cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hybrids and backcross progenies between wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and apomictic Australian wheatgrass [Elymus rectisetus (Nees in Lehm.) A. Löve & Connor]: karyotypic and genomic analyses.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L., 2n = 6x = 42, AABBDD) florets were emasculated and pollinated using two apomictic wheatgrass [Elymus rectisetus (Nees in Lehm.) A. Love & Connor, 2n = 6x = 42, SSYYWW] accessions, one of which produces 2n pollen. A 2n = 42 (BII) hybrid and four 2n = 63 (BIII) hybrids were obtained. The spike morphology of the BII hybrid was intermediate to that of its parents. The pollen mother cells (PMCs) of this hybrid contained on average 38.361 and 1.62 II, which was consistent with its disparate genome composition (ABDSYW). Its pollen failed to stain and no BC1 progeny was obtained. The BIII hybrids (reduced egg fertilized with unreduced sperm) were grasslike and had a full complement of E. rectisetus chromosomes, the synapsis of which was slightly impaired by wheat haplome and/or cytoplasm. Their PMCs contained on average 16.30 II, 25.72 I, and 1.54 multivalents (III plus IV). Pollen stainability in these hybrids was low (<1%), and when they were used as females, one 54- and 60-chromosome BC1 were obtained. A mean of 13.25 II was observed in PMCs of the 54-chromosome BC1 and pollen stainability was 10%. Pollen stainability in the 60-chromosome BC1 was only 5%. The use of 2n-pollen-producing E. rectisetus accession accelerated hybrid and BC1 formation and may accelerate the ultimate transfer of apomixis to wheat.
Ravens in the United States

In answer to the query of your correspondent “Manhattan,” who writes from New York, under date of Jan. 11, concerning the prevalence of ravens in the United States, I would like to remark that ravens quite replace the crow in Nevada. I have never seen them here in the east. Mr. Ridgway who was with me in 1867-68 could give you much valuable information in regard to their habits and range.
Sexual behavior of Rhodesian Africans.

The results of a survey on the sexual habits of 135 Rhodesian Africa n men living in the Salisbury area are presented. The overall incidence of venereal disease was 21-25%. 63% of the men interviewed were aware of family planning methods but only 25% completely agreed with its practice. 62.5% and 44.7% of the bachelors with a college education or a primary education respectively approved of family planning methods while only 26.4% and 15.8% respectively of the married men favored family planning. Financial political and religious reasons along with health and an unwillingness to interfere with nature were the major reasons given for not practiciing family planning. Oral contraceptives were the most commonly used contraceptive method. The reported average frequentcy of intercourse was 2.1 times a day; for bachelors it averaged 2.8 times a "date". However this last figure may be misleading since the interval between dates varied from 2 to 9 days. 90% of the married men reported they had sexual intercourse at night while most of the bachelors had sexual intercourse when it was opportune. 22% of the married men claimed they had extramarital affairs. The average age at first intercourse was 18 for men and 16.8 for their partners. Coitus did not normally exceed 5 minutes for 76% of the men. 57% of all respondents stated they always experienced orgasm. The male superior-female supine position for coitus was favored by 66% of the men. The most commonly used aphrodisiacs were of plant origin.
Special report: Observations on interference screw morphologies

Abstract Summary: Interference screws are frequently used for fixation of anterior cruciate ligament grafts. When revision surgery is necessary, it is important for the surgeon to recognize variations in interference screw morphology to reduce the potential difficulties in screw removal. The purpose of this observational study is to review the variety of metallic and nonmetallic absorbable interference screws commonly available and to provide a review of their characteristics, dimensions available, and the type and size of screwdriver that would be required in the event that removal is necessary. Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic and Related Surgery, Vol 16, No 5 (July), 2000: pp 10–10
The pivotal role of nursing personnel in burn care

The nurses play an important role in the overall management of a burn patient. They must be well versed with the various protocols available that can be used to rationally manage a given situation. The management not only involves medical care but also a psychological assessment of the victim and the family. The process uses a scientific method to combine systems theory with the art of nursing, entailing both problem solving techniques and a decision making process. It involves assessment of the patient to arrive at a diagnosis and then determining the patient goals.An action plan is implemented and is evaluated in the context of patient response. The article discusses many such scenarios in burn patients and outlines the nursing care plans.
Circulating and dietary magnesium and risk of cardiovascular disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies

Background: Clinical hypomagnesemia and experimental restriction of dietary magnesium increase cardiac arrhythmias. However, whether or not circulating or dietary magnesium at usual concentrations or intakes influences the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), including fatal ischemic heart disease (IHD), is unclear. Objective: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate prospective associations of circulating and dietary magnesium with incidence of CVD, IHD, and fatal IHD. Design: Multiple literature databases were systematically searched without language restriction through May 2012. Inclusion decisions and data extraction were performed in duplicate. Linear dose-response associations were assessed by using random-effects meta-regression. Potential nonlinear associations were evaluated by using restricted cubic splines. Results: Of 2303 articles, 16 studies met the eligibility criteria; these studies comprised 313,041 individuals and 11,995 CVD, 7534 IHD, and 2686 fatal IHD events. Circulating magnesium (per 0.2 mmol/L increment) was associated with a 30% lower risk of CVD (RR: 0.70; 95% CI: 0.56, 0.88 per 0.2 mmol/L) and trends toward lower risks of IHD (RR: 0.83; 95% CI: 0.75, 1.05) and fatal IHD (RR: 0.61; 95% CI: 0.37, 1.00). Dietary magnesium (per 200-mg/d increment) was not significantly associated with CVD (RR: 0.89; 95% CI: 0.75, 1.05) but was associated with a 22% lower risk of IHD (RR: 0.78; 95% CI: 0.67, 0.92). The association of dietary magnesium with fatal IHD was nonlinear (P , 0.001), with an inverse association observed up to a threshold of w250 mg/d (RR: 0.73; 95% CI: 0.62, 0.86), compared with lower intakes. Conclusion: Circulating and dietary magnesium are inversely associated with CVD risk, which supports the need for clinical trials to evaluate the potential role of magnesium in the prevention of CVD and IHD. Am J Clin Nutr doi: 10.3945/ajcn.112.053132.
Buchsbaum bundles on Pn

Abstract It is shown that there is no indecomposable rank two bundle on P C n , n ≥4, whose first cohomology module is 1-Buchsbaum. It is also shown that there is no indecomposable rank two bundle on P C n , n ≥5, whose first cohomology module is 2-Buchsbaum.
African Dust over the Northern Tropical Atlantic: 1955–2008

African dust outbreaks are the result of complex interactions between the land, atmosphere, and oceans, and only recently has a large body of work begun to emerge that aims to understand the controls on—and impacts of—African dust. At the same time, long-term records of dust outbreaks are either inferred from visibility data from weather stations or confined to a few in situ observational sites. Satellites provide the best opportunity for studying the large-scale characteristics of dust storms, but reliable records of dust are generally on the scale of a decade or less. Here the authors develop a simple model for using modern and historical data from meteorological satellites, in conjunction with a proxy record for atmospheric dust, to extend satellite-retrieved dust opticaldepthoverthenortherntropicalAtlanticOceanfrom1955to2008.Theresultant54-yrrecordofdusthas a spatial resolution of 18 and a monthly temporal resolution. From analysis of the historical dust data, monthly tropical northern Atlanticdust coverisbimodal,has a strongannual cycle,peaked in the early 1980s, and shows minimums in dustiness during the beginning and end of the record. These dust optical depth estimates are used to calculate radiative forcing and heating rates from the surface through the top of the atmosphere over the last half century. Radiative transfer simulations show a large net negative dust forcing from the surface through the topoftheatmosphere,alsowithadistinctannualcycle,andmeantropicalAtlanticmonthlyvaluesofthesurface forcing range from 2 3t o2 9Wm 22 . Since the surface forcing is roughly a factor of 3 larger in magnitude than the top-of-the-atmosphere forcing, there is also a positive heating rate of the midtroposphere by dust.
A history of the development of CMOS oscillators: The dark horse in frequency control

Microelectronic technologies developed over the past decade to replace quartz crystal resonators (XTALs) and oscillators (XOs) are discussed. A new figure-of-merit (FOM) is proposed to compare these emerging technologies. It is shown that CMOS oscillators (COs) have been an underestimated technology amidst these efforts as the performance of COs is comparable to existing and emerging technologies and continues to scale. Motivations and concepts behind COs are presented along with native and package-induced frequency drift mechanisms. Design and packaging approaches that minimize drift are demonstrated. A brief history of CO product embodiments is presented. State-of-art CO performance is reported where better than ±25ppm frequency drift is achieved over 0 to 70°C and less than 950fs RMS phase jitter integrated from 12kHz to 20MHz is realized.
On the Nature of Knowledge: Rethinking Popular Assumptions

Knowledge management (KM) has been an increasing focus for both researchers and practitioners for more than a decade. The discussions generally have viewed the goal of KM as the application of technical and organizational capabilities to improve the processes of creating, storing, retrieving, transferring, and applying knowledge. This paper examines two important philosophical relationships that are at the foundation knowledge management: the relationship between tacit and explicit aspects of knowledge and the relationship between information and knowledge. The paper demonstrates that most papers that discuss knowledge management systems discuss these relationships as though there are two types of knowledge and that it is important to distinguish between knowledge and information. This paper challenges these two popular assumptions and suggests alternative viewpoints that may improve our philosophical foundation for the study of knowledge management systems.
Policy management for networked systems and applications

In this paper, we present a novel policy middleware architecture for managing IT systems and applications that span multiple networks and administrative domains. The proposed policy middleware provides a standard infrastructure for the creation, storage, distribution, and execution of policies, and helps in reducing the cost of making IT systems policy-aware. In particular, we focus on three aspects of the proposed policy middleware that help in making the middleware fully general: (1) a platform-neutral and extensible specification of policies; (2) the local ratification of policies, which lets system administrators accept, reject, or flag an incoming policy; and (3) the transformation of policies, which allows system administrators to transform incoming policies to match their local environment. We present our experience in building an application on the proposed middleware to audit the configuration of a storage area network. We also present performance results from a prototype and show that our policy middleware design can scale to handle a large number of policies.
Measuring Sight-Word Acquisition and Retention Rates with Curriculum-Based Assessment:

Few studies have been published that have examined the psychometric properties of Gickling's model of curriculum-based assessment (CBA), even though this model is among the few educational assessment models that include both performance assessment and cognitive learning theory. The current study examined the delayed alternate-form reliability of measuring sight-word acquisition and retention rates using CBA with 91 students from grades 1, 3. and 5. Each student was twice taught a different group of words from the Esperanto International Language, with a 14-day retest interval. The total number of words acquired, number of words retained, and percentage of words retained were correlated between the two sessions. The reliability of the first two rates was above established minimum levels of adequacy for grades 3 and 5, but the retention rates expressed as a percentage were not.
Signed weighted gene co-expression network analysis of transcriptional regulation in murine embryonic stem cells

Recent work has revealed that a core group of transcription factors (TFs) regulates the key characteristics of embryonic stem (ES) cells: pluripotency and self-renewal. Current efforts focus on identifying genes that play important roles in maintaining pluripotency and self-renewal in ES cells and aim to understand the interactions among these genes. To that end, we investigated the use of unsigned and signed network analysis to identify pluripotency and differentiation related genes. We show that signed networks provide a better systems level understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of ES cells than unsigned networks, using two independent murine ES cell expression data sets. Specifically, using signed weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), we found a pluripotency module and a differentiation module, which are not identified in unsigned networks. We confirmed the importance of these modules by incorporating genome-wide TF binding data for key ES cell regulators. Interestingly, we find that the pluripotency module is enriched with genes related to DNA damage repair and mitochondrial function in addition to transcriptional regulation. Using a connectivity measure of module membership, we not only identify known regulators of ES cells but also show that Mrpl15, Msh6, Nrf1, Nup133, Ppif, Rbpj, Sh3gl2, and Zfp39, among other genes, have important roles in maintaining ES cell pluripotency and self-renewal. We also report highly significant relationships between module membership and epigenetic modifications (histone modifications and promoter CpG methylation status), which are known to play a role in controlling gene expression during ES cell self-renewal and differentiation. Our systems biologic re-analysis of gene expression, transcription factor binding, epigenetic and gene ontology data provides a novel integrative view of ES cell biology.
Developing Contradictions: Women's Participation as a Site of Struggle Within an Indian NGO∗

Women are being hired in increasing numbers by development projects to facilitate women's participation components. Once employed, however, women often find themselves marginalized within their organizations. In this paper, I find that the women's participation component of an Indian drinking water project has enabled the exclusion of women fieldworkers employed by the project. Drawing on the work of Bakhtin, I show participatory approaches as multiple, partial, and contentious. Moves to thwart women fieldworkers and women's participation give rise to struggles over development geography. Analysis of project records, interviews with staff, and observation of staff activities provide evidence for results.
Comparison of Dry Scrubber and Class C Fly Ash in Controlled Low-Strength Material (CLSM) Applications

Controlled low-strength material (CLSM) is a cementitious material, commonly a blend of portland cement, fly ash, sand, and water, that is usually flowable and self-leveling at the time of placement. It is generally used in nonstructural applications below grade where low strengths are desired. In these cases, the mature strength of the CLSM is intended to be no stronger than that of the surrounding soils.
A dynamic tree-locking protocol

The tree-locking protocol proposed by Silberschatz and Kedem5 guarantees transaction schedules that are both serializable and deadlock-free. The tree-locking protocol assumes the existence of a partial order defined over all of the objects in a database. Requiring all transactions to be tree-locked with respect to this single partial order limits the degree of concurrency obtainable in a database system by increasing the potential for conflict between transactions. In this paper we define a new locking protocol that is derived from the tree-locking protocol, but allows a changing set of partial orders to be defined over the objects in a database. We call this protocol dynamic tree-locking.
Employing Mobile Applications in Human-Machine Interaction in Visual Pattern Recognition Research

This study is part of the first author’s continued dissertation research in human-machine interaction in visual pattern recognition. Previous research focused on evaluating human-machine interaction using a flower recognition tool. Initial research showed that human interaction in color recognition improved accuracy significantly. We then looked more deeply into various automated color recognition algorithms and ways of combining them with human feedback. Described here is the process of upgrading the initial system into a new mobile application using Appinventor. After data collection, models were built for various color spaces. Sharing this experience may help other researchers incorporating a human-computer interaction component into their work.
A User-Friendly Program for Calculating Economic Returns from Egg Production

Abstract A user-friendly computer program for calculating per cage returns (above feed and pullet-rearing costs) and per cage profits, over egg and feed price ranges, specified by the user, was developed using IBM PC BASIC®. In determining per cage returns, the program considers the following 10 factors: pullet costs, pullet grower payments, toe-clipping costs, egg production for a specified period of lay, blended egg prices, feed consumption, variable feed prices, mortality estimates, cull hen weights, and salvage value of spent hens. Overhead costs that can be considered by the user in calculating per cage profits include: 1) depreciation on initial laying-hen houses, cages, and equipment investments, 2) interest on investment for the caging facility, 3) labor, and 4) utilities. Calculation of the two economic variables (per cage returns and profits) at a given egg and feed price is possible. The program can also calculate either economic variable at user- chosen incremental values of market egg and feed prices.
Cabbage Looper Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus-Parasitoid Interactions

Field and laboratory tests were conducted to determine the relationships between a parasitoid, Voria ruralis (Fallen), its host, Trichoplusia ni (Hubner), and a nuclear polyhedrosis virus. By dissection it was observed that up to 100% of the parasitoidism of field-collected T. ni larvae was in hosts infected with nuclear polyhedrosis virus. Thus, accounting for parasitoidism in diseased hosts can significantly alter apparent parasitoidism rates. Laboratory tests confirmed that the parasitoid can survive, develop in, and emerge from diseased larvae. Although histological sections revealed nuclear polyhedrosis virus in the gut lumen of V. ruralis puparia that had fed on diseased hosts, the virus was voided from adults soon after emergence and before oviposition. Tests revealed that V. ruralis does not act as a biological vector, and it acts as a mechanical vector only under very restricted conditions.
A different view of thrombosis.

In this paper we discuss some of the physical difficulties associated with the classical view of thrombosis and conclude that there are problems associated with these concepts. We propose an alternative model based on our published observations that, during ex-vivo thrombus formation, the platelets, which normally do not stain for tissue factor, become tissue factor positive. These hybrid species are capable not only of propagating coagulation, but also of initiating it. Thus thrombi can grow without evoking long-range diffusion - a very slow and inefficient mechanism, particularly in a flowing system.
Evaluation of a Net Dose-Reducing Organ-Based Tube Current Modulation Technique: Comparison With Standard Dose and Bismuth-Shielded Acquisitions

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to compare the dose and image noise associated with two methods of radiation dose reduction to the superficial anterior organs: bismuth shielding and a net dose–reducing organ-based tube current modulation TCM technique. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Three scanning modes—the reference dose, bismuth-shielded, and organ dose–modulated modes—were evaluated. With the use of an anthropomorphic phantom, surface doses to the eye, thyroid, and female breast were measured using optically stimulated luminescence detectors. A CT dose index (CTDI) phantom was used to compare doses with the overall phantom volume in the different modes. RESULTS. The dose to the anterior surface was reduced by 35%, 42%, and 37% in the head, neck, and chest regions, respectively, when the bismuth-shielded scanning mode was used, whereas surface dose reductions of 20%, 34%, and 38%, respectively, were noted for the organ-based TCM scanning mode. The CTDI-type dose was reduced by 13%, 14%, and 17% in the ...
Existence of continuous-wave threshold for organic semiconductor lasers

We develop a model that predicts two threshold pump intensities in optically pumped organic semiconductor lasers (OSLs); one for pulsed lasing, ${I}_{PS}$, and another for continuous-wave (CW) lasing, ${I}_{CW}$. The theory predicts a decrease in ${I}_{CW}$ from 32 kW/cm${}^{2}$, or well above the damage threshold, to 2.2 kW/cm${}^{2}$, for a laser employing 4-(dicyanomethylene)-2-methyl-6-julolidyl-9-enyl-4H-pyran--doped tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum if the triplets can be effectively removed from the emissive guest. Based on this analysis, we demonstrate that the lasing duration can be extended to nearly 100 \ensuremath{\mu}s, ultimately limited by degradation of the lasing medium when a ``triplet manager'' molecule, 9,10-di(naphtha-2-yl)anthracene, is blended into the gain region of an otherwise conventional distributed feedback OSL. The triplet manager facilitates radiative singlet transfer while suppressing nonradiative triplet transfer to the emitter molecule, thus reducing the triplet-induced losses. Our theory conclusively shows that these lasers have entered the CW lasing regime.
Population growth, land allocation and conflict in Mali

ABSTRACTThis study analyses the linkages between rural-to-rural migration as measured by rural population growth and land-tenure conflict in southwestern Mali. Land-tenure rules in Mali are characterized by legal pluralism, leading to ambiguity about who has legal access to land and thereby increasing land-related conflicts. Data from 69 communes (townships) show that communes with less land per person tend to have more land-related conflicts. However, localities that have effective means of allocating land and resolving land-tenure disputes have fewer conflicts. A negative association between population growth rates in the destination areas of major migratory flows and the frequency of land-tenure disputes suggests that migrants are ‘voting with their feet’ in choosing to move to communes that have more effective land-conflict resolution processes. Encouraging more cross-community learning about which conflict-resolution processes work well and developing local conventions that allow village-level decisi...
Regrounding in Place: Paths to Native American Truths at the Margins

Margin acts as ground to receive the figure of the text. Margin is initially unreadable, but as suggested by gestalt studies, may be reversed, or regrounded. A humanities course, Native American Architecture and Place, was created for a polytechnic student population, looking to place as an inroad for access to the margins of a better understanding of Native American/First Nations peoples, and to challenge students to recognize the multiple realities of place through a study of Indigenous place from the People’s conceptions and into contemporary society. Place is specific, and develops from competing recognitions of, and reciprocities with, a common givenness. This form of construction and recognition gathers locations, landscape, and architectural constructions, across a myriad of scales and is authenticated via collateral oral, ritual, and material culture as a rich, visceral lifeworld. The author’s personal and philosophic paths that led to place are discussed as well as pedagogy used within the course, including sessions led by Northern Chumash and Playano Salinan Elders. Resume
Some Aspects of Thermal Conductivity in High-Tc Superconductors

Although the key issue of high-temperature superconductivity, namely its microscopic origin, has not yet been satisfactorily resolved, an extensive experimental effort over the past 5 1/2 years has resulted in a wealth of useful data pertaining to physical parameters of the high-Tc perovskites. Studies of the thermal conductivity have proved to be among the most surprising and, unlike galvanomagnetic investigations, they offer important insight into the nature of transport processes over the entire temperature range.
Albumin, Gamma Globulin, and Related Derivatives

Publisher Summary Plasma contains more than 700 proteins of various structures and functions, of which only albumin, immunoglobulin, and clotting factor concentrates are available for administration. Efficient use of plasma mandates that these components be isolated, purified, and concentrated for individual use. In turn, efficient and appropriate use of the plasma derivatives requires that the clinician be thoroughly familiar with their indications and therapeutic benefits, as well as with possible complications associated with their administration. Plasma components may be extracted from various plasma products, including from plasma obtained through centrifugation of whole blood and plasmapheresis and from fresh frozen plasma. Extraction of these components is accomplished through the cold ethanol fractionation method and results in the separation of various protein fractions, such as albumin, immunoglobulin, and factor concentrates VII, VIII, and IX. Albumin preparations are stored in ready-to-use bottles at room temperature not to exceed 30°C. Freezing should be avoided. Human albumin 5% and 25% and PPF 5% are supplied in ready-to-use bottles. No special preparation is required when administered without dilution. All albumin solutions must be administered intravenously. Albumin preparations may be used as diluents or in conjunction with blood, plasma, glucose, or saline solutions. Therapeutic responses to infusions of albumin and immunoglobulin preparations are assessed clinically. Monitoring of laboratory parameters is not possible or necessary.
Barium Fluoride Crystal Calorimeter for GEM

Barium fluoride (BaF2) crystal calorimeter is one of two options being pursued by the GEM collaboration as a precision electromagnetic calorimeter. This report summarises progress of R&D on barium fluoride crystal calorimeter for GEM.
Strategic voting, information, and ethnicity in emerging democracies: Evidence from Kenya

This paper explores the conditions under which voters in emerging democracies support non-viable candidates. We argue that cognitive biases and the geographic clustering of minor-party supporters in ethno-political enclaves lead to misperceptions about the electoral prospects of minor-party candidates, weakening strategic defections both among co-ethnic and non-co-ethnic supporters. We explore these arguments using original survey data from Kenya's 2007 presidential election, a contest that featured a minor-party candidate, Kalonzo Musyoka, who stood little chance of electoral victory. Despite this, results show that most of his supporters chose to vote for the candidate, failing to perceive that he was not a viable contender. The findings suggest that theories of political behavior in multi-ethnic settings can be enriched by drawing upon insights from the political psychology literature on belief formation.
Anchor Points Matter in ANOVA Decomposition

We focus on the analysis of variance (ANOVA) method for high dimensional approximations employing the Dirac measure. This anchored-ANOVA representation converges exponentially fast for certain classes of functions but the error depends strongly on the anchor points. We employ the concept of “weights per dimension” to construct a theory that leads to the optimal anchor points. We then present examples of a function approximation as well as numerical solutions of the stochastic advection equation up to 500 dimensions using a combination of anchored-ANOVA and polynomial chaos expansions.
The Role of the Cytoplasmic Domain of the FcγRI α Chain in FcγRI Signaling.

The high affinity Fcγreceptor FcγRI, consists of a ligand binding α chain and an associated γ chain subunit. Signaling by FcγRI is thought to be mediated through the cytoplasmic domain (CYT) of the γ chain which contains the ITAM sequence essential for many Ig receptor signaling events. For example, we have demonstrated that the γ chain is required for FcγRI mediated phagocytosis. The FcγRI α chain CYT lacks known signaling motifs and consists of 64 amino acids whose function has not yet been defined. Evidence is beginning to accumulate, however, for the participation of the FcγRIα CYT in FcγRI mediated signaling events. For example, we previously demonstrated that the FcγRIα CYT contributes to modulation of FcγRI mediated cytokine release (eg IL-6) and calcium flux. We have now observed that in the absence of γchain expression, FcγRIα efficiently induces the internalization of aggregated IgG complexes in transfected COS-1 cells. Taken together, the data suggest that the FcγRIα CYT contributes to signaling by FcγRI. We, therefore, utilized yeast two-hybrid screening to identify effector molecules that bind to the FcγRIα CYT. Of especial interest among the identified binding molecules is β arrestin-2, recently defined as an adaptor molecule linking receptors such as the LDL and type III TGF-β receptors to the endocytic pathway. Also of interest is Snapin, an adaptor molecule involved in membrane trafficking. These studies should help to define sequences in the cytoplasmic domain of FcγRIα that mediate and/or modulate important FcγR functions.
Longitudinal Prediction of Quality-of-Life Scores and Locomotion in Individuals With Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract Objectives To examine (1) differences in quality-of-life scores for groups based on transitions in locomotion status at 1, 5, and 10 years postdischarge in a sample of people with spinal cord injury (SCI); and (2) whether demographic factors and transitions in locomotion status can predict quality-of-life measures at these time points. Design Retrospective case study of the National SCI Database. Setting Model SCI Systems Centers. Participants Individuals with SCI (N=10,190) from 21 SCI Model Systems Centers, identified through the National SCI Model Systems Centers database between the years 1985 and 2012. Subjects had FIM (locomotion mode) data at discharge and at least 1 of the following: 1, 5, or 10 years postdischarge. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures FIM–locomotion mode; Severity of Depression Scale; Satisfaction With Life Scale; and Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique. Results Participants who transitioned from ambulation to wheelchair use reported lower participation and life satisfaction, and higher depression levels ( P P P >.05) or life satisfaction ( P >.05) compared with those who transitioned from wheelchair to ambulation. Demographic factors and locomotion transitions predicted quality-of-life scores at all time points ( P Conclusions The results of this study indicate that transitioning from ambulation to wheelchair use can negatively impact psychosocial health 10 years after SCI. Clinicians should be aware of this when deciding on ambulation training. Further work to characterize who may be at risk for these transitions is needed.
A More Human Place: Using Core Counseling Skills to Transform Faculty-Student Relationships

The problem of law student and lawyer distress is longstanding, severe, and remarkably resilient in the face of efforts to address it. In this article, I propose increased attention by law faculty to relationship building during law school as a way to begin to reverse the downward spiral that draws in so many of our students and holds them captive, sometimes until long after they graduate from law school. Research shows that supportive social connections are the single most important factor in protecting against stress, increasing resilience, and contributing to greater feelings of happiness. Moreover, if the goal of improving student wellbeing is not, in itself, sufficient motivation for addressing law student distress, there is the strong likelihood that taking steps to improve students’ wellbeing will also improve their academic performance. Numerous studies show that happier people are more successful and resilient than their distressed and unhappy counterparts. To model effective relationship building in a professional context, law faculty can employ basic counseling skills in their daily interactions with students. These skills are not new to law schools: they are commonly taught in courses that focus on interviewing and counseling clients. By intentionally modeling these skills in their interactions with students, faculty include them in the “hidden curriculum,” those skills that are “caught not taught” as students observe and internalize how lawyers actually comport themselves and relate to others. By employing these skills in their interactions with students, faculty have the opportunity to promote strong relationships and personal connection in a professional setting that can help protect students against distress. Training generations of students by example in the art and value of developing personal relationships in a professional setting has the potential to transform students’ experience in law school, the student approach to law practice, and, eventually, the very nature of the legal profession itself.
Nutrient Cycles and Nutrient Limitations in the South

The impact of acidic deposition on forest soils depends largely on the nutrient cycles of the forest, and management treatments (such as fertilization) may also be important. As noted in chapter 2, if a forest utilizes the nitrate or sulfate from atmospheric deposition, the associated acidity is neutralized. The acidity of a soil with an abundant supply of nutrient cations may be less affected than a similar soil with a lower supply, and soil changes may not be proportional to changes in forest productivity. In this chapter, we review the cycles of nitrogen, sulfur, and cations and we discuss the degree to which these nutrients limit forest productivity in the South.
Images of Cleavage: Tumor Proteases in Action

The roles of proteases in cancer are now known to be much broader than simply degradation of extracellular matrices during tumor invasion and metastasis. Furthermore, proteases from tumor-associated cells (e.g., fibroblasts, inflammatory cells, and endothelial cells) as well as tumor cells are recognized to contribute to proteolytic pathways critical to neoplastic progression. Although increased expression of proteases at the level of transcripts and protein has been observed in many tumors, the functional roles of proteases remain to be determined. Novel techniques for imaging activity of proteases, both in vitro and in vivo, are available as are selective imaging probes and substrates that allow discrimination of the activity of one class of protease from another or one individual protease from another. In this chapter, we describe in vitro models and assays for the functional imaging of proteases and proteolytic pathways. These models and assays can serve as screening platforms for the identification of pathways that are potential therapeutic targets and for further development of technologies and imaging probes for in vivo use. Such uses might include diagnosis and patient follow-up during the course of therapies that alter protease activities, perhaps even providing the crucial data needed to alter the course of treatment and/or the therapies used.
Use of Caenorhabditis elegans as a model for studying MGMT's role in DNA transactions

274 Our laboratory has recently discovered that human 06-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT), a unique DNA repair protein and an anticancer target, interacts with replication components (e.g. PCNA), and is also an integral part of the replication licensing system (ORCs/Cdt1/geminin etc.) that ensures no part of the genome is replicated more than once in the S phase. The free living nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans offers an elegant system to study MGMT9s role in licensing control, and how it interfaces with differentiation and developmental programs at an organism level. C. elegans has two distinct orthologues of MGMT, known as AGT-1 and AGT-2, about which little is known. To this end, we first established an RNAi protocol to deplete either gene and compared the F1 progeny against wild type for differences in DNA synthesis and embryo development. Second, using O6-benzylguanine, a specific inhibitor of the AGT proteins, we established an embryo counting assay to determine brood size of the worms. Finally, using microscopic techniques (phase contrast and immunofluorescence), we have shown that AGT depletion causes gross morphological changes in the worm. Our preliminary data suggests that both AGT genes play a role in embryogenesis and germ line differentiation, and that loss of either gene results in fewer embryos in the fertile adult worms. Our other studies have shown that MGMT inactivation inhibits DNA synthesis and MGMT overexpression in human tumor cells induces polyploidy. Ongoing experiments to elucidate MGMT9s role in replication licensing of chromosomal DNA will be described (Supported by RO1 CA 97343 grant to KSS and the Mirick-Myers Endowment in Geriatric Medicine of TTUHSC, Amarillo ).
Effect of Size on Solid Tumor Disposition of Protein Therapeutics

In this study, we evaluated the effect of size on tumor disposition of protein therapeutics, including the plasma and tumor pharmacokinetics (PK) of trastuzumab (∼150 kDa), FcRn-nonbinding trastuzumab (∼150 kDa), F(ab)2 fragment of trastuzumab (∼100 kDa), Fab fragment of trastuzumab (∼50 kDa), and trastuzumab scFv (∼27 kDa) in both antigen (i.e., HER2)-overexpressing (N87) and antigen-nonexpressing (MDA-MB-468) tumor-bearing mice. The observed data were used to develop the maximum tumor uptake versus molecular weight and tumor-to-plasma area under the curve (AUC) ratio versus molecular weight relationships. Comparison of the PK of different sizes of FcRn nonbinding molecules in target-expressing tumor showed that ∼100 kDa is an optimal size to achieve maximum tumor uptake and ∼50 kDa is an optimal size to achieve maximum tumor-to-plasma exposure ratio of protein therapeutics. The PK data were also used to validate a systems PK model for tumor disposition of different-sized protein therapeutics. The PK model was able to predict a priori the PK of all five molecules in both tumor types reasonably well (within 2- to 3-fold). In addition, the model captured the bell-shaped relationships observed between maximum tumor uptake and molecular weight and between tumor-to-plasma AUC ratio and molecular weight. Our results provide an unprecedented insight into the effect of size and target engagement on the tumor PK of protein therapeutics. Our results also provide further validation of the tumor disposition model, which can be used to support discovery, development, and preclinical-to-clinical translation of different sizes of protein therapeutics. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: This article highlights the importance of molecular size and target engagement on the tumor disposition of protein therapeutics. Our results suggest that ∼100 kDa is an optimal size to achieve maximum tumor uptake and ∼50 kDa is an optimal size to achieve maximum tumor-to-plasma exposure ratio for non-FcRn-binding targeted protein therapeutics. We also demonstrate that a systems pharmacokinetics model developed to characterize tumor disposition of protein therapeutics can predict a priori the disposition of different-sized protein therapeutics in target-expressing and target-nonexpressing solid tumors.
LFSR-Based Test Generation for Reduced Fail Data Volume

Fail data is collected on a tester to allow defect diagnosis to be carried out. The high volume of fail data that some faulty units produce, and the test application time, motivated the development of procedures for terminating the fail data collection process before it stores the entire fail data for a faulty unit. A procedure for modifying a test set to reduce the fail data volume it produces was developed to complement these approaches, but without considering the constraints of a test data compression method. This article describes a procedure for modifying a stored test set to reduce the fail data volume under a test data compression method where a linear-feedback shift-register is used for on-chip decompression. The constraints of the test data compression method affect the procedure in several important ways. The experimental results for benchmark circuits demonstrate the ability of the procedure to reduce the fail data volume by modifying a stored test set.
Assessing accuracy of Weibull shape parameter estimate from historical studies for subsequent sample size calculation in clinical trials with time-to-event outcome.

Abstract Background Recent developments in literature on sample size calculations for time-to-event outcomes involve assumption of Weibull distributed times. These methods require a point estimate of the Weibull shape parameter obtained from historical studies. However, very limited guidance exists in published literature to assess how reliable this point estimate is when it is obtained from published results of a historical study. Methods We conduct simulations to assess how accurate and reliable the point estimate of the Weibull shape parameter is when it is estimated from published results of median survival time and/or corresponding interquartile range. Accuracy of this estimate is assessed using the criteria of average relative bias, root mean square error, and coefficient of variation for various combinations of sample sizes and censoring rates. Sensitivity of these calculations is assessed first, by increasing the number of survival quantiles used to calculate accuracy, and second, by using the full Kaplan Meier (KM) curve from the historical study. Results Our simulations suggest that point estimate of the shape parameter is reasonably accurate when estimated from historical studies with sample size ≥ 50 with censoring rate approximately 20%. Knowledge of the median and inter-quartile range seems to be adequate for this purpose. For historical studies with small sample sizes or higher censoring rates, more information needs to be abstracted from the published KM curves to improve accuracy. Conclusions We conclude that assessing the accuracy of Weibull shape parameter estimate is important before it can be used to conduct sample size calculations for a subsequent trial.
Understanding How Resilience is Measured in the Organizational Sciences

Resilience is a topic of growing interest in the workplace; however, regarding its definition and measurement, a wide range of perspectives and idiosyncrasies persist. We take a closer look at the ...
Path Planning for Critical ATM/UTM Areas

We create a path planning algorithm to be used in areas where conventional aircraft and Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles (UAV) are in close proximity. We apply this algorithm to a number of use cases including UAV traffic near airports and conventional air traffic near high-density UAV traffic. To execute the algorithm, we employ both High Performance Computing (HPC) and quantum computing.
Clinical and Multimodal Imaging Findings in Disseminated Mycobacterium Chimaera

Purpose To characterize the ophthalmic clinical and multimodal imaging findings of disseminated Mycobacterium chimaera infection after cardiothoracic surgery. Design Observational case series. Participants Four patients (8 eyes) with disseminated M. chimaera infection. Methods Patients were evaluated with biomicroscopy, OCT and OCT angiography, fundus autofluorescence, and fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography. Main Outcome Measures Clinical and multimodal imaging findings of patients with disseminated M. chimaera infection. Results All 4 patients were white men with a mean age of 65.5 years (range, 60–75 years) who had aortic valve or root infection, or both, with M. chimaera diagnosed by culture, gene sequencing, or both. All 4 patients demonstrated bilateral choroidal lesions on funduscopy and evidence of osteomyelitis by imaging, culture analysis, or both at the time of ocular diagnosis. Indocyanine green and OCT angiography revealed numerous additional subclinical choroidal lesions and were used to track disease response to therapy. Fluorescein angiography and fundus autofluorescence were useful in determining lesion age and activity. All patients were treated with 3- or 4-drug antimycobacterial therapy. Three underwent revision of cardiothoracic surgery with removal of infected graft. One patient went on to demonstrate progressive ocular disease that was noted before each of his surgical revisions. Two patients showed improvement in ocular and systemic disease, however one of them developed a choroidal neovascular membrane. The final patient was a single encounter whose clinical and imaging findings showed longstanding inactive disease. Conclusions Ophthalmologists should be aware of the systemic and ocular findings of this rare life-threatening disease. Multimodal imaging is useful in corroborating a diagnosis of ocular M. chimaera and particularly in evaluating patient response to therapy, because choroidal activity seems to mimic systemic activity. Treating physicians should be aware of the co-occurrence of choroiditis and osteomyelitis. Choroidal neovascular membrane can also be a late complication of this disease.
Real-Time Modal Analysis of Electric Power Grids– The Need for Dynamic State Estimation

We articulate the reason why dynamic state estimation is needed to push the boundaries of the modal analysis of electric power grids in real-time operation. Then, we demonstrate how to unravel linear and nonlinear modes by using the extended dynamic mode decomposition along with estimates of the synchronous generators’ rotor angles and rotor speed deviations from nominal speed. The estimated modes are associated with electromechanical oscillations that take place continuously in electric power grids because of imbalances between power generation and demand. The numerical simulations are performed on a synthetic, albeit realistic, 2,000-bus network that was designed to resemble the electric power grid of Texas.