cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A moving target environment for computer configurations using Genetic Algorithms

Moving Target (MT) environments for computer systems provide security through diversity by changing various system properties that are explicitly defined in the computer configuration. Temporal diversity can be achieved by making periodic configuration changes; however in an infrastructure of multiple similarly purposed computers diversity must also be spatial, ensuring multiple computers do not simultaneously share the same configuration and potential vulnerabilities. Given the number of possible changes and their potential interdependencies discovering computer configurations that are secure, functional, and diverse is challenging. This paper describes how a Genetic Algorithm (GA) can be employed to find temporally and spatially diverse secure computer configurations. In the proposed approach a computer configuration is modeled as a chromosome, where an individual configuration setting is a trait or allele. The GA operates by combining multiple chromosomes (configurations) which are tested for feasibility and ranked based on performance which will be measured as resistance to attack. Successive iterations of the GA yield configurations that are often more secure and diverse due to the crossover and mutation processes. Simulations results will demonstrate this approach can provide at MT environment for a large infrastructure of similarly purposed computers by discovering temporally and spatially diverse secure configurations.
Tracking chronically recorded single-units in cortically controlled brain machine interfaces

Multiple single-units recorded from chronically-implanted microelectrode arrays frequently exhibit variability in their spike waveform features and firing characteristics, making it challenging to ascertain the identity of recorded neurons across days. In this study, we present a fast and efficient algorithm that tracks multiple single-units, recorded in a nonhuman primate performing brain control of a robotic arm, across days based on features extracted from units' average waveforms. Furthermore, the algorithm does not require long recording duration to perform the analysis and can be applied at the start of each recording session without requiring the subject to be engaged in a behavioral task. The algorithm achieves a classification accuracy of up to 92% compared to experts' manual tracking.
Firearm Injuries: Epidemic Then, Endemic Now

There has been a transition in US firearm injuries from an epidemic phase (mid-1980s to early 1990s) to an endemic one (since the mid-1990s). Endemic US firearm injuries merit public health attention because they exact an ongoing toll, may give rise to new epidemic outbreaks, and can foster firearm injuries in other parts of the world. The endemic period is a good time for the development of ongoing prevention approaches, including assessment and monitoring of local risk factors over time and application of proven measures to reduce these risk factors, development of means to address changing circumstances, and ongoing professional and public education designed to weave firearm injury prevention into the fabric of public health work and everyday life.
Transient coupling reduction in edge-coupled coplanar waveguide forward directional couplers

Picosecond pulse propagation is studied in symmetric, edge-coupled, coplanar waveguide (CPW) forward directional couplers. Frequency dependent even-and odd-mode effective dielectric constants are found that exactly equalize for specific multi-layer substrate height configurations at a given frequency. Results of transient coupling reduction are presented in a multi-layer compensated structure. >
Secondary Reading: "Not Just for Reading Teachers Anymore".

Reading skills needed at the secondary level are dramatically different from those needed in the elementary classroom. Reading is no longer taught in most secondary classes but is now a tool to dem...
A selective TSH receptor antagonist inhibits stimulation of thyroid function in female mice.

Because the TSH receptor (TSHR) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of thyroid disease, a TSHR antagonist could be a novel treatment. We attempted to develop a small molecule, drug-like antagonist of TSHR signaling that is selective and active in vivo. We synthesized NCGC00242364 (ANTAG3) by chemical modification of a previously reported TSHR antagonist. We tested its potency, efficacy, and selectivity in a model cell system in vitro by measuring its activity to inhibit stimulation of cAMP production stimulated by TSH, LH, or FSH. We tested the in vivo activity of ANTAG3 by measuring its effects to lower serum free T4 and thyroid gene expression in female BALB/c mice continuously treated with ANTAG3 for 3 days and given low doses of TRH continuously or stimulated by a single administration of a monoclonal thyroid-stimulating antibody M22. ANTAG3 was selective for TSHR inhibition; half-maximal inhibitory doses were 2.1 μM for TSHR and greater than 30 μM for LH and FSH receptors. In mice treated wit...
Negotiating Role Definitions and the Working Consensus in Self‐Work*

Definitions of social roles and the maintenance of a working consensus are two kinds of background expectations which are important for actors’accomplishment of self-work. Interactionists have traditionally assumed that these background expectations are unambiguously available to social actors as they negotiate situated meanings of selves and situations. Using data from dyadic role-play conversations, this study examines instances where interactants reference these expectations as ambiguous or problematic. The findings show that the situated meanings of role definitions and the working consensus are continually subject to potential negotiation. The implications of these findings for future research and theory on self-work in social interaction are discussed.
“Dynamic External Fixation for Proximal Interphalangeal Fracture-Dislocations”

Proximal interphalangeal fracture-dislocations and pilon fractures of the middle phalanx represent a conundrum for hand surgeons. Goals of treatment are to: (1) maintain a stable congruent joint, (2) reduce intra-articular step-offs, and (3) prevent stiffness. Because the fragments of the middle phalanx are small, internal fixation is difficult and often impossible. Options other than internal fixation include hemi-hamate arthroplasty, volar plate arthroplasty, extension block pinning, and dynamic external fixation. Techniques for dynamic external fixation of the digit for the treatment of proximal interphalangeal fracture-dislocations and pilon fractures have evolved since first reported in 1946 by Robertson et al. In 1989, Slade et al developed a fixator that uses 3 Kirschner wires and dental rubber bands. Several groups have since published favorable outcomes using this technique. We have used this technique for the past 10 years at our institution and have had similar encouraging results. The present article describes the indications, operative technique, and postoperative protocol used by the authors. A brief review of results and complications are presented, and 2 illustrative case examples are provided.
Measurement of the PVT behavior of cis‐1,4‐polybutadiene

The volume of cis-1,4-polybutadiene between 5 and 55°C and 1 and 3000 atmospheres was measured to within a relative error of 0.1 percent with an especially developed, bellows-type dilatometer. The presence of a small transition near 55°C was indicated by analysis of the data and confirmed by differential thermal analysis.
Budget Rules and Fiscal Policy: Ten Lessons from Theory and Evidence

There has been considerable research and discussion over the years about the potential role of fiscal rules in supporting better economic outcomes; the design, implementation and enforcement, of such rules; and the prospects for alternative fiscal and political institutions to promote the objectives to which fiscal rules are typically targeted. This paper provides an overview of some of the findings that this research and unfolding events have brought forward, organized in the form of ten lessons that can be learned from accumulating theory and evidence.
EXIT, VOICE, AND PORTFOLIO CHOICE: AGENCY AND PUBLIC OWNERSHIP*

This paper asks what constrains the relative efficiency of a maximally decentralized form of public ownership of capital. It locates the answer in the nondecentralizability of common ownership. Relative inefficiency in the allocation of investment funds is predicted because the ability to arrange a private portfolio gives rise to incentives to investigate investment alternatives and to monitor the disbursers of investment funds, and these incentives cannot be replicated in a system in which (political) voice is the sole mechanism for instilling financial and managerial accountability. Implications for the design of public ownership systems are discussed.
Multiple collaborative kernel tracking

This paper presents a novel multiple collaborative kernel approach to visual tracking. This approach treats kernel-based tracking in a more general setting, i.e., a relaxation and constraints formulation, in which a complex motion is represented by a set of inter-correlated simpler motions. With this formulation, we present a rigorous analysis on a critical issue of kernel observability and obtain a criterion, based on which we propose a new method using collaborative kernels that has the theoretical guarantee of enhanced observability. This new method has been shown to be computationally efficient in both theory and practice, which can be readily applied to complex motions such as articulated motions.
Ecological differentiation among key plant mutualists from a cryptic ant guild

As key dispersers of herbaceous seeds, Aphaenogaster ants strongly influence the distribution of woodland plants in eastern North America. Ants within this genus are difficult to distinguish and often are identified by subgroup, but emerging research suggests they occupy species-specific ecological niches. As such, distinct climatic requirements among Aphaenogaster spp. might result in transient plant interactions with climate change. We examine whether there are ecological and distributional differences among Aphaenogaster species that coincide with current taxonomic differentiations. We use occurrence records for six Aphaenogaster spp. that occur in deciduous forests in eastern North America. We associate the geographic patterning of species occurrence with temperature and precipitation data, and we examine whether unique climatic niches characterize each species. We then predict habitat suitability throughout eastern North America using species distribution models. For verification, we test how well the predicted ranges fit observed occurrences using novel data sets for each species. We find that Aphaenogaster species within this cryptic genus demonstrate unique ecological and geographic signatures. Each species within the subgroup generally responds differently to temperature, and somewhat differently to precipitation and seasonal variance, suggesting unique ecological niches for each species. Our results indicate that each ant species may respond uniquely to changes in climate. Such shifts could disrupt current community associations and biotic interactions with ant-dispersed plants.
Water Use Efficiency by Switchgrass Compared to a Native Grass or a Native Grass Alfalfa Mixture

Perennial grass systems are being evaluated as a bioenergy feedstock in the northern Great Plains. Inter-annual and inter-seasonal precipitation variation in this region will require efficient water use to maintain sufficient yield production to support a mature bioenergy industry. Objectives were to evaluate the impact of a May–June (early season) and a July–August (late season) drought on the water use efficiency (WUE), amount of water used, and biomass production in monocultures of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), western wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii (Rydb.) A. Love), and a western wheatgrass–alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) mixture using an automated rainout shelter. WUE was strongly driven by biomass accumulation and ranged from 5.6 to 7.4 g biomass mm−1 water for switchgrass to 1.06 to 2.07 g biomass mm−1 water used with western wheatgrass. Timing of water stress affected WUE more in western wheatgrass and the western wheatgrass–alfalfa mixture than switchgrass. Water deficit for the western wheatgrass–alfalfa mixture was 23 % lower than western wheatgrass (P = 0.0045) and 31 % lower than switchgrass (P < 0.0001) under the May–June stress water treatment, while switchgrass had a 37 and 38 % greater water deficit than did western wheatgrass or western wheatgrass–alfalfa mixture, respectively (P < 0.001) under the July–August water stress treatment. Water depletion was always greatest in the upper 30 cm. Switchgrass had greater WUE but resulted in greater soil water depletion at the end of the growing season compared to western wheatgrass and a western wheatgrass–alfalfa mixture which may be a concern under multi-year drought conditions.
Surgical palliative care consultations over time in relationship to systemwide frailty screening.

Importance The need for integrating palliative care into surgical services has been established within the surgical literature. The ability to effectively screen, obtain an appropriately timed consultation, and determine the effect of consultation remains problematic. Objective To examine surgical palliative care consultations over time and their relationship to the initiation and implementation of a systemwide frailty-screening program. Design, Setting, and Participants We reviewed all surgical palliative care consultations performed between January 1, 2006, and August 31, 2013, and abstracted the referring service (medicine/surgery), date of surgery (if any), date of death (if any), and all variables required to calculate a frailty score using the risk analysis index. We examined changes in mortality and referral patterns before and after implementation of the frailty-screening program using multivariable logistic regression. Exposures Surgical palliative care consultations, including frailty screening. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary study outcomes were 30-, 180-, and 360-day mortality. Results From 2006 to 2013, a total of 310 palliative care consultations were ordered for surgical patients: 160 before initiation of frailty screening (January 1, 2011) and 150 after initiation of the program. The groups had similar demographics, comorbidities, and frailty scores. After initiation, we observed dramatically decreased mortality at 30, 180, and 360 days (21.3% vs 31.9%, 44.0% vs 70.6%, and 66.0% vs 78.8%, respectively; all P P P P P = .007) or ordered before the operation (OR, 0.52; CI, 0.30-0.90; P = .02). Conclusions and Relevance Our data suggest that a systematic frailty-screening program effectively identifies at-risk surgical patients and is associated with a significant reduction in mortality for patients undergoing palliative care consultation. Analysis also suggests that preoperative palliative care consultations ordered by surgeons are associated with reduced mortality rates.
Decentralized Scheduling of Bursty Workload on Computing Grids

Bursty workloads are often observed in a variety of systems such as grid services, multi-tier architectures, and large storage systems. Studies have shown that such burstiness can dramatically degrade system performance because of overloading, increased response time, and unavailable service. Computing grids, which often use distributed, autonomous resource management, are particularly susceptible to load imbalances caused by bursty workloads. In this paper, we use a simulation environment to investigate the performance of decentralized schedulers under various intensity levels of burstiness. We first demonstrate a significant performance degradation in the presence of strong and moderate bursty workloads. Then, we describe two new hybrid schedulers, based on duplication-invalidation, and assess the effectiveness of these schedulers under different intensities of burstiness. Our simulation results show that compared to the conventional decentralized methods, the proposed schedulers achieve a 40% performance improvement under the bursty condition while obtaining similar performance in non-bursty conditions.
Some Revisions in the Interpretation of the Taconic Allochthon in West-Central Vermont

Field data accumulated during the past decade at both ends of the Taconic allochthon indicate a need for revisions of the interpretation of the tectonic history and local structural relations at its north end in western Vermont. A three-deformation chronology is here proposed for the allochthonous rocks: Event I, of Trenton age, involved large-scale soft rock submarine gravity sliding. Event II, tentatively dated as Late Ordovician to Early Silurian, involved isoclinal recumbent folding, formation of slaty (early) cleavage, emplacement of the Sudbury slice and the Florence nappe, and low-grade regional metamorphism. The folds, in general, have amplitudes and wavelengths of hundreds of meters to a few kilometers and define the principal map pattern. Event III, tentatively dated as Acadian, produced small-scale (wavelengths of a few tens to a hundred meters) upright or overturned to recumbent folds having generally shallow-plunging, north-trending axes. These late folds refolded the early slaty cleavage, developed late slip cleavage, and possibly imposed a second metamorphic event in the higher-grade areas along the Taconic Range. Other revisions are: (1) The arcuate map pattern of the recumbent folds of the Giddings Brook fold complex is interpreted as a real change in the trend of major fold axes, rather than the effect of topography on a west-facing system of recumbent folds having a south component to the dip of the axial surface. The Giddings Brook fold complex is now considered a lateral continuation of the Great Ledge–Porcupine Ridge fold complex, both products of Event II now separated by an axial culmination that expresses an anticlinal folding of Event III. (2) The rocks east of the village of Sudbury, consisting mainly of black slate but including other rock types, are no longer considered the erosional remnant of a once-extensive nappe. Instead, the area is now mapped as a field of wildflysch-type conglomerate; the black slate is interpreted as the autochthonous (possibly parautochthonous) Middle Ordovician Hortonville Slate.
Why East-West Center Students Come to Hawaii

(1963). Why East-West Center Students Come to Hawaii. The Journal of Social Psychology: Vol. 59, No. 1, pp. 41-52.
Evolutionary Selection on Barrier Activity: Bar1 Is an Aspartyl Protease with Novel Substrate Specificity

ABSTRACT Peptide-based pheromones are used throughout the fungal kingdom for coordinating sexual responses between mating partners. Here, we address the properties and function of Bar1, an aspartyl protease that acts as a “barrier” and antagonist to pheromone signaling in multiple species. Candida albicans Bar1 was purified and shown to exhibit preferential cleavage of native α pheromone over pheromones from related fungal species. This result establishes that protease substrate specificity coevolved along with changes in its pheromone target. Pheromone cleavage by Bar1 occurred between residues Thr-5 and Asn-6 in the middle of the tridecapeptide sequence. Surprisingly, proteolytic activity was independent of the amino acid residues present at the scissile bond and instead relied on residues at the C terminus of α pheromone. Unlike most aspartyl proteases, Bar1 also exhibited a near-neutral pH optimum and was resistant to the class-wide inhibitor pepstatin A. In addition, genetic analysis was performed on C. albicansBAR1 and demonstrated that the protease not only regulates endogenous pheromone signaling but also can limit interspecies pheromone signaling. We discuss these findings and propose that the unusual substrate specificity of Bar1 is a consequence of its coevolution with the α pheromone receptor Ste2 for their shared peptide target. IMPORTANCE Pheromones are important for intraspecies communication across the tree of life. In the fungal kingdom, extracellular proteases play a key role in antagonizing pheromone signaling in multiple species. This study examines the properties and function of Candida albicans Bar1, an aspartyl protease that cleaves and thereby inactivates α pheromone. We demonstrate that Bar1 plays important roles in regulating both intra- and interspecies pheromone signaling. The fungal protease shows preferential activity on the endogenous pheromone, but, surprisingly, cleavage activity is dependent on amino acid residues distal to the scissile bond. We propose that the unusual substrate specificity of Bar1 is a direct result of coevolution with Ste2, the receptor for α pheromone, for recognition of the same peptide target. The novel specificity of Bar1 reveals the complex forces shaping the evolution of mating pathways in fungi and uncovers a protease with potentially important applications in the biotechnology industry.
Aerobic biodegradation of toluene-2,4-di(8:2 fluorotelomer urethane) and hexamethylene-1,6-di(8:2 fluorotelomer urethane) monomers in soils

Aerobic soil biodegradation of toluene-2,4-di(8:2 fluorotelomer urethane) (FTU) and hexamethylene-1,6-di(8:2 fluorotelomer urethane) (HMU) in a forest soil and FTU in an agricultural silty clay loam soil was monitored for up to 6 months. Fluorotelomer alcohols were measured in headspace and parent monomers and all metabolites in soil extracts. Negligible degradation of FTU biodegradation occurred in the agricultural soil with 94 ± 15% recovered at day 180. However, in the forest soil, both FTU and HMU degradation was evident with significant losses of 24% (117 d) and 27% (180 day), respectively, and concomitant increases in the terminal metabolite, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) concentrations were well above what could result from residual 8:2 FTOH. Kinetic modeling estimated half-lives for FTU (aromatic backbone) and HMU (aliphatic backbone) in the forest soil to be 3-5 months and 15.9-22.2 months, respectively. The addition of a structurally similar non-fluorinated FTU analog, toluene-2,4-dicarbamic acid diethyl ester (TDAEE) enhanced production of terminal end products from 8:2 FTOH degradation. However, there was no clear evidence that TDAEE enhanced cleavage of the urethane bond, thus TDAEE appeared to just serve as an additional carbon source. TDAEE's half-life was ∼ one week. A second addition of TDAEE appeared to retard subsequent degradation of FTU exemplifying the microbial dynamics and diversity impacting degradation of polyfluoroalkyl substances. Enhanced degradation of HMU was observed upon re-aeration indicating oxygen may have been limiting during some periods although degradation of intermediate metabolites to terminal metabolites was still occurring, albeit at slower rates.
Collection of Unpaid Wages and Financial Responsibility of Employers

H|'r SHE problem of the collection of claims for wages past due has | been long recognized. The statute books of many states, the s-A statistics of labor commissioners and of legal aid societies bear evidence of the effort advanced to assist the unpaid laborer. Underlying this concern are certain facts-today almost truisms. Non-payment of wages results in dependency which, in turn, affects the economic welfare of the community; ordinary judicial process does not offer relief to the unpaid laborer. The action of the unscrupulous or improvident employer who refuses to pay wages justly due provokes for the employee all the problems of the unemployed worker. The worker, his faith in government and justice undermined, goes his way embittered against society. How extensive is the problem today? The member agencies of the National Association of Legal Aid Organizations for the ten year period 1924 to I933 handled 309,556 wage claims.' Assuming that the average claim was $40.00 (the average claim in sixteen states reporting to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in I932 was $41.oo),' the total amount of unpaid wages represented by these claims would be in excess of $I2,300,000. Legal Aid Societies today serve a territory in which some thirty-nine million people live.3 What of the wage claims of the unserved areas? If we turn to the activities of the labor departments for an answer to this question, we find that for I932, twenty states reported 70,000 claims and the collection of approximately $I,450,000. But this record is dimmed by the fact that of
Mercury Speciation in the Environment Using X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy

Mercury speciation and transformation in the environment can be determined using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), a method that is element-specific, and therefore can be used to study elements in their complex original matrices. This method is ideal for the study of elements in soil, water, and biological tissue, without any prior chemical modification. Because speciation of mercury is quite dependent on the chemical environment, which includes factors such as pH, temperature, oxygen content, and presence of various species, including sulfate, sulfide, dissolved organic matter, and dissolved oxygen, this method to study the chemistry of mercury can shed important light on the structure and bonding of mercury in various environments. In this chapter XAS techniques such as Hg L3and L2-edges, Hg L3 extended X-ray absorption fine structure, and sulfur and selenium K-edges are used to study mercury speciation and binding in minerals, coal flue gas emissions, chelation with organic matter, sulfide precipitation, and in physiological forms.
Pressure catalyzed bond dissociation in an anthracene cyclophane photodimer.

The anthracene cyclophane bis-anthracene (BA) can undergo a [4 + 4] photocycloaddition reaction that results in a photodimer with two cyclobutane rings. We find that the subsequent dissociation of the dimer, which involves the rupture of two carbon–carbon bonds, is strongly accelerated by the application of mild pressures. The reaction kinetics of the dimer dissociation in a Zeonex (polycycloolefin) polymer matrix were measured at various pressures and temperatures. Biexponential reaction kinetics were observed for all pressures, consistent with the presence of two different isomers of bis(anthracene). One of the rates showed a strong dependence on pressure, yielding a negative activation volume for the dissociation reaction of ΔV⧧ = −16 A3. The 93 kJ/mol activation energy for the dissociation reaction at ambient pressure is lowered by more than an order of magnitude from 93 to 7 kJ/mol with the application of modest pressure (0.9 GPa). Both observations are consistent with a transition state that is stab...
Blatta (Shelfordella) lateralis, the Turkestan Cockroach (Blattoidea: Blattidae) Recorded from Arizona

Blatta (Shelfordella) lateralis (Walker), the Turkestan cockroach, an Old World species previously known in the United States from California, is recorded from several localities in Arizona. Entomologists should be aware that this species may appear in domestic settings.
156 ANALYSIS OF A TARGETED RECEPTOR TYROSINE KINASE INHIBITOR IN THE TREATMENT OF ACUTE MYELOGENOUS LEUKEMIA

Receptor Tyrosine kinases (RTK) play an important role in cell signaling, proliferation, and differentiation. Increased activation or levels of RTKs have been reported in approximately 90% of acute myelogenous leukemias (AML). Therefore, a drug designed to specifically target and inhibit RTKs is a rational approach to treat AML. We studied the effects of the RTKI, ABT869, on proliferation of AML cells and normal bone marrow in vitro. Methods Several myeloid leukemia cell lines were analyzed, including K562, NB-4, HL-60, KG-1, M-NFS-60, 32DCl.3, and TF-1. Cells were plated at a density of 2×10e5 cells/ml in growth media with ABT869 at concentrations between 100 μM to 1 pM. Cell viability was determined using Trypan Blue exclusion and MTT assays. Normal human bone marrow was plated in methylcellulose containing cytokines with or without ABT869. Results ABT869 rapidly induced cell death in the AML cell lines tested at concentrations above 10μM. At drug concentrations of 1, 10 and 100 nM, greater than 70% inhibition of cell growth was observed compared to the DMSO control treated cells within 48 hours after treatment. We performed methylcellulose assays to test for sensitivity of normal human bone marrow cells to ABT869. After 14 days, little difference in colony number or morphology was observed up to 10 nM concentration of ABT869. We are testing the effects of ABT869 on primary AML cells in colony forming assays and in NOD/SCID mice to further establish the compound9s efficacy in vitro and in vivo. Conclusions Both growth factor-dependent cell lines (TF-1, 32D Cl.3, and NFS-60) and growth factor independent cell lines (KG-1, HL-60, and NB-4) were equally susceptible to the targeted receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, ABT869. In addition, physiologic concentrations of ABT869 did not affect the growth of normal human bone marrow progenitor cells in methylcellulose. Our results demonstrate that ABT869 may be a potentially effective drug in the treatment of patients with AML.
Stabilized FE simulation of prototype thermal-hydraulics problems with integrated adjoint-based capabilities

A critical aspect of applying modern computational solution methods to complex multiphysics systems of relevance to nuclear reactor modeling, is the assessment of the predictive capability of specific proposed mathematical models. In this respect the understanding of numerical error, the sensitivity of the solution to parameters associated with input data, boundary condition uncertainty, and mathematical models is critical. Additionally, the ability to evaluate and or approximate the model efficiently, to allow development of a reasonable level of statistical diagnostics of the mathematical model and the physical system, is of central importance. In this study we report on initial efforts to apply integrated adjoint-based computational analysis and automatic differentiation tools to begin to address these issues. The study is carried out in the context of a Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes approximation to turbulent fluid flow and heat transfer using a particular spatial discretization based on implicit fully-coupled stabilized FE methods. Initial results are presented that show the promise of these computational techniques in the context of nuclear reactor relevant prototype thermal-hydraulics problems.
Koalas, Men, and Other Conditioned Gastronomes

The vertebrate herbivore is a highly specialized consumer of vegetation, living in a precarious niche where probably one-quarter of all plants contain toxic glycosides and alkaloids (Garcia and Hankins, 1975). The plant eater, usually characterized as stupid compared to carnivores and omnivores, survives in this perilous niche by virtue of a remarkable learning capacity focused upon food selection by structural constraints resulting from natural selection. In our preoccupation with mnemonically coded information, we are apt to overlook the direction given to learning by the gross anatomical features of the body.
Ethics Review Committees

What exactly are Ethics Review Committees? They are usually associated with an institution, such as a university, a company, or a government agency within a nation. In addition, some are independent, private, for-profit companies. These committees go by different names in different countries. In the US such committees are called Human Subjects boards, or (more officially) Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). They were given this official designation by the US Congress in 1974.1 In Canada they are called Research Ethics Boards (REBs), and in the UK they are usually referred to as Ethical Committees (ECs).2 I have simply referred to them as Ethics Review Committees (ERCs) since this seems the most descriptive designation for what these committees actually do. There are not presently any international Ethics Review Committees (though WHO has recently begun to give some consideration to the idea of an international ERC). But as of now, all ERCs are either national in scope, or local, i.e., associated with an institution or an agency within a nation. What this means is that ethics policy normally is determined within individual countries. In fact, even if there is an international Ethics Review Committee in existence when the first candidate vaccines are ready for phase III trials (i.e., an ERC with international “authority” to recommend policy), CIOMS Guidelines still require that the research protocol pass ERC review both in the country of origin, and in the country or countries where the trials will take place.3 Even if there are internationally focused ERCs, ethical review will still need to be done in the country hosting the trial.
Data aggregation for low power wireless devices

We propose a framework that evaluates data aggregation schemes for wireless protocols with an application emphasis on low power devices and the 802.15.4 protocol. A stochastic wireless model of the interference environment for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, is combined with the power budget of a modern wireless system on a chip to determine the sensitivity to and advantages of data aggregation. We then use the wireless model as the basis of heuristic technique that trades off device power use and data delays to develop optimizing transmission schemes. We compare our heuristically derived scheme with other simple transmission schemes. It is shown that the use of our data aggregation strategy can significantly reduce device power usage and system resources such as channel accesses.
It’s Dangerous to go Alone! Take this (New Technology): Nintendo’s Impact on the Technological Landscape of the Video Gaming Industry

Goldberg provides a communication perspective on Nintendo’s 100-year history of innovation. Relying on tried-and-true, iconic intellectual properties, including “Super Mario Brothers,” “The Legend of Zelda” and “Pokemon,” Nintendo focuses on delivering a memorable gaming experience via unique hardware and innovative interfaces. From plastic playing cards to the upcoming NX, Nintendo forces its competitors to keep up beyond sales numbers and graphics capabilities. Goldberg explores the impact of Nintendo’s innovative offerings on the technological landscape of video games, and gaming culture, in their popularization of portability, immersion and expansion of the game-world beyond the console. The chapter ends with a discussion of what comes next for Nintendo, including the foray into mobile game development and augmented reality games such as “Pokemon GO.”
Epitranscriptomic Enhancement of Influenza A Virus Gene Expression and Replication

Many viral RNAs are modified by methylation of the N6 position of adenosine (m6A). m6A is thought to regulate RNA splicing, stability, translation, and secondary structure. Influenza A virus (IAV) expresses m6A-modified RNAs, but the effects of m6A on this segmented RNA virus remain unclear. We demonstrate that global inhibition of m6A addition inhibits IAV gene expression and replication. In contrast, overexpression of the cellular m6A "reader" protein YTHDF2 increases IAV gene expression and replication. To address whether m6A residues modulate IAV RNA function in cis, we mapped m6A residues on the IAV plus (mRNA) and minus (vRNA) strands and used synonymous mutations to ablate m6A on both strands of the hemagglutinin (HA) segment. These mutations inhibited HA mRNA and protein expression while leaving other IAV mRNAs and proteins unaffected, and they also resulted in reduced IAV pathogenicity in mice. Thus, m6A residues in IAV transcripts enhance viral gene expression.
A Starting Point for Navigating the World of Daily Fantasy Basketball

Fantasy sports, particularly the daily variety in which new lineups are selected each day, are a rapidly growing industry. The two largest companies in the daily fantasy business, DraftKings and Fa...
Serum cholesterol of 6-year-olds in relation to environmental factors.

Relationships between past and present types of food intakes and serum cholesterol levels of 6-year-olds were investigated.
Depth estimation using monocular and stereo cues

Depth estimation in computer vision and robotics is most commonly done via stereo vision (stereopsis), in which images from two cameras are used to triangulate and estimate distances. However, there are also numerous monocular visual cues--such as texture variations and gradients, defocus, color/haze, etc. --that have heretofore been little exploited in such systems. Some of these cues apply even in regions without texture, where stereo would work poorly. In this paper, we apply a Markov Random Field (MRF) learning algorithm to capture some of these monocular cues, and incorporate them into a stereo system. We show that by adding monocular cues to stereo (triangulation) ones, we obtain significantly more accurate depth estimates than is possible using either monocular or stereo cues alone. This holds true for a large variety of environments, including both indoor environments and unstructured outdoor environments containing trees/forests, buildings, etc. Our approach is general, and applies to incorporating monocular cues together with any off-the-shelf stereo system.
Geometry of Motion

\({\mathbb{R}}^{3}\)A triple of vectors {e 1, e 2, e 3} is positively oriented if e i ∧ e j = e k for every cyclic permutation {i, j, k} of the indices. A positive triadis a Cartesian reference system {O; e1, e2, e3} in \({\mathbb{R}}^{3}\)with origin in O and positively oriented unit vectors {e 1, e 2, e 3}.
Using the algebra of dual quaternions for motion alignment

Whenever measurements have to be taken with respect to two different coordinate frames the problem arises how to relate these measurements to each other. When these measurements are rigid 3D-displacements we obtain descriptions of motions with respect to two different coordinate systems. These systems might for example be the motor coordinate system of a vehicle and the coordinate system of a sensor mounted on the vehicle. If we use conventional homogeneous coordinates notation we usually obtain the well known equation AX = XB where all the variables are 4x4 matrices representing rigid motions. On the other hand, we might have line measurements with respect to two coordinate frames in which case we usually have a problem of the form P = QX where P, Qare matrices containing the Pliicker coordinates of the lines and Xa matrix encoding the rigid motion which we will describe later. We will first make a short break in our motivation in order to introduce the Clifford algebra we will use. Our geometric algebra treatment is inspired by [154], [167], and [22]. Then, we will describe 3D-lines and 3D-motions in this framework and we will present two examples of the algorithmic superiority of this representation.
The Effects of Perceived Discrimination on Immigrant and Refugee Physical and Mental Health.

Abstract Discrimination has been identified as a major stressor and influence on immigrant health. This study examined the role of perceived discrimination in relation to other factors, in particular, acculturation, in physical and mental health of immigrants and refugees. Data for US adults (18 + years) were derived from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Mental and physical health was assessed with SF-12. Acculturation and perceived discrimination were assessed with multidimensional measures. Structural equation models were used to estimate the effects of acculturation, stressful life effects, perceived discrimination, and social support on health among immigrants and refugees. Among first-generation immigrants, discrimination in health care had a negative association with physical health while discrimination in general had a negative association with mental health. Social support had positive associations with physical and mental health and mediated the association of discrimination to health. There were no significant associations between discrimination and health among refugees, but the direction and magnitude of associations were similar to those for first-generation immigrants. Efforts aiming at reducing discrimination and enhancing integration/social support for immigrants are likely to help with maintaining and protecting immigrants’ health and well-being. Further research using larger samples of refugees and testing moderating effects of key social/psychosocial variables on immigrant health outcomes is warranted. This study used multidimensional measures of health, perceived discrimination, and acculturation to examine the pathways between key social/psychosocial factors in health of immigrants and refugees at the national level. This study included possibly the largest national sample of refugees.
Igorot Squatters and Indian Wards: Toward an Intra-imperial History of Land Dispossession

This essay considers two land disputes that took place in the first decade of U.S. rule in the Philippines and that reached the U.S. Supreme Court: Carino v. Insular Government (1909) and Reavis v. Fianza (1909). In arguing their cases, litigants were forced to reckon with the property rights regime of the former Spanish empire. In this regard, the cases affirm the import of inter-imperial frameworks for understanding colonial problems of land ownership and sovereignty. When arguing over the rightful owners of Philippine lands, parties to these cases also drew on the history and legal bases of land dispossession and settler colonialism in the American West. Further, in later decades, the arguments made in one of these cases would figure into legal conflicts over Native American lands. These cases thus suggest the value of also examining intra-imperial relationships, the emphasis of this essay. They demonstrate how histories and legal structures of settler-driven “expansion” and extra-continental colonialism informed, even constituted, each other.
Mist Irrigation Reduces Post-transplant Desiccation of Bare-root Trees

Abstract Desiccation during storage and reestablishment is a major factor contributing to poor regrowth of transplanted bare-root trees. The effect of overhead mist irrigation on reducing post tran...
Narratives of rupture: Tarantino’s counterfactual histories and the American historical imaginary

ABSTRACTThis article examines the way in which alternate history narratives have the potential to teach a different kind of historical consciousness. The author argues that the way in which films s...
Characterization of strains and defects in nanomaterials by diffraction techniques

Abstract We consider the application of diffraction technique to the studies of crystalline strains and defects in materials. In the first part, an approach for the determination of the elastic macro strain and stress in textured polycrystals by diffraction is discussed. It consists of expanding the strain tensor weighted by texture in a series of generalized spherical harmonics where the ground state is defined by the strain/stress state in both isotropic and the Voigt models. The approach is applicable to arbitrary crystal and sample symmetries and can be easily incorporated into full diffraction pattern refinement approaches. In the second part, we study the influence of strains and defects on the pristine and doped Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 epitaxial thin films. We found that both elastic and inhomogeneous strains are affected by doping. The strain correlates with the change in Curie-Weiss temperature and can qualitatively explain changes in dielectric loss. To explain the experimental findings, we model the dielectric and ferroelectric properties of interest in the framework of the Landau-Devonshire thermodynamic theory. As expected, an elastic-strain contribution due to the epilayer-substrate misfit has an important influence on the free energy. However, additional terms that correspond to the defect-related inhomogeneous strain had to be introduced to fully explain the measurements.
Drug Screening for Discovery of Broad-spectrum Agents for Soil-transmitted Nematodes.

Soil-transmitted nematodes (STNs), namely hookworms, whipworms, and ascarids, are extremely common parasites, infecting 1–2 billion of the poorest people worldwide. Two benzimidazoles, albendazole and mebendazole, are currently used in STN mass drug administration, with many instances of low/reduced activity reported. New drugs against STNs are urgently needed. We tested various models for STN drug screening with the aim of identifying the most effective tactics for the discovery of potent, safe and broad-spectrum agents. We screened a 1280-compound library of approved drugs to completion against late larval/adult stages and egg/larval stages of both the human hookworm parasite Ancylostoma ceylanicum and the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, which is often used as a surrogate for STNs in screens. The quality of positives was further evaluated based on cheminformatics/data mining analyses and activity against evolutionarily distant Trichuris muris whipworm adults. From these data, two pairs of positives, sulconazole/econazole and pararosaniline/cetylpyridinium, predicted to target nematode CYP-450 and HSP-90 respectively, were prioritized for in vivo evaluation against A. ceylanicum infections in hamsters. One of these positives, pararosaniline, showed a significant impact on hookworm fecundity in vivo. Taken together, our results suggest that anthelmintic screening with A. ceylanicum larval stages is superior to C. elegans based on both reduced false negative rate and superior overall quality of actives. Our results also highlight two potentially important targets for the discovery of broad-spectrum human STN drugs.
Stereotypic responses to infection and inflammation: probable activation of phagocytic cells.

There is a sequence of Stereotypie metabolic changes in rats subjected to inflammation or infection. In each stress, rats respond with increases in body temperature and plasma insulin and with decreases in plasma zinc, ketone bodies, and free fatty acids. The data suggest that infection or inflammation causes an activation of phagocytic cells and also that leukocytic endogenous mediator, when injected into rats, causes some of the same alterations. Rats doubly vagotomized respond to infection in the same fashion as intact rats.
Sequence variation observed in 27 Y-STR markers with U.S. population samples

Abstract Sequencing short tandem repeat (STR) markers on the Y chromosome allows for characterization of repeat motif variations within the Y-STR marker that cannot be determined by length-based fragment analysis with capillary electrophoresis (CE). Two commercial sequence-based assays have been run at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) with U.S. population samples (Caucasian, Hispanic, African American and Asian). The ForenSeq DNA Signature Prep Kit and prototype PowerSeq 46GY System contain a total of 27 Y-STR markers between the two kits (DYF387S1, DYS19, DYS385a/b, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, DYS448, DYS456, DYS458, DYS460, DYS481, DYS505, DYS522, DYS533, DYS549, DYS570, DYS576, DYS612, DYS635, DYS643, and Y-GATA-H4). Data analysis was performed using an in-house pipeline based on open source software. The resulting data reveals the degree of information gained through sequencing Y-STR markers and will be illustrated per population for the 27 markers. Allele calls from corresponding CE data were compared to sequence data for concordance. Discordant allele calls were further investigated to assess underlying causes such as null alleles, imbalanced peaks in multi-copy markers, flanking region insertions/deletions (indels), copy number variations, high stutter, and artifacts.