cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Selective Inhibition of Splicing at the Avian Sarcoma Virus src 3′ Splice Site by Direct-Repeat Posttranscriptional cis Elements

The direct-repeat elements (dr1) of avian sarcoma virus (ASV) and leukosis virus have the properties of constitutive transport elements (CTEs), which facilitate cytoplasmic accumulation of unspliced RNA. It is thought that these elements represent binding sites for cellular factors. Previous studies have indicated that in the context of the avian sarcoma virus genome, precise deletion of both ASV dr1 elements results in a very low level of virus replication. This is characterized by a decreased cytoplasmic accumulation of unspliced RNA and a selective increase in spliced src mRNA. Deletion of either the upstream or downstream dr1 results in a delayed-replication phenotype. To determine if the same regions of the dr1 mediate inhibition of src splicing and unspliced RNA transport, point mutations in the upstream and downstream elements were studied. In the context of viral genomes with single dr1 elements, the effects of the mutations on virus replication and increases in src splicing closely paralleled the effects of the mutations on CTE activity. For mutants strongly affecting CTE activity and splicing, unspliced RNA but not spliced RNA turned over in the nucleus more rapidly than wild-type RNA. In the context of wild-type virus containing two dr1 elements, mutations of either element that strongly affect CTE activity caused a marked delay of virus replication and a selective increase in src splicing. However, the turnover of the mutant unspliced RNA as well as the spliced mRNA species did not differ significantly from that of the wild type. These results suggest the dr1 elements in ASV act to selectively inhibit src splicing and that both elements contribute to the fitness of the wild-type virus. However, a single dr1 element is sufficient to stabilize unspliced RNA.
Trajectory learning and output feedback control of nonlinear discrete-time systems

Output tracking control of a general class of nonlinear discrete-time systems is considered. A block input-output realization of the plant is first introduced that transforms the system into one with equal number of inputs and states. This realization is subsequently used to formulate a novel output feedback controller for regulation or tracking. The proposed controller only requires measurement of the system's outputs, and is applicable to both minimum and nonminimum phase plants of arbitrary relative degree. For applications involving a finite-duration or periodic desired outputs, a new recursive algorithm based on the Newton-Raphson method is proposed to learn the feedforward input. A simulation example of a nonlinear nonminimum phase system is presented to further illustrate and evaluate the performance of the proposed control scheme.
Model for the Effect of Powder Packing on the Driving Force for Liquid‐Phase Sintering

A model for liquid-phase sintering is presented that explicitly considers the effect that the pore size distribution of the sintering compact has on the capillary forces that drive densification. In particular, the effect that liquid redistribution in the pore structure has on the driving force for sintering is considered under the assumption that the liquid can easily move to find a low-energy configuration in the pore structure. It is shown that, for a powder compact that has a narrow pore size distribution, densification exhibits approximately the same time dependencies as those predicted by the Kingery model for liquid-phase sintering. However, systematic changes in the absolute densification rate with the volume fraction of liquid, and the mean and breadth of the pore size distribution, are predicted. With more extreme pore size distributions, such as a bimodal distribution, behavior significantly different from that predicted by Kingery is found. In particular, it is predicted that, without there being a change in sintering mechanism, abrupt changes in densification rate may occur if the peaks in the bimodal distribution are well separated. The model provides a rational basis for interpreting how powder packing and processing steps can influence densification by liquid-phase sintering
Design and analysis of large-scale biological rhythm studies: a comparison of algorithms for detecting periodic signals in biological data

Motivation: To discover and study periodic processes in biological systems, we sought to identify periodic patterns in their gene expression data. We surveyed a large number of available methods for identifying periodicity in time series data and chose representatives of different mathematical perspectives that performed well on both synthetic data and biological data. Synthetic data were used to evaluate how each algorithm responds to different curve shapes, periods, phase shifts, noise levels and sampling rates. The biological datasets we tested represent a variety of periodic processes from different organisms, including the cell cycle and metabolic cycle in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, circadian rhythms in Mus musculus and the root clock in Arabidopsis thaliana. Results: From these results, we discovered that each algorithm had different strengths. Based on our findings, we make recommendations for selecting and applying these methods depending on the nature of the data and the periodic patterns of interest. Additionally, these results can also be used to inform the design of large-scale biological rhythm experiments so that the resulting data can be used with these algorithms to detect periodic signals more effectively. Contact: ude.ekud@drakced.aisatsana Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Growth and Characterization of Diamond Thin Films

Diamond is one of the few materials that engenders excitement and interest from almost everyone. Many people are aware of the unusual optical properties of diamond from its wide distribution as a gem stone. Scien­ tifically the material is unique because the diamond crystal structure forms the basis for semiconducting character. The material has a host of other unique characteristics that open a broad range of applications. Because of the breadth of possibilities for diamond applications, the research into new diamond science and technology is being pushed forward on many fronts. The beginning of new diamond technology or diamond thin film tech­ nology is often attributed to the works of Deryaguin & Spitsyn (1, 2) and their co-workers. The major initial advances were the formation of diamond films by reaction with hydrogen where it was suggested that the hydrogen suppressed the formation of the stable crystalline form of carbon, namely graphite. Reasonable thin film growth rates were then reported by several different methods (2-5), and the diamond film growth and characterization techniques have continued to advance at a very rapid pace. The applications of diamond are often considered based on the prop­ erties of natural diamond crystals. Natural diamond is known to be exceed-
Investigation of interfraction variations of MammoSite balloon applicator in high-dose-rate brachytherapy of partial breast irradiation.

Purpose To measure the interfraction changes of the MammoSite applicator and evaluate their dosimetric effect on target coverage and sparing of organs at risk. Methods and Materials A retrospective evaluation of the data from 19 patients who received 10 fractions (34 Gy) of high-dose-rate partial breast irradiation was performed. A computed tomography-based treatment plan was generated for Fraction 1, and a computed tomography scan was acquired just before the delivery of each fraction to ensure a consistent shape of the balloon. The eccentricity, asymmetry, and planning target volume (PTV) for plan evaluation purposes (PTV_EVAL), as well as trapped air gaps, were measured for all patients. Furthermore, 169 computed tomography-based treatment plans were retrospectively generated for Fractions 2–10. Interfraction dosimetric variations were evaluated using the %PTV_EVAL coverage, target dose homogeneity index, target dose conformal index, and maximum doses to the organs at risks. Results The average variation of eccentricity and asymmetry from Fraction 1 values of 3.5% and 1.1 mm was −0.4% ± 1.6% and −0.1 ± 0.6 mm. The average trapped air gap volume was dramatically reduced from before treatment (3.7 cm 3 ) to Fraction 1 (0.8 cm 3 ). The PTV_EVAL volume change was insignificant. The average variation for the %PTV_EVAL, target dose homogeneity, and target dose conformal index from Fraction 1 values of 94.7%, 0.64, and 0.85 was 0.15% ± 2.4%, −0.35 ± 2.4%, and −0.34 ± 4.9%, respectively. The average Fraction 1 maximum skin and ipsilateral lung dose of 3.2 Gy and 2.0 Gy varied by 0.08 ± 0.47 and −0.16 ± 0.29 Gy, respectively. Conclusion The interfraction variations were patient specific and fraction dependent. Although the average interfraction dose variations for the target and organs at risk were not clinically significant, the maximum variations could be clinically significant.
A second enzyme protecting mineralocorticoid receptors from glucocorticoid occupancy

We have confirmed that A6 cells (derived from kidney of Xenopus laevis), which contain both mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid receptors, do not normally possess 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydroxgenase...
Liver support systems: issues and challenges

Artificial liver support has been proposed as a means of treating patients with either acute liver failure or acute exacerbations of underlying chronic liver failure. This approach is based on the assumption that liver support systems can provide temporary support until either the liver recovers or a donor liver becomes available for transplantation. The complexity of the liver is so great and the number of physiologic, biochemical and metabolic functions it performs so large, that no realistic alternative to permanent liver replacement (transplantation) exists. Most currently studied liver support systems are designed to provide temporary liver support.
The Democratic Advantage: The Institutional Sources of State Power in International Competition

According to the standard wisdom in international relations, authoritarian states hold an advantage over democratic states because they can act more quickly and decisively. Yet over the last several centuries, every extended rivalry between an authoritarian state and a liberal one has been won by the liberal state: the Dutch revolt against Spain (late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries); the 125-year rivalry between England and France (1689-1815); the Anglo-French-American rivalry with Germany (late nineteenth through mid-twentieth century); and the American/Allied rivalry with the Soviet Union after World War II. This paper shows why liberal democracies have a long-term advantage in international competition with authoritarian states. We argue that this reflects the greater ability of liberal states to establish credible limited government. This ability has both long-term advantages for growth and substantial short-term financial advantages during periods of intense international conflict. The financial advantages allow a liberal democracy to raise massive funds through debt, thus financing larger and longer wars. After developing the theoretical perspective, we study two cases, the 125-year rivalry between England and France and the more recent cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Creation of crash-countermeasure police patrol routes targeting hotspot road segments

This dissertation addresses the problem of expressing, executing, evaluating, and engaging patrol routing algorithms that target event hotspots on roadways. An "event hotspot" is a location that is over-represented in some event occurrence, such as crashes, citations or any other event of interest. Recommended patrol routes can be used by organizations such as police agencies, emergency medical responders, and taxi services who patrol roadway segments at proper times to assist or deter their target events. Patrol routing algorithms are used to specify the movements of simulated mobile agents on a roadway system. The patrol algorithms are first expressed using TURN, Technique for Ultimate Route Navigation, our extensible domain specific language (DSL) created for this purpose. Algorithms specified using TURN syntax are then executed and evaluated in a custom simulation environment. Patrol routing algorithms deemed fit for a specific context are then engaged by users via a web-based geographic information systems (GIS) portal. In this dissertation, details of the patrol routing model are followed by two case studies. The first case study evaluates agent response times to events when dispatched from region-based staging points. The second case study evaluates several nondeterministic highway patrol routing algorithms according to four metrics: response times, network coverage, hotspot coverage, and hotspot exposure. The case study results demonstrate the applicability of the patrol routing system.
Jewish Poland Revisited: Heritage Tourism in Unquiet Places; Klezmer's Afterlife: An Ethnography of the Jewish Music Revival in Poland and Germany

Two new volumes, Erica T. Lehrer's Jewish Poland Revisited: Heritage Tourism in Unquiet Places and Magdalena Waligorska's Klezmer's Afterlife: An Ethnography of the Jewish Music Revival in Poland a...
High yield 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural production from biomass sugars under facile reaction conditions: a hybrid enzyme- and chemo-catalytic technology

An integrated process for high-yield production of 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural (HMF) from glucose in biomass hydrolysates has been described. Previous attempts to generate HMF in aqueous media (either from untreated biomass or from hydrolysates) have not resulted in high yields due to loss of product to humins and inability to prevent hydrolysis of HMF to levulinic and formic acids. Further, it is now broadly recognized that the best yields of HMF can be obtained by dehydration of the ketose-isomers (fructose), rather than the aldose sugar, and by executing the reactions in non-aqueous reaction media (e.g. DMSO and Ionic Liquids (ILs)). The challenge then, for cost-effective HMF production, is to devise a cohesive pathway to efficiently isomerize glucose in a biomass hydrolysate, transfer the fructose into suitable non-aqueous reaction media, produce the HMF in a high yield, and recover the product – all with low energy input and recycling of process streams. This paper addresses these challenges through a hybrid enzyme- and chemo-catalytic process. The conversion of hydrolysate glucose to fructose and near-complete recovery of the ketose are accomplished through a novel enzyme-based Simultaneous-Isomerization-and-Reactive-Extraction (SIRE) process. In SIRE, hydrolysate sugars are isomerized using immobilized glucose isomerase enzyme and reactively-extracted into a water-immiscible organic phase (octanol) through the use of a ketose-selective binding agent (lipophilic aryl boronic acid). The sugars are recovered from the organic phase by Back-Extraction (BE) into an acidic IL (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate ([EMIM]HSO4)) reaction medium. The ketose sugar is dehydrated to HMF with high reaction yields (>80%) in [EMIM]HSO4 even under mild reaction conditions (50 °C, ambient pressure). Since the isomerization-enzyme, the ketose-selective binding agent, and the dehydration catalysts are phase-confined, this method permits prolonged reuse of the catalysts, solvents and reaction media. This technology has been demonstrated with a corn-stover hydrolysate produced via dilute-acid pretreatment.
Renal Transplantation in Patients with Posterior Urethral Valves

AbstractAbnormalities of the lower urinary tract are relative contraindications for kidney transplantation that have been overcome by corrective operations or construction of conduits. In our 2 patients with posterior urethral valves and defunctionalized lower urinary tracts kidney transplantation with ureteroneocystostomy and later resection of the valves resulted in satisfactory bladder function and normal voiding patterns. Therefore, urinary diversion was completely avoided.
Commentary on Pharmacotherapy of Hypertension in Patients on Chronic Dialysis

This comprehensive review by Agarwal and Georgianos summarizes results of numerous clinical trials of antihypertensive medications in patients on chronic dialysis ([1][1]). The authors note the unique challenges of such studies in this patient population. For example, the effect of widely used,
Tracking capability of stochastic gradient algorithm with constant gain

The stochastic gradient (SG) method has been widely applied in unconstrained stochastic optimization, and is particularly useful in sequential processing such as online learning. Core SG theories on convergence and asymptotic normality are developed on the basis of a stationary and unique optimizer. However, many real-world applications are often nonstationary in nature. In dynamic control systems and other time-varying problems, the true target parameter and/or the true loss function may drift over time, so there is no convergence per se. When drift occurs, SG with constant gain is often used to keep up with the nonstationary target. Several existing works on the tracking capability of recursive algorithms with a constant gain provide asymptotic stochastic big-O bounds of the tracking error. There are also some finite-iteration error bounds developed under fairly strong assumptions. In contrast, this paper builds a computable tracking error bound for SG, which is useful in both the finite-sample performance and the asymptotic analysis. The case of interest requires the strong convexity of the time-varying loss function, but with a mild restriction imposed on the drift associated with the nonstationary evolution. Our result complements existing big-O bound, and delivers a computable bound for practical use.
Abstract 433: Lipophagy Aids in VLDL-Mediated Lysosomal Sterol Clearance from Macrophage Foam Cells

Lipophagy, a selective form of autophagy, has the potential to aid in clearance of sterol from macrophage foam cells by moving cytoplasmic lipid to lysosomes for removal. However, in advanced atherosclerosis, macrophage foam cells retain most of their cholesterol in large, lipid-swollen lysosomes and this inhibits lysosome function, including digestion of autophagic-derived lipids. Triglyceride rich particles are also found in atherosclerotic lesions and we have shown that in sterol-engorged cells uptake of triglyceride-rich particles can restore lysosome function and dramatically reduce lysosome and cell sterol content. Given that triglyceride is able to restore lysosome function and lysosome-mediated removal of sterol, we investigated the role of lipophagy in this restoration. We loaded THP-1 macrophages with 50μg/mL aggregated LDL (aggLDL) for six days to produce sterol-mediated lysosomal dysfunction similar to that of advanced lesions. Then cells were chased with either media alone or media containing 30μg/mL VLDL for three days. The VLDL chase produced a 23% decrease in the autophagic marker LC3 compared to controls. Fluorescence microscopy confirmed a decrease in overall LC3 levels but also revealed a 26.3% increase in LC3 colocalization with the lipid droplet marker adipophilin following the VLDL chase. We also found a significant increase (24.6%) in association of adipophilin with the lysosomal marker LAMP-1. These results suggest that VLDL uptake by foam cells increases the lipophagic targeting of lipid-droplet components to lysosomes and increases clearance of this material (as identified by decreased LC3). Thus, VLDL-mediated restoration of lipophagic clearance of cellular sterol by lysosomal hydrolysis has the potential to be an important mechanism for reducing lipid burden in late-stage foam cells and possibly other neutral lipid-engorged tissues.
Synthetic control of the size, shape, and polydispersity of anisotropic silica colloids

Abstract The microstructure and rheological properties of colloidal suspensions depend on particle size and shape. This work aims to further control the size, shape, and polydispersity of anisotropic silica colloids, to reduce particle size, and to provide additional mechanistic insights on a prevalent, water-in-oil emulsion synthesis method. Key findings show that the dimensions of anisotropic silica particles can be systematically varied by approximately fivefold, with a limiting minimum particle size (D ≈ 60 nm, L ≈ 300 nm) obtained from emulsions with excess polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and sodium citrate. The synthesis conditions are identified and discussed for which the emulsion composition, temperature, sonication, polymer entanglements, mixing, and other perturbations may induce or mitigate emulsion instabilities, citrate precipitation, a competing mechanism of templated growth, termination of anisotropic growth, irregular silica structures, and fiber formation. An improved mechanistic understanding will expand the roadmap for rational design and synthetic control of anisotropic colloids using sol-gel silica chemistry confined within water-in-oil emulsions.
Diagnosis of Splenic Lymphoma by Endoscopic Ultrasound Guided Fine Needle Aspiration: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Introduction. Splenic tumor is usually found as an incidental finding on CT of abdomen. Traditionally, ultrasound (US) or computed tomography (CT) guided biopsies were employed for the purpose of sampling; however they have been reported to have a complication rate of 5.3%. Endoscopic ultrasound-fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) has been recently utilized for the purpose of sampling splenic tumors. In literature there are 7 reported instances where splenic lymphoma was diagnosed using EUS-FNA. We present a case of follicular B cell lymphoma of the spleen diagnosed using EUS-FNA. Case Report. 58-year-old female presented to her primary care physician for left upper quadrant abdominal pain for one week. Physical exam was significant for left upper quadrant tenderness. Her laboratory tests were within normal limits. She underwent CT scan of abdomen which revealed approximately 5 cm × 5 cm mass in spleen. EUS-FNA of the spleen revealed a large hypoechoic, heterogeneous, well-demarcated mass measuring 54.7 mm × 43.0 mm. Fine needle aspiration was performed, and the sample was submitted for cytology and flow cytometry. Flow cytometry revealed a lambda monotypic population of B cells displaying dim CD19 and CD10. Diagnosis of B cell non-Hodgkin low grade follicular lymphoma was made. Conclusion. Endoscopic ultrasound with fine needle aspiration is a very rare but safe, reliable method of diagnosis of splenic lymphomas.
Book Review of an Open Textbook – Sustainability: A Comprehensive Foundation

Paper was once the lightest, lowest-cost way to make information widely available in a form suitable for study and self-improvement. But paper-based textbooks, in the modern era, tend to be heavy and they can also strain the budgets of typical students. Given the fact that you are now reading an open-access journal, you may understand why many faculty members would possibly want to use an open-access textbook for some of their courses. This editorial considers one such course, and the assessment is generally favorable. But in addition to the classroom, a good open textbook may be regarded as a suitable foundation for one’s research. By citing an open textbook in the introduction to your research article, you can provide your readers with the option of gaining enough background to better appreciate your latest research findings.
Lead-resistant bacteria from Saint Clair River sediments and Pb removal in aqueous solutions.

Lead is an extensive contaminant. Pb-resistant bacterial strains were isolated from Saint Clair River sediments on two enrichment media with increasing concentrations of Pb (NO3)2. Bacterial strains that grew at 1.25 or 1.5 g L−1 of Pb (NO3)2 L−1) were purified and selected for further study. Ninety-seven Pb-resistant strains were screened for the ability to produce bioflocculants. The majority of the Pb-resistant strains demonstrated moderate to high flocculation activity. Metal removal assays demonstrated that the higher is the flocculation activity, the higher is the efficiency of metal removal. In the multi-metal solutions, the bacterial strain with the highest flocculation activity (R19) had the highest metal removing capability (six out of eight metals) and the highest metal removal efficiency. The highly selective affinity towards Pb2+ observed for strain R19 suggests its use for the recovery of Pb2+ from multiple metal solutions. Because they are well adapted to unfavorable conditions due to their resistance to metals (e.g., Pb) and antibiotics, these characteristics may help in developing an effective process for wastewater treatment using these strains.
Grammatical gender processing in L2 speakers of Spanish: The role of cognate status and gender transparency

Recent findings indicate that native speakers (L1) use grammatical gender marking on articles to facilitate the processing of upcoming nouns (e.g., Lew-Williams & Fernald, 2007 ; Dussias, Valdes Kroff, Guzzardo Tamargo, & Gerfen, 2013 ). Conversely, adult second language (L2) learners for whom grammatical gender is absent in their first language appear to need near-native proficiency to behave like native speakers ( Dussias et al., 2013 ; Hopp, 2013 ). The question addressed here is whether sensitivity to grammatical gender in L2 learners of Spanish is modulated by the cognate status of nouns due to their heightened parallel orthographic, phonological, morpho-syntactic and semantic activation. Additionally, the role of transparent and non-transparent word-final gender marking cues was examined because past studies have shown that native speakers of Spanish are sensitive to differences in gender transparency ( Caffarra, Janssen, & Barber, 2014 ). Participants were English learners of Spanish and Spanish monolingual speakers. Data were collected using the visual world paradigm. Participants saw 2-picture visual scenes in which objects either matched in gender (same-gender trials) or mismatched (different-gender trials). Targets were embedded in the preamble Encuentra el/la ___ ‘Find the ___’. The monolingual group displayed an anticipatory effect on different gender trials, replicating past studies that show that native speakers use grammatical gender information encoded in prenominal modifiers predictively. The learners were able to use gender information on the articles to facilitate processing, but only when the nouns had gender endings that were transparent. Cognate status did not confer an advantage during grammatical gender processing.
The effects of demand elasticity and selling price decisions on the value of information

To maximize its profit, a firm has to design a product or a system and sell it at the price that maximizes its expected profit. The selling price has a direct influence on the demand for the product. Consequently, corporations spend vast amounts of money and resources on gathering information to improve demand forecasting. This paper investigates the behavior of the value of information (VOI) for uncertain demand, and the effects of demand elasticity for the product on the information value. We discuss the variation of the VOI with demand elasticity and show that VOI is maximum at the specific elasticity at which the decision maker is indifferent between two selling price alternatives. The results enable firms to determine the value of demand information and the effects of demand elasticity for a selling price.
Tris{2-[(3-thien­yl)methyl­idene­amino]­eth­yl}amine

The title compound, C21H24N4S3, is a tripodal Schiff base that was obtained from the reaction of tris­(2-amino­eth­yl)amine (tren) and thio­phene-3-carbaldehyde. The compound forms a cavity with approximate C3 symmetry. One of the thio­phene units is disordered in a 0.764 (2):0.236 (2) ratio. In the crystal, the three thio­phene ligands are involved in intra­molecular C—H⋯π inter­actions and the mol­ecules are connected by C—H⋯N inter­actions, forming hydrogen-bonded chains.
Medical Confidentiality and Disclosure of Paternity

This article examines the nature of the physician's duty of patient confidentiality, exploring both the medical-ethical boundaries and the legal restraints on disclosure of medical information, with a focus on the disclosure of paternity. Concluding that an exception to confidentiality arguably exists for disclosure of paternity, the paper then examines the recent development of the law regarding the child's interests in obtaining information, and sometimes cultivating a relationship, with his or her biological parents. It next examines whether the best interests of the child will be served when disclosure of paternity has the potential to disrupt the family, by outlining the law dealing with the unwed fathers. It concludes that a standard that balances the various interests of the child (in terms of medical necessity, the child's need to know his or her origins, and disruption to the existing family), the interests of the legal and biological parents, and the interests of the state, should determine when disclosure of paternity is appropriate.
Reinforcing academic outcomes and satisfaction in Higher Education through the incorporation of Positive Leadership

The engagement of students and faculty in the teaching and learning process of Higher Education is key to ensure the career readiness of graduates, and their future ability to make a positive impact in their communities and the world. It is in this context that Positive Leadership has been piloted in a young, comprehensive Indian university, where the two professors that led this innovative approach were trained so that the delivery of their subjects enhanced the principles of positive meaning, positive climate, positive communication and positive relationships. The research carried out during this pilot study incorporated a mixed-methods approach, which allowed to scientifically assess the very positive impact of the initiative. Both students and faculty appreciated a more human methodology and reported highly satisfactory results, including boosted engagement and improved grades.
The Effectiveness of Edge Centrality Measures for Anomaly Detection

Anomalies in network traffic are often detected using machine learning techniques, such a Artificial Neural Networks, Self-Organizing Maps, k-Nearest Neighbors, or Principal Component Analysis. These techniques are built upon certain predetermined features that are believed to be useful in detecting anomalies. Many researchers are using graph-based features, such as betweenness centrality or eigenvector centrality. The choice of these particular features is due to the assumption that they can be used to accurately predict an anomaly in the flow of traffic. However, there appears to be no solid foundation for these assumptions. This work investigates edge centralities and how accurately they predict anomalies using netflow data. We propose to use known traits of different network interactions to identify how information will flow. We will then predict which measures of centrality should be most applicable to these particular flows. Finally, using public cybersecurity data sets, we will investigate which measures of edge centrality accurately identify anomalies as outliers then make comparisons with our predictions. Ideally, this will allow us to choose graph-based features that are highly efficient in anomaly detection.
Locally D-optimal Designs for Binary Responses in the Presence of Factorial Effects

We consider the problem of finding D-optimal designs for certain generalized linear models (GLMs). In particular, we study GLMs with factorial effects and one continuous covariate. The factorial effects include both main effects and interactions, and the design region for the continuous covariate can be unrestricted. The local D-optimality of the proposed design is established through the equivalence theorem, and the results are illustrated with an electrostatic discharge (ESD) experiment.
The Relationship between Middle Level Grade Span Configuration, Professional Development, and Student Achievement.

One goal of professional development is to improve student achievement through improved teacher practice. The middle school philosophy, which supports the rationale that student learning is inextricably interwoven into the fabric of an active learning environment, contains many promising practices that “mirror” what is often considered to be high quality professional development. However, researchers’ efforts to identify and measure this relationship have proven difficult at best. In this study, levels of professional development as components of various school reform initiatives are identified, and their relationships to student learning are measured across various grade configurations, specifically, K-8, 6-8, and 7-12. This study found a significant percent of 6-8 middle level schools to be more highly engaged in professional development activities than their K-8 and 7-12 counterparts. However, when taken together, professional development and grade configuration were not found to have a direct relationship to student achievement. Some variance in state assessment scores, albeit not statistically significant, was found to be marginally related to grade configuration, indicating the need for further study. This finding, coupled with other analyses of the data, suggest that relationships among professional development, grade configuration, and student achievement may exist but cannot be fully explained until researchers are able to identify and account for other variables that may be related to the unexplained variance. Until empirical evidence is produced, policymakers are encouraged to continue discussions regarding the most appropriate means of addressing young adolescents' academic needs regardless of other factors.
Horace Greeley: Print, Politics, and the Failure of American Nationhood

Among the most storied of American journalists is Horace Greeley, but much of the story has come to be off kilter, portraying Greeley as dizzyingly erratic. In this biography, University of Notre D...
Killer secretions: Organophosphorus poisoning: Practice eessentials and protocols

Organophosphorus pesticide self-poisoning is an important clinical problem in rural regions of the developing world and kills an estimated 200,000 people every year. Unintentional poisoning kills far fewer people but is a problem in places where highly toxic organophosphorus pesticides are available. Medical management is difficult, with case fatality generally more than 15%. However, consensus suggests that early resuscitation with atropine, oxygen, respiratory support, and fluids is needed to improve oxygen delivery to tissues. The role of oximes is not completely clear.
Efficacy and Safety of Direct Oral Anticoagulants for Atrial Fibrillation Across Body Mass Index Categories.

Background Direct‐acting oral anticoagulants are now the preferred method of anticoagulation in patients with atrial fibrillation. Limited data on efficacy and safety of these fixed‐dose regimens a...
Expression of transgenes enriched in rare codons is enhanced by the MAPK pathway.

The ability to translate three nucleotide sequences, or codons, into amino acids to form proteins is conserved across all organisms. All but two amino acids have multiple codons, and the frequency that such synonymous codons occur in genomes ranges from rare to common. Transcripts enriched in rare codons are typically associated with poor translation, but in certain settings can be robustly expressed, suggestive of codon-dependent regulation. Given this, we screened a gain-of-function library for human genes that increase the expression of a GFPrare reporter encoded by rare codons. This screen identified multiple components of the mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway enhancing GFPrare expression. This effect was reversed with inhibitors of this pathway and confirmed to be both codon-dependent and occur with ectopic transcripts naturally coded with rare codons. Finally, this effect was associated, at least in part, with enhanced translation. We thus identify a potential regulatory module that takes advantage of the redundancy in the genetic code to modulate protein expression.
Elastic-waveform inversion and imaging of 2010 walkaway VSP data from the Raft River geothermal field

Abstract A vertical seismic profiling (VSP) survey conducted in 2010 in the original RRG-9 well at the Raft River geothermal field is to understand the subsurface geologic structures for geothermal reservoir characterization. This survey consists of 40 three-component (3C) geophones deployed in the upper 600 m of the well and 255 vibroseis sources positioned along eight walkaway lines at the surface. We perform elastic-waveform inversion and reserve-time migration of the VSP data to obtain high-resolution subsurface images. We first process the raw walkaway 3C VSP data and separate the upgoing compressional-to-compressional (PP) and compressional-to-shear (PS) wavefields. We then build an initial velocity model based on sonic logging and zero-offset VSP data, update the initial model with first-arrival traveltime tomography, and refine the model using elastic-waveform inversion to reveal high-resolution velocity variations. We finally apply reverse-time migration to the upgoing wavefields to obtain high-resolution PP and PS migration images of the lithologies encountered in the well. The refined velocity models obtained using elastic-waveform inversion improve the subsurface migration imaging results. Our elastic-waveform inversion and reverse-time migration confirm the lithology interfaces revealed from well logs and provide images of subsurface geologic layers away from well RRG-9 at the Raft River geothermal field.
A distal Foxp3 enhancer enables interleukin-2 dependent thymic Treg cell lineage commitment for robust immune tolerance

Activation of the STAT5 transcription factor downstream of the Interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R) induces expression of Foxp3, a critical step in the differentiation of regulatory T (Treg) cells. Due to the pleiotropic effects of IL-2R signaling, it is unclear how STAT5 acts directly on the Foxp3 locus to promote its expression. Here, we report that IL-2 - STAT5 signaling converged on an enhancer (CNS0) during Foxp3 induction. CNS0 facilitated the IL-2 dependent CD25+Foxp3- precursor to Treg cell transition in the thymus. Its deficiency resulted in impaired Treg cell generation in neonates, which was partially mitigated with age. While the thymic Treg cell paucity caused by CNS0 deficiency did not result in autoimmunity on its own, it exacerbated autoimmune manifestations caused by disruption of the Aire gene. Thus, CNS0 enhancer activity ensures robust Treg cell differentiation early in postnatal life and cooperatively with other tolerance mechanisms minimizes autoimmunity.
Effect of Prepartum Intramammary Treatment of Heifers on Somatic Cell Count, Milk Production and Mastitis Postpartum

Mastitis in heifers has been the topic of numerous studies in the past few decades. Many studies have concluded that a large percentage of heifers began their first lactation with intramammary infections (IMI), usually with coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CNS) species. These bacteria are ubiquitous on skin and hair of heifers, and then colonize the teat canal and gland. Several studies have examined the outcome of prepartum intramammary antibiotic therapy in heifers and have shown antibiotics are successful at reducing infections.1,2 However, results have varied on the benefit of reducing these infections. Oliver et al2 found prepartum intramammary antibiotic therapy in heifers increased milk production ( + 1000 lb; 454.5 kg) and decreased somatic cell count (SCC) linear score (-0.6) significantly over untreated animals. Treatment was demonstrated to be profitable, as long as the increase in milk production is greater than 84 lb (38.1 kg).4 In the seven-state study,1 prepartum antibiotics were effective in curing IMI in heifers, but the differences in SCC and milk production between treatment and control groups were small. The goal of this study was to treat prepartum heifers with intramammary antibiotics and monitor SCC, cultures and milk production during the first part of their lactation to determine the efficacy and value of therapy.
Ultrasonic Effect on the Deformation Behavior and Microstructure Evolution of a TRIP-Assisted Steel

The effect of ultrasonic vibration on the deformation mechanism of a TRIP-assisted steel is comprehensively studied based on micro-tensile tests. Lower flow stress and work hardening rate are observed in ultrasonically assisted (UA) conditions. Digital image correlation (DIC) analysis reveals the change in strain distribution and formation of Luders-like deformation bands under superimposed UA. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) characterization shows that at the same strain, UA reduces the fraction of retained austenite that is transformed to martensite, indicating a delayed martensitic transformation process. Additionally, EBSD reveals less low-angle grain boundaries and geometrically necessary dislocations with UA. All these microstructure modifications contribute to reduced flow stress and the change of strain distribution during deformation.
Protoplast Isolation from Leaves of C3, C4 and CAM Plants and Biochemical Activities

Leaf protoplasts have been isolated from a number of plants by enzymatic digestion with 2% cellulase (Onozuka R-10, All Japan Biochem. Co.) and 0.1% pectinase (1). Leaf segments less than lmm wide were incubated in the isolation medium for 3 hours at 30°C. The protoplasts released were purified in a liquid-liquid two-phase system using dextran T20 and polyethylene glycol 6000. Intact mesophyll protoplasts were collected at the interphase. Bundle sheath strands from C4 plants were collected by filtration techniques through nylon sieves of different porosity. For microscopy observations isolated protoplasts and bundle sheath cells were suspended in 0.5% Evans Blue. The exclusion of the dye was used as an indication of the intactness of the preparation. Comparative studies on the photosynthetic activities by mesophyll protoplasts from C3 and Crassulcean Acie Metabolism plants further showed the viability of the isolated cells. C4 plants, such as maize, sugarcane and Panicum miliaceum, are characterized as having two types of chlorophyllous cells, the mesophyll and the bundle sheath cells, and two carboxylating enzymes, PEP carboxylase of the C4-dicarboxylic acid pathway and RuDP carboxylase of the ribulose pentose phosphate pathway. PEP carboxylase and other enzymes of the C4 pathway were almost exclusively localized in mesophyll protoplasts while RuDP carboxylase and phosphoribulose kinase were localized in bundle sheath cells. Enzyme distribution, photochemical activities and CO2 fixation have been studies in relation to the compartmentation of photosynthetic carbon metabolism (2,3).
Vibration of a Viscoelastic Timoshenko Beam

Coupled equations for vibrations of a linear viscoelastic Timoshenko beam of an incompressible material are obtained by replacing the elastic moduli by viscoelastic operators. Time-variables in these equations are separated out by means of a dual eigenfunction expansion in terms of the corresponding elastic modes. Specific problems on free and forced vibration for a beam of either Kelvin or Maxwell material are treated in detail. The problem of moving load and the problem of a time-dependent boundary condition are also included in the treatment. It is shown that the foregoing solutions obtained for different specific problems retain their forms if the viscoelastic material is changed from an incompressible one to one of identical behavior in bulk and in shear.
ON THE MECHANISM OF OXIDATIVE PHOSPHORYLATION. 8. FURTHER EVIDENCE FOR DISTINCT TRANSHYDROGENASE REACTIONS IN SUBMITOCHONDRIAL PARTICLES.

Abstract Reduction of exogenous NADP by NADH2 in submitochondrial particles has been shown to proceed by an energy-unrelated and an energy-related transhydrogenase sequence. The latter is activated by Mg2+ and ATP, and inhibited by oligomycin and uncouplers of oxidative phosphorylation. Energy-linked NADP reduction, in addition, appears related to the energy-coupled reactions of oxidative phosphorylation.
Distributed artificial intelligence: Architecture and modelling: First Australian workshop on DAI Canberra, act, Australia, november 13, 1995 proceedings

Definition and application of a comprehensive framework for distributed problem solving.- A logical framework for multi-agent systems and joint attitudes.- A kernel-oriented model for autonomous-agent coalition-formation in general environments.- A knowledge-level model of co-ordination.- An evolutionary model of multi-agent systems.- Engagement and cooperation in motivated agent modelling.- A methodology for developing agent based systems.- Plans and the revision of intentions.- A formal view of social dependence networks.- From practice to theory in designing autonomous agents.- Motivation and perception mechanisms in mobile agents for electronic commerce.- Integrated agent architecture: Execution and recognition of mental-states.- Neural network strategies for solving synthesis problems in non-conflict cases in distributed expert systems.- A linearly quasi-anticipatory autonomous agent architecture: Some preliminary experiments.- Cooperation among opportunistic agents on a distributed environment.- A scenario-based design method and an environment for the development of multiagent systems.
The RuleML family of web rule languages

The RuleML family of Web rule languages contains derivation (deduction) rule languages, which themselves have a webized Datalog language as their inner core. Datalog RuleML's atomic formulas can be (un)keyed and (un)ordered. Inheriting the Datalog features, Hornlog RuleML adds functional expressions as terms. In Hornlog with equality, such uninterpreted (constructor-like) functions are complemented by interpreted (equation-defined) functions. These are described by further orthogonal dimensions “single- vs. set-valued” and “first- vs. higher-order”. Combined modal logics apply special relations as operators to atoms with an uninterpreted relation, complementing the usual interpreted ones.
The midget pathways of the primate retina

Midget ganglion cells in the foveal slope, parafovea, near periphery and far periphery of human and monkey retinas have been studied by electron microscopy (EM). Five human foveal ganglion cells were reconstructed and found to share input from seven midget bipolar cells. The OFF center ganglion cells were in a one to one relationship with their midget bipolar cells. But the ON center cells received input from two to three midget bipolar cells, of which one was dominant in terms of numbers of ribbon synapses directed at the midget ganglion cell dendrites. In the human parafovea every midget ganglion cell received input from only one midget bipolar cell (previously published, Kolb and DeKorver, 1991). At 4 mm of eccentricity, the near peripheral ON midget ganglion cell received input from three midget bipolar cells and thus from three cones. In far peripheral retina (12 mm) the ON midget ganglion cell received input from three to four midget bipolar cells. The peripheral midget bipolar cells probably contacted three cones each: therefore between nine and 12 cones could have input to such midget ganglion cell. The relationship of the increasing dendritic field size and increasing convergence of cones to the midget ganglion cells with eccentricity from the fovea is discussed in terms of color processing and resolution.