cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Impacts of leaf age and heat stress duration on photosynthetic gas exchange and foliar nonstructural carbohydrates in Coffea arabica

Given future climate predictions of increased temperature, and frequency and intensity of heat waves in the tropics, suitable habitat to grow ecologically, economically, and socially valuable Coffea arabica is severely threatened. We investigated how leaf age and heat stress duration impact recovery from heat stress in C. arabica. Treated plants were heated in a growth chamber at 49°C for 45 or 90 min. Physiological recovery was monitored in situ using gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence (the ratio of variable to maximum fluorescence, FV/FM), and leaf nonstructural carbohydrate (NSC) on mature and expanding leaves before and 2, 15, 25, and 50 days after treatment. Regardless of leaf age, the 90-min treatment resulted in greater FV/FM reduction 2 days after treatment and slower recovery than the 45-min treatment. In both treatments, photosynthesis of expanding leaves recovered more slowly than in mature leaves. Stomatal conductance (gs) decreased in expanding leaves but did not change in mature leaves. These responses led to reduced intrinsic water-use efficiency with increasing heat stress duration in both age classes. Based on a leaf energy balance model, aftereffects of heat stress would be exacerbated by increases in leaf temperature at low gs under full sunlight where C. arabica is often grown, but also under partial sunlight. Starch and total NSC content of the 45-min group significantly decreased 2 days after treatment and then accumulated 15 and 25 days after treatment coinciding with recovery of photosynthesis and FV/FM. In contrast, sucrose of the 90-min group accumulated at day 2 suggesting that phloem transport was inhibited. Both treatment group responses contrasted with control plant total NSC and starch, which declined with time associated with subsequent flower and fruit production. No treated plants produced flowers or fruits, suggesting that short duration heat stress can lead to crop failure.
Effect of foundry waste on the mechanical properties of Portland Cement Concrete

Abstract Approximately 6–10 million tons of waste is produced annually by the ferrous and non-ferrous foundry industry in the United States and estimates have shown that only 15% of the waste produced is being recycled. The increasing scarcity of landfill space and disposal cost has fashioned a need for an alternative disposal method of this large industrial waste. Foundry waste can consist of many products such as used-foundry sand, slag, ash, refractory, coagulant, baghouse dust, pattern shop waste, and debris. Past researchers have presented an alternative disposal method by using spent sand and slag as constituents in concrete with positive results. This paper generalizes the foundry waste for use in Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) in order to increase the recycling percentage, by reducing processing time/cost and using all the waste produced by the foundry industry. This was done by partially replacing both fine aggregate and coarse aggregate of concrete with lightly processed foundry waste. Since foundry waste contains both fine and coarse materials, the as-received foundry waste was lightly processed and sieved to match the control concrete mixtures coarse and fine aggregate distribution. Both virgin coarse and fine aggregate were replaced by mass at 10%, 20%, and 30%. Two mixture groups replaced individual constituents separately (coarse and fine), and one mixture group replaced both coarse and fine in the same mixture. The compressive strength, splitting-tensile strength, flexural strength, and modulus of elasticity were measured for all groups at 7, 14, and 28 days. The results indicated that general foundry waste as either coarse, fine, or combined by mass replacement of natural aggregate has no impact on the mechanical performance of PCC up to 30% for individual replacement or 20% combined. This result not only demonstrates a possible avenue to increase the amount of foundry waste recycled annually, but it also reduces the demand for virgin aggregates for PCC.
Statistics for Method Verification of Qualitative Assays in Clinical Microbiology

Abstract Despite improvement over the last decade, inadequate method verification strategies and documentation are still common laboratory inspection deficiencies. Some of the gaps occur because microbiologists may not use scientific experiment concepts, such as experimental design, data validation, biostatistics, and electronic documentation, that can improve their verification strategies for new test methods. Other gaps occur because laboratory resources are often limited. Clinical laboratories face tough choices when they consider implementing a new test method, and this review summarizes the basic statistical concepts that microbiologists need to critically plan and review qualitative method verification with the aim of determining whether a new diagnostic test is fit for patient testing.
Helraiser intermediates provide insight into the mechanism of eukaryotic replicative transposition.

Helitrons are eukaryotic DNA transposons that have profoundly affected genome variability via capture and mobilization of host genomic sequences. Defining their mode of action is therefore important for understanding how genome landscapes evolve. Sequence similarities with certain prokaryotic mobile elements suggest a “rolling circle” mode of transposition, involving only a single transposon strand. Using the reconstituted Helraiser transposon to study Helitron transposition in cells and in vitro, we show that the donor site must be double-stranded and that single-stranded donors will not suffice. Nevertheless, replication and integration assays demonstrate the use of only one of the transposon donor strands. Furthermore, repeated reuse of Helraiser donor sites occurs following DNA synthesis. In cells, circular double-stranded intermediates that serve as transposon donors are generated and replicated by Helraiser transposase. Cell-free experiments demonstrate strand-specific cleavage and strand transfer, supporting observations made in cells. Helitrons are eukaryotic DNA transposons that have profoundly affected genome variation due to their ability to capture and mobilize host genomic fragments. Here the authors provide insight into the mechanism of action of these transposons both in cells and in vitro.
Normalization of Speech Processing After Whole-Vault Cranioplasty in Sagittal Synostosis.

Background Neurocognitive studies have found impairments in language-related abilities in nonsyndromic craniosynostosis, highlighting clinical importance of early language processing. In this study, neural response to speech sounds in infants with nonsyndromic sagittal craniosynostosis (NSC) is compared, preoperatively and postoperatively, using event-related potentials (ERPs) to objectively characterize development in language processing. Methods Electroencephalogram was recorded while 39 infants (12 NSC and 27 controls; ages 73-283 days) listened to the Hindi dental /(Equation is included in full-text article.)a/ and retroflex /da/ phonemes (non-native phonemic discrimination task). The mismatch negativity (MMN) ERP was extracted as the peak amplitude of the largest negative deflection in the difference wave over 80 to 300 milliseconds poststimulus. Differences in MMN were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance. Results The MMN amplitude was attenuated in the infants with NSC preoperatively compared with controls (P = 0.047). A significant region by group interaction (P = 0.045) was observed, and infants with NSC displayed attenuated MMN in the frontal electrodes compared with controls (P = 0.010). Comparing the preoperative and postoperative MMN, a time by group interaction trend (P = 0.070) was observed. Pair-wise comparisons showed a trend for increase in MMN amplitude from preoperatively to postoperatively in the infants with NSC (P = 0.059). At the postoperative time point, infants with NSC showed no significant difference in MMN from controls (P = 0.344). Conclusion Infants with NSC demonstrated atypical neural response to language preoperatively. After undergoing surgery, infants with NSC showed increased MMN amplitude which was not significantly different from controls. These findings support the idea that whole vault cranioplasty may improve neurocognitive outcomes in sagittal craniosynostosis.
‘Arctic Crashes:’ Revisiting the Human-Animal Disequilibrium Model in a Time of Rapid Change

The paper introduces a new vision advanced by the recent project, Arctic People and Animal Crashes: Human, Climate and Habitat Agency in the Anthropocene (2014–2015) developed at the Smithsonian Institution. Unlike earlier top-down models of polar animal-climate-people connections that tied changes in Arctic species’ abundance and ranges to alternating warmer and cooler temperatures or high ice/low sea-ice regimes, rapid animal declines (‘crashes’) may be better approached at regional and local scales. This approach is close to Arctic peoples’ traditional vision that animals, like people, live in ‘tribes’ and that they ‘come and go’ according to their relations with the local human societies. As the Arctic changes rapidly and climate/sea-ice/ecotone boundaries shift, we see diverse responses by Arctic people and animals to environmental stressors. I examine recent data on the status of three northern mammal species – caribou/reindeer, Pacific walrus, and polar bear—during two decades of the ongoing Arctic warming. The emerging record may be best approached as a series of local human-animal disequilibria interpreted from different angles by population biologists, indigenous peoples, and anthropologists, rather than a top-down climate-induced ‘crash.’ Such new understanding implies the varying speed of change in the physical, animal, and human domains, which was not factored in the earlier models of climate–animal–people’s interactions.
Transparent ROP exploit mitigation using indirect branch tracing

Return-oriented programming (ROP) has become the primary exploitation technique for system compromise in the presence of non-executable page protections. ROP exploits are facilitated mainly by the lack of complete address space randomization coverage or the presence of memory disclosure vulnerabilities, necessitating additional ROP-specific mitigations. In this paper we present a practical runtime ROP exploit prevention technique for the protection of third-party applications. Our approach is based on the detection of abnormal control transfers that take place during ROP code execution. This is achieved using hardware features of commodity processors, which incur negligible runtime overhead and allow for completely transparent operation without requiring any modifications to the protected applications. Our implementation for Windows 7, named kBouncer, can be selectively enabled for installed programs in the same fashion as user-friendly mitigation toolkits like Microsoft's EMET. The results of our evaluation demonstrate that kBouncer has low runtime overhead of up to 4%, when stressed with specially crafted workloads that continuously trigger its core detection component, while it has negligible overhead for actual user applications. In our experiments with in-the-wild ROP exploits, kBouncer successfully protected all tested applications, including Internet Explorer, Adobe Flash Player, and Adobe Reader.
Effect of morphology on anion conductive properties in self-assembled polystyrene-based copolymer membranes

Abstract Polystyrene (PS) based random and block copolymers with trimethylammonium and azide side groups are synthesized via nitrogen mediated living radical polymerization. Anion exchange membranes (AEMs) are fabricated from the synthesized copolymers with hydrophobic and hydrophilic dialkyne crosslinkers using Click reaction. Morphological analysis by SAXS and TEM reveals the formation of ordered spherical nanostructure in the block copolymer membranes. In comparison with AEMs from the random copolymer, the block membranes show superior conductivity in higher KOH solutions despite their lower original IEC. The highest conductivity is obtained in 3 M KOH. No significant increase of water absorption or swelling is observed at elevated temperatures for any of the membranes, indicating their good mechanical integrity. No physical degradation is observed for the block membranes after 63 days in 8 M KOH at 60 °C. Fuel cell testing reveals that the block copolymer membranes with well-ordered nanostructure maintained better performance after 10 polarization curves compared to the commercially available AEM (A201).
Five Ways to Improve Constructionist Craft in Social Problems Inquiries: Notes from an Apprenticeship

John Kitsuse’s views about the prospects for the constructionist analysis of social problems are distilled in summary form. As a mentor to the present author, Kitsuse expressed his appreciation for the continued growth and development of the tradition of sociological analysis that that he was instrumental in developing, while also believing that the perspective had been sidetracked in ways that were reminiscent of the morass that eventually undermined what was commonly called “labeling theory,” also known as the “societal reaction” perspective on deviance. Kitsuse’s positive vision for the constructionist tradition is framed in terms of the craft that imbues this mode of analysis with its vigor and perspicacity.
Depreciation Choice and Future Operating Performance

In this study we test the argument that information asymmetry and the problems of adverse selection provide incentives for managers to use accounting choices to signal relatively higher future prospects. Specifically, we contend that firms use accelerated depreciation to credibly signal higher future earnings and cash flows, consistent with signaling theory. Compared to straight-line depreciation, accelerated depreciation reduces earnings in the earlier years of asset lives and produces more variability in earnings. Despite these drawbacks, hundreds of firms voluntarily use accelerated depreciation for at least some of their depreciable assets. Our results indicate that the use of accelerated depreciation foreshadows higher future earnings and cash flows for horizons of one, two, and three years ahead.
Scheduling Problems in Wireless Sensor Networks and Internet of Things: A Comparative Overview

With limited power levels of communication devices, minimizing communication latency is a critical and practical problem in communication networks as it targets to reduce energy consumption thereby prolonging networks' overall lifetime. Particularly, the minimum latency problem for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) has been studied extensively. Also, some approaches for WSNs have been applied to IoTs, considering WSNs to be identical to Internet of Things (IoTs), which is a misnomer. As WSNs are special cases (subsets) of IoTs, existing approaches for specific WSNs can address only the corresponding special cases. Therefore, it is desirable to design optimization algorithms that can adapt not only special cases, but also more general and realistic IoT environments. We discuss the distinction between WSNs and IoTs, and show that the widely used conventional antenna and interference models for WSNs cannot be directly applicable to the general IoTs. Also, we establish new antenna and interference models that opt for IoTs. Furthermore, we comparatively overview and discuss the problems of minimizing latencies of schedules in WSNs and IoTs for four group communication patterns, namely broadcasting, gossiping, data collection, and aggregation. Finally, we conclude with the future research directions.
Assessing Lifetime Stress Exposure Using the Stress and Adversity Inventory for Adults (Adult STRAIN): An Overview and Initial Validation

ABSTRACTObjectiveNumerous theories have proposed that acute and chronic stressors may exert a cumulative effect on life-span health by causing biological “wear and tear,” or allostatic load, which in turn promotes disease. Very few studies have directly tested such models, though, partly because of
Archaeological reconnaissance through multi-method geophysical and geochemical survey at two Iroquoian village sites, southern Ontario, Canada

Abstract Only in the last decade have archaeologists working on Iroquoian sites in Ontario, Quebec, and New York State begun to seize upon the potential of geophysical prospection and soil chemistry for identifying settlement features. Recent studies employing magnetic gradiometry, magnetic susceptibility, and soil phosphate analysis demonstrate that multi-method approaches have the potential to overcome the limitations imposed by intrusive historic features, soil composition, and underlying geology. We consider how specific aspects of the Iroquoian built environment, such as longhouses, palisades, and middens, might be visible in datasets produced by magnetic gradiometry, magnetic susceptibility, and soil phosphate analyses and apply these methods to two Iroquoian sites: Trent-Foster (BcGr-5), a late 16th-century Wendat village and Hamilton-Lougheed (BbHa-10), an early-to-mid 17th-century Tionontate village. At Trent-Foster, we interpret certain anomalies as potential longhouses, but suggest that a band of low magnetism cutting through the site may be due to underlying geology. At Hamilton-Lougheed, we identify a potential palisade and a likely habitation area. We conclude by acknowledging that the biggest imperative moving forward is the need for more ground-truthing to verify the presence or absence of built environment features suggested by geophysical and soil chemistry methods. We advocate for continued use and development of geophysical and geochemical methods on Iroquoian sites, particularly in the cultural resource management context, as they strike an important balance between preserving archaeological heritage and learning from that which is preserved, issues that are of the utmost importance to descendant communities and First Nations research partners.
On Energy and Materials

Silicon (Si) plays an important role in capturing energy from our Sun and transforming it into a variety of forms for mankind’s use. Although silicon can play a variety of roles in energy technologies, the application of silicon solar panels has proven to be the most successful. Some important day-to-day applications of silicon solar panels include small solar powered “pocket” calculators and large solar arrays on rooftops for supplying electric power to supermarkets. In this editorial, silicon-based energy systems and energy technologies will be introduced. Some aspects of the peer-reviewed literature are surveyed and then briefly discussed.
Innate immunity of surfactant protein A in experimental otitis media.

Surfactant protein A (SP-A) plays an important role in innate immune response and host defense against various microorganisms through opsonization and complement activation. To investigate the role...
A 12-Year-Old Girl with a 2-Year History of Progressive Limb Weakness and Difficulties with Exercise

Pompe disease is an autosomal recessive disease caused by mutations in the lysosomal acid alpha-1,4 glucosidase (GAA) leading to a deficiency of the enzyme acid alpha glucosidase, also known as acid maltase with secondary accumulation of glycogen in lysosomes. There is a wide range of age at symptom onset. The disease can manifest from the severe infantile form with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy to the adult onset milder form with myalgias and muscle weakness. Diagnosis is confirmed by measuring GAA enzyme activity and subsequent gene test. Histologically the muscle biopsy reveals a vacuolar myopathy with lysosomal glycogen storage abnormalities. Treatment involves enzyme replacement therapy.
Abstract P4-05-24: A stroma-adjusted ZEB1 expression signature is associated with decreased immune cell infiltration and poor overall survival in breast cancer

The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a critical physiologic process which can be activated by cancer cells to enhance metastatic and chemoresistant properties in experimental models. Recent studies have identified positive associations between the expression of EMT-associated gene signatures with both the immune response and survival in multiple cancer types. Although these studies relied upon whole-tumor RNA sequencing data, which can be confounded by infiltrating immune and stromal cells, they failed to investigate this potential confounding effect. In this study, we comprehensively dissected the associations between the expression of multiple EMT transcription factors with stromal and immune cell tumor infiltration in breast cancer. We demonstrated that previously-reported associations between the expression of EMT marker genes and immune activity were confounded by stromal cell infiltration. Adjusting for this confounding effect eliminated these reported associations. Interestingly, we discovered that stroma-adjusted ZEB1 expression has a unique, inverse association with immune cell activity in multiple cancer types, most significantly in breast cancer. Further analysis revealed that ZEB1 is significantly correlated with reduced tumor infiltration of multiple immune cell types. By deriving a high-confidence stroma-adjusted ZEB1-activated gene signature, we confirmed that ZEB1 transcriptional activity has similar associations with both tumor immune activity and stromal content as ZEB1, thus identifying potential mechanisms underlying decreased immune cell infiltration. Finally, multivariate survival analysis reveals that the ZEB1 gene signature has significant associations with reduced overall survival in breast cancer patients. In conclusion, this study identifies a novel association between stroma-adjusted ZEB1 expression and tumor immune activity and addresses the critical issue of confounding between EMT-associated genes and tumor stromal content. Citation Format: C James Block, Guojun Wu. A stroma-adjusted ZEB1 expression signature is associated with decreased immune cell infiltration and poor overall survival in breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2019 Dec 10-14; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-05-24.
Impacts of synoptic-scale cyclones on Arctic sea-ice concentration: a systematic analysis

The role of synoptic-scale cyclones in the trends and variability of Arctic sea ice conditions has remained uncertain. In recognition, we conduct a systematic investigation of how sea-ice concentration (SIC) changes with cyclone passage, including all individual storms that pass over any part of the region's ice pack. For all seasons, especially summer and autumn, we find a pattern of higher ice concentration after a region is influenced by a cyclone compared to when it is not, primarily due to thermodynamic effects. During warm months, cyclones appear to slow the general day-to-day decline in concentration; in cold months, cyclones augment the day-to-day increase. These relationships are changing over time, with cyclone-associated concentration changes becoming less distinct from overall changes. Cyclone effects on ice divergence are spatially variable; computed fields are noisy. In summer, these dynamic effects of cyclone passage generally decrease SIC, but are outweighed by the thermodynamic effects (e.g., reductions in air temperature, shortwave radiation). In autumn, cyclone-associated concentration changes are not as easily explained by observed cyclone conditions. Key questions remain regarding the extent to which our findings are influenced by artifacts of surface melt and weather effects on the passive microwave retrievals.
Data-driven occupant-behavior analytics for residential buildings

Abstract Many advances have been made in building technology to help save energy, but influencing the behavior of the occupants is still necessary to achieve low-energy use targets. One of the most practical ways to influence and change occupant behaviors is through incentives. Developing incentives for energy-saving and quantifying the impact of occupant behaviors are both active areas of research. In this paper, we propose a data analytics framework for detecting changes in occupant behaviors, which will help build an analytics feedback loop from behavior impact to incentive design. The framework has two major parts. The first forecasts energy consumption for each occupant, while the second determines a probability distribution for changes in energy consumption. The parts are interchangeable with other existing machine learning and statistical methods. A specific instantiation of the framework, using kernel ridge-regression for forecasting and k-means to find an empirical behavior distribution, is described in detail. An HVAC use-case with 5 different incentivized behaviors is used as an example to show that the framework can detect behavior changes induced by incentives. Furthermore, we show that some simpler behavior-change detection methods do not work, further justifying the use of advanced analytics.
SkinSim: A Design and Simulation Tool for Robot Skin With Closed-Loop pHRI Controllers

The importance of tactile sensing for physical human–robot interaction (pHRI) and dexterous manipulation is well known. SkinSim is a novel simulation environment for tactile robot skins in which one can study design tradeoffs involved in deploying whole-body, dense sensor arrays. In this article, scalable modeling approaches are presented for simulating pressure-sensitive robot skin patches, with simultaneous consideration of sensing element geometry and mechanical structure, signal quality, data processing, and closed-loop force controller performance. The open-source simulation architecture of SkinSim is compatible with Gazebo and robot operating system (ROS) programming environments and supports both robot skin dynamic models, as well as tactile sensing element models. An experimentally validated force dispersion model was introduced for the simulation of sensors embedded in a mechanical damping layer. Simulation examples of robot skin with different tactile resolutions are presented using parameter values extracted from an experimental testbed. Thus, simulation results were experimentally validated and the skin sensor density impact on a simple pHRI controller performance was evaluated. Performance measures include center of pressure (COP) estimation error and control signal settling time, overshoot, and steady-state errors. Results suggest that while COP errors decrease in denser sensor skins, controller performance also deteriorates. Therefore, optimal robot skin designs will have to consider application-dependent tradeoffs. Similar results were confirmed in simulation with a larger skin patch containing approximately 4000 tactels and deployed on the end-effector of a collaborative mobile manipulator. Note to Practitioners —This article was motivated by the expensive and time-consuming process of designing tactile skin for robots. When designing pressure-sensitive whole-body sensor arrays for physical human–robot interaction, there are tradeoffs related to sensor resolution, accuracy, and response time, among others. Instead of building prototypes and evaluating them experimentally, the SkinSim simulation environment allows automatic testing of skins with simultaneous consideration of sensing element geometry and mechanical structure, signal quality, data processing, and closed-loop force controller performance. The user can specify several configurations to test and thereby explore the best tradeoffs before actually prototyping any hardware.
Bridging the Digital and the Physical User Experience: Analysis of Academic Library Floor Plans

In library user experience (UX) literature, physical and digital spaces are often studied separately. In academic libraries, different stakeholders often control and operate the logistics of each s...
Empirical Inference System for Highway Project Delivery Selection Using Fuzzy Pattern Recognition

AbstractSelection of a project delivery method in highway construction is a challenging task because of the many decision criteria involved. In addition to quantitative project attributes, the proj...
Dietary protein content and digestibility influences discrimination of amino acid nitrogen isotope values in a terrestrial omnivorous mammal.

Rationale Ecologists increasingly determine the δ15 N values of amino acids (AA) in animal tissue; "source" AA typically exhibit minor variation between diet and consumer, while "trophic" AA have increased δ15 N values in consumers. Thus, trophic-source δ15 N offsets (i.e., Δ15 NT-S ) reflect trophic position in a food web. However, even minor variations in δ15 Nsource AA values may influence the magnitude of offset that represents a trophic step, known as the trophic discrimination factor (i.e., TDFT-S ). Diet digestibility and protein content can influence the δ15 N values of bulk animal tissue, but the effects of these factors on AA Δ15 NT-S and TDFT-S in mammals are unknown. Methods We fed captive mice (Mus musculus) either (A) a low-fat, high-fiber diet with low, intermediate, or high protein; or (B) a high-fat, low-fiber diet with low or intermediate protein. Mouse muscle and dietary protein were analyzed for bulk tissue δ15 N using elemental analyzer-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (EA-IRMS), and were also hydrolyzed into free AA that were analyzed for δ15 N using gas chromatography-combustion-IRMS. Results As dietary protein increased, Δ15 NConsumer-Diet slightly declined for bulk muscle tissue in both experiments; increased for AA in the low-fat, high-fiber diet (A); and remained the same or decreased for AA in the high-fat, low-fiber diet (B). The effects of dietary protein on Δ15 NT-S and on TDFT-S varied by AA but were consistent between variables. Conclusions Diets were less digestible and included more protein in Experiment A than in Experiment B. As a result, the mice in Experiment A probably oxidized more AA, resulting in greater Δ15 NConsumer-Diet values. However, the similar responses of Δ15 NT-S and of TDFT-S to diet variation suggest that if diet samples are available, Δ15 NT-S accurately tracks trophic position. If diet samples are not available, the patterns presented here provide a basis to interpret Δ15 NT-S values. The trophic-source offset of Pro-Lys did not vary across diets, and therefore may be more reliable for omnivores than other offsets (e.g., Glu-Phe).
The Impact of Treatment Delay on Hepatitis C Liver Transplant Outcomes.

Background: Direct-acting antivirals for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) have improved outcomes in liver transplant recipients (LTRs). However, the timing of HCV treatment and approach to ...
Genre analysis: Considering the initial reviews

Abstract This essay examines the initial reviews of John Swales’ Genre Analysis (1990), in terms of the reactions of reviewers to that volume shortly after its appearance, the disciplinary values, as enacted by the reviewers in the historical moment of publication, and the disciplinary values and readability expectations which seem to inform the reviewers' observations.
Trace methods in twisted group algebras, II

In this note, we continue our discussion of trace methods in twisted group algebras. Specifically, we obtain the twisted analog of Bass' theorem on the traces of idempotents in ordinary group algebras. Indeed, we show that with suitable normalization, the characteristic 0 trace values of an idempotent are all contained in a cyclotomic field. The proof is a variant of the original argument combined with a reduction to finitely presented groups.
Evaluation of an empirical orthogonal function–based method to downscale soil moisture patterns based on topographical attributes

Soil moisture influences many hydrologic applications including agriculture, land management and flood prediction. Most remote-sensing methods that estimate soil moisture produce coarse resolution patterns, so methods are required to downscale such patterns to the resolutions required by these applications (e.g. 10- to 30-m grid cells). At such resolutions, topography is known to affect soil moisture patterns. Although methods have been proposed to downscale soil moisture based on topography, they usually require the availability of past high-resolution soil moisture patterns from the application region. The objective of this article is to determine whether a single topographic-based downscaling method can be used at multiple locations without relying on detailed local observations. The evaluated downscaling method is developed on the basis of empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of space–time soil moisture data at a reference catchment. The most important EOFs are then estimated from topographic attributes, and the associated expansion coefficients are estimated on the basis of the spatial-average soil moisture. To test the portability of this EOF-based method, it is developed separately using four data sets (Tarrawarra, Tarrawarra 2, Cache la Poudre and Satellite Station), and the relationships that are derived from these data sets to estimate the EOFs and expansion coefficients are compared. In addition, each of these downscaling methods is applied not only for the catchment where it was developed but also to the other three catchments. The results suggest that the EOF downscaling method performs well for the location where it is developed, but its performance degrades when applied to other catchments. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Prefrontal and anterior cingulate contributions to volition in depression.

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the neuroimaging findings demonstrating the recruitment of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in functions central to volition, as well as the large literature implicating those two structures in depression. A synthesis is described in the chapter that highlights the importance of volition for understanding the phenomenology and neural circuitry of depression and points to innovative research designs to further probe how volition operates in depression. The DLPFC and ACC have prominent and distinct roles in volition, particularly in the formation and implementation of action plans. Volation is defined as the conscious implementation of an intention to act, either physically or mentally. Volition requires an individual to focus and properly allocate attention and resources for the initiation and implementation of a definite action plan. Volition is a multifaceted construct of high relevance to the dysfunction accompanying depression. Cognitive neuroscience research has uncovered the neural substrates of some of the key features of volition, which direct attention to two brain territories in particular—DLPFC and ACC. Neuroimaging and other neuropsychological investigations of depression have repeatedly reported abnormalities in those two cortical regions.
Morbidity in Compromised Patients Related to Viruses Other Than Herpes Group and Hepatitis Viruses

The past decade has witnessed greatly increased awareness of the multiple roles played by viral agents in immunocompromised patients. This interest, which has been stimulated by the development of effective antiviral chemotherapy for herpes group viruses, in particular, has been greatly facilitated by the development of more direct approaches to diagnosis using molecular biologic and monoclonal antibody technology. Lessened reliance on standard serologic techniques for viral diagnosis has been especially useful in immunocompromised patients in whom humoral responses may be delayed or absent.
Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxanes in Space Applications

The space environment around the earth is exceptionally complex and has a significant impact on the lifetime and performance of any orbiting satellite. At least six factors influence the satellite: atomic oxygen (AO), electrons and protons trapped in the earth’s magnetic field, solar flare protons, solar radiation, thermal cycling resulting from the passage of the spacecraft through the Earth’s shadow, and debris.
Lessons Learned in Summer Camp: A Case Study of the Learning Paths of Three Campers

p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } Science camps provide opportunities to expose students to topics not typically covered in the classroom, such as marine science. This multi-case study examines learning paths for three campers enrolled in Ocean Explorers, a marine science camp for elementary age children. Interviews, knowledge inventories, and science notebook analyses were triangulated and resulted in narrative learning path descriptions. We found: 1) each camper followed a unique learning trajectory throughout camp; 2) campers’ learning was socially constructed; and 3) the campers each preferred concrete representations of phenomena over abstraction. These findings suggest Ocean Explorers is an effective mechanism for not only increasing elementary students’ interest in science, but identifying more effective pathways for increasing their content knowledge in marine science.
Surgical management of desmoid tumors of the female pelvis.

Abstract Background: Desmoid tumors are neoplasms characterized by proliferation of fibroblasts without cytologic features of malignancy. Although desmoid tumors are not uncommon, pelvic desmoid tumors are rare and therapeutically challenging. We describe the surgical management of seven patients with histologically confirmed desmoid tumors arising in the pelvis. Study Design: All patients, six with primary and one with recurrent desmoid tumors of the female pelvis, were treated at Mayo Clinic Rochester between 1976 and 1997. The mean age of one African-American and six Caucasian patients was 29.8 years (range 17 to 59 years). No history of previous relevant pelvic trauma was identified; six patients experienced pelvic or leg pain (or both). All patients presented with isolated masses; five of seven were located left of the midline, generally involving the obturator internis or levator muscles (or both). The surgical approach was transabdominal, with a vaginal component in one patient. In addition to this retrospective review of these seven patients, literature addressing the management of desmoid tumors of the female pelvis is reviewed. Results: Extirpative surgery necessitated resection of musculoskeletal, vascular, or adjacent soft tissue structures. Mean tumor diameter was 13.9 cm (range 5 to 27 cm). Although the median recorded blood loss was 1,425 mL, one patient who refused blood products died secondary to surgical hemorrhage. The median followup for the remaining evaluable patients was 57 months (range 13 to 249 months). Recurrent disease developed in 3 of 6 patients at 3, 11, and 13 months after surgical resection and was successfully managed with subsequent reoperations, with or without adjuvant radiotherapy. Conclusions: Although recent reports demonstrate selective regression of desmoid tumors with antiestrogen therapy, management of symptomatic pelvic desmoid tumors in young women may necessitate an operation. In our series, all primary and recurrent tumors were managed with resection of involved bone and other adjacent soft tissues. The role of adjunctive radiotherapy or hormonal therapy remains to be defined.
Sulfasalazine for rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives To estimate the short-term efficacy and toxicity of sulfasalazine for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Search strategy We searched the Cochrane Musculoskeletal Group trials register, and Medline, up to July 1997, using the search strategy developed by the Cochrane Collaboration (Dickersin 1994). The search was complemented with bibliography searching of the reference list of the trials retrieved from the electronic search. Key experts in the area were contacted for further published and unpublished articles. Selection criteria All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and controlled clinical trials (CCTs) comparing sulfasalazine against placebo in patients with RA. Data collection and analysis Two reviewers determined the studies to be included based on inclusion and exclusion criteria (GW, MSA). Data were independently abstracted by two reviewers (EB, MSA), and checked by a third reviewer (BS) using a pre-developed form for the rheumatoid arthritis sub-group of the Cochrane Musculoskeletal Group. The same two reviewers, using a validated scale (Jadad 1996) assessed the methodological quality of the RCTs and CCTs independently. Rheumatoid arthritis outcome measures were extracted from the publications. The pooled analysis was performed using standardized mean differences (SMDs) for joint counts, pain, and global and functional assessments. Weighted mean differences (WMDs) were used for erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Toxicity was evaluated with pooled odds ratios (OR) for withdrawals. A chi-square test was used to assess heterogeneity among trials. Fixed effects models were used throughout and random effects for outcomes showing heterogeneity. Main results Six trials, including 468 patients were included. A statistically significant benefit was observed for sulfasalazine when compared to placebo for tender and swollen joint scores, pain and ESR. The standardized weighted mean difference between treatment and placebo was -0.49 for tender and swollen joint scores, and -0.42 for pain. The difference for ESR was -17.6mm. Withdrawals from adverse reactions were significantly higher in the sulfasalazine group (OR=3.0). Patients receiving placebo were four times more likely to discontinue treatment because of lack of efficacy than patients receiving sulfasalazine. Reviewer's conclusions Sulfasalazine appears to have a clinically and statistically significant benefit on the disease activity of patients with RA. Its effects on overall health status and radiological progression are not clear at this time, but would appear to be modest.
Incorporating Equity into International Water Agreements

River basins have provided resources for the advancement of human civilization from the earliest historic times. With river basin development has also come conflict, particularly in the past century. In response, the international community has developed generalized, global principles for the equitable allocation of water resources between nation-states, most notably through the 1997 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses. These principles, however, have rarely been explicitly put into practice. To resolve or avert conflict in the world's 261 international river basins, riparian nations have instead relied upon treaties that incorporate basin-specific needs and conditions and define equity at the most local level. An examination of the progression of geographic thought on river basin development reveals a spatial focus that has not evolved beyond the basin and landscape scales. The absence of theoretical underpinnings for global frameworks may explain why riparian nations have not widely adopted general principles for the equitable allocation of water resources in actual treaty practice.
Localization of the leukemogenic determinants of SL3-3, an ecotropic, XC-positive murine leukemia virus of AKR mouse origin.

Abstract SL3-3 is a potent leukemogenic retrovirus that closely resembles the non-leukemogenic virus Akv. Both viruses were isolated from AKR mice, have ecotropic host ranges, and form plaques in the XC assay. They differ at only 1 to 2% of the nucleotides in the viral genomes but differ markedly in virulence properties. SL3-3 induces leukemia in a high percentage of inoculated AKR, C3H, CBA, and NFS mice, whereas Akv does not induce disease in any of these strains. To determine which region of the genome accounts for the leukemogenic potential of SL3-3, we constructed recombinant genomes between molecular clones of SL3-3 and Akv. Recombinant, viral DNA genomes were cloned and then were transfected onto NIH 3T3 fibroblasts to generate infectious virus. The recombinant viruses were tested for leukemogenicity in AKR/J, CBA/J, and C3Hf/Bi mice. We localized the primary leukemogenic determinant to a 3.8-kilobase fragment of the SL3-3 genome containing the viral long terminal repeat, 5' untranslated sequences, gag gene, and 5', 30% of the pol gene. Reciprocal recombinants containing the equivalent region from Akv, linked to the env gene and the remainder of the pol gene from SL3-3, did not induce leukemia. We conclude that the primary virulence determinant of SL3-3 lies outside the region of the genome that encodes the envelope proteins gp70 and p15E.
VEGFR-1 Pseudogene Expression and Regulatory Function in Human Colorectal Cancer Cells

A large number of pseudogenes have been found to be transcribed in human cancers. However, only a few pseudogenes are functionally characterized. Here, we identified a transcribed pseudogene of VEGFR1 , or fms-related tyrosine kinase 1 ( FLT1 ), in human colorectal cancer cells. Interestingly, this pseudogene (designated as FLT1P1 ) was found to be transcribed bidirectionally and functionally modulated cognate VEGFR1 protein expression in the cells. Mechanistically, expression of FLT1P1 antisense transcript not only inhibited the VEGFR1 expression, but also inhibited non-cognate VEGF-A expression through interaction with miR-520a. Perturbation of FLT1P1 expression by RNA interference (RNAi) markedly inhibited tumor cell proliferation and xenograft tumor growth. This study identifies FLT1P1 antisense as a critical regulator of VEGFR1 and VEGF-A expression in colorectal cancer cells, and highlights its role in regulation of the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer. Implications: The VEGFR1 pseudogene, FLT1P1 , is a novel and functional regulator of VEGF signaling and its targeting could be an alternative strategy to modulate its cognate/target gene expression and downstream activity in cancer. Mol Cancer Res; 13(9); 1274–82. ©2015 AACR . This article is featured in Highlights of This Issue, [p. 1263][1] [1]: /lookup/volpage/13/1263?iss=9
Imagem e Ceticismo: sobre o vínculo entre cinema e realidade naobra de Stanley Cavell

Using Cavell’s book The World Viewed as the point of departure, this article discusses the essential link between movies and reality. The text highlights an important aspect of this link which is the fact that the role of reality is in no way the one of being copied, reproduced, or represented in the most truthful way. To Cavell, the matter at hand is to know what happens to reality when it is projected and what happens to us when we see the world of a movie. Therefore, the most possible faithful reinstatement of this exterior world ends up putting into question the different forms that the relation with reality can take, among which representation would neither be the first nor the most important one.
Predictors of patient-reported physical and mental health 6 months after percutaneous coronary revascularization.

Abstract Background There is interest in measuring and comparing outcomes of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) other than death, but there are no accepted methods for adjusting these outcomes for preprocedure differences in populations. We sought to identify independent predictors of functional outcome after PTCA. Methods and Results We developed multivariate risk adjustment models for the 6-month postprocedure physical and mental health summary scores of the MOS SF-36. Complete data were available on 1182 patients undergoing PTCA at 12 institutions. The mean physical component score (PCS) of the SF-36 rose from 36.6 before PTCA to 43.4 at 6 months after PTCA ( P R 2 value of 0.357. The mean MCS rose from 48.5 before PTCA to 50.5 at 6 months after PTCA ( P R 2 value of 0.235. Conclusions Preprocedure patient-reported functional status and select clinical variables are significantly associated with physical functioning and mental health 6 months after PTCA. The predictive power of these models, however, is probably insufficient to allow their use for comparisons among institutions or providers. (Am Heart J 1999;138:422-9.)