cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Current status of defensins and their role in innate and adaptive immunity.

Naturally occurring antimicrobial cationic polypeptides play a major role in innate and adaptive immunity. These polypeptides are found to be either linear and unstructured or structured through disulfide bonds. Among the structured antimicrobial polypeptides, defensins comprise a family of cysteine-rich cationic polypeptides that contribute significantly to host defense against the invasion of microorganisms in animals, humans, insects and plants. Their wide-spread occurrence in various tissues of these diverse organisms, and their importance in innate and adaptive immunity have led to their identification, isolation and characterization. A large volume of literature is available on defensins’ occurrence, structural characterization, gene expression and regulation under normal and pathological conditions. Much has also been published regarding their antimicrobial, antiviral and chemoattractive properties, and their molecular and cellular interactions. In this review, we describe the current status of our knowledge of defensins with respect to their molecular, cellular and structural biology, their role in host defense, future research paradigms and the possibility of their utilization as a new class of non-toxic antimicrobial agents and immuno-modulators.
Reflex Triode X-Ray Source Research on Gamble II

Summary form only given. Reflex diode (one cathode and one anode) and triode (two cathodes and one anode) X-ray sources are investigated on Gamble II (2 MV, 2 Omega, 100 ns) to better understand the coupling of MeV-electron teams to thin converters in order to optimize emission of sub-100-keV X-rays. In conventional diodes, significant attenuation of these X-rays occurs in the converter, which is typically a large fraction (0.1 or more) of an electron-range thick. The objective of reflexing configurations is to minimize the converter thickness while maintaining good electron beam coupling. Triodes are superior X-ray sources compared with diodes in several respects, including dose production at reduced voltage and beam-coupling efficiency with reduced converter thickness. Beam dynamics are modeled using particle-in-cell (PIC) techniques, and radiation production is modeled using Monte-Carlo techniques (ITS). The modeling is in very good agreement with the experimental data, including the diode electrical behavior, the dose produced and the spectral response determined from step-wedge diagnostics. A large range of converter thicknesses were tested, from 0.1-mil gold to 10-mil tantalum. The optimum thickness for dose production is in the 0.5-to 1-mil range. The PIC modeling predicts this optimum thickness, and indicates that electron loss to large radius explains the reduction in dose for thinner converters. The coupling efficiency for these thinner converters could be improved by decreasing the triode impedance, a motivation for developing similar diodes on higher-current generators such as Saturn at Sandia National Laboratories.
Prognostic value of FDG-PET scans at diagnosis in small cell lung cancer

Background: Small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) is one of the most aggressive solid tumors. The predictive and prognostic role of positron emission tomography (PET) scans in SCLC is under investigation and is yet to be determined. Method: We retrospectively analyzed the correlation between overall survival and 2-[18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose- PET (FDG-PET) results at diagnosis. We also introduced the concept of the total standardized uptake value (SUV) as a possible biomarker for the total burden disease. In addition, we proposed a new staging concept using PET scan based on whether tumor uptake is or is not limited to parenchymal hemithorax. Results: Between March 2004 and February 2009, 46 patients with histologically confirmed SCLC were included in the analysis. Thirty patients were found to have Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status ≤ 2, and most (65%, n = 30) of them had limited stage disease using conventional clinical staging criteria. There was a fair correlation between PET results and conventional staging by CT scan (kappa = 0.330). Although there was a trend toward upstaging by PET, it was not predictive of survival. There was a direct correlation between total SUV and maximum SUV and overall survival (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.003 and 1.085, respectively). Conclusion: PET scan results at diagnosis could play an important role in the management of SCLC. Total SUV could represent a good biomarker for the disease burden in SCLC. Further prospective studies are needed to clarify the application of total SUV in SCLC.
Neuroelectrical Correlates of Semantic Processes

In recent years averaged evoked response (AER) techniques have been used with increasing frequency in attempts to study the possible relationships between brain responses and linguistic processes (Waner, Teyl.er, & Thompson, 1977). Researchers have succeed in demonstrating that certain major components of the AER are sensitive to acoustic and phonological changes such as inflection and phoneme category membership (Wood, Goff, & Day, 1971; Wood, 1975), voicing (Molfese a, in press) formant structure and consonant transitions (Molfese, Nunez, Seibert, & Ramanaiah, 1976; Molfese b, in press). In addition, AER components sensitive to syntactic and semantic factors have also been identified (Begleiter & Platz, 1969; Brown, Marsh, & Smith, 1973, 1976; Chapman, McCrary, Chapman & Bragdon, in press; Shelburne, 1972, 1973; Thatcher a, in press; Thatcher b, in press). Such research strongly suggests that various linguistic processes can be successfully assessed with AER techniques. However, few studies have attempted to investigate how the various linguistic elements such as phonology and semantics interact to produce differences in the AER. Chomsky & Halle (1968) have proposed a serial processing model which suggests that the language listener must first encode each phonological element in the order of its appearance and then, only after all such elements have been encoded, proceed to the semantic and syntactic processing levels.
Mutational analysis of the conserved cysteines of the rat P2X2 purinoceptor

P2X receptors are ATP-gated cation channels that are widely expressed in the brain. The extracellular domains of all seven P2X receptors contain 10 conserved cysteines, which could form disulfide bonds or binding sites for transition metals that modulate P2X receptors. To test whether these cysteines are critical for receptor function, we studied wild-type rat P2X2 receptors and 10 mutant P2X2 receptors, each containing an alanine substituted for a cysteine. Nine mutants were functional but had reduced maximum currents compared with wild-type P2X2expressed in either Xenopus oocytes or human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells. The 10th mutant (C224A) did not respond to ATP when expressed in oocytes and gave very small currents in HEK 293 cells. Seven mutants (C113A, C124A, C130A, C147A, C158A, C164A, and C214A) showed rightward shifts (9- to 30-fold) in their ATP concentration–response relationships and very little potentiation by zinc. In contrast, C258A and C267A had EC50values similar to those of wild-type P2X2 and were potentiated by zinc. Acidic pH potentiated wild-type and all mutant receptor currents. Despite the loss of zinc potentiation in seven mutants, these cysteines are unlikely to be exposed in the zinc-binding site, because [2-(trimethylammonium)ethyl] methanethiosulfonate bromide did not prevent zinc potentiation of wild-type receptor currents. On the basis of correlations in the maximum current, EC50, zinc potentiation, and pH potentiation, we suggest that the following cysteine pairs form disulfide bonds: C113–C164, C214–C224, and C258–C267. We also suggest that C124, C130, C147, and C158 form two disulfide bonds, but we are unable to assign specific cysteine pairs to these two bonds.
Evaluation of a screening tool for bleeding disorders in a US multisite cohort of women with menorrhagia

Objective The purpose of this study was to determine the usefulness of a simple screening tool for bleeding disorders in a multisite population of women with menorrhagia. Study Design Women with menorrhagia between the ages of 18 and 50 years from 6 geographically diverse US centers underwent hemostatic testing for bleeding disorders, complete blood cell count, and ferritin. A questionnaire that contained all elements of the 8-question screening tool was administered. Sensitivity of the screening tool, a screening tool with a pictorial blood assessment chart (PBAC) score of >185, and a screening tool with serum ferritin were calculated for hemostatic disorders. Results Two hundred and seventeen women who were identified with a PBAC score of ≥100 participated in the study. The sensitivity of the screening tool was 89% for hemostatic defects, and sensitivity increased to 93% and 95% with a serum ferritin level of ≤20 ng/mL and a PBAC score of >185, respectively. Conclusion This study confirms the usefulness of a short screening tool for the stratification of women with menorrhagia for hemostatic evaluation.
Science Communication in Teacher Personal Pronouns

In this study, I explore how personal pronouns used by elementary teachers during science inquiry discussions communicate science and frame teacher–student–science relations. A semiotic framework is adopted wherein teacher pronominal choices are viewed as symbolically expressing cognitive meanings (scientific thinking, forms of expression, and concepts) and indexically communicating social meanings (hidden messages about social and personal aspects of science—human agency, science membership, and gender). Through the construction of interactional maps and micro‐ethnographic analysis of classroom video‐recordings, I focus specifically on participant examples (oral descriptions of actual or hypothetical situations wherein the teacher presents herself and/or her students as characters to illustrate topics under discussion). This analysis revealed that the teacher use of the generalised you communicated to the students how to mean scientifically (i.e. to speak like a scientist), while I communicated scientifi...
Inequality of the resonant half-linewidth and the decay rate of a quasi-bound state in a resonant double barrier

Abstract When the environment of a one-dimensional resonant double barrier acts as a source of dephasing or dissipation we find that the resonant half-linewidth is larger than the decay rate of a quasi-bound state. This result shows that measuring the decay rate of a quasi-bound state does not necessarily yield the resonant half-linewidth. In addition, when dephasing is the domanant effect, the resonant half-width, the decay rate of a quasi-bound state, and the resonant transmission coefficient are related simply to each other.
Methods to compute fault images, extract fault surfaces, and estimate fault throws from 3D seismic images

ABSTRACTFault interpretation enhances our understanding of complex geologic structures and stratigraphy apparent in 3D seismic images. Common steps in this interpretation include image processing to highlight faults, the construction of fault surfaces, and estimation of fault throws. Although all three of these steps have been automated to some extent by others, fault interpretation today typically requires significant manual effort, suggesting that further improvements in automatic methods are feasible and worthwhile. I first used an efficient algorithm to compute images of fault likelihoods, strikes, and dips from a 3D seismic image. From these three fault images, I then automatically extracted fault surfaces as meshes of quadrilaterals that coincide with ridges of fault likelihood. A quadrilateral mesh is a simple data structure alongside which one can easily gather samples of the 3D seismic image. I automatically estimated fault throws by minimizing differences in values of samples gathered from oppos...
Optimality for underwater vehicle's

We study the time-optimal trajectories for fully actuated planar underwater vehicles, with constraints on input forces. Using the maximum principle, we focus on the structure of singular extremals and their possible optimality.
Online recognizer for runon handprinted characters

A recognize-then-segment recognizer of unconstrained handprinting is described with uses a unified tablet-display to provide a paperlike computer interface. Whereas most handwriting recognition systems segment and then recognize, this one recognizes and then finds the best segmentation. It classifies strokes, generates character hypotheses, and verifies hypotheses to estimate the optimal character sequence for each word of runon handwritten characters. Linguistic constraints can limit the choices. The system is implemented on an IBM workstation, accepts runon characters written on a tablet, and performs recognition in real time. >
Well-Being as the Object of Moral Consideration

An adequate moral theory must take (at least) each person into account in some way. Some think that the appropriate way to take an agent into account morally involves a consequentialist form of promoting something about her. Others suggest instead that morality requires a Kantian form of respecting something about an agent. I am interested here in pursuing the former line. When we pursue the broadly consequentialist line we come to this question: what should we promote on the agent's behalf when we are taking her into account morally?
The control of an invasive bivalve, Corbicula fluminea, using gas impermeable benthic barriers in a large natural lake.

Anoxia can restrict species establishment in aquatic systems and the artificial promotion of these conditions can provide an effective control strategy for invasive molluscs. Low abundances (2–20 m−2) of the nonnative bivalve, Asian clam (Corbicula fluminea), were first recorded in Lake Tahoe, CA–NV in 2002 and by 2010 nuisance-level population densities (>10,000 m−2) were observed. A non-chemical control method using gas impermeable benthic barriers to reduce dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations available to C. fluminea was tested in this ultra-oligotrophic natural lake. In 2009, the impact of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) sheets (9 m2, n = 6) on C. fluminea beds was tested on 1–7 day intervals over a 56 day period (August–September). At an average water temperature of 18 °C, DO concentrations under these small barriers were reduced to zero after 72 h resulting in 100 % C. fluminea mortality after 28 days. In 2010, a large EPDM barrier (1,950 m2) was applied to C. fluminea populations for 120 days (July–November). C. fluminea abundances were reduced over 98 % after barrier removal, and remained significantly reduced (>90 %) 1 year later. Non-target benthic macroinvertebrate abundances were also reduced, with variable taxon-specific recolonization rates. High C. fluminea abundance under anoxic conditions increased the release of ammonium and soluble reactive phosphorus from the sediment substrate; but levels of unionized ammonia were low at 0.004–0.005 mg L−1. Prolonged exposure to anoxia using benthic barriers can provide an effective short term control strategy for C. fluminea.
Analysis and Results of the 1999 DARPA Off-Line Intrusion Detection Evaluation

Eight sites participated in the second DARPA off-line intrusion detection evaluation in 1999. Three weeks of training and two weeks of test data were generated on a test bed that emulates a small government site. More than 200 instances of 58 attack types were launched against victim UNIX and Windows NT hosts. False alarm rates were low (less than 10 per day). Best detection was provided by network-based systems for old probe and old denial-of-service (DoS) attacks and by host-based systems for Solaris user-to-root (U2R) attacks. Best overall performance would have been provided by a combined system that used both host- and network-based intrusion detection. Detection accuracy was poor for previously unseen new, stealthy, and Windows NT attacks. Ten of the 58 attack types were completely missed by all systems. Systems missed attacks because protocols and TCP services were not analyzed at all or to the depth required, because signatures for old attacks did not generalize to new attacks, and because auditing was not available on all hosts.
The promise and pitfalls of Marine Stewardship Council certification: Maine lobster as a case study

As worldwide population continues to grow, so does demand for seafood by consumers. With this trend, interest in sustainably certified seafood is also increasing. The Maine lobster fishery is currently considering certification based on the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries. Although certification is argued to provide a market-based incentive to improve sustainable fishing practices, it is a costly and time-consuming process, and often imposes additional requirements on fisheries in order to meet certification standards. To evaluate whether the costs of Maine lobster fishery certification are worth the presumed benefits, lobster industry members were interviewed to learn their opinions of MSC certification, seafood consumers were surveyed to understand their attitudes and purchasing preferences related to lobster, and lessons learned from other MSC-certified fisheries were compiled. MSC certification of the Maine lobster fishery could potentially provide benefits to the industry by differentiating Maine lobster and maintaining access to markets that are looking to exclusively source certified fish products. However, certification is unlikely to provide price premiums for the fishermen, and does not necessarily represent to consumers the most desirable aspects of Maine lobster. Certification programs may need to adapt to consumer preferences and market conditions if they are to continue to provide incentives for the sustainable management of fisheries.
A knowledge-based approach to improving and homogenizing intensity modulated radiation therapy planning quality among treatment centers: an example application to prostate cancer planning.

Purpose Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment planning can have wide variation among different treatment centers. We propose a system to leverage the IMRT planning experience of larger institutions to automatically create high-quality plans for outside clinics. We explore feasibility by generating plans for patient datasets from an outside institution by adapting plans from our institution. Methods and Materials A knowledge database was created from 132 IMRT treatment plans for prostate cancer at our institution. The outside institution, a community hospital, provided the datasets for 55 prostate cancer cases, including their original treatment plans. For each “query” case from the outside institution, a similar “match” case was identified in the knowledge database, and the match case’s plan parameters were then adapted and optimized to the query case by use of a semiautomated approach that required no expert planning knowledge. The plans generated with this knowledge-based approach were compared with the original treatment plans at several dose cutpoints. Results Compared with the original plan, the knowledge-based plan had a significantly more homogeneous dose to the planning target volume and a significantly lower maximum dose. The volumes of the rectum, bladder, and femoral heads above all cutpoints were nominally lower for the knowledge-based plan; the reductions were significantly lower for the rectum. In 40% of cases, the knowledge-based plan had overall superior (lower) dose–volume histograms for rectum and bladder; in 54% of cases, the comparison was equivocal; in 6% of cases, the knowledge-based plan was inferior for both bladder and rectum. Conclusions Knowledge-based planning was superior or equivalent to the original plan in 95% of cases. The knowledge-based approach shows promise for homogenizing plan quality by transferring planning expertise from more experienced to less experienced institutions.
A Call-Admission Control (CAC) Algorithm for Providing Guaranteed QoS in Cellular Networks

Future broadband wireless access systems are expected to integrate various classes of mobile terminals (MTs), each class with a different type of quality of service (QoS) requirement. When the load on a wireless network is high, the guarantee of QoS for each class of MTs is a challenging task. This study considers two classes of MTs—profiled MTs and nonprofiled or regular MTs. It is assumed that profiled users require a guaranteed QoS. The measure of QoS is the probability of forced termination of a call that was allowed to access the network. Two previous handoff prioritization schemes—(i) prerequest scheme and (ii) guard channel scheme—decrease handoff failure (and hence forced termination). In this work, we compare and contrast both the schemes through extensive simulation and we find that neither guard channel nor channel prerequest scheme can guarantee a desired level of QoS for the profiled MTs. We then propose a novel call-admission control (CAC) algorithm that can maintain any desired level of QoS, while the successful call completion rate is very high. In the proposed algorithm, the new call arrival rate is estimated continuously, and when the estimated arrival rate is higher than a predetermined level, some new calls are blocked irrespective of the availability of channels. The objective of this new call preblocking is to maintain a cell's observed new call arrival rate at no more than the predetermined rate. We show that the proposed method can guarantee any desired level of QoS for profiled users.
Detection of Oxidative Stress Induced by Low- and High-Linear Energy Transfer Radiation in Cultured Human Epithelial Cells

A standardized dichlorofluorescin (DCF) fluorometric assay capable of measuring radiation-induced oxidative stress was used to determine the effectiveness of protons and high-mass, high-atomic number (Z) and high-energy (HZE) particles to produce oxidative stress in vitro. Protons were found to be about equally as effective as X rays in the generation of oxidative stress in cultured cells. However, 56Fe-ion beams with energies of 1 GeV/nucleon and 5 GeV/nucleon were less effective than X rays or gamma rays in inducing dichlorofluorescin (DCFH) oxidation. The relatively lower slope values for the dose responses of HZE-particle radiation-induced DCFH oxidation indicate that the sensitivity of the DCF fluorometric assay is probably dependent on the linear energy transfer (LET) of the radiation beam.
Prediction of relapse and remission in AML by marrow culture criteria.

Bone marrow culture studies in semi-solid agar have been performed on 250 patients presenting with acute myeloid leukemia. The detection of a spectrum of qualitative defects in the proliferation, differentiation and biophysical characteristics of leukemic colony forming cells (CFU-c) has permitted a detailed analysis of the relapse-remission status based on transition from qualitatively abnormal cell growth in vitro to a normal pattern of proliferation and differentiation. Changes in vitro generally preceded clinical or morphological evidence of the onset of relapse or remission and serve as a valuable additional parameter in monitoring clinical status. Marked cyclic changes in CFU-c incidence appeared to characterize the remission phase of AML and were frequently associated with fluctuations in marrow blast cell count which can lead to mis-diagnosis of incipient relapse. Detection of qualitative defect in marrow culture serves to distinguish patients with preleukemic disorders at high risk of termination in acute myeloid leukemia from patients with clinically similar disease who have not undergone further progression over a 2–4 year period of observation.
Crystal structure of di-μ-benzato-κ4O:O′-bis­[aqua­(benzato-κO)(benzato-κ2O,O′)(2,2′:6′,2′′-terpyridine-κ3N,N′,N′′)europium(III)]–benzoic acid (1/2)

The title compound, [Eu2(C7H5O2)6(C15H11N3)2(H2O)2]·2C7H6O2, is a co-crystalline compound containing a dinuclear EuIII coordination complex with inversion symmetry co-crystallized with benzoic acid in a 1:2 ratio. The Eu3+ ions within the dimer are nine-coordinate, containing one tridentate terpyridine, one water, and four benzoate ions, two of which bridge the Eu3+ ions. Of the four benzoate ligands coordinating to each Eu3+ position, three distinct coordination modes [monodentate, bidentate–chelating, and bidentate–bridging (twice)] are observed. Within the crystal, there are two additional uncoordinating benzoic acid mol­ecules per dinuclear complex. Within the dimer, the water bound to each Eu3+ ion participates in intra­molecular hydrogen bonding with a coordinating benzoate. Additionally, the carb­oxy­lic acid group on the benzoic acid participates in inter­molecular hydrogen bonding with a benzoate ligand bound to the dimer complex.
Fundamental Limits of Data Analytics in sociotechnical systems

In the Big Data era, informational systems involving humans and machines are being deployed in multifarious societal settings. Many use data analytics as subcomponents for descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive tasks, often trained using machine learning. Yet when analytics components are placed in large-scale sociotechnical systems, it is often difficult to characterize how well the systems will act, measured with criteria relevant in the world. Here, we propose a system modeling technique that treats data analytics components as `noisy black boxes' or stochastic kernels, which together with elementary stochastic analysis provides insight into fundamental performance limits. An example application is helping prioritize people's limited attention, where learning algorithms rank tasks using noisy features and people sequentially select from the ranked list. This paper demonstrates the general technique by developing a stochastic model of analytics-enabled sequential selection, derives fundamental limits using concomitants of order statistics, and assesses limits in terms of system-wide performance metrics like screening cost and value of objects selected. Connections to sample complexity for bipartite ranking are also made.
Police, Vehicles & the Fourth Amendment Part One: Supreme Court Cases

This 11-page 2006 article is titled “Police, Vehicles, & Fourth Amendment: Supreme Court Cases.” It was published in The Trooper magazine. The article analyses Supreme Court opinions, addressing Fourth Amendment jurisprudence in the context of “cars, cops, and stops.” Topics include (1) “stop/detention” of a vehicle based on articulable suspicion that a felony has been committed, that a crime is about to be committed, or that a safety violation exists; (2) warrant execution; (3) search of a person and/or a vehicle based on consent; (4) frisk of a driver and/or passenger(s) and a search of the interior of the vehicle based on reasonable suspicion that a person is presently armed and dangerous; (5) search incident to a lawful arrest of a driver and/or passenger(s) arrested and a search of the interior of the vehicle as part of that “search incident”; (6) search of the entire vehicle, under the “automobile exception,” based on probable cause to believe that fruits, evidence, and/or instrumentalities of a crime are in the vehicle; and (7) inventory search of the entire vehicle. Also see “Police, Vehicles, & Fourth Amendment: Maryland Cases” at http://ssrn.com/abstract=1635439.
Multibit Data Storage States Formed in Plasma-Treated MoS2 Transistors

New multibit memory devices are desirable for improving data storage density and computing speed. Here, we report that multilayer MoS2 transistors, when treated with plasmas, can dramatically serve as low-cost, nonvolatile, highly durable memories with binary and multibit data storage capability. We have demonstrated binary and 2-bit/transistor (or 4-level) data states suitable for year-scale data storage applications as well as 3-bit/transistor (or 8-level) data states for day-scale data storage. This multibit memory capability is hypothesized to be attributed to plasma-induced doping and ripple of the top MoS2 layers in a transistor, which could form an ambipolar charge-trapping layer interfacing the underlying MoS2 channel. This structure could enable the nonvolatile retention of charged carriers as well as the reversible modulation of polarity and amount of the trapped charge, ultimately resulting in multilevel data states in memory transistors. Our Kelvin force microscopy results strongly support thi...
Ice crystallization during cold-start of a proton-exchange-membrane fuel cell

Author(s): Dursch, TJ; Liu, JF; Trigub, GJ; Radke, CJ; Weber, AZ | Abstract: Under subfreezing conditions, ice forms in the gas-diffusion (GDL) and catalyst layers (CL) of proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), drastically reducing cell performance. Although a number of strategies exist to prevent ice formation, there is little fundamental understanding of ice-crystallization mechanisms and kinetics within PEMFC components. We incorporate recently developed ice-crystallization kinetic expressions (1-3) within the CL and GDL of a simplified 1-D transient PEMFC cold-start model. To investigate the importance of ice-crystallization kinetics, we compare liquid-water and ice saturations, and cell-failure time predicted using our kinetic rate expression relative to that predicted using a thermodynamic-based approach. We identify conditions under which ice-crystallization kinetics is critical and elucidate the impact of freezing kinetics on low-temperature PEMFC operation. © The Electrochemical Society.
Robust Planning Under Uncertainty

** * * We consider the modeling and computational benefits of a recent approach to robust planning under uncertainty. For large problems, traditional stochastic decision formulations such as dynamic programming are often unsuitable because of computation time considerations. As a result, other reasonable approaches are deployed such as closed-loop planning and control, in which deterministic models and algorithms are invoked when there is a sufficiently disruptive change in the system data, e.g., in the environment. Our research examines an approach recently proposed by Bertsimas and Sim, which comes with theoretical performance guarantees. They develop a mathematical programming formulation that trades away some of the “optimal” performance in return for an increased probability that the solution will remain feasible despite disruptive changes in the system data. This formulation offers several advantages: few assumptions are made on the mathematical nature of the uncertainty, the formulation is applicable to a wide range of problem domains, and it has tractable computational complexity. We evaluate the Bertsimas-Sim formulation across a range of standard problems found in the literature and those that arise in a two-level UAV planning problem, observe several potential drawbacks of the current formulation, and propose modifications to address these issues.
Potassium and phosphorus have no effect on severity of charcoal rot of soybean

AbstractCharcoal rot of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] caused by Macrophomina phaseolina is a disease of economic significance throughout the world. The effects of potassium (K) and phosphorus (P) fertilizer on disease development are unknown. Therefore, two separate trials were conducted in the field during 2008, 2009 and 2010 at Jackson and Milan, TN, USA to evaluate the effects of K and P on severity of charcoal rot. Rates of K (0, 45, 90, 134 and 179 kg K2O ha−1) and P (0, 22, 45, 67 and 90 kg P2O5 ha−1) were used, with a sixth rate ranging from 0–22 for P and 0–37 for K equal to the recommended K or P fertilizer application based on annual soil testing. The colony forming units of M. phaseolina in soil indicated no significant response for any P treatments in five of six location-by-year and for K applications in all six location-by-year environments. Similarly, no significant response in tissue CFU for all P and K treatments in all six location-by-year environments was observed, indicating that th...
Influences of Property Parameters of Porous Media on Temperature and Pressure by Numerical Simulation

The combustion of methane/air mixtures in a two-section porous burner is numerically studied;the temperature and the pressure profiles are predicted. The software FLUENT is used to solve a two-dimensional transient mathematical model of the combustion.The detailed computations include the temperature and the pressure profiles.The effects of parameters like equivalence ratio,radiative extinction coefficient and thermal conductivity of the porous media on temperature and pressure profiles are investigated.The results show that: the peak of temperature and the gradient of pressure will go up with the increasing of equivalence ratio;both temperature and the pressure profiles will vary obviously with the changing of radiative extinction coefficient of the large pore porous media;the temperature of gas and porous skeleton will increase while the pressure in the combustion region will decrease with the increasing of thermal conductivity of the porous media.
256 HYPERPARATHYROIDISM AND HYPOVITAMINOSIS D IN AFRICAN AMERICANS WITH HEART FAILURE.

Purpose Congestive heart failure (CHF), with aldosteronism, includes a systemic illness. Our working hypothesis of this illness invokes secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) induced by exaggerated urinary and fecal losses of Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ and their fallen plasma-ionized levels that accompany aldosteronism and furosemide treatment. We previously found serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels to be elevated in predominantly African American (AA) patients hospitalized during the winter (February 2005) because of their symptomatic CHF. However, we did not discount hypovitaminosis D. Melanin is a natural sunscreen. Herein we hypothesized that housebound AA, who were hospitalized during June 1-August 31, 2005 with chronic, treated CHF, would have SHPT and hypovitaminosis D. Methods Twenty-five AA (50.6 6 2.3 years; 9 women) with systolic dysfunction (EF Results Serum PTH in the 11 AA with protracted decompensated failure (127 6 13; 82-243 pg/mL) was greater than the normal range (12-65 pg/mL); it was elevated in 3 of 9 with short-term CHF (59 6 8; 18-99 pg/mL). In both groups with CHF, ionized hypocalcemia (1.09 6 0.03 and 1.08 6 0.02 mmol/L; normal 1.12-1.30) and ionized hypomagnesemia (0.47 6 0.02 and 0.46 6 0.03 mmol/L; normal 0.53-0.67) were found. None of the compensated patients had elevated PTH (42 6 5; 17-53 pg/mL). Hypovitaminosis D (# 30 ng/mL) was seen in all 11 with protracted CHF (15.1 6 1.4; 7.0-23.8 ng/mL); 8 of 9 with short-duration CHF (20.3 6 5.1; 7.0-54.1 ng/mL); and 4 of 5 with compensated failure (23.1 6 4.9; 17.2-42.7 ng/mL). Conclusions In housebound AA with symptomatic CHF, hypovitaminosis D is prevalent, even during the summer. The aldosteronism of protracted CHF and chronic furosemide use each exaggerate Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ losses to compromise cation balance, leading to ionized hypocalcemia and hypomagnesemia with SHPT. Raising 25(OH)D levels in AA with CHF remains to be addressed.
PR1 Peptide Vaccine-Induced Immune Response Is Associated with Better Event-Free Survival in Patients with Myeloid Leukemia.

Background: PR1 is a nonomeric HLA-A2-restricted peptide derived from the myeloid leukemia-associated antigens, proteinase 3 and neutrophil elastase. PR1-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (PR1-CTL) selectively kill MDS, AML and CML and contribute to complete cytogenetic remission. We conducted a phase I/randomized phase II trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a PR1 peptide vaccine to elicit PR1-CTL in leukemia patients. Methods: Sixty-six HLA-A2+ patients with acute myeloid leukemia (42), chronic myeloid leukemia (13) or myelodysplastic syndrome (11) were treated with PR1 peptide vaccine. The first 54 patient received three vaccinations, and the last 12 patients received 6 vaccinations. PR1 was injected with incomplete Freud’s adjuvant (Montanide ISA) subcutaneously, at 3 week intervals at one of three dose levels: 0.25, 0.5 or 1.0 mg per vaccination. GM-CSF at a dose of 75 mg was injected subcutaneously into the same site. Immune response to the vaccine was defined as a ≥ 2-fold increase in peripheral blood PR1-CTL. Fifty-three patients had measurable disease and 13 were in complete remission at enrollment. Results: The vaccine was well tolerated, with toxicity limited to grade I and II injection site reactions. PR1-specific immune response was observed in 25/53 (47%) patients with measurable disease. Clinical responses were observed in 9/25 (36%) immune responders versus 3/28 (10%) immune non-responders (p=0.03). The PR1 vaccine-induced immune response was associated with a longer event-free survival, 8.7 months vs. 2.4 months (p = 0.03), and a trend towards longer overall survival. Among the 13 patients treated in complete remission, 4 have remained in remission for a median of 30.5 months (range 11–59 months). This includes continued complete remissions in 3/10 who were IRV+, and 1/3 who were IRV-. PR1-specific immune response lasted for up to 4 years in some patients. In a multivariate model, low bone marrow blast count ( Conclusion: PR1 peptide vaccine-induced immune response is associated with a clinical response and better event-free survival in patients with myeloid leukemia, who had measurable disease at vaccination. Patients with ≤10% bone marrow blasts are likely to obtain the maximum benefit.
Failure of RPG1 protein to degrade in high-copy Rpg1 transgenic barley lines results in susceptibility to stem rust

Abstract Rpg1 is a valuable resistance gene that has protected barley from serious yield losses due to stem rust ( Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici [ Pgt ]) for over 60 years in the Upper Midwest region of the United States. In previous research, this gene was cloned from cultivar (cv.) Morex and its function validated by transforming the susceptible barley cv. Golden Promise into a resistant cultivar. A single copy of Rpg1 was sufficient to confer stem rust resistance, but we identified high-copy transgenic lines (with four and five copies of Rpg1 ) that were susceptible at both the seedling and adult plant stages. To elucidate the basis of these susceptible reactions, we selected six transgenic lines with variable copy numbers of Rpg1 and tested them for level of RPG1 protein accumulation, RPG1 protein degradation upon inoculation with the avirulent pathotype Pgt -MCCF, RPG1 phosphorylation in response to the same avirulent pathotype, and elicitation of a hypersensitive response upon infiltration with Pgt effectors RGD-binding protein and VPS9 protein. The stem rust resistant transgenic lines with one and two copies of Rpg1 (G04-271, G04-273 G04-266, and G03-210) reacted very similar to the positive control of cv. Morex with respect to all of the assays. In contrast, the behavior of the stem rust susceptible high-copy lines (G04-287 with four copies and G04-288 with five copies) was different in several respects. First, the level of RPG1 protein was about 1.5–3.0× higher than in the resistant lines and cv. Morex. Second, the protein failed to degrade, unlike the case with the resistant lines and cv. Morex where RPG1 was completely degraded by 28 hpi. Third, the high-copy lines failed to elicit a hypersensitive response after infiltration with the Pgt effectors, whereas the resistant lines did. RPG1 protein from the high-copy transgenic lines appeared to behave normally with respect to its ability to phosphorylate in vivo . However, these two lines over produced apparently functional RPG1 protein, but failed to degrade it normally. Stem rust susceptibility and failure to respond to avirulence factors by the high-copy Rpg1 transgenic lines G04-287 and G04-288 are probably due to the failure to degrade the RPG1 protein.
The Tropism of Pleiotrophin: Orchestrating Glioma Brain Invasion.

The lateral ventricle (LV) is a preferential location for brain tumor spread; however, the instructive cues responsible for this unique tropism were previously unknown. In this issue, Qin et al. elucidate the underlying mechanism, demonstrating that LV-neural progenitors secrete a pleiotrophin (PTN)-containing complex, which attracts glioma cells through ROCK/Rho activation.
How are programming questions from women received on stack overflow? a case study of peer parity

Stack Overflow is a useful Q&A online community for programmers. However, it has not been as popular among programmers who are women. Prior studies have shown low participation of women programmers on Stack Overflow, but have not demonstrated how the presence of their peers may promote activity. In this work, we understand how the presence of women, through peer parity, can encourage women to participate more on Stack Overflow. We extracted 3,2209,817 posts from the most recent Stack Overflow data dump. By modifying a popular gender computing tool, we took the first names of online users and identified the gender of 2,502,438 users from the 5,987,284 list of current users. We randomly selected peer parity and non peer parity questions asked by women and identify differences in participation on those posts. We found that women become more active after they have taken part in a peer parity post. With further analysis of peer parity through eye tracking and tone detection tools we can determine ways to foster a more welcoming community that would encourage women to participate.
Prospective Feasibility Trial for Genomics-Informed Treatment in Recurrent and Progressive Glioblastoma

Purpose: Glioblastoma is an aggressive and molecularly heterogeneous cancer with few effective treatment options. We hypothesized that next-generation sequencing can be used to guide treatment recommendations within a clinically acceptable time frame following surgery for patients with recurrent glioblastoma.Experimental Design: We conducted a prospective genomics-informed feasibility trial in adults with recurrent and progressive glioblastoma. Following surgical resection, genome-wide tumor/normal exome sequencing and tumor RNA sequencing were performed to identify molecular targets for potential matched therapy. A multidisciplinary molecular tumor board issued treatment recommendations based on the genomic results, blood-brain barrier penetration of the indicated therapies, drug-drug interactions, and drug safety profiles. Feasibility of generating genomics-informed treatment recommendations within 35 days of surgery was assessed.Results: Of the 20 patients enrolled in the study, 16 patients had sufficient tumor tissue for analysis. Exome sequencing was completed for all patients, and RNA sequencing was completed for 14 patients. Treatment recommendations were provided within the study's feasibility time frame for 15 of 16 (94%) patients. Seven patients received treatment based on the tumor board recommendations. Two patients reached 12-month progression-free survival, both adhering to treatments based on the molecular profiling results. One patient remained on treatment and progression free 21 months after surgery, 3 times longer than the patient's previous time to progression. Analysis of matched nonenhancing tissue from 12 patients revealed overlapping as well as novel putatively actionable genomic alterations.Conclusions: Use of genome-wide molecular profiling is feasible and can be informative for guiding real-time, central nervous system-penetrant, genomics-informed treatment recommendations for patients with recurrent glioblastoma. Clin Cancer Res; 24(2); 295-305. ©2017 AACRSee related commentary by Wick and Kessler, p. 256.
Experimental Tests of Spirituality.

We currently harness technologies that could shed new light on old philosophical questions, such as whether our mind entails anything beyond our body or whether our moral values reflect universal truth.
Sharing Strategies of Teaching an Introductory Textile Course

The purpose of this abstract is to share some of the strategies that I use in teaching the lecture part of the introductory textile course and to offer some teaching tactics for colleagues in ITAA who also teach this course. I share my experiences in five areas: (a) determine the proper amount of course contents and amount of information in each exam; (b) develop an organized class-note package with filling-the-blank spaces; (c) utilize visual aids; (d) provide an in-class group assignment for extra credits; (e) improve an academic course is a continuous process.
Risks and Legal Protections in the World of Big-Data.

The development of large electronic data sets, whether from electronic health records, health registries, or large- scale gene-environment interaction studies, offer an unparalleled, innovative opportunities to learn more about human health and disease. However, because these data may be used in unexpected ways, without the knowledge or consent of individuals whose data are being used, they also raise critical concerns about protections of individuals against risks. Traditional approaches to protecting research participants and patients may not address new or heightened risks in the “big data” era. My research colleagues and I conducted legal research to elucidate the web of legal protections afforded research participants in genomic research, including laws governing human subjects research, privacy, consent, discrimination, and use of research participants’ genetic information. It has revealed substantial regulatory activity and variation across the 50 states that may fill known gaps in federal protections. For example, some states go further than the Genetic Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) by extending genetic antidiscrimination statutes to life and disability insurers or to employers with less than 15 employees. In addition, states explicitly provide remedies, such as statutory damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs that can facilitate enforcement of legal rights not afforded in federal laws. This research has broader implications for data use in other research or in health care settings. In this paper, I suggest how this research can inform approaches to data privacy law in the United States and beyond to provide appropriate protections as health systems and scientists seek to harness the promise of big data while respecting individuals’ interests in their data.
The Application of a Synchrotron Radiation Microprobe to Trace Element Analysis

Synchrotron radiation is light emitted by electrons when accelerated in a circular orbit. Some properties of synchrotron radiation important to trace element analysis by x-ray fluorescence analysis are: 1) a broad, continuous and tunable energy spectrum for K- and L-shell excitation of all elements; 2) a linearly polarized source reducing the scattered radiation backgrounds; 3) low energy deposition in the target; and 4) an appreciable flux in narrow energy bandwidths for chemical speciation.
What is the Distance between Two Autoregressive Systems

In the recent control literature there has been a great interest in controller design techniques which are robust with respect to plant perturbations. Crucial for all robustness studies is of course the availability of a “good metric” defined on the set of all plants. A metric is considered good if it can be easily computed and if it gives a measure of numerical robustness.