cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Late Quaternary Climate and Hydrology of Tropical South America Inferred from an Isotopic and Chemical Model of Lake Titicaca, Bolivia and Peru

A simple mass balance model provides insight into the hydrologic, isotopic, and chemical responses of Lake Titicaca to past climatic changes. Latest Pleistocene climate of the Altiplano is assumed to have been 20% wetter and 5°C colder than today, based on previous modeling. Our simulation of lacustrine change since 15,000 cal yr B.P. is forced by these modeled climate changes. The latest Pleistocene Lake Titicaca was deep, fresh, and overflowing. The latest Pleistocene riverine discharge from the lake was about 8 times greater than the modern average, sufficient to allow the expansion of the great paleolake Tauca on the central Altiplano. The lake δ18O value averaged about −13‰ SMOW (the modern value is about −4.2‰). The early Holocene decrease in precipitation caused Lake Titicaca to fall below its outlet and contributed to a rapid desiccation of paleolake Tauca. Continued evaporation caused the 100-m drop in lake level, but only a slight (1–2‰) increase (relative to modern) in δ18O of early Holocene lake waters. This Holocene lowstand level of nearly 100 m was most likely produced by a precipitation decrease, relative to modern, of about 40%. The lake was saline as recently as 2000 cal yr B.P. The timing of these hydrologic changes is in general agreement with calculated changes of insolation forcing of the South American summer monsoon.
Sodium nitroprusside and intracranial pressure

The effects of sodium nitroprusside on intracranial pressure were studied in 10 patients, candidates for surgical treatment, prior to anaesthesia. Blood pressure was lowered to at least 50% of its initial value. In all cases, at the beginning of nitroprusside infusion, both the mean and the pulse intracranial pressures increased (mean increase: 83.2% of the initial value). At a certain moment, however, while the blood pressure continued to fall, the mean intracranial pressure did not increase any more; on the contrary, it decreased. On the other hand, in many cases, the pulse intracranial pressure continued to increase. No neurological or EEG changes were observed. The possible changes of cerebral circulation and CSF dynamics underlying the phenomena observed are discussed.
Effects of Photon-Momentum and Magnetic-Field Reversal on the Far-Infrared Electric-Dipole Spin Resonance in InSb

Far-infrared magnetotransmission experiments on $n$-type InSb in the parallel Voigt geometry ($\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathrm{E}}\ensuremath{\parallel}\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathrm{B}}\ensuremath{\perp}\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathrm{k}}$) conclusively demonstrate that the electric-dipole-excited spin resonance (EDSR) of conduction and donor-bound electrons in this material is allowed through lack of inversion symmetry. Quite unexpectedly for this geometry, the EDSR spectra also reveal an anomalous dependence on the sign of either $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathrm{B}}$ or $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathrm{k}}$. It is shown, through time-reversal-symmetry arguments, that the above behavior represents an explicit contribution of the photon momentum to the dielectric response function.
Induction of PDE5 and de-sensitization to endogenous NO signaling in a systemic resistance artery under altered blood flow

In the classical pathway, the opposing activities of guanylyl cyclases (GC) and phosphodiesterases (PDE), and the effect of the cGMP-dependent protein kinase (cGK) on its targets, determine the biological responses to NO signaling. Here we tested the hypothesis that vascular dysfunction may be due to altered expression and activity of these effectors of NO signaling. Every other set of rat second order mesenteric resistance arteries (MA) were ligated, resulting in chronic low flow (LF) in the upstream MA1 and high flow (HF) in the adjacent MA1 without tissue ischemia. eNOS and iNOS were up-regulated in HF and LF MA1, respectively, in the sub-acute phase (four days) of vascular remodeling. The Day4 HF/LF MA1s were under increased control of NO as indicated by reduced sensitivity to the vasoconstrictor phenylephrine and its normalization with the NOS antagonist L-NAME. PDE5 mRNA and protein were also significantly up-regulated in the HF/LF MA1 with no change in sGC or PKG1, an effect that was dependent upon NO synthesis. The PDE5 inhibitor Sildenafil was several-fold more powerful in relaxing the HF/LF MA1s, and pre-treatment with Sildenafil uncovered an increased responsiveness of HF/LF MA1s to the NO donor DEA/NO. We conclude that induction of PDE5 de-sensitizes this systemic resistance artery to sustained NO signaling under chronic HF/LF. Treatment with PDE5 antagonists, in contrast to NO donors, may more specifically and effectively increase blood flow to chronically hypo-perfused tissues.
Environmental determination or organizational design: An exploration of organizational decision making under environmental uncertainty

Abstract The relationship between the environment and organizational designs has been a main focus for the past several decades, often with different and even opposing views. Through a computer simulation model, this study attempts to provide a coherent framework by exploring how environmental uncertainty affects organizational decision making performance in an open systems setting where organizations can have different design conditions such as simple versus complex structures and operational versus experiential decision procedures. Results from this study suggest that, while distinctive effects indeed exist, there are important linkages between the environmental condition and the organizational design in affecting organizational performance.
A Foucaultian Approach to Academic Anxiety

Academic anxiety interferes with achievement and performance, as well as social and psychological development among children and adults. Although the writings of Michel Foucault do not address anxiety directly, his themes of knowledge and power have been applied to education and describe relationships that are likely to create anxiety among some participants. This article utilizes concepts from the work of Michel Foucault, as well as the experimental psychology and educational psychology literatures, to understand the causes and consequences of academic anxiety in school and learning environments. In addition to general anxiety that is associated with academic performance and achievement, extensive theoretical and empirical work has been done in two specific areas: test anxiety and mathematics anxiety. Consequently, relevant literature related to these two specific forms of academic anxiety will be incorporated when appropriate.
An operator placement algorithm for complex in-network processing

In sensor network applications that do complex innetwork processing, each node may perform its own task rather than all nodes executing the same aggregation function. To support the development of such applications, this paper introduces a network-level programming model that is based on the data flow in the application. When deploying the application, such a high-level model has to be mapped to nodes in the specific network topology. This paper presents an operator placement algorithm that tries to find an optimal mapping that minimizes data transmission throughout the network.
Examining Disclosure of Physical and Sexual Victimization by Method in Samples of Women Involved in the Criminal Justice System.

Definitions vary on what constitutes sexual and/or physical abuse, and scholars have debated on which methods might yield the most accurate response rates for capturing this sensitive information. Although some studies suggest respondents prefer methods that provide anonymity, previous studies have not utilized high-risk or stigmatized populations. In this article, the authors report on serendipitous findings when using two methods to assess the past year incidence of sexual and physical violence among women involved in the criminal justice system. Women who participated in an anonymous survey reported higher physical and sexual victimization than did the women who were interviewed, even though the questions were identical. Implications of the findings are discussed.
Delay and probability discounting in pathological gamblers with and without a history of substance use problems

Rationale Pathological gambling and substance use disorders are highly comorbid, possibly because they both stem from a similar process—impulsivity. Although much data exist regarding the association between delay discounting and these psychiatric disorders, relatively little research has examined probability discounting and its relationship with either substance use or gambling.
Meeting Report: Choosing the Right MR Tools for the Job

James S. McDonnell Foundation–sponsored workshops discuss issues concerning functional brain imaging techniques and their use in cognitive neuroscience. Reports from workshops on functional neuroenergetics, the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation, and a workshop on the biological correlates of cognitive functions are available (Recommended Reading 1). This report integrates and summarizes the discussions from two workshops with overlapping interests. The first one was concerned with the statistical analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data and the second focused on the advantages and disadvantages of functional imaging at different magnetic field strengths.
Children Talk About Death.

Narratives about death produced by children between three-and-one-half and nine-and-one-half years of age were analyzed. Death narratives were almost nonexistent in children under five-and-one-half years of age, but the majority of children who were six or older spontaneously produced narratives about death. Children under nine years of age discuss death as a dramatic event to be told like a television story plot; there is no affective reaction to the deaths of strangers, pets, or relatives. With one exception, only the nine year old children indicated emotional reactions to a death, or their affection for the deceased. This contrast suggests that younger children have difficulty coping with death in emotional terms, and suppress or deny their affective reactions to it. Additionally, three children talked about the death of a parent; none produced narratives with evaluation and affective reactions to these deaths. These children denied the parent's death as well, by talking of the deceased parent as if he...
High-grade glioma before and after treatment with radiation and Avastin: Initial observations

We evaluate the effects of adjuvant treatment with the angiogenesis inhibitor Avastin (bevacizumab) on pathological tissue specimens of high-grade glioma. Tissue from five patients before and after treatment with Avastin was subjected to histological evaluation and compared to four control cases of glioma before and after similar treatment protocols not including bevacizumab. Clinical and radiographic data were reviewed. Histological analysis focused on microvessel density and vascular morphology, and expression patterns of vascular endothelial growth factor–A (VEGF-A) and the hematopoietic stem cell, mesenchymal, and cell motility markers CD34, smooth muscle actin, D2-40, and fascin. All patients with a decrease in microvessel density had a radiographic response, whereas no response was seen in the patients with increased microvessel density. Vascular morphology showed apparent “normalization” after Avastin treatment in two cases, with thin-walled and evenly distributed vessels. VEGF-A expression in tumor cells was increased in two cases and decreased in three and did not correlate with treatment response. There was a trend toward a relative increase of CD34, smooth muscle actin, D2-40, and fascin immunostaining following treatment with Avastin. Specimens from four patients with recurrent malignant gliomas before and after adjuvant treatment (not including bevacizumab) had features dissimilar from our study cases. We conclude that a change in vascular morphology can be observed following anti-angiogenic treatment. There seems to be no correlation between VEGF-A expression and clinical parameters. While the phenomena we describe may not be specific to Avastin, they demonstrate the potential of tissue-based analysis for the discovery of clinically relevant treatment response biomarkers.
Prototypes of Intimacy and Distance in Same-Sex and Opposite-Sex Relationships:

Differences between men's and women's conceptions of intimacy and distance may be a source of misunderstanding and conflict in close relationships. Although there is already an extensive literature on sex differences in intimacy, the meaning of the findings is somewhat unclear because each set of authors adopts a unique operational definition of intimacy. Often, this definition has been affected by the tendency to equate intimacy with self-disclosure. Distance (the opposite of intimacy, if intimacy is conceptualized as closeness) has been left largely unexplored in previous research and its relation to intimacy is unclear. In the present study, the components of intimacy and distance were delineated by asking men and women to describe an intimate and a distant experience with a member of the opposite sex and a member of the same sex. Prototypes were constructed by submitting the features mentioned in each kind of experience to hierarchical cluster analysis. The results revealed more similarities than diff...
Inductor design using signomial programming

Purpose – This paper seeks to consider the design of small, naturally cooled, and high‐frequency (in excess of 10 kHz) inductors. Its purpose is to show that the design of such inductors can be obtained from the solution of a signomial program. In its most general form, the signomial program calls for minimising the total mass (or cost) of the inductor whilst ensuring the satisfaction of the inductance value together with constraints imposed by the copper fill‐factor, the allowed temperature rise, Kirchhoff's mmf law, and the core flux density.Design/methodology/approach – The signomial program is solved using a sequential geometric programming (SGP) approach specifically tailored to the inductor design problem. In essence, SGP seeks a constrained minimum mass (or cost) solution by optimally setting the inductor geometry parameters, the air‐gap length, and the relevant electrical and magnetic quantities.Findings – Design results reveal that including the inductor geometry parameters in the set of problem ...
Parallel implementation of Bouvka's minimum spanning tree algorithm

We study parallel algorithms for the minimum spanning tree problem, based on the sequential algorithm of O. Boruvka (1926). The target architectures for our algorithm are asynchronous, distributed-memory machines. Analysis of our parallel algorithm on a simple model that is reminiscent of the LogP model, shows that in principle a speedup proportional to the number of processors can be achieved, but that communication costs can be significant. To reduce these costs, we develop a new randomized linear work pointer jumping scheme that performs better than previous linear work algorithms. We also consider empirically the effects of data imbalance on the running time. For the graphs used in our experiments, load balancing schemes result in little improvement in running times. Our implementations on sparse graphs with 64,000 vertices on Thinking Machine's CM-5 achieve a speedup factor of about 4 on 16 processors. On this environment, packaging of messages turns out to be the most effective way to reduce communication costs.
Optimal group positioning after a predator attack: the influence of speed, sex, and satiation within mobile whirligig swarms

The position of animals within fish shoals, bird flocks, and insect swarms is related to individual differences in hunger, body size, and defenses. These differences relate to the way that animals balance multiple selection pressures including food-distribution and predator-attack patterns. However, the role of drafting/slipstreaming (taking advantage of the vortices of those in front of you) and sex on the position of individuals within a polarized group has not been well studied. For example, although hungry fish have been found to prefer positions toward the front of a shoal on average, the mitigating factors of sex, recent predator exposure, and drafting have not been factored into this response. We conducted a controlled laboratory experiment with individually marked whirligig beetles (Coleoptera: Gyrinidae) where sex and feeding level were controlled and the position of beetles in a polarized group (in a flow tank) was analyzed at 2 different water speeds after exposure to a simulated predator. It was predicted that males and females would balance foraging and predator avoidance needs differently, as suggested by sexual segregation theory and that males might be likely to occupy front positions because of greater energetic needs. We found that in slow water males were more likely to occupy front positions, whereas in fast water females did, suggesting a different trade-off between the sexes in the need to forage versus save energy (draft). Additionally, we found that in slow water it was the hungry males that came to the group’s front, whereas hungry females were more likely to move back. These are some of the first observations of the positional complexity with which individuals in congregations display, and several adaptive and nonadaptive explanations for the observed patterns are suggested. Key words: congregation, dimorphism, drafting, group, Gyrinidae, positioning trade-offs, sexual segregation, state dependent, swarm. [Behav Ecol]
Regulated association of misfolded endoplasmic reticulum lumenal proteins with P58/DNAJc3.

P58/DNAJc3 defends cells against endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Most P58 molecules are translocated into the ER lumen, and here we report selective and stable binding to misfolded proteins by P58's TPR-containing N-terminal domain. In vitro, too, P58 binds selectively to a model misfolded protein and challenge of that complex with physiological concentrations of the ER lumenal Hsp70-type chaperone BiP encourages disassembly. BiP-induced dissociation of P58 from its substrate depends on the presence of ATP and on interactions with P58's J-domain, which are mediated by invariant residues BiPR197 and P58H422. A functional J-domain also accelerates dissociation of P58 from a model substrate, VSV-Gts045, on the latter's re-folding in vivo. However, J-domain binding can be separated from the ability to promote substrate dissociation by the mutant BiPE201G and a wild-type J-domain fused ectopically to P58H422Q rescues the latter's inability to dissociate from substrate in response to BiP and ATP. These findings are consistent with a model whereby localized activation of the Hsp70-type partner is sufficient to promote substrate handover from the J-domain co-chaperone.
Incidental appendicectomy with laparotomy for trauma

Incidental appendicectomy was performed in 83 of 206 patients undergoing laparotomy for abdominal trauma. No organs were injured in 42 per cent of the appendicectomy patients and in 17 per cent of the non-appendicetomy patients, thus making comparison between the groups unreliable. While the incidence of intestinal perforation was 21 per cent in the appendicectomy patients, the rate of wound infection was only 7 per cent. One complication (pelvic abscess) was possibly attributable to incidental appendicetomy. Since males below the age of 50 face a significant risk of future appendicitis and represent the majority of patients with abdominal trauma, it may be advisable to perform incidental appendicectomy with laparotomy for trauma in such patients. Specific indications for incidental appendicectomy during laparotomy for trauma are suggested.
Access And Cost Barriers To Mental Health Care, By Insurance Status, 1999–2010

The cost of mental health services has always been a great barrier to accessing care for people with mental health problems. This article documents changes in insurance coverage and cost for mental health services for people with public insurance, private insurance, and no coverage. In 2009–10 people with mental health problems were more likely to have public insurance and less likely to have private insurance than in 1999–2000. Although access to specialty care remained relatively stable for people with mental illnesses, cost barriers to care increased among the uninsured and the privately insured who had serious mental illnesses. The rise in cost barriers among those with private insurance suggests that the current financing of care in the private insurance market is insufficient to alleviate cost burdens and has implications for reforms under the Affordable Care Act. People with mental health problems who are newly eligible to purchase private insurance under the act might still encounter high cost bar...
Is political popularity a random walk

This paper tets for nonstationarity in the political popularity of UK parties and governments within the context of an economic model which predicts that party support is an ARIMA (0, 1, 1) process. The hypothesis is rejected for the government's popularity but the results for individual party support are less clear out.
Induction of Carcinoembryonic Antigen Secretion and Modulation of Protein Secretion/Expression and Fibronectin/Laminin Expression in Human Colon Carcinoma Cells by Transforming Growth Factor-β

We have recently reported that TGF-beta induces a response similar to that of planar polar differentiation promoters in human colon carcinoma MOSER cells. N,N-Dimethylformamide and TGF-beta had similar effects on MOSER cells with respect to reversible inhibition of growth (both in monolayer culture and semisolid medium), induction of fibronectin expression and the induction of morphological alterations (Cancer Res., 47:2950-2954, 1987). Since the expression of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) has been reported to be modulated by planar polar compounds that promote differentiation in colon carcinomas, we addressed the issue of whether the differentiation-like effects of TGF-beta on these cells would also encompass modulation of CEA expression in the MOSER cells. The biological modulating effects of TGF-beta on extracellular matrix glycoprotein expression and the expression and secretion of cellular proteins were also studied in view of the reported modulating effects of this growth factor on untransformed, noncolonic cells. In this communication we report that TGF-beta induced the synthesis of fibronectin and laminin but not collagen IV. TGF-beta also induced CEA secretion in a dose-dependent manner. Elevated CEA secretion was detected following 48 h of TGF-beta treatment and a 16-fold increase in CEA secretion was observed following 7 days of treatment. The cells were committed to secrete CEA following one dose of TGF-beta treatment. The enhanced expression of four cellular proteins (Mr 42,000, Mr 48,000, Mr 52,000, and Mr 55,000) and the enhanced secretion of three proteins (Mr 66,000, Mr 200,000, and Mr 400,000) were also induced. Some of these protein alterations were detected as early as 6-24 h following TGF-beta treatment. It is concluded that TGF-beta modulated the production and secretion of CEA, the synthesis of fibronectin and laminin, and the expression and secretion of several cellular proteins in the colon carcinoma MOSER cells. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the modulation of CEA and laminin by TGF-beta in tissue-cultured cells, and is the first report on the modulation of cellular proteins by this growth factor in human colon carcinoma cells.
An Overview of Methods for Comparative Effectiveness Research

Comparative effectiveness research (CER) is a broad category of outcomes research encompassing many different methods employed by researchers and clinicians from numerous disciplines. The goal of cancer-focused CER is to generate new knowledge to assist cancer stakeholders in making informed decisions that will improve health care and outcomes of both individuals and populations. There are numerous CER methods that may be used to examine specific questions, including randomized controlled trials, observational studies, systematic literature reviews, and decision sciences modeling. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. To both inform and serve as a reference for readers of this issue of Seminars in Radiation Oncology as well as the broader oncology community, we describe CER and several of the more commonly used approaches and analytical methods.
Physical Activity in the Prevention of Heart Failure: Another Step Forward.

In 1988, Sullivan and colleagues from Duke University took a bold and novel step forward in the treatment of heart failure with the publication of their comprehensive seminal study of exercise training in 12 patients with heart failure (left ventricular ejection fraction 24±10%).1 Whereas exercise was previously proscribed in such patients, using invasive hemodynamic measurements, radionuclide angiography, and metabolic measures including gas exchange and lactate analysis, these intrepid investigators demonstrated that ambulatory patients with heart failure can significantly improve their exercise tolerance largely through training-induced changes that occur in the periphery. They concluded that exercise training “may represent a useful therapeutic option in stable patients [with heart failure].” This study served as a major stimulus for nearly 3 decades of subsequent research that has consistently demonstrated improvements in functional capacity, subjective symptoms, and quality of life with exercise training in patients who have heart failure.2–4 Mechanistic studies have uncovered changes that occur in the central and peripheral circulation, exercising muscles, autonomic nervous system, and other integrated systems that lead to such improvements. These studies have prompted the question: Does exercise training affect mortality among patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction? This important issue has since been addressed by the National Institutes of Health–funded, multicentered, randomized, and controlled Heart Failure: A Controlled Trial Investigating Outcomes of Exercise Training (HF-ACTION) trial that measured the effects of exercise training on clinical outcomes in stable, medically optimized patients with heart failure and left ventricular ejection fraction 35%. After adjusting for prespecified predictors of mortality, a significant 11% reduction in the composite primary end point of all-cause mortality or all-cause hospitalization was found.5 Accordingly, exercise training is now recognized as a valuable adjunct in the therapeutic approach to the patient with stable heart failure, and is recommended by …
New developments in type 2 diabetes mellitus: combination therapy with a thiazolidinedione.

Abstract Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a serious, chronic metabolic disease affecting ∼ 17 million Americans. The microvascular and macrovascular complications of DM are associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. Objectives: This article reviews the importance of normalizing blood glucose values to reduce the risk of microvascular and macrovascular complications, discusses available treatment options for type 2 DM, and explores the rationale for combination therapy that includes a thiazolidinedione. Methods: Relevant articles were selected from published reports and conference presentations from the last 10 years on oral agents for monotherapy and combination therapy for type 2 DM. Other sources were identified from the reference lists of selected articles. Results: Choices for the pharmacologic treatment of hyperglycemia in patients with type 2 DM include thiazolidinediones, insulin secretagogues, biguanides, and α-glucosidase inhibitors. Each of these drug classes is effective in lowering blood glucose concentrations; however, they have distinctly different mechanisms of action that target various pathophysiologic causes of type 2 DM and have different adverse-event profiles. in addition, several of these agents provide unique benefits unrelated to their hypoglycemic effects. Thiazolidinediones offer the therapeutic benefits of increasing insulin sensitivity and perhaps preserving beta-cell function. Use of a thiazolidinedione from the time type 2 DM is diagnosed improves insulin sensitivity, thereby improving glycemic control and minimizing complications. Over time, however, many patients with type 2 DM are unable to maintain adequate glycemic control (ie, glycosylated hemoglobin [HbA 1c ] 1c . The combination of a thiazolidinedione and a biguanide reduces hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, and insulin resistance and improves factors that have been implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular complications. Conclusions: Patients with type 2 DM who are not able to maintain their HbA 1c .
Regulation of Milk Intake After Exposure to Alcohol in Mothers' Milk

Objective Contrary to the folklore which claims that drinking alcohol during lactation benefits both mother and infant, previous research in our laboratory revealed that breastfed infants consumed significantly less milk during the immediate hours after their mothers' consumption of an alcoholic beverage. Because breastfed infants are clearly capable of regulating milk intake, the present study tested the hypothesis that infants would compensate for the diminished milk intake if their mothers then refrained from drinking alcohol. Methods A within-subjects design that controlled for time of day was implemented because of the great individual and daily variation in both milk composition and intake. To this end, 12 exclusively breastfed infants and their mothers were tested on 2 days separated by 1 week. Each woman drank a 0.3 g/kg dose of alcohol in orange juice on one testing day and orange juice alone on the other; the order was counterbalanced. The infants' behaviors were monitored for the next 16 hr, the first 4 hr of monitoring on each test day occurred at the Monell Center. The infants fed on demand and immediately before and after each feeding, infants were weighed without a change in clothing. Results Consistent with previous findings, infants consumed significantly less milk during the 4 hr immediately after exposure to alcohol in mothers' milk compared with the control condition. Compensatory increases in intake were then observed during the 8 to 16 hr after exposure when mothers refrained from drinking alcohol. Conclusions These findings demonstrate that short-term exposure to small amounts of alcohol in mothers' milk produces distinctive changes in the infants' patterns of feeding.
Ship to shore "Digital Status Report" multimedia communication

A methodology is currently being tested which makes it possible to better inform shore-based managers about shipboard operations. A multimedia software package called a Digital Status Report (DSR) is being developed, and is intended to make it easier for shore-based staff to more clearly visualize remote operations. This highly desirable capability can be achieved through a remote user's ability to view video clips, images, text and data routinely collected at sea and transmitted to the US Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) via the NAVOCEANO Network and then routed through the INMARSAT on a daily basis. This new possibility also makes it feasible for highly trained staff at multiple locations to network ideas and solutions concerning decision-making situations at remote locations where less experienced staff may need additional assistance. This type of multimedia conferencing is certain to have a large impact on resource sharing and troubleshooting problems.
QUANTITATIVE STUDIES OF BRUCELLA PRECIPITIN SYSTEMS : II. THE PRECIPITATION OF HETEROLOGOUS ANTISERA BY BRUCELLA ENDOANTIGENS.

Quantitative cross precipitation studies with goat antisera show the three endoantigens of the brucella to be serologically distinguishable. Although the endoantigens of Br. abortus and Br. suis are very similar, they do not react identically, permitting the serological distinction of the two organisms. These differences in cross precipitation may be used to identify an organism of the brucella group or to determine the organism responsible for a brucella antiserum.
Banking Fragility, Effectiveness, and Regulation in Less-Developed Countries

Banks in less-developed countries can offer borrowers a stable source of loans, deposits secure from loss, and competitive provision of financial services. These objectives can be achieved by a regulatory system based on adequate required capital and structured early intervention and resolution that permits unrestrained entry and costless (to taxpayers) exit of domestic and foreign banks.
Small-Scale Vorticity Induced by a Self-Oscillating Fluttering Reed for Heat Transfer Augmentation in Air Cooled Heat Sinks

Heat transfer in a high aspect ratio, rectangular mm-scale channel that models a segment of a high-performance, air-cooled heat-sink is enhanced by deliberate formation of unsteady small-scale vortical motions. These small-scale motions are induced by self-fluttering, cantilevered planar thin-film reeds that are placed along the channel’s centerline. Heat transfer is enhanced by significant increases in both the local heat transfer coefficient at the fins surfaces, and in the mixing between the thermal boundary layers and the cooler core flow. The present investigation characterizes the thermal performance enhancement by reed actuation compared to the base flow (in the absence of the reeds) in terms of increased power dissipation over a range of flow rates, along with the associated fluid power. It is shown that because the cooling flow rate that is needed to sustain a given heat flux at a given surface temperature is almost two times higher than in the presence of the reeds, the reeds lead to a four-fold increase in thermal performance (as measured by the ratio of power dissipated to fluid power). The thermal effectiveness of the reeds is tested in a multi-channel heat sink, and it is shown that the improvement in heat transfer coefficient of the base flow is similar to that of the single channel.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Scanning data reduction and accuracy enhancement through hybrid probing and bicubic surface construction

Reverse engineering demands a fast and accurate measuring method to obtain the surface model of an object when its computer-aided design (CAD) model is not available. Blending the advantages of both contact probes and non-contact scanners has been the trend of reverse engineering development for the past 15 years. Current research on hybrid reverse engineering system focuses on sensor selection, scanning path planning, and coordinate system registration and unification, but lacks of interaction between the data groups from the touch probe and laser sensor. The objective of this research is directed toward improving data accuracy at a reduced amount of data points without complex instrument integration and is accomplished through combining the advantages of contact probes and non-contact scanners and meanwhile offsetting their disadvantages. In this research, data from the laser sensor is strategically selected based on the local surface variation, and a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) touch probe is used to enhance data accuracy. A Cell Merging algorithm is implemented to reduce the amount of data based on a newly proposed concept of Break Points, by which a Hermit bicubic relation is maintained among neighboring sampling points while a hybrid reverse engineering process is going on. At the end of the paper, examples are presented to show the effectiveness of the methodology.
Visualizing Uniform Continuity of Functions of Several Variables

(1974). Visualizing Uniform Continuity of Functions of Several Variables. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 81, No. 6, pp. 623-625.
The Lose of Humanity and its Recovery

In the self - sufficing production, men developed the common humanity, among which are reason, affection, and virtues. However, with the development of civilization, the extreme expansion of reason and desire distorted humanity or deprived humanity of its beauty. Men need to set a bottom line for humanity and make educational efforts for its recovery and reshaping.
Calculation of seismic reflection parameters based on the layer absorption media

The models of layer absorption media are built based on the seismic parameters of Daqing placanticline. The velocity and absorbing factor of every stratum are calculated as well. The Ricker wavelet whose main frequency is 200 Hz is chosen as the exciting wave and the reflected waves from 0.5 to 3.0 s are calculated. The result shows that there is difference in the amplitudes caused by the absorption and attenuation of strata and spherical diffusion. With the increment of depth the amplitude attenuates rapidly and the main attenuation occurs in 1.5 s which is of the medium depth. With the absorption and attenuation of strata the main frequencies get lower and the frequency bands get narrower. With the increment of depth the strata's velocity increases obviously, the vertical resolution which is derived from the calculation of the main frequency and strata's velocity is greatly reduced. The result will be instructive to the actual seism.
Analysis of epidemic surveillance of sexually transmitted diseases in Suzhou District of Jiuquan City,Gansu Province from 2008 to 2012

Objective To analyze epidemic surveillance of sexually transmitted diseases(STD) in Suzhou District of Jiuquan City,Gansu Province during 2008—2012,provide basis for formulating and perfecting the control scheme and countermeasures of STD.Methods Data of five kinds of STD in Suzhou District from 2008 to 2012 were collected to carry out epidemiological analysis.Results The STD incidence was the highest of 41.71/100 000 in 2008 and the lowest of 15.68/100 000 in 2012,with the tendency of decrease year by year.Proportion of laboratory diagnosis of syphilis and gonorrhea increased annually from 62.1% and 95.2% in 2008 to 100.0% in 2012.People at sexually active age of 20-49 year-old and those over 60 year-old were easier to be attacked by STD.Conclusions STD has become an important public health and social problems in the investigated areas.Health education and behavior intervention should be strengthened and coverage should be extended to control the disease spread in the focus groups.
Chemical anatomy of the hypothalamus.

The neuropeptide field has witnessed considerable research interest over the past decade, and a growing body of anatomic, biochemical, and electrophysiologic data have since emerged, supporting the existence and putative neu- romodulatory function of a large variety of these peptide hormones in several extrahypothalamic brain regions. It is now evident that neuropeptides not only fulfill criteria required of putative neurotransmitters, but more generally act as modulators of neuronal activity. The author discusses vasopressin and oxytocin pathways, corticotropin releasing factor, atrial natriuretic factor, thyrotropin releasing hormone, somatostatin, motilin, growth hormone releasing factor, dopamine, gonadotropin releasing hormone, and substance P.
The surface climatology of the Ross Ice Shelf Antarctica

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Antarctic Automatic Weather Station (AWS) project has been making meteorological surface observations on the Ross Ice Shelf (RIS) for approximately 30 years. This network offers the most continuous set of routine measurements of surface meteorological variables in this region. The Ross Island area is excluded from this study. The surface climate of the RIS is described using the AWS measurements. Temperature, pressure, and wind data are analysed on daily, monthly, seasonal, and annual time periods for 13 AWS across the RIS. The AWS are separated into three representative regions - central, coastal, and the area along the Transantarctic Mountains - in order to describe specific characteristics of sections of the RIS. The climatology describes general characteristics of the region and significant changes over time. The central AWS experiences the coldest mean temperature, and the lowest resultant wind speed. These AWSs also experience the coldest potential temperatures with a minimum of 209.3 K at Gill AWS. The AWS along the Transantarctic Mountains experiences the warmest mean temperature, the highest mean sea-level pressure, and the highest mean resultant wind speed. Finally, the coastal AWS experiences the lowest mean pressure. Climate indices (MEI, SAM, and SAO) are compared to temperature and pressure data of four of the AWS with the longest observation periods, and significant correlation is found for most AWS in sea-level pressure and temperature. This climatology study highlights characteristics that influence the climate of the RIS, and the challenges of maintaining a long-term Antarctic AWS network. Results from this effort are essential for the broader Antarctic meteorology community for future research.
Abstract P6-05-01: Low BRCA2 levels cause epigenetic activation of growth adaptive pathways without inducing recurrent genomic mutations

The development of therapeutics to prevent cancer onset is hindered by a lack of robust cell systems to study the earliest steps of malignant transformation. Significant barriers to studying cancer-initiating events include intrinsic cellular pathways to prevent cell proliferation in the setting of activating oncogenes or genomic instability. To circumvent this limitation, we studied in vitro transient depletion of breast cancer tumor suppressor genes followed by selective growth conditions to enrich for de novo mutations or stable epigenetic alterations that can confer a growth advantage to non-transformed breast epithelial cells. We report that transient BRCA2 depletion, but not depletion of other breast cancer genes, leads to a selective growth advantage in EGF-free media. This is due to a failure of BRCA2 inactivated cells to enact a mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition upon withdrawal of EGF. Genomic profiling and biochemical approaches indicate that transient loss of BRCA2 induces chromatin remodeling in concert with NF-κB signaling and histone H2B deacetylation to repress genes associated with the epithelial state. Notably, this process did not appear to require recurrent driver mutations, nor DNA methylation changes, but was dependent on ATR signaling. Overall, our work suggests that transiently low BRCA2 levels are sufficient to induce aberrant cell proliferation under certain conditions and that targeting epigenetic modifiers may be an approach to prevent BRCA2-induced malignancy. Citation Format: Gruber JJ, Snyder M. Low BRCA2 levels cause epigenetic activation of growth adaptive pathways without inducing recurrent genomic mutations [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2016 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-05-01.
Effects of balance transfer offers on consumer short-term finance: evidence from credit card data

This research investigates efficiency differences between two important financial approaches that credit card companies use to attract customers. Since the cash-back offer has been already investigated by previous studies, this study focuses upon the balance transfer offer and then compares them in terms of their influences on consumers’ short-term finance. The proposed research utilizes the three-stage investigation. The first stage is related to consumers’ choice on offers. The second stage estimates the offer’s overall and monthly effects on payment, spending, and changes on debt in order to capture consumers’ dynamic finance conditions. The last stage estimates the effects on balance transfer and cash-back offers compared with control and non-promotional finance conditions. This study finds that the balance transfer offer is more effective in making a financial impact to consumers’ short-term finance than the cash-back offer.
Investigation of the physical effects of respiratory motion compensation in a large population of patients undergoing Tc-99m cardiac perfusion SPECT/CT stress imaging

Respiratory motion can deteriorate image fidelity in cardiac perfusion SPECT. We determined the extent of respiratory motion, assessed its impact on image fidelity, and investigated the existence of gender differences, thereby examining the influence of respiratory motion in a large population of patients. One thousand one hundred and three SPECT/CT patients underwent visual tracking of markers on their anterior surface during stress acquisition to track respiratory motion. The extent of motion was estimated by registration. Visual indicators of changes in cardiac slices with motion correction, and the correlation between the extent of motion with changes in segmental-counts were assessed. Respiratory motion in the head-to-feet direction was the largest component of motion, varying between 1.1 and 37.4 mm, and was statistically significantly higher (p = 0.002) for males than females. In 33.0% of the patients, motion estimates were larger than 10 mm. Patients progressively show more distinct visual changes with an increase in the extent of motion. The increase in segmental-count differences in the anterior, antero-lateral, and inferior segments correlated with the extent of motion. Respiratory motion correction diminished the artefactual reduction in anterior and inferior wall counts associated with respiratory motion. The extent of improvement was strongly related to the magnitude of motion.
A two-fingered robot gripper with large object reorientation range

It is very challenging for a robotic gripper to achieve large reorientations with grasped objects without accidental object ejection. This paper presents a simple gripper that can repeatedly achieve large reorientations over π/2 rad through the kinematics of the hand-object system alone, without the use of high fidelity contact sensors, complex control of active finger surfaces, or highly actuated fingers. This gripper is the result of two kinematic parameter search optimizations connected in cascade. Besides the large range of reorientation attained, the obtained gripper also corresponds to a novel topology since ternary joints in the palm are presented. The in-hand planar reorientation capabilities of the proposed gripper are experimentally tested with success.
Playing With Virtual Blocks: Minecraft as a Learning Environment for Practice and Research

This chapter elaborates on the potential impacts and roles of one the most important and widely used video games of this generation: Minecraft . We argue that Minecraft , an open-world, exploratory and generative game, is highly relevant for educators and learning science researchers alike. Gameplay involves acquisition of a wide range of skills and knowledge relevant to school and the real world. It is likely that playing Minecraft represents the first meaningful exposure to powerful ideas in STEM (e.g., engineering, agriculture, biology). We argue that it is critical to better understand how the game is influencing children's development of STEM competencies, their perceptions of what it means to be an engineer or scientist, and their acquisition of metacognitive skills such as planning and reflection. After describing the Minecraft experience and its broad appeal, we provide a summary of the most relevant features for learning and uses in education. We describe how teachers are already using it in the classroom, and for which goals. Next, we discuss what research is needed to best deploy Minecraft to support learning goals. We conclude with suggestions for future research in the context of emerging developments in the rapidly evolving Minecraft universe.