cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Stability and gait transition of the five-link biped on stochastically rough terrain using a discrete set of sliding mode controllers

The five-link biped is a simple, planar model of human-like walking in which scuffing can be avoided. In this paper, we focus on controller design and stability analysis for the important case of non-steady walking, toward such goals as avoiding obstacles on terrain or meeting specific requirements in speed or energetics. To achieve such tasks as new sensor information about upcoming terrain becomes available, control must be adjusted on-the-fly, preferably using a continuous family of controllers. Here, we present an illustrative case using only two, discrete sets of controllers and investigate the effect of switching between them on a stochastically rough terrain. Of note, we find that the tenth-order system dynamics of unsteady walking can be accurately represented as a Markov process, using only a sparse, quasi-2D mesh of discrete states. This transition matrix approach is then used to determine bounded limits on terrain noise for which guarantees of stability (i.e., never falling) may be given for a particular controller and for arbitrary switching between the controllers, as well as to estimate fall rates for cases where these bounds are exceeded. Our results also allow us to quantify the increase in stability gained by a simple policy of switching based on a noisy, single-step lookahead on terrain. This illustrative example, using two controllers that behave differently and allow for arbitrary switching, provides a framework for future work where tasks or requirements for biped walking are clearly defined and can only be achieved by a wider set of, or ideally a continuous range of, controllers.
Beyond traditional conceptual frameworks

Armando Morales, DSW, is Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. Webster defines mission as "a speddents and tenured faculty members, fic task with which a person or group The result would be that minority cli is charged." The specific mission of ents would suffer, since—from the this writer was to react and respond to viewpoint of knowledge and practice the commissioned authors' presenta—they would not be provided with the tions and the discussions at the 1976 highest quality of treatment services meeting on conceptual frameworks for to which they are entitled.2 social work practice. Dean quotes Meyer as saying:
Indra's Search for the Self and the Beginnings of Philosophical Perplexity in India

In the present essay our concern will be with some of the earliest documents that shed light on the development of Indian reflections on the puzzles of personal identity. These texts are derived from the Upanisads, which exemp? lify a type of literature that some philosophers may regard as classic, but not as philosophy. What I will be proposing here is that we attempt to regard such very ancient sources of Indian thought more philosophically, more in the manner that some recent writers have begun to re-examine the Presocratics.11 attempt to show that although philosophical method was not yet developed in the early literature under consideration (as equally it was not in Anaxagoras or Heraclitus), several important arguments are nonetheless already emerging there in limine. In surveying these proto? arguments, we will also have occasion to remark on their historical and/or conceptual affinities with the developed philosophies of later ages. The self, as an object of philosophico-religious speculation, is conspicuous in the most ancient literature of India only by its absence. The early hymns of the Rg Veda whose redaction may date to about 1200-800 b.c.e., do not yet hint at what was to become the central problem of Indian philosophy.2 The self makes its appearance in the middle period of Vedic thought, in the magical Atharva Veda and in the extensive ritual texts called Br?hmana. Franklin Edgerton has described the evolution of some of the foremost ideas involved here as follows:
Identification of FAKTS as a novel 14-3-3-associated nuclear protein.

Through bioinformatics and experimental approaches, we have assigned the first biochemical property to a predicted protein product in the human genome as a new 14-3-3 binding protein. 14-3-3 client proteins represent a diverse group of regulatory molecules that often function as signaling integrators in response to various environmental cues and include proteins such as Bad and Foxo. Using 14-3-3 as a probe in a yeast two-hybrid screen, we identified a novel 14-3-3 binding protein with unknown function, initially designated as clone 546. Confocal microscopy revealed that clone 546 localized to the nucleus of mammalian cells. Additional studies show that the gene encoding clone 546 is expressed in many human tissues, including the thymus, as well as a number of cancer cell lines. The interaction of clone 546 with 14-3-3 was confirmed in mammalian cells. Interestingly, this interaction was markedly enhanced by the expression of activated Akt/PKB, suggesting a phosphorylation dependent event. Mutational analysis was carried out to identify Ser479 as the predominant residue that mediates the clone 546/14-3-3 association. Phosphorylation of Ser479 by AKT/PKB further supports a critical role for Akt/PKB in regulation of the clone 546/14-3-3 interaction. On the basis of these findings, we named this undefined protein FAKTS: Fourteen-three-three associated AKT Substrate. Proteins 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Acid stripping of fused silica optical fibers without strength degradation

Glass optical fibers are almost always coated with a polymer immediately after drawing to protect them from subsequent handling damage. When studying the strength and fatigue properties of the fibers, it is useful to be able to remove this coating in order to directly observe the fatigue properties of the glass in immediate contact with the environment. Fused silica optical fibers are frequently stripped by immersion in hot (/spl sim/200/spl deg/C) concentrated sulfuric acid. Two recent papers have claimed that hot acid stripping significantly degrades the strength and increases the width of the strength distribution. However, there is a large literature that implies that, at least for most coating systems, acid stripping does not degrade the strength provided sufficient care is taken to protect the bare fiber surface during stripping and subsequent testing. This paper explicitly proves this result, showing that careful complete stripping has little or no effect on the strength of fiber tested in both tension and bending. It is also shown that the immersion time in the hot acid has no noticeable effect on the strength. Experimental protocols are described that minimize the likelihood of accidental damage to the fiber during stripping.
Mesenchymal Nuclear factor I B regulates cell proliferation and epithelial differentiation during lung maturation

Abstract The Nuclear factor I (NFI) transcription factor family consists of four genes ( Nfia , Nfib , Nfic and Nfix ) that regulate the development of multiple organ systems in mice and humans. Nfib is expressed in both lung mesenchyme and epithelium and mice lacking Nfib have severe lung maturation defects and die at birth. Here we continue our analysis of the phenotype of Nfib −/− lungs and show that Nfib specifically in lung mesenchyme controls late epithelial and mesenchymal cell proliferation and differentiation. There are more PCNA, BrdU, PHH3 and Ki67 positive cells in Nfib −/− lungs than in wild type lungs at E18.5 and this increase in proliferation marker expression is seen in both epithelial and mesenchymal cells. The loss of Nfib in all lung cells decreases the expression of markers for alveolar epithelial cells ( Aqp5 and Sftpc ), Clara cells ( Scgb1a1 ) and ciliated cells ( Foxj1 ) in E18.5 lungs. To test for a specific role of Nfib in lung mesenchyme we generated and analyzed Nfib flox/flox , Dermo1-Cre mice. Loss of Nfib only in mesenchyme results in decreased Aqp5 , Sftpc and Foxj1 expression, increased cell proliferation, and a defect in sacculation similar to that seen in Nfib −/− mice. In contrast, mesenchyme specific loss of Nfib had no effect on the expression of Scgb1a1 in the airway. Microarray and QPCR analyses indicate that the loss of Nfib in lung mesenchyme affects the expression of genes associated with extracellular matrix, cell adhesion and FGF signaling which could affect distal lung maturation. Our data indicate that mesenchymal Nfib regulates both mesenchymal and epithelial cell proliferation through multiple pathways and that mesenchymal NFI-B-mediated signals are essential for the maturation of distal lung epithelium.
Rapid diagnosis of maple syrup urine disease in blood spots from newborns by tandem mass spectrometry.

We report a new method for the diagnosis of maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) from dried blood spots on newborn screening cards based on tandem mass spectrometry (MS-MS). The mean +/- SD concentration of Leu plus Ile in normal newborns was 151 +/- 47 mumol/L (n = 1096); for Val, 131 +/- 58 mumol/L (n = 791). SDs were lower when the concentrations of these amino acids were expressed relative to that of Phe. The mean ratio for Leu + Ile to Phe was 2.5 +/- 0.49; for Val to Phe, 2.18 +/- 0.51. These results compare well with values previously reported in the literature. With these criteria, samples from a collection categorized by a bacterial inhibition assay as normal or falsely positive for MSUD were normal by MS-MS [(Leu + Ile): Phe 9.0] by MS-MS.
Fv1 Restriction and Retrovirus Vaccine Immunity in Apobec3-Deficient 129P2 Mice

Understanding the host genetics of the immune response in retrovirus infection models could provide insights for basic HIV vaccine discovery. In Friend retrovirus (FV) infection of mice, Fv1 differentially inhibits N-tropic versus B-tropic FV infection by mediating a capsid-dependent post-entry block, Fv2 susceptibility governs splenomegaly induction, and Rfv3 resistance primes a stronger neutralizing antibody response due to more potent Apobec3 activity. Apobec3 polymorphisms in inbred mouse strains correlate with Rfv3 resistance and susceptibility, with one unresolved exception. The 129/OlaHsd (129P2) mouse strain is Fv2 and Rfv3 susceptible based on genotyping, but infection of 129P2 mice with B-tropic FV resulted in strong neutralizing antibody responses and no splenomegaly. Here we confirm that 129P2 mice are Fv1nr/nr, explaining its resistance to B-tropic FV. Infection of 129P2 mice with NB-tropic FV, which can efficiently infect mice independent of Fv1 genotype, resulted in severe splenomegaly, high levels of viremia and weak neutralizing antibody responses regardless of Apobec3 status. Notably, high-dose B-tropic FV infection of 129P2 Apobec3-deficient mice induced significant adaptive immune responses and conferred high levels of protection following challenge with pathogenic NB-tropic FV. This immunological protection complemented previous studies that N-tropic FV can act as a live-attenuated vaccine in Fv1b/b mice. Altogether, the results obtained in 129P2 mice strengthen the conclusion that Rfv3 is encoded by Apobec3, and highlight Fv1 incompatibility as a retroviral vaccine paradigm in mice. Due to its susceptibility to disease that allows for pathogenic challenge studies, B-tropic FV infection of 129P2 mice may be a useful model to study the immunological pathways induced by retroviral capsid restriction.
A new genus and species of apterous Doryctinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from Costa Rica.

Doryctinae are one of the most diverse and species-rich subfamilies of the Braconidae. The subfamily is diagnosed by a row of spines on the foretibia, a flange on the propleuron above the forecoxa, the presence of an epicnemial carina and occipital carina (Marsh 2002), a double node near the apex of the dorsal valve of the ovipositor (Quicke et al., 1992), and a cyclostome mouth. Most species are thought to be idiobiont ectoparasitoids of wood-boring beetles but host records are rare and show a great deal of diversity. Some are known to be phytophagus on seeds, parasitoids of Embiidinae (Shaw & Edgerly 1985) and others attack wood boring lepidopterans or sawflies. Members of Psenobolus are thought to be inquilines of fig wasps (Ramirez & Marsh 1996). Marsh (1997) provided a key to the New World genera and Marsh (2002) included a key to the genera of Costa Rica.
PRACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR OIL SPILL DEBRIS DISPOSAL

Oil spill debris is defined as any oily solid that cannot be used directly in some fashion and is judged not worth cleaning. Disposal methods are examined briefly. Because aerobic conditions result in relatively rapid microbial degradation of the bulk of the hydrocarbons, the land-spreading process is recommended where debris size characteristics and access to suitable land permit. Anaerobic disposal in individual burial sites or existing sanitary landfills is acceptable, though definitely less desirable because of the greatly extended period for groundwater pollution potential and monitoring.
Prevalence of respiratory viruses among children hospitalized from respiratory infections in Shenzhen, China.

The prevalence of local dominant viral etiologies is important for clinical management and prevention of common viral respiratory tract infections. Unfortunately, there is limited large-scale data about common viral respiratory infection in south China. To survey dominant viral etiology and seasonality of acute respiratory infections in hospitalized children, a 4-year consecutive study was conducted in Shenzhen, China. Nasopharyngeal swab specimens were obtained from 30,443 hospitalized children younger than 14 years with respiratory tract diseases in Shenzhen Children’s Hospital from January 2012 to December 2015. Nasopharyngeal swabs were routinely examined by direct immunofluorescence assay to detect respiratory agents including seven respiratory viruses. Data were analyzed to describe the frequency and seasonality. Of the 30,443 children enrolled in the study, 4428 (14.55 %) were positive for at least one viral pathogen, among whom 4110 (92.82 %) were ≤3 years of age. The predominant viruses were respiratory syncytial virus (RSV, 68.11 %), adenovirus (ADV, 16.01 %) and parainfluenza virus 3 (PIV-3, 11.0 %). The common respiratory viruses detected peaked in the spring (17.69 %), and were minimal in autumn (9.73 %), but PIVs detection peaked in November. The common virus detection rate in male subjects (15.40 %) was significantly higher than in female subjects (13.02 %). PIVs detection rates were complementary with RSV in autumn in each year. This study demonstrated common respiratory viruses were the major cause of hospitalized acute respiratory infection (ARI) in children in Shenzhen, China. RSV was the most common detected infection, while ADV was the predominant pathogen in hospitalized children. These findings provide a better understanding of virus distribution among children of different ages, infection stratification by gender, and seasonality, all of which will contribute to modification of therapeutic approaches and development of effective prevention strategies for each respiratory virus infection during peak seasons.
Pneumonia in patients with HIV infection

The epidemiologic shift in HIV-infected populations from homosexual men to intravenous drug users and their sexual partners, together with the wide application of antipneumocystis prophylaxis and a better understanding of the broad range of HIV-associated illnesses, has changed our concept of the spectrum of lung infections that occur in patients with HIV infection. Bacterial pneumonia, not PCP, is the most common lower respiratory infection. Newer therapies of mild-to-moderate PCP increase the treatment options. The worldwide increase in tuberculosis cases is attributable to coinfection with HIV, and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is now a serious threat, especially in the inner cities. Fungal pneumonias occur with increased frequency in patients with HIV infection, depending on the geographic factors and the severity of immunodeficiency.
Analysis on Measles Antibody Level Among Healthy Population,Zhuzhou City,2013

Objective To understand the measles antibody level among populations in Zhuzhou city,determine the key areas and populations,so as to provide the scientific basis for prevention and control measures of measles. Methods A total of 377 healthy people in Zhuzhou city aged 0-63 years old were selected to be detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results The measles antibody positive rate,the protective rate and the Geometric Mean Titer(GMT)of healthy people were 89.66%,67.64%and 1∶1 262.81.The measles antibody positive rate and protective rate of 1-age group,3-age group and 5-age group was higher,and the 15-25 age group was the lowest.There were statistical differences in the measles antibody protective rate from the groups of different age and people of different immunization history,and people living in the city was higher than those living in the countryside.There were no statistical differences of the positive rate and the protective rate in male and female(P 0.05). Conclusion The 15-25 age group and people living in the countryside are the key populations for measles control and prevention.It is necessary to strengthen the vaccination among the junior middle school and college freshmen,and carry out measles vaccine inoculation among women of childbearing age,so as to improve the immune level of measles.
Share Of Specialty Drugs In Commercial Plans Nearly Quadrupled, 2003–14

From 2003 to 2014 the proportion of specialty prescription drugs (defined as those reimbursed at $600 or more per thirty-day fill) nearly quadrupled. Over this time period, fills for specialty drugs increased by 198 percent and spending for the drugs increased by 292 percent, as percentages of total drug fills and spending. Median out-of-pocket spending increased by 46 percent for specialty drugs and decreased by 57 percent for nonspecialty drugs during this time.
Polypeptide-Coated Silica Particles Dispersed in Lyotropic Liquid Crystals of the Same Polypeptide

When a particle is introduced into a liquid crystal (LC), it distorts the LC director field, leading to new arrangements of the particles. This phenomenon is ordinarily studied using >100 nm particles and ∼2 nm mesogens. Usually the particle surface and mesogens are chemically distinct, which adds an enthalpic effect, even though the more interesting interactions are entropic. To raise the structures to the visible regime, while minimizing chemical differences between the particle surface and mesogen, silica particles coated with an α-helical polypeptide have been prepared and dispersed in lyotropic polypeptide LCs. The polypeptide is poly(γ-stearyl-α,l-glutamate) or PSLG. To make the particles easy to manipulate and easy to find, the silica core included superparamagnetic magnetite (Fe3O4) and covalently attached dye. Two methods were used to place polypeptides on these magnetic, fluorescent particles: a multistep grafting-to approach in which whole polypeptides were attached and a one-pot grafting-from ...
Teaching Pharmacology Graduate Students how to Write an NIH Grant Application.

Objective. To fill the gap in grant writing training in pharmacology graduate education using an active-learning strategy.Design. Graduate students wrote subsections of a grant according to NIH guidelines. Students revised their applications based on multiple rounds of critiques from professors and peers throughout a semester-long scientific writing course.Assessment. Prerevision and postrevision grant drafts were graded. Students were provided with questionnaires assessing their perception of the process. To determine the impact of feedback on the proposals, the quality of the pre/postrevision drafts was assessed by professors who were blinded and unaffiliated with the course.Conclusion. Student grades improved significantly upon resubmission. Perceptions of the proposals by blinded faculty members favored revised submissions based on multiple criteria. Survey feedback indicated an increase in student confidence in grant writing ability. The results of 3 independent measures demonstrate that intensive fe...
Women with Low-Risk DCIS Eligible for the LORIS Trial After Complete Surgical Excision: How Low Is Their Risk After Standard Therapy?

Identifying DCIS patients at low risk for disease progression could obviate need for standard therapy. The LORIS (surgery versus active monitoring for low-risk DCIS) trial is studying the safety of monitoring low-risk DCIS, although ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (IBTR) rates in patients meeting enrollment criteria after complete surgical excision are unknown. Women with pure DCIS treated with breast-conserving surgery (BCS) with/without radiation therapy (RT) from 1/1996–1/2011 were included from a prospectively maintained database. IBTR rates were compared between those who did and did not meet LORIS eligibility criteria (age ≥ 46 years, screen-detected calcifications, nipple discharge absence, minimal family history, non-high-grade DCIS) after complete surgical excision. A total of 2394 women were identified; 401 met LORIS criteria. Median follow-up was 5.9 years; 431 had ≥10 years follow-up. LORIS cohort median age was 61 years (range 46–86 years); 207 (52 %) underwent RT, 79 (20 %) received endocrine therapy. Of 401 patients, 24 experienced an IBTR. Overall 10-year IBTR rates were 10.3 % (LORIS) versus 15.4 % (non-LORIS) (p = 0.08); without RT, 12.1 versus 21.4 %, respectively (p = 0.06). The 10-year invasive-IBTR rates for women meeting LORIS criteria were: 5.3 % BCS overall, 6.0 % without RT. Women meeting LORIS criteria (after complete surgical excision) are at somewhat lower risk for IBTR. Among such women undergoing excision without RT, the 10-year invasive-IBTR rate was 6 %. Given that approximately 20 % of women with core biopsy-proven non-high-grade DCIS have invasive cancer at excision, women managed without excision would be expected to incur higher invasive cancer rates. Additional criteria are needed to identify women not requiring intervention for DCIS.
On the Formation Rejoin Problem

Abstract: We consider the problem of a maneuvering vehicle performing a rejoin to close formation with another maneuvering vehicle. The dynamics of relative position and velocity is shown to be governed by a linear time varying dynamics. Using rotationally invariant potential functions to exploit the symmetry present in the dynamics, we are able to construct Lyapunov functions that, along with their time derivative, are independent of time allowing us to conclude, in the case of linear feedback, exponential stability of the time varying closed loop system. The situation with nonlinear feedback is somewhat more delicate, requiring the use of Matrosov’s theorem to prove uniform global asymptotic stability. Performance of the approach is illustrated by rejoining to an aggressively maneuvering flight leader using a saturating control law.
Logic gates with ion transistors

Abstract Electronic logic gates are the basic building blocks of every computing and micro-controlling system and typically require the integration of several switching elements. Ion circuits are much slower than their electronic counterpart; yet combining chemistry or bio chemistry with digital aspects is an intriguing concept. Here we demonstrate ion-XOR and ion OR gates with two electrochemical cells without pre-ion separation. The cells were modified to include a third, permeable and conductive mid electrode (the gate), which was placed between the anode and cathode. Key to our demonstration is the use of small biasing gate power with respect to the circuit's power output. The effect is reversible and a demonstration of self-powered ion circuitry.
Comparing methodologies for determining resolution from contrast in projection display systems

The accurate measurement of spatial resolution can be critical in the characterizations of projection display systems. Techniques can be used to determine resolution of projection systems by measuring the contrast of alternating grille patterns or fully modulated sine waves of various spatial frequencies. Unfortunately, the measurement of the contrast of these patterns may be influenced by stray light, either from ambient and reflected light in the environment, or from veiling glare (light scattering) in the lens of the light-measuring device. Such stray-light corruption can lead to large errors in contrast determination, providing an inaccurate and misleading characterization of the projector. For large-area measurements, various tools and methodologies have been employed, including the use of frustums and masks, to minimize such unwanted effects and provide a more accurate measurement. With some modifications, these same tools may be used for small-area measurements with similar results. Results will be shown comparing resolution determinations using different test methodologies with and without stray light compensation.
How interesting images are: An atypicality approach for social networks

With the exponential growth in information, “Big Data,” a key question is what to do with this information. A classic possibility is to characterize it through statistics. The perspective in this paper is the opposite, namely that most of the value in the information is in the parts that deviates from the average, that are unusual, atypical. Think of art: The valuable paintings or writings are those that deviate from the norms, that are atypical. With the same perspective think of social networks: Flickr is an example that has a rating for images based on how interesting they are. In previous works, researchers introduced algorithms to find the interesting images based on human psychological taste; but in this paper, we are proposing a new method to rate an image based on their level of interestingness using atypicality, in which interestingness is equivalent to having atypical structure. The paper first discusses what exactly should be understood by “atypical.” It has to be a well defined theoretical concept corresponding to some intuitive idea of atypicality, which when applied gives useful results. This is followed by applying the notion of atypicality to the general discrete scenario with finite alphabet and then putting it in to the framework of the quantized wavelet image coding. Finally our proposed algorithm is applied on Labeled Faces in the Wild (LFW) database with 13,233 images in order to find the interesting ones.
Measurement of Cosmic Ray and Trapped Proton LET Spectra on the STS-95 HOST Mission

This paper reports on in situ measurements of the linear energy transfer spectra of galactic cosmic rays and their progeny and of trapped Van Allen belt protons as recorded by a pulse height analyzer (PHA) radiation spectrometer which flew on the STS-95 DISCOVERY mission on the Hubble Orbital Systems Test cradle. The shuttle was launched on October 29, 1998 and had a mission duration of 8.5 days during the minimum phase of the solar activity cycle. The orbit of the STS-95 was about 550 km altitude and 28.5° inclination. Close agreement was seen between radiation environment model predictions and the measurements of the PHA. Agreement is obtained by considering the directionality of the radiation interacting with the shuttle structure.
Biliary-Pleural Fistula following Portal Vein Embolization for Perihilar Cholangiocarcinoma

Biliary-pleural fistula (BPF), an abnormal communication between the biliary tract and pleural space, is a rare but potentially life-threatening complication following percutaneous biliary intervention. We report a case of BPF following portal vein embolization (PVE) in a 79-year-old woman with obstructive jaundice secondary to perihilar cholangiocarcinoma. The patient successfully underwent right-sided PVE; however, the patient developed a symptomatic right-sided bilious pleural effusion the following day. Despite aggressive drainage of the pleural effusion with a large-bore chest tube and maximal medical management, the patient died from respiratory failure and pneumonia. Although rare, knowledge of this complication is important when performing PVE in patients with biliary obstruction because it can be life-threatening. Early recognition and management of this complication are crucial to avoid a poor outcome.
Moonlighting GAPDH and Diabetes: Pleiotropic Effects of Perturbations in GAPDH Structure and Function

Diabetes presents as a consequence of the hyperglycemic stress resulting from either a deficiency in the synthesis of insulin or an alteration in its basic mechanisms of cell regulation. Although insulin regulates GAPDH gene expression in normal cells, recent studies indicate fundamental roles for moonlighting GAPDH in the cellular mechanisms, which underlie diabetic pathogenesis. These include hyperglycemic perturbations as a consequence of GAPDH enzyme inhibition following its structural modification by oxidative stress-induced poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1, a notable role for moonlighting GAPDH in the development of diabetic retinopathy, as well as its distinctive function in diabetes-related apoptosis. As such, these studies indicate the significance of moonlighting GAPDH in the clinical and cellular presentation of this human disease.
Heart Rate Variability of Dogs in Classical Conditioning

Sixteen dogs were repeatedly presented with a tone followed by unavoidable shock. It was observed that the heart rate (HR) response to the conditional signal (CS) paired with shock was less variable day to day than the resting or before CS HR in the same dogs. The HR response to the unconditional stimulus (US) day to day, was least variable of all. With continued training, day to day HR variability during all four periods was diminished. A number of differences between mean HR and the variability of the same mean HR were noted. It was hypothesized that day to day HR variability might be sensitive to environmental manipulations which the mean HR does not reflect.
Aneuploidy Police Detect Chromosomal Imbalance Triggering Immune Crackdown

Aneuploidy is ubiquitous in cancer and plays a pivotal, early role in tumor evolution. It must therefore be avoided, and two recent papers highlight the roles of p53, senescence, and the immune system in preventing the outgrowth of aneuploid clones in tissue culture. These mechanisms are likely to synergize to maintain diploid cell populations.
Wettability measurements of irregular shapes with Wilhelmy plate method

Abstract One of the most accurate methods for measuring the dynamic contact angle of liquids on solid surfaces is the Wilhelmy plate method. This method generally requires the use of rectangular samples having a constant perimeter in the liquid during advancing and receding cycles. A new formulation based on the Wilhelmy force balance equation to determine the contact angle for plate samples with irregular shapes has been developed. This method employs a profile plot obtained from an optical image to determine the perimeter (i.e. wetted length) of the sample as a function of the immersion depth. The raw force data measured by the force tensiometer is manipulated using the profile plot and the Wilhelmy equation to determine the wetting force and consequently advancing and the receding contact angle. This method is verified with both triangular and irregular PTFE samples in water, and measured contact angles are in good agreement with results from conventional regular shaped samples with a constant perimeter.
On the "Cal-Mode" Correction to TOPEX Satellite Altimetry and Its Effect on the Global Mean Sea Level Time Series

Comparison of satellite altimetry against a high-quality network of tide gauges suggests that sea-surface heights from the TOPEX altimeter may be biased by ±5 mm, in an approximate piecewise linear, or U-shaped, drift. This has been previously reported in at least two other studies. The bias is probably caused by use of an internal calibration-mode range correction, included in the TOPEX “net instrument” correction, which is suspect owing to changes in the altimeter's point target response. Removal of this correction appears to mitigate most of the drift problem. In addition, a new time series based on retracking the TOPEX waveforms, again without the calibration-mode correction, also reduces the drift aside for a clear problem during the first 2 years. With revision, the TOPEX measurements, combined with successor Jason altimeter measurements, show global mean sea level rising fairly steadily throughout most of 24 year time period, with rates around 3 mm/yr, although higher over the last few years.
Abstract 16526: Nanoparticle-mediated Targeting of Endothelial mir92a-PPAP2B Signaling Axis in Atherosclerosis

Introduction: Atherosclerosis develops preferentially at arterial sites where endothelia are activated by local disturbed hemodynamics. We have recently demonstrated that disturbed flow suppresses PhosPhatidic-Acid-Phosphatase-type-2B (PPAP2B), an integral membrane protein also known as Lipid Phosphate Phosphatase (LPP3) that inactivates lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) and is implicated in coronary artery disease (CAD) by genome-wide association studies. Reduced PPAP2B was detected in athero-susceptible arterial sites exposed to disturbed flow in mice, swine and humans, resulting from elevated miR-92a. PPAP2B inhibition drives the inflammatory and permeable endothelial phenotype by activating LPA-stimulated signalings. Expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) mapping demonstrated PPAP2B CAD risk allele is not linked to PPAP2B expression in various human tissues but significantly associated with reduced PPAP2B in human aortic endothelial cells (HAEC). Hypothesis: Given the critical role of PPAP2B in mediating the athero-resistant endothelial phenotype, we test the hypothesis that miR-92a inhibition that elevates PPAP2B can promote vascular health and alleviate atherosclerotic burdens. Novel nanoparticles are designed to spatially target dysfunctional endothelia and deliver miR-92a inhibitors. Methods: Polyelectrolyte complex micelles were engineered to encapsulate charged nucleic acids (miR-92a inhibitors) forming a core by neutralizing their charge. Valine-Histidine-Proline-Lysine-Glutamine-Histidine-Arginine (VHPKQHR), which was identified via phage display and binds vascular endothelial cells through the vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), was incorporated to the miRNA inhibitor-containing polyelectrolyte complex micelles to target inflammatory endothelia and facilitate the cellular uptake. Results and Conclusions: We have successfully engineered lesion-targeting polyelectrolyte complex micelles as an innovative delivery system for therapeutic nucleotides and tested their effectiveness in inhibiting miR-92a signaling in vitro in HAEC. Moreover, miR-92a inhibitor-containing micelles significantly reduced the lesion size in ApoE(-/-) mouse model of atherosclerosis in vivo.
Decoding a Salmonella Typhi Regulatory Network that Controls Typhoid Toxin Expression within Human Cells

Summary Salmonella Typhi is the cause of typhoid fever, a major global health concern. An essential virulence factor of this pathogen is typhoid toxin. In contrast to most AB-type toxins, typhoid toxin is exclusively expressed by intracellular bacteria. The regulatory networks that ensure this unique gene expression pattern are unknown. Here, we developed FAST-INSeq, a genome-wide screening approach to identify S . Typhi genes required for typhoid toxin expression within infected cells. We find that typhoid toxin expression is controlled by a silencing and counter-silencing mechanism through the opposing actions of the PhoP/PhoQ two-component regulatory system and the histone-like protein H-NS. The screen also identified bacterial mutants that alter the proportion of intracellular S . Typhi that reside within an intravacuolar environment, which was essential for toxin expression. Collectively, these data describe a regulatory mechanism that allows a bacterial pathogen to exclusively express a virulence factor when located within a specific intracellular compartment.
Understanding performance tradeoffs in algorithms for solving oversubscribed scheduling

In recent years, planning and scheduling research has paid increasing attention to problems that involve resource oversubscription, where cumulative demand for resources outstrips their availability and some subset of goals or tasks must be excluded. Two basic classes of techniques to solve oversubscribed scheduling problems have emerged: searching directly in the space of possible schedules and searching in an alternative space of task permutations (by relying on a schedule builder to provide a mapping to schedule space). In some problem contexts, permutation-based search methods have been shown to outperform schedule-space search methods, while in others the opposite has been shown to be the case. We consider two techniques for which this behavior has been observed: TaskSwap (TS), a schedule-space repair search procedure, and Squeaky Wheel Optimization (SWO), a permutation-space scheduling procedure. We analyze the circumstances under which one can be expected to dominate the other. Starting from a real-world scheduling problem where SWO has been shown to outperform TS, we construct a series of problem instances that increasingly incorporate characteristics of a second real-world scheduling problem, where TS has been found to outperform SWO. Experimental results provide insights into when schedule-space methods and permutation-based methods may be most appropriate.
Weakly Hereditary Initial Closure Operators

We extend some recent of M. M. Clementino (Topology and its Applications 49 (1993)) and of the author (Cahiers de Topologie et Geometrie Differentielle Categoriques XXXVII(4) (1996)) concerning when a regular closure operator is weakly hereditary. In this work, we study initial closure operators which include both regular and normal closure operators. Working in a quasi-additive regular category in which pullbacks of cokernels are cokernels, we characterize when they initial closure operators are weakly hereditary. For the category of all groups, we show that a non-trivial normal closure operator is never weakly hereditary.
Stimulus control topography coherence theory: Foundations and extensions

Stimulus control topography refers to qualitative differences among members of a functional stimulus class. Stimulus control topography coherence refers to the degree of concordance between the stimulus properties specified as relevant by the individual arranging a reinforcement contingency (behavior analyst, experimenter, teacher, etc.) and the stimulus properties that come to control the behavior of the organism (experimental subject, student, etc.) that experiences those contingencies. This paper summarizes the rationale for analyses of discrimination learning outcomes in terms of stimulus control topography coherence and briefly reviews some of the foundational studies that led to this perspective. We also suggest directions for future research, including pursuit of conceptual and methodological challenges to a complete stimulus control topography coherence analysis of processes involved in discriminated and generalized operants.
Understanding the Representational Power of Neural Retrieval Models Using NLP Tasks

The ease of constructing effective neural networks has resulted in a large number of varying architectures iteratively improving performance on a task. Due to the nature of these models being black boxes, standard weight inspection is difficult. We propose a probe based methodology to evaluate what information is important or extraneous at each level of a network. We input natural language processing datasets into a trained answer passage neural network. Each layer of the neural network is used as input into a unique classifier, or probe, to correctly label that input with respect to a natural language processing task, probing the internal representations for information. Using this approach, we analyze the information relevant to retrieving answer passages from the perspective of information needed for part of speech tagging, named entity retrieval, sentiment classification, and textual entailment. We show a significant information need difference between two seemingly similar question answering collections, and demonstrate that passage retrieval and textual entailment share a common information space, while POS and NER information is used only at a compositional level in the lower layers of an information retrieval model. Lastly, we demonstrate that incorporating this information into a multitask environment is correlated to the information retained by these models during the probe inspection phase.
Insight regarding the presence of antagonism-related traits and their subsequent impairment in relation to psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism

Clinical theory is skeptical of individuals' ability to recognize the presence, severity, and impact of clinical symptoms and pathological traits (Oltmanns & Powers, 2012); however, empirical work has found moderate self-other convergence for reports of pathological traits and for Antagonism-related personality disorder (PD) constructs (i.e., psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism), which are characterized by low insight. Nevertheless, empirical examinations of insight into perceptions of impairment are scant. Thus, the present study sought to examine individuals' insight regarding pathological traits and related impairment in two samples. In Sample 1, more psychopathic, narcissistic, and Machiavellian individuals reported higher levels of pathological traits and were aware of related impairment. In Sample 2, individuals reported higher levels of pathological traits and, albeit to a lesser degree, more Antagonism-related impairment. Thus, more psychopathic, narcissistic, and Machiavellian individuals possess a reasonable degree of insight into their trait levels and associated impairment.
A multidisciplinary team-based approach to mitigate the impact of androgen deprivation therapy in prostate cancer: A randomized phase II study.

204Background: Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is associated with numerous metabolic toxicities that are potentially modifiable. We sought to evaluate the impact of participation in a multidisci...
Custom Nasal Septum Prosthesis Fabricated from a 3D‐Printed Working Model: A Clinical Report

This clinical report describes the treatment of a 47-year-old female patient with a nasal septum perforation. The treatment used a 2-piece magnetic custom prosthesis fabricated from a 3D-printed model. By using an existing medical CT scan to generate the printed working model, the number of clinical appointments was reduced. The workflow expanded the purpose of the radiologic images from simply diagnostic to include the prosthetic aspect of treatment.
GRAIN REFINEMENT IN BULK UNDERCOOLED ALLOYS

A substantial grain refinement with elimination of the dendritic structure was observed in Ni-2wt%Ag alloy specimens undercooled beyond 170 K prior to nucleation. The nondendritic grain size depends strongly on cooling rate after recalescence. A “remelting during recalescence” model predicted the crystallite size distribution at the maximum recalescence temperature. A coarsening model predicted final grain size as a function of this distribution and of cooling history after recalescence. The model indicated that coarsening may account for the observed grain refinement with increasing cooling rate.
Transrectal Ureteroscopic Stone Management in a Patient with Ureterosigmoidostomy

Background: Published case reports on the management of ureteral stones in patients with prior ureterosigmoidostomy have described the challenges of direct retrograde access to the ureter using sta...
Facial Expression Recognition from Different Angles Using DCNN for Children with ASD to Identify Emotions

In this paper, continued work of a research project is discussed whose end goal is to build a mobile device application that can teach children with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) to recognize human facial expressions utilizing computer vision and image processing. This paper discusses the intermediate work of a facial expression recognition approach using a deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) utilizing images from different angles. The Karolinska Directed Emotional Faces (KDEF) dataset has been used to train and test with the DCNN model. This dataset contains images from five different angles. Results of this paper will contribute to the end goal of the research which is to recognize facial expression from any angle of viewpoint. Finally, the result obtained is discussed and future work of the project is outlined.
Vegetation change in the Baringo Basin, East Africa across the onset of Northern Hemisphere glaciation 3.3–2.6 Ma

Abstract Vegetation in East Africa is generally thought to have shifted from forests to more open grasslands and savannas as global climate cooled and high-latitude ice sheets expanded during the Plio-Pleistocene. Such a shift would have greatly influenced landscape resources, and potentially hominin evolution as well. Existing records of African vegetation spanning these time-scales are generally derived from offshore marine records that record continental-scale changes, or paleosol carbonate records that record very local vegetation changes during the short time intervals of soil carbonate formation. Here we present a new record of basin-scale vegetation change from the late Pliocene (~3.3–2.6 Ma) derived from a drill core from the Chemeron Formation, located in the Baringo Basin/Tugen Hills region of the Kenya Rift Valley. Specifically, we present a new record of the relative abundance of C4 grasses and C3 vegetation based on the carbon isotopic composition of leaf wax biomarkers (δ13Cwax), which captures a signal of regional vegetation change. These data demonstrate that vegetation in the Baringo Basin varied greatly between C3 forests and C4 grasslands, and that vegetation exhibits both long-term (secular) trends and orbital-scale variations. The contribution of C3 plants was lower than estimates based on low-resolution carbon isotope data from paleosol carbonates and organic matter in the basin. C3 plants averaged ~53% of the vegetation during the late Pliocene, from ~3.3 to ~3.04 Ma, after which time δ13Cwax indicates more open vegetation and ~41% C3 plants. This transition may have been driven by changes in basin geomorphology, but also possibly occurred as part of larger-scale drying and expansion of C4 vegetation in East Africa. In addition to this secular change, we observe high amplitude variability in the δ13Cwax record including oscillations between ~80 and ~0% C3 plants. These vegetation changes are correlated with changes in precipitation inferred from δ2Hwax and lake level oscillations inferred from sedimentary facies, implying that high-amplitude, orbital-scale variations in precipitation drove significant changes in vegetation resources during the late Pliocene in the Baringo Basin. These variations have important implications for changes in terrestrial resources in light of the evolutionary innovations in the hominin fossil record related to changes in foraging strategies.