cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Quasi-random graphs with given degree sequences

It is now known that many properties of the objects in certain combinatorial structures are equivalent, in the sense that any object possessing any of the properties must of necessity possess them all. These properties, termed quasirandom, have been described for a variety of structures such as graphs, hypergraphs, tournaments, Boolean functions, and subsets of Zn, and most recently, sparse graphs. In this article, we extend these ideas to the more complex case of graphs which have a given degree sequence. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 2008
Late glacial–Holocene atmospheric circulation and precipitation in the northeast United States inferred from modern calibrated stable oxygen and carbon isotopes

As global climate changes because of anthropogenic influences, it has become critical to better understand past climate and its various forcing mechanisms as a baseline for future comparison. To this end, we present a continental isotopic record from an 11.2-m-long wetland piston core sampled at 10‐50 yr resolution; the core was taken in the heavily populated, economically vibrant northeastern United States (adjacent to Fayetteville Green Lake) and spans 14,600‐3200 cal. yr B.P. We use a historically based correlation between d 18 Ocalcite obtained from individual varves in a box core from Fayetteville Green Lake and winter atmospheric circulation over the northeast United States to examine the way in which changes in winter circulation have influenced d 18 O in precipitation from 14,600 to 3200 cal. yr B.P. Our correlation analysis suggests that in periods during which the circumpolar westerlies are expanded, storms track more frequently from the Gulf of Mexico region, delivering precipitation with relatively high d 18 O values to the study site. By contrast, contracted westerlies result in more frequent low-d 18 Oprecipitation cross-continental storms. By using this relationship we model winter-vortex latitudes over the northeast United States for the prehistoric oxygen isotope record, focusing on millennial-scale
The Global Phosphorus Cycle

Phosphorus (P) is a limiting nutrient for terrestrial biological productivity that commonly plays a key role in net carbon uptake in terrestrial ecosystems (Tiessen et al. 1984, Roberts et al. 1985, Lajtha and Schlesinger 1988). Unlike nitrogen (another limiting nutrient but one with an abundant atmospheric pool), the availability of “new” P in ecosystems is restricted by the rate of release of this element during soil weathering. Because of the limitations of P availability, P is generally recycled to various extents in ecosystems depending on climate, soil type, and ecosystem level. The release of P from apatite dissolution is a key control on ecosystem productivity (Cole et al. 1977, Tiessen et al. 1984, Roberts et al. 1985, Crews et al. 1995, Vitousek et al. 1997, Schlesinger et al. 1998), which in turn is critical to terrestrial carbon balances (e.g., Kump and Alley 1994, Adams 1995). Furthermore, the weathering of P from the terrestrial system and transport by rivers is the only appreciable source of P to the oceans. On longer time scales, this supply of P also limits the total amount of primary production in the ocean (Holland 1978, Broecker 1982, Smith 1984, Filippelli and Delaney 1994). Thus, understanding the controls on P weathering from land and transport to the ocean is important for models of global change. In this paper, I will present an overview of the natural (pre-human) and modern (syn-human) global P mass balances, followed by in-depth examinations of several current areas of research in P cycling, including climatic controls on ecosystem dynamics and soil development, the control of oxygen on coupled P and Carbon (C) cycling in continental margins, and the role that P plays in controlling ocean productivity on Cenozoic timescales. ### Natural (pre-human) phosphorus cycle The human impact …
System-level cost analysis and design exploration for three-dimensional integrated circuits (3D ICs)

Three-dimensional integrated circuit (3D IC) is emerging as an attractive option for overcoming the barriers in interconnect scaling. The majority of the existing 3D IC research is focused on how to take advantage of the performance, power, smaller form-factor, and heterogeneous integration benefits that offered by 3D integration. However, all such advantages ultimately have to translate into cost savings when a design strategy has to be decided: Is 3D integration a cost effective technology for a particular IC design? Consequently, system-level cost analysis at the early design stage is imperative to help the decision making on whether 3D integration should be adopted. In this paper, we study the design estimation method for 3D ICs at the early design stage, and propose a cost analysis model to study the cost implication for 3D ICs, and address the following cost-related problems related to 3D IC design: (1) Do all the benefits of 3D IC design come with a much higher cost? (2) How can 3D integration be achieved in a cost-effective way? (3) Are there any design options to compensate the extra 3D bonding cost? A cost-driven 3D IC design flow is also proposed to guide the design space exploration for 3D ICs toward a cost-effective direction.
ADD1 460W Allele Associated With Cardiovascular Disease in Hypertensive Individuals

High blood pressure is a predictor of cardiovascular disease. Hence, genes contributing to essential hypertension may play a role in the etiology of cardiovascular disease. For this reason, we examined the association between the α-adducin ( ADD1 ) G460W and G-protein β3 subunit ( GNB3 ) 825C>T polymorphisms and the prevalence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) in non-Hispanic whites from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. PAD prevalence was defined by an ankle-brachial index, ie, the ratio of ankle systolic blood pressure to brachial artery systolic blood pressure, of ≤0.90 for men and ≤0.85 for women. CHD incidence was determined by following the ARIC cohort for a median of 5.3 years for potential coronary events. Stratified random samples of the ARIC cohort (n=703 and n=684) were used, respectively, as the comparison groups for the PAD (n=144) and incident CHD (n=408) cases. The GNB3 825T allele and the ADD1 460W allele were not significantly associated with prevalence of PAD or incidence of CHD. However, a test of the interaction between hypertension status and the ADD1 G460W polymorphism indicated that further evaluation of the ADD1 polymorphism in only hypertensive individuals was warranted. The ADD1 460W allele was significantly associated with PAD (odds ratio [OR]: 2.61, 95% CI, 1.27–5.37, P =0.01) and CHD (hazard rate ratio [HRR]: 2.30, 95% CI, 1.20–4.42, P =0.01) in hypertensive individuals after adjustment for multiple cardiovascular disease risk factors. An interaction with hypertension in the association between the ADD1 G460W polymorphism and cardiovascular disease merits further testing in additional populations.
Save for Later: A Technique for Improving End-to-End Mesh Network Performance

Due to fading and node mobility, packet loss in wireless networks is prevalent and unavoidable. Significant research has been conducted to improve the quality of wireless networks. Compared to other wireless networks, the backbone of a wireless mesh network (WMN) tends to be a relatively static topology and thus link error is likely to be transient rather than permanent. This paper proposes a technique, Save For Later (SFL), that leverages such transience to improve the performance of WMNs. SFL is a link-layer enhancement that allows an intermediate mesh router to temporarily save failed transmissions due to the high probability that a later successful transmission will convey that the failure is transient in nature. The paper develops a stochastic model to analyze the steady state throughput of a TCP bulk data transfer under SFL. Finally, the paper shows through simulation and analytical results that SFL elegantly improves the performance of WMNs in terms of throughput and flow fairness.
New thermometry and trap relaxation characterization techniques for AlGaN/GaN HEMTs using pulsed-RF excitations

This paper presents new microwave characterization techniques to (1) estimate the internal device operating temperature and (2) extract the trap relaxation time-constants in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs. The operating temperature of the device under CW large-signal RF operation is obtained using isothermal pulsed-IV/RF measurements with increasing substrate temperatures. The trap capture and emission times are measured by monitoring the time relaxation of the transient bias drain current in pulsed-IV when a train of large-signal pulsed-RF excitations is applied and removed respectively. Illumination is further verified to accelerate the emission process confirming the trapping activity and identifying trap energy levels. In addition, it is verified that higher RF load impedances for the same biasing, strongly increase the trapping as the instantaneous drain voltage reaches higher peak values.
Mixing effects in stirred tank reactors: a comparison of models

Abstract The Two-Environment Model of Ng and Rippin and the Monte Carlo residual life time model of Kattan and Adler developed for studying the effect of arbitrary residence time distribution and intermediate degrees of segregation on chemical reactor performance were shown to be equivalent from the point of view of a physical argument and a comparison of conversions obtained for a second order chemical reaction with mixed feed. Conversions with mixed feed were compared for a single CSTR and a reactor with a 2-CSTR residence time distribution using identical values of the micro-mixing parameter for both of the models. The Monte Carlo Coalescnece Model of Spielman and Levenspiel, Macro-mixed feed model of Manning and the Two-Environment Model of Ng and Rippin were found to give nearly identical results for (1) a single second order reaction, (2) consecutive second order reactions, and (3) step-wise addition polymerization without termination taking place in a single CSTR with mixed feed. Identical values of the micro-mixing parameter for the respective models were used. The models of Manning , Ng and Rippin, and Villermaux and Zoulalian were extended to reactors with unmixed feed with special reference to a second order chemical reaction. Results calculated from these models were compared with those from the models of Spielman and Levenspiel and Kattan and Adler using identical values of the micro-mixing parameter. The models do not agree for unmixed feed.
A maize zinc-finger protein binds the prolamin box in zein gene promoters and interacts with the basic leucine zipper transcriptional activator Opaque2

The prolamin box (P-box) is a highly conserved 7-bp sequence element (5′-TGTAAAG-3′) found in the promoters of many cereal seed storage protein genes. Nuclear factors from maize endosperm specifically interact with the P-box present in maize prolamin genes (zeins). The presence of the P-box in all zein gene promoters suggests that interactions between endosperm DNA binding proteins and the P-box may play an important role in the coordinate activation of zein gene expression during endosperm development. We have cloned an endosperm-specific maize cDNA, named prolamin-box binding factor (PBF), that encodes a member of the recently described Dof class of plant Cys2-Cys2 zinc-finger DNA binding proteins. When tested in gel shift assays, PBF exhibits the same sequence-specific binding to the P-box as factors present in maize endosperm nuclei. Additionally, PBF interacts in vitro with the basic leucine zipper protein Opaque2, a known transcriptional activator of zein gene expression whose target site lies 20 bp downstream of the P-box in the 22-kDa zein gene promoter. The isolation of the PBF gene provides an essential tool to further investigate the functional role of the highly conserved P-box in regulating cereal storage protein gene expression.
Onset of convection in a rapidly rotating fluid sphere

The constraint imposed by rapid rotation stabilizes convective motions in a plane liquid layer, so that the critical Rayleigh number which marks their onset increases as the two-thirds power of the Taylor number. Here we formulate an asymptotic approximation to the equations governing an analogous problem in a sphere. The solutions we obtain for the asymptotic equations predict the same power law for the dependence of the corresponding critical Rayleigh number on the Taylor number. The analysis is limited at the outset to the case of axially symmetric motions, and the present result, taken in conjunction with earlier results for slow rotation, essentially completes the treatment of symmetric, convective modes of instability.
SimTool, an object oriented simulation environment

SimTool was developed under the NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The objective of this SBIR effort was to develop an object-oriented simulation environment capable of supporting simulation users and developers in the creation and maintenance of large, complex, and long lived simulations through a point-and-click graphical interface to all components in the simulation environment. This paper discusses in detail SimTool, the software tool and environment, the features and operations, as well as the object-oriented classification approach to simulation design, construction, and execution. It also discusses the general organization and design methodology of SimTool's knowledge base and library. It presents two working simulation examples and demonstrates SimTool's capability to integrate different simulations. It also discusses the various simulation tasks that SimTool supports with the aide of an interactive graphical interface to construct, generate and form a simulation application executable file. >
In vivo reprogramming of Sox9+ cells in the liver to insulin-secreting ducts

In embryonic development, the pancreas and liver share developmental history up to the stage of bud formation. Therefore, we postulated that direct reprogramming of liver to pancreatic cells can occur when suitable transcription factors are overexpressed. Using a polycistronic vector we misexpress Pdx1, Ngn3, and MafA in the livers of NOD-SCID mice rendered diabetic by treatment with streptozotocin (STZ). The diabetes is relieved long term. Many ectopic duct-like structures appear that express a variety of β-cell markers, including dense core granules visible by electron microscopy (EM). Use of a vector also expressing GFP shows that the ducts persist long after the viral gene expression has ceased, indicating that this is a true irreversible cell reprogramming event. We have recovered the insulin+ cells by cell sorting and shown that they display glucose-sensitive insulin secretion. The early formed insulin+ cells can be seen to coexpress SOX9 and are also labeled in mice lineage labeled for Sox9 expression. SOX9+ cells are normally found associated with small bile ducts in the periportal region, indicating that the duct-like structures arise from this source. This work confirms that developmentally related cells can be reprogrammed by suitable transcription factors and also suggests a unique therapy for diabetes.
Effects of wind energy development on survival of female greater prairie-chickens

Summary 1. The potential effects of wind energy development on wildlife have received increased attention over the past decade. In Kansas, optimal sites for wind energy development often overlap with preferred habitats of greater prairie-chickens Tympanuchus cupido. Our goal was to determine whether wind energy development affected survival of female prairie-chickens in a grassland ecosystem, assessing one potential impact of wind on an upland gamebird of conservation concern. We focused primarily on the response of female prairie-chickens to wind energy development because population dynamics of prairie-chickens are primarily determined by female demography. 2. We monitored prairie-chickens at a wind facility in Kansas during a 2-year pre-construction (2007–2008) and a 3-year post-construction period (2009–2011). We used data from 220 radio-marked females to calculate weekly survival and hazard rates. We used cause of death for 81 mortality events to test for changes in the proportion of mortalities attributed to mammalian predators, avian predators and collisions. 3. We observed an unexpected increase in annual survival during the post-construction period (057) compared with the pre-construction period (032). Distance from home range centroid to the nearest wind turbine site had no effect on weekly survival of females. Collision mortality events were rare, and most were associated with fences or transmission lines and not turbine blades. 4. Most female mortality was due to predation (c. 90%). Differences in annual survival were driven by a higher risk of mortality during lekking activity in March and April during the preconstruction period (weekly hazard rate = 0050–0062) compared with the post-construction period (hazard rate = 0012–0021). We observed no change in the proportion of mortalities attributed to different causes between the two treatment periods. 5. Synthesis and applications. Development of a wind energy facility had no negative effect on survival of female prairie-chickens. The results of our field study indicate that greater prairie-chickens are less sensitive to wind energy development than lesser prairie-chickens Tympanuchus pallidicinctus and greater sage-grouse Centrocercus urophasianus are to oil and gas development. We have strong evidence that survival increased after wind energy development, and hypothesize that energy development affected the local predator community, resulting in an indirect effect of decreased predation risk during the post-construction period.
Dynamic Walking of AIBO with Hopf Oscillators

More and more biological evidences have been found that neural networks in the spinal cord, referred to as "central pattern generators" (CPGs), govern locomotion. CPGs are capable of producing rhythmic movements, such as swimming, flying, and walking, even when isolated from the brain and sensory inputs. If we could build up any models that have similar functions as CPGs, it will be much easier to design better locomotion for robots. In this paper, a self-training environment is designed and through genetic algorithm (GA), walking trajectories for every foot of AIBO are generated at first. With this acquired walking pattern, AIBO gets its fastest locomotion speed. Then, this walking pattern is taken as a reference to build CPGs with Hopf oscillators. By changing corresponding parameters, the frequencies and the amplitudes of CPGs' outputs can be adjusted online. The limit cycle behavior of Hopf oscillators ensures the online adjustment and the walking stability against perturbation as well. This property suggests a strong adaptive capacity to real environments for robots. At last, simulations are carried on in Webots and verify the proposed method.
Age and Sex Differences among Adolescent Participants in Nine Outdoor Recreation Activities

Abstract Responses of 2,760 junior and senior high school students regarding their participation in nine outdoor recreation activities were used to assess the relationships between age, sex, and adolescent outdoor recreation patterns. Analysis of variance revealed that the age variable was statistically significant for eight of the nine activities at the .01 level. The sex variable was significant at the .01 level for five of the nine activities. The findings support previous researchers' conclusions that many traditionally male activities are no longer dominated by males. Differences in outdoor recreation participation among different age groups, within the adolescent life-cycle stage, suggest that it may be inappropriate for recreation opportunity providers to view adolescence as a homogeneous life-cycle stage.
Magnetic ordering at anomalously high temperatures in Dy at extreme pressures

In an attempt to destabilize the magnetic state of the heavy lanthanide Dy, extreme pressures were applied in an electrical resistivity measurement to 157 GPa over the temperature range 1.3--295 K. The magnetic ordering temperature ${T}_{\text{o}}$ and spin-disorder resistance ${R}_{\text{sd}}$ of Dy, as well as the superconducting pair-breaking effect $\ensuremath{\Delta}{T}_{\text{c}}$ in Y(1 at.% Dy), are found to track each other in a highly nonmonotonic fashion as a function of pressure. Above 73 GPa, the critical pressure for a 6% volume collapse in Dy, all three quantities increase sharply ($d{T}_{\phantom{\rule{4.pt}{0ex}}\text{o}}/dP\ensuremath{\simeq}5.3$ K/GPa), ${T}_{\text{o}}$ appearing to rise above ambient temperature for $Pg107$ GPa. In contrast, ${T}_{\text{o}}$ and $\ensuremath{\Delta}{T}_{\text{c}}$ for Gd and Y(0.5 at.% Gd), respectively, show no such sharp increase with pressure ($d{T}_{\text{o}}/dP\ensuremath{\simeq}0.73$ K/GPa). Taken together, these results suggest that extreme pressure transports Dy into an unconventional magnetic state with an anomalously high magnetic ordering temperature.
PULMONARY CIRCULATION DEMONSTRATION USING AN ISOLATED RAT LUNG MODEL

We have developed a pulmonary circulation laboratory exercise that effectively illustrates basic concepts typically taught in a graduate physiology curriculum. The demonstration uses an isolated, perfused rat lung model to delineate the mechanisms by which pulmonary vascular resistance can be altered either passively or in an active manner by contraction or relaxation of vascular smooth muscle. The exercise further offers an opportunity to closely observe an experimental preparation commonly used to study the pulmonary circulation and allows students the opportunity to interpret the resulting physiological data. Student evaluations indicate that the demonstration was received with enthusiasm and provides an effective teaching tool for reinforcing concepts in pulmonary vascular physiology.
Cardiovascular and respiratory effects of harmine.

SummaryIntravenously administered harmine in cats, rats, and humans induced bradycardia and hypotension; cats exhibited apnea and ventricular arrhythmias. In the cat, bradycardia was eliminated by vagotomy and apnea by atropinization. The effects of acetylcholine and epinephrine were potentiated by harmine; possibly this was due to the inhibition of cholinesterase and monoamine oxidase, respectively. Evoked contractions of the nictitating membrane were depressed transiently. High doses of harmine produced third-degree heart block.This research was supported by Grants GM-00032 and GM-15190 from the U.S. Public Health Service. The authors thank Mrs. Janet K. Diliberto for her invaluable technical assistance.
Systematic Review of the Literature: Parental Outcomes After Diagnosis of Fetal Anomaly

Advancing technology has made detecting fetal abnormalities in the first and second trimesters a reality. Few families are prepared for the difficult decisions that must be made if their unborn children are diagnosed with a life-limiting condition. Expectant parents are compelled to make decisions on the basis of limited options. A systematic review of the literature is presented with an aim to inform clinicians of parental experiences and outcomes after diagnosis of a fetal anomaly. The review focused on patients given a diagnosis for fetal anomalies for the 40-year period from 1970 to 2010 by using the key words such as fetal anomaly, congenital malformations, pregnancy termination, perinatal palliative care, and perinatal hospice. Regardless of the option taken, women often experienced intense grief reactions. Both giving birth to a child with a life-limiting condition and termination of pregnancy for fetal anomaly can be emotionally traumatic life events, both associated with psychological morbidity. Nonaggressive obstetric management, allowing natural birth without life-sustaining therapeutics, is an option for families. Couples presented with a coordinated perinatal palliative care model may opt to continue their pregnancy. Families who experienced perinatal hospice/palliative care report positive feedback, but more research is needed to explore the psychological outcomes of this choice.
Growth Deficiency in Cystic Fibrosis Is Observable at Birth and Predictive of Early Pulmonary Function.

Introduction:Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a complex disease that includes both pulmonary and gastrointestinal challenges, resulting in decreased weight. Pulmonary symptoms of CF are extremely variable. Greater body mass at an early age is associated with improved pulmonary function, but it is unknown at what age weight becomes predictive of pulmonary disease severity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between birth weight and pulmonary function in CF.Methods:Birth weight and pulmonary data were obtained. Linear regressions were used to examine the relationship between these two variables. A one-tailed t-test was used to compare birth weights between CF patients and the national average.Results:Birth weight was significantly lower in babies with CF and correlated with pulmonary disease at ages 6 and 10 years but not with age at which Pseudomonas aeruginosa colonization was observed.Discussion:These data suggest that CF growth deficiency has prenatal origins. Early nutritional interve...
Research on Mental Selection Index of High Level Shooter

This text is by way of sports closely five congenital nature quotas of correlation with shoots: During simply reaction and the shoulder arm moves the stability, finger noumenon sense, intelligence and individuality. Making clear the potential mentality factor of his success on the body from high horizontal master sportsman level sportsman , the service is in the science selected material of sportsman to the analysis discussion one by one
Relating to Free Instruction in Drawing

As Rev. Edward Everett Hale recalled, the movement for art education originated in 1866–1867 when Boston’s evening schools added a high school course. Speaking at the second MNAS Alumni Association dinner in April 1890, Hale explained that evening high school pupils met in the vestry of the Shawmut Avenue Church for an industrial drawing class, paying their own expenses, including the gas bill. A year or two later, the Lowell Institute became interested in the matter, ‘and Mr. Lowell drew up a petition for the introduction of drawing into the schools of the State.’
A field ornithologist's guide to genomics: Practical considerations for ecology and conservation

ABSTRACT Vast improvements in sequencing technology have made it practical to simultaneously sequence millions of nucleotides distributed across the genome, opening the door for genomic studies in virtually any species. Ornithological research stands to benefit in three substantial ways. First, genomic methods enhance our ability to parse and simultaneously analyze both neutral and non-neutral genomic regions, thus providing insight into adaptive evolution and divergence. Second, the sheer quantity of sequence data generated by current sequencing platforms allows increased precision and resolution in analyses. Third, high-throughput sequencing can benefit applications that focus on a small number of loci that are otherwise prohibitively expensive, time-consuming, and technically difficult using traditional sequencing methods. These advances have improved our ability to understand evolutionary processes like speciation and local adaptation, but they also offer many practical applications in the fields of p...
Formwork for Monolithic Concrete Construction

This Chapter discusses the issues that need to be studied and understood by an aspiring architectural or construction engineer, regardless whether works as a designer, or is engaged in construction.
Learning to teach, learning to act: becoming a critical literacy teacher

ABSTRACTCritical literacy requires an exploration of privilege and social justice. This includes an exploration of power and action in one’s “inner” and “outer” lives. This qualitative case study illustrates the ways in which Jonah, a preservice teacher, navigates social practices and actions in his roles as a student, activist, and literacy teacher. Through critical discourse analysis, we conceptualize social action in relation to critical literacy teaching, using a framework of discourses of, discourses as, and discourses in action to construct a nuanced understanding of social action in relation to critical literacy. Given the demands of a standardized curriculum on teachers’ autonomy, this is an important illustration of how social action can be enacted and embodied through the act of teaching.
GaN based light emitting diodes grown on Si(111) by molecular beam epitaxy

The authors have demonstrated the operation of GaN based light emitting diodes grown on Si(111) by molecular beam epitaxy. Electron injection is achieved through the n type Si substrate and electroluminescence peaks between 500–550 in the current injection range of 20–65 A/cm2 at 5–7.5 volts.
Telephone delivery of interpersonal psychotherapy by certified nurse-midwives may help reduce symptoms of postpartum depression

Commentary on : Posmontier B, Neugebauer R, Stuart S, et al. Telephone-administered interpersonal psychotherapy by nurse-midwives for postpartum depression. J Midwifery Women's Health 2016;61:456–66.[OpenUrl][1] One in five women will experience postpartum depression (PPD) and are at risk for chronic major depression.1 Suicide accounts for 20% of postpartum deaths and is the second most common cause of mortality in postpartum women.2 PPD is associated with difficulties bonding with and nurturing one's newborn as well as long-term risks for children including impaired learning and … [1]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DJ%2BMidwifery%2BWomen%2527s%2BHealth%26rft.volume%253D61%26rft.spage%253D456%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx
Abstract 1301: Inter- and intra-tumoral immune and genomic heterogeneity in patients with metastatic melanoma

There have been significant advances in the treatment of metastatic melanoma via the use of targeted and immunotherapy, however a significant proportion of patients still progress on treatment. Intense research efforts to better understand resistance are underway, and multiple molecular resistance mechanisms to targeted therapy have been identified. Appreciation of intratumoral genetic heterogeneity as a contributor to resistance to therapy is growing, although immune heterogeneity in multiple solid tumors within a same patient has been less well characterized. The goal of the present study is to better understand the leukocyte infiltrate in multiple melanoma tumors within the same patient at the time of disease progression, with the potential to identify actionable strategies to overcome resistance to therapy. In this study, we prospectively evaluated 8 tumors from 4 patients on either targeted or immunotherapy. Tissues were evaluated by polychromatic flow cytometry, complemented with immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis of tissue sections. Specifically, we utilized 5 distinct flow cytometry panels comprising 35 antibodies and an 11-marker IHC antibody panel to better understand the intratumoral leukocyte composition as well as presence of immune checkpoint molecules PD-1 and PD-L1. Results demonstrate significant immune heterogeneity between different melanoma tumors within the same patient in the majority of patients studied. Of note, there were significant differences in CD4+, CD8+, and regulatory T cells (p Citation Format: Alexandre Reuben, Zachary A. Cooper, Whijae Roh, Yu Cao, Jacob Austin-Breneman, Hong Jiang, Rodabe N. Amaria, Pei-Ling Chen, Michael T. Tetzlaff, Lynda Chin, Andrew Futreal, Michael A. Davies, Jennifer A. Wargo. Inter- and intra-tumoral immune and genomic heterogeneity in patients with metastatic melanoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 1301. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-1301
Excuse and justification in the law of fair use: Transaction costs have always been part of the story

Over twenty years ago, the Journal of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A. reprinted my article, "Fair Use as Market Failure" (82 Columbia Law Review 1600 (1982), available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3577724. That 1982 piece suggested that an underlying pattern governs the protean forms of "fair use", and I employed the notion of market failure to reveal and explain how the pattern functioned. Since then, some misunderstandings of my argument have arisen. I am pleased to publish in this, the Fiftieth Anniversary issue of the Journal of the Copyright Society, a clarification – and partial amendment – of my position. As for clarification, I want to emphasize that markets do not "fail" solely when transaction costs are so high that a potential seller and buyer fail to meet. As for amendment, I want to amend my treatment of how substantial injury affects fair use. Please see the complete abstract in the article.
Myotonic dystrophy: approach to therapy

Myotonic dystrophy (DM) is a dominantly-inherited genetic disorder affecting skeletal muscle, heart, brain, and other organs. DM type 1 is caused by expansion of a CTG triplet repeat in DMPK, whereas DM type 2 is caused by expansion of a CCTG tetramer repeat in CNBP. In both cases the DM mutations lead to expression of dominant-acting RNAs. Studies of RNA toxicity have now revealed novel mechanisms and new therapeutic targets. Preclinical data have suggested that RNA dominance is responsive to therapeutic intervention and that DM therapy can be approached at several different levels. Here we review recent efforts to alleviate RNA toxicity in DM.
Lightweight and adaptive building simulation (LABS) framework for integrated building energy and thermal comfort analysis

Coupled and distributed simulation helps in understanding the complexity arising from the combined effects of interdependent systems, by connecting and exchanging information across several software programs. In the building energy analysis domain, several tools have been created in the past to facilitate such analyses. However, the existing coupling frameworks such as Building Control Virtual Test Bed (BCVTB), MLE+, High-Level Architecture (HLA), and Functional Mockup Unit are characterized by their inherent complexity, making it a challenge for the building practitioners to widely deploy them in everyday decision-making. In addition, several of these frameworks embody tight coupling, which means they lack the flexibility to incorporate models and components of decision-makers’ choice. This study addresses these gaps by proposing a Lightweight and Adaptive Building Simulation (LABS) framework that capitalizes on Lightweight Communications and Marshalling (LCM), an inter-process communication framework widely used by the robotics community. As a case study demonstrating this new framework, a building energy simulation model is coupled with an agent-based occupant behavior model to understand the energy effects of occupants’ thermal comfort related actions (e.g., adjusting the thermostat set point). These behavioral patterns are also influenced by various interventions (e.g., peer pressure, energy-based education) that may occur in the building. Measuring these effects in a real building for a lengthy period is impractical and resource-intensive and the LABS framework can be used for understanding this system better. The results also highlight opportunities for achieving energy savings by influencing the occupants’ comfort related behavior.
Cold Tolerance of Hickory Shuckworm (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) Larvae and Associated Parasites

Hickory shuckworm larvae, Cydia caryana (Fitch), in pecan shucks, were killed by extended periods of freezing temperature. While storage at −7°C killed 88% of larvae after 32 days of exposure, −18°...
A real-subject evaluation trial for location-aware smart buildings

The increasing demand for smarter yet more efficient indoor spaces necessitates moving towards advanced technologies, such as Internet of Things architectures, to allow further integration to our physical world. In this work, we introduce a Bluetooth Low Energy-based infrastructure for location-aware buildings, along with a full-scale real-subject trial. The trial was undertaken with students in our engineering building at NC State, under IRB approval. Our focus is on showing a proof-of-concept of deploying location-aware infrastructure through experimentally collecting data able to facilitate building management and user localization. We examine a multi-floor environment installation and analytically prove how viable and economic our solution is to equip future intelligent facilities.
The Chemical History of a Bubble.

ConspectusAcoustic cavitation (the growth, oscillation, and rapid collapse of bubbles in a liquid) occurs in all liquids irradiated with sufficient intensity of sound or ultrasound. The collapse of such bubbles creates local heating and provides a unique source of energy for driving chemical reactions. In addition to sonochemical bond scission and formation, cavitation also induces light emission in many liquids. This phenomenon of sonoluminescence (SL) has captured the imagination of many researchers since it was first observed 85 years ago. SL provides a direct probe of cavitation events and has provided most of our understanding of the conditions created inside collapsing bubbles. Spectroscopic analyses of SL from single acoustically levitated bubbles as well as from clouds of bubbles have revealed molecular, atomic, and ionic line and band emission riding atop an underlying continuum arising from radiative plasma processes. Application of spectrometric methods of pyrometry and plasma diagnostics to th...
The North American Perspective

If yo go back 150 years in American history, we were just completing the last miles of our National Pike, the first major road in the United States that was supported with Federal funds. It wasn’t until 50 years later that our first Federal roads agency, the precursor of the FHWA, was established in response to numerous calls for better roads. We didn’t have a Department of Transportation in those days, so the Federal roads agency was placed in the Department of Agriculture — not so surprising a location given the importance of agriculture to our economy in those days, and given the importance of good roads for getting farm products to the market. I might add that the U.S. Congress provided the grand sum of $10,000 per year for the agency’s expenses.
Epitaxial Electronic Oxides on Semiconductors Using Pulsed-Laser Deposition

We describe the growth and properties of epitaxial (OO1) CeO{sub 2} on a (001) Ge surface using a hydrogen-assisted pulsed-laser deposition method. Hydrogen gas is introduced during film growth to eliminate the presence of the GeOs from the semiconductor surface during the initial nucleation of the metal oxide film. The hydrogen partial pressure and substrate temperature are selected to be sufficiently high such that the germanium native oxides are thermodynamically unstable. The Gibbs free energy of CeO{sub 2} is larger in magnitude than that of the Ge native oxides, making it more favorable for the metal oxide to reside at the interface in comparison to the native Ge oxides. By satisfying these criteria. the metal oxide/semiconductor interface is shown to be atomically abrupt with no native oxide present. Preliminary structural and electrical properties are reported.
Alternative Strategy for a Quadrivalent Live Attenuated Influenza Virus Vaccine

Influenza virus infections continue to pose a major public health threat worldwide associated with seasonal epidemics and sporadic pandemics. Vaccination is considered the first line of defense against influenza. Live attenuated influenza virus vaccines (LAIVs) may provide superior responses compared to inactivated vaccines because the former can better elicit a combination of humoral and cellular responses by mimicking a natural infection. Unfortunately, during the 2013-2014, 2014-2015, and 2015-2016 seasons, concerns emerged about the effectiveness of the only LAIV approved in the United States that prevented the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) from recommending its use. Such drawbacks open up the opportunity for alternative LAIV strategies that could overcome such concerns. Previously, we developed a combined strategy of temperature-sensitive mutations in the PB2 and PB1 segments and an epitope tag in the C terminus of PB1 that effectively attenuates influenza A viruses of avian and mammalian origin. More recently, we adopted a similar strategy for influenza B viruses. The resulting attenuated (att) influenza A and B viruses were safe, immunogenic, and protective against lethal influenza virus challenge in a variety of animal models. In this report, we provide evidence of the potential use of our att strategy in a quadrivalent LAIV (QIV) formulation carrying H3N2 and H1N1 influenza A virus subtype viruses and two antigenic lineages of influenza B viruses. In naive DBA/2J mice, two doses of the QIV elicited hemagglutination inhibition (HI) responses with HI titers of ≥40 and effectively protected against lethal challenge with prototypical pandemic H1N1 influenza A and influenza B virus strains.IMPORTANCE Seasonal influenza viruses infect 1 billion people worldwide and are associated with ∼500,000 deaths annually. In addition, the never-ending emergence of zoonotic influenza viruses associated with lethal human infections and of pandemic concern calls for the development of better vaccines and/or vaccination strategies against influenza virus. Regardless of the strategy, novel influenza virus vaccines must aim at providing protection against both seasonal influenza A and B viruses. In this study, we tested an alternative quadrivalent live attenuated influenza virus vaccine (QIV) formulation whose individual components have been previously shown to provide protection. We demonstrate in proof-of principle studies in mice that the QIV provides effective protection against lethal challenge with either influenza A or B virus.
Perinatal Transmission of Hepatitis C Virus: Defining the Cascade of Care.

Objectives The US National Viral Hepatitis Action Plan calls for major efforts to expand hepatitis C virus (HCV) diagnosis and treatment; prenatal care settings are potential venues for expanding HCV testing. We aimed to characterize the HCV diagnostic cascade for women and infants and investigate factors associated with linkage and follow-up. Study design We used electronic health records for a 10-year cohort of 879 women with opioid use disorder from an obstetric clinic serving women with substance use disorders. Results Altogether, 744 women (85%) were screened for HCV; 510 (68%) were seropositive, of whom 369 (72%) had nucleic acid testing performed and of these 261 (71%) were viremic. Of 404 infants born to HCV-seropositive women, 273 (68%) were tested at least once for HCV, 180 (45%) completed the American Academy of Pediatrics-recommended perinatal HCV screening, and 5 (2.8%) were diagnosed with HCV infection and linked to care. More recent delivery date (2014-2015) was associated with maternal linkage to care (aOR, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.4-4.7). Maternal coinfection with HIV (aOR, 9.0; 95% CI, 1.1-72.8) and methadone maintenance therapy, compared with buprenorphine (aOR, 1.5; 95% CI, 0.9-2.5), were associated with higher rates of infant HCV testing. Conclusions HCV prevalence among pregnant women with opioid use is high and infant HCV screening is imperfect. Programmatic changes to improve both mother and infant follow-up may help to bridge identified gaps in the cascade to cure.
Thermal Convection in the van der Waals Fluid

In this work, the van der Waals fluid model, a diffuse-interface model for liquid–vapor two-phase flows, is numerically investigated. The thermodynamic properties of the van der Waals fluid are first studied. Dimensional analysis is performed to identify the control parameters for the system. An entropy-stable numerical scheme and isogeometric analysis are utilized to discretize the governing equations for numerical simulations. The steady state solution at low Rayleigh number is presented, demonstrating the capability of the model in describing liquid–vapor phase transitions. Next, two-dimensional nucleate and film boiling are simulated, showing the applicability of the model in different regimes of boiling. In the last, the heat transport property of the van der Waals model is numerically investigated. The scaling law for the Nusselt number with respect to the Rayleigh number in the van der Waals model is obtained by performing a suite of high-resolution simulations.
Cooperation between Cultures in the Commons: Implications for Cross-Cultural Interactions

This study examines the influence of others’ culture on an individual’s cooperative behavior in a cross-cultural social dilemma. Drawing on and extending the appropriateness framework, we examine i...
Microaggressions and racial privilege within the social work profession: The social work licensing examinations

Passing standardized examinations is a requirement for different levels of social work licensure throughout the United States. In all 50 states, exams produced by the Association of Social Work Boa...
Behavioral Responses of Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) and Tarnished Plant Bug (Hemiptera: Miridae) to a New Bt Toxin, Cry51Aa2.834_16 in Cotton

Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) and tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Hemiptera: Miridae), are among the most important insect pests of cotton, Gosssypium hirsutum, in the mid-southern United States. These pests are currently managed primarily by insecticides; however, a new Bt toxin, Cry51Aa2.834_16 is under evaluation for control of thrips and tarnished plant bug. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the behavioral response of thrips and tarnished plant bug to Bt Cry51Aa2.834_16. Adult thrips avoided Bt Cry51Aa2.834_16 cotton in field choice tests and in separate field tests of Bt and non-Bt cotton not treated with insecticides. In a greenhouse choice test, approximately twice as many adult thrips and eggs were found on non-Bt compared with Bt Cry51Aa2.834_16 cotton. Similarly, in a field test of nontreated Bt Cry51Aa2.834_16 and non-Bt cotton, 68% of adult thrips collected were found on non-Bt cotton. In cotton that was not sprayed with insecticides, Bt Cry51Aa2.834_16 did not affect the distribution of tarnished plant bug within the canopy, although more square and flower injury was caused by tarnished plant bug in non-Bt cotton. Adult tarnished plant bug exhibited a nonpreference for diet containing lyophilized Bt Cry51Aa2.834_16 leaves and for excised Bt Cry51Aa2.834_16 squares in choice tests with non-Bt squares. The behavioral responses of these pests when exposed to this new Bt toxin will play a key role in the efficacy and potential resistance management strategies if this new technology is incorporated in an overall cotton insect pest management system.