cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Common muscle synergies for control of center of mass and force in nonstepping and stepping postural behaviors

We investigated muscle activity, ground reaction forces, and center of mass (CoM) acceleration in two different postural behaviors for standing balance control in humans to determine whether common neural mechanisms are used in different postural tasks. We compared nonstepping responses, where the base of support is stationary and balance is recovered by returning CoM back to its initial position, with stepping responses, where the base of support is enlarged and balance is recovered by pushing the CoM away from the initial position. In response to perturbations of the same direction, these two postural behaviors resulted in different muscle activity and ground reaction forces. We hypothesized that a common pool of muscle synergies producing consistent task-level biomechanical functions is used to generate different postural behaviors. Two sets of support-surface translations in 12 horizontal-plane directions were presented, first to evoke stepping responses and then to evoke nonstepping responses. Electromyographs in 16 lower back and leg muscles of the stance leg were measured. Initially (∼100-ms latency), electromyographs, CoM acceleration, and forces were similar in nonstepping and stepping responses, but these diverged in later time periods (∼200 ms), when stepping occurred. We identified muscle synergies using non-negative matrix factorization and functional muscle synergies that quantified correlations between muscle synergy recruitment levels and biomechanical outputs. Functional muscle synergies that produce forces to restore CoM position in nonstepping responses were also used to displace the CoM during stepping responses. These results suggest that muscle synergies represent common neural mechanisms for CoM movement control under different dynamic conditions: stepping and nonstepping postural responses.
A Participatory Regional Partnership Approach to Promote Nutrition and Physical Activity Through Environmental and Policy Change in Rural Missouri

Background Rural residents are less likely than urban and suburban residents to meet recommendations for nutrition and physical activity. Interventions at the environmental and policy level create environments that support healthy eating and physical activity.
Toward a real-time event flow architecture style

Recent literature on the architectures of real-time systems reveals striking similarities among designs used in many different domains, including avionics, satellites, process control, signal processing, power generation and manufacturing. This paper presents an architecture style that can be used for a large class of real-time event-processing systems. It gives the common requirements of these systems, the major design patterns shaping the architecture, and the rationale leading from the requirements to the chosen patterns. Although most of the design patterns could be used individually to define stand-alone architecture styles, collectively the requirements and design patterns have many interrelationships that make this an architecture style worth documenting and studying. The paper ends with brief discussions of three previously published systems that have similar architectures.
Delivering knowledge to NASA scientist and engineers: using phrase matching to determine document similarity

Scientist and engineers with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) deal with hundreds of thousands of technical standards from hundreds of technical organizations. With such a large scale of technical knowledge available, it can be difficult for the individual scientist or engineer to know they are examining the most current and relevant information and what related knowledge is available. A mechanism is needed to assist in answering the following type of questions:
A Novel Gene Involved in Regulating the Flagellar Gene Cascade in Proteus mirabilis

In this study, we identified a transposon insertion in a novel gene, designated disA, that restored swarming motility to a putrescine-deficient speA mutant of Proteus mirabilis. A null allele in disA also increased swarming in a wild-type background. The DisA gene product was homologous to amino acid decarboxylases, and its role in regulating swarming was investigated by examining the expression of genes in the flagellar cascade. In a disA mutant background, we observed a 1.4-fold increase in the expression of flhDC, which encodes FlhD2C2, the master regulator of the flagellar gene cascade. However, the expressions of class 2 (fliA, flgM) and class 3 (flaA) genes were at least 16-fold higher in the disA background during swarmer cell differentiation. Overexpression of DisA on a high-copy-number plasmid did not significantly decrease flhDC mRNA accumulation but resulted in a complete block in mRNA accumulation for both fliA and flaA. DisA overexpression also blocked swarmer cell differentiation. The disA gene was regulated during the swarming cycle, and a single-copy disA::lacZ fusion exhibited a threefold increase in expression in swarmer cells. Given that DisA was similar to amino acid decarboxylases, a panel of decarboxylated amino acids was tested for effects similar to DisA overexpression, and phenethylamine, the product of phenylalanine decarboxylation, was capable of inhibiting both swarming and the expression of class 2 and class 3 genes in the flagellar regulon. A DisA-dependent decarboxylated amino acid may inhibit the formation of active FlhD2C2 heterotetramers or inhibit FlhD2C2 binding to DNA.
Preoperative predictors of operative mortality for coronary bypass grafting in patients with unstable angina pectoris.

Preoperative risk factors for operative mortality were studied in 124 consecutive patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery for unstable angina pectorls. Of the 124 patients, 53 responded to maximal medical therapy within 48 hours after admission (Group A) and 71 continued to have typical angina pectoris despite medical therapy (Group B). Of the 124 patients, 37 had hypertension, 77 had triple vessel coronary artery disease, 16 had left main coronary artery disease and all except 15 were receiving propranolol therapy. The operative mortality rate was 4.8 percent (6 of 124) for the entire group. The factors that significantly increased operative mortality were failure of in-hospital maximal medical therapy (8.5 percent, 6 of 71), hypertension (13.5 percent, 5 of 37) and triple vessel disease (7.8 percent, 6 of 77). To predict more accurately the outcome of Individual patients, combinations of two and three risk factors were examined to determine interdependent variables that might influence operative mortality. The combination of failure to respond to medical therapy, hypertension and three vessel disease yield an operative mortality rate of 41.7 percent (5 of 12). If only two of these interdependent risk factors existed, the operative mortality rate was 1.9 percent (1 of 54), and the presence of only one or no risk factors resulted in no mortality (0 of 58). Failure to respond to in-hospital maximal medical therapy, hypertension and three vessel disease are potent risk factors in patients undergoing coronary bypass grafting and allow effective prediction of operative mortality for this procedure in patients with unstable angina pectoris:
Putrescine metabolism: Enzymatic formation and non‐enzymatic isotope exchange of Δ′‐pyrroline

The deamination of putrescine catalysed by diamine oxidase was carried out in deuterium oxide and deuterated buffers. Enamine and alpha, beta-unsaturated intermediates were excluded, based on the observation that deuterium was not incorporated into delta 1-pyrroline during its enzymatic formation in deuterium oxide. When the reaction mixture was buffered with phosphate, isolated delta 1-pyrroline contained two deuterium atoms at C-3, indicating that a phosphate-promoted, non-enzymatic isotope exchange had occurred. Using 5,5-dimethyl-delta 1-pyrroline as a model compound, the nature of the non-enzymatic deuterium exchange was studied and a bifunctional catalysis mechanism proposed. The results suggest that the choice of buffer could alter the conclusions drawn from enzyme mechanism studies involving imine-enamine tautomerism .
The Reversal of Fortunes: Trends in County Mortality and Cross-County Mortality Disparities in the United States

Background Counties are the smallest unit for which mortality data are routinely available, allowing consistent and comparable long-term analysis of trends in health disparities. Average life expectancy has steadily increased in the United States but there is limited information on longterm mortality trends in the US counties This study aimed to investigate trends in county mortality and cross-county mortality disparities, including the contributions of specific diseases to county level mortality trends. Methods and Findings We used mortality statistics (from the National Center for Health Statistics [NCHS]) and population (from the US Census) to estimate sex-specific life expectancy for US counties for every year between 1961 and 1999. Data for analyses in subsequent years were not provided to us by the NCHS. We calculated different metrics of cross-county mortality disparity, and also grouped counties on the basis of whether their mortality changed favorably or unfavorably relative to the national average. We estimated the probability of death from specific diseases for counties with above- or below-average mortality performance. We simulated the effect of cross-county migration on each county’s life expectancy using a time-based simulation model. Between 1961 and 1999, the standard deviation (SD) of life expectancy across US counties was at its lowest in 1983, at 1.9 and 1.4 y for men and women, respectively. Cross-county life expectancy SD increased to 2.3 and 1.7 y in 1999. Between 1961 and 1983 no counties had a statistically significant increase in mortality; the major cause of mortality decline for both sexes was reduction in cardiovascular mortality. From 1983 to 1999, life expectancy declined significantly in 11 counties for men (by 1.3 y) and in 180 counties for women (by 1.3 y); another 48 (men) and 783 (women) counties had nonsignificant life expectancy decline. Life expectancy decline in both sexes was caused by increased mortality from lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, and a range of other noncommunicable diseases, which were no longer compensated for by the decline in cardiovascular mortality. Higher HIV/AIDS and homicide deaths also contributed substantially to life expectancy decline for men, but not for women. Alternative specifications of the effects of migration showed that the rise in crosscounty life expectancy SD was unlikely to be caused by migration.
“Behind Bayonets”: The Civil War in Northern Ohio – By David Van Tassel

This thin volume provides a pleasant and informative look at what was going on in northern Ohio—primarily Cleveland—while the Civil War was raging hundreds of miles away. The project began as a mus...
Iranian Flat Breads: Relative Bioavailability of Zinc

The effect of flour extraction rate, type and length of fermentation and baking conditions on relative bioavailability of zinc of five distinctly different Iranian flat breads and their unfermented doughs, was determined using weanling rats fed low (5.5 ppm) levels of dietary zinc. When breads rather than unfermented doughs were used for preparation of diets, with one exception, bioavailability of Zn significantly (P < 0.05) improved. Rats on the barbari-bread-based diet showed the highest weight gain and femur zinc content. There was no significant difference in weight gain among rats on dough-based diets. High correlation of weight gain and femur zinc with feed intake and low or no correlation with fiber or Zn:phytate molar ratio of the diets was observed.
Electronic Damping of Orthogonal Bending Modes in a Cylindrical Mast—Experiment

Electronic damping was applied to two orthogonal bending modes in a cylindrical mast. The mast was a 377-g hollow fiberglass cylinder 66 cm long with a 4.3 cm outer diameter and a wall thickness of 0.23 cm. The bottom of the mast was rigidly attached to a large shaker plate, while the top end had a 1500-g inertial mass attached. The two lowest modes of the structure were the two orthogonal first-order bending modes. They had closely spaced resonant frequencies of 33.85 and 34.12 Hz. Although the mechanical Q of each mode was high (500), the modes were just barely separable in a frequency scan. Two orthogonal damping loops were constructed using four small (25.4x6.35x0.28 mm) lightweight (0.4 g) piezoelectric ceramic strain transducers as sensors and drivers, the driver for each loop being on the opposite side of the mast from the sensor. The mast mode orientations were not aligned with the damping transducers. Despite the closeness of the modal frequencies and the nonoptimal orientation of the damping loops, a decrease of over 30 dB in the peak amplitudes of the two modes was demonstrated. The behavior of the experimental setup agrees remarkably well with the theoretical predictions of a mathematical model developed by C.J. Swigert in an accompanying paper.
Determination of the sequence distribution and ionization constant of poly(acrylic acid-co-vinylamine) by C-13 NMR

Three copolymers of poly(acrylic acid-co-vinylamine) containing 12% (SP12). 30% (SP30), and 52% (SP52) amino groups were synthesized from poly(acrylic acid) by means of the Schmidt reaction. These copolymers were analyzed by C-13 NMR and the results compared wiih the previously analyzed homopolymers. The various comonomer sequence distributions were identified by means of peak areas. It was determined thai (1) the reactivity was not significantly influenced by the triad taciicity of the parent poly(acrylic acid), (2) the final copolymer is characterized by an essentially alternating sequence, and (3) there is extensive lactam formation between neighboring carboxyl and amino groups. In terms of nearest neighbor effects, the relative rales of amine formation are k1/k0 ≈ 0.3 and k2/k0 ≈ 0. A C-13 NMR pH titration of SPI2 showed that the carboxyl group with a neighboring amino group is more acidic man a carboxyl group flanked by two carboxyl groups.
Structure of an Atmospheric Undular Bore Generated from Colliding Boundaries during CaPE

Abstract A case study of a sea-breeze front originating from the east coast of Florida colliding with a gust front moving toward the southeast is presented. Single- and multi-Doppler radar analyses combined with serial balloon ascents suggest that the denser sea-breeze flow undercut the cold pool behind the gust front and may have generated a westward-propagating undular bore. In addition, another undular bore was generated by the collision and propagated eastward through the CaPE network. The latter bore propagated upstream, against the southeasterly flow behind the sea-breeze front and was apparent as a narrow band, 5–6 km wide, of near-zero radial velocities embedded within an overall flow that was positive as seen by the CP-4 Doppler radar. As the eastern bore propagated through the dual-Doppler lobe defined by the NCAR CP-3 and CP-4 radars, a detailed and unique wind synthesis revealed its three-dimensional kinematic structure. Significant along-bore variability was shown in the convergence and verti...
Adding mitral valve annuloplasty to surgical revascularization does not benefit patients with functional ischemic mitral regurgitation.

Truth reflected in 2 common-but-conflicting aphorisms must coexist in dynamic tension to produce favorable outcomes in cardiac surgical patients: “fix everything while you are there” must be balanced with “perfect is the enemy of good” to do all but not more than is needed for the welfare of
FACTORS AFFECTING THE SENSITIVITY OF ENERGETIC MATERIALS TO ELECTROSTATIC INITIATION

Electrical discharge experiments were performed on an aluminized explosive, PBXW-115. Simultaneous measurements of pressure, using polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) pressure gauges, and the deposition of electrical power have shown at what stage during the process that reaction is initiated. Containment of the building reaction and the presence of air adjacent to the explosive sample were found to have a significant effect on the ignition sensitivity. The results are discussed within the context of a preliminary model of electrostatic initiation.
Myoglobin and Hemoglobin

Hemoglobin is the vital protein that conveys oxygen from the lungs to the tissues and facilitates the return of carbon dioxide from the tissues back to the lungs [1]–[6]. Myoglobin accepts and stores the oxygen released by hemoglobin and transports it to the mitochondria. The pathways are shown in Fig. 10.1. Together, these two proteins show how protein structure determines function and how Nature uses components, in this case myoglobin, to build more complex proteins consisting of functional subunits. In Part III we explore myoglobin dynamics in more depth; this chapter provides a brief overview of a very complex system and points to why Part III will concentrate on myoglobin rather than hemoglobin.
Are We Moving Towards Requiring Citizens to Carry Identification Cards and Would This Be a Good Thing

This article suggests that following the Supreme Court's decision in the HIIBEL case, we may be moving towards requiring National Identity cards. This conclusion is predicated on the fact, totally ignored by the Supreme Court, that Hiibel never understood why the police wanted him to identify himself. The article goes on to suggest that this would not be a good thing because it would upset the appropriate balance of power between the police and the citizenry.
Integrating Water Treatment into Antenatal Care: Impact on Use of Maternal Health Services and Household Water Treatment by Mothers-Rural Uganda, 2013.

Abstract To increase maternal health service use and household water treatment (HWT), free water treatment kits were provided at first antenatal care (ANC) visits and free water treatment sachet refills were provided at follow-up ANC visits, delivery, and postnatal visits in 46 health facilities in rural Uganda. We evaluated the impact by surveying 226 women in the initiative (intervention group) and 207 women who received ANC before the initiative began (comparison group). There was no differences in the percentages of intervention and comparison group women with ≥ 4 ANC visits; however, a higher percentage of intervention group women reported treating their drinking water (31.7% versus 19.7%, P = 0.01), and had free chlorine residual in stored water (13.5% versus 3.4%, P = 0.02) than comparison group women. The intervention did not appear to motivate increased maternal health service use, but demonstrated improvements in HWT.
The Use of Biologic Response Modifiers in Human Clinical Trials

Abstract To optimize regeneration of the periodontium, new cementum, periodontal ligament, and bone must be formed. Conventional periodontal surgery decreases the likelihood of continued progressive periodontal disease however, it does not lead to significant periodontal regeneration. In vitro studies have identified a class of biologic response modifiers loosely referred to as growth factors, which stimulate the cellular events of tissue regeneration. The most promising are mitogenic and differentiation factors. Based on promising results from animal studies, the application of growth factors to predictably stimulate periodontal regeneration is entering human clinical trials. This manuscript deals with several important considerations in testing biologic response modifiers in humans. Suggestions are made regarding the following parameters: 1) selection of the unit of measurement; 2) patient and lesion selection; 3) identification of controls; 4) selection of outcome parameters; 5) statistical approach; a...
The Role of Excited Electronic States in Hypervelocity Collisions: Enhancement of the O(3P) + HCl → OCl + H Reaction Channel

The role of excited electronic states in the O þ HCl reaction was studied using the quasi-classical trajectory method for collision energies between 1 and 5.5 eV. Global potential energy surfaces were developed for the ground ( 3 A 00 ) and first excited ( 3 A 0 ) electronic states of the OHCl system using an interpolating moving least-squares-based method for energies up to 6.5 eV above the reactant valley.High-accuracyabinitiodatawerecomputedatautomaticallyselectedpoints using an 18-electronic-state model and the generalized dynamically weighted multireference configuration interaction (GDW-MRCI) method extrapolated to the complete basis set limit. The results show significant dynamical differences between ground- and excited-state reactions. At high collision energies, over half of the total OCl reactive fluxoriginates from reactions on the 3 A 0 state, whereas OH is produced almost exclusively by the 3 A 00 state. Inclusion of the excited electronic state, therefore, dramatically alters the OCl/OH product branching ratio. SECTION Dynamics, Clusters, Excited States
Engineering exciton formation and high efficiency in graded-emissive layer organic light-emitting devices

Highly efficient organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) often require the use of multilayered architectures. Here, we instead focus on realizing high efficiency in OLEDs comprising only a single active-layer whose composition is spatially engineered to realize effective charge and exciton confinement.
Conciliatory Views of Disagreement and the Equal Weight View

Having examined the case for Steadfast Views of disagreement in the previous chapter, in this chapter our inquiry turns to their chief competitor — Conciliatory Views of disagreement.1 According to Conciliatory Views of disagreement, idealized disagreement (or better, evidence thereof) is of epistemic significance. More precisely, according to Conciliatory Views of disagreement, gaining evidence that you are party to an idealized disagreement does affect your justification for the disputed proposition. In particular, such evidence (if undefeated) makes it such that you are no longer justified in adopting your original doxastic attitude toward the disputed proposition. Rather, such evidence (if undefeated) makes it such that the doxastic attitude you are justified in adopting (regarding the disputed proposition) is closer to that of the other disagreeing party. According to Conciliatory Views of disagreement, while the evidence regarding the disagreement can itself be defeated, this evidence is not trivially defeated (it does not itself always come along with a defeater that undermines its own epistemic impact).2 So, Conciliatory Views of disagreement claim that in getting (undefeated) evidence that you are party to an idealized disagreement about p, you should typically move, at least a little, toward the other party’s view on the matter.3
The 1930s: Collapse and Revival

The words are Sir Compton Mackenzie’s, and he does well to remind us that the Great Depression was not simply an economic catastrophe, but a political disaster as well. No depression before or since has struck with such intensity, spread its tentacles so wide, or had such profound and long-lasting effects. One side of the coin was falling prices, mass unemployment, and an avalanche of bankruptcies. The other side was the political response; a rise everywhere of beggar-my-neighbour policies of protective tariffs, trade quotas, currency depreciation, and debt defaults. If the curtain of depression began to lift in 1933 in some countries, and was lifting nearly everywhere by 1936, it was to reveal a very different world. Far from the pre-1914 ideals of free trade, the gold standard, and economic interdependence, which Britain had vainly tried to re-create in the 1920s, the 1930s was a period of economic nationalism, of low international investment, and low levels of world trade.
The political roots of domestic environmental sabotage

ABSTRACTIn this paper, we demonstrate that when environmentalist niche parties compete in a given constituency over a number of elections, but continually fail to win seats, then environmental sabotage becomes more frequent in that constituency. When mainstream tactics fail, radical tactics are used more frequently. Using a new data-set on the success rates of all Green Party candidates in US states, we show that environmental sabotage occurs more often when Green Party candidates fail to win even minor offices. This is true even when we control for other political expressions of environmentalism, such as interest group activity, and when we define ‘success’ through votes not seats. We discuss the implications of this for environmental politics, for social movements and democracy, and for political violence in the US.
Transportation and Logistics: Lest We Not Remember

The more you study, the more you know. The more you know, the more you forget. The more you forget, the less you know. The less you know, the less you forget. The less you forget, the more you know...
Individual Differences in Prototypical Moral and Conventional Judgments and Children's Proactive and Reactive Aggression

This article examined links between 4- and 6-year-olds' (n = 101; Mage = 5.12 years, SD = 0.67; 53% male) ability to distinguish moral and conventional transgressions along different criteria and teacher ratings of proactive and reactive aggression. Latent difference score modeling revealed that moral transgressions were judged more unacceptable and wrong independent of rules and authority than conventional violations, but significant variability in moral-conventional distinctions was also observed. Proactive aggression was associated with less-and reactive aggression was associated with greater-differentiation in moral and conventional concepts. Proactive aggression was not associated with deficits in moral knowledge when other common assessments of early moral understanding were employed, highlighting the importance of using theoretically informed measures of moral judgments and aggression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Response by Grossberg et al to Letter Regarding Article, "Cervical Carotid Pseudo-Occlusions and False Dissections: Intracranial Occlusions Masquerading as Extracranial Occlusions".

We appreciate the thoughtful comments from Dr Ng et al on 4-dimensional computed tomographic angiography.1 We agree about the importance of differentiating internal carotid artery pseudo-occlusion from true extracranial internal carotid artery occlusion, because of its potential impact on treatment approach. …
Sharp threshold for $K_4$-percolation

Graph bootstrap percolation is a variation of bootstrap percolation introduced by Bollob\'as. Let $H$ be a graph. Edges are added to an initial graph $G=(V,E)$ if they are in a copy of $H$ minus an edge, until no further edges can be added. If eventually the complete graph on $V$ is obtained, $G$ is said to $H$-percolate. We identify the sharp threshold for $K_4$-percolation on the Erd\H{o}s-R\'enyi graph ${\cal G}_{n,p}$. This refines a result of Balogh, Bollob\'as and Morris, which bounds the threshold up to multiplicative constants.
Linear permanent magnet synchronous machine for high acceleration applications

In this work, a linear permanent magnet machine design is presented for applications that require high acceleration. This design uses aluminum as a supporting material for the moving secondary to reduce mass. Force production is maintained through the use of a quasi-Halbach array of permanent magnets. Aluminum, however, is conductive and the additional losses in the moving secondary lead to higher operating temperatures. The structural integrity of the moving secondary must also be maintained as the aluminum has lower material strength compared to other supporting tube material options. A comparison of material options and magnet array configurations highlights the advantages and disadvantages of the design options. Electromagnetic, thermal, and structural analysis of the selected design are carried out using finite element methods. Additionally, a prototype of the design is evaluated experimentally.
Agricultural Labor: Demand for Labor

This article provides a long-term perspective on the demand for farm labor in the United States. It highlights the economics of labor demand, mechanization of agriculture especially of fruit and vegetable harvesting, substitution of biological advances and chemicals for farm labor and other inputs, change in the structure of farms, estimates of the wage elasticity of demand for farm labor and some conclusions. Future mechanization is driven by benefit-cost considerations, including the availability of low-cost immigrant farm labor, development of new technologies, and the international competitiveness of the various crops.
Basic Engineering Principles of Ureteral Flow

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the basic engineering principles of ureteral flow. Ureteral flow is a complex problem, which can be studied either theoretically or experimentally by means of a model. There is a more systematic way that not only provides a quantitative means for assessing the relation to reality but also gives indications of how the results can be generalized to include situations other than the most idealized. This procedure consists of deriving the minimum number of dimensionless parameters from the most general equations that describe the phenomena of interest. The magnitudes of the parameters usually suggest formal mathematical procedures for solution from which the errors as a result of any simplifications can be quantitatively assessed. These dimensionless parameters are important for other reasons as well.
Multiorgan Failure and Refractory Lactic Acidosis due to Pasteurella multocida Septicemia in a Patient with No Animal Exposure.

Introduction. Pasteurella multocida is a gram-negative coccobacillus pathogenic to animals. It can cause infection in humans by a bite, scratch, or lick from a cat or dog. P. multocida can cause a variety of infections in humans, including cellulitis, osteomyelitis, endocarditis, peritonitis, and septic shock. Case Presentation. A 56-year-old male presented to our hospital with a 2-day history of fever, abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. He denied exposure to cats, dogs or other pets. He had severe respiratory distress requiring ventilator support, profound septic shock requiring multiple vasopressors, severe lactic acidosis, and renal failure requiring emergent hemodialysis. Blood cultures confirmed the presence of P. multocida. The patient subsequently died of cardiopulmonary arrest due to multiorgan failure with refractory shock. Conclusion. P. multocida septicemia can lead to septic shock. Early identification of this organism may decrease mortality. Although our patient had no known cat or dog exposure, physicians should enquire about a history of animal exposure when a patient presents with an infection with no obvious cause.
Modular inflatable space structures

There is a growing need to develop a human focused exploration program and support infrastructure, including relay sites in deep space. One of the first targets will be cislunar space station, which is a strategic gateway towards permanent settlement of the Moon and Mars. A station in deep space will require structures with large surfaces, very high volume to mass ratio and high-packing efficiency. The transportation of bulky payloads to beyond low-earth orbits pose formidable cost and logistical challenges. This requires a paradigm shift in research towards methods to build and assemble low-mass, large and complex structures in space instead of transporting them from Earth and deploying them on-site. On-site additive construction and assembly methods hold promise, but they face a major challenge of still having to transport large and heavy robotic equipment required to perform complex construction. This paper presents an alternate and more feasible pathway in developing small structural units that can be quickly shaped and assembled with limited external support. Inflatable structures hold that promise as they are low-mass, can be quickly reshaped, inflated and rigidized into desired modular units that are assembled into large, complex structures. Our present work extends the inflatables concept to study modular, inflatable blocks assembled into pre-determined geometries. The inflatable building blocks would be assembled into communication relays, science instrument antennas, structures to hold solar panels and large reflectors. Our efforts aim to identify common desired structural design traits in these modular units to enable them to be multi-functional building blocks that can be assembled into more complex functional blocks. Our design methodology focuses on simplicity of deployment mechanisms and high-scalability over varying sizes. Finally, this paper will provide preliminary feasibility of the modular inflatable building block concept and analyze the applications of this technology towards assembly of large structures in deep space.
Seed Storage and Deterioration

Seeds are uniquely equipped to survive as viable regenerative organisms until the time and place are right for the beginning of a new generation; however, like any other form of life, they cannot retain their viability indefinitely and eventually deteriorate and die. Fortunately, neither nature nor agricultural practice ordinarily requires seeds to survive longer than the next growing season, though seeds of most species are able to survive much longer under the proper conditions.
Solitary fibrous tumor of thyroid: a case report with review of literature

Solitary fibrous tumors are rare spindle cell tumors of mesenchymal origin most commonly found in the pleura and peritoneum. In contrast, extra-serosal locations are rare. We present a 41-year-old female with a progressively enlarging left-sided neck mass of one-year duration with subsequent rapid-onset growth over two months, and was pathologically confirmed to be a benign solitary fibrous tumor of the thyroid gland.
Splitting the functions of Rim2, a mitochondrial iron/pyrimidine carrier

Abstract Rim2 is an unusual mitochondrial carrier protein capable of transporting both iron and pyrimidine nucleotides. Here we characterize two point mutations generated in the predicted substrate-binding site, finding that they yield disparate effects on iron and pyrimidine transport. The Rim2 (E248A) mutant was deficient in mitochondrial iron transport activity. By contrast, the Rim2 (K299A) mutant specifically abrogated pyrimidine nucleotide transport and exchange, while leaving iron transport activity largely unaffected. Strikingly, E248A preserved TTP/TTP homoexchange but interfered with TTP/TMP heteroexchange, perhaps because proton coupling was dependent on the E248 acidic residue. Rim2-dependent iron transport was unaffected by pyrimidine nucleotides. Rim2-dependent pyrimidine transport was competed by Zn2+ but not by Fe2+, Fe3+ or Cu2+. The iron and pyrimidine nucleotide transport processes displayed different salt requirements; pyrimidine transport was dependent on the salt content of the buffer whereas iron transport was salt independent. In mitochondria containing Rim2 (E248A), iron proteins were decreased, including aconitase (Fe-S), pyruvate dehydrogenase (lipoic acid containing) and cytochrome c (heme protein). Additionally, the rate of Fe-S cluster synthesis in isolated and intact mitochondria was decreased compared with the K299A mutant, consistent with the impairment of iron-dependent functions in that mutant. In summary, mitochondrial iron transport and pyrimidine transport by Rim2 occur separately and independently. Rim2 could be a bifunctional carrier protein.
Combating Jamming in Wireless Networks: A Bayesian Game with Jammer’s Channel Uncertainty

Due to the shared and open-access nature of the wireless medium, wireless networks are vulnerable to jamming attacks. In this paper we study the problem of resource assigning in a single carrier communication system, where a user is communicating with a destination in the presence of a jammer. The jammer’s channel to the destination is assumed flat fading, and its gain is known in probabilistic terms. In particular, the jammer’s channel gain could take any value out of a finite set, with an a priori known probability. We model the problem in a Bayesian jamming game framework with utility the user throughput. We prove the existence and uniqueness of Nash and Stackelberg equilibria, and derive the equilibrium strategies in closed form. Our theoretical results, also supported by simulations, suggest that the Nash strategy is more sensitive to varying a priori probabilities, as compared to the Stackelberg strategy.
Learning Dynamic Context Graphs for Predicting Social Events

Event forecasting with an aim at modeling contextual information is an important task for applications such as automated analysis generation and resource allocation. Captured contextual information for an event of interest can aid human analysts in understanding the factors associated with that event. However, capturing contextual information within event forecasting is challenging due to several factors: (i) uncertainty of context structure and formulation, (ii) high dimensional features, and (iii) adaptation of features over time. Recently, graph representations have demonstrated success in applications such as traffic forecasting, social influence prediction, and visual question answering systems. In this paper, we study graph representations in modeling social events to identify dynamic properties of event contexts as social indicators. Inspired by graph neural networks, we propose a novel graph convolutional network for predicting future events (e.g., civil unrest movements). We extract and learn graph representations from historical/prior event documents. By employing the hidden word graph features, our proposed model predicts the occurrence of future events and identifies sequences of dynamic graphs as event context. Experimental results on multiple real-world data sets show that the proposed method is competitive against various state-of-the-art methods for social event prediction.
Data Fitting and Scenario Analysis of Vaccination in the 2014 Ebola Outbreak in Liberia.

Objectives This study aimed to extend an epidemiological model (SEIHFR) to analyze epidemic trends, and evaluate intervention efficacy. Methods SEIHFR was modified to examine disease transmission dynamics after vaccination for the Ebola outbreak. Using existing data from Liberia, sensitivity analysis of various epidemic scenarios was used to inform the model structure, estimate the basic reproduction number ℜ0 and investigate how the vaccination could effectively change the course of the epidemic. Results If a randomized mass vaccination strategy was adopted, vaccines would be administered prophylactically or as early as possible (depending on the availability of vaccines). An effective vaccination rate threshold for Liberia was estimated as 48.74% among susceptible individuals. If a ring vaccination strategy was adopted to control the spread of the Ebola virus, vaccines would be given to reduce the transmission rate improving the tracing rate of the contact persons of an infected individual. Conclusion The extended SEIHFR model predicted the total number of infected cases, number of deaths, number of recoveries, and duration of outbreaks among others with different levels of interventions such as vaccination rate. This model may be used to better understand the spread of Ebola and develop strategies that may achieve a disease-free state.
Gender, Magic, and Innovation: The Musical Artistry of Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell has long defied efforts at categorization. We cannot pin her down but we all agree that she was brilliant. Her artistry challenges scholars predisposed towards sociocultural...
The human foot functions like a spring of adjustable stiffness during running

Like other animals, humans use their legs like springs to save energy during running. One potential contributor to leg stiffness in humans is the longitudinal arch (LA) of the foot. Studies of cadaveric feet have demonstrated that the LA can function like a spring, but it is unknown whether humans can adjust LA stiffness in coordination with more proximal joints to help control leg stiffness during running. Here, we used 3-D motion capture to record 27 adult participants running on a forceplate-instrumented treadmill, and calculated LA stiffness using beam bending and midfoot kinematics models of the foot. Because changing stride frequency causes humans to adjust overall leg stiffness, we had participants run at their preferred frequency and frequencies 35% above and 20% below preferred to test for similar adjustments in the LA. Regardless of which foot model we used, we found that participants increased LA quasi-stiffness significantly between low and high frequency runs, mirroring changes at the ankle, knee and leg overall. However, among foot models, we found that the model incorporating triceps surae force into bending force on the foot produced unrealistically high LA work estimates, leading us to discourage this modeling approach. Additionally, we found that there was not a consistent correlation between LA height and quasi-stiffness values among the participants, indicating that static LA height measurements are not good predictors of dynamic function. Overall, our findings support the hypothesis that humans dynamically adjust LA stiffness during running in concert with other structures of the leg.
Plagiarism Pedagogy: Why Teaching Plagiarism Should be a Fundamental Part of Legal Education

Plagiarism is essential to good lawyering. The better part of litigation is copying forms and models, and transactional practice is mostly cut and paste. If lawyers aren't plagiarizing, they're committing malpractice. This article argues that law schools should stop punishing plagiarism and start teaching it.
Ageless Design: Interdependency Between Complexity and Simplicity in Visual Perception of Product Aesthetics for Product Longevity

Ageless design is a design method for product longevity to address diverse needs of multiple age groups over the course of product usage. It proposes enduring aesthetics as one of the guidelines for the product form. In that regard, simplicity in design has been discussed in various terms and dimensions as a promising strategy to improve and prolong the aesthetic satisfaction of a product. In an attempt to clarify the meaning of simplicity in design, this paper looks into how simplicity has been defined in visual art and design, examines the relationship between typicality and aesthetic appraisal, then proposes a model of optimal simplicity for enduring aesthetics. The role of complexity for optimal simplicity is further investigated with regard to order and entropy.
Fast and Accurate Seismic Computations in Laterally Varying Environments

The parabolic equation method provides an unrivaled combination of computational efficiency and accuracy for wave propagation problems in the geosciences in which the environment has strong vertical variations and gradual horizontal variations. The development of this approach has been an active area of research for several decades in ocean acoustics, which includes problems involving sediment layers and ice cover that support shear waves. It is demonstrated here that this progress has culminated in a parabolic equation model for fast and accurate seismic computations in laterally varying environments. The model is tested for problems involving sloping boundaries and interfaces, variable layer thickness, continuous variations of the elastic parameters within layers, and a Rayleigh wave propagating along variable topography. The seismic parabolic equation model is based on an outgoing wave equation and rational approximations of operators for generating initial conditions, propagating the solution through stratified regions that approximate a laterally varying environment, and estimating transmitted fields across the vertical interfaces between regions.
Structure and assembly of the diiron cofactor in the heme-oxygenase-like domain of the N-nitrosourea-producing enzyme SznF.

In biosynthesis of the pancreatic cancer drug streptozotocin, the tridomain nonheme-iron oxygenase SznF hydroxylates Nδ and Nω′ of Nω-methyl-l-arginine before oxidatively rearranging the triply modified guanidine to the N-methyl-N-nitrosourea pharmacophore. A previously published structure visualized the monoiron cofactor in the enzyme’s C-terminal cupin domain, which promotes the final rearrangement, but exhibited disorder and minimal metal occupancy in the site of the proposed diiron cofactor in the N-hydroxylating heme-oxygenase–like (HO-like) central domain. We leveraged our recent observation that the N-oxygenating µ-peroxodiiron(III/III) intermediate can form in the HO-like domain after the apo protein self-assembles its diiron(II/II) cofactor to solve structures of SznF with both of its iron cofactors bound. These structures of a biochemically validated member of the emerging heme-oxygenase–like diiron oxidase and oxygenase (HDO) superfamily with intact diiron cofactor reveal both the large-scale conformational change required to assemble the O2-reactive Fe2(II/II) complex and the structural basis for cofactor instability—a trait shared by the other validated HDOs. During cofactor (dis)assembly, a ligand-harboring core helix dynamically (un)folds. The diiron cofactor also coordinates an unanticipated Glu ligand contributed by an auxiliary helix implicated in substrate binding by docking and molecular dynamics simulations. The additional carboxylate ligand is conserved in another N-oxygenating HDO but not in two HDOs that cleave carbon–hydrogen and carbon–carbon bonds to install olefins. Among ∼9,600 sequences identified bioinformatically as members of the emerging HDO superfamily, ∼25% conserve this additional carboxylate residue and are thus tentatively assigned as N-oxygenases.
0.4 W CW diffraction limited beam Al free 0.98 [micro sign]m wavelength three core ARROW-type diode lasers

Diffraction limited beam operation to 0.4 W CW output power has been achieved from 20 /spl mu/m aperture, 0.98 /spl mu/m emitting three core antiresonant reflecting optical waveguide (ARROW)-type InGaAs-InGaAsP-InGaP diode lasers. The central lobe energy content is 73% to 0.2 W and 60% at 0.4 W.
The clinical significance of cytogenetic studies in 100 patients with multiple myeloma, plasma cell leukemia, or amyloidosis

Chromosome studies were done on 82 patients with multiple myeloma, 11 with amyloidosis, 2 with multiple myeloma and amyloidosis, and 5 with plasma cell leukemia to investigate their chromosomal abnormalities and to determine the usefulness of cytogenetic studies. A chromosomally abnormal clone was found in 29 patients but was observed most often in those with active disease: in 18% of patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, in 63% with aggressive disease, and in 40% with plasma cell leukemia. Survival among the newly diagnosed patients was significantly shorter (P = .0089) for those in whom an abnormal clone was identified (median survival, six months) than for those in whom only normal metaphases were observed (median survival, greater than 12 months). Among all of the patients, survival from the time of chromosome analysis was shorter for those in whom a chromosomally abnormal clone was found: the median survival was three months for patients with all abnormal metaphases and eight months for patients with normal and abnormal metaphases and has not yet been reached for patients with only normal metaphases. The most common anomalous chromosomes in patients with a plasma cell proliferative disorder were 1, 11, and 14: 11 patients had an abnormality involving chromosome 14q32 and nine patients had an anomalous chromosome 11. The single most common abnormality, a t(11;14)(q13;q32), occurred in three patients. Among the patients who developed preleukemia or acute nonlymphocytic leukemia, the most common anomaly involved chromosome 7. The results suggest that cytogenetic studies are useful for identifying patients who have a poor prognosis and can help distinguish patients with a cytopenia because of preleukemia from those with an aggressive plasma cell proliferative process.