cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Molecular Basis of the Long QT Syndrome

Sudden cardiac death is an important cause of cardiovascular mortality in the United States (Kannel et al., 1987; Willich et al., 1987). Cardiac arrhythmias, specifically ventricular tachyarrhythmias, are presumed to be responsible for the majority of these deaths. Recent advances in molecular genetics have allowed the identification of several genes responsible for one form of inherited arrhythmia, the long QT syndrome (LQTS). These findings have furthered our understanding of the molecular basis of the cardiac action potential and offered insights into structure-function relationships of cardiac ion channels.
Does finger sense predict addition performance

The impact of fingers on numerical and mathematical cognition has received a great deal of attention recently. However, the precise role that fingers play in numerical cognition is unknown. The current study explores the relationship between finger sense, arithmetic and general cognitive ability. Seventy-six children between the ages of 5 and 12 participated in the study. The results of stepwise multiple regression analyses demonstrated that while general cognitive ability including language processing was a predictor of addition performance, finger sense was not. The impact of age on the relationship between finger sense, and addition was further examined. The participants were separated into two groups based on age. The results showed that finger gnosia score impacted addition performance in the older group but not the younger group. These results appear to support the hypothesis that fingers provide a scaffold for calculation and that if that scaffold is not properly built, it has continued differential consequences to mathematical cognition.
Transfer of Training on Location of a Fault: Effects of Trainer's Observation, Prompting, and Achievement Level:

Four training conditions were investigated with human Ss differentiated according to high achievement and low achievement academic histories. Trainer's presence or absence was paired with conditions of trial and error and prompting in a complete factorial. It was hypothesized based on a Hull-Spence interpretation of social facilitation that trainer's presence with prompting during training would lead to superior transfer over conditions of trainer's absence and prompting, while the lowest transfer was expected with the combined condition of trainer's presence and trial and error. It was further assumed that high achievers would learn the task readily and be relatively unaffected by the four training conditions. On the transfer task for both fault-misses and response time trial and error for the low achievers was superior to prompting. Trainer's presence was insignificant, while achievement level was influential. The results suggested that active learning involving the task-activity of trial and error was ...
Reading Comprehension of Elementary, Junior High and High School Students on Print vs. Microcomputer-Generated Text:

This study compared reading comprehension on the microcomputer with traditional print presentation for two types of text, informational and directional. Subjects were elementary, junior high, and h...
CARBODIIMIDE-MEDIATED ESTERIFICATIONS AND CONDENSATIONS OF PHOSPHORIC ACIDS DISSOLVED IN VARIOUS ALCOHOLS

Abstract Carbodiimide-mediated phosphorylations carried out with ortho-, pyro-, trimeta-, tetrameta-, and long-chain polyphosphoric acids dissolved in various alcohols, with and without an excess of tri-n-butylamine at 27° were found to consist of complicated reaction sequences involving various phosphoric acids, then esters and complexes formed between the carbodiimide and these acids or esters. In the case of the condensation of orthophosphoric acid, the process of stepwise esterification is seen to compete with the process of condensation to form condensed phosphoric acids and their esters. In general, esterification as opposed to condensation is promoted by (a) increased acidity, (b) smaller size, and (c) increased concentration of the alcohol, as well as by (d) increased concentration of dissociable protons in the solution. 31P chemical-shift data are given for ortho, chain, and ring phosphoric acids and their esters dissolved in the corresponding alcohol. Typical kinetic curves and the distribution ...
A phenomenological investigation of women's experience of recovering from childhood trauma and subsequent substance abuse

Proceeding from a phenomenological perspective, the present study investigated the experiences of seven homeless women who had lived through childhood trauma and subsequent substance abuse, with specific focus on the recovery process experienced by each. Applying the analytical protocol of Giorgi (1985) to the written accounts obtained from the participants, 15 constituent themes of the recovery process were identified. In order to illuminate the participants’ experiences with minimal influence of any possible researcher bias, the researcher refrained from labelling, judging or diagnosing the women’s life circumstances. Consequently, no treatment paradigm was applied to help explain, predict or judge the behaviour of the participants during the course of this research.
Parametric investigation of soft-body penetration into parallel-ridged textured surfaces for tactile applications

Abstract The tribological interactions between skin and textured surfaces has profound impact on both the tactile perception of the product being used, as well as the functionality of the product with regards to friction coefficient. Previous work has shown that parallel-ridged textures have vastly different friction coefficients with regards to the direction of skin sliding, and that penetration of the skin into the voids between ridges not only add contact area but also potential for interlocking. The ability to model skin penetration into textural elements would prove to be very useful for predicting friction; however, the mechanics of the problem are incredibly complex such that they rule out a closed-form analytical solution. The authors investigated soft-body penetration using a non-dimensional computational approach based on the elastic properties of skin, as well as the texture ridge geometry parameters, as well as the normal loading. Model results were verified experimentally. The model was applied to a number of different combinations of ridge parameters and it was found that the amount of penetration could be predicted very well using a simple exponential relationship among the nondimensional terms. Texture groove width and applied normal load played a dominant role in penetration. These results yield a quantitative mechanics model which can be integrated into an overarching frictional model to predict skin on texture behavior due to both adhesion and edge interlocking.
On temporal variations in mobile user SNR with applications to perceived QoS

This paper proposes a stochastic geometry framework to study the temporal performance variations experienced by a mobile user in a cellular network. The focus is on the variations of the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) and the downlink Shannon rate experienced when the user moves across Poisson cellular network of the Euclidean plane. The motion is the simplest possible i.e., a user moving at a constant velocity on a straight line. The level crossings of the associated SNR process are shown to form an alternating-renewal process. The two distributions characterizing this process are derived in closed form. The theory of rare events provides simplified expressions for the law of this process for extremes (very large and very small) SNR thresholds. The framework is then leveraged to predict the quality of service experienced by mobile users in two concrete scenarios: that of streaming a video on the downlink and partially buffered on the hand-set to prevent video freezing; and that of downloading a large file, where the main question is the download delay. Finally, discrete event simulation is used to assess practical use of this model on its robustness to perturbations that cannot presently be taken into account in the analysis.
HLA Typing Using Molecular Methods

Histocompatibility testing is a specialized area of clinical laboratory science with particular relevance to transplant pro– grams. Although entailing several different specific functions, histocompatibility testing is most often equated with the deter– mination of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) phenotype or genotype of an individual (referred to as HLA typing). As dis– cussed in this chapter, the approaches to HLA typing have evolved over the years. This evolution has been driven by the development of technologies, allowing a more detailed and accurate assessment of an individual’s HLA type and the understanding that this more detailed information has great clinical value. The clinical applications of HLA typing most commonly inlcude (1) typing for renal transplantation as one component in the scheme to allocate deceased donor kidneys to individuals on the renal transplant waiting list because of the long-term benefit of using HLA-matched kidneys, (2) typing for hematopoeitic stem cell transplantation (HSC) as it is well known that the degree of HLA match between donor and recip– ient has a significant influence on the risk of serious adverse events associated with this process, and (3) typing as an aid in the diagnosis of HLA-associated diseases, the best known example being the association of the HLA-B27 type with anky-losing spondylitis.
Elusive Empires: Constructing Colonialism in the Ohio Valley, 1673-1800

Preface Part I. Empires of Commerce: 1. Networks of trade 2. Communities of exchange Part II. Empires of Land: 3. Definitions of value 4. The alchemy of property Interscript: the Ohio Valley on the eve of revolution Part III. Empire of Liberty: 5. Land and liberty 6. Empire ascendant Notes.
A Bacteriocin Produced by Pediococcus Species Associated with a 5.5-Megadalton Plasmid.

Agarose gel electrophoresis of plasmid DNA and plasmid-curing experiments suggested that bacteriocin activity was harbored on a plasmid of approximately 5.5 megadaltons (Mdal) in Pediococcus acidilactici PO2, B5627 and PC, and Pediococcus pentosaceus MC-03. Bacteria that were sensitive to the bacteriocin included other pediococci, Leuconostoc mesenteroides , Streptococcus faecalis and Listeria monocytogenes . Three of the five serotypes of L. monocytogenes examined were inhibited by a variant lacking the 5.5 Mdal plasmid; however, when the plasmid was present, zones of inhibition doubled in size.
Ischemia Related Changes in Adenine Nucleotide Metabolism

Derangements in the concentrations of the adenine nucleotides are a common occurrence during and after an ischemic episode. ATP levels decrease rapidly at the onset of ischemia and remain depressed for the entire period of ischemia (12, 24). Upon recirculation of the tissue, the extent of ATP restoration depends on the duration of the ischemic insult. For example, the ATP levels were completely regenerated at 60 min of recirculation following 1 and 5 min of bilateral occlusion, but not after 20 and 60 min (16). The total adenylates (sum of ATP + ADP + AMP) decrease somewhat more slowly during ischemia; in decapitated mouse forebrains, the half-time for the disappearance of total adenylates was approximately 32 min. The total adenylates were also very slow to recover. Ljunggren et al. (10) reported that the levels were significantly less than control at 3 hours after a 3 min ischemic interval. Since the hydrolysis of ATP is the major source of energy for a host of biochemical processes, alterations in adenine nucleotide metabolism resulting from ischemia could have pronounced effects on brain function and therefore on the likelihood of survival after ischemia.
Novel concepts of prevention and treatment of atopic dermatitis through barrier and immune manipulations with implications for the atopic march

Skin barrier abnormalities have been suggested to play an essential role in initiation of early atopic dermatitis (AD). Antigen penetration through a compromised barrier likely leads to increased innate immune responses, antigen-presenting cell stimulation, and priming of overt cutaneous disease. In a TH2-promoting environment, T-cell/B-cell interactions occurring in regional lymph nodes lead to excessive IgE switch. Concurrent redistribution of memory T cells into the circulation not only leads to exacerbation of AD through T-cell skin infiltration but also spreads beyond the skin to initiate the atopic march, which includes food allergy, asthma, and allergic rhinitis. Possible primary interventions to prevent AD are focusing on improving skin barrier integrity, including supplementing barrier function with moisturizers. As for secondary prophylaxis in children with established AD, this can be stratified into prevention of disease exacerbations by using proactive approaches (with either topical corticosteroids or topical calcineurin inhibitors) in mild AD cases or the prevention of other atopic disorders that will probably mandate systemic immunosuppression in severe AD cases.
Bergfelder, Tim, Lisa Shaw, and João Luiz Vieira, editors. Stars and Stardom in Brazilian Cinema. Bergahn, 2017.

Film studies have come to occupy a central part of the curriculum in literature and culture departments, particularly in Anglophone universities. This trend is reflected in the growing number of monographs and edited volumes on Brazilian cinema that have appeared over the last decade. Whereas the indisputable pioneers and authorities (namely, Randall Johnson and Robert Stam) are based in North American universities, it is interesting that much of the recent work on Brazilian film (in English) is authored by scholars based in British universities.
Microwave and Optical Magnetics

An overview of microwave and optical magnetics is given with emphasis on physical models for the magnetic susceptibility, the properties of electromagnetic waves in ferrites, the magnetostatic approximation, and devices based upon dynamic and magnetostatic modes.
Inhibition of EZH2 Promotes Human Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation into Mesoderm by Reducing H3K27me3

Mesoderm derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) is a major source of the mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) that can differentiate into osteoblasts and chondrocytes for tissue regeneration. While significant progress has been made in understanding of molecular mechanisms of hESC differentiation into mesodermal cells, little is known about epigenetic factors controlling hESC fate toward mesoderm and MSCs. Identifying potential epigenetic factors that control hESC differentiation will undoubtedly lead to advancements in regenerative medicine. Here, we conducted an epigenome-wide analysis of hESCs and MSCs and uncovered that EZH2 was enriched in hESCs and was downregulated significantly in MSCs. The specific EZH2 inhibitor GSK126 directed hESC differentiation toward mesoderm and generated more MSCs by reducing H3K27me3. Our results provide insights into epigenetic landscapes of hESCs and MSCs and suggest that inhibiting EZH2 promotes mesodermal differentiation of hESCs.
Not Simple Temple Food: Thai Community Making in the United States

This essay explores Thai Buddhist food practices in relation to community building in the United States. Drawing from interviews, participant observation, and online research, I examine two interconnected issues. First, how temple food practices—offering alms to monks and operating newly invented temple food courts—sustain temples spiritually and financially. Second, how temple food, which is consistently integrated into various events and rituals, enables Thai Americans and a diverse assortment of other participants to connect and work together. This inquiry sheds light on the meanings invested in temple food, and the religious and socio-economic importance of food for Theravada Buddhist community building.
The course of cellular alterations associated with the development of spontaneous seizures after status epilepticus

Chronic epilepsy, as a consequence of status epilepticus, has been studied in animal models in order to analyze the cellular mechanisms responsible for the subsequent occurrence of spontaneous seizures. Status epilepticus, induced by either kainic acid or pilocarpine or by prolonged electrical stimulation, causes a characteristic pattern of neuronal death in the hippocampus; which is followed--after an apparent latent period--by the development of chronic, recurrent, spontaneous seizures. The question most relevant to this conference is the degree to which the subsequent chronic seizures contribute further to epileptogenesis and brain damage. This article addresses the temporal and anatomical parameters that must be understood in order to address this question. (1) How does one evaluate experimentally whether the chronic epileptic seizures that follow status epilepticus contribute to epileptogenesis and lead to brain damage? To answer this question, we must first know the time course of the development of the chronic epileptic seizures, and whether the interval between subsequent individual chronic seizures is a relevant factor. (2) What anatomical parameters are most relevant to the progression of epilepsy? For instance, how does loss of inhibitory interneurons potentially influence seizure generation and the progressive development of epileptogenesis? Does axon sprouting and formation of new synaptic connections represent a form of seizure-induced brain damage? These specific issues bear directly on the general question of whether seizures damage the brain during the chronic epilepsy that follows status epilepticus.
Habitable Zone in Binary Stars Systems

In a binary star system, a planet may in principle exist either in an orbit around a star or in an orbit that surrounds both stars in the system; in the former case, we refer to it as a ▶ circumprimary planet. To calculate the boundaries of the habitable zone (HZ) around a star of a binary star system (circumprimary orbits), it is assumed that the HZ is an annulus around the star where an Earth-like planet (with similar atmospheric composition to that of Earth) and a sufficient amount of water can permanently maintain liquid water on its solid surface.
Low-frequency input ripple current compensation in single-phase fuel cell power systems

Fuel cells are non-polluting, renewable and one of the most efficient technologies for generating electrical energy. A front-end DC-DC converter with a back-end DC-AC inverter constitutes the power condition system for the fuel cells. For single-phase applications, a single-phase inverter is used which introduces a second order harmonic in the fuel cell output current. The low-frequency current ripple needs to be mitigated as it adversely affects the efficiency, performance, lifespan, and reliability of the fuel cell. A current control algorithm for the front-end DC-DC converter stage to reduce the second order harmonic current ripple drawn from the fuel cell source is presented. A modified inverter control is proposed to improve the system output quality. The system has been simulated in MATLAB; the results contrasted with those of the conventional method. The experimental results acquired from the laboratory prototype of the proposed approach validates its effectiveness. The proposed control is implemented using a digital signal processor.
MANURE/WASTE MANAGEMENT | Manure Management

Management of livestock manure is a routine farm activity. Manure contains nutrients that when applied to land are beneficial for soil quality and crop uptake. Although utilizing manure nutrients has many agronomic benefits, it is important that best management practices are used to reduce the potential of environmental harm to water and air that can occur when mismanaged. Regardless of livestock operation size, farmers who understand how to utilize manure effectively and efficiently are more sustainable.
Comparison of Community College Students' Sexual Health Dimensions.

ABSTRACTSexually active college students in the United States have alarming rates of unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Varying degrees of sexual health knowledge and attitudes among college students are an outcome of sexuality education in the K-12 school systems with abstinence-only or comprehensive focus. Community college students (n = 737) aged 18–24 years, 57% from a college in an abstinence-only sex education state and 43% from a college in a comprehensive sex education state, both in the Mid-Atlantic region, took the Sexual Health Survey in October 2016, which measures sexual health knowledge and attitudes. Gender and ethnicity differences, as well as other sources of sexuality information were evaluated. Students from the comprehensive sex education state, New Jersey had higher sexual health knowledge and attitude scores than the students from the abstinence-only sex education state, Pennsylvania. Male students in New Jersey scored significantly higher in sexual health knowl...
Health-Related Quality of Life and Psychological Adjustment of Children and Adolescents with Pacemakers and Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators: A Systematic Review

The absence of cardiac symptoms, the improved exercise tolerance and the increased life expectancy are the advantages of a successful cardiac device therapy. Nevertheless, the fact of a lifelong device dependency, the inherent possibility of device malfunction and the progression of the underlying heart disease may impact the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and the psychological adjustment of these individuals. To date, an overview of findings on these topics is lacking. The objective of this study was to evaluate and summarize the current evidence on generic and disease-specific HRQoL and psychological adjustment in paediatric patients with a pacemaker (PM) or an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). A systematic literature search was conducted using relevant databases and predefined keywords. Study selection was conducted based on predefined inclusion criteria. Fourteen studies were selected which were of varying methodological quality. Overall, the studies indicated that PM/ICD patients themselves and their parents scored lower than healthy controls on generic HRQoL scales and reported similar disease-related HRQoL as patients with severe forms of congenital heart disease. Regarding psychological adjustment outcome, PM recipients and norms were not significantly different with respect to anxiety and depression symptoms, while ICD patients showed more signs of anxiety than depression. HRQoL and psychological health should be considered when setting therapy goals and evaluating medical treatment success. This approach allows an early intervention in patients at risk of maladaptation, which is especially important in the young patient undergoing crucial developmental stages.
BUNDLEP: Prioritizing Conflict Free Regions in Multi-threaded Programs to Improve Cache Reuse

In "BUNDLE: Real-Time Multi-Threaded Scheduling to Reduce Cache Contention", Tessler and Fisher propose a scheduling mechanism and combined worst-case execution time calculation method that treats the instruction cache as a beneficial resource shared between threads. Object analysis produces a worst-case execution time bound and separates code segments into regions. Threads are dynamically placed in bundles associated with regions at run time by the BUNDLE scheduling algorithm where they benefit from shared cache values. In the evaluation of the previous work, tasks were created with a predetermined worst-case execution time path through the control flow graph. Apriori knowledge of the worst-case path is an impractical restriction on any analysis. At the time, the only other solution available was an all-paths search of the graph, which is an equally impractical approach due to its complexity. The primary focus of this work is to build upon BUNDLE, expanding its applicability beyond a proof of concept. We present a complete worst-case execution time calculation method that includes thread level context switch costs, operating on real programs, with representative architecture parameters, and compare our results to those produced by Heptane's state of the art method. To these ends, we propose a modification to the BUNDLE scheduling algorithm called BUNDLEP. Bundles are assigned priorities that enforce an ordered flow of threads through the control flow graph – avoiding the need for multiple all-paths searches through the graph. In many cases, our evaluation shows a run-time and analytical benefit for BUNLDEP compared to serialized thread execution and state of the art WCET analysis.
Originating Stand Your Ground: Race, Criminal Justice, and Neoliberal Reason

Since the killing of Trayvon Martin and the acquittal of George Zimmerman, Florida’s Stand Your Ground law—which attenuates criminal legal procedures in cases of interpersonal violence, on the condition that the self-defensive actor possesses “reasonable fear” of peril—has animated debates on race and extra-legal violence. In many ways, the statute emblematizes contemporary racial injustice. Still, more than thirty-three states maintain and enforce some version of Stand Your Ground. In fact, support for Stand Your Ground is not only subsistent, but resurgent: in 2017 Missouri, Ohio and Iowa each enacted versions of Stand Your Ground, while Florida passed a law to expand its preexistent statute. The ongoing and increasing support for Stand Your Ground despite its controversies indicate the statute’s enduring legitimacy—but how did legislators legitimate Stand Your Ground, in the first place? That is, how did they justify Stand Your Ground and conceive of its intended functions? What were they aiming to do in creating the statute? How did they rationalize its necessity? Through a process-tracing analysis of the Florida state legislature’s pioneering of Stand Your Ground, this project excavates and reconstructs the statute’s seminal legislative rationale. I examine legislative records from the State Archives of Florida to synthesize the justifying logics that substantiated the drafting process and determined the design of the statute. And, in keeping with legal and historical studies that posit Stand Your Ground as a case of neoliberal governance, I interpret its legislative justifications as expressions of neoliberal reason. My intervention is triple: by re-presenting Stand Your Ground as its originators understood it, I (1) demonstrate the legislative conceptions of race, citizenship, and bureaucracy that conduced to its creation and determined its design; (2) evidence how neoliberal logics might legitimate ostensibly non-economic, material practices, e.g. racial violence; and (3) reveal a different placing of accent marks on the sociopolitical functions of Stand Your Ground.
Microscopy with ultraviolet surface excitation (MUSE) enables translation of optical biopsy principles to enhance life science education

The translation of microscopy with ultraviolet surface excitation (MUSE) into a high school science classroom is investigated with the goal of providing a suitable new modality to enhance life science education. A key part of this effort is the development of laboratory exercises that can integrate the advanced capabilities of MUSE into a classroom setting. MUSE utilizes the unique property of ultraviolet light at wavelengths between 250 and 285 nm to propagate about 10 μm into tissues, thus illuminating only the top cell layer. This illumination is provided by a low-power UV LED source, which enables one to cost-efficiently implement this method into the educational environment. MUSE in education can eliminate the need for premade microscope slides and provide a far more engaging and rewarding experience for students.
Language and the Double Hermeneutic in Natural Science

Perhaps nothing about hermeneutics is better known than its role, or putative role, as a demarcation criterion between the natural and the human sciences. Faced with the danger of creeping scientism, social philosophers have repeatedly grasped at the idea that if hermeneutics can be shown to be both essential and unique to the human sciences, foreign or secondary to the natural sciences, then an important freedom will have been won to reject in the social realm that misplaced, alienating stance of the “neutral” investigator, and regard human beings as human once again.
Tumor intrinsic immunity related proteins may be novel tumor suppressors in some types of cancer

Immune checkpoint blockade therapy (ICBT) can unleash T-cell responses against cancer. However, only a small fraction of patients exhibited responses to ICBT. The role of immune checkpoints in cancer cells is not well understood. In this study, we analyzed T-cell coinhibitory/costimulatory genes across more than 1100 samples of the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE). Nearly 90% of such genes were not expressed or had low expression across the CCLE cancer cell lines. Cell line screening showed the enrichment of cancer cells deprived of the expression of CD27, CEACAM1, CTLA4, LRIG1, PDCD1LG2, or TNFRSF18, suggesting their role as tumor suppressor. The metagene expression signature derived from these six genes - Immu6Metagene was associated with prolonged survival phenotypes. A common set of five oncogenic pathways were significantly inhibited in different types of tumors of the cancer patients with good survival outcome and high Immu6Metagene signature expression. These pathways were TGF-β signaling, angiogenesis, EMT, hypoxia and mitotic process. Our study showed that oncoimmunology related molecules especially the six genes of the Immu6Metagene signature may play the tumor suppressor role in certain cancers. Therefore, the ICBT targeting them should be considered in such context to improve the efficacy.
The Crypto-currency Regulations

Crypto-currency is a disruptive concept that is an alternative to fiat currency used in the present monetary system. The online ecosystem surrounding crypto-currency opens new cyber and insider threat vulnerabilities, while the iterative nature of the DLT underlying crypto-currencies prevents reversibility when a fraudulent or unlawful transaction has occurred. While several regulators have each consider regulating crypto-currency, they seem not to agree as to the holistic approach, as each looks solely from the lenses of its mission.
Ultra-rapid development and deployment of a family resilience program during the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons learned from Families Tackling Tough Times Together

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic brought uncertainty, anxiety, and stress into households; however, it also created an opportunity as many families, sequestered at home, found themselves spending much mo...
Leaf Angle eXtractor: A high-throughput image processing framework for leaf angle measurements in maize and sorghum

Premise Maize yields have significantly increased over the past half-century owing to advances in breeding and agronomic practices. Plants have been grown in increasingly higher densities due to changes in plant architecture resulting in plants with more upright leaves, which allows more efficient light interception for photosynthesis. Natural variation for leaf angle has been identified in maize and sorghum using multiple mapping populations. However, conventional phenotyping techniques for leaf angle are low throughput and labor intensive, and therefore hinder a mechanistic understanding of how the leaf angle of individual leaves changes over time in response to the environment. Methods High-throughput time series image data from water-deprived maize (Zea mays subsp. mays) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) were obtained using battery-powered time-lapse cameras. A MATLAB-based image processing framework, Leaf Angle eXtractor (LAX), was developed to extract and quantify leaf angles from images of maize and sorghum plants under drought conditions. Results Leaf angle measurements showed differences in leaf responses to drought in maize and sorghum. Tracking leaf angle changes at intervals as short as one minute enabled distinguishing leaves that showed signs of wilting under water deprivation from other leaves on the same plant that did not show wilting during the same time period. Discussion Automating leaf angle measurements using LAX makes it feasible to perform large-scale experiments to evaluate, understand, and exploit the spatial and temporal variations in plant response to water limitations.
The Structure of Optimal Solutions to the Submodular Function Minimization Problem

Abstract : In this paper, we study the structure of optimal solutions to the submodular function minimization problem. We introduce prime sets and pseudoprime sets as basic building block of minimizer sets, and investigate composition, decomposition, recognition, and certification of prime sets. We show how Schrijver's submodular function minimization algorithm can be modified to construct in polynomial time a prime or pseudoprime decomposition of the ground set. We also show that the final vector x obtained by this algorithm is an extreme point of the polyhedron P := {x epsilon R(v) : x less than or equal to 0; x(A) less than or equal to f(A) for all A reflex subset contained in V}.
Urban renewable energy and ecosystems: integrating vegetation with ground-mounted solar arrays increases arthropod abundance of key functional groups

Cities are increasingly developing renewable energy within urban areas, yet the implications for ecosystems have not been explored. This study brings together climate change mitigation policies and ecosystem conservation in urban areas by investigating how ground-mounted solar arrays in parking lots affect arthropod abundance and biodiversity. We assess which arthropods are present under these solar canopies and investigate how integration of vegetation under the solar arrays affects arthropod abundance, abundance of different functional groups, and family richness. We sampled arthropods, collected data on habitat characteristics, and evaluated landscape cover within 2 km of eight study sites around San Jose and Santa Cruz, California. We found substantial abundance and diversity of arthropods underneath ground-mounted solar arrays in urban area parking lots, and that arrays integrated with vegetation have significantly greater arthropod abundance and more detritivores, parasitoids, and family richness. The results demonstrate that ground-mounted solar arrays in parking lots, especially when integrated with vegetation, can be a win-win for climate mitigation, arthropod richness, and ecosystem functioning.
Tony Gwynn's Cancer Battle Gives Family a Strong Case

Tony Gwynn’s widow and children filed a wrongful death suit in the Superior Court of California San Diego Central Division in May pursuant to Section 377.60(a) of the California Code of Civil Procedure.The Gwynns’ causes of action include negligence, negligent product liability, strict product liability — design defect, strict product liability-failure to warn of defective condition, negligent misrepresentation and fraudulent concealment.
Insulin-mediated muscle microvascular perfusion and its phenotypic predictors in humans.

Insulin increases muscle microvascular perfusion and enhances tissue insulin and nutrient delivery. Our aim was to determine phenotypic traits that foretell human muscle microvascular insulin responses. Hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamps were performed in 97 adult humans who were lean and healthy, had class 1 obesity without comorbidities, or controlled type 1 diabetes without complications. Insulin-mediated whole-body glucose disposal rates (M-value) and insulin-induced changes in muscle microvascular blood volume (ΔMBV) were determined. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to examine bivariate and multivariate relationships between outcomes, ΔMBV and M-value, and predictor variables, body mass index (BMI), total body weight (WT), percent body fat (BF), lean body mass, blood pressure, maximum consumption of oxygen (VO2max), plasma LDL (LDL-C) and HDL cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), and fasting insulin (INS) levels. Among all factors, only M-value (r = 0.23, p = 0.02) and VO2max (r = 0.20, p = 0.047) correlated with ΔMBV. Conversely, INS (r = - 0.48, p ≤ 0.0001), BF (r = - 0.54, p ≤ 0.001), VO2max (r = 0.5, p ≤ 0.001), BMI (r = - 0.40, p < 0.001), WT (r = - 0.33, p = 0.001), LDL-C (r = - 0.26, p = 0.009), TG (r = - 0.25, p = 0.012) correlated with M-value. While both ΔMBV (p = 0.045) and TG (p = 0.03) provided significant predictive information about M-value in the multivariate regression model, only M-value was uniquely predictive of ΔMBV (p = 0.045). Thus, both M-value and VO2max correlated with ΔMBV but only M-value provided unique predictive information about ΔMBV. This suggests that metabolic and microvascular insulin responses are important predictors of one another, but most metabolic insulin resistance predictors do not predict microvascular insulin responses.
Pediatric breast lymphatic malformation with recurrent presentation in an adolescent female

This case report summarizes a rare case of left chest wall/breast lymphatic malformation or cystic lymphangioma in a female child of 18 months with multiple late recurrences in adolescence. By mate...
Comparison of physical fitness scores of white and black seventh grade boys of similar socioeconomic level.

Abstract Boys (N = 115) in the seventh grade of a junior high school were tested for physical fitness by the AAHPER Youth Fitness Test. In addition, data were collected for age, height, weight, and socioeconomic level of each boy. Two racial groups were formed consisting of 30 white and 30 black students who were matched on age and socioeconomic level. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the physical fitness of white and black students of equal socioeconomic level was significantly different. There were no significant differences between the groups in age, height, weight, and socioeconomic level. The black students exceeded the white students significantly on the shuttle run, 50-yd. dash, 600-yd. run and composite fitness score. It was concluded that black male students of similar socioeconomic level to white students in the seventh grade, have a higher level of physical fitness.
EXTREME LONG-TIME DYNAMIC MONTE CARLO SIMULATIONS FOR METASTABLE DECAY IN THE d=3 ISING FERROMAGNET

We study the extreme long-time behavior of the metastable phase of the three-dimensional Ising model with Glauber dynamics in an applied magnetic field and at a temperature below the critical temperature. For these simulations, we use the advanced simulation method of projective dynamics. The algorithm is described in detail, together with its application to the escape from the metastable state. Our results for the field dependence of the metastable lifetime are in good agreement with theoretical expectations and span more than 50 decades in time.
Modelling a Rational Cognitive Agent in SNePS

Our goal is to model a rational cognitive agent whose behavior is driven by its beliefs, desires, and intentions. In this paper we present a model of a simplified cognitive agent and its implementation. We use intensional propositional representations of beliefs, plans, and acts. The representations are expressed using the SNePS semantic network formalism. After giving a declarative specification of our model, we describe an implementation, and examples of its use.
H3-proline study of aging periodontal ligament matrix formation: comparison between matrices adjacent to either cemental or bone surfaces.

Recent publications suggested the presence of a tooth related and alveolar bone related system within the periodontal ligament. To further test this hypothesis, we attempted to histologically and autoradiographically follow matrix formation in mouse PDL at different sites and different ages. Twenty-eight BNL Swiss albino mice 5, 26, 52, and 104 weeks of age were maintained on a standard pellet diet and water ad libitum. Each animal received 4 subcutaneous injections of 2 μCi/gm body weight of H3-proline per dose (Spec. Act. 1·5 Ci/mM) on days t0, t4, t8, and t12. On day t13 animals were sacrificed, the maxillae removed and prepared for histologic and autoradiographic analysis. Grain counts were performed from the midline of the PDL to (a) the bony surface and (b) the cemental surface at 4 specific sites around the mesial root of the first maxillary molar. Differences in results were analyzed statistically and significance was based on Student's t-test and a confidence level of 0·001. From our data, it appeared that under normal functional demands, the rates of matrix formation in the mouse PDL appeared to be similar between alveolar bone surface related and cemental surface related tissues at all sites tested. With advancing age, an overall reduction in PDL matrix formation was also noted.
Testing first-order logic axioms in program verification

Program verification systems based on automated theorem provers rely on user-provided axioms in order to verify domain-specific properties of code. However, formulating axioms correctly (that is, formalizing properties of an intended mathematical interpretation) is non-trivial in practice, and avoiding or even detecting unsoundness can sometimes be difficult to achieve. Moreover, speculating soundness of axioms based on the output of the provers themselves is not easy since they do not typically give counterexamples. We adopt the idea of model-based testing to aid axiom authors in discovering errors in axiomatizations. To test the validity of axioms, users define a computational model of the axiomatized logic by giving interpretations to the function symbols and constants in a simple declarative programming language. We have developed an axiom testing framework that helps automate model definition and test generation using off-the-shelf tools for meta-programming, property-based random testing, and constraint solving. We have experimented with our tool to test the axioms used in AUtoCERT, a program verification system that has been applied to verify aerospace flight code using a first-order axiomatization of navigational concepts, and were able to find counterexamples for a number of axioms.
Investigating the interaction of McN-A-343 with the M1 muscarinic receptor using its nitrogen mustard derivative and ACh mustard

Background and purpose: We investigated how McN-A-343 inhibited the alkylation of the M1 muscarinic receptor by its nitrogen mustard derivative and that of ACh to identify whether it interacts allosterically or orthosterically. Experimental approach: We incubated the M1 muscarinic receptor expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells with ACh mustard for various periods of time in the presence of McN-A-343 or known allosteric and orthosteric ligands. After stopping the reaction and removing unreacted ligands, unalkylated receptors were measured using [3H]N-methylscopolamine. Analogous experiments were done using a nitrogen mustard analog of McN-A-343. Affinity constants, cooperativity values for allosteric interactions and rate constants for receptor alkylation were estimated using a mathematical model. Key results: The kinetics of receptor alkylation by the nitrogen mustard derivatives of ACh and McN-A-343 were consistent with a two-step model in which the aziridinium ion rapidly forms a reversible receptor complex, which converts to a covalent complex at a slower rate. The inhibition of receptor alkylation by acetycholine, N-methylscopolamine and McN-A-343 was consistent with competitive inhibition, whereas that caused by gallamine was consistent with allosterism. Affinity constants estimated from alkylation kinetics agreed with those measured by displacement of [3H]N-methylscopolamine binding. Conclusions and implications: Our results suggest that McN-A-343 and its nitrogen mustard derivative interact competitively with ACh and N-methylscopolamine at the orthosteric site on the M1 muscarinic receptor. Measuring how drugs modulate the kinetics of receptor alkylation by an irreversible ligand is a powerful approach for distinguishing between negative allosteric modulators and competitive inhibitors.
Destruction of insulin effector system of adipose tissue cells by proteolytic enzymes.

Abstract Insulin did not stimulate glucose utilization or inhibit lipolysis in adipose tissue cells previously incubated with trypsin. The acceleration of glucose oxidation by insulin was also reduced by prior incubation of cells with chymotrypsin, papain, or ficin, but not with purified collagenases or an acidic proteinase of Clostridium histolyticum. The loss of insulin effects was not due to destruction of the hormone. Furthermore, it appeared that trypsin did not digest cells nonspecifically since the treated tissue retained (a) a substantial lipolytic activity that was still responsive to epinephrine and adrenocorticotropin, (b) the capacity to oxidize glucose rapidly when sugar transport was stimulated by a high glucose concentration in the incubation medium, (c) a cell membrane that was not leaky to fat, glucose, or lactate dehydrogenase, and (d) a stereospecific sugar transport mechanism. These results suggest that a site (or sites) on the cell surface containing peptide components is necessary for the action of insulin on glucose transport and lipolysis. The site is probably distinct from the elements involved directly in glucose transport, lipolysis, and turnover of cyclic AMP.
Ground Motion of Mississippi Valley Earthquakes

Three methods are used to estimate the dependence of strong ground motion on epicentral distance and magnitude for Mississippi Valley earthquakes. The first utilizes earthquake intensity attenuation relations, correlations between modified Mercalli (M.M.) intensity and ground acceleration, velocity and displacement, and relations between maximum M.M. intensity and earthquake magnitude. The second method used near-field strong-motion data from the western United States which is extrapolated to larger distances by using seismic wave attenuation that is appropriate to the central United States. The third method uses observed strong ground-motion values for the central and eastern United States to determine acceleration, velocity and displacement as a function of epicentral distance for an earthquake of body-wave magnitude (m\db) equal to 5. Theoretical scaling relations are employed to construct similar curves for other magnitudes. All three methods give similar results for earthquakes in the m\db range of 5.0–6.5. An m\db = 5.0 earthquake is about the lower level of damaging events. An m\db = 6.5 earthquake has a recurrence time of about one century in the central and eastern United States.
Lack of alteration of serum gonadotropins in men and women following sexual intercourse.

Abstract Serum levels of LH and FSH were determined before and at 10 intervals from 10 minutes to 8½M hours after coitus in 8 men and 5 women. The women were studied between day 8 and 12 of their menstrual cycles. Gonadotropin concentrations did not differ from control means at any interval after sexual intercourse and are therefore, under these circumstances, independent of sexual activity. Testosterone concentrations in men were also unaffected by coitus. In addition, concentrations of LH, FSH, and testosterone during a 2 month interval of sexual abstinence were not different than during periods of intercourse 2 or 3 times a week.