cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cellular mechanisms for altered learning in aging

Getting gray hair is part of the natural progression of aging. People expect it and they can change their hair color, if they choose. People also expect increases in memory lapses and learning difficulties as they get older. However, unlike hair color, there is no magic cure or option to fix learning and memory difficulties, because the cellular mechanisms of learning and aging in all the different types of neurons throughout the brain have yet to be discovered. This review describes our efforts to identify a cellular biomarker in hippocampal pyramidal neurons that has been demonstrated to reliably change with learning and with aging – the postburst afterhyperpolarization. We propose that this biomarker, which plays a critical role in regulating neuronal excitability, can be used as a benchmark for future studies in order to understand and identify the cellular mechanisms of learning and aging in the hippocampus, as well as in other cortical regions.
Consistency of location and gradient judgments of visually-interpolated contours

We report two experiments assessing how observers interpolate partly-occluded contours induced by pairs of line segments that disappeared behind an occluder. On each trial observers iteratively adjusted the location and orientation of a short line probe that could be moved vertically within the region of occlusion. They were instructed to set the line probe to be tangent to the occluded contour. The line probe could appear at one of six horizontal offsets and the inducer pairs on some trials were relatable (the inducers could be joined by a smooth curve without a point of inflection) and on other trials non-relatable. We interpreted the settings as estimates of the location and gradient (slope) of the contour in the region of occlusion. We tested whether the resulting visual estimates of location and gradient were consistent with any single smooth contour. When inducers were relatable, estimates of location and gradient were mutually consistent for all observers and could be modeled as polynomials of 5^th or lower degree. When the inducers were non-relatable, the consistency of location and gradient settings deteriorated, indicating that there can be no single smooth curve that accounts for observers judgments. We discuss the implication of these results for models of human visual interpolation.
An improved division operator for relational algebra

Abstract Since the introduction of the relational data model, relational algebra has been used to gauge the completeness of relational query languages. As a concise language for formulating queries against relational databases, relational algebra is unmatched. Furthermore, human factor studies have shown that for difficult queries, users perform better using the procedurally-oriented relational algebra than using a non-procedural, specification-based, language such as SQL. Still, the current implementations of relational algebra in database management systems are not “friendly” when it comes to formulation of queries involving universal quantification. The algebraic operation of division normally used for this purpose is difficult for most users to comprehend and work with and is incapable of expressing queries that demand the comparison of sets of values associated with matching groups of tuples in two relations. This paper introduces a new algebraic operation, called grouped generalized division (GGD), which overcomes such shortcomings. We also show how the GGD operation can be expressed in terms of the other more “primitive” algebraic operations. As such, the implementors of algebraic languages can support the GGD operation at the user interface with minimal effort.
Evaluation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Genes Involved in Resistance to Killing by Human Macrophages

ABSTRACT A coinfection assay was developed to examine Mycobacterium tuberculosis genes suspected to be involved in resistance to killing by human macrophages. THP-1 macrophages were infected with a mixture of equal numbers of recombinant Mycobacterium smegmatis LR222 bacteria expressing an M. tuberculosis gene and wild-type M. smegmatis LR222 bacteria expressing the xylE gene. At various times after infection, the infected macrophages were lysed and the bacteria were plated. The resulting colonies were sprayed with catechol to determine the number of recombinant colonies and the number ofxylE-expressing colonies. M. smegmatis bacteria expressing the M. tuberculosis glutamine synthetase A (glnA) gene or open reading frame Rv2962c orRv2958c demonstrated significantly increased survival rates in THP-1 macrophages relative to those of xylE-expressing bacteria. M. smegmatis bacteria expressing M. tuberculosis genes for phospholipase C (plcA andplcB) or for high temperature requirement A (htrA) did not.
A historical perspective and commentary on pioneering developments in gas chromatography/mass spectrometry at MIT

Klaus Biemann has helped shape many aspects of the field of modern mass spectrometry. This paper reviews and comments on some of his innovative contributions to gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) during the 1960s and 1970s with particular emphasis on the molecular separator, a comprehensive plan for the acquisition and processing of GC/MS data and the application of GC/MS to the analysis of drugs in emergency cases.
Personal Identity And Nostalgia For The Distant Land Of Past: Legacy Tourism

“The past is certainly a distant land and getting there is a difficult and imperfect undertaking” (Brown, Hirschman & Maclaran (2006). This paper explores motivations behind how consumers reach that “distant land.” Over 1,000 respondents of a variety of ethnic groups show very different stories and diaspora timelines, but personal identity and connection with place are always top ranked motivations for interest in ancestors. How might groups, who may suffer from a lack of identity, fit into these findings when ‘personal identity’ is the number one reason why consumers engage in genealogy and legacy tourism? Whether a group is well defined (e.g., descended from Norwegian ancestors) or not well defined, results are remarkably similar.
Registering imagery to ICESat data for measuring elevation changes on Byrd Glacier, Antarctica

[1] We present a new approach to derive control information from ICESat data that enables rigorous registration of aerial and satellite imagery. The technique, based on matching terrain features identified from ICESat measurements and aerial imagery, opens the door to transform results of previous studies to a global reference frame. We demonstrate the proposed methodology with historical aerial photographs to determine surface changes between 1979 and 2004 over Byrd Glacier. This is important because there is no satellite radar altimetry coverage south of 81.5� S, which limits mass balance knowledge of outlet glaciers draining the East Antarctic ice sheet through the southern Transantarctic Mountains. Our study indicates that the grounded part of Byrd Glacier is close to being in balance. However, we observe large thinning on the floating part of the glacier, probably induced by increased basal melting. Citation: Schenk, T., B. Csatho, C. J. van der Veen, H. Brecher, Y. Ahn, and T. Yoon (2005), Registering imagery to ICESat data for measuring elevation changes on Byrd Glacier, Antarctica, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L23S05, doi:10.1029/2005GL024328.
Eye-R, a glasses-mounted eye motion detection interface

Eye-R is a system designed to detect and communicates the intentional information conveyed in eye movement. This glasses-mounted, wireless device stores and transfers information based on user eye motion and external IR devices thus promoting an enriched experience with their environment. This paper describes how the system measures eye motion and utilizes this as an implicit input channel to a sensor system and computer. In the primary scenario, eye motion detection is used to recognize a users gaze. When the person's eyes are fixated the system infers that they are paying attention to something in their environment and then tries to facilitate an exchange of information in either direction on the user's behalf.
Activity of the Osteocalcin Promoter in Skeletal Sites of Transgenic Mice and during Osteoblast Differentiation in Bone Marrow-Derived Stromal Cell Cultures: Effects of Age and Sex

The bone-specific osteocalcin gene is a well established marker of osteoblast activity. We have studied osteocalcin transcription in transgenic mice carrying rat osteocalcin promoter-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter constructs. Transgenic lines carrying each of the 1.7-, 1.1-, 0.72-, or 0.35-kilobase promoter constructs expressed the reporter gene in a tissue-specific manner. However, each of these constructs was sensitive to site of integration effects, reflected by a high frequency of nonexpressing transgenic lines. High expression of the 1.7-kilobase promoter in osseous tissues was accompanied by low ectopic expression in the brain. Analysis of CAT expression in femurs, calvariae, and lumbar vertebrae of this line indicated considerable variability in promoter activity among individual transgenic animals. Analysis of the variance in CAT activity demonstrated a linkage between promoter activities in these distant skeletal sites. Promoter activity was inversely correlated with age, and females exhibited severalfold higher activity than age-matched males. Bone marrow stromal cells from these animals, cultured under conditions that support osteoblast differentiation, exhibited the expected postproliferative onset of osteocalcin promoter activity, as assessed by CAT assay. The ex vivo CAT activity was not dependent on the sex or the age of the donor transgenic mouse. Taken together, our results are consistent with the hypothesis that a common, probably humoral, factor(s) regulates osteocalcin transcription in distant skeletal sites. We suggest that the abundance of this factor(s) is different between males and females and among individual mice at a given time point, and that ex vivo culturing of osteoblasts reduces the variation in osteocalcin promoter activity by eliminating the physiological contribution of this factor.
Efficacy of macromolecular crowding in forcing proteins to fold.

The intrinsically unstructured protein, reduced and carboxyamidated RNase T1 (TCAM) was used to determine the degree to which macromolecular crowding agents increase the equilibrium constant for folding. TCAM is not catalytically active in an aqueous assay system alone, but becomes catalytically active on addition of 400 mg/ml dextran 70. The activity observed accounts for approximately 16% of the total available TCAM in solution. We interpret this result to mean that 16% of the TCAM becomes folded protein in the presence of the 400 mg/ml dextran 70, and this translates into an approximately five-fold increase in the equilibrium constant for folding. Sarcosine-induced folding of TCAM was performed in the presence of 0, 100, 200 and 300 mg/ml dextran 70, and apparent ΔGoN–D values determined from the linear extrapolation method provide an estimated 22% folded TCAM formed in the limit of zero sarcosine concentration and in presence of 400 mg/ml dextran 70. The increase in TCAM folding equilibrium constant using this method of determination is approximately 7.5-fold. Overall, the results indicate that macromolecular crowding agents are only modestly effective in promoting folding of this intrinsically unstructured protein.
Nonadiabatic electron transfer at the nanoscale tin-oxide semiconductor/aqueous solution interface

Photo-excitation of chromophoric metal complexes electrostatically adsorbed to tin-oxide semiconductor nanoparticles is often accompanied by injection of electrons from the complexes into the semiconductor conduction band. The mechanism of back electron transfer (semiconductor particle to adsorbed molecule) for a family of tris-bipyridyl ruthenium and osmium complexes has been examined by evaluating the kinetics of transfer to derivatives featuring alkyl substituents of varying length, methyl to pentyl. The substituents serve to change the electron transfer (ET) distance under conditions of weak chemical interaction with the semiconductor surface. Accompanying increases in alkyl substituent length, and therefore transfer distance, are systematic decreases in back ET rate. The decreases are indicative of nonadiabatic ET, i.e. electronic rather than nuclear control of the reaction dynamics. Further analysis points to trap-mediated transfer, rather than direct transfer from the conduction band, as the most probable back-reaction pathway.
Totally model-free reinforcement learning by actor-critic Elman networks in non-Markovian domains

We describe how an actor-critic reinforcement learning agent in a non-Markovian domain finds an optimal sequence of actions in a totally model-free fashion; that is, the agent neither learns transitional probabilities and associated rewards, nor by how much the state space should be augmented so that the Markov property holds. In particular, we employ an Elman-type recurrent neural network to solve non-Markovian problems since an Elman-type network is able to implicitly and automatically render the process Markovian. A standard "actor-critic" neural network model has two separate components: the action (actor) network and the value (critic) network. In animal brains, however, those two presumably may not be distinct, but rather somehow entwined. We thus construct one Elman network with two output nodes: actor node and critic node, and a portion of the shared hidden layer is fed back as the context layer, which functions as a history memory to produce sensitivity to non-Markovian dependencies. The agent explores small-scale three and four-stage triangular path-networks to learn an optimal sequence of actions that maximizes total value (or reward) associated with its transition from vertex to vertex. The posed problem has deterministic transition and reward associated with each allowable action (although either could be stochastic) and is rendered non-Markovian by the reward being dependent on an earlier transition. Due to the nature of neural model-free learning, the agent needs many iterations to find the optimal actions even in small-scale path problems.
Suramin modulates wound healing of rabbit conjunctiva after trabeculectomy: comparison with mitomycin C.

Purpose. To investigate and compare the effects of suramin and mitomycin C on conjunctival wound healing after trabeculectomy in a rabbit model. Materials and Methods. Thirty New Zealand White rabb...
Identifying computational phases from inter-process communication traces of HPC applications

Understanding the behaviour of High Performance Computing (HPC) systems is a challenging task due to the large number of processes they involve as well as the complex interactions among these processes. In this paper, we present a novel approach that aims to simplify the analysis of large execution traces generated from HPC applications. We achieve this through a technique that allows semiautomatic extraction of execution phases from large traces. These phases, which characterize the main computations of the traced scenario, can be used by software engineers to browse the content of a trace at different levels of abstraction. Our approach is based on the application of information theory principles to the analysis of sequences of communication patterns found in HPC traces. The results of the proposed approach when applied to traces of a large HPC industrial system demonstrate its effectiveness in identifying the main program phases and their corresponding sub-phases.
Micrognathia and Glossoptosis in the Newborn Surgical Tacking of the Tongue in Small Jaw Syndromes

This report discusses airway obstruction in newborn infants with micrognathia and glossop tosis, and describes three patients who required surgical relief of obstruction from glossoptosis. In two, glossoptosis was controlled by construction of lingual-labial flaps under local anesthesia. The third required tracheostomy because of absence of the mandibular symphysis; to be effective, a lingual-labial flap requires a complete mandibular arch for support.The lingual-labial flap is the best surgical procedure for glossoptosis of the newborn. It can be constructed under local anesthesia in the nursery or in the operating room. It holds the tongue forward, yet it allows adequate tongue mobility for feeding. Composed of the patient's own tissues, it can remain for an indefinite time.
Predictive Value Of Preseason Screening In Collegiate Baseball Pitchers

Objectives:High level baseball pitchers are prone to shoulder and elbow injuries, resulting in significant morbidity and missed time from sport. This is the first study to use both subjective and o...
The influence of woody encroachment upon herbaceous vegetation in a southern appalachian wetland complex

Small isolated wetlands in the southern Appalachian mountain region contain a disproportionate amount of the region's rare and uncommon herbaceous species. Many of these herbaceous communities may be threatened by invading trees and shrubs. We investigated changes in vegetative communities between 1994 and 2001 and the impact of woody encroachment upon herbaceous wetland communities in a southern Appalachian wetland complex in western North Carolina. We conducted a quantitative investigation of herbaceous, shrub and tree vegetation in forested and unforested fen and floodplain wetland sites. Additionally, soil chemistry, water level and precipitation data were collected. We found that woody encroachment was the strongest predictor of diminished herbaceous wetland communities, while water levels had the strongest positive relationship with herbaceous coverage.
Standing a Little Bit Above the Rest: Establishment Clause Enforcement & Taxpayer Standing after Winn

This paper joins the ongoing dialogue about the relationship between the Establishment Clause and Article III, and particularly the Supreme Court’s narrow expansion of standing for such claims. The paper first suggests that the Establishment Clause recognizes both individual rights-based harms as well as a structural restraint, which like other structural constitutional provisions may not result in individualized harm. It then tracks the creation and preservation of limited taxpayer standing that the Court has permitted for the Establishment Clause, including the Court's most recent decision in Arizona Christian School Tuition Org. v. Winn. Finally, after exploring scholarly views on judicial enforcement of the Establishment Clause and considering whether full judicial enforcement of the Establishment Clause is necessary, and if so, whether it would be possible while respecting the boundaries of Article III, the paper concludes with some reflections on the future of taxpayer standing.
Hell of a theory

The theory of group-selected Big God religions is a master narrative of cultural evolution. The evidence is a positive manifold of correlated assumptions and variables. Although provocative, the theory is overly elastic. Its critical ingredient - belief in Big Gods - is neither necessary nor sufficient to account for in-group prosociality and discipline. Four specific issues illustrate this elasticity.
Is normal pressure hydrocephalus becoming less idiopathic

Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) has posed a challenge to neurologists for 5 decades.1 Difficulties in understanding its pathophysiology have hindered efforts to diagnose it and to develop a better approach to selecting patients for shunt surgery.
Composition Dependence of Crystallization of Co-Si Alloys

The composition dependence of crystallization of amorphous Co-Si alloys has been investigated. Crystallization temperature decreased slowly from 400°C for a Co0.42Si0.58 alloy to 300°C for a CO0.2Si0.8 alloy. However, abrupt decrease in the crystallization temperature was observed for alloys with the monosilicide and disilicide compositions. The crystallization of alloys compositionally close to the disilicide was a one-step process with an activation energy of about 1.3 eV. The heat release and the volume contraction during crystallization of the stoichiometric Co0.33Si0.67 alloy were measured to be 0.118 eV/atom and 0.6%, respectively. In the case of the CO0.2Si0.8 alloy, complete crystallization was achieved in two steps with an activation energy of 2.1 eV for the primary crystallization.
Larval morphology and preliminary ecological observations of the uniquely phytophagous rove beetle Himalusa thailandensis (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae)

Immature stages of the uniquely phytophagous staphylinid, Himalusa thailandensis Pace, Klimaszewski, and Center, 2010 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae) are described. Adults chew or scrape leaf surfaces while larvae bore into leaf petioles where they mature, and then drop to the ground to pupate in silken cocoons. Compared to other aleocharines, the larval body form is unusually compact and rotund, and may be an adaptation to living within the confines of plant tissue. Mandible and maxilla morphology is unique among known larval aleocharines in being robust and dentate, and we suggest this is adaptive for scraping and squeezing plant tissue. The larval defensive gland is ribbed and gland sac ducts are kinked and apically bifid. We suggest that H. thailandensis may share this derived gland morphology with Autaliini, Bolitocharina, Gyrophaenina, Homalotina, Leptusina, and Silusina of Homalotini, and possibly Liparocephalini. The morphology and ecology detailed here for H. thailandensis is the first comprehensive description of immature stages among aleocharines where adults feed externally on plants.
EVOLUTION OF INFLORESCENCE DESIGN: THEORY AND DATA

Very low fruit set in milkweeds and other flowering plants often has been attributed to greater sexual selection on inflorescence size via male, rather than female, reproductive success. Although this explanation has been generally accepted, alternate explanations have been presented, and recently the "male function" or "pollen donation" hypothesis has been sharply criticized. In this paper, we make the distinction between selection on total flower number and on the size of inflorescence units, both of which have been termed "inflorescence size." We present an ESS model for the evolution of inflorescence design that considers reproductive success through male and female function. The model predicts that selection will balance the proportional changes in female and male reproductive success resulting from changes in inflorescence-unit size. We conducted a field study of selection on the size of inflorescence units (umbels) by manipulating umbel size and number in a natural population of Asclepias tuberosa, in southeastern Arizona, during two reproductive seasons. We found that the male fitness function reached a maximum at an intermediate umbel size in both years (although not significantly different from the smallest umbel size in either year), whereas the female fitness function was highest for the smallest umbel size in one year, but was constant across umbel sizes in the other year. We also found that pollinator visitation rate corresponded well with male, but not female, function, and that between-year variation in the male reproductive success of different umbel sizes corresponded with variation in the composition of the pollinator pool. Our empirical results, when inserted in the model, predict ESS umbel sizes similar to those observed in the study population and the species throughout its range.
Protein kinase A phosphorylation enhances sodium channel currents in Xenopus oocytes

The voltage-sensitive rat brain sodium channel is known to be phosphorylated by adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase A (PKA), but the functional significance of that phosphorylation is unknown. We have shown that rat brain sodium channel currents expressed in Xenopus oocytes were enhanced by induction of PKA activity. Stimulation of the beta 2-adrenergic receptor or treatment with dibutyryl cAMP resulted in increased sodium current amplitudes without affecting the voltage dependence of channel activation or inactivation. These increases were completely blocked by preinjection of protein kinase inhibitor, a specific inhibitor of PKA. Injection of phosphatase into the oocytes resulted in a significant decrease in sodium current amplitude, indicating that phosphorylation is important for basal levels of sodium channel activity in oocytes. The enhancement was specific for the rat brain IIA sodium channel, because currents expressed from the rat muscle microI sodium channel were not enhanced by the same procedures. These data demonstrate a modulatory role of PKA phosphorylation on brain sodium channel function and suggest a means by which the electrical excitability of cells may be regulated.
Feel the Burn: It Will Be Huge

On 20 January 2017, we will inaugurate a new President, elected after one of the strangest campaigns in my memory. As physicians, we must ask whether our medical practices will again be turned inside out and the work carried out to prepare for “Value-based Reimbursement” might be for naught. In a few words, I will review fundamentals of US health care, mention current alternatives, and then prognosticate (with trepidation).
Physical Activity Is Associated With Reduced Risk of Executive Function Impairment in Older Women.

Objective: To examine whether baseline levels of physical activity, measured by total caloric expenditure, predicted domain-specific cognitive impairments over a 9-year period. Method: Participants...
Research of Intelligent Monitoring System in Rural Low Voltage Transformer Areas

To adapt to the new situation and requirement of strong and smart grid development,an intelligent monitoring system in rural low voltage transformer areas was researched and developed.The research background of the system was analyzed,and the overall structure and important parts of the system were discussed.The functions of the system were designed,and the main functions were verified by experiments.The experimental verification indicates that the system is reliable,and its data is accurate.
Boron nitride nanotubes as magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents

In this chapter the potential use of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) as agents generating positive or negative contrast in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is discussed. In particular, the two different kinds of BNNT-based contrast agents reported in the literature so far are described, that is, BNNTs with superparamagnetic properties arising from iron nanoparticles remaining on the nanotube tips from the synthetic procedure and BNNTs purposely doped with Gd3+ ions (Gd@BNNTs). Relaxivity properties at different magnetic fields of both kinds of systems are reported and discussed in comparison with those of commercial contrast agents of clinical use. Given the good cytocompatibility observed for these materials, the potential application in theranostics is envisaged.
PARTY COMPETITION AND HINDU-MUSLIM VIOLENCE

Once we establish the existence of a relationship between party competition and levels of ethnic violence, an obvious question follows: if party competition is so important, then what explains states' different levels of party competition? Why do some states have party systems that reflect a greater degree of cohesion around backward-caste identities than others? Why, in particular, did some southern states in India such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu have an effective opposition to Congress by the early 1960s, well before states in the north such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar? My central argument in this chapter, laid out in Figure 6.1, is that an institutional difference going back to the 1920s – the implementation of job and educational reservations for backward and lower castes in the South but not in the North – is largely responsible for different state patterns of postindependence party competition and fractionalization. In the early 20th century, after the colonial state and several princely states in southern India grouped members of diverse castes together under a backward-caste identity, they provided political and economic incentives for Indians to mobilize around this identity, which has been sustained since then not only by government affirmative action programs but also by social and political organizations that grew up in response to the governments' willingness to reward claims made on the basis of “backwardness.”
Assisted fertility using electroejaculation in men with spinal cord injury―a review of literature

Objective To review the effectiveness of rectal probe electroejaculation in terms of pregnancy in treatment of anejaculatory males due to spinal cord injury. The characteristics of electroejaculates also are examined. Data Identification All English language studies reporting pregnancies as a result of electroejaculation from men with spinal cord injury and related publications on electroejaculation were identified through MEDLINE search and manual scanning of recent relevant journals. Results Electroejaculation has become an accepted mode of semen procurement in anejaculatory individuals, with a success rate of approximately 60% to 90% varying among different centers. In general these electroejaculates exhibit high sperm counts but low motility and poor sperm function. Retrograde ejaculation is also common. Pregnancies using electroejaculates have been documented since 1975 in the form of case reports and small series. Assisted reproductive technology recently has been used in conjunction with electroejaculation. Although results are encouraging, pregnancy rates, however, cannot be accurately estimated because of the lack of large series in the literature. Conclusions An increasing number of spinal cord-injured patients desiring fertility can achieve pregnancy through combined use of electroejaculation and assisted reproductive techniques. Larger series are needed to establish an accurate pregnancy rate. Elucidation by further studies on etiology of sperm dysfunction of these individuals may improve their prognosis.
MAIT cells promote inflammatory monocyte differentiation into dendritic cells during pulmonary intracellular infection.

Mucosa-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are a unique innate T cell subset that is necessary for rapid recruitment of activated CD4+ T cells to the lungs after pulmonary F. tularensis LVS infection. Here, we investigated the mechanisms behind this effect. We provide evidence to show that MAIT cells promote early differentiation of CCR2-dependent monocytes into monocyte-derived DCs (Mo-DCs) in the lungs after F. tularensis LVS pulmonary infection. Adoptive transfer of Mo-DCs to MAIT cell–deficient mice (MR1−/− mice) rescued their defect in the recruitment of activated CD4+ T cells to the lungs. We further demonstrate that MAIT cell–dependent GM-CSF production stimulated monocyte differentiation in vitro, and that in vivo production of GM-CSF was delayed in the lungs of MR1−/− mice. Finally, GM-CSF–deficient mice exhibited a defect in monocyte differentiation into Mo-DCs that was phenotypically similar to MR1−/− mice. Overall, our data demonstrate that MAIT cells promote early pulmonary GM-CSF production, which drives the differentiation of inflammatory monocytes into Mo-DCs. Further, this delayed differentiation of Mo-DCs in MR1−/− mice was responsible for the delayed recruitment of activated CD4+ T cells to the lungs. These findings establish a novel mechanism by which MAIT cells function to promote both innate and adaptive immune responses.
Structural Characterization of the Human KCNQ1 Voltage-Sensing Domain by NMR

Voltage-gated ion channels are integral membrane proteins that mediate ion transport across membranes. KCNQ1 is a human voltage-gated potassium channel that is expressed in both epithelial and cardiac tissues. KCNQ1 associates with KCNE1 and mediates the Iks current responsible for the repolarization of the cardiac action potential. Mutations of KCNQ1 that cause a loss-of-function result in congenital long-QT syndrome (LQTS), which predisposes individuals to cardiac arrhythmia and can result in sudden death. We have previously described the high level expression and purification of the S1-S4 voltage sensor domain (VSD) of human KCNQ1 (Peng-D et al., Biochemistry53:2032-42, 2014). Here we describe the results of NMR-based structural studies of this protein and of efforts to map its drug binding sites. This work was supported by RO1 HL122010 and by F32 GM117770.
Spatiotemporal Stability Patterns of Brook Trout Abundance and Implications for Stream Research and Monitoring

AbstractHigh spatial and temporal variation in many stream resident trout populations complicates basic sampling questions. We used 4 years of census data from 3 km of stream to examine (1) spatial and temporal stability in Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis populations and the implications for representative reaches, (2) stream lengths necessary to estimate abundance and biomass, and (3) comparative performance of site selection methods. Sections of highest relative abundance and biomass were consistently high across years and had significantly lower coefficients of variation. Greater pool area and depth were associated with higher temporal stability, which suggests that sections with the best habitats can serve as effective representative reaches for trend monitoring. However, extrapolating from reference reaches grossly overestimated the census size. Randomizing site sections generally required less stream to estimate population size at a desired precision, but the required stream lengths were sensitive...
Hygroscopic Swelling Determination of Cellulose Nanocrystal (CNC) Films by Polarized Light Microscopy Digital Image Correlation

The coefficient of hygroscopic swelling (CHS) of self-organized and shear-oriented cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) films was determined by capturing hygroscopic strains produced as result of isothermal water vapor intake in equilibrium. Contrast enhanced microscopy digital image correlation enabled the characterization of dimensional changes induced by the hygroscopic swelling of the films. The distinct microstructure and birefringence of CNC films served in exploring the in-plane hygroscopic swelling at relative humidity values ranging from 0% to 97%. Water vapor intake in CNC films was measured using dynamic vapor sorption (DVS) at constant temperature. The obtained experimental moisture sorption and kinetic profiles were analyzed by fitting with Guggenheim, Anderson, and deBoer (GAB) and Parallel Exponential Kinetics (PEK) models, respectively. Self-organized CNC films showed isotropic swelling, CHS ∼0.040 %strain/%C. By contrast, shear-oriented CNC films exhibited an anisotropic swelling, resulting in CHS...
Multifunctional 2D- Materials: Gallium Selenide

Abstract There is tremendous need for the 2D graphene-like single and multiple layered materials since they can be very useful as multifunctional materials for electronic, optical and energy generation and storage applications. We describe the preparation and morphology of selenide crystals and compared with wrinkled graphene which we had grown by annealing method. The characterization of observed standing fibrous film indicates behavior like graphene. Compositional analysis of graphene showed traces of oxygen impurities in some cases. Thermal analysis showed that material was stable up to 400C. However, some morphological changes were observed at high temperature. We studied an important multifunctional semiconductor material Gases for exploring 2D-characteristics and compare with graphene. The class of GaSe materials are highly anisotropic and in many cases, involve covalent and Van der Wall forces making processing very difficult. We will describe results of highly anisotropic gallium selenides, and thallium gallium selenide crystals which have been investigated for nonlinear optical and THz applications. GaSe has strong tendency of cleaving due to Van der Waal forces along –C direction making 2D materials possible. Very thin (smaller than 500 mm) GaSe was fabricated and optically characterized. The material was free from oxygen and water, and does not have any sign of hygroscopic nature indicating GaSe a very good alternate material. GaSe sheet showed very low absorption coefficient in their transparency region. Transmission and Raman studies near cut-off wavelength were performed to understand the defect in the material.
A 0.031mm 2 , 910fs, 0.5–4GHz injection type SOC PLL with 90dB built-in supply noise rejection in 10nm FinFET CMOS

This paper presents a low-jitter PLL with a wide operating range of 0.5∼4GHz using proposed soft-injection technique. Its ring-type VCO with built-in PSRR of 90dB offers superb noise immunity. The prototype PLL has been fabricated in 10nm FinFET technology with an active area of 0.031mm2. This design achieves 910fs RMS phase jitters and −58dBc/Hz reference spur of a 3GHz output. The peak-to-peak period jitter only increases by 1.5ps under power supply noises of 100mV at 1MHz. The power consumption is 7.5mW at 0.9V core and 1.6V I/O power supplies.
Hybrid MEMS: Integrating inorganic structures into live organisms

Abstract: This chapter discusses recent research on developing hybrid systems involving microfabrication and live organisms. Three relevant research examples of hybrid systems are reviewed: the use of (1) bacteria in fuel cells, (2) microfabricated structures for Caenorhabditis elegans research, and (3) microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) implants for insect flight control. Then, a detailed case study of the development of a vacuum microfabrication process directly on Drosophila flies is given. Lastly, the chapter summarizes the key concepts associated with developing MEMS devices for integration with live organisms.
Palmitate‐induced C/EBP homologous protein activation leads to NF‐κB‐mediated increase in BACE1 activity and amyloid beta genesis

The etiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is egregiously comprehended, but epidemiological studies have posited that diets rich in the saturated fatty acid palmitic acid (palmitate) are a significant risk factor. The production and accumulation of amyloid beta peptide (Aβ) is considered the core pathological molecular event in the pathogenesis of AD. The rate-limiting step in Aβ genesis from amyloid-β precursor protein (AβPP) is catalyzed by the enzyme β-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1), the expression and enzymatic activity of which is significantly up-regulated in the AD brain. In this study, we determined the molecular mechanisms that potentially underlie the palmitate-induced up-regulation in BACE1 expression and augmented Aβ production. We demonstrate that a palmitate-enriched diet and exogenous palmitate treatment evoke an increase in BACE1 expression and activity leading to enhanced Aβ genesis in the mouse brain and SH-SY5Y-APPSwe cells, respectively, through the activation of the transcription factor NF-κB. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays and luciferase reporter assays revealed that palmitate enhances BACE1 expression by increasing the binding of NF-κB in the BACE1 promoter followed by an enhancement in the transactivation of the BACE1 promoter. Elucidation and delineation of upstream molecular events unveiled a critical role of the endoplasmic reticulum stress-associated transcription factor, C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) in the palmitate-induced NF-κB activation, as CHOP knock-down cells and Chop-/- mice do not exhibit the same degree of NF-κB activation in response to the palmitate challenge. Our study delineates a novel CHOP-NF-κB signaling pathway that mediates palmitate-induced up-regulation of BACE1 expression and Aβ genesis.
Null effects and publication bias in special education research.

Researchers sometimes conduct a study and find that the predicted relation between variables did not exist or that the intervention did not have a positive impact on student outcomes; these are ref...
Personalized prediction of genes with tumor-causing somatic mutations based on multi-modal deep Boltzmann machine

Abstract When diagnosed at an advanced stage, most cancer patients suffer from treatment failure, recurrences and low survival. Taking advantage of high-throughput sequencing and deep learning techniques, we developed an early cancer monitoring method based on multi-modal deep Boltzmann machine to (1) learn association between matched germline and somatic mutations captured by whole exome sequencing from available samples of cancer patients, and (2) predict patient-specific high-risk genes whose somatic mutations are required to drive normal tissues to a tumor state. Our experiments on a set of breast cancer samples show that our method significantly outperforms the currently used frequency-based method in the personalized prediction of genes carrying critical mutations.
Myth: glucagon is an effective first-line therapy for esophageal foreign body impaction.

Esophageal foreign body impactions (EFBIs) are relatively rare in emergency medicine; patients rarely have them more than once. Indications for watchful waiting include a patent airway and the ability to clear secretions. However, in many cases, significant discomfort combined with patient expectations mandate early intervention to dislodge the foreign body. Endoscopy is the preferred definitive method of intervention for EFBI; however, most emergency physicians choose to apply one of several less invasive modes of therapy as firstline treatment. Pharmacologic agents that have been described for this purpose include glucagon, nifedipine, sublingual nitroglycerin, proteolytic enzymes and benzodiazepines. Among these, glucagon has become the most widely accepted in clinical practice.
FRET and Its Biological Application as a Molecular Ruler

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) is a well-studied physical process in which two fluorescent molecules in close proximity interact with each other. During this interaction, energy is passed from one fluorophore (the donor) to the other fluorophore (the acceptor). This simple physical phenomenon can be found in many natural biological systems. For example, the luminescence of the green light-emitting Northwest Pacific jellyfish Aequorea victoriainvolves two proteins: aequorin and green fluorescent protein (GFP). The chemiluminescent aequorin emits a blue light by itself [1], but can pass its energy to GFP in the light organs of the jellyfish [2,3]. It is the fluorescence emission of GFP that yields the characteristic green light of the jellyfish.
Generating Intrinsically Disordered Protein Conformational Ensembles from a Database of Ramachandran Space Pair Residue Probabilities Using a Markov Chain

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), involved in regulatory pathways and cell signaling, sample a range of conformations. Constructing structural ensembles of IDPs is a difficult task for both experiment and simulation. In this work, we produce potential IDP ensembles using an existing database of pair residue φ and ψ angle probabilities chosen from turn, coil, and bend parts of sequences from the Protein Data Bank. For all residue pair types, a k-means-based discretization is used to create a set of rotamers and their probabilities in this pair Ramachandran space. For a given sequence, a Markov-based probabilistic algorithm is used to create Ramachandran space database-Markov ensembles that are converted to Cartesian coordinates of the backbone atoms. From these Cartesian coordinates and φ and ψ dihedral angles of a sequence, various observables: the radius of gyration and shape parameters, the distance probability distribution that is related to the small-angle X-ray scattering intensity, atom–atom...
Machine Learning and Correlative Microscopy: How ‘Big Data’ Techniques Can Benefit Thin Film Solar Cell Characterization

Correlative microscopy techniques have improved tremendously in the last 5 years and enabled simultaneous high spatial resolution mapping of a variety of material parameters. As acquisition speeds and resolution increase giving us a greater density of data points and the functionality of the measurements add more dimensions to be analyzed; the handling, management and analysis of data sets becomes more and more complicated. Operando measurements as well as in-situ studies pose a new challenge. Finding correlations in the 3+ dimensional data sets that result from many of these measurements is not straight forward, and the possibility of missing correlations and trends is increasingly concerning. In the following, we evaluate the potential of two machine-learning methods, an unsupervised Gaussian-Mixture-Model and a supervised Naive Bayes model, to identify two groups of pixels in a micro-X-ray fluorescence map, given varied Innnt data sizes.
Mining the web with webcoin

Four major search engines, Google in particular, hold a unique position in enabling the use of the Internet, as they alone direct over 98% of Internet users to the content they seek, using proprietary indices. While the contribution of these companies is undeniable, their design is necessarily affected by their economic interests, which may or may not align with those of the users, raising concerns regarding their effect on the availability of information around the globe. While multiple academic and commercial projects aimed to distribute and democratize the Web search, they failed to gain much traction, mostly due to inferior results and lack of incentives for participation. In this paper, we show how complex networking-intensive tasks can be crowdsourced using Bitcoin's incentive model. We present Webcoin, a novel distributed digital-currency which utilizes networking resources rather then computational, and can only be mined through Web indexing. Webcoin provides both the incentives and the means to create Google-scale indices, freely available to competing services and the public. Webcoin's design overcomes numerous unique challenges, such as index verification, scalability, and nodes' ability to actively manipulate webpages. We deploy 200 fully-functioning Webcoin nodes and demonstrate their low bandwidth requirements.
Environmental Epigenetics In Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract The developing brain is highly sensitive to environmental exposures during the prenatal period. Evidence from neuroimaging, teratogen exposure case studies, and very early postnatal abnormalities demonstrate that the in utero exposure window is critical to risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Genetic factors also contribute to ASD risk and large discovery efforts have identified important variants and structural changes. Studies of genetics or exposures in isolation to date explain a relatively small proportion of ASD risk. Epigenetics, including DNA methylation, represent a powerful gene-environment interaction mechanism. Prenatal exposures to toxicants such as cigarette smoke and heavy metals, or to nutritional supplements are associated with changes in DNA methylation measured in infants at birth. In an autism enriched-risk birth cohort we examine the roles of DNA methylation in multiple tissues and with environmental exposures. In the Early Autism Risk Longitudinal Investigation (EARLI), families with a child with ASD were recruited early in a subsequent pregnancy. Biological and exposure measures were obtained throughout pregnancy, including genome-wide DNA methylation measures in cord blood and placental tissues. Extensive neurophenotyping was performed until age three when ASD diagnoses were made. We show that the genomic locations of cord blood DNA methylation sites associated with ASD diagnosis are enriched for ASD risk genes. We further demonstrate that pregnancy exposures, such as to folic acid, result in global DNA methylation changes at birth, and this relationship is sensitive to maternal genotype. DNA methylation measures at birth may be ASD risk biomarkers, integrating genetic susceptibility and reflecting early life exposures. Environmental epigenetic epidemiological findings may have implications for ASD etiology.