cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Color image segmentation algorithm: An approach to image segmentation through ellipsoidal clustering and edge detection

The proposed algorithm approaches color image segmentation though the detection of edges on regions of homogeneous color. Ellipsoidal clustering is performed on the RGB color space through orthogonal regression. Edge detection is performed using a novel non-linear filter resembling a second central moment. Detected edges are binarized resulting in closed regions suitable for region filling. Subsequent region merging produces the final segmented image. The primary contributions of this research are the first two steps of ellipsoidal clustering and color edge detection.
ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THE CYANIDE-RESISTANT AND AZIDE-RESISTANT CATALASE OF LACTOBACILLUS PLANTARUM.

Johnston, M. A. (Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.), and E. A. Delwiche. Isolation and characterization of the cyanide-resistant and azide-resistant catalase of Lactobacillus plantarum. J. Bacteriol. 90:352–356. 1965.—Lactobacillus plantarum T-1403-5 has been shown to possess a very active cyanide- and azide-resistant catalase. By means of fractional ammonium sulfate precipitation, removal of nucleic acids with protamine sulfate, adsorption on calcium phosphate gel, and pH gradient chromatography on diethylaminoethyl cellulose, the catalase “activity” was purified approximately 14-fold. The purified enzyme preparation was insensitive to the heme poisons cyanide and azide, the metal chelating agents ethylenediaminetetraacetate and o-phenanthroline, and the sulfhydryl binding agent p-chloromercuribenzoate. The purified enzyme moved at a uniform rate in the electrophoretic field (isoelectric point, pH 4.7). The ultraviolet-light absorption spectrum was negative for heme-iron components, and fluorescence measurements yielded negative results with regard to flavin components. Acriflavin and Atabrine had no effect on enzyme activity. The nonheme catalase displayed a much broader pH range of activity than the heme-iron catalase of a control culture of Escherichia coli and the azide-sensitive catalase developed by L. plantarum NZ48 when grown in the presence of preformed hematin. The nonheme catalase was more resistant to heat inactivation. No retention of the enzyme on a chromatographic column could be obtained with Sephadex 200, nor could the enzyme be separated from crystalline beef-liver catalase by the gel filtration technique. Sedimentation was obtained in a centrifugal field of 144,000 × g for 12 hr.
Workshops: How They Work for You

Congratulations! You’ve received your library degree! Now it’s time to start learning how to do your job. People still think of librarians as women with glasses who stamp books. But the profession is a dynamic one and the expectations of how librarians do their jobs changes as libraries and information change. The MLS coursework provides a strong foundation, but to be successful, librarians must continue learning or they will be left behind. Professional development is crucial to librarians and there are a myriad of ways to learn new skills to improve our job performance. This article will discuss workshops and how they offer a unique learning environment that enhances the librarians’ understanding of a new skill Workshops also provide librarians with the ability to effectively utilize the new skill in their job. This article will also discuss the benefits and challenges librarians may face with workshop participation.
Technologies at the Bauer Core

CF-14 The Bauer core makes a wide variety of technologies available to researchers both within and outside Harvard.Supported technologies include flow cyotmetry, sequencing, microarrays, real-time and liquid handling. Whenever possible, the core staff train researchers to use the instruments independently.Fee-for service work is provided for more complex technologies.The staff support researchers through initial platform selection, experimental design, data acquisition and basic data analysis.
Evaluation of the Average Daily Risk Range as a Measure of Glycemic Variability in Youths with Type 1 Diabetes

Abstract Objective: The Average Daily Risk Range (ADRR) is a measure of glycemic variability (GV) developed for adults with diabetes. Although the ADRR is increasingly being reported in pediatric diabetes research and may also be used in clinical management, it has never been examined for its sensitivity to predicting hyper- and hypoglycemia in youths or compared for its predictive ability with other measures of GV in youths. Thus, we present predictive validity data for the ADRR in youths with type 1 diabetes. Materials and Methods: Glucometer data for 436 youths (mean age, 11.8±3.8 years) were collected from a clinical database. Using these data, we computed the ADRR, SD of blood glucose, coefficient of variation of blood glucose, Low Blood Glucose Index, High Blood Glucose Index, the percentage of glucose values ≥70 and ≤180 mg/dL, the percentage of high glucose values >180 mg/dL and >400 mg/dL, and the percentage of low glucose values <70 mg/dL and <40 mg/dL in Month 1. We then compared these with epi...
Early treatment decisions with interferon-alfa therapy in early chronic-phase chronic myelogenous leukemia.

PURPOSETo determine, in patients with Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-positive chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) on interferon alfa (IFNalpha), whether combining pretreatment characteristics and early response profiles would distinguish patients with differential benefits that would allow better decisions on subsequent therapy.PATIENTS AND METHODSA total of 274 patients treated from 1982 through 1990 with IFNalpha regimens were analyzed. A second group of 137 patients treated with IFNalpha and low-dose cytarabine (ara-C) between 1990 and 1994 was later used to confirm the guidelines derived from the original study group analysis. Patients' pretreatment factors and response to IFNalpha therapy at 3, 6, and 12 months were analyzed in relation to subsequent achievement of major cytogenetic response. After univariate analysis of prognostic factors, a multivariate analysis selected, at 6 months, independent pretreatment factors that added to the response status in predicting subsequent outcome. The results were ...
Novel Application of Microfluidic Channels in Studying Cell Migration and Reorientation in Response to Direct Current Electric Fields

Electric fields have been shown to induce cell migration (galvanotaxis) and cell shape changes (galvanotropism) in many cell types, such as neural crest cells, embryonic cells, and chondrocytes [1–3]. In this study, a novel microfluidic system was developed to study individual cellular responses to applied electric fields. These microfabricated channels are made from commercially available poly-dimethyl-siloxane (PDMS). This gas permeable, tough, and transparent polymer provides a sterile tissue culture environment and permits visualization of cells using epifluorescence microscopy. In conjunction with the device, a custom computer program was written to quantify the migratory behavior of cells by analyzing changes in position and cell shape. The flexibility of the channel geometry allows for a wider range of chamber resistance and applied currents (achieving a particular field strength) that may permit further study into the underlying mechanisms of electric field directed cell migration and orientation.© 2002 ASME
Four-Component Fluorescence of trans-1,2-Di(1-methyl-2-naphthyl)ethene at 77 K in Glassy Media. Conformational Subtleties Revealed

The vibronic structure of the fluorescence spectrum of trans-1,2-di(1-methyl-2-naphthyl)ethene (t-1,1) in methylcyclohexane (MCH) solution at room temperature was expected to become better defined upon cooling of the solution to 77 K. Instead, a broad, λexc-dependent fluorescence spectrum was observed in the glassy medium. Vibronically structured t-1,1 fluorescence spectra were obtained in the MCH glass only upon irradiation at the long-λ onset of the absorption spectrum. The application of singular value decomposition with self-modeling on the fluorescence spectral matrices of t-1,1 allowed their resolution into major and minor pairs of vibronically structured spectra that are assigned to two structural modifications of each of two relative orientations of the 1-methyl-2-naphthyl moieties. The difference between the two structures in each pair lies in the direction of rotation of each naphthyl group away from the plane of the olefinic bond. A complex but different conformer distribution is also responsible for the fluorescence spectra of t-1,1 in 5:5:2 (v/v/v) diethyl ether/isopentane/ethyl alcohol (EPA) glass at 77 K. The conformer distributions are also sensitive to the rate of cooling used in glass formation. Conformer distributions based on predicted small energy differences from gas-phase theoretical calculations are of little value when applied to volume-constraining media. The photophysical and photochemical properties of the analogues of the other two conformers of trans-1,2-di(2-naphthyl)ethene, trans-1-(1-methyl-2-naphthyl)-2-(3-methyl-2-naphthyl)ethene (t-1,3) and trans-1,2-di(3-methyl-2-naphthyl)ethene (t-3,3), were determined in solution. However, it is the calculated geometries and energy differences of the t-1,1 conformers [DFT using B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p)] that are essential guides to the interpretation of the experimental results.
POSTER: Utilizing dataflow-based execution for coupled cluster methods

Computational chemistry comprises one of the driving forces of High Performance Computing. In particular, many-body methods, such as Coupled Cluster methods (CC) [1] of the quantum chemistry package NWCHEM [2], are of particular interest for the applied chemistry community.
Preoperative hypoalbuminemia is associated with poor clinical outcomes after open and endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair

Abstract Objective The effect of preoperative malnutrition on outcomes in patients undergoing major vascular surgery is unclear. We investigated the effects of preoperative hypoalbuminemia, a marker for malnutrition, on outcomes after open abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (OAR) and endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR). Methods Patients undergoing OAR or EVAR were identified in the 2005 to 2012 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database and stratified into three groups: normal albumin (serum albumin >3.5 g/dL), moderate hypoalbuminemia (2.8-3.5 g/dL), and severe hypoalbuminemia ( Results We identified 15,002 patients with a recorded preoperative serum albumin who underwent OAR (n = 4956) or EVAR (n = 10,046). Patients in both cohorts with hypoalbuminemia had a higher burden of comorbidity. In OAR patients, multivariable analyses demonstrated that moderate hypoalbuminemia was associated with an increased risk of 30-day mortality (odds ratio [OR], 1.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-1.70) and postoperative length of stay (LOS; means ratio [MR], 1.10; 95% CI, 1.04-1.16), whereas severe hypoalbuminemia was associated with increased 30-day mortality (OR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.37-2.70), reoperation ≤30 days (OR, 1.80; 95% CI, 1.32-2.48), pulmonary complications (OR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.06-1.86), and postoperative LOS (MR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.21-1.45). In EVAR patients, moderate hypoalbuminemia was associated with an increased risk of 30-day mortality (OR, 1.90; 95% CI, 1.38-2.62), pulmonary complications (OR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.26-2.04), reoperation ≤30 days (OR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.12-1.74), and postoperative LOS (MR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.18-1.29), whereas severe hypoalbuminemia was associated with increased 30-day mortality (OR, 2.98; 95% CI, 1.96-4.53), pulmonary complications (OR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.32-2.67), reoperation ≤30 days (OR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.08-2.19), and postoperative LOS (MR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.40-1.65). Conclusions Preoperative hypoalbuminemia is associated with increased postoperative morbidity and mortality in a severity-dependent manner among patients undergoing OAR or EVAR. Evaluation and optimization of nutritional status should be performed preoperatively in this high-risk population.
BIG: a large-scale data integration tool for renal physiology.

Due to recent advances in high-throughput techniques, we and others have generated multiple proteomic and transcriptomic databases to describe and quantify gene expression, protein abundance, or ce...
Anterior knee pain following primary total knee arthroplasty

Despite improvements in technique and technology for total knee arthroplasty (TKA), anterior knee pain impacts patient outcomes and satisfaction. Addressing the prosthetic and surgical technique related causes of pain after TKA, specifically as it relates to anterior knee pain, can aid surgeons in addressing these issues with their patients. Design features of the femoral and patellar components which have been reported as pain generators include: Improper femoral as well as patellar component sizing or designs that result in patellofemoral stuffing; a shortened trochlear groove distance from the flange to the intercondylar box; and then surgical technique related issues resulting in: Lateral patellar facet syndrome; overstuffed patella/flange combination; asymmetric patellar resurfacing, improper transverse plane component rotation resulting in patellar subluxation/tilt. Any design consideration that allows impingement of extensor mechanism anatomical elements has the possibility of impacting outcome by becoming a pain generator. As the number of TKA procedures continues to increase, it is increasingly critical to develop improved, evidence based prostheses that maximize function and patient satisfaction while minimizing pain and other complications.
Deficient Neutrophil Extracellular Trap Formation in Patients Undergoing Bone Marrow Transplantation.

Overwhelming infection causes significant morbidity and mortality among patients treated with bone marrow transplantation (BMT) for primary immune deficiencies, syndromes of bone marrow failure, or cancer. The polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN; neutrophil) is the first responder to microbial invasion and acts within the innate immune system to contain and clear infections. PMNs contain, and possibly clear, infections in part by forming neutrophil extracellular traps (NET). NETs are extensive lattices of extracellular DNA and decondensed chromatin decorated with anti-microbial proteins and degradative enzymes such as histones, myeloperoxidase, and neutrophil elastase (NE). They trap and contain microbes including bacteria and fungi, and may directly affect extracellular microbial killing. Whether or not deficient NET formation contributes to the increased risk for overwhelming infection in patients undergoing BMT remains incompletely characterized, especially in the pediatric population. We examined NET formation in vitro in PMNs isolated from 24 patients who had undergone BMT for 13 different clinical indications. For these 24 study participants, the median age was 7 years. For 6 of the 24 patients, we examined NET formation by PMNs isolated from serial, peripheral blood samples drawn at 3 different clinical time points: pre-BMT, pre-engraftment, and post-engraftment. We found decreased NET formation by PMNs isolated from patients prior to BMT and during the pre-engraftment and post-engraftment phases, with decreased NET formation compared to healthy control PMNs detected even out to 199 days after their BMT. This decrease in NET formation after BMT did not result from neutrophil developmental immaturity as we demonstrated that > 80% of the PMNs tested using flow cytometry expressed both CD10 and CD16 as markers of terminal differentiation along the neutrophilic lineage. These pilot study results mandate further exploration regarding the mechanism(s) or factor(s) regulating NET formation by PMNs in patients at risk for overwhelming infection following BMT.
Coalescence in Branching Processes

In a Galton–Watson tree that is not extinct with at least two individuals alive in generation n pick two individuals at random by simple random sampling without replacement. Trace their lines of descent back in time till they meet. Call that generation X n . In this paper we present results on the exact distribution of X n and its limit as n goes to infinity for the single type discrete case. We consider four cases: explosive (mean infinity), supercritical, critical and subcritical. We apply these to study branching random walks. A number of open problems are listed at the end.
Green Demarketing in Advertisements: Comparing “Buy Green” and “Buy Less” Appeals in Product and Institutional Advertising Contexts

This research compares consumer response to traditional green advertising appeals to that of less conventional, “green demarketing” (GD) appeals—messages by for-profit companies encouraging reduced category consumption for the sake of the environment. Rather than encouraging greener consumption, modern environmentalism calls for decreased consumption overall, a trend reflected in recent advertising campaigns (e.g., Patagonia's “Don't Buy This Jacket”). Despite its potential impact and unconventionality, research on GD in general is sparse, and no empirical research has examined consumer response to GD appeals relative to traditional green appeals. In three experiments, we find that, in the context of product advertising, consumers' attitudes for green ads are more favorable than those for GD ads, mediated by greater inferences of genuine environmental concern. However, we find the reverse pattern in the context of institutional ads. Further, an “anti-consumption amplifier” message embedded in the ad—espou...
Inflection S-Shaped Software Reliability Growth Model

This paper discusses improvements to conventional software reliability analysis models by making the assumptions on which they are based more realistic. That is, for example, the mutual dependency of errors in a program.
Powders and Particles

Nearly all practical ceramics and some metal products are fabricated from powders. Typically, these powders are mixed with a few percent of various organic and inorganic additives, compacted to form a porous “green” body1, and heated (or “fired”) to a high temperature. During the heating the porosity in the sample is reduced or eliminated. This phenomenon is called sintering. Care must be taken to distinguish this sintering phenomenon from the sintering process described in Chapter 1. The properties of the sintered ceramic body depend to a large extent on the chemical and microstructural imperfections that were not eliminated or that were produced as a result of the sintering. Many imperfections can be traced back to the structure of the green compact or to the nature of the starting powder; therefore, in this chapter we examine powders. Powders can have a complex structure. Sometimes in describing powders confusion may arise through the inconsistent use of terminology. The terminology proposed by Onoda and Hench (1978) has been adopted here.
Intrinsic membrane properties and cholinergic modulation of mouse basal forebrain glutamatergic neurons in vitro

The basal forebrain (BF) controls sleep-wake cycles, attention and reward processing. Compared to cholinergic and GABAergic neurons, BF glutamatergic neurons are less well understood, due to difficulties in identification. Here, we use vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (vGluT2)-tdTomato mice, expressing a red fluorescent protein (tdTomato) in the major group of BF glutamatergic neurons (vGluT2+) to characterize their intrinsic electrical properties and cholinergic modulation. Whole-cell, patch-clamp recordings were made from vGluT2+ neurons in coronal BF slices. Most BF vGluT2+ neurons were small/medium sized (<20µm), exhibited moderately sized H-currents and had a maximal firing frequency of ∼50Hz. However, vGluT2+ neurons in dorsal BF (ventral pallidum) had larger H-currents and a higher maximal firing rate (83Hz). A subset of BF vGluT2+ neurons exhibited burst/cluster firing. Most vGluT2+ neurons had low-threshold calcium spikes/currents. vGluT2+ neurons located in ventromedial regions of BF (in or adjacent to the horizontal limb of the diagonal band) were strongly hyperpolarized by the cholinergic agonist, carbachol, a finding apparently in conflict with their increased discharge during wakefulness/REM sleep and hypothesized role in wake-promotion. In contrast, most vGluT2+ neurons located in lateral BF (magnocellular preoptic area) or dorsal BF did not respond to carbachol. Our results suggest that BF glutamatergic neurons are heterogeneous and have morphological, electrical and pharmacological properties which distinguish them from BF cholinergic and GABAergic neurons. A subset of vGluT2+ neurons, possibly those neurons which project to reward-related areas such as the habenula, are hyperpolarized by cholinergic inputs, which may cause phasic inhibition during reward-related events.
Mannose Surfaces Exhibit Self-Latching, Water Structuring, and Resilience to Chaotropes: Implications for Pathogen Virulence

Several viral and fungal pathogens, including HIV, SARS, Dengue, Ebola, and Cryptococcus neoformans, display a preponderance of mannose residues on their surface, particularly during the infection cycle or in harsh environments. The innate immune system, on the other hand, abounds in mannose receptors which recognize mannose residues on pathogens and trigger their phagocytosis. We pose the question if there is an advantage for pathogens to display mannose on their surface, despite these residues being recognized by the immune system. The surface properties and interactions of opposing monolayers of mannobiose (disaccharide of mannose) were probed using atomic force spectroscopy. Unlike its diastereoisomer lactose, mannobiose molecules exhibited lateral packing interactions that manifest on the surface scale as a self-recognizing latch. A break-in force is required for opposing surfaces to penetrate and a breakout (or self-adhesion force) of similar magnitude is required for penetrated surfaces to separate. A hierarchy of self-adhesion forces was distinguished as occurring at the single residue (∼25 pN), cluster (∼250 pN), monolayer (∼1.1 nN), and supramonolayer level. The break-in force and break-out force appear resilient to the presence of simple chaotropes that attenuate a layer of structured water around the mannose surface. The layer of structured water otherwise extends to distances several times longer than a mannobiose residue, indicating a long-range propagation of the hydrogen bonding imposed by the residues. The span of the structured water increases with the velocity of an approaching surface, similar to shear thickening, but fissures at higher approach velocities. Our studies suggest that mannose residues could guide interpathogen interactions, such as in biofilms, and serve as a moated fortress for pathogens to hide behind to resist detection and harsh environments.
Engineering Properties of Snow

The general properties of snow are described with a view to engineering applications of data. Following an introduction and a short note on the origins of snow, data are given for fall velocities of snow particles, and for mass flux and particle concentrations in falling snow and blowing snow. Notes on the structural properties of deposited snow cover grain size, grain bonds, bulk density, overburden pressure, and permeability. A section on impurities deals with stable and radioactive isotopes, chemical impurities, insoluble particles, living organisms, acidity, and gases. Mechanical properties are treated only selectively, and the reader is referred to another paper for comprehensive coverage. The selective treatment deals with stress waves and strain waves, compressibility, effects of volumetric strain on deviatoric strain, and specific energy for comminution. The section on thermal properties covers heat capacity, latent heat, conductivity, diffusivity, heat transfer by vapor diffusion, heat transfer and vapor transport with forced convection, and thermal strain. The section on electrical properties opens with a brief discussion on dielectric properties of ice, and proceeds to a summary of the dielectric properties of snow, including dielectric dispersion, permittivity, dielectric loss, and d.c. conductivity. There are also notes on the thermoelectric effect and on electrical charges in falling and blowing snow. The section on optical properties deals with transmission and attenuation of visible radiation, with spectral reflectance, and with long-wave emissivity. The review concludes with some comments on engineering problems that involve snow, and the requirements for research and development.
Diaphragm Excursion-Time Index: A New Parameter Using Ultrasonography to Predict Extubation Outcome.

Background The diaphragmatic response to increased mechanical load following withdrawal of mechanical ventilation is critical in determining the outcome of extubation. Using ultrasonography, we aimed to evaluate the performance of the excursion-time (E-T) index—a product of diaphragm excursion and inspiratory time, to predict the outcome of extubation. Methods Right hemidiaphragm excursion, inspiratory time, and E-T index were measured by ultrasonography during mechanical ventilation: (1) on assist-control (A/C) mode during consistent patient-triggered ventilation, (2) following 30 min during a spontaneous breathing trial (SBT), and (3) between 4 and 24 h following extubation. These measurements were correlated with the outcome of extubation. Patients in the "failure" group required reintubation or noninvasive ventilation within 48 h of extubation. Results Of the 73 patients studied, 20 patients failed extubation. During SBT, diaphragm excursion was 1.65 ± 0.82 and 2.1 ± 0.9 cm ( P = .06), inspiratory time was 0.89 ± 0.30 and 1.11 ± 0.39 s ( P = .03), and the E-T index was 1.64 ± 1.19 and 2.42 ± 1.55 cm-s ( P P Conclusions Diaphragm E-T index measured during SBT may help predict the outcome of extubation. Maintenance or increase in diaphragm E-T index between A/C and SBT increases the likelihood of successful extubation.
Incognito: Shoulder-surfing resistant selection method

Abstract Authentication methods need to, at minimum, prevent casual attackers with limited resources from gaining access to our private information. Although, Personal Identification Numbers (PIN) have been ubiquitously implemented to validate a user's identity, it is surprisingly easy for PINs to be stolen by casual shoulder-surfing attackers. We offer Incognito, a selection technique, which is resistant to casual shoulder-surfing and extendable to emerging graphical authentication methods. This was achieved by employing indirect interactions and masking standard cursor feedback. We show this selection technique effectively prevents casual shoulder-surfing attacks. The users controlled Incognito with either a mouse or eye tracker. We examined its usability by measuring effectiveness, performance, and user satisfaction in contrast with a conventional PIN approach. Our results show marginal login performance differences between the conventional method and Incognito with mouse-based interactions, but not for eye tracker based interactions. Incognito shows promise as a viable selection technique within public spaces.
Testing the construct validity of scores on the multidimensional inventory of black identity

The authors tested the validity of scores on the Multidimensional Inventory of Black identity (MIBI; R. M. Sellers, S. A. Rowley, T. M. Chavous, J. N. Shelton, & M. A. Smith, 1997) using confirmato...
A Cloud of Suspicion

This chapter shows in a full detail Nazi government’s and Leipzig University administrators’ suspicions about Van der Waerden loyalty to the Nazi regime. It also portrays a certain insensitivity of Camilla van der Waerden toward her father-in-law Dr. Theo van der Waerden.
Exploring Faculty and Students’ Attitudes About Consensual Sexual Relationships and Sexual Harassment on College Campuses:

Over the last several years, there has been an increased awareness regarding consensual sexual relationships (CSRs) between professors and students. Specifically, there has been a growing movement ...
A longitudinal prospective cohort study investigating the association of premilking stimulation and teat-end shape on milking characteristics and teat tissue condition in dairy cows

Premilking udder preparation is essential for harvesting high-quality milk as gently, completely, and quickly as possible. The associations between characteristics such as teat-end shape and premilking stimulation on milking characteristics and machine milking-induced changes to the teat tissue condition have not been rigorously investigated. The primary objective was to investigate the interactive effects of manual premilking stimulation (i.e., preparation lag time) and teat-end shape on total milk yield, two-minute milk yield, milking unit-on time, and time in low milk flow rate. Our secondary objective was to study the association of manual premilking stimulation and changes to the teat tissue condition after machine milking (i.e., short-term changes). In a longitudinal prospective cohort study, 384 milking observations from 129 cows were analysed. Holstein cows were housed in sand-bedded free-stall pens, fed a total mixed ration, and milked 3 times a day. Cows were classified by teat-end shape into 1 of 3 categories: pointed, flat, or round. Individual cow milking characteristics were recorded with electronic on-farm milk meters. The duration of manual stimulation, preparation lag time, and presence of short-term changes were documented for each milking observation. General linear mixed models were used to study the interactive effects of preparation lag time and teat-end shape on milking characteristics. There was an interaction between preparation lag time and teat-end shape for two-minute milk yield and time in low milk flow rate. The preparation lag time effect was modified by teat-end shape, while no interaction was observed for total milk yield or milking unit-on time. A generalized linear mixed model revealed that preparation lag time was associated with short-term changes in teat tissue condition, where the odds of short-term changes decreased as preparation lag time increased. In summary, cows with different teat-end shapes may require different premilking stimulation regimens. Increasing preparation lag time benefits teat tissue condition during machine milking. Further research is warranted to optimize individual premilking stimulation in dairy cows.
MYC Inactivation Induces Tumor Regression through the Recovery of a Functional DNA Damage Response.

Cancer is caused by genetic events that result in the activation of oncogenes or the inactivation of tumor suppressor genes. Using the Tetracycline system, our laboratory has generated a transgenic mouse model in which MYC is conditionally overexpressed in hematopoietic cells, allowing us to turn MYC expression on and off at will. We have previously demonstrated that the inactivation of this single oncogene in an established and even highly invasive and metastatic lymphoma is sufficient to reverse cancer, suggesting that MYC may be an effective therapeutic target. In a variety of conditional oncogene models, we and others have found that tumor regression following oncogene inactivation involves similar phenomena, including cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and differentiation of the tumor cells. The similarity in the regression process across a variety of different oncogenes and types of cancer strongly suggests the existence of a common signaling pathway following oncogene inactivation, which culminates in the cessation of cell proliferation and the induction of apoptosis and differentiation. Recently, we have demonstrated that MYC activation disrupts the repair of DNA breaks and results in genomic instability. We speculated that MYC inactivation may cause tumor regression by restoring the ability of tumor cells to recognize that they are genomically damaged, which could subsequently lead to the cell cycle arrest, differentiation and apoptosis that is generally observed. Indeed, we now report that upon MYC inactivation, tumor cells activate DNA damage signaling pathways and begin to repair their DNA breaks. We have found evidence for activation of a functional DNA damage response both by immunofluorescent staining for phosphorylated ATM and Mre11, which demonstrates foci formation following MYC inactivation; and by the Comet assay, which shows a quantitative decrease in severity of DNA breaks following MYC inactivation. Our results suggest that MYC inactivation may induce tumor regression at least in part through the restoration of a DNA damage checkpoint response.
ReMixMatch: Semi-Supervised Learning with Distribution Alignment and Augmentation Anchoring

We improve the recently-proposed "MixMatch" semi-supervised learning algorithm by introducing two new techniques: distribution alignment and augmentation anchoring. Distribution alignment encourages the marginal distribution of predictions on unlabeled data to be close to the marginal distribution of ground-truth labels. Augmentation anchoring feeds multiple strongly augmented versions of an input into the model and encourages each output to be close to the prediction for a weakly-augmented version of the same input. To produce strong augmentations, we propose a variant of AutoAugment which learns the augmentation policy while the model is being trained. Our new algorithm, dubbed ReMixMatch, is significantly more data-efficient than prior work, requiring between $5\times$ and $16\times$ less data to reach the same accuracy. For example, on CIFAR-10 with 250 labeled examples we reach $93.73\%$ accuracy (compared to MixMatch's accuracy of $93.58\%$ with $4{,}000$ examples) and a median accuracy of $84.92\%$ with just four labels per class. We make our code and data open-source at this https URL.
Sphingolipids with Very Long-chain Fatty Acids Regulate Vacuole Fusion During Tethering and Docking

Abstract The role of sphingolipids in controlling the endolysosomal membrane trafficking remains unclear. Here, we show that in Saccharomyces cerevisiae sphingolipids containing very long-chain fatty-acids (VLCAs) promote homotypic vacuolar fusion. Yeast that lack the C26 VLCA elongase Elo3p display morphological and vacuolar abnormalities. Vacuoles isolated from these cells displayed reduced levels of in vitro fusion, which we traced to a block in tethering and docking. We found that C26 VLCFA deficient yeast mislocalize fusion markers, and the small GTPases Rho1p and Ypt7p fail to selectively concentrate at the boundary and vertex domains of vacuoles isolated from these yeasts. Surprisingly, we only observed mild changes to the localization of other regulatory lipids, but membrane fluidity and solubility was significantly altered. Taken together, these results suggest that sphingolipids containing C26 VLCFAs act as regulatory lipids in the homotypic vacuolar fusion cascade by assembling membrane microdomains that promote the protein and lipid machinery required for the tethering and docking of vacuoles. Summary Many sphingolipids contain very-long chain fatty-acids with 26 carbons. The deletion of Elo3, the elongase that adds the final two carbons results in pleiotropic effects that negatively alter membrane fusion at the tethering and docking stages.
Effect of roasting on site and extent of digestion of soybean meal by sheep: II. Digestion of artifacts of heating

Six mature wethers (BW 72 kg) with ruminal, duodenal, and ileal cannulas were fed a basal (no added soybean meal [SBM]) diet or diets containing unheated SBM or SBM roasted at 165 o C for 75, 150, 180 or 210 min in a 6×6 Latin square experiment. Concentrations of indicators of heat exposure (NDF, ADF, and ADIN) in SBM increased with increasing roasting time. Organic matter digestion characteristics were not affected (P>.05) by supplementation or roasting of SBM. Daily intakes of NDF, ADF, and ADIN were higher (P .05) by supplementation or roasting of SBM. Disappearance of NDF, ADF, and ADIN in the total tract (grams per day) were higher (P<.05) when wethers were fed SBM-containing diets than when they were fed the basal diet and also were higher (P<.05) when wethers were fed diets containing roasted SBM rather than those containing unheated SBM. Disappearance of NDF and ADIN in the total tract (percentages of intake) followed trends similar to those expressed as grams per day. It seems that, as concentrations of NDF, ADF, and ADIN in SBM increased due to heating, disappearance of these heating indices in the total tract also increased, the greatest proportion disappearing in the stomach
Single-access during Impella hemodynamic support utilizing the Railway system.

A single-access technique during mechanical circulatory support (MCS) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has been described for those patients where an additional arterial access site is not available or desired. This technique utilizes the Impella (Abiomed, Danvers, MA) 14 French (F) sheath as a single-access point, with a 7 F sheath through the 14 F sheath hemostatic valve next to the Impella catheter (Abiomed). However, this technique is limited to a 7 F sheath or smaller and can be difficult requiring multiple attempts and limit guide catheter manipulation. We describe a single-access technique utilizing the Impella (Abiomed) 14 F sheath and a standard 7 F guide catheter placed sheathless through the 14 F sheath hemostatic valve utilizing the Railway Sheathless Access System (Cortis, Santa Clara, CA).
Air transportation over-utilization in pediatric trauma patients

Abstract Background Air transportation can be a life-saving transfer modality for trauma patients. However, it is also costly and carries risk for air-crews and patients. We sought to examine the incidence of air transportation among pediatric trauma patients as well as the rate of over-triage in utilizing this intervention. Methods We conducted a single-institution retrospective review of all pediatric trauma patients who utilized air transportation, either from scene to hospital or hospital to hospital Emergency Department (ED) transfers, between 2013 and 2018. Results There were 348 pediatric trauma patients who utilized air transport. More than half of all patients (n = 186, 55.9%) were discharged from the hospital within 48 h, 121 (36.3%) were discharged within 24 h, and 34 (10.2%) were discharged home from the ED. The mean ISS was 11.2 ± 0.5 while only 31% had an ISS ≥ 15. There were 97 patients (27.9%) with elevated age adjusted shock index, and 101 patients (29.0%) who required time sensitive interventions. More than half of patients (59.3%) were initially taken to an outside hospital (OSH) and were then transferred to our facility by air while 40.4% were transported directly from scene to our institution by air. Patients who were transferred from an OSH were younger (6.8 ± 0.4 vs 11.2 ± 0.4, p Conclusions Air transportation among pediatric trauma patients from scene to hospital and hospital to hospital is over-utilized based on multiple metrics including low rates of ISS ≥ 15, elevated age-adjusted shock indexes, low rates of time sensitive intervention, as well as high rates of discharge within 24 and 48 h. Level of Evidence III Type of Study Clinical Research-retrospective review.
Outcomes of transcatheter aortic valve replacement in end stage liver and renal disease.

OBJECTIVES This study evaluates in-hospital, 30-day, and 1-year outcomes post-transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in end stage liver disease (ESLD) and/or end stage renal disease (ESRD) compared with patients without these comorbidities. BACKGROUND TAVR is an alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement in patients with ESLD and ESRD, though current outcomes data are limited. METHODS We compared 309 patients (N = 29 ESLD and/or ESRD, N = 280 control) age > 18 who underwent transfemoral TAVR from 2014 to 2020 have been compared. RESULTS Patients with ESLD and ESRD were younger (69.9 ± 11.7 vs. 79.1 ± 9.8, p < .01) with higher STS-PROM scores (8.1 ± 6.7 vs. 4.6 ± 3.9, p < .01). ESRD and ESLD patients had similar rates of in-hospital major vascular complications (3.4% vs. 3.2%, p = .96), major bleeding events (3.4% vs. 3.2%, p = .95), and mortality (0.0% vs. 1.8%, p = .47). Mortality rates were similar at 30-days (3.4% vs. 2.1%, p = .65) with trend to higher mortality at 6-months (6.9% vs. 3.2%, p = .31) and 1-year (15.4% vs. 7.0%, p = .13). Readmission rates were higher in the ESLD and ESRD cohort at 6-months (53.2% vs. 28.6%, p < .01) and 1-year (65.4% vs. 41.0%, p = .02). One patient received dual kidney-liver transplant, 1 patient received a liver transplant, and 7 additional patients were listed for transplant. CONCLUSION Patients with ESLD and/or ESRD who underwent TAVR had similar mortality at discharge and 30-days compared with patients without these comorbidities with a trend toward increased mortality at 1-year. This study suggests that TAVR is an option for aortic valve disease patients with ESRD and/or ESLD in order to remove cardiac barriers to liver or kidney transplant.
Design and Experimental Evaluation of Distributed Cooperative Transportation of Cable Suspended Payloads with Micro Aerial Vehicles

Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) can play an important role in helping to accomplish tasks that are physically too dangerous or complex for humans. A team of aerial robots can cooperatively transport objects that are too large or heavy to be carried by a single MAV. This paper address the design and experimental evaluation of a distributed cooperative control method for cooperative transportation of cable-suspended payloads using MAVs. The key contributions of this paper are: i) a distributed control method for cooperative transportation of cable-suspended payloads with a team of quadrotors is experimentally designed and evaluated and allows to control both the load position and orientation, ii) our solution is light-weight and can run on-board small robots equipped with computationally limited units, iii) we study and analyze the system’s performances and maneuverability based on different cable lengths.
A largely invariant marine dissolved organic carbon reservoir across Earth's history.

Marine dissolved organic carbon (DOC), the largest pool of reduced carbon in the oceans, plays an important role in the global carbon cycle and contributes to the regulation of atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide abundances. Despite its importance in global biogeochemical cycles, the long-term history of the marine DOC reservoir is poorly constrained. Nonetheless, significant changes to the size of the oceanic DOC reservoir through Earth’s history have been commonly invoked to explain changes to ocean chemistry, carbon cycling, and marine ecology. Here, we present a revised view of the evolution of marine DOC concentrations using a mechanistic carbon cycle model that can reproduce DOC concentrations in both oxic and anoxic modern environments. We use this model to demonstrate that the overall size of the marine DOC reservoir has likely undergone very little variation through Earth’s history, despite major changes in the redox state of the ocean–atmosphere system and the nature and efficiency of the biological carbon pump. A relatively static marine DOC reservoir across Earth’s history renders it unlikely that major changes in marine DOC concentrations have been responsible for driving massive repartitioning of surface carbon or the large carbon isotope excursions observed in Earth’s stratigraphic record and casts doubt on previously hypothesized links between marine DOC levels and the emergence and radiation of early animals.
Political ideology moderates White Americans’ reactions to racial demographic change:

An emerging body of research finds that exposure to the shifting racial demographics of a nation can engender concerns about racial group status among members of the dominant racial group. The pres...
Speed Control of Induction Motors Using Saturable Reactors [includes discussion]

Synopsis: With the progress in automation, there is a growing need for precise and stepless control of motor speeds in driving fans, pumps, conveyors, and all types of machines. Usually, d-c motors with field and/or voltage control, or induction motors driving the load through eddy-current clutches, are employed for this purpose. In this paper, another method of induction-motor speed control is considered; it employs feedback controlled saturable reactors in series with the motor windings. The performance of the reactor speed-control scheme is considered as a problem in power modulation, in which an electric energy source forms the input, and controlled torque and speed are the desired outputs. This method does not require a d-c power supply, or any commutators or power tubes. In addition to an essentially standard induction motor, the scheme only uses readily available reactors and control circuits. The direct current required for the control is only 1 or 2 % (per cent) of the motor rating, and can readily be supplied from amplistats, or equivalent devices, just as in the case of the clutch. Calculated and test data are given, showing that this method of speed control allows the speed of a wound-rotor induction motor to be set at any desired value between 100% forward and 100% backward, and to be held nearly constant at the set value, over a full range of torque from plus (motoring) to minus (braking), up to the maximum torque value.
Response of SI cortex to ipsilateral, contralateral and bilateral flutter stimulation in the cat

Background A distinctive property of SII is that it is the first cortical stage of the somatosensory projection pathway that integrates information arising from both sides of the body. However, there is very little known about how inputs across the body mid-line are processed within SII.
Improved performance due to fast electronic escape in MQW p-i-n solar cells

This study relates device performance and carrier escape sequence in p-i(MQW)-n solar cells and experimental and theoretical investigations are undertaken. Carrier escape mechanisms and, in particular, the order at which holes and electrons escape from their respective well potentials are found to have a profound impact on device performance. In these InP/InAsP MQW solar cells, the light hole was found to be the first carrier to escape from the quantum wells. As a consequence, a faster electronic escape time as compared to heavy holes escape time is found to be important in these devices. MQW solar cells with high built-in electric field and fast electron escape time display better open circuit voltage and performance.
Spatial solitons with controllable degree of coherence

Summary form only given. We show that noninstantaneous, logarithmically saturable nonlinear media support another important class of solitons, namely twisted Gaussian Shell-model solitons. We apply second-order coherence theory in the space-time representation together with a self-consistent multimode approach to obtain a closed-form analytical expression for the cross-correlation function of such solitons.
The cooperative capital constraint revisited

Purpose – There is little reason a priori to expect that a cooperative firm’s capital needs are different from a non-cooperative firm’s needs if the two firms are otherwise similar in function and size and operate within similar market economies. However, the notion that cooperatives face capital constraints that investor-owned firms (IOFs) do not is a persistent theme in the literature. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The authors revisit this hypothesis with an empirical examination of capital constraints in a panel data set of US agricultural supply and grain cooperatives and IOFs. Findings – The findings are mixed. While the authors find little to suggest that cooperatives face financial constraints on borrowing in the short run, relative to IOFs, the authors do find some evidence that for long-term investments, a capital constraint may exist. Originality/value – These short and long run differences have implications for the survival and growth of agricultural coop...