cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An Upstream Sequence Element Required for NucC-Dependent Expression of the Serratia marcescens Extracellular Nuclease

The Serratia marcescens extracellular nuclease gene, nucA, is positively regulated by the product of the nucC gene. In this study, the upstream region required for NucC-dependent nuclease expression was defined by using fusions to the gene encoding chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (cat). This sequence includes an element of hyphenated dyad symmetry identified previously as the binding site for the P2 Ogr family of activators. Footprint analysis confirmed that members of this family of activator proteins bind to this site, protecting a region between -76 and -59 relative to the start of transcription. The activator binding site in the nucA promoter lies one turn of the helix upstream from the corresponding sites in the P2 and P4 late promoters. The effects of deletions between the downstream end of the activator binding site and the putative -35 region are consistent with a strict helical phasing requirement for activation.
Exploring Perceptions and Experiences of Maternal Depression in Latinas: A Qualitative Study

Understanding how depression is conceptualized is key to designing effective screening and treatment procedures. Of particular concern is maternal depression in Latinas, given the high Latina birthrate. We conducted two focus groups of pregnant Latinas to elicit their perceptions of and experiences with maternal depression. Women reported familiarity with the concept of maternal depression and that their experiences with depression were linked to social support from family and friends. Women also indicated that they felt responsible for coping and recovering from depression independently. How experiences with depression interact with traditional Latino idioms of distress, needs further investigation.
Separating the Roles of Acropetal and Basipetal Auxin Transport on Gravitropism with Mutations in Two Arabidopsis Multidrug Resistance-Like ABC Transporter Genes

Two Arabidopsis thaliana ABC transporter genes linked to auxin transport by various previous results were studied in a reverse-genetic fashion. Mutations in Multidrug Resistance-Like1 (MDR1) reduced acropetal auxin transport in roots by 80% without affecting basipetal transport. Conversely, mutations in MDR4 blocked 50% of basipetal transport without affecting acropetal transport. Developmental and auxin distribution phenotypes associated with these altered auxin flows were studied with a high-resolution morphometric system and confocal microscopy, respectively. Vertically grown mdr1 roots produced positive and negative curvatures threefold greater than the wild type, possibly due to abnormal auxin distribution observed in the elongation zone. However, upon 90° reorientation, mdr1 gravitropism was inseparable from the wild type. Thus, acropetal auxin transport maintains straight growth but contributes surprisingly little to gravitropism. Conversely, vertically maintained mdr4 roots grew as straight as the wild type, but their gravitropism was enhanced. Upon reorientation, curvature in this mutant developed faster, was distributed more basally, and produced a greater total angle than the wild type. An amplified auxin asymmetry may explain the mdr4 hypertropism. Double mutant analysis indicated that the two auxin transport streams are more independent than interdependent. The hypothesis that flavanols regulate MDR-dependent auxin transport was supported by the epistatic relationship of mdr4 to the tt4 phenylpropanoid pathway mutation.
Use of death certificates in epidemiological studies, including occupational hazards: Variations in discordance of different asbestos-associated diseases on best evidence ascertainment

There is extensive information on discordance in general between accuracy of medical diagnoses on death certificate categorization of cause of death and available clinical and histopathological data. This is as true for occupational disease as for other conditions. But occupational illnesses bear a special problem. Discordance is not equal across the board—it may vary with each occupationally related disease, and no single formula can be applied. It may be high for angiosarcoma and low for acute hydrogen sulfide poisoning, low for bladder cancer, high for unsuspected methyl mercury poisoning. We have found that for one agent—asbestos—there were different rates of discordance for different asbestos-related diseases (e.g., lung cancer, mesothelioma, asbestosis, kidney cancer) among 4,951 deaths studied prospectively from 1967 to 1986. Caution is therefore required before accepting generalizations concerning (unstudied) discordance in occupational mortality studies, and in their use in risk assessment models.
Sterility in the rabbit associated with soybean hay feeding.

In the course of three experiments designed to test the effects of soil fertilization upon the nutritive value of feeds, as measured by lactation response in the rabbit (Kendall et al., '48), it became necessary, in the last two experiments, to change the roughage portion of the ration from lespedeza hay to soybean hay. When the change was made, so that soy bean hay made up 49.5% by weight of the diet in place of lespedeza hay, a reduction in litter size in New Zealand white rabbits resulted. Abnormal reproduction in ewes fed soy bean hay has been reported in two cases (Hunt, '35; North Carolina Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull., '44). The reasons for these failures are not known and, in our case, it was not at first clear that the smaller litter size was a consequence of the soy bean hay intake. It is the purpose of this paper to report the results of ex periments designed to determine whether or not the repro ductive failure could be related to soybean hay feeding and to describe the situation which obtained.
A Structural Equation Model of Expertise in College Physics

A model of expertise in physics was tested on a sample of 374 college students in 2 different level physics courses. Structural equation modeling was used to test hypothesized relationships among variables linked to expert performance in physics including strategy use, pictorial representation, categorization skills, and motivation, and these variables were examined for their influence on physics achievement. Gender was included in the model to examine how it influenced achievement indirectly through its influence on the other variables in the model. Two levels of expertise were examined by testing the model on trigonometry-based physics students and on more advanced, calculus-based physics students. Results were similar across both levels of expertise: For both courses, student motivation had a significant influence on students' strategy use and categorization skills. Categorization skills, in turn, influenced student achievement directly, and indirectly, through strategy use. Strategy use had a significant influence on achievement. Pictorial representation played little role in the model. Gender contributed primarily through motivation, but for the more advanced level course it also directly predicted strategy use.
Trimming silica planar lightwave circuits using deep ultraviolet ultrafast lasers

Trimming phase and birefringence errors in hydrogen-free Mach-Zehnder planar waveguide circuits have been demonstrated with a deep ultraviolet femtosecond laser (258nm, 150fs) achieving refractive index change of gt;3.8/spl times/10/sup -4/ and complete compensation of the intrinsic birefringence.
High-order anisotropic diffraction in photorefractive crystals

High-order anisotropic diffraction and anisotropic self-diffraction in barium titanate (BaTiO3), strontium barium niobate (SrxBa1−xNb2O6, or SBN), and barium strontium potassium sodium niobate (Ba2−xSrxK1−y NayNb5O15, or BSKNN) have been observed: up to fourth order in BaTiO3 and SBN and up to fifth order in BSKNN. It is shown that the scattered beams arising from anisotropic self-diffraction are composed of multiple orders. To model anisotropic diffraction, high-order terms have been included in Kukhtarev’s solution of the transport equations for diffusion-dominated transport. Light-induced grating decay rates and diffraction efficiencies were measured as a function of grating vector and modulation index for the first three orders in BaTiO3 and were found to be in good agreement with the model.
Small, Smaller, Smallest: The Origins and Evolution of Ancient Dual Symbioses in a Phloem-Feeding Insect

Many insects rely on bacterial symbionts with tiny genomes specialized for provisioning nutrients lacking in host diets. Xylem sap and phloem sap are both deficient as insect diets, but differ dramatically in nutrient content, potentially affecting symbiont genome evolution. For sap-feeding insects, sequenced symbiont genomes are available only for phloem-feeding examples from the suborder Sternorrhyncha and xylem-feeding examples from the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, confounding comparisons. We sequenced genomes of the obligate symbionts, Sulcia muelleri and Nasuia deltocephalinicola, of the phloem-feeding pest insect, Macrosteles quadrilineatus (Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae). Our results reveal that Nasuia-ALF has the smallest bacterial genome yet sequenced (112 kb), and that the Sulcia-ALF genome (190 kb) is smaller than that of Sulcia in other insect lineages. Together, these symbionts retain the capability to synthesize the 10 essential amino acids, as observed for several symbiont pairs from xylem-feeding Auchenorrhyncha. Nasuia retains genes enabling synthesis of two amino acids, DNA replication, transcription, and translation. Both symbionts have lost genes underlying ATP synthesis through oxidative phosphorylation, possibly as a consequence of the enriched sugar content of phloem. Shared genomic features, including reassignment of the UGA codon from Stop to tryptophan, and phylogenetic results suggest that Nasuia-ALF is most closely related to Zinderia, the betaproteobacterial symbiont of spittlebugs. Thus, Nasuia/Zinderia and Sulcia likely represent ancient associates that have co-resided in hosts since the divergence of leafhoppers and spittlebugs >200 Ma, and possibly since the origin of the Auchenorrhyncha, >260 Ma.
Simplified Design of Common-Mode Chokes for Reduction of Motor Ground Currents in Inverter Drives

A simplified design calculation for common-mode chokes for reducing motor ground currents provides insight on the effects of various parameters and allows easy design. Key simplifying assumptions are that the voltage rise time is short compared to the ring period and that the damping is small. Example designs for machines up to 450mm frame size show how effective ground-current reduction is possible with small, inexpensive, single-turn chokes.
Application of Quillaja saponaria extracts as oral adjuvants for plant-made vaccines

Extracts from the Quillaja saponaria tree are known to provide immune potentiating responses and, hence, can be useful as adjuvants. Partial purification from the crude (food-grade) extract results in Quil A, which is contained in several veterinary vaccines. Further purification can provide concentrated saponin fractions such as QS-21, which is currently under investigation as a potential adjuvant for use in humans. Purified saponins have proven safe and effective when injected and have significantly enhanced the efficacy of some oral vaccines under clinical investigation. Toxicity of the food-grade extract from Quillaja saponaria has limited its use as a parenteral adjuvant; however, this toxicity seems to be abated when delivered orally. It is commonly used within the food and beverage industries and has no documented toxicity in humans at the present levels of consumption. Use of transgenic plants has been proposed as an alternative system for oral vaccine production and administration, and it is like...
The Role of Cumulus Convection in the Development of Extratropical Cyclones

Abstract The goal of this study is to determine whether cumulus convection plays a role in the development of extratropical cyclones, and if it does, to determine the nature of that role. The basic approach is to ascertain whether there is a systematic relationship between the observed extent and degree of convective activity accompanying cyclogenesis and the departure of actual storm evolution from that predicted by large-scale dynamical models. On the basis of intensive analyses of the two storms initially chosen for study, the following hypothesis was formulated, and the balance of the investigation was directed primarily toward ascertaining its validity: In same instances of extratropical cyclogenesis, cumulus convection plays a crucial role in the initiation of development through the release of latent heat in the vicinity of the cyclone center. In such cases, dynamical models that do not adequately simulate convective precipitation, especially as it might occur in an environment that is unsaturated,...
Designing effective Laboratory courses in electrical engineering: Challenge-based Model that reflects engineering process

In electrical engineering programs, physical Laboratory courses should enable students to apply theory to design, to synthesize and analyze circuits and systems, and gain practical hands-on skills and knowledge required for their future career. However, students often have difficulty applying electrical theory to problem solving tasks, such as those encountered in lab experiments; therefore, an alternative approach to lab instruction is desirable. A study at Vanderbilt University explored the potential of organizing electrical engineering labs around challenges. A learning model called Software Technology for Assessment and Reflection (STAR) Legacy was adopted in designing the lab learning process. The model combines problem-solving challenges and instructional resources with Web-based technology. This paper describes the structure of the innovative challenge-based lab design, and presents student and instructor evaluations of this design.
BIE Modeling of Crack Surfaces

The boundary-integral equation formulation of elasticity problems was shown in Chapter 3 to have the powerful characteristic of being able to fully satisfy interior equilibrium, for a given boundary solution. The source of modeling error for BEM analyses is therefore not the volume discretization, as in the FEM, but rather the boundary discretization.
The contribution of flowering time and seed content to uneven ripening initiation among fruits within Vitis vinifera L. cv. Pinot noir clusters

Ripening initiation-associated hormonal changes and sugar accumulation for individual fruits differed by seed content and did not depend heavily on flowering time or duration from anthesis to clusters’ onset of ripening. For Vitis vinifera, the ripening initiation of individual fruits in a cluster occurs unevenly. This developmental period is called veraison. Why individual fruits initiate ripening at different times is not well studied, though differences in seed content and unequal developmental durations that arise from asynchronous flowering within a cluster have been proposed. This study examined how much both variables contribute to individual fruits’ ripening progress by mid-veraison, when half of berries in a cluster have initiated ripening, and whether either or both factors affect the timing of characteristic, ripening-initiation associated changes in abscisic acid and auxin before, at, and after veraison. Overall, developmental duration and flowering time did not sufficiently explain how far berries had progressed into the ripening stage because fruits did not require a fixed amount of time to initiate ripening. Fruits from early and late flowers but of similar seed content were able to initiate ripening at the same time despite differences in chronological age. This suggests either an early developmental enhancement occurred for late-initiated fruits or that flowering time is an inappropriate “day zero”. Ultimately, only seed content was linked to the timing and magnitude of ripening-related hormone changes, supporting that seeds have a comparatively larger influence than flowering time on the ripening initiation of individual berries. More specifically, if the fraction of berry weight occupied by seed was high, then the initiation of ripening for that berry and its associated hormone changes were delayed relative to berries with less seed weight versus total berry weight.
Combined Effect of Water Reducer–Retarder and Variable Chloride-Based Accelerator Dosage on Rapid Repair Concrete Mixtures for Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement

AbstractOn-site addition of accelerator to rapid repair concrete mixtures can result in accidental overdose. Since these mixtures are designed to contain large accelerator dosages, an overdose will produce concrete with extremely high accelerator amounts, well above those recommended by the manufacturer. This study investigated the effect of calcium chloride–based accelerator dosage on the stresses and cracking behavior of realistic concrete mixtures that contain multiple chemical admixtures. The findings indicate the effect of accelerator dosage on increasing the temperature gradient in concrete leading to higher tensile stress generation with upward or downward curling. The effect is exacerbated when there is a simultaneous coincidental occurrence in the maximum of cement paste heat flow and ambient temperatures. The apparent activation energy determined through the heat of hydration or strength measurements shows a drop when chemical retarders are added, whereas for accelerators the effect appears to b...
COASTAL ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS OF AERIAL REMOTE SENSING

aerial remote sensing techniques and provides a current state of the art summary of the utilization of aerial remote sensors in coastal engineering studies. The sensors' discussed include conventional black and white aerial photographs, black and white infrared aerial photographs, color and color infrared aerial photographs, multispectral aerial photographs, satellite photographs, infrared imagery, multispectral imagery, and radar imagery. The field of coastal engineering is considered in a broad context to include all important applications of aerial remote sensing that relate to coastal engineering problems. The use of remote sensors to monitor coastal changes, study coastal landforms, examine storm effects, map coastal areas, determine nearshore hydrography, and monitor the environmental effects of coastal engineering projects, a topic of considerable current concern, is described. The important characteristics of the various aerial remote sensors are described briefly. The advantages and limitations of the aerial remote sensing techniques for different coastal engineering studies are noted. The review and state of the art summary of the applications of the aerial remote sensors can be used by coastal engineers as guidelines in employing the sensors in future coastal engineering investigations.
Report on the Science of Systems Engineering Workshop

In mid-November, 2014, the National Science Foundation, with co-sponsorship from INCOSE and the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Systems Engineering Research Center, brought together many of the thought leaders in Systems Engineering, plus other experts, to address the task of putting a solid theoretical foundation under the practice of systems engineering. This paper presents some quick results of that workshop.
Reviews and Essays: Saving Public Education:

This manuscript reviews Paul Peterson’s new book, Saving Schools: From Horace Mann to Virtual Learning. It summarizes main points of the book and offers some thoughts on the vailidity of Peterson’s...
Variation in worker responses to subcontracted employment: A qualitative case study:

This article shows that professional skill level of employees is a key factor in the formation of employee responses to subcontracted forms of employment. In addition, the proportion of employees hired through temporary staffing arrangements compared to the core workers determines the employees’ capacity for collective action. This article uses observational and interview data from a public university hospital, where both skilled health care professionals and janitorial workers are hired through temporary staffing arrangements. The findings reveal that skilled health care professionals develop more individualistic responses to cope with the subcontracting practices, and the co-employment of subcontracted and permanent workers undermines solidarity among them. Lacking the professional skills and positioned at the bottom of the hospital hierarchy, janitorial workers opt for collective action against the hospital administration. Finally, the analysis of counter-responses of the hospital administration points...
The Experimental Study on Injected Water Quality of Low Permeability Reservoir in Jilin Oilfield

More than 95% of low permeability reservoir in Jilin Oilfield use the development way of injecting water,and injected water are mostly recharged water,therefore,it is necessary to study water quality and improve water quality,so that the oil recovery can be enhanced.Fang 44 and Fang 68 blocks of bamiantai Oilfield are as exemples for the study of reservoir,to analysis the current status of the injected water,compatibility with formation water and the sensitivity with formation and the impact to the reservoir,analysis comprehensively injected water damage from the combination of external factors and internal factors and give suggestions for improvement of water quality.
Properties of produced sludge in Xingbei Oilfield and plugging effect assessment

In view of the actual demand of high capacity channel plugging and innoxious processing of produced sludge in Daqing Oilfield,sludge samples are collected from No.10 multi-purpose station of Xingshugang Oilfield,as well as the medical composition of sludge,size composition and surface configuration are tested,based on the indoor testing technology.Meanwhile,the core flow experiment on the sludge plugging effect is conducted.Results show that compared with the commonly used polymer solution,the clay polymer solution faces more resistance when it flows in porous media,because the clay has similar mineral composition with the reservoir rock,its particles are irregular in shape and can be easily trapped when it flows in porous media.Therefore,it has good plugging effect.The clay polymer solution proposed by the indoor experiment is composed of the polymer with concentration ranging from 0.06% to 0.12%,and the clay with concentration less than 6%.
On-Rate Switching under Force Increases the Binding of von Willebrand Factor A1 to GPIbα

Alterations in flow during bleeding trigger the von Willebrand factor (VWF) A1 domain to bind to glycoprotein Ibα (GPIbα) on platelets, initiating blood clotting. Using a laser tweezers and a Receptor and Ligand in a Single Molecule (ReaLiSM) construct, we find that force can switch A1 and/or GPIbα to a different state with a faster on-rate; this provides an additional mechanism for activating VWF binding to platelets. Mutations in VWF induce von Willebrand disease (VWD), a common human bleeding disorder. Our results show that force escalates the effects of VWD mutations with respect to on-and off-rates, explaining pathophysiology. Using the effective concentration of receptor and ligand in ReaLiSM to convert single molecule kon (units of s−1) to bulk phase kon (units of s−1M−1) allows the calculation of an equivalent binding affinity. We find that using extrapolated, zero-force kon and koff values from the low-force state of the bond to calculate the binding affinity provides remarkably good agreement with bulk phase measurements.
Cationic dirhodium(ii,ii) complexes for the electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to HCOOH.

Two formamidinate bridged dirhodium(II,II) complexes with chelating diimine ligands L, [Rh2(μ-DTolF)2(L)2]2+, were shown to electrocatalytically reduce CO2 in the presence of H2O. Analysis of the reaction mixture and headspace following bulk electrolysis revealed H2 and HCOOH as the major products. The variation in relative product formation is discussed.
Social Context and Violence Exposure as Predictors of Internalizing Symptoms in Mothers and Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence

Family and social environment may play a part in children’s post-violence adjustment. The goal of this paper is to examine which factors are related to internalizing symptoms in mothers and their children exposed to intimate partner violence. Participants were 208 mothers exposed to domestic violence. Mothers responded using the Conflict Tactics Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, and other standardized scales. They also reported on their children’s internalizing symptoms using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). For the whole group, children’s CBCL scores were related to higher maternal depression and lower maternal self-esteem. Factors determining internalizing in children varied based upon the child’s race. This study illustrates the importance of factors, such as maternal depression, maternal self-esteem, violence exposure, and social support, in determining whether a child exposed to domestic violence develops internalizing symptoms, and that ecological factors may have different effects on children based on race.
Effect of the addition of estrogen to medical castration on prostatic size, symptoms, histology and serum prostate specific antigen in 4 men with benign prostatic hypertrophy.

AbstractA total of 4 men with benign prostatic hypertrophy who underwent medical castration therapy with a long-acting gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (leuprolide) for more than 6 months elected to add an estrogen transdermal patch (0.05mg. to the skin biweekly) to the leuprolide regimen. The average prostatic size (transrectal ultrasound), serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels and symptoms of prostatism were dramatically decreased with leuprolide alone. The addition of estrogen for 6 months did not result in any change in prostate size, symptoms or serum PSA levels over that seen with leuprolide alone. The development of squamous metaplasia was noted in 1 man with leuprolide alone and in 1 man after the addition of estrogen. Immunohistochemical staining with anticytokeratin 903 antibodies reveals that squamous metaplasia appears to arise from prostatic basal cells. We postulate that the target cell for estrogen action in the prostate is the prostatic basal cell. In the absence of androgen t...
Sub-millimeter intrinsic spatial resolution PET detector designs using Geiger-mode avalanche photodetectors

We propose two ultra-high resolution PET detector designs using metal resistive-layer semiconductor photodetectors (MRS-PDs). The goal for each design is to achieve an intrinsic spatial resolution of <0.7 mm FWHM. MRS-PDs are a new type of photodiode with Geiger mode operation that can provide a proportional signal to an input photon flux. Current devices are fabricated with 1 mm by 1 mm active areas. The main limitations of these devices for PET detectors is their limited quantum efficiency for blue wavelength light, as produced by most fast, dense scintillators such as LSO, LYSO, and LFS. The basic detector unit will consist of a very thin slab crystal coupled to an array of MRS-PDs. To achieve sufficient detection efficiency, a detector module will consist of a stack of slab detectors. The first design uses linear arrays of blue to green wavelength shifting (WLS) fibers coupled to MRS-PDs as strip sensors for position decoding. Orthogonal sets of fibers will be used on both sides of a thin crystal to provide X and Y readout. The second design uses a two-dimensional array of MRS-PDs for crystal readout. The MRS-PD array may be coupled directly to the crystal or via a thin sheet of wavelength shifting material. To reduce the number of readout channels, we propose to sum rows and columns of the devices to effectively create strip detectors. Energy spectra have been collected from MRS-PDs directly coupled to LSO and via WLS fibers with promising results
1971 Selfish Herds

Animals in groups should compete for positions that minimize their exposure to risk. Generally speaking, central positions are preferred as other group members then serve as a buffer against threats.
Genetic Engineering for Crop Improvement

Since their development in 1983, the availability of gene transfer systems has already led to several important insights into the regulation of gene expression and protein function in plants. With the increasing efforts to refine and develop vector systems and the progress that has been made in the identification and isolation of plant genes, the next several years will bring about a dramatic expansion in our understanding of gene structure and function at the molecular level.
U.S. Middle School Mathematics Teachers’ Perceptions of the Standards for Mathematical Practice by Textbook Type

An important component of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM), used by the majority of states in the U.S., are the eight standards for mathematical practice (SMPs). While surveys have investigated teachers’ perceptions of the CCSSM few have investigated middle school mathematics teachers’ (MSMTs’) (grades 6-8) perceptions of the SMPs. Similar to other countries, teachers in the United States frequently use mathematics textbooks. Two different types of textbooks have been in use in the United States, conventional and standards-based. The latter were designed on the basis of earlier standards documents including versions of the SMPs. As a result of these changes to the educational system in the U.S., we sought to characterize MSMTs’ perceptions of the SMPs and investigate if these perceptions differed by the type of textbook teachers used. We found that MSMTs struggled in naming the SMPs, misinterpreted the modeling SMP, and conflated components of reform-oriented instruction with the SMPs. MSMTs using a standards-based textbook were more likely to view their textbooks as aligned with the SMPs, and to view the SMPs as an instructional philosophy for the CCSSM, Fisher’s Exact Test = 3.881, p = .05. The implications of these results are discussed.
Three-Dimensional Stellar Obliquities of HAT-P-7 and Kepler-25 from Joint Analysis of Asteroseismology, Transit Light Curve, and the Rossiter–McLaughlin Effect

Measurements of stellar obliquities for transiting systems are usually two-dimensional: either the sky-projection \(\lambda \) of the true obliquity, or the difference between orbital inclination (almost \(90 ^\circ \)) and stellar inclination \(i_\star \), is used to infer the degree of the spin–orbit misalignment. In this chapter, we develop a methodology for determining true stellar obliquity \(\psi \), combining the analyses of asteroseismology, transit light curves, and the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect. We demonstrate the power of such a joint analysis by applying it for the first time to two real systems, HAT-P-7 hosting a hot Jupiter and Kepler-25 with two transiting planets and another non-transiting one. We also show that the joint analysis allows for an accurate and precise determination of the numerous parameters characterizing the planetary system, in addition to \(\psi \).
A New Approach to Symmetric Registration of Longitudinal Structural MRI of the Human Brain

This technical report presents the Automatic Temporal Registration Algorithm (ATRA) for symmetric rigid-body affine registration of longitudinal T1-weighted three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the human brain. This is a fundamental processing step in computational neuroimaging. The notion of leave-one-out consistent (LOOC) landmarks with respect to a supervised landmark detection algorithm is introduced. An automatic algorithm is presented for identification of LOOC landmarks on MRI scans. Using this technique, multiple sets of LOOC landmarks (around 150) are identified on each of the volumes being registered. Then, a Generalized Orthogonal Procrustes Analysis of the identified landmarks is used to find a rigid-body transformation of each volume into a common space where the transformed volumes are precisely aligned. In addition, a new approach is introduced for quantitative assessment of registration accuracy in the absence of a gold standard. Qualitative and quantitative evaluations of ATRA registration accuracy are performed using 2012 volumes from 503 subjects (4 longitudinal volumes/subject) from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database, and on a further 120 volumes acquired from 3 normal subjects (40 longitudinal volumes/subject). The algorithm is symmetric, in the sense that any permutation of the input volumes does not change the resulting transformation matrices, and unbiased, in the sense that all volumes undergo one and only one interpolation operation, which precisely aligns them in a common space. There is no interpolation bias and no reference volume. All volumes are treated exactly the same. The algorithm is fast and highly accurate. The software is publicly available.
A Modeling Approach for the Performance Management of High Speed Network

As data networks have become larger, higher speed and more complex, there has arisen a growing need for advanced modeling, management and planning tools which will assist network operators maintain and improve network performance. This paper describes the analytical techniques used in a system tool that will simulate and analyze packet switched networks carrying bursty traffic and which can be used for a variety of networks and services such as frame relay, SMDS or B-ISDN. This network tool is based upon models of network elements. The information needed to drive the tool and describe its elements will vary from detailed to sketchy. Some information will be derived from historical measurements and some from expected characteristics of users based on responses to a questionnaire answered at the time of subscription to the data service.
Why So Glum? Understanding the Challenges in Meeting User's Needs on Trauma Surgical Rounds.

Abstract Background Trauma patient rounds are complex, with a high volume of complicated patients in a dynamic environment with competing priorities and workflows. This presents challenges to quality improvement as single-method research approaches fail to comprehensively understand these complex systems. We used a mixed-methods approach to understand factors contributing to system inefficiency and user dissatisfaction on daily patient rounds at a safety-net teaching hospital and level 1 trauma center. Materials and methods A human-centered design uses ethnographic observations and in-depth interviews to understand the challenges and needs facing users of a system. We performed in-context observations and 22 in-depth interviews with a cross-section of care team members, patients, and families. Using the lean methodology, we performed time observations of 15 rounds, tracking activities related to flow, and classified them as ‘value added’ and ‘non–value added.’ Results Lean time observations revealed that 34.2% of time was spent on ‘non–value-added’ activities. Qualitative interviews revealed that all users reported perceived inefficiency as their greatest challenge on rounds. Among these users, there were three distinct user groups: connectors, learners, and doers, and each group had a different set of needs and priorities for rounds which were not being met. Conclusions To adequately address complex environments, we need to understand the strains on both the system and its users so that we can create sustainable quality-improvement programs. By mixing methods using lean and human-centered design processes, we were able to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the system- and human-centered factors affecting rounds on a trauma surgical service.
Emergent skirt archive

ABSTRACTIn Convolute K of The Arcades Project, Benjamin imagines a relationship among reading, writing, children and their mothers: a relationship in which a child’s bond to its mother unfolds thro...
E6, the group: The structure of SL(3, &#x1d546;)

We present the subalgebra structure of &#x1d530;&#x1d529;(3, &#x1d546;), a particular real form of &#x1d522;6 chosen for its relevance to particle physics and its close relation to generalized Lorentz groups. We use an explicit representation of the Lie group &#x1d530;&#x1d529;(3, &#x1d546;) to construct the multiplication table of the corresponding Lie algebra &#x1d530;&#x1d529;(3, &#x1d546;). Both the multiplication table and the group are then utilized to find various nested chains of subalgebras of &#x1d530;&#x1d529;(3, &#x1d546;), in which the corresponding Cartan subalgebras are also nested where possible. Because our construction involves the Lie group, we simultaneously obtain an explicit representation of the corresponding nested chains of subgroups of SL(3, &#x1d546;).
Roles of phosphatidylserine exposed on the viral envelope and cell membrane in HIV-1 replication.

Phosphatidylserine (PtdSer) is usually present only in the inner leaf of the lipid bilayers of the cell membrane, but is exposed on the outer leaf when cells are activated and/or die. Exposure of PtdSer has physiological functions. For example, the PtdSer exposed on dead cells can serve as “eat-me signals” for phagocytes to clear dead cells by phagocytosis, which prevents autoimmune reactions and inflammation. HIV-1 induces PtdSer exposure on infected and target cells and it also exposes PtdSer on its envelope. Recent studies showed that PtdSer exposed on the HIV-1 envelope and infected and target cells can facilitate or inhibit multiple steps of HIV-1 replication. At the virus binding and entry steps, interaction of the envelope PtdSer and the host’s PtdSer-binding molecules can enhance HIV-1 infection of cells by facilitating virus attachment. At the virus budding step, HIV-1 can be trapped on the cell surface by one family of PtdSer-binding receptors, T-cell immunoglobulin mucin domain proteins (TIM)-1, 3, and 4 expressed on virus producer cells. Although this trapping can inhibit release of HIV-1, one of the HIV-1 accessory gene products, Negative Factor (Nef), can counteract virus trapping by TIM family receptors (TIMs) by inducing the internalization of these receptors. HIV-1 infection can induce exposure of PtdSer on infected cells by inducing cell death. A soluble PtdSer-binding protein in serum, protein S, bridges PtdSer exposed on HIV-1-infected cells and a receptor tyrosine kinase, Mer, expressed on macrophages and mediate phagocytic clearance of HIV-1 infected cells. HIV-1 can also induce exposure of PtdSer on target cells at the virus binding step. Binding of HIV-1 envelope proteins to its receptor (CD4) and co-receptors (CXCR4 or CCR5) elicit signals that induce PtdSer exposure on target cells by activating TMEM16F, a phospholipid scramblase. PtdSer exposed on target cells enhances HIV-1 infection by facilitating fusion between the viral envelope and target cell membrane. Because various other phospholipid channels mediating PtdSer exposure have recently been identified, it will be of interest to examine how HIV-1 actively interacts with these molecules to manipulate PtdSer exposure levels on cells and viral envelope to support its replication.
L-shaped Metasurface for Chiral Surface Waves Propagation

In this paper, we introduce a novel metasurface design that supports chiral surface waves. The chiral surface waves are circularly polarized waves whose spin direction is locked to their momentum. The asymmetry in the complementary L-shaped design allows the chiral surface wave to propagate along its diagonal in which a spin-down (LCP) wave propagates forward and a spin-up (RCP) wave propagates backward. This work provides the possibility of having a laterally confined unidirectional surface wave propagation. Additionally, it can be used for polarization-based beam splitting as well as steering the beam direction.
Quantitative Models for Infrastructure Restoration After Extreme Events: Network Optimization Meets Scheduling

This chapter focuses on the recovery of critical infrastructure systems from large-scale disruptive events and shows how optimization can help guide decision makers in the restoration process. The operation of an infrastructure system is modeled as a network flow problem, which can be used to assess the impact of the disruption on the services provided by the system. To restore the disrupted services, decision makers must schedule the repair operations by allocating scarce resources such as work crews and equipment over time. An overview of the relevant areas of network flows and scheduling is followed by a discussion of how techniques from network optimization and scheduling can be integrated to quantitatively model infrastructure restoration.
Antipsychotics: Clinical Effectiveness

In the last decades, psychiatry has made significant progress in clinical psychopharmacology. While it has been disappointing that no medication has been developed to treat negative symptoms and cognition, clinicians today have a large evidence base from clinical trials with regard to antipsychotic efficacy and side effects but, importantly, also about the real-world effectiveness of antipsychotics outside of typical clinical drug trials. In this chapter, I illustrate how knowing the literature informs treatment, particularly with regard to antipsychotic choice to optimize symptom control, achieve the best possible quality of life, and minimize iatrogenic morbidity. Included in this chapter is a discussion of shared decision-making as the practical aspects of prescribing are more than just knowing an antipsychotic’s receptor profile.
Randomized Safety and Feasibility Trial of Ultra-Rapid Cooling Anesthesia for Intravitreal Injections.

Purpose To test the safety and preliminary efficacy of rapid, nonpharmacologic anesthesia via cooling for intravitreal injections. Design Single-center, randomized phase 1 dose-ranging safety study ( ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT02872012 ). Participants Adults 18 years of age or older with a diagnosis of exudative macular degeneration or diabetic macular edema requiring bilateral anti–vascular endothelial growth factor therapy were included. Methods A handheld device was developed to provide anesthesia via cooling to a focal area on the surface of the eye before intravitreal treatment (IVT). In 22 patients undergoing bilateral IVT, 1 eye was randomized to receive standard of care (SOC) lidocaine-based anesthesia and the other eye received cooling-anesthesia at 1 of 5 different temperatures and cooling times. Subjective pain was assessed via the visual analog scale (VAS; range, 1–10) at 2 time points: (1) immediately after IVT and (2) 4 hours after IVT. Treated eyes were assessed for ocular safety 24 hours after IVT. Main Outcome Measures We determined the occurrence of adverse events in eyes treated with cooling anesthesia. Mean VAS pain scores immediately after IVT and 4 hours after IVT in eyes receiving cooling anesthesia were compared with eyes receiving SOC. Results A total of 44 eyes were treated, 22 with cooling anesthesia and 22 with SOC. No dose-related toxicity was found with cooling anesthesia. Mild, transient adverse events were recorded in 32% of patients treated with cooling anesthesia versus 44% of patients receiving SOC. The mean±standard error of the mean (SEM) VAS pain scores immediately after intravitreal injection were 2.3 ± 0.4 for patients receiving SOC and 2.2 ± 0.6 in patients receiving –10° C cooling anesthesia (P = 0.8). Mean±SEM pain scores 4 hours after injection were 1.6 ± 0.4 for SOC and 1.2 ± 0.5 in the combined –10° C arms (P = 0.56). Total mean±SEM procedure time was 124 ± 5 seconds for patients treated with cooling anesthesia versus 395 ± 40 seconds for SOC (P Conclusions Ultra-rapid cooling of the eye for anesthesia was well tolerated, with –10° C treatment resulting in comparable levels of anesthesia to SOC with a reduction in procedure time.
Nutrition throughout the course of ALS.

Optimizing nutrition and maintaining body weight are challenges throughout the clinical course of ALS [4]. The cardinal symptom of ALS, weakness, may compromise nutrition in a number of ways and multiple factors may be present in the same individual. Usually, long before the actual diagnosis of ALS, a patient may be noticing some unintentional weight loss, a decrease in appetite, slight tripping, periods of restlessness, and/or slurred speech. More often than not, these individual complaints can be easily dismissed by a patient who attributes these problems to recent colds, changes in eating habits and/or exercise, changes in the weather, or allergies, just to name a few. However when these problems do not go away, but actually continue to worsen, some patients realize their probable diagnosis. They may remain in denial of this now overt symptom progression.
Hearts in the Wasteland: Redeeming the Moral Self in Corrections

In this article, I examine the emotional culture of prisons as perceived by prison chaplains, a population characterized by conflicting expectations and split loyalties. Expected to enforce institutional rules and punish rule violators, chaplains are also charged with the spiritual rehabilitation of their clients. Greer (2002) argues that prisons represent rich environments for exploring emotion management, being simultaneously emotionally inciting and constraining for those individuals living and working within them. To better understand this duality, I explore chaplains’ interpersonal management of inmates’ emotions. Based on qualitative interview data, I describe some of the assumptions chaplains make about inmates’ emotions and explain how these affect chaplains’ strategies regarding interpersonal emotion management. I conclude by discussing the role of emotion management in redeeming inmates’ moral selves.
Analysis of magnetic vortex dissipation in Sn-segregated boundaries in Nb 3 Sn superconducting RF cavities

We study mechanisms of vortex nucleation in ${\mathrm{Nb}}_{3}\mathrm{Sn}$ superconducting RF (SRF) cavities using a combination of experimental, theoretical, and computational methods. Scanning transmission electron microscopy imaging and energy dispersive spectroscopy of some ${\mathrm{Nb}}_{3}\mathrm{Sn}$ cavities show Sn segregation at grain boundaries in ${\mathrm{Nb}}_{3}\mathrm{Sn}$ with Sn concentration as high as $\ensuremath{\sim}35$ at. % and widths $\ensuremath{\sim}3$ nm in chemical composition. Using ab initio calculations, we estimate the effect excess tin has on the local superconducting properties of the material. We model Sn segregation as a lowering of the local critical temperature. We then use time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory to understand the role of segregation on magnetic vortex nucleation. Our simulations indicate that the grain boundaries act as both nucleation sites for vortex penetration and pinning sites for vortices after nucleation. Depending on the magnitude of the applied field, vortices may remain pinned in the grain boundary or penetrate the grain itself. We estimate the superconducting losses due to vortices filling grain boundaries and compare with observed performance degradation with higher magnetic fields. We estimate that the quality factor may decrease by an order of magnitude $({10}^{10} \mathrm{to} {10}^{9})$ at typical operating fields if 0.03% of the grain boundaries actively nucleate vortices. We additionally estimate the volume that would need to be filled with vortices to match experimental observations of cavity heating.