cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Role of the pJM1 plasmid‐encoded transport proteins FatB, C and D in ferric anguibactin uptake in the fish pathogen Vibrio anguillarum

Vibrio anguillarum serotype O1 is part of the natural flora in the aquatic habitat, but under certain circumstances it can cause terminal haemorrhagic septicemia in marine and fresh water fish due to the action of the anguibactin iron uptake system encoded by the virulence plasmid pJM1. This plasmid harbours the genes for the biosynthesis of the siderophore anguibactin and the ferric anguibactin transport proteins FatD, C, B and A encoded in the iron transport operon. The FatA protein is the outer membrane receptor for the ferric siderophore complex and the FatB lipoprotein provides the periplasmic domain for its internalization, whereas the FatC and D proteins are located in the cytoplasmic membrane and might play a role as part of the ABC transporter for internalization of the ferric siderophore. In this work we demonstrate the essential role of these two inner membrane proteins in ferric anguibactin transport and that the lipo-protein nature of FatB is not necessary for ferric anguibactin transport.
Differential effect of combined lipase deficiency (cld/cld) on human hepatic lipase and lipoprotein lipase secretion.

Combined lipase deficiency (cld) is a recessively inherited disorder in mice associated with a deficiency of LPL and hepatic lipase (HL) activity. LPL is synthesized in cld tissues but is retained in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), whereas mouse HL (mHL) is secreted but inactive. In this study we investigated the effect of cld on the secretion of human HL (hHL) protein mass and activity. Differenti- ated liver cell lines were derived from cld mice and their normal heterozygous (het) littermates by transformation of hepatocytes with SV40 large T antigen. After transient trans- fection with lipase expression constructs, secretion of hLPL activity from cld cells was only 12% of that from het cells. In contrast, the rate of secretion of hHL activity and protein mass per unit of expressed hHL mRNA was identical for the two cell lines. An intermediate effect was observed for mHL, with a 46% reduction in secretion of activity from cld cells. The ER glucosidase inhibitor, castanospermine, decreased secretion of both hLPL and hHL from het cells by , 70%, but by only , 45% from cld cells. This is consistent with data suggesting that cld may result from a reduced concen- tration of the ER chaperone calnexin. In conclusion, our results demonstrate a differential effect of cld on hLPL, mHL, and hHL secretion, suggesting differential require- ments for activation and exit of the enzymes from the ER. —Boedeker, J. C., M. H. Doolittle, and A. L. White. Dif- ferential effect of combined lipase deficiency ( cld / cld ) on human hepatic lipase and lipoprotein lipase secretion. J. Lipid Res. 2001. 42: 1858-1864.
Exogenous expression of N-cadherin in breast cancer cells induces cell migration, invasion, and metastasis.

E- and N-cadherin are calcium-dependent cell adhesion molecules that mediate cell–cell adhesion and also modulate cell migration and tumor invasiveness. The loss of E-cadherin–mediated adhesion has been shown to play an important role in the transition of epithelial tumors from a benign to an invasive state. However, recent evidence indicates that another member of the cadherin family, N-cadherin, is expressed in highly invasive tumor cell lines that lacked E-cadherin expression. These findings have raised the possibility that N-cadherin contributes to the invasive phenotype. To determine whether N-cadherin promotes invasion and metastasis, we transfected a weakly metastatic and E-cadherin–expressing breast cancer cell line, MCF-7, with N-cadherin and analyzed the effects on cell migration, invasion, and metastasis. Transfected cells expressed both E- and N-cadherin and exhibited homotypic cell adhesion from both molecules. In vitro, N-cadherin–expressing cells migrated more efficiently, showed an increased invasion of Matrigel, and adhered more efficiently to monolayers of endothelial cells. All cells produced low levels of the matrix metalloproteinase MMP-9, which was dramatically upregulated by treatment with FGF-2 only in N-cadherin–expressing cells. Migration and invasion of Matrigel were also greatly enhanced by this treatment. When injected into the mammary fat pad of nude mice, N-cadherin–expressing cells, but not control MCF-7 cells, metastasized widely to the liver, pancreas, salivary gland, omentum, lung, lymph nodes, and lumbar spinal muscle. The expression of both E- and N-cadherin was maintained both in the primary tumors and metastatic lesions. These results demonstrate that N-cadherin promotes motility, invasion, and metastasis even in the presence of the normally suppressive E-cadherin. The increase in MMP-9 production by N-cadherin–expressing cells in response to a growth factor may endow them with a greater ability to penetrate matrix protein barriers, while the increase in their adherence to endothelium may improve their ability to enter and exit the vasculature, two properties that may be responsible for metastasis of N-cadherin–expressing cells.
A rectenna design with harmonic-rejecting circular-sector antenna

A rectenna designed with a microstrip harmonic-rejecting circular sector antenna at 2.4 GHz is proposed. As compared to a conventional microstrip square-patch antenna, the circular sector antenna, using inset feeding, exhibits high reflection coefficients at the second and the third harmonics, generated by a diode. The rectenna with integrated circular sector antenna can eliminate the need for a lowpass filter (LPF) placed between the antenna and the diode as well as producing higher output power, with a maximum conversion efficiency of 77.8% using a 150-/spl Omega/ load resistor.
Dose effects of triazolam on brain activity during episodic memory encoding: a PET study.

Rationale Although it is well established that acute benzodiazepine administration impairs episodic memory encoding, little is known about the neuroanatomical substrates of this effect.
P213 Never events & the checklist manifesto for intercostal chest drains

Background In the complex medical environment, clinicians commonly face varying challenges especially when undertaking invasive procedure with the risk of potential to harm patients. Checklists have a role in not only helping overcome human fallibility, but also ensuring that key steps are adhered to in order to ensure patient safety. Intercostal chest drains are amongst the most invasive procedure undertaken in Internal Medicine, often out of hours and in emergent clinical situations, and possibly in less than ideal environments and with limited or no supervision. All of these factors have been highlighted in the 2008 UK National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) report highlighting 780 events of harm including 12 deaths from intercostal chest drain insertions1. The NPSA Never Events2 list includes wrong site surgery, and in the respiratory discipline this encompasses the inserting of a chest drain on the wrong side. Never Events are preventable because: there is guidance that explains what the care or treatment should be; there is guidance to explain how risks and harm can be prevented; and there has been adequate notice and support to put systems in place to prevent them from happening. Methodology A systematic review of available literature around chest drain insertion, proformas and checklists was conducted. Other relevant checklists e.g. WHO surgical safety checklist were also reviewed. After an iterative design process involving chest physicians, general physicians, trainees and nurses, a checklist was devised, piloted and introduced into practice. Conclusion The Chest drain safety checklist was introduced in August 2011, and has since been adopted by the A&E Department and also neighbouring hospitals. Since its introduction, there have not been any adverse incidents in the Medical Department involving intercostal chest drain insertions. There is more confidence amongst nursing staff as they feel more involved and engaged. Trainees find the structured approach particularly helpful in ensuring key steps are not missed and patient safety ensured, and seek supervision and assistance more readily. References NPSA Rapid Response Report 2008 NPSA/2008/RRR003 The NPSA ‘never events’ 2011/2012, Department of Health
Expression of H1.5 and PLZF in granulosa cell tumors and normal ovarian tissues: a short report

Ovarian granulosa cell tumors (GCTs) typically exhibit an excellent prognosis, but their recurrences are associated with high mortality rates. In the past, immunohistochemistry (IHC)-based approaches have been used to facilitate the distinction between GCTs and other, more frequently occurring, primary or metastatic tumors. The purpose of this study was to assess the added value of H1.5 and PLZF protein expression in the correct delineation of GCTs. Consecutive 5-μm thick sections from routinely fixed and paraffin embedded tissues from 30 GCTs and 33 benign ovaries were processed for IHC using anti-PLZF and anti-H1.5 monoclonal antibodies. The respective protein staining intensities and distributions were quantified into reported scores for all tissue samples. Student’s t-test and Fisher’s exact test were used to compare the mean scores for each group. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Also, both the sensitivity and the specificity of the two antibodies were evaluated. A statistically significant difference in the expression of H1.5 between the GCT and normal ovary groups was observed (p < 0.0001). Normal ovarian tissues were found to strongly express H1.5, whereas GCTs were found to weakly express this protein. In contrast, PLZ expression was not found to be significantly different between both study groups. From our results we conclude that H1.5 is down-regulated in GCTs compared to normal ovarian tissues. Additional investigations on larger and more heterogeneous study populations, and on the molecular mechanism (s) underlying down-regulation of the H1.5 protein, may further substantiate the use of H1.5 as a diagnostic/prognostic marker and, in addition, provide insight into the pathogenesis of GCTs.
Hemoglobin A1c improvements and better diabetes-specific quality of life among participants completing diabetes self-management programs: A nested cohort study

Background Numerous primary care innovations emphasize patient-centered processes of care. Within the context of these innovations, greater understanding is needed of the relationship between improvements in clinical endpoints and patient-centered outcomes. To address this gap, we evaluated the association between glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and diabetes-specific quality of life among patients completing diabetes self-management programs.
Designing structures for dynamical properties via natural frequencies separation: Application to tensegrity structures design

The design of structures for dynamic properties is addressed by placing conditions on the separation between natural frequencies. Additional constraints, like lower and upper bounds on the natural frequencies, are also included. A fast numerical algorithm that exploits the mathematical structure of the resulting problem is developed. Examples of the algorithm's application to tensegrity structures design are presented and the connection between natural frequencies separation and proportional damping approximation is analyzed.
Principles for System Prototype and Verification Using Metamodel Based Transformations

Using Domain Specific Modeling (DSM) allows solutions to be expressed in the idiom and at the level of abstraction of the problem domain. However, this does not imply that prototypes can be easily and rapidly generated. In reality, Domain Specific Languages (DSLs) are difficult to design, implement and maintain, and usually there is a potential loss of efficiency when compared with hand-coded software. In this paper we explain the principles based on which we expect to solve some of these problems by means of transformation from a DSL to a formalism with a well define semantics named Concurrent Object Oriented Petri- Nets (CO-OPN). The proposed methodology uses the metamodel of the DSL as the principle for the transformation. This transformation represents the semantic mapping between the DSL and CO-OPN. The achievement is both to provide a formally defined semantics to the DSL and, since CO-OPN is integrated in a framework, to provide the functionalities that allow model verification and fast prototype generation for the DSL.
Teaching Leadership: Most Any Psychologist Can Do It

The past two decades have seen a growing interest in college courses on leadership in a variety of academic disciplines. The study of leadership has a long history, much of it based on psychology. ...
Protocrystalline Si:H p-type Layers for Maximization of the Open Circuit Voltage in a-Si:H n-i-p Solar Cells

We have revisited the issue of p-layer optimization for amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells, correlating spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) measurements of the p-layer in the device configuration with light current-voltage (J-V) characteristics of the completed solar cell. Working with p-layer gas mixtures of H 2 /SiH 4 /BF 3 in rf plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), we have found that the maximum open circuit voltage (V oc ) for n-i-p solar cells is obtained using p-layers prepared with the maximum possible hydrogen-dilution gas-flow ratio R=[H 2 ]/[SiH 4 ], but without crossing the thickness-dependent transition from the a-Si:H growth regime into the mixed-phase amorphous + microcrystalline [(a+μc)-Si:H] regime for the ∼200 A p-layers. As a result, optimum single-step p-layers are obtained under conditions similar to those applied for optimum i-layers, i.e., by operating in the so-called “protocrystalline” Si:H film growth regime. The remarkable dependence of the p-layer phase (amorphous vs. microcrystalline) and n-i-p solar cell V oc on the nature of the underlying i-layer surface also supports this conclusion.
A tunable, software-based DRAM error detection and correction library for HPC

Proposed exascale systems will present a number of considerable resiliency challenges. In particular, DRAM soft-errors, or bit-flips, are expected to greatly increase due to the increased memory density of these systems. Current hardware-based fault-tolerance methods will be unsuitable for addressing the expected soft error frequency rate. As a result, additional software will be needed to address this challenge. In this paper we introduce LIBSDC, a tunable, transparent silent data corruption detection and correction library for HPC applications. LIBSDC provides comprehensive SDC protection for program memory by implementing on-demand page integrity verification. Experimental benchmarks with Mantevo HPCCG show that once tuned, LIBSDC is able to achieve SDC protection with 50% overhead of resources, less than the 100% needed for double modular redundancy.
What is war good for? Background ideas and assumptions about the legitimacy, utility, and costs of offensive war

Explores the concept of ‘background’ taken-for-granted ideas in politics, linking this notion to Habermas’ ‘lifeworld’ and Focault’s ‘episteme’Explicates decision-makers’ background ideas about the...
Future directions in IAT: better studies, better selection, better timing and better techniques

Despite years of clinical experience, we know very little about who we should be treating with intra-arterial stroke therapy (IAT) and how to deliver this resource-intensive treatment modality. This sobering fact was highlighted by the recent randomized controlled trials (RCTs) which failed to demonstrate improved outcomes with IAT over medical management alone.1–3 Although it is very possible that these results would have been different had the current generation stent retrievers been used as revascularization tools, we should acknowledge that our confidence in the efficacy of an unproven therapy has been misplaced before (eg, the SAMMPRIS trial4). A major lesson from these trials is that, at least in the context of current IAT practice, the signal of benefit from this treatment is smaller than assumed. Furthermore, because higher rates of early revascularization observed with IAT have not translated into proportionally better outcomes, the importance of revascularization, without consideration of other contributing factors, may have been overestimated. Among the factors emerging as critically important in determining clinical outcomes are speed of reperfusion and preprocedure infarct size. Although new trials are necessary, they will not remedy the gaps in our knowledge. Phase III RCTs are difficult to perform due to limited funding, lack of treatment equipoise and a small eligible patient population. The time investment is often so large that, due to concomitant technological advances, the results may not be relevant to current practice. As such, high-quality data from single-center studies or multicenter registries that include natural history data are needed to answer the numerous clinical questions that cannot be addressed in an RCT setting, and to provide data to refine trial selection criteria. This commentary highlights areas of critical need in IAT research and process improvement (box 1). Building on this discussion, this special issue of JNIS is devoted to …
Studies of the Structures and Bonding of Gold-Bridged Dirhenium Carbonyl Cluster Complexes

The compounds Re2(CO)8(μ-AuPPh3)2, 1, a dimer of Re(CO)4(μ-AuPPh3), and ax,ax-Re2(CO)8(PPh3)2 were obtained from UV–vis radiation-induced decarbonylation of the compound Re(CO)5[Au(PPh3)]. Compound 1 contains two rhenium atoms bridged by two AuPPh3 groups. The complex has 32 valence electrons and is formally unsaturated by the amount of two electrons. The Re–Re bond distance in 1 is unusually short (Re–Re = 2.9070(3) A), as found by a single-crystal structural analysis. The nature of the metal–metal bonding in 1 was investigated by DFT computational analyses, which have provided evidence not only for σ-bonding but also significant complementary π-bonding directly between the two rhenium atoms. The electronic structure of Re2(CO)8(μ-H)2, 2, was similarly analyzed and is compared with that of 1. Compound 1 is intensely colored due to low-energy, metal-based electronic transitions between the HOMO and HOMO-2 and the LUMO. Compound 1 reacts with I2 to yield Re2(CO)8(μ-AuPPh3)(μ-I), 3, and the known compound R...
394 MELANOMA-ASSOCIATED ONCOGENE MICROPHTHALMIA-ASSOCIATED TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR IS UP-REGULATED BY ALTERTIONS IN MICRO-RNA.

Microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) is an antiapoptotic protein amplified in melanoma cell lines, and its overexpression is correlated with a decreased survival in patients with malignant melanoma. A bioinformatics-based approach predicts micro-RNA-137 as a regulator of MITF. Micro-RNA (miRNA) is a recently discovered class of noncoding RNA that negatively regulates gene expression. Mutations in miRNA or in their target binding site have been implicated in tumorigenesis. We hypothesized that alterations in the function of miRNA-137 may be responsible for MITF overexpression in melanoma. We directly sequenced the DNA region encoding miRNA-137 in samples obtained from patients with melanoma and controls. We identified a 15-nucleotide variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) within the primary miRNA-137 sequence near the critical Drosha-DGCR8 binding site. We found that patients with melanoma had a greater number of repeats compared with controls. To investigate if the presumed wild-type miRNA-137 with the fewer number of VNTRs regulates MITF, we transfected the wild-type primary miRNA-137 gene into human melanoma cell lines and measured MITF expression by Western blot. Our preliminary data suggest that cells transfected with wild-type miRNA-137 have decreased MITF expression compared with vector control. These data suggest that wild-type miRNA-137 is capable of regulating MITF. Future experiments are being performed to determine if the miRNA-137 with the greater number of VNTRs leads to overexpression of MITF and contributes to the development and progression of melanoma.
Effect Analysis of Outburst Prevention Measures in Mining Superimposed Stress Concentration Zone

Coal mining working face will form stress concentration zone within a certain range of working face,and the mining activities in stress concentration zone leads to the concentrated stress superposition,which is easy to induce the accidents of coal and gas outburst.This paper takes a mine coal lane tunneling working face passing through the overlying coal seam working face stop line stress concentration zone as an example,the regional and local outburst-prevention measures effects are analyzed,the results show that in the face of stop line,the effect of stress concentration range is up to around 40 m,especially in front of the working face,gas emission drilling has obvious effect on relieving the stress concentration.
How far will a behaviourally flexible invasive bird go to innovate

Behavioural flexibility is considered a key factor in the ability to adapt to changing environments. A traditional way of characterizing behavioural flexibility is to determine whether individuals invent solutions to novel problems, termed innovativeness. Great-tailed grackles are behaviourally flexible in that they can change their preferences when a task changes using existing behaviours; however, it is unknown how far they will go to invent solutions to novel problems. To begin to answer this question, I gave grackles two novel tests that a variety of other species can perform: stick tool use and string pulling. No grackle used a stick to access out-of-reach food, even after seeing a human demonstrate the solution. No grackle spontaneously pulled a vertically oriented string, but one did pull a horizontally oriented string twice. Additionally, a third novel test was previously conducted on these individuals and it was found that no grackle spontaneously dropped stones down a platform apparatus to release food, but six out of eight did become proficient after training. These results support the idea that behavioural flexibility is a multi-faceted trait because grackles are flexible, but not particularly innovative. This contradicts the idea that behavioural flexibility and innovativeness are interchangeable terms.
Imaging muscle-invasive and metastatic urothelial carcinoma.

Purpose of reviewMuscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) comprises approximately one-third of bladder cancers and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Accurate staging of bladder cancer is essential because of significantly different treatment options and the consequences of inaccur
Unusual magnetic resonance imaging presentation of post-BMT cerebral toxoplasmosis masquerading as meningoencephalitis and ventriculitis

Unusual magnetic resonance imaging presentation of post-BMT cerebral toxoplasmosis masquerading as meningoencephalitis and ventriculitis
New Neurochemical Markers for Psychosis: A Working Hypothesis of Their Operation

Reelin (Reln) is expressed in specific GABAergic neurons in layer I and II of neocortex, and is secreted into the extracellular matrix where it surrounds dendrites, spines and neurite arborizations, and binds to integrin receptors located on post-synaptic densities of apical dendritic spines. Experiments in rodents (including wild type or reeler heterozygous mice) and non-human primates suggest the Reln secreted in the extracellular matrix of neocortex, via integrin receptors, modulates the function of the adaptor protein DAB1(drosophila disable-gene) homologous product) thereby participating in dynamic processes associated with plasticity changes in dendrites, dendritic spines and their synapses. A local protein synthesis at dendritic spines (ie the activity regulated cytoskeleton associated protein, Arc) probably acts as a signal for plastic modulatory activities in synapses operative in neural group interactions. A research strategy directed toward identifying specific neurochemical markers operative in the etiopathology of psychotic disorders lead to the identification of a downregulation (30–50%) of Reln and glutamic acid decarboxylase 67(GAD67) expression in prefrontal cortex and other brain areas of schizoprenia and bipolar disorder patients with psychosis. These downregulations were not due to neuronal damage, postmortem interval, or antipsychotic medication. The dysfunction of GABAergic interneurons observed in psychotic brains in combination with reduced Reln expression and downregulation of Reln-integrin receptor interaction, may provide an explanation for the reported decrease in neuropile expression including dendritic spine density reduction, in neocortex of schizophrenia patients. This downregulation of neuropile plasticity may be a factor to be considered in the etiology of the disintegration of consciousness, which is one of the primary signs of psychosis.
Occurrence and Simulation of Index-3 DAEs in VLSI Circuits

In this paper we present a circuit configuration that generates an Index-3 DAE. Previous index analyses of analog circuits have proved that the DAE set modeling the circuit is at most Index-2. We show that certain behavioral models for transistors can generate an Index-3 DAE when a particular structural condition is satisfied. Most BDF methods are unstable for Index-3 DAEs, the DAE set has to be preconditioned via constraint differentiation or regularization to reduce the Index of the DAE. We present an efficient regularization procedure that can be applied to the Index-3 DAE generated by the transistor model. The occurrence condition and the regularization procedure can be checked for and performed at the netlist level. We show with examples how the modification improves the simulation process in terms of accuracy of the solution and improved convergence properties.
Recent-Performance Factors Analysis.

We introduce R-PFA, a new model for predicting whether or not a student will answer an item correctly based on the student’s history of practice. The key idea in R-PFA is to represent history as a recentcy-weighted proportion of correct responses. In an evaluation on a dataset from the Assistments tutoring system, we find that R-PFA improves predictive accuracy over other logistic regression model variants, including PFA and AFM.
Reading, Devotion and Religious Print in Early Cinquecento Naples: The Case of Francesco Sovaro’s Christiade

This article analyses a little known Christian epic poem, the Christiade by Francesco Sovaro. Printed in Naples in 1539, the poem is a mosaic of passages from the Gospels offering a synoptic versio...
Cyber-Attacks to Voltage Control Applications via Wide Area Monitoring, Protection and Control System

In this paper, we analyze the effect of cyber-attacks on voltage control via the Wide Area Monitoring, Protection and Control System. To address this problem, we model wide area voltage control as a dynamical system under the presence of an adversary that aims to disrupt the network's voltage and steer the system towards voltage collapse. Under this framework, we derive stealthy attack templates that aim to reveal the attack locations and timing that will be most effective on the power grid. From the perspective of defending the grid, the attack templates reveal the critical locations for the optimal distribution of resources to mitigate potential cyber-attacks. Alternatively, we derive stealthy attack templates based on power flow equations and the static mechanism of voltage collapse. The effectiveness of our proposed attack templates are validated through numerical examples.
Doom and gloom won't save the world

The best way to encourage conservation is to share our success stories, not to write obituaries for the planet, says Nancy Knowlton.
Enhanced Nociception in Angelman Syndrome Model Mice.

Angelman syndrome (AS) is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder caused by mutation or deletion of the maternal UBE3A allele. The maternal UBE3A allele is expressed in nearly all neurons of the brain and spinal cord, whereas the paternal UBE3A allele is repressed by an extremely long antisense transcript (UBE3A-ATS). Little is known about expression of UBE3A in the peripheral nervous system, where loss of maternal UBE3A might contribute to AS phenotypes. Here we sought to examine maternal and paternal Ube3a expression in DRGs neurons and to evaluate whether nociceptive responses were affected in AS model mice (global deletion of maternal Ube3a allele; Ube3am−/p+). We found that most large-diameter proprioceptive and mechanosensitive DRG neurons expressed maternal Ube3a and paternal Ube3a-ATS. In contrast, most small-diameter neurons expressed Ube3a biallelically and had low to undetectable levels of Ube3a-ATS. Analysis of single-cell DRG transcriptomes further suggested that Ube3a is expressed monoallelically in myelinated large-diameter neurons and biallelically in unmyelinated small-diameter neurons. Behavioral responses to some noxious thermal and mechanical stimuli were enhanced in male and female AS model mice; however, nociceptive responses were not altered by the conditional deletion of maternal Ube3a in the DRG. These data suggest that the enhanced nociceptive responses in AS model mice are due to loss of maternal Ube3a in the central, but not peripheral, nervous system. Our study provides new insights into sensory processing deficits associated with AS. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Angelman syndrome (AS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by loss or mutation of the maternal UBE3A allele. While sensory processing deficits are frequently associated with AS, it is currently unknown whether Ube3a is expressed in peripheral sensory neurons or whether maternal deletion of Ube3a affects somatosensory responses. Here, we found that Ube3a is primarily expressed from the maternally inherited allele in myelinated large-diameter sensory neurons and biallelically expressed in unmyelinated small-diameter neurons. Nociceptive responses to select noxious thermal and mechanical stimuli were enhanced following global, but not sensory neuron-specific, deletion of maternal Ube3a in mice. These data suggest that maternal loss of Ube3a affects nociception via a central, but not peripheral mechanism, with implications for AS.
Picosecond Emission Spectroscopy with an Ultraviolet Sensitive Streak Camera

Picosecond emission spectroscopy allows direct observation of rotational diffusion, of radiationless relaxation processes, and of energy transfer on the subnanosecond time scale. Risetimes are an indication of “slow” relaxation into the emitting state; while nonexponential decays result from “slowly” interconverting conformers, rotational diffusion, energy transfer, nonlinear processes, or solvent reorganization in a solvent-dependent fluorescing system. This paper will describe the use of picosecond pulses mainly from the 3rd and 4th harmonics of a Nd+3/glass mode-locked laser for ultraviolet excitation of molecular excited states. An ultraviolet sensitive ultrafast streak camera coupled to an optical multichannel analyzer interfaced with a computer serves as detector for light emission from these states. The time course of nonradiative events, which compete with the light emission, can often be obtained from the data. On the fastest time scales, one-photon ionization, when allowed, competes favorably with the well known electronic relaxation processes of internal conversion and intersystem crossing.
Increased sugar yield from pre-milled Douglas-fir forest residuals with lower energy consumption by using planetary ball milling.

Abstract Impact of planetary ball milling on pre-milled wood fiber was studied to improve efficiency of energy consumption for bioconversion using post-harvest forest residuals. Crystalline cellulose decreased from 40.73% to 11.70% by ball milling. Crystallinity index of ball milled wood samples had a negative correlation with glucose yield (r = −0.97, p
Efficient Large-Scale Approximate Nearest Neighbor Search on OpenCL FPGA

We present a new method for Product Quantization (PQ) based approximated nearest neighbor search (ANN) in high dimensional spaces. Specifically, we first propose a quantization scheme for the codebook of coarse quantizer, product quantizer, and rotation matrix, to reduce the cost of accessing these codebooks. Our approach also combines a highly parallel k-selection method, which can be fused with the distance calculation to reduce the memory overhead. We implement the proposed method on Intel HARPv2 platform using OpenCL-FPGA. The proposed method significantly outperforms state-of-the-art methods on CPU and GPU for high dimensional nearest neighbor queries on billion-scale datasets in terms of query time and accuracy regardless of the batch size. To our best knowledge, this is the first work to demonstrate FPGA performance superior to CPU and GPU on high-dimensional, large-scale ANN datasets.
Methamphetamine Use and Its Relation to HIV Risk: Data from Latino Gay Men in San Francisco

Latino gay men constitute one of the most vulnerable groups in the nation for the transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), showing some of the highest rates of seroprevalence, seroconversion, and unprotected anal intercourse (Lemp et al., 1994; CDC, 2002). In the largest study of young men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers reported an HIV prevalence of 14% among Latinos ages 23 to 29, double the HIV prevalence (7%) of their White same-age counterparts (Valleroy et al., 2000). This finding mirrors a much larger national health disparity where gay men of color—particularly African American and Latinos—show disproportionate rates of HIV infection, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) diagnoses, and both morbidity and mortality related to HIV/AIDS (Blair et al., 2002; CDC, 2004). Public health officials in the United States have called for a national effort to understand, address, and eliminate health disparities in the United States; however, at present it is unclear why gay men of color are disproportionately affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic (Malebranche, 2003).
Walter Kohn and UC Policy

In the summer of 1986 I had invited Walter Kohn to a meeting at UC Santa Cruz on Strongly Coupled Plasma Physics, and asked him to speak on the application of density functional theory to extremely high density plasmas as found in some stellar interiors. He came to the conference and gave a most interesting and useful talk. At this time I had the chance for the first time to discuss not only physics with him but also his deep concerns about the nuclear arms race. This was still during the Cold War and the Reagan Administration seemed to be pushing for new nuclear weapons and the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI, also known as Star Wars) without end. As a long time staff member of the Lawrence Livermore Lab, one of the two US nuclear weapons design laboratories, I shared Walter’s worries about the seeming runaway nuclear arms race. For several years already I had been a vocal internal critic of the manner that the Livermore Lab sold new weapons ideas to the US government. Also I was convinced that an end to nuclear weapon testing was feasible and desirable, and that the new Reagan Star Wars program was dangerous for the world. At the Santa Cruz meeting Walter and I discussed at length our mutual concerns and what we could do to try to slow down the arms race. We remained in close contact on these matters for the next several years.
Effects of processing history on thermal debinding

Thermal debinding behavior of silicon nitride parts processed via fused deposition of ceramics (FDC) and extrusion was studied. Heating rate, holding time, setter bed chemistry were some of the variables that were studied to understand their effect on green ceramic parts. Effect of processing history on the binder loss, porosity development and binder distribution profiles were examined on partially binder-burned-out samples. Results show that prior processing history has significant impact on binder distribution profiles and binder loss behavior.
Anesthetic Management of Thoraco-Abdominal Open Procedures

Surgical repair of thoraco-abdominal aortic aneurysms is a technically demanding procedure which often mandates the participation of very experienced anesthetists, surgeons, and intensivists. Its complexity resides not only in challenging surgical aspects such as the need for interrupting the natural cerebral perfusion, but also in the requirement for meticulous monitoring strategies during the perioperative period. In order to coordinate and establish an advanced aortic program, Randall B. Griepp joined Mount Sinai in 1985. His incorporation to the hospital brought the subsequent introduction of several institutional changes, including the use of deep hypothermic circulatory arrest and selective antegrade cerebral perfusion, the application of neuroprotection methods, the creation of an aortic surveillance program, and the establishment of an aortic clinic with a focus on personalized anesthetic treatment for each patient. Additionally, Griepp built a productive animal research laboratory to develop new strategies for spinal cord protection. In this chapter, we aim to detail our tailored anesthetic approach to patients undergoing thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair, based on our 25-year clinical and research experience.
New 5-Factor Modified Frailty Index Predicts Morbidity and Mortality in Primary Hip and Knee Arthroplasty

Abstract Background While the 11-factor modified frailty index (mFI) has been shown to predict adverse outcomes in patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty, the 5-factor index has not been evaluated in this patient population. The goal of this study was to evaluate the utility of the mFI-5 as a predictor of morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing primary total hip and knee arthroplasty. Methods A retrospective analysis of the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program's database for patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty and total knee arthroplasty between the years 2005 and 2016 was conducted. The 5-factor score, which includes the presence of comorbid diabetes, hypertension, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and functional status, was calculated for each patient. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to assess the relationship between the mFI-5 and postoperative complications while controlling for demographic variables. Results One hundred forty thousand one hundred fifty-eight patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty and 226,398 patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty were identified. After adjusting for demographic variables and comorbid conditions, logistic regression analyses revealed that the mFI-5 was a strong predictor for total complications, Clavien-Dindo grade IV complications (cardiac arrest, myocardial infarction, septic shock, pulmonary embolism, postoperative dialysis, reintubation, and prolonged ventilator requirement), surgical site infections, readmission, and 30-day mortality (P Conclusions The mFI-5 is an independent predictor of postoperative complications including life-threatening medical complications, surgical site infections, hospital readmission, and 30-day mortality after primary hip and knee arthroplasty. This clinical tool can be used to identify high-risk surgical patients and guide preoperative counseling to optimize outcomes. Level of Evidence III.
Evaluation of quizalofop tank-mixtures for quizalofop-resistant rice

Abstract Effective grass weed control in rice is becoming more difficult due to herbicide resistance. To combat weed resistance a new non-GMO resistant rice is under development. Quizalofop, an acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase (ACCase)-inhibiting herbicide, can be applied over-the-top of quizalofop-resistant rice for selective grass control. Due to the absence of broadleaf weed control from this herbicide, other herbicides will be needed to achieve control of a diverse weed spectrum. Antagonism often occurs when mixing ACCase-inhibiting herbicides with other herbicides; thus, two experiments were conducted to evaluate quizalofop in tank-mixes with common rice herbicides having either grass or broadleaf activity. Both greenhouse experiments were a two-factor factorial where factor-A was quizalofop rate and factor-B was tank-mix partner. The first experiment contained tank-mix partners for grass control with some treatments having activity on broadleaf species as well. The second experiment contained tank-mix partners that when applied alone are not effective in controlling grass weeds. The first experiment included labeled rates of clomazone, pendimethalin, thiobencarb, quinclorac, propanil, imazethapyr, bispyribac, penoxsulam, cyhalofop, and fenoxaprop in tank-mixes with quizalofop at 0 or 80 g ai ha−1 on common grass weeds found in rice production. The second experiment included labeled rates of triclopyr, acifluorefen, carfentrazone, salfufenacil, halosulfuron, halosulfuron + thifensulfuron, bentazon, or 2,4-D amine in tank-mixes with quizalofop at 0, 80, or 160 g ai ha−1. Tank-mix interactions for percent control or biomass reduction were evaluated using Colby's method. Overall, quizalofop alone provided effective control of all grass species evaluated (>90%) in both experiments, except for ACCase-resistant Amazon sprangletop. When quizalofop was tank-mixed with other herbicides, antagonism was observed for various combinations on multiple grass weeds. The acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibiting herbicides consistently antagonized quizalofop in terms of grass weed control and biomass reduction. Likewise, the addition of propanil to quizalofop antagonized the graminicide based on multiple grass species evaluated. Similarly, the auxinic herbicides antagonized quizalofop, with 2,4-D being the most consistently antagonistic tank-mix partner, resulting in reduced control of all grass weeds evaluated compared to quizalofop alone. Overall, the results indicate caution should be taken before tank-mixing quizalofop with other rice herbicides, and ultimately, separate applications may be needed when a diverse spectrum of grasses, broadleaves, and/or sedges are present in a rice field.
The influence of organization alignment on the effectiveness of systems engineers

Abstract Helix is a multi-year project that aims to clarify what makes systems engineers and systems engineering organizations effective. Initially, the research focused primarily on understanding the characteristics of individual systems engineers and how those characteristics relate to effectiveness. The study indicated that multiple factors influence the performance of systems engineers, a critical one being the organization where they perform their systems engineering activities [12]. There are limited studies that explore the influence of organizational culture, governance, structure, and workforce composition on systems engineering workforce effectiveness [29]. Consequently, the Helix project aims to investigate the connection between attributes of the work environment and the effectiveness of the systems engineering workforce through the implementation of both qualitative and qualitative research approaches. With insights into effective systems engineers clearly defined, the research now focuses on exploring the characteristics of organizations that impact the effectiveness of systems engineers and how these characteristics lead to an effective organizational systems engineering capability. This article presents preliminary results on the development of a web-based collection mechanism that incorporates two organization assessment methods, the Competing Values Framework (CVF) and the Quality of Interaction Index (Qi Index) that could support the understanding of the role of culture and cultural alignment in organizations implementing systems engineering.
Surviving software dependencies

Software reuse is finally here, and its benefits should not be understated, but we’ve accepted this transformation without completely thinking through the potential consequences. The Copay and Equi...
A comparison of learning styles between alternative and traditional educators in the state of Iowa

Sequential (AS): Teacher: Verbal, abstract, strucmred, logical, low tolerance for distraction. Teaching methods: Uses reading assignments, lecmres, facts, [letter] grades important, lectures, audiotapes, and individual guided studies. Learner: Logical, analytical, conceptual, and smdious. Prefers lectures, quiet, controlled study, extended reading, and audiotapes. Abstract Random (AR): Teacher: Subjective, affective, abstract, empathetic, lets smdents control die direction of theRandom (AR): Teacher: Subjective, affective, abstract, empathetic, lets smdents control die direction of the class, high tolerance for distraction. Teaching methods: Uses analogies, metaphors, student options, cross-age mtoring, essays, open discussion, personal interviews, reflective activities.
A Rare Case of Adult-onset Still's Disease with Anti-Ro Antibody Positive.

Adult-onset Still’s disease (AOSD) is a rare systemic inflammatory disorder. The exact pathogenesis is unknown but believed to have multiple etiologies. The Yamaguchi criteria are used to aid in the diagnosis of AOSD. Typical characteristics are spiking fevers, febrile rash, arthritis, and the absence of other serologic markers of rheumatic diseases. We present a case of a 31-year-old Hispanic female who presented with fevers, arthritis, febrile rash, high ferritin levels, and cervical and axillary lymphadenopathies. The unique feature of our case is that the patient was positive for antinuclear antibody (ANA) titers of greater than 1:640 and anti-Ro antibody. She responded with the pulse dose steroids and later prescribed methotrexate and tapered off prednisone with improvement in her symptoms.
GeoDRIVE, an HPC flexible platform for seismic applications

Summary We present GeoDRIVE, a software framework tailored to seismic applications embedding high performance features. We discuss the spatial cache-blocking algorithm for the Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method and the protocol to find optimal parameters. GeoDRIVE was successfully applied on 3-D large scale seismic surveys using the Shaheen II supercomputer at KAUST. Two applications are presented. In the first one, we successfully produced a 3-D image of the subsurface geologic layers at a record resolution of 7.5 meters with a maximum frequency of 100 Hz ( Dimensions International, 2018 ). The second application is an elastic modeling using in average 2434 compute nodes in parallel. This achievement represents a workload of 59.6 ExaFLOP on a current PetaFLOP/s machine. This indicates that the next generation of supercomputers targeting the ExaFLOP/s sustained performance, would reduce the running-time of our application to one hour or less. With such performance, it is reasonable to predict that 3D elastic imaging will be a routinely used algorithm by seismic exploration in the next years.