cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
DNA Helicase Activity of PcrA Is Not Required for the Displacement of RecA Protein from DNA or Inhibition of RecA-Mediated Strand Exchange

PcrA is a conserved DNA helicase present in all gram-positive bacteria. Bacteria lacking PcrA show high levels of recombination. Lethality induced by PcrA depletion can be overcome by suppressor mutations in the recombination genes recFOR. RecFOR proteins load RecA onto single-stranded DNA during recombination. Here we test whether an essential function of PcrA is to interfere with RecA-mediated DNA recombination in vitro. We demonstrate that PcrA can inhibit the RecA-mediated DNA strand exchange reaction in vitro. Furthermore, PcrA displaced RecA from RecA nucleoprotein filaments. Interestingly, helicase mutants of PcrA also displaced RecA from DNA and inhibited RecA-mediated DNA strand exchange. Employing a novel single-pair fluorescence resonance energy transfer-based assay, we demonstrate a lengthening of double-stranded DNA upon polymerization of RecA and show that PcrA and its helicase mutants can reverse this process. Our results show that the displacement of RecA from DNA by PcrA is not dependent on its translocase activity. Further, our results show that the helicase activity of PcrA, although not essential, might play a facilitatory role in the RecA displacement reaction.
Reduced bone mineral density is associated with breast arterial calcification.

Background: Arterial calcification, a marker of atherosclerosis, results from a complex process of biomineralization resembling bone formation. Breast arterial calcification (BAC) has been associated with angiographic and clinical cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between reduced bone mineral density (BMD) and BAC, which may share a common pathophysiology. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of 228 women (55% Hispanic, mean age 64 ±10 yr) who had both mammography and BMD evaluation at Columbia University Medical Center from 2001–2003. Each mammogram was reviewed for the presence of BAC using standardized methods. BMD was measured using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and categorized as normal, low bone density (osteopenia), or osteoporosis as defined by the World Health Organization. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the association between reduced BMD and BAC. Results: The prevalence of BAC, low bo...
Descartes's dilemma of eminent containment

Dans sa presentation recente de la «dialectique de la creation» dans la philosophie du XVIIe siecle, Thomas Lennon suggere que les hypotheses de Descartes concernant la causalite conduisent a un dilemme : Descartes doit accepter soit une certaine sorte d'emanationnisme pantheiste, soit l'emergence de la realite ex. nihilo. Dans cet article, je defends en detail cette suggestion de Lennon. Au cœur de la question se trouve la notion cartesienne de la possession eminente. Si cette notion est interpretee dans ce que j'appelle un sens «realiste», ainsi que Descartes lui-memesemble l'avoir fait, alors il n'y a pas moyen d'eviter l'emanationnisme pantheiste. Si la possession est interpretee dans ce que j'appelle un sens «reductionniste», comme l'ont fait la plupart des commentateurs recents, alors le principe causal fundamental de Descartes se revele soit arbitraire soit trivial.
Gasoline and Travel Demand Models Using Time Series and Cross-Section Data from United States:

The price and income elasticities of highway gasoline and automobile travel demand are useful for forecasting gasoline tax revenues and highway investment needs and evaluating policies to reduce automobile use, improve fuel efficiency, or reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Gasoline and travel demand elasticities are calculated using 1950 to 1994 time series data for the United States and 1988 to 1992 pooled data for states of the United States. Gasoline demand was found to be price inelastic in the short run, but in the long run, it was found to be 20.7. Even in the United States, gasoline price has a significant impact on gasoline use. The response to price changes is divided among driving, fuel efficiency, and the size of the vehicle stock, although the latter is the smallest. The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program was found to be associated with an average 1 percent annual decline in per capita fuel consumption. The elasticity of driving with respect to fuel efficiency—the rebound effect—was f...
More experience with data flow testing

Experience is provided about the cost and effectiveness of the Rapps-Weyuker data flow testing criteria. This experience is based on studies using a suite of well-known numerical programs, and supplements an earlier study (Weyuker 1990) using different types of programs. The conclusions drawn in the earlier study involving cost are confirmed in this study. New observations about tester variability and cost assessment, as well as fault detection, are also provided. >
Exposing Digital Forgeries in Interlaced and Deinterlaced Video

With the advent of high-quality digital video cameras and sophisticated video editing software, it is becoming increasingly easier to tamper with digital video. A growing number of video surveillance cameras are also giving rise to an enormous amount of video data. The ability to ensure the integrity and authenticity of these data poses considerable challenges. We describe two techniques for detecting traces of tampering in deinterlaced and interlaced video. For deinterlaced video, we quantify the correlations introduced by the camera or software deinterlacing algorithms and show how tampering can disturb these correlations. For interlaced video, we show that the motion between fields of a single frame and across fields of neighboring frames should be equal. We propose an efficient way to measure these motions and show how tampering can disturb this relationship.
Robustness of Coalescent Estimators to Between-Lineage Mutation Rate Variation

Data from HIV and from human neoplastic cells can show substantial between-lineage mutation rate variation even within a single population. Such variation may affect estimators of population quantities such as Theta = 4N(e)mu. Using simulated DNA data, I measured the effect of rate variation on recovery of Theta by the summary-statistic estimator of Watterson (Watterson GA. 1975. On the number of segregating sites in genetical systems without recombination. Theor Popul Biol. 7:256-276) and the coalescent maximum likelihood algorithm LAMARC (Kuhner MK. 2006. LAMARC 2.0: maximum likelihood and Bayesian estimation of population parameters. Bioinformatics. Advance Access doi: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btk051). Watterson's estimator showed a downward bias, as expected, with high values of Theta. LAMARC's mean estimate was accurate for all tested values of Theta and rate variation except for a downward bias when rate variation was maximal (i.e., the slow rate was zero). LAMARC had consistently narrower confidence intervals (CIs) than Watterson's estimator. Both methods tended to reject the truth too often when rate variation was 8x or greater and independent among branches, as well as when variation was 4x or greater and correlated among branches. In the case of Watterson's estimate, this excess rejection was fully attributable to variation among genealogies in the amount of total branch length associated with the fast and slow rates. However, in the case of LAMARC, some excess rejection was still observed even when between-genealogy variation was taken into account. Both estimators are robust to modest rate variation; however, their use should be coupled with a statistical test to rule out extreme rate variation as the resulting CIs may not be reliable.
Pumped-Storage Scheduling Using Evolutionary Particle Swarm Optimization

This paper presents new solution algorithms based on an evolutionary particle swarm optimization (EPSO) for solving the pumped-storage (P/S) scheduling problem. The proposed EPSO approach combines a basic particle swarm optimization (PSO) with binary encoding/decoding techniques as well as a mutation operation. The binary encoding/decoding techniques are adopted to model the discrete characteristics of a P/S plant. The mutation operation is applied to accelerate convergence and escape local optimums. The optimal generation schedules for both P/S and thermal units are concurrently obtained within the evolutionary process of a scoring function. Therefore, hydrothermal iteration is no longer needed. The proposed approach is applied with great success to an actual utility system consisting of four P/S units and 34 thermal units. Experimental results indicate the attractive properties of the EPSO approach in a practical application, namely, a highly optimal solution and robust convergence behavior.
Automated essay evaluation: the criterion online writing service

In this article, we describe a deployed educational technology application: the Criterion Online Essay Evaluation Service, a web-based system that provides automated scoring and evaluation of student essays. Criterion has two complementary applications: (1) Critique Writing Analysis Tools, a suite of programs that detect errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics, that identify discourse elements in the essay, and that recognize potentially undesirable elements of style, and (2) e-rater version 2.0, an automated essay scoring system. Critique and e-rater provide students with feedback that is specific to their writing in order to help them improve their writing skills and is intended to be used under the instruction of a classroom teacher. Both applications employ natural language processing and machine learning techniques. All of these capabilities outperform baseline algorithms, and some of the tools agree with human judges in their evaluations as often as two judges agree with each other.
Establishment of a Viable Population of Daphnia lumholtzi in Lake Pepin, Upper Mississippi River

ABSTRACT The exotic zooplankter Daphnia lumholtzi was first detected in Lake Pepin on the upper Mississippi River in 1999 when three individuals were found. Other than a single individual in 2001, no other D. lumholtzi were found until September of 2003 when a viable population was detected. Additional sampling revealed D. lumholtzi was the dominant zooplankter in both numbers and biomass in areas of Lake Pepin.
An investigation of superconducting magnets for a 10 MWh SMES

Superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) systems are analyzed with respect to the potential impact of advancing materials technology. The effects of increased superconductor current density, magnet operating temperature and structural material strength are evaluated. For relatively low-field ( >
Faculty Productivity and the Complexity of Student Exam Questions.

The relationship between faculty publication productivity and the cognitive complexity of student examination questions is examined. Results show that scholars who publish books and those who publish fewer articles ask more critical-thinking questions. Publishing more articles seems to negatively influence the asking of such questions.
Blunt chest trauma producing acute myocardial infarction in a rugby player.

A 21-year-old male college student with an 8-year history of insulin dependent iabetes mellitus presented with retrosternal chest pain. 4 days previously, he had been tackled in a rugby game, and sought treatment for short-lived chest pain. An electrocardiogram (ECG) and echocardiogram done at another hospital showed transient ST-segment elevation and anterolateral hypokinesia. Cardiac catheterisation reportedly showed normal coronary arteries. A diagnosis of myocardial contusion was made and the patient was discharged after 3 days of observation. Chest pain recurred the afternoon following hospital discharge, and he came to our office. Insulin was his only medication and he had no other medical history or pertinent risk factors. On examination, his pulse was regular at 52 beats per minute and his blood pressure was 125/60 mmHg. He had no visible external chest injuries, and we could find nothing abnormal on cardio-respiratory examination. On review of his ECG (figure) he was immediately transferred to the emergency department, where he was treated with aspirin, recombinant tissue plasminogen activator, and betablockers. His chest pain resolved, and the ECG normalised. His initial creatine kinase (CK) level was normal, but subsequently increased and peaked at 1553 IU/L (normal 22–269) with a CK-MB fraction of 5·8%. We repeated cardiac catheterisation, which showed a proximal left anterior descending artery dissection extending into the mid-artery. The other coronary arteries were normal. He had an ejection fraction of 30% with apical dyskinesia and antero-lateral akinesia. Careful review of the earlier study showed an intimal tear. Coronary artery dissection following blunt chest trauma is rare 1 and even less common is occurrence in the setting of a contact sport such as rugby. A 22-year-old rugby player, reportedly developed an acute myocardial infarction after he sustained blunt chest trauma when a loose scrum collapsed on top of him. 2 He also had a spiral dissection in the proximal left anterior descending artery, as did our patient. Traumatic myocardial injury occurs in up to 55% of patients sustaining blunt chest trauma. 3
Food-frequency questionnaire validation among Mexican-Americans: Starr County, Texas

A food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for low-income Mexican-Americans in Starr County, Texas, was developed as part of an epidemiologic study of gallbladder disease during 1985 and 1986. The FFQ was developed from 7-day food records collected from the first sample. In the validity study, using the second sample, correlations between nutrients calculated from 3-day food records and the FFQ were 0.77, 0.76, and 0.61 for energy, total fat, and saturated fat, respectively. In the reliability study, using the third sample, for the 1-month interval between baseline and a repeat FFQ measurement correlations ranged from 0.90 for energy to 0.85 for total fat and for the 2-month interval they were 0.84 for energy and 0.70 for total fat. The high correlations are largely explained by the lack of diversity in the diets of Starr County individuals which facilitated the high agreement between the FFQ and the food records for estimates of energy, fats, and cholesterol.
Working Up from Postholes: (Im)Material Witnesses, Evidence, and Narrativity in the Colonial American Theatre

As what follows is, in many ways, a history of absence, I begin with a poignant illustration of materializing something that wasn't there.
Complexity and Chaos

Turbulence was one of the key phenomena that motivated the resurgence of interest in nonlinear dynamical systems. It was, after all, investigations into the mechanisms for turbulence that led Ruelle and Takens to invent the term “strange attractor” in 1971. The turbulence that is described by strange attractors is “turbulence in time” (Schuster, 1988) -- deterministic chaos, or temporal chaos in current terminology. In the past decade, a vocabulary for the quantitative characterization of temporal chaos has been developed, and has been used to describe and analyze an incredible variety of phenomena in practically all fields of science and engineering. The dimensions of strange attractors, and the entropies and Lyapunov exponents describing motions on them, have been used to analyze heartbeats and brain waves, chemical reactions, lasers, the economy, x-ray emissions of stars, flames, and fluid flow ...
Beetles (Coleoptera) of Peru: A Survey of the Families. Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae Latreille, 1802

Diversity in Peru: 3 tribes, 17 genera, 55 species (8 new records). Recognition: Bruchines are popularly known as seed weevils or seed beetles because the larvae enter seeds, where they consume the insides and then form a pupation chamber. While not true weevils (e.g., superfamily Curculionoideae), their name is derived from the habit of feeding within seeds as larvae and the tapering of the head toward the mandibles that loosely resembles a rostrum. This latter feature allows emerged adults to complete excision of an exit hole from host seeds. Adults have a compact body with small head, eyes usually emarginate, usually enlarged metafemora, and an exposed pygidium. Instar 1 larvae have a transverse toothed dorsal prothoracic plate that is unique among beetles. Larvae are thick, curved, and soft-bodied; some larvae have legs or are apodous. While the presence of a pygidium, emarginate eyes, and enlarged metafemora are generally sufficient to distinguish adults of the subfamily, Kingsolver (2004) provides further characters for definition of the group. Habitat: Since females lay eggs on fruits or seeds, and successful development to adult from egg depends on successful consumption of seeds, the best method for collecting bruchines is by rearing them from seeds. However, significant insights into the biology of Peruvian Bruchinae may be found through non-conventional examination of host plants as at least one undescribed South American species is reported to make bud galls in flowering twigs (Bridwell, 1952), and a second (Merobruchus bicoloripes (Pic, 1927)) regularly lays its eggs on leaflets or petioles and first instar larvae crawl to pods before burrowing (Teran and Muruaga de L’Argentier, 1981). Specimens are often collected using other more traditional methods, including sweep-netting, light traps, flight intercept traps, or litter funnels, but in much lower numbers, much less predictably, and of course without the associated ecological information. Numerous published host records from Peru involve this family (Bridwell, 1942; Kingsolver, 1968a, 1991; Johnson, 1990), and many specimen records involve species that are known to associate exclusively with this family (Johnson, 1968; Johnson et al., 1989; Kingsolver, 1968b, 1972; Kingsolver and Whitehead, 1974; Pierce, 1915). Other prominent associations in Peru involve the Convolvulaceae (Megacerus Fahraeus en Schoenherr, 1839; Teran and Kingsolver, 1992), and Arecaceae (Pachymerini; Nilsson and Johnson, 1993; Delobel et al., 1995). In addition, while no rearings from Malvaceae have been reported from Peru, at least one species known to associate exclusively with this family (e.g. Amblycerus simulator (Jacquelin-Duval,
Grounding Conversations on Sexuality and Asian Law

American legal literature sometimes perpetuates the misbelief that Asia is void of any protection of sexual orientation and gender identity rights.This view corresponds with flawed assumptions that Asia is a monolithic region more hostile than the West is to sexual orientation and gender identity minorities. In this imagination, Asia is defined in opposition to the West in a sharply contrasted binary. This Essay explains why these perceptions of Asia are erroneous and how they stifle productive discourse about law reform both in Asia and in the United States. This Essay seeks to inspire greater accuracy and nuance in conversations about sexuality and Asian law.
Decoupling interfacial reactions between plasmas and liquids: charge transfer vs plasma neutral reactions.

Plasmas (gas discharges) formed at the surface of liquids can promote a complex mixture of reactions in solution. Here, we decouple two classes of reactions, those initiated by electrons (electrolysis) and those initiated by gaseous neutral species, by examining an atmospheric-pressure microplasma formed in different ambients at the surface of aqueous saline (NaCl) solutions. Electrolytic reactions between plasma electrons and aqueous ions yield an excess of hydroxide ions (OH–), making the solution more basic, while reactions between reactive neutral species formed in the plasma phase and the solution lead to nitrous acid (HNO2), nitric acid (HNO3), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), making the solution more acidic. The relative importance of either reaction path is quantified by pH measurements, and we find that it depends directly on the composition of the ambient background gas. With a background gas of oxygen or argon, electron transfer reactions yielding excess OH– dominate, while HNO2 and HNO3 formed in...
Using fractal analysis to describe irregular microstructures

Some complex microstructures defy description in terms of Euclidean principles. Fractal geometry, however, can make numerical statements about any shape or collection of shapes, however irregular and chaotic they may seem. To better understand the potential of this method, the following presents examples of fractal analysis as applied to the characterization of metallographic images.
Mindfulness in an Authentic Transformative Everyday Zen

We may view the diversity of mindfulness methods, derived from Buddhism, as ranging along a continuum from those that assist people to reduce stress, address addictions and mental health issues, and increase a sense of well-being and effectiveness to those that attend to deeper concerns regarding the unsatisfactory nature of the human condition and seek significant transformation of a person’s experience of life. By identifying the common elements that appear in the original teachings of Buddhism and its various branches, we can recognize forms of mindfulness practice that focus on seeing through the illusion of a separate self, the Buddhist concept, the cause of human suffering. Hubert Benoit’s Zen writings and Charlotte Jōko Beck’s Ordinary Mind School of Zen applied these understandings and practices, which originally developed in monastic settings, in a manner that makes them relevant and accessible to the lives of ordinary people in the Western world. They emphasize the universality of illusory self-images and the value of developing mindful awareness of self-centered thoughts and the unpleasant bodily sensations that accompany threats to the self-image and how this practice may lead to an awakened, transformed experience of life as it emerges, moment by moment, without a separate self to defend.
Simultaneous transport of multiple biological cells by VCSEL array optical traps

We demonstrate the use of vertical cavity surface emitting laser arrays (VCSEL arrays) for simultaneous optical trapping, transport and active manipulation of live biological cells and microspheres, with impact on biochip array and assay technologies.
Studies in Experimental Eosinophilia. I. Repeated Quantitation of Peritoneal Eosinophilia in Guinea Pigs by a Method of Peritoneal Lavage

A method is described for studying peritoneal cosinophilia quantitatively in guinea pigs. With repeated lavaging of the peritoneal cavity, the total number of eosinophils accumulating locally each day can be precisely measured. This procedure can be repeated indefinitely in individual animals. Peritoneal eosinophilia was induced by prolonged series of weekly intraperitoneal injections of horse serum, Limulus hemocyanin or human serum albumin. The response was evident during the first three days following reinjection of foreign protein and ceased by the fourth to the twelfth day. The response was specific, occurring only after reinjection of the same protein used to prepare the animals. With continued injections, the magnitude of the eosinophil response became greater. While the total cell values attained varied considerably from animal to animal, the relative responsiveness of an individual guinea pig remained fairly consistent for months. In the bone marrow, an increased concentration of eosinophils was found in guinea pigs in which peritoneal eosinophilia could be elicited. In the blood stream, the reinjection of horse serum resulted in a biphasic response: there was an increase in the concentration of eosinophils during the first 12 hours and again at various times during the next seven days. Peritoneal exudates were obtained frequently in which as many as 40 per cent of the cells were eosinophils; such exudates commonly contained as many as 50 million eosinophils.
Cytogenetic mechanisms in the pathogenesis and progression of follicular lymphoma.

A summary of the clinically significant cytogenetic markers in follicular lymphoma is presented in Table 3. It is clear that the use of cytogenetic analysis to evaluate progression and transformation in follicular lymphoma is complicated by the variety and complexity of the chromosomal aberrations present in this disease. Cytogenetic and molecular studies have indicated that the t(14;18) translocation is the prerequisite of a multistep process in the lymphomagenesis of follicular lymphoma; it is usually followed by a long quiescent period during which the B cell population expands and additional oncogenic mutations occur leading to eventual progression and transformation to a highly malignant form. This process can be accomplished by a variety of pathways: Activation of other oncogenes by additional chromosomal rearrangements (e.g. MYC, LAZ3) Deletion and mutation of tumour suppressive genes (e.g. TP53, proposed genes on 6q) Gain of whole or parts of chromosomes, leading to increased expression of important regulating factors (e.g. MDR and T cell receptor genes on chromosome 7) More studies are required to determine which of these pathways, if any, is most important for neoplastic transformation.
Measurement of adrenal corticosteroids by high-performance liquid chromatography.

OBJECTIVE To develop a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for simultaneous measurement of adrenal corticosteroids important for the diagnosis of congenital adrenal hyperplasia. DESIGN Blind comparison using convenience samples. SETTING Research laboratory at the Department of Medical Technology, Bowling Green State University. PATIENTS Referred samples for cortisol, 11-deoxycortisol (S), and 17-hydroxyprogesterone (OHP). Stimulation condition unknown. INTERVENTION Venous blood collected, processed to serum, and frozen. Adrenal steroids measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA) and by HPLC. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Linearity, analytic sensitivity, accuracy, and precision were evaluated using recovery, coefficient of variation (c.v.), correlation coefficient (r), Student's t test, F test, and linear regression. RESULTS Calibration curves were linear to at least 50 mumol/L, and the low-end sensitivity was 10 nmol/L. Analytic recovery ranged from 89.8% to 103.9%. The CV was below 7.5% (n = 10) for all three steroids. Comparison to RIA yielded r values of 0.909 (n = 25), 0.932 (n = 10), and 0.983 (n = 10) for cortisol, S, and OHP, respectively. Student's t-test results were 1.13 (p = 0.27), 0.10 (p = 0.93), and 0.48 (p = 0.64) for cortisol, S, and OHP, respectively. F-test results were 1.14 (p = 0.75), 1.37 (p = 0.66), 2.39 (p = 0.21) for cortisol, S, and OHP, respectively. Results for cortisol showed a negative bias of 97.0 nmol/L (3 mug/dL). Linear regression analysis revealed proportional errors of -15.0% -7.0%, and +9.0%, for cortisol, S, and OHP, respectively. CONCLUSION (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Analyzing adaptation patterns

In Chapters 2–5, we saw that the extensive research on interaction adaptation patterns is replete with seemingly conflicting findings and that few unequivocal generalizations have emerged so far. In Chapters 6 and 7 we saw that part of the difficulty has been the mix of conceptual and operational definitions that have been employed. In this and the next two chapters, we consider the role that statistical analysis plays in confounding the picture. As will be apparent, conclusions about interaction adaptation patterns are tied to the type of statistical analysis procedure used. The problem is not that researchers have been using inappropriate methods but rather, they have often failed to recognize how their choice of analysis influenced conclusions about adaptation. Thus, studies using one method might find “reciprocity” while studies using another might find “compensation.” Instead of this being a case of contradictory findings, it may merely reflect two different methods – for example, use of a between–subjects versus within–subjects design. Our intent in reviewing statistical analysis alternatives, then, is not to identify which methods are inherently “better” but rather to distinguish different methods according to their objectives, the forms of measurement for which they are applicable, the restrictiveness of their assumptions, the kinds of estimates they supply, and so forth, so that results emanating from different analyses can be interpreted properly. That conclusions are linked to analysis choices is not a new idea. Several past investigations have compared methods in an effort to determine empirically how they differ.
Public Housing Transgression

Fraser and Oakley have provided a compelling review of the hazards of the current public housing transformation project. I really appreciate their critical read on both the policy framework and its...
Targeted Peripheral Nerve-directed Onabotulinumtoxin A Injection for Effective Long-term Therapy for Migraine Headache.

BACKGROUND Onabotulinumtoxin A (BOTOX) is an FDA-approved treatment for chronic migraine headaches (MHs) that involves on-label, high-dose administration across 31 anatomic sites. Anatomically specific peripheral nerve trigger sites have been identified that contribute to MH pathogenesis and are amenable to both BOTOX injection and surgical decompression. These sites do not always correlate with the on-label FDA-approved injection pattern, but represent a more targeted approach. The efficacy of peripheral nerve-directed BOTOX injection as an independent long-term therapeutic option has not been investigated. METHODS The technique for peripheral nerve-directed therapeutic long-term BOTOX injection is described. A retrospective review was subsequently completed for 223 patients with MH. Sixty-six patients elected to proceed with diagnostic BOTOX injections. Of these, 24 continued long-term therapeutic BOTOX injections, whereas 42 matriculated to surgery. Outcomes were tracked. RESULTS Initial outcomes included significant improvement in migraine headache index (MHI) (53.5 ± 83.0, P < 0.006), headache days/mo (9.2 ± 12.7, P < 0.0009), and migraine severity (2.6 ± 2.5, P < 0.00008) versus baseline. MHI improved from the initiation of diagnostic injections to the establishment of steady-state injections (P < 0.002), and further improved over time (P < 0.05, mean follow-up 615 days) with no desensitization observed. Decompressive surgery resulted in significant improvement in MHI (100.8 ± 109.7, P < 0.0000005), headache days/mo (10.8 ± 12.7, P < 0.000002), migraine severity (3.0 ± 3.8, P < 0.00001), and migraine duration in hours (16.8 ± 21.6, P < 0.0007). MHI improvement with surgery was better than long-term BOTOX injections (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Though inferior to surgical decompression, preliminary data demonstrate that targeted peripheral nerve-directed BOTOX injection is an effective primary therapy for MH representing a possible alternative to nondirected BOTOX injection with decreased dosage requirements and potentially decreased cost.
Maintenance of the HIV reservoir is antagonized by selective BCL2 inhibition

Decay of the HIV reservoir is slowed over time in part by expansion of the pool of HIV-infected cells. This expansion reflects homeostatic proliferation of infected cells by interleukin-7 (IL-7) or antigenic stimulation, as well as new rounds of infection of susceptible target cells. As novel therapies are being developed to accelerate the decay of the latent HIV reservoir, it will be important to identify interventions that prevent expansion and/or repopulation of the latent HIV reservoir. Our previous studies showed that HIV protease cleaves the host protein procaspase 8 to generate Casp8p41, which can bind and activate Bak to induce apoptosis of infected cells. In circumstances where expression of the anti-apoptotic protein BCL2 is high, Casp8p41 instead binds BCL2, and cell death does not occur. This effect can be overcome by treating cells with the clinically approved BCL2 antagonist venetoclax, which prevents Casp8p41 from binding BCL2, thereby allowing Casp8p41 to bind Bak and kill the infected cell. Here we assess whether the events that maintain the HIV reservoir are also antagonized by venetoclax. Using the J-Lat 10.6 model of persistent infection, we demonstrate that proliferation and HIV expression are countered by the use of venetoclax, which causes preferential killing of the HIV-expressing cells. Similarly, during new rounds of infection of primary CD4 T cells, venetoclax causes selective killing of HIV-infected cells, resulting in decreased numbers of HIV DNA-containing cells.IMPORTANCE Cure of HIV infection requires an intervention that reduces the HIV reservoir size. A variety of approaches are being tested for their ability to impact HIV reservoir size. Even if successful, however, these approaches will need to be combined with additional complementary approaches that prevent replenishment or repopulation of the HIV reservoir. Our previous studies have shown that the FDA-approved BCL2 antagonist venetoclax has a beneficial effect on the HIV reservoir size following HIV reactivation. Here we demonstrate that venetoclax also has a beneficial effect on HIV reservoir size in a model of homeostatic proliferation of HIV as well as in acute spreading infection of HIV in primary CD4 T cells. These results suggest that venetoclax, either alone or in combination with other approaches to reducing HIV reservoir size, is a compound worthy of further study for its effects on HIV reservoir size.
Synthesis and characterization of a high temperature thermosetting polyimide oligomer derived from a non-toxic, sustainable bisaniline

PMR-15 is a high temperature thermosetting polyimide oligomer widely used in aircraft engines, rocket casings, bushings, and bearings. Unfortunately, PMR-15 is prepared from the mutagenic and hepatotoxic compound methylene dianiline (MDA). To develop a safer alternative to PMR-15, an alternative thermosetting polyimide oligomer (PMR-PCy) was prepared from a less toxic bisaniline, 4,4′-methylenebis-(5-isopropyl-2-methylaniline) (CDA), derived from the renewable aromatic compound p-cymene. The thermoset network prepared from PMR-PCy had a glass transition temperature (Tg) of 323 °C as measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), good thermo-oxidative stability, and water uptake of only 3% after immersion in boiling water for 24 h. The Quantitative Structure Activity Relationship (QSAR)-predicted low toxicity of CDA was confirmed by in vitro testing for mutagenicity, acute toxicity, and aquatic toxicity. CDA was found to be non-mutagenic in the Ames test, had a predicted LD50 of 725 mg kg−1 in rats, and an EC50 of 299.3 mg L−1. These results suggest that CDA is not acutely toxic to humans and has minimal to no aquatic toxicity. The combination of exceptional material properties coupled with the low toxicity of CDA suggest that PMR-PCy may be a viable non-toxic replacement for PMR-15 in a variety of aerospace applications.
Mito e transfiguração em Órfãos do Eldorado, de Milton Hatoum

Drawing on Joao Loureiro’s characterization of the sfumato nature of Amazonian people, in which real and imaginary elements form a single experience, this paper analyzes the interconnection between myth and reality in Orfaos do Eldorado (2008), Milton Hatoum’s fourth novel. Understanding Amazonian culture to be imbued with impulses leading to both reason and enchantment, I argue that a transfiguration of the Eldorado myth occurs via its literary redefinition. This phenomenon emerges through dialogue with Constantine P. Cavafy’s poem, "Η Πολις" 'The City.' Departing from the common portrayal of the Eldorado myth as a search for riches, Hatoum refashions it to represent a search for love.
Derivative-free Kalman filtering-based control of prosthetic legs

A derivative-free method for state estimation-based control of a robot/prosthesis system is presented. The system is the combination of a test robot that emulates human hip and thigh motion, and a powered transfemoral prosthetic leg. The robot/prosthesis combination is modeled as a three degree-of-freedom (DOF) robot: vertical hip displacement, thigh angle, and knee angle. We develop a derivative-free Kalman filter (DKF) for state estimation-based control for an n-DOF robotic system. We then propose a method to make the DKF robust when the robot dynamics include disturbances. In the robust DKF, we use two different methods for disturbance rejection: PD and PI. These disturbance compensators are used for supervisory control to make the DKF robust in the presence of disturbances. The simulation results show the advantages of the DKF and the robust DKF for the three-DOF robot/prosthesis system for state estimation-based control.
Connecting brawn, brains, and people: an exploration of non-traditional outcomes of youth stewardship programs

AbstractPrograms in which youth work collectively on an environmental stewardship project may provide social learning opportunities that support social-ecological system resilience and the development of social ties. However, few empirical investigations document the social learning processes that actually occur in these programs. This paper presents a multi-case study ethnography of six summer youth civic ecology education programs. Methods included participant observation, interviews, and group mind-mapping. The results suggest that programs offered moderate social learning contexts, with participants having little say over the direction and design of the program’s environmental stewardship goals. Nevertheless, participants worked together and collaborated on projects led by program leaders, with whom they developed strong ties. In programs focused on a single issue in one place, participants shifted their conceptual frames to include locally relevant concepts. While participants did not form strong tie...
Modelling and compensation for language mismatch in speaker verification

Abstract Language mismatch represents one of the more difficult challenges in achieving effective speaker verification in naturalistic audio streams. The portion of bi-lingual speakers worldwide continues to grow making speaker verification for speech technology more difficult. In this study, three specific methods are proposed to address this issue. Experiments are conducted on the PRISM (Promoting Robustness in Speaker Modeling) evaluation-set. We first show that adding small amounts of multi-lingual seed data to the Probabilistic Linear Discriminant Analysis (PLDA) development set, leads to a significant relative improvement of +17.96% in system Equal Error Rate (EER). Second, we compute the eigendirections that represent the distribution of multi-lingual data added to PLDA. We show that by adding these new eigendirections as part of the Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), and then minimizing them to directly compensate for language mismatch, further performance gains for speaker verification are achieved. By combining both multi-lingual PLDA and this minimization step with the new set of eigendirections, we obtain a +26.03% relative improvement in EER. In practical scenarios, it is highly unlikely that multi-lingual seed data representing the languages present in the test-set would be available. Hence, in the third phase, we address such scenarios, by proposing a method for Locally Weighted Linear Discriminant Analysis (LWLDA). In this third method, we reformulate the LDA equations to incorporate a local affine transform that weighs the same speaker samples. This method effectively preserves the local intrinsic information represented by the multimodal structure of the within-speaker scatter matrix, thereby helping to improve the class discriminating ability of LDA. It also helps in extending the ability of LDA to transform the speaker i-Vectors to dimensions that are greater than the total number of speaker classes. Using LWLDA, a relative improvement of +8.54% is obtained in system EER. LWLDA provides even more gain when multi-lingual seed data is available, and improves the system peformance by relative +26.03% in terms of EER. We also compare LWLDA to the recently proposed Nearest Neighbor Non-Parametric Discriminant Analysis (NDA). We show that not only is LWLDA better than NDA in terms of system performance but is also computationally less expensive. Comparative studies on DARPA Robust Automatic Transcription of Speech (RATS) corpus also show that LWLDA consistently outperforms NDA and LDA on different evaluation conditions. Our solutions offer new directions for addressing a challenging problem which has received limited attention in the speaker recognition community.
Combining Engineered Nucleases with Adeno-associated Viral Vectors for Therapeutic Gene Editing

With the recent advent of several generations of targeted DNA nucleases, most recently CRISPR/Cas9, genome editing has become broadly accessible across the biomedical community. Importantly, the capacity of these nucleases to modify specific genomic loci associated with human disease could render new classes of genetic disease, including autosomal dominant or even idiopathic disease, accessible to gene therapy. In parallel, the emergence of adeno-associated virus (AAV) as a clinically important vector raises the possibility of integrating these two technologies towards the development of gene editing therapies. Though clear challenges exist, numerous proof-of-concept studies in preclinical models offer exciting promise for the future of gene therapy.
Discovery of new A- and B-type laxaphycins with synergistic anticancer activity.

Abstract Two new cyclic lipopeptides termed laxaphycins B4 (1) and A2 (2) were discovered from a collection of the marine cyanobacterium Hormothamnion enteromorphoides, along with the known compound laxaphycin A. The planar structures were solved based on a combined interpretation of 1D and 2D NMR data and mass spectral data. The absolute configurations of the subunits were determined by chiral LC-MS analysis of the hydrolysates, advanced Marfey’s analysis and 1D and 2D ROESY experiments. Consistent with similar findings on other laxaphycin A- and B-type peptides, laxaphycin B4 (1) showed antiproliferative effects against human colon cancer HCT116 cells with IC50 of 1.7 µM, while laxaphycins A and A2 (2) exhibited weak activities. The two major compounds isolated from the sample, laxaphycins A and B4, were shown to act synergistically to inhibit the growth of HCT116 colorectal cancer cells.
Evaluation of the Nutrient Guide as a dietary assessment tool.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity of the Nutrient Guide as a quantitative estimate of dietary adequacy. Using 24-hour dietary recalls of 300 men, food group and overall diet scores based on the Nutrient Guide were compared with nutrient adequacy ratios for eight nutrients and a mean adequacy ratio derived from nutrient analysis. Caloric, fat, and sodium intakes estimated using Nutrient Guide ratings were also compared with nutrient analysis estimates. Correlations between food group scores and nutrient adequacy ratios were all positive and significant. Regression analyses revealed a strong linear relationship between caloric, fat, and sodium intakes estimated by the two methods and a curvilinear relationship between mean adequacy ratio and total diet score. These results suggest thatthe Nutrient Guide can be used to provide a reasonable estimate of adequacy for the nutrients upon which the guide is currently based. Food group and total diet scores in either the upper or lower ends of the score ranges seemed to be better predictors of individual nutrient or overall dietary adequacy than did mid-range scores, which slightly underestimated dietary adequacy of the selected nutrients.
In the National Interest: The College and University in the United States in the Post-World War II Era

By the mid-1940s, US higher education had shown its ability to engage in national interests in the effort to win World War II. National reports affirmed that ability and highlighted higher education’s capacity to educate the nation’s citizens and produce important knowledge. Over the next 60 years, enrollments expanded at unprecedented rates, while colleges and especially universities committed to the conduct of research increasingly funded by the federal government. By the early 1970s, higher education occupied a central role in the nation, offering opportunity for advancement for diverse groups and serving as a focal point for research activities. Although enrollments became more diverse, institutional patterns and national interests in sustaining a competitive stance in the global economy reinforced traditional opportunities, while the need for applied research took increasing precedence over basic research. By the early 2000s, neoliberal conceptions of higher education held sway.
COMPUTER IDENTIFICATION OF BACTERIA BY COLONY MORPHOLOGY

Abstract Species of bacteria important in medical diagnosis, public health surveys, industrial applications, and biological research can often be identified by the appearance of colonies they form when growing on solid agar. Colonies are located and counted automatically by flying spot scanner examination of photographs. Measurements of colony diameter and optical density profiles on colony diameters permit identification that is better than 90% correct for eight strains already characterized. Extending the library to 50 strains with accuracies exceeding 90% seems quite feasible.
Preliminary Evaluation of Null-Space Dynamic Process Model Identification with Application to Cooperative Navigation of Underwater Vehicles

This paper reports a method and preliminary evaluation of a novel null-space least-squares parameter identification method for a fully nonlinear second -order 6-degree-of-freedom (DOF) dynamic process model of an underactuated underwater vehicle (UV) for which both the model parameters and the control-input parameters are unknown. This paper further reports the application of the identified plant models in combined underwater communication and navigation (cooper-ative navigation) of UVs. We report an approach to model identification that simultaneously identifies 6-DOF UV nonlinear plant-model parameters, control-surface parameters, and thruster-model parameters. We believe this approach is suitable for identifying plant model parameters from data obtained in full-scale experimental trials of UVs in controlled motion. The reported approach to nonlinear model identification of UVs is evaluated in simulation studies. The resulting identified UV plant models are further evaluated in simulated cooperative navigation missions of the UV that are representative of high-precision survey missions. To the best of our knowledge, this paper reports the first method to identify 6-DOF UV model parameters, control-surface parameters, and thruster-model parameters simultaneously.
An intensive swallowing exercise protocol for improving swallowing physiology in older adults with radiographically confirmed dysphagia

Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate improvements in swallowing function and physiology in a series of healthy older adults with radiographically confirmed dysphagia, following completion of an exercise-based swallowing intervention.