cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
VIVA: A visual language for image processing

Visual languages have been developed to help new programmers express algorithms easily. They also help to make experienced programmers more productive by simplifying the organization of a program through the use of visual representations. However, visual languages have not reached their full potential because of several problems including the following: difficulty of producing visual representations for the more abstract computing constructs; the lack of adequate computing power to update the visual representations in response to user actions; the immaturity of the subfield of visual programming and need for additional breakthroughs and standardization of existing mechanisms. Visualization of Vision Algorithms (VIVA) is a proposed visual language for image processing. Its main purpose is to serve as an effective teaching tool for students of image processing. Its design also takes account of several secondary goals, including the completion of a software platform for research in human/image interaction, the creation of a vehicle for studying algorithms and architectures for parallel image processing, and the establishment of a presentation medium for image-processing algorithms.
Comparative Magnitude of Cross-Strain Conservation of HIV Variable Loop Neutralization Epitopes

Although the sequence variable loops of the human immunodeficiency virus' (HIV-1) surface envelope glycoprotein (gp120) can exhibit good immunogenicity, characterizing conserved (invariant) cross-strain neutralization epitopes within these loops has proven difficult. We recently developed a method to derive sensitive and specific signature motifs for the three-dimensional (3D) shapes of the HIV-1 neutralization epitopes in the third variable (V3) loop of gp120 that are recognized by human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). We used the signature motif method to estimate the conservation of these epitopes across circulating worldwide HIV-1 strains. The epitope targeted by the anti-V3 loop neutralizing mAb 3074 is present in 87% of circulating strains, distributed nearly evenly among all subtypes. The results for other anti-V3 Abs are: 3791, present in 63% of primarily non-B subtypes; 2219, present in 56% of strains across all subtypes; 2557, present in 52% across all subtypes; 447-52D, present in 11% of primarily subtype B strains; 537-10D, present in 9% of primarily subtype B strains; and 268-D, present in 5% of primarily subtype B strains. The estimates correlate with in vitro tests of these mAbs against diverse viral panels. The mAb 3074 thus targets an epitope that is nearly completely conserved among circulating HIV-1 strains, demonstrating the presence of an invariant structure hidden in the dynamic and sequence-variable V3 loop in gp120. Since some variable loop regions are naturally immunogenic, designing immunogens to mimic their conserved epitopes may be a promising vaccine discovery approach. Our results suggest one way to quantify and compare the magnitude of the conservation.
Quinoline denitrogenation on zeolite-based catalysts

Abstract Zeolite-based catalysts ion exchanged with nickel and impregnated with molybdenum were prepared and tested for hydrodenitrogenation activity. Quinoline, dissolved in decalin to yield a 1% by weight nitrogen solution, was used as the model compound. A total of seven catalysts were prepared, and their activity for HDN was compared to commercial NiMo/A1 2 O 3 . The kinetics of total nitrogen removal were studied at 618–663 K temperature and 17 MPa pressure. It was found that a zero-order model with no intercept and a first-order model with an induction period predict the nitrogen removal rate with sufficient accuracy.
Asymptotic analysis of manufacturing systems

A manufacturing facility is considered in which there are m identical machines that are equally capable of producing n distinct part types. The production must be scheduled to meet a deterministic demand. However, the machines are subject to a Markovian breakdown and repair process. The paper simplifies the problem by using the hierarchical structure that is inherent in this model. Thus, it is assumed that the time scale in which the machine breakdown and repair process is occurring is much shorter than the time scale in which the costs are being evaluated. That is, both the holding cost function and the discount rate are small, and the demand is nearly constant. A general limiting procedure is presented for manufacturing systems in the presence of an hierarchy between the time scales of certain events. This procedure is described in an example with two parts and two machines. Also, a convergence rate is obtained for a simpler problem. >
Implications of Unexpected Diffuse Lung Uptake on a 99mTc-Sestimibi Parathyroid Scan

Diffuse 99mTc-sestimibi uptake in the lungs is a sign of serious pathology and merits further work-up. We present a case in which diffuse lung uptake was incidentally found on a parathyroid scan.
Dirac Quantization in Superspace

We extend the method of Dirac quantization to superspace. We study simple models like the supersymmetric quantum mechanics as well as the supersymmetric nonlinear \ensuremath{\sigma} model in 1+1 dimensions. Although in both these cases the matrix representing the Poisson brackets between the constraints is singular, we show, following the spirit of Dirac, that one can still define Dirac brackets and that the resulting quantization is consistent with those of the component fields.
Toward physically-informed parametric synthesis of sound effects

This paper presents motivations and methods for expressive parametric synthesis of real-world sounds. Prior research on musical instrument modeling is used and extended to sound-producing objects which are not specifically designed as musical instruments. Human/object interactions (gestures) and physical sound production mechanisms form the bases for determining suitable synthesis models for various objects. Modal models for the synthesis of impulsively excited resonant objects, random particle sound production models, and hybrid waveguide/modal models for resonant bowed/rubbed objects are presented.
Proyecto de sistemas de cuidado esencial en trauma

Los sistemas de atencion de trauma con centros especializados, fueron establecidos en servicios de salud de paises de alto ingreso hace mas de 30 anos. La efectividad de estos centros, ha sido evaluada con resultados que muestran un beneficio en los indices de sobrevida y minimizacion de las secuelas post trauma, de los pacientes atendidos en ellos. La importacion directa de estos modelos, muchas veces no es posible en paises de mediano y bajo ingreso, ya que su implementacion requeriria una disponibilidad de recursos con la que no se cuenta en estos sitios. Un enfoque basado en la evidencia brindada por estos estudios de resultados, favorables pero acomodado a la realidad de la salud publica de cada pais, es necesario con el animo de brindar mejores oportunidades a las victimas de lesiones traumaticas a nivel global. Este articulo presenta una revision sobre el proyecto de las Guias esenciales de Trauma de la Organizacion Mundial de la Salud y las ventajas de este enfoque para su aplicacion en paises como Colombia.
A bus-oriented multiprocessor fast Fourier transform

A bus-oriented multiprocessor architecture specialized for computation of the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) of a length N=2/sup M/ sequential data stream is developed. The architecture distributes computation and memory requirements evenly among the processors and allows flexibility in the number of processors and in the choice of a fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm. With three buses, the bus bandwidth equals the input data rate. A single time-multiplexed bus with a bandwidth of three times the input data rate can alternatively be used. The architecture requires processors that have identical hardware, which makes it more attractive than the cascade (pipeline) FFT for multiprocessor implementation. >
A theory of data: Implications for information retrieval

The growing mountain of information in the form of numeric data poses a significant problem for those activities that support the data user. Existing database management systems are designed to connect data elements into records and produce reports — frequently in the form of tables. Tables of data, however, acquire a subsequent life of their own. They are analyzed, reworked, and combined with other tables, and then stored and retrieved for further analysis and presentation to others. This paper explores the problem of determining the requirements for a table-based storage and retrieval system based on an abstract data structure for tables as structural entities.
Faculty identification of competencies addressing quality and safety education in Alabama Associate Degree Nursing Education Programs

Abstract This study described the extent to which Alabama associate degree nursing faculty, implementing a standardized curriculum, implement the Quality and Safety Education in Nursing (QSEN) selected competencies of safety and teamwork and collaboration. Full-time nursing faculty with a minimum of three years teaching in the Alabama Community College System associate degree schools of nursing participated in a Web survey. The survey instrument was created to incorporate the two selected QSEN competencies' knowledge, skills, and attitude statements.The participants were predominantly female, holding a master's degree in nursing with teaching responsibilities in both the classroom and clinical setting, and had 10years of teaching experience on average. Faculty were asked to identify the hours of direct classroom and clinical instruction dedicated to each knowledge and skill statement and rate the attitude statements in relation to importance of inclusion in the curriculum.The data reflected inconsistencies between hours of instruction and the importance rating for each attitude statement. The findings of this study did not indicate that QSEN knowledge, skills, or attitudes had current widespread inclusion in the Alabama associate degree nursing curriculum.This was the first study to explore evidence of the QSEN knowledge, skill, and attitude statements within the Alabama standardized curriculum. Implications from this study suggest that the concepts of quality and safety, although familiar to faculty, are not identifiable nor taught at the complexity level, which relates to (a) safety and (b) teamwork and collaboration. A review of the statewide curriculum may be warranted.
Preservation of Species and Genetic Diversity

This article presents a mathematical programming approach to determine a conservation strategy that maximizes preserved species' diversity under limited resource availability. Diversity is defined as the negative of total diversity loss given by the sum of genetic distances between extinct species and their closest surviving relatives. The model incorporates both species richness and genetic diversity as the conservation criteria when determining species preservation and site selection decisions. The article also presents two empirical applications to the conservation of 15 crane species and 208 genera including most of the endangered or threatened North American bird species. Copyright 2003, Oxford University Press.
Quantitative and Rapid DNA Detection by Laser Transmission Spectroscopy

Laser transmission spectroscopy (LTS) is a quantitative and rapid in vitro technique for measuring the size, shape, and number of nanoparticles in suspension. Here we report on the application of LTS as a novel detection method for species-specific DNA where the presence of one invasive species was differentiated from a closely related invasive sister species. The method employs carboxylated polystyrene nanoparticles functionalized with short DNA fragments that are complimentary to a specific target DNA sequence. In solution, the DNA strands containing targets bind to the tags resulting in a sizable increase in the nanoparticle diameter, which is rapidly and quantitatively measured using LTS. DNA strands that do not contain the target sequence do not bind and produce no size change of the carboxylated beads. The results show that LTS has the potential to become a quantitative and rapid DNA detection method suitable for many real-world applications.
Implementation of a parallel Prolog interpreter on multiprocessors

Describes the implementation of the Reduce-OR process model for the parallel execution of logic programs in an interpreter for parallel Prolog. The interpreter supports full OR and independent AND parallelism in logic programs on both shared and nonshared memory machines. The process model has been implemented on top of a run time support system called the Chare Kernel. The Chare Kernel makes it possible to keep the interpreter machine independent by assuming responsibility for dynamic load balancing, scheduling, memory and task queue management. The interpreter currently runs on the Sequent Balance, the Alliant FX/8, the Encore Multimax and the Intel iPSC/2 hypercube. This implementation provides valuable information for the design and development of a compiler for the Reduce-OR process model. >
Readability, Interest, and Coverage of 13 College Textbooks on Gifted and Talented Education.

Thirteen college textbooks devoted to education of the gifted and talented were analyzed with the Flesch formulae for readability and human interest. A wide range of difficulty and interest levels was found among the 13 texts. Subject matter coverage was also analyzed and charted. A wide variety of topics was found, with little agreement among authors concerning appropriate subject matter. Some important topics, such as career educational planning, received surprisingly little coverage. Some books were found to be lacking important sections, such as author or subject indices.
Gap Peptides: A New Way to Control Embryonic Patterning?

Gap genes encode transcription factors involved in the patterning of the head-tail axis of insect embryos. In this issue of Cell, Savard et al. (2006) identify a beetle gap gene, mille-pattes, that encodes an unusual polycistronic transcript predicted to produce four conserved peptides. These results have interesting implications for the control of embryonic patterning in insects.
Analysis of non-linear inundation from sea-level rise using LIDAR data: a case study for South Florida

By analyzing a digital elevation model (DEM) derived from airborne light detection and ranging (LIDAR) data and airborne height finder measurements, this study demonstrates that a 1.5 m sea-level rise by 2100 would cause inundation of large areas of Miami-Dade County, southern Broward County, and Everglades National Park. Inundation processes are non-linear: inundation is gradual before reaching a threshold, and speeds up rapidly afterwards due to the regional topography. Accelerated sea-level rise will cause the threshold to be reached sooner by amplifying the non-linear inundation, and must be considered in policy-making. Comparison of inundated areas extracted from 30 m LIDAR and USGS DEMs indicates that the vertical accuracy of a DEM has a great effect on delineation of inundation areas. For a 1.5 m sea-level rise, the inundated area delineated by USGS DEM for Broward County is 1.65 times greater than that indicated by the LIDAR DEM.
Concurrent development of a thymic cyst and mediastinal Hodgkin's disease.

A case is presented of a young adult female who presented with nodular sclerosing Hodgkin's disease and a mediastinal mass that proved to be a thymic cyst. Prior to this illness, a chest x-ray had been ob tained that did not show a mediastinal mass. This case illustrates that thymic cysts may arise simultaneously with mediastinal Hodgkin's disease, rather than as a result of treatment or being present congenially.
Simulation of housing market dynamics: amenity distribution and housing vacancy

This paper proposes a new approach to conduct simulation study of housing market within a mono-centric urban land use framework. In particular, to investigate the non-equilibrium dynamics of housing market, a (preemptive) queuing system with priority to search is designed to simulate the population flow. All housing units within the market are differentiated by its location (defined by its distance to central business district (CBD)) and the amenity level associated with the location. Heterogeneity has been introduced into the model through both agents' income level and preference on housing services. The results conclude that the spatial pattern of housing vacancy is not only driven by the distance to CBD, but also by the amenity distribution in the urban area.
Design for Injection Molding: a Group-technology-based Approach

The design of parts for economical manufacture by injection molding is an important element in the broader design strategy known as design for manufacturing (DFM). This paper provides an insight into the process of developing a DFM model for injection molding and into the use of such a model in the context of part design. The costs due to the mold making, the costs due to processing and the costs due to material are determined by the features of the part design, and models are presented to demonstrate these dependent relationships. The knowledge for the model databases was gained through extensive interactions with mold makers and molders. An example of the use of the models is also presented and discussed in detail.
Severe hypercalcaemia due to subcutaneous fat necrosis: presentation, management and complications

Objective Subcutaneous fat necrosis (SCFN) is a rare form of panniculitis in infants that generally occurs following birth trauma, meconium aspiration, or therapeutic cooling. Severe hypercalcaemia occurs in a subset of patients, but data on its presentation, management and outcomes are limited. This report details the clinical course and complications of infants treated for severe hypercalcaemia (peak serum calcium ≥3.0 mmol/L) due to SCFN. Design Chart review of all infants with SCFN seen at a single paediatric centre over a 13-year period. Patients Seven infants with SCFN developed severe hypercalcaemia, with median peak serum calcium 4.1 mmol/L (range 3.3–5.1). Results Severe hypercalcaemia occurred before 6 weeks of age, and was asymptomatic in 3/7 patients (43%). Most patients were treated with intravenous hydration, furosemide, glucocorticoids and low-calcium formula, which restored normocalcaemia in a median of 9 days (range 2–42). Fever developed during treatment in 4/7 infants (57%): two patients had bacterial infections and two had no infectious source identified. Nephrocalcinosis was present in 5/6 patients (83%) who were evaluated by renal ultrasound. Nephrocalcinosis failed to resolve in all cases over a median follow-up of 20 months (range 8–48), but no renal dysfunction was observed. Eosinophilia, which has not been reported previously in SCFN, was present in 6/7 patients (86%). Conclusions In this largest series to date of infants with severe hypercalcaemia due to SCFN, novel findings include the common occurrence of fever and a high incidence of persistent nephrocalcinosis without evidence of adverse renal outcomes.
Toward Defining the Course of Evolution: Minimum Change for a Specific Tree Topology

Fitch, W. M. (Dept. of Physiological Chemistry, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706), 1971. Toward defining the course of evolution: minimum change for a specific tree topology. Syst. Zool., 20:406-416.-A method is presented that is asserted to provide all hypothetical ancestral character states that are consistent with describing the descent of the present-day character states in a minimum number of changes of state using a predetermined phylogenetic relationship among the taxa represented. The character states used as examples are the four messenger RNA nucleotides encoding the amino acid sequences of proteins, but the method is general. [Evolution; parsimonious trees.] It has been a goal of those attempting to deduce phylogenetic relationships from information on biological characteristics to find the ancestral relationship(s) that would permit one to account for the descent of those characteristics in a manner requiring a minimum number of evolutionary steps or changes. The result could be called the most parsimonious evolutionary tree and might be expected to have a high degree of correspondence to the true phylogeny (Camin and Sokal, 1965). It's justification lies in the most efficient use of the information available and does not presuppose that evolution follows a most parsimonious course. There are no known algorithms for finding the most parsimonious tree(s) apart from the brute force method of examining nearly every possible tree.' This is impractical for trees involving a dozen or more taxonomic units. Most numerical taxonomic procedures (Sokal and Sneath, 1963; Farris, 1969, 1970; Fitch and Margoliash, 1967) provide dendrograms that would be among the more parsimonious solutions; one just cannot be sure that a more parsimonious tree structure does not exist. Farris (1970) has explicitly considered the parsimony principle as a part of 'An elegant beginning to an attack on the problem has recently been published by Farris (1969) who developed a method which estimates the reliability of various characters and then weights the characters on the basis of that reliability. his method which, like the present method, has its roots in the Wagner tree (Wagner,
Comparing Boolean and probabilistic information retrieval systems across queries and disciplines

Whether using Boolean queries or ranking documents using document and term weights will result in better retrieval performance has been the subject of considerable discussion among document retrieval system users and researchers. We suggest a method that allows one to analytically compare the two approaches to retrieval and examine their relative merits. The performance of information retrieval systems may be determined either by using experimental simulation, or through the application of analytic techniques that directly estimate the retrieval performance, given values for query and database characteristics. Using these performance predicting techniques, sample performance figures are provided for queries using the Boolean and and or, as well as for probabilistic systems assuming statistical term independence or term dependence. The variation of performance across sublanguages (used in different academic disciplines) and queries is examined. The performance of models failing to meet statistical and other assumptions is examined.
Regulation of B Cell Differentiation by Intracellular Membrane-Associated Proteins and microRNAs: Role in the Antibody Response

B cells are central to adaptive immunity and their functions in antibody responses are exquisitely regulated. As suggested by recent findings, B cell differentiation is mediated by intracellular membrane structures (including endosomes, lysosomes, and autophagosomes) and protein factors specifically associated with these membranes, including Rab7, Atg5, and Atg7. These factors participate in vesicle formation/trafficking, signal transduction and induction of gene expression to promote antigen presentation, class switch DNA recombination (CSR)/somatic hypermutation (SHM), and generation/maintenance of plasma cells and memory B cells. Their expression is induced in B cells activated to differentiate and further fine-tuned by immune-modulating microRNAs, which coordinates CSR/SHM, plasma cell differentiation, and memory B cell differentiation. These short non-coding RNAs would individually target multiple factors associated with the same intracellular membrane compartments and collaboratively target a single factor in addition to regulating AID and Blimp-1. These, together with regulation of microRNA biogenesis and activities by endosomes and autophagosomes, show that intracellular membranes and microRNAs, two broadly relevant cell constituents, play important roles in balancing gene expression to specify B cell differentiation processes for optimal antibody responses.
Climate Change Science, Impacts, and Opportunities

Across a vast array of human endeavors, climate change is demanding fundamental re-consideration of past approaches — be it in applied research on agricultural technologies, policy setting on water distribution, long-range planning for natural disasters, and so on. The list is long, and the arena of biodiversity conservation is no exception.
Increased Hepatotropism of Mutants of MHV, Strain JHM, Selected with Monoclonal Antibodies

The mouse hepatitis viruses (MHV) make up a group of closely related murine coronavi ruses which produce a wide spectrum of disease, depending upon the virus strain, the age and strain of the infected mouse, and the route of innoculation (Nelson, 1952; Gledhill and Neven, 1955). The determinants of the outcome of infection by MHV have been widely studied by many laboratories, with most groups concentrating their efforts on either the host response to the virus or on the viral genes responsible for virulence.
Elevated body zinc in rats with inherited retinal dystrophy

Carcass zinc concentrations were determined in Royal College of Surgeon (RCS) rats carrying the gene for retinal dystrophy. Analysis of zinc was undertaken on both mutant RCS (rdy/rdy) and cogenic control RCS (rdy/+) newborn male pups using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The carcass of mutant rats contained a higher concentration of zinc but not copper. A relationship between the altered zinc concentrations and subsequent retinal degeneration remains to be determined.
Measuring patient satisfaction outcomes across provider disciplines.

The purpose of this methodological research was to modify and test an instrument measuring patient satisfaction outcomes with primary care providers who represent different disciplines. The Patient Satisfaction with Health Care Provider Scale (PSHCPS) was adapted from a questionnaire indexing four satisfaction dimensions: Access, Humaneness, Quality, and General Satisfaction (Cherkin, Hart, & Rosenblatt, 1988). Following modification, the PSHCPS was administered to 167 adults with NP or MD providers at a university-based, managed-care setting for the medically indigent. The total scale Cronbach's alpha was .93. Factor analysis supported an unidimensional scale with 18 items loading above .40 and 43% explained variance.
A survey on Neyman-Pearson classification and suggestions for future research

In statistics and machine learning, classification studies how to automatically learn to make good qualitative predictions i.e., assign class labels based on past observations. Examples of classification problems include email spam filtering, fraud detection, market segmentation. Binary classification, in which the potential class label is binary, has arguably the most widely used machine learning applications. Most existing binary classification methods target on the minimization of the overall classification risk and may fail to serve some real-world applications such as cancer diagnosis, where users are more concerned with the risk of misclassifying one specific class than the other. Neyman-Pearson NP paradigm was introduced in this context as a novel statistical framework for handling asymmetric type I/II error priorities. It seeks classifiers with a minimal type II error subject to a type I error constraint under some user-specified level. Though NP classification has the potential to be an important subfield in the classification literature, it has not received much attention in the statistics and machine learning communities. This article is a survey on the current status of the NP classification literature. To stimulate readers' research interests, the authors also envision a few possible directions for future research in NP paradigm and its applications. WIREs Comput Stat 2016, 8:64-81. doi: 10.1002/wics.1376
Detection of DNA hybridization based on gold nanorod

Gold Nanorods have been widely used in biomedical field,due to their unique optical properties and excellent biocompatibilities.Eight different aspect ratios(AR)gold nanorods which own different longitudinal surface plasmon resonance modes is described.Gold nanorods are prepared with the seed-mediated growth method with various concentration of benzyldimethylhexadecylammonium chloride(BDAC).While target DNA is added to the mixed buffer of nonmodified gold nanorods and label-free probe DNA with high ionic strength,the"blue-shifted"of gold nanorods'SPR modes can be detected immediately,and obvious absorbance deductions are observed.This method shows high sensitivity which allows detection of target DNA at a concentration as low as nanomolar range.
Bilateral nephrectomy for hypertension in patients with chronic renal failure on a dialysis program.

AbstractDuring the last 6 years 33 bilateral nephrectomies have been performed for severe hypertension in patients with chronic renal failure on a dialysis program. Nephrectomy resulted in a prompt and sustained reduction in blood pressure, an improved sense of well-being and a gain of weight. Despite the fact that the mean hematocrit decreased from 25 to 18 per cent all patients thrived. The nephrectomy group showed an 85 per cent 5-year cumulative survival rate compared to 55 per cent in the non-nephrectomy group. There was 1 mortality and low morbidity. Simultaneous nephrectomy by 2 teams, using a posterior approach, proved more satisfactory than an anterior or bilateral flank approach. The indications for and arguments against bilateral nephrectomy are discussed.
Induction immunosuppressive therapy is associated with a low rejection rate after liver transplantation

Despite advances in immunosuppression, allograft rejection occurs frequently after liver transplantation. The use of induction therapy with cytolytic antibodies may decrease the frequency of rejection in liver transplant recipients, but may also increase the rate of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. It has been our center's strategy to use induction therapy in our liver transplant recipients. To determine the outcome of our strategy, we retrospectively reviewed all liver transplants performed in the first 5 yr of our liver transplant program. The frequency of acute rejection in the first year after liver transplantation was only 34% in patients who received induction therapy. The type of induction therapy antibody did not affect the rejection rate. Clinically significant CMV infection (requiring treatment) occurred in 22% of patients. These results suggest that use of induction therapy with cytolytic antibodies does not lead to a high incidence of CMV infection and decreases the incidence of rejection after liver transplantation.
Temporary Water Markets in Oman

Market vis-a-vis command and control approaches have been widely adopted in natural resource and environmental management since the 1980s. Adoption of markets in managing irrigation water resources is also emerging. It has been argued that markets are ineffective in managing the demand for irrigation water due to very low price elasticity. Most studies have been based on mathematical models simulating water markets and not on observed prices and quantities in real water markets since such data are rarely available. In Oman, perhaps in response to the extreme scarcity of water, elaborate water demand management institutions emulating markets have evolved and have been used for centuries. Water entitlements are leased based on prices through a community auction. The traded quantities of water and related prices have been recorded. This study uses this unique data set to estimate the elasticity of irrigation water. A log function on quantity and price of irrigation water is used with dummy variables on time and type of irrigation system. The price elasticity varies from -0.10 to -0.28, depending on the specifications of the econometric model. These estimates are higher than most estimates reported in past studies, indicating the efficacy of the indigenous market-based irrigation water management institution adopted in Oman.
Gender differences in the relationships among major depressive disorder, heavy alcohol use, and mental health treatment engagement among college students

Objective:Although major depressive disorder (MDD) and heavy episodic drinking (HED, 4+/5+ drinks in a single sitting for women/men) are common among young adults in college, the relationship between the two remains unclear. This study examined the association between MDD and HED in this population, the effect of gender on this association, and whether comorbid MDD and heavy alcohol use are associated with higher rates of mental health treatment engagement.Method:The study comprised 61,561 (65.3% female) undergraduate students who answered an online survey on depression, alcohol use, and treatment engagement in the past year. Hierarchical linear regressions examined the association between MDD and alcohol use (HED and peak blood alcohol concentration [pBAC]) and whether gender moderated these associations. Logistic regressions were then conducted to examine the influence of MDD, heavy alcohol use, and gender on treatment engagement.Results:Students with MDD reported more frequent HED and higher pBAC than ...
Change and Adaptation in the American Party System

Ours is a party system that has shown signs of considerable change. In recent years it continues to exhibit such signs. It appears to be a system constantly adapting to the new developments and challenges in our society. As we have demonstrated in this book, much has happened in the organization and behavior of our two-party system. In this final chapter we want to answer four questions: what are the major changes that have occurred in the past fifty years in the ways our parties work; are these changes transitory or apparently permanent; what seem to be the conditions and factors that caused these changes; have these changes altered the basic character of our party system and, if so, how? We have argued that our party system is in a state of dynamic equilibrium, that significant changes have occurred but that the two-party system is still viable, still basically the same type of two-party system. Is this true? We need to review the evidence carefully. Is it the same type of two-party system of the past, or one with a different character?
Impact of biases in gridded weather datasets on biomass estimates of short rotation woody cropping systems

Abstract Short rotation woody crop (SRWC) systems continue to be investigated as energy crops for a range of energy products including liquid biofuels and electricity. To understand their market potential and economic viability, regional biomass yield and production estimates are used as primary inputs. Biomass is generally estimated using growth models which often utilize gridded weather datasets when implemented for regional simulations. With such models, the accuracy of weather data will affect the uncertainty of estimated biomass and subsequent bioenergy analyses. This study evaluates the biases in weather variables of commonly used high resolution gridded datasets including PRISM, Daymet, NARR, and NLDAS in comparison with observed weather at five flux tower stations. Further, impacts of inaccuracies in gridded data sources on biomass estimates of SRWC hybrid poplar was investigated at site and regional levels using a version of the 3-PG growth model modified to model production with multiple harvests through coppicing or periodic cutting of the trees with regrowth from the tree stump. Results suggest that weather variables in all gridded datasets are characterized by some degree of bias leading to considerable bias in biomass estimates, in some cases up to 45%. PRISM and Daymet were shown to have lower uncertainty in most of the weather variables, likely due to their higher spatial resolution and higher dependency on station weather. Site level simulations indicate that relative to the reference biomass estimates based on actual weather measurements, NARR data yielded 4.1 Mg ha−1 y−1 higher biomass while NLDAS, Daymet, and PRISM resulted in 3.3, 1.2 and 0.3 Mg ha−1 y−1 lower biomass. Regional simulations suggest that total biomass varied substantially with gridded data sources ranging between 47.4 and 58.3 Tg on the croplands and rangelands in the region (Columbia Plateau), which subsequently led up to 23% variation in the estimate of poplar based jet fuel production from the SRWC resource. Therefore, findings of this study reinforce the need to account for uncertainties in biomass estimates introduced by biases in gridded weather when modeling bioenergy production.
Assessment of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor cytologic genotype diversity to guide personalized medicine using a custom gastroenteropancreatic next-generation sequencing panel.

// Ferga C. Gleeson 1 , Jesse S. Voss 2 , Benjamin R. Kipp 2 , Sarah E. Kerr 2 , John S. Van Arnam 2 , John R. Mills 2 , Cherisse A. Marcou 2 , Amber R. Schneider 2 , Zheng Jin Tu 3 , Michael R. Henry 2 and Michael J. Levy 1 1 Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN, USA 2 Department of Laboratory Medicine-Pathology, Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN, USA 3 Divisions of Biomedical Statics & Informatics, Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN, USA Correspondence to: Ferga C. Gleeson, email: gleeson.ferga@mayo.edu Keywords: pancreas neuroendocrine tumor, endoscopic ultrasound fine needle aspiration, targeted next-generation sequencing, prognostic biomarker, predictive biomarker Received: April 14, 2017 Accepted: May 23, 2017 Published: June 28, 2017 ABSTRACT Background: Recent genetic studies have highlighted that alterations in MEN1, chromatin remodeling genes, and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway genes are the most frequent molecular events identified in pancreas neuroendocrine tumors (pNETs). The prognostic or predictive impact of these biomarkers and other less frequently observed aberrations, i.e. PTEN, TSC2 and PIK3CA are relatively unknown. The aims of this targeted next generation sequencing (NGS) study were to assess tumor cytology genotype diversity, to survey for potential adverse prognostic biomarkers and the prevalence of mTOR pathway variants. Methods: Using a custom 15 gene gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumor panel, targeted NGS of archived (2002-2013) primary pNETs (n=90) and pNET liver metastasis (n=32) cytology smears was performed. Results: The genetic variant landscape revealed that 21% and 28% of primary and metastatic liver pNETs harbored ≥ 2 variants per tumor, respectively. The most prevalent primary tumor variants were in the MEN1 (42%), DAXX (11%), ATRX (10%), and TSC2 (8%) genes. Patients harboring aberrations in TSC2, KRAS or TP53 were more likely to experience disease progression and reduced overall survival, when compared to individuals who were wild-type. The prevalence of these potential prognostic biomarkers in early disease was observed in 3.3% of the primary tumor cohort. mTOR pathway variants including alterations in PTEN, TSC2 and PIK3CA were identified in 10% and 12.5% of primary tumors and pNET liver metastasis, respectively. Conclusion: Cytology based tumor genotyping revealed a broad spectrum of genetic variants including possible adverse prognostic biomarkers, reflective of an aggressive phenotype. It also demonstrated the prevalence of potential predictive biomarkers for mTOR pathway inhibitor sensitivity.
Design and characterization of an improved, 2 ns, multi-frame imager for the Ultra-Fast X-ray Imager (UXI) program at Sandia National Laboratories

The Daedalus camera is a second-generation imager for the Ultra-Fast X-ray Imager (UXI) program, achieving 1 ns, time-gated, multi-frame image sets for High Energy Density (HED) physics experiments. Daedalus includes a 1024 x 512 pixel array with 25 μm spatial resolution with three frames of storage per pixel with three times larger full well (1.5 million e-) than the last generation camera, Icarus. Daedalus incorporates an improved timing generation and distribution concept to facilitate broader user configurability and application space while improving timing resolution to 1 ns. Electrical timing measurements demonstrated 1 nanosecond shutters. Analog dynamic range is sufficient to provide the expected full well. Read noise of 210 e- has been measured, exceeding design goals. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc. for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.
Improving student engagement and learning outcomes through the use of industry-sponsored projects in human-computer interaction curriculum

Engaging students in higher education can often be a challenge. Traditional curriculum approaches of lectures, homework, and exams are the norm for many university-level courses, especially in the computing and engineering fields of study. This work introduces the use of industry partnerships for class projects to give students exposure to real-world problem solving and solution development. Students work in small groups of 3–5 students (undergraduate and/or graduate) to design, prototype, implement, and evaluate solutions that are later put into production with our industry partners. This approach results in students completing the full development life cycle learned in computer science classes and includes delivery of products that can be used as part of their portfolios. This approach has resulted in improved learning outcomes and higher levels of student engagement in these courses and the industry partners have a product that they can use for their companies. Details are provided that discuss: how to develop industry relationships, designing the course curriculum to support these types of projects, timelines and checkpoints to assess student progress, final presentations, documentation, and product deliverables. There is also a discussion on non-disclosure agreements and what students can use as part of their portfolios and resumes from the course projects. Feedback on the projects from students have been very positive and comments from the student evaluations will be presented in addition to recommendations on possible improvements to the learning process associated with this approach.
Abstract 18907: Genetic Ablation of Voltage-Gated Potassium Channel β-subunit 2 Causes Distinct Physiological and Cardiac Alterations in Mice

Voltage-gated potassium channels (Kv) are important for cardiac function. Recent studies from our group showed dysregulation of Kv4.2 and 1.4 in diabetes or hyperoxia. The activity of Kvα is regulated by β-subunits and mutations in these subunits are associated with cardiovascular diseases. Recent report suggests that Kvβ2 (Kcnab2), a dominant β-subunit in the brain modulates inactivation rates of Kv1.4 currents and can promote the trafficking of Kv1.1 and 1.2 to the cell surface. The physiological and molecular roles of Kvβ2 in cardiac functioning are unknown. Therefore, in the current study we investigated the functional alterations and assessed the molecular changes in Kvβ2KO (KO) mouse hearts. Physical assessment of heart reveals significant cardiac atrophy in KO by measure of heart weight to tibia length ratio, WT: 7.44±0.31mg/mm vs KO: 6.23±0.15mg/mm (p
Successful management of severe red blood cell alloimmunization in pregnancy with a combination of therapeutic plasma exchange, intravenous immune globulin, and intrauterine transfusion

Background Antibodies to Rhesus and Kell antigens have been associated with severe hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn (HDFN) necessitating intrauterine transfusion (IUT) of red blood cells (RBCs). We report a case series of five women with severe HDFN secondary to maternal RBC alloimmunization who were successfully managed with therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE), intravenous immune globulin (IVIG), and IUT. Study design and methods This is a retrospective case series of five women with severe HDFN who underwent a total of three TPE procedures during Weeks 10 to 13 of pregnancy, followed by weekly IVIG infusions. They were followed with serial middle cerebral artery peak systolic velocity studies beginning at 16 weeks' gestation to detect fetal anemia. For IUT, fetuses were administered RBC units that fully matched the maternal phenotype to D, C, E, K, Fy, Jk, and S antigen groups. The delivery outcomes and newborn information were followed. Results Anti-D and anti-K alloantibodies were implicated in HDFN. A two- to fourfold dilution reduction in anti-D and anti-K titers was observed after TPE. IUT was initiated between 21 to 27 weeks' gestation. The total number of IUTs for each patient ranged from four to seven. All five women delivered healthy infants at 33 to 38 weeks' gestation. Conclusion A combined regimen of TPE and IVIG early in pregnancy and IUT later in pregnancy results in successful management of severe maternal RBC alloimmunization and HDFN. IUT with fully phenotypically matched RBC units may help prevent further RBC alloimmunization in complex cases of HDFN.
Evaluation of [ 89 Zr]trastuzumab-PET/CT in differentiating HER2-positive from HER2-negative breast cancer

To evaluate whether tumor uptake of [89Zr]trastuzumab can distinguish HER2-positive from HER2-negative breast cancer. Women with HER2-positive (n = 34) and HER2-negative (n = 16) breast cancer underwent PET/CT 5 ± 2 days following [89Zr]trastuzumab administration. HER2 status was determined based on immunohistochemistry and/or fluorescence in situ hybridization of primary or metastatic/recurrent tumor. Tumor [89Zr]trastuzumab uptake was assessed qualitatively and semiquantitatively as maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), and correlated with HER2 status. Additionally, intrapatient heterogeneity of [89Zr]trastuzumab uptake was evaluated. On a per-patient basis, [89Zr]trastuzumab-PET/CT was positive in 30/34 (88.2%) HER2-positive and negative in 15/16 (93.7%) HER2-negative patients. Considering all lesions, the SUVmax was not significantly different in patients with HER2-positive versus HER2-negative disease (p = 0.06). The same was true of when only hepatic lesions were evaluated (p = 0.42). However, after excluding hepatic lesions, tumor SUVmax was significantly higher in HER2-positive compared to HER2-negative patients (p = 0.003). A cutoff SUVmax of 3.2, determined by ROC analysis, demonstrated positive-predictive value of 83.3% (95% CI 65.3%, 94.4%), sensitivity of 75.8% (57.7%, 88.9%), negative-predictive value of 50% (24.7%, 75.3%), and specificity of 61.5% (95% 31.6%, 86.1%) for differentiating HER2-positive from HER2-negative lesions. There was intrapatient heterogeneity of [89Zr]trastuzumab uptake in 20% of patients with multiple lesions. [89Zr]trastuzumab has the potential to characterize the HER2 status of the complete tumor burden in patients with breast cancer, thus obviating repeat or multiple tissue sampling to assess intrapatient heterogeneity of HER2 status.
Disentangling Ligand Effects on Metathesis Catalyst Activity: Experimental and Computational Studies of Ruthenium–Aminophosphine Complexes

Second-generation ruthenium olefin metathesis catalysts bearing aminophosphine ligands were investigated with systematic variation of the ligand structure. The rates of phosphine dissociation (k1; initiation rate) and relative phosphine reassociation (k–1) were determined for two series of catalysts bearing cyclohexyl(morpholino)phosphine and cyclohexyl(piperidino)phosphine ligands. In both cases, incorporating P–N bonds into the architecture of the dissociating phosphine accelerates catalyst initiation relative to the parent [Ru]–PCy3 complex; however, this effect is muted for the tris(amino)phosphine-ligated complexes, which exhibit higher ligand binding constants in comparison to those with phosphines containing one or two cyclohexyl substituents. These results, along with X-ray crystallographic data and DFT calculations, were used to understand the influence of ligand structure on catalyst activity. Especially noteworthy is the application of phosphines containing incongruent substituents (PR1R′2); de...