cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Challenges in funding and developing genomic software: roots and remedies

The computer software used for genomic analysis has become a crucial component of the infrastructure for life sciences. However, genomic software is still typically developed in an ad hoc manner, with inadequate funding, and by academic researchers not trained in software development, at substantial costs to the research community. I examine the roots of the incongruity between the importance of and the degree of investment in genomic software, and I suggest several potential remedies for current problems. As genomics continues to grow, new strategies for funding and developing the software that powers the field will become increasingly essential.
Comparative Electromyographic Values of Isometric, Isotonic, and Isokinetic Contraction

Abstract The muscular tensions produced by isokinetic, isotonic, and isometric contractions were compared electromyographically. Data were collected on college women who performed maximally under each contraction type. No single contraction type was found which produced the greatest muscle action potential for all subjects. Strength gain due to a given exercise program would seem, therefore, to vary with the individual and the motor unit involvement elicited by the type of contraction employed.
GenieHD: efficient DNA pattern matching accelerator using hyperdimensional computing

DNA pattern matching is widely applied in many bioinformatics applications. The increasing volume of the DNA data exacerbates the runtime and power consumption to discover DNA patterns. In this paper, we propose a hardware-software co-design, called GenieHD, which efficiently parallelizes the DNA pattern matching task. We exploit brain-inspired hyperdimensional (HD) computing which mimics pattern-based computations in human memory. We transform inherent sequential processes of the DNA pattern matching to highly-parallelizable computation tasks using HD computing. The proposed technique first encodes the whole genome sequence and target DNA pattern to high-dimensional vectors. Once encoded, a light-weight operation on the high-dimensional vectors can identify if the target pattern exists in the whole sequence. We also design an accelerator architecture which effectively parallelizes the HD-based DNA pattern matching while significantly reducing the number of memory accesses. The architecture can be implemented on various parallel computing platforms to meet target system requirements, e.g., FPGA for low-power devices and ASIC for high-performance systems. We evaluate GenieHD on practical large-size DNA datasets such as human and Escherichia Coli genomes. Our evaluation shows that GenieHD significantly accelerates the DNA matching procedure, e.g., 44.4× speedup and 54.1× higher energy efficiency as compared to a state-of-the-art FPGA-based design.
Preclinical Studies of a Novel Microfabricated Device to Treat Corneal Epithelial Disease.

Purpose Anterior stromal puncture is an inexpensive technique for treating recurrent corneal erosions but is often ineffective and cannot be used in the optical axis because of scarring. These studies tested a novel microfabricated imprinting instrument to assess its potential efficacy for the treatment of corneal epithelial disease in the optical axis. Methods The device is made using glass rods, bundled and drawn through multiple iterative cycles, and then fused under high heat to generate a solid rod comprised of many parallel, aligned, cladded fibers. The rods are sliced into discs and then etched to yield designable spikes based on the borosilicate composition of the glass. Results Imprinting the cornea yields a regular pattern of imprints. Histologic studies showed both nonpenetrating stable deformations of Bowman layer, with formation of stable epithelial attachments, and full thickness penetration, with superficial ingrowth of the basal epithelium. Conclusions Microimprinted corneal tissue shows focal subepithelial scarring without evidence of optically evident anterior stromal scarring, and may be an effective way of treating recurrent corneal erosions in the optical axis, which is not currently possible using standard anterior stromal puncture methods.
Natural Disaster and Economic Development in Southeast Asia

This chapter discusses natural disasters and their impacts on economic development of Southeast Asia. Natural disasters generally lead to capital decumulation, have impacts on total factor productivity, and involve vulnerability of people living in the economy. Their effects could persist in the long run and could spread across national borders. Appropriate institutions and public policies could prevent or mitigate the adverse economic impacts of natural disasters.
Improving Service Supply Chain of Internet Services by Analyzing Online Customer Reviews

As the service sector is gaining more attention over the past few decades, service supply chains are being widely investigated to improve service quality. Specifically, with the proliferation of digital infrastructure, there is a plethora of demand for internet services, which makes the wireless communications industry highly competitive. Thus, internet service providers (ISPs) must ensure that their efforts are targeted towards attracting and retaining customers for continued growth. Since Web 2.0 has gained traction and more tools have become available, customers in recent times are equipped to make well-informed decisions, specifically due to the colossal information available in online reviews. ISPs can use this information to better understand the views of the customers about their products and services. The goal of this paper is to identify the current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of several leading ISPs by exploring consumer reviews using text analytics. The proposed approach consists of four different stages: bigram and trigram analyses, topic identification, SWOT analysis and Root Cause Analysis (RCA). For each ISP, we first categorize online reviews into positive and negative based on customer ratings and then leverage text analytic tools to determine the most frequently used and co-occurring words in each categorization of reviews. Subsequently, looking at the positive and negative topics in each ISP, we conduct the SWOT analysis as well as the RCA to help companies identify the internal and external factors impacting customer satisfaction. We use a case study to illustrate the proposed approach. The managerial insights that are derived from the results can act as a decision support tool for ISPs to offer better products and services for their customers.
Optimization of Active and Passive Thermal Protection Systems for a Hypersonic Vehicle

The hypersonic vehicle model Michigan–AFRL Scramjet in Vehicle (MASIV) is used to optimize both the active and the passive thermal protection systems on a scramjet-powered generic X-43 waverider. T...
Back to the Future or a Brave New World?—Reflections on How the COVID-19 Pandemic is Reshaping Globalization

Many times, history shows that pandemics kill millions and disrupt economic activity and linkages on a global level. COVID-19 will not be the end of globalization or global governance, but, policymakers seem to develop a convenient case of amnesia about the role of globalization as a transmission belt for a whole variety of threats, such as, pandemics, drug trafficking, people smuggling, money laundering, and environmental degradation. It likely that COVID-19 will further push the world beyond the US-dominated rules-based world order, and usher in a more pluralistic multiplex world. The concept of a multiplex world offers a window into how the emerging world order is likely to take form in the coming decade. This trend toward a multiplex world was already under way well before COVID-19. A multiplex would not be managed or lead by a single power or group, but formed through a G20 plus world where its main players would not be just big powers or nation-states but also institutions, corporations, and networks, operating at multiple and intersecting levels. In such a world order, the nature of threats would be increasingly transnational. These transnational perils would be beyond the ability of any single nation to address and defeat. There is now an opportunity to rethink and reinvent globalization and global governance to fit this new reality.
Moral Equivalence Theory in Neonatology

Abstract This article explores the ethical concept of “the equivalence thesis” (ET), or the idea that withdrawing and withholding life sustaining treatments are morally equivalent practices, within neonatology. We review the historical origins, theory, and clinical rationale behind ET, and provide an analysis of how ET relates to literature that describes neonatal mode of death and healthcare professional and parent attitudes towards end-of-life care. While ET may serve as an ethical tool to optimize resource allocation in theory, its clinical utility is limited given the complexity of end-of-life care decisions.
Chapter 34 – Bubonic Plague

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses bubonic plague which is a devastating bacterial disease most commonly transmitted by fleas. Fleas are bloodsucking insects, and when a flea bites a plague-infected host, it ingests the rod-shaped bacteria; these multiply in the blood clot in the proventriculus (foregut) of the fl ea. This bacteria-laden clot obstructs the flea's bloodsucking apparatus and, as a consequence, the flea is unable to pump blood into the midgut, where normally it would be digested. The flea becomes hungrier, and in this ravenous state, bites the host repeatedly; with each bite, it regurgitates plague bacteria into the wound. In this way, infection is initiated. Y. pestis can also be pathogenic for the flea, and fleas with their foregut blocked rapidly starve to death. If the mammalian host dies, its body cools down, and fleas respond by moving off the corpse to seek another live warm-blooded host. Although human disease is rare, a feverish patient who has been exposed to rodents or flea bites in plague endemic areas should be considered to be a possible plague victim. A variety of antibiotics including gentamycin, streptomycin, sulfonamides, doxycycline, and ciprofloxacin are effective against bubonic plague. Tetracycline can be used prophylactically, and chloramphenicol is used to treat plague meningitis. No antibiotic resistance has been reported.
The Rise of the Public in Enlightenment Europe: Reading publics: transformations of the literary public sphere

Reading publics had long existed as aggregates of readers. As a social and cultural act, however, reading underwent a fundamental transformation in the eighteenth century. Not only did the production of print rise significantly; what readers read also changed. Not only did more people read; people also read more. And as the quantitative and qualitative effects of these changes became increasingly evident to contemporaries, “the reading public” became an object of discussion, dissection, and debate. Even as Enlightenment writers and critics assigned this public unprecedented importance as an arbiter of taste, they also grappled with the intractable problem of how to shape, control, and even define it. Literacy in the eighteenth century Literacy is notoriously difficult to measure or even define. Is it the ability to sign one's name? Read a newspaper? Understand a governmental regulation or comprehend a scholarly text? Part of the problem is that literacy is not one skill but a hierarchy of discrete ones. In early modern Europe these could include the capacity to read but not write, or conversely, the ability to sign one's name without knowing how to read a relatively simple text. In some cases reading was an extension of memory. Here individuals were able to “read” certain Biblical passages they had once memorized, but not others less familiar. Compounding the problem are the limits of the sources. Historians have traditionally used the ability to sign one's name as an index of literacy.
Challenges Obtaining Audit Evidence

This paper discusses the problems associated with the collection of audit evidence in an Information Technology (IT) environment. There has been a profound shift regarding the nature of audit evidence; more than 90% of the documents are now digital. A study was conducted years ago which showed that 80% of audits failed due to poor audit evidence ( Beasley, Carcello, & Hermanson, 2001). With the new age of computers, what’s the chance the percentage is even higher now?
"Acne Vaccinatum"—A Complication of Smallpox Vaccination

Although most textbook and committee recommendations on immunizations mention eczema and other more acute dermatitides as contra-indications to vaccination, no specific reference could be found regarding the significance of acne vulgaris.1,2 We have recently observed a serious complication of primary smallpox vaccination in a patient with acne vulgaris. Case Report Ten days after receiving a primary smallpox vaccination, a 16-year-old male was seen for a 2 x 2 x 2 cm tender node in his left axilla. He was afebrile and had a primary pustular vaccination reaction of the skin over the left deltoid muscle as well as left axillary lymphadenopathy.
WHAT SPECIES REMAIN TO BE SEEN

We review what species remain to be seen for several types of astrochemistry: Thermochemical Equilibrium (TE) in circumstellar envelopes (CSEs); photo- and ion-molecule chemistry in CSEs; ion-molecule chemistry in cold interstellar clouds; grain chemistry (passive, catalytic, disruptive); and shock chemistry. In CSEs, a rich Si gas-phase chemistry is now recognized, and two predicted species (SiN, SiH2) have been seen. Others are predicted. In the ISM, a global picture of refractory-element chemistry predicts that compounds of Mg, Na, Fe, and possibly Al occur with detectable gas-phase abundance. Predicted species require laboratory synthesis and spectroscopy. Reactions of hydrocarbon ions with neutral species dominate the formation of the families CnH, HCnN, H2Cn, and CnO in both interstellar (TMC-1) and circumstellar (IRC10216) cases, and readily explain the favored values of n in each case as well as predicting which higher-n species remain to be seen. Confirmation of H3O+ (interstellar) is discussed.
Using Virtual Technology to Promote Functional Communication in Aphasia: Preliminary Evidence From Interactive Dialogues With Human and Virtual Clinicians

Purpose We investigated the feasibility of using a virtual clinician (VC) to promote functional communication abilities of persons with aphasia (PWAs). We aimed to determine whether the quantity and quality of verbal output in dialogues with a VC would be the same or greater than those with a human clinician (HC). Method Four PWAs practiced dialogues for 2 sessions each with a HC and VC. Dialogues from before and after practice were transcribed and analyzed for content. We compared measures taken before and after practice in the VC and HC conditions. Results Results were mixed. Participants either produced more verbal output with the VC or showed no difference on this measure between the VC and HC conditions. Participants also showed some improvement in postpractice narratives. Conclusion Results provide support for the feasibility and applicability of virtual technology to real-life communication contexts to improve functional communication in PWAs.
Energy Spectra of Auto-Ionizing Electrons in Oxygen

Experimental and theoretical data are presented showing the energy spectra of auto-ionizing electrons from atomic oxygen. The experimental data were obtained by bombarding oxygen gas with 100-keV ${\mathrm{H}}^{+}$ and ${\mathrm{He}}^{+}$ ions; the theoretical results were obtained in a close-coupling calculation which coupled the $^{4}S$, $^{2}D$, and $^{2}P$ terms of the ground-state configuration of ${\mathrm{O}}^{+}$ in electron-${\mathrm{O}}^{+}$ scattering.
A stack decoder approach to approximate string matching

We present a new efficient algorithm for top-N match retrieval of sequential patterns. Our approach is based on an incremental approximation of the string edit distance using index information and a stack based search. Our approach produces hypotheses with average edit error of about 0.29 edits from the optimal SED result while using only about 5% of the CPU computation.
Vacuum-deposited polymer/silver reflector material

Weatherable, low cost, front surface, solar reflectors on flexible substrates would be highly desirable for lamination to solar concentrator panels. The method to be described in this paper may permit such reflector material to be fabricated for less the 50$CNT per square foot. Vacuum deposited Polymer/Silver/Polymer reflectors and Fabry-Perot interference filters were fabricated in a vacuum web coating operation on polyester substrates. Reflectivities were measured in the wavelength range from .4 micrometers to .8 micrometers . It is hoped that a low cost substrate can be used with the substrate laminated to the concentrator and the weatherable acrylic polymer coating facing the sun. This technique should be capable of deposition line speeds approaching 1500 linear feet/minute 2 . Central to this technique is a new vacuum deposition process for the high rate deposition of polymer films. This polymer process involves the flash evaporation of an acrylic monomer onto a moving substrate. The monomer is subsequently cured by an electron beam or ultraviolet light. This high speed polymer film deposition process has been named the PML process- for Polymer Multi- Layer.
Effects of Birth-Related Events on Blood Flow Distribution

At birth, the cardiovascular system changes dramatically; arterial blood pressure, heart rate, and cardiac output increase, and blood flow distribution undergoes regional changes. To determine whether these changes are related to certain events occurring at birth, we studied 18 chronically instrumented fetal sheep at 133-138 days gestational age. We measured fetal vascular pressures and heart rate and injected radionuclide-labeled microspheres to determine combined ventricular output and its distribution. Rhythmic ventilation of the fetuses with a gas mixture that produced no change in arterial blood gases decreased heart rate slightly from 173 +/- 25 to 152 +/- 16 beats/min, but changed neither mean arterial blood pressure nor combined ventricular output. Ventilation with oxygen decreased mean descending aortic and pulmonary arterial pressures, but had no significant effect on heart rate or combined ventricular output; subsequent umbilical cord occlusion had no significant effect on these variables. There was a redistribution of blood flow, however. Ventilation alone increased pulmonary blood flow from 159 +/- 68 to 641 +/- 513 ml.min-1.100 g wet weight-1, and oxygenation increased it further to 1040 +/- 426. Ventilation alone and ventilation with O2 decreased blood flow to most other fetal organs, notably the adrenal glands, brain, and heart, in a manner related to changes in arterial oxygen tension. Occlusion of the umbilical cord increased blood flow to the adrenal glands and brown fat, and also to the liver from the portal vein and hepatic artery. The changes in regional blood flow initiated by ventilation, oxygenation, and umbilical cord occlusion are similar to those occurring at birth and may play an important role in postnatal adaptation.
Aβ peptide enhances focal adhesion kinase/Fyn association in a rat CNS nerve cell line

Abstract Neurotoxicity of the amyloid beta protein (Aβ) is known to correlate with a selective change in protein tyrosine phosphorylation (Tyr(P)) of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) (Zhang et al., J. Biol. Chem., 269 (1994) 25247–25250). The current work has found that exposure of neuronal cells to Aβ upregulates the stable association of FAK with Fyn, a neuronally-enriched protein tyrosine kinase of the Src-family. In cells incubated with aged Aβ 1–42, the amount of immunoprecipitable FAK-Fyn complex increased ∼280%. Equivalent results were obtained whether anti-FAK or anti-Fyn was used to precipitate the complex. Cells incubated with non-toxic Aβ 17–42, which makes aggregates and attaches to cells but does not upregulate FAK Tyr(P), exhibited no increase in FAK-Fyn complex. Aberrant Fyn activity due to the Aβ-evoked association with FAK could play a role in neuronal degeneration and also cause anomalies in synaptic plasticity. These possibilities are of particular significance because of the reported increase in Fyn immunoreactivity in Alzheimer's-afflicted neurons (Shirazi and Wood, NeuroReport, 4 (1993) 435–437).
TCTAP C-196 Successful Recanalization of Very Long Chronic Total Occlusion Ranging from External Iliac Artery to Superficial Femoral Artery Using Trans Collateral Approach via Hypogastric Artery

### Patient initials or identifier number M.N ### Relevant clinical history and physical exam She was a 86-year old female with severe intermittent claudication in the both lower limbs for a year and a half. Symptom of the left lower limb was more severe than the right one. She was introduced
Synthesis and characterization of a small analogue of the anticancer natural product leinamycin

Leinamycin (1) is a Streptomyces-derived natural product that displays nanomolar IC(50) values against human cancer cell lines. In the work described here, we report the synthesis and characterization of a small leinamycin analogue 19 that closely resembles the 'upper-right quadrant' of the natural product, consisting of an alicyclic 1,2-dithiolan-3-one 1-oxide heterocycle connected to an alkene by a two-carbon linker. The results indicate that this small analogue contains the core set of functional groups required to enable thiol-triggered generation of both redox active polysulfides and an episulfonium ion intermediate via the complex reaction cascade first seen in the natural product leinamycin. The small leinamycin analogue 19 caused thiol-triggered oxidative DNA strand cleavage in a manner similar to the natural product, but did not alkyate duplex DNA effectively. This highlights the central role of the 18-membered macrocycle of leinamycin in driving efficient DNA alkylation by the natural product.
Engineering courseware content and delivery: the NEEDS infrastructure for distance independent education

The Synthesis Engineering Education Coalition strives to integrate multidisciplinary, open-ended problem solving into the varied engineering curricula of its members. To achieve this goal, Synthesis has developed a broad array of computer-based multimedia courseware modules and elements. In addition to the courseware, Synthesis has developed NEEDS, the National Engineering Education Delivery System, as the infrastructure for disseminating these and other education materials over the Internet. Several interesting challenges have been identified through this effort: How can electronic courseware meet the diverse needs of curricula among a cross section of universities? How do educators adapt traditional teaching roles to fit new resources and delivery styles? What courseware access modes equally suit the needs of author, teacher, and student? Can an infrastructure designed for static course-ware be adapted to dynamically changing information on the World Wide Web? The experience of Synthesis/NEEDS can begin to answer these questions while opening more issues in distance independent education. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
An improved runwaySimulator — Simulation for runway system capacity estimation

To estimate the capacities of airport runway systems, The MITRE Corporation's Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD) developed a fast-time simulation tool named runwaySimulator. The tool has been used for the past six years to study roughly a hundred airports in support of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) and airport system planning, acquisition decision support, concept evaluation, and planning for runway construction. The successful use of runwaySimulator has prompted MITRE to reimplement the tool with the intent of sharing it publically. The new version is now in beta testing. The new runwaySimulator describes a scenario in terms of several components, grouped by airport configuration, fleet, and rules. The last includes a component that represents separation of aircraft via a set of rules and the conditions which trigger them. The software is accompanied by a default separation component that represents separation standards and practices common in United States airspace. Rules and triggers vary with the types of operations, the orientation of runways, weather, wake classes and other attributes of flights, and the availability of various procedures and technologies. Scenarios are simulated by models of flights and a manager responsible for making procedure assignment and timing decisions about flights. The manager's heuristics seek to maximize throughput while maintaining tolerable equity of delays. In capacity mode, a run of several hundred simulated hours includes flight generation, consistent with the fleet mix, and decisions about how to serve the demand, consistent with the rules governing procedure eligibility and separation. The resulting rate of simulated operations is interpreted as capacity, i.e., maximum sustainable throughput. By varying the arrival-departure mixes in a base scenario, the software generates a capacity curve which bounds feasible hourly arrival/departure throughput pairs. The runwaySimulator software also includes features for animation and analysis of runway and procedure usage and separation enforcement. This paper provides background on runwaySimulator's development, validation, and use, describes its scenario and simulation models, and explains how the software is used to estimate capacity.
Penicillin resistant staphylococci.

Summary(1) In a study of the susceptibility of 115 strains of staphylococci to penicillin 16 or 13.9% were found to be resistant. (2) All strains resistant to penicillin produced penicillinase; none of the susceptible strains had this property. (3) Many of the penicillinase-producing staphylococci produce coagulase indicating the importance of the former in infection. (4) Staphylococci naturally resistant to penicillin appear to be resistant as a result of their ability to produce penicillinase.
Closing of the Midcontinent rift-A far—field effect of Grenvillian compression

The Midcontinent rift formed in the Laurentian supercontinent between 1109 and 1094 Ma. Soon after rifting, stresses changed from extensional to compressional, and the central graben of the rift was partly inverted by thrusting on original extensional faults. Thrusting culminated at about 1060 Ma but may have begun as early as 1080 Ma. On the southwest-trending arm of the rift, the crust was shortened about 30 km; on the southeast-trending arm, strike-slip motion was dominant. The rift developed adjacent to the tectonically active Grenville province, and its rapid evolution from an extensional to a compressional feature at ca. 1080 Ma was coincident with renewal of northwest-directed thrusting in the Grenvllle, probably caused by continent-continent collision. A zone of weak lithosphere created by rifting became the locus for deformation within the otherwise strong continental lithosphere. Stresses transmitted from the Grenville province utilized this weak zone to close and invert the rift.
Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube-Induced Gene Expression in the Mouse Lung: Association with Lung Pathology

Due to the fibrous shape and durability of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), concerns regarding their potential for producing environmental and human health risks, including carcinogenesis, have been raised. This study sought to investigate how previously identified lung cancer prognostic biomarkers and the related cancer signaling pathways are affected in the mouse lung following pharyngeal aspiration of well-dispersed MWCNT. A total of 63 identified lung cancer prognostic biomarker genes and major signaling biomarker genes were analyzed in mouse lungs (n = 80) exposed to 0, 10, 20, 40, or 80 μg of MWCNT by pharyngeal aspiration at 7 and 56 days post-exposure using quantitative PCR assays. At 7 and 56 days post-exposure, a set of 7 genes and a set of 11 genes, respectively, showed differential expression in the lungs of mice exposed to MWCNT vs. the control group. Additionally, these significant genes could separate the control group from the treated group over the time series in a hierarchical gene clustering analysis. Furthermore, 4 genes from these two sets of significant genes, coiled-coil domain containing-99 (Ccdc99), muscle segment homeobox gene-2 (Msx2), nitric oxide synthase-2 (Nos2), and wingless-type inhibitory factor-1 (Wif1), showed significant mRNA expression perturbations at both time points. It was also found that the expression changes of these 4 overlapping genes at 7 days post-exposure were attenuated at 56 days post-exposure. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) found that several carcinogenic-related signaling pathways and carcinogenesis itself were associated with both the 7 and 11 gene signatures. Taken together, this study identifies that MWCNT exposure affects a subset of lung cancer biomarkers in mouse lungs.
Pelvic cancer pain

Pelvic cancer causes several types of pain, i.e., visceral, neuropathic, and somatic pain. Somatic pain is due to stimulation of nociceptors in the integument and supporting structures, namely, striated muscles, joints, periosteum, bones, and nerve trunks by direct extension through fascial planes and their lymphatic supply. In 60% of patients with malignant disease of soft tissues, nerve trunk, and sacral invasion from carcinoma of the cervix, uterus, vagina, colon, rectum, and other tissues in women, and from penile, prostate, and colorectal carcinoma and sarcoma in men, they have neuropathic pain. The infiltration of the perineal nerves results in lumbosacral plexopathies and complete destruction of the nerve, including perineural lymphatic invasions producing symptomatic sensory loss, causalgia, and deafferentation. Visceral pain is the result of spasms of smooth muscles of hallow viscus; distortion of capsule of solid organs; inflammation; chemical irritation; traction or twisting of mesentery; and ischemia, or necrosis, and encroachment of pelvis and presacral tumors. Pain of these types is managed by different modalities depending on the age of the patient, the expected life expectancy, availability of invasive and non-invasive pain control modalities, and the resources of the patient, community, and health care agencies. Patients with pelvic cancer can live with less pain due to better pain-control modalities that are available today with the help of dedicated and caring algologists.
Current understanding of the aeronomy of Mars

This paper provides a short overview of our current understanding of the upper atmosphere/ionosphere of Mars including the escaping neutral atmosphere to space that plays a key role in the current state of the Mars upper atmosphere. The proper definition of the word “aeronomy” relates to the upper atmosphere where ionization is important. Currently there is a paucity of measurements of the internal physical structure of the Martian upper atmosphere/ionosphere. Much that we know has been deduced from theoretical models that predict many more things than thus far measured. The newest Mars orbital missions, the US MAVEN and Indian MOM missions, just beginning their science analyses, will provide the measurements needed to fully characterize the aeronomy of Mars.
Angiographic identification of malpositioned balloon catheters during mitral valvuloplasty.

The positioning of balloon catheters for the percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty technique is critical to ensure an adequate result and minimize complications. Passage of two balloon catheters in parallel through a thickened atrial septum and maintenance of satisfactory positioning in the left ventricle can be difficult. We describe unsuspected mal-positioning of the balloons in two patients documented angiographically in our laboratory. Recognizing and avoiding these positions will reduce the potential for serious complications.
Self-healing of bilayer lipid membranes formed over silicon substrates with a single pore

Recent results have demonstrated that lipid bilayers have the ability to "self-heal" after mechanical failure. In a previous study the maximum pressure that could be withstood by a bilayer lipid membrane (BLM) formed over a porous substrate was measured and reported. This paper expands on this subject by exploring the ability of a BLM to spontaneously "self-heal" or reform after having been pressurized until failure. A 1-Stearoyl-2-Oleoyl-sn-Glycero-3-Phosphocholine (SOPC) BLM is reconstituted over a silicon substrate that contains a single square aperture (25 x 25 μm) and is pressurized until failure. It is found that the BLM spontaneously reforms multiple times over the aperture after the initial failure. For each experiment the BLM is subjected to several pressurization cycles with a 70 mV potential applied across the BLM. The current is measured using an impedance analyzer and indicates the presence of a BLM formed over the aperture. It is found that electrical current conducted across the BLM increases from approximately 100 pA to 650 nA during each BLM failure and returns to 100 pA after BLM reformation. These results demonstrate that the bilayer is reforming because the electrical resistance across the aperture is increasing by several orders of magnitude.
SU-E-CAMPUS-T-06: Dose Perturbations by Electromagnetic Transponders in the Proton Environment

Purpose: Surgically implanted electromagnetic transponders have been used in external beamradiotherapy for target localization and position monitoring in real time. The effect of transponderson proton therapy dose distributions has not been reported. This study determines the level of thedose deficit that results from the presence of Calypso Beacon™ transponders in the path of thetreatment beam. Methods: A Monte Carlo implementation of the transponder geometry is validated against measurements using Gafchromic EBT2 film in a proton field and subsequently used to generate dosedistributions for transponders at different positions and orientations in the proton spread‐out Braggpeak. The maximum dose deficit is extracted in each case. Results: Dose shadows of up to 60% occur for transponders positioned very near the end ofrange of the Bragg peak. However, if transponders are positioned further than 5 mm from the endof range, and are not oriented parallel to the beam direction, then the dose deficit can be keptbelow 10%. Conclusion: Beacon electromagnetic transponders could be used for patient setup and motionmanagement for proton therapy provided some guidelines regarding their placement and orien‐tation with respect to the beam can be met. In cases of difficult transponder positions, optionsto minimise the shadow include careful plan design with multiple beam angles to distribute theshadow over a larger volume, or possibly increasing the dose in the expected shadow region tooffset the deficit.
Dose response to cancerogenic and mutagenic treatments

Thirty-seven dose-response curves involving animal and plant material, subjected to treatment with cancerogenic chemicals and low-energy transfer ionizing radiation, have been gathered from the literature. In addition, one experiment in which a nutritional factor was used has been included in the results. Our calculations indicate that all the responses appear to fit the equation f = (Dn)/(Kn + Dn) where f is the fraction of subjects affected, D is the dose applied, and K is a constant characteristic of the cancerogen or treatment. Both of these parameters are raised to the nth power and result in a family of curves. The values of n were found to range between 0.33 and 3.13 with a value close to 1.00 (linear at low doses) in only three cases. Data from these 38 reports are displayed in a logarithmic plot on a single graph. In addition to the values of n and K, as well as the dosages and responses needed to construct this graph, are presented in two tables. Our mathematical treatment of the published data shows an unexpected universality of biological behavior that may be helpful in the extrapolation of experimental data to humans.
Using correlation and accuracy for identifying good estimators

Human-based estimation remains the predominant methodology of choice [1]. Understanding the human estimator is critical for improving the effort estimation process. Every human estimator draws upon their background in terms of domain knowledge, technical knowledge, experience, and education in formulating an estimate. This research presented at the PROMISE 2007 workshop assessed the goodness of human estimation based only on project accuracy. This research extends the goodness of human estimation to also include component correlation. Thus, a good estimator is accurate and also does a good job of ranking component effort. Using this revised definition of goodness of estimation produces an average classification rate of 93.3 percent over 1000 trials. Furthermore, the resulting decision tree is extremely intuitive.
The adaptive trade-off between detection and discrimination in cortical representations and behavior

It has long been posited that detectability of sensory inputs can be sacrificed in favor of improved discriminability and that sensory adaptation may mediate this trade-off. The extent to which this trade-off exists behaviorally and the complete picture of the underlying neural representations that likely subserve the phenomenon remain unclear. In the rodent vibrissa system, an ideal observer analysis of cortical activity measured using voltage-sensitive dye imaging in anesthetized animals was combined with behavioral detection and discrimination tasks, thalamic recordings from awake animals, and computational modeling to show that spatial discrimination performance was improved following adaptation, but at the expense of the ability to detect weak stimuli. Together, these results provide direct behavioral evidence for the trade-off between detectability and discriminability, that this trade-off can be modulated through bottom-up sensory adaptation, and that these effects correspond to important changes in thalamocortical coding properties.
Apactin is involved in remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton during regulated exocytosis

Apactin is an 80-kDa type I membrane glycoprotein derived from pro-Muclin, a precursor that also gives rise to the zymogen granule protein Muclin. Previous work showed that apactin is efficiently removed from the regulated secretory pathway and targeted to the actin-rich apical plasma membrane of the pancreatic acinar cell. The cytosolic tail (C-Tail) of apactin consists of 16 amino acids, has Thr casein kinase II and Ser protein kinase C phosphorylation sites, and a C-terminal PDZ-binding domain. Secretory stimulation of acinar cells causes a decrease in Thr phosphorylation and an increase in Ser phosphorylation of apactin. Fusion peptides of the C-Tail domain pulldown actin, ezrin, and EBP50/NHERF in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. HIV TAT-C-Tail fusion peptides were used as dominant negative constructs on living pancreatic cells to study effects on the actin cytoskeleton. During secretory stimulation, TAT-C-Tail-Thr/Asp phosphomimetic peptide caused an increase in actin-coated zymogen granules at the apical surface, while TAT-C-Tail-S/D phosphomimetic peptide caused a broadening of the actin cytoskeleton. These data indicate that stimulation-mediated Thr dephosphorylation allows decreased association of apactin with EBP50/NHERF and fosters actin remodeling to coat zymogen granules. Stimulation-mediated Ser phosphorylation increases apactin association with the actin cytoskeleton, maintaining tight bundling of actin microfilaments at the apical surface. Thus, apactin is involved in remodeling the apical cytoskeleton during regulated exocytosis in a manner controlled by phosphorylation of the apactin C-Tail.
Improving Product Recovery in Fractional Crystallization Processes: Retrofit of an Adipic Acid Plant

A systematic method is presented for improving the recovery of the desirable product in an existing fractional crystallization process. Solid−liquid-phase behaviors and techniques relevant to product recovery are discussed. Retrofit targets are identified through an analysis of the phase diagram of the mixture under consideration. Conceptual design techniques consisting of heat and mass balances, heuristics, and short-cut unit models are used to determine the necessary changes in flow sheet structure and equipment design in order to meet the retrofit objective. The method is illustrated with an adipic acid plant.
Factors influencing the return to work of men with congestive heart failure

Abstract What then is the composite picture of the man who returns to work? He has heart disease, but usually does not have severe congestive failure. His cardiac compensation may improve to the degree where he can discontinue digitalis or its derivatives. He has been employed most of the past 5 years; he has a high school education or better; and he has a physician that he sees regularly (but the type of physician does not seem to matter). He is a ‘white collar worker’ or if a ‘blue collar worker’ he usually belongs to a union. He is not known to welfare agencies. He is optimistic, and his doctor agrees with his optimism. He resumes off-job activities and also resumes sexual activities. His family, according to him, does not reject him or behave in an over-protective manner. On the other hand, the man who does not return to work has a more limited cardiac reserve. He is ‘inferior’ with regard to education. He does not belong to a union. He is frequently ‘laid off’ after the onset of his congestive failure, or feels that he is. He frequently has other health and welfare problems, and is known to social and welfare agencies. His outlook is pessimistic; he has few outside activities; he usually does not resume or engage in sexual activities after the onset of his heart failure. He may admit that he is afraid to return to work. He feels that his family rejects him or is overly protective. Much of the information presented in previous paragraphs as a composite description of these two types of men might be used to describe any group of patients with chronic disease. Some are ‘good patients’ who are highly motivated. They follow physician's advice, they make a great effort to take medication as directed and stay upon other therapeutic regimes. There are others who are destined to live out the natural history of their disease in limbo. The difference between these groups, as indicated in this study of men with congestive heart failure, seems to be related to the interaction of social and psychological factors with physiological limitations imposed by the biologic disease process. The current methods of ‘managing’ these poorly motivated, apathetic patients seem doomed to failure. The provision of effective long-term supportive care for this type of patient may depend upon the development of new and imaginative methods of delivering medical care.
Exploiting contextual factors for click modeling in sponsored search

Sponsored search is the primary business for today's commercial search engines. Accurate prediction of the Click-Through Rate (CTR) for ads is key to displaying relevant ads to users. In this paper, we systematically study the two kinds of contextual factors influencing the CTR: 1) In micro factors, we focus on the factors for mainline ads, including ad depth, query diversity, ad interaction. 2) In macro factors, we try to understand the correlations of clicks between organic search and sponsored search. Based on this data analysis, we propose novel click models which harvest these new explored factors. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper to examine and model the effects of the above contextual factors in sponsored search. Extensive experiments on large-scale real-world datasets show that by incorporating these contextual factors, our novel click models can outperform state-of-the-art methods.
Stability of low-energy electron diffraction fractional-order beam intensities and intralayer multiple scattering

Low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) intensity measurements on adsorbed oxygen on Cu{001} at varying coverage and LEED calculations of spectra of adsorbed Al on Si{111} at several coverages show the fractional-order spectra to be remarkably independent of surface coverage. Such stability of the fractional-order spectra implies both negligible scattering between adsorbed atoms and the same substrate environment around each adsorbed atom. When such stability is found in LEED intensity measurements during adsorption experiments, the adsorbate environment can sometimes be determined by LEED intensity analysis for complicated structures and even for structures with no long-range order.
Trapping and release of CO2 guest molecules by amorphous ice.

Interactions of 13CO2 guest molecules with vapor-deposited porous H2O ices have been examined using temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) techniques. Specifically, the trapping and release of 13CO2 by amorphous solid water (ASW) has been studied. The use of 13CO2 eliminates problems with background CO2. Samples were prepared by (i) depositing 13CO2 on top of ASW, (ii) depositing 13CO2 underneath ASW, and (iii) codepositing 13CO2 and H2O during ASW formation. Some of the deposited 13CO2 becomes trapped when the ice film is annealed. The amount of 13CO2 trapped in the film depends on the deposition method. The release of trapped molecules occurs in two stages. The majority of the trapped 13CO2 escapes during the ASW-to-cubic ice phase transition at 165 K, and the rest desorbs together with the cubic ice film at 185 K. We speculate that the presence of 13CO2 at temperatures up to 185 K is due to 13CO2 that is trapped in cavities within the ASW film. These cavities are ...
Ion thermal effects on E-region instabilities: 2D kinetic simulations

Abstract Radars frequently receive strong returns from naturally occurring plasma density irregularities centered around 100 km altitude in the atmosphere. These E-region ionospheric irregularities occur when electrojet polarization electric fields drive plasma instabilities, most commonly the Farley–Buneman (FB) and gradient drift instabilities. This paper presents results from two fully kinetic, 2D simulations of field driven instabilities in the E-region. These simulations show the important impact of ion thermal effects on wave growth and turbulence. The first simulation applies parameters meant to replicate a strongly driven high-latitude FB instability where the polarization electric field exceeds the FB threshold by a factor of 4. In this case, waves grow and saturate with characteristics dominated by ion thermal perturbations resulting from a balance between frictional ion heating and cooling. These characteristics differ substantially from those expected for FB waves. In the second simulation, the driving field exceeds the threshold by a factor of 2, causing FB waves to grow with distinct modifications by ion thermal effects. The thermal effects reproduced by these simulations may account for some of the previously unexplained observational characteristics of E-region irregularities, particularly at high latitude and in the upper E-region. They also explain the results seen in the simulations of Janhunen (J. Geophys. Res. 99 (1994b) 11461).