cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract A06: Characterization of a novel p53-regulated embryonic stem cell-specific lncRNA that safeguards pluripotency

Recent work shows that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), transcribed from 80% of our genomes, play important roles in gene regulation and are associated with disease pathogenesis. However, there is a broad gap in our knowledge regarding any contributions of lncRNAs in mediating p53 response or regulating stem cell state. Here, we report our discovery of lncRNAs that fine-tune p539s transcriptional outcomes in differentiating human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). By integrating RNA-Seq with p53 ChIP-Seq analyses along with active or repressive histone marks of hESCs undergoing differentiation, we defined a high-confidence set of 40 lncRNAs that are p53 transcriptional targets. We found that p53 directly regulates nuclear lncRNAs, which are either activated (HOTAIRM1) or repressed (lncPRESS-1) during hESC differentiation. Single-cell gene expression analysis during lineage-specific hESC differentiation revealed that lncPRESS-1 is a novel pluripotency-specific, p53-regulated transcript with expression tightly correlated with OCT4, NANOG and PRDM14. Loss-of-function of lncPRESS-1 results in diminished pluripotency and spontaneous differentiation of hESCs. In addition, mass cytometry-based multi-parametric analysis at a single cell level revealed that depletion of lncPRESS-1 results in overall loss of hESC pluripotency with marked induction of an ectoderm specific gene-signature. Further, we show that lncPRESS-1 physically interacts with SIRT6 and restrains its chromatin localization to maintain high levels of histone H3 Lys-56 (H3K56) and Lys-9 (H3K9) acetylation at promoters of pluripotency genes to sustain a chromatin architecture that favors pluripotency. In summary, we describe a novel pluripotency-specific lncRNA that safeguards the hESC state by disrupting SIRT6 activity. Since lncPRESS-1 is repressed by p53, we believe that cancers that harbor mutant TP53 will have robust expression of this lncRNA. Further investigations are underway to determine the disease relevance of lncPRESS-1 and correlation with p53-mutations. Citation Format: Abhinav K. Jain, Kadir C. Akdemir, Yuanxin Xi, Ryan L. McCarthy, Kendra Allton, Bruce Aronow, Chunru Lin, Wei Li, Liuqing Yang, Michelle C. Barton. Characterization of a novel p53-regulated embryonic stem cell-specific lncRNA that safeguards pluripotency. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Noncoding RNAs and Cancer: Mechanisms to Medicines ; 2015 Dec 4-7; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(6 Suppl):Abstract nr A06.
Patterning the condenser-side wick in ultra-thin vapor chamber heat spreaders to improve skin temperature uniformity of mobile devices

Abstract Vapor chamber technologies offer an attractive approach for passive heat spreading in mobile electronic devices, in which meeting the demand for increased functionality and performance is hampered by a reliance on conventional conductive heat spreaders. However, market trends in device thickness mandate that vapor chambers be designed to operate effectively at ultra-thin (sub-millimeter) thicknesses. At these form factors, the lateral thermal resistance of vapor chambers is governed by the saturation temperature/pressure gradient in the confined vapor core. In addition, thermal management requirements of mobile electronic devices are increasingly governed by user comfort; heat spreading technologies must be designed specifically to mitigate hot spots on the device skin. The current work considers these unique transport limitations and thermal requirements encountered in mobile applications, and develops a methodology for the design of vapor chambers to yield improved condenser-side temperature uniformity at ultra-thin form factors. Unlike previous approaches that have focused on designing evaporator-side wicks for reduced thermal resistance and delayed dryout at higher operating powers, the current work focuses on manipulating the condenser-side wick to improve lateral heat spreading. The proposed condenser-side wick designs are evaluated using a 3D numerical vapor chamber transport model that accurately captures conjugate heat transport, phase change at the liquid–vapor interface, and pressurization of the vapor core due to evaporation. A biporous condenser-side wick design is proposed that facilitates a thicker vapor core, and thereby reduces the condenser surface peak-to-mean temperature difference by 37% relative to a monolithic wick structure.
Energy-Saving Kitchens. A Basic Approach to Design of Work Areas

Although the research described by the author was directed to the design of home kitchens, the principles developed will be useful to those concerned with planning institutional kitchens
Dualities of Identity in Morally Autonomous Leadership

“The concept of moral autonomy is, unfortunately, vague and ambiguous, and the arguments that make use of this idea do not help remove its vagueness or ambiguity” (Chan, 2002, p. 281). In a similar fashion, defining effective leadership also proves profound, as effectual headship is situational. Determined by a given situation, descriptions of effective leadership are not confined to acute definitions but instead portray the art of influencing others to accomplish a goal as a process (Bolman & Deal, 2008).
Pharmacological and Environmental Effects on Pubertal Development

Puberty is essential to human development, health, and reproduction. When it occurs too early or late, there are serious emotional and physical consequences. In the beginning of the twentieth century, there was a steep decline in the age of puberty and menarche in girls which is attributed to better nutrition. More recently, however, there has been minimal change in the age of menarche, but the age of thelarche appears to continue to decrease. Given the relatively short period of time in which these later changes have taken place, it is likely that these changes are due to environmental or epigenetic factors rather than genetic alterations. Certainly, childhood obesity is of concern and a possible cause but so are medications and environmental exposures. In this chapter, we will review the current literature regarding the known impact of certain pharmacologic and environmental substances on pubertal development.
A 33D1+ Dendritic Cell/Autoreactive CD4+ T Cell Circuit Maintains IL-2-Dependent Regulatory T Cells in the Spleen

Phenotypically and functionally diverse regulatory T (Tr) cell subsets populate lymphoid and nonlymphoid tissues, where their maintenance and function are governed by unique homeostatic signals. Whereas Tr cells resident in nonlymphoid tissues depend on continual TCR signaling for their survival and function, phenotypically naive Tr cells occupying secondary lymphoid organs are largely supported by paracrine IL-2 signaling. Crucially, the absence of either of these distinct Tr cell subsets results in pathogenic autoimmunity, underscoring their nonredundant roles in the preservation of self-tolerance. However, the cellular and molecular factors precipitating IL-2 release and subsequent maintenance of secondary lymphoid organ-resident Tr cells are still poorly understood. In this study, we report that IL-2-dependent Tr cells in the spleen compete for a limiting supply of paracrine IL-2 generated by autoreactive CD4(+) T cells in response to MHC class II-restricted autoantigen activation by 33D1(+)CD11b(int) dendritic cells. Manipulating this cellular circuit culminating in IL-2 production could have clinical benefits in settings in which diminished Tr cell abundance is desired.
Chiusura della parete addominale

Infine e arrivato il momenta di “svignarsela”. Avete lavorato tutta la notte e siete percio tentati di farla finita velocemente. Tuttavia l’impazienza e sconsigliabile poiche una chiusura corretta dell’addome evita al paziente una eventuale deiscenza della sutura della parete addominale ed in seguito la formazione di un laparocele e a voi una grossa umiliazione (“lo saprebbero tutti”). Siete stanchi, e vero, ma prima di chiudere, fermatevi a pensare, chiedete ai vostri assistenti: “Abbiamo dimenticato niente?”. Controllate la vostra checklist (Cap. 39). Generalmente, il cedim.en.to della sutura della paxete addominale e dovuto alla scarsa qualita dei tessuti, alla presenza di una. elevata pressione addominale, ad una tecnica scorretta o anche alla combinazione di tutti questi elementi. A volte, si scioglie un nodo della sutura ma e ancora… piu tipico che il problema riguardi i tessuti piuttosto che la sutura. Per eseguire una chiusura di parete sicura tenete a mente (e sotto mano) i seguenti principi.
Tunable RF electronics based on low temperature plasma

A weakly ionized plasma region is, in general, a dispersive electromagnetic medium whose properties depend on, among other quantities, the plasma electron number density and gas pressure. Such frequency-dependent cold plasma properties include permittivity, conductivity, and thicknesses of its quasi-neutral and sheath regions. If the excitation frequency is much smaller than the plasma frequency, plasma tends to behave as a good conductor. On the other hand, if the plasma frequency is much smaller than the operating frequency, plasma behaves more like a transparent layer to electromagnetic waves. In the range between these two extremes, plasma is a lossy dielectric medium. It is in the range though that high frequency tunability can also be achieved. In this talk, we will first review the aforementioned regimes for cold plasmas and their electromagnetic properties. Several experimentally-validated plasma-based tunable RF devices such as tunable resonators, variable attenuators and reconfigurable power limiters will be discussed. Advantages and drawbacks of each approach will also be highlighted. Plasma jets and gas discharge tubes are employed as plasma cells in our designs. Reconfiguration is achieved by controlling either the excitation voltage or the discharge current. The presented results demonstrate the potential of this approach as an alternative tuning technique particularly in emerging applications where conventional solid-state techniques are ineffective due to high temperature, high power, or linearity issues.
Resistance to the Novel Translation Inhibitor Silvestrol Is Mediated by Elevated Mcl-1 Expression.

Abstract Abstract 1737 Poster Board I-763 We previously reported the efficacy and B-cell selectivity of the natural product silvestrol in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), using both primary cells and B-cell lines. We also showed that silvestrol inhibits translation, resulting in rapid depletion of the short half-life protein Mcl-1 followed by mitochondrial damage and apoptosis. Cencic et al. reported that silvestrol directly blocks translation initiation by aberrantly promoting interaction of eIF4A with capped mRNA (PLoS One 2009; 4(4):e5223). However, the loss of Mcl-1 in breast and prostate cancer cell lines is delayed relative to what we observe in B-leukemias (48 hr vs. 4-6 hr in CLL and ALL cells). Additionally, silvestrol does not reduce Mcl-1 expression in normal T-cells to the same extent that it does in B-cells, potentially explaining in part the relative resistance of T-cells to this agent. We therefore investigated cell-type differences, as well as the importance of Mcl-1, in silvestrol-mediated cytotoxicity. We incubated the ALL cell line 697 with gradually increasing concentrations of silvestrol to generate a cell line (697-R) with resistance to 30 nM silvestrol (IC50 of parental 697 Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Cybersex Addiction Among College Students: A Prevalence Study

With the ubiquity of Internet access in American society comes increased access to sexually explicit materials. Although online sexual behavior is not problematic in and of itself, for some it can ...
A Model-Based Iterative Reconstruction Approach to Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Tomography

Tunable diode laser absorption tomography (TDLAT) has emerged as a popular nonintrusive technique for simultaneous sensing of gas concentration and temperature. However, TDLAT imaging of concentration and temperature is an ill-posed, nonlinear inverse problem. Major challenges of TDLAT imaging include a highly nonlinear forward model, few projection measurements, and limited training data. We propose a novel model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR) framework for TDLAT imaging. To do this, we formulate a nonlinear forward model for TDLAT that incorporates the physics of light absorbance through gaseous media, and we couple it with a non-Gaussian prior model based on a Gaussian mixture distribution that can be trained using a sparse training set. We show that the resulting MAP estimation problem can be solved using majorization minimization together with a novel multigrid optimization algorithm that solves the resulting optimization problem using an orthogonal basis set. Reconstructions using simulated TDLAT datasets show that our TDLAT-MBIR method can reduce reconstruction error while also resulting in a very computationally efficient algorithm.
Authentication Protocol Analysis

We take a closer look at some of the limitations of current analysis approaches, and mention some work and open problems related to expanding their scope.
Heat Stress in Avian Cells

Among the many diverse biological materials that have been utilized to study the stress response, avian cells grown in tissue culture have proved to be particularly advantageous. Monolayers of homogeneous populations of 106 to 108 fibroblasts can be prepared readily from 11-day chicken embryos and cultured for several days in relatively simple media. A stress agent, either chemical or physical, can be applied under controlled conditions for varying lengths of time and the effects on cellular morphology or metabolism easily monitored. In the specific case of a heat shock, a primary culture of chicken embryo fibroblasts “senses” the stress within minutes of a shift up in temperature that corresponds to as little as a 10% increase above the physiological temperature of the bird, which is usually around 41°C. For cells from human tissue, a temperature of 41°C is sufficient to trigger the cellular stress response (Ron and Birkenfeld, 1987). In the avian fibroblast tissue culture system, response to hyperthermic stress—as measured by enhanced transcription of heat shock genes (i.e., detection of higher levels of mRNAs) and appearance of newly synthesized heat shock proteins—is detected at 42 to 43°C with the full complement of heat shock proteins induced after 30 min at 45°C (Kelley and Schlesinger, 1978). The latter temperature is considered physiological in that the internal temperature of the adult bird reaches 45°C when the bird goes into flight.
Evolution of the Rhodospirillaceae and Mitochondria: A View Based on Sequence Data

New sequence data from several protein families and from 5S ribosomal RNA confirm and elaborate our description of the phylogenetic connections between a variety of bacteria and the eukaryotes (1,2). Probably the first organisms were nonphotosynthetic anaerobic prokaryotes, which were followed soon by photosynthetic anaerobes. From this photosynthetic stock the aerobic line to Pseudomonadacae, Rhodospirillaceae, and blue-greens arose. The eukaryotes derived genetic material from the symbioses of at least three separate bacterial lines. Ancestors of Rhodopseudomonas globiformis gave rise to the eukaryote mitochondria, probably through at least three separate symbioses, one early on the flagellate line, one on the ciliate line, and one on the stem to the multicellular forms.
Direct-Acting Antivirals in Chronic Hepatitis C Genotype 4 Infection in Community Care Setting.

Background Limited data exists comparing the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) in patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 4 (HCV GT-4) in the community practice setting. We aim to evaluate the treatment response of DAAs in these patients. Methods All the HCV GT-4 patients treated with DAAs between January 2014 and October 2017 in a community clinic setting were retrospectively analyzed. Pretreatment baseline patient characteristics, treatment efficacy with sustained virologic response (SVR) at 12 weeks post treatment (SVR12), and adverse reactions were assessed. Results Fifty-two patients of Middle Eastern (primarily Egyptian) descent were included in the study. Thirty-two patients were treated with ledipasvir/sofosbuvir (Harvoni®) ± ribavirin, 12 patients were treated with ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir/dasabuvir (ViekiraPak®) ± ribavirin, and eight patients were treated with sofosbuvir/Velpatasvir (Epclusa®). Ten patients (19.2%) had compensated cirrhosis. Overall, SVR at 12 weeks was achieved in 94% in patients who received one of the three DAA regimens (93.8% in Harvoni® group, 91.7 % in ViekiraPak® group and 100% in Epclusa® group). Prior treatment status and type of regimen used in the presence of compensated cirrhosis had no statistical significance on overall SVR achievement (P value = 0.442 and P value = 0.091, respectively). The most common adverse effect was fatigue (27%). Conclusions In the real-world setting, DAAs are effective and well tolerated in patients with chronic HCV GT-4 infection with a high overall SVR rate of 94%. Large-scale studies are needed to further assess this SVR in these groups.
Resource portfolio design considerations for materially-efficient planning of 100% renewable electricity systems

Abstract Different configurations of a 100% renewable electricity system are possible, but not all are equally desirable in terms of the scale of material resources required to sustain them. This study compares different approaches for developing a 100% renewable electricity system on the basis of the material mass investment required to sustain their physical components. Electric grid modeling accounting for operational constraints is used to determine the scale of energy technology capacities required to achieve a 100% renewable electricity system using California as a representative example and translating those requirements to material mass requirements. Using a wind/solar/storage approach requires exponentially growing capacities of energy storage to meet operational needs and requires significant material mass investments. Material resource efficiency of the system is shown to be improved by maximizing the use of regional non-variable renewables to the extent possible within local capacity constraints. Alternatively, overbuilding the wind and solar capacity in excess of that needed to meet annual demand is also shown to improve material resource efficiency of the system. Overall, different approaches for meeting a 100% renewable electricity penetration are not equally desirable when material resource usage is considered. This should be taken into account in future energy system planning studies.
Flexural behavior of reinforced-concrete sandwich composites

An experimental investigation was carried out to examine the flexural behavior of rectangular sandwich composites and to determine appropriate structural applications for such constructions. The sandwich cores were composed of nonpermeated, expanded aluminum honeycomb and the facings consisted of concrete mortar. Appropriate theories that predict the behavior of such composites were presented and compared to experimental data. All specimens had facing thicknesses of 1 in., core thicknesses of 1 in., 2 in. and 3 in.; core-cell size of 1/8 in. and 3/8 in.; while four different core foil gages were considered for each cell size. The lower facing was either plain concrete mortar or reinforced with steel wires. The large cell-size specimen displayed better bond characteristics and produced better and more stable experimental data. Reasonable agreement was found between the observed and computed flexural stresses. The deflections at midspan were in good agreement with the theoretically predicted deflections in all of the specimens, with or without reinforcement. Regardless of cell size, density, core thickness or reinforcement, the observed midspan and quarterspan deflections of the top facing were approximately twice the deflections at the corresponding locations on the lower facing. The ultimate loads increased as the core thickness and the core density increased. The influence of flexural rigidity of the core can be neglected.
Mechanisms of Regulation of Small Heat Shock Protein Genes in Drosophila

Small heat shock protein (hsp) genes of Drosophila are not only activated by heat but also by the steroid hormone ecdysterone. Promoter deletion analysis has revealed that the two stimuli regulate gene expression by distinct mechanisms. Sequence elements that are critically important for ecdysterone activation of the hsp27 and hsp23 genes have been identified and have been used to purify ecdysterone receptor by specific DNA affinity chromatography. Purified receptor enhances transcription in vitro from promoters containing the above sequence elements. Thus, ecdysterone receptor is a bona fide transcription factor and is essential for the hormonal activation of small hsp genes. Recent experiments suggest that an additional factor modifies this regulation.
Low-Temperature Seals for Plastic Windows

A double seal has been developed to seal the Plexiglas lens window to the stainless steel body of the 10-in. superconducting magnet bubble chamber shown in Fig. 1. A plastic window material, rather than glass, was selected for three reasons. First, the plastic material can more conveniently be fabricated into the unusual shape required by the geometry of the chamber. Second, the lens window is part of the moving assembly of the expansion system, so that light weight is desirable. Third, a plastic window should have greater resistance per unit mass to shock loads than glass. Accelerations of 50–100 g are expected, since the chamber is expanded and recompressed in about 10 msec.
Primal-Dual Q-Learning Framework for LQR Design

Recently, reinforcement learning (RL) is receiving more and more attentions due to its successful demonstrations outperforming human performance in certain challenging tasks. The goal of this paper is to study a new optimization formulation of the linear quadratic regulator (LQR) problem via the Lagrangian duality theories in order to lay theoretical foundations of potentially effective RL algorithms. The new optimization problem includes the Q-function parameters so that it can be directly used to develop Q-learning algorithms, known to be one of the most popular RL algorithms. We prove relations between saddle-points of the Lagrangian function and the optimal solutions of the Bellman equation. As an example of its applications, we propose a model-free primal-dual Q-learning algorithm to solve the LQR problem and demonstrate its validity through examples.
Obesity Is Associated with Increased Risk of Colectomy in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients Hospitalized with Clostridium difficile Infection.

Obesity and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are associated with increased risk of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). The effect of obesity on IBD course and development of complications is poorly understood. We performed this study to examine the effect of obesity on CDI-related morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients with IBD. We used data from the National Inpatient Sample across five study years (2010–2014) to identify patients ≥ 18 years hospitalized with both CDI and IBD. We compared the outcomes of in-hospital mortality, partial or total colectomy, hospital length of stay, and hospital charges between obese and non-obese IBD–CDI patients. Analysis included univariate and multivariate linear and logistic regression analyses. Of 304,298 hospitalized patients with IBD, 13,517 (4.4%) patients had CDI. Of these, 996 (7.4%) patients were obese. Obese IBD–CDI patients had a higher risk of colectomy (adjusted odds ratio, AOR 1.60, 95% CI 1.30–1.96; p < 0.001), longer hospital length of stay (difference 0.8 days, 95% CI 0.02–1.58; p = 0.04), and higher hospital charges (difference $11,051, 95% CI 1939–20,163; p = 0.02) than non-obese IBD–CDI patients, but no significant difference in mortality was found between the two groups. Obesity is associated with a 60% increase in the risk of colectomy, longer hospital stay, and higher charges in IBD patients hospitalized with CDI. Further epidemiological and clinical studies are needed to confirm these findings.
Calf care personnel on dairy farms and their educational opportunities.

As dairy herd sizes become larger and the organization of the business more complex, targeting communication and education to enhance animal care becomes more difficult. The purpose of this study was to describe selected demographics of calf care employees on large (>500 animals) and small ( 100 preweaned calves were 15 times more likely to have a calf manager title compared with farms with ≤100 preweaned calves. Eight farms designated the same person as calf manager, treater, and feeder, all with ≤100 preweaned calves. Thirty-two (60%) of the farms had at least 1 full-time calf feeder. Almost 30% of owners and over 40% of veterinarians interviewed were over 50 yr of age, whereas over 40% of the calf managers, feeders, and treaters were under 30 yr of age. Seventy-three percent of feeders and 72% of treaters spoke Spanish at home. For languages in which interviewees were comfortable speaking, more than 30% of owners and 33% of veterinarians were comfortable communicating in Spanish. For calf care employees, 60% of calf managers, 42% of feeders, and 38% of treaters were bilingual (English and Spanish), but most (72%) preferred to be interviewed in Spanish. The level of education varied by job title for those interviewed, but most of the calf care team had high school or less education. However, some diversity was observed in educational background within job title with almost 38% of the calf managers having at least some college education. The majority of feeders (88%) and treaters (83%) reported being trained by another employee and 66 and 58%, respectively, had not received any continuing education in the previous year. With the amount of diversity seen on these farms, understanding employees' educational backgrounds, language, and generational differences may be valuable when developing training for new procedures for animal health or other aspects of animal care.
High temperature anyon superconductivity

The screening of an applied magnetic field in a charged anyon fluid at finite density (μ≠0) and temperature (T≠0) is investigated. Using the semi-infinite sample boundary conditions we find, at densities typical of high-temperature superconducting materials, that the anyon fluid exhibits a superconducting behavior. The total Meissner screening is characterized by two penetration lengths, corresponding to two short-range eigenmodes of propagation within the anyon fluid.
An assessment of the load modifying potential of model predictive controlled dynamic facades within the California context

Abstract California is making major strides towards meeting its greenhouse gas emission reduction goals with the transformation of its electrical grid to accommodate renewable generation, aggressive promotion of building energy efficiency, and increased emphasis on moving toward electrification of end uses (e.g., residential heating, etc.). As a result of this activity, the State is faced with significant challenges of systemwide resource adequacy, power quality and grid reliability that could be addressed in part with demand responsive (DR) load modifying strategies using controllable building technologies. Dynamic facades have the ability to potentially shift and shed loads at critical times of the day in combination with daylighting and HVAC controls. This study explores the technical potential of dynamic facades to support net load shape objectives. A model predictive controller (MPC) was designed based on reduced order thermal (Modelica) and window (Radiance) models. Using an automated workflow (involving JModelica.org and MPCPy), these models were converted and differentiated to formulate a non-linear optimization problem. A gradient-based, non-linear programming problem solver (IPOPT) was used to derive an optimal control strategy, then a post-optimization step was used to convert the solution to a discrete state for facade actuation. Continuous state modulation of the facade was also modeled. The performance of the MPC controller with and without activation of thermal mass was evaluated in a south-facing perimeter office zone with a three-zone electrochromic window for a clear sunny week during summer and winter periods in Oakland and Burbank, California. MPC strategies reduced total energy cost by 9–28% and critical coincident peak demand was reduced by up to 0.58 W/ft2-floor or 19–43% in the 4.6 m (15 ft) deep south zone on sunny summer days in Oakland compared to state-of-the-art heuristic control. Similar savings were achieved for the hotter, Burbank climate in Southern California. This outcome supports the argument that MPC control of dynamic facades can provide significant electricity cost reductions and net load management capabilities of benefit to both the building owner and evolving electrical grid.
An Empirical Study of Factor Identification in Smart Health-Monitoring Wearable Device

Smart Health-Monitoring Wearable Device (SHMWD) is one of the solutions to improve health-care quality and accessibility through early detection and prevention. A comprehensive framework of factor identification of SHMWD from wide-ranging considerations is needed. Indeed, quantitative support of identifying significant factors/features affecting product rating and review needs to be studied as well. This article aims to identify 123 environmental factors (EFs) and their associated categories of SHMWD from various perspectives, determine the important EFs based on customers’ interest, and investigate the significant levels of EFs and each category on product rating, the significant EFs of each category, the correlation among EFs, and the principle components of the data set. Data analysis was conducted based on real data collected online ( $n = 769$ ). Statistical learning methods, including relative weighted method, analysis of variance, hypothesis testing, multiple regression analysis, backward elimination method, and principle component analysis, are employed to analyze the collected data. We also identify the top 15 important EFs which can be further incorporated in product development and maintenance. For researchers, this article points to the improvement directions of the current technologies applied in SHMWD as well as the new technologies to be implemented in the area of human–machine interactions. For practitioners, this article provides the managerial suggestions of time and resource allocation to the development team given each team may have different focused category and a general guide of feature selection for product development and maintenance and improvement for customer satisfaction.
An Abridgement of the Birds Throughout the Diversity of Habitats

Direct observations were used and checked with species described in several ornithological field guides, albeit with only one specifically focused on the Democratic Republic of Congo. The field observation documented 97 bird species belonging to 31 families in North Lake Tumba Landscape (Lake Tumba, the Ubangi River and Ngiri River) and 54 species in the South Lake Tumba. Both the crested guineafowl (Guttera pucherani) and the helmeted guineafowl (Numida meleagris) were reported in both parts. In the north, the numerically most important order was that of Passeriformes, which counted 11 species in six families (Corvidae, Laniidae, Muscicapidae, Paridae, Ploceidae, and Turdidae). The second most important order was that of Coraciiformes, which comprised 3 families and 9 species and was followed by the order of Ciconiiformes, with its two families (Ardeidae and Scopidae) and two species (Ardeola ibis and Scopus umbretta, belonging to the two families, respectively). The chapter attributes differences in species between the northern part and the southern part to the differentiation of habitat types in the south and in the north.
Novel Approach for Computational Modeling of a Non-Premixed Rotating Detonation Engine

Pressure gain combustion (PGC) has gained significant attention in airbreathing gas turbine applications due to its increased thermodynamic efficiency over a constant-pressure Brayton cycle. Rotati...
Pharmacological Modulation of Immunoregulatory Lymphocyte Functions: The Adenosine Immunoregulatory System

During the last ten years there has been a rapid expansion in our understanding of immunoregulatory processes. Advances in two important areas have been particularly significant: 1. the delineation of lymphocyte subpopulations through the application of monoclonal antibody technology and 2. the development of a better understanding of the ways in which hormones and other intercellular communicators modulate cell behaviour.
Sigmoidal synaptic learning produces mutual stabilization in chaotic FitzHugh–Nagumo model

This paper investigates the interaction between two coupled neurons at the terminal end of a long chain of neurons. Specifically, we examine a bidirectional, two-cell FitzHugh-Nagumo neural model capable of exhibiting chaotic dynamics. Analysis of this model shows how mutual stabilization of the chaotic dynamics can occur through sigmoidal synaptic learning. Initially, this paper begins with a bifurcation analysis of an adapted version of a previously studied FitzHugh-Nagumo model that indicates regions of periodic and chaotic behaviors. Through allowing the synaptic properties to change dynamically via neural learning, it is shown how the system can evolve from chaotic to stable periodic behavior. The driving factor between this transition is representative of a stimulus coming down a long neural pathway. The result that two chaotic neurons can mutually stabilize via a synaptic learning implies that this may be a mechanism whereby neurons can transition from a disordered, chaotic state to a stable, ordered periodic state that persists. This approach shows that even at the simplest level of two terminal neurons, chaotic behavior can become stable, sustained periodic behavior. This is achieved without the need for a large network of neurons.
Magnetic soft charges, dual supertranslations, and ’t Hooft line dressings

We construct the Faddeev-Kulish asymptotic states in a quantum field theory of electric and magnetic charges. We find that there are two kind of dressings: apart from the well-known (electric) Wilson line dressing, there is a magnetic counterpart which can be written as a 't Hooft line operator. The 't Hooft line dressings are charged under the magnetic large gauge transformation (LGT), but are neutral under electric LGT. This is in contrast to the Faddeev-Kulish dressings of electrons, which can be written as a Wilson line operator and are charged under electric LGT but neutral under magnetic LGT. With these dressings and the corresponding construction of the coherent states, the infrared finiteness of the theory of electric and magnetic charges is guaranteed. Even in the absence of magnetic monopoles, the electric and magnetic soft modes exhibit the electromagnetic duality of vacuum Maxwell theory. Using only the asymptotic form of three-point interactions in a field theory of electric and magnetic charges, we show that the leading magnetic dressings, like the leading electric ones, are exact in the field theory of electric and magnetic charges, in accordance with a conjecture of Strominger. We then extend the construction to perturbative quantum gravity in asymptotically flat spacetime, and construct gravitational 't Hooft line dressings that are charged under dual supertranslations. The duality in the quantum theory between the electric and magnetic soft charges and their dressings is thus made manifest.
Classification of Post-Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Running Dynamics using Non-Traditional Features

Despite extensive rehabilitation, nearly half of all post-anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) individuals are unable to perform dynamic tasks at the level they did prior to their injury. This inability can be attributed to unresolved neuromuscular deficits that manifest as altered limb dynamics. While traditional discrete metrics; such as peak vertical ground reaction force (vGRF) and peak knee flexion angle, have been used to successfully differentiate between healthy and pathological running dynamics, recent studies have shown that non-traditional metrics derived from autoregressive (AR) modeling and Smoothed Pseudo Wigner-Ville (SPWV) analysis techniques can also successfully delineate between healthy and pathological populations and could potentially possess greater sensitivity than the traditional metrics. Thus, the objective of this study was to compare the performance of classification models generated from traditional and nontraditional metrics collected from healthy controls and post-ACLR individuals during a running protocol. We hypothesized that the non-traditional metric-based classification model would outperform the traditional metric based model. Thirty-one controls and 31 post-ACLR individuals performed a running protocol from which the traditional metrics - peak vGRF, linear vGRF loading rate and peak knee flexion angle – and nontraditional metrics – dynamic vGRF ratio, AR model coefficients, and a SPWV derived low frequency-high frequency ratio – were extracted from vGRF and knee flexion running waveforms. The results indicated that a fine Gaussian SVM classification model derived from the non-traditional metrics had an accuracy of 87%, specificity of 83% and sensitivity of 61% and it outperformed the classification model derived from traditional metrics. These findings indicate that additional, valuable information can be ascertained from non-traditional metrics that evaluate waveform dynamics. Additionally, it suggests that this or similar models can be used to track the restoration of healthy running dynamics in post-ACLR individuals during rehabilitation.
Post-traumatic Arthritis of the Ankle

The ankle is commonly injured in athletic and work activities. Posttraumatic osteoarthritis of the ankle is the primary cause of ankle arthritis. Traumatic injuries of the ankle include malleolar fractures, pilon fracture, talus fracture, fracture dislocations, osteochondritis dessicans, ankle sprains, and instability. Nonoperative treatments for posttraumatic ankle arthritis or end-stage arthritis include nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), injections, use of cane, and orthotics. The main surgical options include total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) and ankle arthrodesis (AA). Other alternatives include arthroscopic debridement, allograft transplantation, bipolar fresh total osteochondral allograft, periankle osteotomy, and distraction arthroplasty.
Sleep, Food Insecurity, and Weight Status: Findings from the Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating Study

Background: Shorter sleep duration and lower sleep quality have been previously associated with greater obesity risk among adult samples. Food insecurity has also been found to impact sleep patterns and obesity. Yet few studies have explored associations between sleep, food insecurity, and obesity in adolescent populations, who may have more irregular sleep patterns. Thus, the objectives of this study were to determine associations between measures of sleep, food insecurity, and weight status. Methods: Data were obtained from the Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating (FLASHE) Study, an online cross-sectional study of parent and adolescent (12-17-year old) dyads. Participants were drawn from a Consumer Opinion Panel representative of the general population of the United States with respect to sex, education, income, age, household size, and region. First, multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine associations between sleep measures (adolescent-reported average nighttime sleep duration, having a regular bedtime, and having difficulty staying asleep), food insecurity (a validated two-item parent-reported measure), and weight status (being underweight, of healthy weight, overweight, and obese). Weight status was based upon adolescent BMI z-scores using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth charts using information from parent report of adolescent height and weight and adolescent-reported age and sex among adolescents (N = 1544). Conditional process models were also fitted to the data to determine whether food insecurity moderates the associations between sleep measures and weight status, and to determine whether the association between food insecurity and weight status is mediated by average sleep duration. Results: Compared to those with food security, a greater percentage of those with food insecurity reported having difficulties staying asleep and a longer average sleep duration. Multinomial logistic regression models demonstrated that having a regular bedtime was associated with lower odds of having obesity, having difficulties staying asleep was associated with greater odds of being underweight, and having food insecurity was associated with greater odds of being overweight. Conditional process models demonstrated that food insecurity did not moderate associations between sleep measures and weight status and that average nighttime sleep duration did not mediate the association between food insecurity and weight status. Conclusions: This is one of the first studies to examine associations between sleep, food insecurity, and weight status among adolescents. Results provide additional support for the need to uncover mechanisms for how sleep and food insecurity affect pediatric obesity using longitudinal data.
Modular invariance, soft breaking, μ and tanβ in superstring models

Abstract We go beyond parameterizations of soft terms in superstring models and investigate the dynamical assumptions that lead to the relative strength of the dilaton vs. the moduli contributions in the soft breaking. Specifically, we discuss in some simple heterotic orbifold models sufficient conditions to achieve dilaton dominance. Assuming self-dual points to be minima we find multiple solutions to the trilinear and bilinear soft parameters A 0 and B 0 . We discuss the constraints on μ and tan β in superstring models in the context of radiative breaking of the electroweak symmetry. We show that string models prefer a small to a moderate value of tan β , i.e., tan β ⩽10, and a value much larger than this requires a high degree of fine tuning. Further, we show that for large tan β the radiative electroweak symmetry breaking constraint leads to a value α string = g string 2 /4 π which is typically an order of magnitude smaller than implied by the LEP data and the heterotic superstring relation g string = k i g i , where g i is the gauge coupling constant for the gauge group G i and k i is the corresponding Kac–Moody level in the class of models considered. This situation can be overcome by another fine-tuned cancellation between the dilaton and the moduli contributions in the soft parameters.
When Did You Know You Were Straight? Teaching with the Heterosexual Questionnaire

This Teaching Note describes the process of forming a panel of straight students to answer questions from Martin Rochlin's Heterosexual Questionnaire. The activity highlights heterosexism and heterosexual privilege, provides an opportunity to talk about satire and queer humor, and is a useful way to engage with concepts from class readings in introductory LGBTQ Studies and Women's Studies courses.
Parallel Sorting Algorithm for the Operation of Industrial Intelligent Systems

A parallel even-odd sort algorithm has been identified and developed as a basis. The switching circuit consists of two alternating options for switching elements in pairs. These switchings are based on the local on-device assembling in pairs of array elements having adjacent indices. Moreover, such local on-device assembling of elements in pairs leads to “small” movements of elements along the length of array and the regular character of pairs generation. In each pair, we performed an operand comparison-exchange operation. Reducing the time of sorting is based on designing the switching options with a ring structure of elements. A comparison of classical and modified algorithms has shown the advantage of array ring structure, in which pairs of boundary elements are created at each sorting step. The given paper shows the advantage of the modified sorting over the standard even-odd sort by 15% −18% for the operation of industrial intelligent systems.
Continuous Stirred Tank and the Plug Flow Reactors

This chapter examines the powerful idealizations of the continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) and plug flow reactor (PFR). It also covers pseudo-steady states, steady states as well as chemical equilibrium. One must remember that the steady-state condition can be far from the equilibrium condition, and the two time-independent situations must not be confused. The time-dependent CSTR and PFR are interesting problems, but they are less often used than the steady-state solutions. One will see how the kinetics fit into a reactor equation as a constitutive relationship. Flow and reaction come together in these systems to affect the rate of accumulation. Hence, when one refers to the “rate,” one must be careful to be specific about the reactor; if it is a constant volume batch reactor, then rate means the chemical rate. If the reactor is a transient CSTR or PFR, then the rate of change of the concentration at the exit of the reactor is not the chemical rate alone.
A monoclonal antibody against the rod outer segment guanyl nucleotide-binding protein, transducin, blocks the stimulatory and inhibitory G proteins of adenylate cyclase.

Abstract GTP-binding proteins have been implicated as transducers of a variety of biological signaling processes. These proteins share considerable structural as well as functional homology. Due to these similarities, it was thought that a monoclonal antibody that inhibits the light activation of the rod outer segment GTP-binding protein, tranducin (Gt), might exert some functional effect upon the G proteins that regulate the adenylate cyclase system. Antibody 4A, raised against the alpha subunit of Gt, cross-reacted (by hybridization on nitrocellulose) with purified alpha subunits of other G proteins (Gi and Gs, regulatory guanyl nucleotide-binding proteins that mediate inhibition and stimulation of adenylate cyclase, respectively) as long as they were not denatured. This antibody, which interferes with rod outer segment cGMP phosphodiesterase activation by blocking interaction between rhodopsin and Gt, also interfered with actions of both the stimulatory and inhibitory G proteins of adenylate cyclase from rat cerebral cortex membranes. Effects of monoclonal antibody (mAb) 4A were dose-dependent and not reversed by washing. mAb 4A also blocked the Gi-mediated inhibition of adenylate cyclase in the cyc- variant of S49 lymphoma and in doing so raised the level of adenylate cyclase activity in both the cyc- variant and the S49 wild type. There was no effect of mAb 4A on adenylate cyclase activity of the resolved catalytic subunit. These results suggest that the well known sequence homologies among the G proteins involved in cellular signal transduction may extend to the sites that interact with other members of signal-transducing cascades (receptors and effector molecules). Therefore, antibody 4A may serve as a useful tool to probe the similarities and differences among the various systems.