cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
RFID: Why the worry?

Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is seen as a promising yet costly solution to improving supply-chain and inventory challenges. But if you use RFID, what new auditing techniques will you also need? What new problems will you face? And why has RFID sparked a storm of controversy? The author discusses these issues and includes a useful checklist to help you implement RFID. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Sequential Immunization of Macaques with Two Differentially Attenuated Vaccines Induced Long-Term Virus-Specific Immune Responses and Conferred Protection against AIDS Caused by Heterologous Simian Human Immunodeficiency Virus (SHIV89.6P)

Abstract Four rhesus macaques were sequentially immunized with live vaccines Δ vpu Δ nef SHIV-4 (vaccine-I) and Δ vpu SHIV PPC (vaccine-II). The vaccine viruses did not replicate productively in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of the vaccinated animals. All four animals developed binding antibodies against both the vaccine-I and -II envelope glycoproteins but neutralizing antibodies only against vaccine-I. They developed vaccine virus-specific CTLs that also recognized homologous as well as heterologous pathogenic SHIVs. Thirty weeks after the last immunization, the vaccinated animals and three unvaccinated control animals were challenged iv with a highly virulent heterologous SHIV 89.6 P. As expected, the three unvaccinated control animals developed large numbers of infectious PBMCs, high plasma viremia, and precipitous loss of CD4 + T cells. Two controls did not develop any immune response and succumbed to AIDS in about 6 months. The third control animal developed neutralizing antibodies and had a more chronic disease course, but eventually succumbed to AIDS-related complications 81 weeks after inoculation. The four vaccinated animals became infected with challenge virus as indicated by the presence of challenge virus-specific DNA in the PBMCs and RNA in plasma. However, virus in these animals replicated approximately 200- to 60,000-fold less efficiently than in control animals and eventually, plasma viral RNA became undetectable in three of the four vaccinates. The animals maintained normal CD4 + T-cell levels throughout the observation period of 85 weeks after a transient drop at Week 3 postchallenge. They also maintained CTL responses throughout the observation period. These studies thus showed that the graded immunization schedule resulted in a safe and highly effective long-lasting immune response that was associated with protection against AIDS by highly pathogenic heterologous SHIV 89.6 P.
LLCD operations using the Lunar Lasercom Ground Terminal

The Lunar Lasercom Ground Terminal (LLGT) is the primary ground terminal for NASA’s Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD), which demonstrated for the first time high-rate duplex laser communication between Earth and satellite in orbit around the Moon. The LLGT employed a novel architecture featuring an array of telescopes and employed several novel technologies including a custom PM multimode fiber and high-performance cryogenic photon-counting detector arrays. An overview of the LLGT is presented along with selected results from the recently concluded LLCD.
Viruses, updates, and security: making the campus aware

In this time of frequently emerging viruses and worms that attack the Windows operating system, it is important for everyone in a campus community to take an active role in protecting their computers which in turn affects the security of the entire campus. This paper describes the steps Rensselaer is taking to keep the campus secure from viruses, worms, and spam. These include instructions and notification and a project we have started using DNS to restrict Internet access of infected computers. Since these are topics that affect all institutions and are vital to the well-being of campus computer security, I would like this paper to be the start of a discussion during the SIGUCCS conference. Some questions to consider include "How do institutions instruct their campus community about 'safe computing'?" and "How have organizations changed how they respond to the 'emergency' situations created by virus outbreaks?"
Phase I dose escalation trial of vandetanib with fractionated radiosurgery in patients with recurrent malignant gliomas.

Purpose To determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of vandetanib with fractionated stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) in patients with recurrent malignant gliomas. Methods and Materials Patients with a recurrent malignant glioma and T1-enhancing recurrent tumor ≤6 cm were eligible. Vandetanib was given orally, once per day, 7 days a week, starting at least 7 days before SRS and continued until a dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) or disease progression. The planned vandetanib daily dose was 100 mg, 200 mg, and 300 mg for the cohorts 1, 2, and 3, respectively, and was escalated using a standard 3+3 design. A total SRS dose of 36 Gy, 12 Gy per fraction, was delivered over 3 consecutive days. The MTD was defined as the dose of vandetanib at which less than 33% of patients developed DLTs, defined by the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version 3 as any Grade 3 or greater nonhematologic toxicity and Grade 4 or greater hematologic toxicity. Results Ten patients were treated, 6 on cohort 1 and 4 on cohort 2. Treatment characteristics were: 7 men, 3 women; median age, 40 years (range, 22–72); 7 GBM, 3 anaplastic astrocytoma (AA); median initial radiation (RT) dose, 60 Gy (range, 59.4–70); median interval since initial RT, 14.5 months (range, 7–123); All patients received SRS per protocol. The median follow-up time was 4 months (range, 1–10 months). Median time on vandetanib was 3 months (range 1–11). One of 6 patients in the first cohort developed a DLT of Grade 3 hemothorax while on anticoagulation. The MTD was reached when 2 of the 4 patients enrolled in the second cohort developed DLTs. Six patients had radiographic response, 2 with stable disease. Conclusion The MTD of vandetanib, with SRS in recurrent malignant glioma, is 100 mg daily. Further evaluation of safety and efficacy is warranted.
Institutions, capital flows and financial integration *,**

The focus of this paper is on capital flows from developed to less developed countries and in particular on the question of why such flows are not much larger. I first outline the theoretical arguments with regard to such flows and then go on to review the historical evidence on international financial integration more generally. I then turn to the related literature on economic development, which over the past decade has shifted its emphasis from technology and capital accumulation to the underlying institutional factors that affect investment. I present evidence that such factors also affect to rich-to-poor country capital flows. Good policies e pursuit of price stability, fewer direct interventions and sound institutional structures e are accompanied by higher capital flows and bad policies by lower capital flows. 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
On improving local website search using web server traffic logs: a preliminary report

In this paper we give a preliminary report on our study of the use of web server traffic logs to improve local search. Web server traffic logs are, typically, private to individual websites and as such -- are unavailable to traditional web search engines conducting searches across multiple web sites. However, they can be used to augment search performed by a local search engine, restricted to a single site.Web server traffic logs, which we will refer to as simply logs throughout this paper, contain information on traffic patterns on a web site. By using this information, instead of pure link counts in the computation of PageRank, we can obtain a new local measure of web site importance, based on frequency of visits to a page, rather than simply on the amount of links.In this paper we describe the architecture of a search engine we have built for the Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) website and some preliminary experiments we have conducted with it.
Fabrication of Prototype Magnetic Coupled Spin-torque Devices for Non-volatile Logic Applications

A Magnetic Coupled Spin-torque Device (MCSTD) is a collective system of three interacting magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) that forms a novel magnetic logic gate. The fundamental principle of the MCSTD is the modification of the energy barrier for spin-torque magnetization switching of a central (output) MTJ device arising from changes in the magnetic state of two input MTJ devices. The input MTJs are placed in close proximity of a few tens of nm of the output MTJ such that their magnetic fringing fields are strong enough (> 10 Oersted) to modulate the switching characteristics of the output device. By changing the magnetic states of the two input MTJs, four possible net magnetic fields at the center MTJ can be generated. A single MCSTD thereby enables NAND, NOR and XOR operations. In this paper, the fabrication of a prototype MCSTD device is described and preliminary experiment results are reported.
Affirmative-action for the brainstem in the neuroscience of consciousness: The zeitgeist of the brainstem as a “dumb arousal” system

Merker offers a remarkable statement about the neural integration essential to conscious states provided by the mesodiencephalon. The model for triangular interaction between action selection, target selection, and emotion is heuristic. Unfortunately, there is little interest (relatively speaking) in neuroscience in the mesodiencephalon, and attention is currently heavily directed to the telencephalon. This suggests that there may be less real momentum than commonly assumed towards the Holy Grail of neuroscience, a scientific theory of mind, despite the major upsurge in interest.
Youth will make the revolution: creating and contesting the youth frame in the New Left

This article examines the discussion of age and youthfulness in the New Left. Youthfulness came to function as an important but contested symbol in the movement. For many, youth status offered an identity apart from racial or economic privilege; thus to embrace being a youth movement was a way to organize around one’s own oppression. Others, however, quickly realized the limits of a youth revolution frame. Painfully aware of the charge that they would someday outgrow radicalism, some activists began to ask questions about how to become life-long radicals. They critiqued a simplistic embrace of youth culture and moved away from privileging youth as the vanguard of revolution.
Editorial Response: Rapidly Progressive Herpetic Retinal Necrosis

that cytomegalovirus retinitis is the most common viral reti- of these patients as well as viral resistance. nitis in patients with AIDS. Up to 40% of patients with There is another variant or clinical presentation of herpetic AIDS who are severely immunosuppressed with CD4 / T necrotizing retinitis known as the acute retinal necrosis (ARN) lymphocyte counts of o50/mL develop cytomegalovirus syndrome [7]. The ARN syndrome differs from the RPHRN (CMV) retinitis, a slowly progressive blinding disease [3]. or the PORN syndrome by being usually responsive to therapy, With appropriate currently available therapy, patients with and sometimes it is even a self-limited disease. Clinically, the CMV retinitis are able to retain their vision for several years, ARN syndrome presents as focal, well-demarcated areas of as the retinitis tends to spare the foveal area until its later retinal necrosis outside the temporal vascular arcades, with stages [4]. In contrast to patients with CMV retinitis, patients rapid circumferential progression of retinal necrosis, occlusive with the RPHRN syndrome may present with sudden loss vasculitis, and prominent inflammatory reaction in the vitreous of vision, and those who present with intact central vision and anterior chamber. Regression of disease begins within a may lose their vision within 4 weeks despite appropriate week of intravenous acyclovir treatment, and the incidence of antiviral therapy. bilateral disease reported in the 1980s has been reduced with appropriate antiviral therapy. See the article by Ormerod et al. on pages 34 ‐ 45. When patients with AIDS develop the ARN syndrome, the disease is more extensive and has a greater tendency toward bilaterality, retinal detachment, and poor visual outcome. The
Drunkenness, a "special circumstance" in crimes of violence: sometimes.

A preliminary investigation into belief systems of the public about interactions between drunkenness and crime is reported. Fifty respondents, randomly selected, were interviewed first about their beliefs regarding the “effects of alcohol” along three dimensions–control, responsibility, and accountability. Second, they were asked to consider whether being legally drunk when committing a violent crime constitutes a “special circumstance” deserving other than the usual penalty. Three other possible contributing factors were also examined to determine their relationship to drunkenness as a “special circumstance”—premeditation, alcoholism, and recidivism. Two preliminary conclusions are suggested: (1) it appears that many members of the public still view alcohol abuse as an associated criminal offense, and (2) respondents' beliefs about the “effects of alcohol do not demonstrate a rational consistency as relates to penalty judgments concerning violent crimes committed by drunken individuals. This finding is, ...
A signature of epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity and stromal activation in primary tumor modulates late recurrence in breast cancer independent of disease subtype

Despite improvements in adjuvant therapy, late systemic recurrences remain a lethal consequence of both early- and late-stage breast cancer. A delayed recurrence is thought to arise from a state of tumor dormancy, but the mechanisms that govern tumor dormancy remain poorly understood. To address the features of breast tumors associated with late recurrence, but not confounded by variations in systemic treatment, we compiled breast tumor gene expression data from 4,767 patients and established a discovery cohort consisting of 743 lymph node-negative patients who did not receive systemic neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy. We interrogated the gene expression profiles of the 743 tumors and identified gene expression patterns that were associated with early and late disease recurrence among these patients. We applied this classification to a subset of 46 patients for whom expression data from microdissected tumor epithelium and stroma was available, and identified a distinct gene signature in the stroma and also a corresponding tumor epithelium signature that predicted disease recurrence in the discovery cohort. This tumor epithelium signature was then validated as a predictor for late disease recurrence in the entire cohort of 4,767 patients. We identified a novel 51-gene signature from microdissected tumor epithelium associated with late disease recurrence in breast cancer independent of the molecular disease subtype. This signature correlated with gene expression alterations in the adjacent tumor stroma and describes a process of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) and tumor-stroma interactions. Our findings suggest that an EMT-related gene signature in the tumor epithelium is related to both stromal activation and escape from disease dormancy in breast cancer. The presence of a late recurrence gene signature in the primary tumor also suggests that intrinsic features of this tumor regulate the transition of disseminated tumor cells into a dormant phenotype with the ability to outgrowth as recurrent disease.
Barking dogs: Community-based organisations (CBOS) in post-apartheid Namibia

Through applied research, NGOs may work towards implementing a benign form of intervention, not only well-intentioned but also effective, a positive postscript to 400+ years of colonialism. Specifically, NGOs utilizing participatory approaches may counter some of the structural imbalances created by the recent social and environmental history of southern Africa, which has been marred by the predatory antics of apartheid. This paper presents findings from participatory research into local perceptions by pastoralists in Namibia concerning CBOs, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and desertification. During fieldwork feedback sessions were implemented to apply findings. Participatory exercises were used to draw up a list of indicators and criteria for evaluating the success of communitybased projects in the area. Surveys were conducted at 50 households spread over three sites, and are representative of a majority of local households. Sites were differentiated by varying levels of social organisation, pro...
Corruption and Organized Crime in Mexico in the Post-PRI Transition

President Fox has made the improvement of public safety and reduction in corruption priorities of his government. Backed by an educated urban middle-class electorate, he faces fundamental challenges to the achievement of his goals. These include a legacy of institutionalized PRI (Institutionalized Revolutionary Party) corruption, limited respect for the rule of law, and the penetration of drug trafficking groups into the state structure. Mexico's long border with the United States has contributed to the rapid rise in organized crime and the use of Mexican territory by foreign crime groups. Mexico's past may preclude the transition to a more democratic and open society despite the best of presidential intentions and the desires of much of the Mexican population.
Fracture propagation as means of rapidly transferring surface meltwater to the base of glaciers

[1] Propagation of water-filled crevasses through glaciers is investigated based on the linear elastic fracture mechanics approach. A crevasse will penetrate to the depth where the stress intensity factor at the crevasse tip equals the fracture toughness of glacier ice. A crevasse subjected to inflow of water will continue to propagate downward with the propagation speed controlled primarily by the rate of water injection. While the far-field tensile stress and fracture toughness determine where crevasses can form, once initiated, the rate of water-driven crevasse propagation is nearly independent of these two parameters. Thus, rapid transfer of surface meltwater to the bed of a cold glacier requires abundant ponding at the surface to initiate and sustain full thickness fracturing before refreezing occurs.
Toward message passing for a million processes: characterizing MPI on a massive scale blue gene/P

Upcoming exascale capable systems are expected to comprise more than a million processing elements. As researchers continue to work toward architecting these systems, it is becoming increasingly clear that these systems will utilize a significant amount of shared hardware between processing units; this includes shared caches, memory and network components. Thus, understanding how effective current message passing and communication infrastructure is in tying these processing elements together, is critical to making educated guesses on what we can expect from such future machines. Thus, in this paper, we characterize the communication performance of the message passing interface (MPI) implementation on 32 racks (131072 cores) of the largest Blue Gene/P (BG/P) system in the United States (80% of the total system size) and reveal various interesting insights into it.
Structured model of genetic control via the lac promoter in Escherichia coli

A model that describes induction of protein synthesis from lac-based promoters has been developed and incorporated into the single-cell model of Escherichia coli with transcriptional and translational modifications. Unlike previous models of lac-based promoters, this model allows a priori prediction of the intracellular parameters controlling transcription from lac-based promoters with only the extracellular levels of substrate and inducer as inputs. Because of the structural detail of the model, it is possible to simulate different genetic constructions for comparison, such as Lacl(q) strains versus wild-type cells, or including lacl on a multicopy plasmid. Expression from lac to tac promoters is predicted to yield 5% and 30% of the total cellular protein, respectively, with a pBR322-type plasmid. The model predicts the experimental observation that the Lacl(q) strain is not as fully induced as the wild-type strains, even at higher inducer concentrations. Additionally, the model predicts the right order of magnitude of protein production from lac and tac promoters when mechanisms for attenuation of transcription at lower translational efficiency are considered. Finally, the model predicts that for high copy number systems ribosomes become limiting in the synthesis of plasmid-encoded proteins. (c) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Orphan receptors: in search of a unifying hypothesis for activation.

Over the past 6 yr, we have witnessed a surprising increase in the number of known members in the steroid/thyroid/vitamin superfamily of intracellular receptors in a wide variety of species. Although the exact number of these proteins is difficult to determine because many have yet to be published, our estimation is that the number eventually could exceed 50. Orphan receptors is a name used to designate related proteins that may or may not truly be receptors in the endocrinological sense. They nevertheless comprise the vast majority of the steroid/thyroid/vitamin superfamily. They are proteins which contain distinctive homologies in their amino acid sequences (e.g. type II zinc fingers), which clearly mark them as members of this superfamily of gene regulators. Most have been discovered by crosshybridization with authentic steroid receptor cDNAs. Consequently, when initially identified they have had no known ligand and usually no known function. These macromolecules have been discussed in a previous editorial (1). The supposition that all of these orphan receptors indeed have important cellular functions is based on the following: 1) they are expressed as proteins in cells, sometimes with cell-type and developmental specificity; 2) they are authentic members of a highly evolved and powerful family of eukaryotic transcription factors; 3) certain of the orphan receptors already have been shown to function by regulating known specific genes and developmental processes; 4) selected orphans have been implicated in the mediation of cellular responses to neurotransmitters, retinoic acid, and peroxisome proliferators; and 5) at least one orphan has been reported to act as an immediate early mediator of growth factor and electrical response in the central nervous system. A computer-derived schematic of a phylogenetic tree of orphan receptors is shown in Fig. 1. Although incomplete, it demonstrates subrelationships among species of this family. The steroid/thyroid/vitamin superfamily appears to be an old family with representations in
Interspecific shell fighting between Pagurus bernhardus and Pagurus cuanensis (Decapoda, Paguridea)

Abstract Observations were made on shell fighting behavior in two species of hermit crabs, Pagurus bernhardus (L.) and Pagurus cuanensis (Bell). Both showed strong preferences for intra-specific fights when brought in from the field, but this preference was no longer present in P. cuanensis when all animals were placed in the same kind of gastropod shell.
Analysis of Kirchhoff scattering of acoustic waves by turbulent flames

This paper describes an analysis of the characteristics of acoustic waves scattered by turbulent premixed flames with moving, convoluted fronts that have random and possibly fractal characteristics. Such interactions play an important role in the characteristic unsteadiness observed in turbulent combustion processes that occur in a wide range of processing, power generating and propulsion applications. The problem is posed with an integral formulation of the wave equation and assumes that the smallest scales of flame wrinkling are much larger than the acoustic wavelength. Thus, these results apply to high frequency wave scattering. Explicit solutions for the spatial and temporal characteristics of the scattered field are derived for cases where the characteristics of the flame surface are Gaussian. These characteristics are investigated for flames with single, multiple, and continuous (e.g. fractal) scales of wrinkling. It is shown that the spectral characteristics of the waves scattered from weakly corrugated flames are the same as those of the incident frequency shifted spectrum of the flame front position. Thus, these results suggest that ultrasonic scattering measurements can provide information about the spectrum of the flame front position. It is also shown, however, that as the flame roughness increases, the spectral characteristics of the scattered waves become increasingly scrambled relative to those of the flame itself, and thus provide less information about the temporal characteristics of the flame's movement. The paper closes with a discussion of additional possibilities for using the integral equation approach used in this paper to assess other characteristics of acoustic wave -turbulent flame interactions.
Reflection High Energy Electron Diffraction Studies of the Growth of DyBa2Cu3O7−x Films and Structures Grown on SrTiO3 Substrates

Intensity oscillations of the specular reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) beam contain useful information on the mode of growth and the evolving structure of thin films. We present RHEED studies of the growth of DyBa2Cu3O7-x films and DyBa2Cu3O7-x/DY2O3/DyBa2Cu3O7-x structures on SrTiO3; substrates deposited by ozone-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The effect of substrate temperature, ozone flux and surface step densities on the epitaxial relationship and evolving microstructure will be discussed. The strong damping of the oscillations and identical time periods under different nuoleation and growth conditions suggest that the intensity oscillations are a consequence of to diffuse scattering from step edges rather than a layer-by-layer growth mode. It was also found that Dy2O3 can be used to fabricatee tri-layer type structures but not superlattice structures.
Quantifying direct effects of social determinants of health on glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes.

Abstract Background: The aim of this study was to investigate if self-care is the pathway through which social determinants of health impact diabetes outcomes by analyzing the direct and indirect effects of socioeconomic and psychosocial factors on self-care and glycemic control. Subjects and Methods: Six hundred fifteen adults were recruited from two primary care clinics in the southeastern United States. A series of confirmatory factor analyses identified the latent factors underlying social status, psychosocial determinants (psychological distress, self-efficacy, and social support), and self-care (diet, exercise, foot care, glucose testing, and medication adherence). Structured equation modeling investigated the relationship among social determinants, self-care and glycemic control. Results: Latent variables were created for diabetes self-care, psychological distress, self-efficacy, social support, and social status. The final model [χ2(275)=450.07, P<0.001, R2=99, root mean square error of approximat...
Revisiting Asian Monetary and Financial Cooperation

An important lesson that the Asian economies took away from the Asian financial crisis of 1997–98 was the need to accumulate reserves as a safeguard against future financial crises. Reserve build-up in the region has been phenomenal (admittedly, some of it has been due to exchange rate policies per se). Interestingly, many chose not to allow their reserves to decline too rapidly during the global financial crisis (GFC) of 2008–09, realising that the use of reserves is not always effective during all crises.1 So, after the GFC, the region has again been stockpiling reserves (Figure 13.1). However, the crisis has made these countries face up to the fact that there are limits to own reserve accumulation as a means of self-insurance. Specifically, since the opportunity costs can get prohibitively high how much is enough?
Amorphous semiconductor blocking contacts on CdZnTe gamma detectors

High energy resolution gamma ray detectors based on CdZnTe are needed for a variety of homeland security, nuclear nonproliferation and astronomy applications. The energy resolution of the detectors is dependent on background noise levels. This noise is often the result of leakage current through the devices, which generally operate as resistors. Because of this, increasing the resistivity of the CdZnTe has been one of the primary goals of research in these materials. However, an alternate approach to achieving similar results is to increase the effective resistivity through the use of metal Schottky contacts.[1] Researchers have also demonstrated that amorphous — crystalline semiconductor heterojunctions can improve the blocking behavior contacts for radiation detectors. [2,3] In this work, we investigate the effect of hydrogenated amorphous Si (a-Si:H) layers on oriented CdZnTe on leakage current and the gamma detection response.
A note from the Wave Propagation Standards Committee

Because of pressures of new ventures, Ray King has had to resign as Chairman of the Wave Propagation Standards Committee (WPSC). Ray stepped down at the June '89 San Jose meeting, and turned the gavel over to me, Bud Flood.
Characterization of Microrna Expression Profile In Platelets In Sickle Cell Disease

Abstract 2030 Sickle cell disease (SCD) is associated with a high rate of thromboembolic complications, particularly in patients with advanced vasculopathy. Recent functional studies have revealed pathological platelet activation associated with intravascular hemolysis, the severity of pulmonary hypertension (PAH), and impaired NO-signaling in platelets mediated by NO scavenging by plasma hemoglobin (Villagra J et al, Blood 2007; Hu W et al, Blood 2010, prepublished online). In addition, our previous amplified platelet transcriptome studies in SCD patients have demonstrated dysregulated arginine and polyamine metabolism, potentially contributing to this dysfunction at the transcriptional level (Raghavachari N et al, Circulation 2007). New RNA technologies for purification of total RNA including small RNAs now allow for more refined study of transcriptional events in platelets from individual patients. We have undertaken the present study to demonstrate and validate the presence and differential expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) in platelets from patients with SCD compared with African American control subjects. We hypothesize that posttranscriptional regulation of the platelet function by miRNAs is an important contributor to SCD pathogenesis associated with pathological platelet activation. To date, there have been no studies undertaken to study the role of platelet miRNAs in SCD. Platelet rich plasma samples from 43 subjects were obtained from University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and National Heart, Lung, Blood Institute (NHLBI). Out of these there were 27 SCD patients and 17 were sex-, race- matched healthy controls. Out of the SCD patients, 18 were known to have PAH and 14 were on hydroxyurea (HU) at the time of study enrollment. Total platelet RNA including miRNAs were extracted using the miRNeasy Minikit (Qiagen, Valencia, CA) with yield in the range of 110–1875 ng from 16 ml of whole blood per donor. We hybridized these samples on a miRNA microarray platform (Agilent version 3) containing 866 human miRNAs. The array data was normalized using quantile normalization and were analyzed with GeneSpring GX 11 software. Differential expression profiles between sickle cell disease patients and controls were determined separately for the NHLBI and UPMC cohort to detect a greater than 2 fold difference change in miRNA expression at p-value of 0.05. Our final expression list included only common miRNAs identified in both cohorts, allowing for an additional level of validation. Final validation was performed by RT-PCR of a subset of the differentially expressed miRNAs. Our analysis identified 42 significantly differentially expressed miRNAs in platelets when comparing the SCD with the control groups, at a fold-change > 2 and p-value Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Reversing the transition from an unbroken to a broken phase in a PT-symmetric dimer laser

We experimentally demonstrate that in the presence of gain and loss, the order in which the PT-symmetry breaking occurs can be reversed in a semiconductor coupled micro-cavity laser system as a result of nonlinear interactions.
NGOMSL simulation model in an emergency department

Natural Goals Operators Methods and Selection Rules Language (NGOMSL) model of the clinical process in an Emergency Department (ED) was developed using Micro Saint Sharp. This model advanced our understanding of a care provider's cognitive behavior in a dynamic ED environment. It also revealed the understanding of proximal workflow in the ED and the workload related to clinical processes. The benefits of this study are (a) improved understanding of the relevant form factors of the clinical process that contribute to a heavy workload in the ED and (b) prevention of potential errors caused by the workload. To understand the current ED workflow, hierarchical task analysis (HTA) charts were developed. The HTA charts were used to understand the detailed process mappings of nurses in the ED. Based on this multi-level analysis of the HTA charts, the NGOMSL simulation model was developed.
Instrumental Modification of Autonomic behavior

The GSR to a signal light was observed as a function of contingent receipt or avoidance of shock. An “avoidance” paradigm appears to increase frequency of response to the CS and to reduce average response magnitude. A “punishment” paradigm appears to decrease frequency of responding and to reduce average magnitude of response even more than the avoidance paradigm.
Midair collision risk when executing an incorrect approach during established on required navigation performance operations

Providing improved efficiency in the terminal environment around high-capacity airports, Established on RNP leverages Required Navigation Performance technology to safely allow reduced aircraft-to-aircraft separation during curved simultaneous approaches. As one element in a comprehensive safety analysis, this paper describes the methodology and results used to estimate the mid-air collision risk when at least one aircraft leaves the intended approach path by inadvertently selecting an unintended flight procedure. The analysis considers three possible cases where an aircraft could be put at risk of collision during such an event: one where the trailing aircraft flying to the intended runway may be put at risk; a second where an aircraft flying to the incorrectly selected runway is put at risk; and, a third case, which only occurs when more than three parallel runways are available, where an aircraft flying to a runway between the intended runway and the incorrectly selected runway is put at risk of collision. The analysis concludes that all three cases could pose significant risk if not appropriately mitigated with controller monitoring and procedure design, but the third case is the most severe.
Multi-metal, Multi-wavelength Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Detection of Neurotransmitters

The development of a sensor for the rapid and sensitive detection of neurotransmitters could provide a pathway for the diagnosis of neurological diseases, leading to the discovery of more effective treatment methods. We investigate the use of surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) based sensors for the rapid detection of melatonin, serotonin, glutamate, dopamine, GABA, norepinephrine, and epinephrine. Previous studies have demonstrated SERS detection of neurotransmitters; however, there has been no comprehensive study on the effect of the metal used as the SERS substrate or the excitation wavelength used for detection. Here, we present the detection of 7 neurotransmitters using both silver and gold nanoparticles at excitation wavelengths of 532, 633, and 785 nm. Over the range of wavelengths investigated, the SERS enhancement on the silver and gold nanoparticles varies, with an average enhancement factor of 105–106. The maximum SERS enhancement occurs at an excitation wavelength of 785 nm for the gold...
Embodiment in the Practice and Education of Health Professionals

In this chapter, embodiment is explored as a means of coming to a deeper understanding of what occurs in the clinical encounter between patient and health professional, together with what health professionals must learn in order to manage such encounters. Using a real encounter between an oral surgeon and a ‘difficult’ patient as a framework, embodiment is used to open up our thinking about the relationship between bodily experience and our attempts to articulate the meaning of that experience. Participants in a clinical encounter must work together, by using their embodied experience, along with their attempts to narrativise that experience in both the past and the present, if there is to be mutual understanding. Using embodiment as a focus enables us to see that participants use multiple ontologies and epistemologies to dialogically construct a local reality that is contingent and emergent from the clinical encounter itself. Aspects of this localised reality include the rituals that the clinician must bodily enact and the different timespaces occupied by the participants. Embodiment also gives us insights into the complex ways that medical technology can shape the clinical encounter. The clinical encounter is no longer to be seen as a simplistic exchange of information. Through embodiment, we can start to open up the subtleties and nuances that characterise the complexities of the relationship between patient and clinician.
Marxism and methodological individualism: A critique

“Analytical” or “rational choice” Marxism explicitly proposes to synthesize non-Marxist methods and Marxist theory. It is therefore in-appropriate to attack it solely by demonstrating that the methods advocated were not Marx's: this is, after all, acknowledged at the outset. (For this reason I have tried to show that both the assumption of MI and the process of reduction are problematic on their own empiricist or positivist terms, and have therefore largely been discarded as viable projects by philosophers of science.) Any attempt to synthesize two such distinct research traditions nonetheless demands some consideration of the metatheoretical problems that one might expect it to encounter, and this is particularly so if Marxist theory is to be recast on the basis of the positivist and empiricist assumptions explicitly rejected by Marx. Curiously, however, the analytical Marxist literature does not address such problems: indeed, metatheoretical considerations are notably absent. Discussions focus instead on particular “tools of analysis,” e.g., rational choice theory and game theory, as if these were neutral with respect to the underlying philosophical commitments of the two traditions. In fact, of course, these methods do reflect such commitments; after all, the justification for rational choice Marxism, infusing Marxian analyses with “scientific” rigor, reflects the rejection of the conception of science embodied in the Marxist tradition. By way of a conclusion I therefore briefly discuss the uneasy relationship between rational choice Marxism and classical Marxist theory. I argue that this relationship cannot be one of synthesis because the empiricist assumptions of rational choice Marxism violate the “hard-core” of the Marxist research tradition in at least three important ways: 1) most generally, its atomistic ontology directly contradicts the relational ontology of Marxist theory; 2) the empiricist conception of science undermines the Marxist conception of social science as critique; and 3) more specifically, rational choice and game theory mark a retreat from the social and relational philosophical anthropology of Marx back to the liberal individualist tradition initiated by Hobbes.
Cortical dynein pulling mechanism is regulated by differentially targeted attachment molecule Num1

Cortical dynein generates pulling forces via microtubule (MT) end capture-shrinkage and lateral MT sliding mechanisms. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the dynein attachment molecule Num1 interacts with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria to facilitate spindle positioning across the mother-bud neck, but direct evidence for how these cortical contacts regulate dynein-dependent pulling forces is lacking. We show that loss of Scs2/Scs22, ER tethering proteins, resulted in defective Num1 distribution and loss of dynein-dependent MT sliding, the hallmark of dynein function. Cells lacking Scs2/Scs22 performed spindle positioning via MT end capture-shrinkage mechanism, requiring dynein anchorage to an ER- and mitochondria-independent population of Num1, dynein motor activity, and CAP-Gly domain of dynactin Nip100/p150Glued subunit. Additionally, a CAAX-targeted Num1 rescued loss of lateral patches and MT sliding in the absence of Scs2/Scs22. These results reveal distinct populations of Num1 and underline the importance of their spatial distribution as a critical factor for regulating dynein pulling force.
Hyponatremia is Associated with Poor Prognosis in Left Ventricular Assist Device Patients

Introduction Serum sodium is an important prognostic marker in heart failure patients, with lower values associated with increased risk of mortality. However, prognostic value of serum sodium has not been assessed in left ventricular assist device (LVAD) patients. Hypothesis We hypothesized lower serum sodium is associated with increased risk of mortality in LVAD patients. Methods We retrospectively identified 253 consecutive patients that had LVAD implantation at a single center between 2008-2016. To minimize confounding by peri-operative factors, we evaluated serum sodium at 3 months after implantation and time to all-cause mortality with a univariate Cox proportional hazards analysis. A secondary outcome was time to hospital readmission. Groups were defined as having lower and higher sodium levels relative to the median value. Censoring occurred at death, transplant, or pump exchange. A multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis included estimated GFR and bicarbonate levels to account for effects of renal dysfunction and acid-base disturbance on sodium levels. Results There were 195 eligible LVAD patients with a sodium value at 3 months. Average age was 53 ± 14 yrs, 77% were male, 26% black. Half (50%) received a Heartmate II device and 50% received a Heartware HVAD. Median serum sodium was 137 mmol/L. Median follow-up was 346 days with 26 deaths (13%). In a univariate analysis, increasing serum sodium at 3 months was associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality (HR 0.826, p=0.006). Pre-operative sodium levels were not associated with mortality (HR 1.004, p=0.941). Serum sodium at 3 months remained predictive of mortality in a multivariate model with estimated GFR and HCO3 (Table). When stratified by the median, the lower sodium group had a significantly shorter time to all-cause mortality (Figure). Sodium levels at 3 months were not associated with time to readmission. Conclusions Hyponatremia in LVAD patients (sodium
PDAFAI with an Neural Network Acoustic Emulator

Recent developments in Deep Learning have revitalized previous work in emulating acoustic propagation using Neural Networks. This paper will present results incorporating a Neural Network (NN) acoustic emulator into a PDAFAI tracking algorithm. The NN is used to improve SNR estimates for contacts in a multiple target tracking algorithm. Due to the computationally efficiency of a NN, this can happen in real time. This paper presents comparative results for real data using a probabilistic data association (PDA) algorithm and PDA with amplitude information (PDAFAI).
The Last SIFI: The Unwise and Illegal Deregulation of Prudential Financial

On October 18, federal regulators released Prudential Financial—the last remaining systemically important nonbank financial institution—from enhanced government oversight. This Essay contends that Prudential’s deregulation was both unwise and illegal. In removing Prudential’s “systemically important” label, regulators (1) violated their established procedural rules, (2) relied on misleading quantitative analyses, and (3) failed to consider a mandatory statutory factor. By illegally deregulating Prudential, policymakers have now opened the financial system to the same risks it experienced in the lead-up to the financial crisis. This Essay therefore urges litigation and vigilant Congressional oversight challenging the rescission of Prudential’s “systemically important” status.
Poor Postpartum Sleep Quality Predicts Subsequent Postpartum Depressive Symptoms in a High-Risk Sample.

Study Objectives:Postpartum depression (PPD) occurs in 15% to 20% of mothers worldwide and is associated with adverse outcomes for mother and child. Prior research has established a relationship be...
The Corrosion Critique of Benefit Corporations

This Article evaluates what it labels the corrosion critique of benefit corporation statutes. These statutes have emerged as the leading new statutory alternative to enable and encourage social enterprises, businesses which seek both to generate financial returns for their investors while also pursuing social missions. Some persons who strongly support social enterprises have criticized benefit corporation statutes, arguing that they create a mistaken impression that companies organized under ordinary corporation statutes cannot consider the interests of non-shareholder stakeholders except insofar as doing so benefits shareholders in the long run. This corrosive effect on the understanding of most corporations may impede the adoption of socially responsible behavior. The Article distinguishes three conceptions of the legal purpose of corporations and whose interests officers and directors should consider: shareholder-only, stakeholder-optional, and stakeholder mandatory. It also identifies two leading justifications of benefit corporation statutes. The enabling justification asserts that corporate law constrains the ability of directors and officers to consider the interests of stakeholders other than shareholders because it imposes the shareholder-only conception of corporate purpose. The branding justification asserts that benefit corporations help companies attract investors, customers, and employees by giving them a way to credibly commit to considering the interests of other stakeholders through adopting the stakeholder-mandatory conception. Having established these categorizations, the Article offers a mixed verdict as to the validity of the corrosion critique. The critique does not apply to the branding justification. For the enabling justification, the critique is mostly valid in states with corporate constituency statutes, since such states have adopted the stakeholder-optional conception for ordinary corporations, and thus it is false to imply (as the enabling justification does) that ordinary corporations are constrained in considering the interests of various stakeholders. The corrosion critique does not, however, apply in Delaware and probably other non-constituency statute states, which have adopted the shareholder-only conception for ordinary corporations. The Article concludes that advocates of benefit corporations should stop using the enabling justification, which is subject to the corrosion critique in over half of all states (those with constituency statutes), and which justification is weak on other grounds as well. Focusing on the branding justification will direct transactional lawyers and businesses to the right reasons for considering becoming a benefit corporation, and will focus policymakers and scholars on the right questions to ask in evaluating the usefulness of benefit corporation statutes.