cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Adaptive response of vascular endothelial cells to an acute increase in shear stress magnitude

The adaptation of vascular endothelial cells to shear stress alteration induced by global hemodynamic changes, such as those accompanying exercise or digestion, is an essential component of normal endothelial physiology in vivo. An understanding of the transient regulation of endothelial phenotype during adaptation to changes in mural shear will advance our understanding of endothelial biology and may yield new insights into the mechanism of atherogenesis. In this study, we characterized the adaptive response of arterial endothelial cells to an acute increase in shear stress magnitude in well-defined in vitro settings. Porcine endothelial cells were preconditioned by a basal level shear stress of 15 ± 15 dyn/cm2 at 1 Hz for 24 h, after which an acute increase in shear stress to 30 ± 15 dyn/cm2 was applied. Endothelial permeability nearly doubled after 40-min exposure to the elevated shear stress and then decreased gradually. Transcriptomics studies using microarray techniques identified 86 genes that were sensitive to the elevated shear. The acute increase in shear stress promoted the expression of a group of anti-inflammatory and antioxidative genes. The adaptive response of the global gene expression profile is triphasic, consisting of an induction period, an early adaptive response (ca. 45 min) and a late remodeling response. Our results suggest that endothelial cells exhibit a specific phenotype during the adaptive response to changes in shear stress; this phenotype is different than that of fully adapted endothelial cells.
Quantitative vascularity of breast masses by Doppler imaging: regional variations and diagnostic implications.

Seventy-four biopsy proven breast masses were imaged by color and power Doppler imaging to evaluate vascular pattern of malignant and benign breast masses. The images were analyzed for vascularity. The measurements were made over the entire mass as well as regionally at its core, at its periphery, and in the tissue surrounding it. The surgical specimens were analyzed for microvessel density. The diagnostic performance of Doppler sonographic vascularity indices was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic analysis. The malignant masses were 14 to 54% more vascular than the benign masses. Both types of masses were more vascular by ultrasonography than the tissue surrounding them. Whereas benign masses were 2.2 times more vascular than the surrounding tissue, the malignant masses were 5.0 times more vascular. In a subset of patients the regional vascularity at the core, periphery, and surrounding tissue by Doppler imaging exhibited a strong correlation (R2 > 0.9) with the corresponding histologic microvessel density measurements. Although the malignant masses exhibited a strong gradient in vascularity, core > periphery > surrounding tissue, the benign masses had relatively uniform distribution of vascularity. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (Az) for the Doppler indices ranged from 0.56 ± 0.07 to 0.65 ± 0.07. A nonlinear analysis including age-specific values of Doppler indices improved the diagnostic performance to Az = 0.85 ± 0.06. In conclusion, quantitative Doppler imaging when used in combination with a nonlinear rule‐based approach has the potential for differentiating between malignant and benign masses. KEY WORDS: Breast cancer; Angiogenesis; Tumor vascularity.
Reflective Supervision for the Green Social Worker: Practical Applications for Supervisors

Reflective supervision asks supervisors to focus on the themes expressed by supervisees and to examine meaning and relational content. However, supervisors may not be aware of how to facilitate this type of interaction at various levels of clinical development. This article integrates the ideas of developmental stage models and reflective supervision and discusses the implementation of reflective supervision to new social workers specifically. These concepts are applied to case vignettes to provide practical application for supervisors in implementing reflection throughout their work with new social workers with the goal of increasing reflective content early in the process.
Knowledge of HPV and HPV Vaccine among Women Ages 19 to 26

Abstract Objective To describe knowledge about human papillomavirus (HPV) and HPV vaccination among women ages 19 to 26 seeking a variety of services at reproductive health centers. A secondary objective was to identify common sources of HPV information. Methods Ten reproductive health centers enrolled 365 women ages 19 to 26 in a randomized, controlled trial to determine the effect of automated reminder messages on HPV vaccine completion. Using responses from a 61-item self-administered baseline questionnaire completed before initiating the HPV vaccine, this subanalysis assessed participants' knowledge regarding HPV and the HPV vaccine. Results Knowledge of HPV prevention, transmission, and disease outcomes among the study population was highly variable. The mean HPV knowledge score was 11.0 of a possible 19 (SD = 3.8). Most participants (77%) had heard of the HPV vaccine before completing the questionnaire and indicated that their primary sources of information about the vaccine were television ads (61%), health care providers (52%), and friends (45%). Conclusions Despite a relatively high awareness of the vaccine, specific knowledge regarding HPV and the HPV vaccine varied substantially and participant scores highlighted knowledge gaps among vaccine-eligible young women. Media, health care providers, and friends were identified by participants as sources of information and may influence their knowledge of HPV and the HPV vaccine.
Phe‐46(CD4) orients the distal histidine for hydrogen bonding to bound ligands in sperm whale myoglobin

The role of Phe-46(CD4) in modulating the functional properties of sperm whale myoglobin was investigated by replacing this residue with Leu, Ile, Val, Ala, Trp, Tyr, and Glu. This highly conserved amino acid almost makes direct contact with the distal histidine and has been postulated to affect ligand binding. The overall association rate constants for CO, O2, and NO binding were little affected by decreasing the size of residue 46 step-wise from Phe to Leu to Val to Ala. In contrast, the rates of CO, O2, and NO dissociation increased 4-, 10-, and 25-fold, respectively, for the same series of mutants, causing large decreases in the affinity of myoglobin for all three diatomic gases. The rates of autooxidation at 37 degrees C, pH 7.0 increased dramatically from approximately 0.1-0.3 h-1 for wild-type, Tyr-46, and Trp-46 myoglobins to 1.5, 5.2, 4.9, and 5.0 h-1 for the Leu-46, Ile-46, Val-46 and Ala-46 mutants, respectively. Rates of NO and O2 geminate recombination were measured using 35 ps and 9 ns laser excitation pulses. Decreasing the size of residue 46 causes significant decreases in the extent of both picosecond and nanosecond rebinding processes. High resolution structures of Leu-46 and Val-46 metmyoglobins, Val-46 CO-myoglobin, and Val-46 deoxymyoglobin were determined by X-ray crystallography. When Phe-46 is replaced by Val, the loss of internal packing volume is compensated by (1) contraction of the CD corner toward the core of the protein, (2) movement of the E-helix toward the mutation site, (3) greater exposure of the distal pocket to intruding solvent molecules, and (4) large disorder in the position of the side chain of the distal histidine (His-64). In wild-type myoglobin, the van der Waals contact between C zeta of Phe-46 and C beta of His-64 appears to restrict rotation of the imidazole side chain. Insertion of Val at position 46 relieves this steric restriction, allowing the imidazole side chain to rotate about the C alpha - C beta bond toward the surface of the globin and about the C beta - C gamma bond toward the space previously occupied by the native Phe-46 side chain. This movement disrupts hydrogen bonding with bound ligands, causing significant decreases in affinity, and opens the distal pocket to solvent water molecules, causing marked increases in the rate of autooxidation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Microstructural Behavior of Energetic Crystalline Aggregates

A dislocation-density based crystalline plasticity and specialized finite-element formulations were used to study the behavior of energetic crystalline aggregates. The energetic crystalline material studied was RDX (cyclotrimethylene trinitramine) with a polymer binder and different void porosities. The aggregate was subjected to different dynamic pressures, and the analyses indicate that maximum temperature increases, constrained dislocation densities, and plastic strain accumulations occurred around the void peripheries, which affected overall deformation behavior. These regions of extreme temperature rise and thermal decomposition can result in hot spot formation.
Hospital-Acquired Thrombocytopenia

The development of thrombocytopenia is common in hospitalized patients and is associated with increased mortality. Frequent and important causes of thrombocytopenia in hospitalized patients include etiologies related to the underlying illness for which the patient is admitted, such as infection and disseminated intravascular coagulation, and iatrogenic etiologies such as drug-induced immune thrombocytopenia, heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, posttransfusion purpura, hemodilution, major surgery, and extracorporeal circuitry. This review presents a brief discussion of the pathophysiology, distinguishing clinical features, and management of these etiologies, and provides a diagnostic approach to hospital-acquired thrombocytopenia that considers the timing and severity of the platelet count fall, the presence of hemorrhage or thrombosis, the clinical context, and the peripheral blood smear. This approach may offer guidance to clinicians in distinguishing among the various causes of hospital-acquired thrombocytopenia and providing management appropriate to the etiology.
Metabolic Labeling with Amino Acids

Metabolic labeling techniques are used to study the biosynthesis, processing, intracellular transport, secretion, degradation, and physical-chemical properties of proteins. This unit provides protocols for metabolic labeling of cells with [(35)S]-labeled amino acids to provide material suitable for analysis by immunoprecipitation, for characterization of cellular proteins, for analysis of protein trafficking, and for one- and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Three procedures are described for suspension and adherent cells: pulse-labeling, pulse-chase labeling, or continuous long-term labeling. A support protocol describes TCA precipitation to measure the extent of labeling.
Roadside-Aided Routing (RAR) in Vehicular Networks

Inter-Vehicle Communications (IVC) and Roadside-to-Vehicle Communications (RVC) in vehicular networks based on IEEE 802.11 are emerging technologies for future Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). This paper presents a new efficient routing approach, called RAR (Roadside-Aided Routing), that is the first one to exploit the unique characteristics of vehicular networks. A novel affiliation method is proposed to affiliate a vehicle to several Roadside Units based on road constraints. This scheme allows (a) agent advertisement to be broadcast in one hop (instead of multi-hop), (b) routing to be done in single phase, comparing to two phases, (c) to eliminate the use of hierarchical addressing which is commonly used in single-phase schemes. Simulation results of ns-2 show that RAR approach can provide a high packet delivery rate in vehicular networks with a low and constant overhead.
Health Behavior Theories in Diet Apps

iPhone apps are being used to promote healthier diets. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent to which diet apps' content was guided by health behavior theory in their design and user interface. This study consisted of 58 diet apps from iTunes' Health & Fitness category. Coders downloaded the apps and rated their inclusion of theory. Scores ranged from 0 to 26 on a 100-point scale. Most apps were theory deficient and provided just general information/assistance. An opportunity exists for health behavior change experts to partner with app developers to incorporate health behavior theories into the development of individually tailored apps.
Avoidance versus detection and recovery problem in buffer-space allocation of flexibly automated production systems

Motivated by recent developments in the semiconductor manufacturing industry, this paper undertakes an analytical investigation of the problem of selecting optimally the deadlock resolution strategy for buffer space allocation in flexibly automated production systems. In the process, it extends the behavioral models for the aforementioned systems currently considered in the literature, to account for probabilistic uncontrollable effects like the requirement for extra finishing steps and/or rework, and it introduces a new deadlock resolution scheme, characterized as randomized deadlock avoidance. The combination of these two extensions brings the considered system behavior(s) to the realm of probabilistic automata, an area of increasing academic interest. For the resulting model, and under the assumption of Markovian timings, it develops an analytical methodology for selecting the optimal deadlock resolution strategy that maximizes the steady-state system throughput, and it demonstrates its effectiveness through application to a "prototype" system configuration. The obtained results provide an interesting analytical expression of the need to assess the gains obtained by the increased concurrency supported by the deadlock detection and recovery strategy versus the productivity losses experienced under this approach due to increased system blocking, and/or additional material handling overheads. It turns out that, for the considered system configuration, the optimal selection scheme switches between detection and recovery and pure deadlock avoidance, every time that the time cost of deadlock recovery, /spl tau//sub d/, crosses a threshold /spl Theta/, which is a function of the remaining system behavioral and timing parameters. Beyond its own theoretical merit, this last result raises also the question of whether the policy randomization introduced in this work will ever enhance the performance of any configuration in the considered class of Resource Allocation Systems (RAS); this issue will be investigated in a sequel paper.
Possible Pulsar Formation Mechanism

PACZYNSKI has shown in some unpublished work that all stars in the interval 3.5 M⊙≲M≲8 M⊙ form degenerate carbon–oxygen cores (M ∼ 1.4 M⊙) which converge to the same central conditions before undergoing carbon ignition. The luminosities of these stars also converge, indicating that their cores are all essentially identical. Gunn and Ostriker (unpublished) have shown that the minimum mass for pulsar parent stars is about 4 M⊙ with a maximum parent mass of about 10 M⊙. Their study also indicates that the parameter B = Bia3 sin αI−1/2 (Bi is the initial magnetic field, a is the neutron star radius, α is the angle of inclination between the rotation and dipole axes, and I is the moment of inertia) varies only slightly among the fourteen pulsars the period of which has been observed to change, and for which B can thus be determined.
Controlled Assembly and Dispersion of Strain-Induced InGaAs/GaAs Nanotubes

Group III-V semiconductor nanotubes (SNTs) are formed when strained planar bilayers are released from the substrate. Compared to other nanotechnology building blocks, one of the main advantages of SNTs is the capability of precise positioning due to the top-down fabrication approach. In this letter, we demonstrate large-area assembly of ordered arrays of InxGa1-xAs/GaAs nanotubes and the dispersion of their freestanding form into solution and onto foreign substrates. In addition, we systematically investigate the crystal orientation dependence of rolling behavior using a wheel configuration, which serves as a guide for assembly homogeneity. Theoretical and experimental evaluations of tube diameters are also discussed.
Analysis of Ah receptor-ARNT and Ah receptor-ARNT2 complexes in vitro and in cell culture

ARNT and ARNT2 proteins are expressed in mammalian and aquatic species and exhibit a high level of amino acid identity in the basic-helix loop-helix PER/ARNT/SIM domains involved in protein interactions and DNA binding. Since the analysis of ARNT2 function at the protein level has been limited, ARNT2 function in aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR)-mediated signaling was evaluated and compared to ARNT. In vitro, ARNT and ARNT2 dimerized equally with the AHR in the presence of 2,3,7,8-tetracholorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and ARNT2 outcompeted ARNT for binding to the AHR when expressed in excess. In contrast, activation of the AHR with 3-methylcholanthrene or benzo[a]pyrene resulted in predominant formation of AHR*ARNT complexes. ARNT2 expressed in Hepa-1 cell culture lines with reduced ARNT protein resulted in minimal induction of endogenous CYP1A1 protein compared to cells expressing ARNT, and mutation of the putative proline residue at amino acid 352 to histidine failed to produce an ARNT2 that could function in AHR-mediated signaling. However, the expression of ARNT2 in wild-type Hepa-1 cells reduced TCDD-mediated induction of endogenous CYP1A1 protein by 30%, even though AHR*ARNT2 complexes could not be detected in nuclear extracts. Western blot analysis of numerous mouse tissues and various cell culture lines showed that both endogenous ARNT and ARNT2 could be detected in cells derived from kidney, central nervous system, and retinal epithelium. Thus, ARNT2 has the ability to dimerize with the liganded AHR in vitro and is influenced by the activating ligand yet appears to be limited in its ability to influence AHR-mediated signaling in cell culture.
TRP channels and the regulation of vascular permeability: new insights from the lung microvasculature

See related article, pages 988–995 One of the most widely recognized mechanisms to initiate an inflammatory response is calcium entry into endothelial cells.1–3 Recent investigations have demonstrated that there are multiple mechanisms which determine calcium flux into endothelial cells (including ligand gated calcium channels, store operated calcium channels and mechanosensitive channels), and that these different mechanisms are preferentially distributed between different endothelial cells. The functional consequences of these observations for regulation of vascular tone and remodeling are beginning to be understood4,5 but this is not the case for the regulation of endothelial barrier function in intact organs. In this issue Alvarez et al describe an important example of segmental vascular permeability regulation in lung.6 They demonstrate that activation of the vanilloid subset of the family of calcium channels known as transient receptor potential channels (in this case the TRPV4 channels) preferentially increased the permeability of the endothelial and epithelial layers of the primary gas exchanging septal regions of the lung microvasculature whereas other calcium channels, such as the store operated calcium channels, increased permeability outside the primary gas exchange regions (so called extra-alveolar regions). These are important observations because disruption of the endothelium at the septal barrier is more likely to cause alveolar flooding and impair gas exchange than disruption in extra-alveolar vessels. So far at least 28 mammalian TRP isoforms have been discovered. TRP channels have been subdivided into 3 main classes, TRPC (canonical), TRPM (melastatin), and TRPV (vanilloid) although more recently other classes have also been proposed (TRPP [polycystin], TRPML [mucolipin], and TRPA [ankyrin]).4,7 A general feature of the channels is that they pass only very small currents (calcium ion flux) and act as passive conductance pathways for calcium entry, ie, they are not voltage gated. Thus the calcium flux depends on the …
Toward an empirical research agenda for sustainability in higher education: exploring the transition management framework

A large and growing body of research examining sustainability in higher education has emerged in the past decade. This literature is dominated by empirical and descriptive studies of specific approaches and individual initiatives, but lacks a cohesive research agenda and is not yet supported by strong theoretical underpinnings. This paper contributes to the advancement of this emerging field by exploring the theoretical framework of transition management (TM), a multi-scale, multi-actor, process-oriented approach and analytical framework to understand and promote change in social systems. The TM framework provides guidance toward informing and prioritizing future empirical research in this important emerging field.
Influence of Drugs that Block Calcium Channels on the Microbicidal Function of Human Neutrophils

The central role of calcium ions in cell physiology prompted us to examine the hypothesis that pharmacological concentrations of calcium channel-blocking drugs might affect human neutrophil (PMN) functions. The capacity of PMNs suspended in verapamil hydrochloride for killing Pseudomonas aeruginosa during two hour incubations was significantly impaired (P less than .05). Several observations suggested that this drug effect was the result of altered calcium metabolism: exposure to verapamil decreased the uptake of 45Ca++ by PMNs subsequently exposed to the calcium ionophore A23187; verapamil did not impair PMN function in the absence of extracellular calcium; and the addition of A23187 concomitantly with (but not following) verapamil prevented PMN dysfunction. In addition, nifedipine, a structurally dissimilar calcium channel-blocking drug, also impaired the bactericidal activity of PMNs against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P less than .02). Further studies revealed that treatment with verapamil did not affect PMN phagocytosis, but significantly impaired the PMN respiratory burst (as shown by superoxide anion generation assay; P less than .05). We conclude that PMNs exposed to pharmacological concentrations of calcium channel-blocking drugs exhibit a reduced capacity to kill bacteria.
A performance analysis of an optimistic and a basic timestamp-ordering concurrency control algorithms for centralized database systems

A study is made of a known implementation of an optimistic concurrency-control algorithm for centralized database systems and improvements are suggested to the algorithm. The authors propose an implementation of an algorithm for the basic timestamp-ordering concurrency control in centralized database systems. The two algorithms are compared by simulation experiments. As expected, the optimistic approach is better for transaction mixes dominated by retrievals. For transaction mixes dominated by updates, the optimistic algorithm spends time performing operations that have a good chance of being voided by earlier conflicting operations. The authors expected the timestamp algorithm to be better in these circumstances but, this is not the case. They attribute this to the fact that transactions used in the experiments are short, and therefore the execution time lost due to an abort is small. >
Statistical identification of global hot spots in soil moisture feedbacks among IPCC AR4 models

[1] Soil moisture feedbacks can regulate climate change and offer the potential for seasonal climate predictability, yet their strengths and regional importance are poorly understood. A statistical analysis of soil moisture feedbacks on boreal and austral summer precipitation is performed using output from 19 climate models in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fourth Assessment Report. The methodology, using lagged covariance ratios, was previously applied to study ocean-atmosphere and vegetation-atmosphere interactions. Reflecting ensemble-based findings from the Global Land-Atmosphere Coupling Experiment (GLACE) for boreal summer, positive soil moisture feedback hot spots are identified over central United States, North Africa, India, northern Brazil, and western Eurasia. Hot spots for austral summer include the Amazon, Congo, Australia, Indonesia, Mexico, and southwest United States. This statistical approach focuses on appropriate spatial and temporal scales of interaction, quantifies local feedbacks with significance testing, and expedites a reliable model intercomparison of feedbacks, without producing additional dynamical experiments.
The evolution of a hurricane-trough interaction from a satellite perspective

Abstract A case study is presented that describes the interaction of Hurricane Bertha (1996) with an extratropical upper-tropospheric trough shortly before the hurricane's landfall in North Carolina. This case study illustrates the evolution of the interaction as seen in water vapor satellite imagery. The similarity of the features in the satellite images to those in gridded analyses of potential vorticity in the upper troposphere suggests that some types of trough interactions may be identifiable from satellite imagery.
Gypsy Moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) Control Trials Combining Nucleopolyhedrosis Virus, Disparlure, and Mechanical Methods

In 1974, six control methods were tested in 0.4-ha plots, separately and in various combinations, to determine their efficacy in reducing populations and protecting foliage from Lymantria dispar (L.). Methods tested included removing egg masses, spraying egg masses with nucleopolyhedrosis virus, removing resting and pupation locations for larvae, removing larvae and pupae, removing fall egg masses, and trapping adult males with traps baited with disparlure. Trials were replicated, and each control method was tested at three gypsy moth densities. None of the 29 control methods or combinations tested provided even temporary protection from the insect.
Abstract 1905: Influence of serum and oxygen on lipid biosynthesis and energy metabolism in murine glioblastoma.

Glucose and glutamine are essential energy metabolites for brain tumor growth and survival under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Carbons derived from either metabolite can be used for lipid synthesis. Here, we used uniformly labeled C14-glucose and C14-glutamine to examine de novo lipid synthesis in the VM-M3 murine glioblastoma cells. The major lipids synthesized included phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylinositol (PI), phosphatidylserine (PS), sphingomyelin (SM), phosphatidic acid (PA), cholesterol (Chol), and cardiolipin (CL). De novo lipid synthesis was greater with glucose than with glutamine as the metabolic substrate under normoxia. Conversely, glutamine was the preferred substrate for lipid synthesis under anoxia. Lactate was produced largely from glucose carbons with minimal lactate derived from glutamine. Total lipid synthesis, using either glucose or glutamine, was greater in media without serum than in media containing 10% FBS under normoxia. Significant triglyceride accumulation was observed only under anoxia. Our findings show that lipid biosynthesis using glucose or glutamine is dependent on the type of growth environment, and that the VM-M3 glioblastoma cells can grow under anoxia only through acquisition of lipids, especially cholesterol, from serum. Supported in part from Boston College Res. Expense Fund. Citation Format: Nathan Ta, Thomas Seyfried. Influence of serum and oxygen on lipid biosynthesis and energy metabolism in murine glioblastoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1905. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-1905
Modulating airway defenses against microbes

Prevention and treatment of respiratory infections remain an important health care challenge as the US population ages, contains more susceptible or high-risk people, and encounters new pathogens or antibiotic resistant bacteria. Reasonably protective vaccines against very common microbes are available for childhood and adult immunization, but, generally, these are underutilized. A broader definition of higher risk individuals is evolving, which will include more for immunization. Different approaches to vaccine development through design of new component vaccines are necessary. This review has updated host defense mechanisms at three levels in the human respiratory tract: naso-oropharynx (upper airways), conducting airways, and alveolar space. Examples of representative pathogenic microbes have been inserted at the respective airway segment where they may colonize or create infection (influenza, measles virus, Porphyromonas gingivalis causing periodontitis, Bordetella pertussis, Chlamydia pneumoniae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Bacillus anthracis ). Hopefully, microbe-host interactions will suggest new approaches for preventing these kinds of infections.
Studies on dynamic buckling of vault-anchored tanks subjected to the harmonic excitation of horizontal displacement

Seismic disasters are indicated that buckling of tank shells is the main earthquake damage,so it is particularly important for studying the dynamic buckling characterization of the tank.The dynamic buckling of vault-anchored tanks subjected to the harmonic excitation of horizontal displacement is investigated.Finite elements models of three cone roof tanks with height to diameter ratios(H/D) of 0.82,1.24 and 1.85 are applied to the study.According to Budiansky-Roth dynamic buckling criteria,the characteristics of the node′s pseudo-balanced path trajectory are mapped with acceleration PGA of hormoric waves and displacement response of tanks for determining critical acceleration peak and tank dynamic buckling.The buckling modes of the three tank are all elastic buckling.The dynamic buckling analyses show that the locations of plastic yielding of the tank are connected with H/D of the tank.The plastic yielding of the tank mostly occurs in the locations of its radial deformation peak.The total plastic strains of inside and outside are different.Finally,for getting the critical stress peak of the vault-anchored tank subjected to horizontal excitation,the calculation results by pseudo-balanced path method and Specification correlative method are compared.
To Reform an Imagined Congo: Novelists Tackle the Congo Rubber Scandals

The Congo reform movement was at its heart a battle of representation, as intimated by Kevin Dunn in Imagining the Congo. In order to change the Congo regime, it would be necessary to undermine the carefully crafted image of benevolence cultivated by King Leopold with unfavorable publicity that could rouse public opinion to influence politics and international relations. To recast the image of the Congo as a place of European misrule, the movement required writers of all stripes, such as journalists, travel writers, and novelists. Some of the novelists who came forward to contribute to the movement had not set foot in the Congo, but were moved by the cause and by the chance to explore aspects of the human condition as well as, perhaps, the commercial opportunities involved. This article will discuss the involvement of these novelists through the examples of Samuel Clemens, Herbert Strang (the pseudonym for George Herbert Ely and Charles James L'Estrange), Henry de Vere Stacpoole, and Arthur Conan Doyle. T...
Tourism’s potential to benefit the poor: A social accounting matrix model applied to Ecuador

The study examines the distributional effects of tourism expansion applying a social accounting matrix model to the case of Ecuador. Specifically the study examines what share of tourism expansion benefits poor people. The study finds that tourism has large multiplier effects on the Ecuadorian economy and has the potential for substantial benefits to the poor. The study also found that distributional effects of tourism development are spread across all household incomes in both urban and rural areas benefiting the lowest and low households the most. Tourism has the potential of reducing inequality and is pro-poor in the case of Ecuador. Benefits to the poor seem to hinge on how and where tourists spend their money.
Investigating shape evolution and the emergence of collectivity through the synergy of Coulomb excitation and β decay

The synthesis of Coulomb excitation and β decay offers very practical advantages in the study of nuclear shapes and collectivity. For instance, Coulomb excitation is unique in its ability to measure the electric quadrupole moments, i.e., matrix elements, of excited, non-isomeric states in atomic nuclei, providing information on the intrinsic shape. However, the Coulomb excitation analysis and structural interpretation can be strongly dependent upon weak transitions or decay branches, which are often obscured by the Compton background. Transitions of particular interest are those low in energy and weak in intensity due to the E γ 5 attenuation factor. These weak decay branches can often be determined with high precision from β -decay studies. Recently, 106 Mo and 110 Cd were studied by both Coulomb excitation and β decay. Preliminary results of new weak decay branches following β decay of 110 m Ag to 110 Cd are presented; these results will challenge competing interpretations based on vibrations and configuration mixing.
Role of Neuromonitoring in Minimally Invasive Lateral Approaches to the Spine

Minimally invasive approaches allow surgeons to achieve clinical outcomes similar to traditional open approaches but with decreased blood loss, postoperative pain, and length of hospital stay. In 1998, a minimally invasive retroperitoneal transpsoas approach to the lumbar spine was described that provided surgeon access to the anterior lumbar spine with less morbidity than that associated with the traditional retroperitoneal approach [1] while providing equivalent biomechanics [2]. In this procedure, the patient is typically placed in the right lateral decubitus position (so as to avoid the liver). Incisions are planned with the aid of fluoroscopy over the appropriate disc space(s) and the retroperitoneum is entered. The disc spaces are then sequentially accessed through the psoas muscle using a guidewire, dilators, and tubular retractor. Discectomy can then be performed, followed by placement of an interbody spacer. This procedure can be “stand alone” or supplemented with posterior instrumentation.
Football Point Spreads: Not for Betting Only

Point spreads “level the playing field” for favorites and underdogs in football. Point spreads can do the same for coaches. Those from lesser known schools are often passed over in polls for best coaches as criteria typically emphasize the national titles, bowl victories, and top rankings that accrue exclusively to big-time programs. Success against the spread creates its own poll in this study and recognizes coaches who might otherwise be overlooked for coaching honors.
Fast-Lane Evolution in the Tumor Microenvironment

Human tumor immunology is a compound biological discipline that combines complexities related to the evolutionary and epigenetic adaptation of the immune system to those related to the genetic instability of cancer cells. We have discussed elsewhere the relevance of immune polymorphism and immune adaptation to the study of tumor host interactions in the tumor microenvironment. In this chapter, we describe changes occurring during the natural history of cancer development. We discuss whether this process may be accelerated by immune editing or other conditions that could alter the natural biology of cancer cells in favor of their survival in the host. In particular, we address evidence of tumor escape through loss of antigen presentation or through secretion of factors that may influence the function of the arm of the innate or adaptive immune response. We describe novel technologies that could be applied for the study in real time of these phenomena directly in humans.
Uncertainty Evaluation of the Calibration of Dial Indicator Calibrators by Laser Interferometer

This paper describes the uncertainty evaluation procedure for a dial indicator calibrator calibration in accordance with the ISO/IEC Guide 98-3:2008. The effects of error sources on this calibratio...
Cancer texts in the United States, United Kingdom, and South Africa: Eliminating health disparities through intercultural networks

B13 Cancer communications are impacted by the culture of a particular country that each possesses specific acceptable ideals and practices based upon history, politics, or social constructs. This cancer communications research can be applied to determining potential intercultural cancer communication opportunities amongst international cancer organizations--all conducted in an effort to improve the public’s health practices, cancer awareness, and eliminate health disparities. The following research questions address the oversights in current research that do not adequately address cultural communication practices pertaining to cancer communication: How do US cancer communications compare to those of the UK and South Africa? How can the US benefit from the cancer communication practices of the UK and South Africa? How can the UK and South Africa benefit from the cancer communication practices of the US? Public texts, including annual reports and information releases, from the American Cancer Society (ACS), Cancer Research UK, and the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) were examined through qualitative content analysis. Data collection categories emerged from the analysis of the cancer communications at these cancer prevention-based organizations that address the research questions. Text content, themes, terminology, and tone guide the cancer communications in each respective country according to the culture and communication practices therein. The ACS and Cancer Research UK communications have many commonalities, although each exercises unique cancer communication qualities. CANSA public texts possess a drastic difference in the cancer communications content, text, tone, and themes. This demonstrates the opportunity for intercultural organization networks to improve health disparities in this country and others. The content analysis of cancer communications in US, UK and South Africa creates the opportunity for improvement within organizations in other influential African countries with major health disparities, such as Nigeria, Kenya, and Ethiopia. Future study of US, UK, and South Africa cancer communications can include applying hermeneutics to public text analysis. The cultural and social circumstances of each country permeate the cancer communications and the analyses could be further explained through the application of hermeneutics. This form of analysis could supply an overall context for the data as well as provide additional reasons for the differences in cancer communications by country and culture. The cancer communications research will be also expanded by sampling texts from additional cancer-related entities such as research universities and government to yield additional qualitative and quantitative analyses.
Use of the Kalman Filterfor Inference in State-Space Models with Unknown Noise Distributions

Abstract The Kalman filter is :frequently used for state estimation in state-space models when the standard Gaussian noise assumption does not apply. A problem arises, however, in that inference based on the incorrect Gaussian assumption can lead to misleading or erroneous conclusions about the relationship of the Kalman filter estimate to the true (unknown) state. This paper shows how inequalities from probability theory associated with the probabilities of convex sets have potential for characterizing the estimation error of a Kalman filter in such a non-Gaussian (distribution-free) setting.
Safety Considerations of the Use of TMS

The application of TMS is increasing over the course of the last 30 years. In this course, the scientific and medical community has felt the need to evaluate the safety record of research studies and clinical applications of TMS and repetitive TMS (rTMS). Thus, the first safety precautions and practice recommendations were published in 1996 after a consensus conference held for this purpose. Since then, issues of risk and safety of conventional and emerging TMS protocols have been reviewed continuously leading to thoroughly established guidelines concerning limits of stimulation parameters, general precautions, monitoring of subjects, expertise of the rTMS team, and ethical issues. The 2009 publication of Rossi et al. in Clinical Neurophysiology still represents nowadays valid recommendations.
Cariogenic Pathogen Scardovia Wiggsiae Screening Among Pediatric Orthodontic Patients: A Pilot Study

Dental caries remains one of the most prevalent oral health diseases in the United States, affecting nearly half of all children and a majority of adults. Most medically important cariogenic bacteria, including Streptococcus, Lactobacillus, Actinomyces and Veillonella species are well known, although recent evidence has identified the new cariogenic pathogen Scardovia wiggsiae (S. wiggsiae) among children and minorities with severe early childhood caries. Based upon these new findings, the goal of this project was to determine the prevalence of this new cariogenic pathogen S. wiggsiae from a repository of previously collected pediatric saliva samples from orthodontic patients. DNA was isolated from previously collected saliva samples (n=48) and was subsequently screened for the presence of S. wiggsiae using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and primers designed specifically to distinguish this organism. Fifteen (15) samples tested positive for S. wiggsiae, representing 31.25% of the samples screened. As previous studies from this laboratory using adult orthodontic patients and pediatric non-orthodontic patients revealed prevalence of and 14 and 21.5%, respectively - these findings suggest that the newly identified cariogenic pathogen S. wiggsiae may disproportionately affect pediatric orthodontic patients for reasons that are not well understood, which imply more detailed and focused research in this area is needed. As previous research has demonstrated that oral health status and caries risk may be related to education, income and socioeconomic status, these findings help to elucidate and contextualize the risks facing these populations.
A Framework for Occupancy Tracking in a Building via Structural Dynamics Sensing of Footstep Vibrations

Counting the number of occupants in building areas over time---occupancy tracking---provides valuable information for responding to emergencies, optimizing thermal conditions or managing personnel. This capability is distinct from tracking individual building occupants as they move within a building, has lower complexity than conventional tracking algorithms require and avoids privacy concerns that tracking individuals may pose. The approach proposed here is a novel combination of data analytics applied to measurements from a building's structural dynamics sensors (e.g., accelerometers or geophones). Specifically, measurements of footstep-generated structural waves provide evidence of occupancy in a building area. These footstep vibrations can be distinguished from other vibrations, and, once identified, the footsteps can be located. These locations, in turn, form the starting point of estimating occupancy in an area. In order to provide a meaningful occupancy count, however, it is first necessary to associate discrete footsteps with individuals. The proposed framework incorporates a tractable algorithm for this association task. The proposed algorithms operate on-line, updating occupancy count over time as new footsteps are detected. Experiments with measurements from a public building illustrate the operation of the proposed framework. This approach offers an advantage over others based on conventional technologies by avoiding the cost of a separate sensor system devoted to occupancy tracking.
A diagnostic algorithm for evaluating cases of potential macrocyclic lactone–resistant heartworm

The emergence of macrocyclic lactone resistance in canine heartworm poses a substantial threat to what is currently the only effective, FDA-approved available method of prevention. Further study of the biotypes is necessary to understand the mechanism of resistance and evaluate novel prevention options. Identifying cases of drug-resistant infection remains problematic, however, especially when poor compliance and insufficient testing are concerns. Furthermore, a definitive demonstration of resistance requires experimental infection and treatment, which is prohibitively costly. With the aim of identifying likely cases of macrocyclic lactone-resistant heartworm and preventing their continued spread, we describe an algorithm for determining the likelihood of drug resistance and appropriate treatment strategies for each case. This algorithm relies on the microfilarial suppression test (MFST), which has been used previously as an efficient and discrete measure of suspected resistance. By standardizing this method in a format that is readily available to practitioners, it could become possible to preliminarily survey the emergence and spread of resistance. Heartworm isolates identified through this method can be used in research to better understand macrocyclic lactone resistance so prevention strategies can be adapted.
Surfing with Juliet: The Shakespearean Dialectics of Disney’s Teen Beach Movie

This essay examines the intertextual relationships between Teen Beach Movie (dir. Jeffrey Hornaday, 2013) and the 1960s Beach Party movies, West Side Story, Romeo and Juliet, and other films and plays. Shakespeare operates as a consistent intertext in order to elevate Teen Beach Movie’s cultural status; to mark the superior intelligence and enlightened sophistication of its young protagonist, a twenty-first century female surfer who finds herself transported to a 1960s beach movie musical called Wet Side Story; and to mark the ironic cluelessness of male teens who are unaware that they are citing him. Despite pervasive and clever uses of intertextuality and self-reflexivity, TBM reifies conservative cultural gender norms even as it openly questions them.
The eigendecomposition of the eddy current problem in thin conducting shells

Broadband electromagnetic induction sensors can effectively detect and classify buried metal, such as landmines, by using an incident magnetic field to induce eddy currents in buried metal and measuring the secondary magnetic field they produce. A target's magnetic polarizability is a frequency dependent tensor that expresses the relationship between the incident magnetic field and the scattered field created by the eddy currents. Viewed as a singularity expansion, the magnetic polarizability can be decomposed into contributions from a set of eddy-current modes which relax at different frequencies. This decomposition provides a unique signature for targets of interest, allowing them to be effectively distinguished from clutter. In this paper, an improved, stream-function-based numerical approach will be presented that can accurately compute the eddy-current modes that flow in thin conducting shells and their contribution to the singularity expansion of the magnetic polarizability.