cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
INDUCTION OF BONE MARROW STROMAL CELLS TO NEURONS: DIFFERENTIATION, TRANSDIFFERENTIATION, OR ARTIFACT?

Differentiation of stem cells toward a neuronal lineage normally involves a gradually progressive restriction in developmental potential and is regulated by a diverse set of specific and temporally precise genetic events. However, recent studies have indicated that both rodent and human bone marrow stromal cells (MSCs) can be rapidly (within minutes to hours) induced to differentiate into neurons in vitro by relatively simple chemical means (using β-mercaptoethanol [BME] or dimethylsulfoxide [DMSO] and butylated hydroxyanisol [BHA]; Woodbury et al. [ 2000] J. Neurosci. Res. 61:364–370). The ability to transdifferentiate an easily accessible cell source into neurons could have substantial potential for promoting neural repair. We therefore explored the potential of simple chemical methods to transdifferentiate other cell types, including primary rat fibroblasts, primary human keratinocytes, HEK293 cells, rat PC-12 cells, and as positive control rat bone marrow stromal (BMS) cells. Surprisingly, all cells except for keratinocytes adopted at least partial “neuron-like” pyramidal cell morphology with fine-cellular extensions resembling neurites upon stimulation with BME or DMSO/BHA. However, time-lapse microscopy indicated that the chemical exposure of MSCs did not result in new neurite growth but rather cellular shrinkage, with retraction of the majority of existing cell extensions, leaving only few, fine neurite-like processes. To determine whether the chemically induced transdifferentiation resulted from simple cellular toxicity, MSCs were exposed to various stressors, including detergents, high-molarity sodium chloride, and extremes of pH. In all cases, cellular shrinkage and adoption of pseudoneuronal morphology were observed. Concomitantly with cellular shrinkage, apparent increases in immunolabeling for the neuronal markers NSE and NeuN were detected in the cell soma that could not be confirmed by RT-PCR. Furthermore, blockade of protein synthesis with cycloheximide did not prevent cells from adopting “neuron-like” morphology after chemical induction. Thus, morphological changes and increases in immunolabeling for certain cellular markers upon “chemical induction” of MSCs are likely the result of cellular toxicity, cell shrinkage, and changes in the cytoskeleton and do not represent regulated steps in a complicated cellular differentiation process. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Proteomics and Bioinformatics Approaches for Identification of Serum Biomarkers to Detect Breast Cancer

Background: Surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization (SELDI) is an affinity-based mass spectrometric method in which proteins of interest are selectively adsorbed to a chemically modified surface on a biochip, whereas impurities are removed by washing with buffer. This technology allows sensitive and high-throughput protein profiling of complex biological specimens. Methods: We screened for potential tumor biomarkers in 169 serum samples, including samples from a cancer group of 103 breast cancer patients at different clinical stages [stage 0 (n = 4), stage I (n = 38), stage II (n = 37), and stage III (n = 24)], from a control group of 41 healthy women, and from 25 patients with benign breast diseases. Diluted serum samples were applied to immobilized metal affinity capture Ciphergen ProteinChip® Arrays previously activated with Ni2+. Proteins bound to the chelated metal were analyzed on a ProteinChip Reader Model PBS II. Complex protein profiles of different diagnostic groups were compared and analyzed using the ProPeak software package. Results: A panel of three biomarkers was selected based on their collective contribution to the optimal separation between stage 0–I breast cancer patients and noncancer controls. The same separation was observed using independent test data from stage II–III breast cancer patients. Bootstrap cross-validation demonstrated that a sensitivity of 93% for all cancer patients and a specificity of 91% for all controls were achieved by a composite index derived by multivariate logistic regression using the three selected biomarkers. Conclusions: Proteomics approaches such as SELDI mass spectrometry, in conjunction with bioinformatics tools, could greatly facilitate the discovery of new and better biomarkers. The high sensitivity and specificity achieved by the combined use of the selected biomarkers show great potential for the early detection of breast cancer.
Detecting the perception of illusory spatial boundaries: Evidence from distance judgments

Spatial boundaries demarcate everything from the lanes in our roadways to the borders between our countries. They are fundamental to object perception, spatial navigation, spatial memory, spatial judgments, and the coordination of our actions. Although explicit spatial boundaries formed by physical structures comprise many of the actual boundaries we encounter, implicit and permeable spatial boundaries are pervasive. The prevailing paradigm for detecting implicit spatial boundaries relies on memory-based distance and location judgments. One possibility is that these biases in spatial memory may be attributable to initial biases in spatial perception, but the extent to which implicit spatial boundaries bias spatial perception remains unknown. An approach for detecting the perception of implicit spatial boundaries would be to infer it through known systematic biases in memory-based distance judgments. We harnessed known biases in memory-based distance judgments to infer perception of spatial boundaries by probing the extent to which distances were overestimated across potential spatial boundaries. Results suggest that participants perceived potential spatial boundaries as illusory spatial boundaries leading to biased judgments of distance. A control group eliminated simple two-dimensional distance cues as responsible for this bias. This bias provides a novel method to detect the perception of illusory spatial boundaries.
Accurate and efficient regression modeling for microarchitectural performance and power prediction

We propose regression modeling as an efficient approach for accurately predicting performance and power for various applications executing on any microprocessor configuration in a large microarchitectural design space. This paper addresses fundamental challenges in microarchitectural simulation cost by reducing the number of required simulations and using simulated results more effectively via statistical modeling and inference.Specifically, we derive and validate regression models for performance and power. Such models enable computationally efficient statistical inference, requiring the simulation of only 1 in 5 million points of a joint microarchitecture-application design space while achieving median error rates as low as 4.1 percent for performance and 4.3 percent for power. Although both models achieve similar accuracy, the sources of accuracy are strikingly different. We present optimizations for a baseline regression model to obtain (1) application-specific models to maximize accuracy in performance prediction and (2) regional power models leveraging only the most relevant samples from the microarchitectural design space to maximize accuracy in power prediction. Assessing sensitivity to the number of samples simulated for model formulation, we find fewer than 4,000 samples from a design space of approximately 22 billion points are sufficient. Collectively, our results suggest significant potential in accurate and efficient statistical inference for microarchitectural design space exploration via regression models.
Flexure on Dione: Investigating subsurface structure and thermal history

Using stereo generated topography of Dione, a moon of Saturn, we infer flexure across a prominent ridge on the leading hemisphere to estimate local elastic thickness and place constraints on Dione’s thermal evolution. Assuming topography is related to the flexing of a broken elastic plate, we estimate an effective elastic thickness of 3.5 ± 1 km. This local estimate is in good agreement with global values derived from long wavelength topography. Corresponding heat fluxes of 25–60 mW/m 2 are much greater than those expected for a body heated solely from radioactive decay. It would be possible to generate our inferred heat flux values via tidal heating at close to the current orbital eccentricity of Dione, but only if a subsurface ocean were present at the time of flexural deformation.
A Schedulability Analysis of Deferrable Scheduling Using Patterns

The schedulability testing for the deferrable scheduling algorithm for fixed priority transactions (DS-FP) remainsan open problem since its introduction. In this paper, wetake the first step towards investigating necessary and sufficient conditions for the DS-FP schedulability. We propose a necessary and sufficient schedulability condition for the algorithm in discrete time systems, and prove its correctness. Based on this condition, we propose a schedulability test algorithm that is more accurate than the existing test that is only based on a sufficient condition. Our algorithm exploits the fact that there is always a repeating pattern in a DS-FP schedule in discrete time systems. We demonstrate through examples that our schedulability test algorithm outperforms the existing algorithm in terms of accuracy.
Myxoma of the ear lobe in a 23 month-old girl with Carney complex

Myxomas of the ear are extremely uncommon, especially in young children. A 23-month-old girl born to a family with known Carney complex, a condition that predisposes to multiple myxomas, presented with a large, cauliflower-like mass located on the back of her right ear. Histopathologically, the lesion was composed of scattered spindle-shaped or stellate cells with abundant associated mucin and a very sparse inflammatory infiltrate containing lymphocytes and neutrophils. The patient was a carrier of a protein kinase A regulatory subunit 1A (PRKAR1A) mutation; PRKAR1A mutations cause Carney complex in most patients with this rare disorder. This is the earliest presentation of an ear lobe myxoma reported in the literature.
Epithelial Cell Secretions from the Human Female Reproductive Tract Inhibit Sexually Transmitted Pathogens and Candida albicans but not Lactobacillus

Female reproductive tract (FRT) epithelial cells protect against potential pathogens and sexually transmitted infections. The purpose of this study was to determine if epithelial cells from the upper FRT secrete antimicrobials that inhibit reproductive tract pathogens that threaten women's health. Apical secretions from primary cultures of Fallopian tube, uterine, cervical, and ectocervical epithelial cells were incubated with Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Candida albicans (yeast and hyphal forms), human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1), and Lactobacillus crispatus before being tested for their ability to grow and/or infect target cells. Epithelial cell secretions from the upper FRT inhibit N. gonorrhoeae and both forms of Candida, as well as reduce HIV-1 (R5) infection of target cells. In contrast, none had an inhibitory effect on L. crispatus. An analysis of cytokines and chemokines in uterine secretions revealed several molecules that could account for pathogen inhibition. These findings provide definitive evidence for the critical role of epithelial cells in protecting the FRT from infections, without comprising the beneficial presence of L. crispatus, which is part of the normal vaginal microflora of humans.
Optical disks in optical computing

Two optical-disk based architectures are described. The first is an optical implementation of the radial basis function approach for handwritten character recognition. The second system is an optoelectronic neural network implementation with electronic neurons, electronic synapses, and optical-disk-based weight storage. The optical implementations described take advantage of the storage capacity and the fast parallel access capabilities of the optical disk. >
Finding people using scale, rotation and articulation invariant matching

A scale, rotation and articulation invariant method is proposed to match human subjects in images. Different from the widely used pictorial structure scheme, the proposed method directly matches body parts to image regions which are obtained from object independent proposals and successively merged superpixels. Body part region matching is formulated as a graph matching problem. We globally assign a body part candidate to each node on the model graph so that the overall configuration satisfies the spatial layout of a human body plan, part regions have small overlap, and the part coverage follows proper area ratios. The proposed graph model is non-tree and contains high order hyper-edges. We propose an efficient method that finds global optimal solution to the matching problem with a sequence of branch and bound procedures. The experiments show that the proposed method is able to handle arbitrary scale, rotation, articulation and match human subjects in cluttered images.
Serum eotaxin-1 is increased in extremely-low-birth-weight infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia or death

Early systemic inflammation in extremely-low-birth-weight (ELBW) infants is associated with an increased risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Our objective was to identify circulating biomarkers and develop prediction models for BPD/death soon after birth. Blood samples from postnatal day 1 were analyzed for C-reactive protein (CRP) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and for 39 cytokines/chemokines by a multiplex assay in 152 ELBW infants. The primary outcome was physiologic BPD or death by 36 wk. CRP, cytokines, and clinical variables available at ≤24 h were used for forward stepwise regression and Classification and Regression Tree (CART) analysis to identify predictors of BPD/death. Overall, 24% developed BPD and 35% died or developed BPD. Regression analysis identified birth weight and eotaxin (CCL11) as the two most significant variables. CART identified FiO2 at 24 h (11% BPD/death if FiO2 ≤28%, 49% if >28%) and eotaxin in infants with FiO2 > 28% (29% BPD/death if eotaxin was ≤84 pg/ml; 65% if >84) as variables most associated with outcome. Eotaxin measured on the day of birth is useful for identifying ELBW infants at risk of BPD/death. Further investigation is required to determine if eotaxin is involved in lung injury and pathogenesis of BPD.
Simulation of the nuclear power economy

Evaluation of nuclear power development policies requires the ability to forecast the economic and resource impacts attributable to a given policy. A computer simulation has been used in several recent evaluations of alternate nuclear power growth scenarios for the U.S. By using a discrete event modeling approach, a flexible tool has been developed that can simulate most planned reactor systems in terms of their overall economics and their impacts upon fuel cycle industries.
"Our Very Pronounced Theory of Equal Rights to All": Race, Citizenship, and Populism in the South Texas Borderlands

OnMay 11, 1896, a “copper-colored”manwith “dark eyes, straight black hair, and high cheek bones” walked into the federal courthouse in San Antonio, Texas, and applied for American citizenship.HewasRicardo Rodriguez, an illiterate thirty-seven-year-old laborer who spoke no English. A native of Guanajuato, Mexico, he had lived in Texas since 1883. By all he accounts was an industrious, law-abidingmanwith only one stated reason for desiring citizenship: “because he lived here.” There to contest Rodriguez’s applicationwere the Populist attorney Theodore J.McMinn and the Republican attorney Andrew Jackson Evans. Both men were familiar figures in the courtroom of the presiding judge, Thomas S.Maxey, a Democrat appointed to the bench in 1888 by President Grover Cleveland. Intent upon making a test case of Rodriguez’s application, the attorneys filed an amicus brief challenging the application on the grounds that Rodriguez was not white and therefore ineligible for citizenship under American immigration law. The case held enormous implications not only for immigrants but also for thousands of Mexican Americans in Texas and the Southwest. It also would have far-reaching political reverberations, as Mexicanos constituted an important voting constituency of the Democratic party. Two broad categories of scholars have studied In re Rodriguez. One group has been concerned primarily with what the case reveals about the history of race in the United States. The relatively recent recognition that race has no meaningful biological basis and is socially (and legally) constructed has led them to examine the case through new cultural studies and critical race theory. They have considered Rodriguez in the context of the body of immigration laws and jurisprudence of the era, hoping to explain the sources and nature of racism.
Effects of Vitamin C and Vitamin E on learning and memory in mice with chronic alcoholism

Objective To respectively observe the effects of Vitamin C( VC),Vitamin E( VE) and their joint use on learning and memory in mice with chronic alcoholism. Methods 65 Kunming mice of both sexes were randomly divided into 5 groups. Each group were implemented gastric irrigation of normal saline( NS),alcohol,alcohol + VC,alcohol + VE,alcohol + VC + VE respectively for 21 days. Learning and memory of 10mice from each group were evaluated with a series of tasks to find a hidden platform in Morris water maze,escape latencies and crossing times recorded. Results The escape latencies of mice with alcohol treatment were statistically longer,crossing times fewer,compared with those with NS treatment,suggesting the negative effects of alcohol on learning and memory of mice; the escape latencies of mice with alcohol + VC treatment and with alcohol + VE treatment and with alcohol + VC + VE treatment were all statistically shorter,crossing times of mice with alcohol + VC + VE treatment more,compared with those of alcohol treatment,demonstrating the important role of VC and VE in enhancing learning and memory of mice with alcoholism; the escape latencies of mice with alcohol + VC + VE treatment were statistically shorter,compared with those with alcohol + VC treatment and with alcohol + VE treatment,showing the synergistic effects of the joint use of VC and VE in this case. Conclusions Chronic alcoholism could undermine the learning and memory; the use of VC or VE could improve the learning and memory ability of mice with chronic alcoholism,the joint use of VC and VE achieve synergic effects.
Serum Virus Neutralization Assay for Detection and Quantitation of Serum Neutralizing Antibodies to Influenza A Virus in Swine

The serum virus neutralization (SVN) assay is a serological test used to detect the presence and magnitude of functional systemic antibodies that prevent infectivity of a virus. The SVN assay is a highly sensitive and specific test that may be applied to influenza A viruses (IAV) in swine to measure the titer of neutralizing antibodies postexposure, postvaccination, or after passive transfer of maternally derived antibody (MDA). Conventional SVN methods performed in vitro are based on inhibition of virus infectivity in cell culture in the presence of neutralizing antibodies in serum. Titer determination may be based on the presence or absence of cytopathic effect or evidence of viral infection using an immunoreactive technique. The SVN assay is relatively inexpensive using standard laboratory equipment, although it requires cell culture, more time and labor, and technical skill to conduct the assay compared to other serological methods. The SVN test may be used to evaluate the level of serological cross-reactivity between IAV exposure or vaccine antisera and heterologous influenza viruses that may correlate with cross-protection in the host.
Signal processing in MEMS inertial measurement units for dynamic motional control

We examine statistical models of noise, processing calculus, filtering and signal processing in MEMS-technology inertial measurement units (IMUs). Dynamic systems are controlled using the measured data which perturbed by the noise, drift, bias, etc. In aerospace, automotive, electronic, manufacturing, medical, naval and robotic systems, the linear (ax, ay, az) and angular (αθαϕαψ) accelerations are measured as (âx,ây,âz) and (αθ, αϕ, αψ). The major objective is to enable physical and processing data integrity (conformity, consistency, completeness and validity) to assess system performance and capabilities by deriving adequate post-processed (ax, ay,az) and (αθ, αφ, αθ, αψ). Low-power multi-degree-of-freedom MEMS accelerometers and gyroscopes are studied. These IMUs include multi-axis accelerometer and gyroscope with processing integrated circuits (ICs). These ICs implement sensing, diagnostics, compensation, interfacing, conversions, signal conditioning, etc. The strategic-, navigation-, tactical- and consumer-grade IMUs may require post-processing. The data integrity enhancement is needed in the inertial navigation systems (aircraft, satellites, submarines and unmanned aerial vehicles), cell phones, gimbals, robots, etc. Noise attenuation, ∼arcsecond/sec and ∼μg stability, ∼500 Hz bandwidth, linearity, and adequate signal processing may be accomplished by the navigation-grade IMUs. This will reduce the dependence on global positioning systems, as well as ensure uncompromised navigation, guidance and control. The information quality is affected by the device physics, probabilistic characteristics, processing capabilities, etc. The data quality affects system's performance metrics, decision analysis, mission effectiveness, etc. The MEMS IMUs characteristics are of a particular importance for command, control and intelligence systems. With fundamental limits on sensing, microfabrication and microelectronics constraints, the advanced processing calculus and enabling signal processing may ensure beyond-state-of-the-art capabilities.
An Unsupervised Approach to Anomaly Detection in Music Datasets

This paper presents an unsupervised method for systematically identifying anomalies in music datasets. The model integrates categorical regression and robust estimation techniques to infer anomalous scores in music clips. When applied to a music genre recognition dataset, the new method is able to detect corrupted, distorted, or mislabeled audio samples based on commonly used features in music information retrieval. The evaluation results show that the algorithm outperforms other anomaly detection methods and is capable of finding problematic samples identified by human experts. The proposed method introduces a preliminary framework for anomaly detection in music data that can serve as a useful tool to improve data integrity in the future.
Investigating the effects of tropomyosin mutations on its flexibility and interactions with filamentous actin using molecular dynamics simulation.

Tropomyosin (Tpm) is a two-chained α-helical coiled-coil protein that binds to filamentous actin (F-actin), and regulates its interactions with myosin by occupying three average positions on F-actin (blocked, closed, and open). Mutations in the Tpm are linked to heart diseases including hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). To elucidate the molecular mechanisms of Tpm mutations (including DCM mutation E54K, HCM mutations E62Q, A63V, K70T, V95A, D175N, E180G, L185R, E192K, and a designed synthetic mutation D137L) in terms of their effects on Tpm flexibility and its interactions with F-actin, we conducted extensive molecular dynamics simulations for the wild-type and mutant Tpm in complex with F-actin (total simulation time 160 ns per mutant). The mutants exhibited distinct changes (i.e., increase or decrease) in the overall and local flexibility of the Tpm coiled-coil, with each mutation causing both local and long-range modifications of the Tpm flexibility. In addition, our binding calculations revealed weakened Tpm–F-actin interactions (except for L185R, D137L and A63V) involving five periods of Tpm, which correlate with elevated fluctuation of Tpm relative to the blocked position on F-actin that may lead to easier activation and increased Ca2+-sensitivity. We also simulated the αβ/βα-Tpm heterodimer in comparison with the αα-Tpm homodimer, which revealed greater flexibility and weaker actin binding in the heterodimer. Our findings are consistent with a complex mechanism underlying how different Tpm mutations perturb the Tpm function in distinct ways (e.g., by affecting specific sites of Tpm), which bear no simple links to the disease phenotypes (e.g., HCM vs. DCM).
Destructive Leaders and Dysfunctional Organizations: Trouble at the top: high-toxicity implications of a leader with antisocial personality disorder

If psychopathic individuals are consciously aware of their heightened sense of boredom when compared with others, they render it acceptable by redefining it as a superior attribute of their personality. Others may be characterized by them as leading sedentary or mundane lives, yet their benchmark is always risk taking through overt behavior, rather than satisfaction through emotional experiences within themselves and with others. (Meloy, 1992, p. 111) A COMPANY FACED WITH AN ABUSIVE LEADER In this chapter a company finds itself on the couch when it discovers that a high-ranking leader may be suffering from a psychological disorder that is having serious consequences for its workforce. At stake is the need to enhance organizational readiness for dealing with dysfunctional behavior centered in a strong but abusive leader. Of particular concern is the plight of the company faced with physical and emotional assaults on employees rationalized by a leader who contends that he is driving lazy workers toward new levels of motivation and productivity. Despite his many achievements, awards and accolades, the Senior Manager of Operations has also been degrading and “manhandling” employees in a series of physical and verbal altercations that have resulted in grievances and pending litigation. Particularly troublesome have been the shortcomings of the company's internal experts in addressing the problem with leadership. Following a prolonged and destructive delay marked by an assumption that “the conflicts were quite normal and could be worked out with patience and TLC,” verbal confrontation escalated into physical violence.
Compressed sensing for body MRI

The introduction of compressed sensing for increasing imaging speed in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has raised significant interest among researchers and clinicians, and has initiated a large body of research across multiple clinical applications over the last decade. Compressed sensing aims to reconstruct unaliased images from fewer measurements than are traditionally required in MRI by exploiting image compressibility or sparsity. Moreover, appropriate combinations of compressed sensing with previously introduced fast imaging approaches, such as parallel imaging, have demonstrated further improved performance. The advent of compressed sensing marks the prelude to a new era of rapid MRI, where the focus of data acquisition has changed from sampling based on the nominal number of voxels and/or frames to sampling based on the desired information content. This article presents a brief overview of the application of compressed sensing techniques in body MRI, where imaging speed is crucial due to the presence of respiratory motion along with stringent constraints on spatial and temporal resolution. The first section provides an overview of the basic compressed sensing methodology, including the notion of sparsity, incoherence, and nonlinear reconstruction. The second section reviews state-of-the-art compressed sensing techniques that have been demonstrated for various clinical body MRI applications. In the final section, the article discusses current challenges and future opportunities. Level of Evidence: 5 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2017;45:966–987
Chapter 10 – Metal matrix composites—Local and interfacial damage

This chapter deals with the local and interfacial approaches to metal–matrix composites. The basic feature of the approach presented in this chapter is that local effects of damages are considered whereby these affects are described separately by the matrix, fiber, and interfacial damage. A local approach is used in the sense that damage is introduced at the constituent or local level. The metal–matrix composite used in this chapter consists of an elasto-plastic ductile metal matrix reinforced with elastic aligned continuous fibers. The composite system is restricted to small deformations with infinitesimal strains. Three fourth-rank damage tensors, M M , M F , and M D , are used for the two constituents: matrix and fibers of the composite system. The matrix damage effect tensor M M is assumed to reflect all types of damage that the matrix material undergoes like nucleation and coalescence of voids and microcracks. The fiber damage effect tensor M F is considered to reflect all types of fiber damage such as fracture of fibers. Finally, the interfacial damage effect tensor M D represents the interfacial damage between the matrix and the fibers. The overall damage tensor M is introduced to account for all the separate damages M M , M F , and M D that are present in a single lamina.
Soft-Failures Induced by System-Level ESD

Hundreds of static discharges were directed to a circuit board containing a custom test chip, and the resulting soft-failures were recorded. The large time-derivative of the ESD current is the primary cause of soft-failures in this system. Magnetic coupling between traces and bondwires produces glitches at IO pins; the magnitude of these glitches is increased by the bounce of the on-chip supply net relative to the on-board supply. Additionally, logic upsets due to substrate current collection are observed when the equipment-under-test is tethered, i.e., when it has a low impedance path to Earth-ground.
Green and Smart: Perspectives of City and Water Agency Officials in Pennsylvania toward Adopting New Infrastructure Technologies for Stormwater Management

AbstractStormwater runoff associated with urbanization is one of the main factors hindering continued progress toward cleaner water. The state of Pennsylvania has older cities and towns, ample wate...
How to reduce Russia/China concerns on missile defense

Missile Defense (MD) is a major technical and political issue facing the US and the rest of the world. Until the US began to develop a hit-to-kill system, there was no effective defense against an incoming Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) — so nations relied on Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD). This was indeed MAD, so President Reagan began to investigate alternate methods to protect against incoming ICBM's like his “Star Wars” proposal. However, technology was not mature enough for such an expansive system. In the 2000's, the Bush administration developed a limited Missile Defense System in Alaska and California to counter threats from North Korea. The Obama administration continued this limited development with the installation of the Phased Adaptive MD System in Europe for protection against Iran. The Obama administration attempted to satisfy Russian concerns by using a phased build-up for the MD system in Europe. They focused on the total system problem, but proposed to install only the equipment necessary for current threats. However, this plan was not acceptable to Russia. A similar situation is now occurring with China concerning the proposed Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) installation in South Korea for protection against North Korea. China is opposed to the THAAD installation in South Korea even though it is for “defense” only and does not threaten the Chinese ICBM force in any way. This paper will provide background information on the political issues facing MD. It will provide technical information on the major parts of the current MD System. It will also discuss the system engineering and project management approaches that should be applied to major problems such as missile defense. It will then discuss how and why technical personnel from all countries should engage in mutual discussions on MD so that they can provide the correct technical details to their political leaders on important world issues such as MD. MD will continue to be a key technical and political issue facing the US and the rest of the world. However, solid system engineering and project management principles can help technical personnel become involved in the decision making process for solving such complex issues.
The Epistemology of Trust and Realist Effect in Charles Dickens’s Bleak House

Supritha Rajan, “The Epistemology of Trust and Realist Effect in Charles Dickens’s Bleak House ” (pp. 64–106) This essay argues that the narrative structure of Charles Dickens’s Bleak House (1852–1853), which repeatedly shifts from the omniscient narrator’s skeptical stance to Esther’s trusting disposition, demonstrates how skepticism is ultimately grounded in an epistemology of trust. Trust constitutes a non-skepticist, affective attitude whose certitude in the phenomenal world is not subject to demonstrative proof. The latter model of trust is not only fundamental to epistemology, but also to ethical relations and practical life. The important role that trust plays in everyday life also poses relevance to our understanding of realist representation. Using Bleak House as its novelistic example, this essay considers realism as a mode that achieves its effect by inviting readers to adopt an attitude of trust. Such an account runs counter to traditional epistemologies of realism, which have typically aligned it with post-Cartesian skepticism.
Reflections on Library Leadership

Leadership is a complex topic, one that is generating extensive research and analysis across disciplines. This article focuses on four theories pertinent to the library profession: emotional intelligence, four frames, resonant leadership, and multicultural leadership. The last of these theories has generated little attention.
BacToMars: a collaborative educational video game for teaching biological engineering

We present BacToMars, a collaborative educational video game that engages elementary school children in creative bio-design. We describe the game, as well as how our iterative and participatory design process is shaping the game's development. We also discuss plans for on-site evaluations at local elementary schools to answer research questions pertaining to collaboration, attitudes, and the potential of video games as a tool for teaching biological engineering to young children.
Integrative factor analysis - An unsupervised method for quantifying cross-study consistency of gene expression data.

Abstract Integrative analyses of multiple gene expression studies are frequently performed. In the setting of two studies, integrative correlation (IGC) can be used to assess the consistency of co-expression of a given gene. For three or more studies, an extension of IGC gives a global score per gene. We propose to extend IGC and use factor analysis to assess the study-specific consistency of co-expression of genes when there are three or more studies, possibly on different platforms. Our method is able to identify studies whose expression patterns are different from others. Filtering genes based on our score is shown to improve the concordance of association with phenotype across studies.
VICPAM: a visualization tool for examining interaction data in multiple display environments

Multiple Display Environments (MDEs) facilitate collaborative activities that involve the use of electronic task artifacts. Supporting interactions and infrastructures have matured in recent years, allowing researchers to now study how the use of MDEs impacts group work in controlled and authentic settings. This has created a need for tools to understand and make sense of the resulting interaction data. To address this need, we have designed and developed a new interactive analysis tool called VICPAM. Our tool reduces the effort necessary to analyze and make sense of users' interaction data in MDEs. VICPAM consists of several components: (i) a time-aligned view, which shows users' activities over time and the duration of each activity; (ii) A spatial view, which gives a 2D overview of all users' activities in the environment; (iii) A time-bar, which allows selection of a desired time period for in-depth analysis; and (iv) a video player, which allows the user to watch a video of the session synchronized with the selected period of time.
Resurgent sodium current promotes action potential firing in the avian auditory brainstem

Key points Auditory brainstem neurons of all vertebrates fire phase-locked action potentials (APs) at high rates with remarkable fidelity, a process controlled by specialized anatomical and biophysical properties. This is especially true in the avian nucleus magnocellularis (NM) - the analogue of the mammalian anteroventral cochlear nucleus. In addition to high voltage-activated potassium (KHVA ) channels, we report, using whole cell physiology and modelling, that resurgent sodium current (INaR ) of sodium channels (NaV ) is equally important and operates synergistically with KHVA channels to enable rapid AP firing in NM. Anatomically, we detected strong NaV 1.6 expression near hearing maturation, which was less distinct during hearing development despite functional evidence of INaR , suggesting that multiple NaV channel subtypes may contribute to INaR . We conclude that INaR plays an important role in regulating rapid AP firing for NM neurons, a property that may be evolutionarily conserved for functions related to similar avian and mammalian hearing. Abstract Auditory brainstem neurons are functionally primed to fire action potentials (APs) at markedly high rates in order to rapidly encode the acoustic information of sound. This specialization is critical for survival and the comprehension of behaviourally relevant communication functions, including sound localization and distinguishing speech from noise. Here, we investigated underlying ion channel mechanisms essential for high-rate AP firing in neurons of the chicken nucleus magnocellularis (NM) - the avian analogue of bushy cells of the mammalian anteroventral cochlear nucleus. In addition to the established function of high voltage-activated potassium channels, we found that resurgent sodium current (INaR ) plays a role in regulating rapid firing activity of late-developing (embryonic (E) days 19-21) NM neurons. INaR of late-developing NM neurons showed similar properties to mammalian neurons in that its unique mechanism of an 'open channel block state' facilitated the recovery and increased the availability of sodium (NaV ) channels after depolarization. Using a computational model of NM neurons, we demonstrated that removal of INaR reduced high-rate AP firing. We found weak INaR during a prehearing period (E11-12), which transformed to resemble late-developing INaR properties around hearing onset (E14-16). Anatomically, we detected strong NaV 1.6 expression near maturation, which became increasingly less distinct at hearing onset and prehearing periods, suggesting that multiple NaV channel subtypes may contribute to INaR during development. We conclude that INaR plays an important role in regulating rapid AP firing for NM neurons, a property that may be evolutionarily conserved for functions related to similar avian and mammalian hearing.
Chemical restraint and analgesia in the horse.

The emphasis of this article is on the pharmacologic properties and clinical application of drugs used for standing restraint in the horse. Dosages and clinical effects of commonly used tranquilizers, opioids, neuroleptanalgesics, and combinations of these drugs are discussed. The properties and effects of analgesics commonly used in the horse are presented. The use of chemical restraint in draft breeds also is briefly discussed.
America Re-votes, 2016: Retrospective Simulations with Smarter Ballots

This chapter reports some original retrospective election simulation (RES) analyses of contests related to the 2016 American presidential elections. Most notably, the 2016 Republican Party primaries in the USA are simulated to show that the hypothetical use of Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV) rather than the actual 1MB input rules could have resulted in dramatically different outcomes in several states that helped to select Donald Trump as the party’s nominee—provided that certain assumptions about hard-to-measure voter preferences are used rather than others. The general theory suggested by previous election simulations in other countries, that 1MB voting constructs a unique electoral advantage for polarizing parties and candidates which crumbles when multi-mark ballots are used, is supported by this analysis.
International Development: A Postwar History. By Corinna R. Unger. (New York, NY: Bloomsbury, 2018. Pp. 272. $31.95.)

It tells you a lot about Corinna Unger's new book that Harry Truman's 1949 Point Four speech first appears not on page one, but instead on page fifty‐six. For decades, scholars recounting the histo...
An Application of Harrison's System Theory Model to Spark a Rapid Telehealth Expansion in the time of COVID-19.

Introduction In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, health systems had to quickly adopt a process for enabling targeted and patient-centered care delivery. This case study describes the utilization of Harrison's open-systems model to create an approach for rapid adoption of existing telehealth technologies in a large scale academic medical center. Methods An internal group of organizational developers, was enlisted to enable this effort. Local networks were employed and organized into focus groups to rapidly assess and address barriers to adoption and informal interviews with executive leadership were conducted to align organizational goals. Interventions include rapid deployment of focused and data driven provider, staff and patient support bolstered by effective communication and resource management. Results There was an increase in the number of patient portal activation codes by 75% during the month of March. The number of activation codes generated expectedly decreased in April as many patients now had activated patient portals. The video visit volume as a result of provider self-scheduling increased went from a baseline of 0 to over 600 clinical visits. Discussion Experienced organizational development programs can facilitate adoption of change. The faculty practice of CUIMC has years of experience with supporting wide scale operational change centered on technology. In this case, providing engaged networks with tailored content that is focused on the process and available technology promoted rapid adoption and optimization. Conclusion In the setting of profound external pressure, experience with the ability to focus on tailoring training and support to the culture of the organization helped to rapidly increase the availability and success of telehealth visits for a large scale academic medical center.
Legitimate Authority as a Jus Ad Bellum Condition: Defense of a Procedural Requirement in Just War Theory

Today, it is widely held that while authorization may be helpful in assuring that the other jus ad bellum criteria are met, legitimate authority is not itself a condition for just recourse to war. ...
Capitalist “Freedom To,” Versus Socialist “Freedom From”: From Lose/Lose to Win/Win, and the Chinese Socialist Paradigm Further Explicated

Capitalist elites who benefit enormously, at the general taxpayer’s expense, from government economic intervention while ostensibly deploring it, are then simply objecting to intervention on behalf of the general public that might benefit from it at their (the elite’s) expense. While to the objection that although laudable in theory, socialism is unworkable in practice, one may point to capitalism’s internal contradiction, and further observe that more than 1 in 4 of the population in the predominantly capitalist world live on under $2 a day, while 15 million die from malnutrition or malnutrition-related diseases every year; while overall increase in standard of living, as the Chinese reduction in poverty from 88% in 1981 to 0.7% by 2015 clearly demonstrates, is facilitated by socialistically deployed technology, the development and deployment of which is often slowed by capitalist competition, and even opposed by vested interests.
A Brief History of AGN

Astronomers knew early in the twentieth century that some galaxies have emission-line nuclei. However, even the systematic study by Seyfert (1943) was not enough to launch active galactic nuclei (AGN) as a major topic of astronomy. The advances in radio astronomy in the 1950s revealed a new universe of energetic phenomena, and inevitably led to the discovery of quasars. These discoveries demanded the attention of observers and theorists, and AGN have been a subject of intense effort ever since. Only a year after the recognition of the redshifts of 3C 273 and 3C 48 in 1963, the idea of energy production by accretion onto a black hole was advanced. However, acceptance of this idea came slowly, encouraged by the discovery of black hole X-ray sources in our Galaxy and, more recently, supermassive black holes in the center of the Milky Way and other galaxies. Many questions remain as to the formation and fueling of the hole, the geometry of the central regions, the detailed emission mechanisms, the production of jets, and other aspects. The study of AGN will remain a vigorous part of astronomy for the foreseeable future.
Lymphatic Disorders and Management in Patients With Congenital Heart Disease

Congenital heart disease can lead to notable lymphatic complications such as chylothorax, plastic bronchitis, protein-losing enteropathy, and ascites. Recent improvements in lymphatic imaging and the development of new lymphatic procedures can help alleviate symptoms and improve outcomes.
Modification of linear prepolymers to tailor heterogeneous network formation through photo-initiated Polymerization-Induced Phase Separation

Polymerization-induced phase separation (PIPS) was studied in ambient photopolymerizations of triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) modified by poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). The molecular weight of PMMA and the rate of network formation (through incident UV-irradiation) were varied to influence both the promotion of phase separation through increases in overall free energy, as well as the extent to which phase development occurs during polymerization through diffusion prior to network gelation. The overall free energy of the polymerizing system increases with PMMA molecular weight, such that PIPS is promoted thermodynamically at low loading levels (5 wt%) of a higher molecular weight PMMA (120 kDa), while a higher loading level (20 wt%) is needed to induce PIPS with lower PMMA molecular weight (11 kDa), and phase separation was not promoted at any loading level tested of the lowest molecular weight PMMA (1 kDa). Due to these differences in overall free energy, systems modified by PMMA (11 kDa) underwent phase separation via Nucleation and Growth, and systems modified by PMMA (120 kDa), followed the Spinodal Decomposition mechanism. Despite differences in phase structure, all materials form a continuous phase rich in TEGDMA homopolymer. At high irradiation intensity (Io=20mW/cm2), the rate of network formation prohibited significant phase separation, even when thermodynamically preferred. A staged curing approach, which utilizes low intensity irradiation (Io=300µW/cm2) for the first ~50% of reaction to allow phase separation via diffusion, followed by a high intensity flood-cure to achieve a high degree of conversion, was employed to form phase-separated networks with reduced polymerization stress yet equivalent final conversion and modulus.