cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ventilatory responses of the ground squirrel, Spermophilus tridecemlineatus, to various levels of hypoxia

Abstract 1. 1. Minute ventilation ( V E ) in the semifossorial ground squirrel (Spermophilustridecemlineatus) increased with increased levels of hypoxia. 2. 2. The increase in V E was brought about primarily by an increase in breathing frequency (ƒ). There was no significant change in tidal volume (VT). 3. 3. The PiO2 threshold for the ventilatory response to hypoxia and position of the ventilatory response curve in the ground squirrel were closer to the semifossorial echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) than the completely fossorial mole rate (Spalax ehrenbergi); both the ground squirrel and echidna had a higher PiO2 threshold than the mole rat. 4. 4. The ventilatory response curve was shifted to the left in the mole rat. 5. 5. These observations indicate that the mole rat is the least responsive to hypoxia of the three species.
The prevalence and characteristics of food allergy in urban minority children

Abstract Background Urban minority children are known to have high rates of asthma and allergic rhinitis, but little is known about food allergy in this population. Objective To examine the prevalence and characteristics of food allergy in an urban pediatric population. Methods A retrospective review of electronic medical records from children seen in the hospital-based general pediatric clinic at Mount Sinai Hospital serving East Harlem, NY, between July 1, 2008 and July 1, 2010 was performed. Charts for review were selected based on diagnosis codes for food allergy, anaphylaxis, or epinephrine autoinjector prescriptions. Results Of 9,184 children seen in this low-income, minority clinic, 3.4% (313) had a physician-documented food allergy. The most common food allergies were peanut (1.6%), shellfish (1.1%), and tree nuts (0.8%). Significantly more black children (4.7%) were affected than children of other races (2.7%, P Conclusion This is the largest study of food allergy prevalence in an urban minority pediatric population, and 3.4% had physician-documented food allergy. Significantly more blacks were affected than children of other races. Fewer than half of food-allergic children in this population had confirmatory testing or evaluation by an allergy specialist.
An Empirical Comment on the State of Sociology.

After a review of comparable degree productivity among several social and behavioral sciences, this paper concludes that sociology was uniquely affected by forces that lowered both the production of B.A.’s, M.A.’s, and Ph.D.’s and the quality of its graduate students. From the mid-1970s to the late 1980s, sociology suffered drastic declines in student numbers and quality. The increased careerism among students apparently accounts for a substantial portion of this decline, but through a very concrete mechanism: the expansion of business programs. The paper suggests that perhaps an absence of a serious commitment to teaching scientific sociology accounts for the loss of quality, since applied sciences have fared much better than has sociology. The recent ASA Task Force recommendations for curriculum redesign are reviewed, and a call is issued for revitalizing the scientific component of undergraduate sociology.
Measured Spectral Brightness of the HFIR Supercritical Hydrogen Cold Source

The High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) resumed operation in June of 2007 with the ability to produce world-class cold neutron beams for research after the addition of a super-critical hydrogen cold source. Neutron scattering instruments that view the cold source receive a neutron spectrum where the number of neutrons with wavelengths greater than 4A is greatly enhanced. Four neutron guides begin near the exit of the HB-4 beamtube and transport the long wavelength neutrons out into the recently constructed cold neutron guide hall. In September of 2007 the first few sections of guide closest to the HB-4 beamtube were temporarily removed for component upgrades. This provided an opportunity to measure the neutron spectrum directly from the cold moderator without passing through the intervening neutron guides. This report describes the results of that measurement.
On the misalignment of stereophonic acoustic echo cancellation with decorrelation by resampling

It is well established that a decorrelation procedure is required in a multi-channel acoustic echo control system to mitigate the so-called non-uniqueness problem. A recently proposed technique that accomplishes decorrelation by resampling (DBR) has been shown to be advantageous; it achieves a superior performance in the echo reduction gain and offers the possibility of frequency selective decorrelation to further preserve the sound quality of the system. In this paper, we analyze with rigor the performance behavior of DBR in terms of coherence reduction and the resultant misalignment of an adaptive filter. We derive closed-form expressions for the performance bounds and validate the theoretical analysis with simulation.
Two-dimensional Vibrational Spectroscopy : Hydrogen Bond Dynamics in Ionic Solutions

Hydrogen bond dynamics in a series of NaBr solutions were investigated. Slopes of peak position in 2D correlation spectra were used as a new experimental observable to extract FFCF. FFCF decays slower in ionic solutions.
Effects of the Laurent and Taylor expansions on the calculations of the thermal neutrons inelastic scattering cross sections for crystalline moderators

Abstract The use of updated phonon spectra for the calculation of the scattering matrix, S(α,β,T), of graphite made apparent discrepancies more related to numerical artifacts than to genuine differences. Comparing results from the use of the codes GASKET and LEAPR, with improved phonon spectra, we found consistent results only when a consistent asymptotic region around zero frequency is used. This effect is produced by a second order pole at frequency zero that appears during the calculation of S(α,β,T) via a double Fourier transform. The pole also affects the quadratures at higher frequencies so it became natural to use the Laurent expansion rather than Taylor’s for a more robust numerical method. The results of this analysis were included in the local version of the codes GASKET and LEAPR.
ORTHOGONAL CUBIC SPLINE COLLOCATION SOLUTION OF UNDERWATER ACOUSTIC WAVE PROPAGATION PROBLEMS

In this paper, a new method for the numerical solution of the two-dimensional parabolic equation of Tappert in horizontally-stratified media is presented. This method uses orthogonal cubic spline collocation for the semidiscretization with respect to depth, and the resulting system of differential-algebraic equations is solved using the NAG Library routine D02NNF. In the present application, orthogonal spline collocation, which has been exceedingly effective in the approximate solution of a broad class of problems, has the advantage that it systematically incorporates the requisite interface conditions. The state-of-the-art routine D02NNF, which implements backward differentiation formulas, has been used successfully in the solution of related problems.
Embolic strokes after peripherally inserted central catheter placement

Peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) have become popular for a range of indications in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Though PICCs are generally safe, they can be associated with a variety of complications. We present here a case with embolic strokes due to inadvertent arterial placement of PICC, an uncommon but potentially life-threatening complication. A high clinical suspicion with critical evaluation of radiographs is indispensable for suspecting misplaced PICCs.
Complete Closure Using a Double Purse-String Closure for Skin Defects

BACKGROUND: The purse-string closure is useful to repair the round or oval defect. However, difficulty may exist in the achievement of complete closure of the relatively large defect. OBJECTIVE: A new technique was proposed which could redistribute the tension around the defect and achieve a complete and simple closure. METHODS AND MATERIALS: For 17 surgical defects following skin tumor, the double purse-string technique was performed. A midline interrupt suture was placed vertical to the skin relax tension line. Then, the original defect was split into halves and both smaller defects were closed with the pure-string suture. RESULTS: All skin defects were closed completely, and there were no complication occurrences for the repair postoperatively. The final cosmetic appearance was excellent. CONCLUSION: The double purse-string suture is a useful technique to achieve complete closure of the defect with a resulting excellent appearance. The authors have indicated no significant interest with commercial supporters.
The impact of early intervention on the school readiness of children born to teenage mothers

This study examined the effect of participation in the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters program on the school readiness of children born to teenage mothers versus children born ...
Fundamentals of digital image processing

Introduction. 1. Two Dimensional Systems and Mathematical Preliminaries. 2. Image Perception. 3. Image Sampling and Quantization. 4. Image Transforms. 5. Image Representation by Stochastic Models. 6. Image Enhancement. 7. Image Filtering and Restoration. 8. Image Analysis and Computer Vision. 9. Image Reconstruction From Projections. 10. Image Data Compression.
Alignments of DNA and protein sequences containing frameshift errors.

Molecular sequences, like all experimental data, are subject to error. Many current DNA sequencing protocols have very significant error rates and often generate artifactual insertions and deletions of bases (indels) which corrupt the translation of sequences and compromise the detection of protein homologies. The impact of these errors on the utility of molecular sequence data is dependent on the analytic technique used to interpret the data. In the presence of frameshift errors, standard algorithms using six frame translation can miss important homologies because only sub-fragments of the correct translation are available in any given frame. We present a new algorithm which can detect and correct frameshift errors in DNA sequences during comparison of translated sequences with protein sequences in the databases. This algorithm can recognize homologous proteins sharing 30% identity even in the presence of a 7% frameshift error rate. Our algorithm uses dynamic programming, producing a guaranteed optimal alignment in the presence of frameshifts, and has a sensitivity equivalent to Smith-Waterman. The computational efficiency of the algorithm is O(nm) where n and m are the sizes of two sequences being compared. The algorithm does not rely on prior knowledge or heuristic rules and performs significantly better than any previously more » reported method. « less
Cefuroxime: Mechanisms of Action, Antimicrobial Activity, Pharmacokinetics, Clinical Applications, Adverse Reactions and Therapeutic Indications

Cefuroxime is a second generation cephalosporin with a broad antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms. It has excellent in vitro activity against staphylococcal strains, streptococcal strains (other than enterococci), N. gonorrhoeae, H. influenzae and N. meningitidis. It also has excellent in vitro activity against members of the Enterobacteriaceae with the exception of Serratia and indole-positive Proteus. Ps. aeruginosa and B. fragilis are resistant. Cefuroxime is relatively free of serious side effects. It is metabolically stable, and most of it is excreted unchanged in the urine. Three fourths of it are distributed in the extravascular compartment. Blood levels exceed the in vitro minimum inhibitory concentrations for many important gram negative pathogens. Clinical studies have shown cefuroxime to be effective therapy for infections of soft tissue, respiratory tract, urinary tract, genital tract (caused by N. gonorrhoeae) and the central nervous system. Superinfections with Ps. aeruginosa and enterococcal strains may present a problem. In spite of excellent diffusion into bone and joint tissues, the available clinical data are too limited to make a recommendation for its use in bone and joint infections.
Optimized spectral estimation methods for improved colorimetry with laser scanning systems

The colorimetric performance of a 3D laser scanning camera is predicted for a set of three sampling wavelengths (442 nm, 532 nm and 633 nm) currently in use. Methods of spectral estimation based on principal component analysis and on spline interpolation are considered. The average /spl Delta/E94 color difference over large sets of reflectance curves is used as a metric. Optimal sampling wavelengths are next investigated using unconstrained optimization of the average /spl Delta/E94 color difference for the set of reflectance curves from the full OSA-UCS catalog. Three up to six optimal sampling wavelengths are derived with both methods. The PCA method is found a hint better than the spline method overall, and the /spl Delta/E94 errors are reduced roughly by one half when the number of sampling wavelengths increases by one. Four or five sampling wavelengths become sufficient to bring the average error below the one just noticeable difference benchmark. Spectral estimation with 5 optimal wavelengths using the principal components derived from the OSA-UCS catalog appears adequate for the most demanding applications.
Using General-Case Instruction to Teach Spontaneous and Generalized Requests for Assistance to Learners with Severe Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of general-case instruction on spontaneous and generalized requests for assistance by three adolescents with severe disabilities. The findings support the efficacy of the general-case approach in relation to using a single example to teach requests for help. The distinguishing aspect of the general-case phase was the variation in stimulus conditions that occurred across teaching opportunities. Results indicated that general-case instruction produced generalized requests for assistance with two of the three learners. The implications for using general-case procedures for teaching communicative interactions are discussed and future research areas are proposed.
SEXUALITY AND GENDER IN CHILDREN'S DAILY WORLDS*

This paper analyzes relationships between sexuality and gender in the experiences of nine to eleven year-old children, based on participant observation in four different elementary schools. Children's gender arrangements help lay the foundation for the more overtly sexual scripts of adolescence and adulthood. Extensive segregation between girls and boys, and distinctive social relations within their separate groups, provide gender-differentiated contexts for learning. Groups of boys experience shared excitement and bonding focused on public rule transgression. Girls are organized in friendship pairs linked in shifting coalitions and bond more through mutual self-disclosure; they teach and learn strategies for maintaining and ending intimacy. Heterosexual teasing (“like”; “goin with”) and rituals like “chase and kiss” heighten gender boundaries. Separate gender groups – which sustain somewhat different meanings of the sexual – and ritualized and asymmetric relations between girls and boys, prepare the way for the sexual scripts of early adolescence.
Metrics of a system for disaster relief

We discuss the design and implementation of a distributed, real-time visualization-based disaster recovery tool. In this paper, we focus on metrics used in our system. We discuss how multiple sources of information are fused and visualized featuring the capture and visualization of corresponding uncertainty metrics. We also discuss metrics related to the communication module of our disaster recovery tool. The distributed infrastructure of our system will help to support much needed planning as well as provide a response and command tool for disaster events. The goal is to provide an infrastructure that responds predictably to scale, allows data propagation without disruption or delay, and maintains records of the current situation for report generation and at the same time adheres to guidelines mandated by pre-established structures of command. We have implemented two versions of the communications module of our infrastructure, a mobile agent implementation and a subscription based implementation. Performance metrics will be shown for comparison.
Thrombopoietin levels after chemotherapy and in naturally occurring human diseases.

The identification of the primary regulator of thrombopoiesis, the Mpl ligand, has led to an explosion of information concerning the factors that control this process. The circulating endogenous form of this molecule, commonly termed thrombopoietin, was the source material used by several groups in
Capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers: fabrication technology

Capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (MUT) technology is a prime candidate for next generation imaging systems. Medical and underwater imaging and the nondestructive evaluation (NDE) societies have expressed growing interest in cMUTs over the years. Capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer technology is expected to make a strong impact on imaging technologies, especially volumetric imaging, and to appear in commercial products in the near future. This paper focuses on fabrication technologies for cMUTs and reviews and compares variations in the production processes. We have developed two main approaches to the fabrication of cMUTs: the sacrificial release process and the recently introduced wafer-bonding method. This paper gives a thorough review of the sacrificial release processes, and it describes the new wafer-bonding method in detail. Process variations are compared qualitatively and quantitatively whenever possible. Through these comparisons, it was concluded that wafer-bonded cMUT technology was superior in terms of process control, yield, and uniformity. Because the number of steps and consequent process time were reduced (from six-mask process to four-mask process), turn-around time was improved significantly.
Swimming Against the Current: The Rise of a Hidden Developmental State in the United States:

Despite the dominant role of market fundamentalist ideas in U.S. politics over the last thirty years, the Federal government has dramatically expanded its capacity to finance and support efforts of the private sector to commercialize new technologies. But the partisan logic of U.S. politics has worked to make these efforts invisible to mainstream public debate. The consequence is that while this “hidden developmental state” has had a major impact on the structure of the U.S. national innovation system, its ability to be effective in the future is very much in doubt. The article ends by arguing that the importance of these developmental initiatives to the U.S. economy could present a significant opening for new progressive initiatives.
Co-regulation in embryonic stem cells via context-dependent binding of transcription factors.

Motivation: With the accumulation of genome-wide binding data for many transcription factors (TFs) in the same cell type or cellular condition, it is of great current interest to systematically infer the complex regulatory logic among multiple TFs. In particular, ChIP-Seq data have been generated for 14 core TFs critical to the maintenance and reprogramming of mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs). This provides a great opportunity to study the regulatory collaboration and interaction among these TFs and with other unknown co-regulators. Results: In combination with liquid association among gene expression profiles, we develop a computational method to predict contextdependent (CD) co-egulators of these core TFs in ESCs from pairwise binding datasets. That is, co-occupancy between a core TF and a predicted co-regulator depends on the presence or absence of binding sites of another core TF, which is regarded as a binding context. Unbiased external validation confirms that the predicted CD binding of a co-regulator is reliable. Our results reveal a detailed CD co-regulation network among the 14 core TFs and provide many other potential co-regulators showing strong agreement with the literature. Availability: See www.stat.ucla.edu/~zhou/CMF for software and source code.
Interaction of Markov processes

For a gentle approach to the problems connected with interacting Markov processes we review first what is known in the absence of interaction. For simplicity let S be a countable (or finite) set, and consider a countable (or finite if S is finite) collection of independent Markov processes on S,with common transition function P t (x,y), x, y ∈ S. It is natural to assume constant invariant measure, i.e., $$ \sum\limits_{{x \in S}} {{{P}_{t}}(x,y)} = \sum\limits_{{y \in S}} {{{P}_{t}}(x,y)} = 1, x,y S, t \geqslant 0. $$ (0.1)
Joint Power-Error Control Schemes for Time-varying Wireless channels

We investigate efficient power allocation schemes for retransmission protocols over wireless fading channels. In prior work, we considered this problem for i.i.d. fading with known channel statistics. Here, we consider models for channels with memory and adaptive power control algorithms for channels with unknown statistics. In the case of channels with memory we consider simplified power policies for Go-back-N protocols via Markovian modeling, which take into account the underlying window dynamics. These policies are observed to perform close to a more complicated dynamic programming (DP) solution. We then give an adaptive power control algorithm for protocols in which window dynamics can be ignored. The protocol is based on Lyapunov drift analysis and is shown to approach that of an optimal policy.
Carbon Membranes: A Viable Technology for the Recovery and Purification of Hydrogen Gas

High throughput, asymmetric carbon membranes derived from pyrolysis of polyfurfuryl alcohol (PFA) have been fabricated on a novel support composed of porous stainless steel filled with nanoparticles. Variation of PFA molecular weight was found to have a significant impact on the single gas permeances of the resultant carbon membranes. High molecular weight precursor material yielded the best results; oxygen permeance values for membranes synthesized from high molecular weight resins were on the order of ∼1×10 −8 mol m −2 s −1 Pa −1 with oxygen over nitrogen ideal selectivities greater than 7. Binary separations of hydrogen from nitrogen and hydrogen from carbon monoxide were carried out using a NPC membrane synthesized from high molecular weight precursor material. For both separations, hydrogen purities of better than 99% by volume were obtained in the permeate stream.
Incidental small lymphocytic lymphoma/chronic lymphocytic leukemia in pelvic lymph nodes excised at radical prostatectomy

Abstract Context.—Incidental non-Hodgkin lymphoma is often unrecognized at the time of radical prostatectomy in patients with prostate cancer because of nonspecific symptoms and an inconspicuous pathology. The early identification of lymphoma allows optimal long-term management and prevention of significant morbidity. Objective.—To show the subtlety of pathologic findings in cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in pelvic lymph nodes and the need for scrupulous attention to detail for diagnostic accuracy. Design.—Histologic and immunohistochemical profiles of 18 consecutive cases of small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) incidentally identified in pelvic lymph node dissections were reviewed and compared with 22 cases of benign pelvic lymph node dissections. Results.—Malignant nodes were grossly enlarged and averaged 3.2 cm in their greatest dimension. Histologically, 16 of the SLL cases were characterized by diffuse architectural effacement with obliterated sinuses and rare cortical follicles. Twelve of these cases sho...
An observation concerning constraint-based compaction

Abstract This paper presents a refinement of the most commonly used technique for VLSI layout compaction. The usual approach to the compaction problem involves solving a constraint system that encodes the design rules of the layout. When arbitrary design rules are allowed, the fastest known algorithm for solving the constraint system requires Θ(nm) time in the worst case, where n is the number of layout components and m is the number of constraints. Here we show that if the input layout is legal, the constraint system can be solved in Θ(m+n log n) time. The key idea is to write the constraints in terms of displacements of layout features, rather than absolute coordinates.
Characterization of a notochord-specific enhancer from the Brachyury promoter region of the ascidian, Ciona intestinalis

We present evidence that the embryo of the ascidian, Ciona intestinalis, is an easily manipulated system for investigating the establishment of basic chordate tissues and organs. Ciona has a small genome, and simple, well-defined embyronic lineages. Here, we examine the regulatory mechanisms underlying the differentiation of the notochord. Particular efforts center on the regulation of a notochord-specific Ciona Brachyury gene (Ci-Bra). An electroporation method was devised for the efficient incorporation of transgenic DNA into Ciona embryos. This method permitted the identification of a minimal, 434 bp enhancer from the Ci-Bra promoter region that mediates the notochord-restricted expression of both GFP and lacZ reporter genes. This enhancer contains a negative control region that excludes Ci-Bra expression from inappropriate embryonic lineages, including the trunk mesenchyme and tail muscles. Evidence is presented that the enhancer is activated by a regulatory element which is closely related to the recognition sequence of the Suppressor of Hairless transcription factor, thereby raising the possibility that the Notch signaling pathway plays a role in notochord differentiation. We discuss the implications of this analysis with regard to the evolutionary conservation of integrative enhancers, and the subdivision of the axial and paraxial mesoderm in vertebrates.
Introduction - People of the Book: Judaism's Influence on American Legal Scholarship

This symposium began in April, 2014, when DePaul’s Center for Jewish Law and Judaic Studies (JLJS) sponsored a major academic conference entitled: People of the Book: Judaism and Constitutional Law. The goal of this conference was to showcase how the Jewish tradition and culture have played a crucial role in shaping the thinking of legal scholars working in areas other than Jewish law as their primary academic fields. For purposes of this volume, however, I included scholars working in disciplines other than constitutional law in order to gain some additional diversity of perspective. The participants in this written symposium include a range of Jewish backgrounds — from those who admit to being barely Jewish to those raised with significant Jewish tradition. Their current practices also range from seemingly secular to strictly Orthodox. Despite these differences, all of the contributors are identified Jews who believe their Jewish background and experience have influenced their legal scholarship significantly. The purpose of this volume is to bring their experience to a wider audience. The essays also reflect a range of perspective, both substantively and stylistically. My vision was to give each author as much free rein as possible in this regard since this volume is such a unique work. Some essays are comparable to traditional law review articles in terms of length and documentation; others are more free form and autobiographical.
A new design tool for DFA/DFD based on rating factors

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a tool design for assembly and disassembly using rating factors. Design engineers need an automated tool to effectively analyze the ease of assembly and disassembly of the products or subassemblies. A good assembly design helps in easier disassembly and thus makes it easier to service, repair and maintain. Reuse and recycling aspects are given importance in the present days due to environmental regulations. Designers now use the life cycle design of the products. This creates an environment for the successful application of design for manufacturing, assembly and disassembly tools. This paper addresses some of those issues. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis of a product design for ease of assembly/disassembly depends largely on whether the product is to be assembled/disassembled manually, with automation or a combination of these. For example, the criteria for ease of automatic feeding and orienting are much more stringent than those for manual handling of parts. The new design for assembly/disassembly (DFA/DFD) evaluation tool explained here enables the designer to review the existing design. This paper examines the existing techniques in the area of DFA/DFD and suggests a new methodology based on rating factors. Excel is used to create the interface for the user. Other popular methods were examined such as Boothroyd-Dewhurst, Lucas. Access, reuse, removal, tool, task and time method and assembly score method (Poli) were used as a base for this study. Findings – The end result of this research is a new approach linked to assembly/disassembly rating score. Originality/value – The new DFA/DFD evaluation tool enables the designer to review the existing DFA and DFD difficulties.
Revisiting Antagonist Effects in Hypoglossal Nucleus: Brainstem Circuit for the State-Dependent Control of Hypoglossal Motoneurons: A Hypothesis

We reassessed and provided new insights into the findings that were obtained in our previous experiments that employed the injections of combined adrenergic, serotonergic, GABAergic, and glycinergic antagonists into the hypoglossal nucleus in order to pharmacologically abolish the depression of hypoglossal nerve activity that occurred during carbachol-induced rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep-like state in anesthetized rats. We concluded that noradrenergic disfacilitation is the major mechanism that is responsible for approximately 90% of the depression of hypoglossal motoneurons, whereas the remaining 10% can be explained by serotonergic mechanisms that have net inhibitory effect on hypoglossal nerve activity during REM sleep-like state. We hypothesized that both noradrenergic and serotonergic state-dependent mechanisms indirectly control hypoglossal motoneuron excitability during REM sleep; their activities are integrated and mediated to hypoglossal motoneurons by reticular formation neurons. In addition, we proposed a brainstem neural circuit that can explain the new findings.
Designing a Remote In Situ Soil Moisture Sensor Network for Small Satellite Data Retrieval

This chapter introduces an application of small satellite for environmental monitoring using real-time data that focuses on measured soil moisture and temperature using in situ sensor network. Soil Moisture Active Passive Mission (SMAP) uses microwave radar and radiometer to sense surface soil moisture condition but gives coarser result than the in situ data. To overcome the limitation of accuracy in SMAP mission, the proposed architecture will provide sensor data via a Ground Monitoring Wireless Sensor Network (GM-WSN) where data is collected by small satellite(s) operating in Lower Earth Orbit (LEO). The satellite will store the data until it passes over a ground station whereby it is communicated back to earth. The motivation for developing satellite accessible in situ measurements is to retrieve information from remote areas like Lake Tana in Ethiopia, where human accessibility is difficult. Hence, those important and unattended places would be covered by the proposed system. Another key attribute of this architecture is that it addresses four (climate, carbon, weather, and water) out of six NASA’s earth science strategic focus areas. The GM-WSN will consist of a sensor network that will measure soil moisture and temperature. The base station function is to fuse the data from the sensors, provide a time stamp, and format the data to be transmitted to satellite. It will also act as transceiver for ground to space communication using the amateur VHF/UHF radio band that has a maximum data rate of 9.6 kbps and will provide health maintenance and power management of network.
NiuParser: A Chinese Syntactic and Semantic Parsing Toolkit

We present a new toolkit NiuParser for Chinese syntactic and semantic analysis. It can handle a wide range of Natural Language Processing (NLP) tasks in Chinese, including word segmentation, partof-speech tagging, named entity recognition, chunking, constituent parsing, dependency parsing, and semantic role labeling. The NiuParser system runs fast and shows state-of-the-art performance on several benchmarks. Moreover, it is very easy to use for both research and industrial purposes. Advanced features include the Software Development Kit (SDK) interfaces and a multi-thread implementation for system speed-up.
Cisco Switches in China: The Year of Assurance

This case describes the establishment of a new Cisco Systems R&D facility in Shanghai, China, and the great concern that arises when a collaborating R&D site in the United States is closed down. What will that closure do to relationships between the Shanghai and San Jose business units? Will they be blamed and accused of replacing the U.S. engineers? How will it affect other projects? The case also covers aspects of the site's establishment, such as securing an appropriate building, assembling a workforce, seeking appropriate projects, developing managers, building teams, evaluating performance, protecting intellectual property, and managing growth. Suitable for use in organizational behavior, human resource management, and strategy classes at the MBA and executive education levels, the material dramatizes the challenges of changing a U.S.-based company into a global competitor.
Role of bile and pancreatic juice in production of esophageal erosions and anemia.

Conclusions(1) Digestion and destruction of the living esophageal mucosa in cats and dogs can be accomplished by bile, pancreatic juice, and mixtures of the two. (2) Bleeding from esophageal erosions attending the complete diversion of bile and pancreatic juice into the esophagus in the dog causes a severe secondary anemia. (3) The development of the esophagitis and anemia in the dog is not altered by total excision of the acid secreting portion of the stomach.
Effect of food and water on thyroid uptake of radioiodine (I131) in rats.

Summary1. Data have been presented which show that intake of food and water, and water alone, influence the uptake of radioactive iodine in the thyroid gland of rats on an iodine deficient diet of Remington and Levine. At 6 and 24 hours, the thyroid uptake is reduced significantly if water is given. An even more profound reduction in uptake and correspondingly increased excretion has been observed if both food and water are allowed. 2. It has been suggested that gastric activity and fluid intake should be controlled when radioactive iodine uptake is to be used for evaluating and treating thyroid disease.
Highlighting in Alphanumeric Displays: The Efficacy of Monochrome Methods

Highlighting is used to attract attention to displayed information. Prior work has called into question the efficacy reverse video as a highlighting method in alphanumeric displays. Brightness is highly recommended in guideline documents, but no empirical study of its efficacy in alphanumeric displays has been published. An experiment was conducted to investigate the efficacy of these methods in monochromatic, alphanumeric displays. Search time was significantly faster for reverse video than for high intensity highlighting. Reverse video may attract attention better than high intensity video. Heavy use of reverse video may aid in the systematic search of unhighlighted items. The results are analyzed in terms of a mathematical model.
Impact of Bipolar Blocking in ± 800kV Jinsu UHVDC Power Transmission System on Stability of Jiangsu Grid's Receiving-End System

In order to study the impact of bipolar blocking in ± 800 kV UHVDC power transmission system from Jinping to southern Jiangsu on the stability of receiving-end system in Jiangsu power grid,the possible influence of bipolar blocking with transmission power of 4 000 MW on the stability of receiving-end system in Jiangsu power grid were researched from various aspects by using advanced digital power system simulator( ADPSS),based on the typical data of peak load in Jiangsu power grid in the summer of 2013. The research results show that the stability over-limit didn't happen in the key transmission channels of southern Jiangsu after bipolar blocking; the generators near Tongli converter station could maintain the power angle stability; bus voltage of 500 kV southern Jiangsu converter station had a significant voltage fluctuations after bipolar blocking,but Jiangsu grid could still maintain stable operation; the frequency of Jiangsu grid had a slight drop after bipolar blocking,however the frequency stability could still be maintained. The research results have practical significance to the research on the security and stability of receiving-end system in Jiangsu power grid.
Unifying Distributed Dynamic Optimization and Control of Islanded DC Microgrids

A distributed control method is proposed to simultaneously optimize the power sharing among sources of islanded dc microgrids, while regulating the distribution bus voltage. During the optimization process, an economic dispatch problem is solved to minimize the total generation cost by setting the output powers of the dispatchable sources. To this end, the voltage set points of individual dc–dc converters are adjusted using a voltage regulator and an optimizer, which regulates the average voltage of the sources to establish the generation–consumption equality constraint and matches the incremental costs, respectively. Afterward, the proposed optimizer is modified to exclude the sources from the incremental cost consensus protocol upon reaching their generation limits, enforcing inequality constraints. This coregulation and cooptimization paradigm is developed in a fully distributed fashion. The dynamical model of the proposed controller is established. The steady-state analysis verifies the fulfillment of the control objectives, i.e., voltage regulation and cost minimization. Experimental results verify the controller performance and validate its resiliency against cyber and physical faults.
NMR and mass spectral analysis of step-growth polymers from azide alkyne cycloaddition and regioselectivity afforded by copper(I) and ruthenium(II) catalysts

ABSTRACTAzide alkyne cycloaddition was applied to step growth polymerization of the diazido monomer, di(3-azido-2-hydroxypropyl) ether of bisphenol-A (DAHP-BPA) with either tetraethyleneglycol dipropargyl ether (TEGDPE) or tetraethyleneglycol dipropiolate (TEGDP). Polymerizations were conducted without catalyst and in the presence of Cu(I) or Ru(II) complex. The resulting oligomers and polymers were characterized using 1H- and 13C-NMR spectroscopy and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS), with an emphasis on the relative abundance of 1,4- vs. 1,5-disubstituted regioisomeric 1,2,3-triazoles. Uncatalyzed reaction of DAHP-BPA/TEGDPE at 70°C yielded a 55/45 mixture of 1,4/1,5-disubstituted triazoles; reaction was slow and residual alkyne end groups were observed, suggesting attritional loss of azide. Catalyzed with Cu(PPh3)3Br, the same system yielded 93/7, 1,4/1,5-disubstituted triazoles, and few residual end groups were detected, consistent with higher ...
Management of cochlear implant infections.

Objective The aim of this study was to illustrate and discuss management of cochlear implant infections. Study design The study design was a retrospective case review. Setting This study was performed at a tertiary referral center with an associated Veterans Administration Hospital. Patients Postlingually deafened adults who had revision surgery for delayed cochlear implant infections were included in this study. Intervention Medical and surgical management of device infection without explantation. Main outcome measures Eradication of infection without loss of speech reception. Results All four patients were successfully managed without explantation. Conclusions Explantation of an infected but functioning multichannel implant is not mandatory in the absence of systemic sepsis.
Truncated Variants of Gaussia Luciferase with Tyrosine Linker for Site-Specific Bioconjugate Applications

Gaussia luciferase (Gluc)-with its many favorable traits such as small size, bright emission, and exceptional stability-has become a prominent reporter protein for a wide range of bioluminescence-based detection applications. The ten internal cysteine residues crucial to functional structure formation, however, make expression of high quantities of soluble protein in bacterial systems difficult. In addition to this challenge, the current lack of structural data further complicates the use of Gluc for in vitro applications, such as biosensors, or cellular delivery, both of which rely heavily on robust and reproducible bioconjugation techniques. While Gluc is already appreciably small for a luciferase, a reduction in size that still retains significant bioluminescent activity, in conjunction with a more reproducible bioorthogonal method of chemical modification and facile expression in bacteria, would be very beneficial in biosensor design and cellular transport studies. We have developed truncated variants of Gluc, which maintain attractive bioluminescent features, and have characterized their spectral and kinetic properties. These variants were purified in high quantities from a bacterial system. Additionally, a C-terminal linker has been incorporated into these variants that can be used for reliable, specific modification through tyrosine-based bioconjugation techniques, which leave the sensitive network of cysteine residues undisturbed.
Electron Transfer Reactivity of the Aqueous Iron(IV)–Oxo Complex. Outer-Sphere vs Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer

The kinetics of oxidation of organic and inorganic reductants by aqueous iron(IV) ions, FeIV(H2O)5O2+ (hereafter FeIVaqO2+), are reported. The substrates examined include several water-soluble ferrocenes, hexachloroiridate(III), polypyridyl complexes M(NN)32+ (M = Os, Fe and Ru; NN = phenanthroline, bipyridine and derivatives), HABTS–/ABTS2–, phenothiazines, CoII(dmgBF2)2, macrocyclic nickel(II) complexes, and aqueous cerium(III). Most of the reductants were oxidized cleanly to the corresponding one-electron oxidation products, with the exception of phenothiazines which produced the corresponding oxides in a single-step reaction, and polypyridyl complexes of Fe(II) and Ru(II) that generated ligand-modified products. FeIVaqO2+ oxidizes even Ce(III) (E0 in 1 M HClO4 = 1.7 V) with a rate constant greater than 104 M–1 s–1. In 0.10 M aqueous HClO4 at 25 °C, the reactions of Os(phen)32+ (k = 2.5 × 105 M–1 s–1), IrCl63– (1.6 × 106), ABTS2– (4.7 × 107), and Fe(cp)(C5H4CH2OH) (6.4 × 107) appear to take place by ou...
Abstract A41: Shaping Myc-dependent transcriptional amplification

Myc deregulation, resulting in the elevated and constitutive expression of the protein, is a common oncogenic event that gives rise to numerous tumorigenic phenotypes in multiple tumor types. When, elevated, Myc acts as a general transcriptional regulator, non-linearly amplifying the expression of most transcriptionally active genes in the tumor cell. However the gene specific contexts that shape this non-linear response are poorly understood. Here we report that in B-cells, transcriptional response at active genes is largely a function of the change in Myc occupancy at promoter regions, consistent with Myc dependent transcriptional amplification. To explore determinants of Myc binding affinity, changes in Myc promoter occupancy were compared to sequence, transcription, and chromatin features in cells prior to Myc elevation. Changes in Myc occupancy correlate most strongly with promoter GC content rather than with the density of Myc E-box binding motifs or any other analyzed promoter feature. The ability of GC rich promoters to garner increased Myc occupancy levels suggest that general structural sequence and regulatory features of the promoter play a role in shaping Myc binding affinity. Importantly, Myc binding affinity, although generally correlating with transcriptional response, fails to articulate much of the observed gene expression variance suggesting that additional regulatory layers, including Myc interacting co-regulators such as MIZ1, likely contribute to shaping Myc dependent transcriptional responses. Citation Format: Charles Lin, James E. Bradner. Shaping Myc-dependent transcriptional amplification. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Myc: From Biology to Therapy; Jan 7-10, 2015; La Jolla, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2015;13(10 Suppl):Abstract nr A41.
Wilms Tumor With Metastasis to the Vagina: A Case Report.

A 12-year-old female presented with abdominal pain, night sweats, weight loss, constipation, dysmenorrhea, menorrhagia, and vaginal discharge. Examination revealed a palpable flank mass and a large tumor adherent to the anterior vaginal wall. Computed tomography scan demonstrated a 23 cm mass in the left kidney, a separate 10.8 cm pelvic mass, and metastatic disease. Biopsies were consistent with Wilms tumor. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy and a left radical nephrectomy were performed for her stage IV disease as the kidney was amiable to complete resection. The patient received radiation and resumed chemotherapy. She was doing well with improved symptoms at follow-up.
Updated practice guidelines for the diagnosis and management of aspergillosis: challenges and opportunities

The Aspergillus genus of fungi is associated with a broad range of diseases, from severe invasive infections in immunocompromised hosts, to semi-invasive, to chronic disease. Invasive aspergillosis in particular constitutes the most common fungal infection among hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients and the second-most common fungal infection among solid organ transplant recipients (1), with associated mortality rates that exceed 50% (1,2). The new IDSA guidelines (3) provide a valuable tool concerning prevention, diagnosis and management of these diseases, building upon the previous version (4), with the incorporation of new clinical data. Thus, they provide a useful, up-to-date scaffold to assist in clinical decision-making.
Occludin expression and regulation in small follicles of the layer and broiler breeder hen

Synchronized yolk accumulation and follicle development are essential for egg production in oviparous species. In birds, yolk is incorporated into the oocyte by an avian specific yolk receptor (LR8), and it has been suggested that occludin (OCLN), a tight junction protein, mediates transfer of yolk material to the oocyte surface. OCLN may be a key regulator of yolk accumulation and follicle growth, however, the expression and regulation of OCLN in granulosa cells during various stages of follicle development is unknown. In the first experiment, we found that LR8 and OCLN mRNA were highest in small follicles within the ovary. In addition, OCLN decreased with increasing follicle size. OCLN mRNA was more abundant in the germinal disc region of the granulosa cell layer than the non-germinal disc region. In addition, we found epidermal growth factor (EGF) and activin B, decreased OCLN mRNA, while activin A increased OCLN. In the second experiment, restricted fed (RF) broiler breeder hens were randomly divided into two groups and one group remained on RF and the other was fed ad libitum (FF). OCLN expression in granulosa cells of 3–5 mm follicles of FF hens was lower compared to RF hens and yolk weights were higher in the FF group, however, LR8 mRNA in small whole follicles (<3 mm) did not differ between groups. In conclusion, the level of feed intake is related to or may directly regulate OCLN mRNA expression or may have an indirect effect through paracrine or autocrine factors in the ovary.