cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Variation in oral calcitriol response in patients with stages 3-4 CKD.

Background Oral calcitriol decreases parathyroid hormone (PTH) concentrations in patients who have chronic kidney disease (CKD); however, treatment response is highly variable. We evaluated whether patient characteristics affect the PTH response to oral calcitriol in nondialysis patients with CKD in a clinic-based setting. Study Design Cohort study. Setting & Participants This study included 379 new oral calcitriol users in the Veterans' Affairs Northwest Health Network. All had stages 3-4 CKD, hyperparathyroidism, and a serum PTH measurement before and 1-6 months after initiating oral calcitriol therapy. Predictors Patient-level characteristics hypothesized to affect calcitriol response: race, body size, concurrent medications, and kidney function. Outcomes Relative decrease in serum PTH concentration after starting oral calcitriol therapy. Measurements Data were abstracted from the Veterans' Affairs Northwest Health Network (VISN 20) Data Warehouse, which includes electronic pharmacy and laboratory records. Results Mean estimated glomerular filtration rate was 30 mL/min/1.73 m 2 and mean initial PTH concentration was 199 pg/mL. Regular- (0.25 μg/d) and low-dose ( Limitations Clinic-based study is limited by the availability of PTH measurements after starting calcitriol therapy. Study of a predominantly older male population. Conclusions In patients with stages 3-4 CKD, African American race and low serum albumin level are associated with a diminished PTH response to oral calcitriol.
Volatility of Mutator Phenotypes at Single Cell Resolution.

Mutator phenotypes accelerate the evolutionary process of neoplastic transformation. Historically, the measurement of mutation rates has relied on scoring the occurrence of rare mutations in target genes in large populations of cells. Averaging mutation rates over large cell populations assumes that new mutations arise at a constant rate during each cell division. If the mutation rate is not constant, an expanding mutator population may contain subclones with widely divergent rates of evolution. Here, we report mutation rate measurements of individual cell divisions of mutator yeast deficient in DNA polymerase e proofreading and base-base mismatch repair. Our data are best fit by a model in which cells can assume one of two distinct mutator states, with mutation rates that differ by an order of magnitude. In error-prone cell divisions, mutations occurred on the same chromosome more frequently than expected by chance, often in DNA with similar predicted replication timing, consistent with a spatiotemporal dimension to the hypermutator state. Mapping of mutations onto predicted replicons revealed that mutations were enriched in the first half of the replicon as well as near termination zones. Taken together, our findings show that individual genome replication events exhibit an unexpected volatility that may deepen our understanding of the evolution of mutator-driven malignancies.
Developmental differences between high and low affinity opiate binding sites: Their relationship to analgesia and respiratory depression

Saturation studies of rats aged 2 days and 14 days demonstrated marked differences between high and low affinity opiate receptor binding. Whereas the density of low affinity 3H-morphine binding was virtually unchanged between days 2 and 14 (72 and 88% of adult levels, respectively), the density of high affinity binding increased 2.8-fold (22 to 61% of adult levels, respectively; p < 0.002). Similar results were seen in spinal cord binding. The similar sensitivity of 2 day old and 14 day old rats to morphine's depression of respiratory rates and lethality was contrasted by the 40-fold decreased analgesic sensitivity of 2 day old compared to 14 day old rats. These results suggest a correlation between high affinity binding and analgesia and between low affinity binding and respiratory effects.
Absence of a relationship of size of primary colon carcinoma with metastasis and survival.

This retrospective study analysed the relationship of tumor size to regional and systemic metastasis and to survival according to stage of disease. Colon cancers (391 cases) that were treated surgically at M. D. Anderson Hospital from 1955 to 1975 were reviewed. Staging of disease was based on the Astler-Coller modification of Dukes' staging classification. The mean diameters (cm +/- s.e.m.) of Dukes' B1, B2, C2 and D tumors were 4.47 +/- 0.34 (n = 46), 6.61 +/- 0.29 (n = 147), 5.39 +/- 0.23 (n = 71) and 5.78 +/- 0.24 (n = 120), respectively. The mean diameter of Dukes' B2 tumors was significantly greater than C2 (P less than 0.001) and D (P less than 0.05) tumors. Within stage B and C, size of the primary tumor showed no relationship to five year adjusted survival. Our findings suggest that colon carcinoma metastasis and survival are independent of tumor size. Because tumor burden does not account for distant disease, specific tumor cell phenotypes and biological processes are probably more important in determining metastatic disease.
The use of the Battelle Developmental Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-2) as an early screener for autism spectrum disorders.

Purpose: The purpose was to develop cut-off scores for a measure of developmental level (Battelle Developmental Inventory–Second Edition; BDI-2) which could be used as a screening tool to differentiate young children with possible autism spectrum disorders (ASD).Methods: Infants and toddlers with ASD (n = 604) and atypically-developing infants and toddlers (n = 1064) were administered the BDI-2. Cut-off scores were determined based on standard deviations from the mean of the ASD group.Results: Using 1.5 standard deviations from the mean of the ASD group, a cut-off score of 96 was determined which had a sensitivity of 0.94 and a specificity of 0.31.Conclusions: With high sensitivity, these cut-off scores can be used to identify children who require further assessment. In addition, the measure can be used to determine treatment targets.
Precision spectroscopy of the optical clock transition in laser cooled neutral Hg

We demonstrate cooling, trapping, and precision spectroscopy of the (1S0- 3P0) “clock” transition of neutral Hg. A novel room temperature fiber based amplifier system for the cooling laser light is also demonstrated.
Maximal flow network modelling of production bottleneck problems

This paper considers the analysis of process networks with bottlenecks and shows how they may be regarded as simple multi-source maximal flow linear programming problems. We surveyed over 30 Production/Operations Management and management science/OR textbooks, finding that only iterative trial-and-error procedures are now being suggested for this kind of analysis. The maximal flow network approach is easier for complex problems and also allows several advantages not available in the trial-and-error approaches. This paper also discusses the use of a simple linear programming sensitivity result called radial change. The modelling approach suggested here can provide new ideas for improving system capacity following the application of Theory of Constraints techniques.
Security-aware mapping for CAN-based real-time distributed automotive systems

Cyber-security is a rising issue for automotive electronic systems, and it is critical to system safety and dependability. Current in-vehicles architectures, such as those based on the Controller Area Network (CAN), do not provide direct support for secure communications. When retrofitting these architectures with security mechanisms, a major challenge is to ensure that system safety will not be hindered, given the limited computation and communication resources. We apply Message Authentication Codes (MACs) to protect against masquerade and replay attacks on CAN networks, and propose an optimal Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) formulation for solving the mapping problem from a functional model to the CAN-based platform while meeting both the security and the safety requirements. We also develop an efficient heuristic for the mapping problem under security and safety constraints. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work to address security and safety in an integrated formulation in the design automation of automotive electronic systems. Experimental results of an industrial case study show the effectiveness of our approach.
The advantageous nature of risk aversion in a three-player bargaining game where acceptance of a proposal requires a simple majority

Abstract In a three-player bargaining game in which acceptance of a proposed allocation requires only the approval of a simple majority, it is shown that the most (least) risk averse player receives the highest (lowest) expected share when the preferences of the players are not too diverse.
The new high temperature superconductors

Following a general description of the properties and concepts associated with superconductivity, a brief review of the recent status of research on high-temperature superconducting oxides is given. Suggestions are made concerning possible lines of research that might prove fruitful in choosing between alternative theories for the phenomena. The reports of possible superconductivity well above 100 K are discussed. >
Liturgical aspects of funeral services in Reformed Churches of African origin

How can the Reformed Churches of African origin arrive at a Biblical and contextual liturgy for their funeral services? Liturgy in death situations teaches people the meaning of death, and to the African, a proper funeral service or burial is a sign of respect to the deceased. Guidelines are given on how funeral services may be conducted so that they can help focus on the resurrection of the body, and the new life waiting ahead, rather than on ancestral veneration. These guidelines comprise a liturgy for mourning and funeral service, especially that at the graveside. This article is liturgical and does not intend to be dogmatic in its research.
New series of fatty acids in northern pike (Esox lucius).

The presence in Northern Pike (Esox locius) liver and testes lipids of a group of eight homologous fatty acids of as yet unknown structure is reported. They occur esterified to cholesterol and to glycerol as triglycerides but are absent from the phospholipids. They contain three oxygens and are characterized further by being more resistant to hydrogenation than normal unsaturated fatty acids and by an inability to form urea inclusion compounds. They also have been found to be major constituents of the liver fatty acids of four additional species of fish.
MULLERIAN INHIBITING SUBSTANCE IN BRANCHING MORPHOGENESIS OF FETAL LUNG.• 1952

Mullerian Inhibiting Substance (MIS) is a glycoprotein hormone required for male sexual organogenesis, which signals through a heteromeric complex of type I and type II receptors. MIS has also been shown to inhibit fetal lung development in vivo and in vitro, although the mechanism of this inhibition is unknown. Branching morphogenesis was studied in fetal rat lungs incubated with proteolytically activated MIS. MIS exposure resulted in reduced total lung bud number as well as lung perimeter length. To assess whether the MIS type II (MR II) receptor is expressed in fetal rat lung, total RNA was prepared from gestation day 18 to day 20 lungs and analyzed by slot blot hybridization with a radiolabeled MR II. The results revealed positive slot hybridization in fetal lung RNA. To confirm these results, RT-PCR was performed on multiple fetal rat lung RNA samples, using a set of oligonucleotide primers designed from the 3′ untranslated region of rat MR II cDNA. Results consistently revealed an RT-PCR product of the expected size that when cloned and sequenced was identical to rat MR II. These studies suggest that MIS is a negative modulator of fetal lung branching in vitro and that the mechanism of this MIS-induced inhibition might be mediated via the putative MIS type II receptor.
A test of Sporormiella representation as a predictor of megaherbivore presence and abundance

Spores of the dung fungus Sporormiella have been suggested to indicate the presence, perhaps also the abundance of past megaherbivore populations. Nonetheless, basic studies demonstrating a correlation between Sporormiella concentration in lacustrine sediments and modern herbivore abundance are lacking. This study of Sporormiella representation in grazed and ungrazed landscapes provides supporting evidence for the application of Sporormiella as an indicator of megaherbivore presence and abundance in ancient landscapes. However, Sporormiella representation is spatially sensitive to the distance from the dung source. In lakes where Sporomiella are abundant in shoreline sediments, they decline sharply with increasing distance from the lake edge. Although this study provides supporting evidence for the application of Sporormiella as a proxy for herbivore presence and abundance, independent proxies should be applied in conjunction with Sporormiella to control for changes in lake size.
New Robust Estimators of Correlation and Weighted Basis Pursuit

The autocorrelation function is a commonly used tool in statistical time series analysis. In this paper we examine the robustness of two estimators of correlation based on memoryless nonlinear functions of the observations, the Median-of-Ratios Estimator (MRE) and the Phase-Phase Correlator (PPC), which are applicable to complex-valued Gaussian random processes. We show that they are robust to impulsive noise from a bias perspective at the expense of statistical efficiency at the Gaussian distribution. Additionally, we develop iterative versions of these estimators named the IMRE and IPPC, realizing an improved bias performance over their non-iterative counterparts and the well-known robust Schweppe-type Generalized M-estimator utilizing a Huber cost function (SHGM). We use robust Mahalanobis distances generated by the IMRE and IPPC to improve the performance of impulsive noise suppression through the use of weighted basis pursuit methods. These estimation and data-cleaning techniques are applied to both synthetic and actual collected data using an Ettus Research USRP to perform robust spectral estimation on signals from the digital television band in the presence of additive impulsive noise. Finally, the analysis reveals that if the time series is highly correlated and the contamination rate is low, the MRE outperforms the PPC estimator from a variance and bias perspective. However, the PPC is the estimator of choice when the correlation is lower and is better suited to time critical applications due to lower computation costs.
Learning Problems as Predictors of Depressive Symptomology in Women TANF Recipients

Little is known about relationships between barriers to self-sufficiency in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) population. This study utilized ordinary least squares regression to analyze secondary data from a nonprobability sample of 2,156 women TANF recipients to examine learning problems as a predictor of depressive symptomology. After controlling for substance abuse, intimate partner violence victimization, physical health problems, demographics, and difficulty with interpersonal relationships, learning problems significantly predicted depressive symptomology. Findings suggest that many TANF recipients with learning problems are at an increased risk of experiencing depressive symptomology. To assist these individuals with overcoming mental health issues, underlying causes should be identified and addressed.
A Theory of Cooperative Diffusion in Dense Granular Flows

Dilute granular flows are routinely described by collisional kinetic theory, but dense flows require a fundamentally different approach, due to long-lasting, many-body contacts. In the case of silo drainage, many continuum models have been developed for the mean flow, but no realistic statistical theory is available. Here, we propose that particles undergo cooperative displacements in response to diffusing ``spots'' of free volume. The typical spot size is several particle diameters, so cages of nearest neighbors tend to remain intact over large distances. The spot hypothesis relates diffusion and cage-breaking to volume fluctuations and spatial velocity correlations, in agreement with new experimental data. It also predicts density waves caused by weak spot interactions. Spots enable fast, multiscale simulations of dense flows, in which a small, internal relaxation enforces packing constraints during spot-induced motion. In the continuum limit of the model, tracer diffusion is described by a new stochastic differential equation, where the drift velocity and diffusion tensor are coupled non-locally to the spot density. The same mathematical formalism may also find applications to glassy relaxation, as a compelling alternative to void (or hole) random walks.
Religion, spirituality and aging

Religious/spiritual beliefs and practices are widespread among older adults living in the USA. Consider the following: Gallup polls indicate that 60% of Americans aged 50–64, 67% of those aged 65–7...
Amino Acid Residue at Position 79 of Marburg Virus VP40 Confers Interferon Antagonism in Mouse Cells

Marburg viruses (MARVs) cause highly lethal infections in humans and nonhuman primates. Mice are not generally susceptible to MARV infection; however, if the strain is first adapted to mice through serial passaging, it becomes able to cause disease in this animal. A previous study correlated changes accrued during mouse adaptation in the VP40 gene of a MARV strain known as Ravn virus (RAVV) with an increased capacity to inhibit interferon (IFN) signaling in mouse cell lines. The MARV strain Ci67, which belongs to a different phylogenetic clade than RAVV, has also been adapted to mice and in the process the Ci67 VP40 acquired a different collection of genetic changes than did RAVV VP40. Here, we demonstrate that the mouse-adapted Ci67 VP40 more potently antagonizes IFN-α/β-induced STAT1 and STAT2 tyrosine phosphorylation, gene expression, and antiviral activity in both mouse and human cell lines, compared with the parental Ci67 VP40. Ci67 VP40 is also demonstrated to target the activation of kinase Jak1. A single change at VP40 residue 79 was found to be sufficient for the increased VP40 IFN antagonism. These data argue that VP40 IFN-antagonist activity plays a key role in MARV pathogenesis in mice.
A case of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in a patient treated with infliximab

We describe a 72-year-old white man with erosive rheumatoid arthritis in whom subacute neurologic and psychiatric symptoms developed after 3 years of treatment with infliximab, prednisone, and methotrexate. White matter demyelination was seen on magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, and progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) was ultimately confirmed by brain biopsy. The patient was treated with supportive therapy and discontinuation of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, resulting in stabilization of the disease process. The patient survived, but neurologic and cognitive deficits persisted. The distribution and pathology of this patient's disease are unique from almost all reported incidents of oral methotrexate-associated leukoencephalopathy. The pathogenesis of disease may be linked to a T cell-mediated process that is potentially impacted by infliximab. This case provides the first reported evidence that PML can be seen in association with infliximab therapy.
Joint prior models of neighboring objects for 3D image segmentation

This paper presents a novel method for 3D image segmentation, where a Bayesian formulation, based on joint prior knowledge of multiple objects, along with information derived from the input image, is employed. Our method is motivated by the observation that neighboring structures have consistent locations and shapes that provide configurations and context that aid in segmentation. In contrast to the work presented earlier, we define a maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation model using the joint prior information of the multiple objects to realize image segmentation, which allows multiple objects with clearer boundaries to be reference objects to provide constraints in the segmentation of difficult objects. To achieve this, multiple signed distance functions are employed as representations of the objects in the image. We introduce a representation for the joint density function of the neighboring objects, and define joint probability distribution over the variations of objects contained in a set of training images. By estimating the MAP shapes of the objects, we formulate the joint shape prior models in terms of level set functions. We found the algorithm to be robust to noise and able to handle multidimensional data. Furthermore, it avoids the need for point correspondences during the training phase. Results and validation from various experiments on 2D/3D medical images are demonstrated.
Identification of a Diguanylate Cyclase and Its Role in Porphyromonas gingivalis Virulence

Porphyromonas gingivalis is a Gram-negative obligate anaerobic bacterium and is considered a keystone pathogen in the initiation of periodontitis, one of the most widespread infectious diseases. Bacterial bis-(3′-5′) cyclic GMP (cyclic di-GMP [c-di-GMP]) serves as a second messenger and is involved in modulating virulence factors in numerous bacteria. However, the role of this second messenger has not been investigated in P. gingivalis, mainly due to a lack of an annotation regarding diguanylate cyclases (DGCs) in this bacterium. Using bioinformatics tools, we found a protein, PGN_1932, containing a GGDEF domain. A deletion mutation in the pgn_1932 gene had a significant effect on the intracellular c-di-GMP level in P. gingivalis. Genetic analysis showed that expression of the fimA and rgpA genes, encoding the major protein subunit of fimbriae and an arginine-specific proteinase, respectively, was downregulated in the pgn_1932 mutant. Correspondingly, FimA protein production and the fimbrial display on the mutant were significantly reduced. Mutations in the pgn_1932 gene also had a significant impact on the adhesive and invasive capabilities of P. gingivalis, which are required for its pathogenicity. These findings provide evidence that the PGN_1932 protein is both responsible for synthesizing c-di-GMP and involved in biofilm formation and host cell invasion by P. gingivalis by controlling the expression and biosynthesis of FimA.
A Validation and Reliability Study of the Physical Activity and Healthy Food Efficacy Scale for Children (PAHFE)

The purpose of this study was to obtain validity evidence for the Physical Activity and Healthy Food Efficacy Scale for Children (PAHFE). Construct validity evidence identifies four subscales: Goal-Setting for Physical Activity, Goal-Setting for Healthy Food Choices, Decision-Making for Physical Activity, and Decision-Making for Healthy Food Choices. The scores on each of these subscales show a moderate to high degree of internal consistency (0.59 < α< 0.87). The Decision-Making for Healthy Food Choice subscale and the Decision-Making for Physical Activity subscale scores show significant convergent validity evidence. These results provide support for using this self-efficacy scale to measure children’s perceived confidence to make decisions about healthy eating and physical activity. The PAHFE may be considered to be a useful predictor of both physical activity and eating behaviors.
Creative template-dependent synthesis by human polymerase mu

Among the many proteins used to repair DNA double-strand breaks by nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) are two related family X DNA polymerases, Pol λ and Pol µ. Which of these two polymerases is preferentially used for filling DNA gaps during NHEJ partly depends on sequence complementarity at the break, with Pol λ and Pol µ repairing complementary and noncomplementary ends, respectively. To better understand these substrate preferences, we present crystal structures of Pol µ on a 2-nt gapped DNA substrate, representing three steps of the catalytic cycle. In striking contrast to Pol λ, Pol µ “skips” the first available template nucleotide, instead using the template base at the 5′ end of the gap to direct nucleotide binding and incorporation. This remarkable divergence from canonical 3′-end gap filling is consistent with data on end-joining substrate specificity in cells, and provides insights into polymerase substrate choices during NHEJ.
Multinomial structuring in linear regression

Ordinary linear regression produces a good fit for the observations close to the mean point. To improve the fit for the values far from the mean point, an implement by the multinomial logit model is suggested. Segmenting the values of the dependent variable to several sections, it is possible to present a theoretical model via a linear aggregate of the chain regressions weighted by the multinomial logit shares. The paper considers several linear-multinomial hybrid models constructed by the objectives of maximum likelihood for the multinomial output and least squares for the segmented linear aggregates. Numerical estimations show that the hybrid models always outperform ordinary linear regressions, and demonstrate a better quality of fit and a more precise prediction. The suggested approach is convenient in application, and can enrich practical regression modeling. To improve the quality of fit and the prediction precision for nonlinear regressions, this work suggests to construct linear segmented chain regressions nested with multinomial logit model (MLM). A dependent variable is divided into several segments, then the theoretical model is presented by a linear aggregate of the segmented chain regressions weighted with the probability to belong to each segment defined by the multinomial logit shares. A divided into groups dependent variable can be considered as an ordinal variable, and the corresponding techniques of ordinal, ordered, or ranked data can be applied (14,15), but the multinomial logit model works well for such cases and is easy for applications. The maximum likelihood (ML) objective for the multinomial outputs and the least squares (LS) objective for deviations of the expectation by segmented chain linear aggregates nested with the multinomial logit model (OLS&MLM) are tried in several variants. The results of the suggested methods are very encouraging - the
The Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa, 1945‐1994.

The Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa, 1945-1994. Organized by the Museum Villa Stuck, Munich. Curator: Okwui Enwezor. P.S. Contemporary Art Center, Museum of Modern Art affiliate, Long Island City, Queens, New York City. February 10-May 5, 2002.
The complications of therapeutic plasma exchange

We reviewed a series of 181 patients who were treated with therapeutic plasma exchange ( TPE ) a total of 1,389 times. Complications were associated with 22 (1.6%) of the procedures and involved 20 (11%) of the patients. Six of the complications were of a technical nature and did not affect the medical conditions of the patients. 8 patients developed the following serious medical problems: unexplained death during the post- TPE period, myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolus, loss of consciousness, myocardial ischemia, cerebral ischemia and chest pain. Although these problems were temporally associated with TPE none of them could be attributed to the TPE with certainty. The remaining eight medical complications were of a less serious nature.
Successful and Safe Implementation of a Trinary Interpretation and Reporting Strategy for V/Q Lung Scintigraphy

For the past 4 decades, ventilation–perfusion (V/Q) scan interpretation for pulmonary embolism (PE) was performed using probability-based assessments, which were neither wellreceived nor well-understood by many clinicians. Recently, we combined normal, very low probability, and low-probability interpretations in emergency department patients and found a false-negative (FN) rate of 1.2% on follow-up. Afterward, we transitioned to a new trinary interpretative strategy: no PE, PE present, and nondiagnostic. In this series, we compared the outcomes of the traditional and trinary interpretative strategies. Methods: We retrospectively identified all patients undergoing V/Q scans for the 1 year straddling the shift in interpretive strategy, with traditional interpretation being used between September 18, 2008, and March 17, 2009, and trinary interpretation being used between March 18, 2009, and September 17, 2009. A FN study was defined as development of deep vein thrombosis or PE within 3 months after a negative baseline evaluation. Results: The traditional interpretation group included 208 male patients (27%) and 570 female patients (73%), with a mean age (6SD) of 50.9 6 18.4 years. These interpretations (n 5 778) were high probability in 4.9% (38), intermediate probability in 5% (39), low probability in 59.5% (463), very low probability in 17.2% (134), and normal in 13.4% (104). The trinary interpretation group included 181 male patients (27%) and 483 female patients (73%), with a mean age of 50.0 6 18.5 years. These interpretations (664) were positive in 8.4% (56), negative in 88.1% (585), and nondiagnostic in 3.5% (23). The FN rate was 1.14% (8/701; 7 deep vein thrombosis and 1 PE) for pooled normal, very low probability, and low probability in traditional interpretations versus 1.5% (9/585, 5 deep vein thrombosis and 4 PE) in trinary interpretations (P 5 0.63). The individual FN rates for the normal, very low probability, and low-probability groups were 0.0%, 0.75%, and 1.51%, respectively (P 5 0.36 for normal vs. low probability). Pediatric subgroup analysis showed 19 traditional interpretations: 5.3% high (1); 0 intermediate; and 94.7% (18) low probability, very low probability, and normal. 20 trinary interpretations were positive in 10% (2), nondiagnostic in 5% (1), and negative in 85% (17), with no FNs using either strategy. Conclusion: A simplified trinary interpretation strategy for V/Q lung scintigraphy provides outcomes similar to traditional probability assessments and facilitates clear communication.
Coherent resonant interactions with molecules in photonic band-gap fibers

We show that through use of an acetylene-filled hollow-core photonic band-gap fiber, coherent three-level spectroscopy can be performed and electromagnetically induced transparency can be observed using a molecular system with a weak optical response.
A subsystem that behaves as an LXI instrument

This paper describes an intelligent subsystem that integrates into a larger test system as if it were a single complex instrument. Actually, the subsystem contains a controlling embedded PC and various instruments that conform to the PXIe test standard working in tight coordination to perform complex tasks. The test station computer communicates with the subsystem with a high-level IVI driver via Ethernet.
Maneuverability of a robotic tuna with compliant body

The maneuvering performance of a robotic device designed to mimic the swimming motions of Thunniform swimmers is presented. In contrast to existing designs, this design achieves fish like locomotion through the use of a single actuator and a compliant body and tail. Experiments were performed using both biased swimming motions and coasted turns. During these experiments the Compliant Robotic Tuna (CRT) achieved steady swimming speeds of up to 0.37 body lengths/second, average turning rates of up to 12.6 degrees per second, and turning radii as low as 1 body length. In addition, this paper compares the measured maneuvering performance with the predictions of a simplified rigid body model that was derived using both theoretical and empirical techniques. The swimming motions studied in this paper were achieved using open loop mechanisms. Therefore the potential for performance improvements exists.
Essential Roles of NF-κB and C/EBP in the Regulation of Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 after Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection of Human Respiratory Epithelial Cell Cultures

To determine the molecular mechanism(s) of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-induced intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) upregulation in respiratory epithelial cells (REC; A549 cell cultures), we investigated the roles of the transcription factors NF-κB and C/EBP. Increases in ICAM-1 message required de novo mRNA synthesis. ICAM-1 promoter constructs (luciferase reporter gene) transfected into A549 monolayers demonstrated promoter activation following RSV infection. Activation was abolished by site-specific mutation of the NF-κB (−228) or C/EBP (−239) sites. These data support the critical role of the activation of NF-κB and C/EBP in RSV-induced ICAM-1 expression by REC.
The Administrative Conference of the United States

With the presentation to the President of its Final Report and a letter of transmittal dated December 17, 1962 containing suggestions for means of improving federal administrative procedures in the future, The Administrative Conference of the United States, established by Executive Order 10934 of April 13, 1961 and directed to make a final report by the end of 1962, discharged its assignment. The Conference proposed that a permanent body of a similar character be established by statute and that, pending congressional action on this proposal, the Conference be continued until December 31, 1964 or until the prior enactment of such a statute. The President did not act before the end of the calendar
Are trabeculae and papillary muscles an integral part of cardiac anatomy: or annoying features to exclude while tracing endocardial boundaries?

During the last decade, all cardiac imaging modalities have enjoyed substantial improvements in spatial and temporal resolution, resulting in better visualization of the intricacies of ventricular anatomy. Despite these improvements, visual interpretation of cardiac chamber volumes and function
Cost minimization of supplying biomass for ethanol biorefineries

Abstract A major hurdle facing commercial biofuel production is the cost of producing the feedstock. Since biofuel feedstock is bulky in nature, a large proportion of cost needed to be allocated for harvesting and transportation of feedstock. Economic viability of ethanol production from cellulosic feedstock depends in part of the cost to produce, harvest and deliver feedstock to the ethanol production facilities. A well-developed harvesting and transportation system does not exist for most feedstock. Hence to determine accurate estimation of the harvest, transportation and storage costs is important in ethanol production. The objectives of the study are to determine the optimal harvesting unit for ethanol biorefinery and estimate harvesting, storage and transportation costs of switchgrass under various harvesting schedules. A biorefinery with the annual capacity of processing 4.16 million gallons of ethanol was considered. Based on average dry matter yield, total production area needed for annual harvesting was estimated. The harvesting units needed for the continuous harvest and supply of biomass were estimated based on information on the capacity of machineries etc. Accordingly various costs associated with operating and maintaining harvesting unit were estimated. Transportation units needed were estimated for continuous supply of feedstock to the refinery and the associated costs were calculated. The number of machinery needed for a harvesting unit for the 90 day harvesting schedule are the most while year round harvesting schedules needs lesser number of machinery for a harvesting unit. Harvesting switchgrass in 90 day schedule is the most expensive scenario with all harvesting, hauling and storage costs added together. Year round harvesting schedule occurs as the least costly scenario. Sensitivity analysis shows the positive trend for harvesting and hauling costs to biomass yield, ethanol conversion technology, distance and decreasing trend for the range of truck speed considered. The results generated in this study will be useful in designing optimal harvest schedule of biomass for ethanol biorefinery.
Conformational dynamics of the molecular chaperone Hsp90.

The ubiquitous molecular chaperone Hsp90 makes up 1-2% of cytosolic proteins and is required for viability in eukaryotes. Hsp90 affects the folding and activation of a wide variety of substrate proteins including many involved in signaling and regulatory processes. Some of these substrates are implicated in cancer and other diseases, making Hsp90 an attractive drug target. Structural analyses have shown that Hsp90 is a highly dynamic and flexible molecule that can adopt a wide variety of structurally distinct states. One driving force for these rearrangements is the intrinsic ATPase activity of Hsp90, as seen with other chaperones. However, unlike other chaperones, studies have shown that the ATPase cycle of Hsp90 is not conformationally deterministic. That is, rather than dictating the conformational state, ATP binding and hydrolysis only shift the equilibria between a pre-existing set of conformational states. For bacterial, yeast and human Hsp90, there is a conserved three-state (apo-ATP-ADP) conformational cycle; however; the equilibria between states are species specific. In eukaryotes, cytosolic co-chaperones regulate the in vivo dynamic behavior of Hsp90 by shifting conformational equilibria and affecting the kinetics of structural changes and ATP hydrolysis. In this review, we discuss the structural and biochemical studies leading to our current understanding of the conformational dynamics of Hsp90, as well as the roles that nucleotide, co-chaperones, post-translational modification and substrates play. This view of Hsp90's conformational dynamics was enabled by the use of multiple complementary structural methods including, crystallography, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), electron microscopy, Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) and NMR. Finally, we discuss the effects of Hsp90 inhibitors on conformation and the potential for developing small molecules that inhibit Hsp90 by disrupting the conformational dynamics.
Assessing Reverse 911®: A case study of the 2007 San Diego wildfires

In October 2007, 250,000 residents of San Diego County were forced to evacuate as wildfires burned 62 miles 2 in 24 hours. In 2005, the Sheriff’s Department invested in Reverse 911® to contact residents upon emergencies. The system was used during this wildfire, and by the following midday, had made 394,915 calls. Shortly thereafter, 1,210 residents were surveyed to investigate the effectiveness of this technology. Findings reveal that 42 percent of respondents received their first warning from a Reverse 911® call while an additional 7 percent received the same call, but not as their first warning, as compared to all other methods used.
Field and Laboratory Biology of Symmerista canicosta

Symmerista canicosta Franclemont, the so-called redhumped oakworm, reached outbreak levels on 17,200.5 ha of oak forest in Windham and New London Counties, Conn., in 1973. The outbreak lasted one year. Eggs were laid in a single layer on the undersides of oak leaves from late June through early Sept., but were most abundant in July. The mean number of eggs per mass was 56 and 66.4 in 2 forests. Egg masses were laid at all heights in the forest but were most numerous between 0 and 1.8 m. There were 5 or 6 instars. The mean duration of larval life at 23°C was 41 and 47.6 days, respectively, for insects with 5 and 6 instars. Larvae were present in the field from June through Oct. Late and early instars were present in the field in late Aug. and early Sept. Full grown larvae pupated in the forest litter from late Sept.-mid-Oct, in diapause until the following summer. In laboratory studies with field-collected pupae, chilling hastened diapause termination. There was decline in density from Oct.-;May, perhaps caused by vertebrate predation. Adults exhibited diel emergence and mating periodicities with emergence and copulation occurring during the scotophase. Under laboratory conditions, males lived for 7.6 days and females for 4.5 days.
The Contextual Specificity of Gender: Femininity and Masculinity in College Students’ Same- and Other-Gender Peer Contexts

Social constructivist models of gender suggest that gendered attitudes and behaviors, such as femininity and masculinity, are context-dependent (Deaux and Major 1987). If this is the case, femininity and masculinity may be better conceptualized as variable states rather than as stable traits. In the present study, we used Ecological Momentary Assessment to investigate variations in femininity and masculinity according to the gender of peers in female and male college students’ real-life social contexts. Cisgender participants were recruited from a small liberal arts college in the northeastern region of the United States. Sixteen female and 11 male college students (M age = 20) contributed 448 reports documenting their social context and femininity and masculinity over a 2-week period. We found that men reported greater femininity on a momentary version of the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) when they were with women in comparison to when they were with men. We also found that both women and men reported greater masculinity on a momentary version of the BSRI when they were with men in comparison to when they were with women. Our findings lend empirical support to social constructivist models of gender and highlight the importance of investigating how interpersonal contexts contribute to gender-typed attitudes and behaviors.
Estimation and Decision Making

The primary purpose of a heuristic search is to gather heuristic information for making a move. In a conventional approach, the decision making is based on estimates of possible next moves. These estimates are derived by backing up original estimates at search-tip nodes returned by a static evaluation function. From this conventional approach, we develop in this chapter a general theory of decision making based on heuristic information.
Upgrading From Petroleum And Coal-Derived Asphaltenes

Asphaltene is the major obstacle for the catalytic cracking process in the industrial refining practices as well as coal liquefaction. The generation of coke and the adsorption of asphaltene particles reduce the effective surface area of catalyst. In addition, the efficiency of coal hydropyrolysis is decreased due to the agglomeration of asphaltenes. Thus, most of the conventional hydrogenation processes are working at high temperature and high hydrogen pressure. Ultrasound can provide localized cavitation centers with extremely high temperature and high pressure at room temperature and ambient pressure. Surfactant is widely used in enhance oil recovery and is able to improve the dispersion of asphaltene particles. A solid phase of sodium borohydride is used to provide a constant hydrogen supply in this investigation. with the existence of surfactant and ultrasound, both petroleum asphaltene and coal-derived asphaltene can be converted into lower molecular compounds (gas oil and resins) with a satisfactory conversion. The performance of the commercially available surfactant Span 20 is compared with the self-generated surfactant Wet-sol on both petroleum and coal-derived asphaltenes.
Stock Market Valuation of Hotel Firms' Sustainable Initiatives

This study aimed to examine stock price reactions to announcements of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified hotel openings. Using an event study method, the authors analyze news related to 15 hotel openings between the periods of 2009 and 2013. The results show that abnormal returns on stocks are significantly negative after the announcements of LEED-certified hotel openings, suggesting that stock market investors perceive sustainable investments to be value-decreasing projects in the short-term. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed within the framework of the microeconomic theory of pollution abatement.
Inactivated influenza virus vaccines: the future of TIV and QIV.

Influenza viruses continue to be a major public health concern, despite the availability of vaccines. Currently licensed influenza vaccines aim at the induction of antibodies that target hemagglutinin, the major antigenic determinant on the surface of influenza virions that is responsible for attachment of the virus to the host cell that is to be infected. Currently licensed influenza vaccines come as inactivated or live attenuated influenza vaccines and are trivalent or quadrivalent as they contain antigens of two influenza A and one or two influenza B strains that circulate in the human population, respectively. In this review we briefly compare trivalent and quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccines (TIV and QIV) with live attenuated influenza vaccines (LAIV). The use of the latter vaccine type in children age 2–8 has been disrecommended recently by the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention due to inferior vaccine effectiveness in this age group in recent seasons. This recommendation will favor the use of TIV and QIV over LAIV in the near future. However, there is much evidence from studies in humans that illustrate the benefit of LAIV and we discuss some of the mechanisms that contribute to broader protection against influenza viruses of different subtypes induced by natural infection and LAIV. The future challenge will be to apply these insights to allow induction of broader and long-lasting protection provided by TIV and QIV vaccines, for example, by the use of adjuvants or combining LAIV with TIV and QIV. Other immune factors than serum hemagglutination inhibiting antibodies have shown to correlate with protection provided by TIV and QIV, which illustrates the need for other correlates of protection than hemagglutination inhibition by serum antibodies and justifies more focus on influenza antigens in the TIV and QIV other than hemagglutinin.
Fabrication of Nanostructured Omniphobic and Superomniphobic Surfaces with Inexpensive CO2 Laser Engraver

Superomniphobic surfaces (i.e., surfaces that are extremely repellent to both high surface tension liquids like water and low surface tension liquid like oils) can be fabricated through a combination of surface chemistry that imparts low solid surface energy with a re-entrant surface texture. Recently, surface texturing with lasers has received significant attention because laser texturing is scalable, solvent-free, and can produce a monolithic texture on virtually any material. In this work, we fabricated nanostructured omniphobic and superomniphobic surfaces with a variety of materials using a simple, inexpensive and commercially available CO2 laser engraver. Further, we demonstrated that the nanostructured omniphobic and superomniphobic surfaces fabricated using our laser texturing technique can be used to design patterned surfaces, surfaces with discrete domains of the desired wettability, and on-surface microfluidic devices.
Detecting Isodistance Hotspots on Spatial Networks: A Summary of Results

Spatial hotspot detection aims to find regions of interest with statistically significant high concentration of activities. In recent years, it has presented significant value in many critical application domains such as epidemiology, criminology and transportation engineering. However, existing spatial hotspot detection approaches focus on either on Euclidean space or are unable to find the entire set of hotspots. In this paper, we first formulate the problem of Network Isodistance Hotspot Detection (NIHD) as finding all sub-networks whose nodes and edges are reachable from a activity center and have significantly high concentration of activities. Then, we propose a novel algorithm based on network partitioning and pruning (NPP) which overcomes the computational challenges due to the high costs from candidate enumeration and statistical significance test based on randomization. Theoretical and experimental analysis show that NPP substantially improves the scalability over the baseline approach while keeping the results correct and complete. Moreover, case studies on real crime datasets show that NPP detects hotspots with higher accuracy and is able to reveal the hotspots that are missed by existing approaches.