cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A “GAP-model” based framework for online VVoIP QoE measurement

Increased access to broadband networks has led to a fast-growing demand for voice and video over IP (VVoIP) applications such as Internet telephony (VoIP), videoconferencing, and IP television (IPTV). For pro-active troubleshooting of VVoIP performance bottlenecks that manifest to end-users as performance impairments such as video frame freezing and voice dropouts, network operators cannot rely on actual end-users to report their subjective quality of experience (QoE). Hence, automated and objective techniques that provide real-time or online VVoIP QoE estimates are vital. Objective techniques developed to-date estimate VVoIP QoE by performing frame-to-frame peak-signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) comparisons of the original video sequence and the reconstructed video sequence obtained from the sender-side and receiver-side, respectively. Since processing such video sequences is time consuming and computationally intensive, existing objective techniques cannot provide online VVoIP QoE. In this paper, we present a novel framework that can provide online estimates of VVoIP QoE on network paths without end-user involvement and without requiring any video sequences. The framework features the "G AP-model", which is an offline model of QoE expressed as a function of measurable network factors such as bandwidth, delay, jitter, and loss. Using the GAP-model, our online framework can produce VVoIP QoE estimates in terms of "Good", "Acceptable", or "Poor" (GAP) grades of perceptual quality solely from the on-line measured network conditions.
Inventories, Surveys and Historic Preservation

The civil engineering profession is becoming increasingly involved in technical challenges associated with historic preservation. Inventories, surveys, and recording projects are uncovering more engineering and industrial sites and structures which can be adapted and reconstructed for a variety of uses. National organizations (such as the National Architectural and Engineering Record and the National Trust for Historic Preservation) work with local, state and regional groups in such surveys as well as in adaptive and other commercial studies. The Society for Industrial Archeology and similar organizations provide common meeting grounds for all people interested in such preservation work. Technically, financially, and personally, there are many rewards in meeting the challenges of professional preservation, restoration, rehabilitation, and adaptation.
Determination of Luteinizing and Follicle-Stimulating Principles in Castrate and Menopause Urine

MethodBy the following method it has been possible to demonstrate the presence of luteinizing (in 62.5% of 16 women) as well as follicle-stimulating principle in the urine of both castrates and spontaneous menopause.Two hundred cc. of urine is taken from a fresh 24 hours specimen and acidified with concentrated acetic acid to pH 3.5 (Congo Red). Four volumes of cold acetone are added to the urine, shaken vigorously and allowed to stand overnight in the refrigerator. The supernatant fluid is poured off and the precipitate extracted with weak NaOH. The pH of the mixture is adjusted to between 8 and 8.5, the residual precipitate stirred thoroughly, the mixture centrifuged, and the final precipitate discarded as the supernatant fluid contains the gonadotropic principle. The fluid is then adjusted to pH 7 with dilute acetic acid. The equivalent of 100, 50, and 25 cc. is injected into immature rats weighing 22 to 24 gm. The injections in each rat are divided into 5 doses, given over 3 days. The animals are auto...
Role of rabbit gut-associated lymphoid tissue in cell replication. The follicular cortex as primary germinative site.

SummaryAs shown by in vitro labeling techniques, the rabbit appendix and sacculus rotundus contained a higher number of cells in DNA synthesis than any other lymphoid organ examined. The bone marrow alone had a higher number of labeled cells. When labeled in vivo, gut-associated lymphoid organs of the rabbit contained a high number of cells in DNA synthesis. The follicles in these organs were distinguished from follicles of peripheral lymphoid tissue by separation into follicular cortex and medulla. The cortex contained large blastoid cells with a high labeling index; the medulla consisted primarily of small darker cells with a low labeling index. These findings support the hypothesis that the gut-associated lymphoid organs in the rabbit expand the lymphocyte population by rapid proliferation, and may play a role as primary lymphoid organs.
Optimum Shape Design Using Adjoint Equations for Compressible Flows with Shock Waves

The objective of the present work is to study the capability of the adjoint equation method for aerodynamic shape optimization problems involving shock waves. The difficulties of perturbing discontinuous solutions are discussed. Both shock fitting and shock capturing techniques are examined. Some preliminary results for inverse nozzle problems are presented based on quasi-one-dimensional, as well as two dimensional calculations.
Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Channels, Nitric Oxide, and Neural Function:

Cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) channels are nonselective cation channels that are activated by direct interaction of the second messengers cAMP and cGMP. Once activated, they provide for membrane depolarization and Ca2+ influx into cells. The functions of CNG channels are tightly coupled to the mechanisms by which cAMP and cGMP are regulated in neurons, namely through activation of G-protein–coupled membrane receptors and through the nitric oxide/guanylyl cyclase signaling system. These functions are best understood in sensory neurons of the vertebrate visual and olfactory system, where CNG channels are critical components of the signal transduction apparatus. The family of known CNG channels is expanding, and there is now increasing evidence that these channels are also present in many other areas of the nervous system. Based on their role in sensory neurons, a functional framework for the role of CNG channels in the CNS is provided.
Abstract 2906: Role of autophagy in Wnt5A-mediated melanoma invasion and metastasis

Melanoma is the most aggressive type of skin cancer and the leading cause of death from skin disease. With increasing incidence of the disease, it is crucial to further investigate the cellular mechanisms and molecular pathways that lead to invasion, metastasis, and drug resistance. Recent studies have revealed that high autophagy correlates with melanoma tumor aggressiveness and poor survival in clinical samples, as it is a common mechanism of resistance to therapy. Autophagy inhibition leads to reduced levels in Wnt5A in a breast cancer model, suggesting a cross-talk of Wnt5A and autophagy in cancer. β catenin, a mediator of canonical Wnt signaling, has been shown to act as a negative regulator of both basal and induced autophagy in a colorectal cancer model. Our laboratory showed that high levels of Wnt5A correlate with increased invasion and metastasis in melanoma and that Wnt5A downregulates β catenin; therefore, we hypothesize that autophagy might drive invasion and metastasis in aggressive melanoma through the regulation of Wnt signaling. To study the role of autophagy in Wnt5A-mediated melanoma invasion, we inhibited autophagy in highly invasive melanoma cells using lentivirus-mediated shATG5 knockdown or hydroxychloroquine and evaluated the effects of autophagy inhibition on Wnt5A expression, β catenin, and invasion using 3D spheroid models. Analysis of autophagy flux confirms that highly invasive melanoma cells have high autophagy compared to non-invasive cell lines. The inhibition of autophagy by hydroxychloroquine or shATG5 both resulted in significant decrease in invasion. By western blot analysis, we also observed a decrease in Wnt5A in these cells. These results demonstrate that autophagy inhibition in highly invasive melanoma leads to decrease in invasion in a 3D model that mimics the tumor microenvironment of melanoma. Further dissection of the molecular mechanisms that are involved in this process will enable the identification of novel autophagy targets in aggressive melanoma. Citation Format: Abibatou Ndoye, Anna Budina, Marie Webster, Amanpreet Kaur, Reeti Behera, Maureen Murphy, Ashani T. Weeraratna. Role of autophagy in Wnt5A-mediated melanoma invasion and metastasis. [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 2906. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-2906
Renal Oxalate Handling in Normal Subjects and Patients with Idiopathic Renal Lithiasis: Primary and Secondary Hyperoxaluria

We have developed an assay for plasma oxalate using a modification of the immobilized enzyme, oxalate oxidase (1). This allows a direct approach to the study of the renal handling of oxalate in normal subjects and in patients with various forms of calcium-oxalate (CaOx) renal lithiasis.
Fuel Burnup and Transmutation

During nuclear reactor operation, the fission products created build up over time and gradually poison the reactor. Eventually, these fission products along with the depletion of the fissionable material can reduce the reactor k eff to the point where criticality can no longer be maintained. For nuclear thermal rockets, fuel burnup generally does not pose much of a problem since the time of operation is so short that there is not sufficient time for fission products to accumulate to any great extent. For power-producing reactors which operate for long periods of time at relatively high neutron fluxes, however, fuel burnup can be significant and has to be accounted for in the design of the reactor system. Such long-term operation would be required if, for instance, a nuclear reactor were being used to power some type of electric propulsion system. While there are many fission product nuclides created during the fission process, there are two nuclides in particular which, because of their extremely high neutron absorption cross sections and high fission yield probabilities, should be accounted for in the design of even nuclear thermal rocket engines. These nuclides are X 135 e and S 149 m . Of the two, X 135 e is considerably more important than S 149 m due to the fact that X 135 e has a significantly higher neutron absorption cross section.
Bimodality of evolutionary rates

A simple theoretical argument shows that the evolutionary process will look gradual if it is considered on too fine or too coarse a time scale. There exists an intermediate time scale in which the distribution of evolutionary rates will appear as bimodal.
Automatic Control Of An Artificial Respirator

A method and the associated apparatus have been described for automatically controlling an artificial respirator according to bodily requirements of the patient under mechanical ventilation. In the proposed method, ventilation and frequency of respiration are determined on the basis of the lung compliance, airway resistance and the CO2 and 02 levels of the patient on the respirator. The apparatus detects and processes the required data and generates control signals for the artificial respirator and the valves at the respirator's output in order to provide automatic and continuous adjustment of the depth and rate of breathing of the patient. The method and apparatus of this controller are patented under the U.S. Patent Number 4986268.
The Logic of Selecting an Appropriate Map Projection in a Decision Support System (DSS)

There are undeniable practical consequences to consider when choosing an appropriate map projection for a specific region. The surface of a globe covered by global, continental, and regional maps are so singular that each type distinctively affects the amount of distortion incurred during a projection transformation because of the an assortment of effects caused by distance, direction, scale , and area. A Decision Support System (DSS) for Map Projections of Small Scale Data was previously developed to help select an appropriate projection. This paper reports on a tutorial to accompany that DSS. The DSS poses questions interactively, allowing the user to decide on the parameters, which in turn determines the logic path to a solution. The objective of including a tutorial to accompany the DSS is achieved by visually representing the path of logic that is taken to a recommended map projection derived from the parameters the user selects. The tutorial informs the DSS user about the pedigree of the projection and provides a basic explanation of the specific projection design. This information is provided by informational pop-ups and other aids.
Injury, intense dust exposure, and chronic disease among survivors of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001

The World Trade Center attack of September 11, 2001 in New York City (9/11) exposed thousands of people to intense concentrations of hazardous materials that have resulted in reports of increased levels of asthma, heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic diseases along with psychological illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Few studies have discriminated between health consequences of immediate (short-term or acute) intense exposures versus chronic residential or workplace exposures. We used proportional hazards methods to determine adjusted hazard ratios (AHRs) for associations between several components of acute exposures (e.g., injury, immersion in the dust cloud) and four chronic disease outcomes: asthma, other non-neoplastic lung diseases, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, in 8701 persons free of those conditions prior to exposure and who were physically present during or immediately after the World Trade Center attacks. Participants were followed prospectively up to 11 years post-9/11. Heart disease exhibited a dose-response association with sustaining injury (1 injury type: AHR =2.0, 95% CI (Confidence Interval) 1.1–3.6; 2 injury types: AHR = 3.1, 95% CI 1.2–7.9; 3 or more injury types: AHR = 6.8, 95% CI 2.0–22.6), while asthma and other lung diseases were both significantly associated with dust cloud exposure (AHR = 1.3, 95% CI 1.0–1.6). Diabetes was not associated with any of the predictors assessed in this study. In this study we demonstrated that the acute exposures of injury and dust cloud that were sustained on 9/11/2001 had significant associations with later heart and respiratory diseases. Continued monitoring of 9/11 exposed persons’ health by medical providers is warranted for the foreseeable future.
Mass media exposure and modern contraceptive use among married West African adolescents.

AbstractPurpose: The purpose of this study was to examine whether family planning (FP) messaging is reaching married adolescent women in West Africa, and whether such messaging is associated with increased contraceptive use.Materials and methods: We utilised data from the 2010 Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) for Burkina Faso and Senegal (women 15–49; N = 17,067 and N = 15,688, respectively). We used chi-square tests to evaluate whether FP messaging exposure (via TV, radio, and/or print) differed according to socio-demographic characteristics. Subsequent analysis focussed on married adolescents (15–19; N = 961 in Burkina Faso, N = 996 in Senegal) which utilised propensity score matching and multivariable logistic regression models to test the association between self-reported FP messaging exposure and modern contraceptive use, knowledge of a modern contraceptive method, and future intention to use contraception.Results: A higher proportion of women 15–49 who reported FP messaging exposure were urban, ...
Mitigating IoT insecurity with inoculation epidemics

Compromising IoT devices to build botnets and disrupt critical infrastructure is an existential threat. Refrigerators, washing machines, DVRs, security cameras, and other consumer goods are high value targets for attackers due to inherent security weaknesses, a lack of consumer security awareness, and an absence of market forces or regulatory requirements to motivate IoT security. As a result of the deficiencies, attackers have quickly assembled large scale botnets of IoT devices to disable Internet infrastructure and deny access to dominant web properties with near impunity. IoT malware is often transmitted from host to host similar to how biological viruses spread in populations. Both biological viruses and computer malware may exhibit epidemic characteristics when spreading in populations of vulnerable hosts. Vaccines are used to stimulate resistance to biological viruses by inoculating a sufficient number of hosts in the vulnerable population to limit the spread of the biological virus and prevent epidemics. Inoculation programs may be viewed as a human instigated epidemic that spreads a vaccine in order to mitigate the damage from a biological virus. In this paper we propose a technique to create an inoculation epidemic for IoT devices using a novel variation of a SIS epidemic model and show experimental results that indicate utility of the approach.
Assessing Practice: A Critical Look at the Single-Case Design:

The single-case analysis design has been advocated as the model most appropriate for evaluation of clinical practice. However, the assumptions underlying this case design are scientifically simplis...
Human AT1 Receptor Gene Regulation

The peptide hormone angiotensin II (AII), the biologically active component of the renin-angiotensin system, regulates a variety of physiological responses including fluid homeostasis, aldosterone production, renal function and contraction of vascular smooth muscle (1). In addition, AII has actions in the central nervous system (2) and may play a role in development (3). AII binds to specific receptors that mediate intracellular Ca2+ mobilization through stimulation of phospholipase C and production of inositol trisphosphate (4), activation of Ca2+ channels (5), and inhibition of adenylate cyclase through a pertussis toxin-sensitive G-protein (6). Given the diversity of AII-mediated events and the differential signal transduction mechanisms, it has been proposed that multiple AII receptor subtypes exist (1,7).
Structural Conflicts in the Interpretation of Customary International Law

The use of customary international law ("CIL") by courts in the United States, long the subject of debate among scholars, has finally come to the attention of the Supreme Court. In the last few years, the Court has interpreted and applied CIL to interpret provisions of the U.S. Constitution, to interpret statutes and treaties, and as a substantive rule of decision. While the Supreme Court's renewed interest in customary international law has drawn much praise, it has also sparked sharp criticism. The purpose of this symposium essay is not to recapitulate these disagreements, but instead, to identify a different problem with the interpretive and substantive use of CIL by federal and state courts. Whether a court uses CIL as a tool for statutory or constitutional interpretation or as a substantive rule of decision, the court's usage creates potentially serious structural conflicts in the U.S. constitutional system.
When Less Is More: Minimally Invasive Surgery Compared with Laparotomy for Interval Debulking After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Women with Advanced Ovarian Cancer.

STUDY OBJECTIVE To compare outcomes of advanced ovarian cancer patients who had minimally invasive surgery (MIS) with outcomes of advanced ovarian cancer patients who had laparotomy for interval cytoreduction after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). DESIGN Retrospective cohort study (Canadian Task Force classification II-2). SETTING One large teaching hospital with a tertiary referral function for gynecologic oncology and MIS. PATIENTS All consecutive patients with stages III to IV epithelial ovarian, tubal, or peritoneal cancer who underwent MIS or laparotomy for interval cytoreduction after at least 1 NACT cycle from 2006 to 2017 at 1 institution. INTERVENTIONS Patients underwent either MIS or laparotomy for interval cytoreduction after at least 1 cycle of NACT. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Medical records were reviewed and data abstracted and analyzed. Survival was estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method, and outcomes were compared with Fisher's exact test, Student's t test, Wilcoxon rank sum test, and the log-rank test. In total, 157 assessable patients underwent interval cytoreductive surgery through MIS (n = 53) or laparotomy (n = 104). MIS was completed without conversion in 44 of 53 patients (83%), of whom 20 required a hand port and/or mini-laparotomy. R-zero and optimal resections were achieved in 60.4% and 96.3% of MIS patients respectively, compared with 42.3% and 82.7% of laparotomy patients (p = .02). MIS patients had lower estimated blood loss (EBL; 156 vs 278 mL, p <.001), fewer intraoperative transfusions (2% vs 17%, p = .006), and shorter hospital stay (3.0 vs 5.7 days, p < .001). Operative time was longer (171 vs 150 minutes, p = .007), but complications, intensive care unit stay, readmission, median progression-free survival (27 vs 29 months, p = .45), and median overall survival (37 vs 35 months, p = .74) were similar. CONCLUSION MIS is feasible and effective for interval cytoreduction after NACT in advanced ovarian cancer patients. MIS is associated with less EBL, lower transfusion rate, and shorter length of hospital stay with no difference in patient outcomes.
Current treatment and management of infantile hemangiomas

Infantile hemangiomas, otherwise known as infantile capillary hemangiomas, strawberry hemangiomas, or strawberry nevi, are nonmalignant vascular tumors that commonly affect children. The natural disease course typically involves growth for up to a year, followed by regression without treatment over a period of years with no cosmetic or functional sequelae. Less commonly, however, infantile hemangiomas can become a threat to vision or even life depending on location and size of the lesion. In addition, infantile hemangiomas, particularly those involving the face, may be disfiguring and result in lifelong sequelae. β-blockers have become a mainstay of therapy given their relatively low-risk profile and efficacy. Other treatment modalities previously described in the literature include corticosteroids (both intralesional and systemic), imiquimod, vincristine, bleomycin A5, and interferon α. More recently, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors such as captopril have been used. Laser therapy and, less commonly, surgical excision are also available treatment options. We review current recommended management and treatment of capillary hemangiomas and discuss the benefits and risks of all previously reported treatment modalities.
Artificial Intelligence Assisted Infrastructure Assessment using Mixed Reality Systems

Conventional methods for visual assessment of civil infrastructures have certain limitations, such as subjectivity of the collected data, long inspection time, and high cost of labor. Although some...
Advocacy responses to intimate partner stalking: micro, mezzo, and macro level practices

Domestic violence victim advocacy is an integral part of the response to intimate partner stalking (IPS). However, research specifically examining the strategies that advocates use to support survivors of stalking is limited. The present study aims to expand the knowledge base on advocates’ practices with survivors of IPS. Through inductive analysis of interviews with 26 domestic violence victim advocates, advocates’ responses to IPS were examined. Findings indicated that advocates used macro, mezzo and micro level practices to respond to IPS. Micro level responses included advising clients to create logs of stalking behaviors, keeping detailed case notes of stalking behaviors disclosed in meetings with clients, and engaging in survivor centered safety planning that considered both emotional and physical well-being. Mezzo level responses involved working in community-based response models to improve justice and child welfare system responses to IPS. Macro level responses included successfully advocating for changes to state law to incorporate stalking behaviors as criteria for obtaining and enforcing orders of protection. Implications for advocacy include engaging in survivor centered safety planning and working collaboratively with survivors to gather evidence of stalking, developing policies mandating education about intimate partner violence in child welfare systems, establishing cross-training and informal relationships with law enforcement and CPS caseworkers, and mentorship and coalition building to facilitate legislative advocacy.
Robust Policies For Proactive ICU Transfers.

Patients whose transfer to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is unplanned are prone to higher mortality rates than those who were admitted directly to the ICU. Recent advances in machine learning to predict patient deterioration have introduced the possibility of \emph{proactive transfer} from the ward to the ICU. In this work, we study the problem of finding \emph{robust} patient transfer policies which account for uncertainty in statistical estimates due to data limitations when optimizing to improve overall patient care. We propose a Markov Decision Process model to capture the evolution of patient health, where the states represent a measure of patient severity. Under fairly general assumptions, we show that an optimal transfer policy has a threshold structure, i.e., that it transfers all patients above a certain severity level to the ICU (subject to available capacity). As model parameters are typically determined based on statistical estimations from real-world data, they are inherently subject to misspecification and estimation errors. We account for this parameter uncertainty by deriving a robust policy that optimizes the worst-case reward across all plausible values of the model parameters. We show that the robust policy also has a threshold structure under fairly general assumptions. Moreover, it is more aggressive in transferring patients than the optimal nominal policy, which does not take into account parameter uncertainty. We present computational experiments using a dataset of hospitalizations at 21 KNPC hospitals, and present empirical evidence of the sensitivity of various hospital metrics (mortality, length-of-stay, average ICU occupancy) to small changes in the parameters. Our work provides useful insights into the impact of parameter uncertainty on deriving simple policies for proactive ICU transfer that have strong empirical performance and theoretical guarantees.
Jane Austen and William Shakespeare: a love affair in literature, film and performance: by ED. Marina Cano and Rosa García-Periago, New York, Palgrave, 2019, 415 pp., € 103,99 (hardcover) € 85,59 (ebook), ISBN 978-3-030-25688-3 (hardcover) 978-3-030-25689-0 (ebook)

Using the Folger Shakespeare Library’s 2016 exhibition Will & Jane: Shakespeare, Austen, and the Cult of Celebrity as a touch point throughout, Jane Austen and William Shakespeare: A Love Affair in...
Anxiety due to COVID-19 and impact on patients receiving chemotherapy in an inner-city minority population

108Background: Cook County Health (CCH) is one of the largest public safety net hospitals in the United States. COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected patient care. Although hospitals took measur...
Differential integrin adhesome expression defines human natural killer cell residency and developmental stage

Natural killer (NK) cells are innate immune cells that reside within tissue and circulate in peripheral blood. As such, they interact with a variety of complex microenvironments, yet how NK cells engage with these varied microenvironments is not well documented. The integrin adhesome represents a molecular network of defined and predicted integrin-mediated signaling interactions. Here, we define the integrin adhesome expression profile of NK cells from tonsil, peripheral blood and those derived from hematopoietic precursors through stromal cell co-culture systems. We report that the site of cell isolation and NK cell developmental stage dictate differences in expression of adhesome associated genes and proteins. Furthermore, we define differences in cortical actin content associated with differential expression of actin regulating proteins, suggesting that differences in adhesome expression are associated with differences in cortical actin homeostasis. Together, these data provide new understanding into the diversity of human NK cell populations and how they engage with their microenvironment.
Measuring Changes in Undergraduate Chemistry Students' Reasoning with Reaction Coordinate Diagrams: A Longitudinal, Multi-institution Study

The Reaction Coordinate Diagram Inventory (RCDI) was developed to measure chemistry students’ thinking and confidence when interpreting the kinetic and thermodynamic information encoded within reaction coordinate diagrams (RCDs). The RCDI was designed based upon analyses of qualitative data collected in semi-structured interviews with general chemistry students or organic chemistry students to ensure all items and distractors were grounded in students’ ideas and reasoning. A longitudinal, multi-institution research study was conducted using the RCDI to measure changes in undergraduate chemistry students’ reasoning with RCDs, and their confidence in doing so, at three points in time: (1) end of second-semester general chemistry, (2) beginning of first-semester organic chemistry, and (3) end of first-semester organic chemistry. The three institutions participating in this longitudinal study taught organic chemistry using either a traditional functional group curriculum or a mechanisms approach. Findings include evidence that individual students performed significantly better with significantly higher confidence as they progressed through courses, but that some RCD misconceptions, such as incorrectly assuming reaction progress indicates a time unit, are persistent throughout. Although two of the institutions taught organic chemistry using a mechanisms curriculum and one institution used the traditional functional group approach, no evidence exists of significant differences among students’ RCDI total score and average confidence across institutions.
Family ASL: An Early Start to Equitable Education for Deaf Children:

Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children experience systematic barriers to equitable education due to intentional or unintentional ableist views that can lead to a general lack of awareness about th...
Applications software programming

The purpose of this paper is to consider various aspects of applications software programming. In particular, programming in Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is examined and various samples of code are given. The implementation of a service course for students not majoring in either computer science or management information systems is discussed. Lastly, the results of an informal survey are presented as part of the conclusion.
Operational techniques for implementing traceability in bulk product supply chains

Implementation of traceability techniques in bulk food product supply chains is a complex task. A systems approach was used to develop a framework for implementation of traceability in bulk grain supply chain in the United States. A relational database model was developed to facilitate internal traceability at a grain elevator, which is one of the first nodes in a food supply chain. This data management technique could mitigate the bulk grain handling problems by recording all grain lot transformations/activities, including movement, aggregation, segregation, and destruction as well as supplier and customer information. The system can be queried to retrieve information related to incoming, internal and outgoing lots and to retrieve information that connects the individual incoming grain lots to an outgoing shipment. Next, a mathematical multiobjective mixed integer programming (MIP) model was proposed with two objective functions; to calculate the minimum levels of lot aggregation and minimum total cost of blending grain in order to meet the customer contract specifications. Constraints on the system include contract specifications, availability of grain at the shipping elevator location as well as other locations and the blending requirements. The solutions include the quantities of grain from different storage bins to be used for blending for a shipment while using the minimum number of storage bins and the total cost. The numerical results are presented for a corn shipment scenario to demonstrate the application of this model to bulk grain blending. Pareto optimal front is computed for the problem for simultaneous optimization of lot aggregation and cost of blending. This model provides an effective method for minimizing the traceability effort by minimizing the food safety risk caused by lot aggregation. Finally, a new methodology for modeling the traceability information using the UML statecharts following an event management approach in bulk food production is introduced. A generic model is presented and evaluated based on its practical application in bulk food production by providing illustrations from two supply chains; pelagic fish and grain. The statecharts are developed for frozen mackerel production and corn wet milling processes. All states and events for these processes as well as the information that needs to be captured for each transition are indentified that includes the product, process and quality information. The data capture points were identified based on the various states and events that occur during food production and are connected to product, process as well as quality information.
Cross-Phase Modulation: A New Technique for Controlling the Spectral, Temporal, and Spatial Properties of Ultrashort Pulses

Self-phase modulation (SPM) is the principal mechanism responsible for the generation of picosecond and femtosecond white-light supercontinua. When an intense ultrashort pulse progagates through a medium, it distorts the atomic configuration of the material, which changes the refractive index. The pulse phase is time modulated, which causes the generation of new frequencies. This phase modulation originates from the pulse itself (self-phase modulation). It can also be generated by a copropagating pulse (cross-phase modulation).
ZODIACAL DUST IN THE EARTH SCIENCES

Zodiacal dust will be a problem for infrared interferometric planetary searches, and much work is therefore in progress to improve our understanding of the dynamics and structure of circumstellar dust clouds in mature planetary systems. A serendipitous result from this work is the emergence of a new area in the Earth sciences, dedicated to studies of variations in terrestrial dust accretion and possible induced environmental effects. Some problems from this area are described, and illustrated with examples from current research.
T-cell responses to cancer

Publisher Summary This chapter provides a framework to approach T-cell responses to cancer and discusses different available methods to study these responses. In most cancer cells, mutations or translocations arise leading to novel antigens that may be recognized by T cells. The T-cell responses to such unique cancer neoantigens have been identified. Cancer affects the immune response of the host in a number of ways. Dysfunction or anergy of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and circulating tumor-specific T cells may be early events in tumor progression, whereas global immune dysfunction develops in most patients with advanced tumor burden. Methods to detect antitumor T cells mainly rely on peptide specificity for tumor-associated antigens (TAAs). These include the enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay, cytokine flow cytometry (CFC), quantitative (real-time) polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR), and staining with peptide–MHC (pMHC) tetramers. Although no one method can completely address these biological issues, a number of these methods could be combined to provide a detailed picture of the T-cell responses to cancer. Looking beyond T cells, the roles of dendritic cells, natural killer cells, and B cells should also be considered to bring together an orchestrated immune response against cancer. New methods need to incorporate these key cell populations and provide a dynamic view of these responses over time to produce next generations of effective cancer immunotherapies.
Malignancy of the uterine corpus following irradiation therapy for squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix

Abstract Eight cases of malignancy of the uterine corpus following primary irradiation therapy for squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix are reported. These tumors occurred 5 to 18 years following primary therapy and had a uniformly bad prognosis. All other second primary malignancies (if occurring in the group of 2,294 patients studied) are also reported.
The relationship between tensile strength and flexure strength in fiber-reinforced composites

Tensile data on unidirectional composites generated from a flexure test usually yield a higher strength than observed from a standard tensile coupon. According to a statistical-strength theory based on a Weibull distribution, the presence of a stress gradient in the flexure-test results in an apparent increase in tensile strength as compared to the tensile test under uniform stress. In the present paper, this concept is explored by utilizing data from unidirectional graphite-epoxy composites to compare with theoretical results generated from a two-parameter Weibull distribution. A larger variation in tensile strength is observed from tensile-coupon data than from flexure data. Such differences are not in accordance with strength theories based on a uniform flaw distribution and raise questions concerning variability of the test methods, as well as sources of material variability.
Ring Nebulae around Massive Stars throughout the HR Diagram

Massive stars evolve across the HR diagram, losing mass along the way and forming a variety of ring nebulae. During the main sequence stage, the fast stellar wind sweeps up the ambient interstellar medium to form an interstellar bubble. After a massive star evolves into a red giant or a luminous blue variable, it loses mass copiously to form a circumstellar nebula. As it evolves further into a WR star, the fast WR wind sweeps up the previous mass loss and forms a circumstellar bubble. Observations of ring nebulae around massive stars not only are fascinating, but also are useful in providing templates to diagnose the progenitors of supernovae from their circumstellar nebulae. In this review, I will summarize the characteristics of ring nebulae around massive stars throughout the HR diagram, show recent advances in X-ray observations of bubble interiors, and compare supernovae's circumstellar nebulae with known types of ring nebulae around massive stars.
Mobilization of peripheral-blood progenitor cells with high-dose etoposide and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in patients with breast cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and Hodgkin's disease.

PURPOSEWe analyzed the safety and effectiveness of high-dose etoposide (2 g/m2) followed by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) as a peripheral-blood progenitor cell (PBPC) mobilization regimen and assessed extent of tumor reduction in patients with breast cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), and Hodgkin's disease (HD).PATIENTS AND METHODSOne hundred sixty-nine consecutive patients who eventually underwent PBPC transplantation received treatment with high-dose etoposide (2 g/m2) followed by daily G-CSF (5 microg/kg).RESULTSThis mobilization method was effective in nearly all patients. No patients died of mobilization-related complications. A 50% reduction in tumor size was seen in 19% of assessable patients with breast cancer, 44% of those with NHL, and 38% of those with HD. Hematopoietic recovery (HR) following transplantation occurred in all patients. Patients with > or = 4 x 10(6) CD34+ cells/kg engrafted with neutrophils at a median of 9 days after transplant and patients with at least 1.2 ...
Helix-Sense Selective Polymerization of Carbodiimides: Building Permanently Optically Active Polymers from Achiral Monomers

The helix-sense selective polymerization of achiral monomers by homochiral catalysts was investigated. Polymerization of chiral carbodiimides (N-(R)-2,6-(dimethylheptyl)-N‘-phenylcarbodiimide) by achiral catalysts yields polymers that undergo mutorotation at elevated temperatures, thus illustrating that these chains are formed under kinetic rather than thermodynamic control. Building on this observation, the polymerization of achiral carbodiimides by (S-BINOL)Ti(OiPr)2, I, was studied. Monomers (N-hexyl-N‘-(X)carbodiimide, where X = isopropyl (3), hexyl (4) or phenyl (5)), N-methyl-N‘-(2-methyl-6-isopropylphenyl)carbodiimide, 6, and N-dodecyl-N‘-(1-naphthyl)carbodiimide, 7, were all polymerized with I in good yields (86−95%), and all showed varying degrees of asymmetric induction. Poly-3, -4, and -5 racemized upon heating at elevated temperatures, but poly-6 and poly-7, bearing nonsymmetric phenyl groups, yielded optically active polymers that could not be racemized even at elevated temperatures. Thin fil...
Online computation of power system linear sensitivity distribution factors

Linear sensitivity distribution factors (DFs) are commonly used in power systems analyses, e.g., to determine whether or not the system is N-1 secure. This paper proposes a method to compute linear sensitivity distribution factors (DFs) in near real-time without relying on the system power flow model. Instead, through linear least-squares estimation (LSE), the proposed method only uses high-frequency synchronized data collected from phasor measurement units (PMUs) to estimate the injection shift factors (ISFs). Subsequently, ISFs can be used to compute other DFs. Such a measurement-based approach is desirable since it is adaptive to changes in system operating point and topology. We illustrate the value of the proposed measurement-based DF estimation approach over the traditional model-based method through several examples.
Fabry–Perot effect on dimer nanoantennas

Abstract In this work, we investigate the interaction between a single quantum emitter and dimer nanoantennas through a Fabry–Perot structure composed of an appropriate combination of two dielectric layers. This type of dielectric configuration is well known in the microwave region to increase the antenna performance, such as directivity, radiation efficiency, and radiation resistance. Here, the Fabry–Perot concept is transposed to the optical domain. The single emitter couples to the antenna through the dielectric structure, giving rise to a wide aperture field on top of the dielectrics with the same polarization of the emitter. This purely polarized aperture field can be used to excite one or more conveniently spaced nanoantennas. We demonstrate by 3D numerical calculations that the directivity and excitation rate of a single dimer is highly increased. Also, we show that multiple dimers arranged in an array configuration can be enhanced due to the wide aperture field generated by a single emitter.
Prevention as Cumulative Protection: Effects of Early Family Support and Education on Chronic Delinquency and Its Risks

A cumulative protection model is proposed to explain why chronic juvenile delinquency may be amenable to prevention and how early family support and education may help achieve this important societal goal. A comprehensive review of early risk factors for chronic delinquency is presented with special attention to interactive effects. Interventions combining comprehensive family support with early education may bring about long-term prevention through short-term protective effects on multiple risks. A review of the early intervention literature reveals that the family support component is associated with effects on family risks, while the early education component is associated with effects on child risks. Both components may be necessary for effects on multiple risks and later reductions in delinquency. Implications for social policy and improvement of Head Start are discussed.
INDUCTION OF RABBIT ANTIBODY WITH MOLECULAR UNIFORMITY AFTER IMMUNIZATION WITH GROUP C STREPTOCOCCI

Antibodies with uniform properties may occur in rabbits after immunization with Group C streptococci. These precipitating antibodies possess specificity for the group-specific carbohydrate. Not uncommonly, their concentration is between 20 and 40 mg/ml of antiserum. Evidence for molecular uniformity in the case of one of these antibodies, described in detail here, includes: individual antigenic specificity; monodisperse distribution of the light chains by alkaline urea polyacrylamide disc electrophoresis; and a single amino acid in each of the first three N-terminal positions of the light chains. When the amino acid sequence of rabbit antibody b+ light chains (κ type) are aligned against their human κ counterparts, a definite homology is observed between the N-terminus of the human and the rabbit variable region.
Expression of Complement Regulatory Proteins in Accommodated Xenografts Induced by Anti-α-Gal IgG1 in a Rat-to-Mouse Model

Anti-graft antibodies are often associated with graft rejection. Under special conditions, grafts continue to function normally even in the presence of anti-graft antibodies and complement. This condition is termed accommodation. We developed a xenograft accommodation model in which baby Lewis rat hearts are transplanted into Rag/GT-deficient mice, and accommodation is induced by repeated i.v. injections of low-dose anti-alpha-Gal IgG(1). The accommodated grafts survived a bolus dose of anti-alpha-Gal IgG(1), while freshly transplanted second grafts were rejected. To study the mechanism of anti-alpha-Gal IgG(1)-mediated accommodation, both real-time PCR and immunohistochemical staining revealed elevated expression of DAF, Crry and CD59 in the accommodated grafts. In vitro exposure of rat endothelial cells to anti-alpha-Gal IgG(1) also induced the up-regulation of DAF, Crry and CD59, as revealed by Western blot analyses, and was associated with an acquired resistance to antibody and complement-mediated lysis in vitro. Collectively, these studies suggest that the up-regulation of complement regulatory proteins may abrogate complement-mediated rejection and permit the development of xenograft accommodation.
World-Wide Clock Synchronization

To satisfy already existing needs for higher precision in various time measurements, a world-wide system of synchronized clocks is required. One possible method for accomplishing such a system, the transportation of operating precision clocks, is discussed. Particular consideration is given to the use of atomic clocks in this connection, and methods of maintenance of synchronization by means of phase tracking of a central master clock via VLF transmissions are reviewed. Project WOSAC, a Signal Corps project of world-wide synchronization of atomic clocks based upon the principles discussed, is outlined and results already achieved are described.
A geographically-based ecosystem model and its application to the carbon balance of the luquillo forest, Puerto Rico

We have developed a geography-based computer model of the Bisley Experimental Watershed ecosystem that simulates basic forest dynamics as a function of meteorological inputs and hydrologic simulation, as influenced by topography, soils, land use, and cover. The model is parameterized based on steady slate levels of, and hurricane impacts on, biomass, necromass and rate processes of the tabonuco forest, and is stable over decades. Over a 60 yr simulation (without hurricanes) leaf biomass remains approximately constant and woody biomass of those regions not having severe sunlight, moisture, or nutrient limitations increases slowly in agreement with observations. Necromass decreases slowly. Small quantities of C leave the ecosystem in stream water, especially during large rain events. When topographically-sensitive hurricane impacts are included, leaf and woody biomass are converted to necromass. In the model the recovery of the watersheds' hydrology, leaf and woody biomass, and necromass are consistent with field observations. We used this model to simulate the C dynamics of the forest over centurics using empirical values and found that (his forest acted to pump C from the atmosphere to the ocean at a rate of about 90 kg ha−1 yr−1.