cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Development of a D-FISH method to detect DEK/CAN fusion resulting from t(6;9)(p23;q34) in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia.

The t(6;9)(p23;q34)-DEK/CAN fusion occurs with an incidence of 1–5% in adult patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and tends to have an unfavorable prognosis at diagnosis. Due to the subtle appearance of this chromosome rearrangement, both initial detection and minimal residual disease (MRD) tracking by conventional karyotyping can be difficult. Unfortunately, no commercial or previously published fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) strategies exist for this recurrent anomaly. We have developed a highly sensitive assay using dual-color, double-fusion FISH (D-FISH), which can be used both for initial detection and MRD monitoring. We analyzed archived bone marrow samples from 15 patients with a previously identified t(6;9)(p23;q34) and 10 corresponding post-treatment samples. The results demonstrate that our D-FISH method effectively identified all abnormal samples, including a low-level MRD sample that was considered to be normal by conventional cytogenetic analysis. Normal value ranges were established from 30 negative controls to be <0.6% when 500 interphase nuclei were analyzed. The development of this sensitive D-FISH strategy for the detection of the t(6;9)(p23;q34) adds to the AML FISH testing repertoire, and is effective in the detection of low-level disease in post-treatment samples in these patients.
Buckling cascade of free-standing mesoscopic beams

We have observed a striking change in the static equilibrium shape of free-standing mesoscopic buckled beams as a function of the length-to-width aspect ratio. At low values of the aspect ratio the shape is well described by classical Euler buckling. At higher values the buckled shapes become more complex and are well described by a superposition of buckling modes. The data are consistent with a mode-coefficient sum rule obtained from a nonlinear elastic field theory. Further, for beams of low aspect ratio the theory can predict the equilibrium shape of the buckling, while at high aspect ratios the lower bound on the buckling shape function is obtained.
GUIDED CIRCUMFERENTIAL WAVES IN A CIRCULAR ANNULUS

A two-dimensional circular annulus is considered in this paper as a waveguide. The guided steady-state time-harmonic waves propagating in the circumferential direction are studied. It is found that the guided circumferential waves are dispersive. The dispersion equation is derived analytically and numerical examples are presented for the frequency dispersion curves. The displacement profiles across the wall thickness of the annulus are also obtained for the first five propagating modes. In addition, the analogy between a flat plate and an annulus in the asymptotic limit of infinite radius of curvature is discussed to reveal some interesting wave phenomena intrinsic to curved waveguides.
Assessment of the mutagenicity of fractions from s-triazine-treated Zea mays.

Abstract A water-soluble extract from maize plants exposed to 3 s-triazine herbicides (atrazine, simazine and cyanazine) has been shown to be mutagenic in strain TA100 of Salmonella. No mutagenic activity was observed in any control plant extracts using either water or a variety of organic solvents. Gel permeation studied of the extracts suggest that the mutagen(s) are small molecules (
Non-Hopfian Transonic Flutter

A critical analysis of the theoretical foundation of the Hopf bifurcation as a model for transonic flutter is presented. Our objective is to show that certain nonlinear transonic flutter instabilities cannot be described using the Hopf theory. The breakdown occurs because the unsteady aerodynamic forces cannot be linearized without introducing nonuniformities in time or space. Consequently, the Hopf linearization also breaks down, and a uniformly valid Jacobian matrix whose eigenvalues normally determine flutter stability no longer exists. This in turn implies that these flutter instabilities cannot be predicted by formulating and solving a classical linear aeroelastic eigenvalue problem, nor can the Hopf bifurcation serve as a model for describing the corresponding nonlinear flutter boundary.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Conkar: constraint keyword-based association discovery

In many domains, such as bioinformatics, cheminformatics, health informatics and social networks, data can be represented naturally as labeled graphs. To address the increasing needs in discovering interesting associations between entities in such data graphs, especially under complicated keyword-based and structural constraints, we introduce Conkar (Constrained Keyword-based Association DiscoveRy) System. Conkar is the first system for discovering constrained acyclic paths (CAP) in graph data under keyword-based constraints, with the highlight being the set of quantitative constraint metrics that we proposed, including coverage and relevance. We will demonstrate the key features of Conkar: powerful and userfriendly query specification, efficient query evaluation, flexible and on-demand result ranking, visual result display, as well as an insight tour on our novel CAP query evaluation algorithms.
Multi-flash campimetry in multiple sclerosis.

Data are reported from the initial stage of development of a psychophysical technique that allows temporal resolution to be sampled in 120 retinal locations per eye in half an hour. This computer generated test consists of systematically increasing the off period of a small spot of light, temporally modulated at 5 Hz, until the light is perceived as flickering. Visual field plots based on the data from control observers reveal good temporal resolution in the central visual field with a fall-off in resolving power in peripheral regions. Data from multiple sclerosis patients are characterized by “islands” of poor temporal resolution that presumably reflect demyelination along the optic nerve.
Structural Transformation and Cross-Country Income Differences

This paper examines the effect of agricultural policy on a country's development and growth. We find that low agricultural productivity can delay the start of industrialization in a country for a long period of time, causing a country's per capita income to fall far behind the industrial leader. Once industrialization begins, this trend is reversed. However, the extent to which a country catches up to the leader depends primarily on factors that affect productivity in non-agricultural activities. Agricultural policy, therefore, is largely irrelevant in the long run. But in the short run, a country that experiences large improvements in agricultural productivity, due to say a Green Revolution, will experience an increase in its income relative to the leaders.
Anticipated benefits of new information systems: the role of the proposer

The assessment of the anticipated benefits of new information systems is important to the process of information system planning. A study of the anticipated benefits of 178 projects revealed nine benefits factors: improved information, strategic advantage, return on investment, reduced technology cost, better applications development, reduced travel costs, reduced workforce costs, business redesign, and adherence to government regulations.A variety of personnel propose new information systems. User departments are the most active proposers. Top management and IS departments are about equally active and strategic planning groups are considerably less active. User departments and top management propose more strategic advantage applications than do IS department or strategic planning groups. IS departments most actively propose reduced technology cost and better applications development applications while user departments propose improved information, return on investment, reduced workforce costs, business redesign, and adherence to government regulations applications.
Stretchable conductors: thin gold films on silicone elastomer

Thin stripes of gold deposited onto elastomeric substrates can be stretched reversibly by more than 20 % while remaining electrically conducting. We are developing such stripes to serve as electrical interconnects on stretchable electronic skins. The gold layers are 25-nm to 500-nm thick. We observe two different film morphologies: the stripe is either buckled and continuous, or flat and contains micrometer-long cracks. Stretchability is correlated with the thickness and initial topography of the gold layer. Stripes thicker than 100-nm fail electrically at tensile strain of ~ 1 %, while thinner stripes remain conducting up to much larger strain. Upon stretching the buckled stripes flatten and break into islands of 1 to 100 micrometers on a side, while the initially microcracked stripes retain their micrometer scale structure. The electrical resistance of the buckled stripes is the lowest but the micro-textured stripes can be stretched more.
Screening Mammography Guidelines: An Alternative Proactive Approach

In this opinion piece, I suggest that we breast imagers modify our initial interpretations and our downstream recommendations for screening mammograms, thereby reducing recall rates, percutaneous biopsies, and surgical resections; implementation of these proactive recommendations would hopefully make annual mammography, beginning as early as age 40 years, more appealing to women at normal risk, to their physicians, to their insurers, and, perhaps, to future members of the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force for screening mammography.
Characteristics of Prison Sexual Assault Targets in Male Oklahoma Correctional Facilities

Research on male inmate sexual assault has been quite limited in correctional literature. Even fewer of these studies have focused specifically on the characteristics of sexual assault targets. Therefore, data gathered from August 1998 to May 1999 via face-to-face interviews with 174 inmates in three male Oklahoma correctional facilities were drawn on to examine various demographic and organizational characteristics of prison sexual targets. Respondents were asked a series of questions regarding their vulnerability to threatened and/or completed forced sexual assault encounters with other inmates. Roughly 14% of the inmates reported that they had been sexually targeted by other inmates.
Highlights of Miami winter symposium 2015: into the era of immunotherapy.

Personalized cancer medicine has seen significant improvements over the past decade. Recent Elsevier conference: Miami winter symposium 2015 (MWS2015) “Towards Personalized Cancer Medicine” meeting was dedicated to this exciting field, and focused on new progress in personalized drug development and antibody drug against checkpoint pathway. This meeting report summarizes the key developments presented and discussed at the meeting, with a focus on immunotherapy, especially on the CTLA-4 and PD-1/PD-L1 pathways. The monoclonal antibody drugs intervening these checkpoint pathways have the potential to play a larger role in personalize medicine within the near future. Here we intended to provide a comprehensive summary about ongoing trends and future perspectives on personalized medicine in cancer therapy.
Cationic polymerization with boron halides. V. Synthesis of poly(isobutylene-b-styrene) and poly(styrene-b-isobutylene)

Block copolymers of isobutylene and styrene, PIB-b-PSt and PSt-b-PIB, have been prepared by a two-step synthesis involving (1) preparation of terminally chlorinated (telechelic) polyisobutylene or polystyrene “prepolymers” by using the H2O/BCl3 initiator system and (2) blocking from these telechelic prepolymers a second polymer segment by using an alkyaluminum, e.g., Et2AlCl coinitiator. The telechelic polyisobutylene and polystyrene contain tertiary and benzylic chlorine termini, respectively. Block copolymer characterization included detailed selective solvent extraction procedures, coupled with GPC determinations, PMR, solubility, and intrinsic viscosity studies. The synthesis of PIB-b-PSt and PSt-b-PIB provides direct chemical evidence for the presence and position of active chlorine termini in BCl3-coinitiated olefin polymerizations.
Real-time traffic sign detection and recognition for in-car driver assistance systems

This paper presents a new computer vision design flow for real time detection and recognition of traffic signs. Autonomous traffic sign detection can play a crucial role in many applications related to transportation safety and geographical information systems. The challenges that need to be addressed include the necessity for robust and accurate detection as well as the high computational requirements of the algorithms. Therefore, we develop a three stage algorithm that is based on i) detection of traffic sign locations using HSV color space, ii) detection of traffic signs using discriminative features and iii) recognition of traffic signs using interest point descriptors. The results show a robust detection and recognition performance for multiple signs and the algorithm can be executed in real-time.
Model-based methods for identifying periodically expressed genes based on time course microarray gene expression data

Motivation: The expressions of many genes associated with certain periodic biological and cell cycle processes such as circadian rhythm regulation are known to be rhythmic. Identification of the genes whose time course expressions are synchronized to certain periodic biological process may help to elucidate the molecular basis of many diseases, and these gene products may in turn represent drug targets relevant to those diseases. Results: We propose in this paper a statistical framework based on a shape-invariant model together with a false discovery rate (FDR) procedure for identifying periodically expressed genes based on microarray time-course gene expression data and a set of known periodically expressed guide genes. We applied the proposed methods to the α-factor, cdc15 and cdc28 synchronized yeast cell cycle data sets and identified a total of 1010 cell-cycle-regulated genes at a FDR of 0.5% in at least one of the three data sets analyzed, including 89 (86%) of 104 known periodic transcripts. We also identified 344 and 201 circadian rhythmic genes in vivo in mouse heart and liver tissues with FDR of 10 and 2.5%, respectively. Our results also indicate that the shape-invariant model fits the data well and provides estimate of the common shape function and the relative phases for these periodically regulated genes. Availability: Matlab programs are available on request from the authors. Supplementary information: http://dna.ucdavis.edu/~hli/period.html
A subspace fitting approach to super resolution multi-line fitting and straight edge detection

A new fundamental signal processing method is developed for solving the problem of fitting multiple lines in a two-dimensional image. The proposed technique formulates the multiline fitting problem in a special parameter estimation framework such that a signal structure similar to the sensor array processing signal representation is obtained. Then, recently developed algorithms in that formalism (e.g., the ESPRIT technique) are exploited to produce superresolution estimates in this framework. The signal representation used in this formulation can be generalized in a fashion to handle both problems of line fitting (in which a set of binary-valued discrete pixels is given) and of straight edge detection (in which one starts with a gray-scale image). The proposed method possesses extensive computational speed superiority over previous single- and multiple-line fitting algorithms such as the Hough transform method. Details of the new formulation are explained, and several experimental results are presented. >
COMPARABLE ESTIMATES OF MORTALITY AND TRENDS FOR CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES INCLUDING CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE IN 21 WORLD REGIONS IN 1990 AND 2010: THE GLOBAL BURDEN OF DISEASES, INJURIES AND RISK FACTORS STUDY

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are leading causes of death worldwide. However, comparable estimates of global and regional mortality and recent trends are not readily available. We assessed deaths from CVDs, including congenital heart disease (CoHD), by age and sex at the global level in 21 world
A portable chemotaxis platform for short and long term analysis

Flow-based microfluidic systems have been widely utilized for cell migration studies given their ability to generate versatile and precisely defined chemical gradients and to permit direct visualization of migrating cells. Nonetheless, the general need for bulky peripherals such as mechanical pumps and tubing and the complicated setup procedures significantly limit the widespread use of these microfluidic systems for cell migration studies. Here we present a simple method to power microfluidic devices for chemotaxis assays using the commercially available ALZET® osmotic pumps. Specifically, we developed a standalone chemotaxis platform that has the same footprint as a multiwell plate and can generate well-defined, stable chemical gradients continuously for up to 7 days. Using this platform, we validated the short-term (24 hours) and long-term (72 hours) concentration dependent PDGF-BB chemotaxis response of human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells.
Multiuser Detection Method Robust against Timing Offset for OFDM Uplink Transmission

The application of the multiuser multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technique with orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal transmission to future wireless communications systems has attracted much attention. In the uplink, the difference in the arrival timings among the signals from multiple wireless terminals (WTs) causes significant transmission quality degradation. In this paper, we propose a novel multiuser detection (MUD) technique that overcomes this problem. The proposed method discards the samples at both ends of each fast Fourier transform (FFT) window. In addition, it overlaps the FFT windows to recover all consecutive samples. Thus, it enables a signal separation regardless of the difference in the arrival times among WTs with an acceptable level of calculation complexity. The achievable bit error rate (BER) performance of the proposed MUD method is evaluated by computer simulation in a frequency selective fading channel. The results show that compared to the conventional method the proposed MUD method reduces the required Eb/N0 by 2.6 dB to achieve the BER of 10-4, when 16QAM and rate 2/3 convolutional codes are used.
Characterization of Human Anterosuperior Acetabular Depression in Correlation With Labral Tears.

Background:Labral tears often occur in the same quadrant of the acetabulum at a small depression previously referred to as the psoas valley. Understanding the anatomic variations of this depression could help us understand the etiology of labral tears.Purpose:To describe the location and dimensions of the depression located in the anterosuperior acetabular rim. The hypothesis was that the location of this depression would be consistent with the common location of acetabular labral tears described in the literature.Study Design:Controlled laboratory study.Methods:A total of 240 pelvic specimens were divided into 2 groups (n = 120 for each) according to age (younger age group: 21.36 ± 3.12 years [range, 14-24 years]; older age group: 42.30 ± 10.27 years, [range, 25-60 years]).Specimens were also categorized based on sex (mean age: 31.93 ± 12.31 years [male]; 32.08 ± 13.66 years [female]) and race (mean age: 31.45 ± 13.16 years [black]; 32.57 ± 12.82 years [white]). The depth and width of the acetabular depr...
Controls of Bedrock Geochemistry on Soil and Plant Nutrients in Southeastern Utah

The cold deserts of the Colorado Plateau contain numerous geologically and geochemically distinct sedimentary bedrock types. In the area near Canyonlands National Park in Southeastern Utah, geochemical variation in geologic substrates is related to the depositional environment with higher concentrations of Fe, Al, P, K, and Mg in sediments deposited in alluvial or marine environments and lower concentrations in bedrock derived from eolian sand dunes. Availability of soil nutrients to vegetation is also controlled by the formation of secondary minerals, particularly for P and Ca availability, which, in some geologic settings, appears closely related to variation of CaCO3 and Ca-phosphates in soils. However, the results of this study also indicate that P content is related to bedrock and soil Fe and Al content suggesting that the deposition history of the bedrock and the presence of P-bearing Fe and Al minerals, is important to contemporary P cycling in this region. The relation between bedrock type and exchangeable Mg and K is less clear-cut, despite large variation in bedrock concentrations of these elements. We examined soil nutrient concentrations and foliar nutrient concentration of grasses, shrubs, conifers, and forbs in four geochemically distinct field sites. All four of the functional plant groups had similar proportional responses to variation in soil nutrient availability despite large absolute differences in foliar nutrient concentrations and stoichiometry across species. Foliar P concentration (normalized to N) in particular showed relatively small variation across different geochemical settings despite large variation in soil P availability in these study sites. The limited foliar variation in bedrock-derived nutrients suggests that the dominant plant species in this dryland setting have a remarkably strong capacity to maintain foliar chemistry ratios despite large underlying differences in soil nutrient availability.
Wave forces on intertidal organisms: A case study1

Breaking waves impose large forces on intertidal organisms, and these forces are important in structuring wave-swept communities. Here a telemetry system is used to continuously record wave forces at an exposed site; the interpretation of one such record is presented as a case study of the nature of wave forces. For waves with a breaking height of 2-4 m, water velocities of at least 8 m s-l and accelerations of at least 400 m s-~ are present near the substratum. The forces imposed on organisms by these flows depend on the size and shape of the organism. For a limpet (CoZZzkeZIa pelta) an average force is about 0.6 N, a maximum about 3 N. The magnitude and direction of wave forces are unpredictable in both time and space over periods of seconds to hours, although predictability is possible over longer periods. A quantitative exposure index, based on an organism’s ability to withstand wave forces, shows that various organisms exposed to the same flow are at widely varying risks. No impact forces were observed during this study.
Tracking unique objects

Is content addressable in the representation that subserves performance in multiple-object-tracking (MOT) experiments? We devised an MOT variant that featured unique, nameable objects (cartoon animals) as stimuli. There were two possible response modes: standard, in which observers were asked to report the locations of all target items, and specific, in which observers had to report the location of a particular object (e.g., “Where is the zebra?”). A measure of capacity derived from accuracy allowed for comparisons of the results between conditions. We found that capacity in the specific condition (1.4 to 2.6 items across several experiments) was always reliably lower than capacity in the standard condition (2.3 to 3.4 items). Observers could locate specific objects, indicating a content-addressable representation. However, capacity differences between conditions, as well as differing responses to the experimental manipulations, suggest that there may be two separate systems involved in tracking, one carrying only positional information, and one carrying identity information as well.
DNA sequence diversity and the origin of cultivated safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.; Asteraceae).

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is a diploid oilseed crop whose origin is largely unknown. Safflower is widely believed to have been domesticated over 4,000 years ago somewhere in the Fertile Crescent. Previous hypotheses regarding the origin of safflower have focused primarily on two other species from sect. Carthamus – C. oxyacanthus and C. palaestinus – as the most likely progenitors, although some attention has been paid to a third species (C. persicus) as a possible candidate. Here, we describe the results of a phylogenetic analysis of the entire section using data from seven nuclear genes. Single gene phylogenetic analyses indicated some reticulation or incomplete lineage sorting. However, the analysis of the combined dataset revealed a close relationship between safflower and C. palaestinus. In contrast, C. oxyacanthus and C. persicus appear to be more distantly related to safflower. Based on our results, we conclude that safflower is most likely derived from the wild species Carthamus palaestinus. As expected, safflower exhibits somewhat reduced nucleotide diversity as compared to its progenitor, consistent with the occurrence of a population genetic bottleneck during domestication. The results of this research set the stage for an investigation of the genetics of safflower domestication.
A subthreshold model for the analysis of MOS IC's

An accurate and computationally efficient charge-based model for the intrinsic capacitances in MOS transistors is proposed. The model is valid in the subthreshold regime, and is based on the quasi-static approximation. By integrating this model with a corresponding one in the strong inversion regime, a complete model valid in all regions of operation is presented. An interpolation scheme which guarantees the continuity of the drain current and the capacitances as well as their derivatives is used to provide a smooth transition from subthreshold to strong inversion. >
THE MOLECULAR THROUGH ECOLOGICAL GENETICS OF ABNORMAL ABDOMEN. III. TISSUE-SPECIFIC DIFFERENTIAL REPLICATION OF RIBOSOMAL GENES MODULATES THE ABNORMAL ABDOMEN PHENOTYPE IN DROSOPHILA MERCATORUM

The abnormal abdomen (aa) syndrome in Drosophila mercatorum is controlled by two major X-linked genetic elements. We have previously shown that the major X-linked element of aa is associated with the presence of large inserts in the 28S gene of the ribosomal RNA (rDNA) genes. We show that, in polytene tissue of wild-type D. mercatorum, the uninterrupted rDNA repeats are overreplicated relative to interrupted repeats. Uninterrupted rDNA repeats are also overreplicated in polytene tissue of hybrid larval offspring from wild-type and aa parents. This overreplication of uninterrupted repeats is not observed in diploid tissues of wild-type hybrids (of wild-type and aa parents) and homozygous aa larvae or in polytene tissue of aa larvae. Furthermore, molecular analysis of an aa line that has reverted to the wild type indicates that the reversion phenomenon is associated with the ability to overreplicate uninterrupted rDNA repeats in polytene tissues. The patterns of differential replication of rDNA genes in wild-type hybrids and aa larvae of D. mercatorum offer a possible mechanism for the tissue-specific control of the aa phenotype and suggest that the molecular basis for the second X-linked genetic element of aa is involved in the control of differential replication in polytene tissues.
Does the desaturase-2 locus in Drosophila melanogaster cause adaptation and sexual isolation?

Abstract The desaturase-2 (desat2) locus of Drosophila melanogaster has two alleles whose frequencies vary geographically: one (the “Z” allele) is found primarily in east Africa and the Caribbean, and the other (the “M” allele) occurs in other parts of the world. It has been suggested that these alleles not only cause sexual isolation between races, but that their distribution reflects differential adaptation to climate: Z alleles are supposedly adapted to tropical conditions and M alleles to temperate ones. This has thus been viewed as a case of reproductive isolation evolving as a pleiotropic byproduct of adaptation. Here we reinvestigate this presumed climatic adaptation, using transgenic lines differing in the nature of their desat2 alleles. We were unable to replicate earlier results showing that carriers of M alleles are uniformly more cold resistant and less starvation resistant than carriers of Z alleles. It is thus doubtful whether the distribution of these alleles reflects natural selection invo...
Reaction-Diffusion Dynamics Induced Surface Instabilities

Surface instabilities arise on polymeric systems either during fabrication or post-fabrication in response to an external stimulus. The occurrence, mode, and size of these instabilities are determined by the heterogeneity of the polymer system, which induces dynamic changes in reaction and diffusion of species within the polymer system. This chapter mainly focuses on transient to persistent creasing patterns, creasing to wrinkling transition, and self-oscillating patterns, particularly in gel/solvent systems.
Mechanistic studies of a novel, human fusion toxin composed of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)121and the serine protease granzyme B: Directed apoptotic events in vascular endothelial cells

The serine protease granzyme B (GrB; 25 kDa) is capable of inducing apoptosis through both caspase-dependent and caspase-independent mechanisms. We designed a novel vascular-targeting fusion construct designated as GrB/vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)121, which is composed of a non-heparin-binding isoform of VEGF and the proapoptotic pathway enzyme GrB fused via a short, flexible tether (G4S). The chimeric fusion gene was then cloned into a bacterial vector, and the protein was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified by nickel-NTA metal affinity chromatography. Western blotting confirmed incorporation of both VEGF121 and GrB proteins into the construct. GrB/VEGF121 specifically bound (ELISA) to porcine aortic endothelial (PAE)/FLK-1 cells overexpressing the FLK-1/KDR receptor but not to cells overexpressing the FLT-1 receptor. Immunofluoresence studies showed that the GrB moiety of GrB/VEGF121 was delivered efficiently and rapidly into the cytosol of PAE/FLK-1 cells but not into that of PAE/FLT-1 cells after 4 h treatment with GrB/VEGF121. Treatment of cells with GrB/VEGF121 showed that the IC50 was approximately 10 nM against PAE/FLK-1 cells; however, there were no cytotoxic effects observed on PAE/FLT-1 cells at doses up to 200 nM. GrB/VEGF121 induced apoptotic events specifically on PAE/FLK-1 as assessed by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick end labeling assay, DNA laddering, and cytochrome c release from mitochondria. In addition, the fusion construct mediated the cleavage of caspase-8, caspase-3, and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase in target endothelial cells within 4 h after treatment. In conclusion, delivery of the human proapoptotic pathway enzyme GrB to tumor vascular endothelial cells or to tumor cells may have significant therapeutic potential and represents a potent new class of targeted therapeutic agents with a unique mechanism of action.
Optimal design of fibrous filters for air sterilization

Sufficient knowledge about aerosol filtration is now available to design an optimal filter for air sterilization on a rational basis. Such a design consists of (1) assessing the filtration job to be accomplished. A logical design is based on a microorganism loading of 50 organisms per cubic foot of air and a probability of only a one-in-a-thousand chance of a single contaminant penetrating the filter during the course of the fermentation; (2) determining the thickness of a particular filter material required for the job. This thickness should be based upon conditions producing the minimal filter efficiency. When experimental data are lacking this efficiency can be calculated from theoretical relationships for collection due only to interception evaluated at the air velocity at which inertial effects become negligible; (3) selecting the filter size in terms of cross sectional area which results in minimal total costs; (4) comparing the total costs of optimally sized filters compounded from different material and selecting that material and its corresponding filter design which results in lowest total cost.
Further experiments on the selective susceptibility of spider monkeys to poliomyelitic infection.

It is generally believed that Old World monkeys are more susceptible to infection with poliomyelitis virus than those of the Western hemisphere. Among the New World monkeys two South American species of spider monkeys (A teles ater, A teles fus deep s robustus) were reported as being naturally refractory to poliomyelitis virus by MacKay and Schroeder1 in 1935 and again in 1952 by Rodaniche.2 On the other hand, Gomez,3 working with Mexican spider monkeys (Ateles neglectus) in 1951, had no difficulty in producing paralytic infection in these animals. The aforementioned workers used for their experiments the Flexner MV strain (mixed virus) or freshly isolated strains which had not been typed serologically. It seemed possible that the divergent results were influenced less by the selection of monkey than by the choice of strain. Therefore, the status of susceptibility of spider monkeys from South or Central America to poliomyelitic infec-
Stochastic Hybrid Models with Applications to Air Traffic Management

The ability to model, anal yze, simulate and verify realistic air traffic management conflict detection scenarios in a scalable, composable, multi -aircraft fashion is an extremely difficult endeavor. Verifiably accurate techniques for aircraft mode detection are critical in order t o enable the accurate projection of aircraft conflicts, and for the enactment of altitude separation resolution strategies. The introduction of a hybrid formalism encompassing hidden Markov modeling enables us to tune the discrete and continuous parameter s of a stochastic hybrid hidden Markov model (HHMM) in order to perform mode detection upon actual flight track data. Two different formats of air traffic data are used to tune the models, allowing for the refinement of the differential equations governin g the HHMM, thereby leading to an increased resolution capability, and resulting in a decreased latency for mode detection. The HHMM is evaluated using aircraft transitioning between level and ascending/descending flight in order to validate the effective ness of the model in detecting the switch between multiple flight modes for a given aircraft.
Author Reply: Grasping the Nebula: Inelegant Theories for Messy Phenomena:

Grand unified theories of messy topics like emotion tend to fail at capturing all the important dimensions of their subject. Why is this? I take on this question while responding to commentaries.
Machining Accuracy Distribution Regularities of CNC Milling Machining Center

To test the machining accuracy distribution of CNC milling machining center,an orthogonal experimental scheme was presented on the basis of the orthogonal test design theory and the characteristics of CNC machining technology.The scheme was used to machine variable diameter cams and then the line profiles of the cams were simulated using Matlab.The results showed that the line profile accuracy has a normal distribution.The relatively larger line profile errors,R_2 and R_5,were analyzed using the extreme difference analysis method in order to study the influence of machining parameters.The profile tolerance value should be different for every arc of the same part.
Nuclear Medicine in Cardiovascular Disease

Useful in studies of plasma and red cell volumes, structure, and flow within the cardiovascular system, tracer techniques have a safety and relative simplicity that suggest their application also to large-scale screening. The methods now in use are described and detailed criteria given for the interpretation of nuclear findings in congenital heart disease and abnormalities of pulmonary and peripheral perfusion.
Detailed Design of a Deployable Tertiary Mirror for the Keck I Telescope

Motivated by the ever increasing pursuit of science with the transient sky (dubbed Time Domain Astronomy or TDA), we are fabricating and will commission a new deployable tertiary mirror for the Keck I telescope (K1DM3) at the W.M. Keck Observatory. This paper presents the detailed design of K1DM3 with emphasis on the opto-mechanics. This project has presented several design challenges. Foremost are the competing requirements to avoid vignetting the light path when retracted against a sufficiently rigid system for high-precision and repeatable pointing. The design utilizes an actuated swing arm to retract the mirror or deploy it into a kinematic coupling. The K1DM3 project has also required the design and development of custom connections to provide power, communications, and compressed air to the system. This NSF-MRI funded project is planned to be commissioned in Spring 2017.
Stuckey, Mary E. The Good Neighbor: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Rhetoric of American Power.

Some presidential scholars might be inclined to overlook another book on Franklin D. Roosevelt and his speeches, especially after recent research on the presidency has been debunking some of the my...
Radial direct bandgap p-i-n GaNP microwire solar cells with enhanced short circuit current

We report the demonstration of dilute nitride heterostructure core/shell microwire solar cells utilizing the combination of top-down reactive-ion etching to create the cores (GaP) and molecular beam epitaxy to create the shells (GaNP). Systematic studies of cell performance over a series of microwire lengths, array periods, and microwire sidewall morphologies examined by transmission electron microscopy were conducted to shed light on performance-limiting factors and to optimize the cell efficiency. We show by microscopy and correlated external quantum efficiency characterization that the open circuit voltage is degraded primarily due to the presence of defects at the GaP/GaNP interface and in the GaNP shells, and is not limited by surface recombination. Compared to thin film solar cells in the same growth run, the microwire solar cells exhibit greater short circuit current but poorer open circuit voltage due to greater light absorption and number of defects in the microwire structure, respectively. The comprehensive understanding presented in this work suggests that performance benefits of dilute nitride microwire solar cells can be achieved by further tuning of the epitaxial quality of the underlying materials.
Progress With Nonhuman Animal Models of Addiction.

Nonhuman animals have been major contributors to the science of the genetics of addiction. Given the explosion of interest in genetics, it is fair to ask, are we making reasonable progress toward our goals with animal models? I will argue that our goals are changing and that overall progress has been steady and seems likely to continue apace. Genetics tools have developed almost incredibly rapidly, enabling both more reductionist and more synthetic or integrative approaches. I believe that these approaches to making progress have been unbalanced in biomedical science, favoring reductionism, particularly in animal genetics. I argue that substantial, novel progress is also likely to come in the other direction, toward synthesis and abstraction. Another area in which future progress with genetic animal models seems poised to contribute more is the reconciliation of human and animal phenotypes, or consilience. The inherent power of the genetic animal models could be more profitably exploited. In the end, anim...
Prototype Examples of Complex Turbulent Dynamical Systems

Here we introduce three different prototype models of complex turbulent dynamical systems with the structure in ( 1.5)–( 1.7).
A machine learning approach to product review disambiguation based on function, form and behavior classification

Online product reviews have been shown to be a viable source of information for helping customers make informed purchasing decisions. In many cases, users of online shopping platforms have the ability to rate products on a numerical scale, and also provide textual feedback pertaining to a purchased product. Beyond using online product review platforms as customer decision support systems, this information rich data source could also aid designers seeking to increase the chances of their products being successful in the market through a deeper understanding of market needs. However, the increasing size and complexity of products on the market makes manual analysis of such data challenging. Information obtained from such sources, if not mined correctly, risks misrepresenting a product's true success/failure (e.g., a customer leaves a one star rating because of the slow shipping service of a product, not necessarily that he/she dislikes the product). The objective of this paper is three fold: i) to propose a machine learning approach that disambiguates online customer review feedback by classifying them into one of three direct product characteristics (i.e., form, function or behavior) and two indirect product characteristics (i.e., service and other), ii) to discover the machine learning algorithm that yields the highest and most generalizable results in achieving objective i) and iii) to quantify the correlation between product ratings and direct and indirect product characteristics. A case study involving review data for products mined from e-commerce websites is presented to demonstrate the validity of the proposed method. A multilayered (i.e., k-fold and leave one out) validation approach is presented to explore the generalizability of the proposed method. The resulting machine learning model achieved classification accuracies of 82.44% for within product classification, 80.84% for across product classification, 79.03% for across product type classification and 80.64% for across product domain classification. Furthermore, it was determined that the form of a product had the highest Pearson Correlation Coefficient relating to a product's star rating, with a value of 0.934. The scientific contributions of this work have the potential to transform the manner in which both product designers and customers incorporate product reviews into their decision making processes by quantifying the relationship between product reviews and product characteristics. Machine learning classification of product form, function and behaviorMachine learning classification accuracies of over 82% for base modelCorrelation between product ratings and product form, function and behaviorCorrelation between products' form and products' ratings resulted in a value of 0.934
Chemical Upcycling of Expired Drugs: Synthesis of Guaifenesin Acetonide

In an effort to repurpose expired guaifenesin tablets, experiments devised for practical instruction are reported for the preparation and isolation of the guaifenesin acetonide using a microscale kit. The laboratory experiment successfully utilizes a waste chemical in lieu of a fine chemical to illustrate the principles behind protecting groups in organic synthesis. Oxidative cleavage is used to demonstrate the stability of the acetonide protecting group. Lastly, methanolysis of the acetal demonstrates the reversibility of the functional group transformation.
Superresolution fluorescence imaging by pump-probe setup using repetitive stimulated transition process

We proposed superresolution nonlinear fluorescence microscopy with pump-probe setup that utilizes repetitive stimulated absorption and stimulated emission caused by two-color laser beams. The resulting nonlinear fluorescence that undergoes such a repetitive stimulated transition is detectable as a signal via the lock-in technique. As the nonlinear fluorescence signal is produced by the multi-ply combination of incident beams, the optical resolution can be improved. A theoretical model of the nonlinear optical process is provided using rate equations, which offers phenomenological interpretation of nonlinear fluorescence and estimation of the signal properties. The proposed method is demonstrated as having the scalability of optical resolution. Theoretical resolution and bead image are also estimated to validate the experimental result.
Successful leveraging of image processing and machine learning in seismic structural interpretation: A review

Abstract As a process that identifies geologic structures of interest such as faults, salt domes, or elements of petroleum systems in general, seismic structural interpretation depends heavily on t...
Evaluation of Medical Therapies and Intravascular Devices with Quantitative Coronary Angiography

Quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) developed 30 years ago after invasive coronary angiography became an established procedure with concrete indications and therapeutic applications. Digital acquisition of cine angiograms made QCA much more available and practical. New developments in software and hardware led to exciting opportunities to visualize coronary stenoses in two and three dimensions and tailor therapy. Moreover, QCA provided excellent reliability and consistency in interpretation of coronary angiograms, allowing angiographic endpoints to become important surrogate endpoints in clinical trials.
Idiotypes, T-Cell Receptors, and T-B Cooperation

Immune responses in mammals, such as the production of antibody or the rejection of foreign (i.e., non-self) tissue grafts, are the result of complex interactions among a variety of different cell types. The hallmarks of the mammalian immune system — specificity, inducibility, memory, and regulation — have been conclusively shown to be associated with lymphocytes (Gowans, 1970). The division of lymphocytes into two major classes, known as T cells (thymus-derived lymphocytes) and B cells (bone-marrow-derived, thymus-independent lymphocytes), has led to an appreciation of the central role of the T cells in virtually all immune responses. This chapter will explore the genetic and environmental influences that govern T-cell specificity and behavior, as well as some interactions by which T cells regulate immune responses.