cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Genomic Susceptibility Loci for Brain Atrophy in Hypertensive Sibships From the GENOA Study

We measured 366 microsatellite markers genome-wide to search for loci contributing to subcortical white matter ischemic damage (leukoariosis) and brain atrophy in 488 non-Hispanic white subjects (193 men, 295 women; mean age±SD=64.1±7.7 years; 79% hypertensive) from 223 sibships recruited through ≥2 members with essential hypertension diagnosed before age 60. Leukoariosis was quantitated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), brain atrophy by the difference between intracranial and brain volumes, and calculated mean arterial pressure and pulse pressure provided measures of steady-state level and pulsatile components of blood pressure. After adjustment for sex and age, variance components models estimated significant heritability of leukoariosis (0.72), brain atrophy (0.52), mean arterial pressure (0.084), and pulse pressure (0.294) ( P P =0.00150); for brain atrophy on 1q and 17p (MLS=2.76, P =0.00018); for mean arterial pressure on 11p (MLS=1.57; P =0.00354); and for pulse pressure on 11p (MLS=3.02; P =0.00070). Bivariate linkage analyses provided evidence of loci with pleiotropic effects on brain atrophy and pulse pressure on chromosomes 11p (MLS = 5.07 at 16 cM; P =0.00001) and 16q (MLS of 4.56 at 124 cM; P =0.00003). These results demonstrate usefulness of multivariate linkage analyses to detect loci with pleiotropic effects on genetically correlated traits and suggest overlap between the genes influencing blood pressure and those contributing to brain atrophy.
Geological control of physical and chemical hydrology in California vernal pools

Vernal pools are small depressional wetlands found in seasonal climates throughout the world. In California, they are among the few ecosystems still dominated by native flora and are critical habitat for numerous endemic and rare species. In this study, we show that geology is a dominant control on the physical and chemical hydrology of contrasting vernal pools on clay-rich and hardpan soils, the two most common types of vernal pools in the Central Valley, California. The vernal pools on clay-rich soils formed on alluvium derived primarily from sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks of marine origin and deposited in relatively low-gradient environments. The clay-rich soils are fine grained and moderately to strongly saline and sodic. The vernal pools on clay-rich soils are perched surface-water systems in which surface waters are relatively saline, sodic, and turbid and in which primary productivity may be nitrogen and light limited. The vernal pools on hardpan soils formed on alluvium derived primarily from coarse-grained igneous rocks and deposited in relatively high-gradient environments. Surface soils are coarse grained and underlain by a clay-rich argillic horizon and a silica- and iron- cemented duripan. The vernal pools on hardpan soils are surface-water and perched ground-water systems in which surface waters are relatively fresh and non-turbid and in which primary productivity may be phosphorus limited. While surficially similar, these vernal pools differ in their physical and chemical hydrology, and therefore should be treated differently in resource conservation, restoration, and management efforts.
The impact of host immune status on the within-host and population dynamics of antigenic immune escape.

Antigenically evolving pathogens such as influenza viruses are difficult to control owing to their ability to evade host immunity by producing immune escape variants. Experimental studies have repeatedly demonstrated that viral immune escape variants emerge more often from immunized hosts than from naive hosts. This empirical relationship between host immune status and within-host immune escape is not fully understood theoretically, nor has its impact on antigenic evolution at the population level been evaluated. Here, we show that this relationship can be understood as a trade-off between the probability that a new antigenic variant is produced and the level of viraemia it reaches within a host. Scaling up this intra-host level trade-off to a simple population level model, we obtain a distribution for variant persistence times that is consistent with influenza A/H3N2 antigenic variant data. At the within-host level, our results show that target cell limitation, or a functional equivalent, provides a parsimonious explanation for how host immune status drives the generation of immune escape mutants. At the population level, our analysis also offers an alternative explanation for the observed tempo of antigenic evolution, namely that the production rate of immune escape variants is driven by the accumulation of herd immunity. Overall, our results suggest that disease control strategies should be further assessed by considering the impact that increased immunity—through vaccination—has on the production of new antigenic variants.
Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine for Adults: A New Paradigm

A 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine has been studied in adults aged ≥50 years to compare the immune response to that induced by the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine, which has been the standard of care over the past 30 years. The results demonstrate that adults, regardless of whether they are naive or previously vaccinated with the polysaccharide vaccine, have an overall superior antibody response when vaccinated with the conjugate vaccine compared with the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine. More importantly, the nature of the response is indicative of a T-cell–dependent response that elicits immunological memory and, therefore, primes the immune system for either natural exposure or subsequent booster vaccination with either conjugate or polysaccharide vaccine. The conjugate vaccine, which has been successful in reducing pneumococcal disease in children, now provides a new approach to preventing pneumococcal disease, including community-acquired pneumonia, in adults.
Rapid detection of Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase genes in enterobacteriaceae directly from blood culture bottles by real-time PCR

Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing Enterobacteriaceae are endemic in New York City hospitals and have been associated with serious infections globally. A real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay was developed to detect carbapenem resistance attributable to KPC from blood culture bottles positive for gram-negative bacilli. Culture confirmation of carbapenemase production included automated imipenem and meropenem susceptibility testing and ertapenem susceptibility testing by disk-diffusion. A total of 323 Enterobacteriaceae isolates were tested, of which 8.7% (n = 28) demonstrated carbapenem-resistance by automated and manual susceptibility testing methods or by RT-PCR. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of the RT-PCR assay when compared with the automated method were 92.9%, 99.3%, 92.9%, and 99.3%, respectively, and 96.4%, 99.7%, 96.4%, and 99.7%, respectively, when compared with the ertapenem disk-diffusion method. RT-PCR is a rapid and reliable means of detecting carbapenem resistance due to KPC-plasmids in Enterobacteriaceae directly from blood culture bottles.
On the diagnosis of malingered pain-related disability: lessons from cognitive malingering research.

Abstract Background context Pain-related disability is a complex phenomenon. Malingering is a potential factor in the management of patients with pain. Methodological problems and inappropriate expectations regarding diagnostic accuracy have hampered the study of malingering detection in pain. In contrast, the study of cognitive malingering in neuropsychology has led to the development of many highly accurate and reliable detection techniques. This paper applies the methods and logic that have been successful for identifying cognitive malingering to the problem of malingering in patients with pain. Purpose Outline the logic of a research methodology for studying malingering detection in pain and introduce a system for the diagnosis of malingering in pain. Study design Literature review and conceptual synthesis. Methods Examination of the research methodology and diagnostic scheme used in the study of cognitive malingering; adaptation of these methods to the problem of malingering in pain. Results Lessons derived from the study of cognitive malingering were used to generate recommendations to enhance research into detection and diagnosis of malingered pain-related disability. A comprehensive, multidimensional system for diagnosing malingering in pain-related disability was proposed. Conclusions Pain-related disability is a multifaceted phenomenon, therefore malingering can occur in different and sometimes multiple dimensions. It is presently possible to accurately detect and diagnose malingering in some patients with pain. More work is needed for some detection techniques to be appropriately calibrated in pain populations. This work must focus on controlling the false positive error rate.
Grower perceptions of native pollinators and pollination strategies in the lowbush blueberry industry

Pollinator declines and dependence on insect pollination, particularly in fruit and vegetablecrops,creates a pressingneed to understand growers’ interactions with pollinators and factors affecting pollination strategies. At present, many growers are dependent on commercial honey bees (Apis mellifera), but diversified strategies may be necessary to secure adequate crop pollination in the future. As of yet, little social science research exists on pollination practices. This article presents the results of a survey of lowbush blueberry growers in Maine. The survey was part of a five-year pollination security study focusing on four fruit and vegetables crops in the Northeast US. The survey assesses grower perceptions of native pollinators’ effectiveness and their perceptions of native pollinators’ contribution to fruit set. Results indicate a widespread perception among growers of native pollinators’ importance. While native pollinators are not effective enough to replace rented honey bees for three-quarters of the industry, they are broadly seen as an important form of insurance in poor weather when honey bees’ effectiveness is reduced. The main obstacle to greater utilization of native pollinators found in this study was uncertainty over native pollinators’ contribution to yield and the associated difficulty monitoring native pollinators’ population size. Scientists and extension experts must work to reduce these obstacles before more widespread use of native pollinators will occur.
The triphasic nature of Leydig cell development in humans, and comments on nomenclature.

Leydig cell development in humans, although for years described as being biphasic, with fetal and adult phases of maturation, is better considered as a triphasic developmental phenomenon. The morphological literature is summarized in this commentary. Although the majority of studies are of a qualitative nature and many questions remain as to the relative and absolute numbers of cells involved in these developmental phases, this literature is more consistent with a triphasic developmental pattern. This view of Leydig cell development is in accord with the well-known triphasic history of testosterone production, i.e. peaks at 14-18 weeks of fetal life, 2-3 months after birth, and from puberty throughout adult life. It is also significant that the neonatal phase of testosterone production is dependent upon reactivation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis (HPT). The current interest in the functional implications of the neonatal period will be better served by considering human Leydig cell development as triphasic.
Physical Dating Violence, Sexual Violence, and Unwanted Pursuit Victimization A Comparison of Incidence Rates Among Sexual-Minority and Heterosexual College Students

The purpose of this study was to estimate the 6-month incidence rates of sexual assault, physical dating violence (DV), and unwanted pursuit (e.g., stalking) victimization among sexual-minority (i.e., individuals with any same-sex sexual experiences) college students with comparison data from non-sexual-minority (i.e., individuals with only heterosexual sexual experiences) college students. Participants (N = 6,030) were primarily Caucasian (92.7%) and non-sexual-minority (82.3%). Compared with non-sexual-minority students (N-SMS; n = 4,961), sexual-minority students (SMS; n = 1,069) reported significantly higher 6-month incidence rates of physical DV (SMS: 30.3%; N-SMS: 18.5%), sexual assault (SMS: 24.3%; N-SMS: 11.0%), and unwanted pursuit (SMS: 53.1%; N-SMS: 36.0%) victimization. We also explored the moderating role of gender and found that female SMS reported significantly higher rates of physical DV than female N-SMS, whereas male SMS and male N-SMS reported similar rates of physical DV. Gender did not moderate the relationship between sexual-minority status and victimization experiences for either unwanted pursuit or sexual victimization. These findings underscore the alarmingly high rates of interpersonal victimization among SMS and the critical need for research to better understand the explanatory factors that place SMS at increased risk for interpersonal victimization.
Targeted exome sequencing profiles genetic alterations in leiomyosarcoma

Leiomyosarcoma (LMS) belongs to the class of genetically complex sarcomas and shows numerous, often non-recurrent chromosomal imbalances and aberrations. We investigated a group of LMS using NGS platform to identify recurrent genetic abnormalities and possible therapeutic targets. Targeted exome sequencing of 230 cancer-associated genes was performed on 35 primary soft tissue and visceral (extra-uterine) LMS. Sequence data were analyzed to identify single nucleotide variants, small insertions/deletions (indels), and copy number alterations. Key alterations were further investigated using FISH assay. The study group included patients with median age of 64 years and median tumor size of 7 cm. The primary sites included retroperitoneal/intra-abdominal, extremity, truncal, and visceral. Thirty-one tumors were high grade LMS, while four were low grade. Losses of chromosomal regions involving key tumor suppressor genes PTEN (10q), RB1 (13q), CDH1 (16q), and TP53 (17p) were the most frequent genetic events. Gains mainly involved chromosome regions 17p11.2 (MYOCD) and 15q25-26 (IGF1R). The most frequent mutations were identified in the TP53 gene in 13 of 35 (37%) cases. FISH analysis showed amplification of the myocardin (MYOCD) gene in 5 of 25 (20%) cases analyzed. None of the four low grade LMS showed losses or mutations of PTEN or TP53 genes. Genetic complexity is the hallmark of LMS with losses of important tumor suppressor genes being a common feature. MYOCD, a key gene associated with smooth muscle differentiation, is amplified in a subset of both retroperitoneal and extremity LMS. Further studies are necessary to investigate the significance of gains/amplifications in the development of these tumors.
Construct and Predictive Validity of the California Entry Level Test

The Entry Level Test (ELT) (California State Department of Education, 1974) is administered to all first grade pupils in California as part of the state assessment program. ELT means are used with demographic variables to predict differences among schools and districts on subsequent reading achievement tests.Factor analyses based on a one-percent random sample of all first grade children (n = 3010) resulted in distinct factors for each of the subtests, Immediate Recall, Letter Recognition, Auditory Discrimination, Visual Discrimination, and Language Development. Two ethnic group factors were also identified that shared no substantial loadings with any of the test variables.Evidence of convergent validity for the ELT subtests was obtamed from multitrait-multimethod matrices with four other prereading and reading tests. Discriminant validity was weak for all subtests except Auditory Discrimination because of the extreme easiness of the ELT.Simple correlations between the ELT and the Reading Test Second and ...
Factors Affecting Perceptions of Human–Wildlife Interactions in Residential Areas of Northern New York and Implications for Conservation

We explored factors influencing people's perceptions of human–wildlife interactions in residential areas, reporting interactions to authorities, and potential conservation implications. Data were obtained from a mail survey of 1,439 landowners. We used logistic regression to predict probabilities of having non-positive perceptions and reporting interactions to authorities. Our models predicted perceptions relatively well; factors influencing perceptions included attitudes toward wildlife, experiences with wildlife, age, urban or rural upbringing, and location of current residence. Our models did not predict reports of human–wildlife interactions with satisfactory accuracy. Overall perceptions of wildlife interactions were more positive compared to perceptions of experiences with specific species around respondents' homes. Those not having positive interactions demonstrated less support for land and wildlife conservation. Future research should explore species-specific and incident-specific details to anti...
UWB Self-Compensating Antennas: Numerical Demonstration of the Electromagnetic Working Principle

To achieve a dispersionless channel, the receiver must counteract the dispersion caused by the transmitter, assuming that the propagating medium is dispersionless. If identical antennas are used for transmission and reception, constraints are placed on the antenna of interest, since the temporal transmit and receive responses of an antenna are linked through reciprocity and related by a time derivative. By invoking the concept of a half-derivative, it was proposed in Tyo's 2008 paper, that a half-differentiator transmitter in the time domain (TD) will operate as a half-integrator receiver over some range of frequencies. In the frequency domain (FD) this corresponds to a transfer function that behaves in a similar fashion as the 2D Green's function due to a line source. The required antenna should transmit and receive cylindrical waves efficiently. When used in UWB applications, a receiving antenna with this property will counteract its dispersion effect as a transmitter, providing a flat overall channel gain. In this work, a numerical model for a rotationally symmetric structure with a dielectric lens is used as a transmitter to verify the above proposition. We start by a brief explanation of the principle on which the antenna works as cylindrical source. A study of FD and TD parameters of the model are provided. The limitations due to the dielectric lens are also addressed, and other geometries of similar characteristics are modeled. In these examples, we demonstrate how the information contained in the radiated fields can help in predicting the flatness of channel gain.
Buoyancy‐driven instability in a vertical cylinder: Binary fluids with Soret effect. Part II: Weakly non‐linear solutions

The buoyancy-driven instability of a monocomponent or binary fluid that is completely contained in a vertical circular cylinder is investigated, including the influence of the Soret effect for the binary mixture. The Boussinesq approximation is used, and weakly-non-linear solutions are generated via Galerkin's technique using an expansion in the eigensolutions of the associated linear stability problem. Various types of fluid mixtures and cylindrical domains are considered. Flow structure and associated heat transfer are computed and experimental observations are cited when possible.
Cutting planes for programs with disjunctive constraints

A type of program is considered in which, apart from the usual linear constraints, it is required that at least one variable from each of several sets be equal to zero. Applications include complementary pivot theory and concave minimization problems. Cutting planes are generated for the solution of such programs. A geometrical description of the cutting planes explains their meaning.
Study of a high-resolution, 3D positioning cadmium zinc telluride detector for PET

This paper investigates the performance of 1 mm resolution cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) detectors for positron emission tomography (PET) capable of positioning the 3D coordinates of individual 511 keV photon interactions. The detectors comprise 40 mm × 40 mm × 5 mm monolithic CZT crystals that employ a novel cross-strip readout with interspersed steering electrodes to obtain high spatial and energy resolution. The study found a single anode FWHM energy resolution of 3.06 ± 0.39% at 511 keV throughout most of the detector volume. Improved resolution is expected with properly shielded front-end electronics. Measurements made using a collimated beam established the efficacy of the steering electrodes in facilitating enhanced charge collection across anodes, as well as a spatial resolution of 0.44 ± 0.07 mm in the direction orthogonal to the electrode planes. Finally, measurements based on coincidence electronic collimation yielded a point spread function with 0.78 ± 0.10 mm FWHM, demonstrating 1 mm spatial resolution capability transverse to the anodes-as expected from the 1 mm anode pitch. These findings indicate that the CZT-based detector concept has excellent performance and shows great promise for a high-resolution PET system.
Metabolic changes in exercise-induced and methacholine-induced bronchoconstriction

Metabolic and physiological responses to graded exercise and methacholine challenge were investigated in asthmatics with or without exercise-induced bronchoconstriction. The results showed that after methacholine challenge, free fatty acid levels increased only in patients with exercise-induced asthma, while they increased in both groups of asthmatics after treadmill exercise. No significant changes were noted in plasma lactic acid levels, ventilation, or oxygen consumption among the groups studied. These data suggest that asthmatics with exercise-induced bronchoconstriction may differ from other asthmatics in some of their metabolic responses.
The mechanism of mechanical alloying of MoSi2

An incubation time exists for the formation of MoSi2 by mechanical alloying (MA). For the particular milling conditions employed, the bulk of MoSi2 formation occurs between 3 h and 12 min and 3 h and 13 min. This abrupt formation of MoSi2 during MA suggests that the reaction occurs by a form of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS), when a critical amount of stored energy (in the form of interfacial energy and cold work) is introduced by MA, and increases the adiabatic reaction temperature sufficiently to make the reaction self-sustaining.
Dispersion and damping of acoustic phonons in quantum dots

The paper examines a variety of mechanisms that can shift or broaden the frequencies of acoustic phonons in quantum dots. These mechanisms take on added significance in view of recent indications that a number of potential applications of quantum dots-including some approaches to quantum computing-may be limited by decoherence effects caused by acoustic-phonon interactions in quantum-dot systems.
2J-4 In-Vivo Imaging of Breast Tissue Viscoelasticity

Viscoelastic imaging techniques are being developed to measure mechanical features of breast tissues using standard ramp-and-hold stimuli for creep measurements. This paper discusses a 3-person volunteer study to detail experimental methods used to measure breast viscoelasticity. It also summarizes our recent clinical data with 25 breast mass patients. We use a linear array transducer mounted to a surface force sensor to apply a ramp-and-hold force to the breast surface while recording RF frames at 2 fps. In particular we determine (a) the linear range of breast tissue deformation, (b) our ability to apply and hold a constant force for up to 200 s with and without force feedback, and (c) characteristics of viscoelastic creep in breast tissue, all using a new scanning technique that allows for normal breathing with minimal artifacts. Linear responses were observed for breast up to 4% strain. Below 5 N of applied force, the creep response displayed classical arrheodictic behavior of polymer solids, settling to a constant strain after 100 s. We model the creep response as the sum of many exponentials that can be parameterized by a low-order Voigt model to obtain the retardation times, T1 = 3.2 plusmn 0.8 s and T2 = 42.0 plusmn 28 s for normal breast tissue. The magnitude of creep is equivalent to the initial elastic response and hence is not significantly affected by small systematic errors in the stimulus. Newer scan techniques therefore extend acquisition times an order of magnitude to increase the model order and the information content
Design considerations for high-current superconducting RFQ's

As part of our ongoing development program of high-current cw accelerators, we are investigating the use of superconducting RFQs to capture, bunch, and accelerate high-current, cw ion beams to energies where they can be further accelerated by more conventional independently-coupled superconducting cavities. This investigation addresses issues related to beam physics, thermal management, electromagnetic design, mechanical design, matching to the ion source, etc. >
Thermo-switchable Polymer Dielectrics

We are interested in utilizing the thermo-switchable properties of precursor poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) polymers to develop capacitor dielectrics that will fail at specific temperatures due to the material irreversibly switching from an insulator to a conducting polymer. By utilizing different leaving groups on the polymer main chain, the temperature at which the polymer transforms into a conductor can be varied over a range of temperatures. Electrical characterization of thin-film capacitors prepared from several precursor PPV polymers indicates that these materials have good dielectric properties until they reach elevated temperatures, at which point conjugation of the polymer backbone effectively disables the device. Here, we present the synthesis, dielectric processing, and electrical characterization of a new thermo-switchable polymer dielectric.
Robot crowd navigation using predictive position fields in the potential function framework

A potential function based path planner for a mobile robot to autonomously navigate an area crowded with people is proposed. Path planners based on potential functions have been essentially static, with very limited representation of the motion of obstacles as part of their navigation model. The static formulations do not take into account the possibility of using predicted workspace configuration to augment the performance of the path planner. The use of an elliptical region signifying the predicted position and direction of motion of an obstacle is proposed in this paper. The repulsive potential caused by an obstacle is defined relative to this elliptical field. An analytic switch is made when the robot enters this predicted elliptical zone of the obstacle. The development of navigation functions makes it possible to design a potential-based planner which is guaranteed to converge to the target.
Studies on the biosynthesis of thyroid hormone: reconstruction of a defined in vitro iodinating system.

The ability of NADPH to stimulate tyrosine iodination in thyroid cell particles is correlated with NADPH-cytochrome c reductase activity in the preparations. Heat and pchloromercuribenzoate depress both functions in parallel. Vitamin K3 stimulates iodination and is synergistic with NADPH. NADP-cytochrome c reductase was purified from calf thyroid tissue. An in vitro iodinating system was reconstructed from partially purified enzymes utilizing the soluble iodide peroxidase-tyrosine iodinase, NADPH, the purified reductase, and vitamin K3 or cytochrome c. Reductase supported iodination was catalase sensitive. NADPH-cytochrome c reductase may be involved in endogenous generation of peroxide utilized in the iodination reaction. (Endocrinology 88: 486, 1971)
Must the Criteria for Initiating Coerced Treatment or Commitment be the Same as the Criteria for Ending Coerced Treatment or Commitment

That coerced treatment must end when the criteria for initiating coerced treatment cease to apply appears to be universally accepted by courts and commentators. Moreover, the consensus appears to be justified by a steel-trap argument. If coercion is justified only when the patient is mentally ill and incapable, because then the patient lacks autonomous capacities or practical reasoning ability, then those justifications have no force when the patient either is not mentally ill or is capable. A parallel claim holds for civil commitment. If coercion is justified only when the patient is mentally ill, and either incapable or dangerous (or both), because then the patient lacks important properties of moral agency, such as autonomous capacities or practical reasoning ability, or must be restricted to protect the public or himself, then those justifications have no force when the patient is not mentally ill, or either capable or not dangerous. This is not surprising as commitment is one form of coerced treatment. Commitment isolates the patient from society, enhances opportunities for observation and confines the patient in the serene and less stimulating environment of the hospital as a drug-free treatment that reduces risk of harm, and marginally treats the illness. Because this claim is universally accepted, I shall call it the received wisdom. Despite this powerful consensus, I believe that the received wisdom rests upon a conceptual confusion. I argue against the received wisdom as a normative, justificatory claim. I then defend the claim that the standard for release can and should be more difficult to meet in certain actual or possible circumstances by refuting the steel-trap argument and its variations. Responding to an objection, I describe an array of positive arguments supporting the claim that the criteria for release should be harder to meet than the trigger for initiating commitment or coerced treatment.
The Incidence and Influence of Musculoskeletal and Nerve Injuries Among Occupational Therapists: An Exploratory Study

Date Presented 4/17/2015 This research study explored the incidence and influence of musculoskeletal and nerve injuries among occupational therapists as well as the influence that these injuries have on work satisfaction, work performance, and overall quality of life.
On-Line Trajectory Optimization Including Threats and Targets

Different methods of optimizing terrain following trajectories have been investigated as an extension of earlier reduced order formulations. This paper incorporates wind, moving threats -such as other aircraft to be avoided -and a moving target -such as a rendezvous situation -into the basic constant velocity formulation. Consequently, this will allow a more realistic model to be simulated. In addition, changing information, such as a threat appearing during flight, are considered. The reduced order formulation results in a system of four differential equations with two unknown initial conditions. The solution is found with the use of a genetic algorithm in conjunction with a conjugate-gradient numerical search method.
The effect of pH and free Mg2+ on ATP linked enzymes and the calculation of Gibbs free energy of ATP hydrolysis.

The apparent equilibrium constants, K′, of biochemical reactions containing substrates which bind [Mg2+] unequally can be significantly altered by changes in free intracellular [Mg2+]. Intracellular free [Mg2+] can be estimated by measurements of [citrate]/[isocitrate], a ratio known to vary with tissue free [Mg2+]. The combined equilibrium constant for glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate kinase, and triose phosphate isomerase for the three reactions (KGG-TPI′) was corrected using new binding constants for dihydroxyacetone-phosphate and 3-phosphoglycerate. The result of this calculation is demonstrated in the calculation of the free energy of ATP hydrolysis. In addition, the dependence of the equilibrium constant for the glutamine synthetase reaction on pH and free [Mg2+] was demonstrated. Furthermore, a theory linking the ΔG′ value of mitochondrial complex I−II and the cytosolic ΔG′ value of ATP hydrolysis is discussed with evidence from previous publications.
CUMS and delta checks. A systematic approach to quality control.

An operational system designed effectively to identify laboratory errors from a wide range of sources is presented. Based upon CUMS, which are the accumulated results of each patient kept in a serial consecutive record, comparisons (Delta Checks) are made between previous results (data base) and current results. Results are challenged for validity when they exceed predetermined limits developed using established standard quality control data. Validity is certified by checking specimen acquisition, quality control data, instrumentation, methodology, transcription, and current and prior clinical status of the patient. Examples of applications of this system in a busy hospital laboratory are presented. The method is ideally applicable to computer technology.
A Monte Carlo simulator of PS-OCT local birefringence imaging(Conference Presentation)

Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) allows imaging of tissue birefringence. In practice, however, PS-OCT images are often confounded by high noise and confusing artifacts. A full understanding of the intrinsic and instrumentation-derived signal and noise properties of PS-OCT has not been developed. In this presentation, we describe a Monte Carlo (MC) simulator of PS-OCT local birefringence imaging that recapitulates the noise and signal properties observed in empirical images and, as such, can be used to understand and improve PS-OCT methods. The MC simulator builds upon a previously described MC methodology that supports arbitrary three-dimensional geometries. To this, we have added support for MC simulation of transverse speckle correlation. This is important because many of the noise sources in PS-OCT are driven by interactions with the speckle field. We have developed a method to support polarization-dependent measurements of birefringent tissues. Both additive (due to finite SNR) and polarization-mode dispersion noise can be incorporated. To demonstrate the utility of the simulator, we use it to reveal a previously unappreciated noise that results from the design of conventional local birefringence extraction algorithms, and we describe an improved method that lowers noise in both simulated and empirical datasets. We anticipate that this simulator will enable new explorations into the fidelity of PS-OCT measurements and accelerate the optimization of PS-OCT methods and algorithms.
Piercing the Parent-subsidiary Corporate Veil in Environmental Tort Cases

There are different views on whether the parent company should be responsible for the environmental damage caused by its subsidiary. The reason for the argument is considerations on piercing the parentsubsidiary corporate veil inconsistent with piercing the corporate veil in environmental tort cases. It means that environmental interests conflict with economic and social interests in such cases. Therefore, we should use the method of interest weighing,determine the standards for piercing the parentsubsidiary corporate veil in environmental tort cases.
Proton Improvement Plan II: An 800 MeV Superconducting Linac to Support Megawatt Proton Beams at Fermilab

Abstract Fermilab has proposed an upgrade of its proton accelerator complex based on construction of a new superconducting radio frequency linac. The plan is structured to deliver, in a cost effective manner, more than 1 MW of beam power to the neutrino production target at the initiation of the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility, while simultaneously creating a flexible platform for longer-term development of the Fermilab complex to multi-MW capabilities in support of a broader research program.
Immigrants and their children: an historical perspective

Debates in the United States through the 19th and 20th centuries over whether immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe could be assimilated, and the role of public schools and of ethnic institutions in this process, including changing policies toward the languages of immigrant families.
Plant developmental responses to climate change

Climate change is multi-faceted, and includes changing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, rising temperatures, changes in precipitation patterns, and increasing frequency of extreme weather events. Here, we focus on the effects of rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations, rising temperature, and drought stress and their interaction on plant developmental processes in leaves, roots, and in reproductive structures. While in some cases these responses are conserved across species, such as decreased root elongation, perturbation of root growth angle and reduced seed yield in response to drought, or an increase in root biomass in shallow soil in response to elevated CO2, most responses are variable within and between species and are dependent on developmental stage. These variable responses include species-specific thresholds that arrest development of reproductive structures, reduce root growth rate and the rate of leaf initiation and expansion in response to elevated temperature. Leaf developmental responses to elevated CO2 vary by cell type and by species. Variability also exists between C3 and C4 species in response to elevated CO2, especially in terms of growth and seed yield stimulation. At the molecular level, significantly less is understood regarding conservation and variability in molecular mechanisms underlying these traits. Abscisic acid-mediated changes in cell wall expansion likely underlie reductions in growth rate in response to drought, and changes in known regulators of flowering time likely underlie altered reproductive transitions in response to elevated temperature and CO2. Genes that underlie most other organ or tissue-level responses have largely only been identified in a single species in response to a single stress and their level of conservation is unknown. We conclude that there is a need for further research regarding the molecular mechanisms of plant developmental responses to climate change factors in general, and that this lack of data is particularly prevalent in the case of interactive effects of multiple climate change factors. As future growing conditions will likely expose plants to multiple climate change factors simultaneously, with a sum negative influence on global agriculture, further research in this area is critical.
What was the Occupy Wall Street Protest a Protest of

The Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement appeared to be a protest of capitalism, but their expressions of what they were doing offered little in the way of economic analysis. Their critique was not economic but moral. I analyze Communique #1, their purest self-definition, which reveals that they saw us as living in a world of artificial images created by, and serving the interests of, malevolent forces: capitalism is the expression of these forces. Their stance against this is their own authenticity, which is their paradigm of an alternative. I compare this to the movie The Matrix, which sees us as living in a similar world, except that the malevolent forces are not capitalism. I compare these with the Cave allegory in Plato’s Republic, which is similar, except the artificial images are not expressions of malevolence. Occupy was an expression of exclusively maternal psychology. The malevolent object of OWS’ critique is the father, who forces socialization upon us. The focus of their antagonism was society, and culture, as such. This is an inevitable consequence of the normalization of the pristine self.
From exomes to genomes: challenges and solutions in population-based genetic association studies.

From exomes to genomes: challenges and solutions in population-based genetic association studies
Clarence C. Walton on Management Education: Perspectives and Contributions

I admit unabashedly that Clarence C. Walton has been my intellectual mentor virtually from the day I began my academic career over three decades ago. Together with Dow Votaw, my dear friend and University of California at Berkeley colleague, Clarence, first through his writings and then personally, nurtured my fledgling efforts during the 1960s and beyond in that inchoate, ill-defined, squishy area of inquiry—then barely a field, and surely not a discipline—variously known as Business and Society; Business and the Environment; Business, Government and Society; the Legal, Social, and Political Environment of Business; or Clarence’s preferred designation, Conceptual Foundations of Business. Clarence; Dow; Ray Bauer of Harvard; George Steiner of UCLA; Bill Frederick of Pittsburgh; Earl F. “Budd” Cheit of Berkeley; Keith David of Arizona; Ivar Berg, then also at Columbia; Harold Johnson of Emory; Walter H. Klein, then of Villanova; Joe McGuire, then of Kansas; Sumner Marcus and Joe Monsen of Washington; and George L. “Lee” Bach of Stanford were the doyens and champions of this entrepreneuring intellectual enterprise striving for legitimacy—indeed, survival—in the hostile academic climate of the times.
Characterization of the Culturable Subpopulations of Lactobacillus in the Chicken Intestinal Tract as a Resource for Probiotic Development

To gain better understanding of the distributions of the culturable Lactobacillus species in the chicken intestinal tract, we collected ceca, and distal ileum from ten 3-weeks-old broiler chickens. Lactobacillus strains from cecal lumen contents (M-CL), and those associated with mucosa of ceca (M-CM) and ileum (M-IM) were recovered on de Man, Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) agar plates, and used for microbiota analysis. The total cecal content (T-CL) was also used directly for microbiota analysis. We purposefully focused on MRS-recovered populations to gain understanding of the culturable subpopulations of Lactobacillus, since the culturability is an important phenotype in order to exploit the chicken gut microbiota as a resource for development of probiotics. The V1-V3 regions of 16S rRNA gene was amplified from genomic DNA samples, and the pooled amplicons were analyzed by MiSeq sequencing with paired-end read 300 cycle option. Among MRS groups, Firmicutes were significantly higher in M-IM and M-CL as compared to M-CM, whereas Proteobacteria were significantly higher in M-CM as compared to M-IM and M-CL at p < 0.05. Among Lactobacillus, L. salivarius (36%) and L. johnsonii (21%) were higher in M-IM as compared to M-CL (L. salivarius, 28%; L. johnsonii, 15%), and M-CM (L. salivarius, 20%; L. johnsonii, 11%). L. crispatus was found significantly higher in M-CL as compared to M-IM (p = 0.0041) whereas L. gasseri was found significantly higher in M-IM as compared to M-CM (p = 0.0315). L. aviarius, and L. fornicalis were only observed in T-CL. In summary, Lactobacillus populations recovered on MRS vary with different regions and locations in chicken GIT, which might indicate their distinct functional roles in different GIT niches, and some species of Lactobacillus are not culturable on MRS agar media. This study is the first attempt to define culturable Lactobacillus subpopulations in the chicken intestinal tract comprehensively using 16S rRNA gene profiling, and the findings of this study will be used as a platform to develop a new strategy for isolation of effective Lactobacillus probiotic candidates based on comparative analyses of chicken gut microbiota.
Electrical stimulation for enhanced denitrification in woodchip bioreactors: Opportunities and challenges

Abstract Woodchip bioreactors are being implemented for the removal of nitrates in groundwater and tile water drainage. However, low nitrate removals in denitrifying woodchip bioreactors have been observed for short hydraulic retention time (HRT) and low water temperature (
What do hospitality undergraduates learn in different countries? An international comparison of curriculum

Abstract Hospitality curriculum plays an important role in hospitality education and impacts the quality of the workforce entering the growing hospitality industry. From the top hospitality undergraduate programs worldwide, this study selected 36 programs from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia as the study sample. Curriculum related information was collected from the institutions’ websites, including 620 undergraduate hospitality core courses. Content analysis generated a new 2-dimension course typology consisting of six categories of industry foci and 11 categories of topical areas. Chi-square and correspondence analysis were employed to compare the hospitality curricula across the three countries. The results indicated that hospitality curricula in the three countries had both different industry foci and topical areas. The study then provided practical suggestions on how to develop an international hospitality curriculum standard to prepare hospitality graduates for the globalized hospitality industry.
THE STUDY TO APPLY FUZZY WEIGHTED INPUT ESTIMATION FOR THE PREDICTION OF TARGET TRAJECTORY IN A FIRE CONTROL SYSTEM

The fuzzy weighted input estimation (FWIE) is proposed in this paper to solve the problem of noise disturbance and combined with the three-dimensional motion equation of target trajectory to construct the tracking rule of fire control system. FWIE can estimate effectively the input data of maneuvering target acceleration to obtain the precise target state and solve the problems from the traditional Kalman filter which cannot compute the precise estimation of target state because of the input information in the system. Simulation results show that FWIE can estimate the change of target state rapidly and precisely compared with the extended Kalman filter and the proposed tracking rule can improve the fire control system to figure out the target intercepting points with shorter miss distance.
Cyberology Relative to Themes and Issues of an Art Form Upstart—Comic Art

A Jordanian writer last month posted a cartoon not of his making on Facebook, which showed a bearded man in bed with two women in heaven, ordering God to bring him wine and food. The writer was about to stand trial for “insulting religion” when he was gunned down outside an Amman courthouse. In the Philippines, cartoonist Gerry Alanguilan, years ago, set up an online museum, the Komikero Group, and used his website in an effort to revive his country’s rich comics tradition and make young creators aware of comics classics.