cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Scholars Program Learning Circle: An Example of Capacity Building in the Academy for Engaged Team Science

We describe the professional development component, or learning circle, of the Community-engaged Scholars Program, a multi-disciplinary, cohort-based program intended to build scholars’ capacity for community-engaged scholarship. We explore the learning circle in the context of “team science”. We argue that the learning circle pedagogy is a right fit for promoting, not just engaged research, but also engaged team science, within the academy.
Organic thin film electronics

The technological landscape appears ripe for an explosion of organic electronic applications. Devices with performance exceeding a-Si:H thin film transistors have been demonstrated and applications that use the particular strengths of organic devices are beginning to emerge. All-organic displays have been demonstrated and solution processed materials with device performance similar to vapor deposited materials appear likely. The wide range of device and application possibilities and physical phenomena combine to make organic electronics one of the most exciting areas of device physics and engineering
CutPointVis: An Interactive Exploration Tool for Cancer Biomarker Cutpoint Optimization

In the field of medical and epidemiological research, it is a common practice to do a clinical or statistical dichotomization of a continuous variable. By dichotomizing a continuous variable, a researcher can build a eligibility criteria for potential studies, predict disease likelihood or predict treatment response. The dichotomization methods can be classified into data-depend methods and outcome-based methods. The data-dependent methods are considered to be arbitrary and lack of generics. While the outcome-based methods compute an optimal cut point which maximizes the statistical difference between two dichotomized groups. There is no standard software yet for an expedited cut point determination In this work, we present CutPointVis, a visualization platform for fast and convenient optimal cut point determination. Compared to existing research work, CutPointVis distinguishes itself with its realtime feature and better user interactivity. A case study is presented to demonstrate the usability of CutPointVis.
Manifesting maturity: Gendered sexual intimacy and becoming an adult

In this article, I explore how 28 class-advantaged, young “emerging” adult women and men in the USA utilize understandings of their own intimate lives to make sense of themselves as adults in progr...
Cytoplasmic fate of eukaryotic mRNA: identification and characterization of AU-binding proteins.

Messenger RNA (mRNA) turnover has only recently been appreciated as an important control point in the regulation of gene expression. Initially thought to be a static process, mRNA decay is now known to be a highly regulated pathway capable of temporally, qualitatively, and quantitatively altering the cytoplasmic levels of specific mRNAs. The heterogeneity of different mRNA half-lives has a direct impact on gene expression by varying the levels of protein production (for reviews, see Raghow 1987; Hargrove and Schmidt 1989; Carter and Malter 1991; Peltz et al. 1991). In addition, the stability of a single mRNA can be differentially regulated by the cell in response to various stimuli. Alterations in mRNA decay rates are critical for both normal development and adult homeostasis (Kafatos 1972; Atwater et al. 1990). Dysregulated mRNA degradation can contribute to the development of a variety of human diseases, including cancer (Eick et al. 1985; Piechaczyk et al. 1985; Bauer et al. 1989; Ross et al. 1991), autoimmune syndromes (Lerner and Steitz 1979; Levine et al. 1993), and possibly Alzheimer’s disease (Zaidi and Malter 1995).
Predictors of quality of life improvement after surgery for metastatic tumors of the spine: prospective cohort study.

Abstract Background Context Surgical decompression and stabilization followed by radiosurgery represents an effective method for local tumor control and neurologic preservation for patients with metastatic epidural spinal cord compression (MESCC). We have previously demonstrated improvement in health-related quality of life (HrQOL) after this combined modality treatment (“hybrid therapy”). Purpose The current analysis focuses on delineation of patient-specific prognostic factors predictive of HrQOL change after combined surgery-stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) treatment of MESCC. Study Design This is a prospective, single-center, cohort study. Patient Sample One hundred and eleven patients with MESCC who underwent separation surgery followed by SRS were included. Outcome Measures Prognostic factors associated with improved patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures. Methods Patient-reported outcome tools, that is, Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) and MD Anderson Symptom Inventory-Spine Tumor (MDASI-SP), both validated in the cancer population, were prospectively collected. Numeric prognostic factors were correlated with PRO measures using the Spearman rank correlation coefficient. Categorical prognostic factors were correlated with PRO measures using the Wilcoxon two-sample test (for two categories) or the Kruskal-Wallis test (for three or more categories). All statistical tests were two-sided with a level of significance Results One hundred and eleven patients were included in this analysis. Patients with lower preoperative Medical Research Council (MRC) motor scores experienced a greater decrease in symptom interference (BPI interference construct (p=.03) and individual functional measures including general activity (p=.001), walking (p=.001), and normal work (p=.006)). Lumbar location was associated with better outcomes than cervical or thoracic as noted on the BPI pain experience construct (p=.03) and MDASI-SP interference (p=.01) and core symptom (p=.002) constructs. Patients with American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) scores of C or D benefit more than those with ASIA E on BPI interference construct (p=.04). Patients with higher Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) scores at presentation benefit more than those with low ECOG scores on MDASI-SP interference construct (p=.03). Women benefit more than men on BPI interference (p=.03) and pain experience (p=.04) constructs. Patients with prior spinal surgery at the current level of interest benefit less than those who are naive surgical patients in MDASI-SP interference construct (p=.04). Conclusions Delineation of patient characteristics associated with HrQOL improvement provides crucial information for patient selection, patient education, and setting treatment expectations. For patients with MESCC treated with hybrid therapy using surgery and radiosurgery, the presence of neurologic deficits and diminished performance status, lumbar tumor level, and female gender were associated with greater PRO improvement.
Synthesis and properties of 3-ethynylthiophene containing BODIPY derivatives

Green, red and far-red emitting Borondipyrromethene (BODIPY) derivatives with 3-ethynylthiophene units at various positions around the BODIPY core were synthesized and their photophysical properties were studied. 3-Ethynylthiophene substitution at the 2,6 positions caused significant increase in Stokes shift while substitution at the 8 and 4,4’ positions had no effect. Photooxidation of 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran (DPBF) in the presence of 3-ethynylthiophene substituted BODIPY derivatives confirmed singlet oxygen generation. 3-Ethynylthiophene substitution at the 2,6 positions is more effective in singlet oxygen generation compared to 4’4 substitutions. Substitution through phenyl group at the meso (8) position gave the lowest rate for singlet oxygen production. All 3-ethynylthiophene containing BODIPY derivatives were highly photo-stable under our experimental conditions.
Pathophysiology of Eosinophilic Esophagitis

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the esophagus associated with an atopic predisposition which appears to be increasing in prevalence over the last few decades. Symptoms stem from fibrosis, swelling, and smooth muscle dysfunction. In the past two decades, the etiology of EoE has been and is continuing to be revealed. This review provides an overview of the effects of genetics, environment, and immune function including discussions that touch on microbiome, the role of diet, food allergy, and aeroallergy. The review further concentrates on the pathophysiology of the disease with particular focus on the important concepts of the molecular etiology of EoE including barrier dysfunction and allergic hypersensitivity.
Multifunctional self-powered hydraulic system sensor node

The current technology push to connect everyday objects via the “internet of things” has fueled significant advances in low-power processing and communication devices. One aspect of these connected products that still needs attention is the means by which they are powered. An attractive and feasible option is the use of energy harvesting from acoustic fields. Previous work developing a piezoelectric energy harvesting device has generated 2.6 mW of power from a hydraulic test rig. This paper presents an implementation of an energy harvesting device connected to a communications system that allows it to store energy and communicate sensor readings via Bluetooth Low Energy.
Bacterial and fungal midgut community dynamics and transfer between mother and brood in the Asian longhorned beetle ("Anoplophora glabripennis"), an invasive xylophage

Microbial symbionts play pivotal roles in the ecology and physiology of insects feeding in woody plants. Both eukaryotic and bacterial members occur in these systems where they facilitate digestive and nutrient provisioning. The larval gut of the Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) is associated with a microbial consortium that fulfills these metabolic roles. While members of the community vary in presence and abundance among individuals from different hosts, A. glabripennis is consistently associated with a fungus in the Fusarium solani species complex (FSSC). We used amplicon sequencing, taxon-specific PCR, culturing, and imaging to determine how bacterial and fungal communities differ between life stages and possible modes of symbiont transfer. The bacterial and fungal communities of adult guts were more diverse than those from larvae and eggs. The communities of larvae and eggs were more similar to those from oviposition sites than from adult female guts. FSSC isolates were not detected in the reproductive tissues of adult females, but were consistently detected on egg surfaces after oviposition and in frass. These results demonstrate that frass can serve as a vehicle of transmission of a subset for the beetle gut microbiota. Vertically transmitted symbionts are often beneficial to their host, warranting subsequent functional studies.
Evolution of a Materials Data Infrastructure

The field of materials science and engineering is writing a new chapter in its evolution, one of digitally empowered materials discovery, development, and deployment. The 2008 Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) study report helped usher in this paradigm shift, making a compelling case and strong recommendations for an infrastructure supporting ICME that would enable access to precompetitive materials data for both scientific and engineering applications. With the launch of the Materials Genome Initiative in 2011, which drew substantial inspiration from the ICME study, digital data was highlighted as a core component of a Materials Innovation Infrastructure, along with experimental and computational tools. Over the past 10 years, our understanding of what it takes to provide accessible materials data has matured and rapid progress has been made in establishing a Materials Data Infrastructure (MDI). We are learning that the MDI is essential to eliminating the seams between experiment and computation by providing a means for them to connect effortlessly. Additionally, the MDI is becoming an enabler, allowing materials engineering to tie into a much broader model-based engineering enterprise for product design.
Centers for medicare and medicaid services hospital-acquired conditions policy for central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) and catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) shows minimal impact on hospital reimbursement.

Objective In 2008, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) stopped reimbursing for hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) not present on admission (POA). We sought to understand why this policy did not impact central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) and catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) trends. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Acute-care hospitals in the United States.ParticipantsFee-for-service Medicare patients discharged January 1, 2007, through December 31, 2011. Methods Using inpatient Medicare claims data, we analyzed billing practices before and after the HAC policy was implemented, including the use and POA designation of codes for CLABSI or CAUTI. For the 3-year period following policy implementation, we determined the impact on diagnosis-related groups (DRG) determining reimbursement as well as hospital characteristics associated with the reimbursement impact. Results During the study period, 65,205,607 Medicare fee-for-service hospitalizations occurred at 3,291 acute-care, nonfederal US hospitals. Based on coding, CLABSI and CAUTI affected 0.23% and 0.06% of these hospitalizations, respectively. In addition, following the HAC policy, 82% of the CLABSI codes and 91% of the CAUTI codes were marked POA, which represented a large increase in the use of this designation. Finally, for the small numbers of CLABSI and CAUTI coded as not POA, financial impacts were detected on only 0.4% of the hospitalizations with a CLABSI code and 5.7% with a CAUTI code. Conclusions Part of the reason the HAC policy did not have its intended impact is that billing codes for CLABSI and CAUTI were rarely used, were commonly listed as POA in the postpolicy period, and infrequently impacted hospital reimbursement.
Antigenic Changes During Embryonic Development

The genetic material of an egg and a sperm contains the information for all of antigens which will appear under normal conditions during embryonic development and during the whole of the life of the organism. In the beginning, however, both cells seem to be very poor antigenically, the egg in particular. Palm et al. (1971) have shown that an unfertilized mouse egg and a very early mouse embryo — at the level of a few cells — show negative membrane-fluorescence staining with otherwise positive anti-H-2 serum. Antisera prepared against weak histocompatibility antigens (H-1, H-6) produced a positive membrane fluorescence reaction with the unfertilized egg, and the embryo at the level of a few cells. We recently reported (Koldovsky et al., 1972) that guinea-pig antiserum prepared against unfertilized mouse eggs is highly cytotoxic for these eggs, but such an antiserum has no detectable cytotoxic activity against normal mouse cells from an adult animal. Unfertilized mouse eggs are also insensitive to the cytotoxic action of guinea-pig antiserum to mouse spleen cells or to mouse anti-H-2 antigen antibodies. The effect of guinea-pig antisera against unfertilized mouse eggs seems to be species-specific (rat, hamster, rabbit). This property is different from that of organ-specific antigens, which usually cross the species barrier.
A Note on the Relationship between Firm Diversification and Corporate Advertising Expenditures

Using data on 200 major U.S. advertisers, our empirical analysis examines the relationship between the degree of firm diversification and corporate advertising expenditures, while controlling for competing explanations. Data on corporate advertising expenditures are obtained from Leading National Advertisers (1989). Compustat line of business data and Hoover's Handbook are used to construct measures of firm diversification, and other firm/industry characteristics included as covariates in our empirical analysis to account for possible alternative explanations. Our results suggest that less diversified firms spend more on corporate advertising.
Optimal Placement of Honeypots for Network Defense

We seek to combine recent advances in game theory of both cyber defense and deception to model the interactions between an attacker and defender on a network. We define a new class of games called \((n,k,c,{\varvec{w}}, \gamma )\)-honeynet games which extend those defined in previous research. These games have incomplete and imperfect information since the attacker is unaware of moves made by the defender to secure a system, and the defender is not certain of the true identity of the attacker.
Seasonality in ecology: Progress and prospects in theory

Abstract Seasonality is an important feature of essentially all natural systems but the consequences of seasonality have been vastly underappreciated. Early work emphasized the role of seasonality in driving cyclic population dynamics, but the consequences of seasonality for ecological processes are far broader. Yet, seasonality is often not explicitly included in either empirical or theoretical studies. Many aspects of ecological dynamics can only be understood when seasonality is included, ranging from the oscillations in the incidence of childhood diseases to the coexistence of species. Through several case studies, we outline what is now known about seasonality in an ecological context and set the stage for future efforts. We discuss various approaches and tools for incorporating seasonality in mathematical models. We argue, however, that these tools are still limited in scope and more easily-accessible approaches need to be developed.
A probabilistic model of sleep structure suggests a primary role for wake probability in overall sleep in Drosophila melanogaster

In humans and flies, sleep is a highly organized behavior, occurring in discrete bouts that are consolidated at night but have a more fragmented structure during the day. Longer episodes correlate with transitions to deeper sleep states for both species, and sleep fragmentation has been shown to have deleterious outcomes for a large number of physiological processes. In mammals and birds, EEG provides an excellent measure of sleep structure and state. In invertebrates, assessment of sleep structure has relied on measures of episode duration, which can fail to capture important aspects of sleep architecture. Here we model Drosophila sleep as a probabilistic behavior and develop analytical tools to measure transition probabilities and the organization of sleep episodes within a defined analysis window. We show that these tools provide insight into the underlying mechanisms of normal sleep and into how they are altered in pathological conditions. The probability of transition to the wake state, P(Wake) is a major driver of normal sleep and responsive to dopaminergic tone, suggesting it is a measure of arousal. Our method for assessing sleep fragmentation adds important information about the organization of sleep bouts that is missing in measures of episode duration alone. Importantly, the ability to obtain a measure of the probability structure underlying sleep in a particular condition or genotype provides a way to compare the state of brain sleep circuits across conditions that utilizes information from all of the many processes that influence sleep.
Social Media in Health Communication

In the past 10 years, social media usage and the development of new social media platforms have grown rapidly in the United States. This new technology enables users to socialize and exchange knowledge with other users in a virtual community. Social media also has a number of advantages over other modes of communication including the ability to track and analyze communication, tailor information for individual users, and reach a broad audience in a short amount of time. Many health care providers have already started piloting social media-based interventions to improve patient care and population health. This chapter describes the current application of social media in health communication, beginning with a definition of social media and health communication, and then focusing on examples of social media usage across the spectrum of health care. The chapter also reviews current guidelines for health care professionals’ use of social media and limitations of social media use, such as privacy and quality concerns. The chapter concludes with implications for future research and practice.
Protecting young Black female sexuality

In the USA, Black girls and women face significant health disparities and disproportionately experience violence, racism, discrimination, stereotype messaging and elevated STI/HIV rates. Research shows the importance of familial systems and effective communication in decreasing risky behaviours among Black girls. This grounded theory study explored the sociocultural conditions that influence the process of becoming a sexual Black woman. Analytic results of interviews with 20 Black women identified protection as a major category associated with Black female sexual development and related risk behaviour. This paper describes the role of Black women as protectors of young Black female sexuality, the sociocultural protective strategies they used across the life course and the consequences of absent protection. Findings can inform future evidence-based, culturally sensitive interventions to promote the sexual health and development of Black girls and women in the USA.
Controlling polymer properties through the shape of the molecular-weight distribution

The manipulation of a polymer’s properties without altering its chemical composition is a major challenge in polymer chemistry, materials science and engineering. Although variables such as chemical structure, branching, molecular weight and dispersity are routinely used to control the architecture and physical properties of polymers, little attention is given to the often profound effect of the breadth and shape of the molecular-weight distribution (MWD) on the properties of polymers. Synthetic strategies now make it possible to explore the importance of parameters such as skew and the higher moments of the MWD function beyond the average and standard deviation. In this Review, we describe early accounts of the effect of MWD shape on polymer properties; discuss synthetic strategies for controlling MWD shape; describe current endeavours to understand the influence of MWD shape on rheological and mechanical properties and phase behaviour; and provide insight into the future of using MWDs in the design of polymeric materials. Controlling polymerization is required to fully understand and tune the function of a polymer. Alongside variables such as dispersity, molecular weight and chemical composition, the shape of the molecular-weight distribution has substantial influence on polymer properties. In this Review, we discuss methods to systematically control the shape of a polymer’s molecular-weight distribution, as well as explore the profound effects of shape on polymer properties.
Ethnic Studies on its Fiftieth Anniversary: Roots, Challenges, and Critical Dialogues for the Future

The author reflects on his participation in the Asian American Political Alliance and involvement in the Third World Strike at UC Berkeley in 1969, as well as the development and challenges with Asian American Studies and Ethnic Studies.
Autonomous Mobility Improvements of Hybrid Electric 4 × 4 with Controllable Power Transmitting Unit

Bringing vehicle autonomy to the level of its driveline system means that the autonomous vehicle has the capability to autonomously control the distribution of power between its driving wheels. A vehicle can therefore improve mobility by autonomously redistributing wheel power. For this implementation, vehicle mobility must first be quantified by suitable mobility indices, derived from vehicle dynamics, to numerically show a wheel or vehicle is close to immobilization as well as evaluate the effect of mobility improvements on the vehicle velocity. A velocity-based mobility index combines wheel traction with velocity to maximize effectiveness of movement. Computer simulations demonstrate the potential to improve velocity by optimizing vehicle mobility of a 4 × 4 vehicle with a hybrid electric power transmitting unit.
Herpes Zoster Ophthalmicus (HZO) Keratitis

Herpes Zoster Ophthalmicus (HZO) is caused by reactivation of latent Varicella zoster virus in the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal ganglion. Typically, this occurs in the elderly but is increasingly occurring in younger individuals. It starts with pain in the distribution of the nerve followed by dermatitis. The vesicular rash becomes pustular and then crusts forming a black eschar before being shed off. If the associated pain persists beyond 2–4 weeks, it is called postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) and can be very debilitating.
SoundCLR: Contrastive Learning of Representations For Improved Environmental Sound Classification.

Environmental Sound Classification (ESC) is a challenging field of research in non-speech audio processing. Most of current research in ESC focuses on designing deep models with special architectures tailored for specific audio datasets, which usually cannot exploit the intrinsic patterns in the data. However recent studies have surprisingly shown that transfer learning from models trained on ImageNet is a very effective technique in ESC. Herein, we propose SoundCLR, a supervised contrastive learning method for effective environment sound classification with state-of-the-art performance, which works by learning representations that disentangle the samples of each class from those of other classes. Our deep network models are trained by combining a contrastive loss that contributes to a better probability output by the classification layer with a cross-entropy loss on the output of the classifier layer to map the samples to their respective 1-hot encoded labels. Due to the comparatively small sizes of the available environmental sound datasets, we propose and exploit a transfer learning and strong data augmentation pipeline and apply the augmentations on both the sound signals and their log-mel spectrograms before inputting them to the model. Our experiments show that our masking based augmentation technique on the log-mel spectrograms can significantly improve the recognition performance. Our extensive benchmark experiments show that our hybrid deep network models trained with combined contrastive and cross-entropy loss achieved the state-of-the-art performance on three benchmark datasets ESC-10, ESC-50, and US8K with validation accuracies of 99.75\%, 93.4\%, and 86.49\% respectively. The ensemble version of our models also outperforms other top ensemble methods. The code is available at this https URL.
Ovarian Epithelial Neoplasia

Benign ovarian cysts and surface epithelial neoplasms are among the most common conditions affecting the ovary. Diagnostic criteria distinguishing cysts from benign surface epithelial neoplasia are discussed. Additionally, this chapter addresses some malignant conditions of the ovary that have overlapping features with benign processes. Each surface epithelial tumor subtype has benign, borderline, and malignant entities described. In a question and answer format, this chapter outlines diagnostic criteria distinguishing these conditions within a histotype. Finally, some surface epithelial neoplasia can mimic other histotypes including conditions not primary to the ovary. Questions outlined in this chapter address ways to approach accurate histotyping and classification.
Advocate and Survivor Perspectives on the Role of Technology in Help Seeking and Services with Emerging Adults in Higher Education.

Emerging adults, aged 18–25, have come of age in a technology oriented world. The internet has been critical in mediating their personal relationships and their understanding of daily life. Emerging adults are also at unique risk of experiencing intimate partner and sexual violence (IPV & SV) Given the increasing infusion of information communication technology (ICT) into anti-violence advocacy, and the broad use of ICT among college-attending emerging adults, this study aimed to explore how both survivors and advocates are leveraging technology for support. Using a QUAL + qual methodology (Morse and Niehaus, 2009), data were collected as part of an evaluation of campus-based advocacy as implemented in five programs. Interviews took place with 23 campus and community-based advocates, and 25 survivors of interpersonal violence who had accessed campus-based advocacy services. Additionally, 63 survivors who engaged in campus-based advocacy services responded to an online survey. Key domains identified were: 1) technology as a means of informing potential clients about services; 2) the role of technology in help-seeking, including its role in tailoring and extending the reach of services; and 3) the importance of recognizing technology facilitated abuse in the advocacy and education process with emerging adults. As advocacy programs are rapidly shifting to technology facilitated services in the wake of COVID-19, this study provides data on advocate and survivor experiences with technology, which can inform these changes across the spectrum of IPV & SV services.
Glycine Release Is Potentiated by cAMP via EPAC2 and Ca2+ Stores in a Retinal Interneuron.

Neuromodulation via the intracellular second messenger, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), is ubiquitous at presynaptic nerve terminals. This modulation of synaptic transmission allows exocytosis to adapt to stimulus levels and reliably encode information. The AII amacrine cell (AII-AC) is a central hub for signal processing in the mammalian retina. The main apical dendrite of the AII-AC is connected to several lobular appendages that release glycine onto OFF cone bipolar cells (OFF-CBCs) and ganglion cells. However, the influence of cAMP on glycine release is not well understood. Using membrane capacitance (Cm) measurements from mouse AII-ACs to directly measure exocytosis, we observe that intracellular dialysis of 1 mM cAMP enhances exocytosis without affecting the L-type Ca2+ current. Responses to depolarizing pulses of various durations show that the size of the readily releasable pool (RRP) of vesicles nearly doubles with cAMP, while paired-pulse depression experiments suggest that release probability (Pr) does not change. Specific agonists and antagonists for exchange protein activated by cAMP 2 (EPAC2) revealed that the cAMP-induced enhancement of exocytosis requires EPAC2 activation. Furthermore, intact Ca2+ stores were also necessary for the cAMP potentiation of exocytosis. Postsynaptic recordings from OFF-CBCs showed that increasing cAMP with forskolin potentiated the frequency of glycinergic spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents. We propose that cAMP elevations in the AII-AC leads to a robust enhancement of glycine release through an EPAC2 and Ca2+ store signaling pathway. Our results, thus, contribute to a better understanding of how AII-AC crossover inhibitory circuits adapt to changes in ambient luminance. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The mammalian retina operates over a wide dynamic range of light intensities and contrast levels. To optimize the signal-to-noise ratio of processed visual information both excitatory and inhibitory synapses within the retina must modulate their gain in synaptic transmission to adapt to different levels of ambient light. Here we show that increases of cAMP concentration within AII amacrine cells produce enhanced exocytosis from these glycinergic interneurons. Therefore, we propose that light-sensitive neuromodulators may change the output of glycine release from AII amacrine cells. This novel mechanism may fine tune the amount of tonic and phasic synaptic inhibition received by bipolar cell terminals and, consequently, the spiking patterns that ganglion cells send to the upstream visual areas of the brain.
Data-driven identification of occupant-thermostat interactions in small commercial buildings

Small commercial buildings owners and utility managers often look for opportunities for energy and greenhouse gas emission savings through various energy efficiency approaches. However, in Canada, the small commercial buildings are currently underserved by energy conservation tools because of their dispersion and lower payback potential. Connected thermostats provide a low-cost solution to collect massive amounts of data from a portfolio of these buildings that can be used to improve the understanding of their energy use behaviors. Similar to their residential application counterparts, these thermostats can be overridden by building occupants and potentially hinder more advanced controls or coordination across a managed building portfolio. In this work, we investigated the temperature setpoint overrides from more than 620 thermostats across 250 small commercial buildings located in Ontario, Canada. In particular, we developed a global model to estimate the fraction of buildings in the portfolio that experienced overrides each hour. We were able to correctly predict the percentage of overridden buildings within 2%. Such a predictive model may help the portfolio manager to forecast future conditions in order to create more efficient energy saving and peak reduction programs without compromising the occupants' thermal comfort and organizational productivity.
Combined Toxicity of Nano-ZnO and Nano-TiO2: From Single- to Multinanomaterial Systems

Previous studies on the toxicity of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) have been primarily based on testing individual ENMs, so little is known about the interactions and combined toxicity of multiple ENMs. In this study the toxicity of chemically stable nano-TiO2 and soluble nano-ZnO was investigated individually and in combination, by monitoring bacterial cell membrane integrity and ATP levels in a natural aqueous medium (Lake Michigan water). Both nano-TiO2 and nano-ZnO damage bacterial cell membranes under simulated solar irradiation (SSI), but their phototoxicity is not additive. Nano-ZnO at 1 mg/L, for example, surprisingly eliminates the damaging effect of nano-TiO2 at 10 mg/L. This phenomenon does not correlate with reactive oxygen species production, but is explained by a reduced extent of bacteria/nano-TiO2 contact in the presence of both nano-ZnO and dissolved zinc. The presence of nano-ZnO also exerts a significant decrease in bacterial ATP levels both under SSI and in the dark, a stress effect n...
Organometallic π-complexes : XX. The preparation of styrenetricarbonylchromium

Abstract The reaction of styrene and triamminetricarbonylchromium in refluxing dioxane gives styrenetricarbonylchromium in 50–65% yield. The complex can also be synthesized in 83% yield via a Wittig reaction involving benzaldehydetricarbonylchromium. Catalytic hydrogenation of styrenetricarbonylchromium produces ethylbenzenetricarbonylchromium, which has likewise been prepared directly from ethylbenzene and triamminetricarbonylchromium. Spectral properties and polymerization reactions of styrenetricarbonylchromium are discussed.
Nonresponse and generalizability in academic research

Generalizability of results is an important issue in academic research. We have attempted to identify some of the major issues related to this topic and to propose consequent guidelines for research practices. Any working researcher knows all too well how difficult it can be to gain access to data and get good samples. Fortunately, academic research can make good use of imperfect samples, but it is incumbent on us to be aware of this issue and make our best efforts.
The Haar Wavelet Transform of a Dendrogram: Additional Notes

We consider the wavelet transform of a finite, rooted, node-ranked, $p$-way tree, focusing on the case of binary ($p = 2$) trees. We study a Haar wavelet transform on this tree. Wavelet transforms allow for multiresolution analysis through translation and dilation of a wavelet function. We explore how this works in our tree context.
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone, Melanocyte-stimulating Hormone, and the Melanocortin Receptors: Revisiting the Work of Robert Schwyzer

In 1977 Dr. Robert Schwyzer wrote the review ACTH: A Short Introductory Review, which provided a reference point for current structure/function studies on the interactions between adrenocorticotropic hormone and alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone and the melanocortin receptors. This mini review will evaluate how the predictions made in the 1977 review have held up and also propose a mechanism to explain the ligand selectivity properties of the melanocortin receptors.
Practical interface solutions in portable system design

Problems in the past with multi-VCC systems have lead IC manufacturers to create innovative and practical solutions to today's system interface issues. As supply voltage levels continue to decrease and power management takes hold in non-portable computing applications, designers can expect logic ICs to provide efficient design solutions targeted for mixed voltage computing systems.
A cooperative academic and municipal metropolitan area network

This paper describes the partnership developed between the San Francsico-based educational institutions and the City of San Francisco to design, implement and maintain a metropolitan area network for academic and municipal purposes. The primary goal of this project is to create a network for use by all public educational and municipal departments within San Francisco by leveraging the resources of all organizations to the maximum extent possible.
A Fast Autoregression Based Image Interpolation Method

Image interpolation techniques seek to convert low-resolution images into high-resolution ones. Conventional linear interpolation methods usually have difficulty in preserving local geometric structures. Autoregression model based interpolation methods could well exploit the dual geometry similarity between the coarse and fine scales and thus obtain better results. However, to compute the local autoregression coefficients may introduce tremendous computational complexity. In this paper, we aim to simplify this computation process by adaptively selecting the optimal interpolation filter that minimizes the autoregression energy function. The proposed scheme also makes use of the so-called integral images to reduce the computational complexity greatly and thus keeps the algorithm flexible and computationally efficient at the same time. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method has much less computational complexity while the visual quality is even better than the state-of-art autoregression method.
Ion-Assisted Deposition Of Fluorides

Ion-assisted deposition (IAD) has been used to deposit magnesium fluoride, cryolite (Na3A1F6), and lanthanum fluoride films on ambient temperature substrates. IAD magnesium fluoride coatings show increased density and moisture resistance, while IAD lanthanum fluoride coatings exhibit increased refractive indices. Cryolite films, however, do not significantly benefit from IAD. Oxygen, rather than argon, as the bombarding species reduces bombardment-induced absorption in the visible, but may produce an additional oxide absorption edge in the ultraviolet.
Tolerance to ground Sesbania macrocarpa seed by broiler chicks and White Leghorn hens.

Abstract Two 21-day experiments using day-old male broiler chicks and a 28-day experiment using 35-wk-old White Leghorn hens were conducted to determine the deleterious effects of ground Sesbania macrocarpa seed in the diet. Seed levels of 0, . 10, .25, .50, and 1% were used in both experiments, with a 2% level of inclusion added to Experiment 2. The hens were fed diets containing 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7% seed. In each experiment, four replicate pens of 8 chicks or of 5 hens received each treatment diet. In both chick studies, a seed inclusion of 1% caused a significant reduction in body weight at 21 days of age. Total feed intake was significantly lowered by the inclusion of 1% seed in the first study and by 2% seed in the second study. Feed efficiency, excreta moisture, and mortality were not affected by dietary level of seed in either trial. Seed inclusion at 3% or more depressed the daily feed consumption of the hens; at 6% seed inclusion, egg production was reduced. Egg weight, egg specific gravity, mortality, and body weight change were not affected by treatment. Grains containing sufficient S. macrocarpa seed to produce finished feed with 1 or 3% seed would appear to be detrimental to broiler growth and feed intake by hens, respectively. The blending of such grains with uncontaminated stock could be a possible method of utilizing the contaminated grain.
Influence of soil temperature on the early growth of three muskmelon cultivars

Abstract Three cultivars of muskmelon ( Cucumis melo L. ‘Honey Dew’, ‘TAM-Dew’ and ‘TAM-Uvalde’) were seeded and grown under four different soil-temperature regimes. Internode length, leaf area and total shoot dry weight increased with the addition of supplemental soil heating in all cultivars. ‘TAM-Uvalde’ was more responsive to changes in soil temperatures than the other cultivars. Stem growth as measured by dry weight was favored over leaf growth in all cultivars subjected to warmer soil temperatures. Female flowering and fruit set of only one cultivar, ‘TAM-Uvalde’, were accelerated by elevating the soil temperature.
Comments on the Universality of Holland's theory

Abstract This article is a response to seven comments on Fouad and Dancer (1992). The issues raised by many of the reactors revolve around the measurement of the structure of interests and the universality of that structure. We focus on two points in response to these issues: Models for examining the structure of the interest data and the importance of studying cross-cultural differences in the structure of interests.
NEW CELLULOSE DERIVATIVES FOR THE ISOLATION OF BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE MOLECULES.

THE search for the relationship between structure and function of antibodies has gone through different phases. Much information has been accumulated concerning the interactions of antibody with antigens, particularly with respect to haptens of related and different structures. These data have given rise to a multitude of speculations concerning the chemical and physical structure of antibodies and the mechanism of antibody reactions. At present, major questions awaiting answers are: (1) Does antibody to a particular antigen have a unique primary structure ? (2) Do all antibodies have the same primary structure but they are folded differently ? (3) Are the antibody combining sites for a particular antigen the same, but are other parts of the antibody molecule modified for other functions ? (4) What is the composition and structure of the active site ?
An assessment of isotopic equilibrium in goethites from a bog iron deposit and a lateritic regolith

Abstract Hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios have been measured in goethites from a lateritic regolith in the eastern Amazon Basin of Brazil and a young bog iron deposit in New Jersey, USA. The presence of exchangeable hydrogen and admixed minerals required the use of material-balance calculations to determine relevant δD and δ18O values. For the Brazilian goethite, δD is −121‰ and δ18O of −1.2‰ (adjusted for Al content). These values yield a calculated temperature of formation of 24 ± 3°C, which is in good agreement with the modern average annual temperature in that locale. Goethite from the New Jersey bog has a δD of −134‰ and δ18O of −0.9‰. Its calculated temperature of formation (23 ± 3°C) resembles summer temperatures in southeastern New Jersey. Bacterially mediated rates of precipitation of ferric hydroxide appear to be higher in the bog during the summer months (Crerar et al., 1979). Thus, the temperature calculated for the New Jersey goethite could indicate that the conversion of ferric hydroxide to goethite also occurs predominantly in the summer. δ13C values of the Fe(CO3)OH component in goethite (−21.7‰ for Brazil and −19.3‰ for New Jersey) reflect the δ13C values of the associated organic carbon (−28.4‰ for Brazil and −26.3‰ for the New Jersey). Values of PCO2 in the regolith (0.063 bar) and bog (0.039 bar) were calculated from the measured abundances of the Fe(CO3)OH component. The values of δ13C and PCO2 obtained from the goethites suggest that the ambient CO2 in these systems originated primarily from oxidized organic matter. In the low-pH, high-PCO2 waters characteristic of bogs and laterites, isotopic equilibrium may be closely approached during the formation of goethite from ferric hydroxide (ferrihydrite), even if the initial precipitation of the ferric hydroxide precursor is bacterially mediated. Therefore, meaningful paleotemperatures might commonly be calculated from stable isotope ratios of nonexchangeable oxygen and hydrogen in geothites from such environments.
Rewriting an Android app using RetroSkeleton

This video demonstrates one potential application of RetroSkeleton, which is a system for specifying and applying transformations to Android apps via bytecode rewriting. These transformation policies are app-agnostic and can be applied to Android apps without any manual guidance. In this video, we show how RetroSkeleton can be used to automatically add custom fine-grained network access controls into an existing app, giving users more control over their apps. We also show the use of the RetroSkeleton web interface, available at http://retroskeleton.com.
Nonlinear Schrodinger operators with zero in the spectrum

We find ground state solutions for the nonlinear Schrodinger equation under conditions weaker than those previously assumed. We allow zero to be in the spectrum.
Field Observations on Adult Activity and Emergence of the Pitch-Eating Weevil,Pachylobius picivorus, in Upper South Carolina

In upper South Carolina, emergence of adult Pachylobius picivorus (Germar) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) was found to begin during April and to continue through the remainder of the summer. Following emergence, some weevils migrated; in some cases migration extended more than 6.9 miles. Weevils that emerged from July through October were observed to overwinter and to become active during the following March, April, and May.
Evidence for a Regulatory Role of Diatom Silicon Transporters in Cellular Silicon Responses

The utilization of silicon by diatoms has both global and small-scale implications, from oceanic primary productivity to nanotechnological applications of their silica cell walls. The sensing and transport of silicic acid are key aspects of understanding diatom silicon utilization. At low silicic acid concentrations (<30 μM), transport mainly occurs through silicic acid transport proteins (SITs), and at higher concentrations it occurs through diffusion. Previous analyses of the SITs were done either in heterologous systems or without a distinction between individual SITs. In the present study, we examined individual SITs in Thalassiosira pseudonana in terms of transcript and protein abundance in response to different silicic acid regimes and examined knockdown lines to evaluate the role of the SITs in transport, silica incorporation, and lipid accumulation resulting from silicon starvation. SIT1 and SIT2 were localized in the plasma membrane, and protein levels were generally inversely correlated with cellular silicon needs, with a distinct response being found when the two SITs were compared. We developed highly effective approaches for RNA interference and antisense knockdowns, the first such approaches developed for a centric diatom. SIT knockdown differentially affected the uptake of silicon and the incorporation of silicic acid and resulted in the induction of lipid accumulation under silicon starvation conditions far earlier than in the wild-type cells, suggesting that the cells were artificially sensing silicon limitation. The data suggest that the transport role of the SITs is relatively minor under conditions with sufficient silicic acid. Their primary role is to sense silicic acid levels to evaluate whether the cell can proceed with its cell wall formation and division processes.