cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
No Company for Old Men: Adventures in Unemployment in The Company Men

Cultural diversity is often attributed to groups in a society from a variety of cultural backgrounds. Assimilation then blends subcultures into a mainstream culture. However, history and circumstance give rise to new groups whose experiences and activities produce new diversity. Big events and big changes give rise to important differences between groups. Popular culture brings new subcultures to the attention of the mainstream. Examples are The Grapes of Wrath, The Best Years of Our Lives, and The Company Men, discussed as a step in bringing awareness of current unemployment issues.
Sustainable swine production in the U.S. Corn Beit

Swine production is a major component of Corn Belt agriculture; thus development of a sustainable Corn Belt agriculture depends on sustainable swine production systems. Swine are versatile enough to adapt to sustainable concepts, and swine production raises several opportunities to enhance sustainability. These include: 1) feeding with increased use of forages and by-product feeds; 2) nutrient cycling through improved handling of manure; 3) low-capital housing systems that offer an improved environment for the operator and reduced financial risk; 4) management systems suited to the swine's behavior; and 5) preventive approaches to swine health and a broader genetic base. The challenge beyond identifying the opportunities is research and technology transfer and incorporation of sustainable concepts into ecologically based swine production systems.
On watershed management.

Significant developments have occurred in India in the past three to four decades with respect to the state of natural resources and human population, as part of various watershed programs. Much experience has been gained by governmental and non-governmental institutions and by the stakeholders engaged in these endeavors. Although there are many success stories that credit these interventions, much more effort is required to bring the benefits to all regions and remote areas of the country. There have been many management practices and intervention strategies that have evolved from this long learning process, but more pointed research in this regard is required for developing newer technological methods suited for specific situations. Greater research is needed for identifying better institutional strategies applicable to watershed management in different socio-economic conditions and in different physiographic regions of the country. One of the major impediments to the success of most watershed programs ...
Macroconfigurations in molecular electronic structure theory

Based on the well-known idea of dividing a molecular orbital set into groups, and imposing restrictions on allowed group occupancies, a more general formalism, which we refer to as the macroconfiguration approach, is developed. The approach is shown to be useful in four complementary contexts: First, as with previous uses of orbital groupings, physical considerations can actively be taken into account in constructing configuration spaces; second, the approach is demonstrated to enable the screening of a vast number of noninteracting electron configuration pairs in a computationally efficient manner; third, all advantages of the Table–configuration interaction (CI) technique can be used effectively for evaluating Hamiltonian matrix elements between interacting configurations; finally, the macroconfiguration technique provides an efficient way of regenerating excited configurations as needed in a calculation. These characteristics indicate that the suggested approach is promising for improving the computational efficiency of methods describing electron dynamic correlation and, in particular, for CI calculations involving highly (e.g., triply and quadruply) excited configurations and for methods of effective Hamiltonian theory. The advantages of the suggested technique are illustrated by the results of calculations on the ground and excited states of the difluorodioxirane (CF2O2) molecule at the second-order generalized Van Vleck perturbation theory (GVVPT2) level. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2004
An Empirical Bayes Approach to Combining and Comparing Estimates of the Value of a Statistical Life for Environmental Policy Analysis

An empirical Bayes pooling method is used to combine and compare estimates of the value of a statistical life (VSL). The data come from 40 selected studies published between 1974 and 2002, containing 197 VSL estimates. The estimated composite distribution of empirical Bayes adjusted VSL has a mean of $5.4 million and a standard deviation of $2.4 million. The empirical Bayes method greatly reduces the variability around the pooled VSL estimate. The pooled VSL estimate is influenced by the choice of valuation method, study location, and union status of sample but not to the source of data on occupational risk or the consideration of non-fatal risk injury.
Pleistocene Overkill and North American Mammalian Extinctions

Clovis groups in Late Pleistocene North America occasionally hunted several now extinct large mammals. But whether their hunting drove 37 genera of animals to extinction has been disputed, largely for want of kill sites. Overkill proponents argue that there is more archaeological evidence than we ought to expect, that humans had the wherewithal to decimate what may have been millions of animals, and that the appearance of humans and the disappearance of the fauna is too striking to be a mere coincidence. Yet, there is less to these claims than meets the eye. Moreover, extinctions took place amid sweeping climatic and environmental changes as the Pleistocene came to an end. It has long been difficult to link those changes to mammalian extinctions, but the advent of ancient DNA, coupled with high-resolution paleoecological, radiocarbon, and archeological records, should help disentangle the relative role of changing climates and people in mammalian extinctions.
Unvoiced Speech Segregation From Nonspeech Interference via CASA and Spectral Subtraction

While a lot of effort has been made in computational auditory scene analysis to segregate voiced speech from monaural mixtures, unvoiced speech segregation has not received much attention. Unvoiced speech is highly susceptible to interference due to its relatively weak energy and lack of harmonic structure, and hence makes its segregation extremely difficult. This paper proposes a new approach to segregation of unvoiced speech from nonspeech interference. The proposed system first removes estimated voiced speech, and the periodic part of interference based on cross-channel correlation. The resultant interference becomes more stationary and we estimate the noise energy in unvoiced intervals using segregated speech in neighboring voiced intervals. Then unvoiced speech segregation occurs in two stages: segmentation and grouping. In segmentation, we apply spectral subtraction to generate time-frequency segments in unvoiced intervals. Unvoiced speech segments are subsequently grouped based on frequency characteristics of unvoiced speech using simple thresholding as well as Bayesian classification. The proposed algorithm is computationally efficient, and systematic evaluation and comparison show that our approach considerably improves the performance of unvoiced speech segregation.
Economies of Scale in Tobacco Manufacture, 1897–1910

The survivor technique is applied to a virtually complete set of plant and output data to determine the extent of scale economies in the plug, smoking, snuff, and fine-cut branches of the tobacco industry between 1897 and 1910. The data indicate that the relative cost advantage of large tobacco factories was substantial, with facilities of minimum efficient size often requiring market shares approaching 10 per cent of U. S. output. These results support one of the principal themes of The Visible Hand—that the realization of scale economies motivated the consolidation movement in American manufacturing at the turn of the century.
Circuit-switched broadcasting in d-dimensional tori and meshes

Considers the problem of broadcasting on torus and mesh networks using circuit-switched, half-duplex, and link-bound communication. The authors first discuss the optimum broadcasting time and then present a broadcasting algorithm for a (2d+1)/sup pspl times/(2d+1)/sup pspl times/.../spl times/(2d+1)/sup p/ d-dimensional torus. This algorithm requires pd time steps to complete the broadcasting, which is the optimum. Using this algorithm, the authors also show that the broadcasting on a (2d+1)/sup pspl times/(2d+1)/sup pspl times/.../spl times/(2d+1)/sup p/ d-dimensional mesh can be done in 2pd time steps, which is within a factor of 2 of the optimum. >
Encoding Processes during Retrieval Tasks

Episodic memory encoding is pervasive across many kinds of task and often arises as a secondary processing effect in tasks that do not require intentional memorization. To illustrate the pervasive nature of information processing that leads to episodic encoding, a form of incidental encoding was explored based on the "Testing" phenomenon: The incidental-encoding task was an episodic memory retrieval task. Behavioral data showed that performing a memory retrieval task was as effective as intentional instructions at promoting episodic encoding. During fMRI imaging, subjects viewed old and new words and indicated whether they remembered them. Relevant to encoding, the fate of the new words was examined using a second, surprise test of recognition after the imaging session. fMRI analysis of those new words that were later remembered revealed greater activity in left frontal regions than those that were later forgotten - the same pattern of results as previously observed for traditional incidental and intentional episodic encoding tasks. This finding may offer a partial explanation for why repeated testing improves memory performance. Furthermore, the observation of correlates of episodic memory encoding during retrieval tasks challenges some interpretations that arise from direct comparisons between "encoding tasks" and "retrieval tasks" in imaging data. Encoding processes and their neural correlates may arise in many tasks, even those nominally labeled as retrieval tasks by the experimenter.
Analysis of a multiyear global vegetation leaf area index data set

[1] The analysis of a global data set of monthly leaf area index (LAI), derived from satellite observations of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) for the period July 1981 to September 1994, is discussed in this paper. Validation of this retroactive, coarse resolution (8 km) global multiyear data set is a challenging task because repetitive ground measurements from all representative vegetation types are not available. Therefore the magnitudes and interannual variations in the derived LAI fields were assessed as follows. First, the use of a NDVI-based algorithm, as opposed to a more physically based approach, is estimated to result in relative errors in LAI of about 10–20%, which is comparable to the mean uncertainty of AVHRR NDVI data. Second, the satellite LAI values compared reasonably well to ground measurements from three field campaigns. Third, comparison with an existing multiyear LAI data set showed qualitative agreement with regards to interannual variability, although the LAI values of the earlier data were consistently larger than those derived here. Fourth, interannual variations in LAI were evaluated through correlations with climate data sets, e.g., sea surface temperatures and precipitation in tropical semiarid regions known for ENSO impacts, temperature dependence of vegetation growth, and therefore LAI, in the northern latitudes. The general consistency between these independent data sets imbues confidence in the LAI data set, at least for use in large-scale modeling studies. Finally, improvements in near-surface climate simulation are documented in a companion article when satellite LAI values were used in a global climate model. The data set is available to the community via our Web server (http://cybele.bu.edu).
Multiracial Coalitions in City Elections Involving Minority Candidates Some Evidence from Denver

In this research I examine the electoral coalitions of minority candidates elected citywide. The focus is on the election of a Hispanic as mayor and a black as city auditor of Denver. Although the coalitions that elected the two minority candidates are similar in many respects, there are some notable differences. Perhaps most interesting are the levels of black support for the Hispanic candidate as compared to the Hispanic support for the black candidate. And the level of nonminority support for the black auditor candidate is somewhat higher than that for the Hispanic mayoral candidate. These findings are integrally important but there are also broader implications.
Outer approximation algorithms for KYP-based LMIs

The performance of an outer approximation approximation algorithm for a class of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) derived from the Kalman-Yakubovich-Popov lemma is analyzed. It is shown that for a specific class of control motivated problems, the optimal solution is achieved in a finite number of iterations. Possible modifications for improving performance are discussed.
Host range and variability of calcium binding by surface loops in the capsids of canine and feline parvoviruses.

Abstract Canine parvovirus (CPV) emerged in 1978 as a host range variant of feline panleukopenia virus (FPV). This change of host was mediated by the mutation of five residues on the surface of the capsid. CPV and FPV enter cells by endocytosis and can be taken up by many non-permissive cell lines, showing that their host range and tissue specificity are largely determined by events occurring after cell entry. We have determined the structures of a variety of strains of CPV and FPV at various pH values and in the presence or absence of Ca2+. The largest structural difference was found to occur in a flexible surface loop, consisting of residues 359 to 375 of the capsid protein. This loop binds a divalent calcium ion in FPV and is adjacent to a double Ca2+-binding site, both in CPV and FPV. Residues within the loop and those associated with the double Ca2+-binding site were found to be essential for virus infectivity. The residues involved in the double Ca2+-binding site are conserved only in FPV and CPV. Our results show that the loop conformation and the associated Ca2+-binding are influenced by the Ca2+ concentration, as well as pH. These changes are correlated with the ability of the virus to hemagglutinate erythrocytes. The co-localization of hemagglutinating activity and host range determinants on the virus surface implies that these properties may be functionally linked. We speculate that the flexible loop and surrounding regions are involved in binding an as yet unidentified host molecule and that this interaction influences host range.
Effects of an intensive behavioral weight loss intervention consisting of caloric restriction with or without physical activity on common carotid artery remodeling in severely obese adults

Objective Obesity increases cardiovascular disease risk and adversely affects vascular structure and function. Few studies have evaluated the vascular effects of non-surgical weight reduction in the severely obese. We hypothesized that weight loss and improvements in cardiometabolic factors would reduce common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) and inter-adventitial diameter (AD) in severely obese adults.
Research on sensorless maximum ratio of torque to current control system of PMSM based on a rotor position self-sensing method

The sensorless control of PMSM are mostly based on high frequency voltage signal injection method or state-observer. A novel rotor position self-sensing method was put forward in this paper by combing the fluctuating high frequency voltage signal injection (FHFVS) method and model reference adaptive system (MRAS) method, which was used in maximum ratio of torque to current control system. The speed-switcher was designed to realize smooth switching between the two methods. This method solved the problem which the single method couldn't give satisfactory balance between steady and dynamic states. The simulation results illustrate the proposed method would reliably realize the sensorless control of PMSM in a wide speed range, including zero-speed.
Modification of the TSI 3025 Condensation Particle Counter for Pulse Height Analysis

ABSTRACT Ultrafine particle sizes may be measured over a limited range with an ultrafine condensation particle counter (UCPC) by analyzing photodetector pulse heights. The pulse height analysis (PHA) technique has been employed successfully in our laboratory with a prototype UCPC. However, attempts to incorporate PHA into a commercial UCPC (the TSI model 3025) met with initial lack of success, yielding anomalous and irreproducible pulse height spectra. Operating parameters and subsystems of the commercial UCPC, including condenser/saturator temperatures, aerosol flows, optical system (light source and detector), and post-photodetector electronics, were examined for contributions to the observed pulse height spectra. The optical system, specifically the light source and scattering geometry, was found to be the cause of the anomalous pulse height performance. Replacing the existing 90° scattering, laser light-photodiode detection system with a forward-scattering, white halogen light source and photodiode fr...
Agmatinase activity in rat brain: a metabolic pathway for the degradation of agmatine.

Abstract: Agmatinase, the enzyme that hydrolyzes agmatine to form putrescine and urea in lower organisms, was found in rat brain. Agmatinase activity was maximal at pH 8–8.5 and had an apparent Km of 5.3 ± 0.99 mM and a Vmax of 530 ± 116 nmol/mg of protein/h. After subcellular fractionation, most of the enzyme activity was localized in the mitochondrial matrix (333 ± 5 nmol/mg of protein/h), where it was enriched compared with the whole-brain homogenate (7.6–11.8 nmol/mg of protein/h). Within the CNS, the highest activity was found in hypothalamus, a region rich in imidazoline receptors, and the lowest in striatum and cortex. It is interesting that other agmatine-related molecules such as arginine decarboxylase, which synthesizes agmatine, and I2 imidazoline receptors, for which agmatine is an endogenous ligand, are also located in mitochondria. The results show the existence of rat brain agmatinase, mainly located in mitochondria, indicating possible degradation of agmatine by hydrolysis at its sites of action.
Sodium Intake, Angiotensin II Receptor Blockade, and Baroreflex Function in Conscious Rats

The hypothesis that endogenous angiotensin II (Ang II) chronically supports baroreflex control of lumbar sympathetic nerve activity (LSNA) and heart rate (HR) via AT1 but not AT2 receptors was tested in conscious, normotensive rats. Rats were fed either a sodium deficient diet (LS) to increase circulating Ang II or a high-sodium diet (HS) for 2 to 3 weeks. One to two days after surgery to implant catheters and nerve electrodes, baroreflex curves were produced before and 40 minutes after intravenous administration of the AT1 antagonist losartan (10 mg/kg) or the AT2 antagonist PD123319 (500 micrograms/kg + 50 micrograms.kg-1.min-1). Mean arterial pressure (MAP) after losartan was maintained at basal levels with methoxamine. Forty minutes after losartan in LS rats, LSNA (46 +/- 5 to 22 +/- 1% max) and HR (414 +/- 7 to 387 +/- 8 bpm) were decreased (P < .05). Losartan decreased reflex control of LSNA more in LS than in HS rats (P < .05), as indicated by reductions in maximum LSNA (98 +/- 2 to 78 +/- 3% max) and minimum LSNA (42 +/- 5 to 21 +/- 5% max). Losartan also shifted reflex control of LSNA to a lower pressure in both groups, but the effect was larger in LS rats (-21 +/- 3 [LS] versus -9 +/- 2 [HS] mm Hg at basal LSNA; P < .05). Maximum gain was unaltered in either group. Similarly, losartan reduced maximum HR (534 +/- 6 to 495 +/- 9 bpm) and shifted the HR curve leftward (114 +/- 5 to 105 +/- 4 mm Hg) in LS but not in HS rats. In general, no changes were observed in MAP or baroreflex control of LSNA and HR after PD123319 in LS rats. These results suggest that in conscious, normotensive LS rats, endogenous Ang II supports LSNA and HR over a wide MAP range via AT1 but not AT2 receptors.
Recently Chartered Banks' Vulnerability to Real Estate Crisis

The FDIC closely monitors recently chartered banks and thrifts. For purposes of offsite monitoring, the FDIC defines young banks as commercial banks and thrifts that are eight years old or younger based on studies showing that new banks need more than three years to fully mature (DeYoung [2000], DeYoung and Hasan [1998]). Newly chartered banks tend to be small, and roughly 80 percent of all young banks are located in metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). This study examines these young banks. Specifically, it examines the vulnerability of these young banks to real estate problems: how their financial condition evolves over time, the degree of risk they bear because of their real estate lending, how they compare with established banks in this respect, and what explains the heightened vulnerability of young banks to real estate crises.
O 16 + Ca 40 Inelastic Scattering and Direct-Reaction Calculations in Heavy-Ion Scattering

Inelastic scattering to the lowest ${2}^{+}$, ${3}^{\ensuremath{-}}$, and ${5}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ states in $^{40}\mathrm{Ca}$ was studied for $^{16}\mathrm{O}$ + $^{40}\mathrm{Ca}$ at ${E}_{\mathrm{lab}}(^{16}\mathrm{O})=60$ MeV. The angular distributions are compared to distorted-wave and coupled-channel Born-approximation predictions. The results show that the effect of the ${3}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ inelastic excitation on the elastic scattering wave function has to be treated explicitly in order to reproduce the angular distributions. This is particularly evident for the ${5}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ transition, despite the fact that direct coupling between the ${3}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ and ${5}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ states is negligible.
Party-Crashers or Wallflowers: Costly Voting in Elections with Differing Primary Types

We use voting experiments to examine the effects of different primary types on voter turnout, voter choice and election outcomes. We use monetary incentives to induce our participants’ preferences for candidate and party, eliminating the incentive for expressive voting, allowing us to focus purely on the instrumental aspects of voting. We vary the cost of voting and observe how differing costs impact turnout, choice and outcomes. We use three basic primary types: closed, semi-closed and open. We find that increasing the cost of voting decreases turnout and strategic voting; that only a small proportion of voters vote strategically; that primary type affects turnout in both the primary and general elections; and that primary type does not impact election outcomes.
A leapfrog multigrid algorithm for the optimal control of parabolic PDEs with Robin boundary conditions

We develop a second-order finite difference scheme for solving the first-order necessary optimality systems arising from the optimal control of parabolic PDEs with Robin boundary conditions. Under the framework of matrix analysis, the proposed leapfrog scheme is shown to be unconditionally stable and second-order convergent for both time and spatial variables, without the requirement of the classical Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy (CFL) condition on the spatial and temporal mesh step sizes. Moreover, the developed leapfrog scheme provides a well-structured discrete algebraic system that allows us to establish an effective multigrid iterative fast solver. The resultant multigrid solver demonstrates a mesh-independent convergence rate and a linear time complexity. Numerical experiments are provided to illustrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed leapfrog scheme.
The influence of maternal effects on the response of fast and slow growing chickens to a Marek's disease virus.

Abstract Reciprocal cross F1 progeny from the Massachusetts High (MH) and Low (ML) Growth lines differed markedly in their response to inoculation at one day of age with the JM Marek’s disease (MD) virus. When the MH line was used as the female parent, the F1 progeny were both significantly heavier and more susceptible to MD at 8 weeks of age. A similar relationship between growth and MD susceptibility exists for the parent lines. Since growth rate is known to influence response to MD, the reciprocal crosses were compared at similar and reversed 8-week body weights by controlling feed intake for the heavier F1 group. At similar body weights the cross progeny of the MH dams were still more susceptible to MD infection. Therefore, the maternal effect associated with response to MD exposure is largely independent of the influence of body growth rate. The degree of dominance for susceptibility was also found to differ for the two groups of reciprocal cross progeny.
Effects of Variable Humidity on Embryonic Development and Hatching Success of Mourning Doves

ABSmAcr.-Newly laid Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) eggs were held at a constant temperature of 37.5?C at one of three relative humidities: 0-5% ("arid"); 35-45% ("intermediate"); and 95-100% ("humid"). Samples in the humid treatment lost significantly less water than those in intermediate or arid treatments. There was significantly more water in embryos of the humid treatment than in the intermediate or and treatments. Protein and carbohydrate content of samples in the humid treatment was significantly smaller than those in intermediate or arid treatments, whereas lipid and ash contents did not differ among the three treatments. Even in the worst case of constant exposure to near-saturation humidities, 50% of embryos succeeded to hatching. This is, however, significantly below the 85% or 90% hatching success characteristic of the arid or intermediate humidities, respectively. Of the doves that failed to hatch in the humid condition, 90% developed to pipping and initiated aerial respiration. Contrary to previous analyses that suggested that hatching failure is likely due to the embryo's failure to initiate pulmonary respiration or to maintain constant hydration, the failure of Mourning Dove embryos to hatch apparently was due to severe mechanical restriction upon movement within the rigid shell. This was produced by the lack of adequate internal space produced by evaporative water loss. Received 4 April 1991, accepted 6 November 1991.
Abstract 4311: Defining the GRB7 interactome in triple-negative breast cancer.

Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) lack expression of Estrogen Receptor, Progesterone Receptor, and HER2 and, as such, are non-responsive to currently available targeted therapies. Thus, more insight is needed into the molecular mechanisms underlying this disease in order to identify new therapeutic targets. GRB7 is an SH2-domain containing adaptor protein, which couples upstream activated receptor tyrosine kinases to downstream signaling intermediates. Most of the interest in GRB7 has been as a result of its co-amplification with the HER2 oncogene in HER2-overexpressing breast tumors, in which GRB7/HER2 co-overexpression is associated with a particularly poor prognosis. However, our recent large study of 764 patients, which included 246 TNBC cases, revealed that high levels of GRB7 in TNBC patients was the strongest positive predictor of tumor recurrence in this population. Additional recent studies in our lab have shown that GRB7 inhibition reduces cell motility and invasion and promotes apoptosis in TNBC cell lines and so suggest that GRB7 may be an important therapeutic target in this disease. Due to the lack of available non-peptide drugs specifically targeting GRB7, our aim is to identify the signaling pathways that GRB7 couples in TNBC, which may be more easily targetable in breast tumors. For this purpose, we are analyzing the GRB7-binding partners and the signaling pathways mediated by GRB7 in TNBC cell lines. We have established triple-negative MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-468, MDA-MB-436, HCC1806, HCC1937, Hs578T and BT549 cells stably overexpressing FLAG-GRB7 protein. So far, we have observed that GRB7 overexpression leads to increased AKT/mTOR, MAPK/ERK and SAPK/JNK pathways activation, which might explain the enhanced survival and invasion related to GRB7 activity in TNBC cell lines. We determined the GRB7-interacting partners in MDA-MB-231 cells by co-IP and LC-MS/MS. These GRB7 immunoprecipitates include proteins regulating microtubule dynamics like MAP1B, MAP4, Spectrin, RRBP1, LRPPRC and CKAP5. We also detected the previously described interaction with STAU1, and found other proteins that might be also related to stress granules and mRNA translation control like SERBP1 and IGF2BP1. Some of the interacting proteins we have found have previously been related to breast cancer like the splicing factor kinase SRPK1, the transcription factor chaperone THOC4, CKAP5 and the adaptor protein 14-3-3. Other interactors are involved in DNA replication like DNA topoisomerase 1 and XRCC6. We are currently evaluating the roles of these proteins in triple-negative breast cancer cell lines. This study is funded, in part, by a postdoctoral fellowship from Fundacion Alfonso Martin Escudero to VC. Citation Format: Veronica A. Calvo, Orsolya Giricz, Paraic A. Kenny. Defining the GRB7 interactome in triple-negative breast cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4311. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-4311
Beltraneja y Francisco Pacheco: nuevo apógrafo de un cuestionado poema satírico *

The purpose of this article is to give notice of a new copy or apograph of the epic-satirical poem Beltraneja. The peculiarity of this copy lies in the fact that it is part of a seventeenth-century codex made by the Sevillian painter Francisco Pacheco. Through the analysis of this document, not only do we try to construct a critical view of the studies on the poem developed so far, but we also propose a series of reflections around the anonymity and the date of the poem starting from Pacheco’s cultural context. Beyond pretending to precise paratextual and ideological interpretation issues, this piece of work aims to enhance the historical and literary significance of a representative product of the colonial Spanish-American satire.
New Insights into the Molecular Regulation of Urine Concentration

the ability to excrete a concentrated urine was a critical future in evolutionary development, and it continues to be necessary for humans to maintain health. Urine concentration is a complex process, and requires interaction between multiple renal epithelial cell segments and the appropriate
ZIO-201 (isophosphoramide mustard; IPM) is an orally active anti-cancer agent

3200 IPM, a bi-functional DNA alkylator, is the active metabolite of ifosfamide (IFOS). IFOS and the related drug cyclophosphamide (CPA) are widely used anti-cancer drugs. Both are pro-drugs and need to be metabolized to be active. Their clinical use is limited by the toxicity associated with some of their metabolites. IPM has shown efficacy in diverse cancer models, including activity in CPA-resistant osteosarcoma cell lines and xenografts. It has a favorable safety profile since the toxic metabolites of IFOS, acrolein and chloracetaldehyde are absent. The pharmaceutical development of IPM has been hindered so far by its extreme instability in solution. In an effort to find a stabilizing formulation of IPM a series of different IPM-salts were evaluated. A lysine salt of IPM (ZIO-201; IPM-lys) a zwitterionic species, offers several advantages relative to the IPM free acid, such as enhanced solubility and stability over a wide pH range, improved non-deliquescence characteristics and a more favorable dissolution rate. This formulation allowed the development of IPM for intravenous administration. ZIO-201 is currently in Phase II clinical trials for sarcoma. Since an oral formulation of ZIO-201 would significantly increase convenience and flexibility of its use in cancer treatment its activity by oral administration was tested in mouse cancer models. Oral administration of ZIO-201 to mice bearing P388 leukemia increased life span by 150% compared to vehicle controls, demonstrating not only oral bioavailability of ZIO-201 but also activity against leukemia. Similarly, a comparison of oral and systemic administration of ZIO-201 in MX-1 breast cancer xenografts showed a similar decrease in tumor growth for both routes of administration: 80% for intraperitoneal and 65% for oral. The maximum tolerated dose for oral administration was five times that of intraperitoneal, which also coincided with the maximal efficacious dose. These results show that the stabilized form of IPM is orally active and support a clinical development for oral ZIO-201.
Acute ethanol effects on neural encoding of reward size and delay in the nucleus accumbens

Acute ethanol administration can cause impulsivity, resulting in increased preference for immediately available rewards over delayed but more valuable alternatives. The manner in which reward size and delay are represented in neural firing is not fully understood, and very little is known about ethanol effects on this encoding. To address this issue, we used in vivo electrophysiology to characterize neural firing in the core of the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) in rats responding for rewards that varied in size or delay after vehicle or ethanol administration. The NAcc is a central element in the circuit that governs decision-making and importantly, promotes choice of delayed rewards. We found that NAcc firing in response to reward-predictive cues encoded anticipated reward value after vehicle administration, but ethanol administration disrupted this encoding, resulting in a loss of discrimination between immediate and delayed rewards in cue-evoked neural responses. In addition, NAcc firing occurring at the time of the operant response (lever pressing) was inversely correlated with behavioral response latency, such that increased firing rates were associated with decreased latencies to lever press. Ethanol administration selectively attenuated this lever press-evoked firing when delayed but not immediate rewards were expected. These effects on neural firing were accompanied by increased behavioral latencies to respond for delayed rewards. Our results suggest that ethanol effects on NAcc cue- and lever press-evoked encoding may contribute to ethanol-induced impulsivity.
Analysis on death data of residents in Zhangjiagang City in 2011

[Objective]To analyze the death data of residents in Zhangjiagang City in 2011,provide both basic information and scientific basis for the relevant departments to formulate health policy and evaluate the effect of disease control and prevention.[Methods]The death statistical indexes were analyzed by the Death medical registration system(DeathReg 2005),which included the crude mortality,sex mortality,infant mortality,neonatal mortality,average life expectancy,constitution and rank order of causes of death.The difference in mortality between male and female were analyzed with SPSS software.[Results]In 2011,the crude mortality and standardized mortality of residents was respectively 693.78/lakh and 311.69/lakh in Zhangjiagang.The male mortality was significantly higher than that of female.The infant mortality and neonatal mortality was respectively 3.68‰ and 2.39‰,and the average life expectancy was 81.34 year-old.The top ten causes of death were malignant tumor,cerebrovascular disease,injury and poisoning,respiratory disease,heart disease,endocrine nutritional and metabolic disease,other diseases,mental disorder,digestive system disease and nervous system disease,which accounted for 95.85% of total causes of death.The top three causes of death in males were malignant tumor,cerebrovascular disease and respiratory disease,however,those in females were cerebrovascular disease,malignant tumor,injury and poisoning.[Conclusion]Malignant tumor,cerebrovascular disease,as well as injury and poisoning have become important public health problems.These factors should be regarded as priorities of disease control activities in future,thus improving the residents' life quality.
Thermographic analysis of parallelly cables: A method to avoid misdiagnosis

Abstract Thermography infrared technique is quite used in predictive maintenance. Thermographic analysis consists in associating regions with high surface temperatures to defects and failures. However, for some situation, such as parallelly conductors of the same phase, the warmer connection may be in accordance, and the colder one may be defective. If there is a “poor contact” failure in one lead, electrical current can be significantly higher in the cable with lower contact resistance and, consequently, lower intensity on the cable where the connections have higher resistance. This paper develops an analysis method that conduces to more assertive diagnosis regarding the identification of the faulty connection of parallelly conductors in low voltage electrical installations, non-invasively and under operation.
Translating between the Lines: Medieval Polemic, Romance Bibles, and the Castilian Works of Abner of Burgos/Alfonso of Valladolid

The Hebrew works of convert Abner de Burgos/Alfonso de Valladolid (d. ca. 1347) were translated into Castilian in the fourteenth century, at least partly and probably entirely by Abner/Alfonso himself. Because the author avoids Christian texts and cites abundantly from Hebrew sources, his writing includes many passages taken from the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud. The Castilian versions of his works translate these citations directly from Hebrew and do not seem to make any direct use of existing Romance-language Bibles (although his work might have relied indirectly on Jewish Bible translations circulating orally in the fourteenth century). Given the abundance of citations, especially in Abner/Alfonso’s earliest surviving work, the Moreh ṣedeq (Mostrador de justicia), his writing can serve as a significant source in the history of Hebrew-to-Romance Bible translation in the fourteenth century. The goal of this article is to consider the impact of polemical writing on Bible translation in the Middle Ages by analyzing these citations in Abner/Alfonso’s Castilian works.
Fos response of fetal sheep anterior circumventricular organs to osmotic challenge in late gestation.

We hypothesized that the anterior circumventricular organs (ACVO) and the supraoptic (SON) and hypothalamic paraventricular nuclei (PVN), among other structures that play a role in sensing extracel...
A diverse virome in kidney transplant patients contains multiple viral subtypes with distinct polymorphisms.

Recent studies have established that the human urine contains a complex microbiome, including a virome about which little is known. Following immunosuppression in kidney transplant patients, BK polyomavirus (BKV) has been shown to induce nephropathy (BKVN), decreasing graft survival. In this study we investigated the urine virome profile of BKV+ and BKV− kidney transplant recipients. Virus-like particles were stained to confirm the presence of VLP in the urine samples. Metagenomic DNA was purified, and the virome profile was analyzed using metagenomic shotgun sequencing. While the BK virus was predominant in the BKV+ group, it was also found in the BKV− group patients. Additional viruses were also detected in all patients, notably including JC virus (JCV) and Torque teno virus (TTV) and interestingly, we detected multiple subtypes of the BKV, JCV and TTV. Analysis of the BKV subtypes showed that nucleotide polymorphisms were detected in the VP1, VP2 and Large T Antigen proteins, suggesting potential functional effects for enhanced pathogenicity. Our results demonstrate a complex urinary virome in kidney transplant patients with multiple viruses with several distinct subtypes warranting further analysis of virus subtypes in immunosuppressed hosts.
Per-oral endoscopic tunneling for restoration of the esophagus: a novel endoscopic submucosal dissection technique for therapy of complete esophageal obstruction.

Background and Aims Total aphagia from complete esophageal obstruction (CEO) can be seen in patients with head–neck or thoracic malignancies undergoing chemoradiation or surgery. Combined antegrade and retrograde endoscopy (via gastrostomy tube [G-tube] tract) is often performed for esophageal reconstruction but is limited by the length of the obstructed esophagus. We describe per-oral endoscopic tunneling for restoration of the esophagus (POETRE) for patients with longer segments of esophageal obstruction. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of POETRE for CEO. Methods All patients with CEO undergoing endoscopy with POETRE from October 2013 to September 2015 were enrolled in this single-center prospective study. Clinical, endoscopic, and radiologic records were maintained as required for clinical care and for the study. Dysphagia score was recorded before and after POETRE. Adverse events were assessed based on the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy criteria. Results Four patients (3 men; mean age, 72.3 years) underwent POETRE for CEO ≥3 cm in length. Esophageal reconstruction was technically successful in all patients (100%). Antegrade submucosal tunneling was performed in 2 of 4 patients (50%), and retrograde tunneling was performed in the other 2 patients, all with simultaneous dual endoscope and fluoroscopic guidance. The mean dysphagia score of 4 before the procedure improved to 2.5 after POETRE during follow-up (mean, 27.8 weeks). All patients required subsequent serial endoscopic dilations as needed after POETRE. One adverse event (pneumonia) was seen (25%). Conclusions We present a novel ESD technique, POETRE, for therapy of complete esophageal obstruction. This approach is specifically useful for lumen restoration in patients with longer segments of esophageal obstruction. (Clinical trial registration number: NCT00968552.)
Zeons, Orthozeons, and Graph Colorings

Nilpotent adjacency matrix methods have proven useful for counting self-avoiding walks (paths, trails, cycles, and circuits) in finite graphs. In the current work, these methods are extended for the first time to problems related to graph colorings. Nilpotent-algebraic formulations of graph coloring problems include necessary and sufficient conditions for k-colorability, enumeration (counting) of heterogeneous and homogeneous paths, trails, cycles, and circuits in colored graphs, and a matrix-based greedy coloring algorithm. Introduced here also are the orthozeons and their application to counting monochromatic self-avoiding walks in colored graphs. The algebraic formalism easily lends itself to symbolic computations, and Mathematica-computed examples are presented throughout.
Is Venus running hot or cold

Is Venus a planet running the same thermal engine as the Earth or a planet deficient in its cosmochemical share of heat-producing elements? Has Venus been dead volcano-logically following a great flood of lavas about 500 million years ago, or has the planet been producing magmas more or less continuously? These questions have been raised by the vast amount of imaging radar and altimetric data obtained by the Magellan spacecraft, which has been mapping Venus since September 1990.
Revitalizing the Community through Neighborhood and Institutional Partnerships

Over the past six years, Springfield College has been challenged to participate in addressing the needs of the urban neighborhood in which it resides. To answer this call, the College has had to wrestle with the many challenges necessary to change the attitude of the institutional culture toward the community, and to reestablish relationships within the neighborhood. The College and community partnerships that have resulted from facing these challenges are dynamic collaborations that involve participation at all levels. Undergraduate and graduate students, faculty members, administrators, neighbors, leaders of community based organizations, and the governmental agencies that impact the solutions have all worked together to create service and educational programs tailored to meet the needs of children and families in the community and participants on the campus.
Ethics of Corporeal Obligation: Grammar of the Body and Language of Wrongs

A language of wrongs is better articulated when attention is paid to grammar of human bodies. Wrongs described in Chap. 2 may thus be seen as violent modes, patterns, and formations of human bodies conditioned to move against each other in collective social life. Such socially conditioned corporeal habits are complicit in cycles of violence that discriminate, exclude, and render some inferior. Because human bodies moving in socially conditioned modes perpetrate wrongs, dominant and privileged agents are to place their bodies and frames of thinking in new non-violent and freedom-ensuing formations. This necessitates entering the worlds of victims and survivors and allowing such worlds to reorganize corporeal habits and frames of thinking. Here then begins an ethics of corporeally mediated obligation.
Beef carcass composition of slaughter cattle differing in frame size, muscle score, and external fatness.

Commercial slaughter steers (n = 329) and heifers (n = 335) were selected to vary in slaughter frame size and muscle thickness score, as well as carcass adjusted 12th-rib fat thickness. After collection of USDA carcass grade data, one side of each carcass was fabricated into boneless primals, subprimals, and minor tissue components. Cuts were trimmed to 2.54, 1.27, and .64 cm of external fat, except for the knuckle, tri-tip, and tenderloin, which were trimmed of all fat. Forced four-variable regression equations were used to predict the percentage (chilled carcass weight basis) yield of boneless subprimals at the three fat trim levels as influenced by sex class, frame size, muscle score, and adjusted 12th-rib fat thickness. Independent variables that had the most influence on percentage yield of primals and boneless subprimals were adjusted 12th-rib fat thickness and sex class. Within the same phenotypic group, percentage of trimmable fat increased by 2.32% as 12th-rib fat thickness increased by .75 cm. Estimated percentage yield of the major subprimals from the loin and round tended to be higher or relatively equal for heifer carcasses at all trim levels compared with those subprimals from steer carcasses. Holding frame size, sex class, and fat thickness constant, there was a higher percentage yield of chuck roll, rib eye roll, and strip loin for carcasses from thick-muscled cattle than for those from average- and thin-muscled cattle. Frame size had little effect on percentage yield of boneless subprimals.