cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Conformal Atomic Layer Deposition of Alumina on Millimeter Tall, Vertically-Aligned Carbon Nanotube Arrays

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) can be used to coat high aspect ratio and high surface area substrates with conformal and precisely controlled thin films. Vertically aligned arrays of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with lengths up to 1.5 mm were conformally coated with alumina from base to tip. The nucleation and growth behaviors of Al2O3 ALD precursors on the MWCNTs were studied as a function of CNT surface chemistry. CNT surfaces were modified through a series of post-treatments including pyrolytic carbon deposition, high temperature thermal annealing, and oxygen plasma functionalization. Conformal coatings were achieved where post-treatments resulted in increased defect density as well as the extent of functionalization, as characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Using thermogravimetric analysis, it was determined that MWCNTs treated with pyrolytic carbon and plasma functionalization prior to ALD coating were more stable to thermal oxidation than pristine ALD coat...
Influence of Age and N, N'-Diethylene-N”-Phenethylphosphoramide (PEDP)Upon Nucleic Acid and Ribonuclease Activity in Tumor Tissue.

SummaryAs the Walker 256 tumor increased in size and approached maximum development, the ribonuclease activity per gram of tumor or per mg of deoxyribonucleic acid phosphorus (DNA-P) also increased. The slower growing, larger tumor had a markedly decreased ribonucleic acid phosphorus (RNA-P) and protein concentration. Treating the tumor-bearing rat with N, N'-diethylene-N”-phenethylphosphoramide (PEDP) resulted in reduced rate of growth of the tumor, increased ribonuclease activity, and decreased RNA-P.
Differential expression of the neurotensin gene in the developing rat and human gastrointestinal tract

Neurotensin (NT) is an important hormone regulating gut motility, secretion, and growth. The purpose of this study was to determine the developmental expression of the NT/neuromedin N gene (NT/N) i...
The Clinical Utility of Plasma and Urinary Carcinoembryonic Antigen in Patients with Genitourinary Disease

AbstractCarcinoembryonic antigen was measured in the urine and plasma of 108 patients with several types and various stages of genitourinary cancer. The value of the carcinoembryonic antigen assay as an early indicator of neoplastic disease was evaluated and a correlation was made between the extent of disease and the concentration of urinary and plasma carcinoembryonic antigen. Patients were classified according to stage of tumor involvement as follows: no evidence of disease, non-malignant disease, non-invasive disease, no known metastasis, regional metastasis and disseminated metastasis. The urinary carcinoembryonic antigen levels more closely paralleled the extent of disease than did the plasma carcinoembryonic antigen levels in patients with bladder cancer. Neither urinary nor plasma carcinoembryonic antigen levels were useful in assessing the extent of disease in patients with prostatic or testicular cancer. Studies related to microbiological interference in the carcinoembryonic antigen assay indica...
Tidal volume perception in a C1-C2 tetraplegic subject is blocked by airway anesthesia.

AbstractWe administered lidocaine aerosol intratracheal anesthesia to a ventilator-dependent, tracheostomized C1-C2 tetraplegie subject to determine its effect on her ability to detect small changes in tidal volume. A psychophysical test of volume detection was given before and immediately after a 20 percent lidocaine aerosol was delivered through the subject’s cuffed tracheostomy tube. On each of three occasions, she reliably (p<.001) detected changes in tidal volume during a control period; on two of these occasions she could not detect the same volume after inhaling the anesthetic. On one occasion the anesthetic had no effect on volume perception, possibly because copious airway secretions interfered with lidocaine uptake. Subject-blinded control tests with saline aerosol inhalation did not affect detection. We concluded that this subject’s tidal volume perception depended on mechanoreceptors in the lungs and thoracic airways and that local anesthetic interrupted these sensory signals when airway secre...
End-of-Life Care

The psychological discomfort of death is unique and inherently human. This chapter addresses multiple factors compromising the ability of the U.S. health care system to deliver quality end-of-life care. Consistent with the prevailing themes of this publication, the clinical relevance of beliefs and behavior is emphasized, as are current gaps in end-of-life care that clinical geropsychologists are most qualified yet rarely in place to fill.
Flutist Produces Four Resonances with a Single Bottle.

In a dramatic physics demonstration, a professional flutist produces four resonances with a 12 ounce Boylan soda bottle solely through her breath control. The 22 cm bottle acts like a Helmholtz resonator for the lowest pitch. The three higher pitches fall near the 3rd, 5th, and 7th harmonics for a 22 cm closed pipe. A video of this remarkable feat is provided (Ruiz 2016 YouTube: Four Resonances with a 12-ounce Soda Bottle (https://youtu.be/ibtVrp2NF_k)). The video also reveals that a flutist can bend resonance pitches by as much as 10% through control of air speed.
Four Priorities to Guide a Public Health of Consequence

The article discusses what the author refers to as the four short-term and long-term priorities that can be implemented to improve public health (PH) in America as of 2017, and it mentions proposals to engage scientific evidence, track PH policy impacts, conduct actionable PH research, and communicate the role of PH to the public and elected government officials using mass media. The perceptions of Americans are addressed, along with America's role as a global leader in science and innovation.
The impact of window opening and other occupant behavior on simulated energy performance in residence halls

A poor depiction of occupant behavior in building performance simulation frequently results in substantial divergences between real and simulated results. The problem may be of particular concern with simulation supporting the renovation of older multi-unit residential buildings, buildings whose occupants use windows for temperature control even during heating season. Here, we investigated the impact of window operation models (as well as other occupant behaviors) on simulated energy performance in university residence halls. Based on environmental monitoring, along with information collected from occupant surveys and wearable devices, we estimated air exchange rates and developed a probabilistic window-operation prediction model. The data were collected in 76 dormitory rooms sampled from a pre-renovated historic building and two similar buildings. We then evaluated the window-operation model’s predictive performance in 15 dormitory rooms in the post-renovated building with new occupants. The results of our predictive model were also compared with previously reported window-operation models. We implemented each window-operation model in a calibrated EnergyPlus building performance model, comparing the results of each simulation to metered hourly steam consumption. The impact of the different window operation models on simulated heating energy use was significant (annual error ranging from 0.2% to 10%). Our model demonstrated the highest capability of predicting window state (accuracy=85.8%) and steam use (NMBE=−0.2%); however, some previously published windowoperation models also produced satisfactory performance, implying that such models may be generalizable to some extent. The results suggest that data collected from somewhat ubiquitous indoor environmental quality sensors can glean insights into occupant behavior for building performance simulation. Furthermore, the energy impacts resulting from the variations in occupant behavior studied here were large enough to show that the choice of behavior model can have meaningful implications for real-world applications, such as estimating saving from heating and lighting system upgrades.
Craniosynostosis and Plagiocephaly

Craniosynostosis is the premature closure of one or more cranial sutures and can occur in 1 in 2,100 children. Using numerous illustrations, this chapter discusses the pathophysiology of craniosynostosis, specific suture involvement, diagnosis, surgical treatment options, and nursing care. Positional plagiocephaly, often confused with craniosynostosis, is caused by deformational forces such as the mother’s pelvis prenatally or a firm surface such as a mattress postnatally. Since the 1992 Back to Sleep Campaign, there has been an increase in positional plagiocephaly. Techniques to prevent or improve plagiocephaly are presented as well as how to differentiate this skull deformity from craniosynostosis. Parents share their stories of how they felt when they learned their child had craniosynostosis and surgical correction.
Review: Obsolescence: An Architectural History, by Daniel M. Abramson

Daniel M. Abramson Obsolescence: An Architectural History Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2016, 208 pp., 68 b/w illus. $35 (cloth), ISBN 9780226313450; $28 (paper), ISBN 9780226478050 At the beginning of the twentieth century, commercial buildings in the United States were being demolished within as little as five years. Histories of modern architecture have started their accounts with the development of the large U.S. office building before, but Daniel M. Abramson begins his new narrative with their destruction, and with a novel body of research into the office building as real estate and tax liability. This first chapter—which locates the invention of the concept of obsolescence—introduces a book that concludes with obsolescence's seeming nemesis, sustainability. It is a fine dialectic, Abramson shows, since the two paradigms do not so much oppose one another as address the same conundrum: how to manage change. Abramson is a member of Aggregate Architectural History Collaborative, a fulcrum of what we might term our discipline's materialist turn, by which architecture again represents material interactions that tell us about society's modes of production, economic relations, uneven development, and ecological precariousness. Obsolescence furnishes the perfect lens for such a materialist architectural history, since obsolescence was advanced by real estate experts in the 1910s and 1920s to explain seemingly premature demolitions, especially in the Chicago Loop, as the “result of changing technology, economics, and land use, in which the new would inevitably outperform and devalue the old” (3). The author shows that obsolescence—for all its lofty antecedence in Heraclitus's or Baudelaire's philosophies of transience, and for all its hold over popular culture, from the triennial automobile model change of the 1920s to the throwaway consumer culture after World War II—was initially entirely prosaic. Obsolescence was an invention of the U.S. real estate industry, which sought to write into corporate income tax code allowances for the depreciation of building investments. This the industry had achieved by the early 1930s, largely thanks to its cozy relationship with …
GENERATING HONEYPOT TRAFFIC FOR INDUSTRIAL CONTROL SYSTEMS

Defending critical infrastructure assets is an important, but extremely difficult and expensive task. Historically, decoys have been used very effectively to distract attackers and, in some cases, convince attackers to reveal their attack strategies. Several researchers have proposed the use of honeypots to protect programmable logic controllers, specifically those used in the critical infrastructure. However, most of these honeypots are static systems that wait for would-be attackers. To be effective, honeypot decoys need to be as realistic as possible. This chapter introduces a proof-of-concept honeypot network traffic generator that mimics a genuine control system in operation. Experiments conducted using a Siemens APOGEE building automation system for single and dual subnet instantiations indicate that the proposed traffic generator supports honeypot integration, traffic matching and routing in a decoy building automation network.
Impact of supply voltage and particle LET on the soft error rate of logic circuits

Heavy-ion irradiations of 14/16-nm node bulk FinFET combinational logic circuits under different supply voltage and frequency are investigated. Results indicate that particle LET strongly affects logic soft-error rate (SER). Single-event transient (SET) experimental data and models for logic SER are used to explain the differences in SER for low-LET particles and high-LET particles.
A Systematic Approach for Designing Sustainable Industrial WaterEnergy Integration Network

Natural resources face growing demands and constraints in many regions as a result of economic, population growth and climate change. Due to those changes, it is extremely essential to invest towards water and energy nexus integration technologies since integrated thinking and actions can led to achieving a sustainable development and global supply of water and energy. The water-energy nexus and integration has been recently proposed to minimize water-energy footprint of an industrial park. It is required to develop a systematic approach for water-energy nexus network and interconnections among the processes. Previous research works mainly have presented the general superstructure and approach to develop economically optimal water networks that achieve a specified footprint target. In this work, one of the previous approach for water network has been extended with cooling systems options in order to capture the linkages between water and energy within industrial cities. The objective of this paper is to develop a framework for optimizing energy and water resources from processes that have a surplus of energy at various qualities. A systematic procedure is developed for optimizing and maximizing the benefits of these nexuses, considering power generation from a net surplus of waste heat energy from each plant by accounting for different sustainability metrics. The developed approach includes the use of composite curve analysis to first identify the potential for excess heat and then used to develop the combined water-energy network. A superstructure is generated to embed various configurations and related optimization formulation is solved to obtain an optimal process that economically satisfies the demand for water and energy considering some environmental metrics. Special emphasis is placed on capturing the synergy potentials from utilizing excess process heat and synergies across cooling and desalination systems, as well as synergies with the surroundings in terms of power and water exports from the industrial cluster. The work considers multiple objectives to explore trade-offs between minimum total annual cost and environmental sustainability metrics. A case study of an industrial cluster of typical processes operating in Qatar is presented to highlight the benefits of integration. It is shown how economically very attractive solutions across the nexus are identified by the proposed optimization-based approach. The results indicate that by water-energy integration the footprint reduction can be significant while economically is attractive too. Therefore, there is a great potential for savings water-energy resources by water-energy integrations. The work is contributed to sustainable development such as less pollution and resource minimization.
R-Domain Phosphorylation by Protein Kinase A Stimulates Dissociation of Unhydrolyzed ATP from the First Nucleotide-Binding Site of the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator.

The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is an asymmetric ATP-binding cassette transporter in which ATP hydrolysis occurs only at the second of the two composite nucleotide-binding sites whereas there are noncanonical substitutions of key catalytic residues in the first site. Therefore, in widely accepted models of CFTR function, ATP is depicted as remaining bound at the first site while it is hydrolyzed at the second site. However, the long lifetime of ATP at nucleotide-binding domain 1 (NBD1) had been measured under conditions where the channel had not been activated by phosphorylation. Here we show that phosphorylation by protein kinase A (PKA), obligatory for channel activation, strongly accelerates dissociation of the unhydrolyzed ATP from NBD1 of both full-length and NBD2-deleted CFTR. This stimulation of nucleotide release results from phosphorylation of the CFTR regulatory domain (residues 634–835) (R-domain). Mimicking phosphorylation by mutating the eight phosphorylation si...
Homeodomain Proteins Directly Regulate ATM Kinase Activity.

Summary Ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) is a serine/threonine kinase that coordinates the response to DNA double-strand breaks and oxidative stress. NKX3.1, a prostate-specific transcription factor, was recently shown to directly stimulate ATM kinase activity through its highly conserved homeodomain. Here, we show that other members of the homeodomain family can also regulate ATM kinase activity. We found that six representative homeodomain proteins (NKX3.1, NKX2.2, TTF1, NKX2.5, HOXB7, and CDX2) physically and functionally interact with ATM and with the Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 (MRN) complex that activates ATM in combination with DNA double-strand breaks. The binding between homeodomain proteins and ATM stimulates oxidation-induced ATM activation in vitro but inhibits ATM kinase activity in the presence of MRN and DNA and in human cells. These findings suggest that many tissue-specific homeodomain proteins may regulate ATM activity during development and differentiation and that this is a unique mechanism for the control of the DNA damage response.
Implementation of the hybrid course on basic wheelchair service provision for Colombian wheelchair service providers.

Introduction People with mobility impairments often rely on wheelchairs as their primary means of mobility. Untrained wheelchair service providers may provide inappropriate wheelchairs and services which result in negative consequences in wheelchair users' health, quality of life, safety, and social participation. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of the Spanish Hybrid Course on Basic Wheelchair Service Provision, a training based on the World Health Organization's Wheelchair Service Training Program-Basic Level, to increase knowledge in basic level wheelchair service provision among a group of wheelchair service providers from Colombia. In addition, we developed a satisfaction survey which participants completed after the training to understand levels of satisfaction with the training intervention. Methods A quasi-experimental study was conducted to evaluate changes in basic level wheelchair knowledge using the Wheelchair Service Provision-Basic Test. Paired sample t tests were used to assess pre-and post-training changes in basic level wheelchair knowledge. The Hybrid Satisfaction Survey was developed in collaboration with a multidisciplinary, international stakeholders' group. The survey's construct of interest was level of satisfaction determined by interaction, instructor, instruction methodology, content, and technology, using a five-point Likert scale (0 = strongly disagree to 4 = strongly agree). The survey was completed anonymously after the training intervention and analyzed using frequencies and percentages. Results Fifteen wheelchair service providers in Colombia completed the Spanish Hybrid Course. Mean post-scores were significantly higher (Mean (M) = 56.13, Standard Deviation (SD) = 7.8), than pre-assessment scores (M = 50.07, SD = 8.38, t(14) = 4.923, p = 3). Conclusions The Spanish Hybrid Course proved to be effective in increasing basic level wheelchair knowledge with a high satisfaction level among participants. Further testing is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of this course across different individuals and countries as a potential tool to build professional capacity in basic level wheelchair provision.
What Is the Ideal Instagram Filter

Background Social media, particularly Instagram, is becoming a prominent part of the plastic surgeon-patient relationship. Recent surveys are revealing a trend toward patients bringing filtered selfies to their plastic surgery consultation as a way to communicate expectations to their doctors. But which Instagram filters create a more flattering or youthful appearance, and why? Objectives This study set out to determine which Instagram filters create the "Most Flattering," "Most Youthful," "Least Flattering," and "Least Youthful" appearances. Methods Standardized anterior view photos were taken of three Caucasian women: aged 38, 48, and 58 years. These photos were then altered using the color Instagram filters, randomly arranged and printed on photo paper. A questionnaire was created, asking respondents to determine which of the photos made each subject look "Most Flattering," "Most Youthful," "Least Flattering," and "Least Youthful." Results A total of 78 respondents participated in the study. The filters determined to be "Most Flattering" were, in order, Juno, Lark, and Sierra. The filters determined to be "Most Youthful" were Reyes, Rise, and Gingham. The filters voted "Least Flattering" were Hefe, X-Pro, and Slumber. "Least Youthful" filters were Perpetua, Crema, and Aden. Conclusions Instagram filters can be a very valuable way for patients to communicate their expectations with plastic surgeons. By studying why these filters are chosen by patients, we can better understand what results our patients are looking for.
Building Resilience Through Strengths-Based Learning During Graduate Study Abroad: An Exploratory Study:

Background: Leadership growth during short-term study abroad programs remain of critical interest to educators. No research exists on how a strengths-based study abroad curriculum influences resili...
Multi-Modal Biometric-Based Implicit Authentication of Wearable Device Users

The Internet of Things (IoT) is increasingly empowering people with an interconnected world of physical objects ranging from smart buildings to portable smart devices, such as wearables. With recent advances in mobile sensing, wearables have become a rich collection of portable sensors and are able to provide various types of services, including tracking of health and fitness, making financial transactions, and unlocking smart locks and vehicles. Most of these services are delivered based on users’ confidential and personal data, which are stored on these wearables. Existing explicit authentication approaches (i.e., PINs or pattern locks) for wearables suffer from several limitations, including small or no displays, risk of shoulder surfing, and users’ recall burden. Oftentimes, users completely disable security features out of convenience. Therefore, there is a need for a burden-free (implicit) authentication mechanism for wearable device users based on easily obtainable biometric data. In this paper, we present an implicit wearable device user authentication mechanism using combinations of three types of coarse-grain minute-level biometrics: behavioral (step counts), physiological (heart rate), and hybrid (calorie burn and metabolic equivalent of task). From our analysis of over 400 Fitbit users from a 17-month long health study, we are able to authenticate subjects with average accuracy values of around .93 (sedentary) and .90 (non-sedentary) with equal error rates of .05 using binary SVM classifiers. Our findings also show that the hybrid biometrics perform better than other biometrics and behavioral biometrics do not have a significant impact, even during non-sedentary periods.
Improving vacuum performance in the warm linac of the Spallation Neutron Source

The Spallation Neutron Source is an accelerator-based neutron source built and operated by the U.S. Department of Energy in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. With over 10 years of operation at 1 MW of power and above, shortcomings have been identified in the original vacuum pumping scheme for the drift tube and the coupled cavity linear accelerator sections. In this article, the vacuum performance for these systems is reviewed and the major areas of concern are discussed. The changes to the vacuum system are examined and the final design is described. Finally, the performance impact of these changes after a year of operation with the new vacuum system is presented.The Spallation Neutron Source is an accelerator-based neutron source built and operated by the U.S. Department of Energy in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. With over 10 years of operation at 1 MW of power and above, shortcomings have been identified in the original vacuum pumping scheme for the drift tube and the coupled cavity linear accelerator sections. In this article, the vacuum performance for these systems is reviewed and the major areas of concern are discussed. The changes to the vacuum system are examined and the final design is described. Finally, the performance impact of these changes after a year of operation with the new vacuum system is presented.
Astrovirology, Astrobiology, Artificial Intelligence: Extra-Solar System Investigations

This chapter attempts to encompass and tackle a large problem in Astrovirology and Astrobiology. There is a huge anthropomorphic prejudice that although life is unlikely, the just-right Goldilocks terrestrial conditions mean that the just-right balance of minerals and basic small molecules inevitably result in life as we know it throughout our solar system, galaxy, and the rest of the universe. Moreover, when such conditions on planets such as ours may not be quite right for the origin of life, it is popularly opined that asteroids and comets magically produce life or at the very least, the important, if not crucial components of terrestrial life so that life then blooms, when their fragments cruise the solar system, stars, and galaxies, and plummet onto appropriately bedecked planets and moons.
Association of Lumbar Degenerative Disease and Revision Rate following Total Knee Arthroplasty.

Recently, a variety of studies have analyzed the potential correlation between lumbar degenerative disease (LDD) and inferior clinical outcomes after total hip arthroplasty. However, there has been limited data concerning the role of LDD as a risk factor for failure after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The aim of our study was to determine: (1) what is the association of LDDs with TKA failure (all-cause revision) within 2 years of index arthroplasty and (2) if patients with LDD and lumbar fusion are at increased risk of TKA revision within 2 years compared with LDD patients without fusion. Data were collected from the Humana insurance database using the PearlDiver database from 2007 to 2017. To assess aim 1, patients were stratified into two groups based on a prior history of LDD (International Classification of Diseases [ICD]-9 or -10 diagnostic codes). To analyze aim 2, patients within the LDD cohort were stratified based on the presence of lumbar fusion (lumbar fusion Current Procedural Terminology code). All-cause revision rate was 3.4% among LDD patients versus 2.4% of patients with non-LDD (p < 0.001) at 2 years. Following multivariate analysis, LDD patients were at increased risk of all-cause revision surgery at 2 years (odds ratio [OR]: 1.361; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.238-1.498; p < 0.001) as well as aseptic loosening (OR: 1.533; 95% CI: 1.328-1.768; p < 0.001), periprosthetic joint infection (OR: 1.245; 95% CI: 1.129-1.373; p < 0.001), and periprosthetic fracture (OR: 1.521; 95% CI: 1.229-1.884; p < 0.001). Among LDD patients, patients who have a lumbar fusion had an all-cause revision rate of 5.0%, compared with 3.2% among LDD with no lumbar fusion patients at 2 years (p = 0.021). Following multivariate analysis, lumbar fusion patients were at increased risk of all-cause revision surgery (OR: 1.402; 95% CI: 1.362-1.445; p = 0.028), aseptic loosening (OR: 1.432; 95% CI: 1.376-1.489; p = 0.042), and periprosthetic fracture (OR: 1.302; 95% CI: 1.218-1.392; p = 0.037). Based on these findings, TKA candidates with preoperative LDD should be counseled that TKA outcome may be impaired by the coexistence of lumbar spine degenerative disease. This is Level III therapeutic study.
Pharmacokinetic Interactions of a Hop Dietary Supplement with Drug Metabolism in Perimenopausal and Postmenopausal Women.

Botanical dietary supplements produced from hops (Humulus lupulus) containing the chemopreventive compound xanthohumol and phytoestrogen 8-prenylnaringenin are used by women to manage menopausal sy...
Print to Pixel: Foundations of an E-Book Instructional Model in Early Literacy

A four-component e-book instructional model in early literacy is presented, including (a) e-book quality rating, (b) physical space for e-book browsing/reading, (c) child engagement with e-books, and (d) shared e-book reading instruction. Small-scale formative studies on each component are reported that describe the research foundations and preliminary testing of each component in the preschool classroom setting toward the goal of preparing the model for replication and scale-up testing. Qualitative analytic techniques were used to formatively assess the functionality of the model in the preschool learning environment and to gauge its potential usability in early literacy practice. Results indicated the need for better quality e-books, more precise design specifications for an e-book nook in the classroom setting, more explicit teacher guidance for child engagement during e-book reading sessions, and stronger teacher training on “how to” use instructional procedures and skills in shared e-book reading. Functionality was increased by an explicit instructional procedure and evidence of positive child engagement; usability was demonstrated in the adaptability of the model in the early childhood setting. Further design research is needed to stabilize the model for more rigorous analyses.
Lefschetz fibrations, complex structures and Seifert fibrations on S1 × M3

We consider product 4-manifolds S 1 x M, where M is a closed, connected and oriented 3-manifold. We prove that if S 1 x M admits a complex structure or a Lefschetz or Seifert fibration, then the following statement is true: S 1 × M admits a symplectic structure if and only if M fibers over S 1 , under the additional assumption that M has no fake 3-cells. We also discuss the relationship between the geometry of M and complex structures and Seifert fibrations on S 1 x M.
The McCollough World: Induction of orientation-contingent aftereffects with an altered-reality system

Abstract The McCollough Effect is a color aftereffect produced by exposure to colored, oriented patterns. For example, following adaptation to vertical red and horizontal green stripes in alternation, vertical black and white patterns appear greenish, while horizontal black and white patterns appear reddish. The striking aspect of the McCollough Effect is that just a few minutes of adaptation can produce an aftereffect lasting days or weeks. Though this effect is easily induced, previous work has shown that stronger effects can be achieved with longer periods of adaptation. To allow especially long adaptation durations, the current work develops a novel method of induction of the McCollough Effect using live video feed, filtered by orientation, and viewed with a head-mounted display. Results showed that this “McCollough World” paradigm was as strong an inducer (per unit time) as traditional paradigms using gratings, while allowing observers to adapt comfortably for multiple hours. Two hours of McCollough World adaptation produced effects that were significantly larger than 20 min of traditional adaptation, which is close to the tolerance limits for gratings. This work provides insight into the features necessary for induction of the McCollough Effect and provides a strategy for creating especially strong and long-lasting color aftereffects.
Factors Associated With a Delay in Postmastectomy Radiation Therapy.

BackgroundWhile the optimal time interval between mastectomy and postmastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT) has not been well-elucidated, a delay in PMRT has been associated with increased local recur...
Associations Between Psychopathic Traits and Laboratory-Based Aggression: Moderating Effects of Provocation and Distraction.

There are two distinct combinations of psychopathic traits (primary and secondary) that have been proposed to be a function of unique cognitive-affective deficits. This study sought to use theories...
Evolution of the Seven Devils Volcanic Arc and Period of Amalgamation with the North American Craton Based on Zircon U/Pb Geochronology and Hf Isotope Geochemistry of Intrusions in the Seven Devils Mountains, Western Idaho (USA)

The Seven Devils Mountains are located in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest in western Idaho. These mountains expose a geologically complex and variably metamorphosed terrane which preserves the Permo-Triassic volcanic arc accreted against the Cordilleran margin. Due to its geologic complexity, the origins of the Seven Devils Mountains and therin correlations between it, the Wrangellia terrane, and Blue Mountains Province terranes are uncertain. Zircon U/Pb and Lu/Hf analyses were used to enhance the geologic history of this complex terrane and act as steppingstone for further work in testing proposed ties to the Wrangellia and Blue Mountains Province terranes. LA-ICP-MS zircon U/Pb dating on six samples of intermediate intrusive rocks yield ages ranging from 120.1 to 137 Ma with the average age of 127 Ma. All samples have similar Lu/Hf isotopic compositions, with a range in eHf(t) of 8.6 to 13.8 with the average eHf(t) value of 10.8. Isotopic and age data show that intrusive rocks were forming close to the time of accretion. These new data combined with previous age and isotope data shows more similarities between the Seven Devils volcanic arc and the Blue Mountains Province than the Wrangellia terrane, however more extensive research is needed to truly decipher the complex history of these amalgamated terranes.
Disentangling Trust and Anthropomorphism Toward the Design of Human-Centered AI Systems

Advances in artificial intelligence will continue to broaden the space of applications of AI-based systems. Trust is a complexity-reducing mechanism that will guide human interactions with AI and anticipation of AI behavior. Similarly, anthropomorphizing, or attributing humanlike qualities to an entity, allows humans to predict and prepare for the complex and motivated behavior of humanlike entities in our environment. The shared role of these two processes is particularly relevant to interactions with complex and humanlike AI systems. This paper firsts describes the nature of trust and anthropomorphism as predictive processes, how they are similar, and how they differ. Then, how each may be considered in the design of human-centered AI systems is discussed, including some future research directions.
Modulation of ocean acidification by decadal climate variability in the Gulf of Alaska

Uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by the surface ocean is leading to global ocean acidification, but regional variations in ocean circulation and mixing can dampen or accelerate apparent acidification rates. Here we use a regional ocean model simulation for the years 1980 to 2013 and observational data to investigate how ocean fluctuations impact acidification rates in surface waters of the Gulf of Alaska. We find that large-scale atmospheric forcing influenced local winds and upwelling strength, which in turn affected ocean acidification rate. Specifically, variability in local wind stress curl depressed sea surface height in the subpolar gyre over decade-long intervals, which increased upwelling of nitrate- and dissolved inorganic carbon-rich waters and enhanced apparent ocean acidification rates. We define this sea surface height variability as the Northern Gulf of Alaska Oscillation and suggest that it can cause extreme acidification events that are detrimental to ecosystem health and fisheries. Decadal wind patterns enhance upwelling of carbon-rich waters and increase apparent surface ocean acidification rates in the Gulf of Alaska, according to a 34-year regional ocean biogeochemical hindcast model simulation.
A highly conserved zebrafish IMPDH retinal isoform produces the majority of guanine and forms dynamic protein filaments in photoreceptor cells

Inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) is a key regulatory enzyme in the de novo synthesis of the purine base guanine. Dominant mutations in human IMPDH1 cause photoreceptor degeneration for reasons that are unknown. Here we sought to provide some foundational information on Impdh1a in the zebrafish retina. We found that in zebrafish, gene sub-functionalization due to ancestral duplication resulted in a predominant retinal variant expressed exclusively in rod and cone photoreceptors. This variant is structurally and functionally similar to the human IMPDH1 retinal variant and shares a reduced sensitivity to GTP-mediated inhibition. We also demonstrated that Impdh1a forms prominent protein filaments in vitro and in vivo in both rod and cone photoreceptor cell bodies, synapses, and to a lesser degree, in outer segments. These filaments changed length and cellular distribution throughout the day consistent with diurnal changes in both mRNA and protein levels. Loss of Impdh1a resulted in a substantial reduction of guanine levels, although cellular morphology and cGMP levels remained normal. Our findings demonstrate a significant role for IMPDH1 in photoreceptor guanine production and provide fundamental new information on the details of this protein in the zebrafish retina.
The Effect of Statins on IL-33 Mediated Mast Cell Function

THE EFFECT OF STATINS ON IL-33 ACTIVATED MAST CELLS Marcela Taruselli, Bachelor of Science in Biology A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Biology at Virginia Commonwealth University, 2015. Director: John J. Ryan, Ph.D., Professor of Biology This study demonstrates original findings of statin effects on IL-33 stimulated mast cells. Statins are a class of drugs used to lower cholesterol production by targeting HMG CoA reductase. These commonly prescribed drugs have been shown to be immunomodulatory. In this study, we have found that pretreatment with statins has a variety of effects on IL-33 stimulated mast cells. Atorvastatin suppresses TNF and IL-6 production, while fluvastatin significantly enhances release of these proinflammatory cytokines in BMMCs. Although they have differing effects on cytokine production, both statins lowered ST2 expression on the cell surface, decreased cell viability, and enhanced expression of the transcription factor KLF2, a negative regulator of NFκB. Blocking isoprenylation by using geranylgeranyl transferase inhibitor, but not farnesyl transferase, mimicked the effects of atorvastatin, while neither mirrored the effect of fluvastatin. Furthermore, fluvastatin effects were not reversed by mevalonic acid, the product of HMG-CoA reductase. These data indicate that fluvastatin effects are distinct from its activities as
Structural results for partially nested LQG systems over graphs

We identify a broad class of decentralized output-feedback LQG systems for which the optimal control strategies have a simple and intuitive estimation structure. We consider cases for which the coupling of dynamics among subsystems and the inter-controller communication are characterized by the same directed graph. For the class of graphs known as multitrees, we show that each controller need only estimate the states of the subsystems it affects (its descendants) as well as the subsystems it observes (its ancestors). The optimal control action for each controller is a linear function of the estimate it computes and the estimates computed by its ancestors. Moreover, all state estimates may be updated recursively, much like a Kalman filter.
Racial Attitudes in the Post-Colonial Situation: The Case of Zimbabwe

What happens to intergroup attitudes when a previously colonized population gains political independence? Several world regions such as Eastern Europe, Germany, and Southern Africa have recently experienced moves toward democratization. Racial minorities within the United States, although suffering severe setbacks in recent decades, have also successfully elected members to political office at local, state, and federal levels of government. What are the consequences of this shift from minority to majority rule? They are complicated, mixed, and understood to a limited degree only. Fear of widespread violence, social disorder, economic decline, and a return to the past often follow periods of initial optimism. Understanding these radical changes is obviously significant to their enduring success, but available information is limited. This article attempts to provide insight into these situations by focusing on Black-White attitudes in Zimbabwe from that country's independence in 1980 through 1987. All letters to the editor in a major weekly newspaper published in Harare are analyzed by year of publication, author's race (where possible), major topic, and rationales. These data provide significant insight into racial attitudes as the society switches from minority to majority rule, proceeding beyond initial optimism to inevitable ambivalence. On a general level, understanding of interracial sensitivities during periods of power shifts to majority rule is also gained. Such insight may be
ELF4 is a phytochrome‐regulated component of a negative‐feedback loop involving the central oscillator components CCA1 and LHY

*Summary Evidence has been presented that a negative transcriptional feedback loop formed by the genes CIRCADIAN CLOCK ASSOCIATED (CCA1), LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL (LHY) and TIMING OF CAB (TOC1) constitutes the core of the central oscillator of the circadian clock in Arabidopsis. Here we show that these genes are expressed at constant, basal levels in dark-grown seedlings. Transfer to constant red light (Rc) rapidly induces a biphasic pattern of CCA1 and LHY expression, and a reciprocal TOC1 expression pattern over the first 24 h, consistent with initial induction of this synchronous oscillation by the light signal. We have used this assay with wild-type and mutant seedlings to examine the role of these oscillator components, and to determine the function of ELF3 and ELF4 in their light-regulated expression. The data show that whereas TOC1 is necessary for light-induced CCA1/LHY expression, the combined absence of CCA1 and LHY has little effect on the pattern of light-induced TOC1 expression, indicating that the negative regulatory arm of the proposed oscillator is not fully functional during initial seedling de-etiolation. By contrast, ELF4 is necessary for light-induced expression of both CCA1 and LHY, and conversely, CCA1 and LHY act negatively on light-induced ELF4 expression. Together with the observation that the temporal light-induced expression profile of ELF4 is counter-phased to that of CCA1 and LHY and parallels that of TOC1, these data are consistent with a previously unrecognized negative-feedback loop formed by CCA1/LHY and ELF4 in a manner analogous to the proposed CCA1/LHY/ TOC1 oscillator. ELF3 is also necessary for light-induced CCA1/LHY expression, but it is neither light-induced nor clock-regulated during de-etiolation. Taken together, the data suggest (a) that ELF3, ELF4, and TOC1 all function in the primary, phytochrome-mediated light-input pathway to the circadian oscillator in Arabidopsis; and (b) that this oscillator consists of two or more interlocking transcriptional feedback loops that may be differentially operative during initial light induction and under steady-state circadian conditions in entrained green plants.
Isolation of Protein Synthesis Initiation Factors from Rabbit Liver

Abstract The 0.5 m KCl wash fraction of rabbit liver microsomes has been fractionated by DEAE-cellulose chromatography into the protein synthesis initiation factors IF-M1, IF-M2(a+b), and IF-M3. IF-M2(a+b) was also separated into two components, IF-M2a and IF-M2b, by Sephadex G-200 chromatography. Further purification of the factors was obtained by ammonium sulfate fractionation, ion exchange chromatography, and/or gel filtration chromatography. The chromatographic behavior of the liver initiation factors on ion exchange resins and Sephadex G-200 is very similar to that of the reticulocyte factors at comparable stages of purification. Furthermore, there is a high degree of interchangeability of liver and reticulocyte IF-M1, IF-M2a, and IF-M2b in polyphenylalanine synthesis and also in the Met-tRNAfmet binding assay. Liver IF-M3 substitutes for reticulocyte IF-M3 in endogenous and exogenous mRNA-directed protein synthesis and in single peptide bond formation assays. These findings suggest that liver initiation factors IF-M1, IF-M2a, IF-M2b, and IF-M3 are identical, or at least very similar, to the corresponding reticulocyte factors.
Student Exercises on Fossil Fuels, Global Warming, and Gaia

In a recent series of tutorial papers, Rust [7,8,9,10] modelled measured time series for global temperatures and fossil fuel \(\mbox{CO}_{2}\) emissions with related combinations of polynomials, exponentials, and sinusoids, using least squares fits that can be done by students well grounded in practical statistics. The analysis suggested that temperatures cycle around a monotonically increasing, accelerating baseline with a period of ≈65 years and that the exponential growth rate of \(\mbox{CO}_{2}\) emissions varies inversely with this cycle. The Gaia hypothesis [5] suggests that the biosphere adjusts atmospheric greenhouse gases to maintain an optimal temperature for life. The previous analysis is here extended with a series of fitting exercises designed to demonstrate that the above described inverse relation represents a Gaian feedback.
Wind and River Induced Fluctuations in a Small, Shallow, Tributary Estuary

Two years of wind and water level data and 18 months of runoff data from Weeks Bay, Alabama, a small tributary estuary of Mobile Bay have been analyzed. These data were supplemented with occasional current meter records of a few months’ duration. The subtidal barotropic exchange of water between Weeks Bay and Mobile Bay is predominantly a response to the shelf-estuarine exchange of waters between the Gulf of Mexico and Mobile Bay. The local north-south wind stress modifies this response at very low frequencies. Runoff to Weeks Bay is episodic and of short duration. It drives shortlived exhanges between the two bays. These exchanges are modified by the local winds and are probably strongly baroclinic.
On a complete analysis of high-energy scattering matrix asymptotics for one dimensional Schrödinger operators with integrable potentials

For the general one dimensional Schrodinger operator -d 2 /dx2 +q (x) with real q E L 1 (R) we present a complete streamlined treatment of large spectral parameter power asymptotics of Jost solutions and the scattering matrix. We find simple necessary and sufficient conditions relating the number of exact terms in the asymptotics with the smoothness of q. These conditions are expressed in terms of the Fourier transform of some functions related to q. In particular, under the usual conditions q (N) ∈ L 1 (R), N E N 0 , we derive up to two extra terms in the asymptotic expansion of the Jost solution and for the transmission coefficient we derive twice as many terms. Our main results are complete.