cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A novel Ca2+ channel in vascular smooth muscle?

Contraction of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) requires an increase in [Ca2+]i. This increase can occur via Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum or by influx of Ca2+ from the extracellular space through voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels (VDCCs) or receptor operated nonselective cation channels.1 A number of studies using dissociated or cultured VSMCs with origins from a range of vascular beds have demonstrated, using electrophysiological and molecular techniques, that a major contribution to Ca2+ influx in response to membrane depolarization and/or vasoactive agents is mediated via VDCCs. Two types of VDCCs have been recorded in VSMCs: L- and T-type. The L-type Ca2+ current is classified as high voltage activated (HVA) because it activates at membrane potentials at or more positive than −40 mV. The L-type class of VDCCs has a distinct pharmacology. L-type VDCCs are dihydropyridine (DHP) sensitive, and molecular cloning has confirmed that these channels contain unique domains on the pore-forming α subunit that confer this sensitivity. Because the L-type VDCC is a major contributor to vascular tone, its unique pharmacology has been exploited to treat cardiovascular disorders such as hypertension.1 However, the ubiquitous expression of L-type Ca2+ channels in many cell types causes undesirable side effects when DHPs are clinically used. Fewer published studies have shown that T-type Ca2+ current exists in smooth muscle cells.2 3 4 5 6 7 Unlike the HVA channels, electrophysiological data show that T-type Ca2+ current is DHP insensitive and activates at more negative …
The effect of speculative execution on cache performance

Superscalar microprocessors obtain high performance by exploiting parallelism at the instruction level. To effectively use the instruction-level parallelism found in general purpose, non-numeric code, future processors will need to speculatively execute far beyond instruction fetch limiting conditional branches. One result of this deep speculation is an increase in the number of instruction and data memory references due to the execution of mispredicted paths. Using a tool we developed to generate speculative traces from Intel architecture Unix binaries, we examine the differences in cache performance between speculative and non-speculative execution models. The results pertaining to increased memory traffic mispredicted path reference effects, allocation strategies, and speculative write buffers are discussed. >
Critical Regionalism and the Policies of Place: Revisiting Localism for the Digital Age

Local broadcasting is at a crossroads in Western media systems. While regulators work to address emergent challenges, an enduring tension within the discourse of local media regulation remains how to define “the local.” Stemming from the inability to meet this challenge, an artificial duality has emerged between communities of place and communities of interest within regulatory discussions. The larger epistemological question, therefore, remains undertheorized: How can we think through these issues in a productive fashion, rather than reducing them to an artificial dichotomy of spatial versus social? Through the use of illustrative instances from the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada, I argue that the neo-Marxian theory of critical regionalism is a useful framework to approach this question.
Style Investing and the Book-to-Market Factor

This paper presents convincing empirical evidence that style investing, the practice of allocating funds among styles rather than individual assets, generates comovement among stocks with similar book-to-market ratios. Data on constituents of the S&P/Barra Value and Growth indices are used to conduct empirical tests that lead to five main results. (1) When a stock switches from one index to the other, the correlation, beta, and conditional beta with the new index increase. (2) Cross-sectionally, there is evidence of a discontinuity in comovement at the book-to-market cutoff that defines the two indices. (3) The value and growth definitions of S&P/Barra are a significant determinant of what value and growth style funds hold in their portfolios. (4) None of these empirical patterns exist among the universe of stocks that would have been in the indices from 1981 to 1991. The indices did not exist before 1992. In summary, the evidence of this paper suggests comovement among stocks with similar book-to-market ratios can be generated by trading behaviors such as style investing that are not related to the systematic risk of earnings.
Infrared PINEM developed by diffraction in 4D UEM.

The development of four-dimensional ultrafast electron microscopy (4D UEM) has enabled not only observations of the ultrafast dynamics of photon–matter interactions at the atomic scale with ultrafast resolution in image, diffraction, and energy space, but photon–electron interactions in the field of nanoplasmonics and nanophotonics also have been captured by the related technique of photon-induced near-field electron microscopy (PINEM) in image and energy space. Here we report a further extension in the ongoing development of PINEM using a focused, nanometer-scale, electron beam in diffraction space for measurements of infrared-light-induced PINEM. The energy resolution in diffraction mode is unprecedented, reaching 0.63 eV under the 200-keV electron beam illumination, and separated peaks of the PINEM electron-energy spectrum induced by infrared light of wavelength 1,038 nm (photon energy 1.2 eV) have been well resolved for the first time, to our knowledge. In a comparison with excitation by green (519-nm) pulses, similar first-order PINEM peak amplitudes were obtained for optical fluence differing by a factor of more than 60 at the interface of copper metal and vacuum. Under high fluence, the nonlinear regime of IR PINEM was observed, and its spatial dependence was studied. In combination with PINEM temporal gating and low-fluence infrared excitation, the PINEM diffraction method paves the way for studies of structural dynamics in reciprocal space and energy space with high temporal resolution.
Scrutinizing Relationships: Applying the Tiered Framework to Marriage

How should laws limiting marriage to heterosexual couples be characterized? Are they gender discrimination? Sexual orientation discrimination? Or are they perfectly neutral because each person is subject to the same limitation? In the current legal battle over same-sex marriage, lawyers and judges usually pick one of the three. This paper argues that none of these options is correct, but that there is a fourth option: marriage laws, quite obviously, distinguish between couples, not people, based on the gender diversity (or uniformity) of the couple. Courts should acknowledge this when deciding what level of scrutiny to apply to marriage laws. Were they to do so, the analysis would change in a subtle but possibly decisive way.
N-acetylprocainamide: an active metabolite of procainamide.

SummaryN-Acetylprocainamide has been detected in the plasma samples of each of four patients receiving procainamide. The metabolite was identified from tlc data and its identity confirmed by gas chomatographic-mass spectroscopic analysis. The metabolite was also detected in the whole blood of Sprague-Dawley rats after administration of PA. NAPA · HCI when injected ip into 42- to 49- day-old ICR male mice prevented coarse ventricular fibrillation caused by deep chloroform anesthesia and resultant hypoxia. NAPA · HCl reduced aconitine-induced arrhythmia to atrial flutter or atrial tachycardia with varying degrees of A-V block in three dogs. Analysis by tlc indicated that the mice, dogs, and rats did not deacetylate NAPA during the period of pharmacologic testing. NAPA was found to cause less ferrihemoglobin in Sprague-Dawley rats than did PA.
Chemical Renal Denervation: The Pursuit for Simplicity.

Patients with resistant hypertension continue to pose a therapeutic challenge to physicians. These patients often do not achieve the recommended targets for systolic and diastolic blood pressure despite treatment with multiple drugs with an array of mechanisms. In many cases, patients are intolerant
Stochastic Differential Equation of Earthquakes Series

This work is devoted to modeling earthquake time series. We propose a stochastic differential equation based on the superposition of independent Ornstein–Uhlenbeck processes driven by a $$\Gamma (\alpha, \beta )$$ process. Superposition of independent $$\Gamma (\alpha, \beta )$$ Ornstein–Uhlenbeck processes offer analytic flexibility and provides a class of continuous time processes capable of exhibiting long memory behavior. The stochastic differential equation is applied to the study of earthquakes by fitting the superposed $$\Gamma (\alpha, \beta )$$ Ornstein–Uhlenbeck model to earthquake sequences in South America containing very large events (Mw $$\ge $$ 8). We obtained very good fit of the observed magnitudes of the earthquakes with the stochastic differential equations, which supports the use of this methodology for the study of earthquakes sequence.
Cord blood T cells are "completely different".

According to some, one of Britain’s significant contributions to the modern world is the comedy of the Monty Python Flying Circus. One of their films employed the memorable catchphrase, “And now for something completely different… .” Now, decades later, in this issue of Blood, the work of Hiwarkar et al represents another notable English export.1 This group of investigators has begun to dissect the differences in graft-versus-tumor effects of adult donor peripheral blood (PB) and cord blood (CB) T cells, and the findings are quite remarkable.
Time and space in literacy research

With a fresh approach, the editors of Time and Space in Literacy Research (2014) offer a volume that illuminates how time and space influence cultural practices in varied settings. The first sectio...
Sero-Molecular Epidemiology of Japanese Encephalitis in Zhejiang, an Eastern Province of China.

Background Sporadic Japanese encephalitis (JE) cases still have been reported in Zhejiang Province in recent years, and concerns about vaccine cross-protection and population-level immunity have been raised off and on within the public health sphere. Genotype I (GI) has replaced GIII as the dominant genotype in Asian countries during the past few decades, which caused considerable concerns about the potential change of epidemiology characteristics and the vaccine effectiveness. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of JE neutralizing antibody and its waning antibody trend after live attenuated JE vaccine immunization. Additionally, this study analyzed the molecular characteristics of the E gene of Zhejiang Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) strains, and established genetic relationships with other JEV strains. Methodology/Principal Findings A total of 570 serum specimens were sampled from community population aged from 0 to 92 years old in Xianju county of Zhejiang Province in 2013–2014. Microseroneutralization test results were analyzed to estimate the population immunity and to observe antibody dynamics in vaccinated children. E genes of 28 JEV strains isolated in Zhejiang Province were sequenced for phylogenetic tree construction and molecular characteristics analysis with other selected strains. Positive JE neutralizing antibody rates were higher in residents ≥35 years old (81%~98%) and lower in residents <35 years old (0~57%). 7 or 8 years after the 2nd live attenuated vaccine dose, the antibodies against for 4 different strains with microseroneutralization test were decreased by 55%~73% on seropositive rates and by 25%~38% on GMTs respectively. JEV strains isolated in recent years were all grouped into GI, while those isolated in the 1980s belonged to GIII. On important amino acid sites related to antigenicity, there was no divergence between the Zhejiang JE virus strains and the vaccine strain (SA14-14-2). Conclusion/Significances JE neutralizing antibody positive rates increase in age ≥10 years old population, likely reflecting natural infection or natural boosting of immunity through exposure to wild virus. JE seropositivity rates were quite low in <35 years old age groups in Zhejiang Province. Waning of neutralizing antibody after live attenuated vaccine immunization was observed, but the clinical significance should be further investigated. Both the peripheral antibody response and genetic characterization indicate that current live attenuated JE vaccine conferred equal neutralizing potency against GI or GIII of wild strains. GI has replaced GIII as the dominant genotype in Zhejiang in the past few decades. Although the chance of exposure to wild JE virus has reduced, the virus still circulates in nature; therefore, it is necessary to implement immunization program for children continually and to conduct surveillance activity periodically.
Multifunctional Antibody Agonists Targeting Glucagon‐like Peptide‐1, Glucagon, and Glucose‐Dependent Insulinotropic Polypeptide Receptors

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor (GLP-1R), glucagon (GCG) receptor (GCGR), and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP, also known as gastric inhibitory polypeptide) receptor (GIPR), are three metabolically related peptide hormone receptors. A novel approach to the generation of multifunctional antibody agonists that activate these receptors has been developed. Native or engineered peptide agonists for GLP-1R, GCGR, and GIPR were fused to the N-terminus of the heavy chain or light chain of an antibody, either alone or in pairwise combinations. The fusion proteins have similar in vitro biological activities on the cognate receptors as the corresponding peptides, but circa 100-fold longer plasma half-lives. The GLP-1R mono agonist and GLP-1R/GCGR dual agonist antibodies both exhibit potent effects on glucose control and body weight reduction in mice, with the dual agonist antibody showing enhanced activity in the latter.
Elastography in Chronic Liver Disease: Modalities, Techniques, Limitations, and Future Directions

This article provides an overview of US- and MR-based elastographic techniques, which are emerging to have practical clinical effects on diagnosis and management of patients with chronic liver disease and are replacing liver biopsy as noninvasive tools for assessment of hepatic fibrosis.
Genome Sequence of Mycobacteriophage ErnieJ

ABSTRACT ErnieJ, a cluster C mycobacteriophage that infects Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2155, was recovered from soil in Washington, DC. Its genome is 153,243 bp in size and encodes 227 predicted proteins, 30 tRNAs, and one transfer-messenger RNA (tmRNA). Ten percent of the predicted proteins have homologs in phages that infect nonmycobacterial Actinobacteria.
Obstruction and Infection of the Kidneys and Ureters

In most patients, ureteral obstruction results from an acute process with associated symptoms. Some controversy exists as to which imaging studies are best for investigating suspected ureteral obstruction. At the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, the noncontrast helical computed tomography (CT) is preferred because it is safe and extremely rapid, and the accuracy rate for detecting ureteral stones, the most common cause of ureteral obstruction, exceeds that of other imaging studies. Noncontrast helical CT has an overall accuracy of 97% for diagnosing ureteral stone disease. This far exceeds the accuracy of intravenous urography (IVU) or sonography (US). Regardless of composition, virtually all ureteral stones will have high attenuation values making them readily detectable with CT. Nonmineralized matrix stones and some drug-related stones (protease inhibitors) may not be visible on CT images but these are rarely encountered. Noncontrast helical CT is also highly accurate in demonstrating the size and location of ureteral stones.
Introduction: Innovations in the “Scandalous Memoir”

This project contributes to the literary history of eighteenth-century women’s life writings, particularly those labeled “scandalous memoirs.” I argue that the evolution of this subgenre was shaped partially by several memoirs that have received only modest critical attention: Madame de La Touche’s Apologie (1736), Lady Vane’s Memoirs of a Lady of Quality (1751), Catherine Jemmat’s Memoirs (1762), and Margaret Coghlan’s Memoirs (1794). To illuminate their contributions, I review our current understanding of the origins and significance of the “scandalous memoir” as well as questions recently raised about women’s collaboration and the fluidity of forms. I add to this discussion with new information about these memoirists, whom I situate within historical and generic contexts. In so doing, I reveal their innovations in form and meaning.
Stokes flow patterns induced by a single cardiac cell.

Abstract Stokes flow motions induced by a beating single cardiac cell (cardiomyocyte) are obtained numerically using the method of fundamental solutions (MFS). A two-dimensional meshfree-Stokeslets computational framework is used to solve the Stokes governing equations around an isolated cardiomyocyte. An approximate beating kinematical model is derived and used to approximate the cell-length shortening over a complete cardiac cycle. The induced flow patterns have been found to be characterized by the presence of counter-rotating vortices at both cell's edges. These vortical flow structures are clearly shown by rendering the velocity streamlines. The static pressure contours are also calculated at different time snapshots during both contraction and relaxation phases of the beating motion. The pressure signal is calculated at a point in the neighborhood of cell surface to capture the induced normal stress (traction) by the cell morphological motions to the surrounding fluid medium. The presented results have shown that, cells with a slightly different shortening/beating profile can induce different flow field. This implies that, each cell is characterized by a unique flow pattern “signature”, which potentially can be correlated to the sub-cellular excitation-contraction processes of cardiac cells.
Renormalization of some one-space dimensional quantum field theories by unitary transformation

Abstract The one-space dimensional ϕ m ψ ψ interaction is renormalized by unitary transformation. A uniformly convergent sequence of unitary operators is defined which transforms the sequence of cut-off Hamiltonians, arranged in order of increasing cut-off energy, to a sequence of operators converging strongly on a dense set of states.
Implementation of automated vanilla pollination robotic crane prototype

Vanilla is among the most expensive and most produced spices in the world today. Hand pollination is required in most areas around the globe. Because of the amount of manual labour required for hand pollination automation should reduce the production cost and bring more organic vanilla to the spice market displacing adulterated products. A vanilla crane system for pollination was proposed and simulated by Shaneyfelt et al. in 2013. This paper presents the development of a physical prototype of the system as an undergraduate project.
Influence of Simplified Procurement Methods on Competition for Public Sector Construction

AbstractIn response to problems of cumbersome regulations and understaffed public agencies, governments have worked to simplify procurement statutes and streamline processes. One of the most widely...
Classification and Representation via Separable Subspaces: Performance Limits and Algorithms

We study the classification performance of Kronecker-structured (K-S) subpsace models in two asymptotic regimes and develop an algorithm for fast and compact K-S subspace learning for better classification and representation of multidimensional signals by exploiting the structure in the signal. First, we study the classification performance in terms of diversity order and pairwise geometry of the subspaces. We derive an exact expression for the diversity order as a function of the signal and subspace dimensions of a K-S model. Next, we study the classification capacity , the maximum rate at which the number of classes can grow as the signal dimension goes to infinity. Then, we describe a fast algorithm for Kronecker-structured learning of discriminative dictionaries (K-SLD $^2$ ). Finally, we evaluate the empirical classification performance of K-S models for the synthetic data, showing that they agree with the diversity order analysis. We also evaluate the performance of K-SLD $^2$ on synthetic and real-world datasets showing that the K-SLD $^2$ balances compact signal representation and good classification performance.
Sales and survival within the contested acoustic territories of Mexico City's Historic Centre

The diverse and highly stylised cries (pregones) of street vendors are ubiquitous features of Mexico City's soundscape and audible manifestations of its cultural heritage. Throughout its history, M...
Associations of mindfulness with depressive symptoms and well-being in older adults: the moderating role of neuroticism

Objective: To investigate whether observed interactions of mindfulness with the personality trait neuroticism extend to older adults and to aspects of psychological functioning other than depressiv...
Foundations in the United States: Dimensions for International Comparison

The United States offers a challenging case for the comparative study of philanthropic foundations. Depending on definition, foundation numbers total 80,000 or 130,000. They hold comparatively larg...
Cancer Biology and Transgenic Technology in the Mouse

Cancer research has benefited from the ability to manipulate the mouse genome. Transgenic technology is being used to produce mice with refined genomic mutations that recapitulate cancer development in the human. Transgenic mice have proven valuable in vivo models to address the biological consequences of mutations found in tumors and interactions of two mutations in the same mouse. Carcinogen screening or therapeutic assessment might be enhanced by conducting 2-yr bioassays in the background of a mutant mouse model. The introduction of transgenic methods to limit mutant gene expression to a single tissue or cell type by Tet-inducible or Cre recombinase-Lox P technology permits genetic models of otherwise lethal phenotypes to be developed. Gene traps in embryonic stem (ES) cells are being used to capture genes and conduct initial screens for gene function in “knockout” mice. Gene “knockdowns” in mouse embryos by lentivirus delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) constructs are poised to become valuable tools for studying cancer gene function with some additional technology development. Transgenic mice allow a combinatorial approach utilizing genomic information and physical manipulation of selected genes to dissect pathways altered during tumorigenesis. Finally, although transgenic mouse models are invaluable tools for dissecting cancer and related processes, future goals are to develop “humanized” transgenic mouse models that may more accurately respond to and reflect the human condition.
Intraosseous lipomas with reactive ossification in the proximal femur

Eight operated or post mortem cases of intraosseous lipomas of the proximal femur are described. Radiographic dense calcification may be present. Four distinctive pathologic features differentiate this lesion from other entities.
Gas-phase rearrangement reaction of Schiff-base-modified peptide ions

Rationale Schiff base modification of peptides has been shown to facilitate their primary structural characterization via tandem mass spectrometry. However, we have discovered a novel rearrangement reaction via ion trap collisional activation involving the imine of the Schiff base and one of several functional groups, particularly the side chains of the basic residues lysine, arginine, and histidine, in the peptide. Methods Gas-phase ion/ion reactions involving an aldehyde-containing reagent were used to generate Schiff-base-modified model peptides in a hybrid triple quadrupole/linear ion trap tandem mass spectrometer. Subsequent ion trap collisional activation was used to study the rearrangement reaction. Results Schiff-base-modified peptide ions were found to undergo a rearrangement reaction that was observed to be either a major or minor contributor to the product ion spectrum, depending upon a variety of factors that include, for example, ion polarity, identity of the nucleophile in the peptide (e.g., side chains of lysine, histidine, and arginine), and the position of the nucleophile relative to the imine. Conclusions Relatively low-energy rearrangement reactions can occur in Schiff-base-modified peptide ions that involve the imine of the Schiff base and a nucleophile present in the polypeptide. While this rearrangement process does not appear to compromise the structural information that can be generated via collisional activation of Schiff-base-modified peptide ions, it can siphon away signal from the structurally diagnostic processes in some instances.
Does age-adjusted measurement of contraceptive use better explain the relationship between fertility and contraception?

Background: The typical contraceptive–fertility relationship has not held in some countries witnessing rapid increases in contraceptive uptake. With increasingly more diverse population age structures among developing countries, one explanation may be the different measurement approaches of total fertility rate (TFR), an age-adjusted measure, and contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR), an unadjusted measure. Objective: To examine whether the association between contraception and fertility has changed over time in less developed settings and whether the relationship is better explained with an age-adjusted measure of contraceptive use. Methods: Using data from 259 Demographic and Health Surveys, we examine associations between CPR and TFR in two 15-year periods. We then develop age-adjusted CPR and explore the relationship between TFR and unadjusted versus age-adjusted CPR, using linear regression analyses with country-level fixed effects. Results: A TFR decrease of 1 was associated with a CPR increase of 15.4 percentage points during 1985–2000 and of 17.2 percentage points during 2001–2016. On average, across 259 surveys, age-adjusted CPR was higher than unadjusted CPR by about 3% with significant regional variation. Regression model fit reveals that age-adjusted CPR better explains the CPR–TFR relationship. Contribution: Age-adjusted CPR addresses varying age structures and age patterns of contraceptive use across populations, facilitating cross-country and cross-temporal comparisons of contraceptive use. Updated demographic shorthand for the CPR–TFR relationship is that a TFR decrease of 1 is associated with a CPR increase of 17 percentage points overall and a 20 percentage point increase in sub-Saharan Africa.
Exploring the Specificity, Synergy, and Durability of Auditory and Visual Computer Gameplay Transfer Effects in Healthy Older Adults

Objectives To determine whether auditory and visual computer games yield transfer effects that (a) are modality-specific to verbal memory (auditory stimulus presentation) and visual-processing tests, (b) affect working memory and processing speed, (c) are synergistic for combined game-type play, and (d) are durable. Method A Pilot Study (N = 44) assessed visual transfer effects in a two-group pre-post design. The Main Study (N = 151) employed a 2 (visual games: yes, no) × 2 (auditory games: yes, no) × 3 (test session: pretest, post-test, follow-up) design, allowing different training groups to act as active controls for each other. Neuropsychological test scores were aggregated into verbal-memory (auditory presentation), visual-processing, working-memory, and processing-speed indexes. Results Visual-processing and working-memory pre-post-training change scores were differentially modulated across the four gameplay groups in the main sample, demonstrating transfer effects differing across both active- and passive-control groups. Visual training yielded modality-specific transfer effects in both samples, transfer to working memory in the main sample, and transfer to processing speed in the pilot sample. There were no comparable transfer effects for auditory training. Combined-visual-and-auditory training failed to yield synergistic effects or any significant transfer effects. Visual-processing transfer effects remained significant at follow-up. Discussion Visual and auditory games differentially modulated transfer effects. Domain-specific visual transfer effects were found at post-test and were durable at follow-up. Visual gameplay holds potential to ameliorate age-related cognitive decline in visual cognition.
Discrete Measurements of Suspended Sediment

Theories and empirical studies of longshore sediment transport rates within the surf zone have generally assumed or have estimated in some ad hoc manner, the contribution of suspended-load sediment to total-load transport. However, there has been broad disagreement upon the importance of suspended-load transport; ranging from dominant (Watts, 1953, Fairchild, 1972; Dean, 1973; Galvin, 1972; Brenninkmeyer, 1976; and Kana, 1977) to less than one-half of the bedload transport (Komar and Inman, 1970; Komar, 1976, 1978; and Inman et al., 1980). Fairchild (1977), Kana (1977, 1978, 1979), Kana and Ward (1980) and Inman et al. (1980) suggest that the ratio of suspended load to total load is not constant, but that the importance of suspended load varies for different surf zone conditions (e. g., breaker type) and wave intensities.
Tongue Edema Secondary to Suspension Laryngoscopy

Summary Objectives Suspension microlaryngoscopy (SML) is generally a safe, same-day procedure. Complications have been linked to prolonged operative time and substantial force applied to the tongue. This report of two cases describes marked tongue edema following SML, a complication not yet reported in the literature. Methods This is a retrospective review of two cases of severe tongue edema following SML. We reviewed the literature for similar reports and proposed treatment plans. Results Two patients, age 67 and 75, underwent SML for an interval of 247 minutes and 224 minutes for patient 1 and patient 2 respectively. Both developed severe tongue edema requiring inpatient monitoring and steroids. In both patients, the edema improved over several days and returned to baseline. There are no reported cases of this complication in the literature. Conclusion Prolonged SML can lead to tongue edema requiring close airway monitoring. The edema was self-limited and resolved with steroids and close monitoring.
A comprehensive non-redundant reference transcriptome for the Atlantic silverside Menidia menidia.

The Atlantic silverside (Menidia menidia) has been the focus of extensive research efforts in ecology, evolutionary biology, and physiology over the past three decades, but lack of genomic resources has so far hindered examination of the molecular basis underlying the remarkable patterns of phenotypic variation described in this species. We here present the first reference transcriptome for M. menidia. We sought to capture a single representative sequence from as many genes as possible by first using a combination of Trinity and the CLC Genomics Workbench to de novo assemble contigs based on RNA-seq data from multiple individuals, tissue types, and life stages. To reduce redundancy, we passed the combined raw assemblies through a stringent filtering pipeline based both on sequence similarity to related species and computational predictions of transcript quality, condensing an initial set of >480,000 contigs to a final set of 20,998 representative contigs, amounting to a total length of 53.3 Mb. In this final assembly, 91% of the contigs were functionally annotated with putative gene function and gene ontology (GO) terms and/or InterProScan identifiers. The assembly contains complete or nearly complete copies of >95% of 248 highly conserved core genes present in low copy number across higher eukaryotes, and partial copies of another 3.8%, suggesting that our assembly provides relatively comprehensive coverage of the M. menidia transcriptome. The assembly provided here will be an important resource for future research.
Quantitative accuracy and 3D biometric matching of 388 statistically estimated facial approximations of live subjects

Abstract Objective A geometric morphometric approach for testing the metric accuracy of a computerized facial approximation program is presented. Materials and methods This study uses a leave-one-out procedure to generate average approximations (not adjusted for weight/age) for each individual in the ReFace reference database (n = 388), consisting of eight sex/ancestry groups (both sexes for each: African, Asian, European, Hispanic). Quantitative comparisons of corresponding three-dimensional (3D) known faces and approximations were analyzed using 66 inter-landmark distances (ILDs) derived from twelve interior facial landmarks. Results and conclusions Average signed errors per ILD ranged from -0.67 mm to 1.92 mm, with most errors indicating smaller ILDs in approximations. For all individual ILD errors combined, 99.5% were within ± 10.0 mm, 90.8% were within ± 5.0 mm, 64.6% were within ± 2.5 mm, and 30.2% were within ± 1.0 mm. The largest errors were associated with cheilion and indicated underestimated mouth widths by an overall average of 1.92 mm (SD = 3.99 mm). A statistical matching model that modeled performance of automated facial recognition correctly identified 73–88% of known-approximation pairs as matches. The accuracy and matching results suggest that facial features are highly influenced by the underlying craniofacial skeleton regardless of weight/age variations, the matching model is predictive of automated facial recognition performance, and that ReFace approximations may be sufficiently accurate to biometrically match unidentified decedents to missing persons.
Triangular idempotent matrices over a general ring

A characterization of idempotency is given for triangular matrices with entries from an arbitrary ring. This yields an elementary approach to constructing such matrices. It also reveals structure a...
Surface polarization effects in confined polyelectrolyte solutions

Understanding nanoscale interactions at the interface between two media with different dielectric constants is crucial for controlling many environmental and biological processes, and for improving the efficiency of energy storage devices. In this contributed paper, we show that polarization effects due to such dielectric mismatch remarkably influence the double-layer structure of a polyelectrolyte solution confined between two charged surfaces. Surprisingly, the electrostatic potential across the adsorbed polyelectrolyte double layer at the confining surface is found to decrease with increasing surface charge density, indicative of a negative differential capacitance. Furthermore, in the presence of polarization effects, the electrostatic energy stored in the double-layer structure is enhanced with an increase in the charge amplification, which is the absorption of ions on a like-charged surface. We also find that all of the important double-layer properties, such as charge amplification, energy storage, and differential capacitance, strongly depend on the polyelectrolyte backbone flexibility and the solvent quality. These interesting behaviors are attributed to the interplay between the conformational entropy of the confined polyelectrolytes, the Coulombic interaction between the charged species, and the repulsion from the surfaces with lower dielectric constant.
Unsupervised Cross-Lingual Part-of-Speech Tagging for Truly Low-Resource Scenarios

We describe a fully unsupervised cross-lingual transfer approach for part-of-speech (POS) tagging under a truly low resource scenario. We assume access to parallel translations between the target language and one or more source languages for which POS taggers are available. We use the Bible as parallel data in our experiments: small size, out-of-domain and covering many diverse languages. Our approach innovates in three ways: 1) a robust approach of selecting training instances via cross-lingual annotation projection that exploits best practices of unsupervised type and token constraints, word-alignment confidence and density of projected POS, 2) a Bi-LSTM architecture that uses contextualized word embeddings, affix embeddings and hierarchical Brown clusters, and 3) an evaluation on 12 diverse languages in terms of language family and morphological typology. In spite of the use of limited and out-of-domain parallel data, our experiments demonstrate significant improvements in accuracy over previous work. In addition, we show that using multi-source information, either via projection or output combination, improves the performance for most target languages.
Imaging the living brain: An argument for ruthless reductionism from olfactory neurobiology

Should theories of "higher-level" cognitive effects originate in "lower-level" molecular mechanisms? This paper supports reductionist explanations of sensory perception via molecular mechanisms in neurobiology. It shows that molecular and cellular mechanisms must constitute the material foundation to derive better theories and models for neuroscience. In support of "bottom-up theorizing", I explore the recent application of a new real-time molecular imaging technique (SCAPE microscopy) to mixture coding in olfaction. Seemingly emergent "higher-level" psychological effects in odor perception, irreducible to the physical stimulus, are linked back to underlying molecular mechanisms at the receptor level. The SCAPE study has notable theoretical impact. It provides a possible answer to the neurocomputational challenge in olfaction from combinatorial coding at the periphery: how does the brain discriminate different complex mixtures from widespread and overlapping receptor activation? The failure of previous reductionist structure-odor explanations is shown to reside in misconceptualizations of the critical causal elements involved. Causally fundamental features are not of parts independently of a mechanism. Components and their relevant features are units via their causal role within a mechanism. Here, new technologies allow revisiting our understanding of the ontology and levels of organization of a system.
Wheat intraspecific diversity suppressed diseases with subdued yield, economic return and arthropod predation services

Abstract The push for sustainable intensification requires development of alternative strategies for managing crop production that improve yields while maintaining or enhancing environmental services. We propose that intraspecific mixtures potentially exploit landscape ecosystem services to help suppress pests, impede disease spread, and ultimately improve yields. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a three-year field study of wheat cultivar mixtures compared to sole cultivar stands and evaluated pest control, yield, and economic benefits. Arthropod pests were not abundant in our experiment and predator abundance varied unpredictably across mixtures and sole cultivar stands. We found that mixtures suppressed foliar diseases at a level comparable to that of a fungicide application but had less impact on head diseases. Yield and economic return over variable costs were similar for mixtures and sole cultivar stands (3875 vs 3817 Mg ha−1 of wheat, $473 vs $462 ha−1, respectively), indicating that mixtures may provide similar yields and economic returns. In the three years of this project, there was no substantial benefit of using mixtures, but neither was there a penalty, indicating that planting mixtures can minimize risks should insect pests or disease outbreak.
Quantitative X-ray Microanalysis

You’ve now got an idea of how to acquire XEDS data from thin foils. You understand what factors may limit the information in them and what false and misleading effects may arise. Also, you know how to be sure that a certain peak is due to the presence of a certain element and the occasions when you may not be so sure. Having obtained a spectrum that is qualitatively interpretable, it turns out to be a remarkably simple procedure to convert that spectrum into quantitative data about the elements in your specimen, and this is what we describe in this chapter.
A Compactification over \overline{_{}} of the Universal Moduli Space of Slope-Semistable Vector Bundles

0. Introduction 425 1. The quotient construction 428 2. The fiberwise G.I.T. problem 433 3. Cohomology bounds 435 4. Slope-unstable, torsion free sheaves 437 5. Special, torsion bounded sheaves 440 6. Slope-semistable, torsion free sheaves 443 7. Two results in geometric invariant theory 449 8. The construction of Ug(e, r) 454 9. Basic properties of Ug(e, r) 458 10. The isomorphism between Ug(e, 1) and Pg,e 464 References 470
The Effect of Expanding the Audit Report on Managers’ Communication Openness

Using an experiment, this study investigates whether including additional audit-procedure and/or accounting-estimate details in the audit report influences how openly managers communicate with their auditors. Extant research has focused primarily on the benefits of various changes to the auditor-reporting model. Our study complements and extends this literature by examining a potential cost. We hypothesize that as auditors are required to disclose new information about a firm in the audit report, managers will be less willing to share information about their accounting choices with their auditors. Results reflect this to be the case; participants in our study shared less private information with their auditors when faced with an auditor-reporting regime that requires the auditor to publicly discuss the participant’s key accounting estimates relative to an auditor-reporting regime that does not have this requirement. We further find that a disclosure focused solely on audit procedures does not have the same adverse effect for communication, particularly when participants trust their auditors. Overall, our study highlights the importance of understanding the net benefits that a shift in disclosure control may have on firms’ audit and financial reporting quality before implementing any proposed changes to the auditor-reporting model.
Statistical characterization of atmospheric gravity waves by seismoacoustic observations

We examine acoustic-to-seismic coupled signals from ground-truthed explosions in northern Utah that were observed by dense seismic networks. We simulate the observed signals using both classical ray theory and the parabolic equation method in order to better understand the influence of multiscale atmospheric structures on these signals. Atmospheric models correctly predict acoustic arrival times downwind of the source, but signals are commonly observed over a much larger area than predicted using baseline models including well within the shadow zones near the source. In order to properly explain the extent of the observed infrasound wavefield in range and azimuth, the results indicate that it is necessary to account for unresolved subgrid-scale atmosphere structures. The results also clearly show the need to account for these structures in order to properly explain the observed wave signal duration. Without accounting for small-scale atmospheric structure, the infrasound signals are predicted to last 5–10 s but are observed to last 30–80 s. Furthermore, the amplitudes of the coupled signals relative to background noise vary steadily with distance in a manner that matches the computed predictions. The results show that infrasound signals retain much information about the large- and small-scale structures in the atmosphere through which they propagate suggesting that routine observations from dense regional seismic networks might also provide a novel means of atmospheric sounding.
Coated Charcoal Assay of Vitamins, Minerals, Hormones, and Their Binders.

For more than a century, charcoal has been known to be an almost universal adsorbent, capable of adsorbing an almost limitless variety of solids, liquids, or gases from liquid or gaseous solutions [1, 2]. Adsorption by charcoal occurs almost instantaneously, as demonstrated by the rapid decolorization of caramelized sugar solutions when passed through charcoal columns (column chromatography) or shaken with charcoal (batch separation).
SU-FF-J-04: Improving Image Quality of Low Dose Cone Beam CT (CBCT) Imaging with Sparse Representation

Purpose: To present a methodology for reducing cone beam CT(CBCT) dose using low dose imaging protocols and sparse representation techniques to achieve similar image quality as regular or high dose imaging protocols. Method and Materials: The frequent usage of CBCT raises the concern of excessive non‐therapeutic dose delivered to patients, especially to pediatric patients. Sparse representation (SR) was applied to low dose CBCTimaging, achieved by using low mAs, to suppress imagenoise and streak artifacts. The denoising algorithm was applied to low dose clinical images based on the concept of sparse representation using the training dictionary, which was constructed from the regular dose clinical images to approximate the anatomical site of interest. Validation was carried out using two phantoms (a CATPHAN phantom and an anthropomorphic head & neck phantom) and clinical prostate images. Comparisons with the modified edge preserving curvature anisotropicdiffusion filter (MCDF) were carried out. Results: For CATPHAN phantom images, the SR algorithm outperformed the MCDF algorithm in terms of contrast to noise ratio (CNR).CNR was improved by an average of 32% for the SR algorithm. In contrast, MCDF only improved CNR by an average of 2.4%. Visual assessments of the anthropomorphic head & neck phantom and patient images indicated the SR algorithm not only suppressed the imagenoise but also preserved fine details of anatomical structures and was significantly better than MCDF. Conclusion: SR can be used to reduce imagenoise and CBCTimaging artifacts present in low dose CBCTimages. Dose reductions up to 88% were observed without loss of image quality based on visual assessment.
Diffusion and carrier recombination by interstitials in silicon

We analyze a model of the electronic structure of the silicon interstitial, consistent with full local-density approximation (LDA) calculations. The model assumes three charge states: neutral (0), singly (+), and doubly ionized (++). The (0) interstitial is stable in a shared site, the (++) stable in a tetrahedral site, and the (+) state has energy nearly independent of position. In thermal equilibrium the relative occupation of the (0) and (++) states, each near its stable position, depends upon the electronic Fermi energy. The (+) state has much lower probability than either the (0) or the (++), making this a negative-$U$ center. Nevertheless, the predicted diffusion constant for dopant atoms is dominated by motion of the interstitial in the (+) state. It has an activation energy of about one-half the band gap and is also proportional to the total interstitial density. If the interstitial density is established at some high annealing temperature, it depends strongly upon the Fermi energy at that temperature, and is much higher for $p$-type silicon. The moving interstitial also provides radiationless recombination of excess carriers, at a rate calculated using matrix elements derived from the full LDA electronic structure. The recombination rate does not contain an important Boltzmann factor, in contrast to a Huang-Rhys mechanism, but is proportional to the interstitial density and, at high carrier densities, to the square root of the product of the electron and hole densities. This recombination causes an enhancement of the diffusion rate, given near equilibrium by a factor $[{N}_{e}{\ensuremath{\tau}}_{h}{/N}_{e}^{0}{+N}_{h}{\ensuremath{\tau}}_{e}{/N}_{h}^{0}]/[{\ensuremath{\tau}}_{e}+{\ensuremath{\tau}}_{h}],$ with ${N}_{e},$ ${N}_{e}^{0},$ and ${\ensuremath{\tau}}_{e}$ the density of electrons, the equilibrium density, and an electron emission time, and $h$ indicating the corresponding parameters for holes. For high carrier densities, the enhancement can greatly exceed the equilibrium diffusion.