cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dual-chamber implantable cardioverter-defibrillator selection is associated with increased complication rates and mortality among patients enrolled in the NCDR implantable cardioverter-defibrillator registry

Objectives The aim of this study was to compare single- versus dual-chamber implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) implantation and complication rates in a large, real-world population. Background The majority of patients enrolled in ICD efficacy trials received single-chamber devices. Although dual-chamber ICDs offer theoretical advantages over single-chamber defibrillators, the clinical superiority of dual-chamber models has not been conclusively proven, and they may increase complications. Methods The National Cardiovascular Data Registry ICD Registry was used to examine the association between baseline characteristics and device selection in 104,049 patients receiving single- and dual-chamber ICDs between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2007. A longitudinal cohort design was then used to determine in-hospital complication rates. Results Dual-chamber devices were implanted in 64,489 patients (62%). Adverse events were more frequent with dual-chamber than with single-chamber device implantation (3.17% vs. 2.11%, p Conclusions In this large, multicenter cohort of patients, dual-chamber ICD use was common. Dual-chamber device implantation was associated with increases in periprocedural complications and in-hospital mortality compared with single-chamber defibrillator selection.
The Power and Passion of M. Carey Thomas

Best known as the second president and primary architect of Bryn Mawr College, M. Carey Thomas was also a founder of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, a leader in the women's suffrage movement, and the preeminent spokeswoman for education around the turn of the century. Brilliantly capturing all sides of the life and personality of this strong and influential woman, Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz details Thomas's accomplishments as an educator and feminist and her intimate relationships with women, as well as her manipulative and duplicitous side, her racism, and her anti-Semitism.
From the guest editors the growing importance of computer documentation

Producing computer documentation today involves more than just writing. Today's computer documentation specialists must draw on a wide range of multidisciplinary skills to produce an effective documentation package. Beyond knowledge of the underlying computer technology and the necessary writing skills, they must also draw upon pertinent concepts from marketing, user psychology, graphic design, screen design, usability testing, and the product development cycle.
Metacognitive awareness and adaptive recognition biases

In contrast to prior literature that primarily focuses on the negative influences of misleading external sources on memory judgments, we investigated whether participants can capitalize on generally reliable recommendations in order to improve their net performance, focusing on potential roles for metacognitive monitoring (i.e., knowledge about one’s own memory reliability) and performance feedback. In Experiment 1 participants received explicit external recommendations (“Likely Old” or “Likely New”) that were 75% valid during recognition tests containing deeply and shallowly encoded materials. In Experiment 2 participants received recommendations of differing validity (65% and 85%). Across both experiments discrimination improved when external recommendations were present versus absent. Critically, this improvement was influenced by metacognitive monitoring ability measured in the absence of recommendations. Thus, effective incorporation of external recommendations depended in part on how sensitive observers were to gradations of their internal evidence when recommendations were absent. Finally, corrective feedback did not improve participants’ ability to use external recommendations suggesting that metacognitive monitoring ability during recognition is not easily improved via feedback.
Ad libitum drinking of rats and vascular osmolality changes.

Abstract Vascular osmolality, hematocrit, and protein concentration levels of rats housed under ad lib food and water conditions were measured at the onset of drinking (D), when drinking: (1) occurred in less than 20 min posteating; (2) occurred later than 40 min posteating: (3) occurred in less than 20 min postdrinking; and, (4) occurred later than 40 min postdrinking. Not drinking (ND) blood conditions were measured 20 min posteating or postdrinking, or 40 min postdrinking or posteating. For all four conditions, D was associated with elevated vascular osmolality. Under conditions 1, 2, and 4, D rats showed 1–4% increases in osmolality over the respective ND levels. A nonreliable trend toward hypovolemia was measured at D. The criterion conditions above were suggested from observations of natural home-cage consummatory behaviors. The results are discussed in terms of physiological changes associated with home-cage drinking behavior.
The Emergence of a Global Anti-corruption Norm

The article analyzes the development of a global anti-corruption norm, and specifically its anit-bribery component, through the first two of three stages during the 1990s: (1) awareness raising, (2) institutionalization through the development of legal and policy instruments, and (3) global adoption, internalization, and adherence. A hegemonic actor explanation of norm development does not explain the failure of the norm in the 1970s in contrast to the relative success of norm development in the 1990s. The explanation lies in three processes: (1) the changing global environment, including the end of the Cold War and the spread of the principles of democracy and liberalism; (2) social interactions and the information revolution that contributed to wide-spread diffusion of new information about the causes and costs of corruption, as well as strategies to combat it; and (3) internal processes within the nation-state, from an explosion of NGOs and a freer, more investigative media, to changing calculations among political leaders about the costs of corruption. To reach the third stage of norm development will require both international organizations and domestic civil society actors to demand and monitor the implementation and enforcement of current commitments and to establish accountability.
Class of Model Stellarator Fields with Enhanced Confinement

A class of model stellarator fields has been found in which the transport is reduced by an order of magnitude from transport in conventional stellarators, by localizing the helical ripple to the inside of the torus. The reduction is observed in numerical experiments, and explained theoretically. Realizations of this class are achievable with use of modular coils.
TCAD-Assisted Capacitance Extraction of FinFET SRAM and Logic Arrays

Technology computer-aided design (TCAD)-assisted automation of structure synthesis followed by a transport-analysis-based capacitance extraction approach has been shown to have a significant potential in the recent past in terms of both accuracy and efficiency. In this brief, we first propose three methods to speedup TCAD-assisted capacitance extraction of an SRAM array layout, by partitioning the layout into several fragments. We demonstrate that the speedup of these partitioning methods, relative to that of TCAD-assisted full-array capacitance extraction method, can be as high as $17\times $ , with an average of $3\times $ . On the other hand, the error in capacitance derived using the partitioning methods can be as low as 1.01%, with an average of 4.93%. We apply the partitioning methods to several layout configurations and styles of FinFET SRAM array layouts and demonstrate their efficacy. We then apply the partitioning methods to a ring oscillator, register, and two-bit adder, and demonstrate similar results.
Multicast lifetime maximization for energy-constrained wireless ad-hoc networks with directional antennas

We consider the problem of maximizing the lifetime of a given multicast connection in wireless networks that use directional antennas and have limited energy resources. We first provide a globally optimal solution to this problem for the special case of using omnidirectional antennas. This graph theoretic approach provides insights into the more general case of using directional antennas, and inspires us to produce two heuristic algorithms. Experimental results show that minimum total power consumption does not guarantee maximum lifetime for either broadcasting or multicasting, and our algorithms outperform the group of minimum-energy multicast algorithms significantly.
Sleep disorders in clinical practice: A wake-up call for neurologists.

I am honored to serve as curator for a special series focusing on sleep disorders in this issue of Neurology® Clinical Practice . Neurologists in every subspecialty are increasingly asked to participate in the evaluation and management of sleep disturbances and also to provide a prognostic opinion on the implications of having a specific sleep disorder. It is incumbent upon neurologists to become familiar with the tools available in the evaluation and management of these disorders, despite the fact that some of us traditionally have not received formal and consistent sleep medicine training during postgraduate medical education.
Organic-phase biosensors for monitoring phenol and hydrogen peroxide in pharmaceutical antibacterial products

Organic-phase biosensors open new opportunities for assays of challenging pharmaceutical products. Such opportunities are illustrated for the rapid determination of phenol and peroxide antiseptics in different anti-infective formulations. The tyrosinase and peroxidase enzyme electrodes offer reliable quantification of these antibacterial agents following sample dissolution in the organic solvent. The dynamic properties of these enzyme electrodes are exploited for rapid and reproducible flow-injection assays of the pharmaceutical products (relative standard deviation = 1.6–1.9%). Such developments should facilitate rapid quality control testing in the pharmaceutical industry and should be applicable to other therapeutic agents and products. Applicability to cosmetic products containing hydrogen peroxide is also demonstrated.
New drug targets in Kaposi sarcoma

Importance of the field: Kaposi sarcoma (KS) occurs as a result of Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) infection, typically in the context of an immunodeficient state such as coinfection with HIV or transplantation. Systemic treatment of KS has traditionally involved one of several chemotherapeutic agents either in combination or as single agents, which typically provides reasonable response rates and short-term control. However, recurrence of KS is common and progression-free intervals are short. For these reasons, new therapies are being sought. Areas covered in this review: This review describes the contemporary pathobiology of KS targets, current limitations of standard treatment options, and examines the findings of completed and ongoing clinical trials of novel, molecularly targeted treatments for patients with KS. What the reader will gain: The reader will be presented with key clinicopathological characteristics and the pathogenesis of KS. Standard therapy for KS is reviewed including loc...
Push planning for object placement on cluttered table surfaces

We present a novel planning algorithm for the problem of placing objects on a cluttered surface such as a table, counter or floor. The planner (1) selects a placement for the target object and (2) constructs a sequence of manipulation actions that create space for the object. When no continuous space is large enough for direct placement, the planner leverages means-end analysis and dynamic simulation to find a sequence of linear pushes that clears the necessary space. Our heuristic for determining candidate placement poses for the target object is used to guide the manipulation search. We show successful results for our algorithm in simulation.
State space modeling for MIMO wireless channels

State space models are proposed to represent MIMO frequency-selective wireless channels with the motivation of better model approximation performance and more parsimonious parametrization. We study the MIMO channel approximation error as a function of model order and show that state-space models possess improved performance compared to more standard FIR models. A recursive algorithm, based on the subspace system identification methods, to estimate the state-space channel model using training data is presented. When compared to the FIR-based recursive least squares algorithm, the state-space-based channel estimator shows the ability of providing low-order models of high-quality channel approximation, while preserving comparable convergence rate.
The S-1, S Inventory Policy Under Compound Poisson Demand

This paper derives the simple analytic solution to the special but important inventory problem in which the optimal policy is to reorder whenever units are demanded. The demand distribution can be any compound Poisson; the resupply distribution is arbitrary. Both the backorder case and the lost sales case are solved by generalizing a queueing theorem due to Palm. The steady state probabilities for the number of units in resupply or repair completely describe the item's long term behavior, and are simply the normalized values of the compound Poisson demand distribution based on the mean of the resupply distribution but not on the distribution itself. Knowledge of these state probabilities enables us to compute several measures of item supply performance as a function of the spare stock, s. Traditional inventory analysis can then be applied to minimize total cost based on estimates of holding cost and supply performance cost. The appendices contain a description of the algorithm and the computer program for calculating stuttering Poisson state probabilities and the measures of effectiveness for the backorder case. Numerical illustrations are also provided.
“The role of polycrystalline thin-film PV technologies in competitive PV module markets”

This paper discusses the developments in thin-film PV technologies. It provides an outlook on future commercial module efficiencies achievable based on today's knowledge about champion cell performance. It also provides a relative cost comparison of thin-film and wafer/ribbon based Si PV modules. In 2007, about 65% of the modules produced in the US were thin-film modules when amorphous silicon modules are also considered.
Flow Decomposition in Complex Systems

Complex systems can be represented as weighted digraphs. Cycles play an important role in complex systems because they define relationships consisting of unique groupings of nodes. A grouping of connected nodes contains rich contextual meaning because of the relationships defined by its connecting edges. Cycle bases are a description of the set of all independent cycles within a graph. The work herein outlines a computational methodology to decompose the total through flow of a complex system into a set of coefficients over its cycle bases. A coefficient is computed for each cycle representing the cycle'scontribution to the total system through flow. This vector of coefficients provides information for data mining and information clustering applications to analyze the system. The proposed methodology provides a powerful framework for analyzing symbolic data by assigning magnitude values to the contextual meaning within groupings of symbols.
Principal Components of Multifrequency Microwave Land Surface Emissivities. Part II: Effects of Previous-Time Precipitation

AbstractThe microwave land surface emissivity (MLSE) over the continental United States was examined during 2011 as a function of prior rainfall conditions using two independent emissivity estimation techniques, one providing instantaneous estimates based on a clear-scene emissivity principal component (PC) analysis and the other based on physical radiative transfer modeling. Results show that over grass, closed shrub, and cropland, prior rainfall can cause the horizontally polarized 10-GHz brightness temperature (TB) to drop by as much as 20 K, with a corresponding emissivity drop of approximately 0.06, whereby prior rain exhibited little influence on the emissivity over forest because of the dense vegetation. The correlation between emissivity and its leading principal components and the prior rainfall over grass, closed shrub, and cropland is −0.6, while it is only −0.1 over forested areas. Forward-simulated TB using the PC-based emissivity derived from instantaneous Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission...
Solid-state NMR evidence for β-hairpin structure within MAX8 designer peptide nanofibers.

MAX8, a designer peptide known to undergo self-assembly following changes in temperature, pH, and ionic strength, has demonstrated usefulness for tissue engineering and drug delivery. It is hypothesized that the self-assembled MAX8 nanofiber structure consists of closed β-hairpins aligned into antiparallel β-sheets. Here, we report evidence from solid-state NMR spectroscopy that supports the presence of the hypothesized β-hairpin conformation within the nanofiber structure. Specifically, our 13C-13C two-dimensional exchange data indicate spatial proximity between V3 and K17, and 13C-13C dipolar coupling measurements reveal proximity between the V3 and V18 backbone carbonyls. Moreover, isotopic dilution of labeled MAX8 nanofibers did not result in a loss of the 13C-13C dipolar couplings, showing that these couplings are primarily intramolecular. NMR spectra also indicate the existence of a minor conformation, which is discussed in terms of previously hypothesized nanofiber physical cross-linking and possible nanofiber polymorphism.
Transformer derating for harmonic currents: a wide-band measurement approach for energized transformers

Power system transformers must often be derated when supplying harmonic currents to nonlinear loads. IEEE Recommended Practice C57.110 extrapolates transformer loss for harmonic frequencies based on DC winding resistance and rated eddy-current loss. This paper describes an improved derating technique based on direct measurements performed at fundamental and harmonic frequencies. The measurements can be performed regardless of whether the transformer is energized and in service or deenergized and out of service. For energized transformers, the measurement can be performed regardless of whether the transformer is fully loaded or unloaded. Measurements of several distribution transformers show the improvement of this method over C57.110.
Cloning and biochemical characterization of Bacillus subtilis YxiN, a DEAD protein specifically activated by 23S rRNA: Delineation of a novel sub-family of bacterial DEAD proteins

DEAD, DEAH and DExH proteins are involved in almost every facet of RNA biochemistry. Members of these protein families exhibit an RNA-dependent ATPase activity and some possess an ATP-dependent RNA helicase activity. Although genetic studies have identified specific functions for certain DEx(D)/(H)proteins from which an RNA substrate can be reasonably inferred, only DbpA from Escherichia coli has been shown to exhibit significant RNA specificity in vitro. Here we describe the characterization of YxiN from Bacillus subtilis, the second DEx(D)/(H)protein to show significant RNA specificity as an isolated, homogenous protein. The ATPase activity of YxiN, like that of DbpA, is stimulated by a 154 nt fragment of 23S rRNA. YxiN has a 2 nM apparent binding constant for this fragment, yet its ATPase activity shows 1800-fold RNA specificity. Along with the conserved motifs shared among all DEAD proteins, YxiN and DbpA have a conserved C-terminal extension. This extension is highly conserved in several additional DEAD proteins. We propose that the C-terminus identifies a protein sub-family whose members bind 23S rRNA and that proteins of this family are likely to function in rRNA maturation/ribosome biogenesis or an unappreciated aspect of translation.
Identifying and Removing Tilt Noise from Low-Frequency (! 0.1 Hz) Seafloor Vertical Seismic Data

Low-frequency (<0.1 Hz) vertical-component seismic noise can be reduced by 25 dB or more at seafloor seismic stations by subtracting the coherent signals derived from (1) horizontal seismic observations associated with tilt noise, and (2) pressure measurements related to infragravity waves. The reduction in effective noise levels is largest for the poorest stations: sites with soft sediments, high currents, shallow water, or a poorly leveled seismometer. The importance of precise leveling is evident in our measurements: low-frequency background vertical seismic spectra measured on a seafloor seismometer leveled to within 1 × 10-4 radians (0.006 degrees) are up to 20 dB quieter than on a nearby seismometer leveled to within 3 × 10-3 radians (0.2 degrees). The noise on the less precisely leveled sensor increases with decreasing frequency and is correlated with ocean tides, indicating that it is caused by tilting due to seafloor currents flowing across the instrument. At low frequencies, this tilting generates a seismic signal by changing the gravitational attraction on the geophones as they rotate with respect to the earth's gravitational field. The effect is much stronger on the horizontal components than on the vertical, allowing significant reduction in vertical-component noise by subtracting the coherent horizontal component noise. This technique reduces the low-frequency vertical noise on the less-precisely leveled seismometer to below the noise level on the precisely leveled seismometer. The same technique can also be used to remove “background” noise due to the seafloor pressure field (up to 25 dB noise reduction near 0.02 Hz) and possibly due to other parameters such as temperature variations.
Aldehyde dehydrogenase1 immunohistochemical staining in primary breast cancer cells independently predicted overall survival but did not correlate with the presence of circulating or disseminated tumors cells.

Purpose: We hypothesized that aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) staining in breast cancer tumor cells might be a simple surrogate for the presence of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) or disseminated tumor cells (DTCs). Experimental Design: Whole tissue primary tumor sections from 121 patients enrolled in a clinical trial assessing CTCs and DTCs at the time of surgery were stained for ALDH1 and scored by a dedicated breast pathologist blinded to outcome. Clinical data was extracted and staining was correlated to clinical variables and outcome by Fisher's exact test, the Log rank test and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis respectively. P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: ALDH1 staining in tumor cells was present in 12% of cases (15/121). In univariate analysis, ALDH1 tumor staining predicted worse overall survival (71% vs. 91% at 5 years P = 0.0074) and was an independent predictor on multivariable analysis of worse overall survival, (HR 4.93) after adjusting for stage, ER, grade, LVI, age and neoadjuvant chemotherapy (P = 0.04). ALDH1 was significantly associated with estrogen receptor (ER) negative (P value = 0.029) primary tumors but not the presence of CTCs or DTCs by multivariate logistic regression. Positive ALDH staining in non-tumor cells of any pattern or morphology was common but did not correlate with CTCs or DTCs, other clinical variables, or outcome. Conclusion: ALDH1 tumor staining was associated with ER -negative breast cancer and was an independent predictor of OS. However, it did not correlate to putative cancer stem cell surrogates CTCs and/or DTCs.
Improved Elastomers through Control of Network Chain-Length Distributions

The effect of network chain-length distribution,1,2 is one aspect of rubberlike elasticity that has not been studied very much until recently, because of two primary reasons. On the experimental side, the cross-linking techniques traditionally used to prepare the network structures required for rubberlike elasticity have been random, uncontrolled processes.1–3 Examples are vulcanization (addition of sulfur), peroxide thermolysis (free-radical couplings), and high-energy radiation (free-radical and ionic reactions). All of these techniques are random in the sense that the number of cross links thus introduced is not known directly, and two units close together in space are joined irrespective of their locations along the chain trajectories. The resulting network chain-length distribution is unimodal and probably very broad. On the theoretical side, it has turned out to be convenient, and even necessary, to assume a distribution of chain lengths that is not only unimodal, but monodisperse!2,3
Therapeutic implications of the mGluR theory of fragile X mental retardation

Evidence is reviewed that the consequences of group 1 metabotropic glutamate receptor (Gp1 mGluR) activation are exaggerated in the absence of the fragile X mental retardation protein, likely reflecting altered dendritic protein synthesis. Abnormal mGluR signaling could be responsible for remarkably diverse psychiatric and neurological symptoms in fragile X syndrome, including delayed cognitive development, seizures, anxiety, movement disorders and obesity.
A Metal-Dependent DNA-Binding Protein Interacts with a Constitutive Element of a Light-Responsive Promoter

We have used DNase I footprinting to characterize nuclear factors that bind to the light-responsive promoter of pea rbcS-3A, one member of the gene family encoding the small subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase. A sequence-specific binding activity, designated 3AF1, binds to an AT-rich sequence present at the -45 region of the rbcS-3A promoter. A tetramer of the 3AF1 binding site, designated as Box VI, can form multiple complexes with tobacco leaf and root nuclear extracts. Mutations of 3 base pairs in Box VI severely reduce DNA-protein complex formation in vitro. The wild-type Box VI tetramer, but not the mutant tetramer, is active in transgenic tobacco plants when placed upstream of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter truncated at -90. These results correlate binding of 3AF1 to the in vivo function of Box VI. The Box VI tetramer/35S chimeric construct confers expression in diverse cell types and organs and its activity is not dependent on light. By using the Box VI tetramer as a probe to screen a cDNA expression library, we have obtained a putative cDNA clone for the 3AF1 DNA-binding activity. Lysogen extracts of Escherichia coli expressing the cDNA clone give sequence-specific complexes with Box VI. The deduced amino acid sequence of the protein encoded by the cDNA contains two stretches of about 100 residues that are 80% homologous. Moreover, in each of the two repeats, there is an arrangement of histidines and cysteines, which may be related to the two known types of zinc-finger motifs found in many DNA-binding proteins. Consistent with the expectation that metal coordination plays an important role in DNA binding by this protein, we found that 1,10-phenanthroline can abolish the formation of DNA-protein complexes. Interestingly, we found that the same treatment did not abolish the DNA binding activity of 3AF1 in crude nuclear extracts of tobacco. These data indicate that the nuclear 3AF1 activity is likely due to multiple DNA-binding proteins all interacting with Box VI in vitro. RNA gel blot analysis shows that multiple transcripts homologous to this cDNA clone are expressed in different tobacco organs.
StressCam: non-contact measurement of users' emotional states through thermal imaging

We present a novel methodology for monitoring the affective states of computer users. The method is based on thermal imaging of the face. To the user, the imaging system appears much like a video-conferencing camera. The method does not require contact with the subject and is passive; therefore, monitoring can be continuous and transparent to the computer user. We have found that user stress is correlated with increased blood flow in the frontal vessel of the forehead. This increased blood flow dissipates convective heat, which can be monitored through thermal imaging. The system has been evaluated on 12 subjects, and compared against real-time measurements of Energy Expenditure (EE). The new method is highly correlated with the established, but awkward EE methodology. The StressCam methodology is applicable to many instances where the real time measurement of users' emotional state is needed.
Quiet, Nonconsumptive Recreation Reduces Protected Area Effectiveness

Protected areas around the world were created with the goals of preserving biodiversity and providing nature-based recreation opportunities for millions of people. This dual mandate guides the management of the majority of the world’s protected areas, but there is growing evidence that quiet, nonconsumptive recreation may not be compatible with biodiversity protection. We combined noninvasive survey techniques and DNA verification of species identifications to survey for mammalian carnivores in 28 parks and preserves in northern California. Paired comparisons of neighboring protected areas with and without recreation revealed that the presence of dispersed, nonmotorized recreation led to a five-fold decline in the density of native carnivores and a substantial shift in community composition from native to nonnative species. Demand for recreation and nature-based tourism is forecasted to grow dramatically around the world, and our findings suggest a pressing need for new approaches to the designation and management of protected areas.
Genetic analyses of a seasonal interval timer.

Seasonal clocks (e.g., circannual clocks, seasonal interval timers) per- mit anticipation of regularly occurring environmental events by timing the onsets of seasonal transitions in reproduction, metabolism, and behavior. Implicit in the concept that seasonal clocks reflect adaptations to the local envi- ronment is the unexamined assumption that heritable genetic variance exists in the critical features of such clocks, namely, their temporal properties. These experiments quantified the intraspecific variance in, and heritability of, the photorefractoriness interval timer in Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus), a seasonal clock that provides temporal information to mechanisms that regulate seasonal transitions in body weight. Twenty-seven families consisting of 54 par- ents and 109 offspring were raised in a long-day photoperiod and transferred as adults to an inhibitory photoperiod (continuous darkness; DD). Weekly body weight measurements permitted specification of the interval of responsiveness to DD, a reflection of the duration of the interval timer, in each individual. Body weights of males and females decreased after exposure to DD, but 3 to 5 months later, somatic recrudescence occurred, indicative of photorefractoriness to DD. The interval timer was approximately 5 weeks longer and twice as variable in females relative to males. Analyses of variance of full siblings revealed an overall intraclass correlation of 0.71 ± 0.04 (0.51 ± 0.10 for male offspring and 0.80 ± 0.06 for female offspring), suggesting a significant family resemblance in the dura- tion of interval timers. Parent-offspring regression analyses yielded an overall heritability estimate of 0.61 ± 0.2; h 2 estimates from parent offspring regression analyses were significant for female offspring (0.91 ± 0.4) but not for male off- spring (0.35 ± 0.2), indicating strong additive genetic components for this trait, primarily in females. In nature, individual differences, both within and between sexes, in the timekeeping properties of seasonal interval timers, and a strong her- itable basis thereof, would provide ample substrate for selection to rapidly influ- ence seasonal clocks. Balancing selection in environments where the onset of spring conditions varies from year to year could maintain genetic variance in interval timers and yield interval timers tuned to the local environment.
The influence of membrane lipid composition and procaine on hyperthermic death of cells.

SummaryThe mechanism of hyperthermic killing, a component of some cancer therapy, is not known. Cell-survival curves during hyperthermic exposure can be used to elucidate the effects of membrane modifying procedures on cell death. Experiments were designed to test whether procedures that were reported to increase membrane fluidity also resulted in increased killing on hyperthermic exposure. An E. coli K12 mutant, K1060, is used to predictably alter the degree and amount of unsaturated fatty acids incorporated into membranes. Changing from an 18 : 1 to an 18 : 3 unsaturated fatty acid increases killing. Decreasing the amount of unsaturated fatty acid cells incorporated by increasing growth temperature decreases killing. Procaine, a drug known to decrease membrane viscosity, increases heat killing. These data are most simply explained by the hypothesis that membrane disorganization occurs as a result of temperature increasing to a point where a lipid transition causes a membrane structural change, which res...
Second generation shear cell design for the diffusion processes in Molten Semiconductors Project

Shear cells have been used to measure diffusion coefficients for molten materials on earth as well as in space. The Diffuison Processes in Molten Semiconductors (DPIMS) project has previously flown a graphite shear cell on the reflight of the first Materials Science Laboratory (MSL-1R) spacelab mission with great success. These first-generation shear cells were however, very costly to fabricate. Therefore, an effort was undertaken to design a secondgeneration shear cell, which retained the important features of the first-generation shear cell, yet was much less costly to fabricate. Measurements of the new shear pin, which is broken to begin the diffusion experiment, indicate that a torque of 1.35 ± 0.29 N-m (1.00 ± 0.21 ft-lbf) is necessary to break the shear pin. Measurements of the new drive pin, which must not be broken, indicate that a torque of 3.50 ± 0.42 N-m (2.58 ± 0.31 ft-lbf) is necessary to break the drive pin. This factor of 2.6 difference between breaking the shear pin and breaking the drive pin retains a critical feature of the shear cell design.
Human sperm capacitation and the acrosome reaction.

A model is presented that describes the mechanism of human sperm capacitation and the acrosome reaction. The processes of capacitation and the acrosome reaction are proposed to function in control of the activation/release of acrosomal enzyme(s) involved in sperm penetration through the zona pellucida. During capacitation, the sperm head membranes are biochemically modified, allowing the acrosome reaction to take place when the spermatozoon approaches or reaches the zona pellucida, resulting in the localized activation and release of the appropriate enzyme(s). Further, capacitation is presented as a continuing process that occurs during sperm transport through the female genital tract and is physiologically not completed until the spermatozoon reaches the oocyte (unless the spermatozoa are kept at a particular genital tract site for prolonged periods). The biochemical alterations that occur during capacitation are discussed. It is suggested that extensive modifications in the lipid bilayer structure, e.g. in the cholesterol or phospholipid content, are not part of capacitation because such changes would prematurely destabilize the membranes. Rather, such changes occur during the acrosome reaction. It is also proposed that the human sperm acrosome reaction has many similarities to the somatic cell exocytotic events which occur during the regulated pathway of secretion. One or more oocyte stimuli result in the activation of protein kinases, likely (but not necessarily) via activation of G-protein coupled receptors on the sperm plasma membrane and the formation of second messengers. The kinases phosphorylate and activate proteins, continuing the biochemical cascade that ultimately results in the acrosome reaction. The role of other enzyme systems such as those involved in ion transport, proteolysis, phospholipid metabolism (including that of arachidonic acid) and other metabolic events, is discussed. Calcium ion influx as initiator of the acrosome reaction is reconsidered. The proposed model also takes into consideration the structural events of membrane fusion.
Entomology–Engineering Cooperation—Where Do We Go From Here?

Historically, there have been a number of locations where entomologists and engineers cooperated effectively toward a common goal. Some areas representing past or present cooperation are the development of insect traps and insecticide applicators; the study of the behavioral effects of sound and the electromagnetic spectrum on insect populations; and the design of mass rearing and aerial release equipment. As advancing technology provides increased opportunity for further interdisciplinary cooperation between entomology and engineering, we need to address the question: “Where Do We Go From Here?”
Glucagon: acute actions on hepatic metabolism

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the result of impaired systemic control of glucose homeostasis, in part through the dysregulation of the hormone glucagon. Glucagon acts on the liver to increase glucose production through alterations in hepatic metabolism, and reducing the elevated glucagon signalling in diabetic patients is an attractive strategy for the treatment of hyperglycaemia. Here we review the actions of the hormone in the liver, focusing on the acute alterations of metabolic pathways. This review summarises a presentation given at the ‘Novel data on glucagon’ symposium at the 2015 annual meeting of the EASD. It is accompanied by two other reviews on topics from this symposium (by Mona Abraham and Tony Lam, DOI: 10.1007/s00125-016-3950-3, and by Young Lee and colleagues, DOI: 10.1007/s00125-016-3965-9) and an overview by the Session Chair, Isabel Valverde (DOI: 10.1007/s00125-016-3946-z).
Manufacturing process re-engineering revisited

Manufacturing process re-engineering, as applied to manufacturing systems, is often directed at improving WIP material flow through the processors which make up the system. This is a traditional manufacturing/industrial engineering activity which has been actively persued for the past half century and has even more universal appeal in the 1990’s. It is important to note that contemporary application of this traditional, process re-engineering activity should also be done in conjunction with a study of appropriate production/process control. Experience with four different companies which produce four vastly different product lines will be examined to emphasize the importance of process re-engineering for contemporary manufacturing systems.
Forecasting and Simulation Sensitivity to Alternative Model Specifications

One way to evaluate the importance of particular assumptions for different parts of the REMI model is to run the same simulation but with different suppressions in each instance. Another way is to postulate alternative pure versions or closures of the model, and then to test them with the same policy change. In addition to these two ways of seeing how sensitive the model results are to the model assumptions, we can also carry out ex post sample period forecasts to test which formulation of the model produces a model that would have best explained the 1980s. In this chapter we first consider how the predicted policy effect changes as the model suppressions are released. Next we look at the standard REMI model and four special cases of the model. Finally, we conclude with statistics comparing the five versions in post sample period forecasts.
Broader digital electronics applications of magnetoelectronics

Publisher Summary This chapter examines magnetoelectronics technology in a context larger than nonvolatile memory, considering a broader view of digital electronics applications. The fringe field device family was introduced because it has characteristics that are convenient for Boolean operations. Magnetoelectronics also lends itself to novel computing architectures such as dynamically reprogrammable logic. A unique advantage of such architecture is the seamless integration of logic and memory, and the ability to reapportion sections of a chip for logic and memory functions. Existing magnetoelectronic device families are passive, and basic research is actively seeking to invent a device with spin, or magnetic field, dependent power gain. The chapter also focuses on information processing applications within the field of conventional electronics. Research in the field of unconventional computing approaches is quite active. There are many possible applications of magnetoelectronic, or spintronic, devices in the area of quantum computing.
Woodbury Formation (Campanian) in New Jersey yields largest known Cretaceous otolith assemblage of teleostean fishes in North America

ABSTRACT. Teleostean otoliths have been recovered from the upper portion of the Woodbury Formation (early-middle Campanian) at the Stone Bridge locality in southern New Jersey, and their occurrence is highly significant for several reasons. First, otoliths are virtually unknown in the New Jersey Cretaceous since most of the formations have been extensively leached, which destroys the aragonitic otoliths. Second, the number of otoliths obtained from the Woodbury Formation is unprecedented with 3,555 specimens recovered, which represents the largest Cretaceous otolith assemblage ever described from North America. Finally, the otoliths are fairly well preserved allowing taxonomic assignment. These factors coupled with the early-middle Campanian age (approximately 83.6 ± 0.2 Ma to 77.9 ± 0.2 Ma) result in one of the oldest, most prolific fish assemblages represented by otoliths, not just in North America, but in the world. Otoliths may indicate the presence of at least 29 teleostean taxa representing 14 famil...
Algorithms for Heterogeneous, Multiple Depot, Multiple Unmanned Vehicle Path Planning Problems

Unmanned vehicles, both aerial and ground, are being used in several monitoring applications to collect data from a set of targets. This article addresses a problem where a group of heterogeneous aerial or ground vehicles with different motion constraints located at distinct depots visit a set of targets. The vehicles also may be equipped with different sensors, and therefore, a target may not be visited by any vehicle. The objective is to find an optimal path for each vehicle starting and ending at its respective depot such that each target is visited at least once by some vehicle, the vehicle–target constraints are satisfied, and the sum of the length of the paths for all the vehicles is minimized. Two variants of this problem are formulated (one for ground vehicles and another for aerial vehicles) as mixed-integer linear programs and a branch-and-cut algorithm is developed to compute an optimal solution to each of the variants. Computational results show that optimal solutions for problems involving 100 targets and 5 vehicles can be obtained within 300 seconds on average, further corroborating the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
A simpler approach to low-rank tensor canonical polyadic decomposition

In this paper we present a simple and efficient method to compute the canonical polyadic decomposition (CPD) of generic low-rank tensors using elementary linear algebra. The key insight is that all the columns in a low-rank tensor lie in a low-dimensional subspace, and that the coefficients of the columns in each slice with respect to the right basis are scaled copies of one an other. The basis, together with the coefficients of a few carefully selected columns determine the CPD. The computational complexity of our method scales linearly in the order and the rank of the tensor, and at most quadratically in its largest dimension. Furthermore, our approach can be easily adapted to noisy settings. We complement our theoretical analysis with experiments that support our findings.
The efficacy of endoscopic therapy for pancreas divisum: a meta-analysis

Background The purpose of this study was to perform a meta-analysis assessing the efficacy and predictors of success of endoscopic therapy in the management of patients with pancreas divisum. Methods An electronic database search (PubMed and ScienceDirect) was performed for relevant studies. Studies were selected based on predefined criteria and data were extracted on patient population, follow up, endotherapy methods, success rates and complication rates. A random-effect model was used to pool the effect size across studies. Heterogeneity testing and publication bias assessment were performed. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of successful endoscopic therapy. Results Of 381 articles reviewed, 23 studies with 874 patients met the inclusion criteria. All were case series with suboptimal quality. Endoscopic therapy included minor papilla sphincterotomy, minor papilla sphincteroplasty and dorsal duct stenting. Mean follow-up duration was 37 months. The rate of “improvement” as defined by authors after endoscopic therapy varied significantly across studies, ranging from 31-96%: 589/874 patients were reported to have improved, corresponding to a pooled efficacy rate of 67.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.610-0.734; P=0.0001). The pooled rate of pancreatitis after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography was 10.1% (95%CI 0.084-0.124; 2-sided P=0.0001). On subgroup analysis, patients with recurrent acute pancreatitis had better endoscopic outcomes (pooled efficacy rate 76%, 95%CI 0.712-0.803, P=0.0001). Dorsal duct stenting and longer follow up were the only parameters predictive of successful endotherapy. Significant heterogeneity was observed within and across studies. Conclusions Endoscopic efficacy in pancreas divisum is estimated at 67.5%. Available studies are of poor quality with significant heterogeneity. Comparative studies with rigorous methodology are needed. Keywords Pancreas divisum, endoscopic therapy, minor papilla sphincterotomy, meta-analysis, systematic review, recurrent acute pancreatitis, chronic pancreatitis Ann Gastroenterol 2017; 30 (5): 550-558
Designing Adaptive Instruction for Teams: a Meta-Analysis

The goal of this research was the development of a practical architecture for the computer-based tutoring of teams. This article examines the relationship of team behaviors as antecedents to successful team performance and learning during adaptive instruction guided by Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs). Adaptive instruction is a training or educational experience tailored by artificially-intelligent, computer-based tutors with the goal of optimizing learner outcomes (e.g., knowledge and skill acquisition, performance, enhanced retention, accelerated learning, or transfer of skills from instructional environments to work environments). The core contribution of this research was the identification of behavioral markers associated with the antecedents of team performance and learning thus enabling the development and refinement of teamwork models in ITS architectures. Teamwork focuses on the coordination, cooperation, and communication among individuals to achieve a shared goal. For ITSs to optimally tailor team instruction, tutors must have key insights about both the team and the learners on that team. To aid the modeling of teams, we examined the literature to evaluate the relationship of teamwork behaviors (e.g., communication, cooperation, coordination, cognition, leadership/coaching, and conflict) with team outcomes (learning, performance, satisfaction, and viability) as part of a large-scale meta-analysis of the ITS, team training, and team performance literature. While ITSs have been used infrequently to instruct teams, the goal of this meta-analysis make team tutoring more ubiquitous by: identifying significant relationships between team behaviors and effective performance and learning outcomes; developing instructional guidelines for team tutoring based on these relationships; and applying these team tutoring guidelines to the Generalized Intelligent Framework for Tutoring (GIFT), an open source architecture for authoring, delivering, managing, and evaluating adaptive instructional tools and methods. In doing this, we have designed a domain-independent framework for the adaptive instruction of teams.