cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A cross-layer approach to mixed-control topology management for MANETs

Topology Control (TC) algorithms are generally applied to tactical network environments to create or maintain connectivity graphs with specific topological properties. In the context of this work, network topology defines the connectivity and link properties between nodes in the network. While protocols in the communications stack are traditionally designed to adapt to different traffic demands and underlying changes in network topology, TC algorithms offer an opportunity for applications to become proactive, and to drive changes in network topology. In most cases, topology control is achieved through a number of independent control strategies such as power management, node mobility or spectrum allocation, each of which operates at a different time scale, with different constraints and capabilities. In this work we introduce a mixed topology control strategy for highly dynamic tactical networks. The proposed approach combines two controllers (one for transmit power and one for node mobility) to enable a self-regulating link maintenance algorithm that compensates for short term variations in link conditions while supporting a more permanent, slower adaptation based on node position. While applied for transmit power and node mobility in this paper, the approach is generic enough to be extended to different parameters. After describing the control formulation and its stability analysis, we introduce simple leader-follower scenarios simulated in NS-3 to illustrate the capabilities and properties of the proposed approach.
Masking the motions of human gait

In three experiments we tried to mask the motions of human gait. We represented human walkers as a set of 11 computer-generated elements on a display monitor, moving as a nested hierarchy of motions that mimicked the motions of the head and major joints. The walker was seen in sagittal view, facing either right or left and walking as if on a treadmill. On the walker was superimposed a simultaneous mask composed of elements with the same brightness, shape, and subtense as those of the walker. We varied the mask parameters—particularly the number of elements and style of motion—to discern what masks best camouflaged the walker’s direction. In general, many kinds of masks impeded viewer performance at durations of 200 msec, but only relatively complex masks continued to impede performance to 400 msec and beyond. Four results stand out concerning the concurrent perceptual organization of target and mask. First, if the mask is easily divided into groups by its motion parameters, viewer performance with respect to the stimulus is generally impeded by increasing the number of groups in the mask. Second, the most successful masks are those composed of scrambled parts of walkers. Third, given a sufficient number of scrambled-walker elements, viewer performance does not improve above chance even at 800 msec. And fourth, this lack of improvement appears to be confined to scrambled-walker masks that share the particular gait parameters of the walker target.
Joint influence of air temperature and soil moisture on CO2 release by a soybean crop

In order to provide information for a complete accounting of the carbon balance of an agronomic crop, respiration rates were measured by means of an open-chamber system. The combined effects of air temperature and soil water content on respiration rates in a soybean crop were studied for two seasons at Mead, Nebraska. For soil water potentials above about — 1.2 MPa, full-crop (aerial portion, roots and soil) respiration rate (corrected to 20°C) was unaffected by soil water potential. With water potentials < - 1.2 MPa, respiration rates decreased monotonically. Respiration rates increased with increasing temperature. Full-crop respiration rate ranged from 318 to 905 mg CO2 m−2 h−1 in 1979 and from 362 to 928 mg CO2 m−2 h−1 in 1980. An interaction between temperature and soil moisture content is evident in the data. Multiple regression indicated that 70–94% of the variation in full-crop respiration rates is explained by variations in air temperature and soil water content.
Ethnicity-Related Sources of Stress and Their Effects on Well-Being

Early research on ethnicity focused on the stereotyped thinking, prejudiced attitudes, and discriminatory actions of Euro-Americans. Minority-group members were viewed largely as passive targets of these negative reactions, with low self-esteem studied as the main psychological outcome. By contrast, recent research has increasingly made explicit use of stress theory in emphasizing the perspectives and experiences of minority-group members. Several ethnicity-related stressors have been identified, and it has been found that individuals cope with these threats in an active, purposeful manner. In this article, we focus on ethnicity-related stress stemming from discrimination, from stereotypes, and from conformity pressure arising from one's own ethnic group. We discuss theory and review research in which examination of ethnicity-related outcomes has extended beyond self-esteem to include psychological and physical well-being.
Exceptions to the prevailing pattern of tubules (9 + 9 + 2) in the sperm flagella of certain insect species.

Various deviations from classical 9 + 2 flagellar structure are found in sperm of insect species. In mature spermatozoa of a psocid, Psocus, the outer flagellar tubules are not straight, but are disposed in a long-pitched helix such that they form an angle of about 8° with a single dense rod located in the position usually occupied by the central pair. In young spermatids of Psocus the outer tubules are straight; thus, spiraling of the flagellar tubules occurs during the course of spermiogenesis. Spiraling of flagella also occurs in the cat flea Ctenocephalides felis. Variations in the number and morphology of the central element or elements occur in other insect species besides Psocus. Among the observed deviations from a central pair of tubules are a 9 + 0 tubule pattern in the sperm of three species of mayflies, a 9 + 1 tubule pattern in the sperm of two species of mosquitoes, and 9 + 7 tubules in sperm of two species of caddis flies. Spermatozoa of treehoppers vary in yet another respect from the typical 9 + 9 + 2 insect flagellum. These sperm tails branch into four long tails, three of which each contain two doublet and two singlet tubules while the fourth branch contains three doublet and three singlet tubules. The wide distribution of insects with aberrant flagella suggests that the variant forms have evolved independently.
Reflections on Communism Twenty Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall

Twenty years ago the Berlin Wall fell, marking the collapse of Soviet communism. The failure of the communist system was not merely economic and political; it was a moral failure as well. Over time communism created a deep disillusionment and revulsion among those who lived under it. The diminished sense of legitimacy of the ruling elite in the Soviet Union and Soviet bloc countries contributed to the unraveling of those systems as well.At the same time, there is a remarkable lack of moral concern in the West with the atrocities committed under communist systems, including the tens of millions of people who perished as a result of communist policies. By contrast there has been a great deal of impassioned condemnation of the outrages of Nazism. The most important reason for treating Nazism and communism differently has been the perception that communist crimes were unintended consequences of the pursuit of lofty goals whereas the goals of Nazism themselves were unmitigated evil.Western intellectuals who had once idealized the Soviet Union have done little soul searching regarding the roots of their beliefs. The long association of idealism with animosity toward commerce and capitalism among Western intellectuals has contributed to a reluctance to criticize a system ostensibly established in opposition to the values they abhorred.Public attitudes in former communist countries have been conflicted because of the arguable complicity of many citizens in keeping the old system in power. A predominant attitude in Eastern Europe and Russia toward the former communist systems has been a mixture of oblivion, denial, and repression.Contemporary Western attitudes toward the fall of the Soviet system suggest that political beliefs endure when they are widely shared and can satisfy important emotional needs.
Traveling Waves in Natural Systems

Waves that propagate along a real coordinate axis without change of form arise in a myriad of natural settings, from meteorology, oceanography, combustion theory, to name several areas in the physical sciences, and from biology, physiology, and population dynamics, to name several from the biological and health sciences. The phenomena usually involve some local “excitability” or change of state which can influence a neighboring region to pass to the altered state, thus provoking a chain type reaction. In many situations one can show that there is a set of conditions which permit the wave to move in one direction without change of form, and this is the type of wave we treat here. Our choice of examples is motivated by personal preference and experience with types in the realm of fluid waves and waves in physiology. We begin with a type which occurs in stratified fluids and then pass to a description of the classical study of Hodgkin and Huxley on propagating action potentials as a lead-in to our work on waves of contraction producing locomotion in the nematode Ascaris.
Tilting at a windmill? The conceptual problem in contemporary peace science

Peace scientists such as Kenneth Boulding, Ted Gurr, Thomas Schelling, and Charles Tilly were fastidious in their use of abstract concepts free of the political baggage that politicians, policymakers, and pundits necessarily foist upon the terms in the rough and tumble world of politics. Too much contemporary peace science fails to follow their lead. This essay describes this problem and proposes a useful heuristic to help us improve.
Low-lying 3 P o and 3 S e states of Rb − , Cs − , and Fr −

Our Dirac R-matrix calculations suggest that none of the heavy alkali-metal negative ions, Rb, Cs, and Fr, has an excited bound state. Their lowest excited state appears to be a multiplet of {sup 3}P{sub J}{sup o}-shape resonances, the J=1 component of which was recently observed in photodetachment experiments on Cs{sup -}. We analyze these {sup 3}P{sub J}{sup o} and the {sup 3}S{sup e} excited negative ion states in partial and converged total scattering cross sections for slow electrons with incident kinetic energies below 120 meV. Our results are in excellent agreement with available experimental data. We also propose a new value for the electron affinity of Fr, provide the scattering length for electronic collisions with Rb, Cs, and Fr, and discuss the nuclear charge dependence of relativistic effects in the resonance profiles. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society.
Noninvasive Fluxomics in Mammals by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Metabolism is an interconnectingnetwork ofmetabolite consumption and creation.Metabolomics has focused onmetabolite concentrations inmetabolic networks. Fluxomics is also required in the study ofmetabolism and quantifies the fluxof substrate through each reaction step or a series of reaction steps (i.e.,metabolic pathway or cycle), and ultimately is required for energy balance equations of the system. The primary noninvasivemethod of quantifying fluxes in living systems is by in vivo C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The present state of noninvasive in vivo NMR technology allows for just four simultaneous flux measurements of metabolic pathways: gluconeogenesis, glycogen synthesis, glycolysis, and citric acid cycle. Since the liver is the gatekeeper andmetabolic center for the animal, in vivo fluxomics of liver is extensively reviewed. Additionally, other organ systems studies are discussed demonstrating interorgan cycles, such as the Cori and Randall cycles. This review discusses the basics of in vivo fluxomics focusing on the general details of the NMR experimental protocol and required hardware/software needed to analyze the data. Currently, there are two general methods for determining multiple flux rates. The dynamic method entails acquiring serial time points, whereas the staticmethod is a single measurement in which flux through metabolic pathways is quantified by isotopomer (i.e., isotope isomers) analysis. The flux data are analyzed by mathematical models to calculate the global flux measurement (in silico fluxomics), and create a mass balance of the biosystem. Models are especially useful for inferring various metabolic states of the system, which are affected by drugs, toxicants, or pathology. As with all in silico models, increasing the number of empirically derived concentrations and fluxes into the model greatly increases the accuracy and utility of the model. NMR spectroscopy (NMRS) is inherently insensitive compared to other analytical modalities, limiting the temporal resolution of the dynamic in vivo measurements. To address the NMR sensitivity, several technological advances have been made. First, magnets are now at higher magnetic field strengths. Second, the technique of dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) of substrates increases the signal for C up to five orders of magnitude. In vivo fluxomics requires a broad knowledge of biochemistry, in vivo NMRS, and metabolic modeling. Therefore, this chapter is intended as a handbook for upper division undergraduate students and graduate students in biochemistry or engineering and relates the basics of electrical and biochemical engineering and animal handling. The chapter is intended for use in an introductory graduate course on NMR-based fluxomics for physical scientist. Teresa Whei-Mei Fan et al. (eds.), The Handbook of Metabolomics, Methods in Pharmacology and Toxicology, vol. 17, DOI 10.1007/978-1-61779-618-0_11, # Springer Science+Business Media New York 2012
Importance of Ergonomics for the Aging Worker

The purpose of the panel will be to discuss the ramifications of the numerous aging-related declines and how they impact the risk of injury in the workplace. Specific attention will be given to how the various components of the musculoskeletal system interact with each other. The discussion will provide potential intervention strategies that accommodate for the special needs of older workers. Through the diverse backgrounds of the panelists, a more comprehensive dialogue will provide better evidence of the strength and weaknesses of the literature regarding this rapidly growing at-risk population.
Improvement of Shotgun Proteomics in the Negative Mode by Carbamylation of Peptides and Ultraviolet Photodissociation Mass Spectrometry

Although acidic peptides compose a substantial portion of many proteomes, their less efficient ionization during positive polarity electrospray ionization (ESI) impedes their detection in bottom-up mass spectrometry workflows. We have implemented a derivatization strategy based on carbamylation which converts basic amine sites (Lys, N-termini) to less basic amides for enhanced analysis in the negative mode. Ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) is used to analyze the resulting peptide anions, as demonstrated for tryptic peptides from bovine serum albumin and Halobacterium salinarum in a high throughput liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) mode. LC/UVPD-MS of a carbamylated H. salinarum digest resulted in 45% more identified peptides and 25% more proteins compared to the unmodified digest analyzed in the negative mode.
The keystone island flap: use in large defects of the trunk and extremities in soft-tissue reconstruction

Background Microsurgical perforator flaps are useful in an array of reconstructive scenarios, but their technical complexity, steep learning curves, and prolonged operative times may limit their widespread adoption. Alternatively, the keystone island flap combines perforator-based vascularity with relative simplicity of nonmicrosurgical tissue rearrangement. This article reviews the authors' reconstructive experience using the keystone flap to reconstruct large trunk and extremity defects. Methods The authors performed a retrospective chart review of patients undergoing keystone flap reconstruction between 2002 and 2008. Patient demographic data, medical histories, comorbidities, surgical indications, defect characteristics and locations, hospitalization, complications, and follow-up care were evaluated and are presented in this article as an uncontrolled case series. Results Twenty-eight patients underwent keystone flap reconstruction. The average wound size measured 15.0 ± 11.7 × 13.0 ± 7.9 cm (250.5 ± 379.4 cm2). The average length of stay, including tumor resection, was 6.36 ± 6.68 days. A 35.7 percent overall complication rate was noted; partial and total flap loss was observed in only 7 percent of patients. One patient (3 percent) failed reconstruction and required alternative wound closure. Conclusions The keystone flap can be applied to large defects of the trunk and extremities, obviating the need for either microsurgical techniques or extensive operative time while achieving primary wound healing. Despite minor complications, the 97 percent reconstructive success rate compares well to published rates of microsurgical tissue transfers but has several advantages: short operative times, high reproducibility, ease of use, and favorable aesthetic outcome. The authors conclude that the keystone flap is a reliable and effective reconstructive surgical technique for reconstruction of soft-tissue defects.
Establishing PAX6 as a Biomarker to Detect Early Loss of Ocular Phenotype in Human Patients With Sjögren's Syndrome

PURPOSE Sjogren's syndrome (SS) is a common autoimmune disease that can cause aqueous-deficient dry eye and the aberrant differentiation of ocular mucosal epithelial cells toward a lineage that is pathologically keratinized and skin-like. PAX6 is the master regulator of corneal lineage commitment. Recently, we showed a functional role for PAX6 in preventing ocular surface damage induced by the proinflammatory cytokine, IL-1β, in a mouse model of SS. Here, we examine PAX6's potential as a clinical biomarker that predicts ocular surface disease in SS patients. METHODS Impression cytology specimens isolated from the bulbar conjunctiva of control (n = 43) and SS patients (n = 43) were used to evaluate the relative abundance of PAX6, IL-1β, and pathologic keratinization marker, small proline-rich protein (SPRR1B) by TaqMan qPCR. Transcript expression was examined relative to clinical data, including the ocular staining score (OSS), tear breakup time (TBUT), Schirmer tear test, serum autoantibody results, and the labial salivary gland focus score. RESULTS PAX6 expression was significantly reduced in SS patients (P = 0.010, Wilcoxon rank sum test), and highly correlated with OSS (Spearman ρ = 0.239, 95% CI 0.02-0.43; P = 0.027). The extent to which PAX6 predicted SPRR1B was largely dependent on IL-1β expression (R(2) = 0.28, P < 0.01) and elevated IL-1β predicted reduced TBUT (R(2) = 0.24, P = 0.035), low tear secretion (R(2) = 0.30, P = 0.011), and focus score (R(2) = 0.21, P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS Downregulation of PAX6 in SS patients was highly associated with ocular surface damage and largely dependent on the level of inflammation. Restoration of PAX6 may provide a clinical approach to manage dry eye in SS patients.
QoS Problems and Solutions of IP Network

Quality of Service (QoS) technology is the key for IP network technology to be the future general bearer network technology. According to the duration of congestion, network QoS risk can be divided into five levels as microsecond class, milliseconds class, second class, minute class, and longer time class. Scheduling mechanism, caching and queue mechanism, call admission control, traffic engineering, and other technologies are all effective means to solve one class of QoS risk. IP network operators need to make total QoS solution analyzing the major risks in their networks, and achieve a balance between four network performances, including call drop rate, delay, jitter, and packet loss.
Sequential patterns of affective states of novice programmers

We explore the sequences of affective states that students experience during their first encounter with computer programming. We conducted a study where 29 students with no prior programming experience completed various programming exercises by entering, testing, and running code. Affect was measured using a retrospective affect judgment protocol in which participants annotated videos of their interaction immediately after the programming session. We examined sequences of affective states and found that the sequences Flow/Engagement ↔ Confusion and Confusion ↔ Frustration occurred more than expected by chance, which aligns with a theoretical model of affect during complex learning. The likelihoods of some of these frequent transitions varied with the availability of instructional scaffolds and correlated with performance outcomes in both expected but also surprising ways. We discuss the implications and potential applications of our findings for affect-sensitive computer programming education systems.
Electrodeposited Zn Dendrites with Enhanced CO Selectivity for Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction

Electrochemical CO2 reduction is a key reaction for CO2 conversion to valuable fuels and chemicals. Because of the high stability of the CO2 molecule, a catalyst is typically required to minimize the energy input and improve reaction rates needed for device level commercialization. In this paper, we report a nanostructured Zn dendrite catalyst that is able to electrochemically reduce CO2 to CO in an aqueous bicarbonate electrolyte with greatly enhanced properties. The catalytic activity is over an order of magnitude higher than that of bulk Zn counterparts, with a CO faradaic efficiency around 3-fold higher. The stability of the Zn electrode under realistic CO2 electrolysis conditions was explored using scanning electron microscopy and in situ/operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy techniques. The results clearly demonstrate that nanostructured and bulk Zn catalysts are structurally stable at potentials more negative than −0.7 V versus RHE, whereas severe chemical oxidation occurs at more positive potentials.
On the Interest Rate Sensitivity of REITs: Evidence from Twenty Years of Daily Data

Executive Summary. In this study, we evaluate interest rate sensitivity for equity real estate investment trusts (REITs) using a multi-factor asset pricing model estimated with daily data. We utili...
The inverse q-numerical range problem and connections to the Davis–Wielandt shell and the pseudospectra of a matrix

Abstract Numerical ranges and related sets provide insights into the behavior of algorithms involving matrices, and inverse numerical range problems attempt to enhance these insights. We generalize the inverse numerical range problem, as proposed by Uhlig, to the inverse q -numerical range problem, and propose an algorithm for solving the problem that relies on convexity. To determine an approximation to the boundary of the q -numerical range, as needed by our algorithm, we must approximate the top of the Davis–Wielandt shell, a generalization of the numerical range. We found that the Davis–Wielandt shell is in a sense conjugate to the extreme singular values of the resolvent of a matrix. Knowing the Davis–Wielandt shell allows for the approximation of the q -numerical range, the pseudospectra and the Davis–Wielandt shell for any allowed Mobius transformation of a matrix. We provide some examples illustrating these connections, as well as how to solve the inverse q -numerical range problem.
Discordant Perceptions of Prognosis and Treatment Options Between Physicians and Patients With Advanced Heart Failure

Abstract Objectives This study assessed patient and physician perceptions of heart failure (HF) disease severity and treatment options. Background The prognosis for ambulatory patients with advanced HF on medical therapy is uncertain, yet has important implications for decision making regarding transplantation and left ventricular assist device (LVAD) placement. Methods Ambulatory patients with advanced HF (New York Heart Association functional class III to IV, Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support profiles 4 to 7) on optimized medical therapy were enrolled across 11 centers. At baseline, treating cardiologists rated patients for perceived risk for transplant, LVAD, or death in the upcoming year. Patients were also surveyed about their own perceptions of life expectancy and willingness to undergo various interventions. Results At enrollment, physicians regarded 111 of 161 patients (69%) of the total cohort to be at high risk for transplant, LVAD, or death, whereas only 23 patients (14%) felt they were at high risk. After a mean follow-up of 13 months, 61 patients (38%) experienced an endpoint of 33 deaths (21%), 13 transplants (8%), and 15 LVAD implants (9%). There was poor discrimination between risk prediction among both patients and physicians. Among physician-identified high-risk patients, 77% described willingness to consider LVAD, but 63% indicated that they would decline 1 or more other simpler forms of life-sustaining therapy such as ventilation, dialysis, or a feeding tube. Conclusions Among patients with advanced HF, physicians identified most to be at high risk for transplantation, LVAD, or death, whereas few patients recognized themselves to be at high risk. Patients expressed inconsistent attitudes toward lifesaving treatments, possibly indicating poor understanding of these therapies. Educational interventions regarding disease severity and treatment options should be introduced prior to the need for advanced therapies such as intravenous inotropic therapy, transplantation, or LVAD.
From ritual to metaphor: The semantic shift in the concept of ‘victim’ and medieval Christian piety

A study of the genealogy of the concept of victim (victima), originally an object of sacrifice [ritualistic meaning], reveals how it became a metaphorical label for a harmed party [figural meaning]...
AZDrugMiner: an information extraction system for mining patient-reported adverse drug events in online patient forums

Post-marketing drug surveillance is a critical component of drug safety. Drug regulatory agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rely on voluntary reports from health professionals and consumers contributed to its FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) to identify adverse drug events (ADEs). However, it is widely known that FAERS underestimates the prevalence of certain adverse events. Popular patient social media sites such as DailyStrength and PatientsLikeMe provide new information sources from which patient-reported ADEs may be extracted. In this study, we propose an analytical framework for extracting patient-reported adverse drug events from online patient forums. We develop a novel approach --- the AZDrugMiner system --- based on statistical learning to extract ad-verse drug events in patient discussions and identify reports from patient experiences. We evaluate our system using a set of manually annotated forum posts which show promising performance. We also examine correlations and differences between patient ADE reports extracted by our system and reports from FAERS. We conclude that patient social media ADE reports can be extracted effectively using our proposed framework. Those patient reports can reflect unique perspectives in treatment and be used to improve patient care and drug safety.
Immunosuppression after heart transplantation: Prednisone and cyclosporine with and without azathioprine

Fifty-four patients (group I) underwent isolated heart transplantation between July 1983 and January 1987 and were immunosuppressed with oral prednisone and cyclosporine. Twenty-three patients (group II) were transplanted between January 1987 and June 1988 and were immunosuppressed with oral prednisone, azathioprine, and cyclosporine, with lower targeted cyclosporine blood levels. The groups were similar in sex distribution of both donors and recipients. Primary cardiomyopathy was the primary recipient diagnosis in two thirds of patients in both groups. Donor age, graft ischemic time, and length of recipient hospitalization after transplant were similar. There was a trend toward transplantation of older patients in group II, and group II patients were more likely to receive hearts from local donors. Actuarial survival at 24 months was 75% in group I and 92% in group II. Patients who had triple-drug immunosuppression had statistically less early rejection but more early infections that tended to be minor. Hypertension requiring treatment occurred in 63% of group I patients and 62% of group II patients within the first 9 months after transplantation. Elevation of serum creatinine greater than 2.0 mg/dl occurred in 34% of group I patients and 15% of group II patients. A triple-drug immunosuppressive protocol is associated with less early rejection but more early minor infectious episodes. Although the incidence of hypertension is not reduced, there is a trend toward less nephrotoxicity and better survival.
Modern glaciomarine environments

Publisher Summary This chapter provides a brief overview of modern glaciomarine environments. These may be defined as marine environments in sufficient proximity to glacial ice that enables detection of a glacial signature within sediments. Some or all sediments are released from grounded or floating glacial or sea ice. The environment has a plethora of processes and sediment sources coming out of the combined actions of ice, water, wind, and biological activities. Glaciation at sea level depends on latitudinal and regional climatic factors, such as winter and summer temperatures, insolation, snowfall and cloudiness, and a wide range of climatic conditions that, when combined with relief, are capable of maintaining glaciers at sea level. Glaciers that terminate in seas or oceans may, in the final few hundred meters or kilometers, enter the body of water as floating termini or grounding tidewater cliffs. These different modes of terminating in water result in: (1) variations in how sediments arrive at a point of delivery from ice to a water body; (2) the effect of marine conditions, such as temperature, currents, and salinity on sedimentological and glaciological processes; (3) the transient interaction between marine and glacial environments; (4) and specific sedimentological processes ongoing within the proximal zone of the ice, the immediate proglacial subaquatic zone, and in more distal aquatic areas.
HIGHER-ORDER DIFFERENTIABILITY OF THE NORM IN LP (E)

Abstract There exist real Banach spaces E such that the norm in E is of class C∞ away from zero; however, for any p, 1 ≤ p ≤ ∞, the norm in the Lebesgue-Bochner function space LP(E,μ) is not even twice differentiable away from zero. It is this fact that led to a deeper study of the order of differentiability of the norm function in the spaces LP(E,μ), and to the complete determination of the order of smoothness of the norm in this class of Banach spaces.
Clinical Translation of Optical Molecular Imaging to Tissue Engineering: Opportunities & Challenges

The development of optical molecular imaging tools to characterize engineered tissues has the potential to enhance research in the field and may help to overcome regulatory barriers to clinical translation of tissue engineered medical products.
Excess vascular endothelial growth factor-A disrupts pericyte recruitment during blood vessel formation

Pericyte investment into new blood vessels is essential for vascular development such that mis-regulation within this phase of vessel formation can contribute to numerous pathologies including arteriovenous and cerebrovascular malformations. It is critical therefore to illuminate how angiogenic signaling pathways intersect to regulate pericyte migration and investment. Here, we disrupted vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) signaling in ex vivo and in vitro models of sprouting angiogenesis, and found pericyte coverage to be compromised during VEGF-A perturbations. Pericytes had little to no expression of VEGF receptors, suggesting VEGF-A signaling defects affect endothelial cells directly but pericytes indirectly. Live imaging of ex vivo angiogenesis in mouse embryonic skin revealed limited pericyte migration during exposure to exogenous VEGF-A. During VEGF-A gain-of-function conditions, pericytes and endothelial cells displayed abnormal transcriptional changes within the platelet-derived growth factor-B (PDGF-B) and Notch pathways. To further test potential crosstalk between these pathways in pericytes, we stimulated embryonic pericytes with Notch ligands Delta-like 4 (Dll4) and Jagged-1 (Jag1) and found induction of Notch pathway activity but no changes in PDGF Receptor-β (Pdgfrβ) expression. In contrast, PDGFRβ protein levels decreased with mis-regulated VEGF-A activity, observed in the effects on full-length PDGFRβ and a truncated PDGFRβ isoform generated by proteolytic cleavage or potentially by mRNA splicing. Overall, these observations support a model in which, during the initial stages of vascular development, pericyte distribution and coverage are indirectly affected by endothelial cell VEGF-A signaling and the downstream regulation of PDGF-B-PDGFRβ dynamics, without substantial involvement of pericyte Notch signaling during these early stages.
Effects of Interface Roughness, Particle Geometry, and Gradation on the Sand–Steel Interface Friction Angle

AbstractDetermination of interface shear strength is crucial in the design of many geotechnical structures. To study the effect of interface roughness, particle geometry (size and shape), and sand ...
Elastin-Dependent Aortic Heart Valve Leaflet Curvature Changes During Cyclic Flexure

The progression of calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is characterized by extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling, leading to structural abnormalities and improper valve function. The focus of the present study was to relate aortic valve leaflet axial curvature changes as a function of elastin degradation, which has been associated with CAVD. Circumferential rectangular strips (L × W = 10 × 2.5 mm) of normal and elastin-degraded (via enzymatic digestion) porcine AV leaflets were subjected to cyclic flexure (1 Hz). A significant increase in mean curvature (p < 0.05) was found in elastin-degraded leaflet specimens in comparison to un-degraded controls at both the semi-constrained (50% of maximum flexed state during specimen bending and straightening events) and fully-constrained (maximally-flexed) states. This significance did not occur in all three flexed configurations when measurements were performed using either minimum or maximum curvature. Moreover, the mean curvature increase in the elastin-degraded leaflets was most pronounced at the instance of maximum flexure, compared to un-degraded controls. We conclude that the mean axial curvature metric can detect distinct spatial changes in aortic valve ECM arising from the loss in bulk content and/or structure of elastin, particularly when there is a high degree of tissue bending. Therefore, the instance of maximum leaflet flexure during the cardiac cycle could be targeted for mean curvature measurements and serve as a potential biomarker for elastin degradation in early CAVD remodeling.
Updates in histologic grading of urologic neoplasms

Context.— Tumor histology offers a composite view of the genetic, epigenetic, proteomic, and microenvironmental determinants of tumor biology. As a marker of tumor histology, histologic grading has...
Nonenteric Lesions of Necrotic Enteritis in Commercial Chickens in California: 25 Cases (2009–2018)

Necrotic enteritis (NE) is an important enteric disease affecting a wide variety of avian species, including poultry, caused by Clostridium perfringens type G and, rarely, type C. Significant economic losses can result from elevated mortality rates and poor performance, such as decreased weight gain associated with intestinal damage and impaired absorption of nutrients. Additional losses can result from elevated condemnation at the processing plant because of a high incidence of cholangiohepatitis. Nonenteric lesions associated with NE have been rarely reported. This paper describes uncommon presentations of NE in commercial chickens received by the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory (Turlock and Tulare branches) between 2009 and 2018. Overall, extraintestinal lesions associated with C. perfringens were diagnosed in 25 cases of NE involving commercial broiler chickens. The extraintestinal sites most commonly affected included liver, followed by gizzard, bursa of Fabricius, gall bladder, and spleen. The etiology of these lesions, C. perfringens, was confirmed from a combination of gross, bacteriologic, microscopic, and immunohistochemical findings. The most common predisposing factors for NE identified were coccidiosis (56%, 14/25) and immunosuppressive disease agents, including infectious bursal disease virus (16%, 4/25) and fowl adenovirus group 1 (4%, 1/25). Additionally, four cases (16%) had microscopic lesions compatible with cystic enteritis, probably of viral etiology. This study describes the incidence of extraintestinal lesions of NE in chickens, underlying the role of enteric disorders and immunosuppression as major predisposing factors for the development of NE.
Freezing of Gait in Parkinson's Disease: Invasive and Noninvasive Neuromodulation.

Introduction Freezing of gait (FoG) is one of the most disabling yet poorly understood symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). FoG is an episodic gait pattern characterized by the inability to step that occurs on initiation or turning while walking, particularly with perception of tight surroundings. This phenomenon impairs balance, increases falls, and reduces the quality of life. Materials and methods Clinical-anatomical correlations, electrophysiology, and functional imaging have generated several mechanistic hypotheses, ranging from the most distal (abnormal central pattern generators of the spinal cord) to the most proximal (frontal executive dysfunction). Here, we review the neuroanatomy and pathophysiology of gait initiation in the context of FoG, and we discuss targets of central nervous system neuromodulation and their outcomes so far. The PubMed database was searched using these key words: neuromodulation, freezing of gait, Parkinson's disease, and gait disorders. Conclusion Despite these investigations, the pathogenesis of this process remains poorly understood. The evidence presented in this review suggests FoG to be a heterogenous phenomenon without a single unifying pathologic target. Future studies rigorously assessing targets as well as multimodal approaches will be essential to define the next generation of therapeutic treatments.
An annotated set of audio recordings of Eastern North American birds containing frequency, time, and species information

Acoustic recordings of soundscapes are an important category of audio data that can be useful for answering a variety of questions, and an entire discipline within ecology, dubbed "soundscape ecology," has risen to study them. Bird sound is often the focus of studies of soundscapes due to the ubiquitousness of birds in most terrestrial environments and their high vocal activity. Autonomous acoustic recorders have increased the quantity and availability of recordings of natural soundscapes while mitigating the impact of human observers on community behavior. However, such recordings are of little use without analysis of the sounds they contain. Manual analysis currently stands as the best means of processing this form of data for use in certain applications within soundscape ecology, but it is a laborious task, sometimes requiring many hours of human review to process comparatively few hours of recording. For this reason, few annotated data sets of soundscape recordings are publicly available. Further still, there are no publicly available strongly labeled soundscape recordings of bird sounds that contain information on timing, frequency, and species. Therefore, we present the first data set of strongly labeled bird sound soundscape recordings under free use license. These data were collected in the Northeastern United States at Powdermill Nature Reserve, Rector, Pennsylvania, USA. Recordings encompass 385 minutes of dawn chorus recordings collected by autonomous acoustic recorders between the months of April through July 2018. Recordings were collected in continuous bouts on four days during the study period and contain 48 species and 16,052 annotations. Applications of this data set may be numerous and include the training, validation, and testing of certain advanced machine-learning models that detect or classify bird sounds. There are no copyright or propriety restrictions; please cite this paper when using materials within.
The Construction of “Native” Jews in Late Mandate Palestine: An Ongoing Nahda as a Political Project

This article concerns the place of late Ottoman Jews in Palestine on the eve of the 1948 War. It focuses on Israel Ben-Zeʾev (Wolfensohn), a Jerusalem-born educator and Nahda intellectual who led a movement of self-identified “native” Jews, including both “Old Yishuv” Ashkenazim and Sephardim, to combat their marginalization by the Zionist institutions. I examine his lifetime struggle to advance the study of Arabic and “Arab Jews” (yahud ʿarab) under early Islam by creating institutions of knowledge production and educational programs modeled on those he knew from his early academic career in Cairo. It was in the context of these struggles that demands for separate political representation for native Jews and for a specialized field of Arab Jewish studies coalesced as part of a broader project of a shared Arab-Jewish cultural modernization. They culminated in 1948, when Ben-Zeʾev finally realized his Arabic library project, ironically using looted Palestinian books, only to see its destruction four years later by Zionist leaders and Hebrew University professors.
Joint Ventures, Partnerships, Strategic Alliances, and Licensing

This chapter summarizes the principal differences in various types of business alliances. The chapter discusses the wide variety of motives for business alliances and the factors common to most successful ones. Joint ventures (JVs) and alliances have been commonplace in high technology industries; many segments of manufacturing; the oil exploration, mining, and chemical industries; media and entertainment; financial services; pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms; and real estate. They have taken the form of licensing, distribution, co-marketing, research and development agreements, and equity investments. What all of these arrangements have in common is that they generally involve sharing the risk, reward, and control among all participants. The term business alliance is used throughout this chapter to describe the various forms of cooperative relationships common in business today, including joint ventures, partnerships, strategic alliances, equity partnerships, licensing agreements, and franchise alliances. The primary theme of this chapter is that well-constructed business alliances often represent viable alternatives to mergers and acquisitions, and they always should be considered one of the many options for achieving strategic business objectives. The chapter also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of alternative legal structures, important deal-structuring issues, and empirical studies that purport to measure the contribution of business alliances to creating shareholder wealth.
Broadcasting satellites at 12 GHz for Region 2: Technical characteristics

Technical parameters such as satellite antenna characteristics, Earth station requirements, bandwidths, channelization, and allowable carrier-to-interference ratios are discussed. An overview of the downlink plan is given, including a histogram of the transmitter power requirements. The plan includes satellite orbit positions, spacecraft transmitted powers, antennas beam sizes, channel assignments, and polarizations.
Chapter 7 Development, Maintenance, and Modulation of Voltage-Dependent Sodium Channel Topography in Nerve Cells

Publisher Summary Neurons are extremely polarized cells, characterized by a cell surface organization, where proteins are segregated and maintained in discrete functional domains. A neurons electrical fingerprint arises from how voltage-sensitive ion channels and receptors are placed in specific regions of the cell surface and are maintained. In myelinated nerve, clustering of voltage-dependent sodium channels (NaChs) to nodes of Ranvier creates sites of large inward sodium current and enables the conduction to jump from node-to-node, thereby facilitating conduction down the axon. The segregation of NaChs to the nodes of Ranvier is an example of how specific cell surface components are localized and segregated to the compartments and even within the local domains of the axon. The distribution of NaCh channel is critical in determining some of the differential electrical properties of one part versus the other part of the neuron. This chapter explains some of the mechanisms by which voltage-dependent NaChs are distributed and maintained on the nerve cell surface. The chapter discusses the development of the node of Ranvier, where NaChs are clustered, and a hypothesis based on current information to stimulate further experimentation.
Lower airway smooth muscle contraction induced by Ptychodiscus brevis (red tide) toxin

Ptychodiscus brevis toxin (PBTX) is produced by the organism Ptychodiscus brevis. This toxin causes a phenomenon that has come to be known as Florida red tide. It also stimulates neuronal sodium channels, resulting in activation of the cholinergic and adrenergic nerve endings of the autonomic nervous system in upper airway smooth muscle and rat vas deferens, respectively, as previously reported. It is the cholinergic stimulating action that has been implicated as a possible "triggering" event in bronchial asthma. This article concerns the investigation of whether PBTX may also affect lower airways and by what mechanism any contractile response to PBTX in lower airways may be induced. PBTX was found to elicit contractions in isolated canine lower airway smooth muscle. The threshold concentration was 0.15 microgram/ml, the peak response occurred at 6.0 micrograms/ml, and the concentration causing half-maximal response of the group was 0.57 microgram/ml. Pharmacologic analysis demonstrated that atropine (10(-6) mol/L) blocked the response to both PBTX and acetylcholine, tetrodotoxin (10(-7) mol/L) blocked the response to PBTX but not to acetylcholine, and verapamil (10(-5) mol/L) blocked the response to PBTX and reduced the response to acetylcholine. Four consecutive contractile responses to PBTX (3 micrograms/ml) produced rapid tachyphylaxis. The fourth contraction was 60% less than the initial response. A fifth response to PBTX after exposure to indomethacin (2.8 X 10(-6) mol/L) was increased and resulted in a contraction that was only 25% less than the initial response. The exogenous addition of prostaglandins (PG), PGE1 and PGE2, to indomethacin-treated lower airway strips selectively suppressed the contractile response to PBTX. Other PGs tested (PGA2, PGB2, PGD2, PGF2 alpha and PGI2) did not affect the PBTX response. These results indicate that PBTX produces spasm in lower airway smooth muscle and that it does this by stimulation of sodium channels in the cholinergic nerve fibers. The results also demonstrate a rapid reduction in the contractile response to PBTX. The results also demonstrate that the reduction is mediated by PGs of the E series.