cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A survey of system design methodologies

Computers have been employed as the controllers of various systems. Designing and implementing control software for complex systems requires the precise definition of a system and the methods of specifying how the system is to be designed and implemented. In this paper four system design approaches, functional, process-based, object-oriented, and net-based, are reviewed concentrating on their views of a system, design languages, and graphical design tools. Each methodology introduces its own notion of a system, a system design language, and a graphical design tool. Generalizing the four views of a system, an open system is defined as a net of objects interacting with its own environment. Then system design languages and graphical design tools are considered in the category theoretical context. As an application, an interactive system design tool called OBJ-NET is introduced at the end.
From Post-Mortem to Preventive Medicine: Next Steps for Research on Child Witnesses

We propose five directions for future child witness research, inspired by recognition of the day-to-day realities of the legal system and the opportunities of psychology to react proactively to challenges child witnesses face. These directions include (1) the refinement of developmentally sensitive questioning aids that increase completeness without increasing suggestibility, (2) the development of approaches to non-disclosure and recantation, including understanding of the reasons underlying non-disclosure and the potential for building rapport and increasing trust, (3) the construction of interventions that meet mental health needs of child-victim witnesses without creating false memories or tainting testimony, (4) a focus on details of children's narratives that are often lacking, including temporal information and emotional reactions, and (5) expanding our attention beyond child sexual abuse allegations in criminal court and considering the many contexts in which child witnesses are questioned, including areas in which preferences rather than memories are elicited.
CAPE-VLSI implementation of a systolic processor array: architecture, design and testing

The singular value decomposition (SVD) is an important matrix factorization used in a variety of applications. The SVD exhibits better numerical stability due to the insensitivity to ill-conditioning or rank deficiency of matrices. However, the SVD is computationally intensive. The CORDIC array processor element (CAPE) is a single chip VLSI implementation of a processor element for the Brent-Luk-VanLoan systolic array which computes the SVD of a real matrix. The array utilizes CORDIC (coordinate rotation digital computer) arithmetic to perform the vector rotations and inverse tangent calculations in hardware. A six-chip prototype of the processor has been implemented as TinyChips using the MOSIS fabrication service. Experienced gain from designing the prototype helped in the design of integrated single-chip version. The chip has been implemented on a 5600*6900 mu die in a 2 mu n-well scalable CMOS process. >
The perils of political competition: Explaining participation and trust in political parties in Eastern Europe

This article explains the puzzling finding that postcommunist citizens living in countries with higher quality institutions have lower levels of political trust and participation. Why do political trust and participation not follow the quality of democratic institutions? I argue that in postcommunist Europe vibrant and robust political competition has stifled trust and, in turn, participation. Using multilevel data, I show that the polities that experienced vibrant political competition in their electoral arenas also witnessed the highest levels of disillusionment with political parties and, consequently, with the political system. Decades of monopolization of the electoral arena by communist parties left Eastern Europeans ill prepared to appreciate vigorous political competition, which, depending on its intensity, tended to depress trust in political parties as an institution and, consequently, stifled political participation.
Factors impacting on the problem of antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic resistance has become a major clinical and public health problem within the lifetime of most people living today. Confronted by increasing amounts of antibiotics over the past 60 years, bacteria have responded to the deluge with the propagation of progeny no longer susceptible to them. While it is clear that antibiotics are pivotal in the selection of bacterial resistance, the spread of resistance genes and of resistant bacteria also contributes to the problem. Selection of resistant forms can occur during or after antimicrobial treatment; antibiotic residues can be found in the environment for long periods of time after treatment. Besides antibiotics, there is the mounting use of other agents aimed at destroying bacteria, namely the surface antibacterials now available in many household products. These too enter the environment. The stage is thus set for an altered microbial ecology, not only in terms of resistant versus susceptible bacteria, but also in terms of the kinds of microorganisms surviving in the treated environment. We currently face multiresistant infectious disease organisms that are difficult and, sometimes, impossible to treat successfully. In order to curb the resistance problem, we must encourage the return of the susceptible commensal flora. They are our best allies in reversing antibiotic resistance.
Independence of Anaplasma marginale Strains with High and Low Transmission Efficiencies in the Tick Vector following Simultaneous Acquisition by Feeding on a Superinfected Mammalian Reservoir Host

Strain superinfection occurs when a second pathogen strain infects a host already carrying a primary strain. Anaplasma marginale superinfection occurs when the second strain carries a variant repertoire different from that of the primary strain, and the epidemiologic consequences depend on the relative efficiencies of tick-borne transmission of the two strains. Following strain superinfection in the reservoir host, we tested whether the presence of two A. marginale (sensu lato) strains that differed in transmission efficiency altered the transmission phenotypes in comparison to those for single-strain infections. Dermacentor andersoni ticks were fed on animals superinfected with the Anaplasma marginale subsp. centrale vaccine strain (low transmission efficiency) and the A. marginale St. Maries strain (high transmission efficiency). Within ticks that acquired both strains, the St. Maries strain had a competitive advantage and replicated to significantly higher levels than the vaccine strain. The St. Maries strain was subsequently transmitted to naive hosts by ticks previously fed either on superinfected animals or on animals singly infected with the St. Maries strain, consistent with the predicted transmission phenotype of this strain and the lack of interference due to the presence of a competing low-efficiency strain. The vaccine strain was not transmitted by either singly infected or coinfected ticks, consistent with the predicted transmission phenotype and the lack of enhancement due to the presence of a high-efficiency strain. These results support the idea that the strain predominance in regions of endemicity is mediated by the intrinsic transmission efficiency of specific strains regardless of occurrence of superinfection.
NGAL decreases E-cadherin-mediated cell–cell adhesion and increases cell motility and invasion through Rac1 in colon carcinoma cells

Expression of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL)/lipocalin2, a recently recognized iron regulatory protein that binds to matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9), is increased in a spectrum of cancers, including those of the colorectum. Using colon carcinoma cell lines stably transfected with NGAL or antisense NGAL, we showed that NGAL overexpression altered subcellular localization of E-cadherin and catenins, decreased E-cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesion, enhanced cell-matrix attachment, and increased cell motility and in vitro invasion. Conversely, a decrease in NGAL enhanced more aggregated growth pattern and decreased in vitro invasion. We further showed that NGAL exerted these effects through the alteration of the subcellular localization of Rac1 in an extracellular matrix-dependent, but MMP9-independent, manner. Furthermore, we observed that the NGAL-overexpressing cells tolerated increased iron levels in the culture environment, whereas the NGAL-underexpressing cells showed significant cell death after prolonged incubation in high-iron condition. Thus, overexpressing NGAL in colon carcinomas is an important regulatory molecule that integrates extracellular environment cues, iron metabolism, and intracellular small GTPase signaling in cancer migration and invasion. NGAL may therefore be a new target for therapeutic intervention in colorectal carcinoma.
Expanding to the Internet: Pricing and Communications Strategies When Firms Compete on Multiple Channels

Abstract The author shows how firms’ pricing and communications strategies may be affected by the size of the Internet: Firms have incentives to facilitate consumer search on the Internet, but only as long as the Internet’s reach is limited. As the Internet is used by more consumers, firms’ pricing and communications strategies on the Internet will mirror the strategies they pursue in a conventional channel. Firms can increase their market power by strategically using information on multiple channels to achieve finer consumer segmentation. The author suggests directions the Internet might take and derives managerial implications. The findings generalize to other channels that enable firms to segment consumers and inform them at low cost.
The 17 August 1991 Honeydew earthquake, North Coast California: A case for revising the Modified Mercalli scale in sparsely populated areas

We present an isoseismal map of the 17 August 1991 ( Ms = 6.2) Honeydew earthquake and proposed modifications of the 1931 Modified Mercalli scale of Wood and Neumann to accurately estimate peak intensities for this earthquake and others in similar rural settings. Modifications introduced de-emphasize reliance on damage to masonry construction in assigning intensities and attempt to bring physical phenomena such as rockfall, landsliding, tree and limb fall, and water changes in line with the damage indicators.
Economic benefits of investigational drug services at an academic institution

PURPOSE: The drug cost avoidance and revenue associated with the provision of investigational drug services (IDSs) at an academic institution were studied. METHODS: The study protocols and dispensing data for the investigational drug studies conducted at the institution over two fiscal years (2000-01 and 2001-02) were reviewed. Revenue generated was calculated for all studies, and drug cost avoidance was calculated for studies in which patients were likely to have been treated with active drug had they not been included in the study. RESULTS: Of 139 studies in which the IDS was involved, 107 (77%) were eligible for the cost avoidance analysis. The total drug cost avoidance plus revenue over the two fiscal years was $5,300,428. The annualized drug cost avoidance plus revenue was $2.6 million. Cost avoidance varied with the type of study and the disease category involved. CONCLUSION: An IDS accounted for substantial drug cost avoidance over two fiscal years.
The Maid Narratives: Black Domestics and the White Families in the Jim Crow South

Review of: "The Maid Narratives: Black Domestics and the White Families in the Jim Crow South," by Katherine van Wormer, David W. Jackson III, and Charletta Sudduth
Acknowledgement of manuscript reviewers 2015

The editors of Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine would like to thank all our reviewers who have contributed to the journal in Volume 10 (2015).
Dosage-Mortality Response and Field Control of Adult Alfalfa Snout Beetle

Adults (females) of Otiorhynchus ligustici (L.) were topically treated with acetone solutions of technical insecticides to assess LD50 values. LD50 values in μg of insecticide per insect were: carbofuran 0.42; methidathion 3.15; azinphosmethyl 3.75; fonofos 7.0; diazinon 7.55; phosmet 21.6; carbaryl greater than 100. Avg weight was 183.2 mg. Insecticides were applied to alfalfa fields in New York with conventional low pressure ground equipment, and 8 different fields were treated. In 6 of the 8 separate tests, carbofuran at 0.56 kg/ha gave the best control. In 2 of the tests, methidathion at 1.12 kg/ha gave equal or better control than carbofuran at 0.56 kg/ha. Azinphosmethyl at 0.56 kg/ha was 2nd best in 4 of the tests and better than methidathion at 1.12 kg/ha in one test in which carbofuran was not included.
The impact of pressure groups on inter-firm competition in the cigarette-manufacturing sector: A global value chain approach

Global commodity chain, global value chain and global production network scholars have established the importance of studying lead firms and their business strategies to understand how new competit...
Advances in the biology and treatment of pediatric central nervous system tumors.

Purpose of review Central nervous system tumors represent the most common solid tumors in children and are a leading cause of cancer-related fatalities in this age group. Here, we provide an update on insights gained through molecular profiling of the most common malignant childhood brain tumors. Recent findings Genomic profiling studies of medulloblastoma, ependymoma, and diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (diffuse midline glioma, with H3-K27M mutation), have refined, if not redefined, the diagnostic classification and therapeutic stratification of patients with these tumors. They detail the substantial genetic heterogeneity across each disease type and, importantly, link genotypic information to clinical course. The most aggressive, treatment-resistant (and also treatment-sensitive) forms within each disease entity are identified, and their potentially actionable targets. Summary Molecularly based classification of pediatric brain tumors provides a critical framework for the more precise stratification and treatment of children with brain tumors.
On Debond Failure of Foam Core Sandwich

Face/core debond fracture toughness has sandwich beams with a foam core made from cross-linked PVC has been examined experimentally and analytically using a recently proposed test method called Tilted Sandwich Debond (TSD) test. In this paper we will present a brief summary of research accomplishments in this area.
The Macaws of Grasshopper Ruin

ABSTRACTMacaws (Ara sp.) are known from prehistoric sites throughout much of the Southwest. These birds have particular importance as indicators of trade routes between the Southwestern pueblos and the cultural centers to the south of the present Arizona border. The natural range of the macaws is some 200 miles south of the Arizona-Mexico border. An unusual occurrence of a macaw-child burial is reported as are 15 macaw skeletons that have been collected at the Grasshopper Ruin during the last 11 field seasons.
Determinants of Clarity of Roles and Responsibilities in Interagency Information Integration and Sharing (IIS)

Interagency information sharing (IIS) has been identified as a powerful strategy to improve information and services in the public sector. In order to accomplish effective information sharing across organizational boundaries, the definition and clarity of roles and responsibilities are very important, particularly when the number and diversity of the agencies involved is high. However, there are very few studies that analyze the variables that affect this clarity in interagency information sharing efforts. Based on a review of current literature and a national survey conducted in the US, this paper quantitatively explores the determinants of clarity of roles and responsibilities. Consistent with existing literature, we found a significant and positive influence of diversity of participating organizations, the use of boundary objects, and communication skills on the use and emergence of need for clarity of roles and responsibilities in IIS project. Our findings open avenues for future research about the role of clarity of roles and responsibilities, its determinants, and other variables may play in mediating or directly explaining IIS success.
Neurodevelopment and Serum Bilirubin in Preterm Infants

The interrelationships of maximal total serum bilirubin concentrations, neonatal cranial ultrasonographic abnormalities, and the occurrence of cerebral palsy and developmental delay were studied in 249 preterm infants of less than 34 weeks gestation at the Departments of Pediatrics, Neurology, and Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA.
A method for the production of large volumes of WAF and CEWAF for dosing mesocosms to understand marine oil snow formation.

Abstract Marine oil snow (MOS) formation is a mechanism to transport oil from the ocean surface to sediments. We describe here the use of 110L mesocosms designed to mimic oceanic parameters during an oil spill including the use of chemical dispersants in order to understand the processes controlling MOS formation. These experiments were not designed to be toxicity tests but rather to illustrate mechanisms. This paper focuses on the development of protocols needed to conduct experiments under environmentally relevant conditions to examine marine snow and MOS. The experiments required the production of over 500 liters of water accommodated fraction (WAF), chemically enhanced water accommodated fraction of oil (CEWAF) as well as diluted CEWAF (DCEWAF). A redesigned baffled (170 L) recirculating tank (BRT) system was used. Two mesocosm experiments (M1 and M2) were run for several days each. In both M1 and M2, marine snow and MOS was formed in controls and all treatments respectively. Estimated oil equivalent (EOE) concentrations of CEWAF were in the high range of concentrations reported during spills and field tests, while WAF and DCEWAF concentrations were within the range of concentrations reported during oil spills. EOE decreased rapidly within days in agreement with historic data and experiments.
Regulation Change-Board Composition: The Impact of Faultlines on Golden Parachutes Policy

Using the concept of faultlines, this study questions Agency Theory assumptions about owner-manager conflict, deceitful CEOs, homogeneous interests among insiders and independent outsiders. We pres...
The performance of performance appraisal systems: understanding the linkage between appraisal structure and appraisal discrimination complaints

Employee perceptions of the fairness of performance evaluations are critical to the success of any appraisal system. Research on performance management includes extensive studies on how bias emerge...
In This Issue: Refining Care and its Frameworks

This issue’s articles reveal options for improving care directly, or by reframing the physical and cognitive platforms from which it is practiced. Behavioral activation with mindfulness training in a group intervention is found to be effective in reducing the incidence of major depressive
A human rights and history education model for teaching about historical events of mass violence: The 1947 British India Partition

This article examines singular historical narratives of the 1947 British India Partition in four history textbooks from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Britain, respectively. Drawing on analysis and work in the field, this study proposes a seven-module “integrated snail model” with a human rights orientation that can be applied to teaching historical events of conflict and violence in different contexts. It offers opportunities for learners to enhance their historical understanding and consciousness, experience empathy for others, and take actions that uphold human rights.
Culturally Inclusive and Responsive Curricular Learning Environments (CIRCLEs): An exploratory sequential mixed-methods approach

Abstract Cultural inclusion, cross-cultural openness, and positive intergroup relationships are essential considerations as schools are becoming increasingly multicultural because of shifting demographic patterns in the U.S. We explored Arab/Arab-American (ArA) Chaldean (Chal), African American (AfA) and European American (EuA), student perspectives on Culturally Inclusive and Responsive Curricular Learning Environments (CIRCLEs) through the theoretical lenses of culturally relevant/sustaining pedagogy, social identity and social categorization theories, and the intergroup contact hypothesis utilizing an exploratory sequential mixed-method research design. In Phase 1 we conducted focus group interviews (N = 57) in 12 culturally diverse middle schools with 114 ArA, 41 Chal, 48 AfA, and 100 EuA students. Students discussed their school experiences focusing on interactions with teachers and peers, the curriculum, and school policies. Phase 1 informed the development of the CIRCLE measure in Phase 2. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of CIRCLE items supported the generalizability of a hierarchical first and second order structure of the measure (CIRCLE) and its subscales across ArA (977), Chal (244), AfA (270), and EuA (1423) student groups. Analyses of the interviews and CFA results indicate that cultural self-other awareness and openness to different ways of thinking and being among teachers and students, through sensitively designed culturally inclusive curricula and school policies and programs responsive to student diversity is an educational imperative.
Neural stem cell derived extracellular vesicles: Attributes and prospects for treating neurodegenerative disorders

Neural stem cell (NSC) grafting in conditions such as aging, brain injury, and neurodegenerative diseases promotes regeneration, plasticity and functional recovery. Recent studies have revealed that administration of NSC-derived extracellular vesicles (NSC-EVs) via non-invasive approaches can also afford therapeutic benefits. This review confers the properties and therapeutic promise of EVs secreted by NSCs. NSC-EVs enriched with specific miRNAs mediate multiple functions in physiological and pathological conditions, which include modulation of the proximate microenvironment, facilitating the entry of viruses into cells, functioning as independent metabolic units, operating as a microglial morphogen and influencing the diverse aspects of brain function in adulthood including the process of aging. Due to their anti-inflammatory, neurogenic and neurotrophic effects, NSC-EVs are also useful for treating multiple neurodegenerative diseases. Although only a few studies have demonstrated the efficacy of NSC-EVs to treat brain impairments, the promise is enormous. Moving forward, the use of well-characterized NSC-EVs generated in specific culture conditions and NSC-EVs that are engineered to carry the desired miRNAs, mRNAs and proteins have great promise for treating brain injury and neurogenerative diseases. Notably, the possibility of targeting NSC-EVs to specific neuronal types or brain regions would enable managing of diverse neurodegenerative conditions with minimal side effects.
WIDENED PDL SPACE: MALIGNANCY OR FRACTURED TOOTH? SHAHBAZI

Background Despite the development of several modern imaging modalities, radiography remains the first and the most important mode of investigation for evaluating jaw lesions. Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignant bone tumor, accounting for approximately 20% of the sarcomas, but only 5% of the osteosarcomas occur in the jaws. Malignant lesions are known to quickly grow downward into the periodontal ligament (PDL) space, resulting in an irregular widening and destruction of the lamina dura. Often, root fractures can result in a similar radiographic appearance of the surrounding periodontium. We present a case series of 2 patients with vertical root fractures and 1 case of osteosarcoma of the jaw. Clinical and Radiographic Findings The 3 patients portrayed similar radiographic findings. Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images and panoramic radiography images revealed osseous defects resembling periodontal destruction, periradicular radiolucency, and irregular widening of the surrounding PDL space. Clinically, the 3 patients did not suffer from pain. However, the last of the three patients presented with tooth mobility. Differential or Definitive Interpretation Biopsy and histologic analysis revealed case #1 to have osteosarcoma and cases #2 and #3 to have a periodontal defect resulting from a root fracture. Discussion/Conclusions Localized swelling, with or without pain, is the characteristic feature of osteosarcoma. A purely osteolytic lesion demonstrates a radiolucency with “moth-eaten” or irregular borders that seem to infiltrate into the surrounding bone. Early-stage osteosarcoma of the jaw can also appear as symmetric widening of the PDL space. Therefore, when there is suspicion, biopsy should be performed to rule out malignancy.
A NOVEL GENE EXPRESSION SIGNATURE PREDICTIVE OF OUTCOMES IN PATIENTS WITH SYMPTOMATIC PERIPHERAL ARTERY DISEASE

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is an atherothrombotic disease of the lower limbs with substantial cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality. No study has examined the whole blood transcriptome for incident CV outcomes in symptomatic PAD patients PAD patients in the Platelet Activity and
A metabolic history of manufacturing waste: food commodities and their outsides

The early twentieth-century industrialization of food production and processing generated large volumes of processing waste. Following the fate of waste products cast off from the new food ...
Treatment of lumbar vertebra epithelioid hemangioma with radiation therapy: a case report.

Although epithelioid hemangiomas involving bone have been described in previous case reports and case series, the effects of radiation therapy on vertebral epithelioid hemangioma has not been fully reported. Here we provide a case report of tumor response to radiation therapy in a young adult with a large epithelioid hemangioma involving the fourth lumbar vertebrae. A 27-year-old Latino man with a past medical history of type 1 diabetes and a 3-year history of low back pain presented to a hospital emergency department following acute worsening of back pain. On transfer to our tertiary medical center, he described the pain as “shock-like” which originated at the lateral aspect of his right hip and radiated down to his right knee. Paresthesia was also reported along the medial aspect of his lower right leg. Imaging included a computed tomography scan and magnetic resonance imaging which revealed fourth lumbar and right iliac lytic bone lesions. Image-guided biopsies of the lytic lesions were consistent with a diagnosis of epithelioid hemangioma and radiation therapy was recommended as the primary treatment. Our patient’s low back and leg pain were initially managed with acetaminophen, oxycodone, pregabalin, and lidocaine patch 5%. He noted improvement in pain after his third fraction of radiation. Pain intensity continued to decline and oxycodone was discontinued. This case report demonstrates an unusual etiology of back and leg pain in a young man and elucidates the palliative effects of radiation therapy for epithelioid hemangioma involving the lumbar spine.
Accuracy of Kalman Filtering in Forecasting Visual Field and Intraocular Pressure Trajectory in Patients With Ocular Hypertension.

Importance Techniques that properly identify patients in whom ocular hypertension (OHTN) is likely to progress to open-angle glaucoma can assist clinicians with deciding on the frequency of monitoring and the potential benefit of early treatment. Objective To test whether Kalman filtering (KF), a machine learning technique, can accurately forecast mean deviation (MD), pattern standard deviation, and intraocular pressure values 5 years into the future for patients with OHTN. Design, Setting, and Participants This cohort study was a secondary analysis of data from patients with OHTN from the Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study, performed between February 1994 and March 2009. Patients underwent tonometry and perimetry every 6 months for up to 15 years. A KF (KF-OHTN) model was trained, validated, and tested to assess how well it could forecast MD, pattern standard deviation, and intraocular pressure at up to 5 years, and the forecasts were compared with results from the actual trial. Kalman filtering for OHTN was compared with a previously developed KF for patients with high-tension glaucoma (KF-HTG) and 3 traditional forecasting algorithms. Statistical analysis for the present study was performed between May 2018 and May 2019. Main Outcomes and Measures Prediction error and root-mean-square error at 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60 months for MD, pattern standard deviation, and intraocular pressure. Results Among 1407 eligible patients (2806 eyes), 809 (57.5%) were female and the mean (SD) age at baseline was 57.5 (9.6) years. For 2124 eyes with sufficient measurements, KF-OHTN forecast MD values 60 months into the future within 0.5 dB of the actual value for 696 eyes (32.8%), 1.0 dB for 1295 eyes (61.0%), and 2.5 dB for 1980 eyes (93.2%). Among the 5 forecasting algorithms tested, KF-OHTN achieved the lowest root-mean-square error (1.72 vs 1.85-4.28) for MD values 60 months into the future. For the subset of eyes that progressed to open-angle glaucoma, KF-OHTN and KF-HTG forecast MD values 60 months into the future within 1 dB of the actual value for 30 eyes (68.2%; 95% CI, 54.4%-82.0%) and achieved the lowest root-mean-square error among all models. Conclusions and Relevance These findings suggest that machine learning algorithms such as KF can accurately forecast MD, pattern standard deviation, and intraocular pressure 5 years into the future for many patients with OHTN. These algorithms may aid clinicians in managing OHTN in their patients.
BCL-XL mRNA Is Induced in Erythroid Progenitors In Vivo in a Mouse Model of Erythropoietic Stress.

The rate of red blood cell production increases up to ten-fold during stress erythropoiesis. We have recently identified stress-responsive CD71 high Ter119 positive early erythroblast subsets in freshly-isolated mouse hematopoietic tissue by flow cytometry. Both the absolute number and relative frequency of these early erythroblast subsets increase dramatically during stress. We have shown that this erythroblast expansion is associated with enhanced erythroblast viability, which is at least in part due to down-regulation of the death-receptor Fas, and its ligand, FasL from early erythroblasts by erythropoietin-receptor (EpoR) signaling (Liu et al., Blood 2006). The anti-apoptotic protein bcl-x L is induced in differentiating erythroid cells in vitro by EpoR and Stat5 signaling (Socolovsky et al., Cell 1999). Bcl-x L is essential for erythroid cell viability and is required for the maintenance of the normal basal hematocrit (Motoyama et al., Science 1995). However, it is unclear whether bcl-x L plays a role in enhancing erythroblast viability during the stress response. Serum factors other than Epo may modulate erythroid bcl-x L levels (Dolznig et al., Oncogene 2006), complicating the interpretation of bcl-x L measurements in cultured erythroid cells in vitro. Therefore, we examined the potential role of bcl-xL in stress erythropoiesis by measuring bcl-x L mRNA directly in CD71 high Ter119 positive early erythroblasts in vivo in a mouse model of stress. We mimicked the effect of acute erythropoietic stress by injecting adult Balb/C mice with a single dose of Epo (50 mg/kg subcutaneously). Control mice were injected with an equal volume of saline. Spleen cells were harvested at 3, 16, 24, 48 and 72 hours post injection, and CD71 high Ter119 positive early erythroblasts were immediately sorted by flow-cytometry. RNA was extracted from these freshly sorted cells and used in quantitative real-time PCR to measure bcl-x L mRNA expression. We normalized the level of bcl-x L mRNA in each sample by expressing it relative to beta-actin mRNA. At least 3 independent experiments were conducted for each time point. In parallel, we measured serum Epo concentration following Epo injection by ELISA. This showed that Epo increased approximately 100 fold by 40 minutes post-injection, reaching a peak by 6 hours and returning to basline levels by 48 hours. We found that bcl-x L mRNA began to increase in spleen early erythroblasts by 3 hours following Epo injection. By 16 hours, bcl-x L mRNA in Epo-injected mice was three-fold higher than in mice injected with saline. Bcl-x L mRNA continued to be elevated, by 2.5 fold, at 24 hours, but declined back to baseline levels by 48 hours. The time course of the increase in splenic early erythroblast bcl-x L mRNA therefore closely parallels the time course of serum Epo. The induction of early erythroblat bcl-x L mRNA suggests it is likely to contribute to the viability of stress-responsive CD71 high Ter119 positive early erythroblasts, and therefore to the increased erythropoietic rate during the stress response.
Moral Theory, Frameworks, and the Language of Ethics and Business

Since ethics is an integral part of management, it is vital for managers to become comfortable with the language of ethics, and to understand how it is inextricable from the language of business. Students will examine key theories of ethics and how they apply to management decision making. Excerpt UVA-E-0405 Rev. Nov. 8, 2017 Moral Theory, Frameworks, and the Language of Ethics and Business The Language of Ethics Since ethics is an integral part of management, it is vital for managers to become comfortable with the language of ethics, and to understand how it is inextricable from the language of business. We will examine key theories of ethics and how they apply to management decision making. These theories provide the content of ethics as we will use it in this course, as well as the terminology we can use to describe situations in ethical terms—both to see how ethics is part of the landscape and business and to provide resources for leaders to defend their choices. There is a rich history and diverse range of ethical theory. While there are a variety of ways to frame this vast array of research, we can categorize them in terms of four different traditions we will use in this class: . . .
Simulation Framework for Evaluation of Indoor Navigation Systems

In this paper, we introduce the first simulation framework that provides cost-effective means to evaluate indoor navigation systems for different user groups (e.g., users with visual impairment), various positioning techniques, and navigation instructions algorithms. The simulation engine uses the Unity game engine, which tracks the virtual user interaction and motion in a virtual environment that represents the physical environment in which the user navigates. The framework includes the following modules that will be defined by the indoor navigation system developers: 1) Positioning module which simulates indoor localization techniques and their observed accuracy; 2) Indoor navigation algorithm module that generates the navigation instructions using natural language phrases, and 3) Virtual user model (VUM) that includes human perception and information processing that can understand navigation instructions, perceive the surrounding environment, and act based on this information. The framework also includes a performance analysis module that evaluates the indoor navigation system performance in terms of navigation success rate and route similarity.
Novel C-terminal heat shock protein 90 inhibitors target breast cancer stem cells and block migration, self-renewal, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

In patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), evidence suggests that tumor-initiating cells (TIC) have stem cell-like properties, leading to invasion and metastasis. HSP90 plays a critical role in the conformational maintenance of many client proteins in TIC development. Therefore, we hypothesize that the novel C-terminal HSP90 inhibitors KU711 and KU758 can target TIC and represent a promising strategy for overcoming metastasis. Human breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-468LN, MDA-MB-231) treated with the HSP90 inhibitors KU711, KU758, and 17-AAG showed a 50-80% decrease in TIC markers CD44 and aldehyde dehydrogenase (P < 0.01) as assessed by flow cytometry. A decrease in sphere formation, which was used to assess self-renewal, was observed after the treatment of TNBC cells starting at 2.5 µm KU711 and 0.31 µm KU758. KU compounds also blocked the invasion and migration of TNBC cells in a dose-dependent manner. The knockdown of HSP90 clients was observed without any change in prosurvival HSP70 levels. In vivo, in a murine orthotopic breast cancer model, treatment with KU758 and KU711 yielded an approximately twofold and a fourfold reduction in tumor volumes versus control, respectively, without demonstrated toxicity. In conclusion, C-terminal HSP90 inhibitors are potent novel therapeutics against TNBC in vitro and in vivo as they target TICs and block invasion, EMT transition, and self-renewal.
THE PHYSICAL BASIS OF 3HE A-B NUCLEATION. AUTHORS' REPLY

A Comment on the Letter by Yu. M. Bunkov and O. D. Timofeevskaya, Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 4927 (1998). The authors of the Letter offer a Reply.
RNA-binding proteins in neurological development and disease.

RNA-binding proteins are a critical group of multifunctional proteins that precisely regulate all aspects of gene expression, from alternative splicing to mRNA trafficking, stability, and translati...
Efficient second harmonic generation in a Si3 N4 microring

We demonstrate efficient second harmonic generation in a silicon nitride microring, through perfect phase matching of a photogalvanic DC-field-induced x(2) process. The efficiency of 2,500 %/W is > 100 x larger than the previous record in silicon photonics.
FReaC Cache: Folded-logic Reconfigurable Computing in the Last Level Cache

The need for higher energy efficiency has resulted in the proliferation of accelerators across platforms, with custom and reconfigurable accelerators adopted in both edge devices and cloud servers. However, existing solutions fall short in providing accelerators with low-latency, high-bandwidth access to the working set and suffer from the high latency and energy cost of data transfers. Such costs can severely limit the smallest granularity of the tasks that can be accelerated and thus the applicability of the accelerators. In this work, we present FReaC Cache, a novel architecture that natively supports reconfigurable computing in the last level cache (LLC), thereby giving energy-efficient accelerators low-latency, high-bandwidth access to the working set. By leveraging the cache’s existing dense memory arrays, buses, and logic folding, we construct a reconfigurable fabric in the LLC with minimal changes to the system, processor, cache, and memory architecture. FReaC Cache is a low-latency, low-cost, and low-power alternative to off-die/offchip accelerators, and a flexible, and low-cost alternative to fixed function accelerators. We demonstrate an average speedup of 3X and Perf/W improvements of 6.1X over an edge-class multi-core CPU, and add 3.5% to 15.3% area overhead per cache slice.
Categorizing and Rating Patient Complaints: An Innovative Approach to Improve Patient Experience:

The Ombudsman Office at a large academic medical center created a standardized approach to manage and measure unsolicited patient complaints, including methods to identify longitudinal improvements...
The Beilinson equivalence for differential operators

Abstract Let D be the ring of differential operators on a smooth irreducible affine variety X over C , or, more generally, the enveloping algebra of any locally free Lie algebroid on X . The category of finitely generated graded modules of the Rees algebra D ˜ has a natural quotient category P D which imitates the category of modules on P r o j of a graded commutative ring. We show that the derived category D b ( P D ) is equivalent to the derived category of finitely generated modules of a sheaf of algebras E on X which is coherent over X . This generalizes the usual Beilinson equivalence for projective space, and also the Beilinson equivalence for differential operators on a smooth curve used by Ben-Zvi and Nevins in [6] to describe the moduli space of left ideals in D .
Market access, supplier access, and Africa's manufactured exports : an analysis of the role of geography and institutions

In a large cross-country sample of manufacturing establishments drawn from 188 cities, average exports per establishment are smaller for African firms than for businesses in other regions. The authors show that this is mainly because, on average, African firms face more adverse economic geography and operate in poorer institutional settings. Once they control for the quality of institutions and economic geography, what in effect is a negative African dummy disappears from the firm level exports equation they estimate. One part of the effect of geography operates through Africa's lower foreign market access: African firms are located further away from wealthier or denser potential export markets. A second occurs through the region's lower supplier access: African firms face steeper input prices, partly because of their physical distance from cheaper foreign suppliers, and partly because domestic substitutes for importable inputs are more expensive. Africa's poorer institutions reduce its manufactured exports directly, as well as indirectly, by lowering foreign market access and supplier access. Both geography and institutions influence average firm level exports significantly more through their effect on the number of exporters than through their impact on how much each exporter sells in foreign markets.
Data driven approach for Fault Detection and Identification using Competitive Learning techniques

Use of competitive learning techniques towards the area of fault detection is being investigated. The objective of Fault Detection and Identification (FDI) is to detect, isolate and identify faults so that the system performance can be improved. This paper is focused on the data driven approach for fault detection and would use: (i) Unsupervised Competitive Learning, (ii) Conscience Learning and (iii) Self Organizing Maps to develop a robust fault diagnosis scheme. This approach would provide an effective data reduction technique for FDI so that instead of using the complete data set available from a control system, pre-processing of the available data would be done using vector quantization and clustering approach. The effectiveness of the developed algorithms is tested using the data available from a Vertical Take off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft model.
Proceedings of the 43rd annual Southeast regional conference - Volume 1

Welcome to Kennesaw State University and the Forty-third annual ACM Southeast Conference. We are very excited with the quantity and quality of our presenters. This year's program includes an impressive collection of papers, tutorials/workshops, panels, undergraduate and graduate student posters and faculty posters as well as internationally known keynote speakers and high tech companies exhibiting their products. Many thanks to all contributors for their efforts. Special thanks for every member of the ACMSE Program Committee --- particularly Meg Murray, Hisham Haddad, Ken Hoganson, Kim King, Jose Garrido, Victor Clincy, Venu Dasigi and Ahmad Ghafarian.This year's conference has exceeded the number of submissions, acceptances and attendees of previous ACMSE Conferences. Despite the large numbers of submissions, all were refereed. Acceptance rates were 60% for Papers, 58% for Graduate Student Posters, 67% for Undergraduate Student Posters, 76% for Faculty Posters, and 79% for Workshops/Tutorials/Panels.In addition to the regular conference activities, we would like to invite attendees to participate in tourist and social activities that will follow the conference. Please refer to the conference web site at http://acmse.kennesaw.edu for more information.We also like to welcome you to next year's conference hosted by the Florida Institute of Technology located in Melbourne, Florida (March 17-19, 2006).Again, I welcome you to the 43rd ACM Southeast Conference, the campus of Kennesaw State University, and to the greater Atlanta area.
A Cosmological Test of Standard Gravity by Weak Lensing

The large scale structure formation in the standard Einstein gravity at later time is uniquely determined by the expansion history H(z) measured by the geometrical factor. A possible departure from the expected standard structure formation is detectable by growth structure test. We design new deviation parameters to test standard gravity at large scales and estimate the expected errors by weak lensing experiment. The effective Newtonian constant G_N at the present time can be constrained around 10% accuracy by measuring the difference curvature perturbations (\Phi-\Psi)/2 within 2% accuracy.
What is money

Do you really know what money is? Most of the money that exists today doesn't exit as greenbacks in someone's wallet or gold in a Vault, but as 1's and 0's in some computer. What exactly is money then, and how does digital money differ from "real" money? This paper explores the nature of digital money, how it is created, used, stored, safeguarded, and transferred. Several digital money implementations are reviewed including: ecash, CyberCast, NetCash, NetCheque, and iKP.
Efficient Object Caching for Distributed Java RMI Applications

Java-based distributed applications generally use RMI (Remote Method Invocation) for accessing remote objects. When used in a wide-area environment, the performance of such applications can be poor because of the high latency of RMI. This latency can be reduced by caching objects at the client node. However, the use of caching introduces other issues, including the expense of caching the object as well as the expense of managing the consistency of the object. This paper presents a middleware for object caching in Java RMI-based distributed applications. The mechanisms used by the middleware are fully compatible with Java RMI and are transparent to the clients. Using this middleware, the system designer can select the caching strategy and consistency protocol most appropriate for the application. The paper illustrates the benefits of using these mechanisms to improve the performance of RMI applications
A Gas Chromatographic Procedure for Determining Estriol in Pregnancy Urine: Evaluation in Two Different Laboratories

Satisfactory interlaboratory results were obtained when estriol in pregnancy urine was determined gas chromatographically in two different university laboratories.
In vivo biosynthesis of the saturated isoprene unit of dolichyl phosphate.

Reduction of the e-isoprene unit of polyprenols to form dolichols was studied in vivo using3H-polyprenol derivatives as substrates and liposomes as carriers. Liposomes containing labeled polyprenol, polyprenyl phosphate, or polyprenyl pyrophosphate were injected through the portal vein into the livers of rats under anesthesia. Uptake and conversion of the labeled compounds to dolichol derivatives was studied at different intervals. The greatest conversion to dolichol derivatives was found with polyprenyl pyrophosphate and polyprenyl monophosphate, with 31% and 8% of the absorbed dose converted respectively. Less than 0.2% of the absorbed polyprenol was converted to dolichol derivatives. These results suggest that the substrate for the α-isoprene reductase involved in dolichol biosynthesis is either polyprenyl monophosphate or polyprenyl pyrophosphate, or both.
Computer graphics study of array response

Most sonar systems as well as some radar systems use a beam-formed array as their primary sensor. An array of small receptors is the most convenient means of sampling an extended field. It is often the only feasible means in large scale, long wavelength applications such as sonar.