cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
ff1b, the SF1 ortholog, is important for pancreatic islet cell development in zebrafish

The adrenal cortex and pancreatic islets have endocrine functions, producing steroid-based hormones and insulin, respectively. Cells of the adrenal cortex originate in the mesoderm while the cells of pancreatic islets originate in the endoderm. The zebrafish is a powerful model for understanding organ development due to its ease of genetic and molecular manipulation, transparent embryos, and large number of progeny for statistically powerful experiments. Like humans, the zebrafish pancreas has both exocrine and endocrine functions; unlike humans, there is only one endocrine islet cell group, instead of multiple islets. Using an eGFP-transgenic line of zebrafish, we have observed that the steroidogenic factor 1 (SF1) ortholog, ff1b, which is critical for adrenal cortex development and function in the zebrafish, is also implicated in zebrafish pancreatic islet development. We show that interruption of ff1b expression using an ff1b-morpholino (MO) disrupts development of insulin expressing cells. We conclude that ff1b-MO alters pancreatic islet development in zebrafish, demonstrating the utility of the zebrafish as a model for studying pancreatic development. This work is consistent with previous studies in mouse and human that have suggested SF1 participates in the vascular and ductal development of the pancreas, and disruption of SF1 function leads to abnormal development of the pancreatic islets due to poor vascularization.
A Murine T-Cell Lymphoma Model Showing Protection Against Tumor Development and Treatment of Established Disease

Patients suffering from leukemic and erythrodermic cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) treated with photopheresis demonstrate a profound and prolonged clinical response that appears to be mediated immunologically. Photopheresis involves exposure of the peripheral blood lymphocytes from a patient to 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) photoactivated with ultraviolet A light (UVA), with subsequent reinfusion of the treated cells.
Contributions of spatial working memory to visuomotor learning

Previous studies of motor learning have described the importance of cognitive processes during the early stages of learning; however, the precise nature of these processes and their neural correlates remains unclear. The present study investigated whether spatial working memory (SWM) contributes to visuomotor adaptation depending on the stage of learning. We tested the hypothesis that SWM would contribute early in the adaptation process by measuring (i) the correlation between SWM tasks and the rate of adaptation, and (ii) the overlap between the neural substrates of a SWM mental rotation task and visuomotor adaptation. Participants completed a battery of neuropsychological tests, a visuomotor adaptation task, and an SWM task involving mental rotation, with the latter two tasks performed in a 3.0-T MRI scanner. Performance on a neuropsychological test of SWM (two-dimensional mental rotation) correlated with the rate of early, but not late, visuomotor adaptation. During the early, but not late, adaptation period, participants showed overlapping brain activation with the SWM mental rotation task, in right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the bilateral inferior parietal lobules. These findings suggest that the early, but not late, phase of visuomotor adaptation engages SWM processes.
All Creative People are Not Alike

The prime purpose of this article is to identify the differences we expect to find among highly gifted scientists and thus to guide us in supporting and managing their efforts. Differences that are important to this purpose can be grouped into those which describe: the way in which a person works the way in which he or she interacts with the environment the ways in which a manager can both improve the creative person's effectiveness and manage his or her performance.
On quantization of low-density parity-check coded channel measurements

We study the effects of quantization at the output of a binary-input additive white Gaussian noise (BIAWGN) channel on the performance of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes. The LDPC decoder works with unlimited precision. The quantizer design is based on either optimizing the equivalent channel capacity, cutoff-rate, mean-squared error (MSE) or the LDPC code convergence. All the approaches are compared in search of the most appropriate design criterion.
Tweaking the Culture of the Community College.

This chapter contends that scholarship should become a part of the mission of the community college. The authors describe actions for individual community colleges and state and federal actions that encourage and support the engagement of community college faculty members in scholarship.
Detection of Increased Choline Compounds with Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Subsequent to Malignant Transformation of Human Prostatic Epithelial Cells

In this study, a panel of normal human prostate cells (HPCs) and tumor cells derived from metastases were studied by 1 H NMR spectroscopy to determine whether the malignant transformation of HPCs results in the elevation of choline compounds. Although an elevated choline signal has been observed previously in clinical studies, the contribution of the different Cho compounds to this elevation, as well as their quantification, has not been established until now. Here we have shown that HPCs derived from metastases exhibit significantly higher phosphocholine as well as glycerophosphocholine levels compared with normal prostate epithelial and stromal cells. Thus the elevation of the choline peak observed clinically in prostate cancer is attributable to an alteration of phospholipid metabolism and not simply to increased cell density, doubling time, or other nonspecific effects. Androgen deprivation of the androgen receptor-positive cell lines resulted in a significant increase of choline compounds after chronic androgen deprivation of the LNCaP cell line and in a decrease of choline compounds after a more acute androgen deprivation of the LAPC-4 cell line. These data strongly support the use of proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging to detect the presence of prostate cancer for diagnosis, to detect response subsequent to androgen ablation therapy, and to detect recurrence.
Effect of hydrophilic group on water droplet contact angles on surfaces of acid modified SiLK and Parylene polymers

Abstract The effect of surface roughness and surface chemistry of SiLK and Parylene polymers on the water droplet contact angle was investigated using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). AFM images show that the surface morphologies of SiLK and Parylene treated with H 2 SO 4 and H 3 PO 4 solutions are qualitatively the same as those of the untreated SiLK and Parylene. However, the advancing ( θ a ) and receding ( θ r ) contact angles on SiLK dramatically decrease from θ a = 70 ± 3° and θ r = 63 ± 2° to θ a = 37 ± 2° and θ r = 34 ± 3°, respectively, after being treated with a H 2 SO 4 solution. In contrast, the advancing and receding contact angles on SiLK treated with H 3 PO 4 solution or Parylene treated with H 2 SO 4 or H 3 PO 4 solutions were changed within a few degrees. XPS results show that polar functional groups (C O and –OH) formed on the SiLK sample surface after being treated with H 2 SO 4 solution. However, H 3 PO 4 reacts less aggressively with the ethynyl (–C C–) bonding on the SiLK surface compared with H 2 SO 4 . Parylene lacks ethynyl chemistry and is therefore chemically more inert than SiLK. Thus, both H 2 SO 4 and H 3 PO 4 solutions have fewer reactions with Parylene resulting in slight changes in the advancing and receding contact angles.
Active Learning with Support Vector Machines for Tornado Prediction

In this paper, active learning with support vector machines (SVMs) is applied to the problem of tornado prediction. This method is used to predict which storm-scale circulations yield tornadoes based on the radar derived Mesocyclone Detection Algorithm (MDA) and near-storm environment (NSE) attributes. The main goal of active learning is to choose the instances or data points that are important or have influence to our model to be labeled and included in the training set. We compare this method to passive learning with SVMs where the next instances to be included to the training set are randomly selected. The preliminary results show that active learning can achieve high performance and significantly reduce the size of training set.
A systems approach for data compression and latency reduction in cortically controlled brain machine interfaces

This paper suggests a new approach for data compression during extracutaneous transmission of neural signals recorded by high-density microelectrode array in the cortex. The approach is based on exploiting the temporal and spatial characteristics of the neural recordings in order to strip the redundancy and infer the useful information early in the data stream. The proposed signal processing algorithms augment current filtering and amplification capability and may be a viable replacement to on chip spike detection and sorting currently employed to remedy the bandwidth limitations. Temporal processing is devised by exploiting the sparseness capabilities of the discrete wavelet transform, while spatial processing exploits the reduction in the number of physical channels through quasi-periodic eigendecomposition of the data covariance matrix. Our results demonstrate that substantial improvements are obtained in terms of lower transmission bandwidth, reduced latency and optimized processor utilization. We also demonstrate the improvements qualitatively in terms of superior denoising capabilities and higher fidelity of the obtained signals.
Meningitis secondary to Cryptococcus gattii, an emerging pathogen affecting immunocompetent hosts.

BACKGROUND: Meningitis continues to be one of the most important infections diagnosed and treated by emergency physicians. Despite the advent of anti-infective therapy, meningitis carries a mortality rate of 20%–40%. In this study, we describe the fi rst reported emergency medicine case of meningitis associated with Cryptococcus gattii to alert providers of this insidious, emerging global pathogen infecting immunocompetent individuals. METHODS: We provided a case report and accompanying review of the literature. A MEDLINE search for the term Cryptoccocus gattii was performed to obtain background information on Cryptococcus gattii . RESULTS: After two months of hospitalization, the patient was eventually discharged
EBFA, A Twenty Terawatt Electron Beam Accelerator

The design for an accelerator (EBFA) for studying electron beam driven, inertially confined fusion is described. The EBFA will generate two 3 MV, 20 nsec electron beams in back-to-back diodes with a total beam energy of 200 kJ and a peak power of 2 × 1013W
Recognizing household activities from human motion data using active learning and feature selection

The ability to accurately recognize human household activities is an important stepping stone toward creating home living assistance systems in the future. Classifying these activities can be difficult due to noisy sensor data, lack of labeled training samples for rare actions and large individual differences in activity execution. In this article, we present two techniques for improving the supervised classification of human activities from motion data: 1) an active learning framework to improve sample efficiency and 2) intelligent feature selection to reduce training time. We demonstrate our techniques using the CMU Multimodal Activity database.
Automating component adaptation for reuse

Reuse is a sound and practical design technique in many engineering disciplines. Although successful instances of software reuse are becoming more common, the cost of reuse tends to outweigh the potential benefits. The costs of software reuse include establishing and maintaining a library of reusable components, searching for applicable components to be reused, as well as adapting components toward a solution to a design problem. In this paper, we present a framework, called SPARTACAS, for automating specification-based component retrieval and adaptation. Components that partially satisfy the constraints of a design problem are adapted using adaptation architectures. Adaptation architectures modify the behavior of a software component by imposing interactions with other components. Based on the functionality specified in the problem and the partially-matched component, a sub-problem that specifies the missing functionality is synthesized. The sub-problem is used to query the library for components for adaptation. The framework was implemented and evaluated empirically, the results suggest that automated adaptation using architectures successfully promotes software reuse, and hierarchically organizes a solution to a design problem.
A Practical Guide to Tree Construction

We introduce the basic ideas associated with recursive partitioning in the context of a specific scientific question: Which pregnant women are at the greatest risk of preterm deliveries? Particular emphasis is placed on the interaction between scientific judgment by investigators and the production of informative intermediate-stage computer output that facilitates the generation of the most sensible recursive partitioning trees.
On the Origin of Neutrino Masses

We discuss the simplest mechanisms for generating neutrino masses at tree level and one loop level. We find a significant number of new possibilities where one can generate neutrino masses at the one-loop level by adding only two new types of representations. These models have renormalizable interactions that automatically conserve baryon number. Adding to the minimal standard model a scalar color octet with SU(3)⊗SU(2)⊗U(1) quantum numbers, (8,2,1/2), and a fermionic color octet in the fundamental or adjoint representation of SU(2), one can generate neutrino masses in agreement with experiment. Signals at the LHC and constraints from flavor violation are briefly discussed.
The Image of the Book: Cognition and the Printed Page

Even though digital gurus such as Nicholas Negroponte, who in 2010 said that physical books had five years of life left in them, assure us this is the case,1 perhaps this obsolescence will not fully happen because of certain qualities of the printed book that complement a reader’s psychological makeup. When I started high school in the mid-1970s in Sardinia, Italy, I convinced my mother to pay for a weekly purchase of a 32-page signature (a section of a book) that would in time form a multi-volume History of Art set. What I did not realize at the start of the process was that once the set was completed, I would
Obesity‐induced diabetes and lower urinary tract fibrosis promote urinary voiding dysfunction in a mouse model

BACKGROUND. Progressive aging- and inflammation-associated fibrosis effectively remodels the extracellular matrix (ECM) to increase prostate tissue stiffness and reduce urethral flexibility, resulting in urinary flow obstruction and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). In the current study, we sought to test whether senescence-accelerated mouse prone (SAMP)6 mice, which were reported to develop prostatic fibrosis, would also develop LUTS, and whether these symptoms would be exacerbated by diet-induced obesity and concurrent Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). METHODS. To accomplish this, SAMP6 and AKR/J background strain mice were fed regular mouse chow, low fat diet chow, or high fat diet chow for 8 months, then subjected to glucose tolerance tests, assessed for plasma insulin levels, evaluated for urinary voiding function, and assessed for lower urinary tract fibrosis. RESULTS. The results of these studies show that SAMP6 mice and AKR/J background strain mice develop diet-induced obesity and T2DM concurrent with urinary voiding dysfunction. Moreover, urinary voiding dysfunction was more severe in SAMP6 than AKR/J mice and was associated with pronounced prostatic and urethral tissue fibrosis. CONCLUSIONS. Taken together, these studies suggest that obesity, T2DM, lower urinary tract fibrosis, and urinary voiding dysfunction are inextricably and biologically linked. Prostate 73: 1123–1133, 2013. # 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Audiometric asymmetry and tinnitus laterality.

Objectives/Hypothesis: To identify an optimal audiometric asymmetry index for predicting tinnitus laterality. Study Design: Retrospective medical record review. Methods: Data from adult tinnitus patients (80 men and 44 women) were extracted for demographic, audiometric, tinnitus laterality, and related information. The main measures were sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results: Three audiometric asymmetry indices were constructed using one, two, or three frequency elements to compute the average interaural threshold difference (aITD). Tinnitus laterality predictive performance of a particular index was assessed by increasing the cutoff or minimum magnitude of the aITD from 10 to 35 dB in 5-dB steps to determine its ROC curve. Single frequency index performance was inferior to the other two (P .05). Two adjoining frequency elements with aITD ≥ 15 dB performed optimally for predicting tinnitus laterality (sensitivity = 0.59, specificity = 0.71, and PPV = 0.76). Absolute and relative magnitudes of hearing loss in the poorer ear were uncorrelated with tinnitus distress. Conclusions: An optimal audiometric asymmetry index to predict tinnitus laterality is one whereby 15 dB is the minimum aITD of two adjoining frequencies, inclusive of the maximal ITD. Tinnitus laterality dependency on magnitude of interaural asymmetry may inform design and interpretation of neuroimaging studies. Monaural acoustic tinnitus therapy may be an initial consideration for asymmetric hearing loss meeting the criterion of aITD ≥ 15 dB.
Temelastine, a new H1-receptor antagonist.

Temelastine is a selective, competitive histamine H1-receptor antagonist which does not penetrate the central nervous system. The effect of varying doses of temelastine was compared in a randomized, double-blind, controlled study by measuring the inhibition of cutaneous histamine wheals. In twelve subjects single oral doses of 50, 100 and 200 mg of temelastine produced dose-dependent reductions in wheal areas. The inhibition of wheal size was maximal by 2 hr after dosing and was present at 8 hr. At 2 hr the 50, 100, and 200 mg doses reduced the wheal size by 53, 64, and 78%, respectively. Chlorpheniramine, 4 mg, reduced wheal size by 32% at the same period. The ability of temelastine to antagonize the histamine-induced skin reaction over 20 hr was evaluated in a second randomized, double-blind study. Eight subjects participated. Temelastine, 100 mg, produced reductions of 64, 49, 56 and 51% in histamine wheal area at 8, 12, 16 and 20 hr, respectively. Plasma concentrations at these times were 4.04, 2.77, ...
How Publicity and Advertising Spending Affect Marketing and Company Performance: Print Media Publicity about Durable-Goods/Services Brands Has a Stronger Impact than Advertising

This research investigated the relative effects of marketing communications on a chain of “marketing-productivity” measures—metrics that evaluate the influence of marketing at the consumer, market, financial, and company levels. Results of the study, which combined five industry data sets, revealed that publicity—specifically, via newspaper and magazine articles—and advertising spending have unique and different relative effects on the so-called marketing-productivity chain. On average, publicity had a stronger relative importance compared with advertising for several indicators, although the effects for any individual company can vary. These findings have implications for the marketing-communications environment, which increasingly is saturated with publicity from a variety of sources.
Influence of Dual-Bt Protein Corn on Bollworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), Survivorship on Bollgard II Cotton

Similar Cry proteins are expressed in both Bt corn, Zea mays L., and cotton, Gossypium hirsutum (L.), commercial production systems. At least one generation of corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), completes development on field corn in the Mid-South before dispersing across the landscape into other crop hosts like cotton. A concern is that Bt corn hybrids may result in selection for H. zea populations with a higher probability of causing damage to Bt cotton. The objective of this study was to determine the susceptibility of H. zea offspring from moths that developed on non-Bt and VT Triple Pro (VT3 PRO) field corn to lyophilized Bollgard II cotton tissue expressing Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab. Offspring of individuals reared on VT3 PRO expressing Cry1A.105 and Cry2Ab had a significantly higher LC50 two out of the three years this study was conducted. Excess larvae were placed on artificial diet and allowed to pupate to determine if there were any inheritable fitness costs associated with parental development on VT3 PRO corn. Offspring resulting from males collected from VT3 PRO had significantly lower pupal weight and longer pupal duration compared with offspring of individuals collected from non-Bt corn. However, offspring from females collected from VT3 PRO were not different from non-Bt offspring. Paternal influence on offspring in insects is not commonly observed, but illustrates the side effects of development on a transgenic plant expressing less than a high dose, 25 times the concentration needed to kill susceptible larvae.
Look, blackness in Brazil!: Disrupting the grotesquerie of racial representation in Brazilian visual culture

This article experiments with collage to explore the visual representation of black people in Brazilian media, popular culture and politics, examining how these representations constitute statement...
NASA Study on Flight Software Complexity

*In 2007 the NASA Office of Chief Engineer commissioned a multi-center study to bring forth technical and managerial strategies to address risks from growth in size and complexity of flight software in NASA’s space missions. The motivation for the study grew from problems attributed to flight software in a variety of missions—in both pre-launch and post-launch activities—and concerns that such problems were growing with the expanding role of flight software. The study was tasked to examine the growth in flight software size and complexity, recommend ways to reduce and better manage complexity, and identify methods of testing complex logic. This report examines complexity throughout the engineering lifecycle—from requirements definition through design, development, verification, and operations—and presents sixteen findings and associated recommendations.
Equipping an insulation lab

At some time in an insulation engineer's career a lab must be initially equipped or enlarged. In this photo essay one company's experience will be shared. The first step, to define the mission, is the hardest. While development and quality control are suitable choices, one must take precedence. Second step is to study standard procedures from IEEE, NEMA and ASTM and to write a few procedures specifically for the lab. The lab used as an example specializes in development work on high voltage form wound coils. Described in order will be the layout of floor and wall space. The next item considered is the need for stationary furniture. This includes the work tables and lab benches. After the layout is complete then the primary equipment is bought. This list includes ovens, environmental chambers, and electrical test equipment. A list of useful small equipment is provided. This includes viscometers, balances, microscope and size measuring equipment. Finally for those labs with a luxury budget a few items are recommended. It is estimated that the basic lab can be built and equipped for $105,000.
Coupling Probability Calculation of Lightning Strike through Cuts on Airplane Cabin

The probability of lighting strike that couples to airplane cabin through four cuts was calculated,and each size of the cuts in the back of the airplane is 110×130 mm2.According to the distribution data of the nationwide average total lightning density by satellite observations from 1995 to 2005,it was calculated that the probability of lighting strike coupling to the four cuts is only about one of 180 trillions when the airplane flies in Zhanjiang region where the lightning density is the biggest in our country.It is not likely to take place in such a small probability.
3-D Numerical Model for Magnetic Induction Tomography Measurement System

The finite element analysis method was used to evaluate the forward problem of threedimensional magnetic induction tomography( MIT). The model of MIT measurement system was established by the ANSYS software. The Griffiths' s system was simulated to validate the reliability of the finite element method. The corresponding tests of simulation analysis were performed based on this model. The results were corresponded with the theoretical value and the Griffiths' s test results. The results showed that the method was suitable for solving the forward problem of three-dimensional MIT measurement system,which provided the basis to the further study of MIT inverse problem and more complex measurement system design.
Encouraging metadata curation in the Diversity Seek initiative.

The newly launched Diversity Seek initiative emphasizes the importance of state-of-the-art phenotypic and genotypic information. But to achieve its aims, it will also need to encourage the management of historical data, such as the metadata on the germplasm collections themselves.
Fear-Arousing Persuasive Messages

(1984). Fear-Arousing Persuasive Messages. Annals of the International Communication Association: Vol. 8, Communication Yearbook 8, pp. 330-375.
Capital Without Borders: Alternative Measures of Currency and Asset Substitution: The Case of Turkey

This paper attempts to develop theoretically consistent distinct measures of asset and currency substitution, taking into account the different degrees of liquidity provided by alternative monetary assets. The measures are then calculated for the case of Turkey and the relevance of the asset and currency substitution hypotheses as well as the hysteresis hypothesis are tested in a cointegrated VAR framework. Empirical results suggest a long run relation between the domestic-foreign inflation differential and the currency substitution ratio as well as a long run relation between the gross rate of return on foreign currency deposits and the asset substitution ratio. There is also evidence of a positive long run relation between the gross rate of return on T-Bills and the asset substitution ratio. Finally although there is no econometric evidence of irreversibility in asset substitution, the rate of depreciation of YTL is found to be a significant ratchet for currency substitution.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Cervical Spine Under-Represents Sagittal Plane Deformity in Degenerative Myelopathy Patients.

Background In treating patients with cervical myelopathy, surgical approach may be dictated by sagittal balance, highlighting the need for accurate pre-operative assessment. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is widely-recognized for its utility in the diagnosis and surgical planning of cervical myelopathy. Plain radiographs (X-rays) are a reliable tool to assess bony alignment. However, they may not always be included in standard pre-operative evaluation, especially in an era of restricted payer-environments. Failure to appropriately acknowledge a patients’ preoperative kyphotic deformity may cause the surgeon to choose a posterior-only approach, which would provide suboptimal sagittal plane correction and decompression of anterior pathology. Methods 101 patients with cervical myelopathy with MRI and plain radiographs were identified. Cervical lordosis and kyphosis were measured using the Cobb method on standing lateral x-ray and sagittal T2-weighted MRI. CI (Ishihara) was also measured on standing lateral x-ray, and sagittal T2-weighted MRI. Bland-Altman plots were generated and used to compare subtle differences in measurement techniques and modalities. Odom’s criteria were recorded. Results The average difference between plain radiograph and MRI measurements for curvature angle was 3.5± 7.2 degrees (p Conclusions MRI may under-represent the respective sagittal plane deformity in patients with degenerative cervical myelopathy. Clinical Relevance We would recommend the use of standing x-rays when considering surgical planning in all myelopathy patients. This manuscript was reviewed and approved by an institutional review board. Informed consent was not obtained because patient specific identifying information was not used. It was performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.
In Situ Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Mechanistic Studies of Carbon Dioxide Reactions with Liquid Amines in Mixed Base Systems: The Interplay of Lewis and Brønsted Basicities

A new approach to non-aqueous CO2–amine carbon capture has been elucidated on the basis of the utilization of a combination of a nucleophilic amine CO2 sorbent (Lewis base) with a second, non-nucleophilic Bronsted base, a “mixed base” system. The nucleophilic amines, typically alkanolamines, e.g., ethanolamine, react directly with CO2 in the gas stream, while the typically stronger nitrogenous Bronsted non-nucleophilic proton-acceptor base, e.g., a guanidine, then forms a more stabilized mixed carbamate reaction product. The proper choice of these bases allows for tailoring absorbent structure and properties and reaction conditions (T and P) to specific applications. Significant increases in absorption capacity are achieved because CO2 capture ratios greater than 1:1 on a molar basis (CO2 per amine group) can be obtained, resulting also in enhanced cyclic regeneration efficiency. In non-aqueous solutions, primary amines are carboxylated by reaction with one or two CO2 molecules, forming either mono- or di...
Life and cancer without telomerase: ALT and other strategies for making sure ends (don’t) meet

AbstractWhile most cancer cells rely on telomerase expression/re-activation for linear chromosome maintenance and sustained proliferation, a significant population of cancers (10–15%) employs telomerase-independent strategies, collectively dubbed Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT). Most ALT cells relax the usual role of telomeres as inhibitors of local homologous recombination while maintaining the ability of telomeres to prohibit local non-homologous end joining reactions. Here we review current concepts surrounding how ALT telomeres achieve this new balance via alterations in chromatin landscape, DNA damage repair processes and handling of telomeric transcription. We also discuss telomerase independent end maintenance strategies utilized by other organisms, including fruitflies and yeasts, to draw parallels and contrasts and highlight additional modes, beyond ALT, that may be available to telomerase-minus cancers. We conclude by commenting on promises and challenges in the development of effecti...
Multi-objective dynamic programming for constrained optimization of non-separable objective functions with application in energy storage

We propose a multi-objective optimization algorithm for optimal energy storage by residential customers using Li-Ion batteries. Our goal is to quantify the benefits of optimal energy storage to solar customers whose electricity bills consist of both Time of Use charges ($/kWh, with different rates for on-peak and off-peak hours) and demand charges ($/kW, proportional to the peak rate of consumption in a month). We first define our energy storage optimization problem as minimization of the monthly electricity bill subject to certain constraints on the energy level and the charging/discharging rate of the battery, while accounting for battery's degradation due to cycling and depth of discharge. We solve this problem by constructing a sequence of parameterized multi-objective dynamic programs whose sets of non-dominated solutions are guaranteed to contain an optimal solution to our energy storage problem. Unlike the standard formulation of our energy storage problem, each of the parameterized optimization problems satisfy the principle of optimality - hence can be solved using standard dynamic programming algorithms. Our numerical case studies on a wide range of load profiles and various pricing plans show that optimal energy storage using Tesla's Powerwall battery can reduce the monthly electricity bill by up to 52% relative to the case where no energy storage is used.
Understanding Epstein-Barr Virus Life Cycle with Proteomics: A Temporal Analysis of Ubiquitination During Virus Reactivation.

Abstract Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a human γ-herpesvirus associated with cancer, including Burkitt lymphoma, nasopharyngeal, and gastric carcinoma. EBV reactivation in latently infected B cells is essential for persistent infection whereby B cell receptor (BCR) activation is a physiologically relevant stimulus. Yet, a global view of BCR activation-regulated protein ubiquitination is lacking when EBV is actively replicating. We report here, for the first time, the long-term effects of IgG cross-linking-regulated protein ubiquitination and offer a basis for dissecting the cellular environment during the course of EBV lytic replication. Using the Akata-BX1 (EBV+) and Akata-4E3 (EBV−) Burkitt lymphoma cells, we monitored the dynamic changes in protein ubiquitination using quantitative proteomics. We observed temporal alterations in the level of ubiquitination at ∼150 sites in both EBV+ and EBV− B cells post-IgG cross-linking, compared with controls with no cross-linking. The majority of protein ubiquitinati...
A Hostile Sports Media?: Perceived Nationalism Bias in Online Sports Coverage

This study examines how perceptions of a story can be altered simply by manipulating the reported winner or loser of a sports contest as well as how individual perceptions of a sports story change ...
An Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on Los Angeles (California USA) Hospitals, Wildfires Highest Priority.

Introduction Although many studies have delineated the variety and magnitude of impacts that climate change is likely to have on health, very little is known about how well hospitals are poised to respond to these impacts. Hypothesis/Problem The hypothesis is that most modern hospitals in urban areas in the United States need to augment their current disaster planning to include climate-related impacts. Methods Using Los Angeles County (California USA) as a case study, historical data for emergency department (ED) visits and projections for extreme-heat events were used to determine how much climate change is likely to increase ED visits by mid-century for each hospital. In addition, historical data about the location of wildfires in Los Angeles County and projections for increased frequency of both wildfires and flooding related to sea-level rise were used to identify which area hospitals will have an increased risk of climate-related wildfires or flooding at mid-century. Results Only a small fraction of the total number of predicted ED visits at mid-century would likely to be due to climate change. By contrast, a significant portion of hospitals in Los Angeles County are in close proximity to very high fire hazard severity zones (VHFHSZs) and would be at greater risk to wildfire impacts as a result of climate change by mid-century. One hospital in Los Angeles County was anticipated to be at greater risk due to flooding by mid-century as a result of climate-related sea-level rise. Conclusion This analysis suggests that several Los Angeles County hospitals should focus their climate-change-related planning on building resiliency to wildfires. Adelaine SA , Sato M , Jin Y , Godwin H . An Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on Los Angeles (California USA) Hospitals, Wildfires Highest Priority. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(5):556–562.
Relationship between left ventricular dyssynchrony and scar burden in the genesis of ventricular tachyarrhythmia

Left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF) has poor predictive value for ventricular tachyarrhythmia (VT). Other parameters such as LV dyssynchrony (LVD), and LV scar burden have also been individually associated with VT, but the interplay of these factors in the genesis of VT has not been explored. This retrospective study sought to evaluate the relationship between LVD and imaging characteristics of the myocardial substrate in predicting VT. We identified 183 patients (150 men; mean age: 64 ± 14 years and mean LVEF: 23% ± 7%), who received an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) for primary prevention and who underwent a gated single-photon emission computed tomography (GSPECT) myocardial perfusion scan prior to ICD implantation. LVD was determined by phase analysis of the GSPECT images. Occurrence of VTs was established through routine ICD interrogations and review of electronic medical records. LVD was present in 136 (74%) patients. VT occurred in 48 (26%) patients. Ninety-eight percent of patient who experienced VT had LVD. Patients without LVD had a significantly better survival free of both sustained and non-sustained VT (HR, 95% CI 4.90, 2.12-11.20; P 6% of LV myocardium accounted for 83% of all VT events. LVD assessment by GSPECT is strongly associated with incident VT in patients with low LVEF. The combination of LVD and scar burden predicted the majority of VT events.
Association between Urine Ammonium and Urine TGF-β1 in CKD

Background and objectives Urinary ammonium excretion increases in response to nonvolatile acids to maintain normal systemic bicarbonate and pH. However, enhanced ammonia production promotes tubulointerstitial fibrosis in animal models. Therefore, a subset of individuals with CKD and normal bicarbonate may have acid-mediated kidney fibrosis that might be better linked with ammonium excretion than bicarbonate. We hypothesized that urine TGF-β1, as an indicator of kidney fibrosis, would be more tightly linked with urine ammonium excretion than serum bicarbonate and other acid-base indicators. Design, setting, participants, & measurements We measured serum bicarbonate and urinary ammonium, titratable acids, pH, and TGF-β1/creatinine in 144 persons with CKD. Multivariable-adjusted linear regression models determined the cross-sectional association between TGF-β1/creatinine and serum bicarbonate, urine ammonium excretion, urine titratable acids excretion, and urine pH. Results Mean eGFR was 42 ml/min per 1.73 m2, mean age was 65 years old, 78% were men, and 62% had diabetes. Mean urinary TGF-β1/creatinine was 102 (49) ng/g, mean ammonium excretion was 1.27 (0.72) mEq/h, mean titratable acids excretion was 1.14 (0.65) mEq/h, mean urine pH was 5.6 (0.5), and mean serum bicarbonate was 23 (3) mEq/L. After adjusting for eGFR, proteinuria, and other potential confounders, each SD increase of urine ammonium and urine pH was associated with a statistically significant 1.22-fold (95% confidence interval, 1.11 to 1.35) or 1.11-fold (95% confidence interval, 1.02 to 1.21) higher geometric mean urine TGF-β1/creatinine, respectively. Each SD increase of serum bicarbonate and urine titratable acids was associated with a nonsignificant 1.06-fold (95% confidence interval, 0.97 to 1.16) or 1.03-fold (95% confidence interval, 0.92 to 1.14) higher geometric mean urine TGF-β1/creatinine, respectively. Conclusions Urinary ammonium excretion but not serum bicarbonate is associated with higher urine TGF-β1/creatinine.
White’s Theorem

We give an exposition of White’s characterization of empty lattice tetrahedra. In particular, we describe the second author’s proof of White’s theorem that appeared in her doctoral thesis (Rogers in Doctoral dissertation 1993) [7].
Pebble Bed Nuclear Reactor Structure Study: A Comparison of the Experimental and Calculated Void Fraction Distribution

Abstract The structure of the pebbles in the pebble bed nuclear reactors plays an important role in their performance as it affects the neutron streaming and the wall channeling of the coolant flow. In this study, the structure of a one foot diameter pebble bed reactor that was measured experimentally by gamma ray computed tomography (CT) in our laboratory in terms of void cross-sectional distribution and radial profiles has been used to evaluate the predictions of the void fractions of the reported empirical and analytical correlations. It can be seen that there is an agreement between the experimental results and the exponential expression for the void fraction with the use of the smaller spherical pebbles diameter (D/dp = 24) as compared to those of larger diameters.
The CAMEL approach to stacked sensor smart cameras

Stacked image sensor systems combine an image sensor, memory, and processors using 3D technology. Stacking camera components that have traditionally been packaged separately provides several benefits: very high bandwidth out of the image sensor, allowing for higher frame rates; very low latency, providing opportunities for image processing and computer vision algorithms which can adapt at very high rates; and lower power consumption. This paper will review the characteristics of stacked image sensor systems and discuss novel algorithmic and systems concepts that are made possible by these stacked sensors.
IMMEDIATE AND SHORT TERM EFFECT OF DRY NEEDLING ON TRICEPS SURAE RANGE OF MOTION AND FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT: A RANDOMIZED TRIAL.

Background Dry needling (DN) has been established as an effective treatment for myofascial pain, however, there are no studies thus far investigating the benefit to movement and motor control. Purpose The primary purpose of this study was to compare differences in a series of outcomes between dry needling, dry needling and stretching, and stretching only in a sample of healthy males. A secondary purpose was to compare change over time. Design Blinded, randomized controlled trial. Methods Thirty healthy male subjects were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups: DN, stretching, or combination DN +stretching. Subjects in the DN group and DN+stretch group received DN to a palpated trigger point (TrP) in the triceps surae to elicit local twitch response. Subjects in the stretch group and DN+stretch group were instructed in a home stretching program for gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. All groups were tested for dorsiflexion range of motion and performed functional tasks (overhead deep squat, and Y-Balance test, Lower Quarter) prior to intervention, directly after intervention, and four days post intervention. Group comparisons were performed using a repeated measure Analysis of Variance and a partial eta squared calculation for effect size. For all measures a p-value of < 0.05 was used to determine significance. Cohen's criteria were used to categorize strength of effect size. Results There were no statistically significant differences among groups for range of motion nor functional measures, with the exception of the deep squat. Proportionally, the DN group improved significantly in deep squat performance (p<0.01) compared to the other groups. Time oriented improvements were seen for the YBT posterior-lateral reach (p = 0.02) only. Between groups effect sizes ranged from 0.02 (small) to 0.17 (large). Conclusions Including DN did not markedly influence range of motion nor functional assessment measures, excluding those seen during the overhead deep squat. Effect measures suggest the lack of significant findings may be an issue of statistical power. Level of Evidence 1b.
Hybrid systems in automotive control applications

Engineers and researchers in the automotive industry encounter numerous hybrid control problems on a daily basis, some stem from hardware design or the hybrid nature of physical processes, others result from the implementation of logic based controllers. In this paper, we present several standard automotive control problems from the hybrid system perspective, and discuss the industrial needs in terms of analytical methods and tools to address them. We hope to stimulate interest in hybrid systems by describing some concrete examples in automotive control applications, and communicate the lack of practical engineering tools particularly suitable for representing and designing hybrid systems.
Philosophical Logic in the Soviet Union 1946–1966

I have been asked to write a survey of logic in so far as it is part of Soviet philosophy, so I shall not discuss Soviet mathematical logic except to mention some basic points about it. Russian mathematical logicians have developed a constructivist school of logic that shares certain methods with modern intuitionism but rejects the somewhat mystical epistemological bases of the latter. Constructivism is interesting philosophically because it insists on using finitary methods and rejects the use of the law of the excluded middle and reductio ad absurdum arguments in proving the existence of mathematical entities. Such proofs must be entirely constructive. That is to say, they must use methods like mathematical induction that involve no gaps or points at which an arbitrary choice must be made. Hence there is a strong interest in problems of decidability, computability, algorithms, and recursive function theory. The Russians have made numerous contributions to these fields, many of which have been novel and brilliant.1 These contributions have long been admired and appreciated by leading Western mathematical logicians.
Remote Sensing of Surface Currents Associated with the Chesapeake Bay Outfall Plume Using a Shore-based HF Radar

Abstract : The long-term goal is to understand the dynamics and temporal and spatial variability of the dynamics of the outflow plume and its subsequent transition to a coastal jet using the combination of VHF/HF radar observations as well as additional moored, shipborne and remotely sensed data.
Design considerations for indirectly driven double shell capsules

Double shell capsules are predicted to ignite and burn at relatively low temperature (∼3 keV) via volume ignition and are a potential low-convergence path to substantial α-heating and possibly ignition at the National Ignition Facility. Double shells consist of a dense, high-Z pusher, which first shock heats and then performs work due to changes in pressure and volume (PdV work) on deuterium-tritium gas, bringing the entire fuel volume to high pressure thermonuclear conditions near implosion stagnation. The high-Z pusher is accelerated via a shock and subsequent compression of an intervening foam cushion by an ablatively driven low-Z outer shell. A broad capsule design parameter space exists due to the inherent flexibility of potential materials for the outer and inner shells and foam cushion. This is narrowed down by design physics choices and the ability to fabricate and assemble the separate pieces forming a double shell capsule. We describe the key physics for good double shell performance, the trade-offs in various design choices, and the challenges for capsule fabrication. Both 1D and 2D calculations from radiation-hydrodynamic simulations are presented.