cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A New Strategy to Photoactivate Green Fluorescent Protein

Photoactivatable fluorescent proteins have become an important addition to the set of molecular probes used to understand cellular function. Known as “molecular highlighters”, their fluorescence is switched on by irradiation, thereby enabling non-invasive tracking of protein trafficking and dynamics. They are also the basis for the imaging technique called photoactivated light microscopy (PALM) in which multiple emitted photons are observed from individual active fluorophores which are sequentially activated from a large pool of inactive proteins and then photobleached. By locating the center of the point spread function for these emitted photons, it is possible to determine the location of the active fluorophore at better resolution than the theoretical diffraction limit. Previous green fluorescent protein (GFP) mutants exhibiting photomodulatory behavior have been reported including Kaede and KikGR whose emission wavelength change irreversibly, Dronpa whose fluorescence can be reversibly activated with light, and photoactivatable GFP (paGFP), whose excitation wavelength can be irreversibly changed with light. For Kaede, KikGR, and Dronpa, the precise three-dimensional structure of the fluorophore must be preserved to maintain photoswitching behavior. In paGFP, the shift in excitation wavelength is mediated by a light dependent decarboxylation of Glu222. The loss of this carboxy group is believed to cause reorientation of an internal hydrogen bond network, which changes the protonation state of the fluorophore and leads to an irreversible shift in the excitation maximum from 397 nm to 475 nm. This mechanism of GFP photoactivation requires the preservation of active-site residues His203, His148, Ser205, and Glu222. Unfortunately, the sequence restrictions necessary to maintain photomodulatory behavior are not always compatible with the mutations necessary to produce other fluorescent protein variants including YFP and RFP. In addition, Kaede, KikGR, and paGFP exist in two forms with differing excitation and emission wavelengths, precluding the simultaneous use of these wavelengths for other purposes. To address these problems, we have developed a general strategy for photoactivating GFP based upon nonnatural amino acid mutagenesis with the photocaged tyrosine analogue o-nitrobenzyl-O-tyrosine (ONBY). Replacing the fluorophore tyrosine 66 with ONBY yields a GFP molecule that is non-fluorescent as observed for other onitrobenzyl appended fluorophores including fluoresceine, Texas Red, and quantum dots. An earlier nonnatural variant of GFP was produced using a similar strategy, however, the high pre-irradiation background fluorescence and low protein yield made this unsuitable for use as a molecular marker. Fast, time-resolved UV/Vis spectroscopy measurements indicate that the fluorescence quenching likely occurs through photo-induced electron transfer (PET). Irradiation at 365 nm is sufficient to remove the o-nitrobenzyl
Distribution of Freshwater Fishes in Connecticut Based on Museum Voucher Specimens

ABSTRACT Despite more than 150 years of research, to date a concise summary of the spatial distribution of Connecticut's freshwater fish fauna is lacking. Here we compile the spatial data assigned to more than a century's worth of collection efforts. Our survey summarizes specimen data previously deposited within 10 museums, comprising a total of 1305 specimen lots for 84 species. We assigned each lot to the township where it was collected, the first detailed summary of the distribution of Connecticut's freshwater fishes, with the ultimate goal of providing a framework for further local studies of freshwater fish conservation biology, ecology, evolution and management. Our records also reveal several populations not yet documented, including previously overlooked stickleback records that could have broader evolutionary implications.
Thermo-mechanical reliability tradeoffs for deployment of area array packages in harsh environments

Fine-pitch ball grid arrays (BGAs) and underfills have been used in benign office environments and wireless applications for a number of years, however their reliability in harsh environments is not well understood. In this work, the design guidelines development effort for deployment of fine-pitch ball-grid array packages in the harsh environments have been presented. Guidelines are targeted toward government contractors, OEMs, and third party contract manufacturers who intend to select part architectures and board designs based on specified mission requirements. The guidelines are intended as an aid for understanding the sensitivity of component reliability to geometry, package architecture, material properties and board attributes in different thermal environments in order to quantitatively evaluate the impact of these parameters on the component reliability. The intent is to develop a tool for doing tradeoffs between geometry, materials and quantitatively evaluating the impact on reliability. Sensitivity relations for geometry, materials, and architectures based on statistical models and failure mechanics based closed form models have been developed. Convergence between statistical model sensitivities and failure mechanics based sensitivities has been demonstrated. Predictions of sensitivities have been validated against experimental test data.
Genic Capture, Sex Linkage, and the Heritability of Fitness

Abstract: Several sexual selection models predict that females will obtain indirect genetic benefits by preferentially mating with males that transmit high‐quality genes to their offspring. However, despite widespread observations of additive population genetic variation for fitness as well as for male sexually selected traits, estimated fitness associations between fathers and offspring are often weak. Perhaps more puzzling, the strength of these associations differs drastically between species, leading many researchers to question the relevance of genetic benefits for processes of sexual selection. Here, I show that a species’ sex chromosome system can strongly influence the genetic architecture of male and female fitness variation and, consequently, the heritability of fitness between fathers and their offspring. Indirect genetic benefits are reduced, and sexually antagonistic costs are pronounced, in species with X chromosomes relative to species with homomorphic sex chromosomes, environmental sex det...
Competitively versus cooperatively? An analysis of the effect of game play on levels of stress

Many gamers report that playing video games, including those with violent content, helps them to reduce stress. However, few studies have examined competitive and cooperative video game play as they relate to stress reduction. The current study employed a design to acutely stress 100 participants before assigning them randomly to play a mildly violent game either competitively or cooperatively with a female confederate. Results indicated stress levels declined over time at equal levels during both competitive and cooperative game play. Participants in the competitive condition held a slightly less positive impression of the confederate following game play, although players held a generally positive impression of the confederate overall. Gamers often report that playing games help reduce stress.Competitive and cooperative gameplay were compared for stress reduction.Both competitive and cooperative gameplay reduced stress.Players in cooperative mode rated a confederate higher than in competitive.
Ethics and Arab Spring

The unethical behaviors for some of the Arab leaders were the main reason behind the Arab spring. The lack of social justice, theft of public money, and the lack of transparency was the main reason behind all kinds of suffering experienced by many peoples, who are languishing under the authority of the dictators and the absolute powers.
An Effect of Instrument Attachment on Foraging Trip Duration in Chinstrap Penguins

The behavior of seabirds away from the breeding colony is poorly understood. Recently, however, technologies have become available that promise to greatly expand our knowledge of the activity of birds at sea. Specifically, recent technological developments have led to studies of seabird diving (see Kooyman 1989), nest attendance (Wanless et al. 1985), foraging range and dive durations (Trivelpiece et al. 1986, Wanless et al. 1988a, Bengtson and Eberhardt 1989), and swimming velocity (Wilson and Bain 1984). These studies have relied upon electronic devices attached to the animal in some manner. Although essential in helping researchers to understand the activities of seabirds away from the nest, attached devices have the potential to alter the behavior of the animal under study either through the effects of increased drag or through the discomfort of instrument package attachment. This problem has recently been recognized by a number of investigators: (1) Wilson et al. (1986) found that velocity meters attached to African Penguins (Spheniscus demersus) decreased swimming velocity (inversely related to the device's cross sectional area), and potentially decreased net foraging trip energy gain. (2) Wanless et al. (1988b) found that Common Murres (Uria aalge) fitted with radio transmitters with external antennas spent less time in the colony, were absent for long periods, and delivered fewer prey to their young. (3) Wilson et al. (1989) found that the handling and trimming of tail feathers of Adelie Penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) increased the duration of a single foraging trip, and the attachment of devices increased nest desertion and foraging trip duration (after 19 days of attachment). They also speculated that the diving depths of penguins may be affected by recorder attachment, with mean maximum depths decreasing with increasing device cross-sectional area. (4) Wilson and Bain (1984) found that African Penguins peck at devices when researchers are out of the sight of the birds, while Adelie Penguins may spend a considerable amount of time trying to remove a device (Wilson et al. 1990). Thus, studies of the effects of instruments on seabird behavior and performance are essential in interpreting results obtained by using them. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential effects of attaching radio transmitters and time-depth recorders (TDRs) on the foraging trip durations of Chinstrap Penguins breeding on Seal Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica.
Abstract B1-44: G-DOC Plus: A cloud based next-generation systems medicine platform for precision medicine

Systems medicine leverages complex computational tools and high dimensional data offering the potential for effective individualized diagnosis, prognosis and treatment options. Our flagship web platform, the Georgetown Database of Cancer (G-DOC), was deployed with the goal of enabling translational research by integrating patient characteristics and clinical outcome data with a variety of high-throughput research data in a unified environment. With the goal of improving health outcomes through genomics research, we present G-DOC Plus, our enhanced web platform offering precision medicine, translational research and population genetics workflows. This enhanced platform takes advantage of cloud computing to handle next generation sequencing (NGS) data so that they can be analyzed in the full context of other omics and clinical information. G-DOC Plus uses cloud computing and other advanced computational tools to enable analysis of NGS and medical images in the full context of other omics and clinical information. It allows translational science researchers to explore data one sample at a time, as a sub-cohort of samples; or as a population as a whole, providing the user with a comprehensive view of the data. G-DOC Plus tools have been leveraged in cancer to support detection of prognostic markers for relapse in colorectal cancer samples, and to detect key metabolites related to disease severity; hypothesis generation; biomarker detection and multi-omic analysis, in-silico and population genetics analysis; and to explore somatic mutation and breast cancer MRI images. The long-term vision of G-DOC Plus is to extend this systems medicine platform to hospital networks to provide clinical decision support using multi-omics and relevant clinical information to support personalized patient care. G-DOC Plus was released in October 2014, and is available at: https://gdoc.georgetown.edu. Citation Format: Krithika Bhuvaneshwar, Anas Belouali, Varun Singh, Robert M. Johnson, Lei Song, Adil Alaoui, Michael Harris, Yuriy Gusev, Robert Clarke, Subha Madhavan. G-DOC Plus: A cloud based next-generation systems medicine platform for precision medicine. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Computational and Systems Biology of Cancer; Feb 8-11 2015; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(22 Suppl 2):Abstract nr B1-44.
Disparities in Physical Health Conditions Among Lesbian and Bisexual Women: A Systematic Review of Population-Based Studies

We conducted a systematic review to assess evidence for disparities for lesbian and bisexual women (i.e., sexual minority women [SMW]) in comparison with heterosexual women across a range of nine physical health conditions. Among the k = 11 studies meeting eligibility criteria, almost every comparison (i.e., heterosexual vs. (a) lesbian, (b) bisexual, or (c) both lesbian and bisexual women) was in a direction indicating SMW disparities. Despite limited power due to small samples of SMW, we found evidence of disparities as indicated by a statistically significant adjusted odds ratios for asthma (5 of 7 comparisons), obesity (8 of 12), arthritis (2 of 3), global ratings of physical health (4 of 7), and cardiovascular disease (1 of 1). Evidence was lacking for cancer (1 of 4), diabetes and hypertension (both 1 of 5), and high cholesterol (0 of 3). Future work should confirm findings in more diverse, larger samples and should examine potential explanatory factors.
A Survey on Cybersecurity of U.S.Electric Power Industry

United States is one of the earliest counties that began the research on cyber security of electric power industry and is also the country that releases most standards and guidelines for cybersecurity of electric power industry.In this paper the research and management framework related to cyber security of U.S.electric power industry is presented;the working mechanism of related government departments and standardization organizations of the United States,such as Department of Homeland Security(DHS),Department of Energy(DOE),North American Electric Reliability Corporation(NERC) and National Institute of Standards and Technology(NIST),is described;main contents of important publications such as NERC CIP,NISTSP 800-53,ISA99 and others as well as their spread and application are analyzed.Besides,the superiority and defects in the work of performing the standards and guidelines of cybersecurity of electric power industry are pointed out.
Twenty-five-year longevity of European hake (Merluccius merluccius) from novel use of bomb radiocarbon dating in the Mediterranean Sea

The high variability of growth and longevity estimates for European hake (Merluccius merluccius) reflects the existence of two opposing hypotheses on growth rates that differ by a factor of 2: (1) a fast-growing hypothesis (FGH) with a maximum age near 15 years; and (2) a slow-growing hypothesis (SGH) with a maximum age near 30 years. A recently established regional radiocarbon (14C) reference led to a first-time application of bomb 14C dating in the Mediterranean Sea to three of the largest-sized and potentially oldest-catch female European hake. Because age reading of otoliths is very subjective and poorly defined, these fish were aged blind with bomb radiocarbon (14C) dating as an independent estimate of validated age. The validated ages were compared with the theoretical maximum ages from the most reliable FGH and SGH von Bertalanffy growth functions. Among the three bomb 14C ages, the most diagnostic length-at-age was an alignment with the bomb 14C rise period for two of the three fish, providing validated ages of 22 years (74.5-cm total length) and 25 years (88-cm total length). The results provide estimates of length-at-age that are in agreement with the SGH and cannot be accounted for by the FGH.
Advances in Refractive Surgery: June 2014 to July 2015.

PURPOSE The objective of this study was to review the advances in the field of refractive surgery as reported in the peer-reviewed literature during the previous year. DESIGN A literature review. METHODS In this review, we highlight the most pertinent articles in the field from June 2014 to the end of July 2015. RESULTS This past year has seen a growing body of research on small-incision lenticule extraction, presbyopic inlays, and phakic intraocular lenses, as more clinicians are adopting these techniques into their armamentarium. CONCLUSIONS Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis and photorefractive keratectomy continue to dominate the keratorefractive literature, as they remain the most frequently performed refractive surgeries.
The Changing Returns to Education: An Analysis of the Returns to Educationas they Change from 2002 to 2012 in 5 Countries

Education is widely understood to impact earnings, but the dynamics of this relationship specifically, the returns to education are important to consider in depth. Through a synthesis of human capital theory and the Paradox of Progress, which relates income ine-quality to educational attainment, I explore how the returns to education have changed over time. I use 2002 and 2012 International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) income and education data to first determine the returns to education within the United States, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, and Sweden with OLS regressions and then to comparatively analyze how the measure changed from one year to the next in each country. I find that there is not a consistent pattern of change across the entire panel of countries, which suggests that the Paradox of Progress might not be universally pertinent.
Cigarette prices and community price comparisons in US military retail stores

Background Tobacco pricing impacts use, yet military retailers sell discounted cigarettes. No systematic research has examined how military retail stores use internal community comparisons to set prices. We analysed data obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request on community price comparisons used by military retail to set cigarette prices. Methods Data on cigarette prices were obtained directly from military retailers (exchanges) from January 2013 to March 2014. Complete pricing data were obtained from exchanges on 114 military installations. Results The average price for a pack of Marlboro cigarettes in military exchanges was US$5.51, which was similar to the average lowest community price (US$5.45; mean difference=−0.06; p=0.104) and almost a US$1.00 lower than the average highest price (US$6.44). Military retail prices were 2.1%, 6.2% and 13.7% higher than the lowest, average and highest community comparisons, respectively, and 18.2% of exchange prices violated pricing instructions. There was a negative correlation (r=−0.21, p=0.02) between the number of community stores surveyed and exchange cigarette prices. Conclusions There was no significant difference between prices for cigarettes on military installations and the lowest average community comparison, and in some locations, the prices violated Department of Defense (DoD) policy. US Marine Corps exchanges had the lowest prices, which is of concern given that the Marines also have the highest rates of tobacco use in the DoD. Given the relationship between tobacco product prices and demand, a common minimum (or floor) shelf price for tobacco products should be set for all exchanges and discount coupon redemptions should be prohibited.
Interferon limits lentiviral vectors in the liver

[Comment on Brown et al, page 2797][1]In this issue, Brown and colleagues show that a single component of the innate immune system limits lentiviral gene transfer to hepatocytes in vivo and at the same time is required for a subsequent adaptive immune response against the transgene. Over the past
Autophagy mediates proteolysis of NPM1 and HEXIM1 and sensitivity to BET inhibition in AML cells

// Min Huang 1 , Jacqueline S. Garcia 2 , Daniel Thomas 2, 3 , Li Zhu 4 , Le Xuan Truong Nguyen 1 , Steven M. Chan 2, 3 , Ravindra Majeti 1, 2, 3 , Bruno C. Medeiros 1, 2 , Beverly S. Mitchell 1, 2 1 Stanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA 2 Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA 3 Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA 4 Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA Correspondence to: Beverly S. Mitchell, email: bmitchell@stanford.edu Keywords: autophagy, NPM1, HEXIM1, BET inhibitors, AML Received: March 14, 2016 Accepted: September 26, 2016 Published: October 06, 2016 ABSTRACT The mechanisms underlying activation of the BET pathway in AML cells remain poorly understood. We have discovered that autophagy is activated in acute leukemia cells expressing mutant nucleophosmin 1 (NPMc+) or MLL-fusion proteins. Autophagy activation results in the degradation of NPM1 and HEXIM1, two negative regulators of BET pathway activation. Inhibition of autophagy with pharmacologic inhibitors or through knocking down autophagy-related gene 5 (Atg5) expression increases the expression of both NPM1 and HEXIM1. The Brd4 inhibitors JQ1 and I-BET-151 also inhibit autophagy and increase NPM1 and HEXIM1 expression. We conclude that the degradation of NPM1 and HEXIM1 through autophagy in certain AML subsets contributes to the activation of the BET pathway in these cells.
The incorporation of line quantitites in the continuum description of multiphase, multicomponent bodies with intersecting dividing surfaces. II. Material Behaviour.

The material behavior of multiphase, multicomponent bodies with intersecting dividing surfaces is discussed. We show that the inclusion of curvature terms in the equations of state for the surface and line internal energies is a violation of the entropy inequality. With the correct equations of state for the surface and line internal energies, the results for a static problem derived using minimization of the total internal energy are shown to be identical to the results derived using the differential momentum balance, the jump momentum balance, and the momentum balance at the common line.
Quantitative Assessment of DNA Editing Enzymes in B-Cell Lymphomas.

Abstract Somatic hypermutation of immunoglobulin genes (SHM) is a physiological process that helps generate high affinity antibodies in germinal center B cells, and error-prone DNA polymerases are key enzymes involved in this process. Unlike polymerases that are responsible for DNA replication, error-prone DNA polymerases copy DNA with low fidelity leading to variations in immunoglobulin DNA sequences. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has been classified into mutated and unmutated subtypes based on the mutation status of the IGH variable region (IgVH). The latter has been associated with rapid disease progression and unfavorable outcome. Since determination of the IgVH mutations rely on direct sequencing of multiple PCR products and complex data analysis, the assay, although clinically useful, is not provided by many clinical laboratories. To determine whether error-prone DNA polymerases can be used as surrogate markers for IgVH mutation analysis, we examined the levels of several of them to see whether higher levels are associated with higher degree of IgVH mutation. We analyzed 30 CLL samples, of which 18 were unmutated and 12 were mutated. Quantitative PCR was performed to determine the expression levels of error-prone DNA polymerases mu, eta, iota, lambda and zeta. as well as DNA editing enzymes, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) and activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID). Statistical analysis revealed no differences in the levels of mRNA expression of any of these seven enzymes between mutated and unmutated cases of CLL. In addition, no differences were found between ZAP-70 positive and negative subgroups. The expression levels of the seven enzymes were then compared among CLL, follicular lymphomas (FL, n=8) and diffuse large B cell lymphomas (DLBCL, n=8). FL and DLBCL, being post-germinal center lymphomas that have undergone SHM, are expected to express higher levels of these enzymes than CLL. However, the statistical analysis revealed that CLL has significantly higher amount of mu, eta, iota, lambda, zeta and TdT expression than DLBCL. CLL also has significantly higher expression of iota, lambda, zeta and TdT than FL. In conclusion, our results suggest that DNA polymerases studied cannot be used as surrogate markers for IgVH analysis. Contrary to the common belief, the mRNA levels of DNA polymerases/DNA editing enzymes do not reflect the SHM activity in different B cell malignancies.than FL. In conclusion, our results suggest that DNA polymerases studied cannot be used as surrogate markers for IgVH analysis. Contrary to the common belief, the mRNA levels of DNA polymerases/DNA editing enzymes do not reflect the SHM activity in different B cell malignancies.
WKB approximation and tunneling in theories with noncanonical kinetic terms

Tunneling is a fascinating aspect of quantum mechanics that renders the local minima of a potential meta-stable, with important consequences for particle physics, for the early hot stage of the universe, and more speculatively, for the behavior of the putative multiverse. While this phenomenon has been studied extensively for systems which have canonical kinetic terms, many theories of fundamental physics contain fields with noncanonical kinetic structures. It is therefore desirable to have a detailed framework for calculating tunneling rates and initial states after tunneling for these theories. In this work we present such a rigorous formulation and illustrate its use by applying it to a number of examples.
Environmental effects on underwater optical transmission

Optical communication/detection systems have potential to get around some limitations of current acoustic communications and detection systems especially increased fleet and port security in noisy littoral waters. Identification of environmental effects on underwater optical transmission is the key to the success of using optics for underwater communication and detection. This paper is to answer the question “What are the transfer and correlation functions that relate measurements of hydrographic to optical parameters?” Hydrographic and optical data have been collected from the Naval Oceanographic Office survey ships with the High Intake Defined Excitation (HIDEX) photometer and sea gliders with optical back scattering sensor in various Navy interested areas such as the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, east Asian marginal seas, and Adriatic Sea. The data include temperature, salinity, bioluminescence, chlorophyll-a fluorescence, transmissivity at two different wavelengths (T Red at 670 nm, T Blue at 490 nm), and back scattering coefficient (b Red at 700 nm, b Blue at 470 nm). Transfer and correlation functions between the hydrographic and optical parameters are obtained. Bioluminescence and fluorescence maxima, transmissivity minimum with their corresponding depths, red and blue laser beam peak attenuation coefficients are identified from the optical profiles. Evident correlations are found between the ocean mixed layer depth and the blue and red laser beam peak attenuation coefficients, bioluminescence and fluorescence maxima in the Adriatic Sea, Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, and Philippine Sea. Based on the observational data, an effective algorithm is recommended for solving the radiative transfer equation (RTE) for predicting underwater laser radiance.
Teaching Future Teachers to Collaborate

This study investigates the development of pre-service teachers’ collaboration skills. Data were collected from collaborative activities in which pre-service teachers engaged in a university-based course and in paired fieldwork experiences. Findings reveal a trajectory of development. Pre-service teachers first learn to analyze student learning, then propose instructional improvements, enact these improvements in later lessons and while teaching, and, finally, make cause-effect connections between teaching and learning. The authors conclude that support is needed to move all pre-service teachers along this trajectory.
The MPP Apprentice™ Performance Tool: Delivering the Performance of the Cray T3D®

The MPP Apprentice™ performance tool is designed to help users tune the performance of their Cray T3D, applications. By presenting performance information from the perspective of the user’s original source code, the MPP Apprentice tool helps users rapidly identify the location and cause of the most significant performance problems. Unlike many trace-based performance tools, the data collection mechanism permits fine-grained performance statistics to be collected with a low level of intrusion for work sharing, data parallel, and message passing codes. The low level of intrusion also permits the mechanism to scale to permit performance analysis on long running codes on thousands of processors. Information displayed within the tool includes total time through regions of code, instruction counts, time spent in overheads related to shared memory, time spent in message passing routines, calling tree information, and performance measures. We will demonstrate the benefits of the data collection mechanism of the MPP Apprentice tool and how it guides the user’s identification of performance problems using application examples from benchmarks and industry.
Interactive Effects of Fixed-Ratio Size and Number of Food Pellets Per Fixed Ratio on Rats’ Food-Reinforced Behavior

In three experiments, albino rats’ lever pressing was reinforced with food pellets under fixed-ratio reinforcement schedules during daily 3-hr sessions. In Experiment 1, fixed-ratio size was varied while one pellet was delivered at the completion of each ratio. Overall response rate was an inverted U-shaped function of fixed-ratio size. As fixed-ratio size was increased, the number of pellets obtained per session remained fairly constant at low and moderate response requirements, then decreased at higher requirements. In Experiment 2, the number of food pellets available under a continuous reinforcement schedule following completion of each fixed-ratio component was varied, while fixed-ratio size was held constant at the highest value reached by each rat during Experiment 1. With increases in the number of pellets available (i.e., In reinforcer magnitude) per fixed ratio, mean numbers of pellets delivered per session increased while mean overall response rate decreased. In Experiment 3, reinforcer magnitudes ranging up to 512 pellets per fixed ratio were delivered at fixed-ratio sizes ranging from 128 to 2048 responses. At each fixed-ratio size, mean overall response rates were inverted U-shaped functions of reinforcer magnitude, while mean number of pellets delivered was related directly to reinforcer magnitude. As fixed-ratio size was increased, progressively larger reinforcer magnitudes maintained the maximum overall response rate. Running rates were uniform across a wide range of reinforcer magnitudes and fixed-ratio sizes. Finally, across each doubling of fixed-ratio size, the relative persistence of behavior increased directly with the magnitude of the reinforcer. The results of Experiment 3 demonstrated that reinforcing effects increased with increasing reinforcer magnitude. Differences in the response-rate results of the three experiments suggest that in many cases reinforcing effects may be more accurately assessed by nonresponse-rate measures.
A practical and scalable system for heteroaryl amino acid synthesis

A robust system for the preparation of β-heteroaryl α-amino acid derivatives has been developed using photoredox catalysis. This system operates via regiospecific activation of halogenated pyridines (or other heterocycles) and conjugate addition to dehydroalanine derivatives to deliver a wide range of unnatural amino acids. This process was conducted with good efficiency on large scale, the application of these conditions to amino ketone synthesis is shown, and a simple protocol is given for the preparation of enantioenriched amino acid synthesis, from a number of radical precursors.
Pilot study of a new comprehensive radiology report categorization (RADCAT) system in the emergency department.

The purpose of this study was to describe a new, broadly applicable radiology report categorization (RADCAT) system that was developed collaboratively between radiologists and emergency department (ED) physicians, and to establish its usability and performance by interobserver variation. In collaboration with our ED colleagues, we developed the RADCAT system for all imaging studies performed in our level-1 trauma center, including five categories that span the spectrum of normal through emergent life-threatening findings. During a pilot phase, four radiologists used the system real-time to categorize a minimum of 400 reports in the ED. From this pool of categorized studies, 58 reports were then selected semi-randomly, de-identified, stripped of their original categorization, and recategorized based on the narrative radiology report by 12 individual reviewers (6 radiologists, and 6 ED physicians). Interobserver variation between all reviewers, radiologists only, and ED physicians only was calculated using Cohen’s Kappa statistic and Kendall’s coefficient of concordance. Altogether, agreement among radiologists and ED physicians was substantial (κ = 0.73, p 0.60, p 0.61, p 0.85, p 0.90, p < 0.0001). Our RADCAT system is understandable between radiologists and ED physicians for categorizing a wide range of imaging studies, and warrants further assessment and validation. Based upon these pilot results, we plan to adopt this RADCAT scheme and further assess its performance.
Bias estimation for angle-only sensors in distributed multi-target tracking systems

This paper describes a method of automatic sensor bias calculation for angle only sensor models in a target tracking scenario. It is assumed that separate Kalman filters are employed by each sensor and no measurements of known landmarks are available. Accurate bias estimation is achieved through the use of pseudo measurements of slant range from each sensor to the target and pseudo measurements of each sensor's bias. The covariance intersection (CI) algorithm is used to produce a pseudo measurement of slant range. This pseudo measurement of range allows pseudo measurements of sensor bias to be calculated based on each sensor's residuals and Kalman gains. Substantially improved tracking performance is demonstrated when estimating and accounting for constant biases on each sensor.
Characterization and Liming Effect of Wood Ash Generated from a Biomass-Fueled Commercial Power Plant

ABSTRACTLaboratory and greenhouse experiments were carried out to characterize and examine wood ash from a biomass-fueled commercial power plant as a lime. Experimental treatments include wood ash and two commercial limes applied at six application rates. The effective calcium carbonate equivalence (ECCE) of wood ash ranged from 22 to 49%. Wood ash increased soil pH by 0.31–3.18 over unlimed soils, and these changes in pH were similar to the effect of commercial limes. The soil pH at three weeks after wood ash application was constant through week seventeen. Wood ash increased electrical conductivity by 0.13–0.63 dS m−1 compared to unlimed soils at three weeks after liming; however, a 39–69% decreased was observed by week seventeen. Common bermudagrass did not respond to the application of wood ash and commercial limes. The results of this study suggest that wood ash from the biomass-fueled commercial power plant with low ECCE could be a liming material.
Differential effects of 4HPR on gene expression and apoptosis in normal and malignant cells of the head and neck despite induction of reactive oxygen species in both cell types

2282A N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)retinamide (4HPR; fenretinide), a synthetic retinoid with lower toxicity than natural retinoids, has demonstrated potential as a chemopreventive and therapeutic agent in vitro and in vivo as well as in few clinical trials (e.g., prevention of oral premalignancy and therapy of neuroblastoma). The ability of 4HPR to enhance production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) leading to apoptosis has been suggested as a possible mechanism underlying these effects. Elucidation of the mechanisms underlying sensitivity and resistance to 4HPR should help to optimize its use for cancer chemoprevention and therapy. Therefore, we compared and contrasted 4HPR’s effects on human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) UMSCC-22B cells and normal human gingival keratinocytes (NHGK). 4HPR induced rapidly ROS generation in both UMSCC-22B HNSCC and NHGK cells, however apoptosis evidenced by PARP cleavage following a 24 h exposure to 4HPR was only observed in UMSCC-22B cells. Oligonucleotide microarray analysis using Affymetrix U133A chips revealed sets of genes modulated by 4HPR distinctly in each cell type and up-regulation of genes encoding the pro-survival cellular chaperones and heat shock proteins (HSPs) 10, 40, 60, 70B, 105, and crystallin alphaB in the NHGK cells. In addition, exposure to 4HPR for one hour increased phosphorylated levels of inhibitor of kappaB (IκB) in the UMSCC-22B cells, and decreased total protein levels of both p65/nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) and total and phosphorylated levels of IκB in NHGK cells indicative of opposite effects of 4HPR on NF-κB signaling in malignant relative to normal head and neck cells. We have previously shown that 4HPR induces sustained activation of c-Jun N-Terminal Kinase (JNK) important for subsequent apoptosis induction as well as X-Box Binding Protein 1 (XBP-1) splicing indicative of Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) stress. Treatment of UMSCC-22B cells with 4HPR for 24 h induced JNK phosphorylation as well as XBP-1 splicing concurrently with PARP-1 cleavage. These effects by 4HPR were inhibited by co-treatment of UMSCC-22B cells with the antioxidant BHA and were not observed in similarly treated NHGK cells. These results demonstrate that 4HPR induces apoptosis selectively in cancer cells while sparing normal cells and warrants further testing of this synthetic retinoid in HNSCC therapy clinical trials. Supported in part by Head and Neck Cancer SPORE grant P50 CA97007 and Cancer Center Core Grant P30 CA16672 from the NCI.
Probing light chain mutation effects on thrombin via molecular dynamics simulations and machine learning

Thrombin is a key component for chemotherapeutic and antithrombotic therapy development. As the physiologic and pathologic roles of the light chain still remain vague, here, we continue previous efforts to understand the impacts of the disease-associated single deletion of LYS9 in the light chain. By combining supervised and unsupervised machine learning methodologies and more traditional structural analyses on data from 10 μs molecular dynamics simulations, we show that the conformational ensemble of the ΔK9 mutant is significantly perturbed. Our analyses consistently indicate that LYS9 deletion destabilizes both the catalytic cleft and regulatory functional regions and result in some conformational changes that occur in tens to hundreds of nanosecond scaled motions. We also reveal that the two forms of thrombin each prefer a distinct binding mode of a Na+ ion. We expand our understanding of previous experimental observations and shed light on the mechanisms of the LYS9 deletion associated bleeding disorder by providing consistent but more quantitative and detailed structural analyses than early studies in literature. With a novel application of supervised learning, i.e. the decision tree learning on the hydrogen bonding features in the wild-type and ΔK9 mutant forms of thrombin, we predict that seven pairs of critical hydrogen bonding interactions are significant for establishing distinct behaviors of wild-type thrombin and its ΔK9 mutant form. Our calculations indicate the LYS9 in the light chain has both localized and long-range allosteric effects on thrombin, supporting the opinion that light chain has an important role as an allosteric effector.
PAIRED ORAL TESTS: A LITERATURE REVIEW

This paper reviews the studies on paired oral tests in the last ten years (2007-2017). Using the search facilities in Iowa State University’s library, nine articles from some journals in the field of applied linguistics were chosen based on the inclusion criteria. Those journals are Language Testing, Language Assessment Quarterly, Applied Linguistics, and Procedia – Social and Behavioral Science. Three reasons why paired oral tests are better than interview test or individual format test are then discussed. Those are promoting and improving students’ interactional competence, creating students’ co-constructed discourse, and providing insights for better scale development and rater training. Paired oral tests provide opportunities for students to interact with peers in the tests, enable them to practice and improve their interactional competence. Paired oral tests also enable students to co-construct their discourse, even though there is an issue of grading the scores individually or collaboratively. The last is, more information about students’ and raters’ perception were gained that helps improve the rating scale and inform rater training. This paper is concluded with the call for more studies on paired oral tests to provide more insights into this complex process of creating co-constructed discourse and how to validly and reliably test both its process and product. DOI: doi.org/10.24071/llt.2018.Suppl2110
Higher Dimensional Heat Flow

This chapter is devoted to the study of the PDEs that control the heat flow in two and three dimensional spaces. The higher dimensional heat flow has been the subject of intensive analytical and numerical investigations. The work in this chapter will run in a parallel manner to the work used in Chapter 3. The study of higher dimensional heat equation will be carried out ONLY by using Adomian decomposition method [1, 2] and the method of separation of variables [3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9]. The two methods have been outlined in Chapters 2 and 3 and were implemented for the heat equation in one dimension.
Haemophilus Influenzae Type B (Hib)

All infants without contraindications should receive the conjugate Hib vaccine series; either as 3 doses of PRP-OMP (trade name: PedvaxHIB®), or as 4 doses of PRP-T (trade names: ActHIB®, Hiberix®; also included in the DTaP-Hib-IPV combination vaccine Pentacel®). Doses of Hib vaccine should be given at least 4 weeks apart, with the first dose administered at a minimum of 6 weeks of age. Doses are generally recommended to be given at 2 and 4 months of age, and for the PRP-T vaccines, 6 months of age as well. A booster dose should then be given a minimum of 8 weeks after the previous dose, generally between 12-15 months of age. Although Hib vaccine is generally not recommended for those over 59 months of age, there are exceptions for certain persons at increased risk; for example, previously unimmunized asplenic patients should receive one dose of Hib vaccine, and recipients of a hematopoietic cell transplant should be given the full three-dose series beginning 6-12 months after the transplant regardless of their vaccination history.
Spectral-projections of L1 operators in type IIIλ von Neumann algebras

The Lp spaces of a type IIIλ factor are represented in terms of the discrete decomposition of the factor. The Lp operators are characterized through the notion of wandering projections, and those projections that are spectral projections of positive Lp operators are completely characterized. Several special cases are considered, including a description of those operators that are bounded parts of a positive Lp operator.
Clinical activity of ipilimumab plus nivolumab (Ipi/Nivo) in patients (pts) with metastatic non-clear cell renal cell carcinoma (nccRCC).

659Background: Ipi/Nivo is a standard of care for pts with metastatic clear cell RCC. The clinical activity of Ipi/Nivo in patients with metastatic nccRCC remains poorly defined. Methods: Metastati...
Direct Parental Negligence Liability: An Expanding Means to Hold Parent Companies Accountable for the Human Rights Impacts of Their Foreign Subsidiaries

In order to provide access to remedy for victims of human rights impacts and encourage parent companies to prevent future impacts by their foreign subsidiaries, there is a need for national courts to apply tort law duty of care obligations to parent companies. This paper argues that parent companies with high levels of control or supervision of their subsidiaries owe a direct duty of care to those whose risk of injury is foreseeable. When these parents act negligently – failing to meet this duty of care or exercise due diligence – in controlling the actions of their subsidiaries, they should be held directly liable. The paper aims to clarify why and how parent companies can be held liable for failing to exercise a requisite duty of care in controlling the acts of their subsidiaries when human rights impacts result. First, the need to turn to conventional tort litigation of human rights impacts in the wake of Kiobel is discussed. Next, the paper discusses the normative justifications for holding parent companies accountable and gives a short overview of alternative approaches to doing so. The paper then turns to two recent decisions that have opened up the ability to bring direct parental negligence claims and that should serve as examples for other courts, especially those operating under common law tort principles. In the U.K., the court in Chandler v. Cape held a parent company owed a direct duty of care to the employees of its subsidiary and that that duty was breached. In Canada, the Choc v. Hudbay court found that a parent company may owe a direct duty of care to a Guatemalan indigenous community whose rights were violated by a subsidiary of a Canadian parent company. Finally, the conformity of these decisions with international human rights law principles will be considered.
Correction for Mir et al., "Mycobacterial Gene cuvA Is Required for Optimal Nutrient Utilization and Virulence".

Volume 82, no. 10, p. 4104–4117, 2014, [https://doi.org/10.1128/IAI.02207-14][1]. Page 4111, column 2, lines 17 and 18: “(see Table S1 in the supplemental material)” should read “(see Table S2 in the supplemental material).” Supplemental material: Table S2 was inadvertently left out.
A Comparison of the Types of Heuristics Used by Experts and Novices in Engineering Design Ideation.

This study explored the use of heuristics in the design space by novice and expert engineers in the initial ideation of a design solution. Verbal protocol analyses were conducted with four engineering students and four professional engineers as they generated ideas to solve a design problem. Overall, both experts and novices used various types of heuristics. Although novices’ heuristics tend to focus on improving the function of the design, experts’ heuristics tend to focus on improving both function and form. The implication is that the deliberate teaching of design heuristics, along with other strategies, will help in the development of generative skills of students, stimulating more creative and innovative designs. Validated design heuristics can be integrated within engineering design content at appropriate grade levels to aid in building the repertoire of heuristics used by engineering and technology education students.
The political lives of saints: Christian-Muslim mediation in Egypt

The Political Lives of Saints is a rich and largely original account of contemporary Egypt. Drawn from years of ethnographic research focused in Coptic Orthodox communities across the country, the ...