cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Choosing autonomy modes for multirobot search.

Objective: The number of robots an operator can supervise increases with the robots’ level of autonomy. The reported study investigates multirobot foraging to identify aspects of the task most suitable for automation. Background: Many envisioned applications of robotics involve multirobot teams. One of the simplest of these applications is foraging, in which robots are operated independently to explore and discover targets. Depending on levels of autonomy and task, operators have been found able to manage 3 to 12 robots. Method: The foraging task can be functionally subdivided into visiting new regions and identifying targets. In the reported experiment, full-task foraging performance was compared with exploration and perceptual search performance for 4-, 8-, and 12-robot teams in a between-groups repeated measures design. Results: Operators in the full-task condition could not successfully manage 12 robots, finding only half as many victims as perceptual search operators. Exploration performance was roughly the same in the fulltask and exploration conditions, suggesting that performance of this subtask was limiting the number of robots that could be controlled. Conclusion: Performance and workload measures indicate that exploration (navigation) tasks are the limiting factor in multirobot foraging. This finding suggests that robot navigation is the best candidate for automation. Application: Search tasks, such as foraging or perimeter control, account for many of the near-term applications envisioned for multirobot teams. The results support the choice of task-centered architectures in which the control and coordination of robotic platforms is automated, leaving search and identification of targets to human operators.
A 13-bit noise shaping SAR---ADC with dual-polarity digital calibration

We present a new noise shaping method and a dual-polarity calibration technique suited for successive approximation register type analog to digital converters (SAR---ADC). Noise is pushed to higher frequencies with the noise shaping by adding a switched capacitor. The SAR capacitor array mismatch has been compensated by the dual-polarity digital calibration with minimum circuit overhead. A proof-of-concept prototype SAR---ADC using the proposed techniques has been fabricated in a 0.5-μm standard CMOS technology. It achieves 67.7 dB SNDR at 62.5 kHz sampling frequency, while consuming 38.3 μW power with 1.8 V supply.
Equivalent current formulation for an impedance wedge of arbitrary included angle

Equivalent currents are presented for computing the scattering by a finite-length impedance wedge of arbitrary angle. These are based on an improved version of an approximate dyadic diffraction coefficient which was constructed from the known skew incidence half plane solution. Exact skew incidence diffraction coefficients for impedance wedges are only available for three internal wedge angles, and the derived approximate diffraction coefficient has been shown to agree with these specialized analytical solutions before its use in this application. The derived equivalent currents have been implemented in a standard general-purpose physical theory of diffraction, code and results have been obtained which demonstrate the accuracy of the formulation for a number of different impedance structures. These include typical shapes such as plates, finite-length cones, and cylinders which have been partially or fully coated. >
How Do You Keep The Music Playing

The classical Chinese philosophy of Confucius is here reconsidered in light of the current challenge of sustaining loving relationships not only in words but in actions, and providing a life worth living for frail older adults. The Ox Mountain Parable of Meng Tzu (Mencius) is described and linked to the nursing home reform movement known as “The Eden Alternative.” Implications for nursing are considered.
Recently patented and promising ORL-1 ligands: where have we been and where are we going?

Importance of the field: The interactions of nociceptin/orphanin FQ (N/OFQ) and the opioid receptor-like receptor 1 (nociceptin opioid peptide – NOP) have been implicated in a variety of systems including cardiovascular, respiratory, immune, and the central and peripheral nervous systems.Areas covered in this review: To elucidate the endogenous role of the N/OFQ–NOP system through the use of knockout and knockdown animal preparations, though most advances have been made using a host of synthetic agonists and antagonists. This review gives a brief history of the receptor–ligand discovery, the development of these agonists and antagonists within the last 10 years as published, and the therapeutic indications thereof focusing on pain.What the reader will gain: The use of NOP ligands in pain has been controversial at best; however, there are indications that both agonists and antagonists have a place in the clinical setting for acute and chronic pain. NOP ligands have potential as novel therapeutics, interest...
Fault-tolerant network reliability and importance analysis using binary decision diagrams

We consider the two-terminal reliability and link importance analysis of fault tolerant network systems in this paper. Two practical issues, imperfect coverage (IPC) and common-cause failures (CCF), which have generally been ignored by existing network models, are incorporated. The methodology is to separate the consideration of both IPC and CCF from the combinatorics of the solution and then solve the reduced problems using binary decision diagrams (BDD). The application and advantages of the proposed separable approach are illustrated using a concrete analysis of an example network system. Due to the consideration of IPC and CCF, our approach can evaluate a wider class of practical network systems as compared with existing network approaches. Due to the nature of the BDD and the separation of IPC and CCF from the solution combinatorics, our approach has low computational complexity and is easy to implement. The systems without IPC or CCF appear to be special cases of our approach.
Convenient Synthesis and Evaluation of a Heptadentate Bifunctional Ligand for Radioimmunotherapy Applications (Eur. J. Org. Chem. 33/2011)

The cover picture shows the phase contrast image of colon cancer cells (HT29) taken by a confocal microscope as the background image. Bifunctional ligands are an essential component in the biomedical and radiopharmaceutical application of biologically active metals as cytotoxic agents or imaging probes. We herein present the efficient synthesis and evaluation of the bifunctional ligand C-NE3TA for antibody-targeted radiation cancer therapy. The synthetic methods to construct the bifunctional ligand are centered on the regiospecific ring opening of aziridine and the aziridinium cation. Details are discussed in the article by H.-S. Chong et al. on p. 6641 ff.
The Role of Environmental Obesogens in the Obesity Epidemic

Prenatal exposure to certain environmental chemicals predisposes an organism to store more fat from the beginning of its life. These chemicals, termed obesogens, have the potential to disrupt multiple metabolic signaling pathways in the developing fetus leading to permanent alterations in adult physiology. The most prominent studies on the prenatal programming of obesity have shown that maternal malnutrition or excess estrogen or cortisol exposure in the womb causes an increased susceptibility to obesity and metabolic syndrome later in life. This review focuses on the effects of environmental chemicals such as the model obesogen, tributyltin (TBT). We provide evidence that TBT might also perturb estrogen and glucocorticoid signaling; however, the primary mechanism underlying the obesogenic effects of TBT is its ability to activate the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), thereby stimulating adipogenesis. Furthermore, we show that TBT alters the epigenome, particularly within the mesenchymal stromal cell compartment where the outcome is to bias cells to become adipocytes, at the expense of other lineages. This suggests that humans, who have been exposed to obesogenic chemicals, might be pre-programmed to store increased amounts of fat, resulting in a lifelong struggle to maintain a healthy weight and exacerbating the deleterious effects of poor diet and inadequate exercise.
Dissociation of renal TGF-β and hypertrophy in female rats with diabetes mellitus

Prepubertal onset of diabetes mellitus (DM) in male rats delays diabetic renal hypertrophy and suppresses renal transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) compared with onset in adults. Because there are...
Event-related Potentials as Markers for Alcoholism Risk in High Density Families

One hundred sixty-eight adult siblings and parents from affected and control families were tested for ERP characteristics using two tasks involving an auditory oddball paradigm. Significant within family differences among affected families suggest that risk for developing alcoholism may be seen even in adult subjects who have had experience consuming alcohol. Further, analysis of quantity and recency of drinking in the past seven days were not correlated with either amplitude or latency of Pa, suggesting that the within-family differences observed reflect relative risk for developing alcoholism rather than experience with alcohol.
Introduction to engineering concepts for high school teachers and students

An effort is being made to introduce engineering and technology to Arkansas high school students. This objective would be accomplished with the assistance of high school teachers. Initial plans include high school teacher training, summer of 1995; high school competition, fall/spring of 1995-1996; and high school student workshop, summer of 1996. The authors describe the organization of this pilot program, and discuss the nature of engineering topics and activities presented in the workshop. The vehicle for introducing engineering will be Stiquito, a small hexapod robot. This inexpensive ($3 each) device employs several concepts from electrical, mechanical, and chemical engineering. Applications of the robot would encompass computer and industrial enginering concepts as well. The teacher training workshop will take place in two one-week sessions. High school teachers will attend a workshop at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, and learn about enginering, the Stiquito robot, and the student design competition. The student competition will be conducted at the high schools by the teachers. Teams of two students will build the robot and devise an innovaitve application for the robot. The winning team from each school of the competition will be invited to attend a summer workshop at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. During the workshop, the students will learn about engineering and the role of engineers in society, and participate in engineering activities. >
Older can be better: physiological costs of paternal investment in the Florida scrub-jay

In species that undergo actuarial senescence, the value of current reproduction is predicted to increase relative to the value of future reproduction with age, as the probability of survival to another reproductive event is reduced. Therefore, life history theory predicts that aging animals should increase their investment in reproduction. However, an increase in reproductive investment may carry significant costs to the breeding individuals. We recorded provisioning rates of Florida scrub-jay male breeders, followed by their immediate capture to assess body condition and collect blood for an in vitro test of immunocompetence and an assay of baseline corticosterone for a measure of stress. Older males provisioned offspring and brooding mates at the highest rates. There was no evidence of any physiological deficits in males with high provisioning rates, independent of age. It appears that birds that survive to old age are high quality birds that maintain good physiological condition, which complements the value of experience and permits maximal investment in offspring.
Update: Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus skin and soft tissue infection surveillance among active duty military personnel at Fort Benning GA, 2008-2010.

ABSTRACTBackground: Increasing numbers of Staphylococcus aureus infections demonstrate antibiotic resistance. Military populations experiencing crowding are at increased risk of community-acquired methicillin-resistant S. aureus (CA-MRSA) infection. High prevalence of CA-MRSA infection among Army personnel was previously documented at Fort Benning, GA from 2002 to 2007. Purpose: To ascertain recent CA-MRSA trends at Fort Benning regarding antibiotic susceptibility, infection rates, and treatment regimens among Army personnel. Methods: Incident CA-MRSA cases among active duty members/trainees from January 2008 to December 2010 were identified using active surveillance and laboratory data. Results: In total, 2,171 infections were identified, representing 5,794 CA-MRSA-related clinic visits. Annual rates decreased from 33 to 27 infections per 1,000 soldiers from 2008 to 2010. Approximately 78% of isolates were from training units. Approximately 4% of infections required hospitalization. Most infections (97%)...
Histogenesis of Coronary Arteriosclerosis

The coronary arteries of 250 individuals dying suddenly from traumatic or natural causes were studied. Many different histopathologic processes were found to participate in the development of coronary arteriosclerosis. The earliest changes which occurred, even in infants, were increased fibroblastic activity, deposits of mucopolysaccharide and degeneration of elastic tissue. These changes were not related to lipid deposition. Moderately advanced lesions were characterized by regeneration of elastic tissue, formation of collagen and lipid deposition. The far-advanced lesions showed hyalinization, abundant lipid deposition, calcification, intramural hemorrhage and thrombosis. The possible mechanisms involved in the development of coronary arteriosclerosis are discussed.
Pitfalls in the Use of Anticoagulants

Anticoagulants are in widespread use for the management of a variety of conditions, ranging from thrombus prevention to the treatment of arterial and venous occlusion. As with any effective therapy, recognition of adverse effects is critically important for the safe use of these drugs. Pitfalls in the use of heparins include dosing in close proximity to invasive procedures; not closely monitoring patients in whom dose adjustments may be required, such as the very obese, the elderly, and patients with renal or hepatic failure; failing to make dose adjustments during pregnancy; and not recognizing when patients are developing heparin-induced thrombocytopenia or osteoporosis. Pitfalls in the use of unfractionated heparin include delays in achieving a therapeutic activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and failure to consider the effects of protein binding in acutely ill patients. A pitfall in the use of low molecular weight heparin is giving prophylactic doses when therapeutic doses are indicated. Pitfalls in the use of warfarin are stopping heparin before the warfarin is fully effective; failing to maintain the International Normalized Ratio within the therapeutic range; failing to adjust the dose of warfarin because of changes in diet, renal or hepatic failure, and exposure to new drugs; failing to stop warfarin at an appropriate interval before an invasive procedure; and giving warfarin during pregnancy. Pitfalls in the use of thrombin inhibitors include using them with thrombolytic agents; giving them in proximity to invasive procedures; not adjusting the dose for renal or hepatic failure; and failing to consider the effect of these agents on the prothrombin time when initiating warfarin therapy.
Kommentar des Herausgebers

Es gibt noch einen induktionsstrategischen Gesichtspunkt in Grunbaums Kritik, den anscheinend keiner der Kommentatoren zur Sprache gebracht hat. Selbst wenn man zugesteht, das sich im Prinzip einige Freudsche Behauptungen neu formulieren lassen, so das sie sich (sagen wir „auserklinisch“) prufen lassen, ist es dann nicht noch fraglich, ob das der Muhe wert ware? Als wissenschaftliches und therapeutisches Projekt hat die Psychoanalyse nun schon uber ein Jahrhundert lang gewaltige Aufmerksamkeit erregt und grosen Einflus ausgeubt, ungeachtet der Tatsache, das ihre wissenschaftliche und therapeutische Gultigkeit weiterhin weitgehend ungepruft, wenn nicht gar unprufbar ist. Analog dazu konnte man fragen, ob wir auf der Suche nach eventuell „zufalligen“Wahrheiten der Prufung einiger noch altehrwurdigerer Theorien wie der Astrologie oder der Schopfungsgeschichte hohe Prioritat einraumen sollten, auch wenn man sie vielleicht in die Prufbarkeit zwingen konnte, oder ob wir uns bei unserer Forschung nicht weiterhin durch ihre glaubhafteren Konkurrenten leiten lassen sollen. Schlieslich stellt sich die Frage nach der eigentlichen Prima-facie-Plausibilitat. Nicht nur, das psychoanalytische Vorstellungen immer weit hergeholt erscheinen. (Es gibt viele wissenschaftliche Prazedenzfalle, die nahelegen, das weit hergeholte Vorstellungen nicht unterschatzt werden sollten). Die Frage betrifft eher die Beziehung zwischen dem Charakter der Vorstellungen und den Mitteln, mit denen sie gepruft werden, sowie die Tatsache, das sie heute noch immer so weit hergeholt sind, wie sie es immer waren. Alle wissenschaftlichen Theorien konnen sich mit Hilfe von Ad-hoc-Strategien vor Gegenbefunden schutzen, aber nur wenige konnen solche „immunisierenden“Strategien als Rustzeug zur Ausubung ihres Berufs beanspruchen.
Left Hand-assisted Laparoscopic Nephrectomy With Renal Vein Thrombectomy for Stage T3b Renal Cell Carcinoma

A 60-year-old male was found to have an 8.0 cm left renal mass and associated renal vein thrombus on computed tomography. The thrombus extended 3 mm beyond the right aortic border to within 1.6 cm of the left border of the inferior vena cava. The patient underwent left nephrectomy with renal vein thrombectomy using a hand-assisted laparoscopic approach. The tumor thrombus was "milked" proximally back into left renal vein, which was then divided with an endovascular stapler. Left renal vein thrombi extending to right margin of the aorta can be managed with hand-assisted laparoscopic approach.
How Do Managers Target Their Credit Ratings? A Study of Credit Ratings and Managerial Discretion

Credit ratings can be viewed as a summary statistic that captures various elements of a firm’s capital structure. They incorporate a firm’s debt ratio, the maturity and priority structure of its debt, as well as the volatility of its cash flows. However, regressions of credit ratings on firm characteristics provide inferences that are not always consistent with the interpretations of extant regressions that include various debt ratios as independent variables. In particular, we find that coefficients of variables that have been viewed as proxies for the uniqueness and the extent that assets can be redeployed, e.g., R&D expenses and asset tangibility, have different effects in the credit rating regressions than in the debt ratio regressions. In addition, we find that after controlling for whether or not firms have debt ratings, the extant evidence of a positive relation between debt ratios and size is reversed. Finally, using regression-based proxies for target ratings and debt ratios, we find that deviations from rating targets as well as debt ratio targets influence subsequent corporate finance choices. When observed ratings are below (above) the target, firms tend to make security issuance and repurchase decisions that reduce (increase) leverage. In addition, firms are more likely to decrease (increase) dividend payouts when they have below (above) target ratings and make more (fewer) acquisitions when they have above (below) target ratings.
Fine-Grained Encountering Information Collection under Neighbor Anonymity in Mobile Opportunistic Social Networks

In mobile opportunistic social networks (MOSNs), mobile devices carried by people communicate with each other directly when they meet for proximity-based MOSN services (e.g., file sharing) without the support of infrastructures. In current methods, when nodes meet, they simply communicate with their real IDs, which leads to privacy and security concerns. Anonymizing real IDs among encountering neighbor nodes solves such concerns. However, this prevents nodes from collecting real ID based encountering information, which is needed to support MOSN services. Therefore, in this paper, we propose FaceChange that can support both anonymizing real IDs among neighbor nodes and collecting real ID based encountering information. To realize neighbor node anonymity, two encountering nodes communicate anonymously. Then, when the two nodes disconnect, each node forwards an encrypted encountering evidence to the encountered node to enable encountering information collection. A set of novel schemes are designed to protect the confidentiality and uniqueness of encountering evidences. FaceChange also supports fine-grained control over what encountering information should be forwarded based on attribute similarity (i.e., trust) without disclosing attributes. Extensive analysis and experiments show the effectiveness of FaceChange on protecting node privacy and meanwhile supporting the encountering information collection in MOSNs. Real implementation on smartphones also demonstrates its energy efficiency.
Moral Luck and the Professions

This paper examines the phenomenon of moral luck and how it can effect professional practice. Using both Thomas Nagel's and Ber nard William's exposition on moral luck, this paper first demonstrates the close relationship between moral luck and epistemic luck. Then, drawing on some of the lessons one might learn from the epistemologist's treat ment of epistemic luck, particularly in the debate between internalists and externalists in epistemology, strategies are developed that profes sionals and professional organizations might use to avoid and/or mitigate the problem moral luck presents to professional practice. Examples from various professions?the military, engineering, medicine, journalism, business?are use to illustrate both the problem of moral luck and the strategies useful in avoiding it.
Evaluating the Role of Interdigitated Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy and Radiation in the Management of High-Grade Soft-Tissue Sarcoma: The Johns Hopkins Experience.

Objectives High-grade soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) has a poor prognosis. The goal of this study was to review treatment outcomes of patients with high-grade STS treated with interdigitated neoadjuvant chemotherapy (CT) and radiation at our institution. Materials and methods Patients with high-grade STS (1997 to 2010) were planned for treatment with 3 cycles of neoadjuvant CT, interdigitated preoperative radiation therapy (44 Gy administered in split courses with a potential 16 Gy postoperative boost), and 3 cycles of postoperative CT. Cancer control outcomes at 3 years were analyzed. Results Sixteen patients with high-grade STS were evaluated. Median age was 53 years, the median longest tumor diameter was 14.6 cm, and median follow-up was 33 months. All 16 patients received 2 or 3 cycles of neoadjuvant CT and all patients completed neoadjuvant RT. The estimated 3-year rate for local control was 100%, disease-free survival 62.5%, and overall survival 73.4%. Conclusions Patients with high-grade STS treated with interdigitated neoadjuvant CT and radiation before surgical resection had excellent rates of local control, along with disease-free survival and overall survival similar to previously published reports. This combined-modality approach continues to have a role in the treatment of patients with high-grade STS.
Abstract P618: Foxp3+ Regulatory T cell Depletion Eliminates Ang II-Induced Hypertension Resistance in Female Mice

Compared to males, premenopausal females are resistant to the development of Ang II hypertension. In males, Ang II induces hypertension, in part, through mechanisms requiring T effector lymphocytes. Recently, our lab has demonstrated that females can prevent the T lymphocyte-dependent increase in blood pressure (SBP and MAP) and expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the kidney in response to Ang II infusion. Because Foxp3 + T regulatory cells suppress the pro-inflammatory and hypertensive actions of T effector cells, we sought to determine whether Foxp3 + T regulatory cells contribute to this resistance in females. Premenopausal (8 week old) 129SVE female mice were infused with Ang II (800ng/kg/min, 14d) and received 4 doses of the anti-CD25 antibody PC-61 to transiently deplete Foxp3 + T regulatory cells (every 84 hours beginning 12 hours prior to Ang II infusion, 250μg/dose, i.p., vehicle control). Blood pressure was measured before and after Ang II infusion via non-invasive tail cuff. Ang II induced a significant increase in systolic blood pressure in Foxp3 + -depleted mice, while resistance was retained in vehicle-treated mice (Con Δ5 ± 5mmHg, Ang II Δ10 ± 7mmHg, PC-61 Δ28 ± 9 * mmHg, * p + splenic T cells compared to control (Con 1.7x10 6 cells, Ang II 2.3x10 6 cells, PC-61 8.3x10 5* cells, * P + and CD4 + T cell counts. The number of Foxp3 + T cells residing in the kidney was also significantly reduced by PC-61 (Con 1,152 ± 368 cells, Ang II 686 ± 389 cells, PC-61 210 ± 35 * cells, * P + -depleted mice (MCP-1- Con 1.0 ± 0.1, Ang II 1.6 ± 0.4, PC-61 1.8 ± 0.2 * ; ENaC-α- Con 1.0 ± 0.1, Ang II 1.6 ± 0.2, PC-61 2.1 ± 0.1 * , * P + T regulatory cells play a significant role in mediating the resistance to Ang II hypertension in premenopausal female mice, and may influence renal inflammation and sodium retention during chronic Ang II infusion.
The Emergence and Doctrinal Development of Tort Law, 1870–1930

and seemed to reduce itself to a policy inquiry, or what Andrews had termed “not logic, but practical politics.” What Green had demonstrated about Cardozo’s subsuming proximate causation inquiries in negligence inquiries could have been shown for any other “absolute rules” in Torts. The effort on the part of Bohlen and his Advisers to reduce tort law to a series of black-letter doctrines had only demonstrated the squishiness of those doctrines as guidelines for deciding cases. From its nineteenth-century origins, tort law had started as a collection of diverse personal injury actions, then passed through phases in which commentators sought to systematize its doctrines and organize the field around the negligence principle, to emerge in a state in which the meaning of negligence seemed elusive outside of the facts of individual cases and the concept of “legal” causation, so vital in the limiting of tort liability as the ambit of personal injury in industrial accidents widened, became equally elusive. By the late 1950s Leon Green would describe tort law as “public law in disguise”: a field less characterized by overarching doctrinal principles than by the goal of providing remedies for “the every day hurts inflicted by the multitudinous activities of our society.” As Torts emerged as an independent, and basic, common law subject, its governing principles seemed to illustrate the very characteristics of American common law fields that had prompted the members of the American Law Institute to launch their Restatements. The cumulative efforts of courts and commentators to formulate foundational principles of tort law, and to address the tension between keeping tort liability within manageable limits while providing compensation to faultless injured persons, had only demonstrated that the results of those formulation efforts were uncertain, and the tension between letting losses lie where they fell and compensating faultless injured people for their injuries was complex. Tort law was poised for new formulations, which over the next four decades would be influenced by revivals of cause-based liability. Those revivals, however, have proved as incapable of generating comprehensive principles of tort law as the efforts described in this article, and perhaps at this juncture in the history of personal injury actions in America we should conclude that the law of Torts is endemically uncertain, and endemically complex. 211. Leon Green, Tort Law Public Law in Disguise, 38 TEX L. REV. 1 (1959); Leon Green, Tort Law Public Law in Disguise II, 38 TEX. L. REV. 257, 269 (1960). 212. For more detail, see WHITE, supra note 22, at 197–207, 244–46, 286–87. 213. See id. at 248–80. \\jciprod01\productn\U\UST\11-3\UST306.txt unknown Seq: 66 10-AUG-15 16:30 528 UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 11:3
Microelectromechanical Parallel Scanning Nanoprobes for Nanolithography

This paper presents a new approach and preliminary results for MEMS-enabled low-cost and high throughput parallel scanning probe nanolithography. The proposed approach is based on integrated microelectromechanical systems capable of simultaneous generation of a large number of identical nanoprecision patterns on a substrate. Integration of two-degree-of-freedom MEMS actuators with two-dimensional nanoprobe arrays as well as preliminary results for simultaneous generation of multiple submicrometer patterns using such devices is reported. Electrical cross talk between the fully silicon fabricated actuators along X - and Y -axes has been eliminated by optimizing the design. Scratch marks as narrow as 250 nm and as long as 42 μm have been generated on a thin photoresist layer, which was spin-coated on a silicon substrate using the electrothermal MEMS structure carrying up to 25 nanotips. Furthermore, the submicrometer patterns have been successfully transferred to the underlying silicon substrate via reactive ion etching. Patterns as narrow as 250 nm (∼60 nm in depth) were obtained on the underlying silicon substrate.
Revision of the Drosophila bromeliae Species Group (Diptera: Drosophilidae): Central American, Caribbean, and Andean Species

ABSTRACT Species in the Drosophila bromeliae group visit flowers, where most or all of the species probably breed. They are not collected in significant numbers. The group has thus far included five Neotropical species: aguape Val and Marques, 1996 (from southern Brazil), bromeliae Sturtevant, 1921 (Cuba), bromelioides Pavan and Cunha, 1947 (Brazil), florae Sturtevant, 1921 (type locality Cuba, also reported from the Caribbean and Central Ameria), and speciosa Silva and Martins, 2004 (northern Brazil). Based on specimens from various museums, collections by the author, and detailed study of some types, the following revisions are made to the group: Drosophila florae is known only on the basis of the holotype female from Cuba, and bromeliae is widespread throughout Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America; both species are redescribed in detail. Nine new species are described: Drosophila billheedi, n. sp. (from Trinidad); D. manni, n. sp. (Bolivia); D. mexiflora, n. sp. (Mexico, possibly ...
Mutations of the ras proto-oncogenes in childhood monosomy 7.

ras gene mutations are the most frequent molecular changes found in the preleukemic syndromes of adults and may play a role in initiating these diseases and in their progression to acute leukemia. However, little is known about the incidence or importance of these genetic mutations in childhood myeloproliferative states (MPS). The bone marrow (BM) monosomy 7 syndrome accounts for a large percentage of childhood MPS. Although the duration of the MPS is quite variable, children with monosomy 7 eventually develop acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We investigated 20 children (13 with MPS, 7 with AML) with BM monosomy 7 or 7q- for the presence of ras gene mutations using the polymerase chain reaction and hybridization with mutation-specific oligonucleotides. Mutations of N-ras and K-ras were detected in three children. Two patients carrying a ras mutation were in the myeloproliferative phase, and one had acute leukemia. All three patients with ras mutations either died of their disease or relapsed after BM transplantation as compared with 8 of 17 without ras mutations. However, this difference is not statistically significant (P = .14, not significant). We conclude that ras mutations are observed in childhood monosomy 7, though less frequently than in adult MDS, and may play a limited role in the progression of this disease to acute leukemia. More patients are needed to address the prognostic role of ras mutations in this rare disease.
Use of Oxygen Consumption and Ammonium Excretion to Evaluate the Sublethal Toxicity of Cadmium and Zinc on Litopenaeus schmitti (Burkenroad, 1936, Crustacea)

Penaeid shrimps are important resources for worldwide fisheries and aquaculture. In Brazil, Litopenaeus schmitti (L. schmitti) is a important commercially exploited species and is an ideal animal for studying the impairment caused by the effects of heavy metals that are often detected in coastal areas. The main purpose of the present study was to detect the acute toxicity of cadmium and zinc to L. schmitti and investigate their effects on oxygen consumption and ammonium excretion, investigations that have not been carried out in this species before. First, the acute toxicity of cadmium and zinc to L. schmitti 24, 48, 72, and 96-hour medium lethal concentration was examined, which resulted in the following values: 0.98, 0.54, 0.32, and 0.18 mg/L for cadmium and 1.64, 1.22, 0.86, and 0.31 mg/L for zinc. Furthermore, we also found that exposure of shrimp to cadmium and zinc caused an inhibition in oxygen consumption of 55.92 and 44.09%, respectively, relative to the control. However, after separate exposure to cadmium and zinc, elevations in ammonium excretion were obtained, which were 174.28 and 162.5% higher than the control, respectively. '
The Role Of CD44 Isoform Expression In Niche Resident Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Stem Cell Evolution

Introduction Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative neoplasm characterized by the presence of the BCR-ABL fusion oncogene whose protein product has greatly increased ABL1 kinase activity. Although specific BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and the second generation TKIs like Nilotinib and the dual specific SCR and ABL inhibitor Dasatinib/Sprycel have dramatically improved CML therapy and significantly slowed disease progression by eradicating the bulk of CML cells in the circulation, they frequently fail to eliminate quiescent leukemic stem cells residing in the protective bone marrow niche. Leukemia stem cells (LSC) are able to drive disease relapse and may eventually contribute to the emergence of TKI resistant blast crisis (BC) CML, which is the final phase in the evolution of CML with rapid progression and short survival. CD44 is an adhesion molecule that promotes retention in the niche through adhesion to extracellular matrix components, such as hyaluronic acid and osteopontin. It plays an important role in wound healing and cell migration as well as in tumor invasion and metastasis. Through alternative mRNA splicing several CD44 isoforms exist, some of which are frequently overexpressed by cancer stem cells, including LSCs. The CD44 variant expression pattern on human blast crisis CML LSC, however, had not been elucidated. In this study we aimed to investigate the CD44 transcript variant expression of human blast crisis CML LSC. Methods and Results We performed whole transcriptome RNA sequencing of FACS sorted CML LSCs (Lin-CD34+CD38+) from chronic phase (CP)(n=8) and blast crisis (BC)(n=8), CML patients as well as the normal counterpart from cord blood (CB) (n=3) and adult peripheral blood (NPB)(n=3). A number of CD44 transcript variants were detected: v3, v4 (CD44s), v5, v6, v7, v8 plus additional variants. Earlier data suggest a total of 16 different isoforms of CD44. We found a higher overall variant gene expression of CD44 in BC compared to CP. A higher expression of CD44 transcript variant 3 and CD44 transcript variant 5 was detected in both CP and BC compared to CB and NPB. Specific CD44 transcript variant expression patterns distinguished BC progenitors from CP samples. Using splice isoform specific PCR, we were able to confirm isoform variants that were upregulated in the BC CML samples. We also compared the expression of the CD44 transcript variants in young versus old bone marrow in order to exclude that LSC-specific isoform variant expression was expressed in aged patients. We could not detect such a correlation. Conclusions These observations suggest that unique CD44 isoform expression patterns predict progression from CP to BC as well as the generation of TKI resistant LSCs and may be used as biomarkers of response to LSC targeted therapy. Disclosures: Jamieson: JJ Sanofi: Membership on an entity’s Board of Directors or advisory committees.
Acting Out Instead of Feeling

“Acting out” means that a person does things against himself or others instead of expressing whatever feelings he is blocking.
School Reform and Gifted Learners: Getting Battered by the Waves of Change

As nations, localities, and school districts strive to provide quality and effective education for their students, various reform movements wax and wane. As motivation for reform often arises from the need to reach marginalized students and improve outcomes for at-risk students, the needs of children who are high performers may be overlooked. Yet the “best practices” of many reforms may inadvertently have a negative impact on these “gifted” learners. In addition, accountability-heavy reforms make teachers and school administrators further reluctant to focus on gifted learners and use recommended practices, even when those practices are research-based. Therefore, the author calls for consideration of gifted learners' needs when reforms are being designed and instituted.
Soil CO2 Efflux and Root Productivity in a Switchgrass and Loblolly Pine Intercropping System

Switchgrass intercropped with loblolly pine plantations can provide valuable feedstock for bioenergy production while providing ancillary benefits like controlling competing vegetation and enhancing soil C. Better understanding of the impact of intercropping on pine and switchgrass productivity is required for evaluating the long-term sustainability of this agroforestry system, along with the impacts on soil C dynamics (soil CO2 efflux; RS). RS is the result of root respiration (RA) and heterotrophic respiration (RH), which are used to estimate net C ecosystem exchange. We measured RS in intercropped and monoculture stands of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.). The root exclusion core technique was used to estimate RA and RH. The results showed pure switchgrass had significantly higher RS rates (July, August and September), root biomass and length relative to intercropped switchgrass, while there were no significant changes in RS and roots between intercropped and monoculture loblolly pine stands. A significant decrease in switchgrass root productivity in the intercropped stands versus monoculture stands could account for differences in the observed RS. The proportions of RS attributed to RA in the intercropped stand were 31% and 22% in the summer and fall respectively, indicating that the majority of the RS was heterotrophic-driven. Ancillary benefits provided by planting switchgrass between unutilized pine rows can be considered unless the goal is to increase switchgrass production.
Variance Tolerancing and Decomposition in Short-Staple Spinning Processes: Part I: Modeling Spun Yarn Strength Through Intrinsic Components

A variance tolerancing method is developed as a means for separating and estimating random errors associated with raw materials and yarn structures from process-induced errors based on structural relationships governing the strength of a spun yarn. The method is successfully used to estimate the mean and variance of spun yarn strength by propagating the statistical parameters of fiber properties onto those of the resulting spun yarns. In developing the new estimation procedure, probabilistic models based on the distributions of fiber length and tensile properties are combined with geometric and structural models of fiber arrangements in spun yarns. For the first time, the concept of “effective gauge length” is used to model and simulate the breakage process of spun yarns. The new concept and specific methodology are aimed at better controlling process and product characteristics by quantifying the variances according to their sources.
Two new species of Ostracoda from hydrothermal vents of Riftia pachyptila aggregations on the East Pacific Rise (Halocypridina; Cladocopina)

Two new species of Ostracoda, Archiconchoecia (Archiconchoecia) chavturi (Halocypridina) and Polycopetta pax (Cladocopina), are described from two diffuse flow vent localities (Tica Site and Riftia Field Site) within Riftia pachyptila (Siboglinidae, Vestimentifera) aggregations on the East Pacific Rise, slightly north and west of 9°50' N, 104°17'W, depth 2500 m.
The error probability of estimating the number of two closely located sources

The basic concept of direction finding of narrowband signals is reviewed. The validity of applying Taylor series approximations to the error probabilities in the estimation of the number of sources impinging on an array in a direction-finding problem that uses eigenspace methods is studied, particularly for the case of two sources close to each other. It is shown that these approximations are very sensitive to the number of sensors, but also to the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and are satisfactory only at very low SNR and for sources very close to each other. These approximations lead to results that are increasingly optimistic if either the SNR or the angle of separation between the signal is increased. >
P242 The airway microbiota in human rhinovirus induced asthma exacerbation

Background Acute asthma exacerbations (AEs) cause significant morbidity. Up to 60% of AEs may be associated with respiratory viral infections, particularly human rhinoviruses (HRVs). The role of bacteria in AEs is unclear, yet antibiotics are frequently prescribed. Recent studies have demonstrated a greater abundance of potentially pathogenic bacteria (e.g. Haemophilus spp.) within the airway microbiota in asthma, whilst a greater abundance of commensals (e.g. Prevotella spp.) were observed in health. The aim of this study was to examine the changes within the airway microbiota in asthma in the context of a HRV-induced AE and evaluate if such changes correlate with clinical symptoms and lung function changes. Methods Eleven moderate asthmatic (BTS step 3–4) and 12 healthy subjects were experimentally infected with HRV-16 and bronchoscopy was performed at baseline, 3 and 8 days following HRV-infection. Subjects completed daily symptom diary and spirometry. DNA was extracted from bronchoalveolar lavage and PCR amplification of the V3-V5 region of bacterial 16S rRNA gene was performed to evaluate microbiota community composition. Results The microbiota composition did not significantly differ between healthy and asthmatic subjects at baseline, though healthy subjects exhibited significantly greater relative abundance of Prevotella spp. following HRV-infection (p Conclusion Following HRV infection, greater Prevotella spp. relative abundance was associated with less symptoms whilst greater Neisseria spp. was associated with greater peak flow decline, suggesting an imbalanced microbiota may exacerbate airway inflammation and ultimately severity of AE. Viral load significantly correlated with degree of microbiota community change, implying HRV infection may directly perturb the airway microbiota. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and explore the roles of Prevotella spp. and Neisseria spp. in exacerbating airway inflammation.
Case 13-2017. A 41-Year-Old Man with Hearing Loss, Seizures, Weakness, and Cognitive Decline.

A 41-year-old man with a history of headaches and hearing loss presented with seizures, weakness, and cognitive decline. A diagnosis of stroke had been made 1 year earlier. Diagnostic tests were performed.
Nonlinear Magnetic Levitation of Automotive Engine Valves

Abstract Position regulation of a magnetic levitation device is achieved through a control Lyapunov function (CLF) feedback design. The CLF is based on LQR optimal control to enhance performance. Sontag's universal stabilizing feedback is used to enhance the region of attraction. The effects of magnetic saturation are included in the model, and accounted for in the controller. While the control methodology presented here is applicable to generic magnetic levitation, the controller is designed for and implemented on an electromagnetic valve actuator for use in automotive engines.
How the Chinese Government Fabricates Social Media Posts for Strategic Distraction, Not Engaged Argument

The Chinese government has long been suspected of hiring as many as 2 million people to surreptitiously insert huge numbers of pseudonymous and other deceptive writings into the stream of real social media posts, as if they were the genuine opinions of ordinary people. Many academics, and most journalists and activists, claim that these so-called 50c party posts vociferously argue for the government’s side in political and policy debates. As we show, this is also true of most posts openly accused on social media of being 50c. Yet almost no systematic empirical evidence exists for this claim or, more importantly, for the Chinese regime’s strategic objective in pursuing this activity. In the first large-scale empirical analysis of this operation, we show how to identify the secretive authors of these posts, the posts written by them, and their content. We estimate that the government fabricates and posts about 448 million social media comments a year. In contrast to prior claims, we show that the Chinese regime’s strategy is to avoid arguing with skeptics of the party and the government, and to not even discuss controversial issues. We show that the goal of this massive secretive operation is instead to distract the public and change the subject, as most of these posts involve cheerleading for China, the revolutionary history of the Communist Party, or other symbols of the regime. We discuss how these results fit with what is known about the Chinese censorship program and suggest how they may change our broader theoretical understanding of “common knowledge” and information control in authoritarian regimes.
The Doctor-Patient Relationship and Information-Seeking Behavior: Four Orientations to Cancer Communication.

Background:In cancer communication, patients and physicians often understand a patient’s experience and situation differently. This can negatively impact health outcomes and the physician–patient relationship.Aim:To explore how cancer patients’ interpretations of the physician’s role as information giver affect the communication relationship with the physician and their information-seeking behavior regarding different aspects of their cancer care.Design:Participants completed a semistructured qualitative interview addressing their treatment experience and communication with their physician. Interviews were coded and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis.Setting/Participants:Ten patients with cancer treated at a regional cancer center in central Illinois participated in the study. Cancer stages I to IV and 4 cancer types were represented.Results:Participants’ orientations to the relationship with their physician (and their information-seeking behavior) were classified into 4 general categories: (1) “q...