cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Validation and verification of a high-fidelity computational model for a bounding robot's parallel actuated elastic spine

We document the design and preliminary numerical simulation study of a high fidelity model of Canid, a recently introduced bounding robot. Canid is a free-standing, power-autonomous quadrupedal machine constructed from standard commercially available electromechanical and structural elements, incorporating compliant C-shaped legs like those of the decade old RHex design, but departing from that standard (and, to the best of our knowledge, from any prior) robot platform in its parallel actuated elastic spine. We have used a commercial modeling package to develop a finite-element model of the actuated, cable-driven, rigid-plate-reinforced harness for the carbon-fiber spring that joins the robot’s fore- and hind-quarters. We compare a numerical model of this parallel actuated elastic spine with empirical data from preliminary physical experiments with the most important component of the spine assembly: the composite leaf spring. Specifically, we report our progress in tuning the mechanical properties of a standard modal approximation to a conventional compliant beam model whose boundary conditions represent constraints imposed by the actuated cable driven vertebral plates that comprise the active control affordance over the spine. We conclude with a brief look ahead at near-term future experiments that will compare predictions of this fitted composite spring model with data taken from the physical spine flexed in isolation from the actuated harness.
Effects of Transforming Growth Factor β1 on the Adenylyl Cyclase-cAMP Pathway in Prostate Cancer

We reported previously that MATLyLu rat prostate cancer cells engineered to overproduce transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF beta 1) produce larger, more metastatic tumors in vivo. We recognized that this ability of TGF beta 1 to act as a positive modulator of prostate tumor behavior might be due to effects of TGF beta 1 on the host and/or on the tumor cells. In this study we demonstrated that the cells themselves respond to endogenously produced TGF beta 1, and that the adenylyl cyclase (AC)-cAMP pathway is affected. TGF beta 1-overproducing cells had lower membrane AC activity, lower intracellular cAMP content, and a lower Gs alpha protein level than did control cells. Prostate cancer cells were growth inhibited by 8-bromo-cAMP or forskolin, agents that elevate intracellular cAMP. Thus, TGF beta 1 overproduction affects the phenotype of the tumor cells, deliberate activation of endogenously produced latent TGF beta 1 is not required (indicating that the cells themselves are capable of activating latent TGF beta 1), and TGF beta 1 overproduction lowers the cellular concentration of the growth inhibitor cAMP. Therefore, TGF beta 1 overproduction could affect tumor behavior in vivo in part via a direct effect on the tumor cells.
A perturbation-based method for calculating explicit likelihood of evolutionary co-variance in multiple sequence alignments

Motivation: The constituent amino acids of a protein work together to define its structure and to facilitate its function. Their interdependence should be apparent in the evolutionary record of each protein family: positions in the sequence of a protein family that are intimately associated in space or in function should co-vary in evolution. A recent approach by Ranganathan and colleagues proposes to look at subsets of a protein family, selected for their sequence at one position, to see how this affects variation at other positions. Results: We present a quantitative algorithm for assessing covariation with this approach, based on explicit likelihood calculations. By applying our algorithm to 138 Pfam families with at least one member of known structure, we demonstrate that our method has improved power in finding physically close residues in crystal structures, compared to that of Ranganathan and colleagues. Supplementary information: www.afodor.net/bioinfosup.html
Children’s Health Insurance Status and Emergency Department Utilization in the United States

Objectives. Emergency department (ED) overcrowding has become a national problem. Children account for nearly 25% of overall ED visits. It has been reported that uninsured and publicly insured children are likely to visit the ED for urgent and nonurgent problems, yet it remains unclear to what extent health insurance status would influence children’s overall ED utilization or ED utilization for nonurgent problems at the national level after controlling for other confounding factors. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of health insurance status on children’s overall ED utilization and children’s ED utilization for nonurgent problems among the general pediatric population in the United States. Methods. Secondary analysis of the household component of the 1997 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey on 10 193 children younger than 18 years. The main outcome measures were annual overall ED utilization and ED utilization for nonurgent problems. Results. During 1997, 10.8% of children were uninsured for the entire year. A total of 17.5% of children were publicly insured the entire year, whereas 55.3% of children held private insurance the entire year. There were also 16.5% of children who were insured only part of the year. Without adjusting for covariates, publicly insured children were more likely to have an ED visit during the year than both privately insured children (unadjusted odds ratio [OR]: 1.26; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03–1.55) and uninsured children (unadjusted OR: 1.46; 95% CI: 1.1–1.95). The difference between publicly insured and privately insured children (adjusted OR: 0.90; 95% CI: 0.70–1.16) and between publicly insured and uninsured children (adjusted OR: 1.12; 95% CI: 0.84–1.49) became insignificant after controlling for covariates. With or without adjustments for covariates, there was no significant difference in the likelihood of having an ED visit between privately insured and uninsured children. Similar to the utilization pattern of overall ED visits, publicly insured children were more likely to have a nonurgent ED visit than both privately insured (unadjusted OR: 1.86; 95% CI: 1.36–2.53) and uninsured children (unadjusted OR: 1.81; 95% CI: 1.15–2.84). Both differences disappeared after controlling for covariates. There was no significant difference in the likelihood of nonurgent ED visits between privately insured and uninsured children with or without adjustments for covariates. Conclusions. Health insurance status was not associated with children’s overall ED use or children’s ED use for nonurgent problems at the national level. Our findings suggest that policy efforts in an attempt to relieve ED overcrowding conditions should look for measures beyond solely making changes in health insurance coverage for children.
Dora The Explorer, Constructing “LATINIDADES” and The Politics of Global Citizenship

Dora the Explorer, which went into syndication on the Nickelodeon children's television network in 2000, marks the shifting terrain of a globalized juvenile Latino/a television market that has become increasingly multicultural and pro-bilingual, despite the fact that the most states in the US have slashed the budgets of or altogether eliminated the presence of bilingual education. Dora the Explorer provides a post-modern model of globalized “Latinidades,” citizenship, race, and gender which express a universal Latino/a subjectivity. At the same time, the show represents a number of distinct Latino/a cultural practices (like the parranda and the comparsa) through the representation of space, language, music, and racialized visual representations of Latino/a children. These double discourses express how nation, citizenship, and identity are a contested terrain most closely illustrated by the show. With a reading of the cultural work, Dora the Explorer performs in general and a close reading of the 2001 episode “Dora La Musico,” in particular, the essay attempts to analyze the capitalist success of Dora the Explorer in terms of the commercialization of and marketing of Latinidades that have real-world implications for US Latino/as and Latin Americans.
A parallel eigenvalue problem solver for computational nanoelectronics

A new parallel eigenvalue solver for finding the interior eigenvalues of a standard Hermitian eigenvalue problem arising in atomistic simulations in nanoelectronics is presented. It is based on the Tracemin algorithm which finds the p smallest eigenpairs of a generalized Hermitian eigenvalue problem. The original problem is modified using spectrum folding or a quadratic mapping so that the interior eigenvalues are mapped onto the smallest or the largest, respectively. In the latter case the solution of systems in every iteration of Tracemin is avoided and Chebyshev polynomials are used to speedup convergence. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Hepatic β-oxidation and carnitine palmitoyltransferase I in neonatal pigs after dietary treatments of clofibric acid, isoproterenol, and medium-chain triglycerides

A suckling piglet model was used to study nutritional and pharmacologic means of stimulating hepatic fatty acid β-oxidation. Newborn pigs were fed milk diets containing either long- or medium-chain...
Balancing Hazards and the Design of Local Franchise Contracts

Relying on transaction cost logic we consider the likelihood that contract duration and monitoring are jointly determined in 241 cable franchise renewal agreements. Results indicate that municipalities award longer contracts to larger cable companies with more asset specific investments, but also more actively monitor these contracts. In addition, performance problems in the initial period lead municipalities to choose more active monitoring going forward. Our findings have implications for understanding the way contract options are combined to address various hazards but also for contracting officers who want to make reasoned decisions regarding the use of incentives, controls, rewards, and sanctions.
Buttress Pinning in the Unstable Distal Radial Fracture: A modification of the Kapandji technique

Between 1989 and 1993, 20 patients with distal radial fractures were treated with a buttressing technique felt to be safe, effective and simple. Out of the initial 20 patients 16 have been followed-up and are reported. The technique uses an intramedullary styloid pin and a combined extramedullary-intramedullary dorsal buttress pin. The insertion technique and the use of a medial corner pin are illustrated. Results are evaluated from both final X-ray appearance as well as return of function using the five X-ray parameters of Abbasazadegan et al (1989) and the Mayo modification of the Green and O'Brien wrist score ( Cooney et al, 1987 ). The average score on return of function was 78 (two excellent, eight good, six fair). Final axial shortening averaged −1.4 mm (+5 mm-−4 mm), radial displacement averaged 0.68 mm (0 mm-5 mm), radial angle averaged 24.75° (18°−34°), dorsal angle averaged 8.25° (−5°−25°) and dorsal displacement averaged +1.31 (0 mm- + 12 mm). From this study we recognize the need for a posterior medial pin, and that routine stress views after pinning can yield information concerning carpal instability, palmar instability and the need for bone grafting.
Aggression and psychopathology in adolescents with a preference for violent electronic games

Associations between a preference for violent electronic games and adolescents' self-perceptions of problem behaviors and emotions were examined. It was predicted that a preference for violent games would be associated with negative externalizing characteristics, in particular aggressive emotions and behaviors, on the Youth Self-Report (YSR), a standardized self-report measure of adolescent problem behaviors. Thirty-two 11- through 15-year-olds (17 girls) listed and categorized favorite electronic games into one of six predetermined categories and completed the YSR. MANOVA revealed significant relationships between a preference for violent games and the Thought Problems subscale (P lt .01) and YSR Total Score (P lt .05), with trends noted for the Internalizing (P lt .06) and Anxious-Depressed (P lt .08) subscales. Expected relationships with externalizing behaviors, including aggression, were not found. However, across all YSR subscales, children with higher preference for violent games had more clinically significant elevations than those with low preference for violent games. On the Total Problems subscale, of the eight children receiving scores in the clinically significant range, six were in the High preference group (three boys and three girls). The failure to rind the expected relationships between a preference for violent games and aggressive, externalizing behaviors is puzzling. It is possible that individuals with a preference for violent games may have high exposure to all forms of media violence. Their perceptions of their own behavior, in comparison, may not seem sufficiently aggressive to justify endorsement of problems in this area. Or, playing violent electronic games may promote a disconnection between the emotions normally associated with violence and violent acts. These explanations are consistent with a desensitization model where exposure to media violence decreases sensitivity to aggression.
Perineal Crohn's Disease Complicated by nic Liver Abscess During Metronidazole Therapy

A patient with ileal and perineal Crohn's disease developed a pyogenic liver abscess caused by Streptococcus milleri. The perineal process had been treated with high-dose metronidazole for the preceding 6 mo, and culture of a perineal abscess 2 mo before admission revealed heavy growth of Streptococcus milleri (which was misidentified as an anaerobic Peptostreptococcus). This case illustrates the difficulty in correctly identifying Streptococcus milleri, the most frequent isolate from pyogenic liver abscesses. Furthermore, the events suggest that metronidazole therapy can allow overgrowth of this organism in perineal abscesses which, in turn, may predispose to the development of purulent foci such as liver abscesses. This effect on the bacterial ecology of the perineum should be considered when opting for metronidazole therapy of perineal Crohn's disease.
Using Policies for Information Valuation to Justify Beliefs

This research presents a belief revision algorithm, based on intuitive policies for information valuation. Policies for valuation of information, based on characteristics of the information and the sources providing it, are delineated as guidelines for algorithm construction. In addition, each policy is traceably incorporated into the belief revision process to provide justification for calculated belief certainties. Finally, since modeling of information source trustworthiness can be complicated, significant effort is devoted to constructing these reputation models. Experimental results show that application of information valuation policies to belief revision yields significant improvement in belief accuracy and precision over no-policy or single-policy belief revision.
Expression of m1-m4 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor immunoreactivity in septohippocampal neurons and other identified hippocampal afferents.

Muscarinic cholinergic transmission plays an important role in modulating hippocampal activity and many higher brain functions. Many of the modulatory effects of acetylcholine on hippocampal function result from direct effects in the hippocampus or from actions on the hippocampal afferent neurons. At each site, the differential expression of a family of five distinct but related receptor substypes governs the nature of the response. The aim of the present study was to identify the subtypes expressed in the hippocampal afferent neurons by combining retrograde tracing with immunocytochemistry. The retrograde tracer, wheat germ agglutinin conjugated to horseradish peroxidase, was injected into the hippocampus unilaterally to label afferent neurons, and was combined with muscarinic (m) acetylcholine (ACh) receptors (mAChRs) with immunocytochemistry to identify the m1-m4 subtypes expressed. The retrogradely labeled cells in the basal forebrain that contribute to the septohippocampal pathway were found to express m2, m3, and, to a lesser extent, m1. Commissural/associational pathway neurons, which were identified by retrogradely labeled cells in the ipsi- and contralateral dentate gyrus, expressed m1, m3, and m4. The retrogradely labeled cells in the entorhinal cortex of the perforant pathway expressed predominantly m1 and m3, with fewer neurons expressing m2 and m4. Raphe-hippocampal cells were found to express m1. Thus, this study provides evidence for the diversity of mAChR subtypes expressed in neurons that project to the hippocampus. The complex modulation by acetylcholine of hippocampal function, therefore, is governed not only by the variety of mAChRs expressed in the hippocampus but also by their differential expression in extrinsic hippocampal afferents. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Stokes Correction for Nonlinearity of Wave Crests in Heavy Seas

The application of Stokes fifth-order wave theory to random deep-water waves is considered in connection with nonlinearity in crest amplitudes. The theory is shown to apply, on average, to crest amplitudes and wave heights, although differences exist for individual waves as a result of variation in wave frequency. Corrections to the Rayleigh law and associated predictions of fractions of waves exceeding crest threshold levels are shown to be in close agreement with measurements for heavy seas when the significant wave height and average wave period are specified accurately.
Another look at mortality crossovers.

Abstract Considerable debate still ensues on whether or not the so‐called “mortality crossover,” the intersection of age curves of mortality at the older ages, is artifactual or real. One school of thought argues that it is a function of misreporting of ages, greater for one population than another. The other school of thought counters that it persists apart from age misreporting and is due to selective frailty processes as age increases. An historical review of the debate is reported, after which an attempt at a balanced conclusion is offered.
Effect of isoeugenol sedation on plasma cortisol, glucose, and lactate dynamics in channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus exposed to three stressors

Abstract The effect of isoeugenol sedation (2.5 mg l −1 ) on plasma cortisol, glucose, and lactate dynamics in channel catfish ( Ictalurus punctatus ), relative to two controls, was examined during confinement, exposure to high unionized ammonia, and acute oxygen depletion. The positive control (PC) for each treatment was no sedation, and the negative control (NC) was sedation with metomidate hydrochloride (1.5 mg l −1 ). Isoeugenol sedated catfish had 60% lower ( P P >0.05) in plasma levels of glucose or lactate were observed between treatments during 45-min of confinement. Fish exposed to high ammonia for 24-h had elevated ( P P P >0.05) between isoeugenol and control treated fish throughout oxygen stress and recovery. Sedation with isoeugenol significantly suppressed the resulting plasma cortisol and lactate response by 74% and 46%, respectively, compared to PC fish. Plasma cortisol levels in NC fish were below detection limits for all stress treatments. As a sedative, isoeugenol had suppressive effects on channel catfish plasma cortisol levels during confinement and low oxygen conditions, and reduced the plasma lactate response to acute oxygen depletion.
Evolution of Avian Flight

The origin of birds and of bird flight has drawn scientific interest since the inception of evolutionary thinking. Though early investigations were hampered by a paucity of fossils, new discoveries have filled in many gaps and provided unprecedented detail into morphological changes that attended the evolutionary appearance of birds and bird flight. Birds are now widely regarded as the descendents of theropod dinosaurs. In contrast, form–function relationships and behaviours that might have facilitated the evolutionary acquisition of flight remain widely debated. Given the versatility of extant birds, we should not expect to find only one solution to this problem. Nevertheless, much debate seems to stem not from looking for multiple plausible functions and behaviours, but rather from traditional ‘ground up’ versus ‘trees down’ assumptions and a general lack of experimental and ecological support for inferred form–function relationships. Many researchers have therefore called for more rigorous hypothesis testing, and a plethora of new techniques and perspectives are up to the challenge. Key Concepts: Birds are the descendents of bipedal theropod dinosaurs. Evolutionary assembly of the avian body plan occurred gradually, with bird-like wings evolving before bird-like skeletons, in conjunction with a reduction in body size and then a cranial shift in centre of mass. These changes took place via a series of transitional anatomical stages that were presumably associated with transitional functions and behaviours before becoming co-opted for flapping flight. Many origin-of-flight hypotheses have been proposed, and it is challenging to discriminate among them. Much debate seems to stem from traditional ‘ground up’ versus ‘trees down’ assumptions and a general lack of experimental and ecological support for inferred form–function relationships. A growing number of researchers have therefore suggested that hypotheses must be consistent not only with the fossil record, but also with experimental support for form–function relationships and behaviours inferred by origin-of-flight scenarios. New techniques and perspectives are meeting this challenge and providing more rigorous insight into the origin of flight in birds. For example, recent work on developing birds with dinosaur-like anatomies clearly demonstrates that behaviours involving the cooperative use of wings and legs (e.g. wing-assisted incline running and steaming) act as a developmental (or evolutionary) bridge between leg-based terrestrial locomotion and wing-based aerial locomotion, by allowing developing birds (or evolving dinosaurs) to supplement their wings with their legs until the wings can fully support body weight during flight. Keywords: birds; theropods; evolution of flight; origin of flight; protowings; locomotion; transitional fossils; incremental adaptive stages
MONOAMINE OXIDASE INHIBITORS: PRESCRIPTION AND PATIENT MANAGEMENT

The historical roots of the current avoidance of MAOIs are reviewed. A practical approach to the careful prescription of MAOIs is outlined. Medical contraindications, side effects and their management and drug and food interactions with MAOIs are discussed. With careful patient selection, adequate caution by the physician, and appropriate preparation of the patient, MAOIs are often uniquely effective (as in endogenous anxiety) and have an acceptably low potential for serious toxicity.
Dimensional and Computational Analysis in Stationary s, S Inventory Problems with Gamma Distributed Demand

In the stationary periodic review s, S inventory system with stationary demand and immediate delivery of orders, the optimal values of s and S, say s* and S*, will be a function of the input parameters defining the cost structure and the demand distribution. Assume backlogging is allowed and let the fixed order cost be K, the unit holding cost be h, and the unit penalty cost be p. Further, assume the demand per period to have a gamma distribution of order r and with parameter μ. A dimensional analysis of the basic equations dictating the optimal values s* and Q* = S*-s* shows that it is possible to express the quantities μs* and μQ* as a function of the three factors p/h, 2Kμ/h, and r. This reduces the number of input parameters from five to three and enables one to compute values of μs* and μQ* for a range of values of the three input factors. A selected set of graphs is presented allowing one to read the optimal values for given input parameters.
Comorbid LUTS and erectile dysfunction: optimizing their management.

ABSTRACTBackground and scope: Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) related to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and sexual dysfunction such as erectile dysfunction (ED), are highly prevalent in men over the age of 50. LUTS and ED have a negative impact on sexual function and when comorbid, result in reduced quality of life. The goal of this article is to discuss the relationship between ED and LUTS, describe the diagnostic workup of these disorders, explore the current treatment options, and examine how treatments may affect this population. Medline (1980–2006), Cochrane reviews, and the American Urological Association 2006 General Meeting abstracts were searched for relevant clinical trials and reviews with the terms: benign prostatic hyperplasia, lower urinary tract symptoms, erectile dysfunction, sexual dysfunction, α-adrenergic receptor antagonists, α-blockers, 5α-reductase inhibitors, phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors, transurethral resection of the prostate, transurethral microwave thermotherapy,...
Techniques and Trends, Success Rates, and Adverse Events in Emergency Department Pediatric Intubations: A Report From the National Emergency Airway Registry.

Study objective We describe emergency department (ED) intubation practices for children younger than 16 years through multicenter prospective surveillance. Methods Academic and community EDs in the United States, Canada, and Australia recorded data electronically, from 2002 to 2012, with verified greater than or equal to 90% reporting. Results Ten of 18 participating centers provided qualifying data, reporting 1,053 encounters. Emergency physicians initiated 85% of intubations. Trainees initiated 83% (95% confidence interval [CI] 81% to 85%). Premedication became uncommon, reaching less than 30% by the last year. Etomidate was used in 78% of rapid sequence intubations. Rocuronium use increased during the period of study, whereas succinylcholine use declined. Video laryngoscopy increased, whereas direct laryngoscopy declined. The first attempt was successful in 83% of patients (95% CI 81% to 85%) overall. The risk of first-attempt failure was highest for infants (relative risk versus all others 2.3; 95% CI 1.8 to 3.0). Odds of first-attempt success for girls relative to boys were 0.57. The odds were 3.4 times greater for rapid sequence intubation than sedation without paralysis. The ultimate success rate was 99.5%. Conclusion Because we sampled only 10 centers and most of the intubations were by trainees, our results may not be generalizable to the typical ED setting. We found that premedication is now uncommon, etomidate is the predominant induction agent, and rocuronium and video laryngoscopy are used increasingly. First-attempt failure is most common in infants.
Mathematical Models Based on Transition State Theory for the Microbial Safety of Foods by High Pressure

Prior to the development of transition state theory, the Arrhenius equation was the principal relationship used in describing the temperature dependence of chemical reaction rates. Research into determining the theoretical basis for the Arrhenius parameters A (pre-exponential factor) and Ea (activation energy) led to the development of transition state theory and the Eyring equation, whose central postulate is a hypothetical transient state called the activated complex that forms through interactions between reactants before they can become products during the process of a chemical reaction. It is from the perspective of transition state theory that we develop two secondary models to reflect the effects of temperature and of high pressure on microbial inactivation by the emerging nonthermal technology of high pressure processing (HPP), and we designate these as transition state (TS) models TST and TSP, respectively. These secondary models are applied to data obtained with two primary models, the enhanced quasi-chemical kinetics (EQCK) differential equation model and the Weibull distribution empirical model, that were used to evaluate nonlinear inactivation kinetics for baro-resistant Listeria monocytogenes in a surrogate protein food system by HPP for various combinations of pressure (207–414 MPa) and temperature (20–50 °C). The mathematical relationships of TST and TSP involve primarily the unique model parameter called “processing time parameter” (t p ), which was developed to evaluate inactivation kinetics data showing tailing. These detailed secondary models, as applied to the parameters of the EQCK and Weibull primary models, have important ramifications for ensuring food safety and the shelf life of food products and support the growing uses of HPP for the safe preservation of foodstuffs.
Structural and functional analysis of the origin of replication of mitochondrial DNA from Paramecium aurelia : II. A-T rich repeat units serve as autonomously replicating sequences.

Replication of mitochondrial DNA in Paramecium aurelia involves the formation of a covalent crosslink at one end of this linear molecule and proceeds unidirectionally, producing a dimer consisting of two head to head monomers. The initiation regions within the dimer molecules have been sequenced and shown to be palindromic except for a central nonpalindromic A+T rich sequence, arranged in direct tandem repeats. This nonpalindromic region (see accompanying paper) has been identified as the cross-link which converts the initiation terminus into a continuous sequence. In this study, yeast transformation was used to assay the dimer initiation regions of P. aurelia mtDNA for the presence of autonomously replicating sequences. P. aurelia mtDNA fragments from species 1 and 4 were cloned into the yeast vector YIP5 and the hybrid plasmids (YPaM) were used to transform yeast. The dimer initiation regions from both species promoted high frequency transformation and extrachromosomal maintenance of YPaM plasmids. Subcloning analysis of the ARS-containing mtDNA fragments indicates, specifically, that the nonpalindrome, repetitive sequences are responsible for the autonomously replicating properties of YPaM plasmids.
Scaling Bottlenecks in Data Center Networks

Building cost-efficient cloud data centers means putting more and more servers on the same sites, and this stresses the ability to build cost-efficient fiber plants and networks to connect them. With lifespan of a server being 3 years while fiber can be good for 10 years or more, designs must be future proof. Given the scale of the networks, reducing fiber density, optimizing installation time, and automating validation of the built plant is key. This talk will describe the challenges Microsoft has faced in building cloud scale data centers and how improvements in optical technology can unlock the next steps. Article not available.
Virtual Machine Technology Applications in Computer Practice Teaching of Higher Education

With the recent rapid development of higher vocational education, training venues and facilities, the serious shortage prevalent in vocational schools, the trend of cutting-edge computer science as the same kind of problem exists, this paper proposes the introduction of practical teaching in the computer Vmware virtual machine technology, the method will enable the school to ease the shortage of equipment, but also increase the number of students practice hands-on opportunities.
Upregulation of glycans containing 3' fucose in a subset of pancreatic cancers uncovered using fusion-tagged lectins

The fucose post-translational modification is frequently increased in pancreatic cancer, thus forming the basis for promising biomarkers, but a subset of pancreatic cancer patients does not elevate the known fucose-containing biomarkers. We hypothesized that such patients elevate glycan motifs with fucose in linkages and contexts different from the known fucose-containing biomarkers. We used a database of glycan array data to identify the lectins CCL2 to detect glycan motifs with fucose in a 3’ linkage; CGL2 for motifs with fucose in a 2’ linkage; and RSL for fucose in all linkages. We used several practical methods to test the lectins and determine the optimal mode of detection, and we then tested whether the lectins detected glycans in pancreatic cancer patients who did not elevate the sialyl-Lewis A glycan, which is upregulated in ~75% of pancreatic adenocarcinomas. Patients who did not upregulate sialyl-Lewis A, which contains fucose in a 4’ linkage, tended to upregulate fucose in a 3’ linkage, as detected by CCL2, but they did not upregulate total fucose or fucose in a 2’ linkage. CCL2 binding was high in cancerous epithelia from pancreatic tumors, including areas negative for sialyl-Lewis A and a related motif containing 3’ fucose, sialyl-Lewis X. Thus glycans containing 3’ fucose may complement sialyl-Lewis A to contribute to improved detection of pancreatic cancer. Furthermore, the use of panels of recombinant lectins may uncover details about glycosylation that could be important for characterizing and detecting cancer.
Sources of information for occupational dermatology.

This article is designed to be an annotated guide to the principal source materials for occupational dermatology. Bibliographic citations offer an ordered approach to textbook and encyclopedic references, journals, governmental literature, and computerized data bases needed to evaluate work-related skin diseases. Relevant sources are-provided as- well· for occupational medicine, industrial hygiene, toxicology, and rehabilitation.
BEOL process integration for the 7 nm technology node

A 36 nm pitch BEOL has been evaluated for the 7 nm technology node. EUV lithography was employed as a single-exposure patterning solution. For the first time, it is shown that excellent reliability results can be obtained for Cu interconnects at these small dimensions, by using a TaN/Ru barrier system and a selective Co cap.
Improving a Roundabout Design Through Simulation in a Unity 3D Virtual Environment

Traffic congestion is one of the most serious problems in big cities. This paper proposed a simplified design of roundabout to simulate and improve the traffic condition of a real-life roundabout in Somerville, MA. A virtual environment was built by using Unity 3D to simulate the Powder House Square roundabout. This study used the driving simulator in Northeastern University’s Intelligent Human-Machine System (IHMS) Laboratory to conduct the experiment, using a NASA Task Load Index (TLX) to measure the workload experienced by the participants. The experiment results show that the total time spent on simplified sector was 47.2 % less than the original design, and the number of accidents were reduced by 60.9 %. The average frustration level dropped by 79.2 % on the simplified sector according to the NASA TLX survey. Simulation results showed strong evidence that traffic conditions improved a lot by using the simplified design.
The potential impact of rate-based or mass-based rules on coal-producing states under the Clean Power Plan

Abstract Simulations clearly show that the choice of rate- or mass-based standards potentially creates significant differences in incentives regarding investments in natural gas and renewable generation, and therefore the preservation of coal generation. The modeling suggests these incentives could have significant effects on coal generation outcomes, and by implication coal production in the future.
Lumps and Bumps: Scalp and Skull Lesions

A 2-year-old boy whom you have seen in your practice since birth has had 2 weeks of subtle enlargement of a 1 cm round mass at the nasion. His parents were concerned because it seemed to get larger the previous night when he was crying and this morning a large dark hair extruded from a pore in the center. He had unexplained bacterial meningitis when he was 7 months old. This child has:
The effect of intraocular pressure on human and rabbit scleral permeability.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of intraocular pressure on the permeability of human and rabbit sclera to water, dexamethasone, and carboxyfluorescein. METHODS: Scleral sections excised from moist-chamber-stored human globes or eyes obtained from euthanatized New Zealand White rabbits were mounted in a perfusion chamber that can create a transscleral pressure that simulates an intraocular pressure. A small depot of drug (100 microl) was added to the episcleral surface while perfusing an irrigating solution slowly across the choroidal side. The perfusate was collected and scleral permeability calculated. Experiments were performed at 0, 15, 30, and 60 mm Hg for each compound in human and rabbit tissue. RESULTS: Analysis of variance showed a significant effect of intraocular pressure on both human and rabbit scleral permeability. Human scleral permeability was decreased by as much as a factor of two for water (P = 0.0004), dexamethasone (P<0.0001), and carboxyfluorescein (P = 0.0064) at elevated intraocular pressures. Rabbit scleral permeability was similarly affected by elevated intraocular pressure for water (P = 0.0039), dexamethasone (P = 0.0001), and carboxyfluorescein (P = 0.0016). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that simulated intraocular pressure ranging from 15 to 60 mm Hg can decrease scleral permeability to small molecules by one half when compared with the sclera with no pressure applied.
Family Literacy in China

Family literacy practices are important to children’s literacy development. This chapter reviews research on family literacy practices in China. The authors discuss the role of parental support and the home literacy environment on children’s learning of Chinese and the major home and family related factors that contribute to or impact Chinese children’s Chinese literacy development. Factors such as literacy resources available in homes, parents’ education level, parent–child literacy activities, and child home literacy activities have all been shown to be closely related to Chinese children’s literacy development. Another major finding is Chinese parents’ attitudes towards reading predict their children’s reading performance, and their attitudes, support, encouragement, and values relate to their children’s sense of competence and motivation to read. The authors also discuss implications of these findings, including encouraging parents to use oral language to support their children’s Chinese reading at home, to make various reading materials available in the home, and to model good reading practices for their children. Suggestions are made for further research on this topic.
Instance-Based matching of large ontologies using locality-sensitive hashing

In this paper, we describe a mechanism for ontology alignment using instance based matching of types (or classes). Instance-based matching is known to be a useful technique for matching ontologies that have different names and different structures. A key problem in instance matching of types, however, is scaling the matching algorithm to (a) handle types with a large number of instances, and (b) efficiently match a large number of type pairs. We propose the use of state-of-the art locality-sensitive hashing (LSH) techniques to vastly improve the scalability of instance matching across multiple types. We show the feasibility of our approach with DBpedia and Freebase, two different type systems with hundreds and thousands of types, respectively. We describe how these techniques can be used to estimate containment or equivalence relations between two type systems, and we compare two different LSH techniques for computing instance similarity.
Honouring God through Sports Competition

Contemporary assumptions about competition are analysed while the case for competitive sports building character is found to be inconclusive. Particular biblical principles that apply to competitiv...
riboStreamR: A web application for quality control, analysis, and visualization of Ribo-seq data

Ribo-seq is a popular technique for studying translation and its regulation. Various software tools for data preprocessing, quality assessment, analysis, and visualization of Ribo-seq data have been developed. However, many of them are inaccessible to users without a thorough practical knowledge of software applications, and often multiple different tools have to be used in combination with each other. Here, we present riboStreamR, a comprehensive Ribo-seq quality control (QC) platform in the form of an R Shiny web application. RiboStreamR provides visualization and analysis tools for various Ribo-seq QC metrics, including read length distribution, read periodicity, and translational efficiency. The platform's environment is centered on providing a user-friendly experience, and includes numerous options for graphical customization and report generation. In practice, Ribo-seq data analysis can be sensitive to data quality issues such as read length variation, low read periodicities, and contaminations with ribosomal and transfer RNA. What constitutes ‘high quality’ data is often unclear. Our goal is to develop novel functionality to automatically highlight quality issues and anomalies in the data. This NSF-supported project is performed in collaboration with Jose Alonso, Anna Stepanova, Serina Mazzoni-Putman, and Cranos Williams.
A Lagrangian Based Heuristic for the Design of Multipoint Linkages in a Communication Network with Unreliable Links and Node Outage Costs

This paper studies the capacitated minimal spanning tree with unreliable links and node outage costs problem. Tree topologies appear in the design of centralized communication networks. In these topologies the number of nodes in a subtree rooted at the central node is limited to a predefined number due to polling, loading, and response time restrictions. The links in a communication network are prone to failure. Whenever a link in these networks fails all the terminal nodes connected to the central node through that link are unable to communicate till the faulty link is repaired. In some networks such failures can have adverse economic effect on the network user. The economic effect on the network user due to inability of a terminal to communicate with the central node due to link failure is called node outage cost. The sum of expected yearly node outage costs for a network depends on the topology of the network. In this paper we suggest a Lagrangean based heuristic to solve the integer programming formulation of the network topology problem. The objective of the problem is to minimize the sum of link costs and node outage costs. Our computational results on a set of test data with up to 80 nodes show that compared to the previously developed greedy heuristic, our method gives solution that are better by up to 6 percent. The gaps between our heuristic solutions and the lower bounds found as a byproduct of the solution procedure are in the 2–17 percent range.
Upper-division chemistry students’ navigation and use of quantum chemical models

Chemical processes can be fully explained only by employing quantum mechanical models. These models are abstract and require navigation of a variety of cognitively taxing representations. Published research about how students use quantum mechanical models at the upper-division level is sparse. Through a mixed-methods study involving think-aloud interviews, a novel rating task, and an existing concept inventory, our work aims to fill this gap in the literature and begin the process of characterizing learning of quantum chemistry in upper-division courses. The major findings are that upper-division students tend to conflate models and model components. Students, unlike experts, focus on surface features. Our data indicates two specific surface features: lexical features and a “complex equals better” heuristic. Finally, there is no correlation in our data between a student's facility with navigating models and their conceptual understanding of quantum chemistry as a whole. We analyze the data through the lens of a framework which enables us to cast model conflation as a problem of ontology.
Legalization of Euthanasia

The Oxford English Dictionary (2nd edition, 1989; online version June 2011) provides the following definitions of euthanasia:
Other Tests in Glaucoma: Multifocal Visual Evoked Potential

Numerous electrophysiological tests have been proposed for detecting glaucomatous damage. Some involve electrical recordings from the eye, while others involve recordings from the cortex [1]. The focus of this chapter is on the latter, particularly the VEP, an electrical potential recorded with one or more electrodes placed over the occipital region of the skull. A variety of visual displays have been used to record VEPs and standards are available that describe clinical recording and analysis of the “conventional” VEP [2]. While the VEP is useful in the diagnosis of a variety of conditions [3], to date there is no convincing evidence that any of the standard VEP procedures perform better than standard automated perimetry (SAP) for detecting glaucomatous damage. However, a relatively new technique, the multifocal VEP (mfVEP), can be clinically useful.
PROPIEDADES EMERGENTES, VALOR INTRÍNSECO Y ECOLOGÍA: ALGUNAS PERSPECTIVAS ÉTICAS SOBRE LOS HABITANTES DE LA ISLA NAVARINO

Segun una de las tesis centrales de la etica biocultural, en todo ecosistema o cultura, los habitats, los habitantes y sus habitos se determinan mutuamente. Un principio inspirado en esta idea es aqui caracterizado y denominado principio de codeterminacion ecologica. Se muestra su relevancia para la etica ambiental, considerando como esta vinculado con algunos de los estudios ecologicos enfocados en la region subantartica de Magallanes. Como se argumentara brevemente, algunos aspectos relacionados con el mencionado principio merecen ser aclarados desde una perspectiva etica y filosofica. Uno de los principales objetivos de este escrito es sugerir que los conceptos de fenomeno emergente y de valor etico intrinseco proveen una base teorica para la aclaracion de tales aspectos.
De novo pattern discovery enables robust assessment of functional consequences of non-coding variants.

Motivation Given the complexity of genome regions, prioritize the functional effects of non-coding variants remains a challenge. Although several frameworks have been proposed for the evaluation of the functionality of non-coding variants, most of them used 'black boxes' methods that simplify the task as the pathogenicity/benign classification problem, which ignores the distinct regulatory mechanisms of variants and leads to less desirable performance. In this study, we developed DVAR, an unsupervised framework that leverage various biochemical and evolutionary evidence to distinguish the gene regulatory categories of variants and assess their comprehensive functional impact simultaneously. Results DVAR performed de novo pattern discovery in high-dimensional data and identified five regulatory clusters of non-coding variants. Leveraging the new insights into the multiple functional patterns, it measures both the between-class and the within-class functional implication of the variants to achieve accurate prioritization. Compared to other two-class learning methods, it showed improved performance in identification of clinically significant variants, fine-mapped GWAS variants, eQTLs and expression-modulating variants. Moreover, it has superior performance on disease causal variants verified by genome-editing (like CRISPR-Cas9), which could provide a pre-selection strategy for genome-editing technologies across the whole genome. Finally, evaluated in BioVU and UK Biobank, two large-scale DNA biobanks linked to complete electronic health records, DVAR demonstrated its effectiveness in prioritizing non-coding variants associated with medical phenotypes. Availability and implementation The C++ and Python source codes, the pre-computed DVAR-cluster labels and DVAR-scores across the whole genome are available at https://www.vumc.org/cgg/dvar. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Depression, emotional states, and the experience of binge-watching narrative television

Terms like “binge-watching” and the “showhole” suggest a relationship between binge-watching and emotional health. This study sought to understand the relationship between binge-watching, unhealthy...