cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Probability of Yield Response and Breaking Even for Soybean Seed Treatments

Earlier soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] planting coupled with increasing seed cost and commodity prices has led to an increase in the number of hectares treated with seed treatments. Ultimately, growers would like to know if applying such treatment is cost effective. Therefore, the objectives of this experiment were to quantify the effects of seed treatment on early season plant population and seed yield and investigate the probability that yield response covered the cost of the seed treatment. Trials were conducted in Wisconsin from 2008 to 2010 at nine locations each year to compare no seed treatment, mefenoxam + fludioxonil (ApronMaxx), and mefenoxam + fludioxonil + thiamethoxam (CruiserMaxx). Results indicated differences in early-season plant population due to cultivar and seed treatment and that seed yield was affected by a cultivar × seed treatment interaction. At a low seed treatment price, the percentage of environments where the probability of breaking even was >50% and ranged from 56 to 67%, while it ranged from 22 to 56% at a higher price. Both ApronMaxx and CruiserMaxx had positive response ratios of 1.5 (p = 0.030) and 2.9% (p < 0.0001), respectively, but responses were cultivar dependent. Given annual environmental variability, a general lack of field information regarding field history of pathogens or insects, and the high turnover rate of soybean cultivars, soybean seed treatments can be a cost-effective component to integrate into soybean production systems.
Sophistry and illusion

The Fire in the Equations: Science, Religion and the Search for God. By Kitty Ferguson. Bantam: 1994. Pp. 308. £16.99.
Effects of Stocking Density on Third-Year Growth of Largemouth Bass, Micropterus salmoides, Fed Prepared Diets in Ponds

ABSTRACT Largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, with an average weight of 383 g were stocked into six 0.04-ha ponds at stocking densities of either 3,750 or 7,500 fish/ha. Fish were fed a custom-formulated floating diet, containing 44% protein, for 334 days, once daily to satiation at water temperatures>5_C and twice weekly at 0.05) in average individual weight, percentage weight gain, feed conversion ratio, or survival of bass stocked at the two densities. Total yield and total production of fish were significantly greater (P 0.05) in total ammonia-nitrogen (TAN), nitrite-nitrogen, or un-ionized ammonia concentrations in ponds in which bass were stocked at the two densities. These data indicate t...
Influence of DNA structure on adjacent site cooperative binding.

Previous NMR studies of Hoechst 33258 with the d(CTTTTGCAAAAG)2 sequence have shown very strong (K2 ≫ K1) cooperativity between two adjacent binding sites (Searle, M. S.; Embrey, K. J. Nucleic Acids Res. 1990, 18 (13), 3753−3762). In contrast, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) results with the hairpin analog of the same sequence show significantly reduced cooperativity. In an effort to explain the difference, two-dimensional (2-D) NMR experiments were done on both duplex and hairpin. Hoechst 33258 and an amidine analog, DB183, show very strong cooperativity with the duplex DNA but much weaker cooperativity with the hairpin. The significantly lower thermal melting temperature (Tm) of the duplex (34.8 °C) in comparison to its hairpin analog (62.3 °C) supports the idea of a dynamic difference between the two DNA structures that can influence cooperativity in binding. These results confirm the role of conformational entropy in positive cooperativity in some DNA interactions.
Immune Responses in A Mouse Model of Vitiligo with Spontaneous Epidermal De- and Repigmentation

To generate a mouse model of spontaneous epidermal depigmentation, parental h3TA2 mice, expressing both a human-derived, tyrosinase-reactive T-cell receptor on T cells and the matching HLA-A2 transgene, were crossed to keratin 14-promoter driven, stem cell factor transgenic (K14-SCF) mice with intra-epidermal melanocytes. In resulting Vitesse mice, spontaneous skin depigmentation precedes symmetrical and sharply demarcated patches of graying hair. Whereas the SCF transgene alone dictates a greater retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor gamma (RORγt)(+) T-cell compartment, these cells displayed markedly increased IL-17 expression within Vitesse mice. Similar to patient skin, regulatory T cells were less abundant compared with K14-SCF mice, with the exception of gradually appearing patches of repigmenting skin. The subtle repigmentation observed likely reflects resilient melanocytes that coexist with skin-infiltrating, melanocyte-reactive T cells. Similar repigmenting lesions were found in a different TCR transgenic model of vitiligo developed on an SCF transgenic background, supporting a role for SCF in repigmentation.
Intentionality, Causality and Holism

Recognition of the phenomenon of intentionality is threatened from two sides. From one side, Nature as an interconnected seamless order of causality leaves no room for intentionality. From another side, holisms of various kinds — the Hegelian absolute spirit as much as Richard Rorty’s “conversation of mankind,” with many intermediate forms in between — present the same threat though with less abruptness and with more tolerance. The thrust of this paper is to argue that not only do the causal order of Nature and the various holistic systems fail to eliminate intentionality, but they in fact presuppose it. Whereas such a thesis is reputedly a form of transcendental philosophy, an exact and satisfactory formulation of the thesis is a matter of utmost difficulty. This is the task I have set for myself in this lecture.
Adrenergic cerebrovascular nerves: Effect of middle cerebral artery occlusion on the catecholamine fluorescence of sympathetic cerebrovascular nerves in cats

Abstract Removal of one superior cervical ganglion in cats resulted in predominantly ipsilateral losses of catecholamine fluorescence of the intracranial sympathetic perivascular nerves within 44 to 72 h as demonstrated by a histofluorescent technique for the visualization of primary catecholamines. A similar result followed adventitial stripping of one middle cerebral artery. In contrast, unilateral middle cerebral artery occlusion produced hemispheric infarction and bilateral loss of fluorescence in the sympathetic perivascular nerves in seven cats. This loss first became evident by 12 h and was usually complete by 96 h. The bilateral loss of fluorescence in the intracranial perivascular nerves may be related to bilateral tissue alterations and bilateral abnormalities in cerebral blood flow following unilateral cerebral ischemia.
Chronic Inhibition of Dopamine β-Hydroxylase Facilitates Behavioral Responses to Cocaine in Mice

The anti-alcoholism medication, disulfiram (Antabuse), decreases cocaine use in humans regardless of concurrent alcohol consumption and facilitates cocaine sensitization in rats, but the functional targets are unknown. Disulfiram inhibits dopamine β-hydroxylase (DBH), the enzyme that converts dopamine (DA) to norepinephrine (NE) in noradrenergic neurons. The goal of this study was to test the effects of chronic genetic or pharmacological DBH inhibition on behavioral responses to cocaine using DBH knockout (Dbh −/−) mice, disulfiram, and the selective DBH inhibitor, nepicastat. Locomotor activity was measured in control (Dbh +/−) and Dbh −/− mice during a 5 day regimen of saline+saline, disulfiram+saline, nepicastat+saline, saline+cocaine, disulfiram+cocaine, or nepicastat+cocaine. After a 10 day withdrawal period, all groups were administered cocaine, and locomotor activity and stereotypy were measured. Drug-naive Dbh −/− mice were hypersensitive to cocaine-induced locomotion and resembled cocaine-sensitized Dbh +/− mice. Chronic disulfiram administration facilitated cocaine-induced locomotion in some mice and induced stereotypy in others during the development of sensitization, while cocaine-induced stereotypy was evident in all nepicastat-treated mice. Cocaine-induced stereotypy was profoundly increased in the disulfiram+cocaine, nepicastat+cocaine, and nepicastat+saline groups upon cocaine challenge after withdrawal in Dbh +/− mice. Disulfiram or nepicastat treatment had no effect on behavioral responses to cocaine in Dbh −/− mice. These results demonstrate that chronic DBH inhibition facilitates behavioral responses to cocaine, although different methods of inhibition (genetic vs. non-selective inhibitor vs. selective inhibitor) enhance qualitatively different cocaine-induced behaviors.
Factors affecting oil extraction/water adsorption in sequential extraction processing of corn

The sequential extraction process (SEP) uses ethanol to extract oil and protein from cracked, flaked, and dried corn, and the dried corn simultaneously dehydrates the ethanol. Value-added co-products are possible, potentially making production of fuel ethanol more economical. The effects of solvent-to-corn (S/C) ratio, corn moisture content (MC), and number of extraction stages on ethanol drying, oil recovery, and protein loss during the simultaneous oil extraction/water adsorption step of SEP were evaluated. Extractions were carried out by using both aqueous ethanol and ethanol/hexane blends at 56°C. The S/C ratios tested were 3∶1, 2∶1 (control), 1.5∶1, and 1∶1 (w/w). More anhydrous ethanol, greater oil yields, and less co-extracted protein were obtained with higher S/C ratios. Less anhydrous ethanol and lower moisture adsorption capacities were obtained when the corn MC was ≥1.12%. Oil yields gradually decreased with drier corn, whereas protein loss increased when corn MC was <1.12%. Reducing the number of extraction stages from seven (original SEP) to five did not affect ethanol drying capability, oil yields, and protein co-extracted with oil. Using ethanol/hexane blends resulted in more anhydrous ethanol, higher oil yields, and less protein co-extracted with oil.
Fair sharing of greenhouse gas burdens

This paper describes an approach to determine the relative accountability that each region and individual nation should bear in reducing atmospheric greenhouse gas. The paper argues that accountability should be based on equity and that all measures of equity for which there are backers should be used in the decision making procedure. Each equity indicator defines a different accountability profile, leading to conflicting prescriptions. Multicriterion decision making methods are seen as having high potential to help design fair compromise profiles, and a methodology is proposed and numerous methods indicated for this purpose. The methodology is illustrated by defining 11 different equity indicators and then formulating and solving a multigoal programming model to determine a compromise accountability profile for 11 multinational regions.
Initial experience with 150 cases of laparoscopic assisted colectomy

Abstract Background: Despite multiple reports of large series in the literature over the past decade, laparoscopic assisted colectomy (LAC) has not received widespread acceptance by the surgical community. Critics of LAC note concerns regarding unproved benefits and increased complexity of the procedures. The authors report their initial experience with 150 procedures. Methods: A retrospective review of 150 consecutive LACs was performed by the authors. Results: Mean operative time for completed LAC, converted procedures, right, and sigmoid resections were 164 minutes, 203 minutes, 121 minutes, and 177 minutes, respectively. Twenty-two patients had additional concurrent laparoscopic procedures. Thirty-nine patients had undergone previous abdominal surgery. The conversion rate was 12%. Mean length of stay for all patients was 4.5 days. There were 8 major and 16 minor complications. There were no port site metastases. Major complications and conversion rate decreased from the first 50 cases to the last 50 cases. Conclusions: LAC can be safely performed with superior quality of life outcomes in comparison with open colectomy. The authors believe that LAC will eventually become the gold standard for colon resection. The learning curve is discussed as an ongoing process, rather than a set number of procedures.
Sequence physical properties encode the global organization of protein structure space

It is demonstrated that, properly represented, the amino acid composition of protein sequences contains the information necessary to delineate the global properties of protein structure space. A numerical representation of amino acid sequence in terms of a set of property factors is used, and the values of those property factors are averaged over individual sequences and then over sets of sequences belonging to structurally defined groups. These sequence sets then can be viewed as points in a 10-dimensional space, and the organization of that space, determined only by sequence properties, is similar at both local and global scales to that of the space of protein structures determined previously.
Major histocompatibility complex class II association and induction of T cell responses by carbohydrates and glycopeptides

In the following study we have investigated whether the inability to generate T cell immunity against carbohydrate antigens is the result of a failure of carbohydrates to form a complex with class II MHC molecules or a deficiency of carbohydratespecific T cells in the immune repertoire. These possibilities were examined by, first, determining the MHC binding capacity of pure carbohydrate molecules and, second, by assessing whether carbohydrate-specific T cells could be induced against a glycosylated T cell peptide epitope which had the capacity to interact with class II MHC restriction elements.
Modification of the nicotine-induced depolarization in striated muscle by altered (H + ) 0, (Ca ++ ) 0 and (Cl - ) 0 .

In frog sartorius muscles, reduction of [Ca++]0 enhanced the depolarization of the end-plate membrane caused by nicotine while elevation of [Ca++]0 reduced the nicotine-induced depolarization. A quantitative study of the effects of [Ca++]0 on the nicotine-induced depolarization indicated that the interaction between calcium and nicotine was noncompetitive. Reduction of the chloride concentration or acidification of the Ringer's solution enhanced the depolarization caused by nicotine (0.015–0.10 mM) and antagonized the influence of elevated [Ca++]0. The enhanced sensitivity of muscles to nicotine at low pH and in Cl−-free solutions was probably due to the increased effective resistance of the muscle membrane caused by these conditions. The effects of variation of [Ca++]0 appeared to be independent of changes in the membrane resistance.
Duckling and Chicken Processing Yields and Breast Meat Tenderness

Abstract Twenty-eight live Pekin ducklings and 28 broiler chickens were obtained at 49 days of age from commercial processing facilities for each of two trials to determine processing yields and breast meat tenderness. Birds were withdrawn from feed for 8 h and then processed. Breast halves, without skin, were removed from four birds of each species at .25, .5, 1, 2, 4, 6, and 24 h post-mortem. One side of each breast was cooked immediately after deboning (0-h aging) and the other half held 24 h at 4 C before cooking (24-h aging). Tenderness of the cooked breast meat was evaluated by Allo-Kramer shear. Duckling live, dry shell without giblets (WOG), and breast weights were significantly greater (P
THE PHYSICIAN'S MORAL OBLIGATIONS TO THE PREGNANT WOMAN, THE FETUS, AND THE CHILD

The moral obligations and ethical duties of health care professionals responsible for the care of a pregnant woman, a fetus, and a child are complex and evolve with gestation and birth. Well-intentioned physicians and others concerned with the interests of pregnant women and their fetuses may disagree about the moral status of the fetus and the ethical duties owed to both the woman and fetus. This article lays out a framework for thinking about these issues from several perspectives.
In Vitro Motility Analysis of Actin-Tropomyosin Regulation by Troponin and Calcium THE THIN FILAMENT IS SWITCHED AS A SINGLE COOPERATIVE UNIT

Abstract In striated muscles, contractility is controlled by Ca binding to the regulatory protein complex troponin, which is a component of the thin filaments. Troponin is an allosteric inhibitor acting on tropomyosin to switch the thin filament between “on” and “off” states. We have used an in vitro motility assay to examine troponin regulation of individual actin-tropomyosin filaments moving over immobilized skeletal muscle heavy meromyosin. The most striking observation is that the actin-tropomyosin filament appears to be regulated as a single unit. At pCa 9.0, addition of up to 4 nM troponin causes the proportion of filaments motile to decrease from >85% to 20% with no dissociation of the filaments from the heavy meromyosin surface or change in velocity. Increasing Ca concentration causes the filaments to be switched back on with half-maximal increase in the proportion of filaments motile at pCa 5.8-6.0 and a modest increase in filament velocity. This is an “all or none” process in which an entire filament, up to 15 μm long, switches rapidly as a single cooperative unit. Thus, the effect of Ca upon the thin filament is to recruit motile filaments.
DENSITY FUNCTIONAL THEORETICAL STUDY OF NITRATED POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS

Nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (nitro-PAHs) are well-known mutagens. Correlations between the orientation of the nitro group relative to the plane of the aromatic ring and mutagenic effects of nitro-PAHs have been proposed. Synthesis of specific isomers of nitro-PAHs and elucidation of their crystal structure is required to establish the validity of the structure-function relationships. Such studies are scarce. Fortunately, electronic structure calculations can be readily done. In this study we have used density functional theory calculations to predict structure of nitro-PAHs, including 1-, 2-nitronaphthalenes; 1-, 2-, 9-nitroanthracenes; 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 9-nitrophenanthrenes; 1-, 2-, 4-nitropyrenes; and 6-nitrochrysene. The relationships between the calculated structures and the mutagenicity reported in the chemical literature are discussed.
Hyperprolactinemia fails to increase striatal dopamine receptors in male and female C57BL/6J mice.

Abstract Mice were administered prolactin by either homotypic anterior pituitary grafts (4 weeks) or subcutaneous osmotic pumps containing ovine prolactin (1 week). The pituitary grafts produced considerably greater elevations of circulating prolactin than the osmotic pumps. In neither case was any change detected in striatal [ 3 H]spiperone binding to dopamine receptors. These results are discussed in the context of contradictory obtained with rats.
A phase II trial of thalidomide in patients with refractory leiomyosarcoma of the uterus and correlation with biomarkers of angiogenesis: A gynecologic oncology group study

Abstract Objectives To evaluate the efficacy and adverse events (AEs) of thalidomide in previously treated, measurable, persistent or recurrent leiomyosarcoma (LMS) of the uterus, and to explore associations between angiogenic markers and treatment or clinical outcome. Methods Eligible, consenting patients were treated until disease progression or toxicity intervened with daily starting dose of 200 mg thalidomide/day that was increased by 200 mg every 2 weeks to a target dose of 1000 mg/day. End-points included progression-free survival (PFS)≥6 months, toxicity, response, PFS and survival. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and soluble endothelial protein C receptor (sEPCR) were evaluated in pre- and post-treatment serum and plasma. Results Of 30 enrolled patients, one was ineligible (wrong histology). Median age was 56 years. Among 29 eligible patients, seven reached the target dose and only two received more than 4 cycles. Two patients (7%) experienced PFS≥6 months. There were no objective responses, seven (24%) had stable disease, 19 (66%) progressed and 3 (10%) were not evaluable for response. Median PFS was 1.9 months and median overall survival was 8.3 months. Grade 4 AEs were not observed. The most common grade 3 AEs were neurologic (6), pulmonary (4) and constitutional (3). Treatment with thalidomide was associated with a significant decrease in plasma bFGF ( p =0.008) and serum sEPCR ( p =0.006), but not in plasma VEGF. Plasma VEGF was associated with increased risk of progression (hazard ratio [HR]=3.5; 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.5–7.8; p =0.003) and death (HR=4.7; 95% CI=1.6–13.8; p =0.005) after adjusting for GOG performance status. Conclusions Thalidomide was not active in patients with uterine LMS and did not alter VEGF concentration. The association between pretreatment VEGF and prognosis in this population supports further evaluation of anti-angiogenic therapies in uterine LMS.
Expression of functional Schistosoma mansoni Smad4: Role in Erk-mediated transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) down-regulation

Members of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta superfamily play pivotal roles in cell migration, differentiation, adhesion, pattern formation, and apoptosis. The family of Smad proteins acts as intracellular signal transducers of TGF-beta and related peptides. Smad4, a common mediator Smad (co-Smad), performs a central role in transmitting signals from TGF-beta, BMP, and activins. Schistosoma mansoni receptor-regulated Smad1 and SmSmad2 were previously identified and shown to act in TGF-beta signaling. Herein, we report the identification and characterization of a Smad4 homologue from S. mansoni and provide details about its role in mediation and down-regulation of TGF-beta signaling in schistosomes. In order to identify the schistosome co-Smad, we designed degenerate primers based on the sequence of the conserved MH1/MH2 domains of Smad4 proteins, which were used in PCR to amplify a 137-bp PCR product. A S. mansoni adult worm pair cDNA library was screened resulting in the isolation of a cDNA clone that encodes a 738 amino acid protein (SmSmad4). SmSmad4 was shown to interact with schistosome R-Smads (SmSmad1 and SmSmad2) in vivo and in vitro. The interaction with SmSmad2 was dependent on the receptor-mediated phosphorylation of SmSmad2. In addition, several potential phosphorylation sites for Erk1/2 kinases were identified in the SmSmad4 linker region and shown to be phosphorylated in vitro by an active mutant of mammalian Erk2. Furthermore, Erk-mediated phosphorylation of SmSmad4 decreased its interaction with the receptor-activated form of SmSmad2, in vitro. SmSmad4 was shown to complement a human Smad4 deficiency through the restoration of TGF-beta-responsiveness in MDA-MB-468 breast cancer cells.
Thyroid hormone: targeting the vascular smooth muscle cell.

Thyroid hormones (THs) exert marked effects on cardiac function that result from direct effects of the hormones on the cardiac myocyte as well as effects on the peripheral vasculature.1 The latter effect is best demonstrated by the characteristically high systemic vascular resistance (SVR) observed in patients (and experimental animals) with hypothyroidism, which is rapidly reversed with TH treatment.2 Hyperthyroidism produces a marked decrease in SVR, which in turn facilitates an increase in cardiac output and augments peripheral blood flow characteristic of this disease state.1 3 Over 85% of the TH synthesized and released from the thyroid gland is in the form of tetraiodothyronine (thyroxine, T4). Conversion of T4 to the biologically active form of the hormone, triiodothyronine (T3), occurs by 5′ monodeiodination (type I 5′ deiodinase) primarily in the liver and kidney and, to a smaller extent, by type II 5′ deiodinase activity in the pituitary and brain.4 In most tissues, the mechanism of TH biological action occurs by the entry of T3 into the cell by facilitated transport and the binding of T3 to specific nuclear T3 receptors (TRs), which regulate transcription of target genes.5 In the heart, these genes include contractile proteins (myosin heavy chains) as well as calcium transport/regulatory proteins (sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium–activated ATPase and phospholamban).1 6 Nuclear TRs, which belong to the steroid superfamily of transcription factors, bind T3 with much greater affinity than T4 and can either positively or negatively …
Outcome Analysis for Patients With Elevated Serum Tumor Markers at Postchemotherapy Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection

Purpose To evaluate the therapeutic benefit of postchemotherapy retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (PCRPLND) in patients with persistently elevated serum tumor markers. Patients and Methods One hundred fourteen patients with metastatic germ cell cancer with elevated serum tumor markers after first-line (50 patients) or second-line chemotherapy (64 patients) who underwent PCRPLND between 1977 and 2000 with a minimum follow-up of 2-years were included in this retrospective study. Results The 5-year overall survival was 53.9%. Sixty-one patients (53.5%) are alive with a medium follow-up of 72 months. Fifty-three patients died of disease, with a medium time to death of 8.0 months. Mean preoperative serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (βHCG) levels were 483 ng/mL and 555 mU/mL, respectively, with no difference in 5-year survival (P = .2). Retroperitoneal pathology revealed germ cell cancer in 53.5% of patients, teratoma in 34.2% of patients, and fibrosis in 12.2% of patients,...
Perioperative management of obstructive sleep apnea: a survey of Veterans Affairs health care providers.

Objectives/Hypothesis. (1) To determine the presence of Veterans Affairs (VA) institutional guidelines for the perioperative management of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA); (2) to examine current use of preoperative screening tools for OSA in the VA; and (3) to understand current VA practice patterns regarding postoperative disposition of patients with OSA.Study Design. Survey study.Setting. Veterans Affairs hospitals with surgical services; sample size 102 facilities.Subjects. Veterans Affairs health care providers.Methods. The authors surveyed health care providers at VA hospitals using a survey tool developed by the authors.Results. The response rate was 80%. A variety of preoperative screening tools for OSA were used by respondents, most commonly American Society of Anesthesiologists guidelines (53%). A policy for postoperative disposition of known and presumed OSA was present in 26% and 19% of responses, respectively. Of those respondents reporting a formal postoperative care policy, 48% and 30% admitte...
Heightened gingival inflammation and attachment loss in type 2 diabetics with hyperlipidemia.

Background: Our previous studies in diabetic (DB) rats suggest that hyperlipidemia may cause a dysregulation of the cellular and local cytokine response to periodontitis (AP). The objective of the present study was to determine if diabetes has a similar dysregulatory effect on the gingival response to AP in humans. Methods: Peripheral blood, as well as gingival tissue (GT) and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF), was obtained from a total of 35 patients who were categorized into the following groups based on level of diabetic (type 2) control and presence or absence of adult periodontitis (AP): group 1, systemically and periodontally healthy (n = 6); group 2, systemically healthy with adult periodontitis (n = 7); group 3, wellcontrolled diabetes and periodontally healthy (n = 6); group 4, well-controlled diabetes with adult periodontitis (n = 5); group 5, poorly controlled diabetes and periodontally healthy (n = 5); group 6, poorly controlled diabetes and adult periodontitis (n = 6). All subjects were given a...
Consistent replicated transactions: a highly reliable program execution environment

A highly reliable program execution environment which enables user programs to tolerate underlying hardware failures is presented. The approach is to run multiple copies of the user programs at the same time. As long as one copy survives, the user program can be completed successfully. In the meantime, the user interacts with the replicated program as if it were a normal program. The authors call this characteristic user transparent replication. In order to achieve user transparent replication, program replicas must behave consistently. Otherwise, users might get different queries or output from different running replicas. The authors identify the reasons why the inconsistent program execution problem occurs and propose algorithms to ensure that computation replicas behave consistently. With consistent running program replicas, a filter program can be easily constructed to delete duplicated I/O requests or duplicated output and thus achieve user transparency. >
Do Your Online Friends Make You Pay? A Randomized Field Experiment on Peer Influence in Online Social Networks

Demonstrating compelling causal evidence of the existence and strength of peer-to-peer influence has become the holy grail of modern research in online social networks. In these networks, it has been consistently demonstrated that user characteristics and behavior tend to cluster both in space and in time. There are multiple well-known rival mechanisms that compete to be the explanation for this observed clustering. These range from peer influence to homophily to other unobservable external stimuli. These multiple mechanisms lead to similar observational data, yet have vastly different policy implications. In this paper, we present a novel randomized experiment that tests the existence of causal peer influence in the general population-one that did not involve subject recruitment for experimentation-of a particular large-scale online social network. We utilize a unique social feature to exogenously induce adoption of a paid service among a group of randomly selected users, and in the process develop a clean exogenous randomization of treatment and control groups. A variety of nonparametric, semiparametric, and parametric approaches, ranging from resampling-based inference to ego-level random effects to logistic regression to survival models, yield close to identical, statistically and economically significant estimates of peer influence in the general population of a freemium social network. Our estimates show that peer influence causes more than a 60% increase in odds of buying the service due to the influence coming from an adopting friend. In addition, we find that users with a smaller number of friends experience stronger relative increase in the adoption likelihood due to influence from their peers as compared to the users with a larger number of friends. Our nonparametric resampling procedure-based estimates are helpful in situations of networked data that violate independence assumptions. We establish that peer influence is a powerful force in getting users from free to premium levels, a known challenge in freemium communities. This paper was accepted by Sandra Slaughter, information systems.
The Degradation of Silk, Wild Silk and Wool by Steam:

The degradation of silk and wild silk in one hour at 0 to 75 lbs. of steam per square inch and for one-half to five hours at 60 lbs., and of wool in one hour at 0 to 40 lbs. and for one to five hours at 10 lbs., has been followed by weight, nitrogen, sulfur and wet breaking strength. Degradation by steam. has been shown to increase with increasing time or pressure and to be greater for wool than for the silks, and greater for wild silk than for silk. Mechanical failure of these protein fibres has been shown more rapid than loss of weight, nitrogen, or sulfur, indicating a breakdown of fibrous structure preceding formation of soluble degradation products.
Organizing knowledge to enable personalization of medicine in cancer

Interpretation of the clinical significance of genomic alterations remains the most severe bottleneck preventing the realization of personalized medicine in cancer. We propose a knowledge commons to facilitate collaborative contributions and open discussion of clinical decision-making based on genomic events in cancer.
A Radioactive Tracer Method for Measuring the Relative Surface Areas of Small Samples

A new method for measuring the relative surface area of small samples is described. The method is based on liquid-sorption theory and uses stearic acid tagged with 14C. Relative surface area data on alumina samples deposited under various conditions by the anodic spark process are reported. The method was validated successfully using BET data taken on alumina samples.
Advanced model and analysis of series resistance for CMOS scaling into nanometer regime. II. Quantitative analysis

Source/drain (S/D) series resistance components and device/process parameters contributing to series resistance are extensively analyzed using advanced model for future CMOS design and technology scaling into the nanometer regime. The total series resistance of a device is found to be very sensitive to the variations of the sidewall thickness, the doping concentration in the deep junction region, and the Schottky barrier height of the silicide contact. A prediction of series resistance trends with technology generation indicates that silicide-diffusion contact resistance and overlap resistance will be major components in the total series resistance of nanometer-scale CMOS transistors scaled according to the ITRS roadmap. The key factors for challenging scaling barriers related to parasitic resistance are quantitatively examined as a function of technology scaling and it is shown that the series resistance can be substantially reduced through controlling both the abruptness of the S/D junction profile and the silicide Schottky barrier engineering.
Cholic acid micelles—controlling the size of the aqueous cavity by PEGylation

Data show that cholic acid (CA) micelles are less densely packed and much smaller than micelles formed by typical surfactants, suggesting that CA derivatives can be used to synthesize drug nanocarriers. Presumably, the formation of internal cavities is favored by the facial characteristics of the CA molecule, i.e. the convex molecular structure that is hydrophobic on one side and hydrophilic on the other. Here, we present a thermodynamical approach to quantify the effect of facial characteristics on forces governing the self-assembling process of CA molecules. We show that facial characteristics favor the entrapment of water molecules at interfaces upon CA aggregation, which weakens the attraction between CA hydrophobic moieties. Our computer simulations suggest that these effects contribute significantly to the tendency of CA molecules to form small “hollow-core” micelles. The attachment of polyethylene glycol (PEG) molecular chains to CA increases the repulsive forces in the system, reducing even further the micelle size. We use the present molecular model and experimental critical micelle concentration (cmc) data for CA-PEGx4 systems to predict the change of the micelle size and cavity volume with the increase of the PEG chain length (x). Our computations indicate that the CA-PEG204 micelles are good candidates for drug delivery. The structural stability of CA-PEG204 micelles was further assessed by molecular dynamics simulations. We also tested the drug loading efficiency of this system and found an average of 0.5 mg paclitaxel load per 20 mg of CA-PEG204 polymer. The present study helps to identify critical parameters that control structural properties of the CA based nanocarriers and suggests practical means to optimize the ratio between micelle size and volume of the internal cavity.
Identification of a Mutation in the Bacillus subtilis S-Adenosylmethionine Synthetase Gene That Results in Derepression of S-Box Gene Expression

Genes in the S-box family are regulated by binding of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) to the 5′ region of the mRNA of the regulated gene. SAM binding was previously shown to promote a rearrangement of the RNA structure that results in premature termination of transcription in vitro and repression of expression of the downstream coding sequence. The S-box RNA element therefore acts as a SAM-binding riboswitch in vitro. In an effort to identify factors other than SAM that could be involved in the S-box regulatory mechanism in vivo, we searched for trans-acting mutations in Bacillus subtilis that act to disrupt repression of S-box gene expression during growth under conditions where SAM pools are elevated. We identified a single mutant that proved to have one nucleotide substitution in the metK gene, encoding SAM synthetase. This mutation, designated metK10, resulted in a 15-fold decrease in SAM synthetase activity and a 4-fold decrease in SAM concentration in vivo. The metK10 mutation specifically affected S-box gene expression, and the increase in expression under repressing conditions was dependent on the presence of a functional transcriptional antiterminator element. The observation that the mutation identified in this search affects SAM production supports the model that the S-box RNAs directly monitor SAM in vivo, without a requirement for additional factors.
Autonomous Autorotation of Unmanned Rotorcraft using Nonlinear Model Predictive Control

Safe operations of unmanned rotorcraft hinge on successfully accommodating failures during flight, either via control reconfiguration or by terminating flight early in a controlled manner. This paper focuses on autorotation, a common maneuver used to bring helicopters safely to the ground even in the case of loss of power to the main rotor. A novel nonlinear model predictive controller augmented with a recurrent neural network is presented that is capable of performing an autonomous autorotation. Main advantages of the proposed approach are on-line, real-time trajectory optimization and reduced hardware requirements.
Identification of Venous Signal on Arterial Spin Labeling Improves Diagnosis of Dural Arteriovenous Fistulas and Small Arteriovenous Malformations

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: DAVFs and small AVMs are difficult to detect on conventional MR imaging/MRA or CTA examinations and often require DSA for definitive diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to assess the value of venous signal intensity on ASL imaging for making this diagnosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two neuroradiologists and 1 neurologist reviewed MR imaging studies in 26 patients, 15 of whom had DSA-proved DAVFs or small ( RESULTS: Venous ASL signal intensity was seen frequently in cases with positive findings on DSA. The sensitivity and specificity of venous ASL signal intensity for predicting positive findings on a DSA study were 78% and 85%, respectively. On ROC analysis, there was a significant increase in the AUC after review of the ASL images (AUC = 0.798 pre-ASL, AUC = 0.891 post-ASL; P = .02). Multivariate regression identified venous ASL signal intensity as the strongest predictor of positive findings on a DSA study, with an odds ratio of 17.3 (95% CI, 3.3–90.4). CONCLUSIONS: Identifying venous ASL signal intensity improved detection of DAVFs and small AVMs. Attention to this finding may improve triage to DSA in patients with suspected small vascular malformations.
A Two-Stage Mechanism of Bimetallic Catalyzed Growth of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Using quantum mechanics we examined critical steps in the growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCN) for Ni, Co, Pt, Cu, Cr, Fe, Mo, Rh, Pd, and their combinations. This suggests a two-stage mechanism consisting of nucleation of nanotube growth (determining the number of SWCN) and growth with defect repair (determining the length of SWCN) and suggests simple computational tests for efficacy. This leads to efficacies in the order Ni+Co > Ni+Pt > Ni > Ni+Cu, consistent with experiment. These results suggest that Mo+Ni would be a better bimetallic catalyst than the best current catalyst, Ni+Co.
Quantitative analysis of bristle number in Drosophila mutants identifies genes involved in neural development

BACKGROUND: The identification of the function of all genes that contribute to specific biological processes and complex traits is one of the major challenges in the postgenomic era. One approach is to employ forward genetic screens in genetically tractable model organisms. In Drosophila melanogaster, P element-mediated insertional mutagenesis is a versatile tool for the dissection of molecular pathways, and there is an ongoing effort to tag every gene with a P element insertion. However, the vast majority of P element insertion lines are viable and fertile as homozygotes and do not exhibit obvious phenotypic defects, perhaps because of the tendency for P elements to insert 5' of transcription units. Quantitative genetic analysis of subtle effects of P element mutations that have been induced in an isogenic background may be a highly efficient method for functional genome annotation. RESULTS: Here, we have tested the efficacy of this strategy by assessing the extent to which screening for quantitative effects of P elements on sensory bristle number can identify genes affecting neural development. We find that such quantitative screens uncover an unusually large number of genes that are known to function in neural development, as well as genes with yet uncharacterized effects on neural development, and novel loci. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings establish the use of quantitative trait analysis for functional genome annotation through forward genetics. Similar analyses of quantitative effects of P element insertions will facilitate our understanding of the genes affecting many other complex traits in Drosophila.
The round window in acute hearing loss.

Sensorineural hearing loss has various etiologies. One of them is perilymphatic fistula, which is observed in (1) congenital malformation of the internal ear in children:(2) after operations on the oval window (stapedectomy, interposition);(3) in cases of head trauma, and(4) in acute hearing loss of unknown origin. The authors report 5 of 19 cases of acute hearing loss observed at the ORL Clinic in Krako and operated on by exploratory tympanostomy. In 4 of them, repture of the round window membrane (secondary tympanic membrane) was found. A hypothesis for the repture mechanism is presented.
Network mining from element level to group level

Network structures were emerged broadly and frequently in real world systems ranging from the Internet, the World Wide Web to gene regulation and scientific collaborations. Several topological metrics were introduced to identify important elements or to measure importance of elements in network systems. Existing metrics for characterizing networks have broad specificity and lack the selectivity for many applications. The purpose of this research is to introduce an effective metric, termed bridging centrality, which is highly selective for identifying bridging nodes in networks for element level analysis. The bridging nodes identified by bridging centrality were distinguished from the nodes identified by the other metrics. Real world networks are highly susceptible to disruption but robust to loss structural integrity upon targeted deletion of bridging nodes. The components identified by bridging centrality are shown to be located on important paths between modules. Furthermore, these bridges were shown to be effectively used for graph clustering and drug target identification. Therefore, bridging centrality is an effective network metric identifying bridging elements with unique properties that may aid in network analysis in many areas like systems biology, drug target identification, network maintenance and national security applications. Quantitative characterization of the topological characteristics of protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks can enable the elucidation of biological functional modules. Finding functional modules in complex networks should be a challenging problem. Two different approaches will be introduced in this research, i.e., bridging cut and information flow based clustering algorithms (CASCADE). Bridging Cut algorithm utilized the bridges identified by bridging centrality. Cutting those bridges enabled us to find effective sub-modules in networks. We present a novel clustering methodology for PPI networks wherein the biological and topological influence of each protein on other proteins is modeled using the probability distribution that the series of interactions necessary to link a pair of distant proteins in the network occur within a time constant (the occurrence probability). CASCADE selects representative nodes for each cluster and iteratively refines clusters based on a combination of the occurrence probability and graph topology between every protein pair. The CASCADE approach is compared to nine competing approaches. The clusters obtained by each technique are compared for enrichment of biological function. CASCADE generates larger clusters and the clusters identified have p-values for biological function that are approximately 1000-fold better than the other methods on the yeast PPI network dataset.
The Evolution of the Environmental Engineer

Sanitary engineers emerged in the late 19th century with the responsibility for providing safe water and proper sanitation to promote and protect the public health. Their work contributed substantially to the virtual elimination of water-borne infectious diseases, such as cholera and typhoid, in the industrialized world. With the chemical revolution a century later, a new health threat arose from the long-term ingestion of trace concentrations of synthetic organic chemicals in water supplies drawn from polluted sources. Simultaneously, air and soil pollution also threatened the public health with chronic disease. These chemicals were also perceived as degrading the natural environment, threatening all biota. The environmental engineer evolved from the sanitary engineer but was obliged to work with scientists and engineers from a wide range of disciplines.
Estimation of the Human Extrathoracic Deposition Fraction of Inhaled Particles Using a Polyurethane Foam Collection Substrate in an IOM Sampler.

Extrathoracic deposition of inhaled particles (i.e., in the head and throat) is an important exposure route for many hazardous materials. Current best practices for exposure assessment of aerosols in the workplace involve particle size selective sampling methods based on particle penetration into the human respiratory tract (i.e., inhalable or respirable sampling). However, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has recently adopted particle deposition sampling conventions (ISO 13138), including conventions for extrathoracic (ET) deposition into the anterior nasal passage (ET1) and the posterior nasal and oral passages (ET2). For this study, polyurethane foam was used as a collection substrate inside an inhalable aerosol sampler to provide an estimate of extrathoracic particle deposition. Aerosols of fused aluminum oxide (five sizes, 4.9 µm–44.3 µm) were used as a test dust in a low speed (0.2 m/s) wind tunnel. Samplers were placed on a rotating mannequin inside the wind tunnel to simulate orientation-averaged personal sampling. Collection efficiency data for the foam insert matched well to the extrathoracic deposition convention for the particle sizes tested. The concept of using a foam insert to match a particle deposition sampling convention was explored in this study and shows promise for future use as a sampling device.