cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cryo-EM structure of the ATP-sensitive potassium channel illuminates mechanisms of assembly and gating.

The hormone insulin reduces blood sugar levels by encouraging fat, muscle and other body cells to take up sugar. When blood sugar levels rise following a meal, cells within the pancreas known as beta cells should release insulin. In people with diabetes, the beta cells fail to release insulin, meaning that the high blood sugar levels are not corrected. When blood sugar levels are high, beta cells generate more energy in the form of ATP molecules. The increased level of ATP causes channels called ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channels in the membrane of the cell to close. This triggers a cascade of events that leads to the release of insulin. Some treatments for diabetes alter how the KATP channels work. For example, a widely prescribed medication called glibenclamide (also known as glyburide in the United States) stimulates the release of insulin by preventing the flow of potassium through KATP channels. It remains unknown exactly how ATP and glibenclamide interact with the channel’s molecular structure to stop the flow of potassium ions. KATP channels are made up of two proteins called SUR1 and Kir6.2. To investigate the structure of the KATP channel, Martin et al. purified channels made of the hamster form of the SUR1 protein and the mouse form of Kir6.2, which each closely resemble their human counterparts. The channels were purified in the presence of ATP and glibenclamide and were then rapidly frozen to preserve their structure, which allowed them to be visualized individually using electron microscopy. By analyzing the images taken from many channels, Martin et al. constructed a highly detailed, three-dimensional map of the KATP channel. The structure revealed by this map shows how SUR1 and Kir6.2 work together and provides insight into how ATP and glibenclamide interact with the channel to block the flow of potassium, and hence stimulate the release of insulin. An important next step will be to improve the structure to more clearly identify where ATP and glibenclamide bind to the KATP channel. It will also be important to study the structures of channels that are bound to other regulatory molecules. This will help researchers to fully understand how KATP channels located throughout the body operate under healthy and diseased conditions. This knowledge will aid in the design of more effective drugs to treat several devastating diseases caused by defective KATP channels.
Towards Accurate Multi-person Pose Estimation in the Wild

We propose a method for multi-person detection and 2-D pose estimation that achieves state-of-art results on the challenging COCO keypoints task. It is a simple, yet powerful, top-down approach consisting of two stages. In the first stage, we predict the location and scale of boxes which are likely to contain people, for this we use the Faster RCNN detector. In the second stage, we estimate the keypoints of the person potentially contained in each proposed bounding box. For each keypoint type we predict dense heatmaps and offsets using a fully convolutional ResNet. To combine these outputs we introduce a novel aggregation procedure to obtain highly localized keypoint predictions. We also use a novel form of keypoint-based Non-Maximum-Suppression (NMS), instead of the cruder box-level NMS, and a novel form of keypoint-based confidence score estimation, instead of box-level scoring. Trained on COCO data alone, our final system achieves average precision of 0.649 on the COCO test-dev set and the 0.643 test-standard sets, outperforming the winner of the 2016 COCO keypoints challenge and other recent state-of-art. Further, by using additional in-house labeled data we obtain an even higher average precision of 0.685 on the test-dev set and 0.673 on the test-standard set, more than 5% absolute improvement compared to the previous best performing method on the same dataset.
NON-GRAVITATIONAL ACCELERATION OF THE ACTIVE ASTEROIDS

Comets can exhibit non-gravitational accelerations caused by recoil forces due to anisotropic mass loss. So might active asteroids. We present an astrometric investigation of 18 active asteroids in search of non-gravitational acceleration. Statistically significant (signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) ) detections are obtained from three objects: 313P/Gibbs, 324P/La Sagra, and (3200) Phaethon. The strongest and most convincing detection (>7σ in each of three orthogonal components of the acceleration), is for the ~1 km diameter nucleus of 324P/La Sagra. A 4.5σ detection of the transverse component of the acceleration of 313P/Gibbs (also ~1 km in diameter) is likely genuine too, as evidenced by the stability of the solution to the rejection or inclusion of specific astrometric data sets. We also find a 3.4σ radial-component detection for ~5 km diameter (3200) Phaethon, but this detection is more sensitive to the inclusion of specific data sets, suggesting that it is likely spurious in origin. The other 15 active asteroids in our sample all show non-gravitational accelerations consistent with zero. We explore different physical mechanisms, which may give rise to the observed non-gravitational effects, and estimate mass-loss rates from the non-gravitational accelerations. We present a revised momentum-transfer law based on a physically realistic sublimation model for future work on non-gravitational forces, but note that it has little effect on the derived orbital elements.
Did Medicaid Expansion Reduce Medical Divorce

Medical divorce occurs when couples split up so that one spouse’s medical bills do not deplete the assets of the healthy spouse. It has not been studied in the economics literature, but it has been discussed by attorneys and widely reported in the media. We develop a model of medical divorce that demonstrates that divorce is optimal when a couple’s joint assets exceed the exempted asset level. We use the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion which removed asset tests to qualify for Medicaid as exogenous variation in the incidence of divorce (as it was only implemented by some states). We find that the ACA expansion decreased the prevalence of divorce by 11.6% among those ages 50–64 with a college degree. These results are robust to numerous placebo checks including older subsamples (who qualify for Medicare regardless of assets) and earlier years (before the expansion was implemented). Our results suggest that Medicaid expansion reduced medical divorce.
Identifying potentially induced seismicity and assessing statistical significance in Oklahoma and California

We develop a statistical method for identifying induced seismicity from large datasets and apply the method to decades of wastewater disposal and seismicity data in California and Oklahoma. The study regions are divided into gridblocks. We use a longitudinal study design, seeking associations between seismicity and wastewater injection volume along time-series within each gridblock. In each gridblock, we find the maximum likelihood estimate for a model parameter that relates induced seismicity hazard to total volume of wastewater injected each year. To assess significance, we compute likelihood ratio test statistics in each gridblock and each state, California and Oklahoma. Resampling with permutation and random temporal offset of injection data is used to estimate p-values from the likelihood ratio statistics. We focus on assessing whether observed associations between injection and seismicity occur more often than would be expected by chance; we do not attempt to quantify the overall incidence of induced seismicity. The study is designed so that, under reasonable assumptions, the associations can be formally interpreted as demonstrating causality. Wastewater disposal is associated with other activities that can induce seismicity, such as reservoir depletion. Therefore, our results should be interpreted as finding seismicity induced by wastewater disposal and all other associated activities. In Oklahoma, the analysis finds with extremely high confidence that seismicity associated with wastewater disposal has occurred. In California, the analysis finds moderate evidence that seismicity associated with wastewater disposal has occurred, but the result is not strong enough to be conclusive.
Demand estimation and chance-constrained fleet management for ride hailing

In autonomous Mobility on Demand (MOD) systems, customers request rides from a fleet of shared vehicles that can be automatically positioned in response to customer demand. Recent approaches to MOD systems have focused on environments where customers can only request rides through an app or by waiting at a station. This paper develops MOD fleet management approaches for ride hailing, where customers may instead request rides simply by hailing a passing vehicle, an approach of particular importance for campus MOD systems. The challenge for ride hailing is that customer demand is not explicitly provided as it would be with an app, but rather customers are only served if a vehicle happens to be located at the arrival location. This work focuses on maximizing the number of served hailing customers in an MOD system by learning and utilizing customer demand. A Bayesian framework is used to define a novel customer demand model which incorporates observed pedestrian traffic to estimate customer arrival locations with a quantification of uncertainty. An exploration planner is proposed which routes MOD vehicles in order to reduce arrival rate uncertainty. A robust ride hailing fleet management planner is proposed which routes vehicles under the presence of uncertainty using a chance-constrained formulation. Simulation of a real-world MOD system on MIT's campus demonstrates the effectiveness of the planners. The customer demand model and exploration planner are demonstrated to reduce estimation error over time and the ride hailing planner is shown to improve the fraction of served customers in the system by 73% over a baseline exploration approach.
On the Cuspidality of Pullbacks of Siegel Eisenstein Series and Applications to the Bloch-Kato Conjecture

Let k > 9 be an even integer and p a prime with p > 2k −2. Let f be a newform of weight 2k −2 and level so that f is ordinary at p and is irreducible. Under some additional hypotheses, we prove that , where S is the Pontryagin dual of the Selmer group associated to with ϵ the p-adic cyclotomic character. We accomplish this by first constructing a congruence between the Saito–Kurokawa lift of f and a non-CAP Siegel cusp form. Once this congruence is established, we use Galois representations to obtain the lower bound on the Selmer group.
Multi-competitive viruses over static and time-varying networks

Epidemic processes are used commonly for modeling and analysis of biological networks, computer networks, and human contact networks. The idea of competing viruses has been explored recently, motivated by the spread of different ideas along different social networks. Previous studies of competitive viruses have focused only on two viruses and on static networks. In this paper, we consider multiple competing viruses over static and dynamic graph structures, and investigate the eradication and propagation of diseases in these systems. Stability analysis for the class of models we consider is performed and an antidote control technique is proposed.
The Angle Defect for Odd-Dimensional Simplicial Manifolds

In a 1967 paper, Banchoff stated that a certain type of polyhedral curvature, that applies to all finite polyhedra, was zero at all vertices of an odd-dimensional polyhedral manifold; one then obtains an elementary proof that odd-dimensional manifolds have zero Euler characteristic. In a previous paper, the author defined a different approach to curvature for arbitrary simplicial complexes, based upon a direct generalization of the angle defect. The generalized angle defect is not zero at the simplices of every odd-dimensional manifold. In this paper we use a sequence based upon the Bernoulli numbers to define a variant of the angle defect for finite simplicial complexes that still satisfies a Gauss-Bonnet-type theorem, but is also zero at any simplex of an odd-dimensional simplicial complex K (of dimension at least 3), such that ź(link(źi, K)) = 2 for all i-simplices źi of K, where i is an even integer such that 0 ≤ i ≤ n --- 1. As a corollary, an elementary proof is given that any such simplicial complex has Euler characteristic zero.
On automating the doctrine of double effect

The doctrine of double effect (DDE) is a long-studied ethical principle that governs when actions that have both positive and negative effects are to be allowed. The goal in this paper is to automate DDE. We briefly present DDE, and use a first-order modal logic, the deontic cognitive event calculus, as our framework to formalize the doctrine. We present formalizations of increasingly stronger versions of the principle, including what is known as the doctrine of triple effect. We then use our framework to successfully simulate scenarios that have been used to test for the presence of the principle in human subjects. Our framework can be used in two different modes: One can use it to build DDE-compliant autonomous systems from scratch; or one can use it to verify that a given AI system is DDE-compliant, by applying a DDE layer on an existing system or model. For the latter mode, the underlying AI system can be built using any architecture (planners, deep neural networks, bayesian networks, knowledge-representation systems, or a hybrid); as long as the system exposes a few parameters in its model, such verification is possible. The role of the DDE layer here is akin to a (dynamic or static) software verifier that examines existing software modules. Finally, we end by sketching initial work on how one can apply our DDE layer to the STRIPS-style planning model, and to a modified POMDP model. This is preliminary work to illustrate the feasibility of the second mode, and we hope that our initial sketches can be useful for other researchers in incorporating DDE in their own frameworks.
Moral decision making frameworks for artificial intelligence

The generality of decision and game theory has enabled domain-independent progress in AI research. For example, a better algorithm for finding good policies in (PO)MDPs can be instantly used in a variety of applications. But such a general theory is lacking when it comes to moral decision making. For AI applications with a moral component, are we then forced to build systems based on many ad-hoc rules? In this paper we discuss possible ways to avoid this conclusion.
Probabilistic Elastic Part Model: A Pose-Invariant Representation for Real-World Face Verification

Pose variation remains to be a major challenge for real-world face recognition. We approach this problem through a probabilistic elastic part model. We extract local descriptors (e.g., LBP or SIFT) from densely sampled multi-scale image patches. By augmenting each descriptor with its location, a Gaussian mixture model (GMM) is trained to capture the spatial-appearance distribution of the face parts of all face images in the training corpus, namely the probabilistic elastic part (PEP) model. Each mixture component of the GMM is confined to be a spherical Gaussian to balance the influence of the appearance and the location terms, which naturally defines a part. Given one or multiple face images of the same subject, the PEP-model builds its PEP representation by sequentially concatenating descriptors identified by each Gaussian component in a maximum likelihood sense. We further propose a joint Bayesian adaptation algorithm to adapt the universally trained GMM to better model the pose variations between the target pair of faces/face tracks, which consistently improves face verification accuracy. Our experiments show that we achieve state-of-the-art face verification accuracy with the proposed representations on the Labeled Face in the Wild (LFW) dataset, the YouTube video face database, and the CMU MultiPIE dataset.
Space-Time Convex Functions and Sectional Curvature

We show that in Lorentzian manifolds, sectional curvature bounds of the form \(\mathcal {R}\le K\), as defined by Andersson and Howard, are closely tied to space-time convex and \(\lambda \)-convex (\(\lambda >0\)) functions, as defined by Gibbons and Ishibashi. Among the consequences are a natural construction of such functions, and an analog, that applies to domains of a new type, of a theorem of Alias, Bessa and deLira ruling out trapped submanifolds.
The Licensing Effect Revisited: How Virtuous Behavior Heightens the Pleasure Derived from Subsequent Hedonic Consumption

The Licensing Effect Revisited: How Virtuous Behavior Heightens the Pleasure Derived from Subsequent Hedonic Consumption
Strong-field tidal distortions of rotating black holes. III. Embeddings in hyperbolic three-space

In previous work, we developed tools for quantifying the tidal distortion of a black hole's event horizon due to an orbiting companion. These tools use techniques which require large mass ratios (companion mass $\ensuremath{\mu}$ much smaller than black hole mass $M$), but can be used for arbitrary bound orbits and for any black hole spin. We also showed how to visualize these distorted black holes by embedding their horizons in a global Euclidean three-space, ${\mathbb{E}}^{3}$. Such visualizations illustrate interesting and important information about horizon dynamics. Unfortunately, we could not visualize black holes with spin parameter ${a}_{*}g\sqrt{3}/2\ensuremath{\approx}\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}0.866$: such holes cannot be globally embedded into ${\mathbb{E}}^{3}$. In this paper, we overcome this difficulty by showing how to embed the horizons of tidally distorted Kerr black holes in a hyperbolic three-space, ${\mathbb{H}}^{3}$. We use black hole perturbation theory to compute the Gaussian curvatures of tidally distorted event horizons, from which we build a two-dimensional metric of their distorted horizons. We develop a numerical method for embedding the tidally distorted horizons in ${\mathbb{H}}^{3}$. As an application, we give a sequence of embeddings into ${\mathbb{H}}^{3}$ of a tidally interacting black hole with spin ${a}_{*}=0.9999$. A small-amplitude, high-frequency oscillation seen in previous work shows up particularly clearly in these embeddings.
Algebraic rewritings for optimizing regular path queries

Rewriting queries using views is a powerful technique that has applications in query optimization, data integration, data warehousing, etc. Query rewriting in relational databases is by now rather well investigated. However, in the framework of semistructured data the problem of rewriting has received much less attention. In this paper we focus on extracting as much information as possible from algebraic rewritings for the purpose of optimizing regular path queries. The cases when we can find a complete exact rewriting of a query using a set a views are very "ideal". However, there is always information available in the views, even if this information is only partial. We introduce "lower" and "possibility" partial rewritings and provide algorithms for computing them. These rewritings are algebraic in their nature, i.e. we use only the algebraic view definitions for computing the rewritings. We do not use any pairs (tuples) of objects for computing the rewritings. This fact makes them a main memory product, which can be used for reducing secondary memory and remote access. After the main memory algebraic computation of the rewritings there is a second phase, with secondary memory access, for deriving the pairs of objects in the query answer. We give two algorithms for utilizing the partial lower and partial possibility rewritings to decrease the number of secondary memory accesses.
Classifying Galois groups of small iterates via rational points

We establish several surjectivity theorems regarding the Galois groups of small iterates of ϕc(x) = x2 + c for c ∈ ℚ. To do this, we use explicit techniques from the theory of rational points on curves, including the method of Chabauty–Coleman and the Mordell–Weil sieve. For example, we succeed in finding all rational points on a hyperelliptic curve of genus 7, with rank 5 Jacobian, whose points parametrize quadratic polynomials with a “newly small” Galois group at the fifth stage of iteration.
Mixed-criticality federated scheduling for parallel real-time tasks

A mixed-criticality system comprises safety-critical and non-safety-critical tasks sharing a computational platform. Thus, different levels of assurance are required by different tasks in terms of real-time performance. As the computational demands of real-time tasks increase, tasks may require internal parallelism in order to complete within stringent deadlines. In this paper, we consider the problem of mixed-criticality scheduling of parallel real-time tasks and propose a novel mixed-criticality federated scheduling (MCFS) algorithm for parallel tasks modeled by a directed acyclic graph. MCFS is based on federated intuition for scheduling parallel real-time tasks. It strategically assigns cores and virtual deadlines to tasks to achieve good schedulability. For high-utilization tasks (utilization $$\ge $$ 1), we prove that MCFS provides a capacity augmentation bound of $$2+\sqrt{2}$$ and $$(5+\sqrt{5})/2$$ for dual- and multi-criticality, respectively. We show that MCFS has a capacity augmentation bound of $$11m/(3m-3)$$ for dual-criticality systems with both high- and low-utilization tasks. For high-utilization tasks, we further provide a MCFS-Improve algorithm that has the same bound but can admit many more task sets in practice. Results of numerical experiments show that MCFS-Improve significantly improves over MCFS for many different workload settings. We also present an implementation of a MCFS runtime system in Linux that supports parallel programs written in OpenMP. Our implementation provides graceful degradation and recovery features. We conduct empirical experiments to demonstrate the practicality of our MCFS approach.
Probing the Depths of the Responsible Corporate Officer’s Duty

Many criminal law scholars have criticized the responsible corporate officer doctrine as a form of strict and vicarious liability. It is neither. It is merely a doctrine that supplies a duty in instances of omissions. Siding with Todd Aagaard in this debate, I argue that a proper reading of the cases yields that the responsible corporate officer doctrine is just duty supplying, and does not allow for strict liability when the underlying statute requires mens rea. After analyzing Dotterweich, Park, and their progeny, I probe the depths of this duty-supplying doctrine, including to whom the duty is owed, whether the duty is grounded in statute, cause of peril, or contract, and what the content of the duty is. Although the responsible corporate officer doctrine unveils questions we may have about duty generally, it is no more problematic than other duty-supplying doctrines in the criminal law.
Trust and distrust definitions: One bite at a time

Researchers have remarked and recoiled at the literature confusion regarding the meanings of trust and distrust. The problem involves both the proliferation of narrow intra-disciplinary research definitions of trust and the multiple meanings the word trust possesses in everyday use. To enable trust researchers to more easily compare empirical results, we define a cohesive set of conceptual and measurable constructs that captures the essence of trust and distrust definitions across several disciplines. This chapter defines disposition to trust (and -distrust) constructs from psychology and economics, institution-based trust (and -distrust) constructs from sociology, and trusting/distrusting beliefs, trusting/distrusting intentions, and trust/distrust-related behavior constructs from social psychology and other disciplines. Distrust concepts are defined as separate and opposite from trust concepts. We conclude by discussing the importance of viewing trust and distrust as separate, simultaneously operating concepts.
Lis1 Has Two Opposing Modes of Regulating Cytoplasmic Dynein

Summary Regulation is central to the functional versatility of cytoplasmic dynein, a motor involved in intracellular transport, cell division, and neurodevelopment. Previous work established that Lis1, a conserved regulator of dynein, binds to its motor domain and induces a tight microtubule-binding state in dynein. The work we present here—a combination of biochemistry, single-molecule assays, and cryoelectron microscopy—led to the surprising discovery that Lis1 has two opposing modes of regulating dynein, being capable of inducing both low and high affinity for the microtubule. We show that these opposing modes depend on the stoichiometry of Lis1 binding to dynein and that this stoichiometry is regulated by the nucleotide state of dynein's AAA3 domain. The low-affinity state requires Lis1 to also bind to dynein at a novel conserved site, mutation of which disrupts Lis1's function in vivo . We propose a new model for the regulation of dynein by Lis1.
Infection-Related Chronic Interstitial Nephropathy

Kidney infection, when uncomplicated by anatomic abnormalities such as reflux or obstructing lesions, does not appear to lead to renal damage or hypertension. In children in whom predisposing anatomic causes (reflux) are particularly prominent or in adults who have or develop these abnormalities, progressive renal injury with hypertension can occur with infection. Infection appears to enhance the damaging effects of the underlying anatomic abnormalities. The mechanisms of progressive damage include the inflammatory effects of the infection itself, potentially "autoimmune" effects, and the inflammatory and infection-promoting effects of bacterial products, especially ammonia. After initial renal damage, the hemodynamic effects of systemic hypertension and of intrarenal hyperperfusion of residual nephrons may further promote progressive injury.
The Other Arthritides: Roentgenologic Features of Osteoarthritis, Erosive Osteoarthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Reiter’s Disease, Multicentric Reticulohistiocytosis, and Progressive Systemic Sclerosis

Osteoarthritis may be divided into primary generalized and secondary forms. Primary generalized osteoarthritis is characterized by narrowing of cartilage, marginal osteophytes, and absence of erosions. The most common sites of involvement are the distal interphalangeal joints of the fingers and the first carpometacarpal joint. Secondary osteoarthritis also results in narrowing of cartilage in the absence of erosions, but in regions of mechanical stress. Erosive osteoarthritis affects predominantly the proximal and distal interphalangeal joints, and evolves into bony fusion in 12 to 15 per cent of cases, about the same percentage of interphalangeal bony fusion that occurs in psoriatic arthritis. Ankylosing spondylitis predominates in the axial skeleton where it eventually leads to fusion of the vertebrae and sacroiliac joints. Psoriatic arthritis combines many features of rheumatoid arthritis, in which synovial inflammation predominates, and ankylosing spondylitis, in which ligamentous inflammation predominates. The hands and feet are involved to an equal extent, and in 20 per cent of patients the disorder also involves the sacroiliac joints and spine. Reiter's disease, like psoriatic arthritis, differs from ankylosing spondylitis in its inconstant involvement of the spine and greater involvement of peripheral joints. Reiter's disease differs from psoriatic arthritis in its predominant involvement of the lower limbs, particularly the feet, with relative sparing of the hands and wrists. Multicentric reticulohistiocytosis is a rare disorder in which polyarthritis usually precedes the onset of nodular cutaneous eruptions, a fact that emphasizes the importance of early roentgenologic recognition. The interphalangeal joints are the predominant sites of involvement in the hands, but eventually all of the synovium lined joints become affected, with arthritis mutilans the end result in one third of cases. The erosions are strikingly symmetrical and well circumscribed, and accompanying osteoporosis is disproportionately mild. Progressive systemic sclerosis is characterized by atrophy and dystrophic calcifications in the soft tissues, ultimately leading to joint deformities and resorption of the terminal tufts of the phalanges. Resorption of bone occurs at other sites as well, and marginal erosions may develop in the metacarpophalangeal and interphalangeal joints of the hands.
Interpreting the Fractional Excretion of Sodium

In most normal subjects, the fractional excretion of sodium is usually less than 1 percent but may be raised with an increase in salt intake. In acutely azotemic patients, a low fractional excretion of sodium usually indicates a prerenal process that is responsive to volume repletion. However, such a low fractional excretion of sodium also can be seen with azotemia due to hepatic or cardiac failure, as well as acute glomerulonephritis, pigment nephropathy, contrast nephrotoxicity, polyuric renal failure associated with burns, acute obstruction, renal transplant rejection, and occasionally non-oliguric acute renal failure, none of which is a volume-responsive process. A fractional excretion greater than 1 percent in acutely azotemic patients usually indicates intrinsic renal injury, but is consistent with volume depletion in patients receiving diuretics or in some patients with chronic renal insufficiency. Similarly, a low quotient in acute renal parenchymal injury is usually interpreted to indicate widespread tubular integrity, but is consistent with several different pathophysiologic processes. The fractional excretion of sodium must be interpreted in light of the specific clinical setting and other laboratory data to be useful in patient management.
The Dilemma of the Multicystic Dysplastic Kidney

• Multicystic dysplastic kidney is the most frequent cause of an abdominal mass in the neonate, but controversy continues as to the optimal management of these lesions, since little is known about their natural history. Experience with two complicated cases and a review of reports of retained multicystic dysplastic kidneys suggest that such lesions pose a significant risk to their hosts. Malignancy, reversible hypertension, pain, and mass effect have been associated with retained lesions. Infection is another potential hazard that is frequently cited but poorly documented in the literature. In light of the currently low morbidity and mortality associated with operation and anesthesia in the neonatal period, resection appears to be the treatment of choice for the neonate with a multicystic dysplastic kidney. ( AJDC 1986;140:925-928)
Balloon Catheter Dilation of Ureteroenteric Strictures: Long-Term Results

Balloon catheter dilation of benign ureteroenteric anastomotic strictures has been proposed as an alternative to either surgical revision or chronic ureteral stenting, with moderately successful short-term results reported by several groups in a limited number of patients. However, the authors' experience with 29 patients exhibiting 37 benign ureteroenteric strictures treated over the past 7 years revealed that in the majority of cases (23 patients, 26 strictures [70%]), strictures recurred within 6 months of balloon catheter dilation/ureteral stent therapy. Furthermore, of the 11 strictures that appeared to have been successfully dilated at a follow-up interval of 6 months, five restenosed within 1 year. Therefore, only six of 37 (16%) ureteroenteric stricture dilations could be considered successful when viewed at least 1 year after interventional therapy. Furthermore, repeat dilations have often been required to maintain ureteral patency in these patients.
Surgical Approach to Generalized Lymphadenopathy in Homosexual Men

Sixty patients considered at risk for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) were referred for evaluation of generalized lymphadenopathy. All patients were seropositive for antibody to human T-lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV-III). Multiple lymph node biopsies from different nodal areas were performed. The results were evaluated in order to see if the diagnostic yield is increased by the performance of multiple lymph node biopsies. In no case was additional diagnostic information provided by performing multiple biopsies. In patients with diffuse lymphadenopathy who are at risk for AIDS, single node excisional biopsy is indicated to rule out opportunistic infection or/and tumor.
Do Insider Trading Laws Work

This paper presents the first comprehensive global study of insider trading laws and their first enforcement. In a sample of 4,541 acquisitions from 52 countries, I find that insider trading enforcement increases both the incidence, and the profitability of insider trading. The expected total insider trading gains increase. Consequently, laws that proscribe insider trading fail to eliminate insider profits. However, harsher laws work better at reducing the incidence of illegal insider trading.
Visually Driven Neuropil Activity and Information Encoding in Mouse Primary Visual Cortex

Cortical neuropil modulations recorded by calcium imaging reflect the activity of large aggregates of axo-dendritic processes and synaptic compartments from a large number of neurons. The organization of this activity impacts neuronal firing but is not well understood. Here we used in vivo 2-photon imaging with Oregon Green Bapta (OGB) and GCaMP6s to study neuropil visual responses to moving gratings in layer 2/3 of mouse area V1. We found neuropil responses to be strongly modulated and more reliable than neighboring somatic activity. Furthermore, stimulus independent modulations in neuropil activity, i.e. noise correlations, were highly coherent across the cortical surface, up to distances of at least 200 µm. Pairwise neuropil-to-neuropil-patch noise correlation strength was much higher than cell-to-cell noise correlation strength and depended strongly on brain state, decreasing in quiet wakefulness relative to light anesthesia. The profile of neuropil noise correlation strength decreased gently with distance, dropping by ~11% at a distance of 200 µm. This was comparatively slower than the profile of cell-to-cell noise correlations, which dropped by ~23% at 200 µm. Interestingly, in spite of the “salt & pepper” organization of orientation and direction encoding across mouse V1 neurons, populations of neuropil patches, even of moderately large size (radius ~100µm), showed high accuracy for discriminating perpendicularly moving gratings. This was commensurate to the accuracy of corresponding cell populations. The dynamic, stimulus dependent, nature of neuropil activity further underscores the need to carefully separate neuropil from cell soma activity in contemporary imaging studies.
Taxation in the Liberal Tradition

In this essay, we argue that liberal economists should take more seriously the problems of public goods and externalities as well as the capacity of taxation and state action to improve human welfare. While taking seriously the public choice concerns about how the political process works as well as Austrian concerns about the limits of our knowledge in the absence of market price signals, we should also acknowledge that public goods and externalities do exist and taxation can provide a means to improve human welfare.
Graphene-VP40 interactions and potential disruption of the Ebola virus matrix filaments

Ebola virus infections cause hemorrhagic fever that often results in very high fatality rates. In addition to exploring vaccines, development of drugs is also essential for treating the disease and preventing the spread of the infection. The Ebola virus matrix protein VP40 exists in various conformational and oligomeric forms and is a potential pharmacological target for disrupting the virus life-cycle. Here we explored graphene-VP40 interactions using molecular dynamics simulations and graphene pelleting assays. We found that graphene sheets associate strongly with VP40 at various interfaces. We also found that the graphene is able to disrupt the C-terminal domain (CTD-CTD) interface of VP40 hexamers. This VP40 hexamer-hexamer interface is crucial in forming the Ebola viral matrix and disruption of this interface may provide a method to use graphene or similar nanoparticle based solutions as a disinfectant that can significantly reduce the spread of the disease and prevent an Ebola epidemic.
Interaction between Host MicroRNAs and the Gut Microbiota in Colorectal Cancer

Although variation in gut microbiome composition has been linked with colorectal cancer (CRC), the factors that mediate the interactions between CRC tumors and the microbiome are poorly understood. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are known to regulate CRC progression and are associated with patient survival outcomes. In addition, recent studies suggested that host miRNAs can also regulate bacterial growth and influence the composition of the gut microbiome. Here, we investigated the association between miRNA expression and microbiome composition in human CRC tumor and normal tissues. We identified 76 miRNAs as differentially expressed (DE) in tissue from CRC tumors and normal tissue, including the known oncogenic miRNAs miR-182, miR-503, and mir-17~92 cluster. These DE miRNAs were correlated with the relative abundances of several bacterial taxa, including Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria. Bacteria correlated with DE miRNAs were enriched with distinct predicted metabolic categories. Additionally, we found that miRNAs that correlated with CRC-associated bacteria are predicted to regulate targets that are relevant for host-microbiome interactions and highlight a possible role for miRNA-driven glycan production in the recruitment of pathogenic microbial taxa. Our work characterized a global relationship between microbial community composition and miRNA expression in human CRC tissues. IMPORTANCE Recent studies have found an association between colorectal cancer (CRC) and the gut microbiota. One potential mechanism by which the microbiota can influence host physiology is through affecting gene expression in host cells. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNA molecules that can regulate gene expression and have important roles in cancer development. Here, we investigated the link between the gut microbiota and the expression of miRNA in CRC. We found that dozens of miRNAs are differentially regulated in CRC tumors and adjacent normal colon and that these miRNAs are correlated with the abundance of microbes in the tumor microenvironment. Moreover, we found that microbes that have been previously associated with CRC are correlated with miRNAs that regulate genes related to interactions with microbes. Notably, these miRNAs likely regulate glycan production, which is important for the recruitment of pathogenic microbial taxa to the tumor. This work provides a first systems-level map of the association between microbes and host miRNAs in the context of CRC and provides targets for further experimental validation and potential interventions.
One-shot mutual covering lemma and Marton's inner bound with a common message

By developing one-shot mutual covering lemmas, we derive a one-shot achievability bound for broadcast with a common message which recovers Marton's inner bound (with three auxiliary random variables) in the i.i.d. case. The encoder employed is deterministic. Relationship between the mutual covering lemma and a new type of channel resolvability problem is discussed.
Encouraging State Governments to Protect and Restore Forests Using Ecological Fiscal Transfers: India's Tax Revenue Distribution Reform

In February 2014, India's 14th Finance Commission added forest cover to the formula that determines the amount of tax revenue the central government distributes annually to each of India's 29 states. The Government of India estimates that from 2015 to 2019 it will distribute $6.9–$12 billion per year to states in proportion to their 2013 forest cover, amounting to around $174–$303 per hectare of forest per year. Assuming that contemporary forest cover will remain an element of the formula beyond 2020, Indian states now have a sizeable new fiscal incentive to protect and restore forests, contributing to the achievement of India's climate goals. India's tax revenue distribution reform creates the world's first ecological fiscal transfers (EFTs) for forest cover, and a potential model for other countries. In this article, we discuss the origin of India's EFTs and their potential effects. In a simple preliminary analysis, we do not yet observe that the EFTs have increased forest cover across states, consistent with our hypothesis that 1 to 2 years of operation is too soon for the reform to have had an effect. This means there remains substantial scope for state governments to protect and restore forests as an investment in future state revenues.
APC loss in breast cancer leads to doxorubicin resistance via STAT3 activation

// Monica K. VanKlompenberg 1, 2, 5 , Emily Leyden 2, 3 , Anne H. Arnason 2, 3 , Jian-Ting Zhang 4 , Casey D. Stefanski 2, 3 and Jenifer R. Prosperi 1, 2, 3 1 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine–South Bend, South Bend, IN, USA 2 Harper Cancer Research Institute, South Bend, IN, USA 3 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA 4 Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA 5 Current address: Department of Animal and Avian Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA Correspondence to: Jenifer R. Prosperi, email: jrprospe@iupui.edu Keywords: Adenomatous Polyposis Coli; breast cancer; STAT3; chemoresistance; doxorubicin Received: September 07, 2017 Accepted: October 16, 2017 Published: November 01, 2017 ABSTRACT Resistance to chemotherapy is one of the leading causes of death from breast cancer. We recently established that loss of Adenomatous Polyposis Coli (APC) in the Mouse Mammary Tumor Virus – Polyoma middle T (MMTV-PyMT) transgenic mouse model results in resistance to cisplatin or doxorubicin-induced apoptosis. Herein, we aim to establish the mechanism that is responsible for APC-mediated chemotherapeutic resistance. Our data demonstrate that MMTV-PyMT;Apc Min/+ cells have increased signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) activation. STAT3 can be constitutively activated in breast cancer, maintains the tumor initiating cell (TIC) population, and upregulates multidrug resistance protein 1 (MDR1). The activation of STAT3 in the MMTV-PyMT;Apc Min/+ model is independent of interleukin 6 (IL-6); however, enhanced EGFR expression in the MMTV-PyMT;Apc Min/+ cells may be responsible for the increased STAT3 activation. Inhibiting STAT3 with a small molecule inhibitor A69 in combination with doxorubicin, but not cisplatin, restores drug sensitivity. A69 also decreases doxorubicin enhanced MDR1 gene expression and the TIC population enhanced by loss of APC. In summary, these results have revealed the molecular mechanisms of APC loss in breast cancer that can guide future treatment plans to counteract chemotherapeutic resistance.
Vision-based Tracking by a Quadrotor on ROS

Abstract Real-time following of a moving target by a flying tracker without radar detection and GPS reception inspires vision-based tracking through the use of surveillance camera, laser-scanned lidar, and SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping). In this paper, we propose vision-based tracking of a moving target in three consecutive steps, image processing, coordinate transformation and trajectory following. A testing platform containing two spawned quadrotors as target and tracker is developed on ROS, from which sequence of images are generated by an on-board camera of the tracker while the target moves along a rectangular path on the ground. An image processing algorithm based on target recognition is proposed to achieve visual tracking on image frames. Coordinate transformation is established to recover the original target trajectory as the desired path of the tracker in the real world from the image processing algorithm. The target following control law then moves the tracker along the desired trajectory point-by-point through velocity control.
Power analysis for stratified cluster randomisation trials with cluster size being the stratifying factor

Stratified cluster randomisation trial design is widely employed in biomedical research and cluster size has been frequently used as the stratifying factor. Conventional sample size calculation met...
A data-driven indirect method for nonlinear optimal control

Nonlinear optimal control problems are challenging to solve due to the prevalence of local minima that prevent convergence and/or optimality. This paper describes nearest-neighbors optimal control (NNOC), a data-driven framework for nonlinear optimal control using indirect methods. It determines initial guesses for new problems with the help of precomputed solutions to similar problems, retrieved using k-nearest neighbors. A sensitivity analysis technique is introduced to linearly approximate the variation of solutions between new and precomputed problems based on their variation of parameters. Experiments show that NNOC can obtain the global optimal solution orders of magnitude faster than standard random restart methods, and sensitivity analysis can further reduce the solving time almost by half. Examples are shown on two optimal control problems in vehicle control.
The impact of criminal prosecutions during intrastate conflict

The International Criminal Court’s interventions have prompted debate about the wisdom of criminally prosecuting combatants while attempting to build peace in conflict-ridden societies. Previous re...
Tailoring Optical Properties of a Large-Area Plasmonic Gold Nanoring Array Pattern

A new fabrication route, which combines nanosphere lithography with silicon-based clean-room microfabrication processes, has been developed to produce large-area long-range ordered gold nanoring array patterns in a controllable fashion. Both the experimentation and the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation show that the surface plasmon resonance peak (SPR) of the nanoring array pattern can be tuned systematically in a large spectral range by varying the geometry parameters such as the ring thickness, the ring height, the ringer outer diameter, and the gap between neighboring rings. For the Au nanoring arrays with a large gap in the absence of plasmon coupling between neighboring rings, the local electromagnetic (EM) field enhancement occurs at both the outer and inner surfaces of individual nanorings; and the periodicity of Au nanoring array has no any effect on the plasmonic properties. For the Au nanoring arrays with a small gap, plasmon coupling takes place between neighboring rings. As a res...
Statistical Feature Combination for the Evaluation of Game Positions

This article describes an application of three well-known statistical methods in the field of game-tree search: using a large number of classified Othello positions, feature weights for evaluation functions with a game-phase-independent meaning are estimated by means of logistic regression, Fisher's linear discriminant, and the quadratic discriminant function for normally distributed features. Thereafter, the playing strengths are compared by means of tournaments between the resulting versions of a world-class Othello program. In this application, logistic regression -- which is used here for the first time in the context of game playing - leads to better results than the other approaches.