cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Altered gene expression profiles in nasal respiratory epithelium reflect stable versus acute childhood asthma.

Background Asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood and has a strong genetic component. Objective To identify gene expression signatures that reflect asthma-related processes and to determine whether these genes were similar or distinct between stable asthma and acute exacerbations in childhood, we profiled gene expression patterns in nasal respiratory epithelial cells. Methods Children who had stable asthma (asthma-S; n=10) and children experiencing an asthma exacerbation (asthma-E; n=10) were recruited along with nonatopic children without asthma (n=10). RNA was prepared from nasal respiratory epithelial cells isolated from each child, initially analyzed as pooled samples from the 3 groups, and further validated by using microarrays and RT-PCR with individual patient samples. Results Distinct gene clusters were identifiable in individual and pooled asthma-S and asthma-E samples. Asthma-E samples demonstrated the strongest and most reproducible signatures, with 314 genes of 34,886 measured as present on the chip demonstrating induction or repression of greater than 2-fold with P Conclusion Exacerbated asthma status is readily distinguished based on the occurrence of strong gene expression signatures in nasal epithelial samples. Stable asthma status also exhibits differential signatures. The results suggest that there are independent gene expression signatures reflective of cells and genes poised or committed to activation by an asthma attack.
Is auxin the repressor signal of branch growth in apical control

"Apical control" is the repression of branch growth by a higher dominating branch or shoot. There has been some confusion in the literature concerning the meaning and causal mechanisms of this correlative phenomenon with those of "apical dominance," which term is often used in a strict sense to connote the repression of the initiation of axillary bud outgrowth by an active shoot apex. Although the term "apical control" is most commonly employed with respect to woody species, this phenomenon also widely occurs in herbaceous plants. Because of the strong evidence for a role of auxin as a repressor signal in apical dominance and partly because of this lack of distinction in terminology, a similar role for auxin in apical control is often assumed in spite of the obvious acropetal auxin transport difficulty and the lack of direct evidence for the acropetal transport of any inhibitor influence. In the present study with the herbaceous Ipomoea nil, it has been clearly demonstrated that while exogenous auxin (1% NAA) strongly restores apical dominance in the Thimann-Skoog experiment, auxin treatments to decapitated dominant shoots do not, in any observable way, restore apical control in lower dominated branches. Hence, in this fast-growing species, the hypothesis for the role of auxin as a repressor signal for apical control is not supported.
Responses of avocado to laurel wilt, caused by Raffaelea lauricola

Laurel wilt, caused by Raffaelea lauricola, threatens native and non-native species in the Lauraceae in the south-eastern USA. Avocado, Persea americana, is the most important agricultural suscept of laurel wilt. Grafted plants (clonal scions on seedling rootstocks) of 24 cultivars were screened against the disease in the field from 2008 to 2010. Disease was induced with either mycelial plugs or conidial suspensions of R. lauricola. There were significant differences in the severity of disease that developed on different cultivars, and West Indian cultivars were most susceptible (P <0 AE05). Simmonds, a West Indian cultivar that comprises 35% of the commercial production in Florida, was consistently susceptible and was used as a standard genotype in different studies. Disease severity increased significantly on cv. Simmonds as plant size (stem diameter) increased (P <0 AE0042). In greenhouse studies, internal (sapwood) and external disease severities on cv. Simmonds were correlated (P <0 AE0001), and a threshold was evident, in that external symptoms developed only after moderately severe symptoms had developed internally. Latent infection was uncommon; R. lauricola was usually isolated on a semiselective medium or detected via qPCR only from discoloured xylem of inoculated cv. Simmonds. As basipetal movement of the pathogen was common, its movement among trees via root grafts is probable. Greater understanding is needed of the movement of R. lauricola in naturally and artificially infected trees, and whether sufficient tolerance exists in avocado to assist in the management of this important new disease.
The heritability of hedonic capacity and perceived stress: a twin study evaluation of candidate depressive phenotypes.

BackgroundAnhedonia and stress sensitivity have been identified as promising depressive phenotypes. Research suggests that stress-induced anhedonia is a possible mechanism underlying the association between stress and depression. The present proof-of-concept study assessed whether hedonic capacity and stress perception are heritable and whether their genetic and environmental contributions are shared.MethodTwenty monozygotic (MZ) and 15 dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs completed a probabilistic reward task that provides an objective behavioral measure of hedonic capacity (reward responsiveness) and completed several questionnaires including the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Bivariate Cholesky models were used to investigate whether covariation between (1) depressive symptoms and hedonic capacity, (2) depressive symptoms and perceived stress, and (3) perceived stress and hedonic capacity resulted from shared or residual genetic and environmental factors.ResultsAdditive genetic (A) and individual-specific environment (E) factors contributed to 46% and 54% of the variance in hedonic capacity, respectively. For perceived stress, 44% and 56% of the variance was accounted for by A and E factors, respectively. The genetic correlation between depression and hedonic capacity was moderate (ra=0.29), whereas the correlation between depression and stress perception was large (ra=0.67). Genetic and environmental correlations between hedonic capacity and stress perception were large (ra=0.72 and re=−0.43).ConclusionsThe present study provides initial feasibility for using a twin approach to investigate genetic contributions of a laboratory-based anhedonic phenotype. Although these preliminary findings indicate that hedonic capacity and perceived stress are heritable, with substantial shared additive genetic contributions, replications in larger samples will be needed.
Pros and cons of pragmatic clinical trials

Traditional randomized controlled trials are the 'gold standard' for evaluating health interventions and are typically designed to maximize internal validity, often at the cost of limited generalizability. Pragmatic randomized controlled trials should be designed with a conscious effort to generate evidence with a greater external validity by making the research question as similar as possible to the questions faced by clinical decision-makers (i.e., patients and their families, physicians, policy makers and administrators) and then answer that question with rigor. Clarity and transparency about the specifics of the research question are the keys to designing, as well as interpreting, any clinical trial.
FIRST DESCRIPTION OF THE NEST OF THE WING-BANDED WREN IN FRENCH GUIANA

We describe for the first time the nests of the Wing-banded Wren (Microcerculus bambla), a little-known species of Trogoldytidae from northcentral South America. Two nests were discovered in French Guiana during the rainy season of 1999. Both nests were in abandoned termite mounds attached to the undersides of fallen trees. Chambers of the two nests were lined with a mat of dead leaf fragments. Each nest contained a single, well-feathered nestling that disappeared, possibly due to fledging, within a few days of nest discovery. Although we did not observe nest building, we suspect that other termitaria-nesting birds at our study site, such as Puffbirds (Bucconidae) or Jacamars (Galbulidae) excavated the chambers. Thus, both Microcerculus species with described nests, the Nightingale Wren (M. marginatus) and the Wing-banded Wren, apparently are second- ary cavity nesters. Received 19 Dec. 1999, accepted 20 Oct. 2001. Species of the genus Microcerculus occur exclusively in the undergrowth of humid trop- ical and subtropical forests and are among the least-known members of the Troglodytidae (Stiles 1983, Hilty and Brown 1986, Ridgely and Tudor 1994, Brewer and Mackay 2001). This genus comprises species of small, short- tailed, dark, and highly elusive wrens that of- ten are difficult to observe (Slud 1958, Stiles 1983, Tostain et al. 1992, Ridgely and Tudor 1994). These species usually are not rare but their cryptic coloration and secretive behavior cause field researchers to rely mainly on vo- calizations to detect them (Meyer de Schauen-
The Transfer of Cows in Gisaka (Rwanda): A Mechanism for Recording Social Relationships1

I propose that—contrary to previous interpretations—the transfer of cows has had the function of making concrete certain already existent social relationships. In order to ensure continuity and stability in a highly complex society, such as Gisaka, these relationships had to be made readily and materially obvious to all, in a way easily understood by all. Thus, the transfer of cows came to be the device through which the relationships were rendered concrete and unavoidable. Cow transfers, and even many well-known institutions involving transfers of objects other than cows, might be reinterpreted in these terms, with theoretical implications affecting the entire range of cultural data.
Epidemiology of carotid endarterectomies among Medicare beneficiaries

Extensive debates exist in the literature on the indications, effectiveness, and risks of carotid endarterectomy. However, no investigations analyze the procedure's epidemiology. Medicare paid for essentially all carotid endarterectomies on patients over 65 years old, more than two thirds of all such surgery. Accordingly, we identified all 1985 to 1989 Medicare bills for ICD-9-CM code 38.12. This report found an average annual decrease of 6.4% in the frequency of carotid endarterectomies. Higher proportions and incidence rates occurred among 65- to 79-year-old people, men, and whites. Larger, urban, and nonprofit hospitals performed the procedure more often. The number of hospitals performing this procedure has increased over time. Mortality rates within 30 days decreased from 3.0% of procedures in 1985 to 2.5% in 1989. Higher than average death rates occurred among older, male, and black patients, and in low volume hospitals. Clinical trials undertaken in large, urban, teaching, high-volume institutions reported only 1% deaths. The institutions actually performing carotid endarterectomies differ from the clinical trials in their demography and perioperative mortality rates. This difference in community practice may limit the applicability of the clinical trials.
Combination of CFG and n-gram modeling in semantic grammar learning.

SGStudio is a grammar authoring tool that eases semantic grammar development. It is capable of integrating different information sources and learning from annotated examples to induct CFG rules. In this paper, we investigate a modification to its underlying model by replacing CFG rules with n-gram statistical models. The new model is a composite of HMM and CFG. The advantages of the new model include its built-in robust feature and its scalability to an n-gram classifier when the understanding does not involve slot filling. We devised a decoder for the model. Preliminary results show that the new model achieved 32% error reduction in high resolution understanding.
Effect of compound angle injection on flat surface film cooling with large streamwise injection angle

Film cooling measurements are presented over a flat surface through a single row of discrete holes angled 55° along the streamwise direction. The holes are angled 0° and 60° in the lateral direction to study the effect of compound angle injection. Detailed heat transfer coefficient enhancement and film effectiveness distributions are presented for the entire region from downstream of the holes to distances far downstream at about X/d=20. Tests were conducted in a low speed wind tunnel. The mainstream flow Reynolds number based on hole diameter is around 9500 and the free-stream turbulence intensity is set at 11%. Results are presented for three blowing ratios of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 and a coolant-to-mainstream density ratio of 1.0. A transient liquid crystal technique will be used to measure both the local heat transfer coefficient and film effectiveness results simultaneously. The technique uses two similar tests to resolve the heat transfer coefficient and film effectiveness. The detailed heat transfer coefficient and film effectiveness contours provide a clear understanding of the jet–mainstream interactions for different hole orientations with large streamwise angle injection. Results show that adding a compound angle to a hole with large streamwise angle produces significant variations in the detailed film effectiveness distributions and enhances local heat transfer coefficients.
Thermal convection in ice sheets: New data, new tests

Thermal convection in the Antarctic Ice Sheet was proposed in 1970. Demonstrating its existence proved to be elusive. In 2009, tributaries to ice streams were postulated as the surface expression of underlying thermal convection rolls aligned in directions of advective ice flow. Two definitive tests of this hypothesis are now possible, using highly accurate ice elevations and velocities provided by the European, Japanese, and Canadian Space Agencies that allow icestream tributaries and their velocities to be mapped. These tests are 1) measuring lowering of tributary surfaces to see if lowering is due only to advective ice thinning, or also requires lowering en masse in the broad descending part of convective flow, and 2) measuring transverse surface ice velocities to see if ice entering tributaries from the sides increases while crossing lateral shear zones, as would be required if this flow is augmented by convective flow ascending in the narrow side shear zones and diverted into tributaries by advective ice flow. If (1) and (2) are applied to tributaries converging on Byrd Glacier, the same measurements can be conducted when tributaries pack together to become “flow stripes” down Byrd Glacier and onto the Ross Ice Shelf to see if (2) is reduced when lateral advection stops. This could determine if thermal convection remains active or shuts down as ice thins. Thermal convection in the Antarctic Ice Sheet would raise three questions. Can it cause the ice sheet to self-destruct as convective flow turns on and off? Does it render invalid climate records extracted at depth from ice cores? Can the ice sheet be studied as a miniature mantle analogous in some respects to Earth’s mantle?
Aflatoxin production on Apis mellifera artificially inoculated with Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus [honey-bees]

SummaryLarval and adult worker honeybees, and brood comb, were inoculated artificially with known toxigenic strains of the two Aspergillus species. Toxins were produced by both species on all media, but the amounts varied widely. The total amounts of aflatoxin were substantially less than those on agricultural substrates, but still sufficient to warrant further studies.
Functional polymorphisms to modulate luminal lipid exposure and risk of colorectal cancer.

Abstract Purpose Fat absorption may play a crucial role in colorectal carcinogenesis by determining intra-colonic exposure to potentially carcinogenic lipid metabolites. Methods We conducted a population-based case–control study that included 1163 cases and 1501 controls to examine whether individuals who carry genetic variants associated with lower lipid absorption have a higher risk of colorectal cancer. Using Taqman assay, we determined FABP2 alanine (A)/threonine (T) polymorphism at codon 54 in exon-2 and APOE isoforms. Multivariable odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated by unconditional logistic regression models, assuming FABP2 A54 and APO non-E4 as high risk alleles. Results We found no associations with either of the polymorphisms. The OR associated with FABP2 A54 homozygotes compared with the others was 1.01 (95% CI; 0.86–1.45) and that for non- ApoE4 carriers compared with carries was 0.95 (95% CI; 0.80–1.13). However, there was a statistically significant negative interaction between total fat intake and FABP2 AA genotypes ( p =0.025), indicating that the risk of colorectal cancer associated with this polymorphism is higher in the subjects with lower fat intake. Conclusions These results suggest that these SNPs may not be useful in predicting colorectal cancer risk in populations with high fat intake.
Experimental evidence of stable wave patterns on deep water

Recent predictions from competing theoretical models have disagreed about the stability/instability of bi-periodic patterns of surface waves on deep water. We present laboratory experiments to address this controversy. Growth rates of modulational perturbations are compared to predictions from: (i) inviscid coupled nonlinear Schrodinger (NLS) equations, according to which the patterns are unstable and (ii) dissipative coupled NLS equations, according to which they are linearly stable. For bi-periodic wave patterns of small amplitude and nearly permanent form, we find that the dissipative model predicts the experimental observations more accurately. Hence, our experiments support the claim that these bi-periodic wave patterns are linearly stable in the presence of damping. For bi-periodic wave patterns of large enough amplitude or subject to large enough perturbations, both models fail to predict accurately the observed behaviour, which includes frequency downshifting.
Optimum Matching Technique for the Switch Design

The theoretical background and hardware implementation of optimal matching filters designed to minimize harmonic generation by RF switches and provide harmonic filtering of the PA generated harmonics is presented. The switch with the optimally matched filters shows 5-7 dB improvements in harmonics generated under high VSWR, leading to better than -39dBm harmonics at 35/33 dBm for all phases of VSWR=5:1 for low/high band GSM applications. This technique leads to a fully integrated solution offering both improved harmonics performance and reduced size.
Comparison of cystatin C and Beta-2-microglobulin kinetics in children on maintenance hemodialysis

Middle-molecules (MM) are not monitored in children on hemodialysis (HD), but are accumulated and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality. Molecular properties of Cystatin C (CyC), 13 kDa, potentially make it a preferred MM marker over Beta-2-Microglobulin (B2M), 12 kDa. We compared CyC and B2M kinetics to investigate if CyC can be used as preferred MM marker. CyC (mg/L) and B2M (μg/mL) were measured in 21 low-flux HD sessions in seven children. Blood samples were taken at HD start (pre), 1 and 2 hours into HD and at end of HD (post) for all sessions and 60 minutes after the first HD (Eq). PreCyC (9.85 ± 2.15) did not differ (P > 0.05) from postCyC (10.04 ± 2.83). PostB2M (38.87 ± 7.12) was higher (P 0.05), while EqB2M was lower than postB2M (36.48 ± 7.68 vs. 41.09 ± 8.99, P < 0.05). MMs as represented by B2M and CyC are elevated in children on standard HD. Intensified HD modalities would be needed for their removal. B2M is affected by the dialytic process with a rise during HD independent of ultrafiltration and decrease 1 hour after, while CyC remains unchanged. We suggest that CyC be used as preferred marker of MM removal and as a marker of adequacy of intensified HD regimens.
Structure-Based Functional Analysis of the Replication Protein of Plasmid R6K: Key Amino Acids at the π/DNA Interface

In previous work, we characterized the bases in an iteron of plasmid R6K that are important for the binding of π protein monomers and dimers. Here we investigate the following six amino acids of π, encoded by pir, hypothesized to be important for DNA contact: Ser71, Try74, Gly131, Gly211, Arg225, and Arg254.
A New Language Must Be Spliced onto One's Native Language

T HAT one learns a second language in the same manner he learned his native tongue has often been taken for granted, and far too many methods of teaching have been based on this unsubstantiated belief. Such an assumption has done much harm. Attempting to teach a foreign language in this way has kept us from obtaining the most desirable results; and its wide acceptance as a basis of teaching has not been conducive to our prying further into the matter and perfecting appropriate techniques on the necessary successive steps of the real problem involved. It is believed that if we took the title above as our point of departure and insisted that our methods of teaching should be centered around this idea, there would be less confusion in our own ranks and less criticism from without about our
Opinion #2: Ben A. Rich, JD, PhD

No one can reasonably dispute the essential role that academic medical centers (AMCs) play in the training and enculturation of future physicians, or the need for residents, as well as third and fourth year medical students, to be directly involved in patient care activities. Most patients who receive care at hospitals and clinics affiliated with an AMC understand, appreciate, and accept this fundamental feature of medical education and training and are willing, if not eager, to consent to participate in this important aspect of medical education while receiving care. The general consent forms that nonemergent patient's sign upon admission to an AMC typically contain “boilerplate” language, by which they purportedly acknowledge and provide consent to care and treatment involving physicians and other health care professionals in training. This element of medical education is so ingrained and pervasive that the denizens of AMCs typically assume, without further consideration or reflection, that the vast majority of patients and their families are aware and approve of this phenomenon. If all the above was true, then one might also assume that those involved in the operation of AMCs would fully embrace this approach to medical education when it came to their own medical care and that of those nearest and dearest to them. Arguably, this should constitute the litmus paper test of the ethical legitimacy of the practice. But anecdotal evidence suggests that such an assumption would, not infrequently, be in error. In a revealing essay, surgical resident and writer Atul Gawande offers a detailed account of his early, unsuccessful efforts as a trainee to place a central line and of the conspiracy of …
Efficient buffering control for a software-only, high-level, high-profile, MPEG-2 decoder

A high-quality MPEG-2 software decoder should support a good scalability performance for a wide range of video format, especially for the high-resolution MPEG-2 video (e.g., HDTV). However, it is found that the existing parallel decoder suffers significant performance degradation when decoding high-level MPEG-2 video with the full system configuration, due to inefficient management mechanism such that the memory space in the decoder. We propose an efficient buffer management mechanism such that the memory requirement is reduced by 50%. This is approached by two steps: first we use an ST scheme to minimize the transmission buffer in a slave node by allowing dynamic sharing between frames in one group of picture (GOP). Then we further reduce the buffer space by a dynamic buffer allocation according to image type. The revised parallel decode showed a satisfactory scale-up performance when decoding the high-resolution video formats.
Expression of the Oligopeptide Permease Operon of Moraxella catarrhalis Is Regulated by Temperature and Nutrient Availability

Moraxella catarrhalis causes otitis media in children and exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in adults. Together, these two conditions contribute to enormous morbidity and mortality worldwide. The oligopeptide permease (opp) ABC transport system is a nutritional virulence factor important for the utilization of peptides. The substrate binding protein OppA, which binds peptides for uptake, is a potential vaccine antigen, but little was known about the regulation of gene expression. The five opp genes oppB, oppC, oppD, oppF, and oppA are in the same open reading frame. Sequence analysis predicted two promoters, one located upstream of oppB and one within the intergenic region between oppF and oppA. We have characterized the gene cluster as an operon with two functional promoters and show that cold shock at 26°C for ≤ 0.5 h and the presence of a peptide substrate increase gene transcript levels. Additionally, the putative promoter upstream of oppA contributes to the transcription of oppA but is not influenced by the same environmental cues as the promoter upstream of oppB. We conclude that temperature and nutrient availability contribute to the regulation of the Opp system, which is an important nutritional virulence factor in M. catarrhalis.
Mechanism of Action of CpG DNA

In recent years, the position of the innate immune system in regulating nearly all immune responses has become well established. A central tenet in understanding the function of the innate immune system is the concept that it is triggered by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), which bind microbial structures that are not present in host tissues. Examples of PRRs that have become well accepted are the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) receptors, such as CD14, and mannose-binding protein. Likewise, complement proteins have a primitive ability to bind and be activated by microbial structures. Viral RNAs are thought to adopt certain structural conformations that are bound by PRRs and lead to the activation of the double-stranded-RNA-dependent protein kinase PKR (Kumar et al. 1997). This mechanism is thought to be responsible for immune activation by the polynucleotide (rI, rC) (Talmadge et al. 1985; Wiltrout et al. 1985). Evidence that bacterial DNA (bDNA) may also possess some structural feature that activates innate immune defenses was first provided by Tokunaga et al. who reported its Surprising antitumor activity and ability to activate natural killer (NK) cells (Tokunaga et al. 1984; Yamamoto et al. 1988). Further studies by these investigators led to the proposal that this immune-stimulatory activity of bDNA resided in certain self-complimentary, palindromic sequences that contained CpG dinucleotides (Kuramoto et al. 1992). Interestingly, methylation of the CpGs was initially thought to have no influence on the immune stimulatory activities of DNA (Kuramoto et al. 1992).
Why is aortic sclerosis associated with adverse clinical outcomes

Calcific aortic valve disease encompasses a range of disease severity from mild leaflet thickening without valve obstruction, called “aortic sclerosis,” to severe aortic stenosis. It is intuitive that severe obstruction in blood flow at the valve level results in poor clinical outcomes and that
Submission to Hearing on Ways and Means International Tax Reform Discussion Draft

The House Ways & Means Committee Discussion Draft proposes a territorial system for the United States. This document is the author's comments as submitted to the Committee in conjunction with a hearing held on 17 November 2011.The draft importantly includes a dividend-received deduction of 95% instead of 100% as a mechanism to disallow expenses that are attributable to exempt foreign earnings. This mechanism causes the receipt of a dividend to be a "taxable event". The Draft also proposes elimination of the section 956 "investment in U.S. property rules." This elimination along with a dividend being a taxable event will continue the current encouragement of U.S. MNCs to stockpile earnings overseas in tax havens and will encourage intercompany loans of such funds that will further reduce the US tax base from the interest charged. Changes are suggested that will eliminate these detrimental effects.Comments and suggested changes are also proposed for a number of other matters within the Discussion Draft.The submission includes discussion under the following headings:1. New §965 – Adjustment Needed to Avoid Rewarding Tax Structured Vehicles2. New §245A and §956 – Dividend-Received Deduction Structure and Erosion of US Domestic Tax Base – A Flawed Mechanism Requiring Change3. New §245A – Effect of Subpart F §954(b)(3)(A) De Minimis Rule – Need to Amend to Reflect Territorial System or Eliminate Completely4. New §245A(b)(2)(A) – Treatment of Foreign Branches5. New §245A(b)(2)(B) – Foreign Branch Defined6. New §245A and §246(c)(5) – Effect of Becoming a CFC7. New §1247 – Issues Concerning Sales and Exchanges8. New §245A – Noncontrolled 10/50 Corporations – Foreign Tax Credit9. New §904(b)(3) – Indirectly Allocable Expenses – Erosion of Domestic Tax Base10. Deletion of §904(d) – Separate “Baskets”11. §909 – Repeal12. §§959 and 961 – Elimination13. §1248 – Continued Application14. §960 – Effect of Elimination of §90215. Option A – New category of subpart F income for intangibles16. Option B – New Low-Taxed Cross-Border Foreign Income17. Option C – New Foreign Intangible Income18. Which of the Three Options Should Be Used?
Nonlinear Financial Markets: Hedging and Portfolio Optimization

This is a survey paper on techniques and results of the theory of optimal trading for a single agent with a nonlinear wealth process, in a continuous-time model. Examples include the case of policy dependent prices, portfolio constraints and different interest rates for borrowing and lending. We study the hedging (super-replication) of contingent claims, and the portfolio optimization problems for the investor in this market. The solution to the hedging problem produces the upper bound for those prices of the claim which are consistent with no-arbitrage. The portfolio optimization (utility maximization) problem is then characterized via a transformation to a hedging problem: the optimal portfolio is the one that hedges the inverse of the marginal utility evaluated at the optimal shadow state-price density solving a corresponding dual problem.
Neutron diffraction measurements and micromechanical modelling of temperature-dependent variations in TATB lattice parameters

Triaminotrinitrobenzene (TATB) is a highly anisotropic molecular crystal used in several plastic-bonded explosive (PBX) formulations. TATB-based explosives exhibit irreversible volume expansion (“ratchet growth”) when thermally cycled. A theoretical understanding of the relationship between anisotropy of the crystal, crystal orientation distribution (texture) of polycrystalline aggregates, and the intergranular interactions leading to this irreversible growth is necessary to accurately develop physics-based predictive models for TATB-based PBXs under various thermal environments. In this work, TATB lattice parameters were measured using neutron diffraction during thermal cycling of loose powder and a pressed pellet. The measured lattice parameters help clarify conflicting reports in the literature as these new results are more consistent with one set of previous results than another. The lattice parameters of pressed TATB were also measured as a function of temperature, showing some differences from the powder. This data is used along with anisotropic single-crystal stiffness moduli reported in the literature to model the nominal stresses associated with intergranular constraints during thermal expansion. The texture of both specimens were characterized and the pressed pellet exhibits preferential orientation of (001) poles along the pressing direction, whereas no preferred orientation was found for the loose powder. Lastly, thermal strains for single-crystal TATB computed frommore » lattice parameter data for the powder is input to a self-consistent micromechanical model, which predicts the lattice parameters of the constrained TATB crystals within the pellet. The agreement of these model results with the diffraction data obtained from the pellet is discussed along with future directions of research.« less
TAXONOMIC REVISION OF LEPTOSPHAERIA VAGABUNDA AND FOUR INFRASPECIFIC TAXA

The taxonomic disposition of Leptosphaer- ia vagabunda and its six infraspecific taxa are reeval- uated based on the examination of herbarium spec- imens. The previous placement of L. vagabunda is confirmed and the lectotype is designated. Saccado's classification of L. vagabunda var. caulium as L. cau- lium is also confirmed. There are no morphological similarities between L. vagabunda and five infraspe- cific taxa. Leptosphaeria vagabunda subsp. alvarensis is synonymized with Lophiostoma heterosporum and the lectotype is designated. Two infraspecific taxa, L. vagabunda f. abietis and L. vagabunda f. salicis-ca- preae, are classified as Rebentischia abieti and Massar- ina salicis-capreae, respectively, and the lectotypes are designated. Leptosphaeria vagabunda f. salicispurpu- reae and L. vagabunda f. lonicerae are synonymized with L. vagabunda f. salicis-capreae. The neotype for L. vagabunda f. salicis-purpureae and the lectotype for L. vagabunda f. lonicerae are designated.
Evaluation of an Entomopathogenic Bacterium, Fungus, and Virus for Control of Heliothis zea on Soybeans

In 1975, populations of larvae of Heliothis zea (Boddie) feeding on caged soybeans were reduced 92–100% by the nuclear polyhedrosis virus Baculovirus heliothis , 69–96% by the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner, and 19–77% by the fungus Nomuraea rileyi Samson. Results were similar when evaluations were based upon number of damaged pods and damaged seeds. In 1976, an autodispersal technique (release of virus-infected larvae) reduced populations of larvae and adults 99 and 98%, respectively; the most effective spray treatment reduced them 96 and 90%, respectively. The average percentage reductions in pod damage, seed damage or yield-loss obtained with the autodispersal treatment were equal to or greater than those obtained with the best spray treatment.
Effects of Exposure to Termite Control Drugs on the Kidney Function in Professional Workers

[Objective]To explore the damage of kidney function in workers exposed to the termite control drugs Chlordane and arsenic compound.[Methods]The concentrations of BUN,SCr,Alb and Chlordane in serium as well asα_1-MG、β_2-MG,RBP and arsenic content in urine were detected in workers exposed to the termite control drugs.The observed indices also included some influencing factors such as the exposure period,smoking,alcohol drinking.[Results]The concentrations ofα_1-MG、β_2-MG and RBP were significantly higher in all exposed groups than that in the control(P0.01); and correlated with the exposed time.Alcohol drinking could enhance the damage of kidney function,but smoking did not.The concentrations ofα_1-MG、β_2-MG and RBP were all correlated with the concentrations of chlordane in serum and arsenic in urine. [Conclusion]Long term exposure to the termite control drugs containing chlordane or arsenic compound may lead to the damage of kidney function.
Postoperative complications and prognostic indicators in dogs and cats with septic peritonitis: 23 cases (1989-1992)

Medical records of 21 dogs and 2 cats treated for septic peritonitis were reviewed. Animals were between 1 and 12 years old, (mean, 6.5 years) and weighed between 6 and 51.4 kg (mean, 22.7 kg). Overall, 13 animals survived and were discharged from the hospital. Immediately after surgical correction of the underlying cause of peritonitis, most animals were tachycardic (mean heart rate, 148 beats/min; range, 80 to 204 beats/min), and many were hypotensive (mean arterial pressure, 84.4 mm of Hg; range, 44 to 156 mm of Hg). Hypotension was attributed to sepsis and hypovolemia secondary to extensive loss of fluid into the peritoneal cavity. Survivors did not differ from nonsurvivors with regard to mean arterial pressure immediately after surgery, and in most animals, hypotension could be corrected by IV administration of fluids. Three animals died after failing to respond to fluid treatment, despite concurrent administration of inotropic or pressor agents. Mean rate for crystalloid fluid administration was 12.8 ml/kg of body weight/h (range, 5 to 23.5 ml/kg/h) during the first 24 hours after surgery. Six of 23 animals had low urine output for a short time after surgery, but urine output increased when fluids were administered. Hypoalbuminemia developed in all animals (mean serum albumin concentration, 1.17 g/dl; range, 0.6 to 2.3 g/dl), and peripheral edema developed in 13. Neither lowest mean serum albumin concentration nor fluid administration rate was significantly different between animals that developed peripheral edema and those that did not. Fluid administration rates were significantly higher in nonsurvivors (15 ml/kg/h; range, 5.5 to 23.5 ml/kg/h) than in survivors (11 ml/kg/h; range, 5 to 17.5 ml/kg/h).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Simulated Effect of Calving Season and Winter Hay Feeding Level on Cow Herd Productivity

The Texas A & M Cattle Production Systems Model was used to study herd productivity under several management plans open to cow-calf producers in the southeastern United States. An east Texas farm herd was simulated as a self-contained unit where all hay fed in the winter months was harvested from hay pastures or as surplus forage from grazed pastures. Management options examined involved (1) variation in the amount of forage fed as hay, and (2) spring vs fall calving. All forage was produced on well fertilized, intensively managed Coastal bermudagrass pastures. The winter feed options consisted of hay fed (1) ad libitum, and at (2) 80, (3) 60 and (4) 40% of the ad libitum level. The hay feeding period was November 15 through April 15. Overall herd productivity decreased as level of winter feeding decreased. Higher levels of hay feeding resulted in fewer cattle/unit land area but higher production/breeding cow. Herd size increased by 2.9, 11.9 and 32.5% as winter hay levels were reduced from ad libitum to 80, 60 and 40% of ad libitum, respectively, under spring calving management, whereas herd productivity measured as total live weight sold/herd (fixed land area) declined by 2.2, 9.4 and 10.3% with the respective feed levels. Spring-calving herds were approximately 3.2% larger in number than corresponding fall-calving herds on the same land area, but fall-calving herds produced an average of 3.6% more live weight sales.
Focus on JNJ-Q2, a novel fluoroquinolone, for the management of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia and acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections

JNJ-Q2 is a novel, fifth-generation fluoroquinolone that has excellent in vitro and in vivo activity against a variety of Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms. In vitro studies indicate that JNJ-Q2 has potent activity against pathogens responsible for acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) and community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP), such as Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae. JNJ-Q2 also has been shown to have a higher barrier to resistance compared to other agents in the class and it remains highly active against drug-resistant organisms, including methicillin-resistant S. aureus, ciprofloxacin-resistant methicillin-resistant S. aureus, and drug-resistant S. pneumoniae. In two Phase II studies, the efficacy of JNJ-Q2 was comparable to linezolid for ABSSSI and moxifloxacin for CABP. Furthermore, JNJ-Q2 was well tolerated, with adverse event rates similar to or less than other fluoroquinolones. With an expanded spectrum of activity and low potential for resistance, JNJ-Q2 shows promise as an effective treatment option for ABSSSI and CABP. Considering its early stage of development, the definitive role of JNJ-Q2 against these infections and its safety profile will be determined in future Phase III studies.
Using Virtual Collaboration to Investigate Regional Labor Market Differences

An understanding of geographic labor market characteristics is valuable for undergraduate students planning a career in human resource management. While many courses discuss some aspects of local labor markets, a project that requires students to compare and contrast labor markets can help build this understanding. This paper shares details from a joint project between two human resource classes at different colleges that required students to collaborate virtually to study labor markets. As a result of this project, students not only learned about labor markets, but also built valuable skills in virtual collaboration.
Explorations to improve the completeness of exome sequencing

Exome sequencing has advanced to clinical practice and proven useful for obtaining molecular diagnoses in rare diseases. In approximately 75 % of cases, however, a clinical exome study does not produce a definitive molecular diagnosis. These residual cases comprise a new diagnostic challenge for the genetics community. The Undiagnosed Diseases Program of the National Institutes of Health routinely utilizes exome sequencing for refractory clinical cases. Our preliminary data suggest that disease-causing variants may be missed by current standard-of-care clinical exome analysis. Such false negatives reflect limitations in experimental design, technical performance, and data analysis. We present examples from our datasets to quantify the analytical performance associated with current practices, and explore strategies to improve the completeness of data analysis. In particular, we focus on patient ascertainment, exome capture, inclusion of intronic variants, and evaluation of medium-sized structural variants. The strategies we present may recover previously-missed, disease causing variants in second-pass exome analysis. Understanding the limitations of the current clinical exome search space provides a rational basis to improve methods for disease variant detection using genome-scale sequencing techniques.
Evaluation of spherically invariant random process parameters as discriminators for speaker verification

In this work, we are interested in the potential use of spherically invariant random processes (SIRPs), described by two parameters, for speaker identification. These random processes have been shown to be a more statistically-accurate model for speech than Laplace and Gamma probability density functions. Computation of the two SIRP parameters is fast and simple and storage requirements are obviously small. Although the proposed method does not yield the accuracy of current methods, identification rates are better than random guessing. The work demonstrates the first step for potential use of SIRPs in speaker identification. Usage might include an adjunct role where SIRPs could supplement existing methods to further improve identification or be used to reduce the parameter requirements of existing methods while maintaining accuracy rates.
Immunotherapy approaches in the treatment of malignant brain tumors

Glioblastoma is the most common malignant primary brain tumor. Despite standard-of-care treatment, consisting of maximal surgical resection followed by chemoradiation, both morbidity and mortality associated with this disease remain very poor. Therefore, there is an urgent need for more efficacious and well tolerated therapies. Advancing knowledge of the intricate interplay between malignant gliomas and the immune system, coupled with the recent launch of immunotherapy research for other cancers, has led to a veritable increase in immunotherapy investigation for glioblastoma and other malignant gliomas. This clinical review highlights the recent breakthroughs in cancer immunotherapy and the complex correlation of the immune system with primary brain tumors, with special attention to multiple immunotherapy modalities currently being investigated for malignant glioma, including peptide vaccines, dendritic cell vaccines, oncolytic viruses, chimeric T-cell receptors, and checkpoint inhibitors. Cancer 2017;123:734-50. © 2016 American Cancer Society.
Paternal effect on offspring survivorship among Ache and Hiwi hunter-gatherers: implications for modeling pair-bond stability.

The Northern Ache of Paraguay with approximately 600 individuals were settled as agricultural farmers in several reservations between 1971 and 1978. The Hiwi are hunter-gatherers of Southwestern Venezuela whose population numbered 290 individuals in 1988. The data were collected over 10 years by a demographic interview in both populations. The Ache data set consisted of information on 832 births provided by 161 reproductive histories of individual women. The Hiwi data set was comprised of information on 135 births recorded in 23 reproductive history interviews. Paternal care-dependent causes of child mortality were important in both Ache and Hiwi society but Ache fathers influenced their childrens long term health via hunting partnerships with other men whereas Hiwi fathers made sure that their children consumed a sufficient diet. Among the Ache the probability of child survivorship tended to be lower when the father died than when he father lived. This difference was statistically significant only in the 5-year interval (p = .04) with children without fathers experiencing a risk of death 2.6 times higher than children with fathers. Similarly parental divorce within the 1st year of life and in subsequent 5-year intervals also led to higher child mortality than when no parental divorce occurred (n = 292 births). However at age 10 and beyond the marital status of parents had little effect on subsequent survivorship. When all age state were combined the effect of parental divorce on the probability of death from sickness homicide and capture in warfare were all statistically significant (p = .42 p = .94; p = .042). Only 8% of Hiwi children experienced the dissolution of their parents marriage by 5 years of age compared with 17% of the Ache. In contrast to the Ache women Hiwi women reported an average of only 1.7 husbands by the end of their reproductive careers (n = 23 women).
Digital audio compression algorithms and implementations

High quality digital audio compression algorithms are a compelling application for digital signal processing (DSP). At audio data rates, inexpensive, high performance device technology allows complex algorithms using models of human hearing to optimize compression. We discuss the principles of operation of state-of-the-art audio compression algorithms and their implementation using DSP techniques. The recent MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 Audio International Standards are used as examples.
Alloplastic reconstruction of the temporomandibular joint.

Temporomandibular joint reconstruction (TMJR) is often necessary for patients with severe and/or refractory TMJ disease who have failed conservative treatment. TMJR aids to improve masticatory function and is associated with improved quality of life outcomes. Currently, alloplastic reconstruction is considered as the treatment of choice in most severe TMJ disorders due to its many advantages inclusive but not limited to early mobilization, stable long-term results, and significant improvement in jaw function. Broadly speaking, two types of TMJR prostheses are available for reconstruction: 1) stock, and, 2) custom-made prostheses. The purpose of this article is to provide the reader with a brief overview of the basic principles and fundamentals of TMJR while referencing pertinent existing literature.