cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Diabetes and evidence of atherosclerosis are major risk factors for adverse outcome after elective thoracic aortic surgery.

Abstract Background To predict risk after elective repair of ascending aorta and aortic arch aneurysms, we studied 464 consecutive patients. Methods Adverse outcome (stroke or hospital death) was analyzed in 372 patients who underwent proximal repair and 92 patients who underwent aortic arch replacement from 1986 to the present. Preoperative risk factors with a P value less than .2 in a univariate analysis were entered into a multivariate model, and an equation incorporating independent risk factors was derived separately for proximal aorta and arch surgery. Results Age more than 65 years ( P = .04), diabetes ( P = .02), cause ( P = .01), and prolonged total cerebral protection time (duration of hypothermic circulatory arrest and selective cerebral perfusion, P = .001) were significant univariate risk factors for elective proximal aortic repair. Diabetes ( P = .005, odds ratio 5.1), atherosclerosis ( P = .003, odds ratio 4.0), and dissection ( P = .048, odds ratio 2.5) were independent factors. For elective arch surgery, female sex ( P = .07), age more than 65 years ( P = .04), coronary artery disease ( P = .02), diabetes ( P = .06), cause ( P = .07), and prolonged total cerebral protection time ( P = .025) were univariate risk factors. Female sex ( P = .05, odds ratio 4.7), coronary artery disease ( P = .02, odds ratio 6.5), diabetes ( P = .13, odds ratio 4.0), and total cerebral protection time ( P = .03, odds ratio 1.02/min) were independent factors. To calculate risk of adverse outcome ( P ), enter 1 if factor is present, 0 if absent, and estimate total cerebral protection time (in minutes). Pproximal aorta={1 + exp [3.06 − 1.62 (diabetes) − 1.37 (atherosclerosis) − 0.91 (dissection)]}−1 Paortic arch={1 + exp [4.93 − 1.55 (female) − 1.87 (coronary artery disease) − 1.38 (diabetes) − 0.024 (total cerebral protection time)]}−1 Conclusion In this large series of patients, the presence of diabetes and manifestations of atherosclerosis emerge as extremely important risk factors for adverse outcome after ascending aorta or arch surgery, displacing age. Multivariate equations derived from these data allow more precise calculation of risk for each individual contemplating elective surgery.
Experimental Confirmation of Superposition from Small-Scale Explosions

An in situ experimental program in alluvium is implemented and analyzed to test linear superposition. After separating stochastic and deterministic propagation path effects, direct superposition is experimentally validated at 20 m for two 5-lb charges spaced as close as 2 m in alluvium. The charges are separated by the scaled range of 147 m/kt1/3 and observed at the scaled range of 1470 m/kt1/3. Finite-spatial source effects are observed and simulated in the plane passing through two charges separated by 2 to 10 m. The deterministic single-burst waveforms are used to model the multiple-burst data. The effects observed and simulated include direct superposition below the corner frequency, shift to lower corner frequency with increasing charge separation, and spectral scalloping. For charges closely spaced (up to 4 m, observed at 20 and 24 m), the primary effect on the waveform is replicated by a constant delay time between two identical waveforms. For charges spaced by 10 m (observed at 20 and 30 m), the effects of propagation path differences must be included. These effects result in smoothed spectra.
Failure Detection in Large-Scale Internet Services by Principal Subspace Mapping

Fast and accurate failure detection is becoming essential in managing large-scale Internet services. This paper proposes a novel detection approach based on the subspace mapping between the system inputs and internal measurements. By exploring these contextual dependencies, our detector can initiate repair actions accurately, increasing the availability of the system. Although a classical statistical method, the canonical correlation analysis (CCA), is presented in the paper to achieve subspace mapping, we also propose a more advanced technique, the principal canonical correlation analysis (PCCA), to improve the performance of the CCA-based detector. PCCA extracts a principal subspace from internal measurements that is not only highly correlated with the inputs but also a significant representative of the original measurements. Experimental results on a Java 2 platform, enterprise edition (J2EE)- based Web application demonstrate that such property of PCCA is especially beneficial to failure detection tasks.
The action of a dietary retinoid on gene expression and cancer induction in electron-irradiated rat skin

Current models of radiation carcinogenesis generally assume that the DNA is damaged in a variety of ways by the radiation and that subsequent cell divisions contribute to the conversion of the damage to heritable mutations. Cancer may seem complex and intractable, but its complexity provides multiple opportunities for preventive interventions. Mitotic inhibitors are among the strongest cancer preventive agents, not only slowing the growth rate of preneoplasias but also increasing the fidelity of DNA repair processes. Ionizing radiation, including electrons, is a strong inducer of cancer in rat skin, and dietary retinoids have shown potent cancer preventive activity in the same system. A non-toxic dietary dose of retinyl acetate altered gene expression levels 24 hours after electron irradiation of rat skin. Of the 8740 genes on an Affymetrix rat expression array, the radiation significantly (5 fold or higher) altered 188, while the retinoid altered 231, including 16 radiation-altered genes that were reversely altered. While radiation strongly affected the expression of stress response, immune/inflammation and nucleic acid metabolism genes, the retinoid most strongly affected proliferation-related genes, including some significant reversals, such as, keratin 14, retinol binding protein, and calcium binding proteins. These results point to reversal of proliferation-relevant genes as a likely basis for the anti-radiogenic effects of dietary retinyl acetate.
Persistent identification of unstable LTV systems

This paper deals with identification of linear time-varying (possibly unstable and infinite dimensional) systems, perceived as a part of an adaptive system. The main challenges of the problem stem from the following observations: 1) to model the behavior of a time-varying system at a frozen-time moment, only a small window of input/output observations near that time can be used; 2) the signal to the plant is generated by the feedback loop and cannot be manipulated directly, only the external input can be selected at will; and 3) identification of unstable systems mandates closed-loop operation and requires certain model structures, such as ARMAX. This paper addresses issues towards closed-loop identification problems. The problems are first formulated for LTI systems. Essential features of periodic probing signals, including feedback invariance and probing capability, are established which demonstrate their potential utility in closed-loop persistent identification. Error bounds are then established for systems with unstructured unmodeled dynamics and slowly time-varying systems.
Genetic Modulation of Impaired Cardiac Conduction Sodium Channel β4 Subunit Missing in Action

See related article, pages 1283–1292 Inherited disorders of heart rhythm and cardiac conduction have received tremendous attention during the past 15 years. The discovery of mutations in several genes, mostly encoding subunits of ion channels, has revealed the molecular basis for various familial arrhythmia susceptibility syndromes and enabled deployment of clinical genetic testing to identify at-risk persons. Proper risk stratification in these settings is crucial for selecting the most appropriate treatments for individual patients, but knowledge of the primary mutation does not always help predict risk of serious cardiac events. With more widespread use of genetic testing in disorders such as the congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS) and Brugada syndrome (BrS) has come the recognition that not all mutation carriers are equally affected.1–4 When asymptomatic mutation carriers belong to a family that segregates a Mendelian phenotype (ie, caused by a single gene defect) such as LQTS, we say that the mutation exhibits “reduced” or “incomplete penetrance.” Similarly, certain mutations may confer variable risk of disease expression or variation in the signs and symptoms evident in related individuals (“variable expressivity”). Both incomplete penetrance and variable expressivity are likely attributable to genetic, environmental, or developmental factors that condition the host or help trigger disease onset. Genetic factors distinct from the primary disease-causing mutation are referred to as “modifiers.” Identification of genetic modifiers of Mendelian disorders may improve the precision of molecular diagnostics and provide additional clues about disease mechanism. However, …
Direct Covariance Flux Estimates from Mobile Platforms at Sea

This paper describes two methods for computing direct covariance fluxes from anemometers mounted on moving platforms at sea. These methods involve the use of either a strapped-down or gyro-stabilized system that are used to compute terms that correct for the 1) instantaneous tilt of the anemometer due to the pitch, roll, and heading variations of the platform; 2) angular velocities at the anemometer due to rotation of the platform about its local coordinate system axes; and 3) translational velocities of the platform with respect to a fixed frame of reference. The paper provides a comparison of fluxes computed with three strapped-down systems from two recent field experiments. These comparisons shows that the direct covariance fluxes are in good agreement with fluxes derived using the bulk aerodynamic method. Additional comparisons between the ship system and the research platform FLIP indicate that flow distortion systematically increases the momentum flux by 15%. Evidence suggests that this correction is appropriate for a commonly used class of research vessels. The application of corrections for both motion contamination and flow distortion results in direct covariance flux estimates with an uncertainty of approximately 10%‐20%.
Experimentation and analysis: SigLab/MATLAB data acquisition experiments for signals and systems

A set of experiments and associated analysis are presented that use Spectral Dynamics' SigLab data acquisition unit and MATLAB. These experiments reinforce ideas in the signals and systems course and related courses, as well as provide additional practice in MATLAB programming and in analysis. Topics include sampling and aliasing, modes, dynamic system modeling, frequency response, discrete Fourier transform, power spectrum, and autocorrelation and cross correlation. One unique feature of these experiments is a significant integration of basic signal processing analysis to explain phenomena and to predict and evaluate measurements. Most or all experiments can be easily adapted so that they can alternatively be performed using the MATLAB Data Acquisition Toolbox and a data acquisition board.
Enhanced turbulence due to the superposition of internal gravity waves and a coastal upwelling jet

to vertical aspect ratios of 10 2 to 10 3 (median value � 300). These patches are clearly defined by regions of low Richardson number and occur where and when the linear superposition of the three dominant shear constituents (near-inertial, M2, and thermal wind) interferes constructively. This is most pronounced at the base of the coastal jet, where the thermal wind shear is largest. While the effect of the turbulence stress divergence on the jet is small compared to geostrophy (� 1%), it is significant in the second-order force balance governing secondary circulation. The timescale associated with the decay of the thermal wind shear via turbulence stress is O(10) days. We confirm that the vertical salt flux due to mixing is comparable to the net Ekman transport of salt onto the shelf within the bottom boundary layer. Because numerical models of coastal circulation lack turbulence in midwater column, any vertical transport of scalars, including salt and heat, must be achieved inshore of the 40-m isobath. This is inconsistent with the observations presented in this study, in which significant vertical turbulent salt transport is found to exist across the entire shelf.
Effect of phosphorus deficiency on growth angle of basal roots in Phaseolus vulgaris

Root architectural plasticity might be an important factor in the acquisition by plants of immobile nutrients such as phosphorus (P). In this study, we examined the effect of P availability on the orientation of basal roots with respect to gravity, and thereby on the growth angle of these roots of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). In one set of studies the growth angle of basal roots of bean seedlings was measured over time. Sixteen bean genotypes were examined; six showed a decrease in root orientation with respect to gravity in low P media, one increased orientation, and nine showed no difference within 5 d of basal root emergence. Bean taproots also showed decreased root orientation with respect to gravity in low P. Growth angle after 5 d was correlated with field performance of contrasting genotypes in low P tropical soils. Mineral deficiencies other than P did not cause changes in root angle. In a split pouch system that provided high or low P solution to different parts of the root system, the decrease in root angle in low P was found to be a response to global P availability, and not local to the portion of the root system in low P. Effects of P availability on root angle were associated with reduced shoot P concentration, but preceded effects on plant biomass accumulation and leaf area expansion. Results from growth pouches for genotype G 19833 were confirmed using a solid-phase buffered sand-culture system supplying P at three levels. Pea (Pisum sativum), soybean (Glycine max Williams), chickpea (Cicer arietinum), lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus), and lentil (Lens culinaris) were grown with and without P; soybean and pea also showed decreased basal root angles in low P.
Web 2.0 and Internet Social Networking: A New tool for Disaster Management? - Lessons from Taiwan

Internet social networking tools and the emerging web 2.0 technologies are providing a new way for web users and health workers in information sharing and knowledge dissemination. Based on the characters of immediate, two-way and large scale of impact, the internet social networking tools have been utilized as a solution in emergency response during disasters. This paper highlights the use of internet social networking in disaster emergency response and public health management of disasters by focusing on a case study of the typhoon Morakot disaster in Taiwan. In the case of typhoon disaster in Taiwan, internet social networking and mobile technology were found to be helpful for community residents, professional emergency rescuers, and government agencies in gathering and disseminating real-time information, regarding volunteer recruitment and relief supplies allocation. We noted that if internet tools are to be integrated in the development of emergency response system, the accessibility, accuracy, validity, feasibility, privacy and the scalability of itself should be carefully considered especially in the effort of applying it in resource poor settings. This paper seeks to promote an internet-based emergency response system by integrating internet social networking and information communication technology into central government disaster management system. Web-based networking provides two-way communication which establishes a reliable and accessible tunnel for proximal and distal users in disaster preparedness and management.
The novel guanylyl cyclase MsGC-I is strongly expressed in higher-order neuropils in the brain of Manduca sexta

Guanylyl cyclases are usually characterized as being either soluble (sGCs) or receptor (rGCs). We have recently cloned a novel guanylyl cyclase, MsGC-I, from the developing nervous system of the hawkmoth Manduca sexta that cannot be classified as either an sGC or an rGC. MsGC-I shows highest sequence identity with receptor guanylyl cyclases throughout its catalytic and dimerization domains, but does not contain the ligand-binding, transmembrane or kinase-like domains characteristic of receptor guanylyl cyclases. In addition, MsGC-I contains a C-terminal extension of 149 amino acid residues. In this paper, we report the expression of MsGC-I in the adult. Northern blots show that it is expressed preferentially in the nervous system, with high levels in the pharate adult brain and antennae. In the antennae, immunohistochemical analyses show that it is expressed in the cell bodies and dendrites, but not axons, of olfactory receptor neurons. In the brain, it is expressed in a variety of sensory neuropils including the antennal and optic lobes. It is also expressed in structures involved in higher-order processing including the mushroom bodies and central complex. This complicated expression pattern suggests that this novel guanylyl cyclase plays an important role in mediating cyclic GMP levels in the nervous system of Manduca sexta.
Rewarding Progress, Reducing Debt: Early Results from the Performance-Based Scholarship Demonstration in Ohio

Low-income parents at three community colleges in Ohio were offered a cash incentive, contingent on meeting academic benchmarks, to enhance their progress in school. For the first cohort, the performance-based scholarship program increased full-time enrollment and the number of credits attempted and earned, while reducing educational debt.
Migration and Labor Market Opportunities 1

This chapter traces the development of the role of economic opportunities in the study of migration. From the earliest years of internal migration as a recognized field of study, scholars in many social science disciplines believed that such opportunities were key determinantsof migration. However, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the lack of statistical measures of income and wages at subnational levels prevented empirical testing of the economic opportunity hypothesis. During this time, much rural-to-urban migration was occurring, and the presumption was that these flows were being driven by perceived urban‐rural differences in economic well-being. The first formal measures used by economists in the 1930s were regional unemployment rates, and these rates proved to be significant determinants of migration during the Depression, but did not always hold up to scrutiny in later years. As aggregate income measures became increasingly available after 1960, they were incorporated in migration models, but their empirical success also was limited. Finally, the availability of microdata that
Neural substrate for an integrated metabolic control of feeding behavior.

Evidence indicates that feeding behavior in rats is controlled by a mechanism that integrates information about different aspects of fuel metabolism. We investigated the neural substrate for this i...
Modal Analysis Using Co-Prime Arrays

We address the problem of estimating mode parameters from noisy observations of a linear combination of the corresponding modes. This problem arises in line spectrum estimation, vibration analysis, speech processing, system identification, and direction of arrival estimation. Our results differ from standard results of modal analysis to the extent that we consider co-prime samplings in space, or equivalently co-prime samplings in time. Our main result is a characterization of the orthogonal subspace for this problem. This is the subspace that is orthogonal to the signal subspace spanned by the columns of the generalized Vandermonde matrix of modes in co-prime samplings. This characterization is derived in a form that allows us to adapt modern methods of subspace signal processing to co-prime sampled signals. Several numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the application of the proposed modal estimation method. We state and prove theorems on identifiability of the modes and calculate a Cramer-Rao bound that allows us to analyze the performance of co-prime arrays that are subsamplings of uniform linear arrays of the same apertures.
Concentration and Competition

THE DISCUSSION of these two subjects has been much confused by two conditions: a confusion of terminology and a neglect of the teachings of economic history. These two conditions are perhaps inevitable when large numbers of persons are intensely interested in matters requiring for their understanding more thorough knowledge of the subject than is possible for many nonprofessional students to acquire. They have been intensified by the spirit of the times, which causes many even of the professional economists to neglect the experience and the learning of the past and to assume that conditions are entirely new and require an entirely new theoretical analysis, preferably expressed in an entirely new terminology. For example, the term concentration is sometimes used to describe a state, sometimes to describe a process. Whether used in the static or dynamic it is applied with little discrimination to wealth, income, control, or even geographical location. Now it is obvious that we might have an existing condition of concentration without any recent or prospective increase in concentration. It is also obvious that we might have a concentration on any one of the four factors-wealth or income or control or location-without a concentration of any of the other three. Income is not all derived from wealth; most income is derived from labor. Ownership is not always necessary for control; the I.C.C. controls the railroads and the S.E.C. controls the stock exchanges, often contrary to the desires of the
Biliary Excretion of Cæruloplasmin Copper

THE importance of the mechanism by which normal subjects maintain zero balance of copper is seen in patients with Wilson's disease who, lacking it, accumulate copper to the point of toxicity. In these patients, the association of chronic copper toxicity and life-long deficiency of caeruloplasmin has aroused considerable speculation about a possible role of this copper-protein in the control of either absorption or excretion of copper1. Since earlier studies failed to indicate an effect of circulating caeruloplasmin on the absorption of copper2, our attention has recently been directed on the alternative possibility that caeruloplasmin is involved in the excretory pathway of copper. Bile is a major route for the excretion of heavy metals; the question arose therefore whether caeruloplasmin copper passes directly into bile, as suggested by Jeunet, Richterich and Aebi3. This was answered by intravenously injecting caeruloplasmin labelled with copper-64 into rabbits, and correlating the disappearance of radioactivity from the blood with the appearance of radioactivity in the bile.
A Sexually Dimorphic Learned Birdsong in the Northern Cardinal

In most temperate zone songbirds, singing is solely a behavior of males. However, in some species, such as the Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), both sexes sing, and in both, songs are learned. The song of male and female cardinals sounds very similar to the human ear. Whether songs learned by the two sexes can be sexually dimorphic in acoustic structure has never been examined. In the present study, I carried out detailed analyses of the acoustic structure of male and female songs. Songs of the two sexes proved to be dimorphic with respect to the degree of syllable stereotypy and the amplitude of harmonics. These findings show that vocalizations that are learned by the two sexes can be sexually dimorphic.
Physiologic acoustic basis of speech perception.

The literature has made a distinction between the extraction of auditory parameters of speech and a specialized phonetic speech processor. Research shows that the peculiarity of speech does not he in its phonologic information but in the acoustic information of speech. Spatial pattern responses to complex acoustic characteristics of sound may prove to be how perception occurs in the central auditory system and cortex.
Signatures of an annular Fermi sea

The concept of a Fermi surface, the constant-energy surface containing all the occupied electron states in momentum, or wave-vector $(k)$, space plays a key role in determining electronic properties of conductors. In two-dimensional (2D) carrier systems, the Fermi surface becomes a contour which, in the simplest case, encircles the occupied states. In this case, the area enclosed by the contour, which we refer to as the Fermi sea (FS), is a simple disk. Here we report the observation of an FS with a new topology, namely, an FS in the shape of an annulus. Such an FS is expected in a variety of 2D systems where the energy band dispersion supports a ring of extrema at finite $k$, but its experimental observation has been elusive. Our study provides (1) theoretical evidence for the presence of an annular FS in 2D hole systems confined to wide GaAs quantum wells and (2) experimental signatures of the onset of its occupation as an abrupt rise in the sample resistance, accompanied by a sudden appearance of Shubnikov--de Haas oscillations at an unexpectedly high frequency whose value does not simply correspond to the (negligible) density of holes contained within the annular FS.
Adenosine promotes regulation of corneal hydration through cyclic adenosine monophosphate.

Purpose. To investigate the cellular mechanisms whereby adenosine increases net transendothelial fluid transport by the endothelial cells of the cornea. Methods. Rabbit corneas were isolated and the endothelial surface was superfused while thickness was measured with the specular microscope. Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) was measured in endothelia from fresh and incubated corneas, and adenylyl cyclase and phosphodiesterase activities were measured in homogenates or the particulate fraction of endothelia from bovine or rabbit. Adenosine, adenosine-receptor agonists, dibutyryl cAMP, forskolin, and phosphodiesterase inhibitors were used to modulate physiological and biochemical parameters. Results. Adenosine, N-ethyl(carboxamido)adenosine, dibutyryl cAMP, forskolin, and phosphodiesterase inhibitors all promoted deturgescence of swollen corneas and maintained fresh corneas at lower steady state thicknesses than in controls. These effects were abolished in the presence of ouabain or 4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid or after complete removal of HCO 3 - from the media. Intracellular cAMP was significantly increased by forskolin and phosphodiesterase inhibitors and, to a lesser extent, by agonists. Increases in cAMP concentration declined rapidly with time. Cyclase activity in the bovine tissue was enhanced by agonists and by G-protein activators. Dose-response curves of corneal swelling indicated a greater sensitivity to N-ethyl(carboxamido)adenosine than to the A 2α specific agonist CGS 21680. Conclusions. Adenosine increases net endothelial fluid transport through an increase in cAMP. The effects are mediated by stimulation of adenylyl cyclase through a G-protein coupled to an adenosine receptor, which is most probably of the A 2β subtype. Results suggest that the regulation of corneal hydration by adenosine is more probably through stimulation of active transport than through a change in permeability, involving either transmembrane fluxes of Na + or HCO 3 - or another step tightly coupled to these primary events in fluid movement.
Joint route-server load balancing in software defined networks using ant colony optimization

Managing resource utilization can greatly improve system and network performance. Load balance (LB) is one important means for controlling resources. Traditional LB methods are usually inefficient, inflexible since there are no effective ways to obtain network statistics from each network device. This can be overcome by adopting the Software Defined Networking (SDN) approach. We present a dynamic LB for SDN, which aims to load balancing both the servers and the paths leading to the servers. To choose the best server, we use the least-loaded server LB policy. To select the best path to reach the chosen server, we adopt the Ant Colony System (ACS) algorithm, a successful variation of the nature-inspired ant colony optimization method. The proposed work therefore implements the joint ACS routing and dynamic server LB algorithm as a LB module in the SDN controller. This algorithm uses server-load and network statistics collected by the controller to find both the best server and the best path for network flows. As a proof of concept, the proposed algorithm is implemented as a module in the OpenDayLight controller, and experiments are carried over Mininet, an OpenFlow network emulator. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm performs significantly well as compared to two other benchmark algorithms, achieving both higher network throughput and lower delay. This work would serve as an illustration of adopting SDN for system and network performance management, as well as a good example of using nature-inspired cooperative methods for SDN.
Spectral Estimation in Cognitive Radios

This chapter contains sections titled: Filter Bank Formulation of Spectral Estimators Polyphase Realization of Uniform Filter Banks Periodogram Spectral Estimator Multitaper Spectral Estimator Filter Bank Spectral Estimator Distributed Spectrum Sensing Discussion Appendix A: Effective Degree of Freedom Appendix B: Explanation to the Results of Table 24.1 References
Compact Operators, Fredholm Operators, and Index Theory

In the preceding chapter we studied operators on Hilbert space and obtained, in particular, the spectral theorem for normal operators. As we indicated this result can be viewed as the appropriate generalization to infinite-dimensional spaces of the diagonalizability of matrices on finite-dimensional spaces. There is another class of operators which are a generalization in a topological sense of operators on a finite-dimensional space. In this chapter we study these operators and a certain related class. The organization of our study is somewhat unorthodox and is arranged so that the main results are obtained as quickly as possible. We first introduce the class of compact operators and show that this class coincides with the norm closure of the finite rank operators. After that we give some concrete examples of compact operators and then proceed to introduce the notion of a Fredholm operator. We begin with a definition.
‘Up against Whiteness’: rethinking race and the body in a global era

While ethnic-minority young people are increasingly defined as bodies ‘at disadvantage', marked as less fit or less healthy than the White ‘norm', the ways young people construct meanings around th...
Progressive Fibrosis: A Progesterone- and KLF11-Mediated Sexually Dimorphic Female Response.

Progressive scarring is ubiquitous postoperatively and in an array of chronic systemic diseases. Recent studies indicate that such scarring has a high female propensity; females are also almost exclusively affected by endometriosis, a common sex steroid-dependent fibrotic disease. Endometriosis-related fibrosis is regulated epigenetically through transcription factor Kruppel-like factor 11 (KLF11). In response to surgical induction of endometriosis, Klf11-/- female mice develop significant fibrosis in contrast to wild-type mice. We therefore hypothesized that female fibrotic predilection was mediated by differential sex steroid regulation of KLF11/collagen 1a1 signaling and investigated the fibrotic response in wild-type and Klf11-/- male and female animals using a sterile peritonitis model. Fibrosis selectively developed in Klf11-/- females. Fibrosis in these animals was almost completely abrogated by ovariectomy. Ovariectomized animals were selectively supplemented with estradiol, medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), or dihydrotestosterone; fibrosis was only observed in mice exposed to MPA. Fibrosis therefore selectively developed in Klf11-/- female mice in response to physiological or pharmacological progesterone. The fibrotic response in these animals was also mitigated in response to antiprogestin therapy. Profibrotic gene expression was activated in a primary human peritoneal cell line in response to KLF11 short hairpin RNA and MPA but not estradiol. KLF11/collagen 1a1 signaling previously shown to be linked to fibrosis was thus selectively dysregulated in MPA-treated cells. Our in vivo and in vitro findings in an animal model and human cells, respectively, suggest that progressive fibrotic scarring is a sexually dimorphic response irrespective of etiology; moreover, it is responsive to novel, individualized therapeutic intervention.
Natural gas vs. oil in U.S. transportation: Will prices confer an advantage to natural gas?

Abstract The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that U.S. natural gas prices will provide a substantial cost advantage over petroleum products as a transportation fuel during the next 30+ years. Although U.S. natural gas prices closely tracked those of world oil prices from the mid-1990s to early 2009, U.S. natural gas prices have been much lower relative to those for oil since early 2009. The break owes to technological change that substantially increased the supply of U.S. shale gas resources. Although recent weakness in world oil prices has restored at least some temporary comparability between U.S. natural gas prices and those for petroleum products, EIA projects U.S. natural gas prices will rise more slowly as world oil prices recover. Relatively weaker gains in U.S. natural gas prices would support the substitution of natural gas for other fuels—such as petroleum products in transportation—whether such substitution is driven by business or policy decisions. Will U.S. natural gas prices be sustainably lower relative to those for petroleum products so as to support the increased use of natural gas in the transportation sector? An interpretative review of current market developments and recent research finds the answer is yes.
Electricity demand in industrial and service sectors in Taiwan

The electricity demand in the industrial and service sectors in Taiwan is estimated using a panel dataset, covering 23 industries in the industrial and 9 in the service sectors from 1998 to 2015. Static and dynamic models are studied. Industries are reclassified based on the national accounts and the energy balance sheets. Estimated results indicate the price elasticity is − 0.14 in the short term and − 0.82 in the long term, while the income elasticity is 0.08 in the short term and 0.47 in the long term. The influence of cooling degree days was positive, and substitution effect of electricity with respect to petroleum was proven. In addition, the scenario analysis reveals the gap between the current situation and the policy target of electrical efficiency. This gap can be bridged by economic development and adjustment of industrial structure if Taiwan chooses to stick with low electricity prices.
Heterocentron chimalapanum (Melastomataceae): A New Species from Oaxaca, Mexico

Heterocentron chimalapanum, an unusual species from the dense cloud scrub forest of the Chimalapa region of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Oaxaca, Mexico, is described and illustrated. Most closely related to H. elegans, H. chimalapanum differs from that species in its bright pink petals, smaller leaves, and strigose hypanthia.
Undocumented, to DACAmented, to DACAlimited: Narratives of Latino Students With DACA Status:

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) executive order intended to protect undocumented youth from deportation and mitigate the negative impact of their undocumented status. Using qualitative methods, eight DACA recipients were interviewed. Participants were primarily females, ranged in age from 19 and 27 years old, and had immigrated from Mexico. Our findings revealed that as participants grew up, they experienced a sense of liminality, or “non-belonging”; however, upon receiving DACA status, these feelings of liminality were temporarily abated. Problematically, as our participants encountered the limitations of DACA, their feelings of liminality returned. While DACA increases access to education, health care, and legal system participation, it only temporarily mitigates the impact of having an undocumented status. The ramifications of the sense of liminality that occur with being undocumented is discussed and policy reforms in areas of federal and state educational policy and immigration poli...
U.S. Criminal Code: Offenses Against: Morals and Decency; Public Peace; Justice Administration

This chapter presents several case studies related to offenses against: morals and decency; public peace; and justice administration. The cases presented are: John D. Ashcroft, Attorney General, et al. v. The Free Speech Coalition, et al., Alberto R. Gonzales, Attorney General, et al. v. Angel McClary Raich et al., Alberto R. Gonzales, Attorney General, et al. v. Oregon, et al.
Disciplines Associated with Food Safety: Epidemiology

Epidemiology is the study of patterns of disease in the population. By understanding the patterns of foodborne disease, we can learn about the factors that affect disease occurrence and improve prevention and control efforts. When studying the distribution and causes of disease, epidemiologists must consider the agent, host, and environment and how they interact for the disease under investigation. This chapter describes the standard measures used by epidemiologists to describe the patterns of disease and to determine if there is an association between an exposure and disease. Types of epidemiologic studies, including their design and analysis are also discussed.
Physical activity and incident diabetes mellitus in postmenopausal women.

Objectives. This study determined whether the incidence of diabetes is reduced among physically active older women. Methods. We assessed physical activity by mailed questionnaire and 12-year incidence of diabetes (ostensibly type 2 diabetes) in a cohort of 34 257 women aged 55 to 69 years. Results. After adjustment for age, education, smoking, alcohol intake, estrogen use, dietary variables, and family history of diabetes, women who reported any physical activity had a relative risk of diabetes of 0.69 (95% confidence interval = 0.63, 0.77) compared with sedentary women. Conclusions. These findings suggest that physical activity is important for type 2 diabetes prevention among older women.
Two Decades of Administrative Law in California: A Critique

Members of the California bar will recall the consternation with which the 1936 decision in Standard Oil Co. v. Board of Equalization, 6 Cal.2d 557-565, was viewed. Touching the sensitive area of judicial review of administrative decisions as it did, it led to a series of proposed constitutional amendments, law review and bar journal criticism and demands for legislative action. It stimulated an intensive program of State Bar investi% gations and local bar committee activity. In short, that famous decision touched off some fifteen years of sustained California interest and activity in administrative law and procedure.
Unraveling obscurins in heart disease

Obscurins, expressed from the single OBSCN gene, are a family of giant, modular, cytoskeletal proteins that play key structural and regulatory roles in striated muscles. They were first implicated in the development of heart disease in 2007 when two missense mutations were found in a patient diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Since then, the discovery of over a dozen missense, frameshift, and splicing mutations that are linked to various forms of cardiomyopathy, including HCM, dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), and left ventricular non-compaction (LVNC), has highlighted OBSCN as a potential disease-causing gene. At this time, the functional consequences of the identified mutations remain largely elusive, and much work has yet to be done to characterize the disease mechanisms of pathological OBSCN variants. Herein, we describe the OBSCN mutations known to date, discuss their potential impact on disease development, and provide future directions in order to better understand the involvement of obscurins in heart disease.
Measurement Techniques and Utility of Hounsfield Unit Values for Assessment of Bone Quality Prior to Spinal Instrumentation: A Review of Current Literature.

Study Design.A systematic review.Objective.The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical utility of assessing bone quality using computed tomography (CT) attenuation in Hounsfield units (HU).Summary of Background Data.Assessing bone quality before spine instrumentation is an essential step of p
The Impact of the Asian Crisis on Governance: Does OECD Membership or Income Levels Matter?

We examine the impact of the 1997 Asian Crisis on governance. We look into how the crisis affected High-Income OECD, High-Income Non-OECD, Upper-middle Income, Lower-Middle Income, and Low Income Countries. For measures of governance, we use the World Bank’s Governance Indicators dataset which includes six measures of governance. We find that pre- and post-crisis, the ranking of each income group has not changed except for year 2004 when the High-Income Non-OECD Countries surpassed the High-Income OECD Countries in “Political Stability and Absence of Violence” category. In other words, our results show that, other than that exception in 2004, both pre- and post-crisis, the High-Income OECD Countries had the best governance measures, the High-Income Non-OECD Countries had the second best measures, and so on, in the order shown above. One point to note here: The High-Income Non-OECD Countries performed much better than the other groups after year 1998. After 1998, this group improved in all six dimensions of governance. We conclude that although crises affect all income groups, because of certain characteristics of the High-Income Non-OECD group, they tend to better react to crises.
Legality of Brand Hate: Dilution v. Collusion

I have discussed the legality of such anti-branding images and semiotics from various legal cases in this chapter. I have introduced and discussed various anti-branding dilution cases and re-conceptualized brand dilution as a matter of counter-posed brand meaning and associations in digital markets. I have discussed such anti-branding dilution cases from both a blurring and a tarnishment dilution basis. I discussed my interviews with consumers which revealed that anti-branding has less potential for brand dilution and more potential brand identity for collusion. By addressing both legal and marketing views of the meaning systems associated with the dilution versus collusion perspectives, this study provides an approach for understanding anti-branding dilution discussions and a way to develop better functioning branding exchange systems for digital markets. Consequently, possible changes in future branding ownership issues for digital markets are also envisioned in this chapter.
Cyber Operational Planning

The process of collecting business, software, or information systems’ requirements in general and security requirements in particular can take different approaches, structured or unstructured. At the end of the requirements collection process or stage, we may have one or more examples of the following problems that trigger the need for a thorough evaluation or validation process:
Long-Term Effectiveness of Antireflux Surgery in Esophageal Atresia Patients

Introduction Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a common morbidity after esophageal atresia (EA) repair, and the antireflux procedure (ARP) is a way of treating GERD symptoms. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether reflux index (Ri) and growth were improved by ARP. Materials and Methods Ninety-nine individuals with EA treated at the Queen Silvia Children's Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden, between 1997 and 2010 were followed prospectively according to a structured care program. Twenty-four-hour pH-metry (Ri) and growth were studied at birth, then at 1, 7, and 15 years of age. All the patients included had reached 7 years of age. Results Preoperatively, Ri was significantly higher (32%) in the ARP than the non-ARP group (10%). Postoperatively, no difference was seen between the groups. However, at 7 and 15 years of age, Ri was significantly higher in the ARP group than in the non-ARP group. Weight (standard deviation scores) was significantly lower in the ARP group at 1 and 7 years of age when compared with the non-ARP group, but these differences were not seen at birth and at 15 years of age. In a multivariate analysis, only birth weight remained a significant factor for low weight at 7 years of age. At 15 years of age, no risk factors for low body weight were found. Conclusion In the long term, ARP is not effective in reducing GERD as measured as Ri in EA patients. The ARP group had significantly lower weight at 1 and 7 years of age than the non-ARP group, but this was not the case at the age of 15.
Assessing new transmission and energy storage in achieving increasing renewable generation targets in a regional grid

Abstract This study evaluates generation, transmission, and storage capacity needs to achieve deep renewable energy penetration in a regional electricity grid with an average load of approximately 20 GW. Increasing renewable energy targets are analyzed to evaluate the effects of realistic regional transmission upgrade and energy storage cost assumptions on the cost-optimal mix of generation, transmission, and storage capacity. Contextual data is used for New York State’s grid to examine how electricity generation from renewable energy resources (wind, water, and solar power) can meet between 50% and 80% of electricity demand. A central finding of the study is that when realistic transmission upgrade costs are assumed, new interzonal transmission and battery storage are not needed to cost effectively meet near-term renewable energy goals. In fact, New York can achieve 50% renewable energy penetration with only a buildout of new generation capacity: Onshore wind (13.7 GW), offshore wind (4.1 GW), and solar photovoltaics (3 GW). The presence of grid-scale battery storage, electric vehicles, or additional behind-the-meter solar capacity does not markedly change the model-selected generation mix. To achieve the 50% target, we compute a $52/MWh levelized cost of electricity for new renewable energy, which is in line with current generation costs. As the renewable generation target increases beyond 50%, the model begins to select transmission upgrades and new storage capacity, the latter particularly if battery costs continue to decline as anticipated. At deeper targets, marginal generation capacity would otherwise experience high curtailment primarily due to supply–demand imbalances; we calculate the value of energy storage at a 65% renewable energy penetration level to be 2.5–3 times higher than its value at a 50% level. However, the additional storage and generation – and transmission, to a lesser degree – needed to achieve longer-term renewable energy goals lead to a substantial rise in total investment. Between 50% and 55% targets, the computed marginal levelized cost of electricity for new variable renewable energy is $94/MWh, compared to $592/MWh between 75% and 80%, suggesting alternative integration measures are likely necessary at such high penetration rates.