cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The State of the Academy: A Review Essay

Two recent books (Professor X, In the Basement of the Ivory Tower and Arum and Roksa, Academically Adrift) both indict American higher education and, at least implicitly, compare its situation today with that of an idealized past when college students were better and professors had it easy. In the Basement of the Ivory Tower describes the experiences “Professor X,” who writes colorfully and provocatively about the time he had spent as an adjunct instructor of English teaching evening classes at two regional schools. Academically Adrift is written by two sociologists, with the assistance of several graduate students, and it received very wide press coverage when it appeared in 2011 because of its claim that despite the vast amounts of money being spent by American students to get a college education, most of them aren’t learning very much. Together, these works lead us to ask whether progress is possible in the diverse and baffling environment of current college teaching and to wonder what that progress would look like.
Evolutionary Robustness Checking in the Artificial Anasazi Model

Using the well-known Artificial Anasazi simulation for a case study, we investigate the use of genetic algorithms (GAs) for performing two common tasks related to robustness checking of agent-based models: parameter calibration and sensitivity analysis. In the calibration task, we demonstrate that a GA approach is able to find parameters that are equally good or better at minimizing error versus historical data, compared to a previous factorial grid-based approach. The GA approach also allows us to explore a wider range of parameters and parameter settings. Previous univariate sensitivity analysis on the Artificial Anasazi model did not consider potentially complex/nonlinear interactions between parameters. With the GA-based approach, we perform multivariate sensitivity analysis to discover how greatly the model can diverge from historical data, while the parameters are constrained within a close range of previously calibrated values. We show that by varying multiple parameters within a 10% range, the model can produce dramatically and qualitatively different results, and further demonstrate the utility of sensitivity analysis for model testing, by the discovery of a small coding error. Through this case study, we discuss some of the issues that can arise with calibration and sensitivity analysis of agent-based models.
Choreographing the extended agent: performance graphics for dance theater

The marriage of dance and interactive image has been a persistent dream over the past decades, but reality has fallen far short of potential for both technical and conceptual reasons. This thesis proposes a new approach to the problem and lays out the theoretical, technical and aesthetic framework for the innovative art form of digitally augmented human movement. I will use as example works a series of installations, digital projections and compositions each of which contains a choreographic component---either through collaboration with a choreographer directly or by the creation of artworks that automatically organize and understand purely virtual movement. These works lead up to two unprecedented collaborations with two of the greatest choreographers working today; new pieces that combine dance and interactive projected light using real-time motion capture live on stage. The existing field of "dance technology" is one with many problems. This is a domain with many practitioners, few techniques and almost no theory; a field that is generating "experimental" productions with every passing week, has literally hundreds of citable pieces and no canonical works; a field that is oddly disconnected from modern dance's history, pulled between the practical realities of the body and those of computer art, and has no influence on the prevailing digital art paradigms that it consumes. This thesis will seek to address each of these problems: by providing techniques and a basis for "practical theory"; by building artworks with resources and people that have never previously been brought together, in theaters and in front of audiences previously inaccessible to the field; and by proving through demonstration that a profitable and important dialogue between digital art and the pioneers of modern dance can in fact occur. The methodological perspective of this thesis is that of biologically inspired, agent-based artificial intelligence, taken to a high degree of technical depth. The representations, algorithms and techniques behind such agent architectures are extended and pushed into new territory for both interactive art and artificial intelligence. In particular, this thesis will focus on the control structures and the rendering of the extended agents bodies, the tools for creating complex agent-based artworks in intense collaborative situations, and the creation of agent structures that can span live image and interactive sound production. Each of these parts becomes an element of what it means to "choreograph" an extended agent for live performance. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)
Extracellular ATP-mediated propagation of Ca2+waves.Focus on “Mechanical strain-induced Ca2+ waves are propagated via ATP release and purinergic receptor activation”

why would a cell want to release its ATP? For physiologists and cell biologists studying extracellular purinergic signaling, this is the question that keeps us awake at night. Those scientists who doubt that a cell would want to do such a horrible thing suggest that cell lysis, cell damage, or some
Fundamental Properties of Financial Accounting Measures of Corporate Income Tax Liabilities

This paper examines two financial accounting measures of corporate income tax liabilities: the deferred tax liability and the average effective tax rate. It derives the appropriate way to discount the deferred tax liability for valuation purposes. It also shows that effective tax rates based on financial accounting data fail to detect tax- favored investments that do not generate temporary differences. A new measure based on stock market returns detects tax-favored investments, regardless of whether they generate book-tax differences. However, the market based measure contains a source of measurement error not found in accounting based measures
The Progressive Era Revolution in American Attitudes toward Sex

IN the optimistic and melioristic progressive atmosphere of the early twentieth century, many reform movements flourished. The supporters of each one attempted in some specific way to alter institutions and beliefs characteristic of their culture in that period. Of all progressive reform movements, the most extraordinary was the social hygiene movement, a campaign to change American attitudes toward sex. As a typical reform movement it illustrates how people of the progressive generation attempted by manipulating the social environment, especially through the use of education, to change attitudes and behavior. The unusual quality of the movement derives from both the ambitious nature of the goal and the extent to which the reformers succeeded. The so-called revolution in morals became one of the lasting legacies of progressivism to American life.,
Cytotoxicity of bezafibrate on human rhabdomyosarcoma RD cells via peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors α signaling pathways

OBJECTIVE To investigate the cytotoxicity of bezafibrate as a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α(PPARα) ligand on human rhabdomyosarcoma RD cells and possible mechanisms.METHODS RD cell viability was determined using WST-1 assay after bezafibrate 0(normal control),10,30,100,300 and 1000 μmol·L-1 was incubated for 24 h.MK886 1 μmol·L-1 combined with different concentrations of bezafibrate worked on RD cells for 24 h.The expression of PPARα mRNA and pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4(PDK4) mRNA was analyzed by real-time RT-PCR.RESULTS Bezafibrate 10,30,100 μmol·L-1 had no effect on cell survival while bezafibrate 300 and 1000 μmol·L-1 treatment inhibited cell survival by 13% and 31%(P 0.01),respectively.Bezafibrate 300 and 1000 μmol·L-1 up-regulated PPARα mRNA expression 2 and 3 times compared with the normal control group(P 0.05),respectively.There was no significant difference between MK886-combined groups in PPARα mRNA expression;but the upregulation of PPARα mRNA expression in bezafibrate 300 and 1000 μmol·L-1 alone group was significantly inhibited(P 0.05).Compared with normal control group,bezafibrate 10,30,100,300 and 1000 μmol·L-1 alone groups or MK886-combined groups significantly up-regulated PDK4 mRNA expression(P 0.01).The combination with MK886 can,however,lower the upregulation of PDK4 mRNA expression in bezafibrate 100,300 and 1000 μmol·L-1 alone groups by 44%,60% and 63%(P 0.05).CONCLUSION Benzafibrate induces obvious cytotoxicity to RD cells,and PPARα signaling pathways are a possible mechanism.
The Effects of Body Position on Bioimpedance Spectroscopy

Bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS), which measures the resistance (R) and reactance (Xc) to a low amperage current over a predetermined range of frequencies, expands the application of bioimpedance technology. By using appropriate modeling procedures, it is possible to estimate the R of the extracellular (Recf) and intracellular (Ricf) fluids as well as other parameters describing cell characteristics.1 Kanai et al.1 have demonstrated the application of BIS to study fluid shifts during exercise and hemodialysis.
Synthesis and activity of benzimidazole-1,3-dioxide inhibitors of separase.

Abstract Due to the oncogenic activity of cohesin protease, separase in human cancer cells, modulation of separase enzymatic activity could constitute a new therapeutic strategy for targeting resistant, separase-overexpressing aneuploid tumors. Herein, we report the synthesis, structural information, and structure–activity relationship (SAR) of separase inhibitors based on modification of the lead molecule 2,2-dimethyl-5-nitro-2H-benzimidazole-1,3-dioxide, named Sepin-1, (1) identified from a high-throughput-screen. Replacement of –NO2 at C5 with other functional groups reduce the inhibitory activity in separase enzymatic assay. Substitution of the two methyl groups with other alkyl chains at the C2 moderately improves the effects on the inhibitory activity of those compounds. Modifications on 2H-benzimidazole-1,3-dioxide or the skeleton have variable effect on inhibition of separase enzymatic activity. Density-functional theory (DFT) calculations suggest there may be a correlation between the charges on the oxide moieties on these compounds and their activity in inhibiting separase enzyme.
Scheherazade’s Fellowship

Some of the narratives I discussed in the previous chapter present ‘bad’ communities, others describe ‘good’ communities in disarray, and still others portray the absence of communities altogether. The gyneceum at Roissy in Story of O, where women live in sexual subjugation to men, is an intact but negative community. Kafka’s penal colony, not a positive model in the first place, seems like the execution machine itself to be disintegrating. The Chinese-Americans in California in The Woman Warrior cannot maintain the solidarity — which itself was often sustained by brutality — of their villages back in old China. The desert expedition ‘community’ of Voss stumbles toward fragmentation and death, while the Colony outside Sydney (in a country partly settled as a penal colony!) is troubled by all sorts of tensions and conflicts. The couple in ‘The Anatomy of Bliss’ seem to have no community at all to turn to, only the psychiatrist, and the extended family of ‘Crazy, Crazy, Now Showing Everywhere’ fails to give the necessary support to its most troubled member.
Class E zero-current-switching rectifier with a series inductor

An analysis of a class-E zero-current-switching (low di/dt) rectifier is presented. The circuit consists of a rectifier diode, an inductor connected in series with the diode, and a filter capacitor. The addition of the series inductor allows the rectifier to decouple the diode on-duty cycle and the output voltage ripple. The series inductor sets the value of the diode on-duty cycle, which can be large, e.g. 0.5. The filter capacitor independently sets the level of the ripple. The diode turns on at zero di/dt and low dv/dt and turns off at low mod dt/dt mod , reducing switching losses, switching noise, and reverse-recovery current. >
Indeterminate but Likely Unimportant Extracolonic Findings at Screening CT Colonography (C-RADS Category E3): Incidence and Outcomes Data From a Clinical Screening Program.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to analyze the incidence and outcomes of unsuspected indeterminate but likely unimportant extracolonic findings (CT Colonography Reporting and Data System [C-RADS] category E3) at screening CT colonography (CTC). MATERIALS AND METHODS. Over 99 months (April 2004 through June 2012), 7952 consecutive adults without symptoms of colorectal cancer (4277 women, 3675 men; mean age ± SD, 56.7 ± 7.3 years) underwent first-time screening CTC. Findings prospectively placed into C-RADS category E3 were retrospectively reviewed, including follow-up (range, 2–10 years) and ultimate clinical outcome. RESULTS. Unsuspected C-RADS category E3 extracolonic findings were detected in 9.1% (725/7952) of our patient population. A total of 751 category E3 findings were detected among these 725 patients; 25 patients had multiple findings. Commonly involved organ systems included gynecologic (24.4%, 183/751), genitourinary (20.9%, 157/751), lung (20.6%, 155/751), and gastrointestinal (16.1%...
Recent progress in the development of high frequency gyrotron oscillators

Research on the development of high-frequency (>100 GHz) gyrotron oscillators is discussed. As part of a program to develop high-power sources for ECR (electron cyclotron resonance) heating of fusion plasmas, a cylindrical cavity with an interaction length of 6 lambda and diffractive Q of 420 has been used to produce output powers up to 765 kW in the TE/sub 16.2.1/ mode at 148 GHz. This corresponds to an efficiency of 22% based on a 96-kV, 36-A beam. The coupling of the electron beam to different azimuthal rotations of the cavity mode was also observed and found to be consistent with the radial position of the beam in the cavity. Submillimeter sources appropriate for space-based radar systems are also being developed. In recent experiments, the use of a motheye window with high reflectivity at submillimeter wavelengths has resulted in second-harmonic emission at frequencies up to 503 GHz. >
Do biofilm communities respond to the chemical signatures of fracking? A test involving streams in North-central Arkansas

Unconventional natural gas (UNG) extraction (fracking) is ongoing in 29 North American shale basins (20 states), with ~6000 wells found within the Fayetteville shale (north-central Arkansas). If the chemical signature of fracking is detectable in streams, it can be employed to bookmark potential impacts. We evaluated benthic biofilm community composition as a proxy for stream chemistry so as to segregate anthropogenic signatures in eight Arkansas River catchments. In doing so, we tested the hypothesis that fracking characteristics in study streams are statistically distinguishable from those produced by agriculture or urbanization. Four tributary catchments had UNG-wells significantly more dense and near to our sampling sites and were grouped as ‘potentially-impacted catchment zones’ (PICZ). Four others were characterized by significantly larger forested area with greater slope and elevation but reduced pasture, and were classified as ‘minimally-impacted’ (MICZ). Overall, 46 bacterial phyla/141 classes were identified, with 24 phyla (52%) and 54 classes (38%) across all samples. PICZ-sites were ecologically more variable than MICZ-sites, with significantly greater nutrient levels (total nitrogen, total phosphorous), and elevated Cyanobacteria as bioindicators that tracked these conditions. PICZ-sites also exhibited elevated conductance (a correlate of increased ion concentration) and depressed salt-intolerant Spartobacteria, suggesting the presence of brine as a fracking effect. Biofilm communities at PICZ-sites were significantly less variable than those at MICZ-sites. Study streams differed by Group according to morphology, land use, and water chemistry but not in biofilm community structure. Those at PICZ-sites covaried according to anthropogenic impact, and were qualitatively similar to communities found at sites disturbed by fracking. The hypothesis that fracking signatures in study streams are distinguishable from those produced by other anthropogenic effects was statistically rejected. Instead, alterations in biofilm community composition, as induced by fracking, may be less specific than initially predicted, and thus more easily confounded by agriculture and urbanization effects (among others). Study streams must be carefully categorized with regard to the magnitude and extent of anthropogenic impacts. They must also be segregated with statistical confidence (as herein) before fracking impacts are monitored.
Stereoscopic First Person View System for Drone Navigation

Ground control of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) is key to the advancement of this technology for commercial purposes. Not only because handover situations will require humans to take control over the drones when autonomous systems fail. But also, because training deep neural network based control systems require extensive real world data, and capturing meaningful and diverse data is a bottleneck. This axiom is even more prominent for the case of unmanned flying robots where there is no simple solution to capture optimal navigation footage. In such scenarios, improving the ground control and developing better autonomous systems are two sides of the same coin. To improve the ground control experience, and thus the quality of the footage, we propose to upgrade on-boad teleoperation systems to a fully immersive setup that provides operators with a stereoscopic First Person View through a Virtual Reality (VR) Head Mounted Display (HMD). We tested users (n=7) by asking them to fly our drone on the field. Test flights showed that operators flying our system can take off, fly and land successfully while wearing VR headsets. Additionally, we ran two experiments with pre-recorded videos of the flights and walks to a wider set of participants (n=69 and n=20) to compare the proposed technology to the experience provided by current drone FPV solutions that only include monoscopic vision. Our immersive stereoscopic setup enables higher accuracy depth perception, which has clear implications for achieving better teleoperation and unmanned navigation. Our studies show comprehensive data on the impact of motion and simulator sickness in case of stereoscopic setup. We present the device specifications as well as the measures that improve teleoperation experience and reduce induced simulator sickness. Our approach provides higher perception fidelity during flights, which leads to a more precise better teleoperation and ultimately translates into better flight data for training deep UAV control policies.
Bond valence and bond energy

The relationship between bond valence and structural energy has never been fully explored, although several predictive models have assumed some simple relationship between the two. Some of these models relate energy only to bond valence, while others also take into account other factors, such as bond character. We examined periodic trends in bond dissociation energies as a function of their ionicity, covalency, and metallicity, defined in terms of the electronegativity values of the atoms involved. A statistical model was optimized to describe these trends, allowing us to generate rough bond energy vs. bond valence curves. The shapes of these curves vary dramatically as a function of bond character, and are strongly influenced by the lone-pair bond-weakening effect. The curve shapes can be used to rationalize several chemical trends, including the preferred structures of compounds with different bond types, the prevalence of peroxide and persulfide minerals, preferred bond lengths in oxides, and the p K a values of (hydr)oxy-acids. The last is perhaps the most important, because some valence-based acidity models are in current use, despite the fact that some aspects of their rationale are unclear.
Patellar Fractures and Extensor Mechanism Injuries

Comprehensive workup for patellar fracture (Fig. 46.1) or other extensor mechanism injury includes evaluation of open vs. closed injury, neurovascular status, associated injuries, and displacement.
Urban vs. rural differences in insurance coverage and impact on employment among families caring for a child with cerebral palsy

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine urban vs. rural differences on the relationship between family contextual variables and adequacy of insurance coverage and impact on employment ...
189 Impact of disease activity on organ damage risk over time in systemic lupus erythematosus (sle) –the hopkins lupus cohort

Background and aims Disease activity increases risk of irreversible organ damage in SLE. To understand the impact of disease activity (SELENA-SLEDAI) and proportion of time with a certain level of disease activity on risk of developing new organ damage (SLICC/SCR Damage Index (SDI) score). Methods Cox Proportional hazard models were used to estimate the impact of disease activity as time-dependent variables on the risk of developing any new organ damage over time. Results Patients (n=2199) were followed for an average of 6.2 years (mean age at cohort entry, 38.0 years; mean disease duration, 5.1 years). The most frequent types of organ damage occurring over time were ocular (cataract) and musculoskeletal (osteoporotic fractures). In Model 1, excluding the variable ”proportion of clinic visits with SLEDAI score >6,” age, and SDI score at cohort entry, SLEDAI score during follow-up and corticosteroid use during follow-up were significant predictors of risk of developing any new organ damage. When including the ”proportion of clinic visits with SLEDAI score >6” (Model 2), SLEDAI score during follow-up was no longer significant. in Model 3, excluding the time-dependent variable ”SLEDAI score during follow-up” from the model, the effect of “proportion of clinic visits with SLEDAI score >5 was slightly reduced but remained significant. Conclusions Higher organ damage risk was observed in patients with high levels of disease activity for a greater time compared to those with high levels of disease activity for a lesser time. These findings call for active measures to control disease activity over time in SLE.
Robot-assisted transvesical partial prostatectomy using a purpose-built single-port robotic system.

Objectives To evaluate the feasibility of robot-assisted single-port (SP) transvesical partial prostatectomy (TVPP) using a novel purpose-built SP surgical platform in a pre-clinical model. Methods The cadavers were placed in the lithotomy position. A 3-cm midline incision was made in the suprapubic area 4-cm from the symphisis pubis. After opening the Retzius space, an access mini device (GelPOINT; Applied Medical, Rancho Margarita, CA, USA) was introduced percutaneously directly into the bladder. The da Vinci SP1098 robotic platform (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, CA, USA) was docked to the GelPOINT by inserting a novel SP cannula through the GelSeal Cap. The surgical steps for en bloc anterior prostatectomy were performed in the following order: (i) antegrade dissection of the transition zone at the bladder neck; (ii) lateral excision of the peripheral zone; and (iii) urethrovesical anastomosis. Primary outcomes, such as intra-operative complications, rate of conversion to standard techniques and operating times, were recorded. Results The SP-TVPP procedure was technically completed in three male cadavers. All cases were completed successfully using the da Vinci SP1098 surgical system without conversion or the need for additional ports. There were no intra-operative complications. The mean total operating time was 49.3 min. Conclusion Robot-assisted TVPP is feasible using a novel purpose-built SP surgical platform in a cadaver model. Future clinical evaluation in humans is needed for assessment on patients with anterior localized prostate cancer. Prospective comparison with other surgical platforms and standard techniques is warranted.
Geothermal Development Update

The socioeconomic characteristics and geophysical parameters for Imperial County have undergone detailed exploration in earlier chapters. The unfolding of geothermal development in a real community, however, is not an orderly process. The manner in which the county actually will be impacted by geothermal development depends partly on chance combinations of local and extralocal decision making and events. The goal of this chapter is to present the chain of recent events in Imperial County’s geothermal development process. With knowledge of the latest geothermal events, the policy and research recommendations presented in Chapters 1 and 9 can be viewed in the context of what has happened so far in the development process.
Bypass of DNA Damage by RNA Polymerases

We have placed various DNA base damage products into single, defined locations on the template or nontemplate strands of model gene segments and carried out in vitro transcription experiments with phage RNA polymerases and E. coli RNA polymerase. The DNA damages investigated are representative of several major classes of base modifications and include uracil (cytosine deamination product), dihydrouracil (pyrimidine ring saturation product), abasic sites (depurination product), 8-oxoguanine (purine oxidative damage product), and O6-methylguanine (alkylation damage product). In addition to transcription elongation, we have also investigated the effects of some of these damages on promoter clearance. All of these DNA base damages are bypassed efficiently under both single and multiple round transcription conditions by RNA polymerase (with or without brief pausing at the lesion site) and result in mutagenic insertions in the resulting transcripts. We term this process transcriptional mutagenesis and speculate that it may have several important biological consequences with respect to DNA repair as well as the mechanisms which lead to the generation of mutant proteins.
New Towns Intown

Many of the things we are trying to do in our cities—the modernization of the city plant, the provision of better housing and facilities, the elimination of poverty and disadvantage—can be greatly advanced by an overall, integrating concept. I would propose the New Town Intown as such a concept.
10 MWe Solar Thermal Central Receiver Pilot Plant Overview Part I

The 10MWe Solar Thermal Central Receiver Pilot Plant located at Barstow, California, also known as Solar One, is a scale model of a 100 MWe electrical generating plant. Its primary purpose is to provide information for future central receiver power plants. Constructed at a cost of $141.5M, Solar One first delivered electricity to the commercial grid in April 1982. Solar One, consisting of a steam/water receiver surrounded by 1818 heliostats, has met many performance milestones including lOMWe net from receiver steam and 7 MWe net from storage steam. This paper presents an overview to the Solar One plant and assesses the plant’s performance as well as the performance of the heliostats, the beam characterization system, the receiver, and the thermal storage subsystem.
THEORIES AND METHODS IN CLASSIFICATION: A REVIEW

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the theories and methods used in classification. It presents a general theory regarding classification into known distributions, rules based on ranks, rules based on tolerance regions, rules based on distances between empirical CDFs, nearest neighbor rules, rules with density estimates, nonparametric or distribution-free methods, classification into more than two multivariate normal populations, classification into two multivariate normal populations with different covariance matrices, compound-decision and empirical Bayes approaches, and general theory of classification when the information about the distribution is based on samples. A best-of-class or constructive rule is given by the one that optimizes certain specified criteria in a given class. The so-called nonparametric or distribution-free methods are used in statistical inference when one is concerned with a wide class of distributions that usually cannot be expressed as a parametric family with a finite number of parameters.
State-dependent effects of the D 2 partial agonist aripiprazole on dopamine neuron activity in the MAM neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia.

Aripiprazole is an antipsychotic drug characterized by partial agonist activity at D2 receptors to normalize both hyperdopaminergic and hypodopaminergic states. Traditional D2 antagonist antipsychotic drugs have been shown previously to reduce dopamine neuron activity through action on D2 autoreceptors to produce an overexcitation-induced cessation of cell firing, referred to as depolarization block. It is unclear whether aripiprazole reduces dopamine neuron activity via inhibition or, as seen following D2 antagonist administration, depolarization block. The impact of acute and repeated aripiprazole treatment was examined in the methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) rodent model to observe its effects on a hyperdopaminergic system, compared to normal rats. We found that administration of aripiprazole acutely or after 1 or 7 days of withdrawal from 21-day repeated treatment led to a decrease in the number of spontaneously active dopamine neurons in MAM rats but not in controls. This reduction was not reversed by apomorphine (100–200 µg/kg i.p. or 20 µg/kg i.v.) administration, suggesting that it was not due to depolarization block. In contrast, 1 h after induction of depolarization block of dopamine neurons by acute haloperidol treatment (0.6 mg/kg i.p.), aripiprazole (1 mg/kg, i.p.) reversed the depolarization block state. Therefore, aripiprazole rapidly reduced the hyperdopaminergic activity selectively in MAM rats. The reduction is unlikely due to depolarization block and persists following 7-day withdrawal from repeated treatment. Aripiprazole also removes haloperidol-induced depolarization block in MAM rats, which may underlie the acute psychotic state often observed with switching to this treatment.
Movement of the RecG Motor Domain upon DNA Binding Is Required for Efficient Fork Reversal

RecG catalyzes reversal of stalled replication forks in response to replication stress in bacteria. The protein contains a fork recognition (“wedge”) domain that binds branched DNA and a superfamily II (SF2) ATPase motor that drives translocation on double-stranded (ds)DNA. The mechanism by which the wedge and motor domains collaborate to catalyze fork reversal in RecG and analogous eukaryotic fork remodelers is unknown. Here, we used electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy to probe conformational changes between the wedge and ATPase domains in response to fork DNA binding by Thermotoga maritima RecG. Upon binding DNA, the ATPase-C lobe moves away from both the wedge and ATPase-N domains. This conformational change is consistent with a model of RecG fully engaged with a DNA fork substrate constructed from a crystal structure of RecG bound to a DNA junction together with recent cryo-electron microscopy (EM) structures of chromatin remodelers in complex with dsDNA. We show by mutational analysis that a conserved loop within the translocation in RecG (TRG) motif that was unstructured in the RecG crystal structure is essential for fork reversal and DNA-dependent conformational changes. Together, this work helps provide a more coherent model of fork binding and remodeling by RecG and related eukaryotic enzymes.
Predictors of Self-Reported Anxiety and Panic Symptoms: An Evaluation of Anxiety Sensitivity, Suffocation Fear, Heart-Focused Anxiety, and Breath-Holding Duration

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which anxiety-related individual difference variables predict anxious responding when individuals experience aversive bodily sensations. Thus, we explore several psychological and behavioral predictors of response to a single 25-sec inhalation of 20% carbon dioxide-enriched air in 70 nonclinical participants. Predictor variables included anxiety sensitivity, suffocation fear, heart-focused anxiety, and breath-holding duration. Multiple regression analyses indicated that only anxiety sensitivity significantly predicted postchallenge panic symptoms, whereas both anxiety sensitivity and suffocation fear predicted postchallenge anxiety. These data are in accord with current models of panic disorder that emphasize the role of “fear of fear” in producing heightened anxiety and panic symptoms and help clarify specific predictors of anxiety-related responding to biological challenge.
Data-driven sensitivity analysis for matching estimators

Abstract This paper proposes a sensitivity analysis test of unobservable selection for matching estimators based on a “leave-one-covariate-out” (LOCO) algorithm. Rooted in the machine learning literature, this sensitivity test performs a bootstrap over different subsets of covariates, and simulates various estimation scenarios to be compared with the baseline matching results. We provide an empirical application, comparing results with more traditional sensitivity tests.
Halide Directed Synthesis of an In-Derived Metal–Organic Framework with Two Unique Metal Centers and Isolation of Its Potential Synthetic Precursor

The mechanism of formation of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) is an emerging field, where each new discovery propels the field forward. Often, studies focus on studying nucleation events with advan...
A Heterogeneously Integrated Silicon Photonic/Lithium Niobate Platform for RF Photonics

We present a 30 GHz heterogeneously integrated silicon photonic/lithium niobate Mach-Zehnder modulator simultaneously utilizing the strong Pockels effect in LiNbO 3
System Innovations in Inter Data Center Transport Networks

We review the most important WDM DCI system innovations. State-of-the-art coherent transmission has already exceeded 6 b/s/Hz, using subcarrier modulation. The adoption of software innovations in automation and programmability, that DCI pioneered in transport networks, has also simplified operations and enables the emergence of “open” transport architectures. Combining these advancements with emerging network analytics frameworks allows exciting innovations in network design and management optimization.
Free Energy Profiles of Adsorption of Surfactant Micelles at Metal-Water Interfaces

We have studied adsorption behaviour of cationic and uncharged surfactant molecules and their micelles at metal-water interfaces via all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Our simulations re...
Grappling with Complexity: Faculty Perspectives on the Influence of Community-Engaged Teaching on Student Learning.

The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine college and university faculty members’ perspectives on if and in what ways does community engaged teaching influence their students’ learning. We ground our study in the tradition of interpretative study, as well as the conceptualization of learning put forth by Neumann (2005). Based on interviews with 14 faculty members (across a range of institutional type, rank, discipline, geographic location, and demographics) who have conducted community engaged teaching currently or within the past five years, participants’ narratives highlighted a meta-theme of their students learning to grapple with complexity. Grappling with complexity is comprised of three sub-themes of learning, including: recognizing the intricacies of applying theory to real-world problems, shifting from deficit to asset thinking, and confronting power structures in society. Implications for theory and practice are included.
Agency in Real Time? Situating Teachers’ Efforts Toward Inclusion in the Context of Local and Enduring Struggles

BackgroundTeacher preparation for critical special education and inclusive education is premised on the ways in which dominant schooling discourses have unfairly positioned students with disabiliti...
Predictive Value of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Based Coronal Lateral Collateral Ligament Sign on Adolescent Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Graft Failure.

Background:The coronal lateral collateral ligament (LCL) sign is the presence of the full length of the LCL visualized on a single coronal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) slice at the posterolater...
Association of Accelerometer-Measured Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL)

Introduction:Evidence regarding the associations between accelerometer-measured moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and cardiovascular health (CVH) indicators among Hispanic/Latino adults ar...
Dynamical system learning using extreme learning machines with safety and stability guarantees

Summary This article presents a continuous dynamical system model learning methodology that can be used to generate reference trajectories for the autonomous systems to follow, such that these traj...
High-Performance and Energy-Efficient FPGA-GPU-CPU Heterogeneous System Implementation

Since Moore’s law is slowing down, CPU optimizations and multi-core architectures are exposing more and more limitations in energy efficiency and high performance. No single architecture can be best for every workload due to incredible diversity. Inspired by GPUs that have been widely deployed as accelerators in the past few years to speed up different types of tasks, FPGA-GPU (field-programmable gate array and graphic processing unit) heterogeneous computing can optimize traditional system architecture. In this paper, we port six benchmark kernels to the FPGA-GPU-CPU heterogeneous system, selecting the most suitable hardware architecture for every task. Implement performance-oriented and energy-efficient-oriented kernel launch on this system. Due to the recent improvements in high-level synthesis and Intel FPGA SDK for OpenCL, it is convenient for FPGA to cooperate with GPU within a heterogeneous computing system.
The Variable Linear Transmission for Regenerative Damping in Vehicle Suspension Control

This paper introduces the concept of regenerative damping in vibration control, the storage of energy normally dissipated by a passive viscous damper. A device, the Variable Linear Transmission, is proposed to accomplish this task. Analysis of the proposed device as a damper in a typical passenger vehicle is conducted for the cases in which the device's active component operates ideally and with actuation dynamics included. Results indicate that regenerative vibration control is feasible and can provide damping nearly identical to that of a passive viscous damper while storing the damped energy.
Principles of Radiotherapy in Urologic Tumors

Attempts at using radiation for treating human malignancies began soon after the discovery of x-rays by Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895. Radiotherapy is a local treatment-modality in which ionizing radiation is delivered to areas either with gross tumor or with a high-risk of harboring microscopic disease. It is essentially noninvasive when delivered from an external source (teletherapy) or minimally invasive when using implanted radioactive sources (brachytherapy). Over the past century, advances in the understanding of the physics and biology of radiotherapy, as well as developments in imaging and radiation sources, have led to improved efficacy of radiation in controlling cancers while decreasing toxicity. Currently, radiotherapy plays a central role in the management of many genitourinary malignancies, for both definitive management of localized disease and palliation of metastatic disease.
Human Behavior Genetics

Since the publication of the first edition of this handbook (Cattell, 1966), behavior genetics has become almost completely multivariate in character. This development was inevitable given the nature of the research, conceptualization of the problems under investigation, advances in multivariate methodology, and the advent of fast computers.
Newer therapeutics for hepatitis C

Chronic hepatitis C affects over 180 million people and is responsible for 3-4 million new infections each year worldwide (1). Most newly infected patients go on to develop persistent liver disease characterize by viremia and progressive liver fibrosis (2). Over time, many chronically infected patients develop liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma and liver failure. Chronic hepatitis C remains the premier cause for liver transplantation in the Western World (3). Chronic hepatitis C is a curable disease with people achieving sustained virologic response (SVR: absence of plasma HCV RNA 12 weeks after stopping treatment). Until recently, treatment for hepatitis C included use of pegylated interferon-α (IFN-α) and ribavirin, which resulted in modest cure rates, despite having significant dose limiting adverse reactions (4). Recently, new class of antiviral agents termed directly acting antiviral agents (DAA) have been shown to achieve high rates of cure for HCV without the use of IFN-α (5). However, wide use of such DAA only regimens is restricted by cost and availability of new providers with expertise in management of hepatitis C (6). Hence, it is ideal if we can develop more affordable agents with antiviral efficacy for the treatment of hepatitis C infection.
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy administration and time to cystectomy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer: An evaluation of transitions between academic and community settings

Objectives Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) before radical cystectomy is the standard of care for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). Many patients are referred to an academic medical center (AMC) for cystectomy but receive NAC in the community setting. This study examines if administration of NAC in the community is associated with differences in type of NAC received, pathologic response rate (pT0), and time to cystectomy as compared to NAC administered at an AMC.
Recurrent subependymoma of fourth ventricle with unusual atypical histological features: A case report

Subependymoma is a rare subtype of benign ependymal neoplasm with distinct histological features. Anaplastic transformation has not yet been reported in this tumor to date. We present here a very unusual case of a 62-year-old woman with recurrent subependymoma of the fourth ventricle with multiple atypical histological features. Histologically, the resected recurrent tumor showed characteristic small cell clusters and nests of ependymal cells with an interspersed gliofibrillary matrix as seen in a classic subependymoma. In addition, there were very unusual histological features, including multiple areas of necrosis, microvascular proliferation, thrombosed blood vessels, and scattered mitotic figures. No coexisting ependymoma component of higher World Health Organization (WHO) grade was present. Immunohistochemically, MIB-1 labeling index was high, with up to 15% in the highest areas. Review of this patient's initial tumor, which was resected 6 years prior to recurrence, demonstrated features of a typical classic subependymoma without atypical features or a secondary tumor component. Subependymomas are known to be low-grade tumors and are usually cured if completely excised. The tumor presented here is unique in that several atypical pathological features were found in an otherwise typical subependymoma. Our case may represent anaplastic transformation of subependymoma, although no such examples have been reported to date.
Isolation and characterization of the functional gene encoding bovine cytochrome c oxidase subunit IV

Abstract The structure and expression of the gene (COX4) encoding bovine cytochrome c oxidase subunit IV (COX IV) was studied in order to identify conserved DNA sequence elements involved in the control of mammalian nuclear respiratory genes. The functional bovine COX4 gene consists of five exons and four introns and is similar in organization to rat and mouse COX4. The domain encoded by exon 3 is the most highly conserved among the three species, suggesting it may encode a key functional domain of COX IV. Transcription of bovine COX4 begins at multiple sites, as has been seen previously for rat and mouse COX4 and other TATA-less genes. Comparative analysis of bovine, rat and mouse COX4 promoters identified multiple binding sites for the regulatory proteins Spl and GABP (NRF-2). The varied arrangements of multiple Spl and GABP sites in mammalian COX4 promoters suggests flexibility in the positioning of regulatory factors in controlling COX4 expression.
Dependence of radiation dose on area and volumetric mammographic breast density estimation

Mammographic breast density is a strong risk factor for breast cancer. Studies on imaging dose in mammography have primarily focused on imaging quality and diagnostic accuracy, while little work has been done on understanding its effect on the estimation of breast density. Studies on the effect of dose on mammographic density estimation can be useful in dose reduction for the purpose of density estimation and monitoring. In this study, we investigate the dependence of percent area (PD%) and volumetric (VD%) breast density estimation on imaging dose using an anthropomorphic breast phantom (Rachel, Gammex). A set of digital mammograms were obtained with a GE Senographe 2000D FFDM system, using 220 unique combinations of different imaging physics, namely target/filter, kVp and mAs. Specifically, 8 different mAs settings were defined as corresponding to 10%, 20%, 40%, 70%, 100%, 150%, 200% and 300% of 1.8 mGy reference average glandular dose (AGD) for standard phototimed exposure. Breast density was estimated using fully-automated FDA-cleared software (Quantra v.2.0, Hologic Inc.). The obtained estimates were analyzed to study the effect of the imaging dose, using ANOVA and linear regression. Results show that there is a statistically significant dependence of density estimation on x-ray imaging dose (p-value=0.014 and <0.001 for PD% and VD%, respectively), while the actual variation of the estimation across the different levels of dose is relatively low (standard deviation of 2.87% and 0.66% for PD% and VD% respectively), the differences could be significant when breast density measures are used for risk estimation.
Effects of Gender and Hand Dominance on Children’s Capacity to Hang onto an Overhead Rung with One Hand

Falls from playground equipment are a major cause of childhood injury and death. The purpose of this experiment was to quantify children's maximum capacity to hang onto a rung and to determine how this strength varies for factors such as hand dominance and gender. Breakaway strength (a measure of the maximum capacity to hang onto a handhold) was measured for 130 children ages 5-11 on a 38.1mm diameter horizontal cylinder. Breakaway strength was significantly affected by hand dominance (p=0.022) and gender (p=0.015), with breakaway strength being greater for males and the dominant hand. Significant covariate predictors for breakaway strength included hand length and the interaction between gender and grip strength. Breakaway strength increased with grip strength and age, and more so for males than females. Breakaway strength normalized by bodyweight shows that female participants on average and young children (age 5) of both sexes could not support their bodyweight with one hand. The results suggest that playground handholds similar to the handhold tested here may not be suitable for all children. Language: en