cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ontogeny of dispositional learning and the reward-schedule effects

In D. O. Hebb's last book, Essays on Mind (1980), there is the following passage: The argument [can be made] that the behavioral signs of mind and consciousness are evident only in the mammals, with the possible exception of some of the larger-brained birds; that relatively small-brained mammals like the rat or the hamster may have very small minds (like the penguins of Anatole France's Penguin Island, to whom the Lord gave souls but of a smaller size) – but still minds, whereas fish and reptiles, and most birds, seem to be reflexively programmed and give little evidence of that inner control to which the term mind refers. The best evidence of continuity, in the development from lower to higher mammals, is to be found not only in their intellectual attainments, their capacities for learning and solving problems, but also in their motivations and emotions. Man is evidently the most intelligent animal but also, it seems, the most emotional. (p. 47) This statement, in Hebb's colorful prose, is an example, in phylogenetic terms, of a kind of thinking that, in its ontogenetic counterpart as well as in levels of functioning in the adult mammal, is seen increasingly in our field (e.g., Amsel & Stanton, 1980; Bitterman, 1960, 1975; Livesey, 1986; Schneirla, 1959; Wickelgren, 1979). My own point (Amsel, 1972b) was (and is) that there is a level of classical conditioning that is purely dispositional, involves implicit memory, and is less dependent on mediation than what is usually called Pavlovian conditioning, and that both levels involve a lesser degree of mediation than instrumental learning.
Girls of Color in Sex Education Classrooms

The central focus of this chapter explores how girls in a coed classroom deal with the vulnerability that may arise in lessons in curricula that position them as at risk for coercion and rape. Needing to assert themselves as both strong and equals to the boys in the class, they introduce ideas of retaliation and aggression. In this chapter we also discuss how girls seemingly abandon support of other girls who cross a line with regard to respect, even in situations where other girls are being exploited. Needing to maintain that a self-respecting girl should always be in control, they strongly and rather heartlessly blame other girls for putting themselves in positions where they might be raped. In the classroom they also had moments of refusing to participate in discussions of pornography, when challenged to do so. We discuss these issues in terms of the “respect” ideology, the idea that adolescents are urged to be responsible for themselves in the United States, their relationship to feminism, the historic protection of men of color by women of color when men of color have been wrongly blamed or accused of rape, and the socialization for resilience.
Evaluating Risk from Acts of Terrorism with Belief and Fuzzy Sets

Risk consists of the likelihood of an event combined with the consequence of that event. There is uncertainty associated with an estimate of risk for an event that may happen in the future. For random, "dumb" events, such as an earthquake, this uncertainty is aleatory (stochastic) in nature and can be addressed with the probability measure of uncertainty. A terrorist act is not a random event; it is an intentional act by a thinking malevolent adversary. Much of the uncertainty in estimating the risk of a terrorist act is epistemic (state of knowledge); the adversary knows what acts will be attempted, but we as a defender have incomplete knowledge to know those acts with certainty. To capture the epistemic uncertainty in evaluating the risk from acts of terrorism, we have applied the belief/plausibility measure of uncertainty from the Dempster/Shafer Theory of Evidence. Also, to address how we as a defender evaluate the selection of scenarios by an adversary, we have applied approximate reasoning with fuzzy sets. We have developed software to perform these evaluations.
Engineering Model for Hybrid Fuel Regression Rate Amplification Using Helical Ports

An engineering model for effects of helical fuel ports on hybrid fuel regression rates is developed and compared with test results for five different helical fuel grain geometries. The tested grain...
Variation in chemical, colloidal and electrochemical properties of carbon nanotubes with the degree of carboxylation

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were carboxylated via microwave irradiation where the treatment time was varied to alter the degree of functionalization, and as many as one in 15 carbons in the CNT could be oxidized. Chemical, physical, electrochemical, and colloidal behavior of the carboxylated CNTs was studied. All properties changed with the degree of functionalization to a point beyond which they appeared to remain constant. The surface area increased from 173.9 to 270.9 m2/g while the critical coagulation concentration (CCC) values increased from 142.14 to 168.69 mM in the presence of NaCl, and the corresponding increase was from 0.97 to 5.32 mM in the presence of MgCl2. As seen from cyclic voltammetry curves, the functionalized CNTs showed mainly non-Faradic interactions with Na2SO4, but showed Faradic behaviors in alkaline KOH.
Robust supply function bidding in electricity markets with renewables

We study a two-stage electricity market with renewables. Each energy producer in the market has a portfolio of both renewable and conventional energy generators. In the day-ahead (DA) market, each producer submits a parameterized supply function (i.e., the amounts of energy to produce at various prices) to the independent system operator (ISO), who determines the DA market clearing price and the amounts of DA committed energy by each producer. In the real-time market, each producer tries to fulfill its DA committed energy with (zero-cost) renewables. If the renewable energy is insufficient, the producer uses conventional energy generation and incurs a cost; otherwise, it sells the surplus of renewable energy to the ISO at a predetermined feed-in tariff. We study the robust supply function equilibrium (SFE) in this market, where each producer has incomplete information about the other producers' marginal costs and the distribution of its random renewable energy, and performs worst-case optimization against these unknown variables. We fully characterize the unique robust SFE, and study the impact of the feed-in tariff on the equilibrium outcome.
Foundations of a logical theory of modeling and control of discrete event systems

Abstract In this paper we present the foundations of a logical theory of modeling and control of discrete event systems. Specifically, we address the problem of process specification using logic and study properties of processes which are so described. Since the controller of a process is itself a process whose specification may be given in a logical manner, the problem of control and interaction between controllers and processes is introduced in a simple and natural way. Various logical operators describing interaction between processes are defined and studied. This leads to the preliminary version of a logical calculus of processes.
How I use catheter-directed interventional therapy to treat patients with venous thromboembolism

Patients who present with severe manifestations of acute venous thromboembolism (VTE) are at higher risk for premature death and long-term disability. In recent years, catheter-based interventional procedures have shown strong potential to improve clinical outcomes in selected VTE patients. However, physicians continue to be routinely faced with challenging decisions that pertain to the utilization of these risky and costly treatment strategies, and there is a relative paucity of published clinical trials with sufficient rigor and directness to inform clinical practice. In this article, using 3 distinct clinical scenario presentations, we draw from the available published literature describing the natural history, pathophysiology, treatments, and outcomes of VTE to illustrate the key factors that should influence clinical decision making for patients with severe manifestations of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. The results of a recently completed pivotal multicenter randomized trial are also discussed.
Spectroscopic Study of a Photoactive Antibacterial Agent: 2,3-Distyrylindole

Optical properties and fluorescence decay dynamics of a photoactive indole based antibacterial chromophore system, 2,3-distyrylindole (23DSI), were investigated using various spectroscopic characterization techniques. Experimental studies were done by utilizing steady-state UV–vis spectroscopy, steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy, time-resolved fluorescence upconversion spectroscopy, and time-correlated single-photon counting spectroscopy. Our studies show that the 23DSI molecule has a multiphoton absorption property as indicated by two- and three-photon absorption in the both the solution and the solid phases. The ultrafast time-resolved fluorescence upconversion studies show that this molecule undergoes a fast decay process with an average time constant of 34 ps, a single exponential decay, and an average fluorescence lifetime of 1 ns. The compound 23DSI did not show any signs of singlet oxygen production. The density functional theory (DFT) calculations showed that the 23DSI molecule has conjugated ...
Centella asiatica increases hippocampal synaptic density and improves memory and executive function in aged mice.

INTRODUCTION Centella asiatica is a plant used for centuries to enhance memory. We have previously shown that a water extract of Centella asiatica (CAW) attenuates age-related spatial memory deficits in mice and improves neuronal health. Yet the effect of CAW on other cognitive domains remains unexplored as does its mechanism of improving age-related cognitive impairment. This study investigates the effects of CAW on a variety of cognitive tasks as well as on synaptic density and mitochondrial and antioxidant pathways. METHODS Twenty-month-old CB6F1 mice were treated with CAW (2 mg/ml) in their drinking water for 2 weeks prior to behavioral testing. Learning, memory, and executive function were assessed using the novel object recognition task (NORT), object location memory task (OLM), and odor discrimination reversal learning (ODRL) test. Tissue was collected for Golgi analysis of spine density as well as assessment of mitochondrial, antioxidant, and synaptic proteins. RESULTS CAW improved performance in all behavioral tests suggesting effects on hippocampal and cortical dependent memory as well as on prefrontal cortex mediated executive function. There was also an increase in synaptic density in the treated animals, which was accompanied by increased expression of the antioxidant response gene NRF2 as well as the mitochondrial marker porin. CONCLUSIONS These data show that CAW can increase synaptic density as well as antioxidant and mitochondrial proteins and improve multiple facets of age-related cognitive impairment. Because mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress also accompany cognitive impairment in many pathological conditions this suggests a broad therapeutic utility of CAW.
Recent Advances in the Biomechanics of the Head and Neck

This paper describes the development, features and validation of a brain injury model as well as those of a neck injury model. The two models can be linked together to simulate head and neck motion during a vehicular crash. Details of each model are provided along with a short history of the development. The models were validated against available experimental data conducted on cadavers. For the brain injury model, predictions of relative displacement of the brain with respect to the skull are compared with experimentally derived data using a bi-axial high-speed x-ray machine. The tests were carried out on cadaveric heads and were blunt impacts to the occipital region of the head. The neck model was validated against data from two sets of experiments. It was able to simulate with reasonably accurate kinematics crown impacts to the head and rearend collisions. The paper discusses the availability of the models to the biomechanical community, their strengths and deficiencies as well as future directions for improved models. It is concluded that sophisticated finite element models are useful tools for the study of the biomechanics of injury, if the models have been properly validated. There is, however, a continuing need to obtain more data on the material properties of the tissues that make up the head and neck and to go to a finer mesh to extract a more detailed response from the model. More experimental data are being obtained from this laboratory so that the models can be validated against a larger volume of experimental data.
Evolutionary Constraint on DNA Shape in the Human Genome

In the age of genomics, DNA is depicted as a string of letters. While this is a useful device for representing the information in a genome, the molecular nature of DNA is obscured. Proteins cannot actually “read” DNA letters – they discriminate between DNA binding sites via molecular recognition, which is sensitive to DNA structure. Since shape is essential to DNA’s biological function, we hypothesized that natural selection can act to preserve DNA shape without maintaining the exact sequence of nucleotides. To test this hypothesis, we developed a DNA structure database, ORChID, and used it to map structural variation throughout the human genome. We then devised a computational algorithm, Chai, to detect evolutionary constraint on DNA shape. We found that Chai regions correlate better with experimental functional elements than do genomic regions that are sequence-constrained. Our results support the hypothesis that DNA shape can be a substrate for natural selection.
After Identity: Rethinking sex and gender identities

A survey of behavioral ecology fails to show that male and female differences provide the sole or even most important motor for evolutionary development, while surveys of brain studies and endocrinology fail to show that brains and hormones are fundamentally sexed. Still, these failures need not lead us to question whether we are men and women at all, or whether there are any differences between men and women. Instead, they raise the question as to why we are so interested in precisely these as opposed to the myriad of other differences and other motors of change. In this chapter, I want to suggest that our identities and identifications as men and women have the same status as identities and identifications as Red Sox and Yankees fans or Irish Americans and Polish Americans. Identities and identifications as men and women are no less partial than the other identities and identifications we possess. Nor are differences between men and women, however different cultures define them, any less situationally restricted than differences between left- and right-handers. In order to make these claims, I shall argue that, like these other identities and identifications, our identities and identifications as men and women are understandings of who and what we are. As such, they are historically “effected” and intelligible parts of only particular interpretive wholes. As I did in the case of racial identity, I shall use accounts of the socially constructed status of sex and gender to set the stage for my claim.
What’s in the Water on Capitol Hill?

Congressman Charlie Rangel of Harlem in New York City was a powerful member of his Party and in his state, playing a large role in convincing Hillary Clinton to run for the US Senate from New York. He also got involved in some bad behavior that earned him a censure by the House of Representatives, but his behavior did not meet our criteria for scandal and was more likely ordinary greedy politician behavior. Congressmen Eric Massa, Chris Lee, and Anthony Wiener, on the other hand, did engage in behavior, of a sexual nature, that did live up to the definition of scandal. It was most notably, the scandals of Massa and Weiner that contributed to our pop culture with the image of a “Tickle Me Massa” doll and the inevitable jokes playing off Weiner’s last name. Senator Larry Craig’s behavior following his arrest for solicitation of homosexual sex meets the criteria for scandal and gave us the “wide stance” defense.
A randomized, open‐label pharmacokinetic trial of tacrolimus extended‐release dosing in obese de novo kidney transplant recipients

Purpose Tacrolimus extended-release (TAC-ER; Astagraf XL® ) is utilized in many immunosuppressive regimens post-renal transplantation. Current dosing recommendation for the TAC-ER in renal transplant is 0.15-0.2 mg/kg/day administered once daily. The purpose of this study was to determine the best method of dosing TAC-ER in obese renal transplant recipients. Methods De novo obese kidney transplant recipients were randomized to receive TAC-ER 0.15 mg/kg/day based on either adjusted body weight (aBW) or ideal body weight (IBW). Post-transplant patients underwent three pharmacokinetic assessments over 14 days. The primary endpoint was the difference in TAC-ER exposure (AUC0-24) in obese patients dosed using aBW compared with IBW. Results A total of 20 obese renal transplant recipients were randomized to participate in the study (10 aBW and 10 IBW). Results of the primary outcome (AUC0-24) on Study Day 1, 7, and 14 were not statistically different between the two groups. There was no difference in the number of days to therapeutic trough concentration between the two dosing weights (aBW = 5.1, IBW = 4.9, days; P = 0.90). Conclusion In a population of obese renal transplant recipients, comparable trough concentrations and overall exposure in both groups indicate that IBW may be preferred, as less initial drug was needed to attain adequate exposure.
Environmental Toxins and Men's Health

Abstract As modern society continues to develop, humans are faced with many new and potentially harmful environmental exposures. In regard to men's health specifically, these environmental exposures may contribute to decreases in semen quality reported worldwide over the past several decades. Additionally, environmental toxicants with endocrine-disrupting activity may further impact male development, hormone levels, and risk for malignancy. This chapter reviews several environmental factors that have been implicated in negatively affecting male fertility and discusses the role of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on men's health.
Macrofluidic recirculating model of skeletal metastasis

While microfluidic systems model aspects of metastasis, they are limited to artificially created tissues of limited complexity. We set out to develop an in vitro model of tumor cell migration from a primary tumor to a distant site that allows use of tissue. Accordingly, we created a macrofluidic model using culture plate wells connected with type I collagen-coated large bore tubing and has recirculating media. Green fluorescent protein-positive prostate carcinoma cells in a hydrogel or excised tumor xenografts from mice were placed into primary tumor sites and either human bone stromal cells (HS-5) in a hydrogel or human-derived bone chips were seeded into metastatic sites. Cells from the primary sites migrated to and grew in metastatic sites. Bone enhanced growth at metastatic sites and established a CXCL12 gradient that was higher in metastatic versus primary sites. AMD3100-mediated inhibition of CXCL12 function reduced the number of cells targeting the bone at the metastatic sites. In summary, we have developed a macrofluidic metastasis model that allows incorporation of tumor and metastatic microenvironment tissues and models chemotaxis. This system allows for incorporation of tumor heterogeneity and inclusion of an intact microenvironment. These features will facilitate identification of mechanisms and therapeutics for bone metastasis.
Localized metabolomic gradients in patient-derived xenograft models of glioblastoma

Glioblastoma (GBM) is increasingly recognized as a disease involving dysfunctional cellular metabolism. GBMs are known to be complex heterogeneous systems containing multiple distinct cell populations and are supported by an aberrant network of blood vessels. A better understanding of GBM metabolism, its variation with respect to the tumor microenvironment, and resulting regional changes in chemical composition is required. This may shed light on the observed heterogeneous drug distribution, which cannot be fully described by limited or uneven disruption of the blood-brain barrier. In this work, we used mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) to map metabolites and lipids in patient-derived xenograft models of GBM. A data analysis workflow revealed that distinctive spectral signatures were detected from different regions of the intracranial tumor model. A series of long-chain acylcarnitines were identified and detected with increased intensity at the tumor edge. A 3D MSI dataset demonstrated that these molecules were observed throughout the entire tumor/normal interface and were not confined to a single plane. mRNA sequencing demonstrated that hallmark genes related to fatty acid metabolism were highly expressed in samples with higher acylcarnitine content. These data suggest that cells in the core and the edge of the tumor undergo different fatty acid metabolism, resulting in different chemical environments within the tumor. This may influence drug distribution through changes in tissue drug affinity or transport and constitute an important consideration for therapeutic strategies in the treatment of GBM. SIGNIFICANCE: GBM tumors exhibit a metabolic gradient that should be taken into consideration when designing therapeutic strategies for treatment.See related commentary by Tan and Weljie, p. 1231.
Thermal decoherence and laser cooling of Kerr-microresonator solitons (Conference Presentation)

The fundamental thermally-driven fluctuations of matter, present in all finite temperature systems and described by the fluctuation-dissipation theorem, are responsible for the precision-limiting noise processes of many measurement devices, including Johnson noise in resistors and thermo-mechanical noise in Fabry-Perot cavities. The LIGO interferometer’s noise floor was famously limited by thermo-elastic fluctuations on its mirror coatings. I will present measurements and analysis of thermo-refractive noise in photonic microresonators, examine how this noise sets a fundamental limit for the coherence of Kerr-microresonator optical frequency combs, and present a novel technique for beating this limit using laser cooling.
Long-term cognitive decline and mortality after carotid endarterectomy.

Abstract Objectives To date no studies have evaluated long term cognitive decline after carotid endarterectomy (CEA). We evaluated whether participants who had CEA were at increased risk of cognitive decline over participants who didn’t undergo CEA. Patients and methods The patients in the study were participants in the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), a study of 5201 men and women over the age of 65 who were recruited from four communities (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Sacramento, California; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Hagerstown, Maryland) in 1988–89. The outcomes measured were 1) Decline in 3MSE and digit symbol substitution test (DSST) scores after CEA compared to before CEA. 2) All-cause mortality in CHS cohort among participants who did and did not have CEA. Results CEA patients had significantly greater annual decrease in the DSST scores −2.43 (SD 4.21) compared to those who did not have a CEA −1.1 (SD 2.57) (p Conclusions CEA patients are at increased risk of lower scores on 3MSE and DSST testing in the long term. Mortality in the CHS cohort was higher in participants who underwent CEA. Further, lower 3MSE and DSST scores increased the risk of mortality.
What is Global Competence, and What Might it Look Like in Chinese Schools?:

What exactly does it mean to be globally competent in a Chinese context in the early 21st century? In this article, we propose a culturally informed re-interpretation of ‘global competence’ rooted ...
Novel Agents in Neuropathic Pain, the Role of Capsaicin: Pharmacology, Efficacy, Side Effects, Different Preparations

Capsaicin is a natural substance used to treat neuropathic pain because of its ability to be used in a more direct form on patients and efficiently treat their pain without the amount of side effects seen in the use of oral medications. Currently, the treatments for neuropathic pain are, control of the underlying disease process, then focused on symptomatic relief with pharmacotherapy, topical analgesics, or other interventions. When all pharmacological agents fail to relieve the pain, interventional strategies can be considered, such as neural blocks, spinal cord stimulation, and intrathecal administered medications. The response to current treatment of neuropathic pain is only modest relief of symptoms. Multiple treatment options may be attempted, while ultimately leaving patients with refractory neuropathic pain. For these reasons, a better treatment approach to neuropathic pain is greatly needed. Overall, capsaicin has great potential for becoming a first- or second-line treatment for neuropathic pain, and for becoming a therapeutic option for many other neuropathic pain-related disease states.
Clarifying Constructs in the Muddled Field of Burnout Research.

* Abbreviation: MBI — : Maslach Burnout Inventory Burnout has easily become one of the most overused and poorly understood terms in our daily lexicon. Burnout research began in human services professions in the 1970s,1 yet we have made little progress toward understanding its causes or designing meaningful interventions. Quantitative studies confirm, contradict, or add new predictors and antecedents to the list of burnout drivers regularly, but proven interventions have not been able to control an upward trend in physician burnout prevalence.2 Instead, organizations are faced with an impossibly long list of burnout causes that range from age and sex to lack of resilience to electronic health records.2 Burnout sequelae include physical and emotional symptoms that reduce physician productivity and increase absenteeism, turnover that increases the workload for remaining staff and costs organizations hundreds of thousands of dollars, as well as more serious mental health disorders like depression and suicidal ideation.3 These outcomes affect organizations at a variety of levels, thus necessitating the role of the organization in preventing and mitigating burnout. However, I would argue a lack of true understanding of burnout is at the center of this issue. In its early stages, burnout research was focused on a holistic picture of job and personal factors.4 As methodologies and models advanced, research became more quantitative in nature, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) became the gold standard for studying burnout.1 The MBI was designed as a research tool that used 3 dimensions, namely, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment, as … Address correspondence to Tara F. McKinley, PhD, Pediatric Medical Education, University of Louisville, 571 South Floyd St, Suite 412, Louisville, KY 40202. E-mail: tara.mckinley{at}louisville.edu
Seasonal variation in hydrologic performance of ecoroofs of multiple depths– a case study in Portland, Oregon, USA

We examined the performance of ecoroofs with different substrate depths (75 mm, 125 mm) as well as a conventional roof using rainfall and runoff data collected between 2014 and 2017 in Portland, Or...
The Potential of Pro-insecticides for Resistance Management.

Pro-insecticides have been a significant part of the insecticide market for decades. Bioactivation of such compounds is generally an enzyme-controlled process, in which the target insect metabolizes the pro-form into an active compound. This approach has several potential advantages, including improved bio-kinetic properties and safety profiles of the pro-insecticide relative to the active form. A less common advantage of pro-insecticides is increased activity on metabolically resistant strains. Specific cases in which a pro-insecticide demonstrates negative cross-resistance (NCR) on a metabolically resistant strain due to increased bioactivation of the pro-insecticide have been noted sporadically over the past 50+ years but have not been reviewed before. The purpose of this mini-review is to catalog the cases in which a pro-insecticide demonstrated improved activity on an insect strain resistant to a second insecticide via a metabolic mechanism. Cases are relatively rare, but where it does occur the mechanism of NCR is generally recognized as being due to the increased metabolic activity of the resistant strain. These observations can provide learnings with potential application for resistance management if the correct pro-insecticide is selected for a resistant strain which is better able to bioactivate it. A better understanding of the bioactivation of pro-insecticides by resistant insects could also aid in insecticide discovery, potentially leading to improved pro-insecticide design. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.
Maternal transfer of neutralizing antibodies to B. burgdorferi OspA after oral vaccination of the rodent reservoir.

Abstract Lyme Disease presents unique challenges for public health. Transfer of protective antibodies between mothers and offspring should occur after vaccination of mice. We present new evidence for maternal transfer of oral vaccine induced neutralizing anti-OspA IgG antibodies to mouse pups mainly through ingestion of colostrum. We found a strong statistical correlation of antibody transfer between mothers that produced the most robust IgG response to OspA and their respective pups. OspA-specific antibody was detected as early as 24 h after birth and protective levels of antibodies lasted until ~5 weeks of age in the majority of pups but persisted in some mice until 9 weeks. This was further supported by detection of neutralizing antibodies in serum of all pups at 2–3 weeks after birth and in some offspring adult mice at 9 weeks of age. A clear association was found between robust antibody responses in mothers and the length of time antibody persisted in the respective pups using a novel longitudinal Bayesian model. These factors are likely to impact the enzootic cycle of B. burgdorferi if reservoir targeted OspA-based vaccination interventions are implemented.
Exploratory analysis of the application of animal reduction approaches in proteomics: How much is enough?

Animal testing has been the corner stone for chemical safety assessments, but fish embryo assays now represent an alternative. Increases in omics studies offers unparalleled access to examine early molecular responses in organisms in response to environmental stressors and yet reduction in animal usage within this context has been overlooked. For proteomics, there is significant disparity and variability in organismal pool size ranging from 1-2000 embryos per replicate for zebrafish alone. However, it is unknown if varying sample pool size results in higher protein identifications. To examine whether the proteome changes are dependent on this variable, 3 pool sizes (5, 10 or 20 embryos per replicate) were examined using the two most common fish models with appropriate biological replicate number determined based on statistical power analysis (n=7). Samples were analysed by data-independent acquisition (DIA), resulted in 1,946 and 2,770 protein groups identified (1 % FDR) for the fathead minnow and zebrafish, respectively. Proteins were not differentially expressed among pool sizes, and no significant difference was observed among the protein groups identified. However, for the fathead minnow, a decrease in the number of proteins identified was observed with increasing pool size, while only a modest increase of 110 protein identifications was observed in zebrafish between the lowest and highest pool size. Taken together, our observations suggests that a proteome characterization experiment using these fish models can achieve comparable protein identifications using pool sizes of less than 5 per replicate assuming a protein requirement of 50µg or less.
Hydration Dependent Lipid Phase Transitions in a Biological Membrane

Phospholipids spontaneously form ordered structures in water, usually bilayers with the hydrocarbon chains in a fluid state, depending on the temperature, length of hydrocarbon chains, and the nature of the headgroup41,2). When these same phospholipids are dehydrated they undergo phase transitions to the gel state (again depending on the temperature) or to other crystalline states such as the well-known hexagonal II (HII) phase, in which the lipids are reorganized into tubes with the polar head groups oriented into the aqueous phase in the center of the tube. These phase transitions are well documented in pure phospholipid systems, but they have been poorly studied in complex mixtures of phospholipids or in intact biological membranes, even though there is some suggestion that such mixtures of phospholipids may exhibit different phase behavior from that of pure phospholipids (3). We have undertaken such a study, using isolated sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) as a model membrane, and we report some of our progress in this regard in the present paper.
The role of fecundity and reproductive effort in defining life-history strategies of North American freshwater mussels.

Selection is expected to optimize reproductive investment resulting in characteristic trade-offs among traits such as brood size, offspring size, somatic maintenance, and lifespan; relative patterns of energy allocation to these functions are important in defining life-history strategies. Freshwater mussels are a diverse and imperiled component of aquatic ecosystems, but little is known about their life-history strategies, particularly patterns of fecundity and reproductive effort. Because mussels have an unusual life cycle in which larvae (glochidia) are obligate parasites on fishes, differences in host relationships are expected to influence patterns of reproductive output among species. I investigated fecundity and reproductive effort (RE) and their relationships to other life-history traits for a taxonomically broad cross section of North American mussel diversity. Annual fecundity of North American mussel species spans nearly four orders of magnitude, ranging from 200000). Estimates of RE also were highly variable, ranging among species from 0.06 to 25.4%. Median fecundity and RE differed among phylogenetic groups, but patterns for these two traits differed in several ways. For example, the tribe Anodontini had relatively low median fecundity but had the highest RE of any group. Within and among species, body size was a strong predictor of fecundity and explained a high percentage of variation in fecundity among species. Fecundity showed little relationship to other life-history traits including glochidial size, lifespan, brooding strategies, or host strategies. The only apparent trade-off evident among these traits was the extraordinarily high fecundity of Leptodea, Margaritifera, and Truncilla, which may come at a cost of greatly reduced glochidial size; there was no relationship between fecundity and glochidial size for the remaining 61 species in the dataset. In contrast to fecundity, RE showed evidence of a strong trade-off with lifespan, which was negatively related to RE. The raw number of glochidia produced may be determined primarily by physical and energetic constraints rather than selection for optimal output based on differences in host strategies or other traits. By integrating traits such as body size, glochidial size, and fecundity, RE appears more useful in defining mussel life-history strategies. Combined with trade-offs between other traits such as growth, lifespan, and age at maturity, differences in RE among species depict a broad continuum of divergent strategies ranging from strongly r-selected species (e.g. tribe Anodontini and some Lampsilini) to K-selected species (e.g. tribes Pleurobemini and Quadrulini; family Margaritiferidae). Future studies of reproductive effort in an environmental and life-history context will be useful for understanding the explosive radiation of this group of animals in North America and will aid in the development of effective conservation strategies.
Cresting toward the Sea Change: Literature Review of Cataloging and Classification 2009-10

This review covers cataloging and classification literature published in 2009 and 2010, including relevant explorations of knowledge organization systems and theory. Only English-language literature is reviewed, though not all of the literature covered is U.S.-based. Overarching themes presented in the literature include the merging of library metadata into the Web environment, the continuation of cooperative cataloging in libraries, the role of both controlled and uncontrolled headings in catalog records, and reconsiderations of workflow in light of impending changes to cataloging rules. Notably, several relevant foundational documents were either completed or revised during the review period.
Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research Datasets

Abstract Computer datasets compiled by the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) provide a wealth of information for social and political science researchers. Unfortunately, their electronic format presents a troublesome access issue for libraries who choose to collect these unique resources. At the University of Akron, the Library and the Computer Center worked together to alleviate access problems. Guidelines were developed to facilitate the acquisition, cataloging, processing and retrieval of ICPSR resources.
Serum transthyretin is a predictor of clinical outcomes in critically ill trauma patients

Background In surgery patients, low preoperative serum transthyretin (TTR) level is associated with greater rates of infection and mortality. However, the predictive value of TTR on surgical outcomes after major trauma has not yet been studied. Methods Critically ill trauma patients who underwent surgery for trauma and had TTR preoperatively measured after admission to the surgical intensive care unit (ICU) at the LAC+USC Medical Center (01/2008–05/2014) were identified retrospectively. Univariable and multivariable regression analyses determined the significance of TTR on outcomes. Results We identified 348 patients. Univariable analysis indicated that patients with lower TTR had more infections ( P P = .007), longer hospital stay ( P P P P = .001), greater mortality ( P = .005), longer hospital stay ( P = .013), longer ICU stay ( P = .030), and increased ventilator days ( P = .044). Conclusion In critically ill trauma patients, low serum TTR level is associated with poorer clinical outcomes, and its prognostic utility warrants further study.
Olympic victor lists and ancient Greek history

1. An introduction to Olympic victor lists 2. Hippias of Elis and the first Olympic victor list 3. Olympionikon Anangraphai and standard catalogs of Olympic victors 4. Olympiad chronographies 5. Olympiad chronicles 6. Conclusion.
Assessment of Five SGS Models for Low-R e m MHD Turbulence

Assessment of three regularization-based and two eddy-viscosity-based subgrid-scale (SGS) turbulence models for large eddy simulations (LES) are carried out in the context of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) decaying homogeneous turbulence (DHT) with a Taylor scale Reynolds number (R e λ ) of 120 and a MHD transition-to-turbulence Taylor-Green vortex (TGV) problems with a Reynolds number of 3000, through direct comparisons to direct numerical simulations (DNS). Simulations are conducted using the low-magnetic Reynolds number approximation (R e m <<1). LES predictions using the regularization-based Leray- α,LANS- α, and Clark- α SGS models, along with the eddy viscosity-based non-dynamic Smagorinsky and the dynamic Smagorinsky models are compared to in-house DNS for DHT and previous results for TGV. With regard to the regularization models, this work represents their first application to MHD turbulence. Analyses of turbulent kinetic energy decay rates, energy spectra, and vorticity fields made between the varying magnetic field cases demonstrated that the regularization models performed poorly compared to the eddy-viscosity models for all MHD cases, but the comparisons improved with increase in magnitude of magnetic field, due to a decrease in the population of SGS eddies within the flow field.
Analysis by synthesis of FM modulation and aspiration noise components in pathological voices

FM and source noise characteristics of pathological voices are analyzed and modeled using precision interpolating pitch tracking. Detailed tracking data allows segregation of pitch variations into low frequency (tremor) and high frequency pitch variation (HFPV) time series. Tremor data is used to resample the original voice into a quasi-constant pitch signal, which results in a more accurate source noise estimate using the noise analysis algorithm described by de Krom [1]. Gaussian distributions are used for both source HFPV and aspiration noise models. Combined analysis parameters are used to drive a formant synthesizer, resulting in improved perceived fidelity.
Insulin Specific Binding Sites in the Myometrium of Pregnant Rats

Insulin (INS) specific binding sites were detected in the myometrium of pregnant rats. The apparent equilibrium dissociation constants for the higher and lower affinity INS binding components were 0.01 × 10-9 M and 2.5 × 10-9 M, respectively. During the latter half of pregnancy INS binding increased gradually and peaked on the day of parturition (159.9 ± 19.8, 196.3 ± 24.6, 254.7 ± 36.8, and 272.6 ± 29.1 and femtomolars per mg protein, mean ± SEM on days 15, 20, 21, and 22 of gestation, respectively). The pattern of increased INS binding paralleled the prepartum increase in myometrial cell nuclear estrogen receptors as well as myometrial glycogen levels. In contrast, low INS binding was associated with elevated cell nuclear progestin receptor levels, on day 15 and immediately postpartum. These results suggest that, during the latter half of pregnancy, myometrial INS binding capacity and glycogen concentration gradually increase. Since INS receptor levels begin to increase in parallel with increasing nucle...
Physical punishment of children and wifebeating in cross-cultural perspective

This paper reports the results of a cross-cultural test of the relationship between wifebeating and physical punishment of children in a probability sample of 46 small-scale and folk societies. The study indicates that rare or infrequent wifebeating is associated with rare or infrequent physical punishment, but that frequent wifebeating is unrelated to the frequency of physical punishment.
The cAMP Response Elements of the α Subunit Gene Bind Similar Proteins in Trophoblasts and Gonadotropes but Have Distinct Functional Sequence Requirements

The alpha subunit gene encodes a common subunit shared by all glycoprotein hormones. This single copy gene is expressed in pituitary gonadotropes and thyrotropes of all mammals and in placental trophoblasts of primates and horses. Tandem cAMP response elements (CREs) in the promoter of the human gene are key mediators of this pattern of cell-specific expression. Replacing the palindromic CREs with non-primate variant CREs significantly attenuated activity in trophoblasts but not in gonadotropes. Furthermore, proteins binding the palindromic CRE cross-reacted with antibodies for CREB, CREM, ATF1, ATF2, and c-Jun, while proteins binding the variant CRE cross-reacted only with ATF2 and c-Jun antibodies. The data suggest that ATF2 and c-Jun can activate transcription through the CREs in gonadotropes but not in trophoblasts. Additional analyses indicated that while promoters with either palindromic or variant CREs have similar overall activity in gonadotropes, the variant CREs make a much smaller contribution to promoter activity than their palindromic counterparts. The weaker contribution of the variant CREs is compensated by the activity of two upstream elements present in the promoter. This compensation probably occurs through an indirect mechanism, as the binding affinity of proteins to the CRE is not influenced by the presence of these upstream elements.
Biofilm Roughness Determines Cryptosporidium parvum Retention in Environmental Biofilms

The genus Cryptosporidium is a group of waterborne protozoan parasites that have been implicated in significant outbreaks of gastrointestinal infections throughout the world. Biofilms trap these pathogens and can contaminate water supplies through subsequent release. Biofilm microbial assemblages were collected seasonally from three streams in eastern Pennsylvania and used to grow biofilms in laboratory microcosms. Daily oocyst counts in the influx and efflux flow allowed the calculation of daily oocyst retention in the biofilm. Following the removal of oocysts from the influx water, oocyst attachment to the biofilm declined to an equilibrium state within 5 days that was sustained for at least 25 days. Varying the oocyst loading rate for the system showed that biofilm retention could be saturated, suggesting that discrete binding sites determined the maximum number of oocysts retained. Oocyst retention varied seasonally but was consistent across all three sites; however, seasonal oocyst retention was not consistent across years at the same site. No correlation between oocyst attachment and any measured water quality parameter was found. However, oocyst retention was strongly correlated with biofilm surface roughness and roughness varied among seasons and across years. We hypothesize that biofilm roughness and oocyst retention are dependent on environmentally driven changes in the biofilm community rather than directly on water quality conditions. It is important to understand oocyst transport dynamics to reduce risks of human infection. Better understanding of factors controlling biofilm retention of oocysts should improve our understanding of oocyst transport at different scales.
Detection of Aeromonas salmonicida from water using a filtration method

Abstract Aeromonas salmonicida is a principal pathogen that contributes to mortality in hatchery-maintained Atlantic salmon that originated from the Connecticut and Merrimack rivers in the northeastern United States. Field tests were conducted to assess a filtration method for detection of A. salmonicida in water used to rear fishes. A presumptive identification of typical A. salmonicida was available within 72 h and the pathogen was confirmed within 96 h. This filtration method has been incorporated into daily management practices and provides results that allowed managers to make more informed decisions for fishery resources.
Vampire Attacks: Draining Life from Wireless Ad Hoc Sensor Networks

Ad hoc low-power wireless networks are an exciting research direction in sensing and pervasive computing. Prior security work in this area has focused primarily on denial of communication at the routing or medium access control levels. This paper explores resource depletion attacks at the routing protocol layer, which permanently disable networks by quickly draining nodes' battery power. These "Vampire” attacks are not specific to any specific protocol, but rather rely on the properties of many popular classes of routing protocols. We find that all examined protocols are susceptible to Vampire attacks, which are devastating, difficult to detect, and are easy to carry out using as few as one malicious insider sending only protocol-compliant messages. In the worst case, a single Vampire can increase network-wide energy usage by a factor of O(N), where N in the number of network nodes. We discuss methods to mitigate these types of attacks, including a new proof-of-concept protocol that provably bounds the damage caused by Vampires during the packet forwarding phase.