cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Electrostatic attraction at the core of membrane fusion

Abstract SNARE proteins appear to be involved in homotypic and heterotypic membrane fusion events [Sollner et al. (1993) Nature 362, 318–324]. The crystal structure of the synaptic SNARE complex exhibits a parallel four-helical bundle fold with two helices contributed by SNAP-25, a target SNARE (t-SNARE), and the other two by a different t-SNARE, syntaxin, and a donor vesicle SNARE (v-SNARE), synaptobrevin. The carboxy-terminal boundary of the complex, predicted to occur at the closest proximity between the apposed membranes, displays a high density of positively charged residues. This feature combined with the enrichment of negatively charged phospholipids in the cytosolic exposed leaflet of the membrane bilayer suggest that electrostatic attraction between oppositely charged interfaces may be sufficient to induce dynamic and discrete micellar discontinuities of the apposed membranes with the transient breakdown at the junction and subsequent reformation. Thus, the positively charged end of the SNARE complex in concert with Ca 2+ may be sufficient to generate a transient `fusion pore'.
Measurements of distributions of energy loss for 51, 102 and 153 keV protons in nine hydrocarbon gases

Abstract The mean energies, second central moments (a measure of the width of the energy-loss distributions) and the third central moments (a measure of asymmetry) were calculated from energy-loss distributions measured for 51, 102 and 153 keV protons traversing methane, ethyne, ethane, propyne, propadiene, propene, cyclopropane and propane. For the second central moments, the best, but hardly satisfactory, agreement between measurement and theory was obtained when the classical scattering probability was used for the calculations; measured values exceeding calculated values by as much as 40%. Use of the first Born approximation gave values 20–50% below measured values. Measured third central moments exceeded theoretical values by 10–250%.
Lovastatin specifically prevents focal ischemic ventricular tachycardia due to triggered activity

Background Use of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor has been associated with reduced implantable defibrillator shocks in several multicenter trials, suggesting an antiarrhythmic effect. Objective The purpose of this study was to determine if lovastatin had an antiarrhythmic effect in a canine model of ischemic and inducible ventricular tachycardia (VT). Methods Forty-seven α-chloralose anesthetized dogs underwent left anterior descending coronary occlusion. Three-dimensional activation mapping identified the mechanism of reinducible VT and the response to lovastatin (0.5 mg/kg IV). The endocardium was excised from foci and studied using standard microelectrode techniques with Tyrode's solution. Results Lovastatin blocked focal VT in 8 of 13 dogs ( P −7 M). In vitro rapid pacing, mostly with isoproterenol (5 × 10 −7 M) superfusion, produced delayed afterdepolarizations and triggered activity (9 ± 2 action potentials). Lovastatin (10 −7 M) produced no change in action potentials or delayed afterdepolarizations. However, triggered activity was attenuated to 2 ± 1 action potentials with lovastatin ( P −6 M, n=5). 2,2,6,6-Tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl, an antioxidant that enters tissues (10 −3 M, n=8), prevented triggered activity in a fashion similar to lovastatin. Conclusion Lovastatin, in concentrations achievable in human plasma, specifically suppresses triggered activity and focal VT due to ischemia. A prenylated protein downstream from mevalonic acid may act as an antioxidant, producing the antiarrhythmic effect.
Decreased unscheduled DNA synthesis in nondividing aged WI38 cells.

The ability of cells from young and old cultures of WI38 human fibroblasts to undergo unscheduled DNA synthesis was studied. Following inhibition of semi-conservative synthesis in media lacking arginine and containing a hydroxyurea block, cells were irradiated with u.v. light and repair replication was measured by determination of specific activity of DNA and by autoradiography. Unscheduled DNA synthetic capacity was significantly reduced in old cultures. Quantitation of silver grains revealed that this reduction was a result of decreased repair activity by individual cells, which correlated well with a similar decrease in the proportion of dividing cells in the population. This observation that unscheduled DNA synthesis is reduced in older cells is in apparent contradiction to some earlier reports, and the failure of other investigators to identify aging changes in repair capacity is discussed in relation to differences in experimental procedure.
Retention in Care and Medication Adherence: Current Challenges to Antiretroviral Therapy Success

Health behaviors such as retention in HIV medical care and adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) pose major challenges to reducing new HIV infections, addressing health disparities, and improving health outcomes. Andersen’s Behavioral Model of Health Service Use provides a conceptual framework for understanding how patient and environmental factors affect health behaviors and outcomes, which can inform the design of intervention strategies. Factors affecting retention and adherence among persons with HIV include patient predisposing factors (e.g., mental illness, substance abuse), patient-enabling factors (e.g., social support, reminder strategies, medication characteristics, transportation, housing, insurance), and healthcare environment factors (e.g., pharmacy services, clinic experiences, provider characteristics). Evidence-based recommendations for improving retention and adherence include (1) systematic monitoring of clinic attendance and ART adherence; (2) use of peer or paraprofessional navigators to re-engage patients in care and help them remain in care; (3) optimization of ART regimens and pharmaceutical supply chain management systems; (4) provision of reminder devices and tools; (5) general education and counseling; (6) engagement of peer, family, and community support groups; (7) case management; and (8) targeting patients with substance abuse and mental illness. Further research is needed on effective monitoring strategies and interventions that focus on improving retention and adherence, with specific attention to the healthcare environment.
CLUSTERING, ORDER, AND COLLAPSE IN A DRIVEN GRANULAR MONOLAYER

Steady state dynamics of clustering, long-range order, and inelastic collapse are experimentally observed in vertically shaken granular monolayers. At large vibration amplitudes, particle correlations show only short-range order like equilibrium 2D hard sphere gases. Lowering the amplitude ``cools'' the system, resulting in a dramatic increase in correlations leading to either clustering or an ordered state. Further cooling forms a collapse: a condensate of motionless balls coexisting with a less dense gas. Measured velocity distributions are non-Gaussian, showing nearly exponential tails.
Inbred mouse strains vary in oral self-selection of nicotine

Inbred mouse strains differ in sensitivity to a first dose of nicotine and in the development of tolerance to nicotine. The experiments reported here used six inbred mouse strains (A, BUB, C3H, C57BL/6, DBA/2, ST/b) that differ in sensitivity to an acute challenge dose of nicotine to determine whether differences in oral self-selection of nicotine exist. Animals were presented with solutions containing nicotine or vehicle (water or 0.2% saccharin) and their daily intake of the two fluids was measured for 4 days starting with a 10 µg/ml nicotine solution. This was followed by sequential 4-day testing with 20, 35, 50, 65, 80, 100, 125, 160, and 200 µg/ml nicotine solutions. The strains differed dramatically in their self-selection of nicotine and in maximal daily dose (mg/kg); the rank order of the strains was C57BL/6>DBA>BUB>A≥C3H≥ST/b for both the tap water and 0.2% saccharin choice experiments. Correlations between nicotine consumption and sensitivity to nicotine, as measured by a battery of behavioral and physiological responses, were also calculated. Strain differences in nicotine intake were highly correlated with senstivity to nicotine-induced seizures. As senstivity to nicotine-in-duced seizures increases, oral self-selection of nicotine decreases. This finding may suggest that this toxic action of nicotine serves to limit intake.
Repetition Blindness Interacts with Syntactic Grouping in Rapidly Presented Sentences

This study tested for predicted effects of syntax on a repetition deficit (RD) known as repetition blindness, the reduced probability of recall for repeated words in rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) sentences The syntactic variable was phrase-congruent versus phrase-incongruent grouping within simultaneous RSVP displays With phrase-congruent grouping, each RSVP display contained a syntactic phrase (e g, “to play sports” in the sentence “They wanted to play sports but sports were not allowed”), whereas with phrase-incongruent grouping, RSVP displays contained nonphrases (e g, “sports but sports”) RD was extensive with phrase-incongruent grouping (29%), but nonsignificant (6%) with phrase-congruent grouping, as if phrase-congruent groups free up the extra processing time needed to connect repeated words into phrases in rapidly presented sentences, enabling top-down retrieval of the phrases during recall The present results comport with effects of syntax and prosody on auditory RD, and suggest that vi...
A noninvasive terahertz assessment of 2 nd and 3 rd degree burn wounds

We demonstrate the application of THz-TDS in characterizing the severity of burn injuries in a live animal model. 2nd and 3rd degree burns were studied immediately and 72 hours post-burn. A new diagnosis criterion was verified against histopathology.
Remembering the legacy of Dale E.. Brashers and his contributions to health communication.

On July 5, 2010, Dale E. Brashers, head of the Departmentof Communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and key ﬁgure in the ﬁeld of health commu-nication, passed away in his university ofﬁce. He was 50years old.Theimpactofthislossisstillexpanding,ripplingthroughthe ﬁeld and the vast network of people who knew him ascolleague, mentor, or friend. For some, his death was noless painful than losing a parent, so special was this manto them. Equally severe is the loss to the ﬁeld of healthcommunication, in which Brashers was a central and highlyvisible ﬁgure. His scholarly contributions, applied clinicalwork, mentorship of junior health communication scholars,and leadership in our national and international professionalorganizations all helped advance our discipline, broaden-ing its reach and increasing its visibility among the healthsciences. Although Brashers held some interest in groupsand argumentation (Jacobs, Brashers, & Dawson, 1996;Meyers & Brashers, 1999; Meyers, Brashers, & Hanner,2000; Rintamaki & Brashers, 2010), he is best known forhis methodological research and theoretical advancement ofuncertainty management. For these reasons, the 100
Infantile hypothyroidism in two sibs: an unusual presentation of pseudohypoparathyroidism type Ia.

PATIENTS with pseudohypoparathyroidism have clinical and biochemical evidence of hypoparathyroidism, yet fail to show either a ealcemic or phosphaturic response to administered parathyroid extractk In addition to these biochemical abnormalities, many patients have Albright hereditary osteodystrophy, an unusual somatic phenotype characterized by obesity, short stature, brachydactyly, and heterotopic ossification. In many patients with PHP type 1,* impaired renal adenylate cyclase responsiveness to PTH 3 has been associated with deficient activity of the stimulatory guanine nueleotide regulatory protein of adenylate cyclase. 4, 5 Because available evidence suggests that Gs is similar in all tissues, a ubiquitous deficiency of Gs could be the basis for PTH resistance, the hallmark of PHP, and could explain the decreased responsiveness of diverse tissues (e.g., kidney, thyroid gland, gonads, and liver) to hormones that act via cAMP (e.g., PTH, TSH, gonadotropins, and glucagon). 6 Despite the generalized nature of the Gs defect in PHP type Ia , t clinical recognition of the disorder generally
Detection and isolation of proctolin-like immunoreactivity in arachnids: Possible cardioregulatory role for proctolin in the orb-weaving spiders Argiope and Araneus

Abstract Proctolin-like immunoreactivity was detected in the prosoma of four species of araneid spiders. Proctolin levels as determined by radioimmunoassay ranged from 3.2 ± 0.6 ng proctolin per prosoma in Argiope aurantia to 8.7 ± 0.9 ng proctolin per prosoma in Araneus cavaticus . Immunohistochemical staining of prosomal sections revealed proctolin-positive tracts, fibres and varicosities in both the supraoesophageal and suboesophageal ganglia of Argiope aurantia and Araneus cavaticus . Using whole-mount preparations of spider hearts, proctolin immunoreactive fibres and varicosities were also observed in association with the myocardium. Proctolin-like bioactivity in partially purified prosomal extracts of Argiope aurantia and Araneus cavaticus co-eluted with synthetic proctolin using high-performance liquid chromatography. Application of 10 −7 M synthetic proctolin to the neurogenic spider heart typically caused increases in the strength and rate of heart contractions, and occasionally produced a sustained contracture of the myocardium. Responses were similar in all four species examined. These data suggest that an endogenous proctolin-like peptide in these arachnids may act as a cardioregulatory neuromodulator or as a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system.
Isolation of Labeled 9-Dihydrobaccatin III and Related Taxoids from Cell Cultures of Taxus canadensis Elicited with Methyl Jasmonate

Cell suspension cultures of Taxus canadensis rapidly produced paclitaxel (1) and other taxoids in response to elicitation with methyl jasmonate. Three of these taxoids, of potential value in the synthesis of taxoid analogues, have been isolated from cell cultures of Taxus canadensis and identified as 13-acetyl-9-dihydrobaccatin III (2), baccatin VI (3), and 9-dihydrobaccatin III (4). Of these metabolites, 9-dihydrobaccatin III (4) has not been isolated from any Taxus species, whereas 13-acetyl-9-dihydrobaccatin III (2) and baccatin VI (3) have been isolated from a number of natural sources. 2D NMR techniques, mass spectrometry, and partial synthesis were used to rigorously elucidate the structure and stereochemistry of these natural products.
Quantitative determination of α-amylase in glucoamylase preparations

Abstract The use of modified starch substrates for the measurement of α-amylase activity is described. In the presence of excess glucoamylase, the amount of glucose released from substrates containing blockages to exo-enzyme action is proportional to the amount of α-amylase present. The levels of α-amylase in a number of commercial glucoamylase preparations have been determined by this method. The importance of α-amylase in achieving efficient conversion of starch into glucose is illustrated by a comparison of the time courses of degradation of amylopectin by glucoamylase preparations containing low and high levels of α-amylase.
Positive End-Expiratory Pressure during Partial Liquid Ventilation: Impact on Lung Volume Recruitment and Gas Exchange

Positive End-Expiratory Pressure during Partial Liquid Ventilation: Impact on Lung Volume Recruitment and Gas Exchange
The role of defect excesses in damage formation in Si during ion implantation at elevated temperature

New insight into damage formation in Si(100) during self-ion irradiation is gained from elevated temperature implant (up to 450°C) studies and dual implants. Ion-induced damage is shown to bifurcate at high temperatures into two distinctly different layers; a heavily dislocated region near the ion range, and a shallower layer which is dislocation-free but contains vacancy-type clusters. A model to account for these defects and their distribution is presented. The formation of a layer with a preponderance of vacancy clusters provides opportunities to study aspects of damage growth which have, heretofore, been impossible. Samples in which a vacancy-rich region had been formed were used as starting substrates for implantation to investigate ion-solid interaction phenomena. The preexisting vacancy clusters are shown to provide recombination sites for subsequently implanted ions. Recombination at 450°C is sufficiently effective that no additional damage is formed by direct implantation into the vacancy-rich region, at least up to the dose that can be accommodated by the vacancy distribution. This result establishes the role of defect excesses in the formation of ion-induced damage, even at temperatures approaching ambient.
Mixed extracellular matrix ligands synergistically modulate integrin adhesion and signaling

Cell adhesion to extracellular matrix (ECM) components through cell-surface integrin receptors is essential to the formation, maintenance and repair of numerous tissues, and therefore represents a central theme in the design of bioactive materials that successfully interface with the body. While the adhesive responses associated with a single ligand have been extensively analyzed, the effects of multiple integrin subtypes binding to multivalent ECM signals remain poorly understood. In the present study, we generated a high throughput platform of non-adhesive surfaces presenting well-defined, independent densities of two integrin-specific engineered ligands for the type I collagen (COL-I) receptor alpha(2)beta(1) and the fibronectin (FN) receptor alpha(5)beta(1) to evaluate the effects of integrin cross-talk on adhesive responses. Engineered surfaces displayed ligand density-dependent adhesive effects, and mixed ligand surfaces significantly enhanced cell adhesion strength and focal adhesion assembly compared to single FN and COL-I ligand surfaces. Moreover, surfaces presenting mixed COL-I/FN ligands synergistically enhanced FAK activation compared to the single ligand substrates. The enhanced adhesive activities of the mixed ligand surfaces also promoted elevated proliferation rates. Our results demonstrate interplay between multivalent ECM ligands in adhesive responses and downstream cellular signaling.
Energy-efficient optical broadcast for nanophotonic networks-on-chip

Broadcast packets are a significant fraction of network-on-chip traffic. Nanophotonics can improve performance for this type of traffic. We present an efficient implementation of broadcast in nanophotonic networks and show it improves performance significantly.
Psychotropics during pregnancy and lactation: A review

Abstract The literature dealing with prescription of psychotropics to the pregnant or lactating patient is principally retrospective, anecdotal to some extent, and often not current. Our review suggests that the data available can best be classified in relation to drug category (lithium, tricyclic antidepressant, antipsychotic, benzodiazepines), and to verified or presumed effects during the stage of pregnancy or lactation (first trimester, second and third trimesters, immediately before and after delivery, and during breastfeeding if that is allowable). By relating the data so classified to the urgency of the patient's need for psychotropic treatment, the physician can strive for an optimal benefit-to-risk decision in what at present is one of the most unclear and difficult areas of psychiatric drug prescription.
An integrated introduction to network protocols and cryptography to high school students (abstract only)

We describe our experience in teaching an integrated module in networks, mathematics, and cryptography, suitable for high school students. The objective is to design a lesson with minimal prerequisite background and a varying degree of programming experience, with an aim towards exciting students early on about computing. Students create and implement a chat program protocol and a minimal RSA algorithm implementation, and implement a brute force algorithm to recover each other's private key. Depending on student experience, scaffolding can be provided to assist with the programming, and advanced topics are possible as extensions to this lesson. We hope that this lesson can be taught as an interdisciplinary unit in math and computer science classes.
Affect regulation strategies for promoting (or preventing) flourishing emotional health.

Abstract This study examined affect regulation styles that best discriminated among affectivity groups representing languishing, moderate, and flourishing emotional health. Using the Measure of Affect Regulation Styles (MARS; Larsen & Prizmic, 2004 ) with 380 undergraduate students, analyses revealed nine affect regulation strategies (i.e., understanding/analyzing feelings, making plans, talking to someone, doing something enjoyable, being grateful, alcohol use, caffeine use, treating oneself, and consulting an advisor/mentor) that significantly distinguished between languishing and non-languishing individuals (moderate and flourishing) and six affect regulation strategies (i.e., withdrawal, emotion suppression, keep to themselves, downward social comparison, eating something, and daydreaming) that significantly distinguished flourishing individuals from those with moderate emotional health. Significant differences between moderate and flourishing groups consisted of behaviors that ‘prevented’ rather than ‘promoted’ flourishing (e.g., behavioral and cognitive avoidance). These findings suggest that in order to achieve flourishing, individuals may need to reduce avoidance strategies and increase engagement strategies.
Optical cryoimaging of rat kidney and the effective role of chromosome 13 in salt-induced hypertension

The objective of this work is to assess oxidative stress levels in salt-sensitive hypertension animal model using 3D optical cryoimager to image mitochondrial redox ratio. We studied Dahl salt-induced (SS) rats, and compared the results with a consomic SS rat strain (SSBN13). The SSBN13 strain was developed by the introgression of chromosome from the Brown Norway (BN) rat into the salt-sensitive (SS) genetic background and exhibits significant protection from salt induced hypertension 1 . These two groups were fed on a high salt diet of 8.0% NaCl for one week. Mitochondrial redox ratio (NADH/FAD=NADH RR), was used as a quantitative marker of the oxidative stress in kidney tissue. Maximum intensity projected images and their corresponding histograms in each group were acquired from each kidney group. The result showed a 49% decrease in mitochondrial redox ratio of SS compared to SSBN13 translated to an increase in the level of oxidative stress of the tissue. Therefore, the results quantify oxidative stress levels and its effect on mitochondrial redox in salt sensitive hypertension.
Assessing Guest Selectivity within Metallacrown Host Compartments

15-MC-5 complexes associate in the solid state to form chiral compartments capable of binding guests. Using small molecular yardsticks, we are able to assess the size restrictions of these structures. Dicarboxylate guests that are too short to span the GdIII ions are stabilized by solvates that hydrogen bond to the uncoordinated carboxylate, while guests that are too long destroy the weakly associated structure. We also demonstrate that all that is required for guest encapsulation is unsaturation of the chain connection carboxylates rather than necessitating the presence of aromaticity. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2007)
Use of nebulized antimicrobial agents in burned and mechanically ventilated patients with persistent Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, or Enterobacteriacea

Abstract Background Nebulized antibiotics are used to locally treat colonizations of multi-resistant organisms. Prior systemic nephrotoxic antibiotic use with serum creatinine rises warranted an alternative therapy in 69 ventilator-dependent patients with persisting sputum cultures and need for ventilatory support. Materials and methods Following IRB approval, retrospective patient data were reviewed. Analysis included comparison of these 69 patients (71 treatments) to 142 Gram-negative infected burn patients matched for age and burn size. Results Mean pooled age and burn wound percent for the 71 triplicates ( n = 211 patients) were 55.6 ± 18.3 years and 27.4 ± 22.3% burns. Fifty-seven of 69 (83%) patients had inhalation injuries and 54 of 69 (78%) patients survived. Nebulizations averaged 6.8 ± 3.3 days (range 3–12 days). Serum creatinine rose in 2 patients receiving colistimethate nebulizations, known to cause nephrotoxicity following nebulization. Triplicate comparisons via ANOVA noted prolonged ventilatory support ( F = 13.39; p ≪ 0.05) and length of stay ( F = 6.11; p ≪ 0.5). Variance was attributed to the sicker nebulized patients. Twenty-four inhalation injury-only triplicates further confirmed that nebulized patient subgroup was more ill. Conclusion Short duration antibiotic nebulization may allow higher intra-tracheal antibiotic concentrations and may facilitate weaning from the ventilator by reducing bacterial bioburden.
Splicing regulators: targets and drugs

Silencing of splicing regulators by RNA interference, combined with splicing-specific microarrays, has revealed a complex network of distinct alternative splicing events in Drosophila, while a high-throughput screen of more than 6,000 compounds has identified drugs that interfere specifically and directly with one class of splicing regulators in human cells.
The −11A of promoter DNA and two conserved amino acids in the melting region of σ70 both directly affect the rate limiting step in formation of the stable RNA polymerase-promoter complex, but they do not necessarily interact

Formation of the stable, strand separated, 'open' complex between RNA polymerase and a promoter involves DNA melting of approximately 14 base pairs. The likely nucleation site is the highly conserved -11A base in the non-template strand of the -10 promoter region. Amino acid residues Y430 and W433 on the sigma70 subunit of the RNA polymerase participate in the strand separation. The roles of -11A and of the Y430 and W433 were addressed by employing synthetic consensus promoters containing base analog and other substitutions at -11 in the non-template strand, and sigma70 variants bearing amino acid substitutions at positions 430 and 433. Substitutions for -11A and for Y430 and W433 in sigma70 have small or no effects on formation of the initial RNA polymerase-promoter complex, but exert their effects on subsequent steps on the way to formation of the open complex. As substitutions for Y430 and W433 also affect open complex formation on promoter DNA lacking the -11A base, it is concluded that these amino acid residues have other (or additional) roles, not involving the -11A. The effects of the substitutions at -11A of the promoter and Y430 and W433 of sigma70 are cumulative.
Plasmodesmata: pathways for protein and ribonucleoprotein signaling.

A new paradigm is emerging in plant biology in which proteins and ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes play non-cell-autonomous roles in contributing to the control over developmental and physiological processes. Plasmodesmata (PD), the intercellular organelle(s) of the plant kingdom, create the
Increasing rates of ice mass loss from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets revealed by GRACE

[1] We use monthly measurements of time-variable gravity from the GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellite gravity mission to determine the ice mass-loss for the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets during the period between April 2002 and February 2009. We find that during this time period the mass loss of the ice sheets is not a constant, but accelerating with time, i.e., that the GRACE observations are better represented by a quadratic trend than by a linear one, implying that the ice sheets contribution to sea level becomes larger with time. In Greenland, the mass loss increased from 137 Gt/yr in 2002–2003 to 286 Gt/yr in 2007–2009, i.e., an acceleration of −30 ± 11 Gt/yr2 in 2002–2009. In Antarctica the mass loss increased from 104 Gt/yr in 2002–2006 to 246 Gt/yr in 2006–2009, i.e., an acceleration of −26 ± 14 Gt/yr2 in 2002–2009. The observed acceleration in ice sheet mass loss helps reconcile GRACE ice mass estimates obtained for different time periods.
STiki: an anti-vandalism tool for Wikipedia using spatio-temporal analysis of revision metadata

STiki is an anti-vandalism tool for Wikipedia. Unlike similar tools, STiki does not rely on natural language processing (NLP) over the article or diff text to locate vandalism. Instead, STiki leverages spatio-temporal properties of revision metadata. The feasibility of utilizing such properties was demonstrated in our prior work, which found they perform comparably to NLP-efforts while being more efficient, robust to evasion, and language independent.STiki is a real-time, on-Wikipedia implementation based on these properties. It consists of, (1) a server-side processing engine that examines revisions, scoring the likelihood each is vandalism, and, (2) a client-side GUI that presents likely vandalism to end-users for definitive classification (and if necessary, reversion on Wikipedia). Our demonstration will provide an introduction to spatio-temporal properties, demonstrate the STiki software, and discuss alternative research uses for the open-source code.
Interactions Within Stroke Systems of Care A Policy Statement From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association

In the United States and other parts of the world, various cities, states, and regions are developing multitiered systems for the care of patients with acute stroke. These systems often involve a range of healthcare components supported by various rules and regulations. The present policy statement will put forth concepts and elements for stroke systems of care that are intended to optimize patient care and management processes and improve patient outcomes, are practical to implement, and are supported by existing clinical data or expert consensus opinion. We will also make policy recommendations for the key elements of a stroke system of care. The public health implications of stroke care in the United States and worldwide are profound. Stroke is currently the fourth-leading cause of death in the United States and a major cause of long-term disability. Advancing age is a major risk factor for stroke, and the demographics of the US population and elsewhere reflect a continued growth of the aging population, with a resulting increase in the absolute incidence and prevalence of stroke.1 Improved stroke systems of care can ensure proper treatment of these patients and a reduction in death and disability. This is consistent with current American Heart Association and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Healthy People 2020 public health goals and initiatives.2 There are several new care paradigms and technologies that are emerging as important elements of a stroke system of care. These include the development and proliferation of various levels of stroke centers; the expanded use of telemedicine technologies; advanced medical, endovascular, and surgical interventions; and comprehensive rehabilitation strategies and programs. Prehospital care and triage and the efficient transfer of patients between hospitals are also key components of stroke systems. The present …
A Material Theory of Induction

Contrary to formal theories of induction, I argue that there are no universal inductive inference schemas. The inductive inferences of science are grounded in matters of fact that hold only in particular domains, so that all inductive inference is local. Some are so localized as to defy familiar characterization. Since inductive inference schemas are underwritten by facts, we can assess and control the inductive risk taken in an induction by investigating the warrant for its underwriting facts. In learning more facts, we extend our inductive reach by supplying more localized inductive inference schemes. Since a material theory no longer separates the factual and schematic parts of an induction, it proves not to be vulnerable to Hume's problem of the justification of induction.
Statistically, Technologically, and Contextually Provocative Tasks: Supporting Teachers' Informal Inferential Reasoning.

Recent studies have highlighted the potential importance of informal inferential reasoning (IIR) in supporting learners' general statistical reasoning. This paper presents a framework based on a retrospective analysis of design research in the context of technology-rich statistical professional learning experiences for high school mathematics teachers. The framework was developed to understand elements of the tasks—identified as statistically, contextually, and/or technologically provocative—that appeared to trigger the teachers' engagement and IIR. Characteristics that make a task provocative and how tasks may interact to impact learning are explored and connected to theories including expectation failure and epistemological obstacles.
Proof Sketches: Verifiable In-Network Aggregation

A work on distributed, in-network aggregation assumes a benign population of participants. Unfortunately, modern distributed systems are plagued by malicious participants. In this paper we present a first step towards verifiable yet efficient distributed, in-network aggregation in adversarial settings. We describe a general framework and threat model for the problem and then present proof sketches, a compact verification mechanism that combines cryptographic signatures and Flajolet-Martin sketches to guarantee acceptable aggregation error bounds with high probability. We derive proof sketches for count aggregates and extend them for random sampling, which can be used to provide verifiable approximations for a broad class of data-analysis queries, e.g., quantiles and heavy hitters. Finally, we evaluate the practical use of proof sketches, and observe that adversaries can often be reduced to much smaller violations in practice than our worst-case bounds suggest.
Adaptive inverse control based on linear and nonlinear adaptive filtering

At present, the control of a dynamic system (the "plant") is generally done by means of feedback. This paper proposes an alternative approach that uses adaptive filtering to achieve feedforward control for both linear and nonlinear plants. Precision is attained because of the feedback incorporated in the adaptive filtering. Disturbance in the plant can be optimally controlled by a special circuit that obtains the disturbance at the plant output, filters it, and feeds it back into the plant input. The circuit works in such a way that the feedback does not alter the plant dynamic response. The concept of adaptive inverse control has application to both linear and nonlinear, MIMO and SISO plants.
Parasympathetic, sympathetic, and sensory interactions in the iris: Nerve growth factor regulates cholinergic ciliary ganglion innervation in vivo

Interactions between peptidergic sensory nerves, noradrenergic sympathetic nerves, and cholinergic parasympathetic fibers were examined in the rat iris. The putative peptide neurotransmitter, substance P (SP), was used as an index of the trigeminal sensory innervation, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity served to monitor the sympathetic fibers, and choline acetyltransferase (CAT) activity was used as an index of the parasympathetic innervation. Destruction of the sympathetic innervation by neonatal administration of 6-hydroxydopamine resulted in increased SP development and a smaller increase in CAT activity in the iris. Moreover, trigeminal ablation resulted in an increase in both TH and CAT activities. Finally, ciliary ganglionectomy resulted in increased SP and a smaller increase in TH activity in the iris. Administration of nerve growth factor (NGF) into the anterior chamber substantially increased both SP and TH activity in the iris and also increased CAT activity to a lesser extent. Moreover, administration of anti-NGF into the anterior chamber prevented both the sympathectomy-induced increases in SP and CAT, and the increases in TH and CAT activities after trigeminal ablation, suggesting that NGF mediated these increases. These observations suggest that the sympathetic, sensory, and parasympathetic innervations of the iris interact by altering availability of NGF elaborated by the iris. Regulation of iris CAT activity was examined in greater detail. Injection of the cholinergic toxin, AF64A, into the anterior chamber concurrently with ablation of the sympathetic and sensory innervations paradoxically increased CAT activity, whereas AF64A alone decreased CAT activity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
From Theosophy to Midrash: Lurianic Exegesis and the Garden of Eden

Until now, the academic study of Lurianic kabbala has largely pursued three roads of inquiry. The first, following Scholem, has been the study of Lurianic kabbala as a mystical and eschatological response to the historical events of the Jewish expulsion from Spain in 1492, an event viewed as the root of the mystical heresy of Shabbtai Tzvi. The second pathway has been the scholarly analysis of Lurianic teaching as the most extreme example of kabbalistic theosophy, surpassing both the Zohar and Cordoverean Kabbala in its intricate and complex delineation of the cosmic world. The third approach has addressed the unusually complicated task of deciphering, categorizing, and pointing out the voluminous manuscripts of Luria's students, a literary oeuvre which is as diverse as it is complex. While all of these are important and contribute to the overall understanding of what is the most influential kabbalistic doctrine since the Zohar, I would like to approach the Lurianic material from a different perspective.
Time-Lag Bias in Trials of Pediatric Antidepressants: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective To determine whether there is evidence of a time-lag bias in the publication of pediatric antidepressant trials. Method We conducted a meta-analysis of published and unpublished randomized placebo-controlled trials of serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) in subjects less than 18 years of age with major depressive disorder. Our main outcomes were (1) time to publication of positive versus negative trials, and (2) proportion of treatment responders in trials with standard ( Results We identified 15 randomized, placebo-controlled trials of SRIs for pediatric depression. Trials with negative findings had a significantly longer time to publication (median years ± standard deviation=4.2 ± 1.9) than trials with positive findings (2.2 ± 0.9; log-rank χ 2 = 4.35, p = .037). The estimated efficacy in trials with standard publication time (number needed to treat=7, 95% CI=5–11) was significantly greater than those with delayed publication (17, 95% CI=9–∞; χ 2 = 4.98, p = .025). The inflation-adjusted impact factor of journals for published trials with positive (15.33 ± 11.01) and negative results (7.54 ± 7.90) did not statistically differ ( t = 1.4, df = 10, p = .17). Conclusions Despite a small number of trials of SRIs for pediatric antidepressants, we found a significant evidence of time-lag bias in the publication of findings. This time-lag bias altered the perceived efficacy of pediatric antidepressants in the medical literature. Time-lag bias is not unique to child psychiatry and reflects a larger problem in scientific publishing.
Innovative circuit board level routing designs for BGA packages

Advances in the performance of electronic devices have resulted in high input/output counts both at the chip and the package level, which has led to the development of new packaging technologies that can accommodate these high counts. This paper presents and analyzes a novel method for the placement of ball grid array (BGA) bonding pads and routing wires on printed circuit boards to maximize signal density, which ultimately reduces the number of circuit board layers needed for routing. This method has been termed as the "balls shifted as needed" method and all the ball placement/trace routing designs shown in this paper are based on this method. We also present a performance metric defined as the number of balls routed out divided by the area of package footprint on the circuit board, and we compare various placement/routing schemes using this method.
Current Status of the Congenital Myasthenic Syndromes

Abstract Congenital myasthenic syndromes (CMS) are heterogeneous disorders in which the safety margin of neuromuscular transmission is compromised by one or more specific mechanisms. Clinical, electrophysiologic, and morphologic studies have paved the way for detecting CMS-related mutations in proteins residing in the nerve terminal, the synaptic basal lamina, and in the postsynaptic region of the motor endplate. The disease proteins identified to date include choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), the endplate species of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), β2-laminin, the acetylcholine receptor (AChR), rapsyn, plectin, Na v 1.4, the muscle specific protein kinase (MuSK), agrin, downstream of tyrosine kinase 7 (Dok-7), and glutamine–fructose-6-phosphate transaminase 1 (GFPT1). Myasthenic syndromes associated with centronuclear myopathies were recently recognized. Analysis of properties of expressed mutant proteins contributed to finding improved therapy for most CMS. Despite these advances, the molecular basis of some phenotypically characterized CMS remains elusive. Moreover, other types of CMS and disease genes likely exist and await discovery.
Quality, time, and cost tradeoffs in project management decision making

This paper presents a mathematical programming model that allows quality to be explicitly considered in project planning and scheduling, while addressing the tradeoffs between quality, time, and cost. A quality function is used to represent the relationships between time, cost, and quality for individual tasks. The initial problem formulation maximizes the minimum quality (weakest link) over all project tasks, subject to bounds on cost and completion time. Using a construction example we show how this model can be adapted to generate quality level curves to illustrate the trade-offs among time, cost, and quality. These level curves can then be used by project managers to make project scheduling decisions that explicitly model and consider quality as well as time and cost, so that better and more appropriate decisions can be made for a particular situation. We also offer some managerial insights for project planning and scheduling that are derived from the analysis through improved understanding of these choices and tradeoffs.
The William Julius Wilson effect: Wilson’s personal and professional influence on a young African American scholar’s sociological investigation of race

This article examines ways in which William Julius Wilson’s research agenda has influenced my approach to the study of African Americans and their everyday lives. I pay particular attention to Wilson’s explication of structural factors – such as economic conditions, residential patterns, and discrimination – that influence African Americans’ life chances. In this context I consider the interpretive processes; i.e., meaning making through conversation, that African Americans themselves use to understand their position in America’s racial, economic and class hierarchy. Throughout the article I illustrate how both my personal and professional relationship with Bill Wilson helped me to articulate my research agenda. I conclude by discussing how Wilson provided his students with opportunities to challenge his work and a forum for developing their own ideas that move beyond his own methodological and substantive concerns.
Autoregressive modeling of radar data with application to target identification

The classification and identification of radar targets from frequency domain data is studied. The approach taken is to form an autoregressive (AR) model of the downrange and Doppler profiles of the target from a set of coherent stepped-frequency radar measurements. Simple, effective methods for motion compensation of the data and for averaging of the profile estimates are derived. This composite algorithm is applied to X-band radar measurements of aircraft in flight to illustrate the effectiveness of the modeling procedure. The results indicate that the AR model can be used for scattering center identification, and for discrimination between two targets. >
An enhanced snoopy cache design for real-time multi-processing

This paper will present a mechanism for providing cache coherence without sacrificing predictability. In addition, this multi-processing cache coherent design approach can signGcantly enhance processor performance by eliminating many of the processor stall operations associated with snooping operations.
Documenting Regional Latino Arts and Culture: Case Studies for a Collaborative, Community-Oriented Approach

Despite years of constructive discourse about documentation theory, the complex nature of identity, approaches to ethnicity, and the role of the archivist in light of postmodernism, the call for archivists to collect the documentary heritage of minorities and other historically marginalized groups remains largely unanswered. With the exception of a relatively few specialized institutions and dedicated programs, the identification and preservation of Latino archives are not keeping pace with the nation's fastest growing and increasingly geographically dispersed population. This paper presents two related initiatives, developed in dialogue over the past seven years. It outlines operational practices related to identification of collections in private hands, outreach, trust, and long-term relationships. The paper then provides a practical model and insights for overcoming the day-to-day challenges of identifying and preserving the documentary heritage of the Latino experience and challenges others to underta...
Toward a System for Longitudinal Emotion Sensing

The ability to sense acoustic emotion from a smartphoneis advantageous for two main reasons. First, smartphonesensing is unobtrusive compared to wearing a microphone, and second, a smartphone is nearly always with the user. When sensing emotion over a long period of time, these two reasons become increasingly more important. We demonstrate the challenges of building a system for longitudinal emotion sensing on a smartphone, as well as our design approach to these challenges. Current emotion sensing systems perform all sensing and computation on the phone, but this design can lead to significant battery life constraints. We show that in terms of energy consumption, offloading feature and classification computation to a remote server is the most feasible design choice without excessive battery draining, and discuss how we address the privacy, energy, and storage concerns of such an approach.
The effects of antigen overloading on survival of renal allografts.

SummaryIntravenous administration of the cells obtained from the future donor's spleen sensitized recipient animals to early but not to late kidney allografts. This early sensitization was prevented by giving increased numbers of spleen cells grown in hyperoxic organ culture. Using antigenic fractions extracted from donor spleen cells for pretreatment a measure of graft protection (prolongation) was produced. The survival was further increased by adding 6-MP to the pretreatment regimen. Because of specificity, direct dose relatedness and potentiation by 6-MP, it is thought that neither antigenic competition nor enhancement are involved, but that partial adult tolerance is the mechanism responsible for the delayed rejections seen in these studies.
Effects of extending conjugation length on the two-photon absorption spectra of fluorene molecules

By systematically altering the structural properties of various fluorene-based molecules, we determine how these changes affect their two-photon absorbing capabilities. Here we emphasize the effects of conjugation extension, however other structural motifs were also investigated.
Performance against Quota and the Call Selection Decision

What level of quota should be imposed on the salesperson? The author proposes that when performance against quota is a significant factor in a salesperson's compensation, that salesperson's call se...