cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Assisted Reproduction — Canada's Supreme Court and the “Global Baby”

The reproductive medicine industry is regulated by few national or international laws. Canada had passed one of the only national laws regulating reproductive medicine, but the Canadian Supreme Court recently ruled that the regulations violated the constitution.
The impact of tribal gaming on tribal sovereignty and financial management

From 1995 to 2011, tribal gaming has grown from $5.5B to $27.2B in revenues (NIGC website, 2012). When so much money is changing hands, a lack of adequate policies heightens the possibility of financial mismanagement. In fact, gaming violations have grown during this time period. This paper explores the relationship between financial management policies and regulatory violations among American Indian Tribal gaming activities. Through empirical testing, we conclude that deductive models of proactive and reactive policies do not accurately predict the incidence of gaming violations and these policies are ineffective. The results raise normative questions about regulatory policy parity. These findings and related implications for future financial management regulations, policies and practices are tremendous, given the amount of money involved.
Neuro-Ophthalmic Presentation of Neurosurgical Disease in Children

The neuro-ophthalmic examination is an invaluable tool that opens a window on diseases of the brain. In the pediatric population in particular, patients may be too young to communicate effectively, or may be completely nonverbal. As a result, children will often not be able to explain symptoms or neurologic difficulties that they are experiencing. Therefore, the objective signs found through analysis of eye movements, visual fields, and visualization of the optic nerve head may be the only evidence of pathology in the central nervous system. With a careful screening of neuro-ophthalmic function, a determination of which patients require neuroimaging and ultimately, referral to the neurosurgeon is more easily made. This chapter reviews the most salient neuro-ophthalmic symptoms and signs and the appropriate management of each.
Shelley's Grave, Botanical Souvenirs, and Handling Literary Afterlives in the Nineteenth Century

The touristic practice of gathering flowers from famous graves has been allowed to contribute, relatively unexamined by critical scholarship, to narratives of Victorian sentimentality. This essay rethinks the role of such botanical ephemera in constructing and responding to representations of literary afterlives in the nineteenth century. Specifically, it considers botanical souvenirs taken from the grave of Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley by Anglophone tourists over the course of the nineteenth century. Shelley's grave at the Protestant Cemetery in Rome, where his ashes were ultimately interred following his death by drowning in 1822, was a popular destination for literary tourists by mid-century. The numerous botanical souvenirs collected from Shelley's gravesite in the nineteenth century complicate simple narratives of textual reiteration, revealing reciprocal material gestures necessary to posthumous existence. These souvenirs constitute a branch of the Shelley mythology that thrives on the appeara...
Toward Completing the Raindrop Size Spectrum: Case Studies Involving 2D-Video Disdrometer, Droplet Spectrometer, and Polarimetric Radar Measurements

AbstractAnalysis of drop size distributions (DSD) measured by collocated Meteorological Particle Spectrometer (MPS) and a third-generation, low-profile, 2D-video disdrometer (2DVD) are presented. Two events from two different regions (Greeley, Colorado, and Huntsville, Alabama) are analyzed. While the MPS, with its 50-μm resolution, enabled measurements of small drops, typically for drop diameters below about 1.1 mm, the 2DVD provided accurate measurements for drop diameters above 0.7 mm. Drop concentrations in the 0.7–1.1-mm overlap region were found to be in excellent agreement between the two instruments. Examination of the combined spectra clearly reveals a drizzle mode and a precipitation mode. The combined spectra were analyzed in terms of the DSD parameters, namely, the normalized intercept parameter NW, the mass-weighted mean diameter Dm, and the standard deviation of mass spectrum σM. The inclusion of small drops significantly affected the NW and the ratio σM/Dm toward higher values relative to u...
Traditional and Online Learning in Executive Education: How Both Will Survive and Thrive.

An important component of corporate training is executive education. A sample of 90 open enrollment executive education programs in the areas of management development and leadership was reviewed to better understand the structure of the offerings. In today's marketplace, the majority of executive education offerings are of the traditional face-to-face classroom-style format. More recently, the impact of rapid technological advancements is becoming more apparent in the executive education market as online learning becomes more prevalent. There is no lack of participants for either traditional or online executive education programs, which has expanded the market. While both types of program offerings are viable, the future of executive education may be a merger of the two whereby traditional programs incorporate online components to reduce students’ time away from the job and capitalize on technology to enhance their interpersonal interactions. There is no doubt that executive education will survive and thrive as its future will be the nexus of traditional and online delivery that combines the key advantages of both approaches using a hybrid model that is beginning to be more widely deployed.
Sleepwalking stem cells.

In this issue of Blood, Bernitz et al show that granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) selectively mobilizes nondividing hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs).1 A majority of the HSCs remain quiescent after mobilization and ultimately return to the bone marrow without dividing. Thus, G-CSF does not uniformly drive adult HSCs into cycle.
Recombinant expression and purification of the RNA-binding LARP6 proteins from fish genetic model organisms.

The RNA-binding proteins that comprise the La-related protein (LARP) superfamily have been implicated in a wide range of cellular functions, from tRNA maturation to regulation of protein synthesis. To more expansively characterize the biological function of the LARP6 subfamily, we have recombinantly expressed the full-length LARP6 proteins from two teleost fish, platyfish (Xiphophorus maculatus) and zebrafish (Danio rerio). The yields of the recombinant proteins were enhanced to >2 mg/L using a tandem approach of an N-terminal His6-SUMO tag and an iterative solubility screening assay to identify structurally stabilizing buffer components. The domain topologies of the purified fish proteins were probed with limited proteolysis. The fish proteins contain an internal, protease-resistant 40 kDa domain, which is considerably more stable than the comparable domain from the human LARP6 protein. The fish proteins are therefore a lucrative model system in which to study both the evolutionary divergence of this family of La-related proteins and the structure and conformational dynamics of the domains that comprise the LARP6 protein.
On Naturalness, Innateness, and God-beliefs: A Reply to Shook

Shook (2017) argues that if god-beliefs are “innate,” one is obligated to be skeptical about them by virtue of their mutually incompatible plurality and nativist origin. Second, Shook suggests that even if god-beliefs are not innate, it is still epistemically vicious to believe in gods. Shook also raises concerns about using theology to motivate or interpret scientific inquiry. This response essay clarifies the character of the theories offered in the cognitive science of religion ( CSR ), including rejecting that innateness of god-beliefs is a common view. Shook’s primary claims are then evaluated with the conclusion that they are not adequately argued or substantiated.
Code as Text: Open Source Lessons for Geospatial Research and Education

This chapter examines the potential opportunities that open source offers for research and education in spatial analysis. Drawing on lessons learned in the development of PySAL: Python Library for Spatial Analysis, it touches on the opportunities and challenges related to the adoption of open source practices and culture. While open source has had major impacts on pedagogy and research in spatial analysis, these are somewhat under-appreciated and at times seen as separate spheres. A central argument is that a mind shift is required that comes to see code not just as a tool for doing research, but rather to view code as text in the sense it becomes an object of research. The chapter reconsiders open source spatial analysis teaching and research from this lens of code as text.
Examining the Predictors of Parole Release in a Rural Jail Population

Parole is the linchpin of correctional practices, but few studies have examined discretionary parole in a rural population. The current study examines static risk and dynamic needs that influence parole decision making in a rural jail population. Data were collected on parole releases over a 3-year period beginning in 2012. Offenders received recommendations for parole from a reentry assessment team. Logistic regression was used to explain variance in the factors influencing discretionary parole release. Obstacles or challenges that offenders face when paroling to a rural location were also examined. Several policy recommendations are addressed.
Bromodomain-containing protein 4-independent transcriptional activation by autoimmune regulator (AIRE) and NF-κB.

Autoimmune regulator (AIRE) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) are transcription factors (TFs) that direct the expression of individual genes and gene clusters. Bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) is an epigenetic regulator that recognizes and binds to acetylated histones. BRD4 also has been reported to promote interactions between the positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb) and AIRE or P-TEFb and NF-κB subunit p65. Here, we report that AIRE and p65 bind to P-TEFb independently of BRD4. JQ1, a compound that disrupts interactions between BRD4 and acetylated proteins, does not decrease transcriptional activities of AIRE or p65. Moreover, siRNA-mediated inactivation of BRD4 alone or in combination with JQ1 had no effects on AIRE- and NF-κB–targeted genes on plasmids and in chromatin and on interactions between P-TEFb and AIRE or NF-κB. Finally, ChIP experiments revealed that recruitment of P-TEFb to AIRE or p65 to transcription complexes was independent of BRD4. We conclude that direct interactions between AIRE, NF-κB, and P-TEFb result in efficient transcription of their target genes.
The effects of media slant on public perception of an organization in crisis

This study investigates the effects of mainstream media coverage on public perception of an organizational program in crisis. A survey was administered via Qualtrics using a web-based network sampl...
Uncertainty quantification for electrical impedance tomography with resistor networks

We present a Bayesian statistical study of the numerical solution of the two dimensional electrical impedance tomography problem, with noisy measurements of the Dirichlet to Neumann map. The inversion uses parametrizations of the conductivity on optimal grids that are computed as part of the problem. The grids are optimal in the sense that finite volume discretizations on them give spectrally accurate approximations of the Dirichlet to Neumann map. The approximations are Dirichlet to Neumann maps of special resistor networks, that are uniquely recoverable from the measurements. Inversion on optimal grids has been proposed and analyzed in [9, 12]. However, the study of noise effects on the inversion has not been carried out. In this paper we present a statistical study of both the linearized and the nonlinear inverse problem. The linearization is about a constant conductivity. We take three different parametrizations of the unknown conductivity perturbations, with the same number of degrees of freedom. We obtain that the parametrization induced by the inversion on optimal grids is the most efficient of the three, because it gives the smallest standard deviation of the estimates, uniformly in the domain. For the nonlinear problem we compute the mean and variance of the maximum aposteriori estimates of the conductivity, on optimal grids. For small noise, we obtain that the estimates are unbiased and their variance is very close to the optimal one, given by the Cramer-Rao bound. For larger noise we use regularization and quantify the trade-off between reducing the variance and introducing bias in the solution. The study considers the full measurement setup, with access to the entire boundary, and the partial measurement setup, where only a subset of the boundary is accessible. We also introduce an inversion algorithm on optimal grids for a two-sided partial measurements setup that has not been considered before. The term two-sided refers to the accessible boundary consisting of two disjoint parts.
Amyloid Accumulation and Cognitive Decline in Clinically Normal Older Individuals: Implications for Aging and Early Alzheimer's Disease

The aberrant accumulation of the amyloid protein is a critical and early event in the Alzheimer's disease (AD) cascade. Given the early involvement of this pathological process, it is not surprising that many clinically normal (CN) older individuals demonstrate evidence of abnormal Aβ at postmortem examination and in vivo using either CSF or PET imaging. Converging evidence across multiple research groups suggests that the presence of abnormal Aβ among CN individuals is associated with elevated risk of future clinical impairment and cognitive decline. Amyloid positivity in conjunction with biomarkers of neuronal injury offers further insight into which CN are most at risk for short-term decline. Although in its infancy, tau PET has demonstrated early increases among Aβ+ that will likely be an important indicator of risk among CN. Overall, the detection of early Aβ among CN individuals has provided an important opportunity to understand the contributions of this pathology to age-related cognitive decline and to explore early intervention with disease modifying strategies.
Ferredoxin and Ferredoxin-Dependent Enzymes

Ferredoxin, a Mr=11 kDa protein that contains a single low potential [2Fe-2S] cluster, serves as the ultimate acceptor of electrons from Photosystem I. In addition to serving as the electron donor for NADP+ reduction, a reaction catalyzed by the FAD-containing, membrane-associated enzyme ferredoxin: NADP+ oxidoreductase, ferredoxin also serves as the electron donor to a number of soluble enzymes involved in nitrogen metabolism, sulfur metabolism and the regulation of carbon metabolism. This chapter describes the current state of our knowledge of the structure of ferredoxin and of these ferredoxin-dependent enzymes, of the biosynthesis of these proteins and of the mode of interaction between ferredoxin and its electron-accepting, reaction-partner proteins.
The Social Media War: Is Google+ the David to Facebook’s Goliath?

By all measures, Google+, the newest entrant in the already-dominated social media category, should be dead in the water.
Pulmonary vasculature changes associated with idiopathic closure of the ductus arteriosus and hydrops fetalis

Antenatal closure of the ductus arteriosus has been considered as a potential risk factor for the development of hydrops fetalis and persistent fetal circulation of the newborn. We present an infant with antenatal ductal closure who had not received prenatal prostaglandin synthetase inhibitors. The pulmonary vascular morphological findings are described and compared to three additional infants in whom the ductus arteriosus was known to be patent; one with neonatal sepsis and two others with hydrops fetalis.
Management of BIRADS 3, 4A, and 4B Lesions Diagnosed as Pure Papilloma by Ultrasound-Guided Core Needle Biopsy: Is Surgical Excision Necessary?

Rationale and Objectives There is lack of consensus on managing papillomas due to varied upgrade rates in the literature related to variability in the studied populations. We specifically studied upgrade rates of pure papilloma diagnosed with ultrasound core biopsy (UCB) using spring-loaded (SLB) and vacuum-assisted (VAB) biopsy devices in patients with low-to-intermediate pre-test probability for malignancy on imaging. Materials & Methods From 01/01/2008 to 06/30/2016, 227 patients with 248 pure papillomas classified as BI-RADS 3, 4a, and 4b were diagnosed by UCB and underwent surgical excision or clinical and/or imaging follow-up. Imaging features, biopsy device, and final pathology were documented. Results 177 lesions were biopsied with SLB (14-gauge) and 71 lesions with VAB (9–13 gauges). At surgery, upgrade rates to high-risk lesions and malignancy for SLB were 14.3% (22/154) and 1.9% (3/154), and for VAB were 3.5% (2/57) and 0% (0/57), respectively (p Conclusion BI-RADS 3, 4a, or 4b masses biopsied with UCB revealed pure papilloma upgrade to malignancy in less than 2% of cases. SLB was associated with greater upgrades compared with VAB. Therefore, follow-up imaging is a reasonable alternative to excision, particular in those sampled by VAB. Excision could be considered if the diagnosis of a high-risk lesion would change clinical management.
A Computer Science Perspective on Models of the Mind

One area of intense focus in Artificial Intelligence (AI) research is to implement intelligent agents and machines that can think, reason, and solve problems with similar if not better proficiency than humans. The advancements in our understanding of intelligence and its governing principles have lead researchers to explore vastly different and passionately debated approaches to building intelligent systems. However, in recent years a consensus appears to be emerging, as observed by the 2013 AAAI Fall Symposium on Integrated Cognition, where an initial proposal is for a standard model of human-like minds. This model is largely based on current state-of-the-art cognitive architectures, such as ACT-R, Sigma and Soar. While we do not disagree with the proposed model, we believe more computer science based theories for modeling human-like minds should be considered for modeling memory and recognition functions. In this paper, we present a survey of the current literature that supports our position.
The economics of collective management

This chapter begins by defining collective management (of copyright and related rights) and collective management organizations (CMOs). After briefly reviewing possible definitional characteristics, the first part of the chapters uses a functional approach to define CMOs and then explains their economic and noneconomic functions. The next part discusses key aspects of the economic analysis of collective management, namely the justification for collective management, and the valuation of licensed repertoires (or copyright works or objects of neighboring rights) and individual works within such repertoires. This includes a survey of major economic models used in this field. The second part ends with a discussion of efficiency issues related to collective management. The third and last part considers the specific aspects that arise in collective management when it is applied to online uses of copyright material.
Multi-Differential Fairness Auditor for Black Box Classifiers

Machine learning algorithms are increasingly involved in sensitive decision-making process with adversarial implications on individuals. This paper presents mdfa, an approach that identifies the characteristics of the victims of a classifier's discrimination. We measure discrimination as a violation of multi-differential fairness. Multi-differential fairness is a guarantee that a black box classifier's outcomes do not leak information on the sensitive attributes of a small group of individuals. We reduce the problem of identifying worst-case violations to matching distributions and predicting where sensitive attributes and classifier's outcomes coincide. We apply mdfa to a recidivism risk assessment classifier and demonstrate that individuals identified as African-American with little criminal history are three-times more likely to be considered at high risk of violent recidivism than similar individuals but not African-American.
FEDERAL FUNDING FOR TRANSPORTATION SAFETY

Federal regulations promoting safety in transportation have existed for more than 100 years, but federal spending supporting research, standard setting, enforcement and capital programs are modern phenomena. Before the 1966 highway and motor carrier safety Acts, federal safety spending was less than $700,000 a year, and largely confined to aviation and marine modes where there was federal responsibility for certain transport operations. Federal spending for safety programs is now around $3 billion a year, and predominantly for highway and motor vehicle programs. Around $200 million a year is spent on rulemaking and enforcement in each of road, air and water modes, with about one-tenth of that on rail safety. But federal responsibilities vis-a-vis state and private transport interests differ so that modal comparisons of spending will not reflect overall spending or relative priorities for safety issues amongst modes.
Emerging sociotechnical imaginaries for gene edited crops for foods in the United States: implications for governance

Gene editing techniques, such as CRISPR, are being heralded as powerful new tools for delivering agricultural products and foods with a variety of beneficial traits quickly, easily, and cheaply. Proponents are concerned, however, about whether the public will accept the new technology and that excessive regulatory oversight could limit the technology’s potential. In this paper, we draw on the sociotechnical imaginaries literature to examine how proponents are imagining the potential benefits and risks of gene editing technologies within agriculture. We derive our data from a content analysis of public comments submitted to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) 2017 docket titled “Genome Editing in New Plant Varieties Used for Food.” Our sample frame consists of 26 comments representing 30 agriculture and biotech companies, organizations, and trade associations. Our findings reveal three key sociotechnical imaginaries, including that gene editing technologies in agriculture: (1) are not GMO but instead equivalent to traditional plant breeding; (2) have the potential to usher in a new Green Revolution; and (3) could facilitate the democratization of agricultural biotechnologies. We argue that forming and projecting these collective interpretations of the potential of gene editing technologies for crops and foods plays an important role in efforts by proponents to influence regulatory oversight, modes of governance, and build public acceptance. This research contributes to calls by science and technology studies scholars to investigate emergent concerns and imaginaries for novel technoscientific advances to help inform upstream models of public engagement and governance decisions.
Toward nanoscale localization of memory engrams in Drosophila

The Mushroom Body (MB) is the primary location of stored associative memories in the Drosophila brain. We discuss recent advances in understanding the MB's neuronal circuits made using advanced light microscopic methods and cell-type-specific genetic tools. We also review how the compartmentalized nature of the MB's organization allows this brain area to form and store memories with widely different dynamics.
A New Dawn for the “Developing” World? Probing Data Journalism in Non-Western Societies

When all is said and done, technology has continued to play a critical role in unveiling new thinking in journalism research and practice. But up until now, very few have talked about data journalism in non-Western contexts—at least not in an academic setting, leaving many wondering whether it exists. The watchword “data journalism” has continued to gather pace as journalists across the world are increasingly turning to numerical figures and data gurus to boost their innovative storytelling techniques and methods. This chapter seeks to explore the practical, methodological and theoretical underpinnings of data journalism, critiquing various newsrooms’ growing reliance on structured pieces of data at the expense of traditionally structured news stories. This chapter does not seek to challenge notions or suggestions that data journalism is a Western phenomenon but it will bring critical, up-to-date deliberations and developments that have dominated an upsurge of discussions and dialogues surrounding what others consider an emerging form of journalism. The chapter provides a historical analysis of data journalism aligning itself to key developments in non-Western contexts before discussing current and impending opportunities and challenges. The chapter establishes data journalism’s inherent potential but argues that its sustainability lies in its aptitude to comprehend the functions and role of journalism in a given society. Data journalism is, after all, journalism.
Polarimetric infrared spectroscopic imaging using quantum cascade lasers

Infrared spectroscopic imaging has emerged as a powerful label-free diagnostic tool to study the molecular composition and organization in biological tissues and cells. We report infrared spectroscopic imaging using polarized light to study differential absorption of plane-polarized light by an oriented sample to detect valuable information, such as, birefringence and dichroism. For instance, the organization of collagen, specifically fiber orientation and alignment, is crucial in understanding the progression and metastasis of cancer. Recent advancements in the development of Quantum Cascade Lasers (QCL) sources have opened new avenues for high SNR measurements in the field of IR spectroscopy. In addition, QCL sources are intrinsically polarized and orientation information can be obtained at discrete frequencies with different polarization orientations, allowing much faster acquisition than a corresponding FT-IR approach. We demonstrate improved performance in terms of fast and comprehensive polarimetric image acquisition and analysis using custom-built QCL microscope and evaluate its impact on applications by analyzing the important spectral bands of surgical tissue sections.
The civic potential of memes and hashtags in the lives of young people

Young people today are immersed in digital culture: often considered savvy navigators of online ecosystems and adept at using everyday technologies to share, create and express. These technologies ...
Phonetics and phonology of schwa insertion in Central Yiddish

Central Yiddish (CY) has inserted schwas that occur between long vowels or diphthongs and certain coda consonants. In the most restrictive varieties, schwas are inserted only between long high vowels or diphthongs and uvular or rhotic codas (as in /biːχ/ → [biːəχ] ‘book’), and between long high vowels or diphthongs and coronal codas, as long as the vowel is [+back] (as in /ʃuːd/ → [ʃuːəd] ‘shame’). These patterns of insertion are both typologically unusual and synchronically hard to explain. In this paper, I argue that they can be traced back to the phonetic transitions between specific vowels and coda consonants: vowel-coda sequences that produce formant transitions through the mid-central acoustic vowel space are those that are most likely to exhibit schwa insertion. An analysis of 19th-century CY verse demonstrates that these inserted schwas were intended to count for purposes of poetic rhyme, suggesting that they are phonological schwas rather than exclusively phonetic transitions. This study thus adds to the phonological description and analysis of Central Yiddish, and provides novel predictions regarding the spreading of vowel epenthesis across different phonological environments.
Detecting global influence of transcription factor interactions on gene expression in lymphoblastoid cells using neural network models

Abstract Background Transcription factor(TF) interactions are known to regulate target gene(TG) expression in eukaryotes via TF regulatory modules(TRMs). Such interactions can be formed due to co-localizing TFs binding proximally to each other in the DNA sequence or over long distances between distally binding TFs via chromatin looping. While the former type of interaction has been characterized extensively, long distance TF interactions are still largely understudied. Furthermore, most prior approaches have focused on characterizing physical TF interactions without accounting for their effects on TG expression regulation. Understanding TRM based TG expression regulation could aid in understanding diseases caused by disruptions to these mechanisms. In this paper, we present a novel neural network based TRM detection approach that consists of using multi-omics TF based regulatory mechanism information to generate features for building non-linear multilayer perceptron TG expression prediction models in the GM12878 immortalized lymphoblastoid cells. Results We estimated main effects of 149 individual TFs and interaction effects of 48 distinct combinations of TFs forming TRMs based on their influence on TG expression. We identified several well-known and discovered multiple previously uncharacterized TF interactions within our detected set of TRMs. We further characterized the pairwise TRMs using long distance chromatin looping and motif co-occurrence data. We found that nearly all the TFs constituting TRMs detected by our approach interacted via chromatin looping, and that these TFs further interacted with promoters to influence TG expression through one of four possible regulatory configurations. Conclusion Here, we have provided a framework for detecting TRMs using neural network models containing multi-omics TF based regulatory features. We have also described these TRMs based on their regulatory potential along with presenting evidence for the possibility of TF interactions forming the TRMs occurring via chromatin looping.
Thermal Characterization of SiC Modules for Variable Frequency Drives

Silicon carbide (SiC) devices can exhibit simultaneously high electro-thermal conductivity and extremely fast switching. To perform optimal designs showing the benefits of SiC in achieving efficiency, size, weight, and cost objectives for electric converters design, it is necessary to establish better models for calculating device losses and an efficient thermal model that can be calibrated to consider the nuances of measurement based thermal equivalent circuits. This work's outputs can be used in a power converter multi-objective optimization process or real-time temperature prediction of drives to improve reliability and maximize performance. The proposed modified loss calculation and thermal model demonstrate the SiC power module's advantages to reduce peak junction temperature and power cycling effects. A detailed power loss calculation and thermal model is developed and tested on a 480 V, 186 A, 150 HP variable frequency drive (VFD) with SiC modules. A comparison between the SiC module and an equivalent rated Si module demonstrates the reduction in power cycling effects, particularly at low-speed operation. Infrared (IR) imaging results and analytical explanations of the phenomenon is provided. Power cycle tests show that higher thermal conductivity is not the only reason contributing to the lower temperature ripple in low-speed operation.
Pearls and Oy-sters: Symmetric Numbness and Paresthesia Due to Stroke-like Episode in an Adolescent Male With MELAS

Mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) syndrome is a mitochondrial condition with a wide range of neurologic complications, including migraines, seizures, and stroke-like episodes. This case report highlights a rare presentation of bilateral sensory changes related to MELAS and offers an opportunity to consider how a differential diagnosis may need to be modified in patients with underlying mitochondrial disorders. Neurologic symptoms in MELAS may defy classic localization patterns, and early neuroimaging is warranted.
Singular fibers of very general Lagrangian fibrations

Let π : X → ℙn be a (holomorphic) Lagrangian fibration that is very general in the moduli space of Lagrangian fibrations. We conjecture that the singular fibers in codimension one must be semistabl...
Role of SMURF1 amplification in pancreatic oncogenesis

4435 Pancreatic cancer accounts for more than 30,000 deaths per year, making it the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States. A better understanding of the genetic and molecular basis of pancreatic cancer is needed in order to develop novel and effective diagnostic and therapeutic targets against this disease. Previously, we used array-based Comparative Genomic Hybridization (aCGH) to identify novel regions of DNA amplification in a panel of pancreatic cancer cell lines. The current study is focused on SMURF1, a candidate oncogene found within a highly-localized amplicon at chromosomal region 7q21. SMURF1 is an E3 ubiqutin ligase which has been characterized to inhibit TGF-beta signaling and to promote cell motility, but its role in pancreatic carcinogenesis remains unexplored. We now show that pancreatic cancer cell lines with SMURF1 amplification exhibit elevated SMURF1 mRNA and protein levels. By fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and immunohistochemistry on paraffin sections, we also find that SMURF1 is amplified and/or overexpressed in a subset of primary pancreatic adenocarcimomas. Finally, overexpression of SMURF1 in NIH-3T3 fibroblasts leads to cell transformation (increased focus formation). Our findings support a novel role of SMURF1 amplification in the pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer.
Open image in new windowMass Movement in the Waste Dump of High-Altitude Kumtor Goldmine (Kyrgyzstan)

The movement of waste rocks dumps together with ice, stored on the glaciers of the high-altitude Kumtor gold mine is reviewed in this paper. This mining site is located in the central part of the Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan). There are no other cases around the world, when the waste rocks and removed ice were stored on the active mountain glaciers. The landslide has formed in the area of dumps, stored on the Davydov glacier, and the displacement velocity has dramatically increased in spring 2013. Due to the accelerated movement of rock-ice mass, a number of Kumtor mine infrastructural units was destroyed with economic losses of about USD 100 million. This article presents the results of monitoring of the landslide displacements and provides analysis of the causes for its acceleration. The potential environmental impact of further development of the gravitational mass movement and impact on the Kumtor gold mine facilities were assessed.
The Role of Structure-Activity Relationships in Risk Assessment

Risk assessment of environmental contaminants is dependent on the availability of compound-specific toxicologic information. When this information is not available, it may be possible to employ structure-activity relationship (SAR) methods to predict the toxicologic activity. A brief introduction to SAR methodologies, in particular Quantitative SAR (QSAR) is presented with a summary of the major concerns regarding their application in the regulatory setting. An example of the application of QSAR in assessing the risks of drinking water contaminants is presented. This example uses QSAR methodologies to predict the carcinogenicity and mutagenicity of compounds about which there is either limited or no experimental information regarding these properties. The approach utilizes an existing decision framework developed by the ground water and potable water programs in New Jersey which regulates these contaminants at a 5 ppb level for carcinogens and 50 ppb for noncarcinogens.
Microstructure, Phase Constitution and Tensile Properties of Co–Ni–Ti–Al Base Multi-Phase Intermetallic Alloys

Three multi-phase alloys were selected in the Co-Ni-Ti-Al system with microstructures consisting of combinations of such intermetallic phases as the B2, L1 2 and L2 1 (Heusler), and the primary solid solution denoted as (Co, Ni). They were hot fabricated after drop casting and were heat treated to obtain the multi-phase structures. Optical metallography and electron microprobe analyses revealed that the alloys contained B2/L1 2 , L1 2 /L2 1 and 82/L1 2 /(Co, Ni) phases after annealing at 1273 K. It was found that limited tensile ductility can be achieved in the B2/L1 2 and B2/L1 2 /(Co, Ni) alloys but not in the L1 2 /L2 1 alloy. Fracture analyses on the former two alloys showed that the causes for the brittle fracture include : (1) cleavage fracture in the B2 phase, (2) intergranular fracture of the polycrystalline L1 2 phase, (3) separation of B2/L1 2 interfaces, and (4) environmental effect. Based on such analyses, a new alloy was designed to minimize the above factors for ductility improvement. The alloy consisting of L1 2 /B2/(Co, Ni) three phases was found to exhibit over 20% room temperature ductility, with a yield strength of over 600 MPa.
Design of an omnibearing mobile self-stationary pan-tilt

In order to solve the fixed pan-tilt's blind spots problem, expand the scope of monitoring, realize the visual tracking, we designed a new type of omnibearing mobile self-stationary pan-tilt based on the control concept of visual servo. In visual studio platform, using c++ language for software development, the automatic close target and automatic target tracking algorithm was completed. Using the modular design idea, we designed hand held three-degree-of-freedom self-stabilization pan-tilt module, omnibearing collapsible mobile platform module and remote control module, and each module can work together or independently. Self-stationary pan-tilt consists of the omnibearing collapsible mobile platform and hand held three-degree-of-freedom self-stabilization pan-tilt. It can realize omnibearing movement, wireless transmission synchronously between video and control signal, stationary track shoot, tracking shoot, autonomous line feed and other functions. Embedded platform which based on the STM32F407 micro controller is used as the self-stationary pan-tilt's decision and control kernel. Remote control system provides human-computer interaction interface such as the upper machine, handle, which realize target crossing, stationary track shoot, target monitoring and other tasks conveniently.
A Review of “Knockout: The Boxer and Boxing in American Cinema”

It is well known that French cinephiles ex post facto classified the bleaker American films they began to see following WWII as noir. Noir has since remained one of the favorite topics of genre cri...
Genetics of coronary artery disease: focus on genome-wide association studies

With the advent of the genome-wide association (GWA) study, a promising new avenue for identifying genetic markers for complex diseases like coronary artery disease (CAD) has been opened. This avenue, however, is not without challenges and limitations, including the need for carefully designed and executed studies and the risk of false positive associations. Nonetheless, new markers have been identified through such studies that could potentially revolutionize the ways that individuals with CAD are identified and managed.
Max Weber sobre Direito e Ascensão do Capitalismo (1972)

THE COMMON TENDENCY TO THINK “LAW AND DEVELOPMENT” AS THE STUDY OF PROBLEMS UNIQUE TO THE 20TH CENTURY OFTEN RESULTS IN OUR NEGLECT OF THE GROUNDWORK ALREADY ESTABLISHED BY SCHOLARS OF AN EARLIER AGE FACING SIMILAR PROBLEMS. PROFESSOR TRUBEK’S CONCISE DISTILLATION OX MAX WEBER’S CONTRIBUTION TO LAW AND DEVELOPMENT THEORY DEMONSTRATES THE CONTINUED VIABILITY OF WEBER’S ANALYSIS FOR CONTEMPORARY USE.
Fast Inbound Top-K Query for Random Walk with Restart

Random walk with restart RWR is widely recognized as one of the most important node proximity measures for graphs, as it captures the holistic graph structure and is robust to noise in the graph. In this paper, we study a novel query based on the RWR measure, called the inbound top-kInk query. Given a query node q and a number k, the Ink query aims at retrieving k nodes in the graph that have the largest weighted RWR scores toq. Ink queries can be highly useful for various applications such as traffic scheduling, disease treatment, and targeted advertising. Nevertheless, none of the existing RWR computation techniques can accurately and efficiently process the Ink query in large graphs. We propose two algorithms, namely Squeeze and Ripple, both of which can accurately answer the Ink query in a fast and incremental manner. To identify the top-k nodes, Squeeze iteratively performs matrix-vector multiplication and estimates the lower and upper bounds for all the nodes in the graph. Ripple employs a more aggressive strategy by only estimating the RWR scores for the nodes falling in the vicinity of q, the nodes outside the vicinity do not need to be evaluated because their RWR scores are propagated from the boundary of the vicinity and thus upper bounded. Ripple incrementally expands the vicinity until the top-k result set can be obtained. Our extensive experiments on real-life graph data sets show that Ink queries can retrieve interesting results, and the proposed algorithms are orders of magnitude faster than state-of-the-art method.
Biology of atherosclerotic plaque formation: possible role of growth factors in lesion development and the potential impact of soy.

The advanced lesions of atherosclerosis occlude the affected artery by increasing the thickness of the intima. The focal thickening of the intima is due to a large increase in smooth muscle cells, formation of new connective tissue matrix by these smooth muscle cells and, in hyperlipidemic individuals, the accumulation of intracellular and extracellular lipid. Additionally, monocytes and T lymphocytes infiltrate the artery wall. Various forms of «injury» may lead to cellular infiltration and proliferation. Localized cellular infiltration of monocytes and T cells may be due to changes in adhesive properties of the endothelial surface, involving the expression of specific adhesion molecules. The directed cell migration and proliferation may represent the cells' response to polypeptide growth factors, acting singly or in concert. These peptide growth factors also modulate matrix synthesis and degradation, angiogenesis, cell-cell adhesion and cellular metabolism, including lipid uptake. In atherosclerosis, growth factors may be delivered by infiltrating cells or by activation of cells within the artery wall. Normally, growth factors and their cell-surface receptors are expressed at low or undetectable levels. Their up-regulation in early and developing atherosclerotic lesions suggests a pathogenic role for these molecules. Increased levels of isoflavonoids, in particular genistein, which are associated with consumption of soy-based diets, inhibit cell adhesion, alter growth factor activity and inhibit cell proliferation involved in lesion formation
Sex pheromone of fall armyworm : Laboratory evaluation of male response and inhibition of mating by pheromone components.

Two components of the fall armyworm,Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith), sex pheromone, (Z)-9-dodecen-1-ol acetate (DDA) and (Z)-9-tetradecen-1-ol (TDA), were tested alone and in combination to determine their effects on male sexual response and inhibition of mating in the laboratory. The threshold response for FAW males was lower for TDA than for DDA, and males responded to TDA over a wider range of dosages. Although TDA is not attractive to FAW males in the field, this compound was highly effective in reducing mating under laboratory conditions.
Microendoscopic lumbar disc surgery

Despite the development of many techniques over the years, discectomy through a limited laminotomy has remained the "gold standard" for lumbar disc surgery. Although short-term results of conventional surgery are universally good, reports of long-term results are varied and conflicting. Minimally invasive techniques have been developed not only to return people to activity sooner, but also to decrease undesirable late sequelae. Microendocopic discectomy (MED) is a new technique about which little has been published. MED is unique in that it combines open surgical principles with endoscopic technology. Carefully selected patients can benefit from this minimally invasive procedure as well as our cost-conscious medical system. When performed by an appropriately trained surgeon, MED yields safe and effective results, while demonstrating potential short-term benefits. Further follow-up will show whether this new technology will improve upon the long-term results of the "gold standard" procedures.
The Effectiveness of Alcohol Policies in 4-Year Public Universities

The objective of this study was to evaluate the type of alcohol policy in place in 4-year public universities against the odds of heavy drinking. Data was collected during the months of April-June 2010 using the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey. The participants included a random sample of undergraduate students from 4 public universities in the Midwest. Two of the universities had policies in place allowing the sale and use of alcohol on campus, and 2 universities had policies in place prohibiting the sale and use of alcohol. There were a total of 186 participants which included 63 males and 123 females. There was statistical significance in gender, age, and participation in sports against the odds of heavy drinking (P < .05). The type of policy in place was not significantly associated with the odds of heavy drinking. Even though there was an association between gender, age, and participation in sports with the odds of heavy drinking among college students in this sample, the type of alcohol policy (wet or dry) had no association. The results demonstrate the need for the implementation of alcohol prevention strategies, in addition to policy, to reduce the number of college students who drink heavily. It may be beneficial to target those alcohol intervention programs to the high risk groups such as males, over the age of 21, and those students who participate in sports.
Learning how to answer questions using trivia games

In this paper we examine a sentence comprehension task: given a question, and an extended sentence known to answer that question, the goal is to extract the short answer to the question. As an initial solution, a novel robust statistical model is presented which combines the semantics of the expected answer with the expected context within which the answer will be found. Two distinct trivia game databases, with no additional annotation, are used to train and test the model.
Neural Systems Controlling the Drive to Eat: Mind Versus Metabolism

With the bleak outlook that 75% of Americans will be overweight or obese in 10 years, it is essential to find efficient help very soon. Knowledge of the powerful and complex neural systems conferring the basic drive to eat is a prerequisite for designing efficient therapies. Recent studies suggest that the cross talk between brain areas involved in cognitive, emotional, and metabolic-regulatory functions may explain why energy homeostasis breaks down for many predisposed individuals in our modern environment.
Theoretical analysis of the two-coil method for measuring fluid flow using nuclear magnetic resonance.

A theoretical study of the application of pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) to the measurement of fluid flow has been made. Calculations of detector signal line shapes, for a two‐coil NMRlaboratory experiment, were performed using a computer to determine the appropriate choice of flow signature. Results of calculations are presented showing the sensitivity of the method to various experimental parameters. The position of the received peak signal, in time, was found to correlate directly with mean flow velocity. However, the shape of the received signal was observed to depend markedly upon the state of flow, i.e., laminar, turbulent (plug). Hence, accurate determinations of flow required a knowledge of flow type. The theoretical calculations provided a better understanding of the potential of NMR for measuring fluid or blood flow.