cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Treatment Approaches for Cisplatin-Ineligible Patients with Invasive Bladder Cancer.

Cisplatin has been established as an important agent in the neoadjuvant setting prior to radical cystectomy (RC) surgery for muscle-invasive urothelial cancer (MIUC) as well as in the unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) setting. Unfortunately, many patients in practice are felt to be “cisplatin-ineligible.” Thus, it is vital that we develop treatment approaches and novel therapeutics for this population. We evaluate therapeutic alternatives to cisplatin-based treatment. For patients undergoing RC, there is no recommended alternative to neoadjuvant cisplatin-based combination therapy, and upfront RC or clinical trials are preferable. For patients receiving “bladder-sparing” radiation, concurrent radiosensitizing chemotherapies may be used, and several trials are also underway. For cisplatin-ineligible patients with mUC who are eligible for chemotherapy, carboplatin-based or split-dose cisplatin-based regimens may be employed. Pembrolizumab and atezolizumab offer options as first-line therapy for cisplatin-ineligible patients with high PD-L1 expression. The results of trials combining checkpoint inhibitors or platinum-based chemotherapy plus PD1/PD-L1 inhibitors are eagerly awaited. For platinum or chemotherapy-ineligible patients with mUC, immune checkpoint inhibitors such as inhibitors of programmed death-1/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) are approved regardless of PD-L1 expression. However, given limited effectiveness of first-line PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor monotherapy in tumors with low PD-L1 expression, trials in this space are critical.
Association of the commensal urinary microbiome with response to Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) immunotherapy in nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer.

423Background: Standard therapy for high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is intravesical BCG. Despite its established efficacy, up to 50% of patients may recur. The development of p...
Challenges in Designing a Mentorship Program for Electrical Engineering Freshmen

This Work in Progress Innovative Practice Paper addresses three challenges we face when teaching freshmen: a) how to present a wide variety of sub-fields in electrical engineering, b) how to establish the relevance of electrical engineering to things they care about, and c) how to relate electrical engineering to students' experiences. We are attempting to address these through a mentorship program involving recent alumni working with teams of freshman electrical engineering students. Mentors are expected to: (i) come to class and speak about their job experience, (ii) meet with their teams early in the term to help them get started with their projects, (iii) provide a mock job or internship description to which the students apply by providing resumes and cover letters, (iv) giving feedback on their mock applications, and (v) be available by email or other means to answer questions throughout the quarter. While mentors were enthusiastic, some student teams were not as engaged as we had expected. Mentors suggested keeping students more accountable. Students were more concerned about more structured meetings with mentors and having clear expectations. We agree with these suggestions and are working on their implementation. Overall, our initial results are encouraging enough for us to continue developing this program further.
Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Argentine "American Shoulder and elbow surgeons, patient self-report section" questionnaire.

Abstract Background American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons questionnaire (ASES-p) has been translated into Spanish, but it has not been adapted to the Argentine population yet. Although Spain and Argentina speak the same language, linguistic differences between Spanish-speaking countries may affect the interpretation of the different items included in the questionnaire. Objective To conduct the translation, cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the self-report section of the ASES-p into Argentine Spanish for patients with musculoskeletal shoulder disorders, and to assess its psychometric properties. Design Study of diagnostic accuracy/assessment scale. Method The study was carried out in three consecutive phases: translation, cross-cultural adaptation and validation for its use in Argentina. In the third phase, we used the ASES-p, Short Form 36 (SF-36), EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D), and Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaires, and the Global Rating of Change (GROC) scale. Results One hundred three participants completed a set of questionnaires on two occasions and were included in the final analysis. The time taken to answer and score the questionnaire was 118 and 52 s, respectively. Neither a ceiling nor a floor effect was observed. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.85. Intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.83. A significant correlation was found between the DASH, the GROC and various SF-36 subscales. There were strong indices of concurrent-cross validation, longitudinal validity, and construct validity. The ASES-p questionnaire showed a minimal clinically important difference (MCID) value of 7.88 points. Conclusion Some psychometric properties in reliability and validity were acceptable in the Argentine version of the ASES-p questionnaire.
Evolution of a Hospice Scenario: Manikin to SP and More

Abstract This article describes the evolution of a hospice simulation over time. Based on student evaluations and faculty observations, a manikin-based simulation was converted to a standardized patient simulation, and videos of faculty performing the scenarios and modeling caring behaviors were developed. As their “ticket into class,” students wrote a brief reflection of the caring behaviors they saw used in the recorded nurse/patient interactions. After these changes, students reported that they found the experience to be valuable in a number of ways, including reduction of presimulation anxiety and increasing their sense of being prepared for both the simulation and real-life patient care.
An Empirical Investigation of Equity-Based Crowdfunding Campaigns in the United States

Following the introduction of the JOBS Act in 2016, equity-based crowdfunding has become an alternative e-Business model for startups to fund their companies. Since then, the number of platforms that offer equity-based crowdfunding as well as the total investment in equity-based crowdfunding has steadily increased. Yet, empirical research on equity-based crowdfunding has been lagging, and the empirical evidence has suggested some inconsistent findings across different contexts. Against this backdrop, this paper investigates the success factors for equity-based crowdfunding campaigns. Using a dataset collected from the EquityNet and CrunchBase platforms, we find that lack of prior experience with fundraising is the most important factor that helps equity-based crowdfunding campaigns attract any capital at all from investors; while the number of social networking connections of the core management team and the company valuation will determine the amount of capital that a business can raise through equity-based crowdfunding. Our findings call for additional research that looks at success factors for different types of outcomes in equity-based crowdfunding.
Happiness is a warm gun? Gun ownership and happiness in the United States (1973-2018).

Abstract Although there is no empirical evidence linking gun ownership with happiness, speculation is widespread. In this paper, we assess the association between gun ownership and happiness. We use 27 years of national cross-sectional data from the General Social Survey (1973–2018) and logistic regression to model self-rated happiness as a function of gun ownership (n = 37,960). In bivariate and partially adjusted models, we observed that the odds of being very happy were higher for respondents who reported having a gun in their home. This association persisted with adjustments for age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, employment status, household income, financial satisfaction, financial change, number of children, religious attendance, political affiliation, urban residence, region of interview, and survey year. In our fully adjusted model, gun ownership was unrelated to happiness. The original association between gun ownership and happiness was entirely confounded by marital status. In other words, gun owners only appeared happier because they are more likely to be married, which increases happiness. In the first study of gun ownership and happiness, we found that people who own guns and people who do not own guns tend to exhibit similar levels of happiness. This general pattern was consistent across nearly three decades of national surveys, a wide range of subgroups, and different measures of happiness. Our analyses are important because they contribute to our understanding of the epidemiology of happiness. They also indirectly challenge theoretical perspectives and cultural narratives about how guns contribute to feelings of safety, power, and pleasure.
On the Critical Ideals of Complete Multipartite Graphs

The notions of critical ideals and characteristic ideals of graphs are introduced by Corrales and Valencia to study properties of graphs, including clique number, zero forcing number, minimum rank and critical group. In this paper, we provide methods to compute critical ideals of complete multipartite graphs and obtain complete answers for the characteristic ideals of complete multipartite graphs.
SC411 treatment can enhance survival in a mouse model of sickle cell disease

Abstract Sickle cell disease (SCD) is one of the most common inherited blood disorder among African Americans affecting 70,000–100,000 individuals in the United States. It is characterized by abnormal hemoglobin (HbS) which develops into severe hemolytic anemia and vaso-occlusive crisis. Therefore, patients with SCD suffer from a chronic state of inflammation, which is responsible for multiple organ damage, ischemic attacks, and premature death. Another major hallmark of SCD patients is the abnormally low levels of omega-3 fatty acids, especially docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in their red blood cell membranes. Treatment with DHA can reduce red blood cell adhesion and enhance cerebral blood flow, thus, our main goal is to investigate the effect of SC411, which is a novel, highly purified DHA ethyl ester formulation with a proprietary delivery platform in SCD. Utilizing a transgenic mouse model of SCD (HbSS-Townes) and recurrent hypoxic challenges (10%O2, 0.5% CO2 and balance N2 for 3 h) to mimic ischemic-like conditions, our data suggest that SC411 can elevate blood DHA and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) levels after 8 weeks of treatment. SC411 can also decrease arachidonic acid (AA) and sickling of red blood cells. In addition, SC411-treated SCD mice showed presented with cerebral blood flow, alleviated neuroinflammation, and revived working memory which ultimately enhanced overall survival. In summary, this study suggests that treatment with SC411 improves cellular and functional outcomes in SCD mice. This finding may provide novel therapeutic opportunities in the treatment against ischemic injury elicited by SCD.
TIMP-1 induces an epithelial mesenchymal transition via upregulation of the transcription factor Twist in human breast epithelial cells

5374 Turnover of the extracellular matrix (ECM) is regulated by the balance between matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their endogenous inhibitors, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs1-4). Previous in vitro and mouse studies demonstrated that TIMP-1 reduces tumor cell invasion through MMP inhibition. Therefore, it was unexpected to discover in clinical studies that TIMP-1 overexpression correlates with a poor prognosis in certain malignancies, including metastatic breast cancer. Importantly, we and others found that TIMP-1 is a potent inhibitor of apoptosis in a variety of cell types through either a MMP-dependent or -independent mechanism. Recently, we identified CD63, a member of the tetraspanin family of proteins, as a cell surface binding partner for TIMP-1 which modulates the integrin-mediated survival pathway in the human breast epithelial cell line MCF10A. In addition, we have made a novel finding that TIMP-1 expression in MCF10A cells induces phenotypic changes in cell morphology, cell-cell adhesion, and cytoskeletal remodeling taking on the hallmarks of an epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). This is evidenced by loss of the epithelial cell adhesion molecules E-cadherin and beta-catenin and an increase in the mesenchymal markers vimentin, N-cadherin, and fibronectin. Treatment with rTIMP-1 also led to a loss of E-cadherin in MCF10A cells. Interestingly, TIMP-1 signaling induced Twist expression, a transcription factor known to suppress E-cadherin gene transcription and upregulate mesenchymal markers. SiRNA-mediated Twist knockdown restored E-cadherin expression in TIMP-1 overexpressing MCF10A cells, demonstrating a functional significance of Twist in TIMP-1 mediated EMT. We further demonstrated that TIMP-1 induces Twist expression and EMT in a CD63-dependent manner. Furthermore, analysis of TIMP-1 structural mutants unveiled that TIMP-1 interaction with CD63, activation of cell survival signaling, and induction of EMT in MCF10A cells does not require the MMP-inhibitory domain of TIMP-1. Taken together, we hypothesize that TIMP-1 binding to CD63 activates intracellular signal transduction pathways and leads to inhibition of apoptosis and induction of EMT in breast epithelial cells, facilitating breast cancer progression. Our study of the pleiotropic activities of TIMP-1 at the molecular level may enhance our understanding of TIMP-1’s multi-functions during tumor progression and metastasis. This information may also be useful in designing more rational, mechanism-based therapeutic interventions aimed at modulating activities of MMPs and TIMPs.
The Incidence of Debris Disks at 24 μm and 670 Myr

We use Spitzer Space Telescope 24 μm data to search for debris disks among 122 AFGKM stars from the ~670 Myr clusters Hyades, Coma Ber, and Praesepe, utilizing a number of advances in data reduction and determining the intrinsic colors of main-sequence stars. For our sample, the 1σ dispersion about the main-sequence V-KS , KS -[24] locus is approximately 3.1%. We identify seven debris disks at 10% or more (≥3σ confidence level) above the expected KS -[24] for purely photospheric emission. The incidence of excesses of 10% or greater in our sample at this age is 5.7+3.1 – 1.7%. Combining with results from the literature, the rate is 7.8+4.2 – 2.1% for early-type (B9-F4) stars and 2.7+3.3 – 1.7% for solar-like (F5-K9) stars. Our primary sample has strict criteria for inclusion to allow comparison with other work; when we relax these criteria, three additional debris disks are detected. They are all around stars of solar-like type and hence reinforce our conclusion that disks around such stars are still relatively common at 670 Myr and are similar to the rate around early-type stars. The apparently small difference in decay rates between early-type and solar-like stars is inconsistent with the first-order theoretical predictions that the later type stellar disks would decay an order of magnitude more quickly than the earlier type ones.
Cytology adds value to monoclonal antibody Das-1 testing for detection of high-risk pancreatic cysts.

Introduction Determining the risk of malignancy in a pancreatic cyst (PC) is a clinical and diagnostic challenge. Monoclonal antibody (mAb) Das-1 test was shown to have high sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy in detecting high-risk (HR) cysts. Das-1 mAb test detects HR mucinous cysts with high-grade dysplasia (HGD), invasive carcinoma, and/or intestinal-type epithelium. Correlation of mAb Das-1 testing of PC fluids with cytomorphologic findings has not been evaluated. Materials and methods We correlated cytology with mAb Das-1 test results and resection histology in 26 PCs. There were 18 intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN), 1 intraductal oncocytic papillary neoplasm (IOPN), 4 mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCN), 2 serous cystadenomas, and 1 cystic pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (PanNET). HR cysts included cysts with high-grade atypia on cytology or HGD on histology, invasive carcinoma, IOPNs, and cystic PanNETs. Intestinal type IPMNs were also HR cysts on histology. Results In 17 cases (65.38%), cytology and mAb Das-1 test correlated with histology. There were 2 (7.69%) mAb Das-1 test negative HR PCs diagnosed by cytology. Five (19.23%) mAb Das-1 test positive HR PCs had mucin only or cells with low-grade dysplasia on cytology. Two mAb Das-1 test positive HR PCs had nondiagnostic cytology. HR IOPN and cystic PanNET were not detected by mAb Das-1 test. Conclusion The mAb Das-1 is a sensitive and specific biomarker for detecting HR mucinous PCs. Adding cytology to mAb Das-1 testing improves the sensitivity for the detection of nonmucinous HR PC. Together, cytology with mAb Das-1 testing is more accurate than either one alone.
MWC allosteric model explains unusual hemoglobin-oxygen binding curves from sickle cell drug binding

Abstract An oxygen-affinity-modifying drug, voxelotor, has very recently been approved by the FDA for treatment of sickle cell disease. The proposed mechanism of action is by preferential binding of the drug to the R quaternary conformation, which cannot copolymerize with the T conformation to form sickle fibers. Here, we report widely different oxygen dissociation and oxygen association curves for normal blood in the presence of voxelotor and interpret the results in terms of the allosteric model of Monod, Wyman, and Changeux with the addition of drug binding. The model does remarkably well in quantitatively explaining a complex data set with just the addition of drug binding and dissociation rates for the R and T conformations. Whereas slow dissociation of the drug from R results in time-independent dissociation curves, the changing association curves result from slow dissociation of the drug from T, as well as extremely slow binding of the drug to T. By calculating true equilibrium curves from the model parameters, we show that there would be a smaller decrease in oxygen delivery from the left shift in the dissociation curve caused by drug binding if drug binding and dissociation for both R and T were rapid. Our application of the Monod, Wyman, and Changeux model demonstrates once more its enormous power in explaining many different kinds of experimental results for hemoglobin. It should also be helpful in analyzing oxygen binding and in vivo delivery in future investigations of oxygen-affinity-modifying drugs for sickle cell disease.
Treatment of Shh medulloblastoma with extraneural metastasis to the bone marrow

ABSTRACT Medulloblastoma is the most common primary brain tumor in children, but is rare in adults. Because of the scarcity of adult medulloblastoma cases, treatment guidelines in the adult population are not well established, especially regarding surveillance and treatment of recurrent disease. A 47-year-old African American male initially presented with one month of progressive unsteady gait and dizziness. Imaging revealed a posterior fossa mass and the patient underwent gross total resection. Histology confirmed medulloblastoma and molecular subtyping revealed Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) pathway activation. No metastases were found at the time of diagnosis, and the patient received adjuvant craniospinal radiation therapy. Three years later the patient developed low back pain with severe sciatica affecting his gait and pancytopenia. Imaging revealed diffuse osseous disease without CNS recurrence and bone marrow biopsy confirmed recurrent medulloblastoma. The patient subsequently began reduced chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin and etoposide due to severe pancytopenia. With a lack of response, the Shh inhibitor vismodegib was added. The patient responded to this regimen and vismodegib was continued as maintenance therapy. Follow-up imaging revealed improvement of metastatic disease, lab work demonstrated resolution of pancytopenia, and repeat bone marrow was without malignancy. Six months later, follow-up imaging revealed progression of metastatic disease. Shh medulloblastomas have demonstrated remarkable responses to Shh inhibitors. However, these responses are often transient secondary to rapid development of resistance, but may have a role to play in patients who have bone marrow involvement. Due to poor survival outcomes associated with bone marrow metastases, screening for bone marrow metastases at diagnosis and in surveillance should be recommended.
Sexism and the 2020 presidential primary

This chapter examines the enduring social and attitudinal barriers presented to women presidential candidates and their influence on voters’ perceptions of female executive leadership. There were six women candidates in the 2020 Democratic Primary, a record number, including four Senators, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, Kamala Harris, and Kirsten Gillibrand. None of these women won a single primary contest. Women have been running and winning elected office in record numbers. While voters grow more receptive to female political leadership, they still collectively believe America may not be ready for a woman president.
Designing a Visual Interface for Elementary Students to Formulate AI Planning Tasks

Recent years have seen the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in every facet of society. The ubiquity of AI has led to an increasing demand to integrate AI learning experiences into K-12 education. Early learning experiences incorporating AI concepts and practices are critical for students to better understand, evaluate, and utilize AI technologies. AI planning is an important class of AI technologies in which an AI-driven agent utilizes the structure of a problem to construct plans of actions to perform a task. Although a growing number of efforts have explored promoting AI education for K-12 learners, limited work has investigated effective and engaging approaches for delivering AI learning experiences to elementary students. In this paper, we propose a visual interface to enable upper elementary students (grades 3–5, ages 8–11) to formulate AI planning tasks within a game-based learning environment. We present our approach to designing the visual interface as well as how the AI planning tasks are embedded within narrative-centered gameplay structured around a Use-Modify-Create scaffolding progression. Further, we present results from a qualitative study of upper elementary students using the visual interface. We discuss how the Use-Modify-Create approach supported student learning as well as discuss the misconceptions and usability issues students encountered while using the visual interface to formulate AI planning tasks.
Incorporation of natriuretic peptides with clinical risk scores to predict heart failure among individuals with dysglycaemia

AIMS To evaluate the performance of the WATCH-DM risk score, a clinical risk score for heart failure (HF), in patients with dysglycaemia and in combination with natriuretic peptides (NPs). METHODS AND RESULTS Adults with diabetes/pre-diabetes free of HF at baseline from four cohort studies (ARIC, CHS, FHS, and MESA) were included. The machine learning- [WATCH-DM(ml)] and integer-based [WATCH-DM(i)] scores were used to estimate the 5-year risk of incident HF. Discrimination was assessed by Harrell's concordance index (C-index) and calibration by the Greenwood-Nam-D'Agostino (GND) statistic. Improvement in model performance with the addition of NP levels was assessed by C-index and continuous net reclassification improvement (NRI). Of the 8938 participants included, 3554 (39.8%) had diabetes and 432 (4.8%) developed HF within 5 years. The WATCH-DM(ml) and WATCH-DM(i) scores demonstrated high discrimination for predicting HF risk among individuals with dysglycaemia (C-indices = 0.80 and 0.71, respectively), with no evidence of miscalibration (GND P ≥0.10). The C-index of elevated NP levels alone for predicting incident HF among individuals with dysglycaemia was significantly higher among participants with low/intermediate (<13) vs. high (≥13) WATCH-DM(i) scores [0.71 (95% confidence interval 0.68-0.74) vs. 0.64 (95% confidence interval 0.61-0.66)]. When NP levels were combined with the WATCH-DM(i) score, HF risk discrimination improvement and NRI varied across the spectrum of risk with greater improvement observed at low/intermediate risk [WATCH-DM(i) <13] vs. high risk [WATCH-DM(i) ≥13] (C-index = 0.73 vs. 0.71; NRI = 0.45 vs. 0.17). CONCLUSION The WATCH-DM risk score can accurately predict incident HF risk in community-based individuals with dysglycaemia. The addition of NP levels is associated with greater improvement in the HF risk prediction performance among individuals with low/intermediate risk than those with high risk.
Basic Definitions and Properties

After the appropriate definitions in Section 2 we present in Section 3 a simple example of a semidynamical system in an infinite dimensional space. The example arises in conjunction with a Poisson process. The objective of Section 4 is to extend semidynamical systems to the negative time domain. This results in a classification of the maximal time domains of semidynamical systems. In Section 5 we characterize critical and periodic motions and prove an extension theorem for periodic motions. Examples are presented which distinguish semidynamical system behavior from its precursor, dynamical systems. Section 6 is devoted to both an algebraic and a topological classification of positive orbits. The chapter is closed following a reparametrization theorem. It permits us to treat global semidynamical systems throughout the book. This results in a considerable savings as regards the theory without losing the applicability of the results to many important examples.
Towards High-Accuracy Low-Cost Noisy Robust Speech Recognition Exploiting Structured Model

 It is well known that the distorted speech can be considered generated from the clean speech with the additive noise and the convolutive channel as In this paper, we present our recent study on using this structured model of physical distortion for robust automatic speech recognition. Three methods are introduced for joint compensation of additive and convolutive distortions (JAC), with different online computation costs. They are JAC model adaptation, GMM-based JAC model adaptation, and JAC feature enhancement. All these algorithms consist of two main steps. First, the noise and channel parameters are estimated using a nonlinear environment distortion model in the cepstral domain, and the vector-Taylor-series (VTS) linearization technique collectively. Second, the estimated noise and channel parameters are used to adapt the hidden Markov model (HMM) parameters or clean the distorted speech feature. In the experimental evaluation using the standard Aurora 2 task, the proposed JAC algorithms all achieve around 89% accuracy using the cleantrained complex HMM backend, compare favorably over previously developed techniques. In the meanwhile, the JAC feature enhancement method has much smaller computation cost than the other two methods, and can be used as a high-accuracy low-cost noise robust front end. Detailed analysis on the experimental results shows that online updating all the noise and channel distortion parameters is critical to the success of our algorithms.
Androgenic biomarker profiling in human matrices and cell culture samples using high throughput, electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

BACKGROUND A high throughput, high pressure liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with triple quadrupole mass spectral detection (LC/MS/MS) was validated for the measurement of 5 endogenous androgens in human plasma and serum and applied to various in vivo and in vitro study samples to pursue a better understanding of the interrelationship of the androgen axis, intracrine metabolism, and castration-recurrent prostate cancer (CaP).
On The Integration of Equality, Sorts, and Logic Programming

Logic programming in its original form lacks at least two important features that are predominant in the area of algebraic specifications of abstract data types: equations and a type concept. In this paper we consider many-sorted logic programs with equality. Besides the model-theoretic semantics based on initial models we investigate the operational semantics based on resolution and unification modulo a set of conditional equations. We define a translation of logic programs LPE with equality into logic programs LPф with empty equational part and thus offer a rapid and correct realization of equational Horn logic. Correctness is achieved in the sense that the original program LPE satisfies a goal G iff LPф. satisfies G.
ENZYME ACTIVITIES FOLLOWING CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO CRUDE OIL IN A SIMULATED ECOSYSTEM. II: STRIPED MULLET

Abstract Enzyme activities were investigated in brain, gill, liver, and muscle homogenates from striped mullet which had been exposed to crude oil for 10 months in a simulated estuarine ecosystem. Enzymes assayed included acetylcholinesterase, alkaline phosphatase, β-glucuronidase, glutamic-pyruvic transaminase, lactic dehydrogenase, and malic dehydrogenase. Few seasonal trends in enzyme activities were observed. Alterations in some enzyme activities, particularly acetylcholinesterase, β-glucuronidase, and malic dehydrogenase, may have reflected physiological changes in the mullet resulting from stress. In general, there were few chronic alterations in mullet enzyme activities resulting from the oil spill.
Improved method for estimating the standard free energies of formation (ΔGf,298.150) of smectites

Abstract Two alternative empirical methods were developed for estimating the standard free energies of formation of layer silicate minerals with cation exchange capacity due to isomorphous substitutions. These methods involve the summation of either hydroxide or oxide components to form the desired smectite mineral similarly to a method developed by Nriagu, but differ in that (1) no ad hoc ‘calibrations’ are necessary for the ΔG f,298.15 0 values of alkali hydroxides and (2) a three-parameter equation is used for the correction factor, with the charge on the mineral due to isomorphous substitutions and the ionic radius and charge on the exchangeable cation taken as independent variables. A comparison between experimental and estimated ΔG f,298.15 0 values indicated that one of the methods (that involving the summation of hydroxide components) was significantly better than all other methods in predicting ΔG f,298.15 0 values of smectites while at the same time requiring no ad hoc thermochemical assumptions.
Stability of ε-kernels

Given a set P of n points in Rd, an e-kernel K ⊆ P approximates the directional width of P in every direction within a relative (1-e) factor. In this paper we study the stability of e-kernels under dynamic insertion and deletion of points to P and by changing the approximation factor e. In the first case, we say an algorithm for dynamically maintaining a e-kernel is stable if at most O(1) points change in K as one point is inserted or deleted from P. We describe an algorithm to maintain an e-kernel of size O(1/e(d-1)/2) in O(1/e(d-1)/2 + log n) time per update. Not only does our algorithm maintain a stable e-kernel, its update time is faster than any known algorithm that maintains an e-kernel of size O(1/e(d-1)/2). Next, we show that if there is an e-kernel of P of size κ, which may be dramatically less than O(1/e(d-1)/2), then there is an (e/2)-kernel of P of size O(min{1/e(d-1)/2, κ⌊d/2⌋ logd-2(1/e)}). Moreover, there exists a point set P in Rd and a parameter e > 0 such that if every e-kernel of P has size at least κ, then any (e/2)-kernel of P has size Ω(κ⌊d/2⌋).
First evidence of middle atmospheric HO2 response to 27 day solar cycles from satellite observations

HO_2 and OH, also known as HO_x, play an important role in controlling middle atmospheric O_3. Due to their photochemical production and short chemical lifetimes, HO_x are expected to respond rapidly to solar irradiance changes, resulting in O_3 variability. While OH solar cycle signals have been investigated, HO_2 studies have been limited by the lack of reliable observations. Here we present the first evidence of HO_2 variability during solar 27 day cycles by investigating the recently developed HO_2 data from the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS). We focus on 2012–2015, when solar variability is strong near the peak of Solar Cycle 24. The features of HO_2 variability, with the strongest signals at 0.01–0.068 hPa, correlate well with those of solar Lyman α. When continuous MLS OH observations are not available, the new HO_2 data could be a promising alternative for investigating HO_x variability and the corresponding impacts on O_3 and the climate.
Beyond rescaling: reintegrating the 'national' as a dimension of scalar relations

Among scholars of globalization and neoliberalism, there has been a marked turn away from the national as a relevant scale in today's world, with researchers arguing that the national is being `res...
Segmentation of the Vertebrate Head

Historical views of head segmentation are reviewed. The concensus is that the head is segmented essentially in terms of myomeres, and that other organs have responded in varying degrees to this. From the various lines of reasoning a model of the primitive vertebrate is generated. This model denies the tunicate origin of the vertebrates—rather it identifies amphioxus as most like the ancestral vertebrate. The vertebrate head is made up of a preoral segment plus four other segments. Because of sclerotomites, the head extends through five and a half segments. The nasal organs and eyes are preoral structures while the ear is located between segments three and four. The occipital portion of the head skeleton is formed from the posterior half of the fifth segment and the anterior half of the sixth; it is vertebra-like in structure. This “segment” is much altered as a result of the multiplication of the visceral pouches and is often viewed as the fusion product of several segments. Thus the idea of correspondence between somite and visceral segments posterior to the second branchial arch is rejected. In some fishes, additional vertebrae are added to the posterior part of the cranium and this can be observed in development. The bony cranium of the vertebrate appears to partially reflect segmentation; its components suggest a vertebra-like developmental influence in operation. Study of the shark head has contributed much to our knowledge of this area.
Red states, blue states: How well do the recent national election labels capture state political and policy differences?

Abstract The alleged polarization between the so-called red (Republican) and blue (Democratic) states during the presidential elections has been examined using only voter surveys. Focusing on the recent thirteen national elections from 1964 to 2012, we examine social, political, institutional, and policy indicators of the 50 American states to (1) gauge the extent to which national election results reflect significant policy and political differences between the red and blue states and (2) to assess the explanatory power of the dichotomous red–blue label relative to a continuous variable of “redness” or “blueness” by the percentage of votes received. We find substantial political and some moderate social differences between red and blue states but fewer institutional and policy differences than one would expect if there were actually deep divisions between the states. We find that the red–blue state distinction performs well when compared to the explanatory power of the more precise redness or blueness of a state.
Flicker induces depth: spatial and temporal factors in the perceptual segregation of flickering and nonflickering regions in depth

If some regions of a random-dot field are flickered, then the nonflickering areas appear to stand out in depth in front of the flickering regions. This perception of depth is optimal within a limited range of temporal frequencies. The average temporal luminance of the flickering and nonflickering regions was kept equal, so the depth segregation is not due to a luminance difference. In fact, depth is seen even when the average temporal luminance of the flickering regions is twice that of the steadily presented regions. The magnitude of perceived depth is affected by the percentage of luminance modulation: depth is maximal at 100% modulation and diminishes as the percent modulation decreases. We charted the tuning function using alternating flickering and nonflickering random-dot bars and found it to be similar to those of visual channels most sensitive to high temporal frequency.
Performance Analysis of a Control-Free Dynamic Spectrum Access Scheme

In dynamic spectrum access (DSA), secondary users (SUs) dynamically search and access spectrum bands unused by primary users to communicate. We propose a DSA scheme where it does not require a control channel for coordination and SU nodes do not need to exchange control messages to rendezvous. Every SU node selects its operational channel independently. When a node wants to rendezvous with another node, the former estimates the operational channel of the latter. The scheme ensures that such rendezvous has a high probability of success, while operational channels are diversified to reduce co-channel interference and hence increase throughput. We develop a mathematical model to analyze the performance of the scheme. Both analytical and simulation results show that the scheme achieves very good performance.
Coherent optical production of the Hough transform

The Hough transform (HT) is an efficient shape detector that maps straight lines into a two-parameter feature space. Recently it has been pointed out that the forward Radon transform (FRT), well known from the theory of computed tomography, and the HT are equivalent for binary images. In this paper, analog coherent optical implementation of the FRT is discussed. The FRT will not only be of use in implementing the HT shape descriptors but also act as a coherent optical preprocessor for the implementation of multidimensional convolution, correlation, and spectral analysis using 1-D acoustooptical signal processing devices. Several different coherent optical FRT architectures are presented. Experimental results using conventional coherent Fourier transform configuration are given. The relationship between the coherent optical implementation of the FRT and the inverse Radon transform, an important tool in computed tomography, is also detailed.
Inclusions in mitochondria of preputial glands from mice a combinded biochemical and morphologic study

Abstract We report a correlative biochemical and electron microscopic study of certain osmiophilic inclusions in mitochondria. These inclusions, 100–250 mμ in diameter, occur in mitochondria of the mouse preputial gland, a specialized sebaceous organ. Organic solvents remove these inclusion from glutaraldehyde-fixed mitochondrial pellets. Lipid analysis of these extracts indicates that the mitochondrial inclusions are composed of neutral lipids, consisting mainly of waxes and lesser amounts of diacyl glyceryl ethers and sterols. In contrast, thin-layer chromatography demonstrated that the microsomal fraction was essentially devoid of waxes. We conclude from these data that the intramitochondrial inclusions are responsible fro the large quantity of wax in the mitochondrial fraction.
Fast implementations of reconstruction-based scatter compensation in fully 3D SPECT image reconstruction.

Accurate scatter compensation in SPECT can be performed by modelling the scatter response function during the reconstruction process. This method is called reconstruction-based scatter compensation (RBSC). It has been shown that RBSC has a number of advantages over other methods of compensating for scatter, but using RBSC for fully 3D compensation has resulted in prohibitively long reconstruction times. In this work we propose two new methods that can be used in conjunction with existing methods to achieve marked reductions in RBSC reconstruction times. The first method, coarse-grid scatter modelling, significantly accelerates the scatter model by exploiting the fact that scatter is dominated by low-frequency information. The second method, intermittent RBSC, further accelerates the reconstruction process by limiting the number of iterations during which scatter is modelled. The fast implementations were evaluated using a Monte Carlo simulated experiment of the 3D MCAT phantom with tracer, and also using experimentally acquired data with tracer. Results indicated that these fast methods can reconstruct, with fully 3D compensation, images very similar to those obtained using standard RBSC methods, and in reconstruction times that are an order of magnitude shorter. Using these methods, fully 3D iterative reconstruction with RBSC can be performed well within the realm of clinically realistic times (under 10 minutes for image reconstruction).
The Future of Hip Resurfacing

With experience in metal-metal resurfacing, several opportunities to improve resurfacing technology have been identified. There is a need for better education on hip resurfacing in residency training programs. The majority of short-term complications associated with resurfacing are related to surgical technique or component position. Innovations to improve acetabular component position and femoral-acetabular mating are needed. Although the majority of high wear and adverse local tissue reactions (ALTR) can be prevented by proper component positioning, the variable exposure to metal particles and ions associated with metal-metal resurfacing components continues to be a concern and bearing surface technology will evolve.
Synergy by Secretory Phospholipase A2 and Glutamate on Inducing Cell Death and Sustained Arachidonic Acid Metabolic Changes in Primary Cortical Neuronal Cultures

Secretory and cytosolic phospholipases A2 (sPLA2 and cPLA2) may contribute to the release of arachidonic acid and other bioactive lipids, which are modulators of synaptic function. In primary cortical neuron cultures, neurotoxic cell death and [3H]arachidonate metabolism was studied after adding glutamate and sPLA2 from bee venom. sPLA2, at concentrations eliciting low neurotoxicity (≤100 ng/ml), induced a decrease of [3H]arachidonate-phospholipids and preferential reesterification of the fatty acid into triacylglycerols. Free [3H]arachidonic acid accumulated at higher enzyme concentrations, below those exerting highest toxicity. Synergy in neurotoxicity and [3H]arachidonate release was observed when low, nontoxic (10 ng/ml, 0.71 nM), or mildly toxic (25 ng/ml, 1.78 nM) concentrations of sPLA2 were added together with glutamate (80 μM). A similar synergy was observed with the sPLA2 OS2, from Taipan snake venom. The NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 blocked glutamate effects and partially inhibited sPLA2 OS2 but not sPLA2 from bee venom-induced arachidonic acid release. Thus, the synergy with glutamate and very low concentrations of exogenously added sPLA2 suggests a potential role for this enzyme in the modulation of glutamatergic synaptic function and of excitotoxicity.
Effect of On-Farm Litter Acidification Treatments on Campylobacter and Salmonella Populations in Commercial Broiler Houses in Northeast Georgia

Abstract Two commercially available litter treatments, aluminum sulfate and sodium bisulfate, were tested to determine their effect on Campylobacter and Salmonella levels associated with commercial broilers during a 6-wk grow-out period. A total of 20 broiler houses at 10 different locations were studied; 5 aluminum sulfate-treated houses, 5 sodium bisulfate-treated houses, and 10 paired, untreated control houses. A single application rate was investigated for each treatment. Fecal samples (n = 20 per house) were analyzed at wk 2, 4, and 5 and 6 for Campylobacter and Salmonella. The results indicated that, at the application rates investigated, both acidifying litter treatments caused a slight delay in the onset of Campylobacter colonization in broiler chicks. Salmonella levels remained unaffected, with no significant effect seen with either treatment (P > 0.05). Campylobacter populations and Salmonella incidence associated with unprocessed, whole-carcass rinse samples (n = 10 per house) analyzed at the end of production (wk 5 and 6) were unaffected by treatment.
Meta-learning and Multi-objective Optimization to Design Ensemble of Classifiers

Ensemble of classifiers, or simply ensemble systems, have been proved to be efficient for pattern recognition tasks. However, its design can become a difficult task. For instance, the choice of its individual classifiers and the use of feature selection methods are very difficult to define in the design of these systems. In order to smooth out this problem, we will apply meta-learning and multi-objective optimization in the choice of important parameters of ensemble systems. Therefore, this work applies meta-learning techniques to define an initial configuration of an multi-objective optimization algorithm, more specifically NSGA II. The meta-learner is used to recommend the proportion of each type of base classifiers to compose the ensemble systems. The NSGA II is used to generate heterogeneous ensembles selecting attributes, types and parameters of base classifiers optimizing the classification error and the bad diversity. The results are analysed using error rate and multi-objective metrics in order to verify whether to use of meta-learning generates more accurate ensemble systems.
Variations in crustal thickness of the Kane transform in the north Atlantic ocean

A new approach was taken to investigate the crustal stucture of the Kane transform and its aseismic extension, using high quality bathymetry and gravity data. The gravity signatures associated with variations in crustal thickness of the transform were isolated from the observed free-air anomaly, was continued downward to the mean depth of the crust/mantle interface and converted onto the relief on that surface. The crustal thickness of the transform was then calculated by subtracting seawater depth from the depth of the gravity-inferred crust/mantle interface, 3-D gravity investigation results indicate that the Kane transform and adjacent areas are associated with a crust thinner than normal oceanic crust. The transform trough is largely underlain by a crust less than 4.5km thick and in the nodal basins the crust may be as thin as 3 km. The crust beneath the fracture zone valley is 4–5.5 km thick. The rift valleys on the spreading segments are also characterized by thin crust (4–5 km thick). Thin oceanic crust extends to 20–30 km from the transform axis except for some localized places such as the inside corner highs adjoining the ridge-transform intersections. These gravity-inferred results match fairly well with limited published seismic results. Thinning of the crust is mainly attributable to a thin layer 3, which in turn may be explained by the combined effects of reduced magma supply at the ends of the spreading segments and tectonic activities in the region.