cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Energy Coupling In Profilin-Dependent Actin Polymerization

Profilin regulates actin polymerization in cells and is required for normal cell proliferation and differentiation. The molecular mechanism of profilin has been extensively studied and debated in the last 25 years, however no satisfactory explanation consistent with the laws of thermodynamics has yet been provided. In our recent article (Biophys. J. BioFAST: doi:10.1529/biophysj.108.134569) we demonstrate that the mechanism of profilin action could be based a general principle of indirect energy coupling which, as emerges from recent theoretical and experimental research, underlies many biologic processes.In presence of profilin, there are two possible pathways for actin filament elongation. First pathway (g) is direct elongation through binding of G-actin subunits to the barbed end to obtain a filament one subunit longer. The second pathway (pg) is elongation through binding of profilin to G-actin, formation of profilin-actin complex, then binding of the profilin-actin complex to the barbed end with subsequent dissociation of profilin. In the absence of profilin, there is only one pathway g0, which is the pathway g in the absence of profilin.Our analysis shows that the pathway g for filament elongation in presence of profilin is not energetically equivalent to the pathway g0 for the filament elongation in the absence of profilin due to the dependence of standard free energy change for both pathways g and pg on profilin concentration. Conventional calculations of energy imbalance have neglected the difference between the pathways g and g0. We found that profilin can lower actin critical concentration even when the pathways g and pg are energetically equivalent. In this case the existence of the pathway pg can drive the filament nucleotide profile toward ATP-bound F-actin, making both pathways g and pg more energetically favorable than the single pathway g0 available in the absence of profilin.
Secondary electron emission from chemical vapor deposited diamond films with nagative electron affinity

Strong negative electron affinity effects have been observed on the surface of as-grown chemical vapor deposited polycrystalline diamond films using secondary electron emission. The effect appears as a large and narrow peak in the low energy part of the spectrum of the electron energy distribution and can be described in the model of effective negative electron affinity. We also observed, for the first time, a fine structure in the low energy peak of the secondary electrons which reflects the energy structure of the conduction band.
A model of decision making and the public service professional

This article offers a reformulation of the concept of professionalism as it applies to public sector decision making. After critically evaluating existing work, we present a role theoretic model of public sector decision making that provides a precise conceptual and operational meaning to the term professionalism. We then evaluate the model's applicability to public sector actors, using city managers as an example. Finally, we discuss some of the public policy implications of increasing public service professionalization.
How Sugar Tunes Your Clock

While cellular circadian clocks are set by the light/dark cycle, these clocks can be reset by what we eat. Two papers in this issue of Cell Metabolism reveal that O-GlcNAcylation of clock proteins, which is dependent on nutrients, adjusts our circadian clock (Kaasik et al., 2013; Li et al., 2013).
A Systolic Array Architecture For Processing Sonar Narrowband Signals

Modern sonars relay more upon visual rather than aural contacts. Lofargrams presenting a time history of hydrophone spectral content are standard means of observing narrowband signals. However, the frequency signal "tracks" are often embedded in noise, sometimes rendering their detection difficult and time consuming. Image enhancement algorithms applied to the 'grams can yield improvements in target data presented to the observer. A systolic array based on the NCR Geometric Arithmetic Parallel Processor (GAPP), a CMOS chip that contains 72 single bit processors controlled in parallel, has been designed for evaluating image enhancement algorithms. With the processing nodes of the GAPP bearing a one-to-one correspondence with the pixels displayed on the 'gram, a very efficient SIMD architecture is realized. The low data rate of sonar displays, i.e., one line of 1000-4000 pixels per second, and the 10-MHz control clock of the GAPP provide the possibility of 107 operations per pixel in real time applications. However, this architecture cannot handle data-dependent operations efficiently. To this end a companion processor capable of efficiently executing branch operations has been designed. A simple spoke filter is simulated and applied to laboratory data with noticeable improvements in the resulting lofargram display.
Brief communication: Clinical implications of short-term variability in liver function test results

The authors analyzed the results of performing repeated liver function tests about 17 days apart. The population was 1864 men and women in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey...
Pulsed Doppler tissue imaging of mitral annular motion: a new technique in the non-invasive assessment of diastolic function

Abstract Non-invasive assessment of ventricular diastolic function has primarily focused on analysis of blood inflow velocities using Doppler echocardiography, but interpretation of the patterns derived from these Doppler tracings is often limited by the influence of other hemodynamic factors. A new echocardiographic modality called Doppler tissue imaging allows direct assessment of instantaneous changes in myocardial velocities throughout the cardiac cycle. This new technique may more accurately reflect the diastolic properties of ventricular muscle independent of hemodynamic conditions. In particular, pulsed Doppler tissue imaging of diastolic mitral annular motion appears to be a preload-independent predictor of abnormal left ventricular relaxation. This chapter summarizes mitral annular Doppler tissue imaging patterns in children and adults and discusses practical applications of the technique. Recent reports describing mitral annular Doppler tissue imaging findings in disease states such as left ventricular hypertrophy, restrictive cardiomyopathy, and rejection following cardiac transplant are reviewed, and some potential future applications of the technique in children are presented.
Inhibition of Neutrophil Leukotriene Generation by the 21-Aminosteroid, U-74389F

Abstract The 21-aminosteroids are potent inhibitors of iron-dependent lipid peroxidation and more protective than methylprednisolone in models of trauma and reperfusion, but without glucocorticosteroid side effects. Histologically, animals treated with 21-aminosteroids have decreased neutrophil (PMN) infiltrates and diminished tissue destruction associated with trauma or reperfusion. Since PMN contribute to organ failure following ischemia-reperfusion, we assessed the effect of U-74389F (U7), on normal PMN function. Neutrophils from normal volunteers were incubated for 90 min with either vehicle, 15 μM U7 or 80 μM methylprednisolone (MP), in DMSO. Lactoferrin released and generation of leukotrienes to calcium ionophore A23187, also oxygen consumed to PMA and leukotriene B4 (LTB4) and chemotaxis to FMLP and LTB4, were determined for each group of PMN. Lactoferrin released to A23187 was significantly decreased in both steroid groups (7.29 ± 0.82 μg vs 3.06 ± 0.57 μg U7 and 2.88 ± 0.62 μg MP, P
Biofilm production by Staphylococcus aureus associated with intramammary infection

Biofilm production by 221 Staphylococcus aureus isolates from 45 dairy herds was evaluated. Isolates were from composite milk of 117 cows, from teat skin of 70 cows, and from 34 milking machine unit liners. Of S. aureus from milk samples, 41.4% were biofilm producers, as compared to 24.7 and 14.7% of the isolates collected from skin and liners. Pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) best categorized S. aureus biofilm producers as compared to phage typing and binary typing. PFGE types that were significantly associated with isolation from milk as opposed to teat skin or liners, had isolates that were more likely to produce biofilm than PFGE types that were isolated from milk, skin and liners at similar frequencies. By contrast, PFGE type A was significantly associated with isolation from teat skin and had few biofilm producers. PFGE type Q, which is exclusively a milk, isolate produced more biofilm as evidenced by absorbance values. Given S. aureus that are associated with milk are more likely to produce biofilm as compared to extramammary sources (teat skin and milking unit liners), suggests that biofilm production is a risk factor for infection.
Numerical Simulation of Radial Cloud Bands within the Upper-Level Outflow of an Observed Mesoscale Convective System

Abstract Turbulence affecting aircraft is frequently reported within bands of cirrus anvil cloud extending radially outward from upstream deep convection in mesoscale convective systems (MCSs). A high-resolution convection permitting model is used to simulate bands of this type observed on 17 June 2005. The timing, location, and orientation of these simulated bands are similar to those in satellite imagery for this case. The 10–20-km horizontal spacing between the bands is also similar to typical spacing found in a recent satellite-based climatology of MCS-induced radial outflow bands. The simulated bands result from shallow convection in the near-neutral to weakly unstable MCS outer anvil. The weak stratification of the anvil, the ratio of band horizontal wavelength to the depth of the near-neutral anvil layer (5:1 to 10:1), and band orientation approximately parallel to the vertical shear within the same layer are similar to corresponding aspects of horizontal convective rolls in the atmospheric boundar...
Guest Editorial: Introduction to the special section on optimization methods and algorithms applied to smart grid

The articles in this special section focus on the topic of optimization methods and algorithms applied to smart grid.
Electrocortical responses to NIMSTIM facial expressions of emotion

Emotional faces are motivationally salient stimuli that automatically capture attention and rapidly potentiate neural processing. Because of their superior temporal resolution, scalp-recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) are ideal for examining rapid changes in neural activity. Some reports have found larger ERPs for fearful and angry faces compared with both neutral and other emotional faces, and a key aim of the present study was to assess neural response to multiple emotional expressions using the NIMSTIM. Importantly, no study has yet systematically evaluated neural activity and self-report ratings for multiple NIMSTIM expressions. Study 1 examined the time-course of electrocortical activity in response to fearful, angry, sad, happy, and neutral NIMSTIM faces. In Study 2, valence and arousal ratings were collected for the same faces in a separate sample. In line with previous findings, the early P1 was larger for fearful compared with neutral faces. The vertex positivity (VPP) was enhanced for fearful, angry, and happy expressions compared to neutral. There was no effect of expression on the N170. Marginally significant enhancements were observed for all expressions during the early posterior negativity (EPN). The late positive potential (LPP) was enhanced only for fearful and angry faces. All emotional expressions were rated as more arousing and more pleasant/unpleasant than neutral expressions. Overall, findings suggest that angry and fearful faces might be especially potent in terms of eliciting ERP responses and ideal for emotion research when more evocative images cannot be used.
Fast multi-wavelength polarimeter for polarization mode dispersion compensation systems

A multi-wavelength polarimeter has been developed for measuring the complete state of polarization of over 100 wavelengths in parallel within 1 millisecond.
A similar pattern of chromosomal alterations in prostate cancers from African-Americans and Caucasian Americans

A combination of genetic and epigenetic factors may explain the disproportionate incidence and mortality of prostate cancer among African-American males (AAMs) as compared with Caucasian American males (CAMs). We wished to determine whether primary prostate cancers from AAMs and CAMs harbor different patterns or frequencies of chromosomal alterations. Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) was performed on clinically localized, untreated primary prostate cancers from 16 AAMs and 16 CAMs. Detailed statistical analysis was used to delineate gains and deletions with high sensitivity and specificity and to compare the frequency and pattern of alterations between the two groups of tumors. The two groups of patients had indistinguishable preoperative serum prostate-specific antigen levels, and the two groups of tumors had similar pathological stages and grades. Chromosomal gains and deletions occurred in regions known to be frequently altered in prostate cancer. Specifically, the most frequent alterations were deletions of regions on chromosomes 13q, 5q, 16q, and 8p and gains of regions on 8q and 5q. When tumors from AAMs and CAMs were compared, the frequencies of alteration (deletion, gain, or no alteration) were similar across 98.9% of the length of the genome. The patterns of alterations of the most frequently altered chromosomes were also similar between tumors from AAMs and CAMs. We concluded that primary prostate cancers from AAMs and CAMs harbor a similar pattern and frequency of chromosomal alterations. These data support the notion that sporadic prostate cancers from AAMs and CAMs develop by similar chromosomal mechanisms. Biological differences, if present, do not occur on the chromosomal level.
Observational Analysis of Cloud and Precipitation in Midlatitude Cyclones: Northern versus Southern Hemisphere Warm Fronts

Extratropical cyclones are responsible for most of the precipitation and wind damage in the midlatitudes during the cold season, but there are still uncertainties on how they will change in a warming climate. A ubiquitous problem among general circulation models (GCMs) is a lack of cloudiness over the southern oceans that may be in part caused by a lack of clouds in cyclones. This study analyzes CloudSat, Cloud‐ Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO), and Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) observations for three austral and boreal cold seasons, and composites cloud frequency of occurrence and precipitation at the warm fronts for Northern and Southern Hemisphere oceanic cyclones. The authors find that cloud frequency of occurrence and precipitation rate are similar in the early stage of the cyclone life cycle in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.As cyclonesevolveandreach theirmaturestage,cloudinessandprecipitationatthe warmfront increaseintheNorthernHemispherebutdecreaseintheSouthernHemisphere.Thisispartlycausedbylower amounts of precipitable water being available to Southern Hemisphere cyclones, and smaller increases in wind speed as the cyclones evolve. Southern Hemisphere cloud occurrence at the warm front is found to be moresensitivetotheamountofmoistureinthewarmsectorthantowindspeeds.Thissuggeststhatcloudiness in Southern Hemisphere storms may be more susceptible to changes in atmospheric water vapor content, and thus to changes in surface temperature than their Northern Hemisphere counterparts. These differences between Northern and Southern Hemisphere cyclones are statistically robust, indicating A-Train-based analyses as useful tools for the evaluation of GCMs in the next Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.
Maximum Conditional Mutual Information Weighted Scoring for Speech Recognition

This paper describes a novel approach for extending the prototype Gaussian mixture model used in representing different classes in many recognition or classification systems and its application to large vocabulary automatic speech recognition (ASR). This is achieved by estimating weighting vectors to the log likelihood values due to different elements in the feature vector. This approach estimates the weighting vectors which maximize an estimate of the conditional mutual information between the log likelihood score and a binary random variable representing whether the log likelihood is estimated using the model of the correct label or not. It is shown in the paper that under some assumptions on the conditional probability density function (PDF) of the log likelihood score given this random variable, maximizing the differential entropy of a normalized log likelihood score is an equivalent criterion. This approach allows emphasizing different features, in the acoustic feature vector used in the system, for different hidden Markov model (HMM) states. In this paper, we apply this approach to the RT04 Arabic broadcast news speech recognition task. Compared to the baseline system, 3% relative improvement in the word error rate (WER) is obtained.
High Altitude Hypoxia, Culture, and Human Fecundity/Fertility: A Comparative Study

This paper presents new demographic findings for a high altitude Himalayan population residing in Ladakh, India, and reviews problematic issues regarding the hypothesized relationship between fertility/fecundity and altitude in the Himalayas in light of these findings. It concludes that the low completed fertility ratio reported for the Sherpas of Khumbu, Nepal, is not caused by hypoxia-induced low fecundity, but is the product of cultural factors affecting the exposure of females to the risk of intercourse, a critical confounding factor that has not received adequate consideration in previous studies. Contrary to earlier reports, the present study demonstrates that all high altitude Himalayan populations for which published data exist exhibit moderately high fertility and fecundity, and do not differ significantly in their fertility levels. Furthermore, it argues that the claims for a statistically significant difference in fertility between high, moderate, and low altitude Himalayan populations are groundless, and suggests that a parallel reevaluation of Andean findings is required. [fertility, fecundity, hypoxia, Himalayas, Andes]
Seeing Clearly Through Ink in Computer Science Courses

We conducted four typical undergraduate computer science classroom exercises in a laptop course (each student has a personal laptop computer). Students worked on problems they were given and submitted their solutions interactively using a Web-based tool called MessageGrid. Students worked on the exercises in pairs but submitted individually. Each pair of students shared a WACOM tablet which each student could use to submit Ink solutions to the problems. The result was an interesting blend of a classroom format of reduced lecture and increased student interactivity, software-supported interaction between instructor and students, team-dynamics, and keyed versus Ink solutions to the exercises. A survey was given to the students asking them to assess the learning experience. This paper describes the exercises, the classroom environment, shows examples of student submissions, and presents and discusses the survey results. We end with conclusions and plans for future work.
Eye Movement Dynamics of Good and Poor Readers: Then and Now

While reading text, the eye movements of good and poor reading fifth graders, third graders and adults were assessed. Subjects were tested in two sessions one year apart. Dependent variables included the duration and frequency of forward going fixations and regressions; an analysis of individual differences was also made. Results showed that poor reading fifth graders have relatively unsystematic eye movement behavior with many more fixations of longer duration than other fifth graders and adults. The eye movements of poor readers are quantitatively and qualitatively different than those of normal readers. When presented with English text readers move their eyes from left to right across the page in a fairly systematic manner. Adult readers can extract about 1.2 words during each fixation and with each fixation lasting approximately 250 msec. Like adults, children behave in a similar systematic manner; but they make more fix- ations per line, take in fewer characters of text, and sometimes spend more time per fixation. Both adults and children make regressions, those eye movements that are from right to left, although adults generally make fewer regressions than children (cf. Tinker, 1939; Taylor, Frackenpohl & Pettee, 1960; Spragins, Lefton, & Fisher, 1976). Unsystematic patterns of disabled readers have been reported by Zangwell and Blakemore (1972) and Pavlidis (1978) and Ciuffreda, Bahill, Kenyon, and Stark, (1976) in reading and by Lahey and Lefton (1976) in a match-to-sample task. Systematic investigations of oculomotor control began in the early part of the century (Buswell, 1937; Tinker, 1939, 1951, 1958) followed by a more recent resurgence and interest in the study of eye movements with more recent advances in the state-of-the-art by psychologists who have proposed that the study of eye movements would be helpful in providing data to further our understanding of reading. Eye movements provide a direct behavioral index of what a reader is doing
The Psychology Underlying Successful Retention Practices

This article describes the psychological processes that lead to academic and social integration based on a retention model proposed by the authors (Bean & Eaton, 2000). It also describes how succes...
NBTI-aware synthesis of digital circuits

Negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) in PMOS transistors has become a major reliability concern in nanometer scale design, causing the temporal degradation of the threshold voltage of the PMOS transistors, and the delay of digital circuits. A novel method to characterize the delay of every gate in the standard cell library, as a function of the signal probability of each of its inputs, is developed. Accordingly, a technology mapping technique that incorporates the NBTI stress and recovery effects, in order to ensure optimal performance of the circuit, during its entire lifetime, is presented. Our technique, demonstrated over 65 nm benchmarks shows an average of 10 % area recovery, and 12 % power savings, as against a pessimistic method that assumes constant stress on all PMOS transistors in the design.
Toking Their Way Sober: Alcoholics and Marijuana as Folk Medicine

In this exploratory study, 18 semistructured life‐history interviews were conducted with heavy drinkers who substituted marijuana for their alcohol use. Folk knowledge on the efficacy of marijuana in self‐treatment for alcoholism, particularly associative depression and anxiety disorders, is examined. The study views the impacts of alcohol and marijuana on the subjects’ ability to sustain viable normative selves in their daily interaction orders. Other instrumental uses of marijuana, consciousness expansion and social facilitation, are also presented as well as how normative dosages of marijuana can be socially constructed and transmitted within rituals of use.
Structural Anomalies and Neuropsychological Function

The previous chapters have dealt with relating current topics in neuropsychology with brain imaging, toward the goal of improved understanding of the relationship between anatomy and function. Much of this research has dealt with “average” or “group” findings with patients who have been selected because they shared a common diagnosis. Thus, the focus has been on systematic variations that occur when a “normal” brain is injured or damaged. In Chapter 11 on individual differences, Yeo discusses normal differences in brain organization. In the present chapter we explore a variety of issues related to abnormal variations of the central nervous system, especially developmental or congenital abnormalities, and how such abnormalities may be reflected in neuropsychological functioning. Some of this variability is dependent on plasticity issues of the developing brain and its response to maldevelopment or early brain injury. Understanding these issues not only is clinically important but has implications for understanding the limits of neural plasticity and recovery of function.
Nonlinear optics at maximum coherence

We describe nonlinear optical processes in a medium with maximal coherence on a Raman transition. The nonlinear polarization of such a medium is of the same order of magnitude as the linear polarization. This allows efficient frequency conversion and generation of a wide spectrum of Raman sidebands. The phase of the coherence can be controlled through a small two-photon detuning from the Raman resonance. An appropriate choice of the phase improves nonlinear generation and propagation of sidebands through an inhomogeneous gaseous medium.
Did Fact Checking Matter in the 2012 Presidential Campaign

The new media environment raises two questions: Will campaign deceptions have traveled around the web before journalism has the fact-checking in place to ensnare them? And if diligent checking of claims does exist, will it fall on an audience too enmeshed in its own biases to see past them? This essay draws on evidence from the Annenberg Public Policy Center’s 2012 Institutions of Democracy Political Knowledge Survey to argue that long-form political fact-checking can increase the accuracy of voters’ perceptions of both candidate stands on issues and the background facts of the presidential race.
Validity of two brief primary care physical activity questionnaires with accelerometry in clinic staff.

BACKGROUND To date, no physical activity (PA) questionnaires intended for primary care have been compared against a criterion measure of PA and current (2008) aerobic PA recommendations of the American College of Sports Medicine/American Heart Association (ACSM/AHA). AIM This study evaluated preliminary evidence for criterion validity of two brief (<1 min) PA questionnaires with accelerometry, and their ability to identify if individuals meet ACSM/AHA PA recommendations. METHODS 45 health clinic staff wore an accelerometer for seven consecutive days and afterwards completed two brief PA questionnaires, the Physical Activity Vital Sign (PAVS), and the Speedy Nutrition and Physical Activity Assessment (SNAP). Agreement and descriptive statistics were calculated between the PAVS or SNAP and accelerometry in order to measure each questionnaire's ability to quantify the number of days participants achieved ⩾ 30 min of moderate-vigorous PA (MVPA) performed in bouts of ⩾ 10 continuous minutes. Participants with <5 days of ⩾ 30 bout-min of MVPA were considered insufficiently active according to PA recommendations. FINDINGS There was a significant positive correlation between number of days with ⩾ 30 bout-min MVPA and the PAVS (r = 0.52, P < 0.001), and SNAP ( r= 0.31, P < 0.05). The PAVS had moderate agreement with accelerometry for identifying if individuals met or did not meet PA recommendations (κ = 0.46, P < 0.001), whereas SNAP had poor agreement (κ = 0.12, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS This study provides preliminary evidence of criterion validity of the PAVS and SNAP with accelerometry and agreement identifying if respondents meet current (2008) ACSM/AHA aerobic PA recommendations. The PAVS and SNAP should be evaluated further for repeatability, and in populations varying in PA levels, age, gender, and ethnicity.
Wireworm Baiting: Use of Solar Energy to Enhance Early Detection of Melanotus depressus, M. verberans, and Aeolus mellillus in Midwest Cornfields

Experiments were conducted to compare the success of wireworm baiting in early spring (mid-Mar.-early Apr.) to mid-spring baiting (early Apr.-early May) and to compare the efficiency achieved by baiting in previously baited sites to newly-baited sites, When 5 modifications in baiting techniques were contrasted for efficacy, the most efficient for early baiting was the formation of a 5-cm soil dome directly over the bait site covered with a thin layer of coal dust and then capped with a one-m2 piece of 3-mil thick clear polyethylene. This heat trapping technique demonstrated a significant improvement in the performance of the baits in early spring but was not significantly different from baits without the heat trapping covers during mid-spring. Baiting of new sites in mid-spring also was more efficient than rebaiting of old sites when 2 consecutive baiting periods were utilized. More efficient application of soil physics principles to achieve temperature maxima at the soil’s surface for a given field’s attributes and location probably would further increase trap efficiency in early spring. This sampling technique could be a useful pest management tool for early detection of potentially damaging populations of wireworms and possibly other economic soil arthropods in Midwest cornfields.
Rings, slings, and other tracheal disorders in the neonate

Tracheal and bronchial pathologies in the neonate can be rapidly fatal if prenatal or quick postnatal diagnosis and intervention is not performed. Close multidisciplinary collaboration between multiple medical and surgical specialties is vital to the effective diagnosis and treatment of these pathologies. The fetal and neonatal airway may be affected or compromised by more prevalent pathologies such as tracheomalacia and tracheo-esophageal fistula with esophageal atresia. However, it is imperative that we also consider other potential sources that may perhaps be less familiar such as congenital cardiovascular abnormalities, tracheal stenosis, complete tracheal rings, tracheal sleeve, and foregut duplication cysts. Modern imaging studies and surgical techniques are allowing us to better serve these children.
Study on determination of volatile organic compounds in drinking water by purge and trap in combination with gas chromatograph /mass spectrometry

Objective To establish a method of purge and trap in combination with Gas Chromatograph /Mass Spectrometry( PT-GC/MS) for the determination of minimum multi-mixture of Volatile Organic Compounds( VOCs) in drinking water simultaneously. Methods Twenty-six VOCs in drinking water were determined by PT-GC / MS. Results The linear range of the method was 0. 5 μg / L ~ 80 μg / L,the method detection limit( MDL) was 0. 01 μg / L ~ 0. 1 μg / L,the average recoveries of the method was 90% ~ 110% and the relative standard deviation( RSD) was 2. 1% ~ 8. 7%. Conclusion The method was accurate and high sensitive,and it is suitable for trace analysis of VOCs in drinking water.
Compensated coronary microvascular growth in senescent rats with thyroxine-induced cardiac hypertrophy.

We tested the hypothesis that coronary angiogenesis in response to chronic thyroxine (T4) treatment is not limited by age. Male Fischer 344 rats aged either 8 (young adult) or 24 (senescent) mo wer...
Want, Need, Fit: The Cultural Logics of Job-Matching Assistance

Drawing from a unique dataset based on 146 in-depth, semistructured interviews with a nonrandom sample of ethnoracially and class diverse workers at one large public sector employer, the authors link job contacts’ patterns of assistance to three distinct cultural logics of job-matching assistance—defensive individualism, particularism, and matchmaking—which differed along three dimensions: (a) the primary criteria upon which help was contingent, (b) the perceived risk faced, and (c) the screening practices contacts used. These findings contribute to a small but growing body of research highlighting the cultural logics that inform where, how much, and to whom job information and influence flows.
Structural Bases of Desensitization in AMPA Receptor-Auxiliary Subunit Complexes

Fast excitatory neurotransmission is mediated by AMPA-subtype ionotropic glutamate receptors (AMPARs). AMPARs, localized at post-synaptic densities, are regulated by transmembrane auxiliary subunits that modulate AMPAR assembly, trafficking, gating, and pharmacology. Aberrancies in AMPAR-mediated signaling are associated with numerous neurological disorders. Here, we report cryo-EM structures of an AMPAR in complex with the auxiliary subunit GSG1L in the closed and desensitized states. GSG1L favors the AMPAR desensitized state, where channel closure is facilitated by profound structural rearrangements in the AMPAR extracellular domain, with ligand-binding domain dimers losing their local 2-fold rotational symmetry. Our structural and functional experiments suggest that AMPAR auxiliary subunits share a modular architecture and use a common transmembrane scaffold for distinct extracellular modules to differentially regulate AMPAR gating. By comparing the AMPAR-GSG1L complex structures, we map conformational changes accompanying AMPAR recovery from desensitization and reveal structural bases for regulation of synaptic transmission by auxiliary subunits.
GABA Receptors in the Retina

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the major inhibitory amino acid transmitter in the retina. It is overwhelmingly represented in lateral inhibition, being most prominent in one class of horizontal cell and in numerous subtypes of the amacrine cell. The physiological actions of GABA are effected by receptors that may be broadly defined as proteins that bind to and respond to the presence of GABA. Under this scheme, there are three functional types of GABA receptor: a vesicular transporter that concentrates cytoplasmic GABA into synaptic vesicles, a membrane transporter that translocates GABA from the extracellular space into glia or neurons, and plasma membrane receptors that mediate the cell’s response to synaptically released GABA. This article highlights the properties and functions of these major types of GABA receptors in the retina.
Landscape-level habitat use and movement patterns of black bears in northeastern Arizona

Abstract Little is known about black bear (Ursus americanus) populations in northeastern Arizona, an area characterized by rugged canyon topography and varied habitat composition. We placed global positioning system collars on four bears in this area to characterize second-order, landscape-level habitat use and examine habitat use and movement patterns of bears across this landscape. Data from four global positioning system collars revealed that bears use areas with higher tree canopy cover and terrain ruggedness, indicating that forest and escape cover are important factors driving black bear habitat use at the landscape level. Movement patterns revealed long, linear mean daily movements that follow the structure of the canyon topography. These long, linear movements also allow bears to take advantage of the mosaic of habitats and food resources available in this unique landscape.
Variables Associated with High Caregiver Stress in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment or Alzheimer's Disease: Implications for Providers in a Co-Located Memory Assessment Clinic

Caregiver burden—the stress associated with caring for a loved one with chronic illness—is rated as high or very high by about two-thirds of Alzheimer's caregivers. At Wake Forest School of Medicine, both patients with memory loss or cognitive impairment and caregivers are evaluated at a geriatrician-led co-located Memory Assessment Clinic (MAC). In a sample of 100 MAC-evaluated patient-caregiver dyads this study assessed both patient severity of Alzheimer's disease or other dementia, self-reported behavioral disturbances, degree of functional independence in general activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), and caregiver stress as measured by the Caregiver Burden Scale (CBS). Several patient factors were found to be related to high caregiver stress (CBS score > 25), in particular moderate-severe dementia; inability to perform most IADLs, especially managing medications; and most behavioral disturbances, especially agitation/aggression and appetite/eating problems. Th...
Footstep Planner Algorithm for a Lower Limb Exoskeleton Climbing Stairs

In this paper, a footstep planning algorithm for a lower limb exoskeleton climbing stairs is presented. The algorithm relies on having a height map of the environment, and uses two procedures: partial decomposition of the supporting surface into convex obstacle-free regions, and optimization of the foot step position implemented as a quadratic program. These two methods are discussed in detail in the paper, and the simulation results are shown. It is demonstrated that the algorithm works for different staircases, and even for the staircases with obstacles on them.
Distributed Computing Column 67: Review of 2016 BIRS CMO Workshop on Complexity and Analysis of Distributed Algorithms

The BIRS-CMO workshop on Complexity and Analysis of Distributed Algorithms ran from November 27 to December 2, 2016, and was organized by Hagit Attiya, Sergio Rajsbaum, and Philipp Woelfel. The objective of the workshop was to bring together researchers to exchange ideas on how to advance the design and analysis of algorithms for problems in distributed systems. Topics covered included theory of shared memory algorithms, networks and message-passing systems, applications of combinatorics and topology to concurrency. The attendees were a mix of theoreticians and systems researchers.
Two-stage discrete-continuous multi-objective load optimization: An industrial consumer utility approach to demand response

Abstract In the wake of today’s highly dynamic and competitive energy markets, optimal dispatching of energy sources requires effective demand responsiveness. Suppliers have adopted a dynamic pricing strategy in efforts to control the downstream demand. This method however requires consumer awareness, flexibility, and timely responsiveness. While residential activities are more flexible and schedulable, larger commercial consumers remain an obstacle due to the impacts on industrial performance. This paper combines methods from quadratic, stochastic, and evolutionary programming with multi-objective optimization and continuous simulation, to propose a two-stage discrete-continuous multi-objective load optimization (DiCoMoLoOp) autonomous approach for industrial consumer demand response (DR). Stage 1 defines discrete-event load shifting targets. Accordingly, controllable loads are continuously optimized in stage 2 while considering the consumer’s utility. Utility functions, which measure the loads’ time value to the consumer, are derived and weights are assigned through an analytical hierarchy process (AHP). The method is demonstrated for an industrial building model using real data. The proposed method integrates with building energy management system and solves in real-time with autonomous and instantaneous load shifting in the hour-ahead energy price (HAP) market. The simulation shows the occasional existence of multiple load management options on the Pareto frontier. Finally, the computed savings, based on the simulation analysis with real consumption, climate, and price data, ranged from modest to considerable amounts depending on the consumer’s solution preference.
Scalable stochastic block partition

The processing of graph data at large scale, though important and useful for real-world applications, continues to be challenging, particularly for problems such as graph partitioning. Optimal graph partitioning is NP-hard, but several methods provide approximate solutions in reasonable time. Yet scaling these approximate algorithms is also challenging. In this paper, we describe our efforts towards improving the scalability of one such technique, stochastic block partition, which is the baseline algorithm for the IEEE HPEC Graph Challenge [1]. Our key contributions are: improvements to the parallelization of the baseline bottom-up algorithm, especially the Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) nodal updates for Bayesian inference; a new top-down divide and conquer algorithm capable of reducing the algorithmic complexity of static partitioning and also suitable for streaming partitioning; a parallel single-node multi-CPU implementation and a parallel multi-node MPI implementation. Although our focus is on algorithmic scalability, our Python implementation obtains a speedup of 1.65× over the fastest baseline parallel C++ run at a graph size of 100k vertices divided into 8 subgraphs on a multi-CPU single node machine. It achieves a speedup of 61× over itself on a cluster of 4 machines with 256 CPUs for a 20k node graph divided into 4 subgraphs, and 441× speedup over itself on a 50k node graph divided into 8 subgraphs on a multi-CPU single node machine.
Defining the Elements of Early Palliative Care That Are Associated With Patient-Reported Outcomes and the Delivery of End-of-Life Care

Purpose We describe the key elements of early palliative care (PC) across the illness trajectory and examine whether visit content was associated with patient-reported outcomes and end-of-life care. Methods We performed a secondary analysis of patients with newly diagnosed advanced lung or noncolorectal GI cancer (N = 171) who were randomly assigned to receive early PC. Participants attended at least monthly visits with board-certified PC physicians and advanced practice nurses at Massachusetts General Hospital. PC clinicians completed surveys documenting visit content after each encounter. Patients reported quality of life (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General) and mood (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and Patient Health Questionnaire-9) at baseline and 24 weeks. End-of-life care data were abstracted from the electronic health record. We summarized visit content over time and used linear and logistic regression to identify whether the proportion of visits addressing a content area was associated with patient-reported outcomes and end-of-life care. Results We analyzed data from 2,921 PC visits, most of which addressed coping (64.2%) and symptom management (74.5%). By 24 weeks, patients who had a higher proportion of visits that addressed coping experienced improved quality of life ( P = .02) and depression symptoms (Depression subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, P = .002; Patient Health Questionnaire-9, P = .004). Patients who had a higher proportion of visits address treatment decisions were less likely to initiate chemotherapy ( P = .02) or be hospitalized ( P = .005) in the 60 days before death. Patients who had a higher proportion of visits addressing advance care planning were more likely to use hospice ( P = .03). Conclusion PC clinicians' focus on coping, treatment decisions, and advance care planning is associated with improved patient outcomes. These data define the key elements of early PC to enable dissemination of the integrated care model.
Tools and Techniques for Integrated Hardware-Software Energy Optimizations

With the emergence of a plethora of embedded and portable applications, energy dissipation has joined throughput, area, and accuracy/precision as a major design constraint. Thus, designers must be concerned with both estimating and optimizing the energy consumption of circuits, architectures, and software. Most of the research in energy optimization and/or estimation has focused on single components of the system and has not looked across the interacting spectrum of the hardware and software. This chapter describes the design of energy estimation tools that support both software and architectural experimentation within a single framework. Furthermore, techniques that optimize the hardware-software interaction from an energy perspective are illustrated.
A Unique Case of Facial Dysmorphism in an Infant

A preterm infant with a ventricular septal defect and facial dysmorphisms. ### Prenatal and Birth Histories ### Presentation After birth, the infant was admitted to the NICU because of prematurity. He required supplemental oxygen through a nasal cannula for a brief period (<1 week) and was successfully weaned to room air. Echocardiography revealed a large perimembranous ventricular septal defect (VSD) with 2 small ventricular muscular defects. The team identified facial dysmorphisms and ordered a microarray analysis. ### Physical Examination (After Birth)
Multistream hierarchical boundary network for video captioning

Video understanding has become increasingly important as surveillance, social, and informational videos weave themselves into our everyday lives. Video captioning offers a way to summarize, index, and search the data. Most captioning models utilize a video encoder and caption decoder framework. Hierarchical encoders can abstractly capture clip level temporal features to represent a video, but the clips are at fixed time steps. This paper introduces a novel Multistream Hierarchical Boundary (MHB) model which combines a fixed hierarchy recurrent architecture with a soft hierarchy layer by using intrinsic feature boundary cuts within a video to define clips. A novel parametric Gaussian attention allows handling of variable length videos. The intrinsic properties of videos are utilized to form an adaptive hierarchical video representation. This model is trained in an end-to-end fashion for video captioning. The MHB model demonstrates state-of-the-art video captioning results on recent datasets.
Covalent Defects of Carbon Nanotubes: Room Temperature, 1.5 μm Single Photon Emitters for Integrated Photonics

We demonstrate room-T single photon emission at 1.55 μm telecommunication wavelength with 99% single-photon purity and the shot-noise limited emission stability from covalently-introduced aryl sp3 defect sites of single-wall carbon nanotubes.
A simple finite element model to study the effect of plasma plume expansion on the nanosecond pulsed laser ablation of aluminum

In this paper, a simple model was proposed using finite element analysis (FEA) with a commercial FEA software ABAQUS to simulate the two-dimensional (2-D) laser heat transfer in an aluminum material. Without relying on the conventional hydrodynamic model, the proposed model not only predicts the evolutions of the temperature field and ablation profiles in the target material, but also provides an estimation on the evolutions of electron density, plasma temperature, and plasma absorption coefficient. The assumptions used in the model include the local thermal equilibrium and additional assumptions regarding the average plasma temperature and vapor density. The assumptions allowed the laser heat transfer equation to be solved together with the Saha–Eggert equation and conservation equations of matter and charge. When compared to the existing hydrodynamic models, the proposed model solves a less number of nonlinear equations and hence is computationally more efficient. The proposed FE model was employed to study the plasma-shielding effect on PLA produced by a 193 nm Excimer laser and a 266 nm Nd:YAG laser. The predictions of ablation depths, electron density, and plasma temperature agree well with the experimental data. Moreover, effects of the laser intensity and the average plasma temperature on the efficiency of the plasma shielding during PLA were also investigated and discussed in this study.