cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
ROAMM: A software infrastructure for real-time monitoring of personal health

Mobile health (mHealth) based on smartphone and smartwatch technology is changing the landscape for how patients and research participants communicate about their health in real time. Flexible control of the different interconnected and frequently communicating mobile devices can provide a rich set of health care applications that can adapt dynamically to their environment. In this paper, we propose a real-time online activity and mobility monitoring (ROAMM) framework consisting of a smart-watch application for data collection, a server for data storage and retrieval as well as online monitoring and administrative tasks. We evaluated this framework to collect actigraphy data on the wrist and used it for feature detection and classification of different tasks of daily living conducted by participants. The information retrieved from the smartwatches yielded high accuracy for sedentary behavior prediction (accuracy = 97.44%) and acceptable performance for activity intensity level estimation (rMSE = 0.67 and R2 = 0.52).
Transcriptomic analysis of maternally provisioned cues for phenotypic plasticity in the annual killifish, Austrofundulus limnaeus

Genotype and environment can interact during development to produce novel adaptive traits that support life in extreme conditions. The development of the annual killifish Austrofundulus limnaeus is unique among vertebrates because the embryos have distinct cell movements that separate epiboly from axis formation during early development, can enter into a state of metabolic dormancy known as diapause and can survive extreme environmental conditions. The ability to enter into diapause can be maternally programmed, with young females producing embryos that do not enter into diapause. Alternately, embryos can be programmed to “escape” from diapause and develop directly by both maternal factors and embryonic incubation conditions. Thus, maternally packaged gene products are hypothesized to regulate developmental trajectory and perhaps the other unique developmental characters in this species. Using high-throughput RNA sequencing, we generated transcriptomic profiles of mRNAs, long non-coding RNAs and small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) in 1–2 cell stage embryos of A. limnaeus. Transcriptomic analyses suggest maternal programming of embryos through alternatively spliced mRNAs and antisense sncRNAs. Comparison of these results to those of comparable studies on zebrafish and other fishes reveals a surprisingly high abundance of transcripts involved in the cellular response to stress and a relatively lower expression of genes required for rapid transition through the cell cycle. Maternal programming of developmental trajectory is unlikely accomplished by differential expression of diapause-specific genes. Rather, evidence suggests a role for trajectory-specific splice variants of genes expressed in both phenotypes. In addition, based on comparative studies with zebrafish, the A. limnaeus 1–2 cell stage transcriptome is unique in ways that are consistent with their unique life history. These results not only impact our understanding of the genetic mechanisms that regulate entrance into diapause, but also provide insight into the epigenetic regulation of gene expression during development.
Easy Affine Markov Decision Processes

Individuals, firms, and governments often face the challenge of making optimal decisions in a dynamic setting amidst a changing and uncertain environment. Although Markov decision processes (MDPs) ...
Leveraging Human Capital via Organizational Social Capital

This chapter examines organizational social capital, an intangible asset embedded in the quality of the relationships among organizational members. Organizational social capital emphasizes the interconnections between the people that comprise the assembled workforce. It is thought to generate “relational wealth” for an organization by facilitating individual employee commitment to the collective good. This chapter defines and distinguishes the organization’s social capital from its human capital, and discusses research on how social capital enhances the value of the assembled workforce. Also considered are ways organizations can develop social capital and the potential detractions to social capital value.
Soil Media CO2 and N2O Fluxes Dynamics from Sand-Based Roadside Bioretention Systems

Green stormwater infrastructure such as bioretention is commonly implemented in urban areas for stormwater quality improvements. Although bioretention systems’ soil media and vegetation have the potential to increase carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) storage for climate change mitigation, this storage potential has not been rigorously studied, and any analysis of it must consider the question of whether bioretention emits greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. We monitored eight roadside bioretention cells for CO2-C and N2O-N fluxes during two growing seasons (May through October) in Vermont, USA. C and N stocks in the soil media layers, microbes, and aboveground vegetation were also quantified to determine the overall C and N balance. Our bioretention cells contained three different treatments: plant species mix (high diversity versus low diversity), soil media (presence or absence of P-sorbent filter layer), and hydrologic (enhanced rainfall and runoff in some cells). CO2-C and N2O-N fluxes from all cells averaged 194 mg m−2 h−1 (range: 37 to 374 mg m−2 h−1) and 10 µg m−2 h−1 (range: −1100 to 330 µg m−2 h−1), respectively. There were no treatment-induced changes on gas fluxes. CO2-C fluxes were highly significantly correlated with soil temperature (R2 = 0.68, p < 0.0001), while N2O-N fluxes were weakly correlated with temperature (R2 = 0.017, p = 0.04). Bioretention soil media contained the largest pool of total C and N (17,122 g and 1236 g, respectively) when compared with vegetation and microbial pools. Microbial biomass C made up 14% (1936 g) of the total soil C in the upper 30 cm media layer. The total C and N sequestered by bioretention plants were 13,020 g and 320 g, respectively. After accounting for C and N losses via gas fluxes, the bioretention appeared to be a net sink for those nutrients. We also compared our bioretention gas fluxes to those from a variety of natural (i.e., grasslands and forests) and artificial (i.e., fertilized and irrigated or engineered) land-use types. We found bioretention fluxes to be in the mid-range among these land-use types, mostly likely due to organic matter (OM) influences on decomposition being similar to processes in natural systems.
Successful treatment of disseminated Rosai-Dorfman disease with siltuximab.

Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD) is a rare, macrophage-related disorder of unknown cause that presents as a localized or systemic disorder involving lymph nodes and other organs. RDD is often self-limiting, however, sometimes permanent or even fatal. The rarity and unpredictability of RDD renders optimal
Does Accurate Scoring of Ligands against Protein Targets Mean Accurate Ranking

Accurately predicting the binding affinities of large sets of protein-ligand complexes efficiently is a key challenge in computational biomolecular science, with applications in drug discovery, chemical biology, and structural biology. Since a scoring function (SF) is used to score, rank, and identify potential drug leads, the fidelity with which it predicts the affinity of a ligand candidate for a protein’s binding site has a significant bearing on the accuracy of virtual screening. Despite intense efforts in developing conventional SFs, which are either force-field based, knowledge-based, or empirical, their limited scoring and ranking accuracies have been a major roadblock toward cost-effective drug discovery. Therefore, in this work, we examine a range of SFs employing different machine-learning (ML) approaches in conjunction with a variety of physicochemical and geometrical features characterizing protein-ligand complexes. We compare the scoring and ranking accuracies of these ML SFs as well as those of conventional SFs in the context of the diverse test sets of the 2007 and 2010 PDBbind benchmarks. We also investigate the influence of the size of the training dataset and the number of features used on scoring and ranking accuracies. We find that the best performing ML SF has a scoring power of 0.807 in terms of Pearson correlation coefficient between predicted and measured binding affinities compared to 0.644 achieved by a state-of-the-art conventional SF. Despite this substantial improvement (25%) in binding affinity prediction, the ranking power improvement is only 6% from a success rate of 58.5% achieved by the best conventional SF to 62.2% obtained by the best ML approach when ligands were ranked for 65 unique proteins.
Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells for Myocardial Repair and Regeneration

Cardiovascular disease remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality with substantial economic cost. There remains a need for therapeutic improvement for patients refractory to revascularization and those who redevelop occlusions following revascularization. Early evidence linked age-associated reductions in the levels of circulating marrow-derived hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), characterized by expression of early HSC markers CD133 and CD34, with the occurrence of cardiovascular events and associated death. Heart tissue has the endogenous ability to regenerate through the activation of resident cardiac stem cells or through recruitment of a stem cell population from other tissues, such as bone marrow. A number of clinical trials have utilized patient-derived autologous bone marrow-derived cells or whole BM uncultured mononuclear cells (MNC) infused or injected locally to augment angiogenesis. In most cases of treating animal models with human cells, the frequency of stem cell engraftment, the subsequent number of newly generated cardiomyocytes and vascular cells, and the augmentation of endogenous microvascular collateralization, either by deposition, transdifferentiation, and/or by cell fusion, appear to be too low to explain the significant cardiac improvement. Initially, it was hypothesized that cell therapy may work by cell replacement mechanisms, but recent evidence suggests alternatively that cell therapy works by providing trophic support to the injured tissues. An alternative hypothesis is that the transplanted stem cells release soluble cytokines and growth factors (i.e., paracrine factors) that function in a paracrine fashion, contributing to cardiac repair and regeneration by inducing cytoprotection and neovascularization. Another hypothesis which may also be operative is that cell therapy may mediate endogenous regeneration by the activation of resident cardiac stem cell. Well-established clinical trials have used cord blood for the treatment of hematological malignances (e.g., leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma) and nonmalignancies (e.g., in born errors of metabolism, sickle cells anemia, autoimmune diseases), but further advances in other areas of regenerative medicine (e.g., cardiac repair) will directly benefit with the use of cord blood. These clinical outcomes demonstrate that effector cells may be delivered by an allogeneic approach, where strict tissue matching may not be necessary and treatment may be achieved by making use of the trophic support capability of cell therapy and not by a cell replacement mechanism.
Challenges in Early Warning of the Persistent and Widespread Winter Fog over the Indo-Gangetic Plains: A Satellite Perspective

Each year during the season (December–January), dense fog engulfs the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) in Southern Asia, extending over a stretch of 1,500 km, for more than a month disrupting day-to-day life of millions of people inhabiting in the IGP. Increasing atmospheric pollution combined with sufficient moisture available due to the passage of frequent north-westerlies favor fog formation in this region. Trends in poor visibility suggest a significant increase in worsening air quality and foggy days over the IGP. The persistent and widespread nature of the winter fog is strongly influenced by the regional meteorology during winter-time, i.e., a stable boundary layer, cold temperatures, high relative humidity, and light winds. The valley-type topography of the IGP, adjacent to the towering Himalaya, and high concentrations of pollution aerosols/particulates, further favors the persistence of hazy/fog conditions. A satellite- and surface-based observational portrayal is presented here, using various cloud, aerosol, and meteorological datasets, to characterize the widespread nature of winter fog. While the understanding of fog formation is known in the literature, detailed surface observations are needed to help build sophisticated fog forecast and early warning systems to minimize its impact on public safety. Additionally, linkages between the seasonal fog cover, regional meteorology, and increasing air pollution should be further investigated against the backdrop of a changing climate scenario.
Multiaxial Fatigue: Damage Mechanisms and Life Predictions

Multiaxial fatigue and deformation are discussed with reference to smooth tubular specimens under axialtorsional and axial-internal pressure loadings at room temperature.
PRODUCTION AND RADIOCHEMICAL PROCESS CONTROL FOR SHORT-LIVED MEDICAL RADIONUCLIDES

Abstract Various aspects of radionuclide production, radiochemical separations, labeled compound and radiopharmaceutical synthesis require time and skill, may become tedious, and may expose the chemist to unacceptably high or cumulative effects of radiation. Once a radiochemical process is established and a routine demand exists for a specified radiochemical form, it is advantageous to automate the process. The criteria to be met include ease of manipulation of the radioactivity, reliability that does not require operator intervention or necessitable exposure of personnel to radiation, and simplicity to re-program. The characteristics of selected commercial compact medical cyclotrons are summarized. Institutions having programs involving cyclotrons and PET have been identified. Examples of semi-automated, remote systems for handling Curie levels of 11 C, 15 O, 81 Rb- 81m Kr 123 Xe- 123 I, and 201 Pb- 201 Tl are cited. It is proposed that robotics will be introduced into hot cell operations for radiochemical processing and radiopharmaceutical synthesis by 1984. Continued research will lead to evaluation of alternative designs before robots are available at hospital-based medical cyclotrons. The smart, i.e., computer-controlled, machines will have built-in flexibility to incorporate several radiochemical processes and future programs.
Why Pb ( B , B ′ ) O 3 perovskites disorder at lower temperatures than Ba ( B , B ′ ) O 3 perovskites

Plane-wave pseudopotential calculations of total energies were performed for three ordered perovskite related supercells in each of the eight stoichiometries of ${A(B}_{1/3}{B}_{2/3}^{\ensuremath{'}}){\mathrm{O}}_{3};$ $A=\mathrm{P}\mathrm{b},\mathrm{}\mathrm{Ba},B=\mathrm{Z}\mathrm{n},\mathrm{}\mathrm{Mg}$ and, ${B}^{\ensuremath{'}}=\mathrm{N}\mathrm{b},\mathrm{T}\mathrm{a};$ and the eight stoichiometries of ${A(B}_{1/2}{B}_{1/2}^{\ensuremath{'}}){\mathrm{O}}_{3};$ $B=\mathrm{S}\mathrm{c},\mathrm{I}\mathrm{n}.$ A striking difference between the Pb and $\mathrm{Ba}{(B}_{1/3}{B}_{2/3}^{\ensuremath{'}}){\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ systems is that the differences in total energies for Pb systems span ranges that are roughly an order of magnitude smaller than those for the corresponding Ba systems. This indicates much lower energetic barriers to disordering in the Pb systems, consistent with experiments. We explain this trend as a consequence of enhanced $\mathrm{Pb}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{O}$ bonding to underbonded oxygens in ${B}^{2+}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{O}\ensuremath{-}{B}^{2+}$ environments.
Status of the Nevis Synchrocyclotron

A general description of the various systems, i. e. the central region, the RF system, the extraction system, etc., of the Nevis Synchrocyclotron Conversion Project is presented. Recent progress is described and future plans are outlined.
Curious Attention Seekers

Social interaction patterns of student-teacher negotiation developed in Mr. Frederek’s classroom climate with cultural power somewhat in play. Student-teacher negotiation of classroom culture, norms, and values resulted in social interaction patterns that enabled Mr. Frederek to maintain control in order to teach science content and prevent student suspension.
THE "3-BODY" PROBLEM ANALOGY IN MASS-TRAPPING PROGRAMS

Every mass-trapping program has to deal with decisions as to the pattern of allocation of the attractant in space and time. Is it better to have many traps each with a little lure or to have a few traps with a lot of evaporating surface and lure? If a trap geometry or formulation slows the evaporation rate, is this an advantage or disadvantage? How do we strike a balance to achieve the most efficient use? That is, how do we get the greatest kill per unit or lure used?
Control Charts Applying a Sequential Test at Fixed Sampling Intervals

Traditional control charts take samples from the process using a fixed sample size and fixed sampling interval. The sampling rate in a control chart, however, can be varied depending on what is observed from the process in order to reduce the average ti..
Four-Gland Exploration Versus Four-Dimensional Computed Tomography in Patients with Nonlocalized Primary Hyperparathyroidism

The surgical management of patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) varies greatly among parathyroid surgeons, as well as across institutions. Four gland exploration, or bilateral neck exploration (BNE) has long been the “gold standard” operation for PHPT; it involves direct visualization of all parathyroid glands, with removal of enlarged parathyroid tissue, and has yielded excellent cure and complication rates, when performed by experienced surgeons. However, given that approximately 85% of patients with PHPT have single-gland disease, unilateral, minimally-invasive approaches have been advocated. The latter approaches require preoperative localization studies to identify the abnormal gland(s). While non-invasive imaging studies are routinely employed before index parathyroid surgery, negative, discordant or equivocal non-invasive localization studies are not uncommon, even in the unexplored patient. In this setting, an experienced parathyroid surgeon will still find and cure PHPT in the vast majority of patients. While bilateral neck exploration remains an excellent operation, controversy has developed in recent years, regarding the potential superiority of more focused, minimally invasive approaches. To address this issue, we evaluated the available literature for recommendations regarding the use of preoperative four-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT) versus direct, four gland exploration in patients with negative sestamibi and/or neck ultrasound studies. We summarize the available data and provide recommendations on how to surgically treat patients undergoing parathyroidectomy for PHPT.
Rapid, Noninvasive Diagnosis of Demodex Mite by Using a Low Cost, Portable, Full-Field OCT

Demodex mite is believed to cause skin diseases such as rosacea, demodex folliculitis and demodex-aggravated perioral dermatitis. Its conventional diagnostic methods are skin scrape tests and superficial biopsies, which are invasive and painful to patients.
Graphics gems

From the Publisher: "The GRAPHICS GEMS Series" was started in 1990 by Andrew Glassner. The vision and purpose of the Series was - and still is - to provide tips, techniques, and algorithms for graphics programmers. All of the gems are written by programmers who work in the field and are motivated by a common desire to share interesting ideas and tools with their colleagues. Each volume provides a new set of innovative solutions to a variety of programming problems
Correction to: Stability analysis of a slope under impact of a rock block using the generalized interpolation material point method (GIMP)

The published version of this article, unfortunately, contained error. Unfortunately, despite the author’s care in the review process, they did not notice that the value of one variable (vs) in Table 2 of the paper is not correct. The published value is 0.01MPas, whereas the correct value should read 0.0001MPas.
A phase Ib/IIa clinical trial of dantrolene sodium in patients with Wolfram syndrome

BACKGROUNDWolfram syndrome is a rare ER disorder characterized by insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, optic nerve atrophy, and progressive neurodegeneration. Although there is no treatment for Wolfram syndrome, preclinical studies in cell and rodent models suggest that therapeutic strategies targeting ER calcium homeostasis, including dantrolene sodium, may be beneficial.METHODSBased on results from preclinical studies on dantrolene sodium and ongoing longitudinal studies, we assembled what we believe is the first-ever clinical trial in pediatric and adult Wolfram syndrome patients with an open-label phase Ib/IIa trial design. The primary objective was to assess the safety and tolerability of dantrolene sodium in adult and pediatric Wolfram syndrome patients. Secondary objectives were to evaluate the efficacy of dantrolene sodium on residual pancreatic β cell functions, visual acuity, quality-of-life measures related to vision, and neurological functions.RESULTSDantrolene sodium was well tolerated by Wolfram syndrome patients. Overall, β cell functions were not significantly improved, but there was a significant correlation between baseline β cell functions and change in β cell responsiveness (R2, P = 0.004) after 6-month dantrolene therapy. Visual acuity and neurological functions were not improved by 6-month dantrolene sodium. Markers of inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress, such as IFN-γ, IL-1β, TNF-α, and isoprostane, were elevated in subjects.CONCLUSIONThis study justifies further investigation into using dantrolene sodium and other small molecules targeting the ER for treatment of Wolfram syndrome.TRIAL REGISTRATIONClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02829268FUNDINGNIH/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) (DK112921, DK113487, DK020579), NIH/National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) (TR002065, TR000448), NIH training grant (F30DK111070), Silberman Fund, Ellie White Foundation, Snow Foundation, Unravel Wolfram Syndrome Fund, Stowe Fund, Eye Hope Foundation, Feiock Fund, Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences grant UL1TR002345 from NIH/NCATS, Bursky Center for Human Immunology & Immunotherapy Programs.
Numerical and experimental investigation of heat transfer across a nanoscale gap between a magnetic recording head and various media

With the emergence of Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording and Microwave-Assisted Magnetic Recording, understanding nanoscale heat transfer at the head-media interface is crucial for developing reliable hard disk drives. There is a need to develop a methodology that uses a spacing-dependent nanoscale heat transfer coefficient, determined by using wave-based radiation and van der Waals force driven phonon conduction theories to predict head temperatures in hard disk drives. We present a numerical model to simulate the head temperature due to heat transfer across a closing nanoscale gap between the head and the media (nonrotating) and compare our results with static touchdown experiments performed with a head resting on three different media (Si, magnetic disks with AlMg, and glass substrates). The Thermal Fly-Height Control (TFC) heater in the head is powered to create a local protrusion, leading to contact of a resistive Embedded Contact Sensor (ECS) that is used to measure the temperature change. As the ECS approaches the media, enhanced phonon conduction heat transfer causes a drop in the ECS temperature vs TFC power curve. Our model shows that the introduction of van der Waals forces between the head and the media during computation of the head's thermal protrusion causes a steeper drop in the simulated ECS temperature curve, ensuring a good quantitative match with experiments for all of the media materials tested and different initial ECS-media spacings. We isolate the effect of air conduction on ECS cooling by comparing our simulations with experiments performed in air vs vacuum.
Chapter 18 – Steroidal Peptides

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the methods for steroidal peptides synthesis. Amphibian venoms of the bufadienolide type comprise a pharmacologically interesting series of naturally occurring steroids. All have in common a 5-substituted 2-pyrone ring at the 17β-position, a 14β-oxygen substituent, and a cis A/B ring juncture. Some, such as bufotoxin and marinobufo toxin, contain a suberyl arginine side chain at position 3. Many of the toad venom and plant bufadienolides exhibit a variety of potentially useful medicinal activities—for example, local anesthetic, cardiac action, cytotoxicity, respiratory stimulant, and tumor inhibitory. In a study described in the chapter, the approach to marinobufotoxin utilizing Arg protected as the monohydrochloride in an MCA coupling reaction was found most effective.
Toward a fluid mechanics of suspensions

The influence of suspended particles on Taylor-Couette (TC) flow transitions is a new direction in the fluid mechanics of suspensions. The microstructure and properties of suspensions are reviewed to support discussion of this and other bulk behavior. Tracer particle tracks in a 10% solid suspension in TC flow in the circular Couette flow, spiral vortex flow, and Taylor vortex flow (left to right, respectively) show some of the flows examined.
Multielectrode Cortical Stimulation Selectively Induces Unidirectional Wave Propagation in Biophysical/Neural Model

Cortical stimulation is emerging as an experimental tool in basic research and a promising therapy for a range of neuropsychiatric conditions. As multielectrode arrays enter clinical practice, the possibility of using spatiotemporal patterns of electrical stimulation to induce desired physiological patterns has become theoretically possible, but in practice can only be implemented by trial-and-error because of a lack of predictive models. Experimental evidence increasingly establishes travelling waves as fundamental to cortical information-processing, but we lack understanding how to control wave properties despite rapidly improving technologies. This study uses a hybrid biophysical-anatomical and neural-computational model to predict and understand how a simple pattern of cortical surface stimulation could induce directional traveling waves in excitatory cells via asymmetric activation of inhibitory cells. The ability to induce such activity via stimulation suggests the potential to treat a broad range of cognitive disorders and to shed light on the electrical nature of cortical functioning.
Immune Dysregulation Leading to Autoimmunity

The immune system is a delicate equilibrium of checks and balances. Defects in different aspects of the immune system can disrupt this balance and cause immune dysregulation and autoimmunity. These flaws in immunity can be caused by defects in central tolerance, peripheral tolerance, apoptosis, and natural killer cells. There are an increasing number of monogenic immunodeficiency disorders that lead to immune dysregulation, now called primary immune regulatory disorders (PIRD). This chapter will discuss the normal underlying pathophysiology of the immune system and how defects in immunity can lead to immune dysregulation. Two cases of patients with PIRD will be presented. These cases demonstrate that patients presenting with early onset, refractory, or unusual presentations of autoimmune disease should be evaluated for primary immunodeficiencies and PIRD. The differential diagnosis of patients with signs of immune dysregulation in addition to workup and potential treatments will be described. Immune dysregulation is a growing field of immunology and this chapter will highlight the latest knowledge in this expanding subject.
Morphology of sternal glands in male polistine wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidæ)

The sternal glands of 28 species of male wasps belonging to 12 polistine genera are described. Glands and associated cuticular modifications of these males and of males described in past studies are compared to those of conspecific females. Males in species of four swarm-founding genera have glandular areas similar in morphology and location to those of females. The glands are comprised of ducted cells associated with either a bed of erect cuticular scales along the anterior edge of the fifth sternite (Metapolybia, Chartergus, andPolybia) or a band of hairs along the anterior margin of both the fifth and sixth sternites(Apoica). Ropalidia montana males have ducted gland cells on sternites five and six, rather than just on six as in congeneric females;Brachygastra augusti males have them on sternites five through seven, rather than just on five as in their conspecific females. Also unlike those of conspecific females, these glands are not associated with any cuticular modification. Species in the remaining three swarm-founding genera lack male sternal glands. Males of independent-founding genera (Mischocyttarus, Polistes, Belonogaster, andParapolybia) have glandular cells covering the posterior 2/3 or 1/2 of the sternite, rather than the anterior portion as in their congeneric females.
Successful Audit Workpaper Review Strategies in Electronic Environments

In a prior paper by Bible, Graham, and Rosman (2005), the authors provided a theory to predict that electronic work environments were more cognitively complex than traditional paper environments and found evidence consistent with the theory. Auditors reviewing workpapers in an electronic work environment were less able to identify seeded errors than auditors who were working in a traditional paper environment. This paper uses detailed concurrent verbal protocols for a subset of the participants in the previous paper to extend this line of research. Specifically, it examines how strategies in electronic work environments would differ from those in traditional paper environments to accommodate the greater complexity of electronic work environments. Of particular interest are the strategies that are applied by those who performed well in each environment, because they provide insight into the type of behavior to be modeled. Consistent with the theoretical frameworks of audit task complexity (Bonner [1994]), ...
A mid-IR OPO based lidar system for DIAL measurements of tropospheric methane concentration

Summary form only given. Methane is an important greenhouse gas because it is a source gas that affects the lifetime of many other trace gases, its oxidation by OH produces peroxy radicals that are important for O/sub 3/ production, and its oxidation is important for the production, destruction, and recycling of HO/sub x/ radicals. The authors demonstrate a differential absorption lidar (DIAL) technique that measures the backscattered pulse energies at two wavelengths, /spl lambda//sub on/ and /spl lambda//sub off/. A comparison is made between the scattered signal monitored when the wavelength (/spl lambda//sub on/) of the laser is tuned to the peak of an absorption line of the molecule being investigated and when it (/spl lambda//sub off/) is detuned to lie in the wing of the line.
Transient Responses of Short-Pulse Signals in Scattering Problems

The transient responses of short-pulse (ultra-wideband) signals are analyzed in electromagnetic scattering problems. An efficient way to simulate the short-pulse measurements is introduced. The attenuation of the signal made by the nonlinear property of the transmitting and receiving antennas is shown by a scattering problem. The problem is separated to three subsystems. Time domain results for two of the subsystems are analyzed.
Estimation of Baseline Drifts in fMRI

This work provides a new method to estimate and remove baseline drifts in the fMRI signal. The baseline drift in each time series is described as a superposition of physical and physiological phenomena that occur at different scales. A fast algorithm, based on a wavelet representation of the data yields detrended time-series. Experiments with fMRI data demonstrate that our detrending technique can infer and remove drifts that cannot be adequately represented with low degree polynomials. Our detrending technique resulted in a noticeable improvement by reducing the number of false positive and the number of false negative.
Characterization of the protein Z–dependent protease inhibitor

Protein Z-dependent protease inhibitor (ZPI) is a 72-kd member of the serpin superfamily of proteinase inhibitors that produces rapid inhibition of factor Xa in the presence of protein Z (PZ), procoagulant phospholipids, and Ca++ (t1/2 less than 10 seconds). The rate of factor Xa inhibition by ZPI is reduced more than 1000-fold in the absence of PZ. The factor Xa–ZPI complex is not stable to sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, but is detectable by alkaline–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The combination of PZ and ZPI dramatically delays the initiation and reduces the ultimate rate of thrombin generation in mixtures containing prothrombin, factor V, phospholipids, and Ca++. In similar mixtures containing factor Va, however, PZ and ZPI do not inhibit thrombin generation. Thus, the major effect of PZ and ZPI is to dampen the coagulation response prior to the formation of the prothrombinase complex. Besides factor Xa, ZPI also inhibits factor XIa in the absence of PZ, phospholipids, and Ca++. Heparin (0.2 U/mL) enhances the rate (t1/2 = 25 seconds vs 50 seconds) and the extent (99% vs 93% at 30 minutes) of factor XIa inhibition by ZPI. During its inhibitory interaction with factor Xa and factor XIa, ZPI is proteolytically cleaved with the release of a 4.2-kd peptide. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of this peptide (SMPPVIKVDRPF) establishes Y387 as the P1 residue at the reactive center of ZPI. ZPI activity is consumed during the in vitro coagulation of plasma through a proteolytic process that involves the actions of factor Xa with PZ and factor XIa.
The Community Dimension of State Child Protection

The other day I had a conversation with a civil liberties lawyer about racial inequities in the child welfare system, the institution charged with protecting children from abuse and neglect. America’s child welfare system is marked by pronounced and disturbing racial disparities. African American and Native American children are overrepresented in the national foster care population. That is, the percentage of the foster care population from these groups is greater than their representation in the general youth population. Black children, for example, make up more than a third of the nation’s foster care population, although they represent less than twenty percent of the nation’s children. Taken together, children of color comprise only about
Hough space based highly parallel object recognition scheme

Many recognition problems can be viewed as matching images to interpretations from a model. In this paper, an effective object representation scheme based on Hough space analysis is developed to form the basis of a system for recognizing geometric objects in 2D images. This representation provides for scaling, translation, and rotation invariance of the object. A highly parallel model matching technique generates object hypotheses. >
Suspended sediment storm modeling

Abstract A variety of sediment-transporting storms was observed in the HEBBLE long deployment indicating several distinct forcing mechanisms; in particular, some storms appear to originate locally (Gross and Williams, this issue). In this paper, a simple model of a locally forced storm is presented to elucidate the time-dependent dynamics of erosion and deposition events in the deep sea. Based on these modeling efforts, we make the following inferences. Storms exhibit peak sediment concentration before peak velocity. This behavior is due to a limited amount of erodible bed sediment. After near-instantaneous erosion of the bed is complete, fine-sediment concentration in the water column drops due to dilution throughout a thickening turbulent mixed layer in the accelerating flow. During and immediately after a storm event, turbulence intensity above the 40-m-thick momentum mixed layer can be sufficient to suspend fine particles in low concentration to elevations of 100 m above bottom or more. Following the storm, the rate of sediment clearing depends on gravitational settling and the potential importance of additional turbulence-driven deposition and aggregation mechanisms. Syn- and post-storm “overthickening” of the suspended sediment mixed layer relative to the Ekman momentum mixed-layer thickness, as well as sensitivity of the post-storm concentration profile to turbulence-driven deposition, can explain some complex features of near-bed nepheloid layers in the HEBBLE region observed by other workers. Validation of suspended sediment transport models is based on field observations obtained with light transmissometers. Transmissometer measurements of suspended sediment concentration depend, in turn, on calibration of instrument response to both mass concentration and particle size distribution. By analyzing the temporal and spatial changes in mass concentrations with the model presented herein, we calculate an operational calibration function. During HEBBLE storms, this calibration function does not change by more than 30% due to particle sorting by turbulent suspension.
Developmental regulation of protein kinase A expression and activity in Schistosoma mansoni

cAMP-dependent protein kinases (PKAs) are the main transducers of cAMP signalling in eukaryotic cells. Recently we reported the identification and characterisation of a PKA catalytic subunit (SmPKA-C) in Schistosoma mansoni that is required for adult schistosome viability in vitro. To gain further insights into the role of SmPKA-C in biological processes during the schistosome life cycle, we undertook a quantitative analysis of SmPKA-C mRNA expression in different life cycle stages. Our data shows that SmPKA-C mRNA expression is developmentally regulated, with the highest levels of expression in cercariae and adult female worms. To evaluate the biological role of SmPKA-C in these developmental stages, cercariae and adult worms were treated with various concentrations of PKA inhibitors. Treatment of cercariae with H-89 or PKI 14-22 amide resulted in loss of viability suggesting that, as in adults, PKA is an essential enzyme activity in this infectious larval stage. In adult worms, in vitro exposure to sub-lethal concentrations of H-89 or PKI 14-22 amide resulted in inhibition of egg production in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, using a murine model of schistosome infection where S. mansoni fecundity is impaired, we show that reduced rates of egg production in vivo correlate with significant reductions in SmPKA-C mRNA expression and PKA activity. Finally, restoration of parasite egg production in vivo also resulted in normalisation of SmPKA-C mRNA expression and PKA activity. Taken together, our data suggest that PKA signalling is required for cercarial viability and may play a specific role in the reproductive activity of adult worms.
Biomimetics: determining engineering opportunities from nature

The biomimetic approach seeks to incorporate designs based on biological organisms into engineered technologies. Biomimetics can be used to engineer machines that emulate the performance of organisms, particularly in instances where the organism's performance exceeds current mechanical technology or provides new directions to solve existing problems. For biologists, an adaptationist program has allowed for the identification of novel features of organisms based on engineering principles; whereas for engineers, identification of such novel features is necessary to exploit them for biomimetic development. Adaptations (leading edge tubercles to passively modify flow and high efficiency oscillatory propulsive systems) from marine animals demonstrate potential utility in the development of biomimetic products. Nature retains a store of untouched knowledge, which would be beneficial in advancing technology.
BSJ does not map correctly into BSF mod 2

Let BSJ denote the “quotient” of\(BSO\xrightarrow{{\psi ^3 - 1}}BSO\) localized at 2. It had been thought that the Adams conjecture might deloop to give a diagram realizing the J-homomorphism. We show this to be impossible by showing there do not exist Stiefel-Whitnev class Wn (even for n≤13) in BSJ satisfving the Wu formulas.
Digital CMOS interface circuit for current and capacitance sensing

A CMOS digital interface chip has been designed and implemented in standard 1.5 μm n-well CMOS technology for detection of current and capacitance variations across a sensing element. An on-chip digitally variable sensor element simulating current and capacitance is monolithically integrated with the readout circuitry. The chip gives an 8-bit digital output and can detect a minimum current and capacitance up to 150 μA and 2.5 fF, respectively.
The Viner–Wong Envelope Theorem

(1999). The Viner–Wong Envelope Theorem. The Journal of Economic Education: Vol. 30, No. 1, pp. 75-79.
Development aid: The moral obligation to innovation

The prominent, though not exclusive, role of basic needs strategies to attain ethically acceptable development goals raises the question of the ability of development agencies to find and employ basic needs strategies. The obligation to prevent severe human suffering leads to the obligation to employ basic needs strategies to attain basic needs goals. The history of failure by development agencies in finding and employing basic needs tools leads to a further obligation to cultivate bureaucratic environments which foster profound innovation. This requires not only new tools but also new bureaucratic behaviour. An understandable obstacle to simultaneously technological and bureaucratic innovation lies in the tension between “responsible behaviour” and “behaviour promoting fundamental change.” Since this tension is based on the unpredictability of creative change, a series of axioms and corollaries which reduce the unpredictability is given. They include: (1) an obligation to seek innovation; (2) a clear statement of basic needs goals and intent to use some basic needs tools; (3) increase in effective knowledge of the poor and their survival strategies; (4) bureaucratic learning flexibility; (5) participatory development and allied emphasis on sustainable resource technologies. The embodiment of these in the “learning” process approach is illustrated.
Behavior of Juvenile Yellow‐bellied Marmots: Play and Social Integration

This study is a quantitative examination of the behavior of juvenile yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris), especially play, and an attempt to relate play to the social and population biology of marmots. An hypothesis of adaptive fine-tuning (social integration) of individual behavioral traits through play is advanced. While the data do not directly support social integration as a function of play, the results are a sine qua non of this hypothesis.
The autism-associated chromatin modifier CHD8 regulates other autism risk genes during human neurodevelopment

Recent studies implicate chromatin modifiers in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) through the identification of recurrent de novo loss of function mutations in affected individuals. ASD risk genes are co-expressed in human midfetal cortex, suggesting that ASD risk genes converge in specific regulatory networks during neurodevelopment. To elucidate such networks, we identify genes targeted by CHD8, a chromodomain helicase strongly associated with ASD, in human midfetal brain, human neural stem cells (hNSCs) and embryonic mouse cortex. CHD8 targets are strongly enriched for other ASD risk genes in both human and mouse neurodevelopment, and converge in ASD-associated co-expression networks in human midfetal cortex. CHD8 knockdown in hNSCs results in dysregulation of ASD risk genes directly targeted by CHD8. Integration of CHD8-binding data into ASD risk models improves detection of risk genes. These results suggest loss of CHD8 contributes to ASD by perturbing an ancient gene regulatory network during human brain development.
The biomechanics toolbox: experimental approaches for living cells and biomolecules

The mechanical behavior of biological materials has been studied extensively at the tissue, organ and systems levels. Emerging experimental tools, however, enable quantitative studies of deformation of individual cells and biomolecules. These approaches also facilitate the exploration of biological processes mediated by mechanical signals, with force and displacement resolutions of 0.1 pN and 0.1 nm, respectively. As a result of these capabilities, it is now possible to establish the structure-function relationships among the various components of a living cell. In order to fully realize this potential, it is necessary to critically assess the capabilities of current experimental methods in elucidating whether and how the mechanics of living cells and biomolecules, under physiological and pathological conditions, plays a major role in health and disease. Here, we review the operating principles, advantages and limitations, and illustrative examples of micro- and nano-scale mechanical testing techniques developed across many research communities to manipulate cell populations, single cells, and single biomolecules. Further, we discuss key opportunities for improved analysis of such experiments, as well as future directions and applications.
The effects of metal interlayer insertion on the friction, wear and adhesion of TiC coatings

Abstract TiC coatings on 440C stainless steel (SS) substrates that contain different kinds of interlayers (Ti, Cr and Mo) of different thickness were grown by magnetron sputtering. The friction, wear and adhesion behaviors were investigated for the TiC coatings using pin-on-disk configuration. The wear tracks of the TiC coatings and alumina pin were characterized by optical microscope or scanning electron microscope (SEM). Inserting Cr or Ti interlayer between TiC coating and substrate could improve greatly the wear, hardness and adhesion. In wear tests the TiC coating with Cr interlayer usually showed better characteristics than that with Ti interlayer. In addition, the TiC coating with 50 nm Ti interlayer performed better than that with 500 nm Ti interlayer in the adhesion and wear tests. It is noticed that the TiC coating could not be improved on the friction and wear behavior when metallic Mo was inserted between the TiC and substrate resulting from the poor adhesion of the coating.
An evaluation of multiple‐choice test images for comprehension assessment in aphasia

Background: Using images in multiple‐choice formats for comprehension testing in aphasia is common. It is generally assumed that persons being assessed perceive the content of the images represented in such tasks. However, specific visual characteristics of individual images may influence visual attention, which may influence accuracy in the selection of a correct target image corresponding to a verbal stimulus. The validity of test responses may be confounded by (1) physical stimulus features, such as size, and (2) semantic content conveyed by images, such as image familiarity. This study is supported by a grant (# DC 0015301 A1) from the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders of the National Institutes of Health. We thank Natalie Douglas for her important contributions, Yoon‐Soo Lee for creation and editing of visual stimuli, and Sonny Kim for statistical consultation. Aims: The first aim was to develop a rating instrument to assess visual stimulus properties and semantic conte...