cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Thermodynamic parameters for DNA sequences with dangling ends

The thermodynamic contributions to duplex formation of all 32 possible single-nucleotide dangling ends on a Watson-Crick pair are reported. In most instances, dangling ends are stabilizing with free energy contributions ranging from +0.48 (GT(A)) to-0.96 kcal/mol (). In comparison, Watson-Crick nearest-neighbor increments range from -0. 58 (TA/AT) to -2.24 (GC/CG) kcal/mol. Hence, in some cases, a dangling end contributes as much to duplex stability as a Watson-Crick A-T base pair. The implications of these results for DNA probe design are discussed. Analysis of the sequence dependence of dangling-end stabilities show that the nature of the closing base pair largely determines the stabilization. For a given closing base pair, however, adenine dangling ends are always more or equally as stable as the other dangling nucleotides. Moreover, 5' dangling ends are more or equally as stabilizing as their 3' counterparts. Comparison of DNA with RNA dangling-end motifs shows that DNA motifs with 5' dangling ends contribute to stability equally or more than their RNA counterparts. Conversely, RNA 3' dangling ends contribute to stability equally or more than their DNA counterparts. This data set has been incorporated into a DNA secondary structure prediction algorithm (DNA MFOLD) (http://mfold2.wustl.edu/mfold/dna/for m1.cgi) as well as a DNA hybridization prediction algorithm (HYTHERtrade mark) (http://jsl1.chem.wayne.edu/Hyther/hythermenu .html).
Flight management systems information exchange with AERA to support future air traffic control concepts

A goal of the future air traffic control (ATC) system is to permit aircraft to fly according to their preferences (e.g., direct routes and optimum altitudes). Towards this goal, advanced automated en route ATC (AERA) concepts are currently in the research and development phase to provide a gradual evolution of ATC automation capabilities. The airborne flight management systems (FMSs) can provide accurate information on aircraft states needed to meet the automation objectives of advanced AERA concepts. The impact of user-preferred flight paths and altitudes on future ATC operations is analyzed. The results highlight potential fuel savings for the airspace users. Air/ground functional integration and information flow are discussed to minimize data ambiguities, and to reduce duplication of data in the airborne and ground computers. Computer/human interface requirements are also addressed. Key technical issues which must be addressed in order for the ground system to support flexible use of airspace, and increase system capacity in a diverse mix of aircraft operations are identified. The results presented show that FMS-equipped aircraft could realize significant fuel savings if permitted to fly preferred altitudes using step climbs. >
History of In Utero Cocaine Exposure in Language-Delayed Children

To determine whether children with language delays are more likely to have been exposed to cocaine in utero than children with normal language development, a case-control study was undertaken. Based on routine office screening in our primary-care clinic over a 1-year period, we identified 29 consecutive children, aged 24 to 48 months, as language-delayed. They were compared with an approximate 2:1 match of children without language delay who had been seen in the clinic on the same days and who were of similar age. There was more reported cocaine use during pregnancy (six of 29, 21%) among the language-delayed children than among the controls (five of 71, 7%). This difference is statistically significant (P < 0.05, chi 2 = 3.92; odds ratio = 3.4 +/- 2.2). Discriminant analysis revealed that both cocaine and nicotine exposure were associated with delayed language development--with an unexpected negative, i.e., an antagonistic, protective, interactive effect (F[3,96] = 4.66, R2 = 12.7%, P < .005); neither gender nor caretaker contributed to language development in this sample. These results suggest that children with language delay detected in a clinical setting are more likely to have been exposed in utero to cocaine than children with normal language development. Prenatal cocaine exposure should be a risk factor in monitoring development in children.
In Vitro Transcription of 70S RNA by the RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase of Rous Sarcoma Virus: Lack of Influence of RNase H

Abstract The influence of Rous sarcoma virus (RSV)-associated RNase H on the in vitro synthesis of DNA by the RSV RNA-directed DNA polymerase was determined under conditions whereby RNase H activity was selectively inhibited with NaF. Not only were we unable to detect any effect on the size, structure, or genetic complexity of the DNA product synthesized in the absence of RNase H activity, but the displacement of DNA from the 70S RNA:DNA hybrid structures was also unaffected. The suitability of 70S RNA:DNA hybrid structures synthesized in vitro to serve as a substrate for RNase H is discussed.
Managing the increasing diagnosis of papillary micro-cancer of thyroid

There has been an increase in the incidence of thyroid cancer in the last decade, mainly due to the increase in imaging. A majority of the cases are for papillary cancers <1 cm. Mortality from thyroid cancer has stayed stable, thus, there is a large pool of papillary micro-cancer of thyroid in the general population without clinical significance. For these cancers a different approach is needed and active surveillance or less aggressive management should be offered as options. Controlled studies of minimally invasive procedures such as ethanol ablation are needed. If surgery is chosen, lobectomy alone should be adequate. Cases of occult papillary micro-cancer with local and distant metastases are very rare and should be managed according to the staging and risk category of the disease.
In vitro electrical properties for iridium oxide versus titanium nitride stimulating electrodes

Stimulating electrode materials must be capable of supplying high-density electrical charge to effectively activate neural tissue. Platinum is the most commonly used material for neural stimulation. Two other materials have been considered: iridium oxide and titanium nitride. This study directly compared the electrical characteristics of iridium oxide and titanium nitride by fabricating silicon substrate probes that differed only in the material used to form the electrode. Electrochemical measurements indicated that iridium oxide had lower impedance and a higher charge storage capacity than titanium nitride, suggesting better performance as a stimulating electrode. Direct measurement of the electrode potential in response to a biphasic current pulse confirmed that iridium oxide uses less voltage to transfer the same amount of charge, therefore using less power. The charge injection limit for titanium nitride was 0.87 mC/cm/sup 2/, contradicting other reports estimating that titanium nitride was capable of injecting 22 mC/cm/sup 2/. Iridium oxide charge storage was 4 mC/cm/sup 2/, which is comparable to other published values for iridium oxide. Electrode efficiency will lead to an overall more efficient and effective device.
A Fast Technique of Measuring Equilibrium Orbit Warps in the Zero Gradient Synchrotron (ZGS) at Injection

The difference signals from radial pi induction electrodes located in the eight straight section boxes of the ZGS are used to determine equilibrium orbit warps. A 1 ?s, debunched linac beam is injected in the ZGS ring and the eight coasting beam signals are analyzed. Since the effective electrode centers and inflector magnet positions are known, one can obtain orbit positions around the ZGS ring. The zero crossing times of all eight coasting beam bow-tie patterns are entered into our CDC-924A computer. The computer graphically displays orbit warps via CRT terminal. An additional feature to be described is that betatron tunes at injection can be very easily obtained from the coasting beam patterns.
Release of Suppressed Red Spruce Using Canopy Gap Creation-Ecological Restoration in the Central Appalachians

ABSTRACT: Red spruce (Picea rubens) and red spruce-northern hardwood mixed stands once covered as much as 300,000 ha in the Central Appalachians, but now comprise no more than 21,000 ha. Recently, interest in restoration of this forest type has increased because red spruce forests provide habitat for a number of rare animal species. Our study reports the results of an understory red spruce release experiment in hardwood-dominated stands that have a small component of understory red spruce. In 2005, 188 target spruce were identified in sample plots at six locations in central West Virginia. We projected a vertical cylinder above the crown of all target spruces, and in 2007, we performed a release treatment whereby overtopping hardwoods were treated with herbicide using a stem injection technique. Release treatments removed 0–10% (Control), 11–50% (Low), 51–89% (Medium), and ≤90% (High) of the basal area of overtopping trees. We also took canopy photographs at the time of each remeasurement in 2007, 2010, a...
S10.1 Predicting the Social and Behavioural Consequences

Recent data from HIV prevention trials conducted with sero-discordant couples suggest that HIV transmission drops when the infected individual is taking anti-retroviral medications (ARV). However, there is potential for unintended social and behavioural consequences of this and other interventions. Using the HIV treatment cascade as a lens, the review will cover individual and population-level data in HIV and STD prevention research with a view to identifying such consequences of intervention. Although the focus will be upon risk compensation as a potential consequence of HIV treatment, the review will also attend to potential positive social and behavioural consequences. With respect to data from which to predict social and behavioural consequences, the majority of HIV and STD prevention interventions are conducted through small groups or on a one-to-one basis (e.g., in clinical settings), rather than at the population level. Most are concerned explicitly with risk reduction behaviours or address the behaviours essential to successful biomedical intervention. Population-level interventions are rarer, but do include communication campaigns and efforts to affect HIV or STD through social determinants. With respect to risk compensation, some studies explicitly address risk compensation, while others have sufficient behavioural follow-up data from which to measure it - the unintended measurement of unintended consequences. Fewer studies permit one to attribute effects to different potential causes of risk compensation, including risk homeostasis, overestimation of protection, or the intentional resumption of previous behaviour patterns. The final part of the review is devoted to approaches that seek to minimise negative consequences or to maximise positive consequences, the latter arising when an intervention gives people hope where they once had little or none, and leading to further individual efforts to protect themselves and others (including changes in risk homeostasis). Positively-framed communication campaigns in particular may accelerate efforts and further population-level protective action and health promotion.
Heroism, Raison d'état , and National Communism: Red Nationalism in the Cinema of People's Poland

Using archival sources, film reviews, interviews, secondary sources and movies, this article examines a Polish nationalist-communist school of directors who supported the Communist Party regime in constructing a new ethos, which consisted of ethnocentric nationalism and authoritarian nation state ideology. It demonstrates how the party state tried to legitimise itself by endorsing popular culture, specifically mainstream cinema. It also argues that National Communism inevitably led to the nationalist-authoritarian fusion, which set up the conditions for a pluralist and polyphonic realm, outside, but also within the ruling camp.
A Biometrical Evaluation of Component Parts of Eggs and Their Relationship to Other Economically Important Traits in a Strain of White Leghorns

Abstract IN 1961 almost 10% of the total farm eggs produced in the United States were ultimately used in the form of liquid, frozen, or dried egg products (Koudele and Heinsohn, 1964). These products represented an annual value of approximately 200 million dollars. Past studies relating to egg quality have been concerned with factors affecting egg size and the break-out appearance of fresh and stored eggs. Among the latter, albumen quality, yolk quality and the frequency and size of blood and meat spots have usually been considered. Romanoff and Romanoff (1949) have a comprehensive review on this phase. Among the early reports on egg solids, Winter et al. (1951) observed average solid content of 27.6% for the whole egg, 12.5% for the albumen and 44.9% for the yolk among eggs from a wide range of origins. Baush and Gorseline’s (1953) results were in close agreement. More recently Cotterill et al. (1962) …
Pioglitazone restores IGFBP-3 levels through DNA PK in retinal endothelial cells cultured in hyperglycemic conditions.

Purpose Previously, we reported that pioglitazone prevented insulin resistance and cell death in type 2 diabetic retina by reducing TNFα and suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) levels. Numerous reports suggest prominent vasoprotective effects of insulin growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) in diabetic retinopathy. We hypothesized that pioglitazone protects against retinal cell apoptosis by regulating IGFBP-3 levels, in addition to reducing TNFα. The current study explored potential IGFBP-3 regulatory pathways by pioglitazone in retinal endothelial cells cultured in high glucose. Methods Primary human retinal endothelial cells (REC) were grown in normal (5 mM) and high glucose (25 mM) and treated with pioglitazone for 24 hours. Cell lysates were processed for Western blotting and ELISA analysis to evaluate IGFBP-3, TNFα, and cleaved caspase 3 protein levels. Results Our results show that treatment with pioglitazone restored the high glucose-induced decrease in IGFBP-3 levels. This regulation was independent of TNFα actions, as reducing TNFα levels with siRNA did not prevent pioglitazone from increasing IGFBP-3 levels. Pioglitazone required protein kinase A (PKA) and DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA PK) activity to regulate IGFBP-3, as specific inhibitors for each protein prevented pioglitazone-mediated normalization of IGFBP-3 in high glucose. Insulin growth factor binding protein-3 activity was increased and apoptosis decreased by pioglitazone, which was eliminated when serine site 156 of IGFBP-3 was mutated suggesting a key role of this phosphorylation site in pioglitazone actions. Conclusions Our findings suggest that pioglitazone mediates regulation of IGFBP-3 via activation of PKA/DNA PK pathway in hyperglycemic retinal endothelial cells.
Examining Adaptive Expertise: A Novel Comparison of Student and Practicing Engineer CAD Modeling Performance

Computer-aided design (CAD) tools are critical in the current fast-paced digital product commercialization environment. As firms move towards a model based enterprise, it becomes more important for engineers to develop the skills necessary to efficiently and effectively model components in CAD. The status of CAD education and training has often been decried as focusing too much on declarative knowledge, namely how to do specific procedures in a specific software program. This is opposed to the strategic knowledge or expertise that is adaptable to other CAD programs. To better inform CAD education and modeling procedures, an understanding of how experts model and model in novel situations is presented. Specifically, and novel to this work, the adaptive nature of these practicing professional’s CAD expertise is examined and compared to that of relatively novice students. The methods comprise a combination of screen capture data, model attributes, and the results of interviews to assess adaptive expertise.Practicing engineers are found to spend a smaller percentage of their modeling time engaged in actual modeling procedures (doing time). Significant differences related to model attributes include: practicing engineers being less likely to use pattern features, more likely to have incorrect feature terminations, and more likely to use more complex features (as measured by feature density). Results show practicing engineers as less likely to highlight strategies related to adaptive expertise prior to the modeling activity. Post interview results show practicing engineers with more manifestations of adaptive expertise. These results are in agreement with previous literature examining both general and CAD modeling expertise.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Common-Path Measurement of H2O, CO, and CO2 via TDLAS for Combustion Progress in a Hydrocarbon-Fueled Scramjet

Current research in scramjet engine operability includes the study of fueling strategies to achieve stable and optimal engine performance during ignition, acceleration, and cruise. Measured data sets are needed by design and test engineers to assess such strategies. To assist in this effort, a hybrid optical absorption system is under development and deployment in the RC-22 scramjet engine research facility at Wright-Patterson, AFB. By combining multiple light sources in both the nearand mid-infrared spectral regions, measurements of stable combustion products are planned across a common line of site(s) at the exit of an axisymmetric hydrocarbon-fueled scramjet engine. Our progress to date is reported here.
Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Study of the Kinetics of Self-Assembly of Carboxylate-Terminated n-Alkanethiols on Silver

Adsorption of 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA) on silver from methanol and aqueous solutions was monitored in situ by surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SRES) spectroscopy. While adsorption of MUA from methanol is a one-step formation of a thiol-bound monolayer, SERS spectra reveal that monolayer formation from aqueous solution involves interactions of both carboxylate and thiol groups of MUA with the silver surface. Several Raman scattering bands, including the ν(C–S), νs(COO–), and ν(C–C), were used to investigate the evolution of the structure of adsorbed MUA on silver surfaces. The time-dependent profiles of these bands for assembly from aqueous solution indicate a multistep process, which is initiated by the binding of both carboxylate and thiol groups to silver, producing a mixture of gauche and trans conformations. In a subsequent step, the COO–Ag interactions are displaced by stronger S–Ag bonds, leading to ordering of the resulting monolayer with formation of a complete SAM with all-trans conform...
Study of SAN Heterogeneous Storage Sharing System

Main functions of storage sharing system are sharing heterogeneous data sources,data storage transparency and high-speed reading/writing data sources.This article centralizes the implementation of high-speed user-level storage sharing system,and proposes the architecture.The system has been realized based on SAN in an internal project.At last,the analysis of the performance of the middleware shows that the middleware has local storage system-like performance.
Survey on Lead and Cadmium Pollution of Food in Wuzhou City

[Objective] To understand the concentration levels of lead and cadmium in Various types of food in Wuzhou City,and provide evidence for food safety evaluation and development of targeted preventive measures. [Methods]According to the requirement for food safety risk monitoring,4 markets and 2 supermarkets were selected by using the method of random sampling.The sampling was conducted during June and July.The sample was tested in the laboratory immediately after collection or stored at 4~10 ℃ within 48 h.The lead was tested according to the criterion of GB/T5009.12-2003(Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry);and the cadmium test was based on the criterion of GB/T5009.15-2003(Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry).The result was evaluated according to the national criterion of GB2762-2005 "Limits of Contaminants in Food." [Results]Lead was detected in 94 samples from 174 samples and the detection rate was 54.02%.There was 8 samples unqualified.Unqualified rate was 4.60%.The unqualified food are 2 samples of freshwater fish,1 sample of pig kidney,2 preserved eggs,2 samples root vegetables,1 sample of leafy vegetable respectively.Unqualified rate was 13%,6%,13%,18%,7% respectively.Cadmium was detected in 104 samples from 174 samples.The detected rate was 59.77%.There was 1 sample unqualified which was milk with unqualified rate of 0.61%. [Conclusion]There are some lead and cadmium contamination in the food in Wuzhou City,which should be attract more attentions.
Role of Cytokines in Autologous Bone Marrow Transplantation

High-dose chemotherapy with autologous bone marrow support has been increasingly used in the treatment of malignant disease. The use of hematopoietic colony-stimulating factors (CSF), particularly when coupled with the use of CSF-primed peripheral blood progenitor cells, has enabled a substantial reduction in the duration of severe leukopenia and in the morbidity associated with bone marrow transplantation. Furthermore, their use has reduced resource utilization and hospital charges and has also permitted the performance of autologous bone marrow transplantation support largely on an outpatient basis.
Explaining the pathway from familial and peer social support to disordered eating: Is body dissatisfaction the link for male and female adolescents?

This study examined if familial and peer social support longitudinally predicted disordered eating for late adolescents in the transitional first year of college, and if body dissatisfaction mediated this relation. Gender differences between support types and disordered eating, and body dissatisfaction as a mediator, were also examined.651 late adolescent males and females (Mage=18.47) completed measures of social support at the end of the first semester of college and of disordered eating and body image approximately five months later, at the end of the first year.Lower levels of familial social support prospectively predicted greater disordered eating, but not greater body dissatisfaction, and lower levels of peer social support prospectively predicted greater body dissatisfaction but not greater disordered eating, above and beyond the other type of social support type, prior levels of body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and BMI. Body dissatisfaction did not mediate the relation between familial social support and disordered eating; however, it did significantly mediate the non-significant relation between peer social support and disordered eating, which was further moderated by gender.These findings suggest that parental social support remains a significant predictor of disordered eating for late adolescents even after they transition to college, and has a stronger relation to disordered eating than peer support. In contrast, peer social support seems to be especially linked to feelings of body dissatisfaction and may be an avenue for intervention of this type of negative self-perception that is a risk factor for later disordered eating.
A mathematics course for prospective elementary school teachers

A lack of agreement as to what topics should be included in a background course in mathematics for elementary school teachers has been in evidence since before World War II. Morton and Judd,1 writing in 1935 in the Tenth Yearbook of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, reported on a study which indicated a great diversity of topics in teacher-training courses in arithmetic among members of the American Association of Teachers Colleges. On reporting the results of a questionnaire regarding teacher opinions on time allotments to various topics in a three-hour course in the teaching of arithmetic, Morton and Judd wrote :
Mothers With Physical Disability: Child Care Adaptations at Home.

Objective This study describes how women with physical disability experience caregiving for a new infant and how they adapt their home environment and care tasks. Method In 2013, we conducted 2-hr telephone interviews with 22 women with significant physical disability who had delivered babies within the previous 10 yr. The semistructured, open-ended interview protocol addressed wide-ranging pregnancy-related topics. NVivo was used to sort the texts for content analysis. Results Night care, bathing, and carrying the baby were identified as the biggest challenges. Typical adaptations (with and without occupational therapy consultation) included use of a wrap for carrying the infant, furniture adaptations for mothers using wheelchairs, and assistance from caregivers. Conclusion Women with physical disability can be fully capable of caring for an infant and can find ways to adapt their environment. Further research may determine the role of occupation therapy.
Winter Camping on Semester Break

(1974). Winter Camping on Semester Break. Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation: Vol. 45, No. 7, pp. 78-80.
A Comprehensive Informatics Framework to Increase Breast Cancer Risk Assessment and Chemoprevention in the Primary Care Setting

The U. S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that clinicians engage in shared decision making with women at high-risk for breast cancer about medications to reduce their risk, also known as chemoprevention. However, uptake has been low (
Impact of the 21-gene recurrence score on outcome in patients with invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast.

Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) of the breast has unique clinicopathologic characteristics, compared to invasive ductal carcinoma. The role of the 21-gene Recurrence Score (RS) has not been clearly defined for ILC. We sought to determine the prognostic value of RS and the impact of adjuvant chemotherapy on long-term survival in patients with ILC. Utilizing the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database from 2004 to 2013, we identified records of women aged 18–74 years, diagnosed with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive ILC (stage I to III) with RS available. We categorized patients into risk groups based on the traditional RS cutoffs and into those of the Trial Assigning Individualized Options for Treatment (TAILORx). Five-year breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) was analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier method and Cox proportional hazards models. Of the 7316 women included, 21% were in the low-risk; 71%, intermediate-risk; and 8%, high-risk groups as per TAILORx RS cutoffs. The 5-year BCSS was 99% in the low-risk, 99% in the intermediate-risk, and 96% in the high-risk groups. A high-risk RS as per TAILORx cutoff was independently associated with increased mortality (hazard ratio [HR] of death 2.37, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.14–4.95) when compared to a low-risk RS. In both the high-risk and intermediate-risk groups, adjuvant chemotherapy was not significantly associated with the HR of death (high-risk, HR 1.14, 95% CI 0.55–2.38; intermediate-risk, HR 1.08, 95% CI 0.62–1.87). For patients with ER-positive ILC, 8% were in the high-risk and 72% were in the intermediate-risk groups as per the TAILORx RS cutoffs. In the high-risk group, the RS predicted a lower 5-year BCSS. Adjuvant chemotherapy did not seem to confer a survival benefit for either the intermediate- or the high-risk cohorts.
Sequence architecture of the cavi unit, Chasma Boreale, Mars

Abstract The principles of terrestrial sequence stratigraphy provide a proven approach for evaluating the cavi unit where it transitions into the north polar layered deposits (NPLD). Three cavi unit outcrops at the head of Chasma Boreale were examined using high resolution imagery and topography and interpreted in a sequence stratigraphic framework. Lithofacies present in the cavi unit were identified and consist of (1) dark lithic material, (2) dark material with icy foresets, (3) icy cavi, (4) isolated dunes, (5) dirty ice, and (6) layered ice. These lithofacies represent a progression in the dominance of aeolian to cryosphere processes and have analogs in the modern Chasma Boreale depositional environment. Parasequences were defined as aeolian units bounded by outcrop-scale unconformities, permafrost layers, and layered ice deposits. The northern outcrop is dominated by sandy lithofacies, with large bodies of sand also dominating the northern parts of the central and southern outcrops. In the central and southern outcrops, sandy lithofacies yield southward to icier accumulations. Concurrently, vertical trends in lithofacies distribution indicate an increasing prevalence of ice deposits through time. Considered across all three outcrops, the parasequences form a set that expresses the northward retreat of the cavi aeolian system coincident with transgression of an ice sheet originating in Gemini Lingula. This retrogradational stacking pattern of cavi aeolian parasequences with gradual transgression of the NPLD environment implies that the transitional cavi unit and NPLD form a single sequence that may correspond to allogenic forcing by orbital parameters. The dynamics between aeolian and cryosphere processes revealed at the parasequence scale indicate that preservation of the stratigraphic record is driven by the ice transgression, suggesting that during episodes of ice sheet collapse, the north polar sedimentary environment reverts to one dominated by aeolian erosion and reworking, as represented by the basal cavi unit.
LLIMAS: Revolutionizing integrating modeling and analysis at MIT Lincoln Laboratory

MIT Lincoln Laboratory’s Integrated Modeling and Analysis Software (LLIMAS) enables the development of novel engineering solutions for advanced prototype systems through unique insights into engineering performance and interdisciplinary behavior to meet challenging size, weight, power, environmental, and performance requirements. LLIMAS is a multidisciplinary design optimization tool that wraps numerical optimization algorithms around an integrated framework of structural, thermal, optical, stray light, and computational fluid dynamics analysis capabilities. LLIMAS software is highly extensible and has developed organically across a variety of technologies including laser communications, directed energy, photometric detectors, chemical sensing, laser radar, and imaging systems. The custom software architecture leverages the capabilities of existing industry standard commercial software and supports the incorporation of internally developed tools. Recent advances in LLIMAS’s Structural-Thermal-Optical Performance (STOP), aeromechanical, and aero-optical capabilities as applied to Lincoln prototypes are presented.
Acinetobacter baumanii and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia are associated with lower airway infections in tracheostomised children and young adults

Background: Lower airway infections (LAI) occur frequently in children with a tracheostostoma. Whether airway pathogens are risk factors for LAI is not sufficiently studied. Methods: We retrospectively analysed patient records of tracheostomised children and young adults, who were treated between 2004 to 2014 in the children´s hospital of the University of Muenster, Germany. The correlation between lower airway pathogens and the number of LAI per year (Y) was assessed by Spearman correlation coefficient (r). Results: 78 patients were enrolled into the study and had a tracheostoma (median of 58.5 months (interquartile range (IQR): 26; 73.5). The median age was 7.5 years (IQR: 3.75; 7.5), 43 (55%) patients were male. We cultured 329 lower airway secretions and found Staphylococcus aureus (n=135), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n=90), Klebsiella pneumoniae (n=46), Hamophilus influenzae (n=37), Escherichia coli (n=37), Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (n=29), Acinetobacter baumannii (n=21), Moraxella catarrhalis (n=20) und Candida albicans (n=37). The presence of Acinetobacter baumanii (r= 0.355; p=0.001) and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (r=0.274; p=0.015) was positively correlated to LAI/Y; Pseudomonas aeruginosa (r=0.109; p=0.342), Staphylococcus aureus (r=0.086; p=0.448) or Klebsiella pneumonia (r=0.050; p=0.664) was not correlated to LAI/Y. The duration of long term ventilation was negatively correlated to the number of LAI/Y (r=-0.549; p Discussion: Acinetobacter baumanii or Stenotrophomonas maltophilia in airway secretions may be risk factors and long term ventilation may be protective for LAI in children and young adults with a tracheostoma.
When tractography meets tracer injections: a systematic study of trends and variation sources of diffusion-based connectivity

Tractography is a powerful technique capable of non-invasively reconstructing the structural connections in the brain using diffusion MRI images, but the validation of tractograms is challenging due to lack of ground truth. Owing to recent developments in mapping the mouse brain connectome, high-resolution tracer injection-based axonal projection maps have been created and quickly adopted for the validation of tractography. Previous studies using tracer injections mainly focused on investigating the match in projections and optimal tractography protocols. Being a complicated technique, however, tractography relies on multiple stages of operations and parameters. These factors introduce large variabilities in tractograms, hindering the optimization of protocols and making the interpretation of results difficult. Based on this observation, in contrast to previous studies, in this work we focused on quantifying and ranking the amount of performance variation introduced by these factors. For this purpose, we performed over a million tractography experiments and studied the variability across different subjects, injections, anatomical constraints and tractography parameters. By using N-way ANOVA analysis, we show that all tractography parameters are significant and importantly performance variations with respect to the differences in subjects are comparable to the variations due to tractography parameters, which strongly underlines the importance of fully documenting the tractography protocols in scientific experiments. We also quantitatively show that inclusion of anatomical constraints is the most significant factor for improving tractography performance. Although this critical factor helps reduce false positives, our analysis indicates that anatomy-informed tractography still fails to capture a large portion of axonal projections.
Effective flow cytometric phenotyping of cells using minimal amounts of antibody

Here we introduce a modified antibody staining method that uses up to 80% less antibody for flow cytometry. We demonstrate this method for the detection of antigens expressed at high, moderate, or low levels in mouse and rat lymphocytes as well as mouse mammary epithelial cells. We obtained reproducibly accurate results for the detection of up to seven parameters for activation induced-proliferation, cell cycle analysis, and phenotyping of cell-surface and intracellular antigens.
Genetic Manipulation of a Naturally Competent Bacterium, Helicobacter pylori

Genetic manipulation of Helicobacter pylori facilitates characterization and functional analysis of individual H. pylori genes. This chapter discusses the methods involved in H. pylori chromosomal DNA isolation, mutagenesis of individual genes, and natural transformation.
Research on Status Congruence

The preceding theoretical analysis led me to believe that the attributes of a person’s different status ranks were basically attributes of interpersonal mastery, and that, therefore, status incongruence—existing when the several rank positions a person holds fail to recommend consistent behavioral expectancies—was dissatisfying and troublesome because of the challenge to mastery that it posed. With these thoughts in mind and a good NIMH grant in hand, the natural next step was to devise a series of laboratory experiments that could systematically examine several derivations from this mini-theory (see Sampson, 1969, for a summary of much of this work).
Compass Applications Using Giant Magnetoresistance Sensors (GMR)

The use of giant magnetoresistors, or GMR, for compass magnetometers is a recent trend in Earth field sensing. Thin film compass devices are often used in applications in global positioning systems (GPS) to aid in navigation. A GPS system can only tell a user about the direction of travel as long as the user is in motion. A compass indicates static orientation of the user which, with the addition of gyroscopic information along with GPS data can give precise location and orientation to users. Modern digital devices often incorporate compass devices with location applications to better aid consumers in locating services.
Soil aggregates as biogeochemical reactors and implications for soil-atmosphere exchange of greenhouse gases—A concept

Soil-atmosphere exchange significantly influences the global atmospheric abundances of carbon dioxide (CO2 ), methane (CH4 ), and nitrous oxide (N2 O). These greenhouse gases (GHGs) have been extensively studied at the soil profile level and extrapolated to coarser scales (regional and global). However, finer scale studies of soil aggregation have not received much attention, even though elucidating the GHG activities at the full spectrum of scales rather than just coarse levels is essential for reducing the large uncertainties in the current atmospheric budgets of these gases. Through synthesizing relevant studies, we propose that aggregates, as relatively separate micro-environments embedded in a complex soil matrix, can be viewed as biogeochemical reactors of GHGs. Aggregate reactivity is determined by both aggregate size (which determines the reactor size) and the bulk soil environment including both biotic and abiotic factors (which further influence the reaction conditions). With a systematic, dynamic view of the soil system, implications of aggregate reactors for soil-atmosphere GHG exchange are determined by both an individual reactor's reactivity and dynamics in aggregate size distributions. Emerging evidence supports the contention that aggregate reactors significantly influence soil-atmosphere GHG exchange and may have global implications for carbon and nitrogen cycling. In the context of increasingly frequent and severe disturbances, we advocate more analyses of GHG activities at the aggregate scale. To complement data on aggregate reactors, we suggest developing bottom-up aggregate-based models (ABMs) that apply a trait-based approach and incorporate soil system heterogeneity.
The Regulation of Interchange Fees: Australian Fine-Tuning Gone Awry

Two-sided markets are generally defined as markets in which the value attributed to the goods and services received by parties on one side of an exchange depends not only on the intrinsic properties of those items, but also on the number of parties located on the other side. In the credit card context, which I shall address here, the story plays out as follows: merchants accept credit cards only if customers are willing to use them to make purchases. Customers use credit cards only if merchants will accept them. Today, there also exists extensive literature describing the theoretical features of these markets, which, as this Article will explain, do not operate with the matchless efficiency of ordinary competitive markets. Given this starting point, the question of industrial organization faced in two-sided markets is that of selecting the second best option. Because the ideal solution cannot be achieved, we must locate the closest approximation to that ideal that can be attained under practical circumstances. Stated more generally, this inquiry can be reduced to the question of whether state regulation can improve the operation of two-sided markets. Fortunately, we do not have to examine two-sided markets solely from a theoretical perspective. We have available at least one real world example, namely the interchange fee restrictions that the Reserve Bank of Australia (“RBA”) imposed on the credit card industry in July of 2003. In a report entitled Reform of Credit Card Schemes in Australia, the RBA implemented a series of recommendations that had been announced in its comprehensive 2001 regulatory initiative. The RBA’s key initiatives focused on two essential features of the open credit card systems used by Bankcard, Visa, and MasterCard. The first of these was the regulation of interchange fees. The second was a contract provision that prevents merchants in these systems from offering lower prices to their cash customers. Ultimately, these regulatory interventions are intended to address what the RBA claims are efficiency and distributional concerns, thereby reducing the implicit subsidies that cash, check, and debit card users pay for credit card users. The RBA’s program is explicitly designed to improve the position of merchants (and their broad customer base) and acquiring banks relative to that of issuing banks and their cardholders (which are only a subset of all customers). This Article shall examine whether implementing these reforms has allowed the RBA to make good on its objectives.
The study of speech naturalness in communication disorders: A systematic review of the literature.

The concept of speech naturalness is used widely in clinic and research applications. Unfortunately, the lack of consistency in research methods means that comparing findings between studies is dif...
The risk of treated anxiety and treated depression among patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis treated with apremilast compared to biologics, DMARDs and corticosteroids: a cohort study in the United States MarketScan database.

Background Anxiety and depression are common among psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients, but rates may differ by treatment. Objective To quantify the risk of incident treated anxiety, depression and mixed anxiety + depression in users of apremilast compared with users of other treatments for psoriasis and PsA. Methods We conducted two separate cohort studies of psoriasis and PsA patients treated with apremilast, tumour necrosis factor inhibitor biologics, interleukin-17, -23 or -12/23 inhibitor biologics, conventional DMARDs or systemic corticosteroids in the United States MarketScan database. Cohort entry was date of first study drug after 21 March 2014. We identified cases who had a depression and/or anxiety diagnosis with a prescription for antidepressant/antianxiety medication within 30 days of the diagnosis code. We calculated incidence rates (IRs) and incidence rate ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for treated anxiety, treated depression and treated anxiety + depression per 1000 patient-years (PY) among patients. Results Among the psoriasis cohort, IRs for each outcome were similar between exposure categories and highest among users of systemic corticosteroids alone. IRs (95% CI) for apremilast alone were 9.2 (6.6-12.5), 4.6 (2.8-7.1) and 4.6 (2.8-7.1) per 1000 PY for treated anxiety, treated depression and treated anxiety + depression, respectively. In the PsA cohort, the rate of anxiety was highest among users of apremilast alone; rates of depression and anxiety + depression were similar for apremilast compared with other PsA treatments. IRs for each outcome were also high for users of corticosteroids in both the psoriasis and PsA cohorts. Conclusions Among patients with psoriasis, users of apremilast had similar rates of anxiety and depression as users of other non-corticosteroid systemic psoriasis treatments. Among PsA patients, users of apremilast had similar rates of depression and anxiety + depression compared with users of other systemic non-corticosteroid PsA drugs; however, the rate of anxiety was slightly higher.
A control-theoretic approach to detecting and distinguishing replay attacks from other anomalies in nuclear power plants

Abstract The wider use of digital systems in nuclear power plants has raised security concerns to the utilities, the regulatory entities, and the public. These digital systems provide malicious attackers with opportunities to exploit vulnerabilities in these systems to realize physical damages. Replay attacks are a particular type of attacks. They are easy to perform and when combined with other types of attacks can potentially lead to significant consequences. Therefore, timely detection of a replay attack is of vital importance for the operator to take mitigation measures. Besides, it is also important to distinguish between a replay attack and other anomalies, since they are of different nature (one intentional and the other random) and will require different responses by the operator. In this research, we propose a control-theoretic method to address this problem. The method consists of the injection of random noise (i.e. physical watermark) into the control input and two chi-squared tests. The physical watermark is used to excite the system being controlled so that the replay attack, if it exists, can be uncovered. The first chi-squared test is used to detect anomalies in the system, including replay attacks and other anomalies. If the null hypothesis in the first test is rejected, we use the second chi-squared test to determine whether the anomaly is a replay attack or any other anomaly. We demonstrate the proposed method by using a steam generator that can be found in pressurized water reactors. The results of different cases are presented and discussed.
Recruiting Immigrant and Refugee Arab American Mother-Father-Infant Triads Resettling in the United States: A Feasibility Study.

BackgroundRecent Iraqi and Syrian immigrant families are exposed to stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms due to civil war. Recruitment challenges specific to conducting research within this pop...
Chapter 20 – Angelman Syndrome

Angelman syndrome (AS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by severe developmental delay and speech impairment, gait ataxia and/or tremulousness of limbs, microcephaly, seizures, and a unique behavior with a happy demeanor that includes frequent laughing, smiling, and excitability. AS is caused by disruption of UBE3A, which encodes E6AP ubiquitin protein ligase. UBE3A shows parent-specific differential expression, or imprinting, limited to brain and spinal cord neurons. AS results from several genetic mechanisms that disrupt the functional allele of UBE3A inherited from the mother. Analysis of parent specific DNA methylation imprints in the critical 15q11.2-q13 genomic region identifies approximately 75–80% of all individuals, including those with cytogenetic deletions, imprinting center defects, and paternal uniparental disomy (UPD). Accordingly, diagnosis may rely on several diagnostic genetic tests. Therapeutic approaches are now focused on the manipulation of related protein pathways of UBE3A and unsilencing of the paternal allele.