cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Deep gramulator: Improving precision in the classification of personal health-experience tweets with deep learning

Health surveillance is an important task to track the happenings related to human health, and one of its areas is pharmacovigilance. Pharmacovigilance tracks and monitors safe use of pharmaceutical products. Pharmacovigilance involves tracking side effects that may be caused by medicines and other health related drugs. Medical professionals have a difficult time collecting this information. It is anticipated that social media could help to collect this data and track side effects. Twitter data can be used for this task given that users post their personal health related experiences on-line. One problem with Twitter data, however, is that it contains a lot of noise. Therefore, an approach is needed to remove the noise. In this paper, several machine learning algorithms including deep neural nets are used to build classifiers that can help to detect these Personal Experience Tweets (PETs). Finally, we propose a method called the Deep Gramulator that improves results. Results of the analysis are presented and discussed.
Optimizing Bone Mass Accrual in Healthy Adolescents

Adolescence provides a uniquely important period of opportunity to improve skeletal health across the lifespan, potentially even reducing the lifetime risk of osteoporosis. Because inherited factors account for as much as 80% of predicted peak bone mass, the relatively few factors amenable to modification become essential to understand for those clinicians who monitor the growth and development of children and adolescents. The modifiable factors include such lifestyle choices as dietary intake, physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight for height, contraceptive choice, and use of tobacco and alcohol. In addition to ensuring normal pubertal development, primary care providers can help guide patients to healthy choices for the bone that are aligned perfectly with other lifelong benefits.
Are the London Declaration's 2020 goals sufficient to control Chagas disease?: Modeling scenarios for the Yucatan Peninsula.

Background The 2020 Sustainable Development goals call for 100% certified interruption or control of the three main forms of Chagas disease transmission in Latin America. However, how much will achieving these goals to varying degrees control Chagas disease; what is the potential impact of missing these goals and if they are achieved, what may be left? Methods We developed a compartmental simulation model that represents the triatomine, human host, and non-human host populations and vector-borne, congenital, and transfusional T. cruzi transmission between them in the domestic and peridomestic settings to evaluate the impact of limiting transmission in a 2,000 person virtual village in Yucatan, Mexico. Results Interruption of domestic vectorial transmission had the largest impact on T. cruzi transmission and prevalence in all populations. Most of the gains were achieved within the first few years. Controlling vectorial transmission resulted in a 46.1–83.0% relative reduction in the number of new acute Chagas cases for a 50–100% interruption in domestic vector-host contact. Only controlling congenital transmission led to a 2.4–8.1% (30–100% interruption) relative reduction in the total number of new acute cases and reducing only transfusional transmission led to a 0.1–0.3% (30–100% reduction). Stopping all three forms of transmission resulted in 0.5 total transmission events over five years (compared to 5.0 with no interruption); interrupting all forms by 30% resulted in 3.4 events over five years per 2,000 persons. Conclusions While reducing domestic vectorial, congenital, and transfusional transmission can successfully reduce transmission to humans (up to 82% in one year), achieving the 2020 goals would still result in 0.5 new acute cases per 2,000 over five years. Even if the goals are missed, major gains can be achieved within the first few years. Interrupting transmission should be combined with other efforts such as a vaccine or improved access to care, especially for the population of already infected individuals.
Compositional verification of a baby virtual memory manager

A virtual memory manager (VMM) is a part of an operating system that provides the rest of the kernel with an abstract model of memory. Although small in size, it involves complicated and interdependent invariants that make monolithic verification of the VMM and the kernel running on top of it difficult. In this paper, we make the observation that a VMM is constructed in layers: physical page allocation, page table drivers, address space API, etc., each layer providing an abstraction that the next layer utilizes. We use this layering to simplify the verification of individual modules of VMM and then to link them together by composing a series of small refinements. The compositional verification also supports function calls from less abstract layers into more abstract ones, allowing us to simplify the verification of initialization functions as well. To facilitate such compositional verification, we develop a framework that assists in creation of verification systems for each layer and refinements between the layers. Using this framework, we have produced a certification of BabyVMM, a small VMM designed for simplified hardware. The same proof also shows that a certified kernel using BabyVMM's virtual memory abstraction can be refined following a similar sequence of refinements, and can then be safely linked with BabyVMM. Both the verification framework and the entire certification of BabyVMM have been mechanized in the Coq Proof Assistant.
REPLICATION IN MONKEY CELLS OF PLASMID DNA CONTAINING THE MINIMAL SV40 ORIGIN

ABSTRACT We have cloned the SV40 origin of DNA replication into a bacterial plasmid, generated deletion mutations of the T antigen binding sites, and measured the replication of these plasmid DNAs in a monkey cell line, COS7, that synthesizes SV40 large T antigen. Our results indicate that a sequence of approximately 80–85 bp, containing T antigen binding sites I and II but lacking site III, is sufficient to serve as the origin of viral DNA replication. A filter binding assay was used to measure the binding of a purified T antigen to wild type and mutant origin templates. Our findings indicate that the removal of binding sites II and III has no effect on the binding of the protein to site I.
Characterization of a Periodic Surface Profile by Pole-Zero Parameterization of Elastodynamic Pulse Reflections

This paper considers the problem of determining the height and period of a surface profile which is periodic in one direction through the analysis of reflected elastodynamic pulses. Both theory and experiment are presented.
Multifocal Warthin's Tumor: An Uncommon Presentation of Bilateral Cervical Lymphadenopathy.

Warthin’s tumor is the second most common benign lesion of the parotid gland. It is most commonly encountered in male smokers in the fifth to seventh decades of life. Uniquely, among benign lesions of the parotid gland, it can be seen bilaterally in 7–10% of cases. Very rarely, Warthin’s tumor can also mimic malignant or metastatic disease by presenting within cervical lymph nodes. We present a rare case of a 71-year old male smoker with bilateral parotid lesions in addition to progressively enlarging cervical and mediastinal lymphadenopathy. Excisional biopsy of a cervical lymph node ultimately revealed Warthin’s tumor.
The Politics of Religion: Disestablishing the Irish Church

Gladstone was propelled into his first premiership in 1868 on the issue of Irish Church disestablishment. The American press from all religious and political backgrounds celebrated his accomplishment. Peterson demonstrates how Gladstone’s bill found palpable resonance in the United States. Many viewed it as emblematic of their aspirations for the global expansion of modern democracy and as a sign that the US system of government was destined to spread across Europe. Overt expressions of American exceptionalism were published as a result. Evangelicals and Catholics were jubilant in their belief that it was a providential act. The event was also a catalyst for numerous written expressions of anti-Catholicism, with evangelical commentators being the most vociferous.
Opportunities for the specific therapy of destructive lung disease.

Since the current concepts of the pathogenesis of destructive lung disease suggest that the lesion results from the unopposed action of elastase on the alveolar structures, logical approaches to the therapy of this disease include intervention designed to either reduce the quantity of lower respiratory tract elastase or to increase the quantity of antielastases within the alveolar structures. Therapeutic approaches designed to decrease the alveolar elastase burden might include: 1) attempts to decrease the influx of elastase-containing neutrophils into the lower respiratory tract by decreasing the release of neutrophil chemotactic factor from alveolar macrophages; and 2) decreasing the response of the neutrophil to chemotactic factors generated within the lung. This approach would also include intervention designed to decrease the release of elastase from neutrophils and other elastase producing cells, such as the alveolar macrophage. Therapeutic approaches designed to increase the alveolar antielastase screen include: 1) agents directed at the prevention and reversal of oxidant-induced inhibition of α1-antitrypsin function resulting from cigarette smoking; 2) use of agents designed to augment endogenous antielastase activity; and 3) direct administration of antielastases, including α1-antitrypsin replacement therapy. While the long-term clinical application of these principles remains speculative at present, the concepts of rational, specific therapy of destructive lung disease are now apparent.
A Cloud-Based Smart Expiry System Using QR Code

In this paper, a novel cloud-based smart expiry system is proposed which sends an automatic notification to customer's smartphone several days before the purchased food expires. The checkout operator app in the store generates a table containing product names with expiry dates and it is uploaded to the cloud. The customer scans a single Quick Response (QR) code printed on the purchase receipt with a smartphone. The table is then downloaded from the cloud to the smartphone automatically and the customer is be all set to receive the expiry date reminders and notifications. Compared with other works, the proposed method does not need tedious manual entry of each product name and expiration date into the smartphone app, rather scanning a single QR code will be sufficient.
The new science of eyewitness memory

Abstract The prevailing view among criminal justice and legal practitioners, and the general public, is that eyewitness evidence is generally inaccurate and unreliable. Here we argue that that perspective fails to take the full cognitive context of eyewitness reports into account. A broader view of eyewitness cognition includes both memory judgments—for example, the selection of an individual from a lineup—and an accompanying metacognitive context—for example, the level of confidence that an eyewitness places in that selection. When these components are considered jointly, eyewitness evidence is highly reliable and can be treated like any other source of evidence in the courtroom—valuable when appropriately assayed but prone to contamination. Empirical research over the past 10 years, based on the bedrock principles of Signal Detection Theory, has illuminated problems with standard historical measures that are based on intuitive theorizing about measurement. Those measures, and the results from experiments that utilize them, have misled the field regarding reform efforts and have diminished the role that eyewitness confidence should play in distinguishing accurate from inaccurate identifications. Signal detection theory, coupled with ROC analysis and confidence calibration, is pointing toward a new science of eyewitness memory. The new science shifts the blame for faulty testimony from unreliable eyewitnesses to other actors in the law enforcement and legal community—actors whose behaviors can transform low-confidence, likely inaccurate, initial identifications, into incorrect, high-confidence, courtroom identifications. Signal detection theory also highlights the role that other metacognitive factors play, as well as how to balance the two types of errors—false identifications of the innocent and missed identifications of the guilty—that inevitably arise from the eyewitness decision problem. The new science of eyewitness memory is leading a transformation in how eyewitness evidence can and should be used by the criminal justice system.
Comparison of physical and chemical properties of wheat flour, fermented yam flour, and unfermented yam flour

Yam is a root and tuber climbing plant and main calorie source in some tropical regions of Africa. In this study, properties of fermented (brown) yam flour (FYF) and unfermented (white) yam flour (UYF) were compared with refined wheat flour (RWF). The yam flours were lower in protein (3.3%–5.9%), arabinoxylans (0.93%–1.40%), phytic acid (0.17–0.53 mg/g), phenolic acids (0.57–2.28 mg FAE/g), amylose (17.3%–22.6%), and fat (0.2%–0.4%) but higher in potassium 119–845 mg/100 g), ash (1.70%–2.21%), total starch (73.8%–74.2%) and fiber contents (6.8%–7.0%). All the samples exhibited high (>90) estimated glycemic index (eGI) values. However, FYF and UFY had significantly (p < 0.05) lower eGI than RWF. Thermal studies showed that FYF and UYF required more energy for gelatinization than RWF. Compared to RWF, FYF swelled more rapidly and retrograded faster. FYF had significantly (p < 0.05) higher gel firmness than RWF and UYF. Overall, the flours exhibited different characteristics which will impact functional and nutritional properties. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Yam is a staple crop grown in tropical and subtropical Africa, the Caribbean, South Pacific, and Asia. Increased utilization of local staple crops in production of composite flours or in food products can increase economic gain for farmers and local economies. The study of the functional characteristics of the yam flours would allow for the development of tailor‐made composite flours for production of many unique food products. These yam flours may also be of use in formulation of gluten‐free products, especially products such as cakes and pastry that don't require high gluten strength.
Museums as mentor texts: Preservice teachers analyze informational text structures and features present in a historical museum

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine how elementary preservice teachers (n = 35) experienced museums as potential sites for K-5 students to read museums using two lenses: to learn the history of the place in which they live and examine how museum authors craft texts to tell those stories. Along with exploring historical content, preservice teachers studied the museum as an informational text. Through this experience, preservice teachers discovered: 1) the five informational text structures museum authors used to present information and 2) how museum authors conveyed contemporary and social issues using various forms of writing. Additionally, the museum experience provided a context in which the preservice teachers could engage in critical literacy practices.
Lead exposure reduces survival, neuronal determination, and differentiation of P19 stem cells

Lead (Pb) is a teratogen that poses health risks after acute and chronic exposure. Lead is deposited in the bones of adults and is continuously leached into the blood for decades. While this chronic lead exposure can have detrimental effects on adults such as high blood pressure and kidney damage, developing fetuses and young children are particularly vulnerable. During pregnancy, bone-deposited lead is released into the blood at increased rates and can cross the placental barrier, exposing the embryo to the toxin. Embryos exposed to lead display serious developmental and cognitive defects throughout life. Although studies have investigated lead's effect on late-stage embryos, few studies have examined how lead affects stem cell determination and differentiation. For example, it is unknown whether lead is more detrimental to neuronal determination or differentiation of stem cells. We sought to determine the effect of lead on the determination and differentiation of pluripotent embryonic testicular carcinoma (P19) cells into neurons. Our data indicate that lead exposure significantly inhibits the determination of P19 cells to the neuronal lineage by alteration of N-cadherin and Sox2 expression. We also observed that lead significantly alters subsequent neuronal and glial differentiation. Consequently, this research emphasizes the need to reduce public exposure to lead.
Tracing a Journey of Curriculum Redesign in Education

The phrase “Are we there yet?” is used by travelers, often children who pose the question to gauge the distance and time remaining in a trip. How far have we traveled? How much longer will it be until we arrive at our destination? This article describes curriculum redesign for our early childhood and elementary education programs at Winthrop University in South Carolina. The details of this journey offer a roadmap of the program revision process that we encountered in our efforts to work toward continuous improvement in teacher education. By working with program faculty from within our college as well as faculty from the College of Arts and Sciences we accomplished our goals for curriculum redesign. As we enter the final phase of this 2-year endeavor, our writing documents the process that we encountered to achieve this goal.
Subjective cognitive complaints in patients undergoing major non-cardiac surgery: a prospective single centre cohort trial.

Abstract Background Few perioperative studies have assessed subjective cognitive complaint (SCC) in combination with neuropsychological testing. New nomenclature guidelines require both SCC and objective decline on cognitive testing. The objective of our study was to compare SCC and neuropsychological testing in an elderly surgical cohort. Methods This was a secondary analysis of a prospective cohort trial at a single urban medical centre. We included patients older than 65 yr, undergoing major non-cardiac surgery with general anaesthesia. Those with dementia or inability to consent were excluded, as were those undergoing emergency, cardiac, or intracranial procedures. Patients completed a neuropsychiatry battery before and 3 months after surgery. SCC was defined utilising the single question: ‘do you feel that surgery and anaesthesia have impacted your clarity of thought?' Objective cognitive decline was defined as 1 standard deviation decline from the baseline of the cohort. Results Of the 120 patients who completed assessments, 16/120 (13%) had SCC after surgery, and 41/120 (34%) had objective decline. The sensitivity of SCC in relation to objective decline was 24% and specificity was 92%. Of the patients with SCC, 43.8% were screened positive for depression after surgery compared with 4.9% without SCC; P=0.001. Conclusions Many patients with objective cognitive decline did not report SCC. There appears to be a relationship between SCC and depression. The use of SCC in surgical patients to define postoperative neurocognitive disorders needs to be better delineated. Clinical trial registration NCT02650687.
Dual-Resonance Continuously Beam-Scanning X -Band Reflectarray Antenna

In this article, a $7\times 7$ reconfigurable reflectarray operating at X- band is proposed and experimentally verified. The reflectarray consists of linearly polarized, dual-resonance, tunable unit cells fabricated on a single layer. Reconfigurability is achieved by loading each dual-resonance unit cell with four varactors; the two resonances provide a phase range greater than 360°. The unit cell design utilized in this reflectarray is analyzed using full-wave Floquet simulations. A biasing network supporting individual biasing of each array element is designed, allowing beamsteering in E-, H-, and diagonal planes. The proposed reflectarray is evaluated using both full-wave simulations and measurements. To facilitate measurements, a fused filament deposition 3-D printer is used to fabricate an antenna mounting fixture using micrometer stages to make fine adjustments for the final alignment. A measured gain of 15.03 dBi, 3 dB gain fractional bandwidth of 7.81%, and continuous beam scanning are demonstrated in multiple planes from −50° to +50° at 10.1 GHz.
Contrast Pattern Mining in Paired Multivariate Time Series of a Controlled Driving Behavior Experiment

The controlled experiment is an important scientific method for researchers seeking to determine the influence of the intervention, by interpreting the contrast patterns between the temporal observations from control and experimental groups (i.e., paired multivariate time series (PMTS)). Due to recent technological advances and the growing popularity of sensing technology such as in-vehicle sensors and activity trackers, time series data is experiencing explosive growth in both size and complexity. This is threatening to overwhelm the interpretation of control experiments, which conventionally rely on human analysts. Thus, it is imperative to develop automated methods that are expected to simultaneously characterize and detect the interpretable contrast patterns in PMTS generated by controlled experiments. However, a few challenges prohibit existing methods from directly addressing this problem: (1) handling the coupling of contrast identification and pattern characterization, (2) dynamically characterizing the patterns in PMTS, and (3) mining the contrast patterns in multiple PMTS with ubiquitous individual differences. Therefore, we propose a novel framework to mine interpretable contrast patterns based on the dynamic feature dependencies for PMTS through optimization. The proposed framework simultaneously characterizes the dynamic feature dependency networks for PMTS and detects the contrast patterns. Specifically, we characterize the generative process of PMTS as a probabilistic model defined by pairwise Markov random fields whose likelihoods are maximized using our group graphical lasso. The model is then generalized to handle multiple PMTS and solved by proposing a customized algorithm based on the expectation-maximization framework. Extensive experiments demonstrate the effectiveness, scalability, and interpretability of our approach.
Was There a Method to Their Madness? Warfare, Alliance Formation, and the Origins of the Irish Medieval State

At first glance the recorded political violence occurring between the chiefdoms of Early Medieval Ireland seems to fit the “cycling” characterization of Henry Wright and others for the fortunes of these political systems – of ceaseless coalescence and collapse. However, an examination of the Irish ethnohistorical sources pertaining to the province of Munster reveals that their warfare was highly patterned. During the period 600 - 900 AD political violence occurred between neighboring chiefdom confederacies. Victories were followed by the replacement of the ruling lineages of individual chiefdoms of the losing confederacy with those of the victor. Following the appearance of the Vikings in Munster warfare assumed a new character that here is termed hegemonic. From 900 – 1100 AD the paramount leaders of powerful confederacies followed a strategy driven by status rivalry whereby they waged war in combination with alliance formation in order to elevate their personal power above that of rivals of similar stature. Brian mac Cennetig (nick-named Boroihme) and his descendants were able to enact internal organizational changes in the core of their Dal Cais polity that would eventually result in the emergence of a true state system.
Topology Verification Method of Low-Voltage Distribution Network based on T-type Grey Correlation Degree

The network topology information is essential for management and operation of low-voltage power distribution network, but might not be accurately available at all time because of the changes that take place due to network reconfiguration, repairs, and maintenance. This paper proposes a topology verification method of low-voltage distribution network based on T-type grey correlation degree (TGCD). First, the TGCDs between user voltages and transformer voltage of the station area are calculated to find out the suspicious user; then, the TGCDs between the suspicious user voltage and the transformer voltage of all adjacent stations are calculated, and the suspicious user is assigned to the station area with the biggest TGCDs. Case study has verified the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Surgery following neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy in clinical N3 esophageal cancer results in improved survival: a propensity-matched analysis

Esophageal cancer patients with extensive nodal metastases have poor survival, and benefit of surgery in this population is unclear. The aim of this study is to determine if surgery after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) improves overall survival (OS) in patients with clinical N3 (cN3) esophageal cancer relative to chemoradiation therapy (CRT) alone. The National Cancer Database was queried for all patients with cN3 esophageal cancer between 2010 and 2016. Patients who met inclusion criteria (received multiagent chemotherapy and radiation dose ≥30 Gy) were divided into two cohorts: CRT alone and nCRT + surgery. 769 patients met inclusion criteria, including 560 patients who received CRT alone, and 209 patients who received nCRT + surgery. The overall 5-year survival was significantly lower in the CRT alone group compared to the nCRT + surgery group (11.8% vs 18.0%, P < 0.001). A 1:1 propensity matched cohort of CRT alone and nCRT + surgery patients also demonstrated improved survival associated with surgery (13.11 mo vs 23.1 mo, P < 0.001). Predictors of survival were analyzed in the surgery cohort, and demonstrated that lymphovascular invasion was associated with worse survival (HR 2.07, P = 0.004). Despite poor outcomes of patients with advanced nodal metastases, nCRT + surgery is associated with improved OS. Of those with cN3 disease, only 27% underwent esophagectomy. Given the improved OS, patients with advanced nodal disease should be considered for surgery. Further investigation is warranted to determine which patients with cN3 disease would benefit most from esophagectomy, as 5-year survival remains low (18.0%).
Simple Linear Cancer Risk Prediction Models with Novel Features Outperform Complex Approaches

ABSTRACT A patient’s risk for cancer is usually estimated through simple linear models that sum effect sizes of proven risk factors. In theory, more advanced machine learning models can be used for the same task. Using data from the UK Biobank, a large prospective health study, we have developed linear and machine learning models for the prediction of 12 different cancers diagnoses within a 10 year time span. We find that the top machine learning algorithm, XGBoost (XGB), trained on 707 features generated an average area under the receiver operator curve of 0.736 (with a range of 0.65-0.85). Linear models trained with only 10 features were found to be statistically indifferent from the machine learning performance. The linear models were significantly more accurate than the prominent QCancer models (p = 0.0019), which are trained on 45 million patient records and available to over 4,000 United Kingdom general practices. The increase in accuracy may be caused by the consideration of often omitted feature types, including survey answers, census records, and genetic information. This approach led to the discovery of significant novel risk features, including self-reported happiness with own health (relevant to 12 cancers), measured testosterone (relevant to 8 cancers), and ICD codes for rehabilitation procedures (relevant to 3 cancers). These ten feature models can be easily implemented within the clinic, allowing for personalized screening schedules that may increase the cancer survival within a population.
Work in progress - development of teaching effectiveness "balanced scorecard"

According to Chester Barnard, "The fine art of executive decision making consists in not deciding those things that are not now pertinent, not deciding prematurely, not deciding those things that cannot be made effective and not deciding those thing that others should make." This fine art of executive decision making can be applied to the fine art of teaching and teaching effectiveness as, "The fine art of effective teaching consists in not teaching those things that are not now pertinent, not teaching prematurely, not teaching those things that cannot be made effective, and not teaching those things that others should teach." In examining these qualitative criteria Myers Briggs Type Indicators (MBTI) along with Kolb's and Felder's Learning Style Indices (LSI) for teachers and students will be overlapped. In analyzing such teaching effectiveness criteria, the nature of teaching responsibility and accountability will be examined to determine the sources of sustained teaching effectiveness and successes. On evaluating such tasks an ethnographic study (in line of Spradley's method) of some successful teachers will be undertaken to define a "balanced scorecard in effective teaching," developed in the pattern of the Harvard Business Review's Balanced Scorecard
Renal Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue (MALT) Associated End-Stage Renal Disease in a Patient Presenting With Diarrhea.

Extranodal marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) is most commonly found in the GI tract. Other less common anatomical sites for MALT include the skin, intestine, salivary glands, lungs, and ocular adnexa. Isolated MALT of the kidney has only been sporadically reported. Most of the reported cases in the literature present with underlying renal mass and are generally diagnosed post nephrectomy. We present a case of a 73-year-old gentleman with biopsy-proven primary MALT of the kidney who presented with acute kidney injury (AKI) in the background of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) colitis. However, our patient did not have a renal mass a renal biopsy was performed due to accelerated deterioration of renal function. Due to the inherent heterogeneity of the disease, it is challenging to have a unifying treatment strategy for MALT with treatment varying with the anatomical site. We also discuss current and prospective treatment strategies for MALT and marginal zone lymphoma in general.
Improved Classification of High Resolution Remote Sensing Imagery with Differential Morphological Profile Neural Network

Deep learning has proven to be an immensely powerful tool within the remote sensing space, with capabilities to perform tasks like classification, object detection, and segmentation in a wide range of modalities and spatial resolutions. The deep neural networks (DNN) extract visual features using numerous techniques, including convolutional and pooling layers, residual modules, inception modules, neural architecture search, and attention networks. Researchers have increasingly found that DNN are biased towards texture, and that this bias is a deficiency that when corrected, can boost classification and detection performance of deep learners. A morphology-based network utilizing the differential morphological profile (DMP) as a non-parametric feature extraction layer, known as DMPNet, was proposed with promising results when compared to VGG16. In this work, the original DMPNet is expanded with increased profile depth, as well as alternate convolutional phases, such as ResNet-18 and MobileNet. The resulting architecture shows an ability to increase shape information in the network, and with it, generalizability on high resolution remote sensing imagery.
SU-C-204-05: Simulations of a Portal Imaging System for Conformal and Intensity Modulated Fast Neutron Therapy

Purpose: The University of Washington Medical Center offers neutron therapy for the palliative and definitive treatment of selected cancers. In vivo field verification has the potential to improve the safe and effective delivery of neutron therapy. We propose a portal imaging method that relies on the creation of positron emitting isotopes (11C and 15O) through (n, 2n) reactions with a PMMA plate placed below the patient. After field delivery, the plate is retrieved from the vault and imaged using a reader that detects annihilation photons. The spatial pattern of activity produced in the PMMA plate provides information to reconstruct the neutron fluence map needed to confirm treatment delivery. Methods: We used MCNP to simulate the accumulation of 11C activity in a slab of PMMA 2 mm thick, and GATE was used to simulate the sensitivity and spatial resolution of a prototype imaging system. BGO crystal thicknesses of 1 cm, 2 cm and 3 cm were simulated with detector separations of 2 cm. Crystal pitches of 2 mm and 4 mm were evaluated. Back-projection of the events was used to create a planar image. The spatial resolution was taken to be the FWHM of the reconstructed point source image. Results: Themore » system sensitivity for a point source in the center of the field of view was found to range from 58% for 1 cm thick BGO with 2 mm crystal pitch to 74% for the 3 cm thick BGO crystals with 4 mm crystal pitch. The spatial resolution at the center of the field of view was found to be 1.5 mm for the system with 2 mm crystal pitch and 2.8 mm for the system with the 4 mm crystal pitch. Conclusion: BGO crystals with 4 mm crystal pitch and 3 cm length would offer the best sensitivity reader.« less
In vivo immunomodulation by monoclonal anti-L3T4. 1. Effects on humoral and cell-mediated immune response.

Abstract The in vivo administration of monoclonal anti-L3T4 antibody has been shown to be an effective preventative and, in some cases, therapeutic treatment for several murine models of autoimmune disease. This report deals with the effect of such treatments on humoral and cell-mediated responses to T-dependent antigens. Both the primary and secondary IgG responses to tetanus toxoid were inhibited when anti-L3T4 was administered prior to immunization, but it was ineffective in modulating an ongoing IgG response. Cell-mediated immunity, as detected by in vitro antigen-specific proliferative responses, was inhibited only if anti-L3T4 was given prior to immunization. It was not effective if treatment was delayed until 48 hr prior to lymph node harvest even though >90% of L3T4+ lymph node cells were depleted by this treatment. The refractory behavior of the lymph node cells to anti-L3T4 treatment was not exhibited by antigen-primed cells obtained from peripheral blood or spleen. The importance of these findings with regard to antibody therapy for chronic autoimmune disease is discussed.
An overview of metadata for e-learning, focusing on the Gateway to Educational Materials and activities of the Dublin Core Education Working Group

Summary form only given. Metadata for e-learning has existed for several years. Currently several widely implemented e-learning metadata standards exist including IEEE Learning Object Metadata (IEEE-LOM), SCORM, IMS, and GEM. The presentation will provide an overview of the major e-learning metadata initiatives, with a focus on the Gateway to Educational Materials, whose foundation is Dublin Core metadata, and the activities of the Dublin Core Education Working Group. GEM began in 1996 when the National Library of Education Task Force recommended using library and information science theory and technology to improve access to the large number of distributed collections of uncataloged education materials found on the Internet. GEM solved this resource discovery problem by extending and qualifying Dublin Core metadata so that it better describes education resources. GEM also developed many of the tools, such as a metadata generating and editing module and harvesting applications, needed to implement the project. Currently over 25,000 metadata records for GEM Consortium member resources are searchable through www.thegateway.org, providing educators with fast and efficient access to Internet-based educational resources. GEM metadata is also used by several organizations to organize and provide access to their education resources. GEM's research agenda includes metadata interoperability, registry services, OAI harvesting protocol, improving access to resources mapped to academic standards. Research partners included OCLC, Education Network Australia (EdNA), McREL, and the Center for Natural Language Processing at Syracuse University. GEM's next version of The Gateway will use RDF-XML metadata. GEM is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, and is located at the Information Institute of Syracuse at Syracuse University. In 1999, the Dublin Core Education Working Group was formed, with the objective to discuss and develop a proposal for the use of Dublin Core metadata in the description of education resources. The 2002-2003 workplan includes the development of an IEEE LTSC LOM and DCMI application profile, and vocabulary development.
Gender Differences in Committee Decision-Making: Process and Outputs in an Experimental Setting

Abstract Theories of gender difference suggest that women and men are motivated by different concerns when participating in allocative decision-making processes such as those engaged in by legislative committees. Using a game theoretic experimental design which simulates an allocative decision-making process, this study seeks to identify how women's distinctiveness affects both the process and outputs of committee decision-making. In this design, participants negotiate an outcome with other members of a group and, through majority rule, arrive at a group decision. Following the experiment, participants complete a brief survey instrument. The results show that women are more likely than men to report being motivated by altruistic concerns and to have a preference for a universalistic solution. Men are more likely than women to report being motivated by self-interest and to have a preference for a competitive solution. The increased presence of women in decision-making groups results in a significant impact...
Lack of exacerbated atherosclerotic lesions in apolipoprotein E-inhibitory FcγRIIb deficient mice is associated with increased anti-inflammatory cytokine response (CCR6P.269)

Functionally FcγRs can be classified into the activating (CD64, CD16 and FcγRIV) and inhibitory (FcγRIIb) receptors. Previous finding from our lab and others have shown that deletion of activating FcγR in apoE knockout (apoE KO) mice decreased atherosclerosis. This led to our hypothesis that deficiency of inhibitory FcγRII (CD32b) exacerbates atherosclerosis. We tested this hypothesis using apoE-CD32b double knockout mice congenic to C57BL/6 background (apoE-CD32bB6 dKO). On the contrary to our hypothesis, compared to apoE KO mice apoE-CD32bB6 dKO mice did not show exacerbated atherosclerotic lesions. Our finding is in contrast to previous reports showing exacerbated lesions in apoE-CD32b dKO mice in a mixed background (129s/v and C57BL/6, CD32b129/B6). Molecular mechanisms to understand the difference revealed that CD32b129/B6 mice showed more Th1 and Th17 response, while congenic CD32bB6 showed predominant anti-inflammatory Th2 and Treg responses. Moreover, macrophages from CD32b129/B6 mice showed more IL-1β response in response to LPS or IC, while macrophages from CD32bB6 mice showed more IL-10 response. These findings revealed a novel paradigm that inhibitory CD32b does not directly contribute to atherosclerosis. As CD32b polymorphism has been implicated in lupus susceptibility, the role of CD32b, as pro-atherosclerotic mediators in vivo in lupus-associated cardiovascular disease need to be investigated.
Lignoceric acid and hexacosanoic acid : Major components of soldier frontal gland secretions of the formosan subterranean termite (Coptotermes formosanus)

Qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed on trimethylsilyl derivatives of soldier frontal gland secretions of the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, by using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Ranges of 17.23–33.78 mg/g (acid/wet weight of secretion) of lignoceric acid and 5.39–7.67 mg/g of hexacosanoic acid were found in the soldier frontal gland secretion of three different colonies. This is the first report that organic acids occur in the soldier secretions of this species.
How Evolution Created God: The Search for the Origins of Religion

The easiest way of understanding religion is through the eyes of a believer. However, a non-believer often cannot accept this vision because it refers to beings and forces that he or she cannot independently verify. Religion is even more of a puzzle to the scientist, who is taught to believe only in a reality that can be observed and tested. Yet, religion exists in the minds and hearts of people. How did it get there if it was not implanted by a divine being? Natural selection is the only process that science knows of that can produce a brain that experiences religion. This process by which natural selection has produced the religious brain is still unclear. One way of discovering it is through mathematical and agent-based simulation. This paper will present an agent-based model for the natural selection of unreal beliefs and discuss further mathematical approaches to the problem.
Downsizing and Supersizing: How Changes in Product Attributes Influence Consumer Preferences

This paper investigates how changing the value of one attribute while keeping other attributes constant influences consumers' judgments and behaviors. We find that in two options, a proportionally equal change in one attribute tilts people's preference toward the option with higher (or lower) absolute magnitude of change when the change is desirable (or undesirable). We propose that when individuals face an attribute change, they use a deliberative and effortful response, known as System 2, to detect the change. However, they rely less on this system to evaluate the changed options. Instead, a more automatic System 1 processing influences their decision by making them apply the bigger-is-better heuristic (bigger-is-worse for an undesirable change) to prefer the option with the highest (lowest) absolute magnitude of change. Six studies demonstrate this phenomenon in both lab and real settings and support our hypothesis
Characterization of genes for an alternative nitrogenase in the cyanobacterium Anabaena variabilis.

Abstract Anabaena variabilis ATCC 29413 is a heterotrophic, nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium that has been reported to fix nitrogen and reduce acetylene to ethane in the absence of molybdenum. DNA from this strain hybridized well at low stringency to the nitrogenase 2 (vnfDGK) genes of Azotobacter vinelandii. The hybridizing region was cloned from a lambda EMBL3 genomic library of A. variabilis, mapped, and sequenced. The deduced amino acid sequences of the vnfD and vnfK genes of A. variabilis showed only about 56% similarity to the nifDK genes of Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 but were 76 to 86% similar to the anfDK or vnfDK genes of A. vinelandii. The organization of the vnf gene cluster in A. variabilis was similar to that of A. vinelandii. However, in A. variabilis, the vnfG gene was fused to vnfD; hence, this gene is designated vnfDG. A vnfH gene was not contiguous with the vnfDG gene and has not yet been identified. A mutant strain, in which a neomycin resistance cassette was inserted into the vnf cluster, grew well in a medium lacking a source of fixed nitrogen in the presence of molybdenum but grew poorly when vanadium replaced molybdenum. In contrast, the parent strain grew equally well in media containing either molybdenum or vanadium. The vnf genes were transcribed in the absence of molybdenum, with or without vanadium. The vnf gene cluster did not hybridize to chromosomal DNA from Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 or from the heterotrophic strains, Nostoc sp. strain Mac and Nostoc sp. strain ATCC 29150. A hybridizing ClaI fragment very similar in size to the A. variabilis ClaI fragment was present in DNA isolated from several independent, cultured isolates of Anabaena sp. from the Azolla symbiosis.
Novel members of the mitogen-activated protein kinase activator family in Xenopus laevis

Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases comprise an evolutionarily conserved family of proteins that includes at least three vertebrate protein kinases (p42, p44, and p55 MAPK) and five yeast protein kinases (SPK1, MPK1, HOG1, FUS3, and KSS1). Members of this family are activated by a variety of extracellular agents that influence cellular proliferation and differentiation. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, there are multiple physiologically distinct MAP kinase activation pathways composed of structurally related kinases. The recently cloned vertebrate MAP kinase activators are structurally related to MAP kinase activators in these yeast pathways. These similarities suggest that homologous kinase cascades are utilized for signal transduction in many, if not all, eukaryotes. We have identified additional members of the MAP kinase activator family in Xenopus laevis by a polymerase chain reaction-based analysis of embryonic cDNAs. One of the clones identified (XMEK2) encodes a unique predicted protein kinase that is similar to the previously reported activator (MAPKK) in X. laevis. XMEK2, a highly expressed maternal mRNA, is developmentally regulated during embryogenesis and expressed in brain and muscle. Expression of XMEK2 in yeast cells suppressed the growth defect associated with loss of the yeast MAP kinase activator homologs, MKK1 and MKK2. Partial sequence of a second cDNA clone (XMEK3) identified yet another potential MAP kinase activator. The pattern of expression of XMEK3 is distinct from that of p42 MAPK and XMEK2. The high degree of amino acid sequence similarity of XMEK2, XMEK3, and MAPKK suggests that these three are related members of an amphibian family of protein kinases involved in the activation of MAP kinase. Discovery of this family suggests that multiple MAP kinase activation pathways similar to those in yeast cells exist in vertebrates.
Chemokine Receptors in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian carcinoma is the deadliest gynecologic malignancy with very poor rate of survival, and it is characterized by the presence of vast incurable peritoneal metastasis. Studies of the role of chemokine receptors, a family of proteins belonging to the group of G protein-coupled receptors, in ovarian carcinoma strongly placed this family of membrane receptors as major regulators of progression of this malignancy. In this review, we will discuss the roles that chemokine-receptor interactions play to support angiogenesis, cell proliferation, migration, adhesion, invasion, metastasis, and immune evasion in progression of ovarian carcinoma. Data regarding the role that the chemokine receptors play in the disease progression accumulated insofar strongly suggest that this family of proteins could be good therapeutic targets against ovarian carcinoma.
Controlling binding site densities on glass surfaces.

The density of surface-immobilized ligands or binding sites is an important issue for the development of sensors, array- or chip-based assays, and single-molecule detection methods. The goal of this research is to control the binding site density of reactive ligands on surfaces by diluting surface amine groups in self-assembled and cross-linked monolayers on glass prepared from solutions containing very low concentrations of (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) and much higher concentrations of (2-cyanoethyl)triethoxysilane. The surface amine sites are suitable for attaching labels and ligands by reaction with succinimidyl ester reagents. Labeling the amine sites with fluorescent molecules and imaging the single molecules with fluorescence microscopy provides a means of determining the density of amine sites on the surface, which were incorporated into the self-assembled monolayer with micrometer spacings in proportion to the concentration of APTES in the synthesis. Biotin ligands were also bound to the...