cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tracheal occlusion in the fetal rat: a new experimental model for the study of accelerated lung growth.

Abstract Background: Prenatal tracheal occlusion accelerates fetal lung growth, but the mechanism of this phenomenon is unknown. Previous animal models have been limited by expense, lack of species-specific molecular probes, or the stage of lung development when studies could be performed. To provide a model that is more amenable to systematic analysis, we have developed an in vivo rat model of prenatal tracheal occlusion. Methods: Time-dated pregnant rats underwent laparotomy at 19 days' gestational age (term, 22 days). The fetal head and neck were exteriorized through a hysterotomy, and the trachea was ligated under a dissecting microscope. The fetus was returned to the amniotic cavity, and the uterine and maternal abdominal incisions were closed. The dam and the fetuses were killed at 21.5 days' gestational age, and the fetal lungs were assessed for lung growth and compared with nonoperated littermate controls. Results: Thirty-two of 50 manipulated fetuses survived. Of the 32 survivors, successful tracheal, ligation was confirmed in 20, and these 20 fetuses were compared with 33 littermate controls. Fetal body weight (4.81 ± 0.26 g v 4.87 ± 0.41 g) and heart weight (0.05 ± 0.01 g v 0.05 ± 0.01 g) were not significantly different between ligated fetuses and littermate controls, whereas the wet lung weight (0.30 ± 0.06 g v 0.13 ± 0.02 g, P v 2.64 ± 0.41%, P v 12.1 ± 1.87 mg, P v 828 ± 208 μg, P v 8.7 ± 1.7 mg, P Conclusions: Prenatal tracheal occlusion during the canalicular stage of lung development accelerates lung growth in the rat. In comparison with other large animal models, this relatively inexpensive small animal model has the distinct advantages of a short gestation, a large number of fetuses per litter, the availability of a developmental model of congenital diaphragmatic hernia, and the availability of well-defined molecular probes to investigate the mechanism of tracheal occlusion-induced lung growth.
Present and future supercomputer network architectures

Computer networks must provide high data transfer rates to maximize the effectiveness of the interconnected equipment, and especially to maximize the effectiveness of the users, e.g., with visualization. Network speeds are increasing, with the newest systems using 800 Mbit/s data rates. The most common computer networks today are bus and ring architectures. Supercomputer networks are starting to use circuit switching with crossbar switches. Wavelength division multiplexing and all-optical networking are research topics today, but hold promise for the future. The architectures, attributes, and problems of these different systems are discussed, with emphasis on their use in the supercomputer environment.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
On a capacitated multivehicle routing problem

The Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) is a discrete optimization problem with high industrial relevance and high computational complexity. The problem has been extensively studied since it was introduced by Dantzig and Ramser. In this paper, we present a version of the VRP motivated by mobile sensor networks which we call the Capacitated Multivehicle Routing Problem (CMVRP). Our objective is to determine the minimum amount of energy required to serve all jobs, which takes into account both the service requirement and the travel overhead. We present a constant factor approximation algorithm for the off-line case and a distributed algorithm for the on-line problem that uses only a constant factor more energy than the off-line solution.
Synthesis and Properties of Copolymers of Diphenylsiloxane with Other Organosiloxanes

We describe the synthesis, characterization and properties of various types of siloxane polymers containing diphenylsiloxane (P) as a component. The polymer types include di-and tri-block copolymers with dimethylsiloxane (M) as the second component, and random and statistical copolymers with dimethylsiloxane or methylphenylsiloxane (P/M) as the second component. Such copolymers combine siloxane units whose polymers have very different properties. The polydiphenylsiloxane chain is rigid and inflexible, and the polymer is a highly crystalline solid with a liquid crystalline or condis crystalline state and a very high melting (clearing) temperature. In contrast, the polydimethylsiloxane or polymethylphenylsiloxane chains are very flexible and the polymers have very low glass transition temperatures. Polymers of controlled molecular composition, size and architecture were prepared by anionic polymerization of the ‘cyclic trimers’, using lithium-based initiators. The physical properties of the copolymers vary dramatically with composition and architecture. Two types of ‘random’ copolymers can be prepared. In one type, siloxane units of a given type are randomly placed in the chain in groups of three, i.e., the minimum sequence length of a given siloxane type is three siloxane units. In the other type of random copolymer, individual siloxane units are randomly distributed so that the minimum sequence length is a single siloxane unit. The properties of the two types are quite different, showing that subtle changes in sequence distribution can have major effects on physical properties. At molar ratios near 1/1 and with molecular weights of ∼105, the first type of ‘random’ copolymer is an elastic solid with appreciable mechanical properties, whereas the latter type is a sticky gum. Diblock copolymer (P-M) with dimethylsiloxane as the major component are paste-like, whereas the triblock (P-M-P) and star-block copolymers of the same composition are tough elastomers. The block copolymers are molecular composites, in which the polydiphenylsiloxane component separates into crystalline microphases with very uniform fibrillar or lamellar morphologies, and with widths or thicknesses comparable to the length of the polydiphenylsiloxane block, i.e, typically of the order of 100 A.
Liberal Learning as Freedom: A Capabilities Approach to Undergraduate Education

In this paper, I employ the pioneering works of Nussbaum, Sen, Saito, and Walker, in conjunction with the U.S. tradition of academic freedom, to outline a capability-centered vision of undergraduate education. Pace Nussbaum and Walker, I propose a short list of learning capabilities to which every undergraduate student should be entitled. This working definition of undergraduate education offers a starting point for discussion and experimentation. I employ it here to engage the current controversy in U.S. colleges and universities over the nature, value, and legitimacy of undergraduate students’ academic freedoms. In contrast to the anti-indoctrination emphasis of David Horowitz’s Academic Bill of Rights, I argue that students’ academic freedoms can be more effectively secured through the articulation of “essential freedoms for liberal learning” whose principal focus is not the behavior or political affiliations of teachers but the intellectual needs and circumstances of students.
Developmental Stages and Institutional Structure: The Case of Continuing Education for Women

This article examines the responses of five women to their educational experience in a continuing education center. Through life history interviews, the women's developmental stages or transitional statuses are defined and seen as influential in their response to the educational institution. The Women's Center is described according to an analytic model for urban communities and their institutions.
Prognostic and predictive factors for breast cancer: translating technology to oncology.

In medical school, we were taught that clinical decision making requires a consideration of the balance of benefits and risks to provide optimal care for the patient. As we train and then practice medicine, understanding and conveying the risks and benefits of a given treatment are constantly refined by personal experience, interactions with patients, our colleagues and experts in the field, and availability of evidence derived from well-designed and -analyzed clinical trials. Managementofpatientswithbreastcancerisagreatillustration of this complex and iterative process. In the preventive, primary care, and adjuvant settings, decisions are made for individuals based on our hope that, in general, we help more patients than we harm. For women with relatively low risk of developing metastatic disease, such as those with high-risk but benign breast findings or women withsmall,hormone-dependent,node-negativebreastcancers,weneveractuallyknowifwehavehelpedanindividual patient. Indeed, a majority of such patients will not recur despite our care, not because of it. On the other hand, treatment of patients with metastatic disease, although ultimately almost always associated with a tragic outcome, canbeextraordinarilyrewarding.Inthissetting,wecanobserve a highly symptomatic patient regain her quality of life as a clear-cut consequence of judiciously applied local and systemic therapies, including endocrine and chemotherapiesand,morerecently,noveltherapysuchastrastuzumab. Arguably, prognostic and predictive factors have been of value to help individualize therapy of breast cancer more than for any other solid tumors. The substantial benefits of adjuvant systemic therapy have been well documented for over 30 years. 1,2 Furthermore, it is a disease for which disparate therapies are beneficial in different subgroups. For example, it appears that adjuvant chemotherapy reduces the annual odds of recurrence by approximately 25% to 30% for all patients. 2 In those with an initially poor prog
Abnormal Hemispheric Blood Flow and Metabolism in Cerebrovascular Disease. I. Disordered Patterns of Hemispheric Metabolism

Hemispheric blood flow (HBF) and metabolism were studied in 46 patients with various types and stages of ischemic cerebrovascular disease and were found to be abnormal in all patients, including those with transient ischemic attacks. Bilateral depression of HBF and metabolism was observed in association with acute unilateral cerebral infarction. Hemispheric respiratory quotient (HRQ) was higher in the ischemic hemisphere than in the healthy side. The degree of elevation of HRQ on the diseased side correlated well with the acuteness of infarction, increasing age of the patients, and the severity of the neurological deficit. However, the HRQ in the healthy hemisphere was lower than unity, which suggests that substances other than glucose were being metabolized. The high hemispheric glucose:oxygen ratio (HG:O) correlated well with the severity of infarction and the age of the patient. Patients with brain stem ischemia had the lowest HBF values, suggesting that central neurogenic vasomotor control had been im...
TNF induction of jagged-1 in endothelial cells is NFκB-dependent

TNF-alpha is a potent proinflammatory cytokine that induces endothelial cell (EC) adhesion molecules. In addition, TNF promotes angiogenesis by inducing an EC tip cell phenotype and the expression of jagged-1, a ligand for the notch pathway. Notch signaling is critical for vascular patterning and helps to restrict the proliferation of tip cells. Here we demonstrate that TNF induction of jagged-1 in human EC is rapid and dependent upon signaling through TNFR1, but not TNFR2. A luciferase reporter construct carrying 3.7 kb of 5' promoter sequence from the human gene was responsive to both TNF and overexpression of NFkappaB pathway components. TNF-induced promoter activation was blocked by treatment with an NFkappaB inhibitor or co-expression of dominant-negative IKKbeta. Mutations in a putative NFkappaB-binding site at -3.0 kb, which is conserved across multiple species, resulted in a loss of responsiveness to TNF and NFkappaB. Electromobility shift and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays revealed binding of both p50 and p65 to the promoter in response to TNF treatment. Full promoter activity also depends on an AP-1 site at -2.0 kb. These results indicate that canonical NFkappaB signaling is required for TNF induction of the notch ligand jagged-1 in EC.
Estimation of in-canopy ammonia sources and sinks in a fertilized Zea mays field.

An analytical model was developed to describe in-canopy vertical distribution of ammonia (NH3) sources and sinks and vertical fluxes in a fertilized agricultural setting using measured in-canopy mean NH3 concentration and wind speed profiles. This model was applied to quantify in-canopy air−surface exchange rates and above-canopy NH3 fluxes in a fertilized corn (Zea mays) field. Modeled air−canopy NH3 fluxes agreed well with independent above-canopy flux estimates. Based on the model results, the urea fertilized soil surface was a consistent source of NH3 one month following the fertilizer application, whereas the vegetation canopy was typically a net NH3 sink with the lower portion of the canopy being a constant sink. The model results suggested that the canopy was a sink for some 70% of the estimated soil NH3 emissions. A logical conclusion is that parametrization of within-canopy processes in air quality models are necessary to explore the impact of agricultural field level management practices on regi...
A BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE HISTORY OF VIOLENCE

▪ Abstract Traumatic injuries in ancient human skeletal remains are a direct source of evidence for testing theories of warfare and violence that are not subject to the interpretative difficulties posed by literary creations such as historical records and ethnographic reports. Bioarchaeological research shows that throughout the history of our species, interpersonal violence, especially among men, has been prevalent. Cannibalism seems to have been widespread, and mass killings, homicides, and assault injuries are also well documented in both the Old and New Worlds. No form of social organization, mode of production, or environmental setting appears to have remained free from interpersonal violence for long.
Lck Domains Differentially Contribute to Pre–T Cell Receptor (Tcr)–And TCR-α/β–Regulated Developmental Transitions

Maturational changes at the CD4−CD8− double negative (DN) to CD4+CD8+ double positive (DP) transition are dependent on signals generated via the pre–T cell receptor (TCR) and the nonreceptor protein tyrosine kinase p56 lck (Lck). How Lck activities are stimulated or relayed after pre-TCR formation remains obscure. Our structure–function mapping of Lck thymopoietic properties reveals that the noncatalytic domains of Lck are specialized to signal efficient cellular expansion at DN to DP transition. Moreover, although substitution of the Lck catalytic domain with FynT sequences minimally impacts DP development, single positive thymocytes are most efficiently produced in the presence of kinases containing both the NH2-terminal and catalytic regions of Lck. These findings demonstrate that the Lck structure is uniquely adapted to mediate signals at both major transitions in thymopoiesis.
Designing for low acceleration sensitivity

Recent advances in acceleration sensitivity measurement and modeling are discussed, with an emphasis on what these advances indicate in terms of designing for low acceleration sensitivity. The design suggestions are separated into two parts, namely, those that use the crystal resonator as a mechanical vibrator and those that use the crystal oscillator as an electronic circuit. Such topics as symmetry considerations, metallization, mounting etc., in both bulk acoustic wave (BAW) and surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices are discussed for the former, while for the latter the equivalent circuit modeling of crystal resonators and other loop components is addressed. >
The ‘Culture de guerre’ and French Historiography of the Great War of 1914–1918

Since the late 1980s, the historiography of the Great War of 1914–1918 has experienced something of a renaissance, particularly among French historians and historians influenced by French historiography. Scholarship has centered around the notion of ‘war culture’ (culture de guerre), defined as the sum total of the means through which contemporaries understood the conflict and persuaded themselves to continue fighting it. This article focuses on two aspects of the culture de guerre– consent, a form of commitment to prevailing in the conflict that deepened with adversity; and brutalization, the ferocity with which contemporaries fought the war in ways often overlooked by previous historiography. The article concludes with a consideration of some of the critics of the culture de guerre.
Cognitive Model of Trust Dynamics Predicts Human Behavior within and between Two Games of Strategic Interaction with Computerized Confederate Agents

When playing games of strategic interaction, such as iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma and iterated Chicken Game, people exhibit specific within-game learning (e.g., learning a game’s optimal outcome) as well as transfer of learning between games (e.g., a game’s optimal outcome occurring at a higher proportion when played after another game). The reciprocal trust players develop during the first game is thought to mediate transfer of learning effects. Recently, a computational cognitive model using a novel trust mechanism has been shown to account for human behavior in both games, including the transfer between games. We present the results of a study in which we evaluate the model’s a priori predictions of human learning and transfer in 16 different conditions. The model’s predictive validity is compared against five model variants that lacked a trust mechanism. The results suggest that a trust mechanism is necessary to explain human behavior across multiple conditions, even when a human plays against a non-human agent. The addition of a trust mechanism to the other learning mechanisms within the cognitive architecture, such as sequence learning, instance-based learning, and utility learning, leads to better prediction of the empirical data. It is argued that computational cognitive modeling is a useful tool for studying trust development, calibration, and repair.
Allergy Testing: In Vivo Versus In Vitro

Table 4 briefly summarizes the relative advantages and disadvantages of skin tests versus in vitro tests for detecting allergen-specific IgE. The skin test remains unexcelled as a sensitive and cost efficient test for specific IgE. The high degree of skin test sensitivity is very important when a patient must be evaluated for potentially life-threatening allergies such as to penicillin or stinging insects. The results of both skin tests and in vitro assays depend very much on the quality of the allergen extracts used for the tests. Although the quality of extracts is improving, there is still little standardization. Both skin tests and in vitro assays are difficult to quality control. Practicing allergists rely on experience, and the correlation between patient histories and skin tests results for quality control of the results. Although this system suffices for common allergens, the results for uncommon allergens may be misleading. Quality control is also difficult for in vitro tests. Participation in quality control programs, such as that being offered by the College of American Pathologists, will increase and lead to better quality and standardization of in vitro test results. At the present time, properly performed skin tests are the best available method for detecting the presence of allergen specific IgE. They are rapid, sensitive, and inexpensive on a per test basis. In vitro tests are acceptable substitutes for skin tests in some circumstances. If the patient does not have normal skin, cannot discontinue interfering medications, or is so sensitive by history that anaphylaxis seems possible, in vitro tests are preferred. In vitro tests are better when it is necessary to test a difficult patient such as a combative, mentally retarded adult. In vitro tests also have been invaluable in many allergy research studies. Physicians must remember that positive tests for allergen-specific IgE do not diagnose allergy. They only indicate the presence of IgE molecules with a particular immunologic specificity. A decision whether the specific IgE molecules are responsible for clinically apparent disease must be made by a well-trained physician. The ultimate standard for the diagnosis of allergic disease remains the combination of: (1) positive double-blind challenge, (2) the presence of specific IgE, and (3) demonstration that the symptoms are the result of IgE-mediated inflammation.
The Perfect Storm: An Eyewitness Report from Cleveland's Neighborhoods

This is an eyewitness report from an attorney working with Cleveland neighborhood development corporations, including one in the Slavic Village neighborhood, a place sometimes identified as ground zero in the mortgage disaster. The Urban Development Law Clinic at Cleveland State University, where I am a clinical professor, is legal counsel to the Slavic Village Development Corporation and other Cleveland nonprofit development corporations. We see firsthand at the ground level the devastation of property, lives, and neighborhoods that is being inflicted by a mortgage finance system run amok in inner-city neighborhoods. Observers have compared the man-made devastation in Cleveland neighborhoods to conditions in New Orleans after Katrina. We are starting to call it “Hurricane Wall Street,” and it has not finished wreaking havoc in our neighborhoods.
ADAPTIVE RADIATION AND GENETIC DIFFERENTIATION IN THE HAWAIIAN SILVERSWORD ALLIANCE (COMPOSITAE: MADIINAE)

The Hawaiian silversword alliance consists of the three genera Dubautia, Argyroxiphium, and Wilkesia, and is a classic example of adaptive radiation in an insular setting. Genetic variation and interspecific genetic differentiation based on ten enzyme loci are described for Dubautia and Wilkesia. Genetic identities among species span the range of values expected from interpopulation comparisons within a single species (I = 0.90-1.00) to those typical of interspecific comparisons (I→=0.67). Genetic-identity values correspond to biogeographic distribution and morphological distinctiveness, supporting a correlation of increasing genetic distance associated with the time of separation among lineages. It may be inferred that the high genetic identities observed within the Hawaiian Madiinae and other island plant groups are due to limited time spans available for taxa to accumulate new genetic variation through mutation. It appears that species may remain genetically similar (I > 0.90) even after time spans on the order of magnitude of 1,000,000 years.
“Any Time, Any Place”: The Myth of Universal Access and the Semiprivate Space of Online Education

Abstract The rhetoric surrounding distance education emphasizes that it allows students to complete courses in an abstract “any time,” and thus improves access to higher education. This essay critiques that discourse and argues that teachers and scholars need to build critical consideration of students’ lived negotiations of time into the work of online courses. Social media provide a useful site for this work: students can mark the time of the course and critically reflect on their experience of the course's location in public or private space. Using Ellen Rooney's concept of the semiprivate, the essay theorizes how students in one first-year composition course described, on social media, the time and space of the online course. While the policy discourse surrounding online education imagines that its neutral relationship to time is a way to create universal access to higher education, the concept of the semiprivate emphasizes costs and barriers that are generated as students struggle to fit online courses into the specific realities of their lives.
A 28-Year-Old Man Presenting With Intractable Dry Cough and a History of Ulcerative Colitis

A 28-year-old man of Japanese descent presented to the ED with a 2-month history of dry cough, shortness of breath, and weakness. He did not complain of fever, chest pain, or abdominal symptoms, and had no history of smoking. The patient's medical history was significant for an episode of ulcerative colitis 6 years previously after presenting with bloody diarrhea, stomach pain, fever, weight loss, and bilateral episcleritis. He had been treated consecutively with mesalazine, azathioprine, infliximab, golimumab, and adalimumab. Concomitant respiratory symptoms had been present during 2 flare-ups of severe ulcerative colitis disease activity and were successfully treated with a course of oral prednisone.
Rapid determination of malachite green,crystal violet and their metabolites in fish by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Objective To develop a rapid method to determine the residues of malachite green( MG),leucomalachite green( LMG),crystal violet( CV) and leucocrystal violet( LCV) in fish by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry( LC-MS / MS). Methods The target analytes were extracted from homogenized fish sample with acetonitrile and ammonium acetate, purified on neutral alumina solid – phase extraction( SPE) cartridge,separated by a Waters XBridge C18 column( 150 mm × 2. 1 mm i. d.,3. 5 μm),and detected by electrospray ionization in positive ion mode( ESI +) in multiple reaction monitoring( MRM) mode. D5-MG and D6-LMG were used as internal standard for quantitative determination. Results The calibration curves showed good linearity for MG,LMG,CV and LCV with the correlative coefficients( r) more than 0. 99. The limits of detection for all were 0. 1 μg / kg. The average recoveries at 0. 5 μg / kg,1. 0 μg / kg and 2. 0 μg / kg ranged from 78% to 106% with the relative standard deviations between 2. 6% and 6. 3%. Conclusion The method is simple and rapid. It is suitable for determination of MG,LCV and their metabolites in fish.
Iconoclasm, iconography and the altar in the English civil war

On 16 January 1641 Anna Temple wrote from Broughton, Oxfordshire, to her daughter in Sussex: God is exceeding good to us every way, both body and souls, and hath done wonderful things among us already, and gives us hope of more, and that we shall see idolatry and superstition rooted out; and God’s ordinances set up in the purity and power of them. Altars begin to go down apace and rails in many places, and yours must follow if it be not down already. Let us labour to be thankful and continue our prayers, hold up our hands that Israel may prevail.
Demystifying Poststroke Pain: From Etiology to Treatment

Pain after stroke is commonly reported but often incompletely managed, which prevents optimal recovery. This situation occurs in part because of the esoteric nature of poststroke pain and its limited presence in current discussions of stroke management. The major specific afflictions that affect patients with stroke who experience pain include central poststroke pain, complex regional pain syndrome, and pain associated with spasticity and shoulder subluxation. Each disorder carries its own intricacies that require specific approaches to treatment and understanding. This review aims to present and clarify the major pain syndromes that affect patients who have experienced a stroke in order to aid in their diagnosis and treatment.
Williams Syndrome-Specific Neuroarchitectural Profile and Its Associations with Cognitive Features

Williams Syndrome (WS), a rare genetic disorders caused by hemizyous deletion of ~26 genes on the chromosome 7, has unique cognitive features and neuroanatomic abnormalities. Limited in statistical power due to its rareness had led to inconsistent in many direct comparisons using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and their associations with cognitive features of WS are not clear. Here, we used a novel approach to derive a WS specific neuroarchitectural profile and tested its association with cognitive features of WS. Using a WS adult cohort (n = 43), we trained a logistic elastic-net model to extract a sparse representation of WS specific neuroarchitectural profile. The predictive performances are robust within the training cohort (leave one out cross-validation AUC = 1.0) and generalized well in an independent teenager WS cohort (n = 60, AUC = 1.0). The WS specific neuroarchitectural profile includes multiple MRI measurements in the orbitofrontal cortex, superior parietal cortex, Sylvian fissures, and basal ganglia, whereas its variations reflect the underlying size of hemizygous deletion, and mediated the disease impact on the cognitive features of WS. In this study, we demonstrate the robustness of the derived WS specific neuroarchitectural profile, suggesting the joint developmental abnormalities in the cortical-subcortical circuitry cause the unique features of WS cognition.
Nonlinear Oscillations under Hyperbolic Systems

This chapter discusses nonlinear oscillations under hyperbolic systems. It presents hyperbolic systems of first-order partial differential equations in the canonic forms of Courant-Lax and of Schauder. For these systems in a slab Da = [0 ≥ x ≥ a, y ɛ Er] of the xy-space Er+1, the chapter presents the formulation of certain boundary value problems, and presents the corresponding theorems of existence of the solutions, and of their uniqueness and continuous dependence on the data. In particular, if all the data are periodic of given periods in the y-coordinates, then the solutions are also periodic of the same periods. Theorems A and B presented in the chapter contain a specific hypothesis, which can be briefly stated by saying that the relevant matrices have “dominant main diagonal”. By an example, the chapter presents that the conclusions of the same theorems may not hold if such specific condition is not satisfied.
Cis-eQTL-Based Trans-Ethnic Meta-Analysis Reveals Novel Genes Associated with Breast Cancer Risk

Breast cancer is the most common solid organ malignancy and the most frequent cause of cancer death among women worldwide. Previous research has yielded insights into its genetic etiology, but there remains a gap in the understanding of genetic factors that contribute to risk, and particularly in the biological mechanisms by which genetic variation modulates risk. The National Cancer Institute's "Up for a Challenge" (U4C) competition provided an opportunity to further elucidate the genetic basis of the disease. Our group leveraged the seven datasets made available by the U4C organizers and data from the publicly available UK Biobank cohort to examine associations between imputed gene expression and breast cancer risk. In particular, we used reference datasets describing the breast tissue and whole blood transcriptomes to impute expression levels in breast cancer cases and controls. In trans-ethnic meta-analyses of U4C and UK Biobank data, we found significant associations between breast cancer risk and the expression of RCCD1 (joint p-value: 3.6x10-06) and DHODH (p-value: 7.1x10-06) in breast tissue, as well as a suggestive association for ANKLE1 (p-value: 9.3x10-05). Expression of RCCD1 in whole blood was also suggestively associated with disease risk (p-value: 1.2x10-05), as were expression of ACAP1 (p-value: 1.9x10-05) and LRRC25 (p-value: 5.2x10-05). While genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have implicated RCCD1 and ANKLE1 in breast cancer risk, they have not identified the remaining three genes. Among the genetic variants that contributed to the predicted expression of the five genes, we found 23 nominally (p-value < 0.05) associated with breast cancer risk, among which 15 are not in high linkage disequilibrium with risk variants previously identified by GWAS. In summary, we used a transcriptome-based approach to investigate the genetic underpinnings of breast carcinogenesis. This approach provided an avenue for deciphering the functional relevance of genes and genetic variants involved in breast cancer.
Participant perceptions of Range Rider Programs used to mitigate wolf-livestock conflicts in the western United States

Reproduction in mammals is costly, with implications for trade-offs between current reproduction and survival. Life history theory suggests the amount of energy allocated to reproduction should change as a function of increasing maternal age, and empirical work supports both within-individual decreases (consistent with senescence) and increases (consistent with constraint and restraint). The Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) is an ideal organism with which to study patterns of maternal energy allocation due to the life history. Here, we used a long-term mark-recapture database of individually marked mothers and pups in Erebus Bay, Antarctica, to develop a stratified sample of masses from pups and known-age females across maternal ages in 11 different years. Hierarchical modeling of potential sources of variation in: 1) pup masses at parturition, 2) pup mass gains from parturition to mid-lactation (~20 days), and 3) pup mass gains from mid-lactation to late-lactation (~20-days to ~35-days) was used to 1) evaluate the relative support for increases/decreases in reproductive allocation as a function of maternal age, 2) assess how patterns of reproductive allocation may reflect pre-parturition resource acquisition and/or post-parturition resource allocation, and 3) estimate the magnitude of individual heterogeneity in maternal effects after accounting for maternal and offspring characteristics. Our results provide strong evidence that reproductive investment at parturition and pup mass gains from parturition through late-lactation vary with maternal age and breeding history and result in important differences in late-lactation pup masses. Such variation may have consequences for the early-life success of offspring, and thus implications at the population level.
Terrorism as Cancer: How to Combat an Incurable Disease

ABSTRACTThis paper provides an alternative framework that conceptualizes the threat posed by terrorism based on an epidemiological approach that views it as a chronic disease like cancer rather than as a military, ideological, or socio-economic problem. After highlighting the similarities in the causes, behavior, treatments, and challenges of combating terrorism and cancer, this paper presents a staging system policymakers can use to educate the public and allocate counterterrorism resources more efficiently. This approach encourages policymakers to see terrorism for what it is (an all but inevitable facet of modern life that can be managed but never fully eliminated), and not what they wish terrorism to be (a national security problem that can be solved, defeated, or vanquished). It provides policymakers with a useful model to conceptualize the threat and treat terrorism in a comprehensive manner, from preventing future attacks to effectively responding to them when they will inevitably occur.
Drivers of Residential Energy Saving

One of the main strategies in dealing with the problem of global warming in today’s world is saving energy or employing an efficient use of energy. It is the intention of this study to investigate the determinants of residential energy saving. Seven motives for residential energy saving have been identified: the benefits of saving money, and solving the global warming problem, as well as accepting responsibility for energy, knowing how to save energy, committing to the saving of energy saving through pledges, having a role model for energy saving, and comparing the current energy bill with the previous months’ bills. A total of 350 responses were collected from self-identified adult energy saving shoppers in Bangkok. The results of the multiple regression analysis indicated that the positive factors affecting residential energy saving were commitment to energy saving through making pledges, saving money, accepting saving energy as the person’s responsibility, knowing how to save energy, and comparing one’s current energy bill with that of the previous months. The analysis of the effective strategies for residential energy saving will be discussed.
Hydrotreating of Guaiacol: A Comparative Study of Red Mud-Supported Nickel and Commercial Ni/SiO2-Al2O3 Catalysts

Abstract Upgrading of bio-oil through catalytic hydrotreating was investigated with guaiacol as a model compound. A nickel supported on red mud (Ni/RM) hydrotreating catalyst was developed and compared to the standard Ni/SiO2-Al2O3 catalysts under similar experimental conditions. The Ni/RM catalyst was characterized by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), BET specific surface area, and temperature programmed reduction (TPR). The effects of reaction temperature (300, 350, 400 °C) and initial hydrogen pressure (4.83 MPa (700 psi), 5.52 MPa (800 psi), and 6.21 MPa (900 psi)) on products distribution were investigated. The major products of hydrotreating process were catechol, anisole, phenol, cyclohexane, hexane, benzene, toluene, and xylene. Increasing the reaction temperature and hydrogen pressure improved HDO reactions. Complete HDO was achieved at reaction temperature of 400 °C and initial hydrogen pressure of 6.21 MPa (900 psi). Under these conditions, the selectivity to cyclohexane, benzene, toluene, and xylene over Ni/RM catalyst were 38.8, 24.5, 18.1, and 7.9% respectively, whereas these values were 62.2, 15.9, 8.4, and 4.5% respectively over Ni/SiO2-Al2O3. Reaction network and the kinetics of guaiacol HDO were proposed according to analysis of the products. The Ni/RM catalyst was more effective for deoxygenation reactions than hydrogenation while commercial Ni/SiO2-Al2O3 was more effective for hydrogenation than deoxygenation. Thus, hydrogen consumption per gram of bio-oil was lower for the Ni/RM catalyst compared to the Ni/SiO2-Al2O3. There was less hydrocracking and coke formation for the Ni/RM compared to the commercial catalyst and this resulted in higher liquid yield for the new catalyst.
Building a Team to Improve Cancer Survivorship: Integrative Care’s Increasing Role

An estimated 14.5 million cancer survivors live in the United States today and that number is expected to increase to 19 million by 2024. Increasingly, cancer survivors are seeking guidance and support as they transition out of active treatment into ongoing surveillance and a return to “normal” life. These patients seek services and tools to help them adjust while maintaining wellness in the posttreatment phase of life.
What makes you choose Airbnb again? An examination of users’ perceptions toward the website and their stay

Abstract Despite Airbnb's popularity as a sharing economy platform, few studies have simultaneously examined its customers’ attitudes toward its website and satisfaction with their Airbnb stay. Adopting the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT), this study attempts to examine Airbnb customers’ psychological behavior toward the entire Airbnb experience. Researchers conduct a self-administered online survey and obtain 212 valid responses. The results indicate that personal innovativeness is a significant antecedent of perceived ease of use, usefulness, and trust. Customers’ attitudes toward the Airbnb website are determined by perceived usefulness and trust, and their satisfaction with the Airbnb stay is affected by amenities and host-guest relationship, leading to loyal customers and repeat business. The findings extend extant literature in sharing economy and provide practical implications for Airbnb website developers and Airbnb hosts to increase customers’ intentions to choose Airbnb again as an accommodation option.
Toward Reversible Room-Temperature Calcium-Ion Batteries

Calcium (Ca)-based batteries are appealing because Ca is abundant, but their development is extremely challenging. Recently in Nature Chemistry, Cheng and coworkers reported a Ca-ion battery (CIB) system that comprises an intercalation cathode and an alloy anode and exhibits high voltage, excellent reversibility, and reasonable cycling performance.
An Experimental Testbed for Robotic Network Applications

In the last few years, multi-robot systems have augmented their complexity, due to the increased potential of novel sensors and actuators, and in order to satisfy the requirements of the applications they are involved into. For the development and testing of networked robotic systems, experimental testbeds are fundamental in order to verify the effectiveness of robot control methods in real contexts. In this paper, we present our Networked Robot Arena (NRA), which is a software/hardware framework for experimental testing of control and cooperation algorithms in the field of multi-robot systems. The main objective is to provide a user-friendly and flexible testbed that allows researchers and students to easily test their projects in a real-world multi-robot environment. We describe the software and hardware architecture of the NRA system and present an example of multi-mission control of a network of robots to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework.
Muslim Women's Islamic Higher Learning as a Human Right: Theory and Practice

Copyright 2000, Syracuse University Press. This is a pre-copyedited version of an article accepted for publication in the edited book Windows of Faith:Muslim Women Scholar-Activists in North America following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available through Syracuse University Press: http://www.syracuseuniversitypress.syr.edu/books-in-print-series/women-religion.html. See also: http://www.eself-learning-arabic.cornell.edu/publications.htm#2
Alphaviruses, Flaviviruses, and Bunyaviruses

The alphaviruses, flaviviruses, and bunyaviruses constitute three different families of enveloped RNA viruses that share the ability to be transmitted by insect vectors. They can be classified into a broader category of arthropod-borne viruses or arboviruses, which are able to replicate in both their vertebrate and invertebrate hosts. Some members of each of these families can also cause central nervous system (CNS) infection. Infection is usually initiated by subcutaneous or intravenous inoculation of virus into vertebrates by injection of infected saliva from the insect vector. For maintenance of infection in nature the vertebrate host must develop a viremia of sufficient magnitude to infect the insect vector during a blood meal. Because of a low-level viremia man is often a dead-end host, infected only when vector populations are high, and unimportant to maintenance of virus in nature.
Linear System Solvers

This chapter presents and implements preconditioned conjugate gradient (CG) and generalized minimum residual (GMRES) methods for solving linear systems. The coefficient matrix can be stored in full (every entry is stored), band (only entries within a band along the main diagonal are stored), or sparse (only nonzero entries are stored) storage formats and can be real (float, double, long double, etc.) or complex (with real and imaginary parts in float, double, long double, etc.). All these situations are handled by one function for CG and another function for GMRES (without different versions as in other programming languages such as FORTRAN and C). This dramatically reduces the size of the source code and is much easier to maintain.
Preservation and Field Speciation of Inorganic Arsenic Species in Groundwater

This research describes the development of a dual preservation- and field-speciation technique for As(III) and As(V) speciation of a sample preserved with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and acetic acid (HAc). The new method was compared with existing preservation- and field-speciation methods and was shown to be accurate and precise in spite of possible interference from ferrous iron in the sample. The new preservation-speciation method was further evaluated on 55 drinking water wells (18 samples in triplicate) in Minnesota, North Dakota and California with the result that As(III) measured by field-speciation agreed with subsequent (within 1‐3 d) laboratory speciation on the preserved sample with a slope of 0.98 and a correlation coefficient of r 2 = 0.999. Preserved samples stored in the dark at room temperature (22‐24oC) could main
Cyclin D3 Is Essential for Megakaryocytopoiesis

A normal cell cycle in most eukaryotic cells consists of a tightly regulated sequence of phases including DNA synthesis (S) followed by a gap (G2), mitosis (M), and a gap (G1). In the megakaryocytic lineage, the cells undergo endomitosis, which involves DNA synthesis in the absence of mitosis, thus giving rise to polyploid cells. We aimed at defining whether the megakaryocytic cell cycle consists of a continuous S phase or of G1/S phases and at determining which cyclins are involved in this process. Studies were performed in primary cultures of mouse bone marrow cells. DNA synthesis in megakaryocytes was followed by determining incorporation of a DNA precursor, bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), into the cells by in situ staining for BrdU. These experiments showed that no more than 15% of the recognizable megakaryocytes in normal bone marrow are in the process of endomitosis, including S phases interrupted by short gaps. Using immunohistochemistry, we showed that mature megakaryocytes express the G1 phase cyclin and cyclin D3, but not the mitotic cyclin, cyclin B1. Under culture conditions that selectively promote megakaryocytopoiesis, antisense oligonucleotides designed to suppress cyclin D3 expression, but not sense oligonucleotides or antisense oligonucleotides to cyclin B1, dramatically suppress endomitosis and abrogate megakaryocyte development. Our results indicate that endoreduplication in megakaryocytes is associated with low levels of or the absence of cyclin B1, whereas progression through this process depends on the G1 phase for which cyclin D3 is crucial.
Relevance of Multi-Omics Studies in Cardiovascular Diseases

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death around the world. Despite the larger number of genes and loci identified, the precise mechanisms by which these genes influence risk of cardiovascular disease is not well understood. Recent advances in the development and optimization of high-throughput technologies for the generation of "omics data" have provided a deeper understanding of the processes and dynamic interactions involved in human diseases. However, the integrative analysis of "omics" data is not straightforward and represents several logistic and computational challenges. In spite of these difficulties, several studies have successfully applied integrative genomics approaches for the investigation of novel mechanisms and plasma biomarkers involved in cardiovascular diseases. In this review, we summarized recent studies aimed to understand the molecular framework of these diseases using multi-omics data from mice and humans. We discuss examples of omics studies for cardiovascular diseases focused on the integration of genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics. This review also describes current gaps in the study of complex diseases using systems genetics approaches as well as potential limitations and future directions of this emerging field.
Predicting Cancer Cell Line Dependencies From the Protein Expression Data of Reverse-Phase Protein Arrays.

PURPOSEPredicting cancer dependencies from molecular data can help stratify patients and identify novel therapeutic targets. Recently available data on large-scale cancer cell line dependency allow...
Chapter XIII – COMPUTER PERCEPTION

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses computer perception, namely, machine perception and machine comprehension. The boundary between the machine perception and machine comprehension is not at all clear. Very roughly, in perception a sentient being organizes the sensations of the physical world into entities, and establishes an internal representation of the external world which depicts the important relationships among the recognized entities. In comprehension the internal representation itself is manipulated to derive some output message. The actions required to do this may include a comparison of the internal representation of the current world to any number of real or imagined representations of other worlds. The reason that computer perception is so limited is quite simple. The retinal image is an ambiguous representation of the physical world.