cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Are the Pathobiological Changes Evoked by Traumatic Brain Injury Immediate and Irreversible

Traumatic brain injury has long been thought to evoke immediate and irreversible damage to the brain parenchyma and its intrinsic vasculature. In this review, we call into question the correctness of this assumption by citing two traumatically related brain parenchymal abnormalities that are the result of a progressive, traumatically induced perturbation. In this context, we first consider the pathogenesis of traumatically induced axonal damage to show that it is not the immediate consequence of traumatic tissue tearing. Rather, we illustrate that it is a delayed consequence of complex axolemmal and/or cytoskeletal changes evoked by the traumatic episode which then lead to cytoskeletal collapse and impairment of axoplasmic transport, ultimately progressing to axonal swelling and disconnection. Second, we consider the traumatized brain's increased neuronal sensitivity to secondary ischemic insult by showing that even after mild traumatic brain injury, CA1 neuronal cell loss can be precipitated by the induction of sublethal ischemic insult within 24 hrs of injury. In demonstrating this increased sensitivity to secondary insult, evidence is provided that it is triggered by the neurotransmitter storm evoked by traumatic brain injury, allowing for sublethal neuro-excitation. In relation to this phenomenon, the protective effect of receptor antagonists are discussed, as well as the concept that this relatively prolonged posttraumatic brain hypersensitivity offers a potential window for therapeutic intervention. Collectively, it is felt that both examples of the brain parenchyma's response to traumatic brain injury show that the resulting pathobiology is much more complex and progressive than previously envisioned, and as such, rejects many of the previous beliefs regarding the pathobiology of traumatic brain injury.
Myotis septentrionalis Trouessart (Northern Long-eared Bat) Records from the Coastal Plain of North Carolina

Abstract Myotis septentrionalis (Northern Long-eared Bat) is a small, insectivorous bat found in the eastern United States and Canada. Along the east coast, its range is thought to extend as far south as the Great Dismal Swamp in coastal Virginia. We captured six M. septentrionalis in the northern coastal plain region of North Carolina. Field identification was based on characters of ear and tragus length and confirmed with mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I sequences. These captures signify the presence of a resident population of M. septentrionalis in the northern coastal plain of North Carolina. Future work is needed to document range limits and hibernation behavior of this species in the piedmont and coastal plain of North Carolina.
Extended culture and the risk of preterm delivery in singletons: confounding by indication?

Sir,Wereadwithinteresttherecentarticle(Daretal.,2013)suggestingthatsingletonsbornafterextendedculturemayhaveahigherriskofpretermdelivery than those born after Day 3 transfer. While the importance ofoptimizing embryo culture and improving obstetrical outcomes after invitro fertilization should not be underestimated, we believe this studysuffersfromaseriousmethodologicalﬂaw,namely‘confoundingbyindi-cation’. Due to this bias, blastocyst-stage transfer—the most effectivemeansofimprovingselectionandreducingmultiplegestation(Papaniko-laouetal.,2006)—maybeincorrectlyblamedforthissmalldifferenceinpreterm delivery risk (17.2 versus 14.1%).Theauthorshypothesizethat‘extendedculturemaycausedifferencesinimplantationandplacentation’thatpresumablypredisposetopretermdelivery. However, the differences that they attribute to extendedculture presuppose that the two populations (Day 3 transfer and Day5/6 transfer recipients) have the same a priori risk of preterm delivery.In fact,this is unlikely to be the case.Itiswellknownthatelectivesingleembryotransfer(eSET)isunderu-tilized.WhileeSETaccountedforonly4.0%ofcyclesinCanadain2006(Gunbyet al.,2011), 20.2%of theDay5/6deliveriesin this study wereafter SET, compared with only 5.8% in the Day 3 group. Patients whohaveacontraindicationtomultiplegestationduetoapriorpretermde-livery, cervical incompetence, uterine anomalyor medical complicationalmost universally receive eSET and prior research has demonstratedthat, likely due to these underlying factors, SET recipients may be atincreased risk for preterm delivery (Grady et al., 2012). Even adjustingfor the number of embryos transferred, as was performed by Daret al., maynot correct for this sourceof bias.Furthermore, by not including any data on the number of embryostransferred or implantation rates, it is not possible to determine theprobabilityofatermdeliverypercycleinitiated.Patientsengageininfer-tility treatment with the goal of achieving a healthy term delivery. Sincethere are signiﬁcantly more deliveries per blastocyst transfer than perDay3 transfer, patients have a higher likelihood of aterm deliveryafterblastocyst transfer. Though the authors of this study and a recentstudy looking at IVF singleton deliveries in the USA (Kalra et al., 2012)take the ‘glass half-empty’ interpretation, an optimist could look atblastocyst transfer as a way to increase term deliveries, especiallywhen single blastocyst transferis employed.In order to properly assess the potential impact of extended cultureon gestational age, future studies must control for the underlying riskof preterm delivery. Otherwise we fear that the concern raised by thisstudy may have the unintended consequence of shifting more patientsto cleavage-stage, multiple embryo transfers with resulting increasedriskof preterm delivery due to multiple gestation.
Space requirements of weaned pigs during a sixty-minute transport in summer

Currently, there are no trucking quality assurance recommendations for space allowance of weaned pigs during transport in the United States. The objective of this research was to establish a first estimate of the space requirements of weaned pigs during transport in summer based on measures of animal well-being. A commercial semi-trailer was fitted with compartments that provided 0.05, 0.06, and 0.07 m(2)/pig, which were replicated on the upper and lower deck, with a constant 100 pigs per compartment. Cameras were placed in each experimental compartment to record behaviors and postures of pigs during transport. The frequencies of standing, lying, sitting, standing/rearing on another pig, and lying/huddling on top of another pig were recorded using 1-min scan samples during the entire duration of transport. Blood samples were collected and BW and lesion scores recorded from 32 pigs per space allowance for physiological and immune measures before and after transport (n = 32 pigs/treatment). Pigs were transported for 60 +/- 5 min to the wean-to-finishing site using the same route for each replicate during summer (temperature: 28.4 +/- 1.2 degrees C and relative humidity: 59.8 +/- 4.4% within the trailer). Data were analyzed using the MIXED procedure (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC). Cortisol, hematocrit, blood urea nitrogen, total protein, albumin, aspartate aminotransferase, creatine kinase, and gamma-glutamyl transferase increased (P < 0.05) after transport regardless of space allowance. Plasma glucose and BW decreased (P < 0.05) after transport regardless of space allowance. Lesion scores increased (P < 0.001) after transport and were greater (P < 0.05) for barrows compared with gilts. The neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio was greater (P < 0.005) for pigs transported at 0.05 m(2)/pig compared with pigs transported at 0.06 and 0.07 m(2)/pig. Pigs transported at 0.05 m(2)/pig lay down less (P < 0.05) than pigs transported at 0.06 and 0.07 m(2)/pig between 30 and 60 min of transport. Greater neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and less lying behavior performed by pigs transported at 0.05 m(2)/pig suggest that a minimum space allowance of 0.06 m(2)/pig was preferable when transporting weaned pigs for 60 min during summer in this study.
Design and synthesis of photoactive ionic amorphous molecular materials

Compounds bearing electrostatic charges have unique properties including outstanding ionic-conductivity when compared with neutral ones. On the other hand, amorphous molecular materials harness the advantages of small molecules with high purity, defined structures and monodispersity, while still being easily processable into thin films and fibers. Here, we report a series of bis(pyridinium salt)s that combine these properties to form ionic amorphous molecular materials. Their design allowed them to vitrify efficiently upon slow cooling. They exhibited glass-transition temperatures in the range of 81–191 °C and had excellent thermal stabilities of up to 461 °C. Fibers were easily drawn from their melts that were visible to the naked eye. Although they were completely conjugated and had large molecular sizes, they were soluble in many common organic solvents. Additionally, they fluoresced blue and green light in both solution and solid states. They could be useful for high-performance applications in opto- and microelectronic fields, among others.
An R package that automatically collects and archives details for reproducible computing

It is scientifically and ethically imperative that the results of statistical analysis of biomedical research data be computationally reproducible in the sense that the reported results can be easily recapitulated from the study data. Some statistical analyses are computationally a function of many data files, program files, and other details that are updated or corrected over time. In many applications, it is infeasible to manually maintain an accurate and complete record of all these details about a particular analysis. Therefore, we developed the rctrack package that automatically collects and archives read only copies of program files, data files, and other details needed to computationally reproduce an analysis. The rctrack package uses the trace function to temporarily embed detail collection procedures into functions that read files, write files, or generate random numbers so that no special modifications of the primary R program are necessary. At the conclusion of the analysis, rctrack uses these details to automatically generate a read only archive of data files, program files, result files, and other details needed to recapitulate the analysis results. Information about this archive may be included as an appendix of a report generated by Sweave or knitR. Here, we describe the usage, implementation, and other features of the rctrack package. The rctrack package is freely available from http://www.stjuderesearch.org/site/depts/biostats/rctrack under the GPL license.
Results of 1992 ASTM cell and module measurement intercomparison

Results of a cell and module measurement intercomparison, begun in June 1992, with eight US laboratories participating, are presented. The intercomparison is sponsored by ASTM technical subcommittee E44.09, "Photovoltaic Electric Power Systems," for the purpose of obtaining inter-laboratory and intra-laboratory precision values for a number of important ASTM photovoltaic performance measurement standards. These standards include primary and secondary reference cell calibrations, cell performance measurements, spectral response measurements, and module performance measurements. Participating laboratories included PV manufacturers, the DOE national PV laboratories, and PV measurement equipment manufacturers. >
A novel FPGA based off-line control strategy for SRM integrated vehicle propulsion system

Much attention has been recently drawn towards switched reluctance machine (SRM) based vehicle propulsion systems. This is especially due to the excellent extended speed features of SRMs for electric/hybrid electric vehicle propulsion applications. However, the inherently large torque ripple and highly nonlinear characteristics of SRMs present significant challenges from the controller design standpoint. Appropriate design of a control smart scheme is critical, in order to enhance overall performance. This paper proposes a novel field programmable gate array (FPGA) based off-line control strategy, to minimize the overall torque ripple and deal with the nonlinearities. However, due to its “off-line” feature, the precise inductance model of SRM ought to be determined. For this purpose, this work also involves usage of a suitable current saturation method. Suitable simulation test results are discussed and in-depth analyses, inferences, as well as future research directions are presented.
Genome and genetic resources from the Cancer Genome Anatomy Project.

The Cancer Genome Anatomy Project (CGAP) is a collaborative network of cancer researchers with a common goal: to decipher the genetic changes that occur during cancer formation and progression. The project brings together several recent technologies capable of high-throughput analysis to help achieve this goal. Automated sequencing of cDNA libraries is a primary focus and is geared towards providing a comprehensive and annotated set of human and mouse transcribed sequences. This effort includes full-length transcript sequence generated by CGAP's new Mammalian Gene Collection initiative. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within human gene sequences (Genetic Annotation Initiative) and chromosomal rearrangements within cancer cells (Cancer Chromosome Aberration Project) are also being cataloged as part of CGAP. Finally, to help determine gene expression patterns related to cancer, CGAP provides a quantitative catalog of data through its SAGEmap initiative. The genome and genetic analysis tools listed in this review are all freely distributed by CGAP (http://cgap.nci.nih.gov/) without restriction.
Risk Factors Predictive of Endogenous Endophthalmitis Among Hospitalized Patients With Hematogenous Infections in the United States

Purpose To identify potential risk factors associated with endogenous endophthalmitis among hospitalized patients with hematogenous infections. Design Retrospective cross-sectional study. Methods MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters, and Medicare Supplemental and Coordination of Benefit inpatient databases from the years 2007-2011 were obtained. Utilizing ICD-9 codes, logistic regression was used to identify potential predictors/comorbidities for developing endophthalmitis in patients with hematogenous infections. Results Among inpatients with hematogenous infections, the overall incidence rate of presumed endogenous endophthalmitis was 0.05%-0.4% among patients with fungemia and 0.04% among patients with bacteremia. Comorbid human immunodeficiency virus infection/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) (OR = 4.27; CI, 1.55-11.8; P = .005), tuberculosis (OR = 8.5; CI, 1.2-61.5; P = .03), endocarditis (OR = 8.3; CI, 4.9-13.9; P P = .023), fungal meningitis (OR = 59.1; CI, 14.1-247.8; P P = .02), lymphoma/leukemia (OR = 2.9; CI, 1.6-5.3; P P = .02), pyogenic arthritis (OR = 4.2; CI, 1.8-9.6; P = .001), diabetes with ophthalmic manifestations (OR = 7.0; CI, 1.7-28.3; P = .006), and urinary tract infection (OR = 0.04; CI, 0.3-0.9; P = .023) were each significantly associated with a diagnosis of endogenous endophthalmitis. Patients aged 0-17 years (OR = 2.61; CI, 1.2-5.7; P = .02), 45-54 years (OR = 3.4; CI, 2.0-5.4; P P P = .01), 11-30 days (OR = 3.1; CI, 1.8-5.5; P P P Conclusions Endogenous endophthalmitis is rare among hospitalized patients in the United States. Among patients with hematogenous infections, odds of endogenous endophthalmitis were higher for children and middle-aged patients, and for patients with endocarditis, bacterial meningitis, lymphoma/leukemia, HIV/AIDS, internal organ abscess, diabetes with ophthalmic manifestations, skin cellulitis/abscess, pyogenic arthritis, tuberculosis, longer hospital stays, and/or ICU/NICU admission.
Thiazide-associated glucose abnormalities: prognosis, etiology, and prevention: is potassium balance the key?

Thiazide diuretics have been recommended as the preferred class of antihypertensive (AHT) drugs for initial therapy and for inclusion in a regimen of multiple drugs.1 This recommendation is based on 4 decades of randomized clinical events trials with placebo (or usual care) comparators, meta-analyses of such trials, and active-controlled trials, including the very large Antihypertensive and Lipid Lowering treatment to prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT).2,3 In the latter, treatment beginning with the thiazide-like diuretic chlorthalidone reduced the risk for major coronary events (the primary outcome) similar to treatment based on representatives of newer drug classes (amlodipine, doxazosin, and lisinopril); diuretic-based treatment was more effective at preventing heart failure, and in some comparisons, other cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. However, in ALLHAT mean fasting blood glucose (FBG) and incident diabetes mellitus (IDM) were slightly but significantly increased in the chlorthalidone compared with the other arms.3 Although the design precluded distinguishing between a benefit of the alternate drugs (especially lisinopril) and an adverse effect of the diuretic, previous evidence suggested that thiazides can cause dysglycemia (impaired glucose tolerance, impaired fasting glucose, or diabetes).4 One point about the ALLHAT results that has not received enough emphasis is that if the calcium channel blocker is taken as metabolically neutral, the 4-year IDM rates in the diuretic and calcium channel blocker arms (11.6% and 9.8%, respectively) imply that 83% of IDM occurring in association with thiazide use is not because of the diuretic. Nevertheless, based on the assumption that there is a direct relationship between thiazide exposure and dysglycemia, several key questions need to be addressed: (1) What are the long-term morbidity/mortality consequences, if any? (2) What are the mechanisms? and (3) Are the changes preventable and/or reversible? The role of potassium may be important to addressing each of these issues. Evidence …
Mathematics, Science, and Confirmation Theory

This article begins by distinguishing intrinsic and extrinsic contributions of mathematics to scientific representation. This leads to two investigations into how these different sorts of contributions relate to confirmation. I present a way of accommodating both contributions that complicates the traditional assumptions of confirmation theory. In particular, I argue that subjective Bayesianism does best in accounting for extrinsic contributions, while objective Bayesianism is more promising for intrinsic contributions.
QT interval variability is it a measure of autonomic activity

Repolarization of the ventricular myocardium is a complex process that varies in duration from site to site and from beat to beat. The mechanisms that govern spatial heterogeneity in ventricular repolarization are well studied, and are largely related to variation in ion channel function and density
Retrograde effects of target atrophy on submandibular ganglion neurons

1. To study the retrograde effects of changes in target tissue upon the innervating nerve supply, we have examined the parasympathetic submandibular ganglion of the adult rat. Neurons of this ganglion innervate the submandibular and sublingual salivary glands. 2. Ligating the salivary ducts leads to rapid and prolonged salivary gland cell atrophy. 3. Duct ligations, without direct injury to the glandular nerve supply, initially produced few alterations in the ganglion. After 8 wk, however, neuron number was reduced by 50%. The numbers of presynaptic inputs/neuron and synapses/neuron perimeter were not affected by the cell loss. 4. After 1 wk of duct ligation in which the glandular nerve supply was intentionally damaged, some ganglionic neurons have lost all presynaptic inputs, suggesting synaptic disjunction. This is followed at 3 wk by a 40% decrease in neuron number and an increase in the number of inputs per (remaining) ganglion cell. However, the number of synapses/neuronal profile was unchanged. 5. Thus axotomy plus target atrophy causes synaptic disjunction, neuron cell death, and input rearrangement, presumably due to a combination of direct injury effects and an abrupt loss of peripheral trophic supplies. 6. In contrast, target atrophy alone produced more gradual changes in submandibular ganglion neurons. Only prolonged target atrophy leads to a decrease in the number of ganglionic neurons, perhaps due to the gradual loss of peripheral trophic supplies. However, other features, such as the number of inputs/cell and the number of synapses/neuron perimeter, remain unaltered. Evidently, the gradual loss of trophic support does not result in synaptic disjunction to the degree needed to produce presynaptic input rearrangement.
Attitudes Toward Computer Interventions for Partner Abuse and Drug Use Among Women in the Emergency Department.

Objectives: Drug use and partner abuse often coexist among women presenting to the emergency department (ED). Technology offers one solution to the limited time and expertise available to address these problems. The aims of this study were to explore women’s attitudes about use of computers for screening and intervening in drug use and partner abuse. Methods: Seventeen adult women with recent histories of partner abuse and drug use were recruited from an urban ED to participate in one-on-one semistructured interviews. A coding classification scheme was developed and applied to the transcripts by 2 independent coders. The research team collaboratively decided upon a thematic framework and selected illustrative quotes. Results: Most participants used computers and/or mobile phones frequently and reported high self-efficacy with them. Women described emotional difficulty and shame around partner abuse experiences and drug use; however, they felt that reporting drug use and partner abuse was easier and safer through a computer than face-to-face with a person, and that advice from a computer about drug use or partner abuse was acceptable and accessible. Some had very positive experiences completing screening assessments. However, participants were skeptical of a computer’s ability to give empathy, emotional support, or meaningful feedback. The ED was felt to be an appropriate venue for such programs, as long as they were private and did not supersede clinical care. Conclusions: Women with partner abuse and drug use histories were receptive to computerized screening and advice, while still expressing a need for the empathy and compassion of a human interaction within an intervention.
Assessing Dance in Physical Education

(1981). Assessing Dance in Physical Education. Journal of Physical Education and Recreation: Vol. 52, No. 4, pp. 74-74.
Research Progress and Development Trend of Cognitive Radio for Smart Grid

Application of cognitive radio for smart grid will effectively address the problem of spectrum resource scarcity in the wireless communications.A cognitive radio network can serve as a robust and efficient communications infrastructure that can solve both the current and future energy management needs of the smart grid.Cognitive radio testbed for the smart grid is not only able to test the performance of application,but also can find more practical problems.An efficient and reliable communication architecture has great significance to support the two-way communication for the smart grid.The latest research progress of cognitive radio-based testbed and system architecture for smart grid is summarized,and,in this basis,this paper discusses the development trend of the next step.
Black youths, joblessness, and the other side of ‘Black Lives Matter’

ABSTRACTWhen income segregation is coupled with racial segregation, low-income blacks cluster in neighbourhoods that feature disadvantages along several dimensions including joblessness. Residents of these neighbourhoods are often innocent victims of crime, including violent crime, which frequently goes unnoticed or unreported in the media. They represent the other side of ‘Black Lives Matter', which suggests the need for a broader vision that also highlights the plight of innocent victims of violent crimes in the inner city, and that recognizes the close association between such crimes and joblessness. I therefore call for a policy prescription that would enhance the employment prospects of jobless youth, who are disproportionally involved in criminal offenses, especially those stigmatized by prison records. In making the case for this public policy prescription, I challenge Orlando Patterson's assumptions, based largely on the research of Roger Waldinger, that young black males are reluctant to take low...
Gesture Capture, Processing, and Asynchronous Playback within Web Audio Instruments

The authors describe tools for recording interactions and gestures within the Nexus User Interface web audio toolkit. More broadly, the authors investigate and implement data processing algorithms which manipulate gestures and treat them developmentally as objets geste, similar to objets sonores. Gesture playback settings are noted, including variable playback rate, noise modulation, and granulation. In addition, the authors note the benefits of implementing this system within JavaScript’s event-based asynchronicity.
Multi-resolution stacking for speech separation based on boosted DNN.

Recent progress in speech separation shows that deep neural networks (DNN) based supervised methods can improve the performance in difficult noise conditions and exhibit good generalization to unseen noise scenarios. However, existing approaches do not explore contextual information sufficiently. In this paper, we focus on exploring contextual information using DNN. The proposed method has two parts—a multi-resolution stacking (MRS) framework and a boosted DNN (bDNN) classifier. The MRS framework trains a stack of classifier ensembles, where each classifier in an ensemble concatenates the raw acoustic feature and the outputs of its bottom ensemble as a new feature, and different classifiers in an ensemble work with different window lengths. The bDNN classifier first generates multiple base predictions for a frame from a given window that is centered on the frame and contains multiple neighboring frames, and then aggregates the base predictions for the final prediction. Our experimental comparison with DNN based speech separation in difficult noise scenarios demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed method in terms of both prediction accuracy and objective speech intelligibility.
Elevated Expression Of CKS1B Inhibits Senescence Thorough Enhanced Degradation Of p21 In Multiple Myeloma

Background High expression of CKS1B gene as a result of amplification of region 1q21 identifies a subset of patients with poor prognosis in multiple myeloma (MM). We have previously shown that over-expression of CKS1B enhances degradation of p27 and activates both MEK/ERK and JAK/STAT3 signaling pathways, promotes MM cell drug-resistance. However, other mechanisms of drug resistance induced by high expression of CKS1B remain to be identified. Materials and methods CKS1B was over-expressed or knocked-down by shRNA in OCI-MY5 and KMS28PE myeloma cell lines. Cell viability was detected by PrestoBlue assay; Annexin-V assay was employed to detect cell apoptosis. Colony formation was assessed in soft agar. The direct dye efﬂux to assess multidrug resistance was performed using eFluxx-ID Multidrug resistance assay. Senescence was detected by SA-β-galactosidase (β-Gal) staining. Expression of SCF-Skp2 substrates was evaluated by western blots. Results We demonstrated that overexpression of CKS1B significant decreased sensitivity to bortezomib and increased the clonogenic capacity compared to cells transfected with empty vector in the presence of bortezomib (p < 0.05). A prominent mechanism of drug resistance involved upregulation of multidrug resistance associated proteins (MRPs). We investigated whether the level of MDR1, BCRP, and MRP1, mitotic checkpoint protein MAD2 and ABC transporter family members was increased in cells with elevated CKS1B. However, none of drug pump proteins was up-regulated or stabilized by over-expression of CKS1B in OCI-MY5 and KMS28PE. Accordingly, over-expression of CKS1B did not promote efflux of the hydrophilic eFluxx-ID™ gold fluorescent dye from MM cells any greater than control cells, suggesting alternative mechanisms. We therefore tested whether CKS1B can inhibit drug-induced senescence in MM cells after treatment with bortezomib by quantifying the percentage of cells expressing senescence-associated β-Gal. Interestingly, MM cells with elevated CKS1B were significantly less β-Gal positive following treatment with bortezomib compared to control cells (p < 0.05). To explore molecular mechanism underlying CKS1B induced anti-senescence, expression of SCF-Skp2 substrates involved in senescence pathway was examined as CKS1B is an essential cofactor for SCF-Skp2 complex. Over-expression of CKS1B significantly reduced expression of p21, p27, and p57 while knock-down of CKS1B stabilized these proteins. Notably, cells with high expression of CKS1B failed to accumulate p21 protein in response to bortezomib. Conclusion Our findings suggest that anti-senescence is a novel mechanism in CKS1B-induced drug resistance in MM and the turnover of p21 regulated by CKS1B could have important implications not only for bortezomib therapy but also to develop therapies aimed at enhancing p21 function independent of p53. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Iterative Phase Retrieval in Phase-Space

Iterative phase retrieval methods are reinterpreted in terms of the Wigner distribution. A deterministic scheme is presented to apply phase retrieval algorithms developed for Fourier data to any first order optical system without change.
Performance analysis of work-conserving schedulers for minimizing total flow-time with phase precedence

We consider the problem of minimizing the total flow-time of multiple jobs in a pool of multiple homogeneous machines, where the jobs arrive over time and have to be served with phase precedence. This is a common occurrence in job scheduling for the increasingly popular data center oriented systems, where jobs need to be processed through Map and Reduce procedures before leaving the system. For this problem, one can construct an arrival pattern such that no scheduler can achieve a constant competitive ratio. However, what we find is that by using a slightly weaker performance metric, which we call the efficiency ratio, we can provide bounds on the performance. We say that a scheduler achieves an efficiency ratio of γ when the flow-time incurred by that scheduler divided by the minimum flow-time achieved over all possible schedulers is less than or equal to γ almost surely, when the time slots or job arrivals go to infinity. Under some weak assumptions, we show a surprising property that all work-conserving schedulers for the flow-time problem with phase precedence have a constant efficiency ratio in both preemptive and non-preemptive scenarios. We provide numerical results to support our analysis.
$k$ -Connectivity in Random $K$ -Out Graphs Intersecting Erdős-Rényi Graphs

We investigate $k$ -connectivity in secure wireless sensor networks under the random pairwise key predistribution scheme with unreliable links. When wireless communication links are modeled as independent on-off channels, this amounts to analyzing a random graph model formed by intersecting a random $K$ -out graph and an Erdős-Renyi graph. We present conditions on how to scale the parameters of this intersection model so that the resulting graph is $k$ -connected with probability approaching to one (resp. zero) as the number of nodes gets large. The resulting zero-one law is shown to improve and sharpen the previous result on the 1-connectivity of the same model. We also provide numerical results to support our analysis.
Effect of Moisture on Epoxy Resins and Composites

The effect of absorbed moisture on the properties of six neat epoxy resins (3501-5, 3501-6, 3502, 5208, 934, and NMD 2373) and three epoxy composites (AS/3501-5, B/5505, and hybrid B/5505-AS/3501-5) is explored. Excellentagree. ment among the diffusion coefficients, activation energy, and activation entropy is observed for all resins with the exception of NMD 2373. Good correlation exists between neat resins and corresponding composites. The effect of a weekly thermal cycle on the diffusivity and equilibrium moisture content of two resins and three composites is presented. Correlations are developed between preconditioning temperature and relative humidity on the magnitude of the anomalous moisture absorption. In addition, the effect of absorbed water on the glass transition temperature of six neat epoxy resins and two composites using thermomechanical analysis is considered. The water generally behaves as a classical plasticizer of the epoxy resin, lowering the glass transition temperature as predicted from theory. Comparison between neat 3501-5 resin and AS/3501-5 reveals generally good correlation in T g at comparable resin moisture levels, but plasticized hybrid boron-graphite/epoxy laminate exhibits a somewhat lower T g than predicted from theory.
Potential for persistence of blue ash in the presence of emerald ash borer in southeastern Michigan.

Since the introduction of the invasive bark beetle emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, EAB) to southeastern Michigan, most native ash (Fraxinus spp.) species such as white ash (F. americana L.), black ash (F. nigra Marsh.), and green ash (F. pensylvanica Marsh.) have suffered mortality rates exceeding 99% after infestation in mixed stands. EAB-caused mortality has reduced or eliminated ash seed sources, resulting in a depleted seed bank and a reduced potential for regeneration that has led many researchers to predict a grim future for ash in North America. Blue ash (F. quadrangulata Michx.) is thought to be the most EAB-resistant of all North American ash species with observed mortality rates between 30% and 40%, but few data exist describing blue ash regeneration dynamics in the presence of EAB. We sampled blue ash-dominated stands at six different sites in southeastern Michigan, nearest the EAB introduction point. White ash stands at the same six sites were also sampled as the reference condition for ash in the presence of established EAB. Overstory mortality for blue ash ranged between 7 and 32% and was significantly lower than white ash across all sites. Post-EAB overstory blue ash was on average significantly older and larger than white ash across all sites and maintained a higher frequency of healthier crowns. Blue ash regeneration densities were found to be abundant at all sizes within all stands. New seedlings (<3 yrs old) were significantly more abundant for blue ash than white ash across all sites, suggesting that blue ash has not experienced the same seed bank depletion as white ash. Blue ash seedling growth rates were greater than or equal to associated non-ash tree species at all size classes and at all sites, and equal to white ash seedling growth rates at the majority of sites and size classes. Our results suggest that blue ash is currently maintaining a relatively healthy and dominant position in the canopy of several forests in southeastern Michigan, and that blue ash is still regenerating in a capacity that shows a high probability of canopy self-replacement and thus persistence in the presence of EAB.
Whole genome sequence association and ancestry‐informed polygenic profile of EEG alpha in a Native American population

EEG alpha activity is the dominant oscillation in most adult humans, is highly heritable, and has been associated with a number of cognitive functions. Two EEG phenotypes, low- and high-voltage alpha (LVA & HVA), have been demonstrated to have high heritabilities. They have different prevalence depending on a population's ancestral origins. In the present study we assessed the influence of ancestry admixture on EEG alpha power, and conducted a whole genome sequencing association analysis and an ancestry-informed polygenic study on those phenotypes in a Native American (NA) population that has a high prevalence of LVA. Seven common variants, in LD with each other upstream from gene ASIC2, reached genome-wide significance (p = 2 × 10−8) having a positive association with alpha voltage. They had lower minor allele frequencies in the NAs than in a global population sample. Overall correlations between lower degrees of NA (higher degree European) ancestry and HVA, and higher degrees of NA and LVA were also found. Additionally a rare-variant gene-based study identified gene TIA1 being negatively associated with LVA. Approximately 3% of SNPs exhibited a 15-fold enrichment that explained nearly half of the total SNP-heritability for EEG alpha. These regions showed the most significant anti-correlations between NA ancestry and alpha voltage, and were enriched for genes and pathways mediating cognitive functions. Our findings suggested that these regions likely harbor causal variants for HVA, and lacking of such variants could explain the high prevalence of LVA in this NA population, possibly illuminating the ancestral origin and genetic basis for EEG alpha.
Legacy Agricultural Terraces as a Sustainability Asset: A Rapid Assessment Technique

Former agricultural terraces in a suburban setting were analyzed for evidence of ecological benefits related to surface water runoff. Presence of hydric soils was utilized as an indicator of runoff velocity retardation and associated reduction of suspended contaminants in surface water. Soils were probed in various topographic positions within a terraced hillslope on the Johnson County Community College campus and assessed for hydric soil indicators using procedures published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The soils in the constructed terrace channels were found to be hydric, and the soils in the terrace ridges were found to be non-hydric. These findings indicate that the legacy terraces are contributing to improved water quality lower in the watershed even 30 years after the conversion of the land from agriculture to a college campus surrounded by suburban development. Finally, the methods utilized in this study are offered as an easily and rapidly deployed way for land owners to describe and doc...
Synoptic Mapping of Coastal Oceanography Using Acoustic Tomography and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

Abstract AUV technology provides a valuable addition to the traditional oceanographic platforms by providing a sensor suite which is rapidly and adaptively relocatable complementing the traditional Eulerian and Lagrangian measurements provided by fixed moorings and floats and drifters, respectively. However, the full potential provided by this new technology is just beginning to emerge. For example, AUV-s may be used as cost-effective mobile source platforms for ocean acoustic tomography-networks. Provided the tomographic inversion can be performed in real time, the oceanographic field estimates can subsequently be used to relocate the AUV resources to areas with high variability or uncertainty to perform direct point measurements. This new Acoustically Focused Oceanographic Sampling (AFOS) concept optimally combines the synoptic volumetric coverage of the acoustic tomography and the spatial and temporal resolution provided by the AUVs. The basic components of AFOS, including new real-time tomographic inversion techniques have recently been demonstrated in connection with the Haro Strait Frontal Mapping experiment. However, the full potential of the combined use of AUVs and acoustic tomography is currently being explored within the context of general coastal ocean forecasting systems where the observational capabilities are directly coupled with oceanographic modeling through data assimilation. This paper describes the progress made so far and discusses the future potential of the combined use of underwater vehicle technology and acoustical oceanography.
How do the Institutes on Teaching and Learning (ITLs) nurture the members of the Physiology Educators Community of Practice (PECOP)

Do you teach physiology? Do you use best practices when you teach physiology? Have you ever thought about conducting educational research? Do you need collaborators to help with ideas for education...
Abstract #29: Mitochondrial bioenergetics is an apoptogenic regulator for N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)retinamide in premalignant and malignant prostate epithelial cells

Prostate tumorigenesis is purportedly coupled with an early metabolic switch in transformed prostate epithelial cells that effectively increases their mitochondrial bioenergetic capacity. The synthetic retinoid N -(4-hydroxyphenyl)retinamide (4HPR) inhibits prostate cancer development in vivo , and triggers prostate cancer cell apoptosis in vitro . Certain in vitro studies suggest that 4HPR-induced apoptosis is associated with reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and mitochondrial disruption, which would advocate a prospective mechanistic basis for 4HPR-mediated prostate cancer chemoprevention. We investigated this tenet by comparing and contrasting the effects of 4HPR on premalignant PWR-1E and malignant DU-145 human prostate epithelial cells. 4HPR promoted a dose- and/or time-dependent apoptosis induction (e.g., cell shrinkage, mitochondrial disruption, the externalization of cell membrane phosphatidylserine, and DNA fragmentation) in PWR-1E and DU-145 cells, which was preceded by and dependent on an increase in mitochondrial ROS production. In this regard, the PWR-1E cells were more sensitive than the DU-145 cells, and they consumed roughly twice as much oxygen as the DU-145 cells suggesting oxidative phosphorylation was higher in the premalignant cells. Interestingly, increasing the [Ca 2+ ] in the culture medium of PWR-1E cells attenuated their proliferation as well as their mitochondrial bioenergetic capacity and the cytotoxic effects of 4HPR. Correspondingly, the respiration-deficient derivatives (i.e., rho0 cells lacking mitochondrial DNA) of DU-145 cells were markedly resistant to 4HPR-induced ROS production and apoptosis. Together, these observations implied that the reduction of mitochondrial bioenergetics protected PWR-1E and DU-145 cells against the cytotoxic effects of 4HPR, and support the concept that oxidative phosphorylation is an essential determinant in 4HPR\#8217;s apoptogenic signaling in transformed human prostate epithelial cells. Citation Information: In: Proc Am Assoc Cancer Res; 2009 Apr 18-22; Denver, CO. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; 2009. Abstract nr 29.
Science education: too much of too little

By all measures attempted, scientific literacy of the American public is sadly wanting. The vast majority of our secondary school children and adults have no knowledge of most of the basic terms or concepts of science. The reasons for this shortcoming are many but prominent among them are sadly deficient texts, teachers untrained in the subject matter they teach, and college and university scientists who divorce themselves from the problem, although probably deploring it. Our institutions are no aid. They reward scientific productivity (read: number of papers published per year and research dollars), not teaching. Some suggested cures are production of better texts, training of science teachers in the field in which they teach, and, most importantly, involvement of scientists in the process. We must be willing to spend some of our time with secondary school pupils and their teachers. All will gain from the experience.
A survey study of benefits and limitations of using CellaVision DM96 for peripheral blood differentials.

ABSTRACT: In most clinical laboratories, hematologists rely on the microscopic analysis of stained blood films to accurately classify cells, aiding in the diagnosis and monitoring of a variety of disorders and conditions. Use of the microscope, although considered the gold standard in performing white blood cell differentials, presents a variety of limitations Digital image technology can facilitate a variety of essential job functions in clinical hematology such as: consulting with colleagues, improving training, referencing an abnormal cell, and utilizing archived images for quality assurance and competency assessment. A questionnaire was developed to survey medical laboratory professionals about their perceptions regarding the benefits and limitations for using digital images in clinical hematology. The questionnaire was sent in March 2012 to an entire list of 81 current CellaVision™ DM96 (CellaVision AB, Sweden) consumers. A response rate of 46% was obtained. The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH Background information on participants, 5-point Likert scale averages, percentage agreement (strongly agree and agree), and disagreement (strongly disagree and disagree) were calculated and analyzed. The benefits of using the CellaVision™ DM96 rated the strongest by respondents included: decreased eyestrain, Address for correspondence:consistency among patient results and advantages in training personnel. Respondents reported notable limitations as being: restrictions with accurately estimating platelets and red cell morphology. Digital image software is currently being utilized in pre-clinical and clinical hematology and offers potential benefits. With upgrades in slide scanning features and improved capabilities to view platelet and red cell morphology, a transition to digital image technology from the conventional method for performing peripheral blood cell differentials is possible.
On the equivalence of the primal-dual hybrid gradient method and Douglas–Rachford splitting

The primal-dual hybrid gradient (PDHG) algorithm proposed by Esser, Zhang, and Chan, and by Pock, Cremers, Bischof, and Chambolle is known to include as a special case the Douglas–Rachford splitting algorithm for minimizing the sum of two convex functions. We show that, conversely, the PDHG algorithm can be viewed as a special case of the Douglas–Rachford splitting algorithm.