cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Data mining algorithm for discovering matrix association regions (MARs)

Lately, there has been considerable interest in applying Data Mining techniques to scientific and data analysis problems in bioinformatics. Data mining research is being fueled by novel application areas that are helping the development of newer applied algorithms in the field of bioinformatics, an emerging discipline representing the integration of biological and information sciences. This is a shift in paradigm from the earlier and the continuing data mining efforts in marketing research and support for business intelligence. The problem described in this paper is along a new dimension in DNA sequence analysis research and supplements the previously studied stochastic models for evolution and variability. The discovery of novel patterns from genetic databases as described is quite significant because biological patterns play an important role in a large variety of cellular processes and constitute the basis for gene therapy. Biological databases containing the genetic codes from a wide variety of organisms, including humans, have continued their exponential growth over the last decade. At the time of this writing, the GenBank database contains over 300 million sequences and over 2.5 billion characters of sequenced nucleotides. The focus of this paper is on developing a general data mining algorithm for discovering regions of locus control, i.e. those regions that are instrumental for determining cell type. One such type of element of locus control are the MARs or the Matrix Association Regions. Our limited knowledge about MARs has hampered their detection using classical pattern recognition techniques. Consequently, their detection is formulated by utilizing a statistical interestingness measure derived from a set of empirical features that are known to be associated with MARs. This paper presents a systematic approach for finding associations between such empirical features in genomic sequences, and for utilizing this knowledge to detect biologically interesting control signals, such as MARs. This computational MAR discovery tool is implemented as a web-based software called MAR-Wiz and is available for public access. As our knowledge about the living system continues to evolve, and as the biological databases continue to grow, a pattern learning methodology similar to that described in this paper will be significant for the detection of regulatory signals embedded in genomic sequences.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Space-Time Correlated MIMO Mobile-To-Mobile Channels

A theoretical model is proposed for multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) mobile-to-mobile (M-to-M) Rayleigh fading channels, such that the complex faded envelope does not depend on the distance between scatterers and antenna elements. From this model, a closed-form joint space-time correlation function is derived for 2-D non-isotropic scattering environment. Also, a space-frequency power density spectrum of the complex faded envelope is derived, assuming 2-D isotropic scattering environment. Finally, a statistical simulation model for MIMO M-to-M Rayleigh fading channels is proposed. The space-time correlation function of the simulation model is derived and verified by simulation, and an adaptive method for choosing the number of scatterers in simulations is proposed. The results show that the statistical simulation model is a good approximation of the theoretical model.
Structronics and Actuation of Hybrid Electrostrictive/Piezoelectric Thin Shells

Certain ferroelectric materials possess dual electrostrictive and piezoelectric characteristics, depending on their specific Curie temperatures. The nonlinear electro-mechanical effect of electrostrictive materials provides stronger actuation performance as compared with that of piezoelectric materials. Due to the complexity of the generic ferroelectric actuators, micro-electromechanics, structure-electronic (structronic) coupling and control characteristics of hybrid electrostrictive/piezoelectric dynamic systems deserve an in-depth investigation. In this study, dynamic electro-mechanical system equations and boundary conditions of hybrid electrostrictive/piezoelectric double-curvature shell continua are derived using the energy-based Hamilton's principle, elasticity theory, electrostrictive/piewelectric constitutive relations, and Gibb's free energy function. These governing equations clearly reveal the coupling of electrostrictive, piezoelectric, and elastic fields and characteristics change triggered by the Curie temperature. The electric terms are used to manipulate and to control the static/dynamic behavior of hybrid electrostrictive/piezoelectric shells. To apply the hybrid shell system equations to other geometries, simplification procedures using two Lame parameters and two radii of curvature are demonstrated in two cases: A hybrid electrostrictive/piezoelectric conical shell and a hybrid electrostrictive/piezoelectric toroidal shell. Following the same procedures, one can apply the generic system equations to other common geometries, e.g., beams, arches, plates, rings, cylindrical shells, spherical shells, etc., or specific materials, e.g., electrostrictive or piezoelectric, and further evaluate their electromechanical characteristics and actuation/control effectiveness.
Using latent semantic indexing for information filtering

Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) is an information retrieval method that organizes information into a semantic structure that takes advantage of some of the implicit higher-order associations of words with text objects. The resulting structure reflects the major associative patterns in the data while ignoring some of the smaller variations that may be due to idiosyncrasies in the word usage of individual documents. This permits retrieval based on the “latent” semantic content of the documents rather than just on keyword matches. This paper evaluates using LSI for filtering information such as Netnews articles based on a model of user preferences for articles. Users judged articles on how interesting they were and based on these judgements, LSI predicted whether new articles would be judged interesting. LSI improved prediction performance over keyword matching an average of 13% and showed a 26% improvement in precision over presenting articles in the order received. The results indicate that user preferences for articles tend to cluster based on the semantic similarities between articles.
Adaptive dynamic cost updating procedure for solving fixed charge network flow problems

We approximate the objective function of the fixed charge network flow problem (FCNF) by a piecewise linear one, and construct a concave piecewise linear network flow problem (CPLNF). A proper choice of parameters in the CPLNF problem guarantees the equivalence between those two problems. We propose a heuristic algorithm for solving the FCNF problem, which requires solving a sequence of CPLNF problems. The algorithm employs the dynamic cost updating procedure (DCUP) to find a solution to the CPLNF problems. Preliminary numerical experiments show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. In particular, it provides a better solution than the dynamic slope scaling procedure in less CPU time.
Hamiltonian Decomposition of Lexicographic Products of Digraphs

We partially resolve a conjecture of Alspach, Bermond, and Sotteau by showing that the lexicographic product of two hamiltonian decomposable digraphs, the first of odd order, is itself hamiltonian decomposable in general.
Cameras 'never lie' : The role of photography in telling the story of American evangelical missions

In her controversial novel, No Graven Image (1966), former missionary and best-selling evangelical author Elisabeth Elliot described the visit of a zealous missions executive, Mr. Harvey, to observe her main character, missionary Margaret Sparhawk, working among the mountain Quichua Indians in Ecuador. Harvey, a pompous sort, arrived with two cameras slung around his neck and spent most of his visit snapping photographs. When Margaret suggested it was time to leave the home of Pedro, her Quichua language informant, Harvey demurred, not yet finished with his picture taking.
Regulation of skeletal muscle sarcolemmal ATP-dependent calcium transport by calmodulin and cAMP-dependent protein kinase☆

Abstract Skeletal muscle sarcolemma preparations, predominantly in the form of inside-out vesicles, were obtained from porcine muscle by a LiBr-extraction procedure. In the presence of ATP, these preparations were able to accumulate 94 nmol Ca/mg protein after 20 min at 37 °C. Sarcolemmal calcium uptake was completely blocked by the calcium ionophore, A23187, but was unaffected by monovalent cation ionophores. Calcium uptake was markedly inhibited by vanadate, with an approximate Ki of 0.5 μ m . Oxalate (5 m m ) had little effect on the initial phase of calcium uptake, while inorganic phosphate, at concentrations up to 50 m m , had a significant stimulatory effect on sarcolemmal calcium uptake. In contrast to ATP, acetylphosphate had minimal ability and p-nitrophenylphosphate had no ability to support calcium uptake. The maximal initial velocity of skeletal muscle sarcolemmal calcium uptake was 10.0 nmol Ca mg−1 min−1 at 37 °C, with a K 1 2 for Ca2+ of 0.88 μ m . Addition of either 1 μ m calmodulin, or 5 μ m cAMP and 0.1 mg/ml cAMP-dependent protein kinase, increased the Vmax to 12.5 and 12.8 nmol Ca mg−1 min−1, respectively, and decreased the K 1 2 for Ca2+ to 0.67 and 0.70 μ m , respectively; simultaneous addition of calmodulin and cAMP-dependent protein kinase increased the Vmax to 15.2 nmol Ca mg−1 min−1 and further lowered the K 1 2 to 0.51 μ m . When concentrations of NaCl from 10 to 60 m m were added to vesicles that had been loaded with calcium in the presence of ATP, an immediate release of calcium occurred. This process had an approximate K 1 2 for sodium of 10–20 m m and an approximate maximal rate of 50 nmol Ca mg−1 min−1. We conclude that skeletal muscle sarcolemma contains a cAMP-dependent protein kinase-and calmodulin-stimulatable ATP-dependent calcium transport, as well as a sodium: calcium exchange activity.
Contextual Information and Differential Responses to Alarm Whistles in California Ground Squirrels

In the field, we videotaped the reactions of squirrels to playbacks of 1, 3 and 5 whistle vocalizations at two sound intensities differing by 10 dB. The squirrels reacted by running to boulders or burrows and freezing. As time progressed following playbacks, freezing declined and squirrels resumed feeding, locomotion and grooming. With increasing numbers of whistles, squirrels were more likely to run and less likely to mount a boulder. With more high intensity whistles, squirrels froze quadrupedally more and bipedally less. Freezing postures did not vary as a function of the number of low-intensity whistles. Walking was suppressed least by 1 and 3 whistles at low intensity, and inhibited most by all high-intensity whistles as well as by the low-intensity 5-whistle playback. When the squirrel was on a boulder, quadrupedal freezing was more common than bipedal freezing. Off the boulder, the two freezing postures were equally likely. We propose that squirrels assessed risk from information encoded in the whistle(s) and contextual to it, and varied their reactions as a function of apparent risk.
THE EFFECT OF SAMPLE PROBE SIZE ON SUBLAYER PERIOD IN TURBULENT BOUNDARY LAYERS

(1980). THE EFFECT OF SAMPLE PROBE SIZE ON SUBLAYER PERIOD IN TURBULENT BOUNDARY LAYERS. Chemical Engineering Communications: Vol. 5, No. 5-6, pp. 337-345.
A Potential Infectivity Index for Triatoma harboring Trypanosoma cruzi Chagas.

Abstract The contaminative effect of conenose bugs, Triatoma protracta, for man and animals is greater for nymphs than adults in relation to number of defecations released over a 6-hour observation period. An infectivity index is proposed for the number of metacyclic parasites present in proportion to non-metacyclic per fecal droplet. The total contaminative potential averaged 5.6 fecal droplets released per nymph and 2.6 per adult. The total number of parasites per bug averaged 555.8 for 19 different samples from 15 adults and 157.5 for samples from 50 nymphs. Time of first defecation favors 5th instar nymphs for contaminative effect nearest to host immediately after feeding. The number of metacyclic Trypanosoma cruzi in 1st fecal droplets released averaged 349.2 per female, 156.8 per male and 154.1 per 4th instar nymph. The total number of metacyclic parasites per bug with complete counts averaged 1954.3 per male (9 ♂o ♂o), 1821.1 per female (6 ♀o ♀o) and 1678 per 4th instar nymph (4 bugs) 34 to 1043 days after the infective blood meal.
Zoroastrians in Muslim Iran: selected problems of coexistence and interaction during the early medieval period

(1987). Zoroastrians in Muslim Iran: selected problems of coexistence and interaction during the early medieval period. Iranian Studies: Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 17-30.
Identification of Nonlinear Behavior in a Composite Structure With Core-Crushing Damage

Many damage detection methods that are applied to composite structures rely on nonlinear features in the dynamic response of the structure to identify the presence of defects. Presently, there is not a complete understanding of the physical mechanisms that cause the nonlinear behavior of a damaged composite structure. Correlating specific types of damage mechanisms to the resulting nonlinear response characteristics they cause would allow the detection methods to classify the type of damage that is present in the structure. In this work, a drop tower was used to impact an aluminum honeycomb sandwich panel in order to induce core-crushing. The response of the damaged panel to sinusoidal excitations of various amplitudes at resonant, super-, and sub-harmonic frequencies was then measured. The amplitudes of these measured responses and the corresponding restoring force curves were then compared to a predictive model to identify the type of theoretical nonlinearity (i.e. quadratic or cubic stiffness, quadratic or cubic damping, etc.) that was present. The predictive model is based on a nonlinear, single degree-of-freedom system. Nonlinear features in the response of the system were identified for different types of stiffness and damping nonlinearities. The experimentally measured response was analyzed to see which of these features were present. Based on this analysis, the response of the panel of damage due to core-crushing indicated a quadratic spring-type stiffness.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Modifying timber cow cubicle divisions to improve cow acceptability

Abstract In a prefabricated timber building with cubicles of inadequate size (2130 × 1140 mm), the lower rails were modified in an attempt to improve cow acceptability without major structural alterations. The wooden bottom rail was either raised, replaced by a rope or plastic piping, or the whole division was replaced by a metal “comfort” type division. Cows were observed during winter housing and recordings were made of the occasions on which each cubicle type was used. Overall, rope in lieu of the lower rail was the most frequently used, with the rigid wooden bottom rail being the least preferred. No cow used only one type of cubicle consistently, while several used all four types at some stage during the trial. With bigger cows, for which the cubicles were much too small, plastic and rope were equally favoured over the rigid wooden rail or the comfort-type cubicle. Amongst the smaller cows, where cubicle size was theoretically just adequate, rope was the most preferred division. The results indicate that cows housed in cubicles which were too small preferred divisions with a flexible bottom rail.
Modeling Removal of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in Acidic Groundwater during Neutralization by Ambient Surface Waters and Groundwaters

Removal of Pb, Cu, Zn, and Cd during neutralization of acid rock drainage is examined using model simulations of field conditions and laboratory experiments involving mixing of natural drainage and surface waters or groundwaters. The simulations consider sorption onto hydrous Fe and Al oxides and particulate organic carbon, mineral precipitation, and organic and inorganic solution complexation of metals for two physical systems where newly formed oxides and particulate organic matter are either transported or retained along the chemical pathway. The calculations indicate that metal removal is a strong function of the physical system. Relative to direct discharge of ARD into streams, lower metal removals are observed where ARD enters streamwaters during the latter stages of neutralization by ambient groundwater after most of the Fe has precipitated and been retained in the soils. The mixing experiments, which represent the field simulations, also demonstrated the importance of dissolved metal to particle Fe ratios in controlling dissolved metal removal along the chemical pathway. Finally, model calculations indicate that hydrous Fe oxides and particulate organic carbon are more important than hydrous Al oxides in removing metals and that both inorganic and organic complexation must be considered when modeling metal removal from aquatic systems that are impacted by sulfide oxidation.
Energy-Aware Distributed QR Decomposition on Wireless Sensor Nodes

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are starting to mature into the next generation where they can be used for adaptive filtering and signal processing, breaking away from the current generation of microcontroller applications. The tasks involved, however, are computationally intensive and strain the energy resources of any single computational sensor node. Moreover, most sensor nodes do not have the computational resources to complete many of these tasks repeatedly. Hence, exploring distributed processing on WSNs becomes a necessity to enable such computational load to be processed in real-time. In this work, a new distributed QR decomposition algorithm, on WSNs, is developed and implemented. QR decomposition has prominent applications in adaptive filtering which is essential for many WSN applications, such as target tracking and beamforming. The contributions of this work can be summarized as follows: (i) developing a new scalable tile-based distributed QR decomposition algorithm, (ii) distributing the least-squares problem based on the proposed distribution of the QR decomposition, (iii) developing resource-aware task allocation and mapping and (iv) developing a simple decentralized transmission scheduling scheme to guarantee efficient operation. This work demonstrates that distributed processing on WSNs paves the way for larger computations beyond the capabilities of a single node. This is accomplished while decreasing the energy per node and increasing the speed of the computation versus the implementation on a single node. The experiments, on a test bed of Telosb sensor nodes, prove that the proposed distributed algorithm enables higher computational capabilities while reducing the energy per node by up to 91.93% and speeding up the computation by up to 79.29% compared with running the QR decomposition on a single node, thus laying the foundation for energy-feasible real-time in-network processing.
Low birthweight: Do unwed fathers help?

Abstract Previous studies have revealed that marital status is an important predictor of birth outcomes, with unmarried mothers having a higher probability than married mothers of delivering low birthweight babies. However, research on the impact of different mother-father relationships among unwed parents is virtually non-existent and little is known about whether and how father involvement affects birth outcomes. In this study, we use the sample of unwed parents in the 7-cities baseline Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing data to examine the effects of parents' relationship status and support provided by the baby's father during pregnancy on the likelihood of delivering a low birthweight baby, and to examine whether father involvement explains racial and ethnic disparities in low birthweight. We include several variables that past studies have suggested may be important in explaining birth outcomes but generally have not been able to include, such as mother's social support, her attitudes and values, and her religiosity. We find that having received monetary support from the baby's father has a negative effect on the likelihood of low birthweight and that mothers who are in a non-cohabiting romantic relationship with the father have significantly higher odds of low birthweight compared to mothers who cohabit with the father of their baby. Finally, racial ethnic differences in birth outcomes within this population appear to be invariant to the level of father involvement. A major contribution of the study is that it uses rich new data to examine birth outcomes in a population at high risk—unmarried mothers—and incorporates measures such as parents' relationship status and father's financial support, along with an extensive set of demographic, social, and behavioral risk factors.
The Ecology of Homelessness

This article proposes an ecological model of homelessness drawn from a broad review of the research and practice literature. The spectrum of biopsychosocial risks associated with pathways into homelessness is reviewed, followed by examination of social and individual consequences resulting from periods of homelessness. The temporal dimensions of homelessness, including “first-time,” “episodic,” and “chronic,” are defined and discussed along with the continuum of living arrangements experienced by homeless individuals and families. These constituent domains of the ecology of homelessness are presented in a conceptual map depicting the relationships and interactions among the parts of the model. The intention is to provide a coherent and cogent map to encourage comprehensive integrated efforts as individuals, agencies, and communities strive to prevent and resolve homelessness.
Incorporation of Property-Based Testing in Coarse Aggregate Specifications for Pavement Applications

The demand for pavement facilities that can handle increasing loads escalates the need for high quality aggregate material. While once plentiful, quality aggregate sources are starting to diminish. When aggregates are eliminated locally by resource depletion as well as land development that prohibits mining, the cost of construction can rise significantly. The cost of transporting quality aggregate materials from other places that comply with specifications can be very expensive. Coarse aggregate specifications for pavement mixtures for many states are outdated, with some sections dating back to around the 1930s. Specifications do not reflect the current level of knowledge concerning testing methodologies of desirable aggregate properties for pavement applications, especially at the local and low volume level. There is a need to evaluate the quality of aggregates based on the suitability of property-based testing requirements. A better understanding of testing requirements used to evaluate material properties can lead to a better utilization of local aggregate materials and reduce the reliance on diminishing high quality sources. This study investigates what property-based testing requirements have been established in current specifications as well as new areas of testing that need to be developed. A questionnaire of professionals defined a set of testing requirements for different pavement applications, which were then compared to the currently specified testing requirements. The results concluded that gaps exist in how professionals define quality aggregate compared to what current specifications define as quality aggregate. This creates the need for the inclusion of more property-based testing that could better characterize aggregates based on pavement performance. This type of characterization could open up the possibility of utilizing local materials that are normally rejected for lower volume applications.
Effects of impurities on heat capacities at paramagnetic to ferromagnetic transitions

Abstract The influence of controlled impurities upon the detailed shape of the heat capacity of Gd near the Curie temperature is studied experimentally. The experimental results can be interpreted in terms of Watson's theoretical analyses which show that small scale, random inhomogeneities do not alter the shape of the heat capacity curve, whereas large scale inhomogeneities are found to reduce the sharpness of the critical singularities.
The value of microbial diversity

In the past few years, due to the use of molecular methods, our knowledge of microbial diversity has increased dramatically, not only from a phylogenetic and taxonomic perspective but also from an ecological basis. We now know that microorganisms exist in every conceivable place on Earth, even in extreme environments. Temperature may be the only limitations as to where they can and cannot exist and/or function. As more small subunit rDNA sequence information becomes available there is a real need to start turning the information into knowledge that can be applied to better elucidate and understand structure—function relationships within ecosystems, develop new culturing methods, and discover new products and processes. It has been stated on numerous occasions that the 211st century is the century for biology. Within that context, we must address the real value of microbial diversity.
Alteration of DNA by 5-(3-methyl-1- triazeno)imidazole-4-carboxamide (NSC-407347)

Abstract 5-(3-Methyl-1-triazeno)imidazole-4-carboxamide (NSC-407347, MTIC), an active intermediate in the metabolism of 5-(3,3-dimethyl-1-triazeno)imidazole-4-carboxamide (NSC-45388, DTIC), was investigated for its effect on DNA. When [ 3 H]MTIC was added to an aqueous solution of calf thymus DNA, it was rapidly hydrolyzed, and less than 0.5 per cent of the added 3 H was recovered in DNA as methyl groups attached to its base and phosphate constituents. It was estimated that the hydrolysis of phosphotriesters in methylated DNA released 0.5 per cent of total bound 3 H of DNA in the experiment in vitro , and 5.7 per cent in vivo . When MTIC was added to tissue culture cells which had been prelabeled with [ 3 H]thymidine, there was a large and immediate increase in acid-soluble radioactivity of both the cell media and the cells. At the same time, there was an accelerated drop in the specific activity of DNA, indicating that degeneration of DNA had occurred; MTIC at 10 −3 M had a greater effect than at 10 −5 M. Paper chromatographic studies showed that the acid-soluble radioactivity was predominantly in the form of thymidine. MTIC at 10 −4 M induced repair synthesis of DNA but inhibited semi-conservative replication. The extent of repair synthesis was greater at 30 min than after 5 min. Treatment of cells with MTIC at 10 −3 M irreversibly reduced the sedimentation of DNA in alkaline sucrose gradient. At 10 −5 M, the reduction was reversible, and a normal pattern was restored in 30 min. Comparison of these results with those of sedimentation analysis of DNA in formamide gradient at neutral pH indicated that single strand breaks which were apparent in alkaline sucrose were probably the result of exposure of alkali-labile lesions in DNA to high pH.
Determinants of Ligand Specificity of Estrogen Receptor-α: Estrogen versus Androgen Discrimination

We have been interested in understanding how the estrogen receptor (ER) binds estrogens and discriminates between different classes of steroids with closely related structures. Using insights from our prior studies on ER and from sequence comparisons of steroid receptors, we identified three residues in the hormone-binding domain of the human ER, Leu345, Thr347, and Glu353, that we considered were likely to be involved in steroid A-ring recognition and therefore estrogen versusandrogen discrimination. We then tested the effect on ER activity of mutating these ER residues to the corresponding androgen receptor residues. Specifically, we examined the ability of the mutant receptors to bind and be activated by 17β-estradiol and three different androgens. No change in receptor activity was observed with the T347N mutation, while the L345S mutation greatly reduced ER activity in response to all ligands. Interestingly, the E353Q substitution behaved as expected, causing a 9-fold reduction in the transactivation potency of estradiol and a concomitant 10–140-fold increase in the transactivation potency of different androgens. These reciprocal changes in the transcriptional effectiveness of estrogens and androgens correlated with a decreased affinity of the E353Q ER for estradiol binding and an increased affinity for androgen binding. Therefore, amino acid Glu353 appears to be playing a significant role in binding the A-ring phenolic group of estradiol and in receptor discrimination between estrogens and the most closely structurally related steroids, androgens. Based on this data and our earlier observations, we propose a model for the orientation of ligand within the binding pocket of ER in which the A-ring 3-phenol of estradiol is hydrogen bonded to Glu353 in helix-3 and the 17β-hydroxyl of estradiol is hydrogen bonded to His524 in helix-11. Our findings with estrogen and androgen suggest that this orientation of the steroid in the ligand-binding pocket, with the steroid A-ring in contact with helix-3 and the D-ring in contact with helix-11 residues, is likely to be general for all the steroid hormone receptors.
The United States Heart and Lung Transplant “Social” Network. Insights from the UNOS Database

Purpose Although the demand for donor organs increased substantially, the number of organ donors remains relatively stable. With increasing availability of large-scale data and methodologies to decode complexity, it is possible to model connected systems as networks to improve their understanding. We hypothesized that the social structure of the Heart and Lung Transplant network can be modeled as a Geographical Social Network (GSN). Methods and Materials We studied a social structure of a network constructed using data of over 150,000 donors and recipients collected by the UNOS database between 1987 and 2010 to recreate a GSN. In this weighted network, geographical regions defined by US states or Zip Codes are nodes linked by organ transplants occurring between them, involving a social relation between two individuals. We used a weighed network reconstruction, community unfolding algorithms and a geo-graph theoretical approach to reconstruct the social network of the UNOS database. Results The social structure of the UNOS-database Heart and Lung Transplant Network ( Figure 1 A) reveals a community organization resembling UNOS regional divisions ( 1 B). Regional organ sharing follows scale-free characteristics ( 1 C) Within the heart transplant network ( 1 D), African American and Hispanic donors show least defined communities and topology suggesting disparity in the distribution and a differential effect of organ donation practices in the minority. Conclusions Our study identifies the Social Network of organ donation in the US, links link demographic factors and patterns in the context of complex networks, identify disparity and opens a new chapter in understanding organ practices through the study of Complex Networks.
The Progressive Roles of Electronic Medicine: Benefits, Concerns, and Costs

Electronic healthcare will significantly alter the way physicians practice medicine. Electronic medical records with specialized software programs can increase the quality of patient care, reduce unnecessary medical tests, and directly connect with pharmacies to transmit prescriptions. Electronic communication can allow physicians to respond to patients' clinical concerns and questions, and Internet access can provide physicians better access to literature. Nevertheless, there is significant physician hesitance toward adopting medical computerization: patient e-mail can potentially overload physicians with extra work, web sites can direct patients to poor medical information, the computerized interface can degrade the patient-physician relationship, and health regulations can create concern over electronic privacy issues. The finances of e-health appear promising, yet conflicting studies create uncertainty. However, if managed appropriately, the potential disadvantages of e-health can be minimized, and the benefits of e-health in clinical practices can be obtained.
An inbred line of the diploid strawberry Fragaria vesca f. semperflorens for genomic and molecular genetic studies in the Rosaceae

The diploid woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca) is an attractive system for functional genomics studies. Its small stature, fast regeneration time, efficient transformability and small genome size, together with substantial EST and genomic sequence resources make it an ideal reference plant for Fragaria and other herbaceous perennials. Most importantly, this species shares gene sequence similarity and genomic microcolinearity with other members of the Rosaceae family, including large-statured tree crops (such as apple, peach and cherry), and brambles and roses as well as with the cultivated octoploid strawberry, F. ×ananassa. F. vesca may be used to quickly address questions of gene function relevant to these valuable crop species. Although some F. vesca lines have been shown to be substantially homozygous, in our hands plants in purportedly homozygous populations exhibited a range of morphological and physiological variation, confounding phenotypic analyses. We also found the genotype of a named variety, thought to be well-characterized and even sold commercially, to be in question. An easy to grow, standardized, inbred diploid Fragaria line with documented genotype that is available to all members of the research community will facilitate comparison of results among laboratories and provide the research community with a necessary tool for functionally testing the large amount of sequence data that will soon be available for peach, apple, and strawberry. A highly inbred line, YW5AF7, of a diploid strawberry Fragaria vesca f. semperflorens line called "Yellow Wonder" (Y2) was developed and examined. Botanical descriptors were assessed for morphological characterization of this genotype. The plant line was found to be rapidly transformable using established techniques and media formulations. The development of the documented YW5AF7 line provides an important tool for Rosaceae functional genomic analyses. These day-neutral plants have a small genome, a seed to seed cycle of 3.0 - 3.5 months, and produce fruit in 7.5 cm pots in a growth chamber. YW5AF7 is runnerless and therefore easy to maintain in the greenhouse, forms abundant branch crowns for vegetative propagation, and produces highly aromatic yellow fruit throughout the year in the greenhouse. F. vesca can be transformed with Agrobacterium tumefaciens, making these plants suitable for insertional mutagenesis, RNAi and overexpression studies that can be compared against a stable baseline of phenotypic descriptors and can be readily genetically substantiated.
The US NRC accident sequence precursor program: Present methods and findings

Abstract History, methods and current results of the US NRC Accident Sequence Precursor program are described. The ASP program identifies and categorizes the risk significance of light-water reactor events involving core damage initiators, failures in safety-related systems, and degradations in multiple safety-related systems. Four hundred twenty-two precursors from 1969–81 and 1984–87 have been identified. While a higher incidence of such events continues to occur in early years of plant operation, an overall reduction in the number of precursors and in precursor significance was observed in 1984–87 compared to 1969–81, an indication of improved plant performance in the later period.
Courtship and the assessment of virginity by male bowl and doily spiders

Early in cohabitations of pairs of bowl and doily spiders, Frontinella pyramitela (Linyphiidae), males and females court and pseudocopulate with no transfer of sperm, then may proceed to true copulations during which sperm are transferred. A male assesses female virginity during courtship and pseudocopulation. Only if the female is a virgin will he build a sperm web, charge his pedipalps with sperm, and then begin insemination. The data also indicate that (1) the male's assessment of the female's virginity depends on a signal (in contrast to a structural change) given by the female, and (2) the female can signal ‘virgin’ but not ‘non-virgin’. Males that do not assess the females as virgin continue with pseudocopulations for highly variable periods of time (up to 4·5 h) and the decision to cease is apparently governed by a stochastic process, analogous to a random number generator, in the male. In constrast, the timings of other events (e.g. the virginity signal and the end of true copulation) during these reproductive behaviours are governed by quite different processes: the data are consistent with a model involving the steady accumulation or dissipation of some substance or drive.
Similarity analysis of feature ranking techniques on imbalanced DNA microarray datasets

DNA microarrays are a modern advancement in the analysis of genetic data. This technology allows a researcher to test samples for thousands of genes simultaneously. However, once the samples in the DNA microarrays have been tested, the researcher must then search through the data collected and identify genes important to their problem. A possible solution to this issue is the data mining pre-processing technique called feature selection. Feature (gene) selection takes the original set of features (in the case of DNA microarrays, gene probes) and chooses an optimal subset to perform analysis from. Ideally, the reduced subset only contains the most important features as determined by the feature selection technique (or set of feature selection techniques), which allows for further research in the discovered genes. However in the case of using multiple feature selection techniques, the set of techniques must be diverse in order to reduce redundancy among the chosen features. Another benefit of increasing diversity is that any features chosen across a diverse set of feature selection techniques will have more importance than those chosen by a single technique or a set of related ones. Therefore, it would be useful to know how similar the feature selection techniques are to each other. In this study we perform an analysis of eighteen feature selection techniques across nine imbalanced DNA microarray datasets and using four feature subset sizes. Our results found that one should not use Gini Index and Probability Ratio together or the Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic and Geometric Mean together at any feature subset size in order to minimize redundancy, and that the members of the first of these pairs (along with the pair of ReliefF and ReliefF-W) are very dissimilar to all rankers outside their own cluster. We also found that Chi-Squared, Information Gain, and Symmetric Uncertainty form a cluster of similarity, as do Chi-Squared, Deviance, F-Measure, and Mutual Information.
Biomarkers of acute myocardial infarction in the elderly: troponin and beyond

In the broadest context, biological markers, or biomarkers, are molecules that characterize a biological system or process. In the setting of cardiovascular disease, a number of biomarkers have become an integral part of diagnostic and risk stratification strategies. In this review, we will discuss classic and emerging biomarkers of cardiovascular disease and the role of these biomarkers in the diagnosis and prognosis of elderly patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction.
Field Comparison of Alternative Techniques for Measuring Air Distribution System Leakage

ASTM has recently standardized a methodology for measuring the leakage of residential air distribution systems to unconditioned zones [ASTM Test Method for Determining the External Air Leakage of Air Distribution Systems by Fan Pressurization (E 1554-93)]. The standard includes two alternative leakage measurement techniques. One technique requires only a blower door, whereas the second technique requires a flow-capture hood as well as a blower door. This paper reports on the results of field measurements in 30 houses using both measurement techniques, and analyzes the relative strengths and weaknesses of the two techniques. The repeatability of each of the techniques, as well as the comparability of the results from the two techniques, is examined. A key issue addressed is the importance of duct pressure measurements in each of the two techniques. Analyses show that the leakage measured with the blower-door-only technique would have been negatively biased by 30% to 50% if the duct pressure had not been incorporated into the measurements and analyses as specified in the standard. Similarly, it is shown that supply leakage measurements with the flow-capture-hood technique would have been negatively biased by 33% if the envelope pressure differential had been used instead of the duct pressure differential.
Pericarditis: diagnosis, management, and return to play.

In athletes who present to their team physician with complaints of chest pain, the diagnosis of pericarditis should be entertained. Although generally self-limited, potential complications include cardiac tamponade and recurrent pericarditis. The typical scenario is of an athlete who had a recent viral upper respiratory illness and now presents with chest pain, friction rub, and characteristic electrocardiographic changes. Additional recommended testing includes complete blood count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and/or C-reactive protein, cardiac enzymes, chest radiographs, and echocardiogram with Doppler. During acute pericarditis, participation in athletics is contraindicated. Return to play is permissible after there is no longer evidence of active disease. This is confirmed by the absence of effusion on echocardiography and normalization of serum markers of infiammation.
Linearizing Infrared Spectra

A linear frequency or wavelength scale is obtained for several choices of prismatic dispersion by substituting commercially available cams for the existing tangent screw drive (in Perkin-Elmer Models 13, 12, and 112). A practical solution to the related mechanical problems is offered and other problems of linearization discussed.
Stereotactic microsurgical resection of intracranial tumors using the electromagnetic field focusing system.

The intense heat produced at the tip of the electromagnetic field focusing (EFF) probe at its point of contact with tissue can cut and vaporize tissue and coagulate blood vessels. As the probe is shap
Proteins kinase Cɛ is required for non-small cell lung carcinoma growth and regulates the expression of apoptotic genes

Protein kinase C (PKC)ɛ, a member of the novel PKC family, has key roles in mitogenesis and survival in normal and cancer cells. PKCɛ is frequently overexpressed in epithelial cancers, particularly in lung cancer. Using a short-hairpin RNA approach, here we established that PKCɛ is required for non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) growth in vitro as well as tumor growth when inoculated into athymic mice. Moreover, sustained delivery of a PKCɛ-selective inhibitor peptide, ɛV1-2, reduced xenograft growth in mice. Both RNA interference depletion and pharmacological inhibition of PKCɛ caused a marked elevation in the number of apoptotic cells in NSCLC tumors. PKCɛ-depleted NSCLC cells show elevated expression of pro-apoptotic proteins of the Bcl-2 family, caspase recruitment domain-containing proteins and tumor necrosis factor ligands/receptor superfamily members. Moreover, a Gene Set Enrichment Analysis revealed that a vast majority of the genes changed in PKCɛ-depleted cells were also deregulated in human NSCLC. Our results strongly suggest that PKCɛ is required for NSCLC cell survival and maintenance of NSCLC tumor growth. Therefore, PKCɛ may represent an attractive therapeutic target for NSCLC.
Electrothermal Atomic-Force Microscope Cantilever With Integrated Heater and n-p-n Back-to-Back Diodes

This paper reports the integration of both electrical and thermal elements into the free end of an atomic-force microscope cantilever, where the electrode and heater-thermometer are electrically isolated by an NPN semiconductor back-to-back diode. The electrothermal cantilever can be self heated using an integrated solid-state heater to more than 600°C. The tip voltage can be measured or controlled independent of the tip temperature, either in the direct or the alternating current mode. To our knowledge, this setup is the first microcantilever to have a solid-state junction and heater integrated near a scanning probe tip.
Wolbachia wsp Gene Clones Detect the Distribution of Wolbachia Variants and wsp Hypervariable Regions Among Individuals of a Multistrain Infected Population of Diabrotica barberi (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

ABSTRACT The northern corn rootworm (Diabrotica barberi Smith & Lawrence) in eastern and central North America exhibits at least three distinct populations with respect to Wolbachia infection: uninfected, singly infected, and multiply infected. The infected states are associated with different mtDNA haplotypes and reduced mtDNA variability. The previous results demonstrated that the major mtDNA clades of D. barberi were infected with different variants of Wolbachia; however, the total amount of Wolbachia diversity was substantially underestimated. Here we report sequences of the Wolbachia wsp surface protein gene indicating that multiple infections are present. Analysis of the wsp sequences establishes the existence at least five distinct wsp variants. The recovery frequency of specific wsp hypervariable regions (HVR) obtained from several individuals was unequal. The most common was obtained 33 times, the least common only once. One of the Wolbachia variants was present in both singly infected and multip...