cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A method to detect ras point mutations in small subpopulations of cells

Abstract Biochemical assays for ras mutations are capable of detecting a mutant allele only if it is present in at least 5% of cells tested. Further, ras mutation assays which utilize the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are unable to distinguish a ras mutation in a small population of cells from mutations resulting from Taq DNA polymerase base misincorporation. We used a standard restriction fragment length polymorphism assay of PCR-amplified c-Ki- ras to detect codon 12 mutations in tumor cells and found a cumulative error frequency for Taq DNA polymerase of one codon 12 mutation per 2 × 10 4 molecules of total amplification product. The Taq polymerase-induced mutations were found to be multiple base transitions and represented a constant proportion of the amplification product at each step of the PCR. The ability to detect the in vitro generated mutation was dependent on the number of thermal cycles and the sensitivity of the detection assay. With these considerations in mind, we developed a two-step RFLP assay in which the thermal cycle number was kept low and molecules containing mutations at codon 12 were selectively amplified in the second step. We were able to detect a ras mutation occurring in 1 per 1000 cells (a two log improvement over standard RFLP methods) without detecting mutations resulting from Taq DNA polymerase infidelity.
Finite element formulations using the theorem of power expended: total energy framework with a differential formulation

Traditional practices involving variational calculus have historically dominated most finite element formulations to-date, and have no doubt served as indispensable tools. Besides these practices, our recent contributions in Acta Mechanica (Har and Tamma, 2009, in press) described new alternatives and developments emanating from Hamilton’s Law of Varying Action (HLVA) as a starting point with a measurable built-in scalar function, namely, the Total Energy. The associated framework (in contrast to Lagrangian or Hamiltonian mechanics framework) demonstrated certain new advances, and also provided some fundamental insight into explaining traditional practices of finite element discretization. Here we additionally provide other advances, new directions, and viable alternatives in contrast to all these past practices which routinely employ variational concepts. In particular, focusing on elastodynamics applications, in this paper we provide for the first time finite element formulations stemming instead from a differential formulation and the theorem of power expended with a measurable built-in scalar function, namely, the Total Energy \({[\mathcal{E}({\varvec q},\dot{{\varvec q}}):TQ\to \mathbb{R}]}\) , as a starting point to capitalize on certain added advantages. The autonomous total energy has time/translational/rotational symmetries for the continuum/N-body dynamical systems. The proposed concepts: (i) can be shown to yield the same governing mathematical model equations of motion that are continuous in space and time together with the natural boundary conditions just as balance laws such as linear momentum or Hamilton’s principle are routinely used to derive such equations, but without resorting to any variational concepts, or approaches such as variational principles, (ii) explain naturally how the classical Bubnov–Galerkin weighted-residual form that is customarily employed for discretization can be readily constructed for both space and time, and alternately, (iii) circumvents relying on traditional practices of conducting numerical discretizations starting either from the balance of linear momentum (Newton’s law) involving Cauchy’s equations of motion (governing equations) arising from continuum mechanics or via (1) and (2) above, and instead provides new avenues of discretization for continuum-dynamical systems. For illustration, numerical discretizations are presented for the modeling of complicated structural dynamical systems.
Third-Party Federalism: Using Local Governments (and Their Contractors) to Implement National Policy

The federal government relies on states and localities to implement federal policy. The Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program is one case in point. As a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), over $3.2 billion was directed to local government energy efficiency and sustainability efforts. However, local governments have struggled to achieve timely implementation—one of the key goals of the program as specified by the federal government. We find that using contractors and the complications associated with using these third-party implementers influenced achievement of this federal goal. The insights for intergovernmental grant implementation derived from this analysis provide a foundation for integrating the fiscal federalism and contracting literatures into a broader theory of third-party federalism.
Model-based testing for applications derived from software product lines

This paper describes an approach for mapping the models of an SPL (Software Product Line) to tests so that functional tests can be automatically generated and selected when an application is derived from an SPL. Information relevant for testing is added to and then extracted from the SPL models. A Hotel Product line example is used to illustrate the approach.
Center-of-mass corrections to overlap factors in the theory of nucleon transfer reactions

Abstract Form factors for direct nuclear reactions involving the transfer of one or more nucleons are examined for the consequences of the unphysical c.m. motion inherent in the shell model. The standard procedure employed in one-nucleon transfer is shown to be properly translation invariant. In the case of the transfer of two nucleons, it is pointed out that c.m. corrections are needed but that no tractable procedure exists for making them. Recent proposals of recoil corrections in transfer reactions are critically examined.
Identification of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus using an integrated and modular microfluidic system

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major cause of hospital-acquired (HA-MRSA) infection worldwide. As a result, the rapid and specific detection of MRSA is crucial not only for early prevention of disease spread, but also for the effective treatment of these infections. We report here an integrated modular-based microfluidic system for MRSA identification, which can carry out the multi-step assay used for MRSA identification in a single disposable fluidic cartridge. The multi-step assay included PCR amplification of the mecA gene harboring methicillin resistance loci that can provide information on drug susceptibility, ligase detection reaction (LDR) to generate fluorescent ligation products appended with a zip-code complement that directs the ligation product to a particular address on a universal array containing zip-code probes and a universal DNA array, which consisted of a planar waveguide for evanescent excitation. The fluidic cartridge design was based on a modular format, in which certain steps of the molecular processing pipeline were poised on a module made from a thermoplastic. The cartridge was comprised of a module interconnected to a fluidic motherboard configured in a 3-dimensional network; the motherboard was made from polycarbonate, PC, and was used for PCR and LDR, while the module was made from poly(methylmethacrylate), PMMA, and contained an air-embedded waveguide serving as the support for the universal array. Fluid handling, thermal management and optical readout hardware were situated off-chip and configured into a small footprint instrument. In this work, the cartridge was used to carry out a multiplexed PCR/LDR coupled with the universal array allowed for simultaneous detection of five genes that encode for 16S ribosomal RNA (SG16S), protein A (spa), the femA protein of S. epidermidis (femA), the virulence factor of Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) and the gene that confers methicillin resistance (mecA). Results indicated that this modular system could differentiate community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) from hospital-acquired MRSA (HA-MRSA) based on the presence/absence of the PVL gene as well as S. aureus from other Staphylococcal species using the sequence content in the femA gene. This system can identify strains in <40 min and detect MRSA directly from a mixture of Staphylococci.
Thinking about the Conceptual Foundations of the Biological Sciences

Not until the core concepts of biology are clearly defined and become the focus of instruction and assessment can we expect meaningful improvements in biological literacy and the removal of unnecessary barriers to student engagement.
Defects in DNA ligase I trigger PCNA ubiquitylation at Lys 107

In all eukaryotes, the ligation of newly synthesized DNA, also known as Okazaki fragments, is catalysed by DNA ligase I (ref. 1). An individual with a DNA ligase I deficiency exhibits growth retardation, sunlight sensitivity and severe immunosuppression, probably due to accumulation of DNA damage. Surprisingly, not much is known about the DNA damage response (DDR) in DNA ligase I-deficient cells. As DNA replication and DDR pathways are highly conserved in eukaryotes, we used Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model system to address this issue. We uncovered a new pathway, which facilitates ubiquitylation at Lys 107 of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). Unlike ubiquitylation at Lys 164 of PCNA in response to UV irradiation, which triggers translesion synthesis, modification of Lys 107 is not dependent on the ubiquitin conjugating enzyme (E2) Rad6 (ref. 4) nor the ubiquitin ligase (E3) Rad18 (ref. 5), but requires the E2 variant Mms2 (ref. 6) in conjunction with Ubc4 (ref. 7) and the E3 Rad5 (Refs 8, 9). Surprisingly, DNA ligase I-deficient S. cerevisiae cdc9-1 cells that carry a PCNAK107R mutation are inviable, because they cannot activate a robust DDR. Furthermore, we show that ubiquitylation of PCNA in response to DNA ligase I deficiency is conserved in humans, yet the lysine residue that is modified remains to be determined. We propose that PCNA ubiquitylation provides a 'DNA damage code' that allows cells to categorize different types of defects that arise during DNA replication.
Global land cover mapping from MODIS: algorithms and early results

Until recently, advanced very high-resolution radiometer (AVHRR) observations were the only viable source of data for global land cover mapping. While many useful insights have been gained from analyses based on AVHRR data, the availability of moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) data with greatly improved spectral, spatial, geometric, and radiometric attributes provides significant new opportunities and challenges for remote sensing-based land cover mapping research. In this paper, we describe the algorithms and databases being used to produce the MODIS global land cover product. This product provides maps of global land cover at 1-km spatial resolution using several classification systems, principally that of the IGBP. To generate these maps, a supervised classification methodology is used that exploits a global database of training sites interpreted from high-resolution imagery in association with ancillary data. In addition to the IGBP class at each pixel, the MODIS land cover product provides several other parameters including estimates for the classification confidence associated with the IGBP label, a prediction for the most likely alternative class, and class labels for several other classification schemes that are used by the global modeling community. Initial results based on 5 months of MODIS data are encouraging. At global scales, the distribution of vegetation and land cover types is qualitatively realistic. At regional scales, comparisons among heritage AVHRR products, Landsat TM data, and results from MODIS show that the algorithm is performing well. As a longer time series of data is added to the processing stream and the representation of global land cover in the site database is refined, the quality of the MODIS land cover product will improve accordingly.
Decay of the activating signal after platelet stimulation with 1-0-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine: Changes in calcium permeability

The decay of the platelet-activating signal after platelet stimulation with the platelet-activating factor 1-0-alkyl-2-acetyl-SN-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine (AGEPC) was examined. Washed human platelets in calcium-poor buffer were stimulated with AGEPC followed 0.25 to 10 min later by reconstitution with 1.8 mM calcium. AGEPC did not induce platelet aggregation in calcium-poor buffer but aggregation occurred upon addition of calcium. The capacity of calcium-reconstitution to elicit platelet aggregation decayed rapidly after platelet exposure to AGEPC (T 1/2 = 1 min). A parallel decay of AGEPC-induced increased calcium permeability (R = 0.93) was demonstrated using the fluorescent probe Quin 2. Studies with calcium channel blockers suggest that AGEPC opens a calcium channel which is distinct from those present in unstimulated platelets.
Inhibition of motoneuron discharge by peripheral nerve stimulation: an F response analysis.

F waves were recorded from the abductor pollicis brevis stimulating the median nerve at the wrist. These data were compared to responses obtained after preceding supramaximal stimulation of digital fibers of the second (II) finger or the median nerve at the wrist. The time between conditioning and test stimuli were 50 msec. Following conditioning stimuli, F wave latencies were significantly increased while F amplitudes, durations, and persistences were all decreased. Chronodispersion was not significantly affected. These changes were associated with increased repetition of individual F responses. The most prominent changes were found after stimulation of fibers of digit II but only at levels of stimulation supramaximal for the sensory nerve action potential. Some, but relatively limited, changes were present after stimulation of digital fibers of the fifth finger. The results are consistrent with afferent fiber, probably A delta, inhibition of antidromic motoneuron activation with associated decrease in central motor neuron pool excitability. The study also demonstrates that, except for chronodispersion, changes in F waves found with peripheral nerve injury may also occur due to physiological changes in the central nervous system.
A novel system for the assessment of mitral annular geometry and analysis of 3D motion of the mitral annulus from 3D echocardiography

Red-time 30 echocardiography (RT3DE) allows noninvasive evuluation of mitml unnulur 3D geometry. In [his study, we propuse a novel cmmpurrrized niethod for the assessment of mitral annular (MA) geometry and anulysis of MA motion through [he cardiac cycle. We upplied this technique to examine diflerrnces between normal subjects and putients with ischemic mitral regurgitation (IMR). The algorithm was evaluated using five suddle-shrryed MA phentoms and then applied to both normal subjects und putienls with IMR. Strong ngrerment between the rstimuted ond iicfual angle ofthe MA phantoms wus observed (y=0.99x+1.5. r=0.87, p<0.001, mean diflermce 2.66±10.9). in [he clinical study, non-planarity angle ut end-systole (ES) was significuntly grenter in IMR vs normal subjem (135±9.2 vs. 129.3±3.1, p<0.03). In ull cuses, MA wiis less plunur UI ES thun ED. In IMR, MA wiis diiufed (943±83 vs. 769±34 mm2, pc0.005) Lind moiion of postt.rtrlutrm1 MA wtis sipificuntly rediiced (7.3±1.3 vs 16.0±1.1 mm p<0.001). This upproach run determine unique 30 descrip fors of MA geometry !ha[ may provide infrrmatian about puthophys.iologic ahunges in purienfs wirh IMR.
Disruption of LANA in Rhesus Rhadinovirus Generates a Highly Lytic Recombinant Virus

Rhesus monkey rhadinovirus (RRV) is a gammaherpesvirus that is closely related to human Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV/HHV-8). RRV is the closest relative to KSHV that has a fully sequenced genome and serves as an in vitro and an in vivo model system for KSHV. The latency-associated nuclear antigen (LANA) protein of both KSHV and RRV plays key roles in the establishment and maintenance of these herpesviruses. We have constructed a RRV recombinant virus (RRVΔLANA/GFP) in which the RRV LANA open reading frame has been disrupted with a green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression cassette generated by homologous recombination. The integrity of the recombinant virus was confirmed by diagnostic PCR, restriction digestion, Southern blot analysis, and whole-genome sequencing. We compared the single-step and multistep replication kinetics of RRVΔLANA/GFP, RRV-GFP, wild-type (WT) RRV H26-95, and a revertant virus using traditional plaque assays, as well as real-time quantitative PCR-based genome quantification assays. The RRVΔLANA/GFP recombinant virus exhibited significantly higher lytic replicative properties compared to RRV-GFP, WT RRV, or the revertant virus. This was observed upon de novo infection and in the absence of chemical inducers such as phorbol esters. In addition, by using a quantitative real-time PCR-based viral array, we are the first to report differences in global viral gene expression between WT and recombinant viruses. The RRVΔLANA/GFP virus displayed increased lytic gene transcription at all time points postinfection compared to RRV-GFP. Moreover, we also examined several cellular genes that are known to be repressed by KSHV LANA and report that these genes are derepressed during de novo lytic infection with the RRVΔLANA/GFP virus compared to RRV-GFP. Finally, we also demonstrate that the RRVΔLANA/GFP virus fails to establish latency in B cells, as measured by the loss of GFP-positive cells and intracellular viral genomes.
Salmonella flagellin induces bystander activation of splenic dendritic cells and hinders bacterial replication in vivo.

Bacterial flagellin is a target of innate and adaptive immune responses during Salmonella infection. Intravenous injection of Salmonella flagellin into C57BL/6 mice induced rapid IL-6 production and increased expression of activation markers by splenic dendritic cells. CD11b + , CD8α + , and plasmacytoid dendritic cells each increased expression of CD86 and CD40 in response to flagellin stimulation, although CD11b + dendritic cells were more sensitive than the other subsets. In addition, flagellin caused the rapid redistribution of dendritic cells from the red pulp and marginal zone of the spleen into the T cell area of the white pulp. Purified splenic dendritic cells did not respond directly to flagellin, indicating that flagellin-mediated activation of splenic dendritic cells occurs via bystander activation. IL-6 production, increased expression of activation markers, and dendritic cell redistribution in the spleen were dependent on MyD88 expression by bone marrow-derived cells. Avoiding this innate immune response to flagellin is important for bacterial survival, because Salmonella -overexpressing recombinant flagellin was highly attenuated in vivo. These data indicate that flagellin-mediated activation of dendritic cells is rapid, mediated by bystander activation, and highly deleterious to bacterial survival.
High-performance and area-efficient reduction circuits on FPGAs

Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) have become an attractive option for scientific applications. However, due to the pipelining in the FPGA-based floating-point units, data hazards may occur during reduction of series of values. A typical example of reduction is the accumulation of sets of floating-point values, which is needed in many scientific operations such as dot product and matrix-vector multiplication. Reduction circuits can significantly impact the overall performance, impose unrealistic buffer requirements, or occupy large area on the FPGA. In this paper, we introduce a high-performance and area-efficient FPGA-based reduction circuit. It can reduce multiple sets of sequentially delivered floating-point values without stalling the pipeline. In contrast with previous works, the proposed circuit uses one floating-point adder, and can handle input sets of arbitrary size. The buffer size needed by the circuit is independent of the size of the individual sets and the number of input sets. Using a Xilinx Virtex-II Pro FPGA as the target device, we implement the proposed reduction circuit and present performance and area results.
Congruence of Behavioral Ecologies: a Model for Special Education Programming:

This article suggests a model for special education programming based on the three following dimensions: (a) competence, or the individual's ability to perform specific tests; (b) deviance, or the labels and perceptions placed on an individual's behavior by a particular social system; (c) tolerance for difference, or the fit between an individual and his/her behavioral environment. The suggested approach results in dealing with ecologies and bringing them into congruence. It is suggested that such congruence can be brought about not only by modifying the child's behavior, but also by dealing with the social-environmental system surrounding the child.
The utility and limitations of glycosylated human CD133 epitopes in defining cancer stem cells

Human CD133 (human prominin-1), a five transmembrane domain glycoprotein, was originally identified as a cell surface antigen present on CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells. Although the biological function of CD133 is not well understood, antibodies to CD133 epitopes have been widely used to purify hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. The cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis postulates that a rare population of tumor cells possessing increased capacities for self-renewal and tumor initiation is responsible for maintaining the growth of neoplastic tissue. The expression of the CD133 epitopes, AC133 and AC141, has been shown to define a subpopulation of brain tumor cells with significantly increased capacity for tumor initiation in xenograft models. Following the discovery of the AC133/AC141+ population of brain tumor stem cells, the AC133 and AC141 epitopes have been extensively used as markers for purifying CSCs in other solid tumors. There are, however, several issues associated with the use of the AC133 and AC141 CD133 epitopes as markers for CSCs. The antibodies routinely used for purification of AC133 and AC141-positive cells target poorly characterized glycosylated epitopes of uncertain specificity. Discordant expression of the AC133 and AC141 epitopes has been observed, and the epitopes can be absent despite the presence of CD133 protein. In addition, CD133 expression has recently been shown to be modulated by oxygen levels. These factors, in combination with the uncertain biological role of CD133, suggest that the use of CD133 expression as a marker for CSCs should be critically evaluated in each new experimental system and highlight the need for additional CSC surface markers that are directly involved in maintaining CSC properties.
Delay Analysis for Multi-Hop Wireless Networks

We analyze the delay performance of a multi-hop wireless network with a fixed route between each source-destination pair. There are arbitrary interference constraints on the set of links that can be served simultaneously at any given time. These interference constraints impose a fundamental lower bound on the delay performance of any scheduling policy for the system. We present a methodology to derive such lower bounds. For the tandem queue network, where the delay optimal policy is known, the expected delay of the optimal policy numerically coincides with the lower bound. We conduct extensive numerical studies to suggest that the average delay of the back-pressure scheduling policy can be made close to the lower bound by using appropriate functions of queue length.
Spatial patterns of ecdysteroid receptor activation during the onset of Drosophila metamorphosis

Ecdysteroid signaling in insects is transduced by a heterodimer of the EcR and USP nuclear receptors. In order to monitor the temporal and spatial patterns of ecdysteroid signaling in vivo we established transgenic animals that express a fusion of the GAL4 DNA binding domain and the ligand binding domain (LBD) of EcR or USP, combined with a GAL4-dependent lacZ reporter gene. The patterns of β-galactosidase expression in these animals indicate where and when the GAL4-LBD fusion protein has been activated by its ligand in vivo. We show that the patterns of GAL4-EcR and GAL4-USP activation at the onset of metamorphosis reflect what would be predicted for ecdysteroid activation of the EcR/USP heterodimer. No activation is seen in mid-third instar larvae when the ecdysteroid titer is low, and strong widespread activation is observed at the end of the instar when the ecdysteroid titer is high. In addition, both GAL4-EcR and GAL4-USP are activated in larval organs cultured with 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E), consistent with EcR/USP acting as a 20E receptor. We also show that GAL4-USP activation depends on EcR , suggesting that USP requires its heterodimer partner to function as an activator in vivo. Interestingly, we observe no GAL4-LBD activation in the imaginal discs and ring glands of late third instar larvae. Addition of 20E to cultured mid-third instar imaginal discs results in GAL4-USP activation, but this response is not seen in imaginal discs cultured from late third instar larvae, suggesting that EcR/USP loses its ability to function as an efficient activator in this tissue. We conclude that EcR/USP activation by the systemic ecdysteroid signal may be spatially restricted in vivo. Finally, we show that GAL4-EcR functions as a potent and specific dominant negative at the onset of metamorphosis, providing a new tool for characterizing ecdysteroid signaling pathways during development.
Quasi-Chemical Theory of Cosolvent Hydrophobic Preferential Interactions

Cosolvent hydrophobic preferential interactions with methane in aqueous methanol solutions are evaluated on the basis of the solute excess chemical potential derived from molecular simulations usin...
The Top Ten Myths of Reliability Management

This paper deals with common errors that occur while implementing and executing plant reliability improvement programs. Case htstories are included to provide real world examples of these problems and the financial impact of mistakes. Recommendations are included to avoid pitfalls. In some cases actual tools are provided to solve the problems.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Combined estimation of network link capacity and available bandwidth based on statistical signal processing

Network link capacity(lc) and available bandwidth(av-bw) are of great significance for various network domains.In this paper,the estimation of network lc/av-bw was modeled as the problem of stochastic signal state detection and signal parameter estimation.An approach to measuring network lc/av-bw was developed based on the statistical signal processing theory using the extended self-induced congestion principle.The affectivity of lc/av-bw measurement tool,pathWave,was validated in the NS-2 simulation environment.The pathWave performance was evaluated in a Schooner test-bed by comparing with other representative tools.Analytical,simulative,and experimental results show that the method based on statistical signal processing is more efficient for the combined estimation of lc/av-bw.
Service selection approach considering the uncertainty of QoS data

To deal with the Quality of Services(QoS)data fluctuation caused by random,fuzzy and inconsistent changes of Web services,a service selection approach considering the uncertainty of QoS data was proposed.Three eigenvalues of expectation,entropy and hyper entropy were used to predict QoS data distribution of Web service and to analyze the uncertainty of QoS data.Thus the Web services with wider QoS data fluctuation were rejected.On this basis,QoS attributes feedback similarities were calculated as the weights for QoS aggregation,and the service recommendation degree was computed according to QoS evaluations and the numbers of service users.A prototype system and a set of experiments were implemented to show that this approach could effectively reduce the influence of QoS data uncertainty on the service selection,thus the accuracy of service selection result could be improved,and the selected service would be more reliable.
Thermal Instability Strain in Dynamic Plastic Deformation

When a metal is deformed slowly, geometrical and material effects combine to limit the plastic deformation. It can be shown that for a given deformation geometry the limiting, or necking, strain will be a function of the workhardening exponent, n,* in the constituitive relation.
Parameter Estimation and Assessing the Fit of Dynamic Models

This chapter will cover those aspects of systems analysis that are more numerical in scope, dealing with ways to assess the relationship between dynamical models and empirical data. We shall describe techniques that have been found useful in estimating parameters of dynamic models. The chapter will also cover ways in which the modeler can assess how close the model predicts various quantitative and qualitative aspects of the real system under study. Finally we shall describe a method for pinpointing the exact nature of the model’s specification errors in terms of various parts of the model.
Principles of Instructional Design for Supporting the Development of Students’ Statistical Reasoning

This chapter proposes design principles for developing statistical reasoning in elementary school. In doing so, we will draw on a classroom design experiment that we conducted several years ago in the United States with 12-year-old students that focused on the analysis of univariate data. Experiments of this type involve tightly integrated cycles of instructional design and the analysis of students’ learning that feeds back to inform the revision of the design. However, before giving an overview of the experiment and discussing specific principles for supporting students’ development of statistical reasoning, we need to clarify that we take a relatively broad view of statistics. The approach that we followed in the classroom design experiment is consistent with G. Cobb and Moore’s (1997) argument that data analysis comprises three main aspects: data generation, exploratory data analysis (EDA), and statistical inference. Although Cobb and Moore are primarily concerned with the teaching and learning of statistics at the college level, we contend that the major aspects of their argument also apply to the middle and high school levels. EDA involves the investigation of the specific data at hand (Shaughnessey, Garfield, & Greer, 1996). Cobb and Moore (1997) argue that EDA should be the initial focus of statistics instruction since it is concerned with trends and patterns in data sets and does not involve an explicit consideration of sample-population relations. In such an approach, students therefore do not initially need to support their conclusions with probabilistic statements of confidence. Instead, conclusions are informal and are based on meaningful patterns identified in specific data sets. Cobb and Moore’s (1997) proposal reflects their contention that EDA is a necessary precursor to statistical inference. Statistical inference is probabilistic in that the intent is to assess the likelihood that patterns identified in a sample are not
Acetaldehyde as an ethanol derived bio-building block: an alternative to Guerbet chemistry

In this work, we describe a highly selective poly-aldol condensation of acetaldehyde, which can readily be obtained via dehydrogenation of ethanol. The process operates under mild temperatures (100 °C or less) using commercially available catalysts and exhibits excellent total carbon yield of C4+ products with good selectivity for C6 products. The products derived from the reactions described herein are shown to be candidate drop-in fuel replacements for compression ignition engines and precursors to valuable chemicals.
BLOCK DIAGONALIZATION OF ILL-CONDITIONED MATRICES

The main purpose of this work is to establish necessary conditions and sufficient conditions for the existence of a transformation which reduces ill-conditioned matrices to a block-diagonal form. Such ill-conditioned matrices may be associated with systems of linear algebraic equations and systems of linear differential equations.
Next steps towards EGR-only concept for medium-duty industrial engine

Globally small industrial engines in the range from 2.5 to 4.5 liter displacement play a major role for construction, agricultural and other industrial applications. As shown in Figure 1 the number of emission regulated industrial engines today is still comparable small as especially in Asia and other emerging markets the emission requirements are still limited. Today SCR systems for these small engines just have been introduced and are causing several disadvantages to these applications, like space requirement, need for an infrastructure for a second liquid and additional sensors and actuators which cause some risk to reduce the robustness of these engines and at the same time increase the cost. A significant number of industrial engines in the Asia region will sooner or later require a simple and robust emission reduction technology which is easy to apply to many different applications.
Exploring the Development of Reading in Multilingual Education Programs

Researchers in the West have developed detailed standards – reading rate, reading accuracy, and comprehension – to both characterize and track progress towards learning to read in early basic education. The existence of such standards raises the obvious question of whether or not they can be extended to broader educational practice, since recent research has established that the development of reading skills in lower-income countries tends to lag far behind these standards. This chapter investigates some of the data on reading development from low-income countries and provides evidence that educational policy on language of instruction may, in fact, be the most salient explanatory variable in explaining the widely observed deficit in reading skill development in such countries.
Inhabiting the impasse: Social exclusion through visible assemblage in neighborhood gentrification

Abstract Now that gentrification has taken hold in central Cincinnati and begun to spill outward, nearby neighborhoods in the early stages of gentrification have begun to call for “inclusive redevelopment” to bring vibrancy to depressed neighborhoods without displacing long-term residents. Neighborhood leaders and city officials understand that displacement happens along racial and class lines, yet efforts to directly address this issue have not changed displacement patterns. Research shows social exclusion contributes to displacement in gentrifying neighborhoods, and tends to focus on uneven impact across social categories like race and class, but there is much less attention to how exclusion is enacted and these categories reproduced. I argue that this takes place simultaneously in the intimate space and time of everyday encounters, where proximity and relation unfold affectively through things and people to code them anew, pulling some into the momentum of redevelopment, while pushing others aside. This cognitive reversal of how categories work is important because it relocates their origin in small, interstitial, and nonhuman sites. Pairing assemblage theory and posthumanism with interviews and field notes, I demonstrate the role of nonhuman forces in shaping these encounters; how materials like cheese, pint glasses, trash, beards, and liver & onions play marked roles in producing marginalization. My findings show that things and people compose visible assemblages together, like a group of people sitting at a sidewalk table eating pizza and drinking beer. These assemblages are operative in producing and reinforcing social exclusion: they usher practiced bias through the surface aesthetics of the assorted components, enabling affective atmospheres to prescribe outcomes. These emergent, visible assemblages are thus important sites for intervention into processes of social exclusion leading to displacement.
Creatures of Contract: A Half-Truth about LLCs

Courts reflexively describe LLCs — the nation’s most popular form of business entity — as “creatures of contract,” the contract being, of course, the LLC agreement that governs the rights and obligations of the parties that own and manage the entity. The judicial reflex to use this maxim is especially pronounced in Delaware, where today LLCs outnumber corporations by more than two to one. And because Delaware LLC law, like its corporate law, enjoys an outsized influence in the business world, courts in other jurisdictions have now predictably embraced the “creatures of contract” maxim, too. But to describe LLCs as “creatures of contract,” while perhaps a useful shorthand, is simply misleading. LLCs are also creatures of statute. And they are also creatures of equity. This claim is not normative; it is a legal reality. Therefore, the singular aim of this Article is to puncture the persistent fantasy that LLCs are “creatures of contract.” More accurately, this Article shows that LLCs embody a complex interaction of contract terms, statutory rules, and judge-made doctrine. Thus, LLCs are creatures of contract, statute, and equity.
An efficient reconfigurable hardware accelerator for convolutional neural networks

Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) have proven to be very effective in image and speech recognition. The increasing usage of such applications in mobile devices and data centers have led the researchers to explore application specific hardware accelerators for CNN. However, most of these approaches are limited to a specific network such as Alexnet. We propose a reconfigurable technique that can be extended to be a network-agnostic architecture that supports various networks. The technique described in this paper aims at developing a reconfigurable accelerator that uses basic processing elements (PE) as building blocks of its computational engine. In our design, we control the configuration of each layer using a switching control logic and a Benes network. In addition to potentially supporting all the various CNN architectures, our computation engine design has a 94% improvement in the convolutional layer execution time for AlexNet compared to the state-of-the art architecture that only supports AlexNet.
Wear Analysis of Highly Cross-Linked Polyethylene in Total Hip Arthroplasty

Three hundred and eighty-five primary THAs (355 patients) in which HXLPE liners (Longevity or Durasul, Zimmer Inc.) with either 22, 26, 28 or 32 mm femoral heads were implanted between January 1, 1999 and December 31, 2002. The clinical measures used to evaluate these patients are the Harris hip, EQ-5D, and UCLA activity scores. In addition to conventional plain radiograph assessment, the Martell method was used to measure head penetration over time. A matched set of 186 THAs (129 patients) with 26 and 28 mm head sizes coupled with conventional gamma sterilized in air polyethylene with a minimum of 7 years follow-up was identified as a wear measurement control group.
Role of the Herbicide Resistance Action Committee in Weed Resistance Management

The Herbicide Resistance Action Committee (HRAC) is an industry-led group that sponsors initiatives to understand and manage weed resistance to herbicides more effectively. The efforts of the Committee have been directed at funding research to understand mechanisms of weed resistance and its prevention, funding literature reviews covering current knowledge of weed resistance, supporting travel of scientists to address resistance problems or attend key scientific meeting, and encouraging exchange of weed resistance information among interested parties.
Real-Time Adaptation of a Robotic Joke Teller Based on Human Social Signals

Humor is an essential element of human-human communication. Consequently, robots in the role of companions should exploit its potential as well to make interactions more enjoyable. Using a robot as an entertainer requires finding out what kind of humor its audience prefers. However, it is a challenging task for a social robot to learn what users prefer without bothering them by repeatedly asking questions. In this paper, we present an approach based on Reinforcement Learning that enables a robot to continuously adapt to the users' humor preferences without requiring them to explicitly provide feedback. Instead, we designed the robot to analyze the user's ideomotor social cues. We evaluated our approach in a scenario involving a Reeti robot acting as an entertainer. In this role, it is telling different types of jokes, (possibly) underlining its performance with grimaces and sounds. The adaptation process is accomplished only by using the audience's vocal laughs and visual smiles, but no other form of explicit feedback.
Dr. Charles-Schoeman and E. Bananis Reply.

To the Editor: We thank Professor Boers for his interest1 in our study2 and are grateful for the opportunity to respond to his queries. Our posthoc analysis investigated the effect of concomitant glucocorticoid (GC) use on clinical and radiographic outcomes in phase III studies of methotrexate (MTX)-naive patients receiving tofacitinib or MTX as monotherapy (ORAL Start), disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD)–inadequate responder (IR) patients receiving tofacitinib or placebo as monotherapy (ORAL Solo), and MTX-IR and DMARD-IR patients receiving tofacitinib or placebo in combination with background conventional synthetic DMARD (ORAL Sync, ORAL Standard, ORAL … Address correspondence to E. Bananis, 235 E. 42nd St., New York, New York 10017, USA. E-mail: stratis.bananis{at}pfizer.com.
Do we have new preventive strategies for optimizing cardiovascular health in women

Over the past decades, progress in efforts to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality has been achieved, although a disturbing trend for stagnation of cardiovascular mortality rates among you...
Standpoint Epistemology as an Alternative Methodology for Library and Information Science.

Research traditions in library and information science (LIS) are deeply rooted in Enlightenment notions of Western science. A central element of this tradition is the insistence on neutrality as a prerequisite to objectivity. In LIS, neutrality has also become a guiding practice. Alternative epistemological projects challenge Enlightenment-based conceptions and have much to offer research in LIS. Integrating these projects into the conceptual frameworks of LIS research will provide powerful epistemological resources for future work. A metatheoretical framework is reviewed, and the qualitative/quantitative dichotomy, prevalent in LIS, is critiqued. Standpoint epistemology, as a critique of existing power-knowledge relationships, is discussed as a research strategy that can provide a starting point for reconceptualizing LIS research.
Syphilis and HIV Co-infection in Mississippi: Implications for Control and Prevention

Syphilis and HIV are important public health issues in the United States, especially in the southeastern region. This study aimed to determine and describe the co-infection pattern in Mississippi by using a case-controlled design to analyze cases diagnosed with syphilis or HIV from 2007 to 2016. Direct matching was employed to identify cases that were co-infected during the same calendar year, and binary logistic regression analysis was used to determine predictors of co-infection. Results showed that 1736 (34.0%) of syphilis and HIV cases were co-infected during the same calendar year. Binary logistic regression results demonstrated that race, gender, age group, and exposure category were independently associated with co-infection status. These analyses highlighted the progressive increase of co-infection rates in Mississippi. Collaboration between STI/HIV surveillance teams may identify high-risk individuals and reduce transmission of both diseases.
A vehicle routing problem with dynamic demands and restricted failures solved using stochastic predictive control

In this paper, we describe a vehicle routing problem representing real-time route scheduling for an agent delivering services to customers where the service demands are dynamically evolving. A failure is defined as an occurrence of service demand overload at a customer location. A stochastic predictive control algorithm applied to a partially observable Markov decision process model is used to solve the routing problem, minimizing the service agent's travel effort while maintaining the occurrence rate of failures to be low.
A priori Estimates for the Free-Boundary problem of Compressible Resistive MHD Equations and Incompressible Limit.

In this paper, we prove the a priori estimates in Sobolev spaces for the free-boundary compressible inviscid magnetohydrodynamics equations with magnetic diffusion under the Rayleigh-Taylor physical sign condition. Our energy estimates are uniform in the sound speed. As a result, we can prove the convergence of solutions of the free-boundary compressible resistive MHD equations to the solution of the free-boundary incompressible resistive MHD equations, i.e., the incompressible limit. The key observation is that the magnetic diffusion together with elliptic estimates directly controls the Lorentz force, magnetic field and pressure wave simultaneously.
Designing Amends for Lawful Civilian Casualties

Academic scholars, U.S. military commanders, and advocacy groups, and former-President Obama largely agreed that militaries should offer compensation after the lawful killing of civilians. But this understanding is undertheorized and potentially up for debate under President Trump. We suggest this compensation should be reconceptualized as a form of amends to better reflect the needs of affected civilians and to provide a mechanism for those engaged in armed conflict to address the harm they do within the limits of the law. The psychological literature offers useful insights on the elements of amends generally, as well as apologies more specifically, and how they function in domestic legal settings, but these insights have yet to be applied to the foreign conflict setting in which militaries offer amends such as condolence and solatia payments. This literature can help illuminate the reasons why amends receive such strong support as well as generate testable hypotheses about the essential elements of amends. This Article makes three contributions to the amends literature and the policy debate about compensation for conflict. First, we identify a full range of supply-side and demand-side justifications for making amends in the lawful military harm setting. While the existing literature focuses on foreign civilian and domestic military benefits, we also explore reasons why individual military actors might benefit from amends making and the significance of addressing their moral injuries. Second, we mine the psychology literature to identify the possibilities and limitations of current condolence and solatia practices in satisfying both demand and supply-side needs for amends making. In particular, we emphasize the importance of responsibility-taking and efforts at forbearance, elements of amends that need to be strengthened. Third, we situate amends making within the context of international humanitarian law to inform the design of processes for making amends. We contend that existing compensation practices should be restructured as amends, but in a way that respects the inherent balance between the claims of humanity and the lawfulness of engaging in harmdoing inherent in this body of law.