cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Method for repetitive measurement of the electrostatic charging tendency of liquid dielectrics

The construction of an apparatus for the measurement of the electrostatic charging tendency (ECT) of a dielectric liquid is described. A sealed reciprocating piston arrangement permits a liquid to be repetitively passed through a charge separating element. The use of a gold element is shown to minimize the effects of moisture and control temporal effects. The system is evaluated by testing samples of transformer oil drawn from the field. In general, the new system ranks the oils in the same way as a conventional assessment against a paper filter, although anomalies have been found which are an impediment to adoption.
A Novel Approach to the Challenging Injection Laryngoplasty

Introduction:Injection laryngoplasty (IL) is typically performed either awake or under general anesthesia with paralysis. There is a subgroup of patients, however, for whom neither of these is a good option. For such patients, we report a hybrid technique that allows for a percutaneous injection without paralysis but with sedation to increase patient tolerance. Supraglottic airway laryngotracheal intervention (SALTI) brings the benefits of injection laryngoplasty to a group of patients previously underserved.Methods:Injection laryngoplasty cases using SALTI technique from July 1, 2013, to October 21, 2014, were reviewed. Data were collected regarding the indication, success of injection, comorbidities, and outcomes.Results:Seventeen subjects were reviewed. All were successfully injected without complications. Follow-up data were available for 15 subjects. The majority of patients experienced improved symptoms of dysphonia and/or dysphagia after the procedure.Discussion and Conclusions:This study demonstra...
An examination of institutional characteristics, selection committees, and induction criteria for college athletic halls of fame

ABSTRACTAn intercollegiate athletic hall of fame stands as a nostalgic monument to the achievements of athletes, coaches, and other icons. These halls of fame, in addition to more traditional sport museums, draw a variety alumni, students, and tourists. While steeped in tradition, there is a dearth of research in academic literature on college halls of fame, especially within the framework of sport heritage. An exploratory research design utilizing procedural and archival data was implemented to examine institutional characteristics, selection committees, and induction criteria of 93 Football Bowl Subdivision institutions. Descriptive data of four selection committee variables and eight induction criteria variables revealed trends on how American colleges and universities decide who or what to enshrine in their halls of fame. A Multivariate Analyses of Variance illustrated no significant differences for selection committee variables based on conference; nonetheless, significant conference differences exis...
Abduh, Muhammad (1849–1905)

Muhammad Abduh was an Egyptian theologian who helped advance the modernist movement in Islam and nationalist ideas in Egypt during the nineteenth century. He believed Islam to be comparable, if not superior, to other faiths in how it understood and dealt with the idea of progress. The British colonial claim that Islam was too primitive and provincial prompted Abduh—along with his associate, Sayyid Jamaal ad-Deen al-Afghani (d. 1897), and the Salafi (as-salafiyyah) movement—to aggressively refute such accusations. Equally, he challenged the opinions of Muslim conservatives, who argued that the faith required dogmatic edicts. Abduh offered a more rational approach, as he sought to modernize both the religion of Islam and Muslim societies. According to him, Islam is the only religion whose dogmas can be proven by logic. Keywords: Islam; modernity; nationalism; religion
Influence of Entrance Geometry on Heat Transfer in Narrow Rectangular Cooling Channels (AR = 4:1) With Angled Ribs

The effect of entrance geometry on the heat transfer in rotating, narrow rectangular cooling channels is investigated in this study. Both smooth channels and channels with angled ribs are considered with three different entrance conditions: fully developed, sudden contraction, partial sudden contraction. The rectangular channel has as aspect ratio of 4:1, and it is oriented at 135° with respect to the plane of rotation. In the test section with angled ribs, the ribs are angled at 45° to the mainstream flow. The rib height-to-hydraulic diameter ratio (e/Dh ) is 0.078, and the rib pitch-to-height ratio (P/e) is 10. The range of flow parameters includes Reynolds number (Re = 5000–40000), rotation number (Ro = 0.0–0.302), and inlet coolant-to-wall density ratio (Δρ/ρ = 0.12). The heat transfer at the entrance of the heated portion of the smooth channel is significantly enhanced with the sudden contraction and partial sudden contraction entrances. In the smooth rotating channels, the effect of the entrance geometry is also present; however, as the rotation number increases, the effect of the entrance geometry decreases. It was also found in this study that the sudden and partial sudden contraction entrances provide higher heat transfer enhancement than the fully developed entrance through the first 3 to 4 hydraulic diameters of the channels with angled ribs. Again, the effect of the entrance geometry is greater in the stationary channels with angled ribs than the rotating channels with ribs. In both stationary and rotating channels, the influence of the entrance geometry on the heat transfer is more apparent in the smooth channels than in the ribbed channels.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Additional Observations on the Biology of Anaphes flavipes (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae), with Special Reference to the EfEects of Temperature and Superparasitism on Development

The developmental stages in the life cycle of Anaphes flavipes (Foerster), a mymarid egg parasitoid of the cereal leaf beetle, Oulema melanopus (L.) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), were characterized in detail from material reared at 21°C, and the influence of temperature on development was evaluated. Complete preimaginal development of A. flavipes required a maximum of 1089 hours at 12.8°C and a minimum of 174 hours at 32.2°C. Male A. flavipes mated an average of 3.5 times (range 0–7). Studies on the effects of superparasitism by A. flavipes on O. melanopus indicated that if fewer than 6 eggs were deposited in each host, most would develop and emerge as adult parasitoids, but as the number of eggs per host increased, the ratio of eggs laid to adults emerged was not proportionate, as a maximum of only 8 parasitoids per egg was observed. As the number of eggs per host continued to increase, the number of progeny per eggs decreased to a point where no parasitoids were produced. The eggs of Lema collaris (Say) and L. trilineata Olivier also served as suitable hosts for this parasitoid.
Floor Price Analysis in Terms of Adjustment Weights

To benefit the producers of a goods, government imposes a floor price. Using the price gap adjustment approach, this paper derives all the formulae of interest of a floor price under all three options separately. For government point of view, it finds condition under which price support option is preferred to price subsidy options. The condition is in discord with the theory. All the derived formulae are in terms of three adjustment weights, floor price, and price intercepts.
European slave trading in the Indian Ocean, 1500–1850

Between 1500 and 1850 Europeans purchased about half a million men, women, and children from East Africa, Madagascar, India and Southeast Asia, and transported them to locations throughout the Indi...
The early history of Hamiltonian-based research on kin recognition

Kin recognition, differential treatment of conspecifics based on correlates of genetic relatedness, is a central topic in the field of behavioral ecology, which became a focus of empirical investigation thanks largely to W. D. Hamilton's (1964) theory of inclusive fitness. In this review of early research on kin recognition, I(1) describe the theoretical idea that catalyzed much of the original kin recognition research, (2) examine some of the conceptual issues that are part of the kin recognition literature, including various definitions of kin recognition, (3) describe some of the classic early research programs on kin recognition, (4) review the work that Paul W. Sherman and I did on the kin recognition abilities and mechanisms of ground squirrels (Spermophilus), and (5) offer some thoughts on valuable avenues to pursue in future kin recognition studies.
PT-symmetry and kagome lattices(Conference Presentation)

We consider a complex photonic lattice by placing PT-symmetric dimers at the Kagome lattice points. This lattice is a two-dimensional network of corner-sharing triangles. Each dimer represents a pair of strongly coupled waveguides. The frustrated coupling between waveguide modes results in a dispersionless flat band comprising spatially localized modes. For a balanced arrangement of gain and loss on each dimer, up to a critical value of the gain/loss parameter the system exhibits a PT-symmetric phase. The beam evolution in the waveguide array leads to an oscillatory rotation of the optical power. We observe local chiral structures with a narrow beam excitation. We also study nonlinearity and disorder in this set up.
Viroimmunotherapy of Thoracic Cancers

Thoracic cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), small cell lung cancer (SCLC), and malignant pleural mesothelioma (MM), cause the highest rate of cancer mortality worldwide. Most of these deaths are as a result of NSCLC; however, prognoses for the other two diseases remain as some of the poorest of any cancers. Recent advances in immunotherapy, specifically immune checkpoint inhibitors, have begun to help a small population of patients with advanced lung cancer. People who respond to these immune therapies generally have a durable response and many see dramatic decreases in their disease. However, response to immune therapies remains relatively low. Therefore, intense research is now underway to rationally develop combination therapies to expand the range of patients who will respond to and benefit from immune therapy. One promising approach is with oncolytic viruses. These oncolytic viruses (OVs) have been found to be selective for or have been engineered to preferentially infect and kill cancer cells. In pre-clinical models of different thoracic cancers, it has been found that these viruses can induce immunogenic cell death, increase the number of immune mediators brought into the tumor microenvironment and broaden the neoantigen-specific T cell response. We will review here the literature regarding the application of virotherapy toward augmenting immune responses in thoracic cancers.
Modeling User Quality of Experience (QoE) through Position Discrepancy in Multi-Sensorial, Immersive, Collaborative Environments

Users' QoE (Quality of Experience) in Multi-sensorial, Immersive, Collaborative Environments (MICE) applications is mostly measured by psychometric studies. These studies provide a subjective insight into the performance of such applications. In this paper, we hypothesize that spatial coherence or the lack of it of the embedded virtual objects among users has a correlation to the QoE in MICE. We use Position Discrepancy (PD) to model this lack of spatial coherence in MICE. Based on that, we propose a Hierarchical Position Discrepancy Model (HPDM) that computes PD at multiple levels to derive the application/system-level PD as a measure of performance.; AB@Experimental results on an example task in MICE show that HPDM can objectively quantify the application performance and has a correlation to the psychometric study-based QoE measurements. We envisage HPDM can provide more insight on the MICE application without the need for extensive user study.
Are We Ready for “Radical Leisure”?

For that past 40 years, hundreds of articles have been published in the major journals that examine leisure, recreation, and parks in North America, for example, the Journal of Leisure Rese...
Supercapacitor implementation for PV power generation system and integration

Hybrid energy storage system configuration, novel to the authors' knowledge, is introduced. Interleaving the super capacitor between the electrostatically sensitive devices (ESDs) and DC-link capacitor enables the supercapacitor to directly handle all power demands in transient or steady state mode. Differentiation regarding the nature of the power demand is eliminated thus reducing the system's control complexity. Sliding-mode DC-DC control method is adapted to address the voltage variations and sustain the desired output voltage. The proposed system is implemented and verified via Matlab Simulink using a practical test case for household energy back up system. This new system can be integrated to PV power generation systems.
Paleoparasitology: On the Origins and Impact of Human–Helminth Relationships

‘Pathogens must, in general, contribute to homeostasis in the host-parasite communities if they are to maintain themselves.’
Cortical magnetic resonance imaging changes in elderly inpatients with major depression.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of the study was to determine if magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of elderly depressed patients differ from MRI scans of age-matched control subjects and age-matched patients with Alzheimer's disease. METHOD The authors studied 21 patients 60 years or older with major depression, 16 patients with Alzheimer's disease, and 14 age-matched control subjects. RESULTS Compared to control subjects, depressed patients had greater cerebral sulcal and temporal sulcal atrophy; larger sylvian fissures, lateral ventricles, third ventricles, and temporal horns; and greater severity of subcortical white matter lesions. Depressed patients also had more basal ganglia lesions but similar levels of periventricular hyperintensity. There were no differences between depressed patients with and without delusions on any MRI measure. Depressed patients who received ECT had more temporal horn atrophy and greater subcortical abnormality summary scores than normal subjects. Cortical sulcal atrophy correlated with age at onset of depression. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that elderly hospitalized depressed patients have greater cortical as well as subcortical atrophy and more basal ganglia lesions than age-matched normal control subjects. The correlation of these abnormalities with outcome remains unknown.
The Nature of Conduction Aphasia: A Study of Anatomic and Clinical Features and of Underlying Mechanisms

Publisher Summary The study of conduction aphasia has discovered new knowledge about the disorders of language and the normal mechanisms of speech. This chapter focuses on that knowledge and explains how it helps to illuminate the questions of linguistic structures and processes. Conduction aphasia is an acquired disorder of language, attributable to focal lesions in the posterior area of the dominant cortical hemisphere that impair the ability of patients to express themselves in well-formed utterances. From the pattern of linguistic disorder in conduction aphasia, it is not clear which mechanisms of speech suffer damage. The features of the syndrome—good comprehension, fluent but poorly structured spontaneous speech, impaired naming, and severely disturbed repetition—indicate a disturbance primarily in some mechanism of speech output. The nature of such mechanism and its components are by no means clearly understood. The chapter presents reported incidences and degree of the severity of major and secondary clinical signs of conduction aphasia.
Increasing the economic value of lignocellulosic stillage through medium-chain fatty acid production

Lignocellulosic biomass is seen as an abundant renewable source of liquid fuels and chemicals that are currently derived from petroleum. When lignocellulosic biomass is used for ethanol production, the resulting liquid residue (stillage) contains large amounts of organic material that could be further transformed into recoverable bioproducts, thus enhancing the economics of the biorefinery. Here we test the hypothesis that a bacterial community could transform the organics in stillage into valuable bioproducts. We demonstrate the ability of this microbiome to convert stillage organics into medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), identify the predominant community members, and perform a technoeconomic analysis of recovering MCFAs as co-products of ethanol production. Steady-state operation of a stillage-fed bioreactor showed that 18% of the organic matter in stillage was converted to MCFAs. Xylose and complex carbohydrates were the primary substrates transformed. During the MCFA production period, the five major genera represented more than 95% of the community, including Lactobacillus, Roseburia, Atopobium, Olsenella, and Pseudoramibacter. To assess the potential benefits of producing MCFAs from stillage, we modeled the economics of ethanol and MCFA co-production, at MCFA productivities observed during reactor operation. The analysis predicts that production of MCFAs, ethanol, and electricity could reduce the minimum ethanol selling price from $2.15 to $1.76 gal−1 ($2.68 gal−1 gasoline equivalents) when compared to a lignocellulosic biorefinery that produces only ethanol and electricity.
Nocturnal giants: evolution of the sensory ecology in elephant birds and other palaeognaths inferred from digital brain reconstructions

The recently extinct Malagasy elephant birds (Palaeognathae, Aepyornithiformes) included the largest birds that ever lived. Elephant bird neuroanatomy is understudied but can shed light on the life...
Understanding the factors influencing low-income caregivers’ perceived value of a federal nutrition programme, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)

Objective Retention of participants has been an issue in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). It has been suggested that the perceived value of WIC may affect whether participants remain in the programme. The present study aimed to explore this phenomenon. Design Using a constructivist approach, thirty-one individual in-depth interviews were conducted. Transcripts were analysed using constant comparative analysis. Social, cultural and environmental factors that contribute to the value of WIC were explored as the phenomenon of interest. Setting Eight WIC clinics across the State of Illinois, USA.ParticipantsThirty-one caregivers of children enrolled in WIC for at least 6 months. Results Several factors influenced perceived value of WIC at the interpersonal (level of social support), clinic (value of WIC services v. programme administration issues), vendor (shopping difficulties), community and systems levels (other programme use, stigma and restrictions on food choice). Other themes existed along continua, which overlapped several levels (continuum of perceived need and perceived value of infant formula). Conclusions Many caregivers value WIC, especially before their child turns 1 year old. Improvements are needed at the clinic, during shopping and within the food packages themselves in order to increase perceived value of WIC.
Detection of Sub-Synchronous Control Interaction (SSCI) Using Modal Identification Analysis and FFT

All power electronic control systems in the vicinity of series compensated lines are susceptible to Sub-Synchronous Control Interaction (SSCI). Any contingency which results in a radial condition between power electronic systems and series compensated lines can trigger an undamped SSCI oscillation. This is a purely electrical phenomenon and grows very fast in the scale of a few hundreds of milliseconds. This paper proposes an effective and reliable algorithm to detect and trip SSCI within 150ms. The proposed solution utilizes mode identification approaches in parallel with moving FFT in d-q reference frame to capture the frequency and magnitude of oscillations and process them to issue reliable trip command in the case of SSCI. A detailed model of 90MW wind farm connected to a series-compensated line was developed and the protection algorithm was tested under SSCI condition. The proposed method successfully tripped within the acceptable time frame.
Abstract #1185: Loss of N-myc downstream-regulated gene 1 (NDRG1) increases prostate cancer cell invasion by upregulating CCL5

The N-myc downstream regulated gene 1 (NDRG1) is an androgen-induced gene that can suppress metastasis of prostate cancer. However, the mechanism for this suppression remains unknown. This study set out to elucidate the molecular events underlying NDRG1-regulated metastasis. We demonstrated that silencing NDRG1 by siRNA knock-down from androgen-treated LNCaP cells increased cell invasion through matrigel without affecting cell proliferation. Gene expression profiling of the androgen-treated cells after NDRG1 silencing identified CCL5 as a potential downstream target. We found that the secretion of CCL5 protein was significantly increased in response to NDRG1 knock-down, and that the CCL5-containing conditional medium stimulated cell invasion _ an effect that could be reversed in the presence of a specific blocking antibody_indicating that CCL5 is involved in cell invasion mediated by the loss of NDRG1. Furthermore, we showed that CCL5 stimulated protein tyrosine phosphorylation in both LNCaP and DU145 cells. Our findings, for the first time, link NDRG1 to CCL5 signaling and may lead to new strategies for interfering NDRG1-regulated cell invasion and provide important markers for evaluating prostate cancer prognosis. Citation Information: In: Proc Am Assoc Cancer Res; 2009 Apr 18-22; Denver, CO. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; 2009. Abstract nr 1185.
Intractability of Optimal Multirobot Path Planning on Planar Graphs

We study the computational complexity of optimally solving multirobot path planning problems on planar graphs. For four common time- and distance-based objectives, we show that the associated path optimization problems for multiple robots are all NP-complete, even when the underlying graph is planar. Establishing the computational intractability of optimal multirobot path planning problems on planar graphs has important practical implications. In particular, our result suggests the preferred approach toward solving such problems, when the number of robots is large, is to augment the planar environment to reduce the sharing of paths among robots traveling in opposite directions on those paths. Indeed, such efficiency boosting structures, such as highways and elevated intersections, are ubiquitous in robotics and transportation applications.
The Proto-Oncogene c-fgr Is Expressed in Normal Mantle Zone B Lymphocytes and Is Developmentally Regulated During Myelomonocytic Differentiation In Vivo

The proto-oncogene c-fgr is a member of the c-src gene family of cytoplasmic tyrosine kinases. Previous studies have suggested that it is normally expressed in neutrophils, monocytes, macrophages, and natural killer cells. c-fgr is also expressed in the B cells of certain lymphoproliferative disorders, namely, Epstein-Barr virus-associated lymphoproliferative disease, and in chronic lymphocytic leukemia, but it has not previously been detected in normal or reactive human lymphoid tissue. In this study we have determined the pattern of p55c- fgr protein expression in normal human hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues at the single-cell level using immunohistochemical and immunofluorescent techniques. We show that p55c-fgr expression is developmentally regulated with high-level expression first evident at the myelocyte stage of myeloid differentiation. In addition, we show that p55c-fgr is expressed in circulating B lymphocytes isolated from chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients but is not expressed in normal circulating B lymphocytes. Surprisingly, p55c-fgr is also expressed in a subpopulation of normal B lymphocytes, the mantle zone B lymphocytes. This demonstration that p55c-fgr is expressed in a normal B-lymphocyte subpopulation suggests that its expression in certain B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders may be an indirect consequence of, rather than a primary cause of, the neoplastic transformation process.
“Regulation and Innovation: Examining Outcomes in Chinese Pollution Control Policy Areas,”

Abstract In this paper, we examine how two regionally implemented environmental initiatives in China have impacted the innovation ability of Chinese-listed firms. The regional implementation of these policies, with non-policy regions serving as controls, offers researchers the perfect conditions for a natural experiment. Using research and development (R&D) expenditures and patents as a proxy for innovativeness, we compare the record of innovation of firms inside the policy zones with firms outside the policy zones. We use a Difference-In-Difference-In-Differences (DIDID) method to eliminate endogeneity and take the quality of the patents into account by incorporating sub-items. Results show only one of the regulations had a positive effect and that low quality patents account for most of the innovation. We conclude that reasonably designed environmental regulations, when implemented regionally in competitive industries, do improve Chinese firms' innovation ability in line with the Porter Hypothesis. The results help us derive some useful policy implications regarding innovation.
“Flotsam of Humanity”: Bodies, Borders, and Futures Deferred

In this chapter I read Caroline Bergvall’s poetry collection Drift, the image of Alan Kurdi’s lifeless body on the shoreline, and Malika Mokeddem’s novel The Forbidden Woman to enact a timely shift in our conceptions of the temporality and tactility of the border. I ask what meanings we can gather by relocating our perception of temporality and community from the nation-state to the border and if we can draw upon alternative conceptions of citizenship from the literary imaginary. I offer that we can take the border rather than the bounded nation-space as the conceptual matrix of political and humanitarian citizenship. I claim that the border is a generative and creative space, and conceptualizing rights and citizenship from the border allows us to begin to untangle the problematics of the denial of mobility based on affiliations to region or nation.
Connecting Public School Segregation with Urban Renewal and Interstate Highway Planning: The Case of Birmingham, Alabama:

This article analyzes the connection between public school segregation and Urban Renewal and interstate highway construction in Birmingham, Alabama. It analyzes the routes of the interstate highway...
Sperm morphology from the actual inseminated sample does not predict clinical pregnancy following intrauterine insemination.

Objective To determine the effect of sperm morphology from the specific sample used for intrauterine insemination (IUI) on clinical pregnancy rates (CPR). Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Academic fertility clinic. Patients Couples undergoing IUI July 2016-January 2017. Interventions Morphology slides were prepared from the semen sample produced for IUI. Main Outcome Measures CPR was measured by detection of cardiac activity. Multiple logistic regression modeling was performed to determine the association of sperm morphology with CPR, controlling for age, antimullerian hormone level, and post-wash total motile sperm count. Results Semen analyses, including Kruger strict criteria for morphology from the actual sample inseminated, were reviewed for 155 couples, comprising 234 total treatment cycles. The percent normal morphology significantly differed between the preliminary semen analysis and the IUI sample (-2.0% +3.7% (95% CI -2.55, -1.53). Of the total 234 treatment cycles, 8.6% resulted in clinical pregnancy. When categorized by strict morphology >4%, 4%, <4%, and <1% normal forms was 7.2%, 9.8%, and 11.1%, respectively. There was no significant association between the percent normal morphology and CPR in multivariate analysis. Conclusions This study evaluating the morphology of the actual inseminated sample did not find differences in CPR following IUI among couples with normal and abnormal sperm morphology, including severe teratospermia. Abnormal sperm morphology should not exclude couples from attempting IUI.
Dependence of Peukert Constant on Voltage for Supercapacitors With Constant Power Loads

This paper investigates the dependence of the supercapacitor Peukert constant on its terminal voltage when a constant power load is applied. Recent studies show that the energy delivered by a supercapacitor during a constant power discharge process increases when the discharge power decreases if the discharge power is above a certain threshold, i.e., Peukert’s law applies. This paper reveals that the supercapacitor Peukert constant associated with a constant power discharge process increases when the initial voltage of the discharge process is lower. The physical mechanisms accounting for the Peukert constant dependence on voltage are illustrated by analyzing a five-branch RC ladder circuit model for supercapacitors.
Does hybrid density functional theory predict a non-magnetic ground state for δ-Pu?

Hybrid density functionals, which replace a fraction of density functional theory (DFT) exchange with exact Hartree-Fock (HF) exchange, have been used to study the structural, magnetic, and electronic properties of δ-Pu. The fractions of exact Hartree-Fock exchange used were 25%, 40%, and 55%. Compared to the pure PBE functional, the lattice constants expanded with respect to the experimental value when the PBE-HF hybrid functionals were applied. For pure PBE and hybrid functionals with HF exchanges amounts of 25% and 40%, the ground state structure was anti-ferromagnetic, while for 55% HF contribution the ground state was non-magnetic. The 5f electrons tend to exhibit slight delocalization or itinerancy for the pure PBE functional and well-defined localization for the hybrid functionals, with the degree of 5f electron localization increasing with the amount of HF exchange. Overall, the performance of the hybrid density functionals does not seem superior to pure density functionals for δ-Pu.
Proteomic/transcriptomic analysis of erythropoiesis.

Purpose of review Erythropoiesis is a hierarchical process by which hematopoietic stem cells give rise to red blood cells through gradual cell fate restriction and maturation. Deciphering this process requires the establishment of dynamic gene regulatory networks (GRNs) that predict the response of hematopoietic cells to signals from the environment. Although GRNs have historically been derived from transcriptomic data, recent proteomic studies have revealed a major role for posttranscriptional mechanisms in regulating gene expression during erythropoiesis. These new findings highlight the need to integrate proteomic data into GRNs for a refined understanding of erythropoiesis. Recent findings Here, we review recent proteomic studies that have furthered our understanding of erythropoiesis with a focus on quantitative mass spectrometry approaches to measure the abundance of transcription factors and cofactors during differentiation. Furthermore, we highlight challenges that remain in integrating transcriptomic, proteomic, and other omics data into a predictive model of erythropoiesis, and discuss the future prospect of single-cell proteomics. Summary Recent proteomic studies have considerably expanded our knowledge of erythropoiesis beyond the traditional transcriptomic-centric perspective. These findings have both opened up new avenues of research to increase our understanding of erythroid differentiation, while at the same time presenting new challenges in integrating multiple layers of information into a comprehensive gene regulatory model.
Development of Er3+, Yb3+ Co-Doped Y2O3 NPs According to Yb3+ Concentration by LP–PLA Method: Potential Further Biosensor

As diagnostic biosensors for analyzing fluids from the human body, the development of inorganic NPs is of increasing concern. For one, nanoceramic phosphors have been studied to meet the increasing requirements for biological, imaging, and diagnostic applications. In this study, Y2O3 NPs co-doped with trivalent rare earths (erbium and ytterbium) were obtained using a liquid phase–pulsed laser ablation (LP–PLA) method after getting high density Er, Yb:Y2O3 ceramic targets by Spark plasma sintering (SPS). Most NPs are under 50 nm in diameter and show high crystallinity of cubic Y2O3 structure, containing (222), (440), and (332) planes via HR–TEM. Excitation under a 980 nm laser to a nanoparticle solution showed 525 and 565 nm green, and 660 nm red emissions. The green emission intensity increased and decreased with increasing Yb3+ additive concentration, when the red spectrum continuously strengthened. Utilizing this study’s outcome, we suggest developing technology to mark invisible biomolecules dissolved in a solvent using UC luminescence of Er3+, Yb3+ co-doped Y2O3 NPs by LP–PLA. The LP–PLA method has a potential ability for the fabrication of UC NPs for biosensors with uniform size distribution by laser parameters.
Identifying Modifiable and Non-modifiable Risk Factors of Readmission and Short-Term Mortality in Osteosarcoma: A National Cancer Database Study.

There are limited data to inform risk of readmission and short-term mortality in musculoskeletal oncology. The goal of this study was to identify factors independently associated with 30-day readmission and 90-day mortality following surgical resection of osteosarcoma. We retrospectively reviewed patients (n = 5293) following surgical resection of primary osteosarcoma in the National Cancer Database (2004–2015). Univariate and multivariate methods were used to correlate variables with readmission and short-term mortality. Of 210 readmissions (3.97%), risk factors independently associated with unplanned 30-day readmission included comorbidity burden (odds ratio [OR] 2.4, p = 0.042), Medicare insurance (OR 1.9, p = 0.021), and axial skeleton location (OR 1.5, p = 0.029). A total of 91 patients died within 90 days of their surgery (1.84%). Risk factors independently associated with mortality included age (hazard ratio 1.1, p < 0.001), increasing comorbidity burden (OR 6.6, p = 0.001), higher grade (OR 1.7, p = 0.007), increasing tumor size (OR 2.2, p = 0.03), metastatic disease at presentation (OR 8.5, p < 0.001), and amputation (OR 2.0, p = 0.04). Chemotherapy was associated with a decreased risk of short-term mortality (p < 0.001). Several trends were clear: insurance status, tumor location and comorbidity burden were independently associated with readmission rates, while age, amputation, grade, tumor size, metastatic disease, and comorbidity burden were independently associated with short-term mortality.
The Potential for Advanced Vehicle Systems to Increase the Mobility of Elderly Drivers

This research was performed to determine how emerging in-vehicle technologies might be used to help elderly drivers. Since the automobile is the dominant mode of transportation in this country, the ability to drive is a key factor in mobility. Issues related to elderly drivers, such as physical limitations, reaction times and cognitive processing, are growing in importance. A prototype system was developed to present navigation, collision avoidance and signing information to elderly drivers via an integrated heads-up display, (HUD). Thirty two subjects drove an interactive driving simulator while using the prototype HUD. A variety of driver performance measures were collected and analyzed to determine the effects of the information displays on the driving behavior of elderly drivers. Subjective mental workload and other questionnaire responses were also collected. The results are discussed in terms of their effect on the mobility of elderly drivers.
Immunochemical studies of foot-and-mouth disease: II. Characterization of RNA-free viruslike particles

Abstract A new antigen of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is described. It has a sedimentation rate of 75 S, and a density of 1.31 g/ml. It is noninfectious and appears to be devoid of RNA. It has an estimated diameter of 21 mμ. It fixes complement when used as an antigen in the complement-fixation test and forms a precipitin line with homotypic serum in agar plates. It differs from the 140 S FMDV antigen in that: (a) it cannot be disrupted to the 12 S subunit at pH 6.0; and (b) it appears to react with specific antibody to the 12 S subunit as well as with specific antibody to the 140 S intact virus. It occurs as approximately 85% of the total complement-fixing activity of one of the four foot-and-mouth disease viruses studied.
Computerization of a Vehicle Pass-By Noise Measurement Facility

A computerized data acquisition system for exterior vehicle noise testing was developed to provide the sophisticated data analysis techniques and test site efficiency required to meet current and future regulations. The computer generates accurate, dependable data in a final test report at the conclusion of each test minimizing data reduction and turnaround time. Computer control of test sequences eliminates manual operations and provides efficient use of site time. The inclusion of on line Fourier analysis techniques provides additional noise source identification capabilities.
Tolerance of a field grown soybean cultivar to elevated ozone level is concurrent with higher leaflet ascorbic acid level, higher ascorbate-dehydroascorbate redox status, and long term photosynthetic productivity.

We examined the characteristics of ascorbic acid (ASC) level, dehydroascorbate (DHA) level, and the ASC–DHA redox status in the leaflets of two soybean cultivars grown in a field environment and exposed to elevated ozone (O3) levels. These two cultivars, one that preliminary evidence indicated to be O3-tolerant (cv Essex), and one that was indicated to be O3-sensitive (cv Forrest), were grown in open-top chambers during the summer of 1997. The plants were exposed daily to a controlled, moderately high O3 level (≈58 nl l−1 air) in the light, beginning at the seedling stage and continuing to bean maturity. Concurrently, control plants were exposed to carbon-filtered, ambient air containing a relatively low O3 level (≈24 nl l−1 air) during the same period. Elevated O3 did not affect biomass per plant, mature leaf area accretion, or bean yield per plant of cv Essex. In contrast, elevated O3 level decreased the biomass and bean yield per plant of cv Forrest by approximately 20%. Daily leaflet photosynthesis rate and stomatal conductance per unit area did not decrease in either cultivar as a result of prolonged O3 exposure. A 10% lower mature leaflet area in O3-treated cv Forrest plants contributed to an ultimate limitation in long-term photosynthetic productivity (vegetative and bean yield). Possible factors causing cv Essex to be more O3 tolerant than cv Forrest were: 1) mature leaflets of control and O3-treated cv Essex plants consistently maintained a higher daily ASC level than leaflets of cv Forrest plants, and 2) mature leaflets of cv Essex plants maintained a higher daily ASC–DHA redox status than leaflets of cv Forrest plants.
Residual Muscular Soreness as Influenced by Concentric, Eccentric, and Static Contractions

Abstract Sixty subjects, 53 women and 7 men, were assigned at random to either concentric, eccentric, or static contraction groups. Residual muscular soreness was induced through exhaustive exercises performed on the nondominant arm. Muscular strength and limb volume measurements were taken before exercise, immediately after the bouts, and 24, 48, and 72 hr. later. Soreness was measured during the same time intervals by means of a rating scale. The results showed that eccentric contractions effected greater residual muscular soreness than concentric and static contractions, with the peak occurring after 48 hr. Muscular strength decreased appreciably following eccentric contraction, and remained depressed throughout the duration of the soreness period, while no significant differences in strength were found after concentric and static contractions. Limb volume increased in both exercised and unexercised arms immediately after exercise, regardless of the type of contraction. After 24, 48, and 72 hr., howeve...
Health behaviors and quality of life predictors for risk of hospitalization in an electronic health record-linked biobank.

Hospital risk stratification models using electronic health records (EHRs) often use age and comorbid health burden. Our primary aim was to determine if quality of life or health behaviors captured in an EHR-linked biobank can predict future risk of hospitalization.Participants in the Mayo Clinic Biobank completed self-administered questionnaires at enrollment that included quality of life and health behaviors. Participants enrolled as of December 31, 2010 were followed for one year to ascertain hospitalization. Data on comorbidities and hospitalization were derived from the Mayo Clinic EHR. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were used, adjusted for age and sex. We used gradient boosting machines models to integrate multiple factors. Different models were compared using C-statistic.Of the 8,927 eligible Mayo Clinic Biobank participants, 834 (9.3%) were hospitalized. Self-perceived health status and alcohol use had the strongest associations with risk of hospitalization. Compared to participants with excellent self-perceived health, those reporting poor/fair health had higher risk of hospitalization (HR =3.66, 95% CI 2.74-4.88). Alcohol use was inversely associated with hospitalization (HR =0.57 95% CI 0.45-0.72). The gradient boosting machines model estimated self-perceived health as the most influential factor (relative influence =16%). The predictive ability of the model based on comorbidities was slightly higher than the one based on the self-perceived health (C-statistic =0.67 vs 0.65).This study demonstrates that self-perceived health may be an important piece of information to add to the EHR. It may be another method to determine hospitalization risk.
The Special Problem of Banks and Crime

Federal prosecutors face increasing criticism for their failure to indict large banks and bankers for serious criminal conduct, including allowing violent drug cartels to launder hundreds of millions of dollars, willfully conducting business with rogue nations and terrorists, and manipulating the LIBOR to defraud investors. This Essay argues that the non-prosecution of banks is often justified by proper consideration of externalities and that the non-prosecution of bankers is often explained by lack of evidence or the difficulty of white-collar prosecutions generally. Nevertheless, the result is that extremely serious criminal conduct is penalized by mere fines and negotiated terms of probation, and this introduces deterrence and expressive costs to the legal system. These costs are significant and ought to be addressed, but the criminal law may not be the most effective tool for confronting criminal conduct by banks and bankers; rather, powerful regulatory tools already exist that could resolve the deterrent and expressive shortcomings of the criminal law in this area. Presently, the regulators are not using these tools; they ought to.
Thermal comparison of plate, extrusion heat sink, and skive heat sink

Due to the high power dissipation values of power amplifiers, large temperature gradients exist, resulting in localized hot spots around the devices. These hot spots cause high device junction temperatures. Generally speaking, the higher junction temperature increases, the lower reliability will be. Thus, improving the heat spreading is very important. Several methods can be used to improve heat spreading. Skiving is a process of cutting off in thin layers or paring. Skiving is a high throughput manufacturing process that produces high surface area heat sinks at low cost. The entire extruded material is skived and then the heat sinks are cut to the desired length. The high process throughput results in low cost. In quantities of 1000 units, a 100 mm/spl times/70 mm/spl times/25 mm heat sink costs approximately $3.50. A detailed comparison demonstrates the heat absorption capability of using aluminum plate, aluminum plate with skive heat sink, and extrusion heat sink under laminar flow (free convection) and turbulent flow (forced convection) environments. Two CFD thermal analysis software packages (Icepak and Flotherm) are used to compare experimental results.
Changes in Risk Profile and Outcomes of Patients Undergoing Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement From the Pre- to Post-Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Eras.

Background With initiation of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) programs, centers may see changes in surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) populations and related outcomes because of more high-risk patients undergoing TAVR rather than SAVR. Little data exist on the potential changes in the risk profiles and outcomes of SAVR patients from the pre- to post-TAVR eras. As such, this study sought to evaluate changes in the SAVR population at a tertiary referral center after TAVR program initiation. Methods Using a single-center valve surgical database, annual volume, patient characteristics, operative details, and predicted and observed mortality for patients undergoing isolated SAVR or SAVR + coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) from 2006 to 2013 were evaluated. Patients were divided into 3 eras: (1) pre-TAVR (January 2006–June 2009), (2) transition (July 2009–March 2011), and (3) TAVR (April 2011–June 2013). The primary analysis compared predicted and observed mortality in pre-TAVR and TAVR eras. Results From 2006 to 2013, 1,380 SAVR patients were identified, with 505 (36.6%), 330 (23.9%), and 545 (39.5%) patients from the pre-TAVR, transition, and TAVR eras, respectively. SAVR case volume increased from 131 to 256 cases per year (95.4% increase) from the pre-TAVR to the post-TAVR eras. Predicted risk of mortality (PROM) for SAVR patients from the pre-TAVR to TAVR eras by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS)-PROM was stable near 3.8% ( p = 0.82). Crude 30-day SAVR mortality trended down from 2.8% in the pre-TAVR era to 1.5% in the post-TAVR era ( p = 0.23). Conclusions Consistent with previous studies, initiation of a TAVR program was associated with increased SAVR volume. Risk profiles for SAVR patients in the TAVR era remained similar by the STS-PROM, indicating generally stable risk among surgical patients after launching a TAVR program. These data suggest that significant changes in the risk profiles of SAVR patients should not be expected with the initiation of a TAVR program. Further research will need to reevaluate these changes once TAVR becomes more widely available.
Fallopian tube carcinoma

Twenty-one patients with fallopian tube carcinoma from Yale-New Haven Medical Center are reviewed. Most patients who died of disease did so in the first two years after diagnosis, even following complete resection, clearly indicating the need for adjuvant therapy. Negative second-look surgery did not provide assurance of permanent remission. There was a high recurrence rate with Stage I and completely resected Stage II and III disease (8 of 14 patients). Some recurrences occurred late, up to nine years after initial diagnosis. We recommend whole abdomino-pelvic radiation if no disease greater than 2 cm3 bulk exists after surgery. Chemotherapy may be an alternative to radiation as primary adjuvant treatment in early stage disease. Chemotherapy for unresectable disease or recurrent disease has shown palliation with occasional prolonged survival but no patient with recurrent disease survived longer than two years.
Numerical solution of first passage problems using an approximate Chapman-Kolmogorov relation

Abstract A new deterministic numerical method for solving first passage time problem is described, analyzed and computationally tested. The method is based on recursively solving an integral equation for the reliability function. The integral equation is derived from the Chapman-Kolmogorov relation and involves an approximation to the Green's function for the forward Kolmogorov equation. An error analysis yields estimates of convergence rates. Numerical experiments indicate that the method is stable and can accurately approximate the reliability function and first passage times.