cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dynamic Firewall Policy Management Framework for Private Cloud

In traditional networking environment, perimeter firewalls restrict the access to resources inside organizations’ private network. In cloud computing, every virtual instance has to be accessed by the external parties. Due to its unique computing environment, cloud computing requires tailor-made firewall systems. To provide the desired high-availability and low-latency system, cloud services are replicated and made available in multiple geolocations or availability zones. This often leads to violation of various compliance policies and policy conflicts. The other complex issue is to manage security policies across the distributed data centers. We address these issues and present a dynamic firewall policy management scheme that uses a centralized controller to manage all firewalls in distributed data centers of a private cloud.
Taxes, Targeted Educational Subsidies, and Affirmative Action

This paper shows how educational subsidies could address the inefficiency in human capital investment caused by income taxes. If the government cannot perceive individual wage profiles, it may approximate an efficient solution by targeting different subsidies towards exogenously determined groups. This policy provides an efficiency justification for educational affirmative action programs, which give greater subsidies to traditionally disadvantaged groups. The costs and benefits of a targeted subsidy program depend on how accurately exogenous factors can predict educational choice. Simulations demonstrate the impact of such a policy given realistic relationships between earnings and education.
Fostering international multicenter collaborative research: the CAPO Project.

L'Organisation sur la pneumonie acquise dans la collectivite (CAPO) a ete creee en 1999 avec comme objectif de faciliter les recherches internationales dans le domaine de la pneumonie. Ce manuscrit fait la revue de l'elaboration du CAPO, resume l'etude clinique principale ainsi que les fonctions du centre de coordination des donnees et des statistiques du projet et decrit les opportunites actuelles de recherche. Les chercheurs peuvent etre interesses a rejoindre l'equipe de recherche du CAPO ou a appliquer le modele CAPO de collaboration internationale a d'autres domaines de la recherche clinique.
Minimal Cognitive Preconditions on the Ratchet

H. sapiens stands out from other primates along many social dimensions; however, none seems as prominent and important as the capacity of our species for cumulative cultural evolution or, as Tomasello calls it, “the ratchet.” Although other primate species show evidence of cultural variation, there is little evidence of cumulative cultural evolution, i.e., the gradual accumulation, modification, and refinement of traditions and skills over historical time, in any primate species other than our own. This is clearly an extremely significant component of the human phenotype, responsible for our unparalleled cultural, social, political, and technological achievements. However, it remains extremely controversial what sorts of cognitive capacities are necessary to trigger cumulative cultural evolution and whether any currently proposed candidates are really distinctive of humans. Furthermore, the ratchet raises a bootstrapping problem: before complex skills and technologies are present and necessary for biological success, there appear to be few advantages to high-fidelity social learning; however, without such high-fidelity social learning, it is unclear how traditions capable of generating complex skills and technologies could arise in the first place. In this chapter, we survey relevant empirical research in comparative and developmental psychology, integrating it with a novel theoretical analysis of the bootstrapping problem to defend a hypothesis about the minimal cognitive preconditions on the ratchet.
Deamidation of Amino Acids on the Surface of Adeno-Associated Virus Capsids Leads to Charge Heterogeneity and Altered Vector Function

Post-translational modification of the adeno-associated virus capsids is a poorly understood factor in the development of these viral vectors into pharmaceutical products. Here we report the extensive capsid deamidation of adeno-associated virus serotype 8 and seven other diverse adeno-associated virus serotypes, with supporting evidence from structural, biochemical, and mass spectrometry approaches. The extent of deamidation at each site depended on the vector's age and multiple primary-sequence and three-dimensional structural factors. However, the extent of deamidation was largely independent of the vector recovery and purification conditions. We demonstrate the potential for deamidation to impact transduction activity and, moreover, correlate an early time point loss in vector activity to rapidly progressing spontaneous deamidation at several adeno-associated virus 8 asparagines. We explore mutational strategies that stabilize side-chain amides, improving vector transduction and reducing the lot-to-lot molecular variability that presents a key concern in biologics manufacturing. This study illuminates a previously unknown aspect of adeno-associated virus capsid heterogeneity and highlights its importance in the development of these vectors for gene therapy.
Atopic Dermatitis and Erythroderma

Erythroderma refers to a diffuse often exfoliative dermatitis involving >90% of the skin for which an underlying etiology is not determined in a significant subset of cases.
Exploring congruency in dyadic affection accounts

Affection is a fundamental need, however, humans vary in their expression and interpretation of affectionate behavior which may affect the degree to which this need is met. This study examines dyad...
Risk Factors Associated With Major Lower Extremity Amputation After Osseous Diabetic Charcot Reconstruction

Abstract Patients with diabetic Charcot neuroarthropathy (CN) are at high risk for ulcerations and major lower extremity amputations (LEAs). Osseous reconstruction is an important component in ulcer healing and prevention; however, despite such efforts, major LEAs remain a serious postreconstruction concern. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for major LEA in patients who underwent osseous Charcot reconstruction. A retrospective review was performed on 331 patients with the diagnosis of CN in the foot and ankle treated over a 16-year period. Two hundred eighty-five patients were included after exclusion of those without diabetes. Demographic data, anatomic wound location, surgical interventions, wound healing status, and the level of eventual amputation were recorded. Multivariate logistic regression and Fisher's exact test were used for analysis. All patients had diabetes, neuropathy, or CN and required osseous reconstruction. Risk factors and their respective odds ratios (ORs) are as follows: postoperative nonunion (OR 8.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.2 to 33.5, 0.0023), development of new site of CN (OR 8.2; 95% CI 1.1 to 62.9; p = .0440), peripheral arterial disease (OR 4.3; 95% CI 1.7 to 11.0; p = .0020), renal disease (OR 3.7; 95% CI 1.6 to 8.8; p = .0025), postoperative delayed healing (OR 2.6; 95% CI 1.1 to 6.5; p = .0371), postoperative osteomyelitis (OR 2.4; 95% CI 1.0 to 5.9; p = .0473), or elevated glycated hemoglobin (OR 1.2; 95% CI 1.0 to 1.4; p = .0053). Independent risk factors found to be statistically significant for major LEA in diabetic CN in the setting of osseous reconstruction must be mitigated for long-term prevention of major amputations.
Deep Evolutionary Networks with Expedited Genetic Algorithms for Medical Image Denoising.

Abstract Deep convolutional neural networks offer state-of-the-art performance for medical image analysis. However, their architectures are manually designed for particular problems. On the one hand, a manual designing process requires many trials to tune a large number of hyperparameters and is thus quite a time-consuming task. On the other hand, the fittest hyperparameters that can adapt to source data properties (e.g., sparsity, noisy features) are not able to be quickly identified for target data properties. For instance, the realistic noise in medical images is usually mixed and complicated, and sometimes unknown, leading to challenges in applying existing methods directly and creating effective denoising neural networks easily. In this paper, we present a Genetic Algorithm (GA)-based network evolution approach to search for the fittest genes to optimize network structures automatically. We expedite the evolutionary process through an experience-based greedy exploration strategy and transfer learning. Our evolutionary algorithm procedure has flexibility, which allows taking advantage of current state-of-the-art modules (e.g., residual blocks) to search for promising neural networks. We evaluate our framework on a classic medical image analysis task: denoising. The experimental results on computed tomography perfusion (CTP) image denoising demonstrate the capability of the method to select the fittest genes for building high-performance networks, named EvoNets. Our results outperform state-of-the-art methods consistently at various noise levels.
25 years of biomedical optoacoustics: From idea to optoacoustic imaging and theranostics

We proposed to use optoacoustics (photoacoustics) for biomedical applications and for more than 25 years have been working on it. In this overview we present our major biomedical optoacoustics achievements over these years. Optoacoustic diagnostic modality is based on thermoelastic generation of optoacoustic waves and combines high optical contrast and ultrasound spatial resolution. We proposed to use the optoacoustic technique for a number of applications including cancer detection in breast, prostate, and other organs; hematoma detection and characterization; monitoring of thermotherapy (hyperthermia, coagulation, freezing); monitoring of cerebral blood oxygenation in adults, neonatal patients, fetuses during late stage labor; monitoring of central venous oxygenation and total hemoglobin concentration. In early 90s we started from ideas, basic science, and first in vitro studies. In mid 90s we demonstrated optoacousitc wave: 1) detection from tissues at cm-depths (well beyond the light diffusion limit); 2) detection from microscopic tissue volumes; 3) diffraction and attenuation effects in tissues. Then we reconstructed first optoacoustic images of tissue phantoms and tissues. We developed optoacoustic methods and systems (including highly-compact laser diode systems) for monitoring, mapping, and imaging in many organs (including the human brain) and tested them in small and large animal studies and in clinical studies in healthy volunteers and patients with traumatic brain injury, circulatory shock, and anemia as well as in neonatal and fetal patients. Recently, we proposed to use optoacoustic therapy and theranostics and tested them in animal studies. At present, biomedical optoacoustics is an emerging diagnostic imaging modality with a great potential to become an invaluable tool for diagnostics, therapy, and theranostics.
Accomplishing a N-E-W (nutrient-energy-water) synergy in a bioelectrochemical nitritation-anammox process.

This study reports an investigation of the concept, application and performance of a novel bioelectrochemical nitritation-anammox microbial desalination cell (MDC) for resource-efficient wastewater treatment and desalination. Two configurations of anammox MDCs (anaerobic-anammox cathode MDC (AnAmoxMDC) and nitration-anammox cathode MDC (NiAmoxMDC)) were compared with an air cathode MDC (CMDC), operated in fed-batch mode. Results from this study showed that the maximum power density produced by NiAmoxMDC (1,007 mW/m3) was higher than that of AnAmoxMDC (444 mW/m3) and CMDC (952 mW/m3). More than 92% of ammonium-nitrogen (NH4+-N) removal was achieved in NiAmoxMDC, significantly higher than AnAmoxMDC (84%) and CMDC (77%). The NiAmoxMDC performed better than CMDC and AnAmoxMDC in terms of power density, COD removal and salt removal in desalination chamber. In addition, cyclic voltammetry analysis of anammox cathode showed a redox peak centered at −140 mV Vs Ag/AgCl confirming the catalytic activity of anammox bacteria towards the electron transfer process. Further, net energy balance of the NiAmoxMDC was the highest (NiAmoxMDC-0.022 kWh/m3 >CMDC-0.019 kWh/m3 >AnAmoxMDC-0.021 kWh/m3) among the three configurations. This study demonstrated, for the first time, a N-E-W synergy for resource-efficient wastewater treatment using nitritation-anammox process.
High resolution phase space measurements with Allison-type emittance scanners

Allison-type emittance scanners are widely used to measure projected 2D phase space distributions of low energy beams. This paper extends the conventional data analysis model to introduce three significant corrections that commonly arise in the pursuit of high resolution measurements. First, effective longitudinal asymmetry in the E-dipole placement (typically resulting from directional choice of relief cuts in thick slit-plates) causes deviation from the ideal voltage-to-angle conversion relation. Second, finite slit thickness generates variation in weights of data points that should be compensated. Third, when the interval between data points is smaller than the device resolution (ordinary in the angular data accumulation), a detailed account of the phase space region contributing to each data point can be used to resolve the beam distribution more accurately. These findings are illustrated by simulations with numerically generated phase space distributions. The improved model is applied to experimental measurements of an Ar ion beam with an Allison scanner operating at the front-end of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University. Results show that the improved model obtains better agreement among a set of measurements and modifies beam moments significantly (can be $\ensuremath{\sim}10%$ relative to conventional methods, with larger deviations at increasing angular divergence), thus rendering the corrections important for accurate high resolution phase-space characterizations. Python code tools that implement the improved analysis described are made available. These tools are readily applicable to any Allison scanner given a specification of the device geometry and scan ranges associated with each measurement.
Dialogue Education: A Learning-Centered Pedagogy:

When implemented, Dialogue Education™ offers a system of teaching and learning that moves beyond lecture into interactive engagement. This article highlights some of the principles and practices wi...
Science and Business of Medicinal Chemistry: A "Bench-to-Bedside" Course for Nonmajors

“The Science and Business of Medicinal Chemistry” was developed to provide nonscience majors with an in-depth perspective into the pharmaceutical industry. As a lecture course with a laboratory component, topics discussed include an introduction to the basic concepts of medicinal chemistry, such as drug discovery, development, and commercialization; a discussion of chemical bonding and the organic functional groups found in drug molecules; and an examination of the physiochemical properties related to drug action. Student scientific literacy of the public policy debates surrounding the pharmaceutical industry and the commercialization of science was enhanced through class discussions and group-based projects. The details of this course, its implementation, and assessment are discussed.
Survey Item Response Rates by Survey Modality, Language, and Sociodemographic Factors in a Large U.S. Cohort.

Background: Large-scale prospective cohorts traditionally use English, paper-based, mailed surveys, but Web-based surveys can lower costs and increase data quality, and multi-language surveys may aid in capturing diverse populations. Little evidence exists examining item response for multiple survey modalities or languages in epidemiologic cohorts. Methods: A total of 254,475 men and women completed a comprehensive lifestyle and medical survey at enrollment (2006–2013) for the Cancer Prevention Study-3, a U.S.-based prospective cohort. Web-based (English only) or paper (Spanish or English) surveys were offered. Using generalized linear models, differences in item response rates overall and by topical areas (e.g., reproductive history) by modality and language were examined. We further examined whether differences in response quality by sociodemographic characteristics within each survey modality existed. Results: Overall, English Web-based surveys had the highest average item response rate (97.6%), followed by English paper (95.5%) and Spanish paper (83.1%). Lower item response rates were seen among nonwhite, lower income, or less-educated participants. When examining individual survey sections by topic, results varied the most for residential history, with the lowest item response rate among Spanish language respondents (women, 62.7% and men, 64.3%) and the highest in English language Web-based, followed by paper respondents (women, 94.6% and men, 95.3%; and women, 92.8% and men, 92.1%, respectively). Conclusions: This study supports that utilizing multimodal survey approaches in epidemiologic studies does not differentially affect data quality. However, for some topic areas, further analysis should be considered for assessing data quality differences in Spanish language surveys. Impact: Multimodal survey administration is effective in nondifferentially capturing high-quality data. See all articles in this CEBP Focus section, “Modernizing Population Science.”
Large-scale environmental controls on the seasonal statistics of rapidly intensifying North Atlantic tropical cyclones

This study is concerned with the connections between the large-scale environment and the seasonal occurrence of rapid intensification (RI) of North Atlantic tropical cyclones. Physically-motivated statistical analysis using observations and reanalysis products suggests that for tropical cyclones over the open tropical North Atlantic, the interannual variability of the probability of storms undergoing RI is influenced by seasonal large-scale atmospheric and oceanic variables, but not so for storms over the Gulf of Mexico and western Caribbean Sea. We suggest that this differentiated response is due to the former region exhibiting a strong negative correlation between the seasonal anomalies of vertical wind shear and potential intensity. Differences in the mean climatology and subseasonal variations of the large-scale environment in these regions appear to play an insignificant role in the distinctive seasonal environmental controls on RI. We suggest that the interannual correlation of vertical wind shear and potential intensity is an indicator of seasonal predictability of tropical cyclone activity (including RI) across the tropics .
An Efficient Temperature Monitoring using Raspberry Pi

The proposed system is developed for tracking temperature at various places. The proposed system is a Temperature Monitoring system that allows us to continually check the temperature of a given place it may be a room, heater, oven or furnace. We have improved some features of over the old system available in the market, i.e. the data is stored in Database & can be accessed from all over the World. This proposed system is divided primarily into two sections that are the equipment and programming. The equipment part comprises of Temperature Sensor, Jumper Wires, Programmable Logic Controller, and Analog Card & Raspberry Pie 3. Raspberry pi takes data and saves it in the MySQL database. The MySQL database is connected to a User Interface which is a webpage, the data onto the database is extracted & is displayed on the user-friendly Webpage which can be accessed from all over the World. Our proposed system is ready to work at Industrial furnaces with equal efficiency.
Validation of the dosimetry of total skin irradiation techniques by Monte Carlo simulation

Purpose To validate the dose measurements for two total skin irradiation techniques with Monte Carlo simulation, providing more information on dose distributions, and guidance on further technique optimization. Methods Two total skin irradiation techniques (stand-up and lay-down) with different setup were simulated and validated. The Monte Carlo simulation was primarily performed within the EGSnrc environment. Parameters of jaws, MLCs, and a customized copper (Cu) filter were first tuned to match the profiles and output measured at source-to-skin distance (SSD) of 100 cm where the secondary source is defined. The secondary source was rotated to simulate gantry rotation. VirtuaLinac, a cloud-based Monte Carlo package, was used for Linac head simulation as a secondary validation. The following quantities were compared with measurements: for each field/direction at the treatment SSDs, the percent depth dose (PDD), the profiles at the depth of maximum, and the absolute dosimetric output; the composite dose distribution on cylindrical phantoms of 20 to 40 cm diameters. Results Cu filter broadened the FWHM of the electron beam by 44% and degraded the mean energy by 0.7 MeV. At SSD = 100 cm, MC calculated PDDs agreed with measured data within 2%/2 mm (except for the surface voxel) and lateral profiles agreed within 3%. At the treatment SSD, profiles and output factors of individual field matched within 4%; dmax and R80 of the simulated PDDs also matched with measurement within 2 mm. When all fields were combined on the cylindrical phantom, the dmax shifted toward the surface. For lay-down technique, the maximum x-ray contamination at the central axis was (MC: 2.2; Measurement: 2.1)% and reduced to 0.2% at 40 cm off the central axis. Conclusions The Monte Carlo results in general agree well with the measurement, which provides support in our commissioning procedure, as well as the full three-dimensional dose distribution of the patient phantom.
On the coercivity condition in the learning of interacting particle systems.

In the learning of systems of interacting particles or agents, coercivity condition ensures identifiability of the interaction functions, providing the foundation of learning by nonparametric regression. The coercivity condition is equivalent to the strictly positive definiteness of an integral kernel arising in the learning. We show that for a class of interaction functions such that the system is ergodic, the integral kernel is strictly positive definite, and hence the coercivity condition holds true.
Udostępnianie dokumentacji medycznej w aspekcie obowiązku podmiotu leczniczego

Among the catalogue of patient rights, the right to medical records occupies an important place. At the same time, in recent years it is the right which is most often violated. As a rule with all patient rights, also the right to medical records corresponds to the healthcare provider duties. Large entities usually develop internal procedures for sharing medical records and appropriate forms to improve the sharing process. Unfortunately, it is not possible to foresee all the situations that are encountered in practice, which results in many problems at the stage of sharing medical records, which next causes that the patient's right to medical records is often violated. Provisions regarding this issue are regularly amended. Besides, the changes were also introduced by the GDPR, due to which the amendment to the applicable provisions regarding the free first copy of medical documentation entered into force. Unfortunately, despite the changes introduced, the topic requires in-depth analysis. The study aims to show the problems faced by medical entities in connection with the implementation of the patient's right to medical records
Comparison of radical hysterectomy with pelvic lymphadenectomy and radical prostatectomy with lymphadenectomy: Medicare reimbursement 2010-2019

Objectives: To investigate differences in Medicare reimbursement between hysterectomy and prostatectomy (with lymphadenectomy) between Gynecology and Urology Methods: The Physician Fee Schedule Look-Up Tool from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid was utilized to extract reimbursement data for the two CPT codes representing open radical hysterectomy with lymphadenectomy and laparoscopic radical hysterectomy with lymphadenectomy. Likewise, the CPT code representing open radical prostatectomy with lymphadenectomy and the two CPT codes representing laparoscopic radical prostatectomy and lymphadenectomy was also collected. There is no code that combines laparoscopic prostatectomy and lymphadenectomy, so the values were combined. Average annual and total percent change in reimbursement was calculated for each hysterectomy with lymphadenectomy and prostatectomy with lymphadenectomy. Results: Reimbursement for the open hysterectomy with lymphadenectomy decreased by an average of 13.72%, and for the open prostatectomy with lymphadenectomy by 27.88% from 2010 to 2019 with R-squared values of 0.98 and 0.92, respectively. Reimbursement rates from 2010 to 2019 for open procedures averaged $1,828.59 and $1,649.44, respectively. Reimbursement for laparoscopic hysterectomy with lymphadenectomy decreased by an average of 13.72% with an R-value of 0.98 and by 34.99% with an R-value of 0.94 for the laparoscopic prostatectomy with lymphadenectomy procedure. Reimbursement rates for laparoscopic procedures from 2010 to 2019 averaged $1,860.22 and $2,722.99, respectively. Conclusions: This study provides an analysis of trends in procedural Medicare reimbursement for oncologic procedures performed by gynecologic and urologic surgeons. Findings suggest that urologists are reimbursed slightly less for open radical prostatectomy with lymphadenectomy compared to their gynecology counterparts, while being reimbursed more for laparoscopic prostatectomy with lymphadenectomy compared to their gynecology counterparts. This is an area of concern since minimally invasive procedures have become the industry standard. Results suggest continuing disparities surrounding Medicare reimbursements for sex-specific procedures
Slam the Door: Why Congress Should End the Backdoor Roth IRA

This essay contends that the backdoor Roth IRA is poor tax policy, lowering revenues without furthering the long-term legislative goals of tax expenditures for retirement policies. The essay analyzes the legislative history of the backdoor Roth IRA, a popular method used by high-income taxpayers to skirt the income limits for Roth IRA contributions, and its impact within the broader landscape of tax policy. It advocates closing the backdoor Roth IRA loophole as a step towards a more equitable and effective tax syste
ADAM17 mediates ectodomain shedding of the soluble VLDL receptor fragment in the retinal epithelium.

Very low-density lipoprotein receptor (VLDLR) is a multifunctional transmembrane protein. Beyond the function of the full-length VLDLR in lipid transport, the soluble ectodomain of VLDLR (sVLDLR) confers anti-inflammatory and antiangiogenic roles in ocular tissues through inhibition of canonical Wnt signaling. However, it remains unknown how sVLDLR is shed into the extracellular space. In this study, we present the first evidence that a disintegrin and metalloprotease 17 (ADAM17) is responsible for sVLDLR shedding in human retinal pigment epithelium cells using pharmacological and genetic approaches. Among selected proteinase inhibitors, an ADAM17 inhibitor demonstrated the most potent inhibitory effect on sVLDLR shedding. siRNA-mediated knockdown or CRISPR/Cas9-mediated KO of ADAM17 diminished, whereas plasmid-mediated overexpression of ADAM17 promoted sVLDLR shedding. The amount of shed sVLDLR correlated with an inhibitory effect on the Wnt signaling pathway. Consistent with these in vitro findings, intravitreal injection of an ADAM17 inhibitor reduced sVLDLR levels in the extracellular matrix in the mouse retina. In addition, our results demonstrated that ADAM17 cleaved VLDLR only in cells coexpressing these proteins, suggesting that shedding occurs in a cis manner. Moreover, our study demonstrated that aberrant activation of Wnt signaling was associated with decreased sVLDLR levels, along with downregulation of ADAM17 in ocular tissues of an age-related macular degeneration model. Taken together, our observations reveal the mechanism underlying VLDLR cleavage and identify a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of disorders associated with dysregulation of Wnt signaling.
Effects of inhibitors of S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase and ornithine decarboxylase on DNA synthesis in rat liver after partial hepatectomy.

Abstract The effects of inhibitors of polyamine synthesis on DNA synthesis in rat liver regenerating after partial hepatectomy were studied. Neither 1,1′-[(methylethanediylidene)-dinitrilo]-bis-(3-aminoguanidine), a potent irreversible inhibitor of S- adenosylmethionine decarboxylase, nor 1,3-diaminopropane, an indirect inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase, strongly inhibited [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA when given as a single injection 1 h after operation and 23 h before DNA synthesis was measured. However, when the two inhibitors were given together, DNA synthesis was completely prevented. The incorporation of [14C]leucine into protein was not affected by this treatment. Combined administration of the inhibitors partially prevented the rise in hepatic spermidine levels normally seen during liver regeneration, but neither drug was effective alone. Hepatic putrescine content measured 12 h after treatment was increased by the combined inhibitors whereas, spermine levels were not significantly changed. By 24 h after operation the effects of the combined inhibitors on spermidine levels had almost worn off but DNA synthesis was greatly inhibited. However, by 40 h after operation the inhibitor treatment had no effect on [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA. Also treatment with the combined inhibitors abolished DNA synthesis at 24 h after partial hepatectomy only when given more than 6 h before measurement suggesting that the effect was indirect and required time to become apparent. These results are consistent with other recent studies in which prior accumulation of spermidine appeared to be required for normal DNA replication and cell division.
Sensitivity of high-risk HPV Hybrid Capture II (hrHPV HC2) test using SurePath(TM) specimens in the prediction of cervical high-grade squamous lesions.

Introduction High-risk HPV (hrHPV) testing is now considered standard of care in the detection and management of cervical high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL/CIN 2–3) and their precursors. Recently, there has been concern in the scientific literature and lay media about the lack of data regarding the false-negative rate (FNR) of HPV testing on SurePathTM cytology specimens. This is a critical issue, since guidelines on the management of Pap test abnormalities rely heavily on HPV status. We undertook this study to determine whether HPV testing on SurePathTM specimens is less sensitive compared to reports in the literature for ThinPrep®. Methods We identified women with new diagnoses of CIN 2, CIN 3, and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) on biopsy or excision in 2009–2013. For each patient, we recorded all SurePathTM cytology and hrHPV HC2 (high-risk HPV Hybrid Capture 2) test results from within 5 years prior to histologic diagnosis. Using the histologic diagnosis as the gold standard, we calculated the sensitivities of cytology and hrHPV HC2 tests for the detection of CIN 2, 3, and SCC. Our findings are based only on women who underwent biopsy or excision after having an abnormal cytology and/or positive HPV result. Results In our cohort, the sensitivity of testing in the 5 years prior to histologic diagnosis of CIN 2, 3, and SCC (combined as a single group) is 98.4% for SurePathTM cytology, 95.3% for hrHPV HC2, and 100% if both tests are used together. No conclusion can be drawn regarding testing for SCC alone, because there was only one case of SCC. Conclusion Our results show that the false-negative rate of hrHPV HC2 testing on SurePathTM specimens for the detection of CIN 2 and CIN 3 is low and comparable to that of ThinPrep® specimens. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2015;43:381–387. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Communicable Knowledge in Automated System Identification

We describe the program Pret , an engineering tool for nonlinear system identification, which is the task of inferring a (possibly nonlinear) ordinary differential equation model from external observations of a target system's behavior. Pret has several characteristics in common with programs from the fields of machine learning and computational scientific discovery. However, since Pret is intended to be an engineer's tool, it makes different choices with regard to the tradeoff between model accuracy and parsimony. The choice of a good model depends on the engineering task at hand, and Pret is designed to let the user communicate the task-specific modeling constraints to the program. Pret's inputs, its outputs, and its internal knowledge base are instances of communicable knowledge--knowledge that is represented in a form that is meaningful to the domain experts that are the intended users of the program.
Biological Degradation of O, O-Diethyl O-Naphthalimido Phosphorothioate (Bayer 22408)

p32-labeled Bayer 24408 ( O,O -diethyl O -naphthalimido phosphorothioate) was converted to the oxygen analog, O -ethyl phosphoric, O,O -diethyl phosphoric, O,O -diethyl phosphorothioic acids and at least three other metabolites by rats, several species of insects, and cotton plants. Differences in the degradation of Bayer 22408 by the three biological systems were not the result of the number of metabolites but of the amount of each metabolite formed. Bayer 22408 was stable in insects and most of the absorbed material was recovered as administered; the oxygen analog was formed to a limited extent. Rats degraded Bayer 22408 rapidly to water-soluble phosphoric acids, which were eliminated primarily in the urine. Some Bayer 22408 escaped degradation and was eliminated intact in the feces. Bayer 22408 was not effective as an animal systemic against several ectoparasites feeding on treated rabbits. Bayer 22408 was quite stable on the foliage of cotton plants but was not translocated to untreated portions of plants.
Initial localization of the memory trace for a basic form of learning

Electrophysiological recording of neuronal unit activity during paired training trials from various regions of the ipsilateral cerebellum in rabbits well trained in the classically conditioned eyelid/nictitating membrane response have revealed both stimulus-evoked responses and responses that form an amplitude/temporal model of the learned behavioral response. Ablation of the ipsilateral, lateral cerebellum completely and permanently abolished the behavioral conditioned response in well-trained animals but had no effect at all on the unconditioned reflex response. In marked contrast, conditioned responses were easily trained in the eye contralateral to the cerebellar lesion. We suggest that at least part of the essential neuronal plasticity that codes the learned response may be localized to the cerebellum.
An overview of the evolutionary causes and consequences of behavioural plasticity

I outline how understanding the mechanism of behavioural plasticity is important for predicting how organisms will respond to rapidly changing and novel environments. I define two major forms of behavioural plasticity: developmental and activational. Developmental plasticity refers to the capacity of a genotype to adopt different developmental trajectories in different environments. Activational plasticity refers to differential activation of an underlying network in different environments such that an individual expresses various phenotypes throughout their lifetime. I suggest that the costs and benefits of these two forms of behavioural plasticity may differ: developmental plasticity is slow, but results in a wider range of more integrated responses. Furthermore, the neural costs associated with activational plasticity may be greater because large neural networks must be maintained past an initial sampling and learning phase. While the benefits of plasticity are realized in variable environments, I argue that fine-grained and coarse-grained variation may differentially select for activational and developmental plasticity, respectively. Because environmental variation experienced by an organism is largely determined by behaviour, developmental plasticity may still evolve in fine-grained environments if niche choice results in coarse-grained ‘realized’ variation. Behavioural plasticity should impact evolution in novel environments because it increases the chances of survival in these environments. Developmental behavioural plasticity may be particularly important for diversification in novel environments because it can impact not only survival, but also the development of signals and preferences important in mate choice. Future areas of research on behavioural plasticity and rapid environmental change include stress as a mechanism underlying rapid integrated responses and life history perspectives on predicting developmental versus evolutionary responses.
Disciplinary Agendas and Analytic Strategies of Research on Immigrant Transnationalism: Challenges of Interdisciplinary Knowledge

To be successful, an interdisciplinary approach to the study of immigration and transnationalism should begin by making different disciplinary languages about this phenomenon informed by mutual understanding of the conceptual frameworks, epistemological assumptions, and explanatory strategies used in research in particular academic fields. Drawing on studies in anthropology, sociology, history, and political science, I review here these taken-for-granted assumptions about “what is knowable and how” that underlie research on immigration and transnationalism in these disciplines. In conclusion, I suggest some avenues for mutual education in different disciplinary approaches and the epistemic gains derived therefrom.
Area control of the green peach aphid on peach and the reduction of potato leaf roll virus

Peach trees in a 500-mile2 (1295 sq. K) area were sprayed during April and May each year from 1966 to 1969 to control the wingless fundatrix form ofMyzus persicae (Sulzer) after the overwintering eggs had hatched and before subsequent generations of the aphids had developed wings and migrated to summer host plants. The results were monitored from 1966 to 1971 by using about 60 yellow water trap pans each year to collect winged aphids in the control area. Also, aphids were counted weekly in about 30 potato fields each year. Samples of potato tubers collected from the 30 fields (and from 34 other fields in 1965) were indexed for net necrosis and then planted and indexed for chronic leaf roll.
Effect of Cold Deformation on the Paint-Baking Response of Al-Mg-Si Alloy Sheet for Automotive Body

The effect of cold deformation on the yield strength and precipitate behavior of Al-1.3Mg-1.2Si-0.5Cu-0.7Mn alloy sheet subjected to T4P temper for automotive body panels before and after paint-bake treatment were investigated by tensile test and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis. The results show that the T4P alloy sheet has significant work-hardening response (WHR), and the yield strength increment exceeds 190MPa as the tensile deformation strain approaches 15%. The unstrained T4P alloy sheet has obvious paint-baking response (PBR), and the yield strength increment is up to 80MPa, while the PBR of the cold stretched T4P alloy sheets decrease with increasing level of tensile deformation, and the minimal PBR is only 17.8MPa. The prior tensile deformation accelerates the precipitation of β″ and β′ phase from the T4P alloy matrix during paint-bake cycle but weakens the age-hardening response (AHR) and PBR of T4P alloy sheet. Moreover, it is evident that the T4P alloy sheet simulation paint-bake treated at 170°C for 30min can not fully exert the aging potential of the alloy sheet.
The feminist as other

: Over the last twenty-five years, feminist theory has been at the forefront of cultural, disciplinary, and philosophical critique. Yet feminists continue to be represented as engaged in specialized projects of concern only to women or, at best, those interested in “gender issues.” I argue that this is not merely a bit of residual sexism, but a powerful conceptual map which keeps feminist scholarship, no matter how broad its concerns, located in the region of what Simone de Beauvoir called “the Other.” I expose, critique, and explore the consequences of this construction in several contemporary intellectual arenas.
Temperature Tolerance and Stress Proteins as Mechanisms of Invasive Species Success

Invasive species are predicted to be more successful than natives as temperatures increase with climate change. However, few studies have examined the physiological mechanisms that theoretically underlie this differential success. Because correlative evidence suggests that invasiveness is related to the width of a species' latitudinal range, it has been assumed – but largely untested – that range width predicts breadth of habitat temperatures and physiological thermotolerances. In this study, we use empirical data from a marine community as a case study to address the hypotheses that (1) geographic temperature range attributes are related to temperature tolerance, leading to greater eurythermality in invasive species, and (2) stress protein expression is a subcellular mechanism that could contribute to differences in thermotolerance. We examined three native and six invasive species common in the subtidal epibenthic communities of California, USA. We assessed thermotolerance by exposing individuals to temperatures between 14°C and 31°C and determining the temperature lethal to 50% of individuals (LT50) after a 24 hour exposure. We found a strong positive relationship between the LT50 and both maximum habitat temperatures and the breadth of temperatures experience across the species' ranges. In addition, of the species in our study, invasives tended to inhabit broader habitat temperature ranges and higher maximum temperatures. Stress protein expression may contribute to these differences: the more thermotolerant, invasive species Diplosoma listerianum expressed higher levels of a 70-kDa heat-shock protein than the less thermotolerant, native Distaplia occidentalis for which levels declined sharply above the LT50. Our data highlight differences between native and invasive species with respect to organismal and cellular temperature tolerances. Future studies should address, across a broader phylogenetic and ecosystem scope, whether this physiological mechanism has facilitated the current success of invasive species and could lead to greater success of invasives than native species as global warming continues.
Design at large

Designers in many fields rely on examples for inspiration, and examples play an important role in art and design curricula. Online media offer a corpus of examples at a scale and diversity never before seen. Design on the Web is not only large, it's also “at large.” This scale and diversity enable powerful new opportunities for learning, mining, understanding, and assessing design. My group's research tools harvest and synthesize examples to empower more people to design interactive systems, learners to acquire new skills, experts to be more creative, and programmers to engage in more design thinking. This research shapes my project-based design teaching, which emphasizes creating diverse alternatives, self-assessment, and using examples to provide design insights and teach abstract principles. To illustrate these opportunities — and the technical and social challenges — of design that is large and at-large, I'll focus on two recent projects in my group. The first explores peer assessment of design at a global scale. In 2012, we collaborated with Coursera to launch the first massive-scale class with self and peer assessment. This enabled online students to engage in open-ended design projects. It has also worked surprisingly well, and variants have since been used by more than 80 other massive online classes. The second project, Webzeitgeist, introduces a scalable platform for Web design mining. Applications built with this platform can dynamically curate design galleries, search for design alternatives, retarget content between page designs, and predict the semantic role of page elements from design data. In sharing this work, I'll try to impart some useful strategies and spark discussion on design research at large.
Synthesis of hybrid dendritic‐linear block copolymers with dendritic initiators prepared by convergent living anionic polymerization

Hybrid dendritic-linear block copolymers were made in one-pot by convergent living anionic polymerization. Dendritic polystyrene macroinitiators were synthesized by slowly adding a mixture of either vinylbenzyl chloride (VBC) or 4-(chlorodimethylsilyl)styrene (CDMSS) and styrene (1 : 10 molar ratio of coupling agent to styrene) to a solution of living polystyryllithium. The addition was ceased prior to the addition of a stoichiometric amount of coupling agent to retain a living chain end. To the living dendritically branched polystyrene was then added either styrene or isoprene to polymerize a linear block from the dendritic polystyrene. The resulting copolymers were characterized by gel permeation chromatography coupled with multiangle laser light scattering (GPC-MALLS), which clearly demonstrated the formation of diblock copolymers. The diblock copolymers were further characterized by 1H NMR, which showed the presence of the two blocks in the case of dendritic polystyrene-block-linear polyisoprene. The measurement of intrinsic viscosity showed that the dilute solution properties of the block copolymers are greatly influenced by the dendritic portion. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 39: 152–161, 2001
Distance Perception and the Visual Horizon in Head-Mounted Displays

Can distance perception be studied using virtual reality (VR) if distances are systematically underestimated in VR head-mounted displays (HMDs)? In an experiment in which a real environment was observed through an HMD, via live video, distances, as measured by visually directed walking, were underestimated even when the perceived environment was known to be real and present. However, the underestimation was linear, which means that higher-order space perception effects might be preserved in VR. This is illustrated in a second experiment, in which the visual horizon was artificially manipulated in a simulated outdoor field presented in immersive VR. As predicted by the claim that angle of declination from the horizon may serve as a strong cue to distance, lowering the horizon line produced “expansiv ” judgments of distance (power function exponents greater than one) both in verbal and in motor estimates.
The allometry and scaling of the size of vertebrate eyes

We compiled data from the literature and colleagues to examine the relationship between eye axial length and body weight for vertebrates as well as birds, mammals, reptiles, and fishes independently. After fitting the data to logarithmic and semi-logarithmic models, we found that axial length of vertebrate eyes does obey a conventional logarithmic relationship with body weight rather than a semi-logarithmic relationship as suggested by the results of previous studies [Handbook of Sensory Physiology, VII/5: The Visual System in Vertebrates, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1977; The Allometry of the Vertebrate Eye, Dissertation, University of Chicago, UMI, Ann Arbor, T28274, 1982]. The regression slopes and intercepts appear to be characteristic of various animal groups. The axial length of the eye is largest in birds and primates, smaller in other mammals (especially rodents) and reptiles, and widely varying in fishes.