabeled examples. Our method uses A-distance, a metric for detecting shifts in data streams, combined with classification margins to detect domain shifts. We empirically show effective domain shift detection on a variety of data sets and shift conditions.
Approximating Personalized Katz Centrality in Dynamic Graphs

Dynamic graphs can capture changing relationships in many real datasets that evolve over time. One of the most basic questions about networks is the identification of the “most important” vertices in a network. Measures of vertex importance called centrality measures are used to rank vertices in a graph. In this work, we focus on Katz Centrality. Typically, scores are calculated through linear algebra but in this paper we present an new alternative, agglomerative method of calculating Katz scores and extend it for dynamic graphs. We show that our static algorithm is several orders of magnitude faster than the typical linear algebra approach while maintaining good quality of the scores. Furthermore, our dynamic graph algorithm is faster than pure static recomputation every time the graph changes and maintains high recall of the highly ranked vertices on both synthetic and real graphs.
Examination of effects of acid and metals on benthic algae in streams using chemical diffusing substrata

Abstract Acid mine drainage environments have multiple stressors, making it difficult to isolate effects of individual contaminants on benthic algal communities in situ in order to develop more specific indicators. Additionally, responses to AMD contaminants may be dependent on the abiotic and biotic conditions within the affected stream. We examined the efficacy of using chemical diffusing substrata (CDS) to determine how acid and metals interact to affect benthic algae in 2 streams with different trophy. CDS containing Mn, Fe, Al, acid, Mn + acid, Fe + acid, and Al + acid were deployed in a flow-through system to determine flux from the liquid media. Flux values for metals ranged from 1.0 to 18.1 µg/cm2/d for 5 days, and 0.5–7.4 µg/cm2/d for 21 days. Flux values for H+ were 467 (5 day) and 212 (21 day) µg/cm2/d. Corresponding water column concentrations that would produce the same flux as CDS metal treatments were estimated to be in the low to mid toxicity range for Al, low range for Fe, and nontoxic range for Mn. Acid treatments were estimated to be equivalent to a stream pH of 2.1–2.5. Five replicates of each CDS treatment, and a water control, were placed into a high-alkalinity, eutrophic stream (Wolf Creek) for 5 days and a low-alkalinity, oligotrophic stream (Silver Creek) for 21 days, respectively. In Silver Creek, all treatments except circumneutral Fe and circumneutral Mn had significantly lower algal cell densities than control treatments. Cell densities were significantly lower on Al + acid and Mn + acid than on the acid-only treatment, indicating synergistic effects. Cell densities were not significantly different among treatments in Wolf Creek. Higher alkalinity, nutrients, and productivity in this stream likely increased neutralization and detoxification processes within the biofilm. However, significantly lower chlorophyll a and higher phaeophytin concentrations of communities on treatments containing acid indicated sublethal effects. Significantly more acid tolerant taxa occurred on treatments with acid in Silver Creek, and significantly more metal-tolerant taxa occurred on metal treatments in Wolf Creek. However, treatment effects on taxonomic composition appeared to be constrained by the species pool within each stream, as these indicator taxa made up less than 4% of any community. Although equating CDS flux of contaminants to water column concentrations requires assumptions, and flux decreases over the exposure period, this study indicates that in situ experiments using CDS can separate out effects of individual toxic components on benthic algae, and determine context-dependent responses.
Penetrating the Barriers to Successful α-Radioimmunotherapy.

> For “up an’ down an’ round,” said ’e, “goes all appointed things, > > An’ losses on the roundabouts means profits on the swings!” > > —Patrick R. Chalmers, “Roundabouts and Swings,” 1914 There have been many significant advances in the field of radioimmunotherapy since