cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Rapid detection, classification and accurate alignment of up to a million or more related protein sequences

Motivation: The patterns of sequence similarity and divergence present within functionally diverse, evolutionarily related proteins contain implicit information about corresponding biochemical similarities and differences. A first step toward accessing such information is to statistically analyze these patterns, which, in turn, requires that one first identify and accurately align a very large set of protein sequences. Ideally, the set should include many distantly related, functionally divergent subgroups. Because it is extremely difficult, if not impossible for fully automated methods to align such sequences correctly, researchers often resort to manual curation based on detailed structural and biochemical information. However, multiply-aligning vast numbers of sequences in this way is clearly impractical. Results: This problem is addressed using Multiply-Aligned Profiles for Global Alignment of Protein Sequences (MAPGAPS). The MAPGAPS program uses a set of multiply-aligned profiles both as a query to detect and classify related sequences and as a template to multiply-align the sequences. It relies on Karlin–Altschul statistics for sensitivity and on PSI-BLAST (and other) heuristics for speed. Using as input a carefully curated multiple-profile alignment for P-loop GTPases, MAPGAPS correctly aligned weakly conserved sequence motifs within 33 distantly related GTPases of known structure. By comparison, the sequence-and structurally based alignment methods hmmalign and PROMALS3D misaligned at least 11 and 23 of these regions, respectively. When applied to a dataset of 65 million protein sequences, MAPGAPS identified, classified and aligned (with comparable accuracy) nearly half a million putative P-loop GTPase sequences. Availability: A C++ implementation of MAPGAPS is available at http://mapgaps.igs.umaryland.edu. Contact: aneuwald@som.umaryland.edu Supplementary information:Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Evaluation of turfgrass species and cultivars for potential resistance to twolined spittlebug (Hemiptera: Cercopidae).

Potential resistance to the twolined spittlebug, Prosapia bicincta (Say), was evaluated among 56 turfgrass genotypes. Greenhouse, laboratory, and field bioassays identified differences in spittlebug survival and development, host preference and damage levels, and turfgrass tolerance to and ability to recover from pest induced injury. All centipede grasses demonstrated high levels of susceptibility, followed by bermudagrasses, seashore paspalums, and zoysiagrasses. Average nymphal survival to the adult stage ranged from 1.5 to 78.1%. Development required 38.1–62.0 d under greenhouse conditions, depending on plant taxa. Among seashore paspalums, nymphal survival to the adult stage was lowest and duration of development was longest on HI-1, ‘Sea Isle 2000’, 561-79, and ‘Mauna Kea’. Reduced spittlebug survival and increased developmental times were also observed on the bermudagrasses BERPC 91–15 and ‘Tifway’. Although zoysiagrasses supported spittlebug development and survival to the adult stage, developmental times were extended on the zoysiagrass cultivars ‘Emerald’ and ‘El Toro’. Spittlebug preference varied with generation evaluated. First-generation spittlebugs inflicted the greatest damage on TC201 (centipede grass), ‘Primavera’ (bermudagrass), and ‘Emerald’ (zoysiagrass) in choice tests. In the fall, second-generation spittlebugs damaged TC201 (centipedegrass) and ‘Sea Isle 1’ (paspalum) most severely, whereas 561-79 (paspalum) and ‘Emerald’(zoysiagrass) were less severely affected. Among taxa included in field trials, HI-1, ‘Mauna Kea’, ‘Sea Isle 2000’,and AP-14 paspalums, ‘Tifway’ bermudagrass, and ‘Emerald’ zoysiagrass were most tolerant (demonstrated the best regrowth potential following twolined spittlebug feeding).
The Reproductive Cycles of the Vagrant Shrew (Sorex vagrans) and the Masked Shrew (Sorex cinereus) in Montana

Abstract The reproductive activities of Sorex vagrans and S. cinereus in western Montana were documented using histological methods. Testicular recrudescence in both species began in February with maximal development and spermatogenesis attained by late March to early April and testicular activity was maintained well into the autumn. Breeding began in late April and extended into August in S. vagrans; no conceptions were documented past June in S. cinereus. Estimated parturition dates peaked in May for S. vagrans and in June for S. cinereus. Average litter sizes in utero for both species were consistent with previously reported values for populations at similar latitudes. Both species exhibit similar breeding patterns in sympatry.
‘I'm still a hustler’: entrepreneurial responses to precarity by participants in phase I clinical trials

This paper questions the implications of entrepreneurial responses to conditions of employment precarity by ‘healthy volunteers’ in phase I clinical trials in the United States. Such individuals are typically serial participants who often identify as professional volunteers and seek out drug studies as their primary source of income. Drawing on extensive qualitative research, this paper illustrates how healthy volunteers selectively import the identity of ‘hustler’ from the street environment and reposition it as connoting a set of valuable creative skills that give them a competitive edge over other participants. An entrepreneurial ethos allows them to view personal sacrifice and exposure to potentially dangerous drugs as smart investments leading to financially stable futures. These discursive moves normalize extractive, and at times dehumanizing, labour relations that offload expenses and risks to workers.
Strategic Management Theory: Concepts, Analysis andCritiques in Relation to Corporate Competitive Advantagefrom the Resource‐based Philosophy

The concepts, theory and practice of strategic management have become prominent in modern management literature especially in this new millennium for one obvious reason: that is, because of the complex, nebulous and dynamic nature of contemporary corporate governance. This phenomenon has in turn become a matter of concern to academics and professionals alike on the field. Consequently, the main objective of this paper is to present an overview of strategic management with particular emphasis on its concepts, theory as well as its linkage with the resource‐based philosophy of the firm’s competitive advantage. A review of the relevant literature was conducted and a connection between strategic management theory and competitive advantage from the recourse‐based philosophy of the firm was identified. It was found that the resource‐based model is one of the main strategic management theories applicable to explain organizational performance, and it is also a part of the larger management theory family which has evolved to suit the managerial requirements of the modern complex organizations and also the business environments within which the organizations operate. Examining organizational competitive advantage from this school of thought allows the organizations to measure the significance of its internal resources and capabilities in particular towards attaining a competitive advantage, and hence to provide further support and extension to the Philosophical approach.
Consolidating Losses? Egypt’s Trade Unions Before and After June 30th

This article explores the failure of the Egyptian trade union movement to obtain the changes sought in the January 25th Revolution. The movement fractured into warring camps and was unable to press its early advantage. Instead of uniting on their own behalf, the trade union organizations only unified to support of the removal of President Mohammed Morsi. This paper seeks to analyze the origins of this puzzling turn, which had trade unionists backing a land holding and capitalistic military structure just three years after a revolution to remove an entrenched autocracy with military ties. I argue that policies of cooptation used by political actors, and the inability of the trade union movement to form authentic ties with political parties left them open to cooptation by a populist military.
Abstract 302: Neuregulin-1β Inhibits TGFβ-induced Cardiofibroblast to Myofibroblast Transition

Neuregulin (NRG) is a growth and survival factor critical for cardiac development and repair. Our laboratory recently demonstrated decreased fibrosis with NRG treatment in post-infarcted swine. We subsequently hypothesized that NRG inhibits transition of fibroblasts to myofibroblasts (myoFbs), the cells primarily responsible for collagen deposition after cardiac injury. Immunohistochemistry of post-infarcted swine hearts confirmed reduced presence of myoFbs in NRG-treated pig ventricles, compared to untreated animals. Further investigation revealed that NRG acts directly upon primary cultures of rat cardiac fibroblasts, with subsequent phosphorylation of both AKT and p38. Based on quantitative RT-PCR, primary fibroblasts isolated from both rats and mice express ErbB2 and ErbB3, which are known to form heterodimers and thereby transduce the NRG signal. NRG treatment also reduced myoFb percentages by ~40% in primary rat and mouse cardiac cultures, compared to untreated cells, as demonstrated by immunohistochemistry, Western blot, and flow cytometric analyses of the myoFb marker, alpha smooth muscle actin. NRG pre-treatment of cardiac fibroblasts likewise inhibited TGFβ-induced fibroblast-to-myoFb transition, including suppression of SMAD3 phosphorylation and reduction of the down-stream pro-fibrotic proteins, collagen I and periostin. Considered together, these data strongly support the hypothesis that NRG modulates fibroblast signaling directly. These results demonstrate that NRG inhibits the activation of pro-fibrotic cells and suggests a novel mechanism by which NRG treatment might improve cardiac remodeling. ![Graphic][1] [1]: /embed/inline-graphic-1.gif
To Reply or To Reply All: Understanding Replying Behavior in Group Email Communication

“Reply” and “Reply All” buttons in email provide the convenience of a quick reply to those included in the email. Yet this very convenience can be troublesome to both the individual and the group involved if receivers intentionally or unintentionally hit one button instead of the other. In this paper we explore how replying decisions are made and what contributes to erroneous use of Reply All through an experimental study (N=109) and a survey study (N=112). Data from the experiment suggest that errors are not influenced by how the reply button suite is arranged but rather by the explicitness of the desired response action and how multiple recipients are displayed. Qualitative data from the survey suggest that while people are cognizant of Reply All misuse, lack of universally agreed upon criteria for appropriate Reply/Reply All choice leads to errors. We discuss the implications of these insights for email interface design.
Acceptance of the Dana Medal of the Mineralogical Society of America for 2011

Any award for scientific achievement, at any level, recognizes just one person without naming the teachers, colleagues, collaborators, co-authors, and the scientific community as a whole that have contributed to the success of the individual. Were I to simply name just those who have formally collaborated with me, for example as co-authors, the list would far exceed the space available for this response. So, rather than list my major collaborators and so risk offending especially those who fall immediately below the cut-off (rather like getting 6 “excellent” reviews on a grant proposal only to be told the money was not sufficient to fund it), I would like to take this opportunity to instead thank some people whose influence on my career may not be so obvious to the casual reader of my scientific publications. I now realize that the foundations of much of my success in crystallography and mineral physics predate not only university, but even my formal schooling. Both my father, being a quality control engineer, and my mother as a tracer and later a drawing office supervisor, had to develop a precision in work and attention to detail far beyond that required in most peoples’ lives. And their influence clearly gave me a head start in a field where precision, and understanding both its significance and its difference from accuracy, is a fundamental requirement for success. While both my parents also gave me the practical engineering background that makes me equally happy (perhaps happier) underneath the instrument to …
Inhibition of Renal Tubular Responsiveness to Antidiuretic Hormone By Pyrogens.

Summary and Conclusions1. In the dog a single large intravenous dose of pyrogen completely abolished the renal response to antidiuretic hormone whether it was given before or after the pituitary hormone. 2. No permanent alterations of concentrating or diluting function of the kidney could be demonstrated for the doses of pyrogen used.
Aspirating Benign and Borderline Ovarian Cysts

Diagnosis of cystic ovarian lesions involves the triple test, which takes into account clinical, radiologic, and cytologic findings. Needle aspiration of ovarian and adnexal masses is performed, guided by either real-time sonography using a transvaginal or transabdominal approach or guided by visualization through a fiberoptic laparoscope. Many nonneoplastic cysts of the ovary can be diagnosed by cytologic analysis of their contents. In most cases, their characteristic cytologic features permit their distinction from neoplastic ovarian cysts. This article provides some of the clinical, radiographic, and cytologic criteria for diagnosis of benign and borderline ovarian cysts. Cytologic features that permit their distinction from nonneoplastic and malignant neoplastic cysts also are discussed.
Monitoring the Gulf Stream and shelf environment in the South Atlantic Bight through integrated autonomous underwater glider observations and data assimilative ocean model predictions

Gliders are the state-of-the-art autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) that can operate unattended for roughly a month-long period in the ocean. Given a forward horizontal speed of 0.25 ms−1, gliders can cover ∼ 25 km per day. They trace sawtooth profiles in the ocean by changing buoyancy, observing subsurface temperature, conductivity, and other water properties versus depth, and at the surface, fix position via Global Positioning System. Onshore team monitor and direct glider trajectories using two-way Iridium satellite communications, which permit near real-time delivery of observations and re-direction of mission/adaptive sampling. NCSU Ocean Observing and Modeling Group group has been running glider surveys in the South Atlantic Bight on a seasonal basis. Active research are being carried out to assimilate glider data along with other coastal ocean observations (satellite SST and SSH, mooring time series, HF Radar surface currents) into high resolution regional ocean model using advanced variational data assimilation schemes, providing a new look at along-shelf and cross-shelf exchanges associated with Gulf Stream dynamics.
Lyme disease: recognition, management, and prevention in the primary care setting.

UNLABELLED This activity is designed for practitioners who see patients with tick bites, Lyme disease, or suspected Lyme disease in their practice, whether or not the practitioner is in an endemic area for Lyme disease. GOAL To help primary care practitioners recognize and treat Lyme disease and provide preventive counseling. OBJECTIVES 1. Be familiar with the terminology used for the causative agent of Lyme disease, its tick vector and reservoirs in nature, and where the disease is endemic. 2. Know the features of the common, characteristic clinical forms of Lyme disease. 3. Appreciate the uses and limitations of laboratory testing for this infection. 4. Understand early antibiotic treatment of Lyme disease, the management of a tick bite, and preventive measures.
A rate-disortion perspective on local differential privacy

Local differential privacy is a model for privacy in which an untrusted statistician collects data from individuals who mask their data before revealing it. While randomized response has shown to be a good strategy when the statistician's goal is to estimate a parameter of the population, we consider instead the problem of locally private data publishing, in which the data collector must publish a version of the data it has collected. We model utility by a distortion measure and consider privacy mechanisms that act via a memoryless channnel operating on the data. If we consider a the source distribution to be unknown but in a class of distributions, we arrive at a robust-rate distortion model for the privacy-distortion tradeoff. We show that under Hamming distortions, the differential privacy risk is lower bounded for all nontrivial distortions, and that the lower bound grows logarithmically in the alphabet size.
The Burden of Ionizing Radiation Studies in Children with Ventricular Shunts

Objectives To quantify the number of shunt-related imaging studies that patients with ventricular shunts undergo and to calculate the proportion of computed tomography (CT) scans associated with a surgical intervention. Study design Retrospective longitudinal cohort analysis of patients up to age 22 years with a shunt placed January 2002 through December 2003 at a pediatric hospital. Primary outcome was the number of head CT scans, shunt series radiograph, skull radiographs, nuclear medicine, and brain magnetic resonance imaging studies for 10 years following shunt placement. Secondary outcome was surgical interventions performed within 7 days of a head CT. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis. Results Patients (n = 130) followed over 10 years comprised the study cohort. The most common reasons for shunt placement were congenital hydrocephalus (30%), obstructive hydrocephalus (19%), and atraumatic hemorrhage (18%), and 97% of shunts were ventriculoperitoneal. Patients underwent a median of 8.5 head CTs, 3.0 shunt series radiographs, 1.0 skull radiographs, 0 nuclear medicine studies, and 1.0 brain magnetic resonance imaging scans over the 10 years following shunt placement. The frequency of head CT scans was greatest in the first year after shunt placement (median 2.0 CTs). Of 1411 head CTs in the cohort, 237 resulted in surgical intervention within 7 days (17%, 95% CI 15%-19%). Conclusions Children with ventricular shunts have been exposed to large numbers of imaging studies that deliver radiation and most do not result in a surgical procedure. This suggests a need to improve the process of evaluating for ventricular shunt malfunction and minimize radiation exposure.
Effects of Flow Compressibility and Density Ratio on Film Cooling Performance

An experimental investigation was performed to examine the effects of flow compressibility and density ratio of coolant to mainstream flows on the performance of film cooling injected from a row of...
“Nothing is Crueler Than a Coward”: No Country for Old Men and The Counselor as Tragic Fables of the Contemporary Southwest

Chapter Six considers McCarthy’s treatment of the contemporary history of narcotics along the USA–Mexico border in his latest Southwestern works No Country for Old Men and The Counselor. Behind their neo-noir veneer, McCarthy’s novel and screenplay are perhaps anachronously moralistic and embody the qualities of the fable. In both narratives McCarthy combines an acute understanding of the exacerbating socio-political circumstances of the history of border drug trafficking across the approximately four decades standing between these two didactic tales. Both narratives warn against moral compromise and failure. In No Country for Old Men the three principal protagonists—the welder, hunter, Vietnam veteran Llewellyn Moss, the cold-blooded killer Anton Chigurh, and the Terrell County lawman Sheriff Ed Tom Bell—mask their complicity in worsening conditions through their specious discourse and hypocritical attitude to life. In turn, the action of The Counselor, which takes place in our own twenty-first century, provides an informed and devastating critique of the escalation of violence and corruption on both sides of the border. McCarthy’s screenplay probes the rottenness that lies beneath glittering, diamond-bright surfaces, be it in the dangerous and exciting world of narcocultura, the Counselor and Reiner’s elegant, excessive, and sybaritic lifestyles, Westray’s sharp, sophisticated rhetoric, or the sleek and enchanting Malkina’s seductive beauty and words. Both the novel and the screenplay are morally urgent warnings to McCarthy’s reader and his audience not to be or become implicated in this corrosive problem.
Introduction: The specter of opiate addiction in reproductive medicine

The alarming trend in opiate misuse in developed countries is prompting an increasingly strident public call for action. Although many in our field have assumed that this building crisis does not really affect us or our patients, data show that the emerging demographic at highest risk for misusing opiates clearly includes patients who seek care in our practices. The goals of this Views and Reviews are to provide a clear understanding of emerging trends in opiate misuse, to review the impact of opiates on the reproductive axis, and to suggest practical recommendations aimed at both mitigating iatrogenic influences on promoting misuse and developing treatment frameworks when misuse is suspected or identified. Regrettably, there is little if any information on treatment of opiate misuse in the infertility population; we are perhaps best served by learning from successful approaches used in pregnant patients. It is hoped that this Views and Reviews will stimulate focused research and, ultimately, evidence-based guidelines and pathways that will address this widespread clinical problem.
Kant, Wittgenstein, Objectivity, and Structural Equations Modeling

Since 1980 I have written a number of papers on how philosophy of science themes relate to statistical practices. My earliest and latest efforts in this regard have exposed and criticized the pervasive influence of classical empiricism on multivariate statistical practice (Mulaik 1985, 1987a, 1988, 1991a, in press). Classical multivariate statistics, I argue, are but mathematical emulations of the associative processes that empiricism postulated were the basis by which we acquire knowledge. But empiricism is no longer the received view of the philosophy of science and should no longer be the philosophical foundation on which multivariate statistical practice rests.
The Construction of Data

In this chapter, I show that data is not an objective representation of reality but rather a constructed translation of observations into legible elements designed to support governance (be it by the state or by private actors). Both technical and social structures influence this translation; the technical aspects of database architecture are insufficient by themselves to define this translation regime. Such regimes can contain three characteristic translations: normalizing translations that separate the normal from the deviant, atomizing translations that separate complexity into individual elements, and unifying translations that group diverse characteristics into categories. At the same time, these data systems translate their subjects into “inforgs,” representations that consist of bundled information rather than actually existing subjects. These acts of translation, I conclude, are significant exercises in political power.
Live demonstration: Enhancing biomedical research precision, productivity and reproducibility via autonomous data acquisition and robust data curation

We present the eGor digital laboratory assistant platform that improves the experience of characterizing materials, devices and processes. Conceived to address challenges in biosensor and biomedical system development, eGor is a highly flexible platform for 1) automation of data acquisition with precise timing control, 2) production of results objects that are rich with information defining the measurement setup and provenance of instruments and datasets, and 3) curation of results objects and processed child datasets throughout the data life cycle. eGor packs three tools into a user-friendly browser interface: Designer to manage digital inventory of instruments and digitally capture measurement project scheme details including instrument layout and test procedures; Executer to monitor real-time measurements, search and run project schemes, and schedule future automated project runs; Analyzer to search, view and annotate results objects containing a digital description of the project scheme and the results data it generated, filter and process datasets, and trace provenance across all instruments, schemes, and datasets. These eGor services interface with a measurement workbench through the Instrument Manager tool that runs on local workbenches to collection data from and manage communication with physical instruments. Together, these eGor tools enable biomedical research with improved accuracy and precision through timing-controlled automation and with greater productivity through intuitive user-friendly interfaces capable of scheduling and running measurements without user presence. Moreover, eGor can have groundbreaking impact on research reproducibility by generating meta-rich results objects that permit exact repetition of measurements and collaborative sharing of both data and detailed project schemes.
Crowdsourcing Economic Forecasts

Economic forecasts are often disseminated via a survey of professionals (i.e. “Consensus”). In this paper we compare and contrast the Consensus with a crowdsourced alternative wherein anyone may submit a forecast. We focus on U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls and find that, on average, Consensus is more accurate, but the best crowd- sourced forecasters are superior to the best Consensus forecasters. We also find that information plays a key role. When the Consensus is uncertain and herds together, the crowdsourced forecasts appear to be more accurate. Our findings provide evidence that crowdsourcing might provide a valuable supplement to traditional macroeconomic forecasts.
Frailty assessment predicts acute outcomes in patients undergoing screening colonoscopy

Colonoscopy is associated with multiple adverse outcomes. With an aging population undergoing colorectal cancer screening, few modalities exist to assess the patient risk prior to colonoscopy. Frailty, the age-related decline in reserve and function across multiple organ systems, predicts poor surgical outcomes, but its role in endoscopy is unclear. This prospective cohort study assesses the efficacy of frailty in predicting acute colonoscopy outcomes. Participants aged ≥ 50 years undergoing screening colonoscopy at a tertiary care center were recruited over 2 months ending in July 2017. Frailty was assessed using a validated 20-s upper-extremity frailty test, which measures the capacity of muscle performance. Demographic data, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) status, and Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) were evaluated. Procedure-related adverse events and cardiopulmonary changes during and in the immediate post-procedure period were recorded. Adverse events were stratified into minor and major events. Chi-square and ANCOVA models were used in the analysis. Ninety-nine adults (mean age 62.8 years) were enrolled, among which 49 were non-frail and 50 were pre-frail/frail; 50 were female. Overall, 55 participants experienced a total of 87 adverse events. Frailty and ASA status were significantly associated with colonoscopy adverse events (p = 0.01 and p = 0.02, respectively). Age and CCI did not predict colonoscopy outcomes. Compared to age and CCI, frailty status better predicts colonoscopy outcomes in older adults. Among adults undergoing colonoscopy, routine frailty screening should be considered for risk stratification. Additional prospective studies evaluating frailty measurements in endoscopy will further clarify its role in forecasting adverse events.
Medicine, Science and Merck

1. The making of a physician 2. Hot science in big government 3. The French alternative 4. The research university - American style 5. Turning the corner at Merck 6. Crisis 7. 'Blockbusters' 8. On-the-job training 9. Global aspirations 10. The moral corporation 11. Getting to know the Clintons 12. Partners.
How Human Rights Advocates Influence Policy at the United Nations

This article examines strategies used by human rights advocates to lobby for policy at intergovernmental organizations. We suggest that the literatures’ central questions are about how best to organize, connect, and communicate, which are usually seen through theory on transnational advocacy networks and framing. We add that these questions should be seen as gendered, given the continued male dominance within diplomatic corps. With unusual access to their strategy, we conduct a case study of one advocate’s successful campaign to get the United Nations to adopt a country-specific resolution. Like others, we found this campaigning relies upon the use of networks to overcome formal obstacles to access, human rights language to frame the problem, analysis of tally sheets of member states’ voting, and in-person lobbying. We also point out strategies key to their success that are not usually noticed by scholars, such as the gendered dynamics that get advocates in the door.
miR-21-5p promotes lung adenocarcinoma progression partially through targeting SET/TAF-Iα

Abstract Objective Although SET(I2PP2A) and miRNAs are reported to play a pivotal role in lung cancer, the underlying mechanisms have remained obscure. To address this issue, we investigated how miRNAs and SET participate in the progression of lung cancer. Methods miRNAs that target SET were predicted from multiple miRNA databases. Three human NSCLC cell lines and two normal lung cell lines were used to evaluate aberrant miRNA and SET expressions. A dual luciferase reporter assay system was employed to verify the interaction between miRNA and SET. Stable miRNA knockdown and SET overexpression in A549 cells were achieved through lentivirus transfection; the corresponding influences on lung cancer progression were also examined. Results In this study, A549 was the sole cell line to lack SET/TAF-Iα expression, which was inversely correlated with the up-regulation of miR-21-5p. SET was subsequently revealed as the direct target site of miR-21-5p in A549 cells. The stable miR-21-5p knockdown and SET/TAF-Iα overexpression were shown to markedly enhance the expression of SET/TAF-Iα and to inhibit the migration, invasion, proliferation as well as the in vivo tumorigenicity of A549 cells. Conclusion We suggest that SET/TAF-Iα might be a tumor suppressing factor regulated by miR-21-5p in lung adenocarcinoma. This might provide a target for lung adenocarcinoma therapy.
Using the Hierarchical Decision Model (HDM) to Select a Sustainable Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) Provider

The continued technological progression has instituted a modification in communication facets. Consequently, the use of the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has enhanced and technical researchers believe that this innovation will be at the center stage for future phone engagements. VoIP services are offered by different providers depending on the customer's unique personal or corporate requirement. Therefore, firms should undertake extensive researches to determine the most appropriate service providers that would optimize operations and improve productivity. In most cases, the choice of VoIP in a hierarchical organization is influenced by factors such as the number of users within various protocols, the total devices needed to reach a far-reaching link, and the sustainability of the selected broadband technology. Aspects like the cost of acquiring a VoIP and output should also be considered to facilitate a timely return on investment. Getting accustomed to interior networking schemes and current technologies is vital in the quest to establish a useful internet set-up design. While the presence of several inhibiting factors may affect the effectiveness of VoIP, the hierarchical decision model (HDM) provides a decision-making criterion that can be applied to improve its functioning. The approach considers several VoIP options that are drawn and approved by network specialists. Therefore, the HDM is used as software to make a balanced contrast of different tangible factors before they are ranked according to their importance. Finally, an analytical model established to make VoIP coherent consisted of different stages that included the objective, criteria, sub-criteria, and alternatives as the main decision aspects. Groups of telecommunication experts from diverse organizations were invited to help in making a proper judgment regarding the best VoIP option. Google voice emerged as the most viable alternative from the study due to its effectiveness. Therefore, it is evident that embracing accurate inquiry outlooks and standards is essential for attaining successful research outcomes. The research question is: what is the best-chosen service provider through multiple alternatives?
Development and Rasch Analysis of the Empathic Counselor Response Scale.

Empathy has been linked to therapeutic alliance and positive client outcomes. However, the operationalization of empathy varies in definition and measurement, presenting challenges for assessment. ...
Use of Complementary Health Approaches for Chronic Low-Back Pain: A Pain Research Registry-Based Study.

Objectives: To measure the use of complementary health approaches (CHAs) recommended in recent clinical practice guidelines relating to low-back pain, multivariate factors associated with their use, and clinical outcomes of CHA users and nonusers. Design: Observational cross-sectional study. Settings/Location: The Pain Registry for Epidemiological, Clinical, and Interventional Studies and Innovation. Subjects: A total of 568 patients with chronic low-back pain. Interventions: Massage therapy, spinal manipulation, yoga, and acupuncture. Outcome measures: The numerical rating scale for low-back pain intensity, Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire for back-related disability, and the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System with 29 items for quality-of-life deficits relating to sleep disturbance, pain interference with activities, anxiety, depression, and low energy/fatigue. Results: The distribution of the number of different CHAs used by patients for low-back pain was as follows: 0, 179 (31.5%); 1, 139 (24.5%); 2, 160 (28.2%); 3, 70 (12.3%); and 4, 20 (3.5%). The numbers of patients using the specific CHAs were as follows: massage therapy, 271 (47.7%); spinal manipulation, 238 (41.9%); yoga, 144 (25.4%); and acupuncture, 96 (16.9%). Opioids had been used for low-back pain by 415 (73.1%) patients. Higher levels of education and higher pain self-efficacy scores were associated with greater use of any CHA, whereas increasing age and being Black were associated with lesser use of any CHA. Any CHA use was associated with lesser low-back pain intensity and lesser back-related disability. Patients who used massage therapy reported better clinical outcomes across all three dimensions. Patient pain self-efficacy also enhanced the effect of CHA use. Conclusions: The use of CHAs relative to opioids for low-back pain was inconsistent with recommendations from recent clinical practice guidelines despite clinical benefits with CHA use in this study. More research is needed on ways to improve the uptake of CHAs recommended for low-back pain, particularly among older and Black patients.
Decision-Making Dynamics in the Defense Industry During Work From Home Circumstances

This article looks at the challenges and changes in the US Defense Industry's Project Management decision-making processes during the Covid-19 pandemic. Many industries implemented work from home (WFH) policies for all employees. For the defense industry, this became particularly challenging. The industry is an “essential” function, and there was genuine concern for employee and community safety. Two streams are presented: (i) what decision-making changes were made across operational, tactical, and strategic circumstances, and (ii) how that affected the productivity and employee satisfaction. Using observational data, we examine what are the manifestation, consequence, and mitigation, through engineering employee and managerial level adjustments, in project and portfolio management business decision-making during this WFH period. We also present data from a qualitative survey related to how this affected productivity and employee sentiment. The findings show that the defense industry was unprepared for such an event. Productivity issues in operational decision-making, required line-management decision makers to be on-site. The lack of adequate team-sharing tools, especially for classified content, adversely affected productivity associated with tactical decision-making. Strategic decision-making was hampered by the industry's cultural preference for face-to-face meetings. Furthermore, we found that, as the WFH continued, employees showed a greater preference for continuing to work off-site. The article summarizes observed mitigation strategies to maintain productivity levels.
Children and Pesticides

Children act fast, but so do poisons, including pesticides. Fortunately for most parents, their children are not harmed when the parents have a momentary lapse and aren’t supervising them for a short time. But how would parents respond if they suddenly turn around, and their toddler is holding a can of household aerosol insect killer? This 3-page fact sheet outlines some facts and precautionary measures regarding children and pesticides in the home environment, so parents have a better idea of how to keep harmful chemical products away from their children. Written by F.M. Fishel, and published by the UF Department of Agronomy, March 2013. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pi226
Iterative Best Response for Multi-Body Asset-Guarding Games.

We present a numerical approach to finding optimal trajectories for players in a multi-body, asset-guarding game with nonlinear dynamics and non-convex constraints. Using the Iterative Best Response (IBR) scheme, we solve for each player's optimal strategy assuming the other players' trajectories are known and fixed. Leveraging recent advances in Sequential Convex Programming (SCP), we use SCP as a subroutine within the IBR algorithm to efficiently solve an approximation of each player's constrained trajectory optimization problem. We apply the approach to an asset-guarding game example involving multiple pursuers and a single evader (i.e., n-versus-1 engagements). Resulting evader trajectories are tested in simulation to verify successful evasion against pursuers using conventional intercept guidance laws.
The Parable of the Wedding Protest: Matthew 22:1–14 and Nonviolent Resistance

In Jesus’s parable in Matthew 22, a king invites his subjects to his son’s wedding feast. When they refuse to come and kill his slaves, the king orders the destruction of their city and instead invites both the bad and the good. However, one guest does not wear wedding robes, and the king casts him out of the feast. This parable has commonly been interpreted in ways that identify God with the king and the ungrateful invitees with the Jewish people. Seen this way, this difficult parable runs the risk of depicting God as condoning—indeed, demanding—violence. This chapter offers a new interpretation of the parable, reading it in the context of Roman imperialism. I argue that the parable’s original audiences would not have been sympathetic toward the “king’s” set up over them by Rome, and would have been more likely to side with the guest than with the king. In this context, we can understand the guests’ failure to participate in the king’s celebration of his power as a form of passive protest. Read in this way, rather than sanctioning violence, the parable offers a model of nonviolent opposition to oppressive power structures.
Subleading Corrections in N=3 Gaiotto-Tomasiello Theory

We study subleading corrections to the genus-zero free energy of the $\mathcal{N}=3$ Gaiotto-Tomasiello theory. In general, we obtain the endpoints and free energy as a set of parametric equations via contour integrals of the planar resolvent, up to exponentially suppressed corrections. In the particular case that the two gauge groups in the quiver are of equal rank, we find an explicit (perturbative) expansion for the free energy. If, additionally, both groups have equal levels, then we find the full expression for the genus-zero free energy, modulo exponentially suppressed corrections. We also verify our results numerically.
Doing missions right: Popular development imaginaries and practices among U.S. evangelical Christians

Abstract This article explores recent evangelical Christian engagements with issues of poverty and development, focusing on prescriptive accounts about the right and wrong ways to ‘do missions’. Such accounts have proliferated amidst the phenomenal expansion of popular development activities among middle-class, white evangelicals in the U.S. As more and more white Christians purposefully confront and address poverty through short-term missions, evangelical scholars and leaders must theorize the causes poverty and how best to alleviate it. Such theorization can be situated in a long, entangled history of missions and development as fields of practice – a history that has been acknowledged but not fully appreciated. This article examines popular Christian theologies of development, typified by the bestselling title, When Helping Hurts. Drawing on in-depth qualitative research with short- and long-term missionaries, the article highlights three key tensions within popular evangelical development theology and practice: First, it absolves the poor of responsibility for their poverty while holding the poor responsible for their own wellbeing; second, it acknowledges poverty as a material problem, yet favors spiritual solutions to material deprivation, and third, it conceives of missions as acts of selflessness and sacrifice, yet instrumentalizes poor communities as sites of spiritual challenge and fulfilment.
The CREB/CRTC2 pathway modulates autoimmune disease by promoting Th17 differentiation

Following their activation in response to inflammatory signals, innate immune cells secrete T-cell-polarizing cytokines that promote the differentiation of naive CD4 T cells into T helper (Th) cell subsets. Among these, Th17 cells play a prominent role in the development of a number of autoimmune diseases. Although regarded primarily as an immunosuppressant signal, cAMP has been found to mediate pro-inflammatory effects of macrophage-derived prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) on Th17 cells. Here we show that PGE2 enhances Th17 cell differentiation via the activation of the CREB co-activator CRTC2. Following its dephosphorylation, CRTC2 stimulates the expression of the cytokines IL-17A and IL-17F by binding to CREB over both promoters. CRTC2-mutant mice have decreased Th17 cell numbers, and they are protected from experimental autoimmune encephalitis, a model for multiple sclerosis. Our results suggest that small molecule inhibitors of CRTC2 may provide therapeutic benefit to individuals with autoimmune disease.
Swapping of reflections of adjacent subcodevectors for vector quantization

Vector quantization (VQ) has been widely used for compressing images. VQ of images requires significant memory and computational resources. Many methods have emerged to reduce either of these resources. A class of methods aimed at reducing the memory utilizes reflection of codevectors. This paper analyzes a scheme based on swapping of reflections of adjacent subcodevectors for jointly reducing memory and computational overheads. This scheme extracts the intra-vector redundancies to provide optimal quality. Studies are carried out on the convergence, utilization of the orientations, and performance of the scheme. Results are presented in comparison to a traditional scheme based on reflections of codevectors.
Are Taylor-Based Monetary Policy Rules Forward-Looking? An Investigation Using Superexogeneity Tests

Unlike previous studies which use statistical break tests to analyze the forward-lookingness of monetary policy rules, this study proposes the methodology that if the parameters of the Taylor rule change when the mechanism generating inflation changes, that is the Lucas critique applies, then inflation is not superexogenous for the parameters of the Taylor rule. In this case where superexogeneity fails, the rule is forward-looking. However, although the results indicate that the volatility of inflation (captured by a discrete heteroskedastic variance model of regime shifts) reduced by almost 50 percent, we fail to reject the null that inflation is superexogenous to the parameters of the Taylor rule. This implies that there is no evidence that Taylor-based monetary policy rules are forward-looking.
Herman N. Eisen: Mentor to many

Herman Eisen passed away on November 2, 2014, at the age of 96. During his long and distinguished career, Herman was a mentor to those who trained in his laboratory (ourselves included), to those who collaborated with him over the years, and to many faculty and colleagues at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and elsewhere. He will be missed by all.
The role of microbes in accretion, lamination and early lithification of modern marine stromatolites

For three billion years, before the Cambrian diversification of life, laminated carbonate build-ups called stromatolites were widespread in shallow marine seas. These ancient structures are generally thought to be microbial in origin and potentially preserve evidence of the Earth's earliest biosphere. Despite their evolutionary significance, little is known about stromatolite formation, especially the relative roles of microbial and environmental factors in stromatolite accretion. Here we show that growth of modern marine stromatolites represents a dynamic balance between sedimentation and intermittent lithification of cyanobacterial mats. Periods of rapid sediment accretion, during which stromatolite surfaces are dominated by pioneer communities of gliding filamentous cyanobacteria, alternate with hiatal intervals. These discontinuities in sedimentation are characterized by development of surface films of exopolymer and subsequent heterotrophic bacterial decomposition, forming thin crusts of microcrystalline carbonate. During prolonged hiatal periods, climax communities develop, which include endolithic coccoid cyanobacteria. These coccoids modify the sediment, forming thicker lithified laminae. Preservation of lithified layers at depth creates millimetre-scale lamination. This simple model of modern marine stromatolite growth may be applicable to ancient stromatolites.
Third-order nonlinear acoustic waves and triggering of pressure oscillations in combustion chambers. Part I: Longitudinal modes

An analytical analysis has been developed to investigate the behavior of unsteady motions in combustion chambers. The model accommodates the third-order nonlinear acoustics and a second-order combustion response. Ths influences of various linear and nonlinear parameters on the limit cycles and triggering of pressure osoillations are disoussed in detail. Results indicate that the third-order acoustics has little influence on the triggering of instability. It only affects the limiting amplitudes and the stability domains of limit cycles. The nonlinear combustion response plays an essential role in determining the characteristics of triggering.