cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A soxRS-Constitutive Mutation Contributing to Antibiotic Resistance in a Clinical Isolate of Salmonella enterica (Serovar Typhimurium)

The soxRS regulon is activated by redox-cycling drugs such as paraquat and by nitric oxide. The >15 genes of this system provide resistance to both oxidants and multiple antibiotics. An association between clinical quinolone resistance and elevated expression of the soxRS regulon has been observed in Escherichia coli, but this association has not been explored for other enteropathogenic bacteria. Here we describe a soxRS-constitutive mutation in a clinical strain of Salmonella enterica (serovar Typhimurium) that arose with the development of resistance to quinolones during treatment. The elevated quinolone resistance in this strain derived from a point mutation in the soxR gene and could be suppressed in trans by multicopy wild-type soxRS. Multiple-antibiotic resistance was also transferred to a laboratory strain of S. enterica by introducing the cloned mutant soxR gene from the clinical strain. The results show that constitutive expression of soxRS can contribute to antibiotic resistance in clinically relevant S. enterica.
Guaranteed performance heuristics for the bottleneck travelling salesman problem

We consider constant-performance, polynomial-time, nonexact algorithms for the minimax or bottleneck version of the Travelling Salesman Problem. It is first shown that no such algorithm can exist for problems with arbitrary costs unless P = NP. However, when costs are positive and satisfy the triangle inequality, we use results pertaining to the squares of biconnected graphs to produce a polynomial-time algorithm with worst-case bound 2 and show further that, unless P = NP, no polynomial alternative can improve on this value.
Genistein Activates the 3′,5′-Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate Signaling Pathway in Vascular Endothelial Cells and Protects Endothelial Barrier Function

The soy phytoestrogen, genistein, has an array of biological actions, including weak estrogenic effects, inhibition of tyrosine kinase, and cellular antioxidant activity. Recent studies showed that genistein may improve vascular function, but the mechanism is unclear. We show that genistein stimulates intracellular cAMP accumulation in intact bovine aortic endothelial cells and human umbilical vein endothelial cells over an incubation period of 30 min. Increases in intracellular cAMP are evoked by as low as 10 nm genistein but not by estrogen. These increases in cAMP may result primarily from enhanced adenylate cyclase activity by a mechanism that does not involve genomic actions or estrogen receptors. The cAMP induced by genistein activates cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) in bovine aortic endothelial cells. The activation of PKA phosphorylates and activates cAMP response element-binding protein, leading to up-regulation of cAMP response element-containing gene expression. In addition, activation of PKA protects thrombin-induced endothelial monolayer permeability, a novel cardioprotective effect of genistein mediated by the cAMP/PKA cascade. These findings demonstrate that a nongenomic action of genistein leads to activation of the cAMP/PKA signaling system to protect the vascular barrier function and alter the expression of cAMP-regulated genes, thereby providing a novel mechanism underlying some of the cardiovascular protective effects proposed for soy phytoestrogens.
Bioecology of Stenoma catenifer (Lepidoptera: Elachistidae) and Associated Larval Parasitoids Reared from Hass Avocados in Guatemala

A 10-wk study of the avocado seed-feeding moth Stenoma catenifer Walsingham (Lep- idoptera: Elachistidae), was conducted in a commercial OHassO avocado (Persea americana Miller (Lauraceae)) orchard in Guatemala. Up to 45% of fruit in the orchard were damaged by larval S. catenifer. Larval-to-adult survivorship for 1,881 S. catenifer larvae in Hass fruit was 37%, and adult sex ratio was 51% female. Four species of larval parasitoid were reared from Þeld-collected S. catenifer larvae. The most common parasitoid reared was a gregarious Apanteles sp., which parasitized 53% of larvae and produced on average eight to nine cocoons per host. Apanteles sp. sex ratio was 47% female and 87% of parasitoids emerged successfully from cocoons. Apanteles sp. longevity was 1.5 d in the absence of food, and when provisioned with honey, parasitoids survived for 5Ð7 d. The mean number of cocoons produced by Apanteles sp. per host, and larval parasitism rates were not signiÞcantly affected by the number of S. catenifer larvae inhabiting seeds. Oviposition studies conducted with S. catenifer in the laboratory indicated that this moth lays signiÞcantly more eggs on the branch to which the fruit pedicel is attached than on avocado fruit. When given a choice between Hass and non-Hass avocados, S. catenifer lays up to 2.69 times more eggs on Hass.
Prognostic Value of Left Ventricular End-Systolic Volume Index as a Predictor of Heart Failure Hospitalization in Stable Coronary Artery Disease: Data from the Heart and Soul Study

Objective: Left ventricular (LV) end-systolic volume indexed to body surface area (ESVI) is a simple yet powerful echocardiographic marker of LV remodeling that can be measured easily. The prognostic value of ESVI and its merit relative to other markers of LV remodeling in patients with coronary heart disease are unknown. Methods: We examined the association of ESVI with hospitalization for heart failure (HF) and mortality in a prospective study of patients with coronary heart disease. Results: Of the 989 participants, 110 (11%) were hospitalized for HF during 3.6 1.1 years of follow-up. Among participants in the highest ESVI quartile (25 mL/m 2 ), 67 of 248 (27%) developed HF compared with 8 of 248 (3%) among those in the lowest quartile. The association between ESVI and HF hospitalization persisted after adjustment for potential confounders (hazard ratio 5.0, 95% confidence interval, 1.5-16.9; P .01). Conclusion: ESVI 25 mL/m 2 is an independent predictor of hospitalization for HF in patients with stable coronary heart disease. (J Am Soc Echocardiogr 2009;22:190-197.)
Encounter-Based Routing in DTNs

Current work in routing protocols for delay and disruption tolerant networks leverage epidemic-style algorithms that trade off injecting many copies of messages into the network for increased probability of message delivery. However, such techniques can cause a large amount of contention in the network, increase overall delays, and drain each mobile node's limited battery supply. We present a new DTN routing algorithm, called Encounter-Based Routing (EBR), which maximizes delivery ratios while minimizing overhead and delay. Furthermore, we present a means of securing EBR against black hole denial- of-service attacks. EBR achieves up to a 40% improvement in message delivery over the current state-of-the-art, as well as achieving up to a 145% increase in goodput. Also, we further show how EBR outperforms other protocols by introduce three new composite metrics that better characterize DTN routing performance.
Use of prosthetic prehensors

Estimates are given of the type and number of prosthetic prehensors—both hooks and hands—used in the USA, United Kingdom, West Germany and Sweden by upper limb amputees. Implications are made for differences between countries and for thorough assessment of amputees before clinical fittings.
A buoyant plume adjacent to a headland—Observations of the Elwha River plume

Small rivers commonly discharge into coastal settings with topographic complexities – such as headlands and islands – but these settings are underrepresented in river plume studies compared to more simplified, straight coasts. The Elwha River provides a unique opportunity to study the effects of coastal topography on a buoyant plume, because it discharges into the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the western side of its deltaic headland. Here we show that this headland induces flow separation and transient eddies in the tidally dominated currents (O(100 cm/s)), consistent with other headlands in oscillatory flow. These flow conditions are observed to strongly influence the buoyant river plume, as predicted by the ‘‘small-scale’’ or ‘‘narrow’’ dynamical classification using Garvine’s (1995) system. Because of the transient eddies and the location of the river mouth on the headland, flow immediately offshore of the river mouth is directed eastward twice as frequently as it is westward. This results in a buoyant plume that is much more frequently ‘‘bent over’’ toward the east than the west. During bent over plume conditions, the plume was attached to the eastern shoreline while having a distinct, cuspate front along its westernmost boundary. The location of the front was found to be related to the magnitude and direction of local flow during the preceding O(1 h), and increases in alongshore flow resulted in deeper freshwater mixing, stronger baroclinic anomalies, and stronger hugging of the coast. During bent over plume conditions, we observed significant convergence of river plume water toward the frontal boundary within 1 km of the river mouth. These results show how coastal topography can strongly influence buoyant plume behavior, and they should assist with understanding of initial coastal sediment dispersal pathways from the Elwha River during a pending dam removal project. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Schmidt-like corrector plate for cylindrical optics

We report initial results on designing and manufacturing a Schmidt-like corrector plate for a commercial off-the-shelf cylindrical lens, eliminating the cylindrical equivalent of its spherical aberration. The corrector is made by figuring the correction profile onto a precision glass window, which is subsequently aligned to the cylindrical lens. We have successfully fabricated the first plate and applied it in an interferometric test of a near-cylinder optic. The interferometric data from before and after applying the corrector demonstrates that the modified optic produces a cylindrical test wavefront with 25× reduction compared to the uncorrected case.
A Modified Harmony Search Algorithm for the Optimum Design of Earth Walls Reinforced with Non-uniform Geosynthetic Layers

Traditional design and construction of reinforced earth walls assumes uniform length and spacing of reinforcements. Even though the assumption simplifies the design and construction efforts, the inherently conservative approaches followed in picking the final values for the reinforcement length and spacing result in unnecessarily big construction costs. This paper presents an improved harmony search-based approach that can be adopted to optimize the design of Geosynthetic-reinforced earth walls. An existing improved harmony search algorithm is modified into a new harmony search algorithm by extending its capabilities to consider permutation-based operations for inter-dependent variables. The involved optimization procedures are discussed in a step-wise approach. This novel approach allows the consideration of non-uniform length and spacing for the reinforcement layers. As such, length of the Geosynthetic reinforcement and the spacing between adjacent Geosynthetic layers are taken as the design variables to be manipulated until the cost of construction is optimized. Static and dynamic loads are considered. the application of the proposed optimization technique is demonstrated on Geosynthetic-reinforced earth walls of height 5, 7 and 9 m. The extent of cost saving is assessed by comparing the results of this work and previous work. The previous work selected for comparison uses harmony search algorithm to optimize the design and construction of Earth Walls reinforced with uniform length- and spacing-Geosynthetic layers. The IHS-based optimization resulted in Cost reduction of up to 11 %.
CRISPR-mediated Genome Editing Restores Dystrophin Expression and Function in mdx Mice

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a degenerative muscle disease caused by genetic mutations that lead to the disruption of dystrophin in muscle fibers. There is no curative treatment for this devastating disease. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat/Cas9 (CRISPR/Cas9) has emerged as a powerful tool for genetic manipulation and potential therapy. Here we demonstrate that CRIPSR-mediated genome editing efficiently excised a 23-kb genomic region on the X-chromosome covering the mutant exon 23 in a mouse model of DMD, and restored dystrophin expression and the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex at the sarcolemma of skeletal muscles in live mdx mice. Electroporation-mediated transfection of the Cas9/gRNA constructs in the skeletal muscles of mdx mice normalized the calcium sparks in response to osmotic shock. Adenovirus-mediated transduction of Cas9/gRNA greatly reduced the Evans blue dye uptake of skeletal muscles at rest and after downhill treadmill running. This study provides proof evidence for permanent gene correction in DMD.
Dialectic as Organization: A Dialectical Approach to Strategic Planning

Man lives by his imagination. This is as true of the modern organization as it is for an individual. The particular set of beliefs or assumptions about the world that an organization adopts, guides its activity and dictates its success or failure. This is especially true of an organization’s strategic plan.
Paper 3: my place in puget sound: leveraging youths' sense of place in ocean sciences education

This work builds off of ethnographic research and findings that argue for place as a construct for connecting youths' lived experiences and science learning (Authors, in press). In previous design-based research that has attempted to leverage students' out of school expertise into the design of science instruction (Authors, 2007), we have struggled with how to seriously connect this expertise with deep learning of discipline-specific content. In this project, we take place as a construct that connects disciplinary learning around the ocean with students' sense of place. We have designed a 4-week curriculum called My Place in Puget Sound that begins with students situating themselves in their local neighborhoods, communities, and cities, and then seeing the connection between those places and the ocean (by which they all live in close proximity). They do this through a mapping exercise in which they first map out their neighborhoods, then overlay topographical maps and maps of waterways so that they can see how water might drain from their communities out to the ocean. This is entryway into learning about watersheds, wastewater treatment, and environmental impacts of pollutants in the Puget Sound. The unit empowers students to make positive change in their communities by engaging them in an action project, in which they propose and carry out a community-based project that affects one aspect around the health of Puget Sound.
The incidence and extent of the CDM across developing countries

This paper empirically examines the factors that determine the incidence and extent of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in developing countries. Estimation results show that the incidence and extent of the CDM is greater for the developing countries with larger mitigation potential and greater capacity to manage the projects. Developing countries with faster economic growth and past experience with activities implemented jointly (AIJ) projects are more likely to host renewable energy projects, although this is not the case for other project types. The incidence and extent of foreign investment projects in energy efficiency, CO2 reduction and non-CO2 gas reduction projects are higher for the countries with lower per capita GDP, most likely due to capital constraints. There is no evidence that the number of sub-regional projects impinged on investment flows. Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa appear to face special obstacles under the CDM even after the strength of institutions and energy-related mitigation opportunities are accounted for.
Structured Discrete Task Representation to Bridge the Justice Gap: CUNY Law's Launch Pad to Justice in Partnership with Courts and Communities

This article considers the state of the justice gap and briefly reviews the national conversation about the use of “unbundled” legal services,” noting the tension between the ideal of full scope legal representation for low-income litigants facing serious legal challenges — like the loss of a home or the loss of parental rights —, and the practical, fiscal, and structural realities impeding full scope representation. It describes several innovative efforts to address the justice gap through law school post-graduate programs that provide continuing support for pro bono representation with a focus on CUNY Law’s programs. Most notably, the article describes the Launch Pad for Justice (“LaunchPad”), a project of CUNY Law’s Community Legal Resource Network (“CLRN”). In partnership with the New York State Unified Court System’s access to justice efforts, CUNY Law’s CLRN created a structure to support the provision of supervised, limited scope representation to low-income, self-represented litigants in housing court and elsewhere.
Components, Homomorphisms, and Orthomorphisms

The basic properties of positive operators were investigated in the previous chapter. In this chapter we shall study the lattice behavior of three specific classes of positive operators.
Disturbance cancellation techniques for MIMO smooth sliding mode control

Sliding mode control is a control method, traditionally characterized by infinite frequency switching, which is very robust to unmodeled noise and uncertainty. While sliding mode control provides very robust finite time convergence to the sliding surface, the implementation of this high frequency switching variable structure control is not generally realizable. This leads to the use of continuous approximations that are realizable but do not provide finite time convergence to the sliding surface and are not robust to unmodeled noise and disturbances. In this paper, we present a multi-input, multi-output smooth sliding mode control design which is a true (not approximated) sliding mode control design with finite time convergence to the sliding surface and is more robust to unmodeled disturbances and plant dynamics than continuous approximations. However, the Smooth Sliding Mode Controller (SMC) is not as robust to these disturbances as the traditional SMC. In order to improve the robustness of the Smooth SMC, we also investigate two methods, a disturbance estimator and an integral sliding surface, to enhance the robustness of the Smooth SMC. The enhanced robustness of the Smooth SMC using both of these methods is demonstrated using a numerical example.
Endovascular Management of Diseases in Relation to Otolaryngology

Endovascular techniques can be utilized in many common otolaryngologic conditions. Advancements in in these techniques including but not limited to better distal access catheters, new embolization materials and stents allows this to be a relatively safe and successful procedure. Here we highlighted a few related procedures.
Current State and Future Developments of Noninvasive Treatment of Human Urinary Stones With Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy

Extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy (ESWL) has now been in clinical use for eight years and has replaced other treatment techniques for the majority of calculi located in the upper urinary tract. For the first time, it has provided a completely non-invasive method for the treatment of renal and ureteral stones. The current range of its indications includes approximately 70% of non-selected urinary stone patients. An additional 25% of patients with more complex stones in the upper urinary tract can receive treatment with the lithotripter when the method is combined with endourological procedures. More recent additions to the range of routine clinical applications with the original device, the Dornier kidney lithotripter (ESWLR) have been its use in management of common bile-duct stones in combination with endosurgical or radiological manipulations and, with a modified kidney lithotripter, the successful treatment of gallstones which has led to the development of a multi-purpose device for biliary and urinary stones. In February, 1980, ESWL was introduced for clinical use in the Department of Urology, University of Munich, as the first non-invasive method to treat patients suffering from upper urinary-tract stones. It took only a short time to prove the efficacy, safety, and reliability of the method which dramatically changed the management of patients with upper urinary-tract stones. In 1983, further distribution of the lithotripter began, first in West Germany, followed by the USA, Europe, and Asia in 1984 (Table 1).
Oviposition Activity Patterns of Culex pipiens and Culex restuans in Pennsylvania

Culex pipiens and Cx. restuans are the main vectors of West Nile virus and the primary target species of surveillance and control programs in Pennsylvania. Performing adult control, specifically ultra-low volume (ULV) applications, at night during peak oviposition activity time(s) is necessary to control these species. In July and August of 2009, collections were made at 15-min intervals starting at sunset and continuing until 3 h after sunset to establish a more accurate timeline of Cx. pipiens and Cx. restuans oviposition flight activity. The highest numbers of Cx. pipiens and Cx. restuans were collected during the 15-30, 30-45, and 45-60 min postsunset time intervals (P < 0.05). Oviposition activity began to decrease after 60 min postsunset. These observations have identified a smaller oviposition activity period for Cx. pipiens and Cx. restuans than noted from other studies, thus potentially improving the timing of ULV operations to control these 2 vector species.
Serum haloperidol determinations and their contribution to the treatment of schizophrenia

There are several analytical methods presently available for the quantitation of haloperidol concentrations in serum and plasma. Gas chromatographic techniques have been in use for almost a decade (Zingales, 1971; Marucci et al., 1971; Forsman et al., 1974; Bianchetti and Morselli, 1978; Hornbeck et al. 1979); these are quite specific for haloperidol and are sufficiently sensitive to measure circulating haloperidol levels in patients given the usual clinical drug doses. However, they require the extraction of a relatively large quantity of serum or plasma (at least 2 ml); relatively few samples per day can be analyzed; highly trained technicians and expensive and delicate equipment are needed, especially when gas chromatography is combined with mass spectrometry (Hornbeck et al., 1979). Nevertheless, most of the available data on the pharmacokinetics of haloperidol and the relationship of clinical dose, blood levels, and psychotic symptomatology in treated patients have been developed with gas chromatographic assay techniques (Zingales, 1971; Forsman et al., 1974; Bianchetti and Morselli, 1978; Hornbeck et al., 1979; Forsman and Ohman, 1976, 1977; Mielke et al., 1978; Ericksen et al., 1978; Smith et al., 1979).
Surgical Techniques for Repair of Peripheral Pulmonary Artery Stenosis

Peripheral pulmonary artery stenosis is a rare form of congenital heart disease frequently associated with Williams and Alagille syndromes. Patients with this disease typically have systemic level right ventricular pressures secondary to obstruction at the lobar, segmental, and subsegmental branches. The current management of patients with peripheral pulmonary artery stenosis remains somewhat controversial. We have pioneered an entirely surgical approach to the reconstruction of peripheral pulmonary artery stenosis. This approach initially entailed surgical patch augmentation of all major lobar branches and effectively reduced right ventricular pressures by more than half. This was the first report demonstrating an effective approach to the disease. Over the past 5 years, we have gradually evolved the technique to extend the reconstruction's reach to include segmental and subsegmental branch stenoses. An important technical aspect of this approach entails division of the main pulmonary and separation of the branch pulmonary arteries to access the lower lobe branches. Pulmonary artery homograft patches are used to augment hypoplastic pulmonary artery branches. In addition, we perform a Heineke-Mikulicz type ostioplasty for isolated ostial stenoses. The technical details of the surgical approach to peripheral pulmonary artery stenosis are outlined in this article, and can also be used for other complex peripheral pulmonary artery reconstructions.
Surf's Up! Internet Beginner's Guide and Resources

Perhaps you have finally figured out how to connect all the wires on your new computer at home and, after repeated attempts to kick it while wearing your best cowboy boots, you discover that “booting” means nothing more than turning the computer on. Maybe that strange person who lives in the basement of your building came up, put a strange box and a television screen on your desk, and left saying, “Just type CD C colon backslash Windows and you'll be on the Net.” You begin to wonder why these techno-geeks can't speak in English and say what they mean.Dazed and confused, you vow to wait until someone can offer some advice. Fortunately, there are people to help. A first stop to learn more about much-used jargon and other Internet basics is at the Museum Computer Network . You can also go directly to the search hints page by using the address http://world.std.com/~mcn/searching.html, which starts at the beginning by telling you exactly what a URL is. If you get confused in your ear...
Decision Making under Uncertainty with Ordinal Linguistic Data

Decision Science has long provided prescriptive methods for choice decisions (in the tradition of Von Neumann and Morgenstern) based on interval scaled (dis)utility consequence measures and ratio scaled subjective probability measures. Over the past three decades, soft computing has provided alternative approaches with less stringent scale assumptions. After a brief introduction, this paper presents a description of five ordinal methods for decision making under uncertainty in the context of linguistic data: Possibilistic Decisionmaking, Revised Possibilistic Decisionmaking, Commensurate L-Fuzzy Risk Minimization, Fuzzy Relational Ordinal Risk Minimization, and Quadratic Ordinal Psychophysical Optimization. Finally, these five techniques are illustrated using a single example.
Simulation of the GCR spectrum in the Mars curiosity rover's RAD detector using MCNP6.

The paper presents results from MCNP6 simulations of galactic cosmic ray (GCR) propagation down through the Martian atmosphere to the surface and comparison with RAD measurements made there. This effort is part of a collaborative modeling workshop for space radiation hosted by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). All modeling teams were tasked with simulating the galactic cosmic ray (GCR) spectrum through the Martian atmosphere and the Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) on-board the Curiosity rover. The detector had two separate particle acceptance angles, 4π and 30 ° off zenith. All ions with Z = 1 through Z = 28 were tracked in both scenarios while some additional secondary particles were only tracked in the 4π cases. The MCNP6 4π absorbed dose rate was 307.3 ± 1.3 µGy/day while RAD measured 233 µGy/day. Using the ICRP-60 dose equivalent conversion factors built into MCNP6, the simulated 4π dose equivalent rate was found to be 473.1 ± 2.4 µSv/day while RAD reported 710 µSv/day.
A revolution of nanoscale dimensions

The continued drive to shrink the size and increase the functionality of electronic devices has seen the influence of nanotechnology strengthen as it offers materials with a layer thickness of one or a few atoms. Technological changes, awaited by computational scientists, are afoot. On the brink of the next revolution in electronic systems, nanomaterials and, in particular materials that are a few atoms thick are becoming increasingly apparent. Concurrently, computational scientists remain eager to see how Moore's Law will advance.
Focal Track: Depth and Accommodation with Oscillating Lens Deformation

The focal track sensor is a monocular and computationally efficient depth sensor that is based on defocus controlled by a liquid membrane lens. It synchronizes small lens oscillations with a photosensor to produce real-time depth maps by means of differential defocus, and it couples these oscillations with bigger lens deformations that adapt the defocus working range to track objects over large axial distances. To create the focal track sensor, we derive a texture-invariant family of equations that relate image derivatives to scene depth when a lens changes its focal length differentially. Based on these equations, we design a feed-forward sequence of computations that: robustly incorporates image derivatives at multiple scales; produces confidence maps along with depth; and can be trained endto- end to mitigate against noise, aberrations, and other non-idealities. Our prototype with 1-inch optics produces depth and confidence maps at 100 frames per second over an axial range of more than 75cm.
A model of cultural competency in social work as seen through the lens of self-awareness

Providing effective cultural competency training to social work students is a social work education struggle. This qualitative study, conducted in the United States, addresses this challenge by exa...
Effects of SiO2-forming additive on polysiloxane derived SiOC ceramics

Abstract Novel ultrahigh surface area materials are highly desired for demanding applications such as high temperature catalysts, electrodes, and harsh environment sensors. In-situ conversion of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) into SiO2 and its incorporation into silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) ceramics during polysiloxane ceramization are investigated by crosslinking TEOS within a polysiloxane matrix and introducing water vapor during pyrolysis. The effects of the TEOS-derived SiO2 on the thermophysical properties, phase development, and the resulting porous SiOC are investigated. The SiOC with 10 wt% TEOS within the crosslinked polymer creates the highest specific surface area of ∼2100 m2/g with an average pore size of ∼2 nm. The specific surface area and pore size distribution are correlated with the theoretical results from Voronoi diagram simulation and an idealized model calculation.
Acoustic Echo Cancellation During Doubletalk Using Convolutive Blind Source Separation of Signals Having Temporal Dependence

This paper describes a new algorithm for acoustic echo cancellation during doubletalk or, more precisely, acoustic echo separation, based on blind source separation (BSS) of convolutively mixed signals. The signal model assumes independence between sources, but temporal dependence between time samples, specifically that the vector signals have first-order Markov dependence. The source separation is done using a maximum likelihood approach. The source separation does not always provide separation, because of too many degrees of freedom on the separation. However, when applied to the acoustic echo cancellation problem, the constraints of the echo system neatly solve this problem. An example shows that acoustic echoes can be cleanly separated during doubletalk.
Threshold Switch Augmented STT MRAM: Design Space Analysis and Device-Circuit Co-Design

We analyze the augmentation of spin-transfer torque (STT) MRAM with electrically driven selective phase transition of a threshold switch (TS) to enhance the read operation. This paper provides a comprehensive discussion on necessary design considerations for TS augmented (TSA) MRAMs. We deduce constraints for read and write biasing that yields improved read operation of TSA MRAMs. We explain the dependence of read/write performance metrics on read/write biases and the properties (resistance and critical currents for transitions) of the TS. With proper device-circuit optimization, TSA MRAM shows up to 70% larger sense margin, ~27% higher data stability with ~40% less power for read operation compared to STT MRAM (in nominal condition). We evaluate the impact of variation on TSA MRAM through Monte Carlo simulations. We report that even with variation induced spread in the distribution of bit-line voltages, TSA MRAM provides $\sim 1.7\times $ larger voltage differential between parallel and antiparallel states. For the write operation, the TSA MRAM consumes ~10% less average power and demands only ~5% more write time extension than the STT MRAM to achieve the same level of variation tolerance.
Photoelectron Spectroscopy of Biacetyl and Its Cluster Anions

Photoelectron spectroscopy of the biacetyl (dimethylglyoxal) anion reveals the properties of the ground singlet and lowest triplet electronic states of the neutral biacetyl (BA) molecule. Due to the broad and congested nature of the singlet transition, which peaks at a vertical detachment energy VDE = 1.12(5) eV, only an upper bound of the adiabatic electron affinity of BA could be determined: EA(BA) < 0.7 eV. A narrower and more structured triplet band peaking at VDE = 3.17(2) eV reveals the adiabatic electron binding energy of the triplet to be 3.05(2) eV. These results are in good agreement with ab initio (coupled-cluster) calculations. The lowest-energy structures of the anion, singlet, and triplet states of biacetyl are characterized by different orientations of the methyl groups within the molecular frame. In the ground singlet state of neutral BA, the methyl torsion is offset by ∼60° compared to that of the anion, while in the triplet the methyl orientation is similar to that of the anion. Photoelectron spectra of the cluster anions reveal that the intermolecular interactions in the homogeneously solvated (BA) n- clusters are significantly stronger than the interactions of BA- with N2O or even of BA- with H2O. To account for these observations, π-π bonded structures of the dimer and trimer anions of biacetyl are proposed based on density-functional theory calculations. The analysis of the proposed structures indicates that the negative charge in the (BA) n- cluster anions, at least in the dimer and the trimer, is significantly delocalized between all BA moieties present and there is a significant degree of covalent bonding within the cluster.
Abstract 290: Formulation of tolerable protocols for combination regimens to control triple-negative breast cancer cell-derived xenograft tumor development in animals

Cumulative research and clinical results suggest an advantage to use a multiple drug combination over a single drug to control tumor growth and metastasis. In general, combination therapy may result in lower treatment failure rates, lower case fatality ratios, slower development of resistance, and fewer side effects than monotherapy, as well as reducing cost. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is aggressive, lethal, and heterogeneous. The molecular heterogeneity may account for the differential responses of TNBC to chemotherapies. TNBC is sensitive to conventional chemotherapies with initially high response rates; however, the prognosis is not optimal due to cancer recurrence and metastasis. Although recent advancements in drug development of targeted therapeutics and immunotherapy were somewhat effective in treating TNBC, these therapeutics still need extensive study. Although combination regimens are thought to have better therapeutic outcomes than single drug treatments, drug combinations may also come with overlapped toxicities. Thus, it is important to identify combination regimens that are safe and effectively treat cancers. Based on our in vitro results of combination regiments effective in the synergistic induction of TNBC cell death, we systemically investigated the toxicity and efficacy of combined triple and double agents at various doses and administration protocols to assess the treatment of mice bearing TNBC cell-derived xenograft tumors. We analyzed the adverse effects of combination regimens on the bone marrows, livers, and kidneys, as well as the blood cell profiles in immune-competent and -deficient mice. Our studies successfully identified tolerable protocols for triple and double combination regimens of gemcitabine, romidepsin, and cisplatin, which are FDA-approved anticancer agents, as well as the efficacy of these combination regimens in controlling TNBC xenograft tumors in immune-deficient mice. Our results indicated that the triple combination of gemcitabine plus romidepsin and cisplatin regimen was more effective than double combination regimens in the control of TNBC tumor development in vivo. In conclusion, our studies suggested that the triple combination regimens should be promptly considered as an advanced treatment of TNBC over the conventional gemcitabine and cisplatin regimen or the clinical trial romidepsin plus cisplatin regimen. Citation Format: Pawat Pattarawat, Shelby Wallace, Agricola Odoi, Bianca Pfisterer, Hwa-Chain R. Wang. Formulation of tolerable protocols for combination regimens to control triple-negative breast cancer cell-derived xenograft tumor development in animals [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 290.
Physical Weakness, Illness and Death in 1 Corinthians 11.30: Deprivation and Overconsumption in Pauline and Early Christianity

In 1 Cor 11.17–34, Paul attempts to correct the practice of a communal meal in Corinth. He notes that consumption of this meal without discernment of ‘the body’ has had disastrous consequences within the community of Christ-followers: ‘For this reason, many among you are weak and sick, and quite a few are dying’ (11.30). This essay offers a physical interpretation of 1 Cor 11.30, contending that Paul presents the bodies of both the ‘have-nots’ and those who shame them as suffering because of the practice of the Lord's Supper, the former from dietary deprivation and the latter from overconsumption.
Application of pXRF elemental analysis and organic petrography in correlation of Pennsylvanian strata: An example from the Indiana part of the Illinois Basin, USA

Abstract The principal purpose of this research is to investigate whether elemental chemistry obtained by a portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) analyzer can aid in correlating lithostratigraphic units within the Pennsylvanian coal-bearing sequence of the eastern part of the Illinois Basin in Indiana. The study is based on data collected from four boreholes: Indiana Geological and Water Survey wells SDH-377 in Daviess County, SDH-379 in Pike County, SDH-383 in Posey County, and SDH-43 in Warrick County. The organic-matter-rich marine black shales and limestones are our special targets because they may represent valuable marker beds. Highly elevated U and Mo concentrations can be utilized to clearly identify the stratigraphic positions of the organic-matter-rich marine black shales in the succession from the oldest to the youngest: Sh1, Sh2, Sh3, and Sh4. Increased concentrations of both U and Mo provide further evidence for the deposition of these shales in anoxic environments. Variations in Ca and Mg concentrations aid in identifying limestone and dolomitic limestone horizons through the interval. Although the positions of marine shales and limestone strata were clearly defined based on pXRF data, identifying specific shales or limestones was problematic because of the wide elemental variations that exist within individual horizons. To help overcome this difficulty, reflected light microscopy was used as complementary technique on shale samples. These shales represent early oil window maturity(vitrinite reflectance 0.56 to 0.58%) and their organic matter is dominated by low-reflectance amorphous organic matter (AOM) and high-reflectance micrinized AOM. Well-preserved alginite, vitrinite, inertinite, and solid bitumen are rare. Our results show that proportions of low-reflectance AOM and micrinized AOM and framboidal pyrite content are promising characteristics that may help to identify individual shales. Specifically, Sh1 and Sh4 are dominated by low-reflectance AOM, whereas the other two shales have micrinized AOM as the dominant component. Sh2 and Sh4 have consistently high framboidal pyrite content.
Trauma-Informed Child Custody Evaluation as Delinquency Prevention

This chapter reviews existing literature on best practices in conducting forensic psychological evaluations in family law matters through a trauma-informed lens. In addition, the connection between exposure to family conflict and engaging in delinquent behavior is explored as a basis for the argument that a thorough family assessment can serve as a form of triage and, ultimately, prevention for negative long-term outcomes.
Updates in the treatment of eating disorders in 2019: a year in review in Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment & Prevention

Empirical evidence continues to suggest that the majority of patients with eating disorders will not fully recover during treatment, and that treatment gains are vulnerable to relapse in the longer term. The urgent need for improved treatment options for those with eating disorders cannot be overstated. This review article provides an overview of treatment-related research findings published in Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment & Prevention during 2019. Importantly, this review encapsulates research (i) outlining guidelines in managing the medical risk inherent to the treatment of eating disorders, (ii) examining the treatment of eating disorders in cross-cultural contexts, (iii) expanding treatment research to novel and atypical eating disorder populations, and (iv) augmenting existing treatment approaches for anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa in novel contexts. These articles represent important contributions to the ongoing evolution of the treatment of eating disorders. However, further work is needed in precisely identifying the mechanisms of eating disorder psychopathology, such that emerging treatment efforts may be mapped onto specific targets.
Empirically Based Practices to Address Disability Stigma in the Classroom

Stigmatization of students with disabilities relates to adverse long-term effects. Research provides evidence that the majority of students maintain negative cognitive and affective attitudes towar...
Representation of k-Mer Sets Using Spectrum-Preserving String Sets.

Given the popularity and elegance of \(k\)-mer based tools, finding a space-efficient way to represent a set of \(k\)-mers is important for improving the scalability of bioinformatics analyses. One popular approach is to convert the set of \(k\)-mers into the more compact set of unitigs. We generalize this approach and formulate it as the problem of finding a smallest spectrum-preserving string set (SPSS) representation. We show that this problem is equivalent to finding a smallest path cover in a compacted de Bruijn graph. Using this reduction, we prove a lower bound on the size of the optimal SPSS and propose a greedy method called UST that results in a smaller representation than unitigs and is nearly optimal with respect to our lower bound. We demonstrate the usefulness of the SPSS formulation with two applications of UST. The first one is a compression algorithm, UST-Compress, which we show can store a set of \(k\)-mers using an order-of-magnitude less disk space than other lossless compression tools. The second one is an exact static \(k\)-mer membership index, UST-FM, which we show improves index size by 10–44% compared to other state-of-the-art low memory indices. Our tool is publicly available at: https://github.com/medvedevgroup/UST/.
Mosques as Spaces of Everyday Geopolitical Tensions

Mosques in Europe have long been and are still at the centre of political debates, despite the decades-long presence of migrant Muslim communities in Europe. Scholars within geography and other dis...
Different protein metabolic strategies for growth during food-induced physiological plasticity in echinoid larvae.

ABSTRACT Food-induced morphological plasticity, a type of developmental plasticity, is a well-documented phenomenon in larvae of the echinoid echinoderm, Dendraster excentricus. A recent study in our lab has shown that this morphological plasticity is associated with significant physiological plasticity for growth. The goal of the current study was to measure several aspects of protein metabolism in larvae growing at different rates to understand the mechanistic basis for this physiological growth plasticity. Larvae of D. excentricus were fed rations of 1000 algal cells ml−1 (low-fed larvae) or 10,000 algal cells ml−1 (high-fed larvae). Relative protein growth rate was 6.0 and 12.2% day−1 for low- and high-fed larvae, respectively. The energetic cost of protein synthesis was similar for the two treatments at 4.91 J mg−1 protein synthesized. Larvae in both treatments used about 50% of their metabolic energy production to fuel protein synthesis. Mass-specific rates of protein synthesis were also similar. Large differences in mass-specific rates of protein degradation were observed. Low-fed larvae had relatively low rates of degradation early in development that increased with larval age, surpassing those of high-fed larvae at 20 days post-fertilization. Changes in protein depositional efficiency during development were similar to those of larval growth efficiency, indicating that differences in protein metabolism are largely responsible for whole-organism growth plasticity. Low-fed larvae also had alanine transport rates that were 2 times higher than those of high-fed larvae. In total, these results provide an explanation for the differences in growth efficiency between low- and high-fed larvae and allow for a more integrated understanding of developmental plasticity in echinoid larvae.
Substrate Bias Enhanced Trap Effects on Time-Dependent Dielectric Breakdown of GaN MIS-HEMTs

In this work, we present the substrate bias enhanced trap effects on time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) in GaN metal–insulator–semiconductor high electron mobility transistors (MIS-HEMTs) by experiment. Under different substrate biases, the shape parameter $\beta $ and scale factor $\eta $ of the Weibull distribution are extracted from the experimental data. A monotonical decrease in $\beta $ from intrinsic breakdown to extrinsic breakdown relating to the hole-emission from the acceptor-like buffer traps with increased negative substrate biases has been observed, while $\eta $ is increased at large positive substrate biases. This unexpected increase in $\eta $ suggests that the donor-like buffer traps play an important role with a longer lifetime. The trap mechanisms, relating to percolation path establishment, are analyzed based on progressive breakdown (PBD). The capacitance–voltage characteristics are measured during each stress cycle confirming the hole fluence and electron injection in the gate-stack layer with different trap distributions under various substrate biases. Finally, 2-D device simulations are carried out to probe for physical insight into the traps on TDDB failure mechanisms.