cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Emerging Conflict between Newsworthiness and the Right to Be Forgotten

In early 2010 it was reported that the some of the nations of the European Union were considering passing legislation aimed a protecting an individual's "right to be forgotten." The right to be forgotten is such that a person's past deeds, though chronicled and now available on the Internet, were considered private. Therefore, any person could demand that the possessor of this information erase it or face a lawsuit. Although EU members hail the creation of this right to be forgotten as improving individual privacy rights, such a right creates a problem for American online news organizations. Not only does such law come into direct conflict with protections found in the First Amendment, but it also conflicts with traditional privacy jurisprudence, which states that information made public cannot become private again. At the same time, Americans seem to be attempting to assert a right to be forgotten. For instance, a man threatened to sue a college newspaper that had articles reporting on the misdeeds of his son in its online archives. This paper analyzes the emerging conflict that recognizing a right to be forgotten online would have with American jurisprudence regarding the role of the press, both traditional and online, as a watchdog for the public as well as with traditional U.S. privacy policy. Section two attempts to examine the boundaries of the right to be forgotten from both theoretical and EU perspectives. Section three considers traditional U.S privacy law and some of the contours of that law including the protection for newsworthy information. Section four analyzes the right to be forgotten with respect to the protections for free expression detailed in Section three. This paper concludes with a consideration of how the right to be forgotten would not fit with traditional U.S. privacy jurisprudence.
Tissue-infiltrating neutrophils constitute the major in vivo source of angiogenesis-inducing MMP-9 in the tumor microenvironment.

According to established notion, one of the major angiogenesis-inducing factors, pro-matrix metalloproteinase-9 (proMMP-9), is supplied to the tumor microenvironment by tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). Accumulated evidence, however, indicates that tumor-associated neutrophils (TANs) are also critically important for proMMP-9 delivery, especially at early stages of tumor development. To clarify how much angiogenic proMMP-9 is actually contributed by TAMs and TANs, we quantitatively evaluated TAMs and TANs from different tumor types, including human xenografts and syngeneic murine tumors grown in wild-type and Mmp9-knockout mice. Whereas host MMP-9 competence was required for full angiogenic potential of both normal and tumor-associated leukocytes, direct comparisons of neutrophils versus macrophages and TANs versus TAMs demonstrated that macrophages and TAMs secrete 40- to 50-fold less proMMP-9 than the same numbers of neutrophils or TANs. Correspondingly, the levels of MMP-9–mediated in vivo angiogenesis induced by neutrophils and TANs substantially exceeded those induced by macrophages and TAMs. MMP-9–delivering TANs were also required for development of metastasis-supporting intratumoral vasculature, characterized by ≥ 11-μm size lumens and partial coverage with stabilizing pericytes. Importantly, MMP-9–producing TAMs exhibit M2-skewed phenotype but do not express tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-1 (TIMP-1), a novel characteristic allowing them to secrete TIMP-1–free, neutrophil-like MMP-9 zymogen unencumbered by its natural inhibitor. Together, our findings support the notion whereby TANs, capable of immediate release of their pre-stored cargo, are the major contributors of highly angiogenic MMP-9, whereas tumor-influxing precursors of macrophages require time to differentiate, polarize into M2-skewed TAMs, shut down their TIMP-1 expression, and only then, initiate relatively low-level production of TIMP-free MMP-9 zymogen.
Self-reported recognition of undiagnosed life threatening conditions in chiropractic practice: a random survey.

Background The purpose of this study was to identify the type and frequency of previously undiagnosed life threatening conditions (LTC), based on self-reports of chiropractic physicians, which were first recognized by the chiropractic physician. Additionally this information may have a preliminary role in determining whether chiropractic education provides the knowledge necessary to recognize these events.
Local patterns of image degradation differentially affect refraction and eye shape in chick.

Purpose: To evaluate visual blur as a mechanism for modulating eye shape. Methods: Chicks wore a unilateral full goggle or one of several goggles modified with apertures. After 2 weeks, eyes were measured with refractometry, ultrasound, and calipers, and three retinal regions were assayed for dopamine and DOPAC (3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid). Results: Goggled eyes were diffusely enlarged or enlarged predominantly along the axial dimension, depending on the goggle. Myopia developed under goggle types inducing primarily axial growth and under some of the goggles inducing diffuse eye expansion. Enlarged eyes remained emmetropic beneath other goggles that caused diffuse eye expansion. Reductions in retinal dopamine and DOPAC were proportional to the eye growth and refraction effects. Conclusions: Localized image degradation can cause myopia with predominantly axial expansion, myopia with more diffuse vitreous chamber expansion, or eye expansion without myopia. Robust expansion of the equatorial diameter alo...
Al Diffusion in Polycrystalline Cu

The diffusion of aluminum (Al) from a source sandwiched between polycrystalline copper (Cu) thin films was investigated as a function of time and temperature through secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) and continuum simulations. Extracted diffusion coefficients for the bulk were in line with literature values. In order to simulate the experimentally derived diffusion profiles at temperatures where bulk diffusion is not the dominant diffusion mechanism (room temperature to 350 °C), it was necessary to explicitly include the re-distribution of Al as a result of Cu grain growth during anneal. Aluminum has the tendency to segregate to the Cu/liner and Cu/etch stop (ES) interface. The tendency of Al to segregate to the liner is ten times stronger for ruthenium (Ru) than for tantalum (Ta). In 100 nm wide dual damascene structures lined with Ru, this segregation behavior was responsible for the Al depletion in bulk Cu and for the Al depletion at the Cu/ES interface.
Diffusion and Reaction Studies in the System Al2O3‐SiO2

High-temperature diffusion kinetics and phase relations between couples of fused SiO2 or cristobalite and sapphire or mullite were investigated in air and in helium. Subsolidus liquid formation between sapphire and cristobalite indicates the existence of a metastable system without mullite. A liquid phase is considered to be essential for the nucleation of mullite. The growth rate of mullite exceeded its dissolution rate in semi-infinite fused-SiO2-sapphire couples above 1634°C. The inter-facial liquid compositions provided data for a minor revision of the mullite liquidus curve. Diffusion coefficients calculated from the Al profiles vary greatly with concentration and temperature, resulting in a large range of values for apparent activation energy, which decreases with increasing Al2O3 content (∼310 to ∼60 kcal/mol for ∼4 to ∼22 wt% Al2O3). The diffusion process in the liquid is considered to be cooperative movement of oxygen-containing Al and Si complexes whose nature changes with composition and temperature; this change in the diffusing species contributes to the range in the values of experimental apparent activation energies.
A cross-cultural study of executive information systems

The study presented examines cultural differences that influence the use and impact of executive information systems (EIS). The research surveys the users of EIS in Sweden and the United States to examine the following research questions: do cultural differences account for differences in why EIS are used, in how EIS are used, and in the perceived impact of EIS use? The findings suggest that US executives use EIS primarily for monitoring and to achieve benefits of problem identification speed and decision making speed, whereas Swedish executives use EIS primarily for analysis and evaluation and to achieve benefits of a more thorough, analytic decision process. The findings confirm the notion that IT is used by executives to reinforce the decision making behaviors valued in their culture. >
Augmenting the articular cartilage-implant interface: Functionalizing with a collagen adhesion protein.

The lack of integration between implants and articular cartilage is an unsolved problem that negatively impacts the development of treatments for focal cartilage defects. Many approaches attempt to increase the number of matrix-producing cells that can migrate to the interface, which may help to reinforce the boundary over time but does not address the problems associated with an initially unstable interface. The objective of this study was to develop a bio-adhesive implant to create an immediate bond with the extracellular matrix components of articular cartilage. We hypothesized that implant-bound CollageN Adhesion protein, CNA, would increase the interfacial strength between a poly(vinly alcohol), PVA, implant and articular cartilage immediately after implantation, without preventing cell migration into the implant. By way of a series of in vitro immunohistochemical and mechanical experiments, we demonstrated that: free CNA can bind to articular cartilage, implant-bound CNA can bind to collagen type II and that implants functionalized with CNA result in a four-fold increase in interfacial strength with cartilage relative to un-treated implants at day zero. Of note, the interfacial strength significantly decreased after 21 days in culture which may be an indication that the protein itself has lost its effectiveness. Our data suggests that functionalizing scaffolds with CNA may be a viable approach towards creating an initially stable interface between scaffolds and articular cartilage. Further efforts are required to ensure long-term interface stability.
Synchronization of multimedia streams in distributed environments

A major feature that distinguishes multimedia applications from other traditional applications is the integration of various media streams that have to be presented in a synchronized fashion. We present a set of algorithms for achieving fine-grain synchronization in a best-effort distributed system. Our algorithms, based on numerical time stamps, take into account both the possible frame loss due to the device buffer overflow at the sender, and the display time of a video frame at the receiver. As a proof of concept, we have implemented a robust solution for lip-synchronization. Experimental results show that the skew between audio and video was between the acceptable values. We extended the solution to n continuous stream synchronization that has the same or different sources. A direct application of our research is the Interactive Remote Instruction (IRI) project, which requires synchronization algorithms in a distance learning environment where participants use best-effort operating systems and networks.
Premigratory fat metabolism in hummingbirds: A Rumsfeldian approach

Hummingbird migration is a remarkable feat, given the small body sizes of migratory species, their high metabolic rates during flight and the long distances traveled using fat to fuel the effort. Equally remarkable is the ability of premigratory hummingbirds in the wild to accumulate fat, synthesized from sugar, at rates as high as 10% of body mass per day. This paper summarizes, using Rumsfeldian terminology, "known knowns" concerning the energetics of hummingbird migration and premi- gratory fattening. Energy metabolism during hover-feeding on floral nectar is fueled directly by dietary sugar through the path- way recently named the "sugar oxidation cascade". However, flight without feeding for more than a few minutes requires shifting to fat as a fuel. It is proposed that behavior and metabolic fuel choice are coadapted to maximize the rate of fat deposition during premigratory fattening. The hummingbird liver appears to possess extraordinarily high capacities for fatty acid synthesis. The analysis of "known knowns" leads to identification of "known unknowns", e.g., the fates of dietary glucose and fructose, the regulation of fat metabolism and metabolic interactions between liver and adipose tissue. The history of science behooves recog- nition of "unknown unknowns" that, when discovered serendipitously, might shed new light on fundamental mechanisms as well as human pathological conditions (Current Zoology 59 (3): 371-380, 2013).
Predicting Suicidal Tendencies Among High Risk Youth With the General Theory of Crime

ABSTRACTThis study examines whether suicidal tendencies among a group of juveniles who have come to the attention of Child Protective Services can be predicted by self-control theory. Using data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, we find that self-control predicts suicidal tendencies. In addition, the effect of self-control remains significant even when controlling for the juveniles’ depression and previously reported suicidal thoughts and behaviors. This study lends further support to the claim that self-control serves as a general explanation for a wide range of problematic outcomes. In addition, these findings provide caseworkers with another tool for assessing the risk of suicide among high risk youth.
Sonority Sequencing Violations and Prosodic Structure in Latin and Other Indo-European Languages

Attention has been paid of late to syllable structure in ancient Indo-European languages, e.g. Sanskrit (Kobayashi, 2004), Latin (Marotta, 1999), Greek (Zukoff, 2012), Anatolian (Kavitskaya, 2001), and general Indo-European (Byrd, 2010; Keydana, 2012). There is little agreement in the field about some of the more difficult cases, most of which involve both word-initial and medial clusters that violate the Sonority Sequencing Principle ( SSP ), particularly sibilant-stop clusters. Because sibilants are more sonorous than stops, [STV-] σ onsets to roots such as * steh 2 - require special consideration. I will argue that there are three types of evidence we can and should employ in attempting to diagnose syllable structure in ancient languages: metrical, phonological, and morphological. I will apply all three to Latin forms, showing that in Pre-Literary Latin, sibilant-stop clusters formed true onsets, as Byrd (2010) has argued for Proto-Indo-European, but that by the Classical period these SSP -violating clusters were no longer licensed as onsets. In such sequences, Classical Latin allowed only [t] in the onset, while the [s] formed a coda in medial position and was housed extraprosodically in word-initial position. The various treatments of ST -sequences in Latin and other Indo-European languages, especially PIE , Sanskrit, and Gothic, will be modeled in Optimality Theory using constraints on phonotactics and extraprosodicity.
A Factor Analytic Model of Drug-Related Behavior in Adolescence and Its Impact on Arrests at Multiple Stages of the Life Course

Recognizing the inherent variability of drug-related behaviors, this study develops an empirically-driven and holistic model of drug-related behavior during adolescence using factor analysis to simultaneously model multiple drug behaviors. The factor analytic model uncovers latent dimensions of drug-related behaviors, rather than patterns of individuals. These latent dimensions are treated as empirical typologies which are then used to predict an individual’s number of arrests accrued at multiple phases of the life course. The data are robust enough to simultaneously capture drug behavior measures typically considered in isolation in the literature, and to allow for behavior to change and evolve over the period of adolescence. Results show that factor analysis is capable of developing highly descriptive patterns of drug offending, and that these patterns have great utility in predicting arrests. Results further demonstrate that while drug behavior patterns are predictive of arrests at the end of adolescence for both males and females, the impacts on arrests are longer lasting for females. The various facets of drug behaviors have been a long-time concern of criminological research. However, the ability to model multiple behaviors simultaneously is often constrained by data that do not measure the constructs fully. Factor analysis is shown to be a useful technique for modeling adolescent drug involvement patterns in a way that accounts for the multitude and variability of possible behaviors, and in predicting future negative life outcomes, such as arrests.
Psychometric Properties of a Decisional Capacity Screening Tool for Individuals Contemplating Participation in Alzheimer's Disease Research.

BACKGROUND With the growing population of individuals affected by Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related disorders, there is a pressing demand for research on late-life cognitive disorders. However, this population's high risk for decisional incapacity necessitates evaluation of capacity to consent to research participation, adding cost and complexity to the research process. The University of California, San Diego Brief Assessment of Capacity to Consent (UBACC) was initially validated in a sample of persons with schizophrenia and healthy controls. OBJECTIVE To assess the psychometric properties of the UBACC when used in a sample of individuals contemplating participation in AD research. METHODS The UBACC was administered to a convenience sample (n = 132) consisting of individuals with mild to moderate cognitive impairment (n = 52), their study partners (n = 52), and healthy older adults control subjects (n = 30), as part of a broader study to evaluate perceived burden of research participation. Reliability tests, correlational analyses, and exploratory factor analytic methods were used to examine the psychometric properties of the instrument. RESULTS UBACC scores were significantly associated with both global cognition (rs= 0.564, p < 0.001) and verbal fluency (rs = 0.511, p < 0.001), indicating concurrent validity with related constructs. The resulting factor structure differed from that reported by the developers in their initial testing. Items clustered almost entirely on one factor; items reflecting the construct of understanding accounted for 32.12% of total variance, with no evidence for distinct reasoning or appreciation scales. CONCLUSION The UBACC shows promise when used to screen for decisional capacity among those considering participation in AD research.
Exome Sequence Data From Multigenerational Families Implicate AMPA Receptor Trafficking in Neurocognitive Impairment and Schizophrenia Risk

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by impairments in behavior, thought, and neurocognitive performance. We searched for susceptibility loci at a quantitative trait locus (QTL) previously reported for abstraction and mental flexibility (ABF), a cognitive function often compromised in schizophrenia patients and their unaffected relatives. Exome sequences were determined for 134 samples in 8 European American families from the original linkage study, including 25 individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. At chromosome 5q32-35.3, we analyzed 407 protein-altering variants for association with ABF and schizophrenia status. For replication, significant, Bonferroni-corrected findings were tested against cognitive traits in Mexican American families (n = 959), as well as interrogated for schizophrenia risk using GWAS results from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC). From the gene SYNPO, rs6579797 (MAF = 0.032) shows significant associations with ABF (P = .015) and schizophrenia (P = .040), as well as jointly (P = .0027). In the Mexican American pedigrees, rs6579797 exhibits significant associations with IQ (P = .011), indicating more global effects on neurocognition. From the PGC results, other SYNPO variants were identified with near significant effects on schizophrenia risk, with a local linkage disequilibrium block displaying signatures of positive selection. A second missense variant within the QTL, rs17551608 (MAF = 0.19) in the gene WWC1, also displays a significant effect on schizophrenia in our exome sequences (P = .038). Remarkably, the protein products of SYNPO and WWC1 are interaction partners involved in AMPA receptor trafficking, a brain process implicated in synaptic plasticity. Our study reveals variants in these genes with significant effects on neurocognition and schizophrenia risk, identifying a potential pathogenic mechanism for schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
A further note on earthquake size distributions

Abstract At the scale range of 1 to 10 km, faults are not continuous surfaces but are tabular bodies composed of a mesh of subparallel unconnected strands, or subfaults. The cumulative length distribution of these subfaults is observed to be a power law with an approximate exponent of −2 and an upper fractal limit at W *, the seismogenic width. If it is assumed that small earthquakes, with lengths L ≤ W *, represent the rupture of these subfaults, this offers a physical explanation for small earthquakes having their observed power-law distribution with exponent −2/3. This further implies that any earthquake will be composed of a population of subevents involving the rupture of this population of subfaults: precisely what was proposed by Frankel (1991) to explain the ω −2 high-frequency falloff of earthquake displacement spectra.
Mechanistic Differences Leading to Infectious and Sterile Inflammation

Inflammation is a physiologic component of pregnancy and parturition. Overwhelming intrauterine inflammatory load promotes quiescent feto-maternal tissues into a contractile phenotype. Like inflammation, oxidative stress is an inevitable component of both pregnancy and parturition. Pathologic activation of host innate immune response to adverse pregnancy conditions can lead to premature activation of inflammatory and oxidative stress. Inflammation and oxidative stress markers seen with both sterile and infectious inflammation are often similar; therefore, it is difficult to understand causality of conditions like spontaneous preterm birth. This review demonstrates potential mechanistic pathways of activation of sterile and infectious inflammation. We demonstrate the activation of two unique pathways of inflammation by factors that are well-documented proxies for oxidative stress (cigarette smoke extract) and infection (lipopolysaccharide). Sterile inflammation seen after exposure to an oxidative stress inducer is due to cellular elemental damage resulting in p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) induced cellular senescence. Infectious inflammation is through activation of transcription factor NF-κB and independent of oxidative stress-associated damages and p38 MAPK-induced senescence. Understanding the differences in the inflammatory pathway activation by various risk factors is important to design better screening, diagnostic and intervention strategies to reduce the risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Great Lakes Harbors

Improvements in Great Lakes Channels and harbors which will be required as result of projected completion of St. Lawrence Seaway covering both connecting channels between lakes as well as harbor channels; pier and breakwater reconstruction.
Neonatal immunity. I. Disparity in maternal-infant poliovirus antibody.

SummaryNeutralizing antibody titrations for the 3 poliovirus serotypes performed on maternal and umbilical cord bloods at 48 deliveries revealed disparities of 4 to 64-fold in 14 individuals, the maternal titer always being higher. Double ovum twins had identical titers with each other, though not necessarily with their mother. The least frequent disparity was for the Type 1 antibody. The possible role of physical factors affecting the transfer of the different serotype antibody molecules is discussed.
Prediction and Alleviation of Flutter in Swept Wind Turbine Blades

Previous research has shown that as wind turbine rotor designs increase in diameter they approach flutter instabilities. Recent blade designs incorporate blade sweep to lower fatigue loads and increase rotor diameter for more energy production; however, the flutter margin may be reduced with sweep. In this work, the author predicted and compared the flutter speed for turbines with straight and swept blades. For the study, the author used a wind turbine analysis tool specifically developed for blade sweep (CurveFAST), in addition to a tool developed for helicopter analysis (RCAS). The results showed that CurveFAST generally predicted a higher flutter speed and RCAS predicted a lower flutter speed compared to previous research. The difference may be attributed to the unsteady aerodynamics modeling. Results for an extended radius and swept 5 MW turbine showed the flutter speed was most sensitive to the position of the blade center of mass axis. Using the selected design parameters, it was not possible to design a swept-5 MW blade with adequate flutter margin that would produce 5% more energy with the same loads as a baseline straight rotor.
Proinsulin and C-Peptide in Diabetes

The availability of C-peptide measurement continues to provide new and useful information about the state of beta cell secretory function and the natural history of diabetes. Measurement of proinsulin is of value in the diagnosis of insulin-secreting tumors.
Interactive Effects of “Type A” Behavior and Perceived Control on Worker Performance, Job Satisfaction, and Somatic Complaints

This research examined the moderating role of perceived control on the relations between Type A behavior and worker performance, job satisfaction, and somatic complaints. Results suggest that peopl...
Demonstration of elastic tissue and iron or elastic tissue and calcium simultaneously.

For the concomitant demonstration of iron and elastic tissue Perls' test solution was used, followed by Verhoeff's stain or Gomori's aldehyde fuchsin. When Perls' and Verhoeff's stain were used in sequence, the iron deposits were greenish blue and the elastic lamellae were black. When Perls' test solution was combined with aldehyde fuchsin the iron deposits were blue and elastic tissue purple. Calcium salts and elastic tissue were demonstrated concomitantly by using von Kossa's method followed by Gomori's aldehyde fuchsin. With such combined staining, the calcium salts appeared brownish black and elastic tissue purple. With these procedures, it was possible to see the exact relationship of calcium and iron deposits to the elastic tissue.
Comparative Analysis on International Competitiveness of Chinese potato Trade

In this paper, international competitiveness of Chinese potato trade were analyzed with IMS 、TCI and RCA. The results showed that: IMS of China's potato were small from 2004 to 2013. TCI of China 's potato were volatility, did not have a clear comparative advantage in the export; RCA of China's potato were less than 1, which fluctuated between 0.1 and0.15,and international competitiveness was weak.
State-Based Recognition of Gesture

A gesture is a motion that has special status in a domain or context. Recent interest in gesture recognition has been spurred by its broad range of applicability in more natural user interface designs. However, the recognition of gestures, especially natural gestures, is difficult because gestures exhibit human variability. We present a technique for quantifying this variability for the purposes of representing and recognizing gesture.
Mind-Body Exercises for Nurses with Chronic Low Back Pain: An Evidence-Based Review

Background. Chronic low back pain (CLBP) among nurses is a growing health concern. The multimodal nature of mind-body exercises has potential to impact physiological and psychological processes associated with chronic pain, affording possible advantages over conventional unimodal therapies. This paper summarizes the prevalence of and risk factors for CLBP among nurses, reviews the effectiveness in treating pain and disability of mind-body exercises (yoga and tai chi) for CLBP among the general and nursing population, and describes implications. Methods. Articles, published during or prior to 2015, were systematically identified through the PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect databases using the following search terms: nurses, mind-body, integrative, biopsychosocial, yoga, tai chi, back pain, and/or risk factors. Results. Prevalence estimates of CLBP among nurses ranged from 50% to 80%. Associated risk factors for CLBP included lifestyle and physical, psychological, psychosocial, and occupational factors. No published studies were identified that evaluated yoga or tai chi for nurses with CLBP. Studies in the general population suggested that these interventions are effective in reducing pain and disability and may improve factors/processes predictive of CLBP. Conclusion. This review suggests that evaluating the impact of multimodal interventions such as yoga and tai chi for nurses with CLBP warrants investigation.
Macrophages build a wall and the host pays for it

Tuberculosis (TB) is an age-old scourge. It has long been known that the mycobacteria that cause TB are surrounded by macrophages in structures known as granulomas. These macrophages are described as epithelioid because they resemble epithelial cells: They have elongated nuclei, abundant cytoplasm, and extensive contacts with other macrophages. The significance of these epithelioid macrophages, however, remains a mystery. In a new study, Cronan et al. shed light on these epithelioid macrophages using zebrafish infected with Mycobacterium marinum . In this model, bacilli become localized to granulomas similar to the granulomas observed in TB patients infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis . Using lineage labeling of macrophages, the authors observed expression of the epithelial adhesion protein E-cadherin in macrophages associated with granulomas but not in those at other sites. These macrophages also expressed catenins and cortical actin and exhibited other characteristic epithelial structures, such as tight junctions and desmosomes. Likewise, RNA-seq analysis of the granuloma-associated macrophages revealed epithelial junction and polarity markers, in addition to expression of macrophage-specific genes. In order to probe the functional significance of this epithelial switch in granuloma-associated macrophages in zebrafish infected with M. marinum , the authors expressed a dominant-negative, truncated E-cadherin in the macrophages and observed suppression of adherens junction formation. Interestingly, mycobacterial burden was decreased in granulomas formed from these mutant macrophages, and survival of zebrafish was prolonged. Examination of the granulomas from zebrafish expressing the dominant-negative E-cadherin revealed increased numbers of neutrophils. These data suggest that, normally, granuloma-associated macrophages with their epithelioid junction contacts effectively wall off the mycobacteria preventing effective immune clearance of the pathogen by neutrophils. Taking a step toward human disease, the authors report E-cadherin staining of granuloma-associated macrophages in samples from patients infected with M. tuberculosis or M. avium-intracellulare . They also found similar staining patterns in the granulomas of mice infected with M. tuberculosis . It has long been debated whether formation of granulomas by the host to wall off M. tuberculosis is beneficial or detrimental. The new data from Cronan et al. now suggest that the epithelioid morphology and associated barrier function of host macrophages associated with granulomas may prevent effective immune clearance of mycobacteria. Future studies should determine what signals—from the host or the pathogen—stimulate macrophages to become epithelioid and whether disrupting this transition could be a potential therapeutic approach to clearing M. tuberculosis infection. M. R. Cronan et al. , Macrophage epithelial reprogramming underlies mycobacterial granuloma formation and promotes infection. Immunity 45 , 861–876 (2016). [[Abstract]][1] [1]: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2016.09.014
Seasonal Variation in Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation: A Systematic Review.

Introduction A variety of cardiovascular diseases have been demonstrated to have seasonal variations with peaks in the winter and troughs in the summer. Studies regarding atrial fibrillation (AF) have had varying results and this review describes the current data regarding the seasonal variation of AF and mechanisms mediating this seasonal fluctuation. Methods A systematic review was conducted of PubMed, EBSCO and OVID for manuscripts describing the association between seasonal variation and the occurrence of AF. Studies meeting eligibility criteria were assessed for quality and reporting bias. Data was extracted in regards to the following associations: seasonal variation and AF paroxysms, temperature and AFparoxysms, duration of daylight and AF paroxysms, barometric pressure and AF paroxysms, alcohol and AF paroxysms, as well as seasonal variation and AF related stroke. Results A total of 15 studies were identified for inclusion. Of these, 11 studies assessed seasonal variation and the remaining 4 studies assessed seasonal variation in AF related stroke. AF paroxysms peaked in winter with a trough in summer. There was an inverse correlation between temperatures as well barometric pressure and the occurrence of AF paroxysms and a positive correlation with duration of daylight. Conclusion The rate of occurrence of paroxysmal AF varies by seasons and is greatest during winter and least in summer.
“Subliminal accent”: Reactions to the rise of Wisconsin English

Distinctive regional varieties of English have only recently emerged in parts of North America, including Wisconsin, where differences appear to be increasing today. We present an experiment in which listeners heard two short samples each from three Wisconsin regions and three other dialect areas. For each area, one sample was recorded pre-1970 and another recorded post-2010. Regional stereotypes were excluded. In a situation of new and still-emerging regional varieties, we expected listeners to be able to more accurately identify recent speech samples versus old samples from Wisconsin. Listeners proved better at recognizing speakers from Wisconsin in newer over older recordings. This complicates previous discussions of dialect awareness, in particular ‘enregisterment,’ with our listeners able to identify Wisconsin speech even in the absence of salient, known dialect features.
Shale Gas in the Spotlight: EPA Releases Its Final Report on Impacts from the Hydraulic Fracturing Water Cycle on Drinking Water Resources in the United States

After years of study, on December 13, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finally released its final report on Impacts from the Hydraulic Fracturing Water Cycle on Drinking Water Resources in the United States. Despite much attention on the changes to some of the specific language used, this long-awaited final report largely conforms with the preliminary findings set out in the EPA’s draft assessment, dated June 2015, that hydraulic fracturing activities have some potential to impact drinking water resources, but that impacts to date have been relatively isolated rather than pervasive. Changes have been made in the final report, in comparison with the draft assessment, including providing further clarification relating to the major findings, adding other chemicals to the chemicals listed in the draft assessment, and better identifying gaps in data and uncertainties in scientific knowledge. Notably, EPA also reconsidered the language of its conclusion in the draft assessment that the agency “did not find evidence that these mechanisms have led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the United States.” EPA excluded this sentence in its final report explaining that “contrary to what the sentence implied, uncertainties prevent EPA from estimating the national frequency of impacts on drinking water resources from activities in the hydraulic fracturing water cycle.”
Flexible large-scale fMRI analysis: A survey

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has provided a window into the brain with wide adoption in research and even clinical settings. Data-driven methods such as those based on latent variable models and matrix/tensor factorizations are being increasingly used for fMRI data analysis. There is increasing availability of large-scale multi-subject repositories involving 1,000+ individuals. Studies with large numbers of data sets promise effective comparisons across different conditions, groups, and time points, further increasing the utility of fMRI in human brain research. In this context, there is a pressing need for innovative ideas to develop flexible analysis methods that can scale to handle large-volume fMRI data, process the data in a distributed and policy-compliant manner, and capture diverse global and local patterns leveraging the big pool of fMRI data. This paper is a survey of some of the recent research in this direction.
Why Is Kant Noncommittal About Grace

In Religion within the Bounds of Bare Reason , Kant claims that we may need to invoke divine aid in order to explain how a person can change from evil to good. Kant’s language is a bit curious; why does he not more clearly assert, either that we must posit divine grace, or that we may not? The explanation is this: if we affirm that God grants aid, then this could convince people to passively await it or to think, upon becoming good, that they are part of a special elect. On the other hand, if we affirm that God does not help, then some may despair of ever becoming good while those who successfully change could become arrogant. Thus, Kant is noncommittal about grace because it allows the morally timorous to have hope that they can change, and the morally successful to avoid hubris.
Role of advancing the multiphase reactors in minimizing the wastes from oil and gas industry

Multiphase Reactors are essential parts for all industrial processes particularly oil and gas processes. They have more phases (gas, liquid and solid) that are brought in contact using various configurations to perform either chemical, biological or physical transformations through reactions to generate various desired products while producing wastes, by-products or undesired products. Hence, these reactors in general are the key to environmentally friendly processing in preventing pollution at the source. Accordingly, understanding the phenomena involved in these reactors and quantifying the interactions and transports among the phases and the interrelationships among transports and kinetics are essential for proper and energy efficient operation, performance, design, and scale-up of these reactors to produce cleaner and sustainable products. However, quantifying is a challenging task since these reactors are opaque and the interactions among phases are complex. We have studied various types of multiphase reactors for a wide range of processes using in house developed advanced measurement techniques and experimental and computing facilities that put my research laboratories as unique and state-of-the-art laboratories in USA and in the world. These techniques contributed significantly in advancing the knowledge of these multiphase reactors and in providing benchmarking data for validating CFD models and simulations for enabling the minimization of the wastes generated in oil and gas processes and other industries. These techniques are gamma ray based techniques for imaging and visualization and other sophisticated techniques that complement them with advanced rigs and separate effects and integrated effects experimental setups. To lean more, you may visit our website through, www.mst.edu.
Rings and Algebras

A (unitary) ring is a triple (R, α, μ) where (R, α) is an abelian group whose operation α is written additively (α(r, s) = r + s) with neutral element 0 R , and (R, μ) is monoid, written multiplicatively \( ({\mu}(r, s) = {r}\cdot{s})\) with multiplicative neutral element 1 R such that these operations are coupled by distributivity, i.e., \( (r + s) \cdot {t} = {r} \cdot {t}+{s} \cdot {t}, {t} \cdot (r + s) = {t} \cdot {r} + {t} \cdot {s}\) for all \( {r, s, t} \ {\in} \ {R}\).
Modal Control of Magnetic Suspended Rotors

The present work is devoted to the conception of a Systematic Approach for the Robust Design of an Active Modal Controller applied to Supercritical Rotors supported by Magnetic Bearings. For this purpose, all the steps involved in the design of a robust controller based on the multimodel eigenstructure assignment technique is discussed. The first step is the development of a numeric/computer model in MATLAB/SIMULINK environment, based on the specifications of the test rig used in the experimental part of this work (which are provided by the test rig manufacturer). The first stage of the controller synthesis has to do with the specification of all design requirements. Then, all the phases involved in the process of the multimodel eigenstructure assignment are addressed in detail, starting from the determination of the plant dominant poles, so that, finally, the model based analysis of the system stability and performance are studied. The performance of the controller was evaluated through the analysis of its closed loop Transfer Functions and by investigating the unbalance response of the rotating system. It is worth mentioning that for all presented investigations, comparisons between two architectures of the controller, namely, the modal controller and the PI controller were performed, accordingly. The following natural step is the analysis of the correlation of theoretical and experimental results for validation purposes, which will be presented in a further contribution.
Does Asia Need a Common Currency

There are five key elements in the world economy today that need to be addressed in setting the background for evaluating currency area prospects. One is the New Economy. The New Economy underlies the big change in the United States that made possible a sudden jump--up from a two and a half percent average sustainable growth rate that most economists thought was the maximum, to something in the order of 5% growth rate, temporary as it may have been. The IT revolution is affecting every aspect of our life. With a little exaggeration I could say that it is like a combination of the electricity revolution and the printing revolution at the same time. It is very equalising because it lowers the cost of technology and other types of knowledge—one of the most scarce factors of production in poor countries-all over the world. For the poor countries that have sufficient education to access it, it will enable them to tap sources of knowledge and information that offer new hope for prosperity.
Evaluation of the US pharmacopeia adsorption tests for activated charcoals and proposals for changes.

The current USP adsorption tests for activated charcoals, involving methylene blue (MB) and strychnine sulfate (SS), were conducted for 6 activated charcoals having surface areas ranging from 600 to 2000 m2/g. The MB test is relatively complex and tedious, and uses a pass/fail criterion which is of such small magnitude that substantial uncertainties are likely. The SS test is only qualitative. Modification, using quantification of the turbidities, permitted quantitative interpretation. The test was failed by 2 charcoals of surface area 660 m2/g or less, and was passed by 4 charcoals of 720 m2/g surface area or higher. Neither test was able to reflect the substantial drug adsorption differences which exist for charcoals of average, above average, and high surface areas. Alternative tests for MB and SS were developed and evaluated using 6 charcoals. These tests, which are proposed for consideration by the US Pharmacopeial Convention, are simpler and faster than the current tests and yield precise values for the percentages of the 2 compounds adsorbed. Moreover, they clearly reflect the wide differences in adsorption performance of charcoals having widely different surface areas. Minimum percent adsorption values that must be attained for a charcoal to qualify as "USP grade" are proposed for both alternative tests (these would not exclude any current USP grade charcoal). Performance classifications of charcoals into categories of Low, Average, Above Average, and High are also proposed for both tests. These are shown to correspond to surface area ranges of 1200 m2/g, respectively.
Renyi’s Entropy, Divergence and Their Nonparametric Estimators

It is evident from Chapter 1 that Shannon’s entropy occupies a central role in information-theoretic studies. Yet, the concept of information is so rich that perhaps there is no single definition that will be able to quantify information properly. Moreover, from an engineering perspective, one must estimate entropy from data which is a nontrivial matter. In this book we concentrate on Alfred Renyi’s seminal work on information theory to derive a set of estimators to apply entropy and divergence as cost functions in adaptation and learning. Therefore, we are mainly interested in computationally simple, nonparametric estimators that are continuous and differentiable in terms of the samples to yield well-behaved gradient algorithms that can optimize adaptive system parameters. There are many factors that affect the determination of the optimum of the performance surface, such as gradient noise, learning rates, and misadjustment, therefore in these types of applications the entropy estimator’s bias and variance are not as critical as, for instance, in coding or rate distortion theories. Moreover in adaptation one is only interested in the extremum (maximum or minimum) of the cost, with creates independence from its actual values, because only relative assessments are necessary. Following our nonparametric goals, what matters most in learning is to develop cost functions or divergence measures that can be derived directly from data without further assumptions to capture as much structure as possible within the data’s probability density function (PDF).
Residual phase noise suppression for Pound-Drever-Hall cavity stabilization with an electro-optic modulator

We propose a simple method to suppress residual frequency/phase noise in Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) cavity stabilization setups. This method makes use of the electro-optic modulator that is commonly used in PDH setups, and hence, only requires the addition of a simple electronic feedback circuit. Here, we apply this method to stabilize a commercially available continuous wave (cw) laser to a high-finesse cavity, and we demonstrate additional phase noise suppression of ~30 dB and more from DC to 100 kHz, compared to the use of a fast-piezo actuator alone. This method can be applied to almost all PDH systems to achieve feedback bandwidths in the multi-MHz range. Furthermore, this method does not require additional actuators, such as acousto-optic modulators, and it does not introduce parasitic amplitude modulation to the first order. The limitations and drawbacks of this approach are also discussed.