cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Using a Three‐Component Distributed Array of Mixed, Horizontal, and Vertical Single‐Component Seismometers to Produce a Receiver Function from a Short Deployment

Receiver function (RF) imaging is an important tool in the investigation of the crust (e.g., Burdick and Langston, 1977; Langston, 1979; Owens et al. , 1984; Owens and Crosson, 1988; Zhang and Langston, 1995) and upper mantle (Vinnik, 1977; Gurrola et al. , 1994). The P ‐to‐ S conversion ( Ps ) from the Moho is typically one of the most prominent phases on P ‐wave RFs. Estimates of the depth and thickness of the Moho (e.g., Grad and Tiira, 2012) and V P / V S ratio of the crust are important goals of many RF investigations (Zhu and Kanamori, 2000). In addition, S ‐to‐ P conversions ( Sp ) on S ‐wave RFs have been used to image the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary (e.g., Rychert et al. , 2005, 2007; Abt et al. , 2010; Kumar et al. , 2012). Although 2D and 3D imaging of the upper mantle and crust using common conversion point (CCP) stacking of RFs produced from data recorded by dense seismic arrays (e.g., Dueker and Sheehan, 1997; Simmons and Gurrola, 2000; Hansen et al. , 2013) are more powerful tools than 1D imaging, few areas exist with dense enough arrays for such processing. Single‐station RF interpretation is, therefore, still very important in most regions to image the crustal and upper‐mantle discontinuities. Array processing of both single‐ and three‐component seismic data is known to improve the quality of RFs (Langston and Hammer, 2001). Here, we present the results of using array processing applied to a small, mixed network of vertical and horizontal single‐component seismic stations with a relatively short deployment to produce a single RF. We will refer to an array of mixed vertical and horizontal …
Reliability Based Design and Inspection of Stiffened Panels Against Fatigue

This paper addresses the problem of developing optimum structural design and inspection strategy for fatigue crack growth in stiffened panels subjected to uncertainty in material properties and loading. The approach is based on the application of methods of structural reliability analysis. An optimization problem is formulated to minimize expected lifetime cost while maintaining a minimum acceptable reliability level. The effect of structural design and inspection schedule on operational cost and reliability is explored and tradeoff of structural weight and cost between load carrying structural members (skin and stiffeners) and inspections is conducted. The panel is assumed to be under plane stress condition, and stiffeners are modeled as rectangular bars discretely attached to the panel by fasteners. The stress intensity factor is first determined by enforcing displacement compatibility at fastener locations, fatigue crack growth rate is then obtained by numerical integration. Optimization revealed that improving the structure by designing it for multiple load path capability combined with the use of inspections can be very cost effective compared to unstiffened structure.
In vitro Effect of Two Pantheine Analogues on Co-Enzyme A Requiring Systems.∗

SummaryOmega-methylpantethine was observed markedly to inhibit sulfanilamide acetylation at concentrations which were ineffective against citrate formation in pigeon liver homogenates. With aliquots of the same homogenate. bis- beta-pantoylaminoethyl) disulfide was observed to inhibit citrate formation at concentrations which were ineffective against sulfanilamide acetylation. In either case, higher concentrations of these compounds were effective in inhibiting both systems.
Comparison and Simulation of Three Satellites' Failure Detection Methods

Failure detection is an important way to guarantee the integrity requirement of navigation system. In order to deal with the problem of RAIM's requirement of at least five visible satellites to complete failure detection,in the frame of inertial / satellite integrated navigation system,by establishing detecting statistics that can reflect the satellites' failure and calculating the corresponding detection thresholds,two schemes of solution separation and residue extrapolation were proposed to detect the satellites' failures. The analysis and simulation show that the solution separation method can successfully detect satellites' failures even under RAIM hole condition,and the system can easily complete configuration with this scheme,but the failure detecting efficiency is not very high; residue extrapolation method takes the advantage of detection slowly growing failure,and its failure detection efficiency is greatly improved,and it can quickly detect slowly growing failure even there being only three visible satellites.
T Regulator Cells (Treg) In Patients with Myelofibrosis

Abstract 5051 Primary myelofibrosis (PMF) and myelofibrosis post essential thrombocytosis (MF-ET) or myelofibrosis post polycythemia vera (MF-PV) have been reported to be associated with autoimmune phenomenon, such as Coomb positive anemia, lupus anticoagulant, positive ANA and the presence of circulating immune complex etc. Regulatory T cells (T reg ) also have known to play important roles in modulating immune responses. Therefore we studied T reg cells in 25 patients with MF including PMF (12), MF-ET (8), MF-PV (5) and compared with other MPD including ET (7), PV (8), and normal volunteer controls (17). Mononuclear cells (MNC) were separated from peripheral blood. 10 6 MNCs were stained for flow cytometry analysis using T reg Detection Kit from Miltenyi Biotec Inc (Auburn, CA). The numbers of T reg was calculated as the percentage of positive CD4 + CD25 + FoxP3 + T cells (T reg ) from the numbers of gated CD4 + cells. T reg function was evaluated by XTT cell proliferation assay (Invitrogen) with ratios of T reg vs. T-effector cells (CD4 + CD25 - ) at 1:1, 1:2, 1:4, and 0:1 in the presence of anti-CD3 CD28 microbeads (Invitrogen). The results (mean ± SE) showed numbers of T reg cells in MF were 0.73 + 0.08, other MPD were 1.37 ± 0.22, and normal controls were 0.96 ± 0.27 ( p =NS). T reg function was evaluated in 12 patients with MF and 6 normal volunteer controls. Four MF patients were found to have significant lower values than controls. We concluded that in MF, quantitatively T reg were not different from other MPD or normal controls but T reg dysfunction was observed in 30–40 % of MF patients. This could explain why some patients with MF are prone to develop autoimmune phenomenon. Further studies with more patients are in progress. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Congestion analysis of pilgrims in Hajj and Umrah congregation using block matching and optical flow

A novel method has been proposed to classify the motion of pilgrims with respect to congestion level in the holy mosque of Makkah. Millions of Muslims visit this mosque during Hajj and Umrah every year. A large number of security personnel is required to maintain the smooth flow of pilgrims in order to avert any catastrophe. Therefore, it is inevitable to design a computer aided system to reduce human effort. The proposed system pre-processes input images to segregate the moving shadows and pilgrims in order to nullify the false motion due to moving shadows. A hybrid method consisting of block matching and optical flow techniques has been used for the computation of motion vectors. Decision tree classifier is used on the number of motion vectors having non-zero magnitude. Experiments show that the proposed system has promising results yielding an accuracy of 90.58% for the congestion classification of pilgrims.
Teaching microelectronics at Olin College

In this paper, I describe the curricular context and some of the distinctive features of the required sophomore/junior-level required course in microelectronic circuits that I have developed and taught at Olin College over the past eleven years. These features include the use of low-cost portable USB instrumentation for the labs, the coverage of CMOS at all levels of inversion right from the start using a simple, three-parameter Enz-Krummenacher-Vittoz (EKV) model of the long-channel MOS transistor, an emphasis on design-oriented driving-point impedance circuit analysis techniques, and the development of students' circuit reasoning abilities.
EFFECTS OF PROLONGED COLONIZATION, CROWDING, AND STARVATION ON DEVELOPMENT AND SURVIVAL RATES OF CABBAGE LOOPERS, TRICHOPLUSIA NI (HUBNER) (LEPIDOPTERA: NOCTUIDAE)

The effect of colonization, crowding, and starvation on the development of cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni, was investigated. Differences in development time, pupal weight, mortality rate, and adul...
Swipe Right: Dating Website and App Use Among Men Who Have Sex With Men.

This study explored the frequency of dating website and app usage among MSM to understand sub-group differences in use. Web-based survey data (N = 3105) were analyzed to assess the use of dating websites and apps. More than half (55.7%) of MSM in this sample were frequent users of dating websites and apps. Two-thirds (66.7%) of frequent users had casual partners only in the past 12 months and reported a high average number of casual sexual partners in the past 12 months (Mdn = 5.0) compared to never users (Mdn = 0.0; χ 2(2) = 734.94, adj. p < .001). The most frequently used dating website or app was Grindr, with 60.2% of the sample reporting some or frequent use. Adam4Adam (23.5%), Jack’d (18.9%) and Scruff (18.7%) were also frequently used. Dating websites and apps may be effective channels to reach a diverse group of MSM with HIV prevention messages.
Decentralized multi-area state estimation with hybrid measurements

Power system state estimation (SE) is one of the most fundamental applications at the control center, since it helps the system operator to monitor, control and optimize the performance of the power grid. Motivated by the advancements in synchronized phasor measurement units (PMU) and the urgent need of a better state estimator to address the corresponding system complexity and computational burden, we focus on a potential solution for the state estimation: decentralized multi-area state estimation (MASE) with synchrophasor measurements. A synchrophasor-assisted hybrid MASE algorithm has been proposed to tackle this problem, where the boundary bus state estimates generated from the tie-line based synchrophasor-only linear SE are transformed into the equality constraints imposed upon the local SE in each area. This strategy takes full advantage of the linear model resulted from PMU measurements and reduces the size of the non-linear system to be solved in state estimation and hence the complexity. Numerical simulations have been implemented in the IEEE 14-bus system, and the simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can not only provide system state estimates with good accuracy, but also can speed up the computational process of SE for the entire system.
Optimal design and operation of integrated solar combined cycles under emissions intensity constraints

Abstract Direct integration of solar thermal and natural gas systems can be achieved through integrated solar combined cycle (ISCC) power generation. In this work, optimal ISCC system design and hourly operations are determined simultaneously using computational optimization procedures. The full optimization problem is intractable, so a series of problem reductions are employed to explore the ISCC design space while ensuring that individual designs can operate feasibly for a wide range of operating conditions and under realistic constraints. We construct bi-objective Pareto fronts for two conflicting objectives: net present value (NPV) and average CO2 emissions intensity of power produced. A variety of ISCC designs are explored to find a superior configuration with physically feasible annual solar contribution (ASC) of up to 20%, a significant improvement over published designs. We then explore the sensitivity of the results to economic factors such as discount rate, power price, and capital cost. By examining the Pareto frontiers of each case, we quantify the economic cost of reduced CO2 emissions. The resulting ISCC-derived mitigation costs are found to be competitive with other CO2 mitigation technologies.
Minding science: Constructivism and the discourse of inquiry.

Cognitive Therapy and Research emerged as a journal during the cognitive revolution. The cognitive revolution was a major paradigm shift in psychology. My involvement in that revolution followed my earlier training in behaviorism. The strong emotional reactions of radical behaviorists to early cognitive inquiries contributed to my interest in how scientists do science and why belief systems are sometimes so resistant to change. Studies of science and scientists reflect these questions. This paper offers a broad-stroke sketch of psychology of science, with special emphasis on graduate school, academic politics and tenure, publication, passions and paradigms, and the current controversy popularly mislabeled the “science wars.” I conclude that the academy and science policies are in need of constructive reform, science studies are crucial to our future, and we would be wise to stop using war metaphors. Let us foster a developmental discourse of inquiry.
Land Use Impact Fees: Does Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District Echo an Arkansas Philosophy of Property Rights?

The takings clause of the Arkansas Constitution declares that "the right of property is before and higher than any constitutional sanction." Perhaps such an elevated regard for property is little more than a relic of the post-reconstruction South. But the philosophy seems surprisingly well aligned with a 2013 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District holds that the U.S. Constitution requires heightened scrutiny when a land use authority exacts an impact fee in exchange for a development permit. Koontz arguably reconceives the Court’s attitude toward routine land use regulation, implying a constitutionally favored right to develop land and, in the process, potentially repealing decades of case law conferring broad discretion on the government to regulate land use for the common good. In this sense, Koontz may signal that a majority of today’s U.S. Supreme Court reckons that the right of property is indeed before and higher than other constitutional rights.
Abstract 4911: Metabolic activation of sunitinib: Implications for sunitinib-induced toxicities

Purpose: Sunitinib is a multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma, gastrointestinal stromal tumors, and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. However, clinical use of sunitinib is associated with potentially fatal idiosyncratic liver injury. The mechanisms of this toxicity are unknown. We hypothesized that sunitinib undergoes metabolic activation to form chemically reactive, potentially toxic metabolites, which may contribute to the development of sunitinib-induced liver injury. The purpose of this study was to define the role of cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes in the metabolism and bioactivation of sunitinib to provide insight into the mechanisms of drug toxicity. Methods: Metabolic incubations were performed using individual recombinant P450 enzymes, human liver microsomal fractions, and P450-selective chemical inhibitors. To assess reactive metabolite formation, glutathione (GSH) and a chemical derivative of GSH, dansyl-GSH, were used as trapping agents to detect reactive metabolite-GSH conjugates. Sunitinib metabolites were analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Results: Recombinant CYP3A4 was the major enzyme to form the primary active metabolite N-desethyl-sunitinib. Recombinant CYP1A2 generated the highest levels of reactive metabolites trapped as GSH conjugates, with minor contributions from CYP2D6 and CYP3A4. Detection of reactive metabolite dansyl-GSH conjugates from incubations with dansyl-GSH confirmed the generation of reactive metabolites by CYP1A2. In human liver microsomal incubations, the CYP3A inhibitor ketoconazole reduced formation of N-desethyl-sunitinib by 88%, while the CYP1A2 inhibitor furafylline decreased generation of reactive metabolite-GSH conjugates by 62%, compared to control levels. Quinidine (CYP2D6 inhibitor) and ketoconazole (CYP3A inhibitor) also decreased GSH conjugate formation by 54 and 52%, respectively, compared to control. Kinetic assays with recombinant P450s revealed that the overall enzyme efficiency (kcat/Km) for converting sunitinib to reactive metabolite-GSH conjugates was in the following order: CYP1A2 > CYP3A4 > CYP2D6. Conclusions: Collectively, these data indicate that CYP1A2 and CYP3A4 are important contributors to metabolic activation of sunitinib to generate reactive, potentially toxic metabolites. Factors that alter CYP1A2 and CYP3A4 activity may affect patient risk for sunitinib toxicity. Future studies will focus on examining the impact of P450 genetic variations and environmental factors on sunitinib metabolism and toxicity. Citation Format: Klarissa D. Jackson, Gracia M. Amaya, Rebecca Durandis, Kahari J. Wines, Arsany A. Abouda, Samuel A. Starks, R. Nathan Daniels. Metabolic activation of sunitinib: Implications for sunitinib-induced toxicities [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4911.
Can a Statute Have More Than One Meaning

What statutory language means can vary from statute to statute, or even provision to provision. But what about from case to case? The conventional wisdom is that the same language can mean different things as used in different places within the United States Code. As used in some specific place, however, that language means what it means. Put differently, the same statutory provision must mean the same thing in all cases. To hold otherwise, courts and scholars suggest, would be contrary both to the rules of grammar and to the rule of law. This Article challenges that conventional wisdom. Building on the observation that speakers can and often do transparently communicate different things to different audiences with the same verbalization or written text, it argues that, as a purely linguistic matter, there is nothing to prevent Congress from doing the same with statutes. More still, because the practical advantages of using multiple meanings — in particular, linguistic economy — are at least as important to Congress as to ordinary speakers, this Article argues further that it would be just plain odd if Congress never chose to communicate multiple messages with the same statutory text. As this Article goes on to show, recognizing the possibility of multiple statutory meanings would let courts reach sensible answers to important doctrinal questions they currently do their best to avoid. Most notably, thinking about multiple meanings in an informed way would help courts explain under what conditions more than one agency should receive deference when interpreting a multi-agency statute. Relatedly, it would let courts reject as false the choice between Chevron deference and the rule of lenity for statutes with both civil and criminal applications.
Social functioning outcomes among individuals with substance use disorders receiving internet-delivered community reinforcement approach.

Background: The community reinforcement approach (CRA) is an evidence-based practice for the treatment of substance use disorders and achieving and maintaining abstinence, but few studies have syst...
COMBINED PHACOEMULSIFICATION SURGERY WITH MULTIFOCAL INTRAOCULAR LENS IMPLANTATION AND PARS PLANA VITRECTOMY FOR SYMPTOMATIC VITREOUS OPACITIES.

Purpose To report surgical outcomes of combined vitrectomy for vitreous floaters and phacoemulsification surgery with multifocal intraocular lens implantation. Methods Retrospective, interventional, noncomparative case series of five eyes from five patients who underwent same-day combined phacoemulsification surgeries with apodized, diffractive multifocal intraocular lens implantation for cataract and pars plana vitrectomy for symptomatic vitreous opacities, that is, floaters. Primary outcomes were distance and near visual acuities, and resolution of symptoms. Secondary outcomes included intraocular pressure, refractive outcomes, and surgical complications. Results Mean logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution glare distance visual acuity improved from 0.36 (best-corrected Snellen 20/47) preoperatively to an uncorrected distance visual acuity of 0.05 (Snellen 20/23) at 6 months postoperatively (P = 0.042). All but one patient achieved multifocality with a near visual acuity of J2 or better. All patients noted subjective improvement in symptoms from floaters postoperatively. Mean intraocular pressure remained stable during follow-up. Two eyes ultimately required YAG capsulotomies for symptomatic posterior capsular opacification, one of which additionally received LASEK for refractive correction. Conclusion Multifocality and improvement in symptoms from symptomatic vitreous opacities were observed in this pilot series of carefully selected patients who underwent combined phacovitrectomy with multifocal intraocular lens implantation. A high rate of retinal tears was found in these patients. Appropriate caution should be taken in preoperative assessment and patient selection for the combined procedure.
The Danger/Value of Leaping to Conclusions.

Л very teacher who has faced the problem of motivating slow learners knows there is not enough time to achieve higher level objectives, such as formulating generalizations and testing these generalizations. The following experiences with a group of slow seventh graders may provide some help with both of these important activities. A group of slow seventh graders was using the University of Illinois Committee on School Mathematics program for low achievers, "Stretchers and Shrinkers."1 These materials begin with whole number multiplication, offering the student necessary practice and review. The student is introduced to a machine called a stretcher which accepts any whole number as an input and produces an output which has been stretched by a desired amount. For example, the 2-machine and 3-machine operate in the following manner (see table 1). In an attempt to provide additional practice, the students were asked to connect the input number to the output number on the face of a clock by drawing a straight line from the input number to the output num-
A protocol to deliver Intensive Behavioral Therapy (IBT) for obesity in primary care settings: the MODEL-IBT program.

Objective The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) initiated coverage of intensive behavioral therapy (IBT) for obesity in 2011, providing beneficiaries 14 to 15 brief, individual counseling visits in 6 months. CMS offered general recommendations for delivering IBT but did not provide an evidence-based treatment protocol, which was the objective of the present research. Methods This review describes the evidence that CMS considered in developing its IBT benefit. It also examines weight losses produced by the intensive lifestyle intervention in the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), as well an adapted version of the DPP delivered (for the first 6 months) on the visit schedule recommended by CMS. This new protocol, which was evaluated in a recent randomized trial, provided 14 visits in the first 24 weeks, with 7 additional monthly visits through week 52. Results As reported previously, the 50 participants with obesity assigned to the new IBT protocol lost a mean of 5.4% of their initial weight at week 24; 46% of participants lost ≥ 5% of their baseline weight. At 1 year, the mean loss was 6.1%, and 44% of participants lost ≥ 5%. Conclusions With these generally favorable results, the IBT protocol is being posted online for practitioners and researchers to use.
Optimization of Convolutional Neural Networks for Imbalanced Set Classification

Abstract Various research works demonstrate that the distribution of training data has a significant impact on the performance of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). The CNN classifiers using balanced datasets achieve very accurate performance when compared to shallow classifiers. However, considering the CNNs originally are not designed to handle imbalanced datasets, such cases have a severely negative impact on their overall performance. In this research we focus on examining the effect of imbalanced data sets on performance outcomes of various CNN-based classifier models. The work also discusses implementation of some newly suggested optimizers as well as traditional ones for Deep Learning (DL), along with different approaches of learning rate adaptation including a method based on cyclic increase and decrease during training. We compare the impact of using two different methods of ensembling in order to further increase the classifier performance. Additionally, we experimentally evaluate the proposed approaches on two imbalanced image datasets.
Attitudes Toward Risk and Cost Pass-Through Under Uncertainty

This paper takes into account the difference in risk-aversion of producers to explain their degree of cost pass-through. Each producer can be either risk-neutral or risk-averse, characterized by a CARA utility function. We use our model to explain the surcharge formula in the stainless steel industry, in which American and European producers adopt 100% pass-through but Asian producers commit on zero pass-through. We find that the maximal pass-through differentiation structure arises if one supplier is risk-neutral (e.g., a Chinese state-owned enterprise) but the other is risk-averse (e.g., a domestic private enterprise). Contrarily, if both suppliers are similarly risk-averse (e.g., American vs. European producers), then the pass-through rates stay in the range of 40%-60% at market equilibrium. The presence of a risk-neutral foreign producer is an essential driver for a domestic risk-averse producer to push his pass-through rate toward an extremely high level. We also find that tariff is inefficient to promote the competitiveness of domestic producer.
Disease-economy trade-offs under alternative pandemic control strategies

Public policy and academic debates regarding mitigation strategies frequently note potential disease-economy trade-offs, and advocate for prioritizing one outcome over the other. Using a calibrated coupled epi-economic model of individual behavior embedded within the broader economy during COVID-19, we show that targeted isolation strategies can avert up to 91% of individual economic losses relative to voluntary isolation strategies. Notably, the economic savings from targeted isolation strategies do not impose an additional disease burden, avoiding disease-economy trade-offs. In contrast, widely-used blanket lockdowns do create sharp disease-economy trade-offs and impose substantial economic costs per marginal case avoided. These results highlight the benefits of targeted isolation strategies for disease control, as they address the fundamental coordination failure between infectious and susceptible individuals which drives the recession. Our coupled-systems framework uses a novel data-driven approach to map economic activities to contacts, which facilitates developing effective mitigation strategies for future novel pathogens. Application of this framework can help control disease spread and avert trillions of dollars in losses.
History of dysplasia and primary site associated with recurrence in T1N0 oral squamous cell carcinoma

OBJECTIVE Recurrent disease occurs in a significant proportion of early-stage oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) despite removal of the entire tumor with clear surgical margins. Our study sought to identify clinicopathologic factors that increase the risk of locoregional recurrence in T1N0 OSCC. STUDY DESIGN We conducted an observational retrospective analysis of 65 cases of T1N0 OSCC over a period of 13 years. For each case, we examined the clinical presentation, histopathologic appearance, and treatment characteristics of interest to evaluate the association between these variables and locoregional recurrence. RESULTS The 5-year and 10-year locoregional recurrence rates were 29.2% and 33.8%, respectively. Individuals with prior oral dysplasia had significantly higher odds for locoregional recurrence (P < .01) and reduced 5-year disease-free survival rates (P < .01). OSCC of the tongue and floor of the mouth had lower recurrence odds than carcinomas of the gingiva, buccal mucosa, and palate (P < .05). Histologic grade (P = .80), depth of invasion (P = .82), and elective neck dissection (P = .80) did not appear to influence locoregional recurrence for T1N0 tumors. CONCLUSIONS Given the morbidity and mortality associated with OSCC, understanding of the clinicopathologic factors associated with recurrent disease may lead to improved treatment and follow-up protocols for a subset of early-stage patients.
Distribution-based comprehensive evaluation of methods for differential expression analysis in metatranscriptomics

Background: Measuring and understanding the function of the human microbiome is key for several aspects of health; however, the development of statistical methods specifically for the analysis of microbial gene expression (i.e., metatranscriptomics) is in its infancy. Many currently employed differential expression analysis methods have been designed for different data types and have not been evaluated in metatranscriptomics settings. To address this knowledge gap, we undertook a comprehensive evaluation and benchmarking of eight differential analysis methods for metatranscriptomics data. Results: We used a combination of real and simulated metatranscriptomics data to evaluate the performance (i.e., model fit, Type-I error, and statistical power) of eights methods: log-normal (LN), logistic-beta (LB), MAST, Kruskal-Wallis, two-part Kruskal-Wallis, DESeq2, and ANCOM-BC and metagenomeSeq. The simulation was informed by supragingival biofilm microbiome data from about 300 preschool-age children enrolled in a study of early childhood caries (ECC), whereas validations were sought in two additional datasets, including an ECC and an inflammatory bowel disease one. The LB test showed the highest power in both small and large sample sizes and reasonably controlled Type-I error. Contrarily, MAST was hampered by inflated Type-I error. Using LN and LB tests, we found that genes C8PHV7 and C8PEV7, harbored by the lactate-producing Campylobacter gracilis, had the strongest association with ECC. Conclusion: This comprehensive model evaluation findings offer practical guidance for the selection of appropriate methods for rigorous analyses of differential expression in metatranscriptomics data. Selection of an optimal method is likely to increase the possibility of detecting true signals while minimizing the chance of claiming false ones.
The β-Adrenergic Receptors

β-Adrenergic receptors (β-ARs) are members of the superfamily of G protein-coupled receptors that are stimulated by the catecholamines epinephrine and norepinephine (1). As part of the sympathetic nervous system, β-ARs have important roles in cardiovascular, respiratory, metabolic, central nervous system, and reproductive functions. Mice lacking one or more of the three β-AR subtype genes (β1, β2, and β3) have been generated to elucidate the physiological role of individual subtypes. Moreover, cells and tissues extracted from these mice have been utilized as tools to understand the molecular and cellular basis of subtype-specific receptor function. These studies are summarized in this chapter.
Efficacy of plasmapheresis on donor-specific antibody reduction by HLA specificity in post-kidney transplant recipients.

Background Donor-specific antibodies (DSAs) to HLA antigens can cause acute antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) after kidney transplantation (Txp). Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) has been used for AMR treatment; however, DSA reduction rates are inconsistent. We investigated DSA reduction rates by HLA specificity and clinical outcome. Study Design and Methods Sixty-four courses of TPE for 56 kidney Txp recipients with high DSA were investigated. Dates of TPE procedures and Txp, patients' age, sex, race, creatinine (Cr), and mean fluorescent intensity (MFI) of DSA were retrieved. MFI reduction rate after one to three TPE and four to six TPE procedures were calculated by HLA DSA specificity in each patient, and the mean reduction rates were compared. The relationship of TPE treatment, MFI or Cr improvement rate, and graft age was also investigated. Results Patients received a mean 6.0 TPE procedures. Most received intravenous immunoglobulin after TPE and immunosuppressives. Forty-two cases (65.6%) had DSA to HLA Class I and 54 cases (84.4%) to Class II, including 32 cases (50.0%) to both. Mean MFI reduction rates after one to three TPE and four to six TPE procedures were 25.7 and 37.1% in HLA Class I, 25.1 and 34.2% in Class II, and 14.3 and 19.9% in DR51-53. The mean Cr improvements at the end of TPE and 3 and 6 months after TPE were 3.41, −0.37, and −0.72%, respectively. Conclusion Six TPE procedures decreased DSA more than three TPE procedures, but reduction rate was lower by the second three TPE procedures than the first three TPE procedures. Although the mean Cr improvement was minimal, the treatment has good potential to stop further deterioration of kidney function. Better Cr improvement rate is correlated with the graft age.
Re-evaluation of the atrial contribution to ventricular function: Study using His bundle pacing

The atrial contribution to ventricular function was studied in the presence of normal and abnormal ventricular depolarization in 8 dogs. The use of His bundle pacing made it possible to pace the ventricles and yet maintain a normal pattern of ventricular activation. Ventricular function, measured by peak left ventricular pressure, left ventricular dp/dt and aortic flow, was significantly decreased in the presence of a very short P-R interval with both right ventricular and His bundle pacing. Under both circumstances ventricular function improved as the P-R interval approached normal. However, the variations in function were more pronounced with aberrant ventricular depolarization. At any P-R interval ventricular function was better in the presence of normal ventricular depolarization than with right ventricular pacing. The improvement was more pronounced at short than at near normal P-R intervals, even in the presence of compensatory phenomena. It is apparent that the temporal relation between atrial and ventricular contraction and the pathway of ventricular depolarization are both important determinants of ventricular function. The role of either factor is accentuated when the contribution of the other is least effective. Certain clinical implications of these findings are suggested.
Inverse analysis of near-infrared transmission spectra for triarylamine dye

Inverse analysis of transmission spectra for triarylamine dye in acetone is presented. This analysis employed a parametric model of transmission through a sample of finite thickness, where the permittivity function was represented parametrically by a linear combination of Lorentzian functions. The results of this analysis pro- vided estimates of the permittivity function for triarylamine dye, which can be adopted as input data to other types of models, such as those for prediction of transmission and reflectivity spectra for composites containing mix- tures of dyes and other materials. In addition, this analysis demonstrated that the absorption coefficients for a dye, which were obtained by inverse analysis of transmission spectra for that dye in solution, can be validated as reasonable estimates of the absorption coefficients for that dye in fabric. © 2015 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation
Quantitative testing of a frontal collision warning system for transit buses

The effectiveness of a frontal collision warning system (FCWS) depends on the ability of its sensors and software to distinguish threatening driving scenarios and to provide the driver with a warning that leads to a safe (collision avoidance) response. A program of testing that focused on determining the capabilities (and limitations) of the FCWS sensors and signal processing is reported, so that the warning system could be designed to make best use of the capabilities and minimise the impacts of the limitations. The tests were conducted carefully under controlled conditions, using target vehicles and obstacles set up to represent typical hazards encountered in urban and suburban transit bus driving. The movements of the subject vehicle (the bus equipped with the FCWS) and the targets were measured independently for comparison with the measurements obtained from the FCWS sensors so that the sources of errors and delays could be determined. The results of the testing indicated that the longitudinal measurements of target locations were generally good, but even relatively small errors in the lateral position measurements were enough to cause problems with false-positive and -negative alerts. The signal-processing delays of approximately 1 s introduced excessive delays in the generation of alerts to the driver. Fusion of the existing sensor data with additional sensors is recommended for future enhancements to overcome these limitations.
Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Pegfilgrastim

Pegfilgrastim is a sustained-duration form of filgrastim, a recombinant methionyl form of human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), to which a 20 kDa polyethylene glycol molecule is covalently bound to the N-terminal methionine residue. Similar to filgrastim, pegfilgrastim increases the proliferation and differentiation of neutrophils from committed progenitor cells, induces maturation, and enhances the survival and function of mature neutrophils, resulting in dose-dependent increases in neutrophils. After subcutaneous administration, pegfilgrastim exhibits nonlinear pharmacokinetics and exposure to pegfilgrastim increases in more than a dose-proportional manner, suggesting that the clearance of pegfilgrastim decreases with increased dosing. Filgrastim is primarily eliminated by the kidney and neutrophils/neutrophil precursors; the latter presumably involves binding of the growth factor to the G-CSF receptor on the cell surface, internalization of the growth factor-receptor complexes via endocytosis, and subsequent degradation inside the cells. Pegylation of filgrastim renders renal clearance insignificant, which was demonstrated in bilaterally nephrectomized rats and confirmed in subjects with renal impairment. As a result, the neutrophil-mediated clearance is the predominant elimination pathway for pegfilgrastim. During chemotherapy-induced neutropenia, the clearance of pegfilgrastim is significantly reduced and the concentration of pegfilgrastim is sustained until onset of neutrophil recovery. Pegfilgrastim concentrations are sustained longer in patients with profound neutropenia. Evidence supports the use of a postnadir absolute neutrophil count (ANC) of ≥1 × 109/L as a surrogate marker threshold for the clearance of pegfilgrastim to subtherapeutic levels. After repeated administration of pegfilgrastim, the peak concentrations of pegfilgrastim decrease, likely due to increased neutrophil and neutrophil precursor mass. A pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic model was developed to describe the pharmacokinetic and ANC profiles of pegfilgrastim; the analysis supported that 100 µg/kg was an adequate weight-based dose of pegfilgrastim and predicted that 6 mg would be an optimal fixed dose of pegfilgrastim to simplify treatment. Data from a pivotal study confirmed that a once-per-chemotherapy-cycle injection of pegfilgrastim at 6 mg was as safe and effective as 11 daily injections of filgrastim at 5 µg/kg in reducing neutropenia and its complications in patients with breast cancer receiving four cycles of doxorubicin/docetaxel chemotherapy. Because of the highly efficient regulation of pegfilgrastim clearance via neutrophils and neutrophil precursors, a single fixed dose of pegfilgrastim can be given once per chemotherapy cycle in conjunction with a variety of myelosuppressive chemotherapy regimens.
A Method for Determining the Unitary Functional Capacity of Cloned Channels and Transporters Expressed in Xenopus Laevis Oocytes

The Xenopus laevis oocyte is widely used to express exogenous channels and transporters and is well suited for functional measurements including currents, electrolyte and nonelectrolyte fluxes, water permeability and even enzymatic activity. It is difficult, however, to transform functional measurements recorded in whole oocytes into the capacity of a single channel or transporter because their number often cannot be estimated accurately. We describe here a method of estimating the number of exogenously expressed channels and transporters inserted in the plasma membrane of oocytes. The method is based on the facts that the P (protoplasmic) face in water-injected control oocytes exhibit an extremely low density of endogenous particles (212±48 particles/μm2, mean, sd) and that exogenously expressed channels and transporters increased the density of particles (up to 5,000/μm2) only on the P face. The utility and generality of the method were demonstrated by estimating the “gating charge” per particle of the Na+/ glucose cotransporter (SGLT1) and a nonconducting mutant of the Shaker K+ channel proteins, and the single molecule water permeability of CHIP (Channel-like Intramembrane Protein) and MIP (Major Intrinsic Protein). We estimated a “gating charge” of ∼3.5 electronic charges for SGLT1 and ∼9 for the mutant Shaker K+ channel from the ratio of Q max to density of particles measured on the same oocytes. The “gating charges” were 3-fold larger than the “effective valences” calculated by fitting a Boltzmann equation to the same charge transfer data suggesting that the charge movement in the channel and cotransporter occur in several steps. Single molecule water permeabilities (p f s) of 1.4 × 10−14 cm3/ sec for CHIP and of 1.5 × 10−16 cm3/sec for MIP were estimated from the ratio of the whole-oocyte water permeability (P f ) to the density of particles. Therefore, MIP is a water transporter in oocytes, albeit ∼100-fold less effective than CHIP.
Allelopathic response of vegetables to guayule residue

Abstract Water leachates from guayule processing residues or residues mixed with peat moss or soil significantly delay germination onset and decrease percentage germination for the following crops: broccoli, cantaloupe, cauliflower, cotton, guayule, lettuce, pepper, and tomato. These effects can be ascribed to p-anisic acid present in leaf resin and a variety of substituted benzoic and cinnamic acids present as carboxylate salts in leaves and bagasse.
Exopolysaccharides modify functional properties of whey protein concentrate.

Abstract The objective of this research was to produce whey protein concentrate (WPC) with modified functionality using exopolysaccharide- (EPS) producing cultures. Two different EPS-producing cultures, Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris JFR and Streptococcus thermophilus , producing EPS1 and EPS2 respectively, were used in this study. One EPS-nonproducing commercial cheese culture (DVS 850; Chr. Hansen, Milwaukee, WI) was used as the control. Reconstituted sweet whey powder was used in this study to eliminate variations from fresh whey. Cultures grown overnight in reconstituted WPC (10% wt/vol) were added, directly or after overnight cooling (cooled EPS), at 2% (wt/vol) to 6% (wt/wt) solution of reconstituted whey. Whey was then high-temperature, short-time pasteurized at 75°C for 35s and ultrafiltered to a volume reduction factor of 5. Ultrafiltered whey (retentate) was spray dried at inlet and outlet air temperatures of 200 and 90°C, respectively, to obtain WPC. In general, the solubility of WPC was higher at pH 7 than at pH 3. Whey protein concentrate containing EPS2 exhibited higher protein solubility than did WPC containing no EPS. Also, the presence of EPS in WPC decreased protein denaturation. The emulsifying ability of WPC containing EPS was higher than that in control. Addition of EPS to WPC significantly enhanced its gelling ability. Foam overrun and hydrophobicity of WPC were not affected by addition of EPS. In conclusion, data obtained from this study show that EPS modify WPC functionality. The extent of modification depends on the type of EPS. Cooling of culture containing EPS before its addition to whey further reduced WPC protein denaturation and increased its solubility at pH 7 and gel hardness.
Web-scale entity search and interactive knowledge mining

There are various kinds of valuable semantic information about real-world entities (such as people, products, papers, and organizations) embedded in web pages and databases. We can imagine that if these entities can be extracted and integrated from the Web, powerful entity search engines can be built to meet users' information needs more precisely. Comparing to traditional web search problems, entity search engines need to solve several new challenges in web entity extraction and disambiguation to build accurate knowledge graph about entities and their relationships. The knowledge graph connecting all entities of interest on the web is called entity graph. In this talk, I first briefly introduce our recent work on statistical extraction of structured entities, named entities, entity facts and relations from Web. I then introduce iKnoweb, an interactive knowledge mining framework for entity information integration and entity graph construction. We will use two novel web applications, Microsoft Academic Search (aka Libra) and EntityCube, as working examples.
Determinants of contraceptive switching behavior in rural Sri Lanka

This study examines the influence of a selected set of determinants of contraceptive method switching in rural Sri Lanka. Of interest is the question of how change in contraceptive practice at the individual level can account for patterns observed at the aggregate level. Based on calendar data on contraceptive use over a 3-year period, collected for more than 3,000 married women in a 1986 survey, the multivariate analysis shows that women who attain all or a significant proportion of their desired fertility tend to switch to more effective methods. Women who experience method failure tend to switch methods, usually to a type that is more effective. The woman’s background determinants of age and education have small but significant effects on method switching, whereas the effect of household economic well-being is not significant. There is strong indication that rural couples are practicing contraception in a nonrandom fashion, switching methods in accordance with changes in their fertility motivations and contraceptive experience.