cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
De Novo Asymmetric Syntheses of d- and l-Talose via an Iterative Dihydroxylation of Dienoates

In response to the growing importance carbohydrate structures play in biology,1 considerable efforts have been made to develop new synthetic routes to monosaccharides. This need in particular is driven by medicinal chemist’s desire for unnatural sugar analogues for structure activity relationship studies. For the unnatural sugars in particular, there has been a growing interest in preparing these carbohydrates from achiral starting material using enantioselective catalysis to set the asymmetry (de novo synthesis). This interest in de novo approach to the hexoses goes back to the seminal work of Sharpless and Masamune.2 More recently this challenge has been taken up by McMillan (iterative aldol strategy)3 and us (both an Achmatowicz4 and an iterative dihydroxylation strategy5,6). In contrast to the diastereoselective aldol approach to hexoses of McMillan and others, we investigated the possibility of using a diastereoselective osmium-catalyzed dihydroxylation approach to the hexoses (Scheme 1). These efforts resulted in our recently reported synthesis of galacto-sugars from simple achiral precursors with complete stereocontrol.5 Our optimized procedure affords either D-galacto-γ-lactone (conditions a, Scheme 1) or L-galacto-γ-lactone (conditions b, Scheme 1) in three steps.7,8 Alternatively, racemic galacto-γ-lactone (conditions c, Scheme 1) can be prepared in only one step. Key to the success of these transformations is the in situ lactonization of the initially formed tetraol products. The in situ lactonization along with peracylation significantly aid in isolation of the galacto-lactones 2. Scheme 1 1 to 3-step stereoselective synthesis of galacto-γ-lactone Herein, we present the expansion this iterative dihydroxylation strategy to the talo-γ-lactones using the Sharpless dihydroxylation for enantiocontrol.9 These studies resulted in a three-step synthesis of talo-γ-lactones, which are amenable to various C-6 substituents.
Identification of human T cells that require zinc for growth

Zinc is an essential trace element required for normal function of the immune system. Deficiency of zinc results in marked thymic atrophy in experimental animals, and in man immunodeficiency is a recognized complication of zinc deprivation. Although numerous proteins require zinc as a cofactor, its precise functions in the immune system remain unknown. The mechanism by which metals stimulate lymphocytes, whether all T cells are responsive, and the relationship to zinc requirements have not been determined. We unexpectedly isolated a number of human T-cell lines that have a highly specific requirement for zinc. The ability to respond to zinc resides in only a subset of T cells since antigen-specific clones are not stimulated by zinc. Although proliferation requires the presence of antigen-presenting cells and is restricted by class II MHC antigens, antigen-presenting cells could not be pulsed with zinc to induce T-cell activation. Our results suggest that zinc-dependent T cells are a subset of CD4+ cells present in all normal individuals and that zinc stimulates their growth by novel mechanisms.
Variability of Placental Expression of Cyclin E Low Molecular Weight Variants

Cyclin E, a G1 cyclin serving to activate cyclin-dependent kinase 2, is the only cyclin gene for which alternative splicing leading to structurally different proteins has been described. Different cyclin E proteins are present in tumor tissues but absent from normal (steady) tissues. Cyclin E contributes to the regulation of cell proliferation and ongoing differentiation and aging. Because trophoblast has invasive properties and differentiates into syncytium and placental aging may develop at term, we examined cyclin E protein variants in human placenta. Placental samples were collected from 27 deliveries between 33 and 41 wk and were compared with ovarian cancer (positive control). Both placental and tumor tissues showed seven cyclin E low molecular weight (LMW) bands migrating between 50 and 36 kDa. Placental expression of cyclin E showed certain variability among cases. Lowest cyclin E expression was detected in normal placentas (strong expression of Thy-1 differentiation protein in villous core and low dilatation of villous blood sinusoids). Abnormal placentas (significant depletion of Thy-1 and more or less pronounced dilatation of sinusoids) showed significant increase either of all (early stages of placental aging) or only certain cyclin E proteins (advanced aging). Our studies indicate that a similar spectrum of cyclin E protein variants is expressed in the placental and tumor tissues. Low cyclin E expression in normal placentas suggests a steady state. Overexpression of all cyclin E proteins may indicate an activation of cellular proliferation and differentiation to compensate for developing placental insufficiency. However, an enhanced expression of some cyclin E LMW proteins only might reflect an association of cyclin E isoforms with placental aging or an inefficient placental adaptation. developmental biology, placenta, pregnancy, trophoblast
Prostanoids stimulate K secretion and Cl secretion in guinea pig distal colon via distinct pathways.

Short-circuit current (I(sc)) and transepithelial conductance (Gt) were measured in guinea pig distal colonic mucosa isolated from submucosa and underlying muscle layers. Indomethacin (2 microM) and NS-398 (2 microM) were added to suppress endogenous production of prostanoids. Serosal addition of PGE2 (10 nM) stimulated negative I(sc) consistent with K secretion, and concentrations >30 nM stimulated positive I(sc) consistent with Cl secretion. PGE2 also stimulated Gt at low and high concentrations. Dose responses to prostanoids specific for EP prostanoid receptors were consistent with stimulating K secretion through EP2 receptors, based on a rank order potency (from EC50 values) of PGE2 (1.9 nM) > 11-deoxy-PGE1 (8.3 nM) > 19(R)-hydroxy-PGE2 (13.9 nM) > butaprost (67 nM) > 17-phenyl-trinor-PGE2 (307 nM) >> sulprostone (>10 microM). An isoprostane, 8-iso-PGE2, stimulated K secretion with an EC50 of 33 nM. Cl secretory response was stimulated by PGD2 and BW-245C, a DP prostanoid receptor-specific agonist: BW-245C (15 nM) > PGD2 (30 nM) > PGE2 (203 nM). Agonists specific for FP, IP, and TP prostanoid receptors were ineffective in stimulating I(sc) and Gt at concentrations 100 nM) that could occur during inflammatory conditions.
Destructive single-event effects in semiconductor devices and ICs

Developments in the field of destructive single-event effects over the last 40 years are reviewed. Single-event latchup, single-event burnout, single-event gate rupture, and single-event snap-back are discussed beginning with the first observation of each effect, its phenomenology, and the development of present day understanding of the mechanisms involved.
A generalized system for university mathematics instruction

EXCHECK is a system for developing mathematically-based CAI courses. It is currently being used at Stanford University to teach a college-credit course in axiomatic set theoryThe design of this system had several goals. First, we wanted an instructional system that would provide a semantic base for our work on processing natural language and computer-generated audio. Axiomatic mathematics fits this description in that the underlying semantics is relatively well understood, but many of the interesting problems of natural language are also involved in the informal language of mathematics and the informal expression of mathematical proofs.Second, we recognized that traditional proof checkers were inadequate for teaching mathematics, or for that matter, introductory logic. People understand mathematical concepts and arguments at a level much higher than the traditional formal systems of mathematical logic.Finally, we designed the EXCHECK system to be an extensible system in which other curricula could be implemented with incrementally less work.
Feminist Theory and Jewish Studies

This article examines the history of the relationship between feminist theory and Jewish studies; it considers feminist theory's role as a transformational force in Jewish studies. Feminist theory is an approach to Jewish studies that problematizes subjectivity and posits that identities are multiple, shifting, and frequently constructed through social discourses and practices. Feminist theory pays special attention to the complicated intersections between masculinist privilege and the institution of heterosexuality as the normative social relation defining family, community, and national identifications as well as designations of Jews, Jewishness, and Judaism even as it pays attention to other forms of social power including race, ethnicity, and class.
The Fallacy of a “Task-Negative” Network

In a neuroimaging study of goal-directed cognition, brain activity will be significantly greater than baseline in a frontoparietal “task-positive” network (TPN). Further, a number of regions will be deactivated in the cinguloparietal “task-negative” network (TNN), or default network. Although this generic statement characterizes many findings in cognitive neuroscience, these network labels are imprecise at best, and also transmit a profound misconception about the functional role of the default network in cognition. The dichotomization of “task-positive” and “task-negative” functional networks perpetuates the notion that the default network is not engaged in active cognitive processes. On the contrary, recent studies challenge this circumscribed view, demonstrating that: (1) the TPN comprises at least two functionally and anatomically distinct networks that play very different roles in cognition; and (2) the TNN (i.e., the default network) is not “task-negative” per se, but rather, is often engaged during goal-directed cognition, depending on the nature of the task. Further, (3) recent work demonstrates that components of these networks flexibly interact with one another based on task demands. These interactions raise important questions with respect to the role of the default network in goal-directed cognition and challenge the veracity and utility of a “TPN vs. TNN” distinction.
Mercury Resistance in Bacillus cereus RC607: Transcriptional Organization and Two New Open Reading Frames

The chromosomal mercury resistance determinant of Bacillus cereus RC607 confers resistance to inorganic mercury and to organomercurials. The order of genes in the completed mercury resistance determinant is operator-promoter 1 (O/P1) merR1 merT open reading frame 3 (ORF3) ORF4 merA O/P2 merR2 merB2 merB1. The previously undetermined 1-kb DNA sequence between the merA and merB1 genes includes two significant ORFs, whose predicted protein products are homologous with MerR (the transcriptional regulator) and MerB (the organomercurial lyase enzyme). Two transcriptional start sites (promoters), O/P1 at the beginning of the determinant and O/P2 immediately upstream of the sixth ORF, the newly identified merR2, were mapped by reverse transcriptase (RT) primer extension. A long 6.3-kb mRNA traversing all eight ORFs was shown by RT-PCR. Growth sensitivity measurements in liquid media and cellular mercury volatization assays characterized inducibility and differences in functional activity in B. cereus RC607 and after cloning of the mer determinant into plasmids in Escherichia coli.
Introduction to 'Wild Life: The Institution of Nature'

Wild Life documents a nuanced understanding of the wild versus captive divide in species conservation. It also documents the emerging understanding that all forms of wild nature — both in situ (on-site) and ex situ (in captivity) — may need to be managed in perpetuity. Providing a unique window into the high-stakes world of nature conservation, Irus Braverman describes the heroic efforts by conservationists to save wild life. Yet in the shadows of such dedication and persistence in saving the life of species, Wild Life also finds sacrifice and death. Such life and death stories outline the modern struggle to define what conservation should look like at a time when the long-established definitions of nature have collapsed.Wild Life begins with the plight of a tiny endangered snail, and ends with the rehabilitation of an entire island. Interwoven between its pages are stories about golden lion tamarins in Brazil, black-footed ferrets in the American Plains, Sumatran rhinos in Indonesia, Tasmanian devils in Australia, and many more creatures both human and nonhuman. Braverman draws on interviews with more than one hundred and twenty conservation biologists, zoologists, zoo professionals, government officials, and wildlife managers to explore the various perspectives on in situ and ex situ conservation and the blurring of the lines between them.
Patrol strategies to maximize pristine forest area

Illegal extraction of forest resources is fought, in many developing countries, by patrols that try to make this activity less profitable, using the threat of confiscation.With a limited budget, officials will try to distribute the patrols throughout the forest intelligently, in order to most effectively limit extraction. Prior work in forest economics has formalized this as a Stackelberg game, one very different in character from the discrete Stackelberg problem settings previously studied in the multiagent literature. Specifically, the leader wishes to minimize the distance by which a profit-maximizing extractor will trespass into the forest-or to maximize the radius of the remaining "pristine" forest area. The follower's cost-benefit analysis of potential trespass distances is affected by the likelihood of being caught and suffering confiscation. In this paper, we give a near-optimal patrol allocation algorithm and a 1/2-approximation algorithm, the latter of which is more efficient and yields simpler, more practical patrol allocations. Our simulations indicate that these algorithms substantially outperform existing heuristic allocations.
Continental smokers couple mantle degassing and distinctive microbiology within continents

Abstract The discovery of oceanic black (and white) smokers revolutionized our understanding of mid-ocean ridges and led to the recognition of new organisms and ecosystems. Continental smokers, defined here to include a broad range of carbonic springs, hot springs, and fumaroles that vent mantle-derived fluids in continental settings, exhibit many of the same processes of heat and mass transfer and ecosystem niche differentiation. Helium isotope (3He/4He) analyses indicate that widespread mantle degassing is taking place in the western U.S.A., and that variations in mantle helium values correlate best with low seismic-velocity domains in the mantle and lateral contrasts in mantle velocity rather than crustal parameters such as GPS, proximity to volcanoes, crustal velocity, or composition. Microbial community analyses indicate that these springs can host novel microorganisms. A targeted analysis of four springs in New Mexico yield the first published occurrence of chemolithoautotrophic Zetaproteobacteria in a continental setting. These observations lead to two linked hypotheses: that mantle-derived volatiles transit through conduits in extending continental lithosphere preferentially above and at the edges of mantle low velocity domains. High CO2 and other constituents ultimately derived from mantle volatiles drive water–rock interactions and heterogeneous fluid mixing that help structure diverse and distinctive microbial communities.
Introduction: The WIPO Development Agenda and Its Development Policy Context

Do broad, universal intellectual property rights bring the benefits of innovation, creativity, technical know-how, and foreign investment to developing countries? Or do treaties that require developing countries to grant greater intellectual property protection actually stifle development and impede access to the knowledge and essential medicines that the world's poor so desperately need? The debate over such questions has raged for decades, among scholars and diplomats, lawmakers and policy makers, nongovernmental organizations and international agencies, IP industries and development policy analysts. The Development Agenda is the fruition of developing countries' most recent campaign to ensure that the intellectual property treaty regime empowers developing countries to tailor their intellectual property laws as they deem necessary to promote development and serve the welfare of their citizens. The Agenda's adoption by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in September 2007 is an historic watershed for that UN agency, which has long viewed its mandate as the promotion of greater intellectual property rights throughout the world. Yet despite its powerful symbolic message, the full extent of the Development Agenda's actual impact on the ground, both within WIPO and without, remains to be seen. This book examines the Development Agenda and the broader issues it raises. Our contributors include leading scholars from various disciplines, including economics, political science, and law, and from countries at various stages of development, including China, India, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Nigeria, Egypt, and Israel, in addition to the US, Canada, and EU. They also include experts from NGO-think tanks, UNCTAD, and two Brazilian diplomats who stood at the forefront of advocating for the Development Agenda's adoption at WIPO. My introduction places the WIPO Development Agenda in the context of evolving development policy generally, discusses the Agenda's principal provisions, and summarizes the varied contributions to the book.
Identifying Moral Hazard: A Natural Experiment in Major League Baseball

In baseball, allowing a designated hitter (DH) to bat for the pitcher creates the potential for moral hazard among pitchers, who may then hit more batters without the fear of retaliation by the opposing team. The use of the DH in only one of Major League Baseball's two leagues provides a natural experiment to test for the existence moral hazard in a controlled setting. We develop a new micro-level dataset of individual plate appearances, which allows us to control for detailed cost-benefit attributes that affect the decision calculus of the pitcher. We find that moral hazard explains 60 to 80 percent of the difference in hit batsmen between leagues and find evidence of direct retaliation against plunking pitchers.
PSS143 - Measurement of Cellular Energetics Under Different Oxygen Tensions

Conclusions The advancement of high-throughput techniques to measure cellular bioenergetics has increased our capacity to understand the mechanisms by which metabolism integrates with cell phenotype and function. Cells are typically cultured and assayed under normoxic conditions (i.e., 21% O2), which could pose a problem, as cells function under much lower oxygen tensions in vivo. Therefore, to understand how metabolism may contribute to cell phenotype and responses to stress, it is important to have the capacity to model this scenario as closely as possible. In this study, we standardized methodology to measure cellular bioenergetics under different oxygen tensions. An XF24 analyzer (Seahorse Biosciences) was placed inside a SCI-tive-N hypoxia workstation (Ruskinn Technology), and mitochondrial function of cells of cardiac origin were measured. The workflow involved a 6 h “degassing” period in the hypoxia workstation followed by measurement of the oxygen consumption and extracellular acidification rates using the XF analyzer. The oxygen tension recorded by the XF analyzer of the chamber was corrected under conditions of hypoxia by injecting sodium sulfite into chosen wells of the XF plate. Using a hypoxia software recalculator, correct oxygen consumption rates were obtained for cellular environments with as low as 3% O2. This methodology could be important for understanding how cellular bioenergetics under different oxygen tensions contributes to changes in cell phenotype or responses to stress. +
Exclusion of small terminase mediated DNA threading models for genome packaging in bacteriophage T4

Tailed bacteriophages and herpes viruses use powerful molecular machines to package their genomes. The packaging machine consists of three components: portal, motor (large terminase; TerL) and regulator (small terminase; TerS). Portal, a dodecamer, and motor, a pentamer, form two concentric rings at the special five-fold vertex of the icosahedral capsid. Powered by ATPase, the motor ratchets DNA into the capsid through the portal channel. TerS is essential for packaging, particularly for genome recognition, but its mechanism is unknown and controversial. Structures of gear-shaped TerS rings inspired models that invoke DNA threading through the central channel. Here, we report that mutations of basic residues that line phage T4 TerS (gp16) channel do not disrupt DNA binding. Even deletion of the entire channel helix retained DNA binding and produced progeny phage in vivo On the other hand, large oligomers of TerS (11-mers/12-mers), but not small oligomers (trimers to hexamers), bind DNA. These results suggest that TerS oligomerization creates a large outer surface, which, but not the interior of the channel, is critical for function, probably to wrap viral genome around the ring during packaging initiation. Hence, models involving TerS-mediated DNA threading may be excluded as an essential mechanism for viral genome packaging.
Continuous negative abdominal pressure device to treat pseudotumor cerebri

OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of an externally applied negative abdominal pressure device designed to lower the effects of intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) on headaches and pulsatile tinnitus in severely obese women with pseudotumor cerebri (PTC). DESIGN: Short-term clinical intervention trial in the Clinical Research Center. Days 1 and 3 were ‘control’ days; on days 2 and 4–6 patients were in the device from 8:00 am to noon and from 1:00 to 5:00 pm, and on nights 7–11 they were in the device from 10:00 pm to 8:00 am. The last four patients were treated in a device with a counter-traction mechanism. SUBJECTS: Seven centrally obese women with PTC. MEASUREMENTS: Headache and pulsatile tinnitus severity were graded by the patient using visual analog scale (1–10) and averaged for the time that the device was in use or not in use. IAP was estimated from urinary bladder pressure (UBP) before and during device use. The internal jugular vein (IJV) elliptical cross-sectional area was measured with B-mode ultrasonography; the timed average velocity was measured by Doppler. RESULTS: There was a decrease in both headache (6.8±0.8 to 4.2±0.8, P<0.05) and pulsatile tinnitus (4.2±0.5 to 1.8±0.5, P<0.02) within 5 min, and in headache (to 2.2±0.8, P<0.01) and tinnitus (to 1.7±0.5, P<0.01) within 1 h of device activation. UBP decreased (P<0.001) from 19.1±3 to 12.5±2.8 cmH2O. Headache remained improved throughout time that the device was used. During the second week, five of seven patients slept in the device without difficulty and four awoke without headache. There was a progressive decrease (P<0.01) in headache during the day after sleeping in the device at night as compared with days 1 and 3 when it was not used (6.5±0.5, day 1; 4.1±0.7, day 3; 3.1±0.8, day 8; 2.3±0.8, day 10). Headaches returned late in the afternoon in two patients; the device was reactivated and headache again improved. Five patients underwent IJV sonography; the IJV area decreased (129±53 to 100±44 mm2, P=0.06) without a change in IJV flow (1004±802 to 1000±589 ml/min) with the device. When activated, the device was pulled into the patient, creating discomfort that was alleviated with the counter-traction mechanism in the last four patients. One patient developed a 5 cm area of blisters that resolved when the device was worn over a hospital gown. CONCLUSIONS: Decreasing IAP relieved headaches and pulsatile tinnitus in PTC. When patients slept in the device, they awoke without headache or tinnitus, which remained markedly improved throughout most of the following day. This study supports the hypothesis that PTC in obese women is secondary to an increased IAP. International Journal of Obesity (2001) 25, 486–490
Detailed Placement Algorithm for VLSI Design With Double-Row Height Standard Cells

Conventional detailed placement algorithms typically assume all standard cells in the design have the same height. However, as the complexity and design requirement increase in modern very large-scale integration design, designs with mixed single-row height and double-row height standard cells come into existence in order to address the emerging standard cell design challenges. A detailed placement algorithm without considering these double-row height cells will either have to deal with a lot of movable macros or waste a significant amount of placement area, depending on what type of techniques people use to accommodate such design. This paper proposes a new placement approach which can handle designs with any number of double-row height standard cells. We transform design with mixed-height standard cells into one which only contains same height standard cells by pairing up single-row height cells into double-row height. Then conventional detailed placement algorithms can be applied. In particular, we generate cell pair candidates by formulating a maximum weighted matching problem. A subset of the cell pair candidates are then carefully selected to form double-row height cells based on the local bin density. A refinement procedure is performed at the end to further improve our placement quality. We compare our approach with two alternative detailed placement methods on mixed-height asynchronous and synchronous designs. The experimental results show that our approach can achieve much better quality and robustness.
Pre-evaluation of Occupational Hazards in a Construction Project of Wind Turbine Generator

[Objective]To identify and analyze possible occupational hazard factors and their damage degree in this construction project,evaluate its feasibility on occupational disease prevention,and provide necessary countermeasures and advices for the preliminary design of this construction project.[Methods]Analogy combined with checklist method was adopted to identify and analyze.[Results]The location,general layout,production process layout,the arrangement of auxiliary rooms and protecting facilities for occupational hazard factors of this construction project accorded with the requirements.The emergency rescue,occupational health management and individual protective articles should be improved.The main occupational hazard factors of the project were noise,benzene,toluene,dimethylbenzene,welding fume,manganese and its inorganic compound,grinding wheel dust,tin dioxide and copper fume.The results of analogy showed that the C-TWA and C-STEL of benzene,toluene,welding fume,manganese and its inorganic compound,tin dioxide,copper fume and other dusts didn't exceed the occupational exposure limit.Among noise exposure posts,the 8h equivalent sound pressure level of motor test,buffing,air cleaning and shrink fit exceed the occupational exposure limit.[Conclusion]If construction unit implements the protective measures and advices of occupational hazard factors,which were suggested by this paper,the occupational hazard factors of this construction project can be prevented and controlled.
Patrick Branwell Brontë, [‘A Letter to William Wordsworth’] (1837), in The Shakespeare Head Brontë, vol. i, pp. 151–2

sir, — I most earnestly entreat you to read and pass your judgment upon what I have sent you, because from the day of my birth to this the nineteenth [twentieth?] year of my life I have lived among secluded hills, where I could neither know what I was or what I could do. I read for the same reason that I ate or drank, because it was a real craving of nature. I wrote on the same principle as I spoke — out of the impulse and feelings of the mind; nor could I help it, for what came, came out, and there was the end of it. For as to self-conceit, that could not receive food from flattery, since to this hour not half-a-dozen people in the world know that I have ever penned a line.
Twilight of the political? On the ideological disarray of French politics

As historians know, it is to France that we owe the distinction between the ‘left’ and the ‘right’, the conceptual binary upon which modern politics is founded. So central has this language been to...
Engaging Fathers in the Promotion of Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors

Parental engagement is an important component in lifestyle behavior change interventions for children as parents are uniquely positioned to establish a healthy environment and model healthy eating and physical activity habits for their children. Despite both mothers and fathers being important agents of behavioral change for their children, fathers are typically underrepresented in programming interventions. Physical activity may be an important strategy for fathers to become involved in lifestyle change with their children as, compared to mothers, fathers traditionally tend to be comfortable engaging in physical activity with their children.
Comparison of wildfire smoke estimation methods and associations with cardiopulmonary-related hospital admissions

Climate forecasts predict an increase in frequency and intensity of wildfires. Associations between health outcomes and population exposure to smoke from Washington 2012 wildfires were compared using surface monitors, chemical-weather models, and a novel method blending three exposure information sources. The association between smoke particulate matter ≤2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5) and cardiopulmonary hospital admissions occurring in Washington from 1 July to 31 October 2012 was evaluated using a time-stratified case-crossover design. Hospital admissions aggregated by ZIP code were linked with population-weighted daily average concentrations of smoke PM2.5 estimated using three distinct methods: a simulation with the Weather Research and Forecasting with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) model, a kriged interpolation of PM2.5 measurements from surface monitors, and a geographically weighted ridge regression (GWR) that blended inputs from WRF-Chem, satellite observations of aerosol optical depth, and kriged PM2.5. A 10 μg/m3 increase in GWR smoke PM2.5 was associated with an 8% increased risk in asthma-related hospital admissions (odds ratio (OR): 1.076, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.019-1.136); other smoke estimation methods yielded similar results. However, point estimates for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) differed by smoke PM2.5 exposure method: a 10 μg/m3 increase using GWR was significantly associated with increased risk of COPD (OR: 1.084, 95%CI: 1.026-1.145) and not significant using WRF-Chem (OR: 0.986, 95%CI: 0.931-1.045). The magnitude (OR) and uncertainty (95%CI) of associations between smoke PM2.5 and hospital admissions were dependent on estimation method used and outcome evaluated. Choice of smoke exposure estimation method used can impact the overall conclusion of the study.
Relationship of mobile geo-location with PII and behavioral attributes

Mobility is a key element to one's individual freedom and survival. With the rising influence of mobile device accessibility, the Earth is going wireless. The users of the mobile devices are dependent on the native or third party applications to perform their routine activities such as banking, shopping, navigation, reservations, online payments. While the apps have improved the lifestyles of the users, many of the end-users are incognizant about the data that the applications collect from their devices. The data accumulated by the applications may range from photos to videos, emails to remainders, and contacts to locations [1]. In this report, we investigate the relationship between the sensitive data attributes which are gathered up from the various mobile applications and demonstrate the relationship of this data with the Geo-location. In addition, we discuss about the Personally Identifiable Information(PII) such as person's name, birth-date, age, gender, address, area zip code, phone number and also the behavioral information for example medical information, online posts, username, employment details and friends list along with the geo-location in the dynamic application analysis. The paper also presents and discuss the information on data sharing by mobile apps with third party domain/s.
Factors Affecting Student Time to Examination Completion

Objective. To investigate factors (prior or current knowledge, metacognitive accuracy, and personality) that might impact the time it takes students to complete an examination.Methods. On the final...
Smart Lighting Control Systems

In this chapter , we turn our attention to another subsystem in an intelligent building, the illumination (or lighting) system. While traditional lighting systems were designed to provide illumination for the occupants of the building, with the advent of light-emitting diode (LED) technology, lighting systems are now far more sophisticated and responsive to the needs of the occupants. In this chapter, we first present a broad overview of modeling and control strategies for smart and autonomous lighting systems. One of the key challenges in development of lighting control strategies is the lack of standardized test scenarios, benchmarking, and the wide diversity of available hardware. To highlight this, we will describe and compare four lighting control algorithms that are applicable for different lighting scenarios and compare and contrast them. We also demonstrate and benchmark these algorithms on a full-scale testbed (a conference room). Finally, we present a decision tree to guide the reader on the choice of a suitable lighting control scheme.
Polycomb group (PcG) proteins and Pax6 cooperate to inhibit in vivo reprogramming of the developing Drosophila eye

How different cells and tissues commit to and determine their fates has been a central question in developmental biology since the seminal embryological experiments conducted by Wilhelm Roux and Hans Driesch in sea urchins and frogs. Here, we demonstrate that Polycomb group (PcG) proteins maintain Drosophila eye specification by suppressing the activation of alternative fate choices. The loss of PcG in the developing eye results in a cellular reprogramming event in which the eye is redirected to a wing fate. This fate transformation occurs with either the individual loss of Polycomb proteins or the simultaneous reduction of the Pleiohomeotic repressive complex and Pax6. Interestingly, the requirement for retinal selector genes is limited to Pax6, as the removal of more downstream members does not lead to the eye-wing transformation. We also show that distinct PcG complexes are required during different developmental windows throughout eye formation. These findings build on earlier observations that the eye can be reprogrammed to initiate head epidermis, antennal and leg development.
Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery for Metastatic Spine Disease

The prevalence of cancer continues to increase as the population ages. More and more people are living with metastatic cancer for which there is no cure but many treatments. The goals of treatments generally focus on extending the life of the patient in the context of maintaining or improving their quality of life. Surgery for the management of spinal metastasis may indirectly increase survival in patients with impending or active neurologic compromise by preventing paralysis. The benefits of preventing paralysis in terms of quality of life are readily apparent as well. However, surgery can be associated with significant morbidity which must be balanced against the potential improvement in quality of life. Furthermore, patients with spinal metastases, by definition, are not curable, and most patients will not survive greater than 1 year. In fact patients with aggressive tumors may only survive a few months and it is undesirable for patients to spend their remaining time recovering from a morbid procedure. Advances in minimally invasive operative techniques combined with improvements in adjuvant therapies such as stereotactic radiosurgery provide an opportunity to render effective treatment for spinal metastases with less morbidity.
The First New Society

Sweden is often said to be a dull country, yet it excites powerful emotions among those who observe its people and politics. Since 1935, when Marquis Childs popularized the notion of Sweden as a “middle way” alternative to repressive communism or brutal fascism,1 two generations of admirers have been fascinated by the transformation of “a clean, well-lighted place”2 into a model of modern welfare capitalism. Critics, on the other hand, have been equally impressed with the growing intrusion of government into private affairs and vehemently protest against “the new totalitarians.”3 Scholars, meanwhile, are often frustrated because Sweden seldom fits easily into the stereotypical images of social analysis that are tools of the scholarly trade. Sweden has had a “socialist” government for nearlyhalf a century, yet more than 90 percent of industry is privately owned; Sweden has been at peace for nearly two centuries, yet its per capita defense expenditures are fourth highest in the world; Sweden is an intensely secular society, yet more than 90 percent of all Swedes choose to retain their membership in the state Lutheran Church.4 Especially for foreign observers, Sweden is good, bad or confusing, but never easy to understand.
Shareholder Value, Corporate Governance and Corporate Performance: A Post-Enron Reassessment of the Conventional Wisdom

The notion that the primary, or in extreme versions, the only legitimate goals of corporate management and governance should be to maximize the value of the shareholders' interest in the company is based on a series of elegant and facile, but deeply flawed assumptions about the nature of the relationships among corporate participants, about how financial markets work, about how human beings work together in groups, and about what the law requires. Contrary to these assumptions, shareholders are neither the "owners" of corporations, nor the only claimants with investments at risk; stock prices do not always accurately reflect the true underlying value of equity securities; managers will not necessarily do a better job of running corporations if they focus solely on share value, or if they are heavily incentivized with stock options, or if they are constantly vulnerable to being ousted in a hostile takeover; and corporate law does not require shareholder primacy. Instead, this essay suggests that, once basic societal and business institutions are in place, such as rule of law, sophisticated and uncorrupted courts, an independent accounting profession, liquid financial markets and an adequate securities regulation system, the principle element needed to foster wealth creating productive activity may be a powerful set of cultural norms emphasizing personal and group integrity, cooperative behavior among team members, and responsibility in the team's relationships to the larger communities in which it operates.
Targeted ANCOVA Estimator in RCTs

In many randomized experiments the primary goal is to estimate the average treatment effect, defined as the difference in expected responses between subjects assigned to a treatment group and subjects assigned to a control group. Linear regression is often recommended for use in RCTs as an attempt to increase precision when estimating an average treatment effect on a (nonbinary) outcome by exploiting baseline covariates. The coefficient in front of the treatment variable is then reported as the estimate of the average treatment effect, assuming that no interactions between treatment and covariates were included in the linear regression model.
Volumetric assessment of satellite encounter rates

Abstract Presented here is a planning and characterization tool to estimate satellite encounter rates for a prospective orbit regime. The prescribed method can be used to estimate the satellite conjunction operational tempo (i.e., the pace of conjunction activity associated with the operation of a satellite) for a given orbit against a satellite catalog. The encounter volume is defined by an ellipsoid that is constant in size, shape, and orientation in the satellite's Radial-InTrack-CrossTrack frame. For a given pair of satellites, we evaluate volumetric proximity by defining a traveling ellipsoid about the second satellite's Keplerian orbit and assessing if/when the first satellite's orbit traverses it; if inside the volume it is considered proximate. To ensure that no encounter is missed, the ellipsoid is moved along the second satellite's circular or elliptical orbit in increments of true anomaly corresponding to in-track movement much smaller than the ellipsoid's minor axis. An incremental determination of encounter probability is made if/when the first satellite's orbit track contacts the ellipsoid. When this takes place, the orbit true anomalies at ellipsoid entry and exit are captured for both satellites and converted to their respective mean anomaly ranges. The likelihood that both satellites will simultaneously be inside that encounter region is then determined from these ranges. In addition to estimating probability, the number of expected encounters over a given time span can also be approximated. The method is valid for both coplanar and non-coplanar orbits. However, our assumption of uniformly-distributed, relative in-track positions is not applicable in all satellite pairings. This trending tool is also useful in identifying such regions as graveyard orbits that are least likely to produce encounters. It can also be used to estimate how often neighboring satellites will trigger volumetric warnings when considering a candidate orbit.
Recent advances in the understanding of transient abnormal myelopoiesis in Down syndrome

Neonates with Down syndrome (DS) have a propensity to develop the unique myeloproliferative disorder, transient abnormal myelopoiesis (TAM). TAM usually resolves spontaneously in ≤3 months, but approximately 10% of patients with TAM die from hepatic or multi-organ failure. After remission, 20% of patients with TAM develop acute myeloid leukemia associated with Down syndrome (ML-DS). Blasts in both TAM and ML-DS have trisomy 21 and GATA binding protein 1 (GATA1) mutations. Recent studies have shown that infants with DS and no clinical signs of TAM or increases in peripheral blood blasts can have minor clones carrying GATA1 mutations, referred to as silent TAM. Low-dose cytarabine can improve the outcomes of patients with TAM and high white blood cell count. A number of studies using fetal liver cells, mouse models, or induced pluripotent stem cells have elucidated the roles of trisomy 21 and GATA1 mutations in the development of TAM. Next-generation sequencing of TAM and ML-DS patient samples identified additional mutations in genes involved in epigenetic regulation. Xenograft models of TAM demonstrate the genetic heterogeneity of TAM blasts and mimic the process of clonal selection and expansion of TAM clones that leads to ML-DS. DNA methylation analysis suggests that epigenetic dysregulation may be involved in the progression from TAM to ML-DS. Unraveling the mechanisms underlying leukemogenesis and identification of factors that predict progression to leukemia could assist in development of strategies to prevent progression to ML-DS. Investigation of TAM, a unique pre-leukemic condition, will continue to strongly influence basic and clinical research into the development of hematological malignancies.
Customer Delight: A Review and Agenda for Research

Nearly 20 years ago the concept of customer delight was introduced to the academic literature. Since then a plethora of academics have studied the construct across many diverse contexts. Unfortunat...
Real-Time Prosthetic Digit Actuation by Optical Read-out of Activity-Dependent Calcium Signals in an Ex Vivo Peripheral Nerve

Improved neural interfacing strategies are needed for the full articulation of advanced prostheses. To address limitations of existing control interface designs, the work of our laboratory has presented an optical approach to reading activity from individual nerve fibers using activity-dependent calcium transients. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of such signals to control prosthesis actuation by using the axonal fluorescence signal in an ex vivo mouse nerve to drive a prosthetic digit in real-time. Additionally, signals of varying action potential frequency are streamed post hoc to the prosthesis, showing graded motor output and the potential for proportional neural control. This proof-of-concept work is a novel demonstration of the functional use of activity-dependent optical read-out in the nerve.
Suicide attempts among men and women with partner violence according to borderline personality status

Funding/financial disclosures:No funding was provided and the authors report no conflicts of interest relevant to the content of this letter.
Discovering the Benefits of Group Peer Review of Submitted Manuscripts.

Problem: Traditionally, journal editors expect individuals to complete peer reviews of submitted manuscripts on their own. Recently, a number of editors of health sciences journals have begun to su...
The Digram I Ching Genetic Code Compresses the Genetic Code Into 24 Compatible Main Codons

When using a compacted version of the "I Ching" genetic code, the number of symbols is reduced to only 8 symbolic binary constants, integrated by only three symbols, being each: either the continuous or the broken horizontal line, plus the respective one word abbreviations of their resulting amino acids, namely, between four to eight accompanying the triad of lines, giving a total set of 46 possible combinations. This study is an alternate way of file compression for the genetic code, focused in the nucleotides, while another one I explored elsewhere, was focused in the groupings of amino acids, both individually and by their codon equivalents. As an Appendix 1 & 2 analogy, I add an example of "mutations" in literature, based on two early versions of "The Fair" (in its first edition of 1963, and in its first red edition of 1971), comparing its vignettes, and written in Spanish by my professor Juan Jose Arreola, now at his 101 year of birth.
Eyeing IT trends and challenges. To predict healthcare's future, look at the industry's current business environment.

General health care industry business objectives and goals drive technology implementation within the hospital setting.
Nanosized FeS2 Particles Caged in the Hollow Carbon Shell as a Robust Polysulfide Adsorbent and Redox Mediator

As one of the most promising candidates for next-generation energy storage technology, lithium–sulfur (Li–S) battery has been attracting increasing attention due to its high theoretical specific ca...
Acute ethanol exposure rapidly alters cerebellar and cortical microglial physiology

Alcohol use is highly prevalent in modern society and ramifications of alcohol abuse pose a large public health concern. Previous work investigating the effects of alcohol exposure on the brain has implicated microglia, the resident immune cells of the central nervous system (CNS), as critical participants in the brain's response to chronic and developmental ethanol (EtOH) exposure. As rapid sensors of their environment, microglia also have the capacity to rapidly respond to alcohol administration and to contribute to acute effects of alcohol on the brain; however, their acute responses have not been assessed. Here, for the first time, we have examined the acute response of microglia to alcohol intoxication in vivo utilizing two-photon microscopy to assess the dynamics of these motile cells in both visual cortex and the cerebellum of mice. We found that microglia respond rapidly to EtOH exposure with fast changes in morphology, motility, parenchyma surveillance, and injury response. However, regional differences between the responses of cerebellar and cortical microglial populations indicate that subtle differences in microglial physiology may alter their vulnerability to acute alcohol intoxication. Our findings suggest that the longer-term effects of repeated EtOH exposure on microglia may result from repeat acute alterations in microglial physiology by single exposure to alcohol which rapidly alter behavior in specific microglial populations.