cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cinamin: A Perpetual and Nearly Invisible BLE Beacon

Bluetooth Low Energy beacons have immense potential to provide rich contextual information to smartphone applications and people by bridging the physical and digital worlds. Beacons perform the simple operation of periodically chirping URLs, locations, and other pointers, however, today's beacons use relatively large and battery powere implementations. To truly make these beacons pervasive, they will need to be smaller, self-powered, and, ideally, invisible. To facilitate this, we propose the Cinamin beacon design that exploits the powerful but simple primitive of periodic packet broadcast to replace the volume-defining battery with an energy-harvesting power supply and achieve a beacon in under 100 mm3. This design, however, raises new issues relevant to energy-harvesting and challenges with pursuing miniaturization.
A Graph-Centric Approach for Metagenome-Guided Peptide and Protein Identification in Metaproteomics

Metaproteomic studies adopt the common bottom-up proteomics approach to investigate the protein composition and the dynamics of protein expression in microbial communities. When matched metagenomic and/or metatranscriptomic data of the microbial communities are available, metaproteomic data analyses often employ a metagenome-guided approach, in which complete or fragmental protein-coding genes are first directly predicted from metagenomic (and/or metatranscriptomic) sequences or from their assemblies, and the resulting protein sequences are then used as the reference database for peptide/protein identification from MS/MS spectra. This approach is often limited because protein coding genes predicted from metagenomes are incomplete and fragmental. In this paper, we present a graph-centric approach to improving metagenome-guided peptide and protein identification in metaproteomics. Our method exploits the de Bruijn graph structure reported by metagenome assembly algorithms to generate a comprehensive database of protein sequences encoded in the community. We tested our method using several public metaproteomic datasets with matched metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequencing data acquired from complex microbial communities in a biological wastewater treatment plant. The results showed that many more peptides and proteins can be identified when assembly graphs were utilized, improving the characterization of the proteins expressed in the microbial communities. The additional proteins we identified contribute to the characterization of important pathways such as those involved in degradation of chemical hazards. Our tools are released as open-source software on github at https://github.com/COL-IU/Graph2Pro.
In-situ cleaning of heavy metal contaminated plastic water pipes using a biomass derived ligand

Abstract Lignin derived monomer (2-methoxy-4-propylphenol, Dihydroeugenol, DHE) was used to synthesize a biomass based plumbing pipe cleaning agent (DHEL). DHEL’s metal deposit removal efficiency for an exhumed plastic drinking water pipe was examined. The total metal deposited on 3 cm pipe segments was first characterized and heterogeneous metal loading (μg/dm2) along consecutive pipe segments was found. Fe was the most abundant metal species detected, followed by Mn, Ca, Zn, Mg, Cu, Pb and Al. Both DHEL metal removal kinetic and performance studies (0.1 to 10 mM) were conducted at room temperature and neutral pH for up to 7 days. Results showed DHEL effectively removed metal deposits from exhumed plastic pipe surfaces. By the end of the experiment, ≥ 95% of total metal loadings were removed when DHEL dosage was ≥ 5 mM. Both first order and second order kinetic models were used to fit the experimental data. DHEL showed higher favorability for Cu and Zn rather than Fe, Mn, and Pb. DHEL-metal removal mechanisms were proposed as: 1) ligand-promoted minerals dissolution, and 2) ligand-metal complex formation. The biomass derived ligand demonstrated potential as an effective plastic pipe cleaning agent.
Public security in private hands: the case of Guatemala’s Carlos Vielman

The following case study concerns the period in which Carlos Vielman, a well-heeled Guatemalan businessman from a prominent family, became the interior minister of the Oscar Berger administration. While minister, Vielman oversaw the creation of several special units that “acted as an organized crime group,” according to Guatemalan and international investigators. He, along with several of his police deputies were eventually charged for murder. He was later exonerated by a court in Spain, while others were prosecuted. This case study delves into that period, exploring how Vielman’s ministry represented an extension of the Guatemalan elite’s approach towards security and the government writ large to thwart rivals, regardless of the violent and criminal consequences.
Impact of human activities on the Caatinga

Studies to date suggest that most of the native vegetation in the Caatinga has remained relatively intact. In this chapter we have combined information from fire hotspots, roads, and land-use changes to demonstrate that at least 63.3% of the Caatinga is composed of anthropogenic ecosystems. Human impact is higher in the humid and more productive ecoregions (e.g., Brejos and Sao Francisco-Gurgeia) than in those ecoregions with very dry climates and nutrient-poor soils (e.g., Dunas do Sao Francisco and Raso da Catarina). The future of the Caatinga’s unique biota is conditional on how societies will protect and restore the native ecosystems. We suggest that an urgent conservation program for the Caatinga should be structured around four quantitative targets: (a) zero species loss; (b) zero natural ecosystem loss; (b) all large and mid-size natural ecosystem patches formally protected; and (c) all protected areas connected through conservation corridors composed of a mix of natural and anthropogenic ecosystems. The second and third actions are the most urgent and need to be implemented as soon as possible. The first and fourth actions are long-term ones that will require building capacity at the local level to design and execute sound conservation development programs.
Kinetics of the Same Reaction Monitored over Nine Orders of Magnitude in Concentration: When Are Unique Subensemble and Single-Turnover Reactivity Displayed?

Essentially no information is known about the behavior of individual molecular catalysts under reaction conditions. This is a result of the averaging inherent to traditional analytical techniques. Herein, a combined fluorescence microscopy and 1 H NMR spectroscopy study reveals that unique (that is, non-ensemble averaged) distributions and time-variable kinetics from molecular ruthenium catalysts within growing polynorbornene occur and are detectable between 10-9 m and 10-6 m of substrate, surprisingly just 1000-fold less concentrated than a typical laboratory bench-scale reaction. The kinetic states governing single-turnover events are determinable by overlay of the signal arising from individual monomer insertion reactions with that from polymer growth from neighboring catalysts.
Strengthening Social Work Approaches Through Advancing Knowledge of Early Childhood Intervention

Early childhood professionals—social workers, educators, speech therapists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, pediatricians, and others—create the foundation for a life-long duration of experiences that families, who have children with disabilities, will have with various professional groups. The nature of the early childhood interventionists' interaction, treatment, services or supports of the child and the attitudes conveyed to families during these critical early years may be a significant factor in the willingness of families and young adults to continue to pursue therapeutic and supportive services. With insights into early intervention best practices, social workers are likely to find themselves in a preferred position to plan appropriate family-focused intervention strategies that may encourage success and prevent complications or a worsening of specific initial conditions among children with disabilities.
Origin-bound certificates: a fresh approach to strong client authentication for the web

Client authentication on the web has remained in the internet-equivalent of the stone ages for the last two decades. Instead of adopting modern public-key-based authentication mechanisms, we seem to be stuck with passwords and cookies. In this paper, we propose to break this stalemate by presenting a fresh approach to public-key-based client authentication on the web. We describe a simple TLS extension that allows clients to establish strong authenticated channels with servers and to bind existing authentication tokens like HTTP cookies to such channels. This allows much of the existing infrastructure of the web to remain unchanged, while at the same time strengthening client authentication considerably against a wide range of attacks. We implemented our system in Google Chrome and Google's web serving infrastructure, and provide a performance evaluation of this implementation.
Imaging and Quantification of P-Smad1/5 in Zebrafish Blastula and Gastrula Embryos

Spatiotemporal patterns of morphogen activity drive differential gene expression with a high degree of precision within a developing embryo and reproducibly between embryos. Understanding the formation and function of a morphogen gradient during development requires quantitative measurement of morphogen activity throughout an individual embryo and also between embryos within a population. Quantification of morphogen gradients in to presents unique challenges in imaging and image processing to minimize error and maximize the quality of the data so it may be used in computational models of development and in statistically testing hypotheses. Here we present methods for the preparation, immunostaining, imaging, and quantification of a bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) activity gradient in individual zebrafish embryos as well as methods for acquiring population-level statistics after embryo grouping and alignment. This quantitative approach can be extended to other morphogen systems, and the computational codes can be adapted to other imaging contexts in zebrafish and other organisms.
Neurotrophic and Antidepressant Actions of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Require Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor

Abstract Background Activity-dependent release of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is essential for the rapid and sustained antidepressant actions of ketamine, and a recent study shows a similar requirement for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Since BDNF is reported to stimulate VEGF expression and/or release in neuroblastoma cells, the present study tested the hypothesis that the actions of BDNF are mediated by VEGF. Methods The role of VEGF in the antidepressant behavioral actions of BDNF was tested by intra-mPFC coinfusion of a VEGF neutralizing antibody and by neuron-specific deletion of VEGF. The influence of BDNF on the release of VEGF and the role of VEGF in the neurotrophic actions of BDNF were determined in rat primary cortical neurons. The role of BDNF in the behavioral and neurotrophic actions of VEGF was also determined. Results The results show that the rapid and sustained antidepressant-like actions of intra-mPFC BDNF are blocked by coinfusion of a VEGF neutralizing antibody, and that neuron-specific mPFC deletion of VEGF blocks the antidepressant-like actions of BDNF. Studies in primary cortical neurons demonstrate that BDNF stimulates the release of VEGF and that BDNF induction of dendrite complexity is blocked by a selective VEGF–fetal liver kinase 1 receptor antagonist. Surprisingly, the results also show reciprocal interactions, indicating that the behavioral and neurotrophic actions of VEGF are dependent on BDNF. Conclusions These findings indicate that the antidepressant-like and neurotrophic actions of BDNF require VEGF signaling, but they also demonstrate reciprocal interdependence for BDNF in the actions of VEGF.
Laser-assisted chemical vapor deposition of 2D materials (Conference Presentation) (Withdrawal Notice)

Publisher’s Note: This conference presentation, originally published on 4 March 2019, was withdrawn on 11 March 2019 per author request.
Laser-Plasma - Accelerator-Driven Quasi - Monoenergetic MeV Thomson Photon Source and Laser Facility

In this report, we demonstrate precise control of a laser plasma accelerator (LPA) through characterization of a shock-induced density downramp injector. Experiments systematically varied the shock injector profile, including shock angle, shock position, up-ramp width, and acceleration length. As a result, an electron beam that was highly tunable from 30 to 300 MeV with 8.5% energy spread, 1.5 mrad divergence and 0.35 mrad pointing fluctuation was produced. We also report the progress of a project focusing on demonstrating the crucial enablers of a compact LPA based MeV Thomson photon source in an integrated experiment and a dedicated 100 TW laser facility built at the Berkeley Lab Laser Accelerator (BELLA) Center, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL).
MMLite: A Scalable and Resource Efficient Control Plane for Next Generation Cellular Packet Core

With increase in cellular-enabled IoT devices having diverse traffic characteristics and service level objectives (SLOs), handling the control traffic in a scalable and resource-efficient manner in the cellular packet core network is critical. The traditional monolithic design of the cellular core adopted by service-providers is inflexible with respect to the diverse requirements and bursty loads of IoT devices, specifically for properties such as elasticity, customizability, and scalability. To address this key challenge, we focus on the most critical control plane component of the cellular packet core network, the Mobility Management Entity (MME). We present MMLite, a functionally decomposed and stateless MME design wherein individual control procedures are implemented as microservices and states are decoupled from their processing, thus enabling elasticity and fault tolerance. For SLO compliance, we develop a multi-level load balancing approach based on skewed consistent hashing to efficiently distribute incoming connections. We evaluate the performance benefits of MMLite over existing approaches with respect to scaling, fault tolerance, SLO compliance and resource efficiency.
Applications in Risk Management

This chapter discusses applications of Monte Carlo simulation to risk management. It addresses the problem of measuring the risk in a portfolio of assets, rather than computing the prices of individual securities. Simulation is useful in estimating the profit and loss distribution of a portfolio and thus in computing risk measures that summarize this distribution. We give particular attention to the problem of estimating the probability of large losses, which entails simulation of rare but significant events. We separate the problems of measuring market risk and credit risk because different types of models are used in the two domains.
Providing the Option to Skip Feedback – A Reproducibility Study

Would providing choice lead to improved learning with a tutor? We had conducted and reported a controlled study earlier, wherein, introductory programing students were given the choice of skipping the line-by-line feedback provided after each incorrect answer in a tutor on if/if-else statements. Contrary to expectations, the study found that the choice to skip feedback did not lead to greater learning. We tried to reproduce these results using two tutors on if/if-else and switch statements, and with a larger subject pool. We found that whereas choice did not lead to greater learning on if/if-else tutor in this reproducibility study either, it resulted in decreased learning on switch tutor. We hypothesize that skipping feedback is indeed detrimental to learning. But, inter-relationships among the concepts covered by a tutor and the transfer of learning facilitated by these relationships compensate for the negative effect of skipping line-by-line feedback. We also found contradictory results between the two studies which highlight the need for reproducibility studies in empirical research.
Incidence and clinical relevance of non-small cell lung cancer lymph node micro-metastasis detected by staging endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration.

Background: Approximately twenty percent of lymph node (LN) negative non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who undergo curative intent surgery have pan-cytokeratin immunohistochemistry (IHC)-detectable occult micro-metastases (MMs) in resected LNs. The presence of the MMs in NSCLC is associated worsened outcomes. As a substantial proportion of NSCLC LN staging is conducted using endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA), we sought to determine the frequency of detection of occult MMs in EBUS-TBNA specimens and to evaluate the impact of MMs on progression-free and overall survival. Methods: We performed retrospective IHC staining for pan-cytokeratin of EBUS-TBNA specimens previously deemed negative by a cytopathologist based on conventional hematoxylin and eosin staining. The results were correlated with clinical variables, including survival outcomes. Results: Of 887 patients screened, 44 patients were identified meeting inclusion criteria with sufficient additional tissue for testing. With respect to the time of the EBUS-TBNA procedure, 52% of patients were clinical stage I, 34% clinical stage II, and clinical 14% stage IIIa NSCLC. Three patients (6.8%) were found to have cytokeratin positive MMs. All 3 MMs detected were at N2 LN stations. The presence of MMs was associated with significantly decreased progression-free (median 210 vs . 1,293 days, P=0.0093) and overall survival (median 239 vs . 1,120 days, P=0.0357). Conclusions: Occult LN MMs can be detected in EBUS-TBNA specimens obtained during staging examinations and are associated with poor clinical outcomes. If prospectively confirmed, these results have significant implications for EBUS-TBNA specimen analyses and possibly for the NSCLC staging paradigm.
Treatment of Hepatitis C Virus in Special Populations (HBV Coinfection, Drug Users, and Prisoners)

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) share the pathways of transmission and, consequently, dual-HBV/HCV infection is frequently observed in geographical areas where both infections have an intermediate or a high endemicity level and in special populations at high risk of acquiring both infections. Patients with dual-HBV/HCV infection more frequently develop liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) than those with a single infection. In vitro, morphologic and clinical investigations have shown the reciprocal inhibition of HBV and HCV genomes. The treatment of hepatitis C in these special populations is complex and decision is made on the stage of liver disease, virus predominance, and presence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and comorbidities. Treatment with PEG-IFN and ribavirin for HCV eradication has been replaced by a combination of two or more directly acting antivirals (DAAs) of different classes with DAA regimens becoming the therapy of choice in HCV and hence in HBV/HCV dual infection with sustained virological response (SVR)12 rates in the 95% range. Tenofovir or entecavir must be integrated with DAA treatment in patients with both HCV and HBV in a chronic active phase, in those with cirrhosis, and in those coinfected with HIV. Treatment of hepatitis C in IV drug users (IVDU) and prisoners is best served in a multidisciplinary setting. Comparable rates of adherence and reinfection are found in IVDU compared to nondrug users. DAAs in combination with programs such as needle syringe program and opiate substitution therapy will help treat hepatitis C in IVDU and prevent transmission.
The Next Generation of Optimization: A Unified Framework for Dynamic Resource Allocation Problems

Sequential decision problems arise in a vast range of applications where decisions are followed by new information that was not known when earlier decisions were made. Applications arise in energy, transportation, health, finance, engineering and the sciences. Problem settings may involve managing resources (inventories for vaccines, financial investments, people and equipment), pure learning problems (laboratory testing, computer simulations, field tests) and combinations of the two. The range of problems is so wide that they have been studied by over a dozen distinct academic communities using names such as dynamic programming, reinforcement learning, stochastic control, stochastic programming, active learning, and multiarmed bandit problems. We bring these fields together into a single framework that involves searching for policies which are functions for making decisions. We then identify four classes of policies that span all the approaches used in the academic literature, or in practice. We claim that these four classes of policies are universal – any solution of a sequential decision problem will consist of one of these four classes, or a hybrid of several.
The RPE in Myopia Development

Myopia is one of the most common types of refractive errors and a major cause of visual impairment worldwide. Most myopia is the product of excessive elongation of the vitreous chamber, which largely accounts for increases in eye length and uncorrected blurred distance vision. Myopia also carries an increased risk of blinding pathologies, including retinal detachment and myopic maculopathy, with no evidence of a safe level of myopia. Changes in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) have also been observed in myopic patients with excessively large eyes. The role of RPE in eye growth regulation and refractive development has been the subject of more recent investigations, in both animal models and in vitro cell cultures. Due to the key location and complex functions of RPE, it likely serves as a relay or conduit for retina-derived growth modulatory signals directed at the choroid and sclera, which ultimately determine vitreous chamber depth and thus overall eye length. This chapter summarizes results of recent RPE studies, including RPE-derived growth factors, neurotransmitters and their receptors, ion channels, and RPE morphological changes in the context of eye growth regulation and myopia development. Understanding the role of RPE in eye growth regulation holds promise of significant new insights into the mechanisms underlying the development of refractive errors, opening the possibility of novel therapeutic approaches to myopia control.
Drag reduction in turbulent channel flow over spatially periodic surfaces

Carefully designed surface corrugation is a sensorfree strategy that can reduce skin-friction drag in turbulent flows. In contrast to the traditional approach that relies on numerical simulations and experiments, we develop a model-based framework to quantify the impact of spanwise-periodic surfaces on the dynamics of velocity fluctuations and the resulting mean flow. We model the effect of surface corrugation as a volume penalization on the Navier-Stokes equations and use the statistical response of the stochastically forced linearized equations to quantify the effect of background turbulence on skin-friction drag. For triangular corrugations, we demonstrate that our simulation-free approach reliably predicts drag-reducing trends observed in high-fidelity simulations and experiments.
Early College, Continued Success: Longer-Term Impact of Early College High Schools

Following up on a previous impact study of Early Colleges (EC) based on retrospective admission lotteries, this study assessed longer-term impacts on students’ postsecondary outcomes with 4 more ye...
Pathogenicity and distribution of two species of Cytospora on Populus tremuloides in portions of the Rocky Mountains and midwest in the United States

Abstract Historically, Cytospora canker of quaking aspen was thought to be caused primarily by Cytospora chrysosperma. However, a new and widely distributed Cytospora species on quaking aspen was recently described (Cytospora notastroma Kepley & F.B. Reeves). Here, we show the relative pathogenicity, abundance, and frequency of both species on quaking aspen in portions of the Rocky Mountain region, and constructed species-level phylogenies to examine possible hybridization among species. We inoculated small-diameter aspen trees with one or two isolates each of C. chrysosperma and C. notastroma in a greenhouse and in environmental growth chambers. Results indicate that both Cytospora species are pathogenic to drought-stressed aspen, and that C. chrysosperma is more aggressive (i.e., caused larger cankers) than C. notastroma, particularly at cool temperatures. Neither species cause significant canker growth on trees that were not drought-stressed. Both C. chrysosperma and C. notastroma are common on quaking aspen, in addition to a third, previously described species, Cytospora nivea. Multiple Cytospora species often co-occur on the same host tree, and evidence of hybridization among species exists.
CHAPTER TEN – Simple Interest

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the concept of simple interest. The fee paid for the borrowed money is called interest. The amount of interest charged or paid depends on three variables: (1) the amount borrowed, which is called the principal; (2) the interest rate, which is listed as a percent per year; and (3) the time for which the money is borrowed, which is listed in years or fractions of a year. Simple interest is the interest charged only on the principal. Another type of interest is called compound interest. When a person borrows money, it is customary to sign a document showing a promise to repay the loan, with or without interest, at a specified date; this type of document is called a promissory note. The face value is the principal amount of the note and the bank discount is the interest that is deducted from the face value. The amount that the borrower receives is the proceeds, the time is the period for which the money is borrowed, and the discount rate is the discount expressed as a percent per year.
62 ISOZYME SHIFT OF ADENYLOSUCCINATE SYNTHASE IN RATS AND HUMAN NEOPLASMS

The distribution of two isozymes of adenylosuccinate synthase was measured in rat transplantable tumors, human tumors, and their corresponding normal tissues. The two isozymes, the acidic and basic enzymes, were separated by DEAE cellulose column and the proportions of each fraction were guantitatively compared. In rat liver, the activity was distributed 47% in the passed fraction of basic enzyme and 53% in the adsorbed fraction of acidic enzyme. In hepatoma 3924A, however, 99% of activity was found in the adsorbed fraction. Adenylosuccinate synthase in rat skeletal muscle was entirely basic enzyme, whereas sarcoma consisted of 99% acidic enzyme and 1% basic enzyme. The distributions of acidic enzyme in human liver and colon mucosa were 24% and 62%, respectively. On the other hand, the values increased in human hepatocellular carcinoma and colon carcinoma to 86% and 96%, respectively. These results suggest that the isozyme pattern of adenylosuccinate synthase shifts into a predominance of the acidic enzyme in malignant tissues. The increase in adenylosuccinate synthase activity in neoplastic tissues reported earlier (Jackson, R.C., Morris, H.P., and Weber, G., Cancer Res. 37: 3057, 1977) and the shift to the acidic isozyme with a lower Km for IMP indicate an increased capacity for adenine nucleotide biosynthesis in cancer cells. These observations are in line with the isozyme shift identified for other enzymes in hepatomas (Weber, G., Cancer Res. 43: 346, 1983). (Supported by Outstanding Investigator Grant CA-42510 to G.W.)
When enhanced awareness threatens: Interactive effects of domain-specific awareness and acceptance manipulations on cardiovascular indices of challenge and threat.

Mindfulness includes acceptance and awareness subcomponents, and emerging theories imply that cultivating both acceptance and awareness may benefit health by diminishing stress reactivity. Yet, no prior work has examined the effects of mindful acceptance and awareness on cardiovascular markers of threat and challenge-cardiac output and total peripheral resistance-despite the unique insights these indices yield into stress-related evaluations and motivation. The current research integrates Monitor and Acceptance Theory with the Biopsychosocial Model of Challenge and Threat to elucidate how an awareness manipulation and a brief acceptance training are associated with cardiovascular stress responses underlying states of challenge and threat. Healthy young adults (N = 202) were enrolled in a 2 × 2 between-subjects experimental design manipulating both awareness (enhanced awareness vs. no enhanced awareness) and acceptance (acceptance training vs. no acceptance training) of physiological responses to a social-evaluative cold pressor test. Cardiovascular indices were recorded throughout. The combination of enhanced awareness and acceptance training led to higher cardiac output and lower total peripheral resistance (indexing greater challenge, less threat) to the cold pressor test than the combination of enhanced awareness and no acceptance training. However, the combination of no enhanced awareness and no acceptance training also led to higher cardiac output and lower total peripheral resistance than the combination of enhanced awareness and no acceptance training. These results add to a growing body of work suggesting that mindful awareness and acceptance subcomponents interact to influence stress reactivity and imply that enhanced stressor awareness without acceptance may lead to increased threat.
Fine tuning cyclic-di-GMP signaling in Pseudomonas aeruginosa using the type 4 pili alignment complex

To initiate biofilm formation it is critical for bacteria to sense a surface and respond precisely. Type 4 pili (T4P) have been shown to be important in surface sensing, however, mechanism(s) driving downstream changes important for the switch to biofilm growth have not been clearly defined. Here, using macroscopic bulk assays and single cell tracking analyses of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, we uncover a new role of the T4P alignment complex protein, PilO, in modulating the activity of the diguanylate cyclase (DGC) SadC. Two hybrid and bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays show that PilO physically interacts with SadC and that the PilO-SadC interaction inhibits SadCs activity resulting in decreased biofilm formation and increased motility. We show that disrupting the PilO-SadC interaction contributes to greater variation of cyclic-di-GMP levels among cells, thereby increasing cell-to-cell heterogeneity in the levels of this signal. Thus, this work shows that P. aeruginosa uses a component of the T4P scaffold to fine-tune the levels of this nucleotide signal during surface commitment. Finally, given our previous findings linking SadC to the flagellar machinery, we propose that this DGC acts as a bridge to integrate T4P and flagellar-derived input signals during initial surface engagement.
The Environment and Externality: Theory, Algorithms and Applications

This innovative book models pollution mitigation as a negative externality whilst also providing desirable and useful solutions, such as establishing the triangular equivalence relationship among the Lindahl equilibrium without transfers, the Nash bargaining solution with the payoffs of the Cournot-Nash equilibrium as the status quo point, and the social optimum under the Lindahl weights. By introducing programming algorithms to validate these relationships numerically, Zili Yang bridges the gap between analytical results and empirical modelling, ultimately solving the Lindahl equilibrium and hybrid Nash equilibria in the influential RICE model. This text demonstrates the complexity and variety of environment externality problems, ranging from mixed externality to correlated externalities to environmental externality under IRS and policy applications. Integrating theory, algorithms and applications in a comprehensive framework, The Environment and Externality will benefit scholars and students working across environmental, resource and climate change economics.
An fMRI investigation of the relations between Extraversion, internalizing psychopathology, and neural activation following reward receipt in the Human Connectome Project sample.

Quantitative models of psychopathology (i.e., HiTOP) propose that personality and psychopathology are intertwined, such that the various processes that characterize personality traits may be useful in describing and predicting manifestations of psychopathology. In the current study, we used data from the Human Connectome Project (N = 1050) to investigate neural activation following receipt of a reward during an fMRI task as one shared mechanism that may be related to the personality trait Extraversion (specifically its sub-component Agentic Extraversion) and internalizing psychopathology. We also conducted exploratory analyses on the links between neural activation following reward receipt and the other Five-Factor Model personality traits, as well as separate analyses by gender. No significant relations (p < .005) were observed between any personality trait or index of psychopathology and neural activation following reward receipt, and most effect sizes were null to very small in nature (i.e., r < |.05|). We conclude by discussing the appropriate interpretation of these null findings, and provide suggestions for future research that spans psychological and neurobiological levels of analysis.
Back pain and heart failure in community-dwelling older adults: Findings from the Health ABC study.

Abstract This study explored the association of back pain and heart failure (HF) with health outcomes among community-dwelling older adults. Older adults who completed a follow-up in the 11th year (2007–2008) of the Health, Aging, and Body Composition (Health ABC) study were included. The mean age was 83.4 ± 2.78 years. Back pain and heart failure were reported by 55.40% (n = 657) and 8.09 % (n = 96) of the total subjects (N = 1186), respectively. Regression analysis indicated that older adults with back pain reported worse depressive symptoms, fatigue, and physical performance and function compared with those without back pain (p
Chondrocyte polarity during endochondral ossification requires protein-protein interactions between Prickle1 and Dishevelled2/3

The expansion and growth of the endochondral skeleton requires organized cell behaviors that control chondrocyte maturation and oriented division. In other organs, these processes are accomplished through Wnt/planar cell polarity (Wnt/PCP) signaling pathway and require the protein-protein interactions of core components including Prickle1 (PK1) and Dishevelled (DVL). To determine the function of Wnt/PCP signaling in endochondral ossification of the cranial base and limb, we utilized the Prickle1Beetlejuice (Pk1Bj ) mouse line. The Pk1Bj allele has a missense mutation in the PK1 LIM1 domain that results in a hypomorphic protein. Similar to human patients with Robinow syndrome, the Prickle1Bj/Bj mouse mutants lack growth plate expansion resulting in shorter limbs and midfacial hypoplasia. Within the Prickle1Bj/Bj limb and cranial base growth plates we observe precocious maturation of chondrocytes and stalling of terminal differentiation. Intriguingly, we observed that the growth plate chondrocytes have randomized polarity based on the location of the primary cilia and the location of PRICKLE1, DVL2, and DVL3 localization. Importantly, mutant PK1Bj protein has decreased protein-protein interactions with both DVL2 and DVL3 in chondrocytes as revealed by in vivo co-immunoprecipitation and proximity ligation assays. Finally, we propose a model where the interaction between the Prickle1 LIM1 domain and DVL2 and DVL3 contributes to chondrocyte polarity and contributes to proximal-distal outgrowth of endochondral elements. © 2021 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).
Partial charge transfer and absence of induced magnetization in EuS ( 111 ) / Bi 2 Se 3 heterostructures

Heterostructures made from topological and magnetic insulators promise to form excellent platforms for new electronic and spintronic functionalities mediated by interfacial effects. We report the results of a first-principles density functional theory study of the geometric, electronic structure, and magnetic properties of the $\mathrm{EuS}(111)/{\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}{\mathrm{Se}}_{3}$ interface, including van der Waals and relativistic spin-orbit effects. In contrast to previous theoretical studies, we find no appreciable magnetic anisotropy in such a heterostructure. We also do not see additional induced magnetization at the interface or the magnetic proximity effect on the topological states. This is due to the localized nature of Eu moments and because of a partial charge transfer of $\ensuremath{\sim}0.5$ electron from Eu to Se. The formation of the surface dipole shifts the Dirac cone about 0.4 eV below the chemical potential, and the associated electrostatic screening moves the topological state from the first to the second quintuple layer of ${\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}{\mathrm{Se}}_{3}$.
NP-hardness Boundary of Virtual Network Embedding with Node Location Constraints

Virtual network embedding (VNE) is the optimization problem of finding the minimum cost mapping between virtual and substrate networks. Although most VNE variants are NP-hard, some variants are not. VNE is polynomially solvable if the substrate network supports splittable routing and each virtual node has only one candidate substrate node due to location constraints. However, it is unknown to what extent, this polynomial region can be enlarged. This paper clarifies the boundary by showing that we cannot enlarge the polynomial region unless P = NP. VNE is NP-hard, even if each virtual node has just two candidate substrate nodes.
Spatial Patterns of Snow Distribution for Improved Earth System Modelling in the Arctic

Abstract. The spatial distribution of snow plays a vital role in Arctic climate, hydrology, and ecology due to its fundamental influence on the water balance, thermal regimes, vegetation, and carbon flux. However, for earth system modelling, the spatial distribution of snow is not well understood, and therefore, it is not well modeled, which can lead to substantial uncertainties in snow cover representations. To capture key hydro-ecological controls on snow spatial distribution, we carried out intensive field studies over multiple years for two small (2017–2019, ~2.5 km2) sub-Arctic study sites located on the Seward Peninsula of Alaska. Using an intensive suite of field observations (> 22,000 data points), we developed simple models of spatial distribution of snow water equivalent (SWE) using factors such as topographic characteristics, vegetation characteristics based on greenness (normalized different vegetation index, NDVI), and a simple metric for approximating winds. The most successful model was the random forest using both study sites and all years, which was able to accurately capture the complexity and variability of snow characteristics across the sites. Approximately 86 % of the SWE distribution could be accounted for, on average, by the random forest model at the study sites. Factors that impacted year-to-year snow distribution included NDVI, elevation, and a metric to represent coarse microtopography (topographic position index, or TPI), while slope, wind, and fine microtopography factors were less important. The models were used to predict SWE at the locations through the study area and for all years. The characterization of the SWE spatial distribution patterns and the statistical relationships developed between SWE and its impacting factors will be used for the improvement of snow distribution modelling in the Department of Energy’s earth system model, and to improve understanding of hydrology, topography, and vegetation dynamics in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of the globe.
Nonlinear gas oscillations in pipes. II - Experiment

The problem of forced acoustic oscillations in a pipe was experimentally investigated, taking into account the response of both open and closed tubes to near-resonant excitation by large amplitude oscillations of a piston at one end of the tube. Attention was given to the effect of the orifice area on shock waves. By comparing the experimental results with nonlinear theory, wave reflection coefficients of the orifice plates were determined at both closed-tube and open-tube resonant frequencies. This approach can even be used when the terminating elements are subjected to intense periodic pressure pulses.
A comparison of glycaemic variability in CSII vs. MDI treated type 1 diabetic patients using CGMS.

Summary Objective: To evaluate and compare glucose variability, hypoglycaemic events and daily glycaemic control in well-controlled (HbA1c ≤ 7%), type 1 diabetic patients treated with either continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) using lispro or multiple daily insulin injection (MDI) using glargine once daily and lispro with meals. Research design and methods: A total of 16 patients with type 1 diabetes receiving treatment with either CSII (eight patients) or MDI (eight patients), all with HbA1c levels < 7%, wore a continuous glucose monitoring system sensor for 3 days to compare the number, duration, timing and severity of hyperglycaemic and hypoglycaemic episodes. Results: There were several more episodes of hyperglycaemic [blood glucose (BG) ≥ 180 mg/dl] and hypoglycaemic (BG ≤ 60 mg/dl) excursions observed in patients treated with CSII than MDI. Glycaemic exposure over 150 mg/dl was similar between the two groups. Maintenance of near-euglycaemia as determined by the average amount of time spent within the glucose range of 80–140 mg/dl was marginally significantly better for the MDI than for the CSII group. Although the CSII group had significantly more hypoglycaemic episodes below 60 mg/dl, the average duration of hypoglycaemia was not significantly different for the two groups. Similar percentages of nocturnal hypoglycaemia were seen. There were no reported major adverse events throughout the duration of the study. Conclusion: Well-controlled type 1 diabetic patients treated with MDI had fewer hyperglycaemic and hypoglycaemic excursions than patients treated with CSII.
Chapter 8 - Comparing MD Simulations and NMR Relaxation Parameters

Abstract NMR spin-relaxation (in either small molecules or in biomolecules) can provide unique insights into to the time-dependence of conformational fluctuations, especially on picosecond to nanosecond time scales which can be directly probed by simulations. A great deal has been learned from molecular dynamics simulations about the general nature of such motions and their impact on NMR observables. In principle, relaxation measurements should also provide valuable benchmarks for judging the quantitative accuracy of simulations, and we survey recent progress in this direction, focusing on internal motions of protein backbones and side-chains, and overall rotational diffusion. Such information provides important pointers on how to carry out MD simulations with increased fidelity to the underlying structure and dynamics of the systems being studied.
Ideology and the construction of nationality: The Canadian elections of 1993

Canada is one nation, but it is in many ways two communities, one Francophone and the other Anglophone. We employ a formal model of “ideology” and analyze how nationality is constructed in people's minds. The magnitude of the changes in expressed “preferences” in terms of ideology depends on the salience of the new issue, the extent to which it confirms with the existing ideological cleavage, and the difference between the perceived status quo on the new dimension and the voter's most preferred alternative. Using data from the 1993 Canadian National Election Study, we consider the relative importance of different policy dimensions in explaining voting decisions among educated Canadians. The issue of Quebec sovereignty, alone, is shown to have significant power for predicting vote choice. A plausible explanation, confirmed here by regression analysis, is that Quebec sovereignty “stands” for other issues in voters' conception of Canadian politics.
Quantitative Analysis of STD-NMR Spectra of Reversibly Forming Ligand–Receptor Complexes

We describe our work on the quantitative analysis of STD-NMR spectra of reversibly forming ligand–receptorcomplexes. This analysis is based on the theory of complete relaxation and conformational exchange matrixanalysis of saturation transfer (CORCEMA-ST) effects. As part of this work, we have developed two separateversions of the CORCEMA-ST program. The first version predicts the expected STD intensities for a givenmodel of a ligand–protein complex, and compares them quantitatively with the experimental data.This version is very useful for rapidly determining if a model for a given ligand–proteincomplex is compatible with the STD-NMR data obtained in solution. It is also useful in determining theoptimal experimental conditions for undertaking the STD-NMR measurements on a given complex by computersimulations. In the second version of the CORCEMA-ST program, we have implemented a torsion anglerefinement feature for the bound ligand within the protein binding pocket. In this approach, the globalminimum for the bound ligand conformation is obtained by a hybrid structure refinement protocol involvingCORCEMA-ST calculation of intensities and simulated annealing refinement of torsion angles of the boundligand using STD-NMR intensities as experimental constraints to minimize a pseudo-energy function.This procedure is useful in refining and improving the initial models based on crystallography, computerdocking, or other procedures to generate models for the bound ligand within the protein binding pocket compatiblewith solution STD-NMR data. In this chapter we describe the properties of the STD-NMR spectra, includingthe dependence of the intensities on various parameters. We also describe the results of the CORCEMA-STanalyses of experimental STD-NMR data on some ligand–protein complexes to illustrate the quantitativeanalysis of the data using this method. This CORCEMA-ST program is likely to be useful in structure-baseddrug design efforts.
Augmented reality system for real-time nanomanipulation

By introducing haptic force feedback, nanomanipulation using the AFM becomes easier. However, this technique has been impeded by tip displacement due to the softness of AFM cantilever. In this paper, a novel nanomanipulation system assisted by augmented reality is presented. By analyzing the cantilever-tip interaction with the environment, the normal force and the lateral force are obtained. These forces are then fed to a haptic device to provide real-time force feedback for operator. The visual images are also updated based on real-time force and position information, which provides the operator with real-time visual feedback. New calibration methods and compensation algorithm are introduced to compensate for the tip displacement, therefore, the visual display and force feeling from the haptic device become reliable. The real-time force feedback and the real-time visual display provide the operator with an augmented reality environment. Experimental results have verified the effectiveness of the proposed novel augmented reality system.