cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Rational design of composition and activity correlations for pH-sensitive and glutathione-reactive polymer therapeutics.

Limited cytoplasmic delivery of enzyme-susceptible drugs remains a significant challenge facing the development of protein and nucleic acid therapies that act in intracellular compartments. "Smart" pH-responsive, membrane-destabilizing polymers present a new approach to shuttling therapeutic molecules past the endosomal membrane and into the cytoplasm of targeted cells. This report describes the use of a functionalized monomer, pyridyl disulfide acrylate (PDSA), to develop pH-responsive, membrane-destabilizing, and glutathione-reactive polymers by copolymerization with several pH-responsive and hydrophobic monomers. The activity of the carriers is described as a function of (a) increasing the length of the hydrophobic alkyl group substituted onto the pH-responsive monomer and (b) the incorporation of a hydrophobic monomer such as butyl acrylate (BA) on the pH sensitivity and membrane-destabilizing activity of new polymer compositions. The membrane-destabilizing activity of different polymer compositions was evaluated as a function of pH and polymer concentration using the red blood cell (RBC) hemolysis assay. Hemolysis results show that the increase in the hydrophobic character of the polymer backbone results in a shift in the pH sensitivities and an increase in the membrane-destabilizing activity. Results show that the observed hemolytic activities and pH sensitivity profiles could be designed across a range that matches the properties needed for enhancing the cytoplasmic delivery of macromolecular therapeutic.
Fisp12/mouse connective tissue growth factor mediates endothelial cell adhesion and migration through integrin alphavbeta3, promotes endothelial cell survival, and induces angiogenesis in vivo.

Fisp12 was first identified as a secreted protein encoded by a growth factor-inducible immediate-early gene in mouse fibroblasts, whereas its human ortholog, CTGF (connective tissue growth factor), was identified as a mitogenic activity in conditioned media of human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Fisp12/CTGF is a member of a family of secreted proteins that includes CYR61, Nov, Elm-1, Cop-1/WISP-2, and WISP-3. Fisp12/CTGF has been shown to promote cell adhesion and mitogenesis in both fibroblasts and endothelial cells and to stimulate cell migration in fibroblasts. These findings, together with the localization of Fisp12/CTGF in angiogenic tissues, as well as in atherosclerotic plaques, suggest a possible role for Fisp12/CTGF in the regulation of vessel growth during development, wound healing, and vascular disease. In this study, we show that purified Fisp12 (mCTGF) protein promotes the adhesion of microvascular endothelial cells through the integrin receptor αvβ3. Furthermore, Fisp12 stimulates the migration of microvascular endothelial cells in culture, also through an integrin-αvβ3-dependent mechanism. In addition, the presence of Fisp12 promotes endothelial cell survival when cells are plated on laminin and deprived of growth factors, a condition that otherwise induces apoptosis. In vivo, Fisp12 induces neovascularization in rat corneal micropocket implants. These results demonstrate that Fisp12 is a novel angiogenic inducer and suggest a direct role for Fisp12 in the adhesion, migration, and survival of endothelial cells during blood vessel growth. Taken together with the recent finding that the related protein CYR61 also induces angiogenesis, we suggest that Fisp12/mCTGF and CYR61 comprise prototypes of a new family of angiogenic regulators that function, at least in part, through integrin-αvβ3-dependent pathways.
An ADIOL-ERβ-CtBP transrepression pathway negatively regulates microglia-mediated inflammation.

SUMMARY Microglia and astrocytes play essential roles in the maintenance of homeostasis within the central nervous system, but mechanisms that control the magnitude and duration of responses to infection andinjuryremainpoorlyunderstood.Here,weprovide evidence that 5-androsten-3b,17b-diol (ADIOL) functions as a selective modulator of estrogen receptor (ER)b to suppress inflammatory responses of microglia and astrocytes. ADIOL and a subset of synthetic ERb-specific ligands, but not 17b-estradiol, mediate recruitment of CtBP corepressor complexes to AP1-dependent promoters, thereby repressing genes that amplify inflammatory responses and activate Th17 T cells. Reduction of ADIOL or ERb expression results in exaggerated inflammatory responses to TLR4 agonists. Conversely, the administration of ADIOLorsyntheticERb-specificligandsthatpromote CtBP recruitment prevents experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in an ERb-dependent manner. These findings provide evidence for an ADIOL/ERb/ CtBP-transrepression pathway that regulates inflammatory responses in microglia and can be targeted by selective ERb modulators.
GPS Signal-in-Space Integrity Performance Evolution in the Last Decade

Knowledge of the Global Positioning System (GPS) signal-in-space (SIS) anomalies in history has a great importance for not only assessing the general performance of GPS SIS integrity but also validating the fundamental assumption of receiver autonomous integrity monitoring (RAIM): at most one satellite fault at a time. The main purpose of this paper is to screen out all potential SIS anomalies in the last decade by comparing broadcast ephemerides and clocks with precise ones. Validated broadcast navigation messages are generated from 397,044,414 navigation messages logged by on average 410 International GNSS Service (IGS) stations during the period 6/1/2000-8/31/2010. Both IGS and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) precise ephemerides/clocks are used as truth references. Finally, 1256 potential SIS anomalies are screened out. These anomalies show an improving SIS integrity performance in the last decade, from tens or hundreds of anomalies per year before 2003 to on average two anomalies per year after 2008. Moreover, the fundamental assumption of RAIM is valid because never have two SIS anomalies or more occurred simultaneously since 2004.
Restricted Symmetric Permutations

Pattern-avoiding involutions, which have received much enumerative attention, are pattern-avoiding permutations which are invariant under the natural action of a certain subgroup of D8, the symmetry group of a square. Three other nontrivial subgroups of D8 also have in- variant permutations under this action. For each of these subgroups, we enumerate the set of permutations which are invariant under the action of the subgroup and which also avoid a given set of forbidden patterns. The sets of forbidden patterns we consider include all subsets of S3. For each subgroup we also give a bijection between the invariant permutations and certain symmetric signed permutations.
Monitoring Phenolics in Cigarette Smoke Condensate Fractions by Micro-Polyamide Thin-Layer Chromatography

A rapid, sensitive, and convenient thin-layer chromatographic method was developed for the detection of phenolic compounds--particularly catechol (1,2-dlhydroxybonzene) in cigarette smoke. Micro-polyamide plates are used with a benzene, methanol, and acetic acid mixture (45:8:4) as developing solvent and dlazotlzed benzldine as a spray reagent to produce vivid, characteristically colored spots. Data on Rf values and colors for some phenolics In cigarette smoke condensate are given.
Climatic and density influences on recruitment in an irruptive population of Roosevelt elk

Current paradigms of ungulate population ecology recognize that density-dependent and independent mechanisms are not always mutually exclusive. Long-term data sets are necessary to assess the relative strength of each mechanism, especially when populations display irruptive dynamics. Using an 18-year time series of population abundances of Roosevelt elk (Cervus elaphus roosevelti) inhabiting Redwood National Park in northwestern California we assessed the influence of population size and climatic variation on elk recruitment and whether irruptive dynamics occurred. An information-theoretic model selection analysis indicated that abundance lagged 2 years and neither climatic factors nor a mix of abundance and climatic factors influenced elk recruitment. However, density-dependent recruitment differed between when the population was declining and when the population increased and then stabilized at an abundance lower than at the start of the decline. The population displayed irruptive dynamics.
Early Presentation With Angioedema and Urticaria in Cross-reactive Hypersensitivity to Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Drugs Among Young, Asian, Atopic Children

Objective. Nonsteroidal antiinflamma- tory drugs (NSAIDs), mainly ibuprofen, are used exten- sively among children as analgesic and antipyretic agents. Our initial survey in the Kendang Kerbau Chil- dren's Hospital in Singapore showed NSAIDs to be the second most common adverse drug reaction-causing medications among children of Asian descent. We at- tempted to characterize the clinical and epidemiologic profile of NSAID reactions in this group of patients. Methods. A retrospective case series from a hospital- based pediatric drug allergy clinic was studied. A diag- nosis of NSAID hypersensitivity was made with a mod- ified oral provocation test. Atopy was evaluated clinically and tested with a standard panel of skin-prick tests. We excluded from analysis patients with any un- provoked episodes of urticaria and/or angioedema, pa- tients <1 year of age, and patients who refused a diag- nostic challenge test. Results. Between March 1, 2003, and February 28, 2004, 24 patients, including 14 male patients (58%) and 18 Chinese patients (75%), with a mean age of 7.4 years (range: 1.4-14.4 years), were diagnosed as having cross- reactive NSAID hypersensitivity. A family history con- sistent with NSAID hypersensitivity was elicited for 17% of patients. None of the patients reported any episodes of angioedema/urticaria unrelated to NSAIDs. The median cumulative reaction-eliciting dose was 7.1 mg/kg. Facial angioedema developed for all patients (100%) and gen- eralized urticaria for 38% of challenged patients, irre- spective of age. There was no circulatory compromise, but respiratory symptoms of tachypnea, wheezing, and/or cough were documented for 42% of patients. A cross-reactive hypersensitivity response to acetamino- phen was documented for 46% of our patients through their history and for 25% through diagnostic challenge. Compared with patients with suspected adverse drug reactions to antibiotics, patients in the NSAID group were older (7.4 vs 4.8 years) and more likely to have a diagnosis of asthma (odds ratio: 7.5; 95% confidence in- terval: 3.1-19). Conclusions. Early presentations of facial angioedema and urticaria are key features of dose- and potency-depen- dent, cross-reactive reactions to NSAIDs in a subpopula- tion of young, Asian, atopic children. Significant overlap with acetaminophen hypersensitivity, especially among very young patients, for whom the use of a cyclooxygenase- 2-specific medication may not be feasible, severely limits options for medical antipyretic treatment. Pediatrics 2005; 116:e675-e680. URL: www.pediatrics.org/cgi/doi/10.1542/ peds.2005-0969; nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug, chil- dren, urticaria, atopy, angioedema.
Epidemiologic Trends and Maternal Risk Factors Predicting Postpartum Weight Retention

Over the past decade, women have become heavier at the time of conception, gain more weight during pregnancy, and are a greater risk of postpartum weight retention. Excessive weight gain during pregnancy is a key predictor of postpartum weight retention. Characterizing trends in postpartum weight retention can help to identify high-risk women who are susceptible to substantial weight retention postpartum and accelerated weight gain trajectories in midlife. Understanding postpartum weight trajectories can inform our efforts for primary prevention of obesity and help to reduce long-term obesity and its associated consequences.
Landscape characteristics and livestock presence influence common ravens: relevance to greater sage-grouse conservation

Common raven (Corvus corax; hereafter, raven) population abundance in the sagebrush steppe of the American West has increased threefold during the previous four decades, largely as a result of unintended resource subsidies from human land-use practices. This is concerning because ravens frequently depredate nests of species of conservation concern, such as greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter, sage-grouse). Grazing by livestock in sagebrush ecosystems is common practice on most public lands, but associations between livestock and ravens are poorly understood. The primary objective of this study was to identify the effects of livestock on raven occurrence while accounting for landscape characteristics within human-altered sagebrush steppe habitat, particularly in areas occupied by breeding sage-grouse. Using data from southeastern Idaho collected during spring and summer across 3 yr, we modeled raven occurrence as a function of the presence of livestock while accounting for multiple landscape covariates, including land cover features, topographical features, and proximity to sage-grouse lek sites (breeding grounds), as well as site-level anthropogenic features. While accounting for landscape characteristics, we found that the odds of raven occurrence increased 45.8% in areas where livestock were present. In addition, ravens selected areas near sage-grouse leks, with the odds of occurrence decreasing 8.9% for every 1-km distance, increase away from the lek. We did not find an association between livestock use and distance to lek. We also found that ravens selected sites with relatively lower elevation containing increased amounts of cropland, wet meadow, and urbanization. Limiting raven access to key anthropogenic subsidies and spatially segregating livestock from sage-grouse breeding areas would likely reduce exposure of predatory ravens to sage-grouse nests and chicks.
Is that an opportunity? An attention model of top managers' opportunity beliefs for strategic action

Research summary: Exploiting opportunities is critical to a firm's competitive advantage. Not surprisingly, there has been considerable interest in the processes by which top managers allocate attention to potential opportunities. Although such investigations have largely focused on top-down processes for allocating attention to the environment, some studies have explored bottom-up processes. In this article, we consider both top-down and bottom-up processing to develop a model by which top managers form opportunity beliefs for strategic action depending on the allocation of transient and sustained attention. Specifically, this attentional model provides insights into how a top manager's attention is allocated to identify potential opportunities from environmental change and explores how different modes of attentional engagement impact the likelihood of forming beliefs about radical and incremental opportunities requiring strategic action. Managerial summary: Managers are interested in noticing and exploiting opportunities because the exploitation of an opportunity represents an important strategic action. Noticing and exploiting opportunities depends on how and where top managers allocate their attention. Managers can focus attention based on their knowledge and experience or as a result of something in the environment capturing their attention. In this paper, we consider both knowledge-driven and environment-driven processes for allocating attention to form opportunity beliefs. This opportunity belief arises from a two stage process. The first stage explains how a top manager identifies environmental changes as potential opportunities. The second stage explains how the top manager forms a belief that these identified environmental changes represent a radical or incremental opportunity worthy of exploitation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Separation and characterization of poly(tetrafluoroethylene) latex particles by asymmetric flow field flow fractionation with light-scattering detection.

Poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) latex particles have been analyzed and sorted according to size using asymmetric flow field flow fractionation (AF4) coupled with multiple-angle light scattering (MALS). Characterization of fractions by regular and depolarized dynamic light scattering confirmed that smaller particles elute prior to larger ones, as expected for field flow fractionation. The measured radii of the optically and geometrically anisotropic particles are consistent with those determined from transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A certain amount of heterogeneity remains in the fractions, but their uniformity for use as diffusion probes is improved. Full characterization of PTFE colloids will require a difficult assessment of the distribution, even within fractions, of the optical anisotropy. A general method to obtain number versus size distributions is presented. This approach is valid even when an online concentration detector is not available or ineffective. The procedure is adaptable to par...
MASS COMMUNICATION AND SOCIO-CULTURAL INTEGRATION*

Finally, through the analysis of the newspaper of a community it may be possible to bring community study within the purview of communications research. The purpose of such an effort would be to establish grounds for defining the consensus which has traditionally been presumed to be an element of community groupings. Insofar as consensus is a product of communication, the content of the newspaper as a medium of communication may be a clue as to how the members of the community come to regard themselves as related to each other in a common structure. The broadest conclusion of this study is that the various items of the newspaper which describe familial and associational roles reflect the community image of itself as a social structure. These items may be regarded as messages which are comprehended by the local reading audience as the "rules" which govern such local social relations as can be given a public statement. Such "rules," of course, are implicit in the newspaper reports of the activities of members of the community; they are not created by the newspaper staff which write up the items reported. However, by systematic analysis of the reported items it should be possible to discern the "universe of discourse" posited by Park as essential to community consensus.7 By pursuing this type of analysis it may be possible to ascertain the degree to which local populations exist as communities in consequence of their own agencies of communication.
TSC-SIM: A Two - Stage Grid MetaScheduler Simulator

Computing grids must deliver non-trivial qualities of service, in terms of response time, security, reliability, and coordination of various grid resources. Grid meta-schedulers play a crucial role into the execution of applications, because they match grid application jobs with available grid resources. However, a typical grid application is not an isolated single grid job, but a composition of multiple grid jobs. Existing grid schedulers provide match making algorithms tailored only for independent grid jobs, with limited support for complex workflow submission and management. This paper presents TSM-SIM, a two-stage metascheduler simulator for grid workflow applications. It supports dynamic grid resource and job simulation, and provides a submission interface for workflow grid applications as a single unit, rather than as a set of grid jobs. The proposed simulator simplifies complex grid workflow applications scheduling, by implementing two-staged metascheduler architecture. It also allows the study of performance evaluation in a repeatable and controlled manner.
Determination of BHA,BHT and TBHQ in foods by HPLC with GPC

Objective:To develope a method for the determination of BHA,BHT and TBHQ in foods by using high performalice liquid chromatography with GPC.Methods:The BHA,BHT and TBHQ were extracted from samples with cyclohexane-ethyl acetate(1:1,V/V).The extract was cleaned up with gel permeation chromatography.The analysis was performed on a Luna C18(2) column(250 mm×4.6 mm i.d,5 μm)with methanol-water(90:10,V/V) as mobile phase at a rat of 1.0 ml/min,detection at 280 nm by PDA.Results:The calibration linear ranges was 2.0 mg/L～80.0 mg/L,The correlation coefficients was more than 0.9998.Recovers of all dyes added were 90.5%～101.6%.Detection limit of the method for BHA,BHT and TBHQ ws 0.1 mg/kg～0.2mg/kg.Conclusion:The method is fast,simple,good precision and accurocy which can be used for simultaneous analysis of BHA,BHT and TBHQ in foods.
Universal hearing screening in the NICU: the Loma Linda University Children's Hospital experience.

The most common birth defect in the U.S. today is hearing loss, ranging from mild to profound. Even mild hearing impairment seriously affects language, speech, and cognitive development. Early identification and intervention lead to improved communication skills, which positively impact psychosocial, educational, and vocational development. Loma Linda University Children's Hospital NICU has implemented a program consistent with the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing's 1994 position statement, which advocates universal detection of infants with hearing loss, and with the National Institutes of Health 1993 position statement on early identification of hearing impairment in infants and young children, which recommends screening all infants admitted to NICUs for hearing loss prior to discharge. This article discusses the process of change required to meet these goals and outlines areas for further evaluation and change.
Congenital Dental Disease of Horses

Congenital dental disease in young horses can present the equine clinician with significant therapeutic and professional challenges. Patients are not readily managed unless treated at a comparatively young age. The question of heritability presents the practitioner with additional and significant challenges. In the absence of definitive evidence of heritability, the veterinarian must counsel and guide the horse owner. Elimination of the animal’s reproductive capacity is not unreasonable, particularly when there is a medical history which identifies the presence of the trait in the sire or dam.
Editorial: Starting the ADTA’s Second Half-Century

• To begin, Drs. Leon Rodgers and Charne Furcron conducted a quasiexperimental study to explore whether length of participation in an inner city youth dance program helped young people avoid risky behavior and acquire competence in essential life skills. • The original article that comes next, Kendra J. Seoane’s ‘‘Parenting the Self with Self-Applied Touch: A DMT Approach to Self-Regulation,’’ proposes a movement-based approach to self-regulation through phases of self-applied touch. • University of Copenhagen’s Dr. Kasper Levin’s article is based on a combined ethnographic and phenomenological qualitative study that draws on the experimental and expressive aesthetics of capoeira to advance a rethinking of the role of movement in ADHD behavior. • Nell G. Roberts’ original contribution, ‘‘Embodying self: A DMT approach to working with concealable stigmas,’’ defines a DMT approach for working with socially devalued and negatively stereotyped stigmas that can be hidden from others.
SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO CHARACTERIZATION OF COHERENT DOPPLER LIDAR BACKSCATTERED SIGNALS

An eye-safe coherent Doppler Lidar (CDL) system for wind measurement was developed and tested at the Remote Sensing Laboratory of the City College of New York (CCNY). The system employs a 1542 nm fiber laser to leverage components’ availability and affordability of the telecommunication industry. A balanced detector with a bandwidth extending from dc to 125 MHz is used to eliminate the common mode relative intensity noise (RIN). The system is shot noise limited i.e., the dominant component of received signals’ noise is the shot noise. Wind velocity can be measured under nominal aerosol loading and atmospheric turbulence conditions for ranges up to 3 km while pointing vertically with 0.08 m/s precision.
Optimizing primary care for LGBTQ youth

Caring for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth requires both an understanding of general adolescent cognitive and sexual health development, as well as an awareness of some of the unique medical and social issues these young people may face.
Social determinants of eyeblinks in adult male macaques

Videos with rich social and emotional content elicit natural social behaviors in primates. Indeed, while watching videos of conspecifics, monkeys engage in eye contact, gaze follow, and reciprocate facial expressions. We hypothesized that the frequency and timing of eyeblinks also depends on the social signals contained in videos. We monitored the eyeblinks of four male adult macaques while they watched videos of conspecifics displaying facial expressions with direct or averted gaze. The instantaneous blink rate of all four animals decreased during videos. The temporal synchrony of blinking, however, increased in response to segments depicting appeasing or aggressive facial expressions directed at the viewer. Two of the four monkeys, who systematically reciprocated the direct gaze of the stimulus monkeys, also showed eyeblink entrainment, a temporal coordination of blinking between social partners engaged in dyadic interactions. Together, our results suggest that in macaques, as in humans, blinking depends not only on the physiological imperative to protect the eyes and spread a film of tears over the cornea, but also on several socio-emotional factors.
The Use of Bearing Currents and Vibrations in Lifetime Estimation of Bearings

Electric discharge machining current causes a significant amount of damage to bearings, producing pits in the rotating elements of the bearing, and ultimately leading to bearing failure. Although this relationship is well known and studied, little work has been done to relate bearing current discharge events to bearing vibrations for bearing failure prognosis. This paper proposes both experimental and computational approaches for remaining useful life (RUL) estimation of bearings by taking advantage of the relationship between current discharge events and the vibration signal. A test bed, which induces accelerated aging via applied electrical stress, is introduced to better understand the relationship between bearing currents, vibrations, and failure. Over the course of the experiments, multiple sensor data are collected from start to failure in order to correlate current data as well as vibration data to bearing failure. Finally, a computational framework that determines critical events from the current discharge events and uses the timing of these events to estimate RUL from vibration data is proposed.
Correlation Analysis of Decay Centrality

The decay centrality (DEC) metric for a vertex weighs the distance of the vertex to the rest of the vertices on the basis of a decay parameter (0 < δ < 1). In this paper, we analyze a suite of 48 real-world networks and compute the DEC values for δ values ranging from 0.01 to 0.99 for each of these networks. We explore the presence of a particular or range of δ values within which there is a very strong positive correlation (Pearson’s correlation coefficient of 0.8 or above) between DEC and each of the four commonly studied centrality metrics: degree centrality (DEG), eigenvector centrality (EVC), betweenness centrality (BWC) and closeness centrality (CLC). We observe 0.01 to be the most appropriate δ value for which there exists a very strong positive correlation between DEC and each of DEG, EVC and BWC for at least 50% of the networks.
Fatigue fracture of a highly stretchable acrylic elastomer

Abstract Dielectric elastomer has been extensively explored in various applications as soft active material. In most applications, dielectric elastomer is subjected to cyclic loading-unloading condition. As a result, a small initial defect in a dielectric elastomer may finally grow to a critical size to induce catastrophic rupture. In this article, we carried out an experimental study of the crack growth in an acrylic dielectric elastomer under cyclic loading-unloading. Pure-shear test specimens were used to measure the relationship between crack growth rate and energy release rate. Such relationship can be simply fit to a power-law. We further used the measured power-law to successfully predict the fatigue lifetime of the acrylic elastomer with an edge crack and subject to simple extension cyclic loading-unloading test.
PERSPECTIVA HISTÓRICA DE LA LIBERTAD CREATIVA Y EL RECONOCIMIENTO ARTÍSTICO EN LA INDUSTRIA DEL COMIC BOOK ESTADOUNIDENSE (1935-1986)

Cultural industries are nonconventional business which need to offer special incentives to their workers – creative freedom and recognition among them. Nonetheless, in its first decades of life the comic book industry used a rigid system of production and didn't give any recognition to most of its employees; it needed nearly thirty years to start to change to another production system. This text wants to know why that first system started to change, and what circumstances helped this change. In order to do it, we analyze the production system, the sales and the perspective of the creative staff.
Sources of deviant behavior: Contrasting alternative explanations in the laboratory

Abstract We explore the driving factors behind deviant behavior by contrasting three theoretical frameworks: stable preference for deviant behavior, impact from social history on pro-social behaviors, and contingent cooperation with social norms. Subjects in our experiment first play a repeated Trust Game to create social histories in the laboratory, before engaging in a Common Resource Game, to measure deviant behavior. The results suggest that social history is an important determinant. Those who experienced deterioration in the evolution of play were more likely to extract large amounts from the common resource. We also document that anticipated social norms in the Trust Game explain extraction in the Common Resource Game, independently from the observed outcomes and the anticipated norms of deviance. This suggests an under-adjustment in behavior to changes in norms. The findings do not support a stable preference for deviant behavior. Thus, our results suggest policy, intended to counteract social history and influence social norms, may be more effective than sanctions in combating deviant behavior.
A CONCISE PRESENTATION OF SUPERVISED LEARNING ALGORITHMS FOR FEEDFORWARD NEURAL NETWORKS

Abstract With an increasing interest in neural networks for identification and control of dynamic systems, there is a need to present neural network training algorithms in a form suitable for immediate implementation into a computer code by new students of neural networks, whether in academe or in industry. The purpose of this paper is to fulfill this need. A concise presentation of standard back propagation and extended Kalman filter based algorithms is given. The work presented here was carried out at Ford Motor Company during a sabbatical leave.
Veterans' Preferences for Exchanging Information Using Veterans Affairs Health Information Technologies: Focus Group Results and Modeling Simulations.

Background: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has multiple health information technology (HIT) resources for veterans to support their health care management. These include a patient portal, VetLink Kiosks, mobile apps, and telehealth services. The veteran patient population has a variety of needs and preferences that can inform current VA HIT redesign efforts to meet consumer needs. Objective: This study aimed to describe veterans’ experiences using the current VA HIT and identify their vision for the future of an integrated VA HIT system. Methods: Two rounds of focus group interviews were conducted with a single cohort of 47 veterans and one female caregiver recruited from Bedford, Massachusetts, and Tampa, Florida. Focus group interviews included simulation modeling activities and a self-administered survey. This study also used an expert panel group to provide data and input throughout the study process. High-fidelity, interactive simulations were created and used to facilitate collection of qualitative data. The simulations were developed based on system requirements, data collected through operational efforts, and participants' reported preferences for using VA HIT. Pairwise comparison activities of HIT resources were conducted with both focus groups and the expert panel. Rapid iterative content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. Descriptive statistics summarized quantitative data. Results: Data themes included (1) current use of VA HIT, (2) non-VA HIT use, and (3) preferences for future use of VA HIT. Data indicated that, although the Secure Messaging feature was often preferred, a full range of HIT options are needed. These data were then used to develop veteran-driven simulations that illustrate user needs and expectations when using a HIT system and services to access VA health care services. Conclusions: Patient participant redesign processes present critical opportunities for creating a human-centered design. Veterans value virtual health care options and prefer standardized, integrated, and synchronized user-friendly interface designs.
Metabolite imaging: knock, nox-ROS there?

The development of small-molecule probes for use in neural stem cells demonstrates the importance of endogenous ROS signaling in regulating in vivo phenotypes.
Ocular involvement in neurolymphomatosis

Abstract Purpose To describe the ophthalmic symptoms and histopathological findings in a case of primary neurolymphomatosis (NL). Observations A man in his 60s with a prior diagnosis of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy developed facial numbness, diplopia, drooling, and difficulty swallowing. Over a 3-month period, he developed total ptosis and ophthalmoplegia of the right eye with a dilated, non-reactive pupil considered secondary to cranial nerve III and VI palsies. His left pupil subsequently became non-reactive to light and accommodation, and extraocular motility of the left eye was partially limited in all directions of gaze without ptosis. Autopsy findings included primary NL, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of activated B-cell subtype, involving right and left cranial nerves V, VI, IX, and X; spinal nerve roots; both femoral nerves; and extrascleral, intrascleral, and intraocular short and long posterior ciliary nerves with extension into the adjacent choroid of both eyes. No evidence of lymphoma was identified elsewhere in the body. Conclusions and importance Our patient is only the second histological demonstration of ciliary nerve involvement by NL, and the first, to our knowledge, of primary NL spreading secondarily from the ciliary nerves into the choroid. Our patient demonstrates that NL, though rare, should be included in the differential diagnosis of ocular cranial nerve palsies and ophthalmoplegia.
Interactionism and Innateness in the Evolutionary Study of Human Nature

While most researchers who use evolutionary theory to investigatehuman nature especially human sexuality describe themselves as ``interactionists'', there is no clear consensus on the meaning of thisterm in this context. By interactionism most people in the fieldmean something like, both nature and nurture ``count'' in thedevelopment of human psychology and behavior. Nevertheless, themultidisciplinary nature of evolutionary psychology results in a widevariety of interpretations of this general claim. Today, mostdebates within evolutionary psychology about the innateness of agiven behavioral characteristic or over its development turn as muchon which conception of ``innateness'' and ``interactionism'' theresearcher holds as on any empirical data they might derive.
Means and Ends of Statins and Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Lowering

In the last 2 decades, the benefit of lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol has been shown beyond reasonable doubt ([1,2][1]). Both death and disability from the progress of coronary artery disease can be delayed, and there is recent evidence showing that disabling stroke also can be
Male and female parental roles in the monogamous cichlid, Tilapia mariae, introduced in Florida

We documented male and female parental roles of a monogamous fish, the spotted tilapia, Tilapia mariae, in channelized rivers in southern Florida, where this species dominated the fish fauna within 10 years of their introduction. Clearly differentiated parental roles existed between males and females, with females performing nearly all tending of embryos and most tending of free embryos. After young became free-swimming and left the nest, however, males took over primary tending of the school of young while the female patrolled the perimeter of the school and performed nearly all chases directed at predators. Male and female T. mariae also traded off vigilance and feeding, and showed a high degree of intrapair coordination. Experimental removal of one or both parents had major effects on parental behavior and brood survival and integrity. Solitary females took on a parental role intermediate between that of the male and female of a pair. Untended broods were attacked by predators and scattered into aquatic vegetation, and were not observed to reform. Under dense nesting conditions we observed adoption of broods, group rearing of free-swimming young and the presence of non-breeder ‘satellites’ sharing and defending a territory with breeders. This highly complex parental care may have allowed T. mariae to invade fish communities dominated by uniparental centrarchids, as well as allowing them to use disturbed habitats such as channelized rivers that are of poor quality for nesting and rearing offspring.
The Relationship between Pituitary Adenomas and the Diencephalon

Pituitary tumors are discussed in some depth throughout this volume. This chapter will focus on a few ways in which pituitary tumors interact with the hypothalamic and diencephalic regions.
Improved chaos-genetic algorithm optimization method on back analysis of earth temperature field in coal mine

Aiming at complexity of hydrogeological conditions of coal mine, this paper brought forward the improved chaos-genetic optimization method based on the chaos optimization method and genetic algorithm method. Using the optimization method, this paper have carried out the back analysis of earth temperature field of coal mine, then predicted the earth temperature field using the parameters of the back analysis, which provided a scientific basis for control of heat-harm. Through engineering example, the result showed that the improved chaos and genetic optimization method on the back analysis of earth temperature field in coal mine was feasible.
Paraneoplastic granulomatous dermatitis in a patient with Hodgkin's disease: a diagnostic pitfall.

The association of malignant lymphomas with non-necrotic epithelioid granulomas has been reported rarely since 1977. Hodgkin’s disease-associated widespread cutaneous granuloma annulare (GA) has been reported in only eight patients. We report the second case of subcutaneous GA associated with Hodgkin’s disease. A 73-year-old man with Epstein-Barr virus-associated Hodgkin’s lymphoma and paraneoplastic subcutaneous GA, presented 3 months after the diagnosis of malignancy. Examination revealed a large, broad erythematous, indurated, subcutaneous plaque spanning the majority of the left lower back and flank with no associated symptoms. Initial biopsy was suggestive of morphea. Prompted by positron emission tomography (PET) findings of increased fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake, a second, deeper biopsy was performed, revealing subcutaneous palisaded granulomatous dermatitis. After complete workup, the diagnosis most strongly suggested subcutaneous GA. This case highlights the importance of deep incisional biopsies, the fluorodeoxyglucose - positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) findings in GA and the rare association of GA with Hodgkin’s disease which may signal the presence of malignancy.
Texas H.B. 810: Increased Access to Stem Cell Interventions or an Increase in Unproven Treatments?

Born of the expectations and hype associated with regenerative medicine, there are now numerous clinics around the world selling stem cell-based interventions (SCBI) that have yet to be proven effe...
A Scientist’s Oath

Data on the perceptions of scientists suggest a moderate public distrust of scientist's motivations. Bettridge et al. suggest scientist's reluctance to engage the public on controversial ethical issues may be a contributing factor. The authors propose a Scientist's Oath to send a clear message to the public about our ideals.
Bolt-On Global Consistency for the Cloud

Web services that enable users in multiple regions to collaborate can increase availability and decrease latency by replicating data across data centers. If such a service spreads its data across multiple cloud providers---for the associated performance, cost, and reliability benefits---it cannot rely on cloud providers to keep the data globally consistent. Therefore, in this paper, we present an alternate approach to realizing global consistency in the cloud, which relies on cloud providers to only offer a strongly consistent storage service within each data center. A client library then accesses replicas stored in different data stores in a manner that preserves global consistency. To do so, our key contribution lies in rethinking the Paxos replication protocol to account for the limited interface offered by cloud storage. Compared to approaches not tailored for use in the cloud, our system CRIC can either halve median write latency or lower cost by up to 60%.
Modelling Synergistic Effects of Cold Atmospheric Plasma and Pulsed Electric Field Treatments in Pore Creation

Cold atmospheric pressure plasmas (CAPPs) 1 and electric pulses (EPs) 2 are effective techniques for sterilization, wound treatment, and cancer treatment, whose synergistic effects have only recently been studied 3. While these experiments demonstrated this synergy for different combinations of EPs and CAPPs, the physical phenomena that drive this behavior remain poorly understood. To elucidate these results, we combine models of EP interactions with the cell membrane to model pore formation and ion transport 4 with a model of CAPP generation by a plasma jet 5. The EP/membrane simulation couples the asymptotic Smoluchowski equation for pore formation and the Nernst-Planck equation for ion motion 4. The CAPP model uses coupled sets of governing equations for charged and neutral species continuity, electron energy transport, and self-consistent electrostatic potential 5. We report the results of each model individually and then couple the two models. The membrane voltage induced by the CAPP induced ion buildup at the membrane couples with the EP induced membrane voltage to form membrane pores. The motion of the charged particles from the CAPP model couples with the force from the Nernst-Planck model in the EP model to describe the resulting charged particle motion. We will report the impact of different CAPP and EP parameters and treatment orders on efficacy.
Experimental Phonon Dispersion and Lifetimes of Tetragonal CH3NH3PbI3 Perovskite Crystals.

Hybrid organic–inorganic perovskites were reported to have ultralow thermal conductivity in recent studies. In this Letter, we report the first experimental phonon dispersion and lifetimes of tetra...
Mortality and glycemic control among patients with gastric and esophageal cancer and diabetes mellitus.

73Background: This study evaluated the impact of diabetes mellitus (DM) on survival in gastric and esophageal cancer patients, and examined the impact of these cancers on glycemic control in DM. Me...
Differential Proteomics Reveals miR-155 as a Novel Indicator of Liver and Spleen Pathology in the Symptomatic Niemann-Pick Disease, Type C1 Mouse Model.

Niemann-Pick disease, type C1 (NPC1) is a rare, autosomal recessive, lipid storage disorder caused by mutations in NPC1. As a result, there is accumulation of unesterified cholesterol and sphingolipids in the late endosomal/lysosomal system. Clinically, patients can present with splenomegaly and hepatomegaly. In the current study, we analyzed the differential proteome of the spleen in symptomatic Npc1−/− mice to complement previous studies focused on the differential proteome of the liver, and then evaluated biomolecules that may serve as tissue biomarkers. The proteomic analysis revealed altered pathways in NPC1 representing different functional categories including heme synthesis, cellular regulation and phosphoinositide metabolism in both tissues. Differential proteins included several activators of the ubiquitous and critical protein, Akt, a major kinase involved in multiple cellular processes. Evaluation of Akt revealed decreased expression in both the liver and spleen tissues of symptomatic Npc1−/− mice. Upstream regulation analysis also suggested that miR-155 may modulate the differences of known downstream protein targets observed in our dataset. Upon evaluation of miR-155, we observed an increased expression in the liver and decreased expression in the spleen of symptomatic Npc1−/− mice. Here, we propose that miR-155 may be a novel indicator of spleen and liver pathology in NPC1.
Gesture Recognition Using an EEG Sensor and an ANN Classifier for Control of a Robotic Manipulator

In recent years, electroencephalography (EEG) has gained popularity in the field of brain-computer interface (BCI). Current applications of BCI include control of prosthetics and robotic systems. In this project, the goal is to acquire and record EEG signals generated by human subjects performing specific facial gestures, and use them to control a robotic hand. Six facial gestures have been selected for this project: smile, raise eyebrows, look right, look left, hard blink, and blink. Once the signals were collected, a classification system based on artificial neural network (ANN) was designed. The classification system was able to recognize and differentiate each gesture with an accuracy of 98% for signals from a single person, and 75% for signals from multiple persons. The EEG signals were acquired using an Emotiv EPOC headset that has 14 sensors. This headset was selected mainly because its portability, affordable cost compared to similar products in the market, and it is easy to place on the subject’s head. The ultimate purpose of this research is to use the classification system output to send control signals to a robotic hand that has been designed and built in our research lab. In this paper, the data collection, data conditioning, design, testing and results of the classification system are provided in detail.
Reduced expression of the nob8 gene does not normalize the distribution or function of mGluR6 in the mouse retina

Purpose The Grm6nob8 mouse carries a missense mutation in the Grm6 gene (p.Met66Leu), and exhibits a reduced b-wave of the electroretinogram (ERG), abnormal localization of metabotropic glutamate receptor 6 (mGluR6) to the depolarizing bipolar cell (DBC) soma, and a reduced level of mGluR6 at the DBC dendritic tips. Although the underlying mechanism remains unknown, one possible explanation is that DBCs cannot efficiently traffic the mutant mGluR6. In that scenario, reducing the total amount of mutant mGluR6 protein might normalize localization, and thus, improve the ERG phenotype as well. The second purpose of this study was to determine whether the abnormal cellular distribution of mutant mGluR6 in Grm6nob8 retinas might induce late onset DBC degeneration.
Comparison of CryoMACS Freezing Bags with Maco Biotech Freezing-Ethinyl Vinyl Acetate Bags for Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells Cryopreservation Using a CD34+-Enriched Product.

Background: Hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) cryopreservation have applications, especially in the autologous setting, allowing therapeutic use several years after collection. Cryopreservation...