cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Quantitative Analysis of Fentanyl in Pharmaceutical Preparations by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

Fentanyl (1-[2-phenethyl]-4-N-[N-propionylanilino]piperidine) is a potent synthetic opiate commonly used for surgical analgesia and sedation. Reports of abuse of this highly addictive drug among health care personnel have prompted the need to verify the concentration in the unused portion of single-dose ampules returned to the pharmacy. We describe a simple quantitative method for the analysis of fentanyl citrate (Sublimaze) in syringes returned to the pharmacy following surgery. Fentanyl citrate (0.1 mL) and 2H5-fentanyl (internal standard, 0.05 mL, 100 mg/L) were extracted with Toxi-A tubes (Toxi-Lab, Irvine, CA) and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Calibration was linear from 1 to 60 mg/L (correlation coefficient of 0.997, n = 13) and had a limit of detection of 0.4 mg/L. Mean recovery at concentrations from 5 to 50 mg/L was 89% (range, 69-104%). No interferences were found with morphine, ketamine, midazolam, sufentanil, or alfentanil. These drugs were not selected for their potential chromatographic interference but for their availability in surgical syringes. This assay is useful in verifying that any unused fentanyl is discarded according to narcotic regulations, thereby avoiding the possibility of diversion for illicit consumption.
Fast and practical secret key extraction by exploiting channel response

Securing wireless communication remains challenging in dynamic mobile environments due to the shared nature of wireless medium and lacking of fixed key management infrastructures. Generating secret keys using physical layer information thus has drawn much attention to complement traditional cryptographic-based methods. Although recent work has demonstrated that Received Signal Strength (RSS) based secret key extraction is practical, existing RSS-based key generation techniques are largely limited in the rate they generate secret bits and are mainly applicable to mobile wireless networks. In this paper, we show that exploiting the channel response from multiple Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) subcarriers can provide fine-grained channel information and achieve higher bit generation rate for both static and mobile cases in real-world scenarios. We further develop a Channel Gain Complement (CGC) assisted secret key extraction scheme to cope with channel non-reciprocity encountered in practice. Our extensive experiments using WiFi networks in both indoor as well as outdoor environments demonstrate that our approach can achieve significantly faster secret bit generation rate at 60 ~ 90bit/packet, and is resilient to malicious attacks identified to be harmful to RSS-based techniques including predictable channel attack and stalking attack.
Blind symbol rate estimation: a two stage algorithm

Blind symbol rate estimation is performed in three stages; coarse estimation, fine estimation and timing recovery. In this paper, a two stage algorithm is proposed to estimate the symbol rate for raised cosine pulse shaped linearly modulated single carrier signals in slightly dispersive channels. The first stage of the algorithm is based on inverse Fourier transform (IFT) followed by a polynomial fitting block. The performance of the algorithm increases with larger oversampling rates. The performance of the algorithm is considerably good for low signal-to-noise (SNR) values. The second stage of the algorithm is the fine estimation stage and cyclic correlation based algorithm is used for this purpose. The performance of the cyclic correlation based method with low excess bandwidth conditions is increased using the estimation from the first stage and the success rate of the estimation block is increased to 100% even for low excess bandwidths. The third stage of the algorithm consists of timing recovery algorithms. Since we do not have specific contributions in this area, those kind of algorithms will not be discussed in this work. The simulation results of the proposed algorithm are compared to the algorithms available in the literature.
Locations Of The Beta2 Transmembrane Helices In The BK Potassium Channel

The large-conductance, Ca2+- and voltage-activated potassium channel (BK) alpha subunit is modulated by one of four types of beta subunits, each imparting unique electrophysiological properties. Beta2, which is expressed in the brain, adrenal chromaffin cells, pancreas, and ovaries, increases Ca2+ sensitivity of BK alpha, by shifting voltage-dependent activation to more negative voltages, and causes N-type inactivation. We explored the contacts between alpha and beta2 subunits by determining the extent of endogenous disulfide bond formation between cysteines substituted in the extracellular flanks of the two beta2 transmembrane (TM) helices, TM1 and TM2, and in the extracellular flanks of each of the seven alpha TM helices, S0-S6. We found that the extracellular ends of beta2 TM2 and alpha S0 are close and that beta2 TM1 is close to both S1 and S2. At their extracellular ends, TM1 and TM2 are not close to S3, S4, S5 or S6. Beta2 TM1 and TM2 are like pincers on either side of the alpha voltage-sensor domain, S0-S4. In all tested pairs of cysteine-substituted alpha and beta2, we found that disulfide crosslinks favored the closed state, shifting the conductance-voltage curves toward more positive potentials and slowing the kinetics of activation. N-type inactivation, involving three specific beta2 residues in its cytoplasmic, N-terminal segment preceding TM1, was not affected by any of the crosslinking. This is consistent with the above locations of TM1 and TM2 because a minimum of 12 residues, spanning up to 40 A, allows the three N-terminal inactivating residues to reach the pore (Xia et al., 2003 J. Gen. Physiol. 121:125). The positions of the beta2 TM helices are similar to the locations that we previously reported for beta1 TM1 and TM2 (Liu et al., 2008 PNAS 105:10727). Supported by NIH NS054946.
Accuracy of Test Interval Method of Calculating Dairy Herd Improvement Association Records

Abstract The test interval method (TIM) of testing, modified to adjust production in the beginning and last test periods, and modified to adjust production in the beginning test periods only were simulated on individual daily milk weights of 403 Holstein lactations from the Cornell University dairy herd. The test interval method overestimated average lactation production by 57.1, 91.4, and 114.7 kg of milk; whereas, correcting production in the beginning and last periods overestimated actual lactation production by 9.1, 9.0, and −2.0 kg of milk for monthly, bimonthly, and trimonthly testing, respectively. Corrections for only the beginning test periods were moderately successful in reducing the bias for short test intervals; whereas, the trimonthly testing actually increased the average bias by 49.3% over the bias of the unadjusted test interval method. The variances of deviations from actual yield were reduced to 87.7, 83.1, and 78.2% of the variances in the unadjusted monthly, bimonthly, and trimonthly test interval method. The centering date method (CDM) estimated actual production more closely than the test interval method. But, if beginning and last period adjustments are made to test interval method, it errs less than the unadjusted centering date method. Correcting production in the beginning and last test periods merits consideration in all forms of production testing and especially in bimonthly and trimonthly testing.
Spectroscopic Comparisons of MoW(porphyrin)2 Heterodimers with Homologous Mo2 and W2 Quadruple Bonds: A Dynamic NMR and Resonance Raman Study

The rotational barrier for MoW(meso-monotolyl octaethylporphyrin)2 (((TOEP)MoW(TOEP))) has been determined (¢G q rot ) 10.6 ( 0.1 kcal/mol) by variable-temperature NMR and complete band shape analysis and is compared with values previously obtained for the analogous homodimers. The overall quadruple bond strengths of these isostructural dimolybdenum, ditungsten, and molybdenum-tungsten porphyrin dimers have also been compared by calculation of the force constants corresponding to each metal-metal bond stretching frequency as observed by resonance Raman spectroscopy. The Raman results are as follows: (Mo(OEP))2, OMoMo ) 310 cm -1 , k ) 2.72 mdyn/A; ((OEP)MoW(OEP)),OMoW ) 279 cm -1 , k ) 2.89 mdyn/A; (Mo- (TOEP))2, OMoMo ) 310 cm -1 , k ) 2.72 OMoMo (W(TOEP))2, OWW ) 275 cm -1 , k ) 4.08 mdyn/A; and ((TOEP)- MoW(TOEP)), OMoW ) 278 cm -1 , k ) 2.87 mdyn/A. Both the 1 H NMR and Raman specta are consistent with a ((Por)MoW(Por)) structure wherein the Mo(Por) congener experiences a more drastic "bending-back" distortion of the porphyrin macrocycle.
Reduced-order estimation of power system harmonics

The estimation problem of unknown and time-varying power system harmonic signal amplitudes is addressed using a modified form of a signal model which has previously appeared in the literature. Using state-variable techniques, this signal model not only accounts for the unknown variations in signal amplitude but also for the uncertainty or measurement error introduced by variations in instrument transformer frequency response and burdens, and other non-ideal effects which are in the guise of measurement noise. A novel reduced-order state estimator is then used to identify the harmonic components of each measured signal for possible use in harmonic mitigation methodologies. Simulation results using this new harmonic signal model and associated reduced-order estimator are compared to those obtained by the Kalman filter. The main application of this contribution is to flexible AC transmission systems (FACTS) controllers (e.g., static condenser (STATCON) or dynamic voltage restorer (DVR)) which are capable of real-time reactive power and harmonic compensation.
On the flow due to a rotating disk

The von Karman (1921) rotating disk problem is extended to the case of flow started impulsively from rest; also, the steady-state problem is solved to a higher degree of accuracy than previously by a simple analytical-numerical method which avoids the matching difficulties in Cochran's (1934) well-known solution. Exact representations of the non-steady velocity field and pressure are given by suitable power-series expansions in the angle of rotation, Ωt, with coefficients that are functions of a similarity variable. The first four equations for velocity coefficient functions are solved exactly in closed form, and the next six by numerical integration. This gives four terms in the series for the primary flow and three terms in each series for the secondary flow.The results indicate that the asymptotic steady state is approached after about 2 radians of the disk's motion and that it can be approximately obtained from the initial-value, time-dependent analysis. Furthermore, the non-steady flow has three phases, the first two of which are accurately and fully described with the terms computed. During the first-half radian (phase 1), the velocity field is essentially similar in time, with boundary-layer thickening the only significant effect. For 0·5 [lsim ] Ωt [lsim ] 1·5 (phase 2), boundary-layer growth continues at a slower rate, but simultaneously the velocity profiles adjust towards the shape of the ultimate steady-state profiles. At about Ωt = 1·5, some flow quantities overshoot the steady-state values by small amounts. In analogy with the ‘Greenspan-Howard problem’ (1963) it is believed that the third phase (Ωt > 1·5) consists of a small amplitude decaying oscillation about the steady-state solution.
Sintering of Ceramic Particulate Composites: Effect of Matrix Density

Composites consisting of a fine-grained, polycrystalline zinc oxide matrix and < 10 vol% coarse, rigid silicon carbide inclusions were prepared by the same mixing procedure and then compacted to produce samples with matrix densities of 0.45 and 0.68 of the theoretical. The samples were sintered under identical temperature profiles in separate experiments that employed either a constant rate of heating of 4 C/min or near isothermal heating at 735 C. The ratio of the densification rate of the composite matrix to the densification rate of the unreinforced zinc oxide was found to be independent of the initial matrix density. This ratio increased significantly with temperature in the constant-heating-rate experiments but was relatively constant in the isothermal experiments. The results indicate mechanism for explaining the reduced sinterability of polycrystalline matrix composites.
Psychosis Endophenotypes in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder

Recent studies provide considerable evidence that schizophrenia and bipolar disorder may share overlapping etiologic determinants. Identifying disease-related genetic effects is a major focus in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder research, with implications for clarifying diagnosis and developing specific treatments for various impairments in these 2 disorders. Efforts have been multifaceted, with the ultimate goal of describing causal paths from specific genetic variants, to changes in neuronal functioning, and to behavioral and functional impairments. Parallel efforts have identified and refined several alternative phenotypes that are stable, heritable, some with known biological substrates, and are associated with psychosis liability. These alternative phenotypes are likely to aid search for liability genes in schizophrenia and bipolar disorders and likely to be informative regarding the extent to which the 2 disorders share etio-pathophysiology.
Tourism development in the Dominican Republic: An examination of the economic impact to coastal households:

Coastal tourism projects are promoted in the Dominican Republic as national-level economic development initiatives that will create jobs for local residents, subsequently benefiting the households in these communities. However, the economic benefits of tourism can be severely weakened as a result of the neoliberal economic policies that guide such projects. Like other economically developing countries—particularly small island nations—the Dominican Republic embraced neoliberal policies that have ultimately reshaped the country’s economic, political, cultural, and physical landscape. As a result, transnational companies, foreign investors, and large-scale enclave tourism projects are the dominant form of tourism development in the Dominican Republic. Though companies’ revenue and profit data are not available for analysis of economic leakage, households can be investigated to understand the level of economic benefits obtained by residents of the local communities. Toward this end, 360 household surveys were collected to examine household income and material assets across 12 coastal communities in three regions of the Dominican Republic. Because of the noted differences in previous development literature, gender of the head of households and whether the household was dependent on income from tourism employment were compared across these measures after adjusting for regional differences. Results indicate that the gender of the head of the household and tourism dependency positively predicted household income, while only gender of the head of the household predicted material assets.
Pakistani Public Opinion and American Drone Attacks: The Role of Exposure to the Elite Narrative

This paper is an analysis of the sources of Pakistani public opinion toward American drone strikes in the tribal areas of Pakistan. An examination of Pakistani opinion toward the drones show two clear patterns: A slim majority of Pakistanis know about the drone strikes but that number is growing over time. Also, those Pakistanis who know about the drone strikes are very opposed to them. We argue that the rather limited knowledge of the drone strikes is not for lack of an elite discourse about drone attacks but because of the relatively low levels of political cognitive mobilization in a population with very low levels of education. But given the almost universal condemnation of drone strikes from all stripes of Pakistani political and societal elites, we argue that it is to be expected that those who have absorbed a good deal of information about the strikes will be greatly opposed to the attacks. In other words, in an informational environment such as Pakistan has been for the last few years, to have heard about drone strikes is to have been exposed to nearly unanimous elite criticism of drone strikes with an extremely limited counter-narrative. Thus, we argue that the more a Pakistani has heard of drone strikes in Pakistan, the more likely she is to oppose them. This hypothesis is tested in a Heckman analysis, which confirms our supposition.
Favorable Proliferative Response Using Ki-67 in Patients Prospectively Treated With Preoperative Accelerated Partial-Breast Radiation Therapy for Early-Stage Breast Cancer

Forest School of Medicine. J. Strasser: None. G. Enevold: None. M. Naughton: Committee leadership; Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology. K.E. Weaver: None. K. Baglan: None. D. Bryant: None. C. Langefeld: None. T. Lad: None. L. Lee: None. G.P. Rine: None. A.E. Curtis: None. C.D. Koprowski: None. W.V. Tomlinson: None. G.J. Lesser: Employee; Wake Forest School of Medicine. Leader of research program; Wake Forest NCORP. E.G. Shaw: None. J. Hu: None.
HD + ortho-/para-H2 rotational energy transfer non-reactive scattering at low astrophysical temperatures: 2 K ≲ T ≲ 300 K

State-resolved integral cross sections and corresponding thermal rate coefficients are computed for the HD + ortho -/ para -H 2 rotational energy transfer collision at low temperatures of astrophysical interest: 2 K ≲ T ≲ 300 K. A recent original full-dimensional H 2 -H2 potential energy surface (PES) was adopted and appropriately modified for the current non-symmetrical four-atomic system.
Approach to the Patient with Hyperlipidemia

To understand the sometimes complex set of disturbances that frequently affect the expression of hyperlipidemia in a patient, it is necessary to be familiar with the operation of the lipoprotein-lipid transport system. After a brief survey of this system, the author classifies the major primary and secondary disorders, discusses the salient features of the primary disorders, summarizes screening and special diagnostic tests, and offers some general principles on the treatment of primary hyperlipidemia.
Stepping up care for diabetic foot ulcers.

Learn how to help your patient prevent a common diabetes complication that threatens limb and life.
Medical care and health needs--present and future. 2. Evolving patterns of medical care and practice.

Health services will probably soon be the United States' largest industry in terms of number of persons involved. To cope with increased demands, physicians will have to work with other health professionals to find better ways to care for the poor, provide for health needs of the elderly, and give comprehensive personal health services to all people.
On the Electronic Payment System and its Security Requirements

This article discribed the concept and characteristics of electronic payment system and discussed its security requirements.
Survey on Economic Burden of Hand,Food and Mouth Disease Huaiyin District,Jinan City,2012

Objective To estimate the economic burden caused by hand,foot and mouth disease(HFMD)in Huaiyin district. Methods Questionnaire survey and checking hospital fees system were combined about the disease history,direct and indirect economic cost of HFMD cases reported in Huaiyin district,2012. Results In total,125 outpatients,57general inpatients and 3severe cases of HFMD were surveyed.The median of direct medical cost of the outpatient,general inpatients and severe cases was 800,4 290 and 21 914 yuan respectively,The median of direct non-medical cost of the outpatients,general inpatients and severe cases was 80,200 and 150yuan respectively,The median of indirect cost of the outpatients,general inpatients and severe cases was 585,1 170 and 1 421 yuan respectively.The overall economic cost attributable to HFMD was 2.971 3million yuan in Huaiyin district,2012,in which the direct cost was 1.938 4million yuan,indirect cost was 1.032 9 million yuan.One hundred and thirty-nine(75.14%)patients had medical insurance,by which0.00%,28.92%and 21.83%of direct medica cost was cut down for outpatients,general inpatients and severe cases.Conclusion The economic burden of HFMD is heavy both for the society and patients.Increasing the medical insurance coverage and reducing the hospitalization of mild patients will lighten the economic burden of HFMD patients,and reduing the incidence of HFMD will lighten the economic burden of HFMD to society.
Parental autonomy support, community feeling and student expectations as contributors to later achievement among adolescents

AbstractThis longitudinal study examined the relationships among parental autonomy support, student intrinsic life goals (i.e. community feeling), student expectations for long-term educational attainment and later academic performance (measured by GPA) in 227 students in an ethnically and racially diverse high school. Hypotheses were tested with structural equation models, which included gender, parent education and prior GPA as control variables. As self-determination theory suggests, parental autonomy support was indirectly and positively related to academic performance via intrinsic life goals. Intrinsic life goals and student expectations were moderately and positively related and both contributed to growth in academic performance, which suggests that self-determination theory and expectancy-value theory provide additive insight in predicting educational achievement. Fifty per cent of the variance in intrinsic life goals was explained by parental autonomy support and 77% of the variance in later GPA ...
Paternal preconception alcohol exposure imparts intergenerational alcohol-related behaviors to male offspring on a pure C57BL/6J background

While alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a highly heritable condition, the basis of AUD in families with a history of alcoholism is difficult to explain by genetic variation alone. Emerging evidence suggests that parental experience prior to conception can affect inheritance of complex behaviors in offspring via non-genomic (epigenetic) mechanisms. For instance, male C57BL/6J (B6) mice exposed to chronic intermittent vapor ethanol (CIE) prior to mating with Strain 129S1/SvImJ ethanol-naive females produce male offspring with reduced ethanol-drinking preference, increased ethanol sensitivity, and increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that these intergenerational effects of paternal CIE are reproducible in male offspring on an inbred B6 background. To this end, B6 males were exposed to 6 weeks of CIE (or room air as a control) before mating with ethanol-naive B6 females to produce ethanol (E)-sired and control (C)-sired male and female offspring. We observed a sex-specific effect, as E-sired males exhibited decreased two-bottle free-choice ethanol-drinking preference, increased sensitivity to the anxiolytic effects of ethanol, and increased VTA BDNF expression; no differences were observed in female offspring. These findings confirm and extend our previous results by demonstrating that the effects of paternal preconception ethanol are reproducible using genetically identical, inbred B6 animals.
Constipation-Related Health Care Utilization in Children Before and After Hospitalization for Constipation:

We studied constipation-related health care among children before and after constipation admission. Index admissions for constipation in 2010-2011 were identified in the Truven Marketscan Database, which includes children receiving Medicaid in 10 states. We measured number of and spending for outpatient constipation visits 12 months before and after index hospitalizations. We also measured spending for constipation hospitalizations and rehospitalization rate. There were 780 index constipation admissions. The median number of outpatient constipation visits was 1 (interquartile range [IQR] = 0, 3) in the 12 months before and 2 (IQR [0, 4]) after admission ( P = .001). Median outpatient spending for constipation was $110 (IQR [0, 429]) before and $132 (IQR [0, 431]) after admission ( P = .2). Median spending for index constipation admissions was $5295 (IQR [2756, 8267]); 78 children (10%) were rehospitalized for constipation within 12 months. Constipation-related health care utilization increased after constipation admission. Median spending for one constipation admission was 50 times the median spending for 12 months of outpatient constipation visits.
Unsaturated Fatty Acids Maintain Cancer Cell Stemness

Investigation of the metabolic regulation of cancer stem cells is an emerging field that offers promising approaches for identifying and targeting recalcitrant stem cell populations. In this issue of Cell Stem Cell, Li et al. (2017) indicate that increased lipid desaturation is essential to stem-like characteristics in ovarian cancer cells.
Approximate tensor-product preconditioners for very high order discontinuous Galerkin methods

Abstract In this paper, we develop a new tensor-product based preconditioner for discontinuous Galerkin methods with polynomial degrees higher than those typically employed. This preconditioner uses an automatic, purely algebraic method to approximate the exact block Jacobi preconditioner by Kronecker products of several small, one-dimensional matrices. Traditional matrix-based preconditioners require O ( p 2 d ) storage and O ( p 3 d ) computational work, where p is the degree of basis polynomials used, and d is the spatial dimension. Our SVD-based tensor-product preconditioner requires O ( p d + 1 ) storage, O ( p d + 1 ) work in two spatial dimensions, and O ( p d + 2 ) work in three spatial dimensions. Combined with a matrix-free Newton–Krylov solver, these preconditioners allow for the solution of DG systems in linear time in p per degree of freedom in 2D, and reduce the computational complexity from O ( p 9 ) to O ( p 5 ) in 3D. Numerical results are shown in 2D and 3D for the advection, Euler, and Navier–Stokes equations, using polynomials of degree up to p = 30 . For many test cases, the preconditioner results in similar iteration counts when compared with the exact block Jacobi preconditioner, and performance is significantly improved for high polynomial degrees p .
Parametric investigation of scalable tactile sensors

In the near future, robots and humans will share the same environment and perform tasks cooperatively. For intuitive, safe, and reliable physical human-robot interaction (pHRI), sensorized robot skins for tactile measurements of contact are necessary. In a previous study, we presented skins consisting of strain gauge arrays encased in silicone encapsulants. Although these structures could measure normal forces applied directly onto the sensing elements, they also exhibited blind spots and response asymmetry to certain loading patterns. This study presents a parametric investigation of piezoresistive polymeric strain gauge that exhibits a symmetric omniaxial response thanks to its novel star-shaped structure. This strain gauge relies on the use of gold micro-patterned star-shaped structures with a thin layer of PEDOT:PSS which is a flexible polymer with piezoresistive properties. In this paper, the sensor is first modeled and comprehensively analyzed in the finite-element simulation environment COMSOL. Simulations include stress-strain loading for a variety of structure parameters such as gauge lengths, widths, and spacing, as well as multiple load locations relative to the gauge. Subsequently, sensors with optimized configurations obtained through simulations were fabricated using cleanroom photolithographic and spin-coating processes, and then experimentally tested. Results show a trend-wise agreement between experiments and simulations.
Germline factor DDX4 functions in blood‐derived cancer cell phenotypes

DDX4 (the human ortholog of Drosophila Vasa) is an RNA helicase and is present in the germ lines of all metazoans tested. It was historically thought to be expressed specifically in germline, but with additional organisms studied, it is now clear that in some animals DDX4/Vasa functions outside of the germline, in a variety of somatic cells in the embryo and in the adult. In this report, we document that DDX4 is widely expressed in soma-derived cancer cell lines, including myeloma (IM-9) and leukemia (THP-1) cells. In these cells, the DDX4 protein localized to the mitotic spindle, consistent with findings in other somatic cell functions, and its knockout in IM-9 cells compromised cell proliferation and migration activities, and downregulated several cell cycle/oncogene factors such as CyclinB and the transcription factor E2F1. These results suggest that DDX4 positively regulates cell cycle progression of diverse somatic-derived blood cancer cells, implying its broad contributions to the cancer cell phenotype and serves as a potential new target for chemotherapy.
Optimal-State-Constraint EKF for Visual-Inertial Navigation

As a visual-inertial navigation system (VINS) becomes prevalent thanks to recent advancements in cameras and inertial sensors, optimal sensor fusion algorithms are demanding. In this paper, we introduce a new optimal-state-constraint (OSC)-EKF for VINS, which performs tightly-coupled visual-inertial sensor fusion over a sliding window of poses only (i.e., without including features in the state vector), and thus has complexity independent of the size of the environment. The key idea of the proposed OSC-EKF is to design a novel measurement model that utilizes all feature measurements available within the sliding window and derives probabilistically optimal constraints between poses while without estimating these features as part of the state vector. To this end, for each sliding window, we perform structure and motion using only the available camera measurements and subsequently marginalize out the structure (features) to obtain the optimal motion constraints that will be used in the EKF update. The proposed approach is validated in the proof-of-concept, real-world experiments.
Late Cenozoic Mammal Dispersals between the Americas

For nearly a century the Great American Interchange has been widely acclaimed as one of the most remarkable experiments ever performed by nature. The only problem with such grand billing is that nature, as usual, has not provided a complete set of results. A long-term effect by many investigators has gradually yielded many fragmentary documents. While these indicate the outlines of the great experiment, the exact details and the precise processes often remain speculative and key data sets are often still incomplete. The appropriate response, as in any historical science, is to search for more documents of appropriate age and geography. Such efforts, by scientists and explorers in both American continents, lead continually toward a more comprehensive record of organisms and environments in the Americas during the past 10 million years. The history of the Great American Biotic Interchange many never be completely revealed; yet, in retrospect, progress in compiling relevant documents seems, if anything, to be accelerating in this half century beyond what it was in the first half century.
Sex differences in microglial activation in the developing rat brain

During development, microglial progenitor cells migrate and infiltrate into the brain from the periphery: a process critical to the maturation of the developing brain. Immature microglia are distinct from adult microglia, as they produce elevated levels of cytokines compared to ramified, adult microglia. These immature microglia are often classified as “activated.” But, further activation of immature microglia, via immune activation, can lead to long-term neuronal and cognitive dysfunction. Microglial activation is associated with multiple neuro developmental disorders including autism, ADHD, schizophrenia, and cerebral palsy – disorders with suspected immune etiologies, and strong sex biases for males. Still, the interactions between immature microglia and other neural cells, leading to these outcomes, are understudied. It has previously been shown that female rats do not show the same long-term behavioral deficits that male rats show following infection at P4 (Bilbo et al., 2012). We hypothesized that male rat pups would be more vulnerable to an immune challenge during microglial infiltration and maturation. We exposed primary, sex-specific, microglial cells from the hippocampus of rat pups to lipopolysaccharide on P4, in the presence or absence of other neural cells. Mixed and microglial cultures were analyzed for inflammatory gene expression to determine whether immature microglial cells exhibited a sex-specific response to immune activation, and if the presence of all other neural cells influenced that response. Funding source: NIH R21MH104280 and R01MH106553.
Neuregulin 3 Signaling Mediates Nicotine-Dependent Synaptic Plasticity in the Orbitofrontal Cortex and Cognition

Neuregulin 3 Signaling Mediates Nicotine-Dependent Synaptic Plasticity in the Orbitofrontal Cortex and Cognition
Towards Diversified Local Users Identification Using Location Based Social Networks

Identifying a set of diversified users who are local residents in a city is an important task for a wide spectrum of applications such as target ads of local business, surveys and interviews, and personalized recommendations. While many previous studies have investigated the problem of identifying the local users in a given area using online social network information (e.g., geotagged posts), few methods have been developed to solve the diversified user identification problem. In this paper, we propose a new analytical framework, Diversified Local Users Finder (DLUF), to accurately identify a set of diversified local users using a principled approach. In particular, the DLUF scheme first defines a new distance metric that measures the diversity between local users from physical dimension. The DLUF scheme then provides a solution to find the set of local users with maximum diversity. The performance of DLUF scheme is compared to several representative baselines using two real world datasets obtained from Foursquare application. We observe that the DLUF scheme accurately identifies the local users with a great diversity and significantly outperforms the compared baselines.
Bridging the gap: How the National Core Arts Standards forge the divide between the arts and assessment-based learning

ABSTRACTThis article is a review and thematic analysis of the 2014 National Core Arts Standards (NCAS). Historically, there exists a gap between the arts and assessment-based educational practices. Thematic analysis of the NCAS reveals a policy striving to bridge the gap between the way arts educators envision arts in schools, and the current reality of assessment-based schooling in the United States. This policy could become the foundation for the recognition of the arts as academically rigorous subject matter, capable of existing and thriving in an assessment-oriented world; it remains to be seen as to how and if arts educators will use and adapt NCAS. Is the NCAS merely a symbolic policy or does it have the support behind it to be a material policy that truly creates change in the educational system?
Tribonucleation: A New Mechanism for Generating the Soda Geyser

Observations of the rapid release of CO2 from carbonated beverages, also known as sodas, provide a rich assortment of experiments for chemical educators and their students to explore. For example, dropping Mentos candies into a freshly opened bottle of soda creates a fountain that can jet several meters into the air. The fountain is generated by rapid formation of CO2(g) bubbles on innumerable nucleation sites that exist on the rough surface of the candies. Interestingly, it is possible to create fountains of moderate height by dropping smooth objects into bottles of soda. Exploration of how smooth objects create such fountains provides new classroom demonstrations, laboratory experiments, and inquiry-based projects that can be tied to topics that include kinetics, density, and gas solubility.
Generating design knowledge though data mining

Designing software is an expensive process. Our claim is that designing software can become more efficient if designers have knowledge about their design processes. One avenue of capturing the design process is through documentation. People have not focused on documentation for the purpose of generating design knowledge. A design platform called Lifecycle Manager (LCM) allows designers to document all steps of their design process. However, LCM does not have the means for interpreting the documentation that it collects. Our goal is to add that capability by studying how data mining can be applied to generate design knowledge. We developed a data mining tool and implemented four data mining algorithms on data captured by LCM, to learn that design knowledge cannot be gained from only one pattern. We learned about the evolution of LCM design by analyzing the data mining results. We plan to incorporate our tool into LCM.
Rapid multiscale modeling of flow in porous media

Increasing our understanding of single and multiphase flow properties requires an accurate description of the pore system. Recent imaging technology provides images at different resolutions by which the pore space can be characterized properly. An accurate prediction of flow properties cannot be achieved computationally if the simulation domain is small. For a large sample, however, one may upscale the fine-scale information through pore-network modeling to expedite the computations. Due to a small field of view of the available images, such modeling can be conducted with ease for simple and heterogeneous rock samples. For complex and multiscale systems, however, one single-resolution image may not be sufficient. Thus, one should integrate the valuable information that lies in both the fine- and coarse scale into the pore network. In this paper, multiscale pore networks are generated which can take the microporosity, either in the solid phase (i.e., grain filling) or pore space (pore filling), into account. The proposed method can use the available high-resolution images for different pores and/or grains and stochastically build several micronetworks, which avoids fewer simplifications as present in the current methods. Next, depending on the location of high-resolution images, the generated micronetworks are implanted in the designated spots. Furthermore, cementation is also quantified and simulated by eroding the pore space. Finally, all the above physics are integrated within several stochastic multiscale networks. The final models are then used to evaluate the flow properties by comparing the statistical characteristics and single or multiphase flow behavior (e.g., capillary pressure, absolute and relative permeability). The results indicate the importance of incorporating the micropores as they can effectively connect the large-scale and isolated macropores. Furthermore, the single- and multiscale pore networks manifested a significant difference between the capillary pressure and residual saturation. Finally, a representative elementary volume study based on the generated multiscale pore networks for different scenarios is performed and the results are compared.
Metatranscriptomic Investigation of Adaptation in NO and N2O Production From a Lab-Scale Nitrification Process Upon Repeated Exposure to Anoxic–Aerobic Cycling

The molecular mechanisms of microbial adaptation to repeated anoxic-aerobic cycling were investigated by integrating and whole community gene expression (metatranscriptomics) and physiological responses, including the production of nitric (NO) and nitrous (N2O) oxides. Anoxic-aerobic cycling was imposed for seventeen days in a lab-scale full-nitrification mixed culture system. Prior to cycling, NO and N2O levels were sustained at 0.097 ± 0.006 and 0.054 ± 0.019 ppmv, respectively. Once the anoxic-aerobic cycling was initiated, peak emissions were highest on the first day (9.8 and 1.3 ppmv, respectively). By the end of day seventeen, NO production returned to pre-cycling levels (a peak of 0.12 ± 0.007 ppmv), while N2O production reached a new baseline (a peak of 0.32 ± 0.05 ppmv), one order of magnitude higher than steady-state conditions. Concurrently, post-cycling transcription of norBQ and nosZ returned to pre-cycling levels after an initial 5.7- and 9.5-fold increase, while nirK remained significantly expressed (1.6-fold) for the duration of and after cycling conditions. The imbalance in nirK and nosZ mRNA abundance coupled with continuous conversion of NO to N2O might explain the elevated post-cycling baseline for N2O. Metatranscriptomic investigation notably indicated possible NO production by NOB under anoxic-aerobic cycling through a significant increase in nirK expression. Opposing effects on AOB (down-regulation) and NOB (up-regulation) CO2 fixation were observed, suggesting that nitrifying bacteria are differently impacted by anoxic-aerobic cycling. Genes encoding the terminal oxidase of the electron transport chain (ccoNP, coxBC) were the most significantly transcribed, highlighting a hitherto unexplored pathway to manage high electron fluxes resulting from increased ammonia oxidation rates, and leading to overall, increased NO and N2O production. In sum, this study identified underlying metabolic processes and mechanisms contributing to NO and N2O production through a systems-level interrogation, which revealed the differential ability of specific microbial groups to adapt to sustained operational conditions in engineered biological nitrogen removal processes.
Adapting Procurement Models for Electric Buses in Latin America

Bus services are a fundamental component of transportation networks in Latin America, but buses often account for a disproportionately large number of environmental externalities. Electric buses (e...
Recurrent gestures: How the mental reflects the social

Abstract Using recurrent gestures as the model, this essay considers how an inside-looking-out view of speech-gesture production reflects the interactive-social exterior. The inside view may appear to ignore the social context of speaking and gesture, but this is far from the truth. What an exterior view sees as important appears in the interior but in a different way. The difference leads to misunderstandings of the interior view and what it does. It is not a substitute for the exterior. It is the interior reflecting the social exterior and shaping it to fit its own demands. Topics are: recurrent gestures; gesture-speech co-expressivity; expunged real-world goals; “in-betweenness”; phenomenological “inhabitance” and material carriers; metaphoricity and imagery; social deixis and social relations; realizations of the self; world-views; and lastly the want of mutual outside and inside intellectual perceptions and what can be done about it.
The discussion of abortion in US political debates: A study in occasioned semantics:

This article deals with the discussion of abortion in a number of US presidential and vice-presidential debates, from a scaling perspective. The interest in scales, as (co)constructed and negotiate...
Dynamical BCS Theory of a Two-Dimensional Attractive Fermi Gas: Effective Interactions from Quantum Monte Carlo Calculations

The primary work presented in this paper focuses on the calculation of density–density dynamical correlations in an attractive two-dimensional Fermi gas in several physically interesting regimes, including the strongly correlated BEC–BCS crossover regime. We use state-of-the-art dynamical BCS theory, and we address the possibility to renormalize the interaction strength, using unbiased Quantum Monte Carlo results as an asset to validate the predictions. We propose that a suitable interplay between dynamical BCS theory, which is computationally very cheap and yields results directly in real time domain, and Quantum Monte Carlo methods, which are exact but way more demanding and limited to imaginary time domain, can be a very promising idea to study dynamics in many-body systems. We illustrate the idea and provide quantitative results for a few values of the interaction strength in the cold gas.
Transgenerational inheritance of BPA-induced obesity correlates with transmission of new CTCF sites in the Fto gene

The mechanisms by which epiphenotypes are transmitted transgenerationally through the parental germlines are poorly understood. Here we show that exposure of pregnant mouse F0 females during E7.5-E13.5 to bisphenol A results in obesity in the F2 progeny in the absence of additional exposure. This epiphenotype can be transmitted through the male and female germlines up to the F5 generation, decreases in F6, and disappears in F7. Analysis of chromatin changes in the sperm of the F1 generation reveals a widespread increase in chromatin accessibility at binding sites for CTCF and other transcription factors accompanied by alterations in 3D organization. Comparison of the transmission of obesity between F2 and F5 and its disappearance in F7 with alterations in the binding of these transcription factors points to the activation of an enhancer in an intron of the Fto gene as the cause of transgenerational inheritance. Activation of the Fto enhancer results in a decrease of m6A in sperm RNAs, which may result in alterations of gene expression in the embryo after fertilization. Given the established involvement of SNPs in FTO in human obesity, the results suggest that both genetic and epigenetic alterations of the same gene can lead to the same phenotypic outcomes on human health.
The Multidimensional Knowledge in Text Comprehension framework

Prior knowledge is one of the strongest contributors to comprehension, but there is little specificity about different aspects of prior knowledge and how they impact comprehension. This article int...
“You Don’t Want to Feel Poor All the Time”: What SNAP Means to Low-Income Philadelphia Residents

Through participant observation while grocery shopping, and 37 in-depth interviews with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients, we describe the social meanings of SNAP dollars ...
Antioxidant and antimicrobial modified cellulose nanofibers for food applications

Abstract Cellulose nanofibers (CNF) are renewable, biodegradable, and non-toxic biopolymers; however, they have not been widely adopted as an additive by the food industry. In this study, CNF functionality was improved through chemical modification. Antioxidant and antimicrobial nanofibers were produced through the esterification of CNF with phenolic acids. CNF were esterified with vanillic or cinnamic acid using two different esterifying agents: thionyl chloride and 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDC). Modified fibers from the four different treatments were evaluated for their structural properties, antioxidant properties, thermal stability, dispersibility and antimicrobial properties. Both esterifying agents successfully produced phenolic acid esterified CNF fibers. Vanillic acid modified fibers showed better antioxidant activity (70% DPPH radical scavenging activity) than cinnamic acid modified fibers (10% DPPH scavenging activity). In contrast, cinnamic acid modified fibers showed better antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus epidermidis. Thermal stability depended on the esterifying agent utilized; the use of thionyl chloride (DTG max 260.19 ± 1.38 °C) significantly (p