cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tallinn Manual on the International Law applicable to Cyber Warfare: prepared by the International Group of Experts at the Invitation of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence

Tallinn Manual 2.0 expands on the highly influential first edition by extending its coverage of the international law governing cyber operations to peacetime legal regimes. The product of a three-year follow-on project by a new group of twenty renowned international law experts, it addresses such topics as sovereignty, state responsibility, human rights, and the law of air, space, and the sea. Tallinn Manual 2.0 identifies 154 'black letter' rules governing cyber operations and provides extensive commentary on each rule. Although Tallinn Manual 2.0 represents the views of the experts in their personal capacity, the project benefitted from the unofficial input of many states and over fifty peer reviewers.
A conditional random fields method for RNA sequence–structure relationship modeling and conformation sampling

Accurate tertiary structures are very important for the functional study of non-coding RNA molecules. However, predicting RNA tertiary structures is extremely challenging, because of a large conformation space to be explored and lack of an accurate scoring function differentiating the native structure from decoys. The fragment-based conformation sampling method (e.g. FARNA) bears shortcomings that the limited size of a fragment library makes it infeasible to represent all possible conformations well. A recent dynamic Bayesian network method, BARNACLE, overcomes the issue of fragment assembly. In addition, neither of these methods makes use of sequence information in sampling conformations. Here, we present a new probabilistic graphical model, conditional random fields (CRFs), to model RNA sequence–structure relationship, which enables us to accurately estimate the probability of an RNA conformation from sequence. Coupled with a novel tree-guided sampling scheme, our CRF model is then applied to RNA conformation sampling. Experimental results show that our CRF method can model RNA sequence–structure relationship well and sequence information is important for conformation sampling. Our method, named as TreeFolder, generates a much higher percentage of native-like decoys than FARNA and BARNACLE, although we use the same simple energy function as BARNACLE. Contact:zywang@ttic.edu; j3xu@ttic.edu Supplementary Information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Early Career Outcomes for the “Best and the Brightest” Selectivity, Satisfaction, and Attrition in the Beginning Teacher Longitudinal Survey

Educational efforts aimed at attracting the “best and brightest” into the teaching profession are widespread and include national programs, such as Teach for America and the New Teacher Project Teaching Fellows, as well as regional and state-based programs, city-based programs, and university-based programs. Yet, studies of attrition in programs aimed at recruiting highly selective teachers provide some evidence that highly selective entrants are less likely to persist in a teaching career. Using data from the first three years of the Beginning Teacher Longitudinal Survey (BTLS), we investigate the greater incidence of attrition among selective college graduates and whether higher rates of attrition can be explained by measures of early career adjustment.
The Effect of Oxidized Fuel on Polymers

Abstract Some polymers exhibit exceptional resistance to oxidized gasoline as evidenced by minor changes in their tensile and elongation after aging in the oxidized fuel for 1008 hours at 40°C. The polymers with the smallest changes in properties are TFE and polyamide plastics and TPE thermoplastic elastomer followed by PNF, AU-2D, and FKMF elastomers. Other materials which also have good resistance to oxidized gasoline and should be considered for further development in oxidized fuel applications include: FVMQ, FKMV and NBR P-684 elastomers and TPPE thermoplastic. Aging in oxidized diesel fuel generally causes less change in properties of polymers than aging in oxidized gasoline. For this reason, candidate polymers for oxidized gasoline applications will also function well in oxidized diesel fuel.
Predictive coding? Yes, but from what source?

There is little doubt that predictive coding is an important mechanism in language processing–indeed, in information processing generally. However, it is less clear whether the action system is the source of such predictions during perception. Here I summarize the computational problem with motor prediction for perceptual processes and argue instead for a dual-stream model of predictive coding.
Getting Started on Political Research

Benjamin A. Most, or "Ben" as he was affectionately known to his friends, colleagues, and students, was an associate professor at the University of Iowa when he died suddenly in November of 1986. In the discipline of political science he will be remembered most for his provocative and cogently argued "think pieces," written with Harvey Starr, that force researchers in the international relations field to reflect on the logical and theoretical bases of their inquiry. While his published contributions to the field will live on for some time, in a few of us who were lucky enough to be his students he leaves another legacy. From the opening day of his introductory graduate I.R. class it became clear that Ben had an infectious enthusiasm, even excitement for political research. As the semester progressed, students-especially those who got close to himoften "caught" Ben's love of research, which I believe remains alive in us still, someday perhaps to be passed on to yet another generation of students. Ben's enthusiasm, as well as the thoughtfulness with which he approached his discipline, are communicated in the following piece, in which he presents many of his ideas on the research enterprise. It is hoped that its publication will help students of political science currently struggling with the perennial questions of, "What should I do?" and "How should I do it?" to finally get started.'
Abstract 3655: Mast cells promote immunosuppression and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma development

Objectives: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a mostly uniformly lethal disease and is notoriously resistant to most therapies. Immunotherapy may be a fourth strategy for treating PDAC, supplementing surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Immunosuppression is one of the largest bottlenecks in cancer immunotherapy development. In our preliminary studies, we analyzed a panel of immunocytes in human PDAC tissue samples and found that mast cells infiltrated at the tumor margin. This high infiltration of human mast cells into the tumor microenvironment was associated with poor survival. An early influx of mast cells into the tumor microenvironment combined with the IL-10 and receptor upregulation we found in a transgenic spontaneous PDAC mouse model, was associated with malignant progression. In addition, mast cells were found to be essential to PDAC tumorigenesis in a mast cell-deficient Kitw-sh/w-sh mouse model (Kit-/- mice) compared to wild-type C57BL/6 control mice (WT mice). However, how mast cells regulate immunologic effects in the tumor microenvironment and contribute to PDAC tumorigenesis are unknown. We hypothesized that mast cells mediate the immunosuppression that promotes PDAC development. Methods: We quantified mast cells in 16 normal human pancreas and 22 pancreatitis patients’ tissue samples. Panc-02 PDAC cells were orthotopically implanted into the pancreases of Kit-/-, mast cell-reconstituted, and WT mice. In the mast cell reconstitution model, Kit-/- mice received bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMCs) from IL-10-/-, PGE2-/-, and WT mice. To determine whether targeting mast cells has a therapeutic effect in PDAC, we treated mice PDAC with cromolyn, a mast cell stabilizer. Saline and gemcitabine were used as controls. Tumor sizes were measured by bioluminescence imaging. Results: Mast cell infiltration to human pancreatic disease was associated with inflammation and malignancy progression in PDAC (P Conclusions: Mast cells promote inflammatory progression and immune suppression in PDAC tumorigenesis. Mast cell-targeted therapy resulted in a higher treatment response rate in mouse PDAC than did classic chemotherapy. Therefore, therapy targeting on mast cells may overcome immune suppression and improve PDAC immunotherapy. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3655. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-3655
The Association of Complementary Therapy Use With Prescription Medication Adherence Among Older Community-Dwelling Adults.

Medication adherence is a major health concern, particularly among older adults who have one or more chronic conditions. We examined the association between complementary therapy use and medication adherence among older community-dwelling adults. In a bi-ethnic sample of 165 adults aged 65 years and older, anthropometric variables, data on chronic medical conditions, and medication use were assessed. Medication adherence was modeled as a score ( 75%) and complementary therapy use was categorized as a binary variable. Over half of the participants (50.3%) were female, and 47.3% were African American. Complementary therapy use was prevalent (87.9%) and did not differ by sex, ethnicity, income, and educational attainment. Medication adherence score was >75% in 84.8% of complementary therapy users and 80.0% of non-users (p = .61). Despite a high use of complementary therapy in this population, there was no apparent association with low medication adherence.
The ALS/FTLD associated protein C9orf72 associates with SMCR8 and WDR41 to regulate the autophagy-lysosome pathway

Hexanucleotide repeat expansion in the C9orf72 gene is a leading cause of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Reduced expression of C9orf72 has been proposed as a possible disease mechanism. However, the cellular function of C9orf72 remains to be characterized. Here we report the identification of two binding partners of C9orf72: SMCR8 and WDR41. We show that WDR41 interacts with the C9orf72/SMCR8 heterodimer and WDR41 is tightly associated with the Golgi complex. We further demonstrate that C9orf72/SMCR8/WDR41 associates with the FIP200/Ulk1 complex, which is essential for autophagy initiation. C9orf72 deficient mice, generated using the CRISPR/Cas9 system, show severe inflammation in multiple organs, including lymph node, spleen and liver. Lymph node enlargement and severe splenomegaly are accompanied with macrophage infiltration. Increased levels of autophagy and lysosomal proteins and autophagy defects were detected in both the spleen and liver of C9orf72 deficient mice, supporting an in vivo role of C9orf72 in regulating the autophagy/lysosome pathway. In summary, our study elucidates potential physiological functions of C9orf72 and disease mechanisms of ALS/FTLD.
Conflicts & Capital Allocation

The regulatory structure for financial advice now tolerates incentives motivating financial advisors to manipulate and deceive retail investors. While scholars thus far have argued for ways to improve investor protections, the literature has largely ignored how these flawed incentives affect the economy as a whole. This Article contends that these flawed incentives cause financial advisors to negatively affect capital allocation throughout the overall economy.This Article draws on literature about manipulation and deception in principal-agent relationships to show how conflicts of interest cause the market for financial advisor services to generate excessive intermediation, driving harms to the real economy. This Article uses case studies of nontraded real estate investment trusts and closed-end funds to illustrate how financial advisor conflicts of interests contribute to inefficient capital allocation and inefficiency in the market for institutional intermediation.To address this issue, this Article argues that an effective policy response will address compensation incentives and focus on limiting the ability of conflicts of interest to skew capital allocation.
O meio excluído e as implicações missiológicas da doutrina de Herman Bavinck sobre os anjos

The question I ask is: what are the missiological implications of Bavinck’s doctrine of angels? It is the thesis of this essay that Bavinck’s doctrine of angels is helpful to missions because it takes the middle world seriously and provides Western missionaries with a correct view of the spiritual world based on God’s revelation not on superstitions, and with a worldview centered in the sovereignty of the triune God over the spiritual forces. The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate that in order to be an effective missionary in today’s world and to be able to correctly answer the questions that people are doing, one must take into account the existence of the spiritual middle realm, and deal with it within the framework of God’s revelation, having the triune God as the sovereign over all the exclude middle and the spiritual forces. Bavinck’s doctrine of angels provides these tools and is of great importance in this missiological task.
Truth and Festival

I argue for a further criterion beyond coherence, namely, the potential for an identity to contribute to community creation. I draw on Wendy Brown’s critique of subjectivism that privileges the “we” over the “I” but go on to argue (against Brown) that identities are legitimate in so far as they attach to the “we” rather than the “I.” I utilize ritual theory developed by Adam Seligman to show how identities can be positive forces that help us connect with others. I then show how Gadamer’s analysis of festival that emphasizes the importance of communal belonging provides an additional way to critically evaluate social identities. Identities as intersubjective interpretations are deemed productive, and hence true, when they foster the type of solidarity found in successful festivals.
Not just an antibiotic target: Exploring the role of type I signal peptidase in bacterial virulence

The looming antibiotic crisis has prompted the development of new strategies towards fighting infection. Traditional antibiotics target bacterial processes essential for viability, whereas proposed antivirulence approaches rely on the inhibition of factors that are required only for the initiation and propagation of infection within a host. Although antivirulence compounds have yet to prove their efficacy in the clinic, bacterial signal peptidase I (SPase) represents an attractive target in that SPase inhibitors exhibit broad-spectrum antibiotic activity, but even at sub-MIC doses also impair the secretion of essential virulence factors. The potential consequences of SPase inhibition on bacterial virulence have not been thoroughly examined, and are explored within this review. In addition, we review growing evidence that SPase has relevant biological functions outside of mediating secretion, and discuss how the inhibition of these functions may be clinically significant.
It Takes Two to Tango: When and Where Dual Nutrient (N & P) Reductions Are Needed to Protect Lakes and Downstream Ecosystems

Preventing harmful algal blooms (HABs) is needed to protect lakes and downstream ecosystems. Traditionally, reducing phosphorus (P) inputs was the prescribed solution for lakes, based on the assumption that P universally limits HAB formation. Reduction of P inputs has decreased HABs in many lakes, but was not successful in others. Thus, the “P-only” paradigm is overgeneralized. Whole-lake experiments indicate that HABs are often stimulated more by combined P and nitrogen (N) enrichment rather than N or P alone, indicating that the dynamics of both nutrients are important for HAB control. The changing paradigm from P-only to consideration of dual nutrient control is supported by studies indicating that (1) biological N fixation cannot always meet lake ecosystem N needs, and (2) that anthropogenic N and P loading has increased dramatically in recent decades. Sediment P accumulation supports long-term internal loading, while N may escape via denitrification, leading to perpetual N deficits. Hence, controllin...
Development of a fast scanning miniature probe and methods of dispersion management for high-resolution optical coherence tomography

We present a design of a miniature fiber-optic probe capable of rapid lateral scanning. The miniature probe permits forward-looking optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging of internal organs in real time. Fast lateral scanning also enables a new real-time image acquisition sequence, potentially permitting real-time focus tracking. To perform sensitive heterodyne detection, a sufficient Doppler frequency is achieved by using an electro-optic (EO) phase modulator. In this paper we describe an effective approach to compensate the dispersion induced by the EO crystal up to the third order. We show that an optimal axial resolution offered by the light source can be recovered through the dispersion management. Preliminary results of real-time OCT imaging of biological tissues with the lateral-priority scanning probe are presented.
An Assessment of Three Procedures to Teach Echoic Responding

The research literature has revealed mixed outcomes on various procedures for increasing vocalizations and echoic responding in persons with disabilities (Miguel, Carr, & Michael The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 18, 3–13, 2002; Stock, Schulze, & Mirenda The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 24, 123–133, 2008). We examined the efficacy of an assessment procedure for identifying the most effective echoic teaching procedure to six students diagnosed autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental delays. The assessment procedure included a within-participant comparison of vocal imitation training (VIT), stimulus–stimulus pairing (SSP), and a mand-model procedure (MM). A functional analysis of the responses was conducted to determine whether responding was functionally an echoic or a mand. The results indicated that the assessment was effective in identifying a teaching procedure for five out of the six participants and that responding was established under echoic control. These outcomes support the efficacy of this assessment procedure for identifying effective echoic teaching procedures.
Distinctive Roles of Stem Cell Factor and IL-7 in T Cell Development.

Abstract Notch signaling plays a critical role in T lineage commitment during lymphoid differentiation. However, Notch signaling alone is not sufficient to support T cell development through the CD4/CD8 double positive (DP) stage in vitro. We here report distinct effects of several cytokines on T cell differentiation in the OP9-DL1 cell culture model. Our studies show that Flt3 ligand enhances the proliferation of progenitors but has no obvious effect on differentiation. In contrast, stem cell factor (SCF) favors the proliferation of CD4/CD8 double negative (DN) lymphoid progenitors and inhibits differentiation to the DP stage in a dose-dependent manner. Differentiation of the NK lineage is promoted under these conditions. Conversely, blocking the function of SCF that is expressed endogenously by OP9-DL1 cells inhibits proliferation of lymphoid progenitors and accelerates T lineage differentiation. IL-7 is necessary for differentiation from the DP to the CD8 single positive (SP) stage, and is also required for γδ T lineage development. We also find a dosage effect of IL-7 during T cell development. OP9 and OP9-DL1 stromal cells produce endogenous levels of IL-7 that are sufficient to support B and DP T cell differentiation. However, the amount of endogenous IL-7 is not sufficient to support T cell differentiation from the DP to the SP stage. Addition of exogenous IL-7 (1–10 ng/ml) to the cultures promotes SP differentiation, while blocking endogenous IL-7 with anti-IL-7 antibody inhibits both B and T cell development. We conclude that activation through the Notch pathway is sufficient to suppress B lineage differentiation and thereby promote T lineage commitment, but is not sufficient to promote the subsequent stages of T cell development. SCF promotes expansion and directs NK lineage differentiation at the expense of T cell development, while IL-7 provides both proliferation as well as T lineage differentiation signals. T cell development from the DN to the DP stage requires a low amount of IL-7, while differentiation from the DP to the SP stage requires a higher level of IL-7. The balance between the effects mediated by these cytokines, along with Notch signaling, plays a critical role in regulating development of the T and NK lineages.
Mitral valve reconstruction for active and healed endocarditis

Background Mitral valve reconstruction rather than replacement for mitral insufficiency offers a number of well-accepted benefits. However, the feasibility and results of reconstruction for endocarditis remain largely unknown. Methods and Results We reviewed 22 consecutive patients referred to the Thoracic Surgical Service at the University of Michigan from January 1, 1991, through October 1, 1995, who underwent mitral valve reconstruction for mitral insufficiency caused by isolated mitral valve endocarditis. Mean age, preoperative ejection fraction, and New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class were 53±15 years, 54±12%, and 3.2±0.8, respectively. Seven patients had early operation because of septic embolization, persistent infection, or refractory heart failure. Fifteen were cured of infection and were operated on for progressive symptomatic heart failure and left ventricular dilation. Preoperative transesophageal echocardiograms demonstrated severe mitral insufficiency in 20 patients. Valvular pathology noted at operation included annular (6 patients) or leaflet calcification (2), chordal rupture (13), leaflet vegetations (11), annular abscess (3), annular dilation (18), flail leaflet (12), leaflet prolapse (17), chordal shortening (1), and mitral stenosis (I). Mitral valve reconstruction included debridement of infected tissue and implantation of an annuloplasty ring (20 of 22 patients), as well as other complex techniques. Postrepair transesophageal echocardiograms demonstrated mild mitral insufficiency in 6 patients and none in 16 patients. There were no operative or inhospital deaths. Mean follow-up was 20±14 months. One late death occurred at 30 months. At follow-up, 90% of surviving patients were in NYHA functional class I or II. Conclusions Mitral valve reconstruction for active or healed endocarditis can be performed with low operative morbidity and mortality and yields excellent functional results. Although longer-term follow-up is mandatory, these data support strong consideration of mitral valve reconstruction rather than mitral valve replacement for mitral insufficiency secondary to endocarditis.
Colorblind Individualism, Color Consciousness, and the Indian Child Welfare Act: Representations of Adoptee Best Interest in Newspaper Coverage of the Baby Veronica Case

Transracial adoption debates revolve around adoptee best interest with support focusing on individual rights and opposition emphasizing identity. How the media portrayed the Baby Veronica case high...
Developing a Hierarchical Decomposition Methodology to Increase Manufacturing Process and Equipment Health Awareness

Abstract Manufacturing systems are becoming increasingly complex as more advanced and emerging technologies are integrated into the factory floor to yield new processes or increase the efficiency of existing processes. As greater complexity is formed across the factory, new relationships are often generated that can lead to advanced capabilities, yet produce unforeseen faults and failures. Industrial robot arm work cells within the manufacturing environment present increasing complexity, emergent technologies, new relationships, and unpredicted faults/failures. To maintain required levels of productivity, process quality, and asset availability, manufacturers must reconcile this complexity to understand how the health degradation of constituent physical elements and functional tasks impact one another through the monitoring of critical informative measures and metrics. This article presents the initial efforts in developing a novel hierarchical decomposition methodology. The innovation in this method is that it provides the manufacturer with sufficient discretion to physically deconstruct their system and functionally decompose their process to user-defined levels based upon desired monitoring, maintenance, and control levels. This enables the manufacturer to specify relationships within and across the physical, functional, and information domains to identify impactful health degradations without having to know all possible failure modes. The hierarchical decomposition methodology will advance the state of the art in terms of improving machine health by highlighting how health degradations propagate through the relationship network prior to a piece of equipment compromising the productivity or quality of a process. The first two steps of the methodology, physical decomposition and functional decomposition, are defined in detail and applied to a multi-robot work cell use case.
Introduction to measures that vanish exponentially almost everywhere: DLA and Minkowski

WHEN A NEW MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT IS EVALUATED, some purists allow the computer but are offended by strong physical motivation. This part is a new opportunity to discuss an example.
Reforming reformed epistemology: a new take on the sensus divinitatis

Alvin Plantinga theorizes the existence of a sensus divinitatis – a special cognitive faulty or mechanism dedicated to the production and non-inferential justification of theistic belief. Following Chris Tucker, we offer an evidentialist-friendly model of the sensus divinitatis whereon it produces theistic seemings that non-inferentially justify theistic belief. We suggest that the sensus divinitatis produces these seemings by tacitly grasping support relations between the content of ordinary experiences (in conjunction with our background evidence) and propositions about God. Our model offers advantages such as eliminating the need for a sui generis religious faculty, harmonizing the sensus divinitatis with prominent theories in the cognitive science of religion, and providing a superior account of natural revelation.
The Third Law and the Power of Machines

At this point in the Principia, Newton has defined his terms, he has stated his three axioms, and he has demonstrated their utility in solving problems involving multiple forces and bodies. Now, in the Scholium that follows, Newton provides a more general discourse, or meditation, on the power of his axioms. First, he briefly demonstrates how Galileo’s analysis of projectile motion relates to his own first and second laws. Next, he offers an explanation of how the motion of colliding bodies is affected by the elasticity of the bodies themselves. For this analysis, Newton expends considerable effort explaining how to account for the resistance of the air, a complication which can obscure otherwise intelligible results. He then proceeds to examine the relationship between his first and third laws of motion, using examples from magnetism and gravity. Interestingly, this raises the question as to whether they are, in fact, independent axioms. Are they? Finally, he shows how his third law suggests a general means for computing the mechanical advantage provided by machines of various sorts, such as screws, pulleys and wedges.
1949–1951: Radio Astronomy Blossoms as a Field, but Ruby Must Resign from the Radiophysics Laboratory

As we know, much of Payne-Scott’s professional life in 1948 was taken up with diligently observing solar bursts at the Hornsby Valley site to determine the nature and even validity of the time delays between detection of different frequencies from the bursts. Concurrent with those 9 months of careful observation, plans were being put in motion for the creation of the swept-lobe interferometer at the new Potts Hill location, a level and more spacious site.
Modification of Charge Distribution at Boundaries Between Electrically Dissimilar Media

This chapter is primarily concerned with effects of low intensity and low frequency electric and magnetic fields on spherical or cylindrical cells. Low intensity is understood to mean field amplitudes insufficient to produce measurable thermal effects. Low frequency will mean here that the frequencies contained in the externally applied field are sufficiently low for wavelengths to be much larger than the dimensions of the structures with which the field interacts. Thus we will not consider primary fields in the microwave region, although we will indicate that pulsed signals can generate at boundaries between electrically dissimilar media “secondary” electrical transients that contain very high frequency components, even if the initiating “primary” pulse has a long rise or decay time and only a low frequency repetition rate. Low frequency of the primary signal will also imply that the externally applied electric and magnetic fields are not simply related by a constant wave impedance as they are in the “far field” region of a microwave source.
The Trump Administration’s Nuclear Posture Review (NPR): In Historical Perspective

Except for the Eisenhower administration’s threat of nuclear retaliation to even local non-nuclear and limited aggression, the Trump administration’s Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) is the most open d...
Formation of Lipid Vesicles in Situ Utilizing the thiol-Michael Reaction

Synthetic unilamellar liposomes, functionalized to enable novel characteristics and behavior, are of great utility to fields such as drug delivery and artificial cell membranes. However, the generation of these liposomes is frequently highly labor-intensive and time consuming whereas in situ liposome formation presents a potential solution to this problem. A novel method for in situ lipid formation is developed here through the covalent addition of a thiol-functionalized lysolipid to an acrylate-functionalized tail via the thiol-Michael addition reaction with potential for inclusion of additional functionality via the tail. Dilute, stoichiometric mixtures of a thiol lysolipid and an acrylate tail reacted in an aqueous media at ambient conditions for 48 hours reached nearly 90% conversion, forming the desired thioether-containing phospholipid product. These lipids assemble into a high density of liposomes with sizes ranging from 20 nm to several microns in diameter and include various structures ranging from spheres to tubular vesicles with structure and lamellarity dependent upon the catalyst concentration used. To demonstrate lipid functionalization, an acrylate tail possessing a terminal alkyne was coupled into the lipid structure. These functionalized liposomes enable photo-induced polymerization of the terminal alkyne upon irradiation.
Efficient transfer learning for neural network language models

We apply transfer learning techniques to create topically and/or stylistically biased natural language models from small data samples, given generic long short-term memory (LSTM) language models trained on larger data sets. Although LSTM language models are powerful tools with wide-ranging applications, they require enormous amounts of data and time to train. Thus, we build general purpose language models that take advantage of large standing corpora and computational resources proactively, allowing us to build more specialized analytical tools from smaller data sets on demand. We show that it is possible to construct a language model from a small, focused corpus by first training an LSTM language model on a large corpus (e.g., the text from English Wikipedia) and then retraining only the internal transition model parameters on the smaller corpus. We also show that a single general language model can be reused through transfer learning to create many distinct special purpose language models quickly with modest amounts of data.
Analysis of cis-acting elements within the p53 promoter and their corresponding trans-acting factors in cell cycle regulation of p53 transcription

969 Our research is to characterize factors that regulate expression of p53 during normal cell cycling and how these pathways become defective in cancer. By Northern analysis we found that p53 mRNA levels in Swiss3T3 cells are regulated by serum starvation and stimulation. p53 mRNA decreases when cells are arrested and increases upon stimulation. Flow cytometry indicates that cells arrest in G1/G0 and that induction of p53 occurs in late G1. We cloned a region of the murine p53 gene that is 1Kbp upstream of the previously cloned 0.7Kbp promoter. By transient transfections, we found expression of the 1.7Kbp promoter to be almost half that of the 0.7Kbp promoter indicating the presence of a negative regulatory element. When the 1.7Kbp and 0.7Kbp transfectants were serum starved and stimulated, the 0.7Kbp promoter was constituently expressed and the 1.7Kbp promoter was induced by serum. This indicates that a cell cycle regulatory element exists within the p53 promoter. To identify element(s) within the upstream region, PCR-directed deletion was carried out. Each deletion was tested for activity. To date, three regulatory elements have been identified, one positive and two negative. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) have enabled us to further define the elements, identify binding factors and determine which of these factors are involved in cell cycle regulation of p53. We examined the binding patterns of factors from extracts prepared from Swiss3T3 cells that have been serum starved and then stimulated. We found a factor that binds within the positive element of the p53 promoter to exhibit a binding pattern representative of a cell cycle regulated response. A database search of the binding site identified the factor as C/EBPβ, a DNA binding protein shown to activate the c-fos serum response element. Binding by C/EBPβ was confirmed by EMSA in the presence of anti- C/EBPβ antibody. We are identifying other factors by yeast one-hybrid assays. In vitro footprinting will further define binding patterns and possible overlap of the elements. In vivo footprinting will allow us to look at protein interactions on the endogenous p53 promoter in the presence of chromatin and provide insight into possible collaboration between elements. How p53 is regulated during the cell cycle is not well defined. Several factors bind the promoter but those that regulate its expression during the cell cycle are not known. We have identified a candidate, C/EBPβ. This factor exhibits a binding pattern indicative of a cell cycle regulated response, but further work to characterize the activity of this protein is needed. Once we have an understanding of p53 regulation in normal cells we will be better equipped to understand aberrant p53 expression in cancer cells.
Experimental flow visualization study using particle image velocimetry in a helical coil steam generator with changing lateral pitch geometry

Abstract A full size section from a helical coil steam generator with five concentric coils with a helix-to-rod diameter ratio of 127 was constructed to study shell side fluid flow. The geometry has a constant transverse pitch ratio (a = 2.96), but changing lateral pitch ratio (b = 0.6–0.9) across the image planes of interest. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) with an index of refractive matching fluid technique was used to capture images of the flow behavior at these planes of interest. Experiments focused on visualizing cross-flow at the entrance and center regions of the test section at each plane of interest at Re = 8500. Analysis was conducted to study average vertical and transverse velocity components, vorticity and streamline fields for the shell side flow. Averaged results showed characteristic flow structures common of staggered cross-flow behavior within tube and shell heat exchangers. Select linear heights based on rod geometry show a consistent average velocity pattern across all three planes of interest regardless of lateral pitch ratio. Average velocity components do not suggest a correlation with lateral pitch ratio as previous studies with constant lateral pitch ratio designs have shown. The constantly changing geometry of this particular helical coil steam generator design affects the development and dependence of vortex formation and motion.
What I learned from Asit Biswas about transboundary water, ethics, mentoring and, in general, how to be a better human being

I grew up back and forth between California and the Middle East in the 1960s and 1970s, two regions where the link between water resources and seemingly intractable geopolitics was readily apparent...
Low-frequency sound propagation in short ranges: A case where leaky modes can be observed

In an ocean waveguide, sound propagation can be modeled by the normal-modes theory. In a lossless ocean floor, the acoustic field is a finite sum of the normal modes that are trapped in the water column. These modes have real acoustic wave numbers and their equivalent rays are at angles less than the critical grazing angle. When attenuation is present in the ocean floor, the number of normal modes increases. Those additional modes, called “leaky modes,” have complex acoustic wave numbers, and their equivalent rays are steeper than the critical grazing angle. Since leaky modes attenuate in short ranges, they are not typically observable in measurements. In this presentation, I show that leaky modes can be observed on the data collected during marine seismic reflection surveys. Marine seismic reflection surveys are used to image the structure of the seafloor. They generate low-frequency signals from airguns and record the reflections off the seafloor up to a few kilometers from the source. I use simulations and experiments to characterize the short-range propagation of airgun pulses in shallow and deep water. The experimental data utilized in this study are from the COAST experiment conducted in the Northeast Pacific continental shelf.
Verapamil use in interventional neuroradiology: A case series of postoperative pulmonary edema

Abstract Cerebral Vasospasm is a common complication of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) which results in delayed cerebral ischemia. Cerebral vasospasm in elective endovascular management of intracranial aneurysms rarely has been reported, and the vasospasm in this situation results from irritation by the endovascular catheter. The choice of intra-arterial (IA) vasodilators is variable among clinicians. Many studies describe the use of intra-arterial vasodilators in the neurosurgery and neuroradiology literature and comment that it is safe without major complications. Calcium-channel blockers are reported to be safe in regards to hemodynamics and potential complications. Nimodipine is considered the only calcium channel blocker that has neuroprotective effect and the only vasodilator that proved to improve outcome. The use of Intra-arterial verapamil has been reported in the last 2 decades, and with the frequent and safe use, the doses are reported to be higher in the recent reports with no major complications. We report the first case series where the use of high dose Intra-arterial verapamil resulted in postoperative pulmonary edema. Neurosurgeons and neuroanesthesiologists need to be aware of the potential complications from the use of verapamil as a negative inotropic agent in this patient population.
On the psychology of the psychology subject pool: an exploratory test of the good student effect

Abstract. Many psychology researches are performed through “psychology subject pools” which give participants considerable flexibility when they participate. This “participant degree-of-freedom” ha...
Pituitary or Suprasellar Lesions

Tumors in the pituitary can be classified as intra-, supra-, para-, or retrosellar (Calao, Endotext. MDText.com, Inc., South Dartmouth, 2000). Intrasellar tumors are mostly pituitary adenomas and suprasellar tumors are tumors such as craniopharyngiomas, germinomas, Langerhans cell histiocytosis, dermoid cyst, and epidermoid cyst. The vast majority of pituitary tumors are relatively benign in pathology; treatment may be complicated by high surgical morbidity resulting from damage to the hypothalamic–pituitary axis (McCrea et al, J Child Neurol 31:1367–76, 2016).
Against Our Best Interest: The OLC's Hollow 'National Interests' Test and the Constitutional Solution

This Article explores the meaning of the Declare War Clause of the Constitution and its interpretation promulgated by the executive branch, specifically the Office of Legal Counsel (“OLC”). In recent years the OLC has applied a “national interests” test in evaluating whether unilateral presidential military actions are constitutionally valid. This analysis does not, however, adequately address the role of Congress as the branch entrusted with the power to declare war, and moreover it does not even confront what the Declare War Clause means. This Article concludes that the Declare War Clause grants Congress the power to initiate war and precludes that power from the President. This Article then turns to historical presidential actions and the government’s interpretation of war powers. In finding that the constitutional validity of unilateral military actions depends on how one defines war, this Article surveys how each of the separate branches of government have defined the term. Last, discerning no settled definition of war in the federal legal landscape, this Article proposes that Congress enact legislation which delineates the parameters of war. An established definition of war would, at long last, give Congress a mechanism to enforce its declare war power as well as offer to the OLC legitimate criteria for its analyses of executive actions.
Use of hospital resources in the care of patients with intermediate risk pulmonary embolism

BackgroundRisk stratification and management of hemodynamically stable pulmonary embolism remains challenging. Professional societies have published stratification schemes, but little is known abou...
The Legitimate Rights of Public Shareholders

Table of ContentsI. Introduction 1636II. Financiers Who Do Not Finance: The Empirical Evidence 1646A. A (Very) Brief History of Equity Financing in America 1649B. The Empirical Evidence 1653C. Summary Conclusion: Creditors Make, Shareholders Take 1665III. Equity Without Risk 1666A. Shareholders as Risk-Bearers 1667B. The Unbearable Lightness of Capital Gains 1671IV. The Legitimate Rights of Public Shareholders 1676A. State Law 1676B. Information and Exit: Federal Securities Regulation 1678C. Conclusion 1679Appendix A 1680Appendix B 1681I. IntroductionFor a decade or more before the American economy lay in its current shambles, our system of corporate governance had come under serious attack. Shareholders and their advocates had arisen from their slumber and had begun to demand the right to participate in corporate decisionmaking.1 For over a decade, and accelerating during the pre-panic years, activist shareholders, typically institutional investors and hedge funds, asserted their power to insist that the corporations in which they invested take the specific actions they desired.2 These institutional initiatives have included proposals to allow shareholders to advise boards on executive compensation, to require that directors be elected by majority vote of the shareholders (in contrast to the plurality riule that traditionally dominates), to remove takeover defenses like poison pills and staggered boards, to insist upon proxy access, and to eliminate broker voting.3 Activist hedge funds have been even more aggressive, often successfully demanding that corporations either sell themselves or divest themselves of portions of their businesses, that chief executives resign or be dismissed, and that corporations undertake major restructurings to "return value" to shareholders while piling on corporate debt.4Their efforts have been aided by the work of prominent, and increasingly activist, scholars, led forcefully by Lucian Bebchuk, who have mounted an aggressive campaign to enhance shareholder voting rights.5 While their efforts have been controversial,6 they have garnered significant attention and have created synergy with the actions of shareholders, acting principally through shareholder advisory services, and with activist institutional investors, to put substantial pressure on businesses and lawmakers to expand shareholder rights.7The objective of the so-called reformers, and much of the defense, is centered on the question of which mode of corporate governance - a director primacy model or a shareholder-centric model - holds the greatest promise for enhancing firm value.8 While the meaning of the phrase "firm value" typically is left ambiguous, the underlying assumption in much of the debate appears to be that firm value equates to share price.9 A secondary objective, which I do not address because I believe that it serves principally as a rhetorical device and tends not to be taken very seriously, at least in the corporate and economics literature, is that the corporation is somehow a democratic institution and shareholders are its citizens. …
Contactless Attendance Method with Face Recognition, Body Temperature Measurement and GPS System Using Blockchain Technology

Most workplace is recording their employee’s attendance via attendance system. The existing attendance systems include traditional method, punch card, QR Code, RFID and biometric. However, these methods require an employee’s physical interaction directly with the system. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, any direct physical contact with the system should be avoided. Moreover, the existing attendance system platforms lack the security foundations upon which vulnerable to cyber threat, such as forge by irresponsible employees and unauthorized users. This paper aims to develop a contactless attendance system. The system is using face recognition and GPS location to record attendance with body temperature on blockchain technology.
Ambiguous Territory: Aesthetic Practices Against Agrilogistics

What can one do when the things and processes used to sustain oneself – physically, economically, emotionally – are executed at a scale and intensity whereby they become poisonous? Such a scenario describes certain addictions. An illustration of such an addiction on a planetary scale is exemplified by the neologism agrilogistics. This planned approach to the environment seeks to organise, divide, and manage the earth in order to increase the likelihood of human survival. From parasite-vulnerable monocrops to systemic biopolitical violence upon indigenous peoples, these conditions expose the dark and unwanted externalities to the logistical algorithm that we have only recently begun to understand as deeply intertwined with each other and within all life on the planet. What can art and design do to intervene in this positive feedback loop of economic growth and environmental catastrophe? Perhaps one thing we can do is to use visual, material, and spatial media to think the world differently by questioning the premise of anthropocentrism, establishing instead new conditions of relation between human and nonhuman and with it, new forms of kinship with other species. The exhibition Ambiguous Territory: Architecture, Landscape and the Postnatural assembles a shifting tide of practices, objects, and images by architects, landscape architects, and artists that points to ways of operating within this new paradigm.