cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Confirmation of the Genome Position and Mass of the Viral Protein, Vp3, of Solenopsis invicta Virus 1 (Picornavirales: Dicistroviridae) Infecting the Red Imported Fire Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Solenopsis invicta virus 1 (SINV-1) is the first virus to be discovered and characterized in any ant species (Valles et al. 2004). The virus exhibits a host range limited to fire ants in the Solenopsis genus (Valles et al. 2007). The single-stranded RNA genome is composed of 8,026 nucleotides containing 2 large open reading frames (ORFs) in the sense orientation with an untranslated region (UTR) at each end and between the two ORFs. The 5’-proximal ORF encodes for the non-structural proteins, helicase, protease, and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) and the 3’-proximal ORF for the structural (or capsid) proteins. ORF 2 was originally reported to commence at nucleotide position 4,390 at a canonical AUG start codon. However, it was later revealed empirically to actually start at codon GCU (genome position 4423-4425) which encodes for an alanine (Valles and Hashimoto 2008). SDS-PAGE analysis of purified SINV-1 particles yields 3 major (VP1, VP2, VP3) and one minor (VP4) capsid proteins. N-terminal analysis has revealed the margins of the capsid proteins and the corresponding scissile bonds within the structural polyprotein (Valles and Hashimoto 2008). Amino acid residues at these junctions were consistent with other dicistroviruses and unclassified picorna-like insect-infecting viruses (Liljas et al. 2002). The objective of this short communication was to confirm production and genome location of VP3 within the SINV-1 structural polyprotein using Western analysis. Polyclonal antibodies were synthesized from a recombinant peptide sequence obtained from the predicted amino acid sequence of VP3 (i.e., SRGGYRYKFFADDN). The peptide sequence is located at amino acid positions 9971010 of the structural polyprotein (Fig. 1A). Polyclonal antibodies were raised in a rabbit host by GenScript USA, Inc. (Piscataway, NJ) according to the company’s standard protocols. Ants used for purification of virus were collected by excavating nests from locations in Gainesville, FL. Colonies were examined by RT-PCR methods to identify ants exclusively infected with
Mouse TEX15 is essential for DNA double-strand break repair and chromosomal synapsis during male meiosis

During meiosis, homologous chromosomes undergo synapsis and recombination. We identify TEX15 as a novel protein that is required for chromosomal synapsis and meiotic recombination. Loss of TEX15 function in mice causes early meiotic arrest in males but not in females. Specifically, TEX15-deficient spermatocytes exhibit a failure in chromosomal synapsis. In mutant spermatocytes, DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are formed, but localization of the recombination proteins RAD51 and DMC1 to meiotic chromosomes is severely impaired. Based on these data, we propose that TEX15 regulates the loading of DNA repair proteins onto sites of DSBs and, thus, its absence causes a failure in meiotic recombination.
On the cessation of magnetic reconnection

Abstract. Kinetic simulations of collisionless magnetic reconnection are used to study the effect on the reconnection rate of ion density enhancements in the inflow region. The goal of the investigation is to study a candidate mechanism for the slow-down of magnetic reconnection. The calculations involve either proton or oxygen additions in the inflow region, initially located at two distances from the current sheet. Protons are found to be much more tightly coupled into the evolution of the reconnecting system and, therefore, they effect an immediate slowdown of the reconnection process, as soon as the flux tubes they reside on become involved. Oxygen, on the other hand, has, within the limits of the calculations, a much less pronounced effect on the reconnection electric field. The difference is attributed to the lack of tight coupling to the magnetic field of the oxygen populations. Last, a study of proton and oxygen acceleration finds that protons respond primarily to the reconnection electric field, whereas the main oxygen electric field is achieved by Hall-type electric fields at the plasma sheet boundary. Key words. Space plasma physics (magnetic reconnection; numerical simulation studies; numerical simulation studies)
A switched-capacitor DAC with analog mismatch correction

This paper describes a background calibration method for enhancing the accuracy and linearity of a switched-capacitor digital-to-analog converter. It can be used alone or in combination with mismatch shaping to achieve very high accuracy and linearity combined with high speed.
Poster abstract: reconstruction distortion in lossy wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks enable monitoring of various physical phenomena. In this paper, we consider the monitoring of a phenomenon that is continuous and correlated both in space and time. The sensor nodes periodically sample the phenomenon and transmit their measurements to a sink node using a routing tree. The sink node reconstructs the phenomenon in time and space using the samples it gathers. Because the data is spatially and temporally continuous, perfect reconstruction is only possible if there is an infinite number of sensors continuously monitoring every point in the area of interest. A perfect reconstruction also requires that all measurements produced by the nodes are delivered to the sink. All these requirements are practically impossible. Hence, in this paper, we consider the practical situation where the phenomenon is discretized spatially and temporally, and samples might be lost while they traverse the network due to a variety of reasons including wireless-induced packet losses. These factors cause distortion between the actual phenomenon and the reconstructed phenomenon. We model the physical phenomenon as a Gaussian stochastic process and derive expressions for distortion in time (temporal distortion) and space (spatial distortion) for a fixed packet loss rate.
Measurement of the room-temperature hall mobility of injected electrons in liquid tetramethylsilane

Abstract The electron Hall mobility in tetramethylsilane (TMS) has been measured at room temperature using the Redfield technique. The resulting mobility, 124 cm2/V s is 25% higher than the time-of-flight mobility. From their comparison we conclude that it is likely that the electron-scattering mechanism is due to acoustic phonons whose interaction with electrons can be described in the deformation potential approximation.
Novel in vivo targets of ΔNp63 in keratinocytes identified by a modified chromatin immunoprecipitation approach

Background p63 is a transcription factor that plays an important role in skin epidermal development and differentiation. The p63 gene encodes for two major protein isoforms, those containing an amino-terminal trans-activation domain (TAp63) and those lacking this domain (ΔNp63). Both the TA and ΔN transcripts are also alternatively spliced at the 3' end producing proteins with unique C-termini that are designated as α, β and γ isoforms. Recent research has suggested that ΔNp63 is the predominant isoform expressed and active in keratinocytes.
The Transporter Spns2 Is Required for Secretion of Lymph but Not Plasma Sphingosine-1-Phosphate

Plasma sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) regulates vascular permeability, and plasma and lymph S1P guide lymphocyte egress from lymphoid organs. S1P is made intracellularly, and little is known about how S1P is delivered into circulatory fluids. Here, we find that mice without the major facilitator superfamily transporter Spns2 have a profound reduction in lymph S1P, but only a minor decrease in plasma S1P. Spns2-deficient mice have a redistribution of lymphocytes from the spleen to lymph nodes and a loss of circulating lymphocytes, consistent with normal egress from the spleen directed by plasma S1P and blocked egress from lymph nodes directed by lymph S1P. Spns2 is needed in endothelial cells to supply lymph S1P and support lymphocyte circulation. As a differential requirement for lymph and blood S1P, Spns2 may be an attractive target for immune suppressive drugs.
Central pit craters: Observations from Mars and Ganymede and implications for formation models

Central pit craters are common on ice-rich bodies, such as Mars, Ganymede, and Callisto. Mars and Ganymede represent the two end members regarding target characteristics (mixed ice and soil for Mars vs. almost pure ice for Ganymede). Comparisons of central pit craters on these two bodies can provide insights into the environmental conditions under which these craters form and provide constraints on the proposed formation models. This analysis includes 1604 central pit craters on Mars and 471 central pit craters on Ganymede. Martian central pit craters are divided into fl oor pits and summit pits, whereas all central pit craters on Ganymede are fl oor pits. Central pit craters form in similar-diameter ranges on both Mars and Ganymede when gravity differences are considered, and both bodies show no regional variations in pit crater distribution within the ±60° latitude zone. Martian fl oor pits are larger relative to their parent crater than summit pits, but the Ganymede pit/ crater diameter ratio is larger than for either central pit type on Mars. Central pits have formed over the entire history of both bodies, and there is no indication that excavation depths have varied over time. Lack of crater fl oor updoming in Martian fl oor pit craters indicates that low concentrations of ice (estimated at ~20%) still allow production of central pits. The results of this study argue against central peak collapse as the formation mechanism for central pit craters. Excavation into a subsurface liquid layer cannot be ruled out but is diffi cult to support based on the distributions and consistencies in excavation depth on both bodies. These results support the model of vaporization and gas escape for central pit formation on both Mars and Ganymede.
Integrated, Multi-cohort Analysis Identifies Conserved Transcriptional Signatures across Multiple Respiratory Viruses

Respiratory viral infections are a significant burden to healthcare worldwide. Many whole genome expression profiles have identified different respiratory viral infection signatures, but these have not translated to clinical practice. Here, we performed two integrated, multi-cohort analyses of publicly available transcriptional data of viral infections. First, we identified a common host signature across different respiratory viral infections that could distinguish (1) individuals with viral infections from healthy controls and from those with bacterial infections, and (2) symptomatic from asymptomatic subjects prior to symptom onset in challenge studies. Second, we identified an influenza-specific host response signature that (1) could distinguish influenza-infected samples from those with bacterial and other respiratory viral infections, (2) was a diagnostic and prognostic marker in influenza-pneumonia patients and influenza challenge studies, and (3) was predictive of response to influenza vaccine. Our results have applications in the diagnosis, prognosis, and identification of drug targets in viral infections.
Instrumented Walkway for Estimation of the Ankle Impedance in Dorsiflexion-Plantarflexion and Inversion-Eversion During Standing and Walking

This paper describes in detail the fabrication of an instrumented walkway for estimation of the ankle mechanical impedance in both dorsiflexion-plantarflexion (DP) and in inversion-eversion (IE) directions during walking in arbitrary directions and standing. The platform consists of two linear actuators, each capable of generating ±351.3 N peak force that are mechanically coupled to a force plate using Bowden cables. The applied forces cause the force plate to rotate in two degrees of freedom (DOF) and transfer torques to the human ankle to generate DP and IE rotations. The relative rotational motion of the foot with respect to the shin is recorded using a motion capture camera system while the forces applied to the foot are measured with the force plate, from which the torques applied to the ankle are calculated. The analytical methods required for the estimation of the ankle torques, rotations, and impedances are presented. To validate the system, a mockup with known stiffness was used, and it was shown that the developed system was capable of properly estimating the stiffness of the mockup in two DOF with less than 5% error. Also, a preliminary experiment with a human subject in standing position was performed, and the estimated quasi-static impedance of the ankle was estimated at 319 Nm/rad in DP and 119 Nm/rad in IE.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Security issues on spectral-phase-encoded optical CDMA with phase-masking scheme

This paper proposes a time-varying phase-masking scheme for OCDMA security enhancement. We provide a quantitative analysis of its confidentiality. Analytical results indicate that the phase-masking scheme increases the difficulty of interception and achieves low data interception rates.
Evaluation and Treatment of Stem Cell Transplant-Related Dermatoses

Skin eruptions that develop early after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation are a unique group of dermatoses that are often clinically and histologically similar to one another, despite the variability in etiology. Current diagnostic criteria cannot reliably distinguish between acute graft-versus-host disease, eruption of lymphocyte recovery, engraftment syndrome, toxic erythema of chemotherapy, drug eruptions, and viral exanthema. Prospective trials that incorporate biomarker panels and participation by dermatology consultants in the evaluation of these patients hold promise as a method by which more accurate diagnosis of these dermatoses can be made.
Tumor registry versus physician medical record review: A head-to-head comparison of malignant pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (mPNET) cases

6600 Background: Researchers have underutilized single-institution tumor registry (TR) data, instead using researcher medical record review and/or personal, departmental or institutional databases to identify patients with particular malignancies. However, TR data is becoming increasingly prominent on a national level through broader use of the National Cancer Database (NCDB). We selected mPNETs as example to compare the accuracy of TR identification of these tumors with physician medical record review (MD Review). Methods: For MD Review, the health information services department of a single academic medical center was queried for all patients with pancreatic ICD9 codes (157.0–157.9; 211.6–211.7) January 2000-August 2008. A single physician reviewer analyzed computerized and paper medical records and identified mPNET cases. For TR data, mPNET patients were identified using the TR database with assistance of TR staff by two separate strategies. From January 2000-December 2006, patients were identified by ...
„Ja, wohin gehen sie denn?“: Die „3. Generation Ostdeutscher“ zwischen Suchen und Finden am Beispiel des 1.5 Generationskonzeptes

In Stellungnahmen jungeren Datums wurde von Mitgliedern des „Netzwerkes 3te Generation Ost“ auf eine besondere Eigenschaft jener hingewiesen, die der „3. Generation Ostdeutscher“ zugehorig sind: Transformationskompetenz. An der Spitze der Debatte steht die Politikwissenschaftlerin Adriana Lettrari, eine der Grundungsmitglieder des „Netzwerkes 3te Generation Ost“, die in einer Transformationskompetenz jene besondere Fahigkeit sieht, mit plotzlichen und unerwarteten Systemveranderungen umgehen zu konnen. Die Erfahrungen und die Bewaltigung des Ereignisses Wiedervereinigung, so das Argument, bilden einen Erfahrungsschatz im Umgang mit sogenannten Umbruchen generell. Grob zugespitzt: Hat man einmal eine schwere Krise durchgemacht, kommen einem die Krisen des Alltags eher klein vor, oder auch „kennst du einen, kennst du alle“.
Duration of the Glacial Age

Rate of subsidence and elevation of tropical lands—Rate of elevation in the northern part of the northern hemisphere—Retreat of Niagara Fall 7 miles from its origin—Fossiliferous boulders carried from the region north of Katahdin to the islands of Penobscot Bay—High hills in New England and New Brunswick to oppose the march of the great glacier—Its annual rate of motion in these regions—History of a fossil boulder—Estimated thickness of the great glacier—The hydrographic features of the northern parts of northern continents indicative of glacial denudation.
Approaching Bulk Carrier Dynamics in Organo-Halide Perovskite Nanocrystalline Films by Surface Passivation

The electronic properties of organo-halide perovskite absorbers described in the literature have been closely associated with their morphologies and processing conditions. However, the underlying origins of this dependence remain unclear. A combination of inorganic synthesis, surface chemistry, and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy was used to show that charge recombination centers in organo-halide perovskites are almost exclusively localized on the surfaces of the crystals rather than in the bulk. Passivation of these surface defects causes average charge carrier lifetimes in nanocrystalline thin films to approach the bulk limit reported for single-crystal organo-halide perovskites. These findings indicate that the charge carrier lifetimes of perovskites are correlated with their thin-film processing conditions and morphologies through the influence these have on the surface chemistry of the nanocrystals. Therefore, surface passivation may provide a means to decouple the electronic properties ...
Discursively Constructing a Family Identity After an Autism Diagnosis: Trials, Tribulations, and Triumphs

ABSTRACTThe present study addressed the question: How are families communicating to construct a family identity in the face of a child’s autism diagnosis? Interviews with 19 parents of children, teens, and adults with mild, moderate, and severe autism highlighted the discursive construction of family identity. Findings reveal that families construct an internal family identity that is marked by unified usage of the name “autism,” emotive and mundane daily discussions, narratives that serve functional purposes, and normal/structured rituals. Externally, families communicate about autism to outsiders to help others understand, to educate others about autism, to show their loyalty and protection for their family, and to highlight their family’s normalcy. These findings illustrate that the discourse-dependent practices are useful not just for constructing membership in families that differ structurally from societal expectations, but also for constructing identity in that face of unique family functioning res...
Molecules That Mimic Apolipoprotein A-I: Potential Agents for Treating Atherosclerosis

Certain amphipathic α-helical peptides can functionally mimic many of the properties of full-length apolipoproteins, thereby offering an approach to modulate high-density lipoprotein (HDL) for combating atherosclerosis. In this Perspective, we summarize the key findings and advances over the past 25 years in the development of peptides that mimic apolipoproteins, especially apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I). This assemblage of information provides a reasonably clear picture of the state of the art in the apolipoprotein mimetic field, an appreciation of the potential for such agents in pharmacotherapy, and a sense of the opportunities for optimizing the functional properties of HDL.
CD95 mediated T cell apoptosis and its relevance to immune deviation

The CD95/CD95L pair plays a manifold role in regulating life and death in the function of the immune system. Examples include CD95/CD95L acting as cytotoxic CD8+ T cell effector molecules, or functioning on CD4+ T helper cells to maintain peripheral tolerance or reestablishing homeostasis. Current understanding of the CD95 signaling pathway reveals several potential regulatory targets, acting both receptor proximally and distally, that can terminate or amplify the receptor's signal. The important and possibly non-redundant role of CD95 is highlighted both in how deficiencies in functional CD95 or its ligand manifest themselves in autoimmune syndromes, and how uncontrolled cell death results in insufficient, or inappropriate immune responses against immune challenge. This review examines CD95-mediated signal transduction, and the effect preferential apoptosis of T helper cell subsets has on immune system biasing.
Analysis of Liver Glycogen in Chicks

The glycogen levels in homogenates from livers from 3- to 4-week-old broilers were measured using alkaline digestion and ethanol precipitation followed by direct hydrolysis with amyloglucosidase. Glycogen was determined with glucose oxidase. Glycogen levels were not affected by rapid freezing in liquid nitrogen and storage at -10 C. Glycogen was stabile at 4 C for at least 1 hr; however, at room temperature, over 50% of the glycogen was lost within 1 hr. Homogenization with .05 M ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) prevented this loss. Liver glycogen decreased rapidly (within 1 hr) after feed withdrawal and was sometimes undetectable within 2 hr. There was considerable variation in glycogen levels among individual birds. Liver glycogen levels were up to 50% higher at 1100 than at 0800 hr.
Application of aided endoscopic surgical robot system in pediatric general surgery

[Objective] To investigate the application of aided endoscopic surgical robot system in pediatric general surgery. [Method] All cases were divided into two groups:Test group (the aided endoscopic surgical robot system) and Control group (the traditional laparoscopic operation). The two groups were analyzed retrospectively. [Result] Compared the test group to control group, the occurrance of complication and hospital stay had no statistical significance. But for the test group, the operation time was longer and the medical cost was higher. [Conclusion] The application of aided endoscopic surgical robot system is safe, effective and feasible.
The source of O+ in the storm time ring current

A stretched and compressed geomagnetic field occurred during the main phase of a geomagnetic storm on 1 June 2013. During the storm the Van Allen Probes spacecraft made measurements of the plasma sheet boundary layer and observed large fluxes of O+ ions streaming up the field line from the nightside auroral region. Prior to the storm main phase there was an increase in the hot (>1 keV) and more isotropic O+ ions in the plasma sheet. In the spacecraft inbound pass through the ring current region during the storm main phase, the H+ and O+ ions were significantly enhanced. We show that this enhanced inner magnetosphere ring current population is due to the inward adiabatic convection of the plasma sheet ion population. The energy range of the O+ ion plasma sheet that impacts the ring current most is found to be from ~5 to 60 keV. This is in the energy range of the hot population that increased prior to the start of the storm main phase, and the ion fluxes in this energy range only increase slightly during the extended outflow time interval. Thus, the auroral outflow does not have a significant impact on the ring current during the main phase. The auroral outflow is transported to the inner magnetosphere but does not reach high enough energies to affect the energy density. We conclude that the more energetic O+ that entered the plasma sheet prior to the main phase and that dominates the ring current is likely from the cusp.
What to do when it might be child abuse.

Guidelines help physicians determine whether to file a report of suspected child abuse and neglect. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.
Preservation of tissue for transplantation and replantation.

The success of transplantation and replantation in recent years clearly establishes the fact that most tissues or organs in the body can tolerate a period of ischemia and survive after reestablishment of circulation. Extending this tolerable period of ischemia would be immediately useful in extending the scope of feasible clinical microvascular surgery. Experimental data and clinical experience with hypothermic preservation indicate that this tolerable warm ischemia time can be extended several-fold simply by cooling.
While the revolution will not be crystallized, biochemistry reigns supreme.

Single-particle cryo-electron microscopy (EM) is currently gaining attention for the ability to calculate structures that reach sub-5 A resolutions; however, the technique is more than just an alternative approach to X-ray crystallography. Molecular machines work via dynamic conformational changes, making structural flexibility the hallmark of function. While the dynamic regions in molecules are essential, they are also the most challenging to structurally characterize. Single-particle EM has the distinct advantage of being able to directly visualize purified molecules without the formation of ordered arrays of molecules locked into identical conformations. Additionally, structures determined using single-particle EM can span resolution ranges from very low- to atomic-levels (>30-1.8 A), sometimes even in the same structure. The ability to accommodate various resolutions gives single-particle EM the unique capacity to structurally characterize dynamic regions of biological molecules, thereby contributing essential structural information needed for the development of molecular models that explain function. Further, many important molecular machines are intrinsically dynamic and compositionally heterogeneous. Structures of these complexes may never reach sub-5 A resolutions due to this flexibility required for function. Thus, the biochemical quality of the sample, as well as, the calculation and interpretation of low- to mid-resolution cryo-EM structures (30-8 A) remains critical for generating insights into the architecture of many challenging biological samples that cannot be visualized using alternative techniques.
Categorical and probabilistic reasoning in medical diagnosis

Medical decision making can be viewed along a spectrum, with categorical (or deterministic) reasoning at one extreme and probabilistic (or evidential) reasoning at the other. In this paper we examine the flowchart as the prototype of categorical reasoning and decision analysis as the prototype of probabilistic reasoning. Within this context we compare PIP, INTERNIST, CASNET, and MYCIN—four of the present programs which apply the techniques of artificial intelligence to medicine. Although these systems can exhibit impressive expert-like behavior, we believe that none of them is yet capable of truly expert reasoning. We suggest that a program which can demonstrate expertise in the area of medical consultation will have to use a judicious combination of categorical and probabilistic reasoning—the former to establish a sufficiently narrow context and the latter to make comparisons among hypotheses and eventually to recommend therapy.
Mutations in VP1 and 3A proteins improve binding and replication of rhinovirus C15 in HeLa-E8 cells

Viruses in the rhinovirus C species (RV-C) can cause severe respiratory illnesses in children including pneumonia and asthma exacerbations. A transduced cell line (HeLa-E8) stably expressing the CDHR3-Y529 receptor variant, supports propagation of RV-C after infection. C15 clinical or recombinant isolates replicate in HeLa-E8, however progeny yields are lower than those of related strains of RV-A and RV-B. Serial passaging of C15 in HeLa-E8 resulted in stronger cytopathic effects and increased (≥10-fold) virus binding to cells and progeny yields. The adaptation was acquired by two mutations which increased binding (VP1 T125K) and replication (3A E41K), respectively. A similar 3A mutation engineered into C2 and C41 cDNAs also improved viral replication (2-8 fold) in HeLa but the heparan sulfate mediated cell-binding enhancement by the VP1 change was C15-specific. The findings now enable large-scale cost-effective C15 production by infection and the testing of RV-C infectivity by plaque assay.
Running with Perseverance: The Theological Library’s Challenge of Keeping Pace With Changing Students

In the last thirty years, the study habits and learning styles of students have changed, influenced by parenting styles, pop culture, and the influx of technology into their lives. Those students studying theology in seminaries and universities across the United States have likewise changed dramatically. Their ages, ethnicity, gender, technological ability, and goals have all changed, as have their expectations for their education and their library. This paper will examine the characteristics of those students considered to be part of the “Millennial” generation, examine how these characteristics apply to students of theology, and explore the impact that these characteristics are having, and will continue to have, on theological libraries.
Reading the Allegory of St. Erkenwald

In this article, I argue that the alliterative poem, St. Erkenwald, is a Middle English innovation on Old English and Anglo-Latin parchment riddles. By examining St. Erkenwald in light of the parchment riddles by Anglo-Latin riddlers Tatwine and Eusebius, and riddles contained in The Exeter Book, as well as the description of an ancient book in Matthew Paris’ Gesta abbatum monasterii Sancti Albani, I show that the Erkenwald-poet reimagined the motif of the talking piece of parchment as an ancient pagan judge. The Erkenwald-poet’s reimagining of the parchment riddle as an allegory of reading has perhaps been obscured by what I argue is an unnecessary emendation to the text.
Acculturative Stress and Leisure among Chinese International Graduate Students

ABSTRACTThis study explored the roles of leisure participation in helping Chinese international graduate students cope with acculturative stress. In particular, it examined (a) the expectations and preparations with respect to acculturative stress made by the students prior to their arrival to the United States, (b) the acculturative stressors experienced by the students during the postarrival transition phase, (c) the role of leisure participation in coping with acculturative stress, and (d) the limitations of leisure as a coping strategy and the negative impacts of leisure on acculturative stress. Two rounds of semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 first-year Chinese international graduate students attending a large midwestern university. The findings revealed that due to the unique cultural influence and the status of international students, the participants experienced distinctive acculturative stressors. Although leisure participation was an effective tool in combating acculturative stres...
Exceptionally Social: Design of an Avatar-Mediated Interactive System for Promoting Social Skills in Children with Autism

Avatar-mediated and virtual environments hold a unique potential for promoting social skills in children with autism. This paper describes the design of "Exceptionally Social," which is an interactive system that uses avatars to mediate human-to-human interactions for social skills training of children with autism. This system aims to offer the following functionalities: (1) gives children the opportunity to practice social skills in a safe environment, under various contexts. (2) changes the dynamics of the interactions based on the child's affective states. (3) provides visual support for children to teach them different social skills and facilitate their learning. (4) reduces the cognitive load on the interactor (a trained human orchestrating the avatars' behaviors) by providing real-time feedback about a child's affective states and suggesting appropriate visual supports using a recommendation system.
Twenty Years of the Midwest Medieval Slavic Workshop at the University of Chicago

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on medieval Slavic studies on pre-Petrine history, literature, language and art.
Declining survival across invasion history for Microstegium vimineum.

Many alien species become invasive because they lack coevolutionary history with the native community; for instance, they may lack specialized enemies. These evolutionary advantages may allow the invader to establish and persist when rare within a community and lead to its monodominance through positive frequency dependence, i.e. increasing per capita population growth rate with increasing frequency of conspecifics. However, this advantage could degrade through time due to evolutionary and ecological changes in the invasive and native plant and microbial communities. We investigated survival rates and individual biomass as proxies for per capita population growth rates for the invasive grass, Microstegium vimineum, across a gradient of conspecific frequencies (10–100% relative cover of M. vimineum) within 12 sites that varied in time since invasion. We expected M. vimineum frequency dependence to become more negative and its proxies for population growth at low conspecific frequency to decline across invasion history. We also explored the belowground fungal community associated with M. vimineum, since we hypothesized that changes in M. vimineum population dynamics may result from shifting microbial interactions over time. Microstegium vimineum frequency dependence changed from negative to neutral across invasion history and the shift was driven by a decline in survival at low frequency. Changes in M. vimineum root fungal community were associated with time since invasion. Our results do not support a shift in frequency dependence from positive to negative across invasion history. However, our results suggest M. vimineum populations may be less prone to persist at older invaded sites and thus more vulnerable to management intervention.
Online algorithm for controlling a cruise system under uncertainty in design parameters and environmental conditions using Monte-Carlo simulation

A simplified mathematical model for describing a dynamic response of a vehicle is developed. An online algorithm of a small vehicle for controlling an adaptive cruise system has been lunched and implemented by achieving two-time cost functions to determine a proper set of proportional and integral controllers. The proportional gain is adjusted to satisfy the time cost function in order to get the desired steady state time while the integral gain is set to be constant that meets the desired vehicle velocity. Several trials of random off-nominal parameters combinations involving vehicle mass, road angle, drag coefficient, and road rolling coefficient are tested using Monte-Carlo simulation method. The results show that the simplified mathematical model used in this study is efficient to describe the dynamic behavior of the vehicle and could be safely used to design a cruise system. The statistical results of Monte-Carlo simulations show the effectiveness of the online algorithm to steer the vehicle to the desired velocity within the required time under large dispersions of system parameters.
Aneurysms Involving the Motor and Sensory Visual Pathways

Intracranial aneurysms can cause patients to present with blurring, decreased vision, diplopia, or ptosis so that ophthalmologic consultation is sought early. However, most patients with saccular aneurysms of the intradural arteries present with focal or diffuse headaches, a stiff neck, and an altered state of consciousness, because of a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Depending upon the location of the aneurysm and the direction of the rupture, a hemorrhage will develop in the brain parenchyma, the ventricular system, the subarachnoid space, or in some combination of these. The high frequency of severe morbidity and mortality following a hemorrhage and secondary vasospasm makes diagnosis prior to a bleed essential [1]. This is often possible because many aneurysms cause signs and symptoms of sensory visual loss or lid, pupil, or oculomotor dysfunction before rupturing.
Janus Liposomes: Gel-Assisted Formation and Bioaffinity-Directed Clustering

This article reports a high-yield procedure for preparing microsized (giant) Janus liposomes via gel-assisted lipid swelling and clustering behavior of these liposomes directed by biotin-avidin affinity binding. Confocal fluorescence microscopy reveals in detail that these new lipid colloidal particles display broken symmetry and heterogeneous surface chemistry similar to other types of Janus particles. An optimized formation procedure is presented, which reproducibly yields large liposome populations dominated by a single-domain configuration. This work further demonstrates that biotin-conjugated 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine preferentially partitions into the liquid-disordered phase of the lipid matrix, rendering these Janus liposomes asymmetrical binding capacity toward avidin. This affinity binding drives irreversible and domain-specific cluster formation among Janus liposomes, whose structure and size are found to depend on the domain configuration of individual liposomes and incubati...
Studying crime trends in the USA over the years 2000–2012

Studying crime trends and tendencies is an important problem that helps to identify socioeconomic patterns and relationships of crucial significance. Finite mixture models are famous for their flexibility in modeling heterogeneity in data. A novel approach designed for accounting for skewness in the distributions of matrix observations is proposed and applied to the United States crime data collected between 2000 and 2012 years. Then, the model is further extended by incorporating explanatory variables. A step-by-step model development demonstrates differences and improvements associated with every stage of the process. Results obtained by the final model are illustrated and thoroughly discussed. Multiple interesting conclusions have been drawn based on the developed model and obtained model-based clustering partition.
6.2 – Lung Volumes and Airway Resistance

Spirometers can measure three of four lung volumes, inspiratory reserve volume, tidal volume, expiratory reserve volume, but cannot measure residual volume. Four lung capacities are also defined: inspiratory capacity, vital capacity, functional residual capacity, and the total lung capacity. Pulmonary ventilation is the product of tidal volume and respiratory frequency. The maximum voluntary ventilation is the maximum air that can be moved per minute. Spirometry also provides a measure of airway resistance by use of the forced expiratory volume test. The clinical spirogram presents the forced vital capacity differently. In laminar flow, pressure necessary to drive flow increases linearly with the flow. In turbulent flow, pressure increases with the square of the flow. The Reynolds number is used to estimate whether flow is laminar or turbulent. Airway resistance also increases inversely with lung volume because stretch of the lungs opens airways. Dynamic compression limits flow at high expiratory effort.
Words and Deeds: A Focus Theory of Norms

The paper presents a view of social norms as situationally contingent. We tend to obey a norm when it is made salient, and thus we can focus upon it. In turn, the salience of a norm is contingent upon the situation we are in. We respond, often in an entirely automatic way, to situational cues that focus our attention on a salient norm. And we are able to focus on a particular norm because situational cues activate a cognitive schema that tells us how to behave appropriately in the present context. I present the results of several experiments that lend credibility to this view. My conclusion is that the claim that norms influence behavior is vindicated by the experimental results. To use social norms in an explanatory and predictive role, however, we need much more knowledge than we presently have about which situational cues focus our attention on which norms.
As Stable As You Are: Re-ranking Search Results using Query-Drift Analysis

This work studies the merits of using query-drift analysis for search re-ranking. A relationship between the ability to predict the quality of a result list retrieved by an arbitrary method, as manifested by its estimated query-drift, and the ability to improve that method's initial retrieval by re-ranking documents in the list based on such prediction is established. A novel document property, termed "aspect-stability", is identified as the main enabler for transforming the output of an aspect-level query-drift analysis into concrete document scores for search re-ranking. Using an evaluation with various TREC corpora with common baseline retrieval methods, the potential of the proposed re-ranking approach is demonstrated.
Overview of Models

Many types of mathematical models have been proposed in the literature for describing biological populations [6, 19, 28, 69, 80, 82]. One might argue that the wide variety of such models is a natural consequence of the great diversity of the overall objectives for such models. We start by discussing briefly the general modeling objectives upon which this monograph is based.
Hexakis(acetonitrile-κN)ruthenium(II) bis­(hexa­bromo­carbadodeca­borate) aceto­nitrile solvate

The title compound, [Ru(NCCH3)6](CH6B11Br6)2·CH3CN, consists of the 'naked' ruthenium(II) cation surrounded by six acetonitrile mol­ecules, each coordinated via the nitro­gen atoms in a linear or nearly-linear fashion in a typical octa­hedral over-all arrangement. The cation is balanced by the two hexa-bromo­carborane cage anionic fragments [CB11H6Br6]. Weak C—H⋯Br and B—H⋯Br inter­actions link neighboring anions.
A 3D-Printed, Adjustable-Stiffness Knee Brace with Embedded Magnetic Angle Sensor

In this work, we detail the design and verification of a novel, 3D-printed, flexible knee brace with an embedded magnetic angle sensor for monitoring joint kinematics. The brace's torsional stiffness can be selectively modified by applying elastic bands of varying thickness. Through benchtop tests and finite element analysis simulations, we characterize the mechanical behavior of the knee brace and determine estimates of torsional stiffness across a range of band thicknesses. To demonstrate the ability to modulate knee joint loading in a real-world scenario, we report results of a pilot study in which able-bodied subjects wear the device during treadmill walking and seated flexion-extension tasks.
Developmental pathology of congenital kidney and urinary tract anomalies

Congenital anomalies of the kidneys or lower urinary tract (CAKUT) are the most common causes of renal failure in children and account for 25% of end-stage renal disease in adults. The spectrum of anomalies includes renal agenesis; hypoplasia; dysplasia; supernumerary, ectopic or fused kidneys; duplication; ureteropelvic junction obstruction; primary megaureter or ureterovesical junction obstruction; vesicoureteral reflux; ureterocele; and posterior urethral valves. CAKUT originates from developmental defects and can occur in isolation or as part of other syndromes. In recent decades, along with better understanding of the pathological features of the human congenital urinary tract defects, researchers using animal models have provided valuable insights into the pathogenesis of these diseases. However, the genetic causes and etiology of many CAKUT cases remain unknown, presenting challenges in finding effective treatment. Here we provide an overview of the critical steps of normal development of the urinary system, followed by a description of the pathological features of major types of CAKUT with respect to developmental mechanisms of their etiology.
Mitochondrial oncobioenergetics of prostate tumorigenesis (Review)

Mitochondria are emerging as key players in the tumorigenic process of cells by maintaining the biosynthetic and energetic capabilities of cancer cells. It is now evident that mitochondria are involved in the malignant transformation, cell proliferation, aggression and metastatic behavior of prostate cancer (PC). Recent comprehensive analysis of the mitochondrial oncobioenergetic (MOB) profile of PC cells using microplate-based high resolution respirometry has clearly demonstrated that characteristic MOB alterations occur at different stages of PC development. Additionally, studies have reported that modification of the MOB profile significantly inhibits the growth of malignant cells. This observation suggests that dynamic alterations in the MOB function are a critical component in the development of malignant disease of the prostate. Therefore, quantification of MOB function may be a good marker for the prediction of tumor stage. Future studies may develop novel approaches to measure oncobioenergetics of tumors with minimal invasive procedures effectively in men to determine the general prostate health and tumor staging, and to predict whether a tumor will proceed to malignancy in patients. Additionally, since PC is a slow growing tumor, modulating the MOB profile at specific stages of tumor development may be a novel approach to treat or prevent PC.
Enhancing the Informed Consent Process Using Shared Decision Making and Consent Refusal Data from the CLEAR III Trial

The process of informed consent in National Institutes of Health randomized, placebo-controlled trials is poorly studied. There are several issues regarding informed consent in emergency neurologic trials, including a shared decision-making process with the patient or a legally authorized representative about overall risks, benefits, and alternative treatments. To evaluate the informed consent process, we collected best and worst informed consent practice information from a National Institutes of Health trial and used this in medical simulation videos to educate investigators at multiple sites to improve the consent process. Clot Lysis: Evaluating Accelerated Resolution of Intraventricular Hemorrhage Phase III (CLEAR III) (clinicaltrials.gov, NCT00784134) studied the effect of intraventricular alteplase (n = 251) versus saline (placebo) injections (n = 249) for intraventricular hemorrhage reduction. Reasons for ineligibility (including refusing to consent) for all screen failures were analyzed. The broadcasted presentation outlined best practices for doctor–patient interactions during the consenting process, as well as anecdotal, study-specific reasons for consent refusal. Best and worst consent elements were then incorporated into a simulation video to enhance the informed consent process. This video was disseminated to trial sites as a webinar around the midpoint of the trial to improve the consent process. Pre- and post-intervention consent refusals were compared. During the trial, 10,538 patients were screened for eligibility, of which only three were excluded due to trial timing. Pre-intervention, 77 of 5686 (1.40%) screen eligible patients or their proxies refused consent. Post-intervention, 55 of 4849 (1.10%) refused consent, which was not significantly different from pre-intervention (P = 0.312). The incidence of screen failures was significantly lower post-intervention (P = 0.006), possibly due to several factors for patient exclusion. The informed consent process for prospective randomized trials may be enhanced by studying and refining best practices based on trial-specific plans and patient concerns particular to a study.