cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Perturbed linear systems

The purpose of this chapter is to show how the decomposition theory of linear autonomous and periodic systems can be used to obtain results for “perturbed” linear systems. This theory together with a natural adaptation of the methods for ordinary differential equations yield the results in an elementary manner. No attempt is made to present the results in the most general form since our primary concern is to indicate the variety of problems to which the methods are applicable.
Toxic and aversive diterpenes of Euphorbia esula.

Leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula L.), a plant introduced into the Great Plains of North America from Europe, has become a serious economic and ecological threat to the productivity of agricultural and natural areas. Cattle, the predominant livestock species on the Great Plains, as well as common wild ruminant species in this region appear to consume little if any leafy spurge. This is likely because they experience a toxic response after consuming small amounts of this plant, and they consequently learn to avoid it. Domestic sheep and goats can consume considerable amounts of leafy spurge and are used to help control it, but even these species may suffer a toxic response at high levels of intake. Toxic diterpene ingenols have been isolated from leafy spurge tissues, but compounds in this plant have not been evaluated with respect to their capacity to induce food aversion learning in ruminants. We conducted bioassay-guided fractionations of leafy spurge in an attempt to isolate toxic and aversive compounds. These bioassay-guided fractionations led to identification of ingenol and one of its diesters as two toxic compounds in leafy spurge that are potentially aversive to cattle.
Detection of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks Using Artificial Intelligence on Cloud

This research proposes a system for detecting known and unknown Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks. The proposed system applies two different intrusion detection approaches anomaly-based distributed artificial neural networks(ANNs) and signature-based approach. The Amazon public cloud was used for running Spark as the fast cluster engine with varying cores of machines. The experiment results achieved the highest detection accuracy and detection rate comparing to signature based or neural networks-based approach.
Quantifying Human Experience in Architectural Spaces with Integrated Virtual Reality and Body Sensor Networks

AbstractPeople spend more than 90% of their time indoors, making it essential to understand how the built environment can influence human experience and assess how the changes in architectural desi...
Chemical Defoliation of Fig Nursery Stock Using Ethephon, Harvade, and D-WK Surfactant

Application of harvade (2,3 Dihydro-5, 6-dimethyl-l, 4-dithiin 1,1,4 tetroxide) and ethephon (2-chloroethyl phosphonic acid) in combination with Dupont-WK (D-WK) surfactant (principle functioning a...
The histidine decarboxylase model of tic pathophysiology: a new focus on the histamine H 3 receptor

Histamine dysregulation was implicated as a rare cause of Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders a decade ago by a landmark genetic study in a high density family pedigree, which implicated a hypomorphic mutation in the histidine decarboxylase (Hdc) gene as a rare but high penetrance genetic cause. Studies in Hdc knockout (KO) mice have confirmed that this mutation causes tic-relevant behavioural and neurochemical abnormalities that parallel what is seen in patients and thus validate the KO as a potentially informative model of tic pathophysiology. Recent studies have focused on the potential role of the histamine H3 receptor in this model, and by association in tic disorders and related neuropsychiatric conditions. The H3 receptor is up-regulated in the striatum in Hdc KO mice. As the H3 receptor has constitutive activity in the absence of ligand, this receptor up-regulation may have significant cellular effects despite the absence of neurotransmitter histamine in these mice. Activation in vivo of H3 receptors in wild type mice regulates signalling in striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs) that interacts non-linearly with dopamine receptor signalling. Baseline signalling alterations in MSNs in Hdc KO mice resemble those seen after H3 receptor agonist treatment in wild type animals. H3 receptor agonist treatment in the KOs further accentuates most of these signalling abnormalities and produces behavioural stereotypy. Together, these data suggest the intriguing hypothesis that constitutive signalling by up-regulated H3 receptors explains many of the molecular and behavioural abnormalities seen in these animals. LINKED ARTICLES: This article is part of a themed section on New Uses for 21st Century. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v177.3/issuetoc.
Abstract TP289: Legal Authorized Representative Feedback on the use of Smartphone Platform for Electronic Informed Consent in an Acute Stroke Trial

Introduction: We have recently reported the pilot use of a smartphone platform for electronic informed consenting (e-Consent) in acute stroke trials. We here report the feedback provided by legal a...
GUN1 interacts with MORF2 to regulate plastid RNA editing during retrograde signaling.

During development or under stress, chloroplasts generate signals that regulate the expression of a large number of nuclear genes, a process called retrograde signaling. GENOMES UNCOUPLED 1 (GUN1) is an important regulator of this pathway. In this study, we have discovered an unexpected role for GUN1 in plastid RNA editing, as gun1 mutations affect RNA-editing efficiency at multiple sites in plastids during retrograde signaling. GUN1 plays a direct role in RNA editing by physically interacting with MULTIPLE ORGANELLAR RNA EDITING FACTOR 2 (MORF2). MORF2 overexpression causes widespread RNA-editing changes and a strong genomes uncoupled (gun) molecular phenotype similar to gun1. MORF2 further interacts with RNA-editing site-specificity factors: ORGANELLE TRANSCRIPT PROCESSING 81 (OTP81), ORGANELLE TRANSCRIPT PROCESSING 84 (OTP84), and YELLOW SEEDLINGS 1 (YS1). We further show that otp81, otp84, and ys1 single mutants each exhibit a very weak gun phenotype, but combining the three mutations enhances the phenotype. Our study uncovers a role for GUN1 in the regulation of RNA-editing efficiency in damaged chloroplasts and suggests that MORF2 is involved in retrograde signaling.
Is the Problem of Population Aging Real? An Answer Obtained from the Labor Force Participation of the G7 Countries

Old-age dependency ratio (OADR) is commonly used to indicate the financial burden of population aging; increases in OADR have caused widespread concerns. To better measure the financial burden, this paper proposes a dependency ratio of non-labor-force population to labor-force population (NLDR). This ratio includes OADR as a special case. This paper finds that, when measured by NLDR, financial burden actually declined in five of the G7 countries during the years 2000–2014. To project future trends, labor force participation rates by age f(x) can be forecasted using the coherent Lee-Carter method. This paper combines the forecasted f(x) and the population projections of the United Nations, to forecast increases of NLDR for the G7 countries between 2014 and 2050. These increases are on average less than one-fifth of the increases projected for OADR. Because OADR ignores the increase of labor force participation, its description of the problem of population aging for the G7 countries in the past is unrealistic and inaccurate, and forecasts of the future based on OADR are likely to be just as unrealistic. Understanding the conditions and reasons for increases in labor force participation can provide valuable insights into the issues of population aging in China, where the remarkable increase of OADR may result in real financial burdens. One condition for labor force participation to increase could be that people remain in good health, which makes continuing to work more feasible. Other reasons for labor force participation to increase are likely to be found in government policies that encourage people to continue working longer. For China, collecting reliable data on labor force participation is also crucial. Without these data, the effects of the policies that encourage people to continue working longer cannot be detected; and therefore the policies cannot be properly developed.
Taking root: Librarians help new Forestry students create a learning community

Librarians have studied and discussed library anxiety ever since Constance Mellon coined the term in 1986. While it may be challenging for librarians to imagine any anxiety about coming into a library and using the available resources, students experience a multitude of stressors as they embark on their college journey. Many are taking college-level courses for the first time. Some might have a roommate they know, or not. (Sometimes the ones you know are a bigger problem than the ones you do not.) Some may be juggling a full course load with work or family responsibilities. Many are on their own for the first time in their lives. The library may be a draw for some as a place to study or explore in this new environment. However, getting up the nerve to step outside of what is known, and inside somewhere new, can be quite intimidating.
Abstract WMP118: Anticoagulation Therapy Reduces Recurrent Stroke in Embolic Stroke of Undetermined Source (ESUS) Patients With Elevated Coagulation Markers or Severe Left Atrial Enlargement

Introduction: Left atrial enlargement (LAE) and markers of coagulation and hemostatic activation (MOCHA) have previously been shown to identify ESUS patients who are more likely to have subsequent ...
The primacy of gesture: Phenomenology and the art of Chinese calligraphy

Shufa 書法 the Chinese ‘art of writing’, commonly referred to in the West as ‘calligraphy’, addresses us, across generations and geographies, as embodied viewing-subjects. It ‘appeals’ to us, as it were, in its visuality and performativity as the material expression of an ‘interlocutor’ from the past. Interpreted as gestural expression, it elicits zhiyi 知己‘recognition of the true self of the writer. This is often referred to in traditional writings on calligraphy as xinyin 心印, or ‘inscription of the heart-mind’. Xin 心, or ‘heart-mind’, is a traditional, non-dualistic conception of the embodied subject. What is at issue is precisely how recognition (zhi 知)— the basic relation we have with others and the world — functions in a distinctive way within calligraphy. Interpreted within the context of traditional Chinese culture, these ‘signs of self’ are motivated by the writer’s desire (yu欲) forzhiyi zhe 知己,1 ‘one who recognizes the self.
Amplicon-Based Next-Generation Sequencing for Detection of Fungi in Formalin-Fixed, Paraffin-Embedded Tissues: Correlation with Histopathology and Clinical Applications.

Invasive fungal infections are increasing in prevalence because of an expanding population of immunocompromised individuals. To reduce morbidity and mortality, it is critical to accurately identify fungal pathogens to guide treatment. Current methods rely on histopathology, fungal culture, and serology, which are often insufficient for diagnosis. Herein, we describe the use of a laboratory-developed internal transcribed spacer–targeted amplicon-based next-generation sequencing (NGS) assay for the identification of fungal etiology in fungal stain–positive formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues by using Illumina MiSeq. A total of 44 specimens from 35 patients were included in this study, with varying degrees of fungal burden from multiple anatomic sites. NGS identified 20 unique species across the 54 total organisms detected, including 40 molds, 10 yeasts, and 4 dimorphic fungi. The histopathologic morphology and the organisms suspected by surgical pathologist were compared with the organisms identified by NGS, with 100% (44/44) and 93.2% (41/44) concordance, respectively. In contrast, fungal culture only provided an identification in 27.3% (12/44) of specimens. We demonstrated that NGS is a powerful method for accurate and unbiased fungal identification in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues. A retrospective evaluation of the clinical utility of the NGS results also suggests this technology can potentially improve both the speed and the accuracy of diagnosis for invasive fungal infections.
Dialogic constitutionalism and judicial review

In A Cosmopolitan Legal Order: Kant, Constitutional Justice and the European Convention on Human Rights, Alec Stone Sweet and Clare Ryan reconstruct Kant’s legal philosophy as a program of cosmopolitan legal order (CLO). A CLO is defined as a multi-level, judicialized, transnational system of rights protection that confers on all persons, by virtue of their humanity, the entitlement to challenge the rights-regarding decisions of public officials, who are under an obligation to assure the equal juridical status of all. The authors illustrate this claim with respect to the development of the ECtHR and the Court of Justice of the European Union. While generally agreeing with their argument, I claim that they minimize the republican aspects of Kant’s political philosophy in favour of strong judicial review. After outlining republican and democratic objections, I claim that their book illustrates a model that I call ‘dialogic constitutionalism’. Dialogic constitutionalism does not neglect legislative authority, but places it in a conversation with judicial authority, whether domestic or transnational; such conversations can serve to upgrade standards of rights protection over time and are not frozen precommitments. Constitutions also have a representative function of standing for the intergenerational continuity of the people, whereas legislatures are bound by electoral cycles.
Non-hazardous industrial waste in the United States: 100 Million tonnes of recoverable resources

Abstract Despite the large volume of non-hazardous industrial waste (NHIW) being generated globally, systematic NHIW reuse policies are lagging, largely owing to piecemeal understanding of generation volumes, locations, chemical constituents, and future trends. Herein, we demonstrate how to estimate the mineral and energy flows embedded in the 200-300 million tonnes of NHIW in the United States using information from process engineering and economic projections. We estimate that the minerals contained in NHIW are on the order of 100 million tonnes and with electricity potential lectricity at 200 billion kWh annually from 1990 to 2016. Both are expected to increase by roughly 50% from 2017 to 2050. The electricity potential and bulk mineral contents (e.g., CaO and SiO2) are modest compared to the total level of consumption of these resources (
A New Fluorescent Method to Detect Sulfamidase Activity in Blood, Tissue Extracts and Dried Blood Spots

Abstract Mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIA (MPS IIIA) is a lysosomal storage disorder due to the deficient activity of sulfamidase (SGSH). Traditionally, measurement of this enzymatic activity has been performed using a fluorescently (4-MU) labeled glycoside substrate. While this substrate is inexpensive and readily available, the current method requires a 2-step procedure that is performed over 2 days. Here we report a new and simplified procedure using the 4-MU substrate. Major advantages of this assay method over the existing fluorescent method include a single step vs. 2-step procedure, an incubation time of 1 hour, and high sensitivity. The reaction is also run on UPLC equipment, which is available in most research labs and permits separation of the endogenous, autofluorescent material from the 4-MU signal. This assay method was developed using the MPS IIIA mouse model, and was validated using mouse plasma, liver and brain extracts, and dried blood spots. Human MPS IIIA skin fibroblasts and dried blood spots also were used to validate the method.
Priming of myelin-specific T cells in the absence of dendritic cells results in accelerated development of Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is an established animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS). Inflammatory CD4+ T cell responses directed against CNS antigens, including myelin proteolipid protein (PLP), are key mediators of EAE. Dendritic cells (DCs) are critical for the induction of T cell responses against infectious agents. However, the importance of DCs in priming self-reactive CD4+ T cells in autoimmune disease such as MS has been unclear. To determine the requirement of DCs in PLP-specific CD4+ T cell responses and EAE, we genetically deleted CD11c+ DCs in PLP T cell receptor (TCR) transgenic SJL mice constitutively. DC deficiency did not impair the development, selection or the pathogenic function of PLP-specific CD4+ T cells in these mice, and resulted in accelerated spontaneous EAE compared to DC sufficient controls. In addition, using a genetic approach to ablate DCs conditionally in SJL mice, we show that CD11c+ DCs were dispensable for presenting exogenous or endogenous myelin antigen to PLP-specific T cells and for promoting pro-inflammatory T cell responses and severe EAE. Our findings demonstrate that constitutive or conditional ablation of CD11c+ DCs diminished self-tolerance to PLP autoantigen. They further show that in the absence of DCs, non-DCs can efficiently present CNS myelin antigens such as PLP to self-reactive T cells, resulting in accelerated onset of spontaneous or induced EAE.
Partisan registration of faculty in flagship colleges

This is a study of 12,372 professors in 116 colleges that are the four top US News-ranked colleges in each of 30 states that collect political registration data. We devised the sample to highlight ...
The Diné Reader: An Anthology of Navajo Literature: edited by Esther G. Belin, Jeff Berglund, Connie A. Jacobs, and Anthony K. Webster, References Cited. Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 432 pp., 2021, $24.95 (paper), $24.95 (ebook), ISBN 978-0-81654-099-0

The Dine Reader: An Anthology of Navajo Literature has been put together by Navajo multimedia artist and writer Esther G. Belin, Northern Arizona University English professor Jeff Berglund, profess...
Multidisciplinary Preparation for the Delivery of Craniopagus Conjoined Twins

Background: Craniopagus twins joined at the head are an uncommon malformation found once in 2.5 million live births. Beyond findings from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Organizations (JCAHO), there is limited evidence to inform best practices for successful preparation for delivery and management of craniopagus twins. JCAHO identified several root causes related to perinatal death; including poor communication, failure to function as a team, and poor training processes. UC Davis Children’s Hospital successfully delivered and managed craniopagus twins. Methods: Anonymous surveys were distributed post-delivery to a multi-disciplinary team. Ten of the 13-team members had previously participated in mock deliveries. In preparation for the delivery of craniopagus twins fetal MRI imaging was reviewed to understand and produce anatomically correct positioning. Neonatal training mannequins were fabricated utilizing existing mannequins and the findings of fetal MRI imaging. Preparation required proper identification of each baby. Babies were designated to indicate the location of skull fusion. Baby Orange being fused along its occipital bone and baby Purple fused along its parietal bone. Multidisciplinary delivery team members participated in mock deliveries lasting 2 hours each; completed 3 weeks prior to delivery. Teams were configured utilizing color coding to facilitate closed loop communication. Anticipated requirement of cardiorespiratory support including CPAP and intubation were included. Babies were born at 36 weeks gestation and transitioned to the NICU; Baby Orange, utilizing customized headgear required bubble CPAP and Baby Purple on room air. Post-delivery surveys and team debriefing were conducted. IRB exemption as well as family consent was obtained. Results: Thirteen surveys were returned. Ten of the 13 (77%) team members participated in simulated deliveries. 100% of respondents agreed that color coding of teams was helpful to distinguish team members during resuscitation of the infants and helped facilitate good communication with less confusion. 100% of respondents agreed mock mannequins created for simulated delivery were accurate. Conclusions: Multidisciplinary planning and simulation training for the delivery of craniopagus conjoined twins including mannequin representation was beneficial for preparation of the delivery team. The experience of UC Davis Children’s Hospital will serve as a guide for future craniopagus twin delivery preparation worldwide.
Prolegomenon to a Fairness-Centered Anthropology of Law

Legal anthropology, which began with Malinowski's holistic reflections on law, has today drifted toward an emphasis on the study of dispute resolution. Part I outlines the three historical phases of this development - Holism, Realism, and Processualism - and identifies two shortcomings of viewing the dispute as the central problem for legal anthropology: (1) the collapse of law into dispute analyses has not been, and perhaps cannot be, fully theorized; and (2) the most pressing of current problems, such as human rights and intellectual property issues, cannot be reduced without distortion to the disputing paradigm. Part II offers fairness as an alternative organizing concept for legal anthropology. According to the essay's arguments from initial premises, law should be operationalized as one of a system of coordinated norms of social regulation, with the unique goal to foster perceptions of fairness about structural inequalities. Turning attention away from disputes and onto fairness allows legal anthropology to benefit from the insights into law-related phenomena (e.g., fair sanctioning) gained by other subfields of anthropology such as economic anthropology, but most importantly returns the field's orientation toward its original interest in law.
The Use of a Temporary Intraluminal Shunt to Restore Lower Limb Perfusion Over a 4,000 Mile Air Evacuation in a Special Operations Military Setting: A Case Report

Copyright in this article, its metadata, and any supplementary data is held by its author or authors. It is published under the Creative Commons Attribution By licence. For further information go to: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. The Use of a Temporary Intraluminal Shunt to Restore Lower Limb Perfusion Over a 4,000 Mile Air Evacuation in a Special Operations Military Setting: A Case Report
Privacy-Preserving Set Union

Recently there has been a significant amount of work on privacy-preserving set operations, including: set intersection [14,6,21,9], testing set disjointness [17], multi-set operations [18], and set union [16,1,18] . In this paper, we introduce novel protocols for privacy- preserving set union in the malicious adversary model. More specifically, each participant inputs a set of values, and at the end of the protocol, each participant learns the items that are in at least one participant's set without learning the frequency of the items or which participant(s) contributed specific items. To our knowledge our protocol is the most efficient privacy-preserving set union protocol for the malicious adversary model to date.
Reconstructing a 3D World

How does the brain translate the two-dimensional images represented by the retina into the three-dimensional (3D) images that we see? In his Perspective, [Connor][1] discusses new work ([Tsutsui][2] et al .; [Vanduffel][3] et al .) in monkeys and humans that reveals the brain areas responsible for synthesizing 3D reality from texture and motion cues. [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/298/5592/376 [2]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/298/5592/409 [3]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/298/5592/413
Intratracheal heparin improves plastic bronchitis due to sulfur mustard analog.

Summary Background: Inhalation of sulfur mustard (SM) and SM analog, 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (CEES), cause fibrinous cast formation that occludes the conducting airways, similar to children with Fontan physiology-induced plastic bronchitis. These airway casts cause significant mortality and morbidity, including hypoxemia and respiratory distress. Our hypothesis was that intratracheal heparin, a highly cost effective and easily preserved rescue therapy, could reverse morbidity and mortality induced by bronchial cast formation. Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to 7.5% CEES via nose-only aerosol inhalation to produce extensive cast formation and mortality. The rats were distributed into three groups: non-treated, phosphate-buffered saline (PBS)-treated, and heparin-treated groups. Morbidity was assessed with oxygen saturations and clinical distress. Blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were obtained for analysis, and lungs were fixed for airway microdissection to quantify the extent of airway cast formation. Results: Heparin, given intratracheally, improved survival (100%) when compared to non-treated (75%) and PBS-treated (90%) controls. Heparin-treated rats also had improved oxygen saturations, clinical distress and airway cast scores. Heparin-treated rats had increased thrombin clotting times, factor Xa inhibition and activated partial thromboplastin times, indicating systemic absorption of heparin. There were also increased red blood cells (RBCs) in the BALF in 2/6 heparin-treated rats compared to PBS-treated control rats. Conclusions: Intratracheal heparin 1 hr after CEES inhalation improved survival, oxygenation, airway obstruction, and clinical distress. There was systemic absorption of heparin in rats treated intratracheally. Some rats had increased RBCs in BALF, suggesting a potential for intrapulmonary bleeding if used chronically after SM inhalation. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2015; 50:118–126. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Nonketotic Hyperglycinemia: Treatment with Diazepam—A Competitor for Glycine Receptors

Two female infants with nonketotic hyperglycinemia (NKH) were treated with diazepam for the control of seizures. The first infant had seizures, lethargy, and respiratory distress in the first 24 hours of life. The diagnosis of NKH was made at 3 weeks of age and she was then placed on a regimen of strychnine and a low-protein diet. Strychnine therapy was discontinued after three months of treatment because there was no improvement in the seizure control or in the patient's condition. At 5 months of age the patient was referred to our clinic for further work-up. The second infant had seizures, hypotonia, and respiratory distress shortly after birth. She was treated with phenobarbital and diphenylhydantoin, which had no effect on her seizures. The baby was referred to our clinic at 8 months of age and diagnostic studies revealed NKH. All previous medications were stopped and both infants were placed on diazepam, a competitor for glycine receptors in the CNS. Choline and folic acid were added for one-carbon unit transfer and sodium benzoate to bind excessive glycine. Both infants responded to this treatment with cessation of seizures; they became more responsive and alert, and their EEGs showed remarkable improvement despite the persistence of elevated glycine levels in plasma, CSF, and urine. Diazepam as a competitor for the receptors of glycine may prove helpful in controlling the intractable seizures associated with NKH.
Computational molecular engineering nucleic acid binding proteins and enzymes

Interactions between nucleic acid substrates and the proteins and enzymes that bind and catalyze them are ubiquitous and essential for reading, writing, replicating, repairing, and regulating the genomic code by the proteomic machinery. In this dissertation, computational molecular engineering furthered the elucidation of spatial-temporal interactions of natural nucleic acid binding proteins and enzymes and the creation of synthetic counterparts with structure-function interactions at predictive proficiency. We examined spatial-temporal interactions to study how natural proteins can process signals and substrates. The signals, propagated by spatial interactions between genes and proteins, can encode and decode information in the temporal domain. Natural proteins evolved through facilitating signaling, limiting crosstalk, and overcoming noise locally and globally. Findings indicate that fidelity and speed of frequency signal transmission in cellular noise was coordinated by a critical frequency, beyond which interactions may degrade or fail. The substrates, bound to their corresponding proteins, present structural information that is precisely recognized and acted upon in the spatial domain. Natural proteins evolved by coordinating substrate features with their own. Findings highlight the importance of accurate structural modeling. We explored structure-function interactions to study how synthetic proteins can complex with substrates. These complexes, composed of nucleic acid containing substrates and amino acid containing enzymes, can recognize and catalyze information in the spatial and temporal domains. Natural proteins evolved by balancing stability, solubility, substrate affinity, specificity, and catalytic activity. Accurate computational modeling of mutants with desirable properties for nucleic acids while maintaining such balances extended molecular redesign approaches. Findings demonstrate that binding and catalyzing proteins redesigned by single-conformation and multiple-conformation approaches maintained this balance to function, often as well as or better than those found in nature. We enabled access to computational molecular engineering of these interactions through open-source practices. We examined the applications and issues of engineering nucleic acid binding proteins and enzymes for nanotechnology, therapeutics, and in the ethical, legal, and social dimensions. Findings suggest that these access and applications can make engineering biology more widely adopted, easier, more effective, and safer. Keywords: molecular engineering, computational biology, synthetic biology, protein design, nucleic acid, binding protein
The precautionary principle: Scientific uncertainty and type I and type II errors

We provide examples of the extent and nature of environmental and human health problems and show why in the United States prevailing scientific and legal burden of proof requirements usually cannot be met because of the pervasiveness of scientific uncertainty. We also provide examples of how may assumptions, judgments, evaluations, and inferences in scientific methods are value-laden and that when this is not recognized results of studies will appear to be more factual and value-neutral than warranted. Further, we show that there is a "tension" between the use of the 95 percent confidence rule as a normative basis to reduce speculation in scientific knowledge and other public policy and moral concerns embodied by the adoption of a precautionary principle. Finally, although there is no precise agreement regarding what a precautionary principle might entail, we make several recommendations regarding the placement of the burden of proof and the standard of proof that ought to be required in environmental and human health matters.
Mismanaging Concussions in Intercollegiate Football

In 2011, Adrian Arrington filed a class action lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) on behalf of himself and other athletes who had sustained concussions that resulted in long-term injuries. In the lawsuit, Arrington alleged that the NCAA employed a negligent approach to concussed student-athletes.
Results and problems on self-adjusting search trees and related data structures

The splay tree is a form of self-adjusting search tree invented almost 25 years ago. Splay trees are remarkably efficient in both theory and practice, but many questions concerning splay trees and related data structures remain open. Foremost among these is the dynamic optimality conjecture, which states that the amortized efficiency of splay trees is optimum to within a constant factor among all kinds of binary search trees. That is, are splay trees constant-competitive? A broader question is whether there is any form of binary search tree that is constant-competitive. Recently, three different groups of researchers have devised kinds of search trees that are loglog-competitive, improving on the log-competitiveness of balanced trees. At least one of these data structures, the multisplay tree, has many if not all of the nice asymptotic properties of splay trees (even though it is more complicated than splay trees). We review this recent work and look at remaining open problems, of which there are many, including resolving the question of whether splay trees themselves are loglog-competitive
Kinetic analysis of photoelectrochemical water oxidation by mesostructured Co-Pi/α-Fe2O3 photoanodes

Solar water splitting using catalyst-modified semiconductor photoelectrodes is a promising approach to harvesting and storing solar energy. Prior studies have demonstrated that modification of α-Fe2O3 photoanodes with the water-oxidation electrocatalyst Co-Pi enhances photon-to-current conversion efficiencies, particularly at less positive potentials, but the mechanism underlying this enhancement remains poorly understood. Different experimental techniques have suggested very different interpretations of the microscopic origins of this improvement. Here, we report results from photoelectrochemical and impedance measurements aimed at understanding the Co-Pi/α-Fe2O3 interface of mesostructured composite photoanodes. Contrary to expectations, these measurements reveal that α-Fe2O3 water-oxidation kinetics actually slow upon deposition of Co-Pi, but electron–hole recombination slows even more, resulting in a net enhancement of water-oxidation quantum efficiency. The negative shift in the J–V curve caused by Co-Pi deposition is found to result from the introduction of an alternative pathway for water oxidation catalyzed by Co-Pi, which allows the composite photoanode to avoid positive charge accumulation at the α-Fe2O3 surface. We detail the role of Co-Pi thickness optimization in balancing the slower recombination against the slower water oxidation kinetics to achieve the lowest water-oxidation onset potential. These results provide new insights into the microscopic properties of the catalyst/semiconductor interface in Co-Pi/α-Fe2O3 composite solar water-splitting photoanodes.
Marine toxins of the Pacific. VIII. Ciguatoxin from moray eel livers.

Abstract Moray eels (Gymnothorax spp.) from Johnston Island, the Society Islands, Okinawa, and Hawaii were screened for ciguatera by mongoose feeding. The livers of all eels from a ciguateric area and the toxic extracts were assayed by i.p. injection in mice. Comparison of toxicity levels showed that livers of all eels from a ciguateric area are toxic, regardless of the results of the screening test on the eel flesh. It further showed that the toxicity level of the livers is approximately the same from ‘nontoxic’ (zero rating) and moderately toxic (three rating) eels. The results of the study on Okinawan eels present a special situation, which is discussed.
Think and do the right thing: a plea for morally competent autonomous robots

Autonomous robots are increasingly employed in human societies without any provisions for "moral behavior" (other than some implicit architectural protective measures such as to avoid collisions or to follow human orders). However, being part of human societies, these robots will inevitably face morally charged situations, if not moral dilemmas where no simple solution exist, and thus need to be able to handle them appropriately. We argue for the need to incorporate explicit mechanisms for moral competence into robotic architectures and briefly sketch several components that are required for such moral competence.
Highly Scalable Vertical Double Gate NOR Flash Memory

A Sub-50 nm body thickness (TSi), vertical channel (not FINFET), double gate, multi-bit NOR flash cell is fabricated on bulk-silicon substrate and is electrically characterized. This floating gate, conventional flash cell (no exotic materials), is potentially scalable with below 8F2 size beyond 32 nm node and is enabled by several key unit process innovations. The device is extensively characterized for program/erase, endurance, and charge interference on a shared thin body, which is important for scalability, density and multi-bit operation.
Reconstruction phases via Poisson reduction

Abstract A new formula for reconstruction phases in Hamiltonian systems with symmetry expresses the phase in terms of the Poisson-reduced solution curve and certain derivatives transverse to the symplectic leaf containing the curve. Specifically, the “dynamic” part of the phase depends on transverse derivatives in the Poisson-reduced Hamiltonian, while the “geometric” part is determined by transverse derivatives in the leaf symplectic structures. Intermediate results include a decomposition theorem for Hamiltonian vector fields with symmetry, and a new expression for curvature in Marsden–Weinstein reduction bundles. Applications are made to mechanical systems and resonant three-wave interactions.
Determination of polyamines in human urine by an automated ion-exchange method☆

Abstract A sensitive and reliable automated cation-exchange method for the determination of polyamines in human urine has been developed and applied to samples from both normal subjects and patients bearing various types of cancer. A relatively large number of cancer patients urine samples are currently being analyzed, and these data will be the subject of a later paper.
Energy and Water Optimization in Biofuel Plants

In this paper we address the topic of energy and water optimization in the production of bioethanol from corn and switchgrass. We show that in order for these manufacturing processes to be attractive, there is a need to go beyond traditional heat integration and water recycling techniques. Thus, we propose a strategy based on mathematical programming techniques to model and optimize the structure of the processes, and perform heat integration including the use of multi-effect distillation columns and integrated water networks to show that the energy efficiency and water consumption in bioethanol plants can be significantly improved. Specifically, under some circumstances energy can even be produced and the water consumption can be reduced below the values required for the production of gasoline.
The new Wide-band Solar Neutrino Trigger for Super-Kamiokande

Abstract Super-Kamiokande observes low energy electrons induced by the elastic scattering of 8B solar neutrinos. The transition region between vacuum and matter oscillations, with neutrino energy near 3 MeV, is still partially unexplored by any detector. Super-Kamiokande can study this intermediate regime adding a new software trigger. The Wide-band Intelligent Trigger (WIT) has been developed to simultaneously trigger and reconstruct very low energy electrons (above 2.49 kinetic MeV) with an e_ciency close to 100%. The WIT system, comprising 256-Hyperthreaded CPU cores and one 10-Gigabit Ethernet network switch, has been recently installed and integrated in the online DAQ system of SK and the complete system is currently in an advanced status of online data testing.
Body weight, diet and home range area in primates

Primates show a strong positive relationship between body weight and home range area. Dietary habits also influence home range area. Folivorous primates occupy smaller home range areas for their body weight than do frugivores and omnivores. Primates generally require smaller home range area per individual than solitary terrestrial mammals, but primates living in social groups have much larger total home range than individual solitary mammals. This trend may necessitate higher expenditures of energy in food-gathering or modifications in movement patterns.
Dental health history forms may underreport adolescent smoking.

Article Title and Bibliographic Information How well does the health history form identify adolescent smokers? Hennrikus D, Rindal DB, et al. J Am Dent Assoc 2005;136(8):1113-20. Level of Evidence 4c Purpose/Question The purpose of this study was to compare the identification of smoking status and provision of advice about smoking among adolescents during regular dental visits as recorded on patients' health history forms to similar information collected via telephone interviews. Source of Funding Grant R01 DE12677 from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Type of Study/Design Diagnostic test
Race and Gender Differences in the Earnings of Black Workers

In addition to facing earnings penalties because of their race and additional penalties because of their gender, black women appear to suffer a small but additional penalty because of the intersection of their race and gender. Black women have larger gender than race penalties. Although black men have greater racial penalties than do black women, black women experience larger earnings losses because in addition to racial penalties they face gender and race–gender interaction penalties.
Ocular herpes: the pathophysiology, management and treatment of herpetic eye diseases

Herpesviruses are a prominent cause of human viral disease, second only to the cold and influenza viruses. Most herpesvirus infections are mild or asymptomatic. However, when the virus invades the eye, a number of pathologies can develop and its associated sequelae have become a considerable source of ocular morbidity. The most common culprits of herpetic eye disease are the herpes simplex virus (HSV), varicella zoster virus (VZV), and cytomegalovirus (CMV). While primary infection can produce ocular disease, the most destructive manifestations tend to arise from recurrent infection. These recurrent infections can wreck devastating effects and lead to irreversible vision loss accompanied by a decreased quality of life, increased healthcare usage, and significant cost burden. Unfortunately, no method currently exists to eradicate herpesviruses from the body after infection. Treatment and management of herpes-related eye conditions continue to revolve around antiviral drugs, although corticosteroids, interferons, and other newer therapies may also be appropriate depending on the disease presentation. Ultimately, the advent of effective vaccines will be crucial to preventing herpesvirus diseases altogether and cutting the incidence of ocular complications.
Observation and absolute frequency measurements of the 1S0-3P0 optical clock transition in neutral ytterbium.

We report the direct excitation of the highly forbidden $(6{s}^{2})^{1}S_{0}\ensuremath{\leftrightarrow}(6s6p)^{3}P_{0}$ optical transition in two odd isotopes of neutral ytterbium. As the excitation laser frequency is scanned, absorption is detected by monitoring the depletion from an atomic cloud at $\ensuremath{\sim}70\text{ }\text{ }\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{K}$ in a magneto-optical trap. The measured frequency in $^{171}\mathrm{Yb}$ ($\mathrm{F}=1/2$) is $518\text{ }295\text{ }836\text{ }591.6\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}4.4\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{kHz}$. The measured frequency in $^{173}\mathrm{Yb}$ ($\mathrm{F}=5/2$) is $518\text{ }294\text{ }576\text{ }847.6\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}4.4\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{kHz}$. Measurements are made with a femtosecond-laser frequency comb calibrated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology cesium fountain clock and represent nearly a ${10}^{6}$-fold reduction in uncertainty. The natural linewidth of these $J=0$ to $J=0$ transitions is calculated to be $\ensuremath{\sim}10\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{mHz}$, making them well suited to support a new generation of optical atomic clocks based on confinement in an optical lattice.
Development and application of an aggregate adherence metric derived from population pharmacokinetics to inform clinical trial enrichment

Nonadherence to prescribed medication is a common barrier to effective treatment, and current options to determine adherence are limited. This study describes development of an aggregate adherence measure based on population pharmacokinetics (PK), and its comparison to a subjective questionnaire, the Morisky 8-item medication adherence scale (MMAS8), in a trial of psychiatric patients on stable doses of oral aripiprazole. A comprehensive model was first built using plasma drug concentration data from 24 clinical studies comprising 448 patients with over 13,500 observations. Application of this model to independent patient profiles for a given drug-dosing regimen were used to generate the primary aggregate adherence metric, a ratio of observed versus expected plasma exposures at steady-state. Although the metric is capable of comparing relative adherence across groups, simulations showed that the metric is not sufficiently sensitive as an individual diagnostic in all cases. There were no trends observed between results from calculated aggregate adherence metrics and total scores from MMAS8 in a single-visit clinical trial of 47 patients with bipolar 1 disorder or schizophrenia who were on stable doses of aripiprazole, although a strong association was observed for one MMAS8 question. The range of the metric calculated for patients was between 0.16 and 3.15. The described approach of a novel “reverse” application of population PK to quantify relative adherence with an aggregate measure may be influential for both clinical and pharmacometric communities.
Reduced motion artifacts in medical imaging by adaptive spatio-temporal reconstruction

In this paper we introduce an algorithm for imaging a time varying object\(f(\vec x,t)\), from its projections at different fixed times. This algorithm differs from other algorithms in that we do not need the object to remain stationary during the data acquisition period. We show that the reconstruction of coarse features, corresponding to low spatial-frequency data, can be made nearly instantaneously in time from the evolving data. A temporal sequence of these low spatial-frequency reconstructions can be used to estimate the motion of the object. Once the motion is estimated, we may use the estimate to compensate for some of the motion of fine scale features. This enables accurate reconstructions of the time varying fine structure if the motion is not too extreme.
Barriers to participation in the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission program in Gaborone, Botswana a qualitative approach

The existing belief that if money and free antiretroviral drugs were offered to developing countries, people would flock to use the services does seem to hold for the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV Program (PMTCT) in Botswana. The government offers free counseling, testing, free antiretroviral drugs and free infant formula for babies born to infected mothers and yet some women are reluctant to enroll in this program to protect their infants. A qualitative study on factors that motivated and hindered pregnant women from participating in the PMTCT program was conducted in Gaborone, Botswana. Forty subjects (ten HIV-positive pregnant women who accepted the program, eleven who rejected the program, nine PMTCT health workers and ten key informants) participated in in-depth interviews. Thematic content analysis yielded the following barriers to participation in the program: fear of knowing one's own HIV status, infant feeding distribution stigma, lack of male partners' support and negative attitudes of health workers. Reinforcing factors were: availability of free antiretroviral drugs and free infant formula. In conclusion, stigma and discrimination are still the main impediments to women's participation in the PMTCT program. Mitigating these barriers could reduce AIDS-related infant mortality in this country.