cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Squamous Morules (Microcarcinoids) in Gastroesophageal Polyps; a Mimicker of Invasive Carcinoma

Colorectal lesions termed squamous morules or microcarcinoids display predominantly squamous and variable endocrine differentiation and are often found in colorectal adenomas with high grade dysplasia thus mimicking invasion. Herein, we describe histopathologic, immunohistochemical classification and clinical correlation of analogous lesions in the esophagus and stomach. We identified five cases (3 men, 2 women) from November 2004-March 2013 of gastric and gastroesophageal polyps with squamous morules. Four of the patients were white. The median age was 70 years (range 59-85 years). Two patients presented with gastrointestinal bleeding, one was undergoing routine screening, and two were followed up for Barrett esophagus (BE) and a history of gastric polyps respectively. Three lesions were gastric, one gastroesophageal (GE), and one patient had both GE and proximal gastric lesions. Four patients had multiple polyps; one had a 2.5 cm polypoid GE lesion. The median size of the polyps was 1.5 cm. All of the gastric squamous morules arose in hyperplastic polyps (HP) (one patient had separate fundic gland polyps). Two HPs showed high grade dysplasia, 1 low grade dysplasia, and 1 erosions and reactive changes. One of the GE lesions was associated with polypoid papillary high grade dysplasia arising in BE, this patient had follow up biopsy 1 month later showing BE with features indefinite for dysplasia. He died in 2009 (5 years) of unknown cause. The remaining patients are alive. The areas of squamous morule formation ranged in size from 1-3 mm. They were multifocal showing a lobular growth pattern connecting directly to the epithelium. Four of the lesions demonstrated pseudolumina. Immunohistochemical analysis was done on all cases. Sixty percent showed nuclear beta catenin, and all demonstrated a low KI67 index (< 2%). Endocrine markers (synaptophysin, chromogranin) were expressed in all of the lesions, and P63 showed focal labeling in two lesions. In summary, the histopathological features and immunohistochemical labeling of GE squamous morules/ microcarcinoids are similar to those previously described in the colorectum. GE lesions can be associated with reactive processes and more frequently in a background of dysplasia. Underrecognition of upper gastrointestinal squamous morules provides potential for over diagnosis of invasive carcinoma. Familiarity with the histopathologic pattern and immunoprofile can aid in avoiding this pitfall.
To Revive an Abundant Life: Catholic Science and Neoextractivist Politics in Peru’s Mantaro Valley

Since the turn of the twenty-first century, the rapid growth of Peru’s extractive industries has unleashed diverse forms of political resistance to an economic system dependent on ecological destruction and human harm. In the central highlands of Peru, a Catholic scientific project based out of the Archdiocese of Huancayo undertook six years of research on heavy-metal contamination in the Mantaro Valley. This included lead-exposure studies in the notoriously polluted city of La Oroya, home to the country’s largest polymetallic smelter. How did the Catholic Church become an apt institution for the production of science in this region? Drawing on fieldwork with the Revive the Mantaro Project, this article conceptualizes the integration of religious and scientific practitioners and practices and the political landscape that necessitated, shaped, and limited them. Technocratic governance and anti-leftist sentiments made science a suitable political idiom for the Catholic Church to enact its ethos of abundance and demand the legitimacy of life beyond bare life. A state of endemic corruption and epistemic mistrust also obliged Catholic accompaniment to scientific practices to generate trust for the researchers and to provide ethical credibility as their knowledge entered the fray of national mining politics. Ultimately contending with entrenched systems of power, the Revive the Mantaro Project’s significance extended beyond political efficacy; its practices enacted a world of democracy, rights, and legal protections not yet of this world.
Elemental Content of Stream Biota

Abstract Measuring the elemental content of stream biota is a prerequisite to the application of ecological stoichiometry theory, which focuses on the balance of chemical elements in ecological interactions. In this chapter, we describe basic and advanced methods for the estimation of elemental content in frequently encountered compartments of stream food webs, concentrating on the measurement of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. We also cover methods for measuring rates and stoichiometry of animal excretion and egestion, as these represent important terms in the elemental mass balance of feeding interactions that may control important ecosystem-level effects and feedbacks.
The right planning now will save countless lives after a nuclear attack

The public perception that there is no hope for surviving a nuclear attack has been an impediment to planning for the aftermath of such disasters. The perception is unjustified, but it shows how im...
Beyond care coordination: Integrated health care settings for youth and their families

Integrated behavioral health (IBH) addresses the needs of children and their families with a comprehensive psychosocial approach that maximizes treatment adherence and minimizes duplication of serv...
Exploring Sources of Sentence Disparity

Do similar offenders who commit similar offenses under similar circumstances generally receive similar sentences? The evidence suggests that they do not. Both correctional officials and judges have reported their impressions of wide disparities in criminal sentencing (cf. Bennett, 1964, p. 319, Frankel, 1973, p. 6).
MAIA under the microscope - bringing trial design into focus.

Using the example of the recently reported phase III MAIA trial, we emphasize herein the requirement to dig deeper into trial designs and end points to determine their appropriateness for the questions at hand and to assess whether a benefit in terms of the primary end point — even if statistically significant and seemingly clinically meaningful — is sufficient to warrant a change in clinical practice.
Spongistatin synthetic studies. 3. Construction of the C(1–17) spiroketal

Abstract A convergent synthesis of the C(1–17) AB-ring subunit of the spongistatins, exceedingly scarce and highly antimitotic polyether macrolides, has been achieved via a one-flask dithiane bisalkylation, stereocontrolled spiroketalization, and Julia sulfone coupling/methylenation.
Is Radar Cardiography (RCG) Possible

In this paper, we propose a novel concept of Radar Cardiography (RCG). We demonstrate the ability to achieve precise heartbeat measurement wirelessly using advanced radar signal processing technique. We show that the reconstructed heartbeat waveform matches the reference electrocardiography (ECG) signal. We propose a new heartbeat monitoring method, in which we isolate cardiovascular activity from strong respiratory-inference in the 3-Dimensional (3-D) spaces: azimuth, elevation, and depth. With significant pulse signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) improvement compared to the conventional radar approach, heart-rate variability (HRV) analysis using radar is therefore possible.
Salvage use of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) in the setting of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to COVID-19 in the USA: a Markov decision analysis.

COVID-19 threatens to quickly overwhelm our existing critical care infrastructure in the USA. Systemic tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) has been previously demonstrated to improve PaO2/FiO2 (mmHg) when given to critically ill patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). It is unclear to what extent tPA may impact population-based survival during the current US COVID-19 pandemic. A decision analytic Markov state transition model was created to simulate the life critically ill COVID-19 patients as they transitioned to either recovery or death. Two patient groups were simulated (50,000 patients in each group); (1) Patients received tPA immediately upon diagnosis of ARDS and (2) patients received standard therapy for ARDS. Base case critically ill COVID-19 patients were defined as having a refractory PaO2/FiO2 of < 60 mmHg (salvage use criteria). Transition from severe to moderate to mild ARDS, recovery, and death were estimated. Markov model parameters were extracted from existing ARDS/COVID-19 literature. The use of tPA was associated with reduced mortality (47.6% [tTPA] vs. 71.0% [no tPA]) for base case patients. When extrapolated to the projected COVID-19 eligible for salvage use tPA in the USA, peak mortality (deaths/100,000 patients) was reduced for both optimal social distancing (70.5 [tPA] vs. 75.0 [no tPA]) and no social distancing (158.7 [tPA] vs. 168.8 [no tPA]) scenarios. Salvage use of tPA may improve recovery of ARDS patients, thereby reducing COVID-19-related mortality and ensuring sufficient resources to manage this pandemic.
Asymptotically-Optimal Topological Nearest-Neighbor Filtering

Nearest-neighbor finding is a major bottleneck for sampling-based motion planning algorithms. The cost of finding nearest neighbors grows with the size of the roadmap, leading to a significant computational bottleneck for problems which require many configurations to find a solution. In this letter, we develop a method of mapping configurations of a jointed robot to neighborhoods in the workspace that supports fast search for configurations in nearby neighborhoods. This expedites nearest-neighbor search by locating a small set of the most likely candidates for connecting to the query with a local plan. We show that this filtering technique can preserve asymptotically-optimal guarantees with modest requirements on the distance metric. We demonstrate the method's efficacy in planning problems for rigid bodies and both fixed and mobile-base manipulators.
Early therapeutic monitoring of β-lactams and associated therapy outcomes in critically ill patients.

Background In the ICU, early and appropriate antimicrobial therapy is important to lower infection-related mortality. Objectives Assess whether achieving early β-lactam free concentration above the MIC 100% of the time (fT>MIC) is associated with positive outcomes in the ICU. Methods This retrospective study was conducted in ICU patients admitted to UF Health Shands Hospital between 2016 and 2018. Adult patients who received β-lactam therapy and had drug concentration measured were included. Data collected included demographics, β-lactam regimens and concentrations, sources of infection, cultures and susceptibilities, mortality, length of stay, resistance acquisition for 30 days and clinical outcome at end of therapy. Multiple regression and time-to-event (TTE) analyses were performed. Results Two-hundred and six patients were included. Clinical cure occurred in 71%, microbial eradication occurred in 58% and new resistance to the β-lactam received developed in 8% of patients. Hospital and 30 day mortalities were 17% and 14%, respectively. fT>MIC and fT>4×MIC were associated with clinical cure (P = 0.0303), microbial eradication (P = 0.0476) and suppression of resistance (P = 0.0043). Delay in measuring β-lactam concentration was associated with clinical failure (P = 0.0072), longer ICU stay (P MIC had a significantly shorter ICU stay (P = 0.0297). Patients who had clinical cure and microbial eradication had drug concentrations measured earlier (P = 0.0025 and 0.0254, respectively). Conclusions This study highlights the importance of early measurement of β-lactam concentration and confirms the association between fT>MIC and clinical cure, microbial eradication and emergence of resistance.
How Diversity in Nature Impacts Political Psychology

The conservative worldview is congruent with biological concepts like survival of the fittest, maternal instinct, male competition and aggression. The liberal worldview is congruent with cooperation-based survival, male and female nurturance, social selection and self-domestication factors that reduce competition and aggression. Our political heritage from our closest relatives the chimpanzees and bonobos differs greatly, one power and aggression driven, and the other based on social alliances for peace. Diversity in nature encompasses everything from sex changing fish; female-only lizards; insects, spiders, arthropods and birds that are half female and half male; a transgender bird; and over 1000 species exhibiting same-sex intimate behavior. New thinking on evolution, including feminist perspectives, cultural evolution, aesthetic evolution and directed evolution provide ways to integrate recent research on animal and human behavior. Different theories of human evolutionary history provide insight into the environmental pressures that forged our development.
Chronic Corticosterone Shifts Effort-Related Choice Behavior in Y-Maze

Major depressive disorder (MDD) affects more than 16.1 million American adults (about 6.7% of the U.S. population age 18+) in a given year (ADAA). Understanding how chronic stress impacts decision-making may allow us to help people suffering from MDD receive the most suitable antidepressant treatment given their behavioral tendencies in reward and motivational processing. In these experiments, our objective is to characterize effort-related choice tasks using chronic stressors in mice. To study this topic, we take advantage of the well-validated homology between corticosterone (CORT) in rodents and cortisol in humans to induce mood disorders such as MDD and chronic stress in mice. Effort-related choice tasks have been characterized using stressors in rats, but the stressors have not been chronic and have not been characterized in mice. The results of these experiments would be a better foundation for research involving antidepressant treatment experiments on mice. The experimental group was administered CORT in their drinking water throughout all experiments. Then, both the control and experimental groups were tested in a Y-Maze barrier task to demonstrate the behavioral effects of CORT. The high reward (HR) arm of the Y-Maze contained a reward of four food pellets, which required high effort to obtain. The low reward (LR) arm of the Y-Maze contained a reward of two food pellets, which required less effort to obtain Animals chronically exposed to CORT displayed a stronger preference for low-effort, low-reward choices than control subjects. The results suggest that chronic CORT may reduce motivation to work for a highly rewarding reinforcer when a less rewarding reinforcer is available.
Black Youth’s Experiences With Feelings of Worthlessness, Parent Relationships, and Suicide: Findings From a National Probability Survey

Abstract Purpose Suicide has been a leading cause of death for Black youth in the U.S. since the 1980s. Yet, empirical investigations that examine correlates of suicidality and assess within-group differences among Black boys and girls are scant. The current study therefore sought to rectify this gap by assessing whether feelings of worthlessness and parent relationships were associated with suicidality for Black adolescents, while also examining whether youth’s experiences are consistent across gender groups. Methods Data from the 2004–2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression. The NSDUH is a nationally representative probability sample of households in the U.S. Predicted probabilities were plotted to aid interpretation of odds ratios. Results Black girls reported more suicide ideation and attempt. Black girls also reported more feelings of worthlessness, while boys reported fewer fights with their parents. Results from the gender-stratified logistic regression analyses revealed that feelings of worthlessness were associated with significantly greater odds of suicide ideation, planning, and attempt both for Black girls and boys. The frequency of fighting with parents was associated with greater odds of all three suicide outcomes for girls and ideation only for boys. Receiving verbal affirmation from parents was associated with significantly lower odds of suicide ideation among girls only. Conclusions Findings indicate that some intrapersonal and interpersonal factors are differentially associated with suicide in boys and girls. As such, affirming Black youth of their self-worth and promoting positive relationships with their parents will be imperative in working to prevent suicide among this population.
The COVID-19 Online Learning Transition and the Plus/Delta Debriefing Model

ABSTRACT: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Harvard Medical School Master of Medical Sciences in Medical Education program implemented the Plus/Delta debriefing model to collect real-time learner feedback and facilitate continuous quality improvement within our assessment and program evaluation module, which rapidly transitioned online. The model is grounded in quality improvement methodology and encourages bidirectional rather than top-down feedback. Learners identified specifically what went well with each module session (Plus) and how to improve for the next time (Delta). After each session, narrative responses were reviewed, aggregated into meaningful categories, and implemented when possible. Implemented improvements focused on increasing session interactivity and enhancing communication. Learners pointed to the uniqueness of the model and applauded efforts to embed them in the cocreation process. Asking learners to debrief their experience-especially during a module which is iteratively redesigned week-by-week-can offer a realistic view of what is working and what needs further refinement. As we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, rapid, continuous educational quality improvement deserves renewed emphasis. Implementing the Plus/Delta debriefing model into longitudinal online teaching sessions is a translatable, easily replicable, and free method of receiving immediate and valuable learner feedback.
Polycentric Governance in Theory and Practice: Dimensions of Aspiration and Practical Limitations

This paper offers a three-step (structure, process, outcome) definition of polycentric governance, a concept that constitutes the core of the research program of the Bloomington School of institutional analysis, as first articulated in the works of Vincent and Elinor Ostrom. The basic assertion of this paper is that certain kinds of fragmented governance structures, specifically those consisting of multiple authorities with overlapping jurisdictions, may impel policy actors to interact with each other through processes of mutual adjustment and continued expansion of institutional diversity in ways that may generate outcomes which exhibit positive characteristics of emergent order and scale economies. However, practical approximations of this ideal congruence of structure, process, and outcome will necessarily fall short of fully accomplishing all of these aspirations, and instead tend to fall into six traps or “failures” of polycentric governance: structural inequities, incremental bias, high levels of complexity, structural fissures, coordination failures, and, ultimately, a lack of normative clarity. Yet, even imperfect proto-polycentric systems of governance provide actors with continued access to multiple mechanisms for improvement that hold out the hope that the most negative consequences of these tendencies can be ameliorated. The paper concludes with a discussion of the merits of using polycentricity as a lens through which political, economic, and societal interactions can be seen in a new light.
The Slow Fall of Babel: Languages and Identities in Late Antique Christianity

This is the story of the transformation of the ways in which the increasingly Christianized elites of the late antique Mediterranean experienced and conceptualized linguistic differences. The metaphor of Babel stands for the magnificent edifice of classical culture that was about to reach the sky, but remained self-sufficient and self-contained in its virtual monolingualism – the paradigm within which even Latin was occasionally considered just a dialect of Greek. The gradual erosion of this vision is the slow fall of Babel that took place in the hearts and minds of a good number of early Christian writers and intellectuals who represented various languages and literary traditions. This step-by-step process included the discovery and internalization of the existence of multiple other languages in the world, as well as subsequent attempts to incorporate their speakers meaningfully into the holistic and distinctly Christian picture of the universe.
Inadequacies of the Computer Metaphor

One of the most popular tacks taken to explain cognitive processes likens them to the operations of a digital computer. Indeed, the tasks for the cognitive scientist and the artificial intelligence scientist are often seen as indistinguishable: to understand how a machine or a brain “can store past information about the world and use that memory to abstract meaning from its percepts” (Solso, 1979, p. 425). The fact that there are machines that appear to do this, to varying degrees of success, is often taken to imply, almost by default, that cognition would have to embody the same steps in order to achieve the same results. In what folIows, we outline our objections to this attitude and briefly consider some alternatives.
Circadian variation of gentamicin toxicity in rats

Objectives/Hypothesis Two undesired effects of the aminoglycoside antibiotic gentamicin are ototoxicity and nephrotoxicity. This study investigated if these adverse effects vary according to the circadian time of its administration. Study Design This study entails laboratory animal research. Methods Four groups of Sprague-Dawley rats were synchronized to a 12:12 light/dark schedule. Each group receiving the antibiotic (100 mg/kg gentamicin sulfate) at a different circadian time. Auditory brainstem response was obtained at pretreatment and at 2, 4, and 6 weeks. Results At all measured frequencies, hearing losses were significantly (P < .001) greater when gentamicin was administered during the diurnal rest span than the nighttime activity span. At 4 weeks, the average total hearing loss, quantified by elevation of threshold values over the tested auditory frequencies, was 31.3 and 25.6 dB for the 2 hours after lights on (HALO) and 8 HALO groups, respectively. The loss progressed at 6 weeks to 42.5 (2 HALO) and 37.5 (8 HALO) dB. At 6 weeks, the 14 and 20 HALO groups had losses of 17.5 and 26.3 dB, respectively. Trough serum gentamicin concentration significantly (P < .01) increased during treatment, being the highest at 4 weeks. Urine urea nitrogen 24-hour levels of the 2 and 8 HALO groups differed significantly (P < .01) from the 14 and 20 HALO groups. Conclusions Ototoxicity was greater when gentamicin was administered during their diurnal rest than during nocturnal activity. A dosing paradigm may be used to deliver a lower therapeutic antimicrobial concentration during the nighttime rest period when the studied adverse effects are of highest risk. Level of Evidence NA Laryngoscope, 125:E252–E256, 2015
DECAF - A Flexible Multi Agent System Architecture

The first wave of agent implementation toolkits focussed mostly on providing APIs for agent communication. We believe that new toolkits should focus on the public dissemination of complete agent architectures that provide significant value over building software agents from scratch. DECAF (Distributed, Environment Centered Agent Framework) is a software toolkit for the rapid design, development, and execution of “intelligent” agents to achieve solutions in complex software systems. DECAF is based on the premise that execution of the actions required to accomplish a task specified by an agent program is similar to a traditional operating system executing a sequence of user requests. In the same fashion that an operating system provides an environment for the execution of a user request, an agent framework provides the needed environment for the execution of agent actions. The agent environment includes the ability to communicate with other agents, efficiently maintain the current state of an executing agent, and select an execution path from a set of possible execution paths so as to support persistent, flexible, and robust actions. From a research community perspective, DECAF provides a modular platform for evaluating and disseminating results in agent architectures, including communication, planning, action scheduling, execution monitoring, coordination, and learning. By modularizing the design of the software, researchers can attack and analyze specific issues in agent development, coordination and planning without disturbing other parts of the architecture. From a user/programmer perspective, DECAF distinguishes itself by removing the focus from the underlying components of agent building such as socket creation, agent communication, and efficient implementation of complex architectural details. Instead, users may quickly prototype agent systems by focusing on the domain-specific parts of the problem via a graphical plan editor, reusable generic behaviors, and various supporting middle-agents. This article discusses the high level architecture of DECAF long with comparisons to operating systems architecture and other agent frameworks; descriptions of supporting middle agents and development tools; and an analysis of projects already developed using DECAF and some performance benchmarks from DECAF.
Requirement for a Complex Array of Costimulators in the Negative Selection of Autoreactive Thymocytes In Vivo

Autoreactive thymocytes can be deleted at an immature stage of their development by Ag-induced apoptosis or negative selection. In addition to Ag, negative selection also requires costimulatory signals from APC. We recently used a fetal thymus organ culture system to show that CD5, CD28, and TNF cooperatively regulate deletion of autoreactive thymocytes. Although these experiments provided strong evidence for the action of several costimulators in negative selection, we wished to demonstrate a role for these molecules in a physiologically natural model where thymocytes are deleted in vivo by endogenously expressed Ags. Accordingly, we examined thymocyte deletion in costimulator-null mice in three models of autoantigen-induced negative selection. We compared CD5−/− CD28−/− mice to CD40L−/− mice, which exhibited a profound block in negative selection in all three systems. Surprisingly, only one of the three models revealed a requirement for the CD5 and CD28 costimulators in autoantigen-induced deletion. These results suggest that an extraordinarily complex array of costimulators is involved in negative selection. We predict that different sets of costimulators will be required depending on the timing of negative selection, the Ag, the signal strength, the APC, and whether Ag presentation occurs on class I or class II MHC molecules.
Sediment Distribution of Methanogenic Bacteria in Lake Erie and Cleveland Harbor

The direct fluorescent-antibody technique was employed to determine the distribution patterns of four species of methanogens in the sediments of Lake Erie and Cleveland Harbor. Methanobacterium ruminantium was the most numerous methanogen found in regions of high-organic-silt sediments. The population of this species ranged from 106 to 109 cells/g of dry sediment. Methanobacterium strain MoH and Methanosarcina barkeri were identified in sand-silt, clay, or sand sediments. These methanogens ranged in density from 106 to 107 cells/g of dry sediment. Methanospirillum hungatii was observed only after an organic enrichment was performed on Cleveland Harbor sediments. The seasonal and selective sediment distribution of these methanogens appears to be related to the type and concentration of carbon as substrate as well as to the activities of heterotrophic and sulfate-reducing bacteria.
Testing for Differential Effects of Forest Fires on Hiking and Mountain Biking Demand and Benefits

Surveys of visitors to National Forests in Colorado were conducted to determine whether different fire ages and presence of crown fires have different effects on hiking and mountain biking recreation visits and benefits. Actual and intended behavior data were combined using a count-data travel cost model. The intended behavior trip questions asked about changes in number of trips due to the presence of a highintensity crown fire, prescribed fire, and a 20-year-old high-intensity fire at the area respondents were visiting. Using the estimated recreation demand function, years since a non-crown fire had a statistically significant positive effect on the trip demand of hikers. In contrast, presence of crown fires had no statistically significant effect on the quantity of hiker trips, but had a significant and negative effect on mountain biking trips. Crown fires also had a large effect on the value per trip, with crown fires increasing the value per hiking trip but lowering the value per mountain biking trip.
Pulse: mining customer opinions from free text

We present a prototype system, code-named Pulse, for mining topics and sentiment orientation jointly from free text customer feedback. We describe the application of the prototype system to a database of car reviews. Pulse enables the exploration of large quantities of customer free text. The user can examine customer opinion “at a glance” or explore the data at a finer level of detail. We describe a simple but effective technique for clustering sentences, the application of a bootstrapping approach to sentiment classification, and a novel user-interface.
Children's religious agency: conceptualising Islamic idioms of resistance

This paper seeks to examine how Palestinian children's agency integrates Islamic religious idioms in daily life to combat Israeli oppression. While children are often seen as objects that are merely subjected to political and cultural processes, this research shows that children have agency and use their religious expression as a way to further their own political freedom and resist the imposing geopolitical agenda of colonialism. Since the inception of the war on terror that highlighted increased scrutiny and backlash against Islam in Western discourse, resistance through religion has become an integral part of Palestinian children's agency. The narratives of 28 Palestinian children demonstrate the claim that the children have agency in using the expression of Islamic idioms as resistance against Western perceptions and Israeli oppression.
Applying the DoD goal security architecture as a methodology for the development of system and enterprise security architectures

Many organizations have a need to conduct security assessments and develop security architectures. It was recognized that a structured approach is needed. The Department of Defense Goal Security Architecture (DGSA) was already developed through considerable effort by knowledgeable security professionals. Our approach was to tailor the DGSA to fit many enterprise information system security profiles and meet the requirements of multiple organizations. The paper shows how the DGSA was applied across multiple program types, and demonstrates how it can be used for a wide variety of security tasks.
Comanaging fresh produce for nature conservation and food safety

In 2006, a deadly Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreak in bagged spinach was traced to California's Central Coast region, where >70% of the salad vegetables sold in the United States are produced. Although no definitive cause for the outbreak could be determined, wildlife was implicated as a disease vector. Growers were subsequently pressured to minimize the intrusion of wildlife onto their farm fields by removing surrounding noncrop vegetation. How vegetation removal actually affects foodborne pathogens remains unknown, however. We combined a fine-scale land use map with three datasets comprising ∼250,000 enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), generic E. coli, and Salmonella tests in produce, irrigation water, and rodents to quantify whether seminatural vegetation surrounding farmland is associated with foodborne pathogen prevalence in California's Central Coast region. We found that EHEC in fresh produce increased by more than an order of magnitude from 2007 to 2013, despite extensive vegetation clearing at farm field margins. Furthermore, although EHEC prevalence in produce was highest on farms near areas suitable for livestock grazing, we found no evidence of increased EHEC, generic E. coli, or Salmonella near nongrazed, seminatural areas. Rather, pathogen prevalence increased the most on farms where noncrop vegetation was removed, calling into question reforms that promote vegetation removal to improve food safety. These results suggest a path forward for comanaging fresh produce farms for food safety and environmental quality, as federal food safety reforms spread across ∼4.5 M acres of US farmland.
Teachers' opinions of the whole language approach to reading instruction.

This article reports the findings of a study of the opinions of first- and first/second-grade teachers of certain comments made about the whole language approach to reading instruction by leading advocates of this procedure. The investigation revealed that these teachers rejected as “false” more of these comments about the whole language approach than they accepted as “true.” The findings of this study, apparently the first of their kind that have been reported, suggest that less progress has been made in persuading teachers that the whole language approach to reading instruction is the preferred teaching procedure than some leaders of the whole language movement previously have claimed.
A Formal Basis for the Heuristic Determination of Minimum Cost Paths

Although the problem of determining the minimum cost path through a graph arises naturally in a number of interesting applications, there has been no underlying theory to guide the development of efficient search procedures. Moreover, there is no adequate conceptual framework within which the various ad hoc search strategies proposed to date can be compared. This paper describes how heuristic information from the problem domain can be incorporated into a formal mathematical theory of graph searching and demonstrates an optimality property of a class of search strategies.
New evidence on the location of the saccharide-binding site of concanavalin A.

THE biological activities1–4 of the mitogenic lectin concanavalin A (con A) depend on the binding of the protein to receptors on the cell surface, and this binding can be inhibited by specific saccharides related to D-mannose and D-glucose5. Knowledge of the location and nature of the saccharide-binding site of con A would therefore contribute greatly to understanding the molecular basis of its biological activities. Although the complete amino acid sequence6–8 and three-dimensional structure6,9–11 of con A are known, there has been conflicting evidence on the location of the carbohydrate-binding site. Crystallographic studies with saccharides labelled with heavy atoms indicated that it was in a deep cavity in the molecule, more than 20 A from the Mn2+ and Ca2+ ions6,9,12 (Fig. 1). Subsequent magnetic resonance measurements13–15 as well as crystallographic considerations16 suggested that the site was 10–12 A from the metals, and led to the hypothesis that the previously studied saccharides labelled with heavy atoms (for example, o-iodo-phenyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (β-IPG)) were bound by their hydrophobic aglycones, rather than by their saccharide moities9,17.
Binding of upstream stimulatory factor 1 to the E-Box regulates the 4G/5G polymorphism–dependent plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 expression in mast cells

Background Plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)–1 is a key regulator of the fibrinolytic system. PAI-1 levels are markedly elevated in the asthmatic airways. The 4G/5G polymorphism of the PAI-1 gene is associated with allergic asthma. Objective To characterize the mechanisms of the 4G/5G-dependent PAI-1 expression in mast cells (MCs), a major source of PAI-1 and key effector cells in asthma. Methods Transcription of PAI-1 was assessed by transiently transfecting human MC line (HMC-1) cells with the luciferase-tagged PAI-1 promoters containing the 4G or 5G allele (4G–PAI-1 or 5G–PAI-1 promoter). Upstream stimulatory factor (USF)–1 and the E-box interactions were studied by electrophoretic mobility shift assays and supershift assays. Expression of USF-1 was determined by Western blot analysis. Results The 4G–PAI-1 promoter has higher promoter activity than the 5G–PAI-1 promoter in stimulated HMC-1 cells, and the E-box adjacent to the 4G/5G site (E-4G/5G) regulates the genotype-specific PAI-1 transcription. USF-1 binds to the E-4G with greater affinity than to the E-5G. USF-1 level is increased in HMC-1 cells after stimulation, and elevated USF-1 enhances PAI-1 transcription. Overexpression of wild-type USF-1 or dominant-negative USF remedies the 4G/5G-dependent PAI-1 transcription. Conclusion Binding of USF-1 to the E-4G/5G regulates the 4G/5G polymorphism–dependent PAI-1 expression in MCs.
Polymerization of Rodlike Micelles

A new polymerizable surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium 4-vinylbenzoate (CTVB), has been prepared and investigated. In aqueous solution, highly entangled rodlike aggregates are formed at millimolar surfactant concentrations. Free-radical polymerization of the surfactant counterions results in nearly complete conversion to a stable, nonviscous solution. Small-angle neutron scattering reveals that the micellar diameter of 40 A is unchanged during the polymerization process and that the final polymerized micelle length (400−1200 A) is determined by the relative initiator concentration. In addition, the parent rodlike micellar aggregates rearrange into spherical micelles at elevated temperature, whereas the polymerized structures are insensitive to temperature changes or dilution.
The effect of dielectric heating on storage quality of cottonseed

It was found that the exposure of moist cottonseed to a radio frequency electric field for a period of from two to five minutes effectively reduced the formation of free fatty acids during subsequent storage of the seed. Two primary factors were involved in this action. First, moisture was rapidly removed from the seed and second, the enzymes responsible for free fatty acid formation were destroyed. Cottonseed containing 20% moisture accumulated free fatty acids only very slowly on storage at 38.5°C. after a brief dielectric heat treatment. The temperature inside the cottonseed was measured during the dielectric heat treatment. Temperature above 100°C. were attained in less than one minute.
Optical properties and color of porcine gingiva

Laser interaction with oral tissues is dependent upon the tissues physical properties. Previous studies measured the absorbance coefficient of individual components of the tissues. The purpose of the present study was to determine the reflectance, transmittance and absorbance of the whole tissue: porcine gingiva. Therefore, 2x4 mm sections consisting of attached and free gingiva from porcine mandibles, 1.2+/- 0.2 mm thickness, were measured using a spectrometer for reflectance (R) and transmittance (T), and the absorbance (A) was calculated. In order to fully characterize the optical properties of the soft tissue, the color of porcine gingiva was also measured utilizing the L*a*b* system. The average R, T and A among the specimens were determined for each wavelength (200-2500 nm) and the respective spectral curves determined at 95% confidence level. For the laser emission wavelength frequency-doubled Alexandrite (377nm) the average values were: R=25.8%; T=0.6%; A=73.6%. For the laser emission wavelength Nd:YAG (1064nm) the average values were: R=25.8%; T=66%; A=3%. For the laser emission wavelength diode (980nm) the average values were: R=30%; T=58%; A=12%. Color of the gingival tissue measured in reflectance had higher L*, a* and b* values as compared to color measured in transmittance.
3-D Hydrodynamic Modeling in a Geospatial Framework

3-D hydrodynamic models are used by the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to simulate the transport of thermal and radionuclide discharges in coastal estuary systems. Development of such models requires accurate bathymetry, coastline, and boundary condition data in conjunction with the ability to rapidly discretize model domains and interpolate the required geospatial data onto the domain. To facilitate rapid and accurate hydrodynamic model development, SRNL has developed a pre- and post-processor application in a geospatial framework to automate the creation of models using existing data. This automated capability allows development of very detailed models to maximize exploitation of available surface water radionuclide sample data and thermal imagery.
Th17-mediated inflammation in asthma

Asthma is a heterogeneous disease with many different phenotypes. Moderate and severe asthma phenotypes have been associated with increased neutrophils and increased Th17 cytokines, IL-17A, IL-17F, and IL-22, in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of patients. Th17 cytokines recruit neutrophils to the airway by increasing secretion of epithelial-derived neutrophilic chemokines. In addition, Th17 cytokines also induce mucous cell metaplasia and have pleotropic effects on airway smooth muscle resulting in airway narrowing. The role of Th17 cytokines in regulating Th2 cytokine expression and allergic airway inflammation remains unclear with conflicting reports. However, the role of Th17 cells in asthma will be answered in ongoing clinical trials with therapeutics targeting IL-17A and IL-17 receptor signaling.
Implications of N and C-Terminal Proximity for Protein Folding

We have investigated the proximity of the N and C termini in protein structures, and developed a model to test the theoretical possibility that proteins fold with their termini closely associated. On average, the distance between the termini is not significantly different from what would be expected based on chance. However, the theoretical model indicated that it is possible to greatly decrease the N-to-C terminal distance by allowing small (approximately six amino acid residues) solvent-accessible terminal fragments to move. Subsequent to this distance minimization method, more than 90% of the proteins studied had smaller-than-expected N-to-C distances, but only minor structural modification.
Equilibrium Study of Protein Denaturation by Urea

Though urea is commonly used to denature proteins, the molecular mechanism of its denaturing ability is still a subject of considerable debate. Previous molecular dynamics simulation studies have sought to elucidate the mechanism of urea denaturation by focusing on the pathway of denaturation rather than examining the effect of urea on the folding/unfolding equilibrium, which is commonly measured in experiment. Here we report the reversible folding/unfolding equilibrium of Trp-cage miniprotein in the presence of urea, over a broad range of urea concentrations, using all-atom Replica exchange MD simulations. The simulations capture the experimentally observed linear dependence of unfolding free energy on urea concentration. We find that the denaturation is driven by favorable direct interaction of urea with the protein through both electrostatic and van der Waals forces and quantify their contribution. Though the magnitude of direct electrostatic interaction of urea is larger than van der Waals, the difference between unfolded and folded ensembles is dominated by the van der Waals interaction. We also find that hydrogen bonding of urea to the peptide backbone does not play a dominant role in denaturation. The unfolded ensemble sampled depends on urea concentration, with greater urea concentration favoring conformations with greater solvent exposure. The m-value is predicted to increase with temperature and more strongly so with pressure.
Style-based cut-and-paste in graphical editors

Although great strides have been made in the last 10–15 years in the development of systems that use graphical representations, very little work has been done in developing systems that help users edit diagrams efficiently. This paper addresses the design of one such feature of a graphical editor, namely cut and paste. We show how knowledge of the syntax and semantics of the language being edited allows us to design a more intelligent cut-and-paste facility.
A non-iterative continuous model for switching window computation with crosstalk noise

Proper modeling of switching windows leads to a better estimate of the noise-induced delay variations. In this paper, we propose a new non-iterative continuous switching model. The proposed new model employs an ordering technique combined with the principle of superposition of linear circuits. The principle of superposition considers the impact of aggressors one after the other. The ordering technique avoids convergence and multiple solution issues in many practical cases. Our model surpasses the accuracy of the traditional discrete model and the speed of fixed point iteration method.
Model-Based Predictions of Interrupted Checklists:

The improper completion of a cockpit checklist has contributed to a number of aviation accidents. In many of these cases, it can be shown that interruptions were a contributing factor in the failure to complete the checklist properly. Unfortunately, most studies of interruptions have provided only post-hoc explanations for these failures. Further, research has focused on whether or not tasks are resumed rather than on predictions of where people will resume a task after an interruption. This paper describes several generic models that were used to explore cognitive strategies for handling interruptions. One of these models was then modified to fit the specific real-world task of completing an aircraft checklist. This model produced detailed a priori predictions about where the interrupted checklist will be resumed. The implications of these predictions for task design and for the use of cognitive modeling as an approach to understanding interruptions are discussed.
Selective modulation of immune function resulting from in vitro exposure to methylenedioxymethamphetamine (Ecstasy).

Abuse of illicit analogs of methamphetamine (i.e., 'designer drugs') represents a growing problem. One of the most popular methamphetamine analogs is (+/-)-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly known as Ecstasy. The authors demonstrated previously that in vitro exposure to methamphetamine results in modulation of immune functional parameters necessary for host defense. The current study was performed to assess the potential direct (in vitro) immunomodulatory effect of exposure to a modified methamphetamine. Splenocytes or peritoneal macrophages from B6C3F1 mice were cultured in vitro at MDMA concentrations of 0.0001-100 microM. T-cell regulatory function was assessed by anti-CD3-mediated production of IL-2 and IL-4, B-cell function was assessed by quantitating cellular proliferation, natural immunity was assessed by quantitating natural killer (NK) cell activity, T-cell effector function was evaluated as a function of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) activity, and macrophage function was assessed by IL-6 tumor necrosis factor (TNF) production. In vitro exposure to MDMA had no effect on B-cell proliferation at any concentration tested. In comparison, in the absence of direct cellular toxicity, production of IL-2 was enhanced at concentrations as low as 0.0001 microM. IL-4 production was not affected by exposure to any concentration of MDMA examined, suggesting a differential alteration in T-helper cell function by this compound. Basal and augmented NK cell function were enhanced at MDMA concentrations between 0.0001 and 1.0 microM when examined at an effector:target ratio of 100:1. CTL induction was significantly suppressed at a concentration of 100 microM. Finally, macrophage production of TNF was slightly suppressed at 10 and 100 microM MDMA, although this inhibition was not statistically significant.