cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An iPad Application Prototype to Enhance Memory of Older Adults

The objective of this project is to propose a prototype of an iPad application that will satisfy the demand of old adults, whose interest is a long lasting healthy brain. Developing an application for old adults is reasonable because of rapid increase of their population. This paper focuses on a development of an iPad application within mobile UD (Universal Design) principles for older adults that will lead to further research on user testing.
A simple apparatus for metabolic measurements on small animals.

SummaryA simple apparatus is described for measuring the metabolic rates of smaller laboratory anirnals. It requires no unusual materials and can be made in a few hours by anyone able to solder. Its accuracy and simplicity are derived from the fact that by keeping the size down to a minimum, the contained gas volume is very small and the necessity for rigorous temperature control and circulation of the air is thereby eliminated. The values reported in the literature, with more complicated apparatus and groups of animals measured over longer intervals of time, are reproducible in this simple apparatus using single animals and observation-periods of relatively few minutes.
Interplay of drought and tropical cyclone activity in SE U.S. gross primary productivity

Tropical cyclones (TCs), often associated with massive flooding and landslides in the Southeast U.S. (SE U.S.), provide a significant input of freshwater to the hydrologic system, and their timing and trajectory significantly impact drought severity and persistence. This manuscript investigates the sensitivity of gross primary productivity (GPP) in the SE U.S. to TC activity using the 1-D column implementation of the Duke Coupled Hydrology Model with Vegetation (DCHM-V) including coupled water and energy cycles and a biochemical representation of photosynthesis. Decadal-scale simulations of water, energy, and carbon fluxes were conducted at high temporal (30 min) and spatial (4 km) resolution over the period 2002–2012. At local scales, model results without calibration compare well against AmeriFlux tower data. At regional scales, differences between the DCHM-V estimates and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer GPP product reflect the spatial organization of soil hydraulic properties and soil moisture dynamics by physiographic region, highlighting the links between the water and carbon cycles. To isolate the contribution of TC precipitation to SE U.S. productivity, control forcing simulations are contrasted with simulations where periods of TC activity in the atmospheric forcing data were replaced with climatology. During wet years, TC activity impacts productivity in 40–50% of the SE U.S. domain and explains a regional GPP increase of 3–5 Mg C/m2 that is 9% of the warm season total. In dry years, 23–34% of the domain exhibits a smaller positive response that corresponds to 4–8% of the seasonal carbon uptake, depending on TC timing and trajectory.
An integrated inertial microfluidic vortex sorter for tunable sorting and purification of cells

Sorting of target cells from complex cellular samples into a high-purity product is challenging yet essential for downstream cell biology research and clinical diagnostics. Inertial microfluidics is an emerging technology attracting a lot of interest for passive and label-free sorting of cells with high throughput. Here, we introduce an inertial microfluidic device based on our vortex sorting platform for continuous size-based double sorting and purification of the larger target cells from the smaller background cells. Our device uses a microscale chamber with three outlets as a sorting unit, and integrates it into a specific topology to enable double sorting and purification functionalities. With properly designed fluidic resistance network and optimized flow conditions, we demonstrated continuous sorting of spiked human cancer stem-like cells from human blood with >90% efficiency and >1,500× enhanced purity, as well as removal of red blood cells with ~99.97% efficiency. We envision this integrated vorte...
Advancing the framework for considering the effects of climate change on worker safety and health

ABSTRACTIn 2009, a preliminary framework for how climate change could affect worker safety and health was described. That framework was based on a literature search from 1988–2008 that supported seven categories of climate-related occupational hazards: (1) increased ambient temperature; (2) air pollution; (3) ultraviolet radiation exposure; (4) extreme weather; (5) vector-borne diseases and expanded habitats; (6) industrial transitions and emerging industries; and (7) changes in the built environment. This article reviews the published literature from 2008–2014 in each of the seven categories. Additionally, three new topics related to occupational safety and health are considered: mental health effects, economic burden, and potential worker safety and health impacts associated with the nascent field of climate intervention (geoengineering).Beyond updating the literature, this article also identifies key priorities for action to better characterize and understand how occupational safety and health may be a...
Prenatal ultrasonic manifestation and clinical significance of fetal hemivertebra

Objective To explore the manifestation and clinical significance of prenatal ultrasound diagnosis of fetal hemivertebra. Methods In the study, 27 fetals with hemivertebras (proven by post-natal X-ray, CT or MR) were examined by prenatal ultrasound and MR in Women & Children's Hospital, Ningbo, Zhejiang. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional prenatal ultrasonic manifestations were retrospective analyzed and compared with the prenatal MR diagnoses, the post-natal X-ray, CT, MR examinations. All the fetuses were carried out karyotype examinations. The full-term births recieved surgical treatment and the Cobb angle correction rate was calculated. Results The 27 cases of fetal ultrasound showed the morphological changes of the spine, with the involved segment only half of the vertebra, in which 9 cases were single hemivertebra and 18 cases multiple, 8 cases were no malformation and 19 cases other malformations, and 19 cases were induction of labor, and 8 cases of term delivery. Compared with postpartum X-ray and other imaging tests, the prenatal ultrasound accuracy rate was 92.5%, and prenatal MR 96.3%. In the 27 cases, the chromosome cultures of 25 cases were successful, in which the normal karyotype was 68.0% (17/25), and abnormal karyotype 32.0% (8/25) with multiple hemivertebra accounting for 47.1% (8/17). In 8 cases with posterior approach of hemivertebra resection, 6 patients were less than and equal to 3 years old, whose average Cobb angle correction rate was 38.02%, and 2 more than 3 years old, whose average Cobb angle correction rate was 24.98%. Conclusion Fetal hemivertebra have typical sonographic manifestations. In diagnosis of fetal hemivertebra, the accuracy of prenatal ultrasound is close to that of MR, which has important clinical implications in diagnosis and overall assessment of fetal hemivertebra, and can also provide appropriate clinical genetic reference.
Communicating Social Support: Reexamining Matching Models of Social Support

In Chapter 1, we Saw that although there is great intuitive appeal to the idea that we can say and do things to help family and friends when they are experiencing stress, studies of enacted support have seldom found convincing or consistent evidence for a stress-buffering effect. One explanation for this apparent anomaly is that many early tests of the buffering effect overlooked the fit between the type of support offered and needs elicited by a particular stressor. The bereaved, the ill, the unemployed – all were treated as similarly stressed and the various types of support that might be given (e.g., information, tangible aid, comfort, and assurance of worth) were aggregated into single measures of the frequency of support. This way of measuring stress and support assumed that any form of support from anybody at any time could be equally effective for any problem. Many researchers now agree that the effectiveness of supportive behaviors depends on how adequately they are matched to the particular needs created by a stressor (e.g., Barrera & Ainlay, 1983; Eckenrode & Wethington, 1990; Heller et al., 1986; Hobfoll & Stokes, 1988; Pearlin, 1985; Schaefer, Coyne, & Lazarus, 1981; Shinn, Lehmann, & Wong, 1984; Shumaker & Brownell, 1984; Thoits, 1986; Vachon & Stylianos, 1988; Wilcox & Vernberg, 1985).
Perioperative care of the infant with congenital heart disease.

The introduction of new surgical approaches to repair complex congenital malformations of the heart and operative interventions at an earlier age have served to stress the importance of perioperative care in improving survival and lessening postoperative morbidity. The aims of this update are to review important principles of postsurgical care and to discuss current perioperative management strategies for the clinical problems associated with specific surgical procedures. We will also consider preoperative assessment, maintenance of satisfactory oxygen transport and vital organ system function, newer approaches for postoperative monitoring, and therapeutic interventions.
The Mongol Empire between Myth and Reality: Studies in Anthropological History

The Mongol Empire between Myth and Reality, by Denise Aigle, provides a welcome contribution to scholarship concerning cross-cultural interaction and the Mongol Empire. In this work, she presents a...
High efficiency coronary MR angiography with nonrigid cardiac motion correction.

Purpose To improve the coronary visualization quality of four-dimensional (4D) coronary MR angiography (MRA) through cardiac motion correction and iterative reconstruction. Methods A contrast-enhanced, spoiled gradient echo sequence with 3D radial trajectory and self-gating was used for 4D coronary MRA data acquisition at 3 Tesla. A whole-heart 16-phase cine series was reconstructed with respiratory motion correction. Nonrigid registration was performed between the identified quiescent phases and a reference. The motion information of all included phases was then used along with the corresponding k-space data to iteratively reconstruct the final image. Healthy volunteer studies (N = 13) were conducted to compare the proposed method with the conventional strategy, which accepts data from a single, contiguous window out of the original 16-phase data. Apparent signal-to-noise ratio (aSNR) and coronary sharpness were used as the image quality metrics. Results The proposed method significantly improved aSNR (11.89 ± 3.76 to 13.97 ± 5.21; P = 0.005) and scan efficiency (18.8% ± 6.0% to 40.9% ± 9.7%; P < 0.001), compared with the conventional strategy. Sharpness of left main (P = 0.002), proximal (P = 0.04), and middle (P = 0.02) right coronary artery, and proximal left anterior descending (P = 0.04) was also significantly improved. Conclusion The proposed cardiac motion-corrected reconstruction significantly improved the achievable quality of coronary visualization from 4D coronary MRA. Magn Reson Med 76:1345–1353, 2016. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
The Impact of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on the Language Production of Healthy Adults and Individuals With Alzheimer's Disease

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive form of brain stimulation that is a technique for modulating cognitive and linguistic functions. Researchers employ tDCS as a way of...
Diagnosis and treatment of pouchitis and pouch dysfunction

Restorative proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) has become the surgical treatment of choice for patients with medically refractory ulcerative colitis (UC) or UC with dysplasia and for the majority of patients with familial adenomatous polyposis. However, UC patients with IPAA are susceptible to a number of inflammatory and non-inflammatory sequelae, such as pouchitis, Crohn disease(CD) of the pouch, cuffitis, and irritable pouch syndrome, in addition to common surgery-associated complications, which adversely affect the surgical outcome and compromise patient's health-related quality of life. Pouchitis is the most frequent long-term complication of IPAA in patients with UC, with a cumulative prevalence of up to 50%. Pouchitis may be classified based on the etiopathogenesis into "idiopathic" and "secondary" types and the management is often different. Pouchoscopy is the most important tool for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis in patients with pouch dysfunction. Antibiotic therapy is the main stay of treatment for active pouchitis. Some patients may develop dependency on antibiotics, requiring long-term maintenance therapy. While management of antibiotic-dependent or antibiotic-refractory pouchitis has been challenging, secondary etiology for pouchitis should be evaluated and modified, if possible.
Lamb Wave Tomography Using Laser-Based Ultrasonics

Lamb waves are widely used for the nondestructive evaluation of plate structures. By using Lamb wave attenuation, velocity and mode conversion, information about the sizes and positions of existing defects can be obtained. Lamb waves have also been used for C-scan imaging of plates. In C-scan imaging, the measurement has to be performed at each point on the sample to characterize the material at that point. Recently, computed tomography techniques using Lamb waves and surface acoustic waves have been proposed and investigated [1–3]. The computed tomographic technique provides faster image reconstruction and the ability to image an area from outside the area. This is often desired when the defected area is not directly accessible.
Mountain pine beetle host selection behavior confirms high resistance in Great Basin bristlecone pine

Abstract Over the last two decades, mountain pine beetle ( Dendroctonus ponderosae ) populations reached epidemic levels across much of western North America, including high elevations where cool temperatures previously limited mountain pine beetle persistence. Many high-elevation pine species are susceptible hosts and experienced high levels of mortality in recent outbreaks, but co-occurring Great Basin bristlecone pines ( Pinus longaeva ) were not attacked. Using no-choice attack box experiments, we compared Great Basin bristlecone pine resistance to mountain pine beetle with that of limber pine ( P. flexilis ), a well-documented mountain pine beetle host. We confined sets of mountain pine beetles onto 36 pairs of living Great Basin bristlecone and limber pines and recorded beetle status after 48 h. To test the role of induced defenses in Great Basin bristlecone pine resistance, we then repeated the tests on 20 paired sections of Great Basin bristlecone and limber pines that had been recently cut, thereby removing their capacity for induced defensive reactions to an attack. In tests on cut trees, we also investigated the potential for population-level differences in mountain pine beetle host selection behavior by testing beetles from two separate geographic regions. Beetles placed on Great Basin bristlecone pine rarely initiated attacks relative to those placed on limber pine in both studies, regardless of the beetle population source. Our results indicate that Great Basin bristlecone pine has a high level of resistance to mountain pine beetle due at least in part to stimuli that repel pioneering attackers from initiating attacks, even when induced defenses are compromised.
Rearing protocol and life history traits for Poecilus chalcites (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in the laboratory

A rearing protocol for the predaceous ground beetle, Poecilus chalcites (Say), is described. The effects of dietary constituents, substrate moisture content, and substrate type on larval developmental rates and size were examined in the laboratory. The protocol was successful in obtaining nearly 80% pupation rates, although adult size was smaller than fieldcollected beetles, and laboratory-produced adults did not lay eggs. We determined experimentally that some of the components of the meridic diet used for colony production could be removed without compromising larval size or developmental rates, but that nutrition beyond cat food was necessary to increase larval size. We found a positive correlation of larval size with increased moisture content using vermiculite substrate at three moisture levels (33.3, 50.0 and 66.7% by weight). Untreated Fer-TiI (GreenGro Products, Jackson, WI) soil resulted in the highest pupation rate (70 to 80%) and had one of the shortest developmental periods of the five soils tested. Steaming or sifting Fer-Til soil compromised its ability to support larval development until pupation.
FIM: Performance Prediction for Parallel Computation in Iterative Data Processing Applications

Predicting performance of an application running on high performance computing (HPC) platforms in a cloud environment is increasingly becoming important because of its influence on development time and resource management. However, predicting the performance with respect to parallel processes is complex for iterative, multi-stage applications. This research proposes a performance approximation approach FiM to model the computing performance of iterative, multi-stage applications running on a master-compute framework. FiM consists of two key components that are coupled with each other: 1) Stochastic Markov Model to capture non-deterministic runtime that often depends on parallel resources, e.g., number of processes. 2) Machine Learning Model that extrapolates the parameters for calibrating our Markov model when we have changes in application parameters such as dataset. Our new modeling approach considers different design choices along multiple dimensions, namely (i) process level parallelism, (ii) distribution of cores on multi-core processors in cloud computing, (iii) application related parameters, and (iv) characteristics of datasets. The major contribution of our prediction approach is that FiM is able to provide an accurate prediction of parallel computation time for the datasets which have much larger size than that of the training datasets. Such calculation prediction provides data analysts a useful insight of optimal configuration of parallel resources (e.g., number of processes and number of cores) and also helps system designers to investigate the impact of changes in application parameters on system performance.
Functional responses of white spruce to snowshoe hare herbivory at the treeline

Herbivores can modify the rate of shrub and treeline advance. Both direct and indirect effects of herbivory may simultaneously interact to affect the growth rates of plants at this ecotone. We investigated the effect of snowshoe hare herbivory on the height of white spruce at two treeline locations in Alaska, USA. White spruce is expanding its distribution both upwards in elevation and northward in latitude because of climate warming, and snowshoe hares are already present in areas likely to be colonized by spruce. We hypothesized that herbivory would result in browsed individuals having reduced height, suggesting herbivory is a direct, negative effect on spruce treeline advance. We found an interactive effect between browsing history and spruce age. When young (under 30 years old), individuals that were browsed tended to be taller than unbrowsed individuals. However, older seedlings (over 30 years old) that had been browsed were shorter than unbrowsed individuals of the same age. Hares suppress faster growing individuals that are initially taller by preferentially browsing them as they emerge above the winter snowpack. This reduced height, in combination with increased mortality associated with browsing, is predicted to slow the advance of both latitudinal and altitudinal treeline expansions and alter the structure of treeline forests.
Is there a place for the combination of brentuximab vedotin and bendamustine in treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma?

This study by O’Connor and colleagues investigated the combination of brentuximab vedotin plus bendamustine in patients with relapsed/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). Both drugs have been studied as single agents in this setting; brentuximab vedotin was found to have an overall response rate (ORR) of 74% and complete response (CR) rate of 32% in a pivotal phase II trial (1). For single agent bendamustine an ORR of 53% and CR rate of 33% was reported (2). The clinical rationale of this study was to combine the two agents to increase their efficacy. However, no preclinical rationale was provided for this combination in this manuscript.
Oxidation and Oxides

This chapter discusses the formation of titanium (Ti) oxides, its influences on the biological process. The crystal structures of Ti oxides are also discussed. Ti is a highly reactive metal and reacts within microseconds to form an oxide layer when exposed to the atmosphere. Due to strong chemical affinity to oxygen, it easily produces a compact oxide film, ensuring high corrosion resistance of the metal. The TiO 2 oxide forms readily as it has one of the highest heats of reaction known. Adhesion and adhesive strength of Ti oxide to substrates are controlled by oxidation temperature and thickness of the oxide layer as well as the significant influence of nitrogen on oxidation in air. The excellent corrosion resistance of Ti materials is due to the formation of a dense, protective, and strongly adhered film—called a passive film. Such a surface situation is referred to as passivity or a passivation state. The “natural” oxide film on Ti ranges in thickness from 2 to 7 nm, depending on parameters such as—the composition of the metal and surrounding medium, the maximum temperature reached during the working of the metal, and the surface finish.
Behavioral disturbances and pharmacology of Borna disease.

Whether Borna disease virus (BDV) or related infectious agents cause human disease remains controversial (see Bode and Amsterdam, this volume). Nonetheless, the Borna disease (BD) system has unique features that indicate it will be of utility in elucidating the pathogenesis of human neuropsychiatric diseases. Animals infected with BDV have characteristic abnormalities in social and motor behaviors. The biologic basis for these behavioral disturbances has begun to emerge through studies in rats experimentally infected with BDV. This chapter will have three objectives: (1) describe the spectrum of behavioral disturbances in natural and experimental BD in several host species; (2) define the neuroanatomy, neuropharmacology and neurochemistry of BD in the rat system (3) draw parallels between BDV-induced behavioral syndromes and human diseases.
The Science Gateways Community Institute at Two Years

The Science Gateways Community Institute was one of the first two software institutes funded by the National Science Foundation's Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure in August, 2016. The structure of and services offered by the institute were developed as a result of seven years of planning grants that funded focus groups, a 5000-person survey and the development of a strategic plan. Now two years in, we provide an overview of the institute's service offerings and their usage, reflect on the experiences of some early clients, review our approaches to metrics and evaluation, and describe some lessons learned. We also describe the lightweight, adaptive management approach employed by the institute.SGCI is organized into five service areas: Incubator, Extended Developer Support, Scientific Software Collaborative, Community Engagement and Exchange, and Workforce Development. This paper will highlight early successes in all five areas, from client achievements to conference experiences to our impact on students. We highlight areas where the institute has evolved --- based on community feedback --- from what was originally envisioned. We describe our use of the Entrepreneurial Operating System as a lightweight management approach for a highly adaptive organization. Finally, we include early plans for the execution phase of the institute.
Effect of tumor necrosis factor α on rabbit corneal endothelial permeability

PURPOSE Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) is present in the iris and the lacrimal gland, and its concentration is increased during inflammation and after corneal wounding. Although TNF alpha has been shown to increase keratocyte and corneal epithelial interleukin production, no definitive effects of TNF alpha on corneal endothelial cells have been reported. TNF alpha has been shown to disrupt barrier function in vascular endothelial monolayers through f-actin depolymerization. A reduction in intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) concentration may play a role in this response. This study was designed to examine the role and signal transduction mechanisms of TNF alpha modulation of endothelial permeability in the cornea. In addition, it is the first examination of the effects of TNF alpha on the barrier function of a noncultured cell monolayer. METHODS Rabbit corneal endothelial superfusions were performed under an in vitro specular microscope. Corneas were processed for permeability measurements or f-actin staining. RESULTS TNF alpha superfused corneas had significantly higher permeabilities than controls. f-actin staining revealed that TNF alpha superfusion disrupted f-actin filaments when compared to controls. Corneas superfused with the f-actin stabilizing agent phallacidin had significantly lower permeabilities than TNF alpha superfused pairs. Permeabilities of corneas superfused with TNF alpha plus 8-bromo-cAMP (0.01 to 3 mM) were significantly lower than TNF alpha superfused pairs at all concentrations, although only significantly lower at the 0.1 mM cAMP concentration. CONCLUSIONS TNF alpha causes an increase in corneal endothelial permeability, and this increase is mediated by disruption of f-actin filaments; cAMP appears to be involved in this response.
Millennial Sikhs of the diaspora come of age

This special issue of Sikh Formations includes revised papers from a three-day international conference hosted May 8–10, 2015 by the Dr. Jasbir Singh Saini Endowed Chair in Sikh and Punjabi Studies...
Overexpression of LTA4H in colon cancer of humans and animal models.

2221 Leukotriene A4 hydrolase (LTA4H) is a bifunctional zinc enzyme with the activities of epoxide hydrolase and aminopeptidase. As an epoxide hydrolase, LTA4H catalyzes the hydrolysis of the epoxide LTA4 to the diol, leukotriene B4 (LTB4), which mainly functions as a chemoattractant and an activator of inflammatory cells. As an aminopeptidase, LTA4H processes peptides that may be related to inflammation and host defense. Previously we have demonstrated overexpression of LTA4H in esophageal adenocarcinoma of humans and a surgical rat model. Bestatin, an LTA4H inhibitor, suppressed esophageal adenocarcinogenesis in the rat model. In this study, we found the expression level of LTA4H was significantly increased by 1.8 folds in the epithelial cells of human colon cancer (67 cases) as compared with paired normal samples (P Apc Min mice (10 cases) and sodium disulfide-induced mucinous colon adenocarcinoma (10 cases), LTA4H was also significantly increased by 2.2 folds (P= ???) and 3.7 folds (P=???), as compared with adjacent normal epithelium, respectively. With Western blotting and enzyme immunoassay, we found overexpression of LTA4H and overproduction of LTB4 in the intestinal tumors of the Apc Min mice, as compared with non-tumorous intestinal tissues of Apc Min mice and normal intestinal tissues of wild-type mice. Our results suggest that LTA4H/LTB4 may play an important role in the development of color cancer. A chemoprevention study using an LTA4H inhibitor, bestatin, is still ongoing to investigate whether bestatin can inhibit intestinal tumorigenesis in the Apc Min mouse model. (Supported by NIH grants CA101235 and CA75683)
Carbodiimide Conjugation of Latent Transforming Growth Factor β1 to Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for Remote Activation

Conjugation of latent growth factors to superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) is potentially useful for magnetically triggered release of bioactive macromolecules. Thus, the goal of this work was to trigger the release of active Transforming Growth-Factor Beta (TGF-β) via magnetic hyperthermia by binding SPIONs to the latent form of TGF-β, since heat has been shown to induce release of TGF-β from the latent complex. Commercially available SPIONS with high specific absorption rates (SAR) were hydrolyzed in 70% ethanol to create surface carboxylic acid conjugation sites for carbodiimide chemistry. Fourier-Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) analysis verified the conversion of maleic anhydride to maleic acid. 1-Ethyl-2-(3-dimethyulaminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDC) and N-hydroxysulfosuccinimide (Sulfo-NHS) were used to bind to the open conjugation sites of the SPION in order to graft latent TGF-β onto the particles. The resulting conjugated particles were imaged with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and the complexed particles were characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to assess the thermally triggered release of active TGF-β from the latent complex, demonstrating that conjugation did not interfere with release. Results showed that latent TGF-β was successfully conjugated to the iron oxide nanoparticles, and magnetically triggered release of active TGF-β was achieved.
The hypertensive neonate

Hypertension in neonates is increasingly recognized because of improvements in neonatal intensive care that have led to improved survival of premature infants. Although normative data on neonatal blood pressure remain limited, several factors appear to be important in determining blood pressure levels in neonates, especially gestational age, birth weight and maternal factors. Incidence is around 1% in most studies and identification depends on careful blood pressure measurement. Common causes of neonatal hypertension include umbilical catheter associated thrombosis, renal parenchymal disease, and chronic lung disease, and can usually be identified with careful diagnostic evaluation. Given limited data on long-term outcomes and use of antihypertensive medications in these infants, clinical expertise may need to be relied upon to decide the best approach to treatment. This review will discuss these concepts and identify evidence gaps that should be addressed.
'I’ll Take the Federal Fine for $10,000': Gun Trusts, the National Firearms Act, and Navigating the Difficult Regulations of Title II Weapon Possession Effectively

Title II weapons are heavily controlled by the National Firearms Act and the Gun Control Act. They are difficult to possess and maintain as prescribed by Federal Statutes and BATFE regulations. A Gun Trust enables the grantor to purchase and possess Title II weapons more easily than outright ownership and prevents situations that can result in heavy fines, prison time, or both. This article is written to introduce and define Gun Trusts, example how they are constructed, and illustrate how Gun Trusts are used to safely and effectively own weapons regulated by the BATFE and Title II of the Gun Control Act of 1968.
Traumatic brain injury and forensic evaluations: Three case studies of U.S. asylum-seekers.

Abstract Traumatic brain injuries are common among refugees and asylum-seekers and can result from a range of etiologies, including intimate partner violence, gang violence, war-related trauma, and torture. Regardless of the cause, these injuries often result in a host of neuropsychiatric and other symptoms that may complicate individuals’ subsequent health outcomes. For asylum-seekers, documenting prior head trauma is essential to the legal process, since traumatic brain injuries and their subsequent effects on memory and cognition may affect the ability to provide thorough testimony. Using three case vignettes, we explore how to approach the forensic evaluation of asylum-seekers with a history of traumatic brain injury, illustrating the range of etiologies and sequelae of traumatic brain injury in this complex population.
Data-Driven Identification of Mistuning in Blisks

Turbomachinery blisks are nominally cyclic symmetric structures found in modern rocket and aircraft engines and power generation systems. During operation, blisks are subject to traveling-wave excitations due to a combination of rotation and airflow. Unavoidable deviations in material properties or geometry, known as mistuning, destroy the cyclic symmetry of blisks, often creating drastically greater localized vibration stresses compared to the nominally cyclic structure. Thus, it is of interest to understand and accurately identify mistuning to predict the as-manufactured blisk behavior in operating conditions. Previous approaches for mistuning identification often require modal response information using measurements at multiple points across an entire blisk or intrusive isolation of all blades individually. Both these approaches can be difficult experimentally. Here, a data-driven sector-level mistuning identification technique using a feed-forward neural network is presented. Using this approach, mistuning prediction for individual sectors is achieved using only a subset of forced responses from within a sector. The knowledge or use of system modal response information is not required, and individual blades do not need to be isolated. The proposed approach is validated using a finite element blisk model with small stiffness mistuning and is shown to be able to identify mistuning extremely accurately using responses containing up to 10% relative and 5% absolute measurement noise.
ROLE OF EDEMA IN PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF ISCHEMIC INJURY

Although in the past, the role of edema in ischemia has been rather minimized and considered mainly as a feature of necrotic infarct, it becomes increasingly recognized that disturbances of water homeostasis may from the very beginning constitute an integral part in pathophysiology of ischemic brain injury.
BRL1, a leucine-rich repeat receptor-like protein kinase, is functionally redundant with BRI1 in regulating Arabidopsis brassinosteroid signaling

BRI1-like receptor kinase (BRL1) was identified as an extragenic suppressor of a weak bri1 allele, bri1-5, in an activation-tagging genetic screen for novel brassinosteroid (BR) signal transduction regulators. BRL1 encodes a leucine-rich repeat receptor-like protein kinase (LRR-RLK). Sequence alignment revealed that BRL1 is closely related to BRI1, which is involved in BR perception. Overexpression of a BRL1 cDNA, driven by a constitutive CaMV 35S promoter, recapitulates the bri1-5 suppression phenotypes, and partially complements the phenotypes of a null bri1 allele, bri1-4. Analysis of a BR-specific feedback response gene, CPD, indicates that BRL1 functions in BR signaling. BRL1 expression pattern overlaps with, but is distinct from, that of BRI1. In addition, both the expression level and in vitro kinase autophosphorylation activity of BRL1 are significantly lower than those of BRI1. bri1-5 brl1-1 double mutant plants have enhanced developmental defects relative to bri1-5 mutant plants, revealing that BRL1 plays a partially redundant role with BRI1 in controlling Arabidopsis growth and development. These findings enhance our understanding of functional redundancy and add an additional layer of complexity to RLK-mediated BR signaling transduction in Arabidopsis.
A long-term evaluation of sensing modalities for activity recognition

We study activity recognition using 104 hours of annotated data collected from a person living in an instrumented home. The home contained over 900 sensor inputs, including wired reed switches, current and water flow inputs, object and person motion detectors, and RFID tags. Our aim was to compare different sensor modalities on data that approached "real world" conditions, where the subject and annotator were unaffiliated with the authors. We found that 10 infra-red motion detectors outperformed the other sensors on many of the activities studied, especially those that were typically performed in the same location. However, several activities, in particular "eating" and "reading" were difficult to detect, and we lacked data to study many fine-grained activities. We characterize a number of issues important for designing activity detection systems that may not have been as evident in prior work when data was collected under more controlled conditions.
Whole‐Mount Histochemical Detection of β‐Galactosidase Activity

This unit describes fixation and staining for b-galactosidase activity; it has been successfully used on vertebrate embryos and tissue explants. To help achieve consistent results with larger samples, an alternate protocol details preparation of thick sections. Support protocols are provided for clearing of tissues for better resolution and paraffin-embedding the whole embryo.
A cautionary note regarding the data integrity capacity of certain secure systems

The need to provide standard commercial-grade productivity applications as the general purpose user interface to high-assurance data processing environments is compelling, and has resulted in proposals for several different types of “trusted” systems. We characterize some of these systems as a class of architecture. We discuss the general integrity property that systems can only be trusted to manage modifiable data whose integrity is at or below that of their interface components. One effect of this property is that in terms of integrity these hybrid-security systems are only applicable to processing environments where the integrity of data is consistent with that of low-assurance software. Several examples are provided of hybrid-security systems subject to these limitations.
Driving Saturn's magnetospheric periodicities from the upper atmosphere/ionosphere

[1] Saturn's magnetospheric structure and the intensity of radio frequency emissions from its immediate surroundings are modulated at close to the planet's rotation period. Analogous rotation-modulated variations at Jupiter are readily interpreted as effects of the non-axisymmetric intrinsic magnetic field. At Saturn, to the contrary, the high level of axial symmetry in the intrinsic field suggests that the periodicity is not internally imposed. A number of mechanisms have been proposed to account for the observations. Each model explains a subset of the observations in a qualitative manner, but no quantitative models yet exist. Here, using a magnetohydrodynamic simulation, we investigate the magnetospheric perturbations that arise from a localized vortical flow structure in the ionosphere near 70° S-latitude that rotates at roughly the rate of planetary rotation. The model reproduces nearly quantitatively a host of observed magnetospheric periodicities associated with the period of the dominant (southern) radio frequency emissions during the Cassini epoch including rotating, quasi-uniform magnetic perturbations in the equatorial plane, rotating mass density perturbations, periodic plasmoid releases that we associate with observed bursts of energetic neutral atoms (ENAs), periodic oscillations of magnetospheric boundaries, current sheet flapping, and periodic modulation of the field-aligned currents linked to Saturn's kilometric radiation (SKR). The model is not unique but is representative of a class of models in which asymmetric flows in the (as yet unmeasured) upper atmosphere couple to the ionosphere and generate currents that flow into the magnetosphere. It can be extended to include the second periodicity that has been associated with SKR emissions in the northern hemisphere.
Transportation and the Geographical and Functional Integration of Global Production Networks

The growing interest in the relationships between transportation and globalization has spurred many inquires in the nature of production, consumption and distribution, especially within transport geography. It is widely acknowledged that improvements in transport and distribution have contributed to significant changes in the geographies of production (and vice versa). In a context of intense global competition and diminishing profit margins, logistics and the formation of global production networks offer additional opportunities to improve the efficiency of production through distribution strategies. The spatial and functional fragmentation of manufacturing and attempts at reducing inventories have led to smaller, more frequent and synchronized shipments, transforming the logistics industry, but placing intense pressures on transport systems to support these flows. The benefits derived from global production networks thus cannot be achieved without improvements in logistics and supply chain management. This article seeks to assess the conditions driving the global forms of production, distribution, and transport mainly by looking at the levels of geographical and functional integration of global production networks in view of the high level of fragmentation observed within them. However, there are still many uncertainties and delays in distribution, which can only be compensated by a better organization of freight distribution systems supporting global production networks.
Improving catalyst scope: use of multiple aniline substrates to optimize a palladium-catalyzed bisdiene cyclization.

Combinatorial screening of five catalyst precursors and nine ligands with three substituted aniline trapping reagents uncovered a catalyst system that promotes efficient palladium-catalyzed cyclization−trapping with a series of substituted anilines of varying steric and electronic character. The results of the parallel optimization study illustrate the interdependency of the key reaction variables.
Feature engineering for a gene regulation prediction task

This paper describes an approach that won honorable mention for the gene regulation prediction task of the 2002 KDD Cup competition [1]. Our methodology used extensive cross-validation to direct the search for an appropriate problem representation and the selection of an 'off-the-shelf' induction algorithm. A prominent trait of the dataset is the presence of three hierarchical attributes, for each of which we generated a novel predictive feature: the percentage of positives hierarchically aggregated at the node specified by the instance.
Why is Hu where? Shuttling of early-response-gene messenger RNA subsets

Post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression involves multiple checkpoints at which decisions are made concerning the fate of each messenger RNA species. Primary transcripts assemble into multicomponent ribonucleoprotein complexes during pre-mRNA processing in the spliceosome, are transported out of the nucleus, and are either stored, degraded, or translated in the cytoplasm (1). Determining the outcome of this process for each individual mRNA species is complicated by the heterogeneity of the messenger ribonucleoprotein (mRNP) population, which contains various-size transcripts and diverse combinations of attached proteins. Although investigators have not yet devised methods to separate and characterize distinct cellular mRNPs, nature appears to distinguish each mRNP by using inherent signals in the RNAs and/or in the proteins in the mRNP complexes and tracking each mRNA to an appropriate functional outcome. For example, mRNAs may contain recognition sequences that can serve as “zip codes” for tracking or localization (2) whereas in other cases, proteins attached to the mRNPs contain localization signals that allow their movement out of, or into, the nucleus (reviewed in ref. 3). In a previous issue of the Proceedings , Fan and Steitz (4) define a novel nuclear shuttling sequence in the Hu RNA-binding protein HuR, which may transport a specific subset of cellular mRNAs containing AU-rich elements (ARE) from the nucleus to the cytoplasm (Fig. 1). They term this signal the “HNS” for HuR nuclear-cytoplasmic shuttling sequence because it contains both nuclear export and nuclear localization elements. This is particularly interesting because the ARE-containing mRNAs encode a functionally important subset of early-response gene (ERG) or immediate-early gene products, including protooncoproteins and cytokines. Figure 1 Nuclear-cytoplasmic shuttling of the ELAV/Hu protein HuR, which binds to a distinct subset of cellular messenger RNAs. ERG mRNAs encoding protooncoproteins and cytokines are bound to and stabilized by HuR, which contains an amino acid segment (HNS) with …
Testing stationarity of functional time series

Economic and financial data often take the form of a collection of curves observed consecutively over time. Examples include, intraday price curves, yield and term structure curves, and intraday volatility curves. Such curves can be viewed as a time series of functions. A fundamental issue that must be addressed, before an attempt is made to statistically model such data, is whether these curves, perhaps suitably transformed, form a stationary functional time series. This paper formalizes the assumption of stationarity in the context of functional time series and proposes several procedures to test the null hypothesis of stationarity. The tests are nontrivial extensions of the broadly used tests in the KPSS family. The properties of the tests under several alternatives, including change-point and I(1), are studied, and new insights, present only in the functional setting are uncovered. The theory is illustrated by a small simulation study and an application to intraday price curves.
Non-intrusive profiles of atmospheric premixed hydrocarbon-air flames

Non-intrusive profiles have been obtained by laser Raman spectroscopy of temperature and major species concentrations in methane-air and propane-air flames. For a nearly stoichiometric methane-air flame, results are compared with the predictions of Smoot. A novel burner stabilizes the flame on a knife edge and produces a curved flame which allows a focused laser beam to intersect the flame front over a short distance. A spatial resolution of 40 μm is obtained in the reaction zone and less than 40 μm elsewhere. These measurements show a close fit with predicted temperatures and stable species in the reaction zone. The temperature is determined to within ±50K and the concentrations have a precision of about ±0.01 mole fraction.
Romance du livre et du film : l’adaptation de la Romance du livre et de l’épée par Ann Hui

Cet article illustre le rapport entre cinema et litterature dans l’oeuvre d’une des cineastes « nouvelle vague » de Hongkong. Acclamee internationalement, la realisatrice Ann Hui a adapte un roman populaire d’arts martiaux de Jin Yong, Romance du livre et de l’epee, en deux films : Romance du livre et de l’epee et Princesse Parfum (1987). Ne consistant pas simplement en la reproduction du roman originel, les deux films gagnent en signification par leur contraste par rapport a l’oeuvre de Jin Yong.
Evidence That the Corneocyte Has a Chemically Bound Lipid Envelope

The stratum corneum of mammalian epidermis contains a mixture of ceramides, free fatty acids, cholesterol, and cholesteryl sulfate, amounting to 14% of the dry weight of the tissue, that can be removed by exhaustive extraction with chloroform/methanol. Subsequent mild alkaline hydrolysis liberates additional lipid, consisting almost exclusively of C30-C34 omega-hydroxyacids in amide linkage with sphingosine, equal to 2% of the tissue mass. In the present study, transmission electron microscopy was used to demonstrate that the initial extraction removes the intercellular lamellae that constitute the epidermal water barrier but leaves the lucent band that has been termed the corneocyte plasma membrane. The subsequent alkaline hydrolysis and lipid extraction remove the lucent band, which must therefore contain the omega-hydroxyacylsphingosines. From the results of in situ derivatization of these lipids and the construction of molecular models, it is inferred that the bound lipids exist in ester linkage with protein on the surface of the corneocyte envelope. The tightly packed hydroxyacylsphingosine molecules thus form a lipid envelope for each corneocyte.